Archive for January, 2013

Gary Shapiro is chief of the Consumer Electronics Association, the tech industry group behind the massive annual CES trade show. In an op-ed published by USA Today, he writes that the organization is reevaluating its relationship with tech news site CNET, which oversees one of CES’s big awards. CNET was planning to give this award

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Trade show exec throws CNET under the bus, but who is he to judge media ethics?

“I don’t have an STD.” “Then why did you want to talk?”

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TV reporter asks videobomber how long she’s had an STD

British Windows Phone owners won’t have to let their TV viewing habits slip while they’re on the move. TVCatchup has just posted the promised Windows Phone 8 version of its streaming app, giving locals access to live programming from the BBC, ITV and others. OS-specific optimizations aren’t extensive, but they exist — it’s possible to pin a favorite network to the Start screen, and to use voice commands to jump directly to a channel or guide.

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TVCatchup reaches Windows Phone 8 in the UK

The Consumerist reports that Chelsea, the Applebee’s employee who earlier this week posted a receipt with a note from a tightwad “pastor” that read “I Give God 10%. Why Do You Get 18,” was fired. “We make $3.50 an hour. Most of my paychecks are less than pocket change because I have to pay taxes

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Waitress who posted no-tip receipt from “pastor” fired from Applebee’s

Tomorrow marks the debut of House of Cards , the latest original series from Netflix. All season one episodes will be available to watch instantly, so subscribers wil be theoretically be able to stream the entire thing in a single weekend. In fact, if you’re a Silver member of Xbox Live, that’s probably not a bad idea. For three days only, Microsoft has announced that it will be “unlocking” the Netflix app for non-paying gamers. Typically the Xbox 360 Netflix app is available exclusively to Xbox Live Gold members, which means users need to pay two subscription fees to stream content on the console

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Microsoft lifts Xbox Live Gold requirement for Netflix’s ‘House of Cards’ premiere

Chris Smith very helpfully fixed the newspaper photo I posted earlier today, which showed me at 9 months, with my mom. 25 years of legal abortion in Canada (Thanks, Chris!)

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Adding glasses to that old newspaper photo

Since the beginning of 2013, Beijing’s notoriously high pollution levels have been even higher, forcing people to remain indoors, grounding flights, and causing widespread health problems. The city’s air quality was measured as “Beyond Index” on January 12th, according to the US embassy. In an interactive photo essay, The Atlantic illustrates just how bad the situation really is by letting you flip between photos of Chinese cities with and without the dense clouds of pollution. China’s government will begin monitoring the pollution problem more closely next year, but state media reports that the results may not be released to the public for another three years and the country’s coal consumption continues to rise. Continue reading…

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See China’s cities with and without the choking smog

I first got to know Danny Madden when he would do late night editing jobs in the cubicle over from mine. While I sat slumped over my computer for hours on end, he’d get up at regular intervals to do handstands, or ride my skateboard around the Verge office. He’s a restless, nomadic artist, who has recently lived in New York, New Orleans, Africa, and currently resides near San Francisco.

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White noise: ‘Euphonia’ exposes the horrors of our tech-mediated reality

Ever wanted to see inside an e-reader? Txtr’s Beagle ultra-budget unit was deposited at the FCC’s subterranean facility to see if its Bluetooth radio would fry your mind like only Thomas Pynchon can. The hardware was dissected and photographed for posterity, which we’ve added here to sate your curiosity.

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Txtr Beagle takes a trip to the FCC, gets splayed for our amusement

Google has been pretty up front about its plans for Google Glass — the company said the first “Explorer Edition” of its virtual reality headset would arrive early in 2013 , and now the glasses themselves have shown up at the FCC. That said, it’s not clear yet that these will be the glasses that end up shipping to developers who ordered a pair back at Google I/O last summer. The glasses appear to have 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi — though one of the FCC’s filings only reveals 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi, so it’s hard to say for sure — and the latest Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy technology on board. Another conflict we’ve noticed is the charging method, as one filing lists a USB charger and another lists a “barrel” connector. Perhaps more interesting…

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Google Glass headset with bone-conduction speakers revealed in FCC filing

Amazon appears to be having some reliability issues today, as the company’s website has been down for some time for a large number of users. Amazon.com has been giving visitors “service unavailable” messages for at least the past half an hour, though multiple refreshes on the site have gotten it to load sporadically for us. Fortunately, Amazon’s mobile apps appear to be unaffected, so if you really need to buy something from the retail giant, we suggest you use your smartphone. We’ve reached out to Amazon for comment and will update this when we have more information. Update: And it looks like Amazon has resolved its issues, at least on our end.

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Amazon’s online store was briefly offline today, mobile apps unaffected (update)

Nerval’s Lobster writes “The company formerly known as Research In Motion—which decided to cut right to the proverbial chase and rename itself ‘BlackBerry’—launched its much-anticipated BlackBerry 10 operating system at a high-profile event in New York City Jan. 30. Meanwhile, Microsoft is still dumping tons of money and effort into Windows Phone. But can either smartphone OS — or another player, for that matter — successfully challenge Apple iOS and Google Android, which one research firm estimated as running on 92 percent of smartphones shipped in the fourth quarter of 2012?

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Can Any Smartphone Platform Overcome the Android/iOS Duopoly?

Folks, the rather dour line drawing that you can see in the image above is the very first glimpse of Google’s wearable computing project as it swings through the FCC’s underground facility. The Google Glass Explorer Edition hardware, promised to arrive this year , is carrying a Broadcom 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g WiFi radio that’s been paired with a Bluetooth 4.0 + LE module. We’ve seen a reference to an “integral vibrating element that provides audio to the user via contact with the user’s head,” which we presume relates to the bone conduction patent we saw earlier this month. The filing also reveals that the testing laboratory involved used the conduction technology to view video with audio. As the commission is now making the paperwork public, it can only mean that it’s judged the unit, with the product code “XEB,” to be safe for human consumption — which means customers 782 and 788 might be expecting something special in the mail very shortly

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Google Glass Explorer Edition arrives at the FCC

http://www.engadget.com/podcasts/Engadget_Podcast_329.mp3 No sleep ’til… well, let’s not do that again. But, yes, it’s BlackBerry week, and the podcast crew sift through all the news to come from the New York event. There’s plenty of it, too, what with rebrandings, new hardware and, oh, you know BlackBerry 10 an’ all. Get it right here

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Engadget Podcast 329 – 01.31.13

In the 2009 Wired mag article “Recipe for Disaster: The Formula That Killed Wall Street,” writer Felix Salmon blames the Gaussian Copula Function for the financial meltdown in American markets. A SciAm article today by Chris Arnade argues that another equation is more to blame, and that it “requires nothing more than middle school algebra

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Journalists argue over which math equation killed Wall Street

In what could be the latest of a series of high-profile “sextortion” cases, a Los Angeles man has been arrested for extorting nude pictures. According to an FBI release , Karen “Gary” Kazaryan is charged with 30 counts of hacking and identity theft in the wake of his January 29th arrest. Kazaryan is accused of hacking Facebook, Skype, or email accounts, then mining them for the names of friends, passwords to other sites, and nude or suggestive photos.

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Hacker arrested for allegedly blackmailing hundreds of women into sending nude pictures

It’s no secret that T-Mobile is on the cusp of lighting up its first LTE network in Las Vegas, but with Kansas City soon to follow — and ambitions of extending LTE coverage to 100 million Americans by mid-year — it’s time to start factoring this consideration into your next smartphone purchase. While the carrier’s HSPA+ 42 network is certainly speedy, there’s no point in saddling yourself with a device that’s rooted in the past. Want to make sure you’re ready for what comes next? Read on for everything you need to know. Filed under: Cellphones , Wireless , Mobile , T-Mobile Comments

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Which T-Mobile smartphones will support LTE?

Whether it be its iOS, Android or Windows 8 users, Splashtop does a pretty good job at keeping them happy by introducing new things here and there , and the very latest may be no exception to that — well, at least to some. Dubbed Configurable Shortcuts & Gamepad, the feature will allow Splashtop 2 subscribers — that are using an iPad or Android slate — to easily create anything from a virtual gamepad, mouse controls and even keyboard shortcuts on a tablet’s screen, which, according to the company, should make for a ” faster and more seamless remote access with their Macs and PCs” while gaming or, you know, actually being productive. What’s more, similar to what it did when other new services were brought to the mix, Splashtop’s set to charge current subs a little extra in order to use the Configurable Shortcuts & Gamepad, with the add-on being priced at about $1 per month (on top of the Splashtop 2 monthly fee, of course.) The feature’s available now for anyone looking to try it out — and if you’d like to see it in action before you make that in-app purchase, a video demo can be found just past the break. Gallery: Splashtop’s Configurable Shortcuts & Gamepad Filed under: Gaming , Software Comments Source: Splashtop

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Splashtop’s Configurable Shortcuts & Gamepad feature lets tablet users create virtual controls and more

After running Church of Scientology advertorial, The Atlantic has updated its advertising policy. They nail the problem, too. The Atlantic will refuse publication of such content that, in its own judgment, would undermine the intellectual integrity, authority, and character of our enterprise. After all, it was the advertiser, not the presentation, that most readers objected

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The Atlantic updates ad policy after Scientology flap

Sony apparently sees 2013 as a chance to colorize its aging PlayStation 3 console, today announcing yet another new color for the superslim packing 500GB of storage. To match the blood red tattoos found all over God of War star Kratos’ body, Sony colored this one garnet red, and is pairing the console with God of War: Ascension — thusly, the bundle arrives on March 12, the same day God of War: Ascension is scheduled to go up for sale. Unlike its “Classic White” brethren , you won’t get a full-year subscription to PlayStation Plus in this bundle — a disappointment considering this one costs $50 more. It does, however, include not just a copy of God of War: Ascension , but also God of War Saga (which collects the first three God of War games) and God of War: Origins Collection (which bundles the two God of War PlayStation Portable games). That’s a total of six God of War games included in this bundle, so you’d better really be into spending time with Kratos should you pick this up

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Garnet red PlayStation 3 bundled with God of War: Ascension and 500GB HDD arrives this March for $349

There’s never been a more rewarding time to get into photography. Cameras take better photos than ever, the improving quality of mobile phone sensors has democratized the hobby, and, through online services such as Tumblr and Instagram, the act of publishing your work to a receptive audience is now open to everyone. Continue reading…

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Communication breakdown: connected cameras can’t stand up to smartphone onslaught

Evernote acquired the Penultimate app for iPad last year with the conspicuous goal of making handwritten notes as easy to synchronize as to-do lists and snippets from the web. After several months of silence, the newly reworked Penultimate 4 is the result. The drawing tool now treats Evernote not just as a sharing option, but an integral part of its being. While it’s possible to skip the sign-in, those who link their account get both cross-platform access to their work as well as cloud-based searches of their more legible writing. There’s likewise a simpler interface with more realistic pen input

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Evernote intros Penultimate 4 for iPad, explores synced and searchable handwriting

We are definitely no strangers to seeing MetroPCS bring well-priced, decently-specced Android handsets to market, and we have a feeling that’s something potential and current subscribers certainly appreciate. Because, well, who doesn’t like choice? With today’s LG Spirit 4G launch, MetroPCS continues to expand its LTE-at-a-bargain ideals, announcing a smartphone that carries some pretty decent specs for being contract-free and costing a mere 269 bucks. Naturally, the 4.5-inch display is among the Spirit’s main highlights, but there’s also an unspecified 1.2GHz, dual-core CPU, a 5-megapixel rear shooter capable of 1080p video, and Ice Cream Sandwich , to boot. The carrier’s quick to point out that its newly introduced slab is a follow-up to that LG Motion 4G we saw last year, and that it’s compatible with those LTE plans which were unveiled earlier this month

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LG Spirit 4G arrives on MetroPCS, delivers 4.5-inch display and ICS to the budget-minded crowd

Google’s web browser might be creeping even closer to its mobile OS, with François Beaufort noting that the latest build of open-source Chromium for Windows has folded in some new “rich notifications”. These are easily enabled by dabbling with the chrome://flags component, and you’ll even get a look at the decidedly Chrome-ish pop-up box, seen above. The code elaborates on how devs can work their own notifications into the service, with the Clear All button presumably signposting that several notes can be stacked. We’re still dealing with the test iteration at the moment, but after those Google Now cards made their appearance , it makes sense to see more functions permeate Chrome — especially if you own one of their Books

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Google tests new notification center in latest version of Chrome, bringing Google Now reminders… soon

Kyle Orland, quoting Lamar Alexander, (R-TN) Speaking with NBC News’ Chuck Todd this morning, Alexander responded to a question about universal background checks with this amazing non-sequitur: “I think video games is a bigger problem than guns, because video games affect people. But the First Amendment limits what we can do about video games and

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Republican senator: "video games is a bigger problem than guns, because video games affect people"