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Apple working on hybrid E-Ink LCD display?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Displays, Rumors,
One of the features Amazon champions on its Kindle e-reader is the black-and-white E Ink screen, which puts less stress on the eye than the iPad or iPhone's LCD screen. A recent patent application, however, suggests that Apple is looking to produce a device with a hybrid E Ink-LCD screen.
Not only that, Apple's hybrid screen might have the ability to split into quadrants, with some segments displaying images via LCD and others displaying via E Ink. That, according to Patently Apple "would work very nicely with Apple's proposed use of Spaces on future iOS devices."
Specifically, Apple's patent covers a system for switching between an electronic paper display and a video display based on visual content.
"Based on the one or more features, the control circuitry could selectively enable the device's electronic paper display or the device's video display," Patently Apple said.
Click to continue reading Apple working on hybrid E-Ink LCD display?
US House bars limitating lithium-ion battery shipments on planes
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Misc. Tech, Transportation,
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a law that would bar the Obama administration from limiting shipments of lithium-ion batteries by air.
The proposed rule by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and the FAA would have eliminated exceptions for small lithium batteries, classifying them as "Class 9" hazardous cargo, and requiring a number of labeling and other safety regulations.
The House will have to reconcile its legislation with the Senate before President Obama can sign a unified joint bill, as Bloomberg noted.
There have been numerous incidents of batteries short-circuiting, and many of those have involved airplanes. (The last major battery incident involved Sony, in 2008; that recall then, however, did not cover airplanes.) The proposed rule noted that out of 21 and 44 incidents involving lithium batteries since 1991 involved passenger aircraft; of those, 16 involved carry-on luggage, and one involved checked baggage. Twenty-three incidents involved cargo aircraft, presumably in pallets of batteries being transported by air.
Click to continue reading US House bars limitating lithium-ion battery shipments on planes
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The real story on why Apple is less than pleased with Best Buy over the iPad 2
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Features, Handhelds, Rumors,
Over the past couple of days, rumors have been spreading that Best Buy has been ordered by Apple to halt sales of the iPad 2. The story is that Apple got wind of the fact that Best Buy had been stockpiling iPad 2 units, and didn't like that. However, we've got a very reliable source who just hit us up to give us the real scoop, and it turns out that it's a bit more sinister than a plan to stockpile iPad 2 units for a big weekend event.
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Comic Book Jobs: Checking Out Craigslist
Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials, Movies,
It's that time of the week again! Time to check out my favorite website for job listings in the wide-ranging and eclectic field of comic book jobs.
Here's what's happening on craigslist:
A production company in the San Fernando Valley (California) is "seeking a lead actress for a live action comic book film." For the right superheroine, they'll be $350 per day. "Think comic book meets really goofy lines and fight scenes."
And if you're a guy, they're also looking for a villain. But comic book movie villainy pays less, $125 per day.
The Los Angeles Comic Book And Science Fiction Convention is looking for vendors interesting in setting up at their April 17th show.
Nostalgic Books and Comics in San Gabriel (California) is looking for "any comic-related costume people who may be interested in showing up and being a part of" their Free Comic Book Day celebration.
Click to continue reading Comic Book Jobs: Checking Out Craigslist
Word has reached us that crazed Fox News commentator Glenn Beck was recently pitching around Hollywood to create an animated series based on his life as a child.
I'm sure someone saw this as a good idea in the same way that someone thought Happy Days, Gilligan's Island and The Harlem Globetrotters would make good cartoons.
But Beck will need something now that his Fox TV show is going to be cancelled at the end of this year.
We asked around the various Hollywood studios and got a list of the rejected pitches for various Beck-based cartoon shows, none of which have materialized.
"Development Hell" must also be part of a vast conspiracy.
Here then, are the Top 10 Beck cartoon projects that may yet find their way to your flatscreen:
Click to continue reading The Glenn Beck Animated TV Show
Apple set to release iOS 4.3.2 in two weeks?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Rumors, Software,
Apple will fix bugs and address security issues on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with the release of iOS 4.3.2 in about two weeks, according to Boy Genius Report.
The latest in what's becoming a regular schedule of tweaks to Apple's mobile operating system will also include a few unspecified "enhancements," BGR wrote Thursday, citing "one of our Apple ninjas."
The last update to the operating system, iOS 4.3.1, arrived in late March.
The news doesn't indicate whether iOS 4.3.2 will fix vulnerabilities that allowed hackers to jailbreak iOS 4.3.1, or the iPad 2 just days after it was released. One managed to get Cydia running on the device and another exploited a flaw in Apple's Safari mobile Web browser that may have been fixed without comment from Apple.
Click to continue reading Apple set to release iOS 4.3.2 in two weeks?
Facebook ‘Open Compute Project’ aims to change the server industry
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Features, Social Networks,
Facebook began showing off its plans for a new data center and server design on Thursday. It will be called the "Open Compute Project," executives said.
Facebook is making the design documents and specifications public at OpenCompute.org. The company claims that the design of the new servers is 38 percent more power efficient than its older designs, and costs 24 percent less to make.
Graham Weston, the chairman of Rackspace, said that his company would use the new Open Compute servers in its own designs, and Zynga's chief technical officer said that his company would take a serious look at adding the new technology to its own cloud.
Industry executives said that the new server designs will have a positive impact not just on the IT industry, but also with emerging countries that may not have the R&D resources to design their own power-efficient servers and data centers. Instead, they said, they can leverage the collective expertise. With the cost savings that the new server designs enable, those savings can be passed along to service companies that use web hosting to drive their businesses.
"This is how Facebook kicks Google's ass," said Robert Scoble, a blogger for Rackspace, one of the companies that will use the technology. The new data center does not use a "chiller," he said. Instead, it puts fine particles of water in the air and cools the server through evaporative cooling.
Click to continue reading Facebook ‘Open Compute Project’ aims to change the server industry
Apple patents dock connector with Thunderbolt, USB 3.0 connectivity
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Handhelds,
The United States Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday awarded Apple a patent that suggests Apple is working on an iPhone and iPod that supports Intel Thunderbolt and USB 3.0.
The invention, which in 2009 Apple called a "Reduced Size Multi-Pin Male Plug Connector" describes a 30-pin dock connector for "high-speed communication standards," citing USB 3.0 and a "dual channel" DisplayPort.
The name "Thunderbolt" wasn't mentioned (unsurprisingly, given that it only launched in February 2011 on the new MacBook Pro) but the patent's multiple mentions of a "dual channel" DisplayPort suggests the same technology.
Thunderbolt combines Intel's PCI Express and DisplayPort into a single connector for theoretical transfer speeds of 10 Gbps (fast enough to download a full-length Blu-ray movie in under 30 seconds).
Click to continue reading Apple patents dock connector with Thunderbolt, USB 3.0 connectivity
Bing launches magazine-like iPad app
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Reference, iPad Apps, New Apps, Free Apps,
Microsoft knows the importance of the mobile audience, even when it means taking advantage of a competitor's mobile platform—in this case, Apple's. Since late 2009, iPhone users have been able to download a Bing app that offers voice search, local shopping, scrolling image search, maps and directions. Now iPad owners get a Bing app that adds a new trends feature, which lets them explore the trending search topics of the week.
The new app, which is available in the iTunes App Store starting today, sports a homepage featuring the trademark (and often stunning) Bing photo of the day, along with tiles showing local weather, news, maps, movies, and trends. The interface makes a lot of use of the swipe touch gesture, especially in image search. A dropdown menu offers all these choices plus Images, Videos, Shopping and History—that is, your search history, not the school topic.
Trends shows tiled images for the week's major current events. It can almost be thought of as a lightweight replacement for an app like The Daily or Flipboard. Touching one of its images opens a search page showing news and images about the topic, like MLB Opening Day. Some topics get a slicker treatment rather than just a Bing search results page: touching through an entry about "30 Rock's" Tina Fey labled "Ms. Bossypants" displayed a grid of stories that somewhat resembled the New York Times' Web site layout. After reading a result page, you can swipe left-to-right to get back to the trends page.
Click to continue reading Bing launches magazine-like iPad app
T-Mobile Sidekick 4G and G2x launching on April 20
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Handhelds,
T-Mobile confirmed today that its Samsung Sidekick 4G and LG G2x phones will be available in stores on April 20.
"It's official, T-Mobile's Sidekick 4G arrives on April 20," T-Mobile tweeted this morning. The G2x, meanwhile, will be available online on April 15 and in stores on April 20, T-Mobile also tweeted. It will sell for $199.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and two-year contract.
T-Mobile confirmed plans for the Samsung Sidekick 4G back in January, and provided more details last month. It features a 3.5-inch, 800-by-480 screen and is based on a heavily customized Android 2.2.1 and Samsung's TouchWiz. The screen slides up with a click to reveal the 5-row QWERTY keyboard.
Click to continue reading T-Mobile Sidekick 4G and G2x launching on April 20
