Samsung is in the process of launching a new Samsung Galaxy Note II, but we’ve just received strong evidence the original may be even better. Courtesy of a Craigslist Toronto classified ad (via Twitter), take a look at this beauty of a pitch that tells you everything you need to know about Samsung’s original phablet. In the words of the original poster, “Fasten your seatbelts assholes”:
In stupid idiot news, the Nickelodeon reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has decided to replace the turtles’ traditional “cowabunga” with the much dumber “booyakasha”. Dammit, I told myself I wasn’t going to drink today either. Now look at me! “Tongue kissing a bottle of rye whiskey.” YEP. Pure sadness:
Says producer Ciro Neili:
There was a lot of talk about what the new ‘cowabunga’ was, or whether it should even remain ‘cowabunga.’ We hadn’t initially come up with anything yet because we didn’t really necessarily need it [at the time].
But then when we were at the record, one of the actors — Greg Cipes, who actually plays Michelangelo — just kind of went for it. When he said it in the room, there were a lot of executives there. I think it was our first record. And it was that moment when he said it — I think he just really pulled it off and kind of won everybody over in the room. And it stuck.
Listen: yelling booyakasha during voice-recording is not “going for it.” That is the opposite of going for it. If I had been in that room and “booyakasha” came out of anybody’s mouth I would have dragged them out back and shot them in both knees.
Thanks again to chichi, who, for two tips in a day, gets *looking around* a dog or a wireless mouse — your pick.
Editor’s Notes: John C. Zolper, Ph.D. is the Vice President of Research and Development at Raytheon, an American corporation with core manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. So yeah, neat stuff.
I’ve got a riddle for you. What do Blu-ray disks, military radars and LED light bulbs have in common? Chances are, if you work outside of the defense or electronics sectors, you may not easily make the connection. But the common thread is a little-known technology called Gallium Nitride (GaN for short). GaN is evolving rapidly behind the scenes to transform many aspects of modern day life, while also serving vitally important roles within our nation’s military.
GaN is a wide band gap semiconductor material with special properties that are ideal for applications in optoelectronics, and high-power, high-frequency amplifiers. Aerospace and defense innovators have long recognized the critical competitive advantages GaN represents for high frequency electronics – including significant cost, size, weight and power reduction capabilities – and have spent years refining and continuously pushing GaN technology to new limits. For example, GaN is playing an integral role in developing more reliable military radars that can be five times more powerful than traditional systems or only half the size. In recent years, technologists across a number of commercial industries have taken notice of these pioneering innovations for the military, and have started putting GaN to work to power every day technologies in ways that significantly reduce energy costs and environmental impact.
Take the Blu-ray disc, for example. The next generation DVD is changing the way the world watches movies. Blu-ray discs store video and audio data packets in “pits,” or tiny grooves, which are about half the size of those in traditional DVDs. The tiny, highly accurate Blu-ray laser beam – powered by GaN-based violet laser diodes – can precisely read these hyperfine pits. This enables closer spacing of data packets and up to five times the storage capacity of a traditional DVD (roughly 27 GB of data). GaN technology enables higher resolution for the crystal clear imagery modern movie buffs have come to expect. With support from two of the world’s largest PC manufacturers, HP and Dell, Blu-ray technology is poised as the next-generation optical disc format – with potential to increase PC data storage exponentially in the coming years.
You’ve likely seen the light bulb revolution that’s taking place, but may not have known gallium nitride is at the center of it. As traditional, century-old incandescent bulbs are slowly phased out by federal mandate, LED light bulbs represent the future of the lighting industry. A GaN-powered LED light bulb can easily outlast traditional bulbs by several years, while consuming a tenth of the power and reducing CO2 emissions by 90 percent. The Department of Energy recently commended Philips Lighting for creating a LED bulb that would last more than 20 years – an innovative design with the potential to save Americans a combined $ 3.9 billion in annual energy costs and reduce U.S. carbon emissions by 20 million metric tons. A number of young companies, including startup Sorra, remain focused on driving innovations in cost-effective LED lighting for the masses.
And LCD televisions, backlit by GaN-powered LED lighting, are thinner, lighter and up to 40 percent more energy-efficient than those using CCFL backlighting. In an effort to reduce the price point for consumers, pioneering companies such as Sony are now introducing the next wave of LED televisions, which will use edge-lit LED as the TV’s light source, reducing the number of LED lights required as compared to first generation LED televisions.
For mobile users, GaN can help ensure an affirmative answer to the old question, “Can you hear me now?” The efficiency and resistance to heat and electronic interference of microwave amplifiers built with GaN enables broader, more reliable cellular coverage, while eliminating the need for power-sucking cooling fans required by older cell phone tower technologies. RFHIC Corp of Suwon, South Korea, which makes GaN-based radio frequency and microwave components for telecommunications and broadcasting industries, estimates U.S. carriers could save approximately $ 2 billion per year by using GaN technology for their wireless infrastructures. Large carriers, including Sprint, have already launched GaN-powered towers in several markets.
While GaN-powered technologies quickly evolve to alter many aspects of modern day life, GaN electronics are expected to play an increasingly more important role within our nation’s military systems. Raytheon has been awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop next-generation GaN electronic devices bonded to diamond substrates, which is expected to triple current GaN circuit capabilities. The application of a markedly more efficient GaN-on-diamond material is expected to significantly benefit next-generation radar, communications and electronic warfare systems that employ GaN-based radio frequency devices.
When you think of how much technology is empowered by a tiny microchip, it’s not hard to imagine how GaN will rapidly accelerate innovation across numerous industries in the years ahead. Undoubtedly, future innovators will find new ways to apply GaN technology to our iPads and smartphones, bringing the networked world to consumers’ fingertips more quickly and effortlessly. Companies from start-ups to larger enterprises looking to revolutionize their industries would do well to consider how GaN can drive innovation within their business models. In the meantime, rest assured, innovators, investors and military engineers are already hard at work, staging the next technical revolution.
Excalibur Almaz wants to offer the first private trip to the Moon — provided you’ve got £100 million
Sir Richard Branson might want to look over his shoulder, since Virgin Galactic now has an even more ambitious rival. Britain-based Excalibur Almaz is planning no less than a trip to the Moon using reworked, Soviet-era Salyut space stations and Soyuz capsules as the vehicles for the multi-stage, 500,000-mile total voyage. Accordingly, no one will be living in the lap of luxury on the way there: there’s just two habitation modules that will take three people each, and the six-month trip isn’t going to leave much room for perks other than an isolated room in the event of a solar radiation blast. Not that there’s as much of a rush given the efforts involved in making this look-but-don’t-touch Moon orbit a reality. Anyone who travels needs to be in tip-top shape — and the £100 million ($ 156 million) ticket will make Virgin’s Spaceship Two rides seem downright frugal. Be sure to pack your gym shorts and a briefcase full of cash.
Excalibur Almaz wants to offer the first private trip to the Moon — provided you’ve got £100 million originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Jun 2012 06:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nothing elicits such a strong case of technology guilt as asking other people if they back up their computers. Eyes dart toward the ground. Excuses are made. The subject is quickly changed.
As many people know or quickly find out, backing up a computer can be a painfully slow process. This week, I tested a computer-backup system that requires minimal effort and works in the background to automatically back up files: CrashPlan. This appropriately named program is made by Code 42 Software, a Minneapolis-based company.
[ See post to watch video ]
CrashPlan works with all types of operating systems and lets users back up to remote servers in the cloud and/or other computers or hard drives, like another PC they own or one belonging to a good friend or family member (as long as they give permission). The system also sets no restrictions on file size.
On a typical home Internet connection, the backup process to a CrashPlan remote server could take several days or even weeks for a first-time backup. (After that, backups are much faster and happen unnoticed.) The first-time backup for one of my laptops with about 46 gigabytes of data had been running almost continuously for three days when I filed this column on Tuesday. After the initial backup, regular backups won’t take nearly as long. CrashPlan has a mobile app that works on Apple’s iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, Android and Windows Phone 7, allowing remote access to backed-up files.
The free version of CrashPlan enables a daily backup to other computers and hard drives but not to Code 42′s remote servers. The subscription-based CrashPlan+ will back up to the remote servers as well as other computers or hard drives. It can back up as often as once a minute and lets users choose what data to back up where.
CrashPlan’s straightforward user interface clearly shows what your data are doing and where they are being stored.
CrashPlan+ comes in three payment plans, each with its own tiered rates—from a month-to-month option to a four-year subscription. For each of the three plans, the four-year subscription is the least expensive at $ 70, or about $ 1.50 a month per computer for up to 10 gigabytes of data; $ 140 or $ 3 monthly per computer for unlimited storage; and $ 288 or $ 6 monthly for up to 10 computers and unlimited storage. The company offers a free 30-day trial.
I got started by downloading the software to my MacBook, creating an account and starting the initial backup. A scan of my data took a few minutes before the actual backup began. Using my Verizon DSL connection over Wi-Fi, the estimates of how long it would take changed dramatically by the second. I saw estimates of as much as 17.5 days and as little as 6.6 hours.
I also downloaded CrashPlan onto my office Windows PC, which has a fast, hard-wired Ethernet connection. I logged into my account and opted to back up a folder of photos that was roughly 16 gigabytes. The estimate for this backup was a little over one day, though I didn’t adjust CrashPlan settings to get the fastest transfer on this PC. In a simple menu, I could opt to back up the Windows PC to my MacBook as well as to remote servers—or just to the MacBook alone. On my MacBook, I made sure to adjust the settings to get the fastest speed possible for my giant backup.
Code 42 CEO Matthew Dornquast said the worst-case scenario speeds are initially displayed, but that these adjust down as time goes on. In my experience, the initial estimates didn’t change much.
CrashPlan backs up your newest files first on the assumption those mean the most to you, and it encrypts all files, so file names can’t be read on remote servers or backup computers. I liked CrashPlan’s straightforward user interface because it clearly showed me what my data were doing and where it was being stored. A section labeled “Destinations” let me choose where data was backed up and options included “CrashPlan Central” (remote servers), “Friend,” “Another Computer” or “Folder.” A section labeled “Files” showed exactly what was being stored; in my case, this meant 285,930 files. An “Inbound” section showed any computers that were using my computer for backup.
A CrashPlan mobile app is available on a Windows Phone 7, iPhone and Android phone.
In settings, users can opt to be emailed or even sent direct messages via Twitter that tell them the latest backup status. This is helpful if you’re only backing up to, say, one other PC in your house and that PC fails to back up.
In addition to over-the-air backups, CrashPlan users with a lot of data, very little patience or both may want to try an alternate option. For $ 125 (including shipping both ways) and a monthly fee for remote storage, the company will send a one-terabyte hard drive that can be loaded with data and mailed back. Once that huge block of data is initially stored on remote servers, regular backups won’t take nearly as long.
To get data back, a “Restore to Your Door” feature will send you a hard drive filled with your data so you can load it onto a new computer. This also costs $ 125 (with shipping both ways) and the monthly cost of remote storage.
Compared with competitors, CrashPlan fares well. For example, CrashPlan doesn’t limit upload or download speeds, while Carbonite limits upload speeds for large amounts of data after a certain amount has been backed up, further slowing the process. Mozy supports external drives, but this backup is deleted if the drive is disconnected or turned off for more than 30 days. CrashPlan keeps the backup indefinitely, waiting for the drive to be reconnected.
See a video with Katherine Boehret on CrashPlan at WSJ.com/PersonalTech. Email katie.boehret@wsj.com.
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No, it’s not a Philippe Starck-designed hearing aid, although we kind of wish it were. What you’re actually looking at is an over-the-ear sensor, dubbed the e-AR, made to mimic the human vestibular system. In layman’s terms, this 3D accelerometer-equipped device, crafted by Sensixa, is capable of recording real-time information related to posture and orientation, much like the inner ear does, which is then relayed via an embedded low power radio to a remote receiver. The tech, which we spied passing through the FCC’s gates, has already undergone several trials for sports and is now being eyed for use in geriatric care. (Take that, Life Alert pendants.) Interest piqued? Then feel free to peruse the rest of the filing and provided user’s manual at the source below.
Sensixa e-AR duplicates the inner ear, knows if you’ve fallen and can’t get up originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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We do like a good indecipherable timepiece ’round these parts and Click’s KeyPad certainly fits the bill. Resembling an old-school mechanical numerical keypad, each button packs an LED — press any number and it’ll blink out the time in single digits, so if it was 9:15am, the zero, nine, one and five buttons would flash in sequence. Push the hash key and the watch will oblige you for today’s date. If you enjoy frustrating colleagues who ask you for the time, then you’ll be delighted to hear that it costs $ 90 and is shipping now. However, we’re not sure we could pull one off — maybe the hipster down the street will have better success.
Click KeyPad Watch is the timewasting retro-timepiece you’ve been waiting for originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Dec 2011 01:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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If unsolved Google puzzles keep you up at night, you now have one less reason to go sleepless: the Google I/O T-shirt enigma has been unraveled. The picture above contains a series of dots and dashes, which our friends at MobileCrunch recognized as Morse code. Using the line breaks as spaces (new characters), the code then reads:
…. – - .–. –. — — .-.-.- –. .-.. .- ….- -.-. -…. …– —-.
That translates to a URL, which we’ve linked to below. We won’t spoil where it leads, in case you’re feeling noble enough to try decoding it for yourself.
Google I/O 2011 T-shirt puzzle solved, reveals the droid you’ve been looking for originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 May 2011 23:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Perhaps you had your fill of WebGL yesterday after playing Angry Birds from dawn till dusk, but there was an even more graphically intensive Chrome browser experience unveiled at Google I/O this week: “3 Dreams of Black” by Rome. Simply put, it’s an music video that runs in your browser window, starring the talents of Danger Mouse, Daniele Luppi and Norah Jones, but instead of watching Norah serenade you from a stage or set, you’re thrust into dreamlike, interactive 3D worlds. It’s a fantastic tech demo for WebGL and the games it might inspire… and it’s also something you’ll want to experience for yourself. Find it (and the copy of Chrome Canary you may need for it to run well) at the source link below.
’3 Dreams of Black’ is the trippiest WebGL interactive music video you’ve seen all day originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 May 2011 23:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Question by Question Helper: Those annoying “YOU’VE WON A FREE PSP/ Wii/ iPhone” popups!!! ? You know those stupid little pop-ups that are like: “Shoot the pink iPhone, and recieve a free iPhone today!” or “Shoot 4 turkeys and recieve a free Nintendo Wii!”
I just wanted to know if they are true, like if you really fill them out if you’ll really get a free iPhone or Wii. I don’t plan on taking part in it, but i just was curious.
Thanks!
Best answer:
Answer by Morgan Rno there are not true they are virius
Add your own answer in the comments!
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