Archive for News

AT&T Buys T-Mobile for $39 billion

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on March 20th, 2011

AT&T has announced that it is acquiring T-Mobile USA for $39 Billion. I guess that’s the going rate for adding 33M customers all at once. Combined, the new entity will have about 129M subscribers. Both networks use GSM as the basic building block, so network consolidation should be pretty effortless.

AT&T has just become more powerful. Deutsche Telecom, the parent company will have an 8% stake in AT&T if the deal is approved by the government. T-Mobile users will gain access to the iPhone and eventually to AT&T’s 4G LTE network. What do you think? Is this ultimately good for consumers?

The Batman Suite is $50 for 3 Hours

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on March 15th, 2011

At rates like that, no wonder Bruce Wayne is rich. If you want to live the Batman lifestyle, you have to pay. The Eden Exoticism Planet Hotel in Taiwan has a one-of-a-kind Bat Cave designed for your Bat-inspired erotic fantasies.

It will cost you $50 for three hours. You and your Bat-girl will be treated to special touches like a yellow and black bat signal headboard and an actual batmobile seat. There are bats of course, movie posters and other bat-fixtures as well.

Jolicloud outs Joli OS 1.2

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on March 10th, 2011

As promised, Jolicloud is now offering Joli OS 1.2 for download. Sounds jolly to us. The cloud-based operating system makes finding, making and sharing web apps easier than ever before. The app creation process is whats new, letting users quickly create simple apps.

The OS has a large social component, letting users follow other Joli OS users and see their apps. Aside from that, the interface has also been refreshed, and Dropbox is integrated to allow file sharing between Joli OS devices. There’s also an HTML 5-based Chrome web app that doesn’t require you to download any software, just log in.

20% of Americans use the internet while driving

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on March 3rd, 2011

Texting while driving is already a serious problem, but now there’s another danger to watch out for. Drivers who use the internet on the phone while driving. According to a survey by US insurance company, State Farm, one in five Americans that own a smartphone admits to using the internet while driving.

One of the biggest reasons they log on to the internet is to check their social networks. Other reasons cited were looking for directions, reading email or just searching for topics that interest them. Most of the time this occurs during red lights or when drivers are caught in traffic jams. I guess that at least is good news.

The crystal ball gets updated for the 21st century

Posted in News by Reuben Drake on March 1st, 2011

I see the future of the crystal ball…It is hazy…No wait. Here it is. This 3.9″ crystal ball displays a hologram type of image inside, so it would be perfect to display a company’s advertisement, but pricey.

We’re talking over the $4,000 mark. Just connect it to a DVD or video player to project footage into a new magical dimension. It can also be enjoyed at home if you are wealthy enough. Wow your friends with films, music videos and games in a whole new way. Or heck, just use it in your palm reading business.

Coke and Heinz to use PlantBottles

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on February 24th, 2011

The Coca-Cola Company has announced that its bottle technology will now also be used by Heinz for its ketchup packaging. The bottle technology was launched in 2009 and uses a plastic sourced from sugarcane waste to replace 30 per cent of the plastic in bottles.

Heinz will introduce PlantBottled ketchup this summer across the US. That means that 120 million of its 20-ounce retail and foodservice bottles will now get the partly renewable packaging. These PlantBottles will even have a special label with environmental messages. Coke wants to invest more than $150 million in the PlantBottle technology. Their goal is to reach 100 per cent renewable and recyclable packaging as soon as they can.

Girl Scouts in Ohio accepting mobile payments for cookies

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on February 24th, 2011

Girl scout cookies. Tasty and overpriced. So it’s understandable if you don’t have the cash that these girls want for their goods. If you’re in Northeast Ohio you won’t need cash anymore. The local Girl Scout group there has teamed up with Intuit to accept credit cards using the company’s GoPayment app for iOS and Android.

The Ohio group may have been the first to sign up, but Intuit is now also extending the same offer to Girl Scout organizations across the US. So you will likely see this in your area as well.

iGrow promises to regrow your hair

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on February 22nd, 2011

Listen up all you George Costanzas and Captain Picards. Laser-based hair rejuvenation is your answer. Specifically the iGrow, a stylish new bit of head-gear from Apira Science. It features 21 laser diodes and 30 LED lights.

The company says that this machine matches the output of most clinical hair lasers, and it should result in “thicker, fuller and healthier” hair in just a “few short months.” You buying this? The iGrow also includes a remote that has been programmed for both men and women, and it has a built-in set of headphones that you can use with your own iPod or MP3 player. Damn. This thing is packed with features. It will cost you $695.

Borders files for bankruptcy

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on February 16th, 2011

It’s official, Borders, the second largest bookstore chain the U.S., has filed for bankruptcy. The company will continue to operate while it restructures, but it will be just a shadow of it’s former self. It has to close around 200 of its stores, about 30 percent. After that, it might need to close another 75.

Though the company hasn’t produced its own e-book reader, it has partnered with Kobo to sell its device, and it has established its own e-book store that is used by various e-reader apps for smartphones and tablets. We don’t know yet if the bankruptcy will affect those or not.

Watson Beats Humans in Round Two on Jeopardy!

Posted in News by Darrin Olson on February 15th, 2011

IBM's Watson beats humans on Jeopardy!IBM’s Watson computer triumphed over its human competitors on Tuesday’s special episode of Jeopardy. The computerized trivia-playing machine finished out with a total of $35,734 in winnings with the next runner up at $10,400 and 3rd place at $5,000. One more day of competition will determine an overall winner to a $1 million prize.

The man vs machine competition has drawn quite a bit of attention with two Jeopardy! champions taking on the IBM supercomputer named ‘Watson’. The first special episode which aired Monday night turned out to be the highest rated episode since early 2007 and the second most program of the night.

Gadget uses electric vibrations to straighten your nose

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on February 8th, 2011

Women who can’t afford nose jobs in Japan have at least one more option now, thanks to the Electric Beauty Lift High Nose. The idea is that it will straighten your nose. And if you believe that, I have some swampland to sell you.

The Electric Beauty Lift High Nose supposedly uses electric vibrations to straighten your nose, while making you look ridiculous at the same time. Anyway, if this worked, there would be no crooked noses in the world.

Crazy gadget forces your kids to smile

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on February 6th, 2011

This seems more like something Batman’s Joker would use on unsuspecting Gotham residents, but it was actually created by a Japanese inventor. It’s called the Electro Smile. The device hooks onto your child’s face, then constantly sends electricity to your child’s cheeks, triggering the muscles to make them smile.

Creepy huh? It has an adjustable current, so even the most stubborn kid can be made to smile. This is definitely the work of a Batman villain. Why the long face son? Zap! he he he ha ha ha.

Flickr recovers deleted photographs

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on February 3rd, 2011

Yesterday we reported that a Flickr user had lost 4,000 photographs due to an accident that caused his account to be deleted. Luckily for him, he brought attention to his case throughout the internet. Bad press is something that Flickr doesn’t want, so today they corrected the situation.

The user had his account reinstated and his 4,000 photographs were restored. He was also rewarded with 25 years of Flickr Pro membership. The official statement from Flickr below:

Flickr accidentally deletes 4,000 plus photos

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on February 2nd, 2011

“The best online photo management and sharing application in the world.” may not be able to make that claim any longer. It has deleted more than 4,000 pictures from a very prolific user. Flickr then sent photo blogger Mirco Wilhelm a so-called apology.

Understandably it irritated Mirco even further as he took to his blog with a post titled “You have to f**king kidding, Yahoo!” So, how did this happen? Well, Mirco realized that another blogger was using his photos and wanted Flickr to help, so he reported the problem. Then Flickr “accidentally deleted” Mirco’s account and when he contacted Flickr about this they responded like this:

Visa begins iPhone ‘iWallet’ payment tests in Europe

Posted in News by Conner Flynn on February 1st, 2011

We still need to carry around our credit cards in our wallets, so why not turn your handset into an e-wallet? Might as well. That’s what Visa Europe has in mind with the first commercial deployment of its iPhone payments App.

NFC-capable iPhones should be on their way later this year and the AAPL intends to look into ways for merchants to obtain a cheap and easy set-up for payment kiosks so that mobile payments can be easily handled with the proper infrastructure in place. This iPhone payment system requires users to use an add-on device before making a payment, but the iPhone 5 may have a built-in e-wallet if the rumors turn out to be true.