Hey, listen, do you smell something? That’s the sight of a reader meetup coming over the horizon, fast! As we told you a few weeks back , we’re having a bit of a party on Thursday, August 25th at Guastavino’s , which is located at 59th Street in New York City . Things will kick off at 6:30pm that night and run until 10:30pm. It’s an all-ages event, but we can only manage 1,000 people in there at a time, and it’s first-come first-served, so don’t be late. We’ll have more Engadget editors on hand than you can shake a Bluetooth keyboard at, along with good friends from Joystiq and TUAW plus gadgets, giveaways and maybe some surprises. If you’re a member of the media who would like to attend, an exhibitor who wants to show something off to the fans, or a sponsor who wants to be a part of the insanity, please e-mail us at meetup at engadget dot com . Everybody else, sit tight until then, and get ready to party! The NYC Engadget Reader Meetup is less than two weeks away! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Apple patent application proves that Steve Jobs hates fingerprints as much as you do, probably more
August 12, 2011 No Comment
Steve Jobs doesn’t like fingerprints any more than you do, and given the man’s focus on aesthetic perfection, we suspect that smudged displays are the sort of thing that keeps him awake at night. Apple has certainly flirted with oleophobic anti-grease displays in the past, but a newly surfaced patent application takes the whole thing to a new level. “Direct Liquid Vaporization for Oleophobic Coatings” outlines an intense process for the application of a grease resistant coating, whereby the substance is “placed in a liquid supply system coupled to a vacuum chamber,” pressurized, vaporized, and then deposited. Take that, finger grease. Apple patent application proves that Steve Jobs hates fingerprints as much as you do, probably more originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 20:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Bay Area transit operator cuts cell service to thwart protest, activists abandon cause for Angry Birds
August 12, 2011 No Comment
It looks like not even good old civil disobedience can survive without decent reception these days. In a seemingly successful attempt to shut down a protest of BART — the Bay Area’s answer to a subway system — operators pulled the plug on cell service to multiple train stations, leaving would-be activists without a major organizing tool. The demonstration would have been the second in as many months in response to the shooting of a man by transit police. Officials had this to say in defense of the disruption: A civil disturbance during commute times at busy downtown San Francisco stations could lead to platform overcrowding and unsafe conditions for BART customers, employees and demonstrators. BART temporarily interrupted service at select BART stations as one of many tactics to ensure the safety of everyone on the platform. That didn’t seem to sit well with some, as the cutoff has lead to a campaign by hackers, comparing the system to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who disconnected the country’s internet during its recent revolution. It may have a ring to it, but muBARTek does seem a little much, don’t you think? Bay Area transit operator cuts cell service to thwart protest, activists abandon cause for Angry Birds originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 21:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Worried that Netflix isn’t doing enough to appeal to the under-10 set? Good news, the movie rental giant has begun testing a “Just for Kids” section, rolling out the feature to a limited number of subscribers. Eligible users will find a tab just to the right of the Watch Instantly button. At the top of the new page is a series of familiar children’s characters, including the likes of Spongebob, Popeye, and, yep, the Jonas Brothers. Each character has its own landing page with easily accessible content. We reached out to Netflix for more information on the matter, and the company would only confirm that the feature is still in testing mode. Given the amount of nostalgia currently available, we suspect that kids of all ages will be pitching in with the trial. Netflix dons its square pants with ‘Just for Kids’ section trial originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Segways can be tiring, what with all that required standing, but now even the laziest among us can enjoy the self-propelled fun with a sitdown solution . The Audi A0 concept, developed as a joint collaboration between Technische Universit
Continue reading …Microsoft patents new type of mobile slider, puts keyboards and screens on equal footing
August 12, 2011 No Comment
Patents are the currency of the realm these days, and companies accrue them however they can — whether filing for their own or buying someone else’s . Microsoft’s no stranger to the patent game, and it’s added one more piece to its IP stockpile in the form of a “moveable housing of a mobile communications device.” A broad title, to be sure, but the patent essentially covers sliders where the keyboard ends up flush with the screen after it’s moved. In existing designs, the sliding display gets in the way of pressing the top row of keys, and squishing the grid’s size or fattening up the phone are the only ways to make space for fingers to press them. This new design frees phalanges and keys from such constraints, and adds a little something to the phone’s aesthetics as well. Sounds great Microsoft, now put this patent in the capable hands of Nokia’s hardware engineers and get to work making a sleek new WP7 slider, stat! Microsoft patents new type of mobile slider, puts keyboards and screens on equal footing originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 18:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Find your Nikon or Canon lens mug a little too big for some other beverages you may enjoy from time to time? Then you might want to consider stocking your cupboard with a few of these lens shot glasses now available from Photojojo (and made by DERELIQ). They’re are only available in the Canon variety so far, but they are just as detailed as their larger counterpart, right down to the raised switches and image stabilizer markings — we hear that feature leaves a bit to be desired, though. $18 will buy you a set of three. Shot glass lens set likely won’t improve your photography originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Ferrari president Luca di Montezemelo doesn’t believe in electric cars, Santa Claus (video)
August 12, 2011 No Comment
As saucy as some of them may be, today’s electric car is definitely a novelty. Still, it’s not too hard to imagine a future where the majority of autos run on electrons — whether they’re pushed from batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. Not everybody’s down with that idea, and one of those EV detractors is the incredibly suave Ferrari president Luca di Montezemelo. We recently had a chance to chat briefly with the man who said — in no unequivocal terms — that there is no electric Ferrari coming: You will never see a Ferrari electric because I don’t believe in electric cars, because I don’t think they represent an important step forward for pollution or CO2 or the environment. But, we are working very, very hard on the hybrid Ferrari. This should be the future, and I hope in a couple of years you can see it. So what’s next for the brand of the prancing horse? A hybrid, of course, which we’re guessing will be more Porsche 918 than Toyota Prius . Still, ruling out EVs in the future seems perhaps a bit… restricting, but keep in mind Luca did say this was only his policy. Continue reading Ferrari president Luca di Montezemelo doesn’t believe in electric cars, Santa Claus (video) Ferrari president Luca di Montezemelo doesn’t believe in electric cars, Santa Claus (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 16:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …HAPMAP navigational system keeps your eyes on the prize, your hands on the route (video)
August 12, 2011 No Comment
Alternative navigational systems aren’t exactly new, but the concept shown here just might have wings. HAPMAP was one of a handful of projects selected for demonstration at SIGGRAPH ‘s E-tech event, aiming to keep a human’s eye away from the map (and in turn, on whatever’s in front of them) by developing a system that guides via haptics. With a handheld device capable of both navigating and vibrating, the interface indicates complex navigation cues that follow the curvature of a road or path — it’s far more detailed than the typical “go straight,” and there’s also opportunity here to provide handicapped individuals with a method for getting to previously inaccessible locales. By mimicking the operation and interface of sliding handrails (as well as using motion capture cameras), it’s particularly useful for the visually impaired, who need these subtle cues to successfully navigate a winding path. Hop on past the break for a couple of demonstration vids. Gallery: HAPMAP navigational system demo at SIGGRAPH 2011 Continue reading HAPMAP navigational system keeps your eyes on the prize, your hands on the route (video) HAPMAP navigational system keeps your eyes on the prize, your hands on the route (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Bad news T-Mobile fans: AllThingsD just confirmed that throttling on the 200MB plan is going the way of the dodo , with the carrier opting to charge overage fees instead. Under the new entry-level plan, those exceeding their monthly allotment will face a $0.10 overage per megabyte, until their penalties reach $30 — the capped surcharge. The switchover won’t happen until midnight tomorrow (the 13th), so those of you seeking to get grandfathered into the throttled plan better hop to it. Or you could just splurge on a pricier data plan, just like Little Magenta would want you to… T-Mobile: overages on 200MB data plan in, throttling out originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 14:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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