Forget about raging criminals or outspoken college students, wildlife like bears and moose may soon have to start worrying about getting Tased, too — for, well, being wild. Today, one stun gun manufacturer announced the release of a brand new non-lethal (or, rather not always lethal) alternative for outdoorsmen to enjoy their almost authentic experience in nature — a new Taser designed especially for use on wildlife. Its maker says the product is a more humane form of protection, but aren’t most situations where you might need to Taser an animal best to be avoided anyways?… Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …iPhone rumor two-pack: multitasking gestures and MobileMe Photo Streams? (Update: those pics are real)
January 20, 2011 No Comment
Looks like the iPad might not have an exclusive on those new “multitasking” gestures unearthed in the latest iOS 4.3 beta, because BGR ‘s got some shots up of an purported internal build that seem to indicate Cupertino intends to push them down to the iPhone line as well. Now, there are a couple of obvious red flags here — using “four or five fingers” sounds pretty unreasonable for a 3.5-inch display, though it’d certainly tie in with recent rumors that Apple’s turning sour on the physical Home button and might indicate that the complete redesign we’re hearing about could include a slightly larger display. Of course, it could also indicate that this is really early software with the wrong (read: iPad) wording — but at any rate, we could definitely see the benefit of, say, a two-finger gesture to swipe between apps. Now, on to part two: 9to5 Mac seems to have unearthed traces in the iOS 4.3 beta of a new feature called “Photo Streams” that seems to be — you guessed it — a way to share continuous streams of photos with friends you approve, presumably through MobileMe (which would fit in nicely with the Find my Friends stuff). Alone, that’s not worth $99 a year — plenty of other services offer similar functionality — but we wouldn’t be surprised if this were bundled in with a bunch of MobileMe refreshes this year. Update: We just received an interesting tidbit of information on the above pic (and others that BGR has its hands on). According to sources, after the iPhone 4 barroom debacle, Apple made significant changes to how it keeps track of — and identifies to third parties — its devices. Namely, the company began adding clauses to screens on the phones which read “Confidential and Proprietary, if found, please contact…” followed by a 408 number (that’s Cupertino, of course). This prevents any misunderstanding from parties who may come across these devices. So what does it all mean? Well, not much, save that it seems these photos we’re viewing are in fact the real deal… which means gestures may be headed to your iPhone. Intrigue! iPhone rumor two-pack: multitasking gestures and MobileMe Photo Streams? (Update: those pics are real) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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EITHNE DONNELLAN in Strasbourg SEVERAL MEMBERS of the European Parliament showed their strong opposition to Hungary’s controversial new media law yesterday by placing tape over their mouths and displaying posters bearing the word “censored” when Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban arrived to deliver his first address. Mr Orban was in attendance to mark the start of Hungary’s six-month presidency of the European Union and…
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LARA MARLOWE in Washington “LOST IN Translation” would have been the best title for the joint press conference by President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, in the East Room of the White House yesterday. “I didn’t realise there wasn’t simultaneous translation,” Mr Obama said, almost aghast, after the interminable translation of his remarks into Chinese. Four questions were allowed, two from American journalists, two from Chinese. The process took an excruciating hour and eight minutes and seemed an allegory for the fraught but inescapable relationship between the two countries. When an American accused Mr Hu of failing to answer a previous question about…
Continue reading …The first indictments against Jared Lee Loughner came out today, with plenty more to follow. The indictments from a federal grand jury charge him with the attempted assassination of Gabrielle Giffords and the attempted murder of two of her aides, reports the Arizona Republic . Still to come are federal murder…
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Samsung’s got a reputation for building crazy awesome display technologies , and it just added another one to the stack — with the buyout of Philips-spinoff Liquavista this December, it’s gained quite the foothold in electrowetting . In case you’re not familiar, electrowetting has been repeatedly pitched to us as pretty much the Holy Grail of displays : flexible, colorful, unbreakable, outdoor-readable e-paper screens with high refresh rates and low-power consumption that can be manufactured on existing assembly lines. We’ll have to see if the theories equate to meaningful products, but we imagine ownership by Samsung can’t hurt one bit, especially as the company says it will “expand its leadership in next generation display technologies by pioneering the application of electrowetting in e-Paper and transparent displays.” Sounds like a commitment to us. PR after the break. Continue reading Samsung buys Liquavista, dives headfirst into electrowetting displays Samsung buys Liquavista, dives headfirst into electrowetting displays originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Our subsidized Symbian superphone dreams remain squashed, but it looks like we might have a different party to blame — the Wall Street Journal ‘s anonymous sources say it was Nokia itself who decided to pull plans to launch the X7 exclusively on AT&T. Originally, the phone would would have waved the white globe banner at Mobile World Congress next month, but Nokia reportedly decided that AT&T didn’t have its back, and wouldn’t provide sufficient marketing support — and cheap enough subsidized prices — to make it worth the company’s while. If you simply must have the handset and live in the US, though, we’re sure you’ll still find a way. It’s only a matter of time before Nokia launches in countries more willing to play ball… and unlocked models appear on eBay. WSJ: Nokia X7 canceled for AT&T, but at Espoo’s behest originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 21:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Click here to view this media Alabama Republican Governor Robert Bentley was sworn in Monday and wasted no time in offending his constituents. Speaking to Dexter Street King Memorial Baptist Church, a church once led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Bentley declared himself to be the governor of all Alabamians, but added that non-Christians were not his brothers and sisters . “I was elected as a Republican candidate,” he said. “But once I became governor … I became the governor of all the people. I intend to live up to that. I am color blind.” “There may be some people here today who do not have living within them the Holy Spirit,” Bentley continued. “But if you have been adopted in God’s family like I have, and like you have if you’re a Christian and if you’re saved, and the Holy Spirit lives within you just like the Holy Spirit lives within me, then you know what that makes? It makes you and me brothers. And it makes you and me brother and sister.” “Now I will have to say that, if we don’t have the same daddy, we’re not brothers and sisters. So anybody here today who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their savior, I’m telling you, you’re not my brother and you’re not my sister, and I want to be your brother,” he added. Bentley was later asked if he was trying to be insulting to non-Christians. “We’re not trying to insult anybody,” he replied. “I don’t think he was trying to disenfranchise me, I just think he needs to be a little more sensitive to the fact that there are many different types of Alabamians,” Sheldon Rosenzweig, a member of the Tuscaloosa Jewish synagogue Temple Emanuel, told Tuscaloosa News . “I have real mixed feelings about it. I just hope this is not going to be done in repetition. Many of the people in Alabama who are not Christian are good people.” The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Tuesday was shocked by Bentley’s remarks. “His comments are not only offensive, but also raise serious questions as to whether non-Christians can expect to receive equal treatment during his tenure as governor,” ADL regional director Bill Nigut said. He expressed concern that the new governor may be using his position to evangelize. “If he does so, he is dancing dangerously close to a violation of the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which forbids government from promoting the establishment of any religion,” Nigut noted. Bentley was the second Republican governor who found himself in hot water during the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday. After the NAACP complained that Maine Gov. Paul LePage, a tea party favorite, was not attending their events, the governor responded to a reporter by saying: “Tell ‘em to kiss my butt.” “They are a special interest. End of story … and I’m not going to be held hostage by special interests. And if they want, they can look at my family picture. My son happens to be black, so they can do whatever they’d like about that,” he said.
Continue reading …Two former servers at the Hard Rock Cafe in Orlando—the chain’s biggest site—are suing because they say the restaurant illegally paid them less than minimum wage for three years, the Orlando Sentinel reports. They say Hard Rock broke the law by requiring them to share tips not only…
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