We have some somber news to bring you this morning: Robert Morris, the cryptographer who helped create Unix , has died at the age of 78. Morris began his work on the groundbreaking OS back in 1970 at AT&T’s Bell Laboratories, where he played a major role in developing Unix’s math library, password structure and encryption functions. His cryptographic exploration continued into the late 1970s, when he began writing a paper on an early encryption tool from Germany. But the paper would never see the light of day, thanks to a request from the NSA, which was concerned about potential security ramifications. Instead, the agency brought Morris on board as a computer security expert in 1986. Much of what he did for Uncle Sam remains classified, though he was involved in internet surveillance projects and cyber warfare — including what might have been America’s first cyberattack in 1991, when the US crippled Saddam Hussein’s control capabilities during the first Gulf War. Morris stayed with the NSA until 1994, when he retired to New Hampshire. He’s survived by his wife, three children and one, massive digital fingerprint. [Image courtesy of the New York Times ] Robert Morris, man who helped develop Unix, dies at 78 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 08:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
Better Place continued on its quest of global EV-battery-switching domination, Tuesday, bringing its special drop-and-swap charging solution to the fine folks of Gladsaxe, Denmark. An automated robot arm ceremoniously traded out the battery in a Renault Fluence Z.E. , marking the beginning of a nine-month roll out across the country. The aptly titled Battery Switch station is the first of its kind in Europe and the first of 20 to be installed in Denmark. It was a monumental occasion, to be sure, one that could have only benefited from a performance of Michael Jackson’s Heal the World as sung by Danish humanoid (and ladies’ man) Geminoid-DK . Full PR after the break. [Thanks, Tesoo] Continue reading Denmark lands Europe’s first Better Place EV battery swapping station Denmark lands Europe’s first Better Place EV battery swapping station originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 07:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Screen Grabs: Nokia X7 scores cameo in third Transformers movie, joined by N950 lookalike
July 1, 2011 No Comment
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com. Nokia’s hookup with the new Transformers movie runs deep — some of its international X7 launches have been themed around the Dark of the Moon three-quel that’s just come out in cinemas — so it’s no surprise to see plenty of the company’s handsets in the film itself. The metal-backed, 4-inch X7 gets the most screen time, quickly showing off Ovi Maps in 3D , but there’s also a portrait QWERTY device which may be the recently launched E6 or an earlier model such as the E72. A lot of consternation has also arisen regarding a third Nokia handset glimpsed in Transformers 3 , which could well be an N950 running MeeGo, though if you ask us, there’s no way a MeeGo phone would take 157 minutes to save the world. We’d expect a double-tap to kill the baddies, an edge-to-edge swipe to get the girl, and a simple flicking gesture to turn the lights out. [Thanks, Nicholas] Screen Grabs: Nokia X7 scores cameo in third Transformers movie, joined by N950 lookalike originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 06:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Samsung Galaxy Z: Galaxy S II’s ‘affordable little brother’ now ready for pre-order
July 1, 2011 No Comment
Been lusting after the Galaxy S II , but aren’t willing to break the bank? We hear you, and apparently Samsung does too. Up for pre-order today, on the Swedish arm of Three, is the Galaxy Z — billed as a more affordable spawn from its Korean progenitor. The Gingerbread-toting handset will sport a 4.2-inch Super Clear LCD, 1GHz dual core processor (rumored to be Tegra 2), and 8GB of onboard storage, extensible with microSD. Fret not camera junkies, also present is a 5 megapixel sensor plus flash and “HD” video recording. All that stands between you and this little Galaxy, are 4,000 kronor (about $630) and your undying love of Swedish meatballs. Samsung Galaxy Z: Galaxy S II’s ‘affordable little brother’ now ready for pre-order originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 05:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …
The IdeaPad K1 is really living up to its name these days, existing merely as an idea and a visualized concept, but not a real deal purchasable commodity. That’s changing ever so slowly, however, with an appearance among Amazon’s pre-order inventory, where the Tegra 2 Android slate is accompanied by the $499.99 price tag we saw just over a week ago. The major specs are as we’ve heard them before: a 10.1-inch screen with 1280 x 800 resolution and 300 nits of brightness, a microSD card reader, micro-HDMI out, and, interestingly, a SIM card slot. The latter doesn’t quite confirm that we’re looking at a 3G tablet, but comes close to it. Also close should be the K1′s release date, which isn’t spelled out by Amazon, but should be arriving any time now. Lenovo IdeaPad K1 up for Amazon pre-order, still toting $500 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 04:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Consortium including Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, RIM and Sony snags Nortel patents for $4.5 billion
July 1, 2011 No Comment
News that Google had competition for a bundle of patents being sold by bankrupt Nortel Networks surfaced a week ago and now it’s official; a consortium of companies including Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, RIM and Sony won the multi-day auction with a bid of $4.5 billion. According to Reuters , RIM contributed $770 million to the effort while Ericsson is on the hook for $340 million when the deal closes, which is expected to be in the third quarter of this year. What they’ll do with the over 6,000 patents and patent applications covering everything from wireless to optical to semiconductors isn’t immediately clear, but what won’t happen is Google using them as leverage to stave off the patent trolling hordes . Before any of that happens, the sale has to clear US and Canadian courts which is why a joint hearing has been scheduled for July 11th, so expect plenty of words — and probably a few more cross licensing agreements — from the involved parties by then. Continue reading Consortium including Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, RIM and Sony snags Nortel patents for $4.5 billion Consortium including Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, RIM and Sony snags Nortel patents for $4.5 billion originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 01:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Google Takeout promises radical left wing-themed data extraction for Circles, more (video)
July 1, 2011 No Comment
A team of khaki-clad Google engineers, calling itself the Data Liberation Front, has taken up the cause of freeing your data from the restrictive confines of El Goog’s servers. Google Takeout, as the program has been billed, rips your various stashes of data from Buzz, Circles, Picasa, Contacts, and your Google Profile, and quickly bundles them in a zip file for download. The resulting booty is yours to do with as you choose. Takeout was announced the same day Google’s latest social initiative sprung to life, offering an alternative to the notoriously hard to transfer data of its obvious competitor . But we’re sure that was just a coincidence. Right? A hilariously nerdy promo video awaits you after the break. Continue reading Google Takeout promises radical left wing-themed data extraction for Circles, more (video) Google Takeout promises radical left wing-themed data extraction for Circles, more (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 03:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Official: Ricoh set to acquire Pentax camera brand and business, get serious about digital imaging
June 30, 2011 No Comment
Reuters is reporting a bit of board room activity in Japan this morning, which could, by the end of today, result in Ricoh purchasing the Pentax brand and camera business from current owner and proprietor Hoya Corporation. The global news agency points out that Hoya’s initial acquisition of Pentax , back in 2007, was primarily motivated by its eagerness to acquire Pentax’s medical technology, and although the company’s had a slew of strong products since then, it probably makes sense for Hoya to pass the digicam work on to someone who might feel more invested in it. For its part, Ricoh also has a well respected line of digital compacts, but lacks the DSLR lineage and experience that Pentax brings. Provided this deal goes through as rumored, and Reuters has three sources who say it’s imminent, the only question we’ve got to ponder is whether the Pentax naming will take over for Ricoh’s slightly less recognizable branding or vice versa. Update: That was quick! Hoya has confirmed the sale . Thanks, Ben! It is as reported earlier: Hoya will hang on to the rights to manufacture and develop products for the medical field, while Ricoh is gobbling up the Pentax Imaging Systems products with a view to expanding its presence in the consumer digital camera market. Official: Ricoh set to acquire Pentax camera brand and business, get serious about digital imaging originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 02:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …GMC showroom app tells you where to pick up your dream SUV, doesn’t help with down payment
June 30, 2011 No Comment
Ever felt the need to customize vehicles and search dealer inventory, right from the comfort of your smartphone? Us neither, but here’s the General with another app to whet our appetites. While certainly not the first of its kind, the GMC showroom app for iOS (coming soon to Android), allows you to specify drive-type, trim, and both exterior / interior colors. Once content with your selections, you’re shown nearby dealers carrying exact replicas of your magnificent taste. Unfortunately for us, the app makes no mention of the closest EN-V . If SUVs are you’re thing, however, have a peep at the free app at the source link below. Continue reading GMC showroom app tells you where to pick up your dream SUV, doesn’t help with down payment GMC showroom app tells you where to pick up your dream SUV, doesn’t help with down payment originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories’ builds a 555 chip you can rest your feet on
June 30, 2011 No Comment
A 555 timer chip may be pretty versatile as far as integrated circuits go, but when it comes to helping you take a load off, well, it’s a little… small. The opposite is true of this version built by the folks at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories , however, which makes up for what it lacks in transistors and silicon with some first class foot-resting abilities. Best of all, the lab has provided a complete guide for building your own — that includes the use of a CNC machine and laser etching, although it could also be built the old fashioned way pretty easily (or scaled up to coffee table size, for that matter) if you’re so inclined. Hit the source link below for all the details. Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories’ builds a 555 chip you can rest your feet on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 23:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …