Month: May 2013

Entertainment

‘Iron Man 3’ review: Robert Downey Jr. becomes the latest lethal weapon

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As reported on The Verge. By Bryan Bishop The ’80s buddy action movie comes alive in Marvel’s new superhero epic Iron Man has always been the smartest of Marvel’s film franchises. From the very beginning, it matched Robert Downey Jr.’s effortless charm with a subtle hint of social commentary (Tony Stark is a weapons manufacturer who learns to give back to humanity after an electromagnet is plugged into his chest, after all.) That one-two punch turned what…

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Application

Lumu Is A Digital Light Meter For Photographers That Plugs Into Your iPhone & Tells You What Camera Settings To Use

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As reported on TechCrunch. by NATASHA LOMAS Meet Lumu: a digital light meter for photographers that plugs into the iPhone’s headphone jack as a smaller and smarter replacement for traditional analogue light meters. It’s used in conjunction with Lumu’s app — being demoed in prototype here at hardware alley at Disrupt NY – to help photographers figure out the best camera settings for their current location. Lumu is not going to help you take better photos on your…

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Military Mobile

Pentagon Clears BlackBerry, Samsung Devices For Defense Dept Use

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As reported on TechCrunch. by CATHERINE SHU BlackBerry and Samsung devices have been given the go-ahead for use on Defense Department networks. The approved devices are BlackBerry 10 smartphones, BlackBerry PlayBook tablets using the Enterprise Service 10 system and Samsung’s Android Knox. The Pentagon said earlier this week that it also expects to clear Apple devices using iOS 6 in early May. Pentagon spokesman Lt Col Damien Pickart said in a statement that “this is a significant step…

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Education Science

Harvard University’s robotic insect takes its first controlled flight (video)

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As reported on Engadget. By Sean Buckley There’s hardly a shortage of animal inspired robots, but few are as tiny as Harvard’sautonomous RoboBee. The robotic insect has been around for a while, but researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering only recently managed a minor breakthrough: controlled flight. Using new manufacturing and design processes, the team has managed to keep the coin-sized bug aloft by independently manipulating the robot’s wings with piezoelectric actuators and a delicate control system. “This…

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Military

Navy launches first drone squadron, comprised of ten Fire Scout MQ-8Bs

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As reported on Engadget By Nicole Lee The US Navy has officially introduced unmanned aircraft along with eight newly manned helicopters into its squadron, making it the latest military branch after theArmy and the Air Force to embrace the drone. Indeed, ten of the 18 aircraft to be deployed are Fire Scout MQ-8Bs, an unmanned chopper the Navy wishes to operate from combat ships set in the Pacific in about a year. Built to track targets, the Fire Scout…

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Mobile

Verizon releases substantial Galaxy Note II update, improves Multi Window support Mobile

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As reported on Engadget. By Mat Smith Alongside a bump up to Android 4.1.2, Verizon’s Galaxy Note II update (which is apparently rolling out now) adds plenty of improvements and features. As well as fixing several bugs with its calendar and email apps, the refresh adds Multi Window support to some key players, including Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Kindle and Google Maps — a feature that was there from the start on the global model. There’s also a new notification…

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Application Google

Google Play comes to Barnes & Noble’s Nook HD and HD+, we go hands-on (video) Hands-on

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As reported on Engadget. By Brian Heater Barnes & Noble’s refusal to open its ecosystem has long been one of our primary complaints about the company’s tablet offerings. The Nook HD and HD+ are extremely nice pieces of hardware that have been held back by their own walled software offerings — having a fast device with a nice screen only gets you so far without the proper apps. The company line up to now has been that walling off content…

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Politics

Bombshell New Study Shows That Expanding Medicaid Does Nothing To Improve People’s Health

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As reported on Businessinsider.com by James Pethokoukis I’m not sure if this counts as one those healthcare “glitches and bumps,” President Obama talked about the other day. But whatever term you choose, it’s hardly a good harbinger for Obamacare and its dramatic Medicaid expansion. New results from the Oregon Health Study — a “landmark study” in the words of The New York Times – comparing thousands of low-income people in Oregon who received Medicaid access with those who didn’t found that…

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Review

Lenovo IdeaPad Z400 Touch

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As reported on Wired. reviewed by: Christopher Null 600 Bucks, and Worth Every Penny Photo by Ariel Zambelich/Wired   While jaded tech writers and reviewers have become accustomed to seeing $1,000-plus price tags on laptops, the reality is that the vast majority of the rest of the world’s buyers aren’t ready to pay such lofty prices. For years, the average selling price of a Windows laptop has hovered around a mere $500, according to NPD Group, a…

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Legal

Three men charged with helping Boston Marathon bombing suspect destroy evidence

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As reported on The Verge. By Adi Robertson Three more suspects have been charged in relation to April’s Boston Marathon bombings — not for any role in the bombing itself, but for helping to destroy evidence for friend and alleged bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. According to documents released by the FBI, University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth students Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov knew Tsarnaev from college. In the wake of the bombing, both these two and a…

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