Month: February 2014

Entertainment

Watch Die Hard and Other Classics in 60 Seconds Flat

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As reported on Wired. BY LAURA HUDSON In this fast-paced modern world of ours, it can be hard to find time for the things that matter, like watchingDie Hard for the 50th time. Thankfully, 1A4 Studio has you covered: their recent video condenses John McClaine’s 132-minute adventure at Nakatomi Plaza into a tight 60 seconds of stick-figure animation. It’ll only be fun for fans of Die Hard, but since that covers pretty much everyone, we’re good to go.…

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Moviefone’s iconic phone service is shutting down after 25 years

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As reported on The Verge. By David Pierce If you call 777-FILM right now to try and order movie tickets, the greeting will be a warm bath of nostalgia for anyone who saw Titanic or Dumb and Dumber in theaters: “Hello, and welcome to Moviefone!” Hang up immediately. What comes next is a different, sadder voice, asking you to hang up the phone and download the Moviefone app instead. That’s because after 25 years, Moviefone is shutting down its phone…

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Business Hardware Dev Mobile

Sony’s Waterproof Wearable To Be Available Worldwide In March

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As reported on TechCrunch.  by Matt Burns Sony introduced the SmartBand SWR10 at CES 2014. The diminutive wearable is part of Sony’s push into an ever-connected experience centered around its Xperia products. Sony was mum about the release schedule back at CES, but today, at Mobile World Congress, the company announced that the device will be available in 60 markets next month. The SmartBand sports the standard affair of fitness tracking. But Sony is positioning this device…

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Garmin’s new app turns Sony’s Smartwatch 2 into a tiny sat-nav

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As reported on Engadget. BY DANIEL COOPER We like the idea of hooking our watches into our phones, so when we wander around foreign lands, we don’t look like as much of a tourist. Garmin agrees, and has launched a navigation app specifically for Sony’s Xperia devices that’ll push real-time directions straight to the SmartWatch 2. Acting like a premium sat-nav, the app offers offline maps, walking directions, real-time traffic and active lane guidance. It’ll launch in March, and when you’re…

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Alcatel’s ‘smartbook’ concept: a laptop powered by a smartphone over the air (video)

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As reported on Engadget. BY RICHARD LAI At MWC, Alcatel was kind enough to give us a preview of its working “smartbook” prototypes. The idea isn’t too far off from Motorola’s doomed Lapdock or the first-gen ASUS PadFone, where an Android phone powers an otherwise brainless laptop. What’s different with Alcatel’s implementation is that instead of having to physically dock the phone somewhere, you hook it up to the laptop wirelessly: video signal over WiFi, and keyboard plus trackpad input over…

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Mobile

Samsung’s next Galaxy will be wet, fit, and alive

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As reported on The Verge. By Vlad Savov To the power of 5 Mere days away from its big Unpacked event at Mobile World Congress, Samsung has issued the first video teaser for the major product it’ll announce in Barcelona: the next Galaxy. Anticipated to be the Korean company’s new flagship phone, the Galaxy S5 still remains a mystery, but there are a few intriguing hints in the new video. The words “fit,” “wet,” “outdoor,” and “alive”…

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Automotive

‘Tron’ designer creates a real-world superbike

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As reported on The Verge. By Aaron Souppouris Lotus and Kodewa reunite for the limited-run C-01 Lotus has a new superbike called the C-01. Designed by Daniel Simon, whose work you’ll know from Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, and Captain America, the bike balances the Lotus form of old with a decidedly modern finish. Although Simon is more known for his concept work, and the C-01 certainly looks like a designer’s wild fantasy, the bike will actually go on sale: the British company…

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And Now For Your Smartphone’s Next Trick: Seeing And Understanding, Courtesy Of Google

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As reported on TechCrunch. by Darrell Etherington   Your smartphone hosts a bevy of sensors that do many things within its sleek case. But thanks to a new project, dubbed Tango, by Google’s Advanced Technology And Projects (ATAP) group, your next one might have one more superpower: visual spatial awareness. As in, your next smartphone might be able to not only see, but also to understand its surroundings.   If that seems like something out of science fiction,…

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Automotive

Volkswagen’s Golf GTE is the fast plug-in hybrid you might actually buy

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As reported on Engadget. BY JON FINGAS There aren’t many quick plug-in hybrids with reasonable price tags, but Volkswagen may just lower the cost of eco-friendly performance with its newly unveiled Golf GTE. The hot hatchback mates a 148HP gas engine with a 101HP electric motor, giving the Golf enough combined power to reach 62MPH in 7.6 seconds — pretty brisk for a plug-in that should still be affordable and practical. If you’re not always in such a…

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Google offers its help to monitor deforestation in near-real-time (video)

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As reported on Engadget. BY TIMOTHY J. SEPPALA Google is no stranger to humanitarian work, and its latest effort is helping keep an unflinching eye on the world’s trees. For its part in the Global Forest Watch, the search giant is providing tech (namely, Earth and Maps) that allows virtually anyone to monitor deforestation on a massive scale. Let’s say you want to peek at how much of Brazil’s rain forest has been clear-cut in since 2008. You can do that. Even better,…

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