Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Apple's nano-SIM proposal draws fire from Motorola, Nokia, RIM

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Giesecke & Devrient's nano-SIM design is fueling quite the standards battle over in Europe, with Apple sitting in one corner, and the troika of Motorola, Nokia and RIM looming in the other. That's according to the Financial Times, which reports today that Cupertino is leading a charge to push its own nano-SIM proposal through Europe's standards body, ETSI, much to the chagrin of its competitors. According to FT's sources, Apple's version of the nano-SIM would call for a "drawer" to protect it, much like the designs already featured in the iPhone and iPad. Though the standard would be available to all manufacturers under license, there's a lingering fear that Apple may eventually own all the patents pertaining to its proposal. Plus, its rivals would have to re-engineer their handsets to meet Apple's proposed design, even though Nokia claims its solution offers "significant technical advantages." ETSI is slated to vote on the proposals next week, but FT claims that the company has already garnered support from most of Europe's providers. Just to be sure, though, Cupertino is applying to become the largest voting member at ETSI, and is looking to register a full six European subsidies under its name. Each subsidy can wield up to 45 votes, meaning that if approved, Apple would overtake Nokia as the organization's largest voting body. Nokia, for its part, has filed a document in protest.

Apple's nano-SIM proposal draws fire from Motorola, Nokia, RIM originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Mar 2012 00:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/21/apple-nano-sim-motorola-nokia-rim-standard/

FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS

14-inch Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook review (NP530U4B-A01U)

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Pop quiz: which of the following is being marketed as an Ultrabook? Behind door number one, we have a 2.5-pound wisp of a laptop with a 13-inch screen, Core i5 CPU and 128GB SSD. Next up there's contestant number two, a 3.94-pound notebook with a 14-inch display, 500GB hard drive, and DVD burner. If you guessed the latter, well, congrats on reading that headline correctly, though we'd understand if you said that first option sounds like the Ultrabook.

Indeed, Samsung's Series 5 Ultrabooks are a tad plumper than most, and look especially oversized next to the Series 9, that other ultraportable we've been describing. But it's not just Samsung using loose parameters to decide what counts as an Ultrabook. If Intel's own forecast is correct, half of the 75-plus models that go on sale this year will have 14- or 15-inch screens, and we've already seen a sampling of contenders from HP, Acer and Toshiba. The idea, say PC makers, is to lure in a more old-fashioned kind of customer, shoppers who aren't quite ready to ditch their DVD drive, and who aren't keen on stepping down to a too-small screen. At the same time, these laptops are thinner and lighter than similarly sized laptops, last longer on a charge and hold the promise of faster performance -- three reasons manufacturers can get away with charging more than they would for a plain 'ol laptop.

In a nutshell, that's the value proposition behind the 14-inch Series 5, which costs $949 and comes bearing a Core i5 processor, 500GB hybrid hard drive and, of course, a DVD burner. But do the benefits of a bigger Ultrabook outweigh the annoyances? And how does it compare to regular 14-inch laptops that aren't classified as ultraportables (and that don't command the Ultrabook tax)? Let's find out.

Continue reading 14-inch Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook review (NP530U4B-A01U)

14-inch Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook review (NP530U4B-A01U) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/20/14-inch-samsung-series-5-ultrabook-review-np530u4b-a01u/

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iPad 3: All the latest rumors in one place

The long-awaited iPad 3 is set to be unveiled this Wednesday, March 7th. Here is TabletBuzzBlog’s round-up of all the current rumors about this hotly-anticipated tablet. Rumor: MacRumors claims that they’ve got hold of the iPad 3 screen spec, and that the new display, although the same physical size as the iPad 1 and 2, will be able to handle DOUBLE the resolution – that’s a whopping 2048×1536 pixels! This would make playing of HD videos and games even more enjoyable [...]

Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/ipad-3-all-the-latest-rumors-in-one-place/

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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Porsche 918 hybrid supercar rolls out of our dreams, onto the tarmac

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Concepts, concepts, darned concepts. Teasing us with their curvy lines, and never-to-be-seen futuristic promise. Every once in a while, though, one pops out from the drawing board and into reality -- the Porsche 918 hybrid supercar being one such example. We'll admit we drooled a little when we saw the initial shots, and trembled slightly at the real world concept outed at the Geneva Motor Show 18 months ago. So, knowing it's finally made it out on the track filled us with more than a little glee. It seems development is coming along just fine, with three test versions out in the wild, and our friends over at Autoblog were lucky enough to get a ride in one of them. Sure, it was "only" at half power, so not the full roar of that 770 horsepower engine, but we're still pretty jelly. The $845,000 price tag might make you wince a little, but tears of joy will wash any pain away 3.1 seconds later, as you hit that magical 60mph. You've got until September 18th next year to save up the pennies, or ogle the gallery below.

Porsche 918 hybrid supercar rolls out of our dreams, onto the tarmac originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Ugz9Ldl2mYA/

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Packing a Gun Makes You Think Everyone Else Is Too [Weapons]

There are plenty of reasons not to run round wielding a gun, but here's a new one; holding one makes you think that other people are holding guns, too. And that is not a desirable kind of paranoia to find in someone wielding a weapon. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/-NDOo1t3tSA/holding-a-gun-makes-you-think-everyone-else-is-too

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US Nuke Stockpile Control Systems Are "Under Constant Attack" [Nukes]

You may never have heard of the National Nuclear Security Administration but that doesn't mean foreign agents haven't. The agency tasked with protecting America's nukes and nuclear secrets has disclosed that its computer systems are attacked as many as 10 MILLION times a day. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/YuH7ULJSBOg/us-nuke-stockpile-control-systems-are-under-constant-attack

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Western Digital unveils new My Passport portable hard drives, upgrades visa to 2TB

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Sure, six terabytes of storage might seem like hot stuff, but Western Digital's stackable MyBook Thunderbolt Duo drives aren't exactly portable. Lucky for you and your massive photo, music and film collections, WD's My Passport drive just crossed the 2TB border. At $250, this USB 3.0 storage sanctum claims to be the first -- and so far, only -- portable hard drive to break the two terabyte mark. "It's the perfect blend of monstrous capacity, reliability and user-friendly technology in a sleek form factor," said WD executive vice president and general manager Jim Welsh, "now in five colors." Count 'em, five. You didn't think the lizards were after your data, did you? Read on for WD's official press release.

Continue reading Western Digital unveils new My Passport portable hard drives, upgrades visa to 2TB

Western Digital unveils new My Passport portable hard drives, upgrades visa to 2TB originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Mar 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/qX1wnDVSdfQ/

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