Tech News

This Is What the Final Version of Windows Phone 8 Looks Like

We’ve seen a few Windows 8 phones in the flesh, namely the HTC 8X and 8S, plus Nokia’s Lumia 920 and 820, but no one’s had a chance to thoroughly poke around Microsoft latest and greatest yet. Until now that is; courtesy of a leaked, final WP8 SDK, meet Windows Phone 8. The folks over…

How Long It Takes to Earn a Beer, Visualized

Sometimes, the best bits of data analysis are the simplest ones. Like this gem, uncovered by The Economist yesterday, which shows the average number of minutes you need to work in order to afford a beer. The data was actually put together by researchers from the bank UBS, so I reckon we can trust the…

Cheap Goodies on Google Play for the Next Five Days

Google just crossed the rather staggering 25 billion apps downloaded mark, and to celebrate it’s offering some heavy discounts. For the next five days you can download apps from top developers (Game Loft, EA, Rovio, and others) for just 25 cents a pop. And that’s just the app side. There’s also going to be steep…

Intel: Windows 8 Is Being Released Before It’s Ready

Intel’s CEO Paul Otellini is creating a bit of a stir for Microsoft. Bloomberg reports that he’s been telling employees in Taiwan that Windows 8 is being released before it’s fully ready. A Bloomberg source claims that Otellini still feels that the software needs improvements to be made to it. The report goes on to…

New Zealand Police Blamed for Kim Dotcom’s Illegal Surveillance

The case of Megaupload’s founder Kim Dotcom gets odder by the day, with the latest official documents revealing that the police simply didn’t know, or didn’t bother checking, if Kim Dotcom was a New Zealand citizen or not. The newest twist reveals that the Government Communications Security Bureau, New Zealand’s monitoring/spying department, asked the Organized…

Do Phones Need to Come With Chargers These Days?

UK carrier O2 is taking a pretty bold step: an as-yet-unannounced new HTC handset that it’s selling will come without a charger in the box. O2 claims it’s an attempt to be more environmentally friendly, but maybe it’s just the future. Gone are the days of dedicated, all-in-one chargers. These days all you really need…

The Font on Your Car’s Dash Might Increase Your Risk of Crashing

Drivers beware: new research from MIT’s Age Lab suggests that a badly chosen typeface for your dashboard can worsen distraction and increase your chance of crashing. The researchers have been trying to work out which commonly used dashboard fonts are easiest to read at a glance, and how they affect driver distraction. Turns out that…

Etsy’s ponied up $250,000 to give free Google Shopping advertising to its US sellers. Can’t make that at home. [Etsy]

Nook HD Hands On: Is Having the Best Display Enough?

Here’s Barnes and Noble’s rebuttal to the Kindle Fire HD: The 7-inch Nook HD and the 9-inch Nook HD+. This is B&N’s frontline offensive against Amazon, as well as the rush of smaller tablets muscling in on the turf it tried to stake out. Does it have a chance? After spending a little time with…

What Happens When You Add Color to Iconic Black and White Photos?

It’s a little disorienting, to say the least. The best way I can describe the addition of color to famous black and white photos is that it looks more like a frame from a movie scene, than snapshot of real life. A little unreal. It’s obviously not as hilarious as uncropped iconic photos but adding…

NYT: Google Will Release Google Maps for iOS By the End of the Year

Corroborating an earlier report, the New York Times is reporting that Google is currently developing Google Maps for iOS and hopes to finish it by the end of the year. So iPhone owners running iOS 6, get used to the mixed up world of Apple Maps for the next couple of months. https://gizmodo.com/apple-didnt-have-to-make-apple-maps-yet-it-still-had-a-5946435 Why the…

Apple Can’t Trademark Its Music Icon Because Of… MySpace

In a hilarious court ruling, Apple got denied a trademark on its orange music icon (the one that’s on iOS devices) because trademark judges said consumers might confuse the logo with one owned by MySpace. Hah! Yes, My_____ or ____space or whatever it’s going to be these days, is screwing with Apple’s plans. Take a…

Google Maps Has Freaking Amazing Underwater Street View Now

While we point and laugh at Apple Maps for being subpar and screwed up, Google just announced underwater Street View. Well, sort of announced. TechCrunch reports that the new underwater Street View—which is beautiful—is now available for taking a peek of the Great Barrier Reef, Hawaii and the Philippines. Google partnered with The Catlin Seaview…

The Best Way to See If the iPhone 5 Scratches Is to Scratch the Hell Out of It Inside the Apple Store

I’m totally not suggesting that you do this yourself but if you’re so very worried about scratching the iPhone 5 and/or a close follower of scuffgate, or whatever they call it these days, know this: stuff scratches. Especially stuff made from aluminum. The iPhone 5 is no different. Does it suck to have scratches on…

This Hat Will Never Lose Its Shape Because It Cannot Be Crushed

The Crushable Baseball Cap is designed to hold its shape no matter where you put it, cram it, fold it, crush it and so forth. Any amount of abuse and it’s still going to look like a baseball cap. If you’ve tried to pack your hats before, you’d know how deformed, dented and even demented…

What Did You Do with Your Old iPhone?

Now that you’ve spent a lustful weekend filled with heavy breathing, groping, and maybe even licking the iPhone 5, you can’t go back to your old iPhone anymore. So what do you guys usually do with it? Sell it to some poor sap on Craigslist? Use it as an iPod? Hand it down to relatives?…

Apple Didn’t Have to Make Apple Maps Yet—It Still Had a Year Left on Its Google Maps Contract

Why did Apple kill Google Maps from iOS and make its own maps? The logical thinking was some combination of getting Google off iOS and Apple and Google’s Google Maps contract agreement being over. That’s only half true. Apple still could’ve used Google maps for another year under their current agreement, Apple just decided to…

Book-Shelf or Reading Chair? The Choice Is Yours.

Everyone loves the aesthetic of an unorganized pile of books. The Once Upon a Time bookshelf, by Fabio Vinella, is just that, but certainly much better looking. Once Upon a Time, a beautifully built walnut bookshelf, features a useful platform that can be home to a reading lamp, or made into a seat if you…

Transforming Coffee Table Seats an Entire Dinner Party Worth of Guests

You’ll never have to break out the TV trays or ask your dinner guests to dine off their laps with Ozzio’s beautiful transforming coffee table. One moment it’s sitting low to the ground making it the perfect accessory for your living room set. And the next a gas lifting device brings it up to dining…

Holy Crap, Self-Driving Cars Are Now Legal in California

Just moments ago, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into effect SB1298, effectively paving the way for driverless cars in California. For a state that relies more heavily on cars than any other, this is hugely significant when it comes to traffic and road congestion. “Today we’re looking at science-fiction becoming tomorrow’s reality,” said the governor.…