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CNET reports that we can expect to see a MacBook Air refresh sometime this summer, with Apple’s superlight line of katana laptops being bumped up to Intel’s media savvy Sandy Bridge processors. We should all be so lucky. The current Airs are by all measures crazy competent machines, but there’s no overlooking the fact that…
The next Windows Phone 7 update, code named Mango, will have IE Mobile 9, which contains HTML5 support. It’ll be the first major update for WP7, but might not have Silverlight browser support after all. It’s unclear if third-party multitasking and Twitter integration will make it. [ZDnet]
This faceless clock by Swedish industrial designer Jesper Jonsson tells time with light and shadow—OK, it may not be the most functional clock—but it totally looks like a solar eclipse, and really, why settle for having a clock on your wall when you can have a rare astronomical phenomenon! [Designboom]
While Nokia’s partnership with Microsoft will undoubtedly present some attractive prospects for phone-buyers, there’s one cohort that’s not too happy about the news: the employees in Nokia’s Finnish offices. According to a Finnish newspaper, over a thousand employees left the Nokia offices in Tampere and Oulu this afternoon in protest. The employees exercised their option…
Neil Gaiman is a convert. Where finding his work on the internet years ago would send him into a tizzy, he’s since come to accept—even appreciate—that broader distribution has meant a broader audience, and a broader audience has meant more sales. Which isn’t to say that all online piracy is inherently good. Just that it’s…
By most accounts, the PC 40 this year, which seems somehow both way too young and way too old. MaximumPC walks us through the 25 computers that made the greatest impact along the way. [MaximumPC]
The 7-inch Galaxy Tab didn’t do Samsung any favors. And if this Pocket-Lint report is accurate, the remedy will come in the form of a 10-inch, Honeycomb-sporting Tab that the company will show off as early as Sunday. It makes sense that Samsung would want a 10-inch Android tablet at some point, since its biggest…
When you think earth-friendly, biodegradable shoes, you probably think of something rather ugly and hemp-looking. The OAT shoes, however, are perfectly fine to toss in the compost heap, and are pretty attractive! So wear ’em out, guilt-free. [OAT via TreeHugger]
There’s a new IPS LCD mobile screen by Hitatchi that is 4.5-inches across and boasts a 720 x 1280 resolution. At 329dpi, it’s even sharper than the iPhone 4’s 326dpi Retina Display. [Hitachi via Engadget]
When and where did hardcore pornography spring forth into glorious existence? You’ll find the answer in the (NSFW) documentary The Smut Capital of America. Spoiler: The Smut Capital is San Francisco! And as a bonus you’ll find out the difference between the Beaver and Split Beaver subgenres. [Laughing Squid via BoingBoing]
At a dig site in Pakistan, archaeologists have discovered that one in every ten unearthed items is related to gaming. Dice, gaming pieces, all gathered together in halls and courtyards. Apparently the 4,000 year old city of Mohenjo-Daro wasn’t just the largest Bronze Age city in the area; it was also where the gamerscore was…
Who wants to actually travel to the Vatican to see Michelangelo’s masterpiece? And physically crane their neck to look at its spectacular ceiling? The Church’s official website has an excellent, high-res panorama that lets you explore the Sistine Chapel, one of the world’s finest works of art, without ever changing out of your sweatpants. Also:…
Detroit Mayor David Bing recently shut down a movement to build a Robocop statue in his fair city. Which, well, that’s just crazy. Fortunately, some concerned citizens have taken it on themselves to raise enough funds to commission the statue themselves. If you love America, you can contribute here. [Kickstarter]
See the two Steves shake up the smartphone industry as it happened, in this full-length 12 minute presentation of today’s bombshell. Steve Ballmer comes on at around the six-minute mark. [Nokia]
The notorious George Hotz, AKA GeoHot and the man who cracked PS3’s tough encryption system, has been ordered to hand over his computer to authorities by a federal judge—so that Sony can “inspect” files relating to his exploit. The judge also ordered Hotz not to delete any files before Sony gets its hands on the…
PayPal has taken its “microtransactions” system out of beta, now allowing all publishers of web content to charge tiny amounts of money for access to their content. It takes two clicks and PayPal will have five percent because it has you over a barrel. [PayPal via RWW]
ViewSonic has yet another Android device on the way, in the form of the ViewPad 10Pro. It’s an updated version of its disastrous dual-booting ViewPad 10 tablet which laughably arrived in late 2010 only able to run Android 1.6. The new Pro model combines Windows 7 and Android 2.2 for a much less embarrassing user…
In its latest press release about how well everything’s going and how popular it is, Opera has revealed plans for an iPad version of its popular Opera Mini browser. It’ll also be showing off updates of the app for “Android, iPhone, J2ME, BlackBerry, Symbian” at Mobile World Congress next week. If you’re new to Opera…
It’s been beaten to market by Nvidia and its astonishingly rapid deployment of the Tegra 2 processor in pretty much everything with a screen, now Samsung is ready to start shouting about its own dual-core mobile processor—which it’s decided to rename “Exynos”. Here’s how the marketing people came up with that: “‘Exynos’ originates from the…
After admitting despair, Nokia is ready to load up their gorgeous hardware with Microsoft’s phone operating system software, Windows Phone 7. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop said they plan to work with Microsoft in various ways. But the handset/OS buddy-up comes first: Nokia will help drive and define the future of Windows Phone. Nokia will contribute…
