#9 - HP Tablet Back from the Dead

'Dead' HP tablet comes back to life with help of hackers, deal-seekers - CNN

(CNN) -- For a "dead" gadget, the HP TouchPad keeps showing remarkable signs of life.

Nearly two weeks after Hewlett-Packard announced that it was discontinuing mobile devices and dramatically slashed the price of the TouchPad, customers are hunting them with renewed zeal.

The tablet has sold out, according to the company. Meanwhile, HP is considering making more of the devices -- and continuing to support them, despite the fact that independent developers are working to hack the tablets to run on Google's Android operating system, instead of the now-killed webOS.

"We have been surprised by the enthusiastic response to the TouchPad price drop, and we understand that many customers were disappointed that HP and our retail partners ran out of supply so fast," HP spokesman Mark Budgell wrote in a blog post Monday.
Like virtually every other device in its class, the HP TouchPad failed to make much of a dent in the iPad-dominated tablet market when it was released early last month.
But after HP announced August 18 that it was discontinuing mobile devices, remaining TouchPad inventory was slashed to fire-sale prices: $99 for a 16-gigabyte model and $149 for a model with 32 gigabytes of storage.

The device, which had originally sold for about $400 more, all of a sudden became one of the most sought-after item in the gadget world.

Via Twitter, Budgell let potential customers know Monday that there's no official word when, or if, HP will be making more TouchPads.
"Don't rush...no availability today," Budgell wrote.

He said there would be more information "in the next few days" on whether more of the tablets will become available.
But in an e-mail Monday, a spokeswoman described TouchPads as "temporarily out of stock."

For gadget lovers, the discounted TouchPad is a tradeoff. The assumption has been that the discontinued device won't get software updates, there will be no new apps created for it, and webOS, the operating system created by Palm and purchased by HP, will essentially become a dead platform.

But for many, a device that got largely positive reviews and was selling for $400 less than the iPad was a powerful temptation to jump into the still-emerging world of tablet computing.

"The bottom line is that the TouchPad, right now, is worth $99. Even if it never sees another ounce of code added to it, a gadget whose software soul is forever frozen in August 2011," wrote Matt Buchanan, a gadget reviewer at tech site Gizmodo. "The TouchPad is the second best tablet you can buy, at any pricepoint. It nailed all the big ideas about what a tablet should feel like".
And things could get even better.

In an e-mail Monday, an HP spokeswoman seemed to keep the door open to supporting the machine in response to the massive interest.
"We expect that HP TouchPad owners can look forward to an over-the-air update that will enhance the platform and add functionality and a growing applications catalog," the spokeswoman said. "We plan to continue to investigate the best ways to leverage webOS software and grow the applications."

HP never released sales figures for the TouchPad and declined to do so in the e-mail. But quick discounts in July suggested poor sales, and at least one report from AllThingsD said retailer Best Buy sold only 25,000 of the 275,000 TouchPads it ordered.

Meanwhile, outside developers are trying to keep the TouchPad vital in their own way. The website Hack N Mod is offering a reward for anyone who can prove they've modified the tablet to let it efficiently run Google's Android operating system.
That would mean the "discontinued" tablet would all of a sudden be able to run updated software and continue to have new apps available even if webOS dies out.
By Monday, an Android "mod group" had released a video purporting to have succeeded. Wired reported that the team, CyanogenMod, said that the hack was relatively easy and that the hard part has been actually getting their hands on a TouchPad.
Which is the main trouble that potential customers still face.

On the blog post, Budgell addressed a concern many have expressed since the fire sale began: that people are scooping up dozens of the tablet at a time to turn around and sell them at a profit.

Some early customers have reported having orders confirmed by third-party retailers at or near the $99 or $149 price point, only to have that order canceled.
On Monday, the least-expensive new 16GB TouchPad on Amazon was selling for $239.99, and 32GB models were going for $265.
"If more inventory is available in the future, there will be an order limit," Budgell wrote.

#8 - Traffic App by MIT and Princeton Could Change Driving Forever

Traffic App by MIT and Princeton Could Change Driving Forever

Researchers from MIT and Princeton have developed a smartphone application called "SignalGuru" that uses the camera from a dashboard-mounted smartphone to capture images of traffic lights. Once the images are captured, they're analyzed to detect whether the lights are green, yellow or red and then that data is passed along to other nearby SignalGuru users.

Using the resulting data, the app can relay to a particular driver how quickly he or she will need to drive in order to make the next light. If the next light is already red, the driver can coast up to it slowly instead.

The researchers tested the app in Singapore, which uses dynamic traffic lights that change based on traffic levels and in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which uses dumb, old timed traffic lights spawned from the loins of none other than Satan himself (I live near Cambridge, believe it or not).

The results, according to MIT:
"By reducing the need to idle and accelerate from a standstill, the system saves gas: In tests conducted in Cambridge, Mass., it helped drivers cut fuel consumption by 20 percent."
That's pretty incredible, considering it requires no additional modifications to the car itself.

The app isn't yet available to the public and when it is, it'll have some challenges to overcome. For starters, it'll face the chicken-and-egg problem most other crowdsourcing apps face: You need to have enough people using it to make the data reliable. If I'm the only person on Memorial Drive using the app, I'll never know which upcoming lights are green or which of them are red. Actually, I'll just assume they're all red, since they're ALWAYS RED.

The other obstacle is that the researchers can't, in good conscience (and probably legally, too), release an app that tells people to speed up in order to make an upcoming light.

Still, the promise of cutting gas consumption by 20% may be enough to get a bunch of people to use this app, assuming it's properly marketed. It may not even need to be directly marketed all that aggressively to consumers anyway, as the researchers see the technology perhaps being integrated into existing GPS routing software instead.
And the technology's potential doesn't stop there: It could be extended to "capture information about prices at different gas stations, about the locations and rates of progress of city buses, or about the availability of parking spaces in urban areas, all of which could be useful to commuters."

#7 - RAGE

Rage Review

Looks cool.

#6 - Hurricane IRENE

National Hurricane Center - Hurricane IRENE

Ben didn't actually know about this but it's interesting and good to know.

#5 - Gamestop rips off Dues Ex customers

GameStop opens Deus Ex boxes, discards free online game coupon

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Video game retailer GameStop is under fire for opening boxes of the just-released PC game Deus Ex: Human Revolution and removing a coupon from the publisher that would have given buyers a free copy of the game's online version.
Square Enix, which publishes DXHR (as the fans call it), announced the launch promotion on Tuesday. The coupon code was meant to give all buyers free access to the game on OnLive, a Web-based platform that enables gameplay on TVs, computers and, soon, on tablets. OnLive's cloud-based version of the game is priced at $49.99, the same price as a physical copy.

But on Wednesday, the blog GameSpy posted a story saying it had received complaints from consumers claiming their new DXHR boxes were opened and the OnLive codes were missing.
The article also included a photo of an e-mail sent by GameStop management instructing employees to "immediately remove and discard" the coupon. GameStop -- which also sells its own digital version of DXHR -- views OnLive as a rival.
GameStop (GME, Fortune 500) spokesman Matt Hodges confirmed the coupon-clipping to CNNMoney.
"Square Enix packed a competitor's coupon within the PC version of the game without our knowledge or consent and therefore we did pull these coupons," Hodges said in an e-mail. "GameStop's policy is that we do not promote competitive services without a formal partnership."

Square Enix declined to comment.

After the news broke, message board commenters on an OnLive fan site began speculating about the legality of breaking a game box's seal and selling it as new.
"The big issue here is that if GS is allowed to get away with this, what's to stop other retailers from doing the same thing[?]" wrote commenter Punkduck2064. "What if Amazon and Walmart removed the digital copy codes from the DVDs [they sold] simply because their competitors were the ones providing the digital copy."
GameStop initially stood by its approach, saying in a prepared statement that while game boxes "may have been opened to remove the coupon, we fully guarantee the condition of the disc to be new."

But late Thursday, company spokesman Hodges said GameStop had changed its policy after talking with Square Enix.

Now, GameStop says it will not sell the opened DXHR packages -- in fact, it won't sell any physical copies of the game at all until Square Enix ships GameStop a version without the OnLive coupon. GameSpot will continue to sell its own digital version of the game in its stores and online.

#4 - Steve Jobs Steps Down

Steve Jobs Steps Down
Steve Jobs Steps Down, Apple Shares Drop 5% After-Hours
The end of an era came Wednesday evening when Steve Jobs stepped down as CEO of Apple. Forbes Brian Caulfield has the story here, which includes the naming of Tim Cook, who has filled in for Jobs twice during medical-related leaves of absence including the current one, as CEO.

Jobs expressed his desire to remain as chairman of Apple’s board, a request his fellow directors will almost certainly honor. On Thursday the market reaction to the news, and the response from the Apple bulls, who have sent shares of the iPod, iPhone and iPad-maker on a dizzying run over the last several years, will be interesting to watch.

After-hours, following a halt on the news, shares of Apple dropped 5%, or $20.18, to $356.

The impact may be felt beyond Apple on Thursday. Keep an eye on shares of Walt Disney, where Jobs is a director and the largest shareholder.

Below, via Business Wire, is the letter Jobs sent to the Apple board:

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

#3 - The Trenches

The Trenches

The Trenches documents the tribulations of software testing with the precision tools of “the office comedy.” It has lots of characters and lots of things happen. We’re getting to all of that. For now, here are some mysterious silhouettes.

#2 - Mad Cat

Mad Cat

#1 - Zombie Engagement Pictures

http://strangebeaver.com/2011/08/the-best-engagement-pictures-ever/