The World’s First Hoverboard is Finally Here!

Ref : foxgadget.com

October 26, 2014
.
Because wheels are overrated.
Face it, when it comes to technology we are way behind the futuristic utopia that shows like The Jetsons predicts. While it may be years before we have teleportation and flying cars, the folks at Hendo Hoverboards are doing their part to revolutionize transportation as we know it.
The Hendo Hoverboard uses magnetic technology that has existed for decades in new, innovative ways. According to Hendo’s kickstarter site:

The magic behind the hoverboard lies in its four disc-shaped hover engines. These create a special magnetic field which literally pushes against itself, generating the lift which levitates our board off the ground.

Essentially, using electromagnetic energy the hoverboard can float about an inch above non-ferrous metals (metals without a lot of iron) exclusively. While that restricts where it can be used for now, the Hendo team is working to make “everyday applications” of the hoverboard a reality. They are even providing hover developer kits called the “Whitebox” for $299, to get the Hendo technology in the hands of other geniuses who can help expand on it.
The Hendo Hoverboard costs $10,000, and they are offering rides at their “hoverpark” in Silicon Valley for the first 250 Kickstarter pledgers who make donations of $100 or more, starting in March 2015. Support the cause here.

Source : thesource

Aliens are REAL reveals former Area 51 scientist who insists they're friendly and helping us

 Ref : foxgadget.com

Oct 28, 2014 16:55 By Carl Greenwood

Former Area 51 scientist Dr Boyd Bushman spoke about the aliens in a documentary shortly before his death - watch here

Aliens are REAL reveals former Area 51 scientist who insists they're friendly and helping us

A scientist has revealed that aliens are real.
Dr Boyd Bushman - who used to work at Area 51 - opened up about his career in studying UFOs and alien life at the secretive base in a documentary filmed just before he died.
"With respect to the alien craft, we have American citizens who are working on UFOs 24 hours a day.
"We are trying to learn what to do."
The former senior scientist describes that the aliens we know of can be split into two groups.
"There are two groups of aliens," describes. "They divide them into two groups. It’s like a cattle ranch.

Aliens are REAL reveals former Area 51 scientist who insists they're friendly and helping us

"One group are wranglers, and the others are rustlers – the stealers of cattle. The ones that are wranglers are much more friendly, and have a better relationship with us."
He describes the aliens as five feet tall and says that "one or two of them are around 230 years old".
He goes on to reveal that 'at least 18 operate with our facility'.
While their eyes and noses are different from humans, Dr Boyd reveals that they still have five fingers and five toes but they are telepathic mind readers.
"They're able to use their own voice by telepathy to talk to you," he reveals.
He also added that the aliens were dressed in dungarees so they could be grabbed when they started to float.
Watch the full documentary below.



Source : mirror

Here’s an awesome new Google trick you’ll want to try on Halloween

Ref : foxgadget.com

By Jeff Sorensen on Oct 28, 2014 at 4:27 PM

Here’s an awesome new Google trick you’ll want to try on Halloween

Halloween is coming up and you might not feel up to slathering your face with makeup, fake blood, and whatever else comes with Halloween costumes these days. Now you don’t have to because Google has a new trick that will take your photos and “Halloweenify” them.
The bad news here is that you’ll need a Google+ account with photos uploaded onto it. That said, if you actually do feel like logging into Google+, you’ll see that Google has added some terrific new Halloween-related filters that can make your pictures more festive.
For the fun ones, you can choose from adding virtual face paint that will turn you into a pumpkin, puppy, or kitten:

Google trick you’ll want to try on Halloween

Or you can make you and your friends look scary like a zombie or a skeleton:

Halloween

Source : BGR

Nexus 6 pre-orders sold out within minutes

Ref : foxgadget.com

By Shreyas Gandhe Oct 29, 2014

Nexus 6 pre-orders sold out within minutes

Google opened up the Nexus 6 pre-orders earlier today and the phone sold out within minutes.
Unveiled two weeks ago, the Motorola made Nexus 6 smartphone running on Android Lollipop, the latest version of Android, was made available for pre-orders today. However, due to limited availability or high demand, the device was sold out within minutes after the link went live.
The Nexus 6 is priced at $649 which is quite expensive compared to previous Nexus smartphones which were positioned as powerful devices at mid-range prices. US-based customers who manage to purchase the Nexus 6 from the Play Store before 31st December will be eligible for a free Google Play Music subscription, but it is unknown when Google will start taking orders for the smartphone again.
It must be noted that US based carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and U.S. Cellular will also be offering the Nexus 6 at subsidized prices with service contracts and the one available on Google Play is the full priced unlocked version compatible with GSM networks.

Source: neowin

Oppo announces the N3 - motorized swivel camera, multi-purpose fingerprint sensor, and lightning-fast charging

Ref : foxgadget.com

Posted: 29 Oct 2014, 05:01, by Paul.K

Oppo announces the N3 - motorized swivel camera

Oppo has held an official event in Singapore, where it announced the N3 – the successor to the unique N1 smartphone that sported a swiveling camera, instead of two separate front- and back-facing snappers. The new device brings a hardware bump, together with a few upgrades for the peculiar camera.
The Oppo N3 is powered by a 2.5 Ghz quad-core Snapdragon 801, coupled with 2 GB RAM. Its display has been slightly shrunken – 5.5", compared to the gargantuan 5.9" that was on the N1. The new handset still sports a 1080p resolution, which brings its PPI to 400. The camera's resolution has also received a bump – up to 16 MP, with 1.34 micrometer pixels.
Interestingly, the battery has seen a downgrade, in terms of capacity at least, and is now a 3,000 mAh juicer, much less than the N1's 3,610 mAh. On the flip side, the phone supports OPPO's VOOC technology, which allows one to charge their phone to 75% capacity in just 30 minutes.
One would think that, with a smaller screen and a nerfed battery, the N3 will at least be a much smaller, thinner, and lighter device. It measures at 6.34" x 3.03" x 0.39" (161.2 x 77 x 9.9mm) and weighs 6.77 oz (192g), which, compared to the N1's size of 6.72" x 3.25" x 0.35" (170.7 x 82.6 x 9 mm) and weight of 7.51 oz (213 g), makes it noticeably shorter, though, a tad thicker, and not extremely lighter.
Of course, Oppo invested in further expanding the innovative features of its N line. The swiveling camera now has a motorized mechanism, made in partnership with Schneider Electric, of that can rotate the sensor around up to 206 degrees, which will allow it to take panoramic pictures automatically, without requiring the user to spin the device around. The camera also features a Tracking Focus feature, which should help users keep moving objects in focus.
On its back, the N1 featured an O-Touch panel, which allowed one to scroll around and launch apps with their index finger rested on the device's rear. The N3 replaces this with a fingerprint scanner, which still retains the ability to be used as a touch pad, but also allows users to assign different fingerprints to different functions and apps, expanding the phone's quick access functionality.
The device comes with an O-Click remote control – a companion device, which allows one to turn the camera around, take a picture, or control music playback from a distance.
The UI will be Oppo's home-brewed Color OS, which was recently upgraded to v2.0i – now built on top of Android 4.4.4 KitKat. The OS provides enhanced user experience, with gesture-based controls, floating notifications, and a few more rather nifty bells and whistles.
The device is set to launch by the end of 2014, with a price tag of $649.


Source : Oppo

Oppo R5 is the 'world's thinnest smartphone' at just 4.85mm-thick

Ref : foxgadget.com

By Andy Weir Oct 29, 2014

Over the last couple of years, manufacturers have become increasingly obsessed with making handsets as thin as possible. Witness the new iPhone 6, for example - rather than address frequent complaints about iPhone battery life with a larger, higher capacity battery, Apple chose instead to shave fractions of a millimeter off the handset's body.
It's not just Apple though - the likes of Fujitsu, Huawei and Gionee have all unveiled devices claiming the crown of the 'world's slimmest smartphone' over the last 24 months or so. Oppo has made similar efforts too, with a 6.13mm-thick device launched last year.

Oppo R5 is the 'world's thinnest smartphone' at just 4.85mm-thick

But it looks like Oppo may have taken the crown today, with the unveiling of the R5, a handset with a profile that's just 4.85mm-thick. It's also one of the first devices to launch with the new octa-core Snapdragon 615 chipset, designed for upper mid-range devices.
Key specs of the device include:
- 5.2-inch AMOLED with Full HD (1920x1080px) resolution
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset with octa-core 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 CPU and Adreno 405 - GPU
- 2GB RAM
- 16GB storage (no microSD slot)
- 13MP Sony IMX214 rear camera
- 5MP front-facing camera
- Bluetooth 4.0
- 4G LTE connectivity
- 2000mAh battery
- Oppo Color OS 2.0 (based on Android 4.4 KitKat)
- 148.9 x 74.5 x 4.85mm, 155g

Oppo R5

There are a couple of downsides, however. As noted above, the Oppo R5 is limited to just 16GB of storage, with no microSD slot for storage expansion. Additionally, as Engadget notes, the device doesn't even have a 3.5mm audio connector - instead, you'll have to connect a headset via Bluetooth, or use the bundled microUSB adapter with your wired headset.
If you're happy to accept these compromises, then start saving those pennies to buy the Oppo R5 in December, when it is expected to go on sale in silver, gold and grey variants, for $499 USD off-contract.
Source and lower image: Engadget

Microsoft Band and Microsoft Health: The $199 all-platform fitness band

Ref : foxgadget.com 

Designed to let you "leave your phone in your pocket and miss nothing."

by Peter Bright - Oct 30 2014, 11:00am ICT

Microsoft Band and Microsoft Health

After being leaked just a few hours ago, it's now official: Microsoft's first entry into the wearable space is Microsoft Band, a fitness band.
The gadget isn't a smartwatch and isn't intended to replace your watch. It's a Bluetooth fitness band packed full of sensors: optical heart rate sensing, 3-axis accelerometers with a gyroscope to track movement, GPS to track your runs even if you leave your phone at home, skin temperature, galvanic skin response presumably to measure sweating, ambient light and UV light, and a microphone so it can be used with Cortana on Windows Phone.

Microsoft Band and Microsoft Health

The 1.4-inch touch screen with its 320×106 resolution can deliver alerts, and there's a vibration motor too. Twin 100mAh batteries give it 48 hours of what Microsoft calls "normal use" though GPS can shorten this. The charge time is 1.5 hours, using a magnetically attached USB charger. There are three different sizes, so it should fit on most wrists.
It'll work with any Bluetooth LE device running Windows Phone 8.1 Update, iOS 7.1 or newer on an iPhone 4S or newer, and Android 4.3 or newer.
On top of its health monitoring, the Band will also be able to show notifications, such as texts and incoming calls. There will also be some limited app partnerships. For example, you'll be able to load your Starbucks card into the Band, and it'll show the barcode to let you pay for things at Starbucks. This is weird on multiple levels; the other app partnerships are all, as one would expect, health-related, being things like run-tracking and workout advice, and further, Microsoft still doesn't have an official Starbucks app for Windows Phone. With Band, it looks like Windows Phone users will finally get the smartphone app they've been wanting. They'll just have to pay $199 for the privilege.
The Band is only half of the story. The other half is Microsoft Health: a series of smartphone apps (for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone) and a cloud service to go with them. The apps will do the normal things that these apps do—tracking how far you walk each day, telling you how much you slept, that kind of thing—but Microsoft also aims to use the data to provide "insights," such as how much recovery time you need after a workout and which exercises in your workouts burn the most calories.

The $199 all-platform fitness band

Feed more data into the cloud service, and it'll tell you more things. You'll be able to plumb it into Office, and it'll be able to tell you if having more meetings harms the quality of your sleep or whether eating breakfast made you run any faster.
Microsoft Health is also designed to be a platform. If you use a Jawbone UP band, it'll work with Microsoft Health. If you track your runs with RunKeeper or MapMyFitness, they'll be able to share data with Microsoft Health.
Microsoft also wants the Microsoft Band to be a platform of sorts. Microsoft is offering to license the 10 sensor modules that power the Band to third parties so that they too can build devices that track all this data.
The device goes on sale in the US, and the US alone, on Thursday.
Source : arstechnica

Watch a working Project Ara prototype demonstrated ahead of Spiral 2 reveal

Ref : foxgadget.com

Modular smartphone runs Android already
By Rich McCormick
on October 30, 2014 04:19 am

.
The engineers behind Project Ara are trying to make the last smartphone you'll ever need. Their design for a modular device has users slotting components — a camera, extra storage space, a Wi-Fi connector — into their phones, as and when they need them. It's an ambitious scheme, but engineers working at NK Labs in Boston have already produced a working prototype, which they showed off to modular smartphone evangelist Dave Hakkens during a recent visit.
The early model, called Spiral 1, is creamy white and boxy, and a far shot from the beautiful modular models shown earlier this year. But unlike those mock-ups, it actually works, and it looks to be more stable than the prototype shown at Google I/O in June, loading its Android OS past the boot screen. At the moment only half of the prototype's space is open to developers, but NK Labs says it has already improved on the Spiral 1: the Spiral 2 will use special Toshiba chips that will open up much of the phone's modular space for developer functions.
That new model will be shown off at Project Ara developer conferences in January, in both the US and Singapore. While Project Ara's design is not the next Google's Nexus — or even an official Google product — its creators hope that it could be the future of smartphones.
Source : Theverge

Man shot in the face after wrestling gun from toddler

Ref : foxgadget.com

Published: 2014 October 28

Man shot in the face after wrestling gun from toddler

20-year-old Patrick Sanders from Houston, Texas, US, was shot in the face after he tried to wrestle a loaded gun away from a three-year-old boy.
Sanders had fallen asleep on the sofa when the firearm fell from his pocket and on to the floor.
As the boy went to pick up the gun, Sanders woke up and tried to take the weapon off the child but as he did it went off in his face.
Investigators say it isn't clear if the child had his finger on the trigger or if Sanders hit it as he lunged for the gun.
They are classing the incident as accidental and the investigation continues.
Sanders was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital where he remained in critical condition.
The little boy was unhurt.
Source - Mirror

Homeless Man Plays Beautifully Moving Piano Solo On The Street

Ref : foxgadget.com

The Huffington Post| By Ryan Grenoble
Posted: 10/28/2014 8:14 am EDT
.

When the city of Edmonton launched an outdoor piano project earlier this summer, they hoped the instruments would enrich the lives of anyone who saw fit to take a seat and tickle the ivory.
"I want random people to play, I want really great people to play, I want really bad people to play," founder David Rauch told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation at the time. In other words, people like Ryan: a man who lives on the street in the city, and -- though he says no one taught him how to play -- clearly has a gift for music.
Last Thursday, a YouTuber uploaded video of Ryan playing this outdoor piano in Edmonton, with absolutely beautiful results.
Ryan's skill calls to mind the ability of David Allen Welsh, a homeless man in Vancouver, Washington, who brought people to tears after he began playing the piano at a thrift shop there last year.
In an interview with KATU at the time, Welsh, who says he's been homeless since he was 6 years old, told the station he's never taken a piano lesson and can't read music, but just lets the notes flow through him.
In response to his performances moving people to tears, Welsh said he's happy to connect with people through music. "When someone is genuinely here and genuinely moved and they reach out and give you a hug, I weep too,” said Welsh.
WATCH Ryan's performance, above.
Source : huffingtonpost.com

“No one sleeps in her class!” Internet goes gaga for gorgeous Chinese science teacher

Ref : foxgadget.com

Krista Rogers

“No one sleeps in her class!” Internet goes gaga for gorgeous Chinese science teacher

Meet Ms. Deng Yuanyuan (鄧媛媛), the stylish, beautiful Chinese biology teacher who’s been sending shockwaves across the internet in the past week. Looking just as at home in the classroom as she would gracing the cover of a fashion magazine, Ms. Deng has reportedly become the envy of Chinese students everywhere. Join us after the jump for a look at this modern career woman!
Ms. Deng, the goddess of Jinlin
According to Chinese media, Ms. Deng is originally from Sichuan Province, China. She currently teaches at a middle school in Jinlin City, the second-largest city of Jinlin Province in Northeastern China (right above the Korean Peninsula). Chinese educational law mandates nine years of compulsory education for students, however differences in the terminology of “middle school” between Chinese and Western institutions mean that we’re unclear about exactly which grade levels Ms. Deng teaches. We do know that she was hired at this current school in 2012 and is acknowledged by students and staff alike as a veritable “goddess.”
▼”Hi! I’ll be your new teacher for the next year ♥”

No slacking during class!
At approximately 180 cm (5’9”) tall and with her long, straight hair, we almost couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw the following photos of Ms. Deng helping her students conduct science experiments with microscopes and beakers. Also, is that mini-skirt part of her typical teaching attire? It looks more like something we’d see a model at a motor show wearing. No wonder it’s said that none of the students ever doze off during her class…
▼At the very least, you’d think she’d tie her hair back while doing an experiment.

Brains over beauty
But don’t you dare chalk up Ms. Deng’s success to good looks alone! Her looks may have caught the attention of the online masses, but in the words of her own students, “The reason for her popularity isn’t just because of how beautiful she is–she’s really good at explaining things, so don’t get the wrong impression!”
We guess that makes her both a professional at teaching and a professional at stealing our hearts.
Original article by Meg Sawai

13 YEAR OLD GIRL’S LEG TURNS BLACK AND SHRIVELS UP FROM SNAKE BITE

Ref : foxgadget.com

A 13 year old girl was the victim of a snake bite which in turn caused her leg to turn completely black and horrifically shrivel up, resembling a mummified body part.

This horrific picture shows a young girl’s leg that has shriveled and turned completely black after being bitten by a snake.

The snake’s venom caused severe necrosis – the premature death of cells.

This caused the tissue in her leg to die, leaving it withered and rotten. 

13 YEAR OLD GIRL’S LEG TURNS BLACK AND SHRIVELS UP FROM SNAKE BITE

Necrosis, which is the premature death of cells, was brought on by the snakes venom. The condition was so severe it caused the tissue in the leg to rot away and essentially “die”. The girl did not seek proper medical treatment until a month after the bite. She instead used remedies from the indigenous culture she was from. Eventually she was brought to a hospital in Caracas, Venezuela. While the leg will need to be amputated, the likelihood of the girl surviving the bite is slim. “The whole lower leg is black, it’s spreading up. Looking at the rest of her body she’s showing signs of muscle wastage from the poison. Her other leg is thin. It’s likely she will still die”, says Dr. Arun Ghosh, a private General Practitioner in Liverpool.
Due to the severe necrosis, a condition called rhabdomyolysis, where muscle tissue throughout the body begins to die, has set in. ‘Compartment syndrome’, a serious condition which causes a decrease in blood supply to the affected muscles within a compartment such as the leg, has also set in due to artery laceration from the snake bite. While antibiotics were likely given to the girl as part of the initial local remedy treatment, adequately controlling the poison from the snake venom was neglected. The poison paralyzed the nerves, causing the blood to clot. Dr. Ghosh explains how the blood clotting occurred, “The girl has had classic rural treatment which is often only able to treat local infection secondary to the bite. But she is unlikely to have received anti­venom treatment to keep her blood flowing through her body.”

13 YEAR OLD GIRL’S LEG TURNS BLACK AND SHRIVELS UP FROM SNAKE BITE

Source :dailymail

SEE IT: Jogger charges at British PM David Cameron in latest high-profile security breach

Ref : foxgadget.com

.

Cameron was shoved by the erratic man Monday morning as his security detail looked on.

BY ADAM EDELMAN NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, October 27, 2014, 1:45 PM
British Prime Minister David Cameron was shoved by an erratic jogger Monday morning — the latest example across the world of a major security breach in the protection of a high-profile lawmaker. Cameron was exiting Leeds Civic Hall in the centrally located city of Leeds when a passing jogger suddenly charged at him. Cameron dodged out of the way of the bizarre runner, but the unexpected breach occurred so quickly that not even the prime minister’s security detail could do anything. Video of the incident shows members of Cameron’s security team merely looking on. They quickly recovered, however, and seized the man.

Jogger charges at British PM David Cameron in latest high-profile security breach

Cameron was not injured during the fracas and got into a waiting car shortly after.
The man who ran into him was arrested and the incident is under investigation, Scotland Yard said in a statement Monday.
West Yorkshire Police, in a separate statement, said the man was never thought to be a threat, and that he was “just a man in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Jogger charges at British PM David Cameron in latest high-profile security breach

Ottawa police are seen investigating the scene where Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a guard at the National War Memorial of Canada, was fatally shot on Thursday by shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau.
The eyebrow-raising event, however, caused concern throughout the UK, coming just days after a lone-wolf shooter attacked Canada’s Parliament building in Ottawa, killing one soldier.
The disturbance also continued to draw attention to other serious security breaches in recent weeks, including one at the White House.
Last month, a 42-year-old deranged former soldier who was armed with a knife jumped over the White House fence and made it all the way into the East Room of the presidential mansion.

Omar Gonzalez was photographed by an onlooker jumping over a fence and running toward the White House on Sept. 19.

Omar Gonzalez was photographed by an onlooker jumping over a fence and running toward the White House on Sept. 19.
The incident sparked widespread outrage and resulted in the resignation of the head of the Secret Service.
Source : nydailynews

OK Go’s New Music Video for “I Won’t Let You Down” Won’t Let You Down

Ref : foxgadget.com

Eliza Berman @lizabeaner
Oct. 27, 2014

.

As long as you’re into mesmerizing umbrella choreography

OK Go’s approach to music videos has been nothing short of pioneering, often generating visuals that are even more memorable than the songs they accompany. The band’s latest effort, for the single “I Won’t Let You Down” off their recently released album Hungry Ghosts, is brought to life by umbrella-wielding dancers and aerial videography. While they may never top their creation of the world’s largest Rube Goldberg machine, the results here are nonetheless impressive.
Some shots conjure Busby Berkeley, the Hollywood choreographer known for his mesmerizing bird’s-eye-view shots of synchronized swimmers and dancers. Others look like a life-sized Lite-Brite, using the opening and closing of colorful umbrellas to generate images and spell out words. The four band members cavort through the shots riding Honda UNI-CUBs, which are kind of like seated Segways that look uncannily like robotic penguins. Honda also contributed the “multi-copter” camera used to shoot the video.
The song itself is synth-heavy and dance-worthy, though ultimately less likely to stick with listeners than the video’s images. OK Go’s commitment to arresting visuals and feats of choreography is perhaps more responsible for their continued relevance than their songwriting. And as long as they keep up the creative videos—staying true to their promise not to let us down—then there’s nothing wrong with that.
Source :  Time

Classic Macs turned into modern furniture

Ref : foxgadget.com

Klaus Geiger makes Apple computers with a different kind of storage

By Colin Lecher
on October 23, 2014 04:31 pm

Classic Macs turned into modern furniture

The Apple Power Mac G5 was a classic computer of the early millennium, but for all of its strengths — besides its gorgeous design, it was the fastest Mac in Apple's lineup when it was released in 2003 — it didn't last: the G5 family was retired in 2006 for the Mac Pro. The rest is recent history.
But what to do with the old models? Designer Klaus Geiger had the idea of turning them into furniture, which resulted in the concepts you see here, part of the cleverly titled "benchma[r|c" project. Somehow, the pieces are all cohesive: Apple's commitment to flat, clean design translates well into a modernist style. If you passed one of these benches in a park, you might not blink.
All images courtesy Klaus Geiger

Classic Macs turned into modern furniture

Classic Macs turned into modern furniture

Source: The Verge

'Microsoft Lumia' is now official, Microsoft logo to adorn future Windows Phones

Ref : foxgadget.com

By Andy Weir @gcaweir · Oct 24, 2014 · Hot!
We've known for some time now that Microsoft has been planning to phase out the use of the Nokia brand on its devices, since taking over that company earlier this year. There have been numerous clues of this recently, including the launch of the first Microsoft-branded phone charger, and the Nokia France Facebook account confirming that the Nokia name was on the way out this week.

'Microsoft Lumia' is now official, Microsoft logo to adorn future Windows Phones

And yet, despite the many weeks of rumors and clues that have pointed to this, Microsoft had this week still not acknowledged its plans to drop the Nokia name. But today, the company finally announced its plans to transition from 'Nokia Lumia' to 'Microsoft Lumia'.
This is a process that will not happen overnight, as the company suggests - we may yet see another Windows Phone launched under the Nokia Lumia brand, but there's a pretty good chance that the next device will carry Microsoft branding instead.

'Microsoft Lumia' is now official, Microsoft logo to adorn future Windows Phones

Today, Microsoft also revealed a render of its own logo on the front of what appears to be a Lumia Windows Phone, as well as on the rear, finally answering the question of whether or not it would dial back on the Microsoft branding in the image-sensitive mobile space, in favor of a more prominent branding role for 'Lumia'.


The Nokia brand will live on in usage for some time to come, though, as the recently launched Lumia 530, 630, 635, 730, 735, 830 and 930 all carry Nokia branding, and will need to be marketed appropriately until their next product cycles, when they can be affordably replaced with Microsoft-branded Windows Phones.

Nokia brand

Beyond this, however, the Nokia brand will also live on with Microsoft's ultra-low-end 'dumb-phones', like the Nokia 130, which - while selling in slowly declining numbers - are still seen as an important 'step-up' for customers in developing markets, who can then be nudged later towards a more fully-featured and more premium Windows smartphone.
Today's announcement not only confirms Microsoft's decision to phase out the Nokia brand, but also clearly indicates its intentions to proudly emblazon its devices with the Microsoft logo. What do you think about this move? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: Microsoft

VisionTek's new USB 3.0 thumb drive has SSD performance

Ref : foxgadget.com

by Cyril Kowaliski — 10:51 AM on October 23, 2014
There are speedy USB 3.0 thumb drives, and then there's VisionTek's newly announced Pocket SSD. Apparently, the drive's "aircraft-grade aluminum" housing conceals a SandForce controller backed by enough flash chips to hit 455MB/s during reads and 440MB/s during writes—you know, about the same level of performance as a proper SATA SSD.

VisionTek's new USB 3.0 thumb drive has SSD performance

Those speeds don't come cheap, of course. VisionTek quotes MSRPs of $109.99 for the drive's 120GB incarnation and $174.99 for the 240GB model. To put those figures in perspective, Crucial's 2.5" MX100 256GB drive can be had for just over $110 at Newegg.
Still, the convenience of having SSD-like performance in a thumb drive can't be overstated. As VisionTek points out, the Pocket SSD can even be loaded up with Windows 8.1 and used as an "office-on-the-go" solution. (You'd probably want to follow these steps to make the Win8.1 installation portable first.) And, because the drive has a standard USB 3.0 interface, it should work happily on older, USB 2.0 systems at reduced speeds. Pretty nifty.

Source : techreport.com

Microsoft announces unlimited OneDrive cloud storage for Office 365 subscribers

Ref : foxgadget.com

Microsoft announces unlimited OneDrive cloud storage for Office 365 subscribers

In the company’s continued attempt to take over the cloud storage space, Microsoft has now announced it is blowing the roof off OneDrive storage limits for Office 365 subscribers. The move comes as a surprise to many as the company just recently upped its limits to 1TB for subscribers and doubled its free storage space.
Unlimited storage will eventually roll out to Home, Personal and University 365 subscribers over the next few months, but those interested can get on the list for an early look over on the OneDrive Preview site. OneDrive for Business customers can expect to see the feature begin to roll out sometime in 2015.
With the series of updates and upgrades Microsoft’s cloud option has received over the past few months, its clear the company is looking to take down competition from Google and Dropbox. Unless either of those two respond in the meantime, OneDrive for 365 will offer unlimited cloud storage and access to Microsoft’s Office suite for $6.99 a month, compared to just 1TB of space for $9.99 from Google or Dropbox.
As some have noted, Dropbox was pretty quick to drop prices once Microsoft’s initial 1TB offering appeared, so its likely to respond in some way to today’s announcement as well. Either way Microsoft is aggressively focused on its “quest of making OneDrive the world’s cloud storage leader.”

Source : techspot.com

Chinese Backpacker Sparks Outrage for Ad Offering Sex to Men in Different Cities to Fund her Travels

Ref : foxgadget.com 

Ju Peng: 'It's sort of like hitch-hiking'

By Priya Joshi
October 27, 2014 20:42 BST

Ju Peng placed an ad on Weibo seeking generous men who would fund her trips in exchange for sex.

A 19-year-old backpacker from China has been lambasted, after she posted an ad offering to have sex with a different man in every city she visits, to fund her travels.
Ju Peng, a student from Shanghai, posted the online ad on Weibo, in which she says she is seeking "temporary boyfriends."
She explained: "They will fund my transport to their city and all my expenses while I am there and they need to be generous."
She added that they must be "good looking, under 30, taller than 1.75 metres and, of course, rich. In return, they get a whole night with me, my undivided attention, and a chance to show themselves off in the company of a truly beautiful girl."

Ju Peng placed an ad on Weibo seeking generous men who would fund her trips in exchange for sex.

Peng said that she has already travelled all over eastern China byoffering the pleasure of her company to men in exchange for their generous hospitality and now plans to see the rest of the country in the same way, as she does not have enough money to fund her trip herself.

Critics have described her conduct as tantamount to prostitution and have called for the ad to be removed.

One Weibo user Hsin Tao said: "If she was taking cash we'd all know what to call her. This is a disgusting way to carry on."

Defending her actions Peng said: "It is sort of like hitch-hiking. It's nothing to be ashamed of'."

Source : ibtimes