RED puts $1,450 Redray Player up for pre-order, stakes a claim to 4K video with proprietary format and Odemax distribution platform

It's looking pretty likely that 4K TV won't be a fad, but if you buy a pricey new Ultra High Definition television this holiday season, you might have some trouble finding 4K content. Sony will actually deliver a 4K home media server to buyers of its 84-inch, $24,999 4K UHDTV and even preload it with ten movies, but soon there will be another option: the $1,450 Redray Player, from RED Digital Cinema. We got a quick peek at an early version at the NAB expo early this year, and now RED has put the hardware up for pre-order.

As typical for RED products, the 5.9 pound aluminum set-top box looks like it's built like a tank, and plays 4K video from an internal 1TB hard drive anywhere between 24 and 60 frames per second. It has six HDMI ports,...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/12/1/3713386/red-redray-player-1450-preorder-4k-video

Google picks up delivery locker startup BufferBox, expanding its shopping plans

Google has once again demonstrated its interest in online shopping and delivery with its purchase of Canadian startup BufferBox today. The two-year-old, Waterloo-based company provides locker storage service very similar to Amazon Locker, allowing customers to have products shipped and stored in a unit at universities and other central locations. Sources tell TechCrunch that Google paid over $17 million for the company.

Niether BufferBox nor Google revealed much about what the acquisition will lead to, but an engineering director at Google said BufferBox's ten person team, branding, and services would continue to function for "the foreseeable future," according to the Financial Post . Google, of course, has greater aspirations than...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3713050/google-bufferbox-acquisition-delivery-lockers

STAR-CROSSED

The Texas Stars scored three goals in a 4:51 stretch spanning the final two periods to erase a 1-0 deficit and claim a 3-1 victory over the Griffins on Friday at Van Andel Arena.



via griffinshockey.com - News Releases http://www.griffinshockey.com/news/releases/?article_id=2300

Motorola v. Microsoft: US District Court says FRAND patents can't be used for injunction

Motorola wanted to ban the Xbox 360, among other things. The International Trade Commission agreed that Microsoft's products infringed. Microsoft claimed that Motorola wanted too much money to license the so-called standards-essential patents, and attempted to fight the ban. Now, two weeks after a trial kicked off in Seattle, common sense appears to have prevailed. US District Court Judge Robart has agreed to dismiss Motorola's attempts for injunctive relief based on its fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory (FRAND) patents, effectively saying that Motorola will have to pursue money (in the form of royalties) rather than attempt to ban products.

"Because Motorola cannot show irreparable harm or that monetary damages would be...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3713016/motorola-vs-microsoft-frand-ruling-district-court

US Supreme Court to decide whether human genes are patentable

The United States Supreme Court will be taking another look at a previous ruling that granted Myriad Genetics, Inc. patents on two gene mutations that are tied to hereditary breast and ovarian cancers. The original decision that declared that genes can be patentable was upheld by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in August. The highly controversial ruling grants Myriad Genetics, Inc. the right to be the exclusive owner of screening methods pertaining to the diseases, preventing the use of any alternative screening procedures.

"Are human genes patentable?"

The ACLU, who are helping to represent the Association for Molecular Pathology and College of American Pathologists in the case, requested that the Supreme Court take up...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3712896/united-states-supreme-court-myriad-genetics-patent

90 Seconds on The Verge: iMacs, Facebook Photo Sync, and Redbox Instant

Quote Oscar Wilde, "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth." With that in mind, and in honor of the anniversary of his death a little over a century ago, we have decided to put a David Pierce mask on top of one of our interns. Let's see what happens.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3712082/imac-2012-facebook-photo-sync-redbox-instant-90sotv

Asus Qube with Google TV: a set-top box that could replace the Nexus Q this January

A mysterious Asus device called the Qube with Google TV Dongle has just been spotted making its way through the FCC, and the documentation reveals that it is designed to be paired with a set-top box named the Qube. There are already several products using Google's fledgling smart TV operating system, but the Qube may be much more than that. A source of ours suggests that the Qube is a Nexus device that Google will launch this upcoming January, and that it is the reason why the company's Nexus Q streamer has vanished off the face of the earth.

It's hard to know too much about the Qube, as the FCC filing is not about the device, but rather a wireless dongle that connects to it. There aren't any pictures of what this dongle even looks...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3712848/asus-qube-with-google-tv-streamer-revealed

Samsung Galaxy Camera with LTE radio passes through FCC, may be headed to Verizon

Samsung's curious Galaxy Camera has been limited to one carrier for would-be suitors in the US, but an FCC filing suggests that Verizon Wireless may soon offer the Android device. The filing shows a Galaxy Camera with an LTE radio, as well as the requisite Wi-Fi and GPS antennas. While the presence of an LTE radio doesn't mean it the product is destined for any particular carrier, the filing reveals that the radio is for LTE Band 13, which is used by Verizon Wireless. Somewhat surprisingly, the camera does not have a 3G CDMA radio to fall back onto, according to the FCC documentation, which means that users would be without internet access in the (mostly rural and suburban) areas without LTE service.

When AT&T's version of the Galaxy...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3712620/samsung-galaxy-camera-verizon-wireless-lte-fcc-filing

How Rockstar betrayed its fans in 'Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' modding scandal

Eurogamer has taken a look back at the notorious "Hot Coffee" scandal surrounding the launch of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and explores what the media fiasco means for sex in video games today. Developers originally included explicit sex scenes as a joke and a way to "push the content envelope," however the scenes were locked — but not removed — before launch due to concerns about the game's ESRB rating. Software engineer and GTA modder Patrick Wildenborg unlocked and released the explicit content in a mod called "Hot Coffee," kicking off a massive scandal involving court cases, legislation, and media attention. To read more on how Rockstar threw their most dedicated fanbase under the bus, check out the full article at the source...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3712108/rockstar-hot-coffee-mod-grand-theft-auto-san-andreas

Music Hack Day project maps out lyrics to Johnny Cash's 'I've Been Everywhere' in realtime

In 1996, the legendary Johnny Cash recorded "I've Been Everywhere," putting his signature on an old-time country classic. The song, which rattles off dozens of locations throughout North America, was an appropriate fit a musician that toured rigorously throughout his storied career. Now through the magic of Google Maps, you can listen to the song while each one of those destinations is labeled with a Johnny Cash pin — all in realtime before your own eyes. Developer Iain Mullan whipped the project together for Music Hack Day London 2012 using MusixMatch (for lyrics), Toma HK and his own programming know-how. In all, mapping out "I've Been Everywhere"'s itinerary results in 112515 miles of travel. Cash undoubtedly crossed through many of...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3712030/google-maps-johnny-cash-ive-been-everywhere

MTV, race, and radio: How Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' prevailed during troubling times

By any measure, Michael Jackson's Thriller was an unbelievable success — but at the time of its release, that success was far from assured. Between the death of popular AM radio, the backlash of disco that made DJs avoid playing "black music," and the birth of the rock-themed MTV, the 1980s brought with it a myriad of challenges that questioned the identity of the music industry as a whole and threatened the viability of Jackon's sixth studio album. Billboard has taken a look back at the launch of the iconic 30 year-old album, highlighting how the carefully planned release of a Paul McCartney duet single, masterfully choreographed videos, and one of the greatest performers of all time helped Epic/CBS Records push past the barriers that...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3711664/michael-jackson-thriller-30-years-billboard

Should white hat hackers disclose their work to governments, companies, and the media?

Following his recent conviction for identity fraud and conspiracy in the AT&T iPad security breach, Andrew Auernheimer — also known by his online handle weev — published an opinion piece in Wired to tackle the complicated ethics issue of disclosing exploits. Auernheimer frowns on the practice of selling exploits to security corporations and governments, who often use the information for personal gain rather than consumer protection. Aiding unethical parties, he argues, "makes you a party to their crimes: It's no different than giving a rifle to a man you know is going to shoot someone." For more on the ethical shades of grey white hat hackers must learn to navigate, check out the full piece at the source link below.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3711588/hackers-ethics-disclosure-andrew-auernheimer-weev

The year's best pictures get the spotlight in annual National Geographic photo contest

Today's the last chance for photography buffs to enter National Geographic photo contest. The annual showcase has always been a stunning reminder of what's possible when you place a camera in the hands of a skilled photographer, and submissions collected thus far reveal 2012 will be no exception. Two of the prominent photography blogs on the web, In Focus and The Big Picture, have run several galleries of some standout entrants; landscapes, wildlife shots, and a number of unforgettable portraits are on full display.

To most of us, these stills serve as motivation to work at and improve upon our own camera proficiency. But if you managed to capture a stellar shot of your own this year, you've got until 11:59 PM EST tonight to send it in....

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3711696/national-geographic-photo-contest

Ouya developer consoles to ship on time, available alongside SDK on December 28th

Ouya, the extremely high-profile, affordable Android game console already has the distinction of one of the most highly-funded Kickstarter projects of all time, and now it's about to get another distinction to its name: shipping on time. The founders have posted an update with a photo of an actual prototype of the device, and they say that developer consoles will ship on December 28th. Additionally, the software development kit for game-makers will be made available to everyone — not just purchasers of the developer console — on that date.

This first batch of units precedes the expected March delivery for users who purchased the console but didn't seek early access for development purposes. The Jelly Bean-based console garnered...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3711564/ouya-developer-consoles-shipping-december-28th

Facebook rolls out optional automatic photo uploads from iOS and Android devices

Facebook has added another feature to its mobile apps that borrows from its social network competitors today: automatic photo uploads. The company is calling it "Photo Sync," and if it sounds familar that's because the feature has been in limited testing in August. Just like when we first heard about it, Photo Sync works on the iOS and Android app, and will automatically upload every photo you take to a private "Synced From Phone" album, from which you can choose which to share and which to delete. The feature is very similar to Google+'s instant photo uploads, and users will be limited to 2GB of cloud storage.

Battery life and mobile data usage are clearly concerns with such a feature, but Facebook has thankfully decided to include an...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3711428/facebook-automatic-photo-uploads-iphone-android-available

Spaun artificial brain can see, write, and answer basic IQ questions

Researchers across the world continue to make advances towards using technology to mimic the human brain, and scientists at the University of Waterloo have created their own functioning model that can even pass the kind of basic questions that appear on a standard IQ test. Known as Spaun — Semantic Pointer Architecture Unified Network — the artificial brain uses a supercomputer to model 2.5 million neurons (by way of comparison, the human brain is thought to have up to 100 billion neurons). Spaun features an electronic "eye" that lets it receive input in the form of 28 x 28-pixel images, and uses a robotic arm to scrawl its answers on paper.

At the moment Spaun can perform eight different pre-defined taks, including counting number...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3711326/spaun-artificial-brain-can-see-write-answer-iq-questions

Skeuomorphic designs aren't just for software, just ask your local electric car designer

Apple is often criticized for its skeuomorphic software designs that go to great lengths to mimic real world objects, but computer software isn't the only place where these design patterns are present. If you've seen an electric car, you may have noticed (or not) that the front of the vehicle generally has a familiar looking grille, even though an electric engine means that there is no need for the vehicle to suck in air (the purpose of having a grille on the front of a car with an internal combustion engine). These fake grilles can be seen on electric cars from BMW, Chevrolet, Honda, Infiniti, and others, so it's not a plague specific to one manufacturer. Jalopnik takes a look at why companies might do this (hint: it's branding), and...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3711346/skeuomorphic-designs-grilles-electric-cars

Surprisingly, touchscreen laptops don't suck

With Windows 8, touchscreens are more relevant than ever before. However, some pundits have long believed that a touchscreen simply doesn't belong on a laptop. Sometimes, they quote Steve Jobs. "Touch surfaces don't want to be vertical." That's Jobs in 2010, telling the world why Apple notebooks wouldn't feature the technology.

"You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those things are probably not gonna be pleasing to the user." That one's from Tim Cook earlier this year, explaining the company's stance on convertible tablet PCs.

These were the opinions of the leaders of the most profitable tech company in the world. I believed them myself. And yet somehow, neither of them have kept me from instinctively, repeatedly touching...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3710900/gorilla-arm-touchscreen-laptop-windows-8-apple

Forget the PS4 and the Xbox 720, build your own Steambox on the cheap

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3706718/forget-the-ps4-and-the-xbox-720-build-your-own-steambox-on-the-cheap

Details of Redbox's streaming strategy emerge as the rental service prepares to take on Netflix

Redbox has quietly been readying its Netflix streaming competitor for some time now, but it looks as though the service's big reveal may not be far off. GigaOm has uncovered a number of details surrounding Redbox Instant including subscription rates and devices you'll be able to watch content from when it does eventually launch. Though participation is currently limited to a small, invite-only group of beta testers, Redbox temporarily posted help files visible to anyone on the web that offer insight to its strategy.

Could the combination of streaming and kiosk rentals be a winning strategy?

Subscriptions will start at $6 per month (undercutting Netflix by a slim margin) and with that you'll gain unlimited access to Redbox's instant...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3710890/redbox-instant-streaming-details-leak

The Yes Men Kickstart a revolt

During the 2000 Presidential campaign, the mysterious, satirical website www.gwbush.com appeared on the web. The criticisms of George W. Bush on it gained media attention worldwide, culminating in a mention by the Presidential candidate at a press conference. The Yes Men were born. Since then, Andy Bichlbaum (real name: Jacques Servin), Mike Bonanno (Igor Vamos), and an ever-revolving gang of comrades have created amusing actions like printing a fake edition of The New York Times in hopes of calling out entities ranging from Dow Chemical and ExxonMobil to the WTO and the United States Chamber of Commerce. They build websites, pose as company executives, and do anything else they can to draw media attention and point out hypocrisy while...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3703726/the-yes-men-kickstarter-andy-bichlbaum-interview

'Snow Crash' is December's Book Club pick!

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3710600/snow-crash-is-decembers-book-club-pick-get-your-reading-schedule-here

Inspired by Pixar, animatronic 'Pinokio' desk lamp tracks movements, reacts to environment

It's hard to look at Pinokio, an animatronic lamp that responds to its surroundings, and not think of Pixar's logo; sure enough, its creators modeled their work after the Luxo lamp made famous by the animation studio. Hacked together by Shanshan Zhou, Adam Ben-Dror and Joss Doggett, Pinokio incorporates a webcam, mic, mechanical iris, servos, and a halogen globe in its advanced construction. From there, the group relies on Arduino, OpenCV, and plenty of code to give the lamp its impressive head-tracking and motion capabilities.

But the lamp can do more than merely follow your movements — a video demonstration reveals that it recognizes sound and even situations where a person intentionally hides from its camera. Zhou, Ben-Dror, and...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3710452/animatronic-pinokio-desk-lamp-pixar

The future of election fundraising emails

The 2012 election has been a treasure trove for data miners, statisticians, and analysts — they collected massive amounts of information and developed novel analyses that will be useful for years to come. One of Obama's reelection campaign teams dedicated themselves to optimizing donation emails, and found that the messages that drew the most money were also the most casual. Subject lines like "Hey" and "I will be outspent" were the most successful, netting millions of dollars according to Bloomberg Businessweek . For more on the surprising discoveries Obama's campaign made, read the source link below.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3710252/election-campaign-fundraising-emails-obama

Verge Favorites: William Savona

The Verge staffers aren't just people who love technology. They're people who love stuff. We spend as much time talking and thinking about our favorite books, music, and movies as we do debating the best smartphone to buy or what point-and-shoot has the tightest macro. We thought it would make sense to share our latest obsessions with Verge readers, and we hope you're encouraged to share your favorites with us. Thus a long, healthy debate will ensue where we all end up with new things to read, listen to, or try on.

Delivery Status touch

This app is certainly not new. In fact, it was one of the first apps I purchased on the iOS App Store. It's a current favorite because I've been using it quite a bit more recently...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3263860/verge-favorites-william-savona

How a broken IKEA lamp inspired a line of cheap, 3D-printed lampshades

Hacking IKEA products is a longstanding DIY tradition, and 3D printing is undoubtably on the rise, so Montreal artist Samuel N. Bernier put the two together when he couldn't find an inexpensive and stylish lampshade replacement for his broken IKEA lamp. Bernier already had plenty of experience with 3D printing in the past, so he decided to take matters into his own hands and design his own lampshades that he was able to print for less than $5 each. Eventually, Bernier got a little fascinated with this lampshade project and designed a total of 12 different models — he says each takes between four and 12 hours to print, require no support materials, and weight 100g or less. It's a nice reminder of the potential for 3D printing to become...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3710588/ikea-3d-printing-lampshades-hack

The Vergecast 056 - November 29th, 2012

It feels good to be back! It's been two weeks since the last Vergecast and three since Joshua Topolsky last sat in the captain's chair. What better way to get back in touch with the people than to take calls? We hear from you on some of the most important matters of the day — Star Wars trivia, and the always worrisome problem of keeping vegetables fresh. Also hear about the Vergecasters' latest adventures with the Wii Mini and the Wii U.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3708332/the-vergecast-056-november-29th-2012

Motorola Droid RAZR HD, Maxx HD to get Android 4.1 update as soon as next week

Verizon Wireless has announced that the Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update for its Motorola Droid RAZR HD and Maxx HD smartphones will begin rolling out to users starting next week. The carrier had promised that the update would arrive before the end of the year when it announced the phones back in September, so it's good to see it stick to its promise. The update will be delivered in phases, so not everyone will get it at the same time. In addition to all of the performance updates included with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Verizon says that the update also offers improved voice and data connectivity, better native calendar settings, and updated versions of Verizon's preloaded apps. The now-defunct Color and Verizon Video apps will be removed,...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3710680/motorola-droid-razr-hd-maxx-android-4-1-update

Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom: 'I’m not really one for ritual. Life’s more interesting that way.'

Kevin Systrom is the CEO and co-founder of Instagram, the popular photo-sharing and filtering app for iPhone and Android. His company sold to Facebook for close to a billion dollars back in April. Prior to Instagram, he interned at Odeo under the future Twitter co-founders, and worked on consumer products like Gmail at Google for two years. Systrom took a few minutes to talk to The Verge about his favorite people to follow on Instagram, the longevity of image filtering, and his first memory of the internet. You can find him on Twitter at @kevin and on Instagram here.

What are you doing right now?

Closing up another great day at HQ – planning out my calendar for the rest of the week, tying up loose ends and trying not to check my...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3710112/instagram-ceo-kevin-systrom

FCC order enables creation of thousands of new non-commercial local radio stations

The FCC has just announced that it is prepared to implement the Local Community Radio Act — a bill that aims to give local community groups the opportunity to broadcast on low-power FM stations beyond small rural areas. The bill was signed into law in January, 2011 by President Obama after a decade of advocacy from supporters, and allows low-power stations to be created within three radio dial clicks of a major station. The bill was supported by the National Association of Broadcasters, which said that the legislation "will expand the number of LPFM stations in the US while providing full-power radio stations with the protection and clarity we have long sought." It overturned an earlier law that kept low-power radio stations primarily...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3710340/fcc-new-local-community-radio

King of Samsung: a chairman's reign of cunning and corruption

If Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee takes a moment this weekend to reflect on the past 25 years, he could be forgiven for having mixed emotions. Tomorrow marks the quarter-century point since Lee took over from his late father, and his time in charge has seen a whirlwind acceleration in Samsung's fortunes. Under Lee's guidance, the company has been transformed from a Korean budget name into a major international force and arguably the most prominent Asian brand worldwide — Samsung's revenues are now 39 times what they were in 1987, it generates around 20 percent of South Korea's GDP, and Lee is the country's richest man.

Samsung's rise to the top has been tainted with controversy

But the company's rise to the top has been tainted with...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3709688/samsung-25-years-lee-kun-hee

Gambling with friends: Derby Jackpot bets horse racing will be the new online poker

On a recent Wednesday evening, most of the 40 high definition TVs at the Manhattan sports bar Tavern on Third were, oddly, not tuned to the NBA game. Instead, the screens streamed grainy video from horse racing stadiums in Louisiana and Connecticut, and the bar patrons watched thoroughbreds with names like "Hot Sixes" and "A Lil Bit O Game" sprint down the tracks.

The shift from basketball to the markedly less popular sport of horse racing was thanks to Derby Jackpot, the startup that had taken over the bar for a party. Derby Jackpot is an online game that translates horse racing into the language and imagery of the social games which have become popular on social networks and smartphones. Think FarmVille or Draw Something, but with...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3702590/derby-jackpot-lets-you-gamble-with-real-money-online

What happened to Syria's internet?

Syria's country-wide internet outage has been blamed on "terrorists" and a cable fault, but content delivery service and domain name provider CloudFlare's own investigation points to a very different cause. If the blackout were caused by a damaged cable, all four connections — three of which are underground — would have to be cut simultaneously, CloudFlare observes. To read the company's take on what really happened behind the "deeply troubling" events and see what Syrians were surfing moments before the blackout, check out the source link below.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3710120/syria-internet-cloudflare-blackout

UK judge orders Facebook to take down sex offender awareness page

Facebook must remove a user-created page designed to call attention to sex offenders within 72 hours. A High Court justice out of Northern Ireland issued the ruling in response to a lawsuit from a convicted offender, deeming the public shaming excessive and a potential safety concern for the man — whose identity was kept secret during court proceedings. The page, "Keeping our kids safe from predators," routinely posts photos and other personal information regarding child predators throughout the UK. It's proven to be a relatively popular destination for locals, garnering over 5,000 "Likes" and thousands of user comments. But the individual behind the lawsuit, referred to as XY, claims numerous threats were attached to photos of him...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3710140/facebook-sex-offender-page-removal

iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad coming to China on December 7th, iPhone 5 follows on December 14th

Apple's global rollout of its newest products will continue in China next month — the iPhone 5, fourth-generation iPad, and iPad mini are set to launch in December. The iPad mini and fourth-generation iPad will be available starting Friday, December 7th, while the iPhone 5 will launch a week later on the 14th. It sounds like the intial run of iPads won't have any LTE capabilities, as Apple's release only mentions the Wi-Fi models. While Apple didn't say which carriers would offer the iPhone 5, it's a good bet that both China Unicom and China Telecom will offer the handset.

The launch can't come soon enough for Apple — earlier in the year, it was reported that the company lost a good deal of marketshare as Chinese customers waited...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3710010/iphone-5-ipad-mini-china-december-launch

TabletMan is Japanese tech personified

If you’re a manufacturer that isn’t putting out particularly exciting products, how do you get people to sit up and take notice of your company? Toshiba has decided to try and win the hearts and minds of consumers using TabletMan, its latest mascot that’s quite literally a man wearing a multitude of tablets. The Japanese company set TabletMan loose on the streets of Singapore to let onlookers and pedestrians alike interact with the tablets. Rather than simply letting people idly swipe through the OS, TabletMan encourages them to record short voice messages for their future selves. Toshiba believes that the sortie in Singapore will be the first of many around the world for TabletMan.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3709842/toshiba-tabletman

Apple iMac and Mac mini review (late 2012)

As soon as it was unveiled on stage in October, I started looking forward to getting the new iMac in for review. See, my main machine is a 13-inch MacBook Air, which I mostly love. But sometimes I want a bigger screen for watching movies, or more processing power when I'm dealing with photos or video, or a half-decent GPU when I feel like playing games. The new iMac promised all that, in a newly slim package that would fit nicely on my desk.

Then there's the Mac mini, which has occupied a spot in my living room for years. Mine's old, and showing its age – it can barely handle high-def video, and even stumbles on some basic tasks. Apple updated that in October too, bestowing upon its tiny desktop a new processor and the new Fusion...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3709120/apple-imac-mac-mini-review

The history of Pong, the arcade classic that changed the game

Buzzfeed has taken a look at why the lucrative video games industry wouldn’t be possible without the legendary arcade classic Pong, a game that helped to bring video games to a mainstream audience. The publication delves into the history of the game, detailing its creation by a small group of talented programmers and its rise to stardom. There were some challenges along the way, and Atari was even hit with a patent lawsuit by Magnavox in 1976 that lead to an expensive out of court settlement. Despite all that, the popularity and profitability of Pong cemented the place of video games in culture for years to come.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3709758/history-of-pong

Christopher Nolan discusses the challenge of bringing Batman to life

Earlier this week, Christopher Nolan sat down with film critic Scott Foundas and talked Batman. A transcript of the interview has now been published by Foundas at Film Comment , and it makes for an illuminating read. Nolan discusses his reasons for shooting the trilogy, his philosophy in approaching the characters, and the importance of theatricality in film. Nolan's hesitance to rely on CGI in his films is well-documented, but The Dark Knight Rises bucked that trend somewhat, featuring an increased amount of computer-generated effects. The filmmaker notes that TDKR only contains "about a third or a quarter the number of CG shots of any other film on that scale," and explains how he physically combines the effects with the film to achieve...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3709708/christopher-nolan-scott-foundas-batman-interview-sequel-trilogy

Watch this: the origin story of Reddit

Reddit has become a social powerhouse thanks to its mix of aggregation and user-submitted content, but the website was born out of a different idea altogether. Founders Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian explain that their initial goal was to develop a simple way to order food from local Sheetz gas stations using cellphones. The idea grabbed the attention of Paul Graham — co-founder of Y-Combinator — after the two college students approached him at a lecture. The plan was ultimately rejected when the duo formally pitched it to the startup investor in 2005, but Graham promised funding if they could devise something new.

That "something new" turned into Reddit, what Huffman describes as a cross between Delicious and Slashdot that would...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3709702/watch-this-reddit-origin

Charles Babbage's difference engine captured in gigapixel images

A re-construction of Charles Babbage's difference engine, an early mechanical computer, has been captured in precise detail using gigapixel imagery. Babbage, who essentially invented the mechanical computer in the nineteenth century, was unable to execute on his ideas during his lifetime, but scientists successfully reconstructed his second design for the difference engine in the late eighties. Work began to build Babbage's magnus opus, the highly-complex analytical engine, last year.

Today, two difference engines exist, one in Babbage's London and the other at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. It's difficult to grasp the scale of the giant machine through the images, so we've included a video of it in action...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3709676/charles-babbage-difference-engine-gigapixel-images

Chinese fighter jet landing sparks bizarre 'Top Gun' pose meme

A few days ago, China successfully launched and landed a fighter jet on its first aircraft carrier in a symbolic demonstration of the nation's growing military power. Certain internet users in the country, however, had other things on their mind — namely, the unusual Top Gun-style gesture used by the landing crew to guide the jet to safety. The action pose has been emulated by many Chinese people online in a variety of situations on Sina Weibo and other social networks, and Ministry of Tofu has collated several great examples. Coming so soon after "Gangnam Style," it looks like East Asia is staking a solid claim to become the new capital of physical memes.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/30/3709598/chinese-landing-top-gun-meme

Unlocked iPhone 5 now on sale in the US, starts at $649

The unlocked iPhone 5 is now finally available from Apple in the US, reports 9to5Mac . As with previous releases, the unlocked phone is coming to the US significantly later than Canada and some countries in Europe, where it went on sale in September, alongside the carrier locked versions. The phone starts at $649 for 16GB of storage, with the 32GB and 64GB models adding an extra $100 and $200, respectively — the same as the iPhone 4S before it. Apple says the devices are shipping in one week, which means they should arrive in plenty of time for the holidays. While the phone is great for frequent travelers and the anti-contract contingent, it’s important to note that the company is limiting customers to two phones apiece, you need a...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/29/3709164/unlocked-iphone-5-us-pricing-availability

90 Seconds on The Verge: iTunes 11, Surface Pro, and Mars Rover

Brandom. Russell Brandom. (B)random. Noun. "The state of being okay with the following nonsensical description associated with a first-time 90 Seconds on The Verge appearance: 4 8 15 16 23 24... 4 8 15 16 23 24... 4 8 15 16 23 24... and so on."

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/29/3708260/apple-itunes-11-microsoft-surface-pro-nasa-mars-rover-90sotv

NASA confirms ice and organic material lurk in the darkness on Mercury

There’s ice and organic material on Mercury, says NASA. Data from the MESSENGER spacecraft orbiting the planet confirms that impact craters in its polar regions (pictured above) are home to not just vast amounts of frozen water, but black patches of dark organic material. Initial evidence for water ice on the planet dates back twenty years, and was reinforced with initial findings from MESSENGER last year. But skepticism was laid to rest this week thanks to data from the probe's laser altimeter and neutron spectrometer, which measure the reflectance and hydrogen-richness of targets on the planet’s surface. The findings were published online in three papers for Science Express .

Compared to rock, ice is shiny and high in hydrogen,...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/29/3708526/ice-organic-mercury-messenger

'No Longer Art' exhibition re-examines the worth of damaged works

If a work of art is more than the sum of its parts, what happens when one or more of those parts is damaged? You'd think the meaning and artist's intention would remain as valid as ever, but that doesn't stop art insurance companies writing off imperfect works with "total loss" status, stripping them of their value. Polish artist Elka Krajewska's Salvage Art Institute is putting on an exhibition at Columbia University that seeks to reassess some of these works and challenge our views on what makes art truly valuable. Krajewska came into possession of a large inventory of art that had been designated as worthless by insurance company AXA, and the No Longer Art show has been curated from these. It's running at the Arthur Ross Architecture...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/29/3708498/no-longer-art-exhibition-damaged-works

First third-party Lightning cables come in multiple lengths from Griffin

Griffin has announced the first third-party Lightning cables. While we've started to see accessories trickle out for Apple products that use the new connector, such as the iPhone 5 and iPad mini, until now you haven't been able to buy an actual charge & sync cable from anyone but Cupertino itself. Griffin is offering the cables in four different lengths: 2-foot, 3-foot, 4-foot (coiled), and 3-meter (9.7-foot), priced at $16.99, $18.99, $24.99, and $29.99 respectively. For comparison, Apple sells a 3.5-foot cable for $19, so Griffin isn't really undercutting on price here. Still, with more flexibility in length and a black color scheme, we're sure these products will find their audience. They'll be shipping in the first week of December.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/29/3708336/third-party-lightning-cables-griffin

Like data before it, Voice over LTE presents major battery hurdles for manufacturers

When LTE data finally made its way to smartphones, it didn't come without sacrifices. At the top of that list was battery life: the initial fleet of 4G hardware exhibited mediocre longevity, rarely making it through a half-day of usage — let alone an entire day. As manufacturers have optimized LTE radios (and crammed larger batteries into phones), those battery concerns have been largely mitigated. Unfortunately it seems that we're in for the same lesson with Voice over LTE (VoLTE). Still in its infancy — MetroPCS and Sprint are the only US carriers currently supporting VoLTE, with the latter referring to it as "HD voice" — the technology promises higher voice fidelity and clearer conversations. But tests conducted by Metrico...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/29/3707794/volte-voice-over-lte-battery-tests

Microsoft's next-generation Xbox to arrive for the 2013 holiday season, says Bloomberg

Microsoft isn't having any trouble selling its Xbox 360 game console even though it's seven years old — the company recently reported sales of 750,000 units over the recent Black Friday weekend — but that doesn't mean it isn't working on the next generation of the platform. Bloomberg, citing inside sources, is now reporting that Microsoft plans to release the next generation Xbox in time for next year's holiday season, likely just in time to capitalize on 2013's Black Friday. This shouldn't come as a huge surprise to anyone that is following the gaming space — both Microsoft and Sony are expected to release next-generation consoles next year, and rumors of a late 2013 launch for the next Xbox have circulated since at least January...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/29/3708146/microsofts-next-generation-xbox-2013-holidays-bloomberg

Staples to launch 3D printing service in early 2013 beginning in the Netherlands and Belgium

Staples is launching a new service called Staples Easy 3D, which will allow customers to upload files to the Staples Office Center, have objects printed in 3D, and pick them up at a nearby store or have them shipped. While similar services like Shapeways have existed for quite some time, they're relatively obscure to the everyday consumer — this new deal between 3D printer manufacturer Mcor Technologies new and Staples may prove a huge step in making 3D printing affordable and accessible to the masses. Staples Easy 3D is set to launch in the Netherlands and Belgium in early 2013, and will be "rolled out quickly to other countries" according to Staples Printing Systems' director of business development Oscar Pakasi.

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/29/3707664/staples-easy-3D-printing-mcor-2013

AFP's top photos of 2012 provide a stunning visual history of the past year

The end of the year often brings a flood of "best of" lists, but few will be as visually arresting as AFP's top photos of 2012. The collection of 99 images captures a huge variety of subjects, from lighter content like the 2012 London Olympics, Adele's big win at the Grammys and President Obama's iconic "four more years" photo to more serious subjects like a Tibetan exile engulfed in flames, the conflicts in Gaza and Syria, and Hurricane Sandy. Not only is it an stunning look back at the year that's passed, it's also an excellent reminder of the power wielded by photojournalists. While end-of-the-year lists are a bit of a tired trope, one this good is always worth a look. We wouldn't be surprised if some photos shot in December are...

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via The Verge - All Posts http://www.theverge.com/2012/11/29/3706574/afp-top-photos-2012-visual-history