While it’s normally quite easy for someone to act natural while driving a stolen car – the situation might be more difficult if it’s equipped with an updatable license plate and flashing the words “STOLEN”.

A small company in South Carolina is attempting to introduce electronic license plates for the state’s cars and trucks. The idea could easily be extended to other words such as “UNINSURED” and “UNTAXED”.

The updatable license plates us electrophoretic displays – the same material that is made to use e-reader devices such as the Kindle and Nook. They are currently black-and-white, and despite their slow refresh rates, have a surprisingly sharp resolution, while using virtually no battery power.

This particular display gathers kinetic energy from the movement of the car over the road, or solar energy, which it uses only when it needs to change.

Once the technology reaches a point where it can display color, the updatable license plates would be even more prominent. Flashing signs telling passersby that the car is stolen would likely provide the proper incentive for them to call the police.

Apart from the crime-related benefits, an electronic updatable license plate could have interesting applications when it comes to license plate renewals. Drivers would no longer be required to visit the DMV to get a new plate, instead they could do all the paperwork online.

This would save a lot of queuing, and mean that it would only require a wireless connection for the plate to be updated with all the necessary information.

One potential issue is that of security – it’s unsure how easy it would be to steal vehicle details, or change license plates completely. The idea is still in the proposal stage, so these issues would likely be addressed at a later stage.

Would you want to save time queueing at the DMV by getting your hands on an updatable license plate?

Image via Autoblog

Updatable License Plate Could Alert The Police When A Vehicle Is Stolen is a post from: The Inquisitr

The China supercomputer called the Tianhe-2 is beating the best United States supercomputers by quite a lot.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the China supercomputer is like the final nail in the coffin for the United States’ lead with supercomputers.

For example, the $121 million IBM Roadrunner supercomputer is headed for retirement despite still being classified as one of the world’s fastest supercomputers. That was built in 2008, but, in 2009, the United States Department of Defense was actually relying on ordering PlayStation 3 video game consoles, which featured the CELL process, in order to increase the power of their supercomputers.

The new Chinese supercomputer was developed by the National University of Defense Technology. The name Tianhe-2 is translated to Milky Way-2.

According to the benchmarks used by Top500, an organization that tracks supercomputers, China’s supercomputer spits out an amazing 33.86 PetaFLOPS per second, or 33,860 trillion calculations per second. As a comparison, the US Department of Energy’s Titan supercomputer was the former world’s fastest supercomputer, but it only achieved about half the performance of the Tianhe-2 at 17.59 PetaFLOPS per second.

TOP500 editor Jack Dongarra says the China supercomputer Tianhe-2 was built entirely with Intel processors, but the overall design, efficiency, and operating system were designed in China:

“Most of the features of the system were developed in China, and they are only using Intel for the main computer part. That is, the interconnect, operating system, front-end processors and software are mainly Chinese,”

China’s supercomputer contains 16,000 nodes, which each contain two Xeon IvyBridge processors and three Xeon Phi processors, for a total of 3,120,000 total CPU cores.

To put that in perspective, most consumer computers usually have eight CPU cores at most. A single Xeon Phi processor card costs between $3,000 and $5,000 each.

What do you think about China’s supercomputer the Tianhe-2 beating the United States so soundly?

China Supercomputer Tianhe-2 Beats The US Titan Badly is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Digg Reader  will start rolling out next week.

Digg announced today that the Digg Reader, an RSS product that the social media site hopes will replace the disappearing Google Reader, will launch next week. Digg will roll out the product in phases and plans to have the new reader available to everyone by June 26.

Digg writes on its blog: “Next week we will begin rolling out Digg Reader, version 1. We’re doing the launch in phases because, as you might have guessed, RSS aggregation is a hard thing to do at scale, and we want to make sure the experience is as fast and reliable as possible. Everyone will have access by June 26th.”

Digg started working on its new product shortly after Google announced that they would be killing its reader. The Digg team built their Reader with three goals in mind: Keep it simple, make it fast, and allow users to import Google RSS feeds into the new reader.

Here are some of the core elements of the new product.

• Easy migration and onboarding from Google Reader.
• A clean reading experience that gets out of the way and puts the focus squarely on the articles, posts, images, and videos themselves.
• Useful mobile apps that sync with the web experience.
• Support for key actions like subscribing, sharing, saving and organizing.

Tech Crunch reports that the Digg Reader will be integrated into the Digg iOS app. An Android app will be released about “60 days following the launch.”  The company is also working on integrating services like Evernote.

Digg is trying to position itself as a replacement for Google Reader but it isn’t the only name in the game. The Guardian notes that services like Feedly have seen a big increase in customers since Google announced that it was killing of its Reader.

Digg Reader Coming Next Week is a post from: The Inquisitr

Ford Motors is taking a step back in terms of the technology it emphasizes in its vehicles. According to a new report, the automobile giant is adding physical controls back into its in-car systems.

Ford in recent years has made every attempt possible to ditch physical knobs and buttons. Instead, the car manufacturer had moved towards touchscreens and voice recognition systems.

According to the report, the new Ford system will remove some of the complexity of the Sync and MyFord Touch systems by adding buttons and knobs that are easier to adjust when driving.

Global product development chief Raj Nair tells the Wall Street Journal that drivers are frustrated because they can’t easily change their systems volume or radio stations as quickly as they had with traditional knob setups.

Ford will not be doing away with its new control panels; instead, the company will dumb down the technology to make navigating a far simpler task.

While nearly 80 percent of all Ford customers choose the Sync or MyFord Touch Systems, the company now believes that additional control systems based on knobs and buttons will help customers more thoroughly enjoy their vehicles. 

According to Nair:

“The satisfaction is higher on the vehicles equipped with MyFord Touch than without. We’ve been able to spend a lot of time with customers to find out what exactly are the areas that are bothering them.”

When Ford unveiled the MyFord Touch system, the company watched as its quality survey ratings fell in both 2011 and 2012. Ford quickly worked to win back its customers trust through software updates for existing systems and better voice recognition software. Ford has since added a more streamlined layout for quicker access.

Do you think adding knobs and buttons to a modern touchscreen and voice-enabled system is a smart move by the team at Ford Motors?

Ford Motors Adding Physical Controls Back Into Vehicles After Switching To Touchscreens, Voice Recognition is a post from: The Inquisitr

Apple has adamantly denied that it knew anything about the NSA PRISM platform before it was revealed last week. Apple reps for a second time have released a statement about Apple’s knowledge and position regarding the NSA’s spying program.

According to Apple reps:

“Two weeks ago, when technology companies were accused of indiscriminately sharing customer data with government agencies, Apple issued a clear response: We first heard of the government’s ‘Prism’ program when news organizations asked us about it on June 6. We do not provide any government agency with direct access to our servers, and any government agency requesting customer content must get a court order.”

That information is old news from the tech giant, which is why the rep added:

“Like several other companies, we have asked the U.S. government for permission to report how many requests we receive related to national security and how we handle them. We have been authorized to share some of that data, and we are providing it here in the interest of transparency.”

Apple continues:

“From December 1, 2012 to May 31, 2013, Apple received between 4,000 and 5,000 requests from U.S. law enforcement for customer data. Between 9,000 and 10,000 accounts or devices were specified in those requests, which came from federal, state and local authorities and included both criminal investigations and national security matters. The most common form of request comes from police investigating robberies and other crimes, searching for missing children, trying to locate a patient with Alzheimer’s disease, or hoping to prevent a suicide.”

Apple says its own legal team evaluates every single government request for information and then acts with the appropriate steps. Apple says it only provides the narrowest amount of customer data based on court orders and other requests from authorities.

The tech giant also notes that it will deny some requests if there are inconsistencies in those requests. According to the Apple rep:

“Apple has always placed a priority on protecting our customers’ personal data, and we don’t collect or maintain a mountain of personal details about our customers in the first place. There are certain categories of information which we do not provide to law enforcement or any other group because we choose not to retain it.”

Those categories include “conversations which take place over iMessage and FaceTime are protected by end-to-end encryption so no one but the sender and receiver can see or read them. Apple cannot decrypt that data. Similarly, we do not store data related to customers’ location, Map searches or Siri requests in any identifiable form.”

Is Apple engaged in NSA PRISM monitoring? The truth is we may never know since the program is shrouded in secrecy and involvement in the program is likely kept private by way of a secret court order.

Do you think the NSA PRISM program is being implemented on Apple servers?

Apple Denies Knowing About NSA PRISM Program, Releases Second Response is a post from: The Inquisitr

The new Airbus A350 took off on its maiden flight on Friday in a move that stepped up the battle with arch-rival Boeing. The new jetliner will compete with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.

The maiden flight was watched by over 10,000 staff and spectators in Toulouse, France. The aircraft’s curled wingtips helped the plane lift off into the clouds above the Airbus factory.

The Airbus A350 flew over the Pyrenees mountains with a crew of six people wearing orange jumpsuits and parachutes, in case the aircraft experienced problems.

The flight was a four-hour culmination of eight years of development that cost Airbus about $15 billion. British chief test pilot Peter Chandler, who spoke by radio from 13,000 feet, stated, “The airplane is behaving extremely well.”

French co-pilot Guy Magrin took control of the A350 for the 10:01 am local time take-off. Tom Enders, the head of Airbus parent EADS, commented after the lightweight airliner landed:

“It is a great day for Airbus. A maiden flight doesn’t happen that often. It is not like the auto industry, where you launch a new model every two years or even less.”

The maiden flight of the A350 was a milestone for Airbus as the company battles against Boeing’s Dreamliner for sales. Both aircraft represent a new generation of lightweight jets that are made from a carbon-plastic material. The new design is meant to save fuel and open up more long-distance routes.

Boeing was the first to launch the new carbon-composite technology. And the company’s Dreamliner has far outsold the A350 with current sales standing at 833 aircraft for 57 customers. But Airbus hopes to catch up.

The Airbus A350 that flew on Friday is the first of five test models that will be worked on before production begins next year. Meanwhile, Boeing is expected to announce a new version of the Dreamliner as a way to boost sales.

[Image via Don-vip]

Airbus A350 Takes Off On Maiden Flight is a post from: The Inquisitr

Amazon recently won a $150 million contract for a massive intelligence community computer cloud, and now IBM is crying foul.

According to a Government Accountability Office ruling, the CIA gave Amazon an unfair advantage when it agreed to weaken security requirements for the project. That agreement arrived only after Amazon won the lucrative contract.

After winning the CIA bid, Amazon asked the intelligence agency for permission to only vouch for software it had built itself. In the meantime, third party and open source software would not be checked for viruses and backdoors by the team at Amazon.

IBM claims that it would have bid differently on the contract if third-party issues had been revealed during the bid process.

According to the Government Accountability Office, the CIA cloud setup is to be built on government property and therefore requires the highest level of security possible. The GAO notes that the system would include both infrastructure-as-a-service and software-as-a-service components.

The GAO writes:

“It is a fundamental principle of government procurement that competition must be conducted on an equal basis. Offerors must be treated equally and provided with a common basis for the preparation of their proposals.”

The GAO has suggested that the CIA re-bid the cloud contract and reimburse IBM for the cost of challenging the award. While Government Accountability Office rulings are not officially binding, they are typically followed.

The cloud-based data center would allow the CIA to store information at lower costs. Cloud computing has become a growing component of the online space with many companyies and organizations moving towards the shared space technology.

The GAO also says IBM was correct in assuming that the CIA unfairly adjusted bid pricing based on inconsistent standards.

IBM made other claims in its attempt to stop the Amazon bid, but those claims were thrown out by an independent auditor.

CIA Gave Amazon Unfair Advantage To Win Cloud-Based Security Contract is a post from: The Inquisitr

AT&T Wireless has begun rolling out new Wireless Emergency Alerts for iPhone 4S and iPhone 5 users. The new alerts include the ability to turn AMBER alerts on and off. One type of message users will not be able to turn off are messages delivered by way of Presidential alerts.

The update arrives when users add iOS 6.1 or higher to their devices. AMBER alerts and Emergency alerts can be helpful for AT&T users and anyone wanting to help find missing children. However, those options are optional and therefore are opt-out ready.

If you don’t want to receive AMBER alerts and Emergency alerts on your iPhone, you can simple navigate to the devices notification settings and turn them off.

President Obama’s presidential alerts will arrive regardless of a user’s desire.

While WEA messages are always delivered free of charge to all AT&T Wireless customers, the move will likely anger Republicans and Independents who don’t support President Obama. The move may even anger Obama supports who feel their government in recent weeks has overstepped its bounds with the NSA PRISM program.

While the presidential messages are enabled, users shouldn’t expect to see daily messages from the POTUS. Instead, messages will be delivered when issues of national importance are on the docket.

Attacks against America, major natural disasters, impeding disaster — all of those issues may trigger an important Presidential alert. While we might not always want to hear from the President, most of us probably want to know if we need to get out of dodge.

Do you think AT&T Wireless and the US Government is overstepping its bounds by making it impossible to turn off Presidential alerts on your iOS 6.1 and higher devices?

AT&T Wireless Rolling Out Forced President Obama Alerts For iPhone Users is a post from: The Inquisitr

The team at Google X Labs has unveiled “Project Loon,” a new platform that aims to use high-altitude balloons to create a 3G-speed internet connection for remote parts of the world.

The Project Loon network relies on the high-altitude balloons to create a connected network in rural areas where the cost of building an internet connection outweighs the advantages of such a network.

If Google X Labs is successful in creating the network, it would require balloons to fly twice the altitude of commercial aircraft. The balloons would then allow homes and businesses to pick up their signals and connect to the internet regardless of location.

The Project Loon balloons would travel around the world using solar power and stratospheric winds.

Google engineers are currently attempting to build out the algorithms that would be needed to tell the balloons how high to fly in order to drift in the right direction. Keeping the high-altitude internet balloons on the right path at all times would be needed to keep the network fully connected to ground based internet stations.

Google X Labs is known for shooting for the stars, which means this platform may never see the light of day. At this time, the Project Loon setup is still in “early testing,” although Google claims that technology already available could have allowed Project Loon to already go live.

Back in 2008, a report suggested that Google was already working with a balloon wireless firm to create a wide-area network.

Fifty people are beginning to test the Project Loon setup in New Zealand. The test program is using 30 Project Loon balloons that will all go live over the next week.

Here’s a second video that further explains how the Google X Labs project will work.

Do you think Google can make Project Loon a reality?

Google X Labs Unveils ‘Project Loon’, A Balloon-Powered WiFi Network is a post from: The Inquisitr

Meet Project Loon, Google’s newly announced plan to use large balloons to bring wireless internet access across the globe.

The ambitious plan comes in the latest of Google’s on-going foray into bringing low cost or free internet access to those who might otherwise lack it. However, it is the first major attempt at creating a nearly unified network to the whole world.

Some eyebrows, though, have been raised as Google declares balloons to be at the core of their plans.

Strange as it may sound, there’s an “it’s so crazy it might just work” factor here; “Loon” as the project’s name was a good choice.

In the announcement video included below Google explains the basics of the idea: Put powerful wifi transmitters in weather balloon-like devices that will float in the sky, blanketing the world with free internet.

Google hopes Project Loon will make access to education, medical resources, and emergency communication a realistic possibility for everyone on the globe, closing internet gaps and bringing it to some places for the first time.

Google estimates that nearly two thirds of the world lacks access to fast, reliable internet.

The project’s first test begins this June, where thirty balloons will be launched from New Zealand’s South Island and travel along the 40^th Parallel to circle the globe.

The balloons will use ISM bands and provide speeds similar to 3G in an area of about 40 km per balloon. Google’s design is intended to make the balloons hardier and longer lasting than normal weather balloons. Solar panels will power the unit’s transmitters.

Project Loon may seem like a mad plan, but Google is confident this could be a revolutionary way of distributing information access across the globe.

Are you looking forward to being able to update your Facebook status on top of a mountain? Will Project Loon make mobile data plans merely a relic of the past?

[Image via Project Loon]

Project Loon: Google To Use Balloons To Bring The World Internet [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Toyota Camatte for kids has been upgraded to an electric supercar for the 2013 International Tokyo Toy Show.

The original Toyota Camatte was an old fashioned kit car that was powered by human-driven pedals.

The new Toyota Camatte57 is a completely different type of beast. Gone is the old styling. In its place is a topless convertible with the looks of a supercar.

But the Camatte57 doesn’t just mimic a supercar, it replaces the pedals with a system that you’d normally only see in vehicles built for adults. Never mind, this is a Do-It-Yourself car with interchangeable parts, so you can customize the Toyota Camette to your heart’s content.

Kenji Tsuji, a project manager for the Camatte57 project, explains the Toyota Camatte for kids:

“It’s basically no different than a regular car. The power-train is an electric motor. The accelerator, brake, dashboard meters and seats are identical to those in conventional vehicles. The main difference is that it’s shorter, and sized to a kid’s proportions.”

The Toyota Camatte57 has a top speed of 28 mph. While, yes, that’s not exactly fast by normal standards. But when you consider the new Toyota Camatte is designed for kids standing only four feet tall then you might see how some parents might break out in a sweat.

But Toyota took into consideration how parents might feel about the Camatte57. The side seats are parent sized and have pedals and controls to override the driver. There’s also a limiter that can slow the Camatte down to a 3 mph crawl.

Would you let your child drive a Toyota Camatte for kids?

Toyota Camatte: Kids Electric Supercar Is A Family DYI Project is a post from: The Inquisitr

A new Facebook RSS reader may soon become a reality. Facebook on Friday began delivering press event notices to various publications, and the letter claims a “big idea” is on the way from the world’s largest social network.

Facebook Reader talk began surfacing after developer Tom Waddington discovered new code inside the Facebook Graph API.

Waddington says the API code ties RSS technology to a user’s IDs. The code contains fields for titles, URLs, and update times. The API code also include entries for subscribers based on every single feed.

Unfortunately, the Facebook API code can not be tested through the Facebook Graph API explorer feature. When executed via the Facebook platform, the code says the users IP address must be whitelisted.

Facebook has refused to comment on what appears to be an RSS feature that could potentially replace Google Reader when it turns off on July 1.

In many ways, a Facebook RSS reader made a lot of sense. Users already like brands and use active sharing features for stories they read on the web. A Facebook Reader could allow users to better control what third-party content they see from outside sources.

Imagine logging into your Facebook account and seeing friends’ posts and then clicking over and seeing a fluidly integrated RSS feed that allows you to share stories quickly while accessing feeds from others as they allow.

The Digg Reader has promised to bring aspects of a social platform to RSS users, but Betaworks doesn’t have the infrastructure in place to virally share RSS information in the same way as Facebook.

With Facebook hosting its “big idea” event on June 20, all we can do now is sit around and wait to see if a Facebook RSS reader is on the way.

Would you ditch your other RSS readers in exchange for a competent and integrated Facebook RSS Reader?

Facebook RSS Reader: Graph API Code Points To Future Feature is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Apple iTunes platform will surpass 600 million accounts within the next two months. According to a new report, the popular music platform is now adding 500,000 account per day.

Apple revealed during the worldwide developers conference (WWDC) that it currently supports 575 million iTunes accounts.

Asymco analyst Horace Dediu took Apple’s new numbers and ran them against numbers from past disclosures to determine the high number of daily Apple iTunes sign-ups.

The number of Apple iTunes sign-ups could increase as Apple prepares the inclusion of the Apple iTunes Radio platform. iTunes Radio was announced during WWDC. The platform offers Pandora type radio playback with ads and ads free options for Apple and PC users.

The Apple iTunes Radio setup allows users to easily purchase music tracks from iTunes, which should help Apple increase song sales, which have been rather stagnant over the last three years. In fact, Apple iTunes recently lost some of its long held marketshare thanks to the work of Amazon and other emerging competitors.

The new platform may also work to draw buyers away from the Amazon MP3 store by providing streaming music with more access options for purchasing and ease of use on iOS 7 devices, PCs, and even Apple TV.

Here is a chart from Asymco which showcases the massive number of daily Apple iTunes account sign-ups:

Apple faces plenty of competition from the likes of Pandora, Spotify, and even Google and its new music streaming platform known as Google Play Music All Access.

Do you think Apple can continue to track a massive number of new user account sign-ups on a daily basis? Will you use your Apple iTunes account more when Apple iTunes iRadio launches?

Apple iTunes Adding 500,000 New Accounts Each Day is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Facebook mastectomy pic featuring a cancer survivor who opted instead of the more common option of reconstruction to cover her post-mastectomy body with a colorful and interesting tattoo prompted first controversy and then change, and now the woman who calls herself “Scorchy Barrington” has addressed Facebook’s mastectomy pictures decision.

The Facebook mastectomy decision was prompted in part by the arresting and beautiful image of Barrington’s post-mastectomy ink, and after a Change.org petition got more than 20,000 signatures, the social network issued the following statement reported by The Inquisitr earlier this week:

“We agree that undergoing a mastectomy is a life-changing experience and that sharing photos can help raise awareness about breast cancer and support the men and women facing a diagnosis, undergoing treatment, or living with the scars of cancer. The vast majority of these kinds of photos are compliant with our policies.”

The Facebook mastectomy petition has been updated with a note from Barrington, in which she praises Facebook’s mastectomy photos policy update and says:

“From now on, these powerful visual testaments to the real impact of breast cancer and the resilience of breast cancer survivors will be welcomed on Facebook, as they should be. For me, a woman with Stage IV breast cancer, this is a victory I share with the 20,000 people who have signed my Change.org petition and the countless men and women who have this disease and who are newly diagnosed each year.”

She adds:

“We want the world to know that breast cancer is not a pink ribbon – it is traumatic, it is life-changing, and it urgently needs a cure.”

The original petition highlighted a common gripe for Facebook censorship and one often referenced by breastfeeding advocates censored on the site — a seeming double standard when it comes to health-related breast exposure versus sexualized images of women, often deemed acceptable by moderators.

The petition noted that when it comes to breast cancer, early awareness in many ways hinges on driving home the severity of the disease and its ravages on the body, and it stated:

“Facebook says these photos violate their policy — essentially putting these images in the same category as pornography. The Scar Project, Stupid Dumb Breast Cancer, and other pages like them do not objectify or sexualize the human anatomy. They document the physical and emotional toll of women and men who have undergone mastectomies. They raise awareness of the disease and reinforce the need for early intervention and research toward a cure. This is the reality of breast cancer.”

Hopefully, the decision sparked by the tattooed Facebook mastectomy photo will influence the site’s overall moderation of breast-related content.

Facebook Mastectomy Tattoo Pic Model Speaks On Site’s Reversal is a post from: The Inquisitr

British garage inventor Colin Furze has created what is likely the most deadly bike on the planet. The jet bike uses what he calls a portable “big-ass pulse jet.”

According to Furze, he placed the pulse jet onto “an old woman’s bike built for shopping.” After all, nothing is sexier than a jet on the back of an old woman’s bike.

A jet on the back of a bike sounds like a horribly unsafe idea, and Furze admits that it can probably and overtime most likely will end to the loss of your life. In his message to viewers, Colin writes:

“The JET bicycle — the most dangerous unsafe bike EVER.” You can plainly see in the video the open flames that get just a little too close to that fuel tank. You’ll notice the location of the fuel tank has been changed later in the video, too — to make it “safer.”

Luckily for Furze, he is no stranger to danger. Furze holds the Guinness Book of World Records title for the largest bonfire (49,497 square feet), the longest motorcycle (46 feet, 3 inches), and the fastest scooter, which drives at speeds up to 71.59 mph.

Oh, yeah, Colin Furze also created the world’s fastest baby carriage.

Of course, to become a jet bike inventor, you need to be really good with rockets, most likely a rocket scientists. Colin is a plumber.

So how unstable is this crazy jet bike? At one point, a tire goes flat, unable to sustain rock speeds and likely from the heat given off by the “big-ass pulse jet.”

Watch this video to see just how bad of an idea the jet bike is, and then leave a comment in our discussion section.

Would you be willing to take Colin Furze’s jet bike for a ride, or do you value your life?

Jet Bike Will Probably Kill You, Would Be An Awesome Way To Die [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Dubai Sustainable City development is the first of its kind in the United Arab Emirates and will use an impressive amount of space to house the solar cells required to power it.

Construction of Dubai Sustainable City is planned across four phases. The first batch of 100 villas and townhouses within the city will be made available by the end of 2014; similar sized batches are likely to be released over the following years until the expected completion date in 2016.

Being overseen by Stringa Planning Studio, the project is currently being handed over to UK-based Baharash Architecture for phase 2 of the city’s construction. The company had to win an international competition for the privilege and plans to open an office in Dubai as a result.

Phase 2 will consist of a mixed-use zone, a mosque, the Institute for Ecological Engineering, a museum and planetarium, a “green” school, an eco-resort, a country club, and an equestrian center.

When finished, the Dubai Sustainable City will cover an area of 46 hectares, containing 550 residential villas. As well as housing, the development will include organic farms, educational facilities, and 600,000 square feet of solar panels.

The solar panels themselves will be spread across the city, with many houses and villas incorporating them into their architecture These panels will provide residents with 60 percent of their energy needs, with plans to offset the carbon footprint even further by introducing alternative modes of transportation.

Apart from using solar energy, the project will also make use of a smart water system that will reduce the water demand of buildings by 30 percent. No aspect within the city has been overlooked when it comes to recyclability. Grey and waste water will be used to irrigate plants across the city, and a waste recycling system will make it possible to reuse many other byproducts.

What do you think about sustainable technology? Would you be willing to live in the Dubai Sustainable City?

Dubai Sustainable City Will Be Powered By 600,000 Square Feet of Solar Cells is a post from: The Inquisitr

Apple CEO Tim Cook has said repeatedly that Apple will not release iPhone’s with bigger screens until better display technology is made available. A new report suggests that Apple may be reversing that course, and the tech giant could release its next iPhone model with a larger screen and more color options.

A report from Reuters suggests that the next iPhone may be starkly different than the current iPhone 5 model.

Apple is believed to currently be scouting out larger displays for a smartphone that could be released before the end of 2013.

In terms of color choices, Apple is rumored to be going with a plastic body, which could allow for simple color changes.

According to the rumor, Apple iPhone devices could arrive with 4.7-inch and 5.7-inch displays. In comparison, the current Apple iPhone 5 features a smaller 4-inch display.

Apple, as is usually the case with iPhone rumors, is refusing to comment on the future of displays on Apple iPhone devices.

In a recent conversation, Tim Cook said Apple doesn’t offer a larger display because they come with “a lot of tradeoffs.” Cook then added:

“People do look at the size, but they also look at things like if the photos show the proper color, the white balance, reflectivity, battery life, brightness, the longevity of the display.”

The Reuters report also echoes statements by theWall Street Journal, which claims a $99 low-cost iPhone is in the works.

Tim Cook recently said Apple iPhone devices will only be expanded to include more options if customers demand those options. The real question is whether Apple iPhone users want a cheaper entry level device and if they will pay more for a 4.7-inch iPhone or even a 5.7-inch iPhone.

If you’re hoping for a major size upgrade to occur with the Apple iPhone 5S, you are probably out of luck. That device is expected to feature some small tweaks alongside the Apple iOS 7 platform.

Would you pay more for an Apple iPhone with a bigger display?

Apple iPhone’s With Bigger Screens And More Colors May Soon Arrive, $99 Price Suggested is a post from: The Inquisitr

Bill Gates has joined LinkedIn, and his influence was felt almost the moment he signed into his business-centric social account.

As expected, Gates’ involvement on LinkedIn has immediately tagged him as a super influencer. A super influencer at LinkedIn requires the user to be a successful business mogul who contributes blog posts for the platform.

During his first blog post for LinkedIn, Bill Gates speaks about three skills he has learned from friend and fellow billionaire Warren Buffet. The skills Bill Gates write about range from investing to time management.

In his LinkedIn entry, Bill Gates admits that he looks up to Warren Buffet and oftentimes asks for his advice with big Microsoft and Gates Foundation decisions.

Bill Gates writes on his LinkedIn blog:

“The dialogue has been invaluable to me, and not only at Microsoft. When Melinda and I started our foundation, I turned to him for advice. We talked a lot about the idea that philanthropy could be just as impactful in its own way as software had been.”

Bill Gates writes a popular annual letter that outlines the philanthropic missions behind the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation and now the Microsoft founder admits that the letter was inspired by Buffet. Gates writes of his annual letter:

“I still have a ways to go before mine is as good as Warren’s, but it’s been helpful to sit down once a year and explain the results we’re seeing, both good and bad.Gates’ post is part of LinkedIn’s influencers program, a platform that invites members to post about business-related topics without any word-count constraints. Other LinkedIn users can then follow those accounts without sending a private invitation to connect.

Bill Gates this year focused his annual letter on the topics of immunization and health care in developing countries.

So who else influences Bill Gates? He throw out a bunch of names on his LinkedIn blog including President Barack Obama, Mitt Romney, Deepak Chopra, and Richard Branson.

Are you following Bill Gates on LinkedIn?

Bill Gates Joins LinkedIn, Instantly Becomes Super Influencer is a post from: The Inquisitr

Facebook hashtags have always been there, despite the fact they had zero functionality until now.

In the past, Facebook hashtags were used in a similar fashion to Twitter’s usable hashtags, with the distinct difference of being unclickable.

While Twitter’s version led to other open tweets with the same hashtags appended, Facebook hashtags served mainly as punctuation, in an interesting illustration of the purpose of hashtags in regards to social media conversation.

Functionality is the core of hashtagging in general and somewhat necessary in business and media use of hashtag-enabled services to boost content, but casual and personal users adopted the practice as a sort of nuance to general commentary.

What happens then is that hashtags become another layer of tech-influenced vernacular, used to drive home a point or add a second concept to a statement without changing the first.

Facebook hashtags had in the past not led to any other content, and seemed mainly to be used in posts lamenting the uselessness of hashtags on Facebook. (I’ve even gotten hashtagged text messages, which is another example of their relevance as a communication function today.)

Teresa Caro, senior vice president of social at Engauge, a marketing and advertising agency, tells USA Today that Facebook hashtags were an inevitability given their current reach:

“Imitation is the best form of flattery, though this is long overdue … Facebook has to do this to be relevant among advertisers, especially as they try to reach consumers.”

Michael Lazerow, chief marketing officer of Salesforce Marketing Cloud, told the paper that everyone has to jump on the Facebook hashtags bus now, as the new functionality adds a layer to Facebook use for business that cannot be ignored:

“Facebook and hashtags are two words social marketers absolutely must pay attention to … The door is open for companies to better discover their customers’ immediate interests, creating the potential for increased real-time marketing based around ongoing pop culture, sports and other major events.”

By all accounts, however, the bigger story with Facebook hashtags is the implication — that Facebook is, like Twitter, Tumblr and Pinterest, moving toward less of a walled garden format and facilitating organic “new friend” bonds. Like Open Graph, Facebook hashtags boosts your ability to connect with others not on your friends’ list or in your network — a definite shift from the social network’s closed circle origins.

Facebook Hashtags Will Now Be Functional, Possibly Public is a post from: The Inquisitr

A parking snitch app has been proposed for the busybodies of Winnipeg, Canada so that they can use their smartphones to rat out fellow citizens who have parked illegally. Co-founder Chris Johnson of the app developing company announced Tuesday that the new SpotSquad app would allow you to snap pictures of people parked in handicapped spaces or beside fire hydrants — and then send the information to police in exchange for a percentage of the fine.

“If you can snap a picture and make $8, who’s not going to do that?” Johnson asked.

However, the cheeky Canadian also acknowledged that he hadn’t yet signed an agreement with anyone to make sure that you’d actually get a piece of the money if you reported the parking violator.

There was no word on whether or not the city of Winnipeg was actually interested in releasing an army of wannabe meter maids on the world, but Johnson hinted that several private parking lot operators might be interested in the parking snitch app.

SpotSquad calls it “crowdsourced parking control,” which sounds nicer than vigilante parking control but possibly just as dangerous. I realize you fine folks in Canada don’t like to blast off your firearms quite as much at each other as Americans do, but I wonder if you’ve really thought this thing through.

Do I really want to wonder about taking out my cell phone on the street and some dude thinks I’m about to report him for illegal parking and it all leads to a Hollywood-style blaze of gunfire?

Come to think of it, maybe they haven’t thought about it all that deeply. According to Team SpotSquad, the parking snitch app was “imagined, validated, prototyped, and built out in a single 55 hour weekend-long event.”

But maybe I’m a little too old-fashioned, and crowdsourced parking police is just what Canada and even the world is waiting for.

What do you think of the SpotSquad parking snitch app?

[parking ticket photo by John Roman Images via Shutterstock]

Parking Snitch App Allows You To Rat For Cut Of Fine is a post from: The Inquisitr

First hand footage has been taken of a man driving his BMW off a cliff.

This incident only adds to the already shocking list of car accidents that have already taken place this year, most notably David Allan Coe’s brush with death.

Pictures of the latest wreckage look more like something you’d expect to see on an episode of Shameless USA.

Furthermore, the car, which is hard to distinguish in its sorry state, is actually a highly desired M3 BMW that is one of the most capable cars you can currently purchase.

The young male driver, who was taking the video to demonstrate the cars capabilities, continued to push the car’s performance without considering the tight bends in the road.

On a particularly picturesque stretch of tarmac, the young driver keeps up his BMW’s intensity, cutting across lane markings to get as much speed as possible when taking corners.

Even when it becomes clear, to the viewers at least, that the corner he has just taken is too tight for him to navigate, the driver still gives the impression that he is in control and knows what he’s doing.

However, he soon realises he’s lost the ability to steer the car away from the cliff edge looming ever closer.

When watching the video, viewers get the full experience of how scary it is to stare impending death in the face and be unable to do anything about it.

Watching the BMW go off the cliff edge feels almost like you’re actually inside the car.

Luckily, and quite surprisingly, the young driver managed to emerge from the M3 wreckage practically unharmed.

No doubt this young man joins the likes of Lindsay Lohan, who suffered a concussion after her car accident.

The man’s car, however, is a completely different story and didn’t fare as well.

For any M3 fans out there reading this, it’s probably best to squint whilst watching the video of the incident — the state of the car might leave you feeling a bit sick.

Although the young man hadn’t intended his car to be popular for this reason, his BMW has become an Internet video sensation that people can’t help but watch.

[Image via Aol.com]

Man Drives His BMW Off A Cliff [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Apple is adding a “kill switch” to iPhones in hopes of cutting down on theft.

iOS7, which is expected to arrive this fall, will contain a feature known as Activation Lock. An Apple ID and a password will be required in order to turn off the “Find My Phone” feature or erase any data the phone may contain.

Speaking at the annaul Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple senior vice president Craig Federighi said he hopes the so-called “kill switch” will help cut down on the number of phones that are stolen.

“We think this is going to be a really powerful theft deterrent,” he explained.

“Apple picking,” the nickname given to the theft of iPhones or iPads, is a serious problem around the world. According to CNN, New York City police have a department dedicated to investigating stolen phones.

Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne said crime increased in the city by three percent last year. He believes this could be directly linked to the number of iPhones that were reported stolen by residents.

“If you subtracted just the increase in Apple product thefts, we would have had an overall decrease in crime in New York,” Browne explained.

The Wall Street Journal reports New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon are hoping the cellphone industry will start taking measures to curb the increasing amount of theft.

New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has asked Apple, Samsung, Microsoft, and Google to work alongside law enforcement officials to figure out ways to combat the problem. The proposed “kill switch” in iOS7 could be a step in the right direction.

According to The Huffington Post, thieves have used stealth, force, and guns to separate people from their iPhones. In 2012, nearly half of the robberies reportedly in San Francisco were related to smartphones.

What do you think about the Apple iPhone “kill switch?” Do you think this will help cut down on the number of smartphone thefts around the country?

[Image via 1000 Words / Shutterstock.com]

Apple Adding ‘Kill Switch’ To iPhones As ‘Theft Deterrent’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

News tonight that George Takei’s Facebook page — consistently virally popular and well-shared — had been at least in part populated with content by a ghostwriter sent mild ripples across the social media sphere.

But George Takei’s Facebook mea culpa is much in line with the character we’ve all grown to love on Facebook, and it seems that the brewing “scandal” won’t hurt the Star Trek and social media star so much simply in part because the voice in which he answered the questions is the same we’ve gotten used to on his page.

In essence, if George Takei’s Facebook is ghostwritten, the ghostwriter seems to capture Takei to a pretty decent T.

And following on from that, Takei’s page, which we imagine is in part cultivated by the star, is no more “fake” than a lot of our pages.

Sure, maybe we don’t pay ten bucks a joke like George allegedly does, but at the end of the day, we all don’t present a real-life stream on the social network.

No matter your persona, we all cobble together bits of information to create a PR front, amateur as it may be. Like George Takei on Facebook, we too share links (look how much I know and care about stuff!), images (am I a funny lady or what?), selected life events (no, take another one, that’s chin city!), and even gripes (I hate it when people do thing this afternoon but I’m not going to tell them directly.)

While social media is all about authenticity, ostensibly, and the George Takei Facebook revelation strikes that down to a degree, we’re all complicit in the curating and the positioning and the creating a persona to impress and satisfy friends, lovers, acquaintances and co-workers.

Ultimately, the George Takei Facebook page is George Takei to Facebookers, and that’s probably all that matters.

Takei himself was unbothered by the admission, and said:

“What is this hoo-ha about my FB posts? I have Brad, my husband, to help me and interns to assist. What is important is the reliability of my posts being there to greet my fans with a smile or a giggle every morning. That’s how we keep on growing.”

Takei adds:

“The commentaries are mine … They are authentically mine, I assure you.”

We have to say, we agree with George Takei’s Facebook view — it’s not really about a raw direct stream when you seek to connect with people on the service, it’s more about a well timed and targeted way to speak to your friends to the best of your ability — and sometimes, we all enlist help. (When was the last time you made your own meme? Never?)

As the George Takei Facebook scandal resonates web-wide, we are pretty confident in guessing it won’t hurt the social media star one bit, nor should it.

George Takei’s Facebook Mea Culpa: ‘So What?’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Pirate Bay is losing its internet access within 30 days. A High Court in Europe on Wednesday ordered six ISPs to shut down the services access to their user networks.

The court order will cut off Pirate Bay access to more than 200,000 Irish users or about eight percent of all users in the region.

The judge overseeing the case claims that piracy activities on the network have devastated sales in the music, film, and TV industry.

The court order came about after EMI, Sony, Warner Music, and Universal claimed that they were losing €20m annually.

The order has been placed against UPC, Imagine, Vodafone, Digiweb, Hutchison 3G Ltd, and Telefonica O2 Ireland Ltd.

Those six services join Eircom, an ISP which blocked Pirate Bay access before a court order required the shutdown.

Justice Brian McGovern said he was confident with the courts decision because of new EU laws which allow such ISP demands to be issued.

A previous High Court ruling agreed that if such laws existed the request could be made.

The court order only affects Pirate Bay’s current URLs, which could lead the company to simply move its massive database to other domains.

Any costs associated with blocking Pirate Bay will be absorbed by the ISPs involved in the lawsuit.

Before the court order, the six ISPs took a neutral stance, refusing to claim responsibility for any part they have had in serving customers with Pirates Bay web pages and download.

According to judge McGovern:

“There is no doubt but that this activity has caused, and continues to cause, substantial financial damage to the plaintiffs.”

Pirate Bay is believed to hold the following type of data: music (25 percent), film (20 percent), and TV (15 percent). It is believed that 78 percent of all music and 90 percent of all film and TV files on the network are copyrighted and shared illegally.

Pirate Bay generates $36 million in annual advertising revenues from its illegal activities.

Pirate Bay Shutdown Ordered By High Court, Six ISPs Told To Cut Service is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Facebook hashtag will be rolling out in the coming weeks, seeking to deepen the competition with rival social media site Twitter. The feature was first hinted at in March, with Facebook exploring how it could implement the popular function. Facebook acknowledged that, while Twitter has been the go to social media source for self made reporters, they were seen more as a family and friend site.

The Facebook hashtag feature, much like its function on Twitter, can be added to posts and made clickable. Words that begin with the symbol will be automatically grouped together. When accessed, the hashtag displays the other mentions of its topic in other Facebook posts. The hashtag is just one piece of Facebook’s efforts to make things easier to find on the site, where singular posts and topics can become lost in the social media shuffle.

Mobile users of Facebook will have to wait a bit longer than desktop users to fully adopt the hashtag, Facebook also alluded to other features on the horizon that will allow for easier conversations to be held, rather than a simple cluster of posts.

Trending topics in particular are of interest to Facebook, as they can be paired with lucrative advertising. Whether celebrity gossip, or focused on a popular TV show, the Facebook hashtag can unite conversation, and in real time as well. Before the rollout of the feature, users were faced with difficulty in topic tracking, short of forming a cohesive group.

Facebook declined to use its own symbol due to the well-known status of the hashtag on other social media, like Instagram and Tumblr. The hashtag symbol was created in 2007, the brainchild of Chris Messina. Messina now works for Google Plus. Twitter declined to offer comment on the adoption of what has been one of their key defining features.

[Image Via Wikipedia]

Facebook Hashtag Feature Debuting Soon is a post from: The Inquisitr

HGTV’s American flag tablecloth suggestion ruffled a lot of feathers, and the home improvement network has apologized for offending a large number of Facebook and Twitter users with its website suggestion that the American flag be used as a “table runner” for July 4 barbecues before it is displayed on a flagpole.

The HGTV American flag tablecloth controversy unfolded like many on social media, with users flocking to the network’s Facebook and Twitter pages to protest a clear violation of flag code, stating that American flags should never be used as decoration. (Or, we extrapolate, to protect tables from errant splashes of dip and chip crumbs.)

HGTV’s American flag tablecloth post was widely shared as users railed against the clear disrespect of the flag shown in the flippant suggestion, labeling the usage an “unconventional table linen,” much to the chagrin of many Americans.

Late this morning, HGTV issued the following apology on its Facebook page for the oversight, saying in a post:

“HGTV Fans, regarding the recent article that appeared on our website … This was a regrettable use of our flag and it never should have happened. We sincerely apologize and have removed the post from our website. We want to assure our fans that HGTV is proud of the American flag and everything it symbolizes for our people.”

While HGTV has removed the post, some viewers are still questioning the judgment of the site’s web content creators, and one user commented:

“It seems like HGTV is apologizing a lot lately for their social media posts. Seems like it’s time to get rid if whatever intern you have making those posts and let someone more professional handle your public page.”

Others were more forgiving:

“It’s a cute idea to have a table cloth that looks like an American Flag but using the actual flag is not. Thank you for the apology.”

And one reasonable user clarified the debate over HGTV’s American flag tablecloth and whether concern was warranted:

“There is a distinct difference between using elements of the flag design in clothing and using an actual American flag as a tablecloth. There are actual guidelines regarding it’s care & handling. I didn’t see the item in question, but I’d have thought they’d have known better.”

What did you think of HGTV’s American flag tablecloth controversy?

HGTV Apologizes After American Flag Tablecloth Outrage is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sparks continue to fly between ES 2013 organizers and the good folks at Ouya who set up shop in the parking lot. At the peak of the brouhaha on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Police Department was called out to investigate Ouya’s unofficial booth across the street from the official ESA event being held in the Los Angeles Convention center.

As Ouya had announced in late May, the Android microconsole makers decided to host a three day event showcasing their work. The Kickstarter funded company claimed that they wanted to circumvent the industry-focused nature of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) event by refusing to rent space inside.

Kellee Santiago, Ouya head of developer relations, said at the time, “You’ll be able to demo your games to media, E3 2013 attendees and random people on the street who want to see what all the buzz is about. We’re going all out to ensure we get the best equipment, and we’re also engineering it with the elements of an outside location in mind.”

That’s all well and good, but where I come from it’s usually considered pretty unethical to cheat a big event’s organizers by keeping the booth fees in your pocket and holding your own sale or demonstration in the parking lot.

On the craft show circuit, they’ll just call security and if you don’t leave, it’s time for the police to ticket you and haul you off. But I guess it’s more complicated in the wild west game console development world.

ESA responded by renting the space directly in front of the proposed Ouya booth and parking a couple of semi-trailer trucks around it to block the convention attendees’ view of Ouya’s unusual location.

Ouya responded by renting the space around the trucks and hanging banners to direct people to their spot.

ESA then called LAPD. According to Ouya founder Julie Uhrman, the police officers checked her permits and then agreed that she was legal to keep the booth in that location.

It’s over to you guys at E3 2013, but I’d say that apparently Ouya actually does have permits and/or you guys didn’t pay off the right people to protect your convention in the first place.

What are your thoughts on the E3 2013 Ouya parking lot scuffle?

[ouya pinball game photo courtesy Ouya]

E3 2013: Ouya Parking Lot Conflict, Cops Called Out [Report] is a post from: The Inquisitr

A little boy’s “spending time with daddy” photo has captured the hearts of Reddit users, and the image shown indeed depicts a heartbreaking moment caught on film.

In a thread started by TheMacMan, the title explains what is known about the “spending time with daddy” photo, reading:

“His mom caught him spending time with his daddy. He lost daddy (SFC Benjamin Wise) in Afghanistan on Jan 15th.”

Indeed, a simple web search reveals that the man shown in the image seen in the “spending time with daddy” photo is the same used in an article regarding the death of Army Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Wise, 34, in Afghanistan last year. Wise was on his fourth deployment when he was killed during an insurgent attack, and even more tragically, his brother Jeremy, 35, was killed in Afghanistan in 2009.

At the time, Wise’s family said in a statement:

“The Wise family is sincerely touched by the concern and interest all have taken in Ben’s life, his career and his sacrifice for our country. Ben was proud of the career he built in the Army.”

The image in the “spending time with daddy” thread prompted many expressions of sympathy and users were understandably moved by the picture of the boy — one of Wise’s three kids — contemplating the portrait of his dad.

But others weighed in about having lost fathers at a young age or seeing them irrevocably changed by experiences at war, with the top comment including a letter written by a dying father to his small son. The redditor explains of losing his dad:

“My father passed on February 15, 1995 after contracting HIV from a blood transfusion in the 80s. I was five years old. I have few memories of him, maybe twelve decent pictures, a compass and a knife that I inherited from him… I have his hair, his smile, his cheekbone structure, his sense of humor, and a letter he wrote me when he realized his health was deteriorating. I will always miss my dad … ”

Another commented:

” ‘Carry on, son, and find what makes you happy.’ … That’s what your dad would tell you … I lost my dad in Vietnam when I was 7. I have heard his voice telling me to carry on almost every day since.”

Yet another related:

“My uncle did an 18 month tour as a machine gunner. Came back a heroin addict. ‘Recovered’ from that to become an alcoholic … War is absolutely hell.”

You can find the “spending time with daddy” photo thread over on Reddit.

‘Spending Time With Daddy’ Photo Depicts Son Of Fallen Soldier, Prompts Reddit Outpouring is a post from: The Inquisitr

Microsoft and Google are often at odds with one another over issues of competition and innovation, yet, when it comes to data request transparency, they appear at least on the surface to agree. Both companies on Tuesday requested that the government be more transparent with the data and other information it requests and then collects from American companies.

According to Microsoft:

“[P]ermitting greater transparency on the aggregate volume and scope of national security requests, including FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) orders, would help the community understand and debate these important issues.”

You may recall that on Monday Google posted the following request for a more transparent government data collection system:

“… We therefore ask you to help make it possible for Google to publish in our Transparency Report aggregate numbers of national security requests, including FISA disclosures—in terms of both the number we receive and their scope. Google’s numbers would clearly show that our compliance with these requests falls far short of the claims being made. Google has nothing to hide.”

Google and Microsoft released public statements just a short time after they came under fire for participating in the NSA PRISM program. That NSA platform allowed the spy agency to collect billions of records from American citizens.

As Microsoft continued to argue its case on Tuesday, a rep for the company said Microsoft has released information “as far as [it] legally could” in its disclosures of government requests for data.

Microsoft would like US government officials to “take action to allow companies to provide additional transparency.”

Verizon Wireless has so far retained much of the public’s scrutiny after it was revealed that millions of Verizon customers had their phone records obtained by the NSA. Verizon has said it was only adhering to a court order for its records.

Are Microsoft and Google correct? Should the government offer more transparency when collecting the private records of US citizens?

Microsoft And Google Ask Government For Data Request Transparency is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sushi restaurant drones called the iTray waiter service delivers food to diners while hovering in the air.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the iTray sushi restaurant drones are not the only recent innovation from a sushi restaurant. One restaurant is implementing a restaurant tip ban, raising prices, and putting their employees on salary instead.

The iTray sushi restaurant drones are being introduced at Japanese restaurant YO! Sushi. The flagship Poland Street restaurant in London, England will be the first restaurant location to feature the iTray drone system.

This iTray drone is not the first food drone on the market. Domino’s Pizza is already planning the DomiCopter drone to deliver two pizzas at once.

The iTray sushi restaurant drone “is a high-tech flying platter custom built using the most advanced RC Drone quadicopter technology and is remote controlled through an on-board Wi-Fi system and iPad software.” If you watch the videos of the iTray you’ll see the human server is keeping a careful eye on the iTray even though they can see everything through the two HD camera systems.

YO! Sushi CEO Robin Rowland introduced the iTray sushi restaurant drone as a way to promote their new sushi burger: “The concept came from our thinking of ‘How are we going to show people how light and exciting and fun this food type is?’”

The top speed of the iTray sushi restaurant drone is 25 mph, although videos show it going much slower and careful. Perhaps when human servers become more comfortable with the iTray sush restaurant dones they’ll eventually deliver the food while staying in the back of the restaurant. But you have to wonder about the future of waiters and waitresses if a newer version of an iTray comes with artificial intelligence good enough to fly itself to a customer’s table.

Would you want your food delivered by a iTray sushi restaurant drone?

iTray Sushi Restaurant Drones Deliver Food In Air [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Let’s Date user’s unwanted naked date photo was sent to his mom by a fellow user, after the female recipient of the penis out of nowhere became frustrated at her chat partner’s disrespectful saucy image share.

The Let’s Date naked text photo to mom scandal broke on Tumblr, but the woman in question deleted her tumblog soon after the salacious chat exchange hit the internet.

In a world where “revenge porn” is a big and real fear, the naked text pic mom scandal is a bit more hard to parse. On one hand, it is terrifying to consider a spurned partner involving your parents or friends (easily found via Facebook) in a sexting spat — but on the other, degrees of sexual assault using digital media are far easier to achieve, and the woman’s actions are not totally hard to understand. (However, it could be argued that in her protestation of a non-consensual act, she committed a similarly non-consensual act upon her would-be date’s mother, an uninvolved party.)

Here’s how it went down. Tumblr and Let’s Date user aheartbeatchanged (her Tumblr handle) had been text chatting a young man named Trevor outside of the Let’s Date app after the pair met on the service.

If you’re female and use the internet, what happened next is probably no surprise. Trevor hit up the woman, first name unknown, to ask how her day was going and then to ask if there was rain on Long Island … and then inexplicably, he followed up those two reply-less questions with a clear shot of his dangle, face included.

Sexting has a time and a place, but if aheartbeatchanged’s account is unaltered, it’s the kind of stuff women have to put up with all the time now that flashing is a simple matter of hitting send, and kind of annoying to even watch.

The woman replies in irritation, at which point the guy might have graciously accepted the naked date photo did not go over well with his new friend — but of course, he began to insult her and brag about his endowments, further enraging the chick.

The Daily Dot quotes the exchange:

“[Her] I don’t need to be disrespected by someone I don’t even know … [Trevor] Relax … It’s only my c**k.”

She tells him not to text her again after the naked date photo debacle, and he again asks if it’s “too big,” before calling her a “prude” and adding “no wonder you’re single.”

She then explains that she has found him on Facebook and plans to send naked date photo to his mom, and Trevor explains that her actions are “not right” and begs her not to send the photo — but she says she did it anyway, and explained he “deserved” to have that “uncomfortable” conversation with his mom.

Later, the woman reports, Trevor added:

“If you had/get some good d*** (which you obviously haven’t/don’t) you wouldn’t be such a grammar nazi and prude.”

Let’s Date has been forced to comment on the naked date photo mom post, adding that image sending capability is not part of the app — and we strongly hope that this isn’t due to the propensity for people to send unwanted genital photos.

‘Let’s Date’ Naked Text Pic Sent To Mom’s Facebook Inbox By Angry Date is a post from: The Inquisitr

Apple CEO Tim Cook started his Monday night keynote at the Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) by relaying some of the impressive statistics associated with Apple developers and the Apple Apps Store.

According to Cook, the five year old Apple App Store has now served more than 50 million app downloads while hosting more than 900,000 apps of which 375,000 have been created specifically for Apple iPad devices. Cook revealed that 90 percent of all apps are downloading on a monthly basis thanks to 575 million App Store accounts. Cook also revealed that one million of those customers now use the Apple App store daily.

Cook also revealed that most Apple customers now have a credit card on file and many use one-click purchasing to obtain Apple products. Cook believe Apple now has more credit cards on file than any other company on the internet.

According to Tim Cook, Apple has now paid more than $10 billion to developers, and he believes that amount is “three times more than all other platforms combined.”

Cook’s own analysis points to Apple controlling 74 percent of all developer revenue compared to 20 percent for Android and 6 percent split among Blackberry, Windows Phone OS, and other mobile platforms.

Keeping with user account numbers, Cook also revealed that more than 300 million people now have iCloud accounts, a number that would make iCloud the “fastest growing cloud service ever.” Cook also revealed that Game Center has registered 240 million users while iMessages have sent out 8 billion messages. Apple has also pushed out 7.4 trillion push notifications through its iCloud platform.

So how did those numbers come about? Apple has now sold 600 million units, devices Apple says are used 50-percent more than Google Android when it comes to logging onto the internet.

Tim Cook also notes that Apple iOS 6 now takes up 93 percent of all iOS devices while Google Android Gingerbread still only controls 37 percent of the Android market. Cook pointed out the Apple versus Google numbers to showcase how Apple devices don’t suffer from the fragmentation issue of Android devices.

Are you impressed with Apple’s App Store and device purchase/use statistics?

Apple Has Paid $10 Billion To App Store Developers, Now Claims 1 Million Daily Visitors is a post from: The Inquisitr

iTunes Radio, Apple’s streaming music service, was announced Monday and will join the likes of other streaming music services such as Pandora and Spotify this fall.

Apple, the largest music retailer in the world, may be a little late to the market with their streaming music service, but that doesn’t seem to be of any concern.

Analysts believe that iTunes Radio could give a boost to iTunes, which, according to NPD Group, “has seen little growth in its customer base over the last three years.”

They believe the release of iTunes Radio will help Apple sell more music.

According to Wired: “iTunes Radio service will debut this fall in the U.S., with other countries following later.

“The service is built into iOS 7, iTunes on your Mac and PC, and your Apple TV. The radio stations are ad-supported — unless you’re an iTunes Match subscriber, in which case it’s ad-free.”

So, while other streaming music services like Pandora have been out since 2005 and are available on multiple platforms, Apple’s new service will only be available for iTunes, iOS and the Apple TV.

With the change in how consumers go about their business, Huffington Poststates that “a streaming service from Apple could be integral in helping consumers find and purchase new music from iTunes.”

Accoding to Huffington Post, Russ Crupnick, a senior vice president at the NPD Group said the following:

“A lot of folks who stream say [streaming] helps me to discover and rediscover music. It’s not necessarily that just because I spend an hour streaming I’m going to download fewer song files.”

“You have people using things like Pandora and Spotify and saying in addition to that I want to buy music,” Crupnick added.

Wired stated that “the streaming service comes pre-loaded with stations, and it will show which songs are currently trending on Twitter, both of which should make it easier for new users to dive right in.”

“Just like Pandora, you can skip to the next song, and search the history for songs you’ve heard. No word on if those skips will be limited in iTunes Radio like they are in Pandora’s offering.

“You can also buy any song directly from iTunes as it’s playing — at the top is a small button urging you to buy the song, and it displays the purchase price.”

With the large customer base that Apple is working with, do you think the new iTunes Radio will help boost sales of music for the company?

[Image via Huffington Post]

Apple Announces iTunes Radio, Their New Streaming Music Serivce is a post from: The Inquisitr

Facebook ruining your marriage is not necessarily news, in as much as a few times each year we read frightening new statistics about Facebook precipitating as many as one in five divorces. (This statistic about Facebook divorce began to pop up as early as 2009._

However, whether Facebook is ruining marriages or the marriages were already pre-ruined seems to be at eternal issue — and a new study looks into Facebook’s effect on relationships to determine how use of the social network is driving your lover away from you.

It probably stands to reason that in a healthy relationship, Facebook isn’t going to start any problems that haven’t already been started. But at the same time, the researchers maintain, Facebook has a way of undermining relationships in particular by causing feelings of jealousy or insecurity.

In the Facebook marriages and relationships study, Russell Clayton, a doctoral student in the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and colleagues looked at the specific effects of Facebook use (and frequency of Facebook use) on romantic entanglements.

Clayton explains that Facebook ruins relationships in part by prompting partners to become envious and suspicious of interactions with others outside the relationship — but he adds that the snooping partners may have cause for concern:

“Previous research has shown that the more a person in a romantic relationship uses Facebook, the more likely they are to monitor their partner’s Facebook activity more stringently, which can lead to feelings of jealousy … Facebook-induced jealousy may lead to arguments concerning past partners. Also, our study found that excessive Facebook users are more likely to connect or reconnect with other Facebook users, including previous partners, which may lead to emotional and physical cheating.”

Okay, so basically, Facebook makes us both paranoid bunny boilers as well as cheating louses. At least, in relationships of under three years, Clayton notes:

“These findings held only for couples who had been in relationships of three years or less … This suggests that Facebook may be a threat to relationships that are not fully matured. On the other hand, participants who have been in relationships for longer than three years may not use Facebook as often, or may have more matured relationships, and therefore Facebook use may not be a threat or concern.”

While some might say social media is here to stay and millennials need to learn to navigate Facebook without torpedoing their personal relationships, Clayton believes limiting Facebook can prevent Facebook relationship woes:

“Although Facebook is a great way to learn about someone, excessive Facebook use may be damaging to newer romantic relationships … Cutting back to moderate, healthy levels of Facebook usage could help reduce conflict, particularly for newer couples who are still learning about each other.”

Do you think Facebook is ruining relationships and marriages, or is it just another way for people to wind up in a fight?

Facebook Ruining Your Marriage, New Study Reveals (Again) is a post from: The Inquisitr

Apple changes to the iPhone and iPad’s iOS 7 includes digital radio and a new interface.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S rumors say the next generation iPhones will likely be launched during the autumn and summer, respectively. The Apple iPhone rumors say the iPhone 5S will start taking orders on June 20th and ship out in July.

The biggest Apple changes everyone is looking forward to is the launch of an Apple digital radio service. Apple is reportedly finalizing music deals to announce its streaming music and radio service at the WWDC event. The Apple digital radio service will compete with apps like Rdio, Pandora and Spotify and will generate revenue through integrated advertising.

Apples changes for the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 include a new camera and home button. Fingerprint detection security measures will be another major Apple change since they purchased Authentec.

Apple fans might be distressed about Apple changes to the iOS 7 interface being featured in the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S. The iOS 7 update in the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 is being described as “black, white, and flat.”

The lock screen will change from the traditional grid to round black buttons. App icons will be flatter and matte colored. The apps will themselves redesigned to be more uniform and black and white.

Apple changes to Mac OS X are also expected. Over time, Apple is expected to merge Mac OS X and iOS 7 into one operating system that functions on all platforms.

Are you looking forward to the Apple changes to the iPhone and iPad?

Apple Changes To iPhone iOS 7 Include Digital Radio, New Interface is a post from: The Inquisitr

The world’s first Bitcoin baby is here, made possible by fertility treatments paid for in the emerging and controversial form of digital currency.

The Bitcoin baby is actually one of a few resulting from a California Ob-Gyn’s fascination with Bitcoin and its marketplace potential.

But now we have one tiny, smiling face to put to the name “Bitcoin baby,” and Dr. C. Terence Lee of Brea announces proudly that the tot isn’t the only Bitcoin baby in his practice.

Lee is a fertility specialist who wryly states that the “baby was bought with Bitcoins,” further explaining that the frozen embryo transfer cycle resulting in the child’s arrival was paid for with the alternative measure. (And, we should note, not the baby itself.)

A profile notes that Lee is an “early pioneer in the Bitcoin retail economy, and a sign on his clinic door advertises his accepted forms of electronic payment: Visa, MasterCard, or Bitcoin.” While he says the sign hasn’t brought in any Bitcoin users, Reddit led him to a couple seeking fertility treatment and able to pay with the alternative currency.

Lee laments:

“We see 10 to 40 patients a day, and nobody even bothered to ask what the sign meant.”

After transacting with a Reddit user to examine his sperm count in exchange for Bitcoin, Lee says that he was determine to use his interest and practice to introduce the world’s first Bitcoin baby.

He explains:

“I thought it was interesting — people supporting it as a way for the common man to take back hold of finance … I was like, ‘OK, let me support them.’ And then I became part of them.”

But it seems patients were not as interested in becoming parents to a Bitcoin baby, and Lee jokes:

“In some cases they reacted like I said I wanted to be paid in vials of crack cocaine … They said, ‘Dr. Lee, we don’t understand this Bitcoin thing,’ but bless their hearts, they were willing to play along out of loyalty. I offered them a 50% discount.”

Lee hints the Bitcoin baby isn’t the only successful result of the currency’s use in his practice.

Bitcoin Baby Arrives, Conception Funded By New Currency is a post from: The Inquisitr

Today’s Google Doodle pays tribute to author Maurice Sendak, best known for his 1963 children’s picture book Where the Wild Things Are.

The beloved children’s author and illustrator is the subject of today’s interactive Google Doodle, on what would have been his 85th birthday. Sendak passed away from complications of a stroke in early 2012. He was 83-years-old when he died.

The Google Doodle shows a stylized “Google” title and the Where the Wild Things Are character Max waving his arms and walking in place with a “play” button in a bubble over his head.

Click the “play” button, and the Google homepage turns into a turning-wheel storyline that begins with Max going through the land of the Wild Things, and rumpus-ing through other familiar settings from Sendak’s work.

Among the cameos in the piece are the flying boy from “In the Night Kitchen,” a book that has both been one of the most popular children’s books of all time as well as one which is most frequently banned from libraries.

A party of his characters gather around a cake for him at the end of the animation.

Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are has sold over 19 million copies worldwide as of 2009, with 10 million being bought in the United States. It has earned numerous plaudits, including the Caldecott Medal, and has been named among the top children’s books in several polls and lists.

The book was even adapted into a film of the same name in 2009. It debuted to generally favorable reviews.

Despite the popularity of the book, Sendak famously refused to ever write a sequel, calling the proposition “the most boring idea imaginable” several months before his death.

You can check out a video of the Google Doodle commemorating Maurice Sendak’s 85th birthday below, or jog on over to Google to see it for yourself. Let the wild rumpus start!

Google Doodle Celebrates Maurice Sendak’s 85th Birthday [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

Nelson Mandela was the subject of a cruel Twitter death hoax perpetrated Sunday night. The Twitter breaking news post appeared to come from CNN host Piers Morgan, and it said that Mandela’s spokesman had informed news sources that the 94-year-old anti-apartheid fighter and first black president of South Africa had passed away peacefully in his sleep.

I got the tweet myself, and it was very believable looking. In fact, I tried to look into it, but I wasn’t able to get very far, since I couldn’t find anyone who could confirm Piers Morgan’s information.

There’s a good reason for that. It wasn’t Piers Morgan’s tweet.

Instead, it came from a parody account @piersnorgan that has previously tweeted another hoax Nelson Mandela death report in March. See that “n” instead of the “m” in there? Right. Neither did anybody else who was reading the tweet on a mobile device.

Early on Saturday, Mandela was admitted to a hospital in Pretoria, South Africa with a recurring lung infection.

His condition is serious, and his spokesman Mac Maharaj seemed to be signalling that we should brace ourselves for the possible passing of South Africa’s civil rights hero:

“[T]e most important thing is that we should realize that this is a life that we need to celebrate, even when he’s with us. And we will celebrate it, even when he is not with us.”

Earlier on Sunday, 87-year-old friend Andrew Mlangeni came forward to add this message: “We wish Madiba a speedy recovery, but I think what is important is that his family must release him.”

So the cruel Twitter death hoax saying Nelson Mandela was gone seemed plausible. It quickly attracted 1,300 retweets — including my own, I’m sorry to say.

Piers Morgan, needless to say, isn’t happy either.

This absolutely sickens me, please report the fake account and get it closed down >Nelson Mandela death hoax: smh.com.au/world/nelson-m… …

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 10, 2013

Nelson Mandela victim of death hoax on Twitter. Still feeling bad for retweeting. How low can some people go? smh.com.au/world/nelson-m…

— Colin Campbell (@clutterbells) June 10, 2013

For the record, Nelson Mandela is still in serious but stable condition. As for the perpetrators of the hateful Mandela celebrity Twitter death hoax, don’t you have anything better to do?

Clearly, the world is not yet ready to let go of hero Nelson Mandela.

[Nelson Mandela photo by South Africa The Good News via Wikimedia Commons]

Nelson Mandela, Piers Morgan Targets Of Cruel Twitter Death Hoax is a post from: The Inquisitr

AT&T Wireless on Sunday joined Verizon is pushing its phone upgrade policy to a full two years.

Under the company’s new upgrade plan, customers must now wait a full two years to purchase a fully discounted smartphone alongside a new two year contract. Before the two year period, customers will find themselves paying smartphone prices that can range from around $100 to $800.

Before the policy shift, AT&T Wireless customers could receive a full device discount if they had been with their current contract and were in good standing after 20 months of continued cellular service.

The company’s policy shift was revealed on Sunday afternoon thanks to a leaked internal memo, which didn’t provide much information behind company’s rationale in pushing out the upgrade period for a full two years.

The AT&T Wireless upgrade shift affects new customers and existing customers whose wireless agreements expire on or after March 1, 2014.

In order to receive upgrades, customers will also need to upgrade within the same device category. That means you must upgrade to a smartphone if that is what you are currently using for cellular phone service.

AT&T Wireless phone upgrades will not be affected for “Corporate Responsible Users” who already have contracts in place with AT&T wireless.

AT&T has decided to lengthen its phone upgrade period just two months after fellow competitor Verizon Wireless announced a 24 month plan of its own.

When Verizon Wireless announced its 24 month phone upgrade plan, it said at the time that it was aligning the “upgrade date with the contract end date and is consistent with how the majority of customers purchase new phones today.”

Do you think the AT&T Wireless’ plan to push phone upgrades to 24 months will ultimately affect customer sales and retention? I personally always hope to keep my phone for at least 24-36 months before upgrading.

AT&T Phone Upgrade Period Extended, Now 2 Years Long is a post from: The Inquisitr

Executives working on the Intel TV offering are offering content providers rates up to 75 percent higher than traditional cable providers.

Sources close to current negotiations claims that Intel wants to enter the market as a newcomer, and content providers typically charge more for operators with a smaller user base.

In a Reuters report, sources claim that Intel’s aggressive move may very well affect pricing across the entire cable TV and satellite provider markets.

The report suggests that Intel has already secured agreements with CBS, News Corp., and Viacom. Intel Cable is also working with NBC Universal, but those negotiations are believed to still be in the early stages.

Intel is believed to be offering somewhere in the vicinity of $7.72 to $9 per subscriber in order to ensure that all major providers of TV content grab at a deal.

The Intel TV announcement was made in early 2013 and signals the company’s shift to a market that offers a bit more stability than the current PC market it has watched shrink in size.

Originally, experts believed Intel would attempt to roll out its new platform on a city-by-city basis. If that fact was true, the company could have avoided some of the hassles associated with negotiating for content on a national scale.

By securing a full lineup of content providers, Intel appears ready to more aggressively target the likes of Comcast, Time Warner, Verizon FiOS, and other content providers.

While negotiations are still ongoing, the team at Intel is expected to roll out Intel Cable by the end of 2013.

Do you think Intel TV and its set-top box can actively compete with the likes of Apple TV, Roku, Smart TVs, and various other gadgets that already server customers looking for non-traditional TV options?

Intel TV Negotiations Offer Content Providers 75 Percent Higher Rates is a post from: The Inquisitr

iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 release date rumors are pointing to a new camera and home button for the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S rumors say the next generation iPhones will likely be launched during the autumn and summer, respectively. The Apple iPhone rumors say the iPhone 5S will start taking orders on June 20th and ship out in July.

Very few solid rumors regarding the iPhone 5S or iPhone 6 have surfaced at this time. Apple is expected to upgrade to iOS 7 and add a faster processor, improved retina display, NFC support, 4G, 802.11ac wireless networking, and potentially a low-cost version of its popular iPhone line. Apple iPhone 6 and 5S rumors also say the iPhone 5S will incorporate fingerprint detection security measures since Apple purchased Authentec.

One thing known for certain is that the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6 will feature iOS 7, which has an interface and new apps design described as “black, white, and flat.” It’s been suggested there could be three variants of the new iPhones, nicknamed the iPhone 6 Mini, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 XL. The Apple iPhone trade-in program will also allow Apple fans to upgrade their current iPhone to the iPhone 5S or iPhone 6.

But iPhone 5S rumors showing components pictures have leaked out and they showcase improved cameras and a new iPhone home button using a capacitive touch area. The newer front-facing camera is expected to be at least 2 megapixels. A dual head vibration motor points to improved reactive feedback for the iPhone 5S.

Will you be buying an Apple iPhone 5S and iPhone 6?

iPhone 5S And 6 Release Date Rumors Show New Camera, Home Button is a post from: The Inquisitr

An invisibility cloak bends time to hide encrypted data sent over fiber optic cables.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the invisibility cloak is a continual object of fascination.

Current attempts at perfect Harry Potter invisibility cloaks have produced an invisibility cloak that would be good as camouflage when viewed from a distance. Some scientists believe it’s only a matter of time before invisibility cloaks can be produced by 3D printers at home, giving every Harry Potter fan hope their dreams may be fulfilled.

This new type of invisibility cloak, or time cloak, is not what we’re used to thinking of as an invisibility cloak because it’s hiding information over a fiber optic cable, not the visual wavelengths most people want. But it’s not like this makes this invisibility cloak less important. This technology has the potential of creating ultra-secure communications systems that no one can break. With the US government’s NSA starting to monitor the internet traffic of American citizens, and the Verizon user data scandal, many Americans might desire this so-called invisibility cloak become available for the average joe.

This invisibility cloak works by manipulating light wavelengths to cancel each other out and create a “gap” in time where information can be hidden where light does not exist. The researchers say, “It doesn’t just prevent eavesdroppers from reading your data — they wouldn’t even know there was any data there to hack.

But so far this invisibility cloak for data only works 46 percent of the time and the recipient cannot even tell it’s coming. The good news is they are able to slip in 12.7 gigabits of data per second.

The researchers explain how their invisibility cloak hides the data in time:

“If you consider light as a flow of particles a bit like cars going down a highway, you can imagine that some of the cars at the front of the stream speed up and ones behind slow down so a gap can open up. … By doing this type of interference effect, we focus the light to even smaller points in time. So, in the middle, we have all of our energy focused on very small points, and between them, we have regions where, if something were to happen, it would not be detected because there’s no light there to pick it up.”

Do you think this invisibility cloak for data should be made publicly available?

Invisibility Cloak Bends Time To Hide Encrypted Data is a post from: The Inquisitr

As the cost of 3D printing continues to decrease, it seems some companies such as Ford are keen to make the most of the technology in order to cut their production times significantly.

Despite the technology being relatively dated at more than 10 years old, it continues to find new uses across a variety of industries. Other companies such as Mattel and General Electric have also taken steps to integrate 3D printing into their manufacturing processes.

The process is more commonly referred to as additive manufacturing, and named as such because objects are built one successive layer at a time. More traditional techniques create objects by cutting or drilling using molds – which normally results in some wasted materials.

3-D printing lets workers model an object digitally, before printing it out using plastic, metal, or composite materials. These materials are still relatively expensive compared to more traditional ones, but as demand for all things 3D printing continues to increase, so too will the decline in prices.

3D printing has helped Ford to cut their productions times significantly when it comes to cylinder heads, brake rotors and rear axels for test vehicles. Production time for one type of cylinder head, used in its fuel-efficient EcoBoost engines, is cut down from four to five months to three, shaving 25% to 40% off production time. Earlier casting methods required that the mold be cut from sand; 3D printing allows Ford to skip the cutting process and pour the metal directly into the molds.

Apart from the apparent time-saving benefits in the factory, 3D printing technology allows manufacturers to get products to their customers more quickly. Ford even believes that in the future, their customers will be able to print replacement parts for their vehicles at a local 3D printer within hours.

Even though Ford cut their production times by 25%, do you think 3D printing has a place in the manufacturing processes of big business?

Ford Cut Their Production Time By 25% With 3D Printing is a post from: The Inquisitr

Chewbacca recently got his cane back thanks to Twitter.

The actor known for his role as the Wookiee from Star Wars had his cane confiscated by airport security on his way back from a Sci-Fi convention. Seven-plus-foot-tall Peter Mayhew had his lightsaber cane seized when TSA thought it was an actual weapon, but thanks to some pictures posted to Twitter, they let the Wookiee win.

TSA agents had been looking the cane over when Peter Mayhew, who really needed the cane to walk, sat nearby looking none too pleased when he used the Force and had someone snap a picture of the situation.

He vented his frustration on the social media micro-blogging site with the first picture, “Won’t allow me through the airport with me cane! Giant man need giant cane. Small cane snap like toothpick. Besides, my lightsaber is just cool. I’d miss it.”

Can we get a Wookiee roar? Yup, he was more than disappointed with TSA’s initial decision.

Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew then added another picture from the back, with airport security still discussing the cane. The tweet added, “@AmericanAir won’t allow me through the airport with me cane! Can I get a retweet?”

Apparently, the utter humiliation from the outrage of thousands of Twitter‘s Chewbacca fans made the airport TSA give him back the cane to save face as he proceeded home to Boyd, Texas. Peter Mayhew tweeted his thanks to the fans after the fact, “Magic words to TSA are not ‘please’ or ‘thank you’.. It’s ‘Twitter‘.. cane released to go home.”

Magic words to TSA are not “please” or “thank you”.. It’s “Twitter”.. cane released to go home.. twitter.com/TheWookieeRoar…

— Peter Mayhew (@TheWookieeRoars) June 3, 2013

Twitter‘s Star Wars fans worldwide saw that once again, Han Solo’s furry sidekick still has the Wookiee rage. Never mess with Chewbacca, as See Threepio learned in the films. The TSA was lucky he didn’t rip their arms off. We kid, but that was a pretty impressive conclusion to Chewbacca’s latest adventure.

Astronomer Ray Sanders said: “TSA just learned Star Wars lesson #1: Let the [Wookiee] win.”

What do you think of Twitter helping Chewbacca get his cane back?

Twitter: Chewbacca Gets His Cane Back is a post from: The Inquisitr

While Audi works on their self-driving car, the company has added the ability for their cars to find parking spaces for you. This will probably come as a huge relief to those who have spent hours driving around the city trying to find a space without any luck.

Using the car’s navigational system – provided it’s equipped with Audi Connect – driver can now scroll through a list of garages in the area. You can then sort options by price, and location, as well as see the entrance on Google Street View. Provided the data is on the system, it can also tell you how many spaces are available.

The amount of information available depends on how modern the garage itself is. Some use up-to-date technology and can communicate fluently with the database that Audi Connect runs off. Others however, can only display the parking lot’s hours and rates – making it more difficult for Audi to find parking spaces for you.

The database currently lists more than 18,000 garages and parking lots in North America, and 42,000 in Europe. It’s powered by INRIX, a company that provides real-time traffic data, and likely to continue growing as the service is used by more and more people.

Apart from guiding you to the address of the garage, the company boasts that the system can also guide drivers to the actual entrance, which might not always be on the same street as the garage’s address.

Audi will launch the new parking feature as an over-the-air update to any existing and new Audi models equipped with the Audi Connect online service.

While the car can’t actually park itself in the space once you find it, yet… It’s likely that a lot of time, gas, money and stress will be save with this latest upgrade.

Have you ever spent hours trying to find a parking space? Do you trust Audi to find parking spaces for you instead?

Image: via machinehappy.com

Audi Will Find Parking Spaces For You is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Swiss company that specialises in robotics has developed the technology for an electric bus that can be charged in just 15 seconds. Based on current battery technology, this is a task that has so far been difficult to achieve by other companies.

The buses would use a method called “flash charging”, which involves the 135-passenger bus stopping at a charge-point along its route. This charge-point generates an impressive 400-kilowatts and is positioned above the bus stop. It would connect via a laser-controlled moving arm and charge the bus’ battery in 15 seconds. The minimalistic design could also improve the urban environment and landscape as it does not need overhead lines.

The idea would be to pump just enough energy into the bus for it to reach the next charging station. Longer stops at the end of each line would allow for a full recharge when it needs to tackle longer routes.

In addition to the quick charging times, the system would use a system called TOSA (Trolleybus Optimisation Système Alimentation), a zero-carbon-emission solution drawing electricity entirely from clean hydro power.

Initially, the company wants to pilot the idea between Geneva airport and the city’s international exhibition center, Palexpo. If tests prove successful, it could be a huge step forward for public transport. A type of transport already touted to be a more effective way to travel in terms of both cost and environmental impact.

Claes Rytoft, ABB’s acting Chief Technology Officer had this to say about the project:

“Through flash charging, we are able to pilot a new generation of electric buses for urban mass transport that no longer relies on overhead lines. This project will pave the way for switching to more flexible, cost-effective, public transport infrastructure while reducing pollution and noise.”

Are you a fan of public transport? Would you be happy waiting for a bus that charged in 15 seconds?

A New Electric Bus That Can Be Charged In 15 Seconds Flat is a post from: The Inquisitr

SolePower shoe is a device that charges your phone while you walk – a possible lifesaver if your phone is about to die and you still have a few blocks before you reach your destination.

The device itself is an insole that fits into your shoe, capable of charging portable devices such as cell phones, MP3 players, and GPS units. An electrical wire runs from the SolePower insole, via your shoe and out through the laces. This wire connects to a portable battery that can be strapped to the side of the shoe, or around your ankle.

Just by walking around, the insole converts the energy from each of your steps into usable electricity, which is transferred to the portable battery. This can then be plugged into a device such as your cell phone – allowing you to make that all important call. Clearly a much better solution than finding an electrical outlet and sitting beside it for 10-20 minutes while your phone charges.

Right now, the sole prototype is rated to last 100 million steps. The ultimate aim SolePower is to develop a shoe that charges your iPhone while you walk – 2.5 miles for a full charge to be precise.

The startup began as a design project at Carnegie Mellon University and the team is now continuing development through Pittsburgh-based incubator called AlphaLab. The startup also hopes to mimic the success of TOMS Shoes’ buy-one-send-one offering by allowing customers to buy two pairs and send one to a developing nation.

SolePower is also using Kickstarter to try and raise $50,000 of funding, money that would allow further development of their prototype and help finalize the shoe. A limited number of backers who pledge at least $100 can be among the first to get the SolePower insole.

A shoe that chargers your phone while you walk could be a lifesaver, would you buy one of SolePower’s products?

SolePower Shoe Charges Your Phone While You Walk is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Apple iPhone is bad for businesses, and the current trend towards bring your own device (BYOD) policies being enacted around the country is troubling, according to a mobile pioneer.

The new policies allow employees to choose which devices they want to use on the job. In many cases, IT departments are supporting iOS, Android, Windows Phone, and Blackberry OS all at the same time.

Mobile industry pioneer and Sepharim Group founder Bob Egan is speaking out against the BYOD culture and the unnecessary complications and expenses it brings to many businesses.

Speaking to Chief Mobility Officer Egan explains:

“BYOD falls between two opposing needs: the freedom of the employee to use their devices for business and personal purposes without the fear of having their privacy invaded and the importance of an organization’s need to audit mobile data to further productivity and optimize their mobile work program. However, in this first wave of mobile ubiquity in the enterprise, we’re finding ourselves ruled by the will of the individual. Employees prefer to choose their own devices based on personal preference rather than the overall needs of the company — and much of this has been caused by the wild popularity of the iPhone.”

The creator of the IEEE 802.11 WLAN standard goes on to note:

“Mobile workforces have exploded with Apple devices; they’re cute, they have a lot of applications … While many companies are drawn in by the ‘eye-candy,’ others are still looking for more serious enterprise solutions — which isn’t Apple.”

Egan further reveals that Apple iOS devices are still lagging behind other OSes when it comes to gathering important data which is needed to design better mobile applications for businesses.

Egan concludes:

“While Apple devices make inputing information easy, getting information back is a lot harder especially when you begin to consider information audit trails and regulatory compliance matters.”

Apple iPhone Is Bad For Businesses Says Mobile Pioneer is a post from: The Inquisitr

Apple iRadio is nearing its inevitable release, and now Sony has jumped on the Apple bandwagon.

Sources close to negotiations revealed on Friday that Sony and Apple have agreed to terms for the new platform.

Based on this news, Apple has now allegedly signed deals with North America’s three largest music clearing houses. Those deals include Warner, Universal, and now Sony.

Apple’s iRadio platform is still missing a partnership with Sony/ATV, a joint publishing venture.

A report from tech site AllThingsD claims that any obstacles surrounding the Sony/ATV deal are smaller compared to other negotiations.

The dispute with the latter was caused by Sony asking to be paid for any play of a song even if a user decided to skip that song after a few seconds of listening.

Apple isn’t fully out of the woods yet, but, with the iRadio platform expected to be announced at WWDC on June 10, I have a feeling any last minute terms will be wrapped up shortly and Spotify, Google Play, and other online streaming platforms will soon be clamoring to compete in an ever crowding space.

It’s still unclear if iRadio will follow the Pandora music radio platform or feature the on-demand playability offered by Spotify. Some reports have suggested that Apple will use a combination of radio play mixed with user and expert created playlists and on-demand music playback.

Specifics about the Apple iRadio and Sony deal have not been revealed to us at this time.

Will you be ready to try out the Apple iRadio platform when it arrives, or have you already claimed your loyalty to Spotify, Pandora, or another established streaming song platform?

Apple iRadio Signs Deal With Sony, Nears Release is a post from: The Inquisitr

The teen accused of a Facebook terror post has been set free, one month after he was jailed for a social network comment about the Boston Marathon bombings.

Cameron D’Ambrosio, 18, is the teen accused of the Facebook terror post, arrested and jailed May 1 after posting rap lyrics referencing the bombing.

In a case that became somewhat of a cause celebre for supporters of internet freedom and First Amendment rights, D’Ambrosio’s alleged Facebook terror post caused much debate over whether the comments were truly a legitimate threat warranting jail time.

Earlier this week, it appeared the prosecution would move forward with the Facebook terror post case and prior to that, bail for the teen accused of essentially being a bad rapper was set at a million dollars.

The lyrics prompting the Facebook terror post arrest were:

“F*** a boston bomb wait till u see the s*** I do, I’mma be famous rapping, and beat every murder charge that comes across me!”

Yesterday, however, D’Ambrosio got a break when a jury in the case refused to indict him based on the Facebook terror post accusation. Lawrence District Court Judge Lynn Rooney ordered D’Ambrosio’s release when the grand jury chose not to indict — but online freedom activists say the case’s implications remain.

Evan Greer of Boston’s Center for Rights and Fight For The Future commented:

“While today is a major victory for Cam, the chilling effect that this case has already had on free speech cannot be undone.”

Shirin Sinnar, assistant professor of law at Stanford University Law School, is quoted by Yahoo as saying about the Facebook terror post case:

“Law enforcement wants to preempt acts of violence before they occur … The risk is that you sweep in people who had no intent to cause a crime.”

If D’Ambrosio was convicted in the Facebook terror post case, he faced 20 years in jail.

Facebook Terror Post Teen Cameron D’Ambrosio Freed is a post from: The Inquisitr