“As many expected and hoped, Microsoft is going to make the coming Windows Blue update to Windows 8 free for existing Windows 8 and Windows RT users.
Microsoft’s Windows Chief Financial Officer Tami Reller, during an appearance at the May 14 JP Morgan Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, shared the pricing news.
Reller also acknowledged what those who’ve downloaded leaked builds of Blue have known for a while: Windows Blue is Windows 8.1.
Windows 8 is currently available via a handful of SKUs – Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, Windows 8 Enterprise and Windows RT (not exactly Windows 8, but part of the family). She didn’t provide more information about plans for the coming Blue SKUs.”
ABC has quietly revolutionized its app for iPhones and iPads with a button called “live.” Users around New York and Philadelphia will be able to live-stream all the programming from ABC’s local stations there, the first time that any major broadcaster has turned on such a technology.
1.) DryCASE – The Waterproof Case for the Windows Phone, iPhone and Android. DryCASE is a flexible, crystal clear waterproof bag that allows complete use of your Phone , while keeping it dry and clean. http://www.drycase.com $39.00
2.) PivotHead – Pivothead Video Recording Eyewear, is the first step in redefining True Point of View video and photography. Our High-Definition — Hands FreeTM video platform will liberate video creation by providing new realms of possibility for people of all walks of life to capture new and unique perspectives. http://pivothead.com $299.00
3.) Pebble Watch – Pebble is the first watch built for the 21st century. It’s infinitely customizable, with beautiful downloadable watchfaces and useful internet- connected apps. Pebble connects to iPhone and Android smartphones using Bluetooth, alerting you with a silent vibration to incoming calls, emails and messages. While designing Pebble, we strove to create a minimalist yet fashionable product that seamlessly blends into everyday life. http://getpebble.com $150.00
4.) Rugged rukus by Eton – The all-terrain, solar-powered, music-blasting wireless sound system. Rock the pool or the campsite or the trail. Wherever there’s sun, you’ve got an instant party. Connect wirelessly to any Bluetooth® enabled device and start blasting your favorite tunes in stereo sound. Our super-efficient solar panel powers both the music…and the fun. http://www.etoncorp.com $99.99
5.) BioLite CampStove – Our stoves cook your meals with nothing but the twigs you collect on your journey, eliminating the need for heavy, expensive, polluting petroleum gas. Quick to light, fast to boil and easy to use. By converting heat from the fire into usable electricity, our stoves will recharge your phones, lights and other gadgets while you cook dinner. Unlike solar, BioLite CampStove is a true on-demand source. http://www.biolitestove.com $129.95
The operating system is used extensively on the International Space Station has been Windows XP. On the other hand the majority of the ground-based support systems for the ISS back on Earth are Linux-based.
Soon, the dozens of laptops in use on the ISS will all be running Debian 6. According to Keith Chuvala, a United Space Alliance contractor, manager of Space Operations Computing (SpOC) for NASA, and leader of the ISS’s Laptops and Network Integration Teams: “We migrated key functions from Windows to Linux because we needed an operating system that was stable and reliable – one that would give us in-house control. So if we needed to patch, adjust or adapt, we could.”
The Global Mom Relay strives to make an impact in two ways: by telling stories of motherhood, and by harnessing the power of social media to make a tangible difference in women’s lives. In the course of the Relay, we’ve heard a range of voices of mothers from around the world.
The stories themselves are just the beginning. Each time you share a Global Mom Relay post, a $5 donation is made by Johnson & Johnson and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The world’s first Facebook phone has been out for less than a month and AT&T has already slashed its price from $99 to $1.
The Uber social network launched the phone to fanfare—and later, mixed reviews—in mid-April. The Android-powered HTC First featured complete integration with Facebook Home, a new app designed to make sharing even easier on mobile phones. Unfortunately no one seemed to be waiting anxiously for the phone!
You can have the very best gadgets in the world but if they don’t have enough power; they are just added weight to lug through TSA, Customs and Airports. I carried my MacBook Pro laptop and got pretty good battery out of it until I started really using it, e.g. to watch a movie that I had downloaded from iTunes. When I got to Seattle airport the battle was to find an outlet! A cagey 20 something girl found the only available outlet in a dining area and I was about to dispair since both my laptop and iPhone were running out of power. Then I got to Alaska airlines for my connecting flight and found that there were extra power outlets in almost ALL the seats in the waiting area.
I was not so lucky on the ferry ride back to Seattle. There were many outlets…but all were taken. During the extra long 5 hour ride I nearly ran out of battery on my iPhone 4 which seemed to go really quickly. This was critical because I needed to change my flight because of weather delays. Not very impressed with the iPhone 4 battery life.
Wireless Connection:
First, a word of warning: when leaving the US, put your phone on AirPlane mode so that it will not automatically hook up to the local phone networks (Telus and Rogers in Canada on Vancouver Island) Without knowing it you can accumulate breathtaking charges for data and calls. My wife managed to call me twice briefly when I got off the plane in Canada because I had turned off the AirPlane mode when I got off the plane.
My sister, fortunately had an excellent wireless signal and I was able to use Skype to call home, surf the Net etc. I even found that there were free WiFi connections in many restaurants and coffee shops. But I had to be very careful not to allow Rogers to hook up to my phone. I think that connecting to WiFi in Canada is just about as easy as in the US unlike other neighboring nations on the continent.
Since Foster and Shane came back from their respective vacations, we wondered what the best and worst aspects of the experience were for them.
Shane Hamelin (Cancun, Mexico)
Just coming back from Mexico, this was NOT easy.
I set up a skype US phone number, added a Skype app package and called T-Mobile to change service before I left. This system I set up was based on getting free wifi. I spend about $50.00 in apps and services before I left..
System = Fail
Spotty Wifi and or costly Wifi put this plan to its knees early. I think it all depends where you travel. 3rd world Mexico? Not so good, can’t rely on anything working. Canada?.. Probably would have had a total different result.
Even when I had full, free Wifi… skype and phone service didn’t work as intended or promised. Dropped calls, no dial tone, no ring back, static and roaming – even though I changed service so it wouldn’t roam in Mexico.. Bad, bad, bad…
When we got home I called my phone company and this is what they said AFTER they sold me extra service. ”Well Sir… It is Mexico and we really have no control over thier towers or service.”
Called “A Boy and His Atom,” the animated film features a small boy having a good old time as he bounces around, playing catch, and dancing. The twist? The film was shot at the atomic level and features 130 atoms that were painstakingly placed, atom by atom, as the researchers shot 250 individual frames. The images were created at a temperature of negative 268 degrees Celsius and were magnified 100 million times.
