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Is Twitter Testing Out their Official Google Glass App?

2013-05-01T11:11:00.003+01:00

Credits: The Verge

It shouldn't be long now until Twitter releases it's official Twitter app for Google Glass. A Tweet from a Google Glass app has been spotted, interestingly enough by the gentleman that brought you the first unofficial Twitter App, GlassTweet.

The user that it came from had no information in their bio when I looked at the profile, but it has since been deleted, along with the tweet below:

You’ll notice the “Twitter for Glass” label, which could be a sign of which app the tweet came from. That, coupled with the fact that the account has since been deleted, shows that somebody might have let the cat, or Glass, out of the bag a little too early.

We reached out to Twitter, but the company provided us with no statement or comment on its intentions for Glass. It will be interesting to see what an actual Twitter Glass experience will be, as I can’t imagine that anyone would want to see every single tweet from their stream pass before their eye. I could see the utility of getting direct messages, perhaps replies and mentions and most certainly sharing pics and videos.

Expect to see a lot of Glass apps popping up from companies like Twitter and Facebook in the next few months, as the companies are trying to figure out how best to tap into a device that could increase usage and let users share a brand new perspective with media.

Facebook for Windows Phone Gains Major Update

2013-05-01T10:19:00.000+01:00

Today Microsoft has released an update for the Facebook app on Windows Phone as part of their beta program, which allows users to get the latest app versions to test out upcoming features. The new Facebook beta app for Windows Phone has been updated with a major redesign with some new features that include post sharing, uploading hi-res photos and the Facebook timeline.

Facebook Ditches Metro-style

The new UI moves away from the "metro style" interface found in the existing Facebook app, and more closely matches the iOS and Android Facebook apps. Sliding to the right will expose the navigation bar reveals the chat interface. Facebook's Windows Phone update follows a similar move by twitter recently to align its Windows Phone UI with its iOS and Android apps.

Microsoft says it is looking for "energetic volunteers" to join the program and test the new features, while the existing app will remain in the store alongside the beta one. The Facebook beta includes an option to send feedback in the settings area of the app, where Microsoft will collect bug reports and feature requests. The newly designed Facebook Beta app is available immediately in the Windows Phone store.

The first website ever brought back to life with its original URL

2013-04-30T14:49:00.001+01:00

April 30th may seem as ordinary as any other date, but in 1993 it marked an important milestone in the development of global communications: it was on that day that the World Wide Web entered the public domain. CERN, the same research group that's presently busy smashing protons together using the Large Hadron Collider, made World Wide Web technologies available to everyone on a royalty-free basis. Without that enlightened decision, backed by web inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee, we might never have enjoyed the glories of GIFs, ubiquitous social networking, and instant music streaming.

In a celebration of the web's proud history, the CERN team has started up a new project to revive the very first website at its original URL. A 1992 copy of the spartan web page — describing what the web was and how it could be used — had already been available on the W3C servers, but now it's back at its original location. Alongside the website restoration, CERN aims to dig up and preserve all digital assets associated with the inception of the web, with the ultimate goal being to turn info.CERN.ch into a historical archive for future generations.

Jony Ive's 'Very, Very Flat' Design for iOS 7

2013-04-30T11:35:00.000+01:00

There has been recent reports about a redesigned 'Flatter user interface in iOS 7, 9to5Mac says the next version of the operating system will lose "all signs of gloss, shine and skeuomorphism".

Jony Ive took charge of all Apple's user interface teams last October following a management shakeup.

"While the look of the updated system may be surprising to some, iOS 7 is reportedly not more difficult to use than earlier versions of software platform. There is apparently no new learning curve in the same way there was no learning curve when the iPods went color. While iOS 7 does look different, its core apps and system fundamentals (like the Lock and Home screens) mostly operate in a similar fashion to how they do today.

iOS 7 is codenamed “Innsbruck,” according to three people familiar with the OS. The interface changes include an all-new icon set for Apple’s native apps in addition to newly designed tool bars, tab bars, and other fundamental interface features across the system.

9to5Mac also said that Apple's engineers are looking to add more at-a-glance information to ios, while keeping the system easy to use for less tech-savvy customers. The article notes that Apple has looked at ideas to implement new pa
nels with swipes from the left and the right of the screen, much like how the Notification Center currently drops from above.

Apple's industrial design is the face of the company for many customers and with Ive heading up both the software and hardware teams, there could be a closer connection between the devices themselves and what users actually see on the screen going forward.

Messaging Apps have Taken over Traditional SMS

2013-04-29T09:28:00.004+01:00

Changing World of Messages

The past couple of years have seen a major change in how we communicate to each other via technology, especially within mobile messaging applications. More and more of us are now using mobile messaging apps than ever before, and now statistics are showing that we use these apps more than the traditional SMS message.

Burning a Hole in the Pocket

The research company 'Informa' stated that almost 19 billion messages were sent per day on mobile applications such as Facebook messenger and Whatsapp compared to only 17.6 billion SMS messages. Even though SMS messages still play a vital part in the communication for many people, especially in deprived backgrounds where smartphones are off the list, Smartphones have been growing in popularity, with there graphic displays, wide variety of applications and utilities and there overall versatility. The pressure has then been shown in the form of a major loss of £15bn of revenue lost during the year of 2012, all because of messaging applications.

It has projected that nearly 50 billion messages will be sent per day using these apps by 2014, compared with just over 21 billion traditional SMSs.

The reason for this is that many users now are resorting to purchasing the latest smartphone to keep up with the trend, and to get the full experience of a mobile computer anywhere at anytime, therefore messaging applications are widely available on these phones so there being used to there full potential.

Mobile Companies may have a Plan up their Sleeve

However there still seems to be life within SMS messages, despite the growing gap between the competition. Maybe this is because that even though people are now using apps more than SMS, the revenue is going down in that particular area, but mobile companies such as EE, O2 and Vodafone could resort into relying on there mobile data plans, which allows users to access the internet and apps on the go, as the main source of income.

So will we see the SMS messages grind to a halt and to the point where they simply become legacy or will they keep fighting strong against there worthy opponents?

Live Blog: Boston Terrorist Attack

2013-04-19T19:58:00.000+01:00

Police: One suspect in Boston Marathon bombings killed, another on the loose in Boston area.
"All of Boston" should stay indoors during manhunt, governor says Friday.
Police: Events began after store robbery, fatal shooting of MIT police officer Thursday night.
Police believe bombing suspects involved in officer's death; transit officer also wounded during overnight manhunt
Man believed to be bombing "Suspect No. 1" was killed in confrontation with police in Boston area, police say. Several sources tell CNN that man wasTamerlan Tsarnaev, 26.
Police say they're looking for "Suspect No. 2" - recently identified by FBI as Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19 - in the Boston suburb of Watertown.
Full story here; iReport; profile of suspects; also, see CNN affiliates WBZ;WCVB; WHDH

[Updated 3:12 p.m. ET] A number of Friday evening events have been canceled or postponed in Boston because of the manhunt.

This includes tonight's Red Sox game at Fenway Park, scheduled for 7:10 p.m., and a Boston Bruins game.

[Updated 2:30 p.m. ET] Two students at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, where Dzhokar Tsarnaev was registered, told CNN that they saw him on campus this week, after Monday's Boston Marathon bombing, CNN's Chris Lawrence reported.

Also Friday, a helicopter with a number of law enforcement personnel landed on campus, Lawrence reported.

The school ordered an evacuation of its campus on Friday. The school is located 65 miles south of Cambridge, just west of New Bedford.

[Updated 2:15 p.m. ET] Boston police confirm they're looking for a green '99 Honda sedan with Massachusetts registration 116 GC7.

[Updated 2:04 p.m. ET] Connecticut State Police have issued an alert for another vehicle, saying a wanted suspect in the Boston Marathon attack now could be in a 1999 green Honda Civic with Massachusetts license plate number 116 GC7. The CSP cited Boston authorities.

Connecticut police issued a similar alert earlier today for a different vehicle; that vehicle eventually was found unoccupied Friday in the Boston area, Boston police said.

[Updated 1:51 p.m. ET] More details on the Tsarnaev brothers:

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, the Boston Marathon attack suspect now at large, came to the United States on July 1, 2002, at age 8 on a tourist visa, a federal source said. While here, he sought asylum and became a citizen on September 11, 2012.

His older brother Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who was killed in a shootout with police overnight, came to the United States four years after his brother, on Sept. 6, 2006, at the age of 20, the source said. He came legally but was not naturalized. He was a green card holder and in the country lawfully.

See profile of the Tsarnaev brothers.

[Updated 1:23 p.m. ET] Dzhokar Tsarnaev became a U.S. citizen on September 11, 2012, a federal official said Friday. See profile of the Tsarnaev brothers.

[Updated 1:17 p.m. ET] Here's the latest chronology that CNN has on Thursday night's shooting and subsequent manhunt:

The violence began late Thursday with the robbery of a convenience store, according to Timothy Alben, superintendent of the Massachusetts state police. Soon after, in Cambridge, across the Charles River from Boston, Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier was fatally shot while he sat in his car, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said in a statement.

Police believe the Boston Marathon bombing suspects were responsible for the shooting.

The two suspects, according to authorities, then hijacked a vehicle at gunpoint in Cambridge, telling the driver that they are the marathon bombers, a law enforcement source told CNN's Joe Johns. At some point, apparently at a gas station, the source said, the driver escaped.

Police, who were tracking the vehicle using its built-in GPS system, picked up the chase in Watertown. The pursuit went into a residential neighborhood, with the suspects throwing explosives at the police. A firefight erupted and ultimately one suspect – later identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev – got out of the car. Police shot him, and his brother ran over him as he drove away, according to the source.

Earlier, there had been reports that Dzhokar Tsarnaev escaped on foot instead of by vehicle.

A source briefed on the investigation said Tamerlan Tsarnaev was wearing explosives and an explosive trigger. He died later at Beth Israel Hospital.

Richard H. Donohue Jr., 33, a three-year veteran of the transit system police force, was shot and wounded in the incident and taken to a hospital, a transit police spokesman said Friday. The officer's condition was not immediately known.

[Updated 12:45 p.m. ET] Police are continuing to run down new leads and go door to door in Watertown in the Boston Marathon terror attack investigation, said Timothy Alben, superintendent of the Massachusetts state police. He told reporters that law enforcement will conduct a controlled blast later in Cambridge, an indication that police found suspected explosives.

[Updated 12:44 p.m. ET] Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick says his request for people in the Boston area to stay indoors remains in effect for now. "We know what an inconvenience it is, in Watertown and Cambridge in particular ... but it’s been enormously helpful … to law enforcement.”

[Updated 12:30 p.m. ET] The Kyrgyz government said Friday that the two Boston Marathon suspects moved from Kyrgyzstan 12 years ago to the Russian region of Dagestan, from where the Tsarnaev family emigrated to the United States.

"Given that the suspects left the Republic at the ages of 8 and 15, the State Committee for National Security of Kyrgyzstan considers it inappropriate to link them to Kyrgyzstan," it said.

Read this profile on the Tsarnaev brothers.

[Updated 12:25 p.m. ET] Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19, was registered at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, which ordered its campus evacuated on Friday. The school is located 65 miles south of Cambridge, just west of New Bedford.

"UMass Dartmouth has learned that a person being sought in connection with the Boston Marathon bombing has been identified as a student registered at UMass Dartmouth," the school said in a news release. "The campus is closed. Individuals on campus should shelter in place unless instructed otherwise."

[Updated 12:06 p.m. ET] Boston bombing suspect Dzhokar Tsarnaev hastweeted since the Boston Marathon bombings on what friends of his tell CNN is his Twitter account.

The tweets included one at 1:43 a.m. Wednesday that said, "I'm a stress free kind of guy."

On Monday at 8:04 p.m. – hours after the bombings – he tweeted a lyric from a song that rapper Jay-Z has sampled: "Ain't no love in the heart of the city, stay safe people."

On Tuesday shortly after midnight he tweeted, "There are people that know the truth but stay silent & there are people that speak the truth but we don't hear them cuz they're the minority."

[Updated 11:55 a.m. ET] The uncle of the Tsarnaev brothers told reporters outside his home in Montgomery County, Maryland, this morning that his family is "ashamed" to be related to the suspects.

Ruslan Tsarni said the 19-year-old suspect still on the run "has put a shame on our family, a shame on the entire ethnicity." Tsarni urged his nephew to turn himself in.

He said anyone capable of committing such a crime are "losers."

[Updated 11:20 a.m. ET] U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry praised law enforcement in their hunt for the Boston Marathon attack suspects.

"I think it is fair to say this entire week we have been in pretty direct confrontation with evil," he said. "In the past few days we have seen the best and we have seen the worst of human behavior and it is the best that all of us really want to focus on."

[Updated 10:55 a.m. ET] Taxi service in Boston has been restored, police said. The service had been suspended earlier today because of the manhunt in the Boston bombings case.

[Updated 10:52 a.m. ET] More details on the discovery of the vehicle that police had been looking for: Boston police say that it was found unoccupied:

[Updated 10:50 a.m. ET] Another flurry of police activity is happening in Watertown, the Massachusetts community where police say one suspect was killed and another was being sought.

Police are asking reporters to move back – and stay down – as a number of other officers are drawing guns in a certain area, CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports from Watertown.

[Updated 10:41 a.m. ET] Connecticut State Police say that a vehicle that might be connected to a suspect in the Boston Marathon attack has been recovered in the Boston area. The vehicle is a gray Honda CR-V with Massachusetts plate 316 ES9.

Connecticut police earlier had issued a lookout notice for the vehicle.

This is what Boston police had to say about the vehicle earlier, on Twitter: "Police seeking MA Plate: 316-ES9, ’99 Honda CRV, Color – Gray. Possible suspect car. Do not approach."

[Updated 10:29 a.m. ET] A high school friend of Dzhokar Tsarnaev, the suspect who Boston police say still is at large, is recalling what he remembers about him.

Eric Mercado told CNN that he went to Cambridge Rindge & Latin, a public high school, with Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19. Both graduated, he said.

"We hung out; we partied; we were good high school friends," Machado told CNN. "We're all, like, in shock. We don't really understand. There were no telltale signs of any kind of malicious behavior from Dzhokar. It's all coming as a shock, really."

[Updated 10:24 a.m. ET] More background on the brothers that several sources tell CNN are the suspects involved in Thursday night's shootings and police chase and Monday's Boston Marathon bombings:

The Tsarnaev brothers were Kyrgyz passport holders, and used those passports when applying for green cards in the United States, an official in the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan said, according to CNN's Ivan Watson.

This doesn't mean they were born in Kyrgyzstan or that their family were Kyrgyz natives. Many Caucasus refugees received passports or refugee status in surrounding countries.

[Updated 10:14 a.m. ET] Some background on the brothers that several sources tell CNN are the suspects involved in Thursday night's shootings and police chase and Monday's Boston Marathon bombings:

Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19, the Boston Marathon attack suspect now at large, came to the United States as a tourist in the early 2000s and asked for asylum while he was here, a federal source said. He was naturalized last year. Tamerlan, the 26-year-old brother who was killed overnight, came "a few years later" and was a green-card holder, not a naturalized citizen, the source said, according to CNN's Mike Ahlers.

[Updated 10:02 a.m. ET] We now have the name of he Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer who was killed Thursday night – he was Sean Collier, 26, of Somerville, Massachusetts, according to the Middlesex district attorney’s office.

[Updated 9:48 a.m. ET] An aquatic director at Harvard University told CNN that he hired Dzhokar Tsarnaev as a lifeguard more than two years ago, but hasn't seen him for more than a year.

"He seemed like a very quiet, unassuming young man," the aquatic director, George McMasters, told CNN Friday morning. "He showed up on time, watched the water, rotated from position to position fine, got along well with students and swimmers there at the pool."

[Updated 9:34 a.m. ET] Boston police have released a new photo of Dzhokar Tsarnaev – the suspect still being sought in the Watertown area.

[Updated 9:31 a.m. ET] The Boston bombings suspect who was killed in a confrontation with police overnight in the Boston area was wearing explosives and an explosive trigger when his body was recovered, a source briefed on the investigation says, according to CNN's Deborah Feyerick.

Several sources tell CNN that the dead suspect has been identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and the one still being sought in Watertown is Dzhokar Tsarnaev, 19.

Police have publicly said that the dead suspect is the man that the FBI previously identified as "Suspect No. 1" in the Boston Marathon bombings. They also have said publicly that the suspect that they chased and last saw in Watertown overnight is the man that the FBI said was "Suspect No. 2"; Boston police also have said that they're looking for Dzhokar Tsarnaev.

[Updated 9:16 a.m. ET] The brothers suspected in the Boston Marathon attack haven't been connected to the Russian region of Chechnya for many years, the Chechen president's office said, according to the Interfax news agency.

The Tsarnaev family years ago moved out of Chechnya to another Russian region, lived some time in Kazakhstan, and then went to the United States where the family members received a residence permit, the office said.

"Therefore, the individuals concerned did not live as adults in Chechnya," said Alvi Kamirov, press secretary for Chechnya's president.

[Updated 9:01 a.m. ET] Boston police have now named a suspect that authorities have been seeking this morning. "Suspect identified as 19 year-old Dzhokar Tsarnaev of Cambridge. Suspect considered armed & dangerous," Boston police said on Twitter.

Dzhokar Tsarnaev is a Boston Marathon bombings suspect that police are looking for in Watertown following a chase overnight and shootings overnight, several sources told CNN earlier Friday.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, was the suspect who was killed during a police confrontation overnight, those same sources told CNN.

Police have said that the man identified by the FBI as "Suspect No. 1" in the Boston Marathon bombings was killed in the police confrontation. The man identified by the FBI as "Suspect No. 2" is on the loose, last seen in Watertown, police said.

[Updated 8:52 a.m. ET] A recap of the developments that began Thursday night:

The violence began late Thursday with the robbery of a convenience store, not long after the FBI released images of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings, Massachusetts State Police spokesman Col. Timothy Alben said.

Soon after, in Cambridge, across the Charles River from Boston, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer was fatally shot while he sat in his car, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office said in statement. Police believe the bombing suspects were responsible for the shooting.

The same two suspects, according to authorities, then hijacked a car at gunpoint in Cambridge. They released the driver a half-hour later at a gas station. As police picked up the chase, the car's occupants threw explosives out the windows and shot at officers, according to the district attorney's office.

Officers fired back, wounding one of the men, possibly the person identified by the FBI as "Suspect No. 1." The man died at Beth Israel Hospital. He had bullet wounds and injuries from an explosion, according to officials. The second man apparently escaped.

[Correction at 1:36 p.m. ET] The 8:52 a.m. entry above initially said that the second man apparently escaped on foot. "On foot" has been removed, as that part no longer appears to be the case.

[Updated 8:44 a.m. ET] Police activity in Watertown – where authorities believe they last saw "Suspect No. 2" during a chase overnight – seems to be picking up, CNN's Deborah Feyerick reports from the community. A helicopter is hovering over a building, and reporters are being asked to move back from where they were.

[Updated 8:30 a.m. ET] The FAA has ordered a 3.5-nautical-mile temporary flight restriction over Boston "to provide a safe environment for law enforcement activities." The restriction is from surface to 3,000 feet, according to the FAA website.

[Updated 8:21 a.m. ET] “All taxi service in the city of Boston has been suspended pending further notice,” Boston Police said on its official Twitter account.

This meshes with authorities' request that all of Boston and many of its suburbs stay indoors – with doors locked – until further notice. All public transportation in Boston already has been suspended, schools are closed, and Amtrak service from Boston to Providence, Rhode Island, also has been suspended.

[Updated 8:16 a.m. ET] The Boston-area transit police officer who was shot and wounded overnight is Richard H. Donohue Jr., 33, a three-year veteran of the force, a transit police spokesman said Friday. Donohue was shot during the manhunt for the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.

[Updated 8:14 a.m. ET] Several sources tell CNN that the dead suspect has been identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, and the one still being sought is Dzhokar Tsarnaev, age 19.

[Updated 8:10 a.m. ET] The suspects involved in the Boston bombings are brothers originally from the Russian Caucasus and had moved to Kazakhstan at a young age before coming to the United States several years ago, according to a source briefed on the investigation, CNN's Deborah Feyerick reported.

The older of the two brothers had the first name Tamerlan, had studied at Bunker Hill Community College, and wanted to become a engineer, the source said. He then took a year off to train as a boxer, according to the source.

The source said that a posting on a social media site in his name included the comments: "I don't have a single American friend. I don't understand them."

The source added that it should not be assumed that either brother was radicalized because of their Chechen origins.

[Updated 8:07 a.m. ET] "All of Boston" should shelter in place, Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick has just told reporters. The same applies to suburbs of Watertown, Newton, Belmont, Cambridge and Waltham, he said.

By shelter in place, Deval said he meant people should stay indoors, keep doors locked and not answer doors for anyone except for police.

Patrick also has confirmed to reporters that one Boston bombings suspect is dead and the other is on the loose.

He added:

– An Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority officer was "seriously wounded" and is in surgery right now.
– An MIT security officer was killed.

[Updated 7:59 a.m. ET] A recap of what authorities are telling Boston-area residents to do: Police ordered businesses in the suburb of Watertown and nearby communities to stay closed and told residents to stay inside and answer the door for no one but authorities.

The subway and Amtrak train systems have been shut down. Every Boston area school is closed.

"It's jarring," said CNN Belief blog writer Danielle Tumminio, who lives in Watertown.

[Updated 7:58 a.m. ET] The Boston bombings suspect who currently is on the run has been in the United States for "at least" a couple years, a federal law enforcement source tells CNN.

[Updated 7:40 a.m. ET] Boston police say on Twitter: "Door-to-door search 4 suspect in Watertown continues. Uniformed officers searching. Community consent critical."

[Updated 7:39 a.m. ET] The suspects in the Boston Marathon terror attack were brothers, a terrorism expert briefed on the investigation said, according to CNN's Deborah Feyerick.

[Updated 7:34 a.m. ET] One of two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing –the man police were looking for Friday morning – has a name that is common among people from the North Caucasus, a source with knowledge of the investigation said Friday. That region includes the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya.

Earlier Friday, The Associated Press reported that the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings are brothers believed to be from an area near Chechnya.

[Updated 7:32 a.m. ET] Police in the Boston-area community of Cambridge say the public should "clear area of Norfolk Street in Cambridge." "Ongoing investigation. Potentially dangerous," Cambridge police said on Twitter.

[Updated 7:29 a.m. ET] Boston police have given a heads-up to the public: They'll be conducting a "controlled explosion" – basically neutralizing a suspicious object – near the area of Commonwealth Avenue and Charlesgate.

[Updated 7:28 a.m. ET] Recapping what a doctor at Boston's Beth Israel told reporters this morning about the death of the man police believe is "Suspect No. 1" in the Boston bombings: He had bullet wounds and injuries from an explosion, the doctor said.

The doctor said he didn't know the cause of death, and he didn't know what the explosion was. The suspect was pronounced dead after unsuccessful attempts to reanimate him, a hospital spokesman said.

Police said the man believed to be "Suspect No. 1" was wounded in Watertown near Boston following a pursuit. That pursuit came about after the fatal shooting of a Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer, authorities said.

[Updated 7:03 a.m. ET] The Associated Press has reported that the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings are brothers believed to be from an area near Chechnya.

[Updated 6:48 a.m. ET] More transportation options in an out of Boston are being shut down as police look for "suspect No. 2" in the Boston Marathon bombings. Amtrak train service between Providence, Rhode Island, and Boston has been suspended, Amtrak said Friday.

This comes after Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority shut down Boston-area bus, subway, commuter rail, and ferry routes.

The FBI on Thursday released this image of what it called "suspect No. 2" in Monday's Boston Marathon bombings. Authorities said Friday that they're looking for him in the Boston suburb of Watertown.

[Updated 6:36 a.m. ET] A number of universities in the Boston area have been closed because of the manhunt for a suspect in the Boston Marathon terror attack, school officials said. They include Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Emerson College, and Boston College.

[Updated 6:23 a.m. ET] A person who was shot and killed in the Boston Marathon terror attack manhunt is believed to have had explosives on his body, a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation said Friday.

[Updated 6:19 a.m. ET] Here's some more details about the public-transportation shutdown in Boston: All Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority service is suspended at the request of the police, Joe Pesaturo, the authority's public information officer, said Friday. This includes bus, subway, commuter rail, and ferry routes in the Boston area.

This comes as police say they're continuing to hunt down one of the suspects in Monday's Boston Marathon terror attack.

[Updated 5:59 a.m. ET] "Harvard University is closed due to public safety concerns. Please continue to watch this page for updates," the universityannounced on its website.

[Updated 5:55 a.m. ET]: President Obama was briefed overnight on the events happening in Watertown, CNN's Brianna Keilar reports.

[Updated 5:51 a.m. ET]: "Vehicle traffic in and out of Watertown suspended," say Boston Police on an official Twitter account.

[Updated 5:43 a.m. ET]: Mass transit in Boston has been suspended at the request of the police, says Joe Pesaturo, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.

[Updated 5:37 a.m. ET]: Boston Police, via its official Twitter account, says businesses near 480 Arsenal Street in Watertown, Massachusetts, are closed until further notice. Employees are also instructed to stay home.

[Updated 5:20 a.m. ET]: MIT cancels Friday's classes, according to a letter from Israel Ruiz, the school's executive vice president and treasurer, and school Chancellor Eric Grimson.

"MIT suffered a tragedy last night: an MIT Police officer was shot and killed on our campus in the line of duty," says the letter, addressed to the MIT community. "While the circumstances around the officer's death remain the subject of an active investigation, what is certain is that the officer gave his life to defend the peace of our campus. His sacrifice will never be forgotten by the Institute. We are thinking now of his family, and our hearts are heavy. In consultation with faculty chair Sam Allen, we have decided to cancel classes today (Friday). All employees are encouraged to use their best judgment about whether they are prepared to come in to work today: any absence today will be considered excused."

[Updated 5:03 a.m. ET]: Police in Watertown sending robocalls to residents instructing them to stay indoors, reports CNN's Drew Griffin.

[Updated 4:45 a.m. ET]: One of the suspects believed to have planted bombs at the Boston Marathon is dead after a shootout with police, a police spokesman said.

The FBI on Thursday released this image of who it called "suspect No. 1" the Boston Marathon bombings. On Friday, police said he was killed in a Boston-area shootout with police.

[Updated 4:21 a.m. ET]: A suspect on the loose in Watertown, Massachusetts, matches the description of Suspect 2 – a man pictured wearing a white cap - wanted in connection with the bombings at the Boston Marathon on Monday, police said early Friday.

[Updated 3:54 a.m. ET]: Massachusetts State Police, via Twitter: "Police will be going door by door, street by street, in and around Watertown. Police will be clearly identified. It is a fluid situation."

[Updated at 3:48 a.m. ET]: Massachusetts State Police, on its official Twitter feed, warns Watertown residents to stay in their homes and to not answer the door "unless it is an identified police officer." "If any concerns about someone at door, call 911 immediately. Repeat–Do not answer door, stay away from windows, keep doors locked," the state police says in another tweet.

[Updated 2:40 a.m. ET]: Massachusetts State Police spokesperson Dave Procopio said that they believe multiple possible explosive devices were used against police tonight during this incident at Watertown. It was unclear if the incident, which followed a police chase of a stolen vehicle, was related to the shooting on the MIT campus or any other incident in the Boston area.

[Updated 2:31 a.m. ET]: FBI spokesman Martin Feely tells CNN's Susan Candiotti: "We are engaged with our partners trying to determine if there is a connection." CNN's Drew Griffin, who is on the scene in Watertown, Massachusetts, said FBI agents are on the scene.

[Updated 2:21 a.m. ET]: MIT releases statement on shooting death of campus police officer: "MIT is heartbroken by the news that an MIT Police officer was shot and killed in the line of duty on Thursday night on campus, near Building 32 (the Stata Center). Our thoughts are now with the family." http://bit.ly/15lcg2r

[Updated 2:19 a.m. ET]: Boston Police Department's official Twitter feed says "there is an active incident ongoing in Watertown. Residents in that area are advised to remain in their homes. More details when available."

[Updated 2:07 a.m. ET]: CNN's Gabe Ramirez on the scene in Watertown, Massachusetts, says that authorities are ordering people in the area to shut off their cell phones.

[Updated 1:49 a.m. ET]: At least one person was arrested in Watertown, Massachusetts early Friday morning, stripped naked before being taken in custody, CNN photojournalist Gabe Ramirez observed. It is unclear if this arrest was related to the shooting at Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus or any other incident in Boston the area.

[Updated 1:23 a.m. ET]: Dozens of police have rushed to an area of Watertown, Massachusetts, just over two miles from Cambridge, said CNN's Drew Griffin, who is near the scene. A "very large event has taken place," Griffin said. There were reports that explosives were involved.

[Posted at 12:45 a.m. ET]: A university police officer has died after being shot on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus in Cambridge late Thursday, state police spokesman Lt. Mark Riley said. The MIT officer was responding to a disturbance when he was shot, according to the state district attorney's office. He sustained "multiple gunshot wounds."

State police and the FBI were called in after the shooting and found the campus policeman near Building 32 on MIT's campus. He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the district attorney's office said. Dozens of officers surrounded and cordoned off the building, known as the Stata Center, which houses computer science laboratories as well as the department of linguistics and philosophy, according to MIT's website.

Google Mail, Google Docs, others hit by partial outage

2013-04-18T22:17:00.001+01:00

WASHINGTON: Google reported disruptions on several of its services including Google Mail, for reasons that were not immediately known.

The apps status dashboard of the world's most popular search engine indicated "service disruptions" for Google Mail, Google Drive, Google Documents, Google Spreadsheets and Google Presentations.

It also reported a total "service outage" for its "admin control panel / API" used by administrators of Google Apps domains.

"Our team is continuing to investigate this issue," said Google Apps in a service update. "This issue is affecting a significant subset of users... Thank you for your patience."

Boston Marathon Explosion Causes a Review on Security

2013-04-18T14:56:00.001+01:00

Following the horrific explosions that occurred during the Boston Marathon on Monday, the Virgin group have now reconsidered their security for the upcoming London Marathon which is still taking place this Sunday. The Boston explosion caused major worries accross the globe as national threat to security with regards to another terrorism act, therefore putting everyone on high alert for any upcoming major events.

London had "enormous experience" of delivering major events and the UK had some of the best security professionals in the world, he told the BBC, adding: "This is one of those instances where the best way to show solidarity with Boston is to continue."

This quote does bring a small amount of relief for alot of people, due to Britain having brilliant security services which can be implemented at the touch of a button, however that doesn't take away the pure upset of what occurred in Boston and the worry of what could potentially occur this Sunday in the heart of London.

The police have also considered the security at the Manchester Marathon which is due to take place on the 28th April.

This is a big sign for everyone to group together to fight these series of attacks to stop terrorism completely, and to also prevent the killings of innocent people accross the world because of a selfish act.

For more information on the Boston Marathon Explosion, read ' Breaking News: Explosion at Boston Marathon: Three People Dead, over 144 injured' located on the latest post thread.

Waco Fertiliser Plant Explosion

2013-04-18T14:55:00.001+01:00

Earlier today there was a huge explosion near Waco from a Fertiliser Plant with more than 160 people injured and dozens of homes and buildings destroyed. Emergency services are still going from home to home trying to find survivors and a number of firefighters who had been tackling the huge fire blaze are still missing.

The explosion happened at West Fertiliser on the edge of West, a town of about 2,700 people some 20 miles north of Waco.

Sgt William Swanton of the Waco police department said he could not give an accurate figure of the number of people killed in the explosion - but estimated between five and 15. But with the search still going on, other officials suggested the final toll could be significantly higher. William Swanton also stated that at least 160 people had been treated at various hospitals.

He said the blast site was being treated as a crime scene, but that this was procedural and he had "no indications this was anything other than an accidental fire".

Breaking News: Explosion at Boston Marathon: Three People Dead, over 144 injured

2013-04-16T10:45:00.001+01:00

At least three people have been killed and more that 100 injured, in two explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

TV footage showed bloodied runners and spectators being treated at the scene and the road strewn with debris. Right now, the FBI stated that this was a "potential terrorist investigation". In a TV address, President Barack Obama said "we will find out who did this" and those responsible would feel the "full weight of justice". "we don't yet have all the answers," he said. "We still do not know who did this or why."

Details of the victims have not been revealed, however the Associated Press news agency reported that an eight-year-old boy was among the dead. Quoting a family friend, the report said the boy's mother and sister were also injured as they waited for his father to finish the race.

The city mayor's office has set up an emergency hotline for friends and relatives on +1 617 635 4500.

The Federal Aviation Administration has created a no-fly zone over the area, while security at keys sites in Washington DC and New York has been tightened. Vice President Joe Biden - breaking off from telephone conference call on gun control - said: "Or prayers are with those people in Boston who have suffered injury."

A doctor at Massachusetts General Hospital said "several amputations" had been performed there.

The first explosion came at about 14:50 local time (18:50 GMT) approximately two hours after the winners crossed the line.

There was a loud explosion on the north side of Boylston Street just before the finish line sending some runners tumbling down while others were knocked down by those rushing to the scene. Another loud explosion came soon after, and smoke rose from the scene of the blasts.

Bloodied victims were initially rushed to a medical tent set up there for fatigued runners. Emergency services descended on the scene, which was quickly locked down.

Stragglers heading for the finish line were rerouted away from the smoking site for the blasts.

A fire then broke out at the John F Kennedy presidential library a few miles away from the finish line. Police have said that it might have been caused by an incendiary device but it is unclear whether it is related to the bombings. The annual Boston Marathon this year had a field of about 23,000 runners and was watched by hundreds of thousands of spectators. It is held on Patriots Day, a Massachusetts sate holiday which commemorates the first battles of the American Revolution in 1775.

British police are reviewing security plans for Sunday's London Marathon, the next major international Marathon, following events in Boston.

YouTube adds 'Tape Mode' To Celebrate 57 Years of Noisy Recordings

2013-04-15T09:45:00.000+01:00

Certain videos on the site now give you the option to watch them in "tape mode", bringing all the fun of static and fuzz to your modern viewing experience. It is all in memory of the Ampex VRX-1000, which is commonly considered the world's first practical videotape recorder and blew competitors away when t was shown off on April 14th, 1956 at the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters Conversation. If anyone would like to learn more about the device's place in history, then visit LabGuy's World, in which he has a transcript of lead engineer Charles P. Ginsburg's presentation on its development.

Goal-line Technology to be Introduced into Football

2013-04-15T09:31:00.000+01:00

Welcoming Hawk-eye With Open Arms

Last week it was finally announced that goal line technology would be introduced within football at the beginning of the 2013-2014 season. The installation of this will be just in time for the Community shield in Wembley arena in August.

British based hawk-eye, which is currently being used in cricket and tennis, with big success, has been awarded the contract to install hawk-eye technology within stadiums. Although some people are disputing that Hawk-eye may ruin the tradition game of football, most people are accepting the plans with open arms, as over the years there have been a few very controversial decisions, especially when it comes to some of the most important games or cups in the world, such as the FIFA world cup, or the Euro in which without the use of Hawk-eye, teams were denied a win because of a decision that was based plainly by eye and could of been wrong.

How it works

The Hawk-eye system will use seven cameras which will be located around the goal, and they will all monitor the balls movements in and around the goal area. If the cameras detect the ball going accross the line, it will send the data to a watch in which the match officials will be wearing, therefore they can then say whether the goal is allowed or dis-aloud. The great thing about Hawk-eye is that it is millimetre accurate, which means there will be no contravercy as to whether the ball crossed the line or not, and also there is no time delay within the calculation either. It will be able to calculate the results, gather all the data from every camera and sent the result to the watch within one second, so in theory it will save quite a bit of time that would normally be wasted deciding the goal outcome.

50 Funny Things to ask Siri Part 2 (2013)

2013-04-14T21:28:00.001+01:00

Here is the second part of the Funny Things to ask Siri! Have fun and enjoy.

Here is the list of 50 crazy questions and comments for Siri:
1. What are you wearing?

2. What’s your favorite website?

3. What is love?

4. Beam me up, Scotty
5. Are you married?

6. Shut up!

7. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

8. What’s your favorite color?

9. Who’s your daddy?

10. What’s the answer to the Universe?

11. Guess What?

12. What is the best computer in the world?

13. Siri, who let the dogs out?

14. Scooby Doo, where are you?

15. Sing a song

16. You’re sexy

17. Best smartphone?

18. What does Siri mean?

19. What’s the best tablet?

20. Do you drink beer?

21. Why?

22. You should go on a diet

23. Do you agree with me?

24. Are you male or female?

25. You are my best friend

26. Where are you from?

27. What are you?

28. Take me to your leader

29. Tell me a story… Tell me a story… Tell me a story

30. Why am I here?

31. How old are you?

32. Please tell me something about yourself

33. What is the meaning of life?

34. Are you drunk?

35. Are you serious?

36. Testing Testing 123

37. Did you fart?

38. Do you want to play a game?

39. What’s your problem?

40. I think you’re hot

41. I love you

42. Do you love me?

43. Are you human?

44. What’s your story?

45. Can I borrow some money?

46. You’re smart

47. Where are you?

48. Are you serious?

49. How much does Apple corp. make in a week?

50. Good morning (at night)

Xbox live outage!

2013-04-13T23:13:00.000+01:00

Xbox live is currently experiencing some major problems to the service, with many users reporting problems when trying to sign in to Microsoft's online gaming platform. The outage came across inconveniently during the peak weekend gaming hours. Many of the most popular apps on the Xbox 360 such as Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu, and YouTube are tied to Xbox live Gold subscriptions; which means if you're unable to sign in, then you will not be able to access any content. Microsoft has confirmed the ongoing issue on its Xbox support website, pledging that "every available resource" is currently working to get players back online. IN the meantime, the company is providing status updates every 30 minutes.

ASDA Interested in Buying HMV?

2013-03-12T12:28:00.001Z

One of UK's biggest supermarket chains ASDA could be on the verge of buying the troubled retailer HMV.

According to The Sun's unnamed source in the City a deal is on the cards but must be made within the next two weeks.

ASDA, of course already sells entertainment products within its stores, but owning HMV would give it tremendous presence in the entertainment sector. Recently ASDA launched Disney concessions within three of its supermarkets. if this deal went through, could we see a similar thing happening with HTMV concessions springing up in stores? It's just rumour and speculation at the moment.

A lot has happened to HMV since the beginning of the year, with Canadian restructuring firm Hilco stepping in to save the company from bankruptcy back in January by acquiring its debt and store closures being announced in February.

Former GAME boss Ian Sheperd remains sceptical over the story. He thinks it might be misinformation to drum up interest in the company:

Today's big retail story: "administrator tries to create illusion of bidding competition shortly before rent deadline"
— Ian Shepherd (@IanAShepherd) March 12, 2013

27 inch iMac review

2013-03-12T12:11:00.000Z

The new iMac was eagerly anticipated throughout the year of 2012, I was anticipating for what felt like several years. I am an avid Apple fan, I love the majority of things that they create, and the iMac is no different. I was an owner of a MacBook Pro before I made this purchase, I had it for two years and I felt like I needed a change.

When I purchased my MacBook way back in February 2011, I was absolutely elated with the design, and the all round quality of the product. Back then I was not as aware of computer specifications as I am now. It only had a 250GB HDD and an Intel core 2 duo running at 2.4GHz, which for back then wasn't to bad, but then 3 weeks later Apple released an upgraded model with an Intel core i5 running at 2.5GHz with the possibly of it being turbo boosted to 3.1GHz, 500GB HDD, and Intel 4000 HD graphics. I was extremely disappointed when I found this out, and truthfully wish that I had waited the extra 3 weeks or so, but unfortunately I was unaware at the time.

In 2012 there were rumours floating around that there was going to be a re-design of the already popular iMac and it was announced in September (along with the iPad Mini) that both the 21.5 and the 27 inch iMac would undergo a huge makeover.

The new iMac's were announced to everybody's excitement and I think that it is safe to say that nobody was disappointed with the outcome. The new iMac's are a mere 5 mm thin with a curve at the rear of the iMac so that all of the components can fit snugly in the back. I believe that this all-in-one powerhouse is without a doubt one of the (if not THE) best non-customisable computers on the market.

Apple have altered the screen so that it is closer to the user and it feels as if the images produced are on top of you. They have also altered the screens reflectiveness, making it 70% less reflective than the previous iMac. After using it for a month both of these adjustments come in extremely handy, especially the reflectiveness when the sun is shining into my room, it is a very nice feature indeed. One of the coolest features if the 27 inch iMac is the little button within the power socket, which you press and then the RAM slot's become available for replacement. They have also included 4 USB 3.0 ports which are fantastic if you have an external HDD with USB 3.0 capabilities.

The performance of this machine is absolutely fantastic, and received a score of 9879 on Geekbench (a piece of software used to measure performance). I purchased the top of the range £1699 model, because I wanted to use it for some casual gaming so I believed it was better to be safe and get Nvidia's GTX 675MX 1GB graphics card, which is their newest graphics chip. It is designed for laptops and is used within the new iMac due to the all new 'fitter' design.

Specification:

All-In-One: YES

Bluetooth Information: YES

Brand: Apple

Built-in ethernet connection Information: 10/100/1000

Built-in Webcam: YES

CD/DVD/Blu-ray DriveInformation: NO

Computer Software Helpline Information: Free 90 day computer support

Dimensions: H51.6 x W65.0 x D20.3cm

Eligible for International Delivery: NO

Entertainment: YES

Gaming: NO

Graphics card Information: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX

Graphics card - video RAM Information: 1GB

Hard drive Information: 1TB

High Performance: YES

Included: Apple Wireless Keyboard and Magic Mouse

Memory card slot Information: SD, SDXC

Model name / number: MD096B/A

Monitor Information: 27 inch widescreen LED-backlit display

Operating system Information: Mac OS X Mountain Lion

Processor Information: Intel Core i5 3rd generation

Processor speed Information: 3.2GHz up to 3.6GHz with Turbo Boost

Processor Type: Intel Core i5

RAM: 8GB

Screen Resolution Information: 2560 x 1440

Slimline: NO

Stereo Speakers Type: Built-in

Thunderbolt Ports: 2

Touch Screen: NO

Tower: NO

TV tuner card Information: NO

USB ports Information: 4x USB 3.0

Weight: 9.5kg

Wireless networking: 802.11n Wi-Fi wireless networking;2 IEEE 802.11a/b/g compatible

(From the John Lewis Website 'Click Here')

Overall the new iMac is wonderful piece of kit, for many people the 'Apple' name is just for exclusivity and I can understand why with the hefty price tag that comes with the 27 inch model. But if you seriously look at the other all in one competitors, Apple is without a doubt the best option to go for. The reasons are the build quality, the aesthetics, the performance, the reliability, and if anything does go wrong, the service you will receive from Apple. The fact that there is not a CD drive may put some people off, but you really need to ask yourself 'How many times do I use the CD drive on my computer?' Eventually CD's will become redundant and Apple are aware of this and they are ahead of every other competitor, so they have not included a CD drive on the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and the new iMac.

I have absolutely no complaints with the new iMac, any game that I play, I can play to ultra settings (Day-Z, Left 4 Dead 2, Counter Strike GO, Team Fortress 2) and rendering videos is extremely quick. I have no regrets paying the price that I did and would not change my decision to purchase one any day of the week. Even when I play games on ultra settings the fan barely makes a sound, which is a fantastic for someone who likes their silence. I would give the iMac a 10/10, I've had it for a month and I fell in love with it from day one. It does everything I ask it to and more, at first I thought it may be a risky purchase, but I could not have been more wrong. Obviously those reading may disagree with my opinion, so if you do, feel free to comment below voicing your own opinion.

Thanks for reading, as always it is much appreciated!

In-game purchases will be coming to COD: Black Ops 2 on Xbox 360

2013-03-12T12:04:00.000Z

Later this week, in-game purchases will be coming to the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty: Black Ops II later this week, before being rolled out to the PC and PS3 at a later date.

According to MCV, tomorrow you'll be able to buy optional micro-items in the game that Activision's Dan Amrich calls "either personal customisations or nice little luxuries", which won't affect gameplay" but rather offer "small, specific ways to enhance your online experience".

Personalisation packs will cost 160 MS Points each, and will offer unique weapon camons, three targeting reticules and Calling Card. Ten extra Create-a-Class slots will also be available for 160 MS Points, while a Flags of the World Calling Card Pacs will set you back 80 MS Points. Rouding out the new items on offer is the nuketown 2025 multiplayer Zombies map for 400 MS Points.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II - Revolution DLC Gameplay (IGN)

SXSW: Analyst Says PS4 and Next Xbox Games Will Cost $70!

2013-03-11T09:55:00.000Z

Analysts suggest that PS4 and Xbox games will retail at $70, ten dollars more than current gen games, said Wedbush Securities Research Analyst Michael Pachter during a panel at SXSW.

The news was tweeted by Spike and GamesTrailers Host Geoff Keighley.

At #SXSW panel @michaelpachter says PS4 and next Xbox games will likely cost 70 dollars, 10 dollars more than current gen.
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) March 9, 2013

This comes after Sony Clarified the price point of PS4 games when SCEA President and CEO Jack Tretton explained that Sony, "will offer games with prices ranging from $0.99 to the more traditional $60 range with the ability for players to sample games before they buy.

It's important to note that Tretton's quote never gives a hard number like a MSRP of $59.99, which leaves plenty of room for interpretation of what Sony's view of a "traditional $60 range" might actually be.

TOP 30 MOST ANTICIPATED GAMES OF 2013

2013-03-11T09:15:00.002Z

All gamers are looking forward to most of the games that are due out this year, including the late, but amazing GTA 5, Bioshock infinite and more!

Here are the 30 big games of 2013 from IGN:

Games Listed in the video:

1. Aliens: Colonial Marines
2. Army of Two: The Devil's Cartel
3. Beyond: Two Souls
4. BioShock Infinite
5. Castlevania 2: Lords of Shadow
6. Crysis 3
7. Dark Souls II
8. Dead Island: Riptide
9. Dead Space 3
10. DmC: Devil May Cry
11. Gears of War: Judgement
12. God of War: Ascension
13. Grand Theft Auto V
14. Injustice: Gods Among Us
15. Lost Planet 3
16. Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes
17. Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain
18. Star Wars: 1313
19. Remember Me
20. SimCity
21. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
22. South Park: The Stick of Truth
23. Splinter Cell: Blacklist
24. StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
25. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
26. The Elder Scrolls Online
27. The Last of Us
28. Tomb Raider
29. Watch Dogs
30. Rayman Legends

Dad Hacks Donkey Kong So Daughter Can Play As A Girl!

2013-03-11T09:06:00.000Z

This is probably one of the loveliest stories you have read all week, a dad has hacked Donkey Kong so his three-year-old daughter can play as Pauline and save Mario.

Mike Mika is a video game maker by trade, and upon noticing his daughter was disappointed by the default option, simply 'adjusted' the classic game so Pauline was now the playable character - complete witha P instead of an M at the top of the screen.

"My three year old daughter and I play a lot of old games together," Mika wrote on his YouTube channel. "Her favorite is Donkey Kong. Two days ago, she asked me if she could play as the girl and save Mario. She's played as Peach in Super Mario Bros. 2 and naturally just assumed she could do the same in Donkey Kong. I told her we couldn't in that particular Mario game, she seemed really bummed out by that. So what else am I supposed to do? Now I'm up at midnight hacking the ROM, replacing Mario with Pauline."

Check out the video of Mika's Hack below. Story via Reddit

NASA Puts Mars Rover Curiosity on Standby After Solar Flare

2013-03-08T11:09:00.000Z

NASA's Curiosity rover has powered down to wait out a Mars-bound solar blast, complicating efforts to bring the 1-ton robot back from a computer glitch.

Curiosity's handlers put the rover on standby after the sun unleashed a medium-strength flare in the Red Planet's direction Tuesday (March 5). It's the second recent shutdown for Curiosity, which had just come out of protective "safe mode" Saturday (March 2) as engineers work through an issue with its primary computer system.

"Storm's a-comin'! There's a solar storm heading for Mars. I'm going back to sleep to weather it out," NASA officials wrote on behalf of the rover via Curiosity's Twitter feed today (March 6).

The rover team views the shutdown as merely a precaution, as Curiosity was designed to withstand such solar outbursts, the Associated Press reported. But the move could delay the rover's return to science operations, which had been anticipated as early as this weekend.

Curiosity landed inside Mars' huge Gale Crater last August to determine if the area has ever been capable of supporting microbial life. The robot had been operating pretty much flawlessly on the Red Planet until last Wednesday (Feb. 27), when it failed to send recorded data home to Earth and didn't shift into its daily sleep mode as planned. [Curiosity Rover's Latest Amazing Mars Photos]

The mission team determined that a glitch had affected the flash memory on Curiosity's main, or A-side, computer system. So engineers swapped the rover over to its backup (B-side) computer, which spurred Curiosity to go into safe mode on Thursday (Feb. 28).

Since then, the robot's handlers have been working to configure the B-side computer for surface operations and fix the problem with the A-side, which they think may have been caused by a fast-moving charged particle known as a cosmic ray.

Curiosity has been on the road to recovery. The rover came out of safe mode on Saturday and began using its high-gain antenna again a day later. Mission officials have expressed confidence that engineers will fix or troubleshoot the glitch soon, saying Curiosity may resume science operations as early as this weekend if all continues to go well.

The solar flare may now push that timeline back a bit, however.

NASA officials do not expect Tuesday's solar flare to seriously affect any of the agency's other robotic Mars explorers, such as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter or Opportunity rover, the Associated Press reported.

Tuesday's flare was accompanied by a coronal mass ejection (CME), which blasted a huge cloud of solar plasma toward the Red Planet. CMEs that slam into Earth inject large amounts of energy into our planet's magnetic field, spawning potentially devastating geomagnetic storms that can disrupt GPS signals, radio communications and power grids for days.

But CMEs don't have a similar impact on Mars, which lacks a global magnetic field, scientists say.

Apple's Polycarbonate iPhone with 4.5-Inch Display Arriving for $330 in 2014

2013-03-01T14:21:00.001Z

Japanese blog Macotakara reports that Apple's plans for a lower-cost iPhone have now been pushed back to 2014, with the company reportedly planning to use a polycarbonate body similar to that seen on the discontinue white plastic MacBook. Apple is said to be targeting a price of $330 for unsubsidised models, significantly lowering the cost of entry in markets where carrier subsidise are uncommon.

the lower cost iPhone is said to include a bigger screen (4.5-inch). Apple has been rumoured to be developing both a larger and cheaper iPhone models, although most observers have expected the lower-cost iPhone to adopt a screen size in line with either the iPhone 4S or perhaps the iPhone 5 in order to help Apple save on costs. Digitimes last month was the first source to claim that the lower-cost iPhone would carry a larger screen with a launch later this year, but it later backtracked from those claims in nothing that a larger iPhone would not launch this year.

Macotakara suggests that the plastic iPhone will measure somewhat thicker than the iPhone 5 given the thicker material being used for the casing, but that the device will otherwise be very similar to the current design.

Is there a Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 Coming? I Think So!

2013-02-23T17:38:00.000Z

Noted by Slashgear, Samsung will be showing off their upgraded Galaxy Note tablet this coming week at Mobile World Congress 2013. Spreading around the web is sort of a spy-shot of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 being blasted on a large screen inside the new MWC convention location - the show still being set up in a very large way. Over the past week, there have been many leaked bits and pieces, this device is everything you might expect it to be - with an 8-inch screen!

This is the tablet that's every-so-slightly larger than the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7, this time sporting much of the same look and the S-Pen that the most recent Galaxy Tab lineup works with. The device looks like the Samsung Galaxy Note II and the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 put together, with the similar-sized bezel, slivery rim, and 2nd-gen S-Pen, we also know now that it comes in white!

Other than that, it is a mystery as what we're going to work with.

Is The BlackBerry 10 Worth The Money?

2013-02-19T12:15:00.000Z

So with all of the hints and teases that RIM were advertising across the web, the BlackBerry 10 has finally arrived with a brand spanking new operating system that feels so unique to everything else that is on the market, but is it worth it? Jonathan Rettinger from Technobuffalo has written a report on the pros and cons of the BlackBerry 10. Have a look!

After years of delay, the long-awaited BlackBerry 10 operating system is finally on its way to a carrier near you -- but is it worth buying? BlackBerry is giving consumers plenty of time to think it over: the first smartphones to sport the new OS, the Z10 and Q10, won't go on sale until March and April, respectively.

I've spent the last two weeks playing with the Z10 and there are some definite pros and cons. Here's what you need to consider before shelling out $199 to buy one:

Pros:

Solid Operating System -- For most consumers, the big question with the new BlackBerry has been the operating system -- would it be on a par with Android and iOS? The good news is that BlackBerry 10 is actually a very solid operating system -- it's really fast and fluid, supported by a 1.2GHz processor and 2GB of RAM on the Z10. The most unique feature about BB10 is that it's entirely gesture-based, which is a bit weird, and took our reviewers about a week to get used to.
Typing -- The typing experience has long been a key selling point of BlackBerry and the new phones keep this tradition alive. The Z10 has one of the best keyboards I've ever seen on a touchscreen phone -- it beats the iPhone and various Android models handily. The keyboard uses a smart predictive typing feature and a heat map to learn and adjust to how each person types -- to avoid 'fat finger' mistakes. I found the keyboard's accuracy improved the more I used it.
Hardware -- The handset is a plastic composite, so nothing fancy, but overall it's a quality build and what you'd expect from HTC. One downside is it doesn't have a Gorilla Glass screen.
Battery Life -- I'm a power user when it comes to my smartphone, and the Z10's battery kept up with me all day. The battery lasted surprisingly well during a full day of emailing, surfing the web, texting, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
Email -- BlackBerry's email prowess is still there in the new Z10: emails came in incredibly fast, often faster than on my computer. Push email is gone, however, but overall I found the email client worked incredibly well.
Browser --The new BlackBerry sports a modern browser -- thank goodness -- and still offers support for Adobe Flash, which iOS and Android no longer do. It surfs the web really fast, lets you open multiple tabs and generally has what you'd expect in a modern browser.
Call Quality -- The Z10's call quality was excellent, no complaints there. Reception is good, clarity of voices is good, overall it does its most basic feature well. It also comes with visual voicemail built-in, which is a nice touch.
Full Carrier Blitz -- Thankfully, BB10 will eventually be on all four major U.S. carriers -- AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. AT&T and Verizon are scheduled to launch first, with the other carriers coming later on.
Time Shift -- The Z10 camera has an interesting feature called Time Shift: it takes multiple pictures with one click, and lets the user choose which facial image they want -- thereby eliminating the risk of closed eyes, awkward expressions, etc.

Cons:

Price -- One drawback for BB10 is the price. The Z10 will retail for $199 on a two-year contract for both Verizon and AT&T. That means it's priced the same as an iPhone 5 and twice that of a Samsung Galaxy S3 or iPhone 4S -- not to mention a slew of even cheaper, and very capable, Androids. Those of us at TechnoBuffalo were really hoping BlackBerry would go lower -- $99 or below. Admittedly, that was idealistic of us, but it would have given the new BlackBerries a better chance to gain market share fast -- and after which they could have gradually built up the price point with different 'premium' handset models.
Gesture Support -- I hesitated before placing the phone's unique gesture-interface in the 'con' category, because there are some intriguing features about it. But at the end of the day, it's a strange way to use a phone and one that might turn-off a lot of consumers who are used to the intuitiveness of iOS and Android. Gesture support is a different way of managing tabs and apps -- instead of pressing a 'home' button, the user has to swipe the finger up and out to return from an active application to the home page; swipe down to bring up additional options in an app; swipe left to access notifications like BlackBerry Messenger and email; etc. There may be some who find this a non-issue, but for the majority of users it might prove a bit disorienting.
App Store -- BlackBerry World, the new name for the app store, is the most robust offering BlackBerry has ever had -- but, unfortunately, it's not going to be enough for the discerning buyer. With 70,000 apps, it only has 1/10th the offerings of Apple and Android, and about 60 percent of these are repackaged Android apps. It also left out a number of popular apps -- Instagram is one example. However, you can sideload Android apps onto the device, so there are ways around this.
Maps -- "Lousy," "atrocious," "fail" -- those are a few of the words that came to mind as I tested BlackBerry Maps on the Z10 review unit. Let me put it this way: it makes Apple Maps look brilliant. It has a hard time finding points of interest nearby, has an ugly design and isn't user-friendly. The good news here is you can sideload Google Maps and use that instead.
Voice Control -- The Z10 has voice control, but it's not very good. It has trouble with accurate dictation and is limited to a few basic functions like appointment setting, web searches and sending texts. Both Google Search and Apple's Siri are far more accurate and integrate voice search more fully into the phone's capabilities.
Camera - The Z10's camera leaves something wanting. The pictures are unimpressive, but it does come with the clever Time Shift feature noted above.

Overall, the BlackBerry 10 is a strong step forward and a significant evolution over previous BlackBerry operating systems. For those die-hard BlackBerry fans out there, the new Z10 and Q10 handsets could be a worthwhile buy. But for the average consumer who's now used to very capable iOS and Android based devices, the magic isn't there yet. The Z10 handles core functions well -- like calling, email, typing and battery life -- but beyond that it struggles. Between the smaller app store, weak features and higher price, it might make more sense to wait for the next OS upgrade or a reduction in the retail price.

Temple Run 2: Now Available for Android

2013-01-24T10:26:00.001Z

Following up from the successful launch of Temple Run 2 on iOS - that reached over 20 million downloads in the first four days, is now available for Android. As with the iOS version, it's a free download, and you can pick it up from the Google Play Store now!

Imangi's Keith Shepherd had said that the game would make its way to the Google Play Store this week, and has arrived on Android withut issues.