BlackBerry users in Saudi Arabia were gearing up for their device’s certain death. With hours to spare, it has come to light that someone (RIM or Saudi Arabia) caved and managed to strike a deal. Given the Kingdom’s rather firm approach to the whole matter, I’d wager it isn’t them who bent under pressure. That medal (if you can call it that) goes to RIM.
While I see the business side of the decision, that doesn’t negate the fact it’s a very bad decision. Giving countries local access to BlackBerry servers under the false guise of increased security (we all know it’s for censorship) of their own undermines the platforms biggest selling point — security. If everyone and the brother can start tapping into BlackBerry users’ data, the whole “BlackBerry is secure” mantra goes out the window.
So it’s a bittersweet victory. Saudi residents get to keep a fully functioning BlackBerry at the expense of security.
Generally, “cool stuff” is gadget related. In my mind anyway. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any non-electronic geeky things. Take for example, the cardboard suitcase you see above. The “Move-it” concept is created by David Graham and makes use of your standard, durable cardboard, self-adhesive properties, and simple design to turn what was once trash, into a useful product.
For the suit case, wheels, two different handles, and even a “build-your-own-dimensions” approach mean this simple box is full of possibilities. The old saying “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” couldn’t be any more fitting than it is now. Hop inside to see a video highlighting how it works…
I’ve been waiting for GranTurismo 5 for many, many years. So much so I’m almost bored with the game, even as as pretty as it looks. Nothing a few videos of new demos couldn’t fix, right? Kinda. A video that found its way to Kotaku shows two eager gamers sitting through a solid 90-second delay while the infamous Nurburgring track is loaded. In Polyphony’s defense, Nurburgring is a very long track. With that said, it’s still disappointing to see a small eternity between clicking “Race” and actually…you know…racing.
I’ve got a finger or two crossed that Polyphony can ratchet down thumb twiddling time a fair amount. Hop inside to see a video of the riveting waiting action…
If you were to say Nvidia’s GTX 480 was the top of the line card from the green camp, you’d only be partially correct. While it is, at face value, the “top of the line”, it is in fact a neutered second place finisher. You see, Nvidia deactivated one block of 32 cuda cores (the processing mini-brains in the fermi architecture) giving the card it’s 480 name — 480 processing cores. For some time, a fully unlocked 512-core version has been rumored. But nothing has come of it. Many claimed it was because of the 480′s already insatiable power requirements and hellish heat output were the main culprits. Others instead said it was Nvidia’s attempt to squeeze a few more dollars out of end users later on down the road with a new “premium” card. Regardless of which route they took, it looks like the real GTX 480 is finally coming fruition if recently leaked benchmarks are to be believed…
Think you’ve found *the* Android Twitter client? Chances are you’ve at least found something you can use on a daily basis without too much complaining. I on the other hand am way too picky. As such, I haven’t found a Twitter client for Android yet that I’ve liked through and through. TweetCaster, Seesmic, and Touiteur have come close in various areas. Where’s the “official” Twitter app? Not here. It’s garbage. Frankly, it’s embarrassing Twitter would release something that is so lacking compared to the iPhone counterpart, not to mention the various other Android Twitter apps. But I digress. We’re not here to harp on Twitter and it’s lesser than stellar app.
What we’ve really come to tell you is that TweetDeck is this close to unleashing a complete from-the-ground-up app for Android. While many cross platform companies merely port an app from platform to platform, the devs behind TweetDeck took the time to do it right. By developing the TweetDeck Android app from scratch, end users will be rewarded with a much fuller featured and “natural” feeling app that fully taps into the nuances of the Android platform.
According to the TweetDeck blog, columns will still be a big focus on the mobile offering, much like the desktop. However, instead of updates being service oriented, they will now be organized according to activity. I’m hoping this means that TweetDeck will allow my various Twitter (and other) social accounts to display updates/tweets in a single “all inclusive” column. That’s the biggest feature that so many of the Android Twitter clients lack.
Thankfully, we don’t have much longer to guess and dream. The open (wo0t!) beta is going live sometime this week. So you better believe I’ll be refreshing the Android Market on my phone every time I think about it, hoping that TweetDeck’s new goodness will grace my presence.
The current smartphone market is definitely saturated with some pretty awesome options. But this market of mobile workstations and entertainment powerhouses never stands still. As such, things are changing almost as fast as they’re released. Wouldn’t it be nice to be ahead of the curve for once? Lucky for us, someone has leaked a plethora of information concerning Verizon’s upcoming roadmap. It’s packed to the gills with all the good stuff. So hop inside and check it out…
We’ve seen plenty of solar-powered chargers before. But this one is slightly more advanced than your typical sun sucking device life giver backer in that it features multiple USB ports. More ports + more potential power = happier geeks who venture far from outlets. Woo hoo all around, right? $22 seems pretty reasonable considering what you get.
[Product Page: Brando]
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