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iFixIt Tears down the iPad Air, Scores low for repair-ability

ifixit ipad air teardownNot terribly surprising, but still something of a bummer.

Not for the Apple faint of heart, but iFixit has worked they’re dissecting tools over Apple’s newest iPad, and the results are somewhat poor. The new iPad Air scores a 2 out of 10 for repairing. It’s part of the trade off for having a powerful and sleek slate, cramming all of the guts into a package that slim is a serious feat of engineering. One which also requires the use of some pretty hardcore glue on the battery.

We should be able to count on a similar score and disassembly process with the new iPad Mini as well.

This continues Apple’s trend of gluing devices shut and locking the consumer out of hardware. It’s standard operating procedure for most tablets, though it’s a touch troubling on laptops and desktops, as their proper computers are becoming more difficult (if sometimes impossible) to upgrade.

Check out iFixit’s tear down, they do a great job of including a little wit while they eviscerate your favorite tech. They also posted this cute little video to show off the iPad’s new guts.

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Delta and Jet Blue first to announce electronics may be used during take off and landing

airline travel technology airplane cabin somegadgetguyIt’s happening!

The same day the FAA announced it no longer was bothered by devices being used in airplane mode during all stages of flight, we have two companies vying for our mobile electronics affections.

Delta and Jet Blue rushed out to let us know they’ll be allowing us to use all of our mobile glowing rectangles from the moment our butt is in a seat to the moment we’re throwing elbows to get off the flight. We can be sure the rest of the airlines are looking to make the same play soon. Most of my credit card points are tied up with United, so they better make the jump PDQ…

Bloomberg has a great write up detailing all the business concerns, and I’d just like to take this moment to remind all of my readers that just because this rule has opened up, it doesn’t mean you get to be a douche bag about your tech. Listen to the flight attendants, follow instructions from the pilots, fly safe.

Be a good tech citizen.

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When Technology Evolves Faster than our Laws – Google Glass and Driving

google glass sunglassesCecilia Abadie has been in the news a lot this week. She was pulled over for speeding in California, and she was issued an additional citation for operating a motor vehicle with a video screen visible to the driver. That screen was the eye piece on her Explorer Edition Google Glass.

Following the letter of the law, this citation is valid, though Google Glass is a product which could help reduce driver distraction.

And now we stand at a legal crossroad. Laws can be handled with some flexibility, and many situations like this can be chalked up to “officer discretion”, but it’s not an institution known for rapid evolution. Changes to cultural perspectives in legal matters sometimes require generational time frames.

When positioned against the visceral pace of technological improvement,  it can often feel as if new laws are obsolete before they’re even implemented. Previous generations enjoyed more staged evolution to the tools they used. A person might go most of their adult life without radical changes to how work got done. Now we can expect a near fluid progression, sometimes software and hardware updates delivering near daily minor alterations to how our technology functions.

And now Glass is caught in the crossfire.  Continue reading “When Technology Evolves Faster than our Laws – Google Glass and Driving”

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Nokia Now Fourth Highest Shipping Smartphone Manufacturer in United States

Q3-2013-USA-Market-Share-Counterpoint-Research2[Golf clap] Well done Nokia.

Counterpoint Technology Market Research did a tally of shipped phones for Q3 2013, and the numbers were somewhat surprising. Behind Apple (33.7%), Samsung (33.6%), and LG (8.6%), Nokia has clawed its way up to number four with 4.1% of the USA smartphone market. Not bad at all considering how slow the consumer response has been in warming up to Windows Phone. Great news for a company which had less than one percent of the market’s share this time period last year, as it even manages to unseat Google owned Motorola.

We can probably count on the $100 Lumia 520 for a good chunk of those sales, but mind share in general is up for the brand as people have praised Nokia’s cameras. With the entry-level market healthy, we might see even more growth for the brand at the premier level as they prep the Lumia 1520 for a holiday release. Plus the Microsoft ecosystem is improving, with apps like Vine and Instagram joining the fold later this year.

Even more startling however is the continued slide of HTC, as the brand falls to ninth behind companies like ZTE and Huawei. Its likely that Apple and Samsung will continue occupying the top two spots for a while to come, but that last 30% of the pie is completely up for grabs this holiday buying season.

(via Reddit)

 

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Friday Fun: The New York Subway Signs Experiment – Playing With Subway Conductors

new york subway driver pointI love things like this, subtly warping reality for a person in a fun way. Acknowledging something specific about what they do, which other folks might not be aware of, and using that thing to get a laugh or a smile.

Apparently New York Subway Conductors have to point at special signs at every stop they make. So how might they respond if you added something funny to those sign?

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Google FOR REAL Announces Nexus 5 and Android 4.4 KitKat

Nexus 5This has been exhausting.  Trolling leaks and rumors, but it’s finally here and it’s finally real. Though I still don’t understand Google’s plan here, rolling out a device and a new OS without any kind of proper Keynote or event.

The Nexus 5 is now officially up on Google Play for your smartphone purchasing enjoyment. Pretty much all the rumors about this thing were true, which kinda takes some of the fun out of talking about smartphones.

nexus 5 - 2The $349 sports a 5″ 1080p screen, 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, a Qualcomm 800 series quad core processor, an 8MP rear camera with OIS, wireless charging, and should play nice on T-Mobile or Sprint’s networks. Add $50 and you can double the storage.

So continues the price disruption of the Nexus line. $349 for an unlocked premier handset rocking bleeding edge internals is entirely unheard of. This is not an “On contract” price. It’s $349 out the door. You own it.

Plus they also released this nifty video:

So there you have it folks. Was there any better day to unveil a phone running an OS called KitKat than on Halloween?  The wait was exasperating, I honestly didn’t know if we’d survive it, but we did.

More details on the Google Plus Devices Page.

Full PR after the jump:

Continue reading “Google FOR REAL Announces Nexus 5 and Android 4.4 KitKat”

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A MONSTER Video Review of the iPhone 5S from a Windows Phone/Android User

apple iphone 5s gold camera lens sensor dual LED flash review somegadgetguyIt’s time folks. I was there for the iPhone 5S launch day. I’ve played with the phone for a while now.

It’s time to talk iPhone.

I have not used an iPhone since the 3G. I’ve recently become a fan of Windows Phone, and I still use Android as my daily driver. iOS7 has brought some pretty significant changes to the Apple ecosystem, and now we have the first generation of iPhone purpose built for this new software.

Let’s see how it holds up to the expectations and ramblings of an angry smartphone geek.

Related:
Our comprehensive iPhone 5S camera and speaker tests!

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My Fave Halloween Freebie: A Legal Blu-Ray Quality download of ‘Night of the Living Dead’!

Night_of_the_Living_DeadI’ve been peddling this one for years now folks, and I’m always amazed by people who don’t know about it.

George Romero redefined the zombie genre with his 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead, but it wasn’t originally titled that. It was originally called Night of the Flesh Eaters, but when the distribution company changed the name, they accidentally deleted the copyright from the titles. Romero’s greatest work fell instantly into the public domain.

You can own, share, and edit the film any way you want. All totally legally.

The movie is still remarkably effective. It’s claustrophobic and paranoid. Plus there’s just something fun about old black and white horror flicks. There are several ways to watch the movie today. Several versions have been uploaded to Youtube, there’s a version on Netflix, but by far my favorite is the one hosted on Archive.org.

On the site is a high definition rip of the film which clocks in at over 16GB. It’s one of the best looking copies of the film I’ve ever seen, and looks incredible on HD TV’s and monitors. Give yourself plenty of time for the download though. That’s a pretty big file for Archive’s servers to dole out.

Enjoy and Happy Halloween!

Night of the Living Dead in HD on Archive.org (FREE!)

Continue reading “My Fave Halloween Freebie: A Legal Blu-Ray Quality download of ‘Night of the Living Dead’!”

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