Folks, have a glimpse into the terrifying future, a future in which your child refuses to relinquish the right to have you wipe his butt unless you give him an iPad. This is what could become of our society should the iPotty gain any modicum of popularity. Read More
Let’s hope the various e-reader makers gathered their rosebuds while they could, because it seems the heyday of the e-reader is already passing. The Wall Street Journal reports that, according to one market researcher, e-reader shipments dropped 28 percent this year, to 19.9 million from 27.7 million in 2011.
On an anecdotal level, can you think of a single person who requested an e-reader as a holiday gift? Compare that to the number of people who got new phones or tablets. Read More
The Gmail app for iPad and iPhone got an upgrade. [Gmail Blog]
Despite the cluttered app market, half of all revenue from the app store goes to just 25 developers. [The Register]
Techstars company Karma has launched its $79 4G mobile hotspot that rewards users for sharing their connection. [TechCrunch]
If the Curiosity Rover can last eight more years, it will get a friend. NASA plans to send another rover to Mars in 2020. [BBC]
Why walk or drive to work when you could trampoline? [The Guardian]
Rupert Murdoch’s less than two-year-old foray into digital-only publishing has officially come to an end with the news that The Daily, News Corp.’s iPad-only magazine, will cease publication on December 15th. Some of The Daily’s assets and 120 employees will transition over to other News Corp. entities; Jesse Angelo, its editor-in-chief, will serve as the new publisher of the New York Post. Read More
When one mulls over the future of manufacturing, naturally the first question that comes to mind is: How we can we as a nation effectively mass produce cornerstone products, like a plastic bust of performer Will.i.am?
Luckily, Mr. Am–who last we heard was hurtling our planet towards a Martian attack–has ushered 3D printing into the mainstream by including it in his newest video, “Scream and Shout,” also featuring the eminently GIF-able Britney Spears. At around 1:38 in the video, a 3D printer sitting on a platform displaying the Makerbot logo is seen printing thin layers of plastic to create a bust of that vital American commodity: Mr. Am’s head. Read More
Goatse Security hacker Andrew Auernheimer, age 26, has been found guilty on federal charges related to downloading the data of over 100,000 iPad owners from AT&T’s website. Wired reports that the jury that heard Mr. Auernheimer’s trial in a New Jersey federal court only took hours to reach a verdict, finding him guilty of identity fraud and conspiring to access a computer without authorization.
Mr. Auernheimer, using the Twitter handle @rabite, tweeted that he knew “there would be a guilty here” and he will appeal. Read More
Between the Windows 8 sales that hit “well below” expectations, empty retail stores and the numerous YouTube videos featuring a sweaty Steve Ballmer trying to amp up a bored crowd at a product launch, it appears that any person or thing that touches Microsoft is destined for a mortifying moment or two. Even Oprah Winfrey, Queen of All Things Ever, is not immune to the challenges inherent to hawking a Microsoft product. Read More
You’ve always suspected stockroom staffers were a bit cavalier with the merch, and now, thanks to a couple of Walmart employees in Pikeville, Ky., you have video evidence.
“This is why you don’t buy an iPad from Walmart,” says the bespectacled dude who introduces this clip (found by The Next Web). We then see his colleagues hurling iPads across a rather large room. “I think the next one’s going to hit the floor,” he predicts, right before his buddy smashes one on the ground. Read More
Tim Cook wants you to understand that the iPad mini is, like, totally not just a seven-inch iPad. [The Verge]
You can now legally jailbreak your smartphone. Good luck getting them to honor the warranty once you do, though. [Ars Technica]
“We don’t want to appear as a country that is anti-Google.” — France’s minister of technology. She might have an uphill battle there, as other officials have spoken out in favor of charging Google for linking to French news sites. [Quartz]
Did you make the cut for Business Insider’s Silicon Alley 100, a muy scientific slideshow accounting of the coolest people in New York tech? [Business Insider]
A devoted player of the MMORGP Eve Online was inspired by his ripped avatar to get off his butt and start going to the gym. [CNN]
Apple’s unveiling of its new iPad mini launched in a sedate manner with CEO Tim Cook recapping the successes of iOS 6, the new iPods and the App Store, which has distributed 35 billion apps.
After Mr. Cook and Apple’s senior veep of marketing Phil Schiller introduced a new, lighter MacBook and a pair of thinner, lighter iMacs, there came the great unveiling of the iPad Mini.
Apple’s smaller iPad is the same–but different. Read More
