May 3rd, 2012 / No Comments » / by Tyler
Samsung has just announced the Galaxy S III at its Mobile Unpacked event in London. This mobile device will have a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display and will have Google‘s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich operating system.
To go along with the 1280×720-resolution screen is an 8-megapixel camera on the back side and a front-facing 1.9-megapixel camera. The phone will have both 16GB and 32GB configurations to start, with a 64GB version “available soon.” All versions will use a 2100mAh battery and a quad-core Exynos processor.
The Samsung Galaxy S III will have a “S Voice” feature, similar to Apple’s Siri. One fun example they used at the event was being able to tell the phone to snooze when the alarm rings.
The Samsung Galaxy S III will be out in Europe on May 29, with 4G LTE and HSPA+ versions coming to the United States in “summer 2012.” Carriers for the device have not yet been specified, but Samsung stated that they have plans to take the phone on a “10-city world tour.”
The Samsung Galaxy S II was released just last year in Europe and last fall in the United States. The phone was highly successful and Samsung is definitely hoping the newest Galaxy S line phone will be as well.
Source: Ars Technica
Posted in: Mobile Devices
May 2nd, 2012 / No Comments » / by Tyler
I kind of figured that it was possible, but I never realized just how crazy custom engagement rings could be. Most of the time, you see either in the movies or in person the guy going in and browsing multiple stores and finding one that might just be “good enough.” They may just choose the “best that they see.” Well, custom engagement rings are an option.
With custom engagement rings, you work hard to find your designer. But, when you do, it’s just like getting a tattoo. Everything is your choice and you decide what goes into it and how much it can cost. Here are some of the various options you have when designing your custom engagement ring: metal type, ring type, prong type, setting and setting style. The prices of the rings can be anywhere from $400 to $7000, or more, depending on which features you put into it. If you decide that a custom engagement ring is for you, make sure you take time to decide which designer is best. Your significant other will find it so much more meaningful when you put all the work and designed the ring.
Posted in: Accessories
May 1st, 2012 / No Comments » / by Tyler
Titanium jewelry has been becoming more and more popular with each passing week. With that, it’s important that people understand the proper ways to maintain and clean them. Today, I will tell you the best way to clean your titanium jewelry.
First, you will want to get a bowl and fill it approximately halfway with warm, soapy water. It does not matter how much soap you use, but do not use an abrasive detergent or a harsh cleaning soap, for these can discolor your jewelry and possibly even scratch the surface of the stones.
Next, you will want to wash the titanium jewelry in the warm, soapy water. If you have several pieces, you can submerge them all and brush them gently with a soft baby toothbrush to remove any dirt residue and grime. Make sure to use circular motions, as scrubbing can scratch the jewelry. If you have colored titanium, use a soft cloth instead of a brush.
Then, rinse all of the jewelry off with warm water. Continue to hold the titanium jewelry over the bowl so that you do not lose any pieces if they are accidentally dropped.
Finally, dry the jewelry completely with a clean, soft cloth. If you so choose, you can let it air dry for about 15 minutes by laying it on top of the clean cloth in a safe place.
Use these tips to clean your jewelry and the life will be prolonged as well as the jewelry keeping its shine and polish.
Posted in: Accessories
April 30th, 2012 / No Comments » / by Tyler
Apparently, Apple has been talking about streaming films to a long-rumored Apple-created TV, different from the Apple TV, among other devices. The company was allegedly talking to EPIX to stream movies to Apple’s devices, but those talks have since stalled.
Talk about Apple creating an actual television has been rumored for many years, but they have not released a product nor commented on any rumors about one. In Walter Isaacson’s biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, it was revealed that Jobs was thinking about how it would be possible to develop an integrated television set that would be “completely easy to use” and sync data across iCloud, similar to current Apple devices like the iPhone and iPad. Apparently, Jobs tried to get iTunes creator Jeff Robbin to help with the project, and said that he had “finally cracked” a way to make TVs as simple and elegant as Apple’s other products.
Even though Jobs was thinking about making the TV, it doesn’t mean that Apple is currently planning to roll out a product in the near future. According to Reuters, a TV was part of Apple’s streaming plan, but the publication offers no details about the supposed product.
Source: Ars Technica
Posted in: Tech and Internet
April 26th, 2012 / No Comments » / by Tyler
Apparently selling books, clothes, electronics and home and office supplies wasn’t good enough for Amazon. They have officially announced that they will be moving into selling “parts and supplies to business, industrial, scientific and commercial customers.” They will now be selling beakers, janitorial equipment, drill bits and anything else you can think of.
“Bearings, bushings, motion control components for robotics, tubing, all sorts of metal stock, seals and o-rings, scientific lab equipment, tools, abrasives, etc.,” wrote Brian, the author of the Cool Stuff We Likeblog, earlier this month. “I did a search for bearings, which returned over 5,300 individual items. An impressive breadth of inventory is available all across the board.”
Not only has it impressed someone looking for all of the stuff Brian was, but GigaOm also noted that this may help the 3D printing community. ”It’s not as nutty as one might imagine. Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos has had an investment in MFG.com, a company based in Atlanta that connects folks who need parts (and have designed them) with others who can make them on demand,” the site reported. “There is enough demand for made-to-order industrial parts that MFG.com hit $100 million in revenue in 2008.”
Source: Ars Technica
Posted in: Home and Office
April 25th, 2012 / No Comments » / by Tyler
Titanium is a metallic element used to make jewelry, golf clubs, watches, aircrafts, and much more. It was discovered in the late 18th century. The name titanium comes from the mythical Greek giants who ruled the earth, the Titans. The most recent and popular product made from titanium is rings.
There has been a lot of debate on just how effective titanium rings are. To decide whether or not titanium is the best choice for your big day, or any ring decision for that matter, it’s time to discuss the advantages and disadvantages to titanium jewelry.
First, the advantages. Titanium is super lightweight compared to other metals, making it comfortable and easy to wear. Sometimes you may even forget you’re wearing them. Titanium is very strong and a resistant metal. Compared to other metals, it is drastically less expensive, yet nearly just as attractive. Titanium is hypoallergenic. Unlike white gold, titanium will not need re-coating from time to time. And last but not least, titanium can come in a wide variety of different colors.
Now, for the disadvantages. Titanium cannot be made into a prong setting, so it cannot look like the traditional engagement ring unless the prong is made of a different metal and riveted onto the titanium. Sometimes a cost effective way to use the titanium is to have only the man’s ring made out of titanium and using some other metal for the woman’s. Another disadvantage is that titanium can be difficult to fit. It cannot be soldered, so it cannot be made smaller if it is too big. If you need it larger, one of your only options is to remove the material from the inner part of the band to make it slightly bigger.
Hopefully this discussion will help you to decide whether to go titanium, cobalt, tungsten, gold, platinum, or some other metal for your ring purchase.
Posted in: Accessories
April 24th, 2012 / No Comments » / by Tyler
We have always known Saturn’s rings to be perfectly round, smooth rings. They appear to be almost like a solid ring around the planet. However, the Voyager and Cassini probes have noticed that the rings are in fact incredibly dynamic. Small moons “shepherd” the ice and dust that make up these rings, giving them structure. When the moons pass by, there is a gravitational distortion that occurs. As the ring material gets pushed or pulled, smaller bodies form within the ring.
While watching one of Saturn’s moons, Prometheus, go near the edge of the F ring, astronomers found that trails of ring particles can be over 100 kilometers long. They have termed these occurrences as “minijets.” The objects that create the minijets are estimated to be moving at approximately four miles per hour, so they are of no danger to us. NASA originally described this event as “blazing a trail,” so perhaps in the end they were a little dramatic with their describing.
Source: Ars Technica
Posted in: Geek Related
April 23rd, 2012 / No Comments » / by Tyler
Lately, I have been hearing a lot of talk about tungsten wedding bands for men. From online posts to my friends in real life, the talk has been crazy about tungsten. Before people decide to buy them, it’s important that they understand the pros and cons of tungsten bands. Today, I will discuss both the pros and cons of tungsten wedding bands.
First, the pros:
- They do not bend. Even hammers won’t make these bands change shape. They will shatter, but only in extreme force.
- They do not scratch. Even with a nail file, tungsten will stay polished.
- They are heavier than most metals. Some may take this as a con, but I think it’s a pro. They are more dense and durable.
- Tungsten shines almost as much as platinum and as stated, will remain polished.
- Tungsten is hypoallergenic.
Now, that makes an amazing sounding ring. Time for the cons:
- Tungsten rings cannot be resized due to the fact that they are so tough. To beat this, make sure you find a ring with a lifetime warranty if you decide to go with tungsten.
- There is a lot of fake tungsten jewelry sold. This cheap tungsten is made with cobalt, which is used in light bulb filaments. You want tungsten with a nickel alloy. Your best bet to beat this is to stick with a name brand.
Now that you understand the pros and cons, you can make a sensible decision on whether or not tungsten is the right choice.
Posted in: Accessories
April 19th, 2012 / No Comments » / by Tyler
Tumblr, a large blogging platform similar to WordPress, has announced that it will be allowing paid advertisement beginning on May 2, 2012. David Karp, Tumblr CEO and founder, made this announcement at Ad Age’s Digital Conference in New York. Karp stated that advertising was “a complete last resort” on April 12. In 2010, he even said that Tumblr was “pretty opposed to advertising. It really turns our stomachs.”
No matter what was said in the past, Karp has announced that putting these ads on Tumblr Radar will get an advertiser approximately 120 million impressions per day.
“[Karp] was scheduled to talk for a half hour, but I think the whole thing lasted 7 minutes,” he continued. “He cited some growth numbers, mentioned how much he appreciates the creativity within the advertising community, and then broke the news that Tumblr would be opening up that spot to advertisers.”
Tumblr passed its 50 million blog mark recently, and even managed to secure $125 million in funding as of September 2011. Until May 2 rolls around, taking a cut of sales of special blog themes and letting users highlight posts for followers for $1 each is Tumblr’s only revenue model. Needless to say, this was pretty much expected.
Source: Ars Technica
Posted in: Geek Related
April 18th, 2012 / No Comments » / by Tyler
Apple has decided to offer their current MobileMe users that are still using the older versions of OS X something quite generous. The company is offering these customers a free upgrade to Snow Leopard (OS X 10.6) in attempt to get them to migrate to iCloud. All users have to do is request a free Snow Leopard DVD, which will be sent to them for free.
Apple decided to give Snow Leopard instead of Lion (OS X 10.7) even though in order to use iCloud on a Mac, you need Lion. Why? Well, in order to upgrade to Lion, you need the Mac App Store, and to run the Mac App Store, you need Snow Leopard.
Users that have older machines not capable of running Lion will either be forced to upgrade their computer, or will simply have to find a new way of storing their content online. Once June 30 rolls around, MobileMe will be completely switched over to iCloud, which is only available on Lion on the desktop.
If you are curious as to if your computer is capable of running Lion, any Mac with a 64-bit Intel CPU will work. Hopefully by Apple giving away the $29 Snow Leopard DVD, people will be amped up enough to want to purchase Lion and use iCloud.
Source: Ars Technica
Posted in: Electronics, Home and Office
