Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Future Air Traffic Controllers Could Work In Virtual Towers Nowhere Near The Airport

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/remote-towers-change-air-traffic-control-2012-11

saab sensis remote air control tower concept

Air traffic controllers have long worked far above the ground, in towers built to give them a clear view of the airport around them. Like so much of the aviation industry, that setup may fundamentally change, thanks to new technology.

Saab Sensis, an air defense and air traffic control corporation, wants to separate the controllers from the airports.

The Remote Tower premise is straightforward: Cameras and sensors relay images and information from the airport to an off-site controller in just .3 seconds.

It is cost-effective. Tall structures supporting offices and human beings are replaced by what look like water towers, loaded with cameras and sensors. A single controller could efficiently manage multiple small airports, reducing the need for personnel at each one.

Saab Sensis Director of Business Development Per Ahl notes that as a remote tower can be set up relatively quickly, it could replace outdated or damaged conventional towers. It also provides a solution to line-of-sight problems posed by the construction of new terminals.

Ahl said air traffic controllers who tested the system and provided feedback "are excited by the possibilities [of] the remote tower concept."

The biggest challenge will not be winning over potential employees, however. For understandable reasons, aviation regulations are strict, and hard to change.

To prove the Remote Tower is effective and reliable, Saab Sensis has been operating an airport in Ängleholm, Sweden from a site more than 60 miles away. Other trials are set to begin in Australia and Norway later this year.

Conventional towers have controllers working several stories above the ground.



The remote tower is a simpler structure, with an array of cameras and sensors.



Each controller faces a semi-circle of screens displaying what's happening at the airport.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Photos: Barnes & Noble's New Nook HD Tablet (BKS)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/nook-hd-photos-2012-11

nook hd

The Barnes & Noble Nook HD tablet is currently available starting at $200.

You can check out our full review here, but why not get up close and personal with these photos of it as well?

Here's what you see when you turn it on with the multi-user system activated



The back features the Nook logo



There are barely any buttons to be had–the left side features only a power button...



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Sony rolls out update to Xperia T and TX for Miracast mirroring, extra-long standby

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/07/sony-rolls-out-update-to-xperia-t-and-tx-for-miracast-mirroring/

Sony Xperia T review

Sony Xperia T and TX owners won't have to wait until the eventual Jelly Bean update to eke some new life out of their software. From this week onwards, the Bond-blessed Android phone is getting an update that adds screen mirroring through Miracast; provided the stars align and you've got a compatible TV, the high-end Xperia gets that much larger a canvas. Upgrading also introduces an extended standby mode that temporarily shuts off data, a movie app with a small video player and a photo album that makes use of Sony's full image processing engine. We're further reminded as to how much sweeter that HD Voice calling on the T (but not TX) should sound. As much as we'd prefer a full-fledged OS update, it's a welcome dose of relevancy for a smartphone that has had fierce competition almost from the start.

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Sony rolls out update to Xperia T and TX for Miracast mirroring, extra-long standby originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 10:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget Giveaway: win an ASUS S400 Windows 8 Ultrabook, courtesy of TigerDirect!

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/07/engadget-giveaway-tigerdirect/

Engadget Giveaway win an ASUS VivoBook S400 Ultrabook, courtesy of TigerDirect!

Microsoft's finally released the Windows 8 hounds, and retailers aren't skipping a beat on stocking up on pre-loaded hardware. TigerDirect is one such outlet eager to get you hooked up with a Windows 8 device, and to prove it, it's provided us with an ASUS S400CA-DH51T Ultrabook (currently an $899 value)! All you have to do is leave a comment below to enter, but you should definitely take a few minutes out of your day to check out TigerDirect's website for some great online deals!

Note: specs for the Ultrabook include a 3rd generation Intel Core i5-3317U 1.7GHz, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD + 24GB SSD Cache, 14.1" Touchscreen and Windows 8 64-bit. Head to the above link for more details.

Continue reading Engadget Giveaway: win an ASUS S400 Windows 8 Ultrabook, courtesy of TigerDirect!

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Engadget Giveaway: win an ASUS S400 Windows 8 Ultrabook, courtesy of TigerDirect! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Nov 2012 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint updates Samsung Galaxy Note II with Multi-Window feature

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/07/sprint-samsung-galaxy-note-2-multi-window/

Sprint updates Samsung Galaxy Note II with MultiWindow feature

Multi-Window is a key feature for the Samsung Galaxy Note II because it adds split-screen functionality to the device's 5.5-inch display -- allowing you to run two apps at the same time -- but unfortunately it has been noticeably absent on the phone's US versions. Until today, the carriers have remained oddly silent about if or when their model would even receive it. Two weeks after its initial release, Sprint's Note II will receive an update (L900VPALJC) that enables the missing feature, in addition to some minor enhancements to GPS, email and SMS. We're expecting to see the rollout start today, but Sprint advises us that it may take up to five days before it hits your particular unit. It's about time -- and we can only hope that the other carriers will follow up with updates fairly quickly. Head to the source link to find out how to install the update, as well as full details on the other fixes in the new build.

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Sprint updates Samsung Galaxy Note II with Multi-Window feature originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 ! Nov 2012 12:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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