Source: http://gizmodo.com/after-150-years-of-mystery-scientists-now-know-how-bar-1607232968
Over a century and a half ago, Charles Darwin first described the remarkable adhesive capabilities of barnacles. He couldn't figure out how their natural superglue worked, though. And it took until now to finally unlock the barnacle glue's mysteries.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ad-for-fire-phone-2014-7
Amazon's first ad for the Fire Phone makes a simple, direct pitch: Buy the phone, and you'll get videos and games from Amazon Prime for free. Simple as that.
The Verge thinks it's a "strange" choice for a TV commercial, but I beg to differ. The Amazon phone is expensive and doesn't have the features to compete with Apple's iPhone or Samsung's Galaxy line. It begs the question, why would Amazon bother to get into the super-competitive phone business? Samsung and Apple already split all the profits in the business between them. It's virtually impossible even for well-resourced companies like HTC or Motorola to get a toehold in the market. After Apple and Samsung, the third biggest slice of phone market share globally belongs to Huawei, with just 4.7%, according Strategy Analytics.
The one advantage it does have is all the free content and shipping you can get from Amazon for buying one. Amazon doesn't need to dominate the phone business like Apple or Samsung. All it needs is to add incremental users who shop heavily on Amazon and stay tied in to Amazon's attractive ecosystem of low-cost stuff (Amazon has a policy of insisting on the lowest prices possible from its vendors) coupled with free stuff (movies and games in this case) coupled with free shippin! g (Amazo n Prime) on anything else you buy.
Once those customers are tied in more heavily through their phones, they're basically just more shopping revenue for Amazon.
And if you use Amazon a lot but don't need the very best phone on the market, then the Fire phone probably looks a pretty good deal. Why not get all your movies and shipping free for a year? Here's the spot:
SEE ALSO: Delay Of Large iPhone Is The Best Possible News For Samsung
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Source: http://gizmodo.com/facebook-now-lets-you-buy-things-straight-from-your-new-1606723998
Facebook is just full of surprises today. After releasing its new Mentions app earlier, the company has just announced the latest in its long history of experiments: Giving you the ability to buy things straight from your News Feed.
Source: http://gizmodo.com/a-hoodie-made-from-speaker-fabric-wont-muffle-your-head-1606738990
Originally designed for home or recording studio use, over-the-ear headphones somehow became a popular choice for music aficionados on-the-go. We can probably blame Sony's Walkman for that, but it means that Betabrand's new Audio Engineer's Hoodie—which uses speaker fabric on the hood so headphones can be worn over it—isn't necessarily just for those hiding in an over air conditioned studio all day.
Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/07/17/irl-android-all-in-one/
What can you do with 24 inches of Jelly Bean that you can't do with 10? Manufacturers like Acer, Asus and ViewSonic have been building oversized Android-powered devices for a couple years now; I was determined to find out why, so I spent a few weeks with AOC's own all-in-one. The hybrid external monitor will run you $370 on Amazon -- more than twice what you'll pay for a comparable 1080p screen -- but this pricier model adds stock Android 4.2.2 with a touchscreen interface. With the tap of a button, the integrated quad-core processor and eight gigs of storage spring into action, effectively converting this otherwise ordinary monitor into a complete Android-powered machine. There's even an integrated 720p webcam, and with stock Jelly Bean on board, you can install whatever apps you'd like from Google Play.
But where exactly should you install such a device? Based on the AOC A2472PW4T's marketing materials, it seems that the company thinks its all-in-one would be a good fit for the kitchen. So that's where I put it. There aren't any water-resistant elements to speak of, so I kept it away from the sink and did my best to avoid spills. Greasy fingers are inevitable when you're preparing a scratch-made meal, however, so I did a fair amount of wiping after I worked through my one and only Android-powered cooking session.
I've used a laptop to display web recipes before, but this was my first experience cooking with an app. I went with the first one I spotted in the category, Allthecooks, which had plenty of user-submitted options and a handy shopping list feature that could sync with my phone. I typed in my two key ingredients of chicken and maple syrup (of which I seem to have an infinite supply) and after a few taps and swipes, I landed on lunch. The finished product looked nothing like the picture, but I can hardly fault AOC for my inability to follow instructions. It tasted delicious, at least, though I'm still not convinced that protein and syrup should ever meet on the dinner plate.
Even though I've since moved the AiO back to my desk, I consider my first (and probably last) Android-in-the-kitchen experience to be a success. I just don't need a gigantic tablet in my life. Thankfully, there's quite a bit of flexibility here. The display tilts at either 15 or 57 degrees, depending on whether you want to use the AiO as a monitor or as an extra-large slate. There's a standard VGA connector and an HDMI port, so you can plug in just about any PC.
On the "Smart All-in-One" microsite, AOC plays up the device's multimedia capabilities, including what the company describes as "superior sound," which supposedly comes from the integrated 2-watt speakers. The music I played sounded distorted and tinny -- "superior" to a low-end smartphone, perhaps, but not much else. You also get an audio input, headphone jack, an SD card slot, three USB ports and even an Ethernet port. There's also integrated WiFi -- getting online is as easy as it is with an Android tablet or a smartphone. You can attach a wired keyboard and mouse, using the same peripherals with Android as you do with your PC.
PC mode (or Mac mode, in this case) is my preference going forward. If you prefer Android to Windows or Mac OS, or your home doesn't have enough computers to go around, it might make sense to use the AOC with Android, but the mobile operating system is designed for media consumption, not creation -- Jelly Bean can't replace a desktop OS, regardless of how large it may scale. If you're looking for a very basic all-in-one, this should meet your needs, but while it's capable of serving as a dedicated second screen to your laptop or a primary display for your desktop, there are plenty of far cheaper alternatives that offer better performance in a slimmer form factor, to boot.
Filed under: Displays, Tablets
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