Saturday, June 1, 2013

G8 Opens Up to Your Community With G-everyone Meetups

G8-conference 53393_1924722483082_226501652_o By Casey Brown2013-05-17 16:50:17 UTC

Mashable is excited to announce G-everyone, a 24-hour digital convening that will unite local groups around the world to discuss the pressing issues addressed at the G8 Summit.

Organized through Mashable’s Meetup Everywhere platform, G-everyone meetups will take place on the eve of the G8, a forum of the world's eight wealthiest Western countries. The goal of G-everyone is to make the G8 more accessible, and to brainstorm ways to solve the world's most challenging problems.

G-everyone will provide an open dialogue around the G8’s core themes of "Open Economies, Open Governments and Open Societies." Mashable will crowdsource the best ideas and thoughts from our community via Meetup Everywhere, and report back to the leaders at the G8.

The G-everyone conversation will happen during a 24-hour global meetup on Monday, June 10. To organize or attend a meetup, register on Mashable's Meetup Everywhere community. Every group will discuss the same three questions:

How can innovation stimulate your local economy?

How can technology make your government more open?

How can online communities help build healthier societies?

Answers will be shared through an exciting new community called +SocialGood. Participants can also share feedback via the #Geveryone hashtag on Twitter, Vine and Instagram.

We can't wait to hear how you plan to make a difference in your communities and around the world. Make sure to share with us what you accomplish so we can highlight the best ideas on Mashable.

BONUS: 10 Inspiring Quotes From Mashable's Social Good Summit

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Image via Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

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Amazon misses the rainforest, seeks to build a giant greenhouse in Seattle

Amazon misses the rainforest, seeks to build a giant greenhouse in Seattle data = {blogUrl: "www.engadget.com",v: 315};when = {jquery: lab.scriptBs("jquery"),plugins: lab.scriptBs("plugins"),eng: lab.scriptBs("eng")}; var s265prop9 = ('20579201' !== '') ? 'bsd:20579201' : ''; var postID = '20579201'; var modalMNo = '93319231', modalVideoMNo = '93320648', modalGalleryMNo = '93304207'; when.eng("eng.omni.init", {pfxID:"weg",pageName:document.title,server:"acp-ld39.websys.aol.com",channel:"us.engadget", s_account: "aolwbengadget,aolsvc", short_url: "",pageType:"",linkInternalFilters:"javascript:,",prop1:"article",prop2:"misc",prop9:s265prop9,prop12:document.location,prop17:"",prop18:"",prop19:"",prop20:"", prop22:"jamie-rigg", prop54:"blogsmith",mmxgo: true }); adSendTerms('1')adSetMOAT('1');adSetAdURL('/_uac/adpagem.html');lab._script("http://o.aolcdn.com/os/ads/adhesion/js/adhads-min.js").wait(function(){var floatingAd = new AdhesiveAd("348-14-15-13c",{hideOnSwipe:true});}); onBreak({980: function () { adSetType("F");htmlAdWH("93319231", "LB", "LB"); adSetType("");}}); EngadgetMenu NewsReviews Features Galleries VideosEventsPodcasts Engadget ShowTopics Buyers Guides Sagas Store HD Mobile Alt Announcements Cameras Cellphones Desktops Displays Gaming GPS Handhelds Home Entertainment Household Internet Laptops Meta Misc Networking Peripherals Podcasts Robots Portable Audio/Video Science Software Storage Tablets Transportation Wearables Wireless Acer Amazon AMD Apple ASUS AT&T Blackberry Canon Dell Facebook Google HP HTC Intel Lenovo LG Microsoft Nikon Nintendo Nokia NVIDIA Samsung Sony Sprint T-Mobile Verizon About UsSubscribeLike Engadget@engadgettip uswhen.eng("eng.nav.init")when.eng("eng.tips.init") onBreak({980: function () {htmlAdWH("93310027", "215", "35",'AJAX','ajaxsponsor');}});Amazon misses the rainforest, seeks to build a giant greenhouse in Seattle AltBypostedMay 22nd, 2013 at 8:26 AM 0

Amazon misses the rainforest, seeks to build a giant greenhouse in Seattle

You can take Amazon out of the jungle, but it'll just create one elsewhere -- at least that's what the company is planning for its inner-city Seattle office complex. A tweaked proposal for Amazon's three-block development, named "Rufus 2.0," was run by Seattle's Design Review Board yesterday, and it now includes a huge biodome structure with the notion that a "plant-rich environment has many positive qualities that are not often found in a typical office setting." It's five floors feature places to get work done, "dining, meeting and lounge spaces," a pair of shops serving the general public and, of course, lots of plants and trees. We've included a few more renders of the multi-bubble glass house after the break, and you'll find even more eye-candy in the source PDF. Forget the platform wars -- the competition for the coolest next-gen campus is on.

Amazon misses the rainforest, seeks to build a giant greenhouse in downtown Seattle

Amazon misses the rainforest, seeks to build a giant greenhouse in downtown Seattle

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MetroPCS Abandons FCC Net Neutrality Suit

Metropcs Alex-fitzpatrick By Alex Fitzpatrick2013-05-17 20:55:01 UTC

MetroPCS dropped its lawsuit challenging the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules Friday, leaving Verizon the FCC's sole legal opponent in the case.

T-Mobile purchased MetroPCS last month; T-Mobile is not involved with the net neutrality lawsuit.

The FCC's rules bar landline-based broadband providers from discriminating between different kinds of Internet traffic. For example: If you're a Time Warner Cable subscriber, TWC can't slow your connection speeds if you're trying to access a website run by NBC Universal, now owned by TWC rival Comcast.

Net Neutrality has been one of the most controversial legacies left by outgoing FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski. Supporters of the policy argue it's pro-consumer and pro-competition, while detractors say it's undue government interference with the Internet.

Genachowski, who's stepping down from the chairmanship Friday, welcomed MetroPCS's decision to drop from the case.

"Since 2010, our strong and balanced rules have been protecting entrepreneurs and consumers, and have increased certainty and predictability for investors in Internet services as well as networks," said Genachowski in a statement. "The ongoing litigation –- now pursued by a single company –- only serves to reduce that certainty and predictability."

Public Knowledge, an open Internet advocacy group, also applauded the move.

"We're happy that T-Mobile has dropped MetroPCS's lawsuit challenging the Open Internet rules," said Public Knowledge CEO and President Gigi B. Sohn. "The rules are working. While they're not perfect, they reassure Internet companies that they will be able to reach users, they give ISPs a framework under which they can manage their networks, and they provide a mechanism for working out disputes."

Verizon, whose ongoing lawsuit argues the FCC didn't have the authority to issue its Net Neutrality rules, has not yet responded to Mashable's request for comment.

Image via iStockphoto, slobo

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UE Boom: a splash-resistant, Bluetooth-enabled speaker for overzealous rioters

Ultimate Ears Unveils World's First Social Music Player: UE BOOM

Leverages YouTube Comedy Channel JASH in Summer-Long Campaign Aimed at Making Music Social
"The digital age has changed how we listen to our favorite songs and interact with music,"

NEWARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Ultimate Ears introduced UE BOOM, a social music player made to help you rage, riot, party and play the music you love, out loud. It's designed to make the most of digital music's convenience, while making it less of a solitary experience.

UE BOOM is the first-ever social music player, a wireless speaker that's packed with a specific set of features that sets a new standard for listening to music. It's the first stereo speaker to offer 360-degree sound in a battery-powered device, and features a 15-hour rechargeable battery. Its versatile go-anywhere shape is wrapped in a specially developed acoustic skin that is both water and stain resistant so you can enjoy your music anywhere you go. And it is made for connecting with others. If more friends crash the party, you can wirelessly connect two UE BOOMs together through the free UE BOOM app (available for iOS™ and Android™) to play them in either stereo-to-stereo mode or traditional left/right stereo mode.

"The digital age has changed how we listen to our favorite songs and interact with music," said Rory Dooley, general manager of Ultimate Ears. "While online music services have made it easier to access your music, it's remained a challenge to have an anytime, anywhere listening experience that can be shared with others. UE BOOM solves that problem. Ultimate Ears strives to amplify the social experience of listening to music, bringing people together around the music they love. UE BOOM is designed to bring music out into the world, and that's why we're also supporting this introduction with a campaign to inspire young music fans to make music social."

In conjunction with the launch of UE Boom, Ultimate Ears is initiating The Social Music Experiment – a lighthearted examination of the effect music has on people in social environments. As part of this effort throughout the summer, Ultimate Ears is teaming up with YouTube comedy channel JASH and its noted music expert, Reggie Watts, to produce an original series entitled The Social Music Experiment. Reggie will play the role of Ultimate Ears' first ever "Head of Socio-Musicology" putting his social music theories to the test in a series of hilarious real-world experiments. In each episode Reggie will take a UE Boom and his crazy hypothesis to the streets to understand the effects that social music has on everyday people in everyday places. The series launches today exclusively on JASH's comedy network on YouTube (http://jash.com/social-music-experiment/) and will then be syndicated beginning May 28 across a variety of other digital sites including Collegehumor.com and ultimateears.com. Episodes are expected to roll out through the end of June.

After nearly 20 years of working with the most discerning ears in music, Ultimate Ears has set out to help change the way people experience the music they love with its range of critically acclaimed wireless speakers and earphones. That tradition continues with UE BOOM and interactive programs such as The Social Music Experiment.

Pricing and Availability

UE BOOM is expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe in May 2013, and in select countries in Asia in June 2013, for a suggested retail price of $199.99. For more information, and to find a retailer near you, please visit www.ultimateears.com.

About Ultimate Ears

Ultimate Ears, a brand of Logitech, revolutionized the way artists perform music on stage with the creation of its custom fit professional earphones in 1995. Today, more touring artists use Ultimate Ears than any other brand, and UE makes critically acclaimed earphones and speakers that are redefining the way people experience the music they love. Ultimate Ears is the leading supplier of in-ear-monitors for professional musicians and an emerging provider of premium speakers and headphones for the consumer market. For more information, please visit www.ultimateears.com.

Logitech, the Logitech logo, and other Logitech marks are registered in Switzerland and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information about Logitech and its products, visit the company's website at www.logitech.com.


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When Will Humans Upload Their Brains to Computers?

Human-brain-upload-computer Eric Niiler for Discovery News 2013-05-17 19:16:34 UTC

In the new techno-thriller Upload, a young computer scientist with a sketchy past and distrust of society decides to take the ultimate leap forward by scanning his brain and uploading his memories, personality and consciousness into a simulated world of his own making.

Raymond wants to live forever, controlling his environment and interactions with other humans as a god-like being.

SEE ALSO: Techs That Make Us Stupid

The novel by author Mark McClelland is set in the Michigan of 2070 about the time that futurists like Ray Kurzweil predict that “singularity” will be reached, the moment when machine learning will surpass human intelligence. It’s not the first science-fiction tale to explore human-computer hybrids (see “What are Little Girls Made Of” in the first season of the original “Star Trek” series) or even the perils of virtual reality becoming too real (see the “Matrix” triology). But it does posit some questions that real-world researchers are just now tackling.

The European Union, for example, recently announced it was funding a $1.3 billion project to build a human brain on a silicon substrate. That’s about 1.5 cents per neuron. Swiss neuroscientist Henry Markham, who is behind the Human Brain Project, has already started work on building a simulated rat brain.

At the same time, getting machines to think more like humans is also progressing. Especially in the realm of human-computer interfaces. Researchers are figuring out ways for victims of paralysis to control their artificial hands with brainwaves or even walk with exoskeletons.

Both computers and the robots they control are getting smarter, according to Moshe Vardi, professor of computer science at Rice University.

“Are machines getting more and more powerful? Absolutely. It’s been going on since 1940. We are making progress, and for many people it will be a lifesaver. But we are very far from understanding how the brain works.”

Author McClelland, who still works as a software developer for a Chicago trading firm, says that he expects developments in computing and artificial intelligence to proceed much more quickly than similar advances in neuroscience.

SEE ALSO: Intelligent Robots Will Overtake Humans by 2100

“The biggest issue we face right now in modeling human intelligence is the sheer number of computations happening at the same time,” McClelland said. “The scale of interconnected calculation is out of reach today.”

Still McClelland said that if such a technology were developed, he would probably try it, just as his anti-hero Raymond.

“I’m not sure I would want to be the first one to do it,” he said. “There is tremendous appeal. The obvious benefit of having a longer lifespan, the possibility of living in a fantasy world for a period of time is certainly appealing. There’s an obvious risk of losing your philosophical grounding and becoming depressed and realizing your world doesn’t matter.”

For his part, researcher Vardi says that uploading the human brain and consciousness onto a computer is still in the realm of science fiction.

“It depends what you think about death,” Vardi said. “Some people have a hard time with this concept that you don’t exist anymore. This is one more attempt to overcome death. I don’t find it particularly useful.”

Image via iStockphoto, Bunyos

This article originally published at Discovery News here

Topics: artificial intelligence, brain, computers, Human Brain, Science, science fiction, singularity, Tech Discovery News is a Mashable Publishing Partner.

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Baseball Game Stunt Leads to Moving Father-Daughter Reunion

Dad-surprises-daughter Sam-laird By Sam Laird2013-05-17 14:51:22 -0400

Military family reunion videos are always a hit with Internet-goers happy to add some good feels to what may be an otherwise boring days. This one, however, puts a new — and especially heart-warming — twist on the genre.

It features 9-year-old Alayna Adams from Dunedin, Fla., who was invited to throw out the first pitch at Thursday night's Major League Baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. Before she did the honors, Alayna's dad, Lt. Col. Will Adams, gave her a message of encouragement that was relayed via the stadium video board from his current post in Afghanistan.

At least, that's what Alayna thought. After she threw her pitch, the catcher took off his mask — there was her dad, back from Afghanistan and standing before her. Said Alayna soon afterward: "I thought that I was dreaming."

The video has become a hit on social media, and you can watch it here, below. For more on the moving reunion, check out the Tampa Bay Times.

Image courtesy Tampa Bay Times

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Flickr gets major redesign with grid UI, users get 1TB of free storage (video)

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A formal celebration of Yahoo's acquisition of Tumblr wasn't what the internet outfit had up its sleeve for this evening's festivities. Instead, the company unveiled an update to Flickr at the NYC event with a host of new features that includes a retooled grid UI built out of images and up to 1TB of free storage for users. Yahoo is saying that the advertised storage space is enough room to stash 537,731 "full-resolution" photos per user. On the desktop side, Photostreams and Sets are cleaned up in proper grid fashion as well and a share button rests up top for easy sharing to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, email and, of course, Tumblr. Single photos will now be displayed full screen -- the size options and white background have been nixed for the extra real estate.

The redesign is also coming to mobile devices on iOS and Android. In fact, the Android update should be available in the Play store as early as tonight. Flickr Pro is no longer available for purchase as many of the features have been tacked on to the free account. However, it appears that current paid subscribers won't encounter any immediate changes. For those that require more space, there's a paid "doubler" option that will up the storage limit to 2TB for $500 per year and an ad-free route is priced at $50 for 12 months. Take a look at the "Biggr" photos in the video walk through on the other side of the break. Flickr web and mobile app redesign See all photos 8 Photos

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Huge Rock Crashes Into Moon, Sparks Giant Explosion

Moon-impact1 Clara Moskowitz for Space.com 2013-05-17 17:29:22 UTC

The moon has a new hole on its surface thanks to a boulder that slammed into it in March, creating the biggest explosion scientists have seen on the moon since they started monitoring it.

The meteorite crashed on March 17, slamming into the lunar surface at a mind-boggling 56,000 mph (90,000 kph) and creating a new crater 65 feet wide (20 meters). The crash sparked a bright flash of light that would have been visible to anyone looking at the moon at the time with the naked eye, NASA scientists say.

"On March 17, 2013, an object about the size of a small boulder hit the lunar surface in Mare Imbrium," Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office said in a statement. "It exploded in a flash nearly 10 times as bright as anything we've ever seen before."

NASA astronomers have been monitoring the moon for lunar meteor impacts for the past eight years, and haven't seen anything this powerful before.

Scientists didn't see the impact occur in real time. It was only when Ron Suggs, an analyst at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., reviewed a video of the bright moon crash recorded by one of the moon monitoring program's 14-inch telescopes that the event was discovered.

"It jumped right out at me, it was so bright," Suggs said.

Scientists deduced the rock had been roughly 1-foot-wide (between 0.3 to 0.4 meters) and weighed about 88 lbs (40 kg).The explosion it created was as powerful as 5 tons of TNT, NASA scientists said.

When researchers looked back at their records from March, they found that the moon meteor might not have been an isolated event.

"On the night of March 17, NASA and University of Western Ontario all-sky cameras picked up an unusual number of deep-penetrating meteors right here on Earth," Cooke said. "These fireballs were traveling along nearly identical orbits between Earth and the asteroid belt."

Though Earth's atmosphere protected our planet's surface from being hit by these meteors, the moon has no such luck. Its lack of an atmosphere exposes it to all incoming space rocks, and the NASA monitoring program has spotted more than 300 meteor strikes that reached its surface since 2005.

Part of the motivation for the program is NASA's eventual intent to send astronauts back to the moon. When they arrive, they'll need to know how often meteors impact the surface, and whether certain parts of the year, coinciding with the moon's passage through crowded bits of the solar system, pose special dangers.

"We'll be keeping an eye out for signs of a repeat performance next year when the Earth-Moon system passes through the same region of space," Cooke said. "Meanwhile, our analysis of the March 17th event continues."

The scientists also hope to use NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to photograph the impact site to learn more about how the crash occurred.

Artist's concept graphic courtesy NASA

This article originally published at Space.com here

Topics: moon, NASA, space, US & World, World Space.com is a Mashable publishing partner that is the world's No. 1 source for news of astronomy, skywatching, space exploration, commercial spaceflight and related technologies. This article is reprinted with the publisher's permission.

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Flickr updates its website and Android app with a more eye-pleasing interface, we go hands-on

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Flickr updates its website and Android app with a more eyepleasing interface, we go handson

Flickr's one of the elder statesmen of the online photo sharing world, but in recent years its UI has grown a bit long in the tooth when compared to the eye candy provided by other kids on the social sharing block. That's all changed as of today, as Marissa Mayer's team has overhauled Flickr's look on the web and in its Android app. Out goes the old layout, where text and white space commanded almost as much real estate as your photos, and in comes a tiled layout that's nothing but images.Flickr web redesign screenshots See all photos 8 Photos

when.eng("eng.galleries.init") Flickr for Android version 2.0 screenshots See all photos 5 Photos

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The differences are immediately apparent upon logging into the service, as users are greeted with a generous tiled view of their contacts' most recent uploads. The number of stars or comments for each photo is instantly visible on the lower right. Groups and Explore categories are now siloed to the side, with a link to Flickr Blog underneath. Below that is a list of people Flickr thinks you might want to add to your contacts, presumably based on your existing friends list.

Head on over to your own photostream, where all your photos are now given the large picture treatment. Hovering over any given photo populates a translucent gray bar across the bottom that displays the number of comments on the image. Clicking on an image from your Photostream takes you to an individual image page, which is largely the same layout as before -- the picture's up top, with image info, comments and thumbnail nav to other pics in the photo stream displayed underneath. The same feel goes for all other pages in the new Flickr, from your Sets and Favorites to photos from your Contacts. It's a much cleaner, more streamlined experience.

Flickr updates its website and Android app with a more eyepleasing interface, we go handson

Similarly, the Android app puts the emphasis on images, greeting users with rows of recommended pictures revealed via vertical scrolling, and those rows can be explored individually with sideways swipes. App navigation is hidden in a lefthand sidebar, where users can access their contacts, groups and comment activity directly, along with search and settings options as well. Nestled in the top right corner is a button that launches the camera app to take a shot or enable you to tweak photos already taken using Flickr's built-in filters. None of the features themselves are new to the service, of course, but the UI certainly does make using them more pleasurable.

Nicole Lee and Jon Fingas contributed to this post.

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Samsung TecTiles Finally Come to Galaxy S4

Nyc-dads-and-grads-22 Samantha-murphy By Samantha Murphy2013-05-17 17:10:49 UTC

Samsung's programmable TecTile technology is finally coming to the Galaxy S4.

TecTiles are Samsung's near-field communications (NFC) stickers that be placed around the house or car, so you can automate certain tasks.

samsung-tectiles-640

Want to dim the lights and not get up from the couch? How about activate a media player from afar? All you'll need to do is to tap your Samsung smartphone against the sticker after it's programmed within the accompanying app and life will be much better.

TecTiles first launched last year, but the new Galaxy S4 smartphone comes with an updated NFC chip, which isn't compatible with the previous TecTile tags.

Now, the company has rolled out TecTiles 2, which you can buy on Samsung.com. It will come to other retailers nationwide in June. The app is available in Google Play.

The stickers cost $14.99 for a pack of five.

Image via Mashable, Nina Frazier

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HGST's 1.5TB laptop drive is the densest hard disk available

HGST Launches The Highest Capacity Hard Drive For The Mainstream Mobile Market

With the Highest Storage Density of Any Hard Drive Today, HGST Delivers 1.5TB Capacity in a Standard 2.5-inch 9.5mm Form Factor, Targeting Notebooks, External Hard Drives, Gaming Consoles and All-in-one Desktop PCs

HGST (formerly Hitachi GST and now a Western Digital company) provides a wide range of products that includes hard disk drives, enterprise-class solid state drives, and innovative external storage solutions and services that store, preserve and manage ...

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- HGST (formerly Hitachi Global Storage Technologies and now a Western Digital company, NASDAQ: WDC) continues to push technology innovation by offering the highest storage density (MB/mm3) of any hard disk drive (HDD) today. The new Travelstar® 5K1500 is the industry's first 9.5mm, 1.5TB mobile hard drive and features the industry's highest capacity in a standard 9.5mm design. Built on HGST's proven platform for quality and reliability, the Travelstar 5K1500 delivers high shock protection, low power and solid performance to meet the growing demands for a variety of market segments, including notebooks, external hard drives, gaming consoles and all-in-one desktop PCs.

The HGST three-platter Travelstar 5K1500 offers 50 percent more capacity than currently shipping 1TB 2.5-inch 9.5mm HDDs and 200 percent more capacity than single-disk 500GB 7mm or 5mm 2.5-inch HDDs, making them ideal for capacity-hungry devices. With better PCMark® Vantage and PCMark 7 performance than currently shipping two-platter HGST 5,400RPM models, all Travelstar 5K1500 drives ship with a 32MB cache buffer and 6Gbps SATA interface.

Smaller than current 15mm or 12.5mm 2.5-inch HDDs, the Travelstar 5K1500 drive features a standard 9.5mm form factor for simple integration into many traditional system designs. This allows OEMs and system integrators to take advantage of its huge capacity, 0.5 watt low power idle and 5,400RPM performance to deliver new high-capacity, power-efficient systems for longer battery life in notebooks and other unplugged applications. With only 2.5 bels idle, the 1.5TB Travelstar 5K1500 drive is also whisper quiet. The new Travelstar 5K1500 family offers the best operating shock at 400G/2ms and non-operating shock at 1000G/1ms to protect against bumps and rough handling in mobile environments. A dual stage actuator is included for track miss registration improvements for greater data integrity and reliability. All Travelstar drives use halogen-free components to support the "green" computing initiatives that are of increasing importance to today's end users.

"Contrary to popular belief, the mobile hard drive market is not being replaced by SSDs. We continue to invest in and serve both the traditional 9.5mm and 7mm thin and light HDD mobile markets as they offer the best cost-per-GB, performance and proven product reliability for high-capacity, mainstream, Ultrabook® and A/V content creation notebook markets," said Brendan Collins , vice president of product marketing at HGST. "HGST continues to have a strong share in the 2.5-inch market and the new Travelstar 5K1500 hard drive is the latest addition to our broad line of 5,400 and 7,200 RPM 2.5-inch drives, giving OEMs, ODMs and integrators an opportunity to grow and differentiate their product lines."

"The PC continues to be an important productivity platform for content creators, who represent an echelon of users that value high-capacity portable storage," said John Rydning , research vice president for hard disk drives at IDC. "HGST's new mobile 1.5TB hard disk drive in a standard form factor for notebook PCs provides the highest capacity solution available today for users seeking more storage capacity inside their notebook PC."

The new 1.5TB Travelstar 5K1500 is also available in an Enhanced Availability (EA) model, which brings together a host of features such as high capacity, durability and low power for blade servers, network routers, video surveillance and other systems needing 24x7 access to data. The Travelstar 5K1500 drive helps system designers, integrators and IT managers build and maintain their storage systems, achieving greater storage density in the same 2.5-inch footprint, while maximizing performance, and improving data integrity in "always-on" applications in lower-transaction environments.

Availability
Travelstar 5K1500 drives are expected to ship in June. The EA model, and the optional self-encrypting Travelstar 5K1500 model, which is designed to meet the Trusted Computer Group (TCG) Opal Storage Security specification, are expected to be available in 3Q 2013.

About HGST
HGST (formerly known as Hitachi Global Storage Technologies or Hitachi GST), a Western Digital company (NASDAQ: WDC), develops advanced hard disk drives, enterprise-class solid state drives, innovative external storage solutions and services used to store, preserve and manage the world's most valued data. Founded by the pioneers of hard drives, HGST provides high-value storage for a broad range of market segments, including Enterprise, Desktop, Mobile Computing, Consumer Electronics and Personal Storage. HGST was established in 2003 and maintains its U.S. headquarters in San Jose, California. For more information, please visit the company's website at http://www.hgst.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating to expected availability dates for HDD products. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including changes in markets, demand, global economic conditions and other risks and uncertainties listed in Western Digital's recent SEC filings, to which your attention is directed. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak on as of the date hereof, and HGST/WD undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

One GB is equal to one billion bytes, and one TB equals 1,000 GB (one trillion bytes). Actual capacity will vary depending on operating environment and formatting.

Travelstar is a registered trademark of HGST, Inc. and its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. Western Digital, WD, and the WD logo are registered trademarks of Western Digital Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

HGST trademarks are intended and authorized for use only in countries and jurisdictions in which HGST has obtained the rights to use, market and advertise the brand. The Travelstar trademark is authorized for use in the Americas, EMEA, and the following Asia-Pacific countries and jurisdictions: Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan.


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Why Newt Gingrich Won't Call a Smartphone a Smartphone

Alex-fitzpatrick By Alex Fitzpatrick2013-05-13 19:23:45 UTC

You know that shiny new iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy S4 in your pocket? You probably call it a cellphone, right? Well, Newt Gingrich says you're wrong.

Gingrich recently posted a three-minute video arguing modern cellphones shouldn't be called cellphones at all.

"Think about it," petitions Gingrich, who's been attempting to shape himself as a Republican thought leader on high-tech issues from moon colonies to flying cars. "If it's taking pictures, it's not a cellphone.

"If it has a McDonald's app to tell you where McDonald's is based on your GPS location, that's not a cellphone. If you can get Wikipedia or go to Google, that's not a cellphone."

What's curious is the fact that Gingrich does not acknowledge the word that's been widely accepted for modern mobile devices: "smartphone." When Mashable asked a Gingrich staffer to explain why Gingrich doesn't simply use "smartphone," we received the following response:

Because it's not a smarter way to make phone calls.

And it's not even primarily a phone anymore.

He is trying to say calling these devices smart phones is like calling a car a horseless carriage.

Point being a change of kind has occurred (not just an evolution) which we have just begun to understand — the potential and the implications.

Gingrich's larger point — that smartphones have changed the way we interact with one another, read the news and get work done — is undoubtedly accurate. But his way of making that argument is unquestionably bizzarre.

Either way, Gingrich is asking YouTube commenters for their suggestions on what to call modern cellphones. What advice would you give him? Share in the comments below.

Image via Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images

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GeoGuessr Game Is Endless Fun for Travel Addicts

Sam-laird By Sam Laird2013-05-12 01:35:09 UTC

Love to travel? Like guessing games? GeoGuessr may be just the perfect diversion for you. But be careful — it's habit-forming.

The smart game uses Google Street View and Google Maps to take you on a virtual tour of the world. The catch? You're digitally dropped in unknown locations, then have to figure out just where you've landed.

GeoGuessr works like this: You're presented with a location in Google Street View. You can zoom in, zoom out, look up, look down — all the stuff you can do in Street View normally. Then, once you think you've got a handle on things, you plot a point on a Google Map within the Street View window. Once you've made your guess, GeoGuessr plots another coordinate to show you just how close (or not close at all) you were.

Each round consists of five guesses. The closer your guesses, the higher your score. But a warning: Some Street View drops are easier than others. It's one thing to find yourself amid distinctive architecture and automobiles with easy-to-read signage nearby, but quite another to land on a desolate beach with no discernible giveaways.

Check GeoGuessr out for yourself here, then come back and let us know what you think in the comments.

GeoGuessr

Screen shot courtesy GeoGuessr

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Dijit unveils NextGuide Web with Facebook-sourced TV recommendations

Dijit Media Introduces NextGuide Web, a Next Generation Social TV Discovery and Sharing Web Experience

San Francisco, CA – May 17, 2013 – Dijit Media, Inc., makers of the popular NextGuide, Miso, and Dijit Remote social TV discovery and control applications, today introduced NextGuide Web. NextGuide Web is a new site that helps people find and explore TV shows and movies and see what their friends recommend and watch. The site lets users discover and watch shows on live TV and popular streaming services including Amazon Prime, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, Hulu Plus, and Netflix.

Key features of NextGuide Web include:
Single Search - No more need to browse site after site to find your favorite show on a streaming service - search once on NextGuide for combined live and streaming results.

Universal Watchlist and Queue - No need to maintain unique queues on all your favorite sites, just create one list at NextGuide for anything you'd ever like to see.

Automatic Reminders - For any show or movie, set a reminder and NextGuide can email you whenever there's a new airing on live TV or any streaming service.

One Click to Watch & Record to DVR - When browsing shows, NextGuide includes direct links to watch on streaming services, or queue recordings to your home DVR (note: DVR features only for Comcast and DIRECTV subscribers at present).

Social Recommendations - Easily discover what shows and movies your Facebook friends are Liking, and get recommendations from other people who watch similar shows and movies as you do.

"Last year we launched the NextGuide iPad app and revolutionized the TV guide. Now we're extending that great platform to the Web," said Jeremy Toeman, CEO of Dijit Media. "NextGuide.TV is the easiest way for people to keep track of great shows they want to watch, easily get reminders for new airings on live or streaming services, and share their recommendations and social TV profile with their friends."

NextGuide Web is launching a closed beta for the public and all users will have invitations to share with friends. The company will extend new invitations on a first-come, first-serve basis at the beginning of each week. All existing Dijit Remote and NextGuide app users can use their account credentials (or Facebook Connect) to log in to NextGuide Web immediately, and Miso users will have access within the month. NextGuide Web is accessible internationally, but supports TV and movie catalogs for North American users at present.

"Audiences have plenty of choice when it comes to search and discovery of TV shows and movies," said Colin Dixon, Chief Analyst with nScreenMedia. "What is much rarer is a simple, intuitive guide that brings together TV broadcasting with online streaming, as in the new NextGuide."

Dijit Media also offers three discovery and social TV apps for iOS and Android: NextGuide for iPad, the Dijit Remote, and Miso. Dijit Media's flagship app is NextGuide, a "hyper-personalized" TV guide that brings together live TV with results from popular streaming services. NextGuide providers recommendations and discovery technology with social features and a unique mosaic-style interface for a modernized re-interpretation of the classic guide. The Dijit Remote is the top-rated iOS remote control app, which also powers the experience for the Griffin Beacon iOS accessory (also available for Android). The Miso app was the first-ever "Social TV" service that lets users share what they are watching with their friends, post to social networks, and connect with fans around the shows they love. For "checking in", users can collect points and unlock virtual badges.


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