Photos of Construction Material Hint at Scale of Apple’s Spaceship Campus [Mac Blog]
Construction at Apple’s “Spaceship” Campus has been progressing at a rapid pace in the past few months, as the company most recently began putting up the outer walls and laying roadwork. Now, iFun.de (Google Translate) shares new photos of the steel and glass material that will be used for the campus’ facade, which are being provided by German company Josef Gartner GmbH.
Construction material for Apple’s Spaceship Campus tested by Josef Gartner
The images show the steel and glass components being tested by Josef Gartner outside of its premises, and could hint at the scale of Apple’s new Campus 2 building upon completion. The building will have a circular, multi-story structure surrounded by greenery, additional buildings, performance stages, a fountain, and more.
A concept image of what the front of Apple’s Spaceship Campus will look like
Apple’s Campus 2 project will be constructed in two phases, with the first phase finishing up by 2016 and including a 2.8 million square-foot ring-shaped central building, an underground parking facility, a 100,000 square foot fitness center, and a 120,000 square foot auditorium. Meanwhile, the second phase of construction will take place after 2016 and include an additional 600,000 square feet of office, research and development buildings as well as an additional parking structure with 1,740 spaces.
Google finally agrees to fix Chrome bug that drains Windows laptop batteries
Chrome may be the browser of choice for around 35 percent of the world’s internet users, but it’s not without its flaws. A report by Forbes has highlighted that the browser won’t return to an idle state if it’s not being used, demanding significantly more power than rivals like Firefox or Internet Explorer. That’s a big problem for laptop users, since their portable Windows machines are losing battery life far faster than they should. It’s apparently been a problem since 2010, but it’s only now that Google is admitting that something needs to be done about it. In a statement to PC World, the company has pushed the fault to the top of the Chrome team’s to-do list, so hopefully it won’t be long before you get a lot more browsing before you retreat to a wall socket.
Virgin Media’s TV Anywhere streaming app comes to Kindle Fire tablets
After bringing its TV Anywhere app to Android at the end of last year, Virgin Media has continually updated the list of supported smartphones and tablets. Today, it’s adding another range of Android devices to this roster, namely Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets, as the TV Anywhere app has now dropped the Amazon Appstore. It’ll let you watch live TV over a WiFi connection (3G/4G streaming is not currently supported), manage your set-top box recordings, browse TV listings and also serve as a remote control. Virgin claims it’s the first service of its kind to come to Amazon’s marketplace (at least in the UK), with neither Sky nor YouView officially offering a separate Kindle Fire app. After a relatively quiet period, Virgin Media has begun to think about mobile streaming again. Last week, it brought Sky’s entertainment channels to TV Anywhere, and next month customers will be able to use their Virgin account to access Sky’s Sports and Movies apps.
Filed under: Cellphones, Home Entertainment, Internet, Software, Mobile, Amazon
Source: Virgin Media TV Anywhere
Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited offers all-you-can-eat e-books for $10 a month
After teasing us with a possible launch, Amazon has confirmed Kindle Unlimited, its all-you-can-read e-book subscription service. For $9.99 per month, Kindle Unlimited offers 600,000 books and “thousands” of audiobooks across a range of devices. As expected, many of the major publishers aren’t fully represented, but there are number of popular titles listed, including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and the Hunger Games, as well as a whole host of Kindle exclusives. Like Prime, Amazon initially offers a free 30-day trial to draw you in, but it’s also throwing in a three-month subscription to Audible and access to 2,000 audiobooks via its Whispersync service (which lets you seamlessly switch between reading and listening whenever the mood takes you). For a service that bills itself as “unlimited,” there’s a few constraints on Amazon’s Netflix-for-books service. In addition to the fact that it doesn’t have the support from all of the major publishers, of course, there’s also the small matter that it’s only available in America. At least, for now.
Source: Kindle Unlimited
This bacteria eats nothing but electricity to survive
All life is ultimately powered by electricity, albeit indirectly; most organisms consume sugars that produce electrochemical reactions. Several types of bacteria are known to skip the sweets and go straight for the electrons, however — and researchers have discovered that they may be everywhere. The New Scientist reported that biologists have grown bacteria (Mariprofundus ferrooxydans PV-1) that harvest electrons directly from iron electrodes. Several species were literally teased out of soil from a seabed floor and deep well in Death Valley, California, just by applying a charge to the ground. In a lab environment, a separate team found that they can be kept alive exclusively with electricity and no other sugars or other nutrients (see the video, below).
Scientists found that up to eight species may eat and excrete electrons, including some with remarkable properties. For instance, hundreds of thousands of bacteria can form daisy-chained “wires” an inch or so long, and tap seawater oxygen for energy. Such filaments can hold soil together and conduct electricity about as well as standard copper wire. Those properties could lead to interesting practical applications, like “SPUDs” or self-powered useful devices that clean up pollution, or bacteria that create electric “biocable” networks in the soil. Finally, the discovery is letting researchers test one of the most basic principals of biology: the minimum amount of energy required for life to survive.
Via: Gizmodo
Source: The New Scientist
Upcoming Apple Store in Hanover, Germany Likely Opening in September [Mac Blog]
Apple’s upcoming retail store in Hanover, Germany may finally open in late September, reports iFun.de (Google Translate) citing sources close to Apple’s retail team in the region. The report notes that Apple has had to fix a number of problems with the building to be used for the store, including physical defects, mold, and ventilation issues.
Apple’s upcoming retail store in Hanover, Germany covered by barricades
According to iFun, it is also possible that the store could open to the public on September 19, which has been rumored to be the launch date for the iPhone 6. Apple originally put up its traditional black barricades for the location back in April 2013, as images showing progress on the store surfaced this past March. The layout of the Hanover store will also be similar to the Apple Store Opéra in Paris, France, which has become known as one of the company’s most visually appealing locations.
During its financial results conference call for the third quarter of 2013, Apple announced that it would be building over 30 new stores in fiscal 2014, with 2/3 of those stores being built outside of the United States. Some of those openings have included the Apple Store Zorlu Center in Turkey, the Apple Store VillageMall in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the Apple Store Kurfürstendamm, Berlin, Germany.
NVIDIA Shield tablet image leaks
Earlier this month we’ve seen leaked specifications of NVIDIA’s Shield tablet. Those specs were nothing to scoff at, Tegra K1 chip, a 7.9″ 2048×1536 display and 2GB of RAM all sound really good. Now we have another leak for you.
Known leaker @evleaks shared an alleged image of the tablet along with the title: “NVIDIA Shield Tablet, 2014″. This tablet is expected to provide great audio (everyone knows what BoodSound is by now), great build and performance. These are all points in which HTC is good at, great even. There is no more information on the tablet except the rumor which says it will feature a 192-core GPU. All in all this device should be a real gaming beast and other than the specs we expect all kinds of gaming-centered features along with it.
No word on the release date at this point, but we should get more information soon. When that happens you’ll be the first to know.
Source: @evleaks
The post NVIDIA Shield tablet image leaks appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google Maps for mobile now helps bikers avoid steep hills
Summer’s in full swing and the weather’s nice, so how about ditching your gas-guzzlin’ ride for something human-powered? If you do, Google’s latest update to Maps on mobile wants to help make biking a little easier. New features for two-wheeled transportation include routes based on elevation so you can avoid any strenuous climbs and, as Android Police reports, there’s apparently a tool to compare different itineraries based on elevation as well. Should you to stick to a car for getting around (air conditioning is awfully nice), Mountain View didn’t forget about you, either. A handful of voice commands have been added for checking what traffic is like ahead of you, estimated arrival time and next-turn reminders, among others. Unlike the familiar “OK, Google” voice-prompt though, these orders aren’t fully hands-free just yet.
Meaning, we don’t recommend searching for the on-screen microphone button to initiate the app’s listening mode while you’re in traffic — fumbling to activate a route overview isn’t worth causing an accident over. If you want to take the app for a test-drive, however, check out the source link.
[Image credit: johnthescone/Flickr]
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google
Via: Android Police
Source: Google Play
ESPN will broadcast a $10 million gaming tournament this weekend
If someone gaining an athletic visa to play StarCraft 2 or the staggering amount of hours spent watching pro gamers duke it out virtually wasn’t enough to prove that competitive gaming is a real thing, maybe some mainstream support is. This weekend’s massive $10 million-plus Dota 2 tournament, The International, will air live on ESPN 3. What’s more, prior to ESPN 2′s broadcast of the final match late Sunday evening, the network will host a preview show with expert analysis and even an interview with Dota 2-developer Valve’s Gabe Newell. That the Worldwide Leader in Sports is giving the same kind of love to eSports that it does, say, basketball or even skateboarding is surely a sign of big things to come. The fans have been into it for awhile — tickets for the event, held at Seattle’s 17,000-seat Key Arena, sold out in an hour.
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD
Source: Valve
Facebook’s Buy button lets you purchase products directly from Page posts and ads
Facebook doesn’t want you to ever leave Facebook — not to look at photos, read the news or chat with friends — and now you don’t even have to leave to buy a product. The social giant’s new Buy button (and associated e-commerce infrastructure) lets you make a purchase directly on the site. Once you click the button, which is currently being tested with select small business partners in the US, a pop-up will prompt you to confirm payment and shipping info, then complete the purchase, all without leaving Facebook. The tool is only available on select merchants’ pages for the time being, including Modify Watches seen in the example above, though it could roll out to more companies if this trial is deemed a success.
Filed under: Internet, Facebook
Via: TechCrunch
Source: Facebook
AIVAnet 