Vodafone and Sky grow ever closer as Now TV becomes a new 4G perk
UK carriers are always looking for new incentives that might persuade people to switch allegiances, and Vodafone is no exception. The carrier is enhancing its 4G contracts today by adding Sky’s Now TV streaming service to its existing trio of limited-time perks. New subscribers taking out a Vodafone Red 4G plan, as well as anyone buying a £30 or £40 Red 4G Freedom TopUp, can choose Now TV’s Entertainment Pass as their preferred perk. To sweeten the deal, Vodafone is also throwing in a 3-month Movies Pass for free.
Sky has been getting cosy with Vodafone for a while now; it already offers Sky Sports Mobile TV as one of its optional 4G extras and less than a week ago, Sky kicked off a trial offering some of its own customers Vodafone’s services. Reading between the lines, it’s possible Sky is gearing up to enter the fray as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), using Vodafone’s infrastructure as its backbone. With more Sky services popping up in Vodafone’s mobile offerings, the two companies have never felt closer.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Networking
Apple Looking to Raise $1.2 Billion from Bond Sale Involving Euros
Following yesterday’s report that Apple was preparing to hold a new bond sale that includes a component denominated in euros, the company today filed a prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission outlining its general plans, which include two chunks of debt with staggered maturities. The Wall Street Journal has more details on the prospectus and how its yields will the lowest ever for 8-year and 12-year debt:
The iPhone maker is seeking to raise at least €1 billion ($1.2 billion) from two chunks of euro debt maturing in eight and 12 years.
Those would beat the lowest yields ever paid for euro-denominated, corporate bonds of these maturities, according to Dealogic data, reflecting solid confidence that the bonds represent a safe bet. Bankers managing the bond sale suggested the eight-year notes will give investors a yield of roughly 1.1% and the 12-year notes around 1.7%.
Apple spoke with investors on Monday about issuing bonds and will use the proceeds of the sale for general corporate purposes, including share buybacks and dividend payments.
This would mark first time that Apple would begin issuing bonds in Euros, with Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs arranging the sale. This past April, Apple held a $12 billion bond sale, which followed a record $17 billion sale last year. Apple’s bond offerings are a part of its expanded capital return program, which primarily involves a major stock buyback program and a quarterly dividend that aims to return more than $130 billion to shareholders by the end of 2015.
Now you can play ‘Defender’ and 900 other arcade classics in your browser
It seems like the Internet Archive was just getting started when it resurrected WordStar and The Hobbit from floppy-disk purgatory. Now, the latest additions to the Javascript MESS emulator are of the arcade variety. Specifically, games including Defender, Mr. Do!, Zaxxon and Joust are now playable in your browser. The IA’s website says that most of the Internet Arcade’s games should work, although some better act as a “verification of behavior programming” than anything else. Jason Scott, who runs the collection, has a blog post detailing what browsers perform best (a 64-bit version of Firefox is tops, apparently) and how to setup a gamepad for the whole shebang. You know, if digging through gaming’s origins is your thing. Be careful, though. Playing Millipede as a kid may have cost you a few quarters, but if you get caught playing it at work it could be a whole lot more expensive now.
[Image credit: Rob Boudon/Flickr]
Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Source: Jason Scott, Internet Archive
A cleaner, faster Pinterest lands on iPhones and iPads
Pinterest has just released version 4.0 for iOS, and while it doesn’t come with another big feature like the addition of private messaging from August, it dresses up the app in a simpler interface. The fresh, minimal interface boasts bigger images and a cleaner description section underneath the pics. According to its developers, they also gave the app a boost so it launches more quickly when you fire it up, and we did notice that starting Pinterest on the iPhone is now significantly faster. Finally, you’ll find buttons somewhere near the top of your profile page, which will let you upload new pins or search through old ones. In Pinterest’s announcement post, software engineer Steven Ramkumar said the company’s merely bringing these changes to iOS first, so other platforms will eventually get the update in the future.
Source: Pinterest
Mercedes-Benz’ insane new SUV concept is a giant solar panel
German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz has debuted a new concept for a hydrogen-powered SUV, and it’s pretty crazy. The Vision G-Code is as striking as any concept, with a squat profile and space-age interior, but it’s not the car’s looks that are interesting here: it’s the paint. When the G-Code is stationary, its “multi-voltaic” paint generates electricity in a number of ways. It acts like a giant solar cell, turning the sun’s energy into electricity, and also charges electrostatically, harnessing the power of the wind.
Instead of simply passing the electricity generated onto an internal battery, Mercedes uses it to facilitate hydrogen synthesis, creating fuel for the car’s engine. The front wheels are powered by a hydrogen engine, while an electric motor drives the rear axle. It also has some other tricks to aid the production of hydrogen: on the move, further power is drawn from the G-Code’s suspension system. One byproduct of the synthesis is oxygen, which Mercedes says “is routed to the interior as needed,” providing “a refreshing effect for the occupants.” Of course, it’s worth remembering this is just a concept, and while its looks may filter down to upcoming models, it’s unlikely we’ll see the more innovative tech on display in any production cars soon.
Via: Autoblog
Source: Mercedes-Benz
Samsung and TSMC Reportedly Still Competing for Rights to Produce Apple’s A9 Chip [iOS Blog]
Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) are still competing for the rights to produce Apple’s next-generation A9 chip as a primary supplier is expected to be named by the end of this year, reports Digitimes.
According to the report, Samsung has offered Apple lower pricing quotes in an attempt to secure the rights to produce the A9. The company is also willing to produce other chips like flash memory and perform optimization services in-house. Samsung was the longtime producer of Apple’s A-series chips until Apple struck a deal with TSMC to produce its chips last year.
Last month, Samsung semiconductor head Kim Ki-nam announced that the company would begin work on 14-nanometer processors for Apple, indicating that the Korean company may have already won the bid to produce the next-generation A9 chip. However, it is also possible that both companies could share the production load as Apple looks to diversify its supply chain even further to better fit its production needs.
Last year, it was reported that Apple signed a contract with Samsung to handle 30% to 40% of total A9 chip production, as TSMC would be handling the rest of the production load. Apple’s A9 chip would presumably be featured in next year’s line of iPhones and iPads, as the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus currently use the 20-nanometer A8 processor. The iPad Air 2 uses a more powerful triple-core A8X chip which is up to 55% faster than the A8 chip found in the iPhone 6.
Disney’s ‘Movies Anywhere’ Service Now Allowing Users to View Films on iOS or Android [iOS Blog]
Users of Disney’s Movies Anywhere service will now be able to access their movies between iOS and Android as a part of an agreement between Apple and Google, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The company launched its Movies Anywhere app on iOS in February, which allowed users purchase movies or link their iTunes account to sync eligible films to watch on all of their iOS devices. Now, the Movies Anywhere app is available on Android, as users will be able to purchase movies on the service and view any eligible film bought from the iTunes Store or Google Play on their iOS or Android devices. Disney is also allowing users to redeem codes from DVDs and Blu-ray Discs on the Movies Anywhere website.
According to the report, both Apple and Google will pay Disney a wholesale rate for each copy of a film that they sell. Disney Movies Anywhere is currently offering a free digital copy of Wreck-It Ralph with a newly connected account, and currently offers a library of over 450 titles to choose from.
Disney Movies Anywhere is a free app for iOS devices and can be downloaded through the App Store. [Direct Link]
Google Nexus 6 in India soon? Flipkart puts up a preemptive listing
The Google Nexus 6 has been available to pre-order for almost a week now, but only in the US, so the question on everyone else’s lips is when will the device become available globally. We’ve had assurances that pre-orders in the UK and Australia are going to “start in November” but that’s almost too painfully vague, and doesn’t exactly help our friends in other parts of the world. Well, it looks like at least one retailer in India is getting ready which could hail the start of availability of the Nexus 6 in India. Popular Indian online retailer, Flipkart, today posted up the above listing for the elusive Google device, but whether or not this is just a really preemptive listing or Flipkart knows something that we don’t remains to be determined.
The Nexus 6 has been getting generally good reviews with everyone who’s managed to get their hands on one. Despite its huge size, it is said to be quite good to hold and a surprising highlight appears to be its great (but not perfect) camera which makes previous Nexus cameras look a bit disappointing. At this point, most people are just wanting to pre-order the device, but it appears Motorola and Google are going through the same supply teething issues that are suffered with the availability of every Nexus smartphone. We’re not sure what pricing is going to be like in India, but judging by the price in other regions, it isn’t going to be cheap.
What do you think about availability of the Nexus 6 in India? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Source: FoneArena via TalkAndroid
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Project Zero will take the Samsung Galaxy S6 back to first principles
It’s no secret that the Samsung Galaxy S5 wasn’t Samsung‘s greatest moment, and that has them taking particularly drastic measures to change things up within the company. Well, that and the fact they’re leaking money and market share to competitors in many important markets. Samsung had said that it was taking a whole new route with the Galaxy Note 4 and we ended up with not only a new and improved Note 4, but also the Note Edge, which isn’t exactly going to sell millions, but is an interesting exercise in innovation. The Samsung Galaxy S6 has Samsung thinking the same way, but rather than think about novelty, Samsung is going to develop its next device from the ground up with a completely new vision.
If you need any indication of exactly how serious Samsung is about this direction, you need only look at the project name Samsung has given the Galaxy S6: Project Zero. Previous projects by the Korean tech giant have been denoted by letters – Galaxy S4 (Project J), Galaxy S5 (Project K) and Galaxy Note 4 (Project T). Calling it Project Zero is probably the strongest statement that something needs to change in how Samsung does things, and perhaps with this plan we will see Samsung reclaim the heights that we have seen it do before. Only time will tell.
What do you think about Project Zero and the plan for the Samsung Galaxy S6? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: SamMobile via Phandroid
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ShitExpress will send poop in a box anywhere in exchange for Bitcoins
You can find absolutely anything on the internet, and services that send poop on your behalf to people who’ve incurred your hatred are old news. This new startup called ShitExpress, however, offers something its older rivals can’t: the ability to accept Bitcoins for total anonymity. No credit card means no paper trail. And, if you take great care to make sure you browse the internet anonymously, nobody will find out it’s your doing. For the Bitcoin equivalent of $17, the company will send horse manure (more types will be added in the future, as should be expected from a respected poop delivery service) anywhere in the world for you.
That price includes packaging (you can choose to send it in a plain box or disguised as a fancy, expensive gift), shipping, a personalized letter and a message telling the recipient to be a better human being. When Motherboard’s Jason Koebler sent an order to himself, he said the package was marked as a Halloween gag gift to pass customs. But, we’ll bet an official from one of the stricter countries will open one to check it, only to come across a nasty surprise.
[Image credit: Kristian Bjornard/Flickr]
Via: Motherboard
Source: Shit Express
AIVAnet 