Korg’s OK Go Volca Sample is pre-loaded with sounds from ‘Hungry Ghosts’
Last fall, OK Go released their latest album Hungry Ghosts. If you happen to enjoy the samples the band used on it, you can employ those sounds yourself thanks to Korg. The audio company revealed a limited-edition of its Volca Sample emblazoned with OK Go art and loaded with clips the band used to make the aforementioned release. In fact, there’s 100 different sounds total that are all available for use. This version of the Volca Sample features the same multi-touch keyboard, 16-step sequencer and can run on six AA batteries for mobile music making. It’s part of the larger Volca line that includes the Volca Keys, Volca Bass and Volca Beat compact synths. And the original Volca Sample, of course. If all of that sounds too good to pass up, you’ll be able to sang one for yourself this month after parting with $160. Slideshow-339045
Source: Korg
Maker Camp becomes the after-school program you wish you had as a kid
“One thing we can bet on is that ‘making’ engages kids,” Dale Dougherty, Maker Media founder told Engadget. Anyone that’s ever been to a Maker Faire knows that’s a solid wager. Children routinely crowd around booths and attractions at the event peppering proprietors with questions about how their devices work. They drag their parents to the marketplace to buy Arduinos, soldering guns, and DIY kits. Getting littles ones excited about science and crafts is easy when it’s right in their faces, but then what? That was the question on Dougherty’s mind, “what happens on the Monday following a Faire?”
Source: Maker Camp
6 world-changing innovations by teenage geniuses
By Cat DiStasio
Solutions to some of the world’s most challenging problems are coming from an unlikely place: teenagers. Around the world, young inventors are developing gadgets and techniques that address issues ranging from ocean pollution to biofuels to food production. These incredible inventions are just a few highlights from teens who bring a fresh perspective and a hunger for real-life problem-solving. Hopefully, we’ll be reading about these young geniuses again years down the road, as they become stars of their own STEM careers.Slideshow-338762
[TA Deals] Pick up the Panther Air HD Camera Drone for just $109.99
Drones can be great fun, and drones with built-in camera’s can be both fun and useful, capturing great shots from previously impossible angles. With Christmas fast-approaching, it’s a great time to pick up the Panther Air HD Camera Drone with its built-in 720p camera from Talk Android Deals for just $109.99.
As you can see from the image above, the Panther Air Drone is a largish size, which allows for more stability in flight. It can capture high-definition shots and video footage from high in the air, as well as performing stunts such as 360-degree flips from up to 150 feet away.
Features:
- 2.4GHz transmitter allows incredible range without radio interference
- 4.5 channel radio control allows full 3D flight capabilities
- LCD display on transmitter shows signal strength, battery level, channel display and trim display data
- Bottom mounted adjustable camera captures 720p HD imagery/ video footage to MicroSD card
- Built-in gyro-stabilization provides stability and agility
- 360-degree flip stunt mode
Besides the quadcopter itself, you will also receive the 2.4GHz transmitter, the 850mAh rechargeable battery, wall charger, 1GB MicroSD card and reader, as well as four spare blades for the quadcopter’s motors. With a price tag of just $109.99, representing a saving of 55% over its RRP of $250, the Panther Air Drone is going to fly off the shelf.
Come comment on this article: [TA Deals] Pick up the Panther Air HD Camera Drone for just $109.99
Outerwall acquires online electronics recycler Gazelle
Shoring up their existing ecoATM business, Outerwall announced that they have acquired much of online electronics recycler Gazelle for $18 million in cash. Gazelle operates an online site where consumers can buy and sell pre-owned electronics including smartphones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops. The Gazelle online presence will join Outerwall’s existing ecoATM business which puts self-serve kiosks out in retail locations where consumers can trade in their used electronic devices for cash. The items collected at those kiosks are sold to third parties by Outerwall.
By adding Gazelle into their mix, Outerwall CEO Erik Prusch thinks the company will “enable ecoATM to gain critical mass, provide margin revenue uplift opportunities and leverage a direct-to-consumer channel for collected devices.” That last bit suggests Outerwall may start using some of the devices collected through ecoATM to sell on the Gazelle.com site, keeping the revenues within the overall company.
Gazelle’s headquarters are located in Boston with operational facilities in Kentucky and around 100 employees. In 2013 Gazelle reported they reached the $100 million in annual revenue level. That would seem to imply things have cooled off considerably if they sold the business for only $18 million.
Besides ecoATM and now Gazelle, Outerwall also owns and operates Redbox, the self-serve video kiosks, and coin redemption business Coinstar. Redbox is the heavyweight for Outerwall, generating 77 percent of the company’s revenue in the third quarter with Coinstar pulling in almost 17 percent.
source: Outerwall (MarketWatch)
Come comment on this article: Outerwall acquires online electronics recycler Gazelle
Outerwall acquires online electronics recycler Gazelle
Shoring up their existing ecoATM business, Outerwall announced that they have acquired much of online electronics recycler Gazelle for $18 million in cash. Gazelle operates an online site where consumers can buy and sell pre-owned electronics including smartphones, tablets, desktop computers and laptops. The Gazelle online presence will join Outerwall’s existing ecoATM business which puts self-serve kiosks out in retail locations where consumers can trade in their used electronic devices for cash. The items collected at those kiosks are sold to third parties by Outerwall.
By adding Gazelle into their mix, Outerwall CEO Erik Prusch thinks the company will “enable ecoATM to gain critical mass, provide margin revenue uplift opportunities and leverage a direct-to-consumer channel for collected devices.” That last bit suggests Outerwall may start using some of the devices collected through ecoATM to sell on the Gazelle.com site, keeping the revenues within the overall company.
Gazelle’s headquarters are located in Boston with operational facilities in Kentucky and around 100 employees. In 2013 Gazelle reported they reached the $100 million in annual revenue level. That would seem to imply things have cooled off considerably if they sold the business for only $18 million.
Besides ecoATM and now Gazelle, Outerwall also owns and operates Redbox, the self-serve video kiosks, and coin redemption business Coinstar. Redbox is the heavyweight for Outerwall, generating 77 percent of the company’s revenue in the third quarter with Coinstar pulling in almost 17 percent.
source: Outerwall (MarketWatch)
Come comment on this article: Outerwall acquires online electronics recycler Gazelle
Facebook employees to be forced to use Android (again)
During a recent presentation, chief product officer for Facebook Chris Cox announced that he was “mandating a switch of a whole bunch of my team over to Android, just because people, when left up to their own devices, will often prefer an iPhone.” Despite the claim that people prefer an iPhone, the market is actually dominated by Google’s Android operating system, although pockets like those in Silicon Valley where Facebook operates out of may still lean toward iOS devices.
The move is a practical one for Cox as it will push Facebook developers and employees to experience Facebook in the same manner that most of their customers are experiencing it – on an Android device. Cox said having a good portion of the product team on Android would help ensure “they can be reporting bugs and living in the same experience that most Facebook users experience today.”
Getting Facebook employees to better understand their user base was also the impetus behind a recent initiative call 2G Tuesdays. When Facebook employees report for work on Tuesdays, they find their phones will ask them if they want to experience the world with 2G data speeds. If they agree, they get a taste of 2G for about an hour. This is meant to simulate the data speeds that many users in newer markets have available to them, helping Facebook streamline their app. One of the results of that attention to data speeds was the introduction of changes to the News Feed recently announced by Facebook.
Although Android fans will likely crow about this move by the social media giant, it should be noted that this is not the first time Facebook has mandated that employees will use Android devices.
source: Wired
via: Cult of Android
Come comment on this article: Facebook employees to be forced to use Android (again)
A Google Engineer is reviewing all USB Type-C chargers on Amazon to inform customers which ones are safe for use on their devices
The USB Type-C take over has already started, and as this year comes to an end, we expect to see a few more smartphones and tablets hit the market bundling compatibility for the third-generation connection.
As it stands, handsets that currently feature Type-C ports only ship with a single cable and that annoyingly doesn’t support computer connectivity, so if users want to transfer files to their devices, they have to purchase an additional wire or adapter.
However, these accessories aren’t cheap, so customers veer towards the more affordable, third-party cables readily available on marketplaces, such as Amazon and eBay, but that’s not a good thing.
Many consumers have reported that these chargers have caused harm to their handsets, so Google Engineer Benson Leung has taken it upon himself to purchase a selection of Type-C connectors from Amazon to test and see if they meet the standard specifications for use on his Nexus device.
So far, Leung has been through seven cables and claims the $19.99 Belkin and $14.99 iOrange-E cables are the only two that are safe to use on units that support USB Type-C. The others can cause potentially dangerous side effects, like overheating.
Source: Google+
Come comment on this article: A Google Engineer is reviewing all USB Type-C chargers on Amazon to inform customers which ones are safe for use on their devices
A Google Engineer is reviewing all USB Type-C chargers on Amazon to inform customers which ones are safe for use on their devices
The USB Type-C take over has already started, and as this year comes to an end, we expect to see a few more smartphones and tablets hit the market bundling compatibility for the third-generation connection.
As it stands, handsets that currently feature Type-C ports only ship with a single cable and that annoyingly doesn’t support computer connectivity, so if users want to transfer files to their devices, they have to purchase an additional wire or adapter.
However, these accessories aren’t cheap, so customers veer towards the more affordable, third-party cables readily available on marketplaces, such as Amazon and eBay, but that’s not a good thing.
Many consumers have reported that these chargers have caused harm to their handsets, so Google Engineer Benson Leung has taken it upon himself to purchase a selection of Type-C connectors from Amazon to test and see if they meet the standard specifications for use on his Nexus device.
So far, Leung has been through seven cables and claims the $19.99 Belkin and $14.99 iOrange-E cables are the only two that are safe to use on units that support USB Type-C. The others can cause potentially dangerous side effects, like overheating.
Source: Google+
Come comment on this article: A Google Engineer is reviewing all USB Type-C chargers on Amazon to inform customers which ones are safe for use on their devices
Netflix will produce original Bollywood and anime programs
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced the service will offer more original content in 2016, including Bollywood and anime programming. During his talk with New York Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin at the DealBook conference, he said that the company is always looking at new ways to introduce unique shows that other streaming services don’t have. Next year Netflix is looking to spend around $5 billion on content alone and since it launched in Japan on September 2, there’s never been a better time to broaden the scope of programming with an international focus. What type of Bollywood or anime programs will Netflix release? Hastings didn’t mention specifically, only noting that it has taken risks before and they’ve paid off (like Narcos, for example). Get ready for longer bouts of aimless scrolling on nights you’re feeling indecisive.
Via: The Verge
Source: YouTube
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