Finally mankind has used it technological prowess to create something that is actually useful and will change lives, a bed that will make itself! That’s right folks, a European manufacturer has designed a Smart Bed that can make itself in less than a minute, eureka!
2oceansVibe reported yesterday that Microsoft was to unveil a tablet it thought could “rival the iPad”. Microsoft did in fact unveil a tablet overnight that it’s called the Surface. The world’s largest software maker will now also launch its touch-friendly new Windows operating system later this year as a standard on the tablet. It hopes to make a big impact with its new device.
Celestica, the Toronto-based manufacturer that produces hardware for Research In Motion, have announced that they’ll be stopping production of BlackBerry hardware over the next three months, and charging the company $1 billion for unsold BlackBerry inventory. Between the BlackBerry 10 smartphone getting pushed back to late 2012, and new iPhone rumours, this could sort of be RIP RIM.
At the beginning of this year, it was announced that Korean Air would be launching the first nonstop flights from Northeast Asia to East Africa: specifically, from Incheon International Airport, South Korea, to Nairobi, Kenya. Derogatory seems a modest way to describe some of the advertising used for the new route.
Microsoft might be about to launch a tablet device it would hope would compete with the Apple iPad. Its new Windows software, to be launched later this year, is designed to be used on a tablet as well as a desktop PC. It also said: “This will be a major Microsoft announcement – you will not want to miss it.”
Since Monday’s announcement of the ultra sexy new MacBook Pro, you know, the one with the insane Retina display, everyone has been wanting to know – when is it coming to SA, and what will it cost? I’m gonna be honest, it ain’t cheap. Not by a long shot.
Things have been less than fun with respect to freedom of speech and freedom of expression in the landlocked central African country of Ethiopia in recent years. And they just got worse. Because now a simple 30-second Skype call could land you in jail.
Within the next few days, every single Facebook user will be met with a request for a verified phone number, which will apparently help users “stay in control” of their accounts. This is partially a response to security breaches at LinkedIn, Last.fm and eHarmony, but it’s also because Facebook wants to know more stuff about you.
Skype have just introduced a new ‘feature’ called Conversation Ads, which displays advertisements during audio calls. Which sucks. To nobody’s surprise they’re trying to spin the feature as somehow good for users – apparently the ads “could spark additional topics of conversation that are relevant to Skype users and highlight unique and local brand experiences.”
Yesterday, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the international body that regulates the Internet, released its list of applicants for new .com alternatives. There are obvious ones like .amazon and .hsbc, but less obvious ones like .ninja have also crept in. A few South African companies also got involved.
Yahoo has been criticised in the past for neglecting its original core business of being a search engine, and it may experience more of that with its latest exapnsion into content publishing. However, it has described its latest partnership with CNBC as a key strategy to becoming a “premium media network.”
Sir John Major has been giving testimony at the Leveson inquiry into British press ethics today. Some of his testimony appears to directly conflict that of Murdoch’s, who in April claimed: “I have never asked a prime minister for anything.” Major becomes the first ex-Prime Minister to claim Murdoch tried to get him to change government policy.
Jonathan Shapiro, more commonly known as Zapiro, has been named the 2012 recipient of the International Publishers Association (IPA) award for Freedom to Publish. He’ll receive it for his exemplary courage in upholding the freedom to publish whatever he wants, basically.
Apple opened its annual WWDC conference in Cupertino last night, and to no-one’s surprise has revealed the brand new line of MacBook Pros, as well as a update to the very popular line of MacBook Airs. See the full, drool-worthy specs inside.
British Prime Minister, David Cameron, left his eldest daughter, Nancy, at a pub following a Sunday lunch. It happened after a mix-up with his wife Samantha, Downing Street has admitted. The couple only realised their daughter was missing when they got home.
In recent years we have seen reality television sink from the lows of Big Brother down through teen pregnancy, to the dregs of Jersey Shore. Earth, it would seem has little left to offer in terms of reality TV. Enter Dutch team, Mars One, who are looking to raise an initial $6 billion to send a team to mars by 2023, and make a reality show out of it.
Cell C’s Alan Knott-Craig Senior says he’s not surprised by the Cabinet’s decision to turn its nose up at a proposal from Korea Telecom to buy a 20% stake in Telkom. Why: because in the past, foreign companies have let South Africa down. He says governments, especially in developing countries, have to be involved in telecommunications penetration.
A very stimulating new book has just launched: Do Ideas. The book, curated by Don Packett, features contributions from some of South Africa’s brightest minds. They want you to embrace your ideas: “don’t be afraid”, they say. The best bit? It’s free, and online. Go on, you want to have a look.
You might have picked up in the Morning Spice headlines that the Nasdaq stock exchange said it “owe[d] the industry an apology”. It’s gone a little further now, and says it will set aside $40 million to reimburse investors that suffered losses due to technical problems on Facebook’s first day of trading.
In news that you want desperately to be surprised by, but just can’t, the creators of the Tupac-ogram have announced that they’re working on an Elvis Presley hologram, for making film and television appearances – and, depending on how unsettling they can get the reincarnated star to look, on tour.
Following the announcement that Cell C had drastically dropped their prepaid cell rates, Alan Knott-Craig Senior has seemingly checkmated the competition yet again. Cell C announced today that they would also be reducing their contract rates with the launch of six “Straight Up” packages for postpaid and Top-Up customers on 22 June 2012. This is big.
Right now, you could be using the new Internet, and you probably didn’t know. Essentially, the Internet got too small, and we’d have run out of addresses if they didn’t do something about it. But, we’ll let Vint Cerf, Google’s Chief Internet Evangelist, guide us through the jargon.
South Africa’s elite police unit, the Hawks, have opened an investigation into allegations of corruption at MTN. This follows news reports yesterday of a senior former MTN Group executive admitting to bribing South Africa’s former ambassador to Iran following a successful license purchase.
YouTube user, Baracksdubs, is back with yet another great mashup featuring Barack Obama. Only this time, he’s singing his version of viral parody sensation “Call Me Maybe”, by Carly Rae Jepsen.
A low-cost Singaporean airline has begun offering passengers iPads as an alternative to traditional in-flight entertainment. The bold move has allowed the airline to slash costs while improving passengers’ experience while on board.
Sony shareholders looked on as they watched the electronics and entertainment giant’s shares fall below 1 000 yen for the first time since 1980 yesterday. The Tokyo stock market took a dive early Monday after a dismal performance from Wall Street, bad US job data, and amid other global economic concerns.
On the back of the release of new and depressing US job data, Barack Obama has timed an attack on Mitt Romney to perfection. Obama wants Americans to pay attention to Romney Economics, and “remember, we’ve seen it all before.”
Throughout his life, Steve Jobs imparted many inspiring words of wisdom, many of which were caught on video during his onstage appearances at Apple events and during interviews. Yesterday a host of these were made available, for free, on iTunes. Click through for the details.
By definition, lucid dreaming refers to any occasion when a sleeping person is aware that they are dreaming. But, it’s also used to describe the idea of being able to control those dreams. Think: Inception. Today, lucid dreaming has evolved into an industry worthy of a discussion.
American tech companies are increasingly wary of a growing movement to hand control of the Internet over to the United Nations, led by China, Russia and Arab states. They are worried that this could empower foreign governments to restrict free speech and civil rights, not to mention negatively affecting the bottom line for Silicon Valley giants including Google and Microsoft.