iPhone 5 may Feature Curved Glass Screen Like the iPod Nano

Steve Jobs' team are said to have purchased between 200 and 300 glass-cutting machines, specifically in order to use them to slice up curved glass display covers for the iPhone 5. This move has apparently been in an effort to accelerate production, with glass makers reportedly showing a reluctance to buy the machinery themselves due to its prohibitive cost. Lest you think this sense of urgency might accelerate the iPhone 5 from its earlier-rumored September launch, DigiTimes also reports that yields of curved glass are not yet good enough to start using said fancy machines. 

At least those Cupertino designers have a couple of generations of curved iPod nano screens under their belt, giving them a good idea of how to handle the atypical glass frontage.

 

 

Lady Gaga uses Chrome OS

One of the world's most (in)famous names has picked a side in the browser battles -- last night saw the debut of a new Google Chrome commercial, starring Lady Gaga and her "little monsters." Spanning a minute and a half of Gaga and her fans singing and gyrating their way through her latest single, the ad is intended to illustrate the power of the web and its creative new modes of interaction.

To be fair, said interaction is mostly Lady Gaga saying "jump" and a crowd of YouTubers doing it without bothering to ask how high, but hey, the result is fun to watch.

Apple to Customer Service: Don’t Help Our Customers with Malware

You'd like to think that customer service is out to serve the customers (you), right? Not exactly! After an unusually broad spread of Mac Defender, a piece of OS X malware, Apple is telling customers they're on their own.The order, straight from an internal memo to Apple's customer support reps, states the following "Not our problem, sucker" rules:

AppleCare does not provide support for removal of the malware. You should not confirm or deny whether the customer's Mac is infected or not.

Should not confirm or deny? Intentionally leaving a customer in the dark as to whether their computer has a virus seems pretty low. But is this next part lower? Hmm:

Do not attempt to remove or uninstall any malware software.
Do not send any escalations or contact Tier 2 for support about removing the software, or provide impact data.
Do not refer customers to the Apple Retail Store. The ARS does not provide any additional support for malware.

So even if a customer is sure their computer's infected, Apple wants nothing to do with these malware lepers. Keep 'em off the support lines, keep 'em out of the stores. This doesn't seem like a great precedent to set for malicious code landing on Macs.

The ChromiumPC from Xi3 Is the First Desktop Ready to Run ChromeOS

The ChromiumPC modular computer, first unveiled by Xi3 last year, is ready to ship this summer, with an architecture designed specifically for Chrome.

Xi3 has been working on their concept for awhile, and even got some praise back during CES for it. The computer is housed in an aluminum chassis that hold three boards or "modules" that determine the functionality of the machine. These modules are interchangeable, allowing the ChromiumPC to run other operating systems. However, Xi3 designed the system with the cloud especially in mind, and the out-of-the-box set-up will be made to get you online as fast as possible. It's their hope that, as people move to the cloud in greater numbers, they can follow them there with the help of Google and Chrome.

Pricing for the ChromiumPC hasn't been announced yet, but Xi3 has it slated for release in the second half of this year.

 

 

Sharp Aquos Android Clamshell

Looking for a handset that harkens back to simpler, pre-smartphone era, without losing the Googley luster of Android? This is the perfect phone for you, and all you've got to do is move to Japan and get a Softbank Mobile account. Sharp, one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in its native country, rolled out the retro-future Gingerbread-packing Aquos Phone Hybrid 007SH, an Android 2.3 flip phone with a 180-degree swiveling touchscreen above the hinge and a numeric dial pad below that all the cool kids in Shibuya crave. 

It's also got some pretty solid specs, so far are clamshell phones go, including a 16MP camera and a 3D-capable display. The handset will hit Softbank in mid-June followed shortly by Sharp's rotary Honeycomb tablet.

HTC Evo 3D, View 4G Available for Pre-Order at Sprint

Sprint customers holding out for the HTC Evo 3D can now inch slightly closer to that glasses-free display. The carrier has confirmed that you can reserve the WiMAX handset by visiting a Sprint-owned retail store and plunking down $50 for a gift card. 

There's still no word on when you'll be able to get the device in-hand (and the 3D's exclusive carrier is mum on pricing), but, if you don't mind reserving a phone without any hint as to how much you'll eventually need to pay, then Sprint seems happy enough to swap your Grant for a spot on the list. It's also taking names for the Evo View 4G tablet and, like the 3D, that $50 deposit can be used to take a bite out of a 2D handset. You know, in case you decide that a third dimension is too hot to handle.

 

 

Zuckerberg Wants Kids Under 13 on Facebook

Facebook's already pretty inane. The only thing that could make it worse is, oh I dunno, having 10 year-olds running wild on it. Luckily, it's against the law for sub-13 year-olds to join data-collecting sites. Unless The Zuck changes that.

At a recent symposium on education reform, Zuckerberg argued that Facebook could, and should, play an important role, CNN reports. Doing... what exactly? Facebook doesn't know! ""Because of the restrictions we haven't even begun this learning process," Zuckerberg said. "If they're lifted then we'd start to learn what works." Pretty convincing stuff.

The restriction he's talking about is the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which bars kids under 13 from the site. Zuckerberg wants this changed.

 

 

NEC's Dual-Screen LifeTouch W tablet Shipping in Japan This June

Under the hood nothing has changed -- it's the same pair of 7-inch, 800 x 600 resistive touchscreens, 384MB of RAM, and Cortex A8 CPU of unspecified speed. Sadly, that also means we're looking at the same dated Android 2.2 OS and paltry five hour battery life. No word on cost or whether this will ever appear outside of Japan.

 

 

Dutchman Integrates a 4.5GHz Water-Cooled Rig Into His Desk

Peter from the Netherlands has managed to fit a pretty bombastic set of components -- 4.5GHz Core i7-980X, two ASUS GeForce GTX 580 graphics cards in SLI, over 12TB of storage with an SSD boot disk, and two PSUs providing 1,500W of power in total -- together with a water-cooling setup and the inevitable glowing lights inside one enclosure, which just so happens to also serve as his desk. The three-piece monitor setup is also a custom arrangement, with a 27-inch U2711 IPS panel being flanked by two 17-inchers. 

 

 

Is Fanboyism a Religion? Neuroscience Says Maybe

Ever wonder why Apple fans stand in line for hours end just to buy a phone? According to the BBC's Alex RIley, it's because Apple is their religion. Neuroscience suggests he may be right.

For his documentary Secrets of the Superbrands, Riley talked to fans, industry executive, and even porn stars to find the reason behind such brand fanaticism. But it wasn't until he met the Bishop of Buckingham that he stumbled upon his answer. While talking to the Bishop, he realized the extreme dedication people have for Apple mimics the devotion religious people have for their faith. He found his proof in an MRI study of Apple fans. The same part of the brain that responds to religious images also responds to Apple products.

So the next time you are feeling a bit snarky, find a fanboy stroking his MacBook air, and call him a religious zealot. If he protests, point him to Riley's film.

 

 

Adobe Dominates Kaspersky Lab's top ten PC Vulnerabilites List

Being number one is usually an honor, but not when it comes toKaspersky Lab's top ten PC vulnerabilities list. Unfortunately for the software giant, Adobe took top dishonors for Q1 this year, pulling in five total spots on the list, including the top three. According to the security firm, all of the vulnerabilities appearing on the list allowed cyber-criminals to control computers at the system level. 

The number one spot was occupied by a vulnerability in Acrobat Reader that was reportedly detected on 40 percent of machines running the application, while Flash Player flaws took second and third. Other dishonorees included the Java Virtual Machine, coming in at fourth and fifth place, Apple QuickTime, Winamp, and Microsoft Office. That ain't bad, considering Microsoft ruled the vulnerabilities roost in 2010.

Kingston Refreshes DataTraveler Ultimate USB 3.0

Sick and tired of the Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0's slow-as-molasses 80MB/sec read speeds? Good news, the flash drive has been souped up for a second generation, offering up 100MB/sec read and 70 MB/sec write speeds when plugged into a USB 3.0 port -- plugging into a 2.0 port should give you in the neighborhood of 30MB/s for both read and write. That speed ain't cheap, however -- the 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB drives will run you $77, $116, and $213, respectively.

 

 

Sharp Shows off the World's First Super Hi-Vision LCD With 16x More Detail Than 1080p

While Japan's NHK has been working on the successor to HDTV, Super Hi-Vision, for years, there haven't been any direct-view HDTVs capable of showing its full 7,680 x 4,320 pixel resolution until this prototype unveiled today by Sharp. Its 103 pixels per inch, but that's still far more than the 36ppi of a 60-inch 1080p HDTV. If estimates are correct, we'll still be waiting until around 2020 for that 33MP video and 22.2 channel sound to actually be broadcast, although there's a possibility of some demonstrations happening during the 2012 Olympics. Just head over to the NHK's Science & Technology Research Laboratories in Tokyo between the 26th and 29th of this month to see it live.

 

 

Now That Samsung Is Making Lightbulbs, Maybe They’ll Be Cheaper

Samsung is getting into the LED lightbulb game. And they may have the manufacturing clout to drive the price of the bulbs down because they're making all the parts in house.

As the ban on incandescent lighting begins to take effect in 2012, other technologies, like the more costly LED and CFLs will have to replace them. Starting next year 100-watt LED light bulbs will flood the market with a price tag as high as $50 per bulb. Lower wattage bulbs will replace incandescent bulbs in the next few years with the same sticker shock for everyone, but costs will drop more quickly as big companies with LED expertise start making and selling them. 

 

 

Unlock Your Door with Your Phone

It's late, you're hammered. And you've lost your house keys? Still got your phone somehow but looks like yet another drunken camping night on the front stoop. With the Lockitron, you could have at least passed out in the foyer.

The Lockitron system by Apigy combines an electric deadbolt with a plug server connected via an Ethernet cable. You use your smartphone to communicate with the server controlling the lock over the web (the data is encrypted and avoids potentially dangerous Wi-Fi systems) to open or close the bolt. The Lockitron also has an available NFC option for select phones and accepts physical keys in the event of an emergency. Another interesting feature is the ability to make digital "keys" and send them via email to friends, relatives, or drunken exes.

The initial setup cost runs from $295-$500, so you're definitely going to be investing more than your average Schlage but how else will you be able to open your house like a Jetta? You can find it here.

 

 

The World’s Smallest 3D Printer Is Only a Little Bigger Than a Milk Carton

3D printers are typically behemoth-type machines that can spit out crazy things like houses, cars and titanium balls. The world's smallest 3D printer is too puny to do any of that but it could be more useful than any other 3D printer.

The 3D printer was built by engineers from the Vienna Institute of Technology and it's much lighter and cheaper than previous 3D printers. The idea is to make this 3D printer the one that people could actually use, instead of being another tall tale and fable that we've heard 3D printers do. Priced at about $1,700, it's still ridiculously expensive but it could possibly be cheaper if there ever is a mass demand for such a device.

The engineers are using the same technology behind typical 3D printers: a synthetic resin that hardens when a beam hits it but this runty 3D printer uses "light beams are just a twentieth of a millimeter thick" which gives it the ability to print things in better detail.

 

 

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Hits Verizon for $200 On-Contract, in Stores May 26th

It will be available for pre-order on the carrier's website starting May 19th, and be available in stores on May 26th for the usual $199.99 on a two-year contract. That, of course, gets you the first PlayStation Certified handset with console-style controls -- a real D-pad and PlayStation face and shoulder buttons, plus a pair of miniature touchpads for dual-analog gameplay on the go. You'll also get seven games pre-loaded on the device (including Madden NFL 11 and The Sims 3).

 

 

Eole Concept Watch Has Turbine Bezel, Shows Time When You Blow

Traditional electronic watches may be practical, but there's nothing elegant about battery power. With the Eole watch concept, designer Julien Moise envisioned a device that's powered by blown air, displaying the time only when you want to see it. Sure, compulsively blowing on your watch in a meeting is less discreet than sneaking a peek under the table, but you'll still have your BlackBerry around for when you need to count down the minutes until freedom. There's also a weather indicator and alarm function, so there's a battery in there that's doing more than keeping time.

 

 

BlackBerry PlayBook Coming to the UK on June 16th

UK retailers have revealed the date and prices at which they'll be selling RIM's PlayBook: depending on how much integrated storage you want, you'll have to pay up £400 (16GB), £480 (32GB), or £560 (64GB) for your slate, starting from June 16th. Aside from the gigabytes, you'll be getting the gigahertz too, with a dual-core 1,000MHz TI OMAP4430 processor keeping the PlayBook's insides warm and its outsides responsive. 

Availability will be widespread, with Carphone Warehouse, Phones 4u, and Best Buy UK having already announced they'll be stocking the tablet. You can even pre-order it here.

 

 

Lenovo Ultraslim ThinkCentre 91z

Not surprisingly, the company's really playing up aesthetics with the ThinkCentre Edge 91z, calling it the thinnest AIO, at 2.5 inches -- and certainly its thinner than, say, the HP TouchSmart 610. The centerpiece of the system is that glossy 21.5-inch widescreen HD Infinity LED display (1920 x 1200), which is capable of playing back HD video with ease.

The system ships with an optional spill-proof wireless keyboard, also packs built-in speakers, a 2MP webcam, six USB ports, Windows 7, and a 6-in-1 card reader.

At the high end, you'll get an Intel Core i7 quad-core processor, AMD Radeon HD6650A 1GB graphics, 8GB of DDR3 memory, and either a 1TB 7,200 RPM SATA HDD or an 80GB mSATA SSD -- either way, Lenovo says the system boots 30 percent quicker than "non-optimized" systems, though the latter promises to have you up and running in a breezy 20 seconds. It'll begin shipping in June, with pricing starting at $699.