Microsoft announced the official release date today for their next-gen gaming console, the Xbox One. The console will be launching Friday November 22, 2013 in 13 initial launch markets, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, UK, and USA. With more to come in 2014.
Today Samsung introduced the GALAXY Gear, a smart watch that will work with your GALAXY devices to keep you connected hands-free.
Mobile Communications:
The GALAXY Gear notifies the user of incoming calls, and also previews of texts, emails and alerts. You will be able to accept, or discretely ignore.
Voice Operation:
With a built-in speaker and S Voice users will be able to conduct hands-free calls directly from GALAXY Gear. Voice Memo will also allow you to record thoughts or conversations and save them as texts on your GALAXY devices.
Camera:
1.9 Megapixel camera located in the strap, which will allow users to take photos and video.
Screen:
1.63-inch 320 x 320 resolution AMOLED touchscreen
Other Features:
Auto Lock, Find My Device, and Pedometer.
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Apple has sent out invitations to the media for a September 10th event where Apple is likely to unveil its latest version of the iPhone at Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California at 10:00 AM Pacific time. We heard earlier this year that this could be the potential release date.
We are expecting to see two iPhone models launch at this event. The first model will likely be an upgrade to the current iPhone 5, perhaps an iPhone 5S with a rumored fingerprint scanner, wider aperture camera and dual LED flash.
The second iPhone is rumored to be a more “affordable” iPhone which is currently being dubbed the iPhone 5C. The name seems to be all but confirmed in these recently leaked photos (above) of a finished iPhone 5C package. The iPhone 5C will likely be made of plastic and come in a variety of colors to choose from, this seems to be somewhat confirmed in Apples choice of color in their invitations.
Apple is also likely to showcase a completed version of iOS 7 which will launch alongside the new iPhone.
According to the latest press release from Redmond, Washington, Microsoft has purchased substantially all of Nokia’s Devices & Services business, license Nokia’s patents, licenses and Nokia’s mapping services at a cost of about $7.2 billion.
This is a major deal that most of us were wondering if it was ever going to happen. This will put both companies in a win-win situation to push forward innovation and build upon the success that the two companies have seen while working together.
Microsoft has been switching gears lately and taking a more “Apple-like” approach to how they do business by being more in control of hardware, software and services. This business model isn’t new to Microsoft as they have done it before with Surface but many question how this will impact other devices that use Microsoft mobile software, as it could steer users away from other Windows Phone options. Ultimately, it’s a smart move by Microsoft that should put them in a much better position to compete with the iOS and Android platforms more directly.
You can read the official press release for full details on the acquisition.
This is a great build video for an 8x8x8 LED cube by Kevin Darrah that I stumbled upon on the web. It goes over the basic build techniques and shows you how to utilize a jig for assembling the LED arrays. As you watch the video you will quickly begin to realize that this project is not for the entry-level builder, clearly this is something that will consume a lot of your time and patience but the end result is awesome. Either way, it’s interesting to see how it all comes together.
There are many Arduino builds out there that can be great for beginners. If you’re not familiar with Arduino then I highly recommend that you read this introduction to Arduino, it covers everything you will need to get up-to-speed on what it’s all about.
You can find many projects in the Arduino Playground, they include schematics and code to help you build cool stuff. If you want to make a much more novice-friendly 3×3 LED Cube you can use these schematics and code.
So what are you waiting for? Find a project and get building!