Tech Today w/ Ken May

MTorrice writes “Researchers have demonstrated a way to make high performance, flexible integrated circuits using almost exclusively standard equipment and materials already needed to make conventional chips. Such a method could allow electronics manufacturers to build new devices, such as smart medical implants and flexible displays, without needing to significantly overhaul current production protocols. The method, developed by researchers at the University of Texas, Austin, started with researchers patterning integrated circuits on silicon wafers using a standard production line. They then cut off the top 20 to 30 micrometers of the wafer using a thin wire—like slicing a block of cheese—to produce a thin, flexible platter of circuits.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Apple says it plans to open up another 30 to 35 retail stores in the next year, bringing it right in line with its growth during 2012. [Read more]

Welcome to the new new iPad, same as the old new iPad . Well, mostly, anyway. It was less than eight months ago that Apple grafted a Retina display onto its world-conquering tablet, giving every other slate on the market resolution envy, while enchanting gadget lovers with world-class performance and battery life. Now, it’s obsolete. Put out to pasture just as it was hitting its stride and replaced by this, the fourth-generation iPad — still just called “new iPad.” Other than a Lightning connector on the bottom it’s visually indistinguishable from its predecessor. Even its starting MSRP of $499 stays the same. But, on the inside where it counts, is the new, fire-breathing A6X processor. Could this be possibly worth buying a second new iPad in just one year, or could this perhaps be the one you’ve been waiting for? Hold on to your wallets and click on through to find out. Gallery: Apple iPad 4th-generation hands-on, and comparison to 3rd-generation iPad Continue reading iPad review (late 2012) Filed under: Tablets , Apple iPad review (late 2012) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 21:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink    |   |  Email this  |  Comments

An anonymous reader writes “The Netherlands is moving forward with plans to build ‘smart’ highways that can become more easily visible in the dark or communicate weather conditions to drivers. Work will begin as early as next year. ‘Special paint will also be used to paint markers like snowflakes across the road’s surface — when temperatures fall to a certain point, these images will become visible, indicating that the surface will likely be slippery. Roosegaarde says this technology has been around for years, on things like baby food — the studio has just up-scaled it. The first few hundred meters of glow in the dark, weather-indicating road will be installed in the province of Brabant in mid-2013, followed by priority induction lanes for electric vehicles, interactive lights that switch on as cars pass and wind-powered lights within the next five years.’” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The Walt Disney Company today announced that it has agreed to acquire Lucasfilm Ltd. in a stock and cash transaction valued at $4.05 billion, with Disney paying “approximately half of the consideration in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing.” Press release announcing the deal here . Here’s a list of all the media Disney already owns: ABC; Pixar; Marvel; as well as Hollywood, Mammoth and Buena Vista Records, just for a start. So here’s one interesting snip: “Our long term plan is to release a new Star Wars feature film every two to three years.” Reached by phone, here was Vader’s comment to Boing Boing. (Shoop: Xeni)

miller60 writes “At least three data center buildings in lower Manhattan are struggling with power problems amid widespread flooding and utility outages caused by Hurricane Sandy. Flooded basements at two sites took out diesel fuel pumps, leaving them unable to refuel generators on higher levels. One of these was Datagram, which knocked out Buzzfeed and the Gawker network of sites. At 111 8th Avenue, some tenants lost power when Equinix briefly experienced generator problems.” The NY Times has a running list of Sandy-related problems, including 5,700 more flight cancellations, 6 million people without power, rising water levels at a nuclear plant, official disaster declarations from President Obama, and a death toll of 38. On the upside, and despite the high water levels, the Nuclear Energy Institute was quick to point out that all 34 nuclear facilities in Sandy’s path made it through without problems. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Intel’s taking its 48-core processor and applying it to a field beyond academia : the world of mobile electronics. The company this morning announced intentions to slip the 48-core bad boy into future tablets and smartphones (emphasis on future ), with CTO Justin Rattner saying the mobile implementation could arrive “much sooner” than the 10-year window predicted by researchers. Aside from the thrilling world of linear algebra and fluid dynamics that the chipset is currently used for, Intel says it could offload processor-intensive functions across several cores, effectively speeding up various functions (say, video streaming). The availability of so many cores also means faster multitasking possibilities than the current dual- or quad-core offerings in modern smartphones and tablets — just imagine a world where two Angry Birds games can run simultaneously in the background without affecting the paradoxical game of Tiny Wings you decided to play instead. Hey, we understand — it’s just a better bird game. No big. Sadly, few software developers are crafting their wares (warez?) to take advantage of multi-core processing as is, so it’s gonna take more than just the existence of Intel’s 48-core chip to make its vision a reality. Filed under: Cellphones , Handhelds , Tablets , Mobile , Intel Take that linear algebra to go: Intel’s 48-core chip targeting smartphones and tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink    |  Computerworld  |  Email this  |  Comments

The search and software giant says it has hit the new milestone for programs available for Android. By comparison, Microsoft has 120,000. [Read more]

Greetings in beautiful, gray Redmond, WA. What better time to kick off year’s Build event at the Microsoft campus than four days after the launch of Windows 8 ? CEO Steve Ballmer started the developer-centric event off with a nice little number: four million. According to the enthusiastic exec, that’s the number of Windows 8 upgrades MS has seen in the four days since launch — and there’s certainly a lot of excitement around the operating system this tent full of developers. Filed under: Laptops , Microsoft Ballmer: four million Windows 8 upgrades in four days originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Oct 2012 12:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink    |   |  Email this  |  Comments

Hugh Pickens writes “NPR reports that Sweden’s program of generating energy from garbage is wildly successful, but recently its success has also generated a surprising issue: There is simply not enough trash. Sweden has recently begun to import about eight hundred thousand tons of trash from the rest of Europe per year to use in its power plants. Sweden already brings trash from Norway and hopes to get garbage from Italy, Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltic countries. Sweden creates energy for around 250,000 homes and powers one-fifth of the district heating system. Its incineration plants offer a look into the future where countries could potentially make money off of their trash instead of dumping. Landfilling of organic materials – a highly inefficient and environmentally degrading system (PDF) — has been forbidden in Sweden since 2005 and emissions of the greenhouse gas methane from landfills has fallen dramatically (PDF). ‘I hope that we instead will get the waste from Italy or from Romania or Bulgaria or the Baltic countries because they landfill a lot in these countries,’ says Catarina Ostlund, a senior advisor for the country’s environmental protection agency. ‘They don’t have any incineration plants or recycling plants, so they need to find a solution for their waste.’” Read more of this story at Slashdot.