Today is World Goth Day. Celebrate with the Sisters of Mercy.

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Happy (Sad?) World Goth Day

Charitable entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox has teamed up with Microsoft, TalkTalk, and Simplify Digital to bring a cheaper option for cash-strapped folks in the UK. Starting today, you can buy a refurbished computer with broadband service for a year (with a 40GB monthly cap) for as little as £149 ($240) — and that price drops even lower for people on state benefits. The “Go On UK” initiative also throws in a WiFi router and Windows 7 to further spread that non-profit love around the nation — just like we have going on in the US.

Cheap £149 PC and broadband bundle gives the UK something to smile about originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 16:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cheap £149 PC and broadband bundle gives the UK something to smile about

CWmike writes “The maximum areal densities of hard disk drives are expected to more than double by 2016, according to IHS iSuppli. Hard drive company Seagate has also predicted a doubling of drive density, and now IHS iSuppli is confirming what the vendor community already knew. Leading the way for greater disk density will be technologies such as heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), which Seagate patented in 2006. Seagate has already said it will be able to produce a 60TB 3.5-in. hard drive by 2016. Laptop drives could reach 10TB to 20TB in the same time frame, IHS iSuppli stated. It said areal densities are projected to climb to a maximum 1,800 Gbits per square inch per platter by 2016, up from 744 Gbits per square inch in 2011. Areal density equals bit density, or bits of information per inch of a track multiplied by tracks per inch on a drive platter. This year, hard drive areal densities are estimated to reach 780Gbits per square inch per platter, and then rise to 900Gbits per square inch next year.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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60TB Disk Drives Could Be a Reality In 2016

Smartphones have revolutionized how we communicate and the way we create, share and consume content. Yet there’s one aspect of using these devices that remains stuck in the last millennium, and that’s the calling experience — yes, apparently some people still make phone calls. Sure, there are plenty of VoIP and video calling apps out there, but few are simple and beautiful.

Enter Sidecar, a free app which aims to reinvent the way we make phone calls by adding messaging as well as real-time video, photo, location and contact sharing to that antiquated calling experience. It achieves this through an intuitive and polished user interface plus a handful of standards such as SIP and XMPP. Phone calls between Sidecar users are free anywhere in the world — the app even supports free WiFi calling to any number in the US or Canada.

While Sidecar’s been available in beta on Android for several weeks, it’s launching on iOS today with support for the iPhone and iPod touch. We’ve been using the app on and off for a few days on several handsets, including a Galaxy Nexus HSPA+ and an iPhone 4S and it works exactly as described. Looking for additional details? Check out the demo video and full PR after the break.

Continue reading Sidecar comes out of beta, reinvents phone calls

Sidecar comes out of beta, reinvents phone calls originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 May 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sidecar comes out of beta, reinvents phone calls

Well this is rich. NBC Bay Area reports that Thomas Langenbach, identified as a VP at SAP‘s Palo Alto Integration and Certification Center, has been charged with four felony counts of burglary over ill-gotten LEGOs.

Authorities say the German software engineer generated his own fake bar codes, printed stickers with them, then slapped those cheaper bar codes over more expensive kits. And then, it is alleged, he sold that hugely-discounted LEGO loot on eBay for a profit.

Stealing and reselling LEGO on eBay is a thing! Back in 2005, Mark blogged about a guy from Reno, Nevada who pulled the same scam with phony DIY bar codes, and made off with $200K worth of stuff. Back in 2008, Boing Boing covered the story of a man in West Palm Beach, Florida who ripped off $42K worth with an even simpler method. And there are more similar cases.

From the NBC Bay Area report on the Silicon Valley SAP executive’s alleged crimes:

[Liz] Wylie, of Mountain View police, said Target security had captured Langenbach performing the “ticket switch” on camera, and had been onto him because the company pays very close attention to LEGO sales. “LEGOs are very popular and expensive,” Wylie said.

Langenbach was formally charged with four counts of burglary totaling seven boxes of LEGOs worth about $1,000.

When police searched his home, however, Hendrickson said they found “hundreds and hundreds” of LEGO boxes inside. They also discovered that since last April, he had allegedly sold 2,100 LEGO items totaling about $30,000 on eBay using the handle “tomsbrickyard.” Inside Langenbach’s car, Hendrickson said, were 32 pre-made barcode stickers.

A quick search on eBay shows that the “tomsbrickyard” account said to be Langenbach’s was a “Top Seller” with 99.9% positive reviews from buyers, and an eBay Feedback score of 1179.

Whatever the court ends up deciding about the man, his customers loved him.

Said one, “Excellent seller! Would definitely buy from again! A+++++”

My favorite part of the report:

NBC Bay Area went to Langenbach’s multimillion dollar San Carlos home on Monday, but no one answered the door, despite people being home.

More: VP of Palo Alto’s SAP Arrested in LEGO Bar Code Scam.

(nbcbayarea.com via Andy Orin)

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SAP exec arrested for stealing $1K worth of LEGO with DIY bar code scam

If you’re a multitasking extraordinaire who depends on Windows as your primary computing platform of choice, there’s a good chance you utilize more than one monitor to get your work done — unfortunately, the seventh iteration of Microsoft’s OS didn’t offer as much support in this arena as most display warriors would prefer. The Consumer Preview of Windows 8 offered a few functionality improvements, and with its upcoming Release Preview, Microsoft is focusing on further enhancing the experience. Mark Yalovsky, a lead program manager on the User Experience team, put together a lengthy piece on what kind of goodies we can expect.

Among the highlighted changes is the ability to access the Start, app switching and charms menus from the corners on any monitor, rather than just having these options locked to only the primary display. The Release Preview also improves shared edges and corners so that the flow of cross-display navigation won’t get interrupted by obnoxious corners popping up when you don’t intend them to. Finally, the option of dragging and dropping Metro-style apps (as well as snapped apps) between monitors has also been included in the new build. These enhancements may seem small, but will go a long way toward appeasing those of us who can’t live without more than one screen. For the full listing of feature changes, view Microsoft’s video below and check out Mark’s post at the source.

Continue reading Microsoft reveals more multi-monitor improvements in Windows 8 Release Preview (video)

Microsoft reveals more multi-monitor improvements in Windows 8 Release Preview (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 13:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft reveals more multi-monitor improvements in Windows 8 Release Preview (video)

Microsoft is busting out version 1.5 of its Kinect for Windows runtime and SDK that includes a raft of new features for the Xbox-lacking hoi polli. The update includes 10-joint skeletal tracking that’ll work even when seated, face following capabilities and joint orientation — the latter enabling it to predict how your body will move for greater accuracy. It’s also gaining four extra languages for speech recognition: French, Spanish, Italian and Japanese, not to mention Kinect Studio, which will help developers record and play back your movements to fine-tune their applications. In addition, Redmond is offering language packs to ensure the sensor will play harmoniously with your local dialect, cobber.

Kinect for Windows SDK reaches v1.5, now works when you’re sitting down originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 11:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kinect for Windows SDK reaches v1.5, now works when you’re sitting down

Google always pitched Google Drive, which launched in April after a considerable period of hype, as a replacement for Google Docs. What many users didn’t realize, it seems, is that Google will indeed completely replace Google Docs with Drive later this year. While Drive is still opt-in at this time, it looks like the forced transition is coming soon, as Google has started to alert users that their Google Docs account will soon be “upgraded to Google Drive.”

What’s coming next, according to Google’s official transition documents, is an opt-out phase similar to what the company has done when it transitioned to the new Gmail interface recently. Judging from the messages that many users are now seeing in Google Docs, this phase is going to start soon.

Finally, Google says, “users will be fully transitioned to Google Drive, with no ability to opt out.” Overall, Google expects the transition from what it calls the “Google Documents List” to Google Drive by late summer 2012.

Given that Google Drive is essentially an upgrade to Google Docs with more storage and functionality, chances are most users won’t mind the transition. Unlike the rather controversial Gmail design changes lately (and Google’s move to add Google+ to each and every one of its products), Google Drive is generally perceived to be a genuine upgrade to Docs. Still, there will always be a contingent of users who would prefer the status quo.

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As The End Of Google Docs Draws Near, Google Asks Stragglers To Transition To Google Drive

China Daily is claiming that Foxconn will pump $210 million into building a production line in China’s Jiangsu province. Local authorities have stated that the plant in Huai’an city will produce components for Apple, no doubt heralding a raft of rampant speculation as to Cupertino’s intentions. The building will occupy 40,000 square meters, produce $1.1 billion worth of gear per year and require 35,800 employees — more than Nokia and Sony have fired in recent months, combined.

Report: Foxconn spending $210 million on Apple production line originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 May 2012 09:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Foxconn spending $210 million on Apple production line

Facebook shares dropped nearly 12 percent to $33.76 — below the company’s final $38 price in the company’s highly anticipated initial public offering last week. Today is an interesting test for Facebook’s worth because the company’s shares will no longer be supported by the IPO’s lead underwriter Morgan Stanley.

Facebook’s performance today may further stoke the debate over whether its IPO was priced well. To save face on Friday, Morgan Stanley had to step in to make sure that Facebook shares didn’t close below their opening price. There were also irregularities in trading on NASDAQ as some buyers had to wait hours to know whether their orders had been filled. The company’s market cap is now around $92.7 billion, down from the $104 billion valuation the company opened with last week.

That said, the real test will be over the long haul. Can Facebook prove its worth over the many years to come with more display ad and payments revenue? At Friday’s closing market cap of $104.8 billion, Facebook is worth more than one hundred times last year’s net income. Plus its revenue dipped quarter-over-quarter for the first time in the beginning of this year.

Over the weekend, there was a raging debate about whether the banks underwriting Facebook’s IPO pushed the offer price too high to $38. The financial press including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg (and yes, even some earlier reporting from me on TechCrunch) focused on the fact that Morgan Stanley had to support Facebook’s shares above the $38 line.

Fortune’s Dan Primack and others VC’s like Benchmark’s Bill Gurley and the guest post on TechCrunch this morning from Trinity’s Dan Scholnick argue that the IPO went off fantastically well for Facebook. Because shares didn’t pop dramatically higher than the $38 offer price, it’s a sign that the company got the most capital it could out of the IPO and didn’t leave any money on the table. They also savvily negotiated the underwriters’ fees down to about 1 percent.

These are all essentially shades of gray. Facebook’s performance today will be fascinating to watch. But again, it’s just one day in the long life of a company. It’s up to Facebook to show that it is worth a lot more.

That’s a sentiment that was echoed by Union Square Ventures’ managing partner Fred Wilson this morning at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in New York. He said, “The price of Facebook isn’t that important. Mark built an incredible organization. I don’t care whether it’s trading at $25 or 35.”

Facebook’s performance is probably affecting tech stocks across the board. This morning, Zynga’s shares are off 7 percent to $6.65 and LinkedIn is down 6.4 percent to $92.65.

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Facebook Shares Slide Nearly 12% To $33.76 On Second Trading Day After IPO