Stanford researchers create transparent battery, dream of a see-through iPhone (video)

Yuan Yang and a Transparent Battery

We’ve had about all of the transparent displays we can handle. Besides, what good is a screen you can see through if the electronics behind it are as opaque as ever? Thankfully, the fine folks at Stanford are working hard to move us towards a future filled with invisible gadgets. Yi Cui and Yuan Yang led a team that have created a lithium-ion battery that appears transparent. In actuality, the cells are composed of a very fine mesh of electrodes, approximately 35-microns wide, that are small enough to appear invisible to the naked eye. The resulting power packs are cheap and flexible but, currently, can only store about half as much energy as a traditional Li-ion battery. Cui has a particular destination in mind for creation, as he told the college paper, “I want to talk to Steve Jobs about this. I want a transparent iPhone!” Check out the video after the break.

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Stanford researchers create transparent battery, dream of a see-through iPhone (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 12:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How to Migrate Your Facebook Account and Data to Google+ [Google+]

You may not be ready to ditch Facebook for good, but now that you’ve had a chance to kick the tires on Google+, you might be ready to make it your go-to social network. The problem: You’ve built up a lot of friends, photos, videos, and other data on Facebook over the years, and you don’t want to simply lose all that data. Here’s how to migrate it all from Facebook to Google+. More

RIM axes 2000 jobs, changes managers in effort to halt decline

Just a month after a disgruntled employee accused RIM’s managers of failing to make bold decisions, the latter have responded by boldly sacking 11 percent of their workforce. The company says it will notify affected employees in North America and some other countries this week. It also announced a number of changes to its executive team, with Thorsten Heins taking on the expanded role of COO, Product and Sales. Other personnel changes were generally confined to sales, marketing and operations, which leaves us wondering what, if anything, will change in the way RIM comes up with new products.

RIM axes 2000 jobs, changes managers in effort to halt decline originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 08:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell UltraSharp U2412M display features 1920 x 1200-pixel resolution and IPS, doesn’t cost $999


Sure, 1080p HDTVs aren’t exactly an ultra luxury these days, but a 1920 x 1200-pixel IPS panel on your desk? That’s a privilege often enjoyed by HD film editors, graphic designers, and those of us who know how to beat the technology ordering system at work. Luckily, Dell’s new UltraSharp U2412M isn’t ultra expensive, delivering over 2.3 million pixels with its 24-inch LED-backlit display. It also features in-plane switching (IPS) with a wide viewing angle, a 2,000,000:1 contrast ratio, DisplayPort and DVI connectivity, a built-in USB hub, and height adjustability. Oh, and it retails for $399. That price tag may make you reconsider spending an extra $200 per inch for Apple’s new $999 Thunderbolt Display, though Dell’s 24-incher notably lacks a built-in webcam, and is somewhat limited in the connectivity department. Still, we like to see HD monitors that don’t cost more than many all-in-ones, and, knowing Dell, you should be able to find the U2412M for less than retail, assuming you’re willing to test your patience with that 17-inch CRT for a few more weeks.

Dell UltraSharp U2412M display features 1920 x 1200-pixel resolution and IPS, doesn’t cost $999 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netflix rises to 25 million subscribers in Q2, thinks DVD business has already peaked

If you were still wondering why Netflix chose right now to split apart its unlimited DVD and streaming movie plans you need look no further than the just released Q2 financial report. According to the numbers, 75 percent of new subscribers were picking streaming only plans, while the total number of people on the hybrid DVD / streaming plan had actually decreased slightly, even as it breached 25 million subscribers worldwide. Of course, it did notice the intense backlash to the new rates, but predicts that after the hit of cancellations by the end of the third quarter it will still have 22 million people subscribed to streaming, 15 million total subscribed to DVDs, and about 12 million customers with both. Waiting on that Facebook integration? Don’t hold your breath, while the new features are due to launch soon in Canada and Latin America, it claims ambiguous wording in the Video Privacy Protection Act is holding things back domestically.

Other details include confirmation it will not look into purchasing Hulu Plus, and that it’s still negotiating a renewal of its deal with Starz. While the DVD business may have peaked, it’s not quite dead yet and Netflix indicated it will start marketing that feature again in the fourth quarter. Click the source link to paw through the PDF yourself, we’ll be keeping an ear tuned to the investor call later to find out exactly what the company’s executives are thinking.

Netflix rises to 25 million subscribers in Q2, thinks DVD business has already peaked originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Releases Another Security Update With iOS 4.3.5

Apple’s none too fond of nasty security flaws lurking about in iOS, and they’re not above cracking out rapid-fire updates to prove it. Just 10 days after the release of iOS 4.3.4 (which existed almost solely to kill off a potentially nasty PDF exploit), they’re back with another one: iOS 4.3.5.

The main fix in this minor patch? A fix for a security flaw which might allow “attacker with a privileged network position may capture or modify data in sessions protected by SSL/TLS”. In other words, hackers on the same network could store or change traffic that would otherwise be rather intensely encrypted.

Unlike that last patch (which, due to the exploit patched, did away with the one-click-jailbreak site JailbreakMe), this one seems to have no affect on jailbreakers. According to Redmond Pie, the only jailbreak method that still worked with 4.3.4 (tethered redsn0w) still seems to get the job done here.

This one’s pretty hefty for a security patch, coming in at a whopping 666 megabytes. Once iOS 5 and its fancy over-the-air/delta updates (wherein only the stuff that has changed needs to be downloaded), these one-off security updates should be a whole lot less time consuming.

Anyone spot any new gems sneakin’ around in iOS 4.3.5? Be sure to drop a comment and let us know.

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Apple Releases Another Security Update With iOS 4.3.5