Could Apple surprise the world and acquire Tesla for $75 billion?

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Feb 17, 2015 12:16 AM CST

There was an interesting post that I read yesterday somewhere in the world of Reddit, but it was late and I was laying in bed. I awoke today to the news being spread throughout the Internet, that Apple could purchase Tesla Motors sometime in the next 18 months for an absolutely gigantic $75 billion.

The rumors are coming from Interent entrepreneur and angel investor Jason Calacanis, who is saying that all the dominoes are lining up for Apple to acquire Tesla. Calacanis said that he has no insider information, but he has said that Apple's all of the sudden interest in building cars, and Tim Cook's "obsession" with renewable energy are giant hints. Calacanis wrote: "No one else in the world could actually make a run at Tesla, because they either don't have the cash and, most importantly, they don't have the ability to give assurances to Elon that they won't f- it up. Apple's design team, software, and global distribution would actually LEVEL Tesla up".

Remember, this probably won't happen - I would dare say it will not happen, but the rumor is interesting nonetheless. Maybe Apple is testing the waters by pushing this rumor out into the world?

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Nintendo ship nearly 6 million Amiibo NFC figurines worldwide

Ben Gourlay | Gaming | Feb 16, 2015 11:50 PM CST

With Skylanders and Disney Infinity figures continuing to move impressive numbers for gaming systems worldwide, late last year Nintendo got into the market with their range of Amiibo figures for the WiiU and New 3DS systems, releasing a total of 29 NFC equipped Amiibo figures, with a further two waves to come in the next few weeks. With product shortages and some of the rarer figures commanding big prices on eBay, it's no shock that Nintendo completely underestimated the lines popularity, but today's earnings call reveals how strong that popularity is.

Nintendo announced that they've sold through 5.7 million Amiibo figures worldwide, with 'The Legend of Zelda' character Link proving the most popular in all listed countries - except in Australia where Mario topped the chart. Our friends at Vooks are the first to translate the sales charts here.

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Malaysia now recognizes eSports as an official sport

Chris Smith | Gaming | Feb 16, 2015 11:26 PM CST

Following in the footsteps of the US, Malaysia has now officially recognized eSports as a professional sport - listing it under the Sports Commission of Malaysia.

Reportedly kicked off due to their local team Orange eSports placing highly in Valve's 2013 International Dota2 tournament, eSports began receiving a lot of publicity throughout the nation. This push was majorly supported by Malaysia's Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin directly - eventually ending up with the ruling as seen today.

It hasn't always been smooth sailing, with Arrow Gaming being accused and found guilty of match fixing - but this controversy has further pushed the government towards this ruling, meaning that they can now directly control any issues that may occur in the future.

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Kansas receives AT&T 1 Gbps internet - extra $29 for non-tracking plan

Chris Smith | Internet & Websites | Feb 16, 2015 10:33 PM CST

With Google launching Fiber in Kansas City, other internet providers are looking to step up their game in order to continue profit and growth. AT&T have been the first to do so in this region, offering up their U-Verse with GigaPower network - set for launch in Kansas and "parts of Leawood, Lenexa, Olathe, Overland Park, Kan. and in surrounding communities located throughout the metro area."

Offering 1Gbps for $70 per month, with an additional Internet and TV package bumping the price up to $120 per month total - AT&T is trying to closely match Google's Fiber pricing in that regard. However AT&T are also offering something a little different, with an internet, TV and Voice plan for $150 per month.

Their Kansas president Mike Scott issued a release, stating "we're proud to launch in these cities as the first locations where we will offer ultra-high speeds to local consumers and employers in the Kansas City area. The AT&T GigaPower network will help encourage economic development in the area by facilitating a new wave of innovation through enhanced opportunities for education, health, research and small business growth."

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37 years in solitary confinement for Facebook posts is a real thing

Chris Smith | Internet & Websites | Feb 16, 2015 9:25 PM CST

The prisons of South Carolina don't mess around. Prisoner Tyreem Henry has been handed 37 years in solitary confinement for writing 38 posts on Facebook whilst incarcerated.

Whether these posts were him whinging about sleeping conditions, letters to his family or setting up connections outside - that is not clear. However what is clear that this man has not only lengthened his 15 year sentence to 37 years of solitary confinement, he's also lost 74 years of canteen, phone and visiting privileges.

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Heroes of the Storm is just starting to take flight

Chris Smith | Gaming | Feb 16, 2015 7:28 PM CST

Have you had a chance to get your own Blizzard's Heroes of the Storm (Heroes) beta yet? Set out to be a fast-paced and action packed MOBA style game, Blizzard have made it publicly known that they're interested in turning this title into another large eSport offering.

With plenty of different Blizzard characters on offer including your favorite Warcraft and StarCraft personalities, they've set out to make this game somewhat of a LoL style environment (jump in and play, or practice and go pro) with a twist. There's a bunch of side objectives you can complete in every game alongside each match shortened to around 20 minutes.

This game also does away with singular hero leveling. A little confusing at first, all heroes on the same team will level at the same rate no matter how many kills or deaths one player may have. This helps your team progress together and provide some more linear game-play. There's no earth-shattering ultimate abilities like in Dota2, however the fast-paced nature and quick games make for an enjoyable experience.

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Researchers making breakthrough in development of bionic eyes

Researchers are looking forward to the future of medical technology that could have major life-changing impact, with great breakthroughs in bionic vision. During the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference last week, medical researchers discussed everything from telescopic contact lenses to prototype bionic prosthetics.

New technology developments greatly aid patients suffering from vision impairments - and varying levels of blindness - giving them the chance to better distinguish the world around them.

"Retinal implants have moved from sci-fi into reality over the last few years," said Daniel Palanker, professor of ophthalmology at Stanford University, in a statement to the San Jose Mercury News. "Now we are in the race of improving resolution, improving image processing, dynamic range (of light intensity) and levels of gray - and will keep improving."

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DARPA gives an updates for its 'supervision' telescopic contact lens

DARPA is constantly working on various things that we'll see in the next couple of decades, but one of them is something that started out as "supervision" contact lens for soldiers. But as things progressed, it was looking like it was better suited to age-related macular degeneration.

The latest version of the 'supervision' contact lens has bulked up a bit from its first iteration which was 1.17mm, to 1.55mm. The added thickness could have something to do with adjusting the reflective bits inside of the lens itself, or that there's a different material used in its construction.

When asked about the added thickness, researcher Eric Tremblay said that out of the five patients that have used the lens, said it was light enough and more than comfortable to wear around for daily use. The contact lens itself works as a pair of liquid crystal glasses that the user wears, where winking your right eye turns on the magnification, while winking the left eye turns it off. Blinking, does nothing. The big issue now is getting oxygen through the lens, and to the users' eye. Without oxygen to the eye, the contact can only be worn for around half an hour. The team is already working on fixing this, with current experiments leading them to use tiny channels cut into the contact that feed oxygen as well as add reservoirs of oxygen-rich fluids.

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Report: 99% of malware-infected smartphones running Google Android

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Feb 16, 2015 5:35 AM CST

Mobile phones are under attack by cybercriminals, trying to steal personal data and possible financial information stored on devices. Studying information collected on cellular networks, 0.68 percent of mobile phones suffer from malware infection, according to Alcatel-Lucent.

Google Android devices - the No. 1 mobile OS across the world - make up 99 percent of the infected devices, with infection rates increasing. Adware.Uapush, Trojan.Ackposts and SMSTracker are the top three infections, commonly hidden in legitimate looking mobile applications.

"Most importantly is the fact that there is less control - you can download the apps from third-party app stores and there is very little checking of the digital signature that you sign the app with," said Kevin McNamee, director of Alcatel-Lucent's Motive Security Labs.

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Australia gets a taste of tech - The Gadget Expo 2015

Chris Smith | Trade Shows | Feb 16, 2015 1:30 AM CST

First released as a teaser trailer on YouTube in late 2014 - The Gadget Expo 2015 sets out to plug the gap as seen in the Australian tech calendar. Aussies often have EA Games press events, EB Games running their massive gaming exhibition and PAX Australia with two years of gaming pop culture success - but what about the lovers of straight up technology?

There were a few main points covered in this trailer. Some of the most interesting inclusions include: the announcement that it will contain an emphasis on it being more of an 'event show' rather than a 'trade show', the event will contain a 'Gamers Bubble' - functioning as a sort of mini-PAX or mini-EB Expo, alongside a Home Tech Zone and an Innovation Zone.

As a whole this show is setting out to be somewhat of an Australian CES 2015, in which companies will come and showcase their latest and greatest technology - alongside various big-name tech heads sharing their thoughts and knowledge to thousands of seated fans. The Gadget Expo does promise "world renowned" tech experts, inventors, entrepreneurs and more at the event - here's hoping that all of these big claims can be pulled off.

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