Take a stunning photo tour of the Starship Enterprise's bridge

Charles Gantt | TV, Movies & Home Theatre | Apr 19, 2013 3:32 PM CDT

In anticipation of the upcoming movie Star Trek Into Darkness, J.J. Abrams' production company, Bad Robot, has released some breathtaking HD images of the Enterprise's Bridge used in the 2009 blockbuster Star Trek.

The images (source #1) show off the beauty of the Enterprise Reboot designed by Scott Chambliss, and display a remarkable level of detail that many fans just chalked up to being CGI creations. Bad Robot has also released a Star Trek Into Darkness app that will let you scan these high resolution images to earn extra points that will help you move up within the Starfleet ranks.

Star Trek Into Darkness releases on May 17th and I for one will be first in line to see it. In case you missed them, Paramount has released several Into Darkness trailers, and I have listed three of them below.

Continue reading: Take a stunning photo tour of the Starship Enterprise's bridge (full post)

Facebook Messenger VoiP calls expands to the US, Australia and more

Anthony Garreffa | Software & Apps | Apr 18, 2013 11:33 PM CDT

If you were after some totally free VoiP calls between your friends on Facebook, then you may want to pay attention to Facebook Messenger. The latest app update include the ability of free VoiP-based calls between your Facebook friends.

In the beginning of last month, Canadian users were greeted with the VoiP call goodness, but now it has extended outside of Canadaland, and into the US and other countries. If you want to see if you have this feature, all you have to do is tap into a current chat, tap the 'i' button in the top right corner and if you're in one of the countries the new feature has rolled out into, you'll see a "Free Call" button at the bottom.

I've just tested it on my Nexus 4 here in Australia, and can confirm it's working for Australians.

Continue reading: Facebook Messenger VoiP calls expands to the US, Australia and more (full post)

CISPA gets passed by the House, will allow businesses to share customers' personal information

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Apr 18, 2013 10:28 PM CDT

While America still reels over the Boston Marathon bombings and the fertilizer plant explosion near Waco in Texas, the House of Representatives have passed the cybersecurity bill CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act).

CISPA was passed by a 288-127 vote, receiving support from 92 democrats. From here, it will move to the Senate, then to President Obama's desk. CISPA, if you're not already familiar, will allow private businesses to share customers' personal information with any government entity, giving the government, and entities like the NSA, some serious power.

The way laws like this get passed, is by people who throw their hands in the air claiming that not letting something like CISPA pass, is because there are threats to "US economic security". Because, you know, there aren't any other issues with the US' economy right now. Mike Rogers, co-author of CISPA and the intelligence committee chairman, argued that cyberattacks and espionage, mostly from China, where an umber of high profile attacks have originated from, are a number one threat to US economic security.

Continue reading: CISPA gets passed by the House, will allow businesses to share customers' personal information (full post)

iPhone sales up just 8% this quarter, can the next iPhone help Apple?

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Apr 18, 2013 9:32 PM CDT

According to an analyst with the ISI Group, Apple have sold around 38 million iPhone's in the last quarter, representing an 8% increase over the same quarter of last year. Brian Marshall, an analyst with ISI Group, said he's sticking with his estimate of 38 million iPhone's for Q1 2013.

Other analysts, such as Brian White of Topeka Capital Markets and Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray, have their bets on lower numbers, with 35 million and 35.5 million, respectively. These two analysts' estimates would have Apple seeing an increase of just 0% or 1% versus each quarter, Q1 2013 and Q1 2012. Most analysts are looking ahead, waiting for Apple's next move, which is rumored to be the iPhone 5S.

Personally, I don't think this can save them unless it is a big departure from what we know and love about the iPhone, and in particular, iOS. I hope we see a new premium iPhone (6) with iOS 7, with widgets and a much better UI, oh, and much cheaper than we have now. A 128GB offering would be nice too, maybe even 256GB. Apple could shake the market up again, and they need to considering Samsung are really pushing forward with so many devices being announced and released lately in all shapes and sizes catering to all markets, all over the world.

Continue reading: iPhone sales up just 8% this quarter, can the next iPhone help Apple? (full post)

Estimates place Nexus 10 sales lower than Microsoft Surface

Trace Hagan | Business, Financial & Legal | Apr 18, 2013 7:32 PM CDT

Estimated sales numbers for the Nexus 10 aren't very positive. In fact, the estimates place sales of the Nexus 10 below that of the Microsoft Surface, which is widely regarded as a flop product. So, just how bad is it? Estimates suggest that Google has only sold somewhere between 680,000 and one million Nexus 10's.

Neither Samsung or Google provided data regarding tablet sales, but some interesting extrapolations by Ben Evans resulted in those numbers. Since the Nexus 10 features a relatively uncommon screen resolution, Evans was able to use Google's development data for screen sizes. Only 0.1 percent of devices hitting the Play Store featured the resolution present on the Nexus 10.

An estimate of 680 million Android users at the end of March was used, though this could be slightly off base. Even still, sales numbers of the Nexus 10 aren't good, especially when compared to Apple's. Apple managed to sell 36.9 million iPads in the second half of 2012 and 10 million iPad minis in Q4 alone.

Continue reading: Estimates place Nexus 10 sales lower than Microsoft Surface (full post)

OpenSignal finally releases app for iPhone

Trace Hagan | Software & Apps | Apr 18, 2013 5:33 PM CDT

OpenSignal, the central repository for crowdsourced cellular reception maps, has finally released an app for iPhones. Up until now, OpenSignal has been relying on only Android users to collect data about signal strength, cellular towers, and speed data.

OpenSignal has used this collected Android data to extrapolate how signal would perform on iPhones. Now they will be able to rely on data collected via iPhones. To download the new app or learn more about it, head over to OpenSignal's webpage for the new iPhone app.

The app features some useful functions. If you're having reception issues, the app can point you in a direction that should help boost your signal. It can also locate free Wi-Fi if you need to borrow a faster connection. The app will also collect anonymous signal data to help build the map available at OpenSignal's website.

Continue reading: OpenSignal finally releases app for iPhone (full post)

Bitcoin exchange Bitfloor closes its doors, could be a sign of things to come

Charles Gantt | Business, Financial & Legal | Apr 18, 2013 8:11 AM CDT

Not all that glitters is gold, and this morning Bitcoin investors who traded on the Bitfloor Bitcoin exchange are waking up to that hard to learn lesson. Bitfloor has announced that it has been forced to cease all operations due to reasons "outside of our control."

Bitfloor, while not as popular as Mt. Gox, was still a key player in the Bitcoin game. In the wake of last week's Bitcoin crash, the exchange has had its bank account closed and as a direct result, must end all trading. We are guessing that when the massive sell off was over, the bank deemed Bitfloor too much of a risk and opted to part ways in an act of self-preservation.

Roman, the founder of Bitfloor, had the following to say:

Continue reading: Bitcoin exchange Bitfloor closes its doors, could be a sign of things to come (full post)

Toshiba unveil the Kirabook Ultrabook, features 13.3-inch 2560x1440 display

Anthony Garreffa | Laptops | Apr 18, 2013 4:33 AM CDT

We've already got the Retina MacBook Pro from Apple, featuring a 2560x1600 display, and Google's Chromebook Pixel with its 2560x1700 display - but both of those machines are built for Windows. Toshiba have just unveiled a new Ultrabook, that comes with Windows 8 - the Kirabook.

Toshiba's Kirabook comes with a 13.3-inch 2560x1440 display, giving us slightly less pixels than Apple and Google's offerings. Kirabook starts from $1599, which gives you an Intel third-generation Core i5 processor, 256GB of SSD, 8GB of RAM and a backlit keyboard. The $1999 model provides touchscreen capabilities, and a bump in processor to the Core i7. Toshiba's Kirabook is 0.7 inches thick, and weighs 2.6 pounds.

We should see pre-orders open up on May 3, with shipping beginning on May 12.

Continue reading: Toshiba unveil the Kirabook Ultrabook, features 13.3-inch 2560x1440 display (full post)

ASUS unveil their Raidr PCI Express-based SSD capable of 830MB/sec

Anthony Garreffa | Storage | Apr 18, 2013 4:11 AM CDT

ASUS are ready to launch their first storage product in the form of the Asus Raidr storage card under their Republic of Gamer brand of products. What makes the ASUS Raidr device stand out from the crowd is its reliance on the PCIe 2.0 x2 port it'll use in your system, oh and those blistering read/write speeds.

We're looking at dual LSI SandForce SD-2281 controllers using Toshiba's 19nm 16k page size MLC sync-NAND flash. Sequential read and writes are impressive, with the 240GB drive capable of 830MB/sec read, and 810MB/sec write. The 120GB is slightly slower, with 765MB/sec and 775MB/sec for read and write, respectively. ASUS' Raidr PCIe card is capable of 100,000 IOPS, it of course supports TRIM and has a total power consumption of around 16W.

The drive runs a kind of internal RAID0, and the circuit board is covered by a protective metal shell with the usual red and black ROG theme. We should hear more about the ASUS Raidr the closer we get to Computex, which is only a little over six weeks away.

Continue reading: ASUS unveil their Raidr PCI Express-based SSD capable of 830MB/sec (full post)

Wireless Charging Alliance sees new recruits in Samsung, HTC and LG - all three will release compatible devices in 2014

Anthony Garreffa | Business, Financial & Legal | Apr 18, 2013 12:30 AM CDT

Power Matters Alliance have announced that they've found some new recruits in Samsung, HTC and LG to help their wireless charging group chug along. The PMA have a long list of members currently, with AT&T, Google, Blackberry, NEC, Texas Instruments and ZTE.

The wireless charging advocacy group are pushing for a unified charging standard, where they've developed more than 1500 charging stations in Starbucks coffee shops, airports and other locations around the world. The PMA have asked their partners to integrate PMA-certified wireless charging solutions into their products by near year, with AT&T have also pledged to bake the technology into their smartphones within the same timeframe.

Until then, the wireless charging group are working with their partners to "deploy PMA-certified handsets and accessories as quickly as possible".

Continue reading: Wireless Charging Alliance sees new recruits in Samsung, HTC and LG - all three will release compatible devices in 2014 (full post)