In nod to IBM, HP overhaul minimizes consumers

Hewlett-Packard to ditch tablets, smartphones, possibly sell PC division, in massive overhaul

from: Jordan Robertson, AP / Yahoo! Finance

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Hewlett-Packard's decision to surrender in smartphones and tablet computers and possibly get rid of its personal computer business underscores how Apple has transformed consumer electronics in just four years.

HP's new CEO Leo Apotheker is now trying to turn the Silicon Valley stalwart into a twin of East Coast archrival IBM Corp. In doing so, he is acknowledging that his company has failed to balance the demands of both the consumer and corporate markets. As a result, it needs to exit most of its consumer businesses, just as IBM did six years ago.

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Samsung promotes Blu-ray movie rentals to push Blu-ray players

from: By Alma Buelva / philstar.com

Samsung officials say six out of 10
people who buy Samsung flat panel
TV also buy an accompanying
Blu-ray DVD player.

MANILA, Philippines - In this age of movie downloads, Samsung’s introduction of a movie rental service to encourage sales of its Blu-ray players seems one step back into the past to enjoy the present.

But that’s exactly what BluPass is, a promo exclusive to Samsung customers who, just like in the old days, can again rent movies, now in the latest Blu-ray format.

Samsung Galaxy S II Might Make You Think Twice About An iPhone 5

from: By Sara Yin / PCMAG.com

Holding out for the iPhone 5? There's some strong temptation coming out of South Korea at the end of the month: the Samsung Galaxy S II. 
An announcement for the super-slim, super-powerful, and super-popular Android smartphone is expected on August 29. Samsung sent out invitations for a "major product announcement" in New York that day and on Friday, Samsung Mobile U.S. tweeted: "Samsung Update: Hey Guys! Big announcement on the 29th ;)"
The Samsung Galaxy S II is Samsung's fastest-selling smartphone to date, based on its April debut in South Korea and parts of Europe, selling one every three seconds between April and July.

Cell Guru reviews Samsung Galaxy Tablets

from: NDTV / YOUTUBE

Cell Guru: Samsung is on a roll. After churning out a 7-inch tablet and a super smartphone, it has now introduced the Galaxy Tab 8.9 and 10.1, but can these prove to be the ultimate iPad killer? And why does Samsung need three tablets in the market? Watch to find out.

Intelligence comes from parents

 from: Press Trust Of India / hindustantimes

No doubt, your upbringing and education contribute to your brain power, but a new study says that half of one’s intelligence comes from parents. Researchers have found that up to half of a person’s intelligence (or lack of it) is inherited, after they examined the blood of more than 3,500 people from England and Scotland for half-a-million genetic markers — tiny changes in DNA.

Surprise Underwater Volcanic Eruption Discovered

 from: LiveScience.com / Yahoo Ph! News

An undersea volcano has erupted off the coast of Oregon, spewing forth a layer of lava more than 12 feet (4 meters) thick in some places, and opening up deep vents that belch forth a cloudy stew of hot water and microbes from deep inside the Earth.

Scientists uncovered evidence of the early April eruption on a routine expedition in late July to the Axial Seamount, an underwater volcano that stands 250 miles (400 kilometers) off the Oregon coast.

Google+ adds games, 'Angry Birds' among them

from: USA TODAY / GOOGLE

NEW YORK — Google is adding games to its Google+ social network.

AP

Google said Thursday that it has started to gradually roll out games on Google+. The online search leader says it is looking to make games available for everyone on the network soon.

Google+, Google's answer to Facebook and Twitter, launched in late June and it is still in an early test version. It got a better response than Google's previous forays into social networks. But it remains to be seen whether it takes off among the broader public.

Games are a big draw on Facebook, so it makes sense for Google to incorporate them into its service, too. Google says initial games include the popular Angry Birds, Bejeweled Blitz and Zynga Poker.

US military loses contact with Hypersonic Aircraft

from: AFP / GOOGLE NEWS

An artist rendering of the hypersonic aircraft Falcon HTV-2

(AFP/HO/DARPA)

WASHINGTON — US military scientists on Thursday launched a hypersonic aircraft but lost contact with the experimental plane in its second test flight, officials said.

The unmanned Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (HTV-2), designed as a global bomber prototype capable of a mind-boggling 20 times the speed of sound, launched successfully from California aboard a Minotaur IV rocket, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

BlackBerry Bold 9900 PSA: Don't Try and Remove the MicroSD Card while the Battery is Inserted!

from: CrackBerrydotCom

Yo-Yo Star Turns 'Pocket Change' Into A Dynasty

from: by Karie Meltzer / ThePostGame


To you, pocket change means money for an extra latte. But to 24 year-old Shinji Saito of Japan, pocket change is a hard core yo-yo throw that has brought him $300 in prize money and another World Yo-Yo Championship.

London adds more police amid ongoing riots

 from: By Zachary Roth / The Lookout 

REUTERS/Luke MacGregor - Police officers in riot gear

block a road near a burning car on a London street

British Prime Minister David Cameron has been in emergency meetings with his Cabinet Tuesday, after rioters burned buildings and smashed storefronts across London and beyond in recent days.

98-year-old woman becomes first woman ever to earn Judo's highest-degree black belt

from: by Jessica Ashley, Shine staff / Y! Shine

Is earning a black belt on your life list? Then this elderly woman in San Francisco just might be your ultimate hero.

Just two years before her 100th birthday, Sensei Keiko Fukuda has  become the first woman to achieve a tenth-degree black belt—the highest rank in the martial art and combat sport Judo. Fukuda is now one of only four living people who've earned the tenth-degree (or dan) black belt. To put the accomplishment into better perspective, throughout history, only sixteen people have ever achieved this honor.

Real Madrid signs 7-year-old Argentine named Leo

from: By Cameron Smith / Y! Sports, Rivals HIGH

A lot is made about the professionalization of young athletes in America, but young U.S. phenoms have nothing on their Spanish and South American counterparts. If there were ever any doubts about that, they could safely be dispelled on Monday, when it was announced that Spanish soccer giants Real Madrid signed Argentine 7-year-old Leonel Angel Coira to a youth development contract.

"(My) dream is to meet Messi, play in the first division with Madrid and for Argentina in the World Cup," Coira told the Spanish newspaper ABC shortly after signing with his new club.

Of course, there are a number of reasons behind Real Madrid's rather surprising signing of Coira, who is pictured above. First, Real had learned of interest in the second-grader by crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid. That, in itself, is sometimes enough to push Real to make a premature move.

Today in Tech 5 ways technology is actually getting worse

from: By Taylor Hatmaker, Tecca /  Y! Tech

Our app-saturated, hyper-connected world has plenty of pitfalls

Technology is leaping forward in exponentially massive bounds — if you feel like you're scrambling to keep up, you've got plenty of company. There's not a gadget on the market that doesn't aim to make our lives easier, but now we're tangled up in a strange new world. It's a complex web of tweets and roaming charges in which we we hunt for open power outlets with the urgency of our ancestors foraging for their next meal.

We live in an interconnected time with more cutting edge tech at our fingertips than ever. But is it a true golden era or just a digital gilded age?

No rewards for Dragon Boat athletes: PSC

from: ABS-CBNNEWS.com

MANILA, Philippines - The government will not give incentives to members of the Philippine Dragon Boat team that has won 5 gold and 2 silver medals at the world championships in the United States, according to the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

"The PSC said the dragon boat paddlers are not considered as national athletes by National Sports Associations (NSAs) and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC)."

Philippine dragon boat team’s fifth gold caps explosive show

from: By Marc Anthony Reyes / Philippine Daily Inquirer

TAMPA BAY, Florida—The Cobra-Philippine dragon boat team surged to its fifth gold medal Sunday to cap its scintillating performance at the 10th International World Championship here.

With Filipino supporters cheering them on both banks of the Seddon Channel in Hillsborough Bay, the national paddlers ruled the Small Boat Premier Open 500-meter final with a time of two minutes and 23.535 seconds.