Author: Connor Livingston

As the buzz surrounding the iPhone 4S fades a little (it’s been a week, after all), Samsung unveiled the most anticipated Android phone of the pre-holiday season with the Galaxy Nexus. Armed with the first installation of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, the latest entry into Google’s Nexus program will go on sale in the US, Europe, and Asia next month. Nearly all of the specs are impressive: 1.2 gigahertz Dual Core Processor 4.65 inch Touchscreen Slender 8.49 millimeter depth 1280 x 720 Resolution NFC Technology for Mobile Payments 1 gigabyte of RAM Front-Facing Camera There is one feature that…

In lieu of a refund or cash considerations, Research In Motion (RIM) is offering an apps package normally valued at around $100 to compensate for the most major outage the company has ever had. The three-day+ outage likely presented major challenges for the business-heavy Blackberry users who often rely on the devices to stay connected while on the go. “You expect better of us, I expect better of us” RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis said in last week’s press conference. Now, we’ll see if users expected to be compensated more for the outage. Enterprise customers will also receive a free month of tech…

When people think about luxury cars and the technology behind them, they often look to the German vehicles as the pinnacle. Mercedes Benz and BMW have separated themselves as the definition of luxury over the decades. Now that Acura, the first Asian luxury brand, hits its 25th anniversary, perhaps it’s time to look at what the Japanese carmaker has to offer. The image below was taken from an infographic made by Pohanka Acura. It highlights many of the advancements that have helped to separate the manufacturer from other luxury brands. Click to enlarge or view the text of each advancement below…

Despite heavy support from both parties and an outcry of the people, California Governor Jerry Brown vetoed a bill passed by state legislature that would have banned searches of smartphones by police without a warrant. The ban would have prevented police officers from searching smartphones during an arrest. Many smartphones have persistent logins to personal communication services such as email and Facebook, keep track of locations the phone has been, and give access to personal contacts. This stays in line with a California Supreme Court decision that was upheld by the US Supreme Court…

It’s easy to trick the mind. We’ve seen some amazing examples of this in the past, but what about the mind’s ability to be tricked to heal (or not heal) the body through drugs that we believe will work, but are empty in reality? Why do placebos work? Science has yet to fully understand why placebos, a sham or simulated medical intervention, can have such a dramatic effect. People have been shown to have pain relieved, diseases cured, and body ailments removed simply by taking drugs that they are told will do the trick. This video explores some of the interesting facts about placebos. …

News media, investors, and Twitter users everywhere expressed feelings of being “underwhelmed” by the Apple 4S announcement last week, but that didn’t stop the latest iteration from having its best pre-order day ever, breaking the one-million pre-order mark in 24 hours for the first time in company history. The phone is identical to the iPhone 4 in appearance, but it’s now powered by a dual-core A5 chip, has an upgraded 8MP camera with improved optics, offers iOS 5 and iCloud, and introduces the personal-assistant software Siri. “We are blown away with the incredible customer response to…

When Justin Bieber stopped trending on Twitter, fans were up in arms. The #occupywallstreet hashtag has never trended and the protesters are starting to take notice, even loosely starting an #occupytwitter hashtag. Much of the claims stem from investment; JP Morgan Chase, one of the targets of the protest, is an investor in Twitter. “The bottom line is that trends on Twitter are NOT the most popular terms,” said Sean Garrett, head of communications at Twitter. “They are the most ‘breaking’ and reward discussions that are new to Twitter. We are not blocking terms related…

The big gamble starts October 7th. Sprint just updated their website with an advertisement for pre-orders on the iPhone 4s. Eyes of the tech world and Wall Street will be watching the pre-order numbers closely as Sprint has “bet the farm” on the iPhone; their plans to buy 30 million iPhones over the next 4 years for $20 billion has already worried investors and drawn criticism. Editorial Note: As we recently mentioned, their ability to take a piece of the iPhone market from Verizon and AT&T hinges on their ability to promote their unlimited data plan as a differentiator. The ad, pictured above,…

Apple Inc co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs has passed away. He was 56. The statement was made by Apple. He spent the last several years leading the company to be one of the world’s largest while fighting a rare form of pancreatic cancer. He resigned in late August. Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor. Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple….

Sean Parker has been in the news a few times lately. In this case, his roots at Napster are his only involvement and he isn’t getting much more than a mention as the controversial file-sharing site that helped start the revolution is being acquired from Best Buy by Rhapsody. The deal, expected to close on November 30, is for an undisclosed amount. It represents the end of the failed Napster experiment by Best Buy; the company bought a newly repurposed Napster in 2008 and subsequently did nothing with it. Rhapsody will be acquiring the subscribers but also the potential to expand on their subscription-based…