By Paul Thomson :: 2:02 AM
A new hoax is making the rounds of the Internet, spreading on Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook, and targeting unwitting teens and young iPhone and iPod touch users.
The hoax takes the form of an official looking graphic (like the one above) that displays instructions for charging an iPhone or iPod in a microwave oven. A simple 15 seconds on the cook cycle in the microwave will charge the device back up to full battery levels, the instructions claim. More examples of graphics used in the hoax are below.
It is, of course, not true. Placing any electronic device in a microwave and turning it on, even for just a few seconds, will fry the electronics in the device, and render it unusable. Such damage is usually not covered by manufacturer or cellular service provider warranty plans.
By Leslie Spellman :: 7:04 AM
Electric car maker Tesla Motors will soon introduce a lower-priced sedan, built with the same technology as its popular Model S sedan, but selling for about half of the price. The company is planning on the price tag for the new vehicle to come in around $30,000.
Buyers hoping for an affordable Tesla sedan shouldn’t head to the dealership just yet, however. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said last week that while he hopes to enter the lower-priced market, it won’t happen for three to five years. The model Musk hopes to introduce will be comparable to a BMW 3 Series or Audi A4 sedan.
Along with the lower priced sedan, Tesla Motors also recently revealed that the company is working on an aggressive rollout of special rapid charging stations in cities across the country. Eight such stations are currently in operation – one in Connecticut, one in Delaware, and six in California.
By the end of June, Tesla hopes to have 25 new charging stations in cities including Chicago, Denver, Houston, Seattle and Portland. 100 stations should be on line by the end of the year, with another 100 coming in 2014. The rapid chargers can recharge Tesla vehicles in about 20 minutes.
By Cynthia Herbert :: 1:43 AM
For the past two days, anti-government protests have taken over the country of Turkey. Many of the clashes between citizens and law enforcement have occurred in the city of Istanbul.
This dog, above, was a casualty of a tear gas strike during one of the protests. Bystanders and protest participants stepped in to flush out the dog’s eyes with water.
Protests initially broke out over a plan by the government to build in a popular park in downtown Istanbul. The BBC reports that 26 police officers and 53 civilians have been injured as clashes spread to nearly 50 cities and municipalities across the country.
The photo of the dog was posted to Reddit on Saturday evening. It is not clear where in Turkey the dog was injured, or if the dog recovered after being treated.
By Paul Thomson :: 4:48 PM
Jean Stapleton, the actress who played Edith Bunker on the 1970s television series “All in the Family” has passed away at the age of 90, according to her family. She died on Friday of natural causes.
Stapleton’s work alongside Carroll O’Connor, who played the curmudgeonly character of Archie Bunker on the show, earned her three Emmy Awards. The photo above shows Stapleton and O’Connor singing the title song of the show during the opening credits. Watch the video below.
Her most recent work was in the 1998 film “You’ve Got Mail.”
Stapleton is survived by two children, John and Pamela, and was predeceased by her husband William Putch in 1983.
By Paul Thomson :: 12:49 PM
Acknowledging the concerns of privacy advocates and nervous legislators, Google announced yesterday that it would not be approving any facial recognition technology for use in its Glass product at this time.
“Many have expressed both interest and concern around the possibilities of facial recognition in Glass, as Google has said for several years, we won’t add facial recognition features to our products without having strong privacy protections in place,” the Google Glass team said in a post on Google+. “We won’t be approving any facial recognition Glassware at this time”
Google has been testing its new Google Glass product for several months now, and has allowed a select group of early adopters, called Glass Explorers, to buy a pair for $1,500.
While Google has now publicly said that facial recognition technologies are off the table for the immediate future, they did leave open the possibility of eventually adopting such features, once privacy concerns have been addressed.