| World's longest lab experiment still going strong, via webcam Jan 27th 2012, 14:55  In 1927, a physics professor named Thomas Parnell launched an experiment on viscous liquids. 85 years later, we're still waiting for his results. It all began with a funnel, a beaker, and some melted tar pitch. Parnell, a professor at the University of Queensland in Australia, was hoping to demonstrate that brittle tar pitch actually behaves as a liquid when kept at room temperature. To prove this, he melted some tar pitch, let it cool for three years, and placed it within the funnel, held over the beaker. The first drop rolled down the funnel eight years later. The second came nine years after that. By the time the third rolled around, Parnell had already passed away. Following his death, the experiment was shelved, quite literally, in a closet, before Professor John Mainstone revived it shortly after joining the University of Queensland in 1961. In 1975, Mainstone successfully lobbied the university to put the experiment on display, but he likely could've never imagined how large an audience it would ultimately have. Today, in fact, the experiment is on display 24 hours a day, via a dedicated webcam. It's been hailed as the world's longest running lab experiment, and it's available for gazing at the source link below. Mainstone expects the next drop to come down the pipeline sometime next year, but you probably shouldn't hold your breath. The last drop ran down the funnel in 2000. Unfortunately, it was never recorded on video, due to a very untimely camera malfunction. World's longest lab experiment still going strong, via webcam originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  DVice |  University of Queensland | Email this | Comments | | Strategy Analytics: Nokia tops global handset shipments, Apple sees quarterly surge Jan 27th 2012, 14:27 Fresh off the publication of its latest tablet report, Strategy Analytics has come out with a new batch of statistics on the global mobile market. In a report published yesterday, the research firm crowned Apple as the world's largest smartphone vendor by volume, on the strength of the 37 million iPhones it shipped during Q4 2011 -- good for 23.9 percent of the market. Samsung wasn't too far behind, though, with 36.5 million smartphones shipped during the quarter, comprising 23.5 percent of the market. Nokia finished in third place, with 19.6 million smartphones and a 12.6 percent market share, though it fared notably better among handset makers on a global (i.e., smartphone and feature phone) level. According to Strategy Analytics, the Finnish manufacturer shipped 417.1 million handsets for the full year, 113.5 million of which were shipped during the fourth quarter of last year. For the year, Nokia accounted for 26.9 percent of the market, followed by Samsung, which shipped 327.4 million units shipped during 2011 and finished with a 23.1 percent market share. As for Apple, it accounted for 8.3 percent of the market in Q4 (its best showing, according to Strategy's metrics), with 37 million quarterly shipments. You can find more details in the pair of press releases after the break, or at the source link below. Continue reading Strategy Analytics: Nokia tops global handset shipments, Apple sees quarterly surge Strategy Analytics: Nokia tops global handset shipments, Apple sees quarterly surge originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink PhoneArena | Strategy Analytics | Email this | Comments | | Engadget Podcast 278 - 01.26.2012 Jan 27th 2012, 14:00 Sometimes we like to tell ourselves it's not, but in the end, it's all about the Benjamins. We tried to get someone named Benjamin on this podcast to underscore this point, but, you know, he had other plans. Tune in for this special Rich Dad, Poor Dad edition of the Engadget Podcast: we'll let you decide which dad is which. Host: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater, Dana Wollman Producer: Trent WolbeMusic: Longview01:14 - RIM's Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis are out, new CEO Thorsten Heins may license BlackBerry 1012:01 - Google updates ToS, shares your data across its services (video)18:42 - Apple announces Q1 earnings, sets quarterly record with $46.33 billion in revenue21:14 - Apple's Q1 hardware sales: 37 million iPhones, 15.43 million iPads, 5.2 million Macs, 15.4 million iPods30:50 - Microsoft paid Nokia $250 million to adopt Windows Phone, Q4 earnings report reveals42:23 - Netflix Q4 results: 220k new streaming-only customers, beats earnings estimates (Update: no game rentals coming)47:30 - Nintendo releases quarterly earnings report: 61 percent drop in profit, grim forecast55:25 - HP: Open webOS 1.0 arriving in September, Enyo 2.0 framework free to developers today58:32 - Listener questions Hear the podcastSubscribe to the podcast[ iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [ RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [ RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator. [ Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace Download the podcastLISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)
Contact the podcastSend your questions to @tim_stevens. Leave us a voicemail: (423) 438-3005 (GADGET-3005) E-mail us: podcast at engadget dot com Twitter: @bheater, @tim_stevens, @danawollmanFiled under: Podcasts Engadget Podcast 278 - 01.26.2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | With new privacy controls onboard, Google+ opens up to teens Jan 27th 2012, 13:41 The world's teenage population can pontificate from a new digital platform, now that Google+ has decided to open its doors to high schoolers. Google+ VP Bradley Horowitz made the announcement yesterday, confirming that anyone old enough to own a Google account can now join the social network. In most countries, that applies to anyone older than 13 (previously, Google+ had been restricted to the 18-and-over crowd). This expansion also introduces a new set of privacy controls for younger users, who will be warned every time they try to publish a public post, and can only be contacted by those in their immediate circles. If a teen joins a Hangout, moreover, he or she will only be able to receive audio and video from those in his or her circles. Find more at the link below. With new privacy controls onboard, Google+ opens up to teens originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink The Verge | Bradley Horowitz (Google+) | Email this | Comments | | Distro Issue 25: Ultrabook overload, Snap Analysis and Gina Trapani Jan 27th 2012, 13:15 Distro is 25... weeks old, today! And to celebrate we're debuting a new page that puts you, our readers, front and center. We've been sending out questions over various social networking channels and collecting your answers for the inaugural run of Snap Analysis. Among other things, you weighed in on RIM's CEO switch up, as did our own Darren Murph in his editorial, "RIM's New CEO Isn't the Shakeup It Needed." We have more editorializing coming your way from the desk of Donald Melanson, who's taking the Ultrabook marketing hype to task. Also in this issue, we test drive the BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9981 and review the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX1 and Huawei's Honor. Lifehacker's Gina Trapani takes on the Distro Q&A, IRL goes back to CES and Ross Rubin explores Apple's education push. There's a lot to soak up in this issue, so hit the appropriate link below and get to reading! Continue reading Distro Issue 25: Ultrabook overload, Snap Analysis and Gina Trapani Distro Issue 25: Ultrabook overload, Snap Analysis and Gina Trapani originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | iTunes, Android Market | Email this | Comments | |
