| iPad Smart Case hands-on Jun 18th 2012, 12:00  Surreptitiously introduced to Apple Stores in the midst of new MacBook introductions and hardware refreshes, the Smart Case is Apple's latest official option for iPad protection. It's teamed together the foldable Smart Cover of last year with a soft-touch rubbery shell to defend the other half of Apple's premier tablet. The case fits both the Retina display-decked new iPad and the iPad 2, so we decided to grab one to protect our iOS slab. Does it do the job? Well, it certainly protects the tablet from keys, spare change and other pointy objects, however, because its made for two slightly different sized devices, it didn't fit as snugly as we'd hoped, with an especially wide rim around the front also reducing the premium feel of the Smart Cover-esque front flap. So, is it still worth the $50 price tag? That's a little trickier to say, so check out some more impressions and our verdict after the break. Continue reading iPad Smart Case hands-on iPad Smart Case hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Android apps that use power control APIs are often 'battery killers,' oh the irony Jun 18th 2012, 11:15  If there's one thing Purdue University researchers can't stand, it's an inefficient Android app. They've already revealed how some titles burn huge amounts of energy just by running ads (e.g., Angry Birds uses 63 percent of its resources for flogging stuff rather than flinging stuff), and now they've confirmed something else that has long been suspected: many offerings on Google Play also contain serious "energy bugs." Specifically, these are apps that use Android's power control or wakelock APIs to prevent a phone going into sleep mode. The majority of developers use wakelocks properly, but around a quarter make mistakes in how they juggle different APIs, which can cause a fully-charged phone to drain "in as little as five hours." Out of 187 wakelock-exploiting apps tested, 42 contained errors -- although the academics stopped short of naming and shaming. There's a chance they'll list the culprits when they present their paper next week, which will also propose an automatic method for detecting the glitches. Will that be another app? Android apps that use power control APIs are often 'battery killers,' oh the irony originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 07:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  TGDaily |  Purdue University | Email this | Comments | | Linus Torvalds: 'NVIDIA is the worst we've ever dealt with' (video) Jun 18th 2012, 10:37  Fresh from receiving technology prize plaudits, Linux creator Torvalds is still telling it how it is. In a recent Q&A session at Aalto University in Finland, he said that NVIDIA was "single worst company we've ever dealt with," responding to an audience member's question on her Optimus-powered laptop and its lack of Linux support. While she was finally able to get it working on her machine through some GitHub help, Torvalds was unequivocal about his thoughts on NVIDIA. Throwing in a middle-finger gesture to the camera, he was particularly irritated with the fact that the chipmaker's own Tegra range were faring so well on the wave of Android devices currently hitting stores, as Google's mobile OS itself came from a strong Linux background. Aside from hardware manufacturer gripes, Torvalds goes on to discuss his work with open source development in greater detail -- the full talk is right after the break. You can jump through to the 49th minute mark to hear the Linux founder's complaints, but be warned, family readership -- he drops the f-bomb. Continue reading Linus Torvalds: 'NVIDIA is the worst we've ever dealt with' (video) Linus Torvalds: 'NVIDIA is the worst we've ever dealt with' (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 18 Jun 2012 06:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink The Verge | Aalto Center for Entrepreneurship | Email this | Comments | |
