| Boeing Phantom Eye takes first flight towards unmanned marathon espionage (video) Jun 5th 2012, 23:12  Boeing could've aimed a little higher for the Phantom Eye's first successful test flight. And by that, we mean the addition of one Billy Zane in a form-fitting purple leotard fending off baddies as the plane taxied the runway. None of that happened because, well, the aerospace brainiacs behind this unmanned bulbous beauty tend to err on the side of sense, not showy drama. Tant pis. Missed opportunity for ostentatious absurdity aside, the engineering outfit did manage to log in a near-perfect round trip for the hydrogen-powered spycraft, reaching an altitude of 4,080-ft after its early morning take off from Edwards Air Force Base on the first of the month. The still in-development vessel's return to terra firma wasn't without hiccups, as it did sustain minor damage to its landing gear. With further refinements, though, engineers hope to push the autonomous plane even further, prolonging the duration of the flight to an eventual four days and doing so without the need for refueling (or tending to humans). It's an obvious leap forward for cloak-and-dagger government interests, but really, it's all about the recovery of magic skulls. Right? Right. Check out the video after the break. Continue reading Boeing Phantom Eye takes first flight towards unmanned marathon espionage (video) Boeing Phantom Eye takes first flight towards unmanned marathon espionage (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 19:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink  CNET |  Boeing | Email this | Comments | | Confirmed: Airtime video chatting works in the air... on Gogo in-flight internet! Jun 5th 2012, 22:47  "Whoa! Whoa! Are you on a spaceship? Seriously, are you on a spaceship?!" Those words came flowing -- enthusiastically, I might add -- from an anonymous Airtimer just today, on the launch of Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning's Airtime project. "I'm actually on an airplane," I replied. "Where are you headed?," he responded. "LA!," as I tried to keep the conversation going. I failed to get to the part about continuing on to San Francisco, but it mattered not -- I just confirmed that Airtime does indeed work in airplanes. On a packed-to-capacity flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles, the onboard Gogo connection held up decently enough to have a relatively meaningful conversation (and eventually, for me to post this very article). The video feeds were a bit bumpy -- not completely unlike the ride itself -- but audio was fairly crisp. We shot the breeze for a minute or so before waving goodbye, two complete strangers brought together for the sake of discovering what's possible. I never engaged in any late-night Chatroulette sessions, so the first-time Airtime experience was quite the surreal one -- particularly given that I was somewhere high over the New Mexican mountains. If I had to guess, I'd say it's just a matter of time before Airtime is funneled into that same black hole as Skype, making it impossible to complete a call whilst onboard; but for now, the tunnels are wide open. The friendly skies never felt so friendly. Confirmed: Airtime video chatting works in the air... on Gogo in-flight internet! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Samsung Galaxy S III to go global on Verizon... at some point Jun 5th 2012, 22:31  If ever there were a way to distinguish jetset types from stateside-bound citizens, it'd be by the flavor of their wireless network. While GSM and its easily swappable SIMs have long been the world standard, CDMA networks like Verizon have had to offer special global-ready handsets to accommodate the flighty. It wasn't until Big Red's latest crop of LTE devices (see: Droid 4 and LG Spectrum), that the carrier's begun the process of enabling previously inaccessible world roaming capabilities. Now, joining that very shortlist is none other than Samsung's newest flagship, the Galaxy S III. As the operator confirmed to the folks over at PhoneScoop, the feature won't be accessible in time for the phone's launch, but will, instead, come in the form of an OTA at an unspecified date. As if you needed any more reason to run out and pre-order this svelte beauty come tomorrow, the operator's just sweetened the pot. Samsung Galaxy S III to go global on Verizon... at some point originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | PhoneScoop | Email this | Comments | | Microsoft debuts on{X} for Android, promises to 'automate your life' Jun 5th 2012, 22:17  Well, we can't exactly say we saw this one coming. Microsoft has today taken the wraps off a rather ambitious project dubbed on{X}, which is available exclusively for Android smartphones initially (support for more platforms is planned), and offers a range of tools that promise to help "automate your life." Developed by the company's R&D Center in Israel, the service consists of a website and an app, the former of which lets you select from a variety of scripts (or "recipes," as Microsoft calls them), while the latter executes them on your phone. The kicker is that anyone can create their own recipes and share them with others, and they can take all of the capabilities of a smartphone into account -- performing an action when you arrive at a specific location, for instance, or setting reminders based on the weather forecast (all the actual processing is handled on the phone). Much like Kinect, Microsoft is hoping that folks will take the platform and run with it, developing new features that it hasn't even thought of. Those interested can get started right now at the source link below, or get a taste of the service in the video after the break. Microsoft debuts on{X} for Android, promises to 'automate your life' originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Pocketnow | Microsoft on{X} | Email this | Comments | | Visualized: the Videogame History Museum's touring exhibit Jun 5th 2012, 22:09  Granted, this week is all about looking forward to the latest and greatest bits of video game technology, but it never hurts to turn your attention to history for a moment, to remember how far we've come. Not that one has to twist any arms to get gamers on-board with a bit of nostalgia -- not if all of the throwback 80s gaming t-shirts around the LA Convention Center are to be believed, at least. The Videogame History Museum staked out a space on the E3 show floor this week, to take people on a trip down home console memory lane. The traveling collection is a mix of the familiar and some strange and wonderful little rarities. It's all part of an attempt to promote the museum, which is working to build a research and reference space -- one that will also be an interactive exhibit. More info on the effort can be found in the source link below. In the meantime, take a trip down memory lane in the gallery below. Visualized: the Videogame History Museum's touring exhibit originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Videogame History Museum | Email this | Comments | | Tesla delivers first Model S a little early, EVs take a big step forward Jun 5th 2012, 21:56  Tesla had originally pegged the Model S' first delivery for June 22nd. At least one owner, though, is getting an early treat: one of venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson's namesake managing directors, Steve Jurvetson, just picked up his red-hued EV sedan in the San Francisco Bay Area. He can also rightfully claim to have the very first production Model S anywhere, as he's since posted photographic proof on Flickr that his car was the earliest to have completed the factory run. The arrival is no doubt a milestone for taking purely electric cars into the mainstream. Even so, we'll admit that we're just hoping Jurvetson shares what it's like to live with Tesla's four-door -- both out of curiosity as well as a vain attempt to live vicariously through someone who's had more than a test drive. Tesla delivers first Model S a little early, EVs take a big step forward originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 17:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Business Insider | Flickr, Twitter | Email this | Comments | | Sony PlayStation Wonderbook hands-on Jun 5th 2012, 21:41  Last night, we caught a demo of PlayStation's new Wonderbook during the company's E3 press event. Today, we grabbed a few moments of hands-on time with the new PS Move peripheral at the Sony booth. As we learned last night, the first title for the new tech is a collaborative effort with J.K. Rowling, entitled Book of Spells. The kit makes use of an augmented reality book in tandem with the Move hardware to project images and animations (basically the game itself) right on the pages. Consisting of only six spreads (12 pages), the software will track your progression through the chapters, and beginning a new quest simply means heading to back to the front of the book. We got a closer look (free from last night's demo fail), so have a peep at the gallery below and head on past the break for some impressions.
Continue reading Sony PlayStation Wonderbook hands-on Sony PlayStation Wonderbook hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jun 2012 17:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | |
