Join Google and NORAD help to track Santa
I know, I know, the entire excitement of Christmas is already over, and chances are you might be in bed right now or having a nightcap (depending on the time zone), or just having woken up if you happen to live across the pond. Another day to reflect on the year, as well as to think about what the next year will bring. Well, have you ever wondered how you are going to tell or explain to your kids the manner where Santa actually managed to fulfill his title of being the busiest man in the North Pole by going across the globe to drop off presents in just about most houses?
Well, Google as well as NORAD have come together to add a modern, technological twist to the Santa-tracking experience. This is a rather long standing tradition though, as NORAD started tracking Santa on Christmas Eve all the way back in 1955. This happened when a Sears and Roebuck ad promoted the Talk-to-Santa hotline which sent callers to CONAD (NORAD’s predecessor) commander-in-chief’s operations hotline. There was the initial shock from a small boy who asked if the commander was Santa Claus, where Colonel Harry Shoup decided to ask his team to check their radar for signs of Santa’s sleigh – and hence, giving birth to this tradition.
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Facebook for PlayBook introduced
When you are the 800lbs gorilla in any industry, niche or otherwise, you can certainly throw your weight around, and whatever you do or say does have repercussions on others who are far smaller and depend on you. Case in point, RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook – this particular tablet is not exactly doing gangbusters in the market ever since it was released earlier this year, never mind the fact that the hardware itself looks rather solid. What the PlayBook misses out on would be software and the different kinds of corporate connectivity that users are looking for, which means most people have decided to stick to the iPad 2 as well as Android-powered tablets.
Having said that, it is nice to know that Facebook still considers the the BlackBerry PlayBook to be crucial enough to offer support, hence the social networking giant has just revealed their latest update to Facebook for BlackBerry, coming in version 2.1 this time around. Launched in the BlackBerry App World storefront, this bit of news ought to get you jumping up and down in excitement if you are a PlayBook owner, considering it comes with the often requested feature from #TeamBlackBerry – Facebook Groups.
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Skype helps US travelers connect for free with Skype WiFi
Do you love to Skype? If the answer is in the affirmative, then Skype intends to make your traveling plans more pleasant this coming Yuletide season by putting up on offer a free hour of Internet access to 3rd party wireless hotspots, as long as those fall under the umbrella of the Skype Wi-Fi hotspot footprint in certain airports that are strategically located across the US. This offer will be made available from December 21st through to December 27th, and those who are passing through or have their flights delayed in more than 50 airports across the US will be able to advantage of these third-party hotspots thanks to Skype Wi-Fi, helping them connect with loved ones through a Skype video or voice call without having to fork out a single cent from their pockets.
Skype Wi-Fi will be made available to travelers who are running on PCs, Macs and iOS-powered devices. In order to get started, you would have to download the latest version of Skype for Windows or Skype for Mac, or have the option of having downloaded the Skype Wi-Fi app straight to your iOS device. The moment use your valid Skype ID to sign in, you can look into your wireless network connection to see whether you are in a supported hotspot, how hard can that be?
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Santa gets Google Voice number
Do you have a Google Voice number? If you have answered in the affirmative, guess who else is deemed on the ‘nice’ list to own his very own Google Voice number? It seems that Santa, the most popular imaginary resident at the North Pole, has gotten his very own Google Voice number as well. In fact, Santa received his number last year, where folks living in the US were able to be on the receiving end of a special personalized holiday phone call from the man himself. What about this year – what else would be different?
For 2011, Santa wants you to do it the other way around – by calling him. I suppose he must have gotten all lonely at the North Pole, never mind that he has elves to help him out with all those present wrapping, in addition to his son who starred in the movie ‘Arthur Christmas’, and his merry bunch of reindeer aren’t exactly the best conversationalists to begin with. For those of us out there who have a special request for Santa, you can always call him from Gmail – just bear in mind that this call is free for those living in the US and Canada, as for folks who reside outside of the two mentioned countries, it will cost you $0.01 per minute in addition to any applicable taxes.
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HappiTaps merge toy and app genres together
Everything is getting converged these days as we push ourselves to do far more than what we were originally meant to do. I still remember back in the day where we actually had to make sure everything was in place before leaving the house, as no one carried cell phones back then. If a friend and I were to agree to meet at 6pm at a particular place, we made sure we arrived there early, as a public phone is useful only if your friend has yet to leave his or her home. Fast forward to today, and you have folks changing their plans at the very last minute simply because of the convenience of smartphones.
Well, having said that, smartphones, too, exhibit plenty of signature convergence attributes such as the inclusion of a digital camera, voice recorder, MP3 playback capability, a video phone, the whole works! It then makes perfect sense to create lovable technology, where baby brand Infantino decided to work hand in hand with publisher Tipitab in order to create a first-of-its-kind toy/app hybrid that they call HappiTaps. HappiTaps will be a spin on the classic teddy bear which everyone knows and loves, where the HappiTabs functions as a huggable cover for your iPhone or iPod touch.
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LG and Box team up for free cloud storage
LG Electronics has teamed up with Box, a leading cloud content management provider, so that the South Korean consumer electronics giant will offer up to 50GB of free cloud storage over at Box for Android on all LG mobile devices that are running on the Android operating system. LG users who sign up for an account with Box via their LG Android mobile devices between November 30, 2011 and March 31, 2012, will be able to be on the receiving end of such benefits for free.
According to Ki S. Kim, corporate vice president and head of Global Enterprise Mobility Solutions (B2B) at LG Electronics, “With 50GB of free cloud storage from Box combined with world-class LG Android mobile devices, LG users are provided with cloud computing capabilities to support secure content management, collaboration and productivity on the move. We will continue to set the standard in the enterprise mobility space by introducing innovative, cutting-edge solutions to enhance the mobile experience of enterprise users.”
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Interactive weather results arrive in 34 different languages
When it comes to predicting the weather, our ancestors of yore did not have the relevant tools, but rather, the sought out a medicine man who interpreted the signs of the sky and perhaps even decided that there is a pattern in the way tea leaves form and congregate at the bottom of your cup to come up with an answer. I am quite sure that such a person would be an extremely observant one, who most probably have already taken note of the seasonal changes while everyone one went about their business before setting up a legitimate claim as being able to “intervene” with the heavens on behalf of his fellow men – for a price, of course.
Well, it is nice to know that technology has propelled us so far forward that weather prediction systems are more or less very accurate these days – so much so that you can trust the reports before going out to meet your friends while leaving your laundry drying in the backyard. Sure, there are times when even the most sensitive equipment will get it wrong, but then again, nothing is 100% foolproof in this world except for death and taxes. Google also has a hand in predicting the weather and delivering its results to the masses – and this time around, Google decided to roll out interactive weather information in mobile search results that will come in another 33 languages – bringing the grand total to 34, of course.
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Griffin and Dijit rolls out Android-Compatible Beacon Universal Remote Control System
The new Beacon universal remote control system is said to be able to transform Android phones and tablets into easy-to-use, never-lost remotes that will target home entertainment centers. This is the fruit of the partnership between Griffin and Dijit, where the latest Android-only version of the Beacon Universal Remote Control System will pair itself with Android-powered devices over a Bluetooth connection, where it will play nice with Dijit’s free Universal Remote App so that you are able to experience full and complete control over the entire home entertainment system straight from the Android interface.
According to Mark Rowan, President of Griffin Technology, “With the proliferation of new Android-based phones being announced each week, Beacon for Android was a natural progression for us. We look forward to bringing the most powerful and easiest-to-use remote control to the Android user base.”
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