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US Army's LEMV spy blimp spotted hovering over New Jersey, may take up cargo duties (video)
The US Army's not-so-secret Long Endurance Multi-Intelligence Vehicle (LEMV) spy blimp is better at staying hidden than we thought... if unintentionally. Although it was due to fly the friendly skies of Lakehurst, New Jersey in mid-June, Northrop Grumman's usually unmanned surveillance was only just caught floating over the Jersey Shore as part of a maiden flight on August 8th. The conspicuous, delayed test run proved that the LEMV could take off, steer and land smoothly, and started a series of exercises that should culminate in combat trials over Afghanistan at the start of 2013. Northrop's KC Brown Jr. tells Wired that there's a possible (if purely coincidental) consolation for missing another deadline -- the airship could be used in a pinch for carrying as much as seven tons of supplies without getting into harm's way, albeit at a fairly glacial 30MPH. The successful first flight won't be much consolation to Mav6, whose Blue Devil 2 was scuttled at the last minute after technical issues; it's nonetheless a relief for US troops, who may get weeks at a time of constant intelligence on enemy movements. Catch a short snippet of the early LEMV journey after the break.
Jersey Shore getting Verizon LTE on May 17th...
...just in time for photos of Snooki's kid to be whisked around the world at 4G speeds. (P.S. - Northern Vermont, Long Island, Cape Cod, Delaware beach communities and the gorgeous Outer Banks of North Carolina are going live soon as well, sans drama.) [Photo credit: Craig Barritt, Getty Images]
MTV on demand launches in the UK, now everyone's got a 'banker' for those cold nights
If you, or your kids, wish to view the dionysian exploits of Newcastle's finest at any hour of the day, then you're in luck. MTV has unveiled an online on-demand service in the UK that will allow you to binge-watch Geordie Shore and other shows of its ilk for a modest fee. £2 ($3.20) will buy you 24 hours access, while £3 ($4.80) will provide a full week of delightfully low-brow programming. Given the adult nature of MTV's oeuvre, only those 16-and-over will be eligible to access the service, but be warned -- it's charged via your monthly cellphone bill, so keep it a safe distance from the rugrats.
MIT-created algorithm predicts likelihood of running red lights, places blame where appropriate
The bad news: Math will always judge you. The good news: It'll still be there to judge everyone else. In a recent article published in the IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, MIT's Professor Jonathan How and three colleagues announced they've created an algorithm that can predict whether an oncoming car is about to run a red light one or two seconds before a possible collision. The algorithm can compute the likelihood of a vehicle running a red light based on its rate of deceleration as it is approaching the intersection with a level of precision down to mere milliseconds. The team, which applied the algorithm to more than 15,000 vehicles during the study, used instruments that monitored vehicle speeds and locations as well as when the lights turned red. When the results were tallied, they found that they were able to correctly predict who would run a red light 85 percent of the time. In other news, MIT is working on a much simpler algorithm capable of predicting when your significant other will break up with you, the formula factoring in at least four behavioral elements from the last season of "Jersey Shore."
Samsung Galaxy Tab to ship with exclusive MTV content (update)
Looks like Samsung is hoping to tap into some of that magical magic that made Speidi and the Situation household names, and it's doing so by developing an app in partnership with MTV Networks International. Called Touch MTV, it will feature single episodes of various shows including The Hills and Jersey Shore, content from MTV Iggy, and regular updates that are sure to be of great interest to a certain "very lucrative and trend-setting audience." The app will be pre-installed on the Galaxy Tab, alongside games from Gameloft and more. Certainly not a bad idea, bulking up on the entertainment value of the device -- especially since there's at least one other tablet out there with a pretty big share of digital music and video sales. But we have one suggestion: someone, will you please bring back Ed Lover, Dr. Dre, and Fab 5 Freddy? PR after the break. Update: Since the deal was inked with MTV Networks International, it looks like the app's only being bundled with devices shipping in the Czech Republic, Germany, Croatia, Holland, Hungary, and Poland for the time being. America, you're safe -- for now.
Engadget's celebrity iPhone app showdown
It all began on a lark, really. When we realized that Jersey Shore's very own Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino had an iPhone app (and he had the temerity to charge $5 for it), we started thinking: Which other celebs have apps? How bad can they get? And who would win in an app store shoot-out between Kim Kardashian, Shaq, and Justin Bieber? The answer, as they say, will shock you. Journey past the break for Engadget's guide to the best and the worst (well, actually, just the worst) of the celebrity iPhone apps. %Gallery-103158%
The Situation releases top grossing iOS app, gives us a reason to make the switch from Android
Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, a reality TV star with few legitimate talents, has to take every opportunity he can to monetize his fifteen minutes of fame -- so it's no surprise that he's got an app of his own. What is surprising, however, is that anyone would pay $5 for what is essentially a way to shoot him Facebook messages, a GTL finder (think Urban Spoon for laundromats and gyms), and a game called Grenade Dodger that's basically Kaboom! with a Jersey Shore face lift. But pay for it, people have: According to The Hollywood Reporter, since its release last Thursday this bad boy has moved into the Top 10 Entertainment Apps in the App Store -- which is odd, because when we checked (image after the break) it was ranked 19, behind such titles as Hot Booth and iGun Pro. Regardless, you could take this info one of two ways: you could shed a tear for humanity (we definitely wouldn't blame you), or you can double down and finish production of your app for Oxygen's Bad Girls Club.
Dell pulls ads from Jersey Shore, calls show 'derogatony' (video)
Its seems that casual TV viewers and large corporations handle Schadenfreude very differently. While MTV's Jersey Shore has been a constant source of amusement for at least one Engadget editor, TMZ (our other favorite tech site) reports that Dell has joined a growing list of advertisers that are backing away from the reality series. In fact, a company spokesman (with a less jaded view of humanity than us) has gone on record stating that Dell doesn't "condone or support ethnic bashing in any form." And neither do we, of course -- but we do love a good laugh. Jenni "Jwoww" Farley is unavailable for comment.
