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Engadget Live heads to Austin on Friday!
This Friday, October 16th at 7PM, we're heading back to Austin, TX, for our second-to-last Engadget Live event of the year! We're taking over the Austin Music Hall to bring together gadget lovers (like you!) for a night you won't want to miss. Tickets are free!
Engadget Live is coming to Austin next Friday!
We're excited to be returning to Austin, TX, one of our favorite cities, on October 16th at 7PM for our third Engadget Live event of the year! We'll take over Austin Music Hall and bring together gadget lovers and tech companies for a night you don't want to miss. Tickets are free, but if you'd like to get in an hour earlier (at 6PM), you can purchase an early-access pass.
Engadget Live heads to Austin, Texas on October 16th!
It's been a while since our last Engadget Live event (we love you, Los Angeles!) and even longer since we visited Austin. So, on October 16th at 7PM, we're taking over the Austin Music Hall to bring gadget lovers and awesome tech companies together. Entry is free, but we're also offering you the chance to beat the crowds and get in an hour early for $15. Get your free ticket or purchase an early-access pass here.
Apple promises $2M to help Bay Area host Super Bowl 50 and more news from June 6, 2014
Friday is usually a slow news day in the tech world, but not today. We have a heapin' helpin' of hot Apple news to serve up: Apple CEO Tim Cook is a huge football fan, being both a supporter of Auburn University's Tigers and a member of the board of directors of the National Football Foundation. And now, the company he leads has promised US$2 million towards helping the Bay Area host the 50th National Football League championship game, AKA "Super Bowl L" (yeah, that Roman number 50 looks odd...). Google, Yahoo, Intel and other companies have also chipped in, and if all works out for the organizing committee, the 2016 Super Bowl could be held at the soon-to-be-opened Levi's Stadium (see image at top) in Santa Clara, CA. PayPal's talking about using Apple's Touch ID capabilities in its iOS apps as soon as possible. Apple has opened up the Touch ID APIs to developers in iOS 8, opening the door for the mobile payment giant to take advantage of Apple's fingerprint security technology. Rumor has it that Apple will begin building Touch ID into every iOS device announced beginning this year. Apple executives Tim Cook and Eddy Cue were on hand in Austin, TX yesterday for an opening celebration of the new Apple campus there. The new buildings host Apple support, engineering, and operations facilities, and are just the first of a planned expansion that won't be completed until 2021. Remember the Vaavud wind meter for iOS devices that TUAW reviewed last August? The manufacturer is hosting an outdoor adventure video competition, with applicants sharing adventures using the Vaavud in the most creative and adventurous situations. Here's your chance to win prizes from more Vaavud wind meters all the way up to a DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter. The folks over at 9to5Mac are reporting that HealthKit apparently supports some Bluetooth health accessories natively, meaning that the manufacturers no longer have to supply their own apps along with the devices.
Travis County Commission OK's Apple's Austin, Texas expansion plans
As expected, the Travis County (TX) Commission has approved an economic development package for Apple to spur the development of jobs in Austin. The package was approved last night by a 4-to-1 vote, and is expected to bring new jobs to Austin in return for US$5.4 to $6.4 million in tax rebates. In return, Apple will make an expected $282.5 million investment in Austin. The company has also received an $8.6 million economic development grant from the city of Austin, as well as a similar $21 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund. The incentives were key to Apple basing its Americas Operation Center in Austin, which is expected to add about 3,600 new jobs to the existing 3,100 who currently work at the Northwest Austin campus. Apple state and local governmental affairs manager Jason Lundgaard, who attended the Commissioners Court meeting last night, said that the company plans to work with the county to hire economically challenged individuals.
Apple's plans for Texas construction delayed due to disagreement with county
Apple's plans to bring 3,600 jobs to Austin, Texas are being delayed due to a disagreement between the company and the Travis County Commissioners Court over the terms of an economic incentive package. Apple is hoping to establish an Americas Operations Center in Austin, which would run most of the company's business operations for North and South America. Key to the deal to invest $304 million in the center is a package which would provide the company with almost $36 million in incentives over the next 10 to 15 years. The sticking point in the negotiations is with the Travis County Commissioners Court, which would provide anywhere from $5.4 to $6.4 million of the incentive. Opponents of the deal raised their objections at a Tuesday meeting of the Court, with Bill Aleshire (an attorney and former Travis County judge) and Ed Wendler (an Austin developer) picking through the details of the contract between the county and Apple. Aleshire said "I'm not sorry that Apple is frustrated ... That's a sorry contract." He felt that Apple "had it rigged so they could not comply with the contract yet end up with county staff basically renegotiating the terms that they would have to comply with." There's hope that the negotiations will end in a positive vote for Apple's expansion plans next Tuesday, May 1, 2012. If not, there are plenty of other cities in the U.S. that would be more than happy to welcome Apple with open arms.
Dispatches from the iPad 2 front lines
11:45 AM (Steve Sande): I'm here at the Aspen Grove Apple Store in Littleton, Colorado, and fortunately it's warm and clear. I'm at about the 20th person in line, and my cohort in crime Erica Sadun just showed up. It's a congenial group in line this morning. Apparently, the first person in line showed up at 11:30 AM yesterday. Most people in the line so far are optimistic that they'll get one, and the store manager is talking up people in the line to see how they're doing. There's even a "line host" passing out bottles of water, and we've heard that they'll be handing out sunscreen wipes soon. The store will be closing between 3 and 5 PM, then re-opening at 5 PM to start sales. During that time, I'm sure that the iPads on display will be replaced with iPad 2s wearing Smart Covers, that a handful of iPad 2 cases will be hung from the wall display, and probably even a new window display will go up. We'll be doing some live video this afternoon, so keep tuned to TUAW. 1:30 PM (Victor Agreda): Victor's in line at the temporary Apple Store that was put up in Austin, Texas to handle the hordes of SXSW attendees who need their iPad 2 fixes. The first guy in line was there at 6:30 AM - much smarter than the fool who got to the Aspen Grove store at 11:30 yesterday! %Gallery-118912% Read on to see pictures/testimony from our readers across the US.
Time Warner Cable reselling WiMAX later this year in Charlotte, Dallas, and two mystery markets
It's not really that surprising given its investment in Clearwire, but Time Warner Cable is now ready to join in on the WiMAX fun. The company plans to resell the mobile broadband in four US cities by the end of the year, but so far it's only revealed two of them: Charlotte, North Carolina, and Dallas, Texas. Meanwhile, cable competitor Comcast has already opened up its WiMAX shop in Portland, Oregon, and plans to hit Atlanta, Chicago, and Philadelphia by the end of this year. No word on prices, but we don't expect it to stray far from the current $20 to $50 monthly fees. We're also a bit in the dark as to when we can expect the rollout this year, so if you're in one of those two markets and have a strong itch for 4G wireless, better start filling up that piggy bank now, just to be safe.
Planet Green HD coming to San Antonio TWC customers
Time Warner Cable customers in San Antonio, TX will be treated to one more HD offering today when Planet Green HD comes into the homestead via the copper pipe. If your HDTV is going to gobble up electricity and also do battle with your air conditioner as it spills heat into your abode, the least you can do is take in some eco-lifestyle content. Consider it a kind of "awareness offset" to your carbon footprint, okay? That is, unless you've voted with your pocketbook and picked up a green TV; in which case you might want to truly minimize your footprint by turning it off altogether. Look for it on channel 140, and drink lightly from the 250 hours of content. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]
Toshiba updates its Qosmio and Dynabook offerings, elicits yawns, naps
Toshiba is getting back in the swing of things with a round of Summer updates for a bunch of laptops (at least in Japan). First up on the block is the Qosmio F40, the €1352, 15.4-inch model which now trades its HD DVD drive or a DVD multi option, sports a Core 2 Duo T8100 CPU atop a GN965 Express chipset, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, and HDMI outs. The company has also updated the Dynabook AX (€922), which now comes in a pink, white, or shiny black casing, with a Celeron 550 CPU on board, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, HDMI outs, and a Super Multi optical drive. The 15.4-inch, WXGA-screened TX gets an bump in the form of the Core 2 Duo T8100, plus 2GB of RAM, 200GB hard drive, and those HDMI / Super Multi drive fixin's, all for €1100. Finally, the smaller, 13.3-inch CX line sports the same CPU, 2GB of RAM, a 160GB hard drive, everything else that the other models have, and a totally awesome €1230 price tag.[Via Akihabara News]
Palm tries to make a right with two wrongs
Sure, it's fun to carry around three, four, or even five devices at a time -- and now thanks to a new promotion from Palm, you can quickly up the number of gadgets hanging from your utility belt by two. Currently, if you purchase the PDA / smartphone-maker's $299 Palm TX, they'll throw in a $99 Zire Z22 for free. We're guessing those storage crates full of unsold product are probably starting to crowd Ed Colligan's basement.[Via Palm Infocenter]
A visit to NCsoft Austin
Last week, we were invited to take a look at NCsoft's Austin offices to see where the the magic behind some of our favorite MMOs takes place. Communications Director David Swofford was happy to give us a tour of the facilities and tell us a bit about how NCsoft does what it does. Nestled in the Texas hill country off Loop 360, this could be one of countless tech companies -- but don't let its ordinary exterior fool you. Want to take a look inside? Keep reading!%Gallery-9639%
Tabula Rasa exclusive interview and NCsoft tour
We had the chance recently to head over to the NCsoft studios in Austin, TX for a tour of their swank living shrine to Richard Garriott and a one-on-one interview with Tabula Rasa producer Starr Long. We'll be rolling those features later this morning, but while you wait we leave you with something even better than elevator music: the NCsoft HQ gallery!%Gallery-9639%
Blizzard opening customer support center in Austin, TX
For those of you hoping to score an exciting job in customer service for Blizzard, but not really wanting to move all the way out to Irvine, CA, you now have another option. The Austin Business Journal is reporting that Blizzard is opening a facility in Austin, TX that could eventually house around 500 employees, consisting of gaming support, quality control, and internal support staff. If you happen to be in the area, they're currently accepting resumes for customer service representatives. I'm in the area, but if the amount of angry forum posts I see on a daily basis are any indication, I'm not sure I could take the sort of abuse Blizzard's CSRs probably deal with. At least not for 40 hours every week!
Westinghouse announces 2007 LCD HDTV lineup
Westinghouse is rolling out new HDTVs in all sizes and resolutions at CES, starting with its new line of 1080p LCDs, the TX series. The latest 1080p panels from the company, all with native 1080p input via all connectors and advanced calibration settings. The 42- and 47-inch will ship in May with MSRP of $1,999 and $2,499 respectively, while the 52-inch follows in May, price TBA. Next is the SK series, with 720p LCDs available in 32- and 42-inch models shipping in May for $899 and $1,599, in addition to a 26- and 32-inch pair with DVD players integrated into them. The DVD playing models will be available in April at $799 for the 26-inch and $999 for the 32. The company is also debuting three smaller HDTVs, with two 26-inch models designed to replace customer's existing CRTs that retail for $699 and a 19-inch for $449. Westinghouse is facing steep competition on price from competitors like Vizio now, we just hope they don't pull a Sony and start complaining about prices. The 56-inch quad HDTV will also be at the booth, we plan on counting each of the pixels to make sure its 8 megapixel-plus resoltion is authentic. Read - Westinghouse TX Read - Westinghouse SK Read - Westinghouse SK w/ DVD Read - Westinghouse SK 26-inch Read - Westinghouse SK 19-inch
Sony's EV-DO-packin' VAIO VGN-TXN15P reviewed
Sony is bringing the long lasting, EV-DO-packin' goodness to us yet again in the revamped version of its VGN-TXN10. The folks at Laptop Mag got their lucky paws on Sony's latest 3G ultraportable, and were more than pleased with the results. Housing a 1.2GHz Intel Core Solo processor, 1GB of RAM, 80GB 4200RPM hard drive, dual-layer DVD burner, Intel's GMA950 integrated graphics set, and an 11.1-inch 1,366 x 768 resolution LCD, reviewers were thrilled with the decent performance and exceptionally long "8 hours, 32 minutes" of battery life they realized in testing. Both the design and long list of ammenties were greatly appreciaited, but the wee keyboard and (unsurprisingly) high pricetag were complained about. The "star attraction," as it was so aptly called, delivered a very impressive "average throughput of 768Kbps," with peaks as "high as 1Mbps." They did note that upload speeds were a tad slow, but they hope that Sprint's continued rollout of Rev A technology will help the issue resolve itself. Overall, it came "pretty close to being the ultimate ultraportable," and should suit just about anyone with deep enough pockets quite well.
Unannounced Vaio TX800 surfaces at FCC
Our pals at the FCC have let another laptop slip, and this time it looks like a Core Duo upgrade to the TX790 and company. There's no hard facts on the specs, but according to the manual it doesn't look like this first wave will have 3G data, just the usual 802.11a/b/g and Bluetooth good times. Core Duo News is guessing Sony will stick with Core Solo ULV 1.06 and 1.2GHz chips for now, and wait for those Core Duo ULV chips coming this fall. There's an 11-inch screen and plenty of similarities to the current TX series, including a nicely skinny form factor, but we'll just have to sit tight to learn any more.[Thanks, Staska]
