The next Xbox is codenamed ‘Loop,’ will feature heavy Kinect integration and be smaller and cheaper than the 360

ccording to a supposed insider, the next generation of Xbox is currently being developed under the codename “Loop,” and the source provided a few details on the hardware.

A new report from the blogger MS Nerd claims that the next generation of Xbox is deep in the development stages, is operating under the code name “Loop,” and the blogger has issued details on the system’s hardware.

We won’t blame you if you want to classify this as a rumor and throw it in the corner with all the other possible next-gen console rumors, but evidence is beginning to mount that a new Xbox is coming soon, and so it makes sense that details would begin to leak. Shy of Microsoft following its employees at all times with snipers trained on them, a project this massive will be impossible to keep entirely quiet. That said, until there are more sources confirming the details, take this with a grain of salt.

According to the blog, the next Xbox is being developed under the codename “Loop.” That name will certainly not stick to the final product, but if that is indeed the development name, expect to hear it pop up often until the system is officially debuted. The device was originally said to be listed under the name XboxTV, but that seems to have either been changed, or never solid to begin with.

The hardware will supposedly feature:

“A modified Win9 core. It will use a Zune HD-like hardware platform—a “main” processor with multiple dedicated assistive cores for graphics, AI, physics, sound, networking, encryption and sensors. It will be custom designed by Microsoft and two partners based on the ARM architecture.”

If true, this is by far the most detailed single account we have had on the next Xbox, but it is in line with all the other rumors we have heard floating around. The current top rumor has the next Xbox debuting in 2013, but so far details on hardware specifics have been scattered.

The blogger also claims that the “Loop” will be positioned with cost in mind:

“It will be cheaper than the 360, further enabling Kinect adoption. And it will be far smaller than the 360. It will also demonstrate how Windows Phone could possible implement Win9’s dev platform on the lower end.”

As is the standard MO, Microsoft has had no comment about the newest rumors/possible leak, but we certainly haven’t heard the last of this.

The future of smoking: E-cigarettes explained

Are e-cigarettes the smoker's salvation from a slow death at the hands of tobacco, or just another gimmick? Here's everything you need to know, from how the technology works to potential safety concerns, one smoker's first-hand tale of transition, and recommended models.

Smoking cigarettes is just not cool anymore. And that’s a good thing: According to the US Center for Disease Control (CDC), approximately 443,000 Americans die every year from tobacco use, and 49,000 of those deaths are caused by second-hand smoke. Of course, the problem is that quitting smoking is so difficult that many never put out their last butt until it’s far, far too late. The CDC reported Thursday that, while 68.8 percent of smokers wish they could quit, and 52 percent have tried to quit in the last year, only 6 percent manage to do so entirely.

One of the reasons quitting is so staggeringly difficult — and you will rarely hear anyone admit this — is that smoking is awesome. Sure, that’s the nicotine talking, as any non-smoker will snobbishly tell you. But that’s not the whole story, either. Many smokers simply enjoy the activity in and of itself; the smoke breaks during work, the social element, the satisfaction of oral fixation. And inexplicably, the act of smoking is just, well, nice. Fortunately for us smokers, there is a potentially superior alternative: e-cigarettes.

Invented by Herbert A. Gilbert in 1963, and developed by Chinese pharmacist Hon Lik in 2003, e-cigarettes contain no tobacco, no tar, or most other toxic substances found in regular cigarettes.The technology has made significant leaps in the last year that make these tiny contraptions a perfect replacement for tobacco cigarettes. So much so that those who jump on board may never smoke another tobacco cigarette again. And yet, e-cigarettes have only recently begun to make their way into the mainstream. Because of this, I’ve decided to dive head-first into the world of e-cigarettes to discover what all the underground buzz is about. Here, a complete guide to e-cigarettes, smoking of the future.

Parts and terminology

E-cigarettes, which are essentially miniature smoke machines like the kind you’ll find in a night club, have a number of different parts, the quality and style of which determine the kind of e-cigarette smoking experience you’ll have. The e-cigarette world also has a number of unique terms. Knowing the parts of the device and the related terms can help you figure out which e-cigarette is right for you.

Main parts:

e-cigarette-battery-rpBattery: Arguably the most important component of the e-cigarette is the rechargeable lithium-ion battery, which is the largest part of every e-cigarette. The size and voltage output of the battery governs both how long you can “vape” — the term for “smoking” an e-cigarette — before re-charging, and plays a significant role in how much vapor your e-cigarette creates.

Cartomizer: The cartomizer is the other essential element of e-cigarettes. The cartomizer, which screws on to the end of the battery, is where you put your mouth. The cartomizer contains a cotton-like material, which holds the “e-liquid,” and a heating element (the “atomizer”), which boils the e-liquid, creating the vapor. When e-cigarettes first hit the market, cartomizers were divided into two parts, the atomizer and the cartridge. Combining these two parts was one of the primary advancements in e-cigarette technology.e-cig-cartomizer-rp

E-liquid: E-liquid is made primarily from propylene glycol, which is used in everything from asthma inhalers to deodorant. E-liquid is often mixed with a number of other ingredients, including various potencies of nicotine. This is what you “smoke,” and is used to refill the cartomizers. Any e-liquid can be used to refill any cartomizer, though not all cartomizers will fit all batteries. E-liquid come in a wide range of flavors, ranging from those that roughly mimic the flavor of different brands of cigarettes to flavors like grape, watermelon and atomic fireball.

Other parts and terms:

PCC: The portable charging case, or PCC, is basically just a case that contains a larger lithium-ion battery, to which your e-cigarette battery can attach, and recharge. PCCs make it more convenient for keeping all your e-cigarette batteries charged when on the go.

LED: At the end of many e-cigarettes is an LED, which lights up in a way that more or less mimics the cherry of a tobacco cigarette. Nowadays, these LEDs come in a wide range of colors, including white, blue, yellow, orange and green.

Starter kits: Most e-cigarette companies offer some type of “starter kit,” and most offer starter kits at multiple price points. The most basic starter kits usually include at least one battery, five pre-filled cartridges and a charger.

How e-cigarettes work

These days, most e-cigarettes have a sensor at the cartomizer end of the battery, which is triggered via pressure applied when taking a drag. The sensor turns on the battery, which engages the heating element (the atomizer) in the cartomizer. The atomizer boils the propylene glycol solution, and creates the vapor. When you stop pulling, the battery turns off, which stops the e-liquid from boiling. Some e-cigarettes have a button, which replaces the sensor. Simply press the button and take a drag.
How to vape

Vaping is designed to mimic smoking a regular cigarette as much as possible; simply suck on the end, and vapor enters your mouth and lungs. Unlike tobacco cigarettes, which produce more smoke the harder you pull, e-cigarettes produce the same amount of vapor whenever the atomizer is turned on. This means that it’s better to pull as slowly as possible to trigger the sensor, which will result in the most amount of vapor.ProVari-5T-rp

When your e-cigarette begins to produce less vapor, either your battery is low on charge, your cartomizer is out of e-liquid, or both. Simply swap in a new battery, or a full cartomizer, and you’ll be back to normal vaping levels. From my experience, the two often run out at about the same time — the length of which is dependent upon the size of the battery — so it’s a safe habit to simply change out both when your vaping begins to weaken.
Cost

Most starter kits will run anywhere from $30 to $100, depending on the kit you choose. A pack of five cartomizers will run around $10 to $15. And a bottle of e-liquid, which will last even heavy smokers about a month, costs around $15 to $20. On average, a person who smokes the equivalent of a pack a day can expect to spend around $600 annually, versus the $1,000 to $4,000 it costs to satisfy a pack-a-day habit.

apollo-e-cigarette-kit-rp
Recommended e-cigarettes

Volt, by Smokeless Image
Pros:
• Excellent vapor production
• Strong battery life
• Great customer service
• Good e-liquid flavor selection
• Best product overall for the average user
Cons:
• Poorly constructed PCC
• Lacks the option of a significantly larger battery

V2 cigs
Pros:
• Great vapor production
• Solid battery life
• Excellent PCC and other accessories
Cons:
• Slightly less-solid battery construction
• E-liquid flavors aren’t great

TGo, by Apollo
Pros:
• Excellent battery life
• Great vapor production
• Good e-liquid flavor selection
Cons:
• Poor customer service

ProVari, by ProVape
Pros:
• Best battery life
• Adjustable voltage
• Excellent vapor production
Cons:
• Bulky, bad for portability

Google is giving away 10 Galaxy Nexus phones in Twitter contest

Google is giving away 10 Galaxy Nexus phones to 10 lucky winners over the course of a 10 day contest conducted over Twitter.

The generous folks over at Google have decided to give away 10 of the brand new Galaxy Nexus phones over the course of the next 10 days. This is the perfect change for everyone out there who wishes they could have one, but just can’t afford it. The 10 day contest will consist of one question or challenge a day via Twitter.  Google has left the rules, and requirements pretty open, so be prepared to use your imagination.

Google’s Twitter account will tweet out a daily puzzle, photo challenge, or essay question at a specified time. The answers submitted will then be judged by a panel of Google employees. As the contest is available in countries all around the world the times the questions will be posted changes day by day as to not give any one region an advantage, but no matter where you are from submissions must be in English.

The solution requirements state that all answers must fit in the 140 character limit of Twitter, and that includes the @googlenexus reference. Seeing as the contest states that there might be an essay question we are assuming that you are able to submit a link as an answer, even though that seems to go against the spirit of the challenge.

The contest officially kicks off in the morning of November 12 at 9:00am PST, we have included the complete list of start dates below. In order to win a Galaxy Nexus before you can even buy one you have to be following the @googlenexus account, good luck.

Sony Hopes To Debut “A New Form Of Television”

Sony CEO Howard Stringer isn’t in an enviable position. The company has had a rough few years, and expects to lose a cool billion dollars in the fiscal year ending in March 2012. The TV business, in particular, has been a millstone around his neck; the price of TV, very much a commodity, has gone down steadily for years, and the poor economy has driven people towards budget brands and smaller sets if they buy anything at all. Despite this, Stringer is philosophical about the hard times.

You have bad years,” he told the Wall St Journal. “The trick is to weather them, learn from them, act graciously through them, and learn why and when you have to change.” And the TV market is ripe for real change, but whether they can make a better change than their new adversary in there, Apple, is up in the air.

Jobs was rumored to have been working on just this problem, the reinvention of TV, before he died. Inventor, manager, or tweaker, whatever the man was, he was certainly someone you didn’t want working on a product that competed with yours. Stringer, aware of this, began preemptively working against Apple: “I spent the last five years building a platform so I can compete against Steve Jobs. It’s finished, and it’s launching now,” he said.

This was in reference, however, to a multi-screen strategy that unifies experiences across mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and TVs. If Apple is building something, it’s going to be a single “breakthrough device,” as they are sure to call it, not an ecosystem or a meta-platform optional to a hundred different devices. Is Sony ready for that?

It’s been a long time since Sony had to invent anything on its own in this sector. For years it has sold the same products in increasingly powerful variations or with lowered price points. Despite real advantages in some areas and a global network of consumer electronics companies that rely on its OEM portion (the iPhone 4S’s new camera is a Sony, for instance), it has had precious few original ideas.

Is it even possible for this company to rise to the challenge and beat Apple to the punch by disrupting its own industry? Sony is many things, but surprising isn’t one of them. Their forces are too widely distributed, and are vulnerable to a blitzkrieg by someone like Apple who, having no commodity business to look after, can afford to go all out on a single device, price, interface, and platform. Sony’s CEO is at least treating the issue with the respect it deserves, but that probably won’t be enough.

Siri in the Kindle? Amazon Buys a Voice Recognition Startup

Some CEOs like to shout their acquisitions from the rooftops. And then there’s Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who would prefer that you didn’t know his company just bought a startup called Yap.
Here’s how cloak-and-dagger it got: Yap technically merged with a subsidiary called Dion Acquisition in September, according to SEC filings. Only now did an eagle-eyed tech blogger based in Yap’s hometown, Charlotte, N.C., notice that the address listed for the post-merger company was an Amazon building in Seattle.
Why all the secrecy? Well, it could have something to do with Amazon’s need for voice recognition technology to compete with Apple’s Siri. Yap had an Android and iOS app called Yap Voicemail, which was still in private beta (and has now been mysteriously discontinued); it transcribed your phone calls for you. Yap’s founders suggested their intellectual property went way beyond that, and that it was a potential competitor to the do-it-all voice recognition app Vlingo.
If the Kindle range of tablets — led by the Android-based Kindle Fire — is going to compete with the iPad in the long term, then having some strong competition to Siri is a must. Siri is currently baked into the iPhone 4S, but plenty of users have been able to get her up and running on an iPad 2, and there seems little doubt that Apple will be officially incorporating her into the iPad 3 in 2012.
With strong voice recognition, Amazon could push the Kindle as a supremely easy device for accessing your media hands-free. Finding songs, playing and pausing movies, even turning pages in a book (or buying a new one) could all be done via voice. Indeed, given the Kindle’s much-touted video mirroring capability, this could be a back door into making the Kindle a voice-based remote control for your TV.
Would you consider buying a Kindle with Siri-like functionality? Let us know in the comments.

Siri Finds Your Face with Infrared Light

One of Siri‘s best features is the ability to “raise to speak,” which activates the voice-commanded personal assistant when the phone is raised to your face. But how does Siri know when the iPhone 4S is close to your face?

iFixit decided to answer that question and promptly disassembled an iPhone 4S to see how it ticks.

The answer? There is an infrared sensor that is always activated on the device.

During our iPhone 4S teardown, iFixit buddy Markus noted that the new iPhone had a rather unusual-looking black component next to the ambient light sensor….

Now that the teardown is wrapped up, we’ve re-opened the mystery and made a neat discovery about the 4S: that black component is an infrared LED, and the little bugger almost always wants to know if you’re nearby.

Users don’t have to worry about health risks of the infrared LED. The amount of light emitted by the sensor isn’t nearly strong enough to damage eyesight (though we still wouldn’t recommend staring at the sensor — or any source of light, really — for a long period of time). This also doesn’t mean your iPhone now works as a flashlight. Infrared light has a wavelength longer than visual light for humans, meaning there’s no way you’d detect the sensor unless, as iFixit points out, you are a snake, fish, mosquito or cheap digital camera.

SEE ALSO: Siri vs. Furby: When Two Worlds Collide
The iPhone has always had some sort of proximity sensor, such as for when the screen shuts down during a call to avoid accidentally pressing buttons with your cheek. In older models of the iPhone, these sensors would only activate when a call was made. Siri’s “raise to talk” feature, however, requires the sensors be on whenever the screen is active. Presumably these sensors can also differentiate between your face and, say, your pocket, otherwise Siri’s going to be doing a lot of eavesdropping.

Billy Crystal Announces via Twitter That He’s Hosting the Oscars

Actor and comedian Billy Crystal announced via Twitter that he is taking over the hosting duties for the 2012 Oscars.

The move comes a day after Eddy Murphy quit as host of the 84th Academy Awards. Murphy left a day after show producer Brett Ratner stepped down after using a homophobic slur while promoting Tower Heist, which also stars Murphy.

“Am doing the Oscars so the young woman in the pharmacy will stop asking my name when I pick up my prescriptions,” Crystal says in his tweet. “Looking forward to the show.”

The Twitterverse was quick to pounce on Murphy’s departure with suggestions of its own for a replacement host. In fact, “Billy Crystal” started trending not long after Murphy announced his departure. It seems the fans will be getting what they asked for.

This will be Crystal’s ninth time hosting the Academy Awards. He last hosted the popular awards show in 2004.

Check out some of the Twitter reactions to Murphy’s departure in the gallery below. Clearly Billy Crystal didn’t listen to Jason Kaplan’s suggestion.

80% of Smartphone Users Multitask While Watching TV

It’s been said that multitasking makes you less productive, yet that hasn’t stopped the majority of U.S. smartphone users from juggling multiple devices. As many as 80% of people multitask on a mobile device while watching TV, finds a new study.

Using a laptop in front of the TV is no new behavior, yet few TV spots capitalize on the fact many consumers hold an Internet-enabled device in their hands as commercials air. The DVR presented hurdles for advertisers a decade ago as viewers were able to fast forward through ads. Today, tablets and smartphones introduce a new challenge: A more engaged yet distracted consumer. Apps and tools, such as Shazam, might offer one way for marketers to get viewers interacting with ads.

Yahoo Mobile and Razorfish polled 2,000 U.S. adults on their mobile habits and device preferences, to help marketers better understand consumer behavior.

We pulled out 7 intriguing stats on consumer multitasking patterns.

38% of respondents say browsing the web enhances their TV viewing experience, while another 38% say it makes them more distracted.
70% of respondents multitask at least once a week; 49% do so daily.
15% are on their phones for programs’ entire durations.
The top 5 programming genres attracting multitaskers are reality, news, comedy, sports and food.
94% of reported multitaskers engage in some form of mobile communication while watching TV, such as exchanging email, sending IMs, texting, talking or social networking.
60% browse the mobile web, of which 44% search for unrelated content and 38% search for related content.
Mobile traffic spikes during halftime shows of sporting events; Yahoo Sports saw a 305% increase during the last Super Bowl halftime show.

President Obama Threatens to Veto Law to Repeal Net Neutrality

The White House has threatened to veto Republican-sponsored legislation that would overturn the net neutrality rules the FCC passed last December.

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on S.J. Resolution 6 [PDF], “Disapproval of Federal Communications Commission Rule Regulating the Internet and Broadband Industry Practices”, sometime on Thursday. The resolution, if it were to pass both houses, would begin a process that could overturn the decision of the FCC. The U.S. House of Representatives rejected the FCC’s net neutrality rules back in April.

“Disapproval of the rule would threaten those values and cast uncertainty over those innovative new businesses that are a critical part of the Nation’s economic recovery,” the White House said in its veto threat. “It would be ill-advised to threaten the very foundations of innovation in the Internet economy and the democratic spirit that has made the Internet a force for social progress around the world.”

The FCC rules prevent broadband providers from blocking access to specific websites and applications. However, the rules are less clear when it comes to wireless providers. Supporters, such as Barack Obama and the White House, believe that some regulations are necessary to stop ISPs such as Comcast from throttling or blocking content. Opponents, such as Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R.-Texas), one of the sponsors of the bill, argue that the net neutrality regulations would over-regulate the Internet, stifle the economy and set a bad precedent.

“The Internet and technology have produced more jobs in this country than just about any other sector,” Hutchison said on Tuesday. “It has been the cradle of innovation, it does not have a problem and it does not need fixing.”

With the president’s veto on the table, the bill is unlikely to become law. It would require a 2/3 vote of both houses to overturn the veto. Neither chamber has the votes to make that happen. The issue will likely continue to flare up though as the presidential election cycle heats up.

Man threatens to blow up Best Buy over Modern Warfare 3

Likely going to end up as further ammunition used by opponents of violent video games, a man in Colorado thought it would be a brilliant idea to threaten death over the lack of the new Call of Duty game at his local retailer.

After 31-year-old Loromin Sar was informed that his local Best Buy in Aurora, Colorado ran out of copies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, his first thought was to inform store employees that he would be back to blow up the store with some sort of explosive device. He also informed several Best Buy employees that he would return as they got off work in order to shoot them. Sar had preordered the game earlier in the day and was expecting to pick up a copy at the midnight release of Activision’s eighth installment of the Call of Duty franchise. He became irate at the customer service desk before launching into his promises of murder.

Shortly after the threats were made, Best Buy employees called the police to the store’s location and Sar’s Infinity sport-utility vehicle was pulled over by police near the store. Sar received a summons for misdemeanor disorderly conduct for his actions at Best Buy. Aurora police detective Bob Friel threw some wit in the official police statement which read “Investigating officers issued a criminal summons to a man who threatened to carry out his own version of Modern Warfare at the electronics store. Fortunately, this situation did not end in violence.” According to police, Sar doesn’t have a record for previous crimes, but has several traffic violations.

While Sar was only concerned about a single copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, authorities in France are dealing with two separate robberies in which thousands of copies of the game were stolen valued at over one million dollars. The thieves in the first robbery used knives and tear gas to remove the driver of the delivery van and take control of the truck.  The second robbery involved three masked men, one of which was wielding a loaded handgun.

Siri Finds Your Face with Infrared Light

One of Siri‘s best features is the ability to “raise to speak,” which activates the voice-commanded personal assistant when the phone is raised to your face. But how does Siri know when the iPhone 4S is close to your face?

iFixit decided to answer that question and promptly disassembled an iPhone 4S to see how it ticks.

The answer? There is an infrared sensor that is always activated on the device.

During our iPhone 4S teardown, iFixit buddy Markus noted that the new iPhone had a rather unusual-looking black component next to the ambient light sensor….

Now that the teardown is wrapped up, we’ve re-opened the mystery and made a neat discovery about the 4S: that black component is an infrared LED, and the little bugger almost always wants to know if you’re nearby.

Users don’t have to worry about health risks of the infrared LED. The amount of light emitted by the sensor isn’t nearly strong enough to damage eyesight (though we still wouldn’t recommend staring at the sensor — or any source of light, really — for a long period of time). This also doesn’t mean your iPhone now works as a flashlight. Infrared light has a wavelength longer than visual light for humans, meaning there’s no way you’d detect the sensor unless, as iFixit points out, you are a snake, fish, mosquito or cheap digital camera.

SEE ALSO: Siri vs. Furby: When Two Worlds Collide
The iPhone has always had some sort of proximity sensor, such as for when the screen shuts down during a call to avoid accidentally pressing buttons with your cheek. In older models of the iPhone, these sensors would only activate when a call was made. Siri’s “raise to talk” feature, however, requires the sensors be on whenever the screen is active. Presumably these sensors can also differentiate between your face and, say, your pocket, otherwise Siri’s going to be doing a lot of eavesdropping.