Family Learning Center

Posts Tagged ‘Coke’

Broadcom co-founder cleared of drug-related charges, party at Henry T Nicholas III’s place!

Usually when a judge says that you have had “a serious drug problem,” you’re in trouble. When he does so in a court of law in which you’ve been accused of drug-related debauchery… well, surely nothing good can happen. Yet somehow, thanks to the luck of the filthy rich, Henry T Nicholas III, co-founder of Broadcom, has managed to escape the crazy allegations of wild, drug-filled parties, of spiking executives’ drinks with MDMA, and of once smoking so much marijuana on a private airplane that the pilot had to don a gas mask. That said, our visions of wild telecom nights and coke-riddled days aren’t necessarily false: the case is being thrown out thanks to improper conduct on behalf of the prosecution, who apparently not only used improper means to influence witnesses but was also responsible for leaking information to the press. (Oops.) Nicholas indicates he’s now planning on doing some charity work, but he shouldn’t party away his legal fund just yet — this has appeal written all over it.

Broadcom co-founder cleared of drug-related charges, party at Henry T Nicholas III’s place! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 08:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  The Register  | Email this | Comments
Read the whole story…

Sugar-powered phone concept robs us of perfectly good Coke

This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen a sugar fuel cell, but gosh darnit, it just might be the sexiest. Chinese designer Daizi Zheng has conjured up a vision for a soft drink-powered cylindrical Nokia of the future that pounds Coca-Colas to stay juiced: just screw off the top, pop the can, and pour. Daizi estimates that that a single can of the stuff could outlast a traditional lithium ion battery by three to four times — never mind the obvious ecological benefits — but don’t you dare steal our caffeine the next time you need a charge, alright?

[Thanks, Rob]

Sugar-powered phone concept robs us of perfectly good Coke originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink FuelCellsWorks, TreeHugger, Dezeen  |  Daizi Zheng  | Email this | Comments
Read the whole story…

Wolfram Alpha launches iPhone “knowledge engine” with a big price tag

Early reviews of Wolfram Alpha’s iPhone application, which appeared in the App Store over the weekend, have been pretty positive, but the $49.99 price is decidedly not a hit with bloggers.

The app is basically an iPhone- and iPod-Touch friendly interface for Wolfram Alpha, the online service that answers factual questions. There are some built-in favorite queries that give some idea of the range of possible answers, from “integrate x sin x log x” to “Big Mac + fries + coke.” The app includes many more examples, plus a way to save your own favorite queries and view your history.

All in all, it’s a solid package. But I wouldn’t even think about paying $50 for it.

Does my opinion matter, though? The company describes the app’s target audience as “the most serious users” (a group that I’m not part of), and it’s pitching the app as a substitute graphing calculator (a device I don’t use). Daring Fireball blogger John Gruber praises the move as a counterweight to the more common App Store development model, which discourages “deep, significant applications” that are worth a significant amount of money.

While I’m sympathetic to Gruber’s point, and I certainly don’t mind paying for substantive apps, TechCrunch’s MG Siegler and others have made a compelling case that $50 is just too high. Yes, it’s cheaper than a graphing calculator, but a graphing calculator doesn’t need an Internet connection. And, yes, it’s definitely an improvement on accessing the free Wolfram Alpha site on your phone, but it doesn’t feel like $50-worth of an improvement.

I’m guessing we’ll see the price drop eventually, but I think the current pricing is a worthwhile experiment. The price might also be undercut by an outside developer, making use of the Wolfram Alpha technology that the company just made public via an application programming interface.

Read the whole story…