Microsoft announces they are aware of Surface keyboard splitting problem
The new Microsoft Surface tablet has been out long enough that a new round of bugs are popping up in regards to its longevity and durability. Users of the Touch Cover keyboard for the Surface RT tablet have reported that it is splitting at the location that it connects to the tablet.
People have noted this problem on forums as well as Twitter, as seen by the image posted to Twitter above. Some people are saying that the problem is not present in the black Touch Type keyboard, due to a different material being utilized on the bottom of the cover. Microsoft has acknowledged the problem:
Microsoft makes every effort to ensure our customers receive a high quality product. We are in active contact with our Customer Support operations and are aware of a small number of instances of material separation
Users who think they are having a problem with their keyboard cover should contact Microsoft's support.
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Lenovo announces plans to share its battery technology with the PC industry
Lenovo has announced today that they are planning on sharing their proprietary battery design technology with the PC industry "in the interests of public safety and improving the level of engineering in notebook personal computer designs worldwide." This is more likely a ploy to get good will, but it will surely be appreciated by end-consumers who should receive better products.
"Battery design is an issue of crucial importance to business and computing," said Peter Hortensius, senior vice president, Lenovo notebook business unit. "As the personal computer business examines standards and design criteria for the best use of lithium ion batteries, Lenovo is contributing its engineering and design leadership. No make of battery is 100 percent immune from failure, but Lenovo strongly believes in safety first. These engineering specifications show our approach to battery management, and we believe they will move the PC industry as a whole toward safer battery standards."
The shared information will include redundant protections, failure detection, thermal conditions and protection, charging methodology, voltage protection, and mechanical design. The information will be shared with industry standards organizations so that other manufacturers may take advantage of advancements that Lenovo has made.
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Facebook testing sounds for notifications, seems like it would be really annoying
Sean Ludwig, with VentureBeat, noticed a new feature that Facebook is testing because his profile is part of the small test group. The new "feature" is that Facebook plays a sound whenever you get a new notification. I know what you're thinking: they already do this--that's only on the mobile app version.
This trial run pings you whenever you receive a message or notification. Ludwig notes that it is a bit of a gamble leaving your Facebook open and your speakers on: "Will I hear a lot of pings for that new picture I posted, or will I hear nothing?" These sounds certainly have their place and some users may even like them.
Myself, since I receive a fair amount of notifications, none of which are life-threatening, would not like these constant pings. Luckily, they're simple to turn off. The same way you change around e-mail notifications and the like, you can turn off the sound that plays when you receive notifications:
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Microsoft announces they've 'welcomed more than 15 million customers' to their stores
TheNextWeb caught an interesting fact in an otherwise typically boring PR statement today. The quote: "We've welcomed more than 15 million customers and counting so far." This number is in relation to their 30 Microsoft stores around the world. 15 million is no small number, though it's probably quite a bit less than Apple.
Microsoft's stores have clearly paid off as bringing in 15 million is not an easy feat. These stores will become increasingly important with Microsoft releasing its own hardware, along with the release of Windows 8 and its steep learning curve. Microsoft could ease some of the learning pain if they copy Apple's in-store education program.
With more Microsoft stores popping up all the time, and numerous holiday pop-up stores showing up, this 15 million number will likely increase greatly as consumers take to their holiday shopping. The Surface has been selling well and it's likely many people will want to come try it out in the store.
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Facebook is testing allowing users to reply to comments, a feature that would be welcomed by many
Facebook is testing a new feature for comments on statuses. The new feature would allow users to thread off and reply to a comment instead of having to reply to the main status. It's similar in function to some of the bulletin boards and comments systems that you've seen around the web, except it will only allow you to go one level deeper.
In other words, a comment upon a status can be both liked and commented upon, but those subsequent comments cannot be commented upon. Facebook has said that at this stage, it is just a small test, so you likely won't see the option. But if you do, be sure to check it out and let us know what you think of the feature.
"We are testing a new way to add comments to a post on Facebook. With this test you will be able to reply to another comment as well as the original post," a Facebook spokesperson said. "This is just a small test at this stage."
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E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Blu-ray Movie Review
By 1982, Director Steven Spielberg was riding high.
Raiders of the Lost Ark and
Close Encounters of the Third Kind had proved to be massive successes, expunging the waft of the failure of the (alleged) comedy
1941 some three years earlier. At this point, he had relative free reign over the choice of his next project. Starting life as a somewhat alien horror film, the project developed into a kind, heartwarming picture full of the sentimental qualities that Spielberg will return to throughout his career. Moreover, it would also seal his immortality to the ranks of Hollywood history books.
For those few who are unfamiliar with the film,
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is the story of an alien creature who's become stranded on Earth after his spaceship leaves orbit. When the creature befriends Elliot (Henry Thomas) and his family, their friendship is interrupted by shadowy government forces who want to quarantine the alien, and jeopardize his life.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial could easily have been called
A Boy and his Alien (and would have been a more apt description). It is, after all, the relationship of Elliot and E.T., and the wider family that sells the film. In the hands of lesser actors, the film would have quickly unraveled.
Some fans might be disappointed by the complete absence of the 2002 'special edition' version of the film. It was criticized by fans for the removal of guns in favor of CG walkie talkies, the release also actually cleaned up some of the aging composited visual effects, including the removal of matte lines and adding some minor CG tinkering to further allow E.T. to emote. And none of those improvements have been included here. This Blu-ray edition solely includes the 1982 original theatrical cut.
A final quick trivia bite; modern audiences who are used to films being released on DVD and Blu-ray less than 100 days after their cinema release might be surprised to learn that -
E.T. took six years to be released on the fledging VHS format, long after it had disappeared from cinema screens.
Video
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is presented in the aspect ratio of 1.78:1, a slight divergence from the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with AVC MPEG-4 compression.
So it seems Universal Pictures are on somewhat of a roll through its 100th anniversary celebrations. Long guilty of rehashing aging transfers, I'm quite happy to report that
E.T. (in addition to
Jaws before it) has received a new 4K transfer, which looks significantly better than previous 1080i HDTV transfers.
The image is really sharp and detailed and totally bereft of annoying telecine wobble, which was quite obvious in the previous DVD release. There's a fine layer of film grain which is completely unobtrusive. Colors are vivid, with a clear vibrancy that's previously been missing.
As previously mentioned, this Blu-ray only includes the original 1982 theatrical cut, warts and all. Whilst this means the guns are back, some of the CG enhancements and clean up of objectionable matte lines have been rolled back. While Spielberg (and many fans) might prefer the original theatrical cut, it's a bit of a shame to not be given the option, like on the previous DVD release.
Audio
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is presented in DTS HD Master Audio 7.1, at 24 bits.
Originally mixed and released in Dolby Stereo,
E.T. received an updated 6.1 EX mix for its 2002 re-release. This mix has seemingly been further extrapolated for this new 7.1 mix.
Despite valiant attempts,
E.T. mostly sounds its 30 years of age. Surround usage often sounds a little forced and nowhere near as naturalistic as modern mixing. In some ways it actually draws attention to itself unnecessarily. Despite this, there's a complete absence of noise floor hiss or dialogue issues.
The subwoofer channel is strong and detailed and underpins some of the more dramatic moments of the film.
John Williams' score is as beautiful and moving as it was in 1982. But occasionally its age becomes obvious, some of the cues sound a little harsh (for want of a better word) and the 7.1 channels sound strangely out of phase on occasion. There's been a quite obvious attempt to force the score to sound as surround-like as possible. I also own the 2002 Super Audio CD release of the soundtrack which doesn't display the same level of brassiness and harshness, which is a bit of a head scratcher.
Extras
For the 30th anniversary release of the film, Universal have created a few new compelling extra features for the film, in addition to re-purposing the vast majority of extra features from the previous DVD release. Let's jump in.
First up is the brand new
The E.T. Journals Documentary. Over two parts and 54 minutes, the un-narrated documentary provides a fly-on-the-wall look at the film's production in chronological order. Of particular note are Steven Spielberg's gentle dealings with his young principal cast, in addition to the on-set wrangling of the rather limited E.T. animatronic puppet. I particularly enjoyed seeing the footage from the scoring session towards the end of the second part.
Next, is the new
Steven Spielberg and E.T. featurette which briefly looks at the genesis and legacy of the film, in addition to two brief
Deleted Scenes, which are in fact scenes which were included in the 20th anniversary edition, including a scene where Elliot baths a computer generated E.T., and a brief extension to the rowdy Halloween street celebrations. Sadly, the Harrison Ford cameo scenes continue to remain lost, which is a bit of a shame.
The remaining special features are holdovers from the 2002 DVD release. The meatiest is the nearly one hour
The Evolution and Creation of E.T. documentary which despite some overlap with other features, takes a well rounded look at the film's production, which is extended via the
A Look Back documentary.
Whilst it's now ten years old,
The E.T. Reunion rounds up the principal cast, along with Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy (now head of LucasFilm) for a chat and reminiscence about the film. I sure hope that MacNaughton has dumped the dreadlocks these days.
Whilst the feature film isolated score is missing, it's a small consolation to retain the
20th Anniversary Premiere footage, where John Williams conducted live and in-sync with the film the entirety of the musical score. Next is
The Music of E.T. featurette, which is a brief discussion with Williams regarding the compositions and themes of the film.
I dislike image galleries at the best of times, but in standard definition, the
Design, Photographs and Marketing galleries feel pretty redundant. Your experience may differ, of course.
Finally, we have the
Original Theatrical Trailer and a
Special Olympics TV Spot which is rather touching, even if it does look like it was pulled from a VHS tape.
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