Foxconn will vigorously shake up robotics industry

With his plans for increased use of robots in its production lines developed by the Chinese contract manufacturer Foxconn in a different direction than the Western world thought. The company could put the world in the production of these systems to the top.

Foxconn announced last year, using up to 2014 about one million robots in its production. Many in the robotics industry have not taken this message very seriously, but are sold around the world just 150 000 robots per year.

But as the trade journal ‘production’ (next issue) talks with U.S. Robotics insider Frank Tobe learned Foxconn leaves in Taiwan currently a research and development center focusing on robotics and automation solutions for their own works as well as a production plant for the production of these solutions are built.

Western robotic engineers to assist in the development of Foxconn’s own product line of cost-effective handling robots. As a template, according to Tobe serve, among other robots from ABB, Fanuc Robotics, Kuka and Yaskawa. “Probably some of these robots are purchased. These can then be disassembled and rebuilt,” said Frank Tobe.

Foxconn has announced to sell its own robot then. Tobe said:. “I personally think this is a serious blow to both companies ABB and Kuka factories in China and agreements on the production and marketing have there.”

Fanuc Robotics and just got a new robot factory in Japan has built, which will focus on the Chinese market, according to Tobe. “I think it will be in the next few years, patent disputes, if Foxconn brings his robots on the market and they are similar to those of other manufacturers,” added Tobe. But one thing is clear: Incumbent robot manufacturers have to dress warmly. Foxconn is created with a competitor, which you should pay attention.

Xbox 360 & Kinect too soon for 99 U.S. dollars

Microsoft will shortly be a new package, consisting of an Xbox 360 and the motion control Kinect bring the price of 99 U.S. dollars on the market. For more information about this bundle are subsidized ‘ The Verge before ‘.

In the published article, reference was made to unnamed sources. Supposedly, this new bundle is already in the coming week to come to the U.S. market. Apart from the purchase price of $ 99 per month customers are interested in costs amounting to 15 U.S. dollars.

For a period of two years, Microsoft said, these $ 15 charge, they say. For getting the buyers of the new Xbox 360 Bundles (4-GB version), in addition to a period of two years, then access to services that are within the scope of Xbox Live Gold offered. Moreover, some may want more premium content (streaming of sports events, etc.) are added.

If you want to retire before the end of the two-year period of the contract shall, in principle, to have the opportunity. The exact costs of this are still unclear. Microsoft itself has not yet ruled on this issue publicly. In this respect, it is uncertain whether there will be a comparable offer in this country.

Current rumors stating that the publication of the next generation of Microsoft’s console the end of next year expected. Under the hood, in this regard are two graphics cards are used that have a similar performance as two cards of the Radeon 7000 series.

Comparison between the capabilities and functions of Dropbox, SkyDrive, Cubby and Google Drive

Google Drive is already among us, and by now all must be installing the application for OS X or Windows and starting to use cloud storage from Google. He was a highly anticipated release, and marks the day as important in the market for such services.

And now that Google Drive is on the street, it’s time to get to compare. We have many services (all with their advantages and disadvantages) to store, manage and share your files from the cloud. Let’s take a Dropbox, Skydrive, Cubby and this new Google Drive and compare everything we offer. ¿It will highlight any? Do you have Dropbox reasons to be scared?

The first surprise is that Microsoft’s SkyDrive is still the cheapest service, although not enough forcing users to pay annual dues. Google Drive attracts more monthly fees as ridiculous as that of 1.88 euros for 25 GB of space. Where can you most miss here is Dropbox on prices, because we have compared three competitors offer much cheaper upgrades. Of course, Dropbox has the great majority of the market by being the pioneer in this kind of service.

On the other hand, I think Google made ​​a mistake by not launching Drive the implementation of IOS over. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s making all users of Apple’s mobile platforms do not do so if the service and continue to have Dropbox. If Google does not rush to launch that application for the iPhone and the iPad and / or demonstrate the advantages of Drive is an open platform for third-party developers, owners of these terminals can soon forget about this release.

Facebook reaches 900 million active users

Facebook confirms that already has 901 million active users, and it is estimated that by the end of 2012 reached a staggering 1,000 million members. About 526 million this social network visited every day in March. Mark Zuckerberg still leads the field of social media, Twitter it remains by far with over 500 million members, of which 140 million active accounts.

The impressive figures include nearly 3,200 Facebook million comments a day and approximately 300 million photos posted by its users. With the growth that has taken this network, its profits have increased by 1,000 million dollars in the last year. How long do you think Facebook will reach 1,000 million active users?

New HTC phones running Android 4.0 – entry-level smartphone HTC Wildfire C.

In the coming weeks, the successor of the HTC Wildfire S on the market. The new model, which is currently still listen to the code name HTC Gulf, is expected as the HTC Wildfire C are available. The HTC Wildfire C is probably the entry level model from HTC with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The price should be less than 200 €.

Slowly but surely coming Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich at the entry level. HTC plans to this end, the introduction of a new model to follow in the footsteps of the HTC Wildfire S. Currently, this new smart phone to hear the code name HTC golf, starting at the market but it will probably be called the HTC Wildfire C. The HTC Wildfire 3.5 over C should have one inch display with a resolution of 480 by 320 pixels.

The processor of the new entry level model will have only one processor core and less than 1 GHz. The RAM will have a capacity of 512 MB. The user can store its data is expected in the 4 GB of internal memory or on a microSD memory card. Additionally probably have 25 GB of cloud storage via drop box is available that can be used, at least temporarily free. The facilities of the HTC Wildfire C should also Bluetooh 3.0 and Wi-Fi (802.11 b / g / n) belong. A beats-audio optimization will receive the HTC Wildfire C also expected.

For the resolution of digital cameras of the HTC Wildfire C. No details are known. The current HTC Wildfire S has a 5 megapixel camera. The price of the new entry-level model with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is expected to lie below 200 €. Should be on the market, the HTC Wildfire C in the coming weeks. The sale is still in the run to start the second quarter.

Nokia in deep decline: Old S40 as a lifeline

The Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has today published its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012 and has reported an operating loss of 1.3 billion €, which has led to a net loss of 590 million euros.

The company had previously warned that one, the original announcement in the first quarter of its budget balanced to deliver, can not fulfill. Nokia claims to have sold in the first quarter of 2012, 11.9 million “smart devices” – less than half of the first quarter of 2011, selling 24.9 million units.

The reason for this is called Nokia’s rapid decline in sales of smartphones with its Symbian operating system, which only partly could be intercepted by the sales of devices with Microsoft’s Windows Phone. Nokia had recently indicated that it has sold in Q1 2012 about two million sets of the Windows-equipped phone Lumia series.

The operating loss of Smart Devices and Services Division alone amounted to 219 million €. During the same period last year drove this business segment from Nokia still make a profit of 729 million € a. The turnover of the whole company broke out in the year by 40 percent to now only 4.2 billion euros. The number of units sold fell by 24 percent to 82.7 million, with the average selling price fell to 51 €.

Especially in China where Nokia and its Symbian phones yet still played a very important part of the decline in sales compared to last year was a decline of 62 percent more violent. Falling prices also ensured that the sales in China even more broke. In Europe and the United States must accept Nokia heavy losses.

A portion of the loss, according to Nokia’s back on the redevelopment of the Networks Business Group, Nokia Siemens Networks. Other factors the company calls the strong competition in the smartphone with Apple’s iPhone and devices based on Google’s Android responsible.

Nokia responds to the poor financial results still left right. Although the company is separated from his sales manager Colin Giles, fell into his one-year term, the number of units sold by 24 percent, but company Chief Stephen Elop said he was confident. Although Nokia finds itself in a time of change, but the start of the new Windows phones Lumia 610 and 900 in the United States had gone better than expected. In some other markets such as Great Britain we must do more to regain a foothold.

To stop the downward slide, Nokia intends to invest again in so-called “feature phones”. This should occur only in the second quarter of 2012, seven new Series 40 devices with the tried and true platform on the market that are part of the Asha-series. Thus, Nokia plans to have more customers in emerging markets and developing countries to get back in the black.

Microsoft benefits of server and business sectors

Thanks to increased demand in the server and business sectors, Microsoft has achieved in the third fiscal quarter, a slight increase in turnover. This comes from the recently published balance out for the months January, February and March.

Overall, we are taking over this period 17.407 billion U.S. dollars, up by nearly six percent compared to last year. The two mentioned departments were able to to 4.572 (server) and 5.814 define (Business) billion U.S. dollars, a growth of 14.1 and 9.1 percent. While other areas were down only slightly, sales in the entertainment and devices, in addition, both the business with Windows Mobile and the Xbox is back. Here, the sales amounted to 1.616 billion U.S. dollars, a decline of just over 16 percent.

Despite the overall positive sales growth was a decline in quarterly net income can not be prevented. This fell to just over two percent to 5.108 billion U.S. dollars, which is due to higher operating expenses and a higher overall tax burden. Microsoft expects a significant boost, as so many IT companies from the introduction of Windows 8 in the fall of 2012. Moreover, this would also be high expectations for the next version of Office, so CEO Steve Ballmer.

Intel SSD 330 Series attack with a more competitive price

The Intel SSD 330 comes to market as an evolution of the previous 320 . If that product, we talked about a fall in prices, this reduction reaches 330, a much more pronounced.

Intel SSD 330 will start at a price of $ 89 for less spacious model with 60 GB. Ratio is not the best euro / GB, but one of the lowest starting price. The specifications for this promise 500 and 450 MB / s reading and writing, respectively. These figures are really good for the price of starting point, but also distribute other higher capacity models whose prices are as follows:

Intel SSD 330 60GB: $ 89
Intel SSD 330 120 GB: $ 149
Intel SSD 330 180 GB: $ 234
The memory used is developed by Intel itself and from 25 nanometers, and of course the device has dimensions of 2.5 inches and a height of 9.5 mm, based on 6 Gbps SATA interface. The Intel SSD 330 is the input range of Intel in the market for solid state drives, aimed at domestic audiences that want to give an added speed to your computer. Not bad.

Operators of on-line marketplace drugs arrest

U.S. authorities have succeeded in collaboration with investigators in the Netherlands and Colombia to make an internationally operating group arrested, who has operated a system for online distribution of illegal drugs.

The main culprit, who was arrested on Monday in the Netherlands, is accused to have operated together with seven other men, aged between 20 and 51 years an online exchange for trading in drugs. Under the name “The Farmer’s Market” drugs such as MDMA, LSD, mescaline, marijuana, ketamine and strong at over 3,000 customers were sold, which came from all U.S. states and 34 other countries.

The defendants operated according to the American Drug Enforcement Agency allowed (DEA), an online platform that transactions between unrelated drug suppliers and their buyers. They presented to users as it were an on-ship including order forms and a payment processing via PayPal and Western Union.

In addition, the tested drugs sold on the portal for their quality and there was even a certain customer service. As with the distribution of music via services like iTunes were a part of the platform provider of sales. In the period between early 2007 and autumn 2009, according to the DEA handled well over 5200 orders the platform, where illegal drugs worth over a million dollars were sold.

Burnout Crash to IOS

When analyzing a port of consoles or PC to IOS there is always a problem flying over our heads, that of the control. Fortunately for me, I always lose a couple of lines focused on explaining the problem and possible solutions, and for those you who are interested in buying minimally Burnout Crash, that’s not a problem.

Burnout Crash is a game that could have been born perfectly on the screen of a smartphone, comfortable, visually appealing and also has that mix of fun and addiction can keep you glued to the last game as if it were Angry Birds. An absolute must buy their failures and successes, as almost all applications in the AppStore.

If you do not know the Burnout series will tell you just that with its evolution over the years everything has been reduced to a thing, to blow up mountains of vehicles.

If you know the Burnout series Burnout Crash but not the only thing you should know is that this is a completely different game to what had been racing series to date, forgetting competitions and offering different intersections where we hit for create a traffic jam resulting in huge explosions and millions of points adding to our score.

Yes in addition to being fans of Burnout and probasteis at the time this spin-off released on Xbox Live Arcade and PSN, you must be aware that the control, which now requires us to push our car with the finger of one hand to another, not is the only change you’ll notice.

First, the graphics have lost a lot of steam in his move to IOS, which you will notice even more when the camera is closer to the action, once the game is over or something will happen I will just not count the non chafaros surprise. EA has also not successful in its policy on the soundtrack or the narrator who was slowly commenting our play, but like I said is something that does not detract from the game and you will notice that even those who do not probaseis its previous version.

Rinse all that, what gives Burnout Crash? Destruction, explosions and vehicles, something like if Michael Bay give him to develop games without having to worry about a script that tries to transform it into a coherent whole.

The game has several modes, based on the classic “destroy everything you can in X time” to others that involve prescribed fire to maintain or prevent cars that should be exploited to reach their destinations.

Each level starts with us leading the drive to the intersection (several different), at which point we choose against which vehicle will hit the first to kick off our Armageddon particular. As other cars, buses and trucks are added to the shock of explosion meter will fill up, allowing us to blow soon after our launch vehicle to the rest dismissed and create chaos carambolas move to other areas of the screen.

Eventually we cross specialty vehicles: an ambulance that we protect to get a life, a van that will play to blow to get more points or a van which will under our control a wheel of fortune that may end up helping or destrozándonos the game.

The game is simple, both on paper and when we get behind the wheel, but we know play does not necessarily mean that we have mastered, for it will require hours of practice, and fortunately is something that Burnout Crash is responsible for ensuring a long campaign and challenges up to the more experienced.

It would be appreciated EA had put more meat on the grill with this port, with new modes or a better deal from their look and soundtrack. Although it would be crazy not to Burnout Crash catalog of indispensable, and that after all, if you’re looking to have fun for hours and see how the challenges they’re going over and over again without getting bored, probably one of the best buys you can do today on the AppStore.