Unfortunately, Apple’s MacBook Air still only arrives with a lone USB port. Save for using a dongle / hub, there’s really been no other way to connect a bevy of USB peripherals to the lappie — until now. Thanks to a curious hacker with a thing for perusing microchip documentation, he discovered that the internal ICH-8 southbridge chip actually has five low-speed and two high-speed USB controllers. After rolling up his sleeves and finding the correct pins, he was actually able to make the partially exposed MBA recognize and talk nice to a USB flash drive. We know, you USB-lovin’ Air owners are already dreaming up ways to add new ports to your slim slab of aluminum, so head on down to the read link if you’re ready to work (hard).

Courtesy of engadged.com

Want the Internet in your pocket? Good, because that’s what LG is offering to South Koreans with its new LG-LH2300 Touch Web phone. This ain’t your father’s baby Internet mind you, the LH2300 features a new “Hello UI” riding atop 800 x 480 pixels spread across a 3-inch touchscreen LCD. LG didn’t stop with the web though as the LH2300 also packs T-DMB mobile TV, Bluetooth 2.0, microSD memory, and a jog wheel for easy page scrolling. Its 3 megapixel camera sports face recognition and anti-shake tech. No specifics on the included “high speed” data service. Nevertheless, that front facing camera’s a pretty good clue that this pup won’t be riding EDGE when it launches in Korea next month for a mere $600 US equivalent.

Courtesy of engadged.com

British science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke has died in Sri Lanka at the age of 90.

The Somerset-born author came to fame in 1968 when short story The Sentinel was made into the film 2001: A Space Odyssey by director Stanley Kubrick.

Sir Arthur’s vision of future space travel and computing captured the popular imagination.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse paid tribute, hailing the writer as a “great visionary”.

An aide said Clarke died at 0130 local time in what had been his homeland since 1956 after a cardio-respiratory attack.

Vivid descriptions

“Sir Arthur has left written instructions that his funeral be strictly secular,” his secretary, Nalaka Gunawardene, was quoted as saying by news agency AFP.

“Absolutely no religious rites of any kind, relating to any religious faith, should be associated with my funeral,” she added.

A farmer’s son, Sir Arthur was educated at Huish’s Grammar School in Taunton before joining the civil service.

During World War II, he volunteered for the Royal Air Force, where he worked in the then highly-secretive development of radar, and foresaw the concept of communication satellites.

Sir Arthur’s vivid and detailed descriptions of space shuttles, super-computers and rapid communications systems were enjoyed by millions of readers around the world.

In the 1940s, he maintained man would reach the moon by the year 2000, an idea dismissed at the time.

He was the author of more than 100 fiction and non-fiction books, and his writings are credited by many observers with giving science fiction a human and practical face. He collaborated on the screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey with Kubrick.

‘Great prophet’

British astronomer Sir Patrick Moore had known Sir Arthur since they met as teenagers at the British Interplanetary Society.

Sir Patrick paid tribute to his friend, remembering him as “a very sincere person” with “a strong sense of humour”.

Tributes have also come from George Whitesides, the executive director of the National Space Society, with which Sir Arthur served on the board of governors, and fellow science fiction writer Terry Pratchett.

In 1956, after a failed marriage, Sir Arthur moved to Sri Lanka - then called Ceylon where he lived with a business partner and his family, and pursued his interest in scuba-diving.

His status as the grand old man of science fiction was threatened in 1998 by allegations of child abuse.

He strenuously denied them and was later cleared by an investigation, but the claims caused the confirmation of a knighthood to be delayed.

Since 1995, the author had been largely confined to a wheelchair by post-polio syndrome.

Courtesy of news.bbc.co.uk

LG has dreamed up a novel twist on the touchscreen concept that adds a dash of Viewty - reviewed here - and a splash of Chocolate to create an original look that combines two front-panel displays: a touchscreen and a standard display.

The lower, touch-sensitive screen - LG calls it the “InteractPad” - displays context-dependent buttons that control functions displayed on the other display. Fire up the MP3 player, for example, and the InteractPad becomes a set of music player controls. Hit the camera button and it switches function and orientation to offer camera control keys. As you zip through the phone’s features, the touchpad adapts to suit what you’re doing and the options available.

LG has chosen to debut its InteractPad control system on a non-3G phone, providing tri-band GRSM/GPRS/Edge connectivity rather than higher speed data options. There’s no Wi-Fi either, so it’s evident this device isn’t going head-to-head with high-end, multimedia-rich smartphones.

With no visible controls on the front panel, the KF600 is a slick-looking handset. Chrome trims enliven the otherwise black and reflective body, giving the phone a smooth, refined appearance.

The numberpad uses a solidly built, yet smoothly sprung slider mechanism that adds to the quality feel. The keys, though flush against the black plastic surface, are large and sufficiently separated to make text-tapping and number-input a breeze. The whole phone measures a medium-sized 101.2 x 50.7 x 14.1mm, and weighs in at a respectable 107g.

Read the rest of this post at reghardware.co.uk 

Japanese customers didn’t buy a single 2G handset during January, which could be why Japanese network operator NTT DoCoMo has decided to stop providing sub-3G connectivity by 2012.

Although just over 4m mobile phones were shipped to Japanese stores during the first month of the year, the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITIA) said that it was the first time no 2G handsets were sold.

It’s little surprise, then, that NTT DoCoMo, which was the world’s first carrier to offer 3G services, back in 2001, has decided to cut 2G loose within four years.

The carrier’s decision probably won’t have a massive effect on the country’s mobile users - JEITIA already estimates that 85 per cent of Japanese handset oweners are on 3G models - but it’s a sign the shift away from old, voice-oriented technologies toward more data-centric systems has taken hold.

Japan’s not the first country to pencil in a timeline for a 2G black-out. South Korea has already almost finished with the connection.

Around 50 per cent of US and Western European mobile phone sales are currently estimated to include 3G subscriptions. However, mobile television, which is already a huge success in Japan, hasn’t yet caught on over here.

Nokia’s already embracing telly on the go. Its upcoming flagship 16GB N69 handset includes a DVB-H tuner.

Courtesy of reghardware.co.uk