Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus review

Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus review

When Samsung first released the Series 9 in 2011, it quickly became one of our favorite laptops of the year. Then, once Intel threw its marketing weight behind Ultrabooks, it became our favorite Ultra. But the Series 9 was born in the Windows 7 era, and it became harder and harder to recommend as touchscreens became the standard. Now, though, we have the ATIV Book 9 Plus, the first truly flagship-level Ultrabook Samsung has released since Windows 8 came out.

As you'd expect, it trades in the Series 9's matte, anti-glare display for a touchscreen. What's more, though, Samsung also cranked up the resolution, retiring that old 1,600 x 900 panel in favor of a 3,200 x 1,800 one. And, of course, it steps up to a newer Haswell processor, which promises not just faster performance, but also longer battery life (not that endurance was a problem on the original). So is it still our favorite Ultrabook? Pretty much.%Gallery-slideshow99388%

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Google Web Designer launches in beta, available now as a free download

Google Web Designer launches in beta, available now as a free download

Back in June, Google's advertising arm put up a blog post, letting us know it was about to release an HTML5 development tool, called Google Web Designer. Well, it's just arrived today, per a post on Google's own G+ account, and it's available in beta as a free download. Throughout, the tool appears to cater to both seasoned coders, as well as amateurs looking to try their hand at web design (or looking to get it done on a budget). For instance, while you could tweak the code by hand, there's also an option to let Google focus on the HTML5 and CSS3 grunt work while you focus on... the easier stuff (whatever that is).

Likewise, you can animate individual elements using layers or, if you don't know what you're doing, you can just animate scene by scene and let Google fill in the blanks. Additionally, you'll find a suite of 3D rendering tools inside, along with illustration features. As for monetizing your site, Google Web Designer naturally integrates with Google's own AdMob and DoubleClick Studio -- no surprise there. At any rate, if you feel like getting your hands dirty with code, you'll want to hit up that second source link below.

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Source: Google (1), (2)

A Happy Pet Is A Comfy Pet: SnoozZzone Pet Comfort System For Pet Beds

SnoozZzone Pet Comfort System

 

Enchanted Home Pet, best known for its pet replicas of human furniture, has come up with a trio of products that can fit into any pet bed or pet pillow with an opening.  The SnoozZzone 3 Piece Comfort Care Set consists of three interchangeable pads - one for cooling, one for heating, and one to provide greater orthopedic support for your pet - can be interchanged with ease.

 

Xi3’s Piston modular PC launching November 29th for $1,000

As if shelling out $900 this holiday to snag the two next-gen game consoles wasn't enough, Xi3's Piston modular gaming PC is arriving on November 29th for $1,000. Should money be no object to you, the adorable little box is available for pre-order right this minute, and that'll lock in an earlier arrival by two weeks. Included in today's news of the Piston's launch date is word that internal storage capacity was upped by another SSD connector; Xi3 says up to 1TB of SSD storage is now supported.

In a hilarious nod to Valve's Steam Machines news last week, Xi3 notes, "By adding a second SSD to their Pistons, users will be able to load a second operating system onto their machines, including the newly announced SteamOS." As previously reported, Xi3 is (at least in part) financially-backed by Valve, and the Piston is a bit of a "Steambox" (the previous name for Valve's Steam Machines effort) itself. SteamOS is said to be coming "soon," ahead of Steam Machines' official launch in 2014, and you'll see no surprise on our faces should SteamOS arrive ahead of Piston's November 15th pre-order availability.

On Xi3's homepage, the Piston is positioned with a wireless, Piston-branded gamepad (seen above). It's unclear if it ships with the system later this year, so we've reached out to Xi3 for more info.

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iPhone comparison video, iPhone 5S available for store pickup, Apple to reduce Samsung dependence


If you've ever wondered exactly how the performance of the original iPhone stacks up against the latest iPhone 5S, you'll like this. A new video that turned up showing the comparison between all...

Pamela Anderson Runs New York Marathon


Pamela Anderson announced via Twitter on the weekend that she will run the New York Marathon for charity. She will raise money for the J/P Haitian Relief Organization founded by actor Sean Penn....

Leak hints at iPhone 5c and 5s variants for Boost Mobile

Leak hints at iPhone 5c and 5s for Boost Mobile

Apple offers iPhones through both large and small US carriers these days, but it has so far given Boost Mobile the cold shoulder. That may soon change, however -- @evleaks has just leaked ads hinting that Boost will get the iPhone 5c and 5s in the near future. While the images don't reveal any launch dates or pricing, they suggest that both smartphones will be eligible for the provider's "shrinking" unlimited rates. The expansion isn't all that crucial given the upcoming 5c and 5s launches through Virgin Mobile, but it doesn't hurt to have another option for low-cost iPhone service.

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Source: @evleaks (Twitter)

Firefighter Brings Kitten Back To Life

Firefighter Brings Kitten Back To Life
This is video captured by firefighter Cory Kalanick’s helmet-mounted GoPro camera. In it, you see him rescuing and reviving a teensy kitten. It’s worth a watch, but it definitely comes with a big-ass WARNING: it will make you cry. It will make you cry, hard, with like snot bubbles and all that mess. Ugly cry. [...]
Visit IncredibleThings.com for the full post.

John McAfee wants to NSA-proof the internet with a device called Decentral

DNP John McAfee wants to NSAproof the internet with Decentral device

The name McAfee is synonymous with the ubiquitous anti-virus software, but in recent years, John McAfee has kept a relatively low profile in the tech industry, preferring instead to take up leisurely pursuits like yoga and evading Belizean police. Until now. Last Saturday, McAfee took the stage at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center to announce his intention to design and manufacture Decentral, a pocket-sized device priced at around $100 that would, in theory, make it difficult for governmental agencies to snoop on your online activities by creating so-called floating networks. According to the San Jose Mercury News, McAfee told an eclectic crowd of engineers and artists, "There will be no way [for the government] to tell who you are or where you are." A gadget like Decentral does sound like a bit of a timely pipe dream, and McAfee admits that the prototype has yet to be produced. But, hey, if you can dream it, then maybe, just maybe, McAfee can do it.

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Source: San Jose Mercury News

HTC Butterfly 2 allegedly leaked, takes design cue from 8XT

HTC Butterfly 2 allegedly leaked

Just when we thought Chinese tech news has died down ahead of China's National Day on October 1st, a seemingly reliable HTC leak from there just had to ruin the fun. According to Weiphone, these are apparently the screens of the Butterfly 2, a new flagship device that's been rumored to carry a larger 5.2-inch 1080p display, a quad-core Snapdragon 800 SoC, an UltraPixel camera and BoomSound front-facing stereo speakers. Like the Windows Phone-powered 8XT, this alleged Butterfly 2 disguises its bottom speaker as a short black bar in between the Android soft keys, and it also utilizes a similar two-tone color scheme -- for its front side, at least. ePrice reported earlier that the new phone could be waterproof-certified at IPX7 or above, but we won't find out until January 2014 the earliest. One more shot after the break.

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Source: Weiphone, ePrice