Saturday, November 27, 2010
?Stud? Utility-Belt Hides Six Handy Tools
Forget Batman: This is a utility belt. The Rocker Stud Snow Toolbelt is a leather and steel multi-tool. The buckle contains both flat-had and Phillips screwdrivers, and the bit that stops the end of the belt flapping about (what is that part called?) contains three wrenches, in 8, 10 and 11mm sizes. There’s even a bottle opener in the buckle’s rim, so you can “impress” people by popping open a beer with your crotch.
For such a utilitarian piece of apparel, the Rocker Stud Snow Toolbelt isn’t nearly as dorky as its name suggests. But its name does suggest (and deliver) something far worse: Studs. Really? I guess you could buy this $55 belt as a gift for the DIY-crazed punk in your life.
Rocker Stud Snow Toolbelt [686 via Geekologie]
See Also:
- Hands-On with the Drinkclip Belt-Mounted Cup-Holder
- Spider Holster, A Belt-Mounted Camera-Hitch
- $750 Folding Herm�s Travel-Belt Features Multiple Flaws
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/cdE1X8CjUVw/
Rumors: iOS 4.3 Will Offer App Subscriptions as Early as December
iPad owners have had less than a week with iOS 4, but a software update offering news and magazine subscriptions targeted at them could arrive in less than a month.
Daring Fireball’s John Gruber reports that Apple’s Steve Jobs will join News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch onstage at a December 9 event to announce Murdoch’s new forthcoming tablet newspaper, The Daily.
According to Gruber’s sources, The Daily will be an app in the App Store, but make use of new recurring subscription billing on users’ iTunes accounts, and “developers at News Corp. building the app already have preliminary documentation on the new subscription billing APIs from Apple.”
Macstories’ Federico Viticci reports further that recurring subscriptions are part of a new version of iOS — iOS 4.3 — with a scheduled release date of December 13.
According to Viticci’s sources, iOS 4.3 wasn’t intended to be released so quickly after 4.2.1, which was originally internally slated for an early November release. It’s possible that 4.2.1’s later official release might also push back the release of 4.3. But with Apple playing such a large role in The Daily, both companies may stick with mid-December announcement and releases, after all.
Subscription-based recurring billing would likely increase the number of paid magazine, newspaper, TV, video and other media applications on iTunes. Really, any application that depends on continuous content or service delivery could introduce a subscription model: online gaming, data backup, GPS, office applications and more. Many subscription-based services already have iOS apps, but have to establish accounts and recurring billing separately from iTunes.
Another technical challenge posed by subscriptions that could require an OS update is automatic background content delivery. If you’re being billed every week for a newspaper or magazine, you shouldn’t have to go through a long, complicated routine just to download a new issue.
A final open question: How much customer information will Apple and app/content makers share with each other about their subscribers? This data has value, too — as does customers’ privacy.
Image by Apple.
See Also:
- Apple iOS 4.2 Arrives, Makes Find My iPhone Free
- iOS 4.2 Goes Gold Master, iPad Gains New Multitask Bar
- IOS 4.2 Update 'Delayed,' Despite No Official Launch Date
- IOS 4.2 Beta Adds Tethering to iPad
- IOS 4.2 Changes iPad Screen-Lock Switch to Mute Button
- Apple, Newspapers Reportedly Agree on In-App Subscriptions …
- Subscriptions Could Be Apple's Second Attempt to Conquer Video …
- Why Steve Jobs Will Never Offer Music Subscriptions
Full story at http://feeds.wired.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/6mvbz-V-wAI/
NAO report highlights education success in STEM subjects
Dawinderpal Sahota, Computing, Monday 15 November 2010 at 14:09:00
Take up of Maths and Science subjects on the up, but Department of Education
not meeting its teacher recriuitment targets
The Department for Education has made good progress in improving take up and The report, entitled The NAO claims that there is evidence that pupils taking Triple Science GCSE It is often said that qualifications in the pure sciences are a good basis Meanwhile, take-up of Maths A-Level has already exceeded the targets for 2014 The Department is not on course to meet the targets set by the previous ?The Department for Education has focused its resources on improving pupil ?To make further progress, what?s needed is a more joined-up approach,
achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects,
according to a recent report from the National Audit Office, although there has
been less success in attracting more teachers to these areas.
Educating
the Next Generation of Scientists, recently published claims that take-up
and achievement in A-Level Maths and GCSE Triple Science has improved, and that
the knock on effect of the success has been that pupil take-up of the three
individual sciences at A-Level has increased by almost 150 per cent in the last
five years.
are more likely than those studying combined science to choose science subjects
at A-Level and to achieve higher grades. However, by June 2009, almost half of
secondary schools still did not offer Triple Science.
for a career in IT and technology.
set by the Department of Education, but take-up of physics A-Level has increased
only slightly since 2005-06.
government for recruiting more mathematics and physics teachers by 2014.
take-up and achievement in school science and maths, and has made good progress
in areas such as A-Level maths and GCSE Triple Science,? said Amyas Morse, head
of the National Audit Office.
bringing together key success factors to maximise successful results and
efficient use of public resources.?
Full story at http://www.computing.co.uk/computing/news/2273121/report-highlight-education
Five great laptops that fit your budget
Full story at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40338859/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
Buy these smart phones
Full story at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40349544/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/
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