Sony has decided to keep the Xperia SL out of the IFA Berlin 2012 show, fact which wasn’t welcomed
by the analysts as the smartphone has some pretty impressive specs including a 12-megapixel camera.
As quietly as the smartphone has been introduced, as quietly it has been pushed to the market as the
Sony Xperia SL is now available for purchase in the US and Europe at select retailers without too much
fuss.

Sony’s decision to remain as silent as possible on this smartphone’s launch is pretty weird, however,
die-hard fans know exactly where to look for the Xperia SL, and they should know that Basatne is
offering the device for $523, while ATGSM is currently selling it for $499. As always, the situation is
different in Europe where the smartphone costs €599 at GetGoods.de and HOH.de.

In the US, Basatne Electronics has the most complete offer as both the Black and Pink versions are
available for the aforementioned price, while the White and Silver versions are going to cost you $575.
Meanwhile ATGSM only offers the Black and White models, however, the advantage is that both carry
the same price tag.

In Europe, both retailers have all the four versions available at identical pricing.

It’s worth reminding that the Sony Xperia SL features a dual-core 1.7GHz Snapdragon processor, 4.3-
inch LED-backlit touchscreen at 1280 x 720 resolution with a 342ppi, built-in 32GB flash storage,
1GB RAM, 12-megapixel camera on the back with full HD video recording, 1.3-megapixel front-facing
camera with HD-ready video capture, and Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich OS with Timescape UI.

Although Sony hasn’t confirmed it, analysts speculate that the smartphone will become upgradeable to
Android 4.1 Jelly Bean sometime in early 2013.

The Xperia SL has a nice design and good specs, just like the Xperia J, T, and V, all unveiled at the IFA
Berlin 2012 where Sony’s competitors including Samsung and LG were both very active.

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Microsoft has finalized Windows 8. Official installation kit of Windows 8 RTM version number being 9200.16384.win8_rtm.120725-1247, was sent to key partners pending official launch event for OEM environment, scheduled to take place on August 15. Retail market version will be available to the general public as of October 26. Windows 8 is completed. For those who do not already know, Windows 8 RTM is the official version which the OEM hardware manufacturers will ship preinstalled on the Windows 8 PCs and tablets generation.

 However, even though they announced reaching the RTM stage – stage in the development of Windows 8 that is considered closed and no major changes are permitted, Microsoft representatives have said they continue monitoring the user experience with Windows 8, and if problems occur, promise to respond accordingly. Meanwhile, until the the global launch time – 26 October, hardware partners will continue to bring new products to Windows 8, and improve the support for the existing ones. There is  no doubt, that the next time period will bring a real avalanche of PCs, tablets and handsets designed for Windows 8. In less than two weeks, Windows 8 RTM can be downloaded by developers through MSDN, TechNet question for those who want to test it before the official launch. At that time we will have the completed version of Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 suite, together with further information about the Windows App Store, which is expected to be introduced with Windows 8 RTM.

Meanwhile, Windows Store is already open to companies who want to add paid applications for Windows 8. Today, Microsoft announced the RTM version for Windows Server 2012 will be available to the public from September 4.

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According to Co-founder Kevin Systrom, Instagram has already reached 27 million users on iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. The announcement was made yesterday at the SXSW conference in Austin, Texas, and Mr. Systrom was very proud that his application has met a “Facebook-level engagement” as 67% of the users who used the app last week, used it again yesterday.

He demoed the Android application for a few minutes, and then he said that this version will be a lot of better than the iOS app which may sound a little “crazy.” Kevin said that developing on both Android and iPhone would have been hard because the team couldn’t have innovated so much, and now it’s the right time to start working on Google’s platform as well.

Co-founder Mike Krieger believes that establishing priorities is the best thing a company can do because it can focus on delivering a great application, rather than releasing two poor apps. He also spoke about the company’s advertising plans, and confirmed that Instagram has a “future plan” which isn’t ready yet.

Krieger added that the team needs to figure out how they can improve the application and turn it into a multi-billion dollar business. On the other hand, Systrom said that “companies are always fundraising” because they’re trying to “create a long-term viable” business that will not fade away.

Instagram is free, doesn’t have any ads, nor does it offer in-app purchases, and the situation will be similar in Android.

Systrom and Kruger will have to congratulate themselves for Instagram’s success as the company was previously offering location-based services like Foursquare or Facebook Places, however, the two folks noticed that beta users were sharing a lot of photos, and that’s how they got the idea of creating a photo editing and sharing application.
The rest is history and now millions of Android users are anxiously waiting for Instagram to become available for download at the Google Play Store.

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The Windows Phone 7 launch was partially successful as Microsoft looked satisfied by the number of WP7 devices sold and with the company’s re-introduction on the smartphone market. Well, the more than 2 million Windows Phone 7 users worldwide have been waiting for the promised update in January, then February, but the so-called NoDo update has been released today.

If you own a Windows Phone 7 device, then you should watch out for the notification which will eventually lead you to the Zune software on your computer to update your firmware. The first Windows Phone 7 major update brings copy / paste functionality, speed improvements, bug fixes, camera and audio enhancements, WiFi fixes, and an improved Windows Marketplace search.

In addition to the aforementioned fixes, Microsoft added that Facebook and Outlook have been improved though the changes will only be noticed by a small number of users. Overall I think Windows Phone 7 owners will be satisfied with the quality of the update, unless Samsung users will encounter some upgrade issues once again.

Windows Phone 7 NoDo Update

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After the users complained of some annoying issues, Apple has decided to release an update for its 2nd-gen Apple TV so now you can download Apple TV 4.2.1 and fix the screen flickering bug along with a couple of audio issues.

Apple TV 4.2.1 update also comes packed with a fix for the bug which causes your Apple TV to not wake up from sleep. Anyway the more important fix is the fact that you will not experience any more screen flickering when you connect a HDMI-to-DVI video adapter for your Apple TV.

As far as we’re concerned, the 2nd-gen Apple TV is now performing better than before thanks to the update which is being rolled out. By this time all of you should have received it so let me know if your Apple TV with 4.2.1 firmware is working as intended. You know… in a better way than before.

The full details of the update can be found on Apple’s website here.

Apple TV

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Mozilla has released Firefox 4 for desktops users worldwide and it has decided to focus on the mobile version of the browser therefore Android and Maemo 5 users can now download Firefox 4 RC for mobile. Ever since Firefox for Mobile has been first pushed to the users, the browser has been downloaded millions of times and Mozilla will not stop its development.

Firefox 4 for Mobile Release Candidate comes packed with plenty of features like Add-on support, Personas, tabs, Awesome Screen, and Firefox Sync among many others. This version of the browser also features a new user interface which is easier to use.

I’ve tried Firefox 4 Mobile RC on the Nokia N900 and the first thing that will be noticed is the speed of the browser. Previously, Firefox started kinda slowly and rendered pages slower than the MicroB and Opera browsers on Maemo 5. Now that this issues is fixed, let me know if you tested the browser and if you satisfied by the outcome.

Download Mozilla Firefox 4 Mobile RC here.

Firefox 4 Mobile

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Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Coupe

The 1^st car that belonged to singer John Lennon, a Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Coupe made in 1965 was auctioned last night. The car is valued at $220.000.

Normally this model is worth between $60.000 and $109.000 according to CNN.

The car was put in shape sometime in the middle of the 90’s and will be sold by the auction house Bonhams from Paris on February 5^th.

Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Coupe is the 1^st car held by the ex Beatles singer after he manage to take his driver license in 1965.

His 1^st vehicle should be worth more than his last, a Chrysler Town & Country jeep from 1972, which was sold for $5.500 dollars.

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Robert Boyle

• Year of Discovery: 1650

• What Is It? The volume of a gas is inversely proportional to the force squeezing it.

• Who Discovered It? Robert Boyle

• Why Is This One of the Science Greatest?

The concept Robert Boyle discovered (now called Boyle’s Law) laid the foundation for all quantitative study and chemical analysis of gasses. It was the first quantitative formula to de scribe the behavior of gasses. Boyle’s Law is so basic to understanding chemistry that it is taught to every student in beginning chemistry classes.

A genius experimenter, Boyle also proved that gasses were made of atoms—just like solids. But in a gas, the atoms are spread far apart and disconnected so that they can be squeezed tighter. Through these experiments Boyle helped convince the scientific world that atoms existed—an issue still debated 2,000 years after their existence was first proposed by Democritus in 440 B.C.

• Fun Facts: Oceanographer Sylvia Earle set the women’s depth record for solo diving (1,000 meters or 3,281 feet). According to the concept Boyle discovered, pressure at that depth is over 100 times what it is at the surface!

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Evangelista Torricelli

• Year of Discovery: 1640

• What Is It? Air (the atmosphere) has weight and presses down on us.

• Who Discovered It? Evangelista Torricelli

• Why Is This One of the Science Greatest?

It is a simple, seemingly obvious notion: air has weight; the atmosphere presses down on us with a real force. However, humans don’t feel that weight. You aren’t aware of it because it has always been part of your world. The same was true for early scientists, who never thought to consider the weight of air and atmosphere.

Air Presure

Evangelista Torricelli’s discovery began the serious study of weather and the atmosphere. It launched our understanding of the atmosphere. This discovery helped lay the foundation for Newton and others to develop an understanding of gravity.

This same revelation also led Torricelli to discover the concept of a vacuum and to invent the barometer—the most basic, fundamental instrument of weather study.

• Fun Facts: Home barometers rarely drop more than 0.5 inch of mercury as the weather changes from fair to stormy. The greatest pressure drop ever recorded was 2.963 inches of mercury, measured in side a South Dakota tornado in June 2003.

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Etna

The Etna volcano made another eruption Wednesday night but no one’s life was put in danger.

The Italian authorities didn’t launch any warning considering that the eruption isn’t dangerous because the lava levels haven’t pass the normal standards. Also although beautiful the same authorities warn anyone to go near the eruption.

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