Galaxy Note 8.0 vs. iPad mini

We compare the specs - and other features - of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 and Apple iPad mini

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If Samsung wants to convince the world that it isn't an Apple copycat, the Galaxy Note 8.0 isn’t its best argument. Less than four months after the launch of Apple’s (almost) 8-inch tablet comes a new 8-inch tablet from Samsung. But, despite the obvious parallels, these are two distinct slates – outside and inside. Read on, as we compare the specs (and other features) of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 and Apple iPad mini.

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SIZE

The Galaxy Note 8.0 is a bit larger in every dimension, with the biggest difference being an extra 11 mm (0.93”) in height.

WEIGHT

Both devices are relatively light, but the Note 8.0 is 30 g (1.06 oz.) heavier than the iPad mini.

DISPLAY

Screens are almost the same size, and neither offers mind-blowing resolution. The Note 8.0’s display is a bit sharper, at 189 pixels per inch (PPI).

Samsung hasn’t announced pricing yet for the Galaxy Note 8.0, but its less-than-stellar display could be a clue that it’s planning on staying in the same range as Apple’s US$330 tablet.

PROCESSOR

The Note 8.0 has the more powerful processor, with its Exynos 4 Quad chip, the same one found in Samsung’s phablet, the Galaxy Note II.

Apple gave the iPad mini a last-generation A5 chip, first introduced in 2011's iPad 2. Apart from its superior cameras, the iPad mini is essentially a scrunched-down iPad 2.

RAM

The Note 8.0 quadruples the iPad mini’s mere 512 MB of RAM.

Few tasks in iOS require massive amounts of RAM, but you may find that recent (backgrounded) apps close quicker on the iPad mini than on, say, the4th-generation iPad.

STORAGE

Samsung skipped a 16 GB model for the Note 8.0, but otherwise flash memory numbers are the same. The Note also has a microSD card slot, unlike Apple’s mini-tablet.

WIRELESS

Both tablets ship in both Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi + mobile data models. At least in some regions, Samsung's will be LTE-capable. Apple also offers a (pricier) LTE iPad mini.

BATTERY

The Note 8.0’s battery holds a bit more juice than the iPad mini’s. As always, though, remember that many other factors also determine actual battery life.

CAMERAS

Cameras are rarely the most important part of a tablet, and Samsung and Apple both realize this. These 5-megapixel rear shooters will do the job, but don’t expect anything extraordinary.

INTANGIBLES

It’s easy to snicker at another conspicuously-similar Samsung product arriving hot on the heels of an Apple release. But the company is pitching its 8-inch tablet as more of a creative companion.

The center of this marketing angle is the Note’s stylus (S Pen). The stylus is integrated with Samsung’s software (Touchwiz layered over Android 4.1.2 Jellybean), so when you pull the stylus out, the Note automatically shifts into pen detection mode. The new version even lets you perform certain tasks while only hovering the pen over the screen (previewing stories in Flipboard is one example).

Android’s tablet app selection is improving, but here iOS is still King. On last check (several months ago), Apple had over 275,000 iPad-specific apps in the App Store. Google Play's selection often defaults to stretched-out phone apps. Fortunately, these will look a bit better on an 8-inch screen than on a 10-inch tablet.

The Facebook mistakes people make after a date

(Credit: everything from the world)

February can make people excitable.

A new year is barely old. Hope springs eternal. And then there's Valentine's Day to add a little piquancy to their emotional state.

Sometimes, though, lovers suffer from a certain lack of self-control. This can manifest itself on society's everyday manifest: Facebook.

I was moved, therefore, that someone had taken the time to list the major faux pas that occur when social contact accelerates beyond decent norms.

I am lovingly grateful to Ranker, which has taken it upon itself to reduce the rancor that might be caused by Facebooked overenthusiasm -- the site has listed behavior to avoid.

Apparently the worst thing you can do after meeting someone in whose charm and personality you might be interested is to immediately send them a Facebook friend request.

This might seem obvious to some.

You don't necessarily have any idea what the other person might really think of you. You know, inside their heads.

And, as Ranker wisely offers: "Now you've just given yourself something else to obsess over: 'Why hasn't my friend request been accepted? Why is it taking so long? Did they even see it?!'

And from one small click, a whole new series of sessions with your shrink is created.

It seems, though, that the human imagination has found many more ways of ruining the course of true love on Facebook.

People apparently pore over their new date's Facebook page, seeking secrets to their true friends, thoughts, and, who knows, other objects of affection.

Some devolve into what seems utterly psychotic behavior, such as liking old photos of their new potential paramour. Who does that? Twisted humans, that's who.

But Facebook offers so many more opportunities for self-destruction.

There's revealing too much in your status update. Sample: "I just went on the best date ever with Marie Dupree and her sexy knees."

No, it doesn't end there.Some people, though, go even further and attempt to insert themselves into comments on their love-object's Facebook page, should they already be Facebook friends. Sample: "You look so WONDERFUL when you're saluting the sun, Shoshanna. Can't wait until we do some saluting together!!"

The Facebook gauche end up stalking every second of their new friend's Timeline. ("She dated a clown in 2008? Why would she DO that?")

Worse, there are apparently instances of enthusiasts who get so carried away that they start friending the families of their new objects of affection. ("Hi, Mrs. Aziel, you don't know me, but your daughter and I...." Oh, you finish the sentence.)

Facebook offers so many avenues of potential despair that there is only one way that you can use it to avoid complication, pain, sorrow, heartbreak, sleepless nights, and that bottomless feeling of lost opportunity: Don't go anywhere near it.

Google laptop shows Apple a thing or two

The 3.3-pound Google Chromebook Pixel sports a 12.85-inch, 2,560x1,700-pixel display and an Intel Core i5 processor.

(Credit: everything from the world)

Thank you, Google. For obsoleting my MacBook.

Question: What two killer hardware features are missing on MacBooks? My answer: a touch screen and 4G.

What a coincidence. Just what Google is offering on the Chromebook Pixel. And in a package that comes close to matching the MacBook's aesthetics.

Not everyone may agree with that. Take the laptop flat-earthers. They will say touch is stupid (or "pointless" as one columnist said) on a laptop. Yeah right, just like the mouse was a stupid idea.

The point is, Google knows (they're not stupid) that touch is important on a laptop. As does Microsoft (Windows 8 and Surface). That leaves Apple in Luddite land.Then there's Apple's your-arm-wants-to-fall-off on vertical touch surfaces excuse. That will eventually give way to a touch-screen MacBook of some sort. You heard it here first.

4G: And some might say that a Chromebook needs 4G more than a MacBook because the Chromebook is so immersed in the cloud. Hmm, my MacBook spends lots of time in the cloud too. And the last time I used it on the road, I was constantly hauling out my Verizon MiFi or running down my iPhone's battery with the Personal Hotspot. Come on, LTE belongs in a laptop.

And the operating system? I believe that cool hardware is the first step in luring consumers to a new operating environment.

While Chrome OS is still a work in progress (and lacks key features that many users need), with the success of Android, I do think it's possible that an improved Chrome OS combined with a second-generation Chromebook Pixel could reel in more consumers.

Google certainly has my attention.

LoFi-Fisheye Digicam shoots HD video, fits in the palm of your hand

Pressing and holding the power button on the top brings the camera to life and it goes straight into HD video mode

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After a fruitless search for a teeny key-chain digital camera with a fish-eye lens out front, Greg Dash decided to design and build his own. The subsequent prototype was just intended for his own use, but when more and more folks asked him where they could buy one when they spotted him snapping photos, he hatched a crowdfunding plan to bring his LoFi-Fisheye Digicam to market.

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Thankfully, monster lenses like the one introduced by Nikon at the 1970 Photokina show are something of a rarity. Today's smaller varieties, however, are still a rather expensive addition to a photographer's toolkit, and certainly something that was out of Dash's price range. Of course, he could have opted to add something like a TurtleJacket PentaEye lens wheelto his iPhone, or post-processed images using software or apps for a digitally-manipulated snap, but didn't feel that such things were quite what he was looking for.

"Although apps give the appearance of a fisheye-effect, they're unable to replicate the true 170-degree image due to the limitations in the hardware," he told us. "Snap-on attachments can suffer from low quality construction, can fall off, can break and can be device specific."

He wanted an easy-to-use, pocket-friendly digital camera that had a quality fish-eye lens, was able to record in HD, and included features like time-lapse – criteria that were satisfied in his (roughly) Chobi Cam-sized LoFi-Fisheye Digicam.

Dash, who works and studies at Aberystwyth University in Mid Wales, told us that the reference to Lo-Fi in the camera's name relates to its simple, uncluttered style and the distinct lack of bells and whistles of the design itself, rather than an indication of anything lacking in image quality. In fact, the camera's onboard sensor can record HD video and grab images at up to 12 megapixels.

Pressing and holding the power button on the top brings the camera to life and it goes straight into HD video mode (indicated by a red LED on the back). Next to the power button, there's another which allows the user to choose between video and photo (green LED). A microphone on the rear picks up and records audio and the button on the front of the camera activates the camera's time-lapse feature. The front is also home to that desirable 170-degree glass fish-eye lens.

On one side there's a microSD slot (it doesn't have any internal memory), and there's a mini-USB port on the other. The latter is used to connect the device to a computer or to charge its lithium battery. A small text file is stored on the supplied microSD card that can be opened on a computer to change some of the camera's parameter settings, if desired.

There's no screen, no viewfinder and you've got no idea what your photo or video will be like until it's viewed on a computer. This might not be to everyone's taste, but I think it adds an element of old-fashioned surprise and intrigue to the proceedings (harking back to a time when you never quite knew if your holiday snaps would turn out until you got them back from the developers).

To bring his design to market, Dash has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. The production model will feature a custom-molded body over a metal frame. He has partnered with an experienced manufacturer to finalize the design and now needs a cash injection to pay for tooling and meet the costs associated with an initial production run.

All the early bird units have gone, so you'll need to pledge at least £65 (US$99) to wrap your hands around a production model. The campaign closes on April 4 and, providing the target is met, shipping is scheduled for August.

"If I'm unable to hit the £35,000 (about $46k) target, the production will not go ahead," admitted Dash. "It's unlikely I will seek funding from elsewhere as I have neither the funds or time to continue with this project. If funding is successful, however, I have many more ideas I would like to try out. I'd really like to create a line of fixed-lens pocket cams at an affordable price, but this project is currently my priority."

The campaign's suitably lo-fi pitch video can be seen below (although ahigher quality, updated version has been produced if you'd rather watch that).

Russian meteor blast heard around the world

Arrays of infrasound station IS49, Tristan da Cunha, United Kingdom

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When the Chelyabinsk meteor exploded high over Russia on February 15, it was a blast heard around the world. This isn't just a figure of speech. Though too low-frequency for human hearing, sound waves from the 500-kiloton detonation of the 17-meter (56-ft) rock were picked up in Antarctica – some 15,000 km (9,320 miles) away – by 17 Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) infrasound stations dedicated to detecting nuclear explosions above or below ground.

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The Chelyabinsk meteor was the largest space object to explode on Earth in over a century. It was captured on dramatic videos, knocked down walls, blew in windows and injured about a thousand people as it released as much energy as 30 Hiroshima atomic bombs. It also set off infrasonic waves – sub-audible sounds between 0.001 Hz and 20 Hz. These can travel around the world and are used by the CTBTO’s network of 45 infrasound stations to help enforce treaties against nuclear testing.

17 infrasound stations detected the infrasonic waves from the meteor that broke up over Russia’s Ural mountains

According to the CTBTO, the Chelyabinsk meteor was the largest event ever recorded by its network.

“We saw straight away that the event would be huge, in the same order as the Sulawesi event from 2009,” said CTBTO acoustic scientist, Pierrick Mialle. "The observations are some of the largest that CTBTO’s infrasound stations have detected."

The Sulawesi event was the explosion of a bolide meteor over Indonesia, which was recorded by 15 CTBTO stations.

“We know it’s not a fixed explosion because we can see the change in direction as the meteorite moves towards the earth" added Mialle. "It’s not a single explosion, it’s burning, traveling faster than the speed of sound. That’s how we distinguish it from mining blasts or volcanic eruptions. Scientists all around the world will be using the CTBTO’s data in the next months and year to come, to better understand this phenomena and to learn more about the altitude, energy released and how the meteor broke up."

The CTBTO infrasound network is one of four systems used by CTBTO for detecting nuclear explosions since April 2001, when the first station came online in Germany. Infrared sounds are generated by all manner of natural and man-made sources including exploding volcanoes, earthquakes, meteors, storms and auroras, plus nuclear, mining and large chemical explosions, and aircraft and rocket launches.

The first recorded infrasound event was when Krakatoa exploded in 1883. The infrasonic sounds circled the Earth at least seven times and blew in windows hundreds of miles away. This ability of infrasound to travel globally has proven an excellent way of detecting nuclear explosions because of the distinct signature that such detonations produce.

The CTBTO detector stations are located in remote locations in order to minimize natural and man-made background noise. They work by recording minute changes in the atmospheric pressure using microbarometers.

The video below has an audible version of the infrasound detected.

Pentagon grounds entire F-35 Joint Strike Fighter fleet

A crack in an engine blade has suspended airborne testing on the $396 billion Joint Strike Fighter program.

(Credit: Department of Defense)

The U.S. Department of Defense has suspended airborne testing of its Joint Strike Fighter because of a crack in an engine turbine blade discovered during routine inspection, the Pentagon said this week.

The grounding covers every one of the three versions of the F-35 involved in the $396 billion program -- 51 fighter jets that had hitherto been active for testing and training and have been described by the Pentagon as "the most affordable, lethal, supportable, and survivable aircraft ever to be used."

Just 10 days ago, one of the three versions of the fighter, the F-35B, designed for the Marines, was cleared to resume tests after a monthlong suspension having to do with a fuel line defect.

To understand the specific cause of the current issue -- the cracked turbine blade discovered February 19 -- the engine is being returned to the manufacturer: United Technologies unit Pratt & Whitney. The Pentagon said it hopes to return the fleet to the air as soon as possible. 

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program (pictures)

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Eventually, there will be more than 2,400 of the next-generation fighter jets, which will come in three models: the Air Force's agile F-35A, the Marines' VTOL model F-35B, and the Navy's F-35C, which has a larger wing surface and reinforced landing gear to withstand catapult launches and deck landings on an aircraft carrier. 

The Pentagon stressed yesterday that the grounding is precautionary and that it's not possible to know the impact of the crack on the low pressure turbine blade until the investigation is complete. 

Additional delays aside, the warplane is currently expected to formally take to the skies and be battle-ready in 2018 or 2019.

PowerUp 3.0 – here's how it works

A paper airplane equipped with the PowerUp 3.0 kit, which is controlled via PowerUp's flight control app

To recap our previous article, the PowerUp 3.0 kit consists of a capacitor joined to a propeller by a carbon fiber shaft, that can be attached to a user-supplied folded paper airplane made from regular A4 or 8.5 x 11-inch copier paper. Using an iPhone equipped with Bluetooth 4.0 and PowerUp’s app, the user can then control the flight-path of that plane. But how?Earlier this month, we reported on the PowerUp 3.0 – a US$50 kit that lets you control a powered paper airplane via your smartphone. At the time, we were still waiting to hear back from its designer, regarding how a simple add-on motorized propeller could be used to actually steer the plane. Now we know.

As was suggested by some of our readers, the kit turns the plane via a small tail rudder, and climbs and descends via throttle control – this means that whenever it speeds up, it climbs, and whenever it slows down, it descends. According to creator Shai Goitein, the rudder is controlled simply by tipping the phone left or right.

“The really cool feature is the on-board accelerometer which gives the artificial horizon on the iPhone realtime airplane orientation, you can virtually fly it just by looking at your phone,” he added.

A PowerUp 3.0-enabled paper airplane can be seen in flight in the video below.