SpaceX’s Falcon 9 returns safely on Ground

December 23, 2015

The rocket of SpaceX, Falcon 9, successfully landed back on ground on Monday. Mashable reported the safe landing of Falcon 9 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The unmanned rocket was launched into orbit and is now being proclaimed as the ‘first orbital-class booster’ since it returned unscathed.

The safe return of Falcon 9 is a huge accomplishment for the company. This success has led Elon Musk, CEO SpaceX, to proclaim that SpaceX is one step closer to Mars. After the safe touchdown of rocket, Elon said in a press conference:

“I think it really quite dramatically improves my confidence that a city on Mars is possible.”
“That’s what all this is about.”

Space and the worlds beyond our planet Earth have attracted human attention for long. SpaceX has some big plans lined up for the future ventures. Falcon 9 is definitely one of the substantial illustrations of such achievements.

The topic of Mars is a universal favorite. Elon Musk himself is passionate about it. At various occasions, he shared his vision regarding the company’s strategy to gain as much information as it can.

The recent success makes him closer to achieve his objectives of conquering and colonizing Mars. The only glitch in his plans is the huge cost requirements because the technology in this domain is expensive.

Elon elaborated the need of colonizing and settling in another planet. Mars has always been hailed for its potential to support life and Musk is a great enthusiast of the theory.

The CEO of SpaceX has further plans to augment the space launch procedures and make them more economical. One probable way is to reuse rockets and other equipment which are generally discarded after a single use.

His ideas have all the potential to revolutionize the space industry. Elon Musk, CEO SpaceX, is well recognized for transforming automobile industry with the launch of Electric Cars. His track record proves that he can pull off another industry ideals reformation with SpaceX.

Asus ROG GL552JX Gaming Laptop launched for Rs. 80,990

Emmanuel

December 21, 2015

Asus has keyed into the PC gaming market by launching the new ROG GL552JX gaming notebook in India for Rs. 80,990 (about 243,000 Naira).

The Asus ROG GL552JX features a 15.6-inch LED backlit display with 1920 x 1080 pixels Full HD resolution. It also has a full anti-glare and comes in a 16:9 aspect ratio.

The Windows 10 notebook is powered by fourth-gen Intel Core i7 processor clocked at 2 GHz with turbo boost up to 3.20 GHz. Added to this is an 8GB RAM and a fast 1TB 7200rpm hard disk drive.

The laptop is also fortified with an hardware to ensure it gives a fantastic gaming experience. On board is an Nvidia GeForce GTX 950M graphics chip coupled with IGPU Intel HD Graphics 4600.

“With its advanced hardware and gamer centric features, the GL552JX takes care of all your gaming needs on the move,” Peter Chang, Regional Head of South Asia and Managing Director for Asus said.

“At a price of Rs. 80,990 it is a mainstream gaming laptop targeting audience who want a gaming notebook without spending too much but yet desire for an awe-inspiring gaming experience,” he added.

The Asus ROG GL552JX has a 4G video memory and comes with the GeForce Experience for quick gaming optimization. It also has BatteryBoost for improved battery life that will allow users to game unplugged for longer periods.

On the connectivity front, Asus ROG GL552JX features three USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI port and one RJ45 LAN port. The laptop also has card slot supporting SD, MMC and MS type cards.

The ASUS notebook is equipped with WiFi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1 for wireless connections. It also has two user replaceable memory slots with dedicated memory door at its bottom.

The Asus ROG GL552JX comes with Sonic Master audio and has backlit keyboard with dedicated numeric keypad. It is backed by a 4 cell Li-Ion battery and weighs 2.6 Kg.

LG teases USB-C Monitors and Google Cast Soundbars ahead of CES

Jia Khan

December 21, 2015

The South Korean multinational LG is already teasing its forthcoming device offerings for CES 2016. The Consumer Electronics Show, CES 2016, is scheduled to be held in the next month.

These latest devices include quite a few 4K monitors featuring the USB Type-C ports as well three sound bars loaded with Bluetooth and Google Cast compatibility.

Though the company has not released many details, the official statement from LG states that a duo of 4K monitors, 27 inches and 32 inches, will be released. Both 4K monitors will sport USB Type-C connectivity.

In addition, three QHD resolution ultra-wide monitors boasting an aspect ratio of 21:9 will also be released. These monitors embrace a QHD display with 3440×1440 resolutions along with ThunderBolt 2 connections. Two of these three QHD monitors feature flat displays while the third one, called UC98, sports the latest curved screen.

For audio equipment, LG will launch three latest sound bars alongside two high-priced choices offering wireless subwoofers. However, all three of them will feature a Bluetooth along with Google Cast compatibility.

In addition, the company will also introduce a trio of latest X-Boom audio systems and a recent 15.6-inch LG Gram Laptop. Gram laptop is quite similar to its 14-inches forebearer and weighs 980gm less than 11-inches MacBook Air by Apple. The device also sports a Sixth-Gen Skylake processor running on Windows 10 by Intel.

While other companies are waiting till the next month to disclose their most recent gadgets, LG has gotten a head start. The company showed off its latest G Pad tablet, LG Watch Urbane Luxe and Rolly Keyboard well before the IFA trade show held in Berlin this Fall.

However, these are all pre-announcements and the full specs are yet to be revealed. Hopefully, January will bring a few surprises just like last year’s big surprise from LG at CES was G Flex 2 flagship.

Asus ZenPad C 7.0 tablet now on sale in India for Rs. 7,999

Emmanuel

December 19, 2015

Taiwanese smartphone producer, Asus, has announced details about the availability of the Asus ZenPad C 7.0 tablet in India.

According to the company the MediaTek-powered Asus ZenPad C 7.0 (Z170MG) tablet is now available exclusively via Snapdeal in the Asian country. Consumers have the option of getting the smartphone in Obsidian Black and Pearl White colour variants.

The tablet is Priced at Rs. 7,999 (that’s roughly 24,000 Naira).

Another variant of the ZenPad C 7.0 which features an Intel Atom x3-C3230 quad-core processor has also been made available for purchase via Flipkart.

The Intel variant is called the Asus ZenPad C 7.0 (Z170CG), and has been priced at Rs. 8,999 (about 27,000 Naira). However, Asus India has not officially announce availability details of this variant.

The Asus ZenPad C 7.0 (Z170MG) tablet features a 7-inch 1024 x 600 pixel LED backlit IPS display. It is powered by a 1.3GHz quad-core MediaTek (MT8382V/W) processor which is further coupled with 1GB of RAM.

This is expected to offer moderate usability- it will execute basic applications seamlessly and might start lagging if one tries to run too many apps at the same time on it.

The Asus ZenPad C 7.0 (Z170CG) on the other hand packs a 64-bit 1.2GHz quad-core Intel Atom x3-C3230 processor with 1GB of RAM. The two versions come with different chipsets while other innards are identical.

The tablet has an internal memory of 8GB which can be expanded via a microSD slot up to 64GB.

The Asus Zenpad C 7.0 (Z170MG) also sports a 0.3-megapixel front camera, and a 5-megapixel rear camera with autofocus. It measures 189x108x8.4mm, and weighs 265 grams.

Connectivity options on the tablet include Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, Micro-USB, GPS/ A-GPS, and Glonass. It runs on Android’s Lollipop 5.0 Operating System with the Zen UI Skin on it.

The ZenPad C 7.0 (Z170MG) packs a 3450mAh battery which the company said can deliver up to 8 hours of battery life. The tablet also sports 3G connectivity and comes with two Micro-SIM card slots.

Audi A4 All New 2016 Model Debuts

John Adebimitan

December 16, 2015

Audi demonstrated some of its new key technologies in its yet-to-arrive Audi A4 midsizer. The car is estimated to arrive in March 2016, and the German automaker states that it will sport some new features.

The car has been improved in four key areas—infotainment, connectivity, lighting and personal assistance.

The Audi infotainment has been dubbed the best in its class. The 2016 Audi A4 sports a 3D sound, 1900Watts and 23 different speakers which help to enhance its Audio capabilities.

The Audi connect system is now improved and all users can now benefit from the Wi-Fi features, they will be having access to Google and Apple CarPlay and they will be able to use Android Auto.

Talking of the lighting, the car will be having a matrix LED system that will be coming with eight fingers of light with an active high-beam.

The system of the car has been designed to recognize the rear of cars ahead and all upcoming vehicles, and it adjusts the beam accordingly. The automakers have dumped the fog-lights for a new ‘all-weather’ lighting system.

Audi has developed its own range of tablets for all future models of the Audi cars, these tablets eliminate some of the problems that have been found with conventional tablets used in the car.

So we can expect that the Audi A4 gets one tablet attached. These tablets have proved to be an improvement in safety as all rear coming drivers won’t be distracted by the tablets mounted on the front seats.

The assistance menu in the Audi A4 comes with standard features including Cross-Traffic Alerts, Active Cruise Controls and Turn Assist.

In addition to these three, there is also a Pre-Sense Rear system which can help view all rear-end collisions and it will automatically flash the brake lights if it suspects that the driver following you isn’t paying attention.

If after giving the warning the attention of the driver isn’t caught, the system prepares for an impact.

The car also has an autonomous braking system and a steering input that it uses to avoid collisions. The autonomous system can watch the road 60 metres ahead, so it gives you an idea of what may be happening when cars are not moving.

With all these features coming with the Audi A4, it is fitting for the car to have been awarded a 5-star safety rating by the Euro NCAP.

Konga Yakata records N100m worth of orders 4 hours after kick off

Emmanuel

November 28, 2015

Yakata, the much awaited version of Konga’s Black Friday has kicked off.

The event debuted 6am on the 26th of November and will be on for two days. Other stores’ Black Friday event was scheduled to start on November 27th.

Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and is associated with massive shopping behaviour all around the world. Stores offer awesome discounts to shoppers and those who come first will be first served.

A few hours into the 2015 Yakata sale, Konga recorded over N100 million worth of orders. The figure at the four-hour mark was N110,000,000 ($552,764), according to a tweet by Sim Shagaya, Konga’s CEO.

Shagaya also added that Konga’s proprietary payment gateway, KongaPay, processed more transactions within that period than any other gateway.

This year, konga had promised that the Yakata sales will feature mind blowing discounts across all product categories on the konga platform.

The leading Nigerian e-commerce site had announced that it made efforts towards giving its shoppers across the country a truly memorable Yakata experience.

It said it had curated an unbeatable line up of top selling items to be sold at mind blowing discounts for the period of the Yakata sales.

Also shoppers will have access to hundreds of thousands of heavily discounted products with the Yakata 2015 sales- due to the company’s army of trusted partners committed to offering deep discounts via konga’s marketplace.

In addition to these amazing discounts, shoppers get an additional 5% discount when they pay using KongaPay, Konga had stated.

An example of a hot deal for Yakata is the just launched Alcatel Popstar android smartphone. The phone will be available exclusively on Konga, at a special price of N15,900, an unbeatable deal for an android phone of its great specs.

A day to the sale, Konga released some pictures of stocked up products in its warehouse to tease customers on what there is to come.

More Nigerians than ever before are aware of the Black Friday sales and will be throwing a huge amount of requests at e-commerce websites. Hello fried servers.

Asus Zenbook touchscreen Laptop UX305CA made available for $699

Emmanuel

November 28, 2015

Taiwanese computer hardware producer, ASUS, have announced the arrival of their new Asus Zenbook touchscreen laptop which is referenced UX305CA.

The ASUS laptop has been made available for purchase and is priced at $699 (roughly 140,000 Naira).

On a normal day, the new laptop has a list price of $799 but it has been made available at a reduced price with a condition attached – one gets a $100 deduction if one purchases it directly from the Microsoft online store.

The Asus Zenbook UX305CA is powered by an Intel Core m3-6Y30 Skylake processor which is supported by a massive 8GB of RAM.

This is more than enough to run contemporary programs without a hitch. Added to this is a 256 GB of solid-state storage which is considered 90 percent faster than the orthodox hard disk storage.

The laptop also features a QHD+ touchscreen which fits into a 13.3 inch screen. It offers users a resolution of 3200 x 1800 pixels and comes with Windows 10.

Connectivity on the laptop is via both 802.11ac WiFi and Bluetooth 4.0. It sports 3 x USB 3.0 ports, 1 x micro HDMI port and an SD card slot.

Speaking during the unveiling, Asus said the laptop is elegant, slim, and powered for performance. It added that the ASUS ZenBook UX305CA is premium in every way.

“It’s under a half-inch thin, weighs only 3 pounds, and has a power-efficient Intel Core m3 processor. It’s luxurious, too, built from a block of aluminum with ASUS’ signature spun-metal finish on the lid. And with Windows 10, you get easy ways to snap apps in place, create new desktops, and work and play across all your devices,”

it said.

The laptop however doesn’t feature an Ethernet jack but it is still possible to use a USB-to-Ethernet adapter if a wired connection is needed or necessary.

The system is also equipped with a 45 Whr battery that is capable of providing up to 10 hours of continual use.

Tesla’s Cheapest Model X Is Priced At $80,000

John Adebimitan

November 26, 2015

The long awaited electric-powered Model X from Tesla has started selling, and the long-range crossover car with upward-opening second-row doors has been priced at $80,000.

Selling this car at $80,000 puts it $5,000 cheaper than Model S which was the lowest-priced version of the sedan that turned Tesla into one of the most watched tech firms.

This Model X is quite larger with a performance base version that is slightly slower than the Model S. The SUV comes with an all-wheel drive and it will clock-in at zero to 60 miles per hour in 6 seconds.

As it gets bigger, it will not have the same range as the Model S; it has 220 miles per charge while the Model S has 240 miles per charge.

The pricing which was released on Monday was not inclusive of delivery charges, customers who want it will have to pay an additional $1,200 for the car to be delivered to their preferred locations.

The Tesla Model X which was introduced at a ceremony in Fremont is having lots of breakthroughs. The rear doors open upward in a way that won’t scrap against a vehicle that is packed next to it and it has panoramic windshields.

Tesla stated on its website that anyone who chooses to order the 70D all-wheel-drive base Model will have to wait until late next year before it can be delivered. If customers wish to get one faster though, they may need to order one of the two other upscale versions with zero-to-60miles in 3.8 seconds.

While all Model Xs comes with standard five-seat configurations, any customer who wants to get a car with six-seat configuration will have to pay extra $3,000 while the seven-seat configuration goes for an additional $4,000.

In September, Tesla put the Model X on sale at an introductory price of $132,000 for a fully decked-out signature edition of the car.

Asus R510JX Gaming Laptop launched at Rs. 69,990, comes with Windows 10

Emmanuel

November 25, 2015

Asus has introduced an entry-level gaming laptop – the Asus R510JX, with the aim to boost and enrich gaming experience on laptops.

According to Asus, the R510JX can handle modern games and high end multimedia content with ease. The new laptop costs Rs. 69,990 (that’s about 211,000 Naira).

The Asus R510JX is a premium looking notebook with a stylish black and red theme at the sides.

The laptop has a 15.6-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) LED-backlit display with 16:9 screen ratio. The screen also comes with an anti-glare, which the Chinese company claims offers resistance to fingerprints and smudges.

The gaming laptop features a large touchpad with intuitive multi-point Smart Gesture input, and a reinforced seamless one piece chiclet keyboard and IceCool technology to keep palm rests cool.

The Asus R510JX notebook is powered by a fourth-generation Intel Core i7-4720HQ quad-core processor clocked at 2.6GHz (Turbo up to 3.6GHz) with 6MB cache and 8 threads.

This is further supported by 4GB of DDR3L RAM, and a 1TB of 5400rpm HDD.

It also features Nvidia GeForce GTX 950M (2GB DDR3 video RAM) dedicated GPU alongside Intel HD Graphics 4400 integrated graphics.

This enables it to run contemporary games smoothly, giving its users an amazing gaming experience.

The Asus R510JX runs the 64-bit version of Windows 10, has a VGA webcam on board and packs a 4-cell 44Whr Li-ion battery.

On the connectivity front, it supports Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0, two USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port, HDMI 1.4 out, VGA port, RJ-45 inlet, SD card reader, and an audio combo jack.

It weighs 2.45kg with battery, and measures 380x251x29.2~31.7mm. An optical drive was also added to the goodies.

“Gaming is on the rise among the Indian consumers and with R510, even the entry level gaming enthusiasts will get an opportunity to test their skills on the high end games,”

Peter Chang, Regional Head of South Asia and Managing Director for Asus India said during the launch of the notebook.

“It’s the perfect blend of hardware, performance and gaming with its black and red theme styled with FHD antiglare display. It is one of the most affordable products in the gaming category which makes it a must-buy for all the aficionados,”

he added.

Drones are going to be massive this Holiday Season

Jia Khan

November 25, 2015

Drones are the hottest items on the wish-list of many these holidays. The widespread interest in drones is evident from the stats which state that over a million people would receive a drone gift this holiday season.

However, according to the new legislation, the lucky ones will have to inform the Federal Government (in the United States) after unpacking their gifts.

Recently, the FAA scampered to draw up swarms of drones flying in the air and announced a list of suggestions through which the supervision of competitive use of the machines can be regulated.

Under the proposition, any person owning drones would have to get their gadgets registered with the FAA, which would organize the data in a National Database.

According to the FAA, the machines weighing over 0.55 pounds and under 55 pounds will be required to register, which implies that nearly all the available drones in the consumer market will need registration.

It is worth mentioning that it is the pilot or the drone controller who needs to get registered instead of the drone, which subsequently implies that a person can have multiple drones registered to him with an authority.

In case of unregistered flying, the pilot will be liable to pay a penalty amounting to $25000.

As per FAA, everyone residing in the US, who has a drone will need to be registered. However, the foreigners or visiting tourists will be offered relief with a quick application process so that they get to enjoy their drone flying experience sooner without having to entangle in the hassle of formalities.

FAA also mentioned that some sort of education component will be included in the process, however it has not been clearly specified yet whether there will be some kind of test or literature before actual driving of a drone.

At present, it is still unclear as to who will develop the registration website and the FAA has yet not made any comment on this aspect.

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