Google says ‘Merry Christmas’ with Free Calls

Google is getting into the holiday spirit! The Internet giant has just announced it is extending free domestic calls within Canada and the US through 2012 via Gmail. That means if you live in North America you can call loved one (and mistresses) for free as long as they liven within Canada or the US.

For those of you who want to call overseas Google says “Bah Humbug”! You’ll have to pay for those calls!

[Google]

Stunning New Renderings of Apple’s Campus 2

Earlier this year Steve Jobs himself sat in front of Cupertino City Council and unveiled his plans for a massive new Apple Campus to be built in the city. The photos showed plans for a complex which took many by surprise. Impressive for a corporate headquarters! Now the city has posted updated plans for the building, submitted just last month.

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Crack this Code and Land a Job as a Real Spy!

Take a close look at the code above? Can you make any sense out of it? If you can you might just land yourself a job as a real spy.

Britain’s government intelligence service, GCHQ is actively recruiting for cyber specialists. Instead of approaching post-secondary education institutes it is looking for self-taught hackers via the web.

The GCHQ has set up a website with the visual code above and is even reaching out to blogs and websites which are frequented by “ethical hackers”.

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First Feature-Length Film Shot Entirley on a Smartphone

While most of us use our smartphones to record videos of our kids being silly or office hijinks, director Hooman Khalili is getting some serious use out of his handset. He’s recording a feature-length film.

Khalili mounted a 35mm lens onto his Nokia N8 (no, not an iPhone), hired a production crew and began shooting Olive, a movie about a mute girl who has an impact on the lives who surround her.

This doesn’t appear to be some jank production. The film stars two time Academy Award nominated actress Gena Rowlands (the Notebook, A Woman Under the Influence, Gloria). In fact Khalila is looking to the Kickstarter community to try and get $300,000 backing to bring the film to theaters by the end of the year.

Take a sneak peek at Olive in Khalili’s video diary below.

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Phillips Reminds Us it Has an App to Deal with iPhone Battery Issues

Apple has made it quite clear it is working on a fix for those of us with iPhone battery issues after upgrading to iOS 5. The only problem is we still don’t know when that software fix will be released. Enter Phillips and an app to help try and save your precise battery life.

BatterySense is a free app (now upgraded to support iPhone 4S) which will let iPhone owners take a detailed look at how long your battery will last doing certain activities. Want to know how long you can watch videos on your iPhone before it goes dark? BatterySense can tell you that. The app essentially monitors all activities including talk time, web browsing, audio playback even standby time. It even has option where you can choose your desired battery life and it will give you some suggestions to try and help you squeeze some extra juice out of your device.

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Dippin’ Dots Files for Bankruptcy

The “Ice cream of the future” may soon meet a grizzly end. The Wall Street Journal is reporting Dippin’ Dots has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company has been in a battle with its lender for nearly four years now. It owes nearly four million dollars. Analysts point to low sales during the recession when people thought twice about spending the extra cash on the high-priced but tasty frozen treat.

Microbiologist Curt Jones invented Dippin’ Dots back in 1987. One year later he introduced his new ice cream to the world through fairs, vending machines and 140 retail locations in the US.

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Review: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception

Who would have thought back in 2007 the Uncharted franchise would turn into the monster it is today. At the time many thought it was a Tomb Raider clone, featuring a male lead character. Fast forward four years and we can now say Uncharted is without a doubt going in a direction the Tomb Raider franchise only dreamed of. Fast paced action, riveting story, Uncharted 3: Drakes’s Deception has a lot going for it. But can it possibly lead to the hype built-up by Sony and Naughty Dog?

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Apple Acknowledges iOS 5 Battery Issues

Apple has been fielding a number of complaints from iPhone owners over issues with decreased battery life after upgrading to the latest operating system.

When we received our iPhone 4S review unit we were startled to find our battery would go from 100% to 0% in a matter of just three hours. Apple was quick to swap it out for a new phone. Turns out we weren’t alone. Apple now admits there is a problem.

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Invisible Glass Could Soon Drastically Reduce Screen Glare

Whether you’re typing on your laptop or trying to use your smartphone outside, the glare from the sun can be a real bitch. Soon that pesky ball of fireball will be a nuisance no more!

Nippon Electric Glass has created what it calls “Invisible Glass”. Once a special film is applied to glass it reduces glare dramatically. The company claims the film will allow 99.5% of light to pass through the pane of glass.

A quick glance at the photo above shows the difference between a regular pane of glass (left side) and “Invisible Glass” (right side).

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Review: Kinect Sports Season 2

Almost one year ago Microsoft released a title which was expected to usher in a new era of gameplay; one without controllers. Kinect Sports proved you could play a game without relying on the classic controller but some gamers were critical, claiming Kinect Sports was nothing more than a collection of mini games. Despite the mixed reviews Microsoft teamed up with Rare once again to bring another round of sporting goodness to the Xbox 360 and Kinect. Does Kinect Sports Season 2 fair any better than the first. Once again it depends on who you ask.

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