The iPhone 6 and other Smartphone will bend but probably not from normal use

Over the last week we have been hearing a few reports of iPhone 6 plus bending from normal daily use. There is even a video by Lewis Hilsenteger of unbox, that went viral, showing him bending an iPhone 6 plus by just using his hands. Since that first video Mr. Hilsenteger has released subsequent videos with various smartphones to show how that stack up to the same test. None of the other smartphones showed bending to the degree the iPhone 6 plus did but most of them did bend.

Yesterday, Consumer Reports released their own video on this bending issue to give a more scientific approach. In their video where they conducted a compress test on 6 of the top smartphones. The results showed that indeed the iPhone 6 plus could be bent with enough force. In their testing it took 90 pounds of force applied to the center of the iPhone 6 plus will indeed make the phone. Surprisingly, both the smaller iPhone 6 & the HTC One M8 bent before the iPhone 6 plus showing that the larger form factor of the iPhone 6 plus was probably not the problem that Mr. Hilsenteger talk about in his video.

Just what do the Consumer Report and Lewis Hilsenteger videos prove? Just that this thinly built mobile devices can bend if enough pressure is applied. Both of these also show that most of these devices will still function with slight bends in them. Showing that all of these devices are built rugged enough to with stand abuse.

Neither of the videos shows the iPhone 6 or 6 plus bending by being carried in the manner mentioned in the complaints. According to the users that complained it was the simple act of sitting down with the phone in their back pockets. After watching all of the videos made by both Mr. Hilsenteger and Consumer Reports all that can be concluded is that it is possible that iPhone 6 and other smartphones could bend give the right circumstances.

Other articles on this topic:

• http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2014/09/27/bendgate-unbent-apple-and-viral-iphone-6-plus-bender-are-both-right/
• http://venturebeat.com/2014/09/28/iphone-6-bending-common-sense-for-an-uncommon-problem/
• http://www.redmondpie.com/iphone-6-plus-bendgate-issue-debunked-by-consumer-reports-video/

Amazon hits it big with Transparent

For a few years the video streaming service Netflix has been bring in plenty of accolades for original series House of Cards and Orange is the new Black. Last November Amazon jump into the original content game when the released Alpha House. That series and some of the others that Amazon has since released have created some noise. It was today's release of Transparent that finally gained the praises of critics.

“We’re thrilled to bring this poignant, funny and beautifully-crafted series to Amazon Prime customers and to the world,” said Roy Price, Vice President, Amazon Studios, in a press release. “It’s been an honor to partner with such a passionate storyteller as Jill Soloway to bring her vision for Transparent to life and we can’t wait for everyone to meet the Pfeffermans.”

The series stars Jeffrey Tambor, best know for Arrested Development, as Mort Pfefferman and multi-award winning actress Judith Light as his ex-wife Shelly. In the pilot episode Mort (Tambor) invites his three grown children over to announce that, at the age of 70, he has decided to come out-of-the-closet and is going to a support group to help him transition into his new persona of Maura. His children, that all have there own skeletons, assume their father is dying of cancer and an argument about the type of cancer ensues. He ends up chickening out of his original announcement and instead tells them he is getting rid of his house. This naturally causes plenty of infighting in an already dysfunctional family.

Transparent is the brainchild of Jill Soloway, best known for her writing on the hit HBO (home box office) series Six Feet Under. Ms. Soloway is also the main writer and producer of the series. Along with the pilot, that is free for everyone to view, there are 9 more for a total of 10 episodes that subscribers to Amazon's Prime Network can watch on any of their compatible devices. 

Review-Killer Ambition

Killer Ambition by Marcia Clark is the third exciting installment of her legal thriller series feature special trails prosecutor Rachel Knight. The book starts quick as we are engaged as Ms. Knight and her partner detective Bailey Keller take us with them as they investigate the kidnapping of the daughter of a big Hollywood producer. With each page we get deeper involved in the working of the investigative process. All of the twist and turns of the investigation keeps us glue to this gripping page turner that takes us on a cross-country journey every lead to track down the suspects. Once the investigation is over we are taken on another journey as we are once more engaged in an face-paced trail.

Anyone that is a fan of any of the Law & Order television series will will feel familiar with the way this book is structured. That is where the similarities end those as both police & lawyers work together in a special trails unit that carries them from the beginning of the investigation to the end of the trial. The melding of the two agencies give the Rachel Knight series a unique feel that will satisfy a wide variety of readers.

Ms. Clark' book is full of richly developed characters . There are our two main characters of assistant district attorney Rachel Knight and detective Bailey Keller that make one of the best crime fighting teams in literature. Characters like Dorian Struck the sassy criminalist that is the best in her field and plays a predominate roll in the investigation. Then there are characters that play a smaller roles like Ms. Knight's co-worker and best friend Toni LaCollier that always there with helpful advise.

I would recommend this books for anyone that loves crime thrillers, mysteries or legal thrillers.

India's MOM enters Mars space

3 days after NASA's MAVEN spacecraft went into orbit around Mars it had some company as India's MOM (Mars orbiter mission) satellite also took orbit around the red planet. Being the first attempt at sending a spacecraft to Mars the news of the satellite taking orbit was the cause of much fanfare across the the nation. This marked the first time that any country, including the United States, has been successful on their first attempt such a mission.

“The odds were stacked against us. About 51 Mars missions were launched globally. Only 21 have succeeded. But we have prevailed,” India Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the center. “The success of our space program is a shining symbol of what we are capable of as a nation. Modern India must continue to be a world guru.”

The Indian Space Research Organization(ISRO) launched the MOM spacecraft on November 5, 2013, 2 weeks before NASA's MAVEN launch, from the Satish Dhawna Space Center in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. From there the craft went on its 10 and a half month journey to the red planet. With that journey complete it will now begin its 300 day mission to take photos, gather information and transmit it back to the ISRO. To carry out its mission the MOM spacecraft is equipped with the Lyman-Alpha Photometer, Thermal Infared ImagingSpectrometer, Tri-color cameramethane sensors and Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser.

"NASA looks forward to the successful launch of this exciting mission and the data that it is intended to provide on the Martian atmosphere," said Michael Braukas, a NASA spokesman. "It's probably going to complement our research."

Compared to today's high price tag for any space mission India's MOM spacecraft was relatively inexpensive a only $72 million dollars. This is almost one tenth the price of NASA's MAVEN spacecraft that cost $670 million. Part of the difference is price tag though is due to the more complexity to the MAVEN project including over double, 9 compared to 5, the amount of analyzing tools.

Other articles on this topic:

• http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/why-indias-mars-orbiter-mission-cost-less-gravity-movie-n210681
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/national-pride-soars-as-indian-spacecraft-reaches-mars-orbit-before-china/2014/09/24/14542c2f-4cfa-4e9a-a121-c80144646255_story.html
• http://www.computerworld.com/article/2687402/nasa-s-mars-machines-gets-company-from-india.html
• http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/shining-symbol-indias-mars-orbiter-mission-goes-orbit-n209756

MAVEN spacecraft to enter Martian space on Sunday

On Sunday NASA (national aeronautics and space administration) will take the next step in finding out if Mars one had an atmosphere much like our own. That is when the spacecraft MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) orbiter will enter the upper atmosphere and orbit the red planet. Over those 2 years MAVEN will test the atmospheric conditions of the planet to find out discover just what happened to the once vibrant atmosphere Mars supported.

"The evidence shows that the Mars atmosphere today is a cold, dry environment, one where liquid water really can't exist in a stable state," said Bruce Jakosky, MAVEN principal investigator, during a mission preview briefing Wednesday at NASA headquarters in Washington. "But it also tells us when we look at older surfaces, that the ancient surfaces had liquid water flowing over it."

MAVEN journey to Mars began on November 19, 2013 when it blasted off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Base riding on top of an Atlas V rocket. From there the spacecraft went on a 422 million mile trek speeding through space at a blazing 81,000 kilometers-per-hour (50,331 miles-per-hour) to reach its destination. That 10-month-long journey was just to get to the place were the craft will begin its mission.

The Martian atmosphere won't be the only focus of MAVEN. About 4 weeks after MAVEN starts its orbit the comet Sliding Spring will come into a close (81,000 miles) pass of the planet. The spacecraft will take the opportunity to look into the mystery of what comets.

"I'm told that the odds of having an approach that close to Mars are about one-in-a-million years," he said, adding that dust from the comet carries only a "relatively minimal" risk to the spacecraft.

For generations fiction writers have conjured up images of Mars having an Earth-like atmosphere and supporting life. One of the most famous of these stories was the Martian chronicles written by Ray Bradbury in the 1950's. Growing up on these stories was probably a big influence on why NASA has always had this big interest in the 4^th planet in the solar system.

Other articles on this topic you might enjoy:

• http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/17/tech/mars-maven-spacecraft-orbit/index.html
• http://mashable.com/2014/09/18/nasa-maven-mars/
• http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-mars-maven-enter-orbit-comet-siding-spring-20140917-story.html

Amazon introduces 5 new members to the Kindle family

Without the usual build up Seattle-based Amazon released 5 new members of the Kindle family. The new line up consist of 3 tablets, including Amazon's first kids edition, and 2 e-readers. The five Kindles are now available for pre-order and will ship next month in plenty of time for the start of holiday shopping.

The flagship of the new Kindle's is the Fire HDX 8.9 will run the Fire os4 based on on Android's latest operating system KitKat. The new OS will feature the new firefly technology that Amazon introduced, in June, on their Fire smartphone, the new family library that allows family member to link their Kindle accounts together, profile so that each person can have their own customized profile on the tablet and several more features that will make experience enjoyable.

Some of the other specifications of the HDX 8.9 are a 2500 x 1600 resolution with 339ppi (pixels per inch), a blazing fast 2.5 GHz quad-core processor, an HD front-facing and 8 megapixel rear-facing cameras and dual-antennas for faster wi-fi conductivity. The HDX 8.9 comes in 5 versions 16, 32 and 64GB each with or without special offers and start at $379.

“The team has packed an incredible amount of technology and innovation into the new Fire HDX—an exclusive HDX display, a powerful quad-core processor, a 70% faster graphics engine, exceptional audio with Dolby Atmos, and the fastest Wi-Fi—and it’s still startlingly light,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO, in a press release. “Fire HDX combines best-in-class hardware with exclusive features and services from Fire OS 4 including Firefly, the Mayday button, Family Library, ASAP, and more.

The new kids edition of the Kindle Fire tablet comes in both a 6 and 7-inch versions in either green, blue or pink. Both of these tablets come with a 2 year warranty that your child breaks it Amazon will replace it at no cost. The tablets come with freetime unlimited and parental controls to make sure that your children will only be viewing age appropriate apps, movies and books. Just because the tablets carry the label kids edition they still come fully featured with a quad-core processor, front and rear-facing cameras and the same Dolby audio system as the rest of the Kindle family. The 6-inch version sells for $149 and the 7-inch is $189.

The third of the new tablets is the Kindle Fire HD 6-inch that starts at $99. With the low price tag you might think that it doesn't have all the features. That is not the case as it still boost a 1280 x 800 resolution with a 252 pixel density, a 1.5 GHz quad-core processor and a VGA front-facing and 2 megapixel rear-facing cameras. 

Fernando Rodney faulters in the 10th

Felix Hernandez takes to the mound as the Seattle Mariners take on the Oakland Athletics in the second game of the series. His first opponent is Coco Crisp as he starts the 1^st inning with a single. Sam Fuld is the next man to the plate and he pops up into foul territory and it is caught by Chris Taylor. That brings Josh Donaldson to the plate and he lines out Austin Jackson. AdamDunn will try to keep the inning going as he flies out to Austin Jackson to end the top of the inning. Sonny Gray steps onto the mound for the Athletics. His first opponent is Austin Jackson who starts the home half of the inning with a strike out. Endy Chavez is the next man to the plate and he singles. That brings Robinson Cano to the plate and he grounds out to the pitcher. Kendrys Morales will try to keep the inning going as he strikes out to end the 1^st inning.

Brandon Moss will start the 2^nd inning with a fly ball to Endy Chavez for an out. Jed Lowrie is the next man to the plate and he pops out to Kyle Seager. That brings Josh Reddick to the plate and he strikes out to end the top of the inning. Kyle Seager will start the home half of the inning with a fly ball to Sam Fuld for an out. Logan Morrison is the next man to the plate and he walks. That brings Mike Zunino to the plate and he hits a ground ball to Eric Sogard who start a double play to end the 2^nd inning.

Derek Norris will start the 3^rd inning with a fly ball to Austin Jackson for an out. Eric Sogard is the next man to the plate and he has an infield single. Back to the top of the order for Coco Crisp who flies out to James Jones. Sam Fuld will try to keep the inning going as he grounds out to Chris Taylor to end the top of the inning. James Jones will start the home half of the inning with a triple. Chris Taylor is the next man to the plate and he singles as James Jones scores. Back to the top of the order for Austin Jackson who hits a ground ball to Eric Sogard who starts a double play. Endy Chavez will try to keep the inning going as he grounds out to Jed Lowrie to end the 3^rd inning. 1-0 Mariners.

Josh Donaldson will start the 4^th inning with a ground ball to Chris Taylor for an out. Adam Dunn is the next man to the plate and he strikes out. That brings Brandon Moss to the plate and he singles. Jed Lowrie will try to keep the inning going as he grounds out to the pitcher to end the top of the inning. Robinson Cano will start the home half of the inning with a ground ball to Eric Sogard for an out. Kendrys Morales is the next man to the plate and he walks. That brings Kyle Seager to the plate and he hits a ground ball to Brandon Moss who starts a double play to end the 4^th inning.

Josh Reddick will start the 5^th inning with a ground ball to Logan Morrison for an out. Derek Norris is the next man to the plate and he strike out. That brings Eric Sogard to the plate and he has an infield single. Back to the top of the order for Coco Crisp who flies out to Endy Chavez to end the top of the inning. Logan Morrison will start the home half of the inning with a strike out. Mike Zunino is the next man to the plate and he pops out to Jed Lowrie. That brings James Jones to the plate and he flies out to Sam Fuld to end the 5^th inning.

Sam Fuld will start the 6^th inning with a strike out. Josh Donaldson is the next man to the plate and he hits a homerun. That brings Adam Dunn to the plate and he grounds out to Robinson Cano. Brandon Moss will try to keep the inning going as he strikes out to end the top of the inning. Chris Taylor will start the home half of the inning with a strike out. Back to the top of the order for Austin Jackson who strikes out. That brings Endy Chavez to the plate and he flies out to Sam Fuld to end the 6^th inning. Game tied at 1. Jed Lowrie will start the 7^th inning with a strike out. Josh Reddick is the next man to the plate and he double. That brings Derek Norris to the plate,Reddick to third on a wild pitch, and he strikes out. Eric Sogard will try to keep the inning going as he singles and Reddick scores. Back to the top of the order for Coco Crisp, Sogard steals second and he takes third on a wild pitch, who strikes out to end the top of the inning. Robinson Cano will start the home half of the inning with a homerun. Kendrys Morales is the next man to the plate and he grounds out to Eric Sogard. That brings Kyle Seager to the plate and he ground out to Brandon Moss. Logan Morrison will try to keep the inning going as he grounds out to Jed Lowrie to end the 7^th inning. Game tied at 2.

Joe Beimel will take over the pitching duties for the Mariners. Sam Fuld will start the 8^th inning with a ground ball to Chris Taylor for an out. Tom Wilhelmsen will take over the pitching duties for the Mariners. Josh Donaldson is the next man to the plate and he walks. Charlie Furbush will take over the pitching duties for the Mariners. That brings Jonny Gomes, pinch hitting for Adam Dunn, to the plate and he strikes out. Brandon Moss will try to keep the inning going as he walks. Danny Farquhar will take over the pitching duties for the Mariners. With two on and two out Jed Lowrie comes to the plate and he strikes out to end the top of the inning. Mike Zunino will start the home half of the inning with a ground ball to Josh Donaldson for an out. James Jones is the next man to the plate and he singles. That brings Chris Taylor to the plate and he strikes out. Back to the top of the order for Austin Jackson, Jones to second on a overthrow on a pickoff attempt, who strikes out to end the 8^th inning.

Josh Reddick will start the 9^th inning with a ground ball to Logan Morrison for an out. Derek Norris is the next man to the plate and he singles. That brings Eric Sogard to the plate and he hits a ground ball to Robinson Cano who throws out Norris for a fielder's choice. Back to the top of the order for Coco Crisp, Sogard caught stealing to end the top of the inning. Luke Gregerson takes over the pitching duties for the Athletics. Endy Chavez will start the home half of the inning with a ground ball to the pitcher for an out. Robinson Cano is the next man to the plate and he grounds out to Eric Sogard. That brings Kendrys Morales to the plate and he strikes out to end the 9^th inning.

Fernando Rodney takes over the pitching duties for the Mariners. Coco Crisp will start the 10^th inning with a walk. Sam Fuld is the next man to the plate and he lays down a sacrifice bunt. That brings Josh Donaldson to the plate and he is intentionally walked. With two on and one out Alberto Callaspo, pinch hitting for Jonny Gomes, steps up to the plate and he walks the bases load. With the sacks juiced and one out Brandon Moss comes to the plate and he strikes out. Jed Lowrie will try to keep the inning going as he walks as Coco Crisp scores. With one in and the bases loaded Josh Reddick come up and he lines out to Chris Taylor to end the top of the inning. Sean Dolittle takes over the pitching duties for the Athletics. Kyle Seager will start the home half of the inning with a fly ball to Sam Fuld for an out. Corey Hart, pinch hitting for Logan Morrison, is the next man to the plate and he strikes out. That brings Mike Zunino to the plate and he flies out to Sam Fuld to end the game. 3-2 Athletics.