Blog Posts by Chase Kell

  • Bigger is not always better in the smartphone industry, and the brass at Huawei is hoping that notion can help vault its new flagship device into the upper echelon of the mobile market.

    Marking its first standalone launch event, the Chinese manufacturers unveiled the Ascend P6 on Tuesday, boasting their new device as the world's slimmest smartphone. The Ascend P6 is a measly 6.18 mm thick; quite a bit thinner than the iPhone 5 (7.7 mm) and the Samsung Galaxy S4 (7.6 mm), two industry-leading devices that Huawei is hoping to rival.

    "Huawei P6 is darn thin," tweeted industry analyst Ben Wood shares in a Reuters report.

    Much like the iPhone, the Ascend P6 features sleek, aluminum edges along the sides and top of the phone. The device is rounded out at the bottom, adding a little bit of original flair to its aesthetic appeal. The 4.7-inch 720p display, 8-megapixel camera on the back and 5-megapixel front-facing camera make this phone ideal for everyday photos, Skype calls or the ever popular

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  • Must-see videos of the week – May 10

    From North America's newest Internet meme sensation to a high school student's rant about a shoddy teacher, we've seen some great videos this week. Here are a few of our favourites:

    1. Charles Ramsey describes finding missing women

    Charles Ramsey quickly went from an ordinary man enjoying a Big Mac to an American hero when he assisted in the rescue of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, three women who had been kidnapped in Ohio nearly a decade ago. His colourful interviews, highlighted by statements such as "Bro, I knew something was wrong when a little pretty white girl ran into a black man's arms," quickly made the rounds online, launching Ramsey into a new realm of Internet stardom.

    [ Last week's Must See Videos: Dog trained to use the toilet ]

    2. High school student's rant about teacher goes viral

    So much for Teacher Appreciation Day. Jeff Bliss, a student at Duncanville High School in Texas, chose an interesting day to highlight his teacher's pedagogical follies. Video of

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  • Landing gear believed to have come from one of the planes that struck the twin towers. (NYPD photo)

    A piece of machinery believed to be landing gear from one of the airliners that hit the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, has been discovered in Lower Manhattan, CNN reports.

    The part was found wedged between two buildings close to ground zero, and it reportedly includes "a clearly visible Boeing identification number," the NYPD stated in a press release. Surveyors working in the area had called 911 after discovering what they believed to be "apparently damaged machinery."

    NYPD has secured the area as they continue to treat this as a crime scene.

    The alley where the landing gear was reportedly found (Photo courtesy of NYPD)

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  • If an excerpt from Paul Allen's autobiography Idea Man wasn't enough to prove he has mended fences with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, the recreation of an iconic photo of the two is sure to prove the hatchet has been buried.

    During an event this week at the Living Computer Museum in Seattle, Allen tweeted a photo of the once-estranged duo posing among several early model computers, just as they had done some 30 years ago.

    According to a staff member at the museum, the original computers were tracked down in anticipation of Gates' visit, Geekwire reports. The recreation was not quite perfect, but the PCs coupled with Allen's suit and Gates' casual sweater were close enough to dub the effort a success.

    The two tech icons had fallen out of touch after Allen accused Gates and present CEO,

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  • 911 caller has cheeseburger emergency

    Gaffe of the week. Moron of the week. Insane 911 call of the week.

    However you choose to look at this story, you're sure to get a good laugh from it, even if you're a member of the New Castle Police Department.

    Gregory Jackson Sr., a 52-year-old man from Indiana, chose a rather interesting way to order takeout last Friday night. Hit hard with a case of the munchies, Jackson called 911 not once, but nine times, all in an effort to procure a delicious cheeseburger.

    Seriously, NINE times! It's the kind of mindless, presumably drunken tenacity that gives this dude walking down the up escalator a run for his money.

    WishTV.com was kind enough to share some of Jackson's conversation with the dispatcher:

    Dispatcher: Do you have an emergency sir, because you dialed 911.
    Gregory: I dialed 911.
    Dispatcher: Yeah you dialed 911.

    According to the report, much of what Jackson said was difficult to understand.

    Dispatcher: I don't, I am not understanding a word

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  • No longer is embattled Senator Mike Duffy the top target of Rick Mercer's merriment, as Mercer has selected a new target of mockery.

    Earlier this week, the satirical comedian took aim at Telus' Chief Marketing Officer David Fuller for comments made during a recent CRTC hearing regarding a very touchy subject for Canadians: wireless contracts.

    "I think a lot of customers don’t want a cap [on their monthly bill]," shared Fuller at the hearing in Gatineau, Quebec. "If they want a service that’s capped… that’s what a prepaid service can provide."

    For this blatant expression of lunacy, Fuller's words will forever be remembered as "the stupidest thing ever said" with a shiny commemorative plaque. Check it out in the video below:

    Now, in Fuller's defense, his comments were taken a little out of context. When speaking about a monthly cap on data and roaming, Fuller said that such a cap would be unnecessary if carriers are already providing their users online monitoring and push notifications.

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  • Find a date for Valentine’s Day with these apps

    Longing for love with Valentine's Day just around the corner?

    Chances are you're not alone, and if you're willing to embrace this year's annual day of love, there are several apps that can help you out. Here are a few of our favourites.


    Tinder

    Tinder is an iPhone app that is designed to connect you with fellow users in your area. The app pulls in photos from the user's Facebook profile and locates Tinder users that have shown interest in you. According to the website, everything is anonymous "until someone you like, likes you back."

    "It limits the conversations to people you've actually expressed an interest in," said Sean Rad, Tinder co-founder and CEO, in a Reuters story. "So each of those conversations starts at a very deep level."

    [ Related: Love can lead to leaked personal data, depressing pre-Valentine’s Day survey finds ]


    MeetMoi

    MeetMoi is very similar to Tinder in that it connects you with nearby users, but it specializes in speedy one-on-one introductions. Once you've found

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  • Beyond serving as a helpful tool, Google's auto-complete search suggestions can often lead to a good laugh. Just type in something like "Where is," or "Should I" and see for yourself ("Where is Chuck Norris" and "Should I buy RIM Stock" are two of my favourite knee-slappers).

    But for the brass at Google, auto-complete hasn't exactly been something to laugh about.

    Dr. Guy Hingston, a surgeon based in Australia, has filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming defamation on the grounds that an auto-complete suggestion has hindered his business. This is the latest in a string of auto-complete related lawsuits that have increasingly found Google responsible for the content on its search pages.

    As Hingston has observed, if you type "Guy Hin ..." into Google, the auto-complete search suggests the term "Guy Hingston bankrupt," the Sydney Morning Herald reports. Yet since he is not bankrupt, Hingston and his lawyers are seeking at least $75,000 in damages — plus court costs — claiming that he's

    Read More »from Doctor sues Google over ‘bankrupt’ auto-complete search suggestion
  • bigcell"The bigger, the better" is a term that doesn't often apply to cell phones.

    Since the dawn of the first mobile phone, manufacturers had strived to make the things as small as can be. From the bricks that Zach Morris made famous to the keychain used in the film "Zoolander," the term "the smaller, the better" seems to more accurately describe the natural evolution of the cell phone.

    The smartphone, however, is a different beast, and as we continue to grow fond of the things we can do on a touchscreen, manufacturers have seemingly shifted focus to monstrous mobile phones that would make the state of Texas proud.

    As BGR reports, Samsung is preparing to go big or go home with the "Galaxy Fonblet," a new smartphone that features a 5.8-inch screen. Initially set to go on sale in Europe, the Fonblet is similar to the Samsung Galaxy Player 5.8, a media player exclusively sold in Korea.

    [ More Right Click: Buy yourself a Facebook girlfriend for only $39 ]

    If you're thinking this might be a

    Read More »from How big is too big? Samsung’s new smartphone will reportedly feature 5.8-inch screen
  • New LED ice cubes tell you when to stop drinking

    Gone are the days when getting the spins was enough to know that you should probably put down the glass and stop drinking.

    A researcher from the MIT Media Lab has created a device that attempts to answer the age-old question that's been racking the brains of college students for decades: What can I put in my drink that will tell me to stop drinking before I get the spins?

    Why, LED ice cubes that detect alcohol, of course!

    After an alcohol-induced blackout that led to a trip to the hospital, Dhairya Dand sought to create a device that can help prevent your night from getting a little out of hand. What he came up with are glowing ice cubes that keep a running tally of cocktails consumed by tracking the number of sips, as well as the total time spent drinking.

    Each one of these edible gelatin cubes houses a coin cell battery, an IR transceiver, and an ATiny microcontroller, the Huffington Post reports. And yes, you did read that previous sentence correctly. Edible gelatin cubes, with

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