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Facebook removes controversial feature

Break off a piece of that BlackBerry and friend some strangers on Facebook:

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion has long been struggling to turn the company around. With thousands of layoffs ongoing, it could be time for the company to try something drastic. One report says RIM is considering spliting itself into two companies by diving the messaging network from the hardware side, and possibly selling the hardware division. RIM didn't comment on specifics of this report by The Sunday Times. But RIM did say it is examining a wide-range of strategies. Perhaps new BlackBerry 10 devices can shake … Read more

Dell Inspiron Rs, reviewed

Right in time for back-to-school shopping considerations, Dell has updated its popular Inspiron series of laptops with a new design, and new configurations to boot. Covering a wide variety of CPU levels (Pentium up to Core i5) and prices (mid-$400 up to nearly $1000), the Inspiron R can be either a budget or higher-end laptop depending on what's put into it. To split the difference, we reviewed two of the more midrange offerings, one 14-inch, the other 15-inch.

Both Inspiron Rs we reviewed feature Intel Core i3 CPUs, but with slightly different price configurations. At $779, our Dell … Read more

Beaver-tailed robot mimics tree-climbing insects

Here's another offering from Boston Dynamics' zoomorphic line: the RiSE V3, a multi-legged, beaver-tailed robot that can skitter along the ground, shimmy up a pole, and then quietly cling there and stare at you.

The legs are powered by a pair of electric motors and equipped with small surgical needle micro-claws, which allow the unit to dig into and climb up textured, convex, cylindrical structures at a rate of 21 centimeters per second, or just under a half a mile an hour (PDF).

"RiSE V3 is the first general-purpose legged machine to achieve this vertical climbing speed," … Read more