Our long worldwide nightmare is almost over. The next USB plug will finally be reversible just like Apple's Lightning connector. No more...
Our long worldwide nightmare is almost over. The next USB plug will finally be reversible just like Apple's Lightning connector. No more blindly jamming the connector towards the receptacle, just knowing that it's not going to work. In the near future, the plug will always be the right side up. The upcoming connector, called Type-C, is designed for the USB 3.1 specification and scheduled to be finalized by the middle of 2014. The plug is said to be the size of the MicroUSB plug and sport an array of new features including scalable power charging and support data rates nearing 10 Gbit/s. "While USB technology is well established as the favored choice for connecting and powering devices, we recognize the need to develop a new connector to meet evolving design trends in terms of size and usability," said Brad Saunders, USB 3.0 Promoter Group Chairman, in a released statement today (PDF). "The new Type-C connector will fit well with the market's direction and affords an opportunity to lay a foundation for future versions of USB." The USB 3.0 Promoter Group didn't release a picture of the upcoming connector. This plug will not mate with existing USB plugs and receptacles. This means, sadly, one day, the dozens of MicroUSB cables accumulating in a junk drawer will be obsolete. Your collection will be a relic. But, I for one, welcome the march of innovation with open arms just so I don't have to do the little dance flip-flopping dance every time I need to plug in a gadget.
Russian event ticketing company 
In September, drone and aierial robotics maker 
The digital divide between those who have Internet access and those who do not is often described as an economic or geographical issue, but there is another divide that actually runs across both of those other segmentations: education. Currently, some 72% of schools in the U.S. have out of date, slow, or no Internet connections. And that impacts how students at those schools are able to take advantage of some of the newer, web-based developments in learning, as well as a crucial aspect of technical education in the form of computer literacy.
Super-stealthy payments startup Clinkle is expanding its executive ranks, and it's doing so by bringing on a few folks who had previously worked with new COO Barry McCarthy at Netflix. Today it's announcing that it's hired former Walmart and Netflix exec Andy Rendich as its VP of operations, as well as Allison Hopkins, formerly of Palo Alto Networks and Netflix, as its VP of talent.
Remember the 
