This is what the Surface Mini tablet could’ve looked like before Microsoft cancelled it

There was supposed to be a 7.5-inch Surface Mini tablet coming out back in 2014 but Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and former Nokia CEO Stephen Elop scrapped the idea weeks before it was supposed to launch alongside the Surface Pro 3 that May. But even with the tablet being scrapped, Evan Blass showed us what the Surface Mini could’ve looked like if Microsoft decided to launch it. The image shows the tablet wrapped in a red rubber case with a kick stand.

Specs-wise, the Surface Mini was supposed to have a 7.5-inch screen with a 1,440 x 1,080 display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 32GB internal storage, and 1GB of RAM. It was supposed to come in black, red, and blue models. It was designed to run Windows RT and support the Surface Pen. It was being marketed as a notebook replacement of sorts. But as The Verge points out, it might have been best Microsoft cancelled the production of the tablet as they didn’t have much success with Windows RT tablets.

Amazon Alexa adds kid-friendly skills, lets your child play with SpongeBob and Elmo

We haven’t really seen kid-related skills because of strict child privacy protection laws but Amazon has found a way to comply with the laws and encourage a new set of users to keep using its smart assistant and home speakers. The new Alexa skills rolling out in the US first will let kids play a SpongeBob game and an Elmo-related skill are debuting alongside a new Verified Parental Consent feature, where parents will need to approve use of the features via the Alexa companion app the first time the “kid skill” is enabled. Parents or guardians will need to enter a one-time password via SMS or phone or verify by credit card. It’s a one-time approval process. This new feature is sure to entice more companies itching to reach out to a younger demographic. And making it easier for children to access this tech will make them more reliant on them in the future

The new skills include a SpongeBob SquarePants game where kids need to take and relay increasingly difficult food orders to the staff that include the likes of SpongeBob, Squidward, and Mr. Krabs. For the Sesame Street’s skill, you get to play hide-and-seek with Elmo using audio clues to find out where he’s hiding. You can also practice the alphabet. On top of that, Amazon is launching its own Storytime skills that can read bedtime stories to kids from ages 5 to 12. The collection features stories read by Saturday Night Live’s Aidy Bryant and Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants.

Source: TechCrunch

This animated short shows us what happens when BB-8 and BB-9E meet

The Mirror Match. #StarWarsBlips pic.twitter.com/Gi05f5gNBm

— Star Wars (@starwars) September 2, 2017

We’re still gushing over the appearance of BB-9E a.k.a. BB-H8 a.k.a. BB-8’s evil twin. So what happens when they meet up? A lot of curious spinning around and general adorableness. A new animated short the Star Wars team posted on social media has us wishing the two starred in their own show. You can see BB-8 turn on his curious meter to high and just bug the heck out of BB-9E, it’s cute. You can watch the short in the tweet below.

Source: io9

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