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INDIANAPOLIS — Consumer electronics chain hhgregg Inc. is going out of business and shutting down all its stores. Founded in 1955, the retailer had 220 stores in 19 states selling major appliances like washers and TVs, as well as computers and home theater systems. As of May last year, it had about 5,000 employees. Just days before announcing its bankruptcy protection filing last month, hhgregg said it planned to trim down by closing three distribution centers and 88 stores. But the move was not enough to salvage the chain.

Anyone who has a portable device — including smartphones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches and fitness trackers — is obviously familiar with a lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery because most (if not all) of these devices are powered by this kind of battery. We’ve been okay with the rechargeable for a while, but as lithium-ion batteries are now close to reaching their maximum storage capacity (in other words, battery life can’t be extended any more), and with the horror stories about phone batteries that explode or burn, the search is on for an alternative battery that can meet our demands better and safer. So...

Britain banned laptops from cabins of flights from six countries in middles eastItems such as laptops, iPads, Kindles and Nintendo 3DS game consoles bannedComes amid fears terrorists have developed bombs that can be hidden insideGovernment denies it is linked to US decision - but have not clarified the reason Britain last night took the dramatic step of banning laptops from the cabins of UK-bound flights from six countries, amid fears terrorists have perfected a new type of airline bomb. The move, which is likely to spark travel chaos at affected airports, was imposed just hours after a similar ban...

The United Kingdom has followed the United States in preventing passengers on flights from some countries in the Middle East and Africa from carrying devices such as laptops and tablets in the cabin. The restrictions affect 14 airlines, six of which are based in the U.K. As in the U.S., the ban covers any electronic devices larger than a typical smartphone.

It seems that on a monthly basis, there is a new development in the speed and quality of graphene production, be it with copper substrates, or using it to create the strongest material known to humankind. Yet despite these regular developments, little progress has been made in producing the so-called wonder material faster and cheaper to the point that it can be mass-produced. However, the latest development from Kansas State University (KSU) is certainly taking graphene to a new, explosive level of development. Unlike current production methods that rely on large industrial-scale equipment, the KSU team led by Prof Chris...

Today, Arctic Star Exploration Corp. (ADD.V) reported to have started permitting for a drill program on its wholly owned CAP Property, located within the central parts of the Rocky Mountain Rare Metal Belt, 80 km northwest of Prince George in British Columbia, Canada. In 2010, Arctic Star acquired this property for its potential to host niobium-tantalum and/or rare earth elements ("REEs"). Since then, these commodities have undergone a dramatic shift in demand owing in part to their usage in the green energy sector, which includes modern wind turbines, rechargeable batteries, catalytic convertors etc. Past exploration identified a large anomaly to...

OSAKA -- Hon Hai Precision Industry and its Japanese subsidiary Sharp have begun studying the possibility of building a liquid crystal display panel plant in the U.S., a Sharp executive said Friday. The plan is "on the table," the executive said. "We will make a decision carefully." The Taiwanese electronics contract manufacturer, also known as Foxconn, and its Japanese alliance partner SoftBank Group reportedly told Donald Trump they would jointly make significant investments creating new jobs in the U.S. when SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son met the President-elect in New York last month. The joint investment plan was proposed by Son,...

Once again, graphene has proven itself to be a rather special material: an international research team led by Professor Fritz Aumayr from the Institute of Applied Physics at TU Wien was able to demonstrate that the electrons in graphene are extremely mobile and react very quickly. Impacting xenon ions with a particularly high electric charge on a graphene film causes a large number of electrons to be torn away from the graphene in a very precise spot. However, the material was able to replace the electrons within some femtoseconds. This resulted in extremely high currents, which would not be maintained...

As 3D printers shrink in size and price and make their way into more homes, they're starting to bring more of the higher-end functions, like the ability to print objects with multiple materials, down to the consumer level. German startup Next Dynamics has now unveiled the NexD1, a multi-color, multi-material 3D printer for the home that can use a conductive resin to create custom electronic circuit boards. Everything from paper sculptures to candies can be printed from devices small enough to fit on the counter at home, but the NexD1 (which the team pronounces like "next-one") does things a little...

Donald Trump's win in November was the final nudge for one manufacturer to move its production back home from China. For over a year, New York-based Trans-Lux -- which makes LCD and LED displays -- has contemplated relocating its Chinese facilities to the U.S. "It makes economic sense," said J.M. Allain, president & CEO of Trans-Lux, which also makes the huge digital screens that run the tickers at the New York Stock Exchange. To cut costs, the company exported much of its production two decades ago to Shenzhen in southeast China, a manufacturing hub for electronics. But as China's economy...

Citing a national security risk, President Barack Obama on Friday blocked a Chinese investor’s proposed takeover of Aixtron SE, a German maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, a rare move that drew objections from Beijing and complaints that the U.S. was injecting politics into the deal. Obama ordered Fujan Grand Chip to “fully and permanently abandon” its proposed acquisition of Aixtron SE’s California-based subsidiary, Aixtron, Inc. The decision upheld a recommendation from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which reviews foreign purchases of U.S. companies. The decision threatens to jeopardize the larger deal, which is under scrutiny [by] Berlin...

Chinese firm admits its hacked DVRs, cameras were behind Friday's massive DDOS attack Botnets created from the Mirai malware were involved in Friday's cyber attack. Michael Kan - IDG News Oct 23, 2016 A Chinese electronics component manufacturer says its products inadvertently played a role in a massive cyberattack that disrupted major internet sites in the U.S. on Friday. Hangzhou Xiongmai Technology, a vendor behind DVRs and internet-connected cameras, said on Sunday that security vulnerabilities involving weak default passwords in its products were partly to blame. According to security researchers, malware known as Mirai has been taking advantage of these vulnerabilities...

E-waste recycling is a source of much needed income in many low to middle income countries Electronic product innovations satisfy many needs, including the desire of people to stay connected around the globe. As new products are continually introduced into the marketplace, consumers replace existing electronic products that are damaged or simply outdated. The resulting mass of electronic products discarded is becoming the fastest growing waste stream in the world leading to polluted environments. (1) Electronic waste (e-waste) which includes all types of electrical or electronic equipment is produced in staggering quantities, estimated globally to be 41.8 million tons in...

High-quality graphene would soon be used for the next generation of electronics and energy devices. To produce it a simple method has been done. This method involves only using a microwave oven in order to bake the compound. Researchers at Rutgers' School of Engineering in Rutgers University have found that high-quality graphene could be produced using simple methods. That could potentially mean millions of dollars saved in making the new compound that would be used for new electronic devices. The discovery has been made by students, most of whom are either undergraduates or are post-doctoral associates, as Phys Org reports....

Samsung Gear came to market in 2013 and it offered a camera and speaker built right into its one and only band and clasp design. After Apple introduced the Apple Watch with multiple band options and its quick and easy install mechanism for changing the bands, Samsung set out to copy that idea as quickly as they possibly could. In a patent application that surfaced today at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office titled "Wearable Device," they discuss their new "exchangeable" strap mechanisms. What struck me was that a great number of their form factor patent figures were actually Apple...

It’s been almost two decades since the DVD arrived, sparking the long, slow decline of video cassette tapes. But the tape era is about to come to a final close. The last maker of VHS-compatible video cassette recorders, Japanese manufacturer Funai Electric, says its going to stop producing the devices at the end of the month due to declining sales. Sony said it would cease production of video tapes in its Betamax format last year, 13 years after it stopped making compatible recorders.

US scientists have found what it could be key for the future of the country’s ailing coal industry as they detected that ashes from local operations, particularly those around the Appalachian region, are very rich in rare earth elements. Researchers from North Carolina-based Duke University analyzed coal ashes from coal-fired power plants throughout the US, including those in the largest coal-producing regions: the Appalachian Mountains; southern and western Illinois; and the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana. One of the team main conclusions was that coal waste generated by the Appalachian coal operations was the richest in rare earth...

The vial contains liquid-metal particles suspended in ethanol. The particles were used to demonstrate heat-free soldering. Credit: Christopher Gannon/Iowa State University =========================================================================================================== Martin Thuo likes to look for new, affordable and clean ways to put science and technology to work in the world. His lab is dedicated to an idea called frugal innovation: "How do you do very high-level science or engineering with very little?" said Thuo, an assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Iowa State University and an associate of the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory. "How can you solve a problem with the least amount...

From sundown to sundown, turn off all your technological devicesWell, this weekend you can take part in a makeshift holiday as thousands will be joining in to the National Day of Unplugging to take a 24-hour break from technology. Participants are asked to log off beginning Friday, March 4 at sundown and stay offline through Sat., March 5 at sundown. At nationaldayofunplugging.com, you can sign the "Unplug pledge" and promise to unplug from tech devices including phones, tablets and laptops. This project was started by Reboot, an group that "affirms the values of Jewish traditions and creates new ways for...

Fabrication schematic of ordered mesoporous fewlayer carbon (OMFLC). Credit: Science (2015). DOI: 10.1126/science.aab3798 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (Phys.org) - A team of researchers working in China has found a way to dramatically improve the energy storage capacity of supercapacitors - by doping carbon tubes with nitrogen. In their paper published in the journal Science, the team describes their process and how well the newly developed supercapacitors worked, and their goal of one day helping supercapacitors compete with batteries. Like a battery, a capacitor is able to hold a charge, unlike a battery, however, it is able to be charged and discharged very quickly...