Make your own air conditioner with a fan, copper tubing, clear tubing. small fountain pump (158gph) and ice water. cost $30. 45 Watts. can be run using “3 panel set” from harbor freight tools. very easy to make. runs on wall current or solar power system

Toshiba is no stranger to Windows tablets, but what we’ve seen to date has typically been targeted at businesses or has otherwise been… limited. In that sense, the Encore is something special. It’s not just the company’s first 8-inch Windows tablet — it’s the first aimed at a truly broad audience.

That said, it faces stiff odds. Acer, Dell, Lenovo and others have comparable slates on the market, in many cases with similar features. Toshiba would have to do something truly out of the ordinary to stand out. And frankly, it doesn’t. While the Encore is a worthy device, you’ll have to be particularly enamored with its design to ignore its rivals. Read on to see what we mean.

No matter how much we hope and pray, the legal wrangling between Apple and Samsung never seems to end. The latest court battle has Apple seeking up to $2 billion in damages from the Korean manufacturer for infringing on five patents, including tap to search and slide to unlock.

This time around though, Samsung is looking to drag Google engineers into the courtroom to testify about the creation of Android — including, potentially, Andy Rubin. The hope is that their testimony and the evidence they provide would prove once and for all that the mobile operating system was developed independently of iOS and put to bed the back and forth over patent battles.

While Mountain View has successfully stayed above the fray for the most part, it makes sense for Seoul to drag the company into this particular battle. Apple is seeking up to $40 per device sold in royalties — far more than it ever has before.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced the new head of its Xbox division this morning: Phil Spencer, longtime Microsoft Studios leader and Xbox game dude. In Spencer’s initial letter to the legions of Xbox owners the world over, his approach comes across as scattershot. See for yourself:

“This past year has been a growth experience both for me and for the entire Xbox team. We’ve taken feedback, made our products better and renewed our focus on what is most important, our customer. Our mission is to build a world-class team, work hard to meet the high expectations of a passionate fan base, create the best games and entertainment and drive technical innovation. As we continue forward, this renewed focus and mission will be a foundational part of how I lead the Xbox program.”