Saturday, April 30, 2011
Sony's Kaz Hirai will address PlayStation Network hack at 1AM ET, stay tuned
Sony's PlayStation Network has been down for over a week, and it's a royal mess for all involved -- as you've no doubt heard, an external intrusion by unknown hackers compromised the personal information (including everything but credit cards) of potentially tens of thousands of users. Tonight, Sony VP Kaz Hirai (formerly of the PlayStation division) will address the world from the company's headquarters in Japan, and our friends at Engadget Japanese are on the scene to bring us first-hand
How would you change Motorola's Atrix 4G?
Motorola's Atrix 4G may have some serious competition from a performance standpoint, but it's still got one thing going for it over all of the other Android superphones hitting the streets these days: an optional laptop dock. 'Course, it's debatable whether or not said accessory is truly worth paying for, but the phone itself has certainly done its fair share of impressing. You've read our take on Motorola's latest Android whizkid, and now it's your turn to vent. If you had the power necessary
Clippy is Back... But As a Game, Which is Still Bad [Bad Ideas]
Kwame Opam — I remember hating it when Clippy popped up for no good reason while working. Now, even after Microsoft officially put him to rest, he's doing it again. Only this time it's in game form. Which is marginally better, I suppose?
Microsoft is having the much-maligned cartoon paperclip star in his own game, Ribbon Hero 2: Clippy's Second Chance. According to the inexplicable PR:
Yes, we turned Office into a game! If you're going to spend time immersed in the inner workings of
Microsoft is having the much-maligned cartoon paperclip star in his own game, Ribbon Hero 2: Clippy's Second Chance. According to the inexplicable PR:
Yes, we turned Office into a game! If you're going to spend time immersed in the inner workings of
Triton 36,000 submarine to plumb ocean's deepest depths, comes in yellow (video)
Richard Branson's not the only one eager to explore that other 70 percent of the world. Triton Submarines has designed a three-passenger sub able to dive 36,000 feet, reaching the deepest part of the world's oceans. And while Sir Richard envisions a spaceship-like craft, Triton's design evokes old school bathyspheres: it's a glass globe. Of course, water pressure poses a serious engineering challenge when you descend seven miles below the surface -- the last manned sub to reach that depth had
Friday, April 29, 2011
South Koreans Use Balloons to Float Propaganda DVDs to North Korea [Politics]
Adrian Covert — For years, South Korean activists have been sending pro-democracy propaganda to the politically and informationally isolated citizens of North Korea via balloon, in an attempt to share information about Kim Jong Il and his regime. Generally, it's information that is either censored or illegal in the communist country. Sometimes it's Bible verses. Today, AFP reports the activists sent out their latest bunch of information balloons even after Kim Jong Il threatened to
Random Dude Hijacks the Royal Wedding Color Feed [Image Cache]
Husain Sumra — The Royal Wedding is finally goddamn over and now Will and Kate can look back at all the social media they foisted upon the Internet—YouTube videos, Facebook comments, and a Color account sponsored by The Telegraph. And in between pictures of stupid hats and kissing they can find this guy giving his Royal approval, complete with Union Jack underwear and royal blue spandex. [Color Royal Wedding Album via
Computer scientists tackle the hard, long-lasting question of 'that's what she said'
Humor: it's what separates humans from machines, GlaDOS from HAL 9000, and even a good boss from a great boss. For millennia humor was seemingly unlearnable -- either you had it or you didn't -- but two University of Washington computer scientists have cracked part of the comedy code. They've developed an algorithm to find potential innuendos in everyday speech: a "that's what she said" detector. Their approach, dubbed "Double Entendre via Noun Transfer" (DeviaNT), uses a "sexiness" rating for
Confirmed: Apple Does Own iCloud.com [Blip]
This content is restricted.
We've already stated what Apple's cloud could be for and now, here's even more definitive proof that it's coming. Moving from "rumor" to "confirmed," Digital Daily reports that Apple has indeed purchased the domain iCloud.com. [Digital
We've already stated what Apple's cloud could be for and now, here's even more definitive proof that it's coming. Moving from "rumor" to "confirmed," Digital Daily reports that Apple has indeed purchased the domain iCloud.com. [Digital
This Alarm Won't Scare You out of Bed in the Morning [Video]
Max Behrman — When it comes to alarm clocks, there's definitely no shortage. But one commonality amongst almost all alarms is that they are annoying. The Acoustic Alarm, however, takes a new approach to the wake-up call.
Set the dials on the side, flip the switch, and when it's time to rise and shine, the wooden alarm strums away at its four strings (in whatever tuning you set, mind you). It's no Clapton, but hey, it's a freaking alarm clock! [Jamie McMahon via Design
Set the dials on the side, flip the switch, and when it's time to rise and shine, the wooden alarm strums away at its four strings (in whatever tuning you set, mind you). It's no Clapton, but hey, it's a freaking alarm clock! [Jamie McMahon via Design
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Google Wants a Massive Wind Farm Stretching Down the East Coast [Energy]
Sam Biddle — For some reason, lots of people hate wind farms—I think they're rather pretty!—but NIMBY is a powerful, powerful force. So why not stick 'em far in the breezy sea? Trans-Elect wants to do just that, with Google cash.
The Atlantic Wind Connection is a proposed network of hundreds of at-sea wind farms stretching from New Jersey to Virginia, all linked together, generating as much juice as ten filthy coal plants. Wiring that energy from sea to shore won't be easy, but
The Atlantic Wind Connection is a proposed network of hundreds of at-sea wind farms stretching from New Jersey to Virginia, all linked together, generating as much juice as ten filthy coal plants. Wiring that energy from sea to shore won't be easy, but
Logitech's 'disappointing' Q4 results not helped by poor Revue sales; will cut price to $249
There wasn't much good news for Logitech investors when the company revealed its results for the financial fourth quarter, as it fell far below targets for sales and revenue. Most of the blame went towards weak performance in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, but it also suffered from far lower than expected sales of the Google TV-powered Revue and its accessories, accounting for only $ 5 million in sales, down from $ 22 million the quarter before and short of its estimate of $ 18
Shocker! Free Android apps outnumber free iPhone apps
Good news for Android users who hate paying for stuff: according to new numbers from Netherlands-based mobile analytics group Distimo, there are now more free apps available for Google's mobile OS than the iPhone, at 134,342 to 121,845. There are a few things to consider here: first, when one adds free iPad-only apps, the total number of gratis iOS apps increases to a more competitive 132,239. And then there's Apple's sometimes rigorous vetting process, which has probably played a role in its
Prague to host world's most powerful laser
To us, Prague will always be the Eastern European capital of roast duck, potato dumplings and tasty, cheap pilsner. But come 2015, the former Soviet Bloc city will also become home to the world's most powerful laser, as part of the European Union's Extreme Light Infrastructure project. According to plans released by the European Commission, the laser will produce peak power in the exawatt range (equivalent to one trillion megawatts). So, for a very small fraction of a second, the beam will
Android 3.1 gets namechecked by Adobe Flash Player 10.2, will be required to enjoy accelerated 720p video
Remember how Adobe said Flash 10.2 wasn't living up to its full hardware-accelerated potential on Honeycomb thus far? Well, it seems the company's found a solution by the name of Android 3.1. We've been inundated with tips (and have confirmed with Adobe) that there's a sticky-sweet new build of Android on the way for the recent crop of slates that OEMs and carriers are rolling out, and that -- just like last time -- you'll need that software to take advantage of all the hardware rendering and
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Motorola Xoom software update brings SSL and Widevine DRM, no LTE quite yet
Seems like Verizon, Motorola and Google are on a bit of a security bent -- the latest update for the Motorola Xoom lets you take a far more leisurely tour of the internet's walled gardens. There's a WPA-PSK security fix to allow choice users into your mobile hotspot, SSL for secure web browsing, Google's Widevine DRM for viewing locked online video content and HDCP for piping it to your TV. Of course, there's no mention of the Xoom feature we're truly waiting for, but we'll happily take our
The Roastie Toaster Concept Rotates to Reach Toasty Perfection [Concepts]
Casey Chan — Who doesn't love toast? I don't want to hear it! It's taking bread to another level. But sometimes bread doesn't toast evenly! This Roastie Toaster is a concept design by Mateusz Glówka that not only has a lovely see through spherical body but also has rotating heating elements (those metal beams) that give your bread the even crispiness it deserves. I totally could've used the Roastie this morning when my toast was burnt on the bottom corners. [Mateusz Glówka via Laughing
People Swallow the Darndest Things: Cigarette Butts, Burnt Matches and More [Wtf]
Casey Chan — A museum exhibit at the Mütter Museum of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia is pretty strange even by wacko museum standards. It documents the things that people have swallowed—the number is in the thousands by the way—as collected by Chevalier Jackson, a pioneering laryngologist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Jackson developed techniques to safely remove the crazy objects that people swallowed and saved thousands of lives while doing it. Amazingly,
Jackson developed techniques to safely remove the crazy objects that people swallowed and saved thousands of lives while doing it. Amazingly,
This is What a Resort Carved Into a Mountain Looks Like [Architecture]
Husain Sumra — What good is a resort that sticks out like a grotesque pimple in an otherwise gorgeous locale? No good, that's what. The designers of Wadi Rum Resort are taking the opposite approach by integrating the resort into a Jordanian mountainside, which they say has "nominal impact" on the surroundings. You'll be able to see the results of spas and rooms built into fissures and faults when it opens in 2014.
[FastCo Design and
[FastCo Design and
These Stylish Solar Lamps Are Only 20 Bucks [Lamps]
Casey Chan — Some people hate IKEA. Not me. Affordable, pseudo-stylish furniture that's easy to build? Perfect. Like these SOLVINDEN solar table lamps that come in an array of colors, will cost you nothing in electricity and only ring you up for 20 bucks. I'm in for all 4. [IKEA via
Intel's Larsen Creek SSDs leak out, courtesy of ASRock's Z68 motherboard
Manufacturers just aren't willing to wait for the eighth of May -- they want to announce their spiffy new Intel Z68 Express motherboards now, dang it, whatever the consequences. Well, we can't really complain, especially when said motherboards reveal brand-new Intel products in trade. The above image was pulled direct from a PDF flyer for the ASRock Z68 Extreme4 motherboard, which depicts an intriguing benchmark -- if you pair one of Intel's 20GB Larsen Creek solid state drives with a standard
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Inside a Google Data Center [Video]
Casey Chan — This video gives a rare look inside one of Google's data centers, you know the place where Google stores all your personal data. This video put out by Google wants to reassure you that all your deets are safe, secure and under control.
In their data centers, Google has traditional security methods like physical road barriers, perimeter fencing and security cameras and more advanced measures like iris scanners and file fragmentation and replication.
But by far my most
In their data centers, Google has traditional security methods like physical road barriers, perimeter fencing and security cameras and more advanced measures like iris scanners and file fragmentation and replication.
But by far my most
Motorola promises unlocked bootloaders for future Android phones?
Android users have spoken, and maybe, just maybe, Motorola actually heard -- AusDroid claims to have a statement direct from the mobile phone manufacturer promising unlocked bootloaders later this year: We completely understand the operator requirement for security to the end user, and as well, want to support the developer communities desire to use these products as a development platform. It is our intention to enable the unlockable/relockable bootloader currently found on Motorola XOOM
Watch Steve Jobs Talk About How Serious Apple Takes Location Privacy [Watch This]
Casey Chan — In this video spliced together by AllThingsD, you'll see Steve Jobs and Andy Rubin talk about location privacy and their platform's philosophy on privacy. It's very interesting to look back on these interviews given what has happened given the iSpy conspiracy.
Here's what Jobs says:
We take privacy extremely seriously. As an example we worry a lot about locations in phones. We worry that some 14 year old is gonna get stalked or something terrible is going to happen because
Here's what Jobs says:
We take privacy extremely seriously. As an example we worry a lot about locations in phones. We worry that some 14 year old is gonna get stalked or something terrible is going to happen because
Acer Iconia Smart hits the FCC, readies to smack AT&T with 1024 x 480 screen?
Acer promised a 4.8-inch, 1024 x 480 tabletphone would arrive in April 2011, and April's nearly through -- but don't cross off the Acer Iconia Smart yet, because that brushed aluminum frame has just materialized at our favorite government institution. Yes, the FCC laid eyes on radiation test reports for the Android 2.3 device, which reveal that the quad-band GSM handset is headed to both Canada and the US. Given that the North American version only has 850, 1900 and 2100MHz 3G frequencies, it
SETI suspends search for alien life, E.T. weeps in the silent dark of space
Our progress toward intergalactic fellowship has suffered another blow, as SETI suspended operations of its Allen Telescope Array. Funded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, the array is a collection of radio dishes that scan the skies for signs of life; now it'll be in "hibernation" mode until 2013, when the institute's new round of funding begins. SETI hopes to raise $ 5 million to bring the Array back online before then, while it continues to use other telescopes around the world,
Eric Schmidt Awkwardly Telling Tina Fey to Switch to Android [Video]
Matt Buchanan — The magic happens at exactly 25 minutes in. As Tina Fey describes how much insight a phone has into your life, Eric Schmidt, in his creepiest, creepy-friendly voice tells her, "And we want you to use a more powerful phone."
This is Eric's pitch:
And we want you to use a more powerful phone. And we have a lot of applications that can help you where you wanna go, what you can do. This is what we do.
As your daughter gets older, you can keep track of your daughter with
This is Eric's pitch:
And we want you to use a more powerful phone. And we have a lot of applications that can help you where you wanna go, what you can do. This is what we do.
As your daughter gets older, you can keep track of your daughter with
Monday, April 25, 2011
Sony S1 and S2 dual-screen Honeycomb tablets get official (video)
Sony's hosting a press event in Tokyo today where it just made it's first announcement: a pair of Android 3.0 tablets -- yes, the very two Honeycomb slabs we told you about back in February. The first is the 9.4-inch S1 media tablet (pictured above) with a curved top much like a folded magazine and both front- and rear-facing cameras. The S1 features a Tegra 2 SoC and "Quick and Smooth" touch panel UI with "Swift" web browser. It can also be used as a remote control for Sony gear. Oh, and it's
The Fiery Beauty of Forging an Hourglass [Video]
Brian Barrett — Australian designer Marc Newson makes hourglasses by hand. He does it with fire and glass and a sculptor's touch. And while the final products—10 and 60 minute timepieces from Ikepod, each filled with countless stainless steel nanoballs—cost more than any of us is able to afford, this intimate look at the process is priceless. [Ikepod via Metafilter via Laughing
Why In the Name of Holy Sweet Hell Is This Person Taking Concert Pics with an iPad? [Video]
Sam Biddle — The reality of any concert today is that your vision is probably going to be blocked by hundreds (or thousands) of assholes holding up cameras and phones to capture an event they're already attending IRL. Fine. But with an iPad?
This shocking footage, from a concert I'm horribly, bitterly jealous that I didn't attend, shows that someone (at 0:24) had either the stupidity, bravery, or sheer gusto to wield an iPad, up in the air, to capture Kanye's mega-rendition of All of
This shocking footage, from a concert I'm horribly, bitterly jealous that I didn't attend, shows that someone (at 0:24) had either the stupidity, bravery, or sheer gusto to wield an iPad, up in the air, to capture Kanye's mega-rendition of All of
A Supermarket Accidentally Opened When No Employees Were Working [Wtf]
Casey Chan — What would you do if you walked into a supermarket with no employees inside? Dump everything into 5 carts and run? Steal all the alcohol you can? Grab store displays? Get a lifetime supply of cereal? Fruit? Or would you pay?
Well, Pak 'n Save, a supermarket in New Zealand, opened when no employees were working, and surprisingly, the store wasn't ransacked or stripped or even burned down because few shoppers even noticed the employees were missing. It happened on 8AM last
Well, Pak 'n Save, a supermarket in New Zealand, opened when no employees were working, and surprisingly, the store wasn't ransacked or stripped or even burned down because few shoppers even noticed the employees were missing. It happened on 8AM last
Iran Claims It's Being Targeted By a Second Cyber Attack [Cyber Attack]
Casey Chan — Gholam-Reza Jalali, Iran's Commander of Civil Defense, claims that a new computer virus code-named "Stars" is attempting to compromise Iranian systems.
It is currently unknown what the new worm is targeting—nuclear facilities or other computer networks—and who is responsible but Jalali acknowledged that "the virus is congruous and harmonious with the (computer) system and in the initial phase it does minor damage and might be mistaken for some executive files of
It is currently unknown what the new worm is targeting—nuclear facilities or other computer networks—and who is responsible but Jalali acknowledged that "the virus is congruous and harmonious with the (computer) system and in the initial phase it does minor damage and might be mistaken for some executive files of
Nintendo confirms next Wii in 2012, will preview it at E3
Nintendo has just announced it plans to introduce a successor to its Wii console next year, a "playable model" of which will be shown off at this year's E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles, which kicks off on June 7th. The brief note publicizing this roadmap also comes with a tally of Wii sales from its launch in '06 through to March of 2011, 86.01 million.Nintendo confirms next Wii in 2012, will preview it at E3 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 03:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms
Acer Iconia Tab A500 now on sale, $450 for aluminum-clad WiFi-only model
Yearning for some diversity in your hunt for a Honeycomb tablet? Acer's new Iconia Tab A500 doesn't really stray from the Tegra 2 norm when it comes to internal specs, but it does have that brushed aluminum back, a full-sized USB 2.0 port, and a sane $ 450 price point going for it. You'll get 16GB of storage and 802.11b/g/n WiFi connectivity for your money, though ASUS' similarly outfitted Eee Pad Transformer should also be prominent on your radar as it'll ask for an even humbler $ 399 when
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Alleged LHC Memo Hints Scientists Have Found the Elusive Higgs Boson [Rumors]
Jack Loftus — Did scientists running the massive Large Hadron Collider finally discover what Einstein eloquently hypothesized was the "mind of God" for the last 30 years of his life? Possibly, yes, if a memo leaked this week turns out to be legitimate.
The memo, which it should definitely be noted has not been properly vetted or undergone peer review, details the discovery of the Higgs Boson, aka "God Particle," which could theoretically be the lynchpin in an equally grandiose-sounding
The memo, which it should definitely be noted has not been properly vetted or undergone peer review, details the discovery of the Higgs Boson, aka "God Particle," which could theoretically be the lynchpin in an equally grandiose-sounding
Acer Aspire One Happy gets Easter egg colors, Atom N570 chip
Eager to pick up a new molded-plastic Acer One netbook, but wish it came in PAAS-approved Easter egg hues? Then your day has come, friend. Macles reports that Acer will refresh its Aspire One Happy line with a quartet of edible colors: Blueberry Shake, Banana Cream, Papaya Milk and Strawberry Yogurt. Those vibrant shells will have the innards of the still-unreleased Acer One D257, including a 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N570 dual-core processor, along with the usual 10.1-inch display, 2GB memory,
Inhabitat's Week in Green: solar panel roads, floating golf, and the 2,564.8 MPG race car
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.
Building technology got a tremendous boost this week as Inhabitat reported on a new type of graphene super paper that is 10 times stronger than steel and six times as light. We also took a look at several remarkable new infrastructure projects popping up around the world - from a self-sufficient floating golf course in the Maldives to London's
Building technology got a tremendous boost this week as Inhabitat reported on a new type of graphene super paper that is 10 times stronger than steel and six times as light. We also took a look at several remarkable new infrastructure projects popping up around the world - from a self-sufficient floating golf course in the Maldives to London's
Amsterdam orders 125 public EV charging stations, hastens the death of internal combustion
Amsterdam is known for its affinity for two-wheeled transportation, but the cycling-crazed city is also making a serious commitment to EVs for those Dutch who prefer driving. As a part of a plan introduced two years ago to eliminate internal combustion from its streets by 2040, the Netherlands' capital is looking to add to its existing 100 EV charging stations. The City Council has charged Dutch power company Essent with the installation of an additional 125 public plug-in points this year,
New radio wave technique could detect alien planets, receive interstellar tunes
Any experienced planet hunter will tell you: finding exoplanets is the real challenge, where hardened professionals go to test their mettle. These tricky bodies stymie conventional methods - like seeing a planet pass in front of its parent star - because exoplanets often have decades-long orbits, meaning you could spend a lot of lonely nights fruitlessly searching the skies. So scientists at the University of Leicester in England developed a new approach: looking for radio waves emitted when
Saturday, April 23, 2011
This Old Chinese Man Repairs Damaged Photos with Photoshop for Free [Photoshop]
Casey Chan — Baojun Yuan, the man pictured above, learned Photoshop at 60 years old. He's now 76 and for the past decade or so has repaired over 2000 damaged photos and done it all for free. Yuan bought a computer and scanner himself and doesn't charge people because he jokingly says, "My teacher just taught me how to repair the photos, but he forgot to tell me how to charge". What a guy. Check out all the work Yuan has done for people here. [The Design Inspiration]
I hope he has a
I hope he has a
How would you change Lenovo's ThinkPad X120e?
It's one of the first Fusion-based laptops out of the gate -- certainly one of the first with a semi-business-oriented shell -- and we found it to be one of the best modern ThinkPads we'd seen when reviewing it a few months back. Naturally, the quantity of machines shipping with the E-350 APU is swelling, but the X120e still touts one of the most unique feature sets available. For those who picked one up (for business or pleasure... we're hardly picky), we'd love to know how you'd tweak
Emoticon Rings Put Your Feelings on Your Fingers [Emoticons]
Casey Chan — Chao & Eero Jewel from Finland made these hilarious emoticon rings that show happy faces, smiling eyes and other forms of emoticons in ring form. Nothing like expressing your feelings right on your sleeve, er, finger these days, right? Though I do wish I could get a stone face or cry face ring for those darker days (they don't promote such negativity).
[Chao and Eero via Design You
[Chao and Eero via Design You
Friday, April 22, 2011
Mitsubishi i MiEV priced to move, rolls out slowly across US
Mitsubishi promised a fall 2011 launch for the i MiEV here in the US, and we're happy to report the company is right on schedule -- so long as you live in California, Oregon, Washington, or Hawaii. Those states will be the first to see the subcompact at the dealership this November. The all-electric car will make its debut in the northeastern US by March of next year, with the a nationwide rollout expected by December 2012. The basic ES model will start at $ 27,990, while the SE demands $
(Try to) Map Your House with MagicPlan [Apps]
Sam Biddle — Should you ever need a floor plan of your home, bringing in a professional to do the measurements might be expensive. And time consuming! So MagicPlan wants to replace human work, automatically creating a map of your humble abode.
Does it work? Sort of. The interface is a little wonky, and lining up the wall-measuring reticles with your camera is tricky. I managed to create a fairly accurate rendering of my kitchen, but my living room came out looking like it'd been sucked
Does it work? Sort of. The interface is a little wonky, and lining up the wall-measuring reticles with your camera is tricky. I managed to create a fairly accurate rendering of my kitchen, but my living room came out looking like it'd been sucked
SARbot searches for victims underwater in Japan (video)
Joining the extended family of robots assisting with the relief effort in Japan, the Texas-based Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue (CRASAR) has sent its SARbot to Rikuzentakata. Like some of the other bots, this guy can shoot video as it swims under houses and other crippled structures, but it also sports a "limb grasping mechanism," designed to retrieve drowning victims and assist in other search and rescue operations. As of yet its searches have come up empty, but the bot has kept
Robots That Dance, Discover, and Devour You and Your Family [Image Cache]
Max Behrman — I thought these guys were monster food when I first saw this picture. Lucky for them, it's just a robot. Head over to The Atlantic's In Focus to check out other remarkable photos of robots and their caretakers. [The
iPhone 5: iPod touch back, 3.7 inch display, gesture-based home button?
April 22, 2011 at 1:51 pm
iPhone 5 mockup from This is my next
This is my next drops a bombshell, claiming that the next-generation iPhone will not be a minimal departure from the iPhone 4, like others are saying, but will be a completely re-designed phone, as Engadget reported earlier this year. The iPhone 5 that the report describes is said to be a prototype in testing – we know that Apple tests many products before going to market – that features a body akin to that of the one
iPhone 5 mockup from This is my next
This is my next drops a bombshell, claiming that the next-generation iPhone will not be a minimal departure from the iPhone 4, like others are saying, but will be a completely re-designed phone, as Engadget reported earlier this year. The iPhone 5 that the report describes is said to be a prototype in testing – we know that Apple tests many products before going to market – that features a body akin to that of the one
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Google ordered to pay $5 million in Linux patent infringement suit
Score one for the little guy. An East Texas jury recently awarded a relatively small computer firm a pretty hefty settlement in a patent infringement suit that named Google, Yahoo, Amazon, AOL, and Myspace as defendants. The jury awarded Bedrock Computer Technologies LLC $ 5 million for a patent concerning the Linux kernel found in the software behind Google's servers. The patent in question is described as a "method and apparatus for information storage and retrieval using a hashing
AT&T tells FCC just how important T-Mobile is, in 381-page redacted document
AT&T has many strategies for trying to convince the US government to let it buy T-Mobile, but the one it emphasized was this -- it would attempt to make remaining carriers Verizon, Sprint and even a handful of rural entities look like "intense competition." Well, it seems that tack hasn't quite had the impact that the board of directors was hoping for, because it just delivered a gigantic new document to the FCC, which portrays itself as the victim of its own success. AT&T says it had
Self-Correcting Laser Rifle Sight Gives the Most Accurate Shot Yet [Weapons]
— When you're aiming at a target two miles away, the slightest perturbation could end up causing a catastrophic miss - not good enough for today's military. Until guns can aim themselves, snipers need the most accurate weapons possible. Engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory came up with a laser-guided correction system that ensures a shooter's crosshairs are always on the mark.
The new Reticle Compensating Rifle Barrel Reference Sensor measures slight disruptions in a gun barrel,
The new Reticle Compensating Rifle Barrel Reference Sensor measures slight disruptions in a gun barrel,
Ph.D. student subjects advanced robot to dance, embarrassment (video)
This is Sarcos, a highly-advanced robot capable of balancing on his own two legs. He's also connected to a motion-capture system that allows him to accurately mimic the actions of a human operator. For what grand purpose does his puppet master Benjamin Stephens use these impressive assets? Dancing, of course. Seriously people, they're going to remember this when the time comes for revolution. Video after the break.Continue reading Ph.D. student subjects advanced robot to dance, embarrassment
Pervert Alert: This Camera Can See Through Clothes [Cameras]
Casey Chan — This S95-styled point and shoot, the Midnight Shot NV-1, is the perfect camera for perverts. Why? Cause it has an infrared-night shot mode which can let you see through thin fabric and other materials.
It has a regular mode too! But the night-shot mode is where the nudie cam comes in. It gets the blocking filter out of the way, letting all infrared light through while a super bright IR LED "invisibly" illuminates everything in the picture. That infrared light can actually
It has a regular mode too! But the night-shot mode is where the nudie cam comes in. It gets the blocking filter out of the way, letting all infrared light through while a super bright IR LED "invisibly" illuminates everything in the picture. That infrared light can actually
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
0 to 100 iPad App Beautifully Gives You the Faces, Advice and Stories of People at Each Stage of Life [Video]
Casey Chan — 0 to 100 is an iPad app filled with the faces of complete strangers. Why should you care? Because all those people come together in the app to show each stage of life, from birth until 100 years old. Each picture comes with a little info about the person and when they're young, it captures the childlike wonder and naivety of youth and when they get older, the time distilled wisdom of age.
It's refreshing! We only have one life to live and sometimes we need to remind
It's refreshing! We only have one life to live and sometimes we need to remind
Fujifilm FinePix XP30 reviewed: average ruggedized cam, with GPS
With this ruggedized, GPS-equipped FinePix XP30 from Fujifilm, you won't have any trouble proving to your friends that that penguin photo your grandmother uses as her "screen saver" really was taken in Antarctica. Unless it happens to be snowing in Antarctica. Or even cloudy. This otherwise average 14.2 megapixel camera is the first to include GPS, but the gurus at Photography Blog had trouble getting a fix while testing in England. They also had issues with the battery door flipping open when
How to Keep Your iPad Location Data Secure and Private
You may not be aware of this but the location of your iPad or iPhone is constantly being tracked. Also, each time you create backups or sync your device that information is being logged.
If you are using default security settings anyone can access your personal data and location. The fact that this data is unencrypted can leave the door wide open to a potential breach.
You may not be able to prevent this data from being logged from your iOS 4 device, but you will be pleased to know it’s
If you are using default security settings anyone can access your personal data and location. The fact that this data is unencrypted can leave the door wide open to a potential breach.
You may not be able to prevent this data from being logged from your iOS 4 device, but you will be pleased to know it’s
UPenn's PhillieBot throws out first pitch, Skynet calls for a reliever (video)
We'll hand it to the University of Pennsylvania -- mixing robotics and sport definitely isn't easy. But in the heart of Citizens Bank Park today, the so-called PhillieBot came close to generating a universal chorus of boos after it failed to successfully toss a first pitch to the Phanatic. We're guessing it'll be wound up a bit more before trying again; after all, it's not like Philly needs another reason to pelt an otherwise lovable character with vitriol (or snowballs).UPenn's PhillieBot
Your New Car's More Fuel-Efficient Engine May Fire Up With Lasers, Not Spark Plugs [Lasers]
Max Behrman — If you're contemplating your next car add-on, consider replacing your boring, old spark plugs with lasers. Yeah, lasers. Lasers that cut down on noxious emissions and provide better fuel efficiency! If Japan's National Institutes of Natural Sciences has its way, a replacement of that sort may not be so far off (or strange).
The traditional spark plug we're all used to works by sending electrical, well, sparks, between two, uh, electrodes. This causes an explosion in the
The traditional spark plug we're all used to works by sending electrical, well, sparks, between two, uh, electrodes. This causes an explosion in the
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
There Are Still More iOS Users Than Android Users [Factoid]
Husain Sumra — It's not about iPhone vs. Android really, it's iOS vs Android across a whole range of devices. According to tracking company comScore, Apple's platform is dominating. By its count, there are 37.9 million iOS users (including iPod Touch and iPad) and 23.8 million Android users. Some quick subtraction tallies up 14.1 million (59 percent) fewer Android users than iOS users.
What's interesting is that there's not much of a halo effect for Apple, with only 4 million (10
What's interesting is that there's not much of a halo effect for Apple, with only 4 million (10
Why the Unemployed Need MacBooks [Humor]
Brian Barrett — What is it that the unemployed need more than anything to get back on their feet? The Onion's panel of experts (mostly) agrees: Apple products. The worst part? Somewhere, someone without a job probably is plunking down a cool grand on a MacBook Pro refurb because learning graphic design is the only way out of his step-brother's guest bedroom.
[The
[The
Researchers show off DLC projector screen viewable in bright lighting conditions
One of the knocks against projectors has always been that they're not able to perform to their fullest unless the room is completely dark, but that may finally change if some researchers from Japan's Tohoku University have their way. They've developed a projector screen based on Diffused Light Control (or DLC), which allows only the light from the projector to be diffused towards those looking at the screen, while all other ambient light is either absorbed or reflected away. Of course, that
Intel shocks everyone, including itself, with record Q1 earnings
This is starting to get a bit repetitive, but we're sure Intel will never tire of hearing it: the chip maker just had its best quarter ever. The company expected to pull in roughly $ 11.6 billion, topping last quarter (and its previous record) by $ 500 million. Looks like the company was being conservative enough to make Pat Robertson blush -- it raked in a grand total of $ 12.8 billion in Q1 of 2011. About $ 500 million of that discrepancy can be explained by the acquisition of McAfee and
These 2D Glasses Make 3D Movies Watchable Again [Genius]
Brian Barrett — It's honestly gotten to a point where it's almost impossible to find a two-dimensional version of a major 3D movie release. For those of us just want our eyeballs back? 2D Glasses are here, they're real, and they're ready to flatten whatever Hollywood throws at 'em.
But how, you're asking yourself, as you frantically check your bank account to ensure you've got the ten bucks (including shipping!) you'll need to buy a pair of these spectacular specs. How do they work?
But how, you're asking yourself, as you frantically check your bank account to ensure you've got the ten bucks (including shipping!) you'll need to buy a pair of these spectacular specs. How do they work?
Monday, April 18, 2011
T-Mobile G-Slate review
The tablet wars are building, petty disputes that will soon lead to bloodshed. Products will be launched into battle only to be gunned down straight out of their boxes, crying for their fabricators as bigger, faster, better slates step over the stricken chassis of their predecessors, running on to their own brief bits of glory. At a high level it's obviously Android vs. Apple vs. The Rest, but battle lines are forming as we consumers, caught in the middle, try to decide just what the right
Fastec's DSLR-sized TS3Cine does 720p at 720fps for $30,000
For years, consumers have been able to shoot slow-motion videos -- mostly with the help of Casio's line of slightly gimmicky point-and-shoots. But Fastec's TS3Cine aims for a more discerning customer -- the kind of videographer who might spice up a promo or short with some slow-mo action. Unlike Casio's cameras, which cut the resolution to little more than thumbnail-size as you crank the frame rate, the TS3Cine does 720p video at 720fps, and 1280 x 1024 at 500fps. It's only when you further
iPad 2 Wallpapers Collection 01
So you’ve recently purchased a shiny new iPad 2 but now you need some nice wallpapers to choose from. If you’re looking for some cool iPad 2 wallpapers I’ve gathered a few here that you may enjoy!
Stay tuned for more iPad 2 wallpaper collections coming soon!
Posted in iPad Wallpapers
iPad Apps, Videos, News and
Stay tuned for more iPad 2 wallpaper collections coming soon!
Posted in iPad Wallpapers
iPad Apps, Videos, News and
How the Hell Do I Fix My Windows/Mac/Linux Computer? [Humor]
Davey Alba — If you live in the twenty-first century, you've no doubt endured the unutterable agony of a computer breaking down on you. Then comes the excruciating part: bargaining with the incapable hunk of metal to—"Please, for the love of God"—sputter back to life. Well, the next time this happens, perhaps you can use this Guide to Fixing Any Computer to pick up some wisdom on the matter.
Republished with permission from Matthew Inman aka "The Oatmeal," a former web designer
Republished with permission from Matthew Inman aka "The Oatmeal," a former web designer
ASUS works Sandy Bridge magic on thin-and-light U31E, U31SD, and U36SD
It appears that ASUS is finally ready to show its line of thin-and-light machines some Sandy Bridge love. Swedish site Technytt claims to have the exclusive scoop on a trio of laptops -- the U31SD, U31E, and U36SD -- that will find their way to retail channels in late May. The U31SD is already showing up on the ASUS site, with the option of either a Core i5 2410M or Core i3 2310M , and a choice of Intel integrated graphics or a 1GB GeForce GT 520M card. All three 13.3-inch machines will
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Viewsonic G Tablet gets firmware update with Flash, USB peripheral support
Viewsonic's G Tablet may not have made much of splash when it debuted last fall, but it's certainly been picking up a bit of steam as of late. A recent price drop brought its cost down to just $ 280, and hackers have even managed to overclock its processor to 1.4GHz and get it running CyanogenMod 7 to boot. Now Viewsonic itself has given the tablet a further boost, with a new firmware update bringing support for both Flash and USB peripherals, which can apparently also be used with a docking
UAE plans enterprise-class messaging ban for individuals and small companies?
Seems the United Arab Emirates wasn't satisfied with the spying agreements that RIM put in place -- now, the government's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority will reportedly restrict BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) services to companies with more than twenty BlackBerry accounts each. Interestingly, the TRA itself denies that any services will be halted to individuals or small firms, even as RIM itself claims that such a ban will indeed take effect, though RIM also claims that it "would
Meizu MX to be Jack Wong's next dream phone, coming with HDMI-out by year's end
It's only been 109 days since Meizu's remarkable launch of the M9 Android, but as we all know, there's nothing stopping our man Jack Wong from teasing his next flagship phone on his forum. Previously known as the M9II, Wong has now renamed this 4-inch handset to MX -- apparently short for "meng xiang" or "dream" in Mandarin Chinese, though X can also cunningly double up as the Roman numeral for 10 here. Also shared is the above real-life shot of an MX mock-up -- not far off from the earlier
Don't Get Sick In Space [Medicine]
Jack Loftus — Muscle atrophy, radiation, micro meteorites...the list of maladies that can harm or kill astronauts is a long one. Sadly, it appears as though it just got one item longer.
According to scientists at the Johnson Space Center, the new problem facing future space explorers—perhaps on a Mars mission or beyond—is that drug effectiveness declines at a faster rate in space.
Chief amongst the drugs that lose effectiveness during prolonged spaceflight are paracetamol (headache
According to scientists at the Johnson Space Center, the new problem facing future space explorers—perhaps on a Mars mission or beyond—is that drug effectiveness declines at a faster rate in space.
Chief amongst the drugs that lose effectiveness during prolonged spaceflight are paracetamol (headache
Switched On: Flip-flops
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
This week's announcement that Cisco is shuttering its Flip Video business was but the latest twist in the history of the market share-leading device. The Flip got its start after its creator, Pure Digital, modified its original disposable camcorder to be reusable after hackers showed it could be done. And its success continued to defy convention that the product would resonate against a slew of digital cameras
This week's announcement that Cisco is shuttering its Flip Video business was but the latest twist in the history of the market share-leading device. The Flip got its start after its creator, Pure Digital, modified its original disposable camcorder to be reusable after hackers showed it could be done. And its success continued to defy convention that the product would resonate against a slew of digital cameras
Students use Wii Balance Board for kids' physical therapy system (video)
Nintendo's kid-tested, researcher-approved Wii Balance Board has struck at the heart of the medical supply industry yet again -- this time, the Bluetooth-connected scale is being used to help physically challenged children at Shriners Hospital in Houston. Seniors at Rice University hand-machined a set of force-sensitive parallel bars and programmed a monster-shooting game called Equilibrium to get kids excited about improving their walking gait, where they can play and score points with each
Saturday, April 16, 2011
TALON robot gets declawed, helps Japan sniff out radiation (video)
Robotics experts at the Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory just taught an old war machine some new tricks, namely radiation detection -- a timely acquisition of knowledge, for sure. Swapping out rocket launchers and machine guns for a suite of radiological sensors, digital cameras, and a GPS device, this modified TALON will be used to map the radiation levels (and create a visual output) surrounding the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The newly modified TALON landed in Japan
VinylLove for iPad Re-Creates That Warm Vinyl Record Sound for Your MP3s [Apps]
Casey Chan — I'm sad that I never really got into vinyls because every time I hear a record play, I wish my silly iPod could capture that same texture and warmth. VinylLove for iPad tries to re-create that warm vinyl sound to great success.
VinylLove for iPad is a music app that beautifully mimics a record player—you can thumb through alphabetized crates of records (the songs on your library) and move the needle (to fast forward)—and doesn't embarrass itself! In fact, it makes your
VinylLove for iPad is a music app that beautifully mimics a record player—you can thumb through alphabetized crates of records (the songs on your library) and move the needle (to fast forward)—and doesn't embarrass itself! In fact, it makes your
Sign of the times: iPad 2 heads to Toys R Us
When we were younger, we lusted after the top-shelf electric train set. The pow-pow-Power Wheels jeep. The Virtual Boy. These days, that rich kid down the street will have a very different sort of toy. When ModMyi reported that Toys 'R' Us was training associates to sell the iPad 2 weeks ago, we thought it might be a leftover April Fools', but sure enough, Geoffrey the Giraffe will begin pushing Apple's tablet to children who don't want to grow up as soon as tomorrow morning.
[Thanks to
[Thanks to
The Hot Tub at the Playboy Mansion Got People Sick [Hot Tubs]
Casey Chan — Health officials have confirmed that the "whirlpool spa" aka the hot tub aka probably the grotto at the Playboy Mansion was ground zero for a legionella bacteria outbreak. It's being held responsible for causing a number of people to get sick at an early February conference.
The DomainFest's conference held from February 1-3 resulted in 123 people getting sick (out of the 439 contacted) with fever and headache, cough, shortness of breath, or aches. 69 (heh) people even got
The DomainFest's conference held from February 1-3 resulted in 123 people getting sick (out of the 439 contacted) with fever and headache, cough, shortness of breath, or aches. 69 (heh) people even got
Friday, April 15, 2011
This Week's Top Web Comedy Video: How to Get a Guy to Notice You While You're Having Sex with Him [Video]
— How do you tell a guy is into you when he's, uh, into you? No less authority than The Onion shows us in this decidedly NSFW faux-morning show segment. Full video, with lots of sexy sex sex words, lies directly ahead:
The rest of the best top comedy videos from the week can be found over at Splitsider, including a craze-inducing drink, an award-winning boom, and a newsman who deserves himself a job.
Other highlights from the week in comedy:
- We compiled the complete history of SNL's
The rest of the best top comedy videos from the week can be found over at Splitsider, including a craze-inducing drink, an award-winning boom, and a newsman who deserves himself a job.
Other highlights from the week in comedy:
- We compiled the complete history of SNL's
How would you change the Verizon iPhone?
It's an iPhone 4... but not the original iPhone 4. Verizon Wireless became the first CDMA carrier in the States to call an Apple smartphone one of its own, and the resulting handset is eerily similar to the AT&T variant in most regards. That said, we're sure that a few of you folks would have done things differently if given the design credentials needed to do so, and this is place for you to vent. Would you have added any features to this guy not already found on the GSM iPhone 4? Offered
HP tries to sneak CFast slot by us in EliteBook 8560w
HP must have thought it could sneak this one by us -- and it would have succeeded too, if it wasn't for those meddling tipsters. A close examination of the recently announced EliteBook 8560w's press shot reveals it has a CFast slot, an interesting tidbit not mentioned in the release or the spec sheet. This is, to our knowledge, the first notebook to ship with a slot for the updated CompactFlash format, though the lack of cameras and other devices using the medium makes it a somewhat
Time Warner Cable brings back Discovery, Fox channels to its iPad app
Just a couple of weeks after removing several channels from its live TV streaming iPad app Time Warner Cable has added most of them back again. The notable exception here are networks owned by Viacom, which it took to court last week. So far, other than announcing Discovery and Fox channels are back on the TWCable TV iPad app, we weren't able to get anything other than a no comment out of anyone at the companies involved. That means we don't know if the channel providers have spontaneously
U.S. Government Accuses Online Poker Sites Full Tilt, Poker Stars and Absolute Poker of Fraud [Crime]
Adrian Covert — Even if you don't play online poker, you've undoubtedly seen ads for Full Tilt, Poker Stars and Absolute Poker, three of the bigger online gambling sites around. Guess what? They've all been charged with tricking banks into processing illegal gambling dollars.
T-Mobile G2x now available online for $200, hitting stores April 20th
T-Mobile's Android roster is growing in number and sheer benchmarking virility today with the launch of the LG-produced G2X. This handset runs bone stock Android (Froyo today, Gingerbread in the future) atop a dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 system-on-chip, and just like its international twin the Optimus 2X, eschews the physical flair and focuses on being the best damn 4-inch smartphone that it can be. It costs $ 199.99 on a two-year contract and can be bought online today or in stores starting
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Moleskine's Making Bags Now; Writers and Artists Approve [Bags]
Davey Alba — Moleskine: The brand that conjures up thoughts of those terrific-smelling (oh yeah, and iconic!) leather notebooks. Now apparently, they're also expanding to include a Moleskine Traveling Collection.
The collection includes a messenger bag, a tote, a backpack, laptop cases and other accessories—all with the signature minimalist black leather, rounded off corners and elastic band; all shown off recently at the Milan Design Week. If you think the collection will fit your
The collection includes a messenger bag, a tote, a backpack, laptop cases and other accessories—all with the signature minimalist black leather, rounded off corners and elastic band; all shown off recently at the Milan Design Week. If you think the collection will fit your
A Free Way to Wirelessly Transfer Photos from Your iPhone to Your Computer [Apps]
Casey Chan — Transferring pictures from your iPhone to computer can be annoying! Plugging in a cable and waiting for Image Capture to load and then syncing pictures over? Not cool. Apps like Photosync are great (and do two way transfers) but cost money, Wi-Fi Photo Transfer for iPhone is completely free.
Remember: Wi-Fi Photo Transfer only brings photos from your iPhone to your computer (not the other way around), but it's really easy to use. Just make sure you're on the same Wi-Fi
Remember: Wi-Fi Photo Transfer only brings photos from your iPhone to your computer (not the other way around), but it's really easy to use. Just make sure you're on the same Wi-Fi
Spiroscout inhaler uses GPS, WiFi to track asthma attacks
Back in 2009, we told you about a University of Wisconsin-Madison scientist using GPS to tag asthmatics in an effort to better understand what was triggering their attacks. Two years later, David Van Sickle is about ready to turn his research into a commercial product dubbed the Spiroscout. The USB-powered inhaler uses GPS as well as WiFI to track patients' inhaler use, which Van Sickle says will yield a fuller, more accurate body of data than the self-recorded logs are often asked to keep.
FBI Kills Botnet, Kills It Good [Blip]
Davey Alba — The FBI received a court order, which today allowed them to kill the hell out of a massive botnet by taking out a piece of malware called Coreflood. Usually, when someone wants to shut down a botnet, they just, you know, shut it down by taking the servers that host it offline. But this recent action allowed them to really salt the earth, shutting down the actual software behind it. The feds haven't been permitted to do this before—because the old idea was that it made them
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Acer brings HN274H and HS244HQ 3D monitors to the US, motorbikes not included
In case you're looking for some more options in the 3D monitor market, Acer's just announced a couple of new models for the US that might do the job. First up is the HN274H pictured above, which claims to be the first 27-inch LED-backlit monitor supporting both HDMI 3D and NVIDIA 3D Vision -- Blu-ray or TV set-top box for the former, PC gaming for the latter (via the usual DVI-DL). Though limited at 1920 x 1080 resolution, this display boasts a 100,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio with
iPhone-controlled Sphero ball gets a chariot for roving FaceTime sessions, office races
A tiny robotic ball able to be controlled by a smartphone doesn't exactly need any more selling points, but Orbotix's Sphero now has an extra one nonetheless. It's been outfitted with a chariot that can be used for FaceTime sessions or low-level surveillance -- or chariot races around your office, naturally. Of course, this is strictly a DIY affair, but we're guessing this is one project you will actually want to do yourself once you see the video after the break.
[Thanks, Ross]Continue
[Thanks, Ross]Continue
The Birthplace of the Internet [History]
Casey Chan — This is 3420 Boelter Hall in UCLA. Looks cool and decidedly 1970s, right? Long manes, gnarly mustaches and vintage technology cabinets. What were they doing in there? Turns out, this is where the Internet was born.
Whoa, what? Yeah! The first Internet message was sent from a node of the ARPA network (a computer network commissioned by the U.S. Department of Defense) in UCLA to Stanford on October 29, 1969. That ARPA network became what we now know as the Internet making that
Whoa, what? Yeah! The first Internet message was sent from a node of the ARPA network (a computer network commissioned by the U.S. Department of Defense) in UCLA to Stanford on October 29, 1969. That ARPA network became what we now know as the Internet making that
This Genius Went to a Security Conference and Tried to Steal an iPad [Crime]
Husain Sumra — Maybe this poor dumb soul was just buying into Apple's marketing hype; maybe he thought the iPad he tried to steal was so thin that nobody would catch him nicking it. Unfortunately for him, he was under tighter surveillance than President Obama.
At a security conference that was filled with enough security tech to make a bank look like a McDonald's, the guy was walking around with a fake badge. He found the Advanced Technology Video booth and walked up to it, looked around
At a security conference that was filled with enough security tech to make a bank look like a McDonald's, the guy was walking around with a fake badge. He found the Advanced Technology Video booth and walked up to it, looked around
This Biodegradable Golf Ball Is Made From a Lobster [Balls]
Casey Chan — Lobsters! Not only do they have delicious meat, their shells have use too! Researchers at the University of Maine have developed a biodegradable golf ball from lobster shells. It's cheaper than the typical biodegradable ball ($ 0.19 vs $ 1) and can be hit straight into the ocean without the environment weighing down on your game.
The material of the golf ball is made from crushed lobster shells with a biodegradable binder and coating (I wish it wasn't white, though).
The material of the golf ball is made from crushed lobster shells with a biodegradable binder and coating (I wish it wasn't white, though).
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Kyocera Echo review
It's not exactly difficult to put into words what the Kyocera Echo is -- it's a dual-screened Android phone, after all -- but it's a wee bit more challenging to wrap your head around who exactly it's for. The hardcore gaming contingent already has Sony Ericsson's Xperia Play, and those obsessed with screen real estate have options spanning the gamut -- everything from Dell's 5-inch Streak to a veritable cornucopia of choices in the 4- to 4.3-inch range. So, where exactly does this oddball fit
Why An Android-Powered Universal Remote? Games, Of Course! [Remotes]
Davey Alba — Could anything be better than lazing around on your couch with your universal remote? How about playing Fruit Ninja on it during commercials? Conspin's Andi-One is the first universal remote to run Android 2.1—and any of its 100,000 apps—right on your controller.
The Andi-One remote has got a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen and lets you control up to 50 different devices from 10,000 supported gadgets. You'll only have to drop $ 350 to get entertainment on the device
The Andi-One remote has got a 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen and lets you control up to 50 different devices from 10,000 supported gadgets. You'll only have to drop $ 350 to get entertainment on the device
Researchers use GPS, accelerometers to boost smartphone data rates
Well, this might be a good reason for The Powers That Be to know your exact whereabouts. According to a team of MIT researchers, speeding up data rates on mobile devices could be as easy as tapping the various motion sensors found in run-of-the-mill smartphones. The scientists believe our wireless infrastructure is at the root of bottlenecks, with a handful of weak transmitters clumsily "handing off" data to one another as you move out of range. The solution: use GPS radios, accelerometers, and
Nintendo cutting Wii price to $150 on May 15th?
Nintendo's miniature white monolith has sold like gangbusters for long enough that we're wary it'll ever get cheap, but a trusted source tells us a price cut is indeed headed our way -- and that the Nintendo Wii will cost just $ 150 starting May 15th. The timing would make some sense, given how Nintendo's profits have tanked for a while due to flagging hardware sales, and just last month Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime hinted that the Wii's price might be a potential variable
Chumby 8 gets reviewed, dubbed 'best and biggest Chumby yet'
The Chumby has never exactly been a device for everyone, and that's not likely to change with the new Chumby 8 that's recently started shipping. Those that do want a Chumby, however, aren't likely to be disappointed by the new 8-inch model. According to CNET's review of the device, the Chumby 8 is simply the "best and biggest Chumby yet," with the larger display and additional USB ports making it better suited for use as a photo frame or media player, while the plethora of apps available make
Monday, April 11, 2011
New TomTom Software Gives You Another Backseat Driver [Blip]
This content is restricted.
TomTom's new Active Driver Feedback will speak up to tell you about your fuel consumption, speeding, harsh steering, and braking. At the end of your trip it'll summarize and chart how well you've been driving, too. [TomTom via
TomTom's new Active Driver Feedback will speak up to tell you about your fuel consumption, speeding, harsh steering, and braking. At the end of your trip it'll summarize and chart how well you've been driving, too. [TomTom via
Nighty Night HD App For iPad Coming Soon
This Thursday, April 14 the all new Nighty Night HD app will become available in the iTunes App Store. It’s a great interactive bedtime book for iPad specifically designed for children ages 1-4.
Nighty Night HD iPad App Key Features
Vibrant 2D illustrations and animation
7 interactive animals (Dog, Pig, Sheep, Duck, Cow, Fish, Chickens)
Accompanied with melodic lullaby music
Actor Alistair Findlay as a story narrator
Autoplay function available
Teach your children about animals while at
Nighty Night HD iPad App Key Features
Vibrant 2D illustrations and animation
7 interactive animals (Dog, Pig, Sheep, Duck, Cow, Fish, Chickens)
Accompanied with melodic lullaby music
Actor Alistair Findlay as a story narrator
Autoplay function available
Teach your children about animals while at
First Orbit offers a glimpse at Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight 50 years later (video)
It's been exactly 50 years to the day -- in some places, anyway -- that cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's maiden voyage set off an international space race that defined an era, and while only Gagarin knew exactly what it was like to be the first man in space, documentarian Christopher Riley is giving us a glimpse of what the world might have looked like from the porthole of Vostok 1. As we reported before, First Orbit is a mashup of sorts that features original audio recordings from Gagarin's flight,
Meet the Man Who Invented the Digital Camera [Video]
Sam Biddle — Steven Sasson is a pretty unassuming guy. But he changed the world. In this "video portrait" by David Friedman, Sasson briefly walks us through the birth of the digital camera, and muses about its implications since then.
It's strange—digital cameras, being cheap and pocketable, aren't a remarkable thing anymore. But to hear the voice of the man who created the thing, without whom the idea might have arrived much later, is like hearing it for the first time. An inventor's
It's strange—digital cameras, being cheap and pocketable, aren't a remarkable thing anymore. But to hear the voice of the man who created the thing, without whom the idea might have arrived much later, is like hearing it for the first time. An inventor's
JetBlue to bring Ka-band high-speed internet to the friendly skies by 2012
Despite Boeing's early efforts to make satellite service the go-to option for in-flight internet, the rather costly connection solution never really took off. It seems, satellite connectivity is about to experience something of a resurgence -- just last month Gogo announced its plans to blanket the globe with Ka-band coverage by 2015, and now JetBlue's announcing that it will be the first to deliver an on-board Ka-band network. In an agreement with ViaSat, the airline intends to bring the
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Vulkano Flow now available, does 480p placeshifting for under a hundred bucks
Monsoon has announced the "general availability" of a new placeshifting box, the Vulkano Flow. As we learned during CES, this box has a $ 99 price tag and trims last year's Vulkano to just the placeshifting essentials. It's most similar to the Slingbox Solo in that it will accept HD inputs but can only stream video at a max 720x480 resolution, which could be passable watching on a PC with a small screen or one of the mobile apps (iOS, Blackberry, Android, $ 12.99/ea.) There are a few
Meet the Urban Bike Rack Concept That Scales the Sides of City Buildings [Concepts]
Jack Loftus — Traditional bike racks are so boring that I often forgo their use for more extreme locales, like power lines or roof decks or strapped to the backs of random passersby. In that vein I would probably use this concept, which would see my bike suspended from the side of a building.
Called Bike Hanger, this proposal is the brainchild of New York's Manifesto Architecture. Riders attach their bikes to the lift, and presto, it's lifted into the air much like those crazy Japanese
Called Bike Hanger, this proposal is the brainchild of New York's Manifesto Architecture. Riders attach their bikes to the lift, and presto, it's lifted into the air much like those crazy Japanese
US Navy's solid-state laser sets boat ablaze (video)
See that flaming wreckage in the picture above? A laser did that, mounted on board a second vessel similarly bobbing on top of the ocean last week. Yes, even though the United States Navy told us that legitimate seafaring death rays might take another decade to materialize, basic weaponized lasers are ready today, as the 15-kilowatt gun attached to the USS Paul Foster happily demonstrates. Of course, as you'll see in the video after the break, a beam of such minimal power takes a moment to
Inhabitat's Week in Green: magic airplane skin, Japan's nuclear leak, and the circuit board table
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.
As the nuclear crisis at Japan's Fukushima power plant continues to devastate the region and one reactor sprung a leak releasing tons of radioactive water, this week Inhabitat reported that green algae could play a critical role in cleaning up the spill. We also brought you Japan's latest radiation-detecting robot, and we took a look at how fallout
As the nuclear crisis at Japan's Fukushima power plant continues to devastate the region and one reactor sprung a leak releasing tons of radioactive water, this week Inhabitat reported that green algae could play a critical role in cleaning up the spill. We also brought you Japan's latest radiation-detecting robot, and we took a look at how fallout
Switched On: Pen again
Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.
Last week's Switched On discussed how some next wave notions from a decade ago were trying to reinvent themselves. Here's one more: surging smartphone vendor HTC is seeking to bring back an input method that many wrote off long ago with its forthcoming Flyer tablet and EVO View 4G comrade-in-arms. We speak of the stylus, of course.
A fixture of early Palm and Psion PDAs, Pocket PCs and Windows Mobile
Last week's Switched On discussed how some next wave notions from a decade ago were trying to reinvent themselves. Here's one more: surging smartphone vendor HTC is seeking to bring back an input method that many wrote off long ago with its forthcoming Flyer tablet and EVO View 4G comrade-in-arms. We speak of the stylus, of course.
A fixture of early Palm and Psion PDAs, Pocket PCs and Windows Mobile
Saturday, April 9, 2011
NRG's eVgo charging stations hope to catch the eyes of Texas
EV charging station announcements are almost becoming commonplace (keyword: almost), but not so much that we aren't happy to welcome one more. This week NRG Energy unveiled it's first eVgo branded "Freedom Station" at a Dallas Walgreens, and aims to pepper the map with a total of 60 such units by labor day. Each eVgo freedom station will pack both a quick charging 480V AC/DC converter (juicing up a Nissan Leaf to 80 percent in about 30 minutes), as well as a 240V Level 2 charger (netting 25
How would you change Dell's Venue?
Sure, it's lacking the Pro moniker, but it's also lacking a built-in keyboard. A fair trade, we suppose. Dell's Venue is actually nothing at all like the once-titled Lightning, boasting a slate-style form factor and Android 2.2 in place of Windows Phone 7. To this day, it remains one of the few unlocked phones available for sale in the US with support for AT&T's 3G bands, and for those who missed out on the Nexus One (or just opted for this for any number of other reasons), we're curious
Saudi Arabia To Be Permanent Member of Mile-High Club [Architecture]
Kwame Opam — Saudi Arabia has just given the OK to start construction on the Kingdom Tower, the world's first mile-high skyscraper. The tower will be built in the coastal city of Jeddah and is set to cost a whopping cost $ 30 billion.
Housed in the structure will be space for offices, residences, and a hotel. It's hard to even imagine how massive this thing will be; at literally one mile high, it will dwarf Dubai's Burj Khalifa, which stands at roughly 2,700ft. You could very well
Housed in the structure will be space for offices, residences, and a hotel. It's hard to even imagine how massive this thing will be; at literally one mile high, it will dwarf Dubai's Burj Khalifa, which stands at roughly 2,700ft. You could very well
Portable Korg Wavedrum Mini Turns Random Surfaces Into a Drum Kits [Drums]
Jack Loftus — The Korg Wavedrum Mini is exactly what it looks like: A portable synthetic drum machine that plays the usual litany of percussion sounds and beats on the go. What's interesting beyond that is the tiny clip.
According to Korg, the clip can be attached to a variety of surfaces (e.g. table tops), at which point the musician can wail away with wanton abandon and create some synthesized sounds that way as well. The promotional material even hints that you can attach the clip to
According to Korg, the clip can be attached to a variety of surfaces (e.g. table tops), at which point the musician can wail away with wanton abandon and create some synthesized sounds that way as well. The promotional material even hints that you can attach the clip to
Engadget interviews Dwyane Wade: the technology behind the Fly Wade (video)
It's not all that difficult to peer at some gadgets without fully understanding the wizardry and magic that assists in driving them from concept to reality. Did shoes ever cross your noggin as being technologically eye-opening? Sure, a few pairs of kicks have caught our attention over the years, but could a pair of sneakers be more than just that? To answer that question, we sat down with NBA star Dwyane Wade and Nike designer Mark smith to figure out what goes in to a modern pair of kicks.
Google preps Android for its corporate interview, adds new encryption and security measures
With over 300,000 devices activated per day, Android's clearly firing on all cylinders from a consumer standpoint, but much like the famed Cheez-It wheel, some would argue that the OS isn't quite mature enough for unabashed enterprise use. Being a corporation itself, El Goog's obviously been toiling around the clock to change that, and it's taking three major strides today. An updated version of its Google Apps Device Policy enables employees to secure a lost or stolen Android 2.2+ device by
Friday, April 8, 2011
Charge Your Phone In Style With Ralph Lauren's Solar Backpack [Solar Backpacks]
Husain Sumra — There are a ton of solar backpacks on the market and they're not very attractive, so it's nice that a mainstream designer label like fashion juggernaut Ralph Lauren has come out with a stylish version of their own.
Ralph Lauren isn't the first name you think of when you think of tech gear, but all the essentials are here for the Ralph Lauren RLX Solar Panel Backpack. It can charge a phone in two hours via USB port, has plenty of pockets, water-resistant construction and
Ralph Lauren isn't the first name you think of when you think of tech gear, but all the essentials are here for the Ralph Lauren RLX Solar Panel Backpack. It can charge a phone in two hours via USB port, has plenty of pockets, water-resistant construction and
Download DARPA's sub-hunting sim, help train its ACTUV automaton
DARPA dabbles in all matter of defense drones, and it's no stranger to leveraging the wisdom of the masses to help develop tomorrow's military machinery. The agency's latest program to go the crowdsourcing route is its Anti-submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV), and it wants you to help develop the software that'll control the thing. DARPA's borrowed a bit of the Sonalysts Combat Simulations Dangerous Waters game to create the ACTUV Tactics Simulator, where players
BlackBerry Orlando leaks out: say hello to the touchscreen Curve
As if we needed any more signs of where Research in Motion was heading in terms of its 2011 device line, we've just caught wind of yet another touchscreen-equipped Berry. The BlackBerry "Orlando" is purported to be a variation of the Curve with touch capabilities, already being described as a mini Bold Touch. This of course begs the question of why exactly RIM has so many different devices planned, especially when the spec differences are so minor. We wish the company would deviate from this
Fotopedia Paris for the iPad and iPhone Immerses You in the Gorgeous Capital of France [Apps]
Davey Alba — Paris! The City of Light, the City of Love, the city of...expensive airfare. But with this new app from Fotopedia, you won't have to spend a cent to immerse yourself in Parisian culture.
Fotopedia Paris for iOS lets you explore art, architecture, history, fashion and life in Paris. It's got more than 4,000 scenic photos, virtual trips, interactive maps, slideshows and wallpapers—and if you're not sure where to begin, there's also a shake-to-shuffle feature so you can
Fotopedia Paris for iOS lets you explore art, architecture, history, fashion and life in Paris. It's got more than 4,000 scenic photos, virtual trips, interactive maps, slideshows and wallpapers—and if you're not sure where to begin, there's also a shake-to-shuffle feature so you can
PSP starts streaming Music Unlimited on April 14th
What started as loose-lipped tattle is now official: the PSP will get a taste of Sony's Music Unlimited streaming music service starting on April 14th. The service, tortuously entitled "Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity" by Sony, requires a PlayStation Network ID to access all that digital audio. Once setup, Sony promises a "synchronized music experience" across your PSP, PS3, PC, and other network-enabled Sony devices like Bravia TVs and Blu-ray players -- a claim backed by a cloud-based
Thursday, April 7, 2011
NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover stars in its very own photoshoot
NASA's already given us a glimpse at its Mars rover, courtesy of a USTREAM broadcast a few months back, but the crew over at BoingBoing has taken one small step for mankind by going even further in-depth with Curiosity before it launches in November. One lucky photographer was granted permission into the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, and the fruits of his bunny-suited labor showcase the nooks and crannies of NASA's latest and greatest. We're still kind of bummed that the rover won't
The U.S. Army Now Uses GPS to Blow Shit Up With Extreme Precision [Military]
Adrian Covert — You use GPS to help guide you to that obscure restaurant you've never been to. The US Army now uses GPS to guide mortar rounds with seven times more accuracy than previous methods before it.
According to PopSci, the 120mm APMI XM395 rounds can hit within 30 feet of its intended target more than 50% of the time thanks to the GPS module built into its nose:
The APMI XM395 cartridge employs a standard 120-millimeter projectile body, but packed in the nose is a GPS receiver
According to PopSci, the 120mm APMI XM395 rounds can hit within 30 feet of its intended target more than 50% of the time thanks to the GPS module built into its nose:
The APMI XM395 cartridge employs a standard 120-millimeter projectile body, but packed in the nose is a GPS receiver
This American Life Finds a Home on That Apple iPad [Apps]
Adrian Covert — If you're a fan of the public radio storytelling show This American Life and own an iPad, I'm sure you'll be thrilled the show now has an app of its own. You can stream the ENTIRE archive of shows (which goes back to 1995), listen to new episodes live, and cache three at a time for offline listening. You can also listen to individual segments, search out specific contributors, and keep track of all the episodes you've heard. As a test of your fandom, however, you'll be
Facebook's Open Compute Project shares plans for energy-efficient data center
We know, you've seen an awful lot of Zuckerberg and crew here lately, and the Facebook news just keeps rolling in. This time the social networking giant is doing some sharing of a different sort by offering public access to the specifications and best practices behind its new, more efficient data center in Prineville, Oregon. According to the company, the center, built in collaboration with AMD, Dell, HP, and Intel, has boosted energy efficiency by 38 percent while lowering cost by 24 percent.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Ever Wanted a Mini Leica Digital Camera? [Cameras]
Adrian Covert — Unfortunately, mini Leica cams don't exist, but Minox has made this beautiful digital point and shoot, which is about a third the size of the retro cams it takes its inspiration from, such as the Leica M3.
And it may not have Leica specs (its only a 5.1 megapixel CMOS sensor), but it also only costs $ 180, so manage your expectations accordingly. [Photojojo via NotCot via
And it may not have Leica specs (its only a 5.1 megapixel CMOS sensor), but it also only costs $ 180, so manage your expectations accordingly. [Photojojo via NotCot via
Acer unveils svelte and spiffy Aspire Z5761 all-in-one, on sale in May
Yes, laptops and tablets are all the rage these days, but there's still quite a few of us who enjoy the expansive screen real estate of their sedentary computing brethren. That's why Acer's unleashed a sleek and svelte new all-in-one dubbed the Aspire Z5761. This latest AIO keeps the same fabulous form factor of its cousin, the AZ3750, but sports a larger 23-inch Full HD display, your choice of Sandy Bridge Core i5-2400s, Core i5-2500s, or Core i7-2600s CPUs, up to a 1.5TB SATA II HDD, a
Watch The Masters on Your iPad [Apps]
Adrian Covert — If you really love golf, or just have a deep appreciation for the elitist-laden tradition of the annual Masters golf tournament, you'll want to download this iPad app, which will keep you up to date on the leaderboard while streaming every minute of the four-day tournament (WHICH BEGINS TOMORROW!). [Insert Tiger Woods green jacket pornstar joke here]. $ 2.
Google creating YouTube 'channels', spending $100 million on original content?
You can do quite a lot with a sufficiently large catalog of semi-popular footage, but original content is king, and today the Wall Street Journal is reporting that YouTube will sink $ 100 million into original programming. The idea, according to the usual anonymous sources, is that Google will reshape the home of Keyboard Cat into a television network of sorts -- with channels for different topics -- and a good number of them featuring "several hours of professionally produced original
Commodore USA puts the new C64 up for pre-sales, unveils far-less-retrotastic VIC-Slim
Now that Commodore USA has sufficiently piqued your curiosity with a revamped Commodore 64 prototype, it's ready to capitalize on the idea. Quite literally, we might add. $ 595 buys you the basic basic model with an 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Atom D525 chip, NVIDIA ION 2 graphics, 2GB of RAM and a 160GB hard drive -- which it promises to deliver by "early June" -- with hundred-dollar increments adding premium features like an additional 2GB of memory, a Blu-Ray drive, up to 1TB of storage, 802.11
HP's keyboard-less webOS phone and Verizon Pre 3 leaked?
Our good friends over at PreCentral have just received a couple of juicy scoops, even for this time of the day. According to their proven tipster, what we're looking at here is an upcoming webOS phone sans keyboard -- a first for Rubinstein's crew, as many of you might already know. While there's not much detail to go with this pic, it appears that this here slate's just slightly bigger than the Pre 3, and that the little spot above the screen could be either a front-facing camera or merely a
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Linux Claims Victory Over Microsoft [Verbatim]
Adrian Covert — In Linux's Eyes, their 20 years war against Microsoft has come to an end, and they're the victor. Foundation Executive Director Jim Zemlin thinks that they've handily surpassed Microsoft in every product category...except one:
"I think we just don't care that much [about Microsoft] anymore,' Zemlin said. 'They used to be our big rival, but now it's kind of like kicking a puppy."
That one product category? Desktop computers. [NetworkWorld via
"I think we just don't care that much [about Microsoft] anymore,' Zemlin said. 'They used to be our big rival, but now it's kind of like kicking a puppy."
That one product category? Desktop computers. [NetworkWorld via
Mozilla shames developers with list of slow performing Firefox add-ons
We know how Mozilla must feel. It spends every waking hour tweaking and perfecting Firefox to eek out as much performance as possible, only to see it all ruined by lousy add-ons that weigh the browser down like a block of cement. It's apparently now had enough, however, and has gone as far as to publish a list that exposes the worst offenders. As of this writing, the two biggest drags on the browser by far are the FoxLingo translator / dictionary and Firebug developer tool add-on which,
Toshiba shows off 2011 HDTVs with the most local dimming LEDs, facial recognition, 3D and more
Toshiba's focus at CES was glasses free 3D displays, but it highlighted more conventional HDTVs today at an event in Rome. Its new TVs and laptops all tie in to Toshiba Places, which sorts out access to different types of apps for video, social networking, music and other areas and is ready to launch this month. Separating Toshiba from the competition is a slew of new technology and the top of the line 55ZL1 model checks all the boxes: Seven core CEVO CPU for image processing, a Pro-LED512
Kinect hack turns tourists into 3D souvenirs (video)
As souvenirs go, a miniature replica of yourself -- striking a pose of your choosing on Barcelona's La Rambla street -- is a far sight more original than a bullfights-and-senoritas snow globe. This past January, the hilariously titled BlablabLAB enlisted three Kinects and a RepRap machine to snap passersby and render them into personalized tchotchkes, in a project called Be Your Own Souvenir. Subjects stood atop a small platform, mimicking the human statues on La Rambla, as the Kinects
Monday, April 4, 2011
Nikon D5100 DSLR Hopes Special Effects Like 102,400 ISO Night Vision Make It Special [Cameras]
Matt Buchanan — These things no longer make even a $ 900 DSLR special: 15+ megapixel resolution, 1080p video recording and a swivel LCD screen. So Nikon's 16.2-megapixel D5100 tries to stand out by slathering on the in-camera special effects. This is the appification of your digital camera.
Here's what we've got, special sauce-wise:
• A monochrome night vision mode that pushes the sensor from its standard 100-6400 ISO range to 102,400, like the D3s. (Expect the photos to look more
Here's what we've got, special sauce-wise:
• A monochrome night vision mode that pushes the sensor from its standard 100-6400 ISO range to 102,400, like the D3s. (Expect the photos to look more
Nikon D5100 and ME-1 external mic coming April 21st, we go hands-on (video)
Okay, so Nikon kind of spoiled the surprise with this one, but we can now enlighten you with the full details of its upcoming midrange (or "advanced beginner" as Nikon calls it) DSLR refresh. The D5100 takes the spot of the venerable D5000, but follows the previous generation's recipe for success pretty closely. The D5000 was a stripped-down D90 in a simpler, smaller package that came with an articulating LCD, and the D5100 just so happens to feature the same mighty 16.2 megapixel sensor as
Federal prosecutors investigating Pandora, other smartphone apps over privacy concerns
Apps collecting users' information without their knowledge may not be anything new, but it's not everyday we see things rise to the level of Federal Grand Jury investigation. That happened today, however, with Federal prosecutors in New Jersey launching a probe to determine whether smartphone apps have been collecting personal information like an individual's location without being suitably up front about it. So far only Pandora and one independent developer have come forward and said they've
Lensbaby tempts the serious crowd with Composer Pro lens peripheral
We've been big fans of Lensbaby for quite some time, but up until now, its wares weren't exactly ideal for the professional crowd. It seems that the company's angling to change that with its latest release, the duly-named Composer Pro. For all intents and purposes, this is a fresh take on the existing Composer, with an upgraded swivel ball / focus mechanism that delivers smoother focus and tilt control to those who need it to make ends meet. In case you're wondering, the Pro is compatible with
Unlock With WiFi Disables Your Password-Protected Lockscreen When You're on Your Home Network [Downloads]
Adam Pash — Android: Free app Unlock With WiFi toggles your Android device's security lock based on the Wi-Fi network you're connected to.
A lot of us lock our Android devices with a pass code, pin, or pattern lock for security reasons, but those security measures can be frustrating to use every time you unlock your device—especially in places your device is unlikely to be stolen, like when you're at home. Unlock With Wifi allows you to set specific wireless networks as a type of safe
A lot of us lock our Android devices with a pass code, pin, or pattern lock for security reasons, but those security measures can be frustrating to use every time you unlock your device—especially in places your device is unlikely to be stolen, like when you're at home. Unlock With Wifi allows you to set specific wireless networks as a type of safe
T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide gets PC-assisted Froyo update
Gingerbread may not be a very likely option, but T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide users can now get a dessert of another sort (albeit a slightly stale one), as the phone has finally received an update to Android 2.2 (a.k.a. Froyo). Unfortunately, there's apparently no over-the-air update planned, and the software required for the installation is Windows-only, so anyone with a Mac looking to upgrade will have to find a PC-using friend willing to help them out. If you're all set to go, however, you can
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Next-gen iPod nano chassis leaked with camera?
Here's yet another juicy leak from China to go with your breakfast. Delivered by the same folks who brought us the sixth-gen iPod nano display module leak, this time we have what appears to be a chassis for the next touchscreen nano. According to Apple.pro, the circular hole at the top right is likely to house a little camera, which would bring back the good old days with the camera-donning fifth-gen nano. Obviously, to make space for such an imager here, the spring-loaded clip on the back
Sony Ericsson X10 Mini Pro successor spotted as SK17i, sports Gingerbread
Looking for your fibrous dose of gadget leak? Look no further than China which has, again and again, outed several spy shots of what appears to be the Xperia X10 Mini Pro's successor. Dubbed the SK17i and codenamed "Mango," this time we're looking at some proof of Android 2.3 on this little Sony Ericsson slider, along with a homescreen UI not dissimilar to that of the X10 Mini and X8 series. Other than that, we're not seeing anything new here, though we can't help but wonder if the unused
How To Sync Data With Your iPad 2
In a few simple steps you can easily sync or export data to your iPad 2 from your PC or Mac. Creating backups or syncing things such as contacts, photos, emails or calendars to your iPad really is simple.
Before we get started just take note that iTunes plays a major role in most of the syncing you’ll do with your iPad 2. Hopefully with any luck this how-to guide & tutorial will help you sync and backup your data with little effort. With that said, let’s get started shall we.
Sync
Before we get started just take note that iTunes plays a major role in most of the syncing you’ll do with your iPad 2. Hopefully with any luck this how-to guide & tutorial will help you sync and backup your data with little effort. With that said, let’s get started shall we.
Sync
Inhabitat's Week in Green: Renewable art touches the sky, an electric Audi TT, and cryogenic energy
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green.
This week Inhabitat saw renewable energy projects blast off around the world as Kenya announced the construction of the largest wind farm in Africa and a team of Georgia Tech researchers developed a heart-powered nanobattery that can charge your gadgets on the go. We also learned that the mixture of saltwater and fresh water in estuaries could provide
This week Inhabitat saw renewable energy projects blast off around the world as Kenya announced the construction of the largest wind farm in Africa and a team of Georgia Tech researchers developed a heart-powered nanobattery that can charge your gadgets on the go. We also learned that the mixture of saltwater and fresh water in estuaries could provide
Saturday, April 2, 2011
ZAGGmate Stylish Aluminum iPad 2 Case
One of the most elegant and functional accessories for the iPad 2 is the ZAGGmate aluminum case and cover. It’s sleek design and functionality made it one of this year’s best of show products at Macworld.
ZAGGmate iPad 2 Keyboard & Case Specs
Height: 9.75 inches (248 mm)
Width: 7.625 inches (194 mm)
Depth: .4 inches (10.2 mm)
Depth w/keyboard: .54 inches (13.7 mm)
Weight: 7 ounces (.2 kg)
Weight w/keyboard: 12.8 ounces (.37 kg)
Other ZAGGmate Details & Features
The ZAGGmate
ZAGGmate iPad 2 Keyboard & Case Specs
Height: 9.75 inches (248 mm)
Width: 7.625 inches (194 mm)
Depth: .4 inches (10.2 mm)
Depth w/keyboard: .54 inches (13.7 mm)
Weight: 7 ounces (.2 kg)
Weight w/keyboard: 12.8 ounces (.37 kg)
Other ZAGGmate Details & Features
The ZAGGmate
Android's in-app billing makes a dent: Dungeon Defenders free on Android Market
Dungeon Defenders: First Wave cost $ 3 when it first came out. This week, the iOS version will cost you ninety-nine cents. But if you want to play the Unreal Engine-powered tower defense game today, you can have it for free -- developer Trendy Entertainment is now leaning on Android's new in-app billing system to pay for the whole thing. We can't give Trendy all the credit, of course, as Glu Mobile's Gun Bros and Tapulous' Tap Tap Revenge 4 are doing the same thing, but to our knowledge both
Visualized: eBay's iPad 2 sales, thus far
Although eBay figures don't exactly correlate with Apple's sales numbers, it's interesting to note who's buying what, and where. Last year, for example, in the first two weeks after the Apple iPad hit shelves, 65 percent of all iPads sold on eBay went abroad. This year, in the same timeframe, the percentages have been flipped -- 65 percent of iPad 2s sold on eBay remained in America, or around 7,800 tablets. Perhaps we're just seeing higher demand or maybe people don't like waiting in line.
This Is How You Build a Lego Ship In a Bottle [Video]
Jack Loftus — Massive kudos to Lego builder Julia Morley. Using a combination of custom tools, a week's worth of planning and what she says were a "large number of expletives" she was able to complete her Lego Ship in a Bottle.
Better still, she managed to put together a pretty comprehensive time-lapse video depicting the ship in various states. You also get a really good idea of how the tools were used to complete this time-consuming project. Nice work! [Brothers
Better still, she managed to put together a pretty comprehensive time-lapse video depicting the ship in various states. You also get a really good idea of how the tools were used to complete this time-consuming project. Nice work! [Brothers
3DxWare 10 lets 3D mice work in 2D apps, leaves your standard mouse feeling a bit flat (video)
Your standard mouse may do it on the table, but 3D mice do it with extra dimension -- some of the time, anyway. Quit 3ds Max and suddenly you have one axis too many on your hands. After all, the vast majority of applications are 2D to match mice that may exist in a 3D reality but are limited to a decidedly dual-dimensional existence. No more. 3Dconnexion, makers of a couple different controllers with depth, has released 3DxWare, a Mac or Windows driver that enables exciting 3D mice to work
Friday, April 1, 2011
The Onion Releases Its Real iPad App on the Day That Everything Else is Fake [Apps]
Davey Alba — In a tremendously fitting move, The Onion has released its native iPad app on April Fool's Day. Now you can get your fill of stories, images and videos—from both the web and the TV show—on non-existent happenings from America's Finest News Source. It's free and up for grabs now.
This Week's Top Web Comedy Video: The Fall of Dyna-Woman [Video]
— I'm not sure which is more disturbing: how easily Rainn Wilson slips into the role of a washed-up Wonder Woman parody, or just how much skin he's showing off in said parody. Oh, who am I kidding. It's the skin.
The rest of the best top comedy videos from the week can be found over at Splitsider, including Gilbert Godfried run amok, David Caruso running through history, and a rundown of what those adorable twin babies were really saying.
Other highlights from the week in comedy:
- The
The rest of the best top comedy videos from the week can be found over at Splitsider, including Gilbert Godfried run amok, David Caruso running through history, and a rundown of what those adorable twin babies were really saying.
Other highlights from the week in comedy:
- The
How would you change HP's Fusion-powered Pavilion dm1z?
We know you -- you're that guy (or gal!) who simply can't resist dipping your toes into whatever's next, and in the case of AMD's Fusion, you almost certainly went out and grabbed up an HP Pavilion dm1z as soon as it hit the market. Nah, we aren't clairvoyant, just rational guessers. At any rate, now that you've had a solid two or three months with your Zacate-backed ultraportable, we're eager to know how you'd change things if given the golden key. Are you satisfied with the build quality?
Amazon said to be considering NFC-based mobile payment service
As you may be aware, Amazon does actually already make it easier for you to shop at places other than Amazon.com with its Amazon Payments service, and it now looks like it might even be thinking about expanding things to brick and mortar stores as well. More specifically, Bloomberg is reporting that Amazon is exploring a mobile payment service based on NFC technology, which would let you pay for items and receive things like loyalty points using nothing other than an NFC-equipped cellphone. Not
The Beautiful Decay of New York's Greatest Abandoned Movie Theater [Photography]
Brian Moylan — Photographer Matt Lambros has been visiting the great abandoned movie theaters across our country for his documentary project After the Final Curtain. He shared his images from inside Brooklyn's Kings Theater and the faded opulence is breathtaking.
The theater opened on Flatbush Ave in 1929 and was one of five "Loew's Wonder Theaters" in New York. The attention paid to every detail of the facility, from the seats and screen to the woodwork in the passageways and in the
The theater opened on Flatbush Ave in 1929 and was one of five "Loew's Wonder Theaters" in New York. The attention paid to every detail of the facility, from the seats and screen to the woodwork in the passageways and in the
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