Gizmodo Internships in New York and San Francisco [Jobs]
A Tale of Two Suites: Do We Still Need OpenOffice.org?
Would a rose by any other name still smell as sweet? Or would it, perhaps, end up sweeter? That, essentially, is the question at the heart of the forking process, which in turn is at the heart of a key situation today. Namely: Now that we have LibreOffice, do we still need OpenOffice as well? In the wake of Apache OpenOffice’s new update, that’s been the question du jour down at the Linux blogosphere’s Punchy Penguin Cafe.
 |
 |
ORACLE TAKETWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE QUEST SOFTWARE PROGRESS SOFTWARE RF MICRO DEVICES BHARTI AIRTEL
ICBMs Blowing Up, Tenacious D Rocking Out, and a Muppet Triple Treat [Video]
Space X’s Dragon launch… is go! (update: aborted)
We’re crossing our fingers and toes so hard we can barely type and walk, since it looks like the oft-delayed Dragon launch will take place tomorrow. SpaceX founder Elon Musk confirmed that the company had passed final launch review with NASA and that everything was set for the Falcon 9 to lift off at 4:15AM ET on May 19th. The lift-off will be broadcast live from the official website and is on course to be the first private spaceflight to dock and deliver essential supplies to the International Space Station. For our part? We wish the craft (and the ground crew) all the best and hope it’s a perfect flight — we wanna stay in a space hotel sooner rather than later.
Update (05/19): At around 5:06AM ET, Elon Musk tweeted that the launch had been aborted due to high combustion chamber pressure around Engine 5. It won’t be leaving for another couple of days.
Continue reading Space X’s Dragon launch… is go! (update: aborted)
Space X’s Dragon launch… is go! (update: aborted) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 May 2012 10:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | 
Elon Musk (Twitter), Elon Musk (Twitter) | Email this | Comments
TRIQUINT SEMICONDUCTOR Computers ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR ENGINEERING SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS RADISYS INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES (IBM)
You can now rent Adobe Photoshop for $35 per month, CS 5.5 available soon
Rejoice! No longer will you have to fork over $700 for a Photoshop CS5 license! Adobe has unveiled a new subscription scheme where you can rent the entire Creative Suite, or individual packages, by the month, or for an entire year.
Adobe Photoshop can be yours for $35 per month if you agree to rent it for 12 months, or $49 per month if you require its services for a shorter period. Dreamweaver can be had for even cheaper, at just $19 per month. The entire Master Collection is still rather expensive, though, at $125 per month.
Today, Adobe also ushered in the release of Creative Suite 5.5, and simultaneously upped its release cycle from 18 months to 24 months. This means, if you rent Photoshop for two years, it’s actually the same cost as buying it outright. There’s no rent-to-own option, though — so you wouldn’t have access to the cheaper upgrade price once Creative Suite 6 rolls around next year. Still, if you need access to Photoshop, After Effects or Premiere for a one-time project, the new rental scheme could be exactly what you’re looking for.
In other news, Adobe has announced that it will be launching three rather exciting iPad apps that work in conjunction with Photoshop: Eazel, Nav, and Color Lava. Eazel lets you five-finger paint on your iPad, and export the result into Photoshop; Nav acts as some kind of workspace, brush and menu extension, and the hopefully named Color Lava is a paint mixing palette. The apps are expected to appear in the App Store in the next 30 days.
You can now rent Adobe Photoshop for $35 per month, CS 5.5 available soon originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
UNISYS AVNET SYNNEX NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY NVIDIA
Windows 8 Browser Brouhaha Draws Regulator Attention
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee plans to examine allegations that Microsoft is giving its own Internet Explorer Web browser preferential treatment over competing Web browsers in a version of its upcoming Windows 8 operating system. “This is a preliminary inquiry,” said Lynn Becker, communications director for Sen. Herb Kohl. Kohl is a member of the Judiciary Committee.
|
|
The Only Thing You Need to Avoid Summer Dehydration [Daily Desired]
Personal Activity Monitor tracks time you spend using desktop apps
Up until a couple of years ago, I used to turn to RescueTime to figure out how I spend my time online. Then it got too complex, and I stopped using it. Personal Activity Monitor is like a vastly dumbed-down version of RescueTime, and I mean that as a compliment. It’s free and bare-bones — all it does is track what applications you’re using and for how long.
A big drawback at this point is that it doesn’t integrate with Web browsers to help you analyze how you spend your time on the Web. Still, if your work doesn’t require constant Web app use, knowing how long you’ve used a browser overall might be enough to help you manage your time.
Personal Activity Monitor tracks time you spend using desktop apps originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 05 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tablets SUN MICROSYSTEMS AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING MOTOROLA SCIENTIFIC GAMES IBASIS
Google Chrome and Chromium add protection against malicious downloads
Google Chrome already sports a number of security-minded features, from Incognito mode to a software sandbox which makes exploiting the browser a Herculean task. Now, Google has announced additional protection for Chromium and Chrome users.
Built upon the Safe Browsing API, the new feature introduces protection against malicious downloads. If a download link appears in the Safe Browsing blacklist, Chrome and Chromium will warn users against downloading — a save button is still presented, of course, in case you’re convinced a file is perfectly safe to download.
We’d like to see something a bit more eye-catching than the red warning icon — like perhaps painting the entire bar red. Many of the people a feature like this aims to protect probably won’t notice the icon or change in wording as they’ll be focused on clicking the save button.
Google is initially making download protection available to Chrome dev channel users, and you’ll likely see it in Canary and Chromium snapshot builds as well. After thorough testing, beta and stable users will be next in line.
Google Chrome and Chromium add protection against malicious downloads originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
VARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATES L1 IDENTITY SOLUTIONS ON SEMICONDUCTOR PRICELINECOM FINISAR IKON OFFICE SOLUTIONS
G-PROJECT G-GO Portable Wireless Speaker Review
Most every phone, tablet, MP3 player, and computer these days have built-in speakers so you can hear audio without having to use headphones. Most of those built-in speakers are woefully inadequate for anything but listening while you’re within a couple of feet of your device. There are a plethora of external speakers available to boost [...]
HEWLETT PACKARD CO PLANAR SYSTEMS SALESFORCE COM MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY SILICON LABORATORIES ELECTRONICS FOR IMAGING
The MacBook Pro’s Mystery Mix
With the expected unveiling of new MacBook Pros just weeks away, rumor mongers have begun to solidify their predictions about the new notebooks. Most Apple prognosticators seem to agree that the MacBook Pros will be thinner, run Intel’s new Ivy Bridge chip, and sport an eye-popping Retina Display.
|
|
INTEL TERADATA AMAZONCOM CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTA COMPUTER NANYA TECHNOLOGY
ScreenDIY for iPhone review
ScreenDIY is an iPhone app that lets you create unique Lock screens and Home screens with designer wallpapers, shelves, frames, icon skins and more.
|
|
AVNET SYNNEX NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY NVIDIA NOKIA
IE9 and Firefox 4 post top marks in Web browser power use comparison
A baseline was determined with test systems sitting idle, and then browsers were pointed at about:blank, a news site, the HTML5 Galactic demo, and the IE9 fish tank demo. Perhaps unsurprisingly, IE9 came out on top — though Firefox 4 was a very close second on nearly every test. As you can see, the other browsers didn’t necessarily fare quite as well, with Google Chrome, Safari, and Opera all posting significantly worse scores. In Opera 11′s case, a laptop battery would last over one hour more with Internet Explorer 9 installed.
IE9 and Firefox 4 post top marks in Web browser power use comparison originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
MENTOR GRAPHICS F5 NETWORKS ADOBE SYSTEMS SYNTAXBRILLIAN ACCENTURE AMPHENOL
BattlePaint is an addictive geometric shooter game
In BattlePaint, you play a cube. In fact, you’re not even a cube — just a square. But boy, are you fast! And you can shoot in all directions. That’s important, because there are baddies coming in from all over the place.
The “baddies” are swarms of other squares, in all sorts of pretty colors. They track you all over the screen, and you run around very quickly and just shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. If that doesn’t sound very emotionally deep, it’s because it isn’t. But it’s fun!
After you shoot a baddy, it splashes paint as it disappears. You need to skate across this blob of paint and “eat it up” to get points. This game is fast. It clocked in at around 60-70 FPS on my system, and was loads of fun to play. It does tend to insult you when you die, though, but don’t be offended — I don’t think it’s personal.
BattlePaint is an addictive geometric shooter game originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
ECLIPSYS MCAFEE Cell phones JDA SOFTWARE GROUP INTERDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS NCR
Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4
When Firefox 4′s tab grouping tool, Panorama, had its keyboard shortcut changed to the finger-breaking combo of Ctrl+Shift+E, we thought Panorama would get dropped before FF4′s final release — but, thankfully, it made the cut!
If you’ve used Firefox 4 and Panorama, you might have noticed that Mozilla’s new browser doesn’t always save your tab groupings when you close the browser — a bit of a pain, if you spend a long time setting up the perfect groups! This is tied into the removal of the ‘Save and Quit’ dialog box — and enabling Panorama tab group saving is just a matter of re-enabling the Save and Quit dialog.
Open a new tab and head to about:config. Click through the warning and type ‘quit’ into the filter box. Double click browser.showQuitWarning to change its value to true (see image after the break). That’s it — now you’ll have the option of saving your tabs, and thus tab groups, when you close Firefox.
For more tech tips, visit our tips index.
Continue reading Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4
Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
FAIR ISAAC HEARTLAND PAYMENT SYSTEMS PEROT SYSTEMS EARTHLINK MANTECH INTERNATIONAL TELETECH HOLDINGS
Amazon Appstore for Android Test Drive hands on: surprisingly cool, but still US-only
When Amazon Appstore for Android launched last week, one of its primary features — Test Drive — was disabled just a few minutes after it opened. With no try-before-you-buy, no refund process, and 1-Click purchasing ready to strike at any moment, this caused some problems. Anyway, don’t despair: Test Drive is now enabled.
Before you get your hopes up, Test Drive doesn’t work with every app. The IMDb app works fine — you can even watch movie trailers on it! — but the Angry Birds games are sadly not enabled. Some games work surprisingly well, though, like Bubble Buster. There’s very little latency, and the framerate is really rather good. The Test Drive experience is so true to life that you even get ads; how cool is that?
Amazon Appstore for Android Test Drive hands on: surprisingly cool, but still US-only originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY COMPANY LAM RESEARCH CANON LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL DIODES INORATED TIBCO SOFTWARE
Android: What, Me Fragmented?
There are nearly 4,000 different types of devices running Android, OpenSignalMaps has found. More than 1,300 of them have custom ROMs that tweak the android.build model. Android brands are almost as diverse as the models, OpenSignalMaps discovered. Further, the application programming interface level, meaning the Android version, has also become more fragmented over time.
|
|
JDA SOFTWARE GROUP INTERDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS NCR MILLICOM INTL CELLULAR TOTAL SYSTEM SERVICES SPSS
Intel wants to have conflict-free processors by the end of 2013
Intel had already promised that it would avoid using conflict minerals, and now it’s giving itself a more concrete timetable for that to happen. It wants to have at least one processor that’s proven completely conflict-free across four key minerals — gold, tantalum, tin and tungsten — by the end of 2013. Lest you think Intel’s not taking swift enough action, it wants to reach the tantalum goal by the end of this year. The effort’s part of a wider array of goals that should cut back on the energy use, power and water use by 2020. Sooner rather than later, though, you’ll be buying a late-generation Haswell- or Broadwell-based PC knowing that the chip inside was made under nobler conditions.
Continue reading Intel wants to have conflict-free processors by the end of 2013
Intel wants to have conflict-free processors by the end of 2013 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 19:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
This is what native 4K home cinema looks like on Sony’s VPL-VW1000ES projector
Why are folks so keyed up about 4K? At first glance, that’s the type of question that answers itself: by definition, a 4096-pixel wide image delivers around four times the resolution of 1920 x 1080, and that’s a healthy multiple. It’s actually of a broadly similar magnitude to the difference between 1080p and old-fashioned analog NTSC video, and nobody these days questions the value of that upgrade. On the other hand, there must come a point where pixels cease to be visible in a home theater environment, such that buying more of them at inflated prices stops being worth it. Sure, 4K can be a big help with 3D footage, because it boosts the resolution to each eye — something we experienced with the REDray projector. But what about regular 2D material, which is still very much the default viewing option? That question’s been nagging at us, so when Sony invited us back for a second look at its 4K projector, the VPL-VW1000ES, this time with full-throttle native 4K source material rather than just upscaled 1080p, we turned up with a tape measure. Read on for what came next.
Continue reading This is what native 4K home cinema looks like on Sony’s VPL-VW1000ES projector
This is what native 4K home cinema looks like on Sony’s VPL-VW1000ES projector originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
ORACLE TAKETWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE QUEST SOFTWARE PROGRESS SOFTWARE RF MICRO DEVICES BHARTI AIRTEL
This Electric Hydrofoil Looks Straight Out Of James Bond’s Arsenal [Boats]
Good Cholesterol Isn’t as Good as We Thought [Medicine]
OmmWriter brings its clean, calm writing interface to Windows
I have a thing for full-screen text editing. I use WriteMonkey for my creative writing needs, and VIM in a full-screen PuTTY session for my Web development work. That being the case, I’m all over the monospace, dark-background, focused editing scene.
OmmWriter attempts to take that aesthetic and make it somehow more spiritual, with three picturesque backgrounds and ambient background audio tracks (there are seven of each in the paid version).
I’m of two minds about this app. On the one hand, yes, it’s beautiful. But if you want music as a background to your writing, why not pick your own soundtrack with Winamp or Foobar2000 running in the background?
OmmWriter also offers three keyboard-clicking sounds, which are kind of nice. None of these features are groundbreaking, really. OmmWriter could be seen as a way to gently ease into the world of distraction-free writing — in case something like WriteMonkey’s dark background is just too oppressive for you.
After the fold you can see a video showcasing several of OmmWriter’s features and creative soundscapes.
Continue reading OmmWriter brings its clean, calm writing interface to Windows
OmmWriter brings its clean, calm writing interface to Windows originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
NOVELLUS SYSTEMS METHODE ELECTRONICS ARROW ELECTRONICS APPLE COMPUTER INTERNATIONAL RECTIFIER NOVELL
Survival Lab is a fun pixelated game where dying doesn’t matter
For each donut-like yellow thing you pick up, you gain a bit of experience. If you manage to collect several in a row without getting hit, this counts as a combo. You can see my mad combo skills in the screenshot, of course. Collecting combos is a good thing, because a ten-point combo gives you for more experience than just collecting ten dounts one by one (getting hit in-between).
Having experience is useful, because once you die, you get to a screen where you can upgrade your skills. You can learn to run faster, double-jump (and then double-jump higher), and duck. You can also gain more armour so that getting hit won’t kill you so quickly.
What makes this simple game so addictive is that when you die, your experience doesn’t reset. You just go back to the same level, or another level of your choosing, and keep accumulating more and more experience. Lots of fun, especially if you’re into the whole retro-gaming thing.
Survival Lab is a fun pixelated game where dying doesn’t matter originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
ORACLE ITRON LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS TRIQUINT SEMICONDUCTOR Computers ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR ENGINEERING
Dutch Officials Do Battle With Pirate Hordes
Today in international tech news: The Netherlands takes its blockade of The Pirate Bay a step further, ordering links and access tips be removed from the Net. Elsewhere, streaming service Ustream is attacked in an apparent attempt to cripple feeds coming out of Russia, data roaming charges in the EU get set to plunge, and China’s Internet censors try to mute 70 million people.
|
|
Rogers and CIBC make joint deal for NFC mobile payments in Canada, let you check out with your BlackBerry
Canadians sometimes can’t catch a break: while NFC payments have been relatively common for Americans, Europeans and certainly the Japanese, Canucks have had to largely make do paying with ye olde credit carde. Rogers and national bank CIBC want to put an end to these antediluvian ways: starting later this year, CIBC card holders will just need to swipe an NFC-equipped BlackBerry like the Bold 9900 (Bold 9930 for CDMA-loving Americans) at a matching terminal to pay at a given store. The only special requirement is a secure SIM card that gives customers the freedom to change phones, even if it does create problems switching banks or carriers down the line. We’re just hoping that Android and other platforms get the same treatment and let more of our Canadian friends pay for poutine that much faster.
Rogers and CIBC make joint deal for NFC mobile payments in Canada, let you check out with your BlackBerry originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 May 2012 02:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Sprint reportedly cancelling its early upgrade program June 1st
Like dominoes, Sprint’s consumer-friendly policies continue to fall one at a time. Citing “high costs,” the Now Network will begin discontinuing its practice of allowing customers to upgrade their phone 10-14 days prior to the official date of eligibility. According to the memo leaked by TechnoBuffalo, the program will cease to exist as of June 1st. It sounds like this policy change is an unfortunate consequence of the company’s large investments in iPhones and its still-dormant LTE network. It may not be enough to convince many Sprint customers to jump ship, but this isn’t the first cost-cutting measure put forth by Dan Hesse’s team — and we have a hard time believing it will be the last. We’ve reached out to Sprint for official comment and will update you as soon as we have word.
Sprint reportedly cancelling its early upgrade program June 1st originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 May 2012 11:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Auslogics Disk Defrag 3.2 gets smarter, faster
For laptop users, there’s a new option to lock the program if your system is running on battery power — so scheduled operations don’t kick in and drain your power source at an inopportune moment. If you happen to have an SSD installed in your PC, you can head to the Disk Defrag options and exclude it from scanning (many think that defragmenting an SSD is a very bad idea).
Auslogics Disk Defrag is a free download and works with most versions of Windows.
Auslogics Disk Defrag 3.2 gets smarter, faster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
SAIC SYKES ENTERPRISES INORATED APPLIED MATERIALS SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL EASTMAN KODAK CO
TripAdvisor app for Windows Phone 7 now available
TripAdvisor, the popular travel planning tool, has just launched an app for Windows Phone 7. Just like the mobile website, the app allows you to search for anything travel-related — from hotels and flights to restaurants and points-of-interest to visit once you reach your destination.
Geolocation is supported, which allows TripAdvisor to quickly locate places nearby. But while that’s a neat feature, it’s also a bit of a downer — because, really, it’s about the only feature TripAdvisor for WP7 brings to the table that its mobile Web app doesn’t already offer (its browser-based geolocation doesn’t work with WP7 at the moment).
While it’s nice to see Windows Phone 7 users getting some big-name apps, it’d be even nicer if we saw some packing a bit more swagger.
Still, TripAdvisor for WP7 might just be worth installing on your device if you’re frequently on the go — at least until a better browser arrives with the Mango update.
Gallery: TripAdvisor for Windows Phone 7
TripAdvisor app for Windows Phone 7 now available originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
IRON MOUNTAIN INORATED SANDISK Mobile phones SONUS NETWORKS DST SYSTEMS MENTOR GRAPHICS
Band Discovers the Stupidest Way To Avoid Ticketmaster Fees [Bad Ideas]
Shot Shot Pirate is a fun, simple physics game
Shot Shot Pirate is very satisfying, because each level is short and to the point. You know what you have to do and you just do it.
As you may have gathered from the name, you’re cast in the role of a pirate. Your goal is to shoot at a diamond and make it fall off a tower of bricks. The height of the tower changes as you progress through the levels. It’s not enough to just make the diamond fall off the tower of bricks – it has to fall below a certain line (drawn on the screen) for the level to be completed.
There are also different kinds of bricks, with some heavier than others, and different kinds of ammo. You only get a certain amount of ammo for each level, and when it’s gone, you lose. But don’t worry! If you don’t make it on the first try, it’s very easy to restart the level and just give it another shot (or three).
All in all it’s a cute game. I’ve seen similar games with better graphics and music, but the game delivers on its main promise – a few minutes of pure time wasting!
Shot Shot Pirate is a fun, simple physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
ATandT LAND SOFTWARE NIKON MICROS SYSTEMS STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS HEWLETT PACKARD CO
International HTC One X gets minor bug fixes in new OTA
According to forum reports, the unlocked, international HTC One X (that's the One rocking Tegra 3 as opposed to Snapdragon S4) has received another small over-the-air update this morning, bringing the device up to version 1.29.401.11. This one's smaller than some previous One X OTAs, at just 14MB, and according to early reports it fixes issues with screen flickering and USB storage, though the dreaded Wifi disconnection bug apparently remains.
If you're running an unlocked One X, be sure to grab the latest update (Settings > About phone > Software updates), and let us know in the comments if you're noticing any major differences.
More: Android Central forums
|
|
Laptops RACKABLE SYSTEMS Gadget Info BT GROUP ECLIPSYS MCAFEE
Balance is a challenging mouse-based physics game
Years of computer use have taught us that the mouse cursor is “above” the windows. It doesn’t push anything around; at least not without you clicking anything.
Balance takes that ingrained bit of knowledge and cancels it out. Suddenly your cursor (a blue dot) is solid – and if it touches the blue block, it pushes it around.
Your job is to use your cursor to nudge the blue block over to the orange block. You will have to push it, lift it and even flip it on its side, and then balance it. It’s a very tricky game – one I wouldn’t recommend tackling with a laptop trackpad.
Still, if you have a mouse and a hankering for a little physics gameplay, this is a cute little game. I like how the blue block never stops smiling, it makes me feel better about the world.
Balance is a challenging mouse-based physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
MANTECH INTERNATIONAL TELETECH HOLDINGS INGRAM MICRO VERIFONE HOLDINGS INTUIT NVIDIA
Hang This Portable Swing Kit Anywhere for an Instant Playground on the Go [Video]
Mac OS X Lion Preview 2 released, introduces mega exciting leather bound iCal skin
This is one of those posts that could probably be condensed into a tweet: Apple has released the second Preview of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion. If you’re running Preview 1, it looks like you’ll first receive a small update via Software Update, and then you can download Preview 2 from the Mac App Store.
There has been some speculation that Apple is getting close to a release or Golden Master build, but judging by 9to5 Mac’s initial findings there’s definitely some way to go. The Golden Master will probably appear at, or just before, the Apple WWDC in June.
So far, it’s looking like the only changes in Preview 2 are the leather bound iCal skin that you can see above, and the main iChat window now combines your AIM, Bonjour and Jabber contacts, like Adium. We’re sure that more details will emerge throughout the day, though, and there’s bound to be lots of invisible changes, too. We’ll update this post when we find out more.
Mac OS X Lion Preview 2 released, introduces mega exciting leather bound iCal skin originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 05:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
NOKIA IMS HEALTH SHAW COMMUNICATIONS EMC MISCROSOFT OFFICE XILINX
iTV: Not If but What
Terry Gou, chief of Foxconn, has confirmed that Apple has an iTV in the works. The news, which instantly sent the consumer electronics industry into a tizzy, came in an article focused on the company’s plans to expand into e-commerce and distribution. Yes, an iTV is coming, according to Gou, who dropped a few details about the product, even though neither development nor manufacturing has begun.
|
|
NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS SYNTEL DELL YAHOO SYBASE TRIDENT MICROSYSTEMS
Honda’s UNI-CUB mobility device is the butt of ASIMO’s jokes
Our humanoid friend ASIMO had better start counting his blessings. If fate had dealt him another hand, he could have ended up as the behind-wearing UNI-CUB. Honda’s latest personal mobility device appears to be a robotic stool with an omnidirectional wheel (dubbed the Honda Omni Traction Drive System, no less). You control speed and direction of the UBI-CUB by shifting your weight in the saddle, and the unit is designed to keep you at eye-level with non chair-riding pedestrians. Obviously this is no all-terrain vehicle, but it does claim to be able to handle gradients, has a top speed of six km/h and a range just under four miles. Which should be plenty for the National Museum of Engineering in Japan where these butt-supporting bots will be demonstrated in June.
Continue reading Honda’s UNI-CUB mobility device is the butt of ASIMO’s jokes
Honda’s UNI-CUB mobility device is the butt of ASIMO’s jokes originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 May 2012 16:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
TOTAL SYSTEM SERVICES SPSS NINTENDO ZORAN NII HOLDINGS INSIGHT ENTERPRISES
GNOME 3 released, ushers in an interesting amalgam of iOS and OS X
GNOME 3, after more than two years of development, has been released into the wild. GNOME 3 is not merely the logical successor of GNOME 2: it is an entirely new project, started from scratch, to create a “completely new, modern desktop designed for today’s users and technologies.”
The best way to check out GNOME 3′s new features — and it has lots of new features — is to run a live version of openSUSE or Fedora, or simply head over to the GNOME 3 website and watch the (rather pretty) introductory videos. If you want a synopsis, though, here it is: GNOME 3 looks a lot like Mac OS X, with a healthy dollop of iOSesqueness for good measure, but yet it still somehow retains an underlying feel of Linux.
The overall aesthetic is very simple, very elegant, and despite being slightly out of fashion, there are plenty of rounded corners, too. The main addition, workflow-wise, is the addition of an app-launcher-cum-alt-tab screen, where you can launch apps, or flip through your open windows. For a complete list of the new features and changes, check the GNOME 3 release notes.
Despite GNOME 3 being officially launched, there aren’t actually any releases for existing, stable Linux distros — it’s the live CD/USB images, or Ubuntu users will have to wait for the launch of 11.04 for a GNOME 3 PPA, but it will break Unity in the process. Fedora users will have to wait for for the May 24 release of Fedora 15. Of course, if you’re feeling crazy, you can always build GNOME 3 from source.
GNOME 3 released, ushers in an interesting amalgam of iOS and OS X originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 06:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
FINISAR IKON OFFICE SOLUTIONS FAIR ISAAC HEARTLAND PAYMENT SYSTEMS PEROT SYSTEMS EARTHLINK
Those suave Google glasses are now patent-protected
Google has successfully patented the “ornamental design” of its augmented reality eyewear. To you, me and Aunty Dee they might look almost like regular Ray-Bans, but there’s a lot of secret technology concealed within those sleek lines and Google evidently wants to prevent others from copying their appearance. After all, if people started faking Project Glass, it’d be impossible to tell if we’re being properly scanned or merely checked out.
Those suave Google glasses are now patent-protected originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 May 2012 06:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | USPTO (1), USPTO (2), USPTO (3) | Email this | Comments
IXYS INFOCUS ELECTRONIC ARTS AMKOR TECHNOLOGY SI INTERNATIONAL INTERSECTIONS
Lenovo refreshes its ThinkPad T, W, L and X lines with Ivy Bridge processors, retooled keyboards
Now that Intel’s Ivy Bridge specifications are finally out of the bag, you may as well resign yourselves to a deluge of PC refreshes over the coming months. Today Lenovo’s up at bat, unveiling a slew of products under its business-friendly ThinkPad brand. If you were looking for a wholesale redesign, we’ll kindly direct you to the X1, which was just reborn as a 14-inch Ultrabook. Otherwise, if you were just holding out for a little Ivy Bridge, we’ve got your refresh right here.
All told, the upgrades span Lenovo’s ultraportable X series, mainstream “T” lineup, budget “L” models and the W-series workstation. In general, you’ll find Ivy Bridge processors (natch), Dolby audio and, in some cases, optional 4G radios. Additionally, the company tweaked its famed keyboard ever-so slightly and added a backlighting option to almost every system, save the newly available T430u Ultrabook. That’s the abridged version for those of you not actually in the market for a new system, but folks craving more nitty-gritty details can follow past the break for a more detailed breakdown of pricing and specs.
Gallery: Lenovo ThinkPad L430
Gallery: Lenovo ThinkPad T430, T430s and T530
Gallery: Lenovo ThinkPad X230 and X230t
Gallery: Lenovo ThinkPad W530
Lenovo refreshes its ThinkPad T, W, L and X lines with Ivy Bridge processors, retooled keyboards originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 May 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTA COMPUTER NANYA TECHNOLOGY Gadgets JACK HENRY and ASSOCIATES JDS UNIPHASE
Shot Shot Pirate is a fun, simple physics game
Shot Shot Pirate is very satisfying, because each level is short and to the point. You know what you have to do and you just do it.
As you may have gathered from the name, you’re cast in the role of a pirate. Your goal is to shoot at a diamond and make it fall off a tower of bricks. The height of the tower changes as you progress through the levels. It’s not enough to just make the diamond fall off the tower of bricks – it has to fall below a certain line (drawn on the screen) for the level to be completed.
There are also different kinds of bricks, with some heavier than others, and different kinds of ammo. You only get a certain amount of ammo for each level, and when it’s gone, you lose. But don’t worry! If you don’t make it on the first try, it’s very easy to restart the level and just give it another shot (or three).
All in all it’s a cute game. I’ve seen similar games with better graphics and music, but the game delivers on its main promise – a few minutes of pure time wasting!
Shot Shot Pirate is a fun, simple physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
INFOCUS ELECTRONIC ARTS AMKOR TECHNOLOGY SI INTERNATIONAL INTERSECTIONS LAWSON SOFTWARE
New iPad Smart Covers
At the release of the iPad 2, Apple also brought out its Smart Cover product, which quickly became a favorite. Although the new iPad 3 is a little thicker through the middle than the iPad 2 (due to a bigger battery), it is still compatible with the previous Smart Covers that are currently for sale. This is excellent news as the Smart Cover not only protects the iPad screen from scratches and scrapes but is also functional and practical, and [...]
TERADATA AMAZONCOM CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTA COMPUTER NANYA TECHNOLOGY Gadgets
Cops Found a Ridiculous Amount of Drugs Up Some Guy’s Butt [Crime]
From the Editor’s Desk: A slow CTIA, whose app is it anyway, the EVO 4G LTE isn’t as bad as you thought, eh?
Two thirds of these guys busted their butts at CTIA in New Orleans. One of them was not me.
Another CTIA has come and gone. I'm not usually one to gripe about the pace of a show, given that at these things we're essentially on a working vacation in cool city. But this spring's CTIA was pretty meh. The biggest announcement was, what, Verizon's Droid Incredible 4G LTE? Not an unimportant phone, I suppose, and it should sell just fine. But while Sprint and AT&T and T-Mobile are rocking phones from the new-and-improved HTC One line, with much-improved cameras, Verizon's missing out.
Samsung missed a pretty big opportunity in New Orleans, too. Not even a week after it unveiled the Galaxy S III to a worldwide (or at least European) audience in London, Sammy squandered a great chance to get the U.S. even more excited about it, and to get CTIA attendees (mostly of the American variety, we wager) proper looks at the new flagship phone. Strike while the iron is hot, they say.
Of course, the U.S. carriers will put their own spin on the Galaxy S III. And it's pretty likely that we'll see some sort of event to show them off, just like what we had with the Galaxy S and Galaxy S II. But it was pretty surprising to see a minimal showing from Samsung here in New Orleans. No both. Just a brief appearance at the Mobile Focus event, where journos and companies cram into a ballroom for food, drink and a slightly more intimate look at products than on the show proper. The Galaxy S III is an important phone that was mostly kept off the floor, and that's a shame. Good thing we went to London to get a proper introduction. (By the way, if you haven't read Alex Dobie's piece — "Hype, expectation an the Galaxy S III" — you've missed out.)
The roundtable keynote featuring the CEOs of Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile, moderated by CNBC's Jim Cramer, was entertaining if not overly substantive. (It also went a bit long, with each of the four's intro remarks taking more time than many of us would have preferred.) But Sprint CEO Dan Hesse hit home a little bit with a renewed push for mobile privacy, security and safety. Those are three things that will only become more important in the coming years. The Sprint Guardian program, which covers all applicable lines on an account for a relatively small fee, should be an interesting way of going about it.
Otherwise, no real showstopping announcements. No real major releases. Will CTIA in the fall (back in San Diego) make up for it? Or is the usefulness of trade shows starting to run its course for manufacturers?
Oh, by the way. Those two guys in the picture above — Jared "The Body" DiPane and Anndrew "Yes that's how it's spelled" Vacca kicked some serious ass last week. Cheers, boys.
|
|
HEARTLAND PAYMENT SYSTEMS PEROT SYSTEMS EARTHLINK MANTECH INTERNATIONAL TELETECH HOLDINGS INGRAM MICRO
Hushed Mishaps
- Jailbreak iOS 4.3.1 on OS X or Windows with PwnageTool or Sn0wbreeze
- Corel VideoStudio X4 giveaway
- The Engadget Show is live, here at 6:00PM ET!
- Dodge is a space-shooter in which you have no weapons
- Organize Your Travel Papers with the Bellroy Travel Wallet
- Distro Issue 41: a visit to the Lowcountry’s Twelve South, TiVo Premiere XL4 and HTC EVO 4G LTE
- ITC bans Motorola mobile devices for infringing Microsoft patent (updated: MMI responds)
- Google’s Blogger platform adds five new HTML5 Dynamic Views
- G-PROJECT G-GO Portable Wireless Speaker Review
- The Mark Zuckerberg Wealth-O-Meter: Sad, Absurd, And You Know You’re Curious [Facebook]
Danamaggis6's blog
- Pastebin updated to V3, releases Windows app
- Facebook announces IPO, what does it mean for Apple?
- Woman Returns Lost iPhone, Is Rewarded with a Brutal Beating [Crime]
- Raspberry Pi team shows off pics of (and taken with) prototype camera add-on
- Paralyzed Woman Takes Sip of Joe Using Mind-Powered Robo Arm
- ITC bans Motorola mobile devices for infringing Microsoft patent (updated: MMI responds)
- iPhone 5 Screen: Will Things Get Ugly?
- iSkin Aura for iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 only $23.95 [Deal of the day]
- Activate Virgin Mobile's Optimus Elite and receive a $25 Google Wallet credit
- Computer Icons That Don't Make Sense Anymore [Humor]