6 Takes On Apple's Magic Trackpad [Magictrackpad]

We think Apple's Magic Trackpad marks the beginning of the end for Mac OS X. Other reviewers of the Magic Trackpad touched on other subjects. Here are the highlights of what they said. More »






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Heart Wizard Software Review

Heart Wizard software comes with ear/finger clip for monitoring and CD to download software. It's a very easy install and ready to use in a short time. In this society of diets, exercise programs, macrobiotics, probiotics and even a First Lady offering her opinions on the nationwide struggle with obesity, Advanced Wellness Solutions (AWS) has [...] Filed in categories: Health Related Gadgets, ReviewsTagged: Health, SoftwareHeart Wizard Software Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 29, 2010 at 2:51 pm.EMC ELECTRONICS FOR IMAGING ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS ELECTRONIC ARTS

Daily Crunch: Steady Edition

The CHOBI CAM is one ultra-small video camera DIY Video: Steadicam for your iPhone 4 One of the most amazing physics engines I?ve ever seen Leggy disk drive stands up to avoid spills Projector-ring is clever and sentimentalADOBE SYSTEMS ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR ENGINEERING ALLIANCE DATA SYSTEMS ALLTEL

Dell's Secure Browser is a sandboxed version of Firefox

Filed under: Security, Browsers
Dell, via recently-acquired KACE Networks, has just released a rather sexy Web browser called... Secure Browser. It clocks in at a massive 75 megabytes (?!), and essentially provides a sandboxed version of Firefox 3.6, with Flash and Reader plug-ins. Before you get all excited: it only works on 32-bit systems.

Using technology from Computers in Motion, a company that specialized in application virtualization, KACE has managed to virtualize Firefox. Without getting into the technical details, just imagine that when you click Firefox (or 'Secure Browser'), it actually boots up another operating system, and Firefox loads inside that. The other operating system is almost invisible to the user: it's the sandbox.

Secure Browser should function just like any normal browser, but you're completely immune from malware and viruses (your password could still be keylogged though, I think?) There's also the rather snazzy option of simply hitting the 'reset' button and having your browser (and its sandbox) revert back to its original state. For the retentive types -- or the nerds -- there's a page that shows how many attacks the browser has blocked.

The other popular browser that's sandboxed is Google Chrome -- and it doesn't require a 75MB download! Still, it's rather nice to have the secure option there, if you're a Firefox user -- or even better, if you have a family member that's used to Firefox but could do with the safety net afford by Secure Browser.

Note: Secure Browser really is Firefox, with a secure wrapper. I had to uninstall my current version of Firefox to get it to work -- it's obviously designed to be installed as the default browser on new computers.

[via Computerworld]
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/20/dell-kace-secure-browser-is-a-sandboxed-version-of-firefox'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; Share Dell's Secure Browser is a sandboxed version of Firefox originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsD-LINK DIGITAL CHINA HOLDINGS DIRECTV GROUP ELPIDA MEMORY

70-Gigapixel Photo of Budapest Offers a Great View

Supersized panoramic photos of cities are the flavor of the season. After Prague and Dubai, it’s the turn of Budapest to get a detailed online photo that you can zoom in and out of and play around with–almost like Google Earth.
The photo shot over four days has 70-gigapixels. If the finished picture is ever printed, [...]NCR NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MOTOROLA

Nostalgic Vacuum Tube AM/FM Radio from Fascinations

The Fascinations Vacuum Tube AM/FM Radio is a modern radio with a nostalgic look.�This is�an analog AM/FM radio with rotary volume control.� The vacuum tubes don’t seem to be real, just lighting effects.� The radio operates on 4AA batteries or can use an AC adapter; neither is included.� Get the Nostalgic Radio for $19.95�from InnovaToys, [...] Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Geek Toys, NewsTagged: AM/FM radioNostalgic Vacuum Tube AM/FM Radio from Fascinations originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 27, 2010 at 11:26 am.MOTOROLA MOODY’S MISCROSOFT OFFICE MICROSOFT

Validas study finds Verizon smartphones consuming more data than iPhones

You know how we've good reason to believe that Verizon Wireless is at least mulling the switch to capped / tiered data plans? Yeah. An independent Validas research report has found that, between January and May of this year (pre-AT&T caps), Verizon's stable of smartphones collectively averaged more data consumption per month that Apple's iPhone. Of course, this quite literally compares an Apple to every smartphone on Verizon save for BlackBerries, but given how much squalling we've heard from Ma Bell about this rampant iPhone data usage, we're pleased to see a few facts that spin things the other way. The company's full report is due out in September, but investigation of over 20,000 wireless bills found that VZW smartphones "are consuming more wireless data than AT&T iPhones by a ratio of roughly 1.25:1," with the average Verizon user eating up 421MB per month and the average iPhone user consuming 338MB per month. It also points out that "nearly twice as many Verizon Wireless smartphone users are consuming 500MB to 1GB per month compared to AT&T iPhone users." You learn something new everyday, right?Continue reading Validas study finds Verizon smartphones consuming more data than iPhonesValidas study finds Verizon smartphones consuming more data than iPhones originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  Validas  | Email this | Comments



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Google search blocked in China, again; other services partially blocked (update: false alarm, says Google)

A conciliatory end? Looks like we spoke too soon. Yes, Google and China seem to be on a collision course yet again, with the company's "Mainland China service availability page" showing that web search and ads have once again been fully blocked. Additionally, image and news search have been downgraded from "fully accessible" yesterday to "partially blocked" today. YouTube, Picasa, and other services already blocked remain as such. Looks like the saga continues.

Update: TechCrunch reports hearing back from Google, who now say this is all much ado about nothing -- or rather, it's a false alarm. Apparently there was "relatively small blockage" last night, but it has since returned to normal.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Google search blocked in China, again; other services partially blocked (update: false alarm, says Google) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 19:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Market Watch  |  Google  | Email this | CommentsFAIR ISAAC FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS F5 NETWORKS EPICOR SOFTWARE

DMC's 5-inch Copia color e-reader landing this fall for $99, others to follow

It's fairly safe to say that DMC Worldwide's Copia e-reader family won't exactly make that estimated Spring 2010 ship date, but a new report over at The Wall Street Journal is cluing us in on a bit of a revised outlook. As of now, the first Copia suite of e-readers will "hit stores this fall in time for the holiday season," a suite that'll presumably include the 5-inch color (LCD) Wave 5 for $99, a 7-inch Wave 7 for $129, a 10-inch Ocean Color for $299 and a pair of E Ink-based options for $49 (Tidal) / $159 (Tidal WiFi). It doesn't seem as if the two Waves will include any sort of wireless connectivity, and given the LCD display, we're sure that battery life will be nowhere near as good as the marginally-more-expensive Kindle. That said, the user interface does look rather striking from afar, and if these manage to slip a bit further in price before that magical day in December, you could very well see a rush to stuff stockings with a member of this here family. Give those links below a poke if you're on the prowl for more detailed specifications.DMC's 5-inch Copia color e-reader landing this fall for $99, others to follow originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink UberGizmo  |  Wall Street Journal, Copia  | Email this | CommentsLSI LINEAR TECHNOLOGY . LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS

EVO 4G's Froyo features detailed in pictures, car dock coming in September?

We're not far from seeing this big update in the flesh, but in the meanwhile, EVO 4G owners (and fans) might be interested to take a closer look at the features they'll be getting once it arrives. HTC appears to have put surprising effort into rendering a lifelike torch for its Flashlight app, while app sharing (seen after the break) is a neat addition -- and don't worry, devs, it only works on items that aren't copy protected. We're also being told that the update has car dock-specific functionality, which will match up with a dock release somewhere around the second week of September. Has everyone decided what dark things they plan on illuminating with their EVO's LED once this thing goes live?Continue reading EVO 4G's Froyo features detailed in pictures, car dock coming in September?EVO 4G's Froyo features detailed in pictures, car dock coming in September? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments



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The Mind Behind the Flying Car's Design [Flying Cars]

As strange as it is to say, we really do live in a world with a flying car. And a few decades from now, when we're all ditching gridlock for the open skies, we can partly thank Jens Martin Skibsted. More »






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UltraViolet -- the next step in DRM, and maybe we'll finally see legal movie downloads

Filed under: Audio, Internet, VideoUltraViolet, with its prehistoric-looking ooh-Web-2.0-reflection!! logo, is about to make a big splash in the world of content distribution. If you thought the days of DRM were behind us, you were wrong. Unless you're using an Apple device, actually -- but more on that in a moment.

Be it music, movies, TV shows or books, UltraViolet has enough clout (some 60 major partners) to significantly alter how digital goods are consumed. Ostensibly, UV is a DRM platform, but because the technology will be ubiquitous and omnipotent, 'you won't even know it's there.' It's quite intelligent in its operation too: somewhere, in the cloud, there is a database that stores all of your digital purchases. When you insert a disc (or open a downloaded file), your credentials are checked before the file plays.

Developed by DECE, with partners like Sony, Adobe, Cisco, HP, Microsoft and Intel, this is actually pretty big news. If this means we'll finally have full access to legally-downloadable movies and TV, UltraViolet is huge news. But most tech blogs only picked this story up for one reason: Apple isn't one of the partners. You won't be able to play UV-encoded content on your Mac or iPhone. It'll be Blu-Ray and HD-DVD all over again!

There doesn't seem to be any formal road map for adoption, so I have no idea when we will first start to see UltraViolet-enabled devices and media. Presumably an initiative this large will take some time to reach critical mass... but we'll see!

[On second glance, the UV logo has two mirrored elements -- how overkill is that?!
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/20/ultraviolet-the-next-step-in-drm-and-maybe-legal-movie-downloads'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; Share UltraViolet -- the next step in DRM, and maybe we'll finally see legal movie downloads originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsTERADATA TELETECH HOLDINGS TECHNITROL TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE

Google now defines some words you search for automatically

Filed under: Google, Search, Education
Google has had a "dictionary lookup" feature for a while now -- all you had to do was slap define: before your search term. But they've now made it better, and mostly, made it easier for people to find it: Just search for a "difficult" word, and a definition would pop up as the first result, with quick links to some dictionaries.
What's interesting is that you don't get an instant definition for every word you search for as a single word: it's just the "big words". I would love to see the algorithm they use for deciding when to pop up a definition and when to stay mum.Google now defines some words you search for automatically originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsCOMPAL ELECTRONICS COSMOTE MOBILE TELECOM. D-LINK DIGITAL CHINA HOLDINGS

Barbie?s Newest Job ? She?s Now a Video Camera!

The Barbie Video Girl camera from Mattel gives Barbie a new job.� She’s a film-maker – literally.� The doll appears to be a standard Barbie, but it�has a�lens hidden in her necklace, and there’s a small�color LCD�screen and controls on her back.� There’s no technical details listed for the camera, but I’m betting it won’t [...] Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Kid Gadgets, NewsTagged: Barbie, Video CameraBarbie’s Newest Job – She’s Now a Video Camera! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 26, 2010 at 2:38 pm.TRIQUINT SEMICONDUCTOR TRIMBLE NAVIGATION LIMITED TRIDENT MICROSYSTEMS TRANSACTION SYSTEMS ARCHITECTS

Anybots QB telepresence robot: nag employees remotely for $15,000

Anybots has a new telepresence robot, the QB -- and while it certainly seems to be an advance on the QA, which we saw at CES 2009, we gotta admit that it's not nearly as cute as its predecessor. Marketed towards CEO-types, this bad boy can be controlled via your PC (or eventually your Mac), and it features WiFi b/g connectivity, 5 megapixel camera, speaker, microphone, and a max speed of 3.5 MPH. To be honest, having your boss follow you around the office with a webcam-on-wheels sounds more like a NewsRadio plot than effective office management, but certainly there's someone rich and crazy enough to drop $15,000 on one of these. The first hundred to put down ten percent get membership in the prestigious 100 Club! For reals! Which reminds us, it's been awhile since we've listened to our Sex Pistols Live At The 100 Club CD. PR, video after the break.Continue reading Anybots QB telepresence robot: nag employees remotely for $15,000Anybots QB telepresence robot: nag employees remotely for $15,000 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink SlashGear  |  Anybots  | Email this | Comments



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The Cult of Apple: When Even a Battery Charger is Big News

Over the last few days, one of Apple’s new products has been all over the internet. Nothing new there, right? But which one do I mean? The new iMac? The 12-core Mac Pro? The cool new Magic Trackpad? Nope. I’m talking about the Apple Battery Charger.
It’s a nice charger, to be sure: it minimizes “vampire [...]KONINKLIJKE KPN LAM RESEARCH LIBERTY GLOBAL LM ERICSSON

A steampunk USB drive that could clean H. G. Wells' house

Site ChipChick nailed it when noting the similarity between this 8GB steampunk USB drive and Rosie the Robot of Jetsons yore. The drive's creator, however, says it was inspired by a "narrow bridge" sign seen on a old country road. Really? Just look at that barrel-shaped cap staring down at you from atop a frilly gear collar; hands on hips in a tempestuous pose that makes us feel like we've somehow wronged her. Regardless, for $300 she'll make a fine addition to your alternate-history abode.A steampunk USB drive that could clean H. G. Wells' house originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink ChipChick  |  Etsy  | Email this | CommentsCOSMOTE MOBILE TELECOM. D-LINK DIGITAL CHINA HOLDINGS DIRECTV GROUP

Nintendo posts Q1 loss on strong Yen and lower DS prices

Although foreshadowed, it's hard to believe that the once mighty Ninty, a company with unshakable profits even during last year's global economic downturn, just recorded a Q1 net loss of ¥25.22 billion ($288 million) compared to a net profit of ¥42.32 billion during the same 3-month period a year earlier. Revenues dropped from ¥253.50 billion to ¥188.65 billion. Lower DS portable gaming machine prices coupled with a strong Yen (86.5 percent of its sales were outside of Japan) helped pull Nintendo into the red. Regardless, Nintendo continues to forecast a full year net profit of ¥200 billion on revenue of ¥1.4 trillion. We'll see.Nintendo posts Q1 loss on strong Yen and lower DS prices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink gi  |  Wall Street Journal  | Email this | CommentsGOOGLE GOOGLE FORMFACTOR FISERV

Hacker Develops Program To Make ATMs Spit Out Free Cash [Atm]

ATMs use computers. Computers have weaknesses. Hackers exploit weaknesses. See where this is going? A hacker developed software that can force an ATM's computer to give free cash. Luckily for banks, he showed off his technique at the Black Hat conference. More »






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Porsche 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid headed for production

What once seemed to simply be a ridiculously extravagant concept for a plug-in hybrid has now become a ridiculously extravagant reality -- Porsche has just announced that it's putting the 918 Spyder into production. First unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, the car (in concept form, at least) packs a 500-horsepower V8 and a pair of 109-horsepower electric motors that should let you get about 78 miles per gallon, or a total of 16 miles of driving straight from the lithium-ion battery back. The cost? That hasn't been officially announced yet, but estimates peg it around the $650,000 mark. Don't worry, though -- it'll be eligible for the $7,500 federal tax credit. Head on past the break for the full (but brief) press release.Continue reading Porsche 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid headed for productionPorsche 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid headed for production originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  Autoblog  | Email this | CommentsHEWLETT PACKARD CO HEARTLAND PAYMENT SYSTEMS GOOGLE GOOGLE

DLS Review: Add real-time chat to your website with Olark

Filed under: Business, Web services, web 2.0
I have been wanting to add visitor chat to my company's website for a while now. I think that when you have a fairly small site (for a small company), chat is a great way to get to know your customers and make them feel at home.
An added bonus of using visitor chat is that it gives you a bit of real-time tracking data; you (the operator) can see approximately how many visitors are on your site at any given instant, what countries they're from, what pages they're looking at, and other such data.
So, when I stumbled across Olark, an easy to install JavaScript chat system, I quickly decided to add it to our site and test it. I have been using Olark for about a week now on Tibbo.com, and below is a summary of my own experience and impressions about the system (with screenshots!).Installation


Installation could not be easier (really). Once you register, you get a single JavaScript snippet that you paste into your site right before closing body tag. Since we use a CMS that we created in-house, I only needed the snippet and where to put it; it took me five minutes from registration to installation.
If you're using a commercial CMS, Olark has provided tutorials for Shopify, ProStores, Joomla, Drupal, Blogger, LiveJournal, and last (but certainly not least), WordPress. Out of curiosity, I looked at the WordPress tutorial. It's just six steps, and each step has a screenshot. So, it seems quite easy to install on other systems too. In other words, if you have ever installed Google Analytics, or any sort of similar JavaScript solution, you would know how to do this.
User Experience



With Olark installed, our site loads as usual. The only change that visitors see is a small, bright box on the lower right side of the screen that says, "Questions? Click for live chat!" They see this only when I'm online. Once they click this box, it expands into a chat window (still within the frame of the site). They can then write a message, and I get it; it's that simple!
I can also initiate a chat session. When I write to a visitor (either in reply to a message they sent me or to initiate a session), our site favicon changes into a "comic bubble" that blinks on and off, and the chat box frame becomes red. In other words, it's pretty hard to miss, even when you're in a different tab.
Chat is fast; there is no noticeable lag. The user experience is very similar to GChat or any other Web-based IM solution. It also appears to be Unicode; I can write in Hebrew, and users will see it correctly on their side (and they can reply in kind).
The chat also persists across pages, but this doesn't always work. For instance, when a user navigates from tibbo.com to tibbo.com/downloads, their chat window simply reloads in the new page. If they navigate from tibbo.com to basic.tibbo.com (which is a subdomain), the session is lost, though. This can be confusing, both for the operator (who sees a new user going online) and for the customer. If there was a chat going on at that moment, its history is lost for the user. This is not a problem for most simple websites, but for our site, it's definitely an issue that needs to be addressed.
Operator Experience


From my side, Olark could not be easier to use. I use Miranda, which is an awesome multiprotocol chat client. Olark gave me XMPP (Jabber) credentials; that's the same protocol that is used by Facebook Chat, GChat, and numerous other services. I simply created a new connection in Miranda, fed it with my credentials, and that was it. I could also use Olark's GChat integration, but I didn't need it, so I have no idea how well it works.
When connected to Olark via Miranda, I can see what users are currently on the site and what countries they're from. All of this is shown in the user's chat handle (nick). When I hover over a user's name (or check their status message), I can see what page they are on as well.

When a user initiates a chat with me, the first two messages that I see are their current location and nickname. Then I get what they wrote, and I can easily reply. When the user moves to a different page during our chat, I can see the new page address.
One thing I've noticed is that users don't seem to like it when I initiate the chat. I tried pinging a couple of users and asking them questions, but I was completely ignored. When users needed help, though, they did use the chat box several times. One user even praised the "excellent support" that he received.
All in all, I've noticed that not many people use the chat. I would say that the number is less than five percent of total traffic. I feel that this is a good thing; I can make this functionality available to people, but I don't need to be afraid that I (or other operators) will be swamped beyond capacity. It's just a nice extra.
Customization Options



Olark comes with several predefined themes. Since I am using the free plan, I was unable to create a custom one (the paid plans allow you to do this). The default theme was dark and did not work well with my site's color scheme. Also, for some reason, it messed with some of our other JavaScript elements, and it actually broke the page on IE and Chrome (Firefox was fine).
For these reasons, I logged into Olark and selected Customize > Visual Style > Change Theme & Colors. Olark then gave me four basic options plus lots of coloring options. I could individually set the color for every chat-box element, even with the Free plan.
I picked a fairly bright scheme (to go with the site's colors), and the JavaScript problem was magically solved. I have no idea what the difference is between the two themes (JavaScript-wise), but it worked.
Another problem I had was that the chat box, which floats on the lower right corner of the screen by default, was too wide and was painted over other site elements. Olark lets you redefine its width very easily, so I simply narrowed it a little bit, and then it fit perfectly where I wanted it.
Google Analytics
Under Customize > Advanced, Olark lets you set a Google Analytics ID and enable Analytics tracking. In theory, this lets Olark integrate tightly with your existing Google Analytics profile and feed visitor and chat data into the Events section of Analytics.
However, this is very much a work in progress. To put it less mildly, it's currently broken. When I first started using Olark, I enabled their basic Analytics integration and the Additional Tracking Features, which are explicitly labeled as "experimental."
What ensued was a crazy spike in visitor numbers as reported by Analytics; it literally tripled the amount of visitors that Analytics registered for the site, and as a result, it skewed reports for several days (until I figured it out and disabled it).
I disabled the Experimental functionality first, and that helped somewhat. However, visitor counts were still abnormally high, and after consulting with Ben from Olark support, I completely disabled Analytics integration, at least for now.
Technical Support
Since I had that Analytics problem, I've had to contact Support. According to the About Us page, Olark is a four person startup, and I guess that Ben is the one who mainly handles support; that's who I spoke with. I did tell him that I write for DLS, and that I intend to review Olark (I felt that it was the right thing to do). I got the overall impression that he knows his business, and he was nice and generally willing to help.
What's nice (for me) is that they are not yet at a point where they have a "help desk." Ben wrote the Analytics integration himself, so he was able to explain the ins and outs of it and exactly what the problem seemed to be.
Pricing


If you look at the Pricing page, it seems that Olark only provides paid plans that start at $15/month. But in the corner, right under the table, there's a small link to the Free Edition. That's what I'm using to evaluate Olark, but if I decide to keep using it, I will no doubt get one of the paid programs.
What's most restrictive about the Free plan is that it limits you to 20 conversations per month. It doesn't have any customization options, but I can live with that; the 20 chat/month limit feels particularly restrictive. A "chat," by the way, is when both you and a visitor exchange messages. If you write and a visitor doesn't reply, that doesn't count as a chat.
Premium Features
The paid plans come with some pretty cool options: you can use your own CSS for the chat box, monitor more visitors, completely hide the chat box (if you just want to monitor visitors in real-time), and most importantly, you can have the chat box completely disappear from your site when you are offline.
Bottom line
Olark was really easy to get started with, and it seems like a solid, sophisticated service. At this point, my main question is how many of my visitors would actually use it? So far, adoption seems quite slow. Since I have the free account, though, I am just going to let it sit there for a month or two and see what happens.
If you're looking to add chat to any website, Olark is certainly a worthwhile option.
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/27/dls-review-add-real-time-chat-to-your-website-with-olark'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; Share DLS Review: Add real-time chat to your website with Olark originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsSATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES SES SHAW COMMUNICATIONS SIEMENS

HTC will ship all Android phones in China with Froyo on board, fuels fire for immediate update closer to home

A wordy headline, to be sure, but a pleasing one nonetheless. We came across HTC's Chinese web portal listing the Desire as coming with Android 2.2 (with Sense!) and simply had to ping the official source for confirmation. It turns out the info up there is no mistake: all HTC Android handsets shipping to China -- which includes the Wildfire and Tianyi -- will do so with Froyo preloaded, cutting down on your upgrade angst at least until the Gingerbread man comes a'knocking. HTC has also reiterated that a 2.2 update for its phones already on the market will be delivered "very soon," so if all goes well, we should be looking at a Froyo-dominated August in the land of High Tech Computers.

[Thanks, Christian]HTC will ship all Android phones in China with Froyo on board, fuels fire for immediate update closer to home originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  HTC China  | Email this | CommentsSEAGATE TECHNOLOGY SCIENTIFIC GAMES SANDISK SALESFORCE COM

NVIDIA's refreshed Optimus interface sheds more light on what your GPU is doing

There's no question that NVIDIA's Optimus system -- which enables a discrete GPU to operate when a machine is taxed and a power-sipping IGP to function when you're involved in less strenuous tasks -- has changed the way the world looks at laptop graphics, but it hasn't been able to avoid a fair amount of criticism about the controlling interface. With the July release of the monthly Verde drivers, the company has just rolled out a revised UI that provides "even more visibility into how Optimus is working and allows you even more control over how Optimus operates." The newest Optimus control panel, as well as a brief demonstration of what's been tweaked, is available for viewing just after the break, but it's on you to hunt down drivers for whatever rig you call your own.Continue reading NVIDIA's refreshed Optimus interface sheds more light on what your GPU is doingNVIDIA's refreshed Optimus interface sheds more light on what your GPU is doing originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  NVIDIA  | Email this | CommentsSYMANTEC SYKES ENTERPRISES INORATED SYBASE SUN MICROSYSTEMS

OWC Express USB 2.0 Hard Drive Enclosure Review

The OWC Express USB 2.0 hard drive enclosure is an exercise in�minimalism. In the picture you see the two elements of the case; a mini-USB port and an activity LED. I received a silver model to review. The enclosures come in your choice of silver, white, or black. … [visit site to read more] Filed [...] Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear, Do-It-Yourself, Laptop Gear, ReviewsTagged: Storage, USBOWC Express USB 2.0 Hard Drive Enclosure Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 24, 2010 at 3:08 pm.SYNOPSYS SYNNEX SYMANTEC SYKES ENTERPRISES INORATED

Apple Investigating iOS4 on iPhone 3G Woes [Apple]

Those of you who've seen your iPhone 3G's performance significantly suffer after upgrading to iOS4 will be pleased to know that Apple is aware of the problem and is looking into it, according to one their spokeswomen. [Wall Street Journal] More »






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Motorola takes another shot at the iPhone 4, says Droid X is 'no jacket required'

Well this is getting good. Motorola was one of the first to take a subtle swipe at Apple's iPhone 4 antenna dilemma with an ad saying you could hold the Droid X "any way you like," Apple came right back with a video purportedly showing the Droid X suffering similar attenuation issues when held in the right hand, and now Moto's responded with this cheeky ad that plays off Apple's free iPhone case solution by saying the Droid X can make calls "without a bulky phone jacket." Yeah, it's pretty good -- particularly because unlike most other phones, we haven't been able to death grip the Droid X with any noticeable effect on 3G reception. (Although, truth be told, we can drop the WiFi signal by a few bars pretty easily.) Either way, we're certainly enjoying this little slice of swagger from Moto -- check a larger version after the break.Continue reading Motorola takes another shot at the iPhone 4, says Droid X is 'no jacket required'Motorola takes another shot at the iPhone 4, says Droid X is 'no jacket required' originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  Droid-Life  | Email this | Comments



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CrunchGear Week in Review: Toy Car Cruise Edition

Here are some stories from the past week on CrunchGear: Doodle doot do do doot! SMB sidewalk is SMB on the sidewalk Roi de France Henri IV, avec lightsaber Could I interest the gentleman in a bespoke toy car? Onkyo presents super-cute Miffy netbook Solar Impulse flight a great success, flies for 26 straight hours [...]DIODES INORATED DIEBOLD DELL CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR

Kindle Sold Out [Kindle]

People sure are making hay out of Amazon being fresh out of Kindles! And while there's certainly a chance this could herald the imminent arrival of Kindle 3, it seems more likely that Amazon hit an unexpected wave of demand. But who knows? More »






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Toshiba's latest Cell Regza LCDs are Slim, but don't go calling them 2D

Ready to climb Mount Fuji and see what the next top Japanese TV will look like? Toshiba has just outed its trio of flag-bearing displays for this fall: the Cell Regza Slim 55XE2 and 46XE2, and the full-bloodied 55X2. Inch-based dimensions are already given in their model names, but you'll also want to know they offer 240Hz refresh rates, 1,000 nits of brightness and 9,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratios on the chunkier X2 (augmented with local backlight dimming), and a 2D-to-3D conversion technology that'll translate your stale old 2D imagery into bodacious triple dimensionality. You're also keeping the 3 terabytes of storage and the capability of time-shifting up to eight channels at a time from the older model, though you're no longer limited to a hard cap of 26 hours per channel. Connectivity is also rich, with options for DLNA and/or up to eight HDDs, while jacking in a Blu-ray recorder will permit you to record straight to the optical media the same way you can do to the Regzas' own storage. All these goodies won't come cheap, however, as the flagship 55X2 will retail for a well-rounded million Yen ($11,430) in late October, to be preceded by its Slim siblings with prices of ¥700,000 ($8,000) for the 55-inch and ¥600,000 ($6,858) for the 46-inch earlier that month. Full press release after the break.Continue reading Toshiba's latest Cell Regza LCDs are Slim, but don't go calling them 2DToshiba's latest Cell Regza LCDs are Slim, but don't go calling them 2D originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 02:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Engadget Japanese  |   | Email this | CommentsELECTRONIC ARTS ECLIPSYS EASTMAN KODAK CO EARTHLINK

Dell Streak Priced at $300 For AT&T

After months of teasing, Dell’s 5-inch tablet-phone hybrid called the Streak finally has a price tag. The Streak will cost $300 with a two-year contract on AT&T. An unlocked version of the device will cost $550.
Dell is yet to announce exactly when the Streak will hit retail stores in the U.S. but it is accepting [...]TIBCO SOFTWARE TIBCO SOFTWARE THQ TEXAS INSTRUMENTS

Foxconn (Accidentally) Poisons 250 Workers [Foxconn]

The Foxconn stories keep dragging on. Over at their India factory, 250 workers were poisoned by pesticide spray, resulting in them ending up in hospital due to "sensations of giddiness and nausea." More »






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$20 Wikipedia Reader Uses 8-Bit Computing Power

A digital book reader could bring information to students in developing countries using a technology that is long past its prime: 8-bit computing.
The Humane Reader, a device designed by computer consultant Braddock Gaskill, takes two 8-bit microcontrollers and packages them in a “classic style console” that connects to a TV. The device includes an optional [...]HON HAI PRECISION IND. HYNIX SEMICONDUCTOR INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES

37signals Buys Campfire iPhone App Ember

Collaboration software developer 37signals has bought Ember, an iPhone app for Campfire, according to a blog post. on the company's site. 37signals develops Campfire, which is a popular real-time group chat tool used by developers and businesses. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

37signals founder Jason Fried says that Ember's iPhone app, which was developed by app developer Overcommitted, lets you chat, view transcripts, jump between rooms, share pictures in a Campfire chat. The app caught Fried's eye earlier this year and the company decided to buy the developer and re-launch Ember as Campfire for the iPhone.
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Nissan Leaf gets early review: you might just forget its an eccentric electric car

It still won't be widely available until 2012, but Nissan's Leaf is already leaking out to a few select media outlets. Our comrades over at Autoblog managed to get behind the wheel of the all-electric whip down in San Jose, and while they didn't find anything that changed the admittedly developing game, what they did find was a solid, refined EV that's "ready for primetime." They were quick to praise the design, which doesn't scream "oddball" like some of the earlier electric automobiles. As for the ride? That was deemed "suitably smooth," while the interior was found to be "a few degrees better than what you'd find in an economy car of similar size." In fact, the overriding tone of the review was one of unsurprised satisfaction, with critics noting that the "gadgetry is impressive, but no more so than some of the hybrid options available from Nissan's competitors," and in the end, the Leaf doesn't aim to "change the driving experience, just change the method of motivation." Hit the source link for the full skinny.Nissan Leaf gets early review: you might just forget its an eccentric electric car originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  Autoblog  | Email this | CommentsTEXAS INSTRUMENTS TERADATA TELETECH HOLDINGS TECHNITROL

Pac-Man hits 30 without losing its way

The fact that Namco's Pac-Man has been around for 30 years can make you feel ancient.





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My Mac Windows Switch

eWEEK Labs Technical Director Cameron Sturdevant's year of using and covering Apple products in the enterprise has come to an end with a newfound respect for Mac hardware and the resistance of Mac OS X 10.6.3, code-named Snow Leopard, to hacks and viruses. For executives and high-value creative content users he sees Apple's appeal. But as we enter the cloud computing age, Sturdevant is less enamored of fat clients of any variety for routine office workers. - For just over a year I've used a variety of Apple
devices from the Xserve and Mac Pro to the iPhone and MacBook Pro and even a Mac
Mini as my primary work systems in a Windows-oriented IT shop.
I made the switch because Apple PCs and iPhones and now
iPads are coming into the enterprise. I wanted...



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Apple Updates iMac Line With Core i3, HDD + SSD Options

While the recent talk surrounding Apple has been focused on the iPhone 4 and its well documented reception troubles, the company is today focusing on bigger and brighter things. Namely, new hardware. The consumer-centric iMac line is seeing its first major update since late last year, and while it's not a complete design overhaul, the internals are definitely being revised. There are still just two primary sizes: 21.5" and 27". Both of these utilize glossy IPS panels, with the former having a 1,920 x 1,080 resolutionRED HAT RADISYS RACKABLE SYSTEMS QUEST SOFTWARE

Consumer Spending On Electronics Expected To Rise In The Coming Year

In need of some good news for your weekend? Try this on for size. With the economy on the rebound, many analysts are looking to the consumer electronics sector to see if disposable income is once again being spent on new PCs and other gadgets that we could probably live without, but would rather not. After Microsoft, Intel and just about everyone else suffered less than ideal quarters throughout 2009, we've seen some rather glowing reports from the earnings front this year. And now, the Consumer ElectronicsELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS ELECTRONIC ARTS ECLIPSYS EASTMAN KODAK CO

Tips on Buying a Full Suspension Mountain Bike

Every year bicycle manufacturers make better, lighter and cheaper mountain bikes which make them more attractive to consumers. Do you want to buy a full suspension mountain bike? If you do below is a list of items that you might want to considered before buying a new mountain bike.

One of the most important questions to ask yourself is what type of terrain will you be riding on? If you are going to be riding cross country maybe a full suspension mountain bike is not warranted and a hardtail will better suit your needs. However if you are going to be riding downhill or on rough terrain a full suspension bike might be right up your alley.

Determine your budget and stick to it. Consider buying the best bike you can afford within your budget. Many riders suggest that if you have less then $700 to spend on a bike you might want to consider a hardtail because full suspension bikes are more costly. However you could consider buying a used full suspension bike at a good price on a mountain bike classifieds site.

If you determine that a full suspension mountain bike is what you need and want then consider the different frame designs. Single-pivot, sweet-spot and horst-link are a few popular designs and each has their advantages and disadvantages. The best way to truly understand the difference is to go to a few bike stores and test ride the different designs. The bike store guy will be more then happy to explain and point out the pros and cons of each design.

Remember that full suspension bikes are heavier then hardtail bikes. Full suspension frames are a little heavier and they carry more parts then hardtails so be prepared to pedal around a little more weight on the trail.

Read some of the online forums to determine what other riders like and don’t like about their bikes. You can learn a lot from other rider’s opinions.

Do not forget to factor in your maintenance costs into the equation. Full suspension bikes require a little more maintenance and for the do it yourself type you will need a few extra tools.

Finally, test ride as many bikes as you can before buying. Also do not forget to test ride a full suspension mountain bike with the front and or rear shock locked out.