Another Tegra 2 tablet has landed, and this one is refreshingly affordable—compared to the iPad, at least. Toshiba's 8GB Thrive slate is now in stock and available at Newegg for $429.99 with free shipping. Amazon also carries the tablet at roughly the same price.
Toshiba's Thrive has a 1GHz...
Saturday 9 July 2011
Taco Bell Instituting Free Wi-Fi at All Locations
Welcome to the party Taco Bell, it's nice of you to finally join us in the Wi-Fi world. The Taco Bell Corporation announced it will be offering free Wi-Fi at all its restaurants by 2015. With most of the major chains like McDonalds and Starbucks offering free internet, it was a no-brainer on the corporate execs part.
Free wi-fi is definitely becoming a near requirement nowadays, with even local mom-and-pop restaurants offering it.
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Free wi-fi is definitely becoming a near requirement nowadays, with even local mom-and-pop restaurants offering it.
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Source: http://www.hardocp.com/news/2011/07/09/taco_bell_instituting_free_wifi_at_all_locations/
10 gadgets to keep you from passing out in the summer heat
From air-conditioned shirts and electronically cooled beds to the fan-equipped neckties that are all the rage in Japan, here is a roundup of unexpected help for beating the summer's swelter.
Half-Minute Hero on XBLA perverts RPG conventions
Japanese RPGs are notorious for recycling clich� plot elements and structure. Seeking out the "Ultimate Evil" as the "Chosen Hero" can only hold most people's interest for so long. Thankfully, Half-Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax, a high-definition recreation of a PlayStation Portable classic, has arrived on the Xbox Live Arcade—it dissects stereotypical role-playing mechanics and flips them on their heads.
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Upcoming Acer Pico Projector Is Small and Light
Pico projectors may not be Acer's main source of income but they are, nonetheless, an integral part of the IT industry, so it is not that great a shock to learn of the impending arrival of a new one.
One might say that projectors are one of, if not the oldest means of rendering moving images, dating back to the first motion picture...
One might say that projectors are one of, if not the oldest means of rendering moving images, dating back to the first motion picture...
Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Upcoming-Acer-Pico-Projector-is-Small-and-Light-210610.shtml
Cool Websites and Tools [July 8th]
Check out some of the latest MakeUseOf discoveries. Most of the listed websites are FREE or come with a decent free account option. If you want to have similar cool websites round-ups delivered to your email daily email subscribe here....
Cool Websites and Tools [July 8th] is a post from: MakeUseOf
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/Makeuseof/%7E3/IvuMiMvjsTI/
Feds seize kit from Apple Store spyware artist
Stealth face cams win Secret Service visit
An artist who surreptitiously installed a video art installation on computers in two New York Apple Stores says that four US Secret Service agents awakened him on Thursday morning, produced a search warrant, then confiscated his couputers and other kit.?
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Friday 8 July 2011
A bomb proof bag for safer skies
Cosmic Log: A soft, flexible bag that hardens when confronted with a sudden force could make air travel safer on all types of aircraft, according to researchers working on the novel bag for bags in the cargo bin.
Source: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/07/08/7042604-a-bomb-proof-bag-for-safer-skies
Motorola's LTE-infused Xoom 2 tablet caught skipping through the FCC?
Motorola's LTE-infused Xoom 2 tablet caught skipping through the FCC? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 15:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Wireless Goodness | 
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GNOME 3 released, ushers in an interesting amalgam of iOS and OS X
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.
Manufacturing Just for You
Mass customization makes it far more practical to fabricate products in small quantities.
Want to build a device that takes video in 360 degrees? That can communicate with a car's onboard computer, or connect to sensors that can measure your heart rate or blood pressure? It used to be that to build a self-designed gadget, you had to know how to make it entirely from scratch. And if, after testing it, you wanted to sell a few, you had to build each one by hand—large manufacturing companies generally wouldn't pick up the phone to take orders that numbered fewer than hundreds of thousands.
Source: http://feeds.technologyreview.com/click.phdo?i=bd90c95967f64e2bbae37089ae387fe9
Free-to-play overtakes premium games revenue in the App Store
The latest blog post from Flurry reports that free-to-play revenue has overtaken premium revenue in Apple's App Store. I think this was pretty much a guarantee at some point in the future, though it's happening probably a little sooner than most expected.
Free-to-play gaming, where a game download is free and users spend money on extra content or convenience items using in-app purchases, has been growing on the App Store in a big way. Traditionally, premium app sales (in which a one-time purchase up front pays for the app download and any included content) have been the real money-makers. That's no longer true, however: in Flurry's analysis of the top 100 grossing apps, 35 percent of the revenue is now coming from premium games, with free-to-play titles making up 65 percent. Note that this analysis is for games only, but considering games make up most of the App Store's business nowadays, it's easy to expand these numbers out to the Store in general.
What does this mean overall? It's not a new direction; we've already seen free-to-play titles get hugely popular on Apple's App Store and other mobile platforms, and that trend will definitely continue. But even with the success we've seen on free-to-play, developers are still only monetizing a small percentage (usually even less than a full percentage point) of their audience, with small amounts of customers basically paying for everyone. The next big advancement in this business model will be a game that figures out how to monetize a larger audience while still keeping that gigantic group of players that dives in on F2P titles.
Free-to-play overtakes premium games revenue in the App Store originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2011/07/07/free-to-play-overtakes-premium-games-revenue-in-the-app-store/
Skype for Linux gets an update after almost 15 months
Proving how much it cares about those people who use its app on Linux, Skype has released version 2.2 for Linux. Don't run towards the champagne though, as this is still a beta version, and, as its minor revision number implies, isn't the much-awaited big new version that achieves feature parity with its Windows and Mac brethren.
It's only been what, almost 15 months since the last Skype beta for Linux? Well, during this time, Skype's main focus has clearly been improving its Linux app, since the new version fixes the amazing number of 49 bugs. It also brings 23 'improvements', and yet somehow still manages to have a fair share of 'known issues'. Exciting, no?
What is perhaps the most important feature addition here is the support for Skype Access. This lets you easily connect to paid Wi-Fi hotspots across the globe while paying for them with Skype credit. Skype for Linux has also received support for call waiting and holding, as well as easy conference hosting. Audio and video quality have been boosted (hopefully in a way that's going to be noticeable in day-to-day use), and some of the languages have been updated.
Download Skype 2.2.0.25 for Linux
Skype for Linux gets an update after almost 15 months originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/skype-for-linux-gets-an-update-after-almost-15-months/
Modern community building
The Stack Exchange network is already up to 51 sites on diverse topics, from math to cooking to science fiction. Each site is a community on its own, and each community has its own needs and values. Pouring a big fat algorithm in equal measures on top of 51 different groups of people does not always work the way you might hope it would work. Maybe that?s why the super-algorithm companies (like Google) tend to suck when they try to build social applications.
Our goal as a company is to incubate each of these 51 communities?to get them to critical mass. Critical mass is that magic moment when the community has enough activity that it grows by itself.
Building communities on the Internet is a new kind of profession. There are an awful lot of technology companies, founded by programmers, who think they are building communities on the Internet, but they?re really just building software and wondering why the community doesn?t magically show up.
Stack Exchange is trying really hard not to suck at building communities. I would say we?re earning a solid B so far, but we?re working really hard at learning... doing little experiments and getting early results. And one thing we noticed is that the pure, algorithmic approach can?t possibly work for different communities: you need a political/social approach. That is, you need smart human beings to use smart human judgment and cultivate each community individually.
Or, to use a metaphor that has been on my mind, you can?t use a robot to train a puppy. Every puppy is different.
With 51 communities and a new one opening almost every week, our small team of four community managers are doing a great job but they just don?t have the bandwidth to help cultivate every site. So we depend on the most active, enthusiastic users to promote their own communities and help them flourish. But these users are usually domain experts, not community organization experts.
So what I plan to do is build a team of super-evangelists here at Stack Exchange to serve as backup. Sort of like Lady Gaga?s backup dancers, but probably without as many muscles, they are not onstage to lead; they?re there to fill up the stage with more hotness than one person can provide.
This job will be sort of like being a community organizer at a non-profit. It combines elements of marketing, PR, and sales, but it?s really something different. I don?t expect that there are a lot of people out there who already kn0w how to do this well, so I?m going to train them, personally. Not that I know how to do this, but we?ll learn together. Every workday is going to start with a huddle at 9am and a plan for the day?s activities and an intensive six hours of work. Every workday is going to end with an hour of learning... reading Kawasaki and Godin and Ries and Trout, talking with invited experts, meeting with members of the community about what worked and what didn?t worked. Everyone who joins the program (and survives for a year) will come out with an almost supernatural ability to take a dead, lifeless site on the internet and make it into the hottest bar in town. That?s a skill worth learning for the 21st century.
If you or someone you know is enthusiastic, energetic, super-outgoing (a social connector), a great communicator (capable of sending 50 personal emails in an afternoon), with some training in psychology, political science, economics, philosophy, or the humanities in general, and you?re looking for an alternative to a dead-end mailroom job at a PR agency, this is a rare opportunity... please apply.
Need to hire a really great programmer? Want a job that doesn't drive you crazy? Visit the Joel on Software Job Board: Great software jobs, great people.
Institute Double Take
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Orange skies in the early morning are a spectacular view. In the month of June, the sun rises over the dome, while in the winter, it rises between the Hancock Tower and Prudential Center �? quite a dramatic shift. The key challenge while taking this picture was the dynamic range ? the sun is much brighter than its surroundings, and even more so when it rises higher. With a few iterations in the manual mode (and the knowledge of post-processing freedom), one can take a picture that is uniformly illuminated.Source: http://tech.mit.edu/V131/N29/idt.html
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Thursday 7 July 2011
Farewell, Internet
Well, here we are. More than four years after launching, Switched and DownloadSquad are unfortunately being closed. I've been thrilled to work at these two sites that have expanded tech coverage beyond the usual gadgets and social networks to cooking, culture, design, art and more. It's been humbling to work with these incredibly dedicated and talented teams of writers, and it would have been impossible to do it without them.
Going forward, you'll still be able to get the best tech news coverage from Engadget, HuffingtonPost Tech, Joystiq and TUAW. While we're still working out some of the details, Switched and DownloadSquad will continue to live on the Web and be fully accessible via search. Understandably, our Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr presences will quiet down, but you can still follow the Switched and DownloadSquad writers on their personal accounts. Thanks for reading.
Farewell, Internet originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/12/farewell-internet/
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Catalyst 11.6b hotfix adds Llano support, fixes bugs
AMD may deserve criticism for some things, but a lackadaisical approach to graphics driver releases certainly isn't one of them. Every month for the past little while, the company has bestowed upon its users one WHQL-certified driver and at least one driver hotfix for good measure. AMD has gotten started...
What's after the Hubble space telescope? Possibly nothing
As negotiations over the US debt limit continue, potential cutbacks to a huge range of programs may come as part of any deal. But in the background, regular budget work has gone ahead, and on Wednesday that work produced a shock for NASA in the form of a 10 percent budget cut. Also on the chopping block: the space-based observatory expected to replace the Hubble, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
The JWST is meant to provide a window into an area of the spectrum that the Hubble couldn't view. The segment of the infrared it was designed to image will include the light from the earliest galaxies, allowing scientists to get an unprecedented view of the dynamics of the universe as the first large-scale structures emerged in the aftermath of the Big Bang.
Unfortunately, imaging in the infrared dictated a few design complications: the observatory would need a massive sunscreen to allow it to cool sufficiently so that the hardware itself wouldn't generate an infrared signal. It would also have to sit far enough from the Earth's infrared sources that a servicing mission would be overwhelmingly unlikely during its lifetime.
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Apple's request for preliminary injunction denied, Amazon's Appstore needs no alias
Remember when Apple sued Amazon, claiming the online retailer was infringing its "App Store" trademark? To stop Bezos and his boys from using the "Appstore" moniker for their Amazonian Android Market, Apple filed for a preliminary injunction last month, and today the judge denied that request. Despite the Cupertino company's claims of consumer confusion and brand dilution, the court found in Amazon's favor -- in part because the term "app store" is descriptive and is used by plenty of mobile software purveyors. Of course, this doesn't end the legal shenanigans between these two tech titans, but it does mean that Amazon's Appstore can keep its incredibly original name... for now. Want the full breakdown why Apple got a judicial stiff arm? Dig into a copy of the order denying its motion in the source link below.Apple's request for preliminary injunction denied, Amazon's Appstore needs no alias originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Jul 2011 06:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkReuters | Order [PDF] | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/07/apples-request-for-preliminary-injunction-denied-amazons-apps/
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3D Basketball Court
The world?s most unusual basketball court is located in Munich, Germany.
Designed by Inges Idee, this basketball court has been shaped in a 3D program on a computer to look like a roller coaster. To make the game even harder, street lamps were installed on the court. [via]
For more creative designs, check out: Extreme Tennis Courts
Designed by Inges Idee, this basketball court has been shaped in a 3D program on a computer to look like a roller coaster. To make the game even harder, street lamps were installed on the court. [via]
For more creative designs, check out: Extreme Tennis Courts
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/toxel/~3/-Z_C9BcFhRo/
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Google+ sneaks NFC into its Android app, gets caught red-handed
NFC is gradually turning to the social side, thanks to new functionality found within the Google+ app for Android. Software developer Ridzuan Ashim discovered that, when used on an NFC-enabled device, you can read tags and share them through the new social networking service. After scanning, the OS asks you if you want to share the associated text with Google+ or another relevant program. Though the abilities seem somewhat limited for now, we'll likely see more developer support tossed in as the service matures. Using NFC in this way could lead us into a group Huddle, check us in at a restaurant and share it with our Circles, and perhaps even add us into somebody's Circle or Hangout. It's only functional on a limited number of Android devices for now, so if you happen to use a Nexus S and have been invited to the exclusive club better known as Google+, you're a prime candidate for giving it a look-see. If the above criteria doesn't apply, check out the video below to experience all that near-field glory through someone else's phone.
Continue reading Google+ sneaks NFC into its Android app, gets caught red-handed
Google+ sneaks NFC into its Android app, gets caught red-handed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
PermalinkPocketNow | Ridz.sg | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/06/google-sneaks-nfc-into-its-android-app-gets-caught-red-handed/
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Una destacada firma analista reconoce a Service2Media en el Cuadrante M�gico
AMERSFOORT, Países Bajos, July 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --
- Una destacada
firma analista reconoce a Service2Media en el Cuadrante Mágico para
plataformas de aplicaciones móviles de consumo
Gartner, una destacada compañía de investigación de tecn
- Una destacada
firma analista reconoce a Service2Media en el Cuadrante Mágico para
plataformas de aplicaciones móviles de consumo
Gartner, una destacada compañía de investigación de tecn
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Wednesday 6 July 2011
Apple fires back in patent war with Samsung
In a filing Tuesday, Apple asked the USITC to look into its complaint that Samsung is infringing on the California-based company?s patents in ?electronic digital media devices?
Source: http://www.livemint.com/2011/07/07103312/Apple-fires-back-in-patent-war.html
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Skyping on Facebook
July 6 - Facebook users will now be able to use Skype for video chat, a shot back at rival Google's new Google+ service. Bobbi Rebell reports. 
Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/%7Er/reuters/USVideoTechnology/%7E3/KNcn8VMwnxA/skyping-on-facebook
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Redesigned Droid Bionic wants to fight you, shows up in leaked Best Buy ad
Redesigned Droid Bionic wants to fight you, shows up in leaked Best Buy ad originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |This is my next | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/06/redesigned-droid-bionic-wants-to-fight-you-shows-up-in-leaked-b/
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Soundfreaq unleashes Sound Step wireless speakers for audio-loving multitaskers
Soundfreaq made quite the first impression last year with its Sound Platform SFQ-01 audio system, which is why our ears perked up when we heard about the company's newest creations -- the Sound Step and Sound Step Recharge compact wireless speakers. Compatible with all iOS, Android and BlackBerry devices, these Bluetooth-enabled docks allow users to remotely stream audio directly to their speakers, which feature a set of 2.75-inch, Kevlar-reinforced balanced drivers, a dedicated sub-woofer and a UQ3 spatial enhancement processor. There's also a 3.5 millimeter line-in jack and a USB charging port, meaning you'll be able to juice up multiple gadgets as you kick out multiple jams. And, since these guys are just 3.6-inches tall, you probably won't have to freaq out about making space for them, either. If your appetite's already whetted, you can grab the Sound Step for $139, or opt for the Recharge (with its six hours of rechargeable battery life) for $159. Otherwise, you can find more details in the full PR, after the break.
Update: We've just received a bit of clarification from the company here. A "grey" colored model actually won't be on the docket, and as for the speakers, there's a pair of 2-inch drivers + a single 3-incher.
Update: We've just received a bit of clarification from the company here. A "grey" colored model actually won't be on the docket, and as for the speakers, there's a pair of 2-inch drivers + a single 3-incher.
Continue reading Soundfreaq unleashes Sound Step wireless speakers for audio-loving multitaskers
Soundfreaq unleashes Sound Step wireless speakers for audio-loving multitaskers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/06/soundfreaq-unleashes-sound-step-wireless-speakers-for-audio-lovi/
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Social Networking Wars 2011: Everyone Cutting Off Everyone Else
It seems that, with the launch of Google+, we may have seen the kickoff of the great social networking war of 2011 -- with the various services trying to hold back and block data.
First off, over the weekend, some folks noticed that Google's real-time search suddenly went dead. At first people thought it was just an error, but it later came out that it was due to the fact that Google's deal with Twitter, wherein Twitter provided Google with a real-time firehose of Twitter data, had ended and had not been renewed. Neither side seems to be explaining much. Both gave vague statements. First Twitter (oddly, many press sources are saying the following statement is from Google, but it's not):
And that's not the only one. Another report has come out saying that Facebook is actively blocking methods that let you export your Facebook social graph into Google+. This might not be a huge deal (frankly, I don't want to export my Facebook setup to Google+), but it does suggest another standoff.
None of this is a huge surprise, but it does highlight yet another problem of relying on any proprietary, centralized services. They can change things around, block off data, and limit what people can do. A truly open, distributed solution wouldn't even be able to cut off anyone else or require special deals for data feeds. The real tragedy is that in blocking off access to data in both of these cases, everyone loses by having fewer options and less ability to make use of data. Who knows who's at fault in the first one (or perhaps it's both parties), but all these skirmishes may also call more attention to Google's market power. If it comes out that Google was the one who decided not to re-up, and that it's planning to use Google+ instead of Twitter, you can see how the "Google is a monopoly!" brigade will go nuts.
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First off, over the weekend, some folks noticed that Google's real-time search suddenly went dead. At first people thought it was just an error, but it later came out that it was due to the fact that Google's deal with Twitter, wherein Twitter provided Google with a real-time firehose of Twitter data, had ended and had not been renewed. Neither side seems to be explaining much. Both gave vague statements. First Twitter (oddly, many press sources are saying the following statement is from Google, but it's not):
Since October 2009, Twitter has provided Google with the stream of public tweets for incorporation into their real-time search product and other uses. That agreement has now expired. We continue to provide this type of access to Microsoft, Yahoo!, NTT Docomo, Yahoo! Japan and dozens of other smaller developers. And, we work with Google in many other ways.Then Google's first statement:
Twitter has been a valuable partner for nearly two years, and we remain open to exploring other collaborations in the future.And then a further statement:
Since October of 2009, we have had an agreement with Twitter to include their updates in our search results through a special feed, and that agreement expired on July 2.Of course, Google had many other sources in realtime search... and they're all wiped out too. Google has suggested that it will be relaunching it... but with Google+ as the central piece:
While we will not have access to this special feed from Twitter, information on Twitter that’s publicly available to our crawlers will still be searchable and discoverable on Google.
Our vision is to have google.com/realtime include Google+ information along with other realtime data from a variety of sources.In other words, this looks like a bit of a standoff between two social networks.
And that's not the only one. Another report has come out saying that Facebook is actively blocking methods that let you export your Facebook social graph into Google+. This might not be a huge deal (frankly, I don't want to export my Facebook setup to Google+), but it does suggest another standoff.
None of this is a huge surprise, but it does highlight yet another problem of relying on any proprietary, centralized services. They can change things around, block off data, and limit what people can do. A truly open, distributed solution wouldn't even be able to cut off anyone else or require special deals for data feeds. The real tragedy is that in blocking off access to data in both of these cases, everyone loses by having fewer options and less ability to make use of data. Who knows who's at fault in the first one (or perhaps it's both parties), but all these skirmishes may also call more attention to Google's market power. If it comes out that Google was the one who decided not to re-up, and that it's planning to use Google+ instead of Twitter, you can see how the "Google is a monopoly!" brigade will go nuts.
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