Thursday, December 16, 2010

IT News HeadLines (Engadget) 15/12/2010

Google TV gets a major update with new Netflix, movable Dual View, Android remote app support
The first update for the Google TV platform since its release is now available on Logitech and Sony devices, and takes major strides towards addressing issues we pointed out in our review. The antiquated Netflix app is now sporting a new HTML5 based UI that resembles the one seen on the PlayStation 3, while Dual View has addressed one of our biggest complaints by allowing users to move and resize the video window at will. another major upgrade is support for an Android remote app arriving today with iPhone version "coming soon." The last major update should be appreciated by Kevin Bacon stalkers enthusiasts with a new info page for movies that pulls in plenty of relevant information and availability online and from the listings all on one page. Our Sony Google TV had the 218 MB update downloaded and ready to install when we turned it on and also promised a few other updates on top of We'll check back in a moment to see how things are working, peep the updated Dual View and a video of the new remote control app after the break.Continue reading Google TV gets a major update with new Netflix, movable Dual View, Android remote app support
Permalink The New TV Republic  |  sourceOfficial Google TV Blog  | Email this | Comments
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RED Scarlet fixed lens camera shown in public (video)
It may never ship at a price point we peons can stomach, but we're no less thrilled to see RED's fixed lens Scarlet being handled by a mere mortal on video. One Tonaci Tran was fortunate enough to brush into Jim Jannard at a 3D workshop, and Jim just so happened to have a fully functional Scarlet on his person. Tori noted that the unit was a touch lighter than the Epic, and the top-mounted 5-inch touchscreen was obviously rather captivating. We'd bother going on (and on), but chances are you've already clicked through to catch the video. And if not... why?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Continue reading RED Scarlet fixed lens camera shown in public (video)
RED Scarlet fixed lens camera shown in public (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 11:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceRED User, Vimeo (Tonaci Tran)  | Email this | Comments
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Meizu M9 christens site launch with full specs list
Meizu CEO Jack Wong has been teasing the M9 handset for some time now, and if we're not mistaken, the official site just went live with a full list of specs to boot. As promised, there's a 3.5-inch 960 x 640 resolution screen (reportedly the Sharp ASV display), and we're also apparently looking at a 1GHz S5PC110 processor (just like the Samsung Galaxy S), Android 2.2, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, A-GPS, 802.11b/g/n, microSDHC, a removable 1370mAH lithium-polymer battery, and support for (drumroll, please) GSM, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, HSDPA,and HSUPA. Too good to be true? Word on the street is this very phone will be available December 25th in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, and will expand to the rest of China days later. We'll believe it when we see it.
Meizu M9 christens site launch with full specs list originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 11:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Micgadget, Meizu Me (1), (2)  |  sourceMeizu  | Email this | Comments
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Unreal Engine 3 dev kit adding iOS support tomorrow, Infinity Blade clones coming Friday
The Unreal Engine 3 already made a quite spectacular debut on iOS with Epic Games' own Infinity Blade, but the company's decided it's time to finally stop teasing and give us the software to really play with it. Tomorrow's planned update to the UDK will deliver iOS support, meaning that all the fancy tools that helped make Infinity Blade such a blindingly gorgeous game will be at your fingertips should you be feeling creative. Licensing for the Engine is free for testing and non-commercial use, but you'll have to pay $99 if you want to sell anything you produce with it, to be followed by a 25 percent slice of your earnings beyond $5,000 and, of course, Apple's 30 percent cut of whatever's left. That might not sound like the best business plan in the world, but consider that Infinity Blade is estimated to have racked up over $1.5 million in sales already -- we're sure there'll be enough change left for ice cream even after Epic and Apple have had their share.
Permalink TUAW, Joystiq  |  sourceWall Street Journal, @MarkRein (Twitter)  | Email this | Comments
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The world's most annoying burglar alarm (video)
The UK's very own Alarm Monitoring Company has developed what it's calling the world's most annoying alarm. The cheeky VuVutech 5000 starts with the company's own AMCO alarm system attached to five powerful air horns topped off with a vuvuzella quintette pièce de résistance. The whole rig is attached to the telephone line where AMCO's interactive monitoring service will trigger 135 decibels of vuvuzella fury upon the unsuspecting intruder who, we imagine, will stand motionless, arms extended, staring skyward in the belief that he just won the 2010 World Cup until the police arrive. See it demonstrated on a "tea boy" after the break.Continue reading The world's most annoying burglar alarm (video)
The world's most annoying burglar alarm (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 10:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceChairmanQuigley (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments
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GNU founder Richard Stallman and Gmail creator Paul Buchheit hate on Chrome OS
GNU founder Richard Stallman and Gmail creator Paul Buchheit hate on Chrome OS, but for different reasons
There are a lot of things to like about Google's prototype Chrome OS machine, the CR-48, not the least of which its name that makes it sound like a relic from the future. Indeed that's what Google wants it to be, a sort of beacon of our instant-on, cloud-based tomorrow, but that's rubbing a few industry pioneers the wrong way. One is Friendfeed creator and former Google employee Paul Buchheit, aka the dude who created Gmail. He's a bit confused about the overlap between Android and Chrome OS, as indeed many of us are, saying flat out that "Chrome OS has no purpose that isn't better served by Android" -- or, at least, it won't when Android gets some tweaks to make it work better in a traditional laptop-style environment.

Meanwhile, GNU founder and free software pioneer Richard Stallman is lashing out a bit more strongly, calling cloud computing "careless computing" because it causes users to give up rights to their own content:
The police need to present you with a search warrant to get your data from you; but if they are stored in a company's server, the police can get it without showing you anything. They may not even have to give the company a search warrant.
As we've recently learned that is at least not the case for e-mail, but what about Google Docs and browsing history and all those private musings you made on Google Buzz? Will ease of access trump data security fears? Will Cara on All My Children ever stop having flashbacks about Jake? Important questions, these.
GNU founder Richard Stallman and Gmail creator Paul Buchheit hate on Chrome OS originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 09:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink BGR, The Register  |  sourceFriendfeed, The Guardian  | Email this | Comments
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Kinect meets Swarovski crystals, gaudiness ensues (video)
Hey, you know that Kinect thing that Microsoft recently launched and hasn't been heard of since? Well, it's such a boring and useless creation that somebody had to try and spruce it up. Enter DS Styles, with a bag of 5,000 Swarovski crystals and the courage to use them. The result of that coupling has been the (quite literally) unmissable concoction you see above -- a Kinect that will blind you first, then record your clumsy reaction for posterity second. And it only costs $632, what a steal!Continue reading Kinect meets Swarovski crystals, gaudiness ensues (video)
Kinect meets Swarovski crystals, gaudiness ensues (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 09:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Chip Chick  |  sourceDS Styles  | Email this | Comments
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Mark Zuckerberg named Time Person of the Year, Jesse Eisenberg sadly not listed
Mark Zuckerberg named Time person of the year, Jesse Eisenberg sadly not listed
Sorry, everybody, you're not Person of the Year in 2010. For the fourth time in a row someone other than you has won the honor, and this time it's Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Why? Well, Time says it's because his creation has "wired together a twelfth of humanity," but we think a certain highly dramatized blockbuster movie might have something to do with it. Really, it's not luck the Zuck did that much in 2010, except tell some uncomfortable stories when launching Seamless Messaging. Runners up include Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, who had another rough year, and Wikileaks' Julian Assange, who is currently having a rather rough December after shaking up international relations all year long.
Mark Zuckerberg named Time Person of the Year, Jesse Eisenberg sadly not listed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 09:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Reuters  |  sourceTime  | Email this | Comments
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Apple TV updated to 4.1.1, aims to fix resolution and download problems
See, sometimes dreams do come true. Just days after we asked how you'd tweak the second generation Apple TV, in flies an update that a good many TV owners have been anxiously awaiting. The 4.1.1 update purportedly solves "an issue that causes some high-definition TVs to incorrectly display at 480p," as well as an issue that "may cause a movie or TV show to be re-downloaded." It's pretty obvious that Apple's aiming to correct a nagging color / banding problem that has been plaguing some owners since day one, but according to users over at Apple Insider's forums, it's not a cure-all solution. A handful of members have stated that their sets -- typically using an HDMI-to-DVI adapter -- still display incorrect colors after the update. Flip on your own box and get the download started, and let us know if it's the fix you've been after down in comments below.
Apple TV updated to 4.1.1, aims to fix resolution and download problems originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Apple Insider  |  sourceApple  | Email this | Comments
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DirecTV survey hints at NFL Sunday Ticket on Apple TV, Boxee and Roku players?
Marketing research surveys have proven a good source for yet-to-be-announced information in the past and a recent one by DirecTV may be a good sign for those who prefer their NFL Sunday Ticket over the internet instead of satellite. According to a tipster, some of the questions asking about potential pricing setups indicated the digital version would be available via currently unsupported devices including internet connected Blu-ray players & TVs, "game machines," Apple TV, Roku and Boxee. Another new wrinkle is a $19.99 per weekend pricing plan for streaming NFL Sunday Ticket access among other options. Currently, Sunday Ticket streams in HD to PCs and a bevy of mobile platforms (even without DirecTV's TV service), but it's possible we could see that list expand to several if not all connected TV platforms in the near future -- assuming this isn't just pie in the sky dreaming of course. The NBA, NHL and MLB already play ball with some but not all of the streaming set-top boxes, if the NFL follows them by adding alternate viewing options -- assuming a new labor deal is reached and we actually see football played in late 2011 -- would it make you more likely to subscribe?

[Thanks, Anonymous]Continue reading DirecTV survey hints at NFL Sunday Ticket on Apple TV, Boxee and Roku players?
DirecTV survey hints at NFL Sunday Ticket on Apple TV, Boxee and Roku players? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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IR-embedded Surc case converts iPhone into a universal learning remote
Whoa, Nelly! ThinkFlood won't like this... not one bit. If you'll recall, the RedEye universal remote dongle was well received, as a simple 3.5mm adapter added IR beaming to Apple's slate of iDevices. But now, Mashed Pixel has taken the integration one step further, seamlessly embedding an Infrared emitter into a case. Simply pop the Surc around your iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS or iPhone 4, download the (free) accompanying app and start programming. Before long, you'll be dictating your home entertainment setup sans any external accessories, and heck, you may even improve your phone's reception all the while. The only downside to this approach compared to ThinkFlood's is that the iPad is obviously not supported, and once you upgrade to the iPhone 5, your trusty IR case becomes a glorified paperweight. If you're kosher with that, though, you can get your pre-order in now for $69.95, with initial shipments expected to make their way out in Q1 2011.
Continue reading IR-embedded Surc case converts iPhone into a universal learning remote
IR-embedded Surc case converts iPhone into a universal learning remote originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceGet Surc  | Email this | Comments
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HTC Hub update helps save us from our Windows Phone 7 phones
Remember the Windows Phone 7 ads, the ones that promised to "save us from our phones" by giving us more "glance and go" information? For the most part, these phones haven't delivered on that promise due to the relative dearth of apps taking advantage of Microsoft's live tile concept. That changes a bit today thanks to an update to the HTC Hub app that ships with every Windows Phone 7 device manufactured by HTC. Now, instead of a generic double-wide icon, the HTC Hub presents you with the current weather condition and temperature and the forecasted highs and lows. As such, you'll never have to click through and be subjected to HTC's overwrought animations that feel so out of place on Microsoft's more demure user interface. More please.
HTC Hub update helps save us from our Windows Phone 7 phones originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 07:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceThe::Unwired  | Email this | Comments
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Fragrance Jet II receives video demonstration, still looks like a terrible idea (video)
Ah, those zany Keio University researchers trying to recreate Smell-O-Vision, do you want to know what they're up to these days? They're still trying, of course, but now they've taken the opportunity to demonstrate their hardware -- which uses basic inkjet printer tech to fire off very short bursts of fragrance -- to tech lovers in Japan while still tweaking and refining it. Primarily aimed at helping healthcare professionals in assessing a patient's sense of smell, the Fragrance Jet II has a high degree of control granularity, permitting the varying of both intensity and duration of a scent, which in turn can provide a very accurate measurement of a given person's olfactory acuity. A mobile prototype has also been trotted out (pictured above), hinting at the possibility of eventually shrinking these modules to fit inside cellphones and thus leading us to an awesome future of customizable "incoming call fragrances." Awesome indeed. Video after the break.Continue reading Fragrance Jet II receives video demonstration, still looks like a terrible idea (video)
Permalink   |  sourceDigInfo  | Email this | Comments
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Disconnect browser extension keeps pesky cookies in check, blocks third-party tracking requests
Internet Explorer 9 may block 'em in 2011, and the US government's on the case too, but you don't have to wait for Microsoft or bureaucracy to keep your privacy paramount if you browse with Rockmelt or Chrome. That's because former Google developer Brian Kennish just released Disconnect, an extension for either one, that banishes Digg, Facebook, Google, Twitter and Yahoo tracking requests (more companies are on the way) as you make your merry way across the web. Install and you'll find a nice little "d" icon on your browser's status bar, with a drop-down menu exposing exactly how many requests you've blocked from each service, and the option to manually disable blocking at will. Why bother? Don't you want to keep that secret love of Thanko products all to yourself?
Permalink Download Squad  |  sourceDisconnect  | Email this | Comments
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iTunes 10 now offering social playlists with Ping
After Twitter integration and iPad migration, looks like the next stop for Ping is social playlists. That's right -- the next time you make a mix in iTunes 10, clicking on the playlist arrow will give you two options: you can either purchase the playlist as a gift to your friend or loved one, or publish the playlist to Ping itself. Once your playlist is published, you can even give your friends on the network the option to edit it, making it a community playlist of sorts. Of course, this last option only works if you really trust your friends' taste. After all, it just wouldn't do to have Philip Glass invade your "Core Workout Playlist" featuring such beloved anthems Move This by Technotronic and Whoomp! There It Is by Tag Team.
iTunes 10 now offering social playlists with Ping originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 05:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceMac World  | Email this | Comments
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Dell Streak slips to $100 on contract at Best Buy
Discounts are raining down from the heavens these days as retailers try to offload old stock and do a bit of tidying up before rolling in the fresh batch of 2011 smartphones. Best Buy is keeping with this trend by treating its customers to a nice big saving on the AT&T-attached Dell Streak, offering it up for a mere $100 in upfront costs. The typical two-year commitment will be required from you, but that might just be worth it for this 5-inch Android slate, particularly if you load it up with the latest firmware. Pricing is the same for both the black and white versions, so if you're keen to swap a small bulge in your wallet for a large protruding tabletphone in your pocket, you know where to look.

[Thanks, Jeremy C.]
Dell Streak slips to $100 on contract at Best Buy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 05:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceBest Buy (Black), (White)  | Email this | Comments
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Telus to bundle free Xbox 360 with every WP7 activation or renewal for a limited time, says leak
Buy this phone, won't you please buy this phone? We've no idea why Telus has to try so hard to convince Canadian buyers to grab themselves a Windows Phone 7 handset, but the carrier's expected to sweeten the deal dramatically over the next few days by bundling a freebie Xbox 360 with every WP7 device activation or renewal. The offer starts today, according to this leaked memo, and will last through to the end of the week, December 19th. Telus carries the HTC 7 Surround and LG Optimus 7, neither of which would seem to have caught fire quite the way Microsoft would have wanted. Ah well, if you're going to sell your wireless soul for a whole three years, you might as well do it for a phone-plus-console combo.

[Thanks, Sean]
Permalink   |  sourceMobile Syrup  | Email this | Comments
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Misa Digital's stringless Kitara goes up for pre-order: $849 for a truly unique musical instrument
Remember the Misa Digital Guitar? Well, it's called the Kitara now, it's taken on a fresh lick of paint, and it's ready to be pre-ordered now for an April delivery. The Kitara discards old fashioned strings and has you strumming along on a multitouch display instead, populating the fretboard with a litany of buttons that modify the aural output from your digital input. It has an onboard synthesizer, but the real magic will happen once you plug it into your own audio equipment and start experimenting. Basically, it's like the Kinect of electronic music -- just needs a few inventive souls to harness its potential properly. They'll need fat wallets too, mind you, as turning this invention into a viable product has meant a lofty $849 starting price in the US. See a video demo and the full Kitara press release after the break.
Continue reading Misa Digital's stringless Kitara goes up for pre-order: $849 for a truly unique musical instrument
Permalink   |  sourceMisa Digital  | Email this | Comments
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Hitachi ships Deskstar 7K3000 and 5K3000 HDDs, 3TB XL external drive
Three. It's a magical number, you know? Hitachi GST sure feels that way, and the company is today introducing a trio of three terabyte storage solutions. First up is the 3TB Deskstar internal HDD kit, which apparently shatters the 2.2TB capacity limit on 32-bit Windows XP systems without any extra hardware required. For those who've graduated to more modern systems, there's the new 3TB Hitachi XL USB 2.0, an external archive solution designed to be sat horizontally or vertically and operate with both PC and Mac platforms. Lastly, the company is finally shipping the 7K3000 and 5K3000 internal hard drives to OEMs and channel partners, but the 3TB version of the latter won't hit until next quarter. As for pricing? All's quiet on the western front... save for that XL, anyway -- that one's going for $249.99 (3TB), $169.99 (2TB) and $99.99 (1TB).Continue reading Hitachi ships Deskstar 7K3000 and 5K3000 HDDs, 3TB XL external drive
Hitachi ships Deskstar 7K3000 and 5K3000 HDDs, 3TB XL external drive originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 03:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Gmail can now restore deleted contacts, still can't mend broken friendships
So what if Google knows and remembers all our data, at least it's turning that stuff into something useful. The latest enhancement to its Gmail client is a neat Contacts restoration option, which can rewind you back to a maximum of 30 days ago, offering a chance to recover rashly deleted email addresses or to remedy an ill-advised sync with any of your other contact-keeping services. As is par for the course with Gmail, it's a neat and seemingly minor improvement that'll probably keep users from leaving it for greener pastures over the long term as they grow accustomed to its security. Just how Google likes it.
Gmail can now restore deleted contacts, still can't mend broken friendships originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 02:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceThe Official Gmail Blog  | Email this | Comments
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AirPlay video streaming from iOS devices hacked into Macs (video)
Hey Mac home theater users, listen up -- your AirPlay wishes have come true. TUAW's very own Erica Sadun has developed a free (ad supported) 0.01 AirPlayer alpha hack that lets your Mac play host to AirPlay video streamed off of iOS devices. Right, just like an Apple TV and without requiring a Jailbreak. But as long as you're skirting official support anyway, why not install the free AirVideoEnabler app onto your jailbroken iPod touch, iPad, or iPhone to stream video from even more applications than Apple currently allows. Works for us. Everyone else can check the video after the break.Continue reading AirPlay video streaming from iOS devices hacked into Macs (video)
AirPlay video streaming from iOS devices hacked into Macs (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 02:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceTUAW  | Email this | Comments
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Real-time 3D face reproduction demonstrated on video
Eager to be freaked right on out? If so, head past the break and mash play. There, you'll see a recent demonstration by Tohto C-Tech, where a 3D camera setup was used to capture a person's face and then reproduce it on a monitor (in 3D, no less) in real-time. We're told that an undisclosed GPGPU setup was used to pull it off, as typical CPUs just weren't quick enough to render the final product on their own. The camera setup actually captures the face from two different viewpoints, enabling the sides of the face to be shown in addition to the front. We warned you that copious amounts of freaky were involved.Continue reading Real-time 3D face reproduction demonstrated on video
Real-time 3D face reproduction demonstrated on video originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 01:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceDigInfo  | Email this | Comments
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Swiftkey Android keyboard goes HD, adds new tongues and improved language prediction
Even the most loyal Android user is bound to kvetch about the stock keyboard at some point or another, and while Swype has definitely grabbed the hearts of a good many Froyo users, Swiftkey remains our third-party keyboard of choice. After escaping beta just a few months ago, TouchType has just outed an 'HD' build that's designed to cope with many of the higher-resolution displays being used on today's gargantuan Android phones. Moreover, we're guessing that this was done to look a bit better on devices like the Galaxy Tab, and there's no denying that the new design elements are a real step forward. Aside from the makeover, the app is also gaining five new languages (Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, Danish, Norwegian and Polish), improved language prediction quality and a new US layout that nixes accented characters. For those who've yet to try it, the latest version can be tested for a full 31 days, after which you'll be coerced into ponying up $3.99 for the real-deal. Hit the source links below (or the QR code shown here) to give it a go.Continue reading Swiftkey Android keyboard goes HD, adds new tongues and improved language prediction
Permalink   |  sourceSwiftkey (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments
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AMD Radeon HD 6970 and HD 6950 launch assault on enthusiast gaming market
It's taken AMD a long time to refresh the top end of its graphics hardware, but today's culmination to that wait has to be described as somewhat bittersweet. Sweet, because we're finally getting a successor to the venerable HD 5870, one that offers improved power management and tessellation performance at a lower $369 price point, but also bitter because in terms of sheer firepower, the Radeon series doesn't seem to have made quite the leap many of us had hoped for. The new top of AMD's single-GPU pile, the HD 6970, offers 1,536 stream processors, an 880MHz core clock speed, and 2GB of GDDR5 RAM running at 5.5GHz for a total of 176GBps of memory bandwidth. Its partner in crime, the HD 6950, is expected to list at $299, for which saving you'll have to sacrifice some clock speed (down to 800MHz) and processing units (1,408 in total). There's a neat little addition to both new boards: a Dual-BIOS switch that will act like Google's hardware jailbreak toggle on the Cr-48, allowing tweakers to unlock the extra (unprotected by warranty!) performance headroom in their cards.

Early reviews all seem to agree that both the Radeon HD 6970 and HD 6950 have struck a very fine price-to-performance ratio. The 6970 manages to spar with the much pricier GTX 580, but given that it's priced similarly to NVIDIA's GTX 570, it scores plaudits for being a more than viable alternative. The HD 6950 is seen as the real value item here, however, particularly since it occupies a relatively unique spot in the price range, and most reviewers tipped it as their new bang-for-the-buck leader.

Read - HardOCP
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Read - Tech Report
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Read - TechSpotContinue reading AMD Radeon HD 6970 and HD 6950 launch assault on enthusiast gaming market
AMD Radeon HD 6970 and HD 6950 launch assault on enthusiast gaming market originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 00:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iGrill meat thermometer for iPhone is the expensive, unholy marriage of the meat thermometer and iPhone
OK, we didn't see this one coming: iGrill is a Bluetooth-enabled meat thermometer. That's right, this bad boy not only displays the temp of whatever you sink the probe into, it also takes that info and transmits it to your iOS device for remote monitoring. Hell, the app itself even features a kitchen timer, alerts for whatever temp you set it to, and more. Because really, you do everything else with your smartphone, so why not use it to free yourself from the tyranny of the kitchen once and for all? Oh, that's right -- because this thing costs $100. See for yourself by hitting up the source link.
Permalink MobileCrunch  |  sourceiGrill  | Email this | Comments
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Google Voice Search update helps you personalize your results, helps Google build another database to take over the world
Google Voice Actions was the first step towards our Star Trek dreams of lassoing the world with naught but vocal cords, and today Google's taken a second hop towards that inevitable future by letting Android devices record our every utterance. Yes, if you've got a handset running Froyo or better, you can download an update for Google Voice Search right now, which will let your phone dynamically personalize its speech-to-text engine to better recognize your voice most every time you use it. Of course, by so doing you're giving Google permission to record your sentences -- anonymously, of course -- to use in future products, but whether that's a problem or just a happy coincidence depends on whether you take Google at its word. We hit the "yes" button, in case you're curious. Find it on Android Market, or just use the handy-dandy QR code below.Continue reading Google Voice Search update helps you personalize your results, helps Google build another database to take over the world
Permalink GigaOM  |  sourceGoogle Mobile Blog  | Email this | Comments
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Pioneer ships $200 BDR-206MBK BDXL writer, dares you to afford related media
Two months from introduction to shipping? Not bad, Pioneer... not bad at all. The world's first BDXL PC writer is now on sale at your local Fry's Electronics, bringing support for toasting 128GB quad-layer discs (if you can find / afford 'em) as well as speedy writing on typical BD-R, DVD-R and CD-R discs. Pioneer's also throwing in a CyberLink software suite, and if you buy in early, you'll get a single piece of 100GB BR-R XL media for free. Makes that $199 asking price seem entirely more attractive, doesn't it? In other news, the first Blu-ray format still isn't supported by Apple, not even on a $10,000 Mac Pro. Spectacular.Continue reading Pioneer ships $200 BDR-206MBK BDXL writer, dares you to afford related media
Pioneer ships $200 BDR-206MBK BDXL writer, dares you to afford related media originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 22:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Hugh's News  |  sourcePioneer  | Email this | Comments
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Google fires Nexus S into space, invites tenuous Galaxy S analogies (video)
How are you killing the time until the Nexus S finally goes on sale? Google's answer to that question has been a typically outlandish affair, involving seven Nexi, a collection of weather balloons, and another quest to see how much can be learned from a humble smartphone's sensors when they're shot to the edge of space. Yes, the Mountain View madmen fired a week's worth of their latest and greatest smartphones through the Earth's atmosphere, hoping to test both the durability and the information-gathering skills of the onboard compass, gyro, and accelerometer, while dedicated GPS modules were installed in each "shuttle" (made out of styrofoam beer coolers, if you can believe it) to help recover the cargo on its return to terra firma. So far, only six of the phones have been recovered -- might this be another of Google's crazy puzzles? A treasure hunt for an Android fallen from heaven? Video after the break.Continue reading Google fires Nexus S into space, invites tenuous Galaxy S analogies (video)
Google fires Nexus S into space, invites tenuous Galaxy S analogies (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 21:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Tecca  |  sourceNew Scientist  | Email this | Comments
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Arc Touch Mouse now on sale for $60 at all Microsoft retail stores
It may not be available at your favorite e-tailer quite yet, but Microsoft's Arc Touch Mouse is indeed on sale at the company's seven retail stores, each of which got a shipment of the flexible critters this morning. (How do we know? We just called every one.) What's more, they'll only cost you $60 apiece, a full portrait of Alexander Hamilton less than the original batch of preorders, so if you're looking for a thoroughly unique rodent partner that bows to your will, now might be the best chance to nab one.

[Thanks, Elliot B.]
Arc Touch Mouse now on sale for $60 at all Microsoft retail stores originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 21:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Daito Manabe's sensor-based drum machine might actually melt your face off
Believe it or not, this isn't the first time that Daito Manabe has used some electrical stimulation in a face-twisting musical experiment, but he's taken things one big step further with his latest project. As before, this rig creates wild facial twitches controlled by music (not the other way around), but it also includes a second set of sensors that allows another person to tap on a virtual drum kit and send the (hopefully) willing subject's face into a fit of synchronization. All of which is, of course, better seen than explained -- check it out in action after the break.

[Thanks, James]
Continue reading Daito Manabe's sensor-based drum machine might actually melt your face off
Daito Manabe's sensor-based drum machine might actually melt your face off originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 21:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Synthtopia  |  sourceDaito (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments
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Google under fire for promoting own content ahead of competing websites
This isn't exactly a new allegation, but the idea's spreading fast: Google is tuning search results to favor itself, and perhaps that's not entirely fair. Though the European Union is already investigating Google for potential antitrust violations, a recent article in the Wall Street Journal cites several US businesses that aren't too happy themselves, claiming that Google Places, Product Search and the like took a big chomp out of their traffic. Google's defense, as usual, rests on its secret algorithms, which it claims aren't rigged in any way, adding that the prominent placement of location- and product-based search results are just a way to get users quicker answers to their queries. If you type in "day spa nyc," you're looking for some catered suggestions, right? And what of those who argue differently? Well, obviously they're in league with Microsoft.
Google under fire for promoting own content ahead of competing websites originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 20:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceWall Street Journal, Google Public Policy Blog  | Email this | Comments
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US Army Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications program putting smartphones in soldiers' hands this February
Earlier this year, DARPA put out RFIs with an eye on developing military apps and an app store for iOS and Android, and now the US Army's Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications (CSDA) program will put handsets, network equipment, and other equipment including tablets, e-readers, and pico projectors into the hands of the First Army Brigade this February. Additionally, the Army plans to start issuing Common Access Card (the ID cards used to log on to DoD computers and networks) readers for the iPhone in January and for Android in April. According to Rickey Smith of the Army Capabilities Integration Center, "We're not wedded to a specific piece of hardware. We are open to using Palm Trios, the Android, iPhone or whatever else is out there." But we must admit -- we are encouraged that this time around you haven't mentioned Celio's REDFLY.
Permalink   |  sourceUSA Today  | Email this | Comments
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Nexus S in stock on Carphone Warehouse's site a little early
So this is how it was supposed to go: Best Buy would start selling the Nexus S in the States on December 16th, and Carphone Warehouse would follow on a few days later -- the 20th, to be exact -- in the UK. Looks like the British are going rogue here, though, because Samsung's Gingerbread-packed slate is showing "in stock" on Carphone Warehouse's site right this very moment, which should theoretically mean it ships the same day if you order it before 5PM local time. Let us know if you get it in your paws before the 20th, alright?

[Thanks, Daniel K.]
Nexus S in stock on Carphone Warehouse's site a little early originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceCarphone Warehouse  | Email this | Comments
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Dell: 'Venue Pros are being reworked in the factories,' ship schedule unclear
The Venue Pro delay situation certainly isn't getting any clearer with Dell's latest update on its support forums, but we know this much for sure: the new kid on the smartphone block still has a few things to learn about shipping handsets. A post from a Dell moderator says the company is working directly with Microsoft to draft a battle plan and that current Venue Pro owners (those that got their devices early on from Microsoft stores, that is) "might require another hardware swap" to get their issues solved. The rep says that she's hearing that some orders could still potentially ship this week, but she doesn't know which ones, and that affected customers are welcome to cancel their orders if they wish. So yeah, kind of a good news / bad news situation there. We're still clinging to hope that we'll see these things on the streets before the end of 2010, but it certainly seems like an iffy proposition at this point.

[Thanks, @steveymacjr]

Update: Dell's posted a new blog entry on the matter, too, though it's not much help -- basically, you could get your phone before January 6th, but it's anyone's guess. They're promising to keep people abreast of the situation as it develops.
Dell: 'Venue Pros are being reworked in the factories,' ship schedule unclear originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceDell Community  | Email this | Comments
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Best Buy sees big drop in TV sales, eases pain with beefy mobile revenue
Best Buy's stock took a 14.8 percent beating today on news that it earned $217 million in the third quarter -- a 4.4 percent decline year over year -- and felt compelled to revise its fourth quarter forecast downwards. The reason? Seems folks are holding off on buying televisions in a big way: the company suffered a "low-double digit' decline in boob tube sales, even worse than an industry average in the single digits, which would suggest that 2010's 3D revolution hasn't attracted the kind of consumer attention manufacturers (and content providers) would've liked. If there's a silver lining, it's that double digit increases in phone sales -- combined with a single digit boost in tablets and related mobile devices (read: iPads) -- helped to offset the TV decline. Of course, we're sure people will need new LCDs and plasmas eventually... but maybe it's going to have to wait for 4K.
Best Buy sees big drop in TV sales, eases pain with beefy mobile revenue originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 18:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink   |  sourceFT  | Email this | Comments
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Broadcom announces dual-core BCM2157 processor, promises high-end features for cheap Android phones
As you might have heard, 2011 is shaping up to be a big year for dual-core smartphones, and it looks like you can now officially count Broadcom in on the act. It's just announced its new dual-core BCM2157 platform that provides both HSDPA modem connectivity and applications processing courtesy of some dual-core, 500MHz ARM11 processors. The platform as a whole is also designed to support features like HVGA multitouch displays, 5-megapixel cameras, and mobile hotspots, among other standard fare -- all of which is specifically tailored for Android devices. That obviously doesn't place the processor at the high-end of the dual-core spectrum, but Broadcom says it will allow companies to "deliver high-end smartphone features on more affordable 3G Android handsets," and that's surely a goal we can all get behind. Head on past the break for the complete press release.Continue reading Broadcom announces dual-core BCM2157 processor, promises high-end features for cheap Android phones
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Advent Vega's Flash Player yanked due to missing Adobe certification
The Advent Vega was never the most polished Android tablet in the world -- after all, we had to rely on a custom ROM just to get native Android Market access -- but a reasonable price tag and NVIDIA's Tegra 2 has still made it hard to resist. For those who've managed to snag one already, you may have noticed that the Flash playback isn't exactly... awesome. That's probably because the version loaded onto already-shipped versions isn't certified by Adobe, and in order to fend off future complaints, the company's yanking Flash Player entirely from newly-shipping models for the time being. The certification process is apparently underway, and the outfit expects Vega tablets shipped "in the early part of 2011" to have a green-lit build pre-installed; as for everyone else, they'll be provided a gratis update as soon as it can be pushed out onto the interwebs. Head on past the break for the full statement.Continue reading Advent Vega's Flash Player yanked due to missing Adobe certification
Advent Vega's Flash Player yanked due to missing Adobe certification originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Android Community  |   | Email this | Comments
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Ubuntu meets Google Cr-48 laptop, keeps Chrome along for the ride
Inevitable? Perhaps. But there's still nothing like seeing Linux running on a device for the first time -- especially when it involves such a seemingly hacker-friendly device as the Google Cr-48 laptop. As you might expect, however, that required a bit more effort than your usual Ubuntu installation (not to mention a flick of that carefully concealed developer switch), but it isn't too far out of reach for the average user, and the complete process has thankfully already been explained in a thorough how-to guide. You can also, incidentally, keep Chrome OS around in a dual-boot config so as to not completely break Google's heart. Head on past the break for a quick video of the end result, and hit up the source link below for all the necessary details to do it yourself -- assuming you're lucky enough to actually have a Cr-48, that is.
Continue reading Ubuntu meets Google Cr-48 laptop, keeps Chrome along for the ride
Ubuntu meets Google Cr-48 laptop, keeps Chrome along for the ride originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 17:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Engadget Spanish, Download Squad  |  sourceChromium Projects  | Email this | Comments
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Sixth Circuit rules that the government needs a warrant to search your email
Score another baby step for digital democracy: the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that the government must have a search warrant before it can obtain email from your provider. Specifically, the court held in U.S. v Warshak that "it would defy common sense to afford emails lesser Fourth Amendment protection" than traditional communications like phone calls and postal mail. Yes, you'd think that would be obvious, but the specific question had never actually been raised at the appellate level before, so the decision is critically important -- it's likely that other courts will take their cue from the Sixth Circuit when faced with similar issues. As the EFF points out, however, there are several legal exceptions to the warrant requirement in the Stored Communication Act that the organization is still fighting to have amended, but hey -- we'll take every little bit of progress we can.
Sixth Circuit rules that the government needs a warrant to search your email originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Knockoff 3-in-1 iPad camera connection kit improves Apple's own design
Frankly speaking, the vast majority of knockoff gear is a giant leap backwards from the real-deal. This, friends, is one of those fringe cases where the opposite is true. The 3-in-1 iPad camera connection kit (available in black or white) is a single dock connecting apparatus with a trifecta of ports: USB, SD and microSD. In order of mention, you can offload photos from your camera onto your iPad via a direct USB connection, offload photos from your SD card and offload photos from your microSD card. It's all pretty self explanatory, and at just $29.90, there's hardly a reason to even consider the official version. Hit the links below to get your order in, but don't expect it to ship until early next year.
Knockoff 3-in-1 iPad camera connection kit improves Apple's own design originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink Gizmodo  |  sourceM.I.C. Gadget (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments
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