It's been an interesting few weeks of rumored Dell Streak 7 prices, but as promised, T-Mobile's setting the record straight with some official dollar figures. Yep, that predicted $330 price was indeed pretty far off -- turns out, T-Mobile will be offering the 7-inch, Android 2.2 tablet for just $200 (okay, $199.99 to be exact) on contract starting this Wednesday, February 2nd. Of course, you'll have to sign a two-year contract to get that sweet deal as well as send in a $50 mail-in rebate. Those looking for a bit more freedom can snatch up the NVIDIA Tegra 2-powered, T-Mobile HSPA+ slate for 450 bucks, which actually seems like a pretty sweet deal to us considering the Samsung Galaxy Tab is still about $500 off contract and $300 with two years of service. Sure, the Galaxy Tab has a few more things going for it, including a higher resolution display and bigger battery, but you'll just have to wait for our full review of the Streak 7 to find out if Dell's got a killer "4G" Android tablet hitting shelves later this week.Dell Streak 7 launching at T-Mobile on February 2nd: $200 with two-year contract, $450 without originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | T-Mobile, @TMobile (Twitter) | Email this | Comments
Monday, January 31, 2011
The Courageous Blastoff of Ham the Astrochimp [Space]
Fifty years ago, no hominid had ever made it into space. Ham the Astrochimp, aside from having one of the greatest names in the history of science, changed all that. LIFE has never before seen photos of the furry starblazer. More »
Samsung says Galaxy Tab sales to consumers actually 'quite small'
When is a tablet sold not actually a tablet sold? When it's a Galaxy Tab, apparently. As The Wall Street Journal reports, those two million Galaxy Tabs that Samsung reported it had "sold" in the fourth quarter of last year were apparently not actual sales to consumers, but simply sales to distributors (which is a different matter altogether). Even more surprisingly, Samsung's Lee Young-hee further explained on an earnings call on Friday that so-called "sell-out" sales to customers were actually "quite small," but she wouldn't provide a specific number. Somewhat confusingly, however, she also later noted that while "sell-out wasn't as fast as we expected," Samsung still believes that sales to consumers were "quite OK," and that it is "quite optimistic" about 2011.Samsung says Galaxy Tab sales to consumers actually 'quite small' originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Wall Street Journal | Email this | Comments
Water-propelled jetpack is no dream, can be yours for $99,500 this March (video)
It's taken a long time since that 2005 patent was filed for, but Raymond Li is now finally ready to bring his water-propelled jetpack to the money-spending world. Nailing down a March 2011 launch date and a price of $99,500 hasn't been easy for the inventor, who says his efforts to procure capital and prototyping quotations were mostly met with incredulity -- "almost everyone thought I was crazy." His JetLev personal transporter relies on an engine and fuel tank (which remain on the water's surface) to pump H20 into a backpack that then shoots out streams of the drinkable stuff to keep your airborne. Top speed is 22MPH, max height is nearly 33 feet, and the fun factor is somewhere off the scale, whether you're talking metric or imperial. Levitate past the break for a video demonstration.
[Thanks, Suraj]Continue reading Water-propelled jetpack is no dream, can be yours for $99,500 this March (video)Water-propelled jetpack is no dream, can be yours for $99,500 this March (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink PopSci | New Scientist | Email this | Comments
[Thanks, Suraj]Continue reading Water-propelled jetpack is no dream, can be yours for $99,500 this March (video)Water-propelled jetpack is no dream, can be yours for $99,500 this March (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink PopSci | New Scientist | Email this | Comments
HTML5 now has an official logo, looks oddly reminiscent of Superman's leotard
In a rather curious development, HTML5 has garnered enough celebrity to warrant its own official logo. Its heraldic and angular appearance obviously represents HTML5's role as the resilient vanguard of the open Web -- or, on second thoughts, it may simply be a reference to Superman's S shield.
Neither HTML4, HTML3, or indeed any version of HTML, has ever had its own logo before. There is an ancient 'HTML square', but as that dates to before 1995, it probably accompanied HTML2 and appeared on just a handful of websites.
The HTML5 logo website itself is, rather fittingly, a beautiful bastion of pure semantic goodness. Gone is the awful Web 2.0 'feedback' tab, with a beautiful 'Nav' menu sitting its place. There are also great descriptions for each of HTML5's major new features and some nice 'badge designers' -- in case you want to put the HTML5 logo on your site.HTML5 now has an official logo, looks oddly reminiscent of Superman's leotard originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 08:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Neither HTML4, HTML3, or indeed any version of HTML, has ever had its own logo before. There is an ancient 'HTML square', but as that dates to before 1995, it probably accompanied HTML2 and appeared on just a handful of websites.
The HTML5 logo website itself is, rather fittingly, a beautiful bastion of pure semantic goodness. Gone is the awful Web 2.0 'feedback' tab, with a beautiful 'Nav' menu sitting its place. There are also great descriptions for each of HTML5's major new features and some nice 'badge designers' -- in case you want to put the HTML5 logo on your site.HTML5 now has an official logo, looks oddly reminiscent of Superman's leotard originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 08:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
AppSumo Supercharge OS X bundle giveaway
Hopefully you read our review of the AppSumo Supercharge OS X bundle over the weekend. Sam has now been playing with the bundle for a few days -- in fact, the only sound emanating from his padded room in the Download Squad bunker is the gentle, rhythmic chanting of sumo, sumo, sumo -- and at the bargain price of $14, he really can't see a reason to not buy the bundle.
Unless, of course, you win our giveaway! We have 10 copies of the excellent AppSumo Supercharge OS X bundle to give away. You can enter the giveaway by simply leaving a comment. Full terms and conditions follow after the break.
Bear in mind, if you really want the bundle, you only have 36 hours left to buy it. You can still enter the giveaway -- and if you win, you can give your license keys to friends and family!Continue reading AppSumo Supercharge OS X bundle giveawayAppSumo Supercharge OS X bundle giveaway originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Unless, of course, you win our giveaway! We have 10 copies of the excellent AppSumo Supercharge OS X bundle to give away. You can enter the giveaway by simply leaving a comment. Full terms and conditions follow after the break.
Bear in mind, if you really want the bundle, you only have 36 hours left to buy it. You can still enter the giveaway -- and if you win, you can give your license keys to friends and family!Continue reading AppSumo Supercharge OS X bundle giveawayAppSumo Supercharge OS X bundle giveaway originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Google censors torrent, download terms from suggestions and Instant
It's pretty common for Google to revise its suggestion blacklist, adding in new terms that the company feels shouldn't appear. With the most recent update, you'll no longer see terms related to downloading -- terms such as torrent, RapidShare, and Megaupload. Why?
Google, indexing torrent sites and facilitating piracy, has been given plenty of flack from just about anyone with a copyright. It makes Google complicit, copyright holders argue. Fine, Google says, we won't suggest them any more when a users enters something like "Ubuntu tor."
Don't fret, searchers, you can still get your results. It just means you have to type "Futurama torrent" and hit enter instead of "Futurama to" and then pausing while Instant loads up what is probably the most commonly used pairing on Google anyway.Google censors torrent, download terms from suggestions and Instant originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Google, indexing torrent sites and facilitating piracy, has been given plenty of flack from just about anyone with a copyright. It makes Google complicit, copyright holders argue. Fine, Google says, we won't suggest them any more when a users enters something like "Ubuntu tor."
Don't fret, searchers, you can still get your results. It just means you have to type "Futurama torrent" and hit enter instead of "Futurama to" and then pausing while Instant loads up what is probably the most commonly used pairing on Google anyway.Google censors torrent, download terms from suggestions and Instant originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Open a new instance of an existing application in Windows 7
This week, we're running a series of keyboard tips and tricks that help you make the most of Windows 7. To see the previous tips, check our Tips index.
Earlier this week, I've shown you how to activate specific windows using their numbers. As you may recall, hitting Win+Number runs the application for that spot on the taskbar, or switches to it if it's already running. But what if it's already running and you want to run a new instace? Well, it turns out that's possible by hitting Win+Shift+number! This sequence would run the program for that taskbar spot again, even if it's already running. And if you like using the mouse, you can get the same result by middle-clicking the application's icon.
Come back tomorrow for the next keyboard tip, or, if you'd like to read a whole bunch at once, check out Sebastian's epic list.
Photo: orangeacidOpen a new instance of an existing application in Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Earlier this week, I've shown you how to activate specific windows using their numbers. As you may recall, hitting Win+Number runs the application for that spot on the taskbar, or switches to it if it's already running. But what if it's already running and you want to run a new instace? Well, it turns out that's possible by hitting Win+Shift+number! This sequence would run the program for that taskbar spot again, even if it's already running. And if you like using the mouse, you can get the same result by middle-clicking the application's icon.
Come back tomorrow for the next keyboard tip, or, if you'd like to read a whole bunch at once, check out Sebastian's epic list.
Photo: orangeacidOpen a new instance of an existing application in Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Kongregate's Snake is an utterly classic low-fi Time Waster
If you're looking for a groundbreaking time-waster, something you've never ever played before, a new concept in gaming - this post is not for you. But if you enjoy the odd bit of classic retro gaming, Kongregate's bare-bones implementation of Snake might be right up your alley.
What is there to say, really? You're a snake. I mean, you start life as a single chunky pixel, but as soon as you eat the red pixel, you grow. And then another pixel appears, you eat it, and grow some more.
If you've ever owned a Nokia phone, chances are it came with Snake built-in. The newer phones (even the crappier S60 models) come with a souped-up version of Snake, all 3d-looking, with the snake eating actual apples. This version is much more reminiscent of the older Snake version, which was strictly 2d. It doesn't have any sound effects, but it's super responsive, and very addictive. The reason for the low score on the screenshot isn't that I didn't play - it's that I played and played and played, each time thinking "this will be the one!" until I eventually realized if I don't take the screenshot and write it up now, I'll just end up playing all evening long. So there. Now, how much did you score?Kongregate's Snake is an utterly classic low-fi Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
What is there to say, really? You're a snake. I mean, you start life as a single chunky pixel, but as soon as you eat the red pixel, you grow. And then another pixel appears, you eat it, and grow some more.
If you've ever owned a Nokia phone, chances are it came with Snake built-in. The newer phones (even the crappier S60 models) come with a souped-up version of Snake, all 3d-looking, with the snake eating actual apples. This version is much more reminiscent of the older Snake version, which was strictly 2d. It doesn't have any sound effects, but it's super responsive, and very addictive. The reason for the low score on the screenshot isn't that I didn't play - it's that I played and played and played, each time thinking "this will be the one!" until I eventually realized if I don't take the screenshot and write it up now, I'll just end up playing all evening long. So there. Now, how much did you score?Kongregate's Snake is an utterly classic low-fi Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
CrunchGear Week in Review: Hop To It Edition
A Brief Explanation Of Why Minecraft Matters Watch This Amazing GE Video Kind Of Explain Regenerative Train Braking For His Blog: Man Has Been Taking Pictures Of Same Vending Machine For 5 Years Hands On With the Verizon iPhone Edible Concept: Tetris Sugar Cubes
Google announces Android event for February 2nd
Had enough Honeycomb this week? Perhaps -- but next week is a whole new week, and Google's got your back. Mountain View has selected Wednesday, February 2nd for an event that'll include "an in-depth look at Honeycomb, Android ecosystem news and hands-on demos," so by all accounts this seems to be more than a mere wrap-up of everything they've announced in the past few weeks. New tablets? Honeycomb for smartphones? Android 2.4? Something else entirely? We'll be there to find out, of course.Google announces Android event for February 2nd originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 18:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Sunday, January 30, 2011
The Plug Hub Is a Pretty Way to Hide Your Ugly Cables [Concepts]
Hide your cables, hide your plugs! This elegant concept, the Plug Hub, can become real if enough people buy it. Think of the $24 you spend as an investment towards a lifetime of peace, serenity and organization. More »
Google's Android 3.0 Honeycomb for tablets revealed in new video
Major news from Google just hit at CES: Android 3.0, dubbed Honeycomb, has been revealed. It might be a leak, but the video is very well made and looks quite solid. While a new Android version is always a big deal, this leak is made all the more significant by the platform's apparent shift in focus. It's all about the tablets now.
While Android for phones is certainly not going away, the Honeycomb video features a bold statement, "Built Entirely for Tablet." And the UI really shows it, as you can see in the screencap above. Gmail looks different, but that's just one change. The whole interface underwent a radical change, to work with the tablet form factor. Other highlights from the video:
A 3D-looking task switcher
A massive software keyboard, quite reminiscent of a certain tablet that shall remain nameless (ahem)
Rich widgets on a roomy homescreen -- the Gmail widget looks basically like the current Gmail app
A strong emphasis on Google Books, including "live" widgets (scroll through books on the widget)
A tabbed browser, looking vaguely Chrome-like
A panorama-like view of YouTube with a 3D "wall" of thumbnails
Video-enabled Gtalk
Solid zoom-and-pan action with the new Maps app, including 3D buildings. This seems similar to Maps v5, but it looks so much better on a tablet.
Lots of futuristic-looking neon text
Exciting times indeed! Now let's see a review unit.Continue reading Google's Android 3.0 Honeycomb for tablets revealed in new videoGoogle's Android 3.0 Honeycomb for tablets revealed in new video originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
While Android for phones is certainly not going away, the Honeycomb video features a bold statement, "Built Entirely for Tablet." And the UI really shows it, as you can see in the screencap above. Gmail looks different, but that's just one change. The whole interface underwent a radical change, to work with the tablet form factor. Other highlights from the video:
A 3D-looking task switcher
A massive software keyboard, quite reminiscent of a certain tablet that shall remain nameless (ahem)
Rich widgets on a roomy homescreen -- the Gmail widget looks basically like the current Gmail app
A strong emphasis on Google Books, including "live" widgets (scroll through books on the widget)
A tabbed browser, looking vaguely Chrome-like
A panorama-like view of YouTube with a 3D "wall" of thumbnails
Video-enabled Gtalk
Solid zoom-and-pan action with the new Maps app, including 3D buildings. This seems similar to Maps v5, but it looks so much better on a tablet.
Lots of futuristic-looking neon text
Exciting times indeed! Now let's see a review unit.Continue reading Google's Android 3.0 Honeycomb for tablets revealed in new videoGoogle's Android 3.0 Honeycomb for tablets revealed in new video originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 05 Jan 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Insidia is a dark-yet-forgiving platformer -- Time Waster
So you're an alien, tooling around in free space in your little spaceship... when suddenly, disaster strikes! Your craft is hit by a meteor, and you're forced to crash-land on an unfamiliar, dark planet.
That's where Insidia starts off. Now that you're on the planet, you have to navigate its complex maze of rooms and corridors in search of repair kits for your craft. Once you find all ten repair kits, you'd be able to leave the planet (and win the game).
Unlike many other platformers, Insidia is not linear. As you progress through the game, you reveal more and more passages and rooms, but you also go through some places more than once. When you hit M you get a nice map that shows everywhere you've been so far and gives you a sense of how much is still to be explored.
As you walk around, you find items that improve your abilities (a double-jump power-up, for example). And when something kills you, you just respawn at the last "save point", with all of your items and abilities intact. I love that, because it means dying is not a big deal - it's just a part of the game, and it doesn't make you feel like you're failing.
All in all, this is a platformer I could certainly spend some time with.Insidia is a dark-yet-forgiving platformer -- Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
That's where Insidia starts off. Now that you're on the planet, you have to navigate its complex maze of rooms and corridors in search of repair kits for your craft. Once you find all ten repair kits, you'd be able to leave the planet (and win the game).
Unlike many other platformers, Insidia is not linear. As you progress through the game, you reveal more and more passages and rooms, but you also go through some places more than once. When you hit M you get a nice map that shows everywhere you've been so far and gives you a sense of how much is still to be explored.
As you walk around, you find items that improve your abilities (a double-jump power-up, for example). And when something kills you, you just respawn at the last "save point", with all of your items and abilities intact. I love that, because it means dying is not a big deal - it's just a part of the game, and it doesn't make you feel like you're failing.
All in all, this is a platformer I could certainly spend some time with.Insidia is a dark-yet-forgiving platformer -- Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Gravity Guy is a fun one-button platformer -- Time Waster
Every once in a while, I like to write about a game that doesn't have a complicated set of controls. To be honest, most time wasters don't tend to be very complicated, perhaps except for those that require using both the mouse and the keyboard at the same time. But there's a category of time wasters that manage to hit the simplest UI possible, and still remain playable: The "one-button" games.
Gravity Guy is one such game; all you need is the SPACE key or the left mouse button. When the level starts, your little guy starts running across the screen, left to right. The level scrolls along, and pretty soon your guy is going to hit a step. In a normal platformer, you would just jump. But here there's no jumping - hitting space reverses gravity itself, and you find your guy suddenly running across the ceiling, full-speed ahead.
Now, just because it's a single-button game doesn't mean you don't have to stay alert: Hitting a step isn't the worst thing that can happen; just as often, the platform you're running on simply ends, and you fall into the abyss of space.
It's an intense game, but those who don't mind restarting a level over and over again will find it lots of fun.Gravity Guy is a fun one-button platformer -- Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Gravity Guy is one such game; all you need is the SPACE key or the left mouse button. When the level starts, your little guy starts running across the screen, left to right. The level scrolls along, and pretty soon your guy is going to hit a step. In a normal platformer, you would just jump. But here there's no jumping - hitting space reverses gravity itself, and you find your guy suddenly running across the ceiling, full-speed ahead.
Now, just because it's a single-button game doesn't mean you don't have to stay alert: Hitting a step isn't the worst thing that can happen; just as often, the platform you're running on simply ends, and you fall into the abyss of space.
It's an intense game, but those who don't mind restarting a level over and over again will find it lots of fun.Gravity Guy is a fun one-button platformer -- Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
The Engadget Show Live! with Steve Wozniak
Humans, keep your eyes tuned to this post -- because at 6:00PM ET, we'll be starting The Engadget Show live with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, joining us for a evening of frank, eye-opening and all-around awesome conversation. There'll be mind-blowing devices, crazy giveaways, and much, much more! We've even got music from Zen Albatross. You seriously don't want to miss it.
Continue reading The Engadget Show Live! with Steve WozniakThe Engadget Show Live! with Steve Wozniak originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Continue reading The Engadget Show Live! with Steve WozniakThe Engadget Show Live! with Steve Wozniak originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Jan 2011 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Five privacy protection Firefox add-ons for Data Privacy Day
Happy Data Privacy Day! While Lee already published one roundup showing a multitude of various tools, this post is all about Firefox!
If you're reading Download Squad, you already know all of these classics. Kudos to you! Now go ahead and let your less computer-savvy coworkers or family members read this list, and make sure they install at least one of these if they use Firefox at all.
HTTPS Everywhere is an add-on by the beardies over at the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation). It forces Firefox to communicate using HTTPS (secure HTTP) with a number of major websites, such as Google, Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook, PayPal and others.
Ghostery focuses on those corporations and institutions bent on tracking your movements around the Web (or on their own websites). It detects when you're being tracked by Google Analytics, Facebook and over 400 other ad networks, and provides an easy way to block those tracking mechanisms while leaving all other JavaScript functionality intact.
Web of Trust provides a clear "traffic light" indication showing which sites you can trust with your credit card details, and which sites you should be leery of. The ratings are user-generated, and you don't have to access the actual website in question to view them - they show up right on the search results page when you use Google, Yahoo!, Bing and even Wikipedia.
NoScript is somewhat similar to Ghostery mentioned above, in that it also blocks JavaScript. But it's a more extreme solution: Rather than just block trackers, it implements a "white list", blocking all JavaScript except for scripts running on domains you trust. One of its many advantages is that it protects against cross-site scripting attacks.
BetterPrivacy protects you against a different kind of cookie - one that you can't flush just by clearing your browser history. These cookies are called Local Storage Objects, or Flash cookies, and are put on your computer using the Flash plug-in. BetterPrivacy scrubs these cookies off your system every time your exit your browser.
Did I miss any of the must-have privacy add-ons for Firefox? Share your recommendations in the comments!
[Image credit: dcJohn]Five privacy protection Firefox add-ons for Data Privacy Day originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
If you're reading Download Squad, you already know all of these classics. Kudos to you! Now go ahead and let your less computer-savvy coworkers or family members read this list, and make sure they install at least one of these if they use Firefox at all.
HTTPS Everywhere is an add-on by the beardies over at the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation). It forces Firefox to communicate using HTTPS (secure HTTP) with a number of major websites, such as Google, Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook, PayPal and others.
Ghostery focuses on those corporations and institutions bent on tracking your movements around the Web (or on their own websites). It detects when you're being tracked by Google Analytics, Facebook and over 400 other ad networks, and provides an easy way to block those tracking mechanisms while leaving all other JavaScript functionality intact.
Web of Trust provides a clear "traffic light" indication showing which sites you can trust with your credit card details, and which sites you should be leery of. The ratings are user-generated, and you don't have to access the actual website in question to view them - they show up right on the search results page when you use Google, Yahoo!, Bing and even Wikipedia.
NoScript is somewhat similar to Ghostery mentioned above, in that it also blocks JavaScript. But it's a more extreme solution: Rather than just block trackers, it implements a "white list", blocking all JavaScript except for scripts running on domains you trust. One of its many advantages is that it protects against cross-site scripting attacks.
BetterPrivacy protects you against a different kind of cookie - one that you can't flush just by clearing your browser history. These cookies are called Local Storage Objects, or Flash cookies, and are put on your computer using the Flash plug-in. BetterPrivacy scrubs these cookies off your system every time your exit your browser.
Did I miss any of the must-have privacy add-ons for Firefox? Share your recommendations in the comments!
[Image credit: dcJohn]Five privacy protection Firefox add-ons for Data Privacy Day originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Amazon to buy out European movie rental and streaming service LoveFilm
After merging its DVD rental business with LoveFilm in 2008, Amazon has now agreed to buy all of the remaining shares for $312 million. Pending regulatory approval, the deal will complete in the first quarter of 2011.
LoveFilm, with extensive distribution rights in the UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, is usually referred to as the 'Netflix of Europe,' and this purchase is obviously intended to give Amazon a strong entry into the European DVD rental and online streaming market. Amazon is hoping that LoveFilm's entrenchment will be enough to beat out Netflix, which after conquering America must surely have its sights set on Europe.Amazon to buy out European movie rental and streaming service LoveFilm originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
LoveFilm, with extensive distribution rights in the UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Denmark, is usually referred to as the 'Netflix of Europe,' and this purchase is obviously intended to give Amazon a strong entry into the European DVD rental and online streaming market. Amazon is hoping that LoveFilm's entrenchment will be enough to beat out Netflix, which after conquering America must surely have its sights set on Europe.Amazon to buy out European movie rental and streaming service LoveFilm originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Zuckerberg On SNL: ?I Invented Poking? [Video]
'The Social Network' star Jesse Eisenberg hosted "Saturday Night Live" tonight and opened the show talking about the movie's impressive�eight Oscar nominations. The monologue then switched to video of actual Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg watching his two "Berg" doppelgangers backstage,�"Why can't I go in there, I'm the real Mark Zuckerberg?
Kongregate Arcade pulled from the Android Market for violating terms
While it might be packed with casual gaming fun, Kongregate Arcade for Android also violates Google's terms and conditions for distributing apps in the Android Market. Our brothers at Joystiq got word that Arcade was pulled because an app isn't allowed to distribute other apps. Sure, the game devs could repackage their Flash games and post them to the Market individually, but Kongregate's one-stop solution just didn't pass muster with Google.
You can still download Kongregate Arcade from the source. You'll need to flip the Unknown sources switch on your Android device under Settings > Applications, then download the .APK. Kongregate Arcade pulled from the Android Market for violating terms originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
You can still download Kongregate Arcade from the source. You'll need to flip the Unknown sources switch on your Android device under Settings > Applications, then download the .APK. Kongregate Arcade pulled from the Android Market for violating terms originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
LG Optimus 2X and Optimus Black priced at ?499 by Amazon Germany, not yet available to buy
Amazon's German outlet has started listing LG's two latest and undoubtedly greatest phones: the Optimus 2X (seemingly renamed the Optimus Speed here) and the Optimus Black. Both run Android 2.2 on 4-inch screens, with the former offering a dual-core Tegra 2 processor capable of 1080p video recording and HDMI output, and the latter cranking up the display brightness to a quite unreasonable 700 nits. The Optimus Black also has one of the thinnest profiles on a smartphone of its class at 9.2mm, and will be one of the first phones to offer WiFi Direct connectivity. Intriguingly, Amazon's Optimus Speed / 2X listing also shows a brown color option for the handset, though only its black SKU is subject to a neat €50 discount bringing its price to €499, the same as the cost of the Optimus Black. We don't know when either one will drop, but you can go and reserve yourself one (or a dozen) at the links below.
[Thanks, Julian]Continue reading LG Optimus 2X and Optimus Black priced at ?499 by Amazon Germany, not yet available to buyLG Optimus 2X and Optimus Black priced at ?499 by Amazon Germany, not yet available to buy originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 05:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Amazon DE (Optimus Speed), (Optimus Black) | Email this | Comments
[Thanks, Julian]Continue reading LG Optimus 2X and Optimus Black priced at ?499 by Amazon Germany, not yet available to buyLG Optimus 2X and Optimus Black priced at ?499 by Amazon Germany, not yet available to buy originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 05:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Amazon DE (Optimus Speed), (Optimus Black) | Email this | Comments
Visualized: Google's periodic table of APIs
The world of Google APIs and developer tools can be a confusing one, but the company has now at least brought a bit of order to the chaos with its own take on the periodic table of the elements. As you can see above, Android occupies the top spot normally reserved for hydrogen in the actual periodic table, and the remaining APIs and developer products are all grouped into their appropriate categories -- and, of course, linked to their respective websites. Hit up the link below to check out the table in its interactive form.Visualized: Google's periodic table of APIs originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Google | Email this | Comments
Turn Your iPhone 4 Transparent [Iphone4]
When you replaced the old iPhone 3G cover with a transparent case, it revealed a fugly side. But with the iPhone 4, the inner workings and hidden guts are surprisingly good lookin'. Here's how to turn your iPhone 4 transparent. More »
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Choqok, the Twitter and Identi.ca client for Linux, adds loads of new features in v1.0
Choqok -- a fantastic, full-featured Twitter and StatusNet client for Linux -- has finally reached version 1.0. The new release adds support for a number of new sharing services, including Flickr, Posterous, YFrog, and Twitpic as well as a number of new URL shortening services. Choqok 1.0 also shows inline thumbnail previews of images and videos.
Want more? Choqok is also fully extensible thanks to its plug-in system, and a handful of very useful ones are included from the get-go. Tops among them: update filtering. So long, check-ins, now playings, and annoying prepubescent male vocalists! While we're on the subject, Choqok itself can tap into several Linux music players in case you want to share your tunes with the world. It'll also push your updates to supported IM clients as well, for automated status changes.
Gallery: Choqok -- Twitter and StatusNet client for Linux -- screenshotsChoqok, the Twitter and Identi.ca client for Linux, adds loads of new features in v1.0 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Want more? Choqok is also fully extensible thanks to its plug-in system, and a handful of very useful ones are included from the get-go. Tops among them: update filtering. So long, check-ins, now playings, and annoying prepubescent male vocalists! While we're on the subject, Choqok itself can tap into several Linux music players in case you want to share your tunes with the world. It'll also push your updates to supported IM clients as well, for automated status changes.
Gallery: Choqok -- Twitter and StatusNet client for Linux -- screenshotsChoqok, the Twitter and Identi.ca client for Linux, adds loads of new features in v1.0 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Kongregate Arcade returns to the Android Market with some minor changes
After being removed from the Android Market for breaking the rules, the Kongregate Arcade app is back! Yet again can you enjoy easy access to the best source of Flash games on the Web.
Kongregate Arcade was originally pulled because it itself acted as a marketplace for apps -- or at least, it appeared to. In actual fact, the app was just a portal to all of the Flash games on the Kongregate site. The original app hid the browser's address bar (why is this possible?), which made it look like everything was occurring in-app.
The changes to the app make it more obvious that the app simply links to Web pages with Flash games, rather than appearing to play games from within the app. The Arcade will now also use the browser's cache to store temporary Flash files, rather than "explicitly downloading and managing games on the SD card."
A QR code to install the app is after the break.
Continue reading Kongregate Arcade returns to the Android Market with some minor changesKongregate Arcade returns to the Android Market with some minor changes originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 05:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Kongregate Arcade was originally pulled because it itself acted as a marketplace for apps -- or at least, it appeared to. In actual fact, the app was just a portal to all of the Flash games on the Kongregate site. The original app hid the browser's address bar (why is this possible?), which made it look like everything was occurring in-app.
The changes to the app make it more obvious that the app simply links to Web pages with Flash games, rather than appearing to play games from within the app. The Arcade will now also use the browser's cache to store temporary Flash files, rather than "explicitly downloading and managing games on the SD card."
A QR code to install the app is after the break.
Continue reading Kongregate Arcade returns to the Android Market with some minor changesKongregate Arcade returns to the Android Market with some minor changes originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 05:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Data Privacy Day 2011: a roundup of add-ons, tools and tips to protect yourself online
Today is the fourth annual Data Privacy Day -- so we've scoured the Download Squad archives to find the best downloads around for helping you keep your personal data safe and secure! From browser add-ons to encryption software, from Windows to Mac to Linux, we've got something here for everyone.
Once you're done checking out the apps and extensions, there's plenty more to read on our privacy tag page.
15 Google Chrome extensions for better browser privacy
20 Windows privacy app downloads
16 Mac and Linux data privacy downloads
10 great tools for safer Web browsing
How to start your Web browser in private browsing mode
Private Browsing on the go, from Portable Apps
Portable anonymous browsing with OperaTor
Cocoon is a privacy and security-enhanced Firefox remix
Defend against FireSheep by surfing with SSL
Three apps for creating and storing strong passwords
Data Privacy Day 2011: a roundup of add-ons, tools and tips to protect yourself online originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Once you're done checking out the apps and extensions, there's plenty more to read on our privacy tag page.
15 Google Chrome extensions for better browser privacy
20 Windows privacy app downloads
16 Mac and Linux data privacy downloads
10 great tools for safer Web browsing
How to start your Web browser in private browsing mode
Private Browsing on the go, from Portable Apps
Portable anonymous browsing with OperaTor
Cocoon is a privacy and security-enhanced Firefox remix
Defend against FireSheep by surfing with SSL
Three apps for creating and storing strong passwords
Data Privacy Day 2011: a roundup of add-ons, tools and tips to protect yourself online originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
How to switch between your recently used apps on Android
This week's tips series is all about Android, highlighting some the operating system's built-in utilities, and better ways of getting stuff done. For other technology tips, check our Tips index.
Android is inherently capable of multitasking, and has a sophisticated mechanism for deciding which applications should be kept running in the background, and which should be killed to conserve system resources. That means Android keeps tabs on which applications are running, and when.
It turns out there's a simple way to tap into this mechanism: A long press of the Home hardware button on your device pops up an overlay screen showing the most recently-used applications. You can then just tap an application's icon to instantly switch to it. Handy!How to switch between your recently used apps on Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Android is inherently capable of multitasking, and has a sophisticated mechanism for deciding which applications should be kept running in the background, and which should be killed to conserve system resources. That means Android keeps tabs on which applications are running, and when.
It turns out there's a simple way to tap into this mechanism: A long press of the Home hardware button on your device pops up an overlay screen showing the most recently-used applications. You can then just tap an application's icon to instantly switch to it. Handy!How to switch between your recently used apps on Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Internet Explorer 9 to bolster security with ActiveX content filter
Sure, you can wade through Internet Explorer 8's security settings and flip a number of radio buttons to change ActiveX permissions in its many zones, but it's kind of a pain in the butt. It's also not also flexible a system as it could be -- but Microsoft appears ready to change all that in Internet Explorer 9.
Over at WinRumors, Tom Warren has received information that IE9 will include an improved ActiveX filtering mechanism. As you can see in his screenshot, both ActiveX filtering and IE9's new Tracking Protection feature will be available via the browser's Information Bar -- making it easier to block or allow controls. Rogue ActiveX controls have been a common attack vector against Internet Explorer, so it's good to see Microsoft doing its part to help bolster the browser's defenses.Internet Explorer 9 to bolster security with ActiveX content filter originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Over at WinRumors, Tom Warren has received information that IE9 will include an improved ActiveX filtering mechanism. As you can see in his screenshot, both ActiveX filtering and IE9's new Tracking Protection feature will be available via the browser's Information Bar -- making it easier to block or allow controls. Rogue ActiveX controls have been a common attack vector against Internet Explorer, so it's good to see Microsoft doing its part to help bolster the browser's defenses.Internet Explorer 9 to bolster security with ActiveX content filter originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Silhouetter Turns Your Photos into iPod Ads
Oddly, the Silhouetter app for the iPad and iPhone doesn’t mention its “inspiration” anywhere in its description. But then, it doesn’t really need to, so obvious is the “homage” to the iconic iPod ads.
That said, the app is actually pretty cool in a single-serve kind of way. You choose a photo from your camera-roll, pinch [...]
That said, the app is actually pretty cool in a single-serve kind of way. You choose a photo from your camera-roll, pinch [...]
BlueGriffon: a cross-platform WYSIWYG HTML5 and CSS3 editor based on Firefox 4
If you want to get in on the HTML5 and CSS3 revolution, and would prefer some training wheels while you learn all of the new HTML tags and CSS transitions and transforms, look no further than BlueGriffon. It's free, open-source, and runs on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
BlueGriffon is built upon a recent version of Firefox 4. It uses the same Gecko page layout engine -- and in fact, lots of the UI elements look like they've come straight from Firefox 4. There are even add-ons to provide extra functionality, but they'll cost you 30 euros (about $40).
As far as actual usability goes, BlueGriffon is pretty good. The UI isn't exactly easy to use (but these things rarely are), but source editor is good -- and there's a built-in SVG creator that works well. You have access to all of the HTML5 tag types and CSS3 selectors, but not through the right-click context menu, which is annoying. The primary feature of BlueGriffon has to be the ability to see the effect of CSS3 selectors instantly -- or simply as a text editor that has a built-in Firefox 4 preview window.
According to WebUpd8, the nightly builds are the most stable. Also, if you're using Linux, grab the binary installer rather than the .deb, which apparently has some issues. The Windows build crashed quite a few times during my tests, too.BlueGriffon: a cross-platform WYSIWYG HTML5 and CSS3 editor based on Firefox 4 originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
BlueGriffon is built upon a recent version of Firefox 4. It uses the same Gecko page layout engine -- and in fact, lots of the UI elements look like they've come straight from Firefox 4. There are even add-ons to provide extra functionality, but they'll cost you 30 euros (about $40).
As far as actual usability goes, BlueGriffon is pretty good. The UI isn't exactly easy to use (but these things rarely are), but source editor is good -- and there's a built-in SVG creator that works well. You have access to all of the HTML5 tag types and CSS3 selectors, but not through the right-click context menu, which is annoying. The primary feature of BlueGriffon has to be the ability to see the effect of CSS3 selectors instantly -- or simply as a text editor that has a built-in Firefox 4 preview window.
According to WebUpd8, the nightly builds are the most stable. Also, if you're using Linux, grab the binary installer rather than the .deb, which apparently has some issues. The Windows build crashed quite a few times during my tests, too.BlueGriffon: a cross-platform WYSIWYG HTML5 and CSS3 editor based on Firefox 4 originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Tesla details Closed Loop battery recycling program for Europe
Electric cars need big 'ol batteries, like the Model S pack shown above, and while we've seen time and again that those cells hold up better than expected for years, eventually they're going to need to be decommissioned. What happens then? Tesla already has a recycling program in the US and now it's detailing plans for a similar program in Europe in partnership with Umicore. Tesla's packs are now eligible for Umicore's "Closed Loop" process, disassembling them to remove easily re-used components and then refining the rest of the cell constituents into things like lithium cobalt oxide, which can be used in other batteries, and other various byproducts that can be used in cement or as fill. The whole process of breaking down and extracting all the components is actually profitable, so hopefully Euro drivers won't get hit with any pricey Roadster disposal fees when they trade up to a Model S.Tesla details Closed Loop battery recycling program for Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Tesla Blog | Email this | Comments
Roll a Powerful Media HTPC for Less Than $500 [How To]
The web is rich with streaming video, and there's no reason you should limit yourself to enjoying it all on smaller screens. Here's how to roll your own home theater PC and consolidate your media center components to one small, sleek box. More »
Just In Case Your Remote Control Didn't Have Nearly Enough Buttons... [Remotes]
Is Samsung seriously planning on selling this double-sided RMC-QTD1 remote control, which has been spotted on FCC? Or are they just trying to kick Steve "anti-buttons" Jobs while he's down? Either way, erm, "wow". [Engadget via OhGizmo] More »
SMS to Swype for Android adds your common words to Swype's dictionary
Earlier, Erez covered Swype's excellent word-learning abilities. Not only is its built-in dictionary comprehensive, but it also learns names from your address book. There's still one stumbling block to switching to Swype, though: all of your custom words and phrases that you've already added to the dictionary. Depending on where you live, and your circle of friends, you probably use very different 'txtspk', and adding them manually to Swype is a pain in the ass.
SMS to Swype, however, is a tiny app that simply adds every unique word in your SMSes to your Swype dictionary. It takes just two or three clicks and, if you have a wealth of SMSes on your phone, you won't ever have to run it again. It's free, and available from the Android Market, AppBrain, or use the QR code after the break.Continue reading SMS to Swype for Android adds your common words to Swype's dictionarySMS to Swype for Android adds your common words to Swype's dictionary originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
SMS to Swype, however, is a tiny app that simply adds every unique word in your SMSes to your Swype dictionary. It takes just two or three clicks and, if you have a wealth of SMSes on your phone, you won't ever have to run it again. It's free, and available from the Android Market, AppBrain, or use the QR code after the break.Continue reading SMS to Swype for Android adds your common words to Swype's dictionarySMS to Swype for Android adds your common words to Swype's dictionary originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Daily Crunch: Squid Vicious Shot First Edition
Edible Concept: Tetris Sugar Cubes I Cannot In Good Conscience Recommend Buying This Yoda Robe Unfortunately, These Han And Greedo Bookends Are Sold Out Popping Popcorn With Lasers Is Awesome And Healthy Kickstarter: The PadPivot Might Be The First True Universal, Multi-Function Tablet Stand
Friday, January 28, 2011
Monster iMotion adds gesture control to your iPod, cigarette lighter
We haven't always gotten along with Monster or enjoyed the MSRP of its products, but this latest one shows a bit of promise -- and a bit of price gouging too. It's the Monster iMotion, a car adapter for your iPod or iPhone that not only will charge it via the cigarette lighter but lets you get your motion control on, too. A wave of the mitten can be used to change tracks and the universally familiar "talk to the hand" gesture can pause. It doesn't look quite as comprehensive as EyeSight's tech, but it does have the advantage of being available now -- for $120. Hey, check out that gold-plated connector!Monster iMotion adds gesture control to your iPod, cigarette lighter originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 03:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | CNET | Email this | Comments
David Karp: ?Tumblr Is Growing By A Quarter Billion Impressions Every Week?
Tumblr is growing like a weed, but "the last four or five months totally overshadow everything that came before it," founder David Karp tells Chris Dixon in a taping today for TCTV (watch the video above). "We are growing by a quarter billion impressions every week," he revealed. Last week Tumblr did 1.2 billion impressions, or pageviews, and it is adding 250 million every week. Just think about that for a second. Over the last 30 days, that came to 4.2 billion pageviews.
If you are wondering why Tumblr's been having so much downtime lately, just take a look at the comScore chart below, which shows its own estimate of 2.5 billion pageviews for the month of December, up from 335 million from the year before. All of that is coming from 19 million unique visitors per month globally, according to comScore. (Karp's numbers are based on his own internal Google Analytics and they are for a slightly different time period).
If you are wondering why Tumblr's been having so much downtime lately, just take a look at the comScore chart below, which shows its own estimate of 2.5 billion pageviews for the month of December, up from 335 million from the year before. All of that is coming from 19 million unique visitors per month globally, according to comScore. (Karp's numbers are based on his own internal Google Analytics and they are for a slightly different time period).
Video: Experiment Shows Cord-Cutting Simply Too Difficult For Average Families To Grasp
Here?s more evidence that regular people have zero time for things like Google TV, Boxee, and Roku, if only because they?re too complicated for their own good. Hill Holiday, a ?caffeine-fueled ad agency,? asked five Boston-area families to participate in a cord-cutting experiment. For one week each family was asked to forgo traditional cable TV in favor of one of the following devices: Apple TV, Google TV, Boxee Box, Xbox 360, and Roku. These devices, of course, are the premier devices for people looking to break free of their cable company while still being able to enjoy television. And how did it turn out for these five families?
Geolocation app appeals to your inner good samaritan, makes you an amateur EMT
When you go into cardiac arrest, you've got about ten minutes to live if you don't receive medical attention, and the average emergency response time is seven minutes after you dial 911. In an effort to get folks help more quickly and leverage the iPhone's life saving abilities, the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District in California has created the FireDepartment app to enlist the help of the citizenry in fighting the (unfortunate) results of a lifetime of eating tacos. The iPhone app -- Android and BlackBerry versions are currently in the works -- allows emergency dispatchers to notify users via text of a nearby crisis. For those feeling heroic, the app displays a map with the victim's location and any nearby automatic electronic defibrillators, and provides "resuscitation reminders" in case you're the CPR teddy-toting type. For now, the service only works in San Ramon but there are plans to port it for use elsewhere. That means we can look forward to a nation of amateur EMTs, which makes us thankful that mouth-to-mouth is no longer a part of CPR. Check the video after the break to see the app in action.Continue reading Geolocation app appeals to your inner good samaritan, makes you an amateur EMTGeolocation app appeals to your inner good samaritan, makes you an amateur EMT originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink O'Reilly Radar | San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District | Email this | Comments
Android Quick App: Videocam Illusion
Videocam Illusion for Android is a camera effects application that works with the video camera on your Android phone. We've seen similar apps that manipulate still pictures, and while they're really fun and useful, Videocam Illusion takes it to the next level by adding effects on-the-fly to live video you shoot from your phone. You can shoot up to 480p (720x480) video through the app, and the free version has four filters, four effects, and two masks to choose from. You can also shoot video at 1.33x speed. The paid version has 18 filters, 13 effects, six masks, and your choice of five different recording speeds. They both work really well, saving the video to your SD card in .mov format for easy playback on your computer. And since stock Android doesn't playback .mov files, the Videocam Illusion app includes a player to preview -- and show off -- your masterpiece. There's a video demo, some screenshots, as well as the download link for the free version after the break.
Android Quick App: Videocam Illusion posted originally by Android CentralSponsored by Android Cases and Accessories
Android Quick App: Videocam Illusion posted originally by Android CentralSponsored by Android Cases and Accessories
How Egypt Turned Off the Internet [Egypt]
Yesterday, something unprecedented happened: Egypt turned off the internet. A nation of 80,000,000, instantly disconnected. So how'd they do it? More »
Tracing The Origins Of Leaked Oscar Screeners
The Oscar nominations came out a few days ago, and like a bunch of dorks we?ve been discussing the merits of each movie in our little chatroom. So far we?ve unofficially given thumbs up to Winter?s Bone and Black Swan, while Devin and Greg have admitted to liking The Social Network. (I patently refuse to watch the movie.) Why am I bringing this up? Because every year around this time unscrupulous individuals leak their Oscar screeners to the Internet, allowing the rest of us to join in on the fun.
One enterprising gentleman has put together a spreadsheet with various screener-related information for your perusal. It?s actually a continuation of a long-running spreadsheet, tracing the origins of screeners, leaks, cam copies, and the like for the past several years.
One enterprising gentleman has put together a spreadsheet with various screener-related information for your perusal. It?s actually a continuation of a long-running spreadsheet, tracing the origins of screeners, leaks, cam copies, and the like for the past several years.
Daily Crunch: Bounce Edition
Split Strap Quickly Hits Kickstarter Goal, Still Time To Get In On The Fun SmallWorks BrickCase Lets You Brick Your iPhone. In A Good Way. As In LEGOs Watch This Amazing GE Video Kind Of Explain Regenerative Train Braking NZXT?s Bunker Locks Down Your USB Devices So LAN Rogues Won?t Steal Them Universal Donates 200,000 [...]
Hearing This Voicemail—and Knowing That It Went to the Wrong Person—Will Make You Cry [Video]
Stop whatever you're doing right now and go tell your dear ones that you love them. You'll be glad you did once you listen to this voicemail recording. More »
Monster iClarityHD Precision Micro Bluetooth Speaker 100 Review
The Monster iClarityHD Precision Micro Bluetooth Speaker 100′s name might be bigger than the speaker itself, but it packs a lot of sound into that small space. It also makes a fine hands-free audio bridge (speaker & mic) for your Bluetooth-enabled devices. It does this in an attractive and very portable package that will grind [...]
LibreOffice 3.3, the open source office suite, now available
LibreOffice -- the Document Foundation's fork of OpenOffice -- has come a long way since the project was first announced in September 2010. Today, the Foundation has announced that its first stable release, LibreOffice 3.3, is ready to download.
Among the many changes you'll find in version 3.3 are the arrival of new import filters and improvements to existing ones -- key features when you're trying to persuade users to migrate from competing suites like Microsoft Office, Works, or WordPerfect. Calc (the LibreOffice spreadsheet app) now boasts better Excel interoperability, SVG images can be opened and modified in Draw, and they can also be imported into Writer.
The Suite's PowerPoint alternative -- Presenter -- now ships with a presentation mode plug-in which makes controlling slideshows from your laptop a breeze. Testers will enjoy the addition of Experimental Mode, which you can toggle if you'd like to play with new features before they've officially been added to LibreOffice. It's a bit like the about:flags page in Google Chrome. LibreOffice 3.3 also sports a long list of interface and usability tweaks -- check out this page at the official site for a complete rundown.
Download LibreOffice 3.3 for Windows, Mac, or LinuxLibreOffice 3.3, the open source office suite, now available originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 07:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Among the many changes you'll find in version 3.3 are the arrival of new import filters and improvements to existing ones -- key features when you're trying to persuade users to migrate from competing suites like Microsoft Office, Works, or WordPerfect. Calc (the LibreOffice spreadsheet app) now boasts better Excel interoperability, SVG images can be opened and modified in Draw, and they can also be imported into Writer.
The Suite's PowerPoint alternative -- Presenter -- now ships with a presentation mode plug-in which makes controlling slideshows from your laptop a breeze. Testers will enjoy the addition of Experimental Mode, which you can toggle if you'd like to play with new features before they've officially been added to LibreOffice. It's a bit like the about:flags page in Google Chrome. LibreOffice 3.3 also sports a long list of interface and usability tweaks -- check out this page at the official site for a complete rundown.
Download LibreOffice 3.3 for Windows, Mac, or LinuxLibreOffice 3.3, the open source office suite, now available originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 07:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Daily Crunch: Little Ninja Edition
Designer Gas Cans Are Haute Couture, Haute Octane LittleBigPlanet 2 Review Round-Up: Pretty Much Universal Acclaim Ekocase: Ecologically Sound iPad Cases For All (Plus A Contest) The Steve Jobs Action Figure, Now With More Ninja Action! Concept USB Drive/Battery Is At Least Clever Lego Angry Birds: Needs More Pigs
Thursday, January 27, 2011
News Corp's iPad-Only Paper The Daily To Launch Next Wednesday [Ipadapps]
News Corp's kinda much anticipated iPad-only newspaper, The Daily, will launch next Wednesday, according to NYT's Jeremy Peters. Apparently the announcement will come at an event at the Guggenheim museum in New York, and Peters says Apple's VP of Internet Services, Eddy Cue, will be on hand. Hopefully that means The Daily will bring iTunes subscription billing for other tablet publications along with it, as has been rumored. Anyway, more to read! As if there wasn't enough already. [JWPetersNYT] More »
Firefox Home Dash experiment offers a radical new UI for your Mozilla browser
It's a little hard to describe what Firefox Home Dash is -- beyond the basics, anyway. It's an experimental add-on born from Mozilla's Prospector project which replaces (or removes) nearly all of the Firefox UI. You're left with a title bar, scrollbar, the big orange button, and not much else. The goal is to get the browser out of the way and just give you the Web.
Hover over the Firefox logo in the top-left of your window or press Ctrl+T, and Dash will appear. The Firefox Awesome Bar floats to the left, offering all the same functionality you find in the browser right now. It'll search your history, bookmarks, or submit your query to any search engine with the click of a favicon. The right half of your Dash is populated by your currently open tabs (in a strip along the top -- pinned tabs on the left) and frequently visited pages (shown below). Sites you visit most often will be placed in one of the four larger, central slides. As you can see from my screenshot, Dash doesn't always render thumbnails -- but this is the first release of an experimental add-on, so we were expecting a few bugs.
When you pause on a thumbnail, Dash will display it in the background. Click the page image, and it zooms into the foreground. Previews also appear when you Ctrl+Tab or Shift+Ctrl+Tab to change your active tab. You can also drag tab thumbnails to re-order your browser tabs.
Dash is interesting to play with, though there's definitely an adjustment period required. Unless you're used to browsing in full screen mode, it's a bit odd looking at Firefox with practically no chrome. Still, the only UI element I really missed was the tab bar -- I prefer having something to click on to switch tabs over paging through them with hotkeys or invoking Dash and clicking a thumbnail.
If you want to give the add-on a try, download Firefox Home Dash from Mozilla. Firefox 4 is required, and you can start using Dash right away -- it's restart-free!Firefox Home Dash experiment offers a radical new UI for your Mozilla browser originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Hover over the Firefox logo in the top-left of your window or press Ctrl+T, and Dash will appear. The Firefox Awesome Bar floats to the left, offering all the same functionality you find in the browser right now. It'll search your history, bookmarks, or submit your query to any search engine with the click of a favicon. The right half of your Dash is populated by your currently open tabs (in a strip along the top -- pinned tabs on the left) and frequently visited pages (shown below). Sites you visit most often will be placed in one of the four larger, central slides. As you can see from my screenshot, Dash doesn't always render thumbnails -- but this is the first release of an experimental add-on, so we were expecting a few bugs.
When you pause on a thumbnail, Dash will display it in the background. Click the page image, and it zooms into the foreground. Previews also appear when you Ctrl+Tab or Shift+Ctrl+Tab to change your active tab. You can also drag tab thumbnails to re-order your browser tabs.
Dash is interesting to play with, though there's definitely an adjustment period required. Unless you're used to browsing in full screen mode, it's a bit odd looking at Firefox with practically no chrome. Still, the only UI element I really missed was the tab bar -- I prefer having something to click on to switch tabs over paging through them with hotkeys or invoking Dash and clicking a thumbnail.
If you want to give the add-on a try, download Firefox Home Dash from Mozilla. Firefox 4 is required, and you can start using Dash right away -- it's restart-free!Firefox Home Dash experiment offers a radical new UI for your Mozilla browser originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Reborn 4G Sidekick Revealed? [Leak]
The teen texting dream machine and proto-smartphone Sidekick is rising from the grave, imbued with 4G and Android superpowers. And now we've got an alleged first look at it, courtesy of TmoNews—old Sidekick, sans fugliness, plus giant screen. More »
News Corp and Apple holding ?The Daily? iPad newspaper launch on Feb. 2nd
Both Apple and News Corp have sent out invitations to an event on February 2nd where News Corp Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch will be joined by Apple iTunes, App Store, and Internet VP Eddy Cue to launch “The Daily”, the long-rumored iPad-only digital newspaper.
The Daily is expected to rely on a new iTunes-based subscription [...]News Corp and Apple holding “The Daily” iPad newspaper launch on Feb. 2nd is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
The Daily is expected to rely on a new iTunes-based subscription [...]News Corp and Apple holding “The Daily” iPad newspaper launch on Feb. 2nd is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Ping-Pong Case Turns iPhone Into Tiny Paddle
Problem: You find yourself challenged to a game of ping-pong, a sport at which excel, by some punk-ass kid. You are a table-tennis master and this brat needs to be taught a lesson, dammit!
But you have no paddle, and this dumb kid sure as hell isn’t going to lend you one.
Solution: Whip out your iPhone, [...]
But you have no paddle, and this dumb kid sure as hell isn’t going to lend you one.
Solution: Whip out your iPhone, [...]
Starbucks now lets you pay from your iPhone or BlackBerry
While paying for goods from your phone my be common elsewhere in the world, it's been slow to catch on here in North America. Starbucks, however, may well have gotten the ball rolling, with the release of a pair of apps for iPhone and BlackBerry users.
Drop Starbucks Card Mobile onto your smartphone, and you'll be able to load it with funds and pay at more than 7,500 locations in the U.S. Just tap the button to pay, and Starbucks Mobile Card creates a barcode which your server can then scan to debit your account. NFC support may be added later, as hardware adds that functionality and customer demand increases.
In case you can't simply look over your shoulder and see at least one Starbucks, the app also has a built-in location finder. Starbucks is confident the apps will be a hit with customers, who currently pay for 1 in 5 purchases using reloadable Starbucks cards.
Gallery: Starbucks Card Mobile iPhone App
Download Starbucks Mobile Card for iOS [iTunes]
Starbucks Mobile Card for BlackBerryStarbucks now lets you pay from your iPhone or BlackBerry originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Drop Starbucks Card Mobile onto your smartphone, and you'll be able to load it with funds and pay at more than 7,500 locations in the U.S. Just tap the button to pay, and Starbucks Mobile Card creates a barcode which your server can then scan to debit your account. NFC support may be added later, as hardware adds that functionality and customer demand increases.
In case you can't simply look over your shoulder and see at least one Starbucks, the app also has a built-in location finder. Starbucks is confident the apps will be a hit with customers, who currently pay for 1 in 5 purchases using reloadable Starbucks cards.
Gallery: Starbucks Card Mobile iPhone App
Download Starbucks Mobile Card for iOS [iTunes]
Starbucks Mobile Card for BlackBerryStarbucks now lets you pay from your iPhone or BlackBerry originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
This is How to Silence Enemies, Apple Fanboys or Justin Bieber on Twitter—For Good [Chrome Extensions]
I've just discovered the Chrome extension Proxlet, and I swear it's going to change my life for the better. Now you can mute people, hashtags or Foursquare tweets from your feed—even if you're not actually following them. More »
Passmark OSFMount mounts CD, DVD, DD images and VMWare virtual discs
There are plenty of free tools out there that allow you to mount disc images as virtual drives, but Passmark's OSFMount offers a bit of additional functionality. Apart from being able to mount everything from ISOs to raw DD (a Unix imaging tool) images to VMWare virtual disks, OSFMount can also extend and format certain types.
Images may also be mounted as a RAM drive, which can yield better read/write performance. It's important to note that while OSFMount can mount a DD image, it won't do you any good if the filesystem isn't something Windows supports -- like EXT2/3/4 or HPFS, for example. While it's primarily intended as a forensics tool, OSFMount is a good, free utility for those of you who simply want to mount disc images in Windows.
Download Passmark OSFMountPassmark OSFMount mounts CD, DVD, DD images and VMWare virtual discs originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Images may also be mounted as a RAM drive, which can yield better read/write performance. It's important to note that while OSFMount can mount a DD image, it won't do you any good if the filesystem isn't something Windows supports -- like EXT2/3/4 or HPFS, for example. While it's primarily intended as a forensics tool, OSFMount is a good, free utility for those of you who simply want to mount disc images in Windows.
Download Passmark OSFMountPassmark OSFMount mounts CD, DVD, DD images and VMWare virtual discs originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 17 Jan 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
This Is Obama's State of the Future [Obama]
Last night, President Obama delivered his yearly State of the Union address. Jobs! War! Bipartisanship! Awkward clapping! Sleeping senators! But also, lots of future talk. Below, we break down Obama's claims for America's tech horizon, and what they might mean. More »
How to Spray a Fully Formed Cocktail Out of a Soda Gun [Booze]
The Waylon is a delicious, deceptively simple cocktail: smoke-infused Coca-Cola, water and bourbon. It's not shaken or stirred like the average mixed drink, though. More »
Facebook enables one-click identity theft option for rogue application developers
In a rather odd and haphazard move, Facebook has now made it possible for apps to read your home address and mobile telephone number.
In the "Request for Permission" window -- the one you have to accept before using an app on the Facebook platform -- look out for "Access my contact information", with the subtitle "Current Address and Mobile Phone Number" (see image above). You'd think that such important details would deserve a bolder warning, instead of the usual faded gray -- but obviously not.
As Sophos' Naked Security blog points out, making such details available in a landscape that is already packed full of rogue spam and scam applications puts Facebook users at even greater risk. With your full name and home address, identity theft basically becomes a no-brainer -- and can you imagine the SMS spam that awaits the unlucky Facebooker that gives his phone number to the wrong app developer?
Still, even if you're not bothered by this (and you can always remove your home address or mobile number from Facebook), you have wonder what Facebook will do next. Facebook is quickly becoming The One True Internet Hub, and the wealth of data it knows about us is terrifying. If access to incredibly sensitive data can be reduced to a small-font subtitle in a cluttered permission box, it's only a matter of time until you accidentally press "Allow" and fritter away your entire life story to a random rogue developer.Facebook enables one-click identity theft option for rogue application developers originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
In the "Request for Permission" window -- the one you have to accept before using an app on the Facebook platform -- look out for "Access my contact information", with the subtitle "Current Address and Mobile Phone Number" (see image above). You'd think that such important details would deserve a bolder warning, instead of the usual faded gray -- but obviously not.
As Sophos' Naked Security blog points out, making such details available in a landscape that is already packed full of rogue spam and scam applications puts Facebook users at even greater risk. With your full name and home address, identity theft basically becomes a no-brainer -- and can you imagine the SMS spam that awaits the unlucky Facebooker that gives his phone number to the wrong app developer?
Still, even if you're not bothered by this (and you can always remove your home address or mobile number from Facebook), you have wonder what Facebook will do next. Facebook is quickly becoming The One True Internet Hub, and the wealth of data it knows about us is terrifying. If access to incredibly sensitive data can be reduced to a small-font subtitle in a cluttered permission box, it's only a matter of time until you accidentally press "Allow" and fritter away your entire life story to a random rogue developer.Facebook enables one-click identity theft option for rogue application developers originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 16 Jan 2011 12:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Butterfly Wings Offer Guiding Light for Nanotech Innovation
The Morpho butterfly's highly evolved wings are so unique that scientists at Simon Fraser University have teamed up with NanoTech Security to reproduce their iridescent blue coloring for a new anti-counterfeiting technology. A clever pairing of nanotechnology and entomology used nanoscale microscopic holes that interact with light to reproduce the butterfly's shimmering signature.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Belkin Grip Vue for Samsung Galaxy Tab
Maybe you remember how much I love my Belkin Grip Vue cases for the iPad and for my iPod touch?� Well, Belkin has decided to spread the wealth to other tablets.� It’s hard to see in the picture, but the Galaxy Tab in the picture is wearing one of the clear TPU cases that protects [...]
Open a new instance of an existing application in Windows 7
This week, we're running a series of keyboard tips and tricks that help you make the most of Windows 7. To see the previous tips, check our Tips index.
Earlier this week, I've shown you how to activate specific windows using their numbers. As you may recall, hitting Win+Number runs the application for that spot on the taskbar, or switches to it if it's already running. But what if it's already running and you want to run a new instace? Well, it turns out that's possible by hitting Win+Shift+number! This sequence would run the program for that taskbar spot again, even if it's already running. And if you like using the mouse, you can get the same result by middle-clicking the application's icon.
Come back tomorrow for the next keyboard tip, or, if you'd like to read a whole bunch at once, check out Sebastian's epic list.
Photo: orangeacidOpen a new instance of an existing application in Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Earlier this week, I've shown you how to activate specific windows using their numbers. As you may recall, hitting Win+Number runs the application for that spot on the taskbar, or switches to it if it's already running. But what if it's already running and you want to run a new instace? Well, it turns out that's possible by hitting Win+Shift+number! This sequence would run the program for that taskbar spot again, even if it's already running. And if you like using the mouse, you can get the same result by middle-clicking the application's icon.
Come back tomorrow for the next keyboard tip, or, if you'd like to read a whole bunch at once, check out Sebastian's epic list.
Photo: orangeacidOpen a new instance of an existing application in Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 06 Jan 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Pally Pals: Trapezoidal, Foldable, Bobbly & Fun
Bobble heads.� Cool, right?� How about a trapezoidal-shaped bobble head that you construct yourself by downloading a template, printing on cardstock, cutting, folding and gluing it?� Too good to be true?� Check out Pally Pal Paper Toys.� They have a growing inventory of Pal designs in several categories or download a blank template and create [...]
Put the Reader link back in Gmail with a Chrome extension
Google made a minor tweak to the Gmail navigation links recently -- moving Photos into a more prominent spot and Reader into the More drop-down. While I wasn't particularly concerned (I've got Firefox hotkeys wired to most of my bookmarks for fast mouse-free access), the change created quite a stir on Twitter.
But as is usually the case, enthusiasts who don't want to accept changes on their favorite Web sites have already responded. If you want your Reader link back and you're using Google Chrome, grab the Put Reader Back extension. Once installed, just reload your Gmail tab to see the change.Put the Reader link back in Gmail with a Chrome extension originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
But as is usually the case, enthusiasts who don't want to accept changes on their favorite Web sites have already responded. If you want your Reader link back and you're using Google Chrome, grab the Put Reader Back extension. Once installed, just reload your Gmail tab to see the change.Put the Reader link back in Gmail with a Chrome extension originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Nvidia Barreling Ahead With Tegra 2 3D
Nvidia will reportedly ship a Tegra 2 3D processor, to be used in mobile devices, this year. A leaked slide, said to be part of Nvidia's planned presentation at the Mobile World Congress, to be held in Barcelona, Spain, in February, shows the Tegra 2 3D and mentions the Tegra 3, which is a quad-core processor.
NYC crowns Rachel Sterne as Chief Digital Officer, we question her analog existence
CEO, COO, CIO, CFO -- all TLAs that most folks would be proud to see blooming on their business cards. Get ready for a new one. It's CDO, Chief Digital Officer, a position recently created in New York City and now occupied by one Rachel Sterne. She's something of a social media maven and is the founder of GroundReport, an aggregator of user-created news stories. She'll now be tasked with improving the city's ability to leverage social networks and the internet as a whole to communicate with its residents. We're not sure if this will actually entail the digitization of Rachel herself, but we're wondering if maybe that's already been taken care of. See for yourself after the break.
[Image credit: meyers]Continue reading NYC crowns Rachel Sterne as Chief Digital Officer, we question her analog existenceNYC crowns Rachel Sterne as Chief Digital Officer, we question her analog existence originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 09:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | CNET | Email this | Comments
[Image credit: meyers]Continue reading NYC crowns Rachel Sterne as Chief Digital Officer, we question her analog existenceNYC crowns Rachel Sterne as Chief Digital Officer, we question her analog existence originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 09:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | CNET | Email this | Comments
I Wish This Rubber Table Were Alive [Design]
A rubber table that could be used to plunge five toilets simultaneously? One that could be placed on a wall too? Would the wonders ever cease? I sure hope not. [Dezeen] More »
Sony VAIO SA and SB show up at European e-tailers with 13-inch screens, Core i5 / i7 CPUs, SSD options
Looks like Sony is preparing to freshen up the top end of its laptop range with a pair of new VAIO series, the SA and SB. An Intel Core i7-2620M is found populating a listing for an SA1X9E/XI model, alongside 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 128GB of SSD storage, AMD Radeon HD 6630M graphics, and a 1600 x 900 resolution squeezed into a 13.3-inch screen. All that for a measly £1,571 (nearly $2,500). What's intriguing about that 2.7GHz dual-core CPU is that Intel lists a February 20th launch date for it, potentially giving us a hint as to when Sony will put the trigger with its refresh. The VAIO SB laptops are set to be the tamer offering, being built around the latest Core i5 chips, though we've yet to know for certain what any of these new machines will actually look like. So, for your speculative pleasure, we've embedded a video after the break with some prototypes spotted at CES that could end up slapped with the SA / SB labels.Continue reading Sony VAIO SA and SB show up at European e-tailers with 13-inch screens, Core i5 / i7 CPUs, SSD optionsSony VAIO SA and SB show up at European e-tailers with 13-inch screens, Core i5 / i7 CPUs, SSD options originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 01:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Sony Insider | Notebook Review forums | Email this | Comments
Obama's Five Year Tech Plan: High Speed Wireless Internet for 98% of Americans [Politics]
Remember when the study came out that most broadband connections in America weren't really broadband? Well that might be a thing of the past after Obama just pledged to deliver high-speed internet connections to 98% of Americans. More »
Blackberry OS 6 Available for Verizon Customers RIGHT NOW [Smartphones]
If you're on Verizon and you have a Blackberry Bold 9560 or a Curve 3G, you should be able to update to Blackberry OS 6.0 via OTA update, or by connecting your Blackberry to your computer and going to this page. Praise Lazaridis! [Blackberry via Ubergizmo] More »
Daily Crunch: Pinpoint Edition
How The Glif Got Made: From Design To Sales In Five Months Fujifilm?s Anti-Counterfeiting Watermarks Are Just Cool-Looking Kinect + Minecraft = Full-Motion 3D Statues ICZ-R50: Sony Shows New Radio Recorder Further Leaks Show Off Potential Interface, Specs For HP?s webOS Tablet
Facebook CTO Bret Taylor: ?Mobile Devices Are Inherently Social?
Here at Inside Mobile Apps conference, Facebook CTO Bret Taylor talked about how mobile will be Facebook's primary focus in 2011, mainly because "mobile devices are inherently social," he said. Currently Facebook has 1/3 of its almost 600M user base (200M) on mobile devices and Taylor says that Facebook mobile users are 2x as active as Facebook web users.
Taylor thinks of Facebook as a horizontal platform (easily accessible) and revealed that a huge goal for Facebook was reducing friction on mobile and extending Facebook engagement to all devices, mentioning the PS3, the iPhone and customized devices as examples. As an example of a frictionless solution, Taylor brought up Facebook Single Sign On and mentioned that social movie site Flixster had a 300% increase in usage after it implemented the feature.
Taylor thinks of Facebook as a horizontal platform (easily accessible) and revealed that a huge goal for Facebook was reducing friction on mobile and extending Facebook engagement to all devices, mentioning the PS3, the iPhone and customized devices as examples. As an example of a frictionless solution, Taylor brought up Facebook Single Sign On and mentioned that social movie site Flixster had a 300% increase in usage after it implemented the feature.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
DownThemAll 2 download manager released, now supports Firefox 4
The popular Firefox download manager DownThemAll has finally hit version 2.0, and the new release brings a number of important changes. Not least among them is out-of-the-box support for Firefox 4, which is currently slated for a February 2011 release.
DownThemAll 2 offers even greater control over your Firefox downloads than its predecessor. Speed limits can be specified on a per-server or download basis, and you can set a global limit as well. There's also a media-sniffing feature which allows for easy downloading of embedded video clips on the sites you browse -- even HTML5 <audio> and <video> tags are supported. DTA2 even plays nice with Firefox 4's private browsing mode!
Check the full list of features in DTA2, or hit the link below to install the Firefox add-on.
Install DownThemAll! 2 for FirefoxDownThemAll 2 download manager released, now supports Firefox 4 originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 15 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
DownThemAll 2 offers even greater control over your Firefox downloads than its predecessor. Speed limits can be specified on a per-server or download basis, and you can set a global limit as well. There's also a media-sniffing feature which allows for easy downloading of embedded video clips on the sites you browse -- even HTML5 <audio> and <video> tags are supported. DTA2 even plays nice with Firefox 4's private browsing mode!
Check the full list of features in DTA2, or hit the link below to install the Firefox add-on.
Install DownThemAll! 2 for FirefoxDownThemAll 2 download manager released, now supports Firefox 4 originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 15 Jan 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Daily Crunch: Kitchen Temp Edition
The mBrace, A Handy Handle For Your MacBook On Kickstarter NEC?s ?Thermo Mirror? Measures Your Temperature Without Physical Contact Pure Black Knife Set Is Evil-Looking, Tasteful How Sonos Got It Right: Up Close With A Survivor T-Mobile Launches Service To Block Texting While Driving
That Verizon iPhone Hotspot Will Cost An Extra $20 Per Month [IPhone]
Remember when it was so exciting that the Verizon iPhone 4 would also act as a hotspot? Well, here comes that cold shower: the carrier confirmed that the feature will cost $20 per month, on top of your data plan. More »
TC Cribs: Take A Doc On The Wild Side At Scribd (With Bonus Go Karts!)
It's funny. When I tell my 'normal' friends that I've just come from Facebook's office or need to head down to Google's campus in Mountain View, they often give me a strange look, as if I've just told them I'm about to make a house call to the Easter Bunny. These companies aren't places inhabited by actual people ? they're nebulous things coursing through the Internet's series of tubes.
But I can't blame them. Most of the startup profiles we see in magazines feature a portrait of the founders solemnly gazing into the distance as they plot to change the world with their revolutionary new sharing widget. Sometimes there's a snapshot of a few desks, each of which is far too neat for anyone to actually have done any work on. There's got to be a better way.
But I can't blame them. Most of the startup profiles we see in magazines feature a portrait of the founders solemnly gazing into the distance as they plot to change the world with their revolutionary new sharing widget. Sometimes there's a snapshot of a few desks, each of which is far too neat for anyone to actually have done any work on. There's got to be a better way.
Kaspersky Pure simplifies, centralizes home virus protection and backups
Keeping the computers on your home network can be a messy business, but Kaspersky has a solution which can make things a bit easier to manage. Their re-tooled Pure Total Security suite offers full-spectrum network protection from malware defense to backups to parental controls.
Pure packs a ton of functionality, including malware protection, firewall, spam and phishing protection, backup and restore functions, parental controls, a password manager and secure data vault, and a file shredder. However, Pure's most interesting new feature is that it lets you manage all your Kaspersky-protected systems from one location. You can adjust settings, run scans or backups, and monitor parental control activity on any system from the dashboard on your main PC.
Pure Total Security will cost you $89.95 to cover three systems for one year -- protection for five systems is $149.95. It's not a bad deal for an easy to manage, all-in-one solution.Kaspersky Pure simplifies, centralizes home virus protection and backups originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Pure packs a ton of functionality, including malware protection, firewall, spam and phishing protection, backup and restore functions, parental controls, a password manager and secure data vault, and a file shredder. However, Pure's most interesting new feature is that it lets you manage all your Kaspersky-protected systems from one location. You can adjust settings, run scans or backups, and monitor parental control activity on any system from the dashboard on your main PC.
Pure Total Security will cost you $89.95 to cover three systems for one year -- protection for five systems is $149.95. It's not a bad deal for an easy to manage, all-in-one solution.Kaspersky Pure simplifies, centralizes home virus protection and backups originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Google IO 2011 site goes live, registration starts Feb. 7 (updated)
Google's launched its Google IO 2011 site -- your one-stop shop for everything related to Google's annual developer's conference. Registration hasn't opened yet, so stay tuned for that. But attendee pricing was announced, $450 through April 16, $550 thereafter. Students and faculty can register for $150, and the optional Bootcamp session is an extra $100. If you're an Android developer, IO is a must-attend event. Hard-core Android enthusiasts would have a blast, too. Hit up the site for all the other details, including session listings. Then check our our coverage from Google IO 2010. We'll see you there! [Google IO]Update: Google's Vic Gundotra says registration will start Feb. 7.Google IO 2011 site goes live, registration starts Feb. 7 (updated) posted originally by Android CentralSponsored by Android Cases and Accessories
D-Link Boxee Box Review
For over 5 months last year, I used my iMac as my TV while my basement was being remodeled. During that time, I was able to keep up on all my favorite shows using Hulu and ‘other methods’. Although I did miss not having live TV, it wasn’t that bad and I really didn’t miss [...]
Ubuntu devs discuss the change from GNOME Shell to Unity in Natty 11.04 (video)
One of the biggest changes in the upcoming release of Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal is a change away from much-loved GNOME Shell to Canonical's Unity. Such a big change has garnered a lot of commentary on both sides of the fence, but the truth is, you'll be able to switch back to Shell if you don't like Unity!
Still, if you're interested in hearing the reasoning behind the change to Unity, you should watch community manager Jono Bacon and Desktop Experience Team manager David Barth discuss it (video after the break). You probably won't appreciate the depth of the conversation unless you're an avid Ubuntu user or hacker, though. Basically, Unity is replacing Shell because Canonical wants more control over user experience. GNOME is moving in one direction, and Ubuntu is moving in another -- and Unity bridges that gap.
What's important, though, is that Ubuntu will still be a GNOME-based operating system. Unity is an alternative to Shell, much in the same way as MeeGo; it isn't a replacement. Ultimately, Unity simply gives Ubuntu users another option; an option that Canonical thinks is better for desktop and notebook users.Continue reading Ubuntu devs discuss the change from GNOME Shell to Unity in Natty 11.04 (video)Ubuntu devs discuss the change from GNOME Shell to Unity in Natty 11.04 (video) originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Still, if you're interested in hearing the reasoning behind the change to Unity, you should watch community manager Jono Bacon and Desktop Experience Team manager David Barth discuss it (video after the break). You probably won't appreciate the depth of the conversation unless you're an avid Ubuntu user or hacker, though. Basically, Unity is replacing Shell because Canonical wants more control over user experience. GNOME is moving in one direction, and Ubuntu is moving in another -- and Unity bridges that gap.
What's important, though, is that Ubuntu will still be a GNOME-based operating system. Unity is an alternative to Shell, much in the same way as MeeGo; it isn't a replacement. Ultimately, Unity simply gives Ubuntu users another option; an option that Canonical thinks is better for desktop and notebook users.Continue reading Ubuntu devs discuss the change from GNOME Shell to Unity in Natty 11.04 (video)Ubuntu devs discuss the change from GNOME Shell to Unity in Natty 11.04 (video) originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Wake Up or the Wookie Will Kill You
This battery-operated alarm clock from ThinkGeek combines Star Wars and LEGO into a cute, useful package.� The clock comes with 21 LEGO pieces, including Chewbacca and Stormtrooper minifigures.� You’ll even get pieces to built a blaster turret on top of the clock.� It’s 3.75″ X 3.75″, and it has a crescendo alarm that gets louder [...]
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