First Storm 2 ad huffs and puffs for attention (video)

Given the timing of Storm 2’s launch and the Motorola DROID‘s unveiling, you’d think Verizon had all but abandoned its touchscreen BlackBerry. But lo and behold, we do have a new television spot. “Who says lightning never strikes twice” — who said it ever struck the first time? Video after the break.

[Via Gear Diary]

Continue reading First Storm 2 ad huffs and puffs for attention (video)

First Storm 2 ad huffs and puffs for attention (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Details of 3D cable demo at Cable-Tec emerge

Cable-Tec Expo 3D cable demo

Our friend Mari at the official Motorola Blog just got back from checking out the 3D demo at Cable-Tec and was able to dig up a few extra details in addition to sharing her impressions. Overall she said the circular polarized and active shutter demos both “looked good” but each was driven by a different set-top-box so it was hard to do a fair a to b comparison. This also makes us continue to wonder how compatible these two 3D display technologies are — we suspect they are compatible and that this was just to prove that both IPTV and QAM worked as delivery methods. The most interesting tidbit is the fact that, thanks to new Multiview Video Encoding techniques, the 3D stream only requires about 30 percent more throughput than the same image in 2D. This isn’t as much as Panasonic is claiming the new 3D Blu-ray spec will require, which is estimated at 50 precent. One other thing we’re left wondering is what the frame rate of the demo was, but earlier this week CableLabs did confirme that the demo is 1080p and that the SCTE has already added 1080p at 60 fps to its encoding standards. We assume the frame rate had to be at least 30 fps per eye though, because otherwise the flicker would probably be noticeably annoying.

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Details of 3D cable demo at Cable-Tec emerge originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 23:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The daily roundup: this is, in fact, the DROID you are looking for

Motorola Droid

Google Maps Navigation (Beta)

HTC

Everything Else

Mobile

HD


The daily roundup: this is, in fact, the DROID you are looking for originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ROPID the adorable humanoid can jump 3-inches into the air, sweep you off your feet

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a humanoid robot this size do anything very new or interesting — mostly they seem busy with their slow-mo dance moves — but the new ROPID bot by Tomotaka Takahashi, the man behind Panasonic’s Evolta bots, not only has a few new tricks up its plastic sleeves, but has personality to spare. The bot can rotate its upper torso, which seems to help immensely in keeping it balanced while jumping, running and skipping around. It’s still the tried-and-true “bent knees” method of balance, but ROPID is “rapid” enough to make it look almost lifelike. The movements are expressive enough, but with some slightly articulated hands and a moving mouth, ROPID ups the adorable-ness factor over some of its nuts and bolts counterparts. ROPID can also respond to a few voice commands and speaks as well. Takahashi designed and built the bot himself, which makes us wonder what we’ve been doing with our lives that’s so-very-important for the past couple of decades. Video of ROPID in action is after the break.

[Via Plastic Pals]

Continue reading ROPID the adorable humanoid can jump 3-inches into the air, sweep you off your feet

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ROPID the adorable humanoid can jump 3-inches into the air, sweep you off your feet originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Windows 7 Guides: The Best Of

There is no one definitive Windows 7 guide—it’s a sprawling OS with a decades-long legacy, so nobody can cover it all. But with our powers combined, you’re in good hands.

First Things First

We covered everything we could in Gizmodo‘s official eight-chapter mega-guide, so hit that up first. It’s a hearty first course, and it’s got everything you need to know—what’s new from Vista, why it’s worth the upgrade, and how to get started with it. Or as we put it then:

Here’s everything of value that we learned about Win 7, packed in a complete, easy-to-read guide.

But leave plenty of room—there’s a wide world of other Windows 7 guides out there to plow through. Here are the best, linked and previewed for your perusal.

Finding Your Feet

• Eminent Windows nerdthusiast Paul Thurrott answers the broader Windows 7 questions like it ain’t no thang, y’all:

Microsoft says that Windows 7 is the “seventh” major Windows version, which it isn’t, but whatever. Adding to the mystery, the Windows 7 version number will actually be 6.1, the same as Windows Server 2008 R2.

This will come in handy, someday!

MaximumPC‘s (now vintage) upgrade guide will tell you everything you need to know about upgrading, except for how to do it:

Since I Get a 32 Bit & 64 Bit CD, Can I Install It On Two Machines?

No. Since you are only given one CD key, you can only activate a single version at a time.

Someone parsed through thousands of worlds of EULA for that nugget, I’ll have you know.

• How long has Windows 7 been in development? Who was in charge of the project? How do international prices compare for all editions? Icrontic‘s guide is of the more esoteric sort, but hey, context!:

Microsoft compiled a total of 313 builds of Windows 7, 14 of which were leaked after the January 9 Beta.

If you find this fascinating, then I find you fascinating. In a neutral way! Plus, they have pretty charts:

IGN, taking a decidely outsidery perspective, keeps their wordcount to a minimum. If you want to be done reading about this Windows 7 bullshit in, like, 30 seconds, they’re your guys:

Despite retaining the Windows Vista “Aero” aesthetic, interactive features like the taskbar have been revamped for added efficiency. Users can now seamlessly preview, access, and arrange programs and files all from within the taskbar. Microsoft has also tweaked their native networking programs with HomeGroup, an optimized way to share files, printers, and other peripherals on a local network.

It kind of makes you want to sit down at a school desk, just so you can shoot your hand up in the air and yell, “DONE!”

Installing

• Meet ZDNet’s Ed Bott. He would very much like to convey to you the accepted procedures and practices for installing Windows 7 in broad, nontechnical terms!:

Run setup from a flash drive or a USB hard drive. Compared to slow DVDs, you can easily shave 5-10 minutes off install times. For upgrades, you can simply copy the files to the external media; if you plan to do a clean install, you’ll need to make sure the media is bootable.

• There are quite a few ways to approach an upgrade, so Lifehacker‘s compiled a reference of upgrade choices, and how to approach each one.

• And for anyone who hasn’t installed any version of Windows in the last 10 years—seriously, 7 is the easiest version yet—InformationWeek has assumed the burden of writing an exhuastive, visual, step-by-step guide to the process. For luddites, it’s a lifesaver; for everyone else, maybe it’s a comfort?:

If you already have a Windows Vista installation, you can upgrade it directly by inserting the Windows 7 DVD while Vista is running. Otherwise, skip to step 6 to begin the process from a clean boot.

Whatever, someone had to write this.

• If you’re doing a straight installation of Windows 7, and not trying any fancy dual-boot maneuvering, you’re a sub-wimp. At least, Lifehacker thinks so:

If you’re dying to try out Windows 7 but aren’t ready to give up your installation of XP or Vista, let’s take a look at how to dual boot Windows 7 with XP or Vista.

Exploring!

• As far as the tech press in concerned, Windows 7 has been effectively out since early this year. And since then, Lifehacker‘s been hoarding little bits and pieces—microguides, if you will—that together, form something amazing.

• So you’ve just rolled out Windows 7 across 1000 Dells. What now? InfoWorld has some advice:

You may be thinking, “I’ll need all (or many) new PCs to run Windows 7, so I’ll automatically go with the 64-bit version of the OS.” But before you do that, weigh the pros and cons. Although any new PC should be capable of supporting both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7, you may not yet want the 64-bit version in your production environment.

Good point there, about my production environment.

• The only reason a lot of us even have PCs is to game. If gaming’s your, er, game, you’re going to want to treat your install and settings a little differently. And who knew! Windows 7 respects gamers, and their tastes!:

The Games browser might include titles that you just don’t play, such as Minesweeper. Put those away by going to the right-click menu and choosing Hide This Game or Remove From List.

• By default, Windows 7 is going to be more secure than Vista or XP, but it’s still got a bevy of settings you can adjust. If locking down Windows PCs is your job (or hobby), there are a few new things you’re going to want to know, and which PC World will be glad to tell you:

Microsoft has included the option to use BitLocker Drive Encryption without a compatible TPM, but accessing that option is not necessarily intuitive or easy.

Go oooonnn!!??

• You’ve got a fresh Windows 7 install, but you’re not satisfied yet. You want to see how fast it is now, then make it faster. AnandTech‘s got you covered.

• And finally, you’ve seen the specific guides, and you’ve played around with the OS for a few hours. Trust me, you’ve missed something. PCPro, on the other hand, hasn’t. Luxuriate in the warm ocean of minor features they’ve outlined. Every. Last. One.

The Official Word


• The lion’s share of Microsoft‘s 60MB official guide is stuff you already know, or probably don’t care to. That said, it’s exhaustive and charming, in a freshman marketing major kind of way:

Most people don’t store all their files and content in one place. Instead, their information is scattered across multiple PCs, external hard disk drives, servers, and Web sites. With Federated Search in Windows 7, you can extend your search beyond your PC—and even beyond your Libraries—to find what you need. Just add a search connector to your favorite locations to Windows 7, and you can search them as well.

No bombshells in here, but lots of helpful stuff like that.

That’s a hefty 15 guides to get you started, but new ones are cropping up all over the place. If you see one that’s not included above, let your fellow readers know in the comments.

Google Android 2.0 Update Coming for HTC Hero

We know HTC is working on Android 2.0 phones, but here’s some good news for owners of the existing HTC Hero for Sprint – that gadget is getting stuffed full of Eclairs too, once HTC can wrap their customized Sense interface around the new version of Android. We got word from HTC this evening:

Yes, we are working on an Eclair update for the HTC Hero.
Because Eclair is a significantly enhanced release, it will
require some time to update Sense for this new version of
the Android OS. Please be patient while we work to provide
you with a tightly integrated experience like the one you
are already enjoying on your Hero.

We still haven’t heard about Android 2.0 updates for any other phones, but here’s hoping. Can we interest you in photos and videos about the Motorola Droid, the first Android 2.0 phone?

Daily Downloads: AbiWord, ICQ, openSUSE, and More

This article was written on May 06, 2008 by CyberNet.

jbidwatcher icq opensuse vmware logos icons.pngWelcome to Daily Downloads brought to you by CyberNet! Each weekday we bring you software updates for widely used programs, and it’s safe to assume that all the software we list is freeware (we’ll try to note the paid-only programs).

As you browse the Internet during the day, feel free to post the software updates you come across in the comments below so that we can include them the following day!

–Stable Releases–

The software listed here have all been officially released by the developers.

  • AbiWord 2.6.3 [Homepage] [Changelog] [Mirror]
    Operating System: Windows Windows; Linux Linux
    Type of Application: Word processor
    Changes: Re-enable the equation editor, and bug fixes
  • ICQ 6.0.6059 [Homepage] [Mirror] [Review]
    Operating System: Windows Windows only
    Type of Application: Instant messenger
    Changes: N/A
  • Streamripper 1.63.1 [Homepage] [Changelog] [Mirror]
    Operating System: Windows Windows only
    Type of Application: Record streaming audio
    Changes: Bug fixes
  • vLite 1.1.6 [Homepage] [Changelog] [Mirror] [Review]
    Operating System: Windows Windows only
    Type of Application: Customize Vista installation DVD
    Changes: Few new features and bug fixes
  • Weather Watcher 5.6.27 [Homepage] [Changelog] [Mirror] [Review]
    Operating System: Windows Windows only
    Type of Application: Weather monitor
    Changes: Bug fixes

–Pre-Releases (Alpha, Beta, etc…)–

The software listed here are pre-releases that may not be ready for everyday usage.

  • JBidwatcher [Homepage] [Changelog] [Review]
    Operating System: Windows Windows; Mac Mac; Linux Linux
    Release: Beta 3
    Type of Application: eBay sniping
    Changes: Performance enhancements and bug fixes
  • LimeWire 4.17.9 [Homepage] [Mirror] [Review]
    Operating System: Windows Windows; Mac Mac; Linux Linux
    Release: Beta
    Type of Application: File sharing
    Changes: N/A
  • openSUSE 11.0 [Homepage] [Changelog] [Mirror]
    Operating System: Linux Linux only
    Release: Beta 2
    Type of Application: Linux operating system
    Changes: Bug fixes and new artwork
  • VMware Fusion 2.0.89933 [Homepage] [Changelog] [Mirror]
    Operating System: Mac Mac only
    Cost: $79.99
    Release: Beta
    Type of Application: Run Linux or Windows in Mac OS X
    Changes: Support for multiple monitors, and experimental support for DirectX 9.0 Shader

–Release Calendar–

  • May 6 – Opera Dragonfly Alpha
  • May 13 – Fedora 9
  • June – iPhone 2.0 Software [Review]
  • June – Firefox 3.0 [Review]
  • June 12 – Ubuntu 8.10 Alpha 1
  • June 19 – openSUSE 11.0
  • Mid 2008 – Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 [Review]
  • September 2 – OpenOffice.org 3.0 [Review]
  • October 30 – Ubuntu 8.10
  • 2009 – Windows Mobile 7 [Review]
  • 2009 – Paint.NET 4.00 [Review]
  • 2010 – Windows 7 [Review]

Copyright © 2009 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox

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Ponta Point Card

Just when you thought you had a grip on all the inter-chain point cards on the Japanese market. Just when you thought it was safe to go into a convenience store…Along comes another one.

Convenience store giant Lawson is teaming up with Mitsubishi Corporation, Showa Shell and Geo to produce the PONTA point card, launching from Spring 2010.

The card has the hallmarks of others on the market: a recognizable cute tanuki (raccoon) mascot and a catchy, semi-English name (an abbreviation of “point terminal”). Starting with its four chief participants, the card will be expanded to 30 affiliates in three years’ time. The target is 30 million cardholders.

ponta-poster

Lawson et al are clearly here trying to combat the ubiquitous T-Card run by CCC (the group which includes TSUTAYA) and Family Mart, which at the end of September had 33 million members and 56 affiliates.

The Ponta card will be administrated by Loyalty Marketing, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation, and, although Lawson aims to offer the service alongside and incorporating their current Lawson Point Card (at present 10 million members), Geo will be disbanding its own customer loyalty card (also 10 million members) when current cards expire. Lawson has some 8,600 stores nationwide and its cooperation with Geo’s 950 outlets and Showa Shell’s 3500 makes Ponta a grand coalition that might just have the T-Card allies quaking.

GM to offer $500 Autonet Mobile WiFi option in select vehicles

First came Cadillac (naturally), and now some of General Motorsother remaining brands are finally scratching the WiFi itch. Beginning next month, Buick, Cadillac, GMC and Chevrolet dealers will all begin offering up Autonet Mobile‘s $499 WiFi router as a dealer-installed option, though it’s on you to pony up the $29 (or more) it takes to get said device online month in and month out. As always, you’ll also get a docking station to take it from one GM vehicle to another, though (at least initially) it’ll only be offered in SUVs, crossovers and trucks, which are whips most likely to be used by internet-addicted families. ‘Course, those looking to do a little retrofitting need only head to gmextras.com to snap one up themselves, but don’t say you heard it from us.

[Via Autoblog]

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GM to offer $500 Autonet Mobile WiFi option in select vehicles originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC confirmed to be cooking up Android 2.0 update for Hero, other devices unclear

Anyone with an existing Android device and a nasty case of DROID envy today might want to hold off before switching devices, emptying the bank account, and possibly switching carriers in the process, because HTC’s got a little bit of information here to end our day on a high note. Here’s the full quote:

“Yes, we are working on an Eclair update for the HTC Hero. Because Eclair is a significantly enhanced release, it will require some time to update Sense for this new version of the Android OS. Please be patient while we work to provide you with a tightly integrated experience like the one you are already enjoying on your Hero.”

Bottom line, the Hero is signed up for Android 2.0 and it’s just a matter of HTC getting Sense ported and tested — makes sense (no pun intended), and we imagine Motorola will have to go through these same hoops with BLUR. The company went on to mention that it intends to bring the update to all versions of the Hero, though it’s up to partners (like Sprint, for instance) to help coordinate how and when that’s going to go down. We don’t have any information on the sundry Dream and Magic variants around the world at this point — but it’s important to remember that the Hero uses the same processor as its older siblings, so at least there’s hope for a good xda-developers port if nothing else.

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HTC confirmed to be cooking up Android 2.0 update for Hero, other devices unclear originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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