Apr 09
For around $130, the Cisco Valet Plus is a great investment for those who don’t know much about networking or computers.
Apr 09
Zune HD 64 goes on sale early
Posted in: media player, MediaPlayer, Microsoft, PMP, Today's Chili, zune, zune hd, ZuneHd
Well, it’s not April 12th, but it looks like you can now order a Zune HD 64 nonetheless — straight from the Zune Originals website, at least. As expected, the device runs $349.99, and the 16GB and 32GB models have now also been knocked down to $200 and $270, respectively — all of which are naturally available in the usual range of different colors, and with custom designs for an extra $15. You’ll also, of course, get the latest v4.5 firmware pre-loaded on the device, which packs new features like SmartDJ that Microsoft was recently kind enough to demonstrate for us.
[Thanks, Henry and Jonathan]
Update: Turns out the Zune HD 64 won’t come pre-loaded with the v4.5 firmware — you’ll be prompted to download it when you connect the device.
Zune HD 64 goes on sale early originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Apr 09
webOS port of Xorg in the works, OpenOffice support the inevitable result
Posted in: palm, Today's Chili, video, webos
In the absence of a full, editable version of Documents To Go (DataViz still hasn’t released it), this might be of some serious interest to the Palm community — or those that are willing to muck around a bit, anyway. X.org’s X server implementation has been successfully shoehorned onto a Pre, meaning that we’re well on our way to being able to run arbitrary Linux-based X11 apps on our phones — including the mighty OpenOffice, as demonstrated here. It seems we’re still a ways off yet; the devs have some file system issues to work through, which they say will likely take “weeks to months, rather than days” to fix, but it’s a promising start. What, you’d never dreamed of running a desktop office suite on a 3.1-inch display? Follow the break for video.
Continue reading webOS port of Xorg in the works, OpenOffice support the inevitable result
webOS port of Xorg in the works, OpenOffice support the inevitable result originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Apr 09
The 2011 Hyundai Sonata is a great value, packing in a strong assortment of standard and optional cabin tech, good looks, and performance, all while maintaining a relatively low price. Check out CNET’s full review of this sedan. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13746_7-20002165-48.html” class=”origPostedBlog”The Car Tech blog/a/p
Apr 09
Engadget test-drives Festo AirMotion Ride, humiliates self (video)
Posted in: awesome, Features, hands-on, Today's Chili, video
Festo may’ve already stirred up plenty of attention with its mesmerizing AirPenguin blimp, but let’s not forget its other weapon — fluidic muscles (elastomer tubes that contract when filled with fluid). At The Gadget Show Live in the UK, this German company was also showing off its AirMotion Ride car-racing simulator — essentially a driver’s seat suspended from just six fluidic muscles for the six degrees of freedom, while sound and vision are handled by its 5.1 surround sound speakers and a projector. The company claims that each of these lightweight muscles can generate forces of up to 1,600N, and since there are no mechanical parts inside, they make an ideal replacement for conventional hydraulic plungers as used on Force Dynamics’ and Motion-Sim’s simulators. You can see Festo’s machine in action after the break, but promise us that you won’t judge our driving ability.
Gallery: Festo AirMotion Ride hands-on
Continue reading Engadget test-drives Festo AirMotion Ride, humiliates self (video)
Engadget test-drives Festo AirMotion Ride, humiliates self (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apr 09
Microsoft’s Manual Deskterity project reveals pen and touch input, Courier’s future?
Posted in: Microsoft, research, Today's Chili, touch, video
Apple may have made its thoughts on the stylus clearer than ever at its iPhone OS 4 event, but it looks like Microsoft Research is intent on redefining what’s possible with a little pen-based input and, if this recently-revealed video is any indication, we’re not about to stop them. Dubbed Manual Deskterity, the project is currently based around a Microsoft Surface device, and shows how pen and touch input can be combined for a range of tasks that wouldn’t be possible with just one or the other — using a photo as a straight-edge (as seen above), for example, or using the pen as an X-acto knife to cut a photo while you hold it in place with your finger. Of course, while the project is currently using a Surface, it’s hard not to see how it could also be applied to something like Courier, especially considering the strong emphasis on creativity that echoes the Courier demo videos. Head on past the break to check out the whole thing for yourself.
Microsoft’s Manual Deskterity project reveals pen and touch input, Courier’s future? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apr 09
iPhone GPS navigation head-to-head review
Posted in: Apple, AppleIphone, att, feature, Features, gps, iPhone, navigation, review, Today's Chili, tomtom
Nobody likes getting lost, and nobody likes paying too much for a reheated lunch at a franchise restaurant when there’s a mouthwatering family joint hiding just around the corner. Wouldn’t you know it, there’s an app that solves those problems — quite a few of the things, as it turns out. We took a look at the top iPhone navigation choices in the App Store and narrowed it down to the five below, then threw in a no charge option for kicks, covering a range of prices from free to to upwards of $120 per year. As it turns out there’s a very tangible difference between the discount and the “premium” options here, but is that extra really worth it? Read on to find out.
Continue reading iPhone GPS navigation head-to-head review
iPhone GPS navigation head-to-head review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Apr 09
Apple’s banned protective film screens from its stores, but they’re still very popular accessories for its mobile products. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31747_7-20002141-243.html” class=”origPostedBlog”iPad Atlas/a/p
Apr 09
(Credit:
James Martin/CNET)
It’s been a long, single-tasking journey but Apple finally released OS 4.0 for the iPhone, and one of the key upgrades includes the ability to multitask. Took you long enough, Darth Jobs! Developers and users will now have the ability to run multiple applications at once, and Apple also demonstrated the Skype app running in the background (does that mean the next-gen iPhone will have a forward-facing camera?) as well as streaming audio apps like Pandora and Last.fm. Apple also unveiled folders for the iPhone that makes it easy to organize all your apps into customizable categories.
(Credit:
The 404/CNET)
Unfortunately, not all of our prayers were answered in this latest update. The iPhone still can’t go into mass storage mode, it can’t tether to a computer, no Flash support or FM radio, and of course, the biggest issue is that it’s still exclusively on the unreliable AT&T network. Wilson was hoping for Wi-Fi syncing but apparently Apple makes too much money on selling iPhone cables to worry about wireless.
Big thanks to everyone for pointing us to CheckFacebook.com that answers yesterday’s question about the percentage of Americans on the site. Unsurprisingly, the U.S. has the highest number of FB users at 94,748,820, with the U.K. at a not-so-close second. Also be sure to listen carefully during E-Mails From the Public to learn how to say “Facebook” in Chinese!
This weekend is your LAST CHANCE to enter the The Audiophillie Music Awards for Excellence in Recorded Sound! Make a last minute recording of your band or another group, send it to us on a CD, and you could win a set of either Monster Turbine Pro Gold ($299) or Pro Copper ($399) headphones!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
EPISODE 556
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Originally posted at The 404 Podcast
Apr 09
iPhone Dev Team’s MuscleNerd shows off VNC on iPhone OS 4 beta, hints at jailbreak
Posted in: Apple, iPhone, jailbreak, Today's Chili, video
We can’t get a straight answer on the exact jailbroken status of iPhone OS 4, but MuscleNerd of the iPhone Dev Team (and recent iPad hacking fame) is sure hinting heavily. He’s got Veency (a VNC server) and Cydia running on iPhone OS 4 on video, something he claims “you’ll only find on JB 4.0.” Of course, he also has the dev tools at his disposal and all the bugs and loopholes of an early beta, so we can’t be exactly sure what’s going on. There’s also not much point to releasing an OS 4 beta jailbreak to the public, and MuscleNerd himself recommends not bothering with the betas, as they’re “very buggy.” Still, it’s fun to see these tools alive and well on the newfangled multitasking OS. Check out the video after the break.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Continue reading iPhone Dev Team’s MuscleNerd shows off VNC on iPhone OS 4 beta, hints at jailbreak
iPhone Dev Team’s MuscleNerd shows off VNC on iPhone OS 4 beta, hints at jailbreak originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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