Well, it looks users of the latest Kindle have more than just an official software update at their disposal these days — the device has also now been jailbroken. That will let you take advantage of the various hacks that have been available for the previous generation Kindle, including USB networking, additional font options, and some exciting screensavers. Of course, like all jailbreaks, you should proceed at your own risk — hit up the source link below for the necessary details if you’re ready.
Zotero started out as a Firefox extension to save and manage web and PDF sources. It was included in part of the special “campus edition” of Firefox, and is integrated into the new UberStudent build of Ubuntu Linux. Today, Dan Cohen from the Center for History and New Media announced Zotero Everywhere, a multi-pronged effort to bring its research management and social-network capabilities to every major browser and platform — including mobile devices.
On Firefox, the Zotero extension already allows users to archive and store web documents and PDFs, organize and annotate collections, export citations and bibliographies, and sync and share their work across multiple devices or with multiple users through accounts on a central server. As Zotero Everywhere rolls out, the program will add the following:
A standalone Zotero application for Windows, Mac, and Linux;
An HTML 5 web application which will work on any device, including mobile;
Extension/toolbar support for Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer on all of those platforms (which will in turn sync with user’s Zotero accounts and the standalone Zotero app);
Bookmarklets for any browser (including Opera, et al) to quickly save documents to a user’s Zotero account
An expansion of its API to encourage third-party developers to create standalone client apps for iOS, Android, Blackberry, and other platforms.
Zotero was initially developed for academic researchers working with often-recalcitrant web sources, but after using it for four years (it feels like longer!) in a variety of contexts, I can tell you that it’s a boon to anyone doing any kind of guided searches on the web: students, journalists, librarians, bloggers, curators, etc, or anyone who wants to keep an archives of web pages as they exist or who hates wrangling lots of PDF documents.
Think of it as a virtual file-cabinet, or collection of index cards. But it’s smarter than that. Its social and sharing features, which often aren’t emphasized, are also very strong; it’s thoroughly possible that Zotero could emerge as a kind of backchannel social network for students and academics. (In small doses, it already is.) Zotero’s archival and metadata-extraction capabilities are top-notch — as good or better than the many commercial PDF-organization applications that followed it.
There are plenty of services that will sync data across your devices, but very few that will actually give that data structure. I’ve been after the developers to graduate Zotero from Firefox-extension status for years; I’m particularly excited about the standalone application and — especially, as more of us do more of our reading away from our computers — the future of mobile development with Zotero.
The Zotero extension is downloadable now; the new standalone application for the desktop should be released “very soon,” with other new features to follow. Everything released by Zotero is free.
Video screenshot tour of Zotero 1.5 via Zotero.org.
A 7-inch tablet is in the works, according to CEO Michael Dell, though he provides few details. The 5-inch Streak will come to Best Buy soon. pOriginally posted at a href=”http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20017284-260.html” class=”origPostedBlog”Circuit Breaker/a/p
As WiMax keeps rolling out around the country, more laptops are beginning to feature built-in connectivity. A trio of Satellites and a Portege join the club.
Last time we checked in on this problem, HTC had said that the EVO 4G’s 30fps cap on video output simply couldn’t be increased — but it seems the latest firmware update might prove otherwise. We’ve got a couple screen shots showing details of the latest upgrades for both the EVO and the Hero; in the latter case, you’ve just got a couple bug fixes, but the EVO’s list includes a total of four: the nasty calendar issue, the 30fps fix, a reboot problem involving GPS, and multiple Gmail sync that was busted in the Froyo update. Interestingly, Sprint’s official changelog only mentions the calendar and Gmail sync fixes, so it’s possible they’re trying to keep the other two low-key to prevent undue questions and curiosity from folks as they upgrade. What’s everyone seeing out there?
The former Beatle’s company, McCartney Productions Ltd., has struck a deal with Hewlett-Packard to digitize a collection of his paintings, films, images, and videos. HP will create a content management system for the material, some of which will be opened up to fans. Other pieces, meanwhile, will remain private for the fireman himself.
The McCartney deal is the first of its kind for HP.
Apple’s newly relaxed iOS developer rules allowed third-party programming tools to be used to program apps for the App Store. However, the move doesn’t do much for Adobe, who sells a tool that automatically converts Flash programs into iPhone apps.
Adobe’s CEO Shantanu Narayen said during an earnings conference call that the revised iOS developer rules had a “muted” short-term impact on Adobe product sales, according to The Wall Street Journal.
In other words, when the news broke about Apple’s new developer rules, programmers didn’t rush out to buy Adobe Creative Suite 5, which includes Adobe’s Packager for iPhone, out of excitement over the opportunity to code Flash apps that they could also sell to iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch customers.
This is hardly a surprise. Every iOS developer I’ve spoken to has agreed that anybody serious about creating iOS apps is going to use Apple’s native SDK in order to get the best results. The people who would’ve wanted to create iOS apps using Flash were probably already Flash developers to begin with, hence the “muted” effect on sales.
That doesn’t go to say that the removal of the restrictions was trivial. When Apple imposed the ban on third-party toolkits (notoriously known as section 3.3.1 of the iOS developer agreement) it sparked controversy among programmers debating about the implications on creative freedom in the App Store.
Also, there was some collateral damage incurred on creators beyond Adobe. For example, the app Scratch, which displayed stories, games and animations made by children using MIT’s Scratch platform, waspulled from the App Store.
John McIntosh, creator of the Scratch app, said on Twitter that he was still awaiting a response from Apple on whether Scratch would be approved in the App Store in light of the new developer rules.
Listen, cookbooks are great. That’s fine. But do you know what else is great? Friggin’ apps. With the right apps, your smartphone or tablet is your new cookbook—and cooking instructor, and sous chef. Here are the best. More »
Digg To say the Micro Four Thirds / mirrorless battle is heating up would be understating things greatly. It’s certainly the segment getting the most focus here at this year’s Photokina, and with Panasonic cranking out yet another, we don’t see any signs of it slowing down. The newfangled Lumix DMC-GH2 made its official debut yesterday, bringing with it an impressive list of specifications and compatibility with an oh-so-curious 3D lens that we peeked in prototype form back at IFA. When speaking to booth representatives here in Cologne, we learned that said lens will actually save both a 3D and 2D version of each picture you take, making it a far more viable option for someone who is just looking to test the 3D waters without giving up entirely on 2D. The camera itself felt sufficiently light, but it doesn’t seem much more compact than the GH1 before it. And at $900, we’ve got our hearts set on a bona fide DSLR — sorry, but it’s true. Anywho, hit the gallery below if you’re itching for a closer look at your maybe-possibly-probably next shooter (along with glimpses at the trio of lenses that were also revealed here at the show).
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Apple’s newly relaxed iOS developer rules allowed third-party programming tools to be used to program apps for the App Store. However, the move doesn’t do much for Adobe, who sells a tool that automatically converts Flash programs into iPhone apps.
