Hasta La Gadget!

It hasn’t been that long since we first saw Google’s web store — mid-May, to be exact. An updated version is currently being showcased on stage at the Chrome event. The UI looks much more refined, and those who are itching to try some out yourself, it seems some of the web apps are already available, at least partially: NPR, The New York Times, Amazon Windowshop. If you ask us, they feel a lot like iPad apps for browsers and mice / keyboard. Audio can run in the background even if you move to another tab. There’s offline mode, too. App purchases are tied to your Google account, naturally. There’s some gaming, but from what we’ve seen so far (“you pop it!“), it’s nothing you’re gonna be focusing a lot of time on. Interesting note from the Q&A is that the apps, since they’re built with “standard web technologies,” will work with all compatible browsers. We’ve been trying to access the web store (via the Chrome browser, naturally), but it’s currently hiding behind a “coming soon” redirect — it’s rolling out later today, though, at least for the US, so keep an eye out.

Update: Try that link one more time, the Chrome Web Store should now be live.

Google demos Chrome Web Store, rolling out later today to US (update: now live) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s a big Chrome day for Google today, and they’re kicking things off with new features for the browser itself, features that will be included in Chrome 9 when it lands. The real highlight is the addition of Instant Search to Chrome’s famed “Omnibox.” It works about as you’d expect: as you type a Google search you still get your regular suggestions, but you also get a full search results page loading and refreshing live as you type. Google took things a step further and actually implemented this for regular sites too: based on your typical behavior, when you start typing an address, Chrome will pull up that site for you automatically (we hope when you type “e” you’ll get Engadget, instead of Google’s espn.com example).

The other huge improvement is “Crankshaft,” which Google claims is a 2X improvement in JavaScript speed, based on what benchmark you’re looking at. To put it in context, Google claims Chrome is 100X faster than IE’s JavaScript performance back in 2008. Other rendering tweaks include a super fast built-in PDF reader (Google demoed the browser loading the entire health care bill in a blink), and full-on WebGL support.

Developing…

Google spruces up Chrome with Instant Search from the Omnibox, other nerdy things originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Don’t put too much stock in this rumor–the news that comes from these third-party parts manufacturers is spotty at best. That said, we have seen some of these come to fruition in the past, and let’s face it, if there’s one thing we do seemingly no for sure, it’s that Steve Jobs is going to show off a new iPad next year.

And if Apple goes according to its prior scheduling for the device (the company is often a creature of habit when it comes to updating products), we’re going to see that iPad 2 early next year, seeing as how the first model was unveiled in January of this year.

Apple supplier Foxconn Electronics has reportedly been told to ship 400,000-600,000 iPad 2 units in the next 100 days, according to Digitimes‘ “sources from Taiwan-based component makers.”

Here’s what those sources had to say,

[T]he iPad 2 will ship as soon as the end of February in 2011. Apple originally planned to start mass production in January, but because the device’s firmware is currently still in testing, Apple has been postponing the schedule. Since Foxconn’s new plants in Chengdu are still in pilot production, iPad 2 will be mainly supplied by its Shenzhen plants, while the company’s upstream component partners have all been notified of the shipments schedule.

Foxconn naturally declined DigiTimes’ request for comment. My guess is that the site didn’t even attempt to contact Apple…

Live from Google’s Chrome event! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 13:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While hybrid cars are an improvement over traditional gas guzzles, they still produce harmful emissions. But what if those emissions could be harnessed and used as an energy source? That’s exactly what a team of researchers at Purdue University are trying to do.

The research, which is being funded by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy, is aiming to turn the heat from an vehicle’s exhaust into energy. In conjunction with General Motors, the team is developing a thermoelectric generator that will be able to harness the harmful gases that come out of a vehicle’s exhaust–gases that can reach temperatures of 700 degrees Celsius–and use that heat as a way to charge up the vehicle’s electrical systems.

The first prototype is set to be developed starting next year, with the goal of reducing fuel consumption by five percent. However, the researchers say that in the future that number could be increased by up to 10 percent.

Via Inhabitat