No matter how many we see, we never cease to be amazed by some of the KIRFs out there. Take this Droid X, for instance, which doesn’t even bother with a name like “Motorolo Foid X,” and even goes so far as to include some legitimate-looking Verizon branding to back up its nearly spot-on appearance. The real kicker, however, is that the KIRFers behind the device have decided to ditch Android in favor of Windows Mobile 6.5 for reasons unknown to us. Don’t believe us? Check it out in action in the video after the break, and look for the device itself to set you back around $244.
This article was written on February 29, 2008 by CyberNet.
Welcome to Daily Downloads brought to you by CyberNet! Each weekday we bring you the Windows 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.
CursorFX 1.90 [Homepage] [Mirror] [Review] Type of Application: Customize Windows cursors Changes: N/A
Unlocker 1.8.6 [Homepage] [Mirror] Type of Application: Unlock “in use” files Changes: N/A
–Pre-Releases (Alpha, Beta, etc…)–
The software listed here are pre-releases that may not be ready for everyday usage.
Paint.NET 3.30 [Homepage] [Release Notes] [Mirror] [Review] Release: Beta 1 Type of Application: Image editor Changes: Few new effects, advanced saving options, bug fixes, and more
Did you find the 262mph record that China scooped up only two months ago impressive? Well, add another 40mph to that number as today Xinhua News has revealed China’s claim to the new speed record for unmodified commercial trains. The new line presently being tested between Beijing and Shanghai has delivered a mind-warping 302mph (486kph) top speed, which is projected to help cut down travel times between the two cities in half, down to a mere five hours. As with the Shanghai-Hangzhou connection that held the record previously, speeds with actual passengers on board will probably be limited to more moderate levels when this connections opens up in 2012, but the Chinese government’s goal is still that magical 312mph (500kph) mark — at this pace, they should be there by Tuesday.
And so it goes. Samsung Electronics’ Chairman, aka The Notorious Lee Kun-hee, has just seen his son Lee Jae-yong promoted to the position of president of the chaebol kingdom. Lee previously served as executive VP in the flagship arm of the Samsung Group conglomerate. As if that wasn’t enough nepotism, Lee’s little sis was promoted to the position of president of Everland, a Samsung-owned theme park / resort operator. Naturally, Samsung stock closed at a record high on the news.
Fan of the original 1,500mAh Mophie Juice pack for the iPhone 4? Sure, we certainly were when we reviewed it a few months back. So let us introduce you to the new Mophie Juice Pack Plus featuring a bigger 2,000mAh battery that more than doubles the life of Apple’s non-removable iPhone 4 battery. Unfortunately, the extra oomph bumps the price from $79.95 to $99.95 and adds another 1mm of bulk to the pack — not that a minor size bump should matter too much when you’re already strapping your svelte phone to a battery sled. It’s available now in black with yellow, Engadget Mobile magenta, and classic Engadget cyan coming soon.
We did say it’d take an Act of Congress to lower the volume on televisual commercials and, shockingly enough, that’s exactly what we’ve got now. The House of Representatives has given its nod of approval to the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, which, having already cleared the Senate, is now on its way to President Obama’s desk for final validation. Once signed into effect, the new legislation will require that all advertisers modulate their volume down so it’s no higher than that of the program you’re watching, and it’ll be the FCC‘s duty to ensure that they all adhere to the new rule. A year’s leniency will be allowed for all those who struggle with figuring out how to turn it down from 11, but after that we should all be able to watch the dying medium that is live television without dreading the commercial breaks.
Holiday spirit over in Best Buy land must mean “getting rid of old stock by discounting it.” The Droid Incredible and Xperia X10 are among the handsets to be featured in the big retailer’s December mobile sale, which will involve offering up four free phones each day (one for each carrier) at a price of $0 upfront and subject to the usual two-year agreement. LG’s Optimus T and Optimus S will also get their moment in the spotlight this month, though the discount there isn’t exactly massive when you consider that the S started life costing $50 on contract. Speaking of S-branded Android phones, wasn’t it Best Buy that first leaked out the next Nexus? Now that‘d be a holiday offer worth talking about.
Former Israeli electronics and defense engineers wouldn’t be the first group of people we’d peg to leap into the robot massager biz, but that’s exactly who’s behind the Wheeme from DreamBots inc. According to the firm’s about page, the Wheeme was developed to meet “the increasing demand for smart products that offer the natural feeling of caressing, relaxation, falling asleep and even just tickling.” True to those goals, the device works by moving slowly across a person’s body to provide a gentle massage using its soft silicone rubber “fingerettes” (a.k.a wheels). Special tilt sensor technology ensures it won’t fall off or lose grip while motoring either — making the Wheeme a master at its trade — at least for customers lying down. Officially this rover will start shipping in the spring of 2011, but pre-ordering the device which costs $49 plus shipping will guarantee you don’t miss out on any of the drive by goodness. To view the Wheeme going to work while narrowly avoiding crashes, check out the embedded video after the break.
This article was written on June 24, 2008 by CyberNet.
Ever since he was 17, Bill Gates has known only one thing — Microsoft. That’s where he’s worked his entire life and in just three days, he will walk away from the company he founded and take more of a backseat role (as Chairman) while he works full-time at the foundation he co-founded. We’ve known this was coming for two years, but now that it’s here, it’s hard to believe. He’s done so much for the computer industry and Microsoft, that I’m sure even for him, it’s bitter-sweet to leave.
Recently Channel 9 caught up with Gates and asked him about Microsoft and how it is going to transition into the future. We’re including the interview below because it’s actually pretty interesting. They start out the interview asking Gates how he got to the point where he decided his time would be better spent with the Foundation. Then they went into what the Chief Software Architect does (Gates’ previous role) and why Ray Ozzie was put into this role. Other things they talk about include why Windows is still important in the world we live in where the Internet dominates, why Microsoft is focused on competing with Google, and whether or not Gates will have more free time now that he’s leaving (to which he responded that he didn’t think he’d get much more because the foundation work is very important).
An article over at Forbes suggests that Gates is the first of many people we’ll see over the next several years leave the companies they founded. They point out that four important technology companies including Microsoft, Apple, Dell, and Oracle, are all run by the people that founded them several decades ago. Of course Bill Gates is the first to step aside, and then they suggest Steve Jobs will be next followed by Larry Ellison over at Oracle (he’s now 63) and eventually Michael Dell. What kind of impact will these departures have? For Microsoft, they’ve done enough preparing and planning that come Friday when Gates leaves, we don’t think there should be much of an affect.
Add one more to the list of new tablets that aren’t iPads (but would like to be): CTL just introduced the newest product in its tablet line, the 2goPad SL10 Pro. This tablet takes the 2goPad SL10 and adds a few connectivity and functionality features. It offers the same capacitive screen, Intel Atom N450 1.66GHz processor, and 2GB of memory as the SL10, but throws in a larger 64GB SSD hard drive, Windows 7 Professional, a capacitive stylus pen, a cleaning cloth, and a portable Bluetooth-enabled wireless keyboard with a track pad.
CTL claims the 64GB solid state hard drive is up to 56 percent faster than standard hard drives. Since the SL10 Pro comes with Windows 7 Professional, it can multitask like a notebook or desktop. It also comes with B/G/N wireless connectivity, 2 USB ports, and an SD card slot. Its list price is $799.
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