Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on October 26, 2009 by CyberNet.

Welcome to the WrapUp by CyberNet. This is a collection of news stories, downloads, and tips that we have collected over the last few days, but never got around to writing about. Don’t forget to send in your own tips, or just leave a comment on this page if you think you’ve got something we should include.

–News–

Google Reader Starts Using “Magic”
The Google Reader team announced that there is a new way to sort your feeds: by magic. They use your reading habits and web history (if you’ve opted in for web history tracking) to determine what sort of stuff from your feeds you’ll like the most. You can also view popular items from feeds you’re not even subscribed to, which they hope will help you discover new sites you’ll like.

Microsoft Reveals How Windows 7 is “Version 7″
Microsoft has assembled a video that clarifies exactly how they consider Windows 7 to be the 7th version of Windows. The order? Windows 1, Windows 2, Windows 3, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7. Who did they leave out from the consumer lineup? Poor ol’ Windows Me, that’s who. I think they’re trying to wipe it from their memory (no pun intended).

Microsoft Security Essentials Delivered to Over a Million Users
In the first week Microsoft received 1.5 million downloads of their Security Essentials antivirus software. According to them there were over 4 million virus detections in that first week on over a half million unique machines. That just goes to prove that their are plenty of people who still need antivirus software to keep them safe, and it’s a good thing Microsoft finally got around to offering a solution for free.

–News in Brief–

Windows 7 Compatibility Center Released
Microsoft has posted a site you can visit to see if your hardware or software is compatible with Windows 7.

Whitehouse.gov Now Powered by Drupal
In an interesting move the Whitehouse.gov site has decided to use the open source Drupal software as their content management engine.

Google Maps’ Appearance Takes New Direction
On Google Maps you can now see street names more clearly thanks to a visual refresh they’ve rolled out.  

Windows 7 Launch Day Facts
Over 8 million people tested out pre-release versions of Windows 7 from over 113 different countries.

Flickr Adds People Tagging
Flickr is rolling out people-tagging capabilities that TechCrunch says is better than what Facebook currently has.

Video Walkthrough of Apple’s Newest Additions
Apple unveiled a new “magic” mouse, new iMac’s, and more. This is a video walkthrough of their new products.

Twitter Hits 5 Billion Tweets
Robin Sloan happened to be the lucky person to post the 5 billionth tweet on Twitter.

uTorrent Holds 60% of BitTorrent Marketshare
Vuze, formerly known as Azureus, continues to drop in popularity as uTorrent emerges as the king of the BitTorrent network.

IMDB Turns 19
IMDB, which began as a USENET group, turned 19 about a week ago! Congrats to a site that definitely deserves it.

–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

Ninite Does Bulk Installs for Windows Apps
This amazing service lets you choose the applications you want to install on your machine, and it will then create a custom installer for you to download. When running through the setup process it will keep the questions to a minimum, and according to Lifehacker it’s able to install most apps without asking you a single question. The number of apps supported is pretty incredible, and I could see this becoming a must-have app for anyone that sets up new PC’s regularly.

Burn Windows 7 ISO or put it on a USB Drive
Wow! Microsoft has finally wisened up and provides a tool to create a bootable DVD or USB drive that you can then install Windows 7 from. I’m happy to see the USB drive support in there because using media like that is nice since it’s reusable… as opposed to a DVD that most people probably won’t use more than a handful of times.

VistaSwitcher Improves Alt-Tab on XP, Vista, and Windows 7
I’m always on the lookout for something to improve my productivity, and for that reason I’m always tinkering with different application switchers. As the How-to Geek points out this is one awesome app switcher… especially because of the eye candy it offers.

–Tips in Brief–

How to Set Up a WordPress Blog on Your PC
A guide that covers everything you’ll need to get WordPress up and running on your local machine.

Look Up the Location of Any IP Address
Curious where an IP address is coming from? Just enter it in here to have it retrieve an approximate geographical location.

How to Safely Uninstall Ubuntu from a Dual-Boot Machine
An outline of what you need to do in order to remove Ubuntu without screwing up the other OS’s on your computer.

PortableApps.com Now Does Google Chrome On-the-Go
PortableApps now has a portable version of Chrome… kinda. It will create a portable version from the small file you download. They can’t actually redistribute Chrome as a portable browser due to licensing.

Lifehacker’s Guide to Windows 7
A rundown of all Lifehacker’s best Windows 7 tips.

How to Create a Virtual Hard Drive in Windows 7
A perfectly outlined guide to creating a virtual hard drive in Windows 7 that will appear as though it’s a second drive on your machine.

Microsoft Releases Windows 7 Sponsored Themes
You can now grab themes for products/companies such as Ferrari or the video game Gears of War.

Adobe Browserlab Open for All
I thought this was already open for everyone, but according to DownloadSquad Adobe just opened the doors so that you can easily start testing your site in all the most popular browsers.

Flickr Schedulr Lets You Upload Pics When it’s Convenient
Schedule your photos to upload when you won’t be using your PC.

How to Build a WiFi Home Surveillance System
An awesome tutorial on what you’ll need to create a motion-sensitive surveillance system in your own home.

Performance Showdown: Windows 7 vs. Snow Leopard
Spoiler: I wouldn’t really say one OS comes out on top of the other. They both have things they’re good at.

–Downloads–

• Avant Browser 11.7.40 [Mirror]
• CDBurnerXP 4.2.6.1748 [Mirror]
• Foxit Reader 3.1.2.1013 [Mirror]
• Google Chrome 4.0.222.12 ^Beta [Mirror]
• Google Desktop 5.9.909.30391 [Mirror]
• Maxthon 2.5.9.2246 [Mirror]
• MediaMonkey 3.1.2.1275 ^Beta [Mirror]
• Miranda 0.8.9 [Mirror]
• Miro 2.5.3 [Mirror]
• OpenOffice.org 3.2 ^Beta [Mirror]
• PDF-XChange Viewer 2.0.42.5 [Mirror]
• PeaZip 2.7.1 [Mirror]
• Picasa 3.5.79.74 [Mirror]
• Pidgin 2.6.3 [Mirror]
• RSSOwl 2.0 ^RC2 [Mirror]
• SeaMonkey 2.0 ^RC2 [Mirror]
• TrueCrypt 6.3 [Mirror]
• uTorrent 1.8.5 ^RC1 [Mirror]
• uTorrent 2.1 ^Beta [Mirror]
• VLC Media Player 1.0.3 ^RC1 [Mirror]
• WinMerge 2.13.9 ^Experimental [Mirror]

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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Love comic books, but think that reading is for dumb jerks? Jonathan Robson has your back. The Scotland-based designer has created this minifigure-inspired helmet, which will help you make it through that sequential tome while protecting your head from lightweight falling debris. The helmet has volume control and a page skipping button on the side while, on the back, there’s a port for plugging in a Lego USB flash drive loaded up with audio content. The helmet is designed for kids, of course, but it should also work for tiny-headed grownups sick and tired of all of those pesky word bubbles. Another view of the concept after the break.

Continue reading Lego-inspired helmet concept protects your brain, reads comics so you don’t have to

Lego-inspired helmet concept protects your brain, reads comics so you don’t have to originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Technabob  |  Jonathan Robson  | Email this | Comments

Though it’s not Gingerbread, the Droid Pro software update adds enhancements including improved voice quality, updated Bluetooth firmware, and better stability.

Originally posted at Android Atlas

The first specifications for a pair of next-generation Motorola handsets have emerged. Will these be among the first to feature Nvidia’s new chipset?

Originally posted at Android Atlas

An aerial view of a Japanese nuclear plant post-earthquake and tsunami. Photo: DigitalGlobe

Emergencies and natural disasters are when we need reliable communication most — and that’s often the very time that cell towers get swamped and fail us.

In order to prepare for such situations, AT&T has released the Remote Mobility Zone, a kind of impromptu cell tower in a small package that can be quickly deployed after disaster strikes (or when connecting to regular towers just isn’t happening). They can be set up in any area AT&T normally offers coverage, when the service is disrupted for whatever reason.

First is the “Fly Away,” a portable cell tower packed into a suitcase that government and first responders can use to get cell service back to an area quickly. “Fly Away” incorporates a satellite dish that can be mounted on a car or truck and is powered by a generator or some other outside power source. It takes about half an hour to set up, and can support data services (at sub-broadband speeds) and up to 14 calls at once.

The “Fixed-Site Solution” establishes a mounted dish that can be used as a back-up communications system to support up to 100 simultaneous users.

Finally, “Park and Use” is a government-only integrated car system that provides mobile cell service through roof-mounted satellites. Clients of these services can also subscribe to AT&T WIreless Priority Service to ensure that key personnel have access to the network by prioritizing the traffic that passes through.

Hopefully, such solutions will prevent problems like Verizon experienced during the Northeast’s Snow-pocalypse this year, where the carrier dropped at least 10,000 emergency calls. But if these measures aren’t already in place in an area, it could still take hours or days for first responders to reach the site and set up these services.

The personal cell phone towers cost between $15,000 and $45,000 (plus annual fees) and will be available to corporate and government entities.

Remote Mobility Zone [AT&T via Fast Company]

Image: DigitalGlobe [high-resolution version]