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May 07

Screen Grabs: Kyocera Echo goes back to the alternate-reality future in Fringe

Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today’s movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dot com.

We liked the Kyocera Echo quite a bit, but perhaps the dual-screen tabletphone concept is a mite ahead of its time — here it is fifteen years from now, helping the Fringe team pull up security blueprints for an opera house. Or perhaps Astrid has become a vintage technology connoisseur? We have to admit it’s a step up from the Streak seismograph, but we can’t help but frown — we wouldn’t be caught dead running Froyo in the year 2026, after all.

[Thanks, Prince C.]

Continue reading Screen Grabs: Kyocera Echo goes back to the alternate-reality future in Fringe

Screen Grabs: Kyocera Echo goes back to the alternate-reality future in Fringe originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 May 2011 15:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 07

A Look at the New “Social-Side” of Netvibes

Posted in: Today's Chili, Web Sites

This article was written on December 19, 2007 by CyberNet.

The new Netvibes Ginger launched into a private beta yesterday, and the Netvibes team was kind enough to give us non-testers a glimpse at what it’s all about. I know for some of you, it’s going to be hard to just sit by and wait for the final release which is expected to come in January, but I think the wait will be worth it. Ginger is all about socialization, so as you can imagine, most of the features are “social.” Here’s what you can expect:

Over 150,000 premium widgets available to help you save space on your start page
Import and export info from your social networks like your Facebook friends
Listen to webradios
Save up to 2GB worth of “stuff” with your free storage
Use widgets to access your drive and then share documents on your page
Save/share blog posts, pictures, and other things that you come across on the web
All starred items will be visible in your activities timeline with the option to make that timeline public

netvibes giner

I think one of the most anticipated features will be the 2GB of free storage where you can upload pretty much anything you’d like so that you can easily share with family and friends. Assuming there are privacy settings, I think people should be pretty happy with this. My only concern with Ginger is the fact that it is all about being social, and I think some people may be getting “socialed” out. There are so many social sites out there and so many different ways to be social that I’m not sure that the masses are looking for another way to share documents and other files with friends.

At this point, I don’t see any way to get yourself invited into the beta. They say they’ll continue to add more users until the launch in January, so if you have an account, I suggest you just sit back, relax, and be patient. Hopefully they’ll get around to upgrading you to the new Ginger Version soon…

Related Posts:

Netvibes Ginger Launches to Public

Netvibes Startpages Get Google Search

Netvibes Gets A Few New Features

Netvibes Introduces Several New Features

Netvibes Bringing Widgets to Vista, Google, and Mac

May 07

US Cellular announces 4G, plans to light up LTE by end of year

Posted in: 4G, lte, network, Today's Chili

Just when we’re finally basking in the warmth of spring and picking May flowers, US Cellular finds a reason for us to look forward to the cold and dark winter to come. The carrier announced plans to deploy its own LTE network, intent on blanketing two dozen markets (representing 25 percent of its customer base) with blazing-fast 4G service in time for the holiday season. And the party ain’t stopping just because the mistletoe comes down and the decorations are put away; the holiday deployment will only be the first phase, with US Cellular continuing its 4G expansion efforts through 2012. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading US Cellular announces 4G, plans to light up LTE by end of year

US Cellular announces 4G, plans to light up LTE by end of year originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 May 2011 13:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 07

Microsoft patent details a 3D desktop interface with a room for your windows

Posted in: desktop, interface, Microsoft, os, patent, Today's Chili

Many have tried and failed to bring a 3D desktop interface to an otherwise 2D operating system, but that certainly hasn’t stopped others from trying. The latest example to crop up comes courtesy of none other than Microsoft, which recently received a patent for what it describes as a “method and apparatus for providing a three-dimensional task gallery computer interface.” In other words, it’s an interface intended to help you better manage multiple tasks, which the patent suggests could be done in a 3D environment with a floor, walls and a ceiling. Apparently, you’d be able to group multiple windows at various spots in the “room,” which would let you rely on your spatial memory to easily find a given task — with the room getting deeper and deeper to accommodate more tasks. In the patent’s claims, the only means described for navigating around that room is a set of icons that would adjust to suit the 3D environment, although it certainly seems like it could easily be adapted to accommodate gesture controls as well. Hit up the source link below for plenty more line drawings where this one came from.

Microsoft patent details a 3D desktop interface with a room for your windows originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 May 2011 12:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Technology Review | source Google Patents | Email this | Comments

May 07

Rand McNally’s TripMaker RVND 5510 promises RV-easy navigation, Robin Williams at extra charge

Posted in: navigation, Today's Chili

Are you a mild-mannered California beverage executive tired of having your family vacations degenerate into antics? Do you feel like every time you try to clean the sewage system of your Recreational Vehicle, some (admittedly hilarious) fecal-matter-related mishap occurs? Well, we can’t help you with that, honestly, but we can point you toward Rand McNally’s TripMaker RVND 5510 — “the first navigation device designed specifically for RVers.” This isn’t for supervans or campers: it’s for RVs, son, whether they be an Airstream, a Monaco, a sweet South Korean custom job or a hippified veggie-RV. The 5510 features RV-easy GPS routing, keeping you safe and legal on the road. It also has over 14 million points of interest, helping you find everything from campsites to the nearest animal hospital. And its Best of the Road feature threatens to turn your trip into a memorable adventure. The TripMaker RVND 5510 retails for $350 and ships to North America in June (just in time for road trip season) and yes, includes support for Canadian French.

Continue reading Rand McNally’s TripMaker RVND 5510 promises RV-easy navigation, Robin Williams at extra charge

Rand McNally’s TripMaker RVND 5510 promises RV-easy navigation, Robin Williams at extra charge originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 May 2011 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 07

BeBook Live tablet delivers the goods for Froyo diehards

Posted in: Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, flash, froyo, tablet, Today's Chili, video

It’s pretty fitting that BeBook chose the word “Live” for its new product, because until we got a note from a member of its staff earlier today, we weren’t entirely sure it was still kicking. The company has followed up its solid, if pricey, black and white e-reader with, get this, an Android tablet. The BeBook Live tablet has a seven-inch multitouch color screen, a 2MP front facing camera, 1080p HDMI out, Flash support, and 4GB of built-in memory. Weirdly, the device’s “tablet OS” is actually Android 2.2, which will no doubt feel downright antiquated when it launches in June for $279 — which, to the company’s credit, is significantly cheaper than its lower tech predecessor. Video after the break that may or may not be narrated by the Moviefone guy.

Continue reading BeBook Live tablet delivers the goods for Froyo diehards

BeBook Live tablet delivers the goods for Froyo diehards originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 May 2011 10:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 07

Acer Aspire One 722 caught in the wild (video)

Posted in: hands-on, in the wild, InTheWild, netbook, netbooks, Today's Chili, video

If that offbeat Acer Aspire One 722 we told you about last month caught your fancy, well, we still don’t know when you’ll be able to buy it or how many pretty pennies it’ll cost. In the meantime, the folks at NewGadgets, at least, got to spend some time with one and gave it the full hands-on treatment, including a video (embedded below for your viewing pleasure) and gallery of close-up shots. So if you like your netbooks blue, dented, and loaded with AMD innards, head on past the break to get your eyeful. Now if only this had a release date to go with it…

Continue reading Acer Aspire One 722 caught in the wild (video)

Acer Aspire One 722 caught in the wild (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 May 2011 09:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 07

Smithsonian announces titles for Art of Video Games exhibit, snubs Mario Paint

Posted in: Games, gaming, plans, Today's Chili, video games, VideoGames

GoldenEye 007 is certainly a fun way to waste your childhood…but is it art? According to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, yes. The game was one of 80 selected for an upcoming exhibit, The Art of Video Games, and the the venerable museum drew on fan expertise, using online voting to winnow the field of 240 nominees. The selections span the last four decades (!) of gaming, from the days of the Atari VCS and ColecoVision all the way to today’s modern time-sinks like Portal and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. The exhibit won’t open until next spring, but in the meantime check out the source link to argue about who got left out.

Smithsonian announces titles for Art of Video Games exhibit, snubs Mario Paint originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 May 2011 08:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Kotaku | source Smithsonian American Art Museum | Email this | Comments

May 07

WrapUp: Reasons to Jailbreak Your iPad, New Chrome OS Screenshots, and More

Posted in: ipad, jailbreak, Today's Chili, WrapUp

This article was written on May 24, 2010 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 TV Unveiled
Google has found their way on to your computer, on to your phone, and now wants to be on your TV. At their conference last week they announced Google TV, which merges your cable/satellite box, your TV, and the web so that it is all managed from one central interface. Sony will be building this into some of their TVs, and Logitech will be making a “companion” box running the Google TV platform… both of which will be on sale this Fall at Best Buy.

New Hotmail Allows for Larger Attachments
From a global perspective Hotmail is the most used email service, but in the U.S. Hotmail is on the verge of giving up their second place position to Gmail (with Yahoo! in first). The new version of Hotmail, due out later this summer, will have a bunch of new features that will make managing your Inbox easier, but the big thing to me is the new attachment limitations. Hotmail will not only allow for 50MB attachments (Gmail is 25MB), but you can attach up to 10GB of files (Gmail is 25MB). That means you can attach 200 files that are each 50MB to an email, or that is equivalent to about 2,000 full resolution digital photos (assuming an average 5MB size). This is made possible thanks to direct integration with your SkyDrive account.

–News in Brief–

Google Offers Encrypted Search
You can now visit an HTTPS version of Google homepage to help hide your session from third parties.

AT&T Early Termination Nearly Doubles on June 1st
Beginning June 1st the AT&T early termination fee will be upped from $175 to $325 for all smartphone users.

Google Android 2.2 Revealed
The next generation Android OS will include significant speed improvements, tethering capabilities, Flash support, and more.

iTunes Store Includes Rotten Tomatoes Ratings
A silent update to the iTunes store adds ratings to movies from the Rotten Tomatoes site.

Leaked iPod Touch Includes 2MP Camera
A leaked iPod Touch model has a small camera in it, which was rumored to have been supposedly pulled from the the current models at the last minute.

More Google Chrome OS Screenshots
This article includes screenshots of the notification panel, tab navigation, and the open file dialog in the Chrome OS.

Hotmail by Numbers
Find out some stats about Hotmail, such as that there are over 15 billion Office documents being stored right now.

Nexus One Won’t Be Offered Online Anymore
Google has decided that selling their Nexus One phone online is not the best route to go, and the device will be pulled from their online store once retail channels are in place.

–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

Miro Video Converter First Tool to Produce WebM Videos
We wrote about the free Miro Video Converter a little while back, and one shining point is definitely its simplicity. This free app is also one of the first to offer WebM (a video format announced by Google, Mozilla, Adobe and others) as one of the types you can save a video as.

Reasons to Jailbreak Your iPad
Gizmodo has written up a great article that covers many of the jailbroken apps that have already been made iPad-compatible. I have personally jailbroken my iPad just so I could get some of the functionality that they mention… most notably the ability to run apps in the background. If you own an iPad check out this article to see if jailbreaking is right for you.

–Tips in Brief–

Google Chrome Password Syncing
New Chromium builds let users sync their saved passwords so that they are accessible from any computer.

Nightly Builds of Firefox for Android
Mozilla has begun rolling out nightly releases of Fennec, a mobile version of Firefox, on the Android platform.

Windows Aero Blur Tweaker
This free utility will let you disable the blurring portion of the Aero interface, which makes it fully transparent.

Guide to Setting Up XBMC
A comprehensive guide to setting up XBMC on your computer, and getting everything tailored to your needs.

Manage WordPress Blog Comments from Your Desktop
A Windows app to let you manage (approve/reply/delete) your WordPress blog comments.

Quickly Find your SkyDrive WebDAV Paths
The SkyDrive Simple Viewer lets you snag your WebDAV paths so that you can map your account as a drive letter on your PC.

Download HD Movie Trailers in Bulk
This doesn’t have a GUI, but by editing a configuration file you can set this app up to download movie trailers.

Some Alternative Netbook Operating Systems
This is a rundown on some operating systems you can run on your netbook, including a customized version of Ubuntu that comes with proprietary codecs for things like MP3 playback.

Configure Windows Prefetch and Superfetch
Tweak the way both Prefetch and Superfetch work in Windows, such as whether apps or the OS are able to use it.

Use F.lux to Adjust Monitor Brightness Automatically
F.lux is a free Windows app that will adjust your screen brightness based upon the time of day.