May 23
May 23
Dell XPS 15z available in Australia and Asia, fits Sandy Bridge in under an inch of thickness
Posted in: 1080p, availability, available, CoreI5, CoreI7, laptop, official, on sale, OnSale, price, pricing, sandy bridge, SandyBridge, Today's Chili, windows 7, Windows7
The XPS 15z, true to Michael Dell’s word, is now with us. Provided “now” is May the 24th in whatever part of the world you happen to live in. Laptop shoppers in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan — a group of nations already enjoying the glories of Tuesday — can now buy the 0.97 inches-thick 15z for prices starting at just under A$1,400. That buys you a Core i5-2410M from Intel (2.3GHz default speed, 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost), a generous 6GB of DDR3 RAM, backlit keyboard, GeForce GT 525M graphics with 2GB of dedicated memory, a 750GB hard drive, and a 64WHr battery. The screen spans 15.6 inches diagonally and offers 1920 x 1080 resolution. Stepping up to A$1,700 gets you a Core i7-2620M (2.7GHz default, 3.4GHz TB) and 8GB of RAM. Juicy specs, we must admit. Now when’s midnight coming?
[Thanks, John]
Dell XPS 15z available in Australia and Asia, fits Sandy Bridge in under an inch of thickness originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 18:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | 
Dell (Australia), (Malaysia), (Hong Kong), (Taiwan), (Japan) | Email this | Comments
May 23
Apple Defends App Programmers in Patent Dispute
Posted in: Apple, apps, iPhone, Law, patents, Software and Operating Systems, Today's Chili
Steve Jobs points to the audience as he announces the software development kit for iPhone app programmers in a March 2008 event. Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com
Apple’s legal team has fired back at a patent-owning firm that was threatening to sue iPhone app programmers over usage of in-app payment technology.
Apple stated in no uncertain terms that it planned to protect Apple developers.
“Apple is undisputedly licensed to these patent and the Apple App Makers are protected by that license,” wrote Bruce Sewell, Apple’s general counsel, in a response to Lodsys (.pdf) sent Monday. “Apple intends to share this letter and the information set out herein with its App Makers and is fully prepared to defend Apple’s license rights.”
The patent firm Lodsys on May 13 sent letters to several iOS app programmers, claiming that it owned a patent related to the usage of an “upgrade” button, allowing customers to upgrade from a free version of an app to a paid version, or to make purchases within apps. The letter demanded that programmers pay a licensing fee for the patent, or face legal action from Lodsys.
In the technology industry, large companies are already tangled in legal disputes over patents on technologies they claim to have invented or pioneered. For instance, Nokia filed suit against Apple in 2009 for patent infringement, Apple filed a patent lawsuit against HTC in 2010, and Microsoft has gone after Google’s partners offering Android-powered products.
However, with the case of Lodsys, it was odd to see a patent firm shaking down smaller companies for using technologies provided by a larger company.
Apple’s letter said that the technology that Lodsys claims it patented — an interface that enables interactions with a user to elicit feedback — requires the use of APIs provided by Apple to the app programmer. Therefore, because Apple owns a license for Lodsys’ patents, they extend to programmers that use Apple’s technologies, too.
Dave Castelnuovo, creator of the popular iPhone game Pocket God, was one of the first programmers to receive Lodsys’ letter. His lawyer David Alberti told Wired.com that Lodsys’ claims made against app developers seemed like a “very far stretch,” because the patents in question seemed to relate to feedback systems on hardware, such as a fax machine, and not technology in a pure software environment.
Lodsys owner Mark Small, who sent the initial letter to app developers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pocket God maker Castelnuovo said he was happy to see Apple respond very quickly and publicly to Lodsys.
“It shows that Apple cares about its developers and they are willing to stick up for them when something like this occurs,” Castelnuovo told Wired.com.
James Thomson, programmer of the pCalc scientific calculator app for iPhone, was one of the first to receive Lodsys’ letter. He told Wired.com he was glad Apple was getting involved, but the fight is not over yet.
“I’m just relieved to hear that Apple’s got our backs,” Thomson said. “Of course it’s not over until Lodsys withdraws their claims, but this is a big step. I will sleep a lot better tonight, that’s for certain!”
See Also:
May 23
Random Hacks of Kindness brings hackers together for the greater good next month
Posted in: hacking, Today's Chili
What could possibly bring hackers in 18 cities around the world together for a weekend next month? Potentially a lot of things, but on June 4th and 5th it’ll be the third annual Random Hacks of Kindness (or RHoK), a globally-linked conference that’s centered on the idea of “Hacking for Humanity.” As with the two previous conferences, this one is community-driven from the ground up, with anyone able to suggest a problem that could have a technological solution of some sort, and everyone welcome to join in helping to solve it (some of the suggestions so far are things like tornado notification and brush fire command systems). Those interested in participating can find all the information they need at the source link below — and don’t worry about not being 1337 enough to make the grade, the definition of “hacker” in this case is a fairly loose one. It seems anyone with a laptop and some ideas is welcome.
[Thanks, Rachel; image: RHoK/Flickr]
Random Hacks of Kindness brings hackers together for the greater good next month originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 18:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Random Hacks of Kindness | Email this | Comments
May 23
Leafsnap for iPhone and iPad
Posted in: apps, IphoneApps, Today's Chili, top
May 23
Ballmer: ‘next generation of Windows systems’ coming next year
Posted in: steve ballmer, Today's Chili, Windows, windows 8, Windows8
The name “Windows 8” may have been tossed around a lot as of late, but Steve Ballmer himself has only just now uttered the name for the first time in public at the company’s developer forum in Japan. What’s more, while he didn’t divulge a ton of specifics, he did say that the “next generation of Windows systems” will be coming out next year, and that “there’s a whole lot more coming,” including “slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.” As ZDNet‘s Mary Jo Foley notes, the distinction between “slates” and “tablets” as two separate form factors is certainly an interesting one, as is the fact that he curiously didn’t use the name Windows 8 in connection with those next generation Windows systems. What does it all mean? Perhaps Microsoft’s Windows chief, Steven Sinofsky, will have more to say during his appearance at the D9 conference next week — Winrumors is reporting that he may even be set to demo the company’s Windows 8 Tablet UI. And, yes, you can count on us being there to bring it all to you live.
Ballmer: ‘next generation of Windows systems’ coming next year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 17:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | ZDNet, Microsoft | Email this | Comments
May 23
The latest details suggest that Amazon is working on budget-friendly 7- and 10-inch tablets, and if the prices prove true, they could present a big threat to today’s Android tablets.
Originally posted at Android Atlas
May 23
i3D app brings glasses-free 3D to iOS, tracks your gaze like a creepy portrait tracks Scooby Doo (video)
Posted in: app, Apple, Google, ios, ipad, ipad 2, Ipad2, iPhone, ipod, ipod touch, IpodTouch, itunes, Today's Chili, video
i3D is a new app that can create a glasses-free 3D display on iDevices, using a technology known as Head-Coupled Perspective (HCP). Developed by the folks from the Engineering Human-Computer Interaction (EHCI) Research Group, HCP uses a front facing camera to track the movements of a user’s head, allowing the app to adjust the display accordingly. The result is a monocular 3D screen that creates the illusion of looking into a box. If the concept sounds a little familiar, it could be because Google unveiled a similar headtracking feature for Ice Cream Sandwich during the opening keynote at this month’s I/O event. And by “similar” we mean “pretty much the exact same thing.” i3D is now available for free in the iTunes Store and runs on the iPad 2, iPhone 4 and fourth generation iPod Touch. You can compare both iOS and Ice Cream Sandwich 3D generators after the break (Google’s demo kicks off around the 16:50 mark).
i3D app brings glasses-free 3D to iOS, tracks your gaze like a creepy portrait tracks Scooby Doo (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 17:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
TiPb | iTunes | Email this | Comments
May 23
Ubiquitous iRemoTap puts your powerstrip in the cloud, turns lights off remotely (video)
Posted in: cloud, Today's Chili, video, Wireless
It probably won’t help you if you leave your oven on, but if you let lights linger after leaving home, Ubiquitous’ iRemotTap may help you save a few Kilowatts. This seemingly vanilla powerstip is anything but, boasting the odd addition of a tiny OS embedded in a wireless LAN chip — all the better to turn your lights off. Users can control the internet-enabled socket stick remotely via a mobile or desktop web browser, allowing them to switch off gadgets and lights after leaving the house. Can’t be bothered to log in to switch off? No worries, this plug powers devices down automatically after they reach a pre-defined power consumption limit. If you’re forgetful enough to need a light switch in the cloud, Ubiquitous is hoping to sell you peace of mind for less than ¥10,000 ($122) — whenever these taps get out of R&D, that is. Vid’s after the break, if you need convincing.
Ubiquitous iRemoTap puts your powerstrip in the cloud, turns lights off remotely (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 17:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
May 23
Verizon rolling out LTE coverage in 21 additional markets on June 16th, wins 4G blackjack
Posted in: 4G, lte, Smartphones, Today's Chili, verizon
This could be just the news your lonely little Thunderbolt has been waiting for. Verizon today announced the addition of 21 new markets to its LTE coverage, starting June 16th. The list includes some biggish spots, like Boise, ID, Milwaukee / Madison, WI, Salt Lake City, UT, and Hartford, CT — Northern California will be getting a major coverage boost, as well, with the existing Bay Area coverage being expanded to Marin and Solano counties. The network launched with 38 markets back in December and those, plus these new additions and a handful announced earlier this month, are bringing the company ever closer to its proposed 175 markets by the end of the year. That’s a whole lot of green stars.
Verizon rolling out LTE coverage in 21 additional markets on June 16th, wins 4G blackjack originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 16:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Twitter | Email this | Comments
Who's in charge here?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.