Gadget Lab Podcast: Wired Remembers Steve Jobs


          

As many of you know by now, Apple chairman of the board and co-founder Steve Jobs passed away on Wednesday at the age of 56. Instead of bringing you our usual episode of the Gadget Lab podcast, we thought it appropriate to take a moment to reflect on what Apple under Steve meant to us, and how his vision for products shaped the very way we interact with technology today.

We’ve gathered a number of Wired staff members to discuss some of our experiences with Apple’s gadgets from the past three decades, from the first Macintosh computer to the advent of the iPad. In Steve’s passing, we’re reminded just how much the products, the company and the man have become a part of our lives.

Rest in peace, Steve.

You can also get the Gadget Lab video podcast via iTunes, or the Gadget Lab audio podcast. Prefer RSS? You can subscribe to the Gadget Lab video or audio podcast feeds.

Or listen to the audio below:

Gadget Lab audio podcast #127

http://downloads.wired.com/podcasts/assets/gadgetlabaudio/GadgetLabAudio0127.mp3


Ice Cream Sandwich leak outs Music 4.0.1 for download, previews Google+ 2.0

A funny thing happened to the folks at Android Police, the same group responsible for leaking some of the first screenshots of Ice Cream Sandwich. They’ve since come across a few apps from Google’s upcoming release — purportedly straight from a Nexus Prime. The first is Google Music 4.0.1 — a marked upgrade from the current 3.0.1 found in the Market today — which sports refined tabs, a contextual dialog and new player controls. For reference, the latest version is shown on the right, which is most likely installed onto a Gingerbread device. Best yet, the APK is currently up for download (which you’re able to grab for yourself from the source). There’s also a sneak peek of the upcoming Google+ 2.0, which suggests Messenger (formerly Huddle) and Conversations will be renamed to… get this… Chords. Feel free to take a peek after the break, or check out the full gallery at the second source link below.

Continue reading Ice Cream Sandwich leak outs Music 4.0.1 for download, previews Google+ 2.0

Ice Cream Sandwich leak outs Music 4.0.1 for download, previews Google+ 2.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 17:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Halo 3 Ending Leaked

This article was written on September 18, 2007 by CyberNet.

Not that this should be a surprise, but the ending of Halo 3 has been leaked to the Internet. With the game set to launch in just a week on September 25th, the video of the ending appears to be legitimate – although it hasn’t been confirmed. If you have interest in ruining the game for yourself, I’ve included the link below. Just do everybody else a favor and don’t spoil it for all the Halo fans planning to wait until they actually play the game to find out how it ends (please don’t post any spoilers in the comments either).

*****WARNING, SPOILER VIDEO*****

LINK TO VIDEO

*****WARNING, SPOILER VIDEO*****

Hopefully those that want to wait until they play the game won’t have to hibernate for a week in fear of hearing how it ends. I’ve never understood how anybody gets enjoyment out of spoiling it for others, but it happens.

In other Halo 3 news, here’s an image of what the Halo 3 Edition of Xbox 360 looks like. It launched yesterday just in time for the release of the game!

xbox 360 halo 3 edition

It’ll cost you $400 bucks, and DOES NOT come with Halo 3 (the game). As one CrunchGear commenter pointed out, this is a great deal for HDTV owners. This special edition has the HDMI output, but is $100 cheaper than the Xbox 360 Elite version you’d have to buy if you wanted it otherwise. If you were planning on buying an Xbox 360 any ways, this might be a good option.

Sources: Joystik, CrunchGear

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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So Long, WiMax: Sprint Confirms LTE Rollout by 2013

The EVO 3D runs on Sprint’s WiMax network. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

Joining the likes of competitors AT&T and Verizon, Sprint will soon begin building its own 4G LTE network, essentially admitting its bet on the rival WiMax standard was a bust. The move, announced Friday, should provide Sprint subscribers with a greater choice of 4G devices in the future, since LTE has basically become the standard for 4G here in the U.S. and abroad.

Sprint, the nation’s third-largest carrier, plans to roll out its 4G LTE network on the 1900MHz spectrum by mid-2012, with complete build-out by the end of 2013. Sprint will begin launching up to 15 CDMA/LTE devices towards the middle of next year, but will also continue selling WiMax products through the end of that year. Sprint expects its 4G network to cover over 250 million people.

So far AT&T, Verizon, MetroPCS and LightSquared all currently utilize LTE technology in their 4G networks.

Sprint is calling the future-proofing of its network coverage “Network Vision.” “Our progress deploying Network Vision enables Sprint to extend and evolve our 4G leadership and to improve the experience for 3G customers,” Sprint CEO Dan Hesse said in a release.

Sprint was a key player in the 4G revolution. The company was the first to heavily invest in 4G and is also the majority shareholder in ClearWire, which has struggled to compete effectively with DSL and cable internet connections with its 4G WiMax network. Sprint began developing its fourth-generational network in 2008 and released one of the first 4G Android handsets, the HTC EVO, on its WiMax network in 2010.

At the time, the other major networks had not made commitments to either WiMax or LTE for their 4G networks. In March of that year, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse hinted at Sprint’s eventual move towards LTE, saying, “LTE will likely be the larger of the 4G standards.” In an effort to curb rumors that Sprint was going to switch to LTE, though, Hesse backtracked a few months later, saying, “Our 4G strategy is WiMAX, full stop!”

According to the International Telecommunications Union, WiMax is closer to 3G than what we refer to as 4G via LTE. The wireless broadband access industry developed WiMax, which is supported by the IEEE standards body, while LTE was developed by mobile companies. However, the speeds you can achieve with both types of networks are largely comparable.

“4G is a pure marketing term,” Gartner analyst Michael King says. “What T-Mobile calls 4G is essentially the same thing as AT&T’s 3G, from a technology standpoint.”

Verizon made a major push for 4G with its network infrastructure beginning in early 2011. AT&T began with a slight upgrade to HSPA+ for its “4G” network, but started rolling out its LTE network this summer in five major metropolitan areas.

T-Mobile still employs an HSPA+ network, which is largely considered “3.5G” rather than true 4G (more details can be found in Wired.com’s 4G explainer). So far, Verizon’s LTE network coverage and speeds have proven to consistently be the fastest among the nation’s four major carriers.

Beyond 2012, it is unclear if Sprint will continue to support both LTE and WiMax, or if the carrier will decide to just support LTE.

Sprint representative Kelly Schlageter said that “Sprint will continue to sell WiMAX devices with two-year contracts through 2012. We don’t have anything to announce beyond 2012 today.” For 3G, Sprint employs CDMA, and any part of the spectrum not used by iDEN is currently used for CDMA.

Clearwire, which Sprint has a 54 percent stake in, currently provides Sprint’s WiMax infrastructure. Some reports had indicated that Sprint might be trying to take over Clearwire, but today’s move makes it seem more likely that the relationship between the two companies may be strained. Sprint needs Clearwire’s support in order to roll out its LTE network.

Sprint does, however, have some help from another nationwide spectrum provider — LightSquared. The two signed a deal that gives Sprint access to its 1600 MHz LTE spectrum through 2015.

Sprint hasn’t been doing well revenue-wise since its merger with Nextel in 2005, and is making a big bet on the iPhone to help push it into profitability. Nextel’s old iDEN network has historically been a source of problems for Sprint, which could feasibly push legacy iDEN users off the 800 MHz frequency and use it instead for LTE, but this has not been confirmed.

The switch to LTE is expected to cost Sprint between $4 and $5 billion, though the investment could deliver over twice that in economic benefit to the company, if this bet pays off better than the money it put on WiMax did.


Daily Downloads: GOM & ESET

This article was written on February 22, 2008 by CyberNet.

gom eset logos icons 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.

  • ESET NOD32 & Smart Security 3.0.642 [Homepage] [Release Notes] [Review]
    Cost: Varies
    Type of Application: Antivirus (and optional firewall)
    Changes: Bug fixes
  • GOM Player 2.1.9.3753 [Homepage] [Release Notes] [Mirror] [Review]
    Type of Application: Media player
    Changes: Fixes a video/audio sync issue with MKV files

–Pre-Releases (Alpha, Beta, etc…)–

The software listed here are pre-releases that may not be ready for everyday usage.

  • None

–Release Calendar–

  • Early 2008 – Internet Explorer 8 Beta [Review]
  • Early 2008 – Firefox 3.0 [Review]
  • February – iPhone SDK [Review]
  • February – Deskscapes 2.0 [Review]
  • February 21 – Ubuntu 8.04 Alpha 5
  • March – WordPress 2.5 [Review]
  • March 4 – OpenOffice.org 2.4
  • March 6 – Ubuntu 8.04 Alpha 6
  • Mid March – Vista SP1 [Review]
  • March 24 – XP SP3 [Review]
  • April 24 – Ubuntu 8.04
  • April 29 – Fedora 9
  • June 19 – openSUSE 11.0
  • September 8 – OpenOffice.org 3.0 [Review]
  • 2009 – Windows Mobile 7 [Review]
  • 2009 – Paint.NET 4.00 [Review]
  • 2010 – Windows 7 [Review]

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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CEATEC Japan 2011 wrap-up

Just 20 kilometers to the east of Tokyo at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, CEATEC is winding down, following a gadget-filled week where impressive prototypes appeared to outnumber consumer devices. Unlike IFA in Berlin, which is just as much for the public as it is for industry insiders, Japan’s consumer electronics show gives manufacturers a chance to show off their prototypes and components to a smaller, mainly local audience. Many products announced here will never leave the country’s shores, but can inspire future devices that will be marketed to a worldwide audience. Click through our gallery below for a broader look at the show, then jump past the break for a roundup of our CEATEC 2011 coverage. Arigatou gozaimashita!

Richard Lai contributed to this report.

Continue reading CEATEC Japan 2011 wrap-up

CEATEC Japan 2011 wrap-up originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Minecraft Pocket Edition rolls out to non-Xperia Play Android devices

Well, it was fun while it lasted, but Xperia Play users can no longer claim Minecraft Pocket Edition as their own. An updated version of the app has hit the Android Market today, bringing with it support for a range of additional devices running Android 2.1 or higher — although it’s still said to be “Xperia Play optimized.” Same $6.99 price tag as before, but there is a free demo version available if you’re still not sure about the whole Minecraft phenomenon.

Minecraft Pocket Edition rolls out to non-Xperia Play Android devices originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When Is it OK to Talk to Your Phone? An Etiquette Guide to Mobile Voice Recognition

Siri will mean a lot of us are talking on our phones, to our phones; a nation of Kirks, barking into communicators. So unless we lay down some ground rules, things are going to get very annoying, very quickly. More »

Sony Reader WiFi review

Sony’s timing could have been better with the Reader WiFi PRS-T1. The device, which was unveiled back at IFA in late August, is set to launch within a fortnight. In the intervening time, Amazon, the clear leader in the space, unveiled two new readers — the fourth-generation Kindle and the Kindle Touch. Sony’s got a ways to go if it’s going to become a dominant force in the e-reader market outside of its native Japan, alongside the Kindle and the Nook. The PRS-T1 certainly takes some steps in that direction, both in terms of pricing and features — but is it enough to get consumers to stand up and take notice? Find out in our review after the break.

Continue reading Sony Reader WiFi review

Sony Reader WiFi review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG Optimus 3D app converter starts roll-out this month, why settle for only two dimensions?

LG’s 2D to 3D app converter will finally arrive on the Optimus 3D (AKA the Thrill 4G) this month. In order to play nice with it, apps and games need to be using OpenGL. The converter is packaged inside the company’s maintenance release for the 3D smartphone and will be available on European handsets any day now, followed by a gradual global roll-out over the next few weeks. You can expect to find a few more tri-dimensional nuggets, including 3D video editing and the ability to view 3D video in 2D. LG says that it will also add Dolby Mobile sound and automatic image-stabilization for 2D video-capture. But, we’re more interested in that app converter — we want those furious fowl to really pop out at us.

LG Optimus 3D app converter starts roll-out this month, why settle for only two dimensions? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 15:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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