Dec 12

Google’s Native Client focuses on apps and games, brings Bastion to the browser (video)

Posted in: Google, Today's Chili, video, video games, VideoGames

In case you missed it, Google’s Native Client launched at the end of the summer, promising to ease cross-OS deployment by letting developers run x86 code natively in Chrome. Early adopters have had a few months to tinker with Google’s new trick, and now the outfit is eager to show off their best work. Supergiant Games, for instance, has ported Bastion to the Native Client, opening up the Xbox Live hit to Mac, Linux and Chrome OS users. Google’s Christian Stefansen says Native Client makes porting existing code bases written C, C++ or C# easy, citing Spacetime Studio’s Star Legends — an MMO with over half a million lines of code — as an example of a large project that was ported in as little as two weeks. Google touts application middleware ports (such as Unity, Moai, Mono, fmod and more) and easy distribution to the Chrome Web Store as a major boon to developers, and encourages interested studios to check out its new Native Client site to help them get started. Interested? Hit up the links below, or simply skip past the break to hear Mr. Stefansen’s spiel for yourself.

Continue reading Google’s Native Client focuses on apps and games, brings Bastion to the browser (video)

Google’s Native Client focuses on apps and games, brings Bastion to the browser (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceChromium Blog, Native Client  | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Dec 12

Stem Turns Lemons and Limes Into Juicy Atomizers

Posted in: household, Today's Chili

Quirky’s Stem turns any citrus fruit into an acid-spraying sprinkler

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been hit in the eye by a stray spray of acid enough times to know that a lemon is eager to share its juice. And Quirky’s new Stem accessory will help the citrus fruit in its generous ambition by putting a spray nozzle on it.

Stem is a work in progress, just accepted into Quirky’s production machine, which hones a design and then pre-sells it before starting the wheels of the factory production lines. But — somewhat astonishingly — it works. Take a look at this video from the inventor Timothy Houle:

The Stem consists of two parts. The be-toothed gouger which lets you rip the device into the orange, lemon or lime of your choice, and the spray head, which works just like any other spray-pump in your kitchen or bathroom. Presumably, after the first burst of zesty spray, you’ll be able to squeeze the fruit in your hand to free up more liquid.

The invention is still in its early stages of development, and in my past experience even fully-realized Quirky designs take quite some time to make it into the hands of customers. But for the patient, this looks like a fantastic kitchen gadget. Now excuse me while I head to the dime store to rustle up the parts to make my own.

Stem product page [Quirky via the Giz]

Spray lemon juice on sliced fruit, salads, grilled meat…anywhere you want, directly from the lemon [Quirky]


No Comments | Tags:
Dec 12

NASA looks to send landers to Europa in 2020, wants to break the ice

Posted in: camera, concept, NASA, research, robot, space, Today's Chili
There’s still a lot of mystery surrounding Jupiter’s moon Europa, but researchers at NASA seem fairly certain that there’s a watery ocean lurking beneath its icy exterior. Their theories may finally be put to the test later this decade, thanks to a concept mission crafted by astronomers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. According to Space.com, JPL researchers have come up with a plan that would send a pair of landers to Europa by 2026, in the hopes of finding out whether the rock has ever supported life forms. The endeavor certainly wouldn’t be easy, since Jupiter blankets its moon in heavy radiation, but researchers think they can mitigate these risks by sending in an extra lander as backup, and by keeping the mission short and sweet. Under the plan, each 700-pound robot would use a mass spectrometer, seismometers and a slew of cameras to search for any organic chemicals that may be lodged within the moon’s ice. Neither craft will sport a protective shield, so they’ll only stay around the planet for about seven days, so as to avoid any radiation damage. At this point, the mission is still in the concept phase, though the JPL is hoping to launch both landers by 2020. JPL researcher Kevin Hand was quick to point out, however, that this would be a “habitability mission,” and that NASA doesn’t expect to find any signs of current life on Europa. Lars von Trier was unavailable for comment.

NASA looks to send landers to Europa in 2020, wants to break the ice originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Slashdot  |  sourceSpace.com  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: ,
Dec 12

Luxury Leather iPad Case Hides High-Tech Tricks

Posted in: Accessories and Peripherals, ipad, Today's Chili

<< Previous
|
Next >>


lacambra-1


<< Previous
|
Next >>

View all

There are two kinds of iPad case. Utility cases, which add a keyboard, or prop the thing up, or stick the iPad to the fridge with magnets. And case cases, which do little more than cover and protect your tablet, hopefully in a stylish manner.

The Lacambra case, from leather bag supremo Cristina Alvarez Lacambra, manages to be both. The canvas-lined leather sleeves are all business, with a splash of glamour — zipper-closing folios with plenty of pockets for business cards and even the camera connection kit.

But a new update brings a few utility-style features to the brightly-colored cases.

Lacambra gave me a case to review, and I made a few suggestions. Maybe it could have a hole so you can reach the volume controls, I said. And Cristina wondered if the case should stand up for movie watching and typing, like the Smart Cover.

v2.0 has the volume hole, and a rather inventive solution to propping the thing up. The cases — leather and lined with canvas — now come with a leather strap and a canvas widget. The widget is like a miniature Smart Cover, folding over on itself to make a Toblerone-like triangular tube. This wedges inside the open case and props it up for typing purposes. When not in use, you can stow it in an internal pocket.

The strap is even cleverer, and once you have gotten used to it, easy to deploy. The case now has magnets under its skin, and the strap has them too. Thus, you let it click into place when the case is propped up and the whole thing holds together like a big letter “A.” It works better than you’d think.

What I like most is that you can just leave these parts at home. In fact, the case is roomy enough to fit your Smart Cover in there, too, so you could always just use that for typing and movie watching. Thusly, the Lacambra case manages to be simple, and yet can be extended with these add-ons.

There are a couple things to watch for if you decide on one of these cases. The first is that the retention straps come very, very close to the screen edges, which might make you feel cramped. The second is that there is no magnet to lock and unlock the iPad 2 when it opens and closes. Cristina says that they had trouble making it work consistently, and so left it out.

Finally, the quality is great. The case is one of the best made I have tried. Whether you want it is down to your tastes, then, and you don’t have to pick the shocking pink shown here. You can even choose boring black, or mix colors for the various leather panels and canvas linings to make a double-rainbow monstrosity.

The Lacambra case is available now, for €125/$174. Photos on the site should be updated soon to reflect the new design.

Lacambra iPad Case product page [Lacambra. Thanks, Cristina!]


No Comments | Tags: ,
Dec 12

Let the turkey power your Christmas tree lights

Posted in: Today's Chili

No one’s attempted this in a commercial product before, but Nihon Dengyo Kosaku Co has reportedly developed a device that makes it achievable: a ‘rectenna’ that can fit inside a microwave oven and recycle unused wave energy. The palm-sized gadget combines both an antenna for catching waves and a rectifier for converting them into DC current, with a maximum output of 100 watts. Foods with a low water content have the worst heating efficiency, which means they offer the best opportunity for reclaiming energy — so stodgy Christmas cuisine would be perfect.

Let the turkey power your Christmas tree lights originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Dec 2011 08:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTechOn!  | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Dec 12

Engadget Mobile Podcast 116 – 12.12.2011

Posted in: mobilepostmini, podcast, podcasts, Today's Chili

It’s more than two hours. It has the latest news on obscure phones too brave to be released in the USA. It has strong opinions about BlackBerry. It’s the Engadget Mobile Podcast.

Hosts: Myriam Joire (tnkgrl), Brad Molen, Joseph Volpe
Guest: Dante Cesa
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Tycho – Coastal Brake (Ghostly International)

00:02:40 – Samsung Galaxy Nexus for Verizon LTE hands-on (video)
00:21:24 – HTC EVO Design 4G review
00:32:50 – Carrier IQ VP says software poses no threat to user privacy, backs up his argument with metaphor
00:45:21 – LG Nitro HD review
00:59:55 – LG DoublePlay review
01:20:05 – Nokia reportedly looking to sell Vertu, Russian oligarchs reportedly upset
01:22:12 – Eyez 720p video streaming / recording glasses hands-on (video)
01:28:00 – RIM loses BBX trademark battle, next OS is named BlackBerry 10
01:37:26 – Meizu MX first hands-on!
01:40:10 – T-Mobile and Nokia announce December 14th event, Windows Phone cometh?
01:47:35 – Eric Schmidt: ‘Android will be bigger than iOS’
01:49:15 – Samsung’s two-faced SCH-W999 Android plays the dual core, dual SIM game
01:52:52 – Listener questions

Hear the podcast


Subscribe to the podcast
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes
[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically
[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Mobile Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator
[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace

Download the podcast
LISTEN (MP3)
LISTEN (AAC)

Contact the podcast
podcast (at) engadgetmobile (dot) com.

Follow us on Twitter
@tnkgrl @phonewisdom @engadgetmobile @jrvolpe @dantecesa

Filed under:

Engadget Mobile Podcast 116 – 12.12.2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

No Comments
Dec 12

Archos G9 tablets to receive Ice Cream Sandwich by ‘first trimester’ of 2012

Posted in: Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, archos, minipost, operating system, OperatingSystem, os, slate, tablet, Today's Chili, upgrade
Archos’ duo of G9 tablets have been on the market for a few months now, but the French manufacturer has already made plans for the slates’ next major update, announcing today that the devices will receive an update to Android 4.0 by the “first trimester” of 2012. Archos didn’t offer anything more specific than that, but it’s certainly an encouraging sign for those looking to take a bite of Ice Cream Sandwich on a budget. Read the full press release at the source link below, but be warned that it’s in French.

[Thanks, Wewewi]

Archos G9 tablets to receive Ice Cream Sandwich by ‘first trimester’ of 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceArchos (PDF) (French)  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: , , , ,
Dec 12

9 (More) Gadgets That Prove You’re a Hard-Core Early Adopter

Posted in: Miscellaneous, Today's Chili

<< Previous
|
Next >>


Sony MiniDisc


Following our last round-up of gear that profiled the unapologetic early adopter, Wired readers took to our comments board and Facebook wall with suggestions for items we missed. Well, you spoke and we listened. As promised, here are nine more dubious technologies that only the most devout technophile would have jumped on.

Functionality be damned. Give us hot newness!

Sony MiniDisc

The MiniDisc, Sony’s proprietary music format, was uncomfortably wedged between audio CD players and hard drive-based MP3 players, and thus sat in limbo as the future of portable consumer audio unfolded. MiniDisc was a proprietary format (almost always a negative in the big scheme of consumer adoption), yet some people still bought in. Sony sold the MiniDisc Walkman right up until July 2011, and, yes, Sony is still producing MiniDiscs for simple data storage.

It’s not a bad run considering the MiniDisc debuted in 1992. Hardcore advocates have somehow kept the format relevant, and the discs have grown more capacious over the years (you can fit up to a gigabyte of music on a Hi-MD disc).

As Matthew Moulton points out, the MiniDisc was much more popular in Japan than in the United States, which accounts for inexplicably solid sales figures right up until this year. It seems that everyone who bought MiniDisc systems wanted to get their money’s worth.

<< Previous
|
Next >>

View all


No Comments
Dec 12

Kindle Fire 1-Click Could Be Crack for Kids

Posted in: amazon, Tablets and E-Readers, Today's Chili

Click, click. Buy, buy. The Kindle Fire could prove expensive in the wrong hands. Photo: Victor J. Blue/Wired.com

Planning on buying a Kindle Fire for your kids? It seems like a great idea, right? All the books, all the movies and all the Angry Birds action you’d find in an iPad, but at less than half the price. Who cares if the brats break it?

Not so fast. Like the regular Kindle before it, the Kindle Fire is equipped with 1-Click shopping. Once signed in, you can buy as much as you like without needing to enter your password.

But unlike the regular Kindle, the Fire’s colorful touch-screen and huge library of apps, music and movies is rather tempting to a child’s little brain and fingers. And these can all be bought by little Johnny with a simple tap.

The answer is to de-register the Kindle after every purchase, something that almost nobody will do. Aside from the inconvenience, de-registering will also disable any installed apps. And you thought Android was “open.”

Speaking to Reuters, Amazon said that more parental controls will be added in the future. That probably won’t help on Christmas day this year year, with parents drunk and distracted, and the kids all hopped up on sugar, manically tapping the 1-Click button and plundering Pops’ credit card account.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire lets kids charge up a storm [Reuters via ★]


No Comments | Tags:
Dec 12

Samsung claims record 300 million mobile sales this year

Posted in: earnings, galaxy s ii, GalaxySIi, mobile, mobilepostcross, sales, samsung, Today's Chili

Add together ten million Galaxy S IIs, a dollop of Galaxy Nexii, a gargantuan gathering of Galaxy Notes and a healthy serving of Badas, and what do you get? 300 million handset sales so far in 2011, that’s what. And Samsung claims that makes this the best year in its mobile-making history, surpassing 2010 by a whopping 20 million. Of course, more sales doesn’t necessarily translate into greater revenue — Nokia is still the world’s largest manufacturer by volume and is a case in point. Nevertheless, we’ll know more when Samsung reveals its Q4 earnings next month.

Samsung claims record 300 million mobile sales this year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 12 Dec 2011 07:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceReuters  | Email this | Comments

No Comments | Tags: