Hasta La Gadget!

To the delight of live event crowds everywhere, the ASUS-made Nexus 7 sidestepped the primary camera route, only furnishing the slab with a 1.2-megapixel front-facer. While it didn’t take long for app-makers to tweak their wares especially for Google’s statement tablet, users over at XDA Developers have dug a little deeper to unlock the shooter’s 720p recording potential, removing the previous 480p cap. There are several (relatively simple) ways to get it done — visit the source for the full instructions.

Filed under: Tablets, Software

Google Nexus 7 mod unlocks 720p recording on front-facing camera originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 06:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One thing that most Americans have in common is that they have no support for new taxes. The FCC is reportedly backing away from a proposal that would add a new tax on broadband Internet service due to public outcry. Public outcry on the issue has left FCC Democrats and Republicans pointing the finger at each other for floating the idea to begin with.

Robert McDowell, who happens to be the only Republican on the FCC commission, has rejected the idea that he supported taxing the Internet. He went so far as to say that he is unsure that the FCC has the legal authority to tax broadband service. The row started when the FCC was urged to broaden the base of contributions that flow into the Universal Service fee.

In the past money in the fund was used to pay for phone service for the poor. With more and more people not using traditional home phones, the funds going into the service have significantly shrunk. Last year, the Universal Service Fund was overhauled and turned into the Connect America Fund, which would also use money to subsidize the construction of broadband networks to American communities that lack them.

Obviously, if the FCC wants to broaden the base of contributions into the Connect America Fund, services not currently taxed would have to be taxed. One unnamed FCC official has stated that broadband is the biggest and most obvious option for expanding the base. However, a spokesman for FCC Chairman Genachowski says that he is skeptical about a broadband tax because it may discourage people from adopting broadband.

[via TheHill]

FCC backs away from taxing the Internet is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

When it comes to watching movies most of us want a high-quality picture and high-quality sound. Sound is particularly important when you’re watching high-resolution digital video on your home theater system, and you want to feel the bass as well as hear it. Dolby Laboratories has announced that its Dolby Digital Plus technology will be used to enable high-quality multichannel audio for the UltraViolet platform.

The Dolby sound technology will be integrated into the UltraViolet Common File Format. UltraViolet is the platform for the digital distribution of movies from major motion picture studios. This news comes right after we learned that Fox would be releasing its movies weeks before the official DVD and Blu-ray release using UltraViolet.

The first film Fox release early will be the science fiction flick Prometheus. One of the best features of UltraViolet is that the digital format is consistent across all UltraViolet retailers. These digital files can also be moved between all supported devices and applications.

Dolby says that the use of its Dolby Digital Plus technology will allow the content encoding providers to provide consumers with the sound experience envisioned by the music artist, director, or sound designer. Dolby says that it’s working with companies, including castLabs, Digital Rapids, and Elemental Technologies, to ensure that UltraViolet content plays correctly on a variety of services and devices. Dolby also has a developer kit to support the use of its capital the Digital Plus technology in the UltraViolet CFF specification.

UltraViolet flicks get better sound courtesy of Dolby Digital Plus is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

One thing that many home automation products have in common is a high price tag. Getting your home set up with automation can cost a huge amount of money with many products available on the market today. A company called Visible Energy has announced the launch of a new home automation product for the US, and Canada called the Monostrip.

The Monostrip is available for $49 plus shipping during its introductory pricing period. The device is a dual plug smart electrical outlet that is Wi-Fi enabled. The device can be controlled using an app available for iOS devices. Users can also access the outlets to control things plugged into the Monostrip over the Internet.

Control of the Monostrip over the Internet is accomplished using Visible Energy’s cloud-based energy management platform. The app is called EnergyUFO, and allows the user to monitor energy usage of the outlet and its connected devices and the app also provides remote control and programming capabilities. The Monostrip offers the first year of secure use for the device over the web and remote energy data collection at no cost.

After the first year of service expires, users can sign up again for $4 per year. Visible Energy has a similar device with four power outlets called the UFO Power Center that has been on the market for almost a year. The smaller and cheaper Monostrip should make it easier for users to get basic home automation and remote control of lighting and other devices.

Monostrip Wi-Fi enabled smart outlet launches at $49 is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google‘s smart glasses project has hit the catwalk, with designer Diane von Furstenberg sending models backstage and on the runway wearing Google Glass headsets. Intended to “capture the DVF creative process from entirely new perspectives,” the partnership saw models, make-up artists, stylists, and the designer herself don different colors of the Glass wearable in preparation for the New York Fashion Week show. The eventual results will be combined into a short film, but already there’s a preview gallery available.

In fact, the Glass headsets were posting select images to the DVF Google+ account throughout the show, with various backstage shots of models getting ready (or looking at each others’ bizarre eyewear in apparent bemusement) and then strutting down the runway. The final film – titled “DVF through Glass” – will be released this Thursday, September 13.

“Beauty, style and comfort are as important to Glass as the latest technology” Google co-founder Sergey Brin said of the partnership. “We are delighted to bring Glass to the runway together with DVF.”

It’s not the first eye-catching stunt Google has employed to bring greater attention to Project Glass. The company staged an incredible skydiving entrance for the wearables at Google IO earlier this year, sending Glass-sporting stuntmen from the skies above San Francisco to land on the roof of the convention center and then stunt-bike their way through the stairways to the stage. Live footage of the whole thing was streamed from the Glass headsets.

Like some of DVF’s more expensive clothes, however, Glass will remain the preserve of the few for a while yet. Google put the initial “Explorer Edition” of the hardware up for preorder at Google IO, price at a not-inconsiderable $1,500 apiece, with shipping expected early in 2013. A consumer version is planned for the market within a year of that taking place.

[via MarketingLand]

Google Glass hits the runway for DVF at Fashion Week is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.