Hasta La Gadget!

Guess it wasn’t “virtually impossible” for Oracle and HP to work together after all — the two companies have settled their little tiff over disgraced former HP CEO Mark Hurd. According to the statement we just received, Oracle and HP have “reaffirmed their long-term strategic partnership” and have decided that ol’ Mark can “protect HP’s confidential information while fulfilling his responsibilities at Oracle.” Mark will also visit HP every other weekend and attend at least 50 percent of its Little League games. Honestly, we’re kind of sad this is over, since that means Larry Ellison won’t have any reason to call everyone “idiots” anymore.

On second thought, he’ll probably figure something out.

Update: Our friend Kara Swisher at All Things Digital reports that Mark’s given up the $30-40m worth of stock options he got in his severance from HP. Sad… until you realize he gets to keep at least $12m in cash and work for Oracle directly competing with the company that ran him out of town. Nice.

Continue reading HP and Oracle kiss, make up, agree that Mark’s better off with Larry

HP and Oracle kiss, make up, agree that Mark’s better off with Larry originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 17:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hello, beautiful! The clock just struck midnight here in the wilds of Cologne, Germany, and it’s safe to say that Photokina 2010 is underway. Fujifilm’s press event isn’t scheduled until Tuesday, but it looks as if it’ll be teasing us all by releasing information on its drop-dead gorgeous new FinePix X100 tonight. This rangefinder-esque cam packs a 12.3 megapixel APS-C sensor, and it’s obviously designed to go mano-a-mano with Micro Four Thirds and the slew of other mirrorless / interchangeable lens compacts that are hitting the market. Aside from supporting 720p movies, boasting an EXR processor and shipping with a 23mm F2 Fujinon lens, this new handheld includes a Hybrid Viewfinder that enables users to toggle between optical and electronic viewfinders and display intricate shooting information right into the OVF.

There’s also a 2.8-inch rear LCD, a hot shoe on top and a magnesium alloy top / base plate that might be the sexiest we’ve ever seen on a camera in this sector. Low-light shooters will appreciate the ISO range of 200 to 6400, and there’s also 5fps continuous shooting, a full-on manual mode, SD / SDHC / SDXC card support and dimensions of 127- x 75- x 54mm. Something tells us a lot of to-be DSLR buyers will be shifting to this far more portable alternative when it drops in early 2011… provided it doesn’t cost a small fortune, of course. Needless to say, we’ll be first in line come Tuesday to (prayerfully) get some hands-on time with this beaut. Video after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Fujifilm intros FinePix X100: 12.3MP APS-C-based camera with Hybrid Viewfinder, loads of gorgeous

Fujifilm intros FinePix X100: 12.3MP APS-C-based camera with Hybrid Viewfinder, loads of gorgeous originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 20:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been just a few days since we broke news of the HDCP master key crack — a rogue unlocking of the code that keeps HD content under strict control. Now Intel has independently confirmed to both Fox News and CNET that the code is indeed the genuine article. According to company spokesman Tom Waldrop, “It does appear to be a master key,” adding that “What we have confirmed through testing is that you can derive keys for devices from this published material that do work with the keys produced by our security technology… this circumvention does appear to work.” Coming from the company that developed and propagated the protocol, that’s about as clear as you can get.

If Intel is worried about the potential damage to copyrighted material and a new flood of super high-quality pirated material, however, the company certainly isn’t showing it. “For someone to use this information to unlock anything, they would have to implement it in silicon — make a computer chip,” Waldrop told Fox News, and that chip would have to live on a dedicated piece of hardware — something Intel doesn’t think is likely to happen in any substantial way. Of course, like any major corporation, Intel seems prepared to duke things out in the legal arena should any super-rich hackers decide to do the unthinkable. So, to the Batcave then?

Confirmed: Intel says HDCP ‘master key’ crack is real originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 22:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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By and large, there aren’t really any surprises with the Galaxy Tab we just tried out — it was only two weeks ago that we tried it at IFA. We did hear from Samsung that the company might change the back, but what we said about hardware and experience before remains true here. The Media Hub, which is new, is sleek and convenient, and the Iron Man preview we watched looked great on the screen. If you’re in need of more Tab pictures, we got you covered just below.

Update: We’ve got video, just after the break!

Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Tab for US (and Media Hub) hands-on (update: video!)

Samsung Galaxy Tab for US (and Media Hub) hands-on (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 20:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve been itching to see how Samsung would leverage Media Hub, and now we’re getting the goods at its Galaxy Tab event. Compatible with Tab and Galaxy S devices, both movies and next-day TV shows will be available for purchase and rental. As for the content partners, they’re not quite shabby: MTV Networks, NBC, Paramount, Universal Studios, and Warner, with more to be announced. Purchased content can be shared with up to five devices. What’s not specified is pricing. We should be getting hands-on with it soon, so stay tuned — or whatever the internet equivalent of that idiom is.

Samsung Media Hub: movies and next-day TV shows from NBC, Paramount, Universal, and more originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 19:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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