Hasta La Gadget!

Could Windows Live Essentials really be “better than Mac for photos, hands down,” as per the gauntlet Microsoft’s Brian Hall tossed earlier this month? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s by trying it out yourself with the free download at our source link. The software suite just hit beta with not only the face-recognizing, photo-stitching new rendition of Photo Gallery, but also new versions of Mail, Movie Maker, Messenger, Writer and a Mac-friendly version of the Dropbox-like Sync (no, not that Sync) as well. So… what are you waiting for? Oh, you’re still “awwing” at the image above, aren’t you?

Continue reading Windows Live Essentials beta is ready for your downloading delight

Windows Live Essentials beta is ready for your downloading delight originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We were promised cloud gaming nirvana on June 17, and OnLive has indeed kept to its self-imposed schedule. The new service that allows you to play resource-hungry games via only your browser window has taken its first steps into the real (non-beta) world with an initial catalog of 23 games. It’ll be free for the first year for those who showed faith early on and pre-registered, or $15 per month for new bandwagon riders. Do let us know your thoughts if you’ve gotten onboard at this nascent stage: does it play fantastically well, is it close to spectacular, or is it just a pedestrian effort aiming to capitalize on geeks’ lust for unbound gaming? We have to know.

[Thanks, Mike]

Update: OnLive’s site doesn’t seem to have been updated to reflect the service going live (you can sign up, but can’t just jump in and play). It might be, therefore, that OnLive is booting itself up in stages, with only the early birds getting the first bite.

OnLive turns sentient, now beaming gaming goodness over the ether (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 04:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Ballmer didn’t say too much at D8 that we haven’t heard him or others at Microsoft say in the past, but he’s always an entertaining and interesting interview, and All Things Digital is upping the videos of Walt’s session with Steve and Ray Ozzie now. Up first is a clip of Steve talking about how Microsoft is getting back into the mobile game and how RIM and Nokia are still formidable competitors, followed by Ray and Steve riffing on the potential of the cloud and how things can get even better for Microsoft. We’ll add more as D’s video people get them up — check back!

Continue reading Steve Ballmer at D8: the video highlights (updated)

Steve Ballmer at D8: the video highlights (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

With each passing day it becomes less of an insult to say someone’s head is in the clouds, as more and more people begin to outright rely on web sites and applications like Facebook, Google Docs, Flickr, Farmville, YouTube and Hulu. Among these popular services are Slacker and Pandora, two internet radio services that have grown tremendously since becoming available as smartphone apps, and which have recently completed the three-screen trifecta by being offered on connected televisions. These services have always had plenty of online competition, including simulcast internet radio stations, streamed Sirius XM, and Rhapsody. But it appears as though the landscape of Internet music services in the US is preparing to accommodate two more game-changing newcomers from profoundly different backgrounds.

The first is a startup from Europe called Spotify, which has been winning fans across the continent in the five countries in which it is offered. Spotify’s Open service represents something of a holy grail for on-demand music from the cloud: you can play any song in its catalog as often as you like for up to 20 hours per month for free, and share songs with your friends. The service gets high marks for its responsiveness. Becoming a premium Spotify member essentially turns the service into something more akin to Rhapsody, with no ads, better audio quality, and offline listening. Spotify has begun offering a private preview of its U.S. service to a lucky few, and is expected to be rolling out more broadly this year.

Continue reading Switched On: Thunder in the cloud

Switched On: Thunder in the cloud originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 May 2010 17:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For its next Apple TV, Apple may ditch the set-top box form factor and instead cram a media player into a tiny device running the iPhone OS, according to Engadget.

The blog cites an anonymous tipster who claims the next Apple TV has been described as “an iPhone without a screen,” containing only two ports — the power socket and the video-out — and the same internal architecture as an iPhone (A4 CPU). The next Apple TV is also rumored to feature 16GB of Flash storage and support for 1080P HD.

The device will cost only $100, according to the tipster — significantly lower than the current $230 system. Engadget did not provide a time frame of when to expect the device.

Most interestingly, Engadget claims the device will have a strong focus on cloud-based media, meaning most video you view will be streamed from the internet. That’s plausible, given that Apple is building a gigantic data center and the company recently acquired streaming-music service Lala. Some sources have also said that Apple is planning to reboot iTunes into a streaming media center.

In conference calls with investors, Apple has repeatedly referred to its Apple TV as a “hobby,” implying it’s still a niche product that has yet to be a blockbuster hit. If the rumor turns out to be true (and we find it to be very plausible), then this certainly sounds like a compelling revamp of the Apple TV.

Engadget’s rumor follows Google’s announcement of Google TV, a web TV platform based on the Android operating system. Recent moves reveal that Apple and Google are becoming fierce rivals, competing in the mobility space, maps, and advertising. The next battle could be for streaming media.

See Also:

• Apple TV Prototype Sells on eBay for 46 Bucks
• 5 Reasons Why Apple TV Rules, 5 Reasons Why it Sucks
• Why Apple TV Must Evolve to Avoid Extinction
• What We Want in an Apple TV

Image of a current Apple TV menu: Apple