New Goo.gl URL shortener API lets third party developers in on the outrageous fun that is Google URL shortening

Just a quick note, because we know how much you love APIs: Google has opened its URL shortening service to third party developers. That’s right — not only can you use Goo.gl to generate QR codes, but now you can build it into your own software. As well as support for URL shortening and expanding, the API will also let you track your history and analytics. Says Ben D’Angelo of the URL shortening team: “You could use these features for a wide variety of applications, enabling behaviors ranging from auto-shortening within Twitter or Google Buzz clients to running regular jobs that monitor your usage statistics and traffic patterns.” The team is also working to improve spam and malicious site detection for the service. Since the government of Greenland seems to be a bit more stable than that of a certain Muammar al-Gaddafi, we’re sure that Google won’t run into the same problems that vb.ly did (although we wonder if things would change if Kuupik Kleist got his own voluptuous Ukrainian nurse). Hit the source link to get coding.

New Goo.gl URL shortener API lets third party developers in on the outrageous fun that is Google URL shortening originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Jan 2011 23:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google App Inventor opens up access to everyone, clings on to beta tag

Google’s famous penchant for keeping things in beta doesn’t seem to have changed lately, as the company’s App Inventor for Android is still keeping its Greek lettering, but at least access has now been opened up for everyone to enjoy. The switch from private to public beta isn’t the most significant thing in the world — up until now you just had to ask for an invite to get one — but we’re sure amateur Android coders and experimenters will appreciate not having to go through that extra step. The App Inventor’s sitting in Google Labs right this minute, waiting for you to magic up (no coding skills required!) a finely crafted solution to modern living of your own. Hit the source link to get your mouse pointer dirty.

Google App Inventor opens up access to everyone, clings on to beta tag originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 05:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG and QD Vision unite for QLEDs: the quantum dot displays of our power-efficient future

Seems like LG really has a thing for those quantum dot LEDs. After hooking up with Nanosys earlier this year, the Korean giant is now stretching out another of its tentacles — LG Display, to be specific — for a partnership with a competing QLED designer in QD Vision. What’s being promised by this joint venture falls right in line with your generic pipe dream — better color accuracy than OLEDs, up to twice the power efficiency at a given color purity, and a cheap and straightforward manufacturing process. In fact, because QLEDs do not require the same glass substrate as most current display technologies, they offer unmatched flexibility (olé!) in terms of how and where they may be used. The only downer, and you had to know there would be one, is that QD Vision describes its tech as still in the “development stage,” but hey, at least we have another cool acronym to add to our library.

Continue reading LG and QD Vision unite for QLEDs: the quantum dot displays of our power-efficient future

LG and QD Vision unite for QLEDs: the quantum dot displays of our power-efficient future originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Dec 2010 05:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Symbian Foundation axing websites on December 17th, source repositories available ‘upon request’

We’d heard that the Symbian Foundation would undergo some drastic changes as it transitions to a licensing body, and here’s number one — every official Symbian website will be shuttered on the 17th of next month. That goes for every page from symbian.org down to the Symbian Twitter and Facebook feeds, and the source code itself will be shelved. If you want access to any of it, even the databases of user-generated bug reports, you’ll have to ask the Foundation for a hard copy and pay a nominal media and shipping fee after January 31st. We’re trying to reach Symbian right now to figure out the full repercussions of this move, but assuming Nokia’s promise to keep Symbian open-source still rings true, you might want to start stashing away the repositories and setting up mirrors before the Foundation drops off the face of the web — and perhaps the Symbian crowdsource community, too.

Symbian Foundation axing websites on December 17th, source repositories available ‘upon request’ originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Nov 2010 13:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD will contribute ‘engineering expertise’ to MeeGo development project

Now here’s a very positive new sign for MeeGo‘s future. AMD, Intel’s oldest and boldest nemesis, has added its name to the list of companies actively supporting the development of the platform — which got its start as a joint project between Intel and Nokia — and has pledged the contribution of its “engineering expertise” to the further advancement of the open source OS. In simpler terms, AMD must be aware of the great potential of MeeGo and is seeking not to be left behind, as illustrated by Ben Bar-Haim, the company’s software development VP, who expressed AMD’s hope that “this operating system will help drive our embedded plans and create expanded market opportunities for our forthcoming Accelerated Processing Units.” Good to know, guys, good to know. Jump past the break for the full press release.

Continue reading AMD will contribute ‘engineering expertise’ to MeeGo development project

AMD will contribute ‘engineering expertise’ to MeeGo development project originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Nov 2010 07:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft loosens up, enables Windows Phone 7 apps to run beneath screen lock

We felt that Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 was a product that would be perpetually evaluated, tweaked and overhauled as time went on, and sure enough, we’re already seeing those winds of change blow yonder. Reportedly, Microsoft has now removed the restriction that prevented developers from writing applications that would continue to operate behind a locked screen (without a user’s explicit permission, anyway), enabling a whole host of apps to breathe in a manner in which they simply should. Audio apps, for example, will now be able to run in the background without yet another layer of pointless Vista-esque permissions, and Microsoft’s Charlie Kindel said in an interview at its Professional Developer Conference that this move “is an example of us continuing to listen to customers.” Frankly, it’s just more fair — Microsoft’s own ingrained applications could already do this sans user permission (email, Zune playback, downloads, etc.), so it makes sense to give loyal developers that same opportunity. Of course, devs will have to prove that background apps won’t burn up an absurd amount of battery life, but that’s definitely not an unexpected qualification.

Microsoft loosens up, enables Windows Phone 7 apps to run beneath screen lock originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 22:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steorn peddles Orbo development kit, snake oil optional

With Steorn’s track record, you’d think that the company wouldn’t be in such a hurry to put its “free energy” technology under a microscope. Then again, maybe once it has your €399 (roughly $550) your thoughts on the subject really aren’t that important anyways. Regardless, we’re a wee bit skeptical of anyone who claims to have made a miraculous scientific breakthrough, refuses to explain said scientific breakthrough, and then asks you to cut them a check. But maybe you’re a more trustworthy type: In that case, to build an Orbo device for yourself and access to the Steorn Knowledge Development Base, hit the source link. But don’t say we didn’t warn you.

Steorn peddles Orbo development kit, snake oil optional originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Oct 2010 20:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Powercast and Microchip fire up interest at a distance with wireless power development kit

We’re sure if you asked Powercast nicely it’d tell you a whale of a tale, about how the “more than 100 companies” who allegedly signed up to develop products that seemingly pull energy from the ether materialized into this light-up Christmas tree. Still, we’d be happy to forgive and forget if meaningful products emerged instead, and that’s why we’re moderately happy the company’s announced a nice big development kit. $1,250 buys your firm or deep-pocketed hobbyist the spread pictured above, with a wireless transmitter to throw three watts and a pair of receiver boards to catch them from over 40 feet away, plus a low-power development board from Microchip equipped with that company’s proprietary short-range wireless protocols and ZigBee functionality. We can’t wait to see what people build, but we won’t be snapping one up ourselves — we’re still holding out for the firm to go open-source and build an Arduino version. PR after the break.

Continue reading Powercast and Microchip fire up interest at a distance with wireless power development kit

Powercast and Microchip fire up interest at a distance with wireless power development kit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Oct 2010 09:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RIM announces PlayBook simulator and SDK for BlackBerry Tablet OS

We know you’re all partyin’ up a storm at the Adobe MAX conference, but just in case one of you missed it, RIM’s announced the availability of the Adobe AIR SDK for BlackBerry Tablet OS — not to mention a little something called the BlackBerry PlayBook Simulator. Needless to say (but we’ll say it anyways), we’re more than anxious to get our hands on the latter. Unfortunately, it requires Adobe AIR 2.5 to run, while the latest release RIM’s site is offering is 2.0.2. Buzzkill, right? That said, we suggest you keep an eye on the source link if you’re looking to get in on the action yourself. Otherwise, if you’re not willing to go all the way, we have some fine PR explaining matters after the break.

Update: The source link has an active AIR 2.5 toolkit link. Huzzah!

Continue reading RIM announces PlayBook simulator and SDK for BlackBerry Tablet OS

RIM announces PlayBook simulator and SDK for BlackBerry Tablet OS originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Elpida and Sharp team up for ReRAM in 2013: 10,000x the speed of current NAND flash chips

Want to know where the next breakthrough in mobile technology will come from? Well, if Elpida and Sharp have their way, the answer will be the usual suspect of Japan, where they’re working away on new memory chips said to be capable of four orders of magnitude faster performance than the ordinary NAND flash storage of today. Dubbed ReRAM, or Resistive Random Access Memory, this project targets a 2013 date for commercialization and counts the University of Tokyo and Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology among its development team. Details on how such blinding speeds will be reached aren’t readily available, but the Nikkei reports power consumption will be down to “virtually zero” when the memory’s not in use. So with ReRAM and HP’s memristors both set for three years from now, can we schedule NAND’s funeral for 2014 or what?

Elpida and Sharp team up for ReRAM in 2013: 10,000x the speed of current NAND flash chips originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Oct 2010 04:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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