Hasta La Gadget!

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Mustafa, who’d love to visit America… if only the internet were cheaper. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

“As someone who doesn’t reside in the USA, I was wondering what would be the best way to get internet for my computer in the US for a couple of weeks? If it were Europe I know I’d look for some prepaid data. Is there anything similar offered by American carriers? A MiFi or a data SIM that I can tether from would work, but I’m trying to maintain a tight budget. Help!”

Truthfully, young Mustafa could probably round up an old AOL dial-up disc and at least connect from a family’s house, or just camp out at a Starbucks all day and enjoy the sweet spoils of gratis WiFi. But when it comes to getting temporary mobile data in the States… well, let’s just say we’re keenly interested in hearing any tricks you readers may know. Xcom Global certainly rents a US modem (nice for folks with family in America that can order for them), but otherwise, we’re drawing a blank. Toss your suggestions in comments below!

Ask Engadget: what should visitors to the USA do for mobile internet? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Aug 2011 22:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Happy birthday, World Wide Web! Hard to believe you’re turning 20 already. It seems like just yesterday we were hearing the pitter patter of little dial-up, delighting at the words “you got mail,” and getting frustrated when calling our friends and receiving that dreaded busy signal. You’re all grown up now, helping people learn how to farm and become overnight pop sensations. What, we wonder, will the next 20 years bring? At the very least, you’ll eventually have to move out of your parents’ basement, get a real job, and settle down. It’s hard to pay attention to that kind of stuff, though, when you’ve got another year of sneaking beers ahead of you. So go ahead, World Wide Web, enjoy yourself tonight — just make sure to be home by midnight.

World Wide Web turns 20, finally shakes that acne problem originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Aug 2011 11:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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close
   /v. kloʊz; adj., adv. kloʊs or, for 51, kloʊz; n. kloʊz for 59, 60, 63-65, 67, 68, kloʊs for 61, 62, 66/ Show Spelled [v. klohz; adj., adv. klohs or, for 51, klohz; n. klohz for 59, 60, 63-65, 67, 68, klohs for 61, 62, 66] Show IPA verb, closed, clos·ing, adjective, clos·er, clos·est, adverb, noun
verb (used with object)

1. to put (something) in a position to obstruct an entrance, opening, etc.; shut.
2. to stop or obstruct (a gap, entrance, aperture, etc.): to close a hole in a wall with plaster.
3. to block or hinder passage across or access to: to close a border to tourists; to close the woods to picnickers.
4. to stop or obstruct the entrances, apertures, or gaps in: He closed the crate and tied it up.
5. (of the mind) to make imperceptive or inaccessible: to close one’s mind to the opposite opinion.
6. Something you can no longer ‘Google’ and hope to find in Google Dictionary.

[Thanks, Goog]

Google Dictionary slams shut forever, world unsurprisingly at a loss for words originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 12:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It looks like LightSquared’s crush on rural America is still ongoing, folks. The firm announced today it’ll donate 2,000 satellite phones to the Indian Health Service and other tribal organizations, allowing them to make calls in areas that terrestrial networks don’t cover. Sadly, no details on exactly what gear it’s deploying, but according to Computerworld the devices are voice-only, meaning IHS employees better get pretty damn crafty if they want to surf Engadget whilst on the job — can you say dial-up tether? Either way, with connectivity headed to facilities in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Arizona, can the firm’s wholesale debut be that far off? We’ll have to see, but in the meantime, indulge in the official PR beyond the break.

Continue reading LightSquared donates phones to North American tribes, keeps the rural connectivity flame a burnin’

LightSquared donates phones to North American tribes, keeps the rural connectivity flame a burnin’ originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook gone and done some serious damage to the company credit card, but thankfully, it’s being used for more than replacing chimneys and repairing pool liners. Zuck’s prized possession has just snapped up Push Pop Press and Beluga, with the former being best known for creating interactive digital books, most notably gadget junkie Al Gore’s “Our Choice” book for iPad. Beluga on the other hand, gained lots of attention for its group messaging app built for iOS and Android. Push Pop Press co-founders (and former Apple engineers) Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris were quick to say that Facebook has no plans to publish digital books; they did confirm, however, that “the ideas and technology behind Push Pop Press will be integrated with Facebook, giving people even richer ways to share their stories.” Mysterious. Could the Push Press Pop acquisition be the key to the fantasmical iPad app we’ve yearned for since the dawn of the new millennium? Beluga confirmed the future of Facebook mobile messaging when it said, “we’re excited to build our vision for mobile group messaging as part of the Facebook team.” Equally mysterious. Unfortunately, no concrete details are being made available, with each site’s homepage simply confirming that It’s Complicated.

Facebook burns a little cash, buys group messaging and digital book outfit originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 09:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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