Hasta La Gadget!

We’ll say this, BlackBerry looks to be considering everything when it comes to pulling in revenue from its messaging service. False alarms aside, the company already let slip that BlackBerry Messenger is on its way to iOS and Android some time this season, and now according to The Wall Street Journal‘s usual gang of anonymous sources “familiar with the matter,” the Canadian company is thinking of spinning off the service as a more independent subsidiary carrying the straight-forward name, BBM Inc. ahead of a potential sale. A desktop version of the app may be on the docket as well, according to the article — BlackBerry, naturally, only reconfirmed its Android and iOS plans, refusing to comment on anything else.

Filed under: Cellphones, Desktops, Software, Blackberry

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Via: BGR

Source: Wall Street Journal

We caught the first Windows 8.1 (aka Blue) news back in March, and after several betas and a preview, it’s been bundled off to manufacturers. That’s a mere five months from alpha code to gold master, a feat that Microsoft trumpeted as “an unparalleled level of collaboration” between customers and Windows product teams. Now, manufacturers will be able to ramp up their production lines with the new version in time for the holidays, as Redmond emphasized in its Blogging Windows post. Current Windows 8 owners will get the update for free, but all end users will have to hang on until the official October 18th release date. With a month and change left, though, it looks like all the ducks are in a row to herald the return of the tech world’s most infamous button.

Filed under: Software, Microsoft

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Source: Blogging Windows

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

Sure, crafting flawless 360-degree photos of objects can be a slog, but Jared Bouck’s taken to Kickstarter betting that his solution can whip up such pictures and make them web-embeddable in as little as 15 minutes. Dubbed Zcapture, the hardware packs a rotating platform for items and cooperates with custom software to edit and produce the images without additional post-processing. As it stands, the gear works with cameras that boast external shutter controls (specifically Canon and Nikon models at the start), but stretch goals may bring support for other shooters, including IR header compatibility for point-and-shoots. With an Arduino at its core, and coupled with a circuit board packing additional ports and headers, the box is designed with modding in mind. In addition to snapping photos, Zcapture can even be used as a rotating base for 3D scanning.

If you’re wondering just what the system is capable of, just take a look at Bouck’s work at Rotate 360 Studios, where he’s made product shots for the likes of Foster Grant, Reebok, Xi3 and others. A USB-powered mini Zcapture along with the software is priced at $150 (or just $100 for the program), while other kits range from $300 to $690 for a fully-loaded version paired with soft box lighting. If the project meets its $46,000 funding goal, the contraption is expected to ship in December. With a little over $4,000 pledged so far, we hope — if not for our review photos, for our eBay listings — that it hits its goal before the two-month deadline.

Filed under: Cameras, Peripherals, Software

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Source: Kickstarter, Zcapture

It’s been a while (four months, actually) since we’ve featured a camera in “IRL,” but today we’re breaking that dry spell as we explain what it’s like to live with Sony’s NEX-5N. Meanwhile, Mailplane 3 is great for Gmail power users (or so says Darren), but you’ll need to own a Mac — and, you know, feel OK spending $25 for the update.

Filed under: Cameras, Misc, Software

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Last week, we told you about a little gem called AllCast (previously known as AirCast), which is a Chromecast app that bypassed the limited support for streaming service by allowing pretty much anything to be streamed to the HDMI dongle. However, the developer of the app has announced that Google has banished the app. The […]