Distro Issue 55: a cautionary tale of the state-supported 38 Studios

Distro Issue 55 the cautionary tale of 38 Studios and state investments

In 2004, Curt Schilling and a badly injured ankle led the Red Sox to their first World Series championship in 86 years. That’s right, he was the ace that helped break the “Curse of the Bambino” from the mound. Fast forward to 2010, where Schilling had hung up his cleats and lobbied for Rhode Island officials to give his video game outfit, 38 Studios, a $75 million loan guarantee. Just two years later, the studio filed for Chapter 7, leaving the state’s taxpayers holding the tab. In this week’s issue, Jason Hidalgo takes a look at what went down in New England and examines the risk of public funds being used to support private tech companies. We had folks on the ground in Berlin to monitor the happenings at IFA this week and a few notable gadgets from said event occupy “Hands-on”. As far as full-on reviews go, we put the Archos 101 XS, Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE and Acer Aspire V5 through their paces. “Forum” is chock full of even more reads, eSports commentator John Sargent stops by for the Q&A, “Time Machines” kicks it old school and “Eyes-on” takes on 35mm, retro-style photography. The week is over, so hit the link that you fancy the most to grab your copy and let the relaxation begin.

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Distro Issue 55: a cautionary tale of the state-supported 38 Studios originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: Trading places

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

DNP Switched On trading places

If widespread rumors hold true, the coming weeks will see two of the most successful tablet vendors invade each other’s screen size turf. Apple, which once rebuked the 7-inch tablet as unfit for normally proportioned human hands, appears ready to try its own hand at an iPad rumored to be on the larger side of the 7- to 8-inch range. Amazon, which lagged its bookselling rival Barnes & Noble in bringing out a color tablet, stands ready to introduce an infernal successor to the Kindle Fire that may include a display that is close to 9-inches or larger.

It’s not quite the first ride along the screen size escalator for either company. For Apple, a smaller iPad would fill in the iOS screen size gap between the iPhone and iPad. For Amazon, also rumored to be working on a phone, a larger color tablet would revisit the ground it explored to lackluster results with the Kindle DX. That product hasn’t kept up with even e-paper-based e-readers with advances such as touchscreens and side-lighting, both of which are found in the latest Nook Simple Nook.

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Switched On: Trading places originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Aug 2012 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Distro Issue 54 arrives with the complete Engadget back to school guide!

Distro Issue 54 arrives with the complete Engadget back to school gear guide!

Well, friends, back to school season is in full swing. For some, it’s a time of great sorrow, but for others it’s a glorious time that usually means some new tech is on the way to combat the year’s upcoming workload. Lucky for all of those in the latter group, the folks here at Engadget HQ have done our homework and compiled our picks in 14 different categories for your buying reference. In this issue of our weekly, we give you the full rundown on what to look for when you’re in the midst of your back to school gadget shopping. As you might expect, some of the usual suspects are here as well for your weekend reading exploits — including a closer look at the Wacom Cintiq 24HD touch, hands-on with a few of Gamescom’s gadgets and a list of “Rec Reading” for the end of this seven-day period. Don’t wait any longer, though. Hit your link of choice below to grab an end of summer guide of your very own.

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Distro Issue 54 arrives with the complete Engadget back to school guide! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: The watch and the workhorse

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

DNP Switched On the watch and the workhorse

In mature, competitive markets flooded with products, many brands come and go. Last week, though, two companies came to New York City to celebrate milestone anniversaries of their electronic products. Lenovo celebrated the 20th anniversary of the ThinkPad as Casio marked the 30th anniversary of the G-Shock watch. The notebook PC remains among the most versatile and complex devices consumers use today while the watch is one of the simplest. Yet some commonality between these two products may include lessons for other technology products that wish to remain around for decades.

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Switched On: The watch and the workhorse originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Aug 2012 16:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Distro Issue 53: Will the S Pen-wielding Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 rise above its tablet foes?

Distro Issue 53 Will the S Penweilding Samsung Galaxy Note 101 rise above its tablet foes

The unfinished Galaxy Note 10.1 was cast into Android slate prime time at Mobile World Congress a few months back. Now the production model as arrived and we put it through its paces in this week’s edition of our e-publication. If tablets aren’t really your thing, we also give the Vizio Thin + Light and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon the in-depth review treatment this time around. “Eyes-on” takes a closer look at the B&O Beolit 12, “Rec Reading” offers a collection of Rudy Rucker’s short stories, “Weekly Stat” catches a nice breeze and Red Hat’s Chris Moody gives the Q&A a piece of his mind. Grab your S Pen (or other stylus of choice) and tap on the appropriate download link below to sort out your weekend reading.

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Distro Issue 53: Will the S Pen-wielding Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 rise above its tablet foes? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: Surface damage

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

DNP Switched On surface damage

As Switched On discussed a few weeks ago, and as Microsoft noted in its recent 10-K filing, it is an unavoidable truth that the company getting into the hardware market will cause conflict with its partners. The extent of that conflict, though, depends on many variables and Microsoft can — and must — take steps to ameliorate it.

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Switched On: Surface damage originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Aug 2012 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Distro Issue 52: Does the MakerBot Replicator signal the dawn of in-home 3D printing?

Distro Issue 52 Does the MakerBot Replicator signal the dawn of inhome 3D printing

Almost every day it seems like folks are finding a way to add to the number of practical uses for 3D printers. What was once a hobbyist’s dream gadget is now being used to produce faux arteries for lab-grown tissue and Magic Arms. As the pricey peripherals work their way into the mainstream, are they soon to be found in most homes? That’s the quandary we tackle in this edition of our weekly tablet mag as Brian Heater spends some quality time with the MakerBot Replicator at Engadget’s NYC Headquarters. Not really into $2,000 output devices? No sweat. The Meizu MX 4-core, Toshiba U845W and Parrot Zik headphones all get the proper review treatment. “Hands-on” visits SIGGRAPH, “Weekly Stat” examines the shortcomings of our handsets, “Reaction Time” discusses THQ, “IRL” packs in three more of our gadget confessions and GameStop CEO Paul Raines admits his affinity for Jelly Bean in this week’s Q&A. Go on and usher in the weekend by hitting up your download link of choice down below.

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Distro Issue 52: Does the MakerBot Replicator signal the dawn of in-home 3D printing? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Distro Issue 51 arrives with an in-depth look at Apple’s Mountain Lion

Distro Issue 51 arrives with an indepth look at Apple's Mountain Lion

In case you hadn’t heard, Apple released the latest version of OS X recently. As expected, the newfangled Mountain Lion operating system touts a number of added features — some of which bring it even closer in sync with iOS. In this week’s issue of our e-magazine, the beast steps out into the spotlight and we offer a word or two (a few thousand, to be exact) in our full-length review of the software. If the work of the folks in Cupertino isn’t exactly your cup of tea, we also give the new Outlook.com and T-Mo’s version of the Galaxy Note a close examination with the Engadget fine-toothed comb. HTC’s Eric Lin takes a shot at the Q&A, “This is the Modem World” discusses gadget smells, “Reaction Time” chats about blockbuster releases and “IRL” exposes more of the devices that we use on the regular. Trust us, you’ll want to get comfortable this time around. Kick your shoes off and head to your download link of choice to get started.

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Distro Issue 51 arrives with an in-depth look at Apple’s Mountain Lion originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Distro Issue 50: the travel edition packs geotagging and offline navigation

Distro Issue 50 the travel edition packs photography, geotagging and offline navigation

Here at Engadget HQ, we’re looking to take a bit of a breather after a long week of analyzing last quarter’s numbers. With that said, a road trip or weekend respite of some sort is definitely in order and this week’s edition of our e-magazine offers some insight into getting just a bit more out of that next excursion. Front and center, the globe trotting Darren Murph offers some tips for geotagging your shots from that next Blue Ridge Parkway trek and also takes Nokia Drive’s offline navigation for a spin on a Lumia 900. The super thin $1,400 Acer Aspire S5 and the sub-$100 Motorola Atrix HD each get in-depth reviews while “Hands-On” is overrun by some new shooters — including the much anticipated Canon EOS M. Fable: The Journey designer Ted Timmins takes his turn with Q&A, “Switched On” takes a look an Ouya, “Reaction Time” chats about pre-release secrecy and “IRL” has our personal gadget arsenals. That said, we’re taking some Friday solace in one of the download links below, where you can grab a brand spankin’ new issue of your very own.

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Distro Issue 50: the travel edition packs geotagging and offline navigation originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: An Office outside the Metro

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

DNP Switched On An Office outside the Metro

The two worlds of Windows 8 — one: a traditional desktop UI and the other: the touch-optimized Metro UI — can, at first, seem so different that they contrast like the multiple personalities of Batman’s enemy Two-Face. Yet, despite the different appearances, the forthcoming version of Microsoft’s venerable operating system is not about absolutes, but optimizations.

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Switched On: An Office outside the Metro originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Jul 2012 17:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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