Hasta La Gadget!

On October 1st, Google Docs users won’t be able to download or upload documents, spreadsheets, or slideshows in Office 1997-2007 format. Although Microsoft has long since left these file formats behind, replacing them with .docx, .pptx, and .xlsx, Google provides Google apps for Business, Education and Government, which may still very well use the antiquated formats institutionally. A consumer version of Google Apps has supported Microsoft’s new formats, so institutional customers can expect to see the ability to export into the x-appended formats. It’s simply a rather quick turnaround for some users who relied on the exporting ability: they’ve only got a week to adapt. In many ways, this “feature” change illuminates the differences between Microsoft and Google: Microsoft is hyperaware of backwards compatibility, and Google thinks old technology and formats get in the way of progress.

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Google’s recently received permission to test their self-driving cars in Nevada, but until today in California, where the cars were conceived and tested, it remained illegal. Today at Google HQ, California Governor Jerry Brown signed SB1298, which creates a legal framework and safety standards for the testing and operation of computer-driven cars on California state roads. Take a look at the live-streaming press conference here.

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One of the coolest things about YouTube is how much user content from different cultures you can access. However, much of that content is in over 300 different languages, and most YouTube users only know a few languages. Before, if you wanted captions in your language, you had to hope that the uploader or a good samaritan offered a hardcoded translation. Google and YouTube announced today that they were applying Google’s machine translation software to YouTube captions, which will vastly increase the international appeal of some videos.

According to the YouTube blog post, translated captions require a caption track first, so not all videos will have translated captions. But once a caption track is added, there is now a handy “request translation” button that crowdsources accurate translations. Once the button is pushed, YouTube creates “first draft” caption translation documents based on Google Translator that the uploader can can edit himself or share with other translators. The documents have a nifty interface that embeds the YouTube video next to the translation so the captions have a bit of human input with regards to timing.

So while translated captions won’t be automatically generated, the amount of translated captions available on Youtube will go up significantly. Sure, a video with only a few views probably won’t have translations for less common languages, but a viral smash like Gangnam Style definitely will. As for me, I’ll finally find out what those shrieking Japanese girls in the background of cute cat videos are saying.

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Because of Apple’s well-established ecosystem of speaker docks and other accessories, when the iPhone 5′s new connector adaptor was priced at $30, people were surprised, especially since the new Magsafe adaptor was only $10. Peter from Double Helix Cables has found a reason why: there’s a new chip inside the Lightning connector, which he surmises is an authentication chip. Eric Limer at Gizmodo found a chip as well, but he can’t confirm that it’s an authentication system.

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With every new iPhone and version of iOS, iPhone owners dedicated to Cydia get nervous over whether Apple will patch holes needed to add an unlocked bootlocker. With iOS 6, it’s looking good–the iPhone 4 and 3GS were unlocked yesterday, and today, a few iPhone developers have taken to Twitter to claim that they’ve added Cydia to an iPhone 5. It’s not up for download yet, but if the screenshot is any indication, it should be soon.

iOS developer Grant Paul took to Twitter and posted “Taller screens like Cydia too,”  adding a screenshot that you’re seeing above. If iOS 6 on the iPhone 5 has in fact already been jailbroken, it was much faster than iOS 5, which took several months
. We’ll be monitoring the situation closely, and when you can download the iPhone 5 jailbreak, you’ll see it here.

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