Flash 10.2 beta hits Android Market on March 18th, supports Honeycomb, Gingerbread and Froyo (update)

Contrary to reports floating about the web, the Motorola Xoom isn’t getting Adobe Flash Player 10.2 today — rather, the tablet is getting updated to support Flash, which will actually arrive in one week. Adobe now says that Flash Player 10.2 will be ready to download from the Android Market on March 18th, supporting only Honeycomb tablets (in other words, just the Xoom) to start, and will eventually be available for Android 2.2 smartphones — again, contrary to what we’d been told, but we can’t really complain on that count supporting Android 2.2 (Froyo), Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and a beta version for Android 3.0.1 (Honeycomb) at release. Froyo devices won’t get the full battery-friendly Stage Video rendering pipeline and deep browser integration like their Honeycomb tablet brethren, but dual-core phones will reportedly see a performance improvement nonetheless, and there’s a new tweak that’ll let Flash web apps pull up a virtual keyboard if needed for full functionality. PR after the break.

Update: Adobe contacted us to clarify that Flash 10.2 is, in fact, headed to all three of the most recent versions of Android on March 18th — the Honeycomb tablet version will simply sport a beta label, and the smartphone builds will lack full functionality as described above.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Flash 10.2 beta hits Android Market on March 18th, supports Honeycomb, Gingerbread and Froyo (update)

Flash 10.2 beta hits Android Market on March 18th, supports Honeycomb, Gingerbread and Froyo (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Mar 2011 11:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Motorola Xoom update rolling out starting tonight, brings ‘required enhancements’ for Flash 10.2

In the spirit of issuing software updates with the sole purpose of preparing for more software updates, Motorola says there’s about to be some brand new firmware for the Xoom, which will cross the Ts and dot the Is required to install the promised Adobe Flash Player 10.2. The company doesn’t say when, exactly, to expect Flash, only that it’s “coming soon,” but the update will also fix a bug with Daylight Savings Time, which — given recent history — should find itself richly welcomed. If you’re paying Verizon for 3G bandwidth, you can expect an OTA update in the days to come.

[Thanks, Bob, Jake and Oscar]

Motorola Xoom update rolling out starting tonight, brings ‘required enhancements’ for Flash 10.2 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPad gets Flash yet again with iSwifter app, Android version coming soon (hands-on)

Ever since Skyfire brought Flash to the iPad with its server-side solution, we’ve had a feeling that others would try to emulate the experience and satisfy the general public’s desire for the venerable format on Apple’s tablet. iSwifter is another entrant to the space, and its app claims to allow access to any Flash content on the web — a lofty claim indeed. Oh, and did we mention it’s coming to Android versions above 2.2 as well? We’ve given the iPad app a brief rundown, so head past the break for a breakdown of the positives and negatives.

Continue reading iPad gets Flash yet again with iSwifter app, Android version coming soon (hands-on)

iPad gets Flash yet again with iSwifter app, Android version coming soon (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fusion-io IPO filing discloses list of prestigious clients, led by Facebook

Before last week, we’d gone well over a year without discussing solid state storage purveyors Fusion-io — and their extremely expensive and expeditious flash drives — but things seem to have been ticking along just fine behind the scenes. While the company’s unlikely to have sold many ioDrives to good old Joe Consumer, its upcoming IPO application features an impressive list of corporate clients, highlighted by Facebook, its biggest customer, IBM, HP, and Credit Suisse — the latter using Fusion-io technology to speed up the mathematical alchemy of making money where there was none before. Taken together with strategic investments from Samsung and Dell, these deals paint a rosy outlook for the Woz-employing startup, however it’s worth noting that profitability is still a decent way away. Fusion-io’s rapid growth is costing it more than it’s making at the moment, which is most likely to have catalyzed its current decision to go public and collect its biggest round of investments yet. Let’s hope the investor prospectus includes a forecast for when things like the ioXtreme might actually become affordable to non-millionaires, eh?

Continue reading Fusion-io IPO filing discloses list of prestigious clients, led by Facebook

Fusion-io IPO filing discloses list of prestigious clients, led by Facebook originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 05:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo can remotely brick your 3DS after flash card use?

Bad news for those that plan on using a flash card with their 3DS — if Nintendo detects that you’ve been dabbing with one, the company might send a firmware update that could possibly brick your system. According to GoNintendo, Japanese retailer Enterking posted a warning message on their site, suggesting that your system might be unbootable after a software update if Nintendo detects you’ve been using an R4. Enterking is not buying used 3DSs that have a history of using an illegal cartridge — a transparent indication that it’s not taking any chances here. We can’t know for sure if Nintendo will dish out said update or how Enterking might tell — however, Nintendo did issue this statement to Eurogamer in response to their story on the topic:

“We do not discuss product security details (for obvious reasons), nor can we discuss the details of countermeasures available in the Nintendo 3DS system. Nintendo 3DS has the most up-to-date technology. The security has been designed to protect both the creative works in the software and to protect the Nintendo 3DS hardware system itself.

Nintendo, like most companies, takes a palpable stance against piracy. We recommend that those fortunate enough to own a 3DS stay away from the flash cards altogether, just in case.

Update: Flash cards aren’t illegal to use per se — homebrew, anyone? — although certain countries have banned them from import and sale, and their widespread use for illegal activity makes them a dubious proposition quite often.

Nintendo can remotely brick your 3DS after flash card use? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe Makes Flash-To-HTML5 Conversion Easy

flash-error.jpg

While Adobe isn’t a big fan of the fact that the iPad doesn’t support its ubiquitous Flash video standard, the company still wants to play a part in getting content on Apple’s iOS platform. So it has just released a new online tool that makes converting Flash into the iPad-friendly HTML5 format a piece of cake.

Content creators can still create videos in Flash for the millions of Web viewers who can actually view it, and then plug it into the Adobe tool, Wallaby, when they’re ready to bring the same content over to the iPad.

Streaming sound, embedded text, and ActionScript, as well as some 3D effects, cannot be converted to HTML5 with the tool. However, all the basic features like layers, font embedding, scenes, images, and FrameSets are all easily converted from one format to the other.

Adobe recommends using Wallaby with iOS version 4.2 or later to prevent stability issues.

Via Eweek

Adobe Flash Player 10.3 enters beta before Q2 release on desktop, mobile to follow soon after that

Adobe’s Flash Player 10.2 is (somewhat infamously) still absent from mobile devices, but the company is bravely promising that its brand new desktop beta of version 10.3 will be coming to both desktop and mobile devices “soon.” Improvements in the latest iteration include some acoustic hocus pocus for better internet telephony, new video analytics APIs, privacy controls integrated into browser settings in Firefox 4 and IE8 (Chrome and Safari to follow), and native control panel integration with both Mac’s System Preferences and Windows’ Control Panel. Beta testing ends in Q2 2011 for the desktop and a mobile release should follow swiftly thereafter. As to when we’ll finally be able to stop discussing which devices have or can run Flash, not even Adobe could provide us with a reliable roadmap for that.

Adobe Flash Player 10.3 enters beta before Q2 release on desktop, mobile to follow soon after that originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 03:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Adobe outs experimental Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool, calls it Wallaby

Ah, if only we could flip a big happy switch and convert all the web’s Flash content into (functional) HTML5 code. It’s a dream shared by many and, funnily enough, the company pushing to make it a reality is none other than Adobe itself, the owner and proprietor of Flash. Its Labs research team has just released an experimental new dev tool, dubbed Wallaby, that’s targeted at taking Flash-encoded artwork and animations and turning them into a more compatible mix of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Of course, the intent here is not some magnanimous move to free us from the shackles of Flash — Adobe openly admits that the initial goal for the new tool will be to help convert animated banner ads so that they work on the iOS platform — but hey, even bad tools can be used for good sometimes, right?

Continue reading Adobe outs experimental Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool, calls it Wallaby

Adobe outs experimental Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool, calls it Wallaby originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pay-as-you-go shocker! CDMA iPhone 4 makes its way to Cricket Wireless (via jailbreak)

As any astute follower of the “pay-as-you-go” world knows, there are quite a few back alley Cricket dealers (and quite a few main street ones as well) that will happily flash any phone you give them for use on their network — and not even Verizon’s CDMA iPhone is immune. Ready to jump ship from “America’s largest?” Of course, you’ll have to jailbreak, install some third party MMS software, and trust some random dude at the Cricket store with your precious smartphone. We’re not saying it’s wise, but it is possible, as the video below attests. See for yourself after the break.

[Thanks, Mark]

Continue reading Pay-as-you-go shocker! CDMA iPhone 4 makes its way to Cricket Wireless (via jailbreak)

Pay-as-you-go shocker! CDMA iPhone 4 makes its way to Cricket Wireless (via jailbreak) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 12:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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DIY Ring Flash Adapter Uses 150 Optic Fibers, Resembles Alien Ram

Ole Wolf’s ring flash adapter uses 150 optic fibers to channel the camera’s own light

I know what you’re thinking. “That idiot Sorrel is writing about another DIY ring-flash?” The answer is “yes,” but I guarantee this is both the coolest ring flash you have ever seen, and also the only one that looks like a kind of cyberpunk schoolgirl, complete with fiber-optic pigtails.

The project was carried out by Ole Wolf, who painstakingly put together this rather precise setup. It uses 150 fiber optic cables, fused together at one end separated into a ring at the other. The ring is made from acrylic, and has 150 tiny holes drilled in it in concentric circles, which are themselves offset to give a more even light.

Fiber optics are designed to transmit light, and therefore are way more efficient than even the best commercial ring flash adapters. And because the cables come in a relatively small bundle, the light from your camera’s built in flash is plenty.

Wolf’s design is simple but effective, and manages to convey almost all of the flash’s light to the subject. It has another advantage, too: because the light is coming from the built in strobe, it is measured and controlled by the camera’s brain. Wolf suspects that slight inefficiencies in the adapter might cause a “miscalculation of the target flash intensity,” but as far as I know, DSLRs calculate the flash exposure on the fly, with pre-flashes and clever tricks. this should mean you get perfect exposures.

So there you go: yet another DIY ring flash. But it’s cool, right? Also, it should work just fine without fusing the fibers together at one end, so next time you see an old fiber optic lamp at a yard-sale, snap it up. Now you know just what to do with it.

DIY Ring Flash with a 150-Element Optical Fiber Whip [Blazing Angles via Hack-a-Day]

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