Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on May 06, 2008 by CyberNet.

The Spring update for the Zune is launching today, and several new features have been added. One of the biggest changes is that now the video store has expanded to include TV shows. They’ve got about 800 TV shows available and each show is priced at $1.99 (160 Microsoft Points) per episode. Content comes from a handful of different networks like Comedy Central, MTV, NBC Universal, Nikelodeon, and more. While Apple offers many more TV shows, this is a start for Microsoft and we all know it took Apple a while to get to the point that they’re at.

The Zune has also gone more social with features like being able to transfer a friend’s Zune Card right to your device. The really cool thing about that is if you have a Zune pass (unlimited download service), you’ll be able to get the full tracks of the songs your friends recently listened to, their favorites, and their top played songs. If you know a friend has similar tastes in music, this will be a quick way to get your hands on new music that you’ll probably enjoy. If you don’t have a Zune Pass, you can still view the info on a friend’s Zune Card but you’ll be required to buy the tracks if you want them.

Other features which people have requested for quite some time include:

• gapless playback
• meta data editing
• auto playlists
• improved syncing controls

Now that they’ve added TV shows, maybe movies will be next?

Source: Channel 8

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Maybe Windows Phone 7 can gain some presence with the help of the iPhone’s hacker community.

Recently released as a public beta, a new hack transforms the interface of the iPhone to mimic the main screen of Windows Phone 7.

So gone will be the springboard UI we’ve all grown accustomed to on the iPhone and Android OS, and in its stead will be the tile-based interface of Windows Phone 7.

Of course, the iPhone theme doesn’t work exactly the same as the real thing. The authentic Windows Phone 7 uses tiles to represent “Hubs” containing the main experiences of the phone. So for example, the photo hub has your camera, and after you snap a photo it brings up another feature to share the photo on a social-working site or e-mail the pic. Microsoft calls these “threaded” experiences.

The iPhone hack doesn’t replicate the threaded Hub functionality of Windows Phone 7. It just repurposes your individual apps into Windows Phone 7-like tiles and mimics the process of adding or removing these tiles. Check out the video below for a demo.

Windows Phone 7 offers a fresh and brand-new UI compared to competing smartphones, but that hasn’t been enough to win over a large number of customers yet. Microsoft has been cagey about initial Windows Phone  7 handset sales numbers, but according to a new report by NPD, the OS is off to a slow start. Windows Phone 7 debuted with 2 percent of the smartphone OS marketshare, which is lower lower than the debuts of WebOS and Android, according to NPD.

So maybe you’ll more likely see an iPhone running this fake Windows Phone 7 theme as opposed to the real thing.

It’s a neat theme, and if you’re tired of the iOS UI but don’t want to ditch the iPhone just yet, this will be a fun hack to tinker with. Visit the ModMyi forum for a quick tutorial on installing. Jailbreaking is required.

From Gizmodo

Can’t say that Patrick Lo is a name that immediately rang any bells around here. He’s certainly not as recognizable as Netgear, the company that he chairs and rules supreme. But boy did he hit our radar screens this morning. Lo had plenty of criticism to spread around the Microsoft and Apple camps today during a press lunch in Sydney. Oh where to even begin? Let’s start with Microsoft, and Lo’s claim that, “Microsoft is over — game over, from my point of view,” when comparing Windows Phone 7’s chance to compete with Android and the iPhone. Doubtful, not with Redmond’s Windows 7 and MS Office cash cows fueling Microsoft’s intense desire to execute on its new mobile strategy.

Lo then turned his sights on Apple, having this to say on the topic of Steve Jobs’ refusal to support Adobe Flash on Apple’s mobile devices: “What’s the reason for him to trash Flash? There’s no reason other than ego.” Funny, we thought it was due to performance, security, and power consumption issues. Lo later added, “Once Steve Jobs goes away, which is probably not far away, then Apple will have to make a strategic decision on whether to open up the platform.” Classy. Hit the source link below if you’re just dying to hear how “closed” systems are inferior to “open” systems all over again.

CE-Oh no he didn’t!: Netgear boss calls ‘game over’ for Microsoft, Jobs’ ‘ego’ reason iPhone doesn’t support Flash originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 04:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This article was written on August 04, 2008 by CyberNet.

Last week rumors started to fly that Microsoft was planning to drop the price of the Xbox 360 pretty significantly. We questioned it because in July, Microsoft already did some price dropping with their 20GB Xbox 360 – dropping it from $350 down to $300. This turned out to be a temporary price drop to make way for a new 60GB model. While there has been no confirmation from Microsoft that the price-cuts are coming in September, new information suggests that the rumors are true.

Take a look at the image below. Someone took a picture of what they saw on the screen at an unnamed retailer when they did a SKU inquiry for the Xbox 360 Arcade System. As you’ll see, it shows a price of $199.99 that will be effective starting on September 7th.

September 7th would be a likely date for Microsoft to make price cuts, only because it also happens to be the date that two Xbox 360 exclusive games launch – Square Enix’s Infinite Undiscovery and Rock Band 2 (this game comes out later in the Fall for other systems). If it works as planned, prices will be as follows on September 7th:

• Xbox Arcade – $199
• Xbox 60GB Pro – $299
• Xbox 120GB Elite – $399

Source: Gizmodo

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There’s no denying that Meinolf Althaus brings some personality to an otherwise stoic slate. Good thing too, because the idea of Fujitsu and Microsoft spawning a stylus-driven tablet from a session of ugly-bumping doesn’t elicit much excitement in the burgeoning tablet space. Enter Mr. Althaus who begins his lesson with an explanation that software user elements must be based on recognition and not on something that’s remembered. You know, like a hammer (or Fujitsu’s new slate) which is obvious in its usability and function. He then likens the current crop of consumer-based tablets to chocolate bars: they’re great for consumption but do little to help with content creation unlike Fujitsu’s Windows-based slate that’s optimized for corporations — spreadsheets naturally, not music or illustrations. The highlight, however, has to be the point in the video where he equates the Windows 7 user experience to a “scratchy” kitchen sponge that’s useful for utilitarian tasks like cleaning the dishes. Fujitsu’s tablet, he contends, is “cozy” like a silk scarf thanks to a custom-built layer that sits on top of the standard Win7 desktop. Brilliant. We’ll take two… Meinolfs that is. You will too after watching the video embedded after the break.

[Thanks, Hanson]

Continue reading Fujitsu’s tablet is easy like a hammer, cozy as a scarf, and never scratchy like Windows 7 (video)

Fujitsu’s tablet is easy like a hammer, cozy as a scarf, and never scratchy like Windows 7 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 05:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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