Hasta La Gadget!

It already has one of the cutest names in cloud computing, and now it has Google Docs, too. Following up on its integration of Dropbox, Jolicloud just added support for the online office suite, which means you can access and edit all of your important missives and memos via the Jolicloud Desktop or Joli OS. Setting it up is as simple as clicking a button to link the two accounts — after that, you can browse, edit, and do whatever you do in Google Docs, and because it’s all stored in the cloud, you can pick up on one device where you left off on another. Sound familiar? For complete instructions, follow the source link below.

Google Docs now on Jolicloud Desktop, Joli OS originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 04:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In an acknowledgement of the internet’s overwhelming influence on the triviality we sometimes refer to as “real life,” the Oxford English Dictionary doyens have decided to add a few of the web’s favorite pronouncements to their lexicon. Among them are the standouts OMG, LOL and FYI, joining their compatriots IMHO and BFF among the proud number of officially sanctioned initialisms (abbreviations contracted to the initials of their words) used in the English language. Shockingly enough, the expression OMG has had its history tracked all the way back to 1917, while LOL used to mean “little old lady” back in the ’60s, and FYI first showed up in corporate lingo in 1941. Not only that, but the heart symbol — not the <3 emoticon, the actual
♥ graphic — has also made it in. Just so long as Beliebers and fanpires are kept out, there’s still hope for the future. A tiny, twinkling ember of a hope.

OMG, FYI, and LOL enter Oxford English Dictionary, foreshadow the apocalypse originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crime, it just doesn’t pay. Well, actually it does, to the tune of £53,612, but then you get caught and you have to work off that salary with two years at Her Majesty’s pleasure. One Ashley Mitchell, an enterprising 29-year old from Devon, England, managed to break into Farmville maker Zynga‘s mainframe, hijack the identities of two of its staffers, and procure for himself a cool £7 million ($11.4m) in virtual poker chips. He then proceeded to sell about a third of them for the above sum, while consuming a big chunk of the rest in satisfying his own gambling habit. Ashley already had a history of digital malfeasance, having previously hacked into the systems of Torbay Council, his former employer, and is now on the receiving end of a two-year prison term for his current crime plus the activation of a 30-week suspended sentence. There’s a warning in this tale of woe for us all, however — Monsieur Mitchell piggybacked on his neighbors’ unsecured WiFi networks in order to do his dastardly deeds. Slap a password on that router, won’t you?

Hacker nets two years in jail after pilfering £7 million in virtual poker chips originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Most of the so-called “young folks” would argue that Facebook lost its innocence the day that parents were invited to play along, but there’s no question that politicians would disagree vehemently. A recent study published by the number crunchers at Pew Internet found that over half (54 percent, if we’re being precise) of adults “used the internet for political purposes in the last cycle, far surpassing the 2006 midterm contest.” A total of 58 percent hopped online for political news, while one in five (22 percent) used Twitter or a social networking site for “political purposes” in 2010. Taken as a whole, a staggering 73 percent of online adults took part in at least one of these activities in 2010, and judging by the power of these networks in the recent Middle Eastern / African uprisings, we get the impression that figures will only be rising in elections to come. Too bad you can’t “Like” a politician to give them your vote — haven’t these polling places realized what century we’re in?

Continue reading Blame the 2010 elections for your parents being on Facebook, Twitter

Blame the 2010 elections for your parents being on Facebook, Twitter originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 21:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew it was coming, and now The New York Times has followed through on its promise to erect a paywall for online content, which means no more free news — kind of. Starting today in Canada and March 28th in the US, NYTimes.com will ask visitors reading more than 20 articles per month to pay for their info fix. The new plan offers monthly subscriptions of $15 with a smartphone app, $20 with tablet app, or $35 for complete digital access — subscribers with a physical subscription will be granted a full pass, except on e-readers. Further convoluting the pay structure, entry from sites like Twitter and Facebook won’t face the same restrictions, and access via Google is set at five free visits per day. Other news sources, including The Wall Street Journal, have already started charging for online content in the face of declining ad revenue, but this is certainly one of the most elaborate systems we’ve seen so far. The subscription plan was unleashed in Canada today, allowing the paper to iron out any kinks before hitting the US, which means you’ve got just under two weeks to hit NYTimes.com completely free — after that, prepare to be confused.

New York Times reveals labyrinthine subscription plans, Canadian readers already hitting paywall originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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