Hasta La Gadget!

On Tuesday, RIM’s PlayBook tablet will receive a video chat app in an over-the-air software update. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

On Tuesday, RIM will debut a new video chat app for the PlayBook, allowing the device to make video and voice calls over Wi-Fi networks.

The company is also planning to release a native Facebook app later this month. E-mail, calendar and contacts apps will have to wait until summer.

The video chat app sounds fairly straightforward, according to RIM’s press release. Much like other currently available mobile video chat options, you’ll have a contact list, picture-in-picture capabilities and a nice little notification that will pop up when you’re receiving a new call. You can also switch between the front and rear cameras on the PlayBook in the middle of the call, so your chat buddy can see the world through your back-facing camera on the call.

Video chat capability is becoming par for the course in the 2011 mobile market. The existence of voice-over-internet-protocol software companies like Skype, Fring and Qik have made it possible for us to communicate between one another face-to-face.

And since the debut of Apple’s official Face Time app for iOS devices with front-facing cameras as well as desktops, we can expect more official video chat app releases from the competition. Last week, for example, Google released its official video chat application for Android smartphones running the latest version of its operating system.

It’s not like the cameras themselves are going anywhere, either. Any tablet-maker that deviates from the predominant hardware profile risks ostracizing itself in an already overcrowded market. Every major tablet debut we’ve seen this year thus far — from Motorola’s Xoom to Apple’s iPad 2 — includes a front-facing camera for taking pictures and video of your mug.

The app will be distributed to existing PlayBook users in an over-the-air software update on Tuesday, and will also be available for download in the BlackBerry App World market.

This article was written on March 28, 2011 by CyberNet.

Welcome to the WrapUp by CyberNet. This is a collection of news stories, downloads, and tips that we have collected over the last few days, but never got around to writing about. Don’t forget to send in your own tips, or just leave a comment on this page if you think you’ve got something we should include.

–News–

NASA Demonstrates Photoshop Process for Hubble Images
Those jaw-dropping photos that come out of the Hubble Space Telescope takes hours for someone to assemble before they are posted for you to enjoy. The process involves combining images from Hubble (taken in grayscale), assigning colors to them, and repairing any artifacts that would detract from the overall beauty of the image. This video will give you some idea of what’s involved.

BlackBerry Playbook Will Be Compatible with Android Apps
There were murmurs a few months ago of RIM introducing Android app compatibility on their Playbook tablet prior to its release in April, and it looks like those rumblings came to fruition with this official announcement.

Firefox 4 Delivers 7.1M Downloads in First 24-hours
The big Firefox 4 release happened early last week, and it was met with success as 7.1 million people rushed to try out the new browser in the first 24-hours of availability. There were also another 3 million users that were running the release candidate, and were upgraded to the final version during the same time period.

Yahoo! Search Direct Provides a Better Search Experience
Yahoo! is working on a new way (currently in beta) to present users with results before they actually execute a search. In some of my brief tests I have to admit they did a nice job with the way you can get things like weather, sports scores, and many other tidbits of information as you are typing your query.

Windows Phone 7 “NoDo” Update Released
Microsoft started rolling out the “NoDo” update for Windows Phone 7 that brings copy and paste, faster resume times, improved Marketplace search, and more to the Windows Phone platform.

Amazon Launches Appstore for Android
Amazon’s new Android Appstore has a leg up on the competition because they will be offering a paid app every day for free, and will pay the chosen developers 20% of the normal retail price out of their own pocket.

Sprint Integrating with Google Voice
I was really happy to see that Google is now working directly with carriers to bring Google Voice to the masses, and they are starting with Sprint. Their direct integration, which will be rolling out soon, will let Sprint customers use their existing phone number with Google Voice without having to port the number over. Alternatively you can also replace your Sprint number with your Google Voice number.

AT&T to Acquire T-Mobile for $39 Billion
AT&T has officially confirmed that they will be acquiring T-Mobile USA for $39 billion. The deal is expected to close within the next year if all necessary approvals go through.

–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

Increase Windows 7 Taskbar Previews
Are the Windows 7 Taskbar thumbnails a little too small for you? This free (and portable) tool will let you increase the size to something a little more useful. Unfortunately the size is not customizable.

Google Spreadsheets Adds Filtering
It has taken a little while, but Google Spreadsheets will finally let you filter columns of data. This is a feature that I use in large Excel spreadsheets all the time, and was frequently something I found Google Spreadsheets lacking. This could very well be the stepping stone that gets me entirely moved over to online document management.

Use Bing Maps to View 148 Mall Maps
Have you ever gone to a mall and wondered where you should park to optimize your path from the car to that one store you are heading to? Bing has integrated 148 US mall maps directly into Bing Maps so that you can zoom into mall and see the actual store layout. You can then use that information to figure out where the best place is to park. It even works if you switch to a non-angled satellite view making it even easier to see exactly where the parking spots are.

How to Make Ubuntu Look Like Windows 7
This guide walks you through installing a Windows 7 theme on Ubuntu, and the end result looks pretty good.

Lifehacker Launches Free Video Podcast
Lifehacker rolled out a video podcast last week that serves as a nice way to see some of the tips they cover on the site demonstrated by their own staff.

–Downloads–

• Adobe Air 2.6.0.19120 [Homepage] [Mirror]
• BurnAware Free 3.1.6 [Homepage] [Mirror]
• CCleaner 3.05.1408 [Homepage] [Mirror]
• Dropbox 1.1.5 ^Beta [Homepage] [Mirror]
• FileZilla 3.4.0 ^RC1 [Homepage] [Mirror]
• Firefox 4.0 [Homepage] [Mirror]
• Flash Player 10.2.153.1 [Homepage] [Mirror]
• Foobar2000 1.1.6 ^{Beta 1} [Homepage] [Mirror]
• Foxit Reader 4.3.1.0323 [Homepage] [Mirror]
• Google Chrome 12.0.712.0 ^Beta [Homepage] [Mirror]
• Miranda 0.9.18 [Homepage] [Mirror]
• Opera 11.10.2064 ^Beta [Homepage] [Mirror]
• SeaMonkey 2.0.13 [Homepage] [Mirror]
• uTorrent 2.2.1.25130 [Homepage] [Mirror]
• VLC Media Player 1.1.8 [Homepage] [Mirror]

Copyright © 2011 CyberNetNews.com

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The BlackBerry PlayBook may be noticeably lacking a calendar app of its own (at least for now), but it looks like RIM could soon have more scheduling options than ever — it’s just acquired fellow Canadian company Tungle, which specializes in syncing your calendar across platforms. At the moment, that’s done with either the company’s web application, or its iOS or BlackBerry app (an Android version has also been promised), which also let you share your calendar with folks inside or outside your company and, of course, tie it into your various social networks — so you can learn about the person you’re having a meeting with, for instance. As you might expect, however, RIM is staying mum on exactly what it has in mind for the company, and it also isn’t divulging any specific terms of the acquisition. Head on past the break for a video demonstrating how the current service works.

Continue reading RIM acquires Tungle, might soon bridge your calendar across platforms

RIM acquires Tungle, might soon bridge your calendar across platforms originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Apr 2011 10:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Welcome to the latest episode of the The Engadget Show, in which we change things up just a little bit. Everything starts with a trip to the New Mexico desert for a ride on the Shredder, love child of a tank and a skateboard. Next, Tim and Associate Editor Jacob Schulman sit down with RIM’s Ryan Biden to talk about the BlackBerry PlayBook. Then, Tim has a chat with Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally about the future of transportation, and just what’ll be driving you in to work in 20 years.

After that, Engadget founder Peter Rojas joins Tim and Managing Editor Darren Murph to look at a plethora of tablets. Favorites are chosen, lines are drawn, and allegiances pledged. There’s also talk of Amazon’s next play in the tablet space, the death of Flip, and what’s up next for GDGT.

It’s an action-packed show and it’s ready for you. What are you waiting for? Watch it now! The video stream is above, or download the show in HD below!

Hosts: Tim Stevens, Darren Murph, Jacob Schulman
Special guests: Ryan Biden, Alan Mulally, Peter Rojas
Produced and Directed by: Chad Mumm
Executive Producer: Joshua Fruhlinger
Edited by: Danny Madden
Music by: Sabrepulse
Visuals by: Paris and Outpt

Shredder segment music: Minusbaby

Taped live at AOL Studios

Download the Show: The Engadget Show – 020 (HD) / The Engadget Show – 020 (iPod / iPhone / Zune formatted) / The Engadget Show – 020 (Small)

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The Engadget Show – 020: RIM’s Ryan Biden, GDGT’s Peter Rojas, Ford CEO Alan Mulally, lots of tablets, Shredder test-drive originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Apr 2011 12:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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