Jul 05

Microsoft offers up ‘managed driving’ source code, gets back to location-based business

Posted in: Microsoft, Today's Chili, wifi, windows phone, WindowsPhone

WiFi-sniffing — all the major tech giant’s are doing it. But it’s for your own better-targeted, location-based good… they swear. It’s a familiar story that saw Google get served in France and the UK for its fleet of data-collecting Street View cars, and had Apple accidentally storing users’ geographic info unencrypted on their phones. Given the history, it’s not surprising to see Microsoft take the offensive by offering up source code from its own ‘managed driving’ program: the cars that collect WiFi, GPS and cell tower data. With the code out in the open, MS can easily side-step allegations of personal data-mining and continue its focus on improving local search services. The move is further evidence that the Ballmer-led company intends to take user privacy very seriously, having already stopped the tracking of individual Windows Phone handsets last May. Location aware devices are an inevitable part of our search-assisted lives, we just wish they all came with a giant opt-out button.

[Image credit via WinRumors]

Microsoft offers up ‘managed driving’ source code, gets back to location-based business originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 08:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jul 04

SleepWell forces WiFi to wait its turn, keeps gadgets well-rested

Posted in: cellphones, Laptops, Microsoft, nokia, Today's Chili, verizon, wifi

SleepWellEver feel like your WiFi devices’ battery-lives are better off when not surrounded by peers and passersby? According to Duke University grad student Justin Manweiler and assistant professor Romit Roy Choudhury, this phenomenon is due to gadgets constantly fighting to retrieve the same data. Their Systems Networking Research Group has created a program dubbed SleepWell to alleviate the congestion; it puts WiFi to rest until the path is clear for accessing the specific data it needs, and provides improved power management all the while. The tech was shown off at MobiSys 2011 this past week and reportedly works well “across a number of device types and situations.” Notably, Microsoft and Nokia (amongst others like Verizon) are backing up the project, which makes us cautiously optimistic that it could be headed for WP7 (or Windows 8, for that matter) in due time. There’s no info on whether SleepWell will ever be distributed commercially, but may we suggest an LTE version to help out big V’s poor ol’ T-Bolt?

SleepWell forces WiFi to wait its turn, keeps gadgets well-rested originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 08:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Textually, Yahoo News  |  sourceDuke Today  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 04

SleepWell forces WiFi to wait its turn, keeps gadgets well-rested (update)

Posted in: cellphones, Laptops, Microsoft, nokia, Today's Chili, verizon, wifi

SleepWellEver feel like your WiFi devices’ battery-lives are better off when not surrounded by peers and passersby? According to Duke University grad student Justin Manweiler and assistant professor Romit Roy Choudhury, this phenomenon is due to gadgets constantly fighting to retrieve the same data. Their Systems Networking Research Group has created a program dubbed SleepWell to alleviate the congestion; it puts WiFi to rest until the path is clear for accessing the specific data it needs, and provides improved power management all the while. The tech was shown off at MobiSys 2011 this past week and reportedly works well “across a number of device types and situations.” Notably, Microsoft and Nokia (amongst others like Verizon) are backing up the project, which makes us cautiously optimistic that it could be headed for WP7 (or Windows 8, for that matter) in due time. There’s no info on whether SleepWell will ever be distributed commercially, but may we suggest an LTE version to help out big V’s poor ol’ T-Bolt?

Update: We’d like to clarify that this software currently works from the accesss point side rather than the individual devices. You’ll a find an additional PDF about the project in the source links below.

[Thanks, Daiwei Li]

SleepWell forces WiFi to wait its turn, keeps gadgets well-rested (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Jul 2011 08:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Textually, Yahoo News  |  sourceDuke Today, (PDF)  | Email this | Comments

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Jul 01

STFU. I Bought Some Dang Coffee, and I’m Never Leaving This Café

Posted in: Today's Chili, top, wifi

I’m writing this from a café where I’ve been sitting for hours. I’ve got an ancient bagel crust and a mostly-empty cup of coffee that’s colder than Lebron’s greedy little heart. And I’m not leaving anytime soon. Is that appropriate? More »

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Jun 30

Sony intros G-Series micro HiFi iPhone / iPod systems, blends retro looks with modern features

Posted in: audio, MP3, mp3 player, Mp3Player, sony, speakers, Today's Chili, wifi
Sony’s got a reputation for pumping out forwardly-designed wares, but its new G-Series micro HiFi systems are a blast from the past — at a glance, anyway. Both rigs are MP3 and iPhone / iPod-compatible via USB and will be available in two different configurations. To start, the CMT-G1BiP / G1iP feature 60 watts of RMS power with DAB packed into the former for those who find only having AM/FM is passé. Next up, the CMT-G2BNiP / G2NiP add WiFi for getting your stream on from the Web or a PC and can be remote-controlled with a free iOS app. The “HiFi” moniker mixed with iPod connectivity might have audiophiles raising a brow to sound quality, but the brushed metal console and its piano-gloss satellites are lookers none-the-less. A single variant is currently listed on the Sony UK site, although there’s not a squeak regarding cost or release dates. For now, we’ll refer you to the PR after the break.

Continue reading Sony intros G-Series micro HiFi iPhone / iPod systems, blends retro looks with modern features

Sony intros G-Series micro HiFi iPhone / iPod systems, blends retro looks with modern features originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 29

HP TouchPad review

Posted in: bluetooth, HP, multitouch, palm, pre, review, tablet, Today's Chili, touchpad, video, webos, wifi

As things get older they tend to get bigger. It’s the same for people, corporations, models of cars, budget deficits… and so it is for webOS. As Palm was in the process of being subsumed its great mobile operating system was being eyed for much broader things, far bigger than the little phones it had previously been flashed on. Things like printers and desktops and laptops, but for its first proper foray outside of a phone it has a tall task: compete in the brutally vicious tablet space.

Its weapon is the TouchPad, a 9.7-inch tablet from HP that got official back in February and will be available July 1st (if you don’t manage to find it earlier) — $499.99 for the 16GB model, $599.99 for 32GB. That’s exactly on parity with the WiFi iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1, current kings of the tablet court. Does this plus-sized Palm progeny really have what it takes to hang at that price point, or is this just a chubby pretender that’s outgrown its britches? Read on to find out.

Gallery: HP TouchPad, unboxing and comparison

Continue reading HP TouchPad review

HP TouchPad review originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 18:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 29

iRiver’s MX100 Android tablet spotted in China? (video)

Posted in: 7-inch, Android, android tablet, AndroidTablet, froyo, korea, rumor, samsung, slate, tablet, Today's Chili, video, wifi
iRiver has spent the past couple of years testing the e-reader waters, but the company may now be ready to plunge into the deeper end of the pool, with its first Android tablet. A blogger in Korea recently spotted the slate, believed to be the seven-inch MX100, during an iRiver event in China. According to the source, it’s powered by a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird core, runs on Android 2.2 Froyo and is equipped with 802.11b/g/n WiFi — not exactly cutting-edge stuff, but at least it’s not Bubble Yum-flavored. There’s been no official confirmation from iRiver yet, nor do we have any details on pricing or availability, but you can head past the break to see a semi-recent commercial from LG U+, in which the MX100 makes a brief cameo around the 0:15 mark.

Continue reading iRiver’s MX100 Android tablet spotted in China? (video)

iRiver’s MX100 Android tablet spotted in China? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Netbook News  |  sourceMovePlayer (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 27

HP TouchPad veers into stores early, flaunts its webOS moves (video)

Posted in: BestBuy, demo, e reader, e-book, e-books, e-readers, hewlett-packard, HewlettPackard, HP, palm, palm pre, PalmPre, slate, tablet, Today's Chili, touchpad, video, walmart, webos, wifi
Dying to get your hands on HP’s TouchPad before it’s available on July 1st? According to Pre Central, a visit to either Best Buy or Walmart may afford you the opportunity. During the past few days, the stores have apparently begun quietly displaying demo-loaded versions of the slate. The device went up for pre-order about a week ago, but for webOS hopefuls still contemplating whether to take the Palm-rooted plunge, a pre-release impression may not be a bad grab between socks and motor oil. Don’t feel like taking a trip to Wally World, you say? You’ll find a video overview past the break; although the box to the left has us wondering if now’s a good time for getting lucky…

Continue reading HP TouchPad veers into stores early, flaunts its webOS moves (video)

HP TouchPad veers into stores early, flaunts its webOS moves (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 22:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Palm Infocenter  |  sourcerbrown530 (YouTube), PreCentral (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

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Jun 27

Boingo teams with Gogo for in-flight internet magic, leaves us wanting more

Posted in: Today's Chili, wifi

So, here’s the good news: Boingo Wireless has teamed up with Aircell, a company that provides WiFi in the skies. Now, the bad news: it barely matters. At first blush, we assumed a Boingo / Gogo tie-up would allow monthly subscribers to the former to get gratis access to the latter; in fact, that’s not at all the case. According to the release (shown in full after the break), in-flight access “is a premium service and is not included in monthly plans,” and in fact, there’s not even a discount given to Boingo subscribers. The point here? To make billing even easier, since you’re logging in with your Boingo credentials. Gee, thanks.

Continue reading Boingo teams with Gogo for in-flight internet magic, leaves us wanting more

Boingo teams with Gogo for in-flight internet magic, leaves us wanting more originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 23

Magellan RoadMate 5175T-LM connects to WiFi, plans your Great American vacation

Posted in: gps, navigation, Today's Chili, wifi

How do you spice up a standalone GPS in a market that just isn’t pining for ’em any longer? If you’re Magellan, that’s easy — you take a smartphone, gimp voice and app capabilities and, voila!, you have the RoadMate 5175T-LM. Eerily similar to its Garmin rival, this slab boasts a full WVGA display, WiFi (you know, for that inbuilt web browser) and AAA travel planning. Purportedly, those fine, fine amenities will enable you to “go from the car to the boardroom to the hotel,” and maybe even on that cross-country trip, too. Judging by its built-in tour guide functionality and heavy emphasis on the suit-and-tie demo, we’d say Magellan’s aiming this one at the fifty and over set. This shortlist of features doesn’t come cheap, either — with a $299.99 price tag, we’d understand if your wallet was eyeing greener pastures. Full PR gush after the break — you’re welcome, GPS enthusiasts.

Continue reading Magellan RoadMate 5175T-LM connects to WiFi, plans your Great American vacation

Magellan RoadMate 5175T-LM connects to WiFi, plans your Great American vacation originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Jun 2011 22:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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