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Bits and bytes

Google Earth brings you on a spectacular virtual tour of the world from the air but until now it required loading up a special program on your computer.
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Digital Life: Toy soldiers on a whole new level

Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Apple sells a million iPads in first month

Critics panned its lack of camera and "ugly touch-screen keyboard" but it is proving a winner with consumers.
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Millions of homes to receive treble broadband speed

International cable operator UPC is to more than treble the speed of its broadband capability, it was announced today.
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Zettabytes overtake petabytes as largest unit of digital measurement

The size of the "digital universe" will swell so rapidly this year that a new unit – the zettabyte – has been invented to measure it.
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Digital Life: My, what a big lens you've got

Always watch the quiet ones -- hidden depths, you see. Pick up the Nikon Coolpix S8000 and it appears a fairly bog-standard compact camera -- small, light, pocketable, yet relatively anonymous.
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

So, Mr Wayne, how does it feel to lose

There must be mornings when Ronald Wayne wakes up feeling an urge to weep until his tear ducts run dry. Wouldn't you be the same if you had passed up the chance to remain an investor in a little start-up company called Apple in the 1970s, subsequently missing out on a
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

World of Warcraft running on iPad via Gaikai

Services like OnLive and Gaikai are currently promising games on every platform without the high-end hardware required to run the latest titles. All you will need is a solid broadband connection to stream a game to your desktop. But Dave Perry of Gaikai has shown the true potential of the streaming game service by posting the [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Google acquires BumpTop, is Chrome OS going 3D?

BumpTop is a company that started getting noticed when founder Anand Agarawala appeared as a speaker at TED. His company’s software replaced the standard 2D desktop on Windows and Mac with a 3D environment. The video below offers a good demonstration as to what BumpTop can do. With multitouch support BumpTop was always going to work [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Spirit: untethered iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch jailbreak now available

George Hotz may have been the first to demonstrate an untethered iPhone jailbreak, but he looks to have been beaten to an actual release by Spirit. Spirit is an untethered jailbreak for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch and is available to download right now for Windows and Mac users. It does not include a carrier unlock, [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

iPad beats the original iPhone, crosses the one million mark in just four weeks

Apple has just announced that it sold its one millionth iPad on Friday, April 30, the same day when they launched the 3G model. As you know, WiFi iPad launched on April 3, but Apple begun accepting pre-orders on March 12. This means that it took just 28 days to sell one million iPads, considerably [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Nvidia GeForce 480M Fermi mobile graphics chip solution listing spotted

Looks like a laptop manufacturer has stolen Nvidia’s thunder in announcing a successor to the 280M mobile graphics chip. Eurocom has started listing a GeForce GTX 480M Fermi chip that ships with a lot of memory and a big power draw. The new 40nm Nvidia chip was spotted as a configuration option on Eurocom’s X8100 Leopard [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries free to download and play

Following in the footsteps of EA, which started releasing old Command & Conquer games for free, Microsoft has green-lit the free download of a full-copy of MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries. Originally released in 2002, MW4:M was developed by Cyberlore Studios and published by Microsoft. It was a standalone expansion for MechWarrior 4 and received generally good reviews. If [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

3G iPad teardown: Five antennas, unlocked 3G, and more

The teardown experts at iFixIt have peeked inside 3G iPad, which carries a model number A1337. As you know, 3G iPad is basically the same device as the WiFi-only model, sans an added 3G circuitry and GPS sensor. Surprisingly, iFixIt noted, 3G iPad is unlocked and works on any cellular network, not just AT&T’s. The only [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

RayStorm HD available May 5th on Xbox Live and PSN

Shmup fans will be pleased to hear that Taito’s RayStorm update, entitled RayStorm HD, finally has a release date. You’ll be able to get it on May 5th for both Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. It’s not cheap though, and will cost either 1200 points or $15 depending on your format of choice. The first [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Star Trek Online Free Trial Weekend and Demo coming May 7th

Cryptic Studios is about to roll out a number of new promotions for Star Trek Online. Regardless of whether you have played the game before, or have yet to purchase a copy, Cryptic is going to offer you a free way to play the game. For former players a “Welcome Back Weekend” promotion is being run [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Everything you want to know about the iPad

Over at TidBITS Glenn Fleishman has a thorough post up on the iPad’s 3G service. As you probably know, the recently released iPad Wi-Fi+3G has unique no-contract data plans available from AT&T. The article breaks down how to connect, how to setup your plan, the importance of the Cellular Data switch (like the Airplane button, but [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

The government is thinking different about Apple

Apple could be just days away from becoming the subject of an unpleasant antitrust inquiry into a recent decision to restrict software development on the iPhone and iPad. Nevermind Apple’s moral policing which always ignites the heated debate among our readers, this is a much more serious issue than app rejections, the one with potentially [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Similar pages arrive to Google search

If you’ve spotted sporadic occurrences of similar pages on the search results page in the past, you’ll be delighted to learn that Google is now rolling out this feature broadly to help everyone discover web content similar to that they like. According to the Mountain View, California-based search monster, similar pages help raise visibility of [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

webOS update arrives early June

Palm has emailed its developers to announce the pending update to its webOS software development kit (SDK). The operating system powering Pre and Pixi smartphones will also be updated. Although Palm cited a “limited scope of the changes,” it demands developers test their apps against the release candidate, especially the software ported from other platforms. [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

How to hook up your iPad to T-Mobile

Seriously tempted by the recently launched 3G iPad, but the very thought of connecting to AT&T’s mobile data sends shivers down your spine? As you know, Apple is selling 3G iPad unlocked (yes, it’s hard to believe). As a result, users aren’t required to use it with a specific carrier, like with the iPhone. This paves [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

PURE launches three connected radios on July 1st

PURE, a manufacturer of digital and internet-connected radios, has announced the launch of three products in North America beginning July 1st through the PURE website and other online channels. The products were first shown during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January and include the EVOKE Flow, the Oasis Flow and the Siesta Flow. The EVOKE [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

New Wii bundle to include Wii Sports Resort, MotionPlus, and optional black color-scheme

When the black Nintendo Wii console hits stores May 9, buyers will get much more than just the system. Like the standard system purchase now available, the new Wii package will include a Wiimote, Nunchuck, and Wii Sports. However, the upcoming bundle will also include Wii Sports Resort and the control-enhancing Wii MotionPlus accessory.
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

School offers green careers in ecotech

If you have an interest in ecotech now you have the opportunity to make a career out of it. The Education Corporation of American announced the opening of the new Ecotech Institute. The institute, which will be the first of its kind to prepare graduates for careers in renewable energy and sustainable design fields, will [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Robot creates ice models using 3D printing

Ice sculpture artist may be the next career on the chopping block, due to a breakthrough in technology. Two professors, Pieter Sijpkes and Jorge Angeles, at McGill University based in Montreal, Quebec have figured out a way to print small-scale 3D ice models using what they call the FAB@HOME robot. Their preliminary work has led to a $173,000 grant [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-04 more

Authentic Jobs 50% promo this week

Right now is a great time to post a job listing on Authentic Jobs. From today until this coming Friday (May 7), you get a 50% discount by entering the promo code 50RJ when you order. The offer is valid for all job listing types (full-time, freelance, or contract), and of course the 100% money-back guarantee still applies.Read full postPosted in Job openings.
Publication date: 2010-05-03 more

39 Android Apps that I love

Here are the Android Apps that I currently love. It’s not a complete list, but it’s a pretty good start. Music and sound apps Subsonic: stream music from your home computer to your phone Listen: save and play podcasts like This Week in Google Tuner – gStrings: a great guitar tuner Pandora Radio: stream customized music based on artists you [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-03 more

Biomechanical Mike Stand looks as if the Terminator became a roadie

I’m sorry to disappoint you readers, but this sweet looking microphone stand wasn’t ripped out of the shoulder socket of a T-101, nor was it stolen from the research vaults over at Cyberdyne Systems. This Biomechanical Mic Stand was created by modern sculpture artist Chris Conte. Adam Gontier, the lead singer for the group Three Days [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-03 more

Visualization of European airspace as volcanic ash threat ends

Regardless of where you are in the world it was hard to miss the news about the active volcano in Iceland spewing out tons of volcanic ash a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately for Europe the wind was blowing in its direction, which resulted in most of European airspace being closed for several days. It’s hard [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-03 more

No Doubt

The entire No Doubt album, Tragic Kingdom, will be available on Rock Band next week, on top of singles from Orianthi and Picture Me Broken, Harmonix and MTV Games announced Friday.
Publication date: 2010-05-01 more

The Motz Tiny Wooden Speaker for iPod and MP3 Players

Sometimes big things often come in small packages. Take for example this tiny organic looking speaker gadget offered by Korea-based company, Pyramid Distribution. It may not seem like very much. After all, the device only weighs about 15 grams. But this small wooden external speaker for the iPod and other MP3 Players is big on charm. It not only [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-01 more

Packard Bell announces EasyNote TM Core i3 notebook

Packard Bell has announced The EasyNote TM as the latest addition to their line of laptops. The laptop features a 15.6-inch, 16:9 widescreen display and is powered by an Intel Core i3 processor with up to 8GB of memory. Consumers can choose from models including an ATI or NVIDIA graphics card. Besides its computing power the [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-01 more

Hydrophobia to be released as timed-exclusive on XBLA with later releases on PSN, PC and retail

Dark Energy Digital's Hydrophobia will only be exclusively available on the Xbox Live Arcade for an unspecified period of time. However, the survival adventure will later be released on the PlayStation Network, PC, and Xbox 360 as boxed, retail code. There will be no PlayStation 3 version.
Publication date: 2010-05-01 more

Oh no, Apple is trademarking the iPhone app icons

Apple is seeking to legally protect the familiar iPhone app icons. If the company has it their way, those yummy iChocolates, app fridge magnets, and other TWLTOs (Toys We’de Like To Own) inspired by iPhone apps could become a thing of the past. According to Patently Apple, the US Patent & Trademark Office has published yesterday [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-01 more

Green or just cheap? iPad 3G+WiFi ships in stickered WiFi box!

With less than an hour before 3G iPad arrives on store shelves, the first batch of unboxings show 3G iPads arriving in the same boxes as the WiFi counterpart, down to a big WiFi iPad image on the box front. Surprising sloppiness on the part of a company that likes to pride itself for their rocking unboxing [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-01 more

Californian beats Bejeweled 2

A dedicated individual has beaten Bejeweled 2, an addictive casual game that, until now, has never been recorded as game that could be beaten. But, after three years of playing a single round of the web-based game, a California steel contractor named Mike Leyde has performed the impossible.
Publication date: 2010-05-01 more

Google Docs: Freehand image resizing and affixing

Google has added a small but useful tweak to the document editor that’s part of the free Google Docs online office suite – the ability to freely re-size an image right inside your document, just using your mouse. Previously, you would right-click on an image to choose among preset sizes or enter custom width and [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-01 more

Legacy Games giving away autographed House, M.D. swag

In anticipation of the upcoming PC release of House, M.D., Legacy Games is giving away autographed DVDs, posters, T-shirts, an autographed script, hats and more. Fans must enter their e-mail addresses to be entered into the drawing and receive information regarding the game's release.
Publication date: 2010-05-01 more

EA Canada to put names of fans in Crysis 2 as in-game graffiti

EA is giving 50 people the opportunity to have their names, Xbox Gamertags or PSN IDs immortalized in Crysis 2 as graffiti. The contest is open to residents of Canada, the U.S., United Kingdom, and Germany.
Publication date: 2010-05-01 more

Robot performs a perfect balancing act on a ball

This week in addition to a device that balances a ball on a moving platform, we now hear of a robot that can move around and remain upright, all while balancing itself on a single ball. Created by Dr. Masaaki Kumagai and Takaya Ochiai from Tohoku Gakuin University in Japan, this ball balancing robot gives circus performers a run for [...]
Publication date: 2010-05-01 more

Google search gets virtual keyboard

You may have already noticed a tiny keyboard icon next to the search box on the main Google homepage that lets you enter special symbols and international characters using your mouse rather than a physical keyboard. It’s a natural extension of Google’s API that lets developers put up a virtual keyboard in text fields on [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) now available to download

Canonical has announced the availability of Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx) in server, desktop, and netbook editions. As well as sporting Linux kernel 2.6.32 Lucid Lynx includes the following new features and improvements: Boot speed: Noticeably quicker on almost any machine and super-fast on SSD-based machines such as netbooks, which means users can speed straight to [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

Adobe previews Flash Player 10.1 for Macs with accelerated H.264 video decoding in hardware

Steve Jobs may have a handful of valid arguments to explain Apple’s dislike of Flash, but Adobe is as adamant as ever to push the upcoming Flash Player 10.1 to all systems, including the Macs. Adobe Flash Player 10.1 “Gala” preview release enables hardware-accelerated H.264 video decoding on Intel-based Macs running Mac OS X Snow Leopard [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

All Points Bulletin release date and pricing revealed

An updated version of the FAQ on the All Points Bulletin (APB) website has revealed both launch dates and pricing for the online game. Developer Realtime Worlds is aiming for a June 29th release in the US, and July 2nd launch across Europe. We’ve known for a while that APB would have an unconventional subscription model, but [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

DROID Incredible now available with mobile broadband connect option

On Tuesday, Verizon Wireless announced the availability of the DROID Incredible by HTC. The cousin of the popular Motorola Droid is the first Verizon Wireless phone to feature an 8 megapixel camera and the superfast 1GHz Snapdragon processor. Owners can choose from a number of interactive widgets which can be placed on a seven-panel home screen. The [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

You can now post Picasa images to Twitter, Blogger, and Buzz

Google has added new sharing options to Picasa Web Albums, its free online photo editing and sharing service that syncs images with the Picasa desktop app. Although you’ve been able to share individual photos and entire albums via email in the past, you couldn’t post to popular social networks. Starting today, Picasa Web Albums has a [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

Apple patents the

With touch screen devices becoming all the rage, one might think that the days of physical buttons are numbered. It could very well be the case. At least, that is indeed Apple’s direction in regards to their devices, and that initiative doesn’t seem to be wavering as shown in their latest patent application for something called, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

Microsoft: Yes, the Courier did exist

Microsoft has officially confirmed existence of the Courier project only to say that such a device will never hit the market. Contrary to the popular belief, the Courier wasn’t vaporware, it’s just that Micosoft decided against pursuing this project. Engadget quoted Frank Shaw, Microsoft’s vice president of corporate communications, who explained the reasoning behind such [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

James Cameron to bring

3D auteur and science fiction visionary James Cameron isn’t content with taking film goers to his living extra-terrestrial world, Avatar’s Pandora. Now he wants to take them to Mars. Apparently, the Oscar-winning director is helping NASA to build a high resolution 3D camera to be fit on the next generation Mars rover. This isn’t the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

Field Test: Eye-Fi Pro X2 8GB wireless SD card

The Eye-Fi line of wireless memory cards has been around for some time now and they’ve filled a useful niche. You can drop one into any camera that has an SD (or SDHC for that matter) slot and have your images and video automatically uploaded to the web. This means easy syncing to Picasa or [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

Adobe responds: Apple is a lock-in, blame Mac OS X for Mac crashes

The Apple vs. Adobe brawl has grown ugly with both companies’ CEOs criticizing each other’s corporate culture. And at the center of it all lies Flash and a huge ecosystem of connected technologies, partners, and developers. Apple’s Steve Jobs posted a public whining titled “Thoughs on Flash” that painted Flash as being insecure, resource-hungry, closed, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

Cupcake cannon is as amazing as it sounds

Pro tip: Protective eyewear is mandatory when cupcakes are being shot at you using a 120 psi cannon. A 700 frames-per-second, $120,000 Phantom HD Gold video camera is not necessary, but it sure helps if you want to make an awesome slow-motion video like this one. As for how to stay as calm as some of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

Amazon goes to war with Penguin over e-book pricing, all Penguin hardcovers now cost $9.99

When the iPad and Apple’s iBooks service was first introduced, publishers used the sudden competition in the e-book space to push Amazon into a corner, breaking the online retailer’s strict $9.99 e-book pricing lock seemingly for good. But Amazon’s striking back. Their contract with Penguin ran out on April 1st, which means that Amazon can’t [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

Apple shuts down Lala

In December of last year we reported that Apple acquired music startup Lala. Lala offered ad-free, streaming based music subscriptions and individual song purchases. Use of the past tense “offered” is no mistake. Apple has shut Lala down. Visitors to the website are presented with a simple graphic stating that the site is no longer accepting new users and will be [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

NVIDIA: Moore

Moore’s Law states that the number of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuited will double every two years, and it’s been the backbone of industry projections for the last twenty years. But is Moore’s Law at an end? According to NVIDIA’s chief scientist and vice president Bill Dally writing for Forbes on [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

Video: Nokia demonstrates the N8 browser

Nokia’s recently unveiled N8 smartphone is being much maligned in some early previews, but Nokia wants to know that’s poppycock, and to prove it they’ve been releasing a number of video demos to entice customers. Their latest shows off how their new Symbian3 operating system handles web-browsing. Pretty well, actually! The new video, embedded above, not [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

Apple launches 3G iPad today at 5:00pm

Are you feeling the launch atmosphere yet? 3G iPad launches today. While the initial hype and novelty of a new Apple device wore off earlier this month with WiFi iPad launch, today is another big day for Apple that marks the arrival of a beefier iPad version officially called WiFi+3G iPad. While 3G iPads will first [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

Opera acquires FastMail.fm

Opera Software, known for their Opera desktop and Opera Mini mobile browser, has announced the acquisition of email provider FastMail.fm. FastMail.fm was first founded 10 years ago and provides secure email services via WebMail, IMAP, POP and SMTP. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. FastMail.fm’s reasons for selling were detailed in the company’s blog and [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

The Secret of Monkey Island now on a website near you

Who can forget the classic LucasArts’ game Secret of Monkey Island. InstantAction, an online game distribution company, has figured out a way to embed a special edition of the game into a web page. The web version is a 20 minute free trial that allows the player to purchase the full version of the Windows [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

Review: HP Mini 5102 netbook

HP’s Mini 5102 is the company’s current business netbook. It’s a slight refresh of the Mini 5101 that we reviewed last year. In addition to the new Intel Pine Trail processor the 5102 got a number of interesting upgrade options, including a fold-out handle and a touchscreen. The 5102 is largely unchanged from the previous [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

Why iPhones, iPods and iPads are Flash-free

Apple does not allow Flash on their iPhones, iPods and iPads. Some complain about this, others think it
Publication date: 2010-04-30 more

New downloadable gameplay modes available for Dead to Rights: Retribution in late May, early June

A new DLC pack for Dead to Rights: Retribution will be available on May 26 in the PAL region and June 1 for North America. Titled the "GAC Pack", the downloadable content adds two new gameplay modes for the Xbox 360 and PS3: Assault on the 87th Precinct and Riot Control.
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Apple may have ditched OmniVision for LG Innotek for the next iPhone

A new report claims Apple switched the CMOS image sensor supplier for its iPhone HD last minute. According to the Chosun Ilbo, Apple’s rumored phone upgrade will feature a five-megapixel camera and LG Innotek will provide CMOS image sensors for the device.  Industry sources told the Asian publication that it’s a done deal: The electronics component [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

AOL sells ICQ to Russian company for $187.5MM

Flash back fourteen years and you would have found me, a teenager, rushing to my Windows 95 machine in response to the queue of a high-pitched “Uh oh!” WAV, synonymous to this day in my mind with the sound of an incoming instant message. The program was ICQ, one of the first internet IM applications, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Ben-Q

Ben-Q’s not exactly the best known of electronics manufacturers, but that’s not the way it should be: they’ve actually released many excellent budget products, particularly their line of HDTVs. Their new point-and-shoot digicam, the Ben-Q E1260 HDR, looks to conform to that mould: it boasts a 12-megapixel CMOS, a 28mm optical wide angle zoom lens capable [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Daily App Store submissions grew 15 percent following the iPad and iPhone OS 4 unveiling

It’s been a while since Apple shared an App Store milestone. The news that Apple’s mobile bazaar now sports over 200,000 items came in Steve Jobs’ thoughts on Flash posted on Apple’s website early morning.A part of  Jobs’ rambling about why Apple won’t support Flash is an App Store update, tucked away as a side-note: The [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Japan to send a humanoid robot to the moon by 2015

Japan’s pathological love for humanoid robots goes back to the days of Tezuka, but as the country “grays” and the young find themselves vastly outnumbered by the old, robots have shifted from fantastic mechanical golems to Japan’s best hope for supplementing its rapidly dwindling workforce.. That hope extends as far as outer space. Last year, the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Hotmail to gain push email support, Facebook integration and more

Hotmail has become increasingly obsolete under the pressure of Google’s webmail onslaught and quick feature roll out. One particular advantage GMail has over Hotmail is push email, and in an increasingly mobile era, Hotmail’s lack of that sole feature is enough to cause an exodus of users to Google’s service. Belatedly, Microsoft intends to staunch [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Polaroid

Polaroid pretty much built its empire on instant cameras… but then digital cameras happened. Polaroid struggled to keep up, releasing a few eminently forgettable little point-and-shoots along the way, but it never could quite seem to get its bearings once photography stopped being analogue: they even went as far as to make the misguided move [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Apple wants to charge a premium to show iAds inside iPhone apps

Apple is shopping their new mobile advertising platform called iAd around Madison Avenue ahead of the June launch, demanding marketeres pay a premium for the privilege of having their next-generation ads appear inside iPhone apps. According to several ad executives who spoke to the Wall Street Journal, Apple will charge $1 million to inject a campaign inside third-party [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Following Samsung

You only have to look at the evolution of televisions over the last couple of years to realize that the future of sets is to make them into computers. Televisions have gone from analogue sets to plasmas with resolutions measured in pixels; from coaxial affairs to displays indistinguishable but for tuner and size from the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Skyfire 2.0 brings Flash to Android handsets

Steve Jobs isn’t a big fan of Flash, and is openly skeptical about its place on the mobile web. He may be right going forward, but for right now, the web is flash handy, and a lot of people want a way to view that content on their devices. Irony of ironies, on the same [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Halo: Reach beta will feature five rotating playlists, earns players free Avatar hoodie

The Halo: Reach multiplayer beta is almost here. Just four days from kick off, the beta is scheduled to run from May 3 through May 19. Players can access the beta via the Halo 3: ODST game disc, however an Xbox Live Gold membership and internet connection is also required.
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Motorola wants to release their own tablet running Android or Windows Phone 7

Motorola isn’t having a very good last couple of years. The once prominent handset manufacturer has turned in a miniscule profit of a little over $100 million this year, following a similarly poor showing last year. Like other companies that have been slow to embrace smartphones, the company’s devices have floundered even as Android handsets [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Gmail imploding for you too? UPDATED

Users (this one included) are having some serious problems with Gmail and other Google services right now. Twitter is being swarmed with messages about Gmail being down and the App Status dashboard seems to be inaccessible. Is this an isolated incident or a major outage? 3:26p – Wow, seems like a false alarm (or I just got [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Apple patents a bunch of new multitouch gestures

Just when handset makers have finally gotten the guts to implement the iPhone’s trademark pinch-zoom, Apple has patented a new selection of complex multitouch gestures that will presumably find its way into the upcoming fourth-generation iPhone, future iPads, and possibly even the Macs. According to the patent titled “System and method for packing multitouch gestures onto [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Upcoming Kindle update includes Facebook and Twitter connectivity

We recently mentioned some of the significant updates that the NOOK has received, including the addition of a web browser and games. Now it seems that Amazon is looking to beef up the connectivity of its Kindle as well with the Version 2.5 update scheduled for late May. In addition to a number of enhancements the update gives users the ability [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Bridgestone creates flexible color touchscreen e-paper

You may only know Bridgestone as a tire company, but the Japanese firm is very serious about the future of e-paper. In fact, last year, Bridgestone announced that they’d invented the world’s first flexible e-book reader. That’s a big deal; while devices like the Kindle and iPad are showing there’s a mass market for e-readers, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Penny Arcade writers make Time Magazine Top 100

Penny Arcade writers Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins, better known as their alter-egos Gabe and Tycho, have made Time Magazine's Top 100 Most Influential People for the year 2010, joining the ranks of Barack Obama, Conan O'Brien, Oprah Winfrey and others.
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Apple iPhone 4G could go on sale in early June

Apple set to unveil new iPhone at Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco on June 7.
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Apple acquires Siri: the 'virtual personal assistant'

Apple has acquired Siri, a mobile application which acts as a virtual personal assistant, doing everything from booking taxis to locating the nearest restaurant.
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Yahoo secures rights to show Premier League highlights online

Yahoo has landed a deal to show Premier League highlights over the internet, following a competitive auction in which it outbid current rights holder Virgin Media.
Publication date: 2010-04-29 more

Google moves to block Groggle over 'similar trademark'

Internet search giant Google has threatened an Australian businessman with legal action if he tries to register his company Groggle as a trademark.
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

US senators demand Facebook privacy changes

Let users decide which websites their personal information is shared with, demand Democrats.
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

Live-action Halo: Reach short launches April 27 with extended version to come April 28 via Xbox Live

The Halo: Reach live-action short launches this week on the internet, TV and silver screen. Titled "Birth of a Spartan," the one-minute film depicts the transformation of Carter 259, the future leader of Noble Team in the upcoming Xbox 360 release Halo: Reach, from an ordinary man to a Spartan warrior.
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

Quick Review: Toshiba Qosmio X505 gaming laptop

Toshiba’s Qosmio X505 is a high-end notebook at a not-so-high-end price. The system has a monster 18.4-inch display and packs an Intel Core i7 processor, but those two are just the start of the fun–it also comes with a 64GB SSD and Nvidia’s GeForce GTS 360M graphics.  With a current MSRP of $1900  the system [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

Supreme Court to determine legality of selling violent video games to minors

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide whether California, Illinois, and five other states can make it illegal to rent out or sell violent video games to minors.
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

Super Street Fighter IV footage stolen during Capcom Fight Club party

On Friday, April 23rd, Capcom held its latest Super Street Fighter IV Fight Club in Los Angeles. It was open to the public and fans queued around the block waiting to get in. 2,000 turned up, most got in the warehouse where the event was being held. Everything was going well until the end of the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

Did Apple incite lost iPhone investigation? UPDATED

Apple may have been instrumental in a raid of Gizmodo editor Jason Chen’s house over leaking Apple’s lost iPhone HD prototype that the publication’s parent company Gawker Media publicly admitted to have bought for $5,000. Yahoo! News offered a compelling argument that Apple might have influenced the investigation: The raid that San Mateo area cops conducted last [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

PS3 3.30 firmware allows Remote Play on VAIO laptops

The big news about the PS3 3.30 firmware update was the introduction of 3D stereoscopic game support. But there was another feature added that you may find a lot more useful. Sony has introduced the ability to use Remote Play with Sony VAIO laptops. This will allow you to stream media to future VAIO laptops, with [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

50% off Rockstar Collection on Steam this week only

Steam is running another promotion. This one lasts a week and offers you the Rockstar Collection for 50% off. For $42.49 you get the following 13 games as part of the package: Bully: Scholarship Edition Grand Theft Auto Grand Theft Auto 2 Grand Theft Auto 3 Grand Theft Auto IV Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Grand Theft [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

Sir Clive Sinclair, creator of the ZX Spectrum, finds happiness with a lap dancer

For many, the Sincalir name will always be associated with that most popular of 8-bit home computers the ZX Spectrum. Sir Clive Sinclair, owner of Sinclair Research Ltd., released the ZX Spectrum in 1982. He may have found happiness in his earlier days geeking out with computer hardware, but now as a 69-year-old millionaire he [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

New photos of Motorola 3D phone leaked

AndroidandMe is reporting that new images may have leaked giving consumers a peak into what is reported to be Motorola’s first 3D Android phone. Other images of what is believed to be a prototype were leaked earlier this month. As the report details, the Motorola 3D phone supposedly works by taking the 2D images of the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

NVIDIA to unify notebook and desktop driver releases

NVIDIA has announced a change in the way it releases video drivers for notebooks. Historically, the company has released drivers for notebooks and desktops separately, but that will no longer be the case moving forward for drivers on to Windows Vista and Windows 7. According to the company’s blog, each time a desktop driver is released an [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

WePad appears three more times, 36 minutes of video posted

After posting about the WePad recently we realized just how much interested there is in this German iPad competitor. It’s a serious underdog compared to the Cupertino super slate, but between the Linux-based OS, USB slots, and cool grid UI it might be able to carve out a niche for itself. Engadget dug up three videos [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

RIM pitches BlackBerry 6 with a rocking video

Research in Motion is promoting BlackBerry 6, the next major release of its mobile operating system, with a sneak peak video that will knock your socks off. Judging by the look of it, BlackBerry 6 will be as flashy and snappy as iPhone OS or Android. The mobile operating system has been announced at the WES [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

TomTom focuses on connectivity with GO LIVE 1000

On Tuesday, TomTom announced the first in the next generation of navigation devices by the company. At the heart of the new TomTom GO LIVE 1000 is the ability to be connected to the latest information and updates. This means that content and downloadable applications, including third party apps, can be delivered to the GO [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

Google acquires Labpixies

Google has just received a big boost to its iGoogle efforts. iGoogle, as some users will certainly know, is a personalized Google start page that allows a user to create their own web desktop using gadgets for things like email, weather, games, RSS feeds and video. When iGoogle was launched in 2005 it created a new [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

Opera 10.52 for Mac: Multi-touch, 10x speed bump, and more

The newest Opera release for the Mac packs in a number of under-the-hood optimizations that led to a significant speed increase. It also supports multi-touch gestures on trackpads, HTML5 web videos, Growl notifications, and more. Opera 10.52 for Mac is a native Cocoa application that the developer claims runs ten times faster than the previous Mac version, Opera 10.10. It [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

Woman in the UK photographed 43 times by Google Street View car

Wendy Southgate, a 52-year old resident of Suffolk in the United Kingdom probably never thought walking her dog would gain her international notice. But thanks to a Google Street View Car, she can probably claim to be one of the most photographed persons on Google Street View in the world. You see as Wendy was strolling [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

Architect in Hong Kong converts small apartment into 24 rooms

We can all take a lesson from this guy when it comes to maximizing the use of small spaces. Gary Chang, an architect living in a small Hong Kong apartment, has come up with a ingenious way to make great use of such small living quarters. Implementing the idea of sliding walls, Chang is able to convert his [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

Activision sued by 38 Infinity Ward employees for unpaid royalties

If facing a lawsuit from the former Infinity Ward management team, and a continuing exodus of staff wasn’t enough for Activision to deal with, yesterday 38 Infinity Ward employees banded together and sued the publisher over unpaid royalties. Bruce Isaacs, attorney at Wyman & Isaacs LLP, and representative for the employee group known as Infinity Ward [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-28 more

iPad users targeted by hackers

Security experts have warned that Apple iPad users are being targeted by cyber criminals.
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Police raid Gizmodo editor's home over iPhone leak

A technology blogger who edits the Gizmodo website which last week showed off a prototype of Apple's new generation iPhone has had his home raided by police.
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Star Wars: The Clone Wars hits PlayStation Network in HD

Cartoon Network’s wildly popular Star Wars animated series, The Clone Wars, hit the PlayStation Network yesterday. The series’ episodes are available for download at the cost of $2.99 apiece in high definition, and $1.99 in standard. According to StarWars.com, and after double checking ourselves, you can access individual episodes of both the entire first season [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

New mobile phone input takes the touch out of touchscreen

We often take for granted the touchscreen interface and how it revolutionized mobile phones as we know them. Now the Ishikawa Komuro Laboratory at the University of Tokyo is developing the next generation of mobile phone interfaces, but instead of a touchscreen the new interface is touchless. The technology works through a high frame rate camera [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Digital Life: Rebooted, but definitely not reborn

The Prince of Darkness has stepped into the light for the long-delayed return of the Splinter Cell super-spy series.
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Digital Life: Play it safe with phone security apps

Pity the poor Apple employee who lost his phone in a bar last week. Except it wasn't just any mobile -- it was a super-secret prototype of the next iPhone that won't be out for months.
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Japanese mobile firms collaborate to create new mobile app platform

In a bid to cut costs Japanese mobile phone manufacturers are set to collaborate on a new mobile apps platform. NTT DoCoMo, Renesas, Fujitsu, NEC, Panasonic, and Sharp are all involved. The aim is to produce a new mobile app platform that works with both Symbian and Linux-based operating systems. It will then be used across [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

American college students show drug-like addiction to gadgets and media

The Internet and social media may be the equivalent of class A drugs for some. A new research study out of the University of Maryland has shown that students at least, suffer similar withdrawal symptoms to drug addicts. Although small, the experiment carried out at Maryland was quite telling. 200 students agreed to give up all [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Ubisoft DRM system hacked rendering always-connected check useless

If you are one of the many gamers frustrated by the problems playing your paid-for copy of Assassin’s Creed II, then this news may bring a smile to your face. A hacker group going by the name of Skid Row has announced a crack for Ubisoft’s system allowing gamers to circumvent the always-connected DRM. Skid Row [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Ubisoft delays R.U.S.E. until September

Publisher Ubisoft, and developer Eugen Systems, have decided to delay the release of RTS title R.U.S.E until September. Gamers interested in playing R.U.S.E have every right to be frustrated as this is the fourth time the game has been delayed. Posting on Facebook the R.U.S.E team explained that the delay was due to the massive amount [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

iPad use before naptime messes up your sleep cycle, experts say

You should think twice before picking up your iPad when tucked in bed. Experts advise against staring at smallish LCD screens before naptime in order to avoid messing up your sleep cycle. With its snazzy multitouch user interface and music, movies, e-books, and apps all at your fingertips, putting away your iPad before naptime can be quite [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Google pulls Nexus One from Verizon last minute, get the Droid Incredible instead

If you have been counting down the remaining days to the Nexus One launch on the Verizon network, hold your horses – Google has pulled the handset last minute from Big Red. Their suggestion? Pre-order HTC’s Droid Incredible instead. The surprising revelation came as a side-note in a post on the official Nexus One blog: If you
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Corsair aluminum flash drive can survive at 650 feet underwater

There are rugged mobile phones and laptops, so it makes perfect sense there should also be rugged flash drives to match. That is the thinking behind the new Flash Survivor GTR USB flash drives. The drives offer what you would expect in flash drive storage (including read speeds of up to 34MB/sec and write speeds [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Cops confiscate editor

Gizmodo may have gone too far with its lost iPhone story. The piece sure did set everyone’s tongue wagging, but looks like it also drew attention of the computer crime task force of the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office which dispatched cops to seize a bunch of machines belonging to Jason Chen, Gizmodo’s editor [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Capcom apologizes for not including DRM notification with Final Fight: Double Impact

Capcom has issued an apology for neglecting to notify PlayStation owners that Final Fight: Double Impact requires a constant internet connection.
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Samsung USB 3.0 external drive offers 10x the speed of USB 2.0

If you are looking for an ultra fast external hard drive then you may want to take a peek at the latest addition to Samsung’s STORY Station product line. The first thing that will stand out is the new 3.5-inch hard drive, the Samsung STORY Station 3.0, uses the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface. This means the drive [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Fans continue to play Halo 2 online after Microsoft officially cuts off Xbox Live support

A small group of unfathomably loyal fans are squeezing the last bit of online fun out of Halo 2 even though Microsoft officially ended support for all original Xbox titles April 15.
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Built-in or bolt-on accessibility in HTML5? How about a bit of both?

While following the development of HTML5 I
Publication date: 2010-04-27 more

Steve Wozniak spills the beans on Apple

Showing an unreleased product to a fellow Apple employee mere hours before its scheduled launch can still cost you a job. We’re not kidding. Steve Wozniak told Gizmodo that Apple fired an employee over briefly showing a 3G iPad to him on April 3, the morning of the iPad launch. The fact that Wozniak is also [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-26 more

iPad camera connection kit supports USB cameras and keyboards (video)

Apple’s accessory that lets you transfer photos and videos on your iPad supports USB keyboards, microphones, and headsets as well. The iPad camera connection kit consists of two attachments that hook up to the iPad’s 30-pin dock connector: The first has an SD card slot on the other end and the other sports a USB port. Although [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-26 more

Skate 3 Urban Playground Trailer

If you’re eagerly awaiting the release of Skate 3 then you’ve no doubt downloaded the demo from PSN or Xbox Live. But EA is continuing to market the game in the run-up to release. The latest promo is a new trailer entitled, “Skate 3 Urban Playground”. The core of the video is not about skateboarding, but [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-26 more

Tweets with a cool 8-bit vibe seen on an Apple IIe

Retro fans and long-time Apple enthusiasts will like this one. Apparently a guy has breathed new life into his Apple IIe by transforming it into a Twitter-wall machine that renders tweets in cool 8-bit retro graphics. According to a post at Make Magazine, a Twitter user “yergacheffe,” who also maintains a tech blog at atomsandelectrons.com, has [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-26 more

New PS3 with 45nm RSX GPU is more reliable, uses 15% less power

If you have been holding off buying a PS3 Slim console then it may be worth waiting a little bit longer. Sony, as usual, has been updating the internal hardware of its console and is about to release a new model. The good news is it comes with both power savings and improved reliability. The major [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-26 more

Nearly 30 years on, Sony to stop making 3.5

You may have stopped using them many years ago, but the 3.5″ floppy disc has continued to survive next to the superior USB storage devices now commonplace in our bags, on our key-rings, and available from most stores. Sony has announced that it is finally going to shut down production of its floppy disc manufacturing in [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-26 more

iPad theft costs victim his finger

Getting your just-out-the-Apple-store iPad stolen in a shopping mall is bad enough, but what about losing your finger in the process? That’s what happened to 59-year-old William Jordan at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center in Denver on April 15th. He had his iPad in a white Apple bag with the handle cord wrapped around his little [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-26 more

Two prototype iPod touch devices with cameras surface on eBay

Someone put two prototype iPod touch devices with a built-in camera on eBay this past Saturday. Hours later, the listing was taken down. The fact that those units apparently belonged to the Apple development team may have had something to do with the removal. According to 9to5Mac, two “semi-working” iPod touch devices on eBay sport a [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-26 more

Steve Jobs says

Fear not, looks like Mac OS X 10.7, the next major revision to the Macintosh operating system, will let us run any app we want after all, those pesky Apple bans be damned. According to 9to5Mac, Steve Jobs has dismissed a Mac App Store in 10.7 that some folks believed would force us to install and [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-26 more

Apple signs a gaming editor to handpick App Store games

Matt Casamassina was quite content with his games editor role at the gaming site IGN before Apple offered him a position at club Cupertino to cherry-pick the iPhone games on the App Store. The new gig at Apple includes the fancy title of Global Editorial Games Manger for the App Store, AppleInsider reported. Casamassina is scheduled [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-26 more

Investing in Apple instead of buying their gear would have made you rich

Here’s the thing: If you had taken the $5,700 spent on Apple’s PowerBook G3 in 1997 and invested that cash in Apple stock instead, you’d have had over $330,000 worth of shares today. Not bad, huh? Wait, there’s more… According to a very intriguing blog post by Kyle Conroy, the same goes for any Apple gadget. [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-26 more

AMD Phenom II X6 6-core 2.8GHz processor shipping for $222.29

Have you been eyeing up the first Intel 6-core chip and wondering how on earth you are going to save the $1,049.99 asking price? At 3.33GHz, and with 6-cores, the Core i7 980X sure is a desirable chip to have at the heart of your machine. But Intel may have a problem in the form of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-26 more

Web addiction: can this man survive two days without the internet?

This month's award for stating the bloody obvious goes to researchers in Leeds who have discovered a link between internet use and stress. The longer you spend online, they found, the higher your stress levels.
Publication date: 2010-04-26 more

The

IT ranks among the worst business moves ever. In 1976 Ronald Wayne decided to pull out of his friends' computer company after two weeks, fearing he could be saddled with debts if it failed.
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Hulu said to test $9.95 subscription service

There have been rumors that Hulu might be moving to a subscription service and according to the Los Angeles Times they’ll be dipping their toes in that water soon. The report states that Hulu has plans to test a $9.95 a month subscription service beginning May 24th according to sources. Since Hulu was founded back in [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Live-action Alan Wake series on Xbox Live premieres April 25

The first episode in a six-part live-action Alan Wake miniseries will launch on Xbox Live April 25.
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Could Android 2.2 be around the corner?

Those eager to see the next version of Android, codenamed Froyo, will be happy to hear that some are reporting already seeing it in the wild. According to Engadget, Android and Me reported seeing Android 2.2 devices accessing its site while another site, MobiFlip.de, actually has pictures of a HTC Magic which shows that it is running 2.2. There’s [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Enjoy 7 minutes of the StarCraft 2 single-player campaign

The video above is seven minutes of gameplay footage from StarCraft II. Be sure to watch it in 720p if you machine can handle it. The video was recorded during a press demonstration given on April 19th. You get to see an in-game mission briefing, multiple objectives, and unique single-player campaign units. Although StarCraft II has an [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

iTunes and Netflix beware, Google rolls out YouTube video rentals

Google has quietly unveiled a long-rumored rental service on YouTube, allowing you to rent movies and TV shows for 48 hours. Rental fees are processed through the Checkout payment gateway that’s also used in a number of Google’s web properties. According to ReadWriteWeb, the initial selection includes independent movies and documentaries, in addition to the Bollywood [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Woman wears Stormtrooper costume during college graduation

Ever hear the story about the woman who wore her Star Trek uniform to jury duty? Interestingly enough, I have another story to tell along that same lines, but with a different genre. Manja Peters, who is a 36 year old woman, and a student from Canterbury University in the United Kingdom, decided she wanted to [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Outlook for Mac 2011 reportedly dumber than the Windows version

Boy Genius Reports has posted an extensive screenshot gallery of the second beta of Office for Mac 2011, giving us a thorough overview of some of the new features of this big office productivity update. Besides a handful of nice-to-haves and a revamped user interface based on Ribbons, it looks like the Mac version of Outlook still requires [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Saints Row 2 apparel for Xbox Live Avatars now available

The Saints Row 2 Avatar pack is now available on the Xbox Live Marketplace, THQ announced Thursday. Now you can trick out your Avatar with t-shirts and pimp canes ranging from 80 to 400 MS points.
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Warner delays Batman: Arkham Asylum 2 until 2011?

Fans of the Batman: Arkham Asylum games, of which there were many, may have been looking forward to the sequel coming out later this year. But it looks as though the game won’t be arriving until 2011 now. CVG has been speaking to a senior retail source in the UK who has informed the site that [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Lufthansa offers to fly the lost iPhone dude to Munich

Gray Powell – Apple’s engineer who lost an iPhone HD prototype that Gizmodo bought and leaked to the whole world – has become an overnight sensation and something of a web celebrity. Suddenly, everybody and their mom knows Powell by name is and wants to friend him on Facebook. The fact that the lost iPhone story involves a [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

23andMe drops DNA tests from $499 to $99 for DNA Day

Back in May of 2009 I reviewed a website called GeneTree which is a bit like a version of Facebook, but you link up with people based on how close they match your DNA according to tests offered by the website. Links can then be used to help expand and create your family tree. Another website called 23andMe [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Quick Play: Beat Hazard for PC

Beat Hazard is sort of like playing Asteroids while someone shoots fireworks into your face. It takes the idea of a twin-stick shooter and then goes completely over-the-top with the particle effects. The result is an extended explosion on your monitor, while you destroy asteroids and avoid bullet-hell. There are upgrades you can gather, an experience [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Father creates Speaks4Me allowing autistic son to communicate

Steven Lodge is a father of a severely autistic 11-year-old son called Callum. Callum is non-verbal, but his family wanted to find away for him to communicate easily and effectively. So Steven set to work developing a system that would allow for communication through a device Callum could interact with using his hands. The result [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Review: After Burner Climax on Xbox 360

My last experience of playing After Burner was when I used to go to the local arcade as a teenager. After Burner stood out due to the cabinet it used, and was always more expensive to play than the other, standard cabinet games. After Burner Climax was developed for the arcade by Sega’s AM-2 team in [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

iPhone OS 4 lets you swipe to archive Gmail messages

Even though the iPhone’s built-in Mail app is pretty effective, it has a few notable shortcomings, like the lack of universal inbox or support for Gmail’s archive feature. While Apple told us that iPhone OS 4 will fix the former, we didn’t know that the software supports the Gmail Archive feature as well. According to the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

iFixit turns website into wiki for repair manuals

Back in December, we reported that iFixit announced that it was offering its repair manuals under the Creative Commons license. The Creative Commons license will allow people to share and adapt the repair guides for their own use. To make the repair guides even easier to find, the iFixit website has been redesigned into a wiki for repair [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Just Cause 2 packs extra heat this spring with two new DLC packs

Two new add-on packs for Just Cause 2 will be available April 29 and May 25, Square Enix London Studios announced Friday.
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

App rejections coming to your desktop with a rumored Mac app bazaar in OS X 10.7

All the criticism of Apple’s moral policing and app rejections could pale in comparison to a rumored Mac software bazaar that a developer believes will make an appearance in Mac OS X 10.7, the next major revision of the Macintosh operating system. Before you scroll down to the comment section, let me point out that other [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Games and a web browser come to NOOK with latest update

NOOK owners will get some significant new features and abilities thanks to the latest software update. Version 1.3 improves the performance of the device including faster e-book opening and page turns, but significant enhancements include new in-store capabilities, improved Wi-Fi functionality, a beta web browser and the ability to access games. These new abilities can [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-24 more

Text of secret ACTA talks released

A full text of the anti-counterfeiting trade agreement (ACTA) has been released for the first time, although information on specific country’s positions on the previously secret text is still not known.
Publication date: 2010-04-23 more

iPhone captures 72pc of Japan smartphone market

Apple’s iPhone shipments to Japan more than doubled in the past year, capturing 72pc of the country’s smartphone market, a research firm said.
Publication date: 2010-04-23 more

Apple hits back at Adobe in Flash row

It's the latest exchange in an increasingly bitter war of words between the two companies, which have been at loggerheads over Apple's perceived efforts to undermine the supremacy of Adobe's Flash technology.
Publication date: 2010-04-23 more

Microsoft tops list of most social network usage by employees

Which companies have the top social network usage by employees? That’s the question NetProspex, a business contact management company, tried to answer with its Social Report. The report includes a ranking of companies based on overall social network and Twitter usage. The report also identifies the percentage of social network membership among employees with a [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-23 more

T-Mobile USA to carry first Android-powered Garmin smartphone

T-Mobile USA has announced that it will be the exclusive carrier of the first Android-powered smartphone by Garmin. Garmin, whose well known for producing GPS devices, first announced its entry into the mobile phone market back in 2008 with the introduction of the nüvifone. The new smartphone called Garminfone is marketed as being an Android-powered [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-23 more

Latest Google Chrome ad focuses on extensions

Google has released a new advert on YouTube for its Chrome browser. This time the focus is on the new extensions system and the additional functionality on offer. The search giant has seen fit to focus on what it must believe are some of the most popular extension requests. We see references to receiving Twitter updates [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-23 more

Nokia sales chief says digital cameras to become obsolete

(Image courtesy of cellanr on Flickr) When choosing a device to capture images with there are three distinct categories: use the camera on your phone, buy a cheap point-and-shoot camera, or spend a little (or a lot) more and get a professional grade camera. Although they might be the choices at the moment, Nokia’s sales chief says [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-23 more

Artist creates self-portrait of herself from Cat 5 cables

I’m not an art critic, nor do I pretend to be one. But when it comes to imaginative uses of computer technology for the sake of art, I often take notice. Take for example this provocative piece of modern art created by Kasey McMahon. Called “Connected,”  it is apparently a self-portrait sculpture of the artist using steel as the underlying frame, which [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-23 more

Next James Bond film faces indefinite hold

Secret Agent James Bond has faced many deadly challenges in his career as a Double-O working for MI6. From Goldfinger and Odd Job to S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and Blofeld, James has survived them all, and with a bit of style in the process. But could the demise of James Bond come from an assassin that even he [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-23 more

Google starts taking photographs in store for Google Places

This week Google has launched Google Places, which allows businesses to manage their presence on Google. To supplement the newly named service Google is also taking its cameras inside public venues. Soon, as well as being able to see the street and the front of the store you want to go to, Google will be offering [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-23 more

ARM chief responds to Apple acquisition rumors

Earlier today we reported about speculation among stock traders that Apple was pursuing an acquisition of chip design company ARM. The news sent ARM’s stock price sky high, but there was little evidence to back it up. Now ARM chief executive Warren East has weighed in with his view. And as far as he’s concerned there [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-23 more

Steampunk fantasy title

German studio Spellbound Entertainment AG has officially announced its new fantasy title Ravensdale, a fast paced action game in a unique "steam powered" setting. The company hopes to release Ravensdale in 2012 for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.
Publication date: 2010-04-23 more

W3C Mobile Web Best Practices course, May-July 2010

Looking to learn more about developing for the Mobile Web? How about giving W3C
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Apple considering ARM acquisition?

ARM, the chip designer that has its processors in the majority of mobile devices currently on the market, may be about to become an Apple hardware exclusive. Traders in London’s financial sector were speculating yesterday on news that Apple was pursuing a buyout of the company. In so doing, ARM’s low power, performance chip designs would [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Hacker gets Android running on iPhone

David Wong, also known by his hacker name planetbeing, has managed to hack the iPhone allowing the smartphone to run Android. The video above shows you the whole process from dual-booting the iPhone using OpeniBoot right through to launching and using the Android OS. Although Wong admits a number of Android-specific drivers are missing, he demonstrates [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Microsoft rumored to be in talks regarding new Xbox Live television channel

Microsoft might be planning to launch a new television channel on Xbox Live, Edge reports. If the rumor is true, Microsoft has been in discussions with former News Corporation president Peter Chernin about the possibility.
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

McAfee update cripples Windows XP machines worldwide

McAfee is having to deal with the fallout today as an antivirus definition update it released has managed to cripple Windows XP SP3 machines of both consumer and corporate users. So how did McAfee manage to take down Windows XP with a single update? By re-classifying Svchost.exe as a malicious file known as the virus W32/Wercorl.a. [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Steam running on a Mac (video)

Last month Valve confirmed the rumors that it was developing a version of the Steam client for Mac gamers. Along with it will come Mac versions of popular games including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series. Portal 2 is also promised a simultaneous release on PC and Mac. Valve [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Halo: Reach to come in Standard, Limited, and Legendary editions

You may have already made your mind up to buy Halo: Reach when it is released on Xbox 360 later this year. But you also have another decision to make: which edition do you buy? Bungie and Microsoft have decided to offer 3 editions of the game carrying the names Standard, Limited, and Legendary. Details of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Olympus E-PL1 tilt-shifting video samples

We’ve covered the Olympus E-PL1 a few times here at Geek.com. I’ve mentioned how it shoots 720p video and how it has filter effects, including one for tilt-shifting. You probably didn’t guess that the two can be combined. That’s right, the $599 E-PL1 consumer camera can mimic the effect of a much more expensive camera [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Robot challenges human to a Place Kicking Contest

Robots are better than humans in just about any endeavor. But don’t tell that to San Francisco 49er kicker, Joe Nedney. Nedney was recently invited to put his foot against the might of a robot named Ziggy in order to commemorate the upcoming international robot event, Robogames, in San Mateo, California. The challenge was to see [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Facebook teams up with Microsoft Docs

Facebook Docs, a collaboration between the social-networking site and Microsoft, will allow Facebook users to create Microsoft Office documents online and share them across the web via Facebook.
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Adobe admits defeat in Apple row

Adobe said it will 'no longer be investing' in technology designed to bring Flash-based applications to the iPhone.
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Facebook

Facebook has replaced its Facebook Connect platform with a new set of social plugins which will dramatically expand its presence across the web.
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Reviewed: Amazon Kindle

As an unabashed bookworm I have to admit I was initially dismissive of e-book readers, from the Amazon Kindle to the Sony Reader. A library full of books says something about the man, or so I thought. Well, (a) I hardly ever read the same book twice and (b) books can create a lot of clutter. And since most of us search for the information we want these days, surely reading off a screen is not a big deal?
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

The future of search is destined to be in the eye of the beholder

Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Web pioneer: new media will help save traditional media

As Ireland's first ISP with Ireland Online and the first online advertiser in 1996, Colm Grealy of Digital Reach Group believes the onset of the iPad and quick response codes herald a strong future for traditional media
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

'There are three billion new capitalists - the world's economy has changed forever'

Ex-Intel CEO Craig Barrett says Ireland needs to invest in skills and infrastructure to have a future
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Warner Bros. acquires online gaming studio Turbine

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group has this week acquired the largest privately-owned online gaming company Turbine. Turbine has a rich history of creating MMO games and technology since the company was formed in 1994. Games it has created include Asheron’s Call, Lord of the Rings Online, and Dungeons & Dragons Online. The company also has an [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Google aiming for 100% water recycling at data centers

Google is pushing ahead with making its data centers more efficient and less reliant on external sources such as power from the grid. As well as researching and funding the development of renewable energy sources, Google is now starting to push for 100% recycled water at its data centers. Data center cooling systems can require a [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Introducing Docs: Microsoft Office meets Facebook

Adamant to preserve its Office empire, Microsoft has teamed up with Facebook on a new social productivity tool that takes the online office concept to the next level. Put simply, the new collaboration suite lets you create, edit, and share documents with your Facebook friends. Google should be worried, indeed. The service is available at the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

WD Photos lets you remotely access photos on your Western Digital NAS

Western Digital has a cool new app for the iPhone and iPod touch that lets you remotely access photos on your My Book World Edition or WD ShareSpace network storage. Aptly named WD Photos, this app allows you to log in to your remote drive on your iPhone or iPod touch and effortlessly browse up to [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Apple approves app from Pulitzer Prize artist after rejecting it

It’s not everyday that Apple asks the owner of an app to resubmit it after rejecting it for inclusion in the app store. Yet, that’s exactly what Apple did with Mark Fiore’s iPhone cartoon application. Apple reconsidered its stance on the app after Fiore won the Pulitzer Prize for his work and news of his apps [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Winscape virtual windows let you change the outside view from inside your home

Want a cool way to enjoy many different outdoor views from your home without having to move around the country? There is a DIY project out there called Winscape that can give homeowners a virtual way to look at the world around them. The trick? Making a couple plasma screen televisions appear to look like [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Check out LandingPad, an eye-candy showcase of beautiful iPad app design

Ever since Apple first unveiled the iPad in January, we have been constantly drooling over its eye-candy interface that stems from five times the iPhone’s pixel count and a bigger screen. While we marvelled at Apple’s own iBooks app with its high-quality wooden bookshelf graphics and other apps that Apple specifically designed for the iPad, third-party [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Valve announces April 22 release for Left 4 Dead 2 DLC

The first add-on to Valve's co-op zombie thriller, Left 4 Dead 2, will be released April 22, exclusively for the Xbox 360 and PC. Dubbed "The Passing," the DLC will cost 560 MS Points for the Xbox 360 and be free to download on the PC.
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Square Enix releases Chaos Rings RPG on iPhone

Square Enix has released the iPhone/iPod touch/iPad exclusive RPG Chaos Rings on the App Store. Described as an RPG with a “classic game system” while taking full advantage of the touchscreen interface on the Apple handsets. This is a fully-3D game consisting of four gameplay scenarios, and four story arcs the player must complete to reveal [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-22 more

Two new iPhone adverts air: Backpack and Doglover

Apple has posted two new iPhone commercials that follow a well-known template designed around a cherry-picked selection of the App Store software accompanied by a catchy tune. The first commercial, dubbed Doglover, shows off a couple of apps that help you find a pet and take it with you to the nearby parks. The accompanying female [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Capcom announces Okami sequel, Okamiden, for the Nintendo DS

Capcom has officially announced a DS sequel to the critically-acclaimed Wii game Okami. Titled Okamiden, the picturesque action-adventure will be available in North America sometime in 2011.
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Hewlett Packard now offers 3D Desktop Printing

Hewlett-Packard Printers has now moved into the realm of 3D and thankfully you won’t need special glasses to use their new product. This is because I’m referring to the new HP Designjet 3D, which is a desktop printer, however unlike most printers that come to mind, this one is capable of creating small three dimensional [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

The Yeti is the world

Let’s say, for example, you are a Podcaster, YouTube submitter, or Internet DJ and you are wanting to get serious about the audio quality of your hobby.  Basically, you are wanting a really good USB computer microphone, so your golden voice doesn’t sound horrible, like you are talking into a tin can with string. If that [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Penny Arcade accepting scholarship applications until May 30

Current students with over a 3.3 GPA at accredited U.S. colleges or universities have the opportunity to apply for a $10,000 scholarship from Penny Arcade. Applications will be accepted until the end of the month.
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Quick Review: Rooms: The Main Building for Nintendo DS

If you’ve played with a sliding puzzle toy before, then you have a pretty good idea what Rooms: The Main Building is all about. This game takes that simple mechanic and adds some videogame-y elements to it, making for a simple puzzle game. The end result is something along the lines of Professor Layton, less [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Bionic Commando Rearmed creators launch new studio, Might & Delight

The developers behind Bionic Commando Rearmed have formed their own studio called Might & Delight after departing from now-closed Swedish company Grin. The Bionic Commando remake for XBLA and PSN sold more than 130,000 copies during its first week.
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Gizmodo exposes the iPhone HD

Having bought a prototype iPhone HD, apparently lost in a Redwood City bar, for an alleged $5,000 and exposing Apple’s closely-kept secret to the world, and then returning the stolen property to its rightful owner, Gizmodo made a huge splash. The net result – nearly five million page views on a single article and big headlines [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Google offers greater transparency into government requests for content removal

Google has taken a step toward greater transparency when it comes to the requests it receives from governments to remove content or provide user data. As Google points out in its blog, many of these requests are legitimate including those which ask for the removal of child pornography related content and user data for people who [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Adobe throws in the towel on Flash for iPhone

Mike Chambers, Principal Product Manager for developer relations for the Flash Platform at Adobe, has confirmed that development of Flash for iPhone is dead. In a posting on his personal blog Mike refers to the now infamous 3.3.1 iPhone developer program license clause and said: Essentially, this has the effect of restricting applications built with a number [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

The new Facebook app for Palm webOS 1.2 is now live

Palm has beaten its self-imposed schedule and brought the updated Facebook app to webOS ahead of the original schedule. As Geek reported yesterday, the new Facebook app for webOS-powered devices – like the Pre and Pixi- is enhanced with webOS notifications, a new operating system capability allowing third-party apps to notify you of important events, no matter what you [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

YouTube live-streaming IPL cricket semi-finals

From time to time YouTube live streams important events. Today–right now in fact–they are streaming the Indian Premier League cricket semi-finals. It’s the Mumbai Indians against the Bangalore Royal Challengers… and you can watch it live. The page has gathered about 110,000 comments, so you can bet you won’t be the only person watching. Up until [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Blizzard bans 320,000 Warcraft III and Diablo II accounts

Blizzard has announced that 320,000 Warcraft III and Diablo II accounts have recently been banned. The reason is down to violations of the Battle.net Terms of Use. Posting on the Battle.net forums Blizzard did not state specifically what caused so many bans, but did remind players what not to do: We would like all players to remember [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Ford SYNC equipped vehicles to control mobile apps through AppLink

Ford has announced that it will soon offer downloadable software for use with its SYNC-equipped vehicles which will allow Android and BlackBerry users to control smartphone apps with voice and vehicle controls. The program called SYNC AppLink will first be available for use on the 2011 Fiesta. The first applications to be compatible with SYNC AppLink will include [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

50 free TuneUp Gold accounts up for grabs today

TuneUp is today announcing the launch of TuneUp for Windows Media Player as well as updating the iTunes version to allow for automatic posting of top 5 songs, albums, and artists to Facebook and Twitter. As well as the new versions, TuneUp is launching Tuniver.se. It’s a new portal where music lovers can get detailed artist [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Peppermint: a mobile, cloud-focused Linux distro

While most newcomers to Linux will choose a distribution like Ubuntu, Suse, or Fedora, there’s a host of other distros out there to choose from. One thing most have in common is quite a large download package if you choose the ISO solution (which most newcomers will). A CD ISO comes in at over 600MB [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Just what are those

Apple said yesterday that new “extraordinary” products are coming in 2010, giving us all a tasty food for thought. Steve Jobs himself dropped a vague hint in a statement accompanying Apple’s second fiscal quarter earnings. Here’s that quote: We’ve launched our revolutionary new iPad and users are loving it, and we have several more extraordinary products [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Microsoft offers to fix your PC

Microsoft has launched a new self-repair service for computers. Called Fix It the new product is based on similar features online and in Windows 7, but extends them to all machines from Windows XP upwards.
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Facebook shuts Lite site

Facebook has closed down Facebook Lite, the site designed to make it easier for people with poor internet access to use the social networking site
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Apple profits soar on sales of iPhone

Profits at Apple jumped 69pc in the first three months of the year as consumers across the world continue to fall in love with the iPhone.
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Google and YouTube to open their own pop-culture blog

There’s already dozens if not hundreds if not thousands of blogs dedicated to sorting through the millions of cat videos on YouTube and highlighting the best, but if a rumor reported by Valleywag is anything to go by, Google feels like they are the best qualified to help good YouTube videos go viral: YouTube is [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Windows Phone 7 Series to accommodate low-cost handsets in the emerging market

One of the big ways that Microsoft has changed its mobile operating system strategy in the wake of the successes of iPhone and Android devices is by taking more rigid control of exactly what sort of devices will be allowed to run Windows Phone 7 Series. No longer will any device manufacturer be able [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Nintendo 3DS launch expected in October

Gaming website CVG has it on good authority that the Nintendo 3DS is going to launch in October this year. The official launch announcement is expected at E3 giving Nintendo ample time to build up some market buzz before October rolls around. The news has come as a bit of a surprise to a number of publishers [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Nook to get software update after some consumers report freezing

When consumers go out to purchase an electronic product like an e-reader, jubilant joy can sometimes turn into crushing sadness and furious anger if that device experiences glitches right out of the box. Sadly, for some customers that purchased the Barnes and Noble (B&N) Nook e-reader, they experienced this kind of heartache when the screen on [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Synaptics brings multitouch support to Linux netbook touchpads

If you want multitouch on your netbook, up until now, you needed to use Windows 7 if you have a Synaptics touchpad. That’s just changed, though: Synaptics has just introduced the Synaptics Gesture Suite Linux, a driver suite that gives multitouch support to a large number of Linux distros including Fedora, Millos Linpus, Red Flag, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

HP Slate:

A tech site that has apparently gotten hold of HP’s hyped up tablet isn’t impressed at all, claiming that the HP Slate is just a Windows 7 netbook that looks like a tablet. According to a Spanish site Conecti.ca, HP Slate may not be an iPad killer you’ve been clamoring for. The publication put the device, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Jetyo HDV-T900 camcorder features dual banks of solar panels

We’re always interested in seeing gadgets go greener. It’s not just out of environmental consciousness, although anything that can reduce emissions and waste in consumer electronics will get a big thumbs up from me: it also has to do with sheer efficiency. We’re constantly bumping up at the limits of battery tech with our gadgets. [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Eric Schmidt says Google Chrome OS netbooks will cost the same as regular netbooks

Google CEO and Steve Jobs coffee buddy Eric Schmidt has just revealed new details about Chrome OS and Chrome OS running netbooks: in particular, the price tags you should expect to be slapped on the hardware, Don’t expect the prices for Chrome OS netbooks to be wildly out of whack with the equivalent hardware running Windows [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Steve Jobs: Want porn? Go Android!

According to TechCrunch, Apple fan and customer Matthew Browing sent a message to Steve Jobs’ public email address last week to express a “philosophical issue” he was starting to have with Apple and their moral policing. He specifically mentioned Apple’s removal of Mark Fiore’s comic software on the grounds of being political satire and the lack [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Panasonic announces release date for new Viera Skype webcams

High-definition television manufacturers leap at the chance to add new features to the same old displays in the hopes that customers will be tempted to upgrade over a trifle (3D, anyone?) but one of the things I really liked coming out of CES this year was the volume of display manufacturers talking about integrating Skype [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Pokemon Batteries

It may seem like this is happening about a decade too late, but Pokemon is now heading to batteries courtesy of Maxell. Four and eight packs of the zinc-alloy anti-leak batteries sporting images of Thunder Pokémon Raikou and Pocket Monster Electivire will be gracing store counters from May 25th. There’s no word on pricing, but we [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Facebook shuts down Facebook Lite, its would-be Twitter killer

Facebook has killed Facebook Lite, its barebone web interface designed for the people plagued with slow Internet connections. The unfortunate announcement came in a brief post on the company’s own Facebook fan page: Thanks to everyone who tried out Facebook Lite. We’re no longer supporting it, but learned a lot from the test of a slimmed-down [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Lucasfilm says a Blu-ray Star Wars Set is coming

There is good news from the Lucasfilm camp if you have been waiting to take your Blu-ray Player to a place, “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.” At the recent C2E2 Comic Convention in Chicago,  a discussion panel that included Lucasfilm’s Director of Content Management and Chief of Fan Relations, Steve Sansweet, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Lego robot plays Tetris unaided

National Robotics Week 2010 has just ended, and one of the robots finished in time to celebrate it had just one purpose: to play Tetris. It’s called the Tetris-Bot and was created by Branislov Kisacanin using NXT Lego, a TI DSP board running AI and vision algorithms, and a webcam. The robot is made out of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

AAPL earnings: Apple stuns again, sells more iPhones than in the holiday quarter

Apple posted financial results at the end of trading today for its second fiscal quarter ended March 27, 2010. The Californian firm reported $13.50 billion in quarterly revenues, a 48.67 percent annual increase over the $9.08 billion in revenues reported in the year-ago quarter. The result, however, didn’t top the previous quarter that saw Apple rake in [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Socie announces sPad A11 development platform for tablet manufacturers

Despite the fact that Apple’s tablet was strongly rumored for months before its January 27th unveiling, it seems like almost every manufacturer was caught with their pants down by the iPad. The only companies out there which have tablets on the horizon are HP with the Slate, Dell with the Mini 7 and Mini 10, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Kraken Goggles will bring steampunk to your IMAX 3D experience

In many ways, paying a few bucks extra to sit in a gigantic IMAX theater and watch a 3D movie while wearing a pair of cheap and ridiculously gauche Buddy Holly glasses seems like paying a couple bucks extra to look stupid in the dark. If 3Ds going to become the next big thing in the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Thrifty Watch Phone is cheap enough to let you play Dick Tracy

The Dick Tracy watch has been the dream of gadget lovers since the days of Chester Gould and pwesprint. Part radio, part television, part mobile phone, gadget companies have even tried to give us what they want, but the results are decidedly lackluster: ugly pieces with SIM cards in their guts that can barely handle [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Frozenbyte offers free Trine DLC plus temporary 75% price cut on the complete game, exclusively on Steam

A new DLC level is now available on Steam for Frozenbyte's action-platformer Trine. Titled "Path to New Dawn," the DLC is free for download on Steam and will be released for other PC distributions soon. To celebrate the release of the free level, users can purchase Trine for 75% its original sale price on Steam through April 26.
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Palm webOS gets a new Facebook app with notifications next week

Palm wrote on its Facebook page that owners of webOS-powered devices, like the Palm Pre and Pixi, can download the new Facebook app next week. The company boasted plenty of “great enhancements.” Unfortunately, in a post on the app’s Facebook fan page the team has shared little details about possible new features beyond stating the following: Facebook [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-21 more

Digital Life: Up in the air with Rico and the mile-high lapdancing club...

Abandoning the jet you hijacked on the ground earlier, you plunge out the door and skydive toward the beautiful tropical paradise 2,000 feet below. Half-way down you spot a pair of floating zeppelins and launch your grappling hook to reel yourself on board. Incredibly, it turns out to be an airborne lapdancing club.
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Digital life: Competition time

Grizzled superspy Sam Fisher is back with a bang in Splinter Cell Conviction on Xbox 360 and PC and we have prizes to give away to celebrate.
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Digital Life: The 3D tweet-lover's phone

Scientists might call it separation anxiety -- the cold sweat that breaks out when you realise you've left your mobile behind. Maybe you're the sort who can't bear to be out of touch with your friends, who brings the phone into the toilet . . . y'know, just in case.
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

My shock when my friend gave up Facebook

An email arrived from my friend Lisa the other day. It was short and to the point. "Hello everyone," it read. "I am giving Facebook a break for a while and have deleted my account. See you all in the real world."
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Google hackers were after password system

The attack on Google servers that provoked the company’s withdrawal from China was a concerted attempt to hack into the system upon which Google bases all its passwords, the New York Times has reported.
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Apple orders Gizmodo return iPhone 4G

The technology website paid $5,000 for the device, which was dropped by Gray Powell, an Apple software engineer, in a bar in Redwood, California, near Apple's Cupertino headquarters.
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Hong Kong gets 1 Gbps broadband service for $26 a month

Last month we reported on the FCC’s “ambitious” national broadband plan which includes the goal of providing 100 Mbps download and 50 Mbps upload speeds to 100 million U.S. homes. Sounds like a lofty goal doesn’t it? Not when you consider what the folks living in Hong Kong have today. Residents there now have access to [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Microsoft launches Fix it Windows diagnostic tool

Microsoft has launched a new, free diagnostic tool to help Windows users more easily fix some of the most common problems faced through updating, or adding new hardware and software. It is called Fix it and is available as a download from Microsoft Fix it Center Online. Fix it is meant to offer users a mix [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

RunKeeper is now available on Android

Classified as a lifestyle and fitness app, RunKeeper for Android lets you track the time, distance, speed, pace, calories, and path on a map – great for both the active types and occasional joggers. The app plots your route and logs your progress by utilizing the GPS sensor on your device. RunKeeper, LLC, the developer behind [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Apple says it

If you’re in the market for a 3G version of the iPad, you’re be delighted to learn that Apple is apparently gearing up to begin shipping the device in the US on Friday, May 7. According to ZDNet, this pretty credible piece of information has come directly from Apple whose online store now reports the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Marusys

The iPhone’s a pretty content rich device as it is, open to all sorts of streaming media apps as well as sucking in content from your iTunes library, but you can just never have enough stuff to watch, can you? Not according to Marusys, you can’t. They’ve just added two new set-top boxes to their [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Ping concept garment automatically Tweets and Facebooks when you put it on

It’s hard to imagine something that could make Foursquare more obnoxious. If you’re anything like me, after all, your Twitter and Facebook accounts are positively congested with Foursquare check-in updates, But imagine if you never had to pull your phone out of your pocket to check-in on Foursqure. Imagine if your clothes checked-in for you. [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Electro-wetting technology will bring color and video to e-readers

E-ink panels are really good for reading and battery life, but the trade-offs are slow refresh rate and color support that maxes out at monochrome. It’s sad: a Kindle might go for weeks without a charge and be easiest on the eyes, but it’s just never going to compete with the iPad in the eyes [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

NEC announces 3D all-in-one PC for the Japanese market

Ever since James Cameron unleashed a bunch of blue-skinned, cat-like Native Americans on IMAX screens across the country, 3D’s been everywhere, and no one’s embraced it more than Japanese electronic manufacturers, who see 3D as the carrot to entice consumers to upgrade their dearest gadgets at a hefty premium. Wishful thinking, perhaps, but NEC seems to [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Vision Research

In film, there’s good slow motion and bad slow motion. Bad slow motion is probably the more ubiquitous: you see it all the time on television. Essentially, it’s done by frame doubling a normally shot loop of video. In other words, if something was shot at thirty frames per second, each frame is shown twice so [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Indie game Frozen Synapse pre-orders available today

In case you haven’t heard of it, Frozen Synapse is a indie game from a small UK-based team. It’s a tactical game, sort of what I’d imagine a 2D, overhead, turn-based version of Counter-Strike to be like. If you have having problems picturing that, check this out: If you are interested (I know I am) the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Sharp updates NetWalker to be Linux tablet

In August last year Sharp introduced a new device it referred to as an ultra-compact netbook. It was named the NetWalker, and went to market in September. The spec of the NetWalker included a 5-inch display, Freescale 800MHz processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB storage, and Ubuntu Linux OS. Weighing in at 409 grams and rated at 10 [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Starcraft II will be an adults-only game in South Korea

For the last twelve years, one game and one game only has dominated the gaming charts in South Korea: Starcraft. Blizzard’s 1998 RTS isn’t just popular: it’s a phenomenon that has launched several professional gaming leagues, at least two gaming channels and the celebrity of several of the country’s best zerg rushers… most of whom [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Panasonic prices their Lumix G2 and G10 Micro Four Third digicams

After a month of anticipation and head scratching, Panasonic has finally announced the pricing for their recently unveiled Lumix G2 and G10 digital cameras. But first… the specs! Like the G1 before it, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 is a Micro Four Thirds camera, but unlike the G1, it features a flip-out, articulated touchscreen preview display. This [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Facebook to share more of your data with web sites, are you concerned?

The 400+ million people-strong social networking leader is thought to be developing new ways to allow greater interactivity between its members on sites around the web that use Facebook’s services. The move should increase Facebook’s presence, but is also expected to raise valid privacy concerns. It’s unclear at this stage what kind of controls, if any, users [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

JOBO brings two new geotaggers to your DSLR

If you’ve got an older camera that isn’t equipped with a GPS unit, you could do worse than shoving JOBO’s new GPS geotaggers into your camera hot-shoe: the photoGPS2 and photoGPS 4 will comfortably tag all of your snaps with the exact coordinates they were taken, allowing you to browse photos by location in software [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Ireland adopts

It’s been in vogue lately for special interests group to push for a “three strikes and you’re out” rule when it comes to broadband users being caught pirating media over the internet. ACTA, for example, strongly endorses such a step, and the French government tried to push exactly those measures through last year. Now Ireland [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Sprint has a case that makes your iPad 4G

Those of you withholding your iPad purchase until the 3G version is out in May–have you thought about the issues with AT&T’s 3G coverage that so many iPhone users have complained about? There’s also the question of sluggish data speeds in congested metropolitan markets like the New York City and the Bay area. That’s why AT&T [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Google considers dropping HTTP requirement in Chrome for URLs

OSNews is reporting that Google recently made a change to the developer’s version of Chrome, their desktop browser, that many developers aren’t on board with due to reported bugs. Google has decided to omit the “http://” you see at the beginning of a URL in the address bar in an attempt to make browsing easier [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

ThinkPad L series arrives, right in time for Earth Day

If you didn’t already feel that Lenovo’s ThinkPad lineup was muddled enough, get ready for an all new line: the L series. The new L412 and L512 are “designed for business, government, and education customers” and in addition to affordable pricing they will be some of the greenest computers available today. Details from the release: Choices of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-20 more

Web Inspector adds Timeline and Audits panels

The latest set of improved and new features to the WebKit Web Inspector are really great. I mean really great as in
Publication date: 2010-04-19 more

Facebook denies new button can track web history

Facebook is denying claims that its new content-sharing button will allow it to serve advertising based on its users’ web history.
Publication date: 2010-04-19 more

'For me, online gaming is a healthy, fun pastime'

Online journalist Cian O'Sullivan (27) from Waterford is an avid gamer and active member of the Irish Gaming Association. And despite hysteria over addiction, he argues online gaming is healthy -- not harmful.
Publication date: 2010-04-19 more

Are you a virtual addict?

If you identify with any of the following five scenarios, it could be time to log off and look for help, says addiction expert Colin O'Driscoll of Forest Rehabilitation Centre.
Publication date: 2010-04-19 more

Caught in the web

We use it for such innocuous everyday things as paying bills and chatting with friends, but an Irish expert has warned that the internet can be as addictive as crack. And more of us could be virtual junkies than we think.
Publication date: 2010-04-19 more

Apple considering a move to AMD processors?

Apple Insider is reporting that Apple is currently in “advanced discussions” with chip-maker AMD, who could possibly be Apple’s next CPU provider. This would be a major coup for AMD and a huge change for Apple, who has been using Intel processors in their desktops, workstations, and notebooks since shifting away from the PowerPC. Apple Insider [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

GCal gets integrated with GMail

Google has just made it much easier to organize events over GMail. Google Calendar, or GCal, has now been integrated into GMail’s compose email screen. Here’s what you do. Underneath the Subject header, next to where you have the “Attach a file” prompt is a new option: “Insert: Invitation.” Just click that, fill out the form, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

New line of LCD and LED HDTVs are endorsed by your favorite superheroes

The television you see above isn’t just the HDTV installed in Avengers mansion, it’s the HDTV I would have gnawed an arm off for as a pimply, comic obsessed teenager. I can only weep at my own lack of arrested development now as I see it: I could never buy something this outlandish, but boy, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

Sony rejects calls for PS3 refunds over removal of

In a recent update, Sony removed the Install Other OS feature from the PlayStation 3 Fat, pretty much in a knee-jerk response to recent successes by the hacking community in getting pirated games to run on the PS3 through the feature. It was a bad move, screwing over many scientists and researchers who use daisy [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

Dell Streak 7 and 10-Inch Tablets Unveiled

Even when it was first announced before the iPad’s unveiling, the Dell Streak seemed like an awfully small little tablet. In fact, at only 5-inches, it seemed more like an overgrown Android smartphone without a cellular modem than anything else. That said, it was always unlikely that Dell would sit on its laurels and not [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

Amazon to begin charging sales tax on Kindle books

When Apple announced the iPad and its iBooks e-reading platform, Amazon almost overnight lost the war in establishing a set price for e-books on the Kindle marketplace. Overnight, the price of many books rose several dollars from the traditional $9.99. But it’s not going to end there: Kindle books are about to get a bit [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

Sony Vaio laptop design to be outsourced to external design shops

For years, Sony’s Vaio series of laptops were the most well designed notebooks out there. Apple’s stolen a bit of their thunder, and other competitors have caught up, but if you want an attractive laptop with an amazing design, the upper-tier Vaios are some of the best looking and most solid notebooks to this day. That [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

Octopus steals recording camera, becomes director then star

Above is a simply fantastic video shot off the coast of New Zealand. A crafty (and rather large) octopus grabed a diver’s camera while it was recording and swam away with it. The result was the first octopus-directed video that I’ve seen on YouTube, though there was editing in post that comes in the way [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

G-Mate Gun Overload Magnetic Gaming Gun promises realistic Modern Warfare 2 rifle

If you’ve played a game like Modern Warfare 2, Far Cry 2 or Bad Company 2, you’ve probably imagined what it would be like to play the game with a sophisticated and realistic machine gun controller. Well, here it is, or so the developers claim: the G-Mate Gun Overload, a magnetic, dynamic shooting gun that [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

The GSM BodyTrace is the world

The Withings Body Scale is an interesting update on one of the more reluctantly owned and passively loathed gadgets residing in our bathrooms: every time you step on it, it uploads your current weight to Twitter. Depending on how much you like peer pressure and transparency as applied to your obesity, it’s Twitter functionality is [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

Nikon rumored to be preparing three new DSLRs, including possible D3000 and D90 replacements

We love a good camera rumor here at Geek, and the latest scuttlebutt is a doozy: according to Nikon Rumors, Nikon is planing on imminently launching a trifecta of sexy new DSLRs. Here’s what we no: though details on the new cameras are scarce, it sounds like one of the cameras will be a new entry-level [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

Latest BenQ monitors promise ridiculous 12,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio

Whenever a display manufacturer comes along boasting about a ridiculous static contrast ratio, we get suspicious. Contrast ratio is important, just like megapixels are, but just like megapixels, companies exaggerate their importance… especially when we’re talking dynamic contrast ratio. Higher contrast ratio doesn
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

GameStation EULA collects 7,500 souls from unsuspecting customers

Like all of us, you probably click through EULAs without reading them. It’s understandable: no one’s going to read twenty pages of purposely obtuse legalese just to install iTunes. But if an April Fool’s Day joke plays by British retailer GameStation is anything to go by, maybe you should read the fine print more carefully: [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

The Doxie portable scanner tries to make scanning sexy again

No matter who you are, you probably have a scanner collecting dust somewhere. They are one of the least sexy and most ignored of office gadgets. But Doxie, a really cute, lightweight and portable paper scanner might just bring the sex appeal back into boring old document scanning.
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

Apple reconsiders rejection of Pulitzer prize winning artist

If you are a Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist it seems you may carry some weight when it comes to getting an iPhone app through Apple’s App Store. Wired is reporting that when political cartoonist Mark Fiore initially submitted his iPhone application (and he yet to win the Pulitzer) Apple rejected his app. Their reason? The [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

A-DATA NH01 is first USB 3.0 2.5

With the USB 3.0 standard starting to promulgate in earnest, we’re starting to see the first accessories begin to trickle out, but what we have yet to see is a USB 3.0 capable 2.5 inch portable hard drive. We need them: after all, USB 3.0’s 3.2GBps transfer rate is most useful when copying files from [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

AT&T blocks vacations confirming an iPhone launch in June

A few days ago we reported on a rumor that an announcement regarding a new iPhone is believed to be scheduled to occur on June 22nd. Some believe the announcement may include an iPhone 4.0 model compatible with the Verizon Wireless network. Based on a report by Boy Genius, there seems to be some substantiation to the fact that one [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

Grace App digitizes picture books for autistic children

When you think of an iPhone app it’s easy to think of games or business tools, but one mother of an autistic child thought of another kind of app which would help her daughter communicate. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Lisa Domican created an iPhone app to help her 10-year old daughter Grace Domican [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

Google finally adds social sharing to its browser toolbar

Some folks think that Google has been neglecting its toolbar extension for Firefox and Internet Explorer lately, arguing that the software lacks a comprehensive sharing feature. Sure thing, Google Toolbar has been able to send URLs to Gmail from its inception, but you were never able to send a link directly to popular social networks like [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

Purr: Kitten plays a virtual piano on iPad

If YouTube is any indication, there’s definitely something about cats and geeks. Simply put, people are crazy about sharing their kitten videos online. And just as you think you’ve seen it all, another adorable video comes along that will make you feel better the instant you see it. If you’re in the market for an iPad [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

Microsoft in 'sexting' row over Kin advert

A video for new 'social' handsets shows teenagers exchanging 'explicit' pictures through their mobile phones.
Publication date: 2010-04-17 more

Google SEO Report Card, SMX West, plus new features

(I’m traveling, but lots of good stuff from the recent SMX West search conference is now live — plus some new stuff — so I wanted to talk about it.) At the SMX West search conference I did an Ignite talk about Google’s SEO audit that it did on itself. This was part of a global [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Sony to launch 3DTV in June

Sony 3D TVs will be available in the UK and Ireland from June, the company has announced. Pre-orders are being taken now, and Sony is also offering blu-ray players and 3D movies and videogames.
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Google misses some estimates on costs of new markets

Google, owner of the world’s most popular Internet search engine, reported profit that missed some analysts’ estimates, underscoring the cost of pursuing growth in new markets.
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Microsoft studies claims of child labour abuse at Chinese supplier

The computing giant Microsoft is investigating claims that Chinese factory staff are working in sweatshop conditions to make its products.
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Next-gen iPad 'to feature camera'

Apple is hiring an iPad camera engineer, sparking rumours that future models could feature an integrated camera
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

FLO TV to offer mobile DVR feature

FLO TV has made its mark by providing mobile television across the company’s own nationwide multicast network. The service, which is available via mobile handsets and the FLO TV Personal Television, has announced new enhancements to its service that will allow viewers to do more than just watch live television. Now subscribers will be able to interact [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Direct2Drive Spring Sale Week 1 up to 88% off games

This week digital download gaming service Direct2Drive has kicked off a Spring Sale promotion. Each week for the next four weeks a selection of games will be offered at vastly reduced prices. We are in Week 1, and these are the games you can get for as much as 88% off the normal asking price: DiRT 2 [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Microsoft will not patch Windows XP if rootkit is present

Microsoft has taken a pretty controversial decision with its latest round of security patches. Windows XP users who have a system infected with a rootkit will not be able to install the update. It may be controversial, but Microsoft has made the decision with good reason. In February a similar kernel patch release caused some Windows [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Intel demo MeeGo 1.0 at IDF 2010

Intel has used the Intel Developer Forum currently being held in Beijing to show of MeeGo 1.0. As you may or may not know, MeeGo is a collaboration between Nokia and Intel to create a new open-source, Linux operating system aimed at netbooks, smartphones, and other connected devices. Intel was originally developing its own OS [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

HP offices raided in Moscow due to bribe allegations

PC manufacturer HP has had its offices in Moscow raided by government officials. The reason for the raid is allegations that HP executives have been offering bribes in return for securing lucrative government IT contracts. The scale of the bribes is thought to be in the region of $11 million. The allegations are actually 7 years [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Capture some mind-blowing 3D images with the Holga 120 camera

When it comes to choosing a camera the features you look at usually include megapixel rating, how portable and light it is, whether you want a point-and-shoot, or something a bit more professional, and of course the price. But there is a new feature for you to consider now too: 3D. If taking 3D images interests [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

FSF attends iPad launch with warning sign

Warning: You are entering the Apple Restricted Zone. Please leave your free software, urge to share, and right to control your software at the door. This sign was put up at the iPad launch earlier this month by the FSF, who apparently takes issue with Apple’s walled-garden approach. There are no reports on how many people [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Trend Micro offers Titanium Internet Security for netbooks

Running a standard desktop security suite on a netbook computer can have a detrimental effect on the performance of the hardware. These portable devices just don’t have the power to run such software like a desktop PC can. Some security vendors have realized this and released netbook-specific security suites. The latest is Trend Micro which has [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Fireball lights up the Midwestern sky

CNN is reporting that a giant fireball was visible in the night sky across a number of states in the Midwest yesterday. It was moving from west to east and visible for about 15 minutes the news organization reports. It ultimately broke up and disappeared, but not before people reported hearing sonic booms in the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

TVLogic LUM-560W LCD is 2160p Behemoth

High definition goes above 1080p, Virginia. While Blu-Ray offers pixel perfect clarity and amazing crispness on top of the line sets hooked up to Blu-Ray players, it’s hardly the upper spectrum of visual fidelity. Ask the RED guys, who offer cameras that film in glorious 4K x 2K, or 2160p. Wait a decade and that’s [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

SA7 earbuds can withstand 14,000Gs

You know how it is: you’re making your patrol in the Afghani combat zone, listening to “War Pigs” when all of a sudden you feel a bullet in your ear. How annoying. Or you’re strapped into the space shuttle, zooming up into the sky, when all of a sudden your ear buds are crushed in [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Will Apple hunt down German WePad tablet over the

The news that Apple asked several developers to refrain from using the “Pad” term in their apps’ names because they own that trademark had quite a lot of our readers crying foul and arguing that no company should be allowed to trademark such a generic term. That said, we wonder if Apple’s legal sharks are [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Microsoft Research experiments with finger and pen touch interface

Touchscreen devices are becoming the norm for gadgets like smartphones, and the iPad is just the start of a consumer fascination with touch tablets. But each device currently makes a choice as to what touch input method to favor: finger or pen. Microsoft Research is experimenting with combining both to increase functionality and improve user [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

RIAA and MPAA want spyware on every computer, border searches of iPods

Think the RIAA can’t get nuttier than suing grannies for tens of thousands of dollars for Beyonce songs they never downloaded? Think again. The RIAA and MPAA have just submitted a plan to the Office of Intellectual Property Enforcement, describing a few minor little things they want the government to start mandating. What are they? First, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

5,500 hentai pirates afflicted by blackmailing malware

If you’re a nefarious otaku who likes to download Hentai games, or anime, from Japanese file sharing sites, better make sure that Norton’s running: a new type of malware is targeting Japanese file sharing service Winni which published the infected’s net history on a public web site, then blackmails users for the details’ removal. The virus [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Silverlight 4 update now available for download

Silverlight 4 has arrived. The announcement came as part of the global unveiling of Microsoft’s latest and greatest development tools earlier this week, including Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4. After five months of development, the Redmond giant said, Silverlight 4 is now available for broad consumption. Billed as the software to “light up the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

HTC thinking about its own mobile OS

If the mobile operating system market wasn’t crowded enough with Google’s Android, Microsoft’s Windows Phone, RIM’s BlackBerry, Symbian and Palm’s WebOS, now another company is considering jumping in. Ironically, the company in question already produces smartphones which run on Android and Windows Mobile. Bloomberg is reporting that HTC is now studying whether it should have [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Google launches new tweet archive and Twitter Follow Finder

Google first announced a deal with Twitter to integrate tweets into search results back in October. These tweets became accessible in December through Google’s real-time search results which include a dynamic stream of real-time content not only from Twitter, but from FriendFeed, MySpace and Buzz. This week Google announced another way to explore archived [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Designing with Progressive Enhancement (Book review)

Whenever I hold workshops or lectures on web development, I talk a lot about Progressive enhancement. To me it is the obvious and only sensible way of building websites and web applications. With that said, you can bet I was very pleased to learn that Designing with Progressive Enhancement was being worked on. A whole book covering the subject was very promising, and the previews and code examples on the Designing with Progressive Enhancement book site raised my expectations.Read full postPosted in Accessibility, Reviews, Web Standards.
Publication date: 2010-04-16 more

Twitter launching 'official' Android app

Twitter has confirmed that it will be launching an 'official' Twitter application for Google Android devices.
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Steve Jobs is entrepreneur teenagers most admire

Steve Jobs, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple, is the entrepreneur most admired by teenagers, according to a new survey.
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Appointing a Government CIO or internet tsar would help deliver the digital economy

ANYONE can see how the internet economy is going to dominate the future of commerce. In many ways, it already does. Many of us cannot conceive of any other way of buying plane tickets, renewing car tax or booking a hotel room.
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Digital healthcare could deliver economic stimulus

Why would you urge nations like Ireland - known for its healthcare bottlenecks - to target an emerging market for digital healthcare opportunities?
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Reviewed: the Apple iPad

I'VE read scores of reviews, rants and love poems about the Apple iPad, but believe me, all of your initial preconceptions dissolve once you get to hold the device in your hands.
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Can the Apple iTunes business model ever be emulated?

CONSUMERS wanting a one-stop shop for digital entertainment need look no further than iTunes.
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

A healthy start for Aviva's iPhone app

THE Irish wing of insurance company Aviva has taken the plunge into the iPhone app market, launching "Health Mate" to support their health insurance division.
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Nintendo wins appeal against Anascape, saving itself from pending sales ban on controllers

Nintendo has just won the appeal against Anascape, overturning the verdict the Eastern Texas District Court declared in 2008. Had the appeal not succeeded, Nintendo would have been forced to cease sales of the Gamecube controller, wireless Wavebird controller, and the Classic Controller due to patent infringement.
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

EA launches free-to-play Lord of Ultima next week

The Ultima franchise has returned as a free-to-play online game. Created by German studio EA Phenomic, the browser-based MMORTS Lord of Ultima is set to launch on April 20, EA announced earlier this week.
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

The $0.69 iPad stand from Office Depot

The iPad may be seen as cheap at $499, but if you want to add a keyboard dock ($69), basic stand ($29), and case ($39), the costs soon mount up. Andrew DeVigal was looking for an iPad stand solution, but didn’t want to pay the high prices official solutions cost. So he started looking around. His [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

International iPad launch pushed back a month due to U.S. demand

If you don’t live in the U.S. and want an iPad, you probably watched the first launch with envy. Other markets were expecting to see the iPad become available at the end of April, but that is no longer the case. Apple has released the following advisory on its website: Although we have delivered more than 500,000 [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

OCZ introduce 1TB SSD for $4,000

OCZ seem to be blazing their own path in the SSD market at the moment. Only a few days ago the company announced two new performance SSDs carrying the names Vertex 2 and Agility 2. With storage of up to 200GB and read/write speeds of 285/275MB/s, both drives would be a great solution if you [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Intel planning dual-core Atom update for netbooks

Intel’s Atom processor is no powerhouse, but inside a netbook with a 10″ screen it can handle web surfing, general office-like duties, and give you 5-8 hours of productivity between charges. The single-core version of the chip seen in most netbooks does struggle if you want to do anything more than basic everyday tasks, though. A [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

EU to Telecoms companies: Try charging Google and we

Neelie Kroes, European Commissioner for Digital Agenda Earlier this week it was reported that three European telecoms companies were about to put pressure on Google to start paying to use their networks. The rationale was that because Google services use up so much bandwidth it was only fair they help pay to maintain and upgrade the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Reviews not great for Google

Google has just updated its mobile app with iPad support, but users are already complaining, claiming that the rushed-out software lacks polish and is full of bugs and user interface issues. The updated app surfaced on the App Store late Monday. Google Mobile App version 0.5.0.3644 is now a universal binary, meaning that a single 4.2MB [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Wideload Games

Wideload Games' Disney Guilty Party for the Wii is scheduled to release in North America on July 27.
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Yu-Gi-Oh! scheduled for spring release on XBLA

The ever-popular dueling card game, Yu-Gi-Oh!, is making its Xbox debut on the Xbox LIVE Arcade, Konami announced Tuesday.
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

X-COM game in development at 2K Games

2K Games has confirmed that it is developing a new game in the classic X-COM series. Better yet, development is being handled by 2K Marin which is best known for developing the Bioshock games. The original X-COM game was released in 1994 under the name X-COM: UFO Defense in the U.S., and was the first of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Apple releases patch for graphics issues on your new MacBook Pro

If you have been waiting patiently for Apple to upgrade the aging hardware on its Pro notebooks, you are no doubt delighted with the all-new Core i5/Core i7 MacBook Pro lineup. However, some fans who’ve purchased a shiny new MacBook Pro almost suffered a cardiac arrest discovering that the latest and greatest hardware runs their [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Another Verizon iPhone rumor: Could be announced June 22nd

Hopefully Verizon Wireless will be getting a version of the iPhone soon. After all, the notion of a Verizon iPhone has been getting lots of free publicity lately thanks to rumors and speculation. Now MacDaily News is reporting on a rumor that a next-generation iPhone for Verizon may be announced on June 22nd. Some evidence suggesting the rumor [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Collaboration between NASA and GM to send human-like robot to ISS

There is no doubt that robots have been a big help with humans in regards to solo space exploration. Just take for example the twin Martian robotic rovers, Discovery and Opportunity that have provided Earth with tons of data regarding the red planet. Soon, though, a robot will be enlisted that is hoped will eventually [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Look cool while going up or down stairs with LED Stair Lights

Want to save a little energy while looking awesome going up and down the stairs in your home? Then considering installing some LED Stair Lights like those demonstrated in the following video. As you can see, the LEDs on the stairs are activated whenever someone activates a sensor at the top or the bottom of the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Dual-core netbook CPUs on the way from Intel

Despite recent advances today’s netbooks are still underpowered. Sure, they are fine if you don’t do anything more than browse the web, but if you want to multi-task while playing some music or you need to do something like a basic file conversion, things can grind to a painful halt. While Intel’s Atom has had dual-core offerings [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

MacBook Pro

We noted yesterday that Apple’s new Core i5/Core i7 MacBook Pro notebooks featured Nvidia GeForce 330M graphics as well as on-the-fly switchable graphics technology. The logical assumption to take from that was that Apple was utilizing Nvidia’s Optimus, a smart switchable graphics solution that the company has been working on. As it turns out, that’s [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Facebook Fans bring $3.60 of value each to advertisers

Many companies have latched on to the idea of using social networks for marketing. One method of marketing on Facebook is to create pages based on a product, brand or company in order to solicit fans. The only question has been what is the value of each fan? Vitrue, a social media management company, has attempted [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Capcom classics Final Fight and Magic Sword available on XBLA and PSN

A pair of remastered Capcom classics has just landed on the Xbox LIVE Arcade and PlayStation Network. Dubbed Final Fight: Double Impact, the full package includes the beat'em up Final Fight and side-scroller Magic Sword.
Publication date: 2010-04-15 more

Twitter to launch 'promoted tweets' in a bid to make money

Twitter is launching "promoted tweets" this evening, which will eventually see branded messages appear in user’s feeds from the likes of Virgin and Starbucks and marks the first official commercialisation of the site.
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Adobe 'to sue Apple' over Flash row

Adobe is allegedly set to sue Apple over changes in its iPhone software development kit, as the row over the lack of Flash support on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad escalates.
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

iPad worldwide launch delayed by a month

Apple has delayed the international launch of the iPad by a month because of "surprisingly strong US demand" for the touch screen device.
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Facebook under fire over 'panic button'

FACEBOOK has come under attack from top police officers for refusing to adopt a "panic button", which would allow victims of online sexual grooming to report their concerns directly to the authorities.
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Intel beats forecasts for Q2 with sales of $10.2bn

INTEL, the world's biggest chipmaker with a major plant in Leixlip, forecast second-quarter sales that topped analysts' predictions, indicating that demand for personal computers remains strong.
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Zynga confirms work on newest social game, FrontierVille

The masters behind the famed Facebook applications FarmVille and Mafia Wars has confirmed production on yet another social game.
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Intel Core i5 and i7 MacBook Pros now available

They’ve certainly been a long time coming (supposedly due an industry-wide Arrendale CPU shortage), but Core i5 and Core i7 MacBook Pros have finally made their way to the Apple Store… along with a couple refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pros. The new 13-inchers are respectable non-Arrendale updates, packing Core 2 Duo processors running at 2.4 and 2.66GHz, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Seagate and Paramount ship 21 movies with FreeAgent Go drives

Paramount Digital Entertainment and Seagate have teamed up to start offering movies with new portable hard drives. The collaboration will see 500GB FreeAgent Go portable hard drives ship with 21 DVD-quality movies preloaded on the disk taking up 50GB of drive space. One of those films, Star Trek (2009) will be unlocked and available to watch [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Lionhead steams up Fable III co-operative play with

Lionhead Studios plans to spice up Fable III's cooperative multiplayer mode with a new steamy feature: the ability to get "intimate" online.
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

NSFW: Happy Finish Net Hate video

We have to make it very clear that this video is not safe to watch anywhere profanity is frowned upon. If you have headphones put them on and get ready for some heavy swearing. If you’ve ever wondered where all these offensive comments come from on videos, forums, and blog posts, don’t look to individual site [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

BitTorrent users beware: copyright malware targeting you

A new piece of malware is targeting BitTorrent users in an attempt to extract money from them under the guise of a copyright infringement settlement. Machines are being infected with the malware which searches a user’s system to see if they have any .torrent files present. A copyright violation alert is then loaded and the computer [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Axon Logic teases Apple with a $500 Hackintosh slate that runs Mac apps

If that iPad modification on the MSI Wind U100 got your juices flowing and you’re a bit of a Hackintosh fan, Axon Logic’s new tablet will have you covered. With Intel’s fully-fledged Core 2 Duo processor, three USB ports, and a webcam, this $500 slate beats the iPad in terms of pure horse power. As if [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Lenovo delaying Skylight launch to better compete with iPad

Digitimes is reporting that Lenovo has decided to delay the launch of its Snapdragon-powered netbook/smartbook called Skylight by 3 months. The reason? Lenovo has realized it needs to update the feature set of the Skylight now the iPad is a known quantity. As you may remember, details about the Skylight surfaced in January. It looks to [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Review: Alienware M11x notebook

Alienware very successfully refreshed their notebook lineup in 2009 with the M17x and the M15x. These systems performed well, had an interesting look to them, and were a hit with gamers. Reviews were positive across the board. Then earlier this year Alienware threw gamers a serious surprise–a small, almost netbook-sized gaming computer. This was not [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Alienware M11x photo and video gallery

If you haven’t gotten a chance to use Alienware’s M11x 11-inch gaming notebook, then here is you chance to become acquainted with the system. Above there is image of the system and below are a few select videos from the coverage of the M11x on our YouTube channel. Don’t miss our full M11x review.
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Steve Jobs: Apps cannot have

Wrote an app for the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad? Great, just make sure you don’t use the “Pad” term in its name before submitting to Apple because you’ll be shown the door. According to 9to5Mac, many developers are finding out the hard way that Apple trademarked the “Pad” term. Jesse Waites, the brains behind the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

iPad raises questions about laptop display options

Over the past few years we’ve seen the laptop industry go completely widescreen. At one time the industry was 4:3 but then, after a quick stop at 16:10, manufacturers moved on to the now-standard 16:9 size. Consumers tend to prefer the widescreen layout–it makes computers shorter, give room for full-sized keyboards, and it makes screens [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Star Wars never smelled so good with the Bacon AT-AT

Mmm. Who ever thought that the great evil Galactic Empire could smell so delicious? That would be so true if they had rebel crushing walking vehicles covered in salty, smoky, pork goodness. Unfortunately, Emperor Palpatine opted for heavy armor instead of bacon during the design meetings, so I guess we will never know. Or will we? This bacon [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

John McCain is back with a new mock campaign advert from his opponent J.D. Hayworth

The “Maverick” John McCain, who ran for the President during 2008 election, has a new tongue-in-cheek ad on YouTube that he hopes will help him win the US Senate seat in the Arizona GOP primary. A mock campaign advertisement appeared on Senator McCain’s official YouTube channel. The commercial takes aim at McCain’s opponent J.D.Hayworth, ridiculing his poorly-worded [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Intel reports Android running on Atom powered smartphones

ComputerWorld reports that Intel has a goal of enabling all mobile operating systems for use with Atom microprocessor-based phones. The latest OS to benefit is Android. The article states that Renee James, a general manager of Intel’s software and services group, stated during the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing that the company has Android running [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Facebook redesigns Safety Center

Safety has become a focus for Facebook after reports of sex offenders and criminals using the social network. To that end, the company announced a new redesigned Safety Center which it says will offer resources for parents, educators, teens and even members of law enforcement. The Safety Center was redesigned with feedback from Facebook’s Safety Advisory [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

SlideHD offers widescreen viewing to Flip Video line

The Flip Video product line has a new addition that puts video into sharper focus with a new form factor to boot. The Flip SlideHD, allows consumers to capture up to 4 hours of HD video or view up to 12 hours of content, including photos, thanks to the device’s 16GB of memory. Watching video [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Splinter Cell: Conviction has a freezing problem on 360

If you have already picked up your copy of Splinter Cell: Conviction, and opted for the Xbox 360 version, be warned that there is a bug. When you get to the second level the game can freeze requiring a reboot. The freezing seems to be linked to being connected to Xbox Live, and getting the SC:Conviction [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Adobe preparing to sue Apple over Flash blocking?

Although the iPad has been topping the news charts for the past couple of weeks, so has the debacle with Adobe over a lack of Flash on Apple devices. With the iPhone it was a case of Flash being too slow and buggy. With the iPad the same case was pleaded, but Apple went one step [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

If Star Wars Characters were Feudal Japanese Art

Imagine if the mythic saga of Star Wars took place a little closer to our home and only a few hundred years ago rather than proclaimed setting in the films, ” Long ago in a galaxy far, far away.” What do I mean by that? Let’s say, for example, the epic battle between the light and dark [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-14 more

Microsoft launches Kin social phones

Kin makes it easy to share photos and messages within social network.
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Google Apps take on Microsoft Office

With just a couple of months to go before Microsoft launches its Office 2010 suite of business applications, Google has updated its own Apps suite.
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Twitter's clever strategy

Trouble, it seems, is brewing in the Twitterverse. The microblogging site has ruffled the feathers of a developer community that has done so much to ensure its success.
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Digital Life: The world

We meet in an anonymous office block amid a mazy industrial park. My contact slides the package across the desk and quietly leaves the room.
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Digital Life: Apple give us a taste of what

Apple previewed the next generation of its iPhone software last week — at last delivering full multitasking, better email handling and the iBooks e-reader app first seen in the iPad.
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Game On: Red Steel 2 will put you to the sword

Red Steel 2
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Amazon refunds PS3 owners

A PlayStation 3 owner has received a rebate from Amazon after a software update from Sony prevented users from installing other operating systems on the console.
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Irish entrepreneur sells phone art venture to work for giant Google

A TECHNOLOGY company co-founded by a young Irish graduate has been snapped up by internet giant Google as it continues to expand its repertoire of services for consumers.
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Faulty USB drives means Splinter Cell: Conviction CE now only $69.99

If you decided to buy the Collector’s Edition of Splinter Cell: Conviction then you probably expected to pay $79.99 on release. That price has now been dropped to $69.99 due to a fault with the included USB drive. One of the additional items exclusive to the Collector’s Edition of the game is a USB stick containing [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Ex-IW execs form Respawn Entertainment

It seems we’ll finally see some sort of closure about the Infinity Ward/Activision mess: Ex-Infinity Ward leads Jason West and Vince Zampella, who recently signed with Creative Artists Agency, have partnered with Electronic Arts to form Respawn Entertainment. EA and Respawn have yet to announce any titles or development platforms since it’s so early in the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Adobe Creative Suite 5 officially unveiled

Today Adobe’s Creative Suite 5 was officially uncloaked, with all its details available and some deeper coverage going live as well. We already heard a bit about CS5 previously, such as it’s incredible content-aware fill, but today designers around the world learned everything else they want to know. PC Pro seems to be the first out [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Open media player Songbird drops Linux support

Songbird is an open media player for Windows, Linux, Mac, and mobile platforms. But that is about to change as the development team has decided to take the difficult decision of dropping Linux support. In a post on the Songbird blog developer Georges Auberger explained: After careful consideration, we
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Microsoft to launch two phones today dubbed Kin One and Kin Two

The rumor mill is abuzz about two Microsoft phones expected to launch later today on the Verizon network. Formerly known as the project “Pink,” the two Microsoft devices are expected to be marketed under the “Kin” umbrella brand. According to phoneArena.com, Verizon’s sales system reveals two new Microsoft devices, the MSONE and MSTWO. A closer inspection of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Visual search startup Plink acquired by Google

Google has acquired UK-based “visual search” company Plink, just four months after the company’s public launch. Plink’s free mobile application, PlinkArt, allows users to identify a work of art simply by taking a snapshot with their phone camera (a similar concept to the mobile music-identification service Shazam, but with images instead of audio). Plink’s founders, Mark Cummins [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Conan O

Since his departure from The Tonight Show on NBC, Conan O’Brien has been using the Internet to stay in touch with fans via his Twitter account. O’Brien, nicknamed “CoCo” after an appearance by Tom Hanks on The Tonight Show, used the Twitter account to share thoughts and provide updates about his live performance tour called the Legally Prohibited from [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Palm is looking for a savior

A sharp drop in sales and terrible loss of mindshare both took a serious toll on Palm’s fortunes, prompting the leadership to find a buyer, Bloomberg reported Monday. The credible publication quoted “three people familiar with the situation” who claim that: Palm, Inc., creator of the Pre smartphone, is seeking bids for the company as early [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Google previews an all-new Docs version

Google is previewing a revamped Google Docs version that promises snappier performance, redesigned document and spreadsheet editors with real-time collaborative editing, and a new standalone drawings editor that supports real-time collaboration. Those advancements are a result of the rebuilt Docs infrastructure that lets Google develop and launch new features at a more rapid pace. Jonathan Rochelle, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Steam welcomes new version of 2K

The Misadventures of P. B. Winterbottom is ready to puzzle players once more with the announcement of its re-release for Windows PC through Steam, 2K Play stated in a press release on Thursday. Initially released for the Xbox LIVE Arcade in August 2009, the Steam version will be available on April 20.
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

iBatt: iPhone case, charger, and cradle all-in-one

If you are a heavy user of your iPhone then it’s safe to assume you have a case for protection, and some form of portable charger. Japanese manufacturer Hanwha has decided to cater for such users by combining a case and a secondary battery, but also add in a cradle too. The result is called the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Proof that old people get the iPad

Apple’s legendary ease of use married to touch simplicity is bound to be a hit with our senior citizens who lack the patience necessary to deal with the geekiness of Mac or Windows. When Steve Jobs showed up last week in front of the journalists invited to Apple’s Town Hall campus in Cupertino to preview iPhone [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Best Buy confirms NOOK coming to stores April 18th

Last week we reported that Engadget had a rumor that Best Buy would soon offer Barnes & Noble’s e-reader, NOOK, for sale. Best Buy has now confirmed they will offer the NOOK beginning April 18th.  As Best Buy put it, the date is “just in time for Mother
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

MacBook Pro supplies dry up, new models land Tuesday?

All findings indicate that Cupertino is gearing up to launch the new MacBook Pro hardware tomorrow, re-engineered around Intel’s latest notebook chips. AppleInsider has learned that the Mac maker has put MacBook Pro orders in its retail stores on hold. The notebook stock is apparently running “dangerously low.” Eleven stores at press time were allegedly unable [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Opera

We’ve reported a lot about Opera Software’s success with their Opera Mini mobile browser. What hasn’t been in the news recently is the growth in Opera’s browser for Windows, Mac and Linux computers. The browser-maker states that it now has the same number of mobile users as desktop users according to current metrics. Opera currently boasts [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Google rumored to go after Apple

While the iPad basks in the spotlight, Apple’s ex-pal Google could spoil the party with a tablet of its own, rumored to run a variant of the Android software normally found in smartphones. According to a Sunday report by the New York Times, Google will once more step on Apple’s toe with a rumored e-reader “designed to [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

BlackBerrys to integrate with car systems thanks to QNX acquisition

Back in March we reported that Nokia and Alpine had teamed up to enable Nokia phones to seamlessly integrate with car infotainment systems. Now Research In Motion (RIM) has taking steps to ensure its BlackBerry smartphones will have the same ability. RIM has announced its intention to acquire QNX Software Systems from Harman International. QNX [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

iPhone OS 4 supports linked contacts

iPhone OS 4.0, the next major update to the iPhone operating system, due this summer, will sport a new feature that will let users link multiple contacts under a unified contact pane. AppleInsider first reported on this finding, discovered by developers who had the opportunity to test a build of iPhone OS 4.0 released after the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Unbelievable: Apple approves Opera Mini for the iPhone!

We can’t believe it either, but it’s official – the Opera Mini app will be live on the App Store in the next 24 hours. If you doubt our reporting, check out what Opera Software wrote in a press release: Opera today announced its popular mobile browser, Opera Mini has been approved for iPhone and iPod [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

South Korea launches online curfew to help put end to video game addiction among youth

South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism implemented a pair of policies on Sunday, blocking under-aged access to online computer games after midnight in an attempt to fight video game addiction among minors.
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

HTML5 input types

It is a rare day at work when I don
Publication date: 2010-04-13 more

Palm 'for sale'

Palm, maker of the Pre range of smartphones, is seeking bids for the company, according to reports
Publication date: 2010-04-12 more

Bono set for multi-million pound Palm windfall

U2’s Bono looks set to collect a multi-million pound windfall from the sale of Palm, the beleagured smartphone maker.
Publication date: 2010-04-12 more

Music to the ears of audiophiles

The London Symphony Orchestra's decision to release lossless recordings of classical concerts underlines the desire for better-quality digital music
Publication date: 2010-04-12 more

Apple to blossom into 3D with glasses patent

WHEN patent number 20100079356 was published on the US Patent and Trademark Office website at the beginning of this month, it was assumed that it was an April Fool joke.
Publication date: 2010-04-12 more

iPhone OS 4.0 won

Apple has removed the “Rate on Delete” feature from iPhone OS 4.0 following developer complaints that the system unfairly skews the ratings downwards. Apple’s recently previewed iPhone OS 4.0 will not require users to rate apps before deleting them, MacRumors has learned. Although Apple made no mention of the change at the iPhone OS 4.0 unveiling [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-12 more

Google ups the number of Picasa albums tenfold

Heavy Picasa users will love that they can now store up to 10,000 albums per account, a tenfold increase over the previous maximum of 1,000 albums. Evan Tsang and Tammy McLeod, Google’s software engineers, explained in a company blog post that the increase came as a result of  heavy photo sharing and posting on the Buzz [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-12 more

Apple removes Google and Yahoo! branding from iPhone OS 4.0 search

Pundits suspect this subtle change is part of a broader effort on Apple’s part to gradually remove Google branding from all parts of the iPhone OS 4.0 software. In reality, though, it’s a simple cosmetic tweak for the sake of user friendliness. You may never notice it, but you’ll be hitting the “Search” key to submit [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-12 more

Apple could launch new hardware and software at NAB 2010

Apple will be showing off some new products at the NAB show this coming week. According to an Apple page at Eventbrite, Apple will be introducing both hardware and software updates at the show. Here’s what the invitations says: Please join Apple for an update on their latest hardware and software products. Lunch will be provided [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-12 more

Gmail gets nested labels and message sneak peek

Google has added two new experimental Gmai features this past Thursday that let you organize labels in a folder-like fashion and sneak peek inside messages without opening them. Nested labels allow users to better organize a bunch of labels attached to their message. Manu Cornet, Google’s software engineer explained how the nested labels feature works in [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-12 more

RIM building an 8.9-inch BlackBerry tablet for your car?

A new report has alleged that Research in Motion is building an 8.9-inch tablet-like “niche” product in limited quantities, expected for sale before Christmas. We should warn you that the authenticity of this report cannot be established. According to a RIM fan site called CrackBerry, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd., also known as Foxconn, has [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-12 more

You can now route Google Voice calls straight to voicemail

Although many people like Google Voice for its efficiency, simplicity, and the ability to link a bunch of cellphone and landline numbers to a single Google Voice number, this smart telephony service can be a real pain if you’re in a middle of something and would like to deal with those pesky incoming calls at [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-11 more

iPad-ready sites all but ready

The sites on Apple’s “iPad-ready” list are all but ready for the device. While CNN, NYT, People, and others do play Flash-less videos inline the iPad’s Safari browser, just a layer deeper ugly cracks show up. When Geek reported on a list of iPad-ready sites, we thought Apple’s boss Steve Jobs somehow persuaded the biggest names on [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-11 more

Firefox Lorentz beta is out, resistant to plugin crashes

Mozilla fans can download and sample a future Firefox release, currently in beta, that keeps the browser stable when a plugin crashes or freezes. Mozilla has announced plans to update its rendering platform called Gecko with the ability to run plugins separately of the main browser process. The open-source organization has invited fans to preview a beta [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-10 more

Sword & Sworcery EP iPhone game is looking super cool

The gaming scene has had a fair bit of buzz about the upcoming release of the iPhone adventure game, Sword & Sworcery EP. The game is from the SuperBrothers (Craig Adams) who have been detailing the release extensively, as well as Jim Guthrie and Capybara Games (who made Clash of Heroes for the DS). From what I [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-10 more

Man creates street legal Battlestar Galactica Viper

Holy frak Starbuck! Just take a look at this sweet Earth-bound ride. Dean Shorey, a master ride mechanic for Seabreeze Amusement Park in New York, is such a fan of the original Battlestar Galactica series that he decided to take his metalwork and auto restoration skills to create this street legal Viper from an old Postal Jeep. Now [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-10 more

Ubisoft: always-connected DRM will improve and be on all future PC games

Ubisoft is adamant that its new always-connected DRM is the way forward. Despite anger from gamers who couldn’t play Assassin’s Creed II, the publisher/developer is set to continue using such DRM on all its future PC game releases. A spokesperson for the company said: Most forthcoming Ubisoft PC titles will use our online services platform. As with [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-10 more

Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter confirmed for XBLA and available for pre-order on Steam

Majesco has finally confirmed that Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter, a remake of Croteam’s first-person shooter of the same name sans “HD,” will hit the Xbox LIVE Arcade and the PC later this year. In addition to a new graphics engine, Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter includes an all-new survival mode for single and [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-10 more

Google Suggest for search comes to mobile

Google has once again kicked their mobile search up a notch. This time, the company has announced the inclusion of Google Suggest in mobile search. Google Suggest is where the search engine tries to figure out what you are looking for while you are typing. This allows information to be displayed without having to wait [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-10 more

Viewsonic launch VEB620 and VEB625 e-book readers

Viewsonic has used The Gadget Show Live 2010 currently running in the UK to launch two new e-book readers on the market. Both the VEB620 and VEB625 are monochrome e-readers sporting a 6-inch E-Ink display, font size control, and zooming. The VEB625 is the more feature-rich model and includes WiFi and touchscreen capabilities. Both models have [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-10 more

Modern Warfare: Frozen Crossing fan-fiction video is worth a watch

This fan-made video inspired by Modern Warfare 2 has already racked up over 500K views, so you know it’s pretty good. I have no idea how it was done for a reported $209.42, but the results are impressive. The YouTube notes: An unofficial tribute to one of our favorite game franchises of all time: Call of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-10 more

Warhammer Online subscribers accidentally charged 22 times in one month

Mythic is more than a little bit embarrassed and sorry today. The Warhammer Online forums have been set alight with angry players who found multiple subscription charges pulled from their bank accounts. In the worst cases some 22 payments were taken, with one household having 27 payments logged across two accounts. Seeing between $500 and $700 [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-10 more

New DISH Network DVR is SlingLoaded

Back in September 2007 we reported that Echostar, now operating as DISH Network Corporation, purchased Sling Media. Sling Media manufactures the Slingbox which allows consumers to connect a video and audio source to an Internet-connected box to enable the ability to watch television while online via a computer or handheld device. Considering DISH Network provides television set boxes [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-10 more

Video calling discovered in iPhone OS 4.0

The updated iPhone OS 4.0 software hides a new processes sitting in the background and awaiting video calls, a source alleged. According to a tip sent to the Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW), the just-announced iPhone OS 4.0 sports a suspicious new process suggesting that the software is prepared to handle video calling: Close TUAW reader AW sent us [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-10 more

A photographer

Josh Root over at our sister site Photo.net has put up what he classes as a “short-term hands on” review of the iPad. But it actually turns out to be a quite in-depth look at Apple’s tablet. As well as looking at the good and bad stuff, he also covers what the iPad is, and what [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-10 more

AT&T re-positioning itself as a lifestyle company

The carrier wants to be perceived as a consumer and lifestyle company rather than a telecom firm. A nationwide re-branding campaign has kicked off today, with AT&T’s rollover minutes being part of the makeover, too. The initiative is being described with the “Rethink Possible” slogan, presumably to indicate the carrier’s readiness to let go any aspect [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-10 more

Google incorporating site speed in search rankings

(I’m in the middle of traveling, but I know that a lot of people will be interested in the news that Google is incorporating site speed as one of the over 200 signals that we use in determining search rankings. I wanted to jot down some quick thoughts.) The main thing I want to get across [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-10 more

Google Earth leads professor to rare hominid ancestor

Well, Google can put another feather in its cap. That’s because Google Earth is being credited with helping to find a rare hominid fossil in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in South Africa.The discovery includes two partial hominid skeletons which are said to be in “remarkable condition”. The skeletons are dated to be [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Amazon pays partial refund for PS3 sale due to OtherOS feature removal

When Sony removed the OtherOS feature from the PS3 Fat users were angry, but some pointed out that the machine was no longer fit for purpose. As a feature the PS3 originally shipped with had now been removed, Sony may actually be breaking some consumer laws. One PS3 owner decided to put that to the test [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

30 million cellphones to be disconnected across Mexico this weekend

In a bid to cut crime and drug trafficking the government of Mexico is about to take drastic action with regards to cellphones. This weekend any cellphone that has not been registered to an individual will be disconnected and rendered useless. The only problem is, despite repeated calls from the government for people to register [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Firefox 3.6.4 to bring stability boost with out-of-process plug-ins

If you are a regular Firefox user one of the annoyances you have to put up with is a crash taking down your entire browser. Whether you have two or twenty tabs open, if something crashes in one of those tabs Firefox shuts down completely. Mozilla manages crashes quite well, however, and a restart usually restores [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Apple is now selling an average 1.4 iPads per store each hour

Steve Jobs said Apple sold nearly half a million iPads in five days, amounting to an average hourly rate of 1.4 iPad units per each of the nearly 900 retail spots that are currently carrying the device. The sales update came during the iPhone OS 4.0 event held Thursday, April 8, at Apple’s Town Hall campus [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

B&N

Our friends at Engadget have confidential informants that law enforcement officials would be impressed with. We reported yesterday that Engadget had proof that Amazon’s Kindle was coming to Target in an effort to get the reader in brick-and-mortar stores. I inferred that the move was probably Amazon’s attempt to level the playing field against Barnes & [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

12 year old spends nearly $1400 on Farmville

One of Facebook’s more popular gaming apps is called FarmVille. This free farming simulation game allows users to build and tend their own virtual farm with provided tools or with the investment of real cash. Players can buy Farmville Cash or Coins to purchase additional items for their farm. While on the surface FarmVille is pretty harmless [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

2010 World Expo

The 2010 World Expo is next month in Shanghai and it’s looking like it’s going to be home to some legitimately awesome structures. The Seed Cathedral, which is part of the UK Pavilion is looking especially interesting, thanks in no part to its incredible intricacy. The 6,000 square meter pavilion is covered with 60,000 clear acrylic [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Alienware M11x refresh already on the way?

If a certain forum posting it to be believed then Alienware’s new M11x portable gaming computer already has its first update pending. Poster “Darkhan” on NotebookReview’s forums said that the system will be getting new Intel processors and Nvidia’s Optimus graphics switching technology in a future release. The new release is tentatively being called the M11x [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

iPhone OS 4.0 boasts digital zoom, in-recording focus

When the iPhone OS 4.0 is released this summer, users will finally get camera features that have been a norm on other cellphones for years, like digital zoom. Steve Jobs briefly mentioned capabilities of the new Camera app when talking up a bunch of other nice-to-haves provided in iPhone OS 4.0: We’ve added a 5x digital [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Super Talent offer Value SSD range from $65

If you want proof that the cost of solid state drives is coming down look no further than Super Talent. The storage specialist has just introduced a new range of Value SSD drives with prices starting at $65. The Value SSD is capable of read speeds up to 152MB/sec, and write speeds of 97MB/sec for the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

iPhone OS 4.0 steals Faces and Places from the iPad

The Photos app in iPhone OS 4.0 has been enhanced with the ability to group photos by date, people, and places, just like on the iPad. As we’re scavenging through little bits and pieces of information that came at the iPhone OS 4.0 event that took place at Apple’s Town Hall campus on Thursday, April 8, we’re [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

OCZ launches super fast Vertex 2 and Agility 2 SSD

While Super Talent may be aiming for the lower end of the market with its Value SSD range, OCZ is going in completely the opposite direction with its latest 2.5″ performance drives. Announcing the OCZ Vertex 2 and Agility 2 SSD. While we are used to seeing performance SSD achieve 250MB/s reads and 170MB/s writes, these [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Your iPhone can

Multitasking, the killer feature of iPhone OS 4.0, is only supported on the iPad, iPhone 3GS and third-generation iPod touch. Is Apple leveraging this  feature to force those with older iPhones to upgrade? As you know, iPhone OS 4.0 has finally enabled multitasking in third-party apps, a major advancement that has erased Android’s biggest advantage over [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Apple unveils new iPhone operating system

Apple will add multi-tasking, mobile advertising and an ebook reader to its hugely successful iPhone when it releases the fourth version of the phone's operating system later this year.
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Digitimes: 5 to 7-inch iPad expected in early 2011

With the iPad launch still fresh in our memories Digitimes is reporting that Apple already has plans to release a smaller version of the tablet device early next year. According to Digitimes Research senior analyst Mingchi Kuo component manufacturers are already preparing for the device. It will sport a display of between 5 and 7 inches, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Transformers: War for Cybertron multiplayer details

High Moon Studios’ June release of Transformers: War for Cybertron has Transformers nerds giddy for its pre-G1 series storyline, but the release of a new multiplayer trailer proves that the Activision-published shooter has far more to offer than fiction for fans. The trailer shows off its goods at a rapid fire pace, but here’s what [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Smart Devices unveil R7 7-inch color e-book reader

The iPad may be the new gadget on the block with e-reader capabilities, but that hasn’t stopped other manufacturers announcing new products. If all you want is a device that acts as an e-book reader, then you are going to have an increasing number of gadgets to choose from over the next year as manufacturers [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

High-resolution Halo Reach renders should be looked at

If you’re antsy for the upcoming Halo Reach beta (and let’s face it: you are) then you’ll probably find Bungie’s new set of high-resolution renders, cribbed straight from the same beta we’ll all be playing in a month, rather tantalizing. The collection of still images cover everything from characters and weapons to vehicles and assassination [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Palm stock rises on Lenovo buyout rumors

We’ve all read about Palm’s troubles and dropping stock prices. That’s probably what makes the rumor reported by Electronista believable. According to the article, hedge fund investors have speculated that Lenovo may be looking to acquire mobile handset maker Palm. That speculation sent Palm stock prices soaring to a 20% gain yesterday. Lenovo has recently made an investment in [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

When classic video games attack New York gets destroyed

PIXELS by PATRICK JEAN. We’ve all played the classics. Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Tetris, and Donkey Kong. You take the on-screen destruction for granted, but what if it really happened? The above video gives us some idea of what to expect if it happened in New York. Disappearing tube stations, cabs turning into blocks, and barrels raining down [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

New York gets first look at Crysis 2 trailer

Earlier Tuesday, Crytek announced on Twitter that New Yorkers would get the first look at the upcoming Crysis 2.
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

iPhone OS 4.0: What to expect

Apple is due to preview iPhone OS 4.0 at 10am Pacific time and Geek is joining the rumors game with our own wish list. The Cupertino firm said on the heels of the iPad launch that it’ll be hosting a media event Thursday, April 8, to preview iPhone OS 4.0, the next major iteration of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

iPhone OS 4.0 live coverage

Within mintues, select journos attending Apple’s private briefing are being given a sneak peek inside iPhone OS 4.0. Geek is bringing you a remote coverage of key announcements, as they happen. On Monday Apple scheduled an iPhone OS 4.0 media briefing for April 8th, at at its Town Hall campus in Cupertino at 9am Pacific time. [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

World Golf Tour

In response to the recent announcement of EA Sport’s free-to-play Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online, World Golf Tour CEO YuChiang Cheng has a few choice words to say about the differences between PGA Tour Online and WGT. If you
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

More iPads leave Chinese docks, arriving in the US soon

If you didn’t pre-ordered your iPad for the April 3 launch and missed purchasing the device at Apple’s or Best Buy’s retail stores, you will have to wait patiently until this coming Monday when another batch is apparently due to arrive at the US shores. According to a Mac enthusiast site 9to5Mac, some customers have received [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Could Target be getting Amazon

Nobody can deny the success that Amazon has had with their Kindle e-reader. Of course, a disadvantage that Amazon has is that they have no brick-and-mortar stores to show off the capabilities of the device. That’s a fact that Barnes and Noble has taken advantage of with their stores and the launch of their e-reader called the nook. [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Foursquare cracks down on false mayors

Foursquare is a social networking site that utilizes GPS-based mobile phone software to allow users to “check-in” at places around town. Doing so can lead to badges and mayorships to those who visit a place more than anyone else. The only problem has been that some people could claim mayorships from their couch. Foursquare’s latest blog [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Google Maps for BlackBerry version 4 launched

Google has announced its latest update for Google Maps for the BlackBerry and as they put it “it’s a big one”. New features within version 4 include the addition of voice search, Google Buzz, personalized search suggestions and access to Google Labs to try out experimental features. Some of these features have been available in the Android version [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Starcraft II Collector

If you were excited for Starcraft II’s upcoming release, prepare to become slightly more excited. A collector’s edition has been announced at $99 (instead of $59) that will get fans: a 176-page art book, a USB thumb drive loaded with the original StarCraft and its expansion pack Brood War, a behind-the-scenes DVD, a CD soundtrack, a [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Mother charged with harassment after hacking into son

Parents know the importance of keeping an eye on their kids, especially when they are online, but it seems one kid believes his mother has gone too far. Arkansas-based KATV news is reporting that Denise New is charged with harassment after her 16 year old son accused her of hacking into his Facebook account, changing his password [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Verizon Wireless offers phone recycling for Earth Day

April 22nd of this year marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Verizon Wireless with CWG, a recycler of mobile devices, have teamed up to give mobile users an easy way to make a small impact when it comes to helping the environment and providing support to those victims of domestic violence. Those with old mobile [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Today

Apple made a bit of news today with the unveiling of the iPhone 4.0 OS. We covered it extensively, as did about a million other sites, but if you want to see the presentation by the one-and-only Steve Jobs, you now can. It’s just under 60 minutes long. Just hop over to Apple.com and you can [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Pokemon Black & Pokemon White in development for Nintendo DS

As is usually the case with Pokemon games, and in fact most Nintendo products, we get them in the West several months after Japan. So while Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver (read our review) are sitting in the charts at retail over here, Japan is getting ready to receive the next Pokemon installments. Very little is known [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

Games consoles 'under threat', says Kojima

Hideo Kojima, creator of the Metal Gear Solid franchise, says video games of the future will not be confined to consoles.
Publication date: 2010-04-09 more

The modern workplace is optimised for interruptions

I recently came across an interview with Jason Fried, co-founder of 37signals, where he among other things talks about why you can
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Twitter 'could build its own client'

One of the biggest investors in microblogging service Twitter has hinted that the company might release its own mobile and desktop clients, a move that could impact third-party developers.
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Crystal Swing and the viral web

I'm not going to lie to you: showband-era music gives me the creeps. I dislike the cheese: the pseudo-American crooning, the tacky outfits and the incongruity of a form of music that tries to marry the appeal of swinging jazz bands of the Fifties with rural Ireland several years after big bands have fallen out of fashion in the first place.
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

From butcher to chef, to entrepreneur and blogger

Blogger of the Year at the Irish Blog Awards, Pat Phelan began his working life as a butcher, then a chef. Now an entrepreneur, his company Cubic Telecom is active in 230 countries worldwide.
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

'The old style of learning by rote will not suit the smart workforce of tomorrow'

THERE are few Irish adults today who don't feel a shudder run up their spine or who don't have nightmares of turning up at exams with the dreaded fear they hadn't done the study.
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Does the answer to globalised healthcare lie on the internet?

SILICON Valley entrepreneur James Currier is as immersed in the online space as you can get. He was one of the first people to harness the power of user-generated content when he co-founded Tickle.com (which was later acquired by Monster.com) in 1998, and is on the board of directors for Linden Lab's virtual world, Second Life.
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Why I'd prefer to be poked on Facebook than blog on Bebo

OMG! Just two years after it was sold for close to $1bn, social networking site Bebo looks set to log off for good following a catastrophic collapse in its membership in the face of competition from its more zeitgeisty rivals Facebook and Twitter.
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

How Ed Roberts' Altair 8800 revolutionised home computing

Ed Roberts, co-founder of Micro Information and Telemetry Systems (MITS) and designer of the Altair 8800, has died at the age of 68.
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

How Wikileaks shone light on world's darkest secrets

When the UK's Ministry of Defence first came across Wikileaks, staffers were stunned. "There are thousands of things on here, I literally mean thousands," one of them wrote in an internal email in November 2008.
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Google Books faces fresh lawsuit from photographers

Google's plan to create an online library of the world's books faces new delays after photographers and illustrators filed a class-action lawsuit against the project.
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Apple 4.0 update 'to introduce mobile advertising platform'

Apple could unveil its own mobile advertising platform later today, a move that would put it in direct competition with Google.
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Google, we want the iPad

The new Gmail web app for tablets mimics a two-pane interface of the iPad’s native Mail app. Simply put, it’s a remarkable display of what can be done with the power of web and HTML5. Just like with its iPhone, Apple has taken a great deal of device-specific capabilities into consideration when creating an iPad version [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Rhapsody emerges as new company and drops subscription to $9.99

In February we reported that Rhapsody was going to be spun off as an independent company from parent companies MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom, and RealNetworks. According to a RealNetworks SEC filing, the spinoff was completed on March 31st which created the new company Rhapsody International. The new company has now emerged with an aggressive drop in its previous subscription [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

DeathSpank creator Ron Gilbert leaves Hothead

Soon after signing a high-profile publishing contract with EA to distribute DeathSpank for the XBLA and PSN, Hothead's Ron Gilbert is taking leave of the company. As Deathspank's creator, Gilbert will continue to work closely with EA and Hothead on the indie game's PR, according to his personal blog.
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

AOL considers sale or shutdown of Bebo

Back in March 2008, AOL made a bold attempt to enter the social networking landscape through its acquisition of Bebo.com. Just as bold was the $850 million they paid the co-founders for it. Now the New York Times is reporting that AOL wants to sell or close the website after only two years of ownership. The news came [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

THQ plans $40M video game for Project Natal

THQ has a $40 million video game in store for Project Natal, says THQ’s core games VP, Danny Bilson. Bilson detailed his grand scheme as well as his doubts to CVG on Friday: I have some concepts and some ideas that use Natal in a core game in a really, really cool way… But to your other question [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Foursquare possible target of Yahoo! acquisition

Foursquare is a location-based social networking service that works with a mobile app to allow users to “check-in” as they make their way to different locations throughout their day. Using the service friends can find other friends and ordinary people can become a mayor which indicates those individuals who have visited a location more than anyone [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Open source, security-focused Qubes OS hits alpha

The number of high-profile operating systems is expanding. Windows, Mac OS, and Linux are the main three everyone knows about, but iPhone OS, Windows Mobile, and Android are all vying for our attention. If you look to the future then the other operating system people are interested in is Google’s Chrome OS. But there is [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Star Trek Online for consoles canceled

When Cryptic first announced it was taking over development of Star Trek Online the developer listed it as a PC and console game. The PC game has subsequently been finished and released, but there was no sign of the console versions. Last week Cryptic announced that Champions Online would not be getting a release on consoles, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Windows 7 achieves 10% market share in 5 months (Vista took 16)

If you want proof that Windows 7 greatly improves upon the disaster that was Windows Vista, look no further than the rate of uptake. The latest figures show that Windows 7 has achieved 10% market share in just 5 months. Vista did not achieve the same level of uptake for 16 months — over three-times [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Turn your iPad into a bookend with the iBookend

With all that the iPad can do, and all the e-books that the Apple tablet device can potentially hold, who would have thought that the iPad could be used as a device to hold real books up? A silly as it sounds, that is what a concept designer has actually invented. Imagined by Dominic Wilcox, his [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Vodafone chooses Opera Mini for developing markets

In the West we are spoilt for choice when it comes to accessing the web on the go. Netbooks, smartphones, WiFi hotspots, and relatively fast 3G networks, make web access simple and fast. In developing countries, however, where 2G is the norm, running a web browser on a handset is either a painfully slow experience [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

16GB WiFi iPad components cost $260, iSuppli estimates

Market research firm iSuppli has put an estimated $259.60 price tag on the components found inside Apple’s $499 WiFi iPad. As always, this figure represents just the components excluding the costs associated with research and development, marketing, packaging, distribution, sales, software licences, and more. According to their preliminary analysis, the iPad’s priciest component is by far a [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Review: Olympus E-PL1 Micro Four-Thirds digital camera

We’ve already covered the new Olympus E-PL1 in a preview and a demo of the Live Guide automatic shooting, so this review is going to wrap things up into a neat little package. In case you didn’t read our previous coverage, the E-PL1 is the newest camera in Olympus’ PEN series. Previously we’ve seen the E-P1 [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Swedish-made Google TV debuts in August with killer maps, apps, and more

Google TV, an Android-based solution to a set-top box and TV media integration, is coming along nicely. The first company to announce a fully featured Google TV set is a Swedish startup called People of Lava. The company will be releasing its Scandinavia TV lineup around September, available in 42″, 47″, and 55″ flavors and beginning [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Video evidence of the iPhone 4.0

The iPhone 4.0 / HD – a fourth iteration of Apple’s handset that Steve Jobs allegedly called an “A+ upgrade” – could carry a front-facing camera for iChat-style videoconferencing on the go. Expected this summer in time for Apple’s annual developers conference due around June, the fourth-generation iPhone has already generated quite a lot buzz around the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Everything you

Over at Digital Home Thoughts there is an impressively in-depth review of different photo-book printing services. In this day of digital printing, it’s pretty easy to have your own book made, but it’s not that cheap and it does require a fair bit of work. Additionally, it’s difficult to differentiate between different printers as most [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Printing support reportedly coming to iPhone OS 4.0

Apple may have inadvertently slipped that the upcoming iPhone OS 4.0 could add direct printing support to the iPad, perhaps even the iPhone and iPod touch. The basis for this speculation is a new Apple support document alluding that printing support could be in the works, at least for Apple’s iPad-optimized iWork productivity suite. Apple wrote the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

Apple suggests only the iPhone can fingerprint songs

A new iPhone commercial fools viewers into thinking that song recognition can only be done on the iPhone. In reality, the software featured in the advert exists for a number of platforms. Apple’s new commercial shows off the $5 Shazam Encore, an iPhone app that can upload a song snippet to the cloud in order to [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-08 more

AOL prepares to shut down Bebo

Bebo, formerly one of the largest online social networks, is to be shut down or sold by AOL, just two years after it was purchased for close to $1bn.
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Murdoch: publishers must stand up to Google

Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive officer of News Corp, said newspaper publishers should prevent search engines like Google and Microsoft’s Bing from displaying full articles for free.
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Apple to announce iPhone 4 OS

Apple’s iPhone 4.0 software will be unveiled at an event in California on Thursday, 8 April.
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Apple acknowledges iPad Wi-Fi problems

Apple has admitted that some iPad users are experiencing difficulties getting online.
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Toshiba Camileo S20, H30 and X100 1080p camcorders hit the States

While they’ve been available in Europe for awhile, Toshiba has finally seen fit to grace us Yanks with their excellent Camileo range of low-cost camcorders. It’s about time. The Camileo range was announced way back at IFA 2009, and we’ve been waiting ever since. Here’s what you’ll be seeing on big box shelves soon enough. The [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Google tweaks more Buzz privacy settings

Google Buzz, the search giant’s ill-fated Facebook killer, has been plagued with various privacy related issues since it debuted three months ago. Realizing that Buzz is going nowhere, Google announced Tuesday new defaults regarding automatic following. Todd Jackson, a product manager with Google’s Gmail team, announced the latest Buzz privacy tweaks in a company blog post: Rather than [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Allegro Portable Wireless Radio and Streamer makes internet radio portable

Internet radio’s a fantastic thing. Instead of listening to the local zoo crew or rap station in staticky FM, you can pipe in crystal clear, high-quality audio in any genre you want from thousands of Internet radio stations. The only problem is, if you want to listen to internet radio, you’ve got to be sitting at [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

ARRI

ARRI is a legendary maker of film cameras, one of the most respected companies in the business, but even they’ve got to keep up with the times: they’ve just announced their Alexa supercamera, and while its cost of $60,000 is going to put it firmly beyond most of our budgets, it’s worth drooling over all [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

LG Mini GD880 is Flash and Webkit capable feature phone

We don’t tend to write much about feature phones here at Geek, mostly because the likes of the Blackberry, the Pre, the iPhone and the Android operating system are the most interesting phones to talk about. That said, even we’re interested in LG’s latest feature-phone, the LG Mini GD880. It was announced back in February, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Did Rockstar get Australian gaming journalist fired?

According to news.com.au, Toby McCasker — the former deputy entertainment editor for Australian lads mag Zoo Weekly — has been let go from his position after making public an email from Rockstar, asking for more favorable coverage of Red Dead Redemption. The email in question was posted to McCasker’s Facebook account, and read: This is the biggest [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

NCSoft trademarks City of Heroes 2 name, MMO sequel in the works?

NCSoft, or to be more precise, Cryptic made a big splash when it released the original City of Heroes. An MMO where you could create your own super hero was clearly going to be popular, and NCSoft made sure it remained that way by making it a decent MMO too. More recently, Champions Online has been [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Apple confirms iPad WiFi issue, offers solution

Soon after the launch of the iPad at the weekend users started complaining about poor WiFi connections. At the time it was thought the problem may be down to the positioning of the antenna on the back of the device, which would usually be covered up by a surface or your legs. Apple has now confirmed [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Muvi Atom is a voice controlled camcorder smaller than your finger

I’ve always been a fan of Muvi’s cute and clever little camcorders… particularly in just how much functionality they manage to cram into devices smaller than your housekeys. Their previous model, the Micro DV, was the smallest camcorder available, but still wasn’t a bad little cam. The DV looks positively gargantuan compared to Muvi’s latest [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Lenovo Ideapad S10-3s slims netbooks down

Lenovo’s a favorite brand for PC laptops, and they’ve really done a great job transitioning their design expertise from notebooks to netbooks with the Lenovo S10 and S12. They’ve now announced their latest update to the already lovely S10, the S10-3S, and guess what? The “S” stands for slim. Well, the second one does… I [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Lenovo C200 all-in-one packs NVIDIA Ion 2

Lenovo’s been busy announcing some cheap, attractive machines with Intel Atom guts this morning. Hot off the heels of their press release for the Lenovo Ideapad S10-3S netbook, this comes sliding through the mail slot: the Lenovo C200, a gorgeous, low-cost, NVIDIA Ion 2 toting all-in-one. What’s important here is the NVIDIA Ion 2 chipset, which [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Panasonic plans to push 20MP in its digital cameras by 2012

Back when digital cameras first came out, it wasn’t obvious to consumers whether a $400 Canon camera was better than a $200 Kodak one. In response to this, camera companies came up with the idea of megapixels: buy a camera with more megapixels and you’ll always be taking better images! It actually wasn’t all that disingenuous [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

EA launches free-to-play Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online

EA has officially launched Tiger Woods PGA Tour Online, a free-to-play golf video game accessible through a web browser.
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Things to do in Japan and Thailand?

Sometime in the next few weeks, my wife and I are going to take a trip to Japan and Thailand. Our tenth wedding anniversary flew by in January 2010, and now we’re taking the chance to celebrate and explore some new places. I’m really excited because I’ve never been to Asia before (!). We’ve got our [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Apple iPad recruits Frogger and Solid Snake for the App Store

Frogger and Solid Snake might not seem like the most likely duo, but they both need your gentle touch to guide them to victory. Metal Gear Solid Touch and Frogger Pad are now available from the App Store for the Apple iPad, Konami announced in a press release Monday.
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Google I/O attendees to receive free Nexus One or Droid

If you are pre-registered and paid to go to the Google I/O conference in May expect a package through your door soon. Google has decided that you will be receiving either a Motorola Droid or Nexus One smartphone for free. Google is shipping the free smartphones before the conference because it wants everyone there to [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Infinity Ward loses two more long-serving staff members

The fallout at Infinity Ward continues as two more key staff members have left the studio. Todd Alderman, an eight year veteran of the studio, and lead designer, is thought to have resigned his post. Lead software engineer, and seven year veteran Francesco Gigliotti has also joined Alderman in leaving. No official announcement has been made [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

The iPad takes on

If you are already an iPad fan, then watching the article with an iPad taking a ruthless beating with a baseball bat probably made you cringe a little.  If that is the case, then the video in this article is definitely going to make your gut wrench. So just be warned. On the latest edition of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

WD doubles capacity of VelociRaptor performance hard drive

Western Digital has announced the arrival of new VelociRaptor hard drives. The drives will be available in 450GB and 600GB capacities and will feature 6Gb/s SATA connections. For the last few years Western Digital has held the performance crown in for SATA hard drives. Their 10,000RPM Raptor drives and then the VelociRaptor (which was still 10K [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Sharp unveils new LCD technology to be used in Nintendo 3DS

A couple of weeks ago, Nintendo made a surprise announcement: the successor to their popular DS handheld would be called the 3DS and use an innovative new technique to display 3D touchscreen graphics without any glasses. At the time, there was a lot of confusion about how Nintendo might go about doing this, since 3D and [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Drobo FS is part NAS, part RAID

It’s been a long time coming, but Data Robotics has finally delivered with a networked version of its popular line of redundant storage hard drive bays. Meet the Drobo FS. The Drobo FS is a RAID-like storage device aimed at the less tech savvy. It operates similarly to RAID: you push a couple hard drives in, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Econogo debuts the Yogo, the world

Although electric vehicles are the dream, it’s a sad fact that lithium-ion batteries just don’t have the capacity to really do the job just yet. Cars, after all, are power-hungry beasts, and until someone figures out how to greatly increase both the capacity and recharge times of beefy lithium-ion packs, hybrid vehicles are the best [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Fresh Duke Nukem Forever footage appears on YouTube

Since 3D Realms finally closed its doors we’ve seen more footage from Duke Nukem Forever than in the previous decade. And the footage keeps coming with a new four minute video being uploaded to YouTube over the Easter break. Just like in previous videos, the footage shows a game that was very advanced and could have [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Fujitsu integrate power monitoring into power strips

Monitoring the power consumption of your different electronic gadgets can be done with a simple plug-in monitoring device. But if you have an office full of PCs, or just a busy desk at home, it’s a bit tedious and time consuming to monitor each device individually and figure out where power is being wasted. Fujitsu [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

iPad gets installed into the dash of a truck

With the iPad recently hitting store shelves, it was only a matter of time before people thought of other applications for the new Apple portable than just using it as a tablet device. Take for example the guys over at Sound Man Car Audio that decided the iPad would look great mounted in the dashboard of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Full multitasking is the killer feature of iPhone OS 4.0, sources claim

The upcoming iPhone OS 4.0 should finally fix – and in a big way, too – the lack of multitasking as the most glaring omission of Apple’s mobile platform. This news came via a note that Kaufman Bros. released to investors earlier today. Shaw Wu, the analyst with Kaufman Bros., wrote in a note that his “checks [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Enter the Hall of Meat with April 15

Both the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live will see a Skate 3 demo on the same day next week, with the skateboarding sequel set to release on April 15. The demo is set to be far more substantial than expected, especially after the brevity and compact nature of the Skate 2 sampler last year. The demo [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

High-end CPUs compared: Nehalem EX vs Magny Cours

The Inquirer has a great post up that compares some of today’s highest performance CPUs. These are CPUs for enterprise servers and other high-end applications, but the article packs in a ton of interesting information about the latest efforts by Intel and AMD. From the article: The Nehalem EX has higher raw memory bandwidth, with four serial [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

SNES emulator landing on the iPad

You are probably all tired of hearing about the iPad, but this will get your attention. It’s true, someone is working on a SNES emulator for Apple’s super slate. As you surely know, the SNES is just about the greatest console of all time. Combine that with the wonder pad and you could have a lot [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

The iPad says it needs to cool down under too much sunlight

Early complaints from iPad users mostly focus on reported reception issues with wireless routers. On top of that, however, we’re hearing stories of other problems plaguing Apple’s inaugural multitouch tablet. Apparently, some iPads are malfunctioning when users expose them to too much direct sunlight. According to ZDNet, some overheated iPads refuse to work, greeting their users with [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

The iPad

The iFixit teardown wizards teamed up with the Ottawa, Ontario-based reverse engineering company Chipworks to cross-section the A4 system-on-a-chip that powers the iPad. According to both parties, the A4’s CPU die is basically a single-core ARM Cortex-A8 design. While dual-core Cortex-A8 designs based on ARM’s CPU blueprint can be found in other mobile platforms, Apple probably opted [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Facebook Connect coming to iTunes?

A new rumor alleging that Facebook Connect is coming to iTunes “quite soon” could mean whole new possibilities. By authorizing iTunes to access your Facebook account, you could share iTunes Store purchases with your friends more easily and securely than before. According to TechCrunch: We’re hearing that iTunes will be implementing Facebook Connect support in the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Will network hogs run on 3G iPads?

With 3G iPad upon us, the question looms whether Apple and AT&T will cripple software like Skype and SlingPlayer that wants to carry voice and stream video over 3G cellular networks. Am I freaking out? Hardly. Skype has just updated its app with iPad support and guess what – it still lacks 3G VoIP calling. Is it [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-07 more

Microsoft apologizes to day-one Stimulus Package buyers

If you're one of the "lucky ones" who purchased the Stimulus Package map pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the first day of its release, Microsoft is sending you a consolation gift as an apology for the broken DLC.
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

UK Police to be issued the e-Glove to help fight crime

Police in the UK are getting a new handheld gadget in order to help fight crime and it is called the e-Glove. This new police tool, which runs around $153, is worn on the hand and is used when suspects are being detained and searched. The e-Glove device acts as a metal detector when suspects are [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Mystery flash drives and Baconian cipher hint at new Bethesda game

Late last week, a number of video game news outlets received mysterious USB flash drives in the mail. No company was identified as the sender, which is weird enough in the PR business. Even weirder: the USB flash drives were almost entirely devoid of media. Can anyone smell a viral marketing campaign yet? Of course, there’s [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Blu-Ray Discs Will Now Support 128GB of Storage

Blu-Ray discs are already pretty dense: it takes a lot of space to cram an uncompressed 1080p movie on a disc. That’s not to say they can’t get denser, though. The Blu-Ray Disc Association has just announced their approval of two new specs for the Blu-Ray format: BDXL and IH-BD. The new BDXL specification applies to [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Hitachi announces new li-ion battery tech that could double capacity, lifetime

It seems like we hear about another revolutionary battery technology every other day, only to be quickly forgotten by the very companies that promote them. It’s frustrating, because our gadgeting future depends on significantly improving the capacity of the batteries that drive our electronics. We need some sort of revolutionary, or at least evolutionary, bump. Hopefully, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Hori

All you have to do is look at the rabid fan community around console modder Ben Heck to realize there is a sizable fascination with taking clunky gaming consoles and turning them into portables, if not quite handhelds. Unfortunately, the process is often expensive, time consuming and not for the faint of heart. What if you [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

ICD announces would-be iPad killer, the Android driven Gemini tablet

The iPad is going to be the tablet to beat for the foreseeable future, but there may be a dark horse in the running for ultimate tablet supremacy, if ICD’s latest announcement is anything to go by: the company has just announced the ICD Gemini, and it looks like a bonafide iPad challenger. The Gemini uses [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

The Ultimate Steampunk Office makes everything analog, right down to the USB Stick

The difference between good steampunk and bad steampunk is that good steampunk re-imagines contemporary electronics as a retro-futuristic device, plausibly constructed of the technology of the late 19th century. Bad steampunk just covers it in brass and cogs. I’d qualify the Victorian Organ Command Desk by Bruce and Melanie Rosenbaum as the former: this [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Unofficial HP Slate spec and pricing revealed

Over the weekend the iPad was launched and managed to sell 300,000 by midnight on Saturday. After what can only be seen as a very successful launch it’s now up to the competition to produce something on a par, or better than the iPad. The first to jump is HP with its Slate tablet. Although nothing [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Digital Life: Get first bite of Twilight novella

Calling all Twilight fans. A new novella from Stephenie Meyer, author of the hit vampire series, is incoming -- but you can read it first online for free.
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Digital Life: Great atmosphere let down by the gunplay

Metro 2033, X360/PC: It must be something about the hostile weather in the former Soviet Union that begets the gloomy fiction on which Metro 2033 hangs its hat.
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Digital Life: Legend has it, but so does iPhone

Apple's iPhone has remained king of the smart-phone hill for almost three years, easily repelling limp challenges from Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, among others.
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

iPad sales on target as Apple shifts over 300,000

Apple has reported sales of more than 300,000 iPads on the tablet computer's first day in stores, surpassing some forecasts, but leaving questions about whether the product can be its next big hit.
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

iPad destroyed with a baseball bat

As the reviews, first looks, and feature breakdowns of the iPad appear on the web, one thing you probably don’t expect to be tested is how durable the $500+ device is. But one owner with more money than sense decided to see just how hard wearing his brand new iPad was with the aid of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

iPad design flaw? WiFi not working/very weak

The iPad may be wowing people with how sleek and shiny it is, but once that initial awe-struck stare has gone users are beginning to complain. The problem is, WiFi doesn’t seem to be working very well, if at all. Many users are complaining that the iPad cannot find a signal, or the signal never gets [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Ralph Baer, the creator of Pong and the first game console, becomes part of the Inventors Hall of Fame

Pong developer Ralph Baer was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame during a ceremony held at the United States Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday.
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Seiko unveil new

Seiko is already known for embracing new technology in the design of its wristwatches, and that was demonstrated back in 2005 when it released the world’s first E-Ink display wristwatch. Jump forward five years and Seiko has updated its E-Ink watch as part of the ‘Future Now’ project. The original 2005 E-Ink watch boasted a 180-degree [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Chillingo to bring Monster Madness to the iPhone

Chillingo has announced plans to bring Monster Madness to the iPhone and iPod touch. The red-hot UK-publisher has teamed up with developer Taplay to bring their castle defense game to Apple’s platform. Very little information has been presented about Monster Madness at press time beyond this teasing blurb: In a full moon night, some thing will be [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Switchfoot, Skillet and others set for Rock Band stage

Six singles from alternative rockers Skillet, Switchfoot and others will be added to the Rock Band Music Store next week, Harmonix and MTV Games announced in a press release on Friday.
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Geminoid F: The realistic female robot

Back in 2008 Japanese professor Hiroshi Ishiguro created a robot in his own image with the aid of robot manufacturing company Kokoro. The result was called Geminoid, and looked very realistic, but not perfect. It could display facial emotion and be controlled remotely. Nearly two years on and that robot design has been updated, but this [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

iPad launch day gives Apple 300k sales

It’s safe to say that lines of people and crowded Apple stores across the country were a good indicator that Apple was going to sell more than a few of the iPads which were officially launched over the weekend. What many people have been wondering is exactly how many did Apple sell? Well, Apple has [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Man

Could you imagine not being able to use a computer in today’s society? In some respects, computer use has become mandatory to find a job and is part of most job responsibilities. According to an Associated Press article, one convicted sex offender, Mark Wayne Russell, faced the reality of such a restriction after a sentence [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

iPad gets 6 Intellivision games for $2.99

In a classic case of combining the very new with the very old, iPad owners can now pick up six Intellivision games to play on their shiny new Apple device. The six games are being offered in one package for $2.99. The titles included are: Astrosmash Chip Shot Super Pro Golf Night Stalker Skiing Thin Ice Thunder Castle The announcement of the iPad [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Red Sox Edition Beats by Dr. Dre headphones announced for superfans

Monster Cables’ popular sub-brand Beats by Dr. Dre just announced their first ever sport-themed product. The Red Sox Edition headphones takes the standard Beats by Dr. Dre Studio headphones and slap a fresh coat of paint on them, along with some logos, so no one will be confused about what baseball team you are rooting for [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Steve Jobs and Jon Ive caught on camera during an iPad recon mission at Apple stores

Friday iPad frenzy didn’t just draw techies, early adopters, and Apple fans, but Apple’s top celebrities as well. Apple’s boss, chief designer, and famed engineer gave pumped up store employees goose bumps by showing up out of the blue for hands-on inspection. iPad shoppers who lined up outside Apple’s University Avenue store in Palo Alto sighted [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Apple to preview iPhone OS 4.0 on Thursday, April 8

Apple is definitely on a roll. On the heels of the iPad launch that saw the company ship 300,000 iPads in just 24 hours comes the news that the company invited select members of the press to get a taste of iPhone OS 4.0, the next major iteration of the software powering Apple’s mobile devices. Gizmodo [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Engadget demos $1000 game of Scrabble using iPad

If you’re a fan of Scrabble, Engadget suggests a cool new way to play the popular board game. Of course, this version will cost you around $1000, but you can’t deny it’s an updated way to play the game. As far as hardware you’ll need an iPad, which becomes the game board, and two iPhones or iPod touch handhelds which [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Spare hard drive becomes a bench sander

There seems to be no end to the things people do with spare hard drives (clock, chop saws, etc.) but this is one of the most clever. By simply removing a few parts from a spare (but still working) hard drive and adding in some sand paper you can have yourself a pretty nice bench [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

NES super fan mods car engine

You know you are a super fan when you start seeing things you love in everyday items.  Take for example this fan of the original Nintendo Entertainment System. One day this person must have opened up the hood of their Toyota and saw a NES controller just waiting to be realized. With a little modding and [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Google adds special result for suicide search listings

Considering the fact that Google’s search engine is a frequent stop by many Internet users it makes sense that every once in awhile someone does a search for some troubling keywords. One of those is “suicide”. Last week, Google took steps to handle keywords related to suicide differently to ensure those in need had a [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Review: Filco Majestouch FKB104M/EB keyboard

If you thought that the mechanical keyboard died with the IBM Model M, then you’ve been missing out. These keyboards are still alive and well, though they’ve been relegated to niche markets such as PC gamers, typing purists, and the ergonomically inclined. The size of the market has decreased as an [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Olympus E-PL1

In my preview of the Olympus E-PL1, the new $599 consumer-focused Micro 4/3rds camera, I mentioned its unique iAuto Live Guide feature: There is also a new UI feature called the Live Guide. This gives users a simple way to get the photo they want, regardless of their understanding of photography or the shooting conditions. Rather [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

iTiki debuts, an exotic case that transforms your iPhone into a tiki

A new case brand goes on sale tomorrow. Designed to look like traditional Polynesian tikis, the iTiki case wraps your iPhone in a sexy, vivid skin that’ll be the perfect iPhone companion for your summer Hawaiian getaway. A new venture of Information Appliance Associates (IAA), a San Diego, California-based company known for its syncing software, the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-06 more

Using the lang attribute makes a difference

About a year ago I posted a Quick Tip titled Specify each HTML document
Publication date: 2010-04-05 more

Eager buyers get first bite of Apple iPad

EAGER customers intent on being among the first owners of Apple's new iPad stood in long queues across the US at the weekend.
Publication date: 2010-04-05 more

Up next for the iPad: A millionth sale

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re aware that the iPad arrived at Apple’s and Best Buy’s retail stores yesterday. While analysts are busy figuring out the iPad’s sales performance thus far, Apple is meanwhile racing to cross the one million mark as soon as possible. According to All Things Digital’s John Paczkowski, Piper Jaffray’s resident [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-05 more

CPU showdown: The iPad versus the iPhone 3GS

Even both the iPad and iPhone 3GS share a nearly identical CPU/GPU combo, Apple’s tablet crunches numbers roughly twice as fast as its cellphone counterpart. According to a simple benchmark by Craig Hockenberry, the A4 chip ticking inside the iPad runs a test Cocoa Touch app about twice as fast as the iPhone 3GS. Pitting the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-05 more

Mini-review of the iPad

I played with an iPad yesterday. Here’s my mini-review. The screen is bright and the touch sensitivity is fantastic. Given that it reminds me the most of an iPhone, it’s surprisingly heavy. It feels dense with potential. On the childlike-sense-of-wonder-scale (as fake Steve Jobs would say), the iPad is better than the Macbook Air but not [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-05 more

Teardown time: A closer look at the iPad

Thanks to the iFixit team that tore their iPad apart, we now know more about its dual battery pack, Apple’s speedy A4 processor, a hole where a camera was supposed to be, and more. iFixit usually beats everyone else with timely teardowns but this time FCC caught them on the wrong foot by exposing the iPad’s guts [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-04 more

The iPad launch: The blogosphere has reached its verdict

After over eight years of development that saw several prototypes killed last minute by its creator, Apple chief Steve Jobs, after endless rounds of speculation that have set the tech world on fire and tremendous amount of hype preceding the formal January unveiling, Apple has officially launched its latest creation earlier this morning at 9am [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-04 more

iPad unboxings take over the web

You wouldn’t have guess it, but people are posting unboxing videos of the iPad. Imagine that! Here are some for you to watch, possibly while wishing you had pre-ordered one or while driving to the Apple store to bask in one’s reflected glory. For added fun count how many times you hear the word “elegant” or [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-03 more

10 Xbox Live Arcade titles on sale until April 7th

If you are looking for a new game to play over the Easter weekend Microsoft has you covered. The price of 10 games on Xbox Live Arcade has been cut, giving you a chance to catch up with some great titles you may have overlooked at the higher price. Here’s the list with the old price in [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-03 more

Droid 2.1 Android update is killing 2D performance

If you own a Motorola Droid, and enjoy playing 2D games on your smartphone, you may want to hold off getting the Android 2.1 update. Developer Tesuji Games has been developing an app for the Android platform and got a bit of a shock when the 2.1 update was applied. The 2D performance of their app [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-03 more

MPAA, RIAA receive condoms from Vertor torrent site

The torrent website Vertor has carried out what many may think is an April Fool, but they have assured people definitely is not. On April 1st the torrent site shipped packages to the offices of the MPAA, RIAA, IFPI, BREIN, BPI, and BSA. Within each was a pack of condoms and a postcard that simply [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-03 more

Chillingo launches 14 apps for Apple

Downloadable game publisher, Chillingo, announced that it has made 14 new apps for the iPad available today on the App Store. The apps include a few of Chillingo's successful games as well as some brand new titles.
Publication date: 2010-04-03 more

Free Realms hits 10 million users, gives out

Just short of its first birthday, free-to-play MMO Free Realms reaches 10 million players. In celebration, Sony Online Entertainment has doubled Station Cash purchases for the weekend.
Publication date: 2010-04-03 more

Facebook acquires and shutsdown Divvyshot

I don’t think I am going out on a limb by saying that Facebook has become a popular place to share photos with friends and family. In fact, you’d have to believe that the amount of photo sharing on Facebook offers some serious competition to websites dedicated to that purpose including Flickr and Picasa. It [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-03 more

Big media bends over to Apple

Apple and Adobe are stepping up their silent Flash battle ahead of the iPad launch tomorrow. Determined to have its iPad show Flash videos right inside web pages, Apple has been working behind the scenes with the biggest sites on the web. As a result, a number of sites that serve Flash videos now cater [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-03 more

Guinness World Records has an iPad app

The official Guinness World Records app puts “record-breaking facts at a touch” while spoiling you with an eye-candy layout and a clever use of multitouch user interface on the iPad’s big screen. Dubbed Guinness World Records: At Your Fingertips, the software is optimized for the iPad’s 9.7-inch multitouch display and a speedy A4 processor. In fact, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-03 more

Google grabs online video platform provider Episodic

Google has made yet another move to galvanize its dominance of online video with the acquisition of Episodic. The search giant has attempted to grab significant market share when it comes to online video through their creation of Google Video and their later purchase of online video powerhouse YouTube. Now it seems that Google is ready [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-03 more

Nintendo puts stop to fan-made Pokémon MMO, Pokénet

Nintendo issued a cease-and-desist notice to the creators of an open source Pokémon MMO. The notice required that the developers take down their website and surrender the pokedev.org domain name used for the game.
Publication date: 2010-04-03 more

HP Labs researchers use Twitter to predict opening box office sales

If movie studios want to predict how well a movie is going to do during the first couple of weekends of its release they may want to look to a new source for those predictions. Fast Company is reporting that two HP Labs researchers discovered by monitoring tweets they could accurately predict the success of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-03 more

FCC inadvertently exposes the iPad

The only thing setting the iPad apart from a regular tablet is Apple’s custom silicon. The remaining components are all off-the-shelf parts they use to make desktops, notebooks, and smartphones. Forget iFixit, this is the ultimate teardown done the FCC way. A bunch of images showing internal components belonging to a prototype WiFi iPad (#A1219) have [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-03 more

Cisco taps Flip team for family-friendly Valet routers

Cisco has tapped the talent in the team that gave us the Flip handheld video recorder to create a very simple, family-friendly new line of home routers. The new product line is called Valet, and aims to completely remove the complexity associated with setting up a wireless home network. In fact, with Valet, Cisco are promising [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

Quake 2 now runs in your browser with port to HTML 5

Ever since Apple confirmed that Flash wasn’t coming to the iPad the pros and cons of using Adobe’s platform in a web browser have been debated. The alternative to Flash that keeps being mentioned is HTML 5, which allows for similar functionality directly in a compatible browser without a plug-in. HTML 5 may well do what [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

Adobe

The iPad does not run Flash. Not because it can’t, but because Steve Jobs and Apple decided they didn’t want it to. Adobe’s response to this is clear. On the weekend the iPad launches it releases the video you see above showing Flash running on six different mobile devices. The gadgets on show include: Palm Pre Nexus One Dell Mid Moto [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

Hands-on: Alienware M11x gaming notebook

Alienware’s 11.6-inch, 4.5 pound, sub-$1000 gaming laptop has landed at the Geek.com offices. The M11x is one most portable gaming systems ever, and one of the only one that can double as a rather nice thin-and-light laptop. It packs game-ready NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M graphics along with a Intel Core 2 Duo ULV processor (U7300) for [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

Flickr user Dippold offers print-out-and-make pinhole camera

A Flickr user by the name of Dippold has uploaded a new image that is actually a template for creating a pinhole camera. A separate image then offers up instructions on how to fold yourself a camera using the template. As well as the template you will need the following components: An elastic band Two rolls of film, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

Geometry Wars: Touch coming to iPad

If you are buying an iPad this weekend in the hope of using it to do some gaming, there’s a very popular Xbox title on the horizon. Geometry Wars already appears on the App Store as Geometry Wars: Touch for iPad. The game is listed as releasing yesterday, so we can only assume it is going [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

Flickr co-founder raises $5 million for new game startup

Flickr co-founder Stewart Butterfield landed $5 million for his new game company, Tiny Speck. Earlier this year, Tiny Speck announced its first product, a Flash-based game titled Glitch.
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

Field test: Zeiss ZE lenses (50mm F1.4, 50mm F2.0 macro, 18mm F3.5)

Digital photography is just about the perfect fusion of technology and craftsmanship. The combination of a camera body packed with complex algorithms and hundreds of settings with a lens that is painstakingly configured down to the thousandth of an inch should be enough to get any geek excited, whether they are into the art of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

The Wall Street Journal on iPad is $17.29 per month

The Wall Street Journal has finally revealed how much it intends to charge for its iPad app, and WSJ readers aren’t going to be happy. The official price is $3.99 a week, or $17.29 per month. If you currently subscribe to the print and online version of the WSJ you only pay around $11.67 per month, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

Forget the regular iPad, a huge iPad L is coming

As you know, Apple’s multitouch couch computer will go on sale in about 36 hours from now. While we’ve been drooling over it since the January introduction, the rest of the industry is closing the gap fast. Already a few iPad killers are lining up, hoping to turn the spotlight away from Apple’s launch. For example, [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

Field test: Nikon D3x digital camera

Recently I got some hands-on time with one of Nikon’s flagship digital camera bodies, the D3x. This is a pro-grade DSLR that shoots at 24.5 megapixels and is designed specifically for shooting landscapes and for use in the studio. It has live-view, dual CF slots, a huge battery, and all sorts of other features that [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

Greg Packer beats Steve Wozniak, gets first in the line for an iPad

You can call him a professional line sitter and a man on the street, but you cannot deny that Greg Packer has did it again by turning up first outside the Manhattan Apple Store for an iPad. Although we’re still some 36 hours away from the official iPad launch on Saturday, the line is forming slowly outside [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

Darksiders coming to the PC this June

Vigil Games' Darksiders will be coming to the PC this June, THQ announced in a press release Thursday. The action-adventure title was originally released earlier this year for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

The reviews are in: What do the brightest journos think of the iPad?

You know the drill – Apple pitches the next big thing and then treats a select group of journalists with an early access to the device ahead of the launch. The resulting noise builds into a deafening media crescendo, just what Apple needs to sell the first million. Embargoed, NDA’ed, and under the watchful eye of [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

Whenever you use :hover, also use :focus

Probably one of the most common accessibility oversights is neglecting to apply CSS to the :focus state of links whenever you style the :hover state. How much of a problem this oversight leads to for non-mouse users depends on what CSS is applied to the :hover state.Read full postPosted in Accessibility, CSS, Quick Tips.
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

Hundreds of iPad apps approved ahead of launch

New iPad owners will be able to choose from more than 700 apps when the Apple tablet-style computer goes on sale in the US on Saturday
Publication date: 2010-04-02 more

ThinkGeek selling Canned Unicorn Meat

One of the better April Fool creations we have seen today, ThinkGeek has started selling Canned Unicorn Meat. An excellent source of sparkles, this rarest of meats has been canned by Radiant Farms where “The Sisters” nurse Unicorns through their final days on this earth by massaging them with Guinness and feeding them candy corn. If you’ve [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Flowchart your way through that iPad buying decision

Still not 100 percent certain about buying an iPad this Saturday? No worries, there’s a wicked little flowchart for that. Not all of us geeks necessarily are adept at coding, but most folks know their way through a flowchart. I bet the vast majority of you possess the ability to break down any complex problem into [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Latest Facebook security breach reveals email addresses

Back in February, we reported that Facebook had a bit of a security breach which caused Facebook emails to be sent to the wrong recipients. Only a few weeks later it seems that Facebook has had yet another embarrassing security gaff. Gawker is reporting that on late Tuesday email addresses of users were made public for 30 minutes. During [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Report: Mobile video to cause 40x increase in data usage by 2015

A new report has predicted a 40-fold rise in U.S. mobile data traffic, stimulated largely by mobile video traffic. There are no prizes for guessing who is expected to pick up the bill. UK research outfit Coda Research Consultancy believe that carriers will be forced to adopt tiered data plans as a result of the massive [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Wii game And Kensaku uses Google search data

Nintendo is releasing a new family-oriented quiz game for the Wii in Japan that potentially has a never ending selection of data to draw upon. The game is called And Kensaku, and gets players to guess which search terms are most popular. To make it a little more interesting, the guessing is wrapped up in different [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

WolframAlpha drops iPhone search app price from $49.99 to $1.99

WolframAlpha launched its fact-based search engine in May last year. It offered something different over traditional search engines, and attempted to present real answers when presented with a query rather than the more typical list of links. Part of the release also included the eventual mobile application for the iPhone and iPod touch. The one problem [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Super Mario Galaxy 2 new gameplay trailer

A new gameplay trailer has been released for Super Mario Galaxy 2, and with the hands-on time IGN got with the game we now know a few more details about what to expect. Here’s the rundown of what we know: SMG2 retains the Galaxy/Planet navigation system seen in the first game The observatory has been replaced with a [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Panasonic: Google TV too expensive to use

Last month Google announced new partnerships with Intel, Sony, and Logitech to create Google TV: an Android-based solution to a set-top box and TV media integration. Although it has Sony on-board for a TV solution, it looks like other manufacturers will be steering clear of Google’s OS. Panasonic is the second TV manufacturer to come out [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

MW2: Booster Justice

This one is a little bit old, but I just stumbled on it. It’s probably the best Call of Duty video that I’ve ever seen. We’ve talked about boosting before, but my time spent playing the recently released map pack has reminded me of just how painful it can be. It’s especially jarring after having played [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Netflix streaming coming to iPad with free app

App Advice posted this news at 9:46pm PST yesterday, and the author assures us in comments that this is no April Fool. But you never can tell on this most annoying of days for news coverage. Apparently Netflix is set to release a free app for the iPad that will allow you to stream content to [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Sonic 4 Splash Hill Zone Act 1 gameplay video leaked

If you are eagerly awaiting the release of Sonic 4 to see if Sega has managed to recapture what made Sonic games great, then you are in for an early surprise. Some sneaky individual managed to record footage of Splash Hill Zone Act 1 being played through. The video started appearing on YouTube, and then promptly [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Geotag your life

IMAGINE a world where almost anybody could trace your steps: knowing what area you live in, where you like to stop by for your morning coffee or when you head to the local for a few pints
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Cisco unveils new easy-to-setup routers for networking beginners, Linksys E-Series for the advanced

Believe it or not, setting up a router is beyond most people’s grasp. Actually, I can believe it: even as a tech nerd, the sheer number of arcane options and acronyms on display in the average router’s setup pane are enough to confuse me sometimes. Cisco’s latest line of routers, the Valet series, is aimed at [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

WordPress introduces backup service called VaultPress

When creating a website you have the option to make one from scratch or go with a pre-built content management system. One of the most popular solutions out there is the free-to-use WordPress. You can create a free WordPress blog, use the system on your own server as a complete website solution, or pay for [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Jury says Novell owns Unix copyright

We may finally have a winner in the case of copyright ownership for Unix. SCO and Novell have been locked in battle for years over who the rightful owners were. SCO had claimed ownership based on an agreement with Novell which they used in an agressive campaign going all the way back to 2004 to [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Google identifies massive cyberattack campaign against Vietnamese protesters

The recent, highly-publicized conflict between China and Google based upon the former’s alleged attacks on the GMail accounts of political dissidents might have made the Chinese government temporarily bashful to hack Google directly, but that doesn’t mean other countries aren’t trying the search giant has just announced that they have identified cyber-attacks aimed at silencing [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Introducing Prefab, GUI design that disregards the rules

Anyone developing a new application to run on Windows or Mac OS has to follow some very clear rules. A window will look a certain way with specific controls, buttons have to conform to the look defined by Microsoft and Apple, and functionality is limited to what those companies deem as “legal” within their operating [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Review: Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300 portable scanner

April is, if nothing else, a month of paperwork. Tax season means a lot of forms and receipts cluttering up our otherwise digital world. A perfect solution for this is to scan your documents, thus giving you a secure backup copy and potentially more room. This idea might put off some people though because most [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Attack of the clones: Counterfeit iPads with clickwheel hit China on April 3

Chinese citizens can pre-order counterfeit iPads for half the original price and pick them on the same day as their US fellows. Naturally, the cloned product doesn’t run iPhone OS or third-party software, but it features the iPod’s unmistakable feature – the clickwheel. Korea IT Times reports that counterfeit iPads are scheduled to begin carpeting the [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Zune HD 64GB officially drops, all other models get price cuts

Well, here we go: just a couple days after the Zune HD 4.5 software update dropped, Microsoft has unveiled, as expected, a brand spanking new slab of digital-media-playing aluminum and glass. Its the 64GB Zune HD, and it
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Google announces OAuth support for GMail

You
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Green Man Gaming signs up for SecuROM DRM on digital games

Green Man Gaming (GMG) is set to launch its digital game distribution service next month. When first announced back in January GMG got a lot of interest for one reason: it is going to be the first service to offer digital game trade-ins. Through such a system you can buy a game, play it as much [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

14MP Kodak Slice point-and-shoot digicam now available

Back in January, Kodak announced their latest point-and-shot digital camera, and a little more than two and a half months later, the Kodak Slice is up for sale. The Slice is a 14 megapixel compact dealie which features an internal optical zoom with up to five levels of magnification, built in image stabilization and a 3.5 [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Quick Review: Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver for Nintendo DS

Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver are remakes of Gold and Silver, which were released in1999 (in Japan, 2000 in the USA) for the Game Boy Color. Gold and Silver were two of the best games from the series (or so I have read), so it makes sense that Nintendo chose to bring back them back. [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

US District Judge orders torrent site IsoHunt to shut down

All the big pirates just keep on toppling. Just a few months after famed torrent site Mininova pulled all illegal torrents and the Pirate Bay lost a landmark case, the founder of popular BitTorrent site IsoHunt, Gary Fung, has been ordered to remove the .torrent files of all infringing content. It could and probably will [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Activision announces Noir Spider-Man Game with Shattered Memories

Great superhero games have been pretty rare lately, but last year, Rocksteady Studios
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Home world of Pac-Man found

Who can forget the iconic video game character Pac-Man from the 80’s? Better yet, how about the Saturday morning cartoon that was based on the ghost eating hero that showed Pac-Man and his adventures in his home town of Pac-Land? Well, if you’ve ever wondered what planet or moon Pac-Man lived on it seems NASA [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Lost Planet 2 demo contains unlockable gun usable in retail version

Capcom's upcoming third-person shooter, Lost Planet 2, contains a weapon that players can only unlock by trying out the game's multiplayer demo, the Osaka-based company confirmed.
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Goozex game trading service expands to include retro titles

Goozex, the leading online video game and movie trading community, announced Wednesday that the site now allows users to trade retro games for any of the following systems...
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Captain

I’ve been telling people all along that the iPad is like a better version of the Star Trek PADD (Personal Access Display Device). As any Trekkie could tell you, the PADD is best described as a handheld from the future that the Enterprise crew use for a variety of tasks, including area scanning, checking various starship [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

Atom-powered MacBook knockoff hits China mainland

Chinese manufacturers clone everything, especially the Apple gear. They first did the original iPhone and now they’re eying the iPad and Mac unibody notebooks, too. As you know, MacBooks aren’t as cutting-edge as they’ve used to be. Ans example is a company from Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, the home to Chinese clone makers, that took a page [...]
Publication date: 2010-04-01 more

What your web browser says about you

Soon after Google released its Chrome web browser in 2008, the company's marketing team took a video camera to the streets of Manhattan to ask passers-by what they thought a browser actually was.
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Apple updates iTunes for iPad launch

Apple has released the latest version of iTunes in preparation for the US launch of the iPad on Saturday.
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Sony disables PlayStation 3 OS function

Sony has said that from April 1 it will disable a function on its PlayStation 3 console which allows users to install alternative operating systems.
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

FirstPlay PSN interactive show available April 8th in UK

Back in February Future Publishing announced a new interactive show it had put together with Sony exclusively for PlayStation Network Europe. The show would be called FirstPlay, cost 99p (US$1.50) to watch, and includes six premium advertising slots of up to 30 seconds each. Originally scheduled to begin in March, Future has now said the first [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Xbox Live Director Major Nelson

It’s certainly a nice job, to be the face of Microsoft’s Xbox Live service, but setting yourself up as the big man means you set yourself up as a target. That’s just what Larry Hryb, Director of Programming for Xbox Live, discovered this weekend when his “Major Nelson” Xbox Live account was hacked. The hack was [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Panasonic announces six new Viera D2 LCD HDTVs

Panasonic loves their plasma televisions, but if today’s announcements are anything to go by, they haven’t yet turned their back on the venerable LCD HDTV: they have just announced a total of six new LCDs today as part of the new Viera D2 series. The TH-L42D2 (42 inches, $2,400), the TH-L37D2 (37 inches, $2000) and the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

The Conduit 2 confirmed in development

The Conduit was billed as the ultimate FPS for the Wii, but when it saw a release last June the reviews put it’s average score just below 70%. An enjoyable, yet flawed experience then. After such a response it’s never clear if a second game will follow, but in the case of The Conduit there will [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

WD Scorpio Blue HDD crams 750GB into standard 2.5 inch notebook drive

Western Digital, or WD, make some of the best hard drives on the market, and their latest Scorpio drive is sure to impress: they’ve managed to stuff a full 750GB of hard drive space into a 2.5 inch notebook drive without creeping into the 12.5 mm form factor. That’s the highest density hard drive to [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Atomic Games

Game conventions like E3 and PAX are known for their swag, but one gamer got a little greedy during last weekend’s PAX East event in Boston: he tried to steal the code of Atomic Games’ Breach. According to Joystiq, the gamer simply walked up to the Breach booth and plugged his laptop into an open [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

The iPhone

Remarkably, Apple has managed to patent even the iPhone’s trademark stainless steel bezel. The patent, filed on July 10, 2008, was granted Tuesday morning by the US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO). Apple fans can breath a collective sigh of relief knowing that the shiny bezel will remain an Apple exclusive. The patent titled “Cold worked [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Greenpeace turns its attention to datacenters not using renewable energy

Cloud computing and the online population continue to grow, and as companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple gain bigger audiences they also need larger datacenters. Greenpeace is concerned about this because of the energy required to power these enormous buildings full of servers, and is asking the big technology companies to focus on using renewable [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Chinese users report Google search results failing

The chess match between Google and the Chinese authorities has taken another turn and clearly at this point the Chinese have the advantage. As we reported last week, Google began forwarding traffic to their servers in Hong Kong in attempt to avoid mandatory filtering of search results on the mainland. Now the UK’s Telegraph [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Major iPad OS upgrades will cost money

Minor updates and the next big iPad software release will be free downloads. Beyond that, you’ll need to spend money to stay up-to-date. A revised iPad licensing agreement that appeared on Apple’s servers offered a detailed overview of Apple’s software upgrade policy for the device. MacRumors analyzed the new document and spotted the following paragraph [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

YouTube

The United States might have freedom of speech… but that doesn’t mean you won’t get arrested if you threaten to gut someone. YouTube’s the same way: a big mouth and a brain full of crazy are certain to get you in trouble. Just ask Norman Leboon, a psychotically disturbed Philadelphia man who was arrested by [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Rumor: Google to bundle Chrome with Adobe Flash

Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Sling Media to debut hi-res television streaming for the iPad

Sling Media is developing a service that will stream high-definition TV programming directly to the iPad, over the air, although the iPad doesn’t run Adobe’s Flash that powers over three quarters of online videos. Sling Media told Zatz Not Funny! that the upcoming player will take advantage of the iPad’s high-resolution display and stream high-quality videos [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Concept: Google Maps envelopes maps out your snail mail

It’s really staggering to sit back and think about how much Google Maps has changed the way we go about getting our directions. There was a time not too long ago when the only way to get turn-by-turn driving instructions was to lay out significant bank for a GPS Unit and TomTom subscription… and it [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Disney/Pixar

LittleBigPlanet will get some new heroes in town April 8, according to PlayStation's official blog. The Incredibles costume kit, inspired by the Disney/Pixar animated feature, allows players to dress up their Sackboys and Sackgirls as not only the five butt-kicking family members (including a
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

iTunes 9.1 is out: iPad syncing, e-books, customizable Genius Mixes

Apple has updated its free jukebox software for Mac and Windows late afternoon, just in time for the official iPad launch this Saturday. The new version has brought a rumored support for e-books and iPad syncing. Apple says iTunes 9.1 lets you organize and sync books downloaded from the iBooks app on the iPad or manually [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

MapQuest 4 Mobile for iPhone gets a voice

Software and hardware providers of paid navigation solutions continue to get pressure from free offerings which offer some of the same features. Probably the first application to offer some serious competition was Google Maps Navigation which included voice directions. Now MapQuest has thrown their hat into the ring with the introduction of basic voice guidance [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

U.S. does not approve of Internet filtering for Aussies

The Associated Press has reported that the U.S. is expressing concern over the introduction of legislation in Australia, first announced  in December, that would mandate the filtering of Internet content in the country. A U.S. State Department spokesman is quoted in the article as saying: Our main message of course is that we remain committed to [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Steve Wozniak breaks Apple

Apple’s legendary co-founder and engineer Steve Wozniak will cut into the line this Saturday to purchase not one, not two, but three iPads – Apple’s two-per-customer limit be damned. Like some folks overseas who asked their US friends to buy an iPad on their behalf, the benevolent gadget lover will be buying one iPad for [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-31 more

Chinese censors disable Google searches

Chinese censors have disabled all Google searches on the mainland, blocking the US company's Hong Kong servers from delivering results.
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

Fighting baddies between minding kids

Yakuza 3, PS3
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

Apple could sell 10m iPads this year

Apple could sell as many as 10 million of its new iPads this year, a leading technology analyst has forecast, doubling previous expectations and pushing the technology giant's shares to new highs.
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

Digital Life: Wireless broadband- the new frontier

When Eircom introduced broadband to Ireland in 2002, it charged
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

PS3 Fat loses Linux support next month

If your first PS3 was of the Slim variety, then this news has no impact on you. But if you bought a PS3 Fat, you may have taken the option to install a Linux OS on your console turning it into a PC as well as a games machine. Although the majority of gamers would never [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

The $208k MacBook Air

As many of you might have read in a previous feature I wrote, I’m the owner of a new MacBook Pro, but perhaps I should have first considered the new customized MacBook Air being offered by Stuart Hughes. They dub the laptop the MacBook Air Supreme Ice Edition and may I just say the word [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

Square Enix hints at PSN version of Final Fantasy IX

Final Fantasy IX may hit the PlayStation Network soon, according to Square Enix producer Shinji Hashimoto. After the PSN releases of Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VIII, it only makes sense for the next title in the series to follow suit.
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

PAX East 2010 Hydrophobia video shows off water effects

Hydrophobia is putting a new twist on survival games by placing a big emphasis on the use of water. Usually such games rely on you defending against an enemy with an ever-limited supply of ammo. In Hydrophobia your worst enemy is water. Thankfully, developer Dark Energy Digital has managed to create some of the best water [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

Warner Bros. now hiring Anti-Piracy Interns

Warner Bros. believes it has found the answer to dealing with the piracy of its content on the Internet: students. The media company has started advertising for a tech-savvy student it can take under its wing for a 12-month internship. During that time, the student will be tasked with infiltrating BitTorrent networks, gathering evidence, and thwarting [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

All Points Bulletin MMO is all about customization in a GTA-like world

Whenever you talk about future games in the GTA series someone always mentions how great it would be to have an MMO based on the GTA world. That may never happen as Rockstar continue to develop console versions of the game, but there is an alternative planned for release in the third quarter of this [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

Nokia acquires mobile browser maker Novarra

When Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry, decided to enhance the BlackBerry Browser they decided to spend rather than reinvent the wheel. That led to RIM’s purchase of Torch Mobile back in August and the announcement that RIM would soon update their browser to one that is WebKit-based, much like Torch Mobile’s flagship product, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

Take a peek inside the iPad App Store

Wondering what the iPad section of the App Store will look like? A bunch of genuine-looking screenshots hit the web, showing exactly what we’ve been promised – a special section inside the App Store  that’s dedicated only to iPad apps. A store-within-the-store concept doesn’t break away from the way the regular App Store is organized. As [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

The iPhone 4.0 might sport a 3.7-inch screen, a video hints

A very questionable video has appeared online, depicting what looks like to be a display part belonging to the fourth-generation iPhone, due this summer. The video, included below, was sent to 9to5Mac by an anonymous tipster and the publication has been unable to determine its authenticity so proceed with caution. On the other hand, as 9to5Mac noted, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

Multitasking web widgets up next for the iPad?

Hey Apple, the below video is your clue to a controlled multitasking experience on the iPad. Really, why not bring along Mac OS X’s Dashboard and web widgets onto the iPad? A Carnegie Mellon student Rich Hong has built a widget dashboard application for the iPad and just like the Dashboard app in Mac OS X, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

Global tech report ranks U.S. #5

The World Economic Forum released their Global Information Technology Report for 2009-2010 which ranks the most networked economies. The new rankings didn’t come with good news for the U.S. since it dropped two positions to fifth place. The countries which beat out the U.S. in order of ranking include Sweden, Singapore, Denmark and Switzerland. Denmark has [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

Adobe embraces collaboration with Acrobat.com Online Workspaces

Although Acrobat may be the standard for PDF document creation, it has always been an offline task. Adobe has attempted to change that with Acrobat.com allowing for work to be carried out online and shared with others. While in beta it was free to use, but then in June last year it exited beta and became [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

Opera says Opera Mini means money to carriers

In Opera Software’s latest State of the Mobile Web Report the developer of the Opera Mini mobile browser makes the case that the browser makes wireless carriers money. In fact, they put the gain in revenue around $1.25 billion per year with the U.S. contributing more than $146 per user, per year. The report also [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

66% say they don

Apple has been doing a great  job when it comes to getting the word out about the iPad. According to a NPD Group report, the demographics with the highest percentage of awareness about the device include current Apple owners (82%), those with $100k or higher incomes (80%) and 18-34 year olds (78 %). Though awareness [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

BlackBerry maker buys Viigo

RIM, the Canadian-based company which manufactures BlackBerry devices, has reached into their pockets again to buy another developer of mobile solutions. This time RIM’s target was Viigo who is primarily known for their popular Viigo for BlackBerry software.  Viigo for BlackBerry is an RSS reader that consolidates a number of informative feeds into one easy to [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

Barron

It really should be no surprise that Steve Jobs made Barron’s list of the 30 Most Respected CEOs. Few would deny Jobs has been vital to the success of Apple. Really the main question is how vital is Jobs to Apple? According to MacNN, Barron’s report actually puts a number on it. That number comes from [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

The Outlook for Mac 2011 interface leaks on the web

Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit told us over two months ago that the Office for Mac 2011 suite will bring, for the first time, true Outlook app to the Mac platform. So far, all Office for Mac versions sported Entourage, an Outlook replacement that gets the job done but falls short in the features department. Thanks to [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

11 shiny iPad tours go live, Apple

Apple has posted a bunch of new iPad videos that guide you through key aspects of the device. The videos are a sight for sore eyes and we mean literally – the quality, crispness, and shininess of the footage is outstanding, quite possibly Apple’s best promotional stuff yet. The videos will wet your appetite while providing [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

Apple posts the third Snow Leopard update

Apple has posted the third maintenance update for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard on Monday morning. The operating system upgrade offers a bunch of fixes, in addition to Security Update 2010-002 that has been released for Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard as well. More precisely, Mac OS X 10.6.3 has addressed over several hundred [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-30 more

A selection of VoiceOver keyboard commands

One of the many great things about using a Mac as your development machine is VoiceOver, the screen reader that ships with every copy of Mac OS X. Testing your work in a screen reader is only a small part of building accessible websites, but it helps you understand the need for many accessibility guidelines. To test your sites in VoiceOver you obviously need to know how to use it to navigate the Web. There are many, many keyboard shortcuts that can be used to control VoiceOver
Publication date: 2010-03-29 more

DSi XL released today, are you getting one?

Nintendo has finally released the DSi XL today, and with it the final version of the DS with 2D graphics. We all know what’s coming next as Nintendo has already started revealing details of the 3DS. Will news of a 3D-enabled DS impact sales of the XL over the coming months? You tell us below. Is [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-28 more

Star Wars Lightsaber Bookends lead us to believe Darth Vader is a book hater

With all these e-readers coming out recently, it makes one wonder if we are reaching the time when real books will become obsolete. If you ask me, I don’t think so. I suspect books will be around for many more years to come. There is just something substantial about reading a real book and flipping [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

iPad trademark now actually owned by Apple

When Apple launched their smartphone and branded it the iPhone there was just one problem. The iPhone was already trademarked by Cisco which led to a lawsuit and an eventual settlement of the trademark back in 2007. Earlier this year Apple announced their breakthrough tablet called the iPad. Again, there was just one problem. As we [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Is Microsoft squaring-up for a tablet battle?

Rumours have been building for months that Microsoft plans to challenge Apple’s iPad with a tablet computer of their own.
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Warhammer Online game now free to download, just requires a subscription

Most paid-for MMOs have a set revenue model. They get released at retail and cost you the same as a full-price game, but include a 30-day free trial. After that there’s a monthly subscription charge. As the game gets older the price of the software falls to budget levels while the subscription price stays the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

30,000 free e-books heading for the iPad

Itching to test drive Apple’s iBooks app but are reluctant to fork out between $10 and $15 on an e-book? How about 30,000 free literature classic downloads? If a news story by AppAdvice is true, Apple will surprise us with over 30,000 free e-books from the public domain, courtesy of Project Gutenberg. Thanks to thousands of [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Lost Planet 2 releasing a week early, new demo in April

If you are eagerly awaiting the release of Lost Planet 2 then there’s multiple sets of good news appearing about the game today. First up is the fact you aren’t going to have to wait as long as you thought to play the full game. Capcom has decided to bring the release date forward a week [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Samsung uses processing powerhouse in Galaxy S1, puts 1GHz Snapdragon to shame

Samsung recently unveiled its Galaxy S1 Android smartphone at the CTIA 2010 show, but forgot to mention that it’s by far the most powerful Android phone ever released. In fact, it puts the 1GHz Snapdragon to shame with its processing power. Android and Me took the time to look at the spec sheet of the Galaxy [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Moorestown-powered OpenTablet 7 debuts

If you’re in the market for a cutting-edge tablet that dusts the iPad and then does even more, OpenPeak’s upcoming slate built around Intel’s Moorestown platform is for you. OpenPeak has debuted the OpenTablet 7 Wednesday, a new touchscreen slate with a 7-inch TFT LCD with LED backlighting. It runs a variant of Linux rather than [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

The iPad to launch in over half the Best Buy stores

With the iPad scheduled to launch in the US next Saturday, April 3, Best Buy has begun launch preparations and is reportedly gearing up for the big event. According to MacRumors, the consumer electronics retailer will initially limit Apple’s latest creation to a dedicated Apple section found inside over half of its 1,000+ brick-and-mortar stores [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Coby

The recent trend of low-cost, attractively minimalist portable media players continues. Following the third-generation iPod Shuffle and the Samsung Pebble, Coby has unveiled their latest micro MP3 beetle, christened the MP M570. The looks are really the thing here, in particularly the scarab-like outer shell, so attractively minimalist, like a polished stone. Other than [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Hunch provides some important information about Geek.com readers

Hunch.com is a website that helps its users make important life decisions by taking advantage of collective intelligence. It will help you do anything from choose the best garbage bin to finding the best Sans Serif typeface for a billboard with under a 100 words on it. Helping people make decisions can’t be done without learning [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Asus

The iPad comes out next week, which means that all the companies that have been teasing their own tablets over the past few months are in a race against time to release their own products so as not to look like also-rans. The Asus Eee PC T101MT, long teased, will probably fare pretty well. It’s no [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Microsoft officially announces USB storage coming to Xbox 360

Last week, Internet scuttlebutt insisted that the Xbox 360 would finally be adding support of mass storage devices like USB flash keys and hard drives in order to store demos, profiles, saved games, DLC and more. Now Microsoft’s confirmed it: the update will arrive on April 6th. On one hand, this is a welcome addition: Sony’s [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Google enticing wireless carriers to Android with mobile advertising revenue cut

Google’s Android smartphone operating system is going over like gangbusters amongst handset manufacturers, but it might not only be about good programming: according to a report from mocoNews, Andrew’s success in being adopted on a wide scale may well be a series of revenue-sharing agreements Google has signed with carriers and even manufacturers. According to mocoNews’ [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

HTC Nexus One display has one-third less sub-pixels than it appears

When the HTC Nexus One, aka the Googlephone, first came out, people kept on talking about how absolutely gorgeous and beautiful the screen was… but appearances can be deceiving. Ars Technica has just posted an amazing breakdown of the Nexus One’s display and reveals that the PenTile subpixel arrangement of the display actually has a [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Add some pink bling to your computer with KaBLING Cables

Sometimes aesthetics are just as important as performance when it comes to some computer geeks. That is why over the past few years, custom PC cases and lighting kits have hit the scene and made powerful computers look even more awesome. But what if the neon CCFL look wasn’t your thing? Or you already have a great looking [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

10 Kalyspo strategy games 50% off this weekend on GOG.com

If you are intro strategy games then GOG.com is worth a look this weekend. It is offering 30% off all Kalypso strategy games, or 50% off if you buy them all. The games on offer include: Commandos Ammo Pack Commandos 2+3 Patrician 1+2 Imperial Glory Port Royale Praetorians Tropico Reloaded The total cost of buying them all is $24.93, with a [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Prepare yourself for first contact

Everyone is probably starting to get a bit tired of these giant infographics and witty charts, but this one is really quite good. It’s a useless and surprisingly well thought out guide for what to do it you are the person who happens to make first contact with an alien race. It’s probably not how you [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Luxa2

Forget Apple’s delayed keyboard dock and iPad case and imagine, if you will, a robotic arm that holds your shiny couch computer suspended mid-air and turns it into a stylish photo frame or even a miniature home theater. Luxa2, a division of Thermaltake dedicated to the home media, computer, and mobile accessories, has done what Apple [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Wintek lands additional iPad touch panel orders as rival TPK fails to deliver

As the iPad launch draws nearer, the pressure on Apple’s component suppliers is increasing with each passing day. According to a Taiwanese trade paper Digitimes, Apple is reportedly asking Wintek to ramp up the production of capacitive touch panels faced with delayed shipments from TPK Touch Solutions. Apple is believed to have commissioned Wintek and TPK [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Skype mobile now available on Verizon phones, download it for free

As promised at the Mobile World Congress in January, Skype mobile is now available on the select Verizon Wireless smartphones with a data plan. The software is a free download from Verizon’s site and allows you to talk and IM on your phone while in the US and abroad. Verizon pitched Skype mobile as an [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Preview: Saving Private Sheep, triple-A physics puzzler for your iPad

Saving Private Sheep is a brand new puzzler for the iPhone and iPod touch that’s also set to debut as an exclusive iPad game. Described as a “physics-based puzzler that combines logic, dexterity, and strategy to achieve victory,” Saving Private Sheep oozes tons of charm and personality and is filled with witty humor. In case you [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-27 more

Ruby, PHP, MySQL, and Perl issues when upgrading Mac OS X from Leopard to Snow Leopard

I bought Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) on the day it was released, but didn't gather enough courage to go ahead and install it until a week ago. Yep, it's been collecting dust on my shelf for over six months. Upgrading between major revisions of Mac OS X has bitten me several times in the past, mostly because I use my Mac as a web development machine. I need Apache, PHP, MySQL, Perl, Ruby and a whole bunch of Ruby gems in working order, and it seems like major OS X updates almost always mess with those in one way or another.Read full postPosted in Mac, Movable Type, PHP.
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Publishers land lucrative ad deals for iPad launch

Magazines and newspapers are planning to launch special editions for the forthcoming Apple iPad, with the support of millions of dollars in revenue from advertisers.
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Customers face fee to read Times newspapers online

Customers will be charged £2 a week to read The Times and The Sunday Times online from June, News International announced today.
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Toshiba announces new 750GB & 1TB 2.5

If you are looking for more storage in your laptop or portable hard drive then Toshiba has you covered with two new hard drive models. Today the Japanese company has announced two new 2.5″ hard drives sporting 750GB and 1TB of storage space. Both drives run at 5,400rpm, but come in different form factors. The new [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Six months free Gogo Inflight Internet with HTC HD2 on T-Mobile

Anyone considering purchasing the recently launched HTC HD2 on T-Mobile has another incentive today. Aircell, which operates the Gogo Inflight Internet service, is offering owners six months of free inflight access through the smartphone. Aircell President and CEO Michael Small said: Aircell is constantly striving to partner with companies that can enrich the inflight experience. With the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Modern Warfare 2

It’s five more days until the Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Map Pack launches on 360. To remind us of that fact Infinity Ward has released a teaser trailer. Players are already upset at the high pricing, with the pack costing 1200 Microsoft Points or $15. For that you get five new maps, two of which are [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Obama Twitter account hacker facing $40,000 fine, jail term

Police in France have arrested the man behind a host of Twitter account hacks including high-profile targets Barack Obama and Britney Spears. His real name has not been released, but we do know he is 25-years-old, is unemployed, currently lives with his parents in Puy-de-Dome, and went by the hacker name of “Hacker Croll”. He has [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Belkin releases new routers designed for easy operation

Yesterday Belkin unveiled four new routers that are designed to be simple enough for anyone to install them. Yes, that’s right, anyone. Apparently with their previous generation of products the company only had a 30% successful installation rate (people installing the router without needing technical help), these routers were said to push that number past [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Victorinox set

Victorinox is well-known around the world for the production of Swiss Army Knives. But over recent years it has branched out more and created variations on that theme. As the USB stick has become such a popular storage medium, Victorinox also added flash storage to some of its products. Now with the release of its latest [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Verizon Wireless launches new app store March 29th

ReadWriteWeb is reporting that Verizon Wireless announced this week at the CTIA conference plans to offer its own app store set to launch March 29th. The app store will be branded the “VCAST App Store” and application developers that team up with the carrier will get to keep 70% of the revenue generated from app [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

JooJoo tablet is officially shipping

A press release announced today that the $499 JooJoo tablet (formerly known as the CrunchPad) is now shipping. This comes after a few delays and after the vast majority of interest in the product was killed off by a price raise, the HP Slate, and, of course, the iPad. Despite the competition there are some upsides to the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Advertisers lining up for iPad magazines despite pricey ad slots

Media buyers are betting on the iPad. Although no-one can predict what the iPad’s launch “circulation” will be, big brands are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to reserve interactive ad slots inside iPad magazines. They had us drooling over the concept videos and now they mean business. According to a Thursday report by the Wall [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Project Natal to officially premiere in June

According to Gamasutra, Microsoft’s Project Natal will have its official premiere event in June. This is, in all likelihood, when we’ll learn all the details about the motion control project, including its official title. The announcement didn’t land in my inbox, but apparently Microsoft has some high hopes for the Xbox 360 add-on. Gamasutra’s Chris Remo [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Smartphone web traffic grew tremendously over the last year

This January smartphones, connected gizmos, and feature phones all grew their respective shares of mobile web traffic. However, traffic from smartphones and connected devices  is growing at a much faster pace than that of feature phones. A February Mobile Metrics report by the mobile analytics firm AdMob, acquired by Google last November, has revealed interesting trends [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

How the 3DS will do 3D without glasses

Nintendo’s new handheld console, the 3DS, is making a lot of noise. As tech publications are digesting the official announcement, the blogosphere is trying to figure out the magic behind the console’s 3D display. According to a blogger Peter Smith, the handheld might combine accelerometer and built-in cameras to provide an illusion of the third-dimension [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

IE8, Firefox, Safari, iPhone OS 3, all hacked at Pwn2Own 2010

March 24th saw the beginning of the annual CanSecWest digital security conference and the renowned Pwn2Own contest. During that contest hackers attempt to bypass the defenses of some of the most popular applications while representatives from the companies that develop them sweat embarrassingly in the background. Microsoft, Mozilla, and Apple will be well accustomed to the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Netflix Wii discs start shipping

If you have been eagerly awaiting Netflix streaming directly to you Wii then you’ll be glad to hear the discs have started shipping in limited numbers. Netflix’s Jessica Becker posted on the Netflix Blog saying: We are in the final phase of getting ready for the launch of streaming to Wii. Today, we shipped out instant streaming [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Building a Hackintosh? There

The idea of running Mac OS X on a plain-vanilla PC hardware sure sounds appealing but having the operating system up and running smoothly can be a gargantuan task. Due to the limited driver availability, your netbook’s specs greatly affect the outcome of this endeavor. But fear not, there’s a chart for that. Want to run [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Ubisoft says sorry with free games for Assassin

Ubisoft hasn’t been making many friends lately due to complete failure to replace DRM with a Net connection on PC for Assassin’s Creed 2. Requiring an Internet connection all the time rendered the game unplayable for many with crashing servers being the main cause. Since then EA has suffered similar problems for Command & Conquer 4, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Russian law enforcement talks tough on torrents

There are signs that Russia – generally regarded as something of a safe-haven for pirates and cyber criminals – is starting to crack down on file sharing sites and even individuals sharing copyrighted content. Back in February, police shut down Torrents.ru, Russia’s most popular torrent indexing site, citing
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Amazon may carry the iPad, too

A new iPad product page at Amazon looks like a placeholder but a genuine enough placeholder to conclude that the retailer might soon begin carrying the device. The online retail giant is jumping on the iPad bandwagon. Although the iPad didn’t show up in Amazon search at press time, a dedicated page looks like the real [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Push your GPU to the limits with Unigine

You’ve treated yourself to the latest and greatest DirectX 11 card and now what? Easy, download and run Unigine’s new benchmark, crank up those settings to the max, and prepare to be amazed. Unigine launched a beta version of Heaven benchmark 2.0 at the Game Developers Conference 2010 in San Francisco and now the software is [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-26 more

Facebook dismisses syphilis link

Social network Facebook has said that reports linking the site’s rise to an increased incidence of the bacterial infection syphilis are "ridiculous".
Publication date: 2010-03-25 more

Dell and Go Daddy threaten to follow Google out of China

Two major US technology companies, Dell and Go Daddy, have threatened to pull out of China in the wake of Google's departure from the country.
Publication date: 2010-03-25 more

Cisco growth plan: 'Innovation can spring from anywhere in the Irish economy'

Ireland is a really good place for ideas; people just need to believe this, urges Cisco's Kim Majerus
Publication date: 2010-03-25 more

Desktop virtualisation is set to reign supreme in new era

As Microsoft prepares to withdraw support for Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows 7 has unleashed many possibilities, the foremost being desktop virtualisation, says Ronnie Dockery, Windows Client Lead, Microsoft
Publication date: 2010-03-25 more

Google faces backlash from China's state-run media

Google is facing a mounting backlash in China following its decision to shut down its Chinese search engine, with a fresh wave of crowing editorials from the country's state-controlled media denouncing the company.
Publication date: 2010-03-25 more

British government promises tax relief for game developers

U.K. video game developers are one step closer to getting their share of tax relief. The British government's fiscal chief Alistair Darling revealed the plans to include the tax relief system in his annual budget speech Wednesday.
Publication date: 2010-03-25 more

CTIA survey

The CTIA released their semi-annual wireless industry survey and the findings show that the growth in wireless continues at an astonishing rate. By December 2009, over 285 million wireless connections were recorded. According to the wireless industry trade group, that’s a year-over-year increase of 15 million. What are all those folks doing with their wireless connections? [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-25 more

HTC Evo 4G: The HD2 for Android?

Do you like the look of the HTC HD2, but get turned off by the fact it uses Windows Mobile? Well, it seems HTC has you covered with the announcement of the Evo 4G. It’s very similar to the HD2, but runs Android, and has a few additional features. Previously known as the Supersonic, the Evo [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Skype client to use Verizon Wireless voice network

Verizon Wireless subscribers who are users of Skype are going to get an early Christmas present this year as previously reported last month. During the CTIA Wireless convention Verizon Wireless cemented plans to make a Skype client available to nine Android 3G and BlackBerry 3G smartphones with data plans beginning on Thursday. Supported phones [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

5

First unveiled last year at IFA 2009, the Enso zenPad is a 5″ Android tablet device. At the time it was advertised as being a device under $200, but now it has been revealed as costing just $155 for the basic model. The specs read as follows: 5″ LED-backlit resistive touchscreen with 800 x 480 resolution Samsung 6410 [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Play Champions Online free this weekend

If you fancy getting stuck into a new MMO this weekend, then Cryptic may have the perfect offer for you. To help promote the release of Champions Online’s latest expansion, Atari and Cryptic have decided to make the game free-to-play for one weekend only. In order to take advantage of this offer just visit the Free [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Review: WD My Passport Studio 640GB with e-ink display

There has generally been little difference from one external hard drive to the next (especially in the highly portable 2.5-inch models). Maybe one was a bit smaller than another, or it had Firewire in addition to USB 2.0, but there has often been little to differentiate them aside from capacity and price (generally a function [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Nintendo 3DS to include force-feedback system

We heard the surprise announcement about the Nintendo 3DS earlier this week, but details of the new gaming handheld were thin on the ground. Luckily, Nikkei managed to uncover some more information past the fact it will display 3D without the need for glasses. The other big feature introduction is the use of a force-feedback system, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Dell may be next to leave China

If comments made by the prime minister of India are to be believed, Dell could be following Google out of China. Such a move would see Dell having to find new manufacturing partners to meet its demands elsewhere in the world. But more importantly, it would see China lose $25 billion in revenue from Dell. The suggestion [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Palm rumored to be switching to Android from webOS

Here’s an interesting rumor that Wired is floating. The website states that an anonymous source provided an unconfirmed memo from Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein stating the following: While Palm is incredibly proud of our engineers who spent timeless work and effort to bring us this advanced operating system, consumers simply have not caught on. [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Game Room goes live, but is broken on 360 and Windows

Microsoft’s virtual games arcade, Game Room, has launched and completely failed. It’s not a lack of interest, it’s a lack of being able to actually use the service due to technical problems. As you can see from viewing the short video above Game Room just hangs as it tries to load on Xbox 360. On Windows, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Photoshop CS5 content-aware fill demo

This is an extremely cool demo that shows some of what Adobe’s Photoshop CS5 will be able to do with content-awareness. The tool being featured is content-aware fill, which is used to fill in a section of an image with what probably should be there but isn’t. In the example above there is a field with [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

TSA considers Bluetooth to track security checkpoint wait times

Big brother may soon be keeping an eye on you in the airport. The good news is it would actually be in an effort to understand the length of time you have been waiting in line to go through security checkpoints. Previously, the TSA had tracked wait times by giving passengers time-stamped cards that were [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Microsoft sort of confirms the Courier tablet

Seeking a job at Microsoft? Good, now head over at Engadget and arm yourself with all the facts about Microsoft
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Twitter for BlackBerry coming March 31st

The Twitter for BlackBerry client which was initially launched as a closed beta. Now it seems the client is ready for prime time. CrackBerry.com is reporting that the client is expected to be available for download by the public on March 31st. As many would agree this client has been a long time coming especially when [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Atlus confirms Persona 5

After a stream of Shin Megami Tensei titles outside of the Persona series, Atlus developer Katsura Hashino has finally confirmed development on Persona 5.
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Left 4 Dead 2 DLC,

Things aren't looking hot for the Left 4 Dead heroes... or at least one of them. On the March 19 episode of GameTrailers TV, Valve's Chet Faliszek revealed the ugly truth behind the tagline for the sequel's latest DLC: "Nobody Lives Forever."
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Companies get new tool to track employees on social networks

You may want to think twice again changing your account settings on Facebook or Twitter if you currently allow anyone access to your view your activities. That’s because a technology company called Teneros has just made it easier for companies to monitor your activity on those sites with software called Social Sentry. In the company’s [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Google goes Delicious, unveils collaborative bookmarking with lists

The search monster has launched an experimental social bookmarking service that allows you to collect the URLs from your Google account into collaborative shared lists. A Google engineer Christina Chen argued in a blog post Wednesday that such lists can be used in a variety of ways: If a friend of yours is visiting Seattle for [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Australia web filter plans slammed

Internet giants Google and Yahoo have criticised Australia's proposal for a mandatory internet filter, calling it a heavy-handed measure that could restrict access to legal information.
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Microsoft all but confirms Courier tablet

A blog post on the Microsoft Jobs website specifically mentioned the long-rumoured Courier, a potential rival to Apple's iPad
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

No clampdown by China as Google re-routes surfers

The Chinese government did nothing to stop internet searches being re-routed to an unrestricted Google site yesterday as it attempted to defuse its dispute with the computer company.
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Watching TV and browsing Internet at same time up 35%

Nielsen offers a report called the Three Screen Report which includes data around how Americans consume media through the Internet, mobile phones, and television. One interesting statistic tracked by the report is the use of the television and Internet together. As many households will attest, it’s pretty common for someone to be on a laptop [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Nintendo announces 3D successor to the DS, the 3DS

Nintendo definitely has a tendency to take a chance on their consoles. It stretches all the way back to the Virtual Boy, an early 90’s virtual-reality-inspired update to the original GameBoy hardware that was famous for inducing splitting headaches in players who stared at its red monochrome 3D screen for too long. After that, though, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

How to cheat the Pokemon Pokewalker

As any Nintendo gaming fan will know, Pokemon Gold and Silver have just been re-released for the DS platform as Heart Gold and Soul Silver. As well as getting a major graphics overhaul Nintendo has introduced a new exercise-encouraging gadget called the Pokewalker. The idea being that you transfer a Pokemon to the Pokewalker and [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Mozilla puts forth Firefox 3.6.2 ahead of schedule

Mozilla has released Firefox 3.6.2 ahead of schedule, a move the open-source organization contributed to its ongoing stability and security update process. Peeking inside release notes accompanying the download reveals why they were in such a hurry: Firefox 3.6.2 fixes several stability and security issues, including one bug marked as “critical”. In fact, Mozilla “strongly recommends” [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Review: HP EliteBook 8540p laptop

Business notebooks aren’t revised as often as consumer ones, but with the release of Intel’s new Core i5 mobile processors it was no doubt time for new models. At CES this year HP launched a number of new EliteBooks, their enterprise-ready, maximum-reliability notebooks. This release included the 8440w/8540w (14- and 15-inch mobile workstations) and the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Sprint to start accepting old phones for trade-in and recycle

The cellphone upgrade cycle is undeniably wasteful: perfectly good phones filled with hazardous materials flung haphazardly into landfills just to secure the latest and greatest. This isn’t the way it has to be: European cell providers have offered sophisticated trade-in schemes for older phones for years. Now, it looks like Sprint is about to take [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Steve Jobs: Fans needn

If Steve Jobs’ alleged reply to fan mail is any indication, you should sit back and relax because Apple might be close to releasing the re-engineered MacBook Pro and Mac Pro systems. According to a well-connected rumors site, one of their readers has fired an email to Steve Jobs’ public email address steve@apple.com, demanding the CEO [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Eye-Fi updates its wireless memory cards

Eye-Fi, the manufacturer of wireless-enabled memory cards that can transmit your images and video to local computers and hotspots, just released a new revision of their product. Today they expanded their line with the release of the Eye-Fi Connect X2 and the Eye-Fi Explore X2. The update brought 802.11n (for better range and throughput) and [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Google puts hotel prices on maps

The search giant has added a new layer to its Maps service that lists hotel prices provided by select advertisers. According to the Google Maps product manager Andrew Silverman, Google is currently testing out this experimental feature with a small subset of users. While that doesn
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Google found not liable for trademark keywords

Google had a major victory this week in the European Court of Justice. The issue before the court was whether trademark rights extend to Google’s support of keywords in online advertising. Under Google’s current system it would be possible for Coca-Cola to have ads displayed anytime someone does a search using the keyword “Pepsi” if [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

250GB Xbox 360 hard drive now available as a standalone

The Xbox 360's 250 GB hard drive is no longer exclusively available as part of a console bundle, Microsoft confirms. The upgraded hard drive will sell for $129.99, starting today.
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Sony exec mentions sequel to Media Molecule

A Sony marketing manager in Benelux let slip that a sequel to the hit PS3 title LittleBigPlanet is now in the works.
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Artist turns old PCBs into sculptures

No one can deny that recycling things like printed circuit boards (PCBs), is ultimately better than having them sit in a landfill for a few thousand years. But if you can combine recycling with a bit of flair and artistic insight, that can take electronic recycling to a whole new level. Take for example these sculptures created in [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Crazy about calligraphy, like Steve Jobs? Check out this iPhone font and learn how vector fonts came to be.

Apple fans hold a special place in their heart for beautiful fonts and typography in general. After all, the original Macintosh inaugurated vector fonts because fine handwriting had dazzled Jobs during his college time. Fast-forward nearly four decades to present time and take a look at this unusual iPhone “font” created by an artist who [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Interactive is opening a new studio in Montreal, the company announced at a press conference Tuesday.
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Apple and BestBuy to sell the iPad initially, but not AT&T?

Apparently yet another Steve Jobs email “leak” is suggesting that neither AT&T’s online store nor over 2,200 brick-and-mortar spots won’t be carrying the iPad come April 3. It looks like Steve Jobs and Apple have been on a roll with controlled leaks today. An alleged email earlier today suggested Jobs wrote a fan not to worry [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Adobe CS5 to be unveiled April 12th, 11am EDT

In about 19.5 days we will learn all about Adobe’s Creative Suite 5. You can sign up for the unveiling and watch a timer at Adobe’s launch site, http://cs5launch.adobe.com/. Before you get too excited, let’s get one thing straight: This is the unveiling, or basically an introduction to the public. Adobe is going so far as to call [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

The iPad to sync documents via the cloud, says Jobs

Worry not, Apple fans – the iPad will let you transfer and sync your iWork documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with the cloud. At least that’s what Steve Jobs responded to a fan inquiry. Consider yourself officially lucky if El Jobso hasn’t emailed you yesterday. If online reports are true, Apple’s CEO is catching up on fan [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Steve Jobs: Yup, iPhone OS 4.0 sports a universal mailbox

The latest in a series of Apple-controlled leaks hinted at the universal mailbox feature in iPhone OS 4.0. This one, too, came from the highest authority. Like the previous “leaks” (here, here, and here), this particular piece of information has also been masked as an email response by Apple’s CEO who appears to be innocently replying [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Digital Life: A camera fit for a shutterbug's pocket

Way back in 1959, Olympus brought us one of the first high-quality cameras small enough to fit in a pocket. They called it the PEN because it was as portable as a biro.
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Nintendo plans 3D game console

Nintendo plans to start selling a version of its DS handheld game console that allows the user to play 3D titles without special glasses.
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

German government in Firefox warning

The German government has warned computer users not to use the Firefox web browser until a critical security flaw has been patched
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Sergey Brin: My upbringing in USSR helped 'shape' Google's views on China

Google co-founder Sergey Brin says his experience of living in the Soviet Union has influenced his company's stance.
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

Apple iPad domain names for sale on eBay

Canny internet users have snapped up iPad-related web addresses and are reselling them for millions of dollars.
Publication date: 2010-03-24 more

New 30 day challenge: not replying to outside email

I just wrapped up two 30 day challenges (no sugar for 30 days and no iPhone for 30 days). I’ll try to report back what I learned soon, but in the mean time I wanted to alert you that today I’m starting a new 30-day challenge: not replying to outside email. When I announced my first [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Skype pair get $165 million to fund next Google/Facebook [UPDATED]

Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis have already proved they know how to create a multi-billion dollar business by developing and selling Skype. So when they ask for funding from venture capitalists, interest is going to be very high. But the Skype pair don’t have some new piece of software that will take the world by storm [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Motorola launches first Android-powered iDEN touch screen

In conjunction with the CTIA Wireless 2010 conference, Sprint and Motorola have announced a first. The two companies have launched the first push-to-talk Android-powered smartphone. The Motorola i1 is designed to work on Sprint’s iDEN network which is marketed under the Nextel brand. The Motorola i1, like many Nextel phones, is rugged and meets military spec [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Mozilla iced Firefox for Windows Mobile because Microsoft doesn

Stuart Parmenter, a technical lead with Mozilla’s mobile team, has made an unfortunate announcement on his personal blog late Monday. While semi-official, the unambiguous wording has left no room for doubt that a version of mobile Firefox for Microsoft’s mobile platform has been put on an indefinite hold. The reason? Microsoft has dumped Windows Mobile 6.5 [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Digital Life: Return of a brutal, bloody hack'n'slash

God of War III, PS3: Kratos is a lover and a fighter. But mostly a fighter. He makes Gerard Butler in the movie 300 look like a wimp.
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Google closes China site in row over censorship

GOOGLE has effectively closed its flagship search site in China, carrying out a threat issued two months ago in a dispute over censorship.
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Amazon says the Kindle app is arriving on tablets, including the iPad

Amazon has pledged to release its free Kindle software for “tablet computers,” including the iPad. The fact that the online retailer especially highlights Apple’s device gives the iPad fans hope there’ll be life after Apple’s iBook store after all. Amazon announced Monday that a tablet-optimized version of the Kindle app will be released for a number [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Alleged BlackBerry OS 6.0 snapshots hit web

The BlackBerry Leaks website received some spy shots of what is believed to be the next version of the BlackBerry mobile operating system, at least according to their sources. If these really are screenshots of what BlackBerry owners can expect in the future it seems that Research In Motion (RIM) is making a big shift [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Skype pair get $165 million to fund next Google/Facebook

Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis have already proved they know how to create a multi-billion dollar business by developing and selling Skype. So when they ask for funding from venture capitalists, interest is going to be very high. But the Skype pair don’t have some new piece of software that will take the world by storm [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Your mom friended you on Facebook? There

Imagine if your tech ignorant parents suddenly decided they needed to be on Facebook. Such a powerful social networking tool in your mom’s hands is bound to turn your life upside down as she stalks and nags you one feed at a time.  Suddenly all those saucy statuses and your candid photos taken at some [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

NCAA On Demand website breaks single day record

March Madness is upon us and people who had to work on Thursday and Friday have seen the advantages of an Internet connection at work to keep up with the latest scores for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. CBS Sports and the NCAA have the statistics to prove it based on usage of the March [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Pre Plus and Pixi Plus coming

Palm has announced early Monday that its flagship webOS-powered smartphones are arriving on the AT&T network. AT&T, Apple
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Project Natal II already being researched at Microsoft

Project Natal, Microsoft’s answer to motion control, isn’t due to launch until late this year, but that hasn’t stopped Microsoft pushing forward with the development of its successor. During an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Microsoft’s Research Asia department director Hsiao-Wuen Hon said: When we do invent something first like the Natal kind of scenario, while [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

AT&T uncloaks the Aero, Dell

AT&T has unveiled Dell Aero, the computer maker’s first Android smartphone designed for the US market. The news has put an end to past rumors claiming Dell was prepping a customized version of the Mini 3i, the device launched in China last August as their first-ever Android device. AT&T, Apple’s exclusive US iPhone carrier, has unveiled [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Apple thinks big, orders 13 million total iPad screens

While analysts are keeping their fingers crossed for about six million iPad sales throughout 2010, Apple is shopping for more than twice that many screens for the gizmo. According to a report by the Korean Times, Samsung has landed a big order from Apple that will see the Korean consumer electronics conglomerate supply the Cupertino firm [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Twitter becomes customer channel for NY food trucks

If you live or work in New York you’re probably familiar with the food trucks that blanket the city. Of course, since we are talking about a moving cafe on wheels it can be a bit difficult for them to keep in touch with customers around town. According to a Reuters report, food trucks have [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Dropbox announces Android app

Dropbox, a two-year old cross-platform cloud storage startup, has announced an Android app Monday. The software, currently in beta, will allow users to browse the contents of their Dropbox on Android handsets, view their cloud files on the device, and upload files stored on the device to their Dropbox. The app will also include a few [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Google.cn forwarding traffic to Google.com.hk

It looks like there has been some movement on the Google/China dispute. Reports are streaming in, noting that Google’s Chinese portal, google.cn, is currently redirecting people to google.com.hk. Testing from the US, I can confirm that a redirect action is taking place at the moment, though I can’t confirm that this is happening everywhere in [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Three new Mass Effect 2 DLC packs priced and dated

On April 6, Mass Effect 2 players have the chance to download Kasumi Goto, the newest member of Shepard's team. The enigmatic master thief will be available on the Xbox 360 and PC for 560 Microsoft/Bioware points ($7). Bioware will also be releasing the Hammerhead and three new outfits on March 23.
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

App gifting now possible in iTunes

Apple has taken the iTunes’ gifting feature to the App Store as well, enabling iPhone folks to gift apps to one another. Now when you browse the App Store in iTunes, simply click the “Gift this app” option available in the contextual menu next to an item. After accepting a revised iTunes terms and conditions, you’ll [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Nintendo announces Cave Story for the WiiWare plus five new DSiWare titles

The critically-acclaimed Cave Story makes its console debut on the Wii today with a newly remastered soundtrack and other additional enhancements, available for download via WiiWare. At the same time, the Nintendo DSiWare service offers five new titles, including three games from the classic Game & Watch series.
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

EA to release

We all know the way movie releases work. A film is released at theaters, and you go and watch it after paying a few dollars. Then, a few months later, the film gets released at retail and you have a chance to pay more and get a copy to watch at home. EA has decided [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Zombie flowchart helps you figure out your odds

Here is a not-so-helpful flowchart for you to check in the undead rise from their graves and are looking for some human flesh to chomp on. Spoiler: Unless if you are Back to the Future’s Marty McFly, things don’t tend to go so well for the humans. via Game Informer By the way: This post was actually just [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

1:1 Scale Gundam Statue in Japan to get a beam saber upgrade

Who doesn’t love giant fighting robots? I don’t know about the rest of you, but this geek certainly does. That’s why I wished I had hopped a plane last summer when the city of Shizuoka in Japan unveiled an 18-meter tall, 1:1 scale, Gundam RX-78-2 Statue for the 35th Anniversary of Gundam. It certainly looked awesome. Sure, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-23 more

Heading navigation in web browsers

All screen readers that I know of have keyboard shortcuts that allow the user to navigate within a web page by jumping from heading to heading. This can really speed things up when you want to skip to a particular section of a page. Being able to navigate by headings would also be very useful to sighted people who do not use a mouse, but unfortunately very few web browsers offer this functionality. The only graphical web browser I know of that has such functionality built in is Opera, while Firefox can get it by way of an extension.Read full postPosted in Accessibility, Browsers, Usability.
Publication date: 2010-03-22 more

Apple accepting iPad apps

Apple has started accepting new iPad apps for review and approval, ahead of the US launch of the tablet-style computer on April 3.
Publication date: 2010-03-22 more

CERN

Whether or not you believe that CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC) will potentially answer the mysteries of the universe or be a harbinger of doom for our little blue planet, you have to admit that the world’s largest particle collider takes a lot of juice to operate. In fact, it takes a huge amount of power to [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-22 more

Infinite USB concept is something Apple should design now

It’s a common problem in computing, but it’s especially true for laptops: there just aren’t enough USB ports to accommodate all of the chargers, dongles and cables that a modern, connected lifestyle needs to take into account. Take the MacBook Pro I’m working on right now, for instance. If you knew nothing about computers, you [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-22 more

Quantum dot sensors could give smartphones DSLR-like camera quality

We all wish for better cameras on our smartphones, but there’s a reason we’re not going to get them any time soon: when it comes to digital cameras, there is a direct correlation between the size of a camera sensor and image quality. Cameraphone sensors need to be small, which means they are bad at [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-22 more

ThickButtons 0.6 released, dynamically resizes your virtual keys as you type

When Steve Jobs first walked on stage and demonstrated the revolutionary touchscreen iPhone, I — BlackBerry boy that I was — was extremely skeptical of the virtual keyboard. I didn’t see how I’d be able to type efficiently without the true haptic feedback of my thumbs pressing down against physical buttons and feeling them click. [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-22 more

Study: Piracy to cost EU

A study commissioned by an anti-piracy organization has concluded that billions of euros and hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost due to piracy, with far greater losses to come if something is not done to combat it. The study was commissioned by the Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP) – an [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-21 more

National Day of Unplugging

Saturday March 20th marks the first National Day of Unplugging. As the name implies, those participating unplug from Facebook status updates, Twitter tweets, mobile phones, computers and anything that’s technology. The day began sundown on Friday and continues through Saturday sundown. The day is the brainchild of a group called Reboot. Reboot is a nonprofit organization [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-21 more

Google TV

Google will be stepping all over Apple’s toes with a rumored Android-powered networked television that runs apps. If Google has its way, there’ll be no escaping those text and display adverts. Google already feeds you a bunch of ads when you surf the web on your desktop or notebook. Have a smartphone? Google ads. Your [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-20 more

Opera downloads boosted 130% by MS

A while back, Microsoft agreed a deal with the EU to provide a choice of browsers (known as the Browser Ballot, or Choice Screen) to users via automatic updates. Since the ballot went live, the Opera browser has seen average increases of 130% in downloads across EU countries. The Opera team have been quick to tout [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Social sharing and tweaked interface now live at iWork.com

Apple has retooled the iWork.com web interface ahead of the iPad launch and enabled new sharing and analytics features. Apple has updated the iWork.com service Wednesday with a few handy tweaks. iWork.com is an online service that gives the users of Apple’s iWork office suite 1GB of free storage to share and comment on their [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Square Enix release iPhone exclusive Chaos Rings trailer

Square Enix is making a clear effort to cater for gamers using Apple hardware. Final Fantasy I & II have already made an appearance on the App Store, and now an original, iPhone/iPod touch exclusive game has been revealed on the Square Enix Facebook page. Entitled Chaos Rings, you can see the first trailer for the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Google Buzz now available on Android devices

Google Buzz, the search giant’s ill-fated Facebook-killer, is now available on Android devices as a standalone widget. Like the built-in YouTube widget, the Google Buzz widget provides quick access to the commonly used features available through the web interface on your desktop. Zak Cohen, Google’s software engineer with the mobile team, confirmed in a company blog [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

HP Slate pricing leaks, runs Atom CPU

Spanish tech site Clipset seems to have gotten its hands on some highly sought after information about HP’s upcoming, lunch-eating tablet device. According to Clipset’s findings the HP Slate will run an Intel Atom processor and sells for
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Comcast to roll out new 100Mbps residential service this year

For those of you out there that can’t get enough bandwidth when using the Internet, if you are a Comcast residential subscriber then more bandwidth is on its way over the next few months. Comcast, the nation’s largest Internet Service Provider has announced that it will increase its top residential broadband service speed to 100Mbps. The rollout, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Mac security expert:

Exactly a year after he hacked a Mac in seconds, famed Mac security analyst Charlie Miller is ready to do it again: he intends to disclose the method he used to find up to twenty zero day security holes in Apple
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Possible release date for Dragon Age 2 inside copies of Awakening expansion

Tucked into new copies of the Dragon Age Origins: Awakening expansion lies a card stamped with a blood dragon and a date, February 1, 2011. Although nothing has been confirmed, this could very well be the release date for Dragon Age 2.
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Blame Wintek for the iPad delay, not Apple

It appears that Apple’s touch panel supplier Wintek is to be blamed for a slight iPad delay. According to a Taiwanese semiconductor trade paper Digitimes, which relayed a Chinese-language report on Liberty Times, Wintek’s low yield rate has forced Apple to push the launch of its iPad from the original late March target announced at [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Commodore computers make a return this year

If you ever owned a Commodore 64 computer back in the early eighties, you remember how cool it was to have a compact computer that, at the time, contained pretty decent audio and video capabilities. Then unfortunately, just a few short years later, the PC revolution occurred and all the Commodore computers of the world became [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

The App Store is now on Facebook

Apple has launched a dedicated App Store page on Facebook late Thursday night. Interestingly, the App Store fan page is accessed via the facebook.appstore.com subdomain on the Apple-owned appstore.com domain. A short description explains that the page is meant to promote the new iPhone and iPod touch software arrivals (no mention of iPad apps): Welcome to [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

GameStop rewards program starting this May

The rumor is true: GameStop will launch a rewards program based on the one its already implementing across seas.
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Chrome is a rocket strapped to your back, IE is a dead horse

If you had to depict your browser of choice as a means of transportation, what would you draw? theNextWeb has brought together a collection of images from CollegeHumor showing the difference between Firefox, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer, and Chrome. You can see Chrome above, and IE below. They seem to be the two extremes of web browsing [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Limbo wins 2 awards at IGF plus extended gameplay trailer

The very dark and unique game called Limbo was confirmed as an XBLA release earlier this month. It was also nominated for Technical Excellence and Excellence in Visual Arts at the Independent Games Festival. The game walked away with both awards earlier this week. The video you see above contains an interview with Limbo producer Mads [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Review: JVC Everio GZ-HM300 camcorder

If you have to shoot a lot of video, and quality matters, you really can’t beat a camcorder. Today’s point-and-shoot cameras take good enough video and some DSLRs can take great video, but a camcorder is still the best way to get high quality, maximum versatility, and excellent ease-of-use. JVC’s Everio GZ-HM300 is a compact [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Molyneux worried as Fable III has no combat for first 30 minutes

Fans of the Fable games will be looking forward to later this year when the third game in the series arrives. But the game may go through a few major changes before we hit release day. Peter Molyneux, Creative Director of Microsoft Game Studios, Europe, and Lionhead’s optimist designer, is a little bit worried after playing [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

LinkedIn for iPhone v3.1 available

Back in December, LinkedIn launched version 3.0 of their iPhone app. Three months later and the professional social network has updated its app with the latest enhancements and performance improvements. Those improvements concentrated on improving speed and stability for users with large networks. A lot of work was also done to streamline the use of the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Papercraft Nintendo Gameboy almost looks real enough to play

I hate to say it, but when I was a young lad, I was never really good at making art from cutting out pieces of construction paper and gluing them together. Often my paper artwork looked like something that went through a shredder several times and was assembled together in a mound of glue. In other [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Apple pays tribute to its director Jerome B. York who passed away after a stroke

Apple has paid a tribute to its board member in a statement and on the Apple.com homepage, by replacing all its features with an appropriate message. Jerome B. York, Apple’s board member, passed away after a stroke at the age of 71. Memphis, Tennessee-born, he graduated from the United States Military Academy, and received an [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Google China withdrawal may be permanent

Google would probably be unable to return to China should it withdraw from the market instead of abiding by the country’s censorship laws, a former executive at the company said.
Publication date: 2010-03-19 more

Open hidden folders in the Mac OS X Finder

This is one of those simple tips that makes you think
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Amazon launches Kindle ebook reader for Macs

Amazon attempts to see off the threat posed by Apple's iPad by launching software that allows people to download and read electronic books on a Mac.
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Microsoft previews Internet Explorer 9

Microsoft has given developers a glimpse of its next web browser, Internet Explorer 9.
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Google beaten by Facebook

New figures suggest that social networking is continuing to gain in popularity on the web, and that the way users search the internet is changing.
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Disgruntled employee disables over 100 cars through website

Wired is reporting that over 100 cars in the Austin, Texas area were experiencing difficulties which included an inability to start, or horns going off in the middle of the night. The cars were all purchased at the Texas Auto Center which installed a system called Webtech Plus in the vehicles to keep owners honest [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

HTC to

HTC has decided it is going to take Apple head-on in the lawsuit brought against it. Apple sued HTC at the beginning of March claiming infringement of 20 Apple patents related to the “iPhone
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Video shows man typing 81 words a minute on the iPhone

Think you are fast when it comes to using the virtual keyboard on the iPhone? Would you rate yourself at 20, 30, or even 40 words per minute? Now imagine someone typing over 80 words in a minute on the iPhone. Sounds crazy you say? Not so. In a video uploaded to YouTube, subscriber konceptzoflife, has recorded himself [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

HTC Incredible available in 2 weeks from Verizon Wireless

About to sign up for a contract and a Nexus One? Take a step back and look what’s on the horizon. According to DailyTech, the HTC Incredible will be available in two weeks time from Verizon Wireless. The Incredible is seen as HTC’s own answer to the Nexus One, but there are some key differences. Here’s [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Google, Sony, Intel, Logitech partner for Android-powered Google TV

Google is not happy just pushing Android out to smartphones, it wants your TV to use the operating system too, opening up the biggest screen in your home to the web and online services. Through partnerships with Intel, Sony, and Logitech, Google TV is looking to create a new web-on-your-TV solution centered around a set-top box. [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

It's virtually the end of the line for Windows Server 2000

Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

The ubiquitous broadband future is closer than you think, says Vodafone boss

It's time for the Irish telecoms industry to start pulling together, says Vodafone's Charles Butterworth
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Follow St. Patrick

McSorley’s Old Ale House, located in Manhattan’s East Village, is one of the New York’s most sought-after spots on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s also one of the oldest bars in the city. That doesn’t mean they are afraid a little technology though (or that even early morning binge drinking is immune to Twittering). The bar’s real-time [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Initial tests show PlayStation Move has 133ms lag

DigitalFoundry is part of the Eurogamer network of sites focusing on video games, and specifically looks at the technology behind games and comparisons between them on different platforms. The team’s latest investigation is into just how precise the forthcoming PlayStation Move motion controller is. The results are not great. Using a Kodak Zi6 handheld camcorder in [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

MySpace starts selling user data at a bargain price [UPDATED]

The reality that free services aren’t actually free is currently being demonstrated through the latest money-grab by MySpace. User account information is being made available to anyone who wants it for a surprisingly cheap price. One look at the Infochimps website shows that you can purchase 24 hours of MySpace’s real-time data stream for just $30. [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Spring Design

Another day, another slate-related report. Unlike the unfortunate news about the iPad accessories delay and the QUE proReader no longer being available for pre-order, folks seeking a viable alternative to those hyped e-readers should consider Spring Design’s Alex. If you’ve been eagerly awaiting this device, you’ll be delighted to know that Spring Design will begin accepting [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Alienware M15x Core i7-620M and 260M graphics configuration conflict ends Monday

As of Monday March 22nd, Alienware will be lifting the restriction that currently prevents customers from ordering the M15x with Intel’s Core i7-620M processor and Nvidia’s GeForce GTX 260M graphics. This configuration conflict forced customers to opt for the quad-core (but lower clocked) Core i7-720QM if they wanted the best possible graphics solution on the M15x [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Folding plug wins British design award

The humble plug, providing power to our gadgets, and annoying laptop users everywhere with its size and unusual shape. But the plug as we know it may soon be a thing of the past due to the creation of a folding alternative. Min-Kyu Choi is the designer of the folding plug. It folds flat making it [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Marketing for upcoming Splinter Cell: Conviction goes viral

On March 15, the Third Echelon, a fictional branch of the National Security Association from Ubisoft's Splinter Cell: Conviction, created a Facebook page asking viewers to help catch the illusive rogue agent, Sam Fisher.
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Facebook enhances its search

Facebook continues its improvements in an effort to keep and continue to grow its millions of users. The latest enhancement to come from the company this week is an improvement to its search feature. As Google would no doubt tell you search is pretty important. It’s the primary method for how users find things on the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

URL shorteners slow down the web, study says

URL shortening is among the convenient things that have silently changed our browsing habits. Most people click shortened links without even thinking, although such URLs can misdirect us and even lead to malware sites. And now a new study has confirmed what some of us have been suspecting all along, that URL shorteners slow down [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Apple bans all protective films from all its stores

iPhone folks are all too aware all it takes to mar the shininess of their brand new device is ten minutes in their pocket with set of keys. In fact,  even picking up the device laying flat on your table in a hurry can result in ugly little scratches on the screen and the surrounding [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Nvidia issues 197.13 drivers, corrects problems with 196.75

As you probably recall from earlier this month, Nvidia had an issue with their 196.75 drivers. This wasn’t the sort or minor problem we often see in driver updates, like the new revision causing a small minority of players to experience problems playing game X if they had chipset Y. 196.75 was causing certain graphics [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Monster Hunter grows ten times more adorable with Hello Kitty costumes

Hello Kitty stamps herself onto everything you can imagine and a good number of things you can't. This time, the button-nosed kitten will be digging her little claws into a non-Hello Kitty video game franchise, Monster Hunter, Capcom announced in a press release Wednesday.
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Xobni for BlackBerry creates magic address book

Xobni for Outlook is a free utility that helps bring organization to your inbox and enhances your contacts by creating an automatic address book. This address book includes a profile for any person you have ever communicated with and even gives you some statistics around who you communicate with the most. The utility is clever [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

MSI Wind U100 receives an iPad facelift

The iPad needn’t strip you clean of your cash. If you own an MSI Wind and are into modding, you can turn your trusty old netbook into an iPad lookalike with some software trickery and a little bit of rewiring.  If all you’ve want is that big touchscreen and the iPhone-esque user interface, you should [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Google updates Chrome with better privacy and automated site translation

Google has posted a new Chrome for Windows version Wednesday that inherited two new features from a beta released earlier this month. The latest stable build carries a version number 4.1.248.1036 and enhances your browsing experience with an automatic page translation and improved privacy controls. Automated page translation, courtesy of Google Translate, works on auto-pilot checking [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Google fails to trademark

Google suffered a setback recently when the company was turned down in its application to trademark the name “Nexus One”. The company had filed for the trademark back in December 2009, hoping to gain ownership of the name of its flagship mobile phone. The application was refused because of “likelihood of confusion” with an existing trademark [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Kingdom Hearts prequel coming to PSP this summer

Square Enix Ltd. announced today a prequel to the RPG saga, Kingdom Hearts. With a new mix of Disney and Square characters, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep will be released summer 2010, exclusively for the PSP.
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Sprint customers can try out new phones virtually

Sprint has teamed up with DeviceAnywhere, a company which specializes in end-to-end mobile testing, to give customers the ability to virtually test drive mobile devices online. DeviceAnywhere says that customers will have the ability to test out phone features “as if they are holding the device in their hand”. Of course, once you chose your [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

AT&T

According to AT&T, mobile phone chargers which are left plugged in waste enough electricity to power 24,000 homes for a year. The new AT&T ZERO Charger is an attempt to change that. AT&T has teamed up with Superior Communications to conserve electricity one mobile phone charger at a time. The charger works by detecting when a [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Price hike advertised on new Macs blamed on outdated graphics

A case of mistakenly used outdated graphics in Apple’s online adverts has put some Mac fans in panic mode, suggesting significant price increases across the board. Are Macs overpriced? Of course, I’ve written about this before. More than just a catchphrase, the Apple tax denotes a premium usually ranging from 15 percent right up to 40 [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-18 more

Dell sues LCD manufacturers over 14 years of price fixing

Dell may not be the number one PC manufacturer anymore, but it still buys a lot of displays every year for its laptops and desktop PCs. Price fixing of those displays is obviously going to cost Dell a significant amount of cash, and it looks as though several LCD manufacturers may have been doing just [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

iPad accessories delayed

It’s not the iPad that’s in short supply but some of the Apple-made accessories for it. Nevermind the fact that the iPad camera connection kit remains mysteriously unavailable for pre-order, looks like both the iPad case and keyboard dock won’t ship as originally planned. While that’s an inconvenience for domestic shoppers, it really bad news [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

LeWhif: The Coffee You Inhale

We’re all adults here: all of us have been hungover occasionally. During those moments, when the human skull strains against its calcified architecture as if to pop, and as the esophagus considers inside-outing itself and spraying my skeleton around the room, a cup of coffee — that magic elixir — is often the only thing [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

PayPal gearing up for micropayments

PayPal may be the convenient way to give and receive money online, but every transaction comes with a fee. If you’re dealing with significant amounts of money, then those fees may be disliked, but accepted nonetheless due to the convenience PayPal offers. As an increasing number of services move online, however, the need to handle small [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

Kindle seen as enabler for developing countries by Worldreader.org

Back in 2007, the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization developed a laptop it could deploy to developing countries to “create educational opportunities for the world’s poorest children”. Worldreader.org has a similar vision, but a different technology, and one which is already developed and used around the world today. The organization wants to deploy the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

Open thread: Broadband speed test

Just how fast is your internet connection? The FCC recently released a speed test at Broadband.gov where anyone in the US can test out their tubes in exchange for your home address. They’ll use this data in order to “analyze broadband quality and availability on a geographic basis.” The full rundown on their testing is here. [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

Kingston unveils 2400MHz HyperX DDR3 memory with Intel XMP Core i7 certification

If you are looking to build a performance PC at the moment, then the Core i7 is probably at the top of your list for a processor. But what memory do you pair it with? Kingston may have just answered that question for you by releasing what it claims is the world’s fastest DDR3 memory. The [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

Google releases a new Nexus One version that supports AT&T

Folks who have been craving to run Google’s Nexus One on AT&T’s or Roger Wireless’ 3G network can now do so thanks to a new device version that supports both carriers’ networks. Google launched its Nexus One on January 5, 2009 in the US only. Today, 78 days later, the search firm has launched a new [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

Fired Infinity Ward developers sign with CAA

Vince Zampella and Jason West, the recently fired head honchos from the Encino-based Infinity Ward, are taking their work to Hollywood's biggest talent representatives, the Creative Artists Agency, in search of new projects. Having recently developed the blockbuster hit Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the duo has quite the resume.
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

Need for Speed World closed beta opens up

EA’s upcoming racing MMO, Need for Speed World, is now open for PC beta applicants.  Hey, that’s you! The racing series looks to be mixing up its traditional simulation style racing in favor of a more open-minded arcade approach. Destructible environments, power-ups and ludicrous speeds outweigh precision and realism in NFSW. You can check out the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

Perfect Dark re-release hits XBLA this Wednesday

This week’s addition to the Xbox Live Arcade “Block Week” is the re-release of the old school first-person shooter, Perfect Dark. The HD remake of the Nintendo 64 classic is dropping on Wednesday for 800 Microsoft points, or about $10. Although originally developed by Rare, the remake is being handled by 4J Studios, who ported both [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

Samsung: Our tablet, due by the summer, will beat the iPad with PC-class power

The Korean consumer electronics giant has a new tablet in the works that it says will outperform Apple’s iPad with PC-class power and desktop connectivity features. According to an exclusive APCMag report, Samsung’s yet unnamed device will sport the kind of hardware associated with PCs rather than portable devices. Philip Newton, an engineer with Samsung Australia
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

Limited edition $199 Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker PSP bundle due in US June 8

The legions of Hideo Kojima fans that have been looking at a Japanese Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker PSP bundle with envy needn’t worry anymore because Sony has just announced that a limited edition Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker PSP Entertainment Pack will hit US shores June 8. The Japanese giant wrote on the PlayStation [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

Fandango begins testing paperless movie tickets

Going to the movies just got a little more high-tech. Fandango, the movie ticket service that let’s people purchase movie tickets from the comfort of their own home or office, is now testing a new service where patrons no longer need a paper ticket in order to see their favorite film. After using Fandango to secure [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

IE9 to be GPU-accelerated

Microsoft dropped a major announcement at the MIX conference today. They released the Internet Explorer 9 platform preview and along with that we learned that IE9 would be be GPU accelerator. This next version of Internet Explorer will be the first browser to be capable to handling this sort of GPGPU activity. Nvidia, Microsoft’s partner in [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

Kaspersky launches Password Manager

Kaspersky, the well-respected software security company, has this week launched a new product aimed at protecting our usernames and passwords online. Kaspersky Password Manager has the following features: Password storage in an encrypted database Removes the need to remember lots of passwords Automatic verification of websites login details are required for Automatic entry of login details, meaning no key entry, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

PlasticLogic is no longer accepting pre-orders for the QUE proReader

Plastic Logic’s touch-based, color e-reader has been sold out and won’t be available for pre-ordering anymore. Folks planning on buying the QUE proReader should line up outside select Barnes & Noble stores this summer. Plastic Logic’s high-end e-reader for business pros, dubbed the QUE proReader, is no longer available for pre-ordering. According to the Barnes & [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

US Army considered hacking Wikileaks to expose whistleblowers

The Chinese government isn’t the only one that would consider hacking into a foreign company’s servers in order to expose enemies within its own country. A leaked 32-page document purportedly from the US Army Counter Intelligence Center contains a detailed analysis of the Sweden-hosted Wikileaks website and discussion about possible ways to neutralize the “threat”, including a [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

Survey: Nexus One launch sales look terrible compared to the Droid and first-gen iPhone

According to a new mobile survey, Nexus One sales pale in comparison to those of the Droid and first-gen iPhone that both shipped one million units in their respective 74-day launch period. Mobile analytics firm Flurry has taken a snapshot of its database in order to find out how the Nexus One performed in its 74-day [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

Source says Gears of War 3 will release early 2011

While Gears of War 3 has yet to be officially announced, a "trusted US publishing source" says Epic Game's new title will release April 2011, according to Edge.
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

IE9 Platform Preview available

In November last year, Microsoft revealed some of what will be new and improved in Internet Explorer 9 in the IEBlog post An Early Look At IE9 for Developers. Today, IE General Manager Dean Hachamovitch posted a follow-up: HTML5, Hardware Accelerated: First IE9 Platform Preview Available for Developers. Yes, you can now download what Microsoft calls a Platform Preview to test drive Internet Explorer 9 for yourself.Read full postPosted in (X)HTML, Browsers, CSS, HTML 5.
Publication date: 2010-03-17 more

Controversial sex domain name decision delayed

.xxx vote delayed until June as official body that awards web addresses decides to examine options
Publication date: 2010-03-16 more

More material for web site owners

Here’s some more stuff you should know about. - I did a monster-long interview with Eric Enge. I think the interview lasted an hour or something like that, and we covered several areas in depth. - Next, take a break and go read this post by Rhea Drysdale. Heck, maybe send her a donation by Paypal (Added: [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-16 more

Twitter's Evan Williams announces @Anywhere platform

Evan Williams, CEO of Twitter, has announced a new platform, called @Anywhere, in his keynote at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
Publication date: 2010-03-16 more

Game On: Battlefield goes in with all guns blazing

Battlefield, Bad Company 2, X360/PS3/PC: Nicking its casting idea from The Dirty Dozen, BBC2 returns to the exploits of a bunch of misfit soldiers on a globe-straddling renegade mission.
Publication date: 2010-03-16 more

Digital Life: My, what a big screen you have!

Good grief, look at the size of that thing, said my other half. I presume she was talking about the humongous screen on the new HTC HD2 phone.
Publication date: 2010-03-16 more

100 Games Cupcake Game reminds us of some of our favorite pastimes

On Geek.com, we have come across a few pastries from time to time that pay homage to video games. Some were truly creative while others unfortunately, were not so much. But this creative idea truly takes the cupcake (excuse the pun). Creative designer, Robin Dahlberg, wanted to do something special in order to celebrate her home’s [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-16 more

Microsoft gives Apple

Apple and Microsoft are cozying up to each other more closely than meets the eye. In case you didn
Publication date: 2010-03-16 more

Vintage Mega Man 10 advert released

TV advertising rarely ever makes you stop what you are doing to watch, and even if an ad does, after a handful of views we all get bored and switch channel. But there’s something about classic videogame advertising that never gets old. Maybe it’s nostalgia? Seeing gameplay from the latest games during Saturday morning cartoons [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-16 more

Microsoft awarded one-click purchase Xbox Live DLC content patent

Microsoft has been awarded a rather obscure, but altogether profitable patent relating to the purchase of DLC on the Xbox Live service. The official title of the patent is “Automated Direct Bids to Purchase Entertainment Content upon a Predetermined Event“, and as usual, the description is less than clear in explaining what the patent actually covers: An [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-16 more

Twitter sees more active users, but also attracts more criminal activity

Only 21% of members are “true Twitter users” according to a study of 19 million Twitter accounts by Barracuda Networks, a secure, storage and networking company. Naturally, you probably have the same question I did. What’s a “true Twitter user”? Barracuda defines it as: Has at least (
Publication date: 2010-03-16 more

Crackdown 2 dated for July

The open-world action game Crackdown 2 is set to hit stores in the U.S. on July 6, Microsoft and Ruffian Games announced in a press release Monday.
Publication date: 2010-03-16 more

Even more Mass Effect 2 DLC, but for a price

Cerberus may be a secretive xenophobic company with concealed motives and a strange Illusive Man at the helm, but it sure knows how to please its customers. The Cerberus network has already given away special armor and weaponry, Zaeed, and the Normandy crash site with pre-orders and will soon be throwing a free Mako replacement, the Hammerhead, into the mix. But now, for an undisclosed price, players will get the chance to meet Kasumi.
Publication date: 2010-03-16 more

Google: Gmail is going to get faster

Gmail is already chosen by over 100 million people as their e-mail client, and the service is generally seen as the best web-based e-mail solution out there. But however much you love Gmail, apparently it can be a bit slow if you are a power user. By power user we mean someone who receives thousands of [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

The diamond-encrusted iPad no one should buy

One of the most loathsome but time honored traditions of luxury gadgetdom is to take a much-anticipated forthcoming gadget, dip it in glue, shatter a beer bottle and then roll the gadget around in the chips of glass. Voila! Slap a $10,000 premium on the resulting gaudy mess and you have yourself a luxury [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

The HTC Touch Pro3 will probably be the last Windows Mobile 6.5 smartphone

Now that Microsoft has unveiled Windows Phone 7 Series’ imminent arrival, is there anything that could still possibly convince anyone to buy a Windows Mobile 6.5 phone? HTC sure hopes so: according to an xda-developers tipster, HTC is readying a Windows Mobile 6.5 packing sequel to the HTC Touch Pro2 called (surprise!) the HTC [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

Apple COO receives $22 million for work while Jobs was out

Ever had to stand in for a co-worker or a boss while they were on medical leave? That was the situtation Tim Cook was in when Apple CEO Steve Jobs had to take a six-month medical leave beginning in January of last year. The stock market didn’t react to Jobs’ departure well and left the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

The iPad demand could be tapering off significantly

Apple might have collected an estimated 152,000 pre-orders for its iPad over the weekend, a new report concluded. While this is no doubt an impressive figure, the ad hoc analysis suggests the demand might be tapering off compared to this past weekend. More precisely, iPad pre-orders have slowed to an estimated 1,000 pre-orders per hour,  significantly [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

Novell to unveil technology to bring Xbox 360 games to the iPhone

According to PCWorld, sometime today Novell is slated to demonstrate some impressive new technology that will allow developers to port their Xbox 360 games into iPhone apps, as well as Android games. It’s worth noting here that no one’s talking about taking Halo 3, running it through some software and having a working iPhone port. What [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

AT&T wants to bring the smartphone experience to your cheap freebie phone with three new services

It’s hard to believe that anyone buys a dumphone anymore, but iPhone or Android or not, they are still the dominant sellers in the handset arsenals of most telecoms. As it turns out, there’s just a lot of people out there who want a cheap, easy-to-use phone that they’ll get for free when they sign [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

Wind-up power strip concept stops charging when a socket counts down to zero

We don’t cover design concepts much here at Geek, largely because they are just wishful thinking fantasies. Even so, the Wind-Up Socket conceptual power strip put together by designers Dongwon Joo and Jieun Choi is worthy of appreciation: it’s a simple but ingenious idea for a power strip that intuitively allows you to meter your [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

Report: Cost of online fraud doubled last year

A report released on Friday shows that online fraud cost $560 million last year in the US, up from $265 million in 2008. The report (PDF), from the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3 for short), makes for disturbing reading, suggesting that online fraudsters are becoming more adept at separating victims from their money. Email scams (including advance fee [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

Google stops censoring some Chinese search results for Tiananmen Square protests

Things are starting to heat up in China and Google’s ongoing scuffle over the future of Internet censorship in the country. After the Chinese government was suspected of hacking into the GMail accounts of several political dissidents, Google declared that they would no longer do business in the country if China did not rethink its [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

DS2 rumors and details voiced during GDC

Nintendo is releasing the DSi XL this month across Europe and the U.S. in what we all hope is the last iteration of the ageing hardware. It is expected that an announcement for the DS2 is imminent; with E3 seen as a perfect time for Nintendo to spill the beans. It also means that if [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

Internet crime doubled in 2009, average victim lost $575

The Internet gets bigger each and every year, so it stands to reason that online crime is growing as well… but you’d expect it to grow proportionally. Not so, unfortunately. According to the FBI, he total dollar loss from all cases referred to its Internet Crime Complaint Center was $559.7 million in 2009…. more than [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

Apple could be developing wearable gadgets

The Cupertino firm has hired a wearable computing expert who will reportedly work alongside Jonathan Ive, Apple
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

Brazilian builders create an awesome racing simulator

They often say necessity is the mother of invention, but I also like to think boredom and an extreme need for awesome entertainment also play a role now and then. Take for example some guys from Brazil that thought that normal racing on a PlayStation 3 was way too vanilla. So in order to remedy [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

Microsoft unveils more details about Windows Phone 7: Silverlight, obligatory app demos, developers up the wazoo

At this year’s annual Microsoft MIX 2010 developer’s conference, Microsoft took the stage and used the keynote as an opportunity to explain some more details about their upcoming smartphone OS. First we meet the new features: a Microsoft Location Service that handles all of the location-based data as a central developer resource (like the iPhone has) [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

Warp speed equals dead crew

If you’re like most geeks you probably wish you could be like Captain Kirk and push a starship to warp speed in order to travel unimaginable distances some time in your lifetime. You might want to rethink that. Space.com has reported that the speed would probably kill us. William Edelstein, a physicist at John Hopkins University, stated [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

SXSW: Wolfram Alpha wins 'best in show'

Wolfram Alpha, the 'answer engine', took two awards, including the Best of Show award at the SXSW Web Awards in Austin, Texas last night.
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

Apple will issue replacement iPad when battery runs out

iPad owners will pay $99 to receive a new device when they need a replacement battery.
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

Dotcom celebrates 25th anniversary

The internet today celebrates the 25th anniversary of the dotcom domain name.
Publication date: 2010-03-15 more

Google stars for bookmarking

Google is replacing SearchWiki with stars in Google search. The stars sync with Google Bookmarks, so you can get access to them wherever you go. Once you star something, it shows up above the search results: Pretty cool. But I discovered an extra little tip. If you go to Google Bookmarks, you can find a bookmarklet [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Analysts find iPhone use heaviest on nights and weekends

You just don’t see Apple’s iPhone being used as an enterprise phone by many companies, although some Fortune 500 companies have started bowing to internal pressure and deploying them as company phones along with the venerable BlackBerry. Despite this, studies show that the iPhone is still mostly used by people in the comfort of their [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

120,000 iPads were pre-ordered on Friday

After a month and a half of anticipation, Apple’s iPad tablet finally went up for pre-order on Friday, and early estimates indicate the device has been a runaway success. The first numbers that leaked out were that Apple had managed to sell more than 50,000 iPads during the first two hours it was available for [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Apple will replace iPads that can

A common complaint amongst gadget dorks, the iPhone has no user replaceable battery… and the iPad’s no different. However, a subtle change of wording in Apple’s Battery Replacement Service FAQ indicates that there is a difference in the way Apple will go about replacing iPad batteries: if your iPad starts experiencing diminished battery life, Apple [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

SXSWi keynote says Google found

When Google first released its Buzz social networking system, it tied it into GMail and immediately found itself the center of a privacy controversy. People were alarmed that a public social networking tool was integrally linked to a private communication tool. What went wrong? How did Google mess up so badly? On the first day [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Celsius X-VI-II unveils world

Imagine a cellphone crafted with the same horological insidiousness of churning gears, analogue dials and mechanical parts as a Swiss watch. That’s the idea behind the Celsius X-VI-II’s mechanical cellphone, a $300,000 device that will likely only replace your iPhone if you’re a middle easterner oil shiekh with a jones for horology. The phone isn’t officially [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

New York Times: Google and Apple brawl based on bruised egos

You don’t need to be a particularly astute analyst of the current tech landscape to notice that things are getting downright icy between Google and Apple. Although Google CEO Eric Schmidt was one of the first people to congratulate Jobs on the iPhone, Google’s own forays into the mobile phone arena with their Android operating [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Portal 2 to take place hundreds of years after first game?

Every gamer worth his salt is looking forward to Valve’s sequel to their 2007 smash puzzler hit, Portal… especially since Valve had the audacity to announce Portal 2 through an intricate alternate-reality-game that involved a new game patch, decoding sound files as graphic images and then logging into an 80s-era BBS. But what can we actually [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Nokia asks court to dismiss Apple

Six months ago, Nokia filed a complaint against Apple, claiming that Cupertino had ripped off a number of Nokia’s mobile phone patents wholesale in creating the iPhone. Apple immediately counter-sued. Now, both companies are immersed in a huge legal battle that will take years to resolve. The heart of the issue is that Nokia says Apple [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

AT&T Wireless Boss says HSPA+ rollout will happen in certain locations

Demand for better mobile internet connections is only to get greater, so most of the big wireless telecoms are spending a lot of time lately furrowing their brow over the next iteration of their 3G bands. As far as what the next generation of mobile broadband is going to be, there are two big contenders. [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

China warns Google not to stop censoring search results

It would be the understatement of the year to claim that China’s relationship with Google is merely frosty. The actual temperature these days more closely approaches absolute zero. Ever since Google came out, announcing their suspicions that the Chinese government had launched a highly sophisticated attack against the GMail accounts of certain political dissidents, it’s [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

TiVo coming to 3.5MM Virgin Media subscribers this year

With competition to their service constantly mounting, TiVo needs to figure out how to survive through the years coming ahead. TiVo was a great service five years ago, but now, even a lot of televisions do what TiVo does… and streaming television over the Internet is clearly a huge competitor. For TiVo to survive, they [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

New KDDI wristphone technology will narc on you when you

Overworked employees and lazy scallywags the world over, meet the last cellphone you’ll ever want to buy: Japanese cellphone manufacturer KDDI have just announced a new handset that monitors your movements and can tell when you’re being indolent by using an accelerometer to check your movements against information stored on a server to identify what [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Activision announces first Modern Warfare 2 DLC pack

With all the ruckus at Infinity Ward lately — the Modern Warfare 2 developer’s two studio heads were removed from the corporate offices earlier this month for “gross insubordination” against parent company Activision — you’d think we might expect a delay in the eagerly-anticipated first DLC map pack. But au contraire! Infinity Ward have just announced [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Guitarbud allows you to connect your electric axe to your iPhone

At this point, there’s almost nothing the iPhone or iPod Touch can’t do, given the right app supplemented with the right accessory. But I’ve written about teledildonic iPhone accessories in the past, so I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that someone has come out with an app that allows you to hook up your [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Scientists discover new technique to quick-charge batteries

With gadgets becoming ever hotter and more hunger, we desperately need better battery technology if we’re going to be able to keep improving the performance and capabilities of our mobile devices. Higher-capacity batteries are the ideal solution, here, but that’s a pretty “fat chance” prospect right now: we simply aren’t looking at any major revolutions [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

PlayStation Move only takes up 2MB of memory, won

It took a few years, but by 2011, we can expect motion controls to be ubiquitous across all three current generation consoles: the Nintendo Wii, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. We don’t know when the Xbox 360’s motion controller will come out, codenamed Project Natal, but we do know that we can expect [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

FCC wants to name broadband internet as the country

On Tuesday, the Internet began rumbling that the FCC was planning to outline a bold new plan potentially offering free or subsidized Internet to every United States citizen by freeing up a section of the wireless spectrum. It sounded a bit too good to be true at the time, but the New York Times is now [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Bioshock 2

Bioshock 2’s multiplayer is surprisingly great, and while I’m currently away from my Xbox 360, the release last week of the new Sinclair Solutions Tester Pack had my interest piqued: it promised a maximum rank increase up to level fifty, with rank rewards including a third set of weapon upgrades, as well as twenty new [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Asus ditches physical recovery media in all Eee PC netbooks

If anything goes wrong with your Eee PC netbook, Asus is actually pretty good about giving you the easy ability to restore it to factory settings. You’ve got two options: if your operating system goes funny, you can do one of the following. The first option you have is the easiest: you can just hold [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Researchers discover way to encode WiFi into blue LEDs

According to a group of German researchers, a WiFi router’s not the only way to get wireless internet in your home or apartment: the very light spilling out of the lamps around your house can do the same trick. The team, lead by Jelena Vu?i?, a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, have discovered a [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Valve

At this year’s Game Developer’s Choice Awards at the annual Games Developer Conference, Valve Software’s Gabe Newell won a much deserved Pioneer Award. During his acceptance speech, he used the opportunity to send a message to developers and producers: DRM just isn’t good for business. According to Newell, DRM adds negative worth to products. “One thing [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Verizon Wireless and Casio team-up to release nigh-invulnerable G

You only need to take one look at Verizon Wireless and Casio’s latest mobile phone to know it’s not aimed at Facebooking teenagers, Foursquaring metrosexuals or sleek businessmen: the Casio G’zOne Brigade Cellphone is a shockproof, water resistant handset aimed at business customers heavily involved in industries like construction, public safety and utilities. It really [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Will the iPad

A few previously unknown details have emerged in the wake of yesterdays’ iPad pre-order frenzy, but this might be the iPad killer feature that causes Apple the most trouble: according to Apple’s own documentation, the iPad will happily read all ePub format eBooks outloud to you, if you want it to. Under a heading on the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-14 more

Clarifying a couple points

[Just as a reminder: everything below is my personal opinion. I haven't sent it to anyone else at Google for a review, etc.] Valleywag used a recent podcast I did as material for two points in Six Delusions of Google’s Arrogant Leaders. The two assertions that used my comments as material were “Google’s wealth means Google [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-13 more

New app is absolutely jammers with Irish slang

SLAPPERS and sleeveens will be dying for a gawk at this.
Publication date: 2010-03-13 more

Apple patches router and iWork.com issues with Safari 4.0.5

Apple has updated its Safari browser for Windows and Mac OS X late Friday. The new Safari 4.0.5 release is recommended for all users, Apple said, and includes performance and security enhancements. The software boasts a speedier Top Sites, the eye-candy feature that suspends thumbnails of the sites you visit the most mid-air, including cool 3D [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-13 more

Pre-order estimates: 50,000 iPads in the first two hours

A quick and dirty analysis based on tracking order IDs indicates that customers ordered the iPad in excess of an estimated 50,000 units in the first two hours since Apple begun accepting pre-orders at around 8:30 Eastern time. The basis for this estimate is the order ID, a unique numerical identifier assigned to track each order [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-13 more

MySpace president to focus on online games

It looks like MySpace's former CEO Chris DeWolfe isn't the only one digging into online social games. In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, MySpace co-president Mike Jones reveals that the company's new focus is directing its users toward online gaming.
Publication date: 2010-03-13 more

Build-A-Bear video games coming to the DS and Wii

Build-A-Bear Workshop is taking its fun-loving store of stuffed animal creations from the mall to the Nintendo DS and Wii, Activision announced in a press release on Friday.
Publication date: 2010-03-13 more

Google Chrome fans unable to pre-order the iPad?

Looks like Apple hasn’t done its homework regarding the iPad pre-ordering process. According to web reports, the online Apple store exhibited glitches ranging from broken layout to dead buttons, especially when viewed in Google’s Chrome. Was that just a coincidence or Apple’s way of sticking it to Google? When Apple begun accepting iPad pre-orders at 8:30 [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-13 more

Nvidia launches Case for Innovation to fight Intel

Intelsucks.com was already registered, so Nvidia launched their “Case for Innovation” microsite. As you probably know, the two companies are not getting along too well lately. Intel has antitrust problems going on right now which Nvidia is taking part in and Nvidia has also taken serious issue with Intel preventing them from selling chipsets for Intel’s [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-13 more

Could Netflix Streaming be coming to the DS?

Earlier this month, we reported to you that Netflix was investigating, via a customer survey, bringing their streaming movie service to the iPhone and iPod Touch. Now if what we are seeing is true, it would appear that those aren’t the only small screen devices that could be getting streaming movies in the near future. The [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-13 more

Mama turns to arts & crafts in the new Crafting Mama

The Mama-of-all-trades is back. From cooking to gardening, Majesco's Mama is ready to take on arts & crafts in the upcoming Crafting Mama, exclusively for the Nintendo DS.
Publication date: 2010-03-13 more

Pink Floyd wins court ruling that could affect online sales

If you are a fan of the musical group Pink Floyd, then you are probably all too familiar that the best way to enjoy their music is to listen to an entire album at a time instead of listening to individual tracks. Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall are prime examples of this and the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Verizon Wireless to launch 4G phone next year

Earlier this week Verizon Wireless detailed speeds related to their field tests of the 4G LTE technology they expect to roll out to 25-30 markets by the end of the year and nationwide by 2013. Now, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is reporting that Verizon will have its first 4G handset six months earlier than [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

iKit debuts $40 iPad case with polycarbonate shell and rubber cushioned border

Steve Jobs once joked at a keynote couple of years ago that case makers make more money off the iPod than Apple itself. Fast-forward to present time and the iPod/iPhone accessories have become an estimated a billion a year business. It should come as no surprise then that vendors are jumping over each other to have [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Green Day: Rock Band set for June 8 release

As Rock Band fans wait for the series' third installment, the release date for Green Day: Rock Band approaches. On June 8, the game will be available for the PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii, MTV Games and Harmonix announced Thursday in a press release.
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Practice rock-paper-scissors alone with this DIY game glove

Rock-paper-scissors, I imagine, was one of those games created when people were looking for fun and competition but lacked any kind equipment (or even a deck of cards for that) matter to play a game. But as simple as a game rock-paper-scissors is, however, some people take the game very seriously and it is even considered a sport [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Kaspersky believes Apple is blocking iPhone security solutions

Kaspersky has a very good reputation for delivering top-tier security solutions for both desktop and business environments. If there’s a new set of tests carried out on security suites, Kaspersky is always in the top band. But it can’t seem to get on the good side of Apple according to the company’s CEO Eugene Kaspersky. Eugene [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Surge cases give iPhone and iPod touch a solar boost

If you live and work in an area that generally gets a lot of uninterrupted sunlight, then charging your gadgets with a solar solution might have crossed your mind. The only problem is, unless you opt for devices that already have solar panels built-in, it’s another device to carry around with you. Novothink has come up [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Feature: I was an Apple Store virgin

I did it. I converted over to the “dark side”‘ or just joined the ranks of the Jedi Knights depending on your perspective. I bought a Mac. Though I have used Macs, largely in college computer labs, I’ve never really considered buying one until Apple adopted Intel processors in their computers. Now, even if you have [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Barnes & Noble to bring their e-Reader software to the iPad

If you own a nook eBook Reader, but you have your eye on snagging an iPad when they come out later this month, then perhaps you are wondering if you can share the same eBooks on your nook as you can on the iPad. The good news is, mega book retailer Barnes & Noble (B&N) has answered [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

You can pre-order an iPad right now

Today at 8:30am Apple opened up their iPad pre-orders. If you want to ensure that you get yours on day one, this is the way to do it. If you pre-order the device will be delivered, for free, on Saturday April 3rd (or Monday the 5th if you don’t have Saturday delivery in your area). Apple [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Apple fails to block use of name DOPi

Apple, like all companies with strong branding, defends the names it uses strongly. That includes the use of the letter “i” in names. But it has just lost a trademark case at a tribunal hearing in Australia against a company wanting to use the word DOPi (iPod reversed) for a range of laptop bags and [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

8 minutes of MGS: Peace Walker played by Hideo Kojima

A new video has appeared on the IGN YouTube channel containing 8 minutes of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker gameplay. MGS:PW is the first handheld version of MGS to be directed by series creator Hideo Kojima. The story occurs after MGS3: Snake Eater and MGS: Portable Ops. The video not only shows the new game in action, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Learn to program in just three weeks

Learning to program can be difficult. It requires dedication and patience. Yet all over the internet people are trying to teach you to do it in a few weeks, a few days, or in some cases 24 hours (C++).  The comic above runs through one way to become programming expert in just 21 days, though [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Real extent of Yakuza 3 content cuts becomes clear

Late last month Sega admitted and explained that the Western release of Yakuza 3 would arrive with some content cuts. The explanation being that it was either cut the content or not release the game. The cuts made were for content that “didn’t resonate with western culture”, and specifically included a Japanese history quiz and visiting [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Template Designer brings customization to Blogger

If you want to blog for free, then using Google’s Blogger platform is one of the best options. No hosting fees, no HTML or CSS experience required, a host of gadgets to modify the content on a page, and the option to show some ads and generate cash if you wish. The one problem with Blogger, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Get alerts the instant Apple

You can be the first on the block to get notifications when Apple’s online store goes offline and back online, thanks to a new service. But why on Earth would anyone want to follow service outages? Well, as any avid Apple fan knows, whenever visitors to the online Apple Store face the yellow “we’ll be back [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

The QUE reader delayed until the summer, Plastic Logic apologizes with free shipping

Plastic Logic’s highly anticipated e-reader hyped for business pros, the QUE proReader, won’t ship mid-April as promised. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company’s CEO Richard Archuleta confirmed rumors that the QUE will be delayed until the summer, arguing the engineering team needed more time to perfect the product. Such a misstep would go [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

GDC slideshow reveals secret message from Portal

If you thought Portal 2's Alternate Reality Game was over, you thought wrong. A slideshow on the final day of the Game Developers Conference sputtered one last message, possibly alluding to the viral marketing game's return.
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Just teasing: Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailer

This teaser trailer might make more sense to people that have played Deus Ex before, but regardless it looks pretty cool. Joystiq and Wikipedia have some details on the game, but it seems like we’re going to have wait and learn more about it as we get closer to the release date. And, by the way, Deux [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Reverse chronological order comments

Maybe I
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Geek Meet Gothenburg March 2010

It's been over three years since Geek Meet Gothenburg February 2007, so it's about time for another one. Like last time, this event will take place at the NetRelations office in Gothenburg, Sweden. The date is March 24, 2010. We
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

Thanks for the memories -- the computer you'll never forget

RESEARCHERS have taken a leap into the world of science fiction by creating a computer programme that uncovers memories.
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

English village in Street View fight against Google

In one corner was a group of villagers keen to guard their privacy from the prying eyes of the outside world. In the other was Google, the internet giant that has set out to photograph every street in Britain and put the images online.
Publication date: 2010-03-12 more

The tech of the Irish

You don't have to buy a potato sack full of orange wigs, inflatable Guinnesses and stuffed toy leprechauns to show your appreciation for Irish culture on St Patrick's Day. Mix one part 'innovation nation' and two parts 'Hibernian culture' and you have some clever applications to see your way through a fun, yet informative, Paddy's Day this 17 March
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Irish developers have a chance to lead the smartphone 'Wave'

Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

A tale of two worlds as digital economy in danger of vanishing in a rear-view mirror

It's the best of times for the digital age but worst of times for Ireland if we don't grab our chance
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

New MySpace chiefs plan major relaunch

In their first interview since the shock departure of Owen Van Natta, MySpace’s former chief executive, Mike Jones and Jason Hirschorn, the company’s new co-presidents, say they will be ready to "win back old users" by the end of this year.
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

OWC

Conventional wisdom has taught us that affordable 2.5-inch portable drives usually fall short in terms of capacity but OWC’s new 1TB model changes this notion. Mac and PC tech company Other World Computing has announced the OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini on Tuesday. Filed as the first 2.5-inch 1TB portable storage, this drive covers all your [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

MacHeist nanoBundle 2 just got sweeter with four more free apps worth $56

This last minute addition has increased the combined value of the $20 MacHeist nanoBundle 2 to nearly $350. If you’ll be taking action, know that the offer expires in a few hours. As Geek reported, those wonderful folks behind the annual MacHeist bundle have packaged seven great apps for just $19.95. However, MacHeist has now sweetened [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

LinkE

WiFi is pretty neat, but it can’t cover every square inch of your house. My Berlin apartment, for example, apparently has lead lined walls or something because whatever is going on, my Time Capsule might as well be a thousand miles away as far as my bedroom is concerned. That’s an extreme example, but if [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Warpia Easy Dock wireless docking solution for laptops and netbooks

Here at Geek, we often look at the wires snaking out of our gadgets and umbilically stretching between ports and sockets with sad incredulity. What the heck are we still doing bothering with wires? Sure, wireless electricity technology isn’t ready for, so we’ll grudgingly admit the requirement for cords. But why do we need to [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Google testing TV search with Dish Network

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports that Google is not happy to just provide search on your computer or mobile phone. Now it seems to be dipping its toes in the water when it comes to providing search for your television. According to the WSJ article, the search provider teamed up with Dish Network to [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Pentax reveals 40MP DSLR monster, the 645D

Pentax’s latest medium-format DSLR is an absolute monster. Called the 645D, it packs 40 Megapixel onto its thirty three millimeter by forty four millimeter sensor. Got that? Forty megapixels. That’s completely ridiculous, even for a DSLR, and usually I’d argue that’s way too many megapixels to take good pictures even with a great camera… by [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Linux Store launched by The Linux Foundation

Linux.com is now a destination for Linux fans wanting to buy t-shirts, mugs, hats, or stickers, to help support their favorite operating system. The new merchandise store has been launched by The Linux Foundation, with profits being fed back into the continued development and promotion of Linux. Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation said: Selling [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

HP masters MediaSmart TiVo control

TiVo might have posted a ten million dollar loss last quarter as their customers fled to other (better, less expensive) services, but that’s not to say that TiVo’s dead. Not at all: in fact, HP just announced a new product for their MediaSmart Windows Home Servers called the HP MediaSmart Expander for TiVo. It’s basically [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Quick Look: FreshDirect for iPhone

Shopping for fresh food and branded groceries needn
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Final Fantasy XIV details revealed

Already getting tired of Final Fantasy XIII? Didn't think so. Still, you may be interested to see some juicy tidbits about the upcoming online role-playing Final Fantasy XIV.
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

HP: Our Flash-enabled Slate will beat the iPad to the tablet punch

An ad war between HP and Apple is looming on the horizon, just in time for the iPad
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Synology DiskStation Manager 2.3 gallery

As posted about yesterday, the DiskStation Manager 2.3 firmware is now available for Synology devices. This photo gallery runs through the backend interface, focusing on what’s new and improved for version 2.3. It will also give users a look at the DSM in case they are not familiar with it. The images were taken off a [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

New gestures for 2010 iPhones: Triple tap and long press

9to5Mac
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Partnership could lead to ticket sales on Facebook for events

TechCrunch is reporting that Facebook may soon be reaching a partnership which would allow Facebook users to sell tickets to events they create through the social network. The company which would provide this service would be Eventbrite which offers online event management and registration. A connection between Facebook, where you can post events, and Eventbrite, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Final Fantasy XIII ships 5 million copies

Final Fantasy XIII has shipped 5 million copies worldwide, Square Enix announced in a press release Wednesday. Of those 5 million, 3 million units were shipped outside of Japan. Keep in mind, however, that this staggering number does not reflect the amount of units sold.
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Rock Band 3 slated for the holidays

Rock Band 3 will be crashing a stage near you this holiday season, Viacom CEO and President Philippe Dauman announced Wednesday during the Credit Suisse 2010 Global Media and Communications Convergence Conference.
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Facebook and Google Buzz sued for infringing on mobile social networking patent

Sorry Google Buzz and Facebook. It seems the idea for mobile social-networking was already patented by another company. In fact, it was Wireless Ink Corp. who was issued the patent in October of last year. Wireless Ink operates a service called Winksite which, as you would suspect, facilitates social networking over a mobile device and currently [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Sprint fumbles and Verizon Wireless takes the football

Verizon Wireless has announced that it has secured a new four-year agreement to become the official wireless service sponsor of the NFL. The title was previously held by competitor Sprint Nextel. The deal, which begins next month, includes NFL Mobile which features exclusive multimedia content for mobile subscribers. According to the Wall Street Journal, the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Google Maps adds biking directions

Are you an avid biker? Well, more than likely you’ve been one of the folks clamoring for the ability to use Google Maps to create a route for a recreational ride or even your daily commute. Google Maps currently provides a driving, walking or public transit routing options, but there hasn’t been an option for [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

Twelve-core Mac Pros could arrive next Tuesday

Hold on that credit card, Apple’s Mac Pro desktop might receive a major brain transplant as early as this coming Tuesday. According to ZDNet
Publication date: 2010-03-11 more

From tiny dotcoms the mighty internet has grown

Monday will see the 25th anniversary of the registration of the domain name Symbolics.com. Granted, it's not particularly catchy, and to this day it's renowned for nothing other than being the first.
Publication date: 2010-03-10 more

Sex.com, 'most expensive domain name in history', up for auction

Sex.com, the web domain touted as the most expensive in history, is up for auction, with bidding starting at $1m.
Publication date: 2010-03-10 more

Sony moves to next dimension with 3D TV rollout

Sony will launch 3D televisions in June, entering an increasingly crowded market that is betting the revolutionary TV will become the next hot product in the electronics industry.
Publication date: 2010-03-10 more

Google Streetview to cover every UK road

Google's controversial mapping service will soon cover 238,000 miles of the UK's roads.
Publication date: 2010-03-10 more

Amazon to improve the Kindle

Users could be able to browse the whole web with the Kindle
Publication date: 2010-03-10 more

Happy Hour Watch tells you when it

As both a man and an alcoholic, constantly having an instrument for the opening of beer bottles on my trembling, delirium tremensing capapace is a priority. I used to just use my back molars, but when those grinded away to nothingt, I quickly learned how to open a beer with a second, unopened bottle. But that [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-10 more

New York City Map created in 8-bit format

Have you ever pondered what an existing modern city map would look like in the world of role-playing 8-bit video games? Didn’t think so but, thanks to programmer Brett Camper, you won’t ever have to. Over at 8bitnyc, Camper has created a full size map of New York City using 8-bit graphics and map features he compiled [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-10 more

Google graphs search trends for the Academy Awards

Now that the winners are largely known, Oscar fever has just about died down… but if you’ve ever been interested about what Internet search patterns look like while the Academy Awards are going on, look no further than Google’s latest blog post, which shows just how searching trends broke down over the course of three [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-10 more

Better believe it: Steve Ballmer praises Apple

Steve Ballmer has grown tired of all the iPhone bashing and is attempting to play nice. According to a new report, Microsoft’s chief executive has praised Apple for the creation of the App Store. The sweet talk came during a speech that Ballmer gave in front of the University of Washington’s computer-science building, The Seattle Times [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-10 more

Lady Gaga makes her Rock Band debut

Four songs from pop idol Lady Gaga will hit Rock Band's DLC store next week, Harmonix and MTV Games announced in a press release Tuesday. South Park's Eric Cartman will also join the roster with his rendition of "Poker Face."
Publication date: 2010-03-10 more

Survey: 40% of music lovers don

If you read this site, you probably know about legal onlinemusic services like Spotify, Pandora or Last.fm or Napster… but a stunning percentage of people don’t. They believe that the only way to get music online is illegally: the only source they know of for downloadable music is Bittorrent. Their ignorance of the legal online [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

HP takes a page from Apple

Not content with being an also-ran, HP released a new teaser for its forthcoming Slate device that looks a lot like the latest iPad commercial that Apple aired during the Oscars. The commercial arrived just as Apple begun hyping up the iPad ahead of the official April 3rd US debut. The new HP Slate teaser, posted [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Nokia patents

Keeping your gadgets juiced is a perpetual problem, and as gadgets become more and more power hungry, one that seems ever more intractable. It’s not a big deal to plug in a gadget, of course, but when your smartphone only lasts five hours at a time, the added inconvenience becomes maddening. Various companies have played [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Power Gig controller allows you to play Rock Band with a real guitar

If the sales figures of the newest releases in the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series are anything to go by, we’re at the end of the rhythm music game market saturation. That will be welcome news to many notable rock musicians, who have endlessly bemoaned the unproven fact that the plastic guitars used in [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Ribbon Hero is now available for Microsoft Office

You might remember that, late last year, we dug up a patent application made by Microsoft for a product called Ribbon Hero… a fun little idea that took the precepts of Guitar Hero or Rock Band and applied them to the “ribbon” in Microsoft Office products. The patent described Ribbon Hero as
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Obama administration hires anti-PowerPoint crusader Edward Tufte

Although it’s debatable if they are getting much of anything done, the Obama Administration has an excellent habit of hiring some very cool, and very smart people. Their latest hire continues that tradition nicely: statistician, infographic maker and informational critic Edward Tufte has been appointed to serve on the Recovery Independent Advisory Panel, which is [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Freescale

Earlier this year at CES, Freescale revealed a $200 smartbook tablet reference design that they were shopping around to partners. It was a beautiful tablet for the price, powered by a 1GHz i.MX515 ARM processo. Other specs included 512MB of DDR2 RAM, a 1,024 x 600 multitouch screen, between 4GB to 64GB of internal storage, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

FCC plans to free up wireless spectrum for free or low-cost national 3G service

Is Internet access a fundamental human right? According to a BBC global study that we posted about yesterday, 79% of adults believe that it is. Whether or not you agree with that statement, one thing’s for sure: most people want free internet. And it looks like the Obama administration is hoping to give them just [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

TiVo posts $10MM loss as subscribers flee to other services

For many years, I looked at the TiVo perched atop my television as practically the perfect gadget, changing the way I watched television forever. But then broadband took off, Hulu and Netflix came along, iTunes started telling television shows, and televisions got their own DVR abilities built right into them. Ever since then, my TiVo [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

RIP: Dell Adamo XPS

The Dell Adamo XPS was such a beautiful machine. Ostensibly, it aped the MacBook Air, in that it was a machine so thin that it seemed like an easy task to use it through slice through a human jugular. Okay, not quite, but it was 9.9mm thin, which is an awful small footprint to shove [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

China envisions supertrain that can travel from Beijing to London in two days

The world’s a tiny place indeed if you’re not adverse to jumping on an airplane, hurtling into the sky for a few hours and then plunging in a controlled, shrieking fall down at the earth’s crust several thousand miles away… but some people find that prospect a bit unnerving. They’ve got options to air travel, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Energizer USB battery charger comes with software that gives full backdoor access to your computer

On the surface of things, the Energizer Duo USB battery charger is the most innocuous of gadgets. You simply plug it into your USB port, slap in some batteries, and voila! Your computer juices them up. Not the most useful of gadgets, okay, but not bad for the road warrior on the go who needs [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Analysts say PS3 could outsell Wii, Xbox 360 by 2013

Look, Sony’s PlayStation 3 is a great console, made even better by the recent update to the PS3 Slim. That’s undeniable. But what is also undeniable is that they totally squandered their market dominance with the PlayStation 2 this generation, allowing Nintendo and Microsoft to pass them as the biggest selling and most important consoles [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Facebook to become location aware in April

Although it was at first dismissed as just another social networking site and time waster, Facebook is growing into a credible Internet business. It’s working to tie the vast majority of both your personal and Internet life into one central resource which can then be plunged for trending data to be sold to advertisers. According [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

BBC science geeks create car that runs off of coffee grounds

As a professional blogger, I am fueled by coffee in a way most comparable to the way that an automobile is fueled by gasoline. Without coffee, I do not function: I am not so much zombie as corpse. But get a cup or morning joe into me and I spring to life, my engine combusting, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

3 year old girl fatally shoots herself after mistaking gun for Wiimote

I’m not quite entirely sure if I believe this story, but it is terribly sad if it is true: according to WTVF-TV in Nashville, Tennesse (and picked up by Fox News), a three year old girl has fatally shot herself after mistaking a loaded handgun as a Nintendo Wiimote. According to the story, the shooting happened [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Sony announces eight new 3D-capable Bravia HDTVs

Capitalizing on that new-fangled “three dimensional seeing” thing all you crazy kids are talking about these days, Sony just unleashed a veritable torrent of PR on the blogosphere about their eight new 3D Bravia televisions, coming to Japan (and likely the US) in June. The Bravia LX900 series comes in four different screen sizes, coming [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Games disguised as Excel and Word prove a hit with office workers

Computer games disguised as Excel and Word documents which allow office workers to waste time without attracting the attention of their bosses are taking off on the web.
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Microsoft reshuffles browsers on ballot screen

The Windows-maker has adjusted the algorith that generates the order in which browsers are shown on its ballot screen, as Opera says downloads have tripled since process began.
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Microsoft reshuffles browsers on ballot screen

The Windows-maker has adjusted the algorith that generates the order in which browsers are shown on its ballot screen, as Opera says downloads have tripled since process began.
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Google 'testing TV search service'

Google is testing a new search service that will make it easier for people to find their favourite TV shows and YouTube videos, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

'Ireland too small for comparison sites to survive'

The price-comparison website sector in Ireland is still small and underdeveloped compared with other EU countries.
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Bits and bytes: Imelda helps ring in the changes for Vodafone

Vodafone finally took the wraps off its iPhone offering last week with the help of Imelda May -- and no surprise it looks a lot like O2's deal.
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Digital Life: A phone that's greener than Gormley

It isn't easy being green, as Kermit the Frog used to sing. If you're a gadget fiend, you may worry which hideously toxic chemicals went into the making of your shiny new mobile.
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Game on: Heavy Rain flooded with cinematic features

Heavy Rain, PS3:There's been a mistake. Should Heavy Rain be reviewed here at all? Maybe it should be filed under the movie genre, because it has much more in common with cinema.
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Washington DC based Janmedia Provides Probono Assistance to SEDC

Washington DC - March 8, 2010: Janmedia Interactive, INC, a leading Washington DC Digital Agency accepted a Pro Bono support request from the Socio-Economic Development Center for Southeast Asians (SEDC). SEDC is a Providence-based nonprofit that provides social services to the Southeast Asian community.
Publication date: 2010-03-09 more

Seven HTML related working drafts published

On March 4, the W3C published no less than seven new or updated working draft documents related to HTML: HTML5 HTML: The Markup Language HTML5 differences from HTML4 HTML+RDFa HTML Microdata HTML Canvas 2D Context Additional Requirements for Bidi in HTML Read full postPosted in (X)HTML, HTML 5.
Publication date: 2010-03-08 more

First iPad advert shown during Oscars

The first advert promoting Apple’s iPad device went live last night during the Oscars.The 30-second advert takes the viewer on a whirlwind tour of all of the functions the hotly anticipated tablet style computer is capable of, to a soundtrack of The Blue Van’s 'There Goes My Love’.The surprise spot advert launched after the news emerged last week that the iPad will go on sale in the US on April 3 and follow suit around the world on an unconfirmed date in ‘late April’. British consumers will be able to buy both the Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi and 3G versions of the device in late April, Apple confirmed. The launch date is slightly later than anticipated, but analysts have been warning that unspecified "manufacturing problems" could lead to some delays.US shoppers will be able to buy the Wi-Fi only model on April 3, with the Wi-Fi and 3G model available later in the month. They can start pre-ordering the devices online and in-store from March 12.Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, had been spotted on the red carpet at the beginning of the Oscars service. The brief TV advert succinctly demonstrates the devices’ numerous capabilities. The iPad, which has a 10in touch-screen, can be used to browse the web, listen to music, and watch movies, as well as download apps and read electronic books, magazines and newspapers.The iPad is something completely new,” said Jobs last week. “We’re excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”Apple is yet to announce UK pricing for the range of devices, but the entry-level model will cost $499 in the United States. However, the Wi-Fi only, 16GB iPad is expected to be priced around £389 when it goes on sale in the UK, according to anonymous sources close to Apple and its partners.
Publication date: 2010-03-08 more

Why Apple can't control its Chinese factories

While Apple is to be applauded for auditing its suppliers in an attempt to identify poor working conditions, its suppliers are so powerful that Apple can't effect real change - and nor can any other tech company.
Publication date: 2010-03-08 more

District 9 wins the Oscar for most BitTorrented movie

Okay. We realize that there is no such category in the Academy Awards, but in these modern times, where movies could find themselves on the Internet even before they are officially released in the theater, perhaps there should be. Filesharing and BitTorrent blog, TorrentFreak, put together a list of the most illegally downloaded Oscar “Best Picture” [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-07 more

Review: Motorola Devour with Motoblur

It’s tough to be a technology writer when you have to get a new mobile phone. Heck, it’s tough even if you aren’t a writer considering the number of options available. Rather than looking at technology I looked at what I wanted the phone to do for me. First, I wanted it to consolidate my [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

XFX unveils Radeon 5970 Black Edition Limited (2 GPUs, 4GB, Eyefinity 6)

While Nvidia struggles with GPU-killing drivers, and no DirectX 11 cards until the end of this month, AMD is riding high with performance graphics cards appearing from multiple vendors. XFX has even gone as far as unveiling a very special and limited run edition of the Radeon 5970 at CeBIT. Called the Radeon 5970 HD Black [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

Google Chrome gets richer privacy controls, automatic web page translation

The latest beta of Google Chrome brings a new automatic web page translation feature and more detailed privacy controls on a per-site basis. When you visit a site written in a different language than your preferred language set in Chrome
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

Skinput transforms your arm into an input device

Over the years, inventors have created some fascinating ways to expand our connection with computers and other electronic devices besides using standard input devices like touchscreens, keyboards and mice. Today’s example, created by inventor Chris Harrison, centers on a machine that allows the human body itself (specifically the arm) to become a new type of input device. Harrison’s Skinput prototype, as [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

How to: Swap the Fn and Ctrl keys on a ThinkPad

In recently released ThinkPads, like the T410, is it possible to swap the Fn and left Ctrl key. It gives ThinkPad users something that they’ve been requesting for a long time: placement of the Ctrl button at the bottom lefthand corner of the keyboard. This happens in BIOS, not on the hardware side, so it’s an [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

Gran Turismo 5 and NASCAR

Gamers who have been following the development of Gran Turismo 5 will already know that the game includes NASCAR. But until now, we haven’t really seen any in-game footage of it in action. That changes today with the release of the video you see above giving a teaser of what to expect. Kazunori Yamauchi, creator of the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

The iPad arrives April 3, pre-order from March 12

Apple has put an end to ongoing speculations regarding the availability of its recently announced tablet. The iPad goes on sale in the US starting April 3 and later that month in nine more countries. The Cupertino firm put out a press release early Friday officially confirming that its
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

Booq announces Boa skin XS cases for the iPad

The business of iPad accessories is booming even though the device is scheduled to hit the stores worldwide later this month. We’ve previously covered ColcaSac’s fashionable sleeves for iPhones, iPods, and Kindles, and today we learn about a premium iPad carrying case from Booq, a privately-held family company that creates high-end laptop bags. The Sierra Madre, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

Valve announces Portal 2 for Holiday 2010 release

It’s been a crazy week for Valve news, and it looks like thing won’t be slowing down any time soon. Not long ago the company put out a short release saying that Portal 2 is on the way. Here is the release: Valve, creators of best-selling game franchises (such as Left 4 Dead, Counter-Strike and Half-Life) and [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

Degradeable game demos patent filed by Sony

The use of game demos has gone through a number of iterations over the past couple of decades. The shareware model used to distribute the first few levels of a game to get a player interested, and then charge a fee to unlock the rest. Then we started getting demos on magazine cover discs before [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

How Star Trek should have ended

Say what you will about 2009’s blockbuster Star Trek, but most people will agree that is was a good watch. This video plays on its popcorn-movie appeal by rewriting the ending. It’s ridiculous, nonsensical, and highly amusing. Things get silly at the end, but I do like it when they piece apart things from the movie, like [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

Review: Cyber Clean cleaning compound

Cyber Clean is a cleaning compound that sells for $6 for a 75 gram packet. According to their website Cyber Clean is: … a revolutionary cleaning compound! When it comes to cleaning action in cavities and where convention cleaning products have physical limits. Cyber Clean gets into cavities because of its perfect combination of viscosity elasticity [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

Hollywood shows unconditional love for Apple products

Product placement is a big business in Hollywood. Companies spare no expenses to put their products in front of the public and what better way to achieve this than have a star of the latest flick use your product. Some products are a given for certain movie genres. For example, there’s a high likelihood of a [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

Awesome video walkthrough of Windows Phone 7 series

If you’ve dismissed Windows Phones based on the previous versions of Windows Mobile, you may want to give the platform a second chance. Based on this cool detailed walkthrough, we are now more excited about Windows Phone 7 series than ever before. Even though the initial batch of hands-on videos detailed the software extensively, there are [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

Star Wars Characters get the crochet treatment

I fully admit, when it comes to arts and crafts I was never any good at those classes in school, which is probably why I found my niche in computers and technology. But, that doesn’t mean I cannot appreciate those people that have mad craft making skills – especially, when they make something that puts [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

Popular Science magazine archive now free online, stretches back to 1872

Popular Science Magazine has been a staple for geeks wanting to learn about scientific endeavors for over 137 years since its first issue was published way back in 1872. In more recent decades, fans of the magazine could tell you how the publication is handy reference for learning about new technologies in our world and also features great gadget [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

T-Mobile gets kudos from J.D. Power for retail customer satisfaction

T-Mobile USA may not be tops in total subscribers or revenue when compared to its larger competitors including Verizon Wireless, Sprint and AT&T. Where they do have them beat is in wireless retail customer satisfaction according to J.D. Power and Associates. Luckily for T-Mobile USA, there isn’t a map for that so it will be [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

Coby debuts $85 smartbook

Just as we’ve learned about HiVision
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

Wonder what the web looks like on the Flash-less iPad? There

With the CubeMe extensions, your Chrome browser will pretend it
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

YouTube translates audio into captions automatically

No one can deny that YouTube has an impressive following. Still, Google knows that the video website hasn’t been able to serve all those who may visit it including the hearing impaired. The company took a step toward addressing this shortcoming when it launched automatic captions to a small group back in November. As the name [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-06 more

Microsoft 'staking its future' on cloud computing

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, said he was 'betting the company' on the move to cloud-based services
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

YouTube adds video captions

English-language video clips will be captioned automatically, in a move designed to make the site more accessible for the deaf or hearing-impaired.
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Twitter hits 10 billionth tweet

More than 10 billion messages have been sent through Twitter since the microblogging service launched in 2006
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Desktop computers will soon be 'irrelevant', says Google

Google says that the days of desktop computer as we know it are numbered. John Herlihy, the vice-president of Global Ad Operations, told the Digital Landscapes Conference in Dublin that the future of computing was mobile and through the web browser.
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Microsoft sells 90 million copies of Windows 7

Microsoft has announced that it has sold over 90 million copies of Windows 7 since its launch to manufacturers in July. The operating system, which went on sale to consumers in October, had sold 60 million copies by the end of January.
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Best of TOCCON 2010

In  the newsletter last week I talked about some recent events, including Tools of Change. If you haven’t heard of it before, it’s a conference about digital publishing that pulls in some pretty big names. O’Reilly Media was nice enough to put the talks from the conference online, and some of them are worth checking [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

You can now bookmark sites directly from Google

Starring a site in search results is a new way to personalize your search experience. All starred sites are stored as bookmarks that can be organized and used in a variety of Google products. The search giant announced Wednesday that signed-in users can click the star icon next to a Google search result in order to [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

The Sims 3 Ambitions Expansion lets players follow their Sims to work

A new expansion pack for The Sims 3 allows players to follow their Sims to work for the first time in the series, EA announced in a press release Thursday.
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Apple removes WiFi detector apps built around private frameworks

With dust surrounding Apple
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Google Apps customers get a free 25GB-per-seat failsafe backup in the cloud

Thanks to Google’s vast datacenters, organizations and individuals hosting their business on Google Apps can now take advantage of a free 25GB Gmail backup per employee and an increased disk space for Docs, Sites, and Video. While the search firm acknowledged that many enterprises backup their data on a SAN usually backed up by an additional [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Review: BlackBerry Presenter

Research In Motion, maker of BlackBerry handhelds and services, has added one more device to their lineup that may finally allow you to ditch your laptop for good. Looking at a BlackBerry you’ll notice that if you have need to do a presentation there’s not exactly a port on the handheld that you can plug into [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Power lines vs. branch

Guess what happens when two power lines are connected. Not sure? Here is a little guide for you all. Is electricity not the best thing ever? via cynical-c
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Microsoft Security Chief proposes taxes to protect the Internet

A PC World article detailed statements made by Scott Charney, Vice-President of Trustworthy Computing, of Microsoft as part of his RSA 2010 keynote speech. In those statements, Charney proposes a general tax on all Internet users to pay for a process by which computers are checked for vulnerabilities and security protection before they are placed [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Rupert Murdoch arrives to the iPad rescue

Rest assured, you’ll be able to subscribe to your favorite newspaper and read it on the iPad. Most watchers, this author included, thought digital publishing would remain just a buzzword due to the lack of big newspaper announcements at the January iPad unveiling. While the New York times executives did give an on-stage demo of an [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

MySpace founders acquire MindJolt to create online social games

After leaving the chief executive post at MySpace, the social network co-founder Chris DeWolfe has re-surfaced as CEO of Mindjolt, an online social gaming start-up. Together with fellow MySpace founders Colin Digiaro and Aber Whitcomb, DeWolfe announced the team's partnership with Austin Ventures and the acquisition in a press release on Thursday.
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Apple could be prepping an App Store for the Mac software

Apple has lowered the entry to develop Mac apps to just $99, matching the annual cost of creating iPhone apps. The move could signal Apple’s intentions to change the way desktop apps are organized, distributed, and downloaded. When Apple took down its developer site for nearly two hours late today, Apple enthusiasts suspected a major change [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

Visual display of alternative text

The fact that web browsers have different ways of displaying alternative text when images are missing or disabled is something that I talked about in Safari, WebKit and alt text for missing images and Steve Faulkner expanded on in alt and title content display in popular browsers. In How should Web browsers render alternative text?, Vlad Alexander asks (and answers) a few questions on this topic.Read full postPosted in Accessibility, Browsers.
Publication date: 2010-03-05 more

iPad

How can you tell that a yet unreleased product is bound to become a hit? By checking out how it fares in online scam and phishing schemes, of course. Even though Apple’s iPad won’t ship untillater this month, cyber criminals waste no time and are already aiming hard-to-resist schemes at naive users who have had [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Review: Seagate BlackArmor PS 110 USB 3.0 external hard drive

USB 3.0 is the next big thing in storage, so it’s no surprise that companies are starting to roll out this new standard to all sorts of different devices. One of these is Seagate’s BlackArmor PS 110, a 2.5-inch external hard drive that we reviewed under a year ago. The new PS 110 is almost [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Super Talent announce USB 3.0 encrypted SuperCrypt flash drive

Super Talent, the California based memory manufacturer and distributor, has announced a new, encrypted USB 3.0 flash drive. The SuperCrypt drive supports AES hardware encryption with two options, and is supported by the STT encryption utility for passwords. Option one comes in the form of 128-bit ECB encryption on standard SuperCrypt drives. Option two is 256-bit [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Windows 7 sells 90 million copies in first four months

If you see pictures of Steve Ballmer wearing a huge grin across his face, he’s probably thinking about Windows 7. Since its release on October 22nd last year, Microsoft’s latest operating system has sold 90 million copies. Peter Klein, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, made the announcement during the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference yesterday. Such [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Resident Evil designer creates third-person shooter, Vanquish

Resident Evil designer Shinji Mikami has created an upcoming title for the Xbox 360 and PS3 called Vanquish.
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Facebook and Xbox 360 come together to fight World War I

This week, the Xbox 360 and Facebook are linking up to fight a virtual reenactment of World War I.
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Skype comes to Symbian-based Nokia phones

Nokia smartphone owners now have the ability to stay connected with their Skype buddies while on the go. Skype and Nokia have announced that a Skype client for Nokia smartphones based on the Symbian platform is now available. Skype for Symbian works over a Wi-Fi or mobile data connections including GPRS, EDGE and 3G. Best [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Activision sued by West and Zampella over royalty payments

Following news earlier this week that Activision had removed Infinity Ward’s president Jason West, and CEO Vince Zampella, the duo have retaliated with a lawsuit against their former publisher and parent company. West and Zampella are suing Activision for not paying them the royalties they are due. Robert Schwartz, acting attorney for the pair, said: Activision has [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Ubisoft

There has been uproar over the past couple of weeks over Ubisoft’s plans to introduce a new form of DRM to its games. There will be no software to install, and no limited installs. Instead, gamers will be required to stay connected all of the time. Even the slightest blip in your Internet connection will [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

The new MacHeist nanoBundle offers seven top Mac apps for just $19.95

The software provided in this heavily discounted bundle includes an album cover search program, a re-invented clipboard app, an elegant FTP client, and more. Hurry up, there are only six days left before the offer expires. The MacHeist team has been providing great software bundles for the Mac for the last three years. As any Mac [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

LEGO video game franchise will continue through 2016

TT Games Publishing will continue to create LEGO video games through 2016, Warner Bros. announced in a press release on Wednesday.
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Black and white platformer, Limbo, announced for XBLA

Playdead, an independent game development studio, announced Wednesday the upcoming release of their black and white puzzle-platforming adventure game, Limbo.
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Nokia and Alpine to connect mobile phone services with car systems

I’m a big fan of navigation solutions on your mobile phone or separate GPS devices. The main reason is that I like the convenience of bringing my GPS capabilities with me. Unfortunately, that convenience comes with the hassle that you have to mount your mobile phone or GPS in a way that you can see [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Several JFK Air Traffic Controllers suspended for letting little boy direct plane traffic

Taking your kids to work should be a happy and fun experience for all, right? For one little boy, who was the son of an air traffic controller that worked at the JFK airport, he was having the time of his life when daddy took him to work on February 17th. However, the fun and games were [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Tomb Raider fans can look forward to new Lara Croft downloadable game

Tomb Raider fans can rejoice, as they are getting a new Lara Croft game. I say that, because the Tomb Raider name is not being used in the new game’s title. It is just called Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. We don’t know why the Tomb Raider name has been dropped, but you also [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Review: Lenovo ThinkPad T410 laptop

The T series is back for 2010 with a Core i5 refresh. Moving from the T400 to the T410 (and T500 to T510) might not seem like big news compared to the launch of the Edge series or the release of the AMD-powered X100e, but the T series marks the foundation of the ThinkPad lineup [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

T-Mobile to give soccer fans a chance to win a fantastic trip and other great prizes

In a new national campaign that just kicked off this week (pun intended), in which T-Mobile is giving fans who are crazy about the sport of soccer a chance to win some awesome prizes. It’s part of a new promotion called, El Llamado del Futbol (The Call of Soccer). Starting on March 3 and running until [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Educating the innovation nation

WITH EU E-skills 2010 happening this week it's time to look at the ICT picture countrywide and address the skills gap. While many of us use technology on a daily basis and are quite proficient as far as web, software and general computer skills go, 30pc of the Irish population has never accessed the internet
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Check out the social gaming goldmine on your way to FarmVille

Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Tune in for the major changes hitting the TV as we know it

TV3's head of online, Peter Clerkin, has transformed the broadcaster's website into a major 'catch-up TV' hub. He says that, with social media, 3D and the mobile-apps revolution, we ain't seen nothing yet
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Irish businesses need to realise the digital economy is the 'real' economy

The new head of the Irish Internet Association says the imperative is to bring more firms online
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Google stands by HTC

Search giant Google has said it stands behind it's Android mobile operating system and partners who helped develop it after Apple announced plans to sue Nexus One-maker HTC.
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Money transfer service launches on Facebook

Buxter enables Facebook friends to send one another a small payment of €50 or less, and the developers behind the application believe it will become popular among the social networking site's users as a quick way of settling up for dinner bills, nights out or paying for their share of a gift.
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Start an embedded YouTube video at a certain timestamp

In a previous post I covered how to link to a specific timestamp in a YouTube video. The short version looks like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjDw3azfZWI#t=31m08s The “#t=31m08s” takes you to 31 minutes and 8 seconds in a video. I just found out that you can also start embedded videos at a certain timestamp. To do it on an embedded [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-04 more

Calling for link spam reports

Google has been working on some new algorithms and tools to tackle linkspam and we’d like to ask for linkspam reports from you. If you’d like to tell us about web sites that appear to be using spammy links (e.g. paid links that pass PageRank, blog spammers, guestbook spammers, etc.), here’s how to send us [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Apple sues HTC

Apple is to sue mobile phone manufacturer HTC in a suit that claims the Taiwanese company has infringed 20 of the iPhone-maker’s patents.
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

OK Go music video using a Rube Goldberg machine

You may remember back in 2007 Honda captured our attention with a fantastic advert for its latest car. It created a Rube Goldberg machine using just parts from the car to produce one of the best adverts I have ever seen. OK Go’s latest music video for the song This Too Shall Pass uses the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Valve patches Portal, unlocks new mysterious achievement

Out of the blue yesterday, Valve released a new patch for Portal on PC. The patch notes said nothing more than: Changed radio transmission frequency to comply with federal and state spectrum management regulations. While most gamers scratched their heads at what this meant, it was noticed that a new achievement had appeared for the game too. [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Condé Nast confirms five digital magazines for the iPad

If you’ve been looking forward to reading interactive magazines on your iPad, a publisher behind a bunch of well-known print products will have you covered. According to a Sunday piece by the New York Times, Condé Nast is jumping on the iPad bandwagon with five major digital magazine releases slated for the following months. Publisher [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Activision puts end to fan-made King

A group of King's Quest fans, who have been working on an unofficial extension to the adventure series since 2002, have now been forced to cease all development in accordance with Activision's demands.
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Facebook is after your credit card, says it will take 30 percent from Credits

Forget about iTunes, the Facebook behemoth is now after your credit card. The social networking giant is flexing its muscles as it preps to roll out Facebook Credits to users. In case you’ve missed it, Credits is Facebook’s new platform aimed squarely at your wallet. Imagine being able to exchange your hard earned cash for [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Apple sues HTC for patent infringement regarding iPhone user interface and hardware

Apple filed a lawsuit against HTC for patent infringement related to the various aspects of the iPhone software and hardware, the company announced in a press release Tuesday. The lawsuit was filed concurrently with the US International Trade Commission (ITC) and in US District Court in Delaware, Apple confirmed. The company has alleged in the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Toughbook C1 convertible tablet gets twin hot-swappable batteries

Today’s Panasonic unveiled the newest addition to the Toughbook lineup, the C1. Though it doesn’t arrive until June it’s said to be the world’s lightest 12.1-inch convertible tablet, but aside from this it is a much needed addition to the Toughbook offerings. This lightweight, convertible tablet will eventually replace the T series, which also has [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Asus DR-900 e-reader made official at CeBIT

As everyone watches the iPad launch getting ever closer, other manufacturers are starting to show their hand in the e-reader market. Asus is taking more of a Kindle than iPad approach with the official unveiling of the DR-900 e-reader. Asus chose CeBIT show this week to show the 9″ DR-900, which looks to be a basic [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Fancy Gold Coffin includes cell phone in case you feel the need to call from the other side

When Michael Jackson was laid to rest last year, the King of Pop went out in style with a gold coffin that was as extravagant and bold as the singer’s lifestyle. Thank goodness, though, the people in charge of Jackson’s final arrangements did not hear about a similar gold coffin shown this year at a recent international luxury fair in Italy. I’m sure if they [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Apple shoots down a duck phone app, advises a developer shares it with

A guy makes an iPhone app that produces funny quack noises. Apple politely rejects it, suggesting a developer makes an ad hoc build in order to distribute the app to his “friends and family.” A developer turns to media and makes a big deal out of it. Should you lose any sleep over it? The app [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Netflix surveys customers about an iPhone streaming app

Customers of the movie rental and streaming service, Netflix, have been waiting and wondering for some time now when (or if) their popular movie streaming service might become available for the iPhone as an application. To borrow the iPhone app catch phrase whether Netflix is coming soon to the iPhone I simply say, “There is a survey for [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Windows Mobile 6.x phones won

Just in case this wasn’t made completely clear in previous coverage, Window Phone 7 Series marks a clean break from previous Windows Mobile/Phone operating systems. What might be more important to users, especially people that have made recent purchases, is that the hardware is making a similar break as well. Windows Phone 7 series is a [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Heavy Rain bug allows Madison to remain naked (NSFW)

Although it’s no Hot Coffee moment, Heavy Rain does have a bug which means female character Madison forgets to put her clothes on allowing you to play sections of the game naked. The video proof can be seen below, which is clearly not safe for work. The bug happened when Kotaku reader kuroner saved the game after [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Google acquires cloud photo editing service Picnik

Picnik is one of the first web 2.0 services that brought cloud computing paradigm shift into full view by allowing us to upload images to the cloud and edit them in a browser using their online interface. The privately-owned Seattle, Washington-based startup remained relevant to date so their acquisition by Google should be viewed as [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Scientists say major earthquake near Chile knocked Earth off its axis

While rescue and recovery efforts are still underway after this weekend’s major offshore earthquake near the country of Chile, scientists are now saying that not only was the 8.8 magnitude quake devastating to the region, but it was also powerful enough to affect the entire planet for years to come. According to NASA scientist Richard Gross, the South American quake that [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Apple battling hackers by hiring a former Mozilla security chief Window Snyder

Former security lead of Mozilla Corporation and co-author of Threat Modeling, a standard manual on application security, Mwende Window Snyder is expected to professionalize Apple’s security policies, just as she did during her tenure at Mozilla. Citing “sources familiar with the situation,” the publication wrote that Snyder started her now gig as a senior security [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

E-math: Publishers explain why $15 e-books make economic sense

Book publishers claim they aren’t on the same page with retailers, explaining why $9.99 e-books make no economic sense whatsoever. They also defend the higher $12.99 to $14.99 price range demanded from retailers like Amazon and Apple. The uniform $9.99 price point for e-books that Amazon pioneered with the Kindle is most likely a thing of [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Selective syncing coming to Dropbox with the next update

Dropbox, a handy cross-platform cloud service that syncs your files across any number of Windows, Mac, and Linux machines, will soon update its client software with selective syncing, a sought-after feature by many users. The revelation came in a post over at Dropbox’s forums by a company engineer Arash F. who wrote that the upcoming 0.8.8 [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Sony buys LittleBigPlanet developer Media Molecule

Playstation's official blog in Europe announced Tuesday that Media Molecule, the developers behind LittleBigPlanet for the PS3, has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment.
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Nearly a quarter of Germans happy to have chip implants

(Image courtesy of Flickr user ishmell) Would you consider a chip implant if it came with the right set of benefits? Apparently a significant portion of Germans would. A survey carried out by German IT industry lobby group BITKOM asked the question as part of a wider look at the differences between real and virtual lives. In [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-03 more

Sony PS3 problems fixed

Sony says that its games console problems have been fixed and no data has been lost.
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Google buys Picnik.com

Google has acquired the photo-editing website Picnik.com. The purchase, involving an undisclosed sum, sees the search giant further consolidate its move into the online photo market that began with Picasa.
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Internet news overtakes printed papers for US readers

For the first time ever, Americans are more likely to turn to the internet for news rather than printed newspapers or the radio, research revealed yesterday.
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

New Google Chrome translates websites

Google has launched a new beta version of Chrome, its web browser, featuring enhanced privacy controls and automatic translation.
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Apple iPad 'will be in short supply'

An analyst has warned that manufacturing issues could lead to a shortage of Apple iPads.
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Digital Life: BioShock sequel puts up a good fight for top spot

BioShock 2, X360/PS3/PC
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Digital Life: Soon you'll be really hands-on

Remember Tom Cruise waving his hands to control images on a screen in sci-fi thriller Minority Report set in 2054? Maybe the future will arrive sooner than we expected if Microsoft can be believed, making everything on your TV from games to movies controllable just via body movements.
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Washington DC Digital Agency Janmedia Partners with Akon to Give a Facelift to HitLab.com

Washington DC - February 26, 2010: Janmedia Interactive, INC, a leading Washington DC new media agency has teamed up with another artist from the Entertainment Industry, rebranding Akon's HitLab.com
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Panasonic increases lithium-ion battery capacity by 30%

Pushing up the battery life of the gadgets we use involves creating more efficient hardware at the same time as improving battery technology. While companies such as Intel and ARM strive to produce ever more efficient processors, Panasonic has just took a major step forward with lithium-ion battery technology. Most Li-Ion batteries currently use a graphite [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Videos of Symbian^4 released

If you’re a fan of the Symbian mobile operating system you may be interested in checking out a couple of videos recently posted on YouTube. The short videos are supposed to be demos of the Symbian^4 OS. The timing of the videos is interesting considering Symbian^3 was just announced this month, and the first devices [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Smartphone elections: Android overtakes iPhone in eight US states

Google’s hard work at improving the Android operating system for smartphones and the combined marketing pull by the search giant and its numerous carrier partners is paying off. According to a January 2010 report by a ringtone company Myxer, the number of Android users in the US outpaced iPhone folks in eight states. The Deerfield Beach, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Punked: Visitor cuts live Ethernet cable in data center

How would you react if a friend came over to your house, got out a pair of scissors, and cut your Ethernet cable? You’d be pretty upset, right? Now scale that up. Visit a data center, get the engineering manager to give you a tour, then pull out some scissors and cut one of the [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Matt Chat interviews John Romero

If you are listing the big names from gaming history one person will always appear: John Romero. Wolfenstein 3D, Doom, and Quake are all listed on his resume as well as the failure that was Daikatana. Matt Chat, already well known for its gaming interviews, has just posted the first part of a multi-part interview with [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Analyst predicting more affordable 2010 iPhones

The so-called fourth-generation iPhone, expected in the June/July timeframe, could cost less over the course of an obligatory AT&T service agreement, a prominent analyst noted Friday. In addition, the device is believed to be supporting an expanded range of multitouch gestures. Those are the key highlights that Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty wrote in a note [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

DSi cameras used for clever 3D tilting hidden object DSiWare game

It’s taken a while, but it looks like a developer has finally come up with a new and clever way to use both DSi cameras. The developer in question is Feel-Good, who is credited with creating Wario Land: Shake It!. Their latest game’s title isn’t as easy to pronounce though, and goes by the name Rittai [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Location-based search finally live on the main Google search page

Google has finally added location-based searching to the main search page at google.com. Previously available only by visiting google.com on high-end smartphones, location-based search is now available on your computer, too, allowing you to quickly narrow down the search results based on a location. You can have the results page filtered by any custom location you [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Web interface enhancements tweet worries Twitter client developers

When a Twitter engineer hinted that the upcoming web interface enhancements could mimic some of the functionality found in desktop and mobile Twitter clients, third-party developers cried foul. Alex Payne, the lead for Twitter’s API team, suggested in a tweet that Twitter’s web interface could “soon” get desktop-class new features. According to TechCrunch, he tweeted [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Aion online magazine out next month

NCSoft revealed Aion: The Official Magazine, a digital-only magazine dedicated to the fantasy MMORPG. For $3.99 an issue, the magazine delivers the latest news, player guides and tips as well as a new in-game item every month.
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Sony: Using PS3s hit with the PlayStation Network bug might lead to data loss

A glitch left millions of “fat” PS3s unable to connect to Sony’s PlayStation Network, run games, and access purchased videos. Sony “believes” a clock bug is causing this and says a fix will be delivered in the next 24 hours. PlayStation Network, Sony’s online content store and a free gaming network, went down late Sunday, February [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Spark Radio offers iPhone access to 10,000 stations

Handcast Media has launched a unique iPhone application which will offer access to more than 10,000 terrestrial and Internet radio stations with 30,000 expected by April. The app, called Spark Radio, receives its directory of stations via RadioTime and compliments its impressive list of stations with eight unique graphic visualizers which react to the music [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

New Freescale chip means $150 e-readers in 2010

According to a Bloomberg report, Freescale Semiconductor Inc. has a new chip aimed at e-reader devices. The as yet unnamed piece of silicon files as a system-on-a-chip that combines functions of other chips, thereby reducing component costs for e-reader vendors. As a result, Freescale’s marketing director Glen Burchers told the publication some of those savings should [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Teen admits to crashing Sony website

A 17-year-old in Pennsylvania admitted last Thursday to crashing a Sony Entertainment website.
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

OPhone takes off in China, Dell to sell OPhone OS devices in the US

The Open Mobile Phone Operating System (OPhone OS), developed by China Mobile for smartphones, will power the HTC-made OPhone A6188 device, the first of many OPhone OS-powered smartphones to hit the Chinese market in the coming months. Since OPhone OS files as a carrier-made mobile operating system, it integrates a number of carrier-specific features. For example, [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

New Line Cinema options rights to make Heavy Rain movie

A self-proclaimed internet-sleuth has discovered copyright documents that may eventually lead to a Heavy Rain film.
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Mac mini rumored to get a HDMI port

For you Mac owners that have been longing to plug a Mac into your fancy high-definition television using HDMI, there is word that your wish may soon come true. According to a report by Apple Insider, Apple is planning to add a HDMI port to one of their consumer computing products in the future. The product in question to get [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

i-tab electronic songbook helps novice guitar players learn lyrics and chords

Learning the ropes to become a real life guitar hero? Then chances are you need help learning a repertoire of different songs and the chords to go along with them. Good thing for you that you have the advantage of modern technology on your side to help you commit those songs to memory. The i-tab is a 5-inch touch screen [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Jonathan Blow launches The Witness website

Jonathan Blow, developer of the hit indie game Braid, has launched a new website for his next title. The new game is called The Witness and Jonathan has decided to tease us with some concept art rather than actual details of the game. His reason being: In order to begin discussing the game, it seemed more appropriate [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Delete texts off of receiver

Tiger Woods has been losing some endorsements lately. The good news is there is one product that would be a natural match for him, and if he was a previous user he may not be in the same trouble he is in now. The product is called TigerText and it is marketed to change how [...]
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Accessibility issues on Vancouver Olympics websites

Being a pretty big fan of many winter sports I have spent most evenings of the past two weeks in front of the TV, watching the action from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. With excellent live TV coverage from the games I had no reason to visit either the Vancouver2010.com or the CTVOlympics.ca website to find more info about the games. But one person who has visited and taken a closer look at those sites is Joe Clark. What he found is that the Vancouver Olympics Web sites are inaccessible to disabled people.Read full postPosted in Accessibility, Web Standards.
Publication date: 2010-03-02 more

Sony PS3 network glitch affects thousands

Thousands of PlayStation 3 owners have been hit by a software problem that crashes their games console.
Publication date: 2010-03-01 more

Twitter to launch new features

Twitter is launching a raft of new features that could rival the services offered by third-party applications, according to a tweet from one of the social network’s engineers.
Publication date: 2010-03-01 more

Microsoft offers computer users choice of browsers

Computer users must now choose which browser they use to surf the internet, after a ruling against Microsoft by the European Commission came in to effect.
Publication date: 2010-03-01 more

Apple admits using child labour

Apple has admitted that child labour was used at the factories that build its computers, iPods and mobile phones.
Publication date: 2010-03-01 more

Mobile giving campaigns established for Chile earthquake relief

Within hours of the news that a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit Chile and set off a tsunami threatening a quarter of the globe, efforts were put in place to raise money for recovery efforts. Three organizations responding to the need including Habitat for Humanity, World Vision and the Salvation Army have worked with the [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-28 more

Google patent digitally strips articles out of magazines and newspapers

BNET is reporting about a recently discovered patent application by Google back in August 2008 which automates a way to take a newspaper or magazine and digitally split it into individual articles by identifying blocks of texts and how they may fit together. The patent would be an obvious extension of Google’s ambitious goal to [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-28 more

Infographic tells us a lot about Google

You may use Google a lot, but how much do you really about Google? Thanks to the people over at Pingdom, you are about to find out. This informational graphic was compiled with interesting tidbits and other nuggets of information regarding the multinational corporation known as Google. I mean who would have guessed just how much the Google search [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-28 more

Facebook update causes emails to get sent to wrong recipients

A Wall Street Journal article revealed that a glitch during the deployment of an update to the Facebook Inbox feature resulted in emails being sent to the wrong recipients beginning Wednesday evening. Unfortunately for Facebook, one of those recipients was the inbox of a WSJ editor. Now we aren’t talking about a handful of emails which [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

Tesla

Nikola Tesla’s letterhead, pictured above, really speaks for itself. But in the case that you want some explanation, it’s some sort of electronic machine montage that looks completely unsafe, but at the time probably just made it clear that Tesla had harnessed the awesome power of electricity. The monstrosity in the middle appears to be the [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

Super Street Fighter IV includes several bonuses for pre-orders

Gamers who pre-order Capcom's Super Street Fighter IV in the U.S. and Europe are in for a hefty package of bonuses, depending on which store they choose to make the reserve.
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

Sirius XM averts bankruptcy in 2009 to end year on a high note

Holy cow! Sirius XM is finally turning a corner financially, allowing it to be in a position to turn off the vacuum that was sucking money out of its corporate coffers. Back in February of last year, we reported that Sirius XM was on the verge of bankruptcy as a $175 million dollar debt payment was [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

Sega explains Yakuza 3

News that Yakuza 3 will make it to North America has been overshadowed by the announcement that the West will not receive the game in its entirety. Now, Sega has issued an explanation, saying that without the content cuts, the game wouldn't have been released.
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

Review: Sony VAIO Y series laptop (VPCY115FX/BI)

Sony’s Y series is the company’s new 13.3-inch notebook. It brings all the style you’d expect from a Sony laptop to the sub-$800 price point This is possibly by using the CULV [http://www.geek.com/articles/tagged/culv/] platform which has that affordable ultra-low voltage processor and the lack of an optical drive. The combination allows for computer that is [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

Final Fantasy I & II now available on the App Store

Last month Square Enix announced that Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II were making their way to the App Store. iPhone and iPod touch owners were going to be given a chance to play portable versions of these classics. At the time, Square Enix did not announce a release date, but today seems to be [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

No new Wii in the near future says Nintendo

Having played the Nintendo Wii, I have to agree with those gamers that think the console is a good all around platform for entertainment. The Nintendo console appeals to a lot of audiences both young and old, which is mainly due to the way the Wii has changed the way people think about playing video games thanks to the Wii [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

Tuesday, May 4th is first Day Against DRM

The Free Software Foundation (FSF) has announced that Tuesday, May 4th, is the first Day Against DRM. The idea of the day is to raise awareness as to the dangers of DRM with regard to access to content. As the FSF announcement explains: The Day Against DRM will unite a wide range of projects, public interest organizations, [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

Snowboarding? There

Technology can be used to create a lot of things, but there’s some places you wouldn’t normally think to go. Maybe it was cabin fever from all the snow we’ve been having? maybe it was just boredom? Whatever the reason, we now have the first snowboard ever created using Apple hardware. And I mean that [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

EU requests Google delete Street View images after 6 months

Google is facing further opposition to its Street View service in Europe. This time it’s not an issue with the information being collected, but just how long it is kept for. Currently Google keeps the original Street View images on file for 12 months in their unedited form. Google states it needs to do this in [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

AdMobs: Teens love iPod touch, iPhone is for all, Android is a male thing, webOS is for middle-aged men

According to AdMob’s January 2010 opt-in survey of 963 respondents across iPhone, iPod touch, Android and webOS devices, nearly three quarters of Android-using respondents (73 percent) are males, compared to less than two thirds of male iPhone owners (57 percent). Up to 54 percent and 58 percent of males use iPod touch and webOS, respectively. Nearly [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

Treadmill desk comes to the rescue of growing waistlines and aching backs

If, like me, you spend most of your working day sat at a desk, then you need to make time for exercise. If you don’t, then that wasitline is going to grow and your scales won’t make for happy reading. Making time for exercise is always difficult. It takes effort, and if you have a busy [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

Just Cause 2 demo out March 4th

After watching the stunt trailers for Just Cause 2 earlier this week you may be eager to play the game. The good news is, you won’t have to wait very long. Square Enix has confirmed the demo will be out on March 4th. PC gamers can get it via Steam, while console gamers will find it [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

2010 iPhone could sport finger swiping camera controls

A cool patent application by Apple indicates that future versions of the iPhone and iPad could let you scrub through your voicemail, access in-call features, and navigate the user interface by swiping your finger across the camera lens. According to Apple’s patent application number 20100048241 filed with the United States Trademark & Patent Office (USPTO) in [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

2 million gallon aquarium in Dubai springs leak

Do you like fish as pets and have a pretty sweet aquarium setup? Now imagine your pride and joy aquarium suddenly springing a leak and not only gushing water on the floor, but the leak endangers the lives of your aquatic friends. Pretty scary thought right? Now ponder this watery dilemma magnified, by let’s say, 100,000 [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

iTunes in numbers: No-one can beat the superstore

Apple’s iTunes Store sold its ten billionth song Thursday. Let me repeat: An online-only store has managed to move ten billion digital tracks thus far. If anyone had told you a few years ago that legitimate music downloading will soon measure in billions, you’d have called them insane. But insanely great happens to be most projects [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

Facebook turning off app notifications

Ok, I admit it. I’m a big Facebook user. I have found no other place online or in the physical world where it has been so easy to keep in touch with friends and family regardless of distance. Yet, one thing has been a huge thorn in my side. That’s application notifications. Over the last [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-27 more

'Explicit' category rumoured for App Store

Apple is thought to be considering introducing a new category to its App Store, as the row over 'overtly sexual' apps rumbles on.
Publication date: 2010-02-26 more

Twitter attack affects thousands of users

Twitter users have been warned not to click links in some tweets, after the microblogging service fell victim to its second phishing attack in a week.
Publication date: 2010-02-26 more

Predictive Analytics to drive profitability and reduce costs

The premier event for Predictive Analytics in Ireland gives attendees the opportunity to discover the latest trends and best practices in analytics for successful customer experience, sales and marketing strategies.
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Human behaviour '93pc predictable'

Location data from mobile phones has revealed that the vast majority of human movement is predictable.
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Facebook status updates to appear in Google

Google has begun indexing status updates from Facebook pages and including them in its real-time search results.
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Free data storage will drive the future of the mobile internet

We hear much talk of cloud computing, and free storage of data. Do you see it as a game changer in coming years?
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Internet libel: everyone's a critic, and everyone's online

ONCE upon a time if you had a beef with someone you'd give out about them to anyone who'd listen, but in today's digital world there are many more platforms to help you vent your spleen.
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Top contenders to the Apple iPad

There is no doubt that Steve Jobs' iPad is the most hotly anticipated tablet computing device ever, but rein in the Apple hype machine and you will find that there are several more-than-capable competitors waiting in the wings.
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

'To sow the seeds of an entrepreneurial nation we need to start in the schools'

THERE is something about the way Microsoft Ireland managing director Paul Rellis describes Ireland's way out of the economic morass that suggests while things aren't perfect, things aren't all bad either.
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Google faces EU probe over anti-trust claims

Google, owner of the world's most popular internet search engine, may be the subject of an extended European Union investigation after three companies, including a Microsoft Corp unit, filed anti-trust complaints.
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

iTunes song downloads hit 10 billion

Music fans have downloaded more than 10 billion songs from the iTunes Music Store, Apple has announced.
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

iSuppli: Samsung, Vizio behinds the majority of US flat panel display sales

Samsung makes some of the finest displays out there. I’ve been a fan of their displays for awhile, ever since my first 32-inch Samsung plasma HDTV was supplemented with a gorgeous, 1080p 50-incher. I’m glad to see that the market agrees that Samsung is excellent: according to the latest data from market analysis firm iSuppli, [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Samsung TL350 shooter captures 1080p video and 10MP stills simultaneously

Samsung has been on a roll with their latest camera offerings, and their new TL350 is no exception: it’s a high-speed, 10 megapixel point-and-shoot capable of not just capturing great looking, high-quality stills, but also sucking in limpid, colurful 1080p high-definition video. The TL350 comes with a 24mm ultra wide-angle Schneider Keuznach lens, along with five [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

PopCap offering Peggle Nights for free

PopCap is offering everyone Peggle Nights for free on PC and Mac. The game, which usually costs $19.95 to buy, is being offered as a gift for signing up to PopCap Passport. So there is a catch to getting the game for free, but it still costs no money and actually leads to further savings [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Philips latest Android device is the GoGear Connect PMP / PND

Philips certainly isn’t being shy this week about taking aim at the PMP and PND markets. Hot on the heels of their announcement of the Philips GoGear Muse MP4 player comes word of the GoGear Connect, an Android 2.1 powered PMP and PND rolled up into one gorgeous device replete with both a touchscreen and, [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

AT&T dusts rivals in 3G data speed, survey says

Could it be that AT&T’s wireless network expenditures are beginning to pay off? A new survey suggests that the nation’s #2 wireless operator tops rival carriers in both upload and download speeds in key metropolitan markets while offering comparable reliability. Deciding it’s a high time to resolve an ongoing dispute about the quality of AT&T’s wireless [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Recognizr: know all about that person across the room with a single picture

If you thought the amount of information people could find about you on the Internet was already too much, or too easy to locate, then this app may scare you more than a little. It’s called Recognizr and automatically creates a profile for a person from a single image of their face. The app currently works [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

The $600 Olympus E-PL1 is available for purchase

Earlier this month we posted a preview of Olympus’s then-upcoming E-PL1 digital camera. The camera was designed to cheaper version of the E-P2 that gave consumers an affordable way to enter the Micro Four-Thirds camera segment. The camera is compact, easy to use, and capable of taking both great still images and HD video. The E-PL1 [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Gaming only makes up 5% of household entertainment budgets

Video games account for just 5% of household entertainment budgets, according to Nielsen, a marketing and media information company.
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Sprint OverDrive mobile hotspot snags a firmware update

Improved Wi-Fi operation and throughput. Improved performance for customers who experienced Windows XP issues. Auto Update enhancements to improve download reliability. Fix for when device stays in offline after upgrade. Note: The 1.06 firmware update released on 1/28 was designed to improve battery life and connectivity to the 4G network. Sprint’s 3G/4G mobile hotspot is landing its 1.07 firmware update [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Learn your ABCs with Google Maps

Here is an interesting way to teach your young ones how to learn their ABCs. How about using the handiness of Goggle Maps along with some satellite photos to find every letter of the alphabet? You think that task sounds easy? Okay, how about limiting your letter search to the state you live in. Not so easy a challenge [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Fibrecity: 100Mbps Net connection with 1Gbps bursts

Bournemouth, in the UK, has just had a new fiber network laid using its existing sewage pipe system. What that means is local residents will soon be offered 100Mbps connections from three different ISPs. One of those ISPs is offering an unusual new feature though – allowing for 1Gbps bursts. The ISP in question is Fibrecity. [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Gamers get nostalgic at the the Midwest Gaming Classic

Do you remember the days of gaming gone by? Wish you could stroll down memory lane and relive some of your best gaming moments from when you were younger? Well, if you don’t mind taking a road trip on down to Wisconsin next month, some great retro video gaming will be available at the Midwest Gaming Classic. Scheduled [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

ChangeWave Research: iPad demand exceeding that for the original iPhone in 2007

A new analysis says folks are most eager to buy the cheapest ($499) and the the priciest ($829) iPad models once they arrive. This is good news for Apple, but the company should brace itself for a single-digit percentage cannibalization across other product lines because people will be putting planned other purchases on hold to [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

A camera interface surfaces in the iPad software

Code hooks and camera references discovered in the iPhone 3.2 SDK have been given a boost thanks to the new discoveries suggesting API calls related to a camera and previously unseen interface buttons for accepting/declining incoming video calls. A third beta of iPhone OS 3.2 SDK that Apple posted Tuesday didn’t just expose the iPad as [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Fans

Steve Jobs turned 55 today and it looks like the iTunes Store will hit its ten billionth song download today as well. Call me superstitious, but this symbolic coincidence is probably the best birthday present that Jobs could have wished from Apple’s users. Steven P. Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 – happy birthday, Steve! If [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Segway-like Lego Bot built without using gyroscopes

People are building pretty impressive robotic projects with Lego Mindstorms kits these days. Just recently I wrote about a record breaking robotic Lego Rubik’s Cube Solver and now we have a Mindstorms project that looks and acts like a little robotic Segway. But only this DIY robot project project didn’t utilize any gyroscopes whatsoever. Built by [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

UPDATED: Apple to sell sex on the iPhone via a new

Sex sells on any platform, especially on popular devices like Apple’s iPhone. But the companies putting sexually implicit games and apps on the device must have suffered cardiac arrest when Apple showed them the doors a few days ago. However, a new report indicates that those apps might return on the iPhone and iPod touch [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Super-cool Titanium iPhone re-news the Engadget vs. Gizmodo fight

When an Engadget reader Martin Schrotz posted cool images supposedly representing a custom back cover modification for his iPhone 3GS, Gizmodo jumped on the opportunity to publicly bash Engadget for failing to realize it was a fake. According to Engadget, Schrotz crafted his modification out of a single piece of wested titanium, highly durable and ultra-light [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-25 more

Apple TV 'just a hobby', confirms Tim Cook

Tim Cook, Apple's chief operating officer, says the Apple TV remains 'a hobby', and that the vast majority of his company's revenue comes from its mobile devices.
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Google accused of breaching EU competition rules

The European Commission has launched an anti-trust investigation against Google after three online companies alleged that the internet giant's search functions were penalising their businesses.
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Command & Conquer 4 requires the internet, ditches LAN and dedicated servers

In what seems to be a constant stream of bad news for PC gamers, Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight will not support LAN and dedicated servers, following the lead of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Starcraft 2, and other upcoming titles.
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Chillingo takes 50 percent off Guerilla Bob for iPhone

Chillingo announced early Monday that they will be extending their one-time discount of Guerilla Bob for the iPhone and iPod touch until this coming Wednesday, February 24, 2010. As part of the launch marketing push, Chillingo took 50 percent off the game’s retail price, allowing you to pick it up over the next 48 hours for [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Basic plot, other details revealed for Fallout: New Vegas

Until now, information on Bethesdsa's Fallout: New Vegas has been relatively vague. "New people," "terrifying creatures," and "a thrilling new journey across the Mojave wasteland," are pretty much the only facts Bethesda's official site would reveal. However, USA Today just published a feature revealing several juicy details.
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Google re-brands DoubleClick, unveils a new interface for premium publishers

Hailed as “the next generation of ad serving technology for online publishers”, DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) simplifies all the complexities involved in running and managing display ads on web properties. Neal Mohan, Google’s vice president of product management, explained in a blog post that DFP sports a tight integration of DoubleClick’s DART for Publishers for [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Dates released for Xbox Live Block Party

Unless you count Crochet Week and Pi Day, March doesn't have that much to celebrate. But this year, Microsoft is dedicating the month to its Xbox Live Arcade Block Party where every week sparks a new release, including its free, avatar-driven retro arcade application.
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Video of Street Fighter IV on iPhone looks fantastic

Last week we were surprised to learn that Capcom had decided to bring Street Fighter IV to the iPhone. Could Apple’s smartphone handle Capcom’s premiere fighting game? And more importantly, would it be fun to play? In terms of how the game looks, the video above confirms Capcom has done a great job. The characters look [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Apple: The iPhone kind of multitasks and there

Apple continues to dispel the iPhone multitasking myth impregnated into public consciousness. A duo of new adverts demonstrate complex usage scenarios, highlighting an ease with which Apple’s device handles them. Apple posted two new iPhone adverts on its homepage early Monday. Conceived to depict both the handset’s and AT&T network’s ability to multitask, the commercials show [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

iPhone gaming startup Ngmoco snaps up Freeverse, secures fresh $25 million investment

The iPhone game developer Ngmoco has raised a $25 million series C round of funding that should help propel the young startup to the next level. Institutional Venture Partners and the existing shareholders Kleiner Perkins, Norwest Venture Parters, and Maples Investments together led the round that brought the company total to a whopping $40.6 million. [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Nvidia DirectX 11 cards launch March 26th

Nvidia has finally put a firm date on the launch of its first DirectX 11 graphics cards. Via the company’s Twitter account the announcement was made: Apologies for the confusion around our most recent GF100 update. To clarify, launch date for GeForce GTX 480 and GTX 470 is March 26, 2010 So we can expect two new [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

ColcaSac debuts fashionable sleeves for iPhones, iPods, and Kindles made of natural fabrics

If you want to protect your expensive gadgets from scratches, but demand environmental friendliness stemming from the use of natural materials, a new line of ColcaSac’s sleeves might be the alternative you were looking for. If you have an iPhone, iPod, Kindle, or a Mac notebook, you’ll need a protective sleeve sooner than later. Time to [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

British Star Trek Online fans set Guinness World Record

If you happen to be on the Millenium Bridge in London, this past Valentine’s Day, you may have thought to yourself a Star Trek Convention was going on in town. In reality, though, these people dressed-up as their favorite Star Trek characters, were there as fans of the recently released MMORPG, Star Trek Online. But, those assembled weren’t just there [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Rein: Unreal Engine 4 may not even run on next-gen consoles

With Unreal Engine 3, Epic Games managed to sign up a lot of new developers as clients, as well as being sued one of them. The main reason for the interest was the complexity of developing for consoles like the Xbox 360 and PS3. Developers needed to hit the ground running, spending time on art [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Microsoft gets hands on Amazon

Microsoft and Amazon have announced that the two companies have signed a patent cross-license agreement which gives both companies access to each others patent portfolio. Microsoft gains access to the software technology behind the Kindle in addition to the intellectual property behind the company’s use of Linux-based servers while Amazon gets to crack open and [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Bragster.com gets into Guinness World Records

There are many social networks available to the online user like Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, but one website you may not have been to is Bragster.com. This website is a hoot to visit because members are encouraged to upload videos for bragging rights or in response to a dare issued by someone else. Some recent [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Research shows a nap can help you study

The next time your teacher catches you sleeping during your afternoon classes you can tell them you are merely expanding your brain’s learning capacity. That’s thanks to new findings released by the University of California, Berkley. The research found a relationship between the amount of sleep and the brain’s ability to retain new facts in [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Kevin Kelly explains technology at TED

In his third talk at the TED conference Kevin Kelly discusses the meaning of technology and the impact it’s had on us as a species. There isn\’t too much original research here or even concepts that we haven’t heard before, but it covers a number of interesting subjects in an easy to digest matter. Plus [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Philips adding 3D to 21:9 true cinema experience TV

Last year Philips released a 56″ LCD TV for the film lover. It has a 21:9 aspect ratio allowing you to view movies as they were meant to be seen (2.39:1), rather than with borders at the top and bottom. In fact, the display requires borders at the sides for standard TV channels. Philips has now [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Kornheiser suspended from ESPN over Hannah Storm comments

When will personalities ever learn? In the age of the Internet all you have to do is say one stupid thing or allow a dumb video or picture to be taking and it can be detrimental to your career. Earlier this week we reported about racy photos which made their way on to the Internet [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Microsoft working to fix 1 vs. 100 bugs

Now that Season 2 of Xbox's 1 vs. 100 LIVE has ended, Microsoft has a few bugs to fix before it can launch the next series of live episodes.
Publication date: 2010-02-24 more

Twitter users send 50 million tweets per day

Almost 600 tweets are sent every second through the microblogging site, according to its own metrics
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Gore blimey! It's all monsters and nudity in Dante's video hell

We're all too familiar with videogames based on the latest blockbuster books and movies but Dante's Inferno must set some sort of record, riffing on the 14th-century Italian poem about a literal descent into hell.
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Digital Life: From camera to Facebook, no wires required

Packing more gizmos per square inch than a NASA mission to Mars, the Samsung ST1000 camera seems like a miracle of miniaturisation.
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Square Enix release Just Cause 2 stunt trailers

It’s been a long wait for the follow-up game and sandbox gameplay of Just Cause. Four years since the original, and Just Cause 2 is looking like it may be a worthy sequal and a lot of fun to play. Over the weekend Square Enix released two new trailers focusing on some of the stunts and [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Kinetic artist creates world record stick bomb chain reaction

Got too much time on your hands? Then why not spend that time doing something useful breaking a world record like my man Tim Fort here. Tim, who is a known as a kinetic artist, created a large xyloexplosive device fashioned from 2,250 tongue depressors woven into 562 stick bombs. If you are like me and never heard [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

More ITC investigations launched against RIM and Nokia

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is on a roll with investigations regarding patent infringement by mobile handheld devices. We reported last week that the USITC was looking into RIM and Apple handsets over their use of a Kodak patent. Now two more patent related investigations have been launched which gives RIM a double whammy [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Flyfire: a free-form display created with micro helicopters

The hot topics in new display technology at the moment include 3D, OLED, and e-ink. But experiments are being done in other areas of display technology too, one of which relies on the flight of synchronized micro helicopters. It sounds unbelievable, but this is an actual project being undertaken at the SENSEable City Laboratory in collaboration [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Review: BioShock 2 for Xbox 360

1997’s BioShock was a truly great game. It’s mixture of story, environment, and great fundamentals left gamers little doubt that they were experiencing something special. It wasn’t perfect–the moral choices had little actual consequence and the hacking puzzles quickly grew tiresome–but these were apparent mainly in hindsight. BioShock 2 is not a great game, but [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

49 workers poisoned at Apple

It is being reported by Chinese news services that a number of workers at manufacturer Wintek are suffering from n-hexane poisoning. Wintek produces touchscreen displays for Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch devices. As part of that process the screens need to be cleaned, which usually involves alcohol as the cleaning agent. But the chemical n-hexane is [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

First Bioshock 2 DLC announced

Although it certainly has its share of bugs, Bioshock 2’s multiplayer is a surprisingly solid effort, I think. It’s pretty standard stuff in many ways, but I think what really helps is that it all takes place in a game world that I am invested in, and that 2K Marin actually took enough care [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Chinese coder involved in Google GMail attacks identified

A couple of months ago, Google announced their intention to pull out of China after the GMail accounts of political dissidents within the country were hit by a massive and sophisticated attack which Google believed was linked to the Chinese government. China, of course, denied the whole thing… but it appears that the United States [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Google Earth now available for Android 2.1 handsets

Although there’s lots of great iPhone apps, Google Earth is the one guaranteed to ‘wow’ everyone from your tech savvy buddy to your Ludditical grandmother. One of the weird things about Google, though, is how they oftentimes prioritize their products for platforms (like the iPhone) they aren’t invested in, at the expense of ones they [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Broken stair from Apple store yours for only $2500

The maddening of the Apple crowd never ceases to amaze me. Up for sale on eBay? A shard of glass that may have come from the Fifth Avenue Apple Store. It can be yours for a mere $2,500.00, According to the seller, the item is a 250 pound glass step that comes from the 5th Avenue [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Be careful what you say to XBL mods

Even if you game a lot on the Xbox 360 you might not have run into a moderator. They are out there though, making the virtual streets safe for gamers, at least the gamers that don’t glitch or grief. That said, if you get on the wrong side of a moderator they can kick you [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Origin

Boutique gaming laptop manufacturers certainly can’t pass up the opportunity to slap flame decals and garish LEDs on their latest machines, and Origin’s latest, the EON18, is no exception: not only is it fully blinged out, but it packs Intel’s Core i7-920XM Extreme processor along with up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM, dual NVIDIA GeForce [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

iPad allegedly can

A new report asserts that the GPU unit that Apple baked into its A4 chip powering the iPad lacks full OpenGL ES 2.0 support, a major problem for games and allegedly the reason why the tablet won’t run Flash Player 10.1. It was alleged that Steve Jobs criticized Adobe’s Flash technology in a morale-boosting meeting at [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

10 minutes of Flash Player 10.1 on a Nexus One

Last week we got to see the first footage of Flash 10.1 running on the Nexus One. It was a solid demo showing games and video running on the device. This week we have an even better example of the Nexus One playing 2D and 3D content, as well as video playback. The video is recorded [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

X-Plore.XGX Gloves literally put GPS at your fingertips

With the 2010 Winter Olympics going on, skiing has definitely been on the mind of sport enthusiasts these past weeks. Many extreme skiers love to go off the normal path to look for new places to carve hills in the search the ultimate in downhill excitement. Unfortunately, that can often lead to trouble. Going off the beaten path [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Bloom Box: is this the cheap, efficient, green-friendly Holy Grail of power?

Watch CBS News Videos Online Does this sound too good to be true? In a decade, you could hold a $3,000 fuel cell power generator roughly the size of a grapefruit in your hand. Quickly and efficiently transforming natural gas into electrical power at double the efficiency currently possible, this small little magic box could power [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Apple rumored to begin accepting iPad pre-orders this Thursday

According to a Friday post by AppAdvice, there is a chance that the US Apple online store might begin accepting pre-orders for the WiFi iPad model as early as this coming Thursday, February 25. The publication sourced the information from a “reliable” source: According to a reliable source of ours familiar with the matter, Apple will be [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Preview: Zombie Wonderland for iPhone

Zombie games seem to be especially appealing on the iPhone, be it a unique concept like Zombie Pizza (review) or a tower defense take like the upcoming Zombie Wonderland, a zombie shooter with a twist signed up by the UK-based publisher Chillingo. The game is being billed as a “fun, fast, and engaging” variation of [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Walmart enters download movie service again with purchase of VUDU

Walmart entered the movie download business and less than a year later exited it in 2007. Now it seems Walmart had licked its wounds and is ready to make a return. Walmart has announced that it will acquire VUDU, a movie download service where consumers can buy and rent movies. VUDU offers Walmart two things it [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

Leaving the iPhone

I’m three weeks into a new 30 day challenge: no iPhone. When I got a Nexus One in December, I spent a few weeks carrying both phones around in the pockets of my jeans. It took a little while to adapt to Android, but I’m very happy with my Nexus One and I don’t plan [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-23 more

CSS efficiency tip: use a single stylesheet file for multiple media

The way most people link CSS intended for different media types, such as screen, print, or handheld, is to use multiple files. The files are then linked either through link elements with a media attribute or through @import statements with one or more media types specified. There is nothing wrong with splitting your CSS into multiple files and linking them this way (I currently do that here on this site), but there are two drawbacks: it leads to more HTTP requests from the browser to the server and the need to maintain multiple CSS files.Read full postPosted in CSS.
Publication date: 2010-02-22 more

Facebook: 'world's most innovative company'

Facebook has topped a respected list of the world’s most innovative companies, beating the likes of Google and Apple.
Publication date: 2010-02-22 more

Apple removes 5,000 apps from App Store

Apple has removed around 5,000 apps from its App Store, including some that it claims feature "overtly sexual" content.
Publication date: 2010-02-22 more

Apple ban boobs and skin on the App Store

Even though a wide variety of entertainment iPhone apps for adults flooded the App Store the instant Apple relaxed its submission guidelines a few months ago, the company is now changing its mind and sayinging ‘no’ to sexy programs, allegedly due to numerous complaints about this type of content. According to TechCrunch, it all started with [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-22 more

Wordpress explains 110 minutes of downtime for 10.2 millions blogs

Anyone who operates or contributes a blog running on Wordpress hosting could not access their site for 110 minutes on Friday. Wordpress had disappeared from the Internet along with its 10.2 million hosted blogs and all its VIP customer’s sites. The downtime was the biggest Wordpress had experienced for more than four years and it left [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-22 more

Samsung unveils their new f/1.8 point-and-shoot, the TL500

Between the high-end DSLR camera range and the humble point-and-shoot, there’s an important digicam niche: the higher-end point-and-shoot with a larger CMOS and better lens, allowing amateurs to segue gradually up to the more complicated DSLRs without sacrificing image quality or low-light performance. It’s a niche that is usually defined by cameras like the Canon [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-22 more

HP announces four new, low-end 12MP shooters

Today at this year’s PMA 2010 camera expo, HP revealed its new compact twelve megapixel digital camera line-up, four models in all. These cameras are aimed at the low-end market, and when they are released in Spring will range from prices of $99 to $149. Here’s what we’re looking at. The HP C2450 comes in two [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-22 more

Sigma upgrades DP1 and DP2, announces SD15 DSLR

Sigma has just upgraded two of its stolidly designed cameras for this year’s PMA, and reintroducing an old favorite with some exciting new features. First up is the 14-megapixel DP1x has been upgraded to get the same True II imaging processor as the Sigma DP2, as well as a faster autofocusing algorithm. The controls have also [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-22 more

Eclipse Touchmouse tries to one up Apple in brushed aluminum

Up until this year’s release of Apple’s Magic Mouse, it was pretty easy to take for granted the exact specifications of what a mouse was: at the bare minimum, it has two clickable buttons and the ubiquitous scroll wheel. What the Magic Mouse did was basically eliminate the base qualities that described the genus: instead [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-22 more

Browser game based on the homeless comes to the U.S.

Three years after its creation, Europe's most-popular browser-based game has hit the U.S. Dubbed Bumrise, this homeless simulation challenges players to become king of the hobo hill.
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Apple decides to keep iPad freight records hush-hush

In times when product data could mean millions of dollars to competing companies, it stands to reason that large technology businesses, like Apple, would want to go to great efforts to keep such data secret.  That is why it should be no surprise that Apple has taken the extra effort to block certain records from public scrutiny ahead of [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Facebook surpasses Yahoo for #2 most visited spot

If you’ve been watching the Olympics you’ve probably learned that it’s okay to come in second. Oh sure, you don’t get your national anthem played, but you still get to see your flag raised and you get a medal. One online company who is very pleased to get the equivalent of silver for monthly unique [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Kindle for BlackBerry released

Many people think Amazon is content to have consumers just read books on their Kindle e-book reader. That belief would be an oversimplification of Amazon’s strategy. Sure, Amazon would love for the Kindle to be a consumer’s primary choice for reading, but the online retailer acknowledges that people don’t take their Kindles with them everywhere. [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Warning: Apple

I understand people who bash Apple for daring to wrap e-books with DRM. But we need to understand that it’s not Apple’s call. If it was, then all the content sold on the iTunes Store would be DRM-free, not just music. And remember, Steve Jobs’ persistence led to DRM-free music. Deciding that enough is enough, [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Tiger Woods press conference streaming today at 11am ET

You might have heard that Tiger Woods got himself into a little bit of trouble back in 2009. After certain of the golfer’s indiscretions become public knowledge he removed himself from the spotlight and went silent. Now, about three months later, Tiger has scheduled a high profile press conference that will be streamed across the web. The biggest [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

iPad e-bestsellers could sell at a discount, Amazon should be worried

Most e-bestsellers sold on the iPad’s e-book store should cost between $12.99 and $14.99, like on other e-book stores, but some bestsellers could be sold at a discount. Even before the iPad was unveiled, book publishers had engaged in a price dispute with e-book retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Nobles. Publishers wanted retailers to raise [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

PC version of Assassin

In an effort to suppress software piracy, Ubisoft will require players to have a constant internet connection in order to play Assassin's Creed II for the PC. Shipping next month, this popular title may be the first of many to utilize the DRM method.
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Bill Gates talks energy at TED

Bill Gates has drastically changed his role since leaving Microsoft and now focuses on the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. To that end, he recently gave a talk at the TED conference. Not about technology, but about energy use around the world. His focus is on the fact we need to get CO2 production to zero and [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Why people pirate movies

This is just another case of people being punished for doing the right thing. Sooner or later the company’s are going to realize that consumers have options (not all of them legal) and they are going to exercise those options if they feel they are being taken advantage of. The image above is a perfect example of people [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

JVC HM300 time-lapse footage

If you are planning on buying a camcorder at a time when DSLRs, point-and-shoot cameras, and lots of mobile phones can take acceptable video then you had better make sure it’s worth the it. This means a lot of optical zoom, tons of storage, 1080p recording, the ability to take good still images, and–for me–time-lapse [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Warcraft players raise $1 million for charity

World of Warcraft users raised more than $1 million to the Make-A-Wish foundation, a charity that grants wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Apple adds music, podcast, and app categories to iTunes on the web

Looks like cloud iTunes, a web-based iTunes software that’s allegedly in the works, is coming along pretty well. In the past three months Apple has enabled browser-based previews for iTunes music, TV shows, movies, and iPhone applications via a dedicated iTunes Preview section of its homepage. Earlier this week, the company has activated the itunes.apple.com [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Comcast opens a new online data storage service

Keeping important computer files safe has gotten easier over the past few years as online backup companies have opened, giving users a simple method to transfer those files and keep them secure. Now it appears that high-speed Internet provider Comcast is wanting to get into the business of backing up files by launching a new backup service [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Wiebe takes Donkey Kong Jr. crown

If you’ve seen King of Kong or you are really into classic arcade games, then you will know all the players involved and just what’s at stake, but for some other people this might seem a bit obscure. Anyway, Steve Wiebe, the hard luck hero of the movie, has reclaimed the high score in Donkey [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Intel and AMD fight it out on the 13-inch platform

Back in November we took a look a the Toshiba T135 laptop. It was a solid 13-inch consumer ultraportable that was powered by Intel’s CULV processors. These allowed for a good battery life and a reasonable price. Not long after that review was p0sted Toshiba made the T135 available with AMD’s competing hardware, which also [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Google Voice explained

Finally, a brief explanation of Google Voice. Google Voice is telephony reinvented, at least according to Google, so it requires some introduction if you haven’t been following it since the Grand Central days. I’ve tried to explain how it works to people a numbers of times and in each I end up making things seem tougher [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

CBS could discount iTunes TV shows to 99 cents ahead of the iPad launch

It looks like 99 cents could become the new $1.99 for TV shows on iTunes. A new report puts Apple in talks with CBS about discounting at least a portion of the network’s TV shows sold on iTunes to 99 cents, down from the standard $1.99 price point. If true, the move would confirm a [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

EA issues statement of support after Tiger Woods

For the first time since the November car accident, Tiger Woods addressed the public about his extramarital affairs on Friday, apologizing to friends, family, fans, and sponsors. In response, EA President Peter Moore said the company is looking forward to Wood's pending return.
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Uncharted 2 steals the Interactive Achievement Awards

Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2: Among Thieves for the PS3 swept the 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, taking home ten of the 27 awards presented last Thursday at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas.
Publication date: 2010-02-21 more

Happy birthday to Youtube

On the face of it, there is nothing particularly remarkable about a 19-second YouTube clip called Me at the Zoo. A young man stands in front of an elephant enclosure and delivers the following words: "The cool thing about these guys is that they have really, really long, um, trunks and that's cool. And that's pretty much all there is to say."
Publication date: 2010-02-20 more

Value of mortgages falls

THE value of residential mortgages fell by
Publication date: 2010-02-20 more

Remember the Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG)

An increasing number of web developers are aware of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) (though they don
Publication date: 2010-02-19 more

Is Google gaining a monopoly on the world's information?

It is the nagging fear that has just been given voice in a Manhattan courtroom. Dozens of Google's opponents lined up to damn the internet pioneer as monopolistic, rapacious, and contemptuous of laws that protect copyright and protect consumers from dominant corporations.
Publication date: 2010-02-19 more

Website is a 'one stop shop for burglars'

The founders of a website, PleaseRobMe.com, which provides real-time updates on empty homes locations are "irresponsible" for providing a "one stop shop" for burglars, privacy campaigners say.
Publication date: 2010-02-19 more

Microsoft, Yahoo deal wins EU approval

Microsoft has won European Union approval to buy Yahoo!’s web-search business to speed up its effort to compete with Google.
Publication date: 2010-02-19 more

BBC launches its first apps for iPhones

The BBC is set to expand its online operations with a drive into applications for mobile phones, a business that the broadcaster termed a "top priority".
Publication date: 2010-02-18 more

Microsoft Outlook to integrate Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn

Microsoft is integrating social networking services, such as Facebook and MySpace, into the latest version of its desktop email program, Outlook, used by millions of office workers around the world.
Publication date: 2010-02-18 more

Much aBuzz about nothing

Even if you've never heard of Twitter, or you think Facebook is a silly site used by teens, you've heard of Google and chances are you have a Gmail account.
Publication date: 2010-02-18 more

Smartphones pave the way for the new augmented reality

Publication date: 2010-02-18 more

No free lunch in the online world

Strategic marketing specialist Professor Damien McLoughlin of UCD School of Business explains how the new digital landscape is forcing businesses to rethink how they use the internet to transform their business models
Publication date: 2010-02-18 more

'In a globalised world, local communities not nations will become more important'

Ireland is making slow, steady strides to becoming a digital economy, says BT chief executive
Publication date: 2010-02-18 more

My speaking plans for 2010

Last year I tried to limit my travel but still ended up making about ten (!) trips in 2009. This year I’ve resolved to travel less for work. Right now, here’s my current speaking/travel plans for 2010: March 2-4, 2010: SMX West, Santa Clara, CA. I’m doing a “Ask the Search Engines” panel. May 19-20, 2010: Google [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-17 more

Cyberclinic: Did Google drop a clanger with its new Buzz network?

There was a time, not long ago, when web services would launch promising the opportunity to share photos, videos, our innermost thoughts, and we'd excitedly rush to sign up.
Publication date: 2010-02-17 more

Eye-controlled mobile phone unveiled by DoCoMo

A new prototype device allows users to make and receive calls, and even play music, just by moving their eyes.
Publication date: 2010-02-17 more

Google in privacy row over new social network

Google is being threatened with legal action over the launch of its new social network, Google Buzz, amid furious claims that the service breaches users' privacy.
Publication date: 2010-02-17 more

Puma unveils solar-powered phone

Puma, the sportswear brand, has teamed up with Sagem to create a bespoke mobile phone that can be recharged by the sun.
Publication date: 2010-02-17 more

How to respond to email messages that contain multiple questions

Email messages often contain a number of questions that the sender wants the recipient to answer. I find that many responses to such messages are much more difficult to understand than they should be. Not because of grammar or spelling errors, but because of how the responses are structured and formatted. I
Publication date: 2010-02-17 more

Janmedia Excited About 2010

Washington DC - January 30, 2009: Janmedia understands that the recent economic climate has been unsettling for businesses regardless of industry; however there couldnít be a more ideal time in which to differentiate yourself from your competition. Your target audience is more sensitive to making the right choice in a partner than ever and Janmedia can help propel you above the rest.
Publication date: 2010-02-17 more

Apple vs MWC: Battle of the apps

Apple tends to ignore the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the industry trade show that kicked off in Barcelona yesterday, but its spectre looms as large as the towers of the La Fira exhibition centre which hosts the event.
Publication date: 2010-02-16 more

HTC launches three new phones

The Taiwanese handset maker, which has thrown its weight behind the Google Android operating system, unveiled two more devices based on the platform, as well as a compact device running the Windows mobile operating system.
Publication date: 2010-02-16 more

Finding the best cell phone carrier

Okay, someone tell me if this device exists (or build it!). I want a device where I can pay $10-15 to get a gadget in the mail. The gadget would sit in my pocket for a week wherever I go. The device would record cell phone signal strength for each of the four major U.S. [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-16 more

It's war on a grand scale with MAG

MAG, PS3: If three's a crowd, what do 256 make? A damn-fine online shooter, that's what. From the people who brought us the PS2 counter-espionage series SOCOM, MAG's big boast is that size matters. For once, it might be true.
Publication date: 2010-02-16 more

Digital life: There's music, music everywhere...

Music in every room in the house -- that's the promise of wireless audio systems such as Sony's S-AIR technology.
Publication date: 2010-02-16 more

Microsoft Windows Phone 7 series review

Hats off to Microsoft -- a company that many of us had written off in the mobile phone market has come up trumps with a new operating system and fresh approach to the mobile platform that could -- for the first time in a very long time -- give Apple and Google something to worry about.
Publication date: 2010-02-16 more

Blog to Book?

I recently went looking for some software to make a blog into a book. Here’s what I found: - Lulu will take PDF files for a book. Blogbooker.com will try to create a PDF from a blog. Unfortunately, my blog made BlogBooker choke (I have 991 posts from my blog) — even when I excluded comments. - [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-16 more

Mobile World Congress: Sony Ericsson's Android push

Sony Ericsson showed off three new handsets, including two compact Google Android-based devices.
Publication date: 2010-02-15 more

Mobile World Congress: Nokia and Intel merge to launch MeeGo Apps platform

Nokia and Intel are joining forces to produce smartphone software that they hope will challenge the dominance of Apple and Google.
Publication date: 2010-02-15 more

Mobile World Congress: Microsoft unveils Windows Phone to rival iPhone

Microsoft has unveiled a new version of its mobile phone operating system that it hopes will allow it to replicate its desktop dominance on the next generation of smartphones.
Publication date: 2010-02-15 more

Mobile World Congress: Microsoft rings the changes

I’m afraid your shiny, new mobile phone could look distinctly old-fashioned by this time next week. Exhibitors at 2010’s Mobile World Congress are set to unveil a huge selection of new handsets, platforms and services designed to cement the mobile phone’s position at the centre of the digital landscape.
Publication date: 2010-02-15 more

Koreans get to watch Avatar in

Forget 3D, Koreans get to experience James Cameron’s Avatar in four dimensions. An added layer of realism includes special effects such as moving seats and sprinkling water. According to Variety, a special version of Avatar playing only at the CJ-CGV theater in South Korea is drawing flocks of movie-goers curious to experience a unique screening that [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-13 more

Planning a wedding? There

Add weddings to the list of things best managed with the Google Docs cloud apps that many people use to create presentations, spreadsheets, and documents right inside their browser. Having admitted to proposing to the woman of his dreams with 100 red roses, Google Docs product marketing engineer Peter Harbison explained that he and his fiancee [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-13 more

David Pogue impersonates Steve Ballmer, does monkey dance routine at Macworld 2010

Apple withdrew from the Macworld expo, but the event still opens with a keynote, albeit of a different kind. The New York Times tech columnist David Pogue kicked off Macworld 2010 with an amusing keynote that had Pogue impersonating Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer and saying stuff about Apple that wouldn’t be possible a year ago. As [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-13 more

Facebook Chat now working in iChat, Pidgin, Adium, and more

Since its inception in April of 2008, Facebook Chat has remained an exclusive domain of the web interface, requiring users to log in to their Facebook account in order to exchange messages with their friends. That changed Wednesday when the social networking giant announced plans to make Facebook Chat available on just about any third-party instant [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-13 more

Valve offering free Valentines and Official Gear sale

Valentines can end up being quite an expensive celebration after you have bought a card, chocolates, flowers. Maybe you do something more extravagant with your loved one? Valve is trying to cater for those on a very strict budget by giving away a bunch of free Valentines you can print out and turn into cards. There’s [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-13 more

US Government will respond to simulated cyber-terrorism attack live on CNN

Terrorism isn’t just bombs and guns… it’s increasingly virtual, as computer networks around the world get more sophisticated. Movies are starting to recognize this: consider Live Free or Die Hard’s “Fire Sale,” which eschewed the series’ usual brand of terrorism for digital havok. And the US Government seems to recognize it too: next week, they [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Online video site Veoh goes bankrupt

After YouTube went big, a lot of other companies tried to get in on the online video gold rush. Veoh was one of the better ones: at a time when online video was still depressingly encoded and subject to loads of artefacting, Veoh offered their users impressive quality… and when YouTube stopped allowing videos to [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Lenovo announces three new budget machines packing AMD CPUs

Our good friends over at Lenovo have expanded their line-up of notebook and desktop offerings yet again, this time opting for three new machines that eschew Intel processors in favor of AMD Turion and Athlon CPUs, along with ATI graphics. The notebooks are the Lenovo G445 and G555. These are budget laptops, featuring 16:9 HD [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

IBM bringing Lotus to the Mac and iPhone

IBM will release a new version of its Lotus collaboration and social software suite for the Mac, iPhone, and iPod touch, the company announced Thursday. The release, IBM said, will enable corporate folks using Macs and iPhones to enjoy business-grade social networking and instant messaging, in addition to securely encrypted email and collaborative applications. New arrivals include [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Microsoft planning to update Windows Activation Technologies for Windows 7

Initial releases of Microsoft operating systems tend to be pretty easy to pirate, but become more and more irritating to use over time a Microsoft squirts out Windows Genuine Advantage patches through Windows Update. It doesn’t look like Windows 7 is going to be any different: Microsoft has just announced that in the coming days, [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Google deletes half-a-dozen music blogs for DMCA violations

In what is being referred to as the Musicblogocide of 2010, Google has deleted at least half a dozen popular music blogs that they claim violated copyright law which were hosted on Google’s Blogger and Blogspot services. The blogs were unceremoniously deleted with no warning earlier this week. Afterwards, site masters received this explanatory note from [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

YouTube Video Speed Dashboard, how good is your connection?

Google has released a new tool to help figure out just how good your Internet connection is in relation to streaming YouTube video. It’s called the YouTube video speed dashboard and uses a range of local information coupled with video viewing history to rate your speed. So why is Google releasing such a tool? According to [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

25% of Russian software retailers sell pirated Microsoft products

Microsoft is always trying to minimize how susceptible its products are to piracy, but in some parts of the world it faces a huge challenge to try and curb such illegal software being sold. New research revealed this week that one of the worst piracy offenders is Russia; where 25% of legitimate software retailers stock [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Man who invented the Frisbee passes away

At one point in time, before there were such things as home entertainment systems and gaming consoles, more people sought outdoor games to pass the time. Sadly the man who gave us one of the most memorable outdoor toys of all time has passed away. Walter Fredrick Morrison, who was known as the father of [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Amazon considering free Kindle for all Amazon Prime subscribers

If you order a lot of stuff from Amazon then it’s fair to assume you have considered, or even signed-up to Amazon Prime. That way you get two-day shipping for just $79 a year. Now it seems like there may be another big incentive to become an Amazon Prime subscriber: Amazon is trying to figure out [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Free Hulu movies and TV shows could hit the iPad, Flash be damned

Remember how an unnamed entertainment industry exec allegedly said last summer that Apple’s tablet will be “fabulous” for watching movies? Surprising then how Steve Jobs announced no new content deals at the iPad unveiling, leaving many folks scratching their head. According to TechCrunch, the lack of Flash player on the iPad doesn’t have to mean that [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Microsoft cancels Alan Wake on PC

Alan Wake may now have a definite release date, but it also has one less platform to ship on. Microsoft has confirmed that Alan Wake is no longer being developed for a PC release. Here’s the official statement from a Microsoft spokesperson: Some games are more suited for the intimacy of the PC, and others are best [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Review: Sprint Overdrive 3G/4G mobile hotspot

The MiFi mobile WiFi hotspot was a very significant release for road warriors. Using it you could easily provide WiFi to multiple devices from a single mobile broadband account, something that is incredibly useful considering that a person might have a cell phone, portable media player, and laptop with them, all of which could use [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Bing Maps covered in Flickr images for Streetside Photos

Bing Maps has had a new feature introduced this week that sees Flickr images put to good use to bring streets to life. A new application called Streetside Photos pulls down images from Flickr and fits them on to the Bing Maps’ street views. So that mundane picture you took of people walking down a busy [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Intel Core i5 integrated GPU tested, found worthy

If you’ve been following the recent release of Intel’s Core i3 and Core i5 processors (codenamed Clarkdale and Arrandale) then you know that they have an integrated GPU. This is one of the biggest features of the new processors as well as an important differentiator between them and the flagship Core i7 models. The Inquirer has [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Apple begins countdown to 10 billion songs

Imagine what a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card could buy you: a thousand full music albums, 10,000 iPhone apps at 99 cents each, five thousand movie rentals, 666 blockbuster downloads – you get the picture. Apple’s iTunes Store launched as a music-only store, but it carries all sorts of digital entertainment today, including applications and e-books. The [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Asus G73JH with AMD Mobility 5870 GPU arriving soon

A sharp-eyed writer over at DailyTech noticed that the Asus G73JH, a highly-awaited gaming laptop, has a page up on Newegg.com. This is exciting news on its own, as the wedge-shaped G73JH should prove to be one of the better gaming computers to land in 2010, but there is more to the story. It’s looking [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Mobile software gets old fast, social apps most used, survey says

People are downloading Android and iPhone apps like crazy, but their novelty wears off quickly. We play with an app for a month and then we get bored. After six months, only one in twenty downloaded apps get used at least once a week. Those are some of the findings of a survey conducted by a [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

New Final Fantasy XIII screenshots released

If you just can’t wait for Final Fantasy XIII’s March 9th release date, these screenshot might give you the fix you need to calm down and get back to work for a few minutes. So far the game is looking incredibly slick. If nothing else it’s going to be one of the most attractive games to [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Solar Vest lets you become your own solar recharge station

If you are a gadget geek, and happen to work in the great outdoors, you can sympathize with the frustration of losing power to your phone or laptop just when you need them most. Scrambling to track down a car or an electric outlet to get back online is never fun. Sure, you could carry around a [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Dog leash generates own lighting power for nighttime walks

For busy people that own dogs, taking man’s best friend out for a walk doesn’t always mean that it will get done during daylight hours. For those people I offer this special dog leash that not only includes nighttime lighting, but it also generates its own power so you never need to worry about batteries. Now when [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Superplexus Spherical Labyrinth will drive you mad for $30,000

An old acquaintance of mine — a peculiar gum-sucking golem comprised largely of anti-social drunkenness, red-eyed mania and crusted body filth — has always been something of a mystery to me, until I learned that the only gifts he ever got for Christmas were those cheap, plastic, ball-bearing mazes. Then it all made sense. Those [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Final Fantasy XIII 250GB Xbox 360 bundle coming Stateside

It often seems like the truly great Xbox 360 deals only come to Japan, but Microsoft and Square Enix have just announced at this weeks X10 exposition that they won’t be ignoring the US this time: they’ll be bringing their special Final Fantasy XIII Xbox 360 bundle for US owners. This is a very nice set… [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Google tweaks Buzz, makes it a bit more private

So far, Google Buzz isn’t a Twitter or Facebook killer. It’s not even an Orkut killer. The most common response seems to be annoyance that Buzz is busying up their GMail with extraneous information already better shared on other social networking sites. But there’s two other big criticisms: Buzz defaults to showing your GMail contacts [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

ATI

AMD’S latest addition to the Radeon line-up, the ATI Radeon HD 5570, is a card primarily aimed at gamers on a tight budget, as well as green-conscious consumers looking for an energy efficient and low profile card that can fit into the case of most small form factor PCs. Boasting both DirectX 11 support and [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Rhapsody to become independent company

Rhapsody is about ready to be kicked out of the nest. Mother bird Viacom, under their MTV Networks (MTVN) subsidiary, and RealNetworks, have operated the music service under the name Rhapsody America as a joint venture with RealNetworks maintaining the position of majority owner (51%) and operator. Now both parent companies believe the time is right [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Apple moves to slash TV show pricing for iPad launch

The iPad is expected to be available to consumers in April and according to a report by the Financial Times, Apple may be putting some bait out there to make the tablet more attractive for consumers. One of the selling points of the iPad is its entertainment value since users will not only be able [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Why buy the Nexus One when you can turn your Windows Mobile into one?

What’s good about a Windows Mobile smartphone? You can run the Android OS on it. Believe it or not, someone has figured out how to do it and step-by-step instructions are posted on the Androgeek website. What’s even cooler is that the method provided will allow the user to dual boot between the two operating systems. [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Google Buzz: It

There is, quite literally, a lot of buzz surrounding Google Buzz. It could be a Twitter and Facebook killer, or it could just be you Googling butterflies and sharing those pictures with your friends rather than actually going outside. Forget all the fact and speculation about what Google Buzz could be. Instead just watch this fantastic [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

OpenOffice 3.2 now available, Office alternative downloaded 300 million times

Microsoft Office may be facing growing competition from cloud-based solutions, but on the desktop its biggest rival remains OpenOffice.org. This week the open source office suite has shipped version 3.2 and with it brought a number of improvements including: faster start up times improved compatibility with open standard (ODF) and proprietary file formats improvements to all components, particularly the [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Trine of Steam $5 today

If you’re a fan of platformer games then the Steam deal today should capture your interest. Trine is a fantasy action platformer developed by Frozenbyte. The official blurb describes it as follows: Trine
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Race your way to relaxation with this F1 inspired lounge chair

Unfortunately I have to say I am not a big fan of F1 Racing. That feeling is in part due to F1 pulling out of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2008 along with the 2005 U.S. Grand Prix fiasco when tire safety issues caused 14 drivers to pull out of the race before it even started. That being said, I [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

It takes 2,380 orange slices to charge an iPhone

If you iPhone battery is ever running low on juice and there’s no power outlet in sight, you can always turn to the humble orange for a recharge. Unfortunately you are going to need quite a few of them for a full battery. As the above video shows, someone actually took the time to figure out [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Panasonic unveils Toughbook H1 Field rugged tablet

The Toughbook H1 Field is a new rugged tablet from the company that basically defined rugged computing. The release comes at a strange time given the iPad’s dominance of tablet mind-share over the past few months, but as pointed out in previous coverage the H1 Field is a very different device than Apple’s tablet. The H1 Field joins [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta fired

It’s generally understood that MySpace has been struggling over the last couple of years while its competitor Facebook has been flourishing. The downfall began back in April 2008 when Facebook overtook MySpace internationally in monthly unique visitors. News Corp., which purchased MySpace in July 2005, couldn’t have been too excited by what they were seeing happen [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

The iPad falls on deaf ears with Bill Gates

Microsoft’s co-founder and former CEO Bill Gates isn’t impressed by the iPad, Apple’s latest multitouch computer for couch potatoes. According to BNET’s Brent Schlender, the iPad fell on deaf ears with Microsoft’s chief geek who isn’t jealous about it the way he confessed to have been about the iPhone. Here’s how Gates put it: You know, [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

30 prisoner profiles in the UK removed by Facebook

The UK’s Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, has succeeded in getting 30 Facebook pages of prisoners removed because they were being used to taunt victims according to a BBC article. Straw had requested the pages removed and the request was completed within 48 hours. Probably the most interesting comments by Straw about the profiles was the he [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Gmail blocked in Iran

That’s it. No more mister nice guy. Iran has crossed the line. No, I’m not talking about the country’s defiance of the UN regarding their nuclear program. Fox News has reported that the Iranian government has shut down access to Google’s Gmail service within the country. The government has advised citizens that it will be replacing Gmail [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Macworld 2010: Outlook and the Ribbon interface debut in Microsoft Office for Mac 2011

The software giant will put Entourage, an Outlook replacement found in a Mac version of the Office suite, to rest. Instead, Microsoft announced, the real Outlook will debut in Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 alongside the Ribbon interface, collaborative editing, and Office Web Apps in the cloud. Microsoft announced Office for Mac 2011 on Thursday at [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Google buys social search engine Aardvark

Google is having a family reunion of sorts. According to a TechCrunch report, Google has made a $50 million dollar acquisition of Aardvark. Aardvark is a social search engine which was founded in 2007 by two former Google employees Max Ventilla and Nathan Stoll along with Damon Horowitz and Rob Spiro. Up until now, the [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Alan Wake to be released May 25th

It’s been a long time coming, but Alan Wake finally has a release date. A new trailer for the game uploaded to YouTube shows the words you see above at the end. Unfortunately we can’t embed the video due to the option being disabled on YouTube. You can watch it by visiting the Alan Wake – [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-12 more

Specify a text colour for img elements

When an image specified with an img element is missing from a web page, some browsers display the alt text instead. Why not all browsers do that is a separate topic which I talk a bit about in Safari, WebKit and alt text for missing images. I think most people will agree that it is a good thing for web browsers to display the contents of an image
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

'There can be no green economy if we don't sort out our broadband problems first'

The green economy is just a pipe dream if we remain broadband laggards, says Magnet chief.
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Savvy entrepreneur knows how to raise and change the game

Having sold his games-software company, DemonWare, to Activision for $15m three years back, Dylan Collins recently scored another coup when GameStop made a major investment in his internet games company, Jolt Online.
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Reinvent the media with a tech start-up mentality

Dear reader, it would be interesting to see how many of you are reading this column on a physical newspaper and then compare it with the number of those reading it online - for free.
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Windows 8 - coming soon?

Microsoft’s marketing campaign for Windows 8 appears to have begun – the company briefly published a blog on msdn.com, and then took it down almost immediately.
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

MySpace staff 'stunned' at Owen Van Natta's sudden exit

The immediate departure of MySpace's chief executive, Owen Van Natta, has shocked employees of the company.
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Norwegian men in scuba gear give chase to Google Street View Car

Sorry to bust your bubble you Berlin Google pranksters, but a couple of guys from Norway just pulled off the best Google “Street View” prank yet. Seems two unidentified gentleman had heard a Google camera car was in the neighborhood, so they decided to dress as ninjas scuba divers and laid (or rather sat) in wait for [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Logitech claims 3 year battery life for Wireless Desktop MK710

Using a wireless keyboard and mouse may free you from those annoying wires across your desk, but it does mean a constant reliance on batteries. Logitech is doing its best to let us forget about batteries running out by announcing a 3 year battery life on its latest keyboard & mouse package. The Logitech Wireless Desktop [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Quickoffice for iPhone updated with Google Docs, Dropbox, Box.net, and MobileMe integration

A new version of a popular third-party office suite for iPhone plays nice with popular online storage solutions, allowing you to edit, save, and share presentations and spreadsheets stored in the cloud. Quickoffice, Inc. has updated its mobile office suite for iPhone and iPod touch with Dropbox, Box.net, Google Docs, and MobileMe support. The 13.5MB Quickoffice [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Apple granted a patent for pimping its online store with social shopping, 3D, and avatars

Apple has been granted a huge patent win for its thinking regarding enhancing an online shopping atmosphere. If the company ever applies this patent, its online store could come to life with 3D graphics, changing scenery based on your geolocation and the time of day, and social features for interaction between the virtual shoppers. The United [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Opera Mini to launch as the first major third-party browser on the iPhone

Opera Software has made a big splash Wednesday morning announcing it will demo a beta version of Opera Mini for iPhone at the 2010 Mobile World Congress (MWC) due between February 15-18, 2010 in Barcelona, Spain. The announcement put Opera Software on the map as the first vendor to bring a major third-party browser to Apple’s [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Warner to remove music from all free streaming services

In what is a major blow to a number of very popular music streaming services Warner Music has decided to no longer make its music catalogue available for free streaming. Edgar Bronfman Jr. CEO of Warner said: Free streaming services are clearly not net positive for the industry and as far as Warner Music is concerned will [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Macworld 2010: Aspera previews iPhone service that can triple 3G data speeds

A new service by Aspera aimed at iPhone owners promises to accelerate 3G data speed by a factor of three. Could this be the ultimate solution to network congestion issues that iPhone owners often experience in metropolitan areas? Aspera is previewing the new service dubbed fasp-AIR at the Macworld Expo that runs this week in San [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

IBM creates efficient solar cell using abundant materials

Efficient solar cells may be one part of the puzzle for providing green energy in the future, but they currently suffer from a major problem. Many of the most efficient solar cell solutions rely on very rare materials such as copper indium, gallium selenide, and cadmium telluride. As long as such materials are required wide-spread [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

iSuppli: Entry-level iPad costs $229.35 to manufacture, cheaper models en route?

If the iPad does take off to a slow start, Apple has a decent amount of headroom to slash the retail price. Don’t pray for a $199 iPad, though – a large screen and other components that go into the device don’t come cheap. According to a preliminary iSuppli estimate, total cost of components that go [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

AT&T names LTE partners as it preps to deploy fourth-generation wireless network in 2011

Late Wednesday, AT&T announced agreements with Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson for its upcoming fourth-generation LTE wireless broadband network, setting the stage for the next chapter of its on-going battle with rival Verizon. The carrier said it chose to extend existing relationships with Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson after “testing equipment from multiple suppliers in the field and in [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Analysts believe AT&T will keep iPhone exclusive till 2011

AppleInsider is reporting that analysts believe the deal between Apple and AT&T over supplying the iPad’s 3G needs may point to an extension of the exclusive deal AT&T currently has to carry the iPhone. The article cites Barclay’s Capital as one source who notified investors that it believes AT&T will maintain its stranglehold on the iPhone [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-11 more

Google Buzz isn't new and isn't needed, say rivals

Microsoft and Yahoo have attacked Google's new real-time social networking tool, Google Buzz.
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

Cyberclinic: Can a social network be smarter than a search engine?

Those of us who self-consciously style ourselves as "journalists" have long been aware of the power of social networks to obtain elusive information.
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

Google slashes ERF fee for Nexus One

Those buying a subsidized Nexus One from Google face two fees should they decide to terminate their contract with T-Mobile. The first fee is T-Mobile’s ETF, or early termination fee which is pro-rated, but could be as high as $200. The second is Google’s ERF, or equipment recovery fee which was set at $350 when [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

CD album cover uses interactive artwork

With the disappearance of the vinyl album giving way to CDs, classic music lovers not only pined for the loss of their beloved music format, but they also lamented that album artwork itself would also never be the same. To that sentiment, I wholeheartedly agree. Try comparing the artwork on the vinyl version of The Beatles’, Sgt. [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

Leaked build file suggests HTC Scorpion uses 1.5GHz Snapdron, Android 2.2

The guys over at AndroidSPIN have received a new build file anonymously pertaining to be a forthcoming new HTC Android phone. Currently the Nexus One sits at the top of the Android smartphone pile running a 1Ghz Snapdragon processor and Android 2.1. If this build file is legitimate HTC will eclipse the Nexus One this [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

Get ready for a third Snow Leopard update, latest beta is free of issues

Apple has seeded a subset of Mac developers with a new build of what will become the third system update for Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard. Compared with the previous build issued two weeks earlier, the new version doesn’t list any new test areas and has no known issues, indicating that a final release [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

Google introduces the Street View Snowmobile

As Google roams the globe with their “Street View” cars, taking pictures of every street, road, avenue, cul-de-sac, and boulevard; one might find some solace in that Google hasn’t figured out a way to access those harder-to-reach areas in nature where a car can’t go, right? Well, sorry to disappoint you privacy advocates, but Google [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

Apple updates iLife

Apple has released two software updates Tuesday afternoon that enable apps from the iLife ‘09 suite to better integrate with the company’s Aperture 3 image management software. The first release is a 7.1MB Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update version 3.0 that extends RAW image compatibility for Aperture 3 and iPhoto ‘09 for the following cameras [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

Google debuts content sharing service Buzz that goes beyond dumb status updates

Google takes aim at Facebook and Twitter with a comprehensive content sharing system baked into Gmail that promises to go way beyond status updates. Social networking fans can add one more service to their daily updating routine. Google launched Google Buzz on Tuesday, a comprehensive content sharing system integrated with Gmail. Accessible at buzz.google.com, the new [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

YouTube gets a Safety Mode

It’s safe to say that some of the content hosted on YouTube is questionable. Either because the YouTube filter police haven’t found it yet, or there’s just content that you wouldn’t want you kids to see hosted there. Google has reacted to such content being available by introducing Safety Mode. Basically, Safety Mode is the equivalent [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

Google to build experimental 1Gbps fiber-to-the-home networks across the U.S.

If you are very lucky Google might be about to start planning a 1Gbps fiber broadband connection directly into your home. In the video above James Kelly, product manager on Google’s infrastructure team, explains that the search giant wants to build a number of experimental networks across the U.S. Each one would serve between 50,000 and [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

Google Buzz takes on Facebook and Twitter

Google has launched a new tool that will allow users of its email service to share their feelings with other users, in an effort to take on social networking giants Facebook and Twitter head-on.
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

NVIDIA serves up performance AND battery life with Optimus technology

NVIDIA has announced new technology which will give laptop owners better battery life and performance without sacrificing one for the other. As NVIDIA describes it, the technology is much like a hybrid car. A hybrid car consists of an electric and a gasoline powered engine that the vehicle switches back and forth between to ensure [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

Did Avatar in 3D make you feel sick?

Did watching Avatar in 3D make you feel sick? Apparently that’s what’s happening to a lot of people, or so The New York Times claims. Watching movies in 3D causes your eyes to do a lot more movement, and unnatural movements, than watching a film in 2D. Something referred to as sensory conflict also occurs where [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

Craig Ferguson joins Twitter

Craig Ferguson, host of the Late Late Show which follows David Letterman on CBS, has joined the land of Twitter. In only a short time Ferguson has been able to rack up over 30,000 followers as of early Tuesday afternoon. The talk show host posted his first tweet only yesterday. Some gems from Ferguson already include: Watching [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

Funny hat-wearing Steve Jobs breathes fire when you tweet from his iPad

If you believe the media, Steve Jobs is reportedly touring New York City’s biggest newspapers – wearing a funny hat in an attempt to sell the iPad. One editor foolish enough to tweet about a secret meeting from Jobs’ iPad allegedly felt the heat as the enraged CEO spawned himself as a fire-breathing dragon. The New [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-10 more

Can

There’s is an old saying: if something is wrong with your Microsoft computer, simply reboot. A few days ago I came to learn that this advice applies to some vehicles as well. I recently purchased a 2008 Ford Fusion and among its many features was SYNC by Microsoft. This is the in-car system that allows [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Illustration shows the State of the Internet for 2009

The Internet is a very large and busy place connecting people, organizations, and countries every day. With that kind of mass communication around the globe it is no wonder that the Internet makes our world feel a little smaller every year.  But have you ever wondered what kind of people frequent the Information Super Highway on [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Motorola Droid gets Android 2.1 and multitouch this week

Droid owners are in for a treat this week. Not only are their handsets being upgraded to Android 2.1, they will also be getting multitouch support. The announcement comes exactly a week after the Google Nexus One got a multitouch update and Verizon is currently testing the functionality for a rollout to Droid. The plan is [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Berlin Group pranks Google

No matter which side of the fence you are on in regards to the invasion of privacy issue with Google Maps “Street View”, you have to give some credit to a group who recently turned Google Map technology against the search giant. In a feat of electronic shenanigans, a group out of Germany called Free Art and Technology [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Upcoming Core i5 and i7 MacBooks will be speedy, a benchmark suggests

Apple’s MacBook family of notebooks is overdue for a hardware refresh. A benchmark posted last week suggests the 17-inch MacBook Pro might run the top-of-the-line Intel Core i7 M620 processor and the score suggests a favorable jump in performance over the existing line of the Core 2 Duo-based MacBooks. More precisely, the unreleased MacBook Pro [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Google sets up a Nexus One phone support line

Google has finally decided to implement its own phone support service for the Nexus One smartphone. Many would argue that this should have been a service available at the phone’s launch, but Google was trying to sell its smartphone with direct support links only to its hardware and network partners HTC and T-Mobile. Clearly a completely [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

RealPlayer SP beta debuts on the Mac, lets you save online videos to portable devices

RealPlayer SP beta for Mac launched Monday as the first major upgrade to Real’s media solution on Apple’s platform in quite a while. First thing you’ll notice, RealPlayer SP is a good citizen – the app looks and behaves according to Apple’s interface guidelines. More importantly, this new version adds all the cool features from [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Design a donut, become famous, win cash

A guilty pleasure of mine is Dunkin’ Donuts. I don’t know what the heck they put in them, but there is nothing better than a box of them with coffee in the morning. Everyone has their favorite and some have even designed their own. Back in June, Dunkin’ announced the winner of of their “Create Dunkin’s [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Nintendo awarded $1.3 million in New Super Mario Bros. Wii piracy lawsuit

James Burt, a 24-year-old Australian gamer, is facing a debt that he will probably be struggling to pay for the rest of his life after committing an act of piracy. He managed to buy the game New Super Mario Bros. Wii early when a games shop sold it before the official release date. James didn’t take [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

MEETorDIE calculates the wasteful cost of company meetings

Are you a fan of company meetings? Me neither. Then again, I am more of a man-of-action kind of person and dread when I have to sit for hours at a time. If you feel this way as well, then let me introduce to you a website that points out just how much of a waste meetings [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Q Games to develop PixelJunk Shooter 2

If you enjoyed the recently released PixelJunk Shooter on PSN as we did, then you’ll be glad to here Q Games has a sequel planned. Q Games isn’t a developer known for doing follow-up games, instead coming up with interesting and highly popular new games as part of its PixelJunk series. But Shooter seems to be [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

2008 Flash crash bug still active, Adobe says sorry

When Adobe issues an apology you know something has gone wrong or the community has been complaining so much the company needed to respond. Emmy Huang, product manager for Adobe Flash Player has in the past few days issued such an apology. The reason: A crash bug which was reported in September 2008 by Matthew Dempsey [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Apple updates Aperture 3 with 200 new features, including Faces, Places, and Brushes

Apple upgraded Aperture Tuesday morning, its pro photo editing and management software for the Mac, with over 200 new features, including Faces, Places and Brushes. More importantly, Apple re-wrote Aperture 3 as a 64-bit application that takes advantage of multi-core CPUs and GPU-accelerated graphics, courtesy of Mac OS X Snow Leopard. Apple’s marketing chief Philip Schiller [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Quick look: HP iPAQ Glisten smartphone

HP’s relatively new iPAQ Glisten Windows phone recently landed on my desk and I’ve had some time to tinker with it. I’m not a Windows Mobile user, but I wanted to put down some thoughts on the device. The Glisten runs Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional, a topic that we’ve covered a number of times here on [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Eyeing Apple

How much will apps for the iPad cost and will you be able to access documents on your desktop or place VoIP calls over 3G? Does it make sandwiches? How about videoconferencing, streaming Netflix movies, and entertainment outside the iTunes juggernaut? Geek answers the top ten most burning questions about the iPad that Apple didn’t [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Claim shame: Are insurers making it harder for claimants to switch?

ARE insurers turning their backs on householders who have had to make a claim on their insurance? The question is prompted by the recent floods in large parts of the country and the big freeze at the start of the year.
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Gmail status updates 'to compete with Facebook and Twitter'

Google is tomorrow expected to announce enhancements to its Gmail service that will make it easier for users to share links, media and status updates with friends.
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Zippy space-opera with mass appeal

Mass Effect 2, X360/PC
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Digital Life: Honey, I shrunk the camera. . .

Panasonic Lumix GF1,
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Chrome support for Greasemonkey

Back in December, I happened to click on a Greasemonkey script in Chrome and was shocked that it just worked. At the time, I wrote a note within Google that said Whoa. I just clicked on a Greasemonkey script in the latest dev version of Chrome (4.0.266.0 on Linux). Chrome offered to install the GM script, [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-09 more

Review: Cogs for iPhone

Having played both the preview code and the final Cogs release, I can confess it’s been keeping me up over the past three weeks. This sliding puzzler is unlike any other brain challenge game I’ve played thus far. First of all, Cogs‘ beautiful graphics and Lego-inspired steampunk design is a sight for sore eyes. The [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Google working on instant speech translation for cell phones

Google has already pushed language translation forward online with it’s Google Translate service and its integration into services such as Google Reader. But the search giant has set itself a much greater challenge with the promise of an automatic speech translation service for cell phones. The idea is the equivalent of producing a universal translator that [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Google Nexus One testing is painful to watch

As we wrote about last week, Google has decided to release a series of videos about the Nexus One and how it came to be. You could watch the first two in the series on Friday, but over the weekend the next two videos were released. Entitled Testing and Manufacturing they are certainly the best in [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Lego Star Wars drafted to The Clone Wars

In an entirely unsurprising move, Traveller’s Tales and LucasArts are teaming up once again for a new Lego Star Wars title based on the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars series. Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars seems to be setting its sights on changing up its traditional formula — insert a “clone” joke [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Hilarious: Steve Jobs copycat unveils the Apple

Watching Steve Jobs deliver Apple’s next big thing is a sight for sore eyes that pulls the media attention like no other corporate presentation. Equally tantalizing are fans’ takes of Stevenotes, as Apple folks call Jobs’ keynotes. Take this amusing presentation, courtesy of the witty folks of College Humor. It not only follows Jobs’ keynote [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

SlingPlayer for iPhone gets AT&T 3G connectivity

When SlingPlayer for the iPhone was announced many Slingbox owners rejoiced. Slingbox is a device which you connect to a video source to allow cable and satellite television to be accessed through a computer or mobile phone with a client called the SlingPlayer. Many iPhone subscribers who owned a Slingbox were clammering for the ability [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Amazon caves to allow publisher to set own e-book pricing

Amazon and Macmillan have been in a battle of wills over the last year that has culminated in the last couple of weeks. The crux of the issue seems to be over Amazon’s insistence that e-books for the Kindle be priced at a flat rate of $9.99. Macmillan would rather see e-book prices range from [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Facebook updates photo upload service

If you have ever used Facebook’s photo sharing service you’d probably agree that there has been room for improvement. Personally, I’ve suffered lockups and have had to upload photos more than once to get them posted to my profile. Naturally, I was excited to finally hear that Facebook was going to do something about it. Over [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Samsung S2 500GB USB drive comes with Michael Jackson documentary

It’s always interesting seeing what manufacturers of storage solutions will do to differentiate themselves from the competition. Hard drives, USB flash drives, secure digital cards… there’s slight permutations in the formula, in performance, but at the end of the day, little that distinguishes one model from another as far as the average consumer is concerned, [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Dental researchers replace drill with

There’s little less pleasant in life than a dentist drilling into your tooth. A grinding, whirring corkscrew rotating at the speed of several miles per minute bores into the sensitive exposed nubs of your skeleton… and for what? To remove bacteria feeding in your tooth. It’s not ideal: drilling often times causes more problems than the [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Siri turns your iPhone into a virtual personal assistant

Why is it that only celebrities have personal assistants? Oh sure, the closest an average Joe can come to a personal assistant is a personal concierge from American Express, but that’s not cheap and not everyone is approved for a platinum card. What is needed is a personal assistant that won’t break the bank. That’s [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Apple says no to location-based ads in iPhone apps

If you’re an iPhone developer looking to make a quick buck by using location-based ads in your apps you may want to think again. MacNN is reporting that the party poopers at Apple are putting the kabosh on any attempt by developers to access a phone’s GPS to provide more relevant ads in their applications. The [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

ThinkGeek starts selling heat-changing arcade mugs

ThinkGeek, home to some very cool geeky gadgets, has added a new range of mugs for those who like arcade games and hot drinks. Rather than having a set design on the side of your coffee mug these arcade mugs react to heat and change what’s on view. There are two designs to choose from including [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Barnes & Noble

Instead of flowers Barnes & Noble is hoping that loved ones will get a nook this year. The nook is Barnes & Noble’s e-reader which competes directly with Amazon’s Kindle. The popularity of the device depleted inventories due to the demand for them over the holiday season. Now Barnes & Noble has announced that people [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Review: Synology DS210j network-attached storage device

The 2-disk NAS is just about the perfect tool for home storage. It’s affordable, small, doesn’t use much power, makes hardly any noise, has redundant storage, and (depending on the model you get) packs lot of features. They make so much sense for the home because their networking capabilities allow for use with multiple computers, [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Google enters fashion, sells necklaces, T-shirts, and scarfs inspired by itself

If you’ve been dreaming about wearing Google-inspired T-shirts, scarfs, and necklaces, now you can -  the search firm has begun selling a limited edition fashion pieces influenced by its omnipresence. It’s the geeks’ dream come true, straight from the geekiest company in the world. Emerging designers who participated in the last year’s Fashion Fund were tasked [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Firefox 3.6 will be the end of the line for Mac OS X Tiger users, Mozilla says

Nearly one quarter of Mozilla’s Mac OS X users could be left in the dark should the nonprofit developer stop supporting the aging Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger. It looks like Firefox 3.6 could be the end of the line for Mac users running Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, Mozilla’s platform engineer Josh Aas wrote in [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

iPad interest dropping after announcement

Whatever excitement was generated when Apple announced its iPad is beginning to wear off according to surveys by the consumer electronics shopping site Retrevo. As part of the surveys the shopping site asked, “Have you heard about the new Apple tablet that might be revealed in January?” The two surveys included one taken before and one [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Google airs first-ever Super Bowl commercial

Folks watching the Super Bowl yesterday may have spotted a Google advertisement, the search firm’s first-ever commercial to air during the Super Bowl. Aptly named “Parisian Love,” the advert depicts a series of Google searches that help an unseen hero learn about France, how to impress a French girl, translate a French chat session into [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

sIFR default CSS hides content from at least one screen reader

Just a heads-up to anyone using sIFR to render text: the default CSS that comes with sIFR hides the replaced text from the VoiceOver screen reader. I don
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more

Facebook working on true email service

If you’re a big Facebook user there is probably a good chance that you have used the social network’s mail feature. The most complimentary thing I can say about the  interface is that it is a bastardized version of a regular email service like Gmail. It seems some at Facebook think the same thing and [...]
Publication date: 2010-02-08 more