Everheart's Blog World

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Filed under: OS Updates, Windows Mobile, Microsoft
Today saw the release of the first in-depth previews of Microsoft's next-generation mobile operating system Windows Phone 7. The problem is, I don't really care about the screen, or indeed any of the hardware. I'm not interested in half the things that Engadget or ZDNet have to say about the phone: I'm just interested in what the software -- the operating system -- enables the phone to do. I figured you might be the same -- after all, who wants to dig through a dozen pages of pictures and flavourless prose when everything you want to know can be boiled down to a bunch of bullet points?

So, here's what Windows Phone 7 means for you, the software-enthusiast end-user:

Using Windows Phone 7 will be very smooth -- there is a lot less emphasis on applications. You won't 'start the camera app' and then 'start the messaging app' to send a photo. You will just take a photo and then send it to a friend. As ZDNet puts it, the emphasis will be on how you interact with people rather than apps -- which is rather fitting, given our contemporary love affair with social interaction.
The Start screen is still alive -- but unlike other mobile platforms where your home screen is merely dotted with app icons, you can create quick access buttons to almost anything, including your favourite songs or contacts. Being able to open an instant messenger chat with your best friend from the Start screen is pretty darn cool.
Applications are going to be wider -- on WP7 you will find words trailing off the edge of the screen. Apparently it's a very natural cue that encourages you to swipe left or right to access the next page. I suggest you watch Engadget's video to see how this actually works in practice. Personally, I love the change: moving from a wide-screen desktop display to a hyper-portrait mobile phone is never pleasant.
Much more stringent hardware requirements -- no surprise here, I guess. Windows Phone 7 has a (very sexy) list of minimum hardware requirements, including a multi-touch 800x480 screen and a flash-equipped camera. (Check the ZDNet article for a full list.)
There will be no external storage on WP7 phones -- OK, this one's a surprise! I guess this is to please app developers and content providers... but time will tell! (Incidentally, WP7 phones must have a minimum of 8GB internal storage.)
Hubs -- this is Windows Phone 7's shining glory. There are different kinds of hubs: People, Pictures, Games, Music + Videos, Marketplace and Office. Without going into exact details, these hubs provide easy access to every kind of media. In the case of Pictures, it shows your local camera photos, and your photos from Facebook. Games will contain all of the juicy Xbox Arcade/XNA games that also work on the WP7. For more details on how the hubs work, watch ZDNet's video.
Configuration, settings -- like Android, Windows Phone 7 has a consolidated, global 'settings' menu where you can alter any setting for any application. Hooray!

I think that about covers it all. Overall, reviewers and developers are concluding that Windows Phone 7 is polished, fluid and very easy to use. In fact, most complaints seem to be about the lack of copy-and-paste and true multi-tasking. Sure, Microsoft isn't quite finished, but with WP7 phones due to arrive this winter, the platform must be very nearly feature-complete. I think it's safe to say that Windows Phone 7 will not debut with either a clipboard or multi-tasking.

Never mind! The iPhone still did very well without either of those features.
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/windows-phone-7-the-important-bits'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; Share Windows Phone 7: the important bits originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | CommentsHEARTLAND PAYMENT SYSTEMS GOOGLE

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Filed under: Browsers, Android

Opera Mini 5.1 for Android has been released -- visit m.opera.com, or simply search for 'Opera' on Android Market. This is only a minor patch, but it should be both faster and easy to use. Mini can now also be set as your default browser -- about time!

Anyway, without any real way to benchmark Opera Mini 5 against other mobile browsers, I decided to pit it against a desktop browser -- Chrome 6, to be exact. Watch the video; be impressed! Opera Mini certainly isn't as fast as a desktop computer -- but then again, what mobile browser is? Also, bear in mind that I'm using a very high-speed Internet connection. On a crippled '2G' or Wi-Fi link, the difference between Mini and Chrome would be far smaller -- Opera's compression technology only really shines when there is limited bandwidth available.

Still, you can see that Opera Mini makes an excellent replacement for the default Android browser. There's no reason why you shouldn't use Opera Mini 5, put it that way.

Now I need to find some way of artificially limiting my bandwidth so that I can see if Opera Mini is actually faster than desktop Chrome!

tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/14/opera-mini-5-1-for-android-released-compared-desktop-chrome'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; Share Opera Mini 5.1 for Android released, put to the test against desktop Chrome (video) originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsMAXIMUS MANTECH INTERNATIONAL MANHATTAN ASSOCIATES LSI

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Android only: While Android has a few multitasking tricks built-in, Power Strip re-assigns your Home button to bring up a dock containing app shortcuts, folders, and even widgets that you can launch at any point, without returning to the home screen. More »

SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY SCIENTIFIC GAMES SANDISK SALESFORCE COM

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Guys! Stainless steel Sharpies!SONUS NETWORKS SONIC AUTOMOTIVE SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS SILICON LABORATORIES

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Microsoft Europe, Middle East, and Africa vice president says Kinect isn't a step away from core gamers, but that they'll have to wait.

Microsoft - Middle East - Africa - Xbox - WiiHCL TECHNOLOGIES HEWLETT-PACKARD

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Welcome back to another week of smartphone news as we stay
late to discuss the Apple iPhone 4 press conference, the
Droid X launch and fresh competitors like the Samsung
Vibrant. Also, robots!

IPhone - Apple - Smartphone - Handhelds - Apple iPhone 4RACKABLE SYSTEMS QUEST SOFTWARE QUANTUM QLOGIC .

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Acer's Android-powered Stream phone already got official way back in May -- and we got our hands on it at Computex in June -- but the company has only just now confirmed a launch date. According to Acer, the Stream will be rolling out on August 9th, and it'll be exclusive to UK-based online retailer Expansys, at least initially. As for the phone itself, you can expect a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, a 3.7-inch AMOLED screen, Android 2.1 for an OS, a 5-megapixel camera with 720p video recording (no flash, though), an HDMI out port, and full DLNA / UPnP support for media streaming (hence the name). Of course, being exclusive to Expansys also means you won't be getting a subsidized price -- look for this one to set you back £399, or just over $600. Full press release is after the break.

Update: And it looks like we've got our first unboxing with the final retail packaging. Video's after the break.

Continue reading Acer's Android-powered Stream confirmed for Expansys-exclusive August 9th launchAcer's Android-powered Stream confirmed for Expansys-exclusive August 9th launch originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink MobileBurn | Android Community, Expansys | Email this | CommentsVERIFONE HOLDINGS VEECO INSTRUMENTS VARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATES UNITED ONLINE

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer urges partners to stick with Microsoft for the new form factors.

Microsoft - Steve Ballmer - Apple - Monopolies and Oligopolies - EconomicQUEST SOFTWARE QUANTUM QLOGIC . PROGRESS SOFTWARE

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Camera+ for the iPhone is another case of a third-party app doing things better than Apple itself. It’s an all-in-one photo-taking and editing application that improves on almost every aspect of the built-in camera app, and it has just gotten a slew of new features with a v1.2 update.
While the post-processing tricks are nice (cropping [...]WESTERN DIGITAL VOLT INFORMATION SCIENCES VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY VIRGIN MEDIA

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The HTC Skin Case for the Sprint Evo 4G is one of the easiest ways to protect your phone. It's a basic rubber skin that fits around the Evo with cutouts for the camera, speaker, flashes, kickstand and ports, and it leaves the phone's massive 4.3-inch touchscreen completely uncovered, so you don't lose any usability. Marrying the Evo to the skin case is a simple matter of sticking the phone in it and making sure the rubber wraps all the way around the phone. The fit at the corners is snug, but not too snug. The case can be a little loose on the sides, but it's only a minor annoyance. It's not going to come off unless you want it to. The case wraps slightly around the front bezel of the phone, so it will keep the screen from hitting if it falls flat. The biggest drawback to the skin case's rubber texture is that it's a little slick, and it's a bit of a magnet for dust and lint. But the occasional bath in soap and water (be sure to remove your phone first) should take care of that. The HTC Skin Case for the Sprint Evo 4G is available in several colors the Android Central Store for $9.95. More pictures and video of it in action are after the break.
Posted originally at Android CentralSponsored by Android Cases and Accessories

MAXIMUS MANTECH INTERNATIONAL MANHATTAN ASSOCIATES

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An Apple watcher offers predictions of Apple's next move in mobile gadgets and more.

Apple - Macintosh - Companies - Apple II - IPhoneTOTAL SYSTEM SERVICES TNS TIBCO SOFTWARE TIBCO SOFTWARE

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Fortune's Daniel Roth asked News Corp. Digital Chief Jon Miller about MySpace at the Fortune Brainstorm conference in Aspen. Miller joked "well it's still around" and went on to say that there are some exciting things coming soon.

MySpace is "pregnant with product," Miller says, and adds that they want to "go younger" to get back to the core part of their user base. He also added that MySpace has been surprised with how quickly mobile usage has ramped, and that it took them a little bit by surprise. They're embracing mobile in a big way now, he says.

The new MySpace should launch sometime in the mid Fall, he says. When asked what MySpace looks like a year from now, he said to expect a "very revitalized experience."VERIFONE HOLDINGS VEECO INSTRUMENTS VARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATES UNITED ONLINE

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Filed under: Security, Utilities, Op-Ed
KeePass is an awesome password management utility. In fact, "awesome" is an understatement. It has transformed my computing experience and made my online life significantly more secure. I run KeePass and enter my obscenely long pass phrase multiple times every day; I trust KeePass so much that I don't even know the passwords to most websites I frequent. This includes some really important passwords, too.
There's one thing that bugs me about the perfection that is KeePass, though: There is no read-only mode.
Over 95 percent of the time, all I want to do is get a password, paste it, and close KeePass. While KeePass has protection against accidentally deleting passwords (a Recycle Bin feature), I can pretty easily change a password, accidentally save the file with the modified password, and lose my "real" password completely.
Granted, I need to enter the same password twice before I can hit OK. But what about adding a single character by mistake or any other freak accident that could happen? Keystroke, Tab, keystroke, Enter, and it's bye bye old password! And the "double-entry" feature is for passwords only; what about URLs, or notes, or usernames?
Once I've made the change, I'm screwed. Except for closing the file without saving it, there's no "Undo" function, and KeePass can autosave the file on numerous events (when losing focus, when locking the workspace after a timeout, when minimizing, etc. -- you configure it). Once the file is saved ... well, let's hope that site has easy password recovery options.
What's really crazy is that KeePass had this option! KeePass 1.x had an easy, simple, read-only command line switch that you could run it with, and you could change nothing while it was running; KeePass 2.x no longer has it.
Here's hoping that someone hears my cry and resurrects this feature. In case I ran KeePass in read-only mode and now wanted to create a new entry, I could just have a menu item that allows me to "switch to read/write mode." That option would close the database and reopen it in read/write mode (requiring my password again).Usability rant: why doesn't KeePass have a Read-Only mode? originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsBT GROUP CANON CDW CHINA MOBILE

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Filed under: Design, Text, web 2.0
Type Folly is a tour de force, showing how far JavaScript and CSS have come. When I first openend the page I got a canvas with all sorts of text, which looks like an image. But then I clicked it, and discovered I can drag stuff around.
Then I noticed the tool panes on the sides; they look like Photoshop tool panes, but are implemented in JavaScript and are fully functional. There are layers, and type properties, and containers sizes and whatnot.
You play around with the canvas just like you would with Adobe Illustrator (including font effects, etc). But the shocker comes at the end, when you get a fully valid CSS3 + HTML code which is the exact canvas you created. It's all done with JavaScript, CSS and HTML.
I'm pretty sure the fonts come from Google, which is a case in point for me. But even if they use some paid service, the point here is the tool itself, which you really have to play with to understand.Type Folly is a very impressive CSS3 typography showcase application originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsADOBE SYSTEMS ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR ENGINEERING ALLIANCE DATA SYSTEMS ALLTEL

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Throughout its 17-year history, Magic: The Gathering has maintained a consistent “duel” mentality where each player pretty much is out to win everything for him or herself and everyone has an equal footing. However, with Archenemy, there is one bad guy and the other players gang up to defeat him. Now, you ask yourself, how [...]INTEL INSIGHT ENTERPRISES INGRAM MICRO INFORMATICA

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Sony just revealed the new laser they're developing alongside Tohoku University. Regardless of the future of physical media, the specs are astounding to consider. More »

IKON OFFICE SOLUTIONS IDT IBASIS HYPERCOM

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One of the things I love about Comic-Con is the costumes. Ranging from the hastily-slapped-together to the very professional-looking, the costumes make the convention colorful and interesting. It takes a level of commitment to walk around in full regalia (particularly if you have a bulky Ghostbusters pack or a sweat-inducing Yoshi costume) in the packed-to-the-gills [...]ALLTEL AMAZON.COM AMERICA MOVIL AMKOR TECHNOLOGY

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Call the Nexus One what you want -- failed experiment, iClone, ahead of its time, whatever. We'll call it a solid phone, born from Google's desire to "shake up" the smartphone market, both in terms of available hardware and the way it was sold to consumers. Some of it worked. Some of it didn't. We're not going to recap the life of every Android smartphone when it gets replaced. That would be silly. But the Nexus One was Google's earnest attempt to change things, and it deserves a final send-off, which is marginally less silly. And so, after the break, a Nexus One retrospective.
Posted originally at Android CentralSponsored by Android Cases and AccessoriesSI INTERNATIONAL SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY SCIENTIFIC GAMES SANDISK

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Filed under: Developer, Microsoft, Mobile
Developers, you can now grab a shiny, new, 'near final version' of the Windows Phone Developer Tools!

Since its announcement in February, Microsoft has obviously been ploughing a lot of resources into its next-generation mobile operating system. With consumers (and developers!) are jumping from the ailing Windows Mobile platform in record numbers, Windows Phone 7 can't come soon enough. Microsoft, to put it frankly, needs an absolute miracle or the finest mobile operating system ever to turn around its mobile phone operations.

Will Windows Phone 7 be enough? I think it will stem the tide, but whether it will be enough to gain on Apple, RIM and Nokia, I don't know. The feature list certainly is impressive. If I was a developer, I'd be torn between the extant tried-and-tested smartphone platforms, and the juicy development tools available for Windows Phone 7. Nothing comes close to Expression Blend or Silverlight when it comes to quick, feature-rich-and-beautiful application development.

You can learn more about the Developer Tools beta release on the Windows Phone blog. Also, if you're a developer -- or interested in becoming a developer! -- Microsoft is offering four free live sessions on Windows Phone 7, Silverlight and XNA. The first is on July 20th -- go sign up!

Update: istartedsomething has a cool video walkthrough of the new Windows Phone 7 emulator; it's worth a watch!Windows Phone Developer Tools beta released; lots of updates, free classes for developers and more originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsSYNNEX SYMANTEC SYKES ENTERPRISES INORATED SYBASE

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Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer is making big promises his company will deliver a plethora of tablets and smartphones in the months ahead.

Microsoft - Steve Ballmer - Tablets - Companies - Microsoft Corporation VOLT INFORMATION SCIENCES VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY VIRGIN MEDIA VIEWSONIC

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There's a good chance you think mainframes are about as cool as pocket protectors, your parents on Facebook, and COBOL... the latter of which, of course, is largely executed on mainframes. If so, stand still while IBM blows the doors (and the dust) off of your mainframe misconceptions with its new zEnterprise 196, offering 96 5.2GHz cores, 3TB of RAM, and hot swappable I/O drawers for when you need to change pants in a hurry. All this is said to boost performance by 60 percent compared to its predecessor, the z10, while also reducing energy consumption by a claimed 80 percent -- though that could be compared to people sitting in tanning booths performing calculations with abacuses for all we know. However, you can drop consumption a further 12 percent by opting for the water cooling system, nice if your AC unit is already struggling. IBM will start shipping these behemoths sometime in the last quarter of this year and didn't mention pre-orders, so get ready to rent the biggest truck you can find and camp out in Armonk if you want yours on release day.Continue reading IBM's zEnterprise architecture makes mainframes cool again, also efficient (video)IBM's zEnterprise architecture makes mainframes cool again, also efficient (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 07:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink NY Times | IBM | Email this | CommentsEARTHLINK DST SYSTEMS DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES DIODES INORATED

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Tune in to hear PCWorld editors Ginny Mies, Jason Cross and Tim Moynihan celebrate Robert Strohmeyer's triumphant return with a frank discussion of digital readers, Justin Bieber and the future of 3D photography.

PC World - Tim Moynihan - Podcasts - Apple - Robert StrohmeyerINTEL INSIGHT ENTERPRISES INGRAM MICRO INFORMATICA

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At the Visionaries panel at Comic Con Joss Whedon announced that he is officially directing The Avengers, "Because Marvel can't afford the press release." More »

SYNOPSYS SYNNEX SYMANTEC SYKES ENTERPRISES INORATED

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As stylish as the new, slimmer Xbox 360 is, all Xbox 360 fans really want is something to play Halo on. And if it looks like Halo, all the better. More »

ECLIPSYS EASTMAN KODAK CO EARTHLINK DST SYSTEMS

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Filed under: Video
The list of supporters for Google's open WebM video container continues to expand at a rapid pace -- and while most of the news you've probably read has been centered around web browsers and HTML5 video, desktop media apps are starting to add support.

Apps like AOL's own Winamp, which just announced support for WebM in an official blog post. It may not seem like a very big deal, but Winamp is still one of the most widely used media players around and it's one of the first to arrive at the WebM party. Of course, with WebM added to FFmpeg there's a whole army of applications based on the open source project which can now claim support as well.

Now let's hope MPEG-LA's talk about that damned patent pool being assembled turns out to be all smoke and no fire... Let us enjoy our open video in peace, mmkay?Winamp adds support for WebM video originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsSALESFORCE COM SAIC ROCKWELL AUTOMATION RF MICRO DEVICES

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Google Voice connects its users' calls through its own server, which meant that smartphones placing a call through Voice had to make a data connection before dialing. That's changed with the latest updates to Voice's Android and BlackBerry apps. Now the unique numbers created for each contact (shown in a previous guide to Google Voice calling from any phone) are stored directly on your phone, so no preliminary connection is necessary. In a few test phone calls, I saw the three to five-second waits I was used to drop down to about half a second. Android users can grab the update from the Market; BlackBerry users should head to m.google.com/voice in their browser. As a reminder, Google Voice is now open to everyone (in the U.S., at least). [Google Voice Blog] More »

BHARTI AIRTEL BT GROUP CANON CDW

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Filed under: Browsers, Android

Opera Mini 5.1 for Android has been released -- visit m.opera.com, or simply search for 'Opera' on Android Market. This is only a minor patch, but it should be both faster and easy to use. Mini can now also be set as your default browser -- about time!

Anyway, without any real way to benchmark Opera Mini 5 against other mobile browsers, I decided to pit it against a desktop browser -- Chrome 6, to be exact. Watch the video; be impressed! Opera Mini certainly isn't as fast as a desktop computer -- but then again, what mobile browser is? Also, bear in mind that I'm using a very high-speed Internet connection. On a crippled '2G' or Wi-Fi link, the difference between Mini and Chrome would be far smaller -- Opera's compression technology only really shines when there is limited bandwidth available.

Still, you can see that Opera Mini makes an excellent replacement for the default Android browser. There's no reason why you shouldn't use Opera Mini 5, put it that way.

Now I need to find some way of artificially limiting my bandwidth so that I can see if Opera Mini is actually faster than desktop Chrome!

tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/14/opera-mini-5-1-for-android-released-compared-desktop-chrome'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; Share Opera Mini 5.1 for Android released, put to the test against desktop Chrome (video) originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsMICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY METHODE ELECTRONICS MENTOR GRAPHICS MCAFEE

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The Indian government has revealed its super-super-low-priced tablet computer, which it says it'll start selling to students this year—for $35. It's a bit bulky, but for $35 you can't really whine about the bezel size. More »

ALLIANCE DATA SYSTEMS ALLTEL AMAZON.COM AMERICA MOVIL

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Froyo only: Want to change the way Android sorts your contacts? Maybe you like last names first. Or what if you want to only see contacts who have phone numbers. It's easy to do. Here's how: Once you're in the contacts application, press the Menu button. (That's the little one that looks like a series of four lines.) You should see six new buttons. Press the "Display Options" button. You're now in the options menus for your contacts. From here, you can tell your phone to only show contacts with phone numbers, sort the list by first or last name, view contacts by their first or last names, and choose whether to show contacts from all accounts connected to your phone. That's handy if you don't want all of your Facebook friends showing up in your contacts list.Note that carrier customizations may break this feature. :(Posted originally at Android CentralSponsored by Android Cases and Accessories

QIMONDA QUALCOMM QUANTA COMPUTER RESEARCH IN MOTION

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Microsoft Europe, Middle East, and Africa vice president says Kinect isn't a step away from core gamers, but that they'll have to wait.

Microsoft - Middle East - Africa - Xbox - WiiSYNNEX SYMANTEC SYKES ENTERPRISES INORATED SYBASE

everheartz15

Filed under: Developer, Microsoft, Mobile
Developers, you can now grab a shiny, new, 'near final version' of the Windows Phone Developer Tools!

Since its announcement in February, Microsoft has obviously been ploughing a lot of resources into its next-generation mobile operating system. With consumers (and developers!) are jumping from the ailing Windows Mobile platform in record numbers, Windows Phone 7 can't come soon enough. Microsoft, to put it frankly, needs an absolute miracle or the finest mobile operating system ever to turn around its mobile phone operations.

Will Windows Phone 7 be enough? I think it will stem the tide, but whether it will be enough to gain on Apple, RIM and Nokia, I don't know. The feature list certainly is impressive. If I was a developer, I'd be torn between the extant tried-and-tested smartphone platforms, and the juicy development tools available for Windows Phone 7. Nothing comes close to Expression Blend or Silverlight when it comes to quick, feature-rich-and-beautiful application development.

You can learn more about the Developer Tools beta release on the Windows Phone blog. Also, if you're a developer -- or interested in becoming a developer! -- Microsoft is offering four free live sessions on Windows Phone 7, Silverlight and XNA. The first is on July 20th -- go sign up!

Update: istartedsomething has a cool video walkthrough of the new Windows Phone 7 emulator; it's worth a watch!Windows Phone Developer Tools beta released; lots of updates, free classes for developers and more originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsTAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE SYNTEL SYNTAX-BRILLIAN SYNOPSYS

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An Apple watcher offers predictions of Apple's next move in mobile gadgets and more.

Apple - Macintosh - Companies - Apple II - IPhonePEROT SYSTEMS PALM OSI SYSTEMS ORACLE

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You know how every month you see stories like ?Red Dead Redemption sells X copies, Super Mario Galaxy 2 sells Y copies,? etc? All of that data comes from the NPD Group, which tracks retail sales. What NPD never used to track was digital download sales—Steam and the like. That?s why?d you see doom-and-gloom stories like, ?PC game sales fall 50 percent last month.? Yeah, because NPD was never keeping tabs on the digital sales! That?s like saying Apple is in trouble because nobody is buying iTunes music at Best Buy. Rubbish, exactly.NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MOTOROLA MOODY’S MISCROSOFT OFFICE

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Here are some stories from the past week:
M�bius-style LED desk lamp is tasteful, yet Galactus-like
3D Tetris on a screen made of water? Yes please
Video: RoboCar helps to create more intelligent cars in the future
New Adidas Wings 2.0 shoes are the next best thing to actual flying kicks
Pivot Power: The fantastic electrical outlet that changes shape [...]SYNTAX-BRILLIAN SYNOPSYS SYNNEX SYMANTEC

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Mmm, sexy designer LED desk lamps
iPhone cassette tape case is retro-practical
So it begins: The iPhone 4 shatters like a mofo
Your disposable wine glass, monsieur
CrunchGear contest: keep that old iPhone 3GS alive and useful
VERISIGN VERIFONE HOLDINGS VEECO INSTRUMENTS VARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATES

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Not sold on those iPhone Antenna-aid bandages? Fret not, as we've got a whole 'nother round of laughs coming your way. What started as a concept has landed on Etsy as a buyable product: the 'End Call' vinyl sticker. As you'd expect, you simply place this guy over the iPhone 4's "weak spot" and then press it whenever you'd like to conveniently drop whatever call you're on. The only problem? This $4 add-on actually won't accomplish what it says in plain English.iPhone 'End Call' sticker is an ironic solution to your reception problem originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Etsy | Email this | Comments

MEMC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS MICROSOFT MILLICOM INTL. CELLULAR MOBILE TELESYSTEMS

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Filed under: Microsoft
It's somewhat hard to believe, but Windows 7 turned one year old today. July 22nd of 2009 saw the initial release of the Windows 7 RTM, with torrent sites beating Microsoft to the punch (but hey, that's become sort of a running gag at this point).

Windows 7 has been a huge win for Microsoft so far, pushing customer satisfaction levels to a new high and helping to accelerate the move to 64-bit computing. Next up: service pack 1, which is set to arrive some time in early 2011 -- though it's primarily a rollup of preiouvs hotfixes.

But that's a good thing, right? If customers are so satisfied that probably means no big changes are necessary. Not yet, anyhow. Maybe by the time Windows 7 gets as long in the tooth as Windows XP.Windows 7 celebrates its first birthday originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | CommentsELECTRONICS FOR IMAGING ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS ELECTRONIC ARTS ECLIPSYS

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LINEAR TECHNOLOGY . LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS LAWSON SOFTWARE

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Filed under: Fun, Games, Time-Wasters
In Black And White you control two cats, a black one and white one, which move simultaneously in opposite directions as you use the arrow keys (and Z to jump). The goal is to bring each cat to its own door (the black cat goes to the black door, while the white one goes to the white door).
The only problem is that the cats are inseparable. Every movement made by one is mirrored by the other, and this gets tricky because the way to the door is not always the same for both cats. The cats sometimes have to help each other: one cat would hold down a button, which would then disable a wall so that the other cat can move through it. But then, as soon as you move the other cat through the wall, the first cat (who was holding the button down), also moves. And then the wall becomes solid again. Pretty tricky!Black And White is a cat-tastic platform Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsPEROT SYSTEMS PALM OSI SYSTEMS ORACLE

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Google Voice is great, especially if you're on a mobile platform that offers a native Voice application (namely Android or BlackBerry). But if you've been using the service on a regular basis, you may have run into an odd issue: sometimes when you go to actually call someone there's a lag, as if the phone isn't altogether sure what it's supposed to do when you tap on the 'Call' button next to a contact's name. Today, Google is getting rid of that lag in its native applications.

As Google details in its blog post, that pause was due to Google Voice making a small data request to Google's servers whenever you initiated a call, which would return the number the application was supposed to dial. That works well enough when you have a decent 3G or EDGE connection, but it can also lead to annoying timeouts and pauses when you don't. The new version of the Voice applications fixes this by assigning a unique phone number to your contacts, bypassing the need to initiate a data connection. In other words, your outbound calls should be faster now.SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES SES SHAW COMMUNICATIONS SIEMENS

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Although I always wanted a giant map to pin the cities I've visited, I like this scratch world map too: Go to a country, scratch the metallic gold to reveal it, just like our pizza lotto. More »

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While iPhone accounts for only 3% of handset market share by unit volume, Finacial Times reveals some Goldman’s numbers that show it’s set to capture a stunning 2X the profit share of Nokia, RIM, and Sony — combined.

And Goldman only showed those numbers by way of saying how enthusiastic they are about iPad doing the [...]iPhone is 3% of handset unit volume, 2x profit of RIM, Nokia, Sony combined. iPad next? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
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For a long time, CafePress was the major player in customized product creation on the Internet. Slowly other sites sprang up, like Zazzle, Skreened, StickerGiant, Lulu, and many more. Many of these options are novelty one-offs, though, and you're paying for the customization, not the craftsmanship, of the product. But the success of these somewhat kitschy sites have revealed a real hunger in consumers for customized, personalized products, and a new wave of entrepreneur is capitalizing on this trend to bring customization to chocolate, men's dress shirts, and a whole lot more.

I've been exchanging emails with a number of these entrepreneurs about their products, asking them all the same questions: how and why? All of them are building something that someone wants: not a one of these folks is trying to create a market where no demand exists. Many of them are also trying hard to democratize the entire purchasing process, and working to undo the homogenization of mass-produced products.JACK HENRY & ASSOCIATES IXYS ITRON IRON MOUNTAIN INORATED

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Bad news, Oracle. You've slipped to second place for the first time in years. The good news is that it's in Secunia's ranking of the top ten companies with the most software vulnerabilities, which is now topped by Apple -- Microsoft remains in third place, followed by HP and Adobe. According to Secunia, Apple's vulnerabilities are mostly not in OS X, but in Safari, iTunes and other applications. What's important to note, however, is that Secunia's definition of "vulnerability" doesn't simply include dangerous, exploitable vulnerabilities, so the rankings don't necessarily indicate which software is the most insecure from a user's point of view.

One vulnerability that is potentially serious, however, is an issue with Safari's AutoFill feature recently discovered by Jeremiah Grossman of WhiteHat Security. According to Grossman, a malicious website can exploit the feature to pull data from a user's address book without their knowledge, which has been demonstrated to take "mere seconds" by a bit of proof of concept code (you can try out yourself if you're feeling trusting). Grossman also says he's informed Apple of the vulnerability but hasn't received a response, and suggests that the only "fix" in the meantime is to turn off the AutoFill feature completely.Secunia ranks Apple first in software insecurity, Safari said to have AutoFill vulnerability originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Ars Technica, 9 to 5 Mac | Secunia (PDF), Jeremiah Grossman | Email this | Comments

SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES SES SHAW COMMUNICATIONS SIEMENS

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Why, it seems like only yesterday that 50GB was an awful lot of capacity. Now, not so much. BDXL discs are here to rescue your data, and TDK is the latest to roll out triple-decker discs with 100GB of capacity. As with the others, these discs will only work in BDXL-compatible readers and writers, meaning yet another early round of devices is in the process of being obsoleted. (Remember Profile 2.0?) These discs are set to ship in Japan in September, and sometime later will come the quadruple-decker BDXL discs with 128GB. We wonder, though: can a retail offering really be considered a "pack" if it only contains one disc?TDK inflates to BDXL, bringing 100GB writable Blu-ray discs in September originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 08:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Akihabara News | TDK | Email this | Comments

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As the November election season draw near, AOL is launching a specialized advertising politics hub, to allow campaigns, organizations, and companies to target certain constituencies online. The hub allows these parties to tap into AOL's Ad Desk for Politics and Display University to easily purchase display advertising online.

The new hub includes 'Display University,' a platform to help political marketers build campaigns. The site provides educational materials for politicos interested in advertising online, including how to structure and online ad campaign, how to use display ads to help fundraise, and more. The 'Ad Desk for Politics' is essentially a ?how-to? guide for political targeting in Ad Desk, AOL?s display advertising platform. AOL is also rolling out new ad targeting options such as congressional district targeting, in addition to the current suite of geographic, demographic and behavioral targeting options. SUN MICROSYSTEMS STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS SRA INTERNATIONAL SPSS

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Filed under: Mozilla, iPhone, Browsers
Just yesterday I was musing about why Firefox Home had yet to appear in the App Store, and today it finally has!

Approval was pretty much a foregone conclusion: like Opera's app, Firefox Home is not actually a browser and doesn't utilize any undocumented APIs. Both apps were designed from the get-go to be approved -- and, ultimately, they were. Don't worry, you're free to install both on your iPhone or iPod touch without fear of a great chasm opening up beneath your feet and swallowing you whole.

Two interesting notes about Firefox Home: running on iOS 4 on my iPod touch, it crashes. A lot. It's surprising, really, because compiling the pre-approval code from Mozilla and loading it went very smoothly and I didn't experience the crashing -- but I was running OS 3 at that point.

The other thing? Like so many other apps which don't merit them, Apple has slapped Firefox Home with the naughty content warning. Yes, that's right... a sync client (hey, MobileMe kinda does that too, right?) needs a content warning in Apple's mind.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that anyone who does store the kind of links in the Firefox bookmarks that Apple is warning about -- probably don't give a flying expletive about warnings. As for the rest of us? It just makes Apple look a little more clueless.
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/firefox-home-arrives-in-itunes-store-apparently-contains-naught'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; Share Firefox home arrives in iTunes store, apparently contains naughty content originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | CommentsFEI COMPANY FAIRCHILD SEMICONDUCTOR INTERNATIONAL FAIR ISAAC FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS

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Faster, smoother e-book reading, other apps make the Novel e-book reader a cheap Android tablet.

Android - E-book - List of e-book readers - eReader - HandheldsARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ARROW ELECTRONICS ASML HOLDING ASUSTEK COMPUTER

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Oh, what could have been. Rahul Sood, of Voodoo PC fame (now at HP), says he's heard from people in the know that Microsoft was working on a project that would have integrated Xbox Live with a sort of Windows Live. The end goal was to have been console gamers and PC gamers playing against each other on a combined Xbox Live+Windows Live service. The reason why this project never saw the light of day? Because console gamers are rubbish. HEWLETT PACKARD CO HEARTLAND PAYMENT SYSTEMS GOOGLE GOOGLE

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With 1.5 million titles, Borders hope to grab a 17% share of the market within a year.

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Filed under: Fun, Games, Time-Wasters
In Black And White you control two cats, a black one and white one, which move simultaneously in opposite directions as you use the arrow keys (and Z to jump). The goal is to bring each cat to its own door (the black cat goes to the black door, while the white one goes to the white door).
The only problem is that the cats are inseparable. Every movement made by one is mirrored by the other, and this gets tricky because the way to the door is not always the same for both cats. The cats sometimes have to help each other: one cat would hold down a button, which would then disable a wall so that the other cat can move through it. But then, as soon as you move the other cat through the wall, the first cat (who was holding the button down), also moves. And then the wall becomes solid again. Pretty tricky!Black And White is a cat-tastic platform Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsQIMONDA QUALCOMM QUANTA COMPUTER RESEARCH IN MOTION

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Even as Apple suffers the continuing pains of its iPhone 4 "Antennagate" brouhaha, it appears at least one competing device is now facing problems of its own: Motorola and Verizon on Tuesday acknowledged faulty screens on some Droid X handsets and offered affected consumers a free replacement device.INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES (IBM) INTERDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS INTEL INSIGHT ENTERPRISES

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Astronomers have identified the most massive stars known. These objects are millions of times brighter than our Sun and the largest of them all is a whoppin' 300 times the mass of our favorite star. More »

NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MOTOROLA MOODY’S MISCROSOFT OFFICE

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The CHOBI CAM is one ultra-small video camera
DIY Video: Steadicam for your iPhone 4
One of the most amazing physics engines I?ve ever seen
Leggy disk drive stands up to avoid spills
Projector-ring is clever and sentimental
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It was just over a year ago that Adeo Ressi launched the Founder Institute, a very early stage startup incubator. Since then they've expanded the program well beyond Silicon Valley.

Affiliated programs are now available in 11 cities around the world - with Houston opening up now. The Houston semester will be run locally by the Managing Partners of Enterprise Builders. Applications for the Houston program are due by August 22.

Applicants are required to take an aptitude test that ranks them against other applicants. The test scores IQ, aptitude and personality. In Silicon Valley, 79 of 250 applicants were ultimately approved, and 41 companies were formed. QIMONDA QUALCOMM QUANTA COMPUTER RESEARCH IN MOTION

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Review: Pepsi Strong Shot
Thanko?s USB butt cooler cushion
Smart Helmet tells you if you hurt your brain
Aqua Teen Hunger Force ceramic Shake cup is a major lifestyle decision
Please let this be a teaser image for a 3DS Mega Man game
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Take all your social media streams like Facebook and Twitter, flow them into a daring, dynamic iPad magazine and you have Flipboard. Billed as “everything you care about in one place” it will no doubt delight those who live for what our friends and those we follow are recommending, and annoy those who think the [...]Flipboard turns your social streams into an iPad magazine is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
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You know, some people get married with less information about their partner than we already have about the Droid 2. Today, we have a pair of independent leaks seemingly confirming that the second coming of Moto's QWERTY-sportin' Doer will be running Android 2.2 right out of the gate. Droid Life has a tipster that's apparently spent some quality time with the device, describing its keyboard as "phenomenal" and pointing out that it feels notably snappier than the original. The Froyo connection is reiterated by Phandroid's sources, which provide images of Verizon's device database indicating once again that Android 2.2 and Droid 2 will be an appropriately matched pair when the launch codes get entered (last mooted for August 12) and this thing finally hits retail.Droid 2 and Android 2.2 fated to be together from the start, according to latest leaks originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 03:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Droid Life, Phandroid | Email this | CommentsMOBILE TELESYSTEMS NANYA TECHNOLOGY NII HOLDINGS NIKON

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Filed under: Internet, Kids, Social SoftwareThe UK Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop), in association with a bullied and submissive Facebook, has launched a new app that aims to safeguard the burgeoning population of child surfers. The app's called ClickCoep and it takes the form of a bookmark or tab on your Facebook profile page.

According to the BBC, Ceop and Facebook have been at loggerheads for some time. Facebook, claiming its built-in reporting system was enough, initially resisted Ceop's panic button app -- but after a 33-year-old utilized Facebook to rape and murder a 17-year-old, it seems they've finally allowed Ceop to have its button.

As for the app itself, I'd be lying if I said it was very good. Basically, you get a Facebook page that links through to the Ceop Report Centre. I can't see any obvious integration with Facebook, but perhaps it happens behind the scenes.

In fact, the Facebook implementation seems to pale in comparison to the Chrome, IE8 and Firefox add-ons that are also available on the Ceop site. They provide the same 'report centre' functionality, without the need to faff around a Facebook app.
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/12/facebook-and-uk-child-protection-centre-launch-panic-button-ap'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; Share Facebook and UK Child Protection centre launch 'panic button' app -- and browser add-ons originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsHON HAI PRECISION IND. HYNIX SEMICONDUCTOR INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES

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At present, Verizon only offers prepaid mobile broadband in buckets ranging from 100MB up to 1GB at prices from $15 to $50. Problem is, 1GB goes by in about two seconds if you're YouTubin' your way through a layover in Atlanta, enjoying a little too much Hulu and Pandora, or torrenting a few ISOs (perfectly legal ones, of course) -- so to that end, we're hearing that a 5GB option will be launching on August 23 for a breathtaking $80. Presumably, it'd be good for 30 days from the date of purchase the same as the current 1GB plan, though we don't know that from the information we have. Sounds a little ridiculous to us, but we suppose that's the price of contract freedom on a top-tier network these days.

On a related note, we're now hearing that the FiveSpot mobile hotspot we told you about is lined up for a late August launch as well, though we don't have an exact day, and it'll be officially replacing the MiFi -- makes sense. If you already have a MiFi and you don't do much international travel, it doesn't seem like there's a compelling reason to upgrade, but globetrotters are definitely going to want to check this out.

[Thanks, RBF]Verizon launching $80 5GB prepaid data plan next month, FiveSpot too? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | CommentsASUSTEK COMPUTER AT&T AUTODESK AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING

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We were quite surprised (to say the least!) to see the original Windows 7 HP Slate 500 appear yesterday on the company's site, and HP officially confirmed this morning that the product is still very much in the works. The outfit's not sharing much, but a spokesperson from its Personal Systems group did tell us that they're "in customer evaluations now and will make a determination soon on the next steps." It all seems very vague and mysterious at this point, but the evidence is surely mounting that we'll be seeing HP join Microsoft's "hardcore" tablet push.HP confirms that Slate is still kicking, 'next steps' being determined originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | CommentsNOVELLUS SYSTEMS NOVELL NETWORK APPLIANCE NETGEAR

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Following a similar law passed by the Senate, the House has voted to close a legal loophole that allows cell phones to reach federal prisoners. Legislators hope the move will block inmates from conducting criminal activity while locked up. More »

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AJ uses Twitter and hates stop and go traffic as much as you do. AJ is a 2011 Ford Fiesta being tested by Ford engineers. More »

HEWLETT-PACKARD HIGH TECH COMPUTER HON HAI PRECISION IND. HYNIX SEMICONDUCTOR

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Striking workers at Nokia’s mobile handset factory in Chennai are demanding higher wages.

Nokia - Services - Mobile Computing - Android - Wireless DataVERISIGN VERIFONE HOLDINGS VEECO INSTRUMENTS VARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATES

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Paris-based Mandriva had been hovering on the brink of bankruptcy for some time. This apparent return to health was enabled only by a combination of drastic restructuring and cost-cutting at Mandriva (read: staff cuts), as well as an "ambitious industrial plan with the aim of relaunching the company."QUEST SOFTWARE QUANTUM QLOGIC . PROGRESS SOFTWARE

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You ready to get Lumix'd to the max? Panasonic has five new point-and-shooters prepped for this fall, headlined by the well-leaked LX5. That camera aims to keep what was good about the stylish, high-end LX3 while pushing image quality up a notch, with better image processing and a better lens in front of the same 10.1 megapixel CCD resulting in better low light performance. There's also HD recording in AVCHD Lite at 720p. The FZ40 and FZ100 super zoomers are very similar in their 24x zoom lenses and 14.1 megapixels, but the latter can record 1080p and pull off some high speed burst shooting, while the former is constrained to 720p. The FX700 fulfills the stereotypical role of a "safe" 5x zoom point and shoot, though it scores 1080p recording in addition to the needlessly high-res, looks-good-on-a-Costco-placard 14.1 megapixel stills. Finally, the TS10 brings up the low-end, with a rugged design and that good old 14.1 megapixel resolution. Its 4x zoom and 720p motion JPEG recording make it the oddball of the bunch, but it's waterproof down to 10 feet, shock and dust proof, and a good bit cheaper to boot. The TS10 will be out in September for $249, while the LX5, FZ40, FZ100, and FX700 will be out in August for $499, $399, $499, and $399, respectively. Press releases are after the break. Gallery: Panasonic's new Lumix lineup Gallery: Hands-on with Panasonic's new Lumix lineupContinue reading Panasonic's new Lumix lineup: LX5, FZ40, FZ100, FX700, and TS10 all officialPanasonic's new Lumix lineup: LX5, FZ40, FZ100, FX700, and TS10 all official originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 02:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments

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Hang on to your megabytes, folks, because it looks like the Brave New World of limited data is truly upon us. AT&T and Verizon tend to follow each others' moves pretty closely -- the two carriers regard each other as their nearest competitors, after all -- and we're hearing that Big Red intends to move to some sort of tiered bucket strategy on July 29. We don't have details on whether the pricing will be identical to AT&T's ($25 for 2GB, $15 for 200MB), but we imagine it'll be within shouting distance if not. Of course, Verizon has been sending this message for a long time -- even before AT&T was -- so it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that this is going down. You might say that Droid Does Caps, eh?

[Thanks, RBF]Verizon switching to AT&T-style limited data plans later this month? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | CommentsPOWERCHIP SEMICONDUCTOR PRICELINE.COM QIMONDA QUALCOMM

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Most people around the globe have heard of the iPad by now, even in areas where it’s not yet being sold. The iPad no longer needs an introduction but it will become available in 9 more countries this Friday. Apple’s trend setting gadget, tablet computer, or whatever you’d like to refer to it as, is [...]SKYWORKS SOLUTIONS SILICON LABORATORIES SI INTERNATIONAL SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY

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Paul Franklin specializes in turning the imaginary into reality. As the visual effects supervisor for Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and now Inception, Franklin is well-versed in helping directors like Christopher Nolan populate their cinematic worlds with larger-than-life computer-generated images. More »

NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MOTOROLA MOODY’S MISCROSOFT OFFICE

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Filed under: Utilities, Android
Not everyone who wants to root his or her Android phone is interested in doing things the hard way (like me, for example -- if I had an Android phone, of course). Want to make things easy on yourself? Download unrevoked and let it do the heavy lifting for you!

The tool provides simple rooting for five HTC Android phones: the Incredible, Desire, Aria, Hero, and Evo.

Windows users: you'll need to first load the included HBoot drivers -- Linux and Mac users won't. You'll also need to make sure that no other programs are trying to access your device via USB (like HTC Sync or DoubleTwist, for example).

[via Droid Life]
tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/root-your-htc-android-phone-with-unrevoked'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; Share Root your HTC Android phone with unrevoked originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsQUALCOMM QUANTA COMPUTER RESEARCH IN MOTION ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS

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Back in November 2008, a venture-backed startup called Power Ventures launched Power.com in an effort to establish a one-stop shop social networking hub, enabling its users to aggregate and access data and activity streams from a variety of social networking sites via one single user interface.

Before the year ended, Facebook, one of the social networks users could access via Power.com, sued the company alleging that Power Ventures violated its terms of use, copyright and trademarks by not using its public APIs and Facebook Connect.

Although both parties tried to reach a swift settlement, which ultimately didn't materialize, Power.com a little over a year ago filed a countersuit against Facebook, basically alleging that the company was monopolistic and engaged in unfair competition practices.

Nuh uh, a California court has now ruled.IRON MOUNTAIN INORATED IOMEGA INTUIT INTERSECTIONS

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To use a sports analogy, sports blog network SB Nation has been racking up a lot of singles. The service's initial funding and launch, single. A deal with the NHL, single. The SportsStream, single. The 20 regional sites, single. Slowly but surely, they've turned that output into a lot of runs. And the result is some very impressive traffic growth. Today brings two more hits to keep the runs coming in.

First, SB Nation has acquired a property: SportingNews' The Sporting Blog. Launched in 2007, The Sporting Blog is meant to be a slightly more fun take on sports news. But as SportingNews, an outfit that is well over 100 years olds, is moving towards a more comprehensive coverage approach, they believed SB Nation would be a great new home for their blog.NCR NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS MOTOROLA

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Hardly a day goes by when we don't hear about a new Android-based tablet in some ever-so-slightly-new size, configuration, or spec. Chances are that every PC manufacturer out there is going to have one, and chances are they'll all be more or less interchangeable — like the Windows 7 tablets that they often announce at the same time. With the clear exceptions of Apple and HP, most computer-makers don't seem to be interested in doing anything but getting a product out the door that's competitive.

This bulk approach to such a personal computer as a tablet has taken the shine off of Android for me — not that it had much to begin with, being an OS designed around a smaller form factor. I love my Android phone, but the idea of Android running on some stock Dell hardware with a little spritz of UI on top really isn't that attractive to me. I say, bring on the Chrome OS tablets.TIBCO SOFTWARE THQ TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TERADATA

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The 4G wars are really getting fierce, and we love the smell of bandwidth in the morning. The latest volley comes from T-Mobile, taking this opportunity to let us all know that its HSPA+ network is more pervasive than any other 4G offering in the nation, currently covering 85 million people in the States and growing to 185 million by 2011. Of course, HSPA+ isn't true 4G in that it's (theoretically) slower than LTE and WiMAX, a point that AT&T is surely still grumbling about. But, sometimes you have to go to war with the network you have, not the network you might want or wish to have at a later time.Continue reading T-Mobile's HSPA+ blankets 85 million Americans in warm '4G' comfortT-Mobile's HSPA+ blankets 85 million Americans in warm '4G' comfort originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 07:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | CommentsSIEMENS ZORAN ZIONS BAN YAHOO!

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It's no secret that ARM ideas are powering much of the mobile revolution these days, but the company doesn't print its own systems-on-a-chip, that duty gets outsourced to silicon foundries -- like TSMC, who just got all buddy-buddy with the firm to transition future smartphone chips to the 28nm and obscenely tiny 20nm high-k metal gate processes. (We're not sure what this means for GlobalFoundries, who had a similar deal earlier this year.) As per usual with a die size reduction, ARM chips will see higher speed and have decreased power consumption, but since 20nm is (relatively) unexplored territory it could be years before chips hit the market. PR after the break, or hit the more coverage link for further explanation by an ARM VP of Marketing.Continue reading ARM and TSMC team up for tinier 20nm Cortex SOCsARM and TSMC team up for tinier 20nm Cortex SOCs originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 05:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | CommentsAMPHENOL ANIXTER INTERNATIONAL APPLE COMPUTER APPLIED MATERIALS

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Of all the stellar numbers Apple released today with their Q3 2010 earnings, the most impressive has to be this: Apple sold 3.27 million iPads during the quarter. To put that into context, that's only 200,000 fewer units than their entire Mac division sold. And it was the best Mac sales quarter ever.

In other words, in just about any other quarter, the iPad would have outsold the Mac. And this is the first quarter that Apple is releasing sales figures for the iPad. Next quarter, you can expect the iPad to blow past its counterpart in terms of sales.NOVELL NETWORK APPLIANCE NETGEAR NCR

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Sister Angelika has a slight problem: the hordes of zombies that are taking over the town of Jalombe. With the help of Father Richiardo and armed with a “soul redeemer” scythe, Sister Angelika must rid the town of the zombies and find out where they’re coming from. BulkyPix’s Twin Blades for the iPhone is a [...]LM ERICSSON LOGITECH INTERNATIONAL MEMC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS MICROSOFT

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Oh, Steve -- you should've known better. You show up and remove a laptop from a manila envelope, and Earth's most creative go and create a case fashioned out of one. You go and suggest that Eminem could "come out with a band-aid that goes over the corner" of your controversial iPhone 4, and well... this happens. You could wait for a free case, or you could buy six of these Antenna-aids for five bucks. The choice is obvious.Antenna-aid bandages your iPhone 4 reception issue, hopes for role in next Eminem video originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Antenna-aid | Email this | CommentsMOODY’S MISCROSOFT OFFICE MICROSOFT MICROSEMI

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With iPhone OS 3, Apple (finally) brought A2DP--stereo Bluetooth--support to the iPhone, which meant we could (finally) listen to music and other audio...

IPhone - Apple - Bluetooth - Bluetooth profile - HandheldsFORMFACTOR FISERV FIRST SOLAR FINISAR

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Filed under: Mozilla, Browsers
So I don't like Firefox's native Find functionality; and it turns out I'm not the only one. There have been lots of comments on my post; the one I found most entertaining was the one calling me to "stop acting like a tabloid" - gotta love those comments!
The most useful comment, however, came from reader Ken Saunders. Ken pointed me towards Find All, which is an add-on that goes a long way to fixing the Find problem.
Basically, with Find All installed, you open the Find box normally and start typing your search string. You see the first instance highlighted on the screen, as per usual. But when you then hit Enter, something really cool happens: A new pane opens at the bottom of the window, with all instances of the word on the page, each with its context so you don't have to skip to it to see if it's relevant. A single click on the line takes you to that spot on the page and highlights the word.
In addition, all instances of the word are highlighted on the page. I know this is an option which exists without the add-on, but it's switched off by default (why, Mozilla?), and the comments to my original post show that many people are unaware of it. So Find All switches this on for you.
While the add-on has less visual flair than Opera's Find, it is very useful and I will definitely keep it installed. Thanks for the tip, Ken!Find All for Firefox somewhat alleviates crappy default Find functionality originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsAUTODESK AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING AVNET BHARTI AIRTEL

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Filed under: Fun, Games, Time-Wasters
As you can gather from the title, Crack Attack is not a Flash game. It's a time waster that you have to download; we don't see too many of those around here. Having to download a game is a pretty hefty barrier to entrance, so a downloadable game has to be really good for me to cover it.
This one is. In fact, my girlfriend (a leading authority on Crack Attack) goes so far as to describe it as "engaging and breathtaking." Your goal is simply to join three blocks of the same color and make them vanish. This sounds like the same old same old, but Crack Attack manages to make the process really interesting.
Granted, the single-player mode is not that much cooler than your simple Tetris or Bejewelled. You need to keep the screen clean while the blocks keep rising, and the blocks that you clear keep turning into "garbage" (which is just bars, really) of various sizes and colors that falls on you from the sky. There are three different types of garbage (red, blue, and gray), and as you will find out, it takes a different trick to make each kind vanish. This gets more challenging as things start to move faster and faster, and the bars keep stacking up.The fun really begins in two-player mode where you connect to another player. Here, you get special shiny blocks that send all sorts of colorful terrors to your opponent. Every time you use one of these blocks, your friend (or foe) gets a matching color bar dropped on him. These bars can make the screen flash so that you can't see the colors or make your cursor disappear or work backwards; they wreak all sorts of havoc. To get rid of the effect, simply join a trio of identical blocks so that they touch the bar, and that will make it disappear. This can get very tricky when your screen is flashing, you have black blocks that you can't get rid of stuck everywhere, and everything keeps rising and rising. The winner is the best out of three.
Note: I personally cannot play Crack Attack. The game runs, but the graphics are really unfriendly for color blind people (such as myself). I simply cannot see the color differences, and there is no "color blind" mode! This is a real shame, and so I've had to rely on my girlfriend to review the game. Thank you, Yaara!Challenge your friends in Crack Attack -- a fun, furious, and free Time-Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsRF MICRO DEVICES RED HAT RADISYS RACKABLE SYSTEMS

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If the thought of you sleeping in a museum by yourself for a month isn't the stuff anxiety attacks are made of, then perhaps you're just who Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry is looking for. More »

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At its search event today, Google launched a new product that's a part of Google Images: Google Image Search Ads. Basically, this allows anyone to advertise alongside Google Image searches in a new, more visual way.

"This allows you to reach hundreds of million of users who are searching on Google on a daily basis," director of Search products Ben Ling says. And Google Images is actually doing over a billion pageviews a day, Google says.IRON MOUNTAIN INORATED IOMEGA INTUIT INTERSECTIONS

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by Matt Buchanan, Gizmodo
“What’s this?” a girl at a party asked, as I handed her my phone. She touched a square, and everything flipped away. “It’s Microsoft’s brand new phone. Kind of like a fresh start,” I explained. “Oh. It’s … neat.”
That’s the most apt way to describe Windows Phone 7, really. [...]PRICELINE.COM QIMONDA QUALCOMM QUANTA COMPUTER

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We might one day live in a world where everyday electronics can fend for themselves against household disasters but, for the time being, we can only marvel at one of a kind projects like this "Floppy Legs" drive from British design team Chambers Judd. As you can probably surmise, they've added some legs to an otherwise ordinary external floppy drive, which remain concealed most of the time, but spring to life if there's liquid spilled near the drive. Head on past the break to see that amazing feat for yourself, and be sure to take a peek at some of the team's earlier projects as well, including the Gesundheit Radio that "sneezes" to clear away dust.

Continue reading Floppy drive grows legs to avoid spills, still can't avoid extinctionFloppy drive grows legs to avoid spills, still can't avoid extinction originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Switched | Chambers Judd | Email this | Comments

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During the Q&A session at the end of Apple's Q3 earnings call, Apple COO Tim Cook fielded some questions about Apple's new iPhone 4 product. Not surprisingly, there were a few about the antenna and the swirling controversy. According to Cook, it's not dampening the demand for the product at all.

"Let me be very clear on this: We are selling every unit we can make, currently," Cook stated. A follow-up question asked if there was a slow down in order rates or if there was an increase Apple was seeing in returns? "My phone is ringing off the hook from people who want more supply," Cook said.EPICOR SOFTWARE EMULEX EMS TECHNOLOGIES EMC

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Filed under: Browsers, Mobile, AndroidA lot has been said about the Skyfire mobile Web browser -- and apparently over half a million people have downloaded it! -- but is it actually any good? Sure it offers Flash video playback, but with a built-in YouTube app that ships with almost every new smartphone, is it really necessary to install a separate browser just to watch videos?

While 500,000 downloads isn't indicative of 500,000 users, such a figure certainly suggest that a lot of people want to watch non-YouTube videos on their phones. Well, it's that, or perhaps Skyfire actually offers a better browsing experience than Android's built-in browser, or Opera Mini.

From the outset, Skyfire seems to tick all the boxes. It's built on WebKit, so it should be as fast and fully-featured as other mobile options. It has a built-in 'share' tool that lets you easily share links via email. Like Opera Mini, Skyfire also has tabs and an excellent home screen. Unlike the built-in Android browser, Skyfire lets you alter your 'user agent' so that you can view both desktop and mobile versions of sites.

In fact, even without taking its full-screen Flash video playback functionality into account, Skyfire is a worthy browser replacement.

Which is a good thing, because Skyfire's video playback isn't very good.

To understand how Skyfire 'does' Flash video without a Flash plug-in, you need to know a little bit about the browser's history. Skyfire (v1.0 and 1.5) was originally a proxy-powered browser, like Opera Mini. You would fire a Web request into Skyfire's cloud where its servers would process the website and then feed it back down to your mobile phone. Your phone isn't actually playing Flash, it's playing transcoded (and reduced-bitrate) HTML5 video.

Understandably, with every Web request going through their servers, ad-funded Skyfire 1 was financially untenable . With 2.0, Skyfire now only uses the cloud for video playback, and presumably Skyfire can now continue to operate on ad revenue alone.

Let's not forget that Skyfire has lost a little of its niche now that Flash 10.1 is available on Android 2.2 phones. But, as I made clear earlier, Skyfire is a strong browser even without its video support -- and with Skyfire 2.2, you can see that video playback is but a small part of Skyfire's feature list! With Android 2.2 only representing a tiny (3%!) portion of the market, and a lot of phones unable to run Android 2.2, I don't think Skyfire will lose its appeal any time soon.

Still, Skyfire isn't without its flaws, especially when it comes to video watching. I couldn't get Engadget or Dailymotion videos to play on my Android 1.6 phone -- and seemingly, if a video hasn't already been transcoded by Skyfire's cloud services, you do have to wait a while for it to load. Sometimes the screen goes white for no reason at all, but simply flicking your finger across the screen fixes it.

If you have an Android phone, there's no reason not to install Skyfire. For all intents and purposes it's better than any other option out there. It's free (but not open-source), and apparently so popular that OEMs and operators are now looking to bundle Skyfire with new phones. Maybe, in hindsight, those 500,000 downloads actually represent 500,000 very happy users...

Skyfire Tech Specs

Installed Size -- 2.5MB, the browser caches almost everything, so the more free space the better!
Speed & Responsiveness -- Excellent, but understandably a little laggy when displaying non-mobile versions of websites (Android 1.6 @ 600MHz, LG GT 540 Swift)
User Interface -- Things certainly get a little cramped when all of the navigation bars are displayed (see screenshot above), but otherwise it's intuitive enough
Configurability & Extensibility -- Configurability is great (see screenshot above), but because this is a closed-source application, there isn't much in the way of add-ons or hacks
License -- Free, closed-source, supported by ads (very few of them though!)
Hands on with Skyfire, the 'rich media' (i.e. Flash video) Android Web browser originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | CommentsCYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR ACCENTURE ACER ADOBE SYSTEMS

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