Thursday, June 30, 2011

Speedtest.net overhauled with new look, new features

speedtest
Speedtest.net is pretty much the go-to site for quickly figuring out how fast (or slow) your connection really is and comparing the numbers your ISP boasts with what it actually delivers. And now it's got a new coat of paint and a couple of neat features. In brief:
  • New UI: The map widget is much improved; it actually looks like a map now, and it's easy to see where you are.
  • Smart server selection: If there are several test servers nearby, Speedtest will now ping each to see which has the least latency and use that for the test. You can still specify servers manually, too.
  • User accounts: You can sign up for a free account and aggregate results from several computers/connections.
  • Speed Wave: This new feature lets you add your test results to the results of many other users, and get a nice composite view.
All in all, you get some nice, new functionality and a snazzier interface to boot. Nice!

Speedtest.net overhauled with new look, new features originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/07/speedtest-net-overhauled-with-new-look-new-features/

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You can now rent Adobe Photoshop for $35 per month, CS 5.5 available soon

Rejoice! No longer will you have to fork over $700 for a Photoshop CS5 license! Adobe has unveiled a new subscription scheme where you can rent the entire Creative Suite, or individual packages, by the month, or for an entire year.

Adobe Photoshop can be yours for $35 per month if you agree to rent it for 12 months, or $49 per month if you require its services for a shorter period. Dreamweaver can be had for even cheaper, at just $19 per month. The entire Master Collection is still rather expensive, though, at $125 per month.

Today, Adobe also ushered in the release of Creative Suite 5.5, and simultaneously upped its release cycle from 18 months to 24 months. This means, if you rent Photoshop for two years, it's actually the same cost as buying it outright. There's no rent-to-own option, though -- so you wouldn't have access to the cheaper upgrade price once Creative Suite 6 rolls around next year. Still, if you need access to Photoshop, After Effects or Premiere for a one-time project, the new rental scheme could be exactly what you're looking for.

In other news, Adobe has announced that it will be launching three rather exciting iPad apps that work in conjunction with Photoshop: Eazel, Nav, and Color Lava. Eazel lets you five-finger paint on your iPad, and export the result into Photoshop; Nav acts as some kind of workspace, brush and menu extension, and the hopefully named Color Lava is a paint mixing palette. The apps are expected to appear in the App Store in the next 30 days.

You can now rent Adobe Photoshop for $35 per month, CS 5.5 available soon originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/11/you-can-now-rent-adobe-photoshop-for-29-per-month/

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Daily Crunch: Power Supply Edition

Behind The Scenes At The Impossible Project?s Resurrected Polaroid Facility ?The Best Chance To Beat Gasoline:? An Excerpt From Seth Fletcher?s Bottled Lightning The ZEHST Is The 3,000 MPH, Zero Emissions Airplane Of 2050 Japan Takes Top Spot From China: Fujitsu?s ?K? Is The World?s Most Powerful Supercomputer Finally, A Solar Powered Netbook Comes To [...]

Source: http://www.crunchgear.com/2011/06/21/daily-crunch-power-supply/

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Will Kindle remove the web store button, or will Apple remove Kindle?

Will Kindle remove the web store button, or will Apple remove Kindle?Today, June 30, is supposedly the deadline for apps like Kindle to remove buttons or links to their external web stores or risk expulsion from Apple’s iPhone and iPad App Store. Originally, Apple was requiring developers to not only remove external store links but also match any external sales and pricing with identical in-app purchase [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/s6M8h4bR_9c/

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(Founder Stories) Bre Pettis? Ambition: ?One MakerBot Per Child? (TCTV)

In this episode of Founder Stories, host Chris Dixon takes a look at a 3D printer while talking to the maker behind the MakerBot, Bre Pettis. If printing 3D objects sounds impressive, think about this. Pettis thinks "it's early days"?drawing comparisons to early PC's like the Altair. About the size of a mini-fridge, the Makerbot ships for $1,299 and allows users to create their own objects via CAD software (or users can select from "more than 10,000 things" on Thingiverse says Pettis) and print them out in a matter of minutes.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/thouDNJkZUw/

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Fight against zombies with Zoombie Digger World Tour for iPhone and iPad

In Zoombie Digger World Tour, you must defend United States, Australia, Russia, and Mexico against zombie attacks. Don?t let their cute appearance fool you, these zombies are quite evil! many evil, but incredibly cute zombies multiple ways to kill the zombies unique bosses combo system to max out your score more than 75 levels, increasing [...]

Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/fight-against-zombies-with-zoombie-digger-world-tour-for-iphone-and-ipad/

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Windows 8 to feature adaptive Aero colorization, get it now on Windows 7

windows 8 aero colorization aura
While we've still yet to see anything truly Earth-shattering, the tandem of Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott continues to churn out insight about interesting new features they've discovered in Windows 8 milestone 3. The latest discovery is that Aero in Windows 8 will be able to automatically adapt itself to match your current wallpaper image. It's a bit like what Windows 7 already does with your taskbar icons: if a program alert needs your attention, the icon will glow using the predominant color (e.g. Firefox should glow orange).

And yes, you can already make Windows 7 behave this way if you like. Over at CodePlex, there's a little program called Aura that parks itself in your system tray and automatically adjusts your window borders to compliment your wallpaper images. The effect is quite nice, and you can try it out by minimizing your windows and cycling through your theme's wallpapers (right click on your desktop and choose next desktop background).

Windows 8 to feature adaptive Aero colorization, get it now on Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/windows-8-to-feature-adaptive-aero-colorization-get-it-now-on-w/

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3 Things Dads Need to Know About The Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation Map Pack!

For all you fans of the Call of Duty franchise, and you know who you are, I’m excited to rave about the awesome new Call of Duty: Black Ops Annihilation map pack from Activision and Treyarch. Call of Duty Black Ops is the U.S. best selling game of all time. There are four exciting multiplayer [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/06/3-things-dads-need-to-know-about-the-call-of-duty-black-ops-annihilation-map-pack/

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Olympus Puts Pro Sensor into Tiny PEN EPL3 and PEN Lite

In addition to the new top-end EP3, Olympus has also announced a pair of smaller Micro Four Thirds cameras. These are more like Sony’s NEX range, or the new Panasonic GF3 than their big brother, but they’re still pretty capable cameras.
First is the EPL3, and update to the EPL2. It has a new tilting three-inch, [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/olympus-puts-pro-sensor-into-tiny-pen-epl3-and-pen-lite/

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Daily Tip: How to check available storage on your iPhone or iPad

Daily Tip: How to check available storage on your iPhone or iPadWorried that you might be filling up your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad and wondering how to check to see how much storage you have left? Take a picture, download an app, and come up with a message that tells you there is not enough space on your device to install or save? Checking your [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/Tp0C1sb5B1k/

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Windows 8 wallpaper available to download, Jupiter and Twin UI spotted

windows 8 wallpaper
With Windows 8 milestone 3 now up for grabs for select Microsoft Connect partners, it's inevitable that leaked bits and pieces will start popping up around the Web. In fact, the first "official" wallpaper image from the still-brewing OS is already making the rounds.

As you can see, it's got a similar feel to the good ol' Windows 7 default background, but features a more subdued smattering of cerulean hues. Those of you who want to use the Windows 8 wallpaper on your current desktop can download it from our file dump.

A few other details have been revealed, too. According to ZDNet's source, the Windows 8 Jupiter libraries and Twin UI are starting to take shape -- though all that's been located thus far are "[various files] scattered throughout the OS" and the aptly-named twinui.dll.

Windows 8 wallpaper available to download, Jupiter and Twin UI spotted originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/download-windows-8-wallpaper/

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Google Cloud Print comes to HP ePrint printers

hp google cloud print
HP has become the first major OEM to deliver support for Google Cloud Print in retail-boxed printers. In an official release, HP announced that its ePrint-enabled printers are now fully Cloud Print compatible. Just sign in to your Google account, pick your HP ePrint device, and you're ready to fire off a print job from anywhere you've got Internet access. Well, as long as your app supports Cloud Print as well -- like Gmail and Google Docs, for example.

We're curious, though -- how many of you are still printing? Like our pals at Engadget, our printers have been mostly gathering dust for the last few years.

Google Cloud Print comes to HP ePrint printers originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/google-cloud-print-comes-to-hp-eprint-printers/

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Jellyfish Shut Down a Nuclear Power Plant [Nuclear Power]

Jellyfish invaded the cooling water at a Scottish nuclear power plant this week. There were so many of these aquatic creatures floating around, the plant had to shut down. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/TkrkrMaSJ0w/jellyfish-shut-down-a-nuclear-power-plant

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Flickr adds to sharing options, now easier to share photos across the Web

flickr
It sure is nice to see some new developer action over at Flickr. The relatively slow-moving photo-sharing service has just announced a new sharing update, which consists of several new and easy ways to embed or link to your photos:
  • Share from Photo page: There's a new sharing option on each and every photo page. When logged off, the button shows only Facebook and Twitter options. But once you log on, you get Tumblr and Blogger too, and can configure other sharing venues as well.
  • Share non-public content on Facebook: This doesn't sound like a great idea, but you now can share private photos on Facebook if you're so inclined (and if you trust your privacy settings).
That's the gist of the update; it makes it easier to show off your pretty pictures in a plethora of places.

Flickr adds to sharing options, now easier to share photos across the Web originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/flickr-adds-to-sharing-options-now-easier-to-share-photos-acros/

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Olympus PEN EP3 Improves Almost Everything

A big day for photography news today, thanks to the folks at Olympus. First up is the Pen EP3, the fifth iteration of its PEN Micro Four Thirds line, which manages to mix up pretty much everything while keeping it in the original PEN’s retro-style body.
First, the basics. The 12.3MP sensor is almost the same, [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/olympus-pen-ep3-improves-almost-everything/

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Former Yahoo Engineer Quits To Build A Flickr Killer On Kickstarter

As Mike Arrington wrote back in April, it can sometimes feel like certain photo-sharing websites have more of a hostage-taking approach to their business models than a "lets-please-the-customer" model. The photo-sharing experience then effectively becomes synonymous with platform lock-in -- if you try to leave, you may not be able to take your images with you. Or, if you do, you'll have to pay the price, Budnick. (But, wait, whose photos are they again? Oh, right.) It's for this reason that Jaisen Mathai is building an open source photo-sharing service called, you bet, OpenPhoto.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/DZp1WwTWgFs/

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Coming Soon to A UAV Above You: Cameras that See Everything (Literally) [Video]

In the lead up to Osama bin Laden having his head vented by Seal Team 6, his compound was monitored by a cadre of satellite-mounted hyperspectral imaging devices. These wide-band imagers are now being adapted for use in UAVs. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8wY0JLwkiQ0/coming-soon-to-a-uav-above-you-cameras-that-see-everything-literally

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New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching

Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos
Later today, Firefox will undergo its biggest developmental upheaval ever. Mozilla-central, the source of nightly builds, will be renumbered to version 5 -- and at long last, after years of wallowing around version 1, Mozilla's rendering and layout engine, Gecko, will also have its version number updated to match Firefox.

Shortly thereafter, Firefox's new channel system will be implemented. Firefox 5a2 will be introduced as the first Aurora build, and we should also see a Firefox 6 Nightly build. While we we're not sure where they came from, one Sören Hentzschel seems to have unearthed the new Nightly and Aurora logos (see above), along with new About Firefox dialogs (after the break).

In other news, if you want to take a sneak peek at the new 'channel changing' technology that will be introduced in upcoming Firefox builds, head to about:config and create a new string called app.update.desiredChannel -- the value doesn't matter. Then open Help > About Firefox and you'll be able to switch channel, but it doesn't do anything just yet (image after the break). Here's hoping that Firefox channel switching is smoother than Chrome.

Continue reading New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching

New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/11/new-firefox-nightly-and-aurora-logos-unearthed-and-how-to-enabl/

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VMware adds Mozy to its cloud and virtualization empire

mozy vmware
Mozy is one of the most popular cloud backup services around, with more than one million users storing around 70 petabytes of data. Its popularity apparently put it on the acquisition radar of VMware -- which has now made Mozy part of its virtualization empire.

VMware's official blog post makes it clear that the company wasn't so much interested in Mozy as a consumer offering. Rather, it's the inner workings of Mozy which piqued VMware's curiosity. CTO Steve Herrod says, "Over the past 5 years, Mozy has built one of the best examples of a globally distributed, large-scale cloud offering." He adds that the move will allow VMware to "further ramp our own cloud-related learning and accelerate new IP, scale, and capabilities" of its existing offerings.

Existing Mozy customers don't need to worry, of course. VMware has pledged to continue running Mozy's service without interruption.

VMware adds Mozy to its cloud and virtualization empire originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/vmware-takes-over-operation-of-mozy/

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Internet Censorship Storm Is Coming, Warns Schmidt

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt foresees more troublesome days ahead between the search engine giant and the governments of the world. Censorship is on the rise around the globe, he said Monday, at a Dublin summit on militant violence. It will step up considerably in the wake of the "Arab Spring" of 2011, Schmidt warned, which resulted in the overthrow of governments in Tunisia and Egypt.

Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/72763.html

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Drop Test Comaprison: iPad 2 Vs Motorola Xoom Vs Samsung Galaxy Tab [Video]

We?ve earlier posted the video of iPad 2 smart cover drop test provided by the SquareTrade, now this time they have come up with the drop test video comparison of the popular tablets like iPad 2 vs Galaxy Tab vs Xoom. The test showed an opposite result if you?re an iPad fan, it showed that [...]

Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/drop-test-comaprison-ipad-2-vs-motorola-xoom-vs-samsung-galaxy-tab-video/

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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

10 Ways to Make Your Home Geeky Cool

Want an impressive home the oozes geek cred? Try out some of these DIY projects!

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Source: http://feeds.pcworld.com/click.phdo?i=fac7e85cddf11b78244faafc1ea8986e

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MSI formally unveils 14-inch CX480 laptop, stops short of naming a price

We know, we know -- many of you just want to see some Llano laptops already, but that doesn't mean the flow of Sandy Bridge systems has run dry. MSI just formally outed the CX480, a brushed metal 14-incher it showed off at Computex a few weeks back. It's unclear to what extent you'll be able to configure it, but you will, at least, find multiple versions with either a Core i3-2310M or Core i5-2410M CPU. Otherwise, this 4.9-pound guy packs an NVIDIA GeForce 520M card with 1GB of video memory, HDMI and VGA output, a six-cell battery, a dedicated backup button, an "optional" USB 3.0 port, and a 5400RPM hard drive ranging in size from 320GB to 640GB. Without a price, of course, it's hard to say how sweet of a deal this is, though with that "summery" color palette, we're sure it'll pop up in the usual e-tailers well before back-to-school season gets into full swing.

Continue reading MSI formally unveils 14-inch CX480 laptop, stops short of naming a price

MSI formally unveils 14-inch CX480 laptop, stops short of naming a price originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 10:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/29/msi-formally-unveils-14-inch-cx480-laptop-stops-short-of-naming/

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Security firm RSA attacked using Excel-Flash one-two sucker punch

RSA attacked using Flash vulnerability
It has emerged that the underlying cause of RSA's SecurID gaffe was the recently-reported zero-day vulnerability found in Adobe's Flash Player.

The exploit, which used specially-crafted Flash embedding in Excel spreadsheets, was first reported on March 15 and has since been fixed. RSA was hacked sometime in the first half of March when an employee was successfully spear phished and opened an infected spreadsheet. As soon as the spreadsheet was opened, an advanced persistent threat (APT) -- a backdoor Trojan -- called Poison Ivy was installed. From there, the attackers basically had free reign of RSA's internal network, which led to the eventual dissemination of data pertaining to RSA's two-factor authenticators.

The attack is reminiscent of the APTs used in the China vs. Google attacks from last year -- and indeed, Uri Rivner, the head of new technologies at RSA is quick to point out that that other big companies are being attacked, too: "The number of enterprises hit by APTs grows by the month; and the range of APT targets includes just about every industry. Unofficial tallies number dozens of mega corporations attacked [...] These companies deploy any imaginable combination of state-of-the-art perimeter and end-point security controls, and use all imaginable combinations of security operations and security controls. Yet still the determined attackers find their way in."

What we'd like to know, though, is whether the attack on RSA was caused by Adobe's lackadaisical approach to patching Flash -- or was it the other way around? Was it the RSA attack that first brought the zero-day vulnerability to Adobe's attention?

Security firm RSA attacked using Excel-Flash one-two sucker punch originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 06:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/security-firm-rsa-attacked-using-excel-flash-one-two-sucker-punc/

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Angry Birds lands on Windows Phone 7, ready to explore the third ecosystem

Nowadays, you can't really claim to have a mobile OS worthy of the title if your users can't run Angry Birds on it. Good news from Microsoft, then, as Windows Phone 7 can finally be admitted at the grown-up table now that it has released its port of Rovio's epic bird-launching experience. $2.99 is the Marketplace price for the full version, though there's also the option to try out the first few levels for free. Because, you know, there might still be people out there who haven't yet been exposed to the charms of this perniciously addictive little game.

Continue reading Angry Birds lands on Windows Phone 7, ready to explore the third ecosystem

Angry Birds lands on Windows Phone 7, ready to explore the third ecosystem originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/fYZhaTbfM8M/

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