What's new on SlashGear.com |
- Amazon To Sell Cheaper Kindle, But With On-Screen Ads
- Onkyo Announces Six New Offerings
- iPhone 5 Production To Start In September?
- Vatican says, “Hacking is A-OK”
- WIN a XOOM in SlashGear’s Gigantic Tablet Giveaway!
- The Atom Z670, Intel’s Answer To Tegra 2
- Transformer Rooted
- Nissan Leaf EV, Bug Report
- Looxcie Bluetooth Video Camera Review with an HTC ThunderBolt
- Design Concept: USB Flash Drive Expandable With MicroSD Cards
- Harman Unveils JBL On Air, New AirPlay Ready Speaker Dock
- SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up: April 11, 2011
- Meat and Greet over Skype
- SlashGear 101: What is Android 3.0 Honeycomb?
- Apple’s AirPlay private key crack opens door to unofficial streaming
- Samsung Galaxy S II hits UK May 1
- RIM CEOs blast critics for lack of appreciation; PlayBook will be focussed attack not iPad all-rounder
- German subscribers to get Sky HD+ this summer
- TomTom Pro 9150 GPS debuts
- Navy moves one step closer to sharks with frickin’ laser beams
- PushLife gets gobbled by Google
- Bike Hanger concept lifts bikes into the sky
- Geeky dad builds Tron light cycle board game
- Korg Wavedrum Mini turns any surface into a drum kit
- Star Wars ads mock Microsoft Windows 7 Ads in epic manner
- Swarm Elixir and Nectar open bottles and keep the seat on your bike in place
- Vulkano Flow lands for under $100
- Addonics outs CF Drive with six CF card slots
- HTC Flyer up for SIM-free UK pre-order
- Apple builds gaming PR team: Assault on Nintendo/Sony incoming?
- LG Display outs 47″ transparent IPS LCD to take on Samsung [video]
- iPad to reign tablet supreme through 2015 predicts Gartner
- “iSteve: The Book of Jobs” official biography due 2012
- Adobe Photoshop Touch apps integrate iPad (and eventually other tablets) into famous art software
| Amazon To Sell Cheaper Kindle, But With On-Screen Ads Posted: 11 Apr 2011 03:17 PM PDT Amazon is getting very creative in their strategies for pushing the Kindle e-reader in this competitive landscape where tablets are increasingly encroaching on their territory. The company announced that they will be offering a new Kindle option that saves consumers $25 off the lowest-priced Kindle in exchange for suffering some on-screen ads. The online retailer announced that the new Kindle with Special Offers will cost $114. Compare that with the currently lowest priced Kindle and you’ll see a savings of $25. But the catch is that this new Kindle will serve up on-screen ads at the bottom of your display and as screen savers. Initial advertising partners include General Motors, Procter & Gamble, and Olay. The current Kindle models will continue to be sold, including a WiFi-only model for $139 and a WiFi plus 3G model for $189. If you are a confused consumer with all these options in e-readers and tablets to choose from, would you take the bait of $25 off in exchange for getting ads on your device? If you were already interested in getting a Kindle, does this new offer seal the deal or does it make no difference? [via SouthCoastToday] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Onkyo Announces Six New Offerings Posted: 11 Apr 2011 03:06 PM PDT Onkyo just announced their new line of products including four home theater in a box kits (HTiB), a new mid-line receiver, and a 3D Blu-Ray player. None of them have any code names or anything, they all are listed only by their model numbers. Cool. The new HTiB’s are the HHT-S6400, HT-S7400, HT-S8400, and HT-S9400THX. The receiver is the TX-NR709, and the 3D Blu-Ray player is the BD-SP309. These cool black boxes can do a whiz-bang job at piping all kinds of sound nicely to your home theater system. They all have front panel USB that can interface with the iPod/iPhone as well as standard USB mass-storage devices. All but the lowest priced offering offer ethernet capabilities so that you can stream all manner of online radio through your home’s internet connection. Everything from Pandora, Rhapsody, Napster, SiriusXM Internet Radio, Slacker, Mediafly and more. The Home Theater in a Box systems come with receiver and speakers packaged in a single box, while the TX-NR709 is just the Receiver, but it also has an impressive eight HDMI ports. They developed an iPhone app that works as a remote for any of these. It’s free. The Blu Ray player also supports all of the internet content on-demand services available with the HTiB’s and receiver. It can play media off of a variety of storage devices like any of these. Two USB ports provide the connectivity. Read more about blu-ray here. I’d focus on the Slashgear 101 article about what’s going on with 3D TV. It’ll give you the digs.
Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| iPhone 5 Production To Start In September? Posted: 11 Apr 2011 02:27 PM PDT According to research firm Avian Securities, production for the iPhone 5 should start in September. The firm issued a note to clients today stating their prediction is based on conversations with key Apple component suppliers. This means that the iPhone 5 wont be available until end of this year or early next year. The research firm also noted that they believe a lower-spec and lower price iPhone is in the works. Over the last several months, the firm collected various data-points to suggest this to be the case. If their predictions are true and the iPhone 5 doesn’t reach the market until Q1 of the next year, that could give rival Android devices plenty of time to hone in on the market during the summer and winter holiday seasons. Unless of course Apple has something else up its sleeves to be revealed in the coming months, such as a white iPhone 4—although recent rumors say its been canceled—or a low-spec/low-price iPhone? The Avian Securities note reads:
[via Business Insider] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Vatican says, “Hacking is A-OK” Posted: 11 Apr 2011 02:24 PM PDT Father Antonio Spadero wrote an article for the Civilta Cattolica that lauds the spirit of hacking. Hackers were vilified in the media during the 1990s. Because of that treatment the word hacker took on a different meaning as it spread into the common vernacular. This popular usage made hacker synonymous with computer criminal. Today, this is changing, and this article stands by the original, correct, and untarnished meaning of the word. Note here, neither I nor Fr. Spadero are using the term to mean computer crime or internet vandalism or whatever else the plebian media are deciding to use the word hacker for today. I stand by the original definition of hacker and hacking. I even like the neologism, hacktivist. I must link to this as well, just in case one person hasn’t read The Mentor’s famous manifesto. It brings a nostalgic tear to my eye just scanning through it again. There’s a scene in Hackers where two cops read through this manifesto, which is why it’s such a famous piece.
Most importantly, this opens a lot of important theological questions. Is St. Peter’s book at the Pearly Gates now an iPad? Can Angels speak Perl? When Jesus returns, is he going to use Linux? I just hope this means I can to hack my way into Heaven. [via WSJ] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| WIN a XOOM in SlashGear’s Gigantic Tablet Giveaway! Posted: 11 Apr 2011 02:23 PM PDT That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, SlashGear and NVIDIA have teamed up to provide YOU with a totally free Motorola XOOM tablet. We’ve got 2 Wifi-only XOOM units here to be tossing your way, both of them the same awesome Android 3.0 Honeycomb-toting 10.1-inch NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor having tablets you all know and love. We want to take this opportunity to have you hook up with our Facebook page at the same time as you enter the contest so we can also be friends forever! Take a peek at the full rules for entering this contest below: To win one of these fabulous tablets, you must:
Contest begins April 11, 2PM PST, and ends April 24, 2PM PST. A winner will be announced every Monday @ 5PM PST here in the main news feed and at our official Facebook page. WINNERS will be given the opportunity to submit a review of their XOOM and have it posted on the front page of SlashGear.com! *Reviews may be edited or modified before publication and are considered works for hire under the 1976 Copyright Act. Submissions will be ineligible for payment or remuneration. Competition is open to residents of the US over the age of 18. One entry per contest per person. Family members of Google and SlashGear/Android Community are not permitted to enter. Competition entries are only accepted via the specified SlashGear Facebook page and to chris@androidcommunity.com; entries left in the comments section of this or any other post will not be recognized. One entry per person (and yes, we check). Winners of the April 2011 SlashGear XOOM giveaway are ineligible to win the April 2011 Android Community XOOM giveaway, and vice-versa. The winners will be announced on SlashGear and will be expected to contact SlashGear via the following email: chris@androidcommunity.com ; they will be expected to respond within 24 hours else their prize may be forfeit and another winner selected. Editors decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Winner agrees that their name and details of their entry may be used for promotional purposes by, but not limited to, NVIDIA and SlashGear. Prize consists of five Motorola XOOM Wi-Fi-only tablets distributed between SlashGear and Android Community: 2 for SlashGear’s contest and 3 for Android Community’s contest. One prize per winner. There is no cash alternative or any other alternative for prize winners unless this prize should become unavailable, in which case SlashGear and NVIDIA reserve the right to substitute another prize of equal or greater value. Contest provided by SlashGear/Android Community. Prizing provided by NVIDIA. Any questions regarding this contest should be directed to chris@androidcommunity.com. Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| The Atom Z670, Intel’s Answer To Tegra 2 Posted: 11 Apr 2011 01:10 PM PDT This is big, Intel finally dropped a system on a chip on us. Today, they announced the official release of their new Atom Z670 CPU codenamed “Oak Trail.” It’s a 45nm chip with graphics and memory control on the same die. That lines up this chip to be a direct competitor to the ARM based chips we’re seeing in virtually every other tablet. Intel has seemed to be a bit behind the game in the mobile market, but the “Oak Trail” might be their ticket to the show. The success of nVidia’s Tegra platform was based on it’s ability to run graphics and CPU functions on the same chip. This gives the device designers the leeway to shrink the board down to the sizes needed in the smaller and lighter computers that consumers are clamoring for. Thus far, there haven’t been any real competitors to the Tegra system. You can find the Z670 into their EeePad Slider, Lenovo’s Ideapad Slate, the Evolve III, and in other offerings from Fujitsu and Motion. So, this ship is sailing with a full contingent of partners already lined up for release. Intel is also marketing this chipset for use in low power embedded systems for medical and industrial use. It looks like they finally have something that can stand up and play in this market with ARM. [via Intel Newsroom]
Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Posted: 11 Apr 2011 12:02 PM PDT @PaulOBrien managed to root his new Transformer in just day. The tablet/netbook hybrid was just released on an Amazon UK exclusive yesterday. Today, it’s hacked, just one day after release. “all your Transformers are belong to us. :-P” he said along with the image post. Asus plans to release the tablet to a wider audience on May 1st. Make your time. The specifics of the rooting process are still up in the air. The image here is the first bit of bragging that @PaulOBrien decided to post. There should be more details on the process forthcoming as Paul gets everything together. I’m looking forward to it already. We’ll keep you posted. In other news, Chris Davies is the lucky jerk who got to play with our Transformer. He also wrote about it, took some pictures, and made a video. It’s posted here. Lucky. Also, we have commendations for the quick work by @PaulOBrien and his buddy @BumbleDroid. [via AC] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Posted: 11 Apr 2011 11:36 AM PDT Habitual first adopters are used to regular bugs in their new gadgets. The bleeding edge often has really weird problems that no designer can anticipate, especially with the intricate computer-controlled systems we use every day. The Nissan Leaf is a new EV that’s having a strange problem, owners are going to start their car, and… nothing. Nissan’s engineers and Leaf owners are working on troubleshooting the specific problem. Nissan reports that this bug probably has something to do with the air conditioning unit during the startup process. Troubleshooters have been working with this issue on My Nissan Leaf. “if your car throws the exclamation point car error with the yellow triangle, don’t turn it off, drive to your nearest dealer or risk requiring a tow.” Nissan currently has no plans to issue a recall. There is no safety hazard as the flaw merely causes ignition failure. This may change as they firm up their diagnosis. You can read their official press release quoted below. [via Autoblog]
Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Looxcie Bluetooth Video Camera Review with an HTC ThunderBolt Posted: 11 Apr 2011 11:21 AM PDT Welcome to our look at the Looxcie Bluetooth Video Camera, a device that you can use whilst connected to an iPhone, a variety of Android phones, or just your computer via USB. What this device does is loop around your ear, sit comfortably at your temple, and record video for you from what basically amounts to as a first-person perspective. The variety of ways you might employ this device are explored below, as are the quality and manageability of the video as well as the camera device itself – will this strange little oddity be hanging around your face in the very near future? Let’s talk about it. First ImpressionsWhen I was first taking a peek at this device, I wasn’t sure if it was a projector, a Bluetooth headset, a laser pistol – or what. This immediately drew me in. I love oddities though, and I’m not entirely sure of my fashion sense – so trust me when I say that you’ll have to make sure you’re comfortable wearing this bit a headgear for yourself. I’ll get a bit further on how it’s going to fit you in a moment, but for now, keep in mind that this isn’t an invisible piece of equipment. That said, it’s a completely lovely looking piece of industrial design, and I do consider myself to be a bit better than a novice at judging that. The placement of the buttons, the fact that there’s a total of 4 buttons, two lights, one earpiece, one miniUSB, and one camera all on this little J, that’s amazing. It all seems as one, as it should. White and charcoal coloring with accents of red – that’s also tops. All you’ve got to do is charge this device by plugging it in by the base, let it sit, and press the earpiece button to turn it on. That’s it. Once you’re there, you can either choose to record using the record button, OR – and this is what we’ve done in this entire review – you can use your mobile device to control the camera. Spoiler: it works very, very well, and is totally slick. Ear PlacementWhen you first bust this device out, you’re going to wonder how you’re going to make it fit around your ear. As it turns out, the area between the earpiece and the back bit is not rigid, it’s maneuverable. Once you’ve pulled it open, you can place it on your hear and sort of clamp it tight again so it wont go anywhere once you’re wailing your head from side to side (don’t do this, but know that you can.) There’s certainly ways to apply this device to your head that will make you have an earache by the end of the day, but it’s just as easy or easier to make it fit the correct way, the way that’ll have you forgetting that it’s there 5 minutes after you’ve put it on. ActivationWhen I use the title “Activation” I don’t mean with your wireless company – this isn’t the sort of device where you’ve got to pay for it by the month, it’s a one-time purchase and that’s it. What I mean is that you’ve got to turn the thing on. This can get a little confusing if you just take it out of the box and start pressing things since there’s no screen to tell you if you’re doing things right or wrong. What you’ve got to do first is make sure the thing is charged up. Press the bottom button or the earpiece button to see. Once you see the tiny green light blink from the bottom of the device, you’re pretty much ready to go – at least for power. Next what you’ve got to do is hold the bottom button, the top button, and the back button all at once until the green light is blinking slowly. This means that your device is sending out a discoverable Bluetooth signal. You won’t have to do this if you don’t plan on using the device with your mobile phone. We did though, so this is the process. The Looxcie device popped up immediately inside our Bluetooth options screen on the HTC ThunderBolt, our device of choice, and connection occurred basically instantly. Once it was connected, it’s placed upon the ear and left for a few moments while you download one or two Looxcie apps for free. There’s LooxcieMoments and LooxcieCam App. To start, you’ll probably want the camcorder as it allows you sort of a “live viewer” so you can adjust the camera on your head so that it’s straight. Once you’ve got the app open, it’ll take just a moment to connect, again, to the device. Once it’s connected, you wont have to connect again at all unless you shut one of two devices off. Looking into your screen on your phone now will show you exactly what your Looxcie device is seeing. More than likely you’ll have to adjust a tiny bit (left or right, twisting the camera as it’s still attached to your ear) to make sure it’s level. Then you’re ready to go! RecordingYou’ve got two options for recording, the first being LooxcieCam App, which records at your full size options, we’ll get back to this in a moment, or LooxcieMoments, which records slightly smaller and at a smaller frame rate, the videos is produces supposedly better optimized for sharing via the social networks it can easily connect to like Facebook or YouTube. Note: Facebook was a little bit spotty with us because we kept wanting to record giant videos, but YouTube never gave an error at all. LooxcieMoments is fun for if you’d like to show people moments of your life that you’re not going to really want to keep for later reference. It might also be a very viable option for if you just NEED some head-based video and audio and you’re running low on space in the device. Also note: you can use the device as a Bluetooth headset – aka you can answer calls and make calls. Handy! Information StorageWhen you’re using your device strictly with the LooxcieMoments taking videos at HVGA, 15 fps, 800 kbps, the folks at Looxcie say you’ll be able to grab up to 5 hours of video on your 2 GB device. This 2 GB is inside the camera, but you’ll also be able to access these clips on your smartphone device. With LooxcieCam App or with the camera used by itself with no app assistance, you’ll be able to record 1 hour. This is all INSIDE the device itself. When you’re using your phone, you’ll be able to access your videos and watch or share them, but only if you’re connected via Bluetooth to the device. If you’d like these videos on your computer, all you need to do is download the free desktop app that’ll transfer all the videos over. Otherwise what you’ll be doing is moving them to your YouTube or Facebook with the data plan on your phone. Apps User InterfaceThe two apps you’ll be using on your mobile device (the phone, in this instance,) are exceedingly simple and basically impossible to not understand. You’ll be recording, viewing, and even editing in no time! Editing is limited to clipping bits out of videos, for example if you’ve got a few moments of prep time after you’ve pressed record but before you’ve started speaking, but what more could you ask for? The only limit we can see here is that once Looxcie gets working on tablet computers, they’re going to have to make it simpler to transfer video from the Looxcie device to the tablet itself – people WILL be wanting to use things like iMovie and Video Editor to work further with the clips they’ve made. See a few of the interface bits here: The two main differences between the apps is your ability to view what your camera is seeing outside record mode, this feature only available on the LooxcieCam App, and the video size. This will change soon, as they’re activating the large size clips on LooxcieMoments soon. Video QualityHave a peek here at several different environments and instances of use you might encounter or try out when you’ve got the camera in your possession: A couple of notes: I have hair that reaches down to my shoulders in all three of these videos – keep an eye out for whooshes of beautiful brown flowing wafts. Second, the dog you see in one of the videos is Susi, your humble narrator’s friend – her name means “wolf” in Finnish. Finally, each of these videos were filmed at 480p at 30fps and transferred onto the computer via USB directly from the Looxcie device – aka this is the highest quality video options and transfer. Wrap-Up and Final VerdictThis device costs $200. While I would judge the perfect price point for this device to be right around $150, the full $200 is fair, especially since the Looxcie group appears to be sending out pretty regular updates / bug fixes / etc for free. The device is heavy-duty enough that you wont have to worry about handing it over to your child to play with. Not that you’d let a tiny child use technological doodads without supervision, but it’s comforting to know that this isn’t like a smartphone where they’re almost certainly going to bash the screen in the first chance they get. It doesn’t have the best video quality I’ve ever seen on a device this size, in fact one of its taglines is “It’s not HD, it’s ASAP,” but depending on what you plan on using the camera for, it could be very, very useful and eventually essential. Think of all the sweet spy stuff you could accomplish! You’d have to tape over the red record light, of course… But speaking from experience, having used this camera over a period of a couple weeks, noone thinks you’re recording them – or if they do, they certainly don’t act as though they do. The two aunts of mine you see in the Verizon store in the video above had very different reactions to the camera when they first saw it on my head, but neither of them acted odd when I had it recording. One said nothing of it, the other said “what in the heck do you have on your head now?!” Be brave! Pick one of these little things up. They allow you to record things in a way you’d only otherwise be able to by holding a big fat camera up to your face, and this is much lighter and less obtrusive. And it comes with a little black bag you can use when people realize that the device isn’t implanted into your head. It’s all the headcam action you could want, in a cute little package! Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Design Concept: USB Flash Drive Expandable With MicroSD Cards Posted: 11 Apr 2011 11:13 AM PDT If you’ve ever had a bunch of cheap USB flash drives that you’ve tossed around and abused, and perhaps cursed at for not having enough capacity due to you’re data hoarding, then this concept design called the Collector USB Flash Drive will have you drooling. The Collector lets you custom configure as well as expand the memory capacity of your USB stick via the swapping of microSD cards. You may never have to delete anything off your USB stick again. The design shows three microSD card slots hidden on the USB flash drive that is revealed by sliding off a cap along the side. The three can be a combination of any capacity microSD cards, so you can custom configure the capacity to meet your needs. This can also create an interesting new workflow from transferring data and images from your mobile devices’ microSDs directly onto the USB flash drive just by swapping the memory cards. The only trouble I see with this, however, is dealing with all those tiny microSD cards. If you’re at all unorganized at times, those things are the easiest to misplace. Nonetheless, it’s an excellent idea and let’s not forget about the cool form factor of the design, too. [via Yanko Design] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Harman Unveils JBL On Air, New AirPlay Ready Speaker Dock Posted: 11 Apr 2011 10:32 AM PDT Harman just announced this morning a new Airplay-ready speaker dock called JBL On Air. This latest addition to their JBL lineup takes full advantage of integrated Apple AirPlay technology to let you wirelessly stream music from your iTunes library on a Mac or PC as well as from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch via your existing WiFi network to the JBL On Air. The JBL On Air features a bright color screen for displaying album art as well as artist and song information. The On Air speaker dock also features three JBL transducers with a unique 360-degree HALO (horizontal acoustic level optimization) design that uniformly delivers a rich and full-spectrum sound across a wide listening area. Other features include a clock with dual alarms, digital FM radio and USB port. And of course, a dock for your iPhone or iPod touch. The JBL On Air is compatible with iTunes 10.1 or later and iOS 4.2 or later. Priced at $349, it will be available later this month online and in retail stores of Best Buy and Apple. You can visit the JBL On Air product page for more information. Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| SlashGear Morning Wrap-Up: April 11, 2011 Posted: 11 Apr 2011 10:30 AM PDT Behold, the day has come when the great one, mister Steve Jobs himself, will be releasing an official biography of his whole entire life. This book will be called “iSteve: The Book of Jobs,” and will be blasting out on shelves (we’re assuming it’ll be printed on paper too,) inside 2012. Between that and Photoshop integration famous art software into the iPad, I think we’re pretty much set for news today. Oh you’d like a whole lot more? Well let’s take a look then – perhaps there’s more deeper in the bag. Before you start this week, you’ve GOT to check out Rue’s SlashGear Weekly Roundup video – catch it each week! Next see Philip Berne chat about his rubbishness at gadget advice and see Don note to the world that we’ve got more entertainment opportunities than ever. Don’t forget to rejoice with us in anticipation of Portal 2! We’ve got another emerging masterpiece coming out each and every weekend now, one by the name of Science Week in Review – check it out! Then one of the most awesome upgrades to our inner workings is the newfound teaching element – one that’s emerging on both Android Community and SlashGear. Today let’s look at two BIGGIES: SlashGear 101: What is Android? and SlashGear 101: What is Android 3.0 Honeycomb? Then it’s back to Apple as they build a gaming PR team, get some excellent projections for the iPad through 2015, and have their private key crack opened allowing in unofficial AirPlay streaming! Finally get your new BlackBerry PlayBook fightin’ words, see a laser beam set a boat on fire, and some undeniably epic Star Wars ads mocking Windows Phone 7. Then the biggest news in the world if you’re an Android hacker, developer, or just plain fun haver- Cyanogenmod 7 Stable is out now! Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Posted: 11 Apr 2011 10:00 AM PDT My favorite piece of artwork of all time was at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. It’s also my favorite museum, and this piece probably cinched it. I was walking through the exhibit halls, when I happened to bump into an older woman. I said “excuse me” without making eye contact, and I kept perusing the art. Then I noticed a bench in the middle of the room. It was too far to be a seat for pondering the wall hangings, but it was clearly meant for observation. So, I sat down. I watched the crowd. It took me a few minutes to notice that the old woman was still standing there, where I had bumped into her. She was slightly hunched, perhaps in her seventies. She carried a shopping bag, and was wrapped in average clothes for a cold New York day. But the most interesting thing about her was that she was not real. She was a sculpture, or a life-like mannekin. In the middle of the room, with no signs or velvet rope, she was a picture perfect piece of art, a rendition of an average New Yorker. As I sat and watched her, people kept bumping into her, so many that I couldn’t count. She was in the middle of the flow of foot traffic, and she was hard to avoid with the weekend crowd at the popular museum. Everybody who bumped into her excused themselves, and never made eye contact. Some even patted her on the shoulder politely as they hurried past. And she remained motionless. She leaned forward, as if moving from one room to another. But she was still, it was the rest of the world that moved around her. I thought about this woman during the most unusual Skype call in which I have ever participated. It was the night Obama was elected. I was still in New York City, and I was at a party with the most quintessential Obama supporters on the planet. I was with a law professor, and part time poet, from Columbia University. The crowd was mostly same-sex couples. Their children were present and interested, even cheering as the electoral college count climbed higher and higher on the blue side. There were cupcakes on the table with Obama’s face stenciled on. You can’t get much more New York than that on election night. One of the party goers missed her parents back in the Chicago suburbs. Of course, since Obama was himself watching the tally from his campaign headquarters in Chicago, you would think that their mood would be affected by their proximity. But they were simply going about their evening, watching the news, and enjoying the victory for their side. They were also attending the party via Skype. Their daughter skyped them in, then walked around the room with the laptop computer so they could see all the faces and greet everyone present. I said hi. They said hello back. I was probably wearing a sweater vest (for the irony). They were dressed in pajamas. While we ate cupcakes with blue Obamas on them and picked at the vegan spread on the buffet (did I mention this was a vegan party, or could you just assume?) an elderly couple in Chicago was simultaneously relaxing in bed in their PJs and watching us cram our faces. Every once in a while, someone would turn to them and ask their opinion, or gauge their reaction, but for the most part they were simply part of the room. Eventually, people got tired of passing the laptop around. There was no seat for the parents, which is fine, because they were already lying down. I hadn’t seen them for a few minutes until I hit the buffet. I loaded food onto my plate. Olive salad. Tabouleh. Hummus and pita chips. Long, cold spears of marinated asparagus. An old couple in bed, staring at me. At first, it was shocking. I hadn’t noticed the laptop. I leaned over it to scoop a scant spoonful of mixed nuts onto my plate. They stared blankly at my gut. In fact, they were watching television in their bedroom, hardly noticing what was happening on the laptop they were using. But now they were also part of the buffet. At first, it reminded me of the dinner party in Beetlejuice, when the food becomes possessed and starts dancing around. That party ended with hands made of shrimp cocktail reaching up and grabbing everyone by the face. At least they had shrimp cocktail. Then I started to think of it as art. Like a new form of Dadaism, but much less intrusive. I imagined a dinner table with laptops placed at every seat. On the screen of each would be people, but they wouldn’t be attending the dinner party. They would simply be going about their normal lives. They would be lying in bed, or filling out a crossword puzzle. They might be sorting the mail. In a truly meta idea, I imagined they could even be on their laptops, other laptops that is, perhaps even skyping themselves in to another dinner party. There could be layers upon layers. Then I realized we were the art, not them. They were sitting in bed, and we were a secondary form of entertainment. Have you ever sat watching television with a computer on your lap, barely paying attention to the show on the tube, instead reading the news or playing sudoku? Well these people had everyone beat. They were sitting in bed watching TV, but also attending an election night party. How often is the distraction truly more interesting than the primary event? I may never go to a party again. I won’t be in New York for the next election, I’ll probably be down in Texas. Instead of hanging with the most liberal set I can imagine, I’ll try to find some gun-toting, evangelical libertarians, just to see how the other half lives. But I’ll also Skype myself into another event. Maybe I’ll send my laptop to a movie theater and have it sit on one of the seats. I could send a laptop to the party, then Skype in and point my laptop at another laptop that is also skyped into the same party. So the party goers would be skyping into their own event. Like I said, layers upon layers. When Obama finally declared victory, and the major networks all called the election in his favor, and John McCain gave his concession speech, the parents on Skype decided to head downtown to see if they could catch the festivities. They got dressed (not on camera, thankfully), and left the room. But they left Skype on, aimed at their empty bed, with its dented pillows and its wooden headboard. Now I was at a party, watching an empty space where there had been two people watching the party. And those two people were now on their way to the party that we were watching on television. This is why I never got my PhD. There are too many abstractions in Cultural Theory. You can make a big deal out of anything, but nothing actually happens. Maybe there were no layers. Maybe I was just at an overcrowded party that longed for a passed appetizer of rare filet on toast with a horseradish cream sauce. Maybe the Skype call seemed like a good idea at the start, but then it became boring, and it was too awkward to cut off those nice people, who seemed to be enjoying themselves in a subdued way, and really they weren’t bothering anyone except the people scooping hummus. Maybe this is why video chat hasn’t taken off. Because in the end, we don’t really want to see our parents lying around in their pajamas while we’re trying to celebrate a historic event. Because it creates whole new levels of presence, and new levels of awkwardness. But seriously, this is New York City. No lamb sliders? Not even a duck meatball? I will definitely spend the next election night at a party down here in Texas. Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| SlashGear 101: What is Android 3.0 Honeycomb? Posted: 11 Apr 2011 07:18 AM PDT Google is well known for search and for its advertising program, but over the past few years the company’s phone software, Android, has been making waves in stores across the world. Flexible enough to be easily modified by handset manufacturers and powerful enough to take on Apple’s iPhone, Android has carved itself a growing niche in smartphones; now Google is turning its attention to tablets, and it’s using Android 3.0 Honeycomb to do it. Read on for the full SlashGear 101 rundown. Android is for phones, isn’t it?We’ve already covered the basic premise of Android in a previous SlashGear 101, Google’s freely-available phone software that has already taken a huge bite out of the mobile world. Although it’s best known for being on phones, manufacturers have already tried putting Android on bigger-screen devices, like the Samsung Galaxy Tab which used the same version of Android as from the company’s phones but on a 7-inch tablet. Honeycomb, however, is Google’s attempt at software for tablets done properly. It uses the same sort of underlying code as the phones, but optimized for touchscreens around 7-inches or larger. So it’s just phone software made bigger?Not quite. Google has pretty much reworked the entire user interface of Honeycomb so that it takes advantage of tablet-scale screens. Not just a phone homescreen stretched out, but a new set of icons and widgets (tiny mini-apps that live on the homescreen and offer quick-glance updates for things like Facebook statuses and new emails) along with live thumbnail previews of apps running in the background. Third-party apps can be coded to take advantage of the bigger displays too, though regular software intended to be used on Android smartphones – and which far outnumber tablet-specific titles in the Android Market – scale up to fit. Google has created a system called “Fragments” for developers to use, which allows them to make apps for both phones and tablets that juggle different parts of the interface, either showing them one at a time on a smaller cellphone screen, or several at the same time on a tablet screen. Is it better than the iPad?Like Android phones versus the iPhone, it’s not necessarily better, just different. Opinions on both platforms rage strong, and each has its strengths and comparative weaknesses. Again, as with phones running Google’s software, one of Honeycomb’s main advantages is in its flexibility: manufacturers can choose to modify the interface and other aspects of the software if they see fit, and there’s more room for third-party software to change the overall tablet experience. That should eventually lead to more personalized tablets, though right now the shortage of tablet-focused software is Honeycomb’s primary drawback. While the iPad has had more than a year to build a solid catalog of apps scaled perfectly to its screen size, Android apps aren’t yet up to the same speed. Still, many Honeycomb tablet buyers will do so with an eye on the incoming spoils, prizing Android’s versatility and the potential it offers. What’s next?More software, more tablets, and generally more choice. As we found in our Android Honeycomb review, Google is off to a solid start with its new platform; what it needs now is manufacturers putting it on new models and software providers coming up with compelling apps to run on it. That’s likely to take place as we move through 2011. For more information on Android – in both phone and tablet flavors – check out our sibling site and the bustling forums at Android Community! Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Apple’s AirPlay private key crack opens door to unofficial streaming Posted: 11 Apr 2011 06:53 AM PDT Apple’s AirPlay system is supposed to be another example of the company charging manufacturers for access to its exclusive club, but some recent hacking has opened the streaming system for anybody interested. Developer James Laird reverse-engineered the private key Apple uses in the AirPort Express, and used it to cook up an emulator app called SharePort. SharePort allows you to stream music from iTunes to third-party software or – if a manufacturer decided to jump on and use the private key – hardware. Previously it was possible to stream in the other direction, to an AirPort Express, but not vice-versa. Whether Apple will be content to let this key tomfoolery continue remains to be seen. It seems unlikely to affect the number of collaborators wanting to license the AirPlay technology for use in products, since that also lets them brand their kit as compliant, but it will perhaps mean more software projects using the system. [via MacRumors] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Samsung Galaxy S II hits UK May 1 Posted: 11 Apr 2011 06:33 AM PDT The Samsung Galaxy S II will arrive in the UK on May 1, according to the company, with the dual-core Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphone being available across all major carriers. The recipient of a recent CPU boost to 1.2GHz, the Galaxy S II has a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, Bluetooth 3.0 and WiFi b/g/n. There’s also an 8-megapixel camera, capable of shooting 1080p Full HD video, along with a front-facing camera for video calls. It also runs TouchWiz 4.0, the latest version of Samsung’s UI modifications, and is expected to eventually get live TV streaming support. Samsung isn’t talking pricing, though retailers have pegged the SIM-free, unlocked version of the Galaxy S II at around £528. More on the Galaxy S II in our full hands-on. [via Android Community] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Posted: 11 Apr 2011 06:08 AM PDT RIM co-CEO Mike Lazaridis has struck out at critics, questioning “why there’s this negative sentiment” within the industry which maintains the company has lost its momentum. “Why is it that people don't appreciate our profits? Why is it that people don't appreciate our growth?” the outspoken exec asked the NY Times. ”Why is it that people don't appreciate the fact that we spent the last four years going global? Why is it that people don't appreciate that we have 500 carriers in 170 countries with products in almost 30 languages?” “What I've learned is you've just got to prove it over and over and over” Lazaridis concluded, a sentiment co-CEO Jim Balsillie seems to concur on. Denying some analyst claims that he and Lazaridis had “behaved like idiots,” he insisted that RIM was well prepared for the evolving mobile market. However, he did admit that the delay in announcing the BlackBerry PlayBook may have cost RIM momentum in the tablet ecosystem. The 7-inch slate was first delayed after RIM switched from chipset provider Marvell to rival Texas Instruments, six months into development, and more recently it has been claimed that the company would have launched up to a month earlier had Apple not soaked up the lion’s share of touchscreen supplies. With consumer rivals to the iPad still in relative disarray – the latest predictions suggest the Apple slate will continue to dominate through to 2015 – RIM will be looking to its more solid enterprise base to jump-start the PlayBook. That, Balsillie suggests, is part of being satisfied with a chunk of the market rather than demanding all of it. “To be pretty blunt about this: how many people in the world have computing devices in phones, and how many do we have to sell to ensure that we're a rip-roaring success over the next five years?” the exec asked rhetorically. “You'll find that you don't have to be all things to all people.” Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| German subscribers to get Sky HD+ this summer Posted: 11 Apr 2011 05:23 AM PDT
Any subscriber with satellite reception and a Sky HD receiver will be able to access the commercial free HD+ channels. The subscriber will need the German pay TV package though. The existing HD receivers will need no new programming or add ons to access the service. HD+ has eight commercial free stations available right now including RTL HD, SAT.1 HD, ProSieben HD, VOX HD, kabel eins HD, RTL II HD, SPORT 1 HD and sixx HD. Ferdinand Kayser, President and CEO of SES ASTRA, said, "Our cooperation with Sky significantly extends the technical reach of HD+ and adds another highly attractive target group with a strong affinity to premium programmes and high end technologies like HDTV. The cooperation with Sky and the increase of our technical reach underpin the high attractiveness of the HD+ offer for broadcasters and viewers, and confirm that our concept of a neutral technical platform available to all viewers and platforms is successful." Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Posted: 11 Apr 2011 05:10 AM PDT TomTom is always tossing new GPS devices out onto the market and the latest GPS unit is a new pro offering called the Pro 9150. The GPS device has a 5-inch screen to make it easier to see and that screen is touch sensitive. TomTom also says the GPS is so easy to use the driver doesn’t need instructions. The 9150 is connected to the office back end and allows the home office to route a driver from the fleet that is closest to the destination automatically using the Webfleet software backend. The GPS unit supports Map Share that allows the maps to be updated and edited by the users. That is important in areas where there is a lot of construction and new addresses are added frequently. Battery life away from a DC outlet is up to 2 hours. It supports Bluetooth hands free calling and has 8GB of internal storage, the screen resolution is 480 x 272 and it weighs 260g. Pricing on the device is unknown and it includes maps of the US, Mexico, and Canada. Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Navy moves one step closer to sharks with frickin’ laser beams Posted: 11 Apr 2011 04:52 AM PDT
The test firing of the laser from a Navy ship was able to disable a small target vessel. The successful test was part of the Navy and Northrop Grumman at-sea testing regime of the Maritime Laser Demonstrator (MLD) and validated the lasers ability to provide self-defense for ships and personnel from small boat threats. The test was conducted off the coast of Central California in the Navy’s Pacific Ocean test range. The test laser was mounted on the deck of the Navy self-defense test ship the USS Paul Foster (DD 964). "This is the first time a HEL, at these power levels, has been put on a Navy ship, powered from that ship and used to defeat a target at-range in a maritime environment," said Peter Morrison, program officer for ONR's MLD. [via ONR] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| PushLife gets gobbled by Google Posted: 11 Apr 2011 04:32 AM PDT Google is always on the lookout for new companies that have cool tech that it can use to make new offerings for users. It will buy the tech and often will simply buy the whole company to get the tech and the talent behind the tech as well. The latest Google acquisition is of a Canadian music sync firm called PushLife. The PushLife service allows users to sync music on their PC with mobile devices like Android and Blackberry smartphones. It's clear to see that Google would be keen to integrate the sync tech into the Android OS and other offerings. As it is right now, the PushLife service works with iTunes and Windows Media Player libraries. Google purchased the company for $25 million according to reports. As of now, there are no more specifics on the terms of the deal offered. AllThingsD reports a Google spokesperson said, “We believe the team has a wealth of experience building cool mobile applications, and we think they'll make a great addition to our mobile team.” [via AllThingsD] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Bike Hanger concept lifts bikes into the sky Posted: 11 Apr 2011 04:15 AM PDT In many big cities around the world, one of the more common forms of travel for people that live too far to walk but don't want to take public transportation is a bicycle. The catch is that once you get to your location there are only so many places that you can put your bike while you go inside to work. You also have to worry that someone might steal your ride home too. A new concept bike rack has surfaced called the Bike Hanger. The Bike Hanger is a concept that puts the bike rack on the side of the building allow it to hold more bikes and there are few ways better to thwart a thief than to put your bike 30 feet in the air. Manifesto Architecture designed the Bike Hanger. The rack has more in common with the zipper at your local carnival than the bike racks out in front of my local elementary school. When the person is ready to go it appears that someone would work the Hangar to bring their bike back down. The designers don’t say if the retrieval of the bike would be automated or if the user would do it themselves. [via FastCo Design] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Geeky dad builds Tron light cycle board game Posted: 11 Apr 2011 04:01 AM PDT It’s not too often that we get to talk about a really cool board game. Typically, all the games today are video games. With the new Tron flick just landing on Blu-ray and DVD there is a lot of interest from kids today in the Tron franchise. One geeky dad created a really cool board game for him and his kids to play based on Tron light cycles. The light cycles are my favorite things from the movies. Brett King made the custom board game and it is really cool. The game board is an etched acrylic square with grid lines running down it. The game pieces slip into those grids and the works glows thanks to some UV reactive paint. One set of three bikes has blue light trails and the other has orange trails. The rules are that the trials can stay on the board until games end or only for five turns. If one of the other team hits the walls, they are out. One version also has the players roll dice to see if they can turn before hitting a wall. Check it out on video below. [via Ars Technica] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Korg Wavedrum Mini turns any surface into a drum kit Posted: 11 Apr 2011 03:35 AM PDT I have known people in my life that are always taping and drumming away on any surface as soon as they sit down. It can get really annoying for sure. If you are the person that likes to drum away on your desk or table Korg has something just for you. The device is called the Wavedrum Mini and it is a portable drum synthesizer. The device looks like a mini Roomba that straps to your leg. It has a clamp that you connect to your surface and then you can start drumming away on the surface. The round device can turn your slaps on the table into amplified percussion sounds. The device runs on rechargeable battery power. Inside the synthesizer are six metal hydride batteries that promise to work for over four hours per charge. The device also has a pad for taping directly on the synth. The user has over 100 pre-recorded sounds from a virtual drum kit to tuned percussion and stringed instruments among others. Pricing is unknown, but the device is expected to launch in Q3. [via Gizmag] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Star Wars ads mock Microsoft Windows 7 Ads in epic manner Posted: 11 Apr 2011 03:24 AM PDT I bet we have all seen those goofy ads that Microsoft uses to push Windows 7. The ads are designed to make you think that everyone had a hand in designing Windows 7 and shows supposedly real people in various settings as they had ideas for features that are in Windows 7 today. A geek has taken that commercial idea and made it much more entertaining than Microsoft was able to do. The premise is that the ads are for all the people that had the idea for the Death Star. The geeky videos show people in some cool Star Wars costumes talking abut when they had their big Death Star idea. I wonder how happy George Lucas will be about these ads. You have Chewbacca, Darth Vader, and good ol’ TK-421 all talking about their ideas. These things were apparently produced with real costumes and green screens to add the background. I really like the Chewbacca video with the Storm Trooper doing sign language in the bottom corner. I wonder if that trooper is really singing anything or if he is just going through the motions. Check out the videos below. [via Dvice] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Swarm Elixir and Nectar open bottles and keep the seat on your bike in place Posted: 11 Apr 2011 03:12 AM PDT These are a couple of very odd products to me. The Swarm Elixir and Nectar are both clamps that are designed to hold the seat on your bike in place without having to worry it will slide while you ride. The little things are made from CNC machined 6061 aluminum with high strength and lightweight. They also come in five colors. The Nectar clamp is a fixed clamp that you tighten down with an allen wrench. The Elixir is a fast action clamp with a lever that flips out to allow you to adjust the seat without tools. Both of the devices are designed with a bottle opener integrated as well. I guess the idea is that after a hard day of riding your bike you can roll into your favorite bar area and pop the cap off a frosty adult beverage. Both of the clamps come in five sizes to fit the majority of bikes on the road. The product is on Kickstarter right now and has five days left to go before it is funded. The Swarm team was looking for $2,500 and they have $3,242 donated so far. Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Vulkano Flow lands for under $100 Posted: 11 Apr 2011 02:56 AM PDT I mentioned the Vulkano Flow place shifting device back in January when the device was first introduced. The device has now landed for consumers to purchase and it is the first placeshifting device that sells for under $100. The purpose of the device is to stream content from your home to other devices wherever you are. The price of the Flow is right under $100 at $99. The Flow box plugs in between your TV and your set-top box be it a satellite receiver or a cable receiver. It can shoot the programming that flows through it over a wireless network in your home to a Mac computer or a PC. You can also shoot that content over to an iPhone and Android device as well. ZatzNotFunny reports that the streaming capability of the Flow over WiFi is very good. The only clear downside to the box to me is that it handles only up to 720 x 480 resolutions. Any HD content shot through the Flow box is downgraded to SD automatically before streaming. When you consider that most mobile devices like smartphones can't handle HD resolutions that lack of HD streaming might not be such a big deal to you. The device lacks a lot of support for Mac users right now apparently. The company also charges $12.99 for the mobile clients for smartphones. [via ZatzNotFunny] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Addonics outs CF Drive with six CF card slots Posted: 11 Apr 2011 02:38 AM PDT If you have a bunch of Compact Flash of CF cards lying around and you want to use them to make your own speedy SSD storage device Addonics has your device. The company has a new 5.25″ drive bay CF/CFast drive adapter that slips into one of your unused optical drive bays and turns those CF cards into fast storage. The device can support up to six different CF cards and they can all be configured as six separate storage devices or they can be combined into one single RAID group with a large capacity for storage. The user can also set any one of the CF cards (on some models) to be an internal storage drive that can't be accessed from the outside thanks to a little cover. The device has its own power cable that runs from behind the drive and plugs into the inside of the computer for power and it also has six different SATA cables attached to connected to headers on the mainboard. The CF version sells for $135, the CF version with RAID+1 and an internal CF slot sells for $199. The CFast offerings are the same price with the same features. Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| HTC Flyer up for SIM-free UK pre-order Posted: 11 Apr 2011 02:37 AM PDT The HTC Flyer has gone up for pre-order at Carphone Warehouse, with the retailer announcing that the 7-inch slate will be available – contract free and SIM-unlocked – for £599.99 ($980). Currently listed as in-stock, the Flyer has a 5-megapixel main camera, HTC Scribe digital stylus for notetaking and annotation, and will be the first device from the company with support for HTC Watch, the company’s new media streaming app. There’s also a 1.5GHz single-core processor, WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G and GPS, along with a front-facing webcam. The Android 2.3 Gingerbread OS is liberally coated with a layer of HTC’s latest Sense UI software, complete with a 3D-style homescreen carousel and integration with online note synching service Evernote (that supports handwriting recognition, among other things). The Flyer was one of the stand-out gadgets of MWC 2011, and we had a good play with the slate – in its Sprint-centric HTC EVO View 4G form – last month at CTIA 2011. We’re checking in with Carphone Warehouse to see if that in-stock message is accurate. Update: Carphone Warehouse tells us that while the Flyer may be listed as in-stock, it won’t be shipping until May 2011. Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Apple builds gaming PR team: Assault on Nintendo/Sony incoming? Posted: 11 Apr 2011 02:27 AM PDT Earlier this month Don Reisinger suggested Apple could easily make itself the next gaming giant; now it seems the company is taking steps toward doing just that. According to MCV, Apple has poached Nintendo UK head of communications Robert Saunders, who will be heading PR efforts for apps across iPad, iPhone and iPod. News that Saunders was to depart Nintendo broke last week, with the exec having been at the Japanese gaming firm for seven years. Among his responsibilities have been launching the Wii and DS. Meanwhile, Activision PR Nick Grange has also been snapped up by Apple, with his new role supposedly being “focussed on iPad hardware.” Nobody is saying whether either exec will be driving gaming at the company, but given Apple’s ongoing push to position its range as – among other things – replacements for dedicated games handhelds, their expertise would seem ideally suited to such a strategy. [via Engadget] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| LG Display outs 47″ transparent IPS LCD to take on Samsung [video] Posted: 11 Apr 2011 02:08 AM PDT The cat and mouse race between Samsung and LG continues, with LG Display looking to best Samsung’s 22-inch transparent LCD from just a couple of weeks back with a transparent screen of its own. The company is showing off a huge 47-inch IPS LCD panel which as well as being transparent is capable of Full HD resolution. As with Samsung’s panel, LG Display is targeting the screen technology at commercial implementations rather than something for your desk. The company reckons shopping malls and digital signage are the most likely uses, but we can’t quite lose our enthusiasm for LCD windows that can show us the headlines as well as the garden. No word on when LG Display’s IPS LCD screens might be on sale, nor even if they’re in mass-production like Samsung’s smaller panels. [via OLED-Display] Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| iPad to reign tablet supreme through 2015 predicts Gartner Posted: 11 Apr 2011 01:03 AM PDT Market researchers Gartner are predicting that, despite the growing competition from Android Honeycomb and other platforms, Apple’s iPad will continue to dominate the “media tablet” ecosystem through 2015. The company estimates that Apple will still own over 47-percent of worldwide market share by 2015, with Android holding over 38-percent. QNX, as on the BlackBerry PlayBook, will hold third place it’s suggested, with 10-percent of the market in 2015. Intel’s MeeGo and HP’s webOS will languish behind, with 1-percent and 3-percent respectively, which Gartner blames on poor adoption of those platforms in smartphones. Apple’s rivals are making the same mistake in taking on the iPad as they did in challenging the iPhone, the analysts suggest, “prioritizing hardware features over applications, services and overall user experience.” As for its definition of a “media tablet” that’s a touchscreen device between 5- and 15-inches and “whose primary focus is the consumption of media” while running “a lightweight OS such as Android and iOS that is more limited than, or a subset of, the traditional fully featured OS such as Windows.” Press Release:
Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| “iSteve: The Book of Jobs” official biography due 2012 Posted: 11 Apr 2011 12:46 AM PDT Steve Jobs has green-lighted an official biography of his life, the first such work about the Apple CEO. Expected to be published by Simon & Schuster in early 2012, “iSteve: The Book of Jobs” by Walter Isaacson has apparently been a work-in-progress since 2009 and will feature content culled from interviews with Jobs himself, his family, and people at Apple and at its competitors. Somewhat cheesy title aside, the biography is likely to be interesting not simply because of its topic – various unofficial biographies have been published over the years, including one by John Wiley & Sons which saw Apple ban the publisher’s catalog from its stores – but because of the hitherto unseen levels of access to which Isaacson has achieved. The ex-newspaper and TIME reported and editor, ex-CNN CEO and current CEO and president of the nonpartisan educational and policy studies organization the Aspen Institute has already written biographies of Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin. Neither Jobs nor Isaacson are commenting on the project, though expectations from the biography will be high. The news follows ex-Microsoft exec Paul Allen’s surprise “revisionist take” on the history of the company in his recent memoir. Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
| Adobe Photoshop Touch apps integrate iPad (and eventually other tablets) into famous art software Posted: 11 Apr 2011 12:33 AM PDT Adobe may not be quite ready to release Photoshop for iPad, as previewed last month, but it has looked to the iPad for extra functionality when it comes to the latest version of Photoshop in Creative Suite 5.5. Three new iOS apps for the iPad have been released – Adobe Color Lava for Photoshop, Adobe Eazel for Photoshop and Adobe Nav for Photoshop – turning the Apple tablet into a remote control panel for the graphics software. Each uses Adobe’s new Touch SDK. Adobe Color Lava handles custom color creation, using the tablet to make new swatches and themes that can then be pulled back into the main app. Adobe Eazel is basically finger-painting for grown-ups, with various software trickery to make your daubings look like real paint. Both apps work either directly linked to Photoshop or as standalone tools that can be later sync’d. Finally, Adobe Nav pushes navigation and control off of your main computer screen and onto the iPad, with customizable toolbars and the ability to handle up to 200 open Photoshop files. The three apps will go on sale in early May 2011, priced between $1.99 and $4.99. As for Adobe’s Touch SDK, that will work not only with the iPad but with Android, QNX as on the BlackBerry PlayBook, and iOS on the iPhone and iPod touch, giving developers a new way to integrate mobile devices (and mobile apps) with Photoshop. The company claims it has already signed up a number of developers to create apps, so we should be seeing the third-party spoils later in the year. Press Release:
Press Release:
Relevant Entries on SlashGear
 |
For many people in Europe the way they get their TV programming is over Sky receivers. 
The US Navy has moved us one-step closer to sharks with freakin’ laser beams on their heads this month. The Navy had a successful test of its solid sate high-energy laser from a surface ship on April 6. We have talked about 
| You are subscribed to email updates from SlashGear To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar