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Thursday, 18 October 2012
Amazon's Whispercast Sneaks Into Schools
The days of lugging books back and forth to school could soon be in the past, as Amazon on Wednesday announced a new initiative for schools and business customers that features a scalable online tool for deploying Kindle devices and Kindle content. Whispercast for Kindle provides a single access point to easily purchase and distribute Kindle books and documents for educational and business uses.
Apple acquires HTML5-focused startup Particle
Apple has acquired Particle, a firm specializing in the design of HTML5 websites and web apps. Particle has previously done some HTML5 work for Apple, along with others such as Google, Amazon, and Motorola and they are also behind video sharing service Robo.to. The deal for the acquisition happened last month, and is mostly a talent, rather than product, acquisition. It is unknown what the team will be working on, though Josh Lowensohn at CNET speculates that it has to do with Apple's heavy HTML5 focus for its web content:
As for the purpose of the buy, Apple has put a big focus on HTML5 on its product pages, iAd advertising, and on iCloud.com, which serves as one of the only places Apple has true Web applications.
Particle is a company that has focused predominantly on user experience in the past, and that background can be put to use almost anywhere in Apple?s ecosystem. Reworking the iCloud web apps, making them faster and more responsively, is certainly an option. It is also possible that Particle?s experience with iTunes Extras means that they will work on media content. The sky -- or more appropriately, the cloud -- is the limit.
While most of Apple?s focus has been on native applications, web content is very important to Apple?s interaction with users. Even the iTunes, iBooks, and App Store apps on iOS devices are HTML5 web apps with some native trimming. Given how quickly content needs to change in either store, for the time being, this is neccessary. It?s quite possible that the team brought in from Particle will be used to impove the overall store experience, doing their best to make it more responsive, or perhaps even improving search.
What would you like to see the Particle team work on? What areas of their web experience does Apple need to imporve the most? Give us your thoughts below in the comment.
Source: CNET
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/Z10gkwM2TWg/story01.htm
Toyota pulls Cydia theme and ads to appease Apple
It's not like we should be surprised, considering Apple has claimed in the past that jailbreaking is illegal -- but at the same time, did the Cupertino cronies hear about the ruling that made circumventing DRM, and thus jailbreaking, legal? Anyway, whether Toyota was supporting illegal, legal, or deliciously gray and ambiguous, activity, it doesn't matter: Apple asked Toyota to remove the theme, and Toyota graciously bent over and capitulated.
This story raises a much more interesting topic, though: this is the first time a multinational company has publicly acknowledged and embraced the jailbreak community. Considering jailbreaking is technically legal, and Cydia's creator, Jay Freeman, estimates that up to 9% of OS devices are jailbroken, it simply makes good, commercial sense to target jailbreakers with ads. Toyota was simply trying to make some money, for shame!
As long as Apple continues to throw around its increasingly-expansive mass, the legality of jailbreaking will continue to be inconsequential. It will be interesting to see if another big company dares embrace the jailbreak community after this, too.
Toyota pulls Cydia theme and ads to appease Apple originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 05:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Netflix now welcoming mobile viewers from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland
If you just so happen to live in Sweden, Denmark, Norway or Finland, Netflix would like you to know they've not forgotten about you. In fact, the latest update available in the Google Play Store opens up the Android app to those regions along with improved subtitle support for Android 4.0 and above.
Plus, while it's not noted, the app does seem to respond a little bit better over previous versions. By that we mean, it no longer takes 2 minutes to scroll through items causing you to forget what you were intending on watching in the first place. That's a good thing.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/FYbp8wCIax8/story01.htm
Amazon's Binder Pages Are Now Full of Funny Romney-Related Reviews [Amazon]
Wednesday, 17 October 2012
Xuron 496 Split Ring Pliers ? Tools you never knew existed
Did you know there is a tool designed specifically for opening split rings? You know, the rings you use to hold your keys? I didn’t either till I read about it on one of my favorite sites: EDC Forums. The Xuron 496 Split Ring Plier will save you from pinched finger tips and broken nails. [...]
Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/10/14/xuron-496-split-ring-pliers-tools-you-never-knew-existed/
Google toasts Dart's one-year anniversary with first stable SDK (video)
It's not a real birthday party without a present, so Google has just pulled the wraps off the first stable version of the Dart structured programming language, one year after it was launched. Along with "thousands" of bug fixes, the rejuvenated version will have a faster virtual machine, new JavaScript translator, HTML, server-side I/O and interoperable JavaScript libraries, the Pub package manager and Dartium, a Chromium build with native Dart support. Mountain view promised to keep the improvements coming "while maintaining backward compatibility" for the language, so if you feel frisky enough to jump JavaScript's ship, check the source below (or video after the break) to see how to grab it.
Continue reading Google toasts Dart's one-year anniversary with first stable SDK (video)
Filed under: Internet, Software, Google
Google toasts Dart's one-year anniversary with first stable SDK (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 10:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google Dart | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/17/google-dart-one-year-anniversary-first-stable-sdk/
Um, What?! The Quadski Is A Cross Between Jet Ski And Four-Wheeler
Depending on how you look at it, this is either the first floating four-wheeler, or the first jet ski with wheels. Either way, it's awesome from just about any perspective. Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Nm3PFjb5MWw/
Paolo Barilla Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels Edgar Barth
Hands-On: Beats Pill Will Be Tough for Jawbone to Swallow
Beats Electronics is taking on Jawbone's Jambox with a new $200 wireless speaker called The Pill. You can probably guess what it looks like.
Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/10/beats-pill-wireless-speaker/
GoPro Hero3 action camera hands-on
GoPro just revealed its new flagship action camcorder, the Hero3, and we managed to get our mitts on one this evening. First things first, the Hero3 is tiny, particularly when considering that it shoots 4K video (albeit at a paltry 12fps), a resolution usually reserved for much larger, cinematic cameras. Having handled its competition recently -- the Action Cam from Sony and the Contour+2 -- we can say that the Hero3 feels smaller and lighter than both of them. It's about the size of a couple of matchboxes stacked together and is quite lightweight, yet still feels sturdy. The textured plastic exterior is finger friendly, and the big round power / mode and record buttons give a reassuring snick with every press. The WiFi remote that comes with the Hero3 Black Edition is similarly solid in its construction, though we wish it had the same textured skin as the camera instead of its smooth exterior. We didn't get to use the Hero3 for its stated purpose just yet, but we'll be filming with the thing tomorrow, so stay tuned for all the POV footage. In the meantime, feel free to enjoy a tour of GoPro's new diminutive hardware and check out its first sample video after the break.
Continue reading GoPro Hero3 action camera hands-on
Filed under: Cameras
GoPro Hero3 action camera hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 02:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |GoPro | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/17/gopro-hero3-action-camera-hands-on/
JeanDenis Deletraz Patrick Depailler Pedro Diniz Duke Dinsmore
Nissan to offer steer-by-wire systems in some Infiniti cars
We're all at least somewhat familiar with fly-by-wire, the electronic piloting system found in most modern planes. Nissan wants to bring the same tech to cars, leaving behind the purely mechanical solutions currently used to take turns in your four-wheeler. The first automobiles to come equipped with steer-by-wire would be luxury sedans from Infiniti. Other companies have incorporated the tech into concept vehicles, but Nissan would be the first to stick it in a production model. The company plans to have the first drive-by-wire cars in consumer garages by the end of next year, with an eye towards a future in which you drive from the back seat using a joystick. Of course, the lack of direct feedback as your tires turn over the road may lead some to cling tight to their mechanical steering apparatus, though, moving to a digital steering system should lead to better handling vehicles.
Filed under: Transportation
Nissan to offer steer-by-wire systems in some Infiniti cars originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Oct 2012 11:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink |Reuters | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/17/nissan-to-offer-steer-by-wire-systems-in-some-infinity-cars/
MacBreak Weekly 321: Hollow it out Like a Tauntaun
Leo Laporte, Alex Lindsay, graciously allow me to sit in on MacBreak Weekly #321. We talk everything from the finally-shipping Lightning adapters to space jumps to Thunderbolt Displays to, oh yeah, the upcoming Apple event on October 23.
More download and viewing options below.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/Imcro0NtDMU/story01.htm
Auslogics Disk Defrag 3.2 gets smarter, faster
Auslogics Disk Defrag has been part of my system maintenance toolkit for quite some time. With the release of version 3.2, it's now even better at tidying up and optimizing your system's hard disk drives. In addition to a cleaner, easier-to-use interface, Disk Defrag 3.2 offers improved single file and folder defragging, better processing of multiple disks, a simplified scheduling screen, and more informative tool tips. Auslogics has also fine-tuned the program's defragmentation and file consolidation algorithms.
For laptop users, there's a new option to lock the program if your system is running on battery power -- so scheduled operations don't kick in and drain your power source at an inopportune moment. If you happen to have an SSD installed in your PC, you can head to the Disk Defrag options and exclude it from scanning (many think that defragmenting an SSD is a very bad idea).
Auslogics Disk Defrag is a free download and works with most versions of Windows.
For laptop users, there's a new option to lock the program if your system is running on battery power -- so scheduled operations don't kick in and drain your power source at an inopportune moment. If you happen to have an SSD installed in your PC, you can head to the Disk Defrag options and exclude it from scanning (many think that defragmenting an SSD is a very bad idea).
Auslogics Disk Defrag is a free download and works with most versions of Windows.
Auslogics Disk Defrag 3.2 gets smarter, faster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/11/auslogics-disk-defrag-3-2-gets-smarter-faster/
LinkedIn Launches Revamped Profile Pages
LinkedIn has released one of its biggest product face lifts to date. The company announced a redesigned profile page, giving its users a more customizable way to show their professional identity. Announced at a Tuesday event, the profile page now ...
Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/10/meet-the-new-linkedin/
iPod nano photo gallery
Apple calls the iPod nano 7 "renanoed", and if you look at the longer, thinner shape, and the wider screen, it's harder to argue the logic than it is the ad copy. It still isn't running iOS, and Apple has rounded the icons to better visually differentiate it from it's bigger, more computer-like cousins, but it does include apps. And buttons. There's a Home button now, also similar to iOS, and a volume rocker with a pause/play control in between. It also has the new Lightning connector, which is why it can be so thin.
Here's a look at the white and (Product) RED versions, and how it compares to the new iPod touch 5, and the iPhone 5.
All shots taken with a Canon 5D Mark III and a Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and an EF 100mm f/2.8 L IS USM Macro lens, embedded at HiDPI for iPhones, iPad 3, and Retina MacBook Pro.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/htkfJUtdX_s/story01.htm
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