Monday, March 22, 2010

MakeMKV Rips DVDs and Blu-Rays With Just Two Clicks [Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5498519/makemkv-rips-dvds-and-blu+rays-with-just-two-clicks

MakeMKV Rips DVDs and Blu-Rays With Just Two ClicksWindows/Mac/Linux: It's still slim pickings when it comes to finding a good freeware application for ripping Blu-Ray discs, but ripping and converting tool MakeMKV is free for as long as it's in beta—and it's undoubtedly the simplest ripper around.

Those of you with large Blu-Ray collections have probably already invested in a good ripping tool, but those running a bit behind on the format changes (or that don't have the space on your HTPC to hold all those 50 GB files) should take advantage of this limited time opportunity. MakeMKV is a two-click decrypting, ripping and converting tool for DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. Literally all you do is pop in the disc, click the DVD or Blu-Ray icon, and then hit Make MKV—30 minutes later, you've got yourself a high-definition MKV file that can be played in most media players (like Lifehacker favorites VLC or XBMC). You can opt to rip only certain chapters, as well as edit a few advanced preferences, but the default settings work just fine for those not well versed in DVD ripping lingo.

MakeMKV is a free download for all operating systems. DVD ripping will always be free, but Blu-Ray ripping is only free as long as it's in beta, after which it will go to a to-be-determined price, so get ripping now!

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The iPad Kindle App Is a Peek at Kindle's Full Color Future [Kindle]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5498724/the-ipad-kindle-app-is-a-peek-at-kindles-full-color-future

The iPad Kindle App Is a Peek at Kindle's Full Color FutureThe Kindle iPad app's more than an upscaled iPhone port, with a new "tablet-based interface that redesigns the core screen and the reading experience," says Kindle VP Ian Freed. In other words, it's a peek at the future of Kindle.

Here's how the NYT describes it (the pic above is of Apple's iBooks app):

The Kindle app for the iPad, which Amazon demonstrated to a reporter last week, allows readers to slowly turn pages with their fingers. It also presents two new ways for people to view their entire e-book collection, including one view where large images of book covers are set against a backdrop of a silhouetted figure reading under a tree. The sun's position in that image varies with the time of day.

It's hard to tell from that whether it's going to be more like Cover Flow, or like the iPad's kinda cheesy wood bookshelves. But, it's likely our first taste of the Kindle interface for the new, super Kindles being developed with full color multitouch displays and Wi-Fi. Or at least, it's practice for Amazon. (Granted, those super Kindles at least a year away, unless Amazon had been working everything but the touchscreen before they bought Touchco, the company supplying their quite cool-sounding multitouch display tech.)

The reason Amazon and Barnes & Noble need apps to get their books onto your iPad, even though Steve Jobs touted the iPad's format of choice, epub, for its popularity and openness, is that they each use their own crazy formats and DRM (particularly Amazon). Amazon's books won't work at all, and the only B&N books that'll work are DRM-free epub files. Obviously, the apps offer other benefits, like syncing, but format compatibility is a huge reason.

The question, really, is whether or not Apple's going to let them build their own ebook stores into the apps, now that they'd be competing with Apple's own iBooks store. B&N's iPhone app, for instance, lets you buy books directly through the app, but iBooks wasn't an issue at the time.

The best thing Apple could do? Let them be. The easiest way to convert a Kindle customer into an iBooks customer is to let them seamlessly move to the iPad, bringing all their old books and their Kindle account with them. Then, if the iBooks experience is better than Kindle's or B&N's, for the same price, they'll switch. If people can't bring their old books along for the ride, they're less likely to hop on, plus if Apple gimps or bans Amazon or B&N's apps, they'll just look like callow dicks, afraid of the competition. If the competition makes everybody's ebook apps better, then everybody wins. Then again, if Apple's selling tons of iPads, making lots of money, I guess they win either way. [NYT]

(P.S. If you want to send us photos of the Kindle iPad app, that would be dandy.)

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MSI's 15.6-inch P600 gives a Core i5 to those 'business folks'

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/22/msis-15-6-inch-p600-gives-a-core-i5-to-those-business-folks/

MSI may still be struggling for respect here in America, but one thing's for sure: it's got you covered on all bases. From netbooks to entertainment rigs to this here business machine, MSI's got a lappie for just about every possible type of user. The understated 15.6-incher sports a fancy new Core i5 processor, the company's own ECO Engine (for saving power when you're not taxing the system), a battery good for eight hours, biometric fingerprint reader for keeping those top secret company documents under wraps and a multitouch trackpad to boot. Since it's meant for business, you'll only get an integrated graphics set, but you will find up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 1,366 x 768 resolution panel, a 250/320/500GB hard drive, SD / SDHC / MMC card reader, HDMI / VGA outputs, a pair of USB 2.0 sockets, eSATA, audio in / out, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1 and a 1.3 megapixel webcam. Per usual, MSI's not dishing details on pricing and availability, but we're sure it'll be ready for the taking here soon.

MSI's 15.6-inch P600 gives a Core i5 to those 'business folks' originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 01:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Infinite USB plug is a big idea for small conveniences

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/22/infinite-usb-plug-is-a-big-idea-for-small-conveniences/

In a classic case of "why didn't we think of this first," Chinese design student Gonglue Jiang has shown us a new way for overcoming the limitations imposed by the scarcity of USB ports on some computers. Instead of forcing you to constantly hot swap devices into that one port, Gonglue's Infinite USB plugs keep all your cables connected, thereby facilitating those smartphone syncs, spy camera recharges, and -- for the ultimate irony -- maybe even a USB hub. If you're thinking this would be brought down by a bout of bandwidth starvation once you start some USB multitasking, you're probably right, but power shortages shouldn't be an issue as the author has also come up with an external power connector that joins into his Infinite queue of connectivity. If only this wasn't just a concept.

Infinite USB plug is a big idea for small conveniences originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 04:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Yanko Design  |  sourceGonglue Jiang  | Email this | Comments

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Sunday, March 21, 2010

PageAddict Charts Your Web Surfing Habits [Downloads]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5497377/pageaddict-charts-your-web-surfing-habits

PageAddict Charts Your Web Surfing HabitsFirefox: Tracking habits—whether you're tracking your spending, amount of sleep, or other personal metrics—is an excellent way to get a big picture of what's going on in your life. PageAddict tracks and charts your web browsing for your review.

PageAddict is a Firefox extension that sits in the background and quietly monitors every web site you visit. You can review the list at any time and apply tags to the types of sites you visit to categorize them as work, research, personal, games, email, or any other category that will help you visualize what constitutes your browsing time.

In addition to providing visual feedback on what you're browsing you can also, if you notice a particular time suck in your browsing history, restrict access to specific sites. Your restriction can take the form of minutes or an outright ban. Check out the full site at the link below for additional information and screenshots. PageAddict is free and works wherever Firefox does.

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Top 10 Remote Control and Streaming Tools [Lifehacker Top 10]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5497960/top-10-remote-control-and-streaming-tools

Top 10 Remote Control and Streaming ToolsStreaming recorded TV to your hotel room. Grabbing files off your home computer from work. Checking on the dog walker. Your computer can do amazing things while you're nowhere near it, and these 10 killer remote access apps help you do them.

Photo by Xjs-Khaos.

10. DJ Your iTunes Playlists From Any Room

Top 10 Remote Control and Streaming ToolsThe Remote app for iPhones and iPod touch is a convenience in letting you control a single computer's iTunes output from anywhere within range of the same Wi-Fi network. Throw in an AirPort Express and some other gear, and Remote can become a multi-room wireless remote for as many iTunes setups as you've got going during your ultimate birthday party.

9. Install Wake-on-LAN for Remote Power-Ups

Top 10 Remote Control and Streaming ToolsThe coolest remote streaming apps in the world won't do a thing if all your computers at home are powered off. Set them up to wake up whenever you ping them from afar by configuring them with Wake-on-LAN. Sometimes written as WOL in geek circles, Wake-on-LAN's weakness in this modern age is that it requires a wired ethernet connection, so your wireless laptop won't be able to wake up. Your media center PC or desktop, though, will be glad to hear from you.

8. Be At Home Anywhere with OpenVPN

Top 10 Remote Control and Streaming ToolsGetting at shared folders, accessing sites restricted by corporate firewalls, and hooking into your iTunes library as if you were on the same network. VPN connections can make such convenience happen, and OpenVPN is the free, open-source way to get there. It works as a server running on a computer you keep going all the time, and it's also integrated into the Tomato and DD-WRT firmware that we've used to upgrade our routers into home network superstars. (Original post)

7. Watch Recorded TV with Remote Potato

Once you get Remote Potato set up, you'll get nearly full access to your Windows 7 Media Center anywhere you have a browser up and running. Through a Silverlight plug-in, you can watch shows you've recorded, set up new recordings, and otherwise fine-tune your fairly awesome setup. (Original post)

6. Control Torrent Downloading Remotely

Top 10 Remote Control and Streaming ToolsWhen you're not home, or away from home, you can still make use of that broadband connection just sitting dark around your house. We've gone in-depth on uTorrent and its great remote web interface, but other torrent clients, like Transmission, can just as easily let you add, throttle, start and pause, and cancel your torrents. Whether you've just thought of something to watch when you get home, or your spouse can't figure out why their web access is glacial, it can be quite a helpful feature.

5. Give Remote Tech Support with CrossLoop

Top 10 Remote Control and Streaming ToolsWhat if the computer you're trying to fix, or grab a file from, isn't your own, and so isn't set up with all kinds of neat VNC servers and remote desktop access? That's where CrossLoop comes in. The free PC and Mac application pares down the remote control protocols to simply require the person giving up control to provide the controller with a small authorization code, and from there, it's like magic net juice. You're connected, you can grab files and click on things, and you're good until the other party decides to disconnect. It's one of the best ways to give tech support, and receive it, too.

4. Keep an Eye On What's Happening at Home

Top 10 Remote Control and Streaming ToolsUnless your dogs perform amazing tricks when you're not around, this away-from-home setup isn't quite as fun, but it can elicit some ooh-neat responses. Setting up a motion-sensing, remotely monitored webcam, like Vitamin D, Motion Detection, or HighlightCam, lets you see what's happening in your home when you're not there, and maybe even keep tabs on the paid dog walker. (Original posts: Vitamin D, HighlightCam, Motion Detection)

3. Stream Media Anywhere with Orb

Top 10 Remote Control and Streaming ToolsWhat Orb does isn't new or entirely novel, but Orb does make streaming your media very easy. Whether between PC and Mac computers, from computers to a Wii, or to an iPhone app, Orb is the pain-free way to ensure that if you've invested in ripping CDs and DVDs, or downloading good stuff from the web to your main computer, it's always available to wherever else you happen to have a screen in front of you.

2. Do Everything Else with a Home Server

Top 10 Remote Control and Streaming ToolsWhether you're creating a dedicated Windows Home Server, modifying a desktop to be a personal web server, or getting a bit more geeky with reader favorite Ubuntu Server Edition, having a server at home, and opening it beyond your home network, can be really useful. You can easily assign a domain name, run an FTP server, stream music through Jinzora, and do much, much more.

1. Use Your Home Computer Through LogMeIn

Top 10 Remote Control and Streaming ToolsIt's available for free on Mac and PC, it's a reader favorite, it makes setting up a remote VNC connection between systems fairly simple, and it has many uses. It's good at remote tech support, running boring maintenance while you're away, and you can go beyond the free offerings by augmenting it with other free apps. With a strong enough connection, you can theoretically do anything on your computer from a distance with LogMeIn, and that's a great thing.


What apps do you use to connect back home when you're away? How do you get at your home media when you've got downtime? Tell us about your tips and tools in the comments.

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Easily Add Clouds to Any Picture in Photoshop [Photoshop]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5498062/easily-add-clouds-to-any-picture-in-photoshop

Easily Add Clouds to Any Picture in PhotoshopThere's nothing like a clear blue sky in real life, but it doesn't create for the most interesting photos—Weblog MakeUseOf has a nice tutorial for easily creating clouds to spice up the skies.

There are a number of ways to do this in Photoshop, but MakeUseOf opts to use the very handy Render > Clouds tool (Under Filter), which creates a cloud-like pattern using your currently chosen foreground and background colors (which, as long as we're talking about Earth, will likely be white and blue, respectively). They might not be the most realistic clouds of all time, but you may be able to tweak the Levels a little bit to make it look as good as possible. Hit the link for more detailed instructions if you're not already a Photoshop guru—and if you are, let us know your cloud-creating tips in the comments!

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Build a Vortex Cannon [Science]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5494446/build-a-vortex-cannon

Build a Vortex CannonIf you've been sitting around all week wondering how you could combine smoke, speakers, and a love of novel physics experiments into an excuse to tinker in your workshop this weekend, building a smoke-shooting vortex cannon should cover everything nicely.

Over at Make, the DIY-centric magazine, they've put together a video tutorial on how to build your own vortex cannons. The first cannon is essentially a super size version of the DIY Airzooka we shared with you years ago—bigger is better! The second model they create however is powered not by an elastic membrane stretched across the back of the tube but by the kick of a big speaker. Check out the video below to see the construction of the vortex cannon and the cannons in action:

Build a Vortex Cannon

It's a really hard thing to capture on video but having built my own smoke-ring-shooting vortex cannon several years ago I can attest to how fun playing with one is. On a still day you can easily shoot a nice tight smoke ring 30-40 feet before it breaks apart and the actual vortex will extend well beyond the visibility range. Using a small hand held cannon I was able to easily ruffle the leaves on the tops of trees.

Have your own experience with vortex cannons or other showy home science experiments? Let's hear about it in the comments.

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Would the iPad Take Over Casual Home Gaming? [Chart]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5497379/would-the-ipad-take-over-casual-home-gaming

Would the iPad Take Over Casual Home Gaming?Get ready, because this one may get big: 44% of all iPad applications being tested on the actual device are games. Hey Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft, the iPhone/iPod titan is getting its tentacles all over the living room.

The iPhone/iPod monster has positioned itself as the preferred mobile gaming platform for developers and is quickly becoming one of the largest game platforms in the planet, with 75 million iPhone OS devices sold in just 2.5 years. The current king of all game platforms sold 125 million units of the much cheaper Nintendo DS in five years and two months.

Now Apple is moving the action into the living room. Would gaming be one of main purposes of the iPad? Would the iPad become the next casual home gaming juggernaut, like the Wii? The market will tell in time, but apparently developers think that the possibility is there. Their reasoning seems solid: The iPhone/iPod demonstrated that you don't need buttons and a d-pad to offer a good gaming experience to most people (not only hardcore gamers). It's the same road first taken by the Nintendo DS and then the Wii. Both have a big amount of incredibly successful games that don't use buttons at all and require little involvement and time. In fact, it seems like consumers—not hardcore gamers—favor that kind of interaction, along with games that can be easily shared and enjoyed by a few people at the same time.

The iPad Sharing Factor

Like the iPhone/iPod Touch, the iPad is a continuation of this road. Unlike its handheld brothers, however, the bigger screen of the iPad is good to share the game experience with other people. I can easily picture two or three people sitting together on a sofa, playing with one iPad, passing it around in turns. I can also imagine multiple iPads in the same household, and people playing networked games in separate screens. Or people around a table, playing a board game touching the iPad and using their iPhones. Except this board game would have spectacular graphics and be fully animated. And perhaps have remote players connected too.

Given the general direction of the market and the possibilities of the platform, it's not surprising that game developers are pushing so hard for the iPad. It's yet to be seen if the Apple device would be a success or not, but having such a developer support is going to play a big role. The fact is that developers are betting that it will be a success in the gaming department. 44% is a huge figure, especially considering that the next category—entertainment—only grabs 14%. And especially considering that this is a completely unknown device. They don't have too much to lose, since the games can target both the iPad and the iPhone/iPod Touch.

I don't know about you, but I can't wait for a fully-networked Tron light cycle game for the iPad, with each device being a bike cockpit. [Business Week]

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Energy-Generating Waterfall Doubles As Bungee Platform [Concept]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5497642/energy+generating-waterfall-doubles-as-bungee-platform

Energy-Generating Waterfall Doubles As Bungee PlatformDuring the night, this tower is an energy-generating waterfall. During the day, it creates power using large solar panels while allowing bungee jumpers to leap from level 90.5.

Designed by RAFAA with the 2016 Olympic Games in mind, the Solar City Tower is supposed to be "a symbol for the forces of nature." Basically it combines a tourist attraction with an all-day source of renewable energy.

While not entirely unheard of, it seems a bit odd that excess energy from the day is being used to pump water over the tower to generate power at night. Is the net energy gain truly significant?

Intentions and eco-friendiness aside, the big question here is whether they can leave the waterfall running while someone jumps off the edge. [Eco Friend via Inhabitat]

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ASUS' Express Gate 2.0 instant-on OS demoed on video

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/asus-express-gate-2-0-instant-on-os-demoed-on-video/

ASUS' original ExpressGate instant-on OS may be getting a little long in the tooth, but it looks like it's finally due for a serious replacement. While it didn't cause much fanfare at the time, ASUS was apparently showing off version 2.0 of the SlashTop-based OS at CeBIT earlier this month, and Notebook Italia has just now provided a quick hands-on video that gives us some idea of what's in store. As you can see, the biggest change is the interface, which now looks more than a little like webOS' cards system, and represents a significant step up form the barebones original. Head on past the break to check it out for yourself.

[Thanks, Sal]

Continue reading ASUS' Express Gate 2.0 instant-on OS demoed on video

ASUS' Express Gate 2.0 instant-on OS demoed on video originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP flexible display unfurled on video

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/20/hp-flexible-display-unfurled-on-video/

HP has been working on flexible displays for some time now, but it looks like things are starting to get a bit more real. Not real as in actual products, mind you -- but real like a big, flexible display spotted out in the wild. Doing the honors for this one is Hardware.info, which not only snapped shot above, but captured some of the action on video (head on past the break for that). Interestingly, HP doesn't actually see these panels being used in truly flexible or rollable displays -- the material itself would only survive being rolled up about a half dozen times -- but instead sees them being used to simply make displays thinner and lighter.

[Thanks, Frank]

Continue reading HP flexible display unfurled on video

HP flexible display unfurled on video originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceHardware.info  | Email this | Comments

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MSI Wind12 U230 unboxed and benchmarked, trounces netbooks of yesteryear

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/20/msi-wind12-u230-unboxed-and-benchmarked-trounces-netbooks-of-ye/

It's no Pine Trail when it comes to power consumption, but AMD's Congo platform is no slouch, either. TestFreaks recently received the Congo-powered MSI Wind12-U230 for review, and discovered that its dual-core Athlon X2 L335 CPU and speedy Seagate drive made neat work of last year's Atom netbooks, including the formerly formidable HP Mini 311. After shooting the requisite unboxing video and posing the slender machine for a few close-ups, TestFreaks praised the large, comfortable keyboard and touchpad, while scoffing at only four hours of net browsing as the entirety of its battery life. You'll find pics, a host of benchmarks and even CPU-Z screens at the source link; now, we just want to see how the netbook handles a contemporary competitor.

MSI Wind12 U230 unboxed and benchmarked, trounces netbooks of yesteryear originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTestFreaks &! nbsp;|&n bsp;Email this | Comments

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BIS 3.0 coming to North American BlackBerry users next weekend?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/20/bis-3-0-coming-to-north-american-blackberry-users-next-weekend/

It seems almost too good to be true, but it looks like the era of usable Gmail integration on BlackBerry might finally be upon us. CrackBerry is citing information that BIS 3.0 will be rolled out to North American customers in the wee hours of Sunday, March 28, when most of us are in a peaceful slumber (a good thing, considering that data services will be mostly down during the four-hour window). Out of the gate, 3.0 will offer Gmail label creation and deletion when using the plug-in along with support for OpenDocument file types and WMA audio, but the real meat should come shortly thereafter as two-way synchronization of read status and sent messages "will be added throughout the Spring 2010 by region." Technically, Spring starts today, so this could show up the moment BIS 3.0 goes live -- but given that we've waited literally years for this to happen, we're not getting our hopes up prematurely.

BIS 3.0 coming to North American BlackBerry users next weekend? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceCrackBerry  | Email this | Comments

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Neofonie announces WePad 11.6-inch Android slate

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/20/neofonie-announces-wepad-11-6-inch-android-slate/

Another day, another Android tablet render. This one, the imaginatively titled WePad, is as ambitious as its name might suggest. (You know, because "we" is plural of "I"? Yeah, it's a stretch.) Dwarfing the iPad with its 11.6-inch (1366 x 768) display, a 1.66GHz Intel Atom N450 processor, GMA 3150 graphics, webcam, two USB ports, flash card reader, UMTS modem, and a mooted six hours of battery life, we could see ourselves picking one up -- provided the price point is decent. But that's just the beginning! The manufacturer, Neofonie, also has designs on a WePad app store and, if all goes according to plan, this thing'll sport genuine Google Android and the Android Market. The company also mentions something called the "WeMagazine publishing ecosystem," the basis of a turn-key operation for getting your own branded device out on the e-reader market, so if you're looking to get into the biz just hit the source link to begin your adventure. As for us, we'll wait to see a final product before we jump to any conclusions.

Neofonie announces WePad 11.6-inch Android slate originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Mar 2010 21:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Liliputing  |  sourceWePad  | Email this | Comments

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