Thursday, May 20, 2010

Sony Internet TV, DISH first with Google TV this fall; Adobe, Logitech and others along for the ride

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/20/sony-internet-tv-platform-is-first-with-google-tv-dish-adobe-and/

Sony will be first out of the gate with a Google TV powered device, with its "Sony Internet TV" devices -- in the form of either an HDTV or a set-top box with Blu-ray player -- arriving on shelves this fall. The rest of the partners were just as the rumors indicated, with Logitech adding a QWERTY Harmony remote, "companion box" to bridge the gap to existing home theater equipment and eventually video chat capabilities, Intel providing the CE4100 Atom processor at the heart of the devices and an Android 2.1 OS with Chrome browser brings it all together. DISH Network and Google have admitted to their ongoing trials but there's no word on any release date,(Update: We didn't catch it onstage, but DISH just announced it will enable "advanced integration" via HDMI on all of its HD DVR receivers this fall, details after the break) while Best Buy is already on board to sell all of this and inevitably offer to hook up those IR blasters for a fee, while Adobe is just happy to see another device that runs Flash 10.1. The rest of the details are in press release and video form after the break, but you can sign up for updates at Google.com/tv (developers check in here) or check out our ongoing liveblog right from Google I/O.

Update: Vic Gundotra just confirmed in a post-keynote press conference that TV will go international next year.

Continue reading Sony Internet TV, DISH first with Google TV this fall; Adobe, Logitech and others along for the ride

Sony Internet TV, DISH first with Google TV this fall; Adobe, Logitech and others along for the ride originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 13:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceDISH, Google.com/tv, Sony Android Developers  | Email this | Comments

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BeamBox Evolution R-2 -- one of the brightest little guys around

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/20/beambox-evolution-r-2-one-of-the-brightest-little-guys-around/

BeamBox has just outed its Revolution R-2 pico projector, and while nothing much that could be termed revolutionary has happened in the world of tiny projectors as of late, the R-2 certainly has one thing going for it: it's super bright. That's right, the Revolution R-2 boasts a 40 lumen LCoS chip, which means it should stand out where most picos are much less -- and often around 20 lumens. Other than that it will produce a 75-inch projection with a 200:1 contrast ratio, it's got 1GB of storage plus a microSD slot, A/V inputs and a Mini USB port, plus an integrated media player. The Revolution R-2 is available now for £250 (around $360).

BeamBox Evolution R-2 -- one of the brightest little guys around originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 17:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink About Projectors  |  sourceBeamBox  | Email this | Comments

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Corsair expands SandForce SF-1200-based SSD family with 60GB, 120GB and 240GB options

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/20/corsair-expands-sandforce-sf-1200-based-ssd-family-with-60gb-12/

Corsair stirred up something fierce when it dropped in a pair of SSDs to get the newfound Force series going, but obviously, just having a 100GB and 200GB model isn't exactly catering to every possible market. In order to remedy said quandary, the company is today expanding the Force family by three, with the 60GB F60, 120GB F120 and 240GB F240 joining the herd. All three are based around the well-received SandForce SF-1200 controller, and Corsair states that each supports a maximum throughput of 285MB/sec (read) and 275MB/sec (write). Per usual, the company's keeping quiet on the pricing front, but all that should be brought out into the open once they ship next month.

Continue reading Corsair expands SandForce SF-1200-based SSD family with 60GB, 120GB and 240GB options

Corsair expands SandForce SF-1200-based SSD family with 60GB, 120GB and 240GB options originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 May 2010 18:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Are you committing #FB suicide on May 31st? Here's 5 and a half reasons why you should consider it - http://bit.ly/biU3zq #Facebook

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Are you committing suicide on May 31st? Here's 5 and a half reasons why you should consider it - http://bit.ly/biU3zq

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The Blueprint To All Our Data Is Hidden Inside This Mountain Fortress [Preservation]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5542072/the-blueprint-to-all-our-data-is-hidden-inside-this-mountain-fortress

The Blueprint To All Our Data Is Hidden Inside This Mountain FortressIn the snowy Swiss Alps, behind a three and a half ton door that could withstand a nuclear attack and beyond a maze of passageways, scientists are depositing a capsule containing everything future generations will need to decipher our data.

The facility is the Swiss Fort Knox (really, that's what it's called) and the researchers are those of Planets, a project funded partially by the European Union with the aim of ensuring "long-term access to our digital cultural and scientific assets." As one of the project's leaders noted, Einstein's paper notes are still readable today; Stephen Hawking's digital ones, seven decades on, might not be.

Today, four years after their project began, the Planets team deposited a capsule deep into the heart of the Swiss Fort Knox compound, containing punch-cards, microfilm, floppy discs, audio tapes, CDs, DVDs, USB and Blu Ray media. They wanted to give the researchers of the future everything they might need to reconstruct our media and salvage our histories, regardless of how different their technological landscape looks.

Andreas Rauber, a Viennese professor and partner of the Planets team, explains:

Unlike hieroglyphics carved in stone or ink on parchment, digital data has a shelf life of years not millennia. Failure to implement adequate digital preservation measures now could cost us billions in the future.

But digital preservation isn't only a matter of economics. As we explored in our Memory Forever theme week, our society is increasingly trusting hard drives to do the work that brains—and paper—once did, and while that's working out for the present, there's no telling what to expect when it comes time to access our digital past. Be glad that some people are thinking ahead. [Planets Project and Swiss Fort Knox via PC Mag]

Image Swiss Fort Knox

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Google: "If You Are Not Getting A Day [of Android Battery], There Is Something Wrong" [Android]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5542314/google-if-you-are-not-getting-a-day-%5Bof-android-battery%5D-there-is-something-wrong

Google: "If You Are Not Getting A Day [of Android Battery], There Is Something Wrong"On the whole, most smartphones only give you a day's usage before the battery fizzles up—but Androids seem to be particularly juice-sucking. According to Larry Page however, if you're not getting a full day's use, there's "something wrong."

Page was speaking at the Google Zeitgeist forum yesterday in London, when he was asked about battery life. Throwing the blame on third-party developers, he said that apps are the reason people may not be getting a full 24 hours of battery life. Twitter and other social networking sites constantly connecting to draw new tweets or status updates are battery-draining for sure, but even without these apps running there are still problems.

Google's CEO Eric Schmidt was on hand to chip in that "the primary consumer of the battery life on these phones is the transmit/receive circuit. So tuning that and obviously figuring out a way to not use too much of that extends your battery life...and people bring in applications that are not particularly smart about that, which is what Larry is trying to get at." [TechRadar]

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MacBook refresh includes Mini DisplayPort that pumps out HDMI audio

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/18/macbook-refresh-includes-mini-displayport-that-pumps-out-hdmi-au/

When it comes to port standardization, Apple marches to the beat of its own drum... but in a rare show of leniency, the company's newly refreshed MacBook will throw home theatre aficionados a bone. Though Cupertino hasn't moved to actually include an HDMI-out (sacre bleu!), a new support document shows its Mini DisplayPort now provides an audio signal alongside the video feed. Should you move to purchase a VESA-compliant Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter like the one Apple's apparently not selling, you'll finally be able to enjoy digital sound without dropping $70 for the privilege. Fancy that! Now we just need USB 3.0 ports -- placed on opposite sides of the machine -- a SATA 6G socket and a FireWire 400 port. What can we say? We're the sentimental sort.

MacBook refresh includes Mini DisplayPort that pumps out HDMI audio originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 May 2010 22:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink&! nbsp;MacRumors  |  sourceApple  | Email this | Comments

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Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Extend Your Wireless Network with an Old Router and Powerline Adapters [Stuff We Like]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5542012/extend-your-wireless-network-with-an-old-router-and-powerline-adapters

Extend Your Wireless Network with an Old Router and Powerline AdaptersWe've showed you one way to turn your wifi router into a repeater, but if your router doesn't have the firmware or your walls aren't wireless-friendly, you can get similar results with the addition of a device called a powerline adapter.

Photo by Andy Butkaj.

While we definitely love hacking our routers with new firmware, it does have a few downsides, most notably the fact that it's a pain to install. Furthermore, you may not be comfortable installing third-party firmware that hacks your device, if your router doesn't have the required firmware available. Technology blog Tested points out that a couple powerline adapters can help give you the same results by connecting your old router to your network through the power lines already installed in your home.

Essentially, instead of wirelessly "extending" your network, you'll be turning your old router into an access point and putting it in the dead zone of your house. It'll still need to be connected to the network, though, which is where the powerline adapters come in. Powerline adapters plug into your A/C outlets and connect to your network. You don't need any kind of electrical experience to get them working. You could, of course wire it up via Ethernet, but you probably don't want Ethernet cables running all through your house—so powerline adapters are a pretty awesome way to go.

You'll need to tweak quite a few settings on your router to make this work, and powerline extenders aren't super cheap—you could probably pick a few up for the same price of a regular wireless network extender—but if you have a house that isn't wireless extender-friendly (due to thick walls or a strangely shaped house), this is a great way to get wireless everywhere you need it. Hit the link for the full guide, and let us know your experience with powerline extenders in the comments.

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Remains of the Day: Pay With Your iPhone Edition [For What It's Worth]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5541988/remains-of-the-day-pay-with-your-iphone-edition

pay-phone.pngVisa may soon let you pay the bill using your iPhone, Google buys another big VoIP company, and Kindle will make its way to Android this summer.

Photo from MobileCrunch.

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#smcnyc 95% of attendees will go home to use reclaimprivacy.org to see how much FB exposes about them

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#smcnyc FourSquare is niche and more intimate; Twitter is already too large to be intimate; but both could be obviated by Facebook or Google

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#smcnyc - more and more people are logging into Facebook as if it were porn (so FB can't cookie them, share personal data w 3rd party sites)

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#smcnyc Social Media Club NYC w/ Caroline McCarthy and Samir Balwani talking about new features in twitter and facebook (and privacy)

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Beautiful Air Purifier Doubles As A Smell-O-Vision Display [Concept]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5541225/beautiful-air-purifier-doubles-as-a-smell+o+vision-display

Beautiful Air Purifier Doubles As A Smell-O-Vision DisplayThe Twilight air purifier concept design has a slender, sheet-like OLED display which allows you to view videos or images while your air is cleaned of impurities, cooled down, and filled with a pleasant fragrance to match what you're watching.

Sure, the unit looks beautiful and like it could blend with most decors, but how long until you encounter a video that you really don't want to sniff? [Design Blog via Unplggd]

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