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Thursday, April 07, 2011

RockYou Promotes Lisa Marino to CEOâ¦.And Sheâs Excited about It (TCTV)

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2011/04/07/rockyou-promotes-lisa-marino-to-ceo-and-shes-excited-about-it-tctv/

Forgive the snarky headline, but history has shown that navigating a once-hot consumer Web company through the trough of the hype cycle is one of the hardest jobs in Silicon Valley. And very few come out with a billion winner on the other side. (Cough, cough, MySpace, Digg, Six Apart…)

But if anyone is going to pull a turn-around off at RockYou, it’s Lisa Marino. Marino joined RockYou in better days, when her husband Ro Choy was the company’s head of business development. Choy left to start his own thing, but Marino stayed on, continually taking on more and more sales and executive responsibility as the company began to crumble.

She took over as chief operating officer nine months ago, managing layoffs (including possibly RockYou’s founder Lance Tokuda) while she successfully recruited new gaming talent starting with senior VP of games Jonathan Knight. Likewise, she spent nine months cutting expenses dramatically, while managing to grow the top line more than 40% in the fourth quarter. Typically, those two don’t go hand-in-hand.

Presented with a much leaner, faster-growing social gaming company with plenty of cash in the bank, the board was pleased enough with Marino’s job to give her a promotion to CEO. But will these early victories be enough to turn the company around and differentiate itself from larger, sexier players like Zynga?

Marino tells us her hopes and fears for RockYou in the clip below.

CrunchBase Information

Information provided by CrunchBase

T-Mobile G2X priced at $200, coming April 15th online and April 20th in stores (update: Sidekick 4G date)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/07/t-mobile-g2x-priced-at-200-coming-april-15th-online-and-april/

The official word has been spoken with regard the T-Mobile G2X. LG's dual-core, pure Android handset will be hitting T-Mo's online outlet on April 15th for $200, and the same price will also apply in stores when it lands on April 20th. There's a pesky $50 mail-in rebate to negotiate your way around, but after that you're looking at one of the finest and smoothest Android experiences we've laid our hands on yet.

[Thanks, Kyle]

Update: The Sidekick 4G has also received its date with T-Mobile destiny: April 20th for $100 on contract.

Continue reading T-Mobile G2X priced at $200, coming April 15th online and April 20th in stores (update: Sidekick 4G date)

T-Mobile G2X priced at $200, coming April 15th online and April 20th in stores (update: Sidekick 4G date) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 09:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Save and Refill Any Web Form with a User Script [User Scripts]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/#!5789607/save-and-refill-any-web-form-with-a-user-script

Most browsers: You're filling out your shipping address on Amazon, and you decide you want to continue shopping. You grab a few more items and—oh no!—now you're stuck filling out that form again. Avoid this annoyance with a simple userscript.

The Simple Form Saver userscript adds a small button to the corner of your screen on form pages. After filling out the form (or during the process, just to be safe), all you need to do is click that button and it will save the entire form, as-is, for you. That way if you need to come back and you find the form empty, you can just hit the button again to have the entire page restored exactly the way you had it. It isn't the only form saver on the planet, but it is one of the best I've seen in a while.

Obviously, this isn't always a problem—things like LastPass might be able to fill in some forms for you. I've found, however, that these are never that reliable, and often only fill in a few things that I want, if that (and they aren't always accurate). And it doesn't work if you're filling out some other type of more obscure form. Simple Form Filler is remarkably reliable, since it just copies whatever you have on the page instead of trying to "guess" which boxes apply to which of its saved values. Plus it has a ton of other features—Hit the link to see what else it can do, and to try it out in your favorite Greasemonkey-compatible browser.

Simple Form Filler | Userscripts.org via MakeUseOf

You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.

Instacast for iPhone [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/#!5789612/instacast-for-iphone

Everyone likes a good podcast—and if you don't you should!—but Apple doesn't exactly make it easy to make sure you're staying up to date. Instacast, essentially an RSS reader for podcasts, makes it super simple to find podcasts, listen to them at home, or download them for when you're out and about.

What is it?

Instacast, $2, iPhone. There's a lot not to like about the podcast manager that's built in to iOS. It relies heavily on iTunes and syncing. It doesn't make finding new podcasts particularly easy nor keeping the ones you already subscribe to up to date. If you listen to podcasts even occasionally, it's worth checking out Instacast, a full-on podcast solution that will slurp up the ones you're already subscribed to, point out popular podcasts, and, mercifully, let you refresh all your podcasts with a single tap and download them for offline listening in a snap.

Who's it good for?

People who listen to podcasts; people who want to see how Apple should be doing the podcast thang.

Why's it better than alternatives?

It's totally intuitive, grabs the podcasts you already subscribe to (making the transition totally painless), and does it all with a simple, unobstrusive interface that actually looks right at home next to the iPod app. Basically, you could forget you're using a third party podcast app at all. And the "pull to refresh" mechanism, a la Twitter, feels as good as ever.

Instacast for iPhone

How could it be even better?

Please, an iPad version for my beloved video podcasts! My only other complaint is that the "popular" list skews heavily towards nerdy Mac-related podcasts, but I guess that's more a problem with the user base.

Instacast | iTunes

We're always looking for cool apps—for iOS, Android, Windows Phone or whatever else—to feature as App of the Day. If you come across one you think we should take a look at, please let us know.

For more apps, check out our weekly app roundups for iPhone, iPad, and Android

Music: Kevin MacLeod

Remains of the Day: Google Pulls Grooveshark from Android Market [For What It's Worth]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/#!5789570/remains-of-the-day-google-pulls-grooveshark-from-android-market

Fring's new beta brings four-way video calling to your smartphone, TweetDeck tests an HTML5 web client, and Google ejects Grooveshark's streaming music app from the Android Market.

Fring brings group video calling to iPhone and Android with new beta
The next release of popular VoIP app Fring will bring free, mobile group calling to your smartphone. The feature is currently available for testing through a limited beta. [Download Squad]
Testing The Future - Introducing TweetDeck Web Beta
Social media management tool TweetDeck tests out a new, browser-agnostic web client. [The TweetDeck Blog]
Google boots Grooveshark from Android Market
Citing ambiguous policy violations, Google ejects Grooveshark's streaming music app from the Android Market. [CNET]
Fun Tip: Search Google For "Tilt" Or "Askew" On Your Smartphone
Type either "tilt" or "askew" into the mobile version of Google Search for a bit of catawampus CSS surprisery. [TNW]
#HootSuite Acquires TwitterBar – Use the #HootBar to Tweet from the Address Bar
HootSuite acquires tweet-from-your-address-bar Firefox add-on TwitterBar, rechristens it HootBar. [HootSuite]
Skype 2.2 Beta for Linux
Skype 2.2 Beta comes to Linux. Changes include improved audio and video quality, call waiting, new support for Skype Access, and a number of Linux-specific bug fixes. [Skype]

A Single Tweet Led to the Highest-Altitude Dance Party Ever [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/#!5789784/a-single-tweet-led-to-the-highest+altitude-dance-party-ever

Need proof of Twitter's power? This heart-warming story is it. Of course, old school companies' values such as KLM airline's willingness to help—and the Guinness book of world records' keenness to always be where the action is were the deciding factors in today's lovely little tale of the world's highest-altitude dance party.

It all began when KLM airline announced they'd be doing direct flights from Amsterdam to Miami at the end of March, and Dutch DJ Seid van Riel and producer Wilco Jung replied, asking them to about the possibility of moving the flight one week ahead of schedule, so they could get to Miami for a music festival.

Keen to help (or grab some headlines), KLM replied with the daunting challenge—if they could find enough people to fill the plane to capacity, they would oblige by moving the inaugural flight forwards. Naturally the DJ and producer managed to find fellow passengers, and as you can see in the video below, the whole thing was documented by the press, and won them the Guinness record for the highest altitude dance party. The record to beat now stands at 10km above sea level. [Social-Times]

Gartner: Android grabbing over 38 percent of smartphone market in 2011 on Symbian's demise

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/07/gartner-android-grabbing-over-38-percent-of-smartphone-market-i/

We like, ok, love poking fun at analysts' long term forecasts given the volatility of the smartphone market. Nobody, neither Gartner nor IDC, predicted the meteoric rise of Android and iOS, thus making their four-year projections (measured to a decimal point) laughable, to say the least. Shorten that timeline to the end of the year, however, and the accuracy of these forecasts tends to increase dramatically.

Gartner just released its smartphone projections that align very closely with the numbers released by IDC a few weeks ago. Both research firms see Nokia hemorrhaging its smartphone dominance in 2011 after announcing plans to adopt the Windows Phone platform. Gartner sees Symbian pulling in a remarkably low 19.2 percent (down from 37.6 percent in 2010 or an impressive 46.9 percent share held back in 2009) regardless of Nokia's insistence that it still has some 150 million Symbian handsets to ship -- IDC, as you'll recall, was a bit more gracious with a 20.9 percent projection for Symbian in 2011. Like IDC, Gartner sees Microsoft making a dramatic comeback just as soon as Nokia can flood its global channels with mid-tier handsets by the end of 2012 with the Windows Phone operating system ultimately rising to the number two spot in global marketshare (Gartner says 19.5 percent to IDC's 20.9 percent) by, eh hem, 2015. Gartner expects the iOS smartphone slice to peak with a 19.4 percent share (to IDC's 15.7 percent) in 2011 before dipping a bit under the strain of an Android juggernaut and Apple's reluctance to sacrifice margins (and profits) for market share. Gartner expects Android to increase the 22.7 market share it enjoyed in 2010 to 38.5 percent in 2011 (compared to the IDC's slightly more aggressive 39.5 percent share) on the way to dominating the competition with a 49.2 percent share in 2012. Bringing up the rear then is RIM with an estimated chunk of just 13.4 percent in 2011 (compared to 16 percent in 2010) with further declines through 2015 even after the BlackBerry maker migrates to QNX in 2012. Ouch.

As for WebOS: sorry HP, you're in the "other" category along with Bada.

Continue reading Gartner: Android grabbing over 38 percent of smartphone market in 2011 on Symbian's demise

Gartner: Android grabbing over 38 percent of smartphone market in 2011 on Symbian's demise originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 06:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Polaris produces 9300xi Sport poolbot, does your underwater scum sucking for you

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/07/polaris-produces-9300xi-sport-poolbot-does-your-underwater-scum/

Has your cabana boy, Sergio, been shirking his aquatic responsibilities, sipping Mai Tais and tanning instead of skimming leaves? Well, pool possessors, it may be time to fire the laggard and replace him with the new Polaris 9300xi Sport. This newest Polaris poolbot can be programmed to perform its janitorial duties for up to six hours at a time of your choosing, and has a remote control for spot-specific scrubbing. Not only that, it combines water-jet propulsion with wheels that can climb walls and steps to spruce up every nook and cranny of your backyard basin in true Spiderman-style. Of course, such underwater robotic wizardry doesn't come cheap, as the 9300xi has an MSRP of $1499. That makes the iRobot Verro 500 and its $999 price look like a robot bargain by comparison, but it's still cheaper than Sergio, right?

Gallery: Polaris 9300xi Sport poolbot

Continue reading Polaris produces 9300xi Sport poolbot, does your underwater scum sucking for you

Polaris produces 9300xi Sport poolbot, does your underwater scum sucking for you originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google adding touchscreen-friendly tweaks to Chrome OS, still has tablets on its mind

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/07/google-adding-touchscreen-friendly-tweaks-to-chrome-os-still-ha/

When a tablet version of Chrome OS was teased back in February of last year, we found it a legitimately exciting proposition. Now that we have Android's Honeycomb iteration designed specifically for slates, however, we're having to wonder just why Google's still chasing that keyboard-less dream with its web-centric OS. CNET has been doing some snooping in and around the latest iterations of Chrome OS, where it's discovered numerous pieces of circumstantial evidence, such as a new onscreen keyboard, suggesting tablets are still very much on the menu. Chrome OS kicked off life on the development device known as Cr-48 and will resume availability this summer courtesy of Acer and Samsung, though we'd kind of assumed it would stick to notebooks now that Android's making a sincere effort on devices bigger than an EVO. Mountain View has responded to CNET's queries with a pretty inconclusive statement, saying only that "We are engaging in early open-source work for the tablet form factor, but we have nothing new to announce at this time." Check out last year's concept video after the break.

Continue reading Google adding touchscreen-friendly tweaks to Chrome OS, still has tablets on its mind

Google adding touchscreen-friendly tweaks to Chrome OS, still has tablets on its mind originally appeared o! n Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Add Custom Webapps to Chrome's New Tab Page [Webapps]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/#!5789383/add-custom-webapps-to-chromes-new-tab-page

While custom new tab pages like previously mentioned Myfav.es are great, some of you may prefer Chrome's default for its easy access to Chrome-only webapps. Here's how to add your other favorite pages to Chrome's new tab page.

By default, there doesn't seem to be an easy way to just add any old web site to Chrome's new tab page. If you want just as quick access to, say, Lifehacker as you do the New York Times or TweetDeck, reader andrew.yeh.10 shows us how:

You can create webapps for the Chrome new tab page even if they're not in the Chrome Web Store.

Make a new folder and create a new text file called "manifest.json" inside it. Fill in the name, description, urls, and launch page:

  { "name": "Name_of_web_app", "description": "Description of web app", "version": "1.0", "icons": { "128": "128.png" }, "app": { "urls": [ "http://yourwebsitehere.com" ], "launch": { "web_url": "http://yourwebsitehere.com" } }, "permissions": [ "unlimitedStorage", "notifications" ] }

Then, in the same folder, save a 128x128 png image as "128.png." This will be used as the webapp's icon.

After this is done, go to chrome://extensions/. Open up the developer mode (top right) and "Load unpacked extension." Navigate to the folder you created and hit OK.

Alternatively, you can "Pack extension" by clicking the option and navigating to the folder. This will create an installable .crx file.

Dropbox can keep your personal chrome web apps in sync between computers.

App gives HTC Thunderbolt an LTE on / off switch

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/05/app-gives-htc-thunderbolt-an-lte-on-off-switch/

Looking to save a bit of battery life on your Thunderbolt by dialing down those crazy LTE speeds from time to time? Then you now have a relatively easy way to do so courtesy of the new LTE OnOff app that's just hit the Android Market. That's apparently similar to a few other options available, but this one's free, and it will let you switch from LTE to 3G only with just three taps. Sound good? Hit up the link below to download it straight to your Thunderbolt.

App gives HTC Thunderbolt an LTE on / off switch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Richard Branson launches Virgin Oceanic to explore the ocean's depths

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/05/richard-branson-launches-virgin-oceanic-to-explore-the-oceans-d/

Sir Richard Branson may have already branded his Necker Nymph aero submarine with the "Virgin Oceanic" moniker, but he's now finally taken things to the next logical (and ambitious) step. He's just announced a new, full-fledged venture of the same name, which promises to do to nothing short of dive to the deepest part of each of the Earth's five oceans -- all within the next two years, no less. That will be done with the one-manned sub pictured above, which was designed by Graham Hawkes and will be piloted by Chris Welsh on its first dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench later this year -- those two are Branson's partners in the venture, and Branson himself is set to pilot the sub on its second mission to the Puerto Rico Trench. Not surprisingly, one of the team's goals is to set a few world records, but they're also planning to conduct some scientific research along the way, and are already musing about future vehicles that could collect samples and allow for more extensive research. Head on past the break for a teaser video, although we're told it should not be assumed to reflect an actual mission.

Continue reading Richard Branson launches Virgin Oceanic to explore the ocean's depths

Richard Branson launches Virgin Oceanic to explore the ocean's depths originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 17:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Kinect hack turns tourists into 3D souvenirs (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/05/kinect-hack-turns-tourists-into-3d-souvenirs-video/

As souvenirs go, a miniature replica of yourself -- striking a pose of your choosing on Barcelona's La Rambla street -- is a far sight more original than a bullfights-and-senoritas snow globe. This past January, the hilariously titled BlablabLAB enlisted three Kinects and a RepRap machine to snap passersby and render them into personalized tchotchkes, in a project called Be Your Own Souvenir. Subjects stood atop a small platform, mimicking the human statues on La Rambla, as the Kinects captured their likeness in full 360-degree glory. The resulting images were then processed as a mesh reconstruction, saved as a G-code file, and then fed through a 3D printer -- and voila, out popped the tiny statuettes. If you're a fan of flashy editing and Kinect-based street experiments, check out the video after the break.

Continue reading Kinect hack turns tourists into 3D souvenirs (video)

Kinect hack turns tourists into 3D souvenirs (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 19:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba shows off 2011 HDTVs with the most local dimming LEDs, facial recognition, 3D and more

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/05/toshiba-shows-off-2011-hdtvs-with-the-most-local-dimming-leds-f/

Toshiba's focus at CES was glasses free 3D displays, but it highlighted more conventional HDTVs today at an event in Rome. Its new TVs and laptops all tie in to Toshiba Places, which sorts out access to different types of apps for video, social networking, music and other areas and is ready to launch this month. Separating Toshiba from the competition is a slew of new technology and the top of the line 55ZL1 model checks all the boxes: Seven core CEVO CPU for image processing, a Pro-LED512 panel that is the world's first with 512 zones of dimming among 3,072 LEDs, Personal-TV facial recognition that picks up on which user is watching then personalizes to their preferred settings and active shutter 3D glasses.

The edge lit LED VL863 series will come in 47- and 42-inch versions featuring LG's FPR passive glasses 3D and four pairs of glasses, while the 32- through 46-inch UL863 drops 3D for built-in WiFi and Personal-TV. The SL863 series is the final step down, nixing built-in WiFi. Prices weren't listed but the new models should be shipping soon, until then you can find more details in the press releases linked below -- no word on the US-bound models yet.

Toshiba shows off 2011 HDTVs with the most local dimming LEDs, facial recognition, 3D and more originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 21:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ZL1, Places, SL, VL, UL | Email this | Comments

Mozilla shames developers with list of slow performing Firefox add-ons

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/05/mozilla-shames-developers-with-list-of-slow-performing-firefox-a/

We know how Mozilla must feel. It spends every waking hour tweaking and perfecting Firefox to eke out as much performance as possible, only to see it all ruined by lousy add-ons that weigh the browser down like a block of cement. It's apparently now had enough, however, and has gone as far as to publish a list that exposes the worst offenders. As of this writing, the two biggest drags on the browser by far are the FoxLingo translator / dictionary and Firebug developer tool add-on which, according to Mozilla, each make the browser 74 percent slower to start up. That list is just part of a broader crackdown on poor performing add-ons. Mozilla says it's also instituting automated performance testing of the top 100 add-ons in its gallery, and that it will begin reaching out to developers directly to get them to improve performance (and even provide them with some new tools to help out). Hit up the link below to see how some of your favorite add-ons stack up.

Mozilla shames developers with list of slow performing Firefox add-ons originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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