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Thursday, March 31, 2011

MakerBot's Interface Board Kit does PC-less 3D printing, turns your superhero fantasies into reality

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/30/makerbots-interface-board-kit-does-pc-less-3d-printing-turns-y/

If you're like us -- that is to say, wildly popular and devastatingly good looking -- then you're probably wondering why someone hasn't produced an action figure in your likeness yet. Well wonder no longer, for the folks over at MakerBot just announced yet another handy tool to make at home 3D printing even easier. An addition to the aptly titled Thing-O-Matic, the Gen 4 Interface Board Kit v1.1 is billed as a DIY interface that lets you operate your thingy printer without having to attach it to a PC. The kit comes equipped with an SD card slot for easy independent operation, and because the board's fully hackable, you can use it to control your robots or homebrew CNC devices, too. It sports nine programmable buttons and an LCD screen for feedback, and allows you to set and read temperatures, view build progress, or start a new project stored on the SD card. So what are you waiting for? Your self-aggrandizing bobblehead isn't going to make itself.

MakerBot's Interface Board Kit does PC-less 3D printing, turns your superhero fantasies into reality originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 22:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netflix beefing up service center in preparation for global launch

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/31/netflix-beefing-up-service-center-in-preparation-for-globa-launc/

It's no secret that Netflix has grand plans to expand its global footprint that now feeds media to some 20 million North American subscribers. Hell, the company was boasting of the "significant dollars" allocated to its 2011 international expansion plans just four months ago. While nothing's official yet, we've unearthed a few tantalizing openings posted to the Netflix job site over the last few days that could point to an imminent launch. Notably, Netflix's customer service call center in Hillsboro Oregon is gearing up to expand its scope of operations beyond North America. Two new job postings for a Training Supervisor and Quality Assurance Analyst both mention the need to prepare for "rapid" international expansion and "will support a specific country / region outside of North America." The Training Supervisor is being hired specifically to educate customer service reps in preparation for that future international growth. Neflix is looking for fluency in English in addition to Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian and European), and Spanish (Latin American and European), leaving things pretty wide open with regard to the countries targeted for initial launch.

We do know that Netflix had plans to launch in the UK way back in 2004 -- plans that were ultimately scrapped in order to focus on its core US business (and later Canada). But if not the UK then we should at least expect to see Netflix target the European continent first if a statement attributed to CEO Reed Hastings from way back in January of 2010 still rings true: "the big market for Hollywood content (after the U.S.) is Europe...Third is Asia. Fourth is the rest of the world." Can't let Amazon have the market to itself now can we Reed?

[Thanks, Chico]

Netflix beefing up service center in preparation for global launch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 02:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Delta E4 electric coupe goes out for a spin, carrying lucky humanoid (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/31/delta-e4-electric-coupe-goes-out-for-a-spin-carrying-lucky-huma/

When was the last time you rode in an electric vehicle almost entirely constructed of carbon fiber and good for 250 miles on a charge? We're laying odds on "never," which is why we turned a shade of violent green when we saw Fully Charged host (and part-time Series 4000 Mechanoid) Robert Llewellyn set foot in just such a car. Delta Motorsport's E4 Coupe, originally designed to win an Automotive X-Prize, is the vehicle we're referring to here, and despite the fact that only one-third of its full projected power was available to coax Mr. Llewellyn firmly into his racing seat (four-wheel drive and regenerative braking are also TBD) and set his teeth on edge, we have to give the man some major props for documenting the experience for us on film. Watch it after the break.

Continue reading Delta E4 electric coupe goes out for a spin, carrying lucky humanoid (video)

Delta E4 electric coupe goes out for a spin, carrying lucky humanoid (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Digital Is a Philosophy - http://bit.ly/gcNnY8

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Mediapost is detected as a malware or attack site; first reported by @glenngabe - http://bit.ly/ieCVRk; also here - http://bit.ly/gMxx09

Extremely useful advice for using LinkedIn Ads from @glenngabe - http://bit.ly/h2pll3

Google Street View invades historic landmarks, makes it unnecessary for you to ever leave the house

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/30/google-street-view-invades-historic-landmarks-makes-it-unnecess/

The vagabonds of Google's Street View team have struck again, this time conquering classical French and Italian landmarks for their mothership's immense pictorial collection. As of today, you're able to drop your little yellow avatar in Google Maps right atop such famous locales as the Colosseum of Rome or Florence's Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, whereupon you'll be transported right to it (or, in the case of the Colosseum, inside it) in the same way as if they were any old street addresses. This follows, of course, Google's introduction of an intriguing indoor version of Street View for some of the world's most prestigious museums recently and continues the company's trend of bringing the arts, in this case classical architecture, to a wider audience. We just wonder what reason said audience will have to ever step outside with all this splendor at its fingertips indoors.

Google Street View invades historic landmarks, makes it unnecessary for you to ever leave the house originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 07:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roku XD player comes directly to Best Buy shelves with no Netgear intervention

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/30/roku-xd-player-comes-directly-to-best-buy-shelves-with-no-netgea/

After receiving a boost from Netgear it appears Roku's plans for 2011 include hitting retail under its own name, as it's officially announced the Roku XD (no NTV250 branding) is available at Best Buy, as well as Fry's and Radio Shack. Previously Roku only sold its own player through its website but after breaking through 1 million units it's apparently ready for bigger things. We assume this means the Netgear-branded box is going away completely, although it can still be spotted online at a few outlets it's no longer mentioned at Best Buy so those interested in grabbing one for the archives may want to do so quickly. We've been told 2011 will see a big charge into retail from Roku as it seeks to stay one step ahead of the media streaming competition and this is just the first step; for now one can only wonder exactly what the next move will be.

Continue reading Roku XD player comes directly to Best Buy shelves with no Netgear intervention

Roku XD player comes directly to Best Buy shelves with no Netgear intervention originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 08:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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U.S. Retail Ecommerce on a tear - http://ping.fm/jFK3w

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Why I've Switched From Chrome to Firefox 4 [Web Browsers]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/#!5786991/why-ive-switched-from-chrome-to-firefox-4

You've probably heard a lot about Firefox 4's new interface, speed, and feature improvements, but many of you have already left it for Chrome. Here's why Firefox's newest version is worth another look, even if you're a diehard Chrome user.

I've never been much of a Firefox user myself. I switched between browsers a lot until Chrome came out, after which I used it almost exclusively. It was fast, extensible, available on all platforms, and the more it gained in popularity, the better it became. Sure, it had its quirks, but it was the best I could get at the time. Firefox's slowness really turned me off, so I never really gave it a chance.

With everyone talking about how great Firefox 4 is, though, I decided to try it out. Most of the team at Lifehacker has switched to Chrome for their main browsing needs, but Chrome was starting to irk me in small ways and if Firefox could hold up on its promise of higher speed, it could actually sway me away from Chrome. A few days after switching, I fell in love and haven't looked back. If you haven't looked at Firefox in awhile (or never really used it in the past), here's why you might want to give it another shot.

It's Pretty Darn Fast

This was the big one. Firefox's sluggishness was the main thing keeping me away before, but now that Firefox has added some serious speed increases to its browser, it's not nearly as painful as it used to be. In fact, it's not painful at all. It might not be quite as fast as Chrome sometimes, but it's pretty comparable, putting the two on a more level playing field and making Firefox's other advantages much more worth switching for.

A Minimal, Fully Customizable Interface

Firefox 4's new interface adds some nice improvements, like tabs on top, the Firefox menu, and the removal of the status bar. They've also gotten rid of or moved some of the more clutter-inducing navigation buttons, like the reload button, which is a welcome change.

The changes weren't perfectly executed, of course—the Firefox menu isn't in a great spot, and tabs on top doesn't actually save you any vertical pixels. However, Firefox's UI is so customizable that it doesn't really matter. We've already shown you how to move the Firefox menu to a more appropriate location, and use the extra space more efficiently for a Chrome-like tabs-on-top setup.

Why I've Switched From Chrome to Firefox 4 "But Lifehacker", I can already hear you Chrome fans saying, "how does making Firefox look like Chrome make it better than Chrome? Isn't it better to not have to do that work?" While Firefox's UI isn't as great as Chrome's out of the box, what makes Firefox decidedly better is that you can customize it to an insane extent. Once you've gotten rid of the things you don't like, you can add the things you do like. Chrome lets you make one change to the navigation bar: you can add a home button. Beyond that, you're on your own. Firefox lets you add a full screen button, zoom controls, an RSS button, a bookmarks menu, and a ton more out of the box, and even tell it whether to use small or large icons. Sure, you can do a lot of this in Chrome with extra extensions, but Firefox already has it all there.

Why I've Switched From Chrome to Firefox 4 Furthermore, Firefox has that handy userChrome.css file that lets you really dig down and tweak every pixel of the interface—literally. We feature tweaks for the userChrome file all the time, here on Lifehacker—like this recent URL preview hack, as well as a trick to make the Firefox button a little less annoyingly neon. And, with all the Firefox users out there, you can pretty much Google anything you want to change about Firefox's interface and find a CSS tweak.

Don't forget about the Stylish add-on, either, which lets you tweak not just Firefox's interface, but the interface of nearly any web site you want, which can be extremely handy.

About:Config

Why I've Switched From Chrome to Firefox 4 It certainly isn't new to Firefox 4, but the about:config page is still one of the best features Firefox has to offer. Just like the userChrome.css file, it lets you tweak a ton of different preferences that aren't available in the normal preferences menu. Want to preview open tabs when you cycle through them using Ctrl+Tab? There's an about:config tweak for that. Annoyed that Firefox automatically enters "Work Offline" mode when you disconnect? There's a tweak for that too. There are also tweaks for making spellcheck stand out more, making it ask to save your tabs when you quit, and save memory by waiting to load tabs until you click on them. Sure, Chrome has that neat about:flags page, and it is a bit easier to use—but it doesn't give you anywhere near the power Firefox's about:config page does. In the end, both userChrome.css and about:config are all about customization. Firefox gives you a level of customization that is just unparalleled in other browsers.

You Can Actually Sync Custom Search Engines

Why I've Switched From Chrome to Firefox 4 This seems like a small thing, but is actually a huge deal to anyone that uses custom search engines. I use them for every search engine I frequent, whether it's searching for old posts on Lifehacker, videos on YouTube, or even for guitar tabs on Ultimate-Guitar.com. Not only that, but you can use them to perform nearly any task right from your browser's address bar, like add an event to your calendar, a task to your to-do list, find directions with Google Maps, and a ton more.

They've become such an integral part of my browsing that it's infuriating that I can't sync them between Chrome installations—as soon as I pick up one of my other computers or boot into one of my other partitions, I have to create them all over again. Since Firefox actually integrates these into your bookmarks, they sync right along with your bookmarks, whether you're using Firefox Sync or something like Xmarks. It's a feature that Chrome is severely lacking, and that Firefox has had all along.

Mobile Sync

Why I've Switched From Chrome to Firefox 4 Very strangely, Android users can sync better with Firefox than they can with Chrome—they just need Firefox Mobile. Firefox Mobile syncs with Firefox on your desktop better than Android's browser ever synced with Chrome. You can sync your bookmarks, history, passwords, form data, and open tabs between the two, so when it's time to leave your computer and browse on your phone, you can start your session right back up. Chrome only has one-way link sharing with Chrome to Phone, after which you'd need to seek out a bunch of other add-ons to even come close to the same syncability. If you browse on your phone, Firefox makes it easier than ever.

Security Certificates

Why I've Switched From Chrome to Firefox 4 This is something you may not run into often, but it was one of the first things that made me want to leave Chrome. Chrome doesn't seem to handle SSL certificates in nearly the polished way Firefox does. If you visit a secure page that isn't trusted, Firefox will let you add an exception with the click of a button. Chrome is much more hard-headed about this, which is annoying when you know the page is trustworthy. In fact, sometimes Chrome won't even give you the option of going through to the page—it'll just throw you an error. A browser isn't very useful when it doesn't let you access sites you need regularly.

None of this is to say that Firefox is perfect, of course. It doesn't have quite the "smoothness" that Chrome does, and if you leave it open for more than a day, it'll steal more of your memory than a bottle of José Cuervo, but overall Firefox's stability and customizability have won me over. If you've given Firefox 4 a try and have any thoughts on the matter—whether you agree or disagree—be sure to share them in the comments below.

Keyglove ditches QWERTY for one-handed computer control (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/29/keyglove-ditches-qwerty-for-one-handed-computer-control-video/

We've seen some pretty ambitious hand warmers in our day, but we're pretty sure this one takes the cake. Keyglove is an Open Source Hardware (OSHW) project that's intended to eliminate those clunky keyboards and unmanageable mice from the computing process altogether, instead engaging a series of conductive sensors that, when touched together, mimic a keystroke. The mitt's creator says the traditional mobile keyboard is "either too big to be portable, or too small to be easy to use," adding that his solution would eventually become second nature just like touch typing. Keyglove is an Arduino and AVR-powered device that also incorporates an accelerometer to control mouse movements. It's apparently fully customizable and allows for a total of 60 unique touch combinations -- impressive, sure, but it took us long enough to figure out the home keys on the real thing. If you dream of a world full of one-handed typists, check out the video after the break, or follow the source link to find out how you can donate to the project.

Continue reading Keyglove ditches QWERTY for one-handed computer control (video)

Keyglove ditches QWERTY for one-handed computer control (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fujifilm resumes production on X100 cameras, new-age vintage is rolling again

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/29/fujifilm-resumes-production-on-x100-cameras-new-age-vintage-is/

Fujifilm resumes production on X100 cameras, new-age vintage is rolling again

Fujifilm has a hit on its hands with the retrotastic X100 camera, selling for a whopping $1,200 but still flying off shelves. That popularity resulted in some shortages, and a stoppage of production due to the disaster in Japan made that situation worse. Now the company is announcing a resumption of production, so the 12.3 megapixel compact with a 23mm fixed lens should be hitting store shelves again in the next week or so. Place your orders now, if you haven't already, and get that sepia filter warmed up so that your pictures can look as vintage as what you're shooting them with.

Fujifilm resumes production on X100 cameras, new-age vintage is rolling again originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Novatel's USB551L 4G LTE modem hits Verizon March 31st

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/29/novatels-usb551l-4g-lte-modem-hits-verizon-march-31st/

Samsung's new LTE mobile hotspot may have managed to sneak out a bit early, but it looks like those opting for Novatel's USB551L LTE modem instead will still have to wait a few days. Verizon has just confirmed today that the modem will be available on March 31st for $99.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate (on a two-year contract). As expected, the modem packs both Windows and Mac support out of the box, and promises download speeds up to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 5 Mbps. Still no word on Novatel's 4510L MiFi, though we presume it will be following shortly. Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Novatel's USB551L 4G LTE modem hits Verizon March 31st

Novatel's USB551L 4G LTE modem hits Verizon March 31st originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gemalto bringing NFC payments to phones of any intelligence with MasterCard PayPass SIM

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/29/gemalto-bringing-nfc-payments-to-phones-of-any-intelligence-with/

Gemalto bringing NFC payments to phones of any intelligence with Mastercard PayPass SIM

We're seeing NFC chips showing up and tickling the innards of more and more mobile devices, but at this rate it's going to be ages before we see some proper market penetration. Gemalto may have just jump-started that process with a new NFC on a SIM card design that's certified by MasterCard PayPass. It's similar to the company's Zuckerberg on a SIM project we heard about last month, but this time it's wirelessly paying for a drink and not wirelessly telling your friends how much you just had to drink. This means near-field wireless payments could be brought to nearly every GSM phone on the planet, also allowing for secure on-device transactions, like adding more minutes to a pre-paid phone. This is said to be the beginning of a "mass commercial roll out," giving us reason to hope that soon forgetting our wallets at home will be a feature and not a bug.

Continue reading Gemalto bringing NFC payments to phones of any intelligence with MasterCard PayPass SIM

Gemalto bringing NFC payments to phones of any intelligence with MasterCard PayPass SIM originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic, Xpand team up on M-3DI standard for active shutter glasses at home and in theaters

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/29/panasonic-xpand-team-up-on-m-3di-standard-for-active-shutter-gl/

Last year's problem was a complete lack of standards on active shutter 3D glasses but now we might have too many, as Panasonic and Xpand have joined forces with several other companies to push M-3DI as a single spec for TVs, computers and theaters. Initial plans for the spec cover only IR sync, with the RF Bluetooth technology included on many 2011 3DTV models (Samsung and Sony are notably missing from the list of participants) to "be considered" for the next step. We'll wait to see some cooperation between this alignment (full list of supporters in the press release after the break) RealD and the CEA's 3D Technologies Working Group -- which, probably not coincidentally is expecting proposals by the end of this month -- before believing the current 3D glasses mess will be resolved.

Continue reading Panasonic, Xpand team up on M-3DI standard for active shutter glasses at home and in theaters

Panasonic, Xpand team up on M-3DI standard for active shutter glasses at home and in theaters originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 15:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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