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Monday, December 08, 2008

Acer ships 22-inch B223 DisplayLink USB monitor in Europe

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/06/acer-ships-22-inch-b223-displaylink-usb-monitor-in-europe/

The whole DisplayLink thing still hasn't completely caught fire or anything, but it's getting there -- slowly, but surely. Now, Acer has a new USB-connected monitor that's shipping in Europe, the 22-inch B223. The unit is part of the outfit's B series of monitors and features a decidedly ho hum 1,680 x 1,050 resolution, a DL-160 network display chip that enables up to six of these to be connected to a single PC and a 5-millisecond response time. You should definitely expect a premium when getting all this USB-y functionality, but €339 ($430) just seems, how do you say... outrageous?

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Displays

Acer ships 22-inch B223 DisplayLink USB monitor in Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 07:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Moritz Waldemeyer's keyhole surgery box tests your nerves

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/06/moritz-waldemeyers-keyhole-surgery-box-tests-your-nerves/

Okay, so let's get on the same page here: Operation. Now that we're all focused on that goofy looking guy flat on a table before we all lost our innocence in this Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, let us introduce you to Moritz Waldemeyer's crafty little box. Simply dubbed keyhole surgery, the device is more or less a 3D version of the aforementioned board game, designed to see just how steady you can hold the key and complete the puzzle without brushing up against the wall. We get this idea this is one of those "easier said than done" thingamajigs, wouldn't you agree?

[Via Unplggd]

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Moritz Waldemeyer's keyhole surgery box tests your nerves originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP Mini 1000 to get $40 price cut

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/06/hp-mini-1000-to-get-40-price-cut/

What's this? A $40 price cut on an item that's likely on at least one gift list that you're currently staring at? Huzzah! Unless, of course, you're one of those proactive individuals who went out and already nabbed one. In all seriousness, Laptoping has reportedly received an email notification from Hewlett-Packard that the sleek and sexy Mini 1000 netbook will stoop to $359.99 starting tomorrow. That'll net you a 10-inch panel, Atom N270 CPU (1.6GHz), 1GB of RAM, an 8GB SSD, 3-cell battery and Windows XP Home. There's no word on whether the stylish Vivienne Tam Edition will receive a drop of her own, but we wouldn't count on it (yet).

Filed under: Laptops

HP Mini 1000 to get $40 price cut originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Advent Eco PC gets photographed, tested

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/07/advent-eco-pc-gets-photographed-tested/

After the latest green PC (that'd be the Advent Eco PC, pictured above) launched in late September, we don't suspect too many Britons rushed out to get one. Why? 'Cause the £600 ($880) list price has already sunk to around £440 ($646). If that figure is a little more in your budget, you might want to give the read link a look. The critics over at Techcast Network found the design to be fairly attractive, the keyboard to be a touch cramped (and unnecessarily wireless) and the performance to be "nothing to write home about." Comically enough, they also point out that an Atom CPU would've probably increased the "greenness," and quite frankly, this machine lacks the raw horsepower necessary to adequately handle Windows Vista. But hey, there's lots of pretty pictures to glance at below even if you've no interest in bringing one home.

Filed under: Desktops

Advent Eco PC gets photographed, tested originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Dec 2008 05:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel talks up self-powered sensors that do just about everything

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/07/intel-talks-up-self-powered-sensors-that-do-just-about-everythin/

If you're gonna dream, you might as well dream ~~big~~ huge, right? Intel's not only looking to blanket vast rural areas with WiFi, it's also looking to spread self-powered sensors, um, everywhere. Dubbed the wireless identification and sensing platform (WISP), the initiative could eventually place remarkably efficient microchips in human bodies, on mobile phones, public infrastructures, at airports and practically anywhere else where information needs to be gathered. The highly flexible solution is currently being perfected in the Intel labs and isn't apt to hit the commercial realm for at least three to five years; which is great, since we're still learning to deal with the world's obsession with CCTV.

[Image courtesy of Berkeley]

Filed under: Wireless, Networking

Intel talks up self-powered sensors that do just about everything originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Inspiron 1545 outed on Dell's support site

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/07/inspiron-1545-outed-on-dells-support-site/

The kids over at Engadget Spanish ran some pics of a new Dell laptop a short while back, and now the company itself has leaked some stats and info on its support site. Apparently, the device -- dubbed the Inspiron 1545 -- will boast a 15.6-inch widescreen, a Core 2 Duo processor (max 2.53GHz), up to 4GB memory and will ship with either Vista or Ubuntu. There's more to it than that, of course -- hit the read link for some docs and make sure you check out the gallery for more info.

[Via Engadget Spanish; Thanks, AWWang]

Gallery: Dell Inspiron 1545

Filed under: Laptops

Inspiron 1545 outed on Dell's support site originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Dec 2008 16:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is stripped user agent data pointing to a Google OS?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/07/is-stripped-user-agent-data-pointing-to-a-google-os/

Here we go again. It seems like just yesterday we heard the first whispers of a Google desktop OS, and products like Chrome stoke suspicions that the Mountain View-based company is setting itself up to invade the PC. Although Google insists that it's focusing on the cloud, since Android was announced, the feasibility of a Google-branded desktop OS has certainly increased. Now, market research firm Net Applications is reporting that it has seen a third of the traffic from Google's employees with intentionally blocked identification strings. This could be a real indicator that the big G is hard at work on a desktop OS -- or just a sign that folks at Google don't care to share their OS of choice. Hopefully, we'll be hearing more sooner rather than later, but feel free to chime in with your Google global domination theories and rabid speculation in the comments.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Is stripped user agent data pointing to a Google OS? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gennum develops in-wire technology for 100-foot DisplayPort cables

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/08/gennum-develops-in-wire-technology-for-100-foot-displayport-cabl/

Now that DisplayPort is becoming more of a household name (like it or not), we're thrilled to see someone making sure we can run an external monitor from more than a stone's throw away. Gennum has stepped in with its ActiveConnect DisplayPort solution, which embeds a small semiconductor within a DisplayPort cable to actively push signals up to 30-meters (around 100-feet) without the need for a costly, cumbersome extender box. There's no word yet on which interconnect companies have signed on to produce these sophisticated strands, but we'd expect to hear more by the time CES 2009 gets underway. Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Gennum develops in-wire technology for 100-foot DisplayPort cables

Filed under: Home Entertainment, Peripherals

Gennum develops in-wire technology for 100-foot DisplayPort cables originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Netflix HD streaming comes to TiVo

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/08/netflix-hd-streaming-comes-to-tivo/

Man, if we aren't careful, Netflix is going to turn into a behemoth right before our very eyes. The company once known for taking physical discs right to your mailbox is now getting all sorts of attention for its workings in the online delivery space, and if you thought hooking up with Microsoft was hot stuff, have a listen at this. Starting today, Series 3, TiVo HD and TiVo HD XL owners can access thousands of Netflix movies on their set-top-box, and better still, these same owners can access a growing library of high-def titles. Of course, this new functionality comes at no additional cost, though you will need a Netflix account to take advantage. So Netflix, what's next? Infiltrating DirecTV / DISH Network boxes? Seeping inside of our actual TV sets? Breathing new life into the Atari Jaguar? Full release is after the break.

Continue reading Netflix HD streaming comes to TiVo

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Netflix HD streaming comes to TiVo originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zepto takes the wraps off its 12.1-inch Notus A12 ultraportable

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/08/zepto-takes-the-wraps-off-its-12-1-inch-notus-a12-ultraportable/

Zepto's been progressively taking its notebooks down in size for a little bit now, and while the 14-inch Nox A14 is certainly portable, the Notus A12 takes things a step or two further by squeezing a full-fledged computer into a chassis barely bigger than... an ink pen, or something like that. Anywho, the 12.1-inch machine packs a WXGA (1,280 x 800) panel, 800MHz Intel processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, an 80GB 4,200RPM hard drive, gigabit Ethernet, WiFi and the usual array of ports for €1068.59 ($1,360). Those scouting for a bit more oomph can certainly get that for a few more bills, but the real kicker here is the five to ten hours of battery life. 'Course, actually achieving those figures could be a challenge.

[Thanks, Jamil]

Filed under: Laptops

Zepto takes the wraps off its 12.1-inch Notus A12 ultraportable originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audioengine puts wires out of work with AW2 wireless iPod adapter

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/08/audioengine-puts-wires-out-of-work-with-aw2-wireless-ipod-adapte/

Earlier this year, Audioengine rolled out the practically universal AW1 wireless audio adapter, and we certainly enjoyed our time with it. Now, the outfit is making the anticipated leap to iPod-dom with the sequentially named AW2. Put simply, the kit contains two main pieces: a transmitter that plugs easily into your dock-connecting 'Pod and a USB-based receiver with a 3.5-millimeter auxiliary jack. The system operates on the WiFi frequency band and promises no dropouts, static or interference from CB radios whizzing by your domicile. We should mention, however, that you'll pay quite dearly for the privilege of beaming your tunes sans cables, though it's available now for those who don't mind at $169.

[Via GadgetReview]

Filed under: Peripherals, Portable Audio, Wireless

Audioengine puts wires out of work with AW2 wireless iPod adapter originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 08:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wednesday, December 03, 2008

Chrome Extensions On the Way, Adblock Imminent [Google Chrome]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/pSiZJ47pLYQ/chrome-extensions-on-the-way-adblock-imminent

Google has published official documentation detailing their plans to bring extensions to their beta web browser Chrome. When we asked you a few months back whether Chrome with extensions would convince you to switch, 28% said yes, while a whopping 22% of you said that as long as an Adblock extension never reached Chrome, you wouldn't use it. A previous announcement should have already satisfied the first group, but if you were in the Adblock crowd, you'll be happy to know that one of the highlighted uses for Google Chrome extensions is content filtering, including "Adblock, Flashblock, Privacy control, and Parental control." Sounds like Google's moving in the right direction if they want to snag more early adopters. Now we just need to see more progress for the Mac and Linux crowd.

Extensions (Chromium Developer Documentation) [via CNET]

Songbird 1.0 Release Official, Fixes Bugs, Plays iTunes Purchases [Featured Download]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/Mosm8HqQgsU/songbird-10-release-official-fixes-bugs-plays-itunes-purchases

Windows/Mac/Linux: The long-awaited cross-platform media player Songbird officially reaches its 1.0 release today. The open-source application—built on the same platform as Firefox—promises to bring exciting new innovations to a software jukebox market that has become arguably quite stale. Like Firefox, Songbird is extensible, meaning that users can customize the look, feel, and features of Songbird to their heart's content. We took you on a screenshot tour of Songbird last month, and from a feature standpoint, not much has changed. From a functionality standpoint, Songbird has gotten much, much better.

The first release candidate had a lot to be excited about, but unfortunately it was rife with errors in my tests. The official 1.0 release fixes most if not all of the bugs I came across in my initial review, which is very promising. The footprint is still a little unwieldy, weighing in at just over 100MB of RAM on the Windows PC I tested it on.

The default installation also suggests installing a new add-on (new in the sense that it wasn't suggested in the release candidate I tested) called QuickTime Playback that supports playing back music you've purchased from the iTunes Music Store—a killer feature that, in conjunction with the iPod sync add-on, would allow even the hardcore iTunes user to switch.

If you want a closer look at what you can do with Songbird and what sets it apart from your stock media player, check out our previous screenshot tour and Songbir! d's demo screencasts. Whether you're a regular Songbird user or you're trying it out for the first time today, share your Songbird experience in the comments.

gOS Cloud Brings a Web-Based Operating System to Your Browser [Cloud Computing]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/mQTfDiGk8XU/gos-cloud-brings-a-web+based-operating-system-to-your-browser

Last year we showed you a new, lightweight Linux-based operating system called gOS (aka Good OS) with an emphasis on integrating web-based applications with your desktop. gOS first gained notoriety as the operating system on Walmart's $199 PC, and now the good folks at gOS have put together a new, super-lightweight operating system for netbooks called gOS Cloud that runs entirely inside a web browser (which looks like it's probably a tweaked version of Google Chrome). Details are scant, and there doesn't seem to be an available download yet, but gOS Cloud looks like it could be the perfect OS for your netbook or aging computer. Until then, the original version of gOS is already available for download and works great.

gOS Cloud [via CNET]

Best New and Improved Software of 2008 [Best Of 2008]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/TRlejqKX0-0/best-new-and-improved-software-of-2008

Mobile phone operating systems and a reheated web browser war: that's how we'll recall the year 2008 when it comes to software. From brand new to revamped browsers and mobile platforms and apps, 2008's been good to technophiles who like their data in the cloud and accessible wherever they are. Let's take a look back at this year in software, and some of the best new and improved applications, web services, and mobile platforms that were born in 2008. Looking back at the last 12 months, these are the apps that get a gold foil-wrapped chocolate coin from us this year. Photo by Gaetan Lee.

Firefox 3

Not only did you swoon over the release of Firefox 3 because of the "AwesomeBar" and the rest of the "Had no idea I needed this but now I love it!" features it offers, but because the launch itself was a grass-roots community-driven effort towards making software history. Indeed, on June 17th of this year, the makers of Firefox set a new Guinness World Record for most software downloads in a given day, at more than eight million downloads of the new browser iteration in 24 hours. If you haven't dug into the advanced functionality Firefox has to offer, check out our power user's guide to Firefox 3.

Google Chrome

While Mozillians and Firefox users celebrated across the globe over! the sum mer, no one knew that search powerhouse Google was in the software development lab cooking up their own lean, mean browsing machine that would forsake all of the fox's bells and whistles (and extensibility) to run Javascript-based applications lightening-fast. On September 2nd, Google released the first beta of Chrome, their new web browser which they hope you'll make your window to the web and all its apps. Our own in-house browser speed tests show that Chrome is indeed speedy, and we're seeing a significant uptake on Chrome usage by Lifehacker readers. (Last month's browser breakdown for Lifehacker readers was 62% Firefox, 22% IE, 8% Safari, and 6% Chrome. Not bad for a browser that's been out only a few months.) For more Chrome goodness, see our power user's guide to Google Chrome.

iPhone 2.0 and the App Store

Yeah, yeah, the iPhone launched in 2007, but this year the iPhone 2.0 software and the new iPhone 3G model with a faster data plan and GPS came out to hype almost as big as the original iPhone launch. The combination of an operating system that finally ran third-party apps officially plus pinpointy GPS goodness set the bar for what users can expect to get from the next generation of smartphone with a fast internet connection, full-on browser, and spot-on location-awareness. Plus, dozens of the apps available for the phone are free. At first, we were in love. Later, we had! our dou bts. The iPhone 2.0 launch did start to show some of the cracks in the Apple armor—several of the earliest versions of the software were crash and freeze-prone, requiring many users to uninstall apps and reset their phone software to fix maddening keyboard delays and application crashes. Meanwhile, Apple's approval-only App Store left a few applications out in the cold. Still, the iPhone 2.0 software created a compelling mobile platform and app marketing campaign that made Aunt Bertha really want to try that Neil Diamond song out on Shazam.

iPhone 2.0 Jailbreak Utilities and Apps

What with the App Store limitations and Apple's insistence on ruling over what you can and cannot do on your phone, it's not surprising the enthusiastic "jailbreak" community soldiered on this year, continuing to offer installers and non-Apple-approved applications for your iPhone even in the face of the mainstream iTunes App Store. We take our hats off to these intrepid hackers, who offer such lovely functionality as the ability to SSH into, theme, and download video clips to your phone; if you haven't jailbroken your iPhone or iPod touch, here are a few of our picks of best iPhone 2.0 jailbreak apps you can't find in the iTunes Store.

Google Android

Google's answer to Apple's proprietary iPhone hardware and software came in the form of their very own touch mobile phone operating system, Android, which launched this past October. Unlike the iPhone, this new mobile platform is open source and will run on various handsets going forward. Right now Android's first release is only available on the HTC G1 handset; you can see o! ur hands-on first look at Google Android running on the G1 here. As an iPhone user frustrated by limited apps, crashiness, and lack of copy and paste, Android is like a breath of fresh air. Even though the mobile OS is still very new, its open-source nature has led to hundreds of new apps. See our pick of best Android apps to boost your mobile productivity.

Digsby

One of the few software apps on this list that's not open source or made by a ginormous company, new instant messenger client Digsby took chatters by storm with its ability to consolidate your IM, email, and social networking in one place. Even though the Digsby beta only went public in February, by April it was already one of our readers' top five favorite instant messaging tools.

XBMC and Forks

We were really late to the Xbox Media Center (XBMC) party when we showed up last year and installed it on our old classic Xbox, but since then we've been hooked on this rich, open-source media center. Luckily, just because those old black boxes are becoming obselete doesn't mean the XBMC software project has died off. Just the opposite: XBMC has forked into several neat branches that run on various hardware platforms so you can enjoy the same media center goodness without hacking an old Xb! ox. Chec k out a few launches from various factions of XBMC developers this past year that have warmed our hearts:

Ubuntu Intrepid Ibex and Hardy Heron

Another year, another TWO Ubuntu releases, and they just keep getting better. You have to love the free, open source operating system that manages multiple releases within the span of a year—something Apple and Microsoft, companies you pay hundreds of dollars to for the privilege of using their software, can't pull off. If you've tried Linux on your desktop before and killed the partition in frustration only to slink back to Windows, it's time to give it another go. This year we thought version 8.04 Hardy Heron made Linux worth another look; the follow-up, version 8.10 Intrepid Ibex is even better.

Gmail Labs, Gadgets, and Themes

Our favorite web application on the internet, Gmail, continues to burn down barns and rip up the competition with continual iteration and feature adds. This year, Gmail added a "Labs" section to your account, a safe way for power ! users to enable "experimental" power features to their email while keeping everyone else's safe from harm. Truthfully, when I attended the Google press event announcing Gmail Labs back in June, I had my doubts about whether or not the featureset would ever expand beyond the initial 13, and if it would go beyond eye-candy games like Snakey to, you know, actually useful stuff. Turns out it did. Six months later, ten more Gmail Labs features are available in your account, including a super-useful Gadgets feature that lets third parties embed their apps into your inbox. (Like Bit.ly or Basecamp.) Later, Gmail launched themes as well as a Google Desktop gadget. In the midst of all this, the Gmail security team took the time to respond to a breach that several users had experienced and blogged about online. Clearly there's someone home at Gmail; this is a rapidly-evolving product that any webapp developer should use as an example on how to iterate quickly.

Honorable Mentions

Making best-of-year lists is always difficult because you risk leaving off really deserving items. At least two that go in our honorable mentions bin are the Firefox keyboard interface prototype Ubiquity, and photo-sharing site Flickr's launch of short video c! lips in April.

Now, you tell us which one of these apps impressed you the most in the year two thousand and eight.

Which new or improved app impressed you the most in 2008?
( polls)

If you can't get enough of best-of lists, hop into the time machine and see our top 10 new and improved apps of 2007, and our best apps of 2006 and of 2005.

Anything you would have included on this list that we left out? Tell us about it in the comments.

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