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Friday, October 09, 2009

RIM posts new BlackBerry widget APIs, dev kit

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/09/rim-posts-new-blackberry-widget-apis-dev-kit/

We know you love widgets, so feast your eyes on this: RIM has just announced a software development kit for creating web-based widgets on the BlackBerry platform. With new APIs that allow access to a everything from email and calendar applications to the GPS, media player, files and documents stored on the smartphone, the handset's push technology and more, hot-to-trot software developers such as yourself can build all kinds of crazy apps for OS 5. What are you waiting for? Hit the read link for everything you need -- including the Smartphone Simulator and BlackBerry Widget SDK beta. And be sure you drop us a line after creating some award-winning apps. PR after the break.

[Via PhoneArena]

Continue reading RIM posts new BlackBerry widget APIs, dev kit

Filed under: Cellphones

RIM posts new BlackBerry widget APIs, dev kit originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Panasonic Lumix GF1 reviewed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/09/panasonic-lumix-gf1-reviewed/

The typical Micro Four Thirds review seems to come down to a matter of tradeoffs -- size and convenience for a bit of a drop from the image quality and performance of a real DSLR. The GF1 doesn't break that trend, but it has some pretty nice things to offer for the inquisitive interchangeable lens shopper. The most notable feature when put up against its direct competition, the E-P1, is the GF1's built-in pop-up flash, and the primary drawback of both of these cams versus their regular Micro Four Thirds counterparts is the lack of an eye-level viewfinder, though the GF1 does offer a pricey hot-shoe mounted approximation. As for images PhotographyBLOG says the camera gets "almost everything right," and video doesn't look bad neither -- a couple samples are after the break. The camera is no ultra-compact, but it seems another good proof for the existence of Micro Four Thirds as a DSLR alternative.

Continue reading Panasonic Lumix GF1 reviewed

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Panasonic Lumix GF1 reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NSF awards Harvard $10 million for robot bees (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/09/nsf-awards-harvard-10-million-for-robot-bees-video/

When we heard that the National Science Foundation awarded $10 million to Harvard to make a swarm of robot bees, our first thought was: "We could do it for half the price." Then we remembered that the university has been down this path before, including its robot fly program (whatever happened to that thing?) and might be the better choice after all. What does the NSF and Harvard hope to get for all that time and money? Aside from insight into such areas as distributed intelligence, robotic flight, and energy storage, a swarm of these bad boys could be tasked to do anything from battlefield spying to pollination (which might be necessary, with the way that real bees are vanishing at such an alarming rate). The RoboBee project is slated to run for the next five years. Video after the break.

[Via Switched]

Continue reading NSF awards Harvard $10 million for robot bees (video)

Filed under: Robots

NSF awards Harvard $10 million for robot bees (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MOTOBLUR ported to the G1, unreleased CLIQ looks on in envy

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/09/motoblur-ported-to-the-g1-unreleased-cliq-looks-on-in-envy/

It's unclear exactly how MOTOBLUR software might've leaked into the wild, but it's already been repurposed in the best sort of way into a G1-friendly ROM. Despite its beta status it's looking relatively snappy, but there are still some missing elements like WiFi and Bluetooth. If anything it's a testament to how portable and hackable Android is turning out to be so far, and we look forward to the ongoing improvements to Android by diverse manufacturers being disseminated far and wide -- though if Motorola had its way, it'd probably at least happen after the relevant device has hit the market. Video is after the break.

[Via OnlyGizmos; thanks Annkur]

Continue reading MOTOBLUR ported to the G1, unreleased CLIQ looks on in envy

Filed under: Cellphones

MOTOBLUR ported to the G1, unreleased CLIQ looks on in envy originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Asus Eee Top ET2002 reviewed, thoroughly enjoyed

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/09/asus-eee-top-et2002-reviewed-thoroughly-enjoyed/

The kids at Liliputing got their hands on the Asus Eee Top ET2002 all-in-one recently and were cool enough to both put it through its paces and clue us in on their findings. According to the reviewer the device, which sports a 1.6GHz Dual Core Atom 330 processor, a 20-inch / 1600 x 900 pixel display, 2GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard drive, was "impressive... in many ways." It easily handles 1080p playback and video games that would cause "most Intel-Atom based PCs to choke." Aside from the ION graphics, unfortunately, this guy comports itself like a "typical" Atom netbook: unzipping large files takes forever, boot times are slow, and the system sometimes felt overtasked when browsing the web. Then again, when you're spending less than $600 on a machine (Amazon's currently selling 'em for $581) you're going to have to make some compromises. Hit the read link to see for yourself.

Filed under: Desktops

Asus Eee Top ET2002 reviewed, thoroughly enjoyed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 19:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Yamaha's 1mm-thick prototype speaker is made from cloth, highly directional (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/09/yamahas-1mm-thick-prototype-speaker-is-made-from-cloth-highly/

We've already heard first-hand how Yamaha can make surround sound emerge from a single soundbar, and now the outfit's wowing again here at CEATEC. It's latest aural innovation was tucked quietly away within its booth, disguised as an advertorial for the show itself. Essentially, the banner you're peering at above is a one millimeter thick speaker that's made from cloth, and it definitely has the potential to revolution billboards and possibly even portable media devices. As you can clearly hear in the video just past the break, the flat sound waves emitted from the cloth cannot be heard unless you're standing directly in front of it; even separate audio files playing back just a few feet away didn't overlap with what we heard coming directly at us. There's no telling if Yamaha will ever take this public, but if it does, there are about forty billion ad agencies in the greater New York area that would like to speak to it.

Continue reading Yamaha's 1mm-thick prototype speaker is made from cloth, highly directional (video)

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Portable Audio

Yamaha's 1mm-thick prototype speaker is made from cloth, highly directional (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HotPrints Prints Free, Ad-Supported Photo Books [Free]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/Xq6w7UEmbTg/hotprints-prints-free-ad+supported-photo-books

Need physical copies of some great shots, but you're a bit too lazy to order and pay for them? HotPrints mails you free 16-page photo books, with shots pulled from Facebook, if you don't mind some non-intrusive paper ads.

In this case, non-intrusive means the advertisements aren't watermarked or otherwise touching your actual photos. They're inserted between the pages, and can be pulled out, kind of like magazine subscription cards. You'd also have to be comfortable with HotPrints using "contextual" data from Facebook to target some ads at you. That means the album style you choose, the content of your profile, and region information from your Facebook account are used to target the ads, but the company claims that no identifying information is given out to its sponsoring partners. You can read more about HotPrints' do's and don'ts at their privacy policy.

If you're cool with that at the cost of free, even free shipping, HotPrints' Facebook app makes it fairly easy to pull in tagged photos of yourself or any Facebook contacts for a quickie album, with a limit of one per month. It's a free service, requires a Facebook account (and app authorization) to use.

HotPrints [via TechCrunch]

Disk2vhd Turns Your PC Into a Virtual Machine [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/pt41XuOu5KM/disk2vhd-turns-your-pc-into-a-virtual-machine

Windows only: Free Sysinternals application Disk2vhd takes a snapshot of your PC, and turns it into a Microsoft Virtual PC virtual hard drive—while your system is up and running.

Using the software, which requires no installation, is as easy as launching, selecting the drives you would like to create into a virtual disk, giving the file a name, and clicking the Create button. The utility uses the same volume snapshot feature that Windows uses for backup utilities, so it doesn't matter if software is running or not—but you'll have best results if you create the virtual disk on a separate drive.

Once you've created your virtual drive, you can use the free Microsoft Virtual PC to boot the image of your PC, which you can then use for testing, or just as a great way to completely backup your computer. Disk2vhd is a free download for Windows only.

Disk2vhd v1.0 [Windows Sysinternals]

The JD Power Smartphone Satisfaction Ratings Give Apple a Win, Motorola a Big Lose [Ratings]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/hy41ICyMzyc/the-jd-power-smartphone-satisfaction-ratings-give-apple-a-win-motorola-a-big-lose

JD Power's annual ratings put Apple on top with an 811, beating the industry average of 765. What's surprising is that only Apple and LG are above the average, whereas everyone else is below.

What's not surprising is that Motorola is dead last. Up until their Android Cliq they really didn't have much going for them—and neither did Palm, until their Pre. So our guess is that these ratings will look a little different next year with Palm moving up a slot or two, and Motorola pulling out of the shame spot.

Motorola doesn't do too bad on the dumbphone ratings, on the other hand.

Also, LG? [JD Power]

Dealzmodo: 58-inch Samsung Touch of Color Plasma for $1800 [Dealzmodo]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/6VSETHAgp6o/dealzmodo-58+inch-samsung-touch-of-color-plasma-for-1800

Newegg has a pretty fantastic deal on this 58-inch Samsung PN58A650 for $1800 AND free shipping.

Samsung's plasmas are pretty quality (I've got one of their 63 inchers), so you should take a long hard look at your bank account and see if you can afford this. Seriously, free shipping too. And that rotating stand is very handy. [Newegg]

$3 Million In Click Fraud Over Two Weeks? Just The Beginning [Click Fraud]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/QE1Gthuy4_k/3-million-in-click-fraud-over-two-weeks-just-the-beginning

A recently disbanded click fraud ring in China racked up $3 million worth of clicks in two weeks. $3 million that we're aware of. Just how detectable is this whole business of racking up fraudulent ad revenue clicks?

That intricate mess of lines above represents a portion of DormRing1, the click fraud bunch that was caught in China. The lines show the relationship of some of the IP addresses involved in the fraud and how they are connected to some fraudulent ad clicks. The whole network actually "involved 200,000 different IP addresses and racked up more than $3 million worth of fraudulent clicks across 2,000 advertisers in a two-week period." Impressive and scary at the same time.

The trouble is that no one really knows how much ad revenue DormRing1 collected before they were caught. Click-fraud monitoring services such as Anchor Intelligence, the ones behind this catch, are evolving to keep up with the scale on which these rings are operating. It's still difficult to judge just how well they're doing as they're having to infiltrate forums and gain the trust of the perpetrators in a manner reminiscent of drug busts. But as the criminals are getting more elaborate, the investigations are too.

That good news aside, do me a favor: after you read this post, comment, and all that jazz, refresh the page a few times and—Ah...I mean, heh...just kidding. [Tech Crunch]

Flash Memory Sensors: 100x Smaller Than CCDs, Better at Low Light [Cameras]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/sPpuZjPJV68/flash-memory-sensors-100x-smaller-than-ccds-better-at-low-light

CCD and CMOS sensors take great images, but that doesn't mean they're perfect. They're bulky and bad in low light. It turns out that flash memory can actually double as a light sensor, and could solve both these problems.

Apparently, flash memory cells are highly receptive to light and capable of creating a completely digital image. A focused beam of light directed at sector on the chip becomes a pixel, no analog-to-digital conversion required. Flash memory sensors are up to 100x smaller than current CCDs, too. By my math, that means I could have a 200 megapixel camera in my pocket right now.

The drawback: small pixels are less receptive to light, which could mean problems as pixel density increases. The data also only comes in as binary, so grayscale is tricky. Regardless, the researchers are already achieving better grayscale and low-light performance than seen in CMOS sensors.

Edoardo Charbon and the rest of the team at the Technical University of Delft hope to have a working prototype by 2010. We're still waiting for response from Canon on the rumored, memory-sensor-based D40 Pico. [New Scientist via Wired]

Researchers Made Mistake In Calculations, World Is Ending Sooner Than Expected [Life]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/5ItrH-3gNKg/researchers-made-mistake-in-calculations-world-is-ending-sooner-than-expected

Supermassive blackholes, heat death, and entropy could be wonderful dinner conversation as you toast to the end of the universe. Not sure when it'll happen, but based on recent universal entropy re-calculations, it'll be sooner than we expected.

Entropy is the big topic in the whole "end of the universe" reasearch. Basically there's speculation about whether there is such a thing as a maximum level of entropy, a point at which all molecular motion (and therefor life) will stop. The concept is thought of as "heat death" and these researchers want to know when it might happen.

In order to even attempt to estimate the end of life, they need to quantify the level of disorder in the universe , which isn't exactly an easy task. So, it's no surprise that previous estimates were a tiny bit off:

An analysis by Chas Egan of the Australian National University in Canberra and Charles Lineweaver of the University of New South Wales in Sydney indicates that the collective entropy of all the supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies is about 100 times higher than previously calculated. Because supermassive black holes are the largest contributor to cosmic entropy, the finding suggests that the entropy of the universe is also about 100 times larger than previous estimates.

Re! searcher s still can't know if their new calculations are truly more accurate than prior estimates. What they can know is that no one accounted for supermassive black holes during the last number crunching. Wonder if a Muse song inspired someone to remember it this time. [US News via Pop Sci]

Burger King Updating 12,000 Locations with 'Futuristic' Look [Architecture]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/KntpWXoj7zs/burger-king-updating-12000-locations-with-futuristic-look

Touchscreen menus. Corrugated metal. Red chandeliers. Brick. Burger King will add these elements to 12,000 locations in renovations costing franchisees between $300,000 and $600,000 apiece.

The goal? "A contemporary, edgy, futuristic" look, according to CEO John Chidsey. One of an "upscale restaurant."

You can see the new design in the lead shot (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan). It certainly looks more industrial, like a motorcycle shop or maybe a Chipotle. But there are more aggressive design elements, like the saucer ceiling, that you don't really see in a stock chain restaurant...and that honestly feel a it more retro than they do "futuristic." (And on another note, are a couple of touchscreens randomly dispersed through the tables really enough to encourage casual, table ordering?)

Apparently 60 locations have already gone over the "20/20" makeover. Having witnessed their touchscreen menus in action, I'll say that while the system is somewhat intuitive, it's quite slow. Then again, maybe Burger King believes that if their restaurants are nicer, you might actually want to stay a while. [AP via ChipChick]

RIM goes pale, shows white Curve 8520 for T-Mobile and Bold for AT&T

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/08/rim-goes-pale-shows-white-curve-8520-for-t-mobile-and-bold-for/

We know it's after Labor Day, but that doesn't seem to be stopping RIM from rolling out a couple BlackBerrys in bright white this season -- and who are we to accuse Waterloo of a fashion faux-pas? First up, the Curve 8520 on T-Mobile is now available, complementing the black and "frost" versions that have already landed; perhaps more interesting, though, is direct confirmation from RIM that there'll be a white version Bold hitting AT&T in mid-October. With the Bold 2 seemingly around the corner, recoloring the current model seems like an odd move -- but if they can continue to sell the Bold at a moderate discount a la iPhone 3G / 3GS, there might yet be a strategy there. The version RIM had on hand wasn't AT&T-branded, but... you know, just imagine the silkscreened logo and customized wallpaper, and you'll get the idea.

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds

RIM goes pale, shows white Curve 8520 for T-Mobile and Bold for AT&T originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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