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Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Acer's 13.3-inch Aspire 3935 now available for $899, 18.4-inch 8935G coming in June

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/15/acers-13-3-inch-aspire-3935-now-available-for-899-18-4-inch-8/

Still can't decide which of Acer's ample number of shiny new netbooks / laptops has caught your eye specifically? Here's some more details on two of those models, including availability, to help you out. First up, the 13.3-inch Aspire 3935 is available as now for just a smidgen under nine Benjamins. With that you'll get a golden brown metal chassis, one inch thick and and weighing in at 4.18 pounds with a frameless, 16:9 CineCrystal LED backlit display showing a 1366 x 768 resolution. Other amenities include a full-size keyboard with touch-sensitive hotkeys, multi-gesture touchpad, webcam, three USB 2.0 ports, a bio-protection fingerprint reader, 802.11 a / g / draft-N, and a 4-cell Li-ion battery. Spec-wise, we've got a 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7350 with 4500MHD graphics, 8x DVD writer, 3GB RAM, 250GB HDD, and Vista Home Premium SP1. If you're looking for something with a little more horsepower, the 18.4-inch Aspire 8935G Gemstone PC's rocking an Intel Core 2 Duo, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4670, 1080p resolution, 4x Blu-ray writer, a 500GB HDD upgradeable to 1TB, and most of the niceties from 3935's spec sheet. Mum's the word on price, but it's due out in June. Full press release after the break.

Gallery: Acer's 13.3-inch Aspire 3935 now available for $899, 18.4-inch 8935G coming in June

Continue reading Acer's 13.3-inch Aspire 3935 now available for $899, 18.4-inch 8935G coming in June

Filed under: Laptops

Acer's 13.3-inch Aspire 3935 now available for $899, 18.4-inch 8935G coming in June originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 03:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Magic Cube all-in-one card reader rotates, impresses

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/15/magic-cube-all-in-one-card-reader-rotates-impresses/

Multi-card readers? Sure, they're ususally kind of a snooze... but this one's pretty cute. The so-called Magic Cube All-in-One reader -- which looks not a little like a Rubik's cube -- is a 56-in-one jack of all trades (microSD, SDHC, SD, xD, you name it) which tranfers up to 480Mb per second, and comes with a USB to mini USB cable. You can own this puppy (for Windows and Linux) for $9.99.

Magic Cube all-in-one card reader rotates, impresses originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 04:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dual-SIM phone launches in the US courtesy of... National Geographic

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/15/dual-sim-phone-launches-in-the-us-courtesy-of-national-geogra/

We'd all but forgotten that National Geographic runs a little phone business on the side through a retailer partner, but yeah, it does -- and after a couple years of forgettable hardware, things are starting to get interesting. The idea with these guys has always been to offer SIM cards that offer global roaming at a price that has at least a fighting chance of not bankrupting you, but the problem is that with a traditional phone, you've got to replace your regular SIM card while you're using it; dual-SIM phones exist in bountiful numbers outside the US, but finding a domestic model is nigh impossible. The new Duet D888 option let's you mix up one of Cellular Abroad's roaming SIM along with a second of your own, so theoretically, you could make this your primary phone if you do a lot of traveling and hate breaking your fingernails (or your will to live) every time you want to swap cards between phones. As far as we can tell, the D888 lacks GSM 850 -- so don't expect stellar reception stateside -- but it could be enough to get you by between trips to Madagascar.

[Via CNET]

Filed under: Cellphones

Dual-SIM phone launches in the US courtesy of... National Geographic originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 07:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG's GC900 Viewty II gets Smart, gets official

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/15/lgs-gc900-viewty-ii-gets-smart-gets-official/

LG's GC900 Viewty II gets Smart, gets official

Put away your smudgycams and break out your wallets, LG's Viewty II has been given the full studio photo treatment as part of an unveiling at LG's official blog. Dubbed the Smart, the GC900 is just 12.4 mm thick (under a half-inch), packing a 3-inch touchscreen on its face and of course that 8 megapixel camera on the back, confirmed to be able to capture video at 720 x 480 and geotag photos using the integrated A-GPS receiver. WLAN and HSDPA are also confirmed, but that's about all the info LG is setting in stone at the moment -- not that we didn't already know everything about it.

[Via Phone Arena]

Gallery: LG GC900 Smart

Filed under: Cellphones

LG's GC900 Viewty II gets Smart, gets official originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Apr 2009 07:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Truth Rules - cherish the relationship over the transaction - http://ping.fm/ZsGGY

Campbell Grows Tomatoes, Coke Plants Trees - http://ping.fm/Zsj3o - favoring sustainable cause marketing rather than one-off promotions

Dell Mini 9 hacked for 3G use with some difficulty

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/13/dell-mini-9-hacked-for-3g-use-with-some-difficulty/

Folks discovered some time ago that Dell's stock Mini 9 just wasn't made for 3G, but that doesn't look to have stopped MyDellMini forum member Jingo5, who saw an opening on the netbook's motherboard and ran with it. As you might expect, however, that didn't exactly prove to be the easiest course of action to take, with it involving a modified 855u Sierra USB adapter, a good deal of soldering, and a fair measure of skill to ensure that the whole thing didn't backfire. He was also apparently able to pull an antenna off the LAN card to improve reception with little consequence, and even get it working under OS X using Sierra's own 3G app. Feeling brave enough to try it yourself? Then hit up the read link below for the complete details.

[Via Hack a Day]

Filed under: Laptops

Dell Mini 9 hacked for 3G use with some difficulty originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Intel issues firmware update for ailing X18-M and X25-M SSDs

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/13/intel-issues-firmware-update-for-ailing-x18-m-and-x25-m-ssds/

Wait, what's this? Intel admitting that its X18-M and X25-M SSDs do actually have the potential to slow after extended use? After the company flat out denied allegations brought forth by PC Perspective earlier this year, it has now quietly pushed out a v1.1 update for the 80GB and 160GB versions of the aforementioned devices. All we're told is that it brings along "several continuous improvement optimizations intended to provide the best possible user experience," but there's absolutely no denying what it's really aiming to fix. Intel still maintains that the likelihood of users experiencing any long-term issues are next to nothing, but we'd suggest applying the update just in case. Wouldn't want to be missing out on any lightning fast read / write rates, now would you?

[Via HotHardware]

Read - Intel firmware update
Read - Updated firmware review

Filed under: Storage

Intel issues firmware update for ailing X18-M and X25-M SSDs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer Aspire Revo listed for pre-order in UK with May 18th release date

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/13/acer-aspire-revo-now-up-for-pre-order-in-uk-with-may-18th-releas/

Now that the Ion-based cat is out of the bag, Acer's Aspire Revo has reared its pretty head on UK retailer Play.com's website. While all four packages sport the 1.6GHz Intel Atom N230, from what we can tell there's two distinct hardware configurations here. The base price is £180 (US $267), and with that you'll get 1GB RAM, 8GB SSD, and Linux. The £300 model boasts 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, and Windows Vista Home Premium. Tack on £50 more for a 3D controller and ten games, and for £330 ($440) you can have the full package along with a wireless keyboard / mouse. The listed release date is May 18th for all of them, and with any luck Acer'll go with that date and bring the nettop stateside sometime around then.

Filed under: Desktops

Acer Aspire Revo listed for pre-order in UK with May 18th release date originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sonos 2.8 adds Deezer Radio to multi-room systems in Europe, updates iPhone controller

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/14/sonos-2-8-adds-deezer-radio-to-multi-room-systems-in-europe-upd/

After plunking down a grand for Sonos' impressive two-room bundle, it's always nice to see a freebie or two arrive via software updates. While not quite as big a release as version 2.7 was for Sonos' wireless (or wired) multi-room audio system, 2.8 does add free Deezer Radio service to Sonos users in 30 countries across Europe -- think Last.fm's artist smart lists with the ability to skip tracks only better dressed and with a knowledge of geography. Sonos is also updating its free iPhone / iPod touch controller application by extending native language support (Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish added to English) and granting access to the sleep timers and wake-to-music alarms you've setup using the Sonos software controller running on your desktop. This update brings the features of the iPhone Controller up to par with Sonos' own dedicated controller and thus makes the €399 price for the CR100 all the more ridiculous.

Fortunately, for a limited time (until May 31st) Sonos is heavily discounting its €399 Sonos Controller as long as you buy it bundled with a ZonePlayer -- a box required for adding new speaker zones. The ZP90 and Sonos Controller combo is available for €599 (a savings of €149) while the amplified ZP120 and Controller combo is available for €699 (a savings of €199). The offer seems bent on preventing you from purchasing a relatively fragile but multi-purpose €219 iPod touch with onscreen keyboard to control your whole-house audio instead of Sonos' rugged and water-resistant CR100 Controller with scroll-wheel QWERTY. Try harder Sonos, even Apple learned to ditch the scroll-wheel. A few more interface shots after the break.

Continue reading Sonos 2.8 adds Deezer Radio to multi-room systems in Europe, updates iPhone controller

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Sonos 2.8 adds Deezer Radio to multi-room systems in Europe, updates iPhone controller originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OQO looking for buyer, Model 2+ future in limbo?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/14/oqo-looking-for-buyer-model-2-future-in-limbo/

Oh no, OQO. According to some chatter on the OQOTALK forums, the company's in dire financial straits and is looking to sell, and that the Model 2+ may be the last OQO device made, if it ever gets released. More worrisome, European retailer eXpansys is reportedly canceling orders for the MID and removing all the company's products from the site, due to what it's telling customers is "uncertainties to stock availability." Ouch. Whatever's going on, right now it's not sounding too good -- guess that Model 2+ Lie to Me cameo wasn't enough to rile up overwhelming support.

Read - jkontherun
Read - OQOTALK forums

Filed under: Handhelds

OQO looking for buyer, Model 2+ future in limbo? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Samsung's tiny HMX-R10 Full HD camcorder lands in Korea, US next month

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/14/samsungs-tiny-hmx-r10-full-hd-camcorder-lands-in-korea-us-next/

Samsung's impressively small HMX-R10 HD camcorder has finally been set free to dance upon Korean retail shelves. The mini cam is just 12.5-cm long and 4-cm wide (4.9 x 1.5-inches) and records 9 megapixel stills or 1,920 x 1,080 pixel video (courtesy of its 1/2.33-inch CMOS sensor) to SDHC memory cards up to 32GB in capacity. The cam also brings a 5x optical, electronically stabilized zoom lens angled at a unique 25-degrees which, according to Samsung, makes for a more natural shooting angle. The 2.7-inch touch-screen LCD features Samsung's Magic Touch UI that automatically focuses on any point that you touch. Sounds sweet but in practice this type of tech is a novelty requiring two handed operation that will just slow you down in the field. It'll also shoot super-slow-motion at 60, 300, or 600 fps at decreasing resolutions most assuredly (Sammy doesn't say). Fortunately, Amazon has this shooter listed at $500 for a May 15th release Stateside and beyond.

Filed under: Digital Cameras

Samsung's tiny HMX-R10 Full HD camcorder lands in Korea, US next month originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 04:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba's leaked product roadmap gets us hot, extra bothered by fuel-cell powered L01 MID

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/14/toshibas-leaked-product-roadmap-gets-us-hot-extra-bothered/

If the roadmap posted after the break is to be believed (and we think it is) then Toshiba is set to capture a lot of attention with its Snapdragon-based handhelds over the coming year. Techblog.gr has what it claims to be the Toshiba Device Roadmap through 2010. They've shown us a PowerPoint sample off-line that seems to support the claim. Of course, this isn't the first time Tosh has leaked an entire product cycle and the named devices align nicely with some of the prototypes Toshiba was showing-off at CES in January (see gallery below). Toshiba was already off to a good start in 2009 with its incredibly thin 4.1-inch TG01 running atop Qualcomm's snapdragon platform. It just gets better from there. First we've got the TG02 (launching in Q4) update to the TG01 that adds IPX4 water resistance without changing the specs or the dimensions. The TG03 ups the ante again with the inclusion of a 3-channel speaker for a better video experience.

Also in Q4, Tosh looks ready to launch a 15-mm QWERTY slider version of the 9.9-mm TG01 with new capacitive (!) touchscreen called the K01. All other specs look unchanged including WinMo 6.5. Next is the K02 clamshell with primary 3.5-inch WVGA display and QWERTY on the inside coupled with a secondary LCD and 10-key on-screen keypad on the outside. The K02 features a resistive touchscreen, HSPA data, and same QSD8x50 chipset found in the TG01 (and all the other devices on this roadmap). Last, but by no means least, is the 7-inch L01 looking every bit the love-child of a Nokia N800 and HTC Advantage. The very same device that was shown powered by a DMFC (fuel cell) at CES in January. Interesting since Toshiba has promised a consumer device powered by a fuel cell before March of 2010. Unfortunately, it's limited to the same WVGA resolution seen on the smaller screens and WinMo 6.5 when it launches. Assuming the leak is true, of course.

Gallery: Toshiba's DMFC "internet viewer" prototypes are truly next-gen

Continue reading Toshiba's leaked product roadmap gets us hot, extra bothered by fuel-cell powered L01 MID

Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Portable Audio, Portable Video

Toshiba's leaked product roadmap gets us hot, extra bothered by fuel-cell powered L01 MID originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 05:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Monday, April 13, 2009

JVC intros 1080p GD-463D10 3D LCD monitor in Japan

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/13/jvc-intros-1080p-gd-463d10-3d-lcd-monitor-in-japan/

Not that JVC's been avoiding the 3D bandwagon or anything, but it has yet to formally introduce a 3D HDTV to really take advantage of the in-home 3D revolution that 3D backers just swear is right around the bend. The GD-463D10 is a 46-inch LCD HDTV with a native 1,920 x 1080 resolution, 2,000:1 contrast ratio, twin ten-watt speakers and support for three-dee material. We're also told that the set will come bundled with a pair of polarized glasses when it ships in Japan early next month. The only problem? That ¥700,000 ($6,978) price tag, which seems particularly painful with no real 3D programming to speak of. Yet, of course.

[Via Impress]

Filed under: Displays, HDTV, Home Entertainment

JVC intros 1080p GD-463D10 3D LCD monitor in Japan originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AOpen rolls out XC Encore OE700 media PC

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/13/aopen-rolls-out-xc-encore-oe700-media-pc/

It's been a little while since AOpen last popped up on our radar, but the company certainly hasn't stopped cranking out tiny media PCs in the interim, and it looks like it might have a winner on its hands with its new XC Encore OE700 model. While the core specs of your choice of Core 2 Duo processor and up to 4GB RAM aren't exactly anything remarkable, the system does employ a number of measures to ensure it stays as quiet as possible, including a Smart Anti-Vibration System that dampens hard drive noise, and a new case design dubbed SNSS (or Smart Noise Suppression System) that promises to keep all the other noises in check. You'll even get a home theater-friendly VFD display and, of course, a Media Center compatible remote control -- assuming you live in Japan, that is, as there's still no indication of a release 'round these parts.

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Desktops, Media PCs

AOpen rolls out XC Encore OE700 media PC originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 15:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SandForce breaks into SSD market with speedy SF-1000 processors

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/13/sandforce-breaks-into-ssd-market-with-speedy-sf-1000-processors/

With SSD prices still well above the point of affordability, we're thrilled to see more entrants joining the burgeoning market. Big players like Western Digital and Corsair are being greeted by small timers such as PhotoFast, Fusion-io and SandForce, the latter of which has just escaped "stealth mode" in order to launch its first solid state drive processor family. The chips utilize DuraClass technology and promise to address "key NAND flash issues allowing MLC flash technologies to be reliably used in broad based, mission critical storage environments." More germane to our discussion is the nice boost in transfer rates and lower cost of production; we're told that the SF-1000 crew sports a standard 3 gigabit-per-second SATA host interface connecting up to 512 gigabytes of commodity NAND flash memory, and that it delivers 30,000 IOPS and 250MB/s performance (sequential 128KB read or write transfers) with 100 micro-second latency. If all goes well, select OEMs will be launching SSDs based on this processor later this year, so we'll definitely be keeping our eyes peeled.

[Via GadgetMix, thanks Kamal]

Filed under: Storage

SandForce breaks into SSD market with speedy SF-1000 proc! essors originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 09:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Studio Spotlight: Bulletproof

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDieline/~3/Mefh_h2yYzk/studio-spotlight-bulletproof.html

Bulletproof is a firm in London that focuses on packaging, branding and shopper marketing. Take a look at their varied body of packaging design.

More after the jump.

New Shuffle Costs Apple $21.77 to Build [Apple]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/EoS2t1B6060/new-shuffle-costs-apple-2177-to-build

According to a new teardown report by iSuppli, the $79, third generation iPod shuffle costs Apple a total of $21.77 to build and box. Here's the cost per component:

Main Processing Chip (Samsung)
$5.98

4GB Flash Memory (Samsung)
$6

Lithium Ion Battery (Smallest iSuppli had ever seen)
$1.20

Various Capacitors and Resistors (Smallest iSupply had ever seen, a grain of salt a pop)
Less than a penny each

The prices of the headphones, body and case were unspecified, but apparently those components make up the other half of the shuffle's component cost to Apple. And with the build price at just 28% of the sale price, the shuffle should be Apple's most profitable iPod ever, even if iSuppli's report doesn't account for expenses like R&D. [BusinessWeek and image]

Carriers could be forced by EU to support VoIP services

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/04/13/carriers-could-be-forced-by-eu-to-support-voip-services/

We've seen it time and time again -- carriers using their power to strong-arm consumers into paying services that could very well be free. Over in Europe, the almighty EU is considering "binding guidelines" that could force wireless operators to allow VoIP services such as Skype to run over their cellular networks. It should be noted that all of this is still very preliminary at the moment, but if the Union can somehow force carriers to support these so-called "innovative services," we could see a very favorable (for consumers, anyway) domino effect. As it stands, each EU country has the ability to decide individually on how they deal with blocked internet services, but obviously an EU-wide mandate would seriously shake things up. Or cause unstoppable riots, one.

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Cellphones

Carriers could be forced by EU to support VoIP services originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bloggers Be Warned: Proposed FTC Plan Would Hold Web Writers Liable for False Brand Discourse - http://ping.fm/wIu1A

AdAge: ROI May Be Measurable in Facebook, MySpace After All; whoa, simply incredible! :-) - http://ping.fm/lJ2fs

New in Labs: Gmail search made easier (and lazier)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OfficialGmailBlog/~3/Ih3f6KUQTEk/new-in-labs-gmail-search-made-easier.html

Posted by Ibrahim Bokharouss, Software Engineer

On the Gmail team, we believe finding the right email among thousands of messages can be as important as finding the right web page across the billions of web pages out there. So with the aim of making search in Gmail easier, we built a new experimental feature in Gmail Labs: Search Autocomplete.

Turn on Search Autocomplete from the Labs tab under Gmail Settings, and you'll get suggestions as you type in the search box. One of the most popular searches in Gmail is for names or email addresses, so the first kind of suggestions you'll see are contacts. Some names are not easy to remember (my last name is an excellent example!) — with this new Labs feature you can just type a couple letters and select the desired contact from the drop down list. Easy and quick as that.

Gmail also offers a bunch of advanced search operators, which provide a powerful way to find that one message you have in mind. You can search in specific places (e.g. in chats or sent items), or search for messages with attachments of a certain type (e.g. docs or photos). Suppose I want to search for photos that were sent to me by my friend Chris. Normally, I would have to enter Chris' email address followed by filename:(jpg OR png), which I gladly admit is even a bit too geeky for me. With Search Autocomplete, I can just type "photos" or "pictures," select "has photos" from the drop down list (as in the screenshot! below), and the search query (filename:(jpg OR png)) gets inserted for me. Similarly, you can type in the word "attachment" and Search Autocomplete will list the most common attachment types for you.

One of the reasons we still show you the geeky search query is to allow you to adapt it to your needs. For example, if you'd like to include tiff files in your search result, you can adapt the query manually to filename:(jpg OR png OR tiff).

That's it for now. Play around and make sure to use the time that you save on searching to let us know what you think.

A new mobile Gmail experience for iPhone and Android

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OfficialGmailBlog/~3/CAvue3AfIBA/new-mobile-gmail-experience-for-iphone.html

Posted by Rob Kroeger, Engineer, Google Mobile

Today we're introducing a major revision to Gmail for mobile that takes advantage of the latest browser technology available on iPhone and Android devices. We've updated the user interface, made it faster to open messages, allowed for batch actions (like archiving multiple messages at once), and added some basic offline support

Despite the advent of 3G networks and wifi, smartphones still lack a high-speed, always-on broadband connection and can have connections far less reliable than their desktop brethren. So, just like when we redesigned the Gmail for mobile client app last October, we've gone back to the drawing board and redesigned Gmail for the mobile browser to overcome some of these limitations. We made performance more consistent, regardless of connection type, and laid the foundation for future improvements.

Now, when you go to gmail.com from your iPhone or Android browser, archiving email is quicker because it doesn't require a response from a remote server. Instead, we cache mail on the device itself (using database storage on the iPhone and a device-local mobile Gears database on Android-powered phones). Actions like archiving or starring messages are first applied to this cache and then sent to Gmail servers in the background whenever a network connection is available. You only have to wait for a response from the server when you're requesting an uncached message or list of messages. As a result, you can start-up Gmail even if you're on a slow connection. You can even compose mail and open recently read messages while offline.

We made extensive use of other browser functions too: for example, the floaty bar that lets you archive, delete or apply more actions is animated via CSS transformations and controlled in part with touch event! s (when you scroll the screen, it follows you).

The HTML5 canvas tag is used to render the progress spinner without the overhead of downloading animated GIFs to the device. Now that we've developed a framework for the new Gmail for mobile, we're planning a whole lot more: faster performance, improved offline operation, new functionality, and interface enhancements that take advantage of the unique properties of smartphones.

To try this new version of Gmail for mobile, just go to gmail.com from your mobile browser. It's currently available on any Android-powered devices or iPhone OS 2.2.1 or higher. For now, the new version is available in English only. We'll be rolling this version out to everyone over the course of the day, so if you don't see the updated user interface yet (you'll know you have it when you see that floaty bar), check back soon. For easy access, we recommend creating a homescreen link.

New in Labs: Sender time zone

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OfficialGmailBlog/~3/CyvhP7Gn88U/new-in-labs-sender-time-zone.html

Posted by Marcin Brodziak, Software Engineer

Let's say your girlfriend sends you an angry email. It's mostly about how you behaved at the party last night and then left for a business trip without saying goodbye. You read it from the other side of the globe, jet-lagged after a 12 hour flight. You want to call and sort things out, but forget that it's now almost 3:00 am her time. After waking her up, things only get worse.

There's a new feature in Gmail Labs called Sender Time Zone that can help. Turn it on from the Labs tab under Settings, and you'll see green phone icons next to people who are probably awake and readily reachable (if it's between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm in the sender's local time zone) and red ones next to those who could be sleeping or out of the office:

Click "show details" and you can see when a message was sent in the sender's time zone as well as what time it is for them now:

Message headers always include the time sent and often include time zone info too. We use that information to show you these icons. If the time zone isn't included for a given message, this Lab! s featur e won't display anything. Try it out and tell us what you think.

New in Labs: Inserting images

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/OfficialGmailBlog/~3/WMbC5KLDf9c/new-in-labs-inserting-images.html

Posted by Kent Tamura, Software Engineer

Well, it's about time. You no longer have to use workarounds to put images into your messages or attach images when you really want to inline them. Just turn on "Inserting images" from the Labs tab under Settings, and you'll see a new toolbar icon like this:

Make sure you're in rich formatting mode, or it won't show up. Click the little image icon, and you can insert images in two ways: by uploading image files from your computer or providing image URLs.

Keep in mind that Gmail doesn't show URL-based images in messages by default to protect you from spammers, so if you're sending mail to other Gmail users, they'll still have to click "Display images below" or "Always display images from ..." to see images you embed.

Got feedback on inserting images? Send it our way.

@bmorrissey - million-dollar microsites give way to flexible Web platforms (one-offs give way to lasting value) http://ping.fm/82w2m

Widerbug Tweaks Firebug to Fit Your Wide Screen [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/YgW3LkKzIzU/widerbug-tweaks-firebug-to-fit-your-wide-screen

Firefox: If you've ever sighed and said "Oh Firebug, if only you were wide screen!", today is your lucky day. Widerbug is a version of the popular web development tool tweaked for wide screens.

Firebug is a handy tool for examining the HTML and CSS code of a website along with the page itself. The original extension orients the site and the code horizontally, as seen here. You can detach the panels and move them around, but then they don't update when you switch tabs.

Widebug is a tweaked version of Firebug, the site and the code panels are displayed side by side to take advantage of wide screen monitors. The panels maintain their connection to each tab, doing away with the phantom code effect found in Firebug when you try to coax it into wide screen mode. Widerbug is a free extension and works wherever Firefox does.

Widerbug [via gHacks]

Free Music Archive Puts Thousands of Royalty-Free Songs Up for Grabs [Free]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/UMKoTda-9-o/free-music-archive-puts-thousands-of-royalty+free-songs-up-for-grabs

Need a worry-free background track for a multimedia project, or just some new tunes to work into your daily mix? The Free Music Archive, a project of indie freeform station WFMU, has downloads and streams galore.

Inspired by the ideas and ethos behind Creative Commons licensing, the tracks on the FMA are offered for whatever use you want. Use them to soundtrack your latest YouTube epic, remix them and release them, or download and share them with friends. The site also boasts a kind of quality control to the database of songs both live and recoded, selected by WFMU's audio archivists and curators. The search functionality works pretty well, and can be re-sorted by genre, album, or other criteria.

If you really dig the tunes you're finding, there are links to the artists' albums and a tip jar for each. Otherwise, stream, grab, and go at your leisure. Free to use, sign-up required for the social aspects of the site, like mix publishing and sharing.

Free Music Archive [via ReadWriteWeb]

TuneConnect Controls iTunes Playback from Any Computer in Your Home [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/Ac5RIcAawRQ/tuneconnect-controls-itunes-playback-from-any-computer-in-your-home

Mac OS X only: Free, open-source application TuneConnect controls iTunes playback on any computer in your house from any other computer through an attractive interface focused on album art.

In fact, as weblog MacApper points out, it's easy to think of this as a desktop version of the Remote iPhone application. The app requires you to install a preference pane that acts as the server (you'd only need to install this on the computer(s) you wanted to control), meaning the download comes with both the preference pane and the main application. The main TuneConnect application is the one you'll use on any computer from which you want to control the music.

TuneConnect loads libraries from server computers quickly, and playback control is snappy. Best of all, the application is free and open source. Unfortunately it's Mac only.

TuneConnect [via MacApper]

Chrome Bookmark Sorter Rearranges Bookmarks Recursively [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/OTce_5L41VM/chrome-bookmark-sorter-rearranges-bookmarks-recursively

Windows only: Reader James got tired of waiting for Google Chrome's bookmark manager to allow better sorting options—so he wrote up a small app that gets the job done.

Google Chrome's bookmark manager allows simple sorting by title and for a single folder, but James wanted more, so he created this utility to sort recursively by name or date added through all of your bookmarks. Using the utility is easy enough—just close all the open Chrome windows, launch the application and choose from the sorting options, and your bookmarks and folders will be sorted recursively.

Chrome Bookmark Sorter is a free download for Windows only. James asked us to provide the download here, so we've provided a direct link to the file. Thanks, James!

For more useful Chrome utilities, be sure and check out the previously mentioned Google Chrome Backup tool and our power user's guide to Google Chrome.

Download Chrome Bookmark Sorter 1.1
Chrome Bookmarks Sorter [James Burgess]

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