Monday, February 02, 2009

Netflix considering premium price tiers for additional streaming content?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/01/netflix-considering-premium-price-tiers-for-additional-streaming/


Look, some people are perfectly content to swap a DVD with Netflix once a millenia and watch Matthew Broderick and Michelle Pfeiffer in Ladyhawke on their Xbox 360 -- other people demand something a bit more "hip" on their Instant Watch queue. Netflix is apparently investigating the possibility of an additional $10 monthly fee to watch HBO shows and movies on the streaming service, or at least has a poll to that effect. For people that keep cable around just for things like HBO and Showtime, it's an attractive proposition, and perhaps a bit of an inevitability, but at $10 a month we'd expect Netflix to toss in a bit more premium content than just what one channel has to offer. What's clear is that either way, people are going to find a way to watch this stuff online, and the first provider to figure out the right way to monetize and distribute it wins. This seems like a tentative step in the right direction, if it comes to pass.

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Netflix considering premium price tiers for additional streaming content? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 11:53 AM

Crackulous released, promises to bust iPhone app protection scheme

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/02/crackulous-released-promises-to-bust-iphone-app-protection-sche/


If Apple's sat back and let the iPhone hacking community do its thing in peace (well, relative peace) so far, this little gem just might be what the doctor ordered to stir up the crap. Crackulous -- available now in beta form through Cydia -- claims to be able to strip the protection off most apps downloaded from the App Store, meaning that just a single user needs to take the plunge and buy a target app once to get it busted and into free circulation. You need a jailbroken iPhone to get Crackulous loaded, naturally -- you'll see Apple make a Windows Mobile-powered device before you'll see Crackulous in the App Store -- but seeing how PwnageTool is dead simple to use, this puts most users just a couple graphical tools away from foolproof piracy and the golden opportunity to take a few hard-earned bucks out of a programmer's pocket.

[Via Funky Space Monkey]

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Crackulous released, promises to bust iPhone app protection scheme originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 01:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 11:53 AM

IBM develops computerized voice that actually sounds human

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/02/ibm-develops-computerized-voice-that-actually-sounds-human/


If there's one thing that still grates our nerves, it's automated calling systems. Or, more specifically, the robotic beings that simply fail to understand our slang and incomprehensible rants. IBM's working hard and fast to change all that, with a team at the company's Thomas J Watson research division developing and patenting a computerized voice that can utter "um," "er" and "yes, we're dead serious." The sophisticated system adds in the minutiae that makes conversation believable to Earthlings, and it's even programmed to learn new nuances and react to phrases such as "shh." The technology has been difficulty coined "generating paralinguistic phenomena via markup in text-to-speech syntheses," and while exact end uses have yet to be discussed publicly, we can certainly imagine a brave new world of automated CSRs.

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IBM develops computerized voice that actually sounds human originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 08:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 11:50 AM

Sony's Mofiria biometrics to be trotted out sometime this year

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/02/sonys-mofiria-biometrics-to-be-trotted-out-sometime-this-year/


We don't know anybody who seriously relies on biometrics -- except, of course, those of you who rushed out late last year to pick up your very own BioMirage Coffer -- but if this is your bag, take note: Sony has just announced Mofiria, their new high speed, compact biometric solution for mobile devices. Similar to Fujitsu's PalmSecure, the technology uses near infrared LEDs and a CMOS sensor to capture a snapshot of your veins. Apparently, vein patterns vary from person to person and from finger to finger, and don't change throughout a person's life -- making them perfect for use in authentication. Of course, passwords should also vary from person to person, and computer to computer, but Sony won't ever be able to charge extra for a secure password. And that's really what all this is about, isn't it? No word on a price yet, but this bad boy should roll out sometime in 2009. PR after the break.

Continue reading Sony's Mofiria biometrics to be trotted out sometime this year

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Sony's Mofiria biometrics to be trotted out sometime this year originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 10:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 11:50 AM

Friday, January 30, 2009

Alpha version of Intel's Moblin OS released for brave netbookers

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/01/30/alpha-version-of-intels-moblin-os-released-for-brave-netbookers/

Alpha version of Intel's Moblin OS released for brave netbookers
It's been nearly a year since we were first confused about what this whole Moblin thing was going to be, but now here it is released to the wild, roaming about in alpha form and looking to find a home for itself in your netbook. If you haven't been following along, Moblin is a custom flavor of Linux that Intel has been whipping up for installation on devices using its chips, particularly the Atom but Core 2 processors as well. It's based on Fedora and, as of this release, is confirmed to work on Acer's Aspire One and Dell's Mini, though Eee peeps can check it out too -- so long as they don't mind living without WiFi. Mind you, this is still a very early version and there's a ways to go before a final release, so feel free to sit this round out if you're not into the whole bleeding edge thing.

[Via Ars Technica]

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Alpha version of Intel's Moblin OS released for brave netbookers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Posted by Augustine at 1:52 PM

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