Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Oxelon Batch Converts Your Music and Movies with Explorer Integration [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ot_IMYLf6D8/oxelon-batch-converts-your-music-and-movies-with-explorer-integration

Windows only: Free audio/video conversion utility Oxelon Media Converter handles the task of batch converting music and video files to and from almost any format—and it adds a handy Explorer menu integration to make it easy.

Once you've installed the application and the optional plugin package, you can simply right-click on any audio or video file and choose the file format you'd like to use from the context menu, which will launch the full application where you can tweak the settings—or just click the Conversion button to begin the converting process. Since the Explorer context menu integration doesn't work on 64-bit versions of Windows, you can also just drag and drop the files directly into the interface, and select the media format and quality you would like to use.

During our testing, Oxelon worked flawlessly for converting to and from a number of formats, and most notably is really useful for converting a folder of downloaded Flash video *.FLV files to another format. The converted video quality is excellent, and with good reason, since the whole application is just a shell for the often-used ffmpeg conversion utility.

Oxelon is a free download for Windows, but the context menu integration is 32-bit only. Readers should note that Oxelon has a surprising lack of support for generating the Matroska *.MKV format, and if you head into the Settings you should be able to disable the obnoxious launch of their newsletter page every time you close the application.



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Air Video Streams Your Videos to Your iPhone with Minimal Effort, Is Incredible [Downloads]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ss7rV7arot4/air-video-streams-your-videos-to-your-iphone-with-minimal-effort-is-incredible

Windows/Mac + iPhone/iPod touch: Not only do videos take up a ton of space on space-constrained devices, but converting videos for the iPhone gets painful quickly. Air Video streams videos straight to your iPhone, converting them on-the-fly if they're incompatible.

The app is actually an iPhone app plus a PC/Mac app that acts as a server. You can use any videos on your computer, whether they are in iTunes or not—and, if you prefer, you can also add video playlists from iTunes to the list of sources. Once you get the server app running on your desktop, you can start streaming over your home network immediately. Streaming over the internet from outside your home, though, only takes a few more seconds—in the server app, go to the "Remote" tab and check Enable Access from Internet (see below). The app will give you a server PIN that you can type in when you go to add a source on your iPhone or iPod touch—note that your router at home needs a public IP address and support UPnP or NAT-PMP protocols, which shouldn't be a problem for most people.

As if that weren't cool (or easy) enough, if you have some videos that can't be played directly on the iPhone, you can convert them using Air Video as you watch it (as long as you're running firmware 3.0 and have a fairly powerful computer back at home). If you prefer, you can also convert the file offline and watch it later.

Air Video is a free download for the iPhone and iPod touch, although the free version only shows you a few videos at a time, at random, from your folders. If you have a large video library you want to share, or don't feel like clicking on the folder multiple times waiting for the video you want to be on the list, there's a $2.99 pro version available as well.

Air Video [Official Site]


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Qualcomm Blabs On "Specific Game-Centric Platforms Launched Around Snapdragon" [Qualcomm]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/3pg1QuTKLgg/qualcomm-blabs-on-specific-game+centric-platforms-launched-around-snapdragon

The Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm is fast becoming the standard chip for smartphones—both Android and Windows Mobile—but surprisingly we haven't seen anything that can harness its performance in gaming. That may change this year, according to Qualcomm.

Speaking to Mobile-Entertainment at Mobile World Congress, their VP of product management, Mark Frankel, said:

"There will be, by the end of this year, specific game-centric platforms launched around Snapdragon"

"You'll be able to see clearly that gaming is the main focus of those devices. There'll be a category of gaming devices that hasn't been on the marketplace before using Snapdragon."

The lack of gaming-centric phones was something we were bemoaning recently, although that could change with the Xbox 360 integration in Windows Phone 7 Series. [Mobile-Entertainment]



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FCC Wants 100Mbps Broadband in 100 Million Homes [Broadband]

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/hyN1qiJMVG4/fcc-wants-100mbps-broadband-in-100-million-homes

Almost a year after the FCC first announced their National Broadband Plan, some new details have started to emerge. Specifically: A "100 Squared" plan to give 100 million households 100Mbps broadband. Just for starters.

Of course, there's only so much of that process that's actually in the FCC's control, which is why the agency's chairman gave Google a shout out in his presentation for their plan to deploy 1Gbps fiber internet to 500,000 lucky souls. But there are some steps the FCC can and will take to encourage broader, faster broadband adoption:

· A recommendation for improving the highly successful E-Rate program — which made Internet connections in America's classrooms and libraries a reality — so that kids and teachers can have a 21st century educational experience that is the envy of the world.
· A recommendation to modernize the FCC's rural telemedicine program to connect thousands of additional clinics and break down bureaucratic barriers to a telehealth future.
· A recommendation to take the steps necessary to deploy broadband to accelerate a smart grid.
· A recommendation to develop public/private partnerships to increase Internet adoption, and ensure that all children can use the Internet proficiently and safely — with programs like NCTA's new A+ program playing a helpful role.
· A recommendation to free up a significant amount of spectrum in the years ahead for ample licensed and unlicensed use.
· A recommendation for lowering the cost of broadband build-out — wired and wireless — through the smart use of government rights of way and conduits.
· A recommendation for creating an interoperable public safety network to replace the currently broken system.

If that seems general and vague and imprecise, well, that's because it is. Getting US broadband up to speed is going to be a huge undertaking, and it's not going to happen any time soon. But just seeing the intent there is an incredibly important first step. Now it's a matter of implementation. [FCC via Electronista]



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Battery-powered Wi-Reach Classic turns any USB 3G / 4G modem into portable WiFi hotspot

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/16/battery-powered-wi-reach-classic-turns-any-usb-3g-4g-modem-int/

Mobile broadband routers certainly aren't new, but Connect One's take on the whole thing just might be our favorite (yeah, even more than Cradlepoint's offerings). Of course, we'd pick up a MiFi of some sort if we were buying into the space today, but for those still under contract with a USB WWAN stick, the Wi-Reach classic adds a whole new level of utility. Put simply, this minuscule device boasts its own battery and a sole USB socket, which is used to connect with whatever 3G (and after a future firmware update, WiMAX / LTE) USB card that you slap in there. Once in place, you're now in possession of a mobile WiFi hotspot which can be shared with up to ten WiFi-enabled devices. We're told that the device can last for up to five hours on a full charge, and it can even be re-energized via USB. Interested? Prove it. It's up for order right now for $99.

Battery-powered Wi-Reach Classic turns any USB 3G / 4G modem into portable WiFi hotspot originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Feb 2010 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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