Netflix Just for Kids comes to iPad, keeps Dora exploring beyond the TV (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/01/netflix-just-for-kids-comes-to-ipad/

Netflix's Just for Kids portal may already be a parent's ticket to saving money on endless Dora the Explorer DVDs without keeping a constant watch on the screen, but it has so far been left to consoles and the web. That's not much help to movie-loving grownups who'd sometimes like to free the PC or TV for their own streaming sessions -- so it's likely a relief to many that the Just for Kids interface is now available on iPads. Like on bigger screens, the mobile app provides a safe zone for the under-12 set that organizes videos into sections that junior viewers will more likely appreciate, such as sing-alongs and talking animals. For now, Android tablet owners and those holding on to first-generation iPads will be left out. It still shouldn't be too long before more adults can be sure their mobile-savvy kids are watching Curious George instead of Chasing Amy.

Continue reading Netflix Just for Kids comes to iPad, keeps Dora exploring beyond the TV (video)

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Netflix Just for Kids comes to iPad, keeps Dora explorin! g beyond the TV (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Oct 2012 11:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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RUMOR: Apple Will Announce The iPad Mini In Two Weeks (AAPL)

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/rumor-apple-will-announce-the-ipad-mini-in-two-weeks-2012-10

Apple could be announcing its next big product, the iPad Mini, in two and a half weeks.

Philip Elmer DeWitt at Fortune says a major Apple investor has heard from "multiple sources" that the company is going to send out press invites for the iPad Mini on October 10th. Apple usually sends those out a week before the event happens, so that would suggest Apple reveals the new iPad on October 17th.

We don't know if this specific timing is accurate, but Apple is widely expected to host an iPad Mini event at some point in October.

The iPad Mini will be 7.85-inches measured diagonally, compared to the normal iPad which is 9.7-inches. It is expected to be about the same size overall  as 7-inch tablets from Amazon, Samsung, and Google. Apple will have a bigger screen by giving the tablet smaller edges.

Apple has totally dominanted the tablet market, but it's left some room for rivals to come in with smaller tablets. The iPad Mini, if priced right could help Apple seal the market, just like it owned the MP3 player market with the iPod and the iPod Mini.

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Scape, Brian Eno's new ambient music creation app is now available on the iPad (video)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/29/brian-eno-scope/

Music making apps for the iPad are ten-a-penny, but when it's the brainchild of a super-producer like Brian Eno, you have to take notice. Scape is the third of his collaborations with Peter Chilvers after Bloom and Trope, an app that lets you generate ambient music with Eno's own sounds on a colorful, conceptual interface. Unlike standard beats'n'loops setups, each sound is tied to a series of rules -- including the time of day -- that ensures the tunes you create never play the same way twice. It's available from iTunes for $5.99 / £3.99, and who knows, maybe in a few years time, Coldplay'll come calling for your professional expertise.

Continue reading Scape, Brian Eno's new ambient music creation app is now available on the iPad (video)

Filed under: Portable Audio/Video, Tablets, Software, Alt

Scape, Brian Eno's new ambient music creation app is now available on the iPad (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Sep 2012 05:11:00 EDT. Please se! e our terms for use of feeds.

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Razer Blade review (late 2012)

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/30/razer-blade-review-late-2012/

Razer has made a habit of catching us off guard -- breaking the mold as an accessory manufacturer by building laptops, prototype game handhelds and controller-toting tablets. Their Blade laptop cut through our expectations as well, featuring a beautiful aluminum shell and one of the thinnest profiles of any gaming rig on the market. It had some serious flaws, though: it was underpowered, had minor build issues and simply fell short in the audio department. Its maker, apparently, wasn't deterred: mere months after the original Blade's own debut, Razer is now introducing a successor.

Most of the changes are internal: this model swaps out the original's Sandy Bridge CPU and last-generation NVIDIA graphics for a newly announced 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-3632QM processor and a Kepler-based GeForce GTX 660M GPU. It caught our interest -- Razer had previously insisted its first laptop wasn't built just for power, but for a premium experience. Now, the firm seems to be focusing on both (now that's a premium experience we can get behind). So, is this upgrade enough to make up for the OG version's shortcomings? Read on to find out.

Gallery: Razer Blade review (late 2012)!

Continue reading Razer Blade review (late 2012)

Filed under: Gaming, Laptops

Razer Blade review (late 2012) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Sep 2012 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Scary New Malware Uses Your Smartphone To Map Your House for Robbers [Apps]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5947385/scary-new-malware-uses-your-smartphone-to-make-a-map-of-your-house-for-robbers

If you aren't careful, much of the tech you hold near and dear can be used against you. An app called PlaceRaider, for instance, can use your phone to build a full 3D map of your house, all without you suspecting a thing.

Developed by Robert Templeman at the Naval Surface Warfare Center and a few buddies from the University of Indiana, PlaceRader hijacks your phone's camera and takes a series of secret photographs, recording the time, and the phone's orientation and location with each shot. Using that information, it can reliably build a 3D model of your home or office, and let cyber-intruders comb it for personal information like passwords on sticky notes, bank statements laying out on the coffee table, or anything else you might have lying around that could wind up the target of a raid on a later date.

You might be asking yourself "why not just take video?" There are a couple of reasons. For one, users looking for things to steal found the 3D environments to be very useful in early tests of the app. More importantly, using photos and stitching them together after transmission minimizes the amount of data the phone has to be able to send, making the whole thing especially surreptitious.

That malware app was developed on Android for practical purposes—presumably because the Android is a particularly open and tinker-friendly OS—but there's no reason it couldn't show up on other mobile operating systems. From there, it's a just a matter of tricking the mark into installing an app which quietly asks for permission to control your camera, all the time. Now might be a good time to start thinking about smartphone lens caps. [Technology Review]

Image by GDubbed/Shutterstock

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