Author: Terren

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RIM wants Hulu Plus on the Blackberry PlayBook, ‘conversations’ continue

RIM wants Hulu Plus on the just-released Blackberry PlayBook. It also wants everyone to know it wants Hulu Plus on the Blackberry PlayBook, after the streaming video service unceremoniously blocked access to its videos just days after the tablet’s launch. Now, both PC Mag and The Wall Street Journal are reporting the same terse email statement from RIM: “We are in conversations with Hulu to bring the Hulu Plus subscription service to BlackBerry PlayBook users.” No word on the content of those conversations or a timeline for resolution, so for now PlayBook users will need to find another way to satisfy their yearning for Seinfeld reruns.

RIM wants Hulu Plus on the Blackberry PlayBook, ‘conversations’ continue originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Apr 2011 12:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePCMag, The Wall Street Journal  | Email this | Comments

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Sony is ‘Rebuilding’ the Playstation Network in Attack’s Wake

Day Four without Playstation Network service is officially upon us, and there seems to be no end in sight as Sony now says it is “‘rebuilding’ its system to better guard against attacks,” according to PC World.

It appears that the attack that brought down PSN and Qriocity, Sony’s audio and video networking service that runs on the same infrastructure as PSN, was a pretty tough customer. Here’s a quote from Sony’s statement.

‘Our efforts to resolve this matter involve rebuilding our system to further strengthen our network infrastructure,’ the company said in a statement. ‘Though this task is time-consuming, we decided it was worth the time necessary to provide the system with additional security.’

It would appear that this isn’t a matter of Sony just figuring out what the hack did and repairing it — the company is actually so worried that it feels it can’t re-open the network without strengthening its defenses. There’s still no word whatsoever as to when PSN might be up and running again, but it will probably be sometime after Sony sorts out exactly where all its chickens will be roosting.

In other news, Phil Owen still can’t play SOCOM 4.

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New radio wave technique could detect alien planets, receive interstellar tunes

Any experienced planet hunter will tell you: finding exoplanets is the real challenge, where hardened professionals go to test their mettle. These tricky bodies stymie conventional methods – like seeing a planet pass in front of its parent star – because exoplanets often have decades-long orbits, meaning you could spend a lot of lonely nights fruitlessly searching the skies. So scientists at the University of Leicester in England developed a new approach: looking for radio waves emitted when ultraviolet flares light up the atmospheres of planets like Saturn and Jupiter. The flares – auroras – even if invisible to ordinary telescopes, are detectable by radio telescopes like the European Low Frequency Array (or LOFAR, pictured above). The scientists hope those methods will help them discover planetary systems up to 150 light-years away, perhaps even some that can sustain life. And, of course, keep them one step ahead of Richard Branson.

[Image credit: LOFAR / ASTRON]

New radio wave technique could detect alien planets, receive interstellar tunes originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 24 Apr 2011 02:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Dell’s 10-inch Android and Windows tablets get names, specs, release dates

leaked Dell tablets

Well, well, what have we here? A pair of 10-inch Dell tablets, one running Windows 7 on those fancy new Oak Trail chips from Intel and the other pushing Android 3.0 with a Tegra T25. We already saw these devices leaked in February, but now we have some specs and release dates. The Wintel powered Latitude ST boasts a resolution of 1366 x 768, 2GB of RAM, up to a 128GB SSD, GPS, an accelerometer, both front- and rear-facing cameras, an 8-hour removable battery, and “1080p video output,” which we assume means HDMI-out. The Android-flavored Streak Pro opts for a 1200 x 800 panel, but keeps the pair of cameras (and two mics) for video chats, while adding an unspecified mobile broadband radio and slathering Dell’s Stage UI on top of Honeycomb (whether or not that’s a good thing is purely a matter of taste). Pricing is still up in the air, but the leaked roadmap indicates the Streak Pro will land in June, followed by the Latitude XT3 convertible tablet in July, and the Latitude ST in October.

Dell’s 10-inch Android and Windows tablets get names, specs, release dates originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Apr 2011 18:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink NetbookNews  |  sourceAndroidCentral  | Email this | Comments

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HTC Flyer up for preorder for $499 at Best Buy on April 24th

Europeans have been able to preorder the HTC Flyer for months, and now curious Yanks are about to get their chance, too. The tablet will be available for preorder on April 24th (that’s this Sunday) for $499 with Best Buy as the exclusive seller. Though our friends across the pond have been able to snag 3G versions, the one about to come stateside just has WiFi. The Flyer, as you’ll remember, is the phone maker’s first tablet, and has a 7-inch (1024 x 600) display, aluminum body, 1.5GHz Qualcomm chip, and a version of the company’s Sense UI that was tweaked with slates in mind. Alas, It’ll ship with Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), but HTC is promising an eventual upgrade to 3.0 (Honeycomb) and all of the bigger-screen goodies that come with it.

Continue reading HTC Flyer up for preorder for $499 at Best Buy on April 24th

HTC Flyer up for preorder for $499 at Best Buy on April 24th originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 23 Apr 2011 16:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Droid-Life  |  sourceBest Buy  | Email this | Comments

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Large Hadron Collider smashes beam intensity record, inches closer to discovering God particle

Large Hardon Colider

Already a record holder for mashing protons together at 7 TeV (trillion electron volts), the Large Hadron Collider can now add world’s brightest beam to its list of accomplishments. Beam intensity is a way of measuring the number of collisions in its 17-mile-long track, and a higher intensity means more impacts — which, in turn, means more data, increasing the likelihood that the elusive Higgs boson will rear its head (should such a thing exist). The LHC smashed the previous luminosity record set last year by the Tevatron collider. What’s next for the CERN team, with two world records under its belt? Largest beard of bees.

Continue reading Large Hadron Collider smashes beam intensity record, inches closer to discovering God particle

Large Hadron Collider smashes beam intensity record, inches closer to discovering God particle originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft patent application shows custom Kinect gestures, roaming user profiles

Since Kinect entered the world, modders have been hacking it for everything from playing Tetris to controlling a web browser. And really, Microsoft never seemed to mind. In case it wasn’t obvious how much the company wants you to help find new uses for the technology, the folks in Redmond have filed a patent application for custom profiles. We can see that having implications for gaming and even Windows shortcuts, but for now Microsoft expects it to improve Kinect’s accuracy by learning how you move — after all, no one jumps or points or apes Lady Gaga’s dance moves in exactly the same fashion, right? In other cases, the system might note that you prefer to make an “X” sign instead of a checkmark when selecting an object onscreen. And those personalized settings can roam over a network, shadowing you as you switch devices. Personally, we’re stoked about the idea of making our best Julian Assange dance a bona fide gesture, but we’ll be happy enough if Kinect can make up for our natural ungainliness.

Continue reading Microsoft patent application shows custom Kinect gestures, roaming user profiles

Microsoft patent application shows custom Kinect gestures, roaming user profiles originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 11:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Being Manan  |  sourceUS Patent & Trademark Office  | Email this | Comments

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Windows 7 has sold more than 350 million licenses

It is hard to believe but Windows 7 has been on the market for 18 months. During that time, the platform has experienced tremendous growth and adoption by users all over the world; including business environments.

Announced today on the Windowsteamblog is that Windows 7 has sold more than 350 million…

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Self-healing polymer serves up quick fixes under UV rays (video)

As many self-healing polymers as we’ve seen roll across our screens, we never really tire of them — chalk it up to our unending quest for perfection, but we like our gadgets devoid of nicks and scratches. Lucky for us, a team of scientists that shares our need for clean has produced a material that fixes its imperfections in a mere 60 seconds when exposed to UV light. The typically rigid material basically melts down when exposed to rays of a specific wavelength, allowing it to fill in any nicks or dings. When the light is lifted, the polymer goes back to its original form, and voila — the surface is like new. Its creators say the material could be used on everything from cars to dining room tables, but we’ve already come up with laundry list of devices that could do with a truly scratch resistant surface. Video of the stuff in action after the break.

Continue reading Self-healing polymer serves up quick fixes under UV rays (video)

Self-healing polymer serves up quick fixes under UV rays (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ars technica  |  sourceNature  | Email this | Comments

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Eee Pad Transformer US edition lacks GPS, but don’t tell ASUS that

ASUS’ shape-shifting Transformer might be ready to make its way across the pond, but don’t expect it to find its own way, because the US version won’t be packing GPS — at least not as we know it. The tablet’s official specs might lead you to believe otherwise, but according to a rather long and cryptic thread on Facebook, you’ll need a WiFi connection if you want the thing to take you places. After a review posted to AnandTech pointed out the slate’s apparent lack of GPS, ASUS revealed that there will be “No GPS in North America.” The company goes on to contradict itself, saying the US edition will include “location GPS” but not “Navigation GPS” — whatever that means — before settling on this:

“You need to be connected to wi-fi for the maps program to locate you at first, then it can guide the rest of the way. But if you powered off half-way you’d have to reestablish connection before making navigation changes.”

Now, you can call it A-GPS or location GPS — heck you can call it magic — but that doesn’t change the fact that ASUS’ US edition of the Eee Pad Transformer will not come equipped with GPS.

[Thanks, Richard]

Eee Pad Transformer US edition lacks GPS, but don’t tell ASUS that originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceASUS (Facebook)  | Email this | Comments

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Samsung strikes back at Apple with ten patent infringement claims

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone: in the latest chapter of the Apple-Samsung dispute over their smartphones’ resemblance, the latter company has just retaliated by filing lawsuits against Apple in three countries. Sammy’s load of ammo includes five patent infringements in South Korea, two in Japan, and three in Germany, though we’ve yet to hear more details about these claims. Now we just sit back and enjoy the show — popcorn, anyone?

[Thanks, Jake L.]

Update: Reuters has shed some light on the actual patents Samsung is alleging are being infringed. The news organization reports they relate to “power reduction during data transmission, 3G technology for reducing errors during data transmission, and wireless data communication technology.”

Samsung strikes back at Apple with ten patent infringement claims originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 23:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSamsung  | Email this | Comments

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Self-Correcting Laser Rifle Sight Gives the Most Accurate Shot Yet [Weapons]

When you’re aiming at a target two miles away, the slightest perturbation could end up causing a catastrophic miss – not good enough for today’s military. Until guns can aim themselves, snipers need the most accurate weapons possible. Engineers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory came up with a laser-guided correction system that ensures a shooter’s crosshairs are always on the mark. More »







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Apple Stores stocking Square credit card readers

Jack Dorsey’s über-popular credit card readers got a big thumbs-up from Cupertino this week. Square‘s devices are hitting Apple’s 235 US retail locations and Apple.com for $9.95 a pop — plus the 2.75 percent that the startup takes off the backend each time you use the reader — or you can always just sign up for a free one over on Square’s site. The iPhone / iPad / iPod touch plug-in accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and yes, even American Express. The CEO of VeriFone will no doubt have plenty to say about the matter.

Update: It turns out you get a $10 redemption code in the box when you buy a Square reader at an Apple store, so it is still technically free (just not, you know, when you buy it).

[Thanks, Michael]

Apple Stores stocking Square credit card readers originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 18:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink IntoMobile  |  sourceApple  | Email this | Comments

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Reuters: Apple set to launch cloud-based music service ahead of Google (update)

It’s the rumor that wouldn’t die, and Reuters is now reporting that Apple is finally set to launch a cloud-based music service — presumably putting its massive North Carolina data center to some real work at long last. Details are still fairly light beyond that, but Reuters says that Apple’s service will actually launch ahead of Google’s similar cloud-based option, which it reports is now “stalled,” citing “several people familiar with both companies plans.” According to Reuters, the service will let folks store their music (and only music, apparently) on Apple’s servers and then access it on any device with an internet connection — and a copy of iTunes, we presume.

Update: Peter Kafka, over at All Things Digital, backs up Reuters’ claim with some additional detail. Unlike Amazon’s approach with Cloud Player, Apple is actively seeking to license the music for its streaming service before launching. According to Kafka’s sources, Apple has already secured deals with two of the big four labels and plans to launch “pretty soon.” The deal would allow Apple to store a single master copy of a track on its servers and then share that track with multiple users. As Kafka describes the service, “The idea is that Apple will let users store songs they’ve purchased from its iTunes store, as well as others songs stored on their hard drives, and listen to them on multiple devices.”

Reuters: Apple set to launch cloud-based music service ahead of Google (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MLB likely to add 2 playoff teams for 2012

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig expects the playoffs to expand from eight teams to 10 for the 2012 season. Selig said scheduling is the major issue of discussion, including how many games the new wild-card round will be.