Author: Terren

Facebook planning facial recognition for picture uploads? (update: yes!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google is planning to update its built-in music playing software on Android, but someone spoiled the surprise.

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Silverlight started as just a humble Flash competitor and now, well, it’s all grown up. Almost, anyway. It’s a fundamental part of the Windows Phone 7 ecosphere and word on the street is that it’s about to become a fundamental part of the Xbox 360 world as well — or a part, at least. Microsoft’s MIX 11 developer event kicks off next week and rumor has it that Microsoft will unload a new tier of Silverlight compatibility enabling apps on the company’s console and there’s the potential for writing apps that could run both on phones and on the console. That sounds like some utopian dream-world of the future, where wavey-arm Kinect antics replace touchscreen swipes, but the bigger question is does the Xbox 360 really need another app store? Will this co-exist with the XNA-developed titles or supersede them? Is this why Xbox developer boxes just got a lot cheaper? Might we finally get Angry Birds on our HDTVs? Such delicious ponderings.

Silverlight coming to Xbox, bringing WP7 games along with it? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 10:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Be careful whose toes you step on today,
they might be attached to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow.

Thanks Aubrey

It’d be too easy to simply describe BlueStack’s suddenly titillating software as Android’s Parallels for Windows, but really — why try to complicate things? Currently available only in test form, the program is designed to run a virtualized copy of Android atop a not-at-all-virtualized copy of Windows, and the implications could be far-reaching. According to a hands-on demonstration given to the folks at Slashgear, BlueStack’s software enables Android and Windows to share utilities and drivers; in other words, you can print something within Android via your Windows print driver, or make a call in Android’s Skype application via Microsoft’s VoIP drivers. We’re told that multitasking was smooth and succinct, and while there’s no access to the Android Market, test builds are including Amazon’s Appstore as an alternative. If all goes well, the company should let the code loose “later this year,” but it’s hard to say what kind of price tag (or stipulations) will be attached. Can’t think of a good reason to have Android and Windows living harmoniously? Here’s one. (Oh, and you’re welcome).

BlueStacks offering Android virtualization within Windows, harmony for one and all originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 08:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’m not saying I’m as bad as Howard Hughes, but I will confess to always tearing a bit of toilet-roll of paper towel off and using it to open public bathroom doors with on my way out. More »

Chrome/Firefox/Safari: Taskforce, the task management system that tucks itself neatly into Gmail or Google Apps mail, has grown up quite a bit since its beta. The webapp supports more browsers, has a more robust task management system, and does a better job of converting emails into tasks and keeping track of them. More »

If you dig the stylish look on the Linksys E4200 802.11n router but prefer something more wallet-friendly, then Cisco’s latest range of home routers and switches will likely suit your taste. Gone are the curved grooves and blinking LEDs on the top, but these routers — ranging from $59.99 to $159.99 — still go about their usual wireless business at up to 300Mbps, with additional simultaneous dual-band support on the pricier E2500 and E3200. Like their predecessors, you’ll also find a refreshed, feature-packed Cisco Connect software suite in the box, which promises to make installation and management a whole lot easier.

Also notable is the upcoming virtual USB feature that connects printers and storage devices to the network — the E3200 and E4200 are expected to receive this update in the summer. As for the switches, you have a choice of three new models going from $29.99 for five 10/100Mbps ports, all the way up to $74.99 for eight gigabit connections. All these good-looking fellas are up for grabs starting today, and you can check out the spec sheets after the break for all the nitty-gritty.

Continue reading Cisco goes minimalistic with new Linksys E-Series routers and switches

Cisco goes minimalistic with new Linksys E-Series routers and switches originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 01:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Police forces across Saskatchewan are getting more boots on the ground as the province rolls out its plan to hire more officers.

Police forces across Saskatchewan are getting more boots on the ground as the province rolls out its plan to hire more officers.

Police forces across Saskatchewan are getting more boots on the ground as the province rolls out its plan to hire more officers.

There’s a new Taser in town! The company’s 50,000 volt projectile, the Taser Grenade, can incapacitate those who need to be incapacitated at distances of up to 900 feet. The Daily’s Justin Rocket Silverman (Rocket!) has the distinction of being the first civilian to be zapped by the new weapon, an experience he takes quite stoically, though the company wouldn’t actually fire the thing at him and just shocked him with a box of Taser Grenade guts instead. Still! This looks painful! The military is currently conducting tests with the projectile and police departments could be soon to follow, so you can probably expect the long distance tasing YouTubes to start rolling in very soon indeed. [The Daily via Crunch Gear] More »

Rovio has announced that the latest edition of their popular game Angry Birds has broken all previous records. Angry Birds Rio has been downloaded 10 million times in the last 10 days. This number is across all platforms (Apple App Store, Google’s Android Market and Amazon’s Appstore for Android) and both paid and free versions. […]

Related posts:

1. Angry Birds passes 30 million downloads on Android
2. “Flock yeah!” Angry Birds is officially coming to Windows Phone
3. Angry Birds to have in-game Bing searches on Windows Phone 7 devices

As the week’s pass and Microsoft continues to develop Windows 8, the amount of leaked builds continues to rise. Just today Neowin reported that Windows 8 will have a metro-style PDF reader and earlier this week we reported that it may also come with a ribbon UI, similarly to that…

Like Google’s web search, Twitter started off life doing one single thing and doing it very well. And, just like Google, it’s kept adding subtle little enhancements along its way to becoming a mature internet tool. Today, its own famously simplistic search functionality has take a turn through the makeover booth and has emerged shinier, happier, and much smarter on the other side. No longer do you need to have, for example, the specific names of your favorite smartphone jailbreak artists, you just search for the general term and Twitter will do some actual searching for you instead of merely matching your query to usernames. You can even step up to an advanced search, where adding the “:)” and “:(” operators determines whether you’ll get happy or downbeat tweets on the topic. Come to think of it, that is pretty advanced. Yo Google, where are your emoticon operators?

Twitter finally gets a legitimate search function, lets you filter tweets using smiley faces originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Today, we’re happy to announce Google Maps 5.3 for Android, which lets you see your Google Location History dashboard, check in at “home,” and add your own aspects for places when rating them.

Location History dashboard
If you’ve enabled Location History for Google Latitude, you’ve been able to visualize interesting trends in your location history with a personal dashboard at google.com/latitude on your computer. Now, you can also see your dashboard on your phone by tapping View location history from your Latitude profile. You’ll be able to see right on your phone how far you’ve travelled as well as an estimate of how much time you’ve spent at home, at work, or out.

If you haven’t yet, you can enable Location History from your computer or from Latitude’s Settings menu on your phone. Location History is 100% opt-in and is private to you and nobody else. You can always delete any of your location history from the Manage History tab or correct the estimated work and home locations from the dashboard on your computer.

Check in at home
Now that you can see how much time you spend at “home”, you might want to let friends know when you’re there. Checking in at places using Latitude is another way to keep a history of places you’ve been and also lets you share when you’re there. I love letting friends and family know when I’m at a cafe or park, but sometimes I want them to know that I’m relaxing at home or made it back safely from a road trip. So now, I can start checking in at “home” in Latitude:

1. Check in from Latitude and tap “Home – Tap to set your location” at the bottom of the nearby places list if you don’t have one yet.
2. Use the estimated current address or enter in your home address yourself.
3. Once you’ve checked in at home once, “Home” will appear at the top of the list when you’re checking in near there.

Like Latitude and other check-ins, checking in at home is entirely opt-in. Your set “home” location is not searchable and only you can check in there. Just like any other check-in, you can choose with whom to share your home check-ins (along with your name and address info).

Add your own aspects for places
When you’re rating places on the go in Maps using Google Places with Hotpot, you could always quickly leave feedback on a specific aspect or characteristic of a place, such as the food or ambiance. Before, we’d automatically include aspects about places that were commonly mentioned in reviews. Now, you can add your own aspects for each place. So if you think a place has a beautiful view or great music, you can add it yourself and quickly share it with the world.

To get started, update Google Maps from Android Market on devices with Android OS 1.6+ anywhere Google Maps and Latitude are already available.

Posted by Kenneth Leftin, Software Engineer, Google Maps for mobile team