Reality Bites
YouTube is today rolling out a new-look screen which displays at the end of every video, showing related videos and further interactions including the ability to “like” and “share” the just-watched clip.
Capping off one of the biggest re-design periods in YouTube’s history, the YouTube team have reportedly begun the roll-out…
Today, we’re happy to announce that you can now convert files already uploaded to your documents list into a Google Docs format. Previously, this option was only available on upload.
This addition includes converting image and PDF files to text using our recently added Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology. The full list of files that can be converted include:
To convert your file, right-click on it while in the document list and select Make a Google Docs copy. This option leaves your original file in place and adds a new Google Docs copy to your docs list.
Now you convert your old files and collaborate on them in cloud. We hope you enjoy it! Let us know if you have feedback or suggestions.
Posted by: Jim McMaster, Software Engineer
If there’s a name I trust when it comes to writing implements, it’s Sharpie. Their newest creation is the Liquid Pencil, a smooth-writer that gives you a few days to erase your work before it becomes set in stone. More »
Come on, admit it, you want to believe that RIM is working on a tablet called the BlackPad don’t you? You’d better, because Apple Daily is piling on with more unsubstantiated rumor this morning. So, in addition to the 9.7-inch display, Bluetooth, WiFi, and front- and rear-facing cameras already mentioned by Bloomberg‘s sources, Apple Daily claims that Quanta won the bid to manufacture the tablet with plans to ramp up for 2 million units starting in September (for a November retail launch) with another 8 million planned for 2011. The price? $499 is the target, naturally.
RIM BlackPad tablet priced at $499 when it ships in November? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 06:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Bill Gates just might be the world’s most famous college dropout (sorry, Kanye), but lest you think he’s changed his mind about the educational establishment, he’s got a few words of reassurance for you. As the closing speaker of the Techonomy 2010 conference, Bill dished out his vision of how learning will evolve over the next few years, stating his belief that no single university will be able to match the internet when it comes to providing the learning resources a student needs. Describing traditional studies as “place-based” and inefficient, he forecasts that university education will become five times less important within five years, with online lecture sources picking up the reins of enlightening our youth. In other news, Bill’s pen-based tablet PC idea is going great!
Continue reading Bill Gates expects the web to be the best single source of education within 5 years
Bill Gates expects the web to be the best single source of education within 5 years originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 05:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Western Digital has quietly revealed the Elements Play on their site, which combines pared-down playback features of the WD TV series with up to 2TB of internal storage right out of the box. It’s about time, considering competitor LaCie has offered integrated drives in its LaCinema line for more than a year, though we wish WD would have included the Netflix streaming capabilities of the WD TV Live Plus here — or any streaming at all, for that matter. If an unconnected box with 1080p playback via HDMI and fabulous codec support (including Monkey’s Audio!) is appealing to you though, then this latest offering might be worth your while — especially if it’s priced in line with its “value conscious” featureset, a fact we haven’t been able to verify. To be competitive, it’ll have to cost below LaCie’s LaCinema Classic HD, which throws in UPnP / DLNA server support on top of similar features for as little as $229. If you’re curious, find the user’s manual (including a full codec list) at our more coverage link.
[Thanks, Steve]
WD’s Elements Play media streamers bring internal HDDs at a presumably good price originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 01:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
Electric Echoes | 
Western Digital (1), (2) | Email this | Comments
Brandon Morrow came within one hit of entering Toronto Blue Jays history when he struck out 17 on the way to a 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
New Zealand based firm “Swiftpoint” is trying to revolutionize the way you use your laptop mouse from tomorrow with its new product, an ultra-portable, fast charging laptop mouse.
The revolutionary device is tiny, held like a pen and designed to be used on a laptop’s palm rest, but can even be…
Following in the footsteps of Google Chrome, Mozilla is planning to make updates for Firefox 4 behind-the-scenes. The feature is “on track” for the latest version of the browser.
Two betas have been released for Firefox 4 in the last 4 weeks with a 3rd update due next week. The ‘silent’…
Google knows a lot of stuff, but sometimes the most fascinating is what it knows about you. This page reveals just how it identifies social search results based on its understanding of your friends (and their friends.) [Google via BoingBoing] More »
Exclu: This trailer just screened at TCA introducing the U.S. version of History's "Top Gear,"…
Full story at The Live Feed
Farmers in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta stand to lose up to $3 billion due to heavy rain and flooding, analysts from the Bank of Montreal say.
HP Chairman, CEO and President Mark Hurd resigned from his positions in the company on Friday after sexual harassment claims were brought against him by a former HP contractor.
“As the investigation progressed, I realized there were instances in which I did not live up to the standards and principles of trust, respect and integrity that I have espoused at HP and which have guided me throughout my career. After a number of discussions with members of the board, I will move aside and the board will search for new leadership.” Hurd’s official statement said Friday. “This is a painful decision for me to make after five years at HP, but I believe it would be difficult for me to continue as an effective leader at HP and I believe this is the only decision the board and I could make at this time. I want to stress that this in no way reflects on the operating performance or financial integrity of HP.”
An investigation found that Hurd did not violate HP’s sexual harassment policy, but did violate HP’s Standards of Business conduct.
HP Chief Financial Officer Cathis Lesjak has been assigned as the interim CEO of the company following Hurd’s departure. Board members Marc Andreessen, (founder of Netscape and co-founder of Ning) Lawrence Babbio, Jr., John Hammergren and Joel Hyatt will lead the search for a permanent replacement.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Mark Hurd – HewlettPackard – Marc Andreessen – Sexual harassment – Joel Hyatt
HP Chairman, CEO and President Mark Hurd resigned from his positions in the company on Friday after sexual harassment claims were brought against him by a former HP contractor.
“As the investigation progressed, I realized there were instances in which I did not live up to the standards and principles of trust, respect and integrity that I have espoused at HP and which have guided me throughout my career. After a number of discussions with members of the board, I will move aside and the board will search for new leadership.” Hurd’s official statement said Friday. “This is a painful decision for me to make after five years at HP, but I believe it would be difficult for me to continue as an effective leader at HP and I believe this is the only decision the board and I could make at this time. I want to stress that this in no way reflects on the operating performance or financial integrity of HP.”
An investigation found that Hurd did not violate HP’s sexual harassment policy, but did violate HP’s Standards of Business conduct.
HP Chief Financial Officer Cathis Lesjak has been assigned as the interim CEO of the company following Hurd’s departure. Board members Marc Andreessen, (founder of Netscape and co-founder of Ning) Lawrence Babbio, Jr., John Hammergren and Joel Hyatt will lead the search for a permanent replacement.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Mark Hurd – HewlettPackard – Marc Andreessen – Sexual harassment – Joel Hyatt
We’re excited to announce we’ve acquired Slide, a social technology company with an extensive history of building new ways for people to connect with others across numerous platforms online.
For Google, the web is about people, and we’re working to develop open, transparent and interesting (and fun!) ways to allow our users to take full advantage of how technology can bring them closer to friends and family and provide useful information just for them.
Slide has already created compelling social experiences for tens of millions of people across many platforms, and we’ve already built strong social elements into products like Gmail, Docs, Blogger, Picasa and YouTube. As the Slide team joins Google, we’ll be investing even more to make Google services socially aware and expand these capabilities for our users across the web.
While we don’t have any detailed product plans to share right now, we’re thrilled to welcome Max and his very talented team to Google, and we can’t wait to work together to give people more and better tools to communicate and connect.
Posted by David Glazer, Engineering Director
It’s no Courier, but Toshiba’s dual-screened Libretto W100 is about as good as we’re going to get and, if you’re in Japan, the getting is about to get good. The key-free lappy is due to start shipping there on August 11, which means you’re just a few days (and, possibly, a few very long flights) away from getting your fingerprints all over one. If, however, you’re not so much into the importing scene, you’re going to have to wait a bit longer for this $1,100 curiosity to hit US shores through normal retail channels. How much longer? Toshiba promised a summer release, and let’s just say that the days aren’t getting any longer.
Toshiba’s dual-screen Libretto W100 hits Japan next week originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 11:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Yesterday, Alexander Yee and Shigeru Kondo announced that they had set a new Pi world record, calculating it to five trillion digits—some 6TB of data—using a single custom built computer. The five trillionth digit? It's a 2. More »
It’s pricey at a tenner per download, but anyone who’s played Splinter Cell Conviction on the iPhone can vouch for the quality of the Xbox 360 port. More »
We knew the Chinese were serious about doing this whole high-speed railway thing, but we had no idea they were this serious. As Engadget reports, researchers at Southwest Jiaotong University are currently putting together a prototype maglev train that can average a speed of 500 to 600 kilometers-per-hour (310 to 372 mph), as well as a second, smaller train that will reportedly top out at a handsome 1,000 kph (621 mph). The underground train, which will run through a frictionless vacuum tube, is expected to be completed within just two to three years. Of course, all this Chinese speed won’t come for free. Early estimates show that each kilometer of the tunnel will cost nearly $3 million more than the country’s current high-speed rails, meaning that the government will need about $118 billion to lay down 6,000 kilometers of track over the next two years. It’s a hefty price tag, for sure, but, as long as the investment can put a dent in China’s grotesque pollution cloud, it certainly seems worth it. [From: Engadget and Bloomberg]
China’s Proposed Maglev Train Will Reach Speeds of 1,000 kph originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
