Well this is only the greatest thing in the world.
See other alignment charts at MightyGodKing via @erikteichmann
Muppet Alignment Chart
Computer vs Telephone
I have always wished that my computer would be as easy to use as my telephone. My wish has come true. I no longer know how to use my telephone.
— Bjarne Stroustrup
Thanks Brother Paul
VMware View brings virtual desktops to iPad with touchscreen-friendly controls (video)
Remote controlling your personal desktop from an iPad is one thing, but today VMware is offering something a little heftier — a streamlined app to connect to enterprise-class virtual desktops. Like Citrix Receiver, the idea is that you’ll get the iPad client for free, and hopefully pay to have the cloud computers served up, but instead of streamlining applications for tablet use, VMware’s app hands you customizable PC-like controls. There’s a handy-looking virtual touchpad you can use for fine control over the mouse cursor if your fingers prove too pointy, a set of Windows shortcut keys at the top of the virtual keyboard, multi-finger gestures and more — but why not just watch the video after the break to see what’s in store?
VMware View brings virtual desktops to iPad with touchscreen-friendly controls (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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WebOS will be on ‘every HP PC’ shipping next year, says CEO
You’d think Leo Apotheker, HP’s newest CEO, would want to save a bit of thunder for his March 14th event. Instead, the man continues to unleash stentorian quotes with unabashed candor like today’s claim that “HP has lost its soul.” He’s also making bold proclamations about every HP PC being able to run WebOS and MIcrosoft Windows as an integrated experience in 2012 — a move the company hopes will create a “massive platform” to attract those all important developers. Apotheker’s strategy will reverse Mark Hurd’s cost-cutting emphasis with a renewed focus on product quality and innovation — the latter achieved by breaking down inter-company barriers that currently separate product groups and by boosting the R&D budget already pegged at $2.96 billion last year (a pittance by some measurements). Click the source link below to read the Businessweek article in full if you’re interested in Leo’s issue with being the smartest person in the room and his attempts at Californication. Cool? Awesome.
WebOS will be on ‘every HP PC’ shipping next year, says CEO originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 07:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Samsung’s latest 8.9-inch Galaxy Tab teaser hints impressive slimness
Samsung hasn’t been entirely shy about its forthcoming 8.9-inch tablet, though Mr. Blurrycam seems to be having some trouble getting on a plane in Seoul. Fortunately for us, today the Korean giant decided to give us mere mortals a sneak peek at said device, and it sure looks promising — as you can see above, the bulge seems to imply that the tablet’s general thickness almost matches the headphone jack’s height. If true, this would put Samsung’s 8.9-incher head to head with Apple’s 8.8mm thick iPad 2 in a fitness contest. Bring on March 22nd!
Samsung’s latest 8.9-inch Galaxy Tab teaser hints impressive slimness originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 00:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Microsoft’s Ventura could be a cloud music / video platform, have something to do with Zune
Zune hasn’t gotten much love from Microsoft as of late, but that might change over time — ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley noticed that the company is staffing up for a cloud-based multimedia project (by a group known as “Ventura Media Services”) directed at PCs, TVs and mobile devices. “The team is a tight group of music and video lovers that create services and experiences revolving around music/video discovery and consumption,” read a series of job postings that date back at least as far as July of 2010, calling for software developers in Beijing and Redmond who are familiar with the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. (Two of them have “Zune” in the job title.) While it’s hard to say if this project is a major focus for Microsoft no matter how often the job posting says “large scale” (we count four times) it’d definitely be nice to have some competition for Google and Apple when they start drawing the multimedia-streaming battle lines.
[Thanks, zblack]
Microsoft’s Ventura could be a cloud music / video platform, have something to do with Zune originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 19:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The Steve Jobs Chronicles – Charlie and the Apple Factory [Video]
Charlie and four other lucky children found the five golden tickets that Apple CEO Steve Jobs placed in random iPhone boxes. These tickets let the children have a once in a lifetime opportunity to explore the mysteries of the Apple Factory, but will they find out the true secrets of Apple’s success? Wait!! What is Bill Gates doing sneaking around the Apple Factory?!
Charlie and the Apple Factory [via Geeks are Sexy]
Tomb Raider’s double reboot
We’ve recently reported, as rumor, that a Tomb Raider movie reboot might be in the works, but now we have confirmation from the studio. In addition, the video game franchise is receiving the same treatment.
30 Things We Need — and 30 We Don't
Do you have the feeling, as I do, that in the tsunami of everyday life, we’re getting too much of stuff we don’t need, and not enough of what we do? Herewith my first set of suggestions about how to redress the imbalance:
| WE NEED LESS: | WE NEED MORE: |
| Information | Wisdom |
| Shallow billionaires | Passionate teachers |
| Self-promotion | Self-awareness |
| Multitasking | Control of our attention |
| Inequality | Fairness |
| Sugar | Lean protein |
| Action | Reflection |
| Super sizes | Smaller portions |
| Private jets | High-speed trains |
| Calculation | Passion |
| Experts | Learners |
| Blaming | Taking responsibility |
| Judgment | Discernment |
| Texting | Reading |
| Anger | Empathy |
| Output | Depth |
| Constructive criticism | Thank-you notes |
| Possessions | Meaning |
| Righteousness | Doing the right thing |
| Answers | Curiosity |
| Long hours | Longer sleep |
| Complaining | Gratitude |
| Sitting | Moving |
| Selling | Authenticity |
| Cynicism | Realistic optimism |
| Self-indulgence | Self-control |
| Speed | Renewal |
| Emails | Conversations |
| Winning | Win-win |
| Immediate gratification | Sacrifice |
Chrome gets a performance boost, simplified settings interface
It was just a month ago that Google brought Chrome up to version 9 with various performance upgrades and other improvements, but it’s now already back with version 10, which is fresh out of beta today. That boasts yet more upgrades in speed — include a 66 percent improvement in JavaScript performance on the V8 benchmark suite — along with a completely revamped settings interface that replaces the usual window with a tab in the browser. You can also now synchronize your saved passwords across different computers, and Google has extended its sandboxing technology to the integrated Flash player in Chrome, which promises to better guard against malicious websites. As usual, Google has also explained all of the improvements in some handy videos — check those out after the break.
Continue reading Chrome gets a performance boost, simplified settings interface
Chrome gets a performance boost, simplified settings interface originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 12:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
The SuperMoon Apocalypse Is Near! (No, Actually It’s Not) [Science]
On March 19 the Moon will be at its closest point to Earth in 18 years: 356,577 kilometers, according to the perigee and apogee calculator. Naturally, this means that WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE in a clusterfuck of mad hurricanes, raging volcanos, furious tsunamis and mad earthquakes. Why? Because some people have used very special instruments to detect the impending disaster in their own assfog. So, what it is going to happen, then? More »
Jolicloud renames operating system ‘Joli OS,’ promises new web and Android apps
Well, it doesn’t involve the company’s Jolibook laptop, but it looks like some fairly big changes are indeed in store for Joliclould’s upstart operating system. In addition to confirming that version 1.2 be released next week, the company has announced that it will be renaming the operating system “Joli OS” to avoid confusion with its online desktop, which will remain “Jolicloud.” What’s more, while that latter component is currently only available for Chrome, the company’s announced that it will be adding support for Firefox 4, Safari 5 and the iPad (in an “experimental” HTML5 port), and it’s even now announced plans for an Android app. Unfortunately, details on it are about as light as can be at the moment, with Jolicloud only saying that it’s coming in the “future.” More details and screenshots of version 1.2 are promised in the next few days, though.
Jolicloud renames operating system ‘Joli OS,’ promises new web and Android apps originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 10:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Bill Gates Loses Richest Title After Giving Away Money
Bill Gates is no longer the world’s richest man. And really, he’s only got himself to blame. The Microsoft founder slipped from the top spot last year, thanks to the massive sums of money he’s given away by way of his Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. In 2010, Gates slipped from the top spot for the second time since 1995, as Mexican telecom giant Carlos Slim edged him out, $53.5 billion to $53 billion.
Forbes will release its annual list tomorrow. Slim will likely maintain the top spot, with $60 billion, with Gates in second at $49 billion. Investor Warren Buffet will round out the top three at $47 billion.
Gates and wife Melinda have already donated an impressive $28 billion of their fortune, putting them in second place on the list of “Most Generous Philanthropists" in America behind Buffett. Buffett, for his part, has given $8 billion to the Gates foundation and has promise to donate the majority of his wealth to charity.
Microsoft goes on a hiring spree for new Xbox hardware devs, staffing up for next console push?
Before you go leaping to any conclusions, do remember that Microsoft plans on keeping the Xbox 360 going until at least 2015 so we’re not really talking imminent changes here. Nonetheless, the software giant has listed a plethora of new job openings, with the most interesting ones being at its Mountain View research campus, where a team responsible for “defining and delivering next generation console architectures” is looking for fresh blood. A graphics hardware architect is sought to ensure that the next Xbox strikes the optimal balance between the awesome and affordable, while a design verification engineer and a few others will be hired to test and help develop prototypes. This bolstering of numbers seems to indicate Microsoft is starting to ramp up research and development on its next-gen home entertainment linchpin, and while nothing’s likely to emerge from those Mountain View labs in the short term, the mere sound of clanking tools and buzzing electrons is getting us excited already.
Microsoft goes on a hiring spree for new Xbox hardware devs, staffing up for next console push? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 04:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Adobe outs experimental Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool, calls it Wallaby
Ah, if only we could flip a big happy switch and convert all the web’s Flash content into (functional) HTML5 code. It’s a dream shared by many and, funnily enough, the company pushing to make it a reality is none other than Adobe itself, the owner and proprietor of Flash. Its Labs research team has just released an experimental new dev tool, dubbed Wallaby, that’s targeted at taking Flash-encoded artwork and animations and turning them into a more compatible mix of HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Of course, the intent here is not some magnanimous move to free us from the shackles of Flash — Adobe openly admits that the initial goal for the new tool will be to help convert animated banner ads so that they work on the iOS platform — but hey, even bad tools can be used for good sometimes, right?
Continue reading Adobe outs experimental Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool, calls it Wallaby
Adobe outs experimental Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tool, calls it Wallaby originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Mar 2011 00:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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WiFi-only Xoom rumored to release on April 3rd for $539
The hotly anticipated Xoom hasn’t been out very long, has been receiving good reviews, and according to Motorola’s CEO Sanjay Jha, has been “off to a good start.” However many people have been holding out on purchasing the new Android Honeycomb tablet due to the high cost and the…
Western Digital to Buy Hitachi GST for $4.3 Billion
Everyone debating whether Western Digital or Hitachi drives are better can stop arguing now: WD has dropped $4.3 billion in a combination of stock and cash to buy Hitachi GST and fold the two storage technology companies into one. The new company will retain the Western Digital brand, and keep most of its staff and its headquarters in Irvine, California, but Hitachi GST President and CEO Steve Milligan will get a new office as President of Western Digital.
The new merged company hopes its combined resources will put it in a better position to scale and compete with their now chief rival: Seagate. It may not be Seagate the company will really have to contend with though: as SSDs and NAND based flash memory becomes more popular in desktop PCs, notebook computers, and tablets, traditional spinning hard drives may be on the way out both in consumer and enterprise applications.
Still, hard drives aren't going anywhere just yet, and Western Digital hopes that the new merger will give it a stronger foothold in enterprise storage while retaining its hold over consumer technology.
[via Forbes]
Subway beats McDonald’s as world’s biggest
Move over, Mickey D’s, and bring Ronald McDonald with you — there’s a new fast food king in town.
Feeding Frenzy FAIL
Microsoft’s ‘It’s Very PC,’ ‘It’s Not Very PC’ Ad Campaign to Promote Slates Is Clever
I just got a kick out of watching Microsoft’s “It’s Very PC,” “It’s Not Very PC” ad campaign, in partnership with ASUS and its upcoming Eee Slate. The ads are clever and highlight how a Windows-powered tablet can work well professionally and for play. In fact, Microsoft is kind of showing that one can use […]