Reality Bites
Admit it. There are a bunch of you out there who still wash your clothes in hot water. Don’t worry, I’m with you. But this just in: Stop. Use cold. Washing with hot wastes money, energy, and is bad for the environment. More »
Astronaut Ron Garan has shared some amazing photography from the International Space Station before. Now he’s snapped the southern lights from his privileged position on the ISS. More »
Dish Draining Closets are a Finnish invention that combines a dish drying rack and a cabinet. If you regularly hand wash dishes you might find that using one cuts out a significant amount of work as you just put the wet dishes in the closet. More »
Less than 24 hours after it went live on Microsoft’s site, Steve Ballmer reported a whopping 500,000 downloads of Windows 8 Developer Preview. That’s half a million copies, if not eager Windows fans. Well, you can count us among them. Although we were treated to some private hands-on time with a tablet optimized for the OS, we hadn’t, until now, had a chance to use it on a laptop — i.e., the computing environment where we spend most of our time, and the one where we’re most used to seeing Windows, in particular.
For the past three days, we’ve been doing just that: getting acquainted with Windows 8 using the good ‘ol mouse-and-keyboard combo. And while that might read like a redundant statement (what recent version of Windows hasn’t accommodated a cursor?), Win 8 is a peculiar breed — It’s the first version of the operating system where finger input wasn’t an afterthought, but a first-class citizen. It’s clear that this time around, Windows is optimized for touch, but we had to wonder if that Windows Phone-inspired UI would present a steep learning curve, if it would get in the way while we tried to go about business as usual. So how’s that working out for us? Suffice to say, we’re not in Kansas anymore, so find your most comfortable chair and meet us after the break — we’ve got oh-so many details to delve into.
Continue reading Windows 8 on a laptop in-depth preview (video)
Windows 8 on a laptop in-depth preview (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Flash fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief — Adobe has confirmed that the next version of Windows will, in fact, support work built on its once ubiquitous web publishing platform. Windows 8 PCs and tablets with x86 or ARM processors will support the platform — in the more traditional desktop mode, that is. The version of Internet Explorer 10 built for that interface will play nicely with Flash. Those users who opt for the new Metro UI, on the other hand, will be out of luck on the Flash front, thanks to a lack of plug-in support. Between Adobe’s work in the HTML5 world and the ability to build Flash-like apps using Air for the Metro interface, however, the company seems to have most of its bases covered in Windows 8 land. Check out evidence of Flash running in Windows 8 after the break, courtesy of Qualcomm.
Continue reading Adobe: yep, your Windows 8 system will support Flash — sometimes (video)
Adobe: yep, your Windows 8 system will support Flash — sometimes (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 17:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Have you heard about this new thing called Windows 8? It has a nifty Metro-style UI, and reader Sebastian Nielsen put together a Windows 7 desktop to bring some of that style around a little early. Along with some other attractive customizations, it’s today’s featured desktop. More »
A 20-year-old Irish man was caught by the Brazilian Federal Police with 72 bags of cocaine inside his intestines. This is how he looked inside, using a three-dimensional computed tomography body scanner. It’s actually more disgusting than I expected. More »
RIM stated yesterday that they’ll start to rebate the BlackBerry PlayBook – combined Q1 and Q2 shipments of their first tablet has only come in at 700,000. Today Rogers is the first carrier to discount the PlayBook, but only to employees. The prices are in effect until December 1st and probably best if you’re considering buying one to quickly find a friend who works at Rogers. Here are the prices: 16GB now $249.99; 32GB is $349.99 and the 64GB model is $399.
In addition, we’ve been informed that TELUS has also dropped their employee pricing, but only $100 off model.
Source: BGR
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As if Research in Motion’s co-CEOs haven’t done enough, shareholders inflicted serious pain overnight and early today. RIM shares plummeted, following yesterday’s dire earnings report — by about 22 percent in after-hours trading.
RIM opened at $22.89 this morning, off yesterday’s close of $29.54. The stock is fairing better in mid-morning trading, well if down nearly 19 percent could be called better. Shares are down 66 percent from their February 52-week high.
Investors are punishing RIM for what can only be called a disastrous quarter: PlayBook sales — 200,000 units; year-over-year decline in BlackBerry shipments (after about a decade run of gains); 59 percent fall in profits (to $329 million); and 10 percent drop in revenue (to $4.17 billion). Rome is burning, as RIMs co-Neros are playing their fiddles.
“Management remains in blatant denial, in our view”, say sBernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu. “For instance, the co-CEOs do not recognize the failure of the Playbook and continue to sell its merits in terms of security. The tablet shipments fell from 500k to 200k units in one quarter…we expect investors to lose all confidence in RIM’s earnings power”.
Earlier this year, Nokia CEO Stephen Elop called Symbian a burning platform. But it’s RIM’s platform that is burning now, as Android competitors and Apple snatch users from BlackBerry. It can only get worse come iOS 5’s release, when Apple unleashes its competitor to BlackBerry Messenger.
One question lingering now: What will co-CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis do next? Already there is expectation RIM could follow HP down price-cut row. Last month, HP gave up on TouchPad after only six weeks of sales, cutting the price from $499.99 to $99.99 before exiting the WebOS tablet market altogether. RIM isn’t likely to give up on tablets, but it also can’t let all that inventory rot on store shelves.
Earlier this week, IDC put RIM’s global tablet share at 4.9 percent, which now looks to be roughly 50,000 units too high.
But it is bad decision-making and increasing competitive pressure on BlackBerry that has set fire to RIM. BlackBerry shipments fell to 10.6 million units from 12.1 million a year earlier. While new BlackBerry OS 7 devices are off to a solid sales start, the company says, next-gen QNX won't be ready for new smartphones until some time next year. Meanwhile, Samsung's hot Galaxy S II smartphone goes on sale today from Sprint and on September 18 from AT&T. Then there is iPhone 5, which is sure to sock BlackBerry sales as much or more than the current model already has.
Photo Credit: J. Helgason/Shutterstock
Android: If you’re an at-home bartender and like to experiment with different drinks, Bartender for Android is the go-to app to learn how to mix just about anything, including a number of drinks you probably didn’t know existed. The app’s database is entirely crowdsourced, and full of both well known and niche cocktails. More »
Assisted parking’s all the rage these days — because the car parks itself, it seems trivial to remain in the car at all. That, friends, is the crux of why Valeo has produced Park4U: an iOS / Android app that remotely parks your car. Enter the app and begin the reversing process, and boom — much like Houdini’s best — it takes care of the rest. The system’s currently available on a limited number of Volkswagen-group models including the Touran, Sharan, Audi A6, Audi A7 and the Seat Alhambra, and the company is planning to have 38 models equipped with the tech by year’s end. Practical considerations aside — and there are several — at least you won’t need a friend to stand behind your car and holler before you hit the rear wall. Not buying it? Perhaps the video after the break will drive it home.
[Thanks, Texas]
Continue reading Valeo Park4U turns your phone into a valet parking service (video)
Valeo Park4U turns your phone into a valet parking service (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 04:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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An American hunter who abused wounded birds in Western Canada and videotaped his antics is facing a $15,000 fine and a three-year hunting ban in Canada.
Sometimes you’re watching a random TV show on a random channel and you wonder, who was she again? What show was she in? And then you forget about it and those questions are left unanswered, your brain untapped. With VideoSurf, the app can identify the show you’re watching and give you info about everybody in it. More »
Yeah, we knew it was possible, but knowing and seeing are two very, very different animals. Just before closing the doors at Build 2011, Microsoft’s Avi Ben-Menahem took the time to briefly showcase what would be possible with Xbox Live and Windows 8. It’s obviously in a very early state, but already we’re seeing signs of cross-platform multiplayer game support, and an (unsurprisingly) Metro-style universe supplanting the existing Games for Windows Live. We get the feeling that Microsoft’s thinking this one through; rather than just shoehorning a gaming element in, things like “cloud saves” and dedicated Music / Video panes will be around to enjoy. Moreover, participation in the Xbox Live development program will purportedly be free, and if Ben-Menahem has his way, this will bring “everything you know and love on Xbox 360 and Xbox Live to Windows.” Bold. Peek the pair of videos just after the break.
Continue reading Microsoft shows off Xbox Live on Windows 8 (video)
Microsoft shows off Xbox Live on Windows 8 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Actor Neil Patrick Harris was honored in Hollywood today with the 2,448th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As many of you should be well aware, NPH has been in showbiz for a very long time … starting way back in the 80s when he played kid doctor Doogie Howser, M.D. After he enjoyed a short stint on Broadway in Rent, NPH reemerged on the scene in the comedy film Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle … and the rest is history. Neil was joined by his partner and father of his children David Burtka at today’s Walk of Fame ceremony. Click below to see some photos and video from the event.
“How I Met Your Mother” star Neil Patrick Harris is the latest celebrity to get his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Harris received his star Thursday morning in Hollywood. He rose to fame starring as the much- adored “Doogie Howser, M.D.” and currently stars as the womanizing ‘Barney Stinson’ on the hit CBS sitcom “How I Met Your Mother.” Harris’ role as Barney has garnered him four Emmy award nominations, two Golden Globe nods, a People’s Choice Award and a Critics’ Choice Award. The seventh season of “How I Met Your Mother” premieres Monday at 8 pm on CBS 2.
[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]
The first quarterly earnings report post-Wake Up Call have just been published for Canada’s own Research in Motion, and while the cash is still flowing, investors and analysts alike aren’t feeling too rosy about the future. Despite Q2 revenue of $4.2 billion and a GAAP net income of $329 million, RIM’s stock plummeted nine percent following the news. Why? That reality was at the lowest end of estimates, and as we’ve seen, it takes a blowout quarter to please the folks on Wall Street. Nevertheless, the company’s touting a subscriber base that ballooned 40 percent year-over-year (surpassing 70m total), and while it’s quick to trumpet the rollout of seven new smartphones, not a one of them managed to astound the QNX-desiring critics. The report also notes that 10.6 million handsets were moved in the quarter, around $780 million was invested as “part of a consortium of companies that successfully bid to acquire intellectual property assets from Nortel,” and it’s forecasting that BlackBerry smartphone shipments in Q3 will grow between 27 percent and 37 percent compared to Q2. Sadly, the company only “shipped” 200,000 PlayBook tablets, with the prevailing thought being that it actually sold far fewer. Moreover, nary a forecast was given for future PlayBook sales.
As for thoughts from the head honcho(s)? Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO, stated that “overall unit shipments in the quarter were slightly below our forecast due to lower than expected demand for older models,” further noting that his firm will “continue to build on the success of the BlackBerry 7 launch to drive the business as we focus our development efforts on delivering the next generation, QNX-based mobile platform next year.” Next year is a long, long way away, though, and there’s no doubt whatsoever what kind of competition will be in place by the time 2012 rolls around. We’ll be hopping on the analyst call here in a few, and you can look beyond the break for any notable mentions.
RIM’s Q2 earnings report: $329 million in net income, not enough to fend off critics originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A new study has been released that shows the top 15 brands in Canada. The report was put together by Brand Finance who analyzed calculated the “strength” of a brand by organizing “detailed economic data, infrastructure data and perceptual market research data to rate and then value each nation brand”. At the top of the list was RBC, followed by TD Bank. As for the telecom sector, it was Bell (Canada’s 2nd largest carrier) who took home 6th spot overall, but claimed to be the strongest wireless brand. Rogers followed by placing 9th and TELUS came in at number 13.
For some reason – probably to gain media attention – Brand Finance decided this was a opportune time to single out and slam Waterloo-based RIM, who dropped 5 spots to the number 10 position. Kicking RIM while their down took up most of their press release and stated that “Blackberry’s dramatic decline comes as other handset providers are encroaching on the traditional B2B space, impacting handset sales. Blackberry has also failed to recently capture the hearts and minds of consumers globally in the way that Apple has managed to do.”
It’s great to see so much wireless being represent, a respectable 28% make up the top 15. Hopefully when RIM announces their Q2 results they will jump up in value, both in revenue and in the hearts/hands of Canadians.
Source: CNW
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Continue reading MSDN previews Windows 8 touch on Windows 7 hardware
MSDN previews Windows 8 touch on Windows 7 hardware originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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There are a few pretty great backup apps for Android, but our favorite has to be Titanium Backup. It requires a rooted phone, but you can backup and restore apps from Dropbox, run automatic batch backups, and even uninstall crapware. More »
We got our paws on the two upcoming Archos Android 3.2 tablets the other week at IFA — and now it seems that you’ll be able to follow suit in the near future, with pre-sale beginning September 20th. The Archos eight-inch G9 starts at $299 for the 1GHz 8GB version, going all the way up to $369 for a 1.5GHz processor and a whopping 250GB of storage. The 10-incher has a 1.5GHz processor and 16GB of storage for $399 or you can plunk down $469 for the 250GB version. The 1GHz 80 G9 starts pre-sale on September 20th through Archos and goes on sale at select retailers on the 30th. Its 1.5GHz counterpart will be hitting in October. Press info is after the break.
Continue reading Archos G9 tablets doing the pre-sale thing September 20th
Archos G9 tablets doing the pre-sale thing September 20th originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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