An astonishing one in seven computer users may have received phone calls from scammers posing as support engineers, Microsoft is warning.
IT support scam hits millions of users
Sony tablet teaser video is breathtaking, not overly informative
Woosh. Plonk. Snap. Like a highly atmospheric scene from your favorite film noir, Sony’s teaser video for the S1 and S2 tablets starts off with isolated sounds and a bit of quick motion before settling into a sumptuous, deliberately paced feast for your eyeballs. You might say it’s high art posing as a consumer electronics promo, particularly if you compare it to ASUS or Huawei’s efforts in the field. There’s sadly little in the way of new information, all we really get to witness are the reassuring Android Honeycomb software keys on the larger S1, but this “first impression” clip is the start of a series of ads revolving around a pair of alabaster figurines and their tablet-assisted love affair. Give the play button a bash for your recommended daily dose of awesome.
Sony tablet teaser video is breathtaking, not overly informative originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 02:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Microsoft decides to pass on WebGL over security concerns (Update: iOS 5 supports WebGL, sort of))
Well, it looks like Microsoft is taking those warnings about WebGL pretty seriously. The company has decided not to support the web-based 3D standard because it wouldn’t be able to pass security muster. Highest on the list of concerns is that WebGL opens up a direct line from the internet to a system’s GPU. To make matters worse, holes and bugs may crop up that are platform or video card specific, turning attempts to plug holes in its defense into a game of whack-a-mole — with many players of varying reliability. Lastly Microsoft, like security firm Context, has found current solutions for protecting against DoS attacks rather unsatisfying. Lack of support in Internet Explorer won’t necessarily kill WebGL and, as it matures, Microsoft may change its tune — but it’s still a pretty big blow for all us of hoping the next edition of Crysis would be browser-based.
Update: As is usually the case Apple and the Windows folks are on opposite sides of this one. In fact, the Cupertino crew plans to bring WebGL to iOS 5 with one very strange restriction — it will only be available to iAd developers. Now, chances are it will eventually be opened up in mobile Safari for everyone, but for the moment it seems browser-based 3D graphics will be limited to advertisements on the iPhone. Still, that’s another big name throwing its support behind the burgeoning standard.
[Thanks, Greg]
Microsoft decides to pass on WebGL over security concerns (Update: iOS 5 supports WebGL, sort of)) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 01:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Motorola’s WiFi Xoom gains access to Google Movies, just in time for the weekend
Hard to say why Google chose to roll its Movies app out first to 3G-packed tablets sporting Android 3.1 (a smaller testbed, perhaps?), but it looks as if it won’t matter for much longer. We’ve received a number of tips this evening suggesting that Google Movies can now be downloaded from the Android Market by WiFi-only Xoom tablets, though some are seeing a litany of server errors when trying to actually use the service. That said, we didn’t see any issues here at Engadget HQ, so it’s possible that a few kinks are still being worked out on select servers. Give it a whirl and let us know how it turns out in comments below, and if you’re a proud owner of a Galaxy Tab 10.1… well, we guess you’re also the proud owner of a trait called “patience.”
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Motorola’s WiFi Xoom gains access to Google Movies, just in time for the weekend originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Jun 2011 01:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Ten Reasons Why BlackBerry Is Screwed [BlackBerry]
RIM, the maker of BlackBerry, was absolutely destroyed yesterday in the stock market. But that’s just part of the story. RIM is screwed. More »
The Vancouver effect
Riots following big sporting events have become predictable. But they are usually celebratory sports riots. What makes Vancouver stand out, both in 2011 and 1994, is that its street mayhem followed the home team losing the big game.
Spanish town paints itself blue to celebrate the Smurfs movie [Please God No]
The town of Juzcar, Andalucia has an infestation of Smurfs. Family homes, shops, local businesses — even the center church — were all repainted in honor of the premiere of The Smurfs movie. Goodbye beautiful original facade, hello Smurf village. More »
Federal cheques out June 20 despite postal lockout
Despite the labour dispute, postal workers will be delivering two million public pension and government cheques across the country on Monday, June 20.
Drink Up For Captain Picard Day!
Did you know that today is Captain Picard Day? We didn’t either (silly us), but we never turn down the opportunity to celebrate a geeky holiday with a few good cocktails. While Jean-Luc’s beverage of choice may have been Earl Grey tea, we found a recipe to make his favorite drink more “adult-friendly.” Check out the (insanely simple) recipe below!
Jean Luc Picard Cocktail
From Squidoo
8 oz. of Earl Grey Tea (hot)
1 oz. of Grand Marnier Liqueur
Serve in a tea cup.
See, we told you it was simple. Cheers!
Samsung Galaxy S II coming to SaskTel “in the next month”
The Samsung Galaxy S II is one of the most exciting and anticipated devices that will be coming to Canada. Samsung stated on their website that this was “coming soon”, but didn’t list a carrier. Several rumours as to who will be releasing this but you can notch one off the list. SaskTel has noted on Twitter that they’ll be releasing this Android 2.3 powered device “in the next month”. Progress, no word on a price points.
Source: Twitter
(Thanks Brendon!)
Related posts:
- Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant hitting SaskTel August 25th
- Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant coming to SaskTel!
- Samsung Galaxy S II coming to Canada by early Q3
Game 7 smashes Hockey Night in Canada record
The Boston Bruins’ Stanley Cup-clinching win matched the highest preliminary television rating in the U.S. for a Game 7 on record, earning NBC a 5.7 overnight rating and 10 share.
Lightbox for Android: Android’s Answer to Instagram, iCloud and More [App Of The Day]
Not only does Lightbox for Android fill in the Instagram-sized hole in the Android Market with slick sharing of filterized pictures, it also does what iCloud does: beam the photos you take on your phone to your tablet and web browser instantly. More »
RIM to cut jobs
Waterloo, Ont.-based Research In Motion Thursday announced it was planning job cuts as it reported first-quarter revenue of $4.9 billion U.S. and earnings per share of $1.33.
RIM announces Q1 earnings, says it’s shipped 500,000 PlayBooks (update: 4G PlayBooks delayed)
RIM’s just announced its Q1 earnings, including $4.9 billion in revenue and $695 million in profit. Perhaps even more anticipated than those numbers, however, are the ones involving actual devices, and the company’s now revealed that it “shipped” around 500,000 BlackBerry PlayBooks during the quarter, while phone shipments totaled 13.2 million — it didn’t get specific about actual sales to consumers. Those earnings are on the low end of forecasts, and RIM says that the slowdown it saw in the first quarter will continue into Q2, which will apparently result in an unspecified number of layoffs and a lowered forecast for the rest of the year. Head on past the break for the official press release, and hit the source link below for some more detailed numbers.
Update: On the earnings call, co-CEO Mike Lazaridis painted a bright future for his company’s tablet, but then said, “We’re soon to release native email and BBM and our Android player later in the summer, to be followed in the fall with 4G PlayBooks for WiMax, LTE, and HSPA+.” Did you catch that? In the fall. We hope this doesn’t put a damper on anybody’s summer plans.
RIM announces Q1 earnings, says it’s shipped 500,000 PlayBooks (update: 4G PlayBooks delayed) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Powerful earthquake jolts Anchorage, Alaska
Alaska’s largest city was rocked by a powerful earthquake on Thursday, but there are no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Panasonic unveils Android Toughbook slate for Q4, sledgehammer sold seperately
Tired of handling your tablet with kid gloves? Go ahead, take them off — a Toughbook slate is heading your way. Strutting its stuff at InfoComm this week, Panasonic’s Android Toughbook tablet boasts a sunlight-friendly 10.1-inch multi-touch display, satellite-based GPS, full-shift battery life and optional 3G / 4G connectivity. Wrap it up in the same badass durability as its snowmobile-abused, tiger-gnawed brethren, and you’ve got a Android slab for the everyman. No specifics on pricing or release just yet, but feel free to hit up the press release after the break for a slew of feel-good factoids.
Continue reading Panasonic unveils Android Toughbook slate for Q4, sledgehammer sold seperately
Panasonic unveils Android Toughbook slate for Q4, sledgehammer sold seperately originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Adobe Air bids adieu to Linux, shifts focus to mobile
Well, Linux users, say goodbye to Air. Adobe has announced that version 2.7 will be your last official release and, going forward, you’ll have to rely on kind-hearted souls willing to fire up the Linux porting kit the company will be providing. Development teams will instead be focusing on the growing realm of mobile and improving Air support on iOS and Android, and likely bringing the browser-plus-flash app environment to webOS. With the world’s favorite open-source operating system holding steady at roughly one-percent of the desktop market it’s hard to take issue with the choice. Of course, it probably doesn’t help that Adobe has had trouble getting it to play nice with *nix — especially the 64-bit flavors. Besides, with Tweetdeck prepping a proper web-app, what do you need Air for anyway?
Adobe Air bids adieu to Linux, shifts focus to mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Kissing > Rioting
Android PSA: Stop Using Task Killer Apps – NOW
Hello, friends. This is an Android Public Service Announcement regarding the overuse of “task killer” apps in the Android community. Almost everyone has experimented or used one of these apps at one point in their Android life. I wont judge you. In some cases, these apps might have been installed even without your knowledge. I know for a fact that reps at carrier retail stores will download and install these upon buying any of their Android phones. But why? It’s largely in part because of this HUGE misconception that Android needs these apps in order to run properly. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Lets start at the beginning. Everyone knows one of the main benefits with Android is the fact that it — unlike certain other OS’s, can run apps in the background. The more RAM you have installed on your phone, the more apps you can have open at one time for true multitasking and switching between apps. Its quite beautiful actually. This is one of the reasons RAM is such a highly sought after spec when comparing the many Android devices on the market.
I think you can ask any Android user what they hate most about their phone and they will almost always tell you, battery life. Most people know Android is definitely lacking in this department. Well, in an attempt to “think outside the box” a lot of people have come to the conclusion that the reason for the horrible battery life must be because of all those apps that are “running” around in the background. This the reason these misinformed reps install these Task Killer apps onto phones thinking they’re helping customers, when in fact, they’re not. First, Android doesn’t necessarily keep apps “running” in the background like a car for instance. Using gas/CPU even when they’re not being used. They way it works is Android will pause those apps until you return to them. If you don’t come back to the app for awhile, Android will eventually close the app altogether. This requires no intervention from the user what-so-ever.
The other misconception people have with Android and another reason for using a task killer is that they feel like it will some how make their phone perform faster. This has something to do with the thought that “freeing up RAM” is going to somehow make your phone speedier and quicker when doing everyday tasks (I used to believe this as well). But not so. First off, the purpose of RAM is to be used. If you’re not using the RAM, why do you even have it? Second, even when you close out those 20 apps in the background, 20 more will open up in their place. Like Bebe’s Kids. They don’t die, they multiply. Your resistance is futile. I mean, it’s not like Android will keep opening apps in the background until you’re completely out of RAM. That would cause your phone to completely freeze and lock up and wouldn’t make any sense. Android is smarter than that. Instead, it will begin closing the oldest apps still open in the background to make space for new ones. I mean think about it, do you have to manage the RAM on your home computer? No. It just works, right? Same with Android.
Is there a time and place for task killers? Sure. Even I use one from time to time. Just like your computer, there are those times when things go wrong. Sometimes an app can misbehave and become unresponsive. Or perhaps you changed some options in an app and it needs to be closed/killed/stopped so that it can be opened and refreshed. Or maybe you have a game that has gone rogue and really is, in fact, running in the background sucking CPU and RAM and causing your phone to run to a crawl. It’s only in these occasions that using a task manager is acceptable. Even then, for your average noob user, a simple reboot will solve these problems.
For the Android power users that like to monitor and micro-manage everything that goes on in their phone, yes, using a task manager is acceptable. Sometimes I use it to kill off a game that I know I wont be returning to and there’s no reason for it to be open in my background. But I’m anal like that. For your average soccer mom/girl-friend/grandma/Joe Schmo who is just blindly closing every app they can because they were told to, there really is no good reason for them to have these apps installed on their phone. More often than not, they’re going to do more harm than good and ruin their user experience with the phone. This will cause them to run to the iPhone where they don’t (and shouldn’t) have to worry about this sorta stuff. That was the point of this video. So with that. I am done here, folks. I hope this Public Service Announcement helped shed some light on a murky subject going on in the Android world. Now you know and knowing is half the battle. Now, go uninstall that task killer off your mom’s phone.
Google helps you manage your online identity, justify those vanity Alerts
You know that Google Alert you set up to ping you every time someone mentions your name on the internet? Don’t worry, that wasn’t self-centered or anything, you were just protecting your online identity. Google today is encouraging the growth of vanity Alerts with its “Me on the Web” feature, a new segment of Google Dashboard dedicated to managing your online identity and finding out what people are saying about you on the global bathroom wall that is the world wide web. The feature makes it easy to set up alerts with your personal information and includes links to tools for identity management and content removal, because the seven billion other people on this planet don’t need to know exactly what happened at your office’s last Christmas party.
Google helps you manage your online identity, justify those vanity Alerts originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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