.::REALITYRECALL::.

We weren’t expecting to hear too much about it, but RIM’s year-end / Q4 fiscal 2011 earnings call uncovered a good bit of information surrounding BlackBerry OS 6.1. As you’ve likely learned by now, we weren’t exactly throwing our iPhones and Droids into the nearest refuse bin after handling the Torch, and it seems as if quite a few bigwigs at RIM were equally disappointed. In response to a question about the rollout of BB OS 6.1, we were told that it would truly be a “major upgrade” over what’s out there now, and rather than being an incremental update, it’ll be more like “an overhaul.” The company made no bones about its excitement for the release, and frankly, we’re having a hard time keeping our expectations in check after listening in. Thankfully, we’ll be able to get our paws on it at some point this spring, with a number of elements to be teased at BlackBerry World this May. Naturally, we’ll be there to keep you up-to-date with how it’s rolling along.

RIM deems BlackBerry OS 6.1 a ‘major upgrade,’ promises a spring release originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You read that right — RIM just announced that its forthcoming BlackBerry PlayBook will support both BlackBerry Java and Android apps. That includes native C/C++ development support, HTML5, Flash and AIR support, not to mention game engines from Ideaworks Labs (AirPlay) and Unity Technologies (Unity 3). That means that you’ll have access to over 200,000 Android apps should developers choose to “quickly and easily” port them over, and assuming you dive into one of two optional “app players” in order to do so. It’s also worth noting that RIM’s presser only focuses on Android “2.3 apps,” and while we’re assuming Honeycomb apps will eventually be supported, there’s no mention of Android 3.0 just yet. Furthermore, devs can look forward to an imminent release of the native PlayBook SDK, which will specifically enable C/C++ application development on the BlackBerry Tablet OS. So, now that you can look forward to digging into the near-limitless Android Market via BlackBerry wizardry of some sort, are you actually considering picking up a PlayBook on April 19th? Let us know in comments below!

Continue reading RIM adds Android app support to BlackBerry PlayBook via ‘optional app player’

RIM adds Android app support to BlackBerry PlayBook via ‘optional app player’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Almost a year ago, we introduced a new version of the document editor. The new version launched with character-by-character collaboration, higher import fidelity and new features like a ruler and support for positioned images. Since then, we’ve been continually adding more features like collaborative highlighting, better revision history, mobile editing, and discussions.

Since launch, the new editor has been available only for newly created documents. Beginning today, we’re testing a new feature that lets you convert an old document to the new editor. If you’re the owner of a document made in the old editor, you may now receive a notice at the top of your document giving you the option to preview the document in the new editor.

From there you’ll get a chance to see what the document looks like in the new editor and either choose to convert it or leave it in the old format. There are two important things to note about this process. First, this feature will not be available to Google Apps customers initially. Second, revision history will not be imported into the new editor.

Because we’re converting between two very different editors, it’s also possible that the document could look slightly changed in the new editor. For example, there are still more table features we need to add to the new editor before it will be able to perfectly import all forms of tables that can be created in the old editor.

If you want to freshen up your old documents, try opening them today and seeing what they look like when you upgrade to the version with all the latest features.

Posted by: Jeff Harris, Product Manager

Following Rogers, Bell and TELUS is SaskTel. They have just put on a sale that sees all their Smartphone reduced to the sweet price of $0.00 on a 3-year. Again, if you’re into contracts these are worth considering: BlackBerry Bold 9780, Curve 9300, Torch 9800, LG Optimus Quantum, Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant. More here at […]

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Filed under: Japan

Due to the extensive damage in Japan caused by the massive earthquake and resultant tsunami on March 11, many have questioned if the island nation can recover in a year, much less a few months. If the swiftness with which the Japanese can repair roads is any indication, we wouldn’t bet against the country cleaning up this catastrophe in short order.

As a result of the quake, a 150-meter section of the Great Kanto Highway in Naka was absolutely obliterated, with massive chasms running right through the middle of the road. Work crews at the NEXCO road repair company sprang into action on March 17, working at a fevered pitch to help get their country on the road to recovery, literally. Amazingly, after only six days of labor, the road is silky smooth and ready for travel. Look at the the before and after photos above to see just how amazing this feat is.

Given the fact that road crews in the U.S. can spend three or more months repairing a single lane of concrete, only to leave the orange barrels on the road for another two weeks, we’re blown away by this feat of engineering. Simply amazing.

[Source: Daily Mail via Jalopnik | Images: AP Photo/NEXCO East]

Japanese repair quake-ravaged road in just six days originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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One of the many nice things about Android is that you can install your own essential apps, like a browser, as your better default option. But do third-party alternatives like Firefox, Opera, or Dolphin actually deliver a better browser? In many cases, yes. Here’s how. More »

In what has to be the least surprising news of the decade, Duke Nukem Forever has been delayed. Instead of shipping on May 3 as previously planned, it’s now slated for stores on June 14.

You know, maybe it’s just me, but I think I would have made sure that I could hit whatever release date I set for DNF, the most delayed game in the history of man. Still, at least the announcement was made in a fairly humorous way, using this video with Gearbox President Randy Pitchford.

I’m sure that Gearbox will ship the game at some point, barring the intervention of some sort of alien race or temporal anomaly. It may even be that they can’t ship the game, because doing so would sunder the fabric of our reality. I guess we’ll find out in June, right? June!

Or maybe it won’t ship at all, just like we told you would happen.

Chrome (Beta/Dev): Voice input is now baked into Chrome’s Beta version and soon to hit the standard, stable release. When it does, consider installing Speechify. This simple, handy extension adds a microphone icon to Google, Amazon, Hulu, and other sites, so you can simply say what you’re searching for. More »

Elizabeth Taylor, one of Hollywood’s greatest stars, has died at 79.

Wordpress has a new feature for the iPad , which makes any of its 18 million blogs look and act like the magazine-inspired Flipboard, except it’s in mobile Safari. More »

Saskatchewan rolled out a surplus budget Wednesday that includes tax cuts and extra spending – and will be the last before a provincial election in the fall.

Android: If you’d like to be able to tell who’s emailing, texting, or calling you without even taking your phone out of your pocket, free app WhoIsIt will let you assign specific ringtones and vibration patterns to each contact on your phone. More »

“The highest function of love is that it makes the loved one a unique and irreplaceable…

Can the Xbox Kinect can help surgeons? A number of doctors in Canada thing so.They’ve been using the gesture-based peripheral to access photos, helping guide the surgery.

The doctors needed to access photos without having to touch anything. This allowed them to perform surgery more quickly, without having to stop to wash their hands. This may well be the first time ever that a hospital used a video game console as a guide in surgery.

The doctor has also claimed that he plans to use the Kinect more often in both surgeries, and other areas in the hospital.

Via TG Daily

The FDA is reportedly set to announce a decision that would force movie theater operators to post calorie counts next to their items in the same way that restaurant chains must. Not surprisingly, the theater owners are popping mad about this possibility.

According to a piece in today’s L.A. Times, the National Association of Theatre Owners has been lobbying the FDA and congressional staff members to exempt movie theaters from the nutritional labeling requirement.

“We’re not restaurants where people go to eat and satisfy themselves,” the group’s general counsel told the paper. “It’s dinner and a movie, not dinner at a movie.”

Of course, movie theater food is often more expensive than dinner… and profitable for the theater chains.

The Times quotes the CFO of Regal Entertainment Group as saying, “We sell a bucket of popcorn for about $6. Our cost in that $6 bucket of popcorn is about 15 cents or 20 cents. So if that cost doubles, it doesn’t really hurt me that much.”

But it might be hurting the people that eat the popcorn. A 2009 study by the spoilsports at the Center for Science in the Public Interest found that a large popcorn serving contained upward of 1,460 calories, almost as much as downing three Big Macs (approx. 1,600 calories).

Should theaters have to post calorie counts just like everyone else, or is movie theater food somehow different than restaurant food?

What’s in the popcorn? Cinemas would rather not have to say [L.A. Times]

Earlier today we reported a story from Digitimes, which stated that Motorola was winding down production on the Xoom. According to the numbers, the total units shipped is set to drop dramatically after this month, from around 500,000 units, down to 300,000 a month, eventually tapering off altogether by the end of June.

The humble MiFi from Novatel has, in various guises for myriad carriers, saved our bacon on repeated occasions at press events, feeding up sweet connectivity when 3G USB modems were few or ineffective. Now it can make that bacon sizzle, too, receiving DLNA certification and becoming a little media streamer. Content loaded to the MiFi’s microSD card will now be served up to any compatible media player, receiver, or computer, which includes watching movies on iPads and Xboxes and PS3's. Oh, my! It remains to be seen whether existing 2372s will be upgradeable to support DLNA or whether it'll be new devices only, but the company has said that AT&T will be the first carrier to offer the service. So, there's something to look forward to, T-Mobile subscribers.

Continue reading Novatel’s 2372 MiFi gets DLNA certified, can serve up some beats with those bytes

Novatel’s 2372 MiFi gets DLNA certified, can serve up some beats with those bytes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 15:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just days before MTS finally launches their long-awaited now-called “4G” network, TELUS has gone out and announced they will be investing $22 million in Manitoba this year with their own “4G” network. In a press release TELUS stated they’ll expand beyond the Winnipeg and into Brandon, Selkirk, Steinbach, Portage la Prairie and Victoria Beach. “In […]

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