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Since their earliest days, Corning Incorporated has been a world leader in specialty glass and ceramics. Corningware ring a bell?  Corning also develops innovative glass for a variety of applications including, industrial, automotive, and commercial. Combining materials, science and process they look forward and imagine the possibilities with breakthroughs into reality. Watching this vide, which shows us how Corning envisions the future of glass, left me amazed. Here are just a few innovations:

Architectural surface glass – tough, thermally durable, display enabling

Appliance veneer glass – electronics enabling, scratch resistant.

Handheld display glass – thin lightweight, tough, touch sensitive

Automotive display glass – advanced interactive technology

Work surface display glass – application enabling

Impressive to say the least, I just wonder how much more effective and efficient it will make our day.  I am sure it will take longer to brush our teeth and cook eggs if we are interacting with the glass all the time.  But perhaps we already do that with our smart phones.  In either case I am looking forward to seeing beyond the looking glass.

Watch A Day Made Of Glass By Corning for more.

Have an infinitely modern day!

Posted by Shuangfeng Li, Software Engineer

We’ve made sharing and storing your images in Picasa Web Albums even easier by improving the image upload process. Now you’ll find a smoother upload flow, the five-at-a-time limitation has been removed, and you can upload HD video, too.

To get started from Chrome, Firefox or Safari click the Upload button, select an album and then choose the images and videos you want to upload. After your images have uploaded, you will see large thumbnails where you can easily add a caption, zoom in or delete right from the upload screen.

If you use Internet Explorer, you can continue to use the basic uploader or use the plug-in for drag-and-drop bulk uploading.

Another easy way to upload to Picasa Web Albums is from Gallery on an Android device. For example, with Android 3.0, Honeycomb, you can capture an image or video with your tablet’s camera and upload directly to Picasa Web Albums to share with friends.

We’re always working to improve Picasa Web Albums, please share your feedback in our forum. Happy uploading!

So, did you hear that there’s a new Gears of War game coming out this year? You didn’t? Tell me, how are things in that cave, anyway?

Well, at least the release date will be news to everyone, and not just the cave dwellers. In a press release from Microsoft and Epic Games, the release date for the highly anticipated third-person shooter has finally been revealed. Gears of War 3 will hit stores on September 20.

Here’s the scoop from the press release:

The story takes place eighteen months after the events of Gears of War 2 and the loss of the human stronghold of Jacinto. Marcus, Baird, Dom and company continue their fight to save human civilisation, as they battle the Locust and face new threats from within the planet throughout the campaign mode.

Here is what else you can expect from 2011′s most highly anticipated game:

• An enthralling cinematic story that captivates players in an intimately intense action game
• Five-on-five multiplayer experience as well as four player campaign co-op experience
• New multiplayer game modes including ‘Beast Mode’ – offering a new twist to the game where you take on the role of the locust horde and their assorted variations!
• New maps including: Trenches which features an impressive sand storm that reduces your visibility, as well as Overpass, Mercy, Checkout, and Thrashball
• New weapons including: The Bayonet Charge, The Retro Lancer, The Sawed-off Shotgun, The OneShot – a heavy sniper rifle that shoots through shields or cover for a surprise one shot kill, The Incendiary Grenade, The Digger Launcher and a few subtle tweaks to old favourites Hammerburst and The Classic Lancer. Don’t forget that each weapon now has its own execution move!

Is there any doubt that this thing will sell about eleventy billion copies? Yeah, I thought not.

“I loved you the moment I saw you. I love you now, and I’ll love you forever. No goodbye….

We’ve been waiting for the pricing and availability pieces of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 puzzle, and a short press release from Vodafone Portugal seems to at least help fill out the edges. While we thought Vodafone’s UK branch had exclusive dibs on the 10.1-inch Honeycomb tablet, it looks like it will be hitting Vodafone Portugal first in March for €699. That's not exactly a bargain, but it's in line with the pricing of the other Android tablets overseas. Now, if only we knew more about when this one was going to learn English and hit the US. As always, we’re digging as hard as we can on that one.

Updated: It looks like Vodafone Spain announced pricing last week, too. Our friends at Engadget Spanish report that the tablet will go for €349 on-contract sometime this spring.

[Thanks, The Wizard]

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 hitting Vodafone Portugal in March for €699 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 12:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A friend forwarded me one of those emails her husband got at work. It was full of photos of amazing staircases plus some strange magic eye type puzzles. Being the visual person that I am, I became completely fixated on the staircases and even went so far as to search for more and more visually indulging photos of creative staircases. I couldn't get enough. Who thinks of these designs? 

Android only: Microsoft's SkyDrive service is a nice chunk of cloud storage—25 GB, to be exact. Now you can view, download, and send your files in SkyDrive from your Android phone with Sorami. More »

Not much detail here kids, but the Korean Yonhap News Agency is reporting that Samsung has an 8.9-inch Android tablet due in the first half of the year. This, according to a Samsung company spokesman speaking to the reputable news site over the phone. Yonhap also notes local media reports claiming that the tablet could be for sale as early as next month. We first heard about Samsung’s plans for 7-, 8-, and 10-inch tablets way back in June — long before the 7-inch Galaxy Tab was announced. Now, with the 10.1-incher official, there’s no reason to doubt an 8.9-inch Galaxy Tab by summer.

Samsung Galaxy Tab series expanding with 8.9-inch model by summer originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 03:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve shown you how to properly erase your physical media before, but a recent study showed that most “secure erase” methods don’t actually work very well on solid-state drives (SSDs). Here’s what you need to know. More »

Let’s be honest, as much as we all like to play film snob, we’re thinking more of you watch Family Ties, Star Trek and Cheers than the works of Bergman and Kurosawa. As long as that’s the case, perhaps the pain of losing Criterion’s content to Hulu Plus will be eased by word of a new deal with CBS bringing a slew of its older shows including the aforementioned plus Twin Peaks, The Twilight Zone and newer-but-not-new shows like Medium to the service for two years starting in early April. No word on how big of a check the now-20 million strong Netflix had to cut to pull this off, but the deal is non-exclusive, so you could see all of these on Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime, Redbox or… you get the picture.

Continue reading Netflix signs up some TV shows from CBS’ library for Watch Instantly streaming

Netflix signs up some TV shows from CBS’ library for Watch Instantly streaming originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Xbox 360 may finally be able to beat the Nintendo Wii. While Wii sales have slowed down, the console has been a top seller for some time now, thanks to the unique games, low prices, and the endless supply accessories. Now the Xbox 360 is looking to take over, thanks in large part to the success of the Kinect.

Since Microsoft has released the the peripheral, sales for the console has risen. Between the hit game series like Halo, and, Call of Duty the sales for the Xbox 360 have started to compete with the Wii at last.

It is about time that Microsoft can finally beat with Nintendo. It should be interesting to see how Nintendo will handle this, after all the big wigs on Nintendo have said that the Wii 2 isn't coming anytime soon. 

Via Attack of the Fan Boy

The Saskatchewan government says it will be forced to abandon plans for a new stadium in Regina unless Ottawa approves funding by the end of February.

YouTube is currently negotiating with the NBA and the NHL to show live games, something that’s a bit harder to find for free online. They’re talking with “most pro sports leagues,” which means not all. Sorry billiards fans. [Businessweek] More »

We found out yesterday that Motorola’s Xoom would be shipping sans Flash support on Verizon Wireless, and while Big Red claimed that an update would be doled out this spring, the folks at Adobe are pointing to a far more specific time frame. In a new post over at the Flash Platform Blog, Adobe has confirmed that “Flash Player 10.2 [will be] pre-installed on some tablets and as an OTA download on others within a few weeks of Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) devices becoming available, the first of which is expected to be the Motorola Xoom.” We’re guessing that the company’s going public with a statement like this to fend off fears that the Xoom may be waiting an eternity for Flash, in essence removing a bit of fear from hesitant early adopters. Either way, it’s excellent news for those eying a Honeycomb tablet of any flavor, and we’re going to take the liberty of taking “a few weeks” to mean “a fortnight.” Cool, Adobe?

Adobe promises Flash Player 10.2 for Honeycomb tablets ‘in a few weeks,’ Xoom gets namechecked originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A college student has used an app on his Android phone to beat a ticket in traffic court. Sahas Katta was pulled over by local police and given a speeding ticket for going 15 miles over the speed limit. Trouble is, Sahas, wasn’t speeding. But could he prove it? Then he remembered an app he had on this Motorola Droid that could provide the evidence.

Fortunately at the time, Sahas was running a great app from the Android Marketplace called GOOGLE TRACKS. This app uses the GPS and accelerometer in the Droid to measure distance traveled, average speed, average moving speed, and max speed. When he accessed the history tab, the Droid was able to show that Sahas was indeed traveling one mile under the speed limit, and not 15 over. He knew he had the officer dead to rights and decided to fight the ticket. In court, he produced his evidence and got the officer to admit that he hadn’t refreshed his radar gun training, nor when was the last time he had the radar gun properly calibrated. That was all the judge needed to pronounce Sahas “not guilty.”

I gotta get this app!

[via SkatterTech]

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Microsoft told us to clear our pipes for a hefty download on the 22nd of February, and sure enough, the software giant is delivering. Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 is now available for public consumption, with the company also confirming that 7601.17514.101119-1850 is the final RTM. We’d bother telling you more, but we know you’ve already dug into the source link in order to get your download a-hoppin’. Just make sure you uninstall any pre-releases of SP1 before doing the deed with this one, and if you’re updating just a single PC, you’re probably better off waiting for everything to flow through Windows Update. Your call, though.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Windows 7 SP1 (and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1) now available for public download originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 13:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Elegance meets functional design with the 1?imit faucet. The glass holds exactly one liter of water, sufficient for any hand wash. The elegant design hopes to conserve water, as we almost use six liters when one is sufficient. Once the liter has been used, the waiting game begins and you must wait until the liter fills again. This rationing process hopes to help with water conservation. Designed by Dohyung Kim & Sewon Oh.

Read and see more entertaining articles here.

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You don’t need us to tell you what you already know in your gut to be true: Redmond is working hard on its tablet strategy. How embarrassing is it for Microsoft, the company that pioneered tablets and the 7-inch UMPC, to be completely absent from the conversation in 2010 and 2011? That could change in September. Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley recently shared the slide above which she believes to be 99.99 percent genuine. The timeline shows the major milestone dates for a Windows 8 (aka, “Windows Next“) release — an OS that M. JoFo believes to be focused on tablets (aka, “Lap PCs” in Microsoft parlance) with its purpose-built touch-centric design. According to the slide, we’re looking at an M2 milestone this month followed by M3 in July or August. Foley says that would put Microsoft on track for a Windows 8 beta release right around Microsoft’s Professional Developers Conference (PDC) event in September followed by a second beta in 2012 before being released to manufacturing around the summer of 2012 — just like we heard early last year and just in time for Dell’s Hancock tablet. There are still many open questions including Microsoft’s ARM vs. Intel priorities and how the company plans to scale across the enterprise and the “workhorse PC” and “Family Hub PC” in the home. Hit the ZDNet link below for a deeper read or better yet, head on over to TechRepublic where Mary Jo Foley put together an excellent webcast outlining Microsoft’s tablet strategy in much more detail.

Windows 8 beta for tablets at September PDC? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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