.::REALITYRECALL::.

Is your life really your life, or is it actually the dream of a butterfly? Or is it a complex computer simulation indistinguishable from “real” reality? Don’t worry, it’s just a glitch in the Matrix. It happens when they change something. More »

Many have tried and failed to bring a 3D desktop interface to an otherwise 2D operating system, but that certainly hasn’t stopped others from trying. The latest example to crop up comes courtesy of none other than Microsoft, which recently received a patent for what it describes as a “method and apparatus for providing a three-dimensional task gallery computer interface.” In other words, it’s an interface intended to help you better manage multiple tasks, which the patent suggests could be done in a 3D environment with a floor, walls and a ceiling. Apparently, you’d be able to group multiple windows at various spots in the “room,” which would let you rely on your spatial memory to easily find a given task — with the room getting deeper and deeper to accommodate more tasks. In the patent’s claims, the only means described for navigating around that room is a set of icons that would adjust to suit the 3D environment, although it certainly seems like it could easily be adapted to accommodate gesture controls as well. Hit up the source link below for plenty more line drawings where this one came from.

Microsoft patent details a 3D desktop interface with a room for your windows originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 07 May 2011 12:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There is a rumor that Keanu Reves is in talks with Warner Bros. over the possibility of taking the role of Kaneda in the American film adaptation of the classic Manga, Akira.

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On September 1, 2009, a 19-year-old woman from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada was the victim of a random shooting. Charlotte Dawn Jolly was shot and killed on the streets of Saskatoon while she was out celebrating her birthday with friends. The suspect was 16 years old at the time, and cannot…

Canada asked the U.S. to help plan against a nuclear threat during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, plus aid in everything from mail screening to troop transportation, diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks reveal.

By Tim Conneally, Betanews

Researchers from Queen’s University in Ontario Canada this week unveiled a prototype of their “paperphone,” a smartphone that has a flexible e-paper display instead of an LCD/TFT touchscreen.

 Chell never looked so good.

As much as we all love Portal 2, I know that every single one of you has, at one time or another, wished in your heart of hearts that the game were a little bit more like a Logan’s Run-meets- Super Fly 1970s sci-fi action exploitation extravaganza. It's a story that's just begging for that kind of treatment.

While the folks at Valve are unlikely to grant you your greatest of wishes in playable form, one of the studio’s artists, Tristan Reidford, whipped up a completely amazing ’70s-style movie poster featuring the game’s various characters. While your immediate reaction might just be to make it your desktop background, you can actually do yourself one better and put it on your real life, non-computerized wall, as the poster will be going on sale in the Steam store in a couple of weeks.

As our own Ryan Davis histrionically pointed out over Twitter this morning, yes, there are a few spoilers floating around inside that poster. We're going to drop the main poster below If you haven't played yet, so maybe don't stare at it too hard? As for me, I know I'll be grabbing one as soon as they go on sale. 

     

As a Googler I often take my work home with me—in a good way. With two young boys at home, life is always busy, so my husband and I are always looking for ways to save time, get organized and enrich our lives in simple ways. Because the products I beta test and use in the office have become an integral part of my own family life, for Mother’s Day this weekend I’d like to share some favorite tips, including a few from other Googler parents.

Capturing and sharing memories

• Instead of keeping 500 crayon masterpieces, store digital photos of all your kids’ artwork in Picasa Web Albums
• Collect trip or party photos in one place by letting all of your paparazzi upload their snapshots to a collaborative online album
• Tag friends and family in Picasa photos so you can easily create and share personalized collages, gift CDs/DVDs or movie slideshows
• Use Picnik to edit your Picasa Web Albums photos. Use the “Create” tab to add text, stickers, frames and other effects to your photos—your kids can help, and you can email them as digital cards to distant relatives
• Safely share home videos with family by inviting them to view a private YouTube video
• Keep a running family history by encouraging relatives around the world to contribute stories and biographies in a shared Google doc or blog

Communicating and entertaining

• Video chat through Gmail for free with long-distance grandparents and friends—this is also great for connecting kids with their parents when traveling
• Entertain kids on the run with kid-friendly YouTube channels—like Sesame Street and School House Rock—Android apps or your own photos and videos on your mobile phone (kids love watching themselves!)
• Have your kids help you create a video card or a cartoon on YouTube
• Explore the world from the couch—fly around Google Earth on your mobile phone or tablet
• On camping trips, use Sky Map to explore and name constellations. You can even travel back in time to show your kids what the sky looked like on the day they were born
• Read the classics—like Anne of Green Gables, The Wind in the Willows and Grimm’s Fairy Tales—for free from Google eBooks; for older kids, many books that are required reading for school are also free. Google eBooks are accessible and readable on devices your family probably already has—like laptops or smartphones

Organizing and planning

• Plan a group trip by creating a shared Google document or site with proposed dates and activities. Navigate around traffic and find the nearest pit stop with Google Maps for mobile
• Using My Maps, get family and friends to help you collect ideas for activities in your area that are family-friendly
• Schedule family events, playdates and birthdays on a shared Google Calendar
• Track everything from infant feeding schedules, holiday gifts and thank-you notes to travel packing lists and family budgets with Google spreadsheets; look at the Template Gallery to customize yours
• Use forms in Google spreadsheets to send invitations to birthday parties and collect RSVPs (there are templates for these, too)
• Use the ingredient filter in Recipe View to find recipes that exclude ingredients your kids won’t eat—like [meatballs without onions]—or use the time filter to find easy recipes your children can help prepare like chocolate chip cookies that take under 30 minutes
• Share a shopping list on Google Docs—whomever goes to the store can easily access it from the new Google Docs app on Android

I hope these tips inspire moms (and dads) to celebrate your family this weekend. Here’s hoping you can save time and energy to focus on having fun with your kids!

Posted by Cathy Cheng, Webmaster Manager and proud mom of Kai (3 years) and Jin (10 months)

Washing your hands regularly can help you stay healthy. But could it also get you sick?

Windows: We’ve shown you how to add a second layer of encryption to Dropbox, but if you’re looking for a simpler way to secure your synced files, free app SecretSync encrypts any Dropbox files you want before sending them to the cloud. More »

Saskatchewan teachers were back in the classroom Friday following a one-day strike in support of contract demands.

ASUS: Eee Pad Transformer delays due to demand, not component shortages originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 May 2011 10:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Android/Chrome: No one likes texting on small, autocorrect-prone phone keyboards. Texty connects your phone to Google Chrome, letting you send and receive SMS messages right from the extension bar. More »

The House of Representatives Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade continues to seek answers regarding last month’s breach of the PlayStation Network’s security. The one it got yesterday from Purdue professor and security expert Dr. Gene Spafford is troubling, to say the least, if the situation he detailed actually played out as described.

Spafford told the subcommittee that, according to security mailing lists he subscribes to, “individuals who work in security and participate in the Sony network” had learned “several months ago” that PSN was hosted on servers running “very old versions of Apache software that were unpatched and had no firewall installed.”

The professor continued, “they had reported these [issues] in an open forum that was monitored by Sony employees, but had seen no response and no change or update to the software.” The timeframe for these events was “two to three months prior to the incident where the break-ins occurred,” according to Spafford.

It’s important to note that his account of the situation and information is second-hand. Still, the potential for this testimony to cause the subcommittee, headed by representative Mary Bono Mack (R-CA), to demand more answers from Sony — and, more specifically, the individuals mentioned by Spafford — does exist.

Sony could not be reached for comment.

PSN servers were ‘unpatched and had no firewall installed,’ security expert testifies originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 05 May 2011 18:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video store Blockbuster’s Canadian operations have been placed into receivership by an Ontario court after the chain missed payments on its debt.