.::REALITYRECALL::.

Diet soda may have fewer calories, but there may be more risks, too.

At last, the webOS-empowered TouchPad, HP’s answer to the growing tablet market. And make no mistake, it’s coming in with guns blazing — specs-wise, the slate stands up pretty well to the competition currently in play (e.g. iPad) and the other up-and-comers not quite out the gate (e.g. Motorola Xoom and BlackBerry PlayBook). Stacked side-by-side, it’s clear Apple’s entry is lacking a bit in both memory (256MB vs. 1GB for everyone else) and front-facing camera — not that we expect that to be the case for all of 2011. When it all comes down to it, what’ll set these slates apart will be the platforms and software themselves — should make for an interesting summer, no? In the meantime, for the nitty-gritty on technical specifications, venture past the break.

Continue reading HP TouchPad vs. iPad vs. Xoom vs. PlayBook: the tale of the tape

HP TouchPad vs. iPad vs. Xoom vs. PlayBook: the tale of the tape originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft put the finishing touches on Service Pack 1 to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. It will be available to home users starting February 22, through the Microsoft Download Center and Windows Update. [The Windows Blog via @Windows] More »

According to PreCentral, Palm’s forthcoming tablet — which we suspect will be officially revealed in just a few hours — will be dubbed TouchPad. They were able to sneak in and hear a few details during the event preparation session, enabling them to confirm that it’ll weigh 1.5 pounds and measure 13mm thick (just as we’d heard). If those figures sound familiar, it’s because a fledgling startup in Cupertino just so happens to have a slate that aligns exactly to those very specifications. Keep it locked right here for our impending liveblog — we’ll be bringing you the blow by blow as it goes down today in San Francisco.

Update: Robert Scoble seems to have let loose a bit of information as well, confirming that a 10-inch slate is indeed on the docket, as well as “the smallest little phone” he has ever seen. And before you think that’s a positive attribute, he also mentions it being too small to be taken seriously, and definitely not as “a competitor for the iPhone or Android.” Ouch. Guess we’ll have to see for ourselves as the day develops.

Update 2: Oh, boy! The HP Veer, Pre 3 and TouchPad just leaked on HP’s official site. We’re cautiously optimistic that all these will be on sale later today.

Palm TouchPad leaked: 1.5 pounds, 13mm thick, and just moments from official originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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President Obama is calling for $53 billion in funding for developing trains that travel at speeds of up to 250mph in a bid that follows his State of the Union speech about “winning the future.” [The Huffington Post] More »

Should you be one of those (sensible) people who don’t use software until all the Greek letters are removed from its name, we’ve got some happy news for you. Adobe’s Flash Player 10.2 has just exited beta testing and is now available for download to Windows, Mac and Linux computers. Its biggest new feature is the Stage Video API, which promises to drastically reduce the processor load of playing back high-res video. It’ll need to be enabled by content-providing sites like YouTube, Vimeo and Brightcove — all of whom are already on the job — but once that’s done, Adobe says 1080p playback will cost you no more than 15 percent of your CPU cycles. Other new additions include a single-monitor full screen option for multi-display rigs, allowing you to max out a Flash video on one panel while keeping the others free, IE9 hardware acceleration support, and some nifty sub-pixel text rendering enhancements to make our web lives marginally nicer to look at. Hit the source to get your download on.

Update: Flash Player 10.2 also marks Adobe’s discontinuation of support for PowerPC-based Macs and Microsoft’s Windows 2000 OS. So if you’re still rocking some finely aged gear, you’ll have to just content yourself with the awesomeness of 10.1.

Continue reading Flash Player 10.2 sheds beta label, improves efficiency with Stage Video playback

Flash Player 10.2 sheds beta label, improves efficiency with Stage Video playback originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 06:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So far it seems like everyone but HTC has made an official tablet announcement in these early days of 2011. As such, we’re reliant upon the rumor mills for every scrap of information we can get. So lean in close because the Chinese language Economic Daily has something to share. In a piece largely written about Pegatron, Economic Daily claims that HTC’s 7-inch Android 2.3 tablet will ship in late Q1 (read: March, as we’ve heard earlier) with a new version of the HTC Sense UI. Our guess, is that HTC wants to get a tablet on the market now, rather than wait to customize Android 3.0 and have the Motorola Xoom and friends gobble up all the market share. The paper does mention two Android 3.0 tablets from HTC scheduled for 2011. Unfortunately, there’s no word of the rumored “Flyer” brand name or whether those Honeycomb tablets will get the Sense treatment or not (we’re guessing they will). Nevertheless, the Mobile World Congress event kicking off next week would be the perfect opportunity to make it all official, don’t you think?

HTC’s 7-inch Android 2.3 tablet with new Sense UI still rumored for March originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 04:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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California prosecutors say they plan to charge Lindsay Lohan with felony grand theft of a $2,500 necklace reported stolen from a jewelry store last month – the most serious count the actress has faced in more than three years of trouble with the law.

Canada’s internet regulator has launched a review of decisions that would have eliminated unlimited internet plans and drastically lowered downloading limits for customers of small internet service providers.

Some new numbers from mobile industry tracker Comscore are in, and the picture they paint is so extremely stark it’s almost eye-popping.

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Last week we asked you to share your favorite social media manager. We rounded up the top nominations and put them before you for a vote and now we’re back to highlight the winner and runners-up. More »

We’ve got very little information here, but Dell’s just announced that it’s planning to bring a 10-inch Windows 7 tablet to market later this year. According to the press release, it will be aimed at commercial and enterprise markets. Sound familiar? Yep, it sounds like a HP Slate in the making, but let’s hope this one is faster and sticks to its shipping schedule. We’ve got no other details for now, but we’re hoping to dig up more at the “Dell Means Business” event, which should be starting any moment now. Stay tuned…

Update: Well, that was a letdown — Dell didn’t share any additional details at the event, but CNET did snap the shot above of a plastic mockup that was shown off. Wondering how much of a mockup it is? We are told by our guys on the ground that it is like a “fake IKEA TV.” Hit the break for the full press release.

Continue reading Dell promises a 10-inch Windows 7 tablet later this year

Dell promises a 10-inch Windows 7 tablet later this year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 13:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Okay, so there’s a good chance that the developing 802.11ac Gigabit wireless standard will receive its official seal of approval long before 2048, but by 2015? Given that it took 802.11n a full seven years to move on from Draft N status, we aren’t holding our collective breath. Regardless, there’s obviously a need for a far faster interface than what we’re using now, and the Wi-Fi Alliance is obviously doing everything it can to keep on keeping on. According to a loose study by In-Stat, Planet Earth will go from zero 802.11ac devices in 2010 to one billion by 2015, with Vice President of Research Frank Dickson noting that a draft of 802.11ac should be cleared at some point in 2011. As for backwards compatibility? Looks like you’ll just have to wait and see.

Continue reading Study: 802.11ac devices to hit the one billion mark in 2015, get certified in 2048

Study: 802.11ac devices to hit the one billion mark in 2015, get certified in 2048 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 08 Feb 2011 10:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Damaging a patient’s nerves during surgery can cause agony – and even paralysis. But nerves are rather hard to see.

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Ridiculously cute and tiny Royal antelope calf born at the San Diego Zoo. These tiny antelopes stand barely a foot tall when fully grown.

(Want more? See NOTCOT.org and NOTCOT.com)