.::REALITYRECALL::.

Philiana Ng
Fresh off the fourth season pickup from Fox, showrunners Jeff Pinkner (right) and J.H. Wyman talk to THR about what it means, the show’s mediocre ratings and question whether Nielsen boxes actually exist.

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There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them.

      —  Denis Waitley

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Android: We’re pretty big fans of mobile IM client Imo.im, but Android users should definitely check out their most recent beta, in which they've completely revamped their interface into something much easier to use—without sacrificing any features. More »

Shares in Waterloo, Ont.-based Research In Motion fell in after-hours trading Thursday as the BlackBerry maker’s profit forecast disappointed investors.

Continue reading BrandFinance declares Google the most valuable brand in the world

BrandFinance declares Google the most valuable brand in the world originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 04:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you thought English dictionaries adding “D’oh!” — the ever-so-famous catchphrase from pop culture icon Homer Simpson — and “unfriend” in the past was a big deal, or even humorous, you may find yourself LOLing about this one. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has decided to include various Internet instant…

Saskatchewan and Manitoba emerged as the country’s growth leaders in population numbers released by Statistics Canada Thursday.

Itching to put some sweet, crunchy AOSP Honeycomb on your hardware of choice? You might have quite a wait, as BusinessWeek reports that Google will not release the Android 3.0 source code in the near future, and we just received confirmation of the same. Google forwarded us the following statement, which pretty much says it all:

Android 3.0, Honeycomb, was designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes and improves on Android favorites such as widgets, multi-tasking, browsing, notifications and customization. While we’re excited to offer these new features to Android tablets, we have more work to do before we can deliver them to other device types including phones. Until then, we’ve decided not to release Honeycomb to open source. We’re committed to providing Android as an open platform across many device types and will publish the source as soon as it’s ready.

It’s fairly clear that the company’s motivation here is the same as it’s been all along — Google wants to restrict Android to the devices it was designed for. Though the company long insisted that earlier versions of Android were not for tablets, manufacturers quickly adapted the source code to slates anyhow, and we can imagine the company wasn’t thrilled some of the middling results. At that time, Google’s only weapon was to deny access to Gmail, Maps and Android Market, which it did liberally (with a few exceptions to the rule) but this time it sounds like it’s simply withholding the “entirely for tablet” source code instead of sending cease-and-desist letters out. Another explanation, however, could just be that Honeycomb’s not ready for primetime without some OEM help — last we checked, smartphone support was a far cry from final, and even the finished Motorola Xoom still has a few software kinks to work out. Here’s hoping a nice cold bowl of Ice Cream will smooth things over with the open source community before long.

Google keeping Honeycomb source code on ice, says it’s not ready for other devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 24 Mar 2011 17:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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 […]

Related posts:

1. SaskTel launching the LG Optimus Quantum soon
2. TELUS puts majority of Smartphones to $0.00 on 3-year
3. SaskTel to release Galaxy S Vibrant at $150 on 3-year

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 »