From a layman’s perspective

Oh yes, the world’s first Android Honeycomb tablet really is here now. As Verizon announced earlier, you can snag a Motorola Xoom for $599.99 with a two-year contract, or splash out $799.99 for just the LTE-ready device. Alas, the WiFi-only version is nowhere to be seen just yet, but maybe some will show up in the stores later if not tomorrow, so hold on to your personal hotspot devices and keep believing. Either way, in case you’re still indecisive over this 10-inch goodness, maybe our review will help.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Verizon’s been in touch to inform us of a policy change: customers who purchase the off-contract Xoom will now no longer need to be on a month to month plan. That said, we still see “Month to Month” as a compulsory option at the time of updating this post.

Motorola Xoom now available for purchase straight from Verizon, no data activation required (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ZDbox for Android is an “all-in-one” toolbox app that makes it easy to find out what’s going on in your phone and gives you full control of different tasks. Those who geek out to numbers, fret not, ZDbox gives the exact battery percentage and traffic usage (with alerts!). If you want to set a do not disturb time range, lock some apps (like Gmail or messaging) or batch uninstall others, you can do that too. The interface is simple enough where you won’t have to learn new things to do new things. It’s still in beta, but has been working pretty well for me. [XDA Developers via Mobiputing] More »

Okay, so that doesn’t quite look like the oldest PC in the world, but it is running Jolicloud 1.1. And now so can many 10+ year old computers. The good guys at Jolicloud have updated the latest version of its Linux / Chromium-based operating system to support all sorts of old computer hardware, including legacy NVIDIA cards like TNT, TNT2, Quadro and early GeForce. Of course, you’ll still need at least 384MB of RAM to make it purr and you’ll want to make sure that you can connect to the net to take advantage of all the cloud-based applications. Oh, you’re still here? Dig out that old Gateway 2000 and start installing!

Jolicloud 1.1 now bringing old and dusty computers back to life originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 20:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A judge told Lindsay Lohan on Wednesday he would sentence her to jail if she accepted any plea deal from prosecutors to avoid a trial for allegedly stealing a $2,500 US necklace from an upscale jewelry store.

Power Up Your XBMC Installation with These New Add-Ons

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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