.::REALITYRECALL::.

This one’s been expected and rumored for a long time. Now it’s official: Blockbuster has initiated “pre-arranged” chapter 11 proceedings. Under the plan, Blockbuster’s debt would be reduced from $1 billion to about $100 million when implemented. The press release states that Blockbuster is currently evaluating its US store portfolio as part of the recapitalization process. For the time being, all 3,000 stores will remain open. However, we’ve been told by a trusted tipster that up to 1,000 could be shed before things are said and done. Now make no mistake, Blockbuster is still open and wants you to know that it’s business as usual during the restructuring — the details of which you can read in the press release after the break.

Continue reading Blockbuster files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Blockbuster files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 06:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Need further proof Microsoft will never adopt Blu-ray, as you clutch your HD DVD drive to your chest and sob for Microsoft’s halcyon HD format days? Xbox 360‘s UK director Stephen McGill has reiterated the future is digital downloads. More »

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from Dell on the home entertainment front, but don’t you worry, the guys in Round Rock have been right on top of it. First up is the brand new Zino HD home theater PC, which like we’d heard is being updated with an AMD quad-core Phenom II processor that’s more than capable of pumping out full HD to your HDTV. In typical Dell spirit there’s tons of configuration options, including one for 1GB of ATI discrete graphics, a Blu-ray drive, and up to a terabyte of storage. For $299, we’re a bit giddy about this little one considering it packs more power than any of those Ion nettops and it comes with a wireless keyboard and IR remote control.

If a large touchscreen all-in-one is more your thing, the Inspiron One can be configured with similar parts — an AMD Athlon II X4 processor, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5450, Blu-ray, and up to 1TB are all on the list. To us, the real appeal of this one is its 1920×1080 resolution, 23-inch display, which produced some pretty stunning HD playback when we saw it in action last month. Dell’s put a lot of energy into its new Stage touch interface, which consists of different tiled applications. It’s actually more than eye candy as we’re betting those Netflix and CinemaNow tiles will see plenty of tapping. The One starts at $799 and will be available this coming weekend — but before you yank out the wallet, we’d suggest flipping through the galleries below and hitting the break for a read of the press release.

Continue reading Dell whips out 23-inch Inspiron One all-in-one and Zino HD

Dell whips out 23-inch Inspiron One all-in-one and Zino HD originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 01:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The change of season brings an end to what some people in Saskatchewan are calling the summer that never was.

(Sept. 21) — A group of Air Force officers is about to reveal their various encounters with UFOs at different American nuclear weapons sites, and they\’ll ask the U.S. government to come clean about UFOs.

Firefox has long been the go-to web browser among power users for its impressive feature set, extensibility, and openness. But Google’s nimble, light, also extensible and open browser, Chrome, has won over Firefox’s core user base. Here’s why: More »

Netflix certainly didn’t have much trouble attracting interest in its Canadian launch today — the country’s waited long enough, after all — but it looks like it nonetheless went a bit too far in its efforts to build up buzz at its press event. It turns out that many of the onlookers at the event were actually actors hired by Netflix, at least some of whom went as far as to talk to the press and pass themselves off as regular people — regular people who happen to be really enthusiastic about Netflix, of course. An information sheet handed out to the extras reportedly even told them to “play types” and “behave as members of the public” who just “happen upon a street event for Netflix and stop by to check it out.” After word of the shenanigans got out, Netflix quickly issued an apology, of sorts — the company’s VP of corporate communications, Steve Swasey, said that he was “unaware” that a script was handed out to the extras, and that “some people got carried away and it’s embarrassing to Netflix.”

Netflix busted for using actors in crowd at Canadian launch event originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Security Essentials has always been free for personal use, but now our favorite Windows security suite is coming to small businesses as well. Starting in October, small businesses will be able to license Microsoft Security Essentials for no cost on up to ten PCs. Compared to other anti-virus solutions that may not seem like a huge savings, but subscription costs definitely add up over time, and you can never go wrong cutting costs in a small business—especially when it's just as good as other anti-virus applications. [Microsoft Partner SMB Community Blog via Download Squad] More »

We had heard that the 5″ Streak wouldn’t be Dell’s largest play in the tablet game, and now Michael Dell has confirmed that they’re working on a 7″ Android tablet, too. Hopefully one with a recent Android build, this time. More »

A new computer model has indicated that the parting of the Red Sea could really have taken place – if the winds were right.

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As part of an ongoing improvement of the Google Docs platform as a collaboration tool, Google is now implementing web fonts as part of its word processing repertoire. Typically, text on a webpage is rendered from fonts located on your own computer. This practice has led to the standardization…

Don’t be surprised if you see the US Army sporting fine garments made from Madagascan bark spider’s silk in the future. It’s “10 times better than Kevlar,” which itself is “5 times stronger than steel on an equal weight basis.” More »

V8 what? EcoBoost V6 is probably going to be a hot seller for the F-150

It’s been years of waiting, but Microsoft is finally expanding the Zune service internationally — a move that precedes the big Windows Phone 7 launch. Version 4.7 of the Zune software will be the desktop sync client for WP7 devices, and as such it’ll be available in more than 20 countries. Don’t get too excited, though — Zune Marketplace is a much more complicated situation, since Microsoft has to hammer our agreements in every country, and it’s not coming everywhere with every feature. Here’s the breakdown:

• The Zune Pass subscription service will hit the UK, France, Italy and Spain, offering unlimited streaming for £8.99 / €9.99 per month but no ability to keep 10 tracks a month as with the $14.99 US service.
• Music purchases will arrive in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany, and the format will be unencumbered MP3.
• Video purchases will come to the UK, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, with playback support across the PC, Xbox Live, and Windows Phone 7.
• Video rentals will hit the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Mexico, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and can be synced to the PC, Xbox Live, and Windows Phone 7.

Yep, it’s a little complicated unless you live in the UK or France, but we’re sure Redmond’s working furiously to wrap up all the deals it can. We’re also a little bummed that international Zune Pass subscribers won’t be able to keep 10 tracks a month, but hey — there’s a reason why America is awesome, and it’s not just football. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Microsoft expanding Zune internationally, Zune Pass coming to UK, France, Italy, and Spain

Microsoft expanding Zune internationally, Zune Pass coming to UK, France, Italy, and Spain originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lea Vivot, the sculptor who revealed her statue of former Saskatchewan premier and Canadian health-care founder Tommy Douglas to the public last week, is threatening to take it down.

HP’s been saying it’ll use webOS on a tablet since the first moment it bought Palm, but it looks like things are starting to pick up ahead of that “early 2011” due date — in an email to the Palm Developer Community, HP’s Peter Helm says webOS will be used on “tablet-style devices similar to the iPad.” Check it:

Now that we are officially part of HP, we are going full speed ahead with our applications initiative. Our proprietary operating system, webOS, is now the OS that will be used in HP’s mobile devices. This includes mobile handsets as well as tablet-style devices similar to the iPad. We will accordingly leverage Palm’s ability to innovate and the scale of HP’s vast install base and distribution network previously unavailable to us.

Yeah, that’s pretty much the Rorschach test of seemingly-innocuous quotes; you can read it as anything from a meaningless passing reference to the market leader to an overt hint that we’ll be looking at an ARM-based device with a 9-inch display and a lengthy battery life. The possibilities are endless — let’s just hope whatever Palm and HP are actually working on delivers on the enormous promise of the platform.

[Thanks, Pierre-Marc]

HP says webOS tablets to be ‘similar to the iPad’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 15:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Theoretically, we think this could just be a really well-executed Photoshop mashup, but considering how good RIM is at keeping industrial design elements consistent from device to device, we tend to believe this alleged shot of a BlackBerry Storm3 in the wild. Specs are said to include a 3.7-inch display — up significantly from the Storm2’s 3.2-inch example and better suited to take on 2010’s top-tier touchphones — along with 8GB of onboard storage. We’d also heard in the past that the Storm3 would be slated for BlackBerry 6, a 5 megapixel cam, and a late-2010 launch on Verizon, and the new rumor of integrated mobile hotspot functionality would corroborate that a bit since Big Red’s really pushing that feature as a plan add-on these days. Torch owners, feeling any tinge of envy, or are you at peace with your decision?

BlackBerry Storm3 caught on camera? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 13:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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