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South Korea brings the big guns to the mobile OS knife fight

Publicly, Samsung and LG tersely supported Google's union with Motorola (which we've taken to calling Moogle) -- privately it appears the South Korean giants aren't as thrilled to be at the mercy of Mountain View's whim. Imagine their predicament if they were frozen out of Android tomorrow -- which is why the Korean government has stepped in to create its own OS. Kim Jae-hong, deputy minister from Seoul's Ministry of Knowledge Economy, thinks that American dominance in mobile software is generally a bad thing. The minister said that the country would "foster a habitat" for the open-source OS, which might mean incentivized pricing on these devices, and we're hearing a cloud-based Chrome OS is also in the offing. The biggest news Jae-hong slipped is that Samsung had been very dismissive of a Korean OS until it heard about the Google / Motorola deal. What a difference a Moogle makes, eh?

South Korea brings the big guns to the mobile OS knife fight originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Aug 2011 13:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Evernote Updated, No Longer Sucks On iPad

Evernote, the love-it-or-hate-it note-taking app, has received a big update on the iPad and the Mac. The Mac version brings Lion-friendly features like full-screen mode and hard-to-distinguish monochrome icons along with a neat new All Notes view, but it’s users of the iPad app that will be happiest: Evernote for the iPad finally doesn’t suck. The [...]

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Keep golf scores with Birdies for iPhone

Birdies, by StackTracks, is a golf scoring app for the iPhone. In addition to traditional golf, Birdies will keep scoring for disc golf and miniature golf as well. Birdies. It’s the best golf scoring app available. Quit fumbling with those tiny pencils and paper cards, because you’ll be amazed... More →

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Auslogics Disk Defrag 3.2 gets smarter, faster

Auslogics Disk Defrag has been part of my system maintenance toolkit for quite some time. With the release of version 3.2, it's now even better at tidying up and optimizing your system's hard disk drives. In addition to a cleaner, easier-to-use interface, Disk Defrag 3.2 offers improved single file and folder defragging, better processing of multiple disks, a simplified scheduling screen, and more informative tool tips. Auslogics has also fine-tuned the program's defragmentation and file consolidation algorithms.

For laptop users, there's a new option to lock the program if your system is running on battery power -- so scheduled operations don't kick in and drain your power source at an inopportune moment. If you happen to have an SSD installed in your PC, you can head to the Disk Defrag options and exclude it from scanning (many think that defragmenting an SSD is a very bad idea).

Auslogics Disk Defrag is a free download and works with most versions of Windows.

Auslogics Disk Defrag 3.2 gets smarter, faster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skyliners Tightrope Walking Is Insane but Not Certifiably So [Video]

Some people might imeediately think of words like "crazy" or phrases like "batshit insane" when they see this "Skylining" video out of France, but those are misnomers. True crazies wouldn't use a safety line. [Skyliners Paris Trailer via kottke] More »

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Poll: Planning to leave webOS for iPhone or iPad?

Are you planning to leave webOS for iPhone and iPad? webOS users: Now that HP has decided to bloody well abandon Palm Pre, Veer and TouchPad users... More →

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Tarzan Ball is a tricky hook-and-pull physics game

So, you're a ball. A Tarzan Ball, to be precise. You've earned the nickname thanks to your astonishing ability to shoot out a lengthy 'vine' (I hope it's a vine) at objects, and then pull yourself towards those objects.

That's a handy ability to have, especially since you've got no legs, no arms, and no other means of transportation. In Tarzan Ball, the rope is everything. But you don't just swing around the screen aimlessly - that wouldn't be much of a game now, would it?

Instead, your goal in life is to collect "targets". Each level has one of these "targets" hidden away somewhere on the screen, usually behind some kind of barrier. Once you navigate close enough to the target, you can shoot your rope at it and just reel it in. That's when you pass the level.

You can't die in this game, but it can still be very frustrating. It's actually one of the tougher games I've posted recently. Still, if you enjoy physics games, this one is quite nicely made.

[This is actually the sequel to IQ Ball, which we covered last year! -Ed]

Tarzan Ball is a tricky hook-and-pull physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: The webOS triangle

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

HP's decision to discontinue production of webOS devices has been widely seen as the final nail in the promising operating system's coffin. Statements from HP on the future of webOS app development sound absurd in the current context. How can, for example, HP continue to promote the webOS app catalog as it has pledged to do when there are no ongoing devices on which those apps can run? How would developers even test apps?

The answer may lie in a complex ongoing reorientation of the webOS triangle consisting of the HP corporate entity, PSG (Personal Systems Group, HP's PC business) and webOS. HP hasn't said exactly what it is doing with webOS. However, the combination of publicly expressing commitment to the operating system while dismantling its own devices points strongly to licensing. In fact, it's highly consistent with it; if HP simply wanted to wage war with (or sell) Palm's patent pool, it wouldn't need webOS developers any more. HP made no secret of its interest in licensing webOS while it was still producing devices based on that operating system. As Switched On discussed last month, though, there is a long, bleak history chronicling the difficulty in building devices based on an OS that a company is licensing. In other words, pursuing both of the contrasting business models of Apple and Microsoft results in inherent conflict.

Continue reading Switched On: The webOS triangle

Switched On: The webOS triangle originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 21 Aug 2011 17:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota pulls Cydia theme and ads to appease Apple

In news that will no doubt shake the very bedrock of your belief system, Apple has asked Toyota to remove its Scion theme and its advertising from ModMyi, a Cydia repository. The Scion theme has been available for weeks, but after it received a ton of press in the last couple of days, Apple finally lashed out.

It's not like we should be surprised, considering Apple has claimed in the past that jailbreaking is illegal -- but at the same time, did the Cupertino cronies hear about the ruling that made circumventing DRM, and thus jailbreaking, legal? Anyway, whether Toyota was supporting illegal, legal, or deliciously gray and ambiguous, activity, it doesn't matter: Apple asked Toyota to remove the theme, and Toyota graciously bent over and capitulated.

This story raises a much more interesting topic, though: this is the first time a multinational company has publicly acknowledged and embraced the jailbreak community. Considering jailbreaking is technically legal, and Cydia's creator, Jay Freeman, estimates that up to 9% of OS devices are jailbroken, it simply makes good, commercial sense to target jailbreakers with ads. Toyota was simply trying to make some money, for shame!

As long as Apple continues to throw around its increasingly-expansive mass, the legality of jailbreaking will continue to be inconsequential. It will be interesting to see if another big company dares embrace the jailbreak community after this, too.

Toyota pulls Cydia theme and ads to appease Apple originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 05:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint Mobile IP Relay app alludes to Samsung Galaxy S II, Samsung M930, and Kyocera Oblique

A quick peek at the description for the Sprint Mobile IP Relay app, designed to allow users with hearing disabilities to place relay calls using text on Android phones, gives us a look at some upcoming devices -- Notably the Samsung Galaxy S II.  Listed along side things we know and love like the Optimus S and HTC EVO 4G, we see the Galaxy everyone is aching for, as well as the mid-range Samsung M930 (a qwerty slider said to be heading to Boost Mobile) and the decidedly low-end Kyocera Oblique.

Nothing here is really new -- and anyone can put anything they want in their app's description. But seeing it in print -- err pixels -- is bound to make more than a few happy.  The Galaxy S II is coming, and I know quite a few folks on Sprint ready for it.

Submitted via the Android Central app

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Google bids $900 million for Nortel's patents to protect against litigation trolls

Nortel, once one of the biggest telecoms company in the world but now in the death throes of bankruptcy, has selected Google's $900 million bid for its patent portfolio as the stalking horse bid. This doesn't mean that Google will automatically win Nortel's massive array of telecoms patents, but it does mean that Google is the preferred buyer.

Google, which has a history of lobbying for patent law reform, has been the target of many patent litigation suits. Google's relative infancy means that it has a lot less patents in the vault than big-hitters like Microsoft, Oracle and IBM, and buying Nortel's portfolio of 6,000 patents could provide better protection against patent litigation in the future. It's worth noting that both Apple and RIM have showed interested in the portfolio, too.

Mashable speculates that the patents -- which are nearly all telecoms-related -- will be used to defend against Oracle's attacks on Android's use of Java. We reckon that Google is simply looking to cover its future endeavors in the world of networking. In the absence of patent law reform, and continued threats to net neutrality, owning a bunch of telecoms patents sounds like a very sensible move.

Google bids $900 million for Nortel's patents to protect against litigation trolls originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google chimes in on Lodsys patent issue, asks USPTO to re-examine their validity

Google has broken their silence on the whole Lodsys software patent nonsense, and are asking the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) to re-examine the validity of both patents in question.  This is in contrast to the way Apple has handled this situation, they have made the argument that the patents are covered by their license with Lodsys and developers for the iOS platform are immune to litigation.  Google is saying that the patents should have never been issued in the first place.  In a statement to Wired, Google senior VP and general counsel Kent Walker said:

We’ve asked the US Patent Office to reexamine two Lodsys patents that we believe should never have been issued. Developers play a critical part in the Android ecosystem and Google will continue to support them.

Lodsys is currently suing 11 application developers for infringment, saying that their patents cover in-app payment technology.  Of the 11, Rovio, and Illusion Labs have released applications for the Android platform.  There is no wanton suing of Android specific developers -- yet. 

Google's stance that these patents are invalid goes along with their strategy of the patent system being broken and in need of a revamp.  But even if the USPTO grants the re-examination request, that doesn't mean they will be invalidated.  A quick look at the current crop of lawsuits and trade dress actions makes that evident.  We wish Google, and the developers involved, the best of luck.

Source: Wired; via TiPb

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Shot Shot Pirate is a fun, simple physics game

Shot Shot Pirate is very satisfying, because each level is short and to the point. You know what you have to do and you just do it.

As you may have gathered from the name, you're cast in the role of a pirate. Your goal is to shoot at a diamond and make it fall off a tower of bricks. The height of the tower changes as you progress through the levels. It's not enough to just make the diamond fall off the tower of bricks - it has to fall below a certain line (drawn on the screen) for the level to be completed.

There are also different kinds of bricks, with some heavier than others, and different kinds of ammo. You only get a certain amount of ammo for each level, and when it's gone, you lose. But don't worry! If you don't make it on the first try, it's very easy to restart the level and just give it another shot (or three).

All in all it's a cute game. I've seen similar games with better graphics and music, but the game delivers on its main promise - a few minutes of pure time wasting!

Shot Shot Pirate is a fun, simple physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lenovo Thinkpad Tablet ? The Cure for Business?

Is the corporate world ready for Android ? Is Android ready for the corporate world? Lenovo seems to want us to think so. Due for release on August 23, the new Thinkpad Tablet is being pitched firmly at the corporate market. This 10.1″ WXGA , IPS, Gorilla Glass unit comes with Android 3.1, 64GB storage, [...]

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Chrome 11 beta adds new experimental APIs for proxies, Web navigation

Google Chrome 11 -- which just recently made the move to the browser's beta channel -- has received a minor update that gives developers access to two new APIs.

The first is a full-featured proxy API, which will, for example, allow users to set different proxy servers for normal browsing and Incognito mode. Proxy auto-config scripts are also supported by the API.

The second -- Web Navigation Extension -- is a bit more expansive. This API will allow devs to build everything from more powerful safe browsing extensions -- like Traffic Light -- to data analysis and reporting extensions.

Both APIs are currently experimental, so you'll need to enable them on the about:flags page to try out any relevant extensions. Apart from a proxy example built by Google and shipped with the Chromium source, we're not aware of any examples just yet, however. We'll let you know when we spot any slick, new extensions which do surface.

Chrome 11 beta adds new experimental APIs for proxies, Web navigation originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget's back to school guide 2011: headphones

Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we're giving your ears some love with a plethora of headphones that will keep you rocking around campus -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back -- at the end of the month we'll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides -- and hit up the hub page right here!

Whether you're dubstepping, duck walking or just plain sprinting to and from classes, you may want to add a soundtrack to your campus travels with some slick new headphones. Although, with so many choices and styles it can be a bit overwhelming to find a set that's right for you. Luckily, we're here to help! Don't forget to enter our giveaway as well if you want a shot at winning your own set B&W's brand spankin' new C5 in-ears -- not to mention more than $3,000 worth of gadgets that are sure to induce an extreme case of Gadget Acquisition Syndrome!

You'll find some of our own recommendations just past the break, and another chance to enter our back to school giveaway. Simply leave a comment below to be entered to win, and click on over to our giveaway page for all the details.

Continue reading Engadget's back to school guide 2011: headphones

Engadget's back to school guide 2011: headphones originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Supposed specs of upcoming Samsung gear outed by Lithuanian retailer

Samsung has been leading the global charge to put an Android phone into everyone's hands, and if we're to believe some specs listed by Mobili Linija, an online retail shop from Lithuania, we have a slew of new models with some great specs coming.  They have listed details for seven new phones and two new tablets, with the words dual-core and Super AMOLED thrown around liberally.  Hit the break to see the list, and a bit 'o commentary.

Source: Mobili Linija; via SamFirmware

More: Oled-info.  Thanks, Nick!

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First pics of Ice Cream Sandwich leaked, running on Nexus S

The first photos of a phone running Ice Cream Sandwich have been leaked out, and we get to see a little bit of the UI running on a Samsung Nexus S (T-Mobile USA).  Visually, things look a bit different, with a less AMOLED-friendly blue color scheme and a revamped launcher and app drawer.  A little back story goes along with this from the fellow who leaked it out -- expect a native panorama mode for the camera (finally), and an all-new look to the GMail app. The OS will now have Google Shopper integrated, and NFC-enabled devices will be able to utilize those features, and after it launches on the next Nexus device, it's expected to roll out for the Nexus S.

If these shots are legit, and all things point to them being so, things are still in the early stages.  We also don't get to see anything incriminating or confidential, so there's a lot of blacked out space in the pictures.  This is to be expected, as we're not supposed to be seeing these just yet.It's not a lot to go on, but just seeing it on a device is exciting enough.  Jump past the break to see the rest of the pics.

And the really big thing we don't yet see is how all this ties the phone and tablet OSes together. Stay tuned, folks.

Source: AndroidPolice; RootzWiki

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New Copper Underwear Eliminates the Fungus and Bacteria from Your Dirty Ass [Fashion]

Chilean company Monarch has developed new underwear that's made out of copper. And if that sounds uncomfortable, don't worry! It's totally not. Turns out copper can kill 99% of the bacteria and fungi that "naturally" develops down there. More »

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Game Review ? Dead Space HD

One of the more popular game genres in the market today is survival horror. For those who have become a fan of the Dead Space series in the console or PC, much is expected in this release of Dead Space HD for the iPad. You play the role of an engineer tasked to explore the [...]

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The Desperate, Terrifying Last Words of the Crashed Air France Flight Pilots [Airplanes]

On June 2009, an Air France Airbus 330 crashed in the Atlantic Ocean killing 228 people. According to an investigation, it was a pilot's mistake. This is a recording of the conversation between the Captain and the Junior Pilot, just before crashing. More »

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Discount education-only iMac appears, makes you wish you'd opened that institute of higher learning

A new $999 iMac popped up on Apple's site this week -- great news if you or someone you love owns an educational establishment. The cheap education-only all-in-one boasts a 21.5 inch display, a 3.1GHz Intel Core i3 processor, and 250GB of storage. As MacRumors points out, however, there's no mention of a Thunderbolt port amongst the specs listed, so maybe this whole running a school thing isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Discount education-only iMac appears, makes you wish you'd opened that institute of higher learning originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 08 Aug 2011 09:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Newly public FCC docs break down the new Droid Bionic, inside and out

Not that we haven't seen the long-overdue revamped Motorola Droid Bionic about 16 different ways now, but a handful of documents at the FCC unsealed today give us yet another look at the upcoming Verizon smartphone.

In addition to more exterior shots, we get a look at the internals of the phone we've come to know by its Targa codename. And, surprise, surprise, it looks like a smartphone on the inside.

And if you're really looking for the nerdy details, the FCC's also unsealed its testing photos for the Droid Bionic. Interesting stuff, actually. Now if only we had an official release date.

Source: FCC; via Droid Bionic Forums
Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

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White House's New Techie-in-Chief Is an Ex-Microsoft Man [Government]

Steven VanRoekel, current managing director of the FCC and former Microsoft executive, will become the Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the federal government this Thursday and be responsible for the country's $80 billion-a-year IT budget. More »

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Caption Contest: Bakebot learns to actually bake things, feed the looming robot army

Aww, look! Bakebot's soooo cute! He's actually cooking things these days, thanks to MIT grad student Mario Bollini, who recently upped the creature's skill level in an effort to grab more calories with less effort. Little did he know, however, that teaching a self-contained machine how to feed the future uprising wasn't exactly the best long-term move. No, that creeping feeling of fear isn't unwarranted.

Darren: "01001111 01001101 01000111 00100000 01000011 01001111 01001111 01001011 01001001 01000101 01010011!"
Terrence: "Bakebot's lessons with the master chef were going so well, until his Bork to binary translator failed"
Brian: "Bakebot love kitten. Bakebot eat kitten."
Brad: "Stephanie! Johnny no add vanilla!"
Sean: "It's so unfair! I have eight other senses, but I'd trade them all -- even smision -- to be able to taste."
Christopher: "Rachel Ray hit a wall with 15 minute meals, so we found a faster, more charismatic replacement. Meet Rachel Number 5."
Michael: "Here I thought the robot apocalypse would be powered by nuclear fusion and laser beams, turns out it'll be running on profiteroles and delicious cakes."
Jon: "I'm toasting bread in my head right now...seriously"
Zach: "You want me to wear a what? Why don't you trying sticking a fan in your scalp. Then you can tell me to wear a hairnet."
Joseph: "How do ya like my ganache now, Martha???"
Daniel: "A robot may not injure a cupcake or, through inaction, allow a cupcake to come to harm."
Richard Lai: "How do you like them cookies, Firefox?"
Jose: "How am I supposed to add a teaspoon of sugar with this underperforming Kinect camera?"
Kevin: "Enough with the cakes, what was Leia saying about our only hope?"
Dana: "I. Love. A. Little. Bourbon. In. My. Cookies. Don't. You."
Richard Lawler: "Death to all humans. Sweet, delicious, chocolatey... death."
Don: "Just don't call him Iron Chef. He hates that."
Billy: "Ace of Cakes was canceled because I annihilated the host.. now I must weaponize that Millennium Falcon cake."
Zachary: "Jobless MIT grad narrowly avoids soup kitchen, emerges from basement with replacement mother."

Caption Contest: Bakebot learns to actually bake things, feed the looming robot army originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 07 Aug 2011 11:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OMG/JK: An Argument Over Microsoft?s And Google?s Argument Over Patents

This week's episode of OMG/JK is a bit top-heavy. There simply wasn't a ton of news this week beyond the one giant fight that broke out between Google and Microsoft over the patent issue. Channeling that spirit, Jason and I get into an argument about the argument. Is Google right? Is Microsoft right? Do they both look like huge asses?

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Skype 5.3 for Windows released, improves mobile video call quality

Version 5.3 of Skype for Windows has just been released, with the main emphasis of the new release being improved call quality, and the quality of video received by mobile Skype users. Presumably one party of the video call must be using Skype for Windows 5.3, though.

Beyond improved call quality, not much has changed. You can now see your friends' presence icons when contact cards are collapsed, and the topic editing button is now always visible on the conversation header. For a complete list of changes, hit up the Skype Garage blog.

Download Skype 5.3 for Windows

Skype 5.3 for Windows released, improves mobile video call quality originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ask DLS: Cross-platform multiplayer games that work on Android and iOS

Here's one for our knowledgeable commenters: I recently bought my girlfriend an iPad. I, on the other hand, own an Android device. And now we're looking for games we can play using both devices.

There's no dearth of multiplayer games either for Android or for iOS. But finding multiplayer games that can cross the platform boundary is an entirely different matter.

Jay recently posted Words with Friends which is one such game. It's actually an ideal example, because it's turn-based so you don't necessarily both have to be next to your device at the same time (great for long-distance gaming).

But what other examples are there? What multiplayer games are there that let iOS users play with Android users?

[Why am I now humming 'Ebony and Ivory'? -Ed]

Ask DLS: Cross-platform multiplayer games that work on Android and iOS originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Thumb Keyboard receives significant update to v4.3.2

Finding the right keyboard for your tablet can be tough. It's like shopping for a smartphone really, different strokes for different folks and not any one app is going to cover everybody. That said; Thumb Keyboard certainly tries to cover all bases and requirements a user may run into and the latest update shows adds some pretty interesting features as you see in the video but here's a run down of them all:

• Coverflow theme browser with 24 themes (more to come)
• Option to adjust the width of the split keyboard to the range of your thumbs!
• Customizable toolbar
• Option to change the secondary symbols on the letter keys
• Resizable font
• Text shortcut buttons (save and re-enter much used phrases)
• New prediction feature: predict next word based on previous one.
• Better prediction by the use of new dictionaries
• 4.3: new theme browser, lots of new themes, customizable sec. symbols
• 4.3.2: new landscape layout with cursor keys, new themes

Having been using Thumb Keyboard on my Motorola Xoom for the past 24 hours now, I can safely say that it is leaps and bounds better then the built-in keyboard. Having customizable options is pretty awesome, especially being able to adjust the height of the keyboard, as standard settings for me seem too large. Add the themes added by WJD Designs and you've got a whole new look to your tablet. If you're shopping around for a new keyboard layout, give Thumb Keyboard a look. Screen shots and download links can be found beyond the break.

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Ricoh GXR Leica M-mount module gets a September ship date, lets you swap lenses with one sensor

Sure, you've seen cameras with interchangeable lenses -- you might even own one or two -- but a cam that lets you swap out the sensor with the lens? Now that's pretty unique. Ricoh's GXR has been around since 2009 and does exactly that, with four lens / sensor combos, including two zooms and a pair of fixed lenses. Now, the company has confirmed that its new Leica M-mount module will ship on September 9th, letting you use your existing Leica lenses with the GXR. The module includes a 12.3 megapixel APS-C sensor and has a 27.8mm Leica M bayonet mount, with support for RAW image capture and 720p video. It also has an "open" price, which means it's still anyone's guess as to how much you'll be shelling over. But if you own a collection of Leica glass and are interested in experimenting with such a unique sensor-swapping camera system, you're probably somewhat open to open pricing.

Ricoh GXR Leica M-mount module gets a September ship date, lets you swap lenses with one sensor originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Opera 11.10 includes improved power saving features

Just recently, the Opera 11.10 release candidate was made available for download. It brought a handful of important feature additions -- like HTML5 File API support and IMAP enhancements -- and loads of bugfixes. Nestled in amongst the other details in the Opera team's announcement is one more interesting tidbit: Opera 11.10 offers improved battery optimizations.

The timing here is certainly interesting, what with Microsoft's recent report on how much power the top five Web browsers consume. In its findings, Opera 11 was fairly low in the standings. While we've not seen any new benchmarks yet, we're curious to know whether the Opera 11.10 RC offers any significant gains.

If you're running Opera 11.10 on a laptop, let us know if you're seeing an improvement in your battery life while browsing!

Opera 11.10 includes improved power saving features originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vibrating glove prototype lets you hold on to that feeling

The secret to increasing tactile sensations? Good vibes, man. Georgia Tech scientists have unveiled a prototype glove that helps improve the feeling of its wearer by adding vibration. The gloves add physical "white noise," improving the sense of touch in the fingertips of the user. The whole thing is still in the early stages of testing, but the glove's inventors believe that it might some day find real world applications amongst people in occupations that require a good deal of manual dexterity and those with medical conditions that have dulled the feeling in their hands.

Continue reading Vibrating glove prototype lets you hold on to that feeling

Vibrating glove prototype lets you hold on to that feeling originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 04:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Buffalo CloudStor CS-WV/1D Review

After posting the ?13 Things to Consider Before Buying a Digital Media Storage System? article we sent out a request to a variety of home media server providers requesting support for a review of their offerings. Buffalo Technology responded by providing one of their latest home media servers, the Buffalo CloudStor. I had the opportunity [...]

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Eco Pod waterproof case keeps your device dry while you're riding dolphins

When we're out on the water, we're constantly longing to take our phones and mp3 players for a swim with us... aren't you? Now we can enjoy a little "I'm on a Boat" when we're actually on a boat -- thanks to Grace Digital Audio's Eco Pod -- without worrying about our handheld's survival. The company announced today that its latest sand, shock and waterproof enclosure is now available -- and it even comes with a set of waterproof earbuds. While the added protection will set you back $50, the ability to bump Katy Perry while exploring a coral reef is, indeed, priceless. Scope out the full PR after the break for all the specifics, and get your white water rafting playlists ready.

Continue reading Eco Pod waterproof case keeps your device dry while you're riding dolphins

Eco Pod waterproof case keeps your device dry while you're riding dolphins originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 05:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ChromeLite: experience the ASCII Web of yesteryear

Have you ever wondered what the Web was like before the Mosaic Web browser? If you were born in the last 20-odd years, or you only discovered your inner geek recently, did you miss out on monochrome monitors and the dial-up BBS era? Well, here's your chance to get a sneak peek at history: grab the ChromeLite extension and marvel as the entire Web is transformed into ASCII characters.

Now, ChromeLite isn't really all that functional. For the most part, it simply strips images and converts text into a monospaced terminal font. There are a few Easter eggs inserted -- such as a fun message at the bottom of YouTube (image after the break) -- and some fun ASCII art, but that's about it. Rather oddly, most JavaScript continues to work -- so you can still enjoy Google Instant Search!

ChromeLite was actually made by Google as an April Fools' joke -- and indeed, an annoying 'you can uninstall this!' message appears at the top of every page -- but we're kind of hoping that Google, or another developer, takes ChromeLite and turns it into a real ASCII browsing extension with configurable settings. If anything, it will provide an easy way to save bandwidth and CPU time.

Continue reading ChromeLite: experience the ASCII Web of yesteryear

ChromeLite: experience the ASCII Web of yesteryear originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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7-inch Sharp Galapagos A01SH tablet sees formal introduction, hitting the US 'this year'

How much is that tablet in the window? The one with the 7-inch screen and Android 3.2? Hard to say, but it might be the Sharp Galapagos A01SH you're looking at. The slate, announced in earnest today, should fit comfortably betwixt the 5.5- and 10.8-inch variants of the lineup that are also expected to arrive sometime before the end of the year. The A01SH is accompanied by an NVIDIA Tegra 2 1GHz dual-core CPU with 1GB of RAM, a WSVGA display with 1,024 x 600 resolution, 8GB of internal memory alongside microSD support, 5MP / 2MP cameras along the back and front, and 7.5 hours of battery life. At a thickness of 12.9mm, it's not as thin as the Galaxy Tab 10.1, but it's no Toshiba Thrive, either. The tablet should reach stores in Japan by the end of the month, but the only timeframe given for a US release is before the ball drops in Times Square -- perfect timing for anyone who wants to ring in 2012 snuggled up to a new gadget.

7-inch Sharp Galapagos A01SH tablet sees formal introduction, hitting the US 'this year' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Aug 2011 08:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How Secure is My Password lets you know just that

We've all heard it before; you need to select a lengthy password, one that's hard to guess. Not a dictionary word. And it has to have some capital letters in it too, and some digits, and a symbol or two won't hurt either.

That's a handy set of rules to keep in mind, but How Secure is My Password helps us understand why they're important.

It's basically like a full-screen version of one of those password-strength meters websites sometimes use. But instead of showing you a bar going from "weak" to "strong", it shows you an estimation of how long your password would take to crack. That's a much more visceral way to understand why your password is strong.

For example, when I entered "rabbit", it came back with "your password is one of the 500 most common passwords. It could be cracked almost instantly". "rabbit5" would take two hours, "$rabbit5" would take 38 days, and "$rabbitZ5" would take 237 years. It's quite enlightening to see what a difference three simple characters can make.

How Secure is My Password lets you know just that originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 05 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jetbus is a retro-tastic physics game, with a bus

Once upon a time, there used to be a DOS game with a caveman and a human powered helicopter. The caveman would shuttle around the screen, madly trying to get customers to where they wanted to go.

Jetbus is not that game, but it's obviously inspired by it. You're driving a yellow school bus which has jets. I guess the jet engine takes quite a bit of space inside the bus, because you can only pick up one person at a time.

There are several doors on the screen, each with its own number. As you pick up a person, the status bar at the bottom of the screen shows you which number door you have to take them to.

You must fly your bus carefully, because if it gets bumped around too much, you lose. You earn money on each level, and can visit the garage to buy better jets and damping, power-ups, or even a whole new vehicle.

So while this game isn't made as well as the original that inspired it, it does provide a few minutes of fun. And now, which one of you guys remembers the original and feels like pointing to it in the comments?

Jetbus is a retro-tastic physics game, with a bus originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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TripAdvisor app for Windows Phone 7 now available

TripAdvisor, the popular travel planning tool, has just launched an app for Windows Phone 7. Just like the mobile website, the app allows you to search for anything travel-related -- from hotels and flights to restaurants and points-of-interest to visit once you reach your destination.

Geolocation is supported, which allows TripAdvisor to quickly locate places nearby. But while that's a neat feature, it's also a bit of a downer -- because, really, it's about the only feature TripAdvisor for WP7 brings to the table that its mobile Web app doesn't already offer (its browser-based geolocation doesn't work with WP7 at the moment).

While it's nice to see Windows Phone 7 users getting some big-name apps, it'd be even nicer if we saw some packing a bit more swagger.

Still, TripAdvisor for WP7 might just be worth installing on your device if you're frequently on the go -- at least until a better browser arrives with the Mango update.

Gallery: TripAdvisor for Windows Phone 7

TripAdvisor app for Windows Phone 7 now available originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AVG launches LiveKive cloud sync and backup tool

A while back, we told you about AVG's new LiveKive service, a new cloud synchronization and backup tool which appears to have been named after a vat in which mash is made during the brewing process. But enough about AVG's odd choice of monikers -- LiveKive has launched and is now ready to accept your files into the AVG cloud.

LiveKive takes aim at services like Dropbox and SugarSync, though at the moment it's lagging behind in terms of features. As it stands, LiveKive is only compatible with Windows and OS X. There are no mobile clients yet, though with AVG's strong presence on Android we wouldn't be surprised to see an app arrive in the near future.

The company is offering a heck of a deal right now, however. If you sign up for a paid account during the launch phase, you can score unlimited storage for $80 for a whole year. You can't even score 50GB per year at that price from Dropbox, so if cost and space are more important to you than cross-platform availability, LiveKive might be worth checking out.

If you're not interested in ponying up any cash at the moment, you can still get a 5GB account free of charge. Just head on over, and create a LiveKive account.

AVG launches LiveKive cloud sync and backup tool originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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