Monthly Archives: October 2011

Must See HDTV (October 31st – November 6th)

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

The World Series is finally over and TV schedules have settled into their normal fall pace. Fox has its lineup set and is finally ready to air new episodes of Bones again, while those waiting more Blu-ray 3D movies have several to choose from. Both the Toy Story and Shrek series come home in the format this week along with the debut of Cars 2, and Uncharted 3 offers 3D support on the gaming side. Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Burn Notice
If you listen to the HD podcast, then you know this is one of our favorite shows. Michael Westin is a “burned” spy who bides his time trying to get back into the CIA by picking up odd jobs helping people around Miami Macguyver-style. Throw in a best friend played by Bruce Campbell and a health assortment of explosions and gunfire, and you’ve got everything we could ask for — except better picture quality, but you can’t have everything.
(November 3rd, USA, 10PM)

LSU vs. Alabama
This is what we like the most about college football. We’re deep enough into the season that a 1 vs 2-ranked matchup actually means something and we couldn’t have two better teams ready to face off. Both have won national championships, both are incredibly talented and well coached. Who will win? we’ll have to watch to find out.
(November 5th, CBS, 8PM)

Hell on Wheels
So far AMC’s switch from broadcasting classic movies to mixing in original programming has had its standout successes (Mad Men, Breaking Bad), decent efforts (Breakout Kings) and disappointments in The Killing and The Walking Dead. Sunday night it launches its latest effort, Hell on Wheels, which follows a former Confederate soldier hunting down the Union soldiers responsible for killing his wife. the name comes from the Nebraska town he ends up in along his quest that follows the construction of the railroad across the country. an interesting concept to be sure, we’ll have to lay our eyes on it to know which category this one falls into — check out a trailer embedded after the break.
(November 6th, AMC, 10PM)

Continue reading Must See HDTV (October 31st – November 6th)

Must See HDTV (October 31st – November 6th) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

At Houston Bank, Disaster Recovery Goes Virtual

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Woodforest National Bank implements a replication system for its virtualized data center in the Gulf Coast
Computerworld News

Barnes & Noble Could Unveil New Nook Color at Tablet Event

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Barnes & Noble sent out invitations on Monday to a press conference that will be held on November 3rd in New York City. The event will focus on the company’s Nook eReader devices, although it is unclear what will be announced.

FOXNews.com

Opposition to Stop Online Piracy Act grows

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

A coalition of technology trade groups today joined the growing chorus of voices opposing a recently filed anti-piracy bill that they contend is far too heavy-handed.
Computerworld News

Blood From a Stone? No. Blood From Rice? Sure

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Researchers in China believe they have found a way to produce and harvest large quantities of Human Serum Albumin, or HSA — a blood protein that is widely used in drug and vaccine production – from ordinary grains of rice.

FOXNews.com

Minecraft Wins Gaming Arts Award

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

An anonymous reader writes “The BBC reports that Minecraft has won a new arts award for games, beating the likes of Portal 2 and Ilomilo. The prize was announced at the finale of the GameCity videogame culture festival in Nottingham. From the article: ‘Minecraft does involve traditional staples of gaming, including night-roaming monsters and the chance to fight multiplayer battles online. However, it was ultimately selected on the basis of its mood and ability to encourage gamers to become creative. “It’s the broadest definition of art that you can have,” said Mr. Hall.’”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Slashdot

Siri now flirting with older iPhones–for real

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Developers are getting closer to finding a way to get Apple’s iPhone 4S exclusive Siri voice assistant feature working on older iPhones, iPods, and iPads.
CNET News.com

HTC Rezound Appears On Video And Signage Ahead Of Launch

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

By now it’s no secret that HTC’s Verizon-bound Rezound will debut shortly, but the stars seem to have aligned recently, because we’re absolutely swimming in Rezound-related news. Most notably, a video demoing the Rezound in action has begun to make the rounds, and it gives us our best glimpse yet Verizon’s next holiday heavyweight.
TechCrunch

Robots are taking mid-level jobs, changing the economy

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Computers and robots will replace humans in enough jobs that they will dramatically change the economy, said industry watchers and MIT economists at a robotics symposium Monday. And, they said, the transition has already started.
Computerworld News

SEC Watch: Music App Developer Smule Raises $12 Million

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Smule, the music app developer behind I am T-Pain and others, has raised another $ 12 million in funding, according to a recent SEC filing. The company previously raised $ 13.5 million in funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Granite Ventures, Maples Investments and Shasta Ventures.

Smule is the developer behind a number of popular mobile music apps including I Am T-Pain, Ocarina, Leaf Trombone, Glee Karaoke, MadPad, and Magic Fiddle.
TechCrunch

Blog – Another Loan Guarantee Recipient Goes Bankrupt

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Flywheel-based electricity storage company Beacon Power can’t pay its bills.

Beacon Power, a company that makes flywheels designed to provide brief bursts of power to stabilize the grid, declared bankruptcy yesterday, according to Reuters. The company had received a $ 43 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy last year. It used most of that money to build a 20-megawatt energy storage facility in New York.

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Military Labs Develop Caffeinated Jerky and “Zapplesauce”

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

A military research facility outside Boston has come up two new super foods for MREs (Meal, Ready to Eat). Soon soldiers will able to stay awake during guard duty thanks to caffeinated meat sticks. They’ll have the energy for extended patrols from a “super-charged” applesauce. From the article: “‘There is a lot of science that goes into this,’ said David Accetta, a spokesman for the Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center, where every item put into an MRE is tested and tasted. ‘And that’s what a lot of people don’t realize. It’s not just a bunch of cooks in the kitchen making up recipes.’”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Slashdot

Re-evaluating the Benefits of Cancer Screening

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

uncleO writes “An article in the NY Times describes two studies that weigh the harm caused by cancer screenings against the benefits they provide. From the article, ‘Two recent clinical trials of prostate cancer screening cast doubt on whether many lives — or any — are saved. And it said that screening often leads to what can be disabling treatments for men whose cancer otherwise would never have harmed them. A new analysis of mammography concluded that while mammograms find cancer in 138,000 women each year, as many as 120,000 to 134,000 of those women either have cancers that are already lethal or have cancers that grow so slowly they do not need to be treated. … In recent years, researchers have found that many, if not most, cancers are indolent. They grow very slowly or stop growing altogether. Some even regress and do not need to be treated — they are harmless.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Slashdot

HTC reports record numbers, sells more phones than RIM

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

After reporting sales of 13.2 million smartphones during the third quarter, HTC is now the fourth largest smartphone vendor after having outpaced Research In Motion, according to market research company Canalys.
Computerworld News

ASUS’ Eee Pad plans: Transformer Prime landing November 9th, two Win 8 tablets coming in 2012

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

The Transformer Prime, with its quad-core silicon and tasty OS, has rightfully garnered much attention lately. A PowerPoint deck detailing ASUS’ Q3 earnings now gives us a peek at its Eee Pad strategy — confirming the aforementioned Prime’s November 9th release date, while also promising two more bot-powered slates in the first quarter of 2012. Of course, ASUS isn’t putting all of its eggs in the Android basket, as the same slide reveals that the Taiwanese firm will be getting its first two Windows 8 tablets to market by this time next year. So it seems that there will be an Eee Pad for all, whether you’re from Redmond or Mountain View. No need to shove, fellas, there’s room at ASUS’ tablet table for everybody.

ASUS’ Eee Pad plans: Transformer Prime landing November 9th, two Win 8 tablets coming in 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

New $89 open-source motherboard runs full Linux OS

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

An open-source hardware group on Monday announced an $ 89 credit-card sized motherboard based on an ARM processor that could be used for robotics, gaming and medical devices.
Computerworld News

iPhone 4S owners report dramatic battery drain

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Apple’s new iPhone 4S is running through its battery at a prodigious rate, according to reports on the company’s own support forum.
Computerworld News

Apple Store iOS app tipped for self-checkout update this week

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Apple is readying a self-checkout update to its Apple Store iOS app [itunes link], reports suggest, allowing shoppers to pick up and pay for accessories, peripherals and gadget cases in Apple Stores without needing any assistance from staff. The new retail store iOS app will charge purchases to a customer’s iTunes account, MacRumors‘ sources say, while more [...]
SlashGear

HP’s TouchPad Back For Sale at Best Buy

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Unceremoniously killed under HP’s former leadership in August after disappointing sales, the TouchPad is back for sale at Best Buy.

FOXNews.com

Eee Pad Transformer Prime on Nov 9 tips ASUS doc

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

ASUS’ Eee Pad Transformer Prime will launch on November 9, according to an investor conference presentation, with two further Eee Pad “hero products” expected in Q1 2012, as the company attempts to build on the success of the first-gen Transformer. Meanwhile, Windows 8 tablets are set to follow on later in 2012, according to the slide desk [pdf [...]
SlashGear

U.K. spy chief sees ‘disturbing’ volume of cyberattacks

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Attempts include a significant but unsuccessful cyberattack launched against the U.K. Foreign Office and other government departments this past summer.
CNET News.com

B&N NOOK event November 7: new NOOK Color expected

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Barnes & Noble has scheduled an event seemingly to launch the company’s new NOOK ereader, with the New York City press conference taking place on Monday, November 7. While the invite itself makes no mention of the ereader, the NOOK logo features prominently; leaks last week suggested that B&N would indeed launch the NOOK Color 2 [...]
SlashGear

Military Tech in Action

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Our picks of the best new images of the military in action, highlighting the technology that the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines deal with every day.

FOXNews.com

Another big cat awaits: Apple testing Mac OS X 10.8

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

9to5Mac is reporting that the Cupertino, Calif.-based company is already testing its next operating system version, based on traffic-source data gathered from its site.
CNET News.com

Teaching My 77 Year-Old Dad to Use the Apple iPhone’s Siri

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

I figured my dad would either love Siri, Apple’s new voice command assistant in his new iPhone 4S, or want to throw the phone against a tree. The result was somewhere in between.

FOXNews.com

Flywheel storage maker Beacon Power declares bankruptcy

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Beacon Power, which received a $ 43 million DOE loan guarantee from the same program Solyndra did, is bankrupt after running out of money.
CNET News.com

Disney-ABC Signs Streaming Deals With Amazon And Netflix

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Mark one up for Amazon…and mark one up for Netflix. The two company’s just announced separate streaming deals with the Walt Disney Co. that will provide subscribers with even more content from Mickey & Co. Under these agreements, both streaming services will see even more Disney/ABC content, expanding their respective libraries with current and past TV programming.
TechCrunch

Windows 8 desktop interface kills Aero for Metro, gets with the times

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Microsoft’s Windows 8 developer preview greeted us with an interface steeped in Redmond’s new Metro style — its tile-centric start screen is sleek, fresh, and downright pretty. Imagine our surprise then, when the preview’s desktop view punted us straight back to the contemporary “Aero” dressing of Windows 7. It’s not an ugly interface by any means, but shiny, translucent window frames are so last generation. Where’s the style? In the big M’s latest Building Windows 8 preview, of course. The MSDN blog’s latest Task Manager update shows the familiar feature in a brand-new Metro suit: flat, clean, and Aero free. The post doesn’t say much on the matter (nothing at all, in fact), but it’s nice to see the classic interface getting a facelift to match Microsoft’s new look. Want to see more? Hit the source link below, it’s got all the Metro window frames you could ask for.

Windows 8 desktop interface kills Aero for Metro, gets with the times originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

China Denies Hacking U.S. Satellites

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Beijing on Monday denied a U.S. commission’s claim that China may have been responsible for hacking incidents on U.S. environment-monitoring satellites, saying that the committee had “ulterior motives” in writing such a draft report.

FOXNews.com

Joerg Sprave finally embraces his inner zombie killer

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Joerg Sprave takes his sling shots very seriously. I have long said this is one of the dudes you want to look up when the zombie apocalypse hits and you need a guy that can make weapons for you. All this guy needs is some rubber bands, wood, and rocks or steel balls to make [...]
SlashGear

Ubuntu Linux maker Canonical targets smartphones, tablets, and smartTV

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

The smartphone world is dominated by Apple and Android with Windows Phone playing a distant third and then all others far behind the top three. Canonical, the makers of Ubuntu Linux are now saying that they will be taking on the top three firms in the smartphones and smartTV realm with a version of its [...]
SlashGear

Will Apple produce 3D maps as vivid as Siri is clever?

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Apple’s third acquisition of a mapping company has reportedly been confirmed. The buyout raises tantalizing questions about the possibility of a cartographic confection as delicious in its vividness as Apple voice-assistant Siri is snappy and sly in her query responses.
CNET News.com

AT&T plans to sell exercise apparel that tracks your vitals, performance

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

It’s not enough for for AT&T to simply sell cellphones, its emerging devices unit also traffics in everything from GPS dog collars to connected pill bottles. Now the company wants in on the fitness tracking craze. Forbes is reporting that Ma Bell will start offering apparel that could track GPS routes, heart rate and other vital stats — similar to the E39 shirt above from Zephyr and Under Armour. The clothing isn’t just for athletes though, the military, first responders and seniors could also benefit from the technology. Sadly, no firm release date or prices were announced, so don’t expect to wander into a Modell’s and pick up a wicking t-shirt that uploads your workouts to RunKeeper any time soon.

AT&T plans to sell exercise apparel that tracks your vitals, performance originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

UK Police Buy Covert Cellphone Surveillance System

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

digitig writes “UK Metropolitan Police have purchased a ‘covert surveillance technology that can masquerade as a mobile phone network, transmitting a signal that allows authorities to shut off phones remotely, intercept communications and gather data about thousands of users in a targeted area.’ Other customers apparently include ‘the U.S. Secret Service, the Ministry of Defence and regimes in the Middle East.’”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Slashdot

Sony eyes an exit from S-LCD joint venture with Samsung

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Sony and Samsung have been operating an LCD joint venture since 2004 called S-LCD. At this point Samsung holds 51% of the joint venture with Sony having 49% of S-LCD. Sony has not been doing well in the TV realm of late with loses in the segment that continue to increase. As a result of [...]
SlashGear

Blog – Hydrogen Geysers And Metallic Iron Could Explain Puzzling Hollows on Mercury

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

The strange features spotted by the MESSENGER spacecraft may be caused by hydrogen venting from the planet’s interior, says planetary geologist

Technology Review RSS Feeds

NASA engineer crafts Halloween costume with two iPads

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

I think the craftiest day for geeks may be Halloween. People go all out with the tech costumes that are so much cooler than being a zombie again. Take this costume made by Mark Rober using two iPads to make it look like he has a hole through his torso. He has an iPad on [...]
SlashGear

The Weight of an e-Book

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

whoever57 writes “According to Prof Kubiatowicz from Berkeley, each time an additional book is downloaded to an e-reader, the mass of the e-reader increases. The effect doesn’t really make the devices more difficult to carry: the professor calculates that 4GB of books would increase its weight by a billionth of a billionth of a gram— about the mass of a single virus or DNA molecule.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Slashdot

Test Could Show Which Cancers Will Respond to Chemotherapy

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Tumors closer to committing “cellular suicide” are more sensitive to conventional anticancer drugs.

A laboratory test that evaluates how close cancer cells are to a specific form of cell death could help oncologists predict which patients will benefit from chemotherapy drugs. Researchers tested samples from patients at several hospitals and showed that those whose cancer cells were on the edge of self-destructing responded better to various kinds of chemotherapy.

Technology Review RSS Feeds

Real-life ghostbusting at the Tally Ho tavern

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

It takes an old country restaurant, a few amateur investigators, and a bagful of consumer technology to assemble a TV-worthy ghost hunt. We tag along to see the results.
CNET News.com

Acer’s first venture into Windows Phone arrives in France as the Allegro

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Remember the Acer W4? After seeing it at IFA 2011, it seems that it’s finally ready to make some first impressions, and its blind date is with France. Known officially as the Allegro, Acer’s inaugural Windows Phone isn’t going over the top in the spec department: it has a 3.6-inch WVGA (800 x 480) display, 1GHz single-core Qualcomm MSM8255 CPU, 8GB internal storage, 5MP rear camera with LED flash and a 1,300mAh battery. However, a unique addition to this €299 ($ 425) device is a feature called Fast Charge, which allows the Allegro to get juiced up to 2.5 times faster than the rest of the company’s lineup. Expect the device to land in France in mid-November with two color options — white and dark blue iceberg. Just make sure, Acer, to walk your date all the way back home from dinner.

Acer’s first venture into Windows Phone arrives in France as the Allegro originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 00:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Pocket-lint | source Monwindowsphone (translated) | Email this | Comments
Engadget

Google handcarves 1,000-pound pumpkins for Halloween

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Proving that not everyone is working on Google+, several Google employees carved six vast pumpkins in order to create their Halloween doodle.
CNET News.com

ITG xpPhone 2 puts Windows 8 in your pocket

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

ITG, maker of the xpPhone - putting Windows XP into a smartphone-scale chassis - has returned with the successor, the xpPhone 2, and thanks to Windows 8‘s new Metro homescreen it looks a whole lot more usable. Fronted by a 4.3-inch display and measuring 140 x 73 x 17.5 mm, the xpPhone 2 is expected to go [...]
SlashGear

Samsung flexible display phones & tablets in 2012

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Samsung has reiterated plans to launch smartphones using flexible displays next year, with twistable tablets and other devices following on. “The flexible display, we are looking to introduce sometime in 2012, hopefully the earlier part” Samsung spokesperson Robert Yi confirmed during the company’s financial results call, PC World reports, going on to detail that “the application [...]
SlashGear

Dropbox for Teams offers businesses copious amounts of sharable storage

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Dropbox is an indispensable part of many a computer users’ arsenal, including several here at Engadget. But, the company hasn’t had a viable option for businesses who would have an obvious use for a tool that allows you to easily sync files between PCs, share them amongst users and always have backups in the cloud. The boys and girls at the Y Combinator startup know that there’s lots of money to be made in the enterprise space and that’s why they’ve unveiled Dropbox for Teams. The general experience is the same, but rather than individually managed chunks of storage, teams share one large repository, starting at 1TB for five users. The base plan costs $ 795 a year and additional users, which also includes 200GB of storage, can be tacked on for $ 125 annually. The business offering also includes special tools for administrators to add or delete users and dedicated phone support. Check out the full PR after the break.

Continue reading Dropbox for Teams offers businesses copious amounts of sharable storage

Dropbox for Teams offers businesses copious amounts of sharable storage originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 02:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Engadget

Apple Siri Television “guaranteed product” says source

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

Apple’s television plans are a case of “when” not “if” the latest rumors insist, with Steve Jobs’ well-quoted “I finally cracked it” comment believed to be referring to Siri replacing the traditional remote control rather than the TV hardware and design itself. ”Steve thinks the [TV] industry is totally broken” a source told the NYTimes, one of [...]
SlashGear

Microsoft Drops Suit Against Firm In Botnet Case

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

wiredmikey writes “Microsoft has dismissed a lawsuit against a company it contended a month ago was at the heart of the now-defunct Kelihos bonnet. In September, Microsoft named Dominique Piatti and his company dotFree Group SRO as controllers of the botnet. The move marked the first time Microsoft had named a defendant in one of its botnet-related civil suits. ‘Since the Kelihos takedown, we have been in talks with Mr. Piatti and dotFree Group s.r.o. and, after reviewing the evidence voluntarily provided by Mr. Piatti, we believe that neither he nor his business were involved in controlling the subdomains used to host the Kelihos botnet,’ blogged Richard Domingues Boscovich, Senior Attorney for Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit. ‘Rather, the controllers of the Kelihos botnet leveraged the subdomain services offered by Mr. Piatti’s cz.cc domain.’ In regards to Kelihos, Boscovich said Microsoft is continuing its legal fight against the 22 ‘John Does’ listed as co-defendants in the lawsuit.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Slashdot

The White House Responds To We the People Petition

Posted by Gsurface on October 31, 2011 No comments

First time accepted submitter Nysul writes “The White House, aiming to gather the opinion (or marketing data) of the internet nation, asked for our thoughts by creating the We the People site and now it has responded to some of the more popular petitions, such as marijuana reform and separation of church and state. You probably won’t be surprised at the answers.”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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