There’s a good chance that you, like us, enjoyed a certain Saturday Night Live sketch recently in which Weekend Update’s newly branded tech correspondent Randall Meeks gave his raw impressions of Google Glass — using a prop made of plastic and attached to a pair of sunglasses. There was a lot of shouting, twitching and, for us at least, laughing. Meeks is played by the incredibly talented Fred Armisen, also well-known for IFC’s surreally hilarious Portlandia. In reality, we learned, Armisen had never used Google Glass. That was a situation we were happy to fix.
Gallery: SNL’s Fred Armisen with Google Glass
Tag Archives: tries
Saturday Night Live’s Fred Armisen tries out Google Glass for real (video)
Samsung Galaxy S4 India launch weirdly tries ‘Gangnam Style’
A new YouTube video shows the hyped smartphone launch with a Bollywood actor performing “Gangnam Style” as “Samsung Style.” [Read more]
In new iPhone 5 ad, Apple tries to get the feeling back
In a renewed tug at heartstrings and purse strings, Apple’s new ad says that more pictures are taken with the iPhone than with any other camera. How does the company know? [Read more]
Hatebase Tries To Scan For Precursors of Genocide In Language
An anonymous reader writes “Hatebase, a new crowdsourced database of multilingual hate speech from The Sentinel Project, is an attempt to create a repository of words and phrases that researchers can use to detect the early stages of genocide.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Lawmaker tries to ban drivers from wearing Google Glass
A West Virginia state legislator is looking to amend a no-texting-while-driving law by also banning drivers from using computerized glasses.
Computerworld News
Foursquare Aims At A Moving Target As It Tries To Close Another Round Of Funding
This year’s SXSWi did not the herald the next Big Thing in tech, as some guessed it wouldn’t, but it wasn’t always this way. In 2010, a year when people were a bit more optimistic about the new new thing, Foursquare was the boss. First appearing in 2009, by 2010 it came into its own as the mayor of the location wars with its app based around checking into places and then sharing that information with your friends.
Yahoo tries to clear air after telecommuting uproar
After creating a ruckus for calling all of its telecommuters back into the office, Yahoo is trying to quell some of the furor.
Computerworld News
Nokia Lumia 520 tries to arrive at FCC incognito, given away by codename

Nokia just tried to hustle a certain RM-914 model through the FCC, but thanks to an earlier glance at the Fed’s Indonesian counterpart POSTEL, we know we’re actually looking at the Lumia 520. As the Finnish outfit just announced, that model represents the new low-end of its Windows Phone 8 line, though it’s decently spec’d with a dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon CPU, 4-inch 800 x 480 IPS display and 1,430mAh battery. While eschewing LTE, the device will pack various WCDMA and HSPA+ frequencies for 3G, though in this case, we’re not looking at WCDMA 900 / 2100 bands, meaning it’s indeed a US model. Its next stop ought to be store shelves later this quarter — followed by your pocket, if the $ 183 or so WP8 handset rings your bell.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Nokia
Source: FCC
NASCAR Tries To Squelch Video of Spectators Injured By Crash
An anonymous reader writes “Dozens of fans attending a NASCAR race at Daytona Speedway were injured when a crash during the last lap triggered a chain reaction, culminating in the front section of Kyle Larson’s car ricocheting into the fence in front of the stands (Larson escaped injury). While the footage accompanying the article is dramatic enough, an even more riveting clip showing the chaotic scene in the stands from up close was posted on YouTube, but was taken down after NASCAR claimed it violated their copyright . YouTube has since restored the fan’s video. A NASCAR spokesman has issued a clarification, saying that the takedown request was done out of respect for those injured. The race was an opening act for the main event, the Daytona 500, which officials say will proceed as scheduled. ‘With the fence being prepared tonight to our safety protocols, we expect to go racing tomorrow with no changes,’ Speedway President Joie Chitwood told CNN.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Viggle Tries To Right The Ship After Failed GetGlue Merger, Revenue Rises 88%, Registered Users Up 42% For The Quarter
Social TV and the second screen experience is quickly catching on among viewers, but the space as a whole is still nascent. While many are eager for a better social TV experience, as there’s plenty of upside for fans, advertisers and broadcasters alike, collectively we’ve all been waiting for one of these players to hit critical mass.
When Viggle announced in November that it would be merging with GetGlue, it seemed as if the combination of two of the leading apps in the space would be a step in that direction. But, fast forward two months, and the Viggle/GetGlue merger was dead in the water.
TechCrunch
Amy Poehler tries to seduce Best Buy boys in Super Bowl
The “Parks and Recreation” star tries to make women feel so much more comfortable buying gadgets at Best Buy. Naturally, sex is her method. [Read more]![]()
CNET News
1366 Technologies Tries to Break the Solyndra Curse
Solar startup 1366 Technologies opens a demonstration plant, its last step before full-scale commercialization.
BEDFORD, Mass.–A small solar startup opens a new factory and gets ready to tap a Department of Energy loan guarantee with the hopes of competing with global manufacturers. This may sounds like the second coming of Solyndra, but the story of 1366 Technologies so far is very different.
iPotty tries to get your toddler to use the toilet
Cat tries to smuggle cell phone into prison
Brazilian police have detained a cat that entered a prison compound with a cell phone, accessories, and a saw strapped to its body. [Read more]![]()
CNET News
Pebble smartwatch stops by FCC, tries to prove it’s not vaporware
The Pebble smartwatch missed its original September target ship date. Then, it failed to ship in time to stuff stockings this holiday season. And, while we’ve seen them in person and the company claims a release is imminent, you’d be forgiven for being a bit skeptical. But there is reason to hope: the connected wristwear has officially received a thumbs up from the FCC. What’s more, the E-ink timepiece gets the full teardown treatment and comes complete with an owners manual. There’s no surprises here, but if you’re the impatient type, there should be a few things to keep you occupied until the next delay.
Filed under: Wearables
Source: FCC
Jolla won’t officially support Sailfish on the Nokia N9, suggests the community tries it anyway
Nokia N9 champions may be looking hopefully at Sailfish to revive their beloved MeeGo, but Jolla has reigned in those expectations by saying it won’t be officially supporting the device. Although the company won’t be responsible for updates or providing technical help, it claims there’s nothing but a voided warranty stopping the community from porting Sailfish to the abandoned handset. So, N9 owners, it’s up to you — if you want the MeeGo-based OS on your phone, you’ll need to do a bit of work for it.
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Nokia
Source: Jolla (Twitter)
Third Time’s A Charm? Amazon Tries Again With Launch Of New Vertical, Amazon Wine
Amazon.com announced the launch of a new marketplace today, Amazon Wine, which offers customers a selection of over 1,000 wines from various wineries around the U.S. The new store – Amazon’s third attempt at entering this market – arrives just ahead of the holidays, providing shoppers with tools that will help them locate the right type of wine, suggest food pairings, and offer tasting notes, as well as other wine details, like information about the winery or the total case production.
Felix Baumgartner tries again to go supersonic
The extreme skydiver will ascend today to the upper reaches of the atmosphere above Roswell, N.M., in a quest to come racing back down in a Mach 1 freefall. [Read more]![]()
CNET News
Lonely dolphin tries to get frisky with humans off Cayman Islands; experts warn he’s dangerous
Apple tries to prove it’s colorful in new iPod ad
Nokia was so wrong. Apple can be colorful, as its new, bouncy iPod ad proves. But there’s an odd proliferation of what look like Target logos. [Read more]![]()
CNET News
Samsung tries to patent the story of your life
A very peculiar patent application from Samsung contains an attempt to record everything — that would be everything — you do through your cell phone and present it in diary form. [Read more]![]()
CNET News
With tablet chip, Intel tries to lessen its dependency on PCs
With Intel unveiling a tablet processor this week, analysts say the chip maker may be on track to becoming less dependent on the struggling PC market.
Computerworld News
A Startup Tries to Make a Better Artificial Brain
Vicarious thinks it can mimic the brain to create software that learns to see as we do.
Your eyes work with your brain to teach you about the world. You learn to recognize objects, people, and places, and you learn to imagine new things. A startup called Vicarious thinks computers could learn to do likewise, and it’s building software that tries to process visual information the way the brain does.
RIPE NCC handing out its last block of IPv4 addresses, tries to fend off internet survivalism
In a world where IPv6 lives and IPv4 addresses are scarce, network providers must fight for survival… or at least, claim their IP blocks quickly. The RIPE NCC, the regional internet registry for Asia, Europe and the Middle East, warns that it’s down to assigning its last set of 16.8 million IPv4 addresses as of this weekend. That sounds like a lot, but we’d do well to remember that the registry churned through about 5.2 million addresses in just the past two weeks. What’s left won’t be around for long, folks. To cut back on the number of Mad Max-style battles for dwindling resources, RIPE NCC is rationing out IPv4 for local registries in 1,024-address chunks — and only to those who both have IPv6 assignments as well as proof of a need for IPv4. With just a bit more than half of the RIPE NCC’s customers currently on IPv6, that could still trigger a shortfall among networks that haven’t prepared for the internet protocol apocalypse. We’d advise that companies stock up on IPv6 supplies before launching the raiding parties.
Filed under: Networking, Internet, Alt
RIPE NCC handing out its last block of IPv4 addresses, tries to fend off internet survivalism originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 Sep 2012 18:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Amazon Tries Its Hand At More Original (And Crowdsourced) Content With Blackburn Burrow Digital Comic
Amazon, like its competitor Netflix, has been making some moves to increase the amount of exclusive, original content under its brand, and today it took one more step in that direction with the news that Amazon Studios will be launching its first made-in-house digital comic, a version of the “Blackburn Burrow” Civil War story.
Originally a screenplay from Jay Levy, the story is also being used by Amazon to try something else: crowdsourced creation. The company says that the idea to launch the digital comic comes out of its own community feedback — so essential to Amazon’s whole business model in the form of user reviews. The project, it says, will be used to continue to gather further feedback to decide whether it should then develop the Levy screenplay into a full motion picture, which would also be developed by Amazon Studios.
Room To Chat: Windows 8 Tries Its Hand At Group Messaging
Windows Phone has done an excellent job with messaging. Mango offered threaded messages to users, allowing you to convert from a Facebook chat, SMS, and Windows Live messenger all from the same conversation window. But in the next iteration of Windows Phone 8, Microsoft will take this to a new level in the mobile OS with a new feature called Room.
Room will essentially be a group chat, with the added ability to share content and calendar items.
TechCrunch
Microsoft tries to teach kids to code with Kodu Mars game
Both Microsoft and Apple have a long history of targeting children with products while they are still in school. By selling products cheaply to schools and students both companies have placed their gear in front of children, helping to ensure that when they leave school they’ll stick with what they’re familiar with. Microsoft is now
BitTorrent Tries To Appease Users By Making Torrent Ads Optional
hypnosec writes “BitTorrent has backtracked on their stance that uTorrent ads cannot be ‘turned off,’ following a user revolt. They announced that users can opt-out of sponsored torrents if they don’t wish to see them. Last weekend BitTorrent announced it would make uTorrent ad-enabled and that it would have a ‘sponsored torrents’ feature which couldn’t be disabled. As one would have imagined, this didn’t go over well with many users, and they let out their anger on the uTorrent forums. ‘You seriously think that uTorrent is going to survive now? The Admin/Devs are seriously deluded. Pure greed has turned your once loved app into a bloated and buggy cash cow,’ said one user.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Star Trek: The Next Generation Comic-Con trailer tries to make season one (and two) look exciting (video)
Undecided about buying the first season (or two) of the remastered Star Trek: The Next Generation? We understand, but perhaps this pair of trailers will change your mind. The increase in quality is obvious to see, with the recomposed special effects and 7.1 DTS HD even offsetting the pain of re-watching episodes like Shades of Gray and Haven. The second set also includes a reunion talk, interesting just to see how much the stars of the show have changed in the intervening two-and-a-half-decades. You can watch both after the break, but if you decide to hold off until season three, we won’t tell anyone.
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Star Trek: The Next Generation Comic-Con trailer tries to make season one (and two) look exciting (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 21 Jul 2012 05:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Microsoft tries to sweeten Office 365 deal for partners
Microsoft is modifying its Office 365 sales agreement with partners to motivate them to push the product more aggressively, the company announced on Monday.
Computerworld News
New Daily Deals Industry ‘Code of Conduct’ Tries To Stem Tide Of Bad Publicity
Groupon-style Daily Deals have had a mixed reception. For many consumers they can be amazing deals, and a great way for small businesses to grab new customers. For others it’s a nightmare of good deals that turn out to be bad, and customers flooding a business with unfounded requests. And let’s not even go into Groupon’s plummeting share price.
So it’s little wonder that the Daily Deals industry (I guess we can call it that now given the number of clone companies) has been feeling a little bruised. And hence the newly formed Global Daily Deal Association, largely driven out of the UK, has put some collective heads together to come up with the industries first ever “Code of Conduct”. Oh yes.
TechCrunch
Battery Maker A123 Tries to Jump-Start Its Business
Apple tries to stop US sales of Samsung's Galaxy S III
Apple has asked a court in California for a preliminary injunction against Samsung's Galaxy S III smartphone, ahead of its U.S. launch, claiming the device infringes at least two of its patents.
Computerworld News
How Facebook tries (and lies) a little too hard
Facebook is so intent at getting users to log on more often that, in my case at least, it offers what seems like patent deception as an inducement.
[Read more]
CNET News
Copyright Infringer Tries To Shut Down Reporting On Her Infringement
An anonymous reader writes “Further to the previous story on Slashdot where attorney Candice Schwager threw threats to sue a photographer who reported a DMCA violation against her for infringing use of his photography: Candice has now made a DMCA threat of her own against Petapixel, a photography site that reported on her infringement. The kicker? She’s sent the DMCA notice an apparent six times not to Petapixel’s registrar or their hosting service, but to Godaddy, her own registrar.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Volkswagen tries to conquer the world with tech
The automaker wants to be the biggest in the world by 2018, and that will require great tech from an unlikely outpost in Silicon Valley. As part of CNET Conversations, Brian Cooley visits its Electronics Research Lab.
[Read more]
CNET News
U.S. tries to silence MegaUpload lawyers on issue of user data
There’s a real chance that MegaUpload’s lawyers may not get a chance to address the court about what should happen to the company’s servers.
[Read more]
CNET News
EA, named America’s worst company, tries to make amends
In an apparent biteback at EA’s inconclusive ending to Mass Effect 3, voters at Consumerist declare that Electronic Arts is even worse than Bank of America. The company promises to release a new version of the game.
[Read more]
CNET News
After A Bump From SXSW, Banjo Tries To Bolster Its Position As The All-In-One Location App
What’s a SXSW bump worth? To Redwood City’s Banjo, which pools location data on friends from all the major social networks, it was worth 100,000 downloads in four days. That brought the app to more than 900,000 users. Of those, a little more than a half-million users are active every month.
That’s not bad for an app that has grown pretty much organically since it came out nine months ago, and Banjo is showing an upward tick in users at least if you look at its footprint on Facebook. Social networking is a tougher category to acquire customers in at least compared to games, where developers usually have very cash rich businesses that can pay for marketing. On the back of that momentum, Banjo has an update out that makes the app even more of a central hub for all location sharing from other social networks like Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and Instagram.
TechCrunch
The Soap Opera Effect: When your TV tries to be smarter than you
Can your TV think too much on your behalf? If you’ve gotten Soap Opera Effect, perhaps so.
[Read more]
CNET News
Facebook tries to out-Google Google with new search tool
If, as reported, Facebook is building a search engine to rival Google’s, then the competition between the two Internet giants has intensified further.
Computerworld News
FBI Tries To Force Google To Unlock User’s Android Phone
Trailrunner7 writes “Those multi-gesture passcode locks on Android phones that give users (and their spouses) fits apparently present quite a challenge for the FBI as well. Frustrated by a swipe passcode on the seized phone of an alleged gang leader, FBI officials have requested a search warrant that would force Google to ‘provide law enforcement with any and all means of gaining access, including login and password information, password reset, and/or manufacturer default code (“PUK”), in order to obtain the complete contents of the memory of cellular telephone.’ The request is part of a case involving an alleged gang leader and human trafficker named Dante Dears in California. Dears served several years in prison for his role in founding a gang in California called PhD, and upon his release he went back to his activities with the gang, according to the FBI’s affidavit.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
San Jose tries again with free downtown Wi-Fi
San Jose is casting a vote of confidence in municipal Wi-Fi from the heart of Silicon Valley, planning a new, free network just a few years after such networks were declared all but dead.
Computerworld News
The BlackBerry PlayBook Tries Again
It’s the thought that counts.
When Apple launches a refresh of its tablet, the earth fairly shakes. Speculation gives way to actual specs, and the tech blogosphere erupts in excitement, discussing what industry will be disrupted next. Will the new camera transform communication? Will the higher-resolution screen transform publishing? What new feature will seize the Apple partisans yet again with delight?
Sony outs 350Mbps TransferJet chip for smartphones, tries not to stare at Toshiba
With Toshiba’s toes having already crossed the 560Mbps wireless transfer speed barrier, Sony is instead forced to emphasize that its new TransferJet chip has “industry-leading short-range sensitivity.” Crucially though, the miniaturised 6mm x 6mm device also boasts lower consumption compared to Sony’s previous offerings, making it suitable for smartphones and tablets rather than just cameras or laptops. The product should start appearing in devices some time after August and will sell to OEMs for ¥500 ($ 6) — which means it doesn’t beat Toshiba on price either.
Sony outs 350Mbps TransferJet chip for smartphones, tries not to stare at Toshiba originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Feb 2012 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hacker Tries To Land IT Job At Marriott Via Extortion
wiredmikey writes “A tough global economy has certainly created challenges for many people looking for jobs, but one Hungarian man took things to another level in an effort to gain employment at hotel giant Marriott International. On Wednesday, the 26-year-old man pleaded guilty to charges that he hacked into Marriott computer systems and threatened to reveal confidential company information if Marriott didn’t offer him a job. Assuming his efforts were working, with the possibility of a new job with Marriott in his sights, the hacker arrived at Washington Dulles Airport on Jan. 17, 2011, using an airline ticket purchased by Marriott for him. He thought he would be attending a job interview with Marriott personnel. Unbeknown to him, he was actually being ‘interviewed’ by a Secret Service agent posing as a Marriott employee.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Suzuki’s Q-concept micro car tries to out-smart the Smart
Inner-city cars have been getting smaller and smaller, but Suzuki’s Q-concept micro car takes extreme spot-hunting to the next level. Thanks to its tandem seating configuration, the Q-concept is slim — somewhere between a car and a motorbike — bestowing it tighter turning angles, ideal for snaking betwixt those SUVs at Walmart. Being a concept, there are all sorts of teasing technical touches we’d love to see, such as what looks like a smartphone dock in the steering wheel, video screens instead of rear-view mirrors and, of course, gull-wing doors. It might not have the cyborg-ish charms of Audi’s Urban Concept, but mercifully it’s got some decent curves, unlike its cousin the not-so-concept electric Every van.
Continue reading Suzuki’s Q-concept micro car tries to out-smart the Smart
Suzuki’s Q-concept micro car tries to out-smart the Smart originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 13 Nov 2011 22:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Walmart tries new tech with eye on consumers
Walmart could start letting shoppers buy products in the aisles and skip the checkout line, but the world's largest retailer needs to find out how that would improve the customer experience, the company's e-commerce chief said Thursday.
Computerworld News
Rogers Cable tries on flexible channel packages in Ontario, will customers like the fit?
If current one-size-fits-all pay-TV packages aren’t doing it for you, then look to the north where The Globe and Mail reports Rogers is testing pay-per-package plans in the Ontario area. It starts by offering a $ 20 basic cable offering with 86 channels, to which customers can add up to 15, 20, or 30 more channels as they wish from “over 100″ possibles. If that’s not enough choice, try Quebec, where Videotron and Bell are also doing battle with a la carte channel packages, a trend that apparently does not extend to Bell’s offerings outside the region. Behind all these new options is a CRTC mandate to offer customers greater control, so we’ll wait to hear from Canucks if these are viable options when they open up November 8th. Check out the details in the press release after the break or head over to Rogers’ site to price a package for yourself.
[Thanks, @JoeCise]
Rogers Cable tries on flexible channel packages in Ontario, will customers like the fit? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 06 Nov 2011 02:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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In the same way that LinkedIn has become the home of your professional identity, and Facebook the home of your social identity, founder and CEO Adam Lieb wants to turn his startup 



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