Daily Crunch: Concept Edition

CrunchGear Drives GM?s Autonomous EN-V Concept Vehicle Hands-on With the Orbitix Sphero Best In Show: The Reese?s Peanut Butter Cup Minis CES WTF: The TV Hat Windoro: The Magnetic Window-Washing Robot

Source: http://www.crunchgear.com/2011/01/08/daily-crunch-concept/

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Francis Ford Coppola: Maybe the Downloaders Are Right [Blockquote]

In a new interview, acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola takes a radical stance on issues of downloading, copyright, and art: Maybe the students downloading movies and music are right, he says. Maybe we artists shouldn't get paid. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/cMXAv3JRqxQ/francis-ford-coppola-maybe-the-downloaders-are-right

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Desert Moon is an impressive tower defense Time Waster

If you look at the type of time wasters I normally cover, you'll mostly find physics games, a platformer here and there, and maybe a puzzle or two.

One genre I almost never cover is tower defense games. I guess I normally don't enjoy them all that much - it's purely subjective. But this is one thing that makes Desert Moon all the more remarkable: It's a tower defense game, but I actually had fun playing it.

You're commanding a troop of soldiers stranded on an alien planet for five days. Each day, multiple waves of incoming beasts are going to run at you, and try to get past your defenses. Your job is to place your soldiers before each wave so that their fire pattern (and weapons) effectively cover the surface, and keep the beasts from getting past them.

Once a beast touches one of your soldiers, the soldier dies and there's a gap in your defenses. When enough beasts manage to make it through, you die. Later on in the game, beasts don't have to touch the soldiers - they explode when they're near enough, so you need to start using longer-range weapons to keep the beasts away.

There are six different types of weapons, as well as four types of power-ups you can use during each wave. It's Flash, but it still took a couple of minutes to load on my DSL connection. This is one game you may find yourself spending quite some time with.

Desert Moon is an impressive tower defense Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/11/desert-moon-is-an-impressive-tower-defense-time-waster/

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Chrysler shows off Ram plug-in hybrid electric truck, won't sell it to you

There's already a few hybrid trucks on the market (most notably from GM), but true plug-in hybrid electric trucks are another matter altogether. Chrysler now looks set to change that, however -- at least in a small way -- with its new Ram plug-in hybrid that's set to roll out to fleet operators this summer. It was just unveiled at the Washington D.C. Auto Show, and it pairs a 12 kWh battery pack from Canadian battery-maker Electrovaya with Chrysler's own 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 engine, which Electrovaya says will allow for up to 20 miles of driving on electricity only. Unfortunately, there's no word on any plans to actually make the truck available to individual consumers, but Chrysler does seem to at least be optimistic about hybrid trucks in general, with a company spokesman noting that half-ton pickups are naturally much better at carrying a battery pack than a car, and that trucks work better as hybrid vehicle platforms.

Continue reading Chrysler shows off Ram plug-in hybrid electric truck, won't sell it to you

Chrysler shows off Ram plug-in hybrid electric truck, won't sell it to you originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Jan 2011 10:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/SaLRrjvcfKg/

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PADX-1 LEDGE Wearcom Pullover for iPad

Here’s something unusual for the iPad owner.� This pullover jacket from Alphyn Industries is made of “advanced waterproof, thermal softshell, with the perfect balance of strength, stretch and softness.”� Materials used are Polartec softshell, polyester Dri-Lex mesh, and 3M Thinsulate fill.� There’s a kangaroo pocket on the front with a small zippered pocket in the [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/01/29/padx-1-ledge-wearcom-pullover-for-ipad/

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Aaron Rodgers Broke a Photographer's Monopod to Score a Touchdown [Photography]

Scott Kelby, an excellent photographer, was taking pictures in the end zone during last week's Packers game when Aaron Rodgers decided to run and dive in his direction. Rodgers scored a touchdown but accidentally broke Kelby's $350 monopod in the process. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/H59U1dPgKjw/aaron-rodgers-broke-a-photographers-monopod-to-score-a-touchdown

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Gadget Lab Podcast: Sony?s Next-Generation Portable, Verizon iPhone and Macworld

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This week’s episode of the Gadget Lab podcast packs a healthy mix of mobile goodies.
We take a quick look at Sony’s new version of the PlayStation Portable, dubbed the Next-Generation Portable. It’s equipped with an OLED display, two touch panels and a cartridge [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/01/gadget-lab-podcast-101/

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RealPlayer for Android gets an improved interface, landscape mode, and more

The RealPlayer app for Android has gotten a major update, and it's all because of user input! OK, so Real may be playing that angle up a bit in its official blog post, but it's clear from playing with the updated media app that it's taking suggestions and criticism seriously.

In addition to a generally improved and more polished interface, RealPlayer for Android has added a landscape "now playing" mode and playlist support (music only for now). There's also a new homescreen widget that allows you to skip forward or back, pause, and resume playback. Tapping the track information zips you back to the player. You can also now tap and hold a song, video, or image to delete it from your device.

Some features are still missing -- I'd like to be able to share what I'm listening to from the Now Playing view, for example. I'd also appreciate something happening when I tap the search button on my Incredible. With a large media collection on your device, built-in search in RealPlayer would be a major bonus. Real seems determined to deliver an app that will be worth using, so it's likely these features -- and any others suggested by the community -- will arrive in a future update.

Download RealPlayer Beta for Android [AppBrain]

RealPlayer for Android gets an improved interface, landscape mode, and more originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 19 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/19/realplayer-for-android-gets-an-improved-interface-landscape-mode/

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iOS Safari Set to Receive Google Instant Previews Update [Google]

Google "Instant Previews," the handy feature that allows searchers to preview their results without actually leaving Google's search page, is nearly set to arrive on iOS's native Safari web browser. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/UspfYWsbjJ0/ios-safari-set-to-receive-google-instant-previews-update

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Engineering Meets Management, Part 1: A Recipe for Excellence

IT service companies rely heavily on software engineering processes and methods to deliver services that enable business to achieve their goals. As a discipline, product lifecycle management has matured and has delivered major benefits, such as reuse, increased market share, reduced time-to-market and global brand image.

Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/71726.html

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Google making Changes to Android Market

Forbes is reporting that Google is unhappy with the Android Market. Apparently, people don’t like paying for Apps. (who knew?) Android’s Platform Manager said there will be changes in the future including Carrier billing and In-app payments. My guess is you are going to start to see a lot of cool little apps suddenly cost [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/01/27/google-making-changes-to-android-market/

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New Angry Birds game coming in March

RovioMobile have announced the next version of their hit game Angry Birds, coming to the App Store in March.�The new game will not be a true sequel, but will be a licensed game based on the tie in with 20th Century Fox’s upcoming animated film Rio. So far all they’ve done is post a YouTube trailer [...]

New Angry Birds game coming in March is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/SjtwvicyfZ4/

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Gravity Guy is a fun one-button platformer -- Time Waster

Every once in a while, I like to write about a game that doesn't have a complicated set of controls. To be honest, most time wasters don't tend to be very complicated, perhaps except for those that require using both the mouse and the keyboard at the same time. But there's a category of time wasters that manage to hit the simplest UI possible, and still remain playable: The "one-button" games.

Gravity Guy is one such game; all you need is the SPACE key or the left mouse button. When the level starts, your little guy starts running across the screen, left to right. The level scrolls along, and pretty soon your guy is going to hit a step. In a normal platformer, you would just jump. But here there's no jumping - hitting space reverses gravity itself, and you find your guy suddenly running across the ceiling, full-speed ahead.

Now, just because it's a single-button game doesn't mean you don't have to stay alert: Hitting a step isn't the worst thing that can happen; just as often, the platform you're running on simply ends, and you fall into the abyss of space.

It's an intense game, but those who don't mind restarting a level over and over again will find it lots of fun.

Gravity Guy is a fun one-button platformer -- Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/10/gravity-guy-is-a-fun-one-button-platformer-time-waster/

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Powermat Wireless Charging System for Motorola Droid X and iPhone 4 Review

We reviewed the original Powermat Wireless Charging System and thought it was an interesting product, but weren’t sure if it was something we’d use every day due to the bulk it added via required cases for our gadgets. It’s been over a year since that review, let’s see if thinner cases make the Powermat induction [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/01/27/powermat-wireless-charging-system-for-motorola-droid-x-and-iphone-4-review/

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How to customize the Ribbon menu in Microsoft Office 2010

This week's series of tips will be focusing on handy little features for Microsoft Excel and Word. To see the previous tips, check our Tips index.

While earlier this week I've shown you how to keep the Ribbon from getting in your way, that's not all you can do with it in Office 2010. Back when the Ribbon interface first came out, in Office 2007, it wasn't really customizable. You could modify it if you were lucky enough to know VBA (Visual Basic for Applications, Office's built-in programming language), but otherwise, you were pretty much stuck with the stock arrangement of tabs and buttons.

Fortunately, with Office 2010, Microsoft introduced a simple way to customize the Ribbon, requiring no programming at all. Simply go to the File menu, click Options and then select Customize Ribbon. You'll get a two-pane dialog, showing all available commands versus your existing ribbon, and letting you toggle things on and off and re-arrange them as you see fit.

The best part is that once you're done customizing your setup, you can easily export it for backup or to take with you to your other computers. Just click the Import/Export button and select Export all customizations.

How to customize the Ribbon menu in Microsoft Office 2010 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 14 Jan 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/14/how-to-customize-the-ribbon-menu-in-microsoft-office-2010/

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Monitor Security Cams From Anywhere With Your iPad

No matter where you are in the world you can easily monitor your security cameras from anywhere with your iPad using the uNetCams Multiple IP Camera Viewer app. This app streams MJPEG video feeds from your IP network cameras in real-time and has many useful features. Whether you have just one camera or hundreds of [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ipadbuzzblog/~3/9mjBx8M9TSY/

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PS3 firmware 3.56 hacked in less than a day, Sony's lawyers look confused (update)

Sony's taken some strong steps against PS3 cracking in the past week -- not only has it taken to the courts and won a temporary restraining order against Geohot and fail0verflow for cracking the console, but it also released firmware 3.56, which locked things down again. Unfortunately, that restraining order doesn't mean anyone else has to stop a-crackin', and wouldn't you know it: 3.56 was cracked open in less than a day by KaKaRoToKS, who was behind one of the first 3.55 custom firmwares. Now that the 3.56 signing keys are out, we'd guess updated custom firmware is soon to come -- and we'd bet Sony's lawsuit will just inspire an entirely new wave of people to jailbreak once those hit the scene. Way to put that genie back in the bottle, Sony.

Update: We're hearing that new custom firmware isn't on the table quite yet, because Sony changed most of the locks, and is reportedly actually storing the all-important ECDSA private key with random-number cryptography this time around. Be warned: if you upgrade to 3.56, there's no easy way back down. In related news, Github complied with a DMCA takedown notice to remove KaKaRoToKS's repositories, so you'll have to head on over to Gitorious (at our more coverage link) to get at the fail0verflow tools.

[Thanks, Tomi R]

PS3 firmware 3.56 hacked in less than a day, Sony's lawyers look confused (update) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 14:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/29/ps3-firmware-3-56-hacked-in-less-than-a-day-sonys-lawyers-look/

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Swype vs. SlideIT: Battle of the Android keyboard swipers

When you've got an itty-bitty touch-screen and need to pound out a quick email, the last thing you're going to want to do is type. I mean, tapping out a text message is fine every now and then, but when you're forced to type more than a couple of lines when you're on the go, sliding is definitely the way to go.

Sliding keyboards utilize the fact that each word, as it is typed, tends to create a unique pattern across the keyboard. So rather than tap-tap-tap, you just touch the screen and drag across the keys you wish to type on. The keyboard then uses the resulting squiggle to figure out what it is you were trying to type.

So far, so good. In theory it sounds great, but in real life things aren't always so silky-smooth. For example, what happens when you need to type a word the keyboard doesn't know, such as a name? Or when there's more than one possible interpretation for the squiggle you just drew?

That's where the differences between different sliding keyboards come into play. In this review I'll be focusing on the two best-known products: Swype and SlideIT. Continue reading after the fold to find out which one is better!

Gallery: Swype vs. SlideIT

Continue reading Swype vs. SlideIT: Battle of the Android keyboard swipers

Swype vs. SlideIT: Battle of the Android keyboard swipers originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 24 Jan 2011 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/24/swype-vs-slideit-comparison-battle-of-the-android-keyboard-swipers/

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