Apparently those of you who aren’t upgrading to Cupertino’s latest and greatest desktop OS will be able to sling bits through iCloud with the upcoming 10.6.9 update. The screenshot above comes via an eagle-eyed developer, who’s already upgraded his MobileMe account to the service and also happened to open its forebearer’s preference pane on a machine running Tiger. No word on when it’ll drop (we’d place our bets alongside iOS 5′s launch this fall), but looks like those of you running Snow Leopard got some readin’ to do . Snow Leopard to get iCloud support in 10.6.9 update? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Look, the Olympus PEN E-PL3 is cute. Adorable, even. In fact, those swayed by looks alone may be sold after whisking through our hands-on gallery below. But for those interested in more than a highly-capable fashion accessory, it’s worth taking a deeper look into the latest member of the PEN Lite family. We’d strongly recommend reading over our PEN E-P3 review before continuing on, as a lot of what we found true there also applies here. ‘Course, that’s not at all unexpected given the wealth of shared resources: a new 12.3-megapixel Live MOS Image Sensor, TruePic VI Image Processor, an ISO range peaking at 12,800, a reengineered autofocus system, full 1080i HD video with Dolby Digital sound recording, newly designed user interfaces and a variety of Art Filters / built-in creative features. Now that you’re in the know, let’s continue. Gallery: Olympus E-PL3 Micro Four Thirds camera hands-on Continue reading Olympus PEN E-PL3 Micro Four Thirds camera review Olympus PEN E-PL3 Micro Four Thirds camera review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Few would look at Lenovo’s decidedly ordinary A700 all-in-one desktop and think: DJ rig , but then you wouldn’t be PC modder Chris Blarsky (of the Hulk PC mod fame). After four months of work, he’s managed to transform the 23-inch system into the so-called DJ Sound Control rig you see above, which comes complete with sliding drawer to accommodate a keyboard or other DJ gear in case the slew of built-in options aren’t enough for you, not to mention a separate I/O box that also doubles as a power supply (also of the luggable variety). Hit the source link below for a closer look, although you might want to grab a cup of coffee while the this particular experiment in Flash excess loads. DJ Sound Control computer mod redefines luggable originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Back when we first caught a glimpse of the Droid Bionic , we speculated that the post- Atrix placement of the micro-USB and micro-HDMI ports might make it compatible with the updated Photon Webtop dock and accessories. Judging by the screenshot grabbed by Droid Life , we might have a winner as the add-ons look to be interchangeable, possibly a first step towards CEO Sanjay Jha’s promised improvements . The product page also says the accessories will be “affordable” for those “curious about the Webtop application” — count us in. [Thanks, Chris] Motorola Droid Bionic to include Webtop accessories originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 16:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It was only a matter of time before leaked screen shots of HTC’s Sense 3.5 became leaked video footage. Purportedly running on the OEM’s unreleased, ladies-only Bliss handset , XDA.cn has a hands-on of the Android-based UI that looks to be more of a refinement, than revolutionary update. So, what can we glimpse from this apparent sneak peek? The ROM, shown to be running atop Android 2.3.4 , now sports a more pared-down look, as evinced by the lock screen’s sleeker ring. There’s still the same seven homescreens on offer, although it now appears you can delete the contents of a selected screen by dragging it to the trash. Gone is the familiar home panel with its curved shape, in favor of two non-intrusive, dedicated app and phone buttons on the left and right sides of the screen. The widgets also look to have taken on a roomier size, and the volume can now be controlled via an on-screen widget. Aside from those minor tweaks, not much else has changed, but you can definitely see an improvement in the UI’s fluidity. Could this be HTC’s very next upgrade to its popular Android skin, or are we looking at a slickly-produced ROM? You can judge for yourself in the video after the break. Continue reading HTC Sense 3.5 caught on camera, gets a manicured walkthrough (video) HTC Sense 3.5 caught on camera, gets a manicured walkthrough (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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What did one chatbot say to the other chatbot? Quite a lot, actually — but good luck making any sense out of it. That’s what researchers from Cornell’s Creative Machines Lab recently discovered, after pitting two bots against one another for a good ol’ fashioned talk-off . It’s all part of the lab’s submission to this year’s Loebner Prize Competition in Artificial Intelligence — an event that awards $100,000 to the team whose computer programs can conduct the most human-like conversations. Unfortunately for Cornell’s squad, their chatbots still have a long way to go before achieving conversational coherence, though they could easily get hired as anchors on most cable news networks. Throughout the course of their frenetic (and often snippy) discussion, one bot raised heady questions about God and existence, while the other boldly claimed to be a unicorn. Basically, they had the exact same conversation we used to have in our dorm rooms every night, at around 4 am. Watch it for yourself after the break. It’s nothing short of sublime. Continue reading When two chatbots have a conversation, everyone wins (video) When two chatbots have a conversation, everyone wins (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …GScreen’s Spacebook begins shipping this November, doubles your laptop editing fun
August 29, 2011 No Comment
Twins, like cupcakes, are universally regarded as a good thing. So, it stands to reason that GScreen’s attempt to double your laptop’s screen size would be an equally appealing idea. Turns out, duping a display took the Alaska-based company a wee bit longer to fully flesh out, but the time has finally arrived for its debut . Shipping this November, the aptly-named Spacebook will bring a capacious, portable desktop solution to on-the-go creative professionals. The girthy, 10-pound rig won’t be winning any style points from the svelte is better crowd, but that’s easy to overlook given its dual 17-inch 1920 x 1080 screens, choice of a Core i5 or i7 processor, up to 8GB DDR3 RAM, 500GB of storage, NVIDIA’s GeForce GTS 250 (1GB) and DVD burner — all encased in a magnesium alloy frame. You can grab the entry level model for $1899, but the higher-end, two-headed beast will cost you $2099. If you’re in the market for the king of all laptop displays, then head to the source to get your order on. GScreen’s Spacebook begins shipping this November, doubles your laptop editing fun originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Parrot Asteroid to drive music, Android from your dash this October (video)
August 29, 2011 No Comment
We’ve seen flavors of Android on our tablets, smartphones — even a microwave oven — but Parrot’s Asteroid receiver is finally ready to park in your car’s dash, bringing a tricked out version of Google’s mobile OS to yet another innovative platform. In addition to an FM radio and a line-in connection (duh), the Asteroid also includes USB connectivity, an SD card slot, music on demand, and voice activated music search. There’s also hands-free calling over Bluetooth, contact voice recognition, and automatic phonebook sync — all controlled using a built-in jog wheel or your voice, and displayed on a 3.2-inch LCD. The device connects to the web using your smartphone’s WiFi hotspot feature, or by attaching a USB 3G dongle. Asteroid’s built-in Maps app and external GPS antenna will be ready to help you navigate the highway for $349 beginning in October, but jump past the break for a peek at the receiver’s red-light-cam-spotting iCoyote app in the meantime. Continue reading Parrot Asteroid to drive music, Android from your dash this October (video) Parrot Asteroid to drive music, Android from your dash this October (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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It looks as though our old pal in Mountain View might have its sights set on developing another programming language. Avid coders probably recall the company’s Go offering that was announced last year. Now, Google is looking to stake its claim on the trademark for “Spot.” Sorting through the USPTO mumbo jumbo, it’s clear that the project centers on a coding language and its related computer programs. Also of note: the internet powerhouse gobbled up four case-related domains including spotlang.com, spotlanguage.net, spot-lang.com and spot-lang.net. For those looking to See Spot Run , perhaps you’ll be able to sprint over to the aforementioned URLs in due time. [Photo credit: brionv ] Google files trademark for ‘Spot,’ programming language to follow? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Even though DirecTV’s website is ready to start doling out the information on its elusive Nomad TV box, a post on Gizmo Lovers digs through the available information to show just how much there is to know, and how much is still unknown. Between on a DirecTV satellite installer training video, a suggestive press release by fellow RVU member Morega and the long running rumor thread over on DBSTalk, the technology in play is certainly capable of both Slingbox style streaming and TiVoToGo sideloading, but what will actually be enabled is unclear. Once it rolls out, the Nomad will connect to multiroom capable satellite boxes via a wired network connection and transcode the video streams it pulls in for other devices like PCs and mobiles. All the other details are shrouded in rumor, regarding its use of h.264 and how much internal storage is available, but if you’re wondering whether the long delayed DirecTV will really be able to compete with Sling, Monsoon and the flood of TV-streaming iPad apps available in 2011 then hitting the source link below is a good way to get started. More DirecTV Nomad info uncovered, but details are still fuzzy originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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