There are no apps just yet, but Google’s Chrome browser is now reportedly updated to support the impending Web Store launch. Version 8.0.552.215 — just call it ’8,’ for short — also provides a built-in PDF viewer and over 800 claimed bug fixes. Download’s a no-brainer if you’re rocking the current stable release. And if you look at the code close enough, you might spot a Chrome OS release date . Okay, no, not really. Chrome 8 released: web app support and built-in PDF viewer are a go originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Did you update your free copy of AVG 2011 today, in the hopes of evading a nasty bug? In a set of mildly familiar circumstances , the antivirus company has inadvertently unleashed an even nastier one. Users running 64-bit editions of Windows 7 and AVG 2011 are reporting a STOP error after a mandatory antivirus update this morning, which is keeping some from booting their machines into Windows at all. The buggy update has since been pulled and there are a couple ways to preemptively keep it from happening if you’re staring at the message above, but if you’ve already been stung, you’re looking at some quality time with a recovery disc or repair partition to fix your Windows boot files. Find all the solutions, including the preemptive ones, at our source link below. PSA: Botched AVG 2011 update might be why your PC won’t start today originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 19:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Apple’s numpad-less compact wired keyboard gets discontinued, few tears are shed
December 2, 2010 No Comment
The ultraslim, metallic, chiclet-styled obsession all began back in mid-2007 , but a revised iMac in March of 2009 delivered something else: a chopped-down version of the Apple Keyboard. If you’ll recall, that one dropped the numeric keypad and gained two peripheral USB sockets, making it one of the more compact desktop keyboards on the market. Just shy of its second birthday, it seems as if the supply chain overlords in Cupertino have seen fit to discontinue it, though a number of e-tailers still seem to have stock for the moment. If you’re dead-set on snagging one (we know, stocking’s aren’t that long), Amazon can make your day for $46.99, but we’d probably pony up the extra $3 necessary to bring one home with a number pad on the right. Apple’s numpad-less compact wired keyboard gets discontinued, few tears are shed originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 19:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Kinect now offers a stealth mode, courtesy of optical camouflage hack (video)
December 2, 2010 No Comment
You’ve seen so many Kinect hacks by now that you probably think you know them all — but wait, have you seen one that makes you look like Predator when he’s busy predatorizing the populace? Or one that lets you reenact your favorite Metal Gear Solid scenes with Snake’s camo turned on ? Yup, a Japanese coder by the name of Takayuki Fukatsu has exploited the versatile openFrameworks to give Kinect a mode where it tracks your movement and position, but turns the dull details of your visage into an almost perfectly transparent outline. Of course, you’re not actually transparent, it looks to be just the system skinning an image of the background onto the contours of your body in real time, but man, it sure is cool to look at. You can do so for yourself with the video after the break. Continue reading Kinect now offers a stealth mode, courtesy of optical camouflage hack (video) Kinect now offers a stealth mode, courtesy of optical camouflage hack (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 18:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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That’s right, we’re back! It’s been a long two weeks without you, but we’ll be live at 6:30PM EST just totally chilling out. And occasionally talking about gadgets. See you then! P.S. And don’t forget that Ustream has Android and iPhone clients as well, if you’re out and about and you can’t join in on the Flash-based fun below. Continue reading The Engadget Podcast, live at 6:30PM EST! The Engadget Podcast, live at 6:30PM EST! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 18:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Considering Sprint’s heavy investment in Clearwire — and the fact that it shares its WiMAX network with the company — you can understand why it might be a little weary of letting other carriers in on the spectrum. That said, a Goldman Sachs analyst that apparently met with Sprint execs this week has said that they “have encouraged” a wholesale spectrum deal that would bring cash in from T-Mobile USA — a company that has yet to settle on a next-gen network strategy beyond HSPA+ — though it would ultimately depend on the price. Considering Clearwire’s somewhat bleak financial picture , it seems likely that Sprint’s looking at this as a do-or-die situation — it isn’t necessarily interested in dumping cash into the company by itself ad nauseam, but if it allows the company to falter, that could have unsavory consequences on Sprint’s own 4G ambitions. Should be interesting to see how this plays out. Sprint wouldn’t mind if T-Mobile bought 4G spectrum from Clearwire originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Verizon confirms contract-free 4G LTE options: same rates, pricier modems
December 2, 2010 No Comment
Verizon didn’t make any mention of it during it’s big announcement yesterday, but PC Magazine ‘s Sascha Seagan has confirmed with the carrier that it will indeed be offering its 4G LTE service off-contract as well. That will actually come in at the same rates as the on-contract pricing — $50 for 5GB or $80 for 10GB, plus a $10 per GB overage — but you’ll have to shell out a full $249.99 for the modem, as opposed to just $99.99 on a two-year contract (after a $50 mail-in rebate). Verizon confirms contract-free 4G LTE options: same rates, pricier modems originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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First the 2018 World Cup and now this. An Intel press event in Moscow was reportedly the site of some new MeeGo device reveals. Mail.ru’s Anton Spiridonov was on hand and managed to spot Intel Atom-based phone the Hi/Lo Vibrant (we haven’t heard of the company, either) and a tablet of some sort, both equipped with the Linux-based OS. Not much else is known save for what appears to be a 5 megapixel camera labeled as such on the back. More pics below. [Thanks, Chris] Gallery: MeeGo-based Intel Atom phone and tablet spotted from Russia with love MeeGo-based Intel Atom phone and tablet spotted from Russia with love originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …BMW Designworks USA flexes its eco muscle with Siemens Inspiro subway concept
December 2, 2010 No Comment
BMW Group’s Designworks USA — where have we heard about those folks before? Ah, yes, that’s the crew that’s responsible for Thermaltake’s Level 10 PC case , and we’re desperately hoping that this concept has an equal (or greater) level of success in the open market. The subway car you see above is purportedly 97.5 percent recyclable, with an aluminum chassis, vivacious hues and a ridiculously spacious interior. It’s being labeled the Siemens Inspiro, and it’s on track to show up in Warsaw’s Metro Warszawskie just over a year from now. No word on where to sign up for conductor dutie, though. BMW Designworks USA flexes its eco muscle with Siemens Inspiro subway concept originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 16:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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