The Latest Technology News

Dustin Sargent

It's taken a long time since that 2005 patent was filed for, but Raymond Li is now finally ready to bring his water-propelled jetpack to the money-spending world. Nailing down a March 2011 launch date and a price of $99,500 hasn't been easy for the inventor, who says his efforts to procure capital and prototyping quotations were mostly met with incredulity -- "almost everyone thought I was crazy." His JetLev personal transporter relies on an engine and fuel tank (which remain on the water's surface) to pump H20 into a backpack that then shoots out streams of the drinkable stuff to keep your airborne. Top speed is 22MPH, max height is nearly 33 feet, and the fun factor is somewhere off the scale, whether you're talking metric or imperial. Levitate past the break for a video demonstration.

[Thanks, Suraj]

Continue reading Water-propelled jetpack is no dream, can be yours for $99,500 this March (video)

Water-propelled jetpack is no dream, can be yours for $99,500 this March (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 31 Jan 2011 08:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

PopSci |

New Scientist | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/3B5201WRSKg/

ON SEMICONDUCTOR NVIDIA NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS NOVELLUS SYSTEMS NOVELL NETWORK APPLIANCE NETGEAR NCR NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

Dustin Sargent

Facebook, which now has 125 million active iPhone and Android users, will set its focus on the mobile part of its platform this year. CTO Bret Taylor, speaking at the Inside Social Apps conference, said that emphasis will be on HTML5-powered solutions, to maximize impact across all of the smartphone platforms.

Both iOS and Android have Web browsers capable of HTML5. The BlackBerry browser supports some HTML5, and Nokia/Symbian should really have an HTML5-capable browser sometime in 2011. The advantages of developing an HTML5-powered mobile site are clear: not only is there at least 125 million users just waiting to enjoy interactive HTML5 content on their phones, but it would also mean that Facebook could spend its time creating a standards-compliant and cross-platform mobile website, rather than developing individual apps for each of the smartphone platforms.

Don't forget the developers, either: imagine writing an HTML5 app or game that works across every smartphone. It would bring a whole new level of immersion to FarmVille and CityVille players -- you could play it on the train, in the bathroom, or in bed!

Facebook to empower its massive mobile platform with HTML5 originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/26/facebook-to-empower-its-massive-mobile-platform-with-html5/

QIMONDA QUALCOMM QUANTA COMPUTER RESEARCH IN MOTION ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS SAIC SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES SES SHAW COMMUNICATIONS SIEMENS

Dustin Sargent

As you may know, cows do not float. They tend to be heavier than water, so they sink. Not being a creature of the sea, when a cow drowns, it ceases to live. So if you like cows and encounter a bunch of cows that are on the verge of drowning, you might be moved to save them --and that's pretty much the premise of Freaky Cows.

You get a queue of objects and when you click the screen, the next object appears. The first thing on every level is some sort of a floating platform - it may be a long plank, or a bunch of logs loosely bunched together (these can float apart, as you can see in the screenshot).

Once the first floating object is in the water, the next click usually drops a cow on it, and it happily floats. Of course, saving just one cow isn't enough. Cows are social creatures, so you have to save the whole herd. When you drop the next cow on the floating plank, it changes the balance and causes the plank to sink deeper into the water. If you're not careful, the whole plank might tip over -- and there go the cows! You may receive extra planks later on, which you can use to bolster up your platform.

There are bulls, too, and a bull weighs four times as much as a cow -- so you need to be extra-careful with them. Happily, though, you don't have to save every cow. I mean, every cow is precious, but you can usually get away with saving only nine out of twelve or so and still pass the level.

Freaky Cows is highly recommended, and I greatly enjoyed the frantic mooing in the soundtrack.

Freaky Cows is an aquatic-themed bovine Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 07 Jan 2011 12:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/07/freaky-cows-is-an-aquatic-themed-bovine-time-waster/

INTEL INSIGHT ENTERPRISES INGRAM MICRO INFORMATICA INFOCUS ZORAN ZIONS BAN YAHOO YAHOO XILINX

Dustin Sargent

While it might not have a huge share of the desktop Web browser market, Opera certainly knows how to score deals with OEMs. Today, Opera announced that it has entered into a partnership with Sony to deliver an embedded browser on TVs and Blu-ray players. As Opera states in its official post, the integration will bring "web applications, widgets, full web browsing and emerging standards such as HTML5, HbbTV and OIPF" to your computer-free home theater.

From in-dash systems in your new vehicle, to your Wii, to your 60" Sony LCD, Opera has steadily grown into a force to be reckoned with in the world of non-computer browsing. Where will the Norwegian browser wind up next?

Opera Web browser coming to Sony TVs and Blu-ray players originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/20/opera-web-browser-coming-to-sony-tvs-and-blu-ray-players/

TRIQUINT SEMICONDUCTOR TRIMBLE NAVIGATION LIMITED TRIDENT MICROSYSTEMS TRANSACTION SYSTEMS ARCHITECTS TOTAL SYSTEM SERVICES TNS TIBCO SOFTWARE TIBCO SOFTWARE THQ TEXAS INSTRUMENTS

Dustin Sargent

San Francisco's world-famous Golden Gate Bridge looks much like this right now, but come September 2012 the last of those yellow "cash" signs are scheduled to wink out. That's because the bridge's board of directors voted 13-2 to approve a $2.9 million plan that will replace the bridge's 30 full-time human tolltakers with a fully electronic system. Don't say you didn't see this coming, folks. The existing FasTrak subscription RFID transponder system will continue to work, and there will be a camera-based backup as well -- if you pass through the bridge without a FasTrak pass, bridge-mounted cameras will take a picture of your license plate and you'll get a $6 bill in the mail. Planners estimate the move will save about $19.2 million by the year 2020 in salaries and benefits that would otherwise go to the friendly meatbags who work there now, and should things stay on track the revamped system will debut in February of next year.

Golden Gate Bridge plans to collect all tolls electronically by September 2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Jan 2011 19:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Slashdot | source

Marin Independent Journal, SF Chronicle | Email this | Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/2N505MBp8_A/

ECLIPSYS EASTMAN KODAK CO EARTHLINK DST SYSTEMS DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES DIODES INORATED DIEBOLD DELL CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR ACCENTURE

Dustin Sargent

Sure, you followed along with our Tokyo liveblog and breathless posts announcing Sony's Next Generation Portable (codename: NGP, get it?) successor to the PSP. But nothing's quite like viewing a video posted 48-hours after the event to get a true feel for the historic occasion... historic to nerds like us anyway. The power is now in your hands -- use it wisely to watch a thrilling three-part trilogy after the break. More videos at the source link below.

Continue reading Sony's official NGP announcement video hits the web

Sony's official NGP announcement video hits the web originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

PlayStation, PlayStation.Blog | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/29/sonys-official-ngp-announcement-video-hits-the-web/

INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES INVENTEC KDDI KLATENCOR KONINKLIJKE KPN LAM RESEARCH LIBERTY GLOBAL LM ERICSSON LOGITECH INTERNATIONAL

Dustin Sargent

We've seen a number of rumored launch dates come and go for the HTC ThunderBolt -- the upcoming LTE Android smartphone on Verizon. But rumor after rumor has offered little in the way of proof. But we now have some evidence that appears to connect a few dots -- dots that we've been discussing in the Android Central Forums for a day or so now. Check this out:

We were sent the screen shot you see above earlier this week. Note that it's a Verizon device, with an in-stock date of Feb. 14 (1). Now note that the model is listed as BBY60LD (2). Best Buy does that so we can't (easily) know what device is listed ahead of time. That doesn't tell us much, now does it? But don't worry about it. It's a red herring.

Now look at the number we've circled at the top left (3) -- 044476816574 -- With us so far?

Later Friday, a video hands-on of the Thunderbolt appeared on YouTube, purportedly made by someone at HTC. The video has since been removed, but not before Android Central Forums member paulmike3 noticed that number -- 44476816574 -- on the proof of purchase attached to the box from which the ThunderBolt was pulled. It's grainy. It's blurry. But it's definitely there. And it's more than a coincidence.

So you've got the number on the Best Buy leak. And you've got it on the ThunderBolt box proof of purchase. We've connected some major dots here, and it indeed looks as if Best Buy plans to have the HTC ThunderBolt in stock on Feb. 14. Happy Valentine's Day.

Some questions still remain. When will it be available on Verizon? (Feb. 11 has been rumored in the forums.) And is that Best Buy date real, or another placeholder? And how much is the phone going to cost? Big questions, all. And if you've got the answer, you know where to find us. Thanks, Paul, and Fire Dude!

Screen shot, leaked (and pulled) video point to possible Feb. 14 Best Buy launch of the HTC ThunderBolt posted originally by Android Central

Sponsored by Android Cases and Accessories

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Wq6f45jv8xs/screen-shot-leaked-and-pulled-video-point-feb-14-best-buy-launch-htc-thunderbolt

SYNTEL SYNTAXBRILLIAN SYNOPSYS SYNNEX SYMANTEC SYKES ENTERPRISES INORATED SYBASE SUN MICROSYSTEMS STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS SRA INTERNATIONAL

Dustin Sargent

Shocker of shockers, folks: people do more than just watch TV when they're watching TV. A study of over 8,000 willing individuals from Nielsen and Yahoo recently discovered that some 86 percent of mobile internet users tinker around on their devices while situated in front of the tube. It seems that Googling random facts, checking their Facebook news feed and seeing who has tweeted in the past 30 seconds were atop the list of activities to do while watching, but strangely, a full 20 percent confessed to search for more information about a commercial they recently saw. Hit the source link below (PDF) to be instantly bombarded with facts and figures, but first, refresh that TweetCaster feed. Ah, so much better.

Study shocker! Mobile users piddle around on the internet while watching TV originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Jan 2011 07:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

Nielsen / Yahoo [PDF] | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/29/study-shocker-mobile-users-piddle-around-on-the-internet-while/

THQ TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TERADATA TELETECH HOLDINGS TECHNITROL TAKETWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE SYNTEL SYNTAXBRILLIAN SYNOPSYS SYNNEX

Dustin Sargent

CCleaner is one of our favorite utilties, and it's a great way to keep computers free of unwanted temporary files and registry clutter both at home and at the office. It does, however, lack certain features which LAN administrators demand -- like a management console and an easy, network-wide deployment process.

Recently, however, Piriform began testing CCleaner Network Edition, which was designed to meet an admin's needs. The new app allows you to remotely initiate scans and manage your entire network's cleaning rules and settings from a single computer. You can also scan an entire workgroup -- or all your machines -- at once. One-click deployment is built in as well, making it easy to push CCleaner NE to your workstations.

CCleaner Network Edition costs $20 per user (or less, depending on volume) and is available now from the Piriform website. A free trial is also available.

CCleaner Network Edition now available to help admins keep their PCs tidy originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/25/ccleaner-network-edition-now-available-to-help-admins-keep-their/

EMULEX EMS TECHNOLOGIES EMC ELECTRONICS FOR IMAGING ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS ELECTRONIC ARTS ECLIPSYS EASTMAN KODAK CO EARTHLINK DST SYSTEMS

Dustin Sargent

Blekko, the search engine that is fighting the good fight against web spam with human editors, is joining biggies Google and Bing in the mobile search arena today with an Android and iPhone application double whammy. Says Blekko CEO Rich Skrenta, ?In a world where people want the most relevant answers on the go, mobile search is becoming increasingly more significant."

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/B9BXNL3l4Ik/

MICROS SYSTEMS MICRON TECHNOLOGY MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY METHODE ELECTRONICS MENTOR GRAPHICS IMS HEALTH IMATION IKON OFFICE SOLUTIONS IDT IBASIS

Dustin Sargent

Belkin has an entry into the nano watchband war.� The WristFit for iPod nano is made of a lightweight, thin, breathable, machine-washable material.� The Velcro closure allows you to adjust the fit to your wrist, and you attach the nano to the band using the nano’s integrated clip.� The WristFit is $19.95.

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/01/27/wristfit-watchband-for-ipod-nano/

MEMC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS MICROSOFT MILLICOM INTL CELLULAR MOBILE TELESYSTEMS NANYA TECHNOLOGY NII HOLDINGS NIKON NINTENDO NOKIA NVIDIA

Dustin Sargent

Minimalist Turntable Plays Your Records Minimally CHOBICAM1: Super-Tiny Camcorder Weighs 12g RB5X ?Intelligent Robot? From The 80s For Sale On eBay Can You Spot The Lacie Galet USB Drive In This Picture? Segways Pretty Much Banned In UK

Source: http://www.crunchgear.com/2011/01/21/daily-crunch-little-big-tech/

GOOGLE FORMFACTOR FISERV FIRST SOLAR FINISAR

Dustin Sargent

With Microsoft planning a move away from the HTPC space and a shift to Windows Media Center embedded products, perhaps the gang at Moovida is looking to take Redmond's place in the home theater geek segment. The company has unleashed a beautiful new media browsing UI called 'Immersed' that's powered by a 3D game engine, a fact which makes its media center brethren look dowdy in comparison. There is a steep price to pay for this digital eye candy, however, as the current version lacks the ability to stream content -- so no Netflix, Hulu, or YouTube for you. Moovida's software also packs an underlying desktop-optimized UI, 'Core', that provides automated media backup and cataloging, syncs your music and video with peripherals, and plays any non-DRM content known to man. Presently in beta, Moovida promises greater functionality in future releases and we can only hope that means streaming capability is coming soon, as in immediately.

Moovida's new media center software has great looks, so-so personality originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Yahoo! |

Moovida | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/28/moovidas-new-media-center-software-has-great-looks-so-so-perso/

VEECO INSTRUMENTS VARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATES UNITED ONLINE UNISYS TRIQUINT SEMICONDUCTOR

Dustin Sargent

Can't stop gushing about your favorite new gadget or your latest album purchase? If you're posting about it on Facebook, there's a chance your words could wind up used by advertisers without your knowledge. Facebook has begun allowing companies to re-post endorsements from users as "Sponsored Stories," and there's no way for you to opt out at the moment.

It's not all bad, though. Sponsored Stories retain the same privacy settings that applied to your original post. That means if you only allow friends to see it, they're the only people who will see the Sponsored Story in Facebook's sidebar. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (we see what they did there) isn't happy about this, telling the Associated Press that the ads are "subtle and misleading" and that users should object to companies trying to profit from their "name or likeness without[...]consent."

There's a good chance you already did consent, of course, by agreeing to Facebook's terms of use. But hey, they backpedaled on something like this before -- remember the woman whose husband saw her face used in a "find singles near you" ad? There's a very good chance Facebook will allow users to opt out, especially with the inevitable storm of discontent which is already a-brewin'.

Facebook to let advertisers use your posts in Sponsored Stories originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/27/facebook-to-let-advertisers-use-your-posts-in-sponsored-stories/

TECHNITROL TAKETWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE SYNTEL SYNTAXBRILLIAN SYNOPSYS