HTC bets on cloud computing to overcome battery challenge

Horace Luke, HTC's chief of innovation, the future of phones is in the cloud. "Right now, most tasks are computed on the product itself. But the idea of sharing the computation and experience with the cloud hasn't even begun. It’s like 1 per cent. One day everyone will have access to a data connection like we have access to terrestrial TV today, and that makes things a lot easier in a lot of ways” Horace Luke told Pocket-lint.

“It's [battery technology] not really likely to get better, but what we could do is offload computations to help the battery life" he adds.

We guess that it depends on what kind of computation Horace Luke is talking about. Let's not forget that the 3G radio is a major battery killer too (4G is often even worse), so offloading to the cloud is not as energy-friendly as it might sound. Of course, there's always a break-even point for these things so we never say never. It's just that right now, we can't find a whole lot of things that could be offloaded to the cloud in a battery-efficient way. Examples are welcome.

Permalink: HTC bets on cloud computing to overcome battery challenge from Ubergizmo | Hot: Macbook Air Review, Google TV Review

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Source: http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2010/11/htc_bets_on_cloud_computing_to_overcome_battery_challenge.html

Angry Birds Christmas update will be free for Halloween buyers

There's no denying that Angry Birds is an addictive little game -- and an unbelievably popular one at that. Sales are still going strong in just about every mobile platform's app store and seasonal versions are have fans clamoring for more. Well, good news, Birds lovers! If you ponied up your hard-earned 99 cents for the iOS Halloween version you're getting a special gift in your digital stocking this holiday season.

Rovio has confirmed via Twitter that the Christmas update for Angry Birds will be yours, absolutely free. It's a nice gesture by Rovio -- especially since it could just as easily charge for it and top off its coffers.

Angry Birds Christmas update will be free for Halloween buyers originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 29 Nov 2010 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/11/29/angry-birds-christmas-update-will-be-free-for-halloween-buyers/

WidgetBlock for Chrome blocks annoying social widgets, makes Web faster

The Web is all about being social these days. When you take this "social" buzzword and reduce it down to brass tacks, you often end up with a bunch of widgets, buttons and other annoyances crowded around the content you're actually interested in reading.

WidgetBlock is a Chrome add-on that makes short work of a whole bunch of common widgets and buttons for social services. In one fell swoop it eradicates the presence of Facebook, Twitter, Meebo, Digg, Buzz, and a ton of other omnipresent Web 2.0 services. Of course, if you happen to like some of these you can switch them on selectively.

When I tested WidgetBlock, it made the site I was trying to load noticeably faster (about two or three times as fast, in fact). It also makes the Web feel a tad "cleaner", at least for me. Definitely recommended.

Filed under: Google

WidgetBlock for Chrome blocks annoying social widgets, makes Web faster originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/11/26/widgetblock-for-chrome-blocks-annoying-widgets-makes-web-faster/

Your guide to Firefox 4 and its shiny new features

Firefox 4, with the release of Beta 7, is as good as finished. From now until its release in early 2011, no new features will be added, no significant changes will be made -- Beta 7 is, for all intents and purposes, Firefox 4.

Unlike Firefox 3.5 (private browsing) and 3.6 (personas!!), version 4 has a significant number of new in-your-face features -- features that will take a little getting used to... like tabs-on-top! There are tons of neat little additions that improve your surfing experience, too. Many of these will exist in the background, under the hood, but it still helps to know exactly what your new browser is capable of; did you know that Firefox 4 is as fast as Chrome, for example?

This guide will fully prepare you for Firefox 4. It will teach you how to work with the big-hitters Panorama and Sync, and also introduce some other features you might not have heard about. If you're already using the Beta, this guide might teach you some new tricks. If you're holding off until the official launch in 2011, that's fine too -- bookmark this page and check back later!

You might find, after reading this guide, that you suddenly feel compelled to try out Firefox 4. It really is rather good.

Continue reading Your guide to Firefox 4 and its shiny new features

Filed under: Features, Mozilla, Browsers

Your guide to Firefox 4 and its shiny new features originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 11 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/11/11/your-guide-to-firefox-4-and-its-new-features/

Internet Explorer 9 beta 2 leaks, looks ready for launch

The most recent build of IE9 -- beta 2 -- leaked onto the Web late last night. Judging by the version number and its performance, it looks like it features the same rendering and JavaScript engines found in Platform Preview 7.

As reported by WinRumors, there doesn't seem to be any significant change to the user interface. The download manager shows your current download speed without the need to mouse-over, but that's about it. It's now fairly safe to assume that Microsoft hasn't got any secret plans up its sleeve -- the UI you see now is almost certainly the real deal. If the final launch is in January, we can expect to see one more platform update in about 5 weeks, and then a final release towards the end of January.

I'm not going to give you a link to the IE9 beta 2 installer, but you can probably find it with a little searching on Twitter or Google. The installer is legit -- it's signed by Microsoft -- so you don't need to worry about malware of any variety.

Internet Explorer 9 beta 2 leaks, looks ready for launch originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 23 Nov 2010 07:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/11/23/internet-explorer-9-beta-2-leaks-looks-ready-for-launch/

Lightning Review: Watching Avatar...on Sad, Old DVD [Review]

Is there a more depressing product on our nation's shelves than the the non-3D Blu-ray of James Cameron's dragon sex fantasy cartoon? Just one: Avatar on DVD. More »

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Source: http://gizmodo.com/5698631/lightning-review-avatar-on-dvd

From The North Face To Vegas: A Facebook Deals Roundup

It's been less than one month since Facebook launched its new deals service on top of its still-nascent Places platform. But that hasn't stopped it from lining up some of the US's biggest brands in time for the holiday season. A few minutes ago, the social network posted a note that shows just how many companies have already climbed on board to offer deals over the holidays. Note that some of these have already been announced (including the charitable Southwest Deal that donates $1 per check-in to the Make-a-Wish Foundation), but seeing them in one place makes it easier to gauge how much traction the feature is getting. So why is this important? As we've discussed before, these location services are in a race to snap up deals with as many national brands as possible, in addition to the longtail of local businesses.

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Sonic All Adapter Grants Sonic Cleaning Capabilities To Any Toothbrush

By Andrew Liszewski
So I like the idea behind this Sonic All device which lets you turn any manual toothbrush into a vibrating, super-cleaning machine. But in practice I’m finding it hard to figure out who this would really appeal to. At this point basic electric toothbrushes are almost as cheap as the non-powered variety, but [...]

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Google Chrome to make your settings searchable

Updates to Chrome Canary tend to fly under the radar a lot of the time -- many of the changes are subtle, and Google doesn't blog about Canary the way it does Chrome's Dev, Beta, and Stable channels. One visible addition to Chrome Canary 9.0.591.0 is the arrival of a search box on the tabbed settings page.

As Chrome continues its evolution from mere browser into a 'platform,' the settings pages will likely see more and more customization options added. Some pages -- like Under the Hood -- are already getting quite lengthy, so adding an option to search certainly makes sense. [Don't forget Firefox's filterable about:config, too! -Ed]

Chrome's settings search is not hooked up at the moment, hence my homage to Celebrity Jeopardy.

Download Google Chrome Canary for Windows

Google Chrome to make your settings searchable originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/11/24/google-chrome-to-make-your-settings-searchable/

Acer seduces with slim, trim AZ3750-A34D all-in-one PC

Go 'head Acer! Get down with your bad self! After introducing a bevy of tablets at a press event earlier this week, it seems as if the company has at least one more trick up its sleeve: this. The AZ3750-A34D all-in-one PC is easily one of the sexiest AIO units we've seen in quite some time, boasting a 21.5-inch LCD, a 3.2GHz Core i3-550 processor, up to 8GB of DDR3 memory, a 500GB (7200RPM) SATA hard drive, multi-format card reader, DVD burner and 802.11b/g/n WiFi. You'll also get a gigabit Ethernet port, a 1920 x 1080 screen resolution, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), eight USB 2.0 ports and a bundled mouse / keyboard. The hardware alone will go for ¥69,800 ($832) -- thankfully, the titillation factor is thrown in gratis.

Acer seduces with slim, trim AZ3750-A34D all-in-one PC originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Nov 2010 10:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/27/acer-seduces-with-slim-trim-az3750-a34d-all-in-one-pc/

Sonic All Adapter Grants Sonic Cleaning Capabilities To Any Toothbrush

By Andrew Liszewski
So I like the idea behind this Sonic All device which lets you turn any manual toothbrush into a vibrating, super-cleaning machine. But in practice I’m finding it hard to figure out who this would really appeal to. At this point basic electric toothbrushes are almost as cheap as the non-powered variety, but [...]

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Ohgizmo/~3/FhiCMt7oKb0/

Google TV Already In Trouble? Sony Offering 25% Off Blu-ray Google TV Units

Google TV might be in a bit of a pickle if a Best Buy and Sony sale is any indication. The platform launched a few weeks ago with the Logitech Revue and Sony Internet TV. Both are loaded with the same system and so both are suffering the fate of Big Media's blockade. It's a sad story, really. �Google TV aimed to bridge the span between subscription-based TV and Internet content, but so far said bridge is still held up by bureaucratic�red tape nonsense. Sony seems to be solving one of the platform's biggest deal breakers: the price. Google TV units are crazy expensive. The Logitech Revue launched at $300 and that price is still holding strong even at retailers like Amazon�amidst nearly site-wide�Black Friday sales. It's the Sony set-top box model that's uncharacteristically on sale right now even though it's less than a month old. This doesn't look��so�well for Google's living room takeover plans.

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Sony Cuts Google TV MSRP, Is Google TV Already Failing?

Sony Electronics has cut the price of their Sony Internet TV/Google TV Blu Ray player by $100.� While this may be a good sign to consumers on the fence about new technology, it?s definitely not a good sign to those invested in Google?s future placement in living rooms everywhere. A quick glance at the Best Buy price on the Blu Ray player may...

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Source: http://toysandgadget.com/uncategorized/sony-cuts-google-tv-msrp-is-google-tv-already-failing/

Samsung Stealth V spotted sneakily getting DLNA cartification

We've all been drooling over the Nexus S for the past couple of weeks, but a new Samsung handset has just leaked that could end up leapfrogging the NS in our hearts and our minds.

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Source: http://toysandgadget.com/uncategorized/samsung-stealth-v-spotted-sneakily-getting-dlna-cartification/

Boxee Box Gets First Major Firmware Update

Boxee Box owners out there should be happy to hear that the device is ready to receive its first major firmware update. Build 1.0.1.16319 offers several fixes and improvements for issues including video artifacts and missing video for 1080i content on the web, the inability to handle certain subtitles, a more accurate signal indicator for Wi-Fi, and support for more encryption methods and improved reliability for Mac. You can check out the full list of updates over at the official blog and the good news is that your device is configured to check for updates every 24 hours, though you can manually initiate an update by going to Settings>System>Update>Check for New Version of Boxee. If you haven’t purchased this yet, you can check out our in-depth review to find out if this is what you’re looking for.

Permalink: Boxee Box Gets First Major Firmware Update from Ubergizmo | Hot: Macbook Air Review, Google TV Review

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Source: http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2010/11/boxee_box_gets_first_major_firmware_update.html

Invitations For PlayStation Phone Event Being Sent Out?

There's no official word on this just yet, but a picture of an invitation to a mysterious press event early next month has been going around. The event states that it's "the most awaited event of the past 10 years." While there is no confirmation that it's authentic, the PlayStation controller icons are clear on the picture, along with the icon of a phone, pretty much hinting the arrival of a PlayStation Phone. We've previously seen possible pictures of the PlayStation Phone, so it's entirely possible that Sony might be planning to reveal it on December 9th (as dated on the invitation). With December just around the corner, we shouldn't have to wait too long in order to find out if this turns out to be true or not.

Permalink: Invitations For PlayStation Phone Event Being Sent Out? from Ubergizmo | Hot: Macbook Air Review, Google TV Review

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Source: http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2010/11/invitations_for_playstation_phone_event_being_sent_out.html

Invitations For PlayStation Phone Event Being Sent Out?

There's no official word on this just yet, but a picture of an invitation to a mysterious press event early next month has been going around. The event states that it's "the most awaited event of the past 10 years." While there is no confirmation that it's authentic, the PlayStation controller icons are clear on the picture, along with the icon of a phone, pretty much hinting the arrival of a PlayStation Phone. We've previously seen possible pictures of the PlayStation Phone, so it's entirely possible that Sony might be planning to reveal it on December 9th (as dated on the invitation). With December just around the corner, we shouldn't have to wait too long in order to find out if this turns out to be true or not.

Permalink: Invitations For PlayStation Phone Event Being Sent Out? from Ubergizmo | Hot: Macbook Air Review, Google TV Review

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Source: http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2010/11/invitations_for_playstation_phone_event_being_sent_out.html

OMG/JK: Mistletoe, AirPlay, And Other Forms Of Near Field Communication

It's Black Friday, which means that many of you woke up this morning at the crack of dawn, shrugged off your Thanksgiving food comas, and made your way to the dreary parking lots of electronic stores across the country. Right about now, you're probably just waking up from your recovery nap ?�and there's nothing better to get your sluggish mind back on track than this week's episode of OMG/JK. This week, we talk about The Daily, an iPad-only newspaper from News Corp that will reportedly be launching soon. We also discuss the latest iOS software release, which adds a slew of features to the iPad just in time for the holidays, including the aptly-named AirPlay.

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

Auto HD for YouTube lets you pre-set Chrome for 720p in YouTube

Auto HD for YouTube is a fairly simple Chrome add-on, which has a similar function to the many Greasemonkey scripts that do the same thing: it makes YouTube default to high-quality playback. I've tried it out, and here are some quick thoughts:

• No auto buffering: Sadly, this add-on doesn't change YouTube's default behavior, which is to just start playing the video rather than buffer and wait for you to hit Play. So if you have a slow connection and still wish to enjoy HD, you might be better off with the Greasemonkey script called YouTube Auto Buffer & Auto HD & Remove Ads.
• Doesn't work well with channels: I've tried it out with the Pomplamoose video channel, and it just wouldn't work. The video played at 480p. Only when I clicked through to an individual video page did the add-on kick in.
• Handy options: You can have the player auto-widen, and you can set four different quality settings: "Preferred," "Secondary," "Fallback," and even "Secondary fallback." I must say, "Secondary fallback" sounds like a bit of an overkill to me, but it's available.

All in all, it does work. If you'd rather use native Chrome add-ons than Greasemonkey scripts, try it on for size.

Filed under: Video, Browsers

Auto HD for YouTube lets you pre-set Chrome for 720p in YouTube originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/11/19/auto-hd-for-youtube-lets-you-pre-set-chrome-for-720p-in-youtube/

Nendo's ceramic circuit board speaker gives the rest of the audio world body image issues

We've seen slick hand-crafted ceramic speakers in the past, but this one millimeter-thick collaboration between potter Mitsuke Masagasu and design firm Nendo is in a different league. An entirely different league. The set is result of the so-called Revalue Nippon Project, created by Japanese footballer Nakata Hidetoshi to revive traditional Japanese art forms. Nakata selected five curators -- in this case the director of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazaw -- who were then tasked with pairing a ceramicist and designer to collaborate on a one of a kind form. Not satisfied with simply being 31 times thinner than the emaciated Mythos XTR series as a sole basis for artistic impact, the speaker's ravishing circuit design is also made without a human touch. Instead, a computer-controlled process cuts thin slices from a ceramic substrate slab, fixes them with mercury vapor, and then mounts them via a robotic arm. Amazingly, sound quality is still also touted as being top notch. There are no plans however for these speakers to ever be mass produced, so if you were hoping to snag one as the ultimate accessory for your über-modern flat... well, let yourself down easy, alright champ?

Gallery: Ceramic Speaker by Nendo

Nendo's ceramic circuit board speaker gives the rest of the audio world body image issues originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 10:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/26/nendos-ceramic-circuit-board-speaker-gives-the-rest-of-the-audi/