Daily Crunch: Power Supply Edition

Behind The Scenes At The Impossible Project’s Resurrected Polaroid Facility “The Best Chance To Beat Gasoline:” An Excerpt From Seth Fletcher’s Bottled Lightning The ZEHST Is The 3,000 MPH, Zero Emissions Airplane Of 2050 Japan Takes Top Spot From China: Fujitsu’s “K” Is The World’s Most Powerful Supercomputer Finally, A Solar Powered Netbook Comes To [...]

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Invisible ‘Covert’ Drawer Lock Uses Magnets

What’s the most secure place to hide something? A place that’s not there, of course. Or the next best thing, a place that appears not to be there. And this is just what Quirky’s invisible Covert drawer lock aspires to be.
As with any magic not involving mirrors, the Covert uses magnets. The gadget consists of [...]

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Google holds back on open-sourcing Honeycomb, heralds massive shift for Android

Google, in an interesting but not entirely unexpected twist, will not be open-sourcing Android 3.0 Honeycomb for the foreseeable future.

Historically, Android is usually open-sourced via the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) a few days or weeks after the code is finalized. While this departure from the norm won't affect OEMs like HTC and Motorola that have access to internal builds of Android, small-time developers will likely have to wait months before rolling their own distributions.

As to why Google is holding back Honeycomb, its reasons are actually rather rational. Honeycomb, while originally intended to run on all mobile form factors, is only ready for deployment on tablets. "To make our schedule to ship the tablet, we made some design tradeoffs," says Andy Rubin, the head of Google's Android group. "We didn't want to think about what it would take for the same software to run on phones. It would have required a lot of additional resources and extended our schedule beyond what we thought was reasonable. So we took a shortcut."

In other words, Google wants to prevent OEMs and homebrew developers like Cyanogen from rolling their own smartphone versions of Honeycomb -- it doesn't want to see the same bitter-tasting tabletified bastardization that occurred with Android 2.1 and 2.2 last year.

Continue reading Google holds back on open-sourcing Honeycomb, heralds massive shift for Android

Google holds back on open-sourcing Honeycomb, heralds massive shift for Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google holds back on open-sourcing Honeycomb, heralds massive shift for Android

Google, in an interesting but not entirely unexpected twist, will not be open-sourcing Android 3.0 Honeycomb for the foreseeable future.

Historically, Android is usually open-sourced via the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) a few days or weeks after the code is finalized. While this departure from the norm won't affect OEMs like HTC and Motorola that have access to internal builds of Android, small-time developers will likely have to wait months before rolling their own distributions.

As to why Google is holding back Honeycomb, its reasons are actually rather rational. Honeycomb, while originally intended to run on all mobile form factors, is only ready for deployment on tablets. "To make our schedule to ship the tablet, we made some design tradeoffs," says Andy Rubin, the head of Google's Android group. "We didn't want to think about what it would take for the same software to run on phones. It would have required a lot of additional resources and extended our schedule beyond what we thought was reasonable. So we took a shortcut."

In other words, Google wants to prevent OEMs and homebrew developers like Cyanogen from rolling their own smartphone versions of Honeycomb -- it doesn't want to see the same bitter-tasting tabletified bastardization that occurred with Android 2.1 and 2.2 last year.

Continue reading Google holds back on open-sourcing Honeycomb, heralds massive shift for Android

Google holds back on open-sourcing Honeycomb, heralds massive shift for Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sun Microsystems GOOGLE

Lifeproof takes iPhone cases to the extreme

Lifeproof cases can protect your iPhone from impact and even water exposure, but what good is that if you can't have a little fun?

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Okay, Nope: This Is the Best Booth at CES

I'm sure whatever booth Robbie checked out at CES is great, but the best booth at CES didn't come from an ultrabook or smart TV manufactuer. Nope, it came from Audi. I am steadfast in my belief that it is BETTER. Like OMGDONTEVENTRYTOARGUEWITHME better. What makes it so great, exactly? Um, have you looked at the photos yet? More »

information database TRANSACTION SYSTEMS ARCHITECTS

Nominate your “global good” hero to speak at TEDxChange

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Apple TV gets an iOS 5 (iOS 4.4.) update as well!

Alongside the rest of the iDevices, Apple has released an update for the Apple TV making it v.4.4!This update weighs at 377mb.   The new features are Trailers, Photo Stream, NHL, and the Wall Street Journal Live!

Direct Download Link:

Apple TV (4.4)...

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Fiverr outs new Levels feature, aims to aid user buying decisions and reward sellers

Fiverr, a website popular internationally for its simple philosophy of people offering services for just $5, recently added a new feature to its website to aid sellers called ‘levels’. The ‘levels’ feature, aimed to help buyers and aid their decisions to find trusted sellers,  is very simple to understand as there are just three levels; [...]

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Handsome Humidifier Disguises Itself as a Vase

LAS VEGAS — Humidifiers are ugly. It’s true. If you don’t believe me just check out this Google Image Search.
Ah. But no more. Japan’s D-Design has created a line of humidifiers I’d actually want in my living room or bedroom. Truth be told, I really, really wish I had one in my hotel room [...]

Programming Language ITRON

Here's What The iPad 3, 4, and 5 Will Look Like

You may have seen the story that the iPad 3 has gone into production. We're pleased to announce that we already know what it's going to look like. In fact, we know about the next two models after that as well. More »

Source: TNS

NJOY Electronic Cigarette

	NJOY Electronic Cigarette www.jakeludington.com Video demo of NJOY nicotine vaporization technology that provides simulated smoking experience without the carcinogens generated by burning tobacco in traditional cigarettes and cigars. TSA approved and theoretically legal to use on airplanes. More details here: www.jakeludington.com	From: jakeludington Views: 175738 94 ratings
	Time: 01:54	More in Science & Technology

Enterprises IT NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS

Google Just Made Bing the Best Search Engine

I just switched the default search engine in my browser from Google to Bing. And if you care about working efficiently, or getting the right results when you search, then maybe you should too. Don't laugh! More »

Programming Language ROCKWELL AUTOMATION

Add a Windows 8 user tile to your Windows 7 taskbar

Now that Windows 8 images have begun leaking out, it's only a matter of time until developers start releasing mods for Windows 7 which mimic upcoming features. Over at Into Windows, they've spotted one such mod already.

In the earliest Windows 8 images, we saw Windows Live integration on the taskbar. In the far right corner, there's a user tile displayed. If you'd like to do the same on Windows 7, download Taskbar User Tile from DeviantArt user AngelWZR.

Once installed, your current picture will appear on the taskbar. Click it, and a menu appears which allows you to log off, switch users, and access the control panel. Right now, the mod only works if your taskbar is displayed on the bottom of your Windows desktop.

Add a Windows 8 user tile to your Windows 7 taskbar originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Computer Hardware HYNIX SEMICONDUCTOR

Production Cutbacks Insufficient to Prevent Solar Module Inventory Buildup

Current Production Plans and Demand Outlook Suggest Oversupply Will Be Maintained into Next Year

computer network MANTECH INTERNATIONAL

iPhone 4S store sales cancelled in Beijing and Shanghai due to crowd trouble

Apple has postponed selling the latest iPhone 4S in some stores in mainland China after crowd disturbances spoilt its launch day. The main trouble appeared outside of the Apple Store

Computer Software MICROSOFT

SONY, PANASONIC AND SAMSUNG TEAM UP WITH XPAND 3D TO TEST CROSS-COMPATIBILITY

One of the big, bad issues with 3D has been the variety of technologies used by different vendors. At this stage in the game, with the HDTV market delineated by price tier, most companies have determined to stick to one particular format of 3D technology.  On the lower end of the price spectrum, companies offering “budget” 3D HDTV’s, [...]

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WinPho Struts Its Stuff at CES

After a difficult year spent at the lower depths of the global smartphone market, Microsoft's Windows Phone devices roared out of oblivion at CES 2012. Analysts and the media outlets are raving about the Nokia Lumia 900 and the HTC Titan II, which are displayed at the event. "Once people get over the fact that these are not iPhones or Androids, they'll be pleased," said IDC's Ramon Llamas.

Enterprises IT MOODYS

Cars Connect With Apps, the Cloud at CES

Automakers are racing the put the mobile in automobile as they connect our vehicles to the cloud and increasingly blur the line between cars and consumer electronics.

IT professional INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES

Win a DuckDuckGo shirt!

There are lots of reasons to celebrate having DuckDuckGo installed as a default search engine in Opera, starting with the sheer personality factor. Just look at that little guy!

Apart from that, it's a model Internet citizen, especially when it comes to privacy. DuckDuckGo doesn't track you, nor does it store personal information like IP addresses or user agents. It even lets you use URL parameters instead of cookies to store settings.

Because this is just too much good stuff to keep quiet about, we are spreading the word about DuckDuckGo by giving away t-shirts! For your chance to win one, click here to go to the contest that will test your level of DDG knowledge. The contest closes on January 16, so get ahead and get quackin'!

Good luck - or shall we say, good duck!

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MySpace Isn’t Dead In The US, It’s Just Getting Closer To Zero Users… As Twitter, G+ Grow

If you look at just one month of data, you'll see that Myspace still has users. That's the good news for the aging social network. The bad news is that it has kept losing them through its many executive changes, various redesigns and the recent acquisition by Specific Media and Justin Timberlake. Maybe that new plan to do something with TV will turn things around? Anyway, the latest US numbers from comScore are out now, for December, and here's how MySpace stacks up against its many rivals.

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Scrabble Helper helps you improve your Words With Friends gameplay

If you play Scrabble (or a scrabble-like game) from time to time, you may want to check out Scrabble Helper. This simple website is a godsend when you're at a loss for words. Simply enter whatever letters you have, and the word you'd like to connect with. Scrabble helper comes up with a whole bunch of suggestions sorted by score.

The site lets you select one of five dictionaries - Scrabble International/US, Lexulous International/US, and Words With Friends. Some people might say this constitutes cheating -- I think if the other side knows you're doing it, it's definitely not cheating. And it doesn't take the challenge out of the game, because implementing Scrabble Helper's suggestions and deciding which words you'd like to connect with still takes a fair bit of thought.

Very handy, though perhaps not one for the Scrabble puritans in the crowd.

Scrabble Helper helps you improve your Words With Friends gameplay originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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IT professional SYNTEL

Firefox 4 Friday: 25 million downloads, anti-aliasing, and how to make it look like Firefox 3

If you've had your head under a rock for the last few days, here's this week's Firefox news in brief: Firefox 4 was finally released.

Yes, 13 months after the initial release of Firefox 3.7 alpha 1 and four more alpha builds, a renumbering to 4.0 and 12 beta releases, and finally a release candidate (or two), Firefox 4 has been released into the wild.

Just like every other Firefox release, initial reception for the new browser has been nothing short of insane. 7.1 million downloads were registered in the first 24 hours and the download rate continued to accelerate, clocking in more than 15 million downloads after two days. At the time of writing, three days in, Firefox 4 has been downloaded over 25 million times. In case you're wondering, the United States accounts for 7 million of those downloads, just beating out Germany's Firefox-downloads-per-capita.

But now that you've installed Firefox 4 (you have, right?), what do you do now? Well, obviously, in true Download Squad fashion, it's time to tweak Firefox 4 using add-ons and about:config hacks!

First up is an add-on called Stratiform that lets you change every aspect of the Firefox 4 browser chrome -- including the color of that orange button!

Continue reading Firefox 4 Friday: 25 million downloads, anti-aliasing, and how to make it look like Firefox 3

Firefox 4 Friday: 25 million downloads, anti-aliasing, and how to make it look like Firefox 3 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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information database FEI COMPANY

Joe and Buzz

Meet Joe and Buzz, two southern boys who along with Joe's wife Amy Ann, spend their days talking about important stuff like how to share your french fries with a woman or how to get on the front page of reddit.

You can now watch their web show right here on My Opera. Check out all their videos - a new episode is released every Tuesday- so make sure you join their group, subscribe to their blog and even befriend Joe, Buzz and Amy Ann. Stay tuned for weekly videos and updates!

Check out their newest episode (fresh today!), Ring of Fire:

Read More... SALESFORCE COM

Hands-on with the ZAGGkeys FLEX

The ZAGGkeys FLEX is a great Bluetooth keyboard that includes a case that ultimately doubles up as a stand for your iPhone or iPad. Generally portable keyboards are either awkwardly

Multimedia distribution mechanism SYNTEL

Evoluce Win&I brings Kinect gesture controls to Windows 7

We've been looking at some pretty cool Kinect and Windows interactions for a while now, but we were hoping that the release of an official SDK would lead to even more coolness. Evoluce has stepped up, and is now offering Win&I -- a full-featured gesture control system for Windows 7.

The company claims that a range of up to four meters is supported, which should be perfect for just about any home theater setting. In the video embedded after the break, you can see an Evoluce demonstrator flip through a photo album, pan through a map, rearrange application windows, browse the Web, and control media playback. Two versions of Win&I are offered -- the home version goes for about 20 Euros, the business version for 40.

Anyone else having fun pretending his stance is a little "Iron Man"? We're tempted to put a repulsor on that hand.

Continue reading Evoluce Win&I brings Kinect gesture controls to Windows 7

Evoluce Win&I brings Kinect gesture controls to Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square Card Case moves into v1.1 with directory improvements and Twitter integration

The latest Square Card Case update has now made its way to the Android Market and is sitting pretty at v1.1. The latest release adds onto Twitter integration, has an improved directory and also includes the ability to move and delete cards from with the app.

If you've not yet made yourself familiar with Card Case -- it allows you to browse daily retaurant menus, keep digital receipts and pay by saying your name at the counter where merchants support it. Check out the video past the break, if you're wanting to see the app in action.

read more

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Google Takes Annual Science Fair Global With Support For Submissions In 13 Languages

Last year, in its first year, the Google Science Fair became the largest online science fair in the world with over 7,500 entries from more than 90 countries. Google Science Fair, which is in partnership with CERN, The LEGO Group, National Geographic and Scientific American, is open to students around the world who are between the ages of 13-18. Today, Google is announcing the second annual Science Fair, with an emphasis on making the contest even more global. Similar to last year, contestants can build and submit a project (via photos and videos), a hypothesis, as well as written observations online using Google Sites Either individually or in teams of three. This year however, Google will be accepting submissions in 13 languages (compared to English-only last year).

IT professional SPANSION

Cleantech Open announces winners

Twenty-one cleantech startups from across the U.S. competed for a grand prize of $250,000 in seed investment and services at this year’s Cleantech Open Business Competition. On Wednesday night, the not-for-profit organization awarded the national grand prize to the winner in the renewable energy category, Atmosphere Recovery, which makes laser-based gas analyzer systems for efficient manufacturing and advanced energy process control.  See the full list of winners here.

Related News QUANTA COMPUTER

Solar Infrastructure Codes

Unirac is a strong advocate for developing new codes for solar infrastructure, and has been working closely with the International Code Council Evaluation Service to develop new performance standards for racking and mounting systems. Unirac’s new SolarMount (E)volution residential roof mount PV racking system, launched at Solar Power International in October, is currently being evaluated by ICC-ES. Unirac is the first company to apply for an ICC ESR under ICC-ES AC428.

Computer Software HYPERCOM

Razer Naga Hex Gaming Mouse hands-on (video)

Ready to give your right thumb a workout? We just tested our hand stamina with the recently-outed Razer Naga Hex Gaming Mouse. The programmable, six-button side panel also sports a thumb rest in the center of the control set -- something we found to be a nice touch. If the stock feel of the buttons doesn't exactly suit your gaming style, you can switch them out for two other heights for a better grasp of things. Shipping this spring, it'll set you back $80. So is the Naga Hex a sound investment? Read on to find out.

The first thing we noticed about the Naga Hex was how lighting fast it was. We didn't experience any lag in the movement, something we've come to count on from Razer peripherals. There was the slightest bit of travel with button set on the right side, though, which is something that could change once you pop on those interchangeable heights. Those side buttons also boast speeds of up to 250 clicks per second, making those all-too-important macros keep pace with your MW3 tactics. Naga Hex is the first Razer device to sport Synapse 2.0, a cloud-based service that manages all of your custom settings even when you head over to mates house. Scroll wheel and buttons up top work like a charm as well, making it a nice piece of kit to add to your gaming rig.

Gallery: Razer Naga Hex hands-on

Continue reading Razer Naga Hex Gaming Mouse hands-on (video)

Razer Naga Hex Gaming Mouse hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: LEXMARK INTERNATIONAL

Cleantech Open announces winners

Twenty-one cleantech startups from across the U.S. competed for a grand prize of $250,000 in seed investment and services at this year’s Cleantech Open Business Competition. On Wednesday night, the not-for-profit organization awarded the national grand prize to the winner in the renewable energy category, Atmosphere Recovery, which makes laser-based gas analyzer systems for efficient manufacturing and advanced energy process control.  See the full list of winners here.

Related News MEMC ELECTRONIC MATERIALS

Hands-on with Vizio's 10-inch tablet

Tucked away deep within the Wynn Hotel here in Las Vegas, Vizio has set up a command center for its CES offerings, one of which is its upcoming 10-inch tablet. Still unnamed, the device is running Honeycomb underneath a pretty slick custom skin-- see our review of Vizio's 8-inch tablet to get a true feel for the experience. Unfortunately Vizio reps were tight-lipped when it came to details. They wouldn't divulge processor speeds, RAM, or screen resolution, though they did mention that while it's shipping with Honeycomb, Ice Cream Sandwich isn't out of the realm of possibility. Hit the break for more impressions.

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MIT Energy Initiative: With changes, U.S. electric grid can hold up to expected challenges

MIT report shows that with new policies, U.S. electric grid could handle expected influx of electric cars and wind and solar generation.

Multimedia distribution mechanism INTEL

You can now rent Adobe Photoshop for $35 per month, CS 5.5 available soon

Rejoice! No longer will you have to fork over $700 for a Photoshop CS5 license! Adobe has unveiled a new subscription scheme where you can rent the entire Creative Suite, or individual packages, by the month, or for an entire year.

Adobe Photoshop can be yours for $35 per month if you agree to rent it for 12 months, or $49 per month if you require its services for a shorter period. Dreamweaver can be had for even cheaper, at just $19 per month. The entire Master Collection is still rather expensive, though, at $125 per month.

Today, Adobe also ushered in the release of Creative Suite 5.5, and simultaneously upped its release cycle from 18 months to 24 months. This means, if you rent Photoshop for two years, it's actually the same cost as buying it outright. There's no rent-to-own option, though -- so you wouldn't have access to the cheaper upgrade price once Creative Suite 6 rolls around next year. Still, if you need access to Photoshop, After Effects or Premiere for a one-time project, the new rental scheme could be exactly what you're looking for.

In other news, Adobe has announced that it will be launching three rather exciting iPad apps that work in conjunction with Photoshop: Eazel, Nav, and Color Lava. Eazel lets you five-finger paint on your iPad, and export the result into Photoshop; Nav acts as some kind of workspace, brush and menu extension, and the hopefully named Color Lava is a paint mixing palette. The apps are expected to appear in the App Store in the next 30 days.

You can now rent Adobe Photoshop for $35 per month, CS 5.5 available soon originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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