Blackberry Bold Touch
Research In Motion today introduced the latest additions to its Bold series of smartphones, the RIM BlackBerry Bold 9900 and the BlackBerry Bold 9930
Report: Next Xbox, Playstation launching in 2014
If you're hoping for the Xbox 720 or the PlayStation 4 to arrive anytime soon, prepare to be disappointed.
Apple TV update adds MLB.TV, NBA, AirPlay enhancements
Alongside the iOS 4.3 update, Apple TV received several new feature updates this afternoon, including live streaming sports from MLB.TV and NBA League Pass, AirPlay enhancements, and 5.1 Dolby Digital audio on some streaming Netflix titles.
27 May 2011
Beat the hackers at their own game with this security bundle
If you are one of the millions of people who now bank and shop online, you need an extra layer of protection to ensure that your online activities are safe and secure. Zemana Antilogger and Hitman Pro bundle prevents keyloggers and hackers from getting access to your PC, keeping you safe, secure, and free of worry as you surf the Internet.
3D HTML5 video shows up in Firefox
You can watch 3D videos via HTML5 on YouTube, starting today. The catch? This new feature is limited to Firefox 4, and to people who have a specific kind of Nvidia graphics card.
YouTube currently hosts "several thousand" 3D videos that it will encode and play back in WebM format, according to a blog post by Mozilla Director of Platform Product Management Chris Blizzard. Only people who have Nvidia 3D Vision graphics cards will be able to see those videos in 3D, and only if they are played in Firefox.
If you have the 3D Vision hardware, search YouTube for "yt3d," which will bring up videos encoded in 3D. You will also have to set your 3D hardware mode.
Full list of 3D HTML5 video on YouTube requirements:
• NVIDIA GeForce GPU-equipped PC or notebook
• NVIDIA GeForce driver Release 275 or later
• A 3D Vision Ready monitor, notebook, projector, or DLP HDTV
• NVIDIA 3D Vision emitter and glasses when using a PC monitor or notebook display
As the requirements listed above indicate, 3D HTML5 video on YouTube can only be watched by a small segment of the Web browsing public. However, the mere fact that HTML5 video standards are still growing and introducing new abilities, such as today's 3D announcement, indicates that HTML5 video's potential is far from fully tapped. Given the continuing and developing support for HTML5 in the top 5 browsers, it probably won't take long for Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Opera to follow Firefox's lead here.
If you've been able to watch 3D HTML5 video on YouTube, let us know what you think in the comments below.
14 May 2011
Google To Unveil Online Music Service
Google Inc. is preparing as early as Tuesday to unveil a new online music service similar to a service recently launched by Amazon.com Inc., according to people familiar with the matter, a move that escalates the battle to create the next generation of Internet businesses for storing and listening to music.
Google, like Amazon, hasn't secured licenses from the four major recorded-music companies, according to these people, and is likely to include a system that functions much like a remote hard drive.
Users of the service are expected to be able to listen to songs they have uploaded to the service in a so-called streaming mode but won't be able to download the files themselves. That limit appears to be a bid by Google to hinder the service from being used to spread pirated music.
A Google spokeswoman had no comment.
Google is likely to announce the service Tuesday at its annual Google I/O developers conference in San Francisco, these people said. Initially, the service is to operate in a testing mode, and not be available to the public at large.
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Report: PlayStation 3 trade-ins on the rise
PlayStation 3 trade-ins have hit higher-than-expected levels at some retail outlets following Sony's PlayStation Network troubles, a new report claims.
According to gaming publication Edge, U.K. retail sources say they've seen a "massive increase" in PlayStation 3 trade-ins over the past several weeks. In one location, a source claims, PlayStation 3 trade-ins are up "over 200 percent." Half of those folks are taking cash for the trade, the publication's source says, while the other half are opting to buy Microsoft's Xbox 360.
A source from another game retailer told Edge that the strong uptick in trade-ins is being driven by the "hard-core online shooter crowd" that hasn't been able to play online with the PlayStation 3 for weeks.
Sony's troubles started last month when the company announced that its PlayStation Network had been hacked. The company subsequently took the service down to address the security problems. Sony has since revealed that the personal information was stolen from more than 100 million customers who subscribed to its PlayStation Network, Qriocity, and Sony Online services. Sony said yesterday that it hopes to bring the online services back up "in the next few days."
While the PlayStation Network remains inaccessible, Microsoft's alternative, Xbox Live, has been running without a hitch, forcing gamers who want to play titles online to migrate to that service and potentially leading to the trade-ins that retailers have apparently been witnessing.
However, it's worth noting that any trade-in problem is not universal. I contacted several of my local GameStop stores, and only one of them reported that PlayStation trade-ins were higher than expected.
Neither GameStop's national office nor Sony immediately responded to TA's request for comment.
06 May 2011
Halifax Holiday Matchmaker Facebook app
Are you the type of person that gets on a getaway every now and then? Are you the type of person that finds difficulty in choosing the next destination? Well this maybe the one solution you’ve been looking for. This is the Halifax Holiday Matchmaker, a Facebook app that chooses the best destination for your next vacation based on your friends, their preferences and the like.
Once you’ve given the permission to the app, it shows you this page that will more or less give you a glimpse of what you’ll be having if you take their vacation package. The page is divided into sections. First is the one seen above where you’re given a certain percentage compatibility with their recommended place — 80% as seen here.
Included in the recommendations is a suitable hotel that would best compliment the user’s overall experience in the said place. Conveniently included is a Google Map screenshot of where the place is for easier location. Then there’s a section where the app tells you how much you’d spend on certain activities, as seen below.
Conveniently, when planning a vacation like this, you’re likely to consider the weather in that particular place as to ensure that you’ll enjoy every moment spent there. And this app, doesn’t forget that fact and shows what weather you’re most likely to experience in the place, again as shown below.
Just remember that all of these, you could just avail if you get their Halifax Travel Money service. With that button seen all over the place, they made it pretty sure that you won’t forget doing that. To access the Facebook app, just log in to your account and go to the link here
How to transfer music from an iPod to your computer
Most of us store music in two places: on our computer and on our iPod (or other MP3 player). But if your computer crashes indefinitely, all the music you (hopefully) purchased disappears along with it. So what's left? A handicapped iPod, as Apple restricts its gadgets to sync with one music library--any attempts to sync with a different computer will result in a deleted iPod.
Naturally, there's a workaround. If you'd like to safely move songs from your iPod (except the iPod Touch) to any computer, follow these steps:
How to transfer music from an iPod to a Mac
Step 1: Connect your iPod and launch iTunes. In the iPod management screen, scroll down to Options and check "Enable disk use." iTunes will give you a warning--select OK.
Step 1: Connect your iPod and launch iTunes. In the iPod management screen, scroll down to Options and check "Enable disk use." iTunes will give you a warning--select OK.
Step 2: Now your iPod will show up as a drive on your Desktop. But before you can access its files, download and install a program called Houdini. Houdini lets you view the music folder that's automatically hidden by Apple.
Step 3: Open Houdini, click "Folders," and then "Reveal." Locate your iPod, and open "iPod_controls." Highlight "Music," and press Choose.
Step 4: Now in your iPod folder, open iPod_Controls > Music. Highlight all of the folders and drag them into the desired folder on your hard drive. This might take a while, depending on how much music you're transferring.
Once the files are copied, you've successfully transferred the music. However, you'll notice that the songs have four-letter names and are scattered among many folders. It's OK. Once you import the music into iTunes (or any other media player), the program will reinstate the titles of the songs.
How to transfer music to an iPod to a Windows computer
Step 1: Connect your iPod and launch iTunes. In the iPod management screen, scroll down to Options and check "Enable disk use." iTunes will give you a warning--select OK.
Step 1: Connect your iPod and launch iTunes. In the iPod management screen, scroll down to Options and check "Enable disk use." iTunes will give you a warning--select OK.
Note: If you get an error message asking you to reformat upon connecting, your iPod was originally formatted for Mac and cannot be used in Windows. One workaround is to install a program like MacDrive, which will allow your Windows machine to read Mac-formatted drives. Clicking "reformat" will erase your iPod.
Step 2: Now open My Computer and open your iPod drive.
Step 3: Open Tools > Folder Options. Click the View tab and check "Show hidden files and folders."
Step 4: Now in your iPod folder, open iPod_Controls > Music. Highlight all of the folders and drag them into the desired folder on your hard drive. This might take a while, depending on how much music you're transferring.
Step 5: Highlight all of the folders again, right-click, and select Properties. Uncheck "Hidden." Close this window.
Once the files are copied, you've successfully transferred the music. However, you'll notice that the songs have four-letter names and are scattered among many folders. It's OK. Once you import the music into iTunes (or any other media player), the program will reinstate the titles of the songs.
Chat up a live parrot on Facebook
Few things warm the heart quite like a goofy publicity stunt. P.T. Barnum once had an elephant plow a field. German phone manufacturer Gigaset is right on Barnum's wavelength. Animals get attention. In this particular case, the animal is a chatty British Gold Macaw on Facebook.
OK, let's review. We have a parrot. We have Facebook. Put the two together in a live-chat format and you get people from around the world jawing with a bird over the Internet's most popular social-networking site.
I had the opportunity to briefly interview the bird (actually, it's a team of three birds taking different shifts). Certain keywords are likely to set him off. I was instructed that he likes peanuts, but that he was much more interested in the topics of chocolate and dogs.
In all this excitement, it might be easy to forget exactly why we're talking to a bird on Facebook in the first place. The parrot is supposed to pitch Gigaset's new L410 hands-free clip for cordless phones. He's a lousy pitchman. His obsession with chocolate completely overrides his ability to speak eloquently about the clip's tech specs.
For the record, the L410 is designed for home use and can be clipped to your clothes as a wearable speakerphone. It works with DECT-GAP phones and runs 49.99 euros. Germans gets first crack at it this month.
Now, back to the bird. The parrots will be on duty until the 9th of May between 3 a.m. and 1 p.m. PT. There are a few simple rules. Be patient. Don't swear. He won't answer questions about his personal life, but topics such as biscuits and chickens are OK.
Your friends will want proof. Make sure your Webcam is in good working order and you will end up with a video of yourself talking to the parrot to spread around on YouTube and Facebook. This is viral marketing, after all.