The Weekly Roundup for 03.25.2013

You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/31/the-weekly-roundup-for-03-25-2013/

Leslie Bibb Lil Kim Lily Allen Lindsay Lohan

From the Editor's Desk: We're going to Facebook - but first, a few questions

So we'll be at Facebook HQ on Thursday morning to find out about its "New home in Mobile." I've seen countless headlines (mostly rewrites of what probably are controlled leaks) full of possible answers about what we'll see on Thursday morning.

We'll be there, of course, to check it out. Liveblogs are inevitable, but Facebook should be streaming it live, if history repeats.

I don't have answers. But I do have a few questions. Will they be answered on Thursday? Or will we leave California once again asking "Why, Facebook? Why?"

A few thoughts worth exploring ...

read more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/xHhnBD4wvFI/story01.htm

Nicole Richie Nicole Scherzinger Nicollette Sheridan Nikki Cox

Hands-on with Divekick's minimalist two-button controller (video)

Just a couple days after we got our hands on Tenya Wanya Teen's crazy 16-button arcade stick, we were treated to its polar opposite; Divekick's two-button controller. Created by Iron Galaxy Studios just to show off the game at PAX East, the controller consists of two buttons slightly larger than the palms of our hands; the yellow one denotes a jump or dive, while the blue corresponds to a kick. As a parody of the fighting genre, Divekick's gameplay avoids complicated combo moves, is incredibly simple and immensely enjoyable, if we do say so ourselves.

Unlike traditional fighting games, the health bars are essentially meaningless, as a single power hit can take down your rival. Therefore you're focused on just the most basic movements -- a common one involves jumping in the air, tapping the other button for the downward kick, and then tapping it again to fly backwards. As for moving your character about, a jump and kick combo will get you charging towards your foe. Some characters let you fly when jumping, while others reward pressing buttons simultaneously. From our few minutes mashing the controller, it seems that timing and position are more important than ever with such fundamental mechanics, and ones that we picked up pretty quickly. We especially enjoyed kicking our adversary in the head to make them dazed and vulnerable in the early seconds of the next round.

Gallery: Divekick's two-button controller

Filed under: Gaming

Comments

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/2aK2Yg3bu48/

Tara Conner Tara Reed Tara Reid Taryn Manning

Time to think about Mother?s Day and Father?s Day gifts

In the Cloninger household, it’s always easy for Rachel to know what gifts to to get us. �For me, she always knows some sort of case or small gadget or even an iTunes card will be just what I will love. �Butch is pretty easy, too, but he’d prefer some little gadget for his guitars [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/03/29/time-to-think-about-mothers-day-and-fathers-day-gifts/

Elisha Cuthbert Eliza Dushku Emilie de Ravin Emma Heming

Star Trek: Into Darkness Will Have a NASA Ad for Real-Life Starfleet

Star Trek is every thing we hope space travel can be someday. Maybe we could do without all the universe-threatening disasters, but we're all hoping for a warp drive, or a tricorder, or a replicator. Until then, NASA is carrying the fire, and the 30-second NASA trailer that will play before Star Trek: Into Darkness aims to get you stoked about our current day, real-life Starfleet. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/6LZKvuZ2V8k/star-trek-into-darkness-will-have-a-nasa-ad-for-real+life-starfleet

Alessandra Ambrosio Alexis Bledel Ali Campoverdi Ali Larter

Firefox 4 rockets to 5% global usage share, IE9 wallows at 1.5%

Using some early numbers from both StatCounter and Net Applications, Mozilla's noisiest hominid, Asa Dotzler, has illustrated Firefox 4's meteoric rise to around 5% of Web browser global usage share. Internet Explorer 9, which launched two weeks ago, seems to be enjoying a much more casual stroll in the park with just 1.5% of the global Web usage share.

Interestingly, we can see IE9 dipping between March 20 and 21, just before the 'Important' Windows Update rolled out. It's hard to say whether IE9 is only growing because of the installed-by-default Windows Update, but that small dip definitely sticks out -- did excitement peter out? Did people download IE9, try it out, and summarily uninstall it? Perhaps, given their close proximity, the stats show an attention shift from Microsoft to Mozilla?

Numbers-wise, if the bottom left corner of the graph shows 2.3 million downloads for IE9, we can guesstimate that that it has now been downloaded 5 million times. Firefox is clocking in at 37 million downloads after five days of public availability.

We wonder whether Microsoft knew its release schedule would coincide so closely with Firefox 4. Internet Explorer 9 -- a great browser by almost every metric -- was never going to do well against anything emanating from the maws of Mozilla. The main thing, though, is that Microsoft has now shown that it's serious when it comes to the Open Web. If Internet Explorer 10 is good, and 11 and 12, then we might finally see it compete with the zealous Mozillan horde.

Firefox 4 rockets to 5% global usage share, IE9 wallows at 1.5% originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 05:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/28/firefox-4-rockets-to-5-global-usage-share-ie9-wallows-at-1-5/

FSU Cowgirls Gabrielle Union Garcelle Beauvais Genelle Frenoy

Gadget Lab Show: Aeropress Coffee Maker and Withings Smart Body-Analyzer

This week on the Gadget Lab Show, Mat Honan and Michael Calore show off the Aeropress Coffee maker and the Withings Smart Body Analyzer, a digital scale that measures more than just your weight. Whether you want to shed some ...

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/03/gadget-lab-show-withings-smart-body-analyzer-and-aeropress/

Brittany Murphy Brittany Snow Brittny Gastineau Brody Dalle

Perl: Jewel in the Rough or Scourge of IT?

It seems scarcely a day can go by without someone declaring some technology or another "dead." Take the netbook, for example. People have been saying for years it's dead; today, however, we have the Chromebook phenomenon. The command line is another popular target, of course, but few can compete with the Linux desktop itself, the death of which has been trumpeted so many times now that Linux Girl has lost count.

Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/77648.html

Brittany Snow Brittny Gastineau Brody Dalle Brooke Burke

Microsoft files antitrust complaint against Google in Europe, showdown imminent

Microsoft, citing Google's tyrannical 95% share of the European search market, has lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission. It's not like Microsoft is breaking any ground here -- the European Commission has been investigating Google's alleged violation of European competition law since November 2010 -- but there's no doubt that the addition of Microsoft's gravitas will affect the proceedings.

Microsoft's complaint reads like a sincere and plaintive cry for help against the Google Overlord. Microsoft lists no less than six damning reasons why Google's behavior is anti-competitive -- from Windows Phone 7's incompatibility with YouTube, to its nefarious handling of Google Books -- and finishes with a wide-eyed plea to the European Commission to please find Google guilty.

For those of you that have been following Microsoft's own antitrust troubles over the last decade, don't worry: MS is quick to point out the irony in the situation. "There of course will be some who will point out the irony in today's filing. Having spent more than a decade wearing the shoe on the other foot with the European Commission, the filing of a formal antitrust complaint is not something we take lightly. This is the first time Microsoft Corporation has ever taken this step. More so than most, we recognize the importance of ensuring that competition laws remain balanced and that technology innovation moves forward."

It sounds like Microsoft, having well and truly gone through the wringer, wants Google to be held similarly accountable. That's fair enough, right?

Microsoft files antitrust complaint against Google in Europe, showdown imminent originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 05:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/microsoft-files-antitrust-complaint-against-google-in-europe-sh/

Minka Kelly Minki van der Westhuizen Miranda Kerr Mischa Barton

Sony's Light Shaft, Motion Shot apps now available for NEX-5R and NEX-6 cams

One could easily argue that apps are a dime a dozen nowadays, but for those with a WiFi-ready, mirrorless Sony shooter, the in-cam software selection is still somewhat limited. As of a few hours ago, though, NEX-5R and NEX-6 owners now have two more options to choose from, thanks to Sony's new Light Shaft and Motion Shot applications. For starters, Light Shaft, as the company describes it, brings "a splash of light" to any picture using numerous differently shaped effects, such as Beam, Flare, Ray and Star. Motion Shot, on the other hand, takes multiple, continuous shots that are then superimposed to add a little flavor to action snaps, allowing users to easily pick the first and last images of every sequence. Available now via the PlayMemories shop, both apps are priced at $4.99 each -- which, to some, might feel like too steep a price to pay for a little unorthodox editing. We'll leave that decision up to you, though.

Filed under: Cameras, Software, Sony

Comments

Via: DPReview

Source: Sony

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/29/sony-light-shaft-motion-shot-nex-apps/

Ashley Tisdale Asia Argento Aubrey ODay Audrina Patridge

Security firm RSA attacked using Excel-Flash one-two sucker punch

It has emerged that the underlying cause of RSA's SecurID gaffe was the recently-reported zero-day vulnerability found in Adobe's Flash Player.

The exploit, which used specially-crafted Flash embedding in Excel spreadsheets, was first reported on March 15 and has since been fixed. RSA was hacked sometime in the first half of March when an employee was successfully spear phished and opened an infected spreadsheet. As soon as the spreadsheet was opened, an advanced persistent threat (APT) -- a backdoor Trojan -- called Poison Ivy was installed. From there, the attackers basically had free reign of RSA's internal network, which led to the eventual dissemination of data pertaining to RSA's two-factor authenticators.

The attack is reminiscent of the APTs used in the China vs. Google attacks from last year -- and indeed, Uri Rivner, the head of new technologies at RSA is quick to point out that that other big companies are being attacked, too: "The number of enterprises hit by APTs grows by the month; and the range of APT targets includes just about every industry. Unofficial tallies number dozens of mega corporations attacked [...] These companies deploy any imaginable combination of state-of-the-art perimeter and end-point security controls, and use all imaginable combinations of security operations and security controls. Yet still the determined attackers find their way in."

What we'd like to know, though, is whether the attack on RSA was caused by Adobe's lackadaisical approach to patching Flash -- or was it the other way around? Was it the RSA attack that first brought the zero-day vulnerability to Adobe's attention?

Security firm RSA attacked using Excel-Flash one-two sucker punch originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 06:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/security-firm-rsa-attacked-using-excel-flash-one-two-sucker-punc/

Zooey Deschanel Aaliyah Abbie Cornish Adriana Lima

Spring 2013 iOS and OS X conference schedule

The spring iOS and OS X developer and designer conference season is in full swing and this year more than ever the schedule looks jam packed with events and talent.

NSConf has already wrapped up in Leicester, England, where it sounds like a good time was had by all. Run by Steve Scott, and with presenters like Evan Doll, Michael Jurewitz, Craig Hockenberry, Daniel Jalkut, Daniel Pasco, Manton Reece, Rob Rhyne, and Emily Loop, that was never in any doubt. Hopefully the sessions will be available soon.

If you missed it though, there are several more coming our way soon.

CocoaConf Dallas - April 4-6, Dallas, USA - features Daniel Pasco, Manton Reece, and more.

�ll - April 12-18, Dublin, Ireland - is run by Paul Campbell of Hypertiny and Dermot Daly of Tapadoo. This year's slate of speakers includes Lex Friedman, Don Melton, Jennifer Brook, Matthew Panzarino, Jaimee Newberry, Matt Gemmel, and panels with Dave Wiskus, Neven Mrgan and Jim Dalrymple.

CocoaConf San Jose - April 18-29, San Jose, USA - features Michael Jurewitz, Matt Drance, Michael Simmons, and more.

NSNorth - April 19-21, Ottawa, Canada - is being held by Dan Byers and Philippe Casgrain. Speakers lined up include Guy English, Luc Vandal, Sam Vermette, Rob Rhyne, Gus Mueller, Caroline Sauve, and more.

One more thing - May 24, Melbourne, Australia - is put on by Anthony Agius and Lauren Watson of MacTalk. Speakers include Lex Friedman, Jaimee Newberry, Dave Wiskus, Louise Duncan, and many more.

And, of course, Apple should be capping it all off in June with WWDC 2013...

All of the events have lots of valuable information to share and many of them still have tickets available. So, head on over and grab yours now.

(If I missed listing your event let me know ASAP and I'll add it in.)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/SXvoATbTGAk/story01.htm

Shakira Shana Hiatt Shania Twain Shanna Moakler

The Dash Car Dongle Wants To Make You A Better Driver By Syncing With Your iPhone

I love my tiny little Mazda, but I'll be honest -- I still don't completely understand how it works. That's never really bothered me before (I'd much rather geek out over a phone or something) but a Kickstarter project from a small team in Boston has me itching to pay more attention to what's really going on under the hood. Long story short, Dash combines a Bluetooth 4.0-enabled dongle that plugs into your car's on-board diagnostics port with a smartphone app that gives you up-to-date information how on your car is holding up.

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

Eva Longoria Eva Mendes Evangeline Lilly Eve

Fieldrunners 2 beta invites are going out

Testers now being contacted via email for their chance to check out the Fieldrunners 2 beta

A few days ago we told you about the Fieldrunners 2 for Android closed beta and directed you to the sign-up page. If you followed through and signed up, be sure to check your inbox to see if you got in, as the invites are now rolling out. In the email you receive, you are given full instructions on installing and running the app, as well as the proper channel to submit bugs. That last part is important -- if you did get in, be sure to contact Subatomic Studios and let them know.  Also, some advice on how to uninstall in preparation for the final release product, as you may have issues with game progress data otherwise.

The beta is two of the 25 full missions that will be in the final edition, and besides testing for compatibility and bugs, you're bound to have a good time and see what the full version will offer. I've been playing Fieldrunners 2 on the PC for a while (I <3 U Steam weekend deals) and am a big fan of the original Fieldrunners game on Android. So far, I'm loving what I see here. Hopefully the testing goes smoothly, and we see a final release soon. Now if you'll excuse me, I have towers that need upgraded.

Thanks everyone who sent this in!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/IkmHxwg6444/story01.htm

Paz Vega Penélope Cruz Pink Piper Perabo

Oracle Launches New Servers - and War of Words With IBM

Oracle launched new midrange and high-end Sparc T5 and M5 servers this week with claims that the T5 models have set 17 world records and performed better than IBM's Power 780 series. That set off a round of dueling statements between the companies. "Most Oracle benchmark claims are not audited or published, although they do have some industry benchmarks, including TPC-C (Transaction Processing Performance Council),"
said IBM spokesperson Jeff Cross.

Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/77658.html

Emilie de Ravin Emma Heming Emma Stone Emma Watson

Evoluce Win&amp;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.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/evoluce-winandi-controls-windows-7-with-a-kinect-sensor/

Noureen DeWulf Olivia Munn Olivia Wilde Padma Lakshmi

Let it Slide is an engaging, difficult puzzle game

I have a thing for physics games, and I've been known to post the occasional platformer or action game here and there. But Let it Slide is one of the brainiest games I've posted to date.

The idea is very simple, and far from original: You get a board with pieces arranged in a particular pattern; you have to slide those around until you get the special piece into its target location.

It's not even about finding out where the target location is - you can just hover over "dim tiles" and instantly see where you're supposed to bring the special piece. But getting it there is a whole different story.

There are five tutorial levels, which I strongly recommend you do. Then there are twenty "beginner" levels, but that's really a misnomer. If those are the beginner levels, I don't want to know what the intermediate and advanced levels look like!

Every time you finish a level you get a score based on how many clicks it took you - each level has a "par" (the minimum number of clicks it could be completed in), and your performance is compared to that gold standard. Because it's such a brainy game, getting it right is quite satisfying. I was downright proud of myself when I managed to finish a few levels. All in all, quite recommended, especially if you've got a few minutes of quiet. It might actually help you focus better later on.

Let it Slide is an engaging, difficult puzzle game originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/23/let-it-slide-is-an-engaging-difficult-puzzle-game/

Noureen DeWulf Olivia Munn Olivia Wilde Padma Lakshmi

Editor's Letter: A not-so simple choice

In each issue of Distro, editor-in-chief Tim Stevens publishes a wrap-up of the week in news.

At a rather vitriolic (and frequently profane) presentation given to a small group of frequently bemused journalists (myself included), T-Mobile CEO John Legere laid out the company's reinvention. In the interest of keeping things PG I won't repeat the colorful language, but Legere accused the other major carriers of being not only confusing, but also misleading -- ignoring the fact that his own company has, for years, enacted the very same policies. No more. It's time for the UnCarrier to step up.

But, it's important to note that you'll be paying full price, or near to it, for your smartphone.

First is a series of contract-free Simple Choice plans, which are similar to those the company offered before. It's $50 for "unlimited talk + text + web" -- though the data use is indeed limited to 500MB. Stepping up to truly unlimited everything is $20 more, which is a fair bit cheaper than the biggest plans from competing carriers. But, it's important to note that you'll be paying full price, or near to it, for your smartphone.

Filed under: Misc, Apple, Blackberry

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/29/a-not-so-simple-choice/

Danica Patrick Daniella Alonso Danneel Harris Deanna Russo

DOS emulator brings Raspberry Pi back to the '90s for Doom LAN parties

Who can forget the first time they obliterated their buddy with a BFG9000 during a spirited Doom game? Raspberry Pi coder Pate wants to resurrect those good times with an rpix86 DOS emulator that opens up the world of retro PC games like the aforementioned FPS pioneer along with Duke Nukem 3D, Jill of the Jungle and others. It works by creating a virtual machine your Dad would be proud of, based on a 40Mhz 80486 processor, 640KB base RAM, 16MB extended memory, 640 x 480 256-color graphics and SoundBlaster 2.0 audio. Of course, the Pi is worlds beyond that with a 700Mhz ARM CPU, 512MB or RAM and HDMI out -- so, most enthusiasts with one of the wee $35 boards will likely be all over hacking it to play those classics.

Filed under: Misc, Peripherals

Comments

Via: Geek.com

Source: rpix86 blog

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ls-45IbZwT8/

Kelly Monaco Kelly Ripa Kelly Rowland Kerry Suseck