Daily Crunch: Focus Edition

Dalby Announces Lighter, Sexier* 3D Glasses Wenger Titanium Tool Is Titanium Prism-Lens Microscope Captures Nine Images At Once For Multi-Angle Stereoscopic Viewing Lawsuits Allege Netflix Violates Privacy Rights All Over The Place More Patent Trolling, This Time Against Every Major Mobile Manufacturer

LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS LAWSON SOFTWARE LAND SOFTWARE LAM RESEARCH L1 IDENTITY SOLUTIONS

Volumouse 2 goes 64-bit, adds per-application volume control

Nir Sofer (of NirSoft) makes loads of useful little Windows utilities. One of our favorites, Volumouse, has a new beta available and it offers some nice improvements over its predecessor.

To start, Volumouse beta 2 adds support for Windows Vista and Windows 7 per-application volume settings. There's also a new "send hotkeys" feature which lets you use the mouse wheel to fire off custom commands to a specified application, and you can now create up to twelve rules, each with custom OSD captions.

Nir has also added native x64 support, so Volumouse 2 plays nice with both 32 and 64-bit applications.

You can download the Volumouse 2 beta from Nirsoft. It's fully portable, like so many of his other handy little programs.

Volumouse 2 goes 64-bit, adds per-application volume control originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

GOOGLE GRUPO IUSACELL HARRIS HCL TECHNOLOGIES HEWLETTPACKARD

Apple Patents More Five-Finger Gestures and Chargers With Built-In Battery Packs [Apple]

The latest pair of Apple patents to make the rounds actually look like two that could be realistically implemented sooner than later: one for a charger with an integrated battery pack, and one for more five-finger gestures in OS X. More »

COMMUNICATIONS HOLDINGS COMPAL ELECTRONICS COSMOTE MOBILE TELECOM DLINK DIGITAL CHINA HOLDINGS

Google Latitude for iOS adds check-in, Places goes multilingual

Android users have been able to post Latitude check-ins via the Google Maps app for some time. Now, Google has brought the same functionality to its Latitude app for iOS. Being able to check-in at specific locations gives the app a much more social feel, and it's nice to be able to do more than track your friends' positions on a map.

Google has also delivered a massive internationalization update for the Google Places app. Version 1.1 now supports a total of 30 languages, and it adds a saved places feature which allows you to quickly access your favorite check-in locations while you're out and about. Your saved places will also sync with Maps and Hotpot.

Head to the App Store and grab the new Google Latitude and Google Places apps for your iOS device!

Google Latitude for iOS adds check-in, Places goes multilingual originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

METHODE ELECTRONICS MENTOR GRAPHICS IMS HEALTH IMATION IKON OFFICE SOLUTIONS

Since when are fingernail clippers gadget worthy?

When they look as cool as the self proclaimed ultimate clipper Klhip. These clippers are made in the USA of surgical stainless steel with a satin finish. Klhips differ from traditional clippers in that they just have one blade instead of two. The lever is also positioned the opposite direction, allowing for easier operation. I [...]

METHODE ELECTRONICS MENTOR GRAPHICS IMS HEALTH IMATION IKON OFFICE SOLUTIONS

Delta E4 electric coupe goes out for a spin, carrying lucky humanoid (video)

When was the last time you rode in an electric vehicle almost entirely constructed of carbon fiber and good for 250 miles on a charge? We're laying odds on "never," which is why we turned a shade of violent green when we saw Fully Charged host (and part-time Series 4000 Mechanoid) Robert Llewellyn set foot in just such a car. Delta Motorsport's E4 Coupe, originally designed to win an Automotive X-Prize, is the vehicle we're referring to here, and despite the fact that only one-third of its full projected power was available to coax Mr. Llewellyn firmly into his racing seat (four-wheel drive and regenerative braking are also TBD) and set his teeth on edge, we have to give the man some major props for documenting the experience for us on film. Watch it after the break.

Continue reading Delta E4 electric coupe goes out for a spin, carrying lucky humanoid (video)

Delta E4 electric coupe goes out for a spin, carrying lucky humanoid (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 08:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Autoblog Green  |  fullychargedshow (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments

TIBCO SOFTWARE THQ TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TERADATA TELETECH HOLDINGS

Netflix beefing up service center in preparation for global launch

It's no secret that Netflix has grand plans to expand its global footprint that now feeds media to some 20 million North American subscribers. Hell, the company was boasting of the "significant dollars" allocated to its 2011 international expansion plans just four months ago. While nothing's official yet, we've unearthed a few tantalizing openings posted to the Netflix job site over the last few days that could point to an imminent launch. Notably, Netflix's customer service call center in Hillsboro Oregon is gearing up to expand its scope of operations beyond North America. Two new job postings for a Training Supervisor and Quality Assurance Analyst both mention the need to prepare for "rapid" international expansion and "will support a specific country / region outside of North America." The Training Supervisor is being hired specifically to educate customer service reps in preparation for that future international growth. Neflix is looking for fluency in English in addition to Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazilian and European), and Spanish (Latin American and European), leaving things pretty wide open with regard to the countries targeted for initial launch.

We do know that Netflix had plans to launch in the UK way back in 2004 -- plans that were ultimately scrapped in order to focus on its core US business (and later Canada). But if not the UK then we should at least expect to see Netflix target the European continent first if a statement attributed to CEO Reed Hastings from way back in January of 2010 still rings true: "the big market for Hollywood content (after the U.S.) is Europe...Third is Asia. Fourth is the rest of the world." Can't let Amazon have the market to itself now can we Reed?

[Thanks, Chico]

Netflix beefing up service center in preparation for global launch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 02:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Netflix (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

SYNOPSYS SYNNEX SYMANTEC SYKES ENTERPRISES INORATED SYBASE

On Its First Birthday, WePay Celebrates As Engagement Quintuples In Last 90 Days

Almost exactly one year ago (their birthday is tomorrow), WePay launched its group payment platform to the public. The goal was simple: give people an easy way to divvy up bills, member dues, and other common transactions with an integrated payment system and easy reminders to nudge those fraternity members who haven't paid their dues yet. The service is also handy for selling tickets and collecting donations. In light of the occasion, WePay is starting to talk about some of its numbers (albeit vaguely). WePay CEO Bill Clerico says that in the last three months, the service's engagement numbers have surged from around 5,000 users per week to 25,000 per week. These users aren't just visiting the site�?�they're actually taking substantive action, like sending bills. He attributes this growth to optimizations the site has recently made to its sharing flows on Twitter, Facebook and its emails. He also says that WePay has drawn a lot of new users from referrals.

ALLIANCE DATA SYSTEMS ALLTEL AMAZONCOM AMERICA MOVIL AMKOR TECHNOLOGY

Firefox 3.6.16 and 3.5.18 security updates released as Firefox 4 launches

Just because the shiny, new Firefox 4 is now ready for downloading by the general public doesn't mean Mozilla is turning its back on users who can't (or don't want to) upgrade. Security is a big priority, and 3.X users will continue to see patches for quite some time.

In fact, both Firefox 3.6 and 3.5 received security updates in tandem with the Firefox 4 release. The new versions blacklist a handful of invalid HTTPS certificates which were issued by Comodo.

Firefox's internal update mechanism should take care of the process for you, but you can always give it a push by clicking Help > Check for Updates. Mozilla does urge users to upgrade to Firefox 4, and there's really no reason not to. If you're ready to make the move, just visit getfirefox.com and you'll be offered the correct version for your operating system.

Firefox 3.6.16 and 3.5.18 security updates released as Firefox 4 launches originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING AVNET BHARTI AIRTEL BT GROUP CANON

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

DIEBOLD DELL CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR ACCENTURE ACER

How Much Did the iPad Crush Everyone Else in 2010 [Chart]

There's not much else to say about this chart. According to Gartner, the world spent $9.6 billion in tablets. According to Apple's official numbers, the iPad got $9.566 billion. More »

INTERNATIONAL GAME TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES (IBM) INTERDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS INTEL INSIGHT ENTERPRISES

Google Payment VP/Former PayPal Exec Osama Bedier On eCommerce: Major Change Is Coming

My old friend Osama Bedier now works for Google. This is especially interesting after reports that Google has partnered up with MasterCard and CitiGroup to test out an NFC payments system. It's also pretty interesting in light of the fact that Google recently filed for a patent for a "Distributed Electronic Commerce System With Centralized Point Of Purchase," or what sounds like a mobile shopping cart that wraps ups all elements of a transaction into a process, goes beyond PayPal and actually collects data about what users are buying.

ASUSTEK COMPUTER ATandT AUTODESK AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING AVNET

This iPad 2 Is a Plasticine Dream [Video]

My expected iPad 2 delivery date is sometime in late April. Torture! In the meantime, I might just have to make myself one of these adorable stop-motion Plasticine models. After all, they come with Maps, Cut the Rope, Garage Band—pretty much everything you need for a full iOS experience. More »

SUN MICROSYSTEMS STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS SRA INTERNATIONAL SPSS SPANSION

Tesla sues Top Gear for libel, New Stig unavailable for comment (update: BBC responds)

Fans of a particular show featuring three middle-aged men with an unhealthy penchant for cars, plus a fourth individual whose interests are rather more elusive, probably remember a 2008 episode in which the Top Gear crew lambasted the Tesla Roadster. (If not, a particularly low-quality recording is embedded below.) On that show, Jeremy Clarkson could be seen flogging one around the track, complaining about a range of only 55 miles before showing that car being pushed into the garage, supposedly out of charge. Not true, says Tesla, who has filed a lawsuit against the BBC for libel and malicious falsehood. Tesla claims that, among other things, two cars were provided and at all times at least one of them was ready and willing. Beyond that, Tesla knows that neither car ever dropped below 25 percent charge, meaning the whole pushing into the garage thing was, well, staged. It's hard to look at this as much more than a PR move, Tesla waiting over two years to file, but that doesn't mean the complaint isn't legit. Now it's time for the Beeb to roll out its crew of tame racing lawyers. Some say their suits are made of wool, and that their briefcases contain actual briefs. All we know is they're very well compensated.

Update: Well, the hornets' nest has been kicked, and it didn't take long for the swarm to arise. The BBC has dropped a bombshell, saying that it "stands by the programme and will be vigorously defending this claim."

Continue reading Tesla sues Top Gear for libel, New Stig unavailable for comment (update: BBC responds)

Tesla sues Top Gear for libel, New Stig unavailable for comment (update: BBC responds) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 06:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Tesla (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

SYNTAXBRILLIAN SYNOPSYS SYNNEX SYMANTEC SYKES ENTERPRISES INORATED

Lenovo T420s and W520 notebooks hit the streets, one with Quadro Optimus graphics

You knew they were coming, but today it's time to choose -- will you withstand the temptation of a tricked-out ThinkPad W520 workstation or T420s thin-and-light with Sandy Bridge CPUs? Yes, Lenovo's rolling out the red eraserheads this month for Intel's new chips as fast as it possibly can, with these latest two models hot on the heels of the ThinkPad T420 and T520 and ThinkPad Edge E420s. The $1,199 14-inch T420s distinguishes itself with slightly slimmer construction, a 1600 x 900 resolution and a 2.5GHz Core i5-2520M CPU in a package that weighs less than four pounds -- strangely, there's no Core i7 or discrete graphics here -- while the $1,449 W520 workstation comes standard with a 2.7GHz Core i7-2620M chip and an NVIDIA Quadro 1000M GPU with Optimus graphics-switching tech. Of course, the W520 base configuration comes with only a 15.6-inch, 1366 x 768 screen, but don't you fret -- an additional cash infusion can get you a 1600 x 900 or even a full 1080p display to render your video with. Go ahead, spec them out to your heart's content, while we wait for an even more groundbreaking rig to drop from the ThinkPad heavens.

Lenovo T420s and W520 notebooks hit the streets, one with Quadro Optimus graphics originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 05:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Lenovo (T420s), Lenovo (W520)  | Email this | Comments

ADOBE SYSTEMS ADVANCED SEMICONDUCTOR ENGINEERING ALLIANCE DATA SYSTEMS ALLTEL AMAZONCOM