CrunchGear Week in Review: Rev Edition

Here are some stories from the past week on CrunchGear: Impending Wikileaks Release Could Be ?Embarrassing? To Foreign Governments Smartfish Whirl Mini Signals The End Of The Tired Wrist Era Gran Turismo 5 Review Round-up: Yeah It?s Good (But *How* Good?) Visiting Sports Authority On Black Friday? Don?t forget Your FourSquare Death/Star (Episode 1): The [...]

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Soundproofed Keyboard Cover Has No Reason to Exist

As we get ready for the traditional orgy of consumption that is the Christmas season, our thoughts turn to gifts and, specifically, novelties so unusual and useless that our giftee cannot possibly have one already. Thanko’s Keyboard Quiet Cover completely owns this category.
It’s a thick fabric bag into which you slide your noisy keyboard, thus [...]

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DARwIn-OP humanoid revealed, ready to open source your robotics program

The next version of the RoboCup-famous DARwIn bot is about ready to give the Nao a run for its money. The new DARwIn-OP from Robotis and Virginia Tech's RoMeLa (led by Dr. Dennis Hong, who joined us on the Engadget Show earlier this year) is just about to land, and the first pictures of the finished thing have started to circulate. While the bot is designed to perform, with sensors and servos suitable for higher-end robotics, the main thrust of the design is the open source and modular nature of the hardware and software. The bot can be purchased as a product from Robotis, but the CAD files are publicly available, and its plastic parts can be fabricated by the end user to save money (you do have a 3D printer, right?). Rumor has it the robot will retail for around $8,000, around half the cost of its closed source Nao competition. The full unveil of the robot is due at the IEEE-RAS International Conference on Humanoid Robots a couple weeks from now.

DARwIn-OP humanoid revealed, ready to open source your robotics program originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Nov 2010 10:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read Library Books on Your iPad and iPhone/iPod touch with Bluefire Reader

Bluefire Productions has released their Bluefire Reader app for iPhone/iPod touch and iPad.� Unlike many reader apps, the Bluefire Reader makes it possible to read ePub and PDF books from most any bookseller, and many booksellers are accessible for in-app purchases.� You can transfer books you purchase or already own between your computer and your [...]

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How would you change Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 Beta?

It's not often that a web browser makes into our HWYC lineup, but it's also a rare occurrence for Microsoft to issue an entirely new web browser. Internet Explorer 9 Beta has been in the wild (and thus, on your PC) for a few months now, and seeing that the browser wars are raging harder than ever these days, we felt it prudent to ask how you'd change things in the world of IE. After all, being that this is a beta, there's still plenty of time for Microsoft to actually heed your wisdom and implement changes prior to the full, final, non-beta release. So, have you been pleased with performance? Tab layout? Any tweaks you'd make to the user interface? Compatibility? Go on and get sophisticated down in comments below, won'tcha?

How would you change Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 Beta? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Nov 2010 22:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xperia X8 Eclair update begins

Android 2.1 updates for the Sony Ericsson Xperia X8 have started to roll out, and no, SE didn't surprise anyone with Froyo.  Android 2.1-update 1 is rolling out in stages, based on the "SI-number" located on the label on the back of your phone.  Sony Ericsson has a list of all the SI-numbers that are being given the update now, and they will update that list accordingly.  See the source link for the list.

Interestingly, SE again mentions that software updates are not under their complete control:

...the final timing of when each kit comes is depending on different local and global approvals and therefore we don’t really have a detailed plan per kit but rather release them as soon as all needed approvals are in.

All manufacturers need carrier approval for their software, but it appears the Sony Ericsson really wants us to remember that.  If I can offer a suggestion -- stop shipping phones with Android 1.6 on them and you wont have to make so many excuses.  Just sayin'. [Sony Ericsson Product Blog] Thanks Sam!

Xperia X8 Eclair update begins posted originally by Android Central

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Symbian Foundation axing websites on December 17th, source repositories available 'upon request'

We'd heard that the Symbian Foundation would undergo some drastic changes as it transitions to a licensing body, and here's number one -- every official Symbian website will be shuttered on the 17th of next month. That goes for every page from symbian.org down to the Symbian Twitter and Facebook feeds, and the source code itself will be shelved. If you want access to any of it, even the databases of user-generated bug reports, you'll have to ask the Foundation for a hard copy and pay a nominal media and shipping fee after January 31st. We're trying to reach Symbian right now to figure out the full repercussions of this move, but assuming Nokia's promise to keep Symbian open-source still rings true, you might want to start stashing away the repositories and setting up mirrors before the Foundation drops off the face of the web -- and perhaps the Symbian crowdsource community, too.

Symbian Foundation axing websites on December 17th, source repositories available 'upon request' originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Nov 2010 13:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Beautiful Foot-Cranked Kitchen Appliances

Check out this amazing kitchen appliance from Berlin-based designer Christoph Therard, a human-powered cabinet of mechanical wizardry which lats you crank normally electric-powered gadgets with nothing but your leg.
A machine like this needs a suitably cool name, and the R2B2 has one. The R2B2 works thusly: You hit pump the pedal and a big, heavy [...]

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AMOLED shortage to become a surplus in 2011

Samsung's beautiful Super AMOLED panels are becoming more and more common in mobile devices, but they're not as common as they could be if there were more of the things flying out of Samsung Mobile Display factories. Predictably that's set to change in 2011, with SMD planning to fulfill its promise and bring another production facility online, while other competitors in Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore will ramp up their own AMOLED facilities in the coming year. Meanwhile, China is said to be working on its OLED supply chain as well, meaning those displays of the passive matrix variety will also be flying off of assembly lines soon. So, 2011 may still not be the year of a chicken in every pot, but it could be the year of glowy organic goo in every smartphone.

AMOLED shortage to become a surplus in 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Nov 2010 15:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BridgeURL lets you send a tour of several websites in one link

Sometimes you may want to send someone a whole list of websites to look at. Maybe you even want them to look at the sites in a given sequence, like when you're sharing the results of a search for a new car or a vacation spot.

BridgeURL is a fairly elegant service that accepts a list of links, and spits out a single bit.ly link. When you click this link, you're taken to the first website on the list, but it has subtle semi-transparent overlays on both sides. The left one leads to the previous site on the chain, while the right leads to the next site. (They're not semi-transparent on the screenshot because when you hover over them, they turn solid.)

There's also a bottom bar, but it's fairly unobtrusive. There were no banners or pop-ups as far as I was able to see. The only annoyance with the service is that for some odd reason, it forces you to feed it URLs starting with http:// or https:// - meaning, you can't write "downloadsquad.com" or even "www.downloadsquad.com". I have no idea why it's not smart enough to figure out the http:// on its own. Other than that, it's a fairly handy service.

Filed under: web 2.0

BridgeURL lets you send a tour of several websites in one link originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 28 Nov 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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drag2up for Chrome brings drag-and-drop uploading to the whole Web

One of my favorite Gmail features is the ability to drag-and-drop attachments onto email messages. That's so cool! There's no more browsing for files - the whole thing feels much more like a desktop app.

drag2up is a Chrome add-on that aspires to bring that same functionality to the whole Web. It's super-cool - when it works. I've selected the screenshot above for that exact reason. The imgur.com link is the result of a successful upload attempt. I dragged an image onto a text area, and drag2up uploaded it to imgur.com in the background, and then it populated the text area with the URL of the image. It even wrapped it in forum-friendly [img] tags for me.

The second line (the one starting with Error) is what happened when I tried uploading a ZIP file. No joy, but I guess that might be resolved in time.

When I tried using drag2up with another edit control (CKEditor running in a heavily-customized environment), it couldn't even modify the text shown in the control. But it did work with a simple text area control.

Bottom line: It's really, really cool, when it works. Let's hope it'll gradually start working with more and more files and editors.

Filed under: Google, Browsers

drag2up for Chrome brings drag-and-drop uploading to the whole Web originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Saunavihta Vortex is a creepy physics Time Waster

First off, Saunavihta Vortex is pretty creepy. I mean, it's not really kid-friendly. But having said that, it's can be lots of fun for teens and adults.

Basically, you control the fate of a ragdoll. You need to somehow get the ragdoll into a flaming pit. When the ragdoll gets there and stays there for three seconds, you pass the level.

To get the doll there, you need to launch, batter and roll it across the level in all sorts of creative ways. The level is composed of contraptions built of white and black bars. The white bars disappear when you click them. So if you have a "swing" that stays put thanks to a delicate balance between a white bar and a black bar, as soon as the white bar goes, that swing is going to move.

You can zoom out using SPACE to see more of the level; by default, you're zoomed in quite close. The closer zoom level is useful for getting the timing right when it's important, and zooming out helps you figure out the general direction.

A beautiful game with a unique atmosphere.

Filed under: Fun, Games, Time-Wasters

Saunavihta Vortex is a creepy physics Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 25 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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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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UberTwitter beta arrives on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

UberTwitter, the definitive BlackBerry Twitter app, has finally made the leap to iOS. The app bears the beta moniker, but Engadget seems to think that the final release will be as soon as December.

UberTwitter, other than being a very polished app, only really has one unique feature: UberView (please forgive my continuing lack of umlauts). UberView, with a quick flick of the phone into landscape orientation, shows you a preview of links contained in tweets -- handy for when you don't want to open up a browser, or indeed expose your iDevice to potentially malicious websites.

Other than that, UberTwitter for iOS provides the usual slew of Twitter miscellany: tweet pictures, add your location, change your avatar, send Direct Messages (!!!) and more.

UberTwitter for iOS [iTunes] -- Free

Gallery: UberTwitter

UberTwitter beta arrives on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flip-Top Dell Inspiron Duo Makes a Terrible Tablet

Dell’s Inspiron Duo is ready to buy. You may remember the clever flip-top netbook from its long gestation period: it can be either a tablet or a laptop or – with an optional dock- a small media center.
The trick is in the lid of this otherwise humdrum machine. The multi-touch panel is suspended within the [...]

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How to Buy an HDTV [HDTV]

If there's one thing that actually sorta makes sense to buy on Black Friday, it's an HDTV—many are crazy discounted. But picking out an HDTV can be a big ball of suck. That's where this guide comes in. More »

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Dave?s Holiday Wish Lists and Suggestions

I love the Holidays….the brisk winter weather (or for us here in the Pacific Northwest, the dumping rain),� the hustle and bustle, getting together with family and friends, eating too much, buying gifts for everyone, etc. Often I am consulted to assist those same friends and family members in buying tech-gifts for folks on their [...]

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The Best Of Google Demo Slam

Back in October, we came across a mysterious site called Google Demo Slam a couple days before it actually launched. It turned out to be a fun site featuring demos of different Google products where you can watch two demos side by side and vote for the best one. Some of the demos are by Google engineers, but anyone can submit their own and vie to become a Google Demo Slam champ. Below are a few of the best demos on the site so far. The first one is four guys pretending to be Mount Rushmore and doing such a good job that they fool Google Goggles into identifying them as the real thing. The second shows two women using Google Translate to get their computer to order Indian food in Hindi. The third one demonstrates how to give yourself a haircut using Google Chat and two computers. And the fourth one recreates a road trip on Route 66 with Google Street View, a couple couches, and a projector. (Videos after the jump).

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Daily Crunch: Jailhouse Edition

Review: Dropcam Echo Root Access Found For Windows Phone 7, Jailbreak Not Far Off Robo-Deer Draws Fire From Poachers Limili Identifies That Song That?s Playing, Adds It To Your Grooveshark Collection Killing Time: How Many Of These 25 Bad Tech Habits Apply To You?

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Daily Crunch: Open System Edition

Cool Idea: Separate Key Puts Your Stang Into Race Mode Can Old-School Hard Drives Compete With Today?s? The Kinect Is Now Basically Wide Open Jolicloud Confirms ?Jolibook? Netbook Coming This Month, Price Still Unknown UK Retailers Threaten To Ban Publishers That Use Steam ? Good Luck With That

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