Sony indicates all future Alpha models will include translucent mirrors

That satisfying clunk of the mirror swinging up and away, the rapid-fire clatter of DSLRs going into burst mode, could be on its last legs. Well, for Sony Alphas at least. The company has confirmed that its translucent mirror tech, most recently confirmed to be coming to the A77 and earlier shown on the A55 and A33, will be coming to the entire Alpha line. The sensor actually captures light through the mirror itself, which is just reflective enough to allow for real-time focusing even while capturing video. It's something of a bold move in the generally stoic DSLR market, and only time will tell whether it helps to boost Sony's street cred up to Canon and Nikon levels.

Sony indicates all future Alpha models will include translucent mirrors originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Feb 2011 02:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Element Case gets all stealthy with the Vapor Pro case for iPhone 4

You may recall that my review of the Element Case Vapor case for the iPhone 4 was not all good, citing problems with comfort, reception, and clearance in the cutouts for the headphone and dock connector. Well, few things please me more than a company that can learn from its mistakes, and Element Case is [...]

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Android Central Editors' app picks for Feb. 26, 2011

Whether you enjoy cruising the market, or struggle to find applications for your favorite Android device, suggestions of great applications are usually welcomed. We spend lots of time looking for fun new applications, and are always looking for the next great thing to load on our devices. Weekly we enjoy to share some of our favorite applications with you, so hit the jump and see what we got in store for you this week.

Android Central Editors' app picks for Feb. 26, 2011 posted originally by Android Central

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Bricked phones force Microsoft to block WP7 update for Samsung devices

Microsoft has "identified a a technical issue with the Windows Phone update process" and summarily blocked Samsung WP7 phones from receiving the new patch.

As we reported yesterday, the new update, which was meant to streamline future updates, bricked some Samsung Omnia phones. Microsoft has identified the issue, however, and is working quickly to push the update back out. It's not yet known whether the update will fix the bricked devices, though -- presumably, those unfortunate users may have to send their phone back to Microsoft or Samsung for a refund.

Bricked phones force Microsoft to block WP7 update for Samsung devices originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Opera 11.10 Barracuda adds infinite Speed Dial

If you guessed the unnamed-but-very-popular feature Opera was planning to overhaul in Opera 11.10 was the Speed Dial, buy yourself a beer! The browser's trademark new tab page has indeed been retooled. In the latest Opera 11.10 snapshot build, there's no limit to the number of Speed Dial entires you can add. Gone are the blank placeholder boxes from previous Opera versions, replaced with only active Speed Dial entries and an add button.

Opera has temporarily disabled Speed Dial sync in this build, and there are a handful of other known issues listed on the official blog post.

As for this being the "big secret" planned for the Opera 11.10 release -- Opera's Thomas Ford tells us "That's not the only improvement we have lined up for Opera 11.10, though. Speed Dial is just the first to get an overhaul."

Download Opera 11.10 build 2104 for Windows / Mac / Linux/FreeBSD

Opera 11.10 Barracuda adds infinite Speed Dial originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This Week's Best Apps [Video]

In this week's app roundup: cows, herded (and not abducted); Adult Swim, mobilized; DSLRs, controlled remotely; birds, trained to fly; cocktails, mixed; flights, found; cook books, brought dazzlingly into the future, and more! More »

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This 5-ton Megatron Tank Was Hand Built By a Man [Tanks]

A Chinese man decided to build Megatron in tank form (from Transformers). So he did it. And it is ridiculously detailed and just brain meltingly awesome. The whole sculpture (that's what he called it) weighs just about 5 tons. [Zcool via Neatorama] More »

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Tech Lock Down (TLD) Accessory For iPad

Well here’s a simple, yet interesting and useful iPad accessory. Introducing the Tech Lock Down for iPad, aka TLD. Some of the most simple inventions can be the best ones. This accessory can come in handy for several different businesses. For example the Tech Lock Down would work well in hospitals, banks, hotels and doctor’s [...]

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10+ Chrome extensions and Web apps for new users

It might only be a couple of years old and its extension interface might not be quite as powerful as Firefox's, but in terms of developers, big-name publishers, and sheer numbers, Chrome already has a very healthy ecosystem of add-ons.

When you factor in Chrome's exclusive selection of Web apps, it's even possible to say that Chrome has a wider variety of extensions -- or at least until Mozilla launches its Open Web Apps later in the year.

Still, as always, the problem with add-ons is finding the right ones. You have thousands of add-ons to choose from, and only a handful that are actually worth using. First-time users haven't got a snowball's chance -- unless they read this list of must-have extensions!

But this list of extensions is for converts, too. With massive defections from Internet Explorer and Firefox, Chrome has grown from just a few million users in 2009 to over 120 million at the start of 2011. Firefox users will be especially pleased to find almost every add-on has a comparable extension -- and IE users... well, they'll just be glad to have any extensions at all.

Whether you are looking for helpers or shortcuts, or full-blown Web apps, you will be pleasantly surprised with the variety and power of Chrome's extensions.

Continue reading 10+ Chrome extensions and Web apps for new users

10+ Chrome extensions and Web apps for new users originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New MacBooks Torn Open, Thunderbolt Chip Revealed

The little pinky nail sized chip you see up there, inside the green square, is almost certainly the controller chip for the new MacBook Pro’s Thunderbolt port. The chip, and its tasty thermal paste topping, were found inside the new MacBooks by the teardown experts at iFixit.
The Thunderbolt (nee Light Peak) controller IC is what [...]

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HTC Droid Incredible 2 shows up in Verizon's system

Well, look what we've got here! Seeing that HTC just introduced the Incredible S -- a world phone only available in the UK -- it was only a matter of time before the phone hit the stateside. A trusted tipster just hit us with screen shots of Verizon's internals containing a device dubbed HTC ADR6350. The other screenshot below has a listing for the HTC63503 with a description of "INCRD2." Putting two and two together, we'd say with great confidence that the Incredible 2 is coming to Verizon in the near future -- and we certainly wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with that "buttonless" shot we saw a while back. Stay tuned as we try and dig up more details... and in the meantime, peep the second screenshot after the break!

Continue reading HTC Droid Incredible 2 shows up in Verizon's system

HTC Droid Incredible 2 shows up in Verizon's system originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Feb 2011 05:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon Prime members now get streaming movies, TV shows

Amazon Prime -- which used to just get you discounted one-day or free two day shipping across the U.S. on all your Amazon purchases -- now includes a pretty nice bonus feature. That's it above: free, on-demand streaming of thousands of TV shows and movies.

Sure, the selection is pretty small compared to what services like Hulu and Netflix offer, but this is a pretty nice freebies to toss at Amazon Prime customers. Or is Amazon Prime now a nice freebie to toss as streaming video customers? Either way, if you're a U.S. resident you can sign up for a one-month trial at no charge to see if Amazon's on-demand video offering floats your boat. Existing Amazon Prime customers should already have access.

As The Next Web points out, this is probably just the first step in Amazon's inevitable march toward a full-blown video on demand service. We're curious to see how things will progress from here.

Amazon Prime members now get streaming movies, TV shows originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Square Connect SQ Blaster and SQ Remote review: Home automation, unified

Having already taken our first feverish steps down the path of an automated home, we figured it was time to try and integrate the home entertainment system with the household lighting. Our goal coming into this review was to sit down on the sofa and hit a single button on an old, unused iPhone 3G to automatically dim the lights, fire up the 5.1 sound, flip on the media streamer, and ignite the projector. To accomplish this seemingly monumental task we installed a WiFi-enabled SQ Blaster in the TV cabinet, a puck-shaped IR blaster from Square Connect that communicates with MiOS home control gateways like Mi Casa Verde's Vera. So, did we succeed? Did we achieve the ultimate in home-owner nerdvana? You'd better believe it. Read on to find out how.

Continue reading Square Connect SQ Blaster and SQ Remote review: Home automation, unified

Square Connect SQ Blaster and SQ Remote review: Home automation, unified originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 14:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Choose Your Own Software Update Adventure [Image]

Depending on which platform you use, the experience of downloading and installing updates to your OS can vary. Which one are you? [Sticky Comics] More »

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Firefox Friday: moving that orange button, beta 11, Firefox 7 (!) and Home Dash updates

It's a rare occurrence indeed when the Google Chrome news is crowded out by Firefox and Internet Explorer headlines -- but given Microsoft's massive investment in Internet Explorer 9, and Mozilla's excellent Firefox 4, perhaps it's not such a big surprise. Chrome isn't the fresh young upstart any more, and with now only a handful of unique features, Google will have to fight a lot harder to feed its hype machine in 2011.

The big news this week, then, was the apparent announcement of Firefox 4, 5, 6 and 7 before the end of 2011. I say apparent because the roadmap that we posted actually had 'Draft' written in nice big, bold letters across the top. It's amazing how the entire tech blogosphere missed it -- including us! -- but there you go.

Don't be too disheartened, though: it's all but confirmed that Firefox will be moving to a faster 3- or 4- month release cycle, but once you factor in a transitional period, it would be very hard to squeeze in Firefox 7 before the end of the year. We should at least see Firefox 6, however!

Now, about that hideous orange button...

Continue reading Firefox Friday: moving that orange button, beta 11, Firefox 7 (!) and Home Dash updates

Firefox Friday: moving that orange button, beta 11, Firefox 7 (!) and Home Dash updates originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Week's Best Android Apps [Video]

Menupages: I simply cannot live without MenuPages. It gives you full menus of restaurants near you and is a complete godsend for eating lovers like myself. Sadly, it only really works in big cities (New York City, LA, San Francisco, Philly, Boston, Chicago, DC or South Florida).

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