Items tagged with and
NEW YORK (AP) — With e-book sales exploding in an otherwise sleepy market, Random House Inc. announced Monday that it was making thousands of additional books available in digital form, including novels by John Updike and Harlan Coben, as well as several volumes of the Magic Treehouse children's series. Random House CEO Markus Dohle said in a statement that "more people everyday are enjoying reading in the electronic format and Random House wants to extend our reach to them with more of our books." The publisher already has more than 8,000 books in the electronic format and will have a digital library of nearly 15,000. The new round of e-books is expected to be completed within months; excerpts...
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It's time to score another win for the couch potato generation. With TiVo's most recent partnership--this time with Domino's Pizza--you can now order a pizza directly from your TiVo without ever leaving your couch or even picking up the phone. "This is the first time in history that the 'on-demand' generation will be able to fully experience couch commerce by ordering pizza directly through their television set." -- Rob Weisberg, Vice President of Precision and Print Marketing at Domino's Pizza, Inc. Credit: GizmodoStarting today, TiVo subscribers with a broadband connection can order food from Domino's in a number of different ways. When a Domino's commercial plays on the TiVo, you'll...
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Google will roll out its new voice and video chat inside Gmail over the course of the next two days for both Windows and Mac OSX. The new service was created in a joint effort between the Google Sweden and Google US teams, and hopes to promote and assist global collaboration for businesses while also providing an easy to use interface that will allow even the most computer illiterate to get chatting.How easy is it? Let the developers at Google show you: Unlike Skype, by incorporating the chat directly into Gmail, all that is needed is a simple plug-in and you're ready to go. This plug-in keeps the size of the application down to approximately 2 mb and uses a proprietary format rather than flash,...
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It use to be that the big buzz word going around the industry was convergence. In the multimedia living room of tomorrow, a melding of the capabilities of various entertainment center components, along with the computer functionalities, is the end goal that will culminate into a more intelligent, connected entertainment center. Or at least it seems to be. Granted, the HTPC (Home Theater PC) has come a long way at making that goal a reality but you'd have to agree we're not there quite yet. Interestingly, in a reverse merger sort of fashion, Boulder CO company Silicon Mountain (mountain of silicon perhaps?) steps out today with the first fully integrated HDTV PC product. ...
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ASUS and Sam’s Club Canada Join Forces to Deliver Green Computing to Canada-- World’s first bamboo notebook to be sold exclusively at Sam’s Club Canada -- Fremont, California (November 10, 2008) – ASUS, a world leader in the notebook design and one of the fastest growing notebook brands, today announced that Sam’s Club Canada will give eco-friendly Canadians a chance to purchase a limited number of ASUS’ highly-anticipated U6V bamboo notebook. The partnership is a “win” for ASUS, Sam’s Club Canada, and consumers, as it allows ASUS to expand its market presence further into Canada, and gives Sam’s Club Canada and its Members access to an exquisite, environmentally-friendly notebook that truly...
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The Android based G1 (or Google) phone sold exclusively in the states by T-Mobile apparently executes typed text entered in any text entry box including on a web page or in the address book. Handsets running Android release 1.0 TC4-RC29 or earlier are affected by this flaw. What makes matters worse is the fact that the commands are executed as the "Root" user. Due to the Open Source nature of the Android OS, the bug was caught by users and traced down to a few lines of code in the init.rc system file. To try this out: "...Save anything you’re working on (this will reboot your phone!), open the keyboard tray on your G1, ignore anything you see on the screen, and type these 8 keystrokes: <return>-r-e-b-o-o-t-<return>....
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As many T-Mobile G1 users are waiting for the RC29 update that started rolling out a few days ago to hit their phones, Google is already in the process of releasing another update.Generally speaking, people welcome updates with open arms, hoping that the update will improve their phone’s functionality. This update has a few people upset, however. You see, last week, a tinkerer realized that it was possible to “jailbreak” the phone and gain root access by using telnetd. This jailbreak gives you full admin abilities, right down to the core of the handset’s file system. This access allows for both good and bad modifications. Given that root access lets you do stuff you probably shouldn’t without...
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If you are thinking of taking advantage of Circuit City's closing of 155 retail store locations to score a sweet deal on a new HDTV, the folks over at HD Guru warn that not only are deals not to be had, but that you might actually wind up paying more for it and potentially taking home a lemon. HD Guru visited a Circuit City in Massapequa, New York that is closing, to investigate what deals were to be had. What they found was alarming. At this particular Circuit City location, HDTVs were being sold at ten percent off "pre-closeout" prices. The only problem is that the pre-closeout prices were actually jacked-up from what Circuit City sell the same HDTV models for on CircuitCity.com. The end result...
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SANDISK INTRODUCES ExtremeFFS – NEW FLASH MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR IMPROVING SSD PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY SanDisk Also Proposes Two Metrics for End-Users to Measure Performanceand Endurance: virtualRPM (vRPM) and Long-Term Data Endurance (LDE) ExtremeFFS™ greatly accelerates SSD random write speeds and endurance vRPM allows consumers to measure and compare SSD and hard disk drive performance Industry encouraged to adopt a simple endurance metric to determine the lifespan of an SSD LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, Nov. 5, 2008 —SanDisk® Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today unveiled an advanced flash file system for solid-state drives (SSDs) that yields dramatic improvement in performance and reliability...
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iZ3D and Smooth Creations Team up to Offer a Limited Edition of Custom Painted 3D MonitorsEnjoy Dazzling Effects On-Screen and on the Outside of your Monitor Too! San Diego, Calif., November 3, 2008 -- iZ3D, LLC, designer, developer, and pioneer of advanced 3D visualization systems, is pleased to announce that the company is once again teaming with Smooth Creations, the popular computer custom paint company and now high end game system reseller. iZ3D (TM)is now offering on-screen 3D eye candy and now there are six styles of the monitor itself that are a treat to see. The limited edition of custom painted 22-inch widescreen 3D monitors is available now at https://iz3d.com/painted. No more beige...
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There are only a select few events in the PC hardware world that get hardcore enthusiasts truly excited. For example, when popular trade shows like Computex, IDF, and CES take place, there is a fair amount of buzz. Also, anytime the major players in graphics release next-generation GPUs, things definitely heat up; or likewise when a hot new game hits. Finally, when either of the processor big guns, Intel or AMD, unleash new CPU micro-architectures on the world, you can almost bet that the community will come alive with enthusiasm. We're sure we've missed a few other momentous occasions as well, but you get the gist. It takes something new and exciting to get a PC Enthusiast's pulse racing. Thankfully,...
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There are only a select few events in the PC hardware world that get hardcore enthusiasts truly excited. For example, when popular trade shows like Computex, IDF, and CES take place, there is a fair amount of buzz. Also, anytime the major players in graphics release next-generation GPUs, things definitely heat up; or likewise when a hot new game hits. Finally, when either of the processor big guns, Intel or AMD unleash new CPU micro-architectures on the world, you can almost bet on the community to come alive with enthusiasm. We're sure we've missed a few other momentous occasions as well, but you get the gist. It takes something new and exciting to get a...
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If you’re looking to register a domain name, you might want to stay away from EstDomains. ICANN, the net’s authority over domain names is ready to pull the plug on this Estonia-based seller of domain names. Security experts have long accused EstDomains of being a refuge for cyber criminals for years. On Tuesday, ICANN told EstDomains that it was revoking its accreditation since it learned the company’s president had been convicted of online credit card fraud and money laundering in February. In a notice, ICANN said that it was freezing EstDomains' ability to register new domain names and looking to transfer 281,000 domain names that are currently under EstDomains’ management. ICANN put the...
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We simply must chalk this one up in the totally cool column. After all, how many times have you been asked to specify your own dream product by top-tier manufacturers? The world's first "crowd-sourced" personal computer is the vision and goal of the new Asus and Intel WEPC campaign and web site. What are your top five must-have features for a top-of-the-line notebook? Do you want it as powerful as you can get it, at the expense of a boat anchor weight class? Or would your rather have something lighter, nimble but still full-featured? We here at HotHardare, in conjunction with our friends at Intel and Asus are joining forces to help you, our...
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Remember SanDisk’s new SlotMusic format that we told you about last month? Well, the world’s four largest music companies will begin shipping almost 40 music albums in this format this week. Additional albums are planned for the Christmas season.Although we initially heard prices in the $7 - $10 range, recent news is saying a 1GB microSD memory card containing MP3 files will cost $14.99. Keep in mind, these tunes are DRM-free, so that’s a plus.Best Buy will be getting their albums this week, while Walmart shoppers will have to wait another week or two. These retailers also carry the SanDisk Sansa-branded SlotMusic players, which start at about $20. There will also be artist-branded players that...
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We’re not so sure what to think of this: According to recent reports, Sprint’s CEO Dan Hesse reportedly made a comment to the National Press Club in Washington, saying that Android (in its current form) is not “good enough to put the Sprint brand on it.” Although we can’t weigh in on Android’s usefulness with much personal experience quite yet, this is a very strong comment, especially given the fact that Android is the first truly revolutionary thing to happen to mobile phones in a while. Thankfully, Hesse didn’t completely rule out the possibility of an Android phone in the future. We’ve heard rumors of a delay in a Sprint Android phone before, so maybe, just maybe, the two have something to...
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A few months back, Intel released the P45 Chipset -- at the time it was considered to be their mainstream offering, playing second fiddle to the X48 Express. With official support of a 1333MHz FSB, PCI-E 2.0, ATI CrossFire, and support for both DDR2 and DDR3 memory, there's a lot of roads to go down with the construction of one of these boards, and MSI went down all of them. MSI fleshed out a complete top-to-bottom assortment of boards, which means that they have a P45 motherboard that suits just about every potential buyer's needs. Two of these, the P45 Diamond and P45 Platinum are found towards the top end of their food chain, and we'll be taking a look at them today......
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A few months back, Intel released the P45 Chipset -- at the time it was considered to be their mainstream offering, playing second fiddle to the X48 Express. With official support of a 1333MHz FSB, PCI-E 2.0, ATI CrossFire, and support for both DDR2 and DDR3 memory, there's a lot of roads to go down with the construction of one of these boards, and MSI went down all of them. MSI fleshed out a complete top-to-bottom assortment of boards, which means that they have a P45 motherboard that suits just about every potential buyer's needs. Two of these, the P45 Diamond and P45 Platinum are found towards the top end of their...
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Many are familiar with Google's "don't be evil" philosophy of serving the best interests of it users and maintaining a moral-guided internal code of conduct. But not as many might be aware that Google often tries to go beyond just not doing evil, by activey trying to do good deeds. This is evident with Google's philanthropic endeavors and its recent Project10100 worldwide call to arms for the betterment of humanity in areas such as energy, the environment, and health. Google's latest effort to make a difference is not quite as big as the aforementioned projects, but as they say, every little bit counts. Click the above image to see a larger-sized image.And it is exactly the little...
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The folks over at COMsciences' IMOVIO might have taken the concept of the netbook a bit too far. They have just announced the iKIT, a 0.6 x 2.6 x 3.7-inch, 0.25-pound, Bluetooth and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi-enabled, "Pocket Mobile Companion" with "a full QWERTY/AZERTY keyboard, an 8GB SD card slot and a [260K color] 2.8 inch QVGA display." They are calling it a "Pocket Mobile Companion" that they claim makes it "a fully functional communicating and browsing device and a viable substitute for a laptop." Credit: webitprThe iKIT runs off a 312MHz Marvell PXA270 processor, with 128MB ROM, 64MB SDRAM, and uses the Linux 2.4.19 operating system with the "Proprietary plus Trolltech QT/E 2.3.8" GUI....
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Heads-up: Apple isn’t the only one implementing remote kill switches for applications in their phones. According to recent reports, the Android platform has one, too. The thing is: At least Google owns up to it up front (instead of allowing a developer to discover it like Apple did) by including a mention in the Android Market terms of service, saying: Google may discover a product that violates the developer distribution agreement ... in such an instance, Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your device at its sole discretion. Given that nearly anything goes in Google's Android Market, there’s a definite chance of malicious or otherwise unwanted applications...
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High-speed browsing on the go just got a little better with AT&T and Option’s launch of the new USBConnect Quicksilver. Sporting full High Speed Packet Access speeds (where available, of course), the USBConnect Quicksilver is the first USB mobile broadband device worldwide to use the Icera Livanto chipset. This new device weighs just 1.2 ounces, yet packs the ability to browse the Web at high speeds worldwide…AT&T has the nation's fastest 3G network, delivering LaptopConnect customers typical downlink 3G speeds between 700Kbps and 1.7Mbps and typical uplink 3G speeds between 500Kbps and 1.2Mbps.Featuring an award-winning design, the Quicksilver has a protective cap for the USB connector....
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