DeLorme GPS Handheld Sends SMS Via Satellite

Delorme’s InReach GPS Communicator lets you send text messages, even when you are in the wilderness and far away from cellphone coverage.
As befits a GPS device, it’s all done with satellites. Delorme has teamed up with Iridium, the satellite phone people, to offer a $10-per-month messaging package.
It works in two ways. First of all, you [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/delorme-gps-handheld-sends-sms-via-satellite/

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Fuel-electric hybrid air car wants to take flight, needs funding to do it

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a... fuel-electric hybrid air car? Well, yes actually, but right now it's more ready-to-go concept than airborne reality. This brainchild of Trek Aerospace designer Michael Moshier and test-pilot Robert Bulaga employs the same ducted-fan tech the duo used in their DARPA-funded, NASA design-assisted, Popular Science 'Invention of the Year' winning SoloTrek. Like its predecessor, this hybrid air car is ideal for those close-quartered take-off and landing situations thanks to its enclosed propulsion system -- good news for birds, trees and even human heads everywhere. Though still in the design phase, the pair hopes a generous round of funding will propel this 1960s Jetsons promise into a world-class fleet. While we can't see the DMV rushing to approve licenses of this sort for the common joe, the copter-car should prove beneficial in roadless third-world nations, and maybe even lend a covered-propeller hand to first-world emergency service units. Pay attention billionaires of the world, this flying car's got your bank account written all over it. PR for the deep-pocketed after the break.

[Image credit via Michael Moshier/Robert Bulaga]

Continue reading Fuel-electric hybrid air car wants to take flight, needs funding to do it

Fuel-electric hybrid air car wants to take flight, needs funding to do it originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/30/fuel-electric-hybrid-air-car-wants-to-take-flight-needs-funding/

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Install the Windows Phone 7 NoDo update regardless of your carrier

Some of you who own Windows Phone 7 devices are still waiting for your pre-NoDo preparation update -- never mind NoDo itself. A few workarounds have been posted, but unfortunately they didn't work unless your carrier had completed testing and was ready to schedule the update.

Now, however, the Chevron WP7 team's Chris Walshie has delivered a handy little utility that will allow you to update any Windows Phone 7 device -- regardless of your carrier.

1. Download and install the Windows Phone Support Tool (x86 or x64) and the ChevronWP7 Updater (x86 or x64)
2. Launch ChevronWP7 Updater and select your language. If your language isn't listed, stop and do not update.
3. If were running WP7 build 7004 (you can verify in Zune) then run the updater twice.

Once the process completes, you should be able to copy and paste to your heart's content. Let's just hope all this update foolishness gets sorted out before we're supposed to receive Mango.

Install the Windows Phone 7 NoDo update regardless of your carrier originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/install-the-windows-phone-7-nodo-update-regardless-of-your-carri/

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Platform Wars: How Competing App Stores Stack Up

We took a look at some of the most prominent mobile-application ecosystems out there today, comparing the benefits and drawbacks of each. Before buying that next tablet or smartphone, we suggest you take a look.

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/app-ecosystems/

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Pedal-Powered School Bus Cuts Kids? Calories

In Berlin, Germany, you can regularly see toddlers being loaded into trolleys, four or more to a cart, and dragged by long-suffering teachers from school to — well, to where I don’t know, as I would always try to avoid the brats. But these kiddie convoys would go a lot easier if the Germans would [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/pedal-powered-school-bus-cuts-kids-calories/

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ThinkPad Tablet shown off with keyboard-laden folio cover, could ship within a month

Well, lookie here! Seems that ThinkPad Tablet's getting more real by the hour. For what it's worth, Lenovo hasn't exactly done a laudatory job keeping its next major Honeycomb tablet under wraps, but flaunting it in public? Now that's just asking for it. According to ZTOP, the enterprise-centric Tablet will arrive within three to four weeks boasting Tegra 2 silicon, a 10.1-inch display (1280 x 800) and an optional folio / cover that might just steal the show. According to the report, it's a leather-wrapped case that contains a full-on keyboard and optical tracking sensor, presumably using a USB connector to make the magic happen. Think Clamcase, but tailored for Lenovo. There's no mention of a price on that one, but we're guessing it ain't gonna be tossed in gratis. Tap the source for one more look, and expect to hear more on the whole kit and kaboodle as July draws closer.

ThinkPad Tablet shown off with keyboard-laden folio cover, could ship within a month originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 06:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/VK5jtcwD8vU/

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Ubuntu demonstrated running on Galaxy Tab 10.1, summarily dubbed 'Tabuntu' (video)

Sure, you can run Linux on robots and on desktops and, apparently, on small cats, and we've also seen it on plenty of tablets before, but this one is a little different. Max Lee over at Galaxy Tab Hacks created the video below to demonstrate a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 running Ubunbu, but doing it on top of Android such that the tablet's native OS is running Linux in the background and then using a VM client to launch the UI. In other words: it's running both operating systems at once, and despite that we think the results are quite usable, even loading up this very website with aplomb. It's demonstrated after the break and if after watching you just gotta get a piece of that the full instructions are on the other end of the source link below.

Continue reading Ubuntu demonstrated running on Galaxy Tab 10.1, summarily dubbed 'Tabuntu' (video)

Ubuntu demonstrated running on Galaxy Tab 10.1, summarily dubbed 'Tabuntu' (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 08:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/29/ubuntu-demonstrated-running-on-galaxy-tab-10-1-summarily-dubbed/

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Corel releases VideoStudio Pro X4, we go hands on (video)

Corel seems to be on a roll lately; after releasing WinZip System Utilities just last week, this morning the company announced VideoStudio Pro X4.

VideoStudio Pro is aimed at home users and small business professionals who want to create professional-looking videos, but without the hassle, steep learning curve and price of Adobe Premiere Pro and the likes.

This new version introduces several features:

• Stop motion animation: You can now capture still frames using a webcam, camcorder or DSLR and use them to produce an animation. Tools such as "onion skin view" let you compare the previous image in the sequence with the current one and make the animation as smooth as possible.
• Processor optimization: Corel says the app is optimized for Intel's new Sandy Bridge systems, and have shown us some graphs with very impressive numbers. We've been unable to test this particular point, but if you have a recent-generation Intel or AMD Fusion system, VideoStudio performance should be blazing. Even on our older test system performance was quite impressive.
• Customizable workspace: You can drag the video preview window to your secondary monitor (if you have one) and tweak just about any other element in the window layout. Once done, you can save your ideal workspace in one of three slots.
• Share-to-Web: VideoStudio Pro X4 hooks directly into YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and Flickr, so you don't even have to launch a browser to upload your final product. Edit, produce and share from within the app itself.
• Smart Package: Video projects typically consist of many files; Smart Package lets you bundle all video assets for a given project into one ZIP file which you can password-protect and keep in a safe place once you're done editing.

I've had a chance to play around with a pre-release version for a few days, and have put it through its paces editing a short video for my day job. Overall, I've been impressed with how easy it was to create pro-looking results. If you do any sort of video editing but are leery of the investment other apps require (both in dollars and effort), VideoStudio Pro is well worth checking out. To see a bit of the interface itself and what the app can do, watch the video after the jump.

Note: We'll be running a give-away of ten VideoStudio Pro X4 licenses later today, each worth $100 USD. Keep your eyes peeled for the giveaway post!

Continue reading Corel releases VideoStudio Pro X4, we go hands on (video)

Corel releases VideoStudio Pro X4, we go hands on (video) originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/22/corel-releases-videostudio-pro-x4-we-go-hands-on/

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Balance is a challenging mouse-based physics game

Years of computer use have taught us that the mouse cursor is "above" the windows. It doesn't push anything around; at least not without you clicking anything.

Balance takes that ingrained bit of knowledge and cancels it out. Suddenly your cursor (a blue dot) is solid - and if it touches the blue block, it pushes it around.

Your job is to use your cursor to nudge the blue block over to the orange block. You will have to push it, lift it and even flip it on its side, and then balance it. It's a very tricky game - one I wouldn't recommend tackling with a laptop trackpad.

Still, if you have a mouse and a hankering for a little physics gameplay, this is a cute little game. I like how the blue block never stops smiling, it makes me feel better about the world.

Balance is a challenging mouse-based physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/10/balance-is-a-challenging-mouse-based-physics-game/

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NVIDIA announces GeForce GTX 580M and 570M, availability in the Alienware M18x and MSI GT780R

We know you're going to be shocked -- shocked! -- to hear this, but NVIDIA's gone and refreshed its high-end line of GeForce GTX cards. The GTX 580M takes the place of the GTX 485M, and NVIDIA's bragging that it's the "fastest notebook GPU ever," capable, we're told, of besting the Radeon HD 6970M's tesselation performance by a factor of six. The new GTX 570M, meanwhile, promises a 20 percent speed boost over the last-generation 470M. Both 40-nanometer cards support DirectX11, OpenCL, PhysX, CUDA, 3D Vision, Verde drivers, Optimus, SLI, and 3DTV Play. As for battery life, NVIDIA's saying that when coupled with its Optimus graphics switching technology, the 580M can last through five hours of Facebook, but last we checked, that's not why y'all are shelling out thousands for beastly gaming rigs. You can find the 580M in the Alienware M17X and M18X (pictured) starting today, though you might have to wait a week or so for them to ship. Meanwhile, the 570M is shipping in the MSI GT780R as you read this, and you'll also find the 580M in a pair of 3D-capable Clevo laptops: the P170HM3 and the SLI-equipped P270WN. Handy chart full 'o technical details after the break.

Continue reading NVIDIA announces GeForce GTX 580M and 570M, availability in the Alienware M18x and MSI GT780R

NVIDIA announces GeForce GTX 580M and 570M, availability in the Alienware M18x and MSI GT780R originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/eJvT4Bwaj10/

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Google Gets All Designy With Updated Homepage, Search Results And Free Fonts

Oh, so you thought Google was done after it rolled out Google+, Circles, Sparks, Huddle, and Hangouts? No, no, no. Google will be done when that's Google-brand oxygen you're breathing. This afternoon, the Google rollout announcements have continued, as the official Google blog quietly declared (relatively speaking) that the Google Search page (and products across the Google empire) will be getting "a bit of a makeover" over the next few months. And there are new web fonts, too. OMGoogle!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/E_8IYVIBbEs/

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In-app payment support arrives on Android

Right on cue, Google has launched in-app payment support for Android applications. Developer testing began last week, and now many popular apps -- like the ones pictured above -- can begin charging users for add-on functionality, content, or whatever the heck else they feel is worthy of additional bits of your pocket change. If you were wondering, Google will take the same 30% cut that Apple takes from in-app purchases.

At last we can buy individual issues in Comics with minimal fuss!

In-app payment support arrives on Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/30/in-app-payment-support-arrives-on-android/

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Cloud Girlfriend will use a swarm of females to satisfy men

Cloud Girlfriend, despite what it sounds like, doesn't really have anything to do with cloud computing. Rather, it uses a cloud of women to pose as your girlfriend on Facebook, or your favorite social network of choice. The service is scheduled to launch 'soon,' and there's no indication of how much it will cost.

With the tagline 'The easiest way to get a girlfriend is to already have one,' Cloud Girlfriend promises to be a very interesting startup indeed. The brains of the operation, David Fuhriman, speaking to CNET, says it's all about fulfilling Maslow's hierarchy of needs. "CloudGirlfriend.com can fulfill Maslow's higher needs, even though the users know that the interaction is virtual. They will interact with a real person and see real profile images of the girl with whom they interact. This interaction can build confidence and esteem as well as provide real training experiences in navigating a friendship and a relationship."

Our concern, of course, is that it's very nearly April 1. We're also worried by the fact that Fuhriman has a name that sounds ominously like a social subculture that we've grown strangely attracted to here in the Download Squad bunker.

Finally, just stop and think about it for a second. Because your cloud girlfriend will be entirely virtual, she could be based anywhere. She could be underage -- or overage -- or she might be someone who you know in real life. She could even be a relative of yours, and you'd never know.

Let's not forget this is the Internet we're talking about, folks. Worst case scenario, she could turn out to be a hairy, male truck driver from Texas. Such as... your dad, perhaps?

Cloud Girlfriend will use a swarm of females to satisfy men originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/30/cloud-girlfriend-will-use-an-army-of-females-to-please-lonely-me/

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TomTom's iPhone App gets updated, brings HD traffic updates along for the ride

Hate gridlock? We'd surmise you aren't alone, so pardon our excitement surrounding the latest addition to TomTom's longstanding iPhone app. New in version 1.8 is the addition of HD Traffic, which extends congestion data to both "major" and "secondary" US roads. Existing TomTom Traffic subscribers get the functionality gratis, with the rest of us dishing out $20 via an in-app purchase. Free for all who upgrade are multi-stop routes, allowing one to tweak excursions to your heart's content -- provided you can count those diversions on one hand. The updated app is already live in the App Store, but please, pull over before downloading -- cool?

Continue reading TomTom's iPhone App gets updated, brings HD traffic updates along for the ride

TomTom's iPhone App gets updated, brings HD traffic updates along for the ride originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/27/tomtoms-iphone-app-gets-updated-brings-hd-traffic-updates-alon/

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Banshee music player now works in Windows, supports Amazon MP3 downloads

A few moments ago, version 2 of the Banshee music player for Linux was released, bringing with it a whole slew of new features, and the addition of an official -- but alpha-quality -- Windows build. The Mac OS X build of version 2 is due later today.

The most notable new feature is support for the Amazon MP3 store -- you can buy and download music from within Banshee -- but unfortunately it's only available in the Linux build at the moment (OS X and Windows support are planned, however). There have also been some significant improvements to artist, album, and queue interactions -- and yes, you can finally right click a track, album or artist and select 'play after' to insert it into the queue.

Beyond actual playback, the user interface has been tidied up -- it now looks a whole lot smarter -- and the Ubuntu One Music Store and SoundMenu extensions have been made official. For a complete list of changes, additions and bug fixes, check the change log.

When Windows support initially appeared in February, we found it rough around the edges and fraught with stability issues. With version 2, Banshee for Windows is still a bit unstable, but it's shaping up to be a good alternative to Winamp, iTunes, or whatever other music library manager you use. It's almost as attractive as its GNOMEish brother, too!

Download Banshee 2 for Linux and Windows (Mac OS X coming soon)

Banshee music player now works in Windows, supports Amazon MP3 downloads originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/banshee-music-player-now-works-in-windows-supports-amazon-mp3-d/

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When Technology Fails in the Battlefield the Only Thing Left Is Luck—and Hand Grenades [Excerpt]

My dad is 89. He's had an amazing life and he just published his memoirs. This is an excerpt taken from his experiences at Anzio in 1944, as a World War II 21-year-old soldier. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/SPnfne3SVPE/when-technology-fails-in-the-battlefield-the-only-thing-left-is-luck

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Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4

When Firefox 4's tab grouping tool, Panorama, had its keyboard shortcut changed to the finger-breaking combo of Ctrl+Shift+E, we thought Panorama would get dropped before FF4's final release -- but, thankfully, it made the cut!

If you've used Firefox 4 and Panorama, you might have noticed that Mozilla's new browser doesn't always save your tab groupings when you close the browser -- a bit of a pain, if you spend a long time setting up the perfect groups! This is tied into the removal of the 'Save and Quit' dialog box -- and enabling Panorama tab group saving is just a matter of re-enabling the Save and Quit dialog.

Open a new tab and head to about:config. Click through the warning and type 'quit' into the filter box. Double click browser.showQuitWarning to change its value to true (see image after the break). That's it -- now you'll have the option of saving your tabs, and thus tab groups, when you close Firefox.

For more tech tips, visit our tips index.

Continue reading Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4

Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/save-your-tabs-and-panorama-tab-groups-in-firefox-4/

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Cowon C2 portable media player review

And here you were assuming the tried-and-true PMP was dead. Au contraire. Cowon's not giving up on its dream quite yet, but after the D2 hung around at the company's low-end for the better part of four years, it's an alphabetic step backwards that's taking over as the successor. The diminutive C2 is about as simple as a PMP gets -- design wise, anyway -- but it's actually capable of supporting both music and video on its 2.6-inch resistive touchpanel. And then there's the purported 55 hours of battery life, included microSD card for expansion and the company's world-class audio quality. Still, $135 goes a long (long!) way in the portable music industry these days -- does the C2 pack enough punch to make your short list? Head on past the break to find out.

Gallery: Cowon C2 hands-on and unboxing

Continue reading Cowon C2 portable media player review

Cowon C2 portable media player review originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Jun 2011 14:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Zp9Dy6I-X0M/

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