Editorial: Apple's officially over the optical drive, for better or worse

I don't like it. Not one iota. But frankly, it doesn't much matter -- Apple's officially done with the optical drive, and there's no evidence more strikingly clear than the mid 2011 refresh of its Mac mini. Last year, that bantam box arrived with a $699 price tag, pep in its step and a personality that could charm even the most hardened desktop owner. This year, a $599 model showed up on my doorstep promising the same, but instead it delivered a noticeable drop in actual functionality. Pundits have argued that you could tether a USB SuperDrive to the new mini and save $20 in the process compared to last year's rig, but does relying on a cabled accessory go hand-in-hand with beauty and simplicity? No, and I've every reason to believe that Apple would agree.

Despite the obvious -- that consumers would buy a mini to reduce the sheer burden of operating a convoluted desktop setup -- Apple's gone and yanked what has become a staple in both Macs and PCs alike. For years, ODDs have been standard fare, spinning CDs, DVDs, HD-DVDs (however briefly) and Blu-ray Discs, not to mention a few other formats that didn't do much to deserve a mention. Compared to most everything else in the technology universe, the tried-and-true optical drive has managed to hang around well beyond what it's creator likely had in mind, but it's pretty obvious that 2011 is to the ODD what 1998 was to the floppy drive. At least in the mind of one Steven P. Jobs.

Continue reading Editorial: Apple's officially over the optical drive, for better or worse

Editorial: Apple's officially over the optical drive, for better or worse originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

regression hypnosis health

Google Fiber puts boots on the ground, begins detail engineering in Kansas Cities

We've come a long way since Google first started taking about launching a fiber-based ISP -- from beta tests, to hopeful communities, to Topeka fools day, to selecting not one, but two Kansas Cities. Now, it's "boots on the ground," time according to the Google Fiber blog: detail engineering starts now. In the coming weeks, Kansas City residents (presumably on both sides of the Kansas / Missouri border) can expect to see El Goog's engineers measuring phone poles, gathering geographical data, and asking hard-hitting questions, like "What is your address?" All this footwork will help Google get a head start on building that sweet, ultra-high-speed gigabit network. Not the most glamorous bit of Google magic we've ever seen, but it's still exciting to hear that preliminary work has begun. Of course, it would be even more exciting if this were coming where we lived.

Google Fiber puts boots on the ground, begins detail engineering in Kansas Cities originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Jul 2011 02:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Google Fiber  | Email this | Comments

health sport fitness

Windows 8 wallpaper available to download, Jupiter and Twin UI spotted

With Windows 8 milestone 3 now up for grabs for select Microsoft Connect partners, it's inevitable that leaked bits and pieces will start popping up around the Web. In fact, the first "official" wallpaper image from the still-brewing OS is already making the rounds.

As you can see, it's got a similar feel to the good ol' Windows 7 default background, but features a more subdued smattering of cerulean hues. Those of you who want to use the Windows 8 wallpaper on your current desktop can download it from our file dump.

A few other details have been revealed, too. According to ZDNet's source, the Windows 8 Jupiter libraries and Twin UI are starting to take shape -- though all that's been located thus far are "[various files] scattered throughout the OS" and the aptly-named twinui.dll.

Windows 8 wallpaper available to download, Jupiter and Twin UI spotted originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

fitness coaching nlp

IBM Selectric Typewriter turns 50, yells at tablets to get off its lawn

Imagine all of the waiting rooms and typing classes it's seen in its half-century on earth. IBM this week is celebrating the 50th birthday of its best-selling Selectric line of office typewriters. First introduced in 1961, the line featured a rotating typeball that increased typing speed and could be changed for italics, symbols, and different fonts and languages. The typewriter also eschewed the traditional moving carriage, with the typeball and ribbon taking on the motion, reducing the unit's overall size and leaving more space on office desks for family photos and troll dolls. These innovations helped make the line nearly ubiquitous in offices spaces, and in 1964, the Selectric line offered up an early word processor capable of storing characters. IBM would go on to retire the line in 1986. Fittingly, the now defunct typewriter will be honored with its very own postage stamp.

Continue reading IBM Selectric Typewriter turns 50, yells at tablets to get off its lawn

IBM Selectric Typewriter turns 50, yells at tablets to get off its lawn originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

angels regression hypnosis

RIM's Big Push: Making Room for Android, Making Movies and Making Everything Secure

Occluded by the opposition and battered by poor financial results, Research In Motion on Friday made announcements aimed at shoring up its sagging fortunes. The mobile device maker announced it has received FIPS 140-2 certification from the United States National Institute of Standards and Technology.

fitness coaching nlp

Windows 8 getting a built-in PDF reader, Metro-style

For what seems like an eternity, Download Squad readers have reacted to news of security exploits targeting Adobe Reader with a common sentiment: why doesn't Microsoft build its own secure PDF reader into Windows? Apparently the Windows 8 team agrees, and they're working away at an application called Modern Reader which is exactly that.

From the handful of screenshots Paul Thurrott has shared, it's clear that Modern Reader has been built with Metro in mind. You can see the Reader back button in the top-left corner of the yellow image and the minimal page navigation bar on the right. We've posted some larger images we managed to scrape from Google's cache after the break.

Thurrott also mentions that Modern Reader is the first program spotted which is built using AppX -- a packaging technology that may allow developers to roll a single build to both Windows 8 desktops and Windows Phone 8 mobile devices.

Continue reading Windows 8 getting a built-in PDF reader, Metro-style

Windows 8 getting a built-in PDF reader, Metro-style originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

personal development computer apple

Verizon just keeps the LTE train chugging, new and expanded markets coming on August 18th

We can't remember a single new WiMAX market being lit up in 2011, meanwhile Verizon just keeps lighting LTE fires all across the country. We've actually given up trying to keep a tally of how many new markets Big Red has launched this year -- there are only so many fingers and toes between the Engadget staff. The carrier just flipped the switch on 28 new markets last week, and now it's announced plans to add at least 15 more on August 18th. In addition to finally blessing the folks in Albany, NY and Tuscon, AZ with a little 4G love, it will also be expanding coverage in in areas including Boston and Salt Lake City. It's the perfect mid-summer gift to go along with a brand new Galaxy S II or Droid Bionic. Check out the full list of upcoming LTE meccas just after the break.

Continue reading Verizon just keeps the LTE train chugging, new and expanded markets coming on August 18th

Verizon just keeps the LTE train chugging, new and expanded markets coming on August 18th originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 16:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink PhoneDog  |  Verizon  | Email this | Comments

psychology personal development computer

Interlocked is a three-dimensional brain teaser

Back when I was a kid, I used to love crafting ornate puzzle boxes out of Lego. There would be just one way to open the box, by carefully shifting and rotating a bunch of pieces. Well, either that, or breaking the box in frustration.

Interlocked takes that spirit and turns it into a beautiful Flash game. It's a good thing the soundtrack is soothing, because the game itself can get pretty frustrating.

At the start of each level, you're presented with a box built out of blocks in different colors. You can click and drag the mouse to rotate the box any which way. Once you decide you want to shift a part of the box, hit SPACE to switch into "move" mode. You can then click any part of the box and drag it. Of course, you can only move a part as long as nothing is in its way. So it becomes a matter of understanding how the box is built, and what parts you need to move around so you could eventually take the box apart.

It's a tricky, difficult game, but it's a great brain teaser -- and definitely a keeper.

Interlocked is a three-dimensional brain teaser originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

angels regression hypnosis

Gargantuan SQL injection infects 3.8 million URLs, installs rogue antivirus

Over the last few days, a mass SQL injection attack has been quickly gathering speed. Just three days ago only 28,000 URLs were affected, but at the time of writing, there could be up to 3.8 million infected URLs.

Websense has a complete write up the attack, dubbed 'LizaMoon,' but here's the basic gist: it looks like someone is exploiting a vulnerabilty (or vulnerabilities) in hundreds of thousands of websites running on Microsoft SQL Server 2003 and 2005. It's not yet known whether this is a vulnerability in SQL Server, or simply a case of outdated, unmaintained, and easily-exploitable CMSes.

The attack takes the form of an SQL injection, which then inserts a link to a JavaScript file hosted on the attacker's server. This is repeated over and over until every Web page in the SQL database has been infected -- and considering 3.8 million URLs have been infected, you can see that this is a very easy, and automated, attack.

Fortunately, the JavaScript isn't particularly malicious: it pops up a rogue AV program called Windows Stability Center, but that's it. Better yet, the rogue antivirus is already recognized by a bunch of real antivirus suites, including Avast, Panda and Microsoft Security Essentials.

The real problem with SQL injection attacks is that there's nothing we surfers can do about them. There will always be old and unmaintained websites, and thus SQL injections will remain one of the easiest and most lucrative tools of hackers and spammers alike. All you can do is keep your antivirus and anti-malware software up to date, and pray.

Gargantuan SQL injection infects 3.8 million URLs, installs rogue antivirus originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 05:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

psychology personal development computer

March 31 is World Backup Day 2011

Those benevolent armchair philanthropist Redditors are at it again! Four days ago a 'self' post extolling the potential virtues of a Backup Day exploded with 2500 upvotes and 1000 comments -- and now World Backup Day 2011 is actually happening.

On March 31, as part of the global data-saving initiative, you are encouraged to back up all of your cherished photos and videos, and important documents. If you've ever had a hard disk fail, and not had a backup to fall back on, you'll know that it's a bit like losing a sizable fragment of your soul. If you've never backed up your important files -- or if you only back up sporadically -- do it on World Backup Day!

It's not hard to back up your data, either. A 2TB drive costs only a fistful of dollars, and it takes just a few minutes to set SyncToy for Windows, or Time Machine for Mac, to mirror your data every night. If you prefer a cloud-based solution, there's always SugarSync and Dropbox. Finally, don't forget that Bundlelytic has a charity giveaway for three excellent data-backup-and-recovery tools -- $160 of software for only $25, and 100% of the proceeds to go the Japanese Red Cross.

For even more backup options, for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux, check our list of 13 great backup programs.

March 31 is World Backup Day 2011 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Mar 2011 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

coaching nlp psychology

Motorola considering Nike+ SportWatch contender?

It looks like Motorola might be prepping to give the Nike+ SportWatch a run for its money. An intrepid tipster sent along a screenshot from a recent survey showing off what looks like a tricked out nano watch. Described as an "all-in-one fitness and music personal fitness device" (redundant much?) that packs a GPS for "accurate performance tracking," the as of yet unnamed gadget also sports a "smart music player" that compiles a list of songs based on the tunes that help you sweat your best. It also lets you wirelessly sync to your PC for workout analysis, and apparently does the same for Android devices. Among the possible names listed in the survey is the MotoActive, hinting at, but certainly not pinning down, Motorola branding. Of course this is just an online survey, so we wouldn't get too excited about your new running mate just yet.

[Thanks, Anon]

Motorola considering Nike+ SportWatch contender? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

fruit angels regression

Hard Graft Back Up Case for iPad 2

The Smart Cover for iPad 2 is a wonderful screen cover and stand, but it leaves the back of your expensive device exposed. �There are a variety of skins, cases, and covers available for iPad 2, but not all of them work with the Smart Cover. �Hard Graft is introducing their new Back Up Case [...]

angels regression hypnosis

Daily Crunch: Ride The Lion Edition

Smart Design: Fanless Heatsink Spins Itself Concrete Speakers Look Good, Yet I Question Their Fidelity The Five Best Things About OS X Lion Watch The Final Space Shuttle Mission Here (Maybe) CrunchGear Is Headed To TechCrunch/Gadgets

fitness coaching nlp

A Cable That'll Give Your iPad Mid-90s Style [Cables]

I'm forced to ask why you'd ever want to connect your iDevice to an old school printer, but Redpark is making the case that people want apps with some retro chic. So the iOS Serial Cable was born. More »

health sport fitness

Zero1.tv Introduces the VooMote One Universal Remote Control for iPhone/iPod touch

Download a free app from iTunes, slide the VooMote One accessory from Zero1.tv onto your iPhone or iPod touch and transform it into a powerful universal remote to control your TV, DVD player, home stereo equipment, and other consumer electronics. �Setup is easy; you’ll be walked through the process of defining the controls for your [...]

computer apple iphone

The Best Deal of the Day [Dealzmodo]

Have you ever tried watching TV for 24 hours straight? And I'm not talking about sleeping with the TV on. I mean WATCHING for an entire day. Let me tell you, it's not pretty. Sometime around the 12th hour, your attention span evaporates. Then when the 18th hour hits and you're frantically drinking Red Bull to fight off the drowsiness, the hallucinations start kicking in. Your roommates start to appear in the TV. Actors start to materialize in your living room. Wait, why is Harry Potter making out with the girl from Twilight? By the 24th hour, you're devastated. Now imagine doing that in 3D. More »

apple iphone fruit

Facebook launches unified mobile site, announces 250 million mobile users

Facebook has announced that its two mobile sites -- m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com -- have been unified, bringing a simpler mobile experience to Facebook users. And there are a lot of those -- a quarter billion, according to Facebook.

Smartphone users won't be losing any functionality because of the consolidation. If your phone supported the enhacned features offered by touch.facebook.com, the new site will automatically flip the switch when you visit.

Rolling the sites together helps simplify things for Facebook's developer team. Now changes can be pushed to a single site instead of two separate sites, which makes it easier to ensure that all mobile users receive a nearly identical experience regardless of the device they're using.

The new Facebook mobile can also check to see if your phone supports geolocation. If it doesn't, you won't be seeing much of Facebook Places -- which obviously relies heavily on geolocation. Images can also be optimized on the fly to keep page performance from suffering on less powerful devices. You can see the three different versions of the share button below, courtesy our friends at TechCrunch.

Facebook launches unified mobile site, announces 250 million mobile users originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

nlp psychology personal development

Let it Slide is an engaging, difficult puzzle game

I have a thing for physics games, and I've been known to post the occasional platformer or action game here and there. But Let it Slide is one of the brainiest games I've posted to date.

The idea is very simple, and far from original: You get a board with pieces arranged in a particular pattern; you have to slide those around until you get the special piece into its target location.

It's not even about finding out where the target location is - you can just hover over "dim tiles" and instantly see where you're supposed to bring the special piece. But getting it there is a whole different story.

There are five tutorial levels, which I strongly recommend you do. Then there are twenty "beginner" levels, but that's really a misnomer. If those are the beginner levels, I don't want to know what the intermediate and advanced levels look like!

Every time you finish a level you get a score based on how many clicks it took you - each level has a "par" (the minimum number of clicks it could be completed in), and your performance is compared to that gold standard. Because it's such a brainy game, getting it right is quite satisfying. I was downright proud of myself when I managed to finish a few levels. All in all, quite recommended, especially if you've got a few minutes of quiet. It might actually help you focus better later on.

Let it Slide is an engaging, difficult puzzle game originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

fitness coaching nlp

BattlePaint is an addictive geometric shooter game

In BattlePaint, you play a cube. In fact, you're not even a cube -- just a square. But boy, are you fast! And you can shoot in all directions. That's important, because there are baddies coming in from all over the place.

The "baddies" are swarms of other squares, in all sorts of pretty colors. They track you all over the screen, and you run around very quickly and just shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. If that doesn't sound very emotionally deep, it's because it isn't. But it's fun!

After you shoot a baddy, it splashes paint as it disappears. You need to skate across this blob of paint and "eat it up" to get points. This game is fast. It clocked in at around 60-70 FPS on my system, and was loads of fun to play. It does tend to insult you when you die, though, but don't be offended -- I don't think it's personal.

BattlePaint is an addictive geometric shooter game originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

nlp psychology personal development

Drift Innovation unveils compact Drift HD, still up for your extreme antics (video)

Fan of recording extreme death-defying stunts, yet find your current helmet cam just too darn unwieldy? Drift's creatively named Drift HD might fit the bill, as the firm's managed to cram the 170-degree field of view rotatable lens / LCD combo from the HD170, into a 25 percent smaller package. The nine megapixel 1080p shooter also features a bevy of redesigned mounts, a replaceable lens and support for 32GB microSD cards, allowing it to keep chuggin' where lesser cameras would have otherwise called it quits. Connectivity junkies will also swoon at the inclusion of micro-HDMI and a 2.5mm microphone input. We weren't exactly smitten with the HD170, but this $369 makeover might be enough to change our minds. If you're dying to find out for yourself, the Drift HD will be available August 31st, but do us a favor and keep your eyes on the snow -- we wouldn't want you to end up like this guy.

Continue reading Drift Innovation unveils compact Drift HD, still up for your extreme antics (video)

Drift Innovation unveils compact Drift HD, still up for your extreme antics (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 00:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Drift Innovation (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

sport fitness coaching

Deal of the Day ? Planar PX2710MW 27? 1080p LCD Monitor

Today?s LogicBUY Deal is the Planar PX2710MW 1080p LCD monitor for $229.99.� Features:� 2ms response time, 1200:1 contrast ratio, built-in stereo speakers, HDMI, thin black bezel, and more.� This is the cheapest current deal for this product, and is $20 cheaper than LogicBUY?s last mention of the deal.� It?s a savings of 51% off the [...]

nlp psychology personal development

Review: The Lexus LX 570 is An All-Terrain Electronic Fun House

It floored me to think that here I was, cruising down this familiar two-track at nearly 60 mph. This is the route to one of my tree stands and generally a trip done in my father-in-law's Ford F150. But my teeth were still intact and I didn't feel like the trail was crushing my spine. I was floating along in this $89k Lexus flagship, cooled by air-conditioned seats, jamming to Sublime on Rdio over a Bluetooth link to my Droid X. The windows were down, the sunroof open and I have two bottles of water in the air-conditioned cooler box directly under my right elbow. Life was good. The 2011 Lexus LX 570 served me well over the last week. It performed admirably as a camping utility vehicle in the backwoods of Michigan and equally as well around town. I don't think I've ever been more satisfied with a vehicle that has a potential deal breaker.

computer apple iphone

Blind Faith: 35 Percent of Consumers Want iPhone 5, Sight Unseen

A recent survey of close to 3,000 people found that 35 percent were willing to purchase Apple's next-gen iPhone when it hits the market.

fruit angels regression

Microsoft renews alliance with SUSE, throws $100 million in pocket change at Linux

Microsoft and Linux haven't always had the friendliest of rapports but, a few years back, the folks at Redmond decided to cozy up to Novell and the enterprise-focused distro SUSE. The German arm of the company even wished Tux a happy 20th birthday last week, in an attempt to further thaw their notoriously chilly relationship. Now the Windows crew have decided to renew their partnership with SUSE and have committed to purchasing $100 million in technical support for Microsoft Enterprise customers who also happen to be running Linux boxes as part of their operations. It's not about to stop claiming that the open source OS violates several of its patents, but at least they've learned to get along with out suing each other into oblivion... unlike some other companies we could name. Cough. Check out the full PR after the break.

Continue reading Microsoft renews alliance with SUSE, throws $100 million in pocket change at Linux

Microsoft renews alliance with SUSE, throws $100 million in pocket change at Linux originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

iphone fruit angels

LEGO Minifig USB Flash Drive

I know, I know – you can get USB flash drives with much more storage for less, but they won’t be as cute as the LEGO minifig USB flash drive from ThinkGeek. �Pull the pants off the little minifig to use the 2GB USB drive. �It will work with Windows or Mac computers, and it [...]

iphone fruit angels

Zero1.tv Introduces the VooMote One Universal Remote Control for iPhone/iPod touch

Download a free app from iTunes, slide the VooMote One accessory from Zero1.tv onto your iPhone or iPod touch and transform it into a powerful universal remote to control your TV, DVD player, home stereo equipment, and other consumer electronics. �Setup is easy; you’ll be walked through the process of defining the controls for your [...]

psychology personal development computer

Samsung's LTE-equipped Galaxy Tab 10.1 comes to Verizon on July 28th

It's a Galaxy Tab 10.1, but with 4G. No, not that 4G. Not even that 4G. This 4G. You know, the LTE variety, being spread around like Christmas ham by the folks at Verizon Wireless. Cosmetically, the slate offered up by Big Red is no different than the WiFi-only model that we peeked earlier in the year, but the LTE radio tucked within obviously makes it the one to get if you're looking for top-tier speeds on the go. VZW will actually hawk two separate models LTE Tab 10.1 models (in white or grey), both of which are priced outrageously with two-year agreements: $529.99 for the 16GB model and $629.99 for the 32GB model. That's a pretty penny (to say the least!) given the albatross that is a 24-month contract, and those who'd rather provide their own connectivity can opt for the WWAN-less Metallic Grey edition for $499.99 (16GB). Access plans start at $30 per month for 2GB, with $50 per period getting you 5GB, or $80 getting you 10GB (no mention of tethering, unfortunately). Your pickup date? Two days from now, or July 28th for the calendar-challenged.

Gallery: Samsung's LTE-equipped Galaxy Tab 10.1 hits Verizon

Continue reading Samsung's LTE-equipped Galaxy Tab 10.1 comes to Verizon on July 28th

Samsung's LTE-equipped Galaxy Tab 10.1 comes to Verizon on July 28th originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 08:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Verizon Wireless  | Email this | Comments

health sport fitness

Banksy-Locations for iPhone Shows You Where Banksy Art Is So You Can Pretend to Be Cultured [App Of The Day]

Thinking that Banksy is cool has become so mainstream that it's almost not cool anymore. But Banksy has never been more mysterious as his street art still magically manifests out of nowhere. And how many of his pieces have you seen? And where oh where can you even see them? This iPhone app tells you where. More »

regression hypnosis health