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Google's currently in the process of detailing Chrome OS' latest improvements and there are a couple of big 'uns: Netflix and Hulu support will be available right out of the box for the pair of new Chromebooks -- one from Samsung and one from Acer. An improved file manager has also been added to the upcoming version of Chrome OS, plus offline versions of Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Docs -- all will be made available for Chromebook users this summer. You can learn more about these improvements in the video after the break. Far more monumental, Google's also just announced the cost of these Chromebooks and there's no upfront payment to speak of. Instead, Chrome OS laptops will be distributed on the basis of a recurring monthly subscription, which will cost $28 per user for businesses and $20 per user for schools. That includes regular software and hardware upgrades. Hardware as a service, folks! Continue reading Google adding Netflix, Hulu support, offline Gmail, Calendar and Docs to Chrome OS this summer, prices hardware at $20 per month Google adding Netflix, Hulu support, offline Gmail, Calendar and Docs to Chrome OS this summer, prices hardware at $20 per month originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 May 2011 13:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments 
 Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/WgbvUDhPMC0/ AUTODESK AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING AVNET BHARTI AIRTEL BT GROUP  New product giveaways have become something of a tradition at Google I/O. Last year attendees to the developer-focused conference walked home with two new Android phones (an Evo 4G and a Nexus One or Droid, depending on where they live). This year, everyone was given a new Galaxy 10.1 Honeycomb tablet a month before its release. And a few minutes ago, several hundred Android developers were given the Xperia PLAY, the Android-powered 'PlayStation phone' that comes with a unique gamepad. The giveaway took place in the C++/Game Developer panel, which discussed the use of native code in Android applications (games, in particular, are likely to use the NDK as opposed to standard Dalvik). And aside from winning some karma points from developers, Sony's motivation for handing out the phones are pretty clear: give developers a phone that features the gamepad, and they're much more likely to make sure their games work flawlessly with it. Google also handed out the Android Open Accessory Development Kit (ADK), an Arduino-powered chipset that will help developers build Android accessories, at a panel yesterday.  Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ZvgSB2sjpbg/ NOVELLUS SYSTEMS NOVELL NETWORK APPLIANCE NETGEAR NCR  Uber is a black car service that you can schedule via a mobile app. It's slightly more expensive than taxis, but it is absolutely worth it, and I now rely on it to get around in San Francsico. The way it works is that black car drivers have an iPhone with their own special Uber app. When someone requests a car, the drivers close to that person see the request, and any of them can grab it. They then pick up the passenger and take them to wherever they want to go. Everything is tracked via GPS and billing is automatic to your credit card. It's perfect. Except when it isn't. Yesterday I requested a car and even though the app showed the car as arrived and on top of me on the map, it was nowhere to be found. I called the driver (a handy feature in the app), but our connection was so bad that we couldn't communicate. So I hit "cancel" (a $10 charge to me) and walked to my destination instead.  Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Ge-JNQ53QyU/ KINGSTON TECHNOLOGY COMPANY KEY JDS UNIPHASE JDA SOFTWARE GROUP JACK HENRY and ASSOCIATES 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 Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/23/let-it-slide-is-an-engaging-difficult-puzzle-game/ SYMANTEC SYKES ENTERPRISES INORATED SYBASE SUN MICROSYSTEMS STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS Recently, Google has been busy beefing up Latitude to make it more competitive with other location apps -- and more fun to use. Location history was added recently, iOS users can post check-ins via Latitude, and now Google has begun rolling out location-based deals which are tied to the service. If you're in the U.S., you can now score local savings at participating merchants by checking in with Latitude. Google will also be offering "status deals," which users can unlock by visiting a particular merchant on a regular basis. Mashable notes three status levels: regular, VIP, and guru -- though partners can apparently customize those titles if they choose. Right now deals are available from merchants like American Eagle Outfitters, Arby's, Finish Line, Macy's, Quiznos, and RadioShack. Google Latitude check-in deals now available across the US originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 08:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/08/google-latitude-check-in-deals-now-available-across-the-us/ DST SYSTEMS DISCOVER FINANCIAL SERVICES DIODES INORATED DIEBOLD DELL 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. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/save-your-tabs-and-panorama-tab-groups-in-firefox-4/ ORACLE OPENWAVE SYSTEMS ON SEMICONDUCTOR NVIDIA NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS What's shaping up to be an epic week in tech news may be about to become even more exciting for T-Mobile fans. Internal employee docs are giving out some serious vibes that the company is ready to push out three important features to many of its phones as early as tomorrow. The first one to put a smile on your face is unlimited WiFi calling, which should be available as a free add-on to the Even More, Even More Plus, and 4G Do More plans. We're glad to see the service come back as a freebie, much better than the $9.99 per month asking price when it was hotspot@home. As if that isn't good enough by itself, the other services getting prepped for tomorrow's lineup include Name ID -- a caller ID service that shows the name, number, city, and state of anyone not listed in your contacts -- and Voicemail-to-Text, a new enhancement to the existing Visual Voicemail service that transcribes the full message into text form on select devices. Keep in mind that while these docs certainly do look official, it's all mere speculation until we hear actual word from T-Mobile about these new programs. With that said, we've got screenshots above and below, so feel free to glean as many details as possible from them. Continue reading T-Mobile leak divulges return of unlimited WiFi calls, may add Name ID and Voicemail-to-Text T-Mobile leak divulges return of unlimited WiFi calls, may add Name ID and Voicemail-to-Text originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 May 2011 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink |  TmoNews (1), (2) | Email this | Comments 
 Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/9V2mDeYSZwU/ ARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ARROW ELECTRONICS ASML HOLDING ASUSTEK COMPUTER ATandT Now that Windows 8 images have begun leaking out, it's only a matter of time until developers start releasing mods for Windows 7 which mimic upcoming features. Over at Into Windows, they've spotted one such mod already. In the earliest Windows 8 images, we saw Windows Live integration on the taskbar. In the far right corner, there's a user tile displayed. If you'd like to do the same on Windows 7, download Taskbar User Tile from DeviantArt user AngelWZR. Once installed, your current picture will appear on the taskbar. Click it, and a menu appears which allows you to log off, switch users, and access the control panel. Right now, the mod only works if your taskbar is displayed on the bottom of your Windows desktop. Add a Windows 8 user tile to your Windows 7 taskbar originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/add-a-windows-8-user-tile-to-your-windows-7-taskbar/ SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY SCIENTIFIC GAMES SANDISK SALESFORCE COM SAIC |
Some of you who own 
Cell phone bills are expensive, and carrier contracts are binding. We need our cellphones, but that doesn't mean that we're not always looking for cheaper ways to make calls. Voice-over-IP services have come a long way in the last few years; Skype has perfected desktop-to-desktop calling, and Google has given us free VoIP domestic calling on Gmail -- talk over WiFi on email from the comfort of your couch. But, the next new frontier has become WiFi and VoIP calling on mobile. 