G$earch

Logitech unveils first wireless solar keyboard

Posted by Harshad

Logitech unveils first wireless solar keyboard


Logitech unveils first wireless solar keyboard

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 07:54 PM PDT

Logitech unveils first wireless solar keyboardLogitech has unveiled their first wireless solar keyboard, dubbed the K750.

The K750 can power itself from all light, include indoor light, eliminating the need for batteries, ever.

"A keyboard is still the best input device for typing emails and IMs, updating your Facebook™ page or posting responses to your favorite blogs – and the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 is the next big innovation in keyboard technology," added Denis Pavillard, VP of product marketing for Logitech's keyboards and desktops. "The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard is powered by light but can work in total darkness for up to three months. Plus, with its PVC-free construction and fully recyclable packaging, it's designed to minimize its footprint."

The solar panel is integrated right into the keyboard meaning there is no external charger or brick necessary.

Logitech includes a solar power app that "features a lux meter to help you get the necessary light, makes it easy to get at-a-glance information about battery levels, and even alerts you when you need more power."

The gadget will be available starting November 15th with a price tag of $80 USD.

Permalink | Comments



LimeWire lays off 29 percent of staff

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 05:59 PM PDT

LimeWire lays off 29 percent of staffLast week we reported that LimeWire, once the world's most popular P2P client, had been officially shut down, following a four-year legal battle against the record industry.

A New York federal court issued a permanent injunction against the site, ruling that LimeWire caused a "massive scale of infringement" by intentionally giving users a platform to share millions of unauthorized music tracks.

At its peak, LimeWire was seeing 50 million monthly users.

Following the ruling, LimeWire has had to lay off 29 of its 100 staff members.

Curiously, the company will keep the other 71 working on an unknown new music service.

Says CEO George Searle, via AllThingsD: "Following the court-ordered injunction, we reduced our work force to extend our runway for bringing our new music service to market. Letting go of colleagues is never easy. If we could have brought about another solution, we would have."

The upcoming service is dubbed "Grapevine."

Permalink | Comments



Will VLC be pulled from iOS App Store?

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 05:45 PM PDT

Will VLC be pulled from iOS App Store?At the end of October, Applidium released an updated VLC for iOS, finally giving iPhone and iPod Touch owners a chance to use the popular media player on their devices.

The move followed Applidium's 1.0 version of the software which runs on the iPad.

Today, it has become clear that a possible licensing conflict may force the app offline.

PCWorld explains:


In addition to being free in the sense that it costs nothing, VLC is also open-source software developed collaboratively under the GNU Public License (GPL), which is designed to promote the creation of software that can be freely modified and redistributed by anyone, as long as they do so in compliance with the license.

In order to maintain the freedom of the software it protects, the GPL imposes several conditions under which redistribution may take place; in particular, the redistribution of the software must be unrestricted under any circumstance, allowing any user to give another user a functional copy under the same original terms.


Regular VLC contributor RĂ©mi Denis-Courmont has said, however, that the iOS App Store violates the aforementioned terms because it uses proprietary DRM to make sure users do not redistribute apps obtained through the store. Denis-Courmont says he has now filed a copyright complaint with Apple, asking the software be removed from the store.

Apple has yet to respond but the software is still available and if you want it, chances are you should download it now.

Permalink | Comments



Google sues U.S. government over software contract

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 05:19 PM PDT

Google sues U.S. government over software contractGoogle has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government this weekend, claiming that the government unfairly gave preference to Microsoft when selecting a new software suite.

In 2009, the Department of the Interior began searching for a "collaboration and messaging suite" for its almost 90,000 employees.

Google says it tried to join the evaluation process but was turned away.

The DOI then selected Microsoft BPOS-Federal Suite, thanks to Microsoft's multi-decade long history of providing software for government departments.

Microsoft's BPOS-Federal Suite includes hosting services, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Office Communications Online.

Google wanted to challenge the BPOS-FS with its Google Apps for Government suite, claiming it could be implemented more cheaply and more effectively than Microsoft's rival service.

The search giant wants the requisition process halted until Google Apps is given a fair chance.

Permalink | Comments



Target Mobile to begin selling iPhone next week

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 04:04 PM PDT

Target Mobile to begin selling iPhone next weekTarget has announced today that it will begin carrying the Apple iPhone in all 846 stores that include a Target Mobile center.

The phone will go on sale on November 7th.

Target will offer both the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4, as well as free in-store activation if you are a first-time iPhone buyer.

"At Target we continue to offer our guests the best in electronics so we're happy to add iPhone to our Target Mobile offerings," added Mark Schindele, senior VP of merchandising at Target. "With expert support from Target Mobile specialists and in-store activation, our guests will be able to leave the store with a new, working iPhone3GS or iPhone4 in-hand."

The retailer also noted that it was rolling out Target Mobile centers to most Target stores by the end of the Q2 2011.

Permalink | Comments



Samsung denies Nexus Two smartphone

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 03:45 PM PDT

Samsung denies Nexus Two smartphoneSome of the biggest news of the past week has been the rumored unconfirmed launch of the Nexus Two, the successor to Google's very powerful, but ultimately failed smartphone.

The new device was expected to be unveiled by its maker, Samsung, on November 8th during a media event.

Today, however, the phone maker has denied the Nexus Two exists, saying all the rumors are "simply not true."

The November 8th event will actually be to officially launch the Continuum smartphone, a Verizon Android 2.2 device that has two displays.

Making the Continuum noteworthy is the small secondary screen. When the phone is active, the second screen shows off the date, time and weather. When inactive it will show any new messages, emails, missed calls, voice mails, IMs, social notifications and more.

Looks like we will have to wait a bit longer for a sequel to the Nexus One, especially one running 2.3 Gingerbread.

Permalink | Comments



Leaked BlackBerry Storm 3 specs

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 02:30 PM PDT

Leaked BlackBerry Storm 3 specsBBLeaks has put together a list of leaked specs for the still unconfirmed BlackBerry Storm 3.

If accurate, the device will be RIM's most powerful smartphone to date.

For now, the specs are still just rumored, and the picture is of a prototype of the device:

Display: 3.7-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Memory: 8 or 16 GB storage w/ optional expandable to 32GB, 512 MB or 1GB RAM, 1 GB ROM
Camera: 5MP or 8 MP, fixed focus, dual-LED flash
Optical trackpad
MP3: MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player, MP4/H.264/H.263/WMV player
Bluetooth: Yes, v3.0 with A2DP
3G: HSDPA, 10.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2 Mbps
Addons: Wi-Fi, USB, GPS, OS, Video
Weight: Standard battery, Li-Ion 1200 mAh (BL-4D)
Talktime: Up to 432 h (2G) / Up to 480 h (3G)
Standby: Up to 9 h (2G) / Up to 5 h (3G)


The site speculates that RIM is delaying release of the device until it can put a final version of its new QNX operating system on it.

There is also a chance the Storm 3 may be the first BlackBerry with 4G support.

Permalink | Comments



PayPal support coming to Android Market tomorrow?

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 01:56 PM PDT

PayPal support coming to Android Market tomorrow?Since early October, rumor has had it that Google is set to announce PayPal checkout support for the Android Market.

Today, AndroidCentral is reporting that that announcement will come via a press release as early as tomorrow, November 2nd.

The report cites "a very trustworthy source," on that has been accurate on Android news in the past.

Google and eBay (the parent company of PayPal) have been working on a deal for months.

Users have long complained about the current checkout system (especially if you are not a Google Checkout user), and adding PayPal and its user base of 220 million will certainly make the system more fluid, or at least as easy as rival iTunes.

Permalink | Comments



Canalys: Android now top mobile OS in U.S.

Posted: 01 Nov 2010 01:43 PM PDT

Canalys: Android now top mobile OS in U.S.While the Apple iPhone remained the top individual smartphone in the U.S. for the Q3 2010, the Android OS leaped forward to take strong control of OS market share.

Available on a plethora of devices, the Android OS was on 43.6 percent of all smartphones sold in the U.S. during the quarter.

The figures come via Canalys, the tech industry analysis firm.

Apple came in second with 26.2 percent share, followed by RIM at 24.2 percent.

Rounding out the top 5 was Windows Mobile at 3 percent and all others taking the remaining 3 percent.

In terms of actual hardware sales, 9.1 million Android OS devices were sold during the quarter, 5.5 million iPhones were sold, 5.1 million BlackBerrys were sold and 1.2 million Microsoft and "other" devices were sold.

Permalink | Comments



0 comments:

Post a Comment