Chrome is now 2 years old! Google celebrates with release of version 6

September 3, 2010

Two years. Can you believe it’s only been two years since we started browsing the internet faster than a potato can tear through the air? Well, Google can, and it’s certainly not been sitting around during that time, improving Chrome’s JavaScript performance by a factor of 3, and throwing in a litany of additional features, like tab side-by-side view, themes, auto-translation, and bookmark and preference sync across machines. To celebrate the anniversary, the company’s uploaded version numero 6 to its stable channel, which brings a few more GUI optimizations and some bug fixes to the table. Hardware graphics acceleration isn’t yet included in the public release, but it too shall be joining the party before long.

Chrome is now 2 years old! Google celebrates with release of version 6 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gadget Thumbnails for 02-Sep-2010

September 3, 2010

Check out the Coolest Gadgets 2008 Gift Guides, Christmas shopping made easy.
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Samsung’s 50-inch 720p PN50C490 3D plasma on sale now for under a grand

September 3, 2010

Looking to spoil yourself with a fancy new 3DTV? Ain’t got the cash to go all-out? Hello, compromise. Samsung’s 50-inch PN50C490 — which we peeked just a few weeks ago — is now shipping from Amazon, Best Buy and a slew of other local consumer electronic marts if we had to guess. As a refresher, this mid-sized HDTV has a 720p resolution, 2,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, no internet connectivity to speak of, a USB socket, three HDMI inputs, a pair of component jacks and support for the third dimension. It’s up for grabs today at just 9, but you’ll probably want to budget a few extra hundies for that Samsung 3D Starter Kit (not to mention a few 3D Blu-ray Discs).

[Thanks, James]

Samsung’s 50-inch 720p PN50C490 3D plasma on sale now for under a grand originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba StorE TV+ drive connects up to 2TB of media directly to your HDTV

September 2, 2010

Feel like connecting a HTPC or even one of the many streamers to your HDTV is overkill? Toshiba’s new StorE TV+ is prepared to quietly retain up to 2TB of media (in various formats, check after the break for specs) until called upon, when it can play them back via HDMI, no connected PC required. It can also connect to PCs or other DLNA devices (like, coincidentally enough, Toshiba’s new HDTVs) networked via Ethernet and the included WiFi dongle or load files directly from memory cards and USB drives. Even with all that, a lack of access to internet video sources makes the £199 MSRP a tough sell even ith 2TB of space at the ready, but if it works its way into a TV bundle then there may be buyers willing to bite when it ships next month, while an eSATA hard drive only StorE.D10 model will follow later this year for an unknown price.

Continue reading Toshiba StorE TV+ drive connects up to 2TB of media directly to your HDTV

Toshiba StorE TV+ drive connects up to 2TB of media directly to your HDTV originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 22:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba Satellite A665-3DV gets a stereoscopic software makeover, now plays nice with 2D content, Blu-ray 3D and external screens

September 2, 2010

Nabbed one of Toshiba’s fully-loaded stereoscopic laptops, only to find a dearth of actual 3D? The company’s got a software update that might revitalize your machine. Where previously you’d have to install ready-made dual-ocular content directly to your hard drive, the manufacturer’s just promised a Toshiba Video Player application that will convert your existing 2D content into 3D, plus firmware that will help you pipe stereoscopic video over the integrated HDMI port and upgrade your Blu-ray drive to take the new Blu-ray 3D discs — though we honestly thought it could do that last bit already. While there’s no word on availability, the press release suggests a download will pop up any moment… so, you know, be sure to keep both eyes out. PR after the break.

Continue reading Toshiba Satellite A665-3DV gets a stereoscopic software makeover, now plays nice with 2D content, Blu-ray 3D and external screens

Toshiba Satellite A665-3DV gets a stereoscopic software makeover, now plays nice with 2D content, Blu-ray 3D and external screens originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer LumiRead makes pit stop at IFA prior to launch

September 2, 2010

We caught the LumiRead set up and ready for some serious page-turning action as Acer set up its booth at IFA today (yes, it’s true, the show still hasn’t technically started), which marks the first time we’ve actually been able to hold the upcoming e-reader — previously, the closest we’d gotten was the impersonal touch of a glass enclosure back at Computex. The verdict? After having touched one of those newfangled Kindles, we’ve got to say that pretty much every other e-reader out there feels like a ridiculously overweight beast, and the LumiRead gets swept up into that classification. The barcode scanner is still there (you can see it in our gallery below) and it’s still as awesome of a concept as ever, but Acer has replaced the smooth plastic back with a ridged, patterned one on this newer prototype — and considering that the launch is scheduled for October, we imagine this is nearly final or final spec. The thumbstick feels decent, but we don’t really think it’s the best way to navigate… which is a lesson Amazon already learned with the last version of the Kindle, by the bye. So here’s your recipe for success, Acer: soft-touch back, cut the thickness by a third, eliminate the wasted space above the keyboard, and keep the barcode reader. Boom.

Acer LumiRead makes pit stop at IFA prior to launch originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Canon EOS 60D hands-on (video)

September 2, 2010
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The 2010 Canon Expo is filled to the brim with drool-worthy image-capturing hardware (more on that later in the day), but the first thing we did when arriving was run straight to the EOS 60D. While we can’t really get into the gritty details in terms of image and video quality based on show floor impressions alone, we will say the comfort and ease of use are superb — not to mention an articulating display that’ll come in handy for crazier shot composition. The company’s definitely got a knack for iterative upgrades, but a prosumer-focused model like this is just a knockout for the price, and leaves us wondering what the future holds for the Rebel T2i when only 0 separates the two cameras. Pictures below, and check out a video walkthrough done by our Engadget Show Producer / Canon enthusiast Chad Mumm after the break.

Continue reading Canon EOS 60D hands-on (video)

Canon EOS 60D hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 14:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BSS/OSS – Which Is Right For You And Why

September 2, 2010

The telecom domain is a very exciting area now a days. We now have everything from a simple phone line to mobile cellular phones. Today with so many offerings and bundling options, customers have the freedom to choose what they want and how they use the services. As an ISP it is important that regardless of the customer usage, every byte that travels through the network is accounted for. This is the importance of telecom billing BSS/OSS.

Today, there are nuances and challenges in almost every service that is delivered to the customer. Though the local calls are free for a flat monthly rate, your typical land line phone can offer other services too. Things like long distance calls, international calls, voice mail services, etc. Each of these has a different rate and billing structure. So your billing system needs to handle these correctly.

The more modern solutions, like cellular services, have even more complexities in offerings. In developed nations, the introduction of 3G services has meant that mobile networks are now being used for both voice and data services. The rates for both are different and so are their usages. In the developing nations, there are multiple short term and long term plans for plain 2G voice services too. The billing systems need to address all these variations.

It is clear that billing systems are great for telecom operators and they cover everything from traditional phone lines to the latest data plans on 3G mobile networks. But there are some costs and implementation considerations that one needs to be cognizant of while installing these systems. Everything from hardware to customer care services need to be looked at.

Getting good hardware fast enough and reliable enough to run good software is a great starting point. The next is the telecom billing System that will be tracking all the usages and billing accordingly. The third aspect is the billing cycle. While ideally it would great to have individual customer billing cycles, it may not be a practical solution. Most billing solutions adopt the batch processing approach; you determining the billing cycles is important.

The next is the bill distribution feature. For many customers, a paper bill is the preferred method of getting billing information. So you need to print and post the bills and that requires a good automated system to do these things, along with a reliable distribution network. After distributing the bills, you need an equally good system to collect the payments.

The final spoke in the billing solution wheel is the billing inquiry support system. Customers can be billed incorrectly due to errors from the ISP or software problems. Alternative, the customer can interpret the bills incorrectly. Whatever the problem, the issue need a resolution. The customer care department need to address these.

In conclusion, telecom OSS is critical to the success of ISPs. There are many aspects of billing solution deployment that require some planning and investments. If executed properly, telecom OSS can give great rewards.

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Frosting Deco Pen

September 2, 2010
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When you’re decorating something with icing you’re usually stuck with some squishy bag to write with, which just feels a little unnatural.  If it feels unnatural, then your writing and decorations are not going to be nearly as pretty.  Now you could get used to that squishy bag, but only if you do that sort of thing often.  For those that don’t there is this Frosting Deco Pen.

There are all sorts of colored pens out there, but personally I think I’d choose a pen with frosting in it over the rest.  The pen is battery powered and comes with 3 refillable frosting cartridges.  Don’t worry, you can just use normal frosting from the store.  The Swiss designed pen does cost a little more than your average pen, but it gets filled with frosting.  That makes it far better.  You can pick up the Kuhn Rikon Frosting Deco Pen for .

Source: OhGizmo


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If Apple Can’t Deal With Facebook’s "Onerous" Terms For Ping, Why Is It In Apple’s Keynote Screenshots? [Apple]

September 2, 2010

Did Steve Jobs pull Facebook support for Ping, Apple’s new music-focused social networking service, at the last second? Ping launched yesterday without support for Facebook, the world’s most popular social networking service. More »








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