Monday, April 30, 2012

From the Editor's Desk: London calling, inside man and Nexus done right

From the Editor's Desk

It's another working weekend. Time for some quick hits:

  • If I wasn't over the Samsung Galaxy S3 fakes, leaks and fake leaks, I certainly am now. Alex and I will be at the event on Thursday. I can wait till then.
  • Speaking of heading overseas, I used MaxRoam in Barcelona this year and am using it again this week in the UK. 500MB for $13? (Which is more than even I can use in two days.) Sold.
  • And that's just the start of the travel. Coming up next week we've got the CTIA conference in New Orleans.
  • If you haven't seen Jean-Baptist Queru's latest Q&A on updates to Ice Cream Sandwich and how Sony's gotten updates out the door in about 5 months. That's due in no small part, JBQ says, to the amount of code that Sony's contributed back to the Android Open Source Project. Remember the early days of Sony Ericsson and the Xperia X10, which launched in the age of Eclair with Android 1.6 Donut, and finally got updated a year later. Things certainly have changed.
  • Something that hasn't changed? Carrier approval times. JBQ rightly points out that carriers often are the bottleneck in getting updates released, which does seem a little insane in the Nexus world. But neither is it new. If the carrier's selling the phone, it's going to go through (I'd assume) the same rigorous (read: slow) testing process as any other phone. Verizon's been, shall we say, fastidious, long before Android even existed. It's funny to see blogs set their hair on fire over this one.
  • I hesitate to even write about these sorts of Q&As. They're a rare glimpse into the inside workings of things and are best read in their entirety, straight from the source. It pains me to see blogs pick and choose the juicy parts for publication. ("OMG Verizon is sooooooo slow." Thanks for that insight.) It's pretty rare that we get a relatively unfiltered and unfettered look at how things work, with actual opinion from the folks who make the donuts instead of PR-speak and lawyered releases, and even more incredible that folks like JBQ stick around to answer questions. Let's not spoil it and waste the opportunity.
  • I'm pretty excited about Google once again selling devices. I'm still curious as to how it's going to handle the problems it ran into the first time — namely customer service, though it does have a dedicated page for orders and returns questions. But this is the way Nexus devices were meant to be sold and maintained (meaning updated). Forget the carrier. (And, yes. That means CDMA gets shut out again. Them's the breaks.) And if you didn't notice, note how Google's calling it a "Devices" store and not a "Phone" store. If that's not a flashing neon sign that tablets are coming, I don't know what is. (And I'm willing to bet it's going to go beyond tablets, as well.) The important part is that I should once again be able to say "You want updates the day they're pushed? Get a Nexus." — and do so without looking like an idiot.
  • The site redesign is coming along well. (Major props to our designers and coders, whose work you enjoy every day but whose names you never get to see.) We're still tweaking things, and as I've said before, this is only the beginning. If you've got feedback, leave it here.

TTFN. We'll see you from London this week, and NOLA the next.



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Obama roasts himself, Romney (CNN)

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Sunday, April 29, 2012

Analysis: Obama falls short of meteoric expectations abroad (reuters)

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Google Maps 'Cube' game rolls out, back, up, back again

Google Maps 'Cube' game rolls out, back, up, back again

Cast your mind back to January if you will. Head full of steamy CES action? Of course, but you may also remember Google teased us about a new tilt-and-roll Maps game. Well, it looks like the creators may have missed the original February deadline, having finally snuck it out this week. The browser-based game is a series of maze challenges, that'll take you through the streets of San Francisco, downtown Tokyo and beyond. All atop Google's iconic 3D textured maps, naturally. Eight levels in total are on offer, making it an ideal lunchtime -- or if the boss is away -- afternoon time kill. Roll down to the source link below to give it a spin, nudge and roll.

Google Maps 'Cube' game rolls out, back, up, back again originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 07:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gripevine?s Dave Carroll Tackles Customer Service Resolution After United Broke His Guitar

Screen shot 2012-04-27 at 3.36.05 PMIt's an interesting story. One day, Dave Carroll was taking a flight with his band-mates on United Airlines. When he landed at his destination, he noticed that United staff were throwing his $3,500 Taylor guitar around, and ultimately, damaging it pretty badly. When United did nothing to help, Carroll took matters into his own hands with the help of a little video sharing site called YouTube. His music video, "United Breaks Guitars," took off like a rocket, and after realizing the power of social media, he joined up with his other co-founders to build Gripevine.

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'Snow White And The Huntsman' Sequel In The Works?

It's more than a month until first Kristen Stewart film is released, but David Koepp is reportedly in talks to pen a sequel script.
By Kara Warner


Chris Hemsworth, and Kristen Stewart in "Snow White and the Huntsman"
Photo: Universal Studios

Despite the fact that we're still a little more than a month away from the release of "Snow White and the Huntsman," there are already rumblings of a sequel.

According to Deadline, Universal has apparently already begun talking to screenwriter David Koepp about writing a sequel to the film, which is one of this summer's most highly anticipated movies. Koepp certainly has enough credibility in drafting scripts for big blockbusters: He has screenplay credits on "Jurassic Park," "Mission: Impossible," "Spider-Man," "War of the Worlds" and "Men in Black III."

Naturally, we don't know what happens to the characters over the course of the film, but star Kristen Stewart has already expressed interest in reprising her role as the titular Snow White.

"To be totally candid and honest with you, when I first signed on to this thing, the idea of doing another franchise was like, 'Wow, [we'll] cross that bridge when it comes.' It was something so far outside my realm of thinking," she told MTV News when asked if she'd be game for more action and adventure as the fairest one of all. "I was so focused on the first one, and I thought, 'Maybe, maybe,' but I've got stars in my eyes. I'm literally over the moon about what I'm doing right now," she said of her work on "Huntsman." "Yes, I would love to [do more 'Snow White' films]."

"Huntsman" director Rupert Sanders is reportedly Universal's choice to helm the sequel if it happens, and judging from his positive comments about working with Stewart, it seems likely the pair could team up again.

"Kristen is a very driven, visceral, intuitive actress. From a director's point of view, it's great to get into her headspace," Sanders said. "We did a lot of work together on the script and character, and she really helped inform me how that character was feeling, which really helped my process getting the character onscreen. Kristen was doing a lot of her stunt work, she was riding horses, she was jumping from high precipices into freezing cold water, she was fighting dwarves — she's gung-ho."

Check out everything we've got on "Snow White and the Huntsman."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

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Fanatec's Clubsport pedals V2 bring improved brake and clutch feel to the virtual speedway (video)

Fanatec's Clubsport pedals V2 bring improved brake and clutch feel to the virtual speedway (video)

Around these parts, we're generally suckers for all things related to racing simulators. As such, we're excited to learn that Fanatec has unveiled its next generation of the Clubsport pedals that we reviewed over a year ago. Dubbed as the Clubsport pedals V2, the company refers to the peripheral as an "evolutionary" update to original, offering a trio of improvements. The clutch has been retooled to have a "regressive feel" that's said to be similar to a real automobile, while the brake is now of the hydraulic variety, featuring user replaceable synthetic oil -- naturally, it still has an adjustable spring and load cell pressure sensor for the utmost customizability. The final touch is merely some visual spice in the way of black anodization. Notably, there won't be any tuning kit available initially, and V1 owners might be disappointed to know that the company has opted not to offer an upgrade kit, citing costs and potentially complicated installation. Fanatec is aiming to have the Clubsport pedals V2 out by June, bundled alongside its Clubsport wheel, with pricing set at $250 for the US (€250 in the UK). Pre-orders won't begin until May, so in the meantime, shift over to the source link below and the video past the break for all the details.

Continue reading Fanatec's Clubsport pedals V2 bring improved brake and clutch feel to the virtual speedway (video)

Fanatec's Clubsport pedals V2 bring improved brake and clutch feel to the virtual speedway (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 14:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceThe 911 Wheel Club  | Email this | Comments

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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Deal of the Day ? 15.6? Samsung Series 3 AMD A4 dual-core Laptop

Saturday’s LogicBUY Deal is the 15.6″ Samsung Series 3 AMD A4-3300M 1.9GHz Dual-core Laptop (model no. NP305E5A-A04US) on sale for $399.97.? Features: ?4GB RAM, 320GB hard drive, AMD Radeon graphics, Webcam, 4-in-1 card reader, 802.11bgn WiFi, webcam, 3 USB ports, HDMI, DVDRW, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OS, and more. $479.99 – $60.02 instant savings [...]

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LG Optimus True HD LTE's European assault begins in Portugal, Germany and Sweden

Image

While the latest LTE and HD equipped addition to LG's Optimus line has already landed across Asia (Korea, Japan) and North America (US - AT&T, US - Verizon, Canada) under a few different names, the newly rebranded Optimus True HD LTE is finally prepared for a European debut. As seen by the flags flying above, this week LG will begin rolling out to Portugal, Germany and Sweden, with Britain and France on deck for the second half of the year when LTE service is available. The other flags present represent further Asian rollouts in Hong Kong and Singapore. The plan, described in the Korean press release linked below (Update: English PR after the break), is apparently to make LG synonymous with LTE, although we can't see how renaming its current dual-core standard bearer every other week is helping.

Continue reading LG Optimus True HD LTE's European assault begins in Portugal, Germany and Sweden

LG Optimus True HD LTE's European assault begins in Portugal, Germany and Sweden originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceLG  | Email this | Comments

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Enterprise Mobile Startup DoubleDutch Raises $2M Series A From Bullpen, Floodgate & Others

flock-update-heroEnterprise mobile startup DoubleDutch has raised $2 million in Series A funding, the company is reporting today, in a round led by?Bullpen Capital and including Mike Maples? Floodgate Fund, as well as?Mint.com founder Aaron Patzer and YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim. The funding follows the company's?previous raise of $1.2 million a year ago, led by Lightbank.

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Biotech Company Blamed for Bee Collapse Buys Leading Bee Research Firm [Bees]

Monsanto, the biotech company whose proprietary genetically modified corn has been fingered as the possible culprit in the collapse of the bee population, has gone ahead and purchased Beelogics, a research firm committed to "restoring bee health and protecting the future of insect pollination." More »


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