We didn't expect too many fireworks from
Microsoft and Nokia's joint teleconference this morning, and,
well, we didn't get any. As expected, Office Mobile is coming to
Symbian, along with Office Communicator Mobile, SharePoint, and
Microsoft System Center, and the two companies also said they'll be
working on "future user experiences" for Nokia customers. Don't get
too worked up about that, though -- Nokia said it was "deeply
committed to Symbian," and that "there are no such plans" to work
on a Windows Mobile device. So much for that. We did ask whether
this partnership would affect Nokia's
rumored Maemo plans, and we were told that development is
Symbian-focused for now, but that there might be "other business
opportunities" in the future, so at least that door remains open a
hair -- but for the most part this is all about Microsoft and Nokia
trying to stake out a stronger enterprise position, not anything
else. Video after the break, if you're having a hard time taking
that nap.
Microsoft and Nokia announce Office coming to Symbian
China Unicom finally bringing iPhone to world's most populous country?
Is it really happening? Is the world's most thickly settled nation
finally getting the iPhone in earnest? If a bold (albeit
woolly) report from China's own national news agency is to be
believed, China Unicom has just
locked down a deal that'll grant it exclusive rights to sell
Apple's heralded smartphone in mainland China for three whole
years. Unfortunately, most of the nitty-gritty details are absent,
but we are led to believe that this will be the first-ever iPhone
sold with any branding at all outside of logos splashed on at
Cupertino. The "Wo" icon you see just below the speaker
signifies that this here device is
ready to rock on the carrier's 3G network, though we still
can't say with any amount of certainty if said image is fully
legitimate. We're also waiting to hear whether it'll be the iPhone
3G or 3GS (or both) that's sold, and we're particular curious as to
whether or not these handsets will
include WiFi modules.
In related news, it does sound as if China Unicom bent over
backwards a bit to make this all come together, with the article
stating that it
signed on to move between one and two million units per year
regardless of how many consumers actually show up to buy one. If
you'll recall, an eerily similar agreement has Russian operators in
a world of financial hurt, but we get the feeling the reception
in China will be quite a bit warmer. At any rate, it's noted that
Unicom will be snapping up the devices from Apple at a cost of
around 3,000 Chinese yuan apiece ($439), with end users being asked
to pay an undisclosed lesser amount on contract. If all goes well,
the units could hit Chinese shops as early as September, though
only time will tell how everything shakes out. Oh, and considering
that Apple can
hardly keep up with iPhone 3GS demand as it is, we suspect
it'll want to wait a few months anyway before stressing its supply
channels further.
Update: A China Unicom spokeswoman has now been
quoted as
saying that "we have made progress but there are still some
problems to be resolved." Really? Another round of this?
Google Voice iPhone app rejected, current GV apps lose connection with iTunes
Perhaps the big G spoke too soon when it said its new
Google Voice service was coming to iPhone. First, GV Mobile
developer Sean Kovacs relays a phone call he had with Apple where
he was notified of his app being removed from the iTunes store for
duplicating built-in iPhone features -- an app that was originally
and purportedly approved by Phil Schiller himself. Next out the
door was GVdialer, and if you thought that was all bad, now comes
word that Google's official Voice app was flat-out rejected by
Cupertino. Now it's hard to say with certainty who's to blame for
these app rejections, but a good many fingers are pointing to the
cellular carriers -- and given
AT&T's previous statements about the SlingPlayer app, it's
hard to argue with that. For its part, the company hinted at
finding a workaround via web apps, much like they did when Apple
gave
Latitude a cold shoulder -- but doesn't that
feel just a little 2007?
Read - Official Google Voice App Blocked from App Store
Read - GV Mobile is getting pulled from App Store
Read
- Sean Kovac's Twitter status on Schiller
Windows 95 on iPhone: the worst Parallels installation you've ever seen
Give a guy an iPhone, a jailbreak, and an open-source,
cross-platform x86 emulator, and it's just a matter of time before
hilarity ensues. In this case, said hilarity involves getting
Windows 95 to boot on an iPhone 3G, a
process that takes 5-10 minutes worth of pure boot time only to
yield an environment useless for... well, actual use. In the video,
we see the hack demonstrated both on an actual iPhone and within
the Mac-based emulator, which we reckon is just about the most
terrifying Parallels / VMware replacement we've ever encountered.
Apparently, XP emulation and 3GS tests
are up next -- the 3GS should perform marginally better on account
of its faster core and more capacious RAM -- but that still won't
cure the sting of being
handily beaten to the milestone by the N95, will it? Follow the
break for video of the mind-twisting Microsoft-on-Apple-on-Apple
emulation in action.
[Via: Engadgetmobile ]
[Tag: ]
Windows Marketplace taking app submissions on July 27, coming to WinMo 6.0 and 6.1 later this year
Windows Mobile devs should start dotting their I's and crossing
their T's, because Microsoft's going to be ready to take a good,
hard look at their latest and greatest apps come the 27th of this
month when the company finally swings open the doors to the
submission processes for inclusion in the Windows
Marketplace. The announcement has been made at Microsoft's
Worldwide Partner Conference this week as it gears up for an
onslaught of devices running WinMo 6.5 at retail later this year,
though the retail channel might not be where much of the action
lies; unlike the Apple App Store, the Android Market, Palm's App
Catalog and others, Microsoft is putting major emphasis on a
segment of Windows Marketplace it's calling the Business Center
where corporate-focused apps and utilities will have a place to
live. Boring, yes -- but probably also very profitable in the
business fleet market segment where WinMo tends to thrive.
Though the company had previously indicated that Windows
Marketplace would be a 6.5 exclusive, we've got great news for
legacy device owners who don't expect to get an upgrade: Microsoft
has also announced today that the Marketplace will be coming to
WinMo 6.0 and 6.1 before the year's out. Considering that 6.5 won't
be hitting the street until fall, that's not too bad of a wait; now
all it needs is a
rich catalog of great software to go along with the great
hardware some of its partners are producing, right?
[Via: Engadgetmobile ]
[Tag: ]
Google: we're cool with Exchange on Google-branded Android phones
src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/07/android-eats-exchange-nom-rm-eng.jpg" />
Okay, this gets a bit confusing, so bear with us. Back when HTC
first unveiled the Magic, the company said that any Android device
with a customized build -- and that includes adding support for
Microsoft Exchange --
has to drop the "with Google" logo as per Google's rules.
Indeed, that notion seemed to be validated by the all the
international Android phones that had Exchange but no branding.
Cut to present day and the T-Mobile's myTouch 3G, which
looks to have both the
"with Google" backing and
Exchange support, contrary to previous assertions. Did the
search engine giant soften its policy? We spoke with a company
representative who told us, surprisingly, that it has "never been
Google's policy" to deprive its branded devices of Exchange
support, and that if another phone maker wants to add it and keep
that logo plastered on the phone, that's A-OK. In all honesty, we
never really put too much stock into the Google logo on the phone,
but if it's really just been one huge misunderstanding that's
prevented our G1 from having Exchange, well, we're gonna be quite
nonplussed for many weeks to come.
[Via: Engadgetmobile ]
[Tag: ]
iPhone 3GS prototype scooped up at airport, now on eBay
Seriously folks, what's up with these
prototype iPhones falling out of nondescript white vans and
ending up on eBay in the shadiest of manners? Just months after we
saw an
original iPhone prototype (ancient OS included) pop up on The
'Bay, now we've got one of the world's first iPhone 3GSs on there
as well. According to the highly ranked eBay seller, the "guy" he
"got it from" actually stumbled upon it at an airport, and rather
than doing the nonsensical thing of hitting up lost and found, he
decided to make the most of the sudden opportunity. According to
the new owner, an Apple Genius has confirmed that it is an iPhone 3GS, but
due to its prototype nature, they can't help him get past the
"Connect to iTunes" screen. In other words, it's an incredibly rare
brick. If that sounds like just the thing to complete your
collection, you can visit the road to overpaying through the read
link below.
[Via: Engadgetmobile ]
[Tag: ]
Pwnage Tool for iPhone OS 3.0 now live, ultrasn0w still on standby
That iPhone OS 3.0 jailbreak we saw the iPhone Dev-Team
pull off earlier this week? It's out now, or at least, part of
it is. Pwnage Tool is now flooding torrents, but there's lots of
caveats here. Most importantly, this isn't Ultrasn0w, which
means if you're wanting to use your toy on T-Mobile or another
unofficial carrier, be patient -- it's also worth noting that the
jailbreak doesn't jibe with yellowsn0w, so those who rely on it
should stay away for the time being. No compatibility with the 3G
S, or at least, it probably hasn't been tested... we wouldn't
recommend anyone setting the precedent here. You'll need Mac OS X
to run it, with QuickPwn for Mac and Windows coming further down
the line. Ultrasn0w is also due out at some indeterminate future,
so that all said, if you're just needing right now a jailbroken
device with spotlight functionality, hit up the read link for all
the pertinent details. It should goes without saying, but they're
might a few negative side effects to it, and one of the big ones we
heard is that YouTube might be fubar'd at the moment.
- trois, drei, три, három! (Pwnage Tool
released)
Read - No YouTube On Jailbroken iPhone 3.0?
[Via: Engadgetmobile ]
[Tag: ]
Flash 10 for smartphone beta coming this October
It's been a while since we've heard a peep about Adobe's Flash 10 for
smartphone initiative, but according to a slide from its Q2 Fiscal
Year 2009 earnings presentation, the platform's on track for a beta
release this October at the company's MAX conference. Prime mobile
OS candidates for the beta include those from Adobe's Open Screen
Project, which at last count included
Nokia,
Palm, Google, and Microsoft -- and unless there's been some
behind closed doors meetings, the two glaring omissions on that list
are still gonna be bugging you come this Halloween.
[Via: Engadgetmobile ]
[Tag: ]
BlackBerry Curve 8520 with T-Mobile branding walks in front of a camera
A BlackBerry 8520 bound for T-Mobile? Really, we're not surprised,
having heard
whispers not too long ago, and while not yet official, some
gung ho Crackberry forum members have posted some shots of
the branded phone in the wild, with just a dash of Mr. Blurrycam
stylings for good effect. No indication of a release date here, but
if you're really jonesing for a new 2.5G BlackBerry, last we heard
it was coming fourth quarter of this year.
Update: That white trackpad isn't quite what it
seems. According to the
original poster, it's just a plastic covering. We hate to
disappoint anyone who actually dug the new shade.
[Via: Engadgetmobile ]
[Tag: ]
Sources: Windows 7 moving toward 2009 release
Microsoft is moving forward with plans to launch Windows 7 this year, although the company still refuses to publicly commit to that goal. PC industry sources in Asia and the U.S. tell CNET News that they have heard things are on track to launch by this year's holiday shopping season, which has been Microsoft's internal target for some time. Microsoft is also putting the finishing touches on a program to offer Vista buyers a free or low-cost update to Windows 7. That program could kick off as early as July, sources said. The company has run such "technology guarantee" programs in the past, typically allowing each PC maker to set the exact rules, but essentially offering buyers after a certain time to get a free upgrade to the next version. In an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Microsoft senior VP Bill Veghte cautioned that the release still could be pushed into 2010, depending on customer feedback. "I'm telling them that it could go either way," Veghte said in that January interview. "We will ship it when the quality is right, and earlier is always better, but not at the cost of ecosystem support and not at the cost of quality." That remains the company's official position, although the wheels are spinning toward a release in time for Windows 7 machines to be sold this holiday season, PC industry sources tell CNET News. The response to test versions of Windows 7 has been in stark contrast with the issues that dogged Windows Vista, which was a much more fundamental update to the operating system. Although Windows 7 adds things like an improved taskbar and snappier performance, the operating system shares most of the same underpinnings as Windows Vista. Microsoft has reiterated that it plans just a single beta for Windows 7. That beta launched in January and Microsoft this week stopped offering downloads of the test version. The company has said it will have a near-final "release candidate" version, but has not said when that will come.
Earlier this month, Microsoft confirmed that it plans to sell at least six distinct versions of Windows 7, although it also said it will focus its efforts around two editions--Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional. (By way of comparison, Microsoft announced the different versions of Vista in February 2006 before ultimately making the code available to business customers in November 2006). For those that can read Chinese, here is ZDNet Taiwan's earlier report on the subject. ZDNet Taiwan's Agnes Kuang contributed to this report.
[Via: cnet.com ]
[Tag: ]
Mozilla to weigh in on EU's Microsoft case
Mozilla has been granted a seat at the table in the European Commission's antitrust case against Microsoft, an EC source said Tuesday. Last week, Mozilla requested and was granted "third-party status," which entitles the organization behind the popular Firefox browser to receive access to confidential documents in the case and the ability to voice objections, the source noted. The Commission, which is the European Union's executive arm, in mid-January formally put Microsoft on notice, objecting to the bundling of the Internet Explorer browser with its operating system. The case, which initially stemmed from a complaint filed by browser maker Opera, gives Microsoft two months to respond to the allegations, as well as opens it up to third parties weighing in. Mozilla was not immediately available to comment, but its chairwoman posted comments on her blog. Mitchell Baker, Mozilla chairwoman, agrees with the Commission's allegations that tying IE to the Windows operating system harms competition between Web browsers and reduces consumer choice. She also noted:
There are separate questions of whether there is a good remedy, and what that remedy might be. But questions regarding an appropriate remedy do not change the essential fact. Microsoft's business practices have fundamentally diminished (in fact, came very close to eliminating) competition, choice and innovation in how people access the Internet.One potential remedy that the European Commission is considering: a requirement that Microsoft include rival browsers with its operating system. Baker further notes in her blog:
I'll be paying close attention to the EC's activities, both personally and on behalf of Mozilla. Mozilla has enormous expertise in this area. It's an extremely complex area, involving browsers, user experience, the OEM and other distribution channels, and the foundations for ongoing innovation. An effective remedy would be a watershed event; a poorly constructed remedy could cause unfortunate damage. I'd like to offer Mozilla's expertise as a resource to the EC as it considers what an effective remedy would entail. I'll be reaching out to people I know with particular history, expertise and ideas regarding these topics. If you've got specific ideas or concerns please feel free to contact me. I'll post more as the discussion develops.
[Via: cnet.com ]
[Tag: ]
Time's running out to download your (legal) Windows 7 beta
If you've already registered for the Windows 7 beta but haven't downloaded the installation disc image yet, you'd better hurry up. Microsoft is turning off the spigot on Thursday morning at 9:00AM PST.
In order to register your copy of Windows 7 once you download and install it, you'll have to have already signed up for the beta. The cutoff took place last night. While Thursday might seem like a long time from now, it could take a while to download the disc image, which weighs in at about 2.5GB.
Of course, this doesn't mean you won't be able to find Windows 7 download links in the future. Just don't expect to find them from publicly accessible portions of the Microsoft web site.
[Via: Download Squad ]
[Tag: windows-7, windows-7-beta ]
Need for speed spurs Opera JavaScript overhaul
With Web applications imposing new demands on Web browsers, a previously behind-the-scenes programming technology called JavaScript is getting new visibility, and Opera is the latest case in point. The Norwegian browser maker announced a new JavaScript engine project called Carakan on Wednesday that the company. Carakan runs JavaScript code about 2.5 times as fast as the Futhark engine in the alpha version of Opera 10, said programmer Lars Erik Bolstad in an Opera blog post. Opera's main business is browsers for mobile phones, and its current JavaScript engine is optimized for minimum memory demands, but now performance is the priority, Bolstad said. "The Web is a changing environment however, and tomorrow's advanced web applications will require faster ECMAScript execution, so we have now taken on the challenge to once again develop the fastest ECMAScript engine on the market," he said. ECMAScript is a standard group's official name for JavaScript. JavaScript isn't the only way to build Web applications, but it's increasingly widely used. It's the foundation for Google Docs and Gmail, for example, and enables Yahoo Mail users to drag-and-drop messages into folders. Speed is particularly important because JavaScript is used for interactive aspects of Web pages, where fast response or annoying lags are noticeable by people controlling the application. But it's also widely used for many more mundane aspects of Web pages, so JavaScript speedup helps improve Web browsing performance broadly. Opera isn't alone here with a fancy name for its JavaScript engine. Mozilla's Firefox has TraceMonkey, Google's Chrome has V8, and WebKit, the rendering engine used by Apple's Safari, has Squirrelfix Extreme. (Chrome uses Webkit for some other tasks in displaying Web pages, but not its JavaScript engine.) For details on Opera's improvements--register-based bytecode, native code generation, and automatic object classification--check the blog post about Carakan.
[Via: cnet.com ]
[Tag: ]
Track task times in your Google Calendar with a Gadget
There aren't many gadgets on my Vista or Windows 7 desktops yet. I have a hard time finding any that are compelling enough to keep installed. This handy little one from Raneri Web Design, however, is firmly lodged in the sidebar of my workbench computer.
The gCalTasks gadget is a slick desktop timer that integrates with your Google Calendars. Enter your credential and choose the calendar to track your times on - I decided to set up a brand new one specifically for tracking.
Enter a tag line for your task, click start, and then click stop when you're done. Information is automatically sent to your calendar, where the agenda view provides a nice recap of your activities. It's a simple, low-resource way to keep tabs on your time.
Thanks, Ricardo!
[Via: Download Squad ]
[Tag: billing, google-calendar, tasks, time-tracking, timer ]
The many faces of Windows 7
Not that this should come as a huge shock to anybody, but Microsoft doesn't plan to make Windows 7 available in a one size fits all package. As we've previously reported, there's been evidence of multiple SKUs for a while. But now Microsoft has come out and confirmed that there will be 6 different versions of Windows 7.
Here's the rundown:
- Windows 7 Starter Edition - for netbooks and developing markets, only runs 3 apps at a time
- Windows 7 Home Basic - also for emerging markets
- Windows 7 Home Premium - this version gets you Windows Media Center and other home use features
- Windows 7 Professional - the equivalent of Windows Vista Business, with extra security features
- Windows 7 Enterprise - this version will be sold in volume licenses for businesses
- Windows 7 Ultimate - has most of the features of the Enterprise version, but will be sold to end users
[Via: Download Squad ]
[Tag: windows-7 ]
Google delays stock option exchange program
Googlers who want to revalue their underwater stock options will have to wait until Tuesday for the voluntary employee option exchange program to launch, Google said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday that did not explain why. The program--which allows allow employees to exchange all or some of their existing stock options for the same number of new options--was scheduled to launch Thursday and end on March 3. Employees were notified of the change in an e-mail sent Wednesday by Laszlo Bock, vice president of People Operations at Google, and which was included in the filing. "We will send you an e-mail no later than next Tuesday to confirm the new program time line," the e-mail said. "We will be sharing a comprehensive FAQ with you on the date of launch. We understand this delay will raise questions. For regulatory reasons, it is simply not possible to answer all of your questions before the launch, but please know we remain committed to offering this program." Google announced the one-for-one stock option exchange program last week when it posted its fourth quarter results, which included a decline in earnings from a year ago that were impacted by stock option expenses. The program is intended to create more incentives for employees to remain at the company. Given that Google stock rose to greater than $700 a share in late 2007 and now trades around $340 a share, many employees would otherwise find themselves holding worthless options. Google said last week that the new options were expected to have an exercise price equal to the closing per-share price on March 2 and that stock options with exercise prices above that would be eligible for exchange. The company also said it expected to take a stock-based compensation charge of $460 million in the first quarter as a result of the program.
[Via: cnet.com ]
[Tag: ]
Who needs instant on? Moblin boots in about 15 seconds
I've read about moblin before, but when it resurfaced in my newsreader this morning I decided it was time to take a look at the project a bit more closely. The moblin OS is built on Linux and optimized for Intel-based notebooks, netbooks, and MIDs. It is currently in alpha testing, but already looks very promising.
Most of the other Linux distributions I've tested on my MSI Wind were "customized" for netbooks, but they ultimately ended up feeling like a standard desktop distribution with an interface tweaked for small displays.
One thing immediately sets moblin apart from the others.
After installing it to the hard drive and rebooting my system, it took a mere 16 seconds to get from the Grub menu to the XFCE desktop. Holy boot times, Batman! That's impressive.
I'm aware that users have gotten times like this before with distros like Arch, but Moblin will be easier to deal with for most netbook users.
The pre-installed applications are kept to a minimum - Firefox is included and you'll be able to enjoy your music and videos with Movie Player. There are also lightweight GTD apps for managing contacts, tasks, and a calendar. You can, of course, add whatever other packages you like through yum or add/remove software.
If you want to take moblin for a test drive you can download an iso file, or a virtual machine for VMware or KVM. Keep in mind this is an alpha release. Moblin's finished form may look nothing like this, but it's an intriguing project even at this stage of the game.
[Via: Download Squad ]
[Tag: linux, mid, moblin, netbook ]
Digg hires new sales chief from Yahoo
Social media site Digg.com announced Tuesday that it has hired one of Yahoo's top salesmen to be its new head of sales. Tom Shin, who had been at the Web search pioneer for seven years, will be responsible for developing Digg's advertising sales strategy and managing strategic relationships, including Microsoft, the company said. At Yahoo, Shin oversaw product marketing for My Yahoo and Messenger, and was credited with helping Yahoo Mail's annual revenue grow from $20 million to more than $300 million. Digg CEO Jay Adelson announced Thursday that the company would be hiring a new direct sales force and head of sales to drive the company to profitability this year. He also said the partnership Digg has with Microsoft to sell standard advertising units will continue. But Digg will be rolling out higher-profile advertising programs, and features on the site to support them, that his internal sales force will be pitching. The company, which raised new capital and doubled in size in 2008, also announced layoffs last week, but Adelson said Digg's engineering and core development group wouldn't be affected by the layoffs. The cuts will come in areas "not core to our function. We'll be shifting some of that cost to a sales force," he said. Shin is expected to join Digg in mid-February.
[Via: cnet.com ]
[Tag: ]
Apple issues critical QuickTime security update
Apple issued a critical QuickTime security update, aimed at resolving vulnerabilities in its media player that could potentially allow a malicious attacker to take control of a users computer, according to an Apple advisory released this week. Users running QuickTime 7 for Windows, or OSX, are affected, as well as those who are using Mac OS X 10.4 or Mac OS X 10.5, according to Apple. Apple is advising users to update to QuickTime 7.6, with QuickTime 7.6 for Windows, or QuickTime 7.6 for Leopard, or QuickTime 7.6 for Tiger. The update seeks to address QuickTime security flaws which could potentially allow a malicious attacker to launch a buffer overflow and execute arbitrary code on a user's system. The attack could potentially occur via a maliciously crafted movie file, AVI movie file, QTVR movie fileor an RTSP URL, according to Apple. Security researcher Secunia, in its security advisory on Thursday, noted the vulnerabilities are considered "highly critical."
[Via: cnet.com ]
[Tag: ]
Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster
David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.
[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]
Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster
David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.
[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]
Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster
David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.
[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]
Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster
David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.
[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]
Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster
David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.
[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]
Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster
David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.
[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]
Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster
David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.
[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]
Sirtet puts a new twist on Tetris - Time-Waster
David Friedman has a habit of posting clever ideas and concepts to his blog, Ironic Sans. Every once in a while, someone will take one of them and build a working model. That's what happened with Sirtet, a new kind of Tetris that's played one square at a time. It's an interesting idea, and it turns out it's a pretty good game, too.
If you're familiar with Tetris, you should have no trouble catching onto Sirtet. The object is to position your blocks so that you have 4 (but no more than 4) squares of a single color touching one another. Instead of building lines, as in Tetris, you're building Tetris pieces! When you connect 4, those blocks disappear and you get points. If you connect 5 or more, though, they turn to stone and become stuck on the board. That definitely adds a new level of challenge to the game, If you're a Tetris junkie, and the original version has gotten stale for you, give Sirtet a whirl.
[Via: Ironic Sans ]
[Tag: game, Sirtet, Tetris, time-waster ]
Windows Mobile 6.5 coming mid-year?
Microsoft may begin offering Windows Mobile 6.5 to mobile device manufacturers by the middle of 2009, which means we could see cellphones running the operating system start showing up in the second half of the year.
DigiTimes reports that sources at Taiwanese companies that make handsets expect Microsoft to introduce the updated operating system at Mobile World Congress next month.
There's not a ton of information available about Windows Mobile 6.5. As we reported a few months ago, this will be a bit of an incremental upgrade to hold cellphone makers and customers over until Windows Mobile 7 is ready. But based on the leaked screenshots we've seen, Microsoft certainly has made some changes to the user interface. Will it be enough to keep Windows Mobile devices competitive with the iPhone and mobile devices running Palm's new WebOS, Google Android, or Symbian? We'll have to get back to you on that one.
[Via: Download Squad ]
[Tag: windows-mobile, windows-mobile-6.5 ]
Nortel files for bankruptcy
Nortel Networks, once a high-flying telecommunications equipment maker, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday. Nortel has been recent credit crunch may end up as the death knell for the company, making it difficult for Nortel to fund its operations. At the same time, customers have also pulled back drastically on spending for the company's voice-only equipment. For the past several months, Nortel's management team has been trying to cut spending. The company has also put some of its assets up for sale in an attempt to survive. But mounting debt payments and a steep drop in revenue appears to have caught up with the company. The most pressing issue for the Toronto, Ontario-based company is paying the interest on its $3.8 billion in bond debt. Nortel faced a $107 million bond interest payment this week, The Wall Street Journal reported. While bankruptcy protection doesn't always mean the end for a company, in today's economic climate, it could prove disastrous as the already-struggling company may find it even more difficult to convince customers to buy its gear. Carmakers used this argument recently when seeking a bailout from Congress. They said that customers would be unwilling to buy cars from companies that they feared would not be around to service them. Nortel has about $2.6 billion in cash, which some analysts have said could help it stay afloat until at least 2010. But as the company sinks deeper into trouble, many experts believe that Nortel will likely be broken apart during a Chapter 11 restructuring with individual businesses sold off one by one, wiping out shareholders. In December, the New York Stock Exchange warned it would delist Nortel's stock if it couldn't get its stock to trade above $1 minimum. Nortel is currently trading at 32 cents. Nortel's fall from grace was a result of a series of strategic missteps over the years that chipped away at the company's value. In 2000, Nortel was worth about $250 billion. The company now has a market value of about $275 million. Mike Zafirovski came on board as chief executive three years ago to help turn around the company. Initially, he had some success building profits from selling wireless gear to U.S. operators. Under his leadership Nortel invested in new technology, and the company was preparing for the next wave of wireless networks. But then the economy tanked, and phone companies started to pull back on spending, which resulted in a sharp revenue drop for Nortel. In September, Nortel announced more cost-cutting and said it would sell some of its business units. But the company was unable to find a buyer. Nortel isn't the only big telecommunications equipment maker to struggle. Alcatel Lucent, which has also struggled to get back on track after the telecommunications boom, has also struggled and announced it is restructuring its business. Nortel is also expected to seek bankruptcy protection against creditors in its home country of Canada.
[Via: cnet.com ]
[Tag: ]
Adobe downgraded; ex-Yahoo added to board
Shares of Adobe Systems fell 7 percent Tuesday after a market analyst downgraded the company's stock from "market perform" to "underperform." Share closed at $22.10, down $1.66, after FBR Research analyst David Hilal said in a research note that he cut his rating on Adobe's stock because the "shares have risen to a point where the risk-reward profile is unfavorable." Hilal also said Adobe depends too much on new unit sales and lacks recurring revenue from existing customers. In other news, Adobe announced that former Yahoo executive Dan Rosensweig had joined the company's board of directors. Rosensweig, who served as Yahoo's chief operating officer for nearly five years before departing in 2006, was previously president of CNET Networks, publisher of CNET News.. Adobe also announced that board members Colleen Pouliot and Delbert Yocam would retire, effective March 31. Pouliot has served on the board since 2001, and Yocam has served for 18 years, Adobe said.
[Via: cnet.com ]
[Tag: ]
Microsoft starts testing Office 14
Microsoft said Tuesday that it has begun early outside testing of some of the server products that will make up the next version of Office. The software maker did not offer details or say when a test version of the software, code-named Office 14, will be made more broadly available. "Today Microsoft provided a select group of customers early access to an Alpha version of Office server technologies," the software maker said in a statement. "However, Microsoft is not disclosing information about the timing for a Beta version at this time." Microsoft has also begun testing for the next version of Exchange, code-named E14. News of Office 14 testing was reported earlier Tuesday by ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley.
[Via: cnet.com ]
[Tag: ]
Windows 7 Beta gets official this Friday
During his keynote address at CES tonight, Steve Ballmer made it official. The Windows 7 public beta will be made available for download on Friday, January 9th, 2009.If you've been leary of downloading the version that's been all over the torrent trackers since last week, get your download manager ready and keep your browser tuned to Microsoft's Windows 7 page for the genuine article. Technet, MSDN, and TechBeta members have already been given access.I've had my share of problems with the leaked version and am hoping that the official release is either a slightly newer build or at least free of the issues that I've had so far. Internet Eplorer 8 hasn't been working 100%, and Explorer itself has stopped responding repeatedly when I've tried to extract large zip archive or move multiple large files onto my flash drive.
[Via: Download Squad ]
[Tag: beta, CES, windows, windows-7 ]
bitRipper offers one-click DVD ripping
Want to convert your DVD into a video file that you can play on any computer, but don't feel like fussing with complicated DVD ripping software? It doesn't get much simpler than bitRipper. All you need to do is pop a DVD into your optical disc drive, fire up bitRipper, and click the Start ripping button. That's it.
Of course, you can click the settings tab to access more advanced features. For instance, you can change the audio or video codecs or adjust the bit rate, aspect ratio, or video resolution. At the very least, I'd recommend configuring the audio. The default settings use a ridiculously low bitrate that sounds just awful.
For some reason, when I tried ripping a video using the LAME audio codec, the audio and video were out of sync, but when I tried again using the Fraunhofer codec all was right with the world.
[Via: MakeUseOf ]
[Tag: bitripper, dvd, dvd-ripper ]