Lenovo and VIA Technologies A30 internet TV set top box bumps up your boob tube's IQ

Lenovo's known for making quality computers, but the company's plans for a television set top box have been in the works for months, and now the day has finally come. Lenovo, along with VIA Technologies, has launched the A30 internet TV device that packs a 1.2GHz VIA Nano CPU and VX900 media processor. Further hardware details are scarce at this point, but we do know that the A30 will have a BesTV service providing new and exclusive content, including movies of unknown origin "within a month of their release date," along with picture-in-picture functionality and, of course, internet access. There's mobile functionality too, as your smartphone can serve as both the box's remote and as an additional screen on which to view content. Naturally, Lenovo's not telling how much it'll cost, but our friends in the Far East will be able to pick one up in Q1 of 2012. PR after the break.

Continue reading Lenovo and VIA Technologies A30 internet TV set top box bumps up your boob tube's IQ

Lenovo and VIA Technologies A30 internet TV set top box bumps up your boob tube's IQ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/05/lenovo-and-via-technologies-a30-internet-tv-set-top-box-bumps-up/

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Google demands veto on OEM Android changes, stretches definition of 'open source'

Google, according to reports from "a dozen executives working at key companies in the Android ecosystem" is finally locking down the open source and easily-fragmented Android operating system.

As it currently stands, Google hands over the 'final' code for each version of Android, and OEMs and developers then spend some time customizing the OS to fit their hardware, and to create a unique and marketable flavor. That's all set to change, however.

Over the last few months, according to several people familiar with the matter, Android licensees such as HTC, Motorola and Facebook, have been asked to sign 'non-fragmentation clauses.' This new contract caveat will give Google the right to review and pass judgment on all changes to the Android OS. Two executives at Facebook say that they're unhappy that Google gets to review its changes to Android -- which is understandable, given Facebook and Google are direct competitors -- and there have also been allegations that Google is preventing some Verizon devices from shipping because they include Microsoft's Bing instead of Google search.

Continue reading Google demands veto on OEM Android changes, stretches definition of 'open source'

Google demands veto on OEM Android changes, stretches definition of 'open source' originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 07:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/google-demands-veto-on-android-changes-stretches-definition-of/

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Mozilla publishes name and shame list of slow Firefox add-ons, cracks down on tardy devs

Firefox slow-addons list
Mozilla, continuing its year-long crusade to speed up Firefox startup and shutdown times, has published a name and shame list of the Firefox's slowest add-ons.

The list is just one part of Mozilla's new efforts to highlight slow add-ons, and to help developers make their add-ons more efficient. Over the next two weeks, 'slow performance warnings' will be introduced in the add-on gallery so that users can see, before installation, which add-ons will slow down their browser. If that isn't enough to spur developers into cleaning up their add-ons, Mozilla has also begun reaching out to developers of slow add-ons with tips on how to improve add-on performance. Finally, add-on developers will soon have the ability to perform 'on-demand performance testing,' so that they can test their add-on before it's deployed publicly.

Mozilla reports that the average Firefox add-on slows down Firefox's start-up time by 10% -- which means, if you install 10 add-ons, you will double your start-up time. On fast desktop PCs that kind of slowdown might be negligible, but on older computers, laptops and smartphones, it could be the difference between a 5 and 10 second startup. Mozilla has obviously realized that while massive performance gains might've been made with Firefox 4, the addition of third-party add-ons can destroy any user-perceived improvements.

In other news, Mozilla says that a future build of Firefox will block the installation of add-ons (such as toolbars) by third-party software. Add-ons and toolbars that are bundled in this way will require explicit approval when you next open up Firefox. Hooray!

Mozilla publishes name and shame list of slow Firefox add-ons, cracks down on tardy devs originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/mozilla-publishes-name-and-shame-list-of-slow-firefox-add-ons/

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Words With Friends for Android updated, promises "smoother game experience"

wordswithfriends
As several of you noted in the comments to our post asking for cross-platform iOS/Android games, Words With Friends for Android does not provide the smoothest gaming experience... and that's being rather charitable.

You might be happy to hear that a couple of days ago Zynga released an update which promises to solve many of the Android-specific issues, such as notifications not popping up.

Sadly, installing the update is not a smooth experience; you have to manually uninstall the previous version, and then go to the Android Market and install it. What's nice is that it doesn't lose your saved games - this screenshot shows a game I've started before the update and continued after updating.

How's the new update working out for you? Let us know in the comments!

Words With Friends for Android updated, promises "smoother game experience" originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/04/words-with-friends-for-android-updated-promises-smoother-game/

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Crimson Anti-Glare Screen Protector for MacBook Air Review

  Last month I did a review of the Crimson Frame Case for the iPhone 4. While I thought their aluminum case was too boxy and utilitarian, I loved the iPhone 4 screen protectors that Crimson included with the case. So much so, I wanted to see if their screen protectors for the MacBook Air [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/01/03/crimson-anti-glare-screen-protector-for-macbook-air-review/

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Magellan's new RoadMate 5190T helps truckers find their way, like the do-dah man

Truckin'? Got your chips cashed in? Well then you might wanna put them toward the latest RoadMate GPS navigator from Magellan. Designed for commercial truck, bus and taxi operators, the company's new RoadMate 5190T boasts a five-inch color display that drivers can use to find the most pain-free routes from point A to point B. With the 5190T strapped to their dashboards, truckers will be able to set up customized routing based on their vehicles' precise specifications, while using Magellan's Highway Lane Assist feature to help negotiate more baroque highway interchanges or exits. The onboard information dashboard, meanwhile, provides constant updates on trucking speed limits, alerting drivers whenever they drift above a given threshold. There's also a tracking log that allows operators to store information on mileage, hours and other parameters, as well as a built-in speaker system that projects sound at up to 93 decibels. The device is priced at $380, though Magellan has yet to announce a launch date.

Magellan's new RoadMate 5190T helps truckers find their way, like the do-dah man originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/vP2rZk7_8U8/

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Dell Streak 7 Review

Because of its 7-inch display screen, the Dell Streak 7 is probably the smallest tablet computers on the market. Many people may find this a disadvantage, but its size provides it with supreme mobility. Additionally, it has some fantastic specifications such as highly effective processor chip, 4G, and also to top it all off it features a comparatively low cost. How exactly does it compare with other Google android tablet computers out there? Positive points about the Dell Streak 7 [...]

Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/dell-streak-7-review/

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Urban Tool Wallets Review

Urban Tool is an Austrian company that makes “stylish accessories for portable gadgets.”  They also make small accessories like these wallets they sent to The Gadgeteer.  Let’s give them a look. Most of the pictures in this review, including the top photo, can be clicked for an enlarged view. Urban Tool identifies these as Wallet [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/01/04/urban-tool-wallets-review/

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Google holds back on open-sourcing Honeycomb, heralds massive shift for Android

Android Honeycomb
Google, in an interesting but not entirely unexpected twist, will not be open-sourcing Android 3.0 Honeycomb for the foreseeable future.

Historically, Android is usually open-sourced via the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) a few days or weeks after the code is finalized. While this departure from the norm won't affect OEMs like HTC and Motorola that have access to internal builds of Android, small-time developers will likely have to wait months before rolling their own distributions.

As to why Google is holding back Honeycomb, its reasons are actually rather rational. Honeycomb, while originally intended to run on all mobile form factors, is only ready for deployment on tablets. "To make our schedule to ship the tablet, we made some design tradeoffs," says Andy Rubin, the head of Google's Android group. "We didn't want to think about what it would take for the same software to run on phones. It would have required a lot of additional resources and extended our schedule beyond what we thought was reasonable. So we took a shortcut."

In other words, Google wants to prevent OEMs and homebrew developers like Cyanogen from rolling their own smartphone versions of Honeycomb -- it doesn't want to see the same bitter-tasting tabletified bastardization that occurred with Android 2.1 and 2.2 last year.

Continue reading Google holds back on open-sourcing Honeycomb, heralds massive shift for Android

Google holds back on open-sourcing Honeycomb, heralds massive shift for Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/25/google-holds-back-on-open-sourcing-honeycomb-heralds-shift-android/

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