Microsoft finalizes acquisition of Skype, Tony Bates shares his thoughts (video)

Well, it's finally happened -- Microsoft's acquisition of Skype has just been finalized, a little more than five months after it was first announced. Under the $8.5 billion deal, Skype CEO Tony Bates will be named president of the new Skype Division of Microsoft, and will have to report directly to Steve Ballmer. Many Skype employees, meanwhile, will stay onboard at offices around the globe, including at outposts in Estonia, the Czech Republic, Russia, Sweden, the UK, Luxembourg, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and the US. In a post on the Official Microsoft Blog today, Bates seemed unsurprisingly enthusiastic about the acquisition, describing it as a marriage of two "disruptive, innovative, software-oriented companies." The exec was less specific about the role his company would play within Redmond's new architecture, but assured that Skype would be at the forefront of future communications initiatives across a variety of platforms. "Microsoft is committed to the ubiquity of the Skype experience - communication across every device and every platform will remain a primary focus," Bates wrote. "And we've only scratched the surface." Head past the break for Microsoft's full PR, as well as the video address from Bates.

Continue reading Microsoft finalizes acquisition of Skype, Tony Bates shares his thoughts (video)

Microsoft finalizes acquisition of Skype, Tony Bates shares his thoughts (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 02:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/1-x24IL1oMg/

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Japan's Latest Radiation Scare Was Caused by Nuclear Paint [Japan]

The elevated radiation levels discovered in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward have been confirmed—thankfully—as not having originated from the damaged Fukushima power plant. So what was causing the Geigers to jump? A stash of radium-226 under a home's floorboards. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/clfo-atYSLg/japans-latest-radiation-scare-was-caused-by-nuclear-paint

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Verizon wants to know where you go, what you look at, that's all

Verizon's got a couple of loose ends to tie up. It's nothing important, you understand, just a tweak to its privacy policy that will allow the carrier to monitor your physical movements and browsing activities. It actually did much the same thing back in 2007 to monitor phone calls. The aim, of course, is to tailor ads to your interests, while also gathering information about your habits that it can sell on to others in the form of "business and marketing reports." Oh, one more thing: VZW promises not to share any information about you "personally" and it also gives you the option to opt out. (Opt out.)

Verizon wants to know where you go, what you look at, that's all originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 08:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/14/verizon-wants-to-know-where-you-go-what-you-look-at-thats-all/

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Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook review

Until now, Windows fans have had precious few alternatives to the MacBook Air. Sure, there's Samsung's Series 9, but just like the original Air, it's far from cheap. Since then, of course, Apple has cut the Air's starting price to $999, while the Windows options -- now marketed as Ultrabooks -- are about to mushroom in number. And so far, they're all starting in the (more reasonable) neighborhood of a thousand bucks, making these pinch-thin, long-lasting laptops accessible to the budget-conscious masses.

Acer's Aspire S3 was the first to hit the market here in the States, and with an entry price of $899, it's currently the least expensive. That it's skinny (just 13mm thick, to be exact), should be a given, but it also claims to wake from sleep in two seconds flat and reconnect to known networks in two and a half. But, as the least pricey Ultrabook on the shelf, it also forgoes some specs you might have liked to see -- namely, all-flash storage and USB 3.0. But does that matter much when you're potentially saving hundreds of dollars? Let's find out.

Continue reading Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook review

Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/14/acer-aspire-s3-ultrabook-review/

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Windows 8 to feature adaptive Aero colorization, get it now on Windows 7

windows 8 aero colorization aura
While we've still yet to see anything truly Earth-shattering, the tandem of Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott continues to churn out insight about interesting new features they've discovered in Windows 8 milestone 3. The latest discovery is that Aero in Windows 8 will be able to automatically adapt itself to match your current wallpaper image. It's a bit like what Windows 7 already does with your taskbar icons: if a program alert needs your attention, the icon will glow using the predominant color (e.g. Firefox should glow orange).

And yes, you can already make Windows 7 behave this way if you like. Over at CodePlex, there's a little program called Aura that parks itself in your system tray and automatically adjusts your window borders to compliment your wallpaper images. The effect is quite nice, and you can try it out by minimizing your windows and cycling through your theme's wallpapers (right click on your desktop and choose next desktop background).

Windows 8 to feature adaptive Aero colorization, get it now on Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/windows-8-to-feature-adaptive-aero-colorization-get-it-now-on-w/

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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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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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Lego Anakin Skywalker Mini-Figure Alarm Clock Is Your Thank-God-It's-Not-Jar-Jar Deal of the Day [Dealzmodo]

My parents, bless their heart, decided to raise me in a non-traditional way. I'm not talking about eat all the junk food you want and stay out all night non-traditional, I'm talking about how they handled Star Wars for me. That's crucial in developing kids! They switched up the order and made me watch Star Wars like this: Empire Strikes Back, A New Hope, and Return of the Jedi. Wonky, right? More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/_QrdWCzlxXU/lego-anakin-skywalker-mini+figure-alarm-clock-is-your-thank+god+its+not+jar+jar-deal-of-the-day

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Wallet and iPhone 4S Case Convergence

As we strive for a single device to do it all, we need a case to hold it and do everything else.  This iPhone 4S Stowaway Credit Card Hard Shell Case with Silicone Core from Incipio holds your iPhone 4S in the front and your driver’s license, cards, and some cash in a back compartment with [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/10/13/wallet-and-iphone-4s-case-convergence/

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Chinese researchers create ping-pong playing robots, trash talk still needs work

Wu and Kong are the latest additions to a pantheon of robot athletes. Sure, their eye-mounted motion-tracking cameras may not make for the most emotive games you'll ever see, but we can't help but be impressed by all those precision shots. The robot twins were developed at China's Zhejiang University and, we'll admit, compared to getting hustled at pool or being struck out by a baseball robot, there's something a bit friendlier about a game of table tennis with our future oppressors. You can marvel at the duo's bionic backspin in action after the break. We're massive Wu fans.

Continue reading Chinese researchers create ping-pong playing robots, trash talk still needs work

Chinese researchers create ping-pong playing robots, trash talk still needs work originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 17:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink M.I.C. Gadget  |  sourceXinhuanet  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/13/chinese-researchers-create-ping-pong-playing-robots-trash-talk/

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