Posted by 010081
Tech
Friday, March 19th, 2010
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Here it is, folks! Its been a few long months for Sprint fans toting Touch Pro2’s, given that the same device on all of the other carriers saw upgrades to Windows Mobile 6.5 months ago while their own Pro2s stayed back at WinMo 6.1. We knew the update was coming sometime in March , and then we pinned the date down to some more specific : today.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Friday, March 19th, 2010
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Earlier this morning, the Windows Phone 7 emulator was “unlocked” (so to speak), granting anyone with a few spare minutes and basic tinkering abilities an opportunity to get a look at a bunch of stuff Microsoft didn’t originally include. Not everyone is prepped and ready to get their hack on, though. Maybe you’re on a Mac. Maybe it’s Friday and you just don’t feel like doing anything. Understandable. Fortunately for you, a couple of videos demonstrating all the hacked ROM have been flying around the Intertubes.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Friday, March 19th, 2010
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The 5D mk II 2.0.3 firmware was supposed to be the end-all solution for the Canon super camera. But it wasn’t. It caused more issues not worth the enhanced movie mode it added. Canon of course of pulled the firmware from its site cause many 5D mk II owners to cry a little. Because, as everyone knows, Canon owners are notoriously emotional unlike the cool and collected Nikon crowd. But chin up 5D mk II owners, the proper firmware is now available. Canon In the Version 2.0.4 firmware, the following phenomena that occurred with the Version 2.0.3 firmware (which was to enhance the movie functions) have been corrected. There was a phenomenon in which the manual recording settings made in C1/C2/C3 were changed and sound could not be recorded if manual sound recording was used in the C1/C2/C3 settings and the camera was subsequently turned off (or if Auto Power Off was activated). This does not occur in modes other than C1/C2/C3. The Version 2.0.4 firmware includes the movie function enhancements listed in items 1 through 5 below, and also incorporates the correction listed in item 6. Adds or changes the following movie frame rates. NTSC: 1920×1080 : 30 fps (changed – actual 29.97 fps) 1920×1080 : 24 fps (added – actual 23.976 fps) 640×480 : 30 fps (changed – actual 29.97 fps) PAL: 1920×1080 : 25 fps (added – actual 25.0 fps) 1920×1080 : 24 fps (added – actual 23.976 fps) 640×480 : 25 fps (added – actual 25.0 fps) Adds a function for manually adjusting the sound recording level (64 levels). Adds a histogram display (brightness or RGB) for shooting movies in manual exposure. Adds shutter-priority AE mode (Tv) and aperture-priority AE (Av) mode to the exposure modes for shooting movies. Changes the audio sampling frequency from 44.1 KHz to 48 KHz. Fixes a phenomenon where communication between the camera and the attached lens is sometimes interrupted after manual sensor cleaning. (This phenomenon only affects units with Firmware Version 1.2.4.) Caution: Firmware Version 2.0.4 is for cameras with firmware up to version 2.0.3. If the camera’s firmware is already version 2.0.4, it is not necessary to update the firmware. Movies captured using EOS 5D Mark II cameras with Firmware Version 1.1.0 to 1.2.4 can be played back on cameras updated with Firmware Version 2.0.4. However, if you try to play back movies captured with a camera with the new firmare on a camera with a previous firmare version, a message, Cannot play back image, appears on the camera’s LCD monitor. It is recommended that you use the latest Canon applications*1 to edit movies captured with EOS 5D Mark II cameras that have the latest firmare because some previous versions do not support movie-editing functions and the frame rates that are added or changed by the latest firmware. You can download the latest Canon applications from our Web site. *1 ZoomBrowser EX Version 6.5.0 or later (compatible operating systems : Windows XP/Vista/7) ImageBrowser Version 6.5.0 or later (compatible operating systems : Mac OS X v10.4/10.5/10.6) In addition to the enhancements to the movie function, the accompanying instruction manual has also been revised. Users are asked to download both the latest firmware and the latest instruction manual. You can proceed to download the instruction manual by clicking the [I Agree] button from the bottom of this page.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
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It might be months after Kindle for Windows launched but the OS X app is finally ready for Mac users. Well, most Mac users. The computer must be an Intel chipset and running OS 10.5 or higher. But if that’s you, click through and download the 22MB file to start getting your ebook reading on.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
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Windows Phone 7 has a gorgeous interface. Everyone can agree with that. But this concept shows that it even transfers to a 8-inch slate just fine. Plus it throws in a a built-in stand, two analog joysticks and a keyboard for good measure. We like. Click through for a quick demo video. Tablet Concept – running Windows Phone 7 Series from umang on Vimeo .
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
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From: The Windows Phone 7 Team To: The Windows Phone 7 Advertising Gnomes After months of deliberation, we hereby present the master plan for all modern mobile commercials. To acquire: Rights to Feist instrumental break Cute woman with curly hair (personable) Handsome, rugged man in vaguely military but alternative shirt Record shop (build) Shot-for-shot outdoor location list for all McDonald’s commercials
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Wednesday, March 17th, 2010
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In case you haven’t noticed, the MacBook Pro line is starting to get a little stale with just a lowly Core 2 Duo CPU. Even the Mac Pro with it’s Quad-Core Xeon isn’t the fastest kid in town anymore with the six-core Core i7-980X making the rounds. Hopefully all this fuss concerning a supposed leak of new Mac pricing that’s a bit higher than the current MSRPs foreshadows updates coming in the near future. Look at the the MacBook Pro specs . They’re a joke compared to Windows machines now. Sure, Windows buyers have always gotten a better deal on hardware than those willing to pay the Apple Tax, but it’s really bad right now. The HP ENVY 15 specs out better with a Core i5-430M instead of a Core 2 Duo, 1GB ATI GPU, and the same hard drive and memory size for $700 less. Or you can order a custom build Envy 15 with a Core i7, 640GB hard drive, 6GB of memory, for $1949 instead of the $1999 like in a MacBook Pro. (You get USB 3.0 with the HP, too) This is sad, but a similar situation can be replicated with notebooks from Dell, Toshiba, and even Sony. PC notebooks have been rocking the Core i5 and Core i7 processors for months now, while Mac buyers are only offered older technology. It’s nearly as bad with the Mac Pro line, too. The current hardware was introduced on March 3, 2009. They were rock-solid then, as one of the first systems to come with the quad-core Xeon “Nehalem” processor. But that was over a year ago and Apple hasn’t updated anything including the base ram or hard drive size since. Now PC running the 6-core Core i7-980X have started to appear. Hopefully Apple will follow suit and out Mac Pros utilizing the 6-core Xeon 5680 chip shortly. But it won’t be the first system with that chip. Nope Dell and IBM both introduced systems on Tuesday using it. But as far as this pricing rumor goes, apparently it lists prices above the current ones. It comes from an Australian source, which apparently inflates the pricing over the US-set MSRP, though. But maybe it’s just because instead of being competitive with PCs for once, Apple tacked on the customary tax on new hardware.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
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Attention citizens! Your benevolent overlords have released three new entries in the LifeCam series. Now all of your long-distance correspondences can be in glorious 720p. Unfortunately, none of them are nearly as cool as the camera on the left. The three new contenders are the HD-5000 , 5001 , and 6000 for notebooks. Real imaginative guys. In fact, I can’t find any real differences between the 5000 and 5001 models. All three offer 720p video recording at 30 fps and auto-focusing. The two desktop models have an aspect ratio of 16:9. All three are only Windows compatible, even back to XP, but do Mac users ever use external webcams? I think not. All three run between $50 and $60. They aren’t available quite yet, but you can pre-order them on Amazon and feel great about yourself.
Posted by 010081
Tech
Monday, March 15th, 2010
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Something’s wrong with uTorrent, the de facto Windows BitTorrent client. The client’s implementation of uTP has drawn the ire of certain private BitTorrent sites, saying that it favors uTorrent clients above all others. That’s not good for the “BitTorrent community,” as it were. The deal is that uTorrent now uses the micro transport protocol to help share the bandwidth load between uTorrent and other applications. You don’t want BitTorrent stealing all of your bandwidth (unless you leave it running overnight or whatever), so in steps uTP. It’s a fine idea, I guess, but it has created a problem: the way it’s currently implemented, uTP favors connections to uTorrent above all other clients. That means, if you’re in a swarm with users using other, non-uTorrent clients—Vuze, Transmission, rTorrent, take your pick—the others guys are doomed. It unnecessarily divides the BitTorrent in two: uTorrent, and everyone else. Technically, what uTorrent is doing is favoring uTP connections over plain ol’ TCP, which is used by other clients. It’s such an issue that at least one pretty big, private BitTorrent site has banned the latest version of uTorrent. Now, if the other clients implemented uTP, which was developed by BitTorrent, Inc., none of this would be an issue, but that’s entirely dependent upon BitTorrent, Inc. Easier said than done, yes. You’ll recall that Vuze (formerly called Azureus) was banned on several prominent, private BitTorrent sites recently, making uTorrent Windows users’ go-to client. It’s a bigger issue now than it would have been, in other words. I do wonder if kids (and by kids I mean higher schoolers) even torrent much anymore. It was big in my day (2004ish), but it’s so much easier to Rapidshare this or that here and there.
Posted by Kevin Huffman
Tech
Friday, March 12th, 2010
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We know what you’re thinking. “Man! Now that Microsoft has confirmed (and re-confirmed ) that the HD2 won’t be getting an (officially endorsed) upgrade to Windows Phone 7, I can only hope that it will some day be able to run a desktop OS from fifteen years ago !” Well, friend, that day has come. Read the rest at MobileCrunch > >