Too lazy to grab your TV remote? Use Siri instead

Siri hasn't been caught cooking dinner yet, but hackers worldwide have boldly taken Apple's personal assistant to a whole new level by incorporating its functionality with a plethora of different devices. We've seen Siri use custom commands, change the temperature in your house, and even allow select car owners to utilize their automobile's Bluetooth integration. Nifty, no doubt, but this assistant's evolution towards greater heights isn't over yet. Vimeo user toddtreece has whipped up a slick demo of the iPhone 4S' right hand gal (or guy) taking command of his television set. From changing channels to turning off devices, with the help of a proxy and a few parts, you can get your own home setup running on voice activation. Feeling a bit guilty for your sudden interest in slothfulness? Fret not -- Siri's apparently quite good at calling you out. Have a look just after the break.

[Thanks, Jesse]

Continue reading Too lazy to grab your TV remote? Use Siri instead

Too lazy to grab your TV remote? Use Siri instead originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

SALESFORCE COM FINISAR

Berg's Little Printer churns out RSS feeds with a receipt and a smile

It's hard to think of a device more aptly named than BergCloud's Little Printer. It's little. It prints. It even smiles at you. And why wouldn't it? It's adorable. Equally notable is what it produces -- RSS feeds printed out on grocery store-style receipts. All you have to do is hook it up to your router, configure your RSS subscriptions from your smartphone and press a button to print them out. The Little Printer connects wirelessly to a small box that's plugged into your router. This box, in turn, interfaces with the Berg Cloud (also unveiled this week), providing constant updates and pulling down any web content you've selected. If, for instance, you want to print out Foursquare updates, you can use the app to add them to your queue and print them out for later reading. It's basically like InstaPaper... with more paper. BergCloud has already struck partnerships with ARUP, Foursquare, The Guardian, Nike and Google, though more are on the way. No word yet on pricing, but the device is slated to go up for pre-order sometime next year. Check it out in action, after the break.

[Thanks, Dave]

Continue reading Berg's Little Printer churns out RSS feeds with a receipt and a smile

Berg's Little Printer churns out RSS feeds with a receipt and a smile originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/30/bergs-little-printer-churns-out-rss-feeds-with-a-receipt-and-a/

MOTOROLA MOODYS

South Korea creates speedy new UAV, gives it VTOL capabilities to boot

In the never-ending quest to give our future robot overlords better tools with which to enslave us, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) has built what it claims to be the fastest UAV on the planet. Checking in at five meters (16.4 feet) long with a seven meter (23 foot) wingspan, the as-yet unnamed aircraft can cruise at 400km/h (249mph). Speed's not its only standout feature either, as the Korean UAV can perform vertical takeoffs and landings (VTOL) as well. Its VTOL capability comes courtesy of dual tilt-rotors that provide helicopter-style takeoffs with fixed wing speeds once airborne. It joins the US Marines famed V-22 Osprey as the second such aircraft on earth and is the first unmanned aircraft packing the technology. The craft is still in the developmental stages, though Korean officials claim it'll be ready for primetime in March 2012, with mass production less than three years away. How much will this fast and flexible flying machine cost? Well, that depends how many are built, but it's a safe bet its considerable capabilities won't come cheap.

South Korea creates speedy new UAV, gives it VTOL capabilities to boot originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 18:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/E2WXwqjWb8c/

Canon Nikon

Windows 8 Explorer to feature Ribbon UI, SkyDrive and Mesh integration?

Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott have posted a second look at some of the early changes which have surface in Windows 8 milestone 3. First there was the restyled Welcome Screen, and now it appears that Microsoft is toying with bringing the Ribbon UI to Explorer.

The Ribbon, like in Microsoft Word and Excel, is context-aware, adding tabs for specific tasks which apply to the folder you're viewing -- such as library or picture management. You can also make out two new buttons in the status bar, which allow you to change the current folder's view style.

It's clear from all the placeholder images and repeated elements that this is very much a work in progress, but featuring the Ribbon more prominently in Windows 8 would certainly be a logical progression for Microsoft. It's slowly become more ubiquitous, moving beyond Office and into Wordpad, Paint, and several of the Windows Live Essentials applications.

There's more to the screenshots than the Ribbon UI, however. Our friend Long Zheng has noted two interesting elements in the images: Web sharing and sync (image after the break). That would likely mean users will be able to quickly upload files to SkyDrive and synchronize using Live Mesh right from Explorer in Windows 8. That's not a total surprise considering many of the earliest leaked images of Windows 8 showed Windows Live integration on the desktop.

Continue reading Windows 8 Explorer to feature Ribbon UI, SkyDrive and Mesh integration?

Windows 8 Explorer to feature Ribbon UI, SkyDrive and Mesh integration? originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/03/windows-8-explorer-to-feature-ribbon-ui-skydrive-and-mesh-integ/

RACKABLE SYSTEMS QUEST SOFTWARE

O'Reilly helps Japan, offers entire e-book catalog for 50% off, today only

O'reilly make some of the best computer books in the world. They also sell them as DRM-free e-books in a bunch of formats, including PDFs and Mobi for Kindle.

They usually offer one "Deal of the Day", which is a 50% discount code for a book chosen for that one day. But just for for today, they've created a discount code -- DDJPN -- that gives you a 50% discount on their entire catalog, and they give a part of the proceeds to aid Japan relief efforts.

So far they've raised over $60,000, and the day is still young. So if you've been recently hankering after some nerdy book (or three), now would be a great time to grab one.

O'Reilly helps Japan, offers entire e-book catalog for 50% off, today only originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Mar 2011 14:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/22/oreilly-helps-japan-offers-entire-e-book-catalog-for-50-off/

Yahoo NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS

YaCy's gunning for Google with free-software bullets

YaCy's a new free-software search engine aiming to wrest control of your private data back from the Googles and Bings of this world. There's no targeted advertising here, just a global network of peers all connected with the site's software. It currently has 600 peer operators servicing 130,000 queries monthly, with each user able to create individual search rankings so results improve over time. Project head Michael Christen said it's important no person decides what is listed, or in what order -- which makes us wonder what would happen if the Justin Bieber fan club decided to game the system. The software is available on GNU/Linux, Windows 7 and OS X and you can try a web-based tester (if you can get it working) at the source link below.

YaCy's gunning for Google with free-software bullets originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 08:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/QsQSc89G5hQ/

Autodesk Sony

Survival Lab is a fun pixelated game where dying doesn't matter

In most games, dying is a bad thing. You have to start all over again, or at least revert to the last save point and lose some progress. Not so in Survival Lab: in this pixelated gem you play as a lone individual pitted against ruthless weapons in a sealed chamber. You have to run, jump and duck, collecting little yellow things (I have no idea what they're called).

For each donut-like yellow thing you pick up, you gain a bit of experience. If you manage to collect several in a row without getting hit, this counts as a combo. You can see my mad combo skills in the screenshot, of course. Collecting combos is a good thing, because a ten-point combo gives you for more experience than just collecting ten dounts one by one (getting hit in-between).

Having experience is useful, because once you die, you get to a screen where you can upgrade your skills. You can learn to run faster, double-jump (and then double-jump higher), and duck. You can also gain more armour so that getting hit won't kill you so quickly.

What makes this simple game so addictive is that when you die, your experience doesn't reset. You just go back to the same level, or another level of your choosing, and keep accumulating more and more experience. Lots of fun, especially if you're into the whole retro-gaming thing.

Survival Lab is a fun pixelated game where dying doesn't matter originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/28/survival-lab-is-a-fun-pixelated-game-where-dying-doesnt-matter/

NETGEAR NCR

CrunchGear Week in Review: Animal Shots Edition

Here are some stories from the past week on CrunchGear: ?Rotary Mechanical? Cell Phone Concept Isn?t Practical, But It Looks Great Lomo?s New La Sardina Camera Is Cheap And Sardine-Can-Like Panda Itazura Bank: Super-Cute Piggy Bank (Video) Meet The Robostir, A Robotic Soup Stirrer SugarSync Adds Mobile Device Management To Send Files To Devices From [...]

Source: http://www.crunchgear.com/2011/06/20/week-in-review-animal-shots/

RADISYS RACKABLE SYSTEMS

This Dog Is Made Entirely of Sprinkles [Art]

It began as a fine art project on Pointillism and Seurat, but university student Joel Brochu decided to run with the idea, recreating a photo of a Beagle in a bathtub using just six colors of hand placed sprinkles. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/H09Pjm3sDG4/this-dog-is-made-entirely-of-sprinkles

MICROSOFT Twitter

Daily Crunch: Graffito Edition

For iPhone 4: Super-Cute Hello Kitty Cases From Japan Warn Friends And Foes With These Nine Aperture Science Test Chamber Labels ?Light Scythe? Is A Monster LED Strip For Long Exposure Art Mouse Up And Roll Out With This Transformers-Themed Razer Gear Tag Heuer?s Android Powered Link Smart Phone

Source: http://www.crunchgear.com/2011/06/29/daily-crunch-graffito-edition/

RED HAT STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS

Reader Recipes: 31 Dishes You Always Eat at Thanksgiving [Shooting Challenge]

Every family has their own special Thanksgiving dishes. For this week's Shooting Challenge, 31 of you shared your very personal culinary traditions. You shared a taste of your families...even though many of you have lost the people behind the memories. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ankljqqmd9s/reader-recipes-31-dishes-you-always-eat-at-thanksgiving

Lexmark Hewlett Packard