Google’s upcoming Android 3.1 is coming for tablets, of course, but it’s also improving Google TV’s interface. Even better, Google TV gets the Android Market as well. More

When Intel wanted to take a serious stab at the tablet market it turned to PowerVR, the company already providing the graphical muscle for its embedded chips that power the Logitech Revue and other set top boxes. Now, the folks at VR-Zone claim that Intel will be adopting the company’s tech across the Atom line and ditching its own integrated graphics for the upcoming Cedarview platform. Specifically, it’s rumored that Chipzilla will stick the SGX545 (an upgraded version of the pixel pusher inside Samsung’s Hummingbird platform and Apple’s A5) in all Cedar Trail processors. The switch will bring support for DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 3.2 to the low-power CPUs while improving HD video decoding. Sure, when the next-gen Atoms land the graphics chip it will already be almost two years old, but its low power and robust Android support make it a natural match for Honeycomb — Intel’s best bet for tablet success now that Nokia is distancing itself from Meego.

Atoms rumored to ditch Intel graphics for PowerVR originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 May 2011 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

The next version of Google’s Android operating system, codenamed Ice Cream Sandwich, will converge the formerly disparate phone and tablet versions of the OS, Google announced at its I/O keynote today. Ice Cream Sandwich will maintain a single UI across all form factors and will allow developers to create applications for both kinds of devices in one motion. It will follow the rollout of Android 3.1 to the Motorola Xoom tablet and Google TV.

Google says the Ice Cream Sandwich version of Android will “all be open source,” including APIs for face-tracking and other new features. Developers will be able to account for all form factors within this same version of the OS, and Google will be adding a lot of UIs to accommodate Android devices of all shapes and sizes.

The announcement of Ice Cream Sandwich followed news of Android 3.1, which carries desirable features like resizable widgets in the application launcher. Android 3.1’s trip over to Google TV will also carry with it the Android Marketplace and the usability of USB devices. At the keynote, Hugo Barra, director of Android product management, demoed the use of an XBox 360 controller with an Android game.

No official launch date has yet been announced for Ice Cream Sandwich, but Android 3.1 will be available to compatible devices as of today.

Read the comments on this post

View original post here:
Google announces Android Ice Cream Sandwich will merge phone and tablet OSes

It feels like just yesterday we charted the streaming music landscape, but it’s already changed in a big way — Google is muscling in on the likes of Rhapsody, Pandora and particularly Amazon with its Google Music Beta. Being able to take 20,000 of your personal tunes, stream them over the web and cache them locally on your device isn’t functionality to sneeze at, so it’s time we updated our charts. After the break, see how the big streaming services stack up.

Continue reading Google Music Beta versus the titans of the streaming music space: a chart

Google Music Beta versus the titans of the streaming music space: a chart originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 May 2011 15:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Windows/Mac/Android/iPhone/Blackberry/Web: Trillian, the cross-platform, message-syncing IM client has made its service even better by releasing all their clients with Pro features for free with advertisements. More

If you follow an exacting script and keep careful records, you can apparently sue sloppy telemarketers (or their clients) for $500 each, and get free merchandise in the bargain. America’s telemarketing laws seem tough on marketers, but they’re structured in such a way as to make the process as difficult as possible for people who don’t want to get phonespam. But if you are careful, you can get $500 every time a telemarketer calls you twice after being told to add you to its do-not-call list. They get to call you once without incurring this penalty, but apparently, you get to keep anything you order on the second call for free without paying for it, since “future calls will be a violation of an act of the U.S. Congress, any contract directly resulting from an illegal act is not enforceable. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) offers no ‘grace period.'”

I’m not a lawyer, and I don’t know if the author of the article is. It’s presented in Comic Sans, so caveat emptor and all that.

May I have your company’s name, address and telephone number? If you are calling on behalf of a client, may I have the name, address and telephone number of your company, as well as the name, address and telephone number of the company that you are calling on behalf of?

Put me on your “Do Not Call List”. You are hereby ordered to share my “Do Not Call Request” with your affiliates, associates, and related entities. If you are a third-party service bureau (telemarketing company), put me on your company’s “Do Not Call List” as well as your client’s “Do Not Call List”.

Send me a copy of your “Do Not Call Policy”. If you are a third party telemarketing service bureau, send me your company’s “Do Not Call Policy” as well as your client’s “Do Not Call Policy”.

If you call me again, I will use your product or service and not pay for it. My denial of payment will be based on the fact that your future calls are a violation of an act of Congress, and any contract that is entered into as a direct result of an illegal act is unenforceable.

Do you understand what I have just told you?

Will you comply with my requests?

Telemarketing Script

(via Consumerist)

Read the original post:
HOWTO sue telemarketers and keep the stuff they send you without paying for it

Now that OCZ has shifted its corporate focus away from the DRAM market, the company has begun deepening its lineup of solid state drives with two new additions: the Agility 3 and Solid 3. The pair of 2.5-inch SSDs, announced today, run on the SATA III 6Gbps interface (unlike their SATA II predecessors) and come strapped with a SandForce SF-2200 processor that allows for some pretty speedy performance. The Agility 3 boasts a maximum read rate of 525MBps, a write speed of 500MBps and can crank it up to 60,000 IOPS. The Solid 3 ain’t no slouch, either, with a 500MBps read rate, 450MBps writing capabilities and a max IOPS of 20,000. Granted, they won’t deliver quite the same punch as the Vertex 3 Pro, but they also won’t cost you quite as much. On the high end of the price spectrum is the 240GB Agility 3, at $480, with the 60GB and 120GB versions priced at $135 and $240, respectively. The Solid 3, meanwhile, is available in both 60GB ($130) and 120GB ($230). Not exactly chump change, but still cheaper than OCZ’s heavier hitters. Hit the source links for more details.

OCZ unveils Agility 3 and Solid 3 SSDs for thrifty speedsters originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 May 2011 11:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink

Stop watching movies and TV shows according to Hollywood’s schedule! With video-on-demand, you can watch TV whenever you want, wherever you want, and you don’t even have to remember to program a box to record it. Here’s MaximumPC’s take on the major online VOD services available today. More

Researchers have figured out a way to make diamond aerogel. The aerogel is only 40 times as dense as air. Someday, it make coat the windows, the TV, and the inside of a person’s body. More

Microsoft will buy Skype for $8.5bn in cash, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Skype will become a new business division within Microsoft, and Skype Chief Executive Tony Bates will assume the title of president of the Microsoft Skype Division, reporting directly to Mr. Ballmer.

Buying Skype–a service that links users via Internet-based telephony and video–gives Microsoft a recognized brand name on the Internet at a time when it is struggling to get more traction in the consumer market.

Microsoft to acquire Skype

View post:
Microsoft to buy Skype for $8.5bn