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On Chic Dish: Brooklyn Decker: Sports Illustrated’s 2010 Swimsuit Cover Model

We will match your Haiti SMS donations - and even donate on your behalf!

With the help of some of our friends, Gear Live will match your Haiti relief SMS donations multiple times. Currently, we will donate $150 for every $10 that our readers donate, up to $12,700! In fact, we will even donate on your behalf if you ask us to. Check out all the details, and let’s band together to help a country in need.

Latest Video: Bleeding Edge TV 337: Sony Bloggie HD camcorders

We catch up with Sony to learn about their new line of Bloggie HD camcorders at the CES 2010 It Won't Stay in Vegas blogger party!
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Apple Aperture 3 now available with Faces, Places, and Brushes

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Software

Apple Aperture 3

This morning, when the Apple Store went down, Twitter just about blew up with everyone posting that the new Core i5 MacBook Pros would be launching. Alas, Apple pulled a fast one on us, and instead we’ve got the launch of Aperture 3, the latest in Apple’s professional image management software line. Here are the major bulletpoints of the release, which seems to focus heavily on being more accessible to new users:

  • Organize photos by the people in them using Faces.
  • Use Places to find photos based on where they were taken.
  • Perfect images with nondestructive, edge-aware brushes.
  • Use adjustment presets to apply imaging effects.
  • Browse your entire library with the new full-screen Browser.
  • Create stunning multimedia slideshows that weave together HD video, audio tracks, and custom titles.

We will be giving it a spin, and we’ll let you know what we think. Aperture 3 sells for $199, but if you are upgrading, the price drops to $99. You can grab a 30-day free trial of Aperture 3 as well.

Read More | Aperture 3

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iPhone OS 3.1.3 now available

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Handhelds, Software

iPhone OS 3.1.3

has just released an firmware update in iPhone OS 3.1.3. It’s basically a big fix release, focusing on:

  • Improving accuracy of reported battery level on iPhone 3GS
  • Resolves issues where third-party apps would not launch
  • Fixes bug that may cause an app to crash when using Japanese Kana keyboard

Doesn’t seem like a huge deal, but for those of you who like your iPhone to be fresh, there you have it.


iTunes 9.0.3 now available

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Music, Software

iTunes 9.0.3

If you’re of the iTunes-using persuasion, you’ll want to know that Apple has just released 9.0.3, which includes a few bug fixes, including:

  • iTunes no longer ignores your “Remember password for purchases” setting.
  • Addresses problems with syncing some Smart Playlists and Podcasts with iPod.
  • Resolves a problem recognizing when iPod is connected.
  • Addresses issues that affect stability and performance.

Launch iTunes and check for updates to pull in the new version.


Amazon bringing apps to Kindle with Kindle Development Kit

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds, Software

Kindle Development Kit

is getting into the apps game, with “active content” coming to the later this year with the announcement of the Kindle Development Kit (KDK.) You’ll be able to download these apps wirelessly using the Kindle Store once they launch, and we already know that there are some devs that are already hard at work on their Kindle active content.

Amazon says it has already released the Kindle Development Kit to a select number of partners, including the video game giant Electronic Arts, and will make it more widely available when a limited beta period starts next month. It anticipates formally adding what it calls “active content” to the Kindle store sometime later this year.

Some are seeing this as a reaction to the many, many new ereaders that we saw debut at , while others think it is a preventative measure to take some steam out of whatever it is that Apple will be announcing next week at the January 27th Apple Event. Regardless of what it is, having more value added to a device is never a bad thing.

Read More | Amazon

YouTube launches opt-in HTML5 video player

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Software

YouTube has just launched a new experimental HTML5 video player, which would replace their Flash player for supported videos. Flash has long been seen (with good reason) as a resource hog, so switching to the HTML5 browser should show a dramatic performance increase. One user reported a resource drop of over 50% when using the HTML5 player when compared to the Flash version. You can get in on the action, as long as you are using either Google Chrome or Safari 4.0 or above (although we’ve heard that it also works with recent versions of Firefox.) The only catch here is that videos with ads, annotations, and captions will still play in the older Flash player, and you won’t get fullscreen support. Of course you can try it out, and if you don’t like it, you can just turn it off.

Read More | YouTube HTML5 Video Player

iPhone OS 4.0 to arrive 1/27 with new interface, multitasking?

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Handhelds, Rumors, Software

iPhone OS 4.0

Our pals over at Boy Genius Report are saying they’ve received some inside information about the iPhone OS 4.0, which is heavily rumored to debut, and possibly even be released, at the Apple event on January 27th. Here’s what they are saying about iPhone OS 4.0:

  • There will be multi-touch gestures OS-wide. (Would make sense for that as the rumored OS for the iTablet is close if not the same as the iPhone)
  • “A few new ways” to run applications in the background—multitasking.
  • Many graphical and UI changes to make navigating through the OS easier and more efficient. We haven’t had this broken down, but we can only hope for improved notifications, a refreshed homescreen, etc.
  • The update will supposedly be available for only the iPhone 3G and 3GS, but will “put them ahead in the smartphone market because it will make them more like full-fledged computers” more than any other phone to date. Everyone is “really excited.”
  • The last piece of information is the most vague, but apparently there will be some brand new syncing ability for the contacts and calendar applications.

As far as we’re concerned, we think that a graphical and UI interface refresh is definitely needed for the iPhone, which hasn’t really seen any major interface changes since it launched. Of course, we will be bringing you all the new on January 27th as it happens.


Top 10 Gear Live Videos of 2009

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Music, PC / Laptop, Software, Video Games, Videos

2009 is just about over, and we are just in time with our annual top 10 list of the most-watched Gear Live video episodes. Over the past year, as expected, there was a bunch of gear that made the list, but Microsoft gets the top two spots with our dashboard tour, and the hands-on preview. Also getting an honorable mention is the and Elgato Turbo.264 transcoding device.

Oh, and if you wanna be sure to get our new video episodes as they come out in 2010, be sure to subscribe to us in iTunes, on YouTube, or in your RSS reader!

Click to continue reading Top 10 Gear Live Videos of 2009


Zune HD Twitter app now available

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Portable Audio / Video, Software

If you’ve been wanting to use your to get your Twitter on, today is your day. Twitter for Zune HD is a free app, now available in the Zune Marketplace, that lets you interact with your Twitter peoples. You can read Tweets, update your status, and all that good stuff. If you don’t see it, give it a little bit, it was just deployed, which means it may take a few before it shows up.

Now, can we get some Zune HD Facebook love?


2009 Holiday Gift Guide: Mac OS X Snow Leopard

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software, Family, Techies, Under $25

This is an entry from our 2009 Holiday Gift Guide. Check it out for suggestions on what to buy your loved, liked, and hated ones this holiday season!

Snow Leopard

If you’ve got any Mac users in your life who haven’t upgraded to OS X 10.6 , we think it’s time you give them the nudge this holiday season. Snow Leopard is faster, leaner, and more intuitive. It’s also simple to install, and even hits the user back with some freed up hard drive space. The best part, though, is the price. Snow Leopard is just $24.99 at Amazon. Here’s the price breakdown:


SquareUp iPhone payment service launched by Twitter co-founder

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, Handhelds, Software

SquareUp Receipt

New iPhone credit card payment service SquareUp has finally been unveiled, and we’ve gotta say, it’s got our attention. The brainchild of Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, SquareUp aims to be a simple, sleek, inexpensive, and charitable credit card payment processing service. It works on the and , in conjunction with a credit card reader that plugs in to the audio jack. You get payer verification, receipts that can be sent via email or text message, and receipt signing using your finger. Even cooler, in our opinion, is that Square will donate one penny of every transaction to a charity of the seller’s choice.

If Square plays their cards right, they will be a force to reckon with in the small business arena. The service is in limited beta right now, but Square says it’ll be fully open in 2010. We’ll see if we can’t get a beta account to give you a better look at how it all works.

Read More | SquareUp

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