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Latest Gear Live Videos
Amazon bringing apps to Kindle with Kindle Development Kit
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds, Software,
Amazon is getting into the apps game, with “active content” coming to the Kindle 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 CES 2010, 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
Gallery: Amazon bringing apps to Kindle with Kindle Development Kit
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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
Gallery: YouTube launches opt-in HTML5 video player
iPhone OS 4.0 to arrive 1/27 with new interface, multitasking?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Handhelds, Rumors, Software,
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.
Gallery: iPhone OS 4.0 to arrive 1/27 with new interface, multitasking?
Top 10 Gear Live Videos of 2009
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, 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 Apple gear that made the list, but Microsoft gets the top two spots with our Xbox 360 dashboard tour, and the Zune HD hands-on preview. Also getting an honorable mention is the Motorola DROID 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
Gallery: 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 Zune HD 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?
Gallery: Zune HD Twitter app now available
2009 Holiday Gift Guide: Mac OS X Snow Leopard
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, PC / Laptop, Software, Family, Techies, Under $25,
If you’ve got any Mac users in your life who haven’t upgraded to OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, 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:
- Snow Leopard Upgrade: $24.99 (14% off)
- Snow Leopard 5-User Family Pack: $43.99 (10% off)
- Snow Leopard Mac Box Set: $149.99 (11% off)
- Snow Leopard Mac Box Set Family Pack: $199.99 (13% off)
Gallery: 2009 Holiday Gift Guide: Mac OS X Snow Leopard
SquareUp iPhone payment service launched by Twitter co-founder
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Apple, Handhelds, Software,
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 iPhone and iPod touch, 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
Gallery: SquareUp iPhone payment service launched by Twitter co-founder
Amazon Kindle 2: Now with PDF support, 85% more battery life
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Software,
In what we are guessing is an attempt to make the Kindle a bit more attractive when compared to the B&N nook, Amazon announced today that the Kindle 2 now ships with PDF support and a battery that lasts almost twice as long as previous Kindle 2s. The battery bump, in particular, gives you 7 days of use with wireless on as opposed to 4.
Even cooler, though, is the fact that if you already own a Kindle 2, there will be a firmware update released over-the-air that will give you the same functionality, including the 85% increase in battery life! No date has been announced for the release of that update, but we’d be surprised if it didn’t arrive any day now. Gotta love competition. You can pick up the Kindle 2 on Amazon.
Read More | Amazon Kindle
Gallery: Amazon Kindle 2: Now with PDF support, 85% more battery life
Google Chrome OS revealed - take a look
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet, PC / Laptop, Software, Videos,
Google has finally taken the wraps off of Chrome OS, its new Linux-based operating system that is all Internet-centric, running the Google Chrome browser as its main application. Yeah, the whole point of the Google Chrome OS is that it is web-based, and you interact pretty much exclusively in a browser window. The way Google sees it, you spend 95% of the time you are on a computer living in your web browser anyway, so Chrome OS is built to optimize that experience. Nothing is actually stored on the computer itself, as everything is stored, instead, in the cloud. Hit up the video above for Google’s introduction to Chrome OS, and we’ve got another video after the break taking a look at the UI concept.
Click to continue reading Google Chrome OS revealed - take a look
Gallery: Google Chrome OS revealed - take a look
Huge MacMall sale - discounted Macs, free Parallels Desktop 5.0
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Hot Deals, PC / Laptop, Peripherals, Software,
Looks like our friends over at MacMall have got themselves a killer pre-Black Friday sale going on right now, where you can get pretty much every Mac at a discount, as well as a free copy of Parallels Desktop 5.0 (the best Windows virtualization tool for the Mac) and a free HP All-in-One printer. Not bad, right? Here are a few examples of what you can find:
- Unibody MacBook: $934.99 ($64 off)
- 13” MacBook Pro: $1,099 ($99 off)
- MacBook Air: $1,349 ($449 off)
- 21.5” iMac: $1,119 ($80 off)
- 2.66GHz Mac Pro Tower: $2,298 ($200 off)
That’s just a sampling, and remember, those all come with a free copy of Parallels 5.0 and that HP All-in-One printer - we aren’t sure you’ll find a better deal anywhere else this holiday season, even on the official Black Friday 2009. Seriously, a MacBook Air for 25% off?
