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Latest Gear Live Videos
Internet Explorer 8 now available
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Microsoft, Software,
We ask that you try and contain your excitement on this one. You ready? Microsoft has just released the final version of Internet Explorer 8, the company’s home-grown web browser. According to Microsoft, IE8 is “one of the fastest browsers on the market today.” Of course, that really can’t mean much, as there are really only a handful. Being “one of” the fastest doesn’t sound like too confident a statement. A few things you can expect out of IE8 are Web Slices, Accelerators, and Instant Search.
IE8 has been in beta for over a year, so let’s hope this final release is as good as it should be, at least as it pertains to security, and, you know, displaying websites correctly.
Read More 
| Internet Explorer 8
Gallery: Internet Explorer 8 now available
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iPhone 3.0 keynote now available in iTunes
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds, Software,
Yesterday, Apple finally unveiled the iPhone 3.0 OS. We are stilling digging deep into the update, and will be bringing you our thoughts in just a bit, but we felt that it might behoove us to let you know that you can now download the iPhone 3.0 keynote presentation directly from iTunes now, in it’s entirety
(minus the Q&A session.) Go ahead and get a first-hand look at cut, copy, and paste, MMS, global Spotlight search, and all the demos. If you aren’t a developer, then you can look forward to downloading the update in June, which will probably be alongside this years iPhone release.
Read More | iPhone 3.0 Keynote [iTunes Link]
Gallery: iPhone 3.0 keynote now available in iTunes
Russian software hobbyist Cherkes Mihail has devised Check Flash. This free program can be downloaded so that you can test the speed of your current flash drive or others and format them if you wish. It is not necessary to use an empty drive although some of the tests will blank them, so the creator has kindly included the ability to pass command line switches and allow batch processing. Check out his home page for other tests and ideas.
Read More | Cherkes Mihail
Gallery: Test Drive Speed with Check Flash
iPhone OS 3.0 preview on March 17th
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Smartphones, Corporate News, Handhelds, Software,
Alright iPhone fans, we know that the Palm Pre has been getting all the attention lately in the “awesome touchscreen phone” department, but relax. Apple has just sent out notice to all of us press-types that they are going to be presenting iPhone OS 3.0 for the first time on March 17th. That’s right, in five days you will get an “advance preview” of what Apple has been working on for the next version of the iPhone operating system, as well as a look at the new version of the SDK, which will (or should) give developers better ways to integrate their apps into the OS.
We’re excited.
Gallery: iPhone OS 3.0 preview on March 17th
NetWrix USB Lockdown
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Accessories, USB, Hot Deals, Internet, PC / Laptop, Software,
Worried that someone will steal data from your SD card, memory stick, MP3 player or flash drive that you uploaded to your PC? Or worse, that someone will expose it to a viral attack? NetWrix is freeware that can lockdown your USB port. If you have GPMC (Microsoft Group Policy Management) on your computer, then you can protect your data locally or remotely with the tool. The blocker is simple to use and technical support is also provided with no charge.
Read More | Netwrix
Gallery: NetWrix USB Lockdown
Yamaha has created a digital piano that sounds like an acoustic one with the same key, level and hammer mechanisms. They say that their Avant Grand, with 4 embedded speakers, even feels like a real piano. At about 4 1/2 feet, half the size of an ordinary Grand, it has upgradeable software and the company’s TRS (Tactile Response System) that reproduces reverb to make it sound and feel more like the real thing. The Avant Grand will set you back about $20,000, about one hundred grand cheaper that Yamaha’s CFIIIS concert grand. Look for the debut in July.
Read More | gizmag
Gallery: Yamaha Avant Grand Piano
HTPC Building Series: The Final Tally
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, Music, PC / Laptop, Software,
Check out out HTPC on a Budget series and join us in building a great HTPC for under $1,000.
The challenge presented at the beginning of this process was for us to build a great home theater PC while sticking to a budget of $1,000. We knew we were up for the challenge, and wanted to walk you through that process with us. Here’s what we’ve done, as a refresher:
- Let’s Build a Budget HTPC
- Selecting Our Hardware
- The MSI 7411 Motherboard, and Why It Rocks
- Achieving Great 5.1 or 7.1 Surround Sound
- Driving multimedia content to the HTPC
- The ATI TV Wonder 650
- Laying Out All The Components
So, now that we have reached the end of this process, we need to take a look at how we did, right? Were we able to stick to our budget? Let’s see how we did…
Click to continue reading HTPC Building Series: The Final Tally
Gallery: HTPC Building Series: The Final Tally
Programmer Peter Neubäcker has developed Direct Note Access, software that can allow computers to analyze digitized chords and separate them into individual notes. While it was already possible to manipulate pitch, tempo and other aspects of music, this is the the first time that a single chord can be dissected. The former German guitar maker’s software can help musicians and engineers correct notes that are out of tune as well as unreleased classic music that was recorded on out-of-tune instruments.
Read More | Technology Review
Gallery: Direct Note Access Separates Chords
Scientist Develops Program to Interpret Alien Language
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Science, Software,
If and when a real ET arrives, Dr. John Elliot from Leeds Metropolitan University will be ready. He claims that an alien language will have recognizable patterns and has has created a program to help identify and translate them. He says that all human languages have “functional terms” such as ‘if’ and ‘but’ and that they are separated by up to nine characters or words. The software can also be utilized to break the language down into nouns and verbs. If they still can’t figure it out, perhaps a bag of Reese’s Pieces might help.
Read More | Telegraph
Gallery: Scientist Develops Program to Interpret Alien Language
Bang & Olufsen BeoSound 5
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Home Entertainment, Music, Portable Audio / Video, Software,
Bang & Olufsen continue to come out with audio products for the upper 5% that can afford them. Released in North America Friday, the BeoSound 5 features a 10.4-inch touchscreen for browsing with a playlist and a 500GB hard drive to keep your tunes. It also will suggest other tracks/tunes based on your likings.You can get a base system for $5,900.00 but then again, you can put the money into a newer iPod and buy yourself a decent used car.
Read More | Bang & Olufsen
