News Archive for 09/08/10

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SlingPlayer Mobile 1.1 adds 16x9 support, DISH Remote

08/10, 11:00pm

SlingPlayer Mobile update

Sling Media is set to launch an update to its iPhone app, Sling Mobile, which is currently pending approval from Apple. Version 1.1 still lacks 3G streaming, although it adds several new features such as DISH Remote Access integration and improvements to the control interface. The DISH functions bring a content guide directly onto the iPhone, instead of importing a picture, while search and filter options have been expanded.

videoNEXT adds Mac support to its SKM security tools

08/10, 10:20pm

SKM security for Mac

videoNEXT has announced its latest product, SKM-Cirrus, that brings Mac support to its Security Knowledge Manager (SKM) software. The application provides tools for managing surveillance cameras in small businesses or homes. After installing the software, users simply connect the necessary cameras and the feed can be viewed from the desktop application or through the company's CAVU iPhone app.

Zune HD leak shows $220 price, Sept. 8 date

08/10, 10:10pm

Zune HD Best Buy Leak

A leak from within Best Buy tonight has potentially confirmed planned pricing and a ship date for the Zune HD. Microsoft's rumored pricing of $250 or more appears to have been lowered significantly and now, according to a Gizmodo tip, would start at $220 for a 16GB model -- $10 less than an entry iPod touch, which may have the same capacity at or near the Zune's launch. A 32GB version would be priced at $290, or again slightly less than what the next-closest iPod is likely to cost.

Jackson's memorial performance slated for iTunes

08/10, 9:15pm

Jackson memorial on iTunes

Jermaine Jackson's rendition of the song "Smile," performed at Michael Jackson's public memorial last month, will be available on iTunes, according to the Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff has permitted administrators for Jackson's estate to enter into an agreement with Apple to distribute the song and video. The judge's decision one of many he made today as administrators for Jackson's estate are pushing to quickly wrap up any remaining affairs.

Duke Nukem 3D first-person shooter arrives on iPhone

08/10, 8:15pm

Duke Nukem 3D for iPhone

MachineWorks Northwest has brought the first-person shooter Duke Nukem 3D to the iPhone and iPod touch. The game follows the same story as the original 3D Realms release from the late '90s. Players take the role of Duke as he battles an alien invasion in Los Angeles. The game features a variety of mutants and aliens, along with a wide range of available weapons.

LinkOptimizer Light 4 enhances link information table

08/10, 7:05pm

LinkOptimizer Light 4

Zevrix Solutions has released v4 of its Adobe InDesign plug-in, LinkOptimizer Light. The software is used to convert between various image formats and eliminate excess image data, effectively reducing the time spent processing images for online posting. The latest version improves the link information table, allowing users to view selected links in the InDesign document. The update also enhances back-up and relinking features, with options to optimize links for external use, such as web design, without relinking back to InDesign.

Yoostar set to ship movie stand-in creation system

08/10, 6:30pm

Yoostar release date

Yoostar has announced that its movie production system will be available on August 24th from Bloomingdale's stores and on September 8th from Best Buy outlets. Yoostar is an entertainment system consisting of a webcam with built-in dual microphones, a portable green-screen, and editing software that enables users to recreate well-known film scenes.

iPhone apps: Cooliris, Where To?, SimplyTweet

08/10, 6:00pm

Lion Pride, Tesserae

Cooliris (Free) displays news and media from various sources in a 3D wall layout. Information is collected from Yahoo, Flickr, Google and other various sites and then presented in a way that is supposed to make scanning through long lists of results simple. The application has recently been updated and is now said to run much faster and includes support for Bing, Picasa, and Twitter.

BlackBerry 9520 shots show Wi-Fi

08/10, 5:55pm

BBerry 9520 WiFi Shots

A handful of shots have surfaced of the BlackBerry 9520 that show the existence of Wi-Fi on the device. Better known as the sequel to the Storm for GSM carriers, the device clearly lists Wi-Fi as an option alongside 3G. It moreover shows it running BlackBerry OS 5.0, though as before the software has only minor improvements over 4.7.

FutureMark: Mac faster than Windows on web

08/10, 5:25pm

Macs Faster On Web

Despite stereotypes, Macs are typically faster than Windows PCs on the web, according to data from FutureMark. Best known for its 3DMark benchmark suite, the company says that Apple's systems are about 5 to 10 percent faster on average in its Peacekeeper web code test than Windows computers with equivalent hardware. This includes any browser that runs on both platforms, including Apple's own Safari as well as Firefox and Opera.

Aggro Electro Boom includes sound layering functions

08/10, 5:25pm

Aggro Electro Boom ships

Sonivox has introduced a new plug-in to its Playa suite of virtual instruments, Aggro Electro Boom. The software is used to create music beats for hip-hop and electronic music producers. The plug-in works with a MIDI keyboard, MPC pad controller or a computer desktop and includes more than 450 instruments, 15 programmable pads and 50 pad layouts. The software additionally incorporates a sound layering function that allows users to layer audio tracks.

Moyea DVD Ripper includes video editing tools

08/10, 5:25pm

Moyea DVD Ripper released

Moyea has released its self-titled DVD Ripper for Mac. The application is used to rip DVDs into numerous video formats for devices such as the iPhone, iPod, Apple TV, Zune, PSP, Xbox 360 and PS3. Editing features allow users to trim and crop videos, add images, replace the audio track, or add sound effects. The editing tools can also be used to adjust contrast, brightness, saturation and volume, as well as add video effects such as a Gauss blur, greyscale, inverted color, and aged film.

Apps: Blackout, Ecoute, Mousequeak

08/10, 5:15pm

NameFind, ProfCast

Blackout 3.1 ($9) is a utility that can dim a screen regardless of the monitors current hardware or gamma settings. The application works by placing a transparent window over the desktop. The window provides the dimming effect and passes keystrokes and clicks through to underlying applications. The update includes two new display modes, Spotlight creates a circle of light which can follow the cursor or stay fixed on a specific area, and Soft Edges gradually fades the corners of the screen. Version 3.1 includes several improvements to some of the softwares existing features. New options have been added to the system-wide menu, the window fading animation has been improved, and some of the menu items have been reworded for clarity purposes. [Download - 0.86MB]

Microsoft to change IE install process

08/10, 5:05pm

Microsoft update process

Late last week, software giant Microsoft announced in a US district court that it will change the way the express install works for Internet Explorer 8 with its Windows operating system, as per a Monday report. Microsoft has drawn flak for making IE 8 the default browser despite user's preferences whenever they ran the Windows Update and selected the Express install, with competitors Mozilla and Opera filing complaints.

Sonos Controller iPhone app adds cover art, info view

08/10, 4:50pm

Sonos iPhone app udpated

Sonos has released an update to its iPhone app that works with the company's multi-room music systems. Version 3.0 adds a new "Info View" command that connects to a variety of extra content from sources such as Last.fm, Pandora, Rhapsody, Napster and Sonos Radio. While listening to last.fm, users can view artist information, similar artists or upcoming concert dates.

Samsung A797 for AT&T surfaces on Craigslist

08/10, 4:40pm

Samsung A797 revealed

An as-yet-unreleased handset from Samsung, the A797, has been spotted on the Internet recently, as it's being offered for sale on Craigslist. The seller has posted an image, and the handset is slated to arrive at AT&T. While little is known about the device, the seller says there is Bluetooth, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard also visible in the photos, as is a touchscreen display. As expected, the A797 can play back MP3 audio files.

Project Canvas provides stack export feature

08/10, 4:40pm

Project Canvas released

Koingo has released a new presentation utility, Project Canvas. In addition to presentations, the software can be used to create tutorials and storybooks. Options let users set variables, play movies and audio, and transition between cards.

Onkyo outs TX-series networked receiver, more

08/10, 4:30pm

Onkyo home theater amps

Home theater manufacturer Onkyo has recently announced the release of two new high-end home theater receivers, with the TX-NR807 and TX-SR707. Both are 7.2-channel systems, though the TX-NR807 has the ability to stream audio from Internet-based services such as Pandora, Rhapsody, Sirius and Internet radio from vTuner's database. Music on networked PCs and hard drives can also be played back as the receiver is DLNA 1.5-compliant. It supports MP3, WMA, FLAC, OGG Vorbis and AAC file playback from PCs.

SubEthaEdit 3.5 provides code folding capabilities

08/10, 4:30pm

SubEthaEdit 3.5 released

TheCodingMonkeys has released v3.5 of SubEthaEdit, its application that allows multiple users to edit a single document simultaneously. The latest version allows users to fold arbitrary sections of text in order to expand more complicated documents using its Code Folding tool. The update additionally features the ability to save document state information such as mode, folding state, window position, and selection using Xtended Attributes. Version 3.5 utilizes a new "Tidy and Pretty Print HTML" feature and can open URLs from a document in a new window so not to interfere with editing.

UBS raises AAPL target to $170, pushes buy rating

08/10, 4:25pm

UBS raises AAPL to $170

UBS analyst Maynard Um has issued a new investor note, raising Apple's stock target from $160 to $170, while calling for a "Short Term Buy" rating. The new target is based on the assumption of a higher cash balance by the end of FY10. The rating is based on a more complex set of factors, but mainly a full quarter of refreshed MacBook sales, as well as continuing expansion of the iPhone 3GS to other countries. Whereas the iPhone 3G launched in 21 countries, the 3GS debuted in only eight.

Pioneer intros mobile multi-zone DJ mixer

08/10, 4:25pm

Pioneer intros DJ mixer

Pioneer on Monday introduced the DJM-5000 DJ mixer made for portable use. Apart from newfound multi-zone support that lets users send two audio sources to a separate area, the DJM-5000 has three microphone inputs, 96kHz/24-bit sampling, a built-in sound card and a MIDI mapping capability. The mixer is designed to be rack-mounted.

Zune HD shows at FCC in 16GB, 32GB models

08/10, 4:05pm

Zune HD at FCC

The FCC has likely spoiled Microsoft's launch plans by posting test info for the player's wireless behavior. While the NVIDIA Tegra processor, Wi-Fi and Windows CE foundations are all public information, the filing specifically shows models with 16GB and 32GB of storage and confirms at least one rumor regarding Microsoft's strategy for the touchscreen media player. The company has previously acknowledged the Zune HD would replace flash players but has never specified how much storage they would have.

Verbatim outs TUFF-CLIP USB drives

08/10, 4:05pm

Verbatim TUFF-CLIP USBs

Verbatim on Monday announced it is now shipping its new TUFF-CLIP USB drives, which are available in both 4GB and 8GB capacities. Meant to appeal to outdoors travelers and students, the drives have an integrated carabiner clip that allow them to clip to backpacks, belt loops or key chains. The 4GB version is only available in turquoise, while the 8GB model can be had in black only.

Bank to begin taking checks via iPhone

08/10, 3:20pm

Bank takes iPhone checks

At least one bank is planning to allow check deposits via iPhone, says the New York Times. USAA is expected to the introduce the feature later this week, by means of an update to its iPhone application. To make a deposit, account holders will have to take photos of both sides of a check, then upload the resulting files.

Netgear ships home theater Internet kit

08/10, 3:00pm

Netgear outs XAVB1004

Netgear has released its planned powerline networking kit designed for home theater enthusiasts. The simply-titled Home Theater Internet Connection Kit will hook up to four devices with Ethernet ports, including gaming consoles, Blu-ray players, HDTVs and multimedia boxes like the Apple TV to the Internet via a home network. The powerline connections can be as fast as 200Mbps and can stream HD video with little buffering or hiccups.

French retailer says slim PS3, price cut due Sept.

08/10, 2:50pm

French Slim PS3 Rumor

French gaming social media site JVN today claimed to have confirmed Sony's slim PlayStation 3 through contacting an unnamed retailer in the country. The source says wholesalers expect the thinner, redesigned model in September and that it should drop exactly 100 Euros to €300. These new systems would come "naked," or without games, but stores haven't been told what's included in the hardware itself; most rumors have a 120GB hard drive as stock.

Sony Ericsson making smartbooks?

08/10, 2:15pm

Sony Ericsson Smartbook

Sony Ericsson may be entering the smartbook field with a model of its own, based on a rumor today. A purported Taiwan-area source says the company is developing one of the mini notebooks. Most details aren't available to NetbookNews, including the choices of processor or operating system; The smartbook concept usually centers around a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor fast enough to rival a netbook and either Android or another Linux variant, but any ARM processor and a suitable operating system are candidates.

AT&T prepares to carry nuvifone, BlackBerry 9700

08/10, 1:35pm

nuvifone, BB 9700 at ATT

Through a leaked product list, AT&T has revealed information on several upcoming phone releases. Included in these is the BlackBerry 9700, believed to be the Onyx; the latter has been described as a Curve 8900 with restored 3G broadband. Also mentioned is the nuvifone G60, Garmin's long-delayed smartphone, which concentrates on GPS navigation while still providing functions like web browsing.

QNAP adds two four-drive NAS servers

08/10, 1:35pm

QNAP Turbo NAS servers

QNAP Systems on Monday said it will soon release two new Turbo NAS servers meant for use in corporate or entry-level enterprise environments. The TS-439U-RP and TS-439U-SPK share the same four-drive design that fits into 1U racks and has hot-swappable bays. Total capacity in either is 8TB when using 2TB drives. Either can be configured to accommodate 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch hard drives, with a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU and 1GB of RAM overseeing the actual workload of the system. The models can transfer data at 87.3MBps when reading from FTP sites and in RAID 5 mode.

Apple to fix MacBook Pro hard drive stalling

08/10, 12:30pm

Fix coming for MBP HDDs

A software fix is enroute for MacBook Pro owners encountering frequent hard drive stalling, according to Apple spokesman Bill Evans. The problem affects 7200rpm, 500GB drives, freezing a Pro for several seconds before allowing normal operation. Stalls are typically preceded by a beep, and several clicks indicating overworked reading mechanisms.

Kingston ships SSDNow V+ drives

08/10, 12:25pm

Kingston SSDNow V Plus

Kingston has upgraded the speed of its solid-state drives for the second time in two months with a morning launch for the SSDNow V+ line. The new 2.5-inch drives use a much faster controller and storage that more than doubles the peak read performance from 100MB per second to 220MB. Writing speeds have likewise been given a large boost and now top out at 180MB per second for the best model versus just 80MB before.

AT&T contract still bans class action suits

08/10, 11:50am

ATT Bans Class Action

Readers have rediscovered that AT&T's contract terms prevent customers from filing class action lawsuits. Carrier spokesman Seth Bloom notes the terms aren't new, but the clauses continue to force any customer with an outstanding dispute over service to enter binding arbitration as an individual, preventing both class action lawsuits as well as group arbitration.

Civilization Revolution arrives on iPhone, iPod

08/10, 11:35am

CivRev on iPhone, iPod

Firaxis' Civilization Revolution has arrived at the App Store, marking the first time the well-known game series has been available for iPhones and iPods. CivRev is specifically based on the console title of the same name, and carries over all its features, though these in turn are simplified from the PC's Civilization IV. Some simplified rules include a limit of three units in army stacks.

OCZ, Indilinx develop always-fast SSDs

08/10, 11:10am

OCZ Anti Slowdown SSDs

OCZ and storage chipset maker Indilinx in the past few days have unveiled a new firmware technique for solid-state drives that could avert the chronic slowdown in write speeds on these disks. As any storage cell on an SSD needs to be completely re-written if any amount of data exists, many SSDs collect "garbage" data which is just enough to force a rewrite and slow down the regular data recording process. The new approach automatically scrubs data from these cells and effectively restores an SSD to a near-new state if left alone for enough time.

Gmail push app approved; shift in Apple policy?

08/10, 10:45am

Gmail push app approved

Apple has finally approved GPush, an iPhone app which allows push notifications when new Gmail messages have been received. The app is developed by Tiverias, and should be available for $1 for the first week of its release and $2 subsequently. The approval has unusual timing given Apple's recent rejection of Google Voice-based apps, which sparked an FCC inquiry.

Sony limits XP Mode to high-end VAIO notebooks

08/10, 10:40am

Sony XP Mode out of Vaios

Sony will not enable Intel's Virtual Technology (VT) on its VAIO series of notebooks in Windows 7, as promised earlier, according to a recent report. Information given to the Register says this includes the $1,719 Z-series along with 10 other VAIO PC model that wont support the XP Mode, which allows users to run older applications that wouldn't otherwise run in Windows 7. The new operating system is due for an October 22nd release and Sony has promised a free upgrade to the OS once it ships.

Intel, others to use NVIDIA SLI on Core i5, i7

08/10, 10:20am

NV SLI on Core i5 and i7

NVIDIA today broke some ground by confirming that Intel and mainboard producers such as ASUS, EVGA, GigaByte and MSI have all licensed SLI for use with upcoming Core i5 and i7 systems. The gesture gives tested mainboards based on Intel's P55 chipset support for using two or more GeForce graphics cards in tandem. Many Intel chipsets to date have focused instead on ATI's equvialent, CrossFire, though AMD's ownership of ATI is likely to help drive Intel's addition of the NVIDIA option.

Mozilla posts first alpha of Firefox 3.6

08/10, 10:10am

Firefox 3.6 alpha debuts

Mozilla has published the first alpha preview of Firefox 3.6. The upcoming release is codenamed Namoroka, and in its completed form should represent an intermediate step towards Firefox 3.7, a major browser upgrade expected sometime in 2010. The v3.6 alpha nevertheless includes several important changes, such as a new Gecko rendering engine, upgraded to v1.9.2.

MIMO intros fold-flat USB mini display

08/10, 9:50am

MIMO 710-Slider USB LCD

MIMO rendered its mini monitors more portable on Monday by launching the 710-Slider. While it has the same 7-inch, 800x480 display as some earlier displays, its stand design lets the display fold completely flat with the base and lets users tote the display safely as a companion display for a notebook. Like before, the new version is completely driven by USB and receives both the visual signal and power over the single cable.

Major educational e-book publisher targets iPhone

08/10, 9:30am

E-book co. comes to iPhone

Through a new application, a large publisher of educational e-books is making its library available on the iPhone and iPod touch. CourseSmart notes that over 7,000 titles should be now accessible, though only to anyone already paying desktop subscription costs. Book rentals typically last 180 days, and cost roughly 50 percent of a print edition's value.

Touch Pro2, Instinct S50 dated for Sprint by leak

08/10, 9:20am

New Sprint phones dated

A leaked document from wireless provider Sprint reveals the release dates for a number of new handsets, including the HTC Touch Pro2 and the previously unknown Samsung Instinct S50. Other devices scheduled for a September 3rd launch include an orange LG Rumor2, as well as the entry-level Samsung M240 and M330. The Touch Pro2 will run on Sprint's CDMA network and sport Windows Mobile 6.1. Users interface via a 3.6-inch, 800x480 touchscreen and HTC's TouchFLO UI. There is otherwise a 3.2-megapixel camera, a GPS sensor and a Wi-Fi connection.

Dell smartphone just days away?

08/10, 9:10am

Dell Phone Imminent

Dell's first smartphone could be unveiled within the next 48 hours if a purported source is accurate. The tip, likely coming from Asia, mentions to TechCrunch that the device should be made public for Chinese customers within the next day or two. Information is admitted as "thin," but it's also claimed that sources for Asian product launches have normally been accurate.

Rogers site shows 8GB iPhone 3GS

08/10, 8:25am

8GB iPhone 3GS Site

Rogers may have inadvertently revealed its plans this morning with a splash page supporting recent leaks of an 8GB iPhone 3GS. Clicking on the "iPhone Comparison" tab shows a list of capacities that shows both the iPhone 3GS and the earlier 3G coming in 8GB form. Most of the carrier's material (including the same section) still shows only the older phone having an 8GB capacity, suggesting that the information is either incorrect or else was posted prematurely.

Toshiba seeks Blu-ray Disc Association link

08/10, 7:40am

Toshiba BDA Application

Toshiba started the week by revealing that it hopes to join the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA). The company explained the move as a reaction to "recent growth" in the amount of hardware supporting Blu-ray along with high-enough demand from the public itself. If accepted, the Japanese firm plans to make both Blu-ray movie players, drives for computers and notebooks themselves using the large-capacity format.