Family Learning Center

Posts Tagged ‘Variation’

Wind U100 magically modded into tablet-thing, iPad UI along for the ride

Are you desperate for an iPad-like device, short on cash, and long on the desire to completely jack up your netbook? Well you’re in luck, friend, as the proprietor of MSI Wind fansite Insanely Wind has crafted a device which may satiate your tablety desires. By taking a U100, removing the keyboard, relocating a touchscreen display to the bottom half of the unit, and doing some simple rewiring, user alexbates has fashioned a tablet which he says bests a device like the iPad or JooJoo with “10 times the storage, twice the speed, external video (VGA), webcam, USB ports, and built-in multi card reader.” Of course, as you can tell by the photos, this mod has a ways to go before it’s got the fit and finish of the aforementioned devices, and you’ll have rev up a compatible, hackintosh build of OS X to make it appropriately Apple-ish — but it can clearly be done. While this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this type of modification, it’s nice to see the love spreading to various devices (and done in a fashion that doesn’t seem overly complicated). From the sounds of things, this project hasn’t hit its zenith yet, so we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for a more complete variation of the Windlet (our name). For now, hit the read link and keep up with the unfolding saga.

[Thanks, MistaBishi]

Wind U100 magically modded into tablet-thing, iPad UI along for the ride originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Insanely Wind  | Email this | Comments
Read the whole story…

BlackBerry slider photos leak out!

You can consider our minds completely and utterly blown tonight, as we’ve just stumbled upon these photos of what appears to be a new BlackBerry device… a vertical slider. The source (BlackBerry Leaks) doesn’t seem to be able to confirm the legitimacy of the photos, but we’re mostly convinced that this is some variation of a RIM device. While BB Leaks speculates on the possibility of this being the Storm 3, Kevin Michaluk over at CrackBerry suggests this might not be a device headed to market, rather an early version which has been scrapped, similar to that Magnum handset that floated onto the internet recently (though Kevin suggests that our friends in Canada may very well have plans for something in this form factor). What we can say with assurance, however, is that this device coupled with those new BIS 3.0 Gmail integration upgrades, that forthcoming RIM WebKit browser, and a rumored new OS would help push things into the territory of that dream smartphone we pleaded for back in 2008. Coincidence? We think not.

BlackBerry slider photos leak out! originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 20:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  BlackBerry Leaks  | Email this | Comments
Read the whole story…

Nintendo bringing pink and blue Wiimotes to America on Valentine’s Day

Hey, kids. We got your attention? Good. Remember those pink and blue Wii controllers that were quietly launched in the Land of the Rising Sun back in October? Yeah, well it seems that both of those gems are coming to the United States, but it’ll be well after Christmas before you can get your hands on either (without a good importer, anyway). Starting on February 14, 2010, the blue and pink Wiimote will be on sale on US soil, and both devices will come bundled with Wii MotionPlus dongles. There’s no word yet on pricing, but we’re guessing a small premium is in order for those badly in need of some hue variation.

Nintendo bringing pink and blue Wiimotes to America on Valentine’s Day originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Electronista  |  Nintendo  | Email this | Comments
Read the whole story…

Time Inc. shows off magazine tablet demo, plans future anger about 70/30 profit split

You know that Condé Nast tablet / digital magazine demo we saw recently (non-ironically paging through a copy of Wired)? Well now Time Inc. has gotten in on the same game, showing off its version of a digimag running a touch-friendly issue of Sports Illustrated. The company not only buzzed everyone with the charming walkthough video — a floating hand paging through SI on a sleek, black tablet (embedded after the break) — but also had a live, functioning variation of the product up and running on a touchscreen HP laptop. The gist of the project seems to be that the publisher will be able to offer this digitized version of its magazines in some sort of agnostic format, one that would be accessible to PCs and phantom Apple tablets alike. Peter Kafka over at All Things D says that he had a chance to play with the demo and it was, “quite a bit of fun.” While it’s clear that both Time and Condé Nast are taking parallel routes to online publishing (the former is purely in concept mode, the latter is working with Adobe on digital versions of its titles as we speak), one thing is painfully clear: both companies have shockingly similar ideas about what the future of magazine publishing looks like. We hope Apple has been informed.

Continue reading Time Inc. shows off magazine tablet demo, plans future anger about 70/30 profit split

Time Inc. shows off magazine tablet demo, plans future anger about 70/30 profit split originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  AllThingsD, The Wonder Factory (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments
Read the whole story…

Sponsor Post: Build a Better Personal Brand With Your Own Domain

Editor’s note: we offer our long-term sponsors the opportunity to write ‘Sponsor Posts’ and tell their story. These posts are clearly marked as written by sponsors, but we also want them to be useful and interesting to our readers. We hope you like the posts and we encourage you to support our sponsors by trying out their products.

The concept of personal branding online has become a part of many conversations about social media and social networking recently. The popularity of social sites such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and various smaller niche sites has continued to skyrocket, offering individuals a chance to create a more robust online presence. The age of anonymity online has all but ended, and individuals should seek to gain further control of their online identities.

Sponsor

A great deal has been written about how to engage in social media to establish a name for yourself online, but a commonly overlooked piece of the puzzle is also one of the simplest: owning your own domain name. A domain name complements the rest of your online presence through branding, using yourname.com or a similar variation.

Some Personal Branding Background

Personal branding is inherently somewhat egotistical, but not necessarily more so than networking at a conference or sharing business cards. The influence that personal branding online can have has continued to grow as people change the way they seek and consume information. Just over a decade ago, social circles were limited to face-to-face interactions and numbers in a phone book. Now, you can have a much larger reach and audience online. Think of personal branding simply as conducting some marketing as the president of Brand You.

The key to successfully branding yourself online is sharing. This could include contributing valuable information to an online conversation, creating original content, passing along great content from others or sharing knowledge from your experiences. Whatever your interests, social networking provides the opportunity to connect with others who share those same interests and want to hear what you have to say. The tools you can use are nearly infinite, but some of the larger social sites such as LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are great places to start if you’re not already there.

Where a Domain Fits With Personal Branding

Whether you’re just starting out online or you’re a social media power user who has more social profiles than you can keep track of, a domain is an essential part of owning your brand online. Domains were around long before social networking sites, but many people have never owned one, and they’re more relevant now than ever. Owning a domain is very affordable, at under $10 per year, and well worth the cost as long as you put it to use. If you don’t already own yourname.com, do a domain search to see if it’s available. If yourname.com is already taken, the .net or .me extensions are also great options for a personal site. If all else fails, you can use a middle initial, nickname or other variation. Once you’ve found the perfect domain, consider registering other extensions (.net, .org, .tel, etc.) as well and redirect them to your primary domain.

Once you own your domain, you might wonder how best to use it. The option that comes to mind for many people is to build a website. If you have some knowledge of HTML or a website-building program, then creating a basic website is relatively simple. Content management systems like WordPress and Joomla are increasingly popular among people who want to build personal websites or blogs without learning HTML or Web coding. Here are just a few ideas of what you can do with a personal website:

• Showcase your work in an online personal portfolio.
• Build an online resume that highlights your strengths and creativity.
• Make a website that features your hobbies and interests.
• Create a hub that links to all of your social networking profiles.
• Start a blog about a professional field or subject that you have expertise in.

If you don’t want to create a website or blog with your own domain, there are still many other uses for it:

• Brand yourself with custom email (you@yourname.com). You can even hook up services like Gmail to your domain using MX records, if you don’t want to use separate email hosting.
• If you already have a blog set up with a service like Blogger, Posterous or WordPress.com, use URL forwarding to direct visitors to that blog when they type in your domain.
• Forward your domain to your Facebook, Twitter or other primary social networking profile.

Regardless of what you use the domain for, connecting your name to your online presence is important. When you connect with someone in your everyday life, you can share your domain name rather than having them search for you on Facebook. Use your domain on business cards, resume and other professional materials. Whatever the purpose, your domain can be an essential part of your online identity, without you having to rely on numerous online profiles. As Marshall Kirkpatrick puts it, “I’m in charge here at Marshallk.com and that’s the way I like it.”

Why Create a Personal Brand Online?

Personal branding has a great number of applications, particularly in the professional world. If you’re searching for a job, having a well-rounded online presence is an increasingly important factor that many companies consider. Businesses often take more than a peek at what comes up in Google search results for candidates, whether you think they should or not, so use your domain name to rank well in Google to put the content that you want potential employers to see front and center.

Similarly, use your domain and social media profiles to network on a professional or personal level with others who share the same interests and goals. If you have consistently useful knowledge and content to contribute online, you can come to be known as an influencer and thought leader in your field. If you aim to start your own business or new project, having an established presence and network of online connections that trusts you can make a huge difference in your ability to succeed. Regardless of the direction you take with personal branding, a domain name is a great place to start and can serve as the backbone of your online presence.

Have another innovative use for your domain? Please share it in the comments.

Discuss

Read the whole story…

Lenovo intros SL410 and SL510 ThinkPads overseas

Do you love Lenovo laptops, but at a distance? We thought so. That’s why we’re happy to report that a variation of the company’s SL400 and SL500 laptops have been announced for non-US markets. The devices, creatively dubbed the SL410 and SL510, will be offered with a choice of a Core 2 Duo T5870, T6670, P7570 or Celeron 900, T3000, or T3100 CPUs, a 16:9, 14- or 15.6-inch LED display, GMA 4500MH, 4500MHD or AMD M92-S2 XT GPUs, a range of hard drives up to 500GB, 1GB to 4GB of RAM, and both contain multitouch trackpads. The laptops are said to be retailing starting at 5600 Yuan (or around $820) for the SL410 — we haven’t heard a price on the SL510 yet. No word on when these models will be headed stateside, but we’re certainly going to do our best to find out.

[Via Cloned In China]

Filed under: Laptops

Lenovo intros SL410 and SL510 ThinkPads overseas originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read the whole story…

What Facebook Quizzes Know About You

The Northern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has put together a campaign to raise awareness of privacy issues surrounding Facebook applications, in particular quizzes. According to this group, the millions of Facebook users taking quizzes are revealing far more personal information to application developers than they are aware of. This is mostly due to the fact that Facebook’s default privacy settings allow access to all your profile information whether or not your profile is set to “private.” Even worse, the ACLU reports that even if you shun quizzes yourself, your profile info is revealed when one of your friends takes a quiz. Want to see how bad the problem is? Just take the ACLU’s Facebook Quiz and prepared to be shocked.

Sponsor

As any regular Facebook user knows, quizzes are some of the most popular applications in use on the social network. Every day, our News Feeds are filled with everything from the latest variation on the “5 Things” theme to the “What (insert popular movie title) character are you?” and more. But these seemingly innocuous time wasters could have dangerous privacy implications if they ended up being distributed by malicious app developers who want access to Facebook’s treasure trove of personal data.

The Danger of Quizzes

With each question in the ACLU’s Privacy Quiz, you’re not only told what information a quiz author can see – you’re shown. For example, after answering the first question, you learn that almost everything on your profile, even if you use privacy setting to limit access, is available to the quiz. Then, a graphic is shown which reveals select information retrieved from your profile including hometown, groups you belong to, events attended, favorite books, and more.

The second question is even more disturbing. It informs you that everything on your profile is made available to the developers when your friends take a quiz. To drive this point home, the ACLU’s Quiz loads up information pulled from your friends’ profiles and displays that data below the answer for your perusal. Here, information on your friends is shown including hometowns, favorite books, political views, networks, birthdays, number of wall posts, and even personal photos. Thanks to the quiz, all that info which you can see on your friends’ profiles is now available to the quiz author, too.

Lest you think your info is safe because somewhere, somehow Facebook is looking out for you, the third question shatters any illusions you may have about that, too. According to the answer to this quiz question, not only do Facebook’s default privacy settings do nothing to prevent application developers from scouring your information, Facebook also doesn’t screen developers for trustworthiness nor to they require the developer comply with a privacy policy (something we’ve mentioned before). It’s also noted that Facebook does not use any technical measures to limit how developers can collect and use personal information. Says Chris Conley, a technology fellow with the ACLU, it’s difficult to know how developers use this data, which could, in theory, be collected and sold for marketing and advertising campaigns.

Finally, the last question prompts you to take action. When the quiz asks you what you should do, the correct answer is: “demand the right to control my information without sacrificing the right to use new technology.” To get the word out there, the ACLU suggests you update your privacy settings, share their quiz on Facebook, and sign their online petition.

Is This True?

The nature of the quiz makes it sounds a bit like fear-mongering, especially with statements like this: “Once details about your personal life are collected by a quiz developer, who knows where they could end up or how they could be used. Shared? Sold? Turned over to the government?” However, outside of these overly dramatic tactics, the claims made by the ACLU are true. According to CNET, Facebook doesn’t even deny the fact that quiz developers have access to this sort of information. The company does point out that users can limit how much information applications (including friends’ applications) can see by tweaking their privacy settings.

Note: To do this yourself, go to Settings -> Privacy Settings -> Applications. From there, you can uncheck the boxes next to the items which you don’t want apps to have access to.

Still, the ACLU suggests that access to personal information such as this be opt-in rather than opt-out, as it is now. Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt says the company “generally agrees” with the ACLU’s recommendations and notes that the social network recently disabled hundreds of applications that were inconsistent with Facebook Platform policies. He also mentions the company has been working with the Canadian Privacy Commissioner, Jennifer Stoddart, to improve user data controls on Platform. 

This is just one of the concerns that will be addressed later today when Stoddart announces the agreement that has been reached between her country and the social network in terms of privacy protocols. Stoddart ruled last month that Facebook had 30 days to come up with a plan to comply with Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act or face court action.

Discuss

Read the whole story…

New Zune HD press shots emerge, showing black and silver color options, true freedom from ugly

We’ve seen our fair share of Microsoft’s upcoming Zune HD, but the company just threw together a delightful little photoshoot for its new PMP, with the black and silver version of the device on display along with a large quantity of attractiveness in both flavors. Most of the shots are variation on a pretty basic theme (and a little small, since these haven’t made their way through quite “official” channels just yet), but they do give a good idea of what the UI will look like if you’re into the Black Eyed Peas. Check ‘em all out below.

Filed under: Portable Audio, Portable Video

New Zune HD press shots emerge, showing black and silver color options, true freedom from ugly originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Read the whole story…