Microsoft lowers hardware requirements, opens Marketplace to 23 more countries

If there was a theme for today's Nokia keynote, and, by extension, Microsoft's plans for Windows Phone, it's that the OS is being targeted toward lower-spec phones worldwide. The SDK update that'll soon roll out to developers will include an emulator for developers to ensure their apps work on devices like the Lumia 610 that only has 256MB RAM. The company's promising that nearly all apps will work on the cheaper hardware, promising that fragmentation will be kept to a minimum. Any app that runs poorly on the slimmer hardware will be flagged as unsuitable in the Marketplace. Speaking of which, Microsoft has announced it'll be rolling it out to a further 23 countries shortly including China, the UAE and much of Eastern Europe -- increasing the total market reach by up to 60 percent.

Microsoft lowers hardware requirements, opens Marketplace to 23 more countries originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/27/microsoft-lowers-hardware-requirements-opens-marketplace-to-23/

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Google Sees a Bright Future in Smart Shades

Reports that Google is working on special glasses that will stream information to a display in one lens in real time have once again surfaced. The glasses will apparently hit retail shelves by the end of the year. They will be priced in about the same ballpark as new smartphones, meaning they'll likely fall into the $250 to $600 price range. The glasses will reportedly run on Android.

Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/74486.html

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Evoluce Win&I brings Kinect gesture controls to Windows 7

evoluce win&i windows 7 gesture control kinect
We've been looking at some pretty cool Kinect and Windows interactions for a while now, but we were hoping that the release of an official SDK would lead to even more coolness. Evoluce has stepped up, and is now offering Win&I -- a full-featured gesture control system for Windows 7.

The company claims that a range of up to four meters is supported, which should be perfect for just about any home theater setting. In the video embedded after the break, you can see an Evoluce demonstrator flip through a photo album, pan through a map, rearrange application windows, browse the Web, and control media playback. Two versions of Win&I are offered -- the home version goes for about 20 Euros, the business version for 40.

Anyone else having fun pretending his stance is a little "Iron Man"? We're tempted to put a repulsor on that hand.

Continue reading Evoluce Win&I brings Kinect gesture controls to Windows 7

Evoluce Win&I brings Kinect gesture controls to Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/evoluce-winandi-controls-windows-7-with-a-kinect-sensor/

FORMFACTOR FISERV FIRST SOLAR FINISAR

BattlePaint is an addictive geometric shooter game

battlepaint
In BattlePaint, you play a cube. In fact, you're not even a cube -- just a square. But boy, are you fast! And you can shoot in all directions. That's important, because there are baddies coming in from all over the place.

The "baddies" are swarms of other squares, in all sorts of pretty colors. They track you all over the screen, and you run around very quickly and just shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. If that doesn't sound very emotionally deep, it's because it isn't. But it's fun!

After you shoot a baddy, it splashes paint as it disappears. You need to skate across this blob of paint and "eat it up" to get points. This game is fast. It clocked in at around 60-70 FPS on my system, and was loads of fun to play. It does tend to insult you when you die, though, but don't be offended -- I don't think it's personal.

BattlePaint is an addictive geometric shooter game originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/09/battlepaint-is-an-addictive-geometric-shooter-game/

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Powis iCase iPad Case Review

I’m always impressed with companies that are flexible in a changing environment. A company who can adapt to this evolving landscape is a healthier company. Powis makes bookbinding and collating equipment for the corporate market. As things have been moving into the digital realm, Powis has smartly taken some of that book binding knowledge and [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/02/26/powis-icase-ipad-case-review/

GOOGLE FORMFACTOR FISERV FIRST SOLAR

Install the Windows Phone 7 NoDo update regardless of your carrier

windows phone 7 nodoSome of you who own Windows Phone 7 devices are still waiting for your pre-NoDo preparation update -- never mind NoDo itself. A few workarounds have been posted, but unfortunately they didn't work unless your carrier had completed testing and was ready to schedule the update.

Now, however, the Chevron WP7 team's Chris Walshie has delivered a handy little utility that will allow you to update any Windows Phone 7 device -- regardless of your carrier.

  1. Download and install the Windows Phone Support Tool (x86 or x64) and the ChevronWP7 Updater (x86 or x64)
  2. Launch ChevronWP7 Updater and select your language. If your language isn't listed, stop and do not update.
  3. If were running WP7 build 7004 (you can verify in Zune) then run the updater twice.
Once the process completes, you should be able to copy and paste to your heart's content. Let's just hope all this update foolishness gets sorted out before we're supposed to receive Mango.

Install the Windows Phone 7 NoDo update regardless of your carrier originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/install-the-windows-phone-7-nodo-update-regardless-of-your-carri/

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Help Bob make money in Sticks, a fun physics game

sticks
Sticks is another one of those rare games where the intro is actually worth watching. It introduces you to office worker Bob, who is basically a wage slave fantasizing about a better existence.

Then, on his way back home from another grueling day at the office, he passes a huge sign which says "Sticks." This is where the game starts.

Each level has a number of coins hovering in mid-air, and your goal is to place sticks that lead those coins to Bob -- but you only have a limited amount of wood to play with. As soon as you're done placing your sticks strategically, hit the big Play button and let nature, or rather gravity, run its course. The coins will drop down, and if you place your sticks correctly, they will roll all the way to Bob.

The soundtrack is soothing and playful, and didn't get on my nerves even after playing for quite a while. All in all, a very cute game, especially for a day at the office.

Help Bob make money in Sticks, a fun physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 18 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/18/help-bob-make-money-in-sticks-a-fun-physics-game/

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Opera 11.10 includes improved power saving features

opera 11.10 battery power
Just recently, the Opera 11.10 release candidate was made available for download. It brought a handful of important feature additions -- like HTML5 File API support and IMAP enhancements -- and loads of bugfixes. Nestled in amongst the other details in the Opera team's announcement is one more interesting tidbit: Opera 11.10 offers improved battery optimizations.

The timing here is certainly interesting, what with Microsoft's recent report on how much power the top five Web browsers consume. In its findings, Opera 11 was fairly low in the standings. While we've not seen any new benchmarks yet, we're curious to know whether the Opera 11.10 RC offers any significant gains.

If you're running Opera 11.10 on a laptop, let us know if you're seeing an improvement in your battery life while browsing!

Opera 11.10 includes improved power saving features originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/opera-11-10-includes-improved-power-saving-features/

RESEARCH IN MOTION ROGERS COMMUNICATIONS SAIC SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES

AVG launches LiveKive cloud sync and backup tool

avg livekive dropbox
A while back, we told you about AVG's new LiveKive service, a new cloud synchronization and backup tool which appears to have been named after a vat in which mash is made during the brewing process. But enough about AVG's odd choice of monikers -- LiveKive has launched and is now ready to accept your files into the AVG cloud.

LiveKive takes aim at services like Dropbox and SugarSync, though at the moment it's lagging behind in terms of features. As it stands, LiveKive is only compatible with Windows and OS X. There are no mobile clients yet, though with AVG's strong presence on Android we wouldn't be surprised to see an app arrive in the near future.

The company is offering a heck of a deal right now, however. If you sign up for a paid account during the launch phase, you can score unlimited storage for $80 for a whole year. You can't even score 50GB per year at that price from Dropbox, so if cost and space are more important to you than cross-platform availability, LiveKive might be worth checking out.

If you're not interested in ponying up any cash at the moment, you can still get a 5GB account free of charge. Just head on over, and create a LiveKive account.

AVG launches LiveKive cloud sync and backup tool originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 10:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/avg-launches-livekive-cloud-sync-and-backup-tool/

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White House Looks to Nail Down Online Privacy Regulations

Undeterred by its battle to convince Congress to pass the cybersecurity legislation it proposed last May, the White House on Thursday unveiled a proposal for an online consumer privacy bill of rights. This is part of a blueprint to improve consumer privacy protection in the United States.

Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/74494.html

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