New Technology Reviews!.: local

Spotify adds Android Preview app with Facebook sign-in and sharing

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<img alt="" class="aligncenter" height="192" mce_src="http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/7527/spotifypreview540x320.jpg" src="http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/7527/spotifypreview540x320.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" width="324" />Now that United States citizens have been welcomed with open arms, Spotify’s Android app is getting some much-needed love. The new version is available as a non-Market download from Spotify’s blog, showing off some new social features. Users can now log in with either their original Spotify credentials or by connecting to Facebook – you don’t even have to create a new account if you opt for the latter.</div>
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Sharing options have been updated as well, again, via Facebook. There was some controversy over the company’s recent decision to allow new users only through Facebook, and apparently, that is still the case with the new app. For those times when you’ve just got to get your Shania Twain on, a Private Listening mode has been added. Testers note that local file playback is still problematic, and there’s no support for browsing via folders – apparently a big deal for some commenters. I tried the local playback myself, and on CyanogenMod 7.1 at least, I haven’t experienced any crashes.</div>
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Spotify is specifically asking for user feedback with the beta app, and if you’re a loyal Spotify customer (as so many are) it might be a good time to voice some of your concerns and suggestions. You can download the APK here (the experimental version isn’t available on the Market) and leave feedback on Spotify’s community forum. If you want some input on the way Spotify’s Android app progresses, it might not be a bad idea.</div>
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Spotify adds Android Preview app with Facebook sign-in and sharing

Now that United States citizens have been welcomed with open arms, Spotify’s Android app is getting some much-needed love. The new versi...

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Five apps for the new Mom or Dad

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10 3D movies and shows to watch out for

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As well as an increasingly good choice of quality 3D Blu-ray movies, 3D TV broadcasters such as Sky and Virgin Media in the UK are already promising viewers lots more quality 3D content later this year and beyond and we've gathered together 10 of the best new shows and movies below.</div>
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Sky, in particular, is really pushing the development of quality 3D TV content in the UK (and beyond), announcing this week that it has now formed a brand new 3D production company, Colossus Productions.</div>
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It has teamed up with leading UK Independent producer, Atlantic Productions, producers of the BAFTA award-winning<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">Flying Monsters 3D</span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and follows the recent confirmation of new 3D output deals with Disney, Discovery Networks and MTV.</div>
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And, most importantly of all for fans of 3D cinema, it looks like Hollywood has been listening to recent criticisms from the TV industry about the dodgy quality of a lot of its recent 3D output, with the major Tinseltown studios clearly stepping up their 3D game later this year and beyond.</div>
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Talk about the future of the 3D medium is no longer centred on James Cameron's sequel to the technically ground-breaking<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">Avatar,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>which speaks volumes about the number of other major 3D projects now in development.</div>
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"The bad news is that Hollywood took the interest and mild excitement that people had for 3D and spewed out several movies that were either outright poor all over the place, or were poorly converted to 3D in post-production," says Adam Taylor, Adotomi agency analyst and 3D expert, in summary of the state of 3D play in the cinema industry.</div>
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"The good news is that with Avatar, the 3D genie is out of the bottle and if directors really want to wow the audience in terms of special effects, it's got to include 3D."</div>
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Taylor's tip is to look out for the big name directors that you trust the most in cinema. Which isn't actually too difficult, with major 3D productions currently underway from the likes of Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Ridley Scott and Peter Jackson.</div>
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Whether you plan to catch up on Sky's forthcoming 3D Meerkats or sample the music festival delights of Bestival 3D on your 3D TV in the comfort of your own home, or want to know which 3D movies you should be looking out for at your local multiplex over the next year or two - here are the definitive top ten 3D movies and TV programmes on the way to you soon.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">1. Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus' - due June 2012</span></div>
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With Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron and Idris Elba playing three of the lead roles, it's fairly easy to see why sci-fi fans are already getting excited about Scott's forthcoming 3D masterpiece.</div>
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"Ridley Scott's return to science fiction would be excitement enough and while it's too bad that it's not a full-blown 'Alien' prequel, it's close enough," says Adam Taylor.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">2. Francis Ford Coppola's 'Twixt' - due late 2011</span></div>
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True to form, Coppola's first major 3D movie is going to take a slightly different twist, encouraging the audience to don 3D glasses only at certain moments and scenes throughout the picture, using on-screen visual clues to let you know when to take your glasses on and off. It's a massive gamble, but one his legions' of fans are praying will pay off.</div>
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The story focuses on a has-been writer who gets caught up in a murder mystery while away on a book tour. This unconventional 3D film stars Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern and Ben Chaplin, with Coppola describing Twixt as "one part Gothic romance, one part personal film, and one part the kind of horror film that began my career" – adding that the idea for the story came to him in a dream and was also inspired by the writings of Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">3. 3D Bestival - due September 2011</span></div>
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Forget about the BBC's impressively-good blanket coverage of the Glastonbury festival each year. Sky plans to 1-up the Beeb this year, by broadcasting the Bestival festival in glorious 3D in September.</div>
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Which means, should you not be able to drag your sorry self to the Isle of Wight this coming autumn to enjoy all of Rob Da Bank's fun-and-frolics in real life, you can at least still pretend you were there by watching the whole thing on your new 3D TV.</div>
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"In what is undoubtedly our finest year to date, which will include sets from The Cure, Pendulum, Primal Scream presents Screamadelica, PJ Harvey, Brian Wilson and DJ Shadow amongst a huge and ever-growing line-up of musical treats, Bestival 2011 hurtles headlong into the future, adding a whole new dimension to our televisual shenanigans, breaking new ground for festival entertainment with a super-generous seven and a half hours of Bestival 3D TV on Sky this coming September" says Da Bank.</div>
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"It's amazing to be part of the world's first 3D TV festival extravaganza on Sky. Bestival in 3D will be a mind-blowing explosion of colour and multi-dimensional music and mayhem and it's great to be working with Whizz Kid again to bring it to life. Having Camp Bestival too as part of the Sky festival season means we've got a great summer of TV ahead."</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">4. Martin Scorsese's 'Hugo' - due September 2011</span></div>
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That's right. Scorsese! He of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">Goodfellas, Mean Streets<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">Casino</span>fame is actually planning on making a charming 3D family and kids' movie called Hugo<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">.</span></div>
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Scorsese's new 3D movie is an adaptation of Brian Selznick's popular children's adventure, starring Ben Kingsley, Christopher Lee, Emily Mortimer, Helen Jude Law, Ray Winstone, Sacha Baron Cohen and a load of other major AAA-stars.</div>
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Chloë Moretz says that the movie is: "Neverland and Oz and Treasure Island all wrapped into one." Which sounds utterly magical. Let's hope it is!</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">5. Steven Spielberg's 'The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn' - due late 2011</span></div>
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Spielberg does Tintin, in which our French adventurer and his chums discoverer directions to a sunken ship commanded by Captain Haddock's ancestor and head off on a treasure hunt.</div>
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It is fully computer animated, uses the latest motion capture tech in 3D and is directed by one of the greatest filmmakers of our age. What could possibly go wrong? (Hopefully nothing)</div>
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<<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>class="pageBreak">3D to watch out for: 6-10></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;"><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">6. James Cameron's Avatar sequel - Avatar 2 - due 2014</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">Yes, you read that correctly. The sequel to Avatar is not actually scheduled for release until 2014. Which seems a hell of a long time to wait for those people who genuinely liked the first movie (as a movie, and not as a 2-hour-plus tech demo, that is).</span></div>
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3D-movie evangelist Cameron is also apparently looking to shoot some footage seven miles underwater in the Challenger Deep, the deepest location on earth. How the hell he is practically going to manage that is still to be revealed. We only hope that it doesn't take his focus away from storytelling, character and dialogue…</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - due December 2012</span></div>
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There is pretty much no question that The Hobbit in 3D is going to be one of the biggest 3D movies of 2012.</div>
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With Ian Holm, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Cate Blanchett, Orlando Bloom, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Christopher Lee and a host of other AAA-Hollywood talent joining Peter Jackson in re-making one of the greatest fantasy stories of our age in 3D…</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">8. Brave from Pixar - due 2012</span></div>
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With Kelly MacDonald, Emma Thompson and Robbie Coltrane involved in the next major new 3D movie from the cinema tech ninjas at Disney Pixar, it is obvious why cinephiles are looking forward to Brave<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">.</span></div>
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This new Pixar movie is set in Scotland "in a rugged and mythical time" telling the story of Merida, who likes archery and is described as "an impetuous daughter of royalty" looking to put things right after she makes a number of unfortunate mistakes.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">9. 3D Meerkats - Sky - due October</span></div>
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Meerkats in 3D. Who is not going to want to watch that? Surely only a true cynic that has had their heart and soul surgically removed by their own misplaced contempt for modern life?</div>
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Caroline Hawkins and her Oxford Scientific 3D movie crew are currently putting the finishing touches to their latest meerkat doc, following the hugely successful four Meerkat Manor series and the Flower movie "Meerkat Manor: The Story Begins".</div>
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<img alt="Meerkats 3d: is one of sky's biggest 3d nature documentaries this year" class="aligncenter" height="189" mce_src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/images/Meerkats%203D-420-100.jpg" src="http://mos.futurenet.com/techradar/classifications/images/Meerkats%203D-420-100.jpg" style="border-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; line-height: 1.5; margin: 0px auto 12px; max-width: 640px;" width="252" /></div>
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"The footage gathered so far has been extremely good. The 3D effect is truly amazing, you really feel you can reach out and touch the meerkats. We've had a few impromptu screenings at the reserve and everyone has been transfixed," says Hawkins.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="strong" mce_style="font-weight: bold;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.5;">10. The Amazing Spider-man - due 2012</span></div>
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Spider Man 4(or whatever the fans may call it) may not have Tobey Macguire playing our favourite super-hero, yet it is said to be something of a re-boot in the series, featuring that guy out of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">The Social Network<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>(Andrew Garfield) as Spidey instead of Macguire.</div>
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Can Garfield cut it? It's one of the most highly–anticipated 3D movies since<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" mce_name="em" mce_style="font-style: italic;" style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia,'Bitstream Charter',serif; font-style: italic; line-height: 1.5;">Avatar.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span>So one would certainly hope he can!</div>
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10 3D movies and shows to watch out for

As well as an increasingly good choice of quality 3D Blu-ray movies, 3D TV broadcasters such as Sky and Virgin Media in the UK are alre...

Toyota develops augmented reality car windows

Toyota develops augmented reality car windows

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Toshiba Thrive Hands-on and Unboxing

Toshiba Thrive Hands-on and Unboxing

We’ve received none other than the Toshiba Thrive Android 3.1 Honeycomb tablet in the mail and it’s that time again – unboxing to the max...

Apple issues recall for some iMac hard drives

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Toshiba Thrive Hands-on and Unboxing

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We’ve received none other than the Toshiba Thrive Android 3.1 Honeycomb tablet in the mail and it’s that time again – unboxing to the max! This device as you may well know is already available at your local Best Buy store in the sweet tablet area they’ve got going on, up for sale for you for one of the following prices: $429.99, $479.99, or $579.99 – the difference between these three being the hard drive of 8GB, 16GB, or 32GB. We’ve got the 16GB version on hand here and we’d just LOVE to show you around.</div>
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This tablet had a cool 10.1 inch screen at 1280 x 800 pixels, it being an IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen held by a chassis at 272 x 175 x 15 mm and 771g. Right from the start you should realize that this device is not going to be entering in any weight loss contests, as its a far cry from the thinness and lightness of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the iPad 2, but it’s certainly not the ugliest tablet we’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. You’ve got a 2 megapixel camera on the front, a 5 megapixel camera on the back, and some ribbed pleasure all around the sides and the back so you can hold on tight.</div>
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The casing is mostly made of ribbed medium-weight (not exactly hard, not truly soft) plastic while the front is all glass save for the lights in the upper right of the screen for battery, power, and Wi-Fi signal connection as well as a couple of chrome-looking plastic bits that appear to clasp the top of the device, showing you where the cameras are. This tablet is strange in that it appears to not quite know which way it wants to be situated. Not that all tablets don’t have somewhat of an identity crisis, but this one shows all signs of being a portrait-standing tablets save for the docking port at the bottom if you’re looking at it landscape-wise. Furthermore if you’ve ever used Honeycomb you know it feels more natural to use in landscape mode, wouldn’t you say?</div>
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<img class="size-medium wp-image-43683 aligncenter" height="252" mce_src="http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/230/p1130733androidcommunit.jpg" src="http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/230/p1130733androidcommunit.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; clear: both; color: #444444; display: block; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 12px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="P1130733_androidcommunity" width="378" /></div>
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Have a look at this initial hands-on look at the device as it stands directly out of the box, feel the excellence in the look of the device, then stick with us for a full review soon!</div>
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<img alt="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.01.55 PM" class="attachment-thumbnail" height="150" mce_src="http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/7593/screenshot20110722at501.png" src="http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/7593/screenshot20110722at501.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.01.55 PM" width="150" /><img alt="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.02.14 PM" class="attachment-thumbnail" height="150" mce_src="http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/4321/screenshot20110722at502.png" src="http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/4321/screenshot20110722at502.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.02.14 PM" width="150" /><img alt="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.03.16 PM" class="attachment-thumbnail" height="150" mce_src="http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/3787/screenshot20110722at503.png" src="http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/3787/screenshot20110722at503.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.03.16 PM" width="150" /><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" /><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" /><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" /><img alt="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.03.24 PM" class="attachment-thumbnail" height="150" mce_src="http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/3787/screenshot20110722at503.png" src="http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/3787/screenshot20110722at503.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.03.24 PM" width="150" /><img alt="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.03.55 PM" class="attachment-thumbnail" height="150" mce_src="http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/3787/screenshot20110722at503.png" src="http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/3787/screenshot20110722at503.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.03.55 PM" width="150" /><img alt="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.04.37 PM" class="attachment-thumbnail" height="150" mce_src="http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/5546/screenshot20110722at504l.png" src="http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/5546/screenshot20110722at504l.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.04.37 PM" width="150" /><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" /><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" /><br style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5;" /><img alt="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.04.53 PM" class="attachment-thumbnail" height="150" mce_src="http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/2634/screenshot20110722at504.png" src="http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/2634/screenshot20110722at504.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; max-width: 640px;" title="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.04.53 PM" width="150" /><img alt="Screen Shot 2011-07-22 at 5.05.03 PM" class="attachment-thumbnail" height="150" mce_src="http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/8585/screenshot20110722at505.png" src="http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/8585/screenshot20110722at505.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; 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Toshiba Thrive Hands-on and Unboxing

We’ve received none other than the Toshiba Thrive Android 3.1 Honeycomb tablet in the mail and it’s that time again – unboxing to the ...

North Carolina town goes paperless, embraces iPads

<br/><p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" class="aligncenter" height="135" src="http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/8141/usingipadatwork.jpg" width="279" /></p><br/>The town of Cornelius, NC has launched a new program designed to cut down on paper use in the town's government facilities, and the linchpin of this program is none other than Apple's tablet, the iPad. According to the local Herald Weekly paper, the town passed out iPad 2s to commissioners at a recent board meeting, and plans to use the devices for sharing agenda packets, budget information, and everything else you need to run a small town, without printing any of it out.<br/><br/>The whole plan seems surprisingly well thought out -- the town actually ran a trial of the program with just three iPads, and the paperless agenda plan has been set up for quite a while now. It was relatively cheap, too -- the town has only spent $5200 on the iPads (not counting some document sharing software previously purchased), and fully expects to make that money right back up in saved time and paper costs.<br/><br/>Pretty impressive move, and of course this means the town commissioners also get to use Apple's magical and revolutionary device during meetings (though they should probably keep the Angry Birds off of government property, just in case). We've seen iPads used in a professional setting before to great effect, and here's another situation where Apple's product is not only better for a few reasons, but actually cheaper as well.

North Carolina town goes paperless, embraces iPads

The town of Cornelius, NC has launched a new program designed to cut down on paper use in the town's government facilities, and the linc...

Happy Birthday, iPad! Come out to celebrate

<br/><br/><img alt="" src="http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/3338/ipadchoco.jpg" style="width: 580px; height: 250px;" /><br/><br/>It got mocked for its name, and for the "magical and revolutionary" marketing machine behind it. Critics called it "just a big iPod touch" and wondered what it might be good for. Customers, meanwhile... well, after a year of the original iPad and just three weeks of the iPad 2, the gadget that defined the tablet market of the 21st century shows no signs of slowing down.<br/><br/>Apple's history of flat computing concepts goes back decades, but it wasn't until the mid-2000s that the rumor grind really began to churn in earnest. Remember those patents about multitouch screen controls? Yes, that's early 2006, and it almost looks like the guy's got a Smart Cover on his tablet. Ah, the memories.<br/><br/>After the run-up to the January 2010 announcement and April launch, the iPad took on the world. Today, in honor of iPad Year One, you can take on your fellow TUAW readers at our first worldwide meetup! Come to your local 2pm meetup for some iPad multiplayer gaming, meet your fellow readers (and maybe a TUAW staffer or two), and an all-around good time. We'll be doing some live streaming and even maybe a bit of swag. Hope to see you there!

Happy Birthday, iPad! Come out to celebrate

It got mocked for its name, and for the "magical and revolutionary" marketing machine behind it. Critics called it "just a bi...

Paypal beats Google Checkout to the local payments market

<a name="2836849683245370662"></A><br /><P><a href="http://www.techgeeze.com/2010/11/paypal-beats-google-checkout-to-local.html" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQFqWpSASdyL12RpFNH3My5peiHAmuAAgBl1iO1AJ1bM9jq46M&t=1&usg=__l9d8kP8rFJ3TFKvwmlM_0EyEnTI=" width="150"></A></P><br /><P>During the recent <B>PayPal</B> Developer Conference held from October 26, 2010 to October 27, 2010, the company announced a range of new products including their new <B>micropayments product and an apps platform.</B> These products are aimed specially towards businesses and the release of the new version of their popular iPhone application has seen a great response from the users. The application allows the users to find businesses near their immediate location which accept PayPal as a form of payment, making it easy for them to make payments using their PayPal account.<a name="more"></A><BR>Stores within a locality are able to attract more users to them using this application. The application also allows merchants of these businesses to post deals and promotions to the app to attract nearby customers. This is the biggest selling point which PayPal offers to merchants by allowing them to offer deals and incentives to attract customers. Whether it is a nearby store, or a restaurant, customers can search for just about anything using the search location in the application, select a store or service and check out their special offers. The application also allows the customers to pay the merchant using their PayPal application, and they can later collect their goods from the merchant store physically.The new app by PayPal gives a competitive edge to the local merchants, as this way they are able to accept payments both online and offline, and hence generate more revenue. By reaching out to the local payment space, PayPal has come in competition with another noteworthy competitor: Google Checkout. Although not as popular as PayPal when it comes to the number of users, Google Checkout has a competitive edge over PayPal when it comes to Google Places. Services by Google including Google Maps and Google Places allow local businesses to list themselves, and post and edit information regarding their business in real time. These businesses get listed in Google search results and get traffic and users as a result of being listed.Taking advantage of this service, Google can easily turn on Google Checkout as a payment method for all these local merchants and extend their service to mobile phones also, similar to what PayPal has done. For PayPal, it is difficult to reach out to all the local businesses and teach them how to use PayPal and also their mobile phone application. However, Google has an advantage over PayPal as they already have millions of local businesses listed in Google Local, which means it would be easy for them to reach to local businesses if they launch their own mobile app as a payment mechanism.The fact that PayPal lacks the advantage of reaching to the local merchants individually is the main reason why their new mobile app for payment processing for local merchants is being tested in a limited market in the San Francisco. Google Checkout may be lacking the number of users that PayPal has when it comes to the payments area, but it is way ahead in the war when it comes to the local market. The whole battle of the two payment platforms will definitely get a lot more interesting in the coming years!<B>Author Bio</B> Anthony is a chief editor since early 2007, and he currently works for MyDUIattorney. A website that helps you to find the right DUI lawyer, you can search for a <a href="http://www.newjerseyduilawyer.org/" target="_blank">New Jersey DUI Attorney</A> or for <a href="http://www.myduiattorney.org/maryland-dui-lawyers.html" target="_blank">Best Maryland DUI Lawyer</A> online, anytime!<BR><BR></P>

Paypal beats Google Checkout to the local payments market

During the recent PayPal Developer Conference held from October 26, 2010 to October 27, 2010, the company announced a range of new products...