Archive for August 22nd, 2009

Lackluster Gmail support has been a real pain point for BlackBerry users, and we’ve really been hoping that this new “Enhanced Gmail Plug-in” would solve all that. It’s out as of today, and we’ve certainly gotten some improvements, like support for archiving messages, marking spam and managing labels / stars. Unfortunately, these new management features are only live synced one way, from the phone to the Gmail server, so many of the actions that take place desktop side won’t be reflected on the phone once that particular message has been picked up by the BlackBerry Internet Service. There’s also the small problem of installing the thing: we haven’t been successful so far on two different BlackBerries, and you have to make sure to uninstall the existing Gmail Plug-in. Meanwhile, in BlackBerry Enterprise Server land, the Google Apps Connector has now gone live, which means Google Apps users get push Gmail and what seems to be much tighter Exchange-style syncing. Let us know if you get either of these things working with your particular setup.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Read – Enhanced Gmail Plug-in now available
Read – Google Apps Connector for BES now available

Filed under: Cellphones

Enhanced Gmail Plug-in for BlackBerrys arrives, but only syncs one way originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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So you want something to look forward to in your fast approaching old age, eh? If robots playing baseball doesn’t quite cut it, how’s about a robohand that redefines what we understand by the word “dexterity”? The Ishikawa Komuro Laboratory is at it again, this time demonstrating robotic appendages with a reaction time of a single millisecond. Using harmonic drive gears and a (really) high-speed actuator, the three-fingered hands can tie your shoelaces, tweezer your brow, and even perform some kung fu pen spinning for the ladies. Video after the break — skip ahead if you must, but don’t miss out on the slow-mo action at 2:40 in the demo, it’s pure kinetic poetry.

[Via Hizook; Thanks, Thomas B]

Continue reading Video: Robot hand shows off amazing dexterity, speed

Filed under: Robots

Video: Robot hand shows off amazing dexterity, speed originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If his story is to be believed (and it seems pretty believable), an anonymous tipster to Engadget Japanese got a nice surprise with his recent Mac mini purchase: a Snow Leopard install disc. It’s one of those vanilla hardware-specific install discs, dubbing itself Mac OS version 10.6, and clearly packing the goods if the screenshots don’t lie. This only adds confusion to the ship date, which has been listed as August 28th on Apple’s online store, dubbed as “September” elsewhere, and obviously been totally disregarded in this specific case. No matter what, it looks like we won’t have long to wait. Hit up the read link for a couple of Japanese-infused screencaps.

Filed under: Software

Lucky Mac mini buyer got Snow Leopard disc in the box? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Northern Michigan University was fairly early to the game in offering laptops and campus-wide WiFi to its students, and it looks like it’s now stepping things up even further with a little help from Motorola, which is providing the backend for NMU’s new campus-wide WiMAX network (a first in the US). Better still, the university is also providing some brand new WiMAX-equipped ThinkPads to nearly 3,000 of the school’s more than 9,000 students, and it’s also making a range of laptop and desktop WiMAX adapters available to students with non WiMAX-enabled computers. With a radius of some 30 miles, the network will also encompass a number of off-campus sites, and be made available to local schools and municipal offices though a licensing arrangement.

[Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons]

Filed under: Wireless

Northern Michigan University teams with Motorola for campus-wide WiMAX originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 09:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Teaching robots to find “food” and share it with others seems like a fairly worthwhile and noble endeavor, no? Well, it apparently wasn’t quite enough for a group of researchers from Switzerland’s Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, who had the bright idea to augment said robots with a new artificial neural network that let the robots learn a host of new abilities — namely, scheming, lying and deceiving. Apparently, in their younger days, the robots would flash a light whenever they found food to let their buddies know where it was, but that of course caused the food to dwindle a lot quicker. After a bit of trial and error and a few tweaks from the researchers, however, the robots apparently discovered that they could keep more of the food for themselves if they didn’t flash the light, and it seems like its been Lord of the Flies on an incredibly tiny scale ever since.

[Via Switched]

Filed under: Robots

Researchers create robots that can learn to lie and deceive, on purpose originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 07:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not to knock cellophane tape as a method for in-car iPhone navigation, but if you want to use the new TomTom app in a more proper setting, you’ll want the official TomTom car kit. In addition to enhancing the GPS signal and charging your iPhone, it’s also got hands-free dialing and a speaker that’s (presumably) better than the phone solo for giving directions. At a rumored price of just under $200 with software, it’s not a bad deal if you were planning to shell out $100 for the US maps, anyway. We’re still on the fence, but the hypnotic soundtrack of the promotion video is admittedly alluring. See for yourself after the break.

[Thanks, Arthur]

Continue reading TomTom’s iPhone car kit promo video is enticing, but still no mention of price or release date

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Transportation

TomTom’s iPhone car kit promo video is enticing, but still no mention of price or release date originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It took the Big N right around a year to actually ship its Wii MotionPlus dongle after first showing it off at E3 2008, and now we’re curious to know if you think the wait was worth it. We’ve already spilled our deepest, darkest thoughts on the $20 add-on accessory, but now that Wii Sports Resort is out (and still firmly lodged within your Wii’s optical drive), we just can’t wait another second to hear from end users. Are you pleased with the additional sensing capabilities? Has it enhanced your gameplay as you thought it would? What aspects would you like to see changed? You just paid a Jackson for a brick that attaches to your perfectly functional Wiimote — don’t miss your chance to pick it apart.

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

How would you change Nintendo’s Wii MotionPlus add-on? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 01:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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	AT&T, Apple and Google respond to the FCC over Google Voice and the iPhone App Store Apple’s not exaggerating when it says these are entirely new problems, and whatever happens next will set a precedent for a long time to come.		Google refutes USA Today report on blocked Skype application The story is surely fine fodder for a FUD enthusiast up to that point, but it appears (gasp) that USA Today may have gotten one minor fact wrong.
	Video: Another look at PS3 Slim and its removable HDD The 2.5-inch Serial ATA hard drive is indeed swappable and is done so without risk of voiding your warranty.	Other news of import Zune HD getting previewed at select Best Buys this weekend Amazon says PS3 Slim already facing supply shortages, Sony disagrees Entelligence: Whatever happened to SPOT? It’s coming
	PS3 Slim bitsreams Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA audio, at last Slowly, ever so slowly we’re beginning to learn about the internal differences between Sony’s new PS3 Slim and its chubby ancestry.		Bell’s Palm Pre commercial couldn’t be more Apple if it had an Orba Squara soundtrack Hip, upbeat music? Check. Mysterious hands showing off mobile apps and other smartphone capabilities? Check.
Transformers 2 Blu-ray packs special features inside & out October 20 Panasonic taking 3D, Avatar on world tour this fall		Video: HTC Click gets a 6-finger ‘Donut’ salute Qik for iPhone 3GS update removes ‘WiFi only’ restriction, 3G streaming is a go

The Daily Roundup: here’s what you might’ve missed originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 22:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Wiipod modder shoves an MP3 player in his Wiimote, calls it a day

Filed under: Portable Audio

Wiipod modder shoves an MP3 player in his Wiimote, calls it a day originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 21:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Cellphones

Qik for iPhone 3GS update removes ‘WiFi only’ restriction, 3G streaming is a go originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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