Thursday, June 30, 2011

Windows 8 to feature adaptive Aero colorization, get it now on Windows 7

windows 8 aero colorization aura
While we've still yet to see anything truly Earth-shattering, the tandem of Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott continues to churn out insight about interesting new features they've discovered in Windows 8 milestone 3. The latest discovery is that Aero in Windows 8 will be able to automatically adapt itself to match your current wallpaper image. It's a bit like what Windows 7 already does with your taskbar icons: if a program alert needs your attention, the icon will glow using the predominant color (e.g. Firefox should glow orange).

And yes, you can already make Windows 7 behave this way if you like. Over at CodePlex, there's a little program called Aura that parks itself in your system tray and automatically adjusts your window borders to compliment your wallpaper images. The effect is quite nice, and you can try it out by minimizing your windows and cycling through your theme's wallpapers (right click on your desktop and choose next desktop background).

Windows 8 to feature adaptive Aero colorization, get it now on Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/windows-8-to-feature-adaptive-aero-colorization-get-it-now-on-w/

Yodle (mt) Media Temple, Inc Ken Kavanagh Bruce Kessler

The Must Have Jailbreak Apps [Apps]

Jailbreaking unleashes the true potential of iOS. That's an undeniable fact, people. But in order to squeeze every bit of juice from iOS, you need all the best tweaks, enhancements and apps there are. This is what you need. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/uFPyqpzyP4o/the-must-have-jailbreak-apps

Gary Hocking AUTODESK HARRIS FEI COMPANY

Mivizu Sleek Leather Case in Black Stone for iPhone 4 Review

I?m reviewing an iPhone 4 case from Mivizu called the Sleek Leather Case in Black Stone. It is part of a collection of cases from Mivizu with 11 different finishes, including carbon fiber, that center on a flip cover case design. I spent a week with this as my only case to get a proper [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/06/29/mivizu-sleek-leather-case-in-black-stone-for-iphone-4-review/

Jerry Holkins INSIGHT ENTERPRISES PerformLine, Inc Brad Keselowski

Toyota pulls Cydia theme and ads to appease Apple

Apple asks Toyota to remove jailbreak Cydia theme
In news that will no doubt shake the very bedrock of your belief system, Apple has asked Toyota to remove its Scion theme and its advertising from ModMyi, a Cydia repository. The Scion theme has been available for weeks, but after it received a ton of press in the last couple of days, Apple finally lashed out.

It's not like we should be surprised, considering Apple has claimed in the past that jailbreaking is illegal -- but at the same time, did the Cupertino cronies hear about the ruling that made circumventing DRM, and thus jailbreaking, legal? Anyway, whether Toyota was supporting illegal, legal, or deliciously gray and ambiguous, activity, it doesn't matter: Apple asked Toyota to remove the theme, and Toyota graciously bent over and capitulated.

This story raises a much more interesting topic, though: this is the first time a multinational company has publicly acknowledged and embraced the jailbreak community. Considering jailbreaking is technically legal, and Cydia's creator, Jay Freeman, estimates that up to 9% of OS devices are jailbroken, it simply makes good, commercial sense to target jailbreakers with ads. Toyota was simply trying to make some money, for shame!

As long as Apple continues to throw around its increasingly-expansive mass, the legality of jailbreaking will continue to be inconsequential. It will be interesting to see if another big company dares embrace the jailbreak community after this, too.

Toyota pulls Cydia theme and ads to appease Apple originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 05:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/toyota-pulls-ios-jailbreak-theme-and-ads-to-appease-apple/

Rick Burgett James Christopher McMurray Hans Herrmann Call-Em-All

Windows 8 to feature adaptive Aero colorization, get it now on Windows 7

windows 8 aero colorization aura
While we've still yet to see anything truly Earth-shattering, the tandem of Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott continues to churn out insight about interesting new features they've discovered in Windows 8 milestone 3. The latest discovery is that Aero in Windows 8 will be able to automatically adapt itself to match your current wallpaper image. It's a bit like what Windows 7 already does with your taskbar icons: if a program alert needs your attention, the icon will glow using the predominant color (e.g. Firefox should glow orange).

And yes, you can already make Windows 7 behave this way if you like. Over at CodePlex, there's a little program called Aura that parks itself in your system tray and automatically adjusts your window borders to compliment your wallpaper images. The effect is quite nice, and you can try it out by minimizing your windows and cycling through your theme's wallpapers (right click on your desktop and choose next desktop background).

Windows 8 to feature adaptive Aero colorization, get it now on Windows 7 originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 07:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/windows-8-to-feature-adaptive-aero-colorization-get-it-now-on-w/

KONINKLIJKE KPN ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS COMMSCOPE Tony Gaze

Alan Kerr?s Vintage?s June 11 Release ? Tasting Notes

Veneto wines are the feature of this release and, as Father?s Day is on the horizon, there are several highly touted wines suggested as treats for dad and for those kiddies with really deep pockets, well do read on… THE WINES OF VENETO 029850 TENUTA SANT?ANTONIO MONTI GARBI RIPASSO VALPOLICELLA SUPERIORE 2008 Veneto $17.95 Notes [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gangofpour/uncZ/~3/CjfTHEI96Mw/vintages-june-11-release

Yodle (mt) Media Temple, Inc Ken Kavanagh Bruce Kessler

How To Decode Sherry Bottling Codes

Today is Wine Blogging Wednesday 70 and I’ve chosen Sherry in keeping with the theme of Spanish wines we have never had before. Sherry has a lot of issues gaining mindshare with the American consumer but one of the most basic is turnover of stock since some Sherries ?�Fino and Manzanilla in particular ?�are best [...]

How To Decode Sherry Bottling Codes originally appeared on Winecast. Licensed under Creative Commons.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Winecast/~3/9JTdUjQdJIQ/

Georges Grignard Clint Bowyer ELECTRONICS FOR IMAGING Eddie Johnson

Want A Google+ Invite Real Bad? Try eBay

So you still haven't gotten into the Google+ field trial, not even after Google allowed early users who did send invites for a while, and not even while there are loopholes abound? Desperate times call for desperate measures: break out your wallet and head on over to eBay, where Google+ invites are being sold for up to $75. What do you mean you're not insane?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/uzyaqWYJ_3Y/

Hans Herrmann Call-Em-All Ignazio Giunti Yodle

Burrito Bison is a simple game for gummy bear lovers

burritobison
Burrito Bison is a pretty simple game, but if you're into gummy bears you might find it addictive.

As you may have guessed from the name, you're a bison (not a burrito, though). In the course of your day-to-day grocery shopping, you're abducted into a bag of gummy bears, and must now fend for yourself.

At the beginning of each round you launch yourself onto the marching gummy (gummi?) bears, while you're being watched by a huge crowd of even more gummy bears. Your goal is to keep bouncing on the bears and earn more and more money while you do it. Every time you hit a gummy bear, you lose some momentum. If you hit the floor, you basically lose all of it.

But don't give up just yet! You have an emergency thrust which you can use to gain some momentum and keep bouncing on those bears. This extra thrust gets refilled as you hit more bears.

There are also special gummy bears that give you extra thrust or extra money. The money comes in handy at the end of each round, when you can shop for cool stuff to make your bison even more effective against those gummy bears.

It's a fun and colorful game that kept my interest for quite some time, and almost sent me running to the closest store to get some gummy bears!

Burrito Bison is a simple game for gummy bear lovers originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 26 Mar 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/26/burrito-bison-is-a-simple-game-for-gummy-bear-lovers/

Georges Grignard Clint Bowyer ELECTRONICS FOR IMAGING Eddie Johnson

Turntable.fm Smells Like Team Spirit [Music]

Like many Turntable.fm users, I remain in awe of this new service, which has taken certain music nerd parts of the world by storm even as it has restricted users to the United States. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/qe_9k0AaXwE/turntablefm-smells-like-team-spirit

Hans Herrmann Call-Em-All Ignazio Giunti Yodle

Interlocked is a three-dimensional brain teaser

interlocked
Back when I was a kid, I used to love crafting ornate puzzle boxes out of Lego. There would be just one way to open the box, by carefully shifting and rotating a bunch of pieces. Well, either that, or breaking the box in frustration.

Interlocked takes that spirit and turns it into a beautiful Flash game. It's a good thing the soundtrack is soothing, because the game itself can get pretty frustrating.

At the start of each level, you're presented with a box built out of blocks in different colors. You can click and drag the mouse to rotate the box any which way. Once you decide you want to shift a part of the box, hit SPACE to switch into "move" mode. You can then click any part of the box and drag it. Of course, you can only move a part as long as nothing is in its way. So it becomes a matter of understanding how the box is built, and what parts you need to move around so you could eventually take the box apart.

It's a tricky, difficult game, but it's a great brain teaser -- and definitely a keeper.

Interlocked is a three-dimensional brain teaser originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/29/interlocked-is-a-three-dimensional-brain-teaser/

RADISYS Suzanne Collins AutoClaims Direct Inc. David Ragan

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Wine Word of the Week: Solera

This week?s Wine Word of the Week is solera. Official definition from Jancis Robinson?s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Solera is a system of fractional blending used most commonly in Jerez for maintaining the consistency of a style of sherry, which takes its name from those barrels closest to the suelo, or floor, from which [...]

Wine Word of the Week: Solera was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/WinePeeps/~3/MTuFTesEv7s/

Miguel Ángel Guerra Walt Hansgen ecoATM SUN MICROSYSTEMS

Google Voice Search learns Latin American Spanish, Indonesian, and Malaysian

google voice search
Google Voice Search has just introduced localizations for Latin America, Indonesia and Malaysia, enabling native language search for hundreds of millions of users.

Google's official blog post offers some interesting insights into the process of collecting and analyzing the speech data needed to expand support. Thousands of hours were spent gathering voice samples and choosing key regional accents to analyze, and International Program Manager Linne Ha is clearly very appreciative of the Google users who helped the company complete the expansion. Without an enthusiastic base of users to lend a hand, Google Voice Search's polyglot powers would have been nearly impossible to deliver.

Google Voice Search learns Latin American Spanish, Indonesian, and Malaysian originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/google-voice-search-learns-latin-american-spanish-indonesian-a/

Al Herman Reprints Desk, Inc. Richie Ginther Automated Voice & Data Solutions

Nokia 700 'Zeta' caught in spyshots, ready to give mobile makeovers

While we're busy recovering from a recent overdose of Nokia eye candy, secret agents are hard at work hunting down more visual goodness for us to ogle at. These shots above are of the Nokia 700 "Zeta," which appears to be a replacement to the C6-01. The photos show it running on Symbian Belle -- Anna's successor -- and packed with a 5 megapixel camera, LED flash, and NFC support. The source indicates the Zeta will house a 1 GHz CPU and 3.2-inch nHD AMOLED display, weighs a smidge over 80g, and measures out at 10mm thick. Oddly enough, we dug up a leaked snapshot of the Zeta's spec sheet claiming it'll be the "thinnest smartphone ever," which at 10mm isn't anywhere close to earning that title.

Though no other phones were pictured, the spec sheet (shown below) brought attention to three other Symbian offerings on the roadmap: the Nokia 701 Helen has the best specs of the bunch with 8 megapixel camera and 3.5-inch ClearBlack display; there's the Nokia 600 Cindy with NFC, 5 megapixel shooter, and 3.2-inch AMOLED; also, we've likely seen the Nokia 500 Fate already leaked as the N5. There's no indication on when (or if) we can expect any of these phones to hit the market, but it looks like Mr. Elop is intent on keeping his promise. More photos after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Nokia 700 'Zeta' caught in spyshots, ready to give mobile makeovers

Nokia 700 'Zeta' caught in spyshots, ready to give mobile makeovers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 09:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Reg Hardware  |  sourceGSM Arena, Flashfly  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/cI1gD9uOV3Q/

Willi Krakau GOOGLE AMPHENOL Sarah Michelle Gellar

Alan Kerr?s Vintage?s May 28 Release ? Tasting Notes

As another barrage of Californian wines prepares to hit the shelves, the good news is some of them are very good and a couple are exceptional. However, the bad news is they are not cheap. As always, there are several wines to be found that won?t make the wallet wince so please read on. WINES [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/gangofpour/uncZ/~3/a44L6rWp70U/vintages-may-28-release-%e2%80%93-tasting-notes

Suzanne Collins AutoClaims Direct Inc. David Ragan Niki Lauda†

Color vulnerable to simple GPS hack, lets you spy on anyone, anywhere

Color, the $41-million-in-funding location-oriented photo sharing startup, is susceptible to simple GPS spoofing. With nothing more than a jailbroken iPad or iPhone, you can use FakeLocation to trick Color into thinking you're somewhere else. Within seconds you can be browsing photos that were snapped thousands of miles away. With a little digging, you can pore through photos not intended for your eyes.

Of course, such a hack isn't illegal as such -- every photo you take with Color is public. With FakeLocation you are simply circumventing Color's very limited location-oriented security mechanism. It does undermine Color's usefulness (and uniqueness), though -- if nefarious types can sit in their bedroom or basement and eavesdrop on classy dinner parties and wild night club soirees, people might be less inclined to share personal photos with those around them.

Fortunately, both for Color and its users, this is an easy security hole to plug -- at least in the short term. The app (or server-side) code simply checks to see if the user has 'teleported' an impossibly large distance, without any intermediate steps in between. In the long term, though, Color's users must be aware that its social graph is completely public. Color's users must realize that every photo they upload is visible by anyone, from any place.

After the break, just to elucidate a little on Color's actual business model and ultimate intention, we have two amazing quotes from Bill Nguyen, Color's founder.

Continue reading Color vulnerable to simple GPS hack, lets you spy on anyone, anywhere

Color vulnerable to simple GPS hack, lets you spy on anyone, anywhere originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 05:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/29/color-vulnerable-to-simple-gps-hack-lets-you-spy-on-anyone-any/

INSIGHT ENTERPRISES PerformLine, Inc Brad Keselowski Magnetic North Software Ltd

Mark Cuban, white Burgundy, NYC event ? sipped & spit

SIPPED: bling Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, celebrated the team’s NBA victory by ordering a $90,000 of Ace of Spades Champagne. No word on the exact size of the “huge” bottle, but I’m sure it was drained faster than you could say Salamanzar. While congratulations are in order for the Mavs’ victory [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/GuSC/~3/ZEjdtSuhVg4/

Kasey Kenneth Kahne Kitware, Inc. Sarah Gellman Lowe s Chevrolet

Source: http://thecaveman.blogspot.com/2009/03/madiran-2002-vieilles-vignes-chateau.html

FEI COMPANY Anthony Wayne Stewart CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR Ukyo Katayama

Google demands veto on OEM Android changes, stretches definition of 'open source'

Google, according to reports from "a dozen executives working at key companies in the Android ecosystem" is finally locking down the open source and easily-fragmented Android operating system.

As it currently stands, Google hands over the 'final' code for each version of Android, and OEMs and developers then spend some time customizing the OS to fit their hardware, and to create a unique and marketable flavor. That's all set to change, however.

Over the last few months, according to several people familiar with the matter, Android licensees such as HTC, Motorola and Facebook, have been asked to sign 'non-fragmentation clauses.' This new contract caveat will give Google the right to review and pass judgment on all changes to the Android OS. Two executives at Facebook say that they're unhappy that Google gets to review its changes to Android -- which is understandable, given Facebook and Google are direct competitors -- and there have also been allegations that Google is preventing some Verizon devices from shipping because they include Microsoft's Bing instead of Google search.

Continue reading Google demands veto on OEM Android changes, stretches definition of 'open source'

Google demands veto on OEM Android changes, stretches definition of 'open source' originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 07:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/google-demands-veto-on-android-changes-stretches-definition-of/

Beppe Gabbiani Trevor Bayne LEXMARK Mike Harris

Jive: 53 Percent Of Execs Believe They Must Adopt Social Business Or Risk Falling Behind

Social enterprise giant Jive is releasing a study today, called the Jive Social Business Index, which surveyed 902 US-�?based executives at large and mid-sized companies on their views of social in the enterprise. The study revealed that Social Business is increasingly perceived as a strategic executive imperative in the enterprise, with 78 percent of the executives surveyed admitting that having a social strategy is critical to the future success of their businesses.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/vonIvoreHng/

SCIENTIFIC GAMES Keith Greene Billy Garrett Michael Byrne

Skype gets Congressional approval, will help Representatives stay in touch with the common people

Look, Capitol Hill is a nice place to be, okay? There are interns eager to please, lobbyists keen to buy you dinner, why would you ever want to leave? Unfortunately for US Congressmen and women, the schleps who elected them insist on getting face time with their supposed representatives, which means a regular schedule of commuting getting in the way of some critically important foot massages and aromatherapy treatments. Never fear, though, Skype has come to the rescue. Microsoft's latest acquisition has scored a stamp of approval from the House of Representatives, permitting Congresspersons to use it to interact with constituents, attend virtual town hall meetings, and collaborate with other members of the House. All fun-making of lawmakers aside, this strikes us as a step in the right direction and Skype promises that it's done its homework on keeping communications secure. Let's hope so.

Skype gets Congressional approval, will help Representatives stay in touch with the common people originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ExtremeTech  |  sourceSkype  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/p0H9ka9Xo2Q/

INSIGHT ENTERPRISES PerformLine, Inc Brad Keselowski Magnetic North Software Ltd