Windows 8 wallpaper available to download, Jupiter and Twin UI spotted

With Windows 8 milestone 3 now up for grabs for select Microsoft Connect partners, it's inevitable that leaked bits and pieces will start popping up around the Web. In fact, the first "official" wallpaper image from the still-brewing OS is already making the rounds.

As you can see, it's got a similar feel to the good ol' Windows 7 default background, but features a more subdued smattering of cerulean hues. Those of you who want to use the Windows 8 wallpaper on your current desktop can download it from our file dump.

A few other details have been revealed, too. According to ZDNet's source, the Windows 8 Jupiter libraries and Twin UI are starting to take shape -- though all that's been located thus far are "[various files] scattered throughout the OS" and the aptly-named twinui.dll.

Windows 8 wallpaper available to download, Jupiter and Twin UI spotted originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/download-windows-8-wallpaper/

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Facebook launches unified mobile site, announces 250 million mobile users

Facebook has announced that its two mobile sites -- m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com -- have been unified, bringing a simpler mobile experience to Facebook users. And there are a lot of those -- a quarter billion, according to Facebook.

Smartphone users won't be losing any functionality because of the consolidation. If your phone supported the enhacned features offered by touch.facebook.com, the new site will automatically flip the switch when you visit.

Rolling the sites together helps simplify things for Facebook's developer team. Now changes can be pushed to a single site instead of two separate sites, which makes it easier to ensure that all mobile users receive a nearly identical experience regardless of the device they're using.

The new Facebook mobile can also check to see if your phone supports geolocation. If it doesn't, you won't be seeing much of Facebook Places -- which obviously relies heavily on geolocation. Images can also be optimized on the fly to keep page performance from suffering on less powerful devices. You can see the three different versions of the share button below, courtesy our friends at TechCrunch.

Facebook launches unified mobile site, announces 250 million mobile users originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/facebook-launches-unified-mobile-site-announces-250-million-mob/

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Motorola Pro+ announced with Gingerbread, few other improvements

As it turns out, Plus is becoming the new Moto sequel. Soon after announcing the Defy+, a phone that offers a moderate bump in specs from its predecessor, HelloMoto is back at it again with the Pro+. This obvious follow-up to the Motorola Pro (or Droid Pro, as it's known in the US) doesn't bring much of an improvement to the table. It's adorned with the same 1GHz CPU, 3.1-inch VGA (640 x 480) display, 512MB of RAM and five megapixel camera; the largest differences in the new model are the inclusion of Android 2.3, 4GB of internal storage, an improved battery (1,600mAh) and a rounded design -- in contrast to the original's squared look. It's due in Asia and Europe starting in October, so keep an eye out... if that "Plus" is enough to excite you. Head below for the full press release.

Continue reading Motorola Pro+ announced with Gingerbread, few other improvements

Motorola Pro+ announced with Gingerbread, few other improvements originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/dpVimL8cvtc/

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9 Pieces of Scrap Electronics Repurposed as Art

You may look at an old computer and see a pile of junk. Joe Dragt sees canvases and sculpture.

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/08/scrap-electronics-as-art/

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

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/

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British royal family announces iOS and Android wedding app

To celebrate the imminent marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Royal Collection will release an Android an iOS app that chronicles the last seven royal marriages, including Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert in 1840.

Ironically, the app won't actually feature anything to do with William and Kate's marriage -- rather, it will focus on the "tradition, splendor and romance" that are intrinsic to British royal marriages. "[The app] will share the stories of past royal weddings and offer a wealth of historical context for the ceremony on April 29."

Unfortunately, the app, which has been lumbered with the fantastically creative name of 'Royal App,' won't be available until April 18 -- just 11 days before Kate's big day. It won't be free, either: it'll cost the rather princely sum of £1.79, or three of your Tea Party-loving dollars. The money will go to the Royal Collection, though, which is a good cause!

British royal family announces iOS and Android wedding app originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/british-royal-family-announces-ios-and-android-wedding-app/

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Opera 11.10 includes improved power saving features

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/

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Bowers and Wilkins Zeppelin Lightning Review: High Fidelity, High Price, High on the Christmas List [Audio]

You can get an iPod dock for $50, and it'll do everything you'd expect: play your music, charge your phone. So how the hell can you justify spending $600 on one? You find something that surprises and delights you. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/v_PfzMI5Dxo/bowers-and-wilkins-zeppelin-lightning-review-high-fidelity-high-price-high-up-on-the-christmas-list

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Nichicon lays claim to the world's smallest EV chargers with NGQ-202, NGQ-203 models

Although it'll still be hard to misplace in your pile of electronics, a company called Nichicon has launched what it says is the world's smallest chargers for electric vehicles, the NGQ-A202 and the NGQ-A302. By using what the company calls advanced module technology, it was able to shrink its EV charger down by 50 percent to around 59 x 13.8 x 23.6 inches, also reducing the weight by up to 66 percent. Compatible with the ChAdeMO standard, these 20-30kW chargers will work with electric vehicles like Mitsubishi's i-MiEV and the Nissan Leaf, taking between 35 and 60 minutes to fully power your whip. Charging doesn't come cheap, however, as the batteries are said to retail between $24,600 and $27,000 when they launch sometime in October. Next step -- cutting the cord and going wireless, perhaps? Check out the full PR after the break.

Continue reading Nichicon lays claim to the world's smallest EV chargers with NGQ-202, NGQ-203 models

Filed under: Transportation

Nichicon lays claim to the world's smallest EV chargers with NGQ-202, NGQ-203 models originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Aug 2011 06:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

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Magic: The Self-Inflating Bike Tire

Believe it or not, I have actually read complaints from people on cycling forums where they whine about having to pump up their tires once a month. Presumably these slobs never wash the dishes, either. Or even get out of bed.
But while I can’t fix their filthy kitchens, I can point them to the PumpTire, [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/08/magic-the-self-inflating-bike-tire/

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This Clock Won't Be Late for Another Ten Million Years, Give or Take [Time]

That hunk of metal to the right is the world's most accurate clock, say people with more knowledge of time and atomic clocks than anyone else. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8-NN5U8XFoM/the-worlds-most-accurate-timepiece-resides-in-london

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Anytone Smart Cover Power for iPad 2

Brando has a new external power supply for iPad 2 that can be attached to the Smart Cover so it’s always there if you need it. �The Anytone �Smart Cover Power battery is 3,000mAh Li-ion polymer (5V, 1A) and recharges from USB using the included USB to micro USB cable. �It also comes with a [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/08/26/anytone-smart-cover-power-for-ipad-2/

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Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4

When Firefox 4's tab grouping tool, Panorama, had its keyboard shortcut changed to the finger-breaking combo of Ctrl+Shift+E, we thought Panorama would get dropped before FF4's final release -- but, thankfully, it made the cut!

If you've used Firefox 4 and Panorama, you might have noticed that Mozilla's new browser doesn't always save your tab groupings when you close the browser -- a bit of a pain, if you spend a long time setting up the perfect groups! This is tied into the removal of the 'Save and Quit' dialog box -- and enabling Panorama tab group saving is just a matter of re-enabling the Save and Quit dialog.

Open a new tab and head to about:config. Click through the warning and type 'quit' into the filter box. Double click browser.showQuitWarning to change its value to true (see image after the break). That's it -- now you'll have the option of saving your tabs, and thus tab groups, when you close Firefox.

For more tech tips, visit our tips index.

Continue reading Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4

Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/save-your-tabs-and-panorama-tab-groups-in-firefox-4/

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Sand Trap is a fun and difficult physics maze game

Sand Trap is one of those games that at first seem too hard to bother with, but when you try to stop playing it you discover you're hooked.

The goal is to get as much sand as you possibly can out of the maze and into the bucket at the bottom of the screen. You need to rotate your maze every which way to get the sand rolling around it. You then try to direct the sand to one of the exits of the maze, and hopefully into the bucket. It took me several tries to actually get sand into the bucket, but that might be due to the fact that I didn't even realize the bucket was there at first. Things improved significantly after that.

As you level up, the mazes get more complicated, with moving parts and other things making your life more difficult. Once you manage to get through all these obstacles and get enough sand into your bucket, you can move on.

As I mentioned, this is not an easy game, but it's highly addictive. The graphics remind me of some long lost game from the 80s, but this just proves that you don't need super graphics and crazy sound to make a game work. There's a soothing guitar track playing in the background and that's it, as far as I could hear, and you can enjoy it just as much with no sound at all.

If you like a fun physics challenge, don't miss out on this one!

Sand Trap is a fun and difficult physics maze game originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/sand-trap-is-a-fun-physics-maze-game/

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Microsoft gesture patents reveal possible dual-screen tablet focus

Earlier this year, we heard a slew of whispers promising a late winter launch for Microsoft's Windows 8 tablets -- there was even mention of a tab-specific OS. While it's become clear that Redmond intends for its new operating system to run on multiple devices, insight into its tablet plans are still somewhat shrouded in mystery. From the looks of these gesture patents, however, it's clear MS has been eyeing a dual-screen tablet future (hello Courier). The recently published patents, not yet granted to the company, touch upon methods for off-screen input (read: bezel-based), but mainly focus on these multi-screen input options: dual tap, pinch and expand, hold and page-flip, hold and tap, and finally, bookmark hold. As you can glimpse from the image above, the patents handle simultaneous touch screen input, allowing a user the ability to swap images between screens, or even freeze a page on one side while continuing to browse on the other. By the looks of things, Sony might have some fierce competition in the multi-screen tablet market. Head to the source below to get a fuller look at these touch-based solutions.

Microsoft gesture patents reveal possible dual-screen tablet focus originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/5q6v1UB-MDU/

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