Lustancia's TapNav app takes your iPhone for an AR-assisted spin

For better or worse, it seems that GPS services are rapidly approaching their mid-life crisis. After rampaging through a host of makeovers (see more: here and here) that would make even the most ADD-popstar dizzy, the phoenix of the navigation industry is now trying its hand at a new augmented mobile reality. Sitting pretty at $2.99 in the App Store, Lustancia's TapNav app swaps the virtual maps for a real-time AR overlay via your iPhone's camera. It's not a killer feature by any means, but if you've ever found yourself wondering just which turn your PND is indicating, then this is for you. Sexy robot-voice assistance and routing stay free, but you'll have to pony up for that turn-by-turn navigation after the sixty day paid trial. Astonishingly brief press release after the break.

Continue reading Lustancia's TapNav app takes your iPhone for an AR-assisted spin

Lustancia's TapNav app takes your iPhone for an AR-assisted spin originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New phase-changing alloy turns waste heat into green energy, exhibits spontaneous magnetism (video)

New phase-changing alloy turns waste heat into green energy, exhibits spontaneous magnetism (video)Looks like harvesting waste heat is all the rage in 2011. Yet another team of researchers -- this time at the University of Minnesota -- has found a way to harness energy from our hot castoffs. The group has apparently created a brand spanking new alloy that spontaneously creates energy when its temperature is raised by a small amount. Future uses for the material, known as Ni45Co5Mn40Sn10, include charging a hybrid car's battery with the help of waste heat from its exhaust. So what's the trick? Well, this wonder material is a phase changer, meaning it can go from non-magnetic to magnetic in moments, when the temperature rises. When that happens, the alloy absorbs heat, and bam! You've got electricity. The team is also collaborating with chemical engineers to create a thin film version of the material that could be used to convert waste heat from computers. If phase changing gets you all hot and bothered, check out a video demonstration of the alloy's sudden magnetism after the break.

Continue reading New phase-changing alloy turns waste heat into green energy, exhibits spontaneous magnetism (video)

New phase-changing alloy turns waste heat into green energy, exhibits spontaneous magnetism (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Jun 2011 08:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LaCie's CloudBox 'hybrid HDD' doubles your backups in the cloud (video)

LaCie CloudBox
Tempted by the allure of the cloud? Still not quite ready to give up that local backup at home? Fret not, as LaCie's new CloudBox gives you a pinch of both. The gizmo pictured above may look similar to the company's Wireless Space NAS, but it's actually a 100GB "hybrid HDD." The device connects to a router exclusively via its single Ethernet port, enabling it to handle local backups while also automatically mirroring an AES encrypted copy to a cloud server daily -- even if your computer is off. Using LaCie's Online Restore software, the offsite copy is accessible by up to ten previous volumes should the box ever become inoperable. The CloudBox comes with a one year subscription for online backups (mum's the word on future fees), and will be available in July priced at $200. You'll find more details in the PR past the break, as well as a video showcasing a variety of unfortunate -- mostly baby induced -- situations it's intended for.

Continue reading LaCie's CloudBox 'hybrid HDD' doubles your backups in the cloud (video)

LaCie's CloudBox 'hybrid HDD' doubles your backups in the cloud (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jun 2011 08:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/24/lacies-cloudbox-hybrid-hdd-doubles-your-backups-in-the-cloud/

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Faster Forward: Fox settles disputes with Cablevision, Dish Network

Cablevision and Dish Network subscribers can stop worrying about missing the end of the World Series: Over the weekend, the two TV services settled separate carriage disputes with Fox Networks that ended one standoff and avoided another.

Source: http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=6d4e9f3b2e7583f08a5cebd218d879ca

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Microsoft Stores: Vital or Sideshow?

Microsoft is on the path to opening new retail stores across the United States.

The company already has outlets in Arizona (1), Colorado (1), California (3), Illinois (1), Minnesota (1) and Washington (1). Add to that list Georgia, with a big store opening in Atlanta, and Texas, with a location in Houston. (ZDNet's always-thorough Mary Jo Foley offers a complete breakdown of cities here, along with a link to a job listing for an upcoming Los Angeles location.)

Microsoft has been dipping its toe very cautiously into the retail waters. Back in late 2009, after the company opened its first store in Scottsdale, Ariz. and a second in Mission Viejo, Calif., a spokesperson told me: "We will open these first two stores, listen to and learn from consumers, evolve the model, and open additional stores as quickly as it makes business sense."

That represented something of a toning-down of Microsoft's previous rhetoric. At the Worldwide Partner Conference in summer 2009, Microsoft Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner told an audience that the company was "on the offensive" against Apple, and willing "to take some of these hard market-share opportunities head-on." Presumably, that meant a battle on the retail level, where Apple enjoys a significant presence.

Microsoft even went so far as to hire George Blankenship, a former Gap executive who helped launch Apple's retail efforts in 2001. But as time passed, only a handful of stores opened--and until Atlanta and Houston, Microsoft seemed more interested in smaller cities as potential locations.

"Microsoft will open a ninth store this year in Seattle," read an April 26 posting on WinRumors. "Microsoft is also rumored to be launching stores in New York, Houston and Orlando later this year too."

That suggests those initial stores performed well, right? I mean, it's not like Microsoft's ever poured millions of dollars into a concept that didn't work out.

Whether they prove a loss leader, Microsoft's stores do serve one vital purpose: helping reaffirm Microsoft as a consumer brand unto itself. Manufacturing partners such as Hewlett-Packard (with its webOS, soon to appear on tablets, smartphones and PCs) and Dell (with its Android-based tablets) have shown a terrifying lack of fidelity to the Redmond mother-ship of late, and retail partners like Best Buy aren't exactly in the business of exclusively promoting Microsoft's products.

In light of that, and no matter what the condition of their balance sheets, Microsoft's stores serve to generate a sort of brand equity. It's certainly worked for Apple, whose stores served as an effective brand ambassador since long before the release of the iPhone or iPad.

In reality, though, the launch of a successful product line (like, hey, a tablet that runs a lightweight OS!) would probably do more for the Microsoft name than a few stores that sell Xbox 360s and Windows 7 PCs mercifully free of bloatware. The retail locations might give Microsoft a little boost, but ultimately they remain a minor component (or, if you want to be unkind, a sideshow) within the much larger endeavor of selling Microsoft's products in a rapidly changing and aggressive marketplace.


Source: http://feeds.ziffdavisenterprise.com/~r/RSS/MicrosoftWatch/~3/ve5tPIaLKbY/microsoft_stores_vital_or_sideshow.html

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Alonso pleased with positive start

Fernando Alonso says there are several reasons to be positive about the Scuderia's performance, having delighted his home fans by topping the second practice session in Valencia. It was a promising opening day for Ferrari, as Alonso finished third fastest in free practice one and Massa placed inside the top six in both sessions

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/alonso-pleased-with-positive-start/

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