Month: September 2013

Government Politics

Cutting the cord: Brazil’s bold plan to combat the NSA

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As reported on The Verge. By Amar Toor President Dilma Rousseff wants to route internet traffic away from the US, but experts say it will do little to deter American espionage Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff (left) meets with President Barack Obama at the White House in 2012. Revelations about the American government’s ongoing electronic surveillance have sent shockwaves across the globe, but few countries have reacted as boldly as Brazil, where lawmakers are currently considering a plan…

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Google

Gmail For Android Updated With Card-Style Layout

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As reported on TechCrunch. by SARAH PEREZ Google’s Gmail application for Android is being updated today with a new design which will bring Google’s now preferred “card style” user interface to the Conversation View within the app. This layout, which Google popularized through its Google Now search application, has become the new go-to design paradigm at Google, arriving across other Google products and services, including Google Drive, the new Google Wallet apps, Maps, Google+ and elsewhere. It mimics the idea of…

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Mobile

Of Course Samsung Is Now Making A Gold GS4

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As reported on TechCrunch. by MATT BURNS I’m going to try to write this without mentioning the gold iPhone 5s. Samsung just took the wraps off of two gold-themed Galaxy S4 smartphones: Gold Pink and Gold Brown. Both options are seemingly cosmetic updates to Samsung’s Android flagship. I can’t do it. This news comes just two weeks after Apple revealed the gold iPhone 5s. And if recent reports are correct, the demand for the gold version…

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Application Culture Imagery

Excel’s Power Maps take bar graphs to some new and mildly interesting places

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As reported on Engadget. By Mariella Moon There are only so many ways one can juice up boring Excel data, but Microsoft’s new Power Map Preview for Office 365 looks like it’s up to the challenge. The 3D map visualizer has just graduated from “project” status with a handful of features sure to please number crunchers and map lovers alike. Power Map can automatically recognize geographical data in your spreadsheets — from latitude and longitude coordinates to city or country…

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Business Education Tablet

LA officials may delay school iPad rollout after students hack them in a week

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As reported on Engadget. By Matt Brian Just a week after it began the first phase of putting iPads in the hands of all 640,000 students in the state, the Los Angeles school district already has a fight on its hands. In a matter of days, 300 children at Theodore Roosevelt High School managed to work around protective measures placed on the Apple tablets, giving them complete access to features — including Facebook, Twitter and other apps —…

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Tablet Tech Trends

Surface blades: Microsoft bets on accessories as the future of tablets

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As reported on The Verge. By Tom Warren Microsoft’s biggest announcement this week wasn’t its Surface 2 or Surface Pro 2tablets, or even what was inside them. It was a surprising Music Cover and the thinner, more impressive second-generation Touch Cover. Instead of rethinking the core concepts behind the Surface itself, Microsoft is getting adventurous with the accessories. For the Music Cover, the company worked with Joe Hahn of Linkin Park to launch a product designed specifically to allow…

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Mobile

Samsung to introduce ‘curved display smartphone’ in October

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As reported on The Verge. By Nathan Ingraham At an event today in Seoul, Korea dedicated mainly to showing off the Galaxy Gear and Galaxy Note 3, Samsung executives said that the company plans to “introduce a curved display smartphone in October,” but declined to give any further details — including price, exact release date, or even what operating system it would be using. Samsung has technically released curved-screen phones before — the Nexus S had…

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Business Tablet

Amazon Announces The Kindle HDX 7- And 8.9-Inch Tablets With High-Res Screens, 2GHz Processors

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As reported on TechCrunch. by JOHN BIGGS Amazon has upped the Fire tablet ante with two new HDX models in 7- and 8.9-inch sizes with brand-new, high-resolution screens and running an updated Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor at 2GHz. Both models have adaptive screens that change brightness according to the ambient light and a special reading mode that will keep the tablet alive for 17 hours of uninterrupted reading. The new models are considerably thinner than the original Fire models.…

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Google Story

Google Offers now lets you clip coupons without paying in advance

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As reported on Engadget. By Mariella Moon Mountain View wants you to know that Google Offers isn’t another Groupon copycat, that’s why the service is now taking a different approach. Whereas you’ve previously had to pay for discount vouchers in advance, you can now clip them for free and thenpay for purchases in-store, making Offers more convenient to use. The company’s also introducing coupons outside the main Offers app, adding them to Wallet, Maps and Search, as well as programming Google Now to flash…

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Business Hardware Dev

Roku’s new product line: it’s as simple as 1, 2, 3 (hands-on)

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As reported on Engadget. By Daniel Cooper To say that today’s a big day for Roku is a bit of an understatement. Not only is the company revamping its entire product lineup, there’s also the small matter of the UK launch of the Roku 3 to consider. Whereas before, American users had to decide between the LT, HD, 2XD and 3, the company has now adopted a much simpler device lineup: Okay, Good, Better and Best. So, is this the move…

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