Google Shopping spiffs up ahead of the holidays with Shortlists and 360-degree views

November 14, 2012

Google is getting ready for the holiday season by adding a bevy of features to its premier shopping products. The company's web-based Shopping search tool has received a number of tweaks, including reviews from friends and discount tracking. The most visually arresting change is certainly the addition of 360-degree interactive images. Only a few retailers have uploaded the content so far, and primarily the products available are toys, but it's a nice way to get virtually up-close and personal with the new Furby. Our favorite feature though is Shortlists, a tool that lets you create Pinterest-like collections of products, take notes on them and, if you so wish, share that list with friends and family for a collaborative shopping experience. The painfully cheesy video after the break demoes how Shortlists can help a couple work together to pick a wedding gift for a friend. It's hardly Earth shattering, but it's definitely a well implemented tool and you're not limited to items found through Google Shopping. The only thing that strikes us as odd is it's reliance on Drive's contact sharing model, rather than Google+. Head on after the break to see it in action.

[Source: Engadget]

Western Digital boosts entire MyBook Studio line with USB 3.0, adds 4TB model to the mix

November 14, 2012

After bumping its Thunderbolt and regular MyBook line with a couple of extra terabytes, Western Digitalturned its attention to its shiny MyBook Studio offerings to kick those up a notch too. WD's family of premium aluminum-clad drives finally gets USB 3.0 across the line, along with a new top-of-the-pack 4TB capacity model. All the Studio drives feature WD Security, seamless integration with Time Machine and a 3-year limited warranty. Pricing for the 1TB, 2TB, 3TB and 4TB drives are $159.99, $189.99, $239.99 and $299.99 respectively. Western Digital says they'll continue to offer older USB 2.0 and FireWire 800 models, just in case you're still struggling along with a storage-starved relic from the past.

[Source: Engadget]

Google bags patent for directions based on cell coverage

November 13, 2012

Want to get somewhere, but don't want to miss an email, or risk a break in the directions on the way? A patent granted to Google suggests it's been thinking about the very same thing. Read through the details, and it all sounds fairly familiar -- receiving origin and destination, planning a route etc. But, this time, there's the added hop of accessing wireless coverage data, and stirring that info into the returned directions mix. The flow charts in the literature suggest that this could be a user input option. So, along with the choice of fastest and most economical, maybe some day we'll be seeing one for "fastest data" too. Someone resurrect the term "information superhighway," and quick.

[Source: Engadget]

Updated Google Map Maker accents neighborhoods, shows changes in Activity Strea

November 13, 2012

Google wants you to think locally with its new Map Maker update featuring neighborhoods and an Activity Stream to track mapping changes. The site now launches into My Neighborhood mode, suggesting places you've rated or searched on Google Maps and allowing you to add and edit your own haunts. From there, a list of your changes (or those of other users) can be viewed in the left-hand pane and filtered by review, date or category. You can also see additions anywhere in your current map view by panning, zooming or searching and even help other users out by reviewing pending edits. If you're ready to channel your inner cartographer, check the source.

[Source: Engadget]

Steven Sinofsky leaves Microsoft, Julie Larson-Green and Tami Reller take the Windows reins (update: Sinofsky email)

November 13, 2012

It's an eventful month for Microsoft in more ways than one -- its long-serving executive (and Windows lead) Steven Sinofsky is leaving the company, effective immediately. Internet Explorer, Office and Windows interface veteran Julie Larson-Green will be taking on most of his duties by heading up all Windows development, including hardware "opportunities" like Surface; CFO and CMO Tami Reller will take on the pure business and marketing sides of the OS. Microsoft declined to comment to us regarding the departure, although there's rumors of an uncanny parallel to Scott Forstall's departure at Apple --AllThingsD claims that there was "growing tension" between Sinofsky and fellow executives. Whatever the reason Sinofsky left and regardless of where he's going, the move deprives Microsoft of an executive known for getting the development trains running on time.

Windows-focused writer Paul Thurrott has obtained a copy of Sinofsky's email, which might shed some light on the departure. He portrays it as the outcome of some post-launch reflection and a chance to "seek new opportunities" based on his experience. It's clear Sinofsky anticipated that critics would be suspicious -- he's adamant that it was a personal decision and not the result of an internal scuffle. The sudden exit, he claims, is to help make "space" for his new replacements.

[Source: Engadget]

Google, Amazon and Starbucks to face inquiry from UK legislators over alleged tax avoidance

November 12, 2012

Executives from Google, Amazon, and Starbucks will field questions from UK legislators today, amid allegations that the companies aren't paying their fair share of domestic taxes. As Reuters reports, Google UK CEO Matt Brittin, Amazon Public Policy Director Andrew Cecil, and Starbucks Global CFO Troy Alstead will present evidence Monday afternoon to Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is responsible for overseeing government finances.

At issue is an apparent discrepancy between the companies' global profits and their UK income taxes. Google, for instance, reported $4 billion in UK sales in 2011, but paid just $2.1 million (£1.3 million) in UK taxes, due to the fact that it funnels all non-US income through its Irish subsidiary. Amazon uses a similar strategy to keep its UK tax rate low, channeling European sales through a subsidiary based in Luxembourg. Last year, the retailer reported UK sales worth between $5.3 billion and $7.2 billion, on which it paid less than $1.6 million (£1 million) in taxes.

[Source: The Verge]

AMD's dual-GPU FirePro S10000 gobbles watts, spews out nearly 6 TFLOPs for server graphics

November 12, 2012

It can't be easy, running a modern IT department. Not only are people making ever more graphics-hungry demands on your servers, but NVIDIA and AMD are locked in an unending spec war that can make it hard to keep up with the market. The FirePro S10000 is merely the latest salvo: a dual-GPU, server-focused version of the W9000 that greatly increases overall compute power, delivering 5.91 TFLOPs of single precision calculations and 1.48 TFLOPS of dual precision performance in a single PCIe 3.0 card with 6GB of GDDR5 RAM. Even though the Graphics Core Next GPUs have been slightly underclocked to 825GHz, and even though they technically offer better performance per watt than a single-GPU configuration, their overall 375w power draw could still get you in trouble with your local power station. That level of consumption is around 50 percent higher than a regular server card like the S9000 or Tesla K10 and it may well require you to research new server cases and coolers in addition to weighing up the $3,600 cost for the component itself. See? This was never going to be straightforward.

[Source: Engadget]

Apple and HTC reach global patent dispute settlement, agree to ten-year licensing agreement

November 11, 2012

Apple and HTC have announced that the two companies have reached a global settlement regarding the two firm’s multiple patent infringement lawsuits. The agreement is on a global-scale and includes a ten-year licensing agreement. All current lawsuits have been dismissed.

TAIPEI, Taiwan and CUPERTINO, California—November 10, 2012—HTC and Apple® have reached a global settlement that includes the dismissal of all current lawsuits and a ten-year license agreement. The license extends to current and future patents held by both parties. The terms of the settlement are confidential.

“We are glad to have reached a settlement with HTC,” said Tim Cook, CEO of Apple. “We will continue to stay laser focused on product innovation.” Peter Chou, HTC’s CEO, said “HTC is pleased to have resolved its dispute with Apple, so HTC can focus on innovation instead of litigation.”

[Source: 9to5Mac - Click here to read the full story]

Google services grind to a halt in China, political transition suspected as the culprit

November 10, 2012

As eagerly as Google has gone through routing acrobatics to minimize the Chinese government's ability to censor and spy on its its services, it's still at the mercy of the Great Firewall. The company might have just run head-first into the bricks as of Friday. As confirmed by some of our own staff, all of Google's services stopped working in China for at least the better part of a day despite the search firm verifying that everything was in good working order. Officials haven't confirmed that anything was afoot, but it's easy to raise the specter of possible censorship given local political maneuvering. The once-a-decade Communist Party Congress began on Thursday, and the establishment may have wanted to cut off a relatively unfiltered line of communication for dissidents during a transition of power. We're hearing that access may have ameliorated in at least parts of the country, which would be a pleasant surprise -- not that a sudden improvement in service will cheer up those who know they still face a backlog.

[Source: Engadget]

Arduino Micro shrinks your favorite DIY platform down to ridiculous proportions

November 9, 2012

With the Arduino Leonardo, everyone's favorite hackable microcontroller turned a new page. Now it's time to bring that simplified design and slightly expanded feature set to the rest of the family, including the itty-bitty Arduino Micro. The tiny, embed-friendly board was designed with help from Adafruit Industries, one of the biggest players in the DIY market. At the heart of the Micro is the same 16MHz ATmega32u4 chip that powers the Leonardo, which means all the necessary USB controls are baked into the processor. Obviously, the layout here is different, so you wont be mounting the Micro to any shields, but with 20 digital I/O pins, 12 analog input channels and seven PWM channels, there's plenty of room for wiring up your own expansions. Amazingly it crams all that capability in a package just 48mm long and 18mm wide. The Arduino Micro will be available exclusively through Radio Shack and Adafruit first before becoming more widely available next month. The board is available with headers for €21 (roughly $27) and without headers for €18 (about $23). For more, check out the PR after the break.

[Source: Engadget]

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