New YouTube tools make anyone an animator

We feel a surge of viral videos in the making! YouTube puts animation controls at your fingertips with newly integrated apps.

There’s a camera included on just about electronic device these days, so we’re not sure who exactly doesn’t have access to one. But if you don’t and want to upload (mostly) self-created content to YouTube, the site is offering users some new tools. GoAnimate, Stupeflix Video Maker, and Xtranormal Movie Maker are all now integrated into YouTube and you need nothing more than a Google account to use the programs. These are pre-existing apps that YouTubers have already been using to create animated content for the site, but coming pre-installed simply means Google is eliminating one step.

Seeing as original content is something Google is eying for YouTube, encouraging visitors to flex their creative muscles isn’t a bad idea. Each of the animators has an extremely friendly UI while still allowing users to dip a toe into the video editing process. And of course, the developers of these apps are hugely benefiting from the exposure – almost too much. The influx of new users has made their programs a little laggy, but they’re working to accommodate the popularity surge.

Google’s been investing more time and money in YouTube recently, and it’s pretty clear its becoming a top priority among its various Web properties. If anything, this latest, fairly minute upgrade just makes us wonder what Google sees for YouTube’s future: On one hand, it’s giving users more than it ever has before. On the other, it’s clearly keeping a keen eye on original, even professional, content.

YouTube also announced on its blog that very soon it will require all accounts to be through Google: The singular YouTube account will be no more and all pre-May 2009 users will have to bite the bullet and get on board with the single sign-on system.

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Real-life flying ‘Up’ house goes airborne

Some things belong only in the world of animated movies, but if you believed a floating house tied to balloons was one them, you’d be wrong. National Geographic decided to try its hand at recreating the balloon house from Pixar’s Up, and used hundreds of eight foot tall weather balloons to take a 2,000 pound brick house (complete with passengers) skyward.

The experiment wasn’t for whimsy alone. The project was part of National Geographic’s coming series How Hard Can it Be? and also earned its participants (which included the likes of balloon pilots, scientists, and engineers) the new world record for “largest balloon cluster flight ever attempted.”

The new television series debuts this fall, so set a reminder now to tune in and watch the balloon house madness go down.

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Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga attacks from above with a gameplay trailer

Originally released as the games Divinity II: Ego Draconis and the expansion pack Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance, The Dragon Knight Saga combines the two into one special edition package.

RPG fans looking for something a little bit different might want to take a look at the upcoming collection, Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga, which offers a full game, a lengthy expansion, and pre-orders even get the soundtrack.

If the name Divinity II sounds familiar, that is because it was already released on both PC and the Xbox 360. The PC version was met with moderate critical and commercial success, while the 360 port was criticized for numerous glitches. Developer Larian has heard those complaints and decided to remaster the original game for the 360, then release it for just $39.99.

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Facebook revamps and reintroduces Questions

After an initial test run last year, Facebook's making an official go with its Questions application.

Facebook has relaunched its Questions application and turned it into a succinct, sleek, poll-taking machine. There’s nothing Quora-like about this feature: Facebook doesn’t want your personal diatribes about anything. Instead the application works like an addition to the user status and lets you ask your network their opinion and force them to vote for an answer or provide their own.

“We wanted to make questions easier and faster to answer. With the updated Questions you can agree with an existing answer with a single click, or you can add a different response,” writes Facebook staffer Adrian Graham.

Anytime Facebook introduces a new feature, there’s bound to be complaints. This time we think it might have something to do with the visibility of users’ Questions. In order to “cast a wider net,” Facebook has determined that not only your friends, but their friends, can respond to your queries. However, you’ll see your own friends answers first. From the initial look and sound of it, the application is intended to be used for quick poll taking – for example, advice on the best local burger, or quickest way to get to the airport.

And there’s a concrete difference between this and Quora, for anyone feeling like Facebook is taking advantage of the growing site’s niche: The Quora community is exclusive and the Facebook community is not. While users are more than welcome to ask whatever they like on Quora, its focus is definitely not on the trivial. And of course, Facebook is so heavily populated you are more likely to get real time answers from your friends (and their friends).

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Call of Duty: Black Ops is the best selling game in US of all time

Call of Duty series has been popular since its first game, and speaking of Call of Duty games, it seems that the latest game from Call of Duty series has now achieved one amazing milestone.


Call of Duty: Black Ops might be a highly controversial game due to its terrorist related content, but it’s also the best-selling game in the United States according to the National Purchase Diary. In just five months, Activision has managed to sell 13.7 million copies of Black Ops across all platforms. That’s a huge success for Activision and the Call of Duty franchise, but it seems that critics aren’t pleased with Activision’s tactics saying that Activision focuses on annual releases of their best selling franchises. According to the critics, annual releases might become boring to the fans, but 13.7 million sold copies say otherwise.

Read more: Call of Duty: Black Ops is the best selling game in US of all time | GadgetLite - Latest gadgets and technology news http://www.gadgetlite.com/2011/03/22/call-duty-black-ops-selling-game/#ixzz1HZ8ahuMa
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PS3 firmware 3.6 jailbroken?

Sony has put a lot of effort into keeping its PlayStation 3 free from hackers and jailbreak tools, but no matter how hard they have tried, hackers always find a solution to hack the latest firmware.

Although the latest firmware is relatively new, hackers have found a way to jailbreak it. As you know, in case of jailbraking, hackers and jailbreakers would face bans, arrests, or even the legal charges, but that doesn’t stop people from jailbraking the PS3. Hacker known as ThatBoringHacker has recently posted a video on YouTube that shows him running the homebrew software on 3.6 firmware. It seems that ThatBoringHacker has managed to hack the firmware on accident and now he can run homebrew software on his PS3. However, ThatBoringHacker hasn’t shared his knowledge or tools with the world.

PS3 firmware 3.6 is now jailbroken, but we have to ask ourselves, how does a person jailbreak a PS3 firmware on accident, and what will be Sony’s response

Read more: PS3 firmware 3.6 jailbroken? | GadgetLite - Latest gadgets and technology news http://www.gadgetlite.com/2011/03/23/ps3-firmware-3-6-jailbroken/#ixzz1HZ8A5s2w
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HTC EVO 3D smartphone announced

HTC has also entered the 3D world after announcing its latest 3D Gingerbread Android – HTC EVO 3D. It allows you to view 3D contents without wearing any 3D glasses. Images will pop out of it and you can experience the 3D effect.

It has a 4.3-inch capacitive touch screen that packs a QHD resolution of 540 x 960 pixels. It runs on speedy 1.2 GHz dual core processor and has an internal storage of 1 GB. Its RAM is 1 GB and you can expand it further using the microSD card slot. As it is a 3D smartphone, it has 3 cameras, 2 on its back (five megapixel each) and 1 in the front (1.3 megapixel). It also boasts a number of sensors like gyroscope, accelerometer, compass, proximity and ambient light sensors.

The handset also allows for various types of connectivity including WiFi and 3G. The 3G is good for 14.4Mbps of download speed and 5.76Mbps of upload speed.

Read more: HTC EVO 3D smartphone announced | GadgetLite - Latest gadgets and technology news http://www.gadgetlite.com/2011/03/24/htc-evo-3d-smartphone-announced/#ixzz1HZ7q24Ws
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Latest ViewSonic ViewPad 10, a dual-booting Windows 7 / Android 1.6 tablet

ViewSonic ViewPad 10 is a tablet with two operating systems, Windows 7 and Android 1.6, organised in a dual-boot configuration on an Intel x86 processor platform.

Under its pretty design is hidden an Intel Atom N455 at 1.66GHz, single-core model with HyperThreading Technology, 2GB RAM and a 16GB SSD for hosting the two operating systems.

Fortunately, the limited capacity of internal memory can be extended only with microSD memory card slot, or resorting to external storage devices connected via USB 2.0. On the media side we have a mini-HDMI connector, a 3.5 mm headphone jack and a 1.3 MP webcam for video conferencing applications.

At first impression, ViewSonic ViewPad 10 seems to run smoothly on both operating systems, despite using only a single-core processor. ViewSonic ViewPad 10 uses a NVIDIA Tegra 2 platform and runs on Android 2.2 with a custom user interface.

The ViewSonic ViewPad 10 is expected to launch within the next month, with a retail price of $599 for the one with 16GB, while the 32GB model will be available for $679.

Read more: Latest ViewSonic ViewPad 10, a dual-booting Windows 7 / Android 1.6 tablet | GadgetLite - Latest gadgets and technology news http://www.gadgetlite.com/2011/03/14/latest-viewsonic-viewpad-10-dual-booting/#ixzz1GiOGfuUa
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Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 9

As promised, Microsoft has released the latest version of its popular browser, Internet Explorer 9, so after a long time, the final version of Internet Explorer 9 is finally here.


Folks from Microsoft are proud of their latest update to IE, and according to them, Internet Explorer 9 has a lot to offer when it comes to graphics handling, security and privacy features.

For the first time, Internet Explorer is ready to compete with other major browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera. Microsoft is especially proud of tools that keep Internet Explorer 9 users from being tracked as they go through various web pages. With this feature, firms won’t be able to present ads to surfers according to their surfing habits. Besides that, we’ll see improved security and impressive visual effects thanks to its built-in acceleration that utilizes both CPU and GPU.

Read more: Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 9 | GadgetLite - Latest gadgets and technology news http://www.gadgetlite.com/2011/03/15/microsoft-releases-internet-explorer/#ixzz1GiNkcJzi
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Google gives birth to Androids x30 faster than man to babies

Here’s an interesting find of the day, apparently Google activates way more Androids compared to humans with a current pace of 350.000 activations per day. Check out the video below for a clever infographic-like take on how Android is quickly becoming the preferred mobile OS around the world.

The funny part is, if everybody in California (the mother land of Apple) was buying an Android device exclusively the whole state would be saturated in about 4 months from now. Did you know that only a mere 1% uses the latest greatest Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS – that is surely a statement which Google should do something about.

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Google uses kill switch to remove 260,000 installed apps worldwide

It appears that Google is experiencing some problems with the Android Market, and due to these problems, it seems that Google has to use its infamous kill switch as a last resort.

According to latest news, 58 apps on Android Market were found sending personal information from Android devices and were installing security holes, so Google had to remove them from the Android Market.
However damage has already been done, and according to reports, these apps got about 260,000 downloads which means that there were 260,000 victims out there. Therefore, it’s no wonder that Google had to resort to drastic measures such as pulling the kill switch.

In addition, Google will also remotely add Android Market Security Tool March 2011, this will undo the exploits and prevent sending of your data to third party users. Google has definitely had to deal with a difficult situation, and the easiest solution was to remotely remove those apps. Who knows, in order to prevent these things from happening again, Google might change Android Market policy someday.

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Android Honeycomb 3.0 ported onto HTC HD2

There are lots of exciting stuff that the developers are doing all day, especially when they are XDA developers (Windows and Android developers). They keep on tweaking things each day and try trying new versions on different prototypes. In this latest tweak / hack, they have worked out how to get Android Honeycomb OS 3.0 on to HTC HD2.

HTC HD2 runs Windows Mobile but the XDA developers have successfully ported the latest tablet dedicated Google Android Honeycomb OS onto the high-spec smartphone. Though it doesn’t look perfect on the HD2 and moreover many features are lagging when it runs, it does run basic functions effectively.

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Veho Mimi is one bulky all-in-one wireless input device

Wireless input devices have been present for a while, but we never got a chance to experience the combination of all input devices into one, until now.

Today we have hybrid controller that comes from Veho and this controller combines everything that you need. This controller is a combination of keyboard, mouse, and a joystick so it’s perfect for almost all your needs. Besides keyboard and joystick functionality, the Veho Mimi Wireless Gamepad Keyboard can be used as a 3D mouse thanks to the built-in gyroscope. Since this is wireless device, battery life is an important issue, and with its 1100mAh Li-Polymer rechargeable battery, this device should provide you enough power for 20 hours of continuous work time.

As you can see, Veho Mimi Wireless Gamepad Keyboard is an all-in-one wireless device, and only thing that worries us about this devise is its rather non-portable heavy weight. Anyhow, if you want an all-in-one input device, you might want to consider it, but it does have a rather hefty pricetag of $146.

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Giant 3D loom weaves parts for supercar

It's a sports car few people will be able to get their hands on. In production since last December, only 500 Lexus LFAs will be produced and they were already sold out in early June 2010 (see photo below). But it's not just its top speed of 325 kilometres per hour that's attracting buyers. The car is being used as a test bed for newly-designed parts made from carbon fibre and plastic. Compared to steel or aluminium, it makes the car stronger and lighter but producing these components is much more time-consuming: only one car is currently being assembled per day.

One of the key technologies being used is a high-tech circular loom, guided by lasers, that can weave 3D objects (see video above). The machine's futuristic design attracted lots of media attention two years ago, but the video was pulled for fear it would expose company secrets. Now Lexus is revealing how the loom is being used to create complex 3D parts with varying thicknesses and curved shapes. For example, it can create roof rails by weaving fibres around a core, two layers at time, until twelve layers later a hollow roof rail is produced. The piece can then be moulded and injected with resin to create the finished part. The machine was also used to create the car's chassis and front pillars as well as the steering wheel.

According to Lexus, 3D weaving technology reduces the volume of materials used by 50 per cent and increases their strength. The automated process should also make it easier to produce a large volume of parts in the future. They hope to use this machine, and other carbon fibre manufacturing technologies, to create more efficient cars.

If you enjoyed this video, you might also like to see a car designed to travel at 1600 kilometres per hour.

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VIA Eden X2 – Dual Core processors on energy diet

Taiwanese company VIA is preparing to release a dual core version of its low-power processor called Eden. It will be built on 40 nanometer architecture and will have two 64-bit cores. The Eden X2 processor will be optimised for multi-tasking and multimedia content processing.


VIA Officials boasts that the Eden X2 processor will be the most efficient X2 dual core processor in terms of energy consumption in the world. The Eden X2 has been specifically designed to work without the need for additional cooling from well-known fans that we all have fitted on our processors.
The Eden X2 will support Windows Embedded 7 operating systems, Linux and Windows CE and will be compatible “pin to pin” with VIA Eden, C7 and Nano. VIA promises an efficient processing solution with very low power consumption, it remains to be seen if it will keep the promise. VIA is going to announce the new low power dual core processor at Embedded World 2011 event in Germany.

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Google fixes Gmail issues

Despite Gmail being the most popular webmail service, it doesn’t mean that we don’t see issues with it. In fact, recent Gmail issues have affected up to 200 000 users, but we’re glad to inform you that Google has fixed those problems.


According to Google, they have managed to fix broken Gmail accounts and to restore all of the deleted emails for affected users. So far, we don’t know whether Google fixed all of the accounts, but in case that anybody else is still experiencing problems they can contact Google for assistance.

Anyhow, Google says that the problem has been resolved and it apologises for this inconvenience. We’re glad to hear that Google has managed to fix these issues, but so far Google hasn’t disclosed what caused these issues.

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5 Reasons for getting to the Apple Store early on March 11th for an iPad 2

Apple has been producing amazing products since the beginning and in the last few years the release of the MacBook Air and the iPad have been game changers. And yet here comes another excellent revision of an already awesome product; the iPad.

Now that we’ve all gotten over the lack of cut and paste functionality of the iPhone, we’ve downloaded a million apps, and we’ve worn through countless lithium polymer batteries in the process, what more can Apple do to keep us shelling out cash for their latest and greatest?
I was so excited that on the 2nd I went down to the Apple Store in Phoenix, Arizona to see what all the fuss was about and talk to the Geniuses to get their input and for me there are five things in particular that have me ready to go buy an iPad 2:

1. Built-in magnets which eliminate the need for a case to protect the device
2. A much faster dual-core processor so we can use and build more robust and useful applications
3. A one month standby time to reduce trips to the charger
4. PhotoBooth and FaceTime on the iPad 2 is stunning and extremely convenient, we can now finally use Skype correctly on it
5. The same great price (comparatively speaking that is), if you don’t have enough in your pocket, just go for the 16GB version which in my view is already pretty decent

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Unofficial Gingerbread update for Samsung Galaxy S released

Google made Android 3.0 Honeycomb fully optimising it for perfect use in tablets like the Motorolla Xoom, while we don’t know when Google may be rolling out an update for smartphones. Here in the meantime is an unofficial Gingerbread update for the Samsung Galaxy S which has been offered by XDA developers.

This release does however come from a leaked Samsung source where it has been given the TouchWiz 3, Swype capability and GPS navigation support and a functional Android Market.

Currently, Samsung Galaxy S comes cruising with Android 2.2 Froyo out of the box and if you’ve been eager for an update, you should check out this DIY upgrade.

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A Neurochip That Can Communicate With Brain

The University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine scientists who proved it is possible to cultivate a network of brain cells that reconnect on a silicon chip—or the brain on a microchip—have developed new technology that monitors brain cell activity at a resolution never achieved before.

Developed with the National Research Council Canada (NRC), the new silicon chips are also simpler to use, which will help future understanding of how brain cells work under normal conditions and permit drug discoveries for a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Naweed Syed's lab cultivated brain cells on a microchip.

Naweed Syed's lab cultivated brain cells on a microchip.

The new technology from the lab of Naweed Syed, in collaboration with the NRC, is published online this month in the journal, Biomedical Devices.

“This technical breakthrough means we can track subtle changes in brain activity at the level of ion channels and synaptic potentials, which are also the most suitable target sites for drug development in neurodegenerative diseases and neuropsychological disorders,” says Syed, professor and head of the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and advisor to the Vice President Research on Biomedical Engineering Initiative of the U of C.

The new neurochips are also automated, meaning that anyone can learn to place individual brain cells on them. Previously it took years of training to learn how to record ion channel activity from brain cells, and it was only possible to monitor one or two cells simultaneously. Now, larger networks of cells can be placed on a chip and observed in minute detail, allowing the analysis of several brain cells networking and performing automatic, large-scale drug screening for various brain dysfunctions.

This new technology has the potential to help scientists in a variety of fields and on a variety of research projects. Gerald Zamponi, professor and head of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, and member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, says, “This technology can likely be scaled up such that it will become a novel tool for medium throughput drug screening, in addition to its usefulness for basic biomedical research”.

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Get a recording studio in your iPad with GarageBand

Latest GarageBand for Apple iPad is perhaps the perfect solution to opening up your own recording studio. It offers eight track recording and over 250 loops. Moreover it also has touch instruments like piano, synths, guitars which will get you making your music on the go. Even if you do not know how to play instruments, a feature called Smart Instruments will help you get the instrument in tune and play as you want.

It doesn’t matter whether you have the iPad or will be getting the iPad 2 soon, GarageBand also has drum instruments, the accelerometer will help you get the required sound of the beat. For example, if you tap the drum harder, it will play louder sound than what when tapped lighter.

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New Trojan can take control over your Mac OS X and Windows

We know that there are all sorts of viruses that attack PCs, but what about Mac computers? We believe that Mac is generally safe from viruses, however, a new threat has been discovered that potentially maybe harmful to Mac users.

Security firm called Sophos has discovered a new Trojan that can affect both PC and Mac users. This new Trojan is a modified variant of the darkComet Trojan. For those that aren’t familiar with darkComet, it’s a well-known Remote Access Trojan that can be used to control computers. This virus is capable of placing text files on your desktop, restarting the computer, shutting it down or going to sleep, running random shell commands, opening a full screen window that cannot be closed or even showing a false administrator password window that can steal your passwords.

To make things even worse, Mac users will get a warning note on their Mac saying that they have been affected and that they don’t have control over their computer anymore.

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Fujitsu is prepared to launch Fujitsu Stylistic Q550, which is a high spec tablet loaded with impressive features, aiming to attract business users. The tablet is powered by Windows 7 and the new Intel Atom chip processor that carries the code name “Oak Trail”.


With an elegant design, this 10.1-inch touchscreen Fujitsu Q550 is able to recognize both multi-touch and stylus’s work. Other features of the Stylistic Q550 includes 8 hours battery life, 30GB to 62GB Hard Disk and a data security technology called Advanced Anti-Theft Protection. This is a powerful security solution that aims to protect data stored on the tablet. Fujitsu Q550 also has a fingerprint reader and a smart card reader.

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