Gadgets

1670 articles on Gadgets

• OmmWriter Brings Tranquil Text-Editing to iPad
  When OmmWriter appeared on the Mac, I wondered what the fuss was about. OmmWriter is one of those "distraction-free" writing apps which block out everything except the text you're working on. OmmWriter went one step further than the usual full-screen mode, adding in calm, meditative background music to the mix. The app was fine, but if ...
  05.31.11

• The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore is a Game-Changing eBook App
  The transition is so fast. It has been less than 18 months that we have had iPads on our kitchen tables, engaging our children in the backs of cars and in doctor's offices, and they've become the screen we now turn to before the television. Still, the game can change so quickly and with the ...
  05.31.11

• Our Survey Says, "Geeks FTW!" (GeekDad Weekly Rewind)
  Not only is today [Wednesday, when this article was first published] Towel Day (in honour of Douglas Adams), Star Wars Day (A New Hope was first released on this day back in '77), and the Glorious 25 May (for Pratchett fans), but it is also the 6th Annual 'Geek Pride Day' and if a recent ...
  05.29.11

• Review: STM Bags Protect Your iPad, Netbook, and Other Stuff
  To this day, the majority of my computer and internet use is through my desktop machine. It sits there, solidly on the floor (not the desktop), not dropped, shaken, or stirred. Short of a forest fire or lightning strike, I don't really have to worry about it. And I'm home most of the time, so ...
  05.28.11

• U.S. Senator Demands Privacy Policies for Smartphone Apps
  Apple and Google claim they're doing what they can to respect user privacy on smartphones, but customers need protection from third-party app programmers, too, says one U.S. senator. Senator Al Franken (D-Minnesota) this week sent a letter to Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Google CEO Larry Page demanding that the companies institute privacy policies for app ...
  05.27.11

• Smartphone Makers Bow to Demands for More Openness
  For many Android enthusiasts, "openness" is almost an 11th commandment. So when manufacturers began restricting full access to Android smartphones a couple years ago, many saw it as a cardinal sin. Good news for you smartphone modders: Some manufacturers are beginning to see the light. "Today, I'm confirming we will no longer be locking the bootloaders on ...
  05.27.11

• One Year In, iPad Apps Get Less Wacky and More User-Friendly
  One year after the iPad's release, third-party apps have improved dramatically in usability, according to an interface scientist. Jakob Nielsen, often hailed as "king of usability," published results this week on a follow-up study examining iPad app interfaces. He found that iPad apps today are considerably "less wacky" and therefore easier to use than they ...
  05.27.11

• Daedalus Touch, a Clever, Gesture-Based iPad Text Editor
  Despite the ridiculous amount of iPad text editors in the App Store, none have yet managed to feel like truly iPad-exploiting apps. They may be controlled by touch, but they could exist equally well on a desktop machine, controlled by keyboard and mouse. Daedalus changes all that. It is a gesture-driven app that could only work ...
  05.27.11

• My Daughter Out-Geeked Me!
  My kids seem to get into music that's much too old for them. I do keep an eye on the lyrics, but largely I don't mind as long as it's getting them singing along and dancing. One downside is that it makes me feel much older. In fact, when I heard about the upcoming collaboration between ...
  05.27.11

• Hands-On: Incredible 2, a Phone That Lives Up to Its Name
  I scoffed when HTC first released the Incredible 2. Not necessarily at its hardware or features, but rather for its presumptuous name. But after spending some time with the device itself, I can safely say the phone's title is no misnomer (if not a little overconfident). The phone bucks the trend of the huge, power-hungry phones we're ...
  05.27.11

• Fast, Big and Light: Hands-On With Verizon's Droid Charge
  A new handset maker is joining Verizon's Droid party: Samsung's Droid Charge recently appeared on Verizon's network, and we got a chance to take one for a test drive. Android phone manufacturers in 2011 seem to regard bigger as better. The Charge sports a 4.3-inch screen, a size more common than ever in smartphone releases. ...
  05.26.11

• Deadmau5 Asks Fans: Send Me Your (Fake) Heads
  Deadmau5 needs a new mask and he's asking fans to design one for him. The Toronto-based music producer known for performing in pumpkin-size head sculptures is teaming with Talenthouse to solicit designs for his next stage costume. Winner of the contest, which starts Thursday, will be handpicked by Deadmau5. First prize includes an expenses-paid trip to ...
  05.26.11

• Sponge Bob SquigglePants: Mini-Games Galore, Matey
  You ever find yourself halfway through a too-big bag of Cool Ranch Doritos, fingers all fake-cheese powdery and think, "I haven't been hungry for twenty minutes now, so why am I still - " >crunch,crunch< That's the kind of inexplicable addiction I found in THQ's new SpongeBob SquigglePants game, which makes use of the company's uDraw ...
  05.26.11

• SpyderGallery Brings Color Calibration to the iPad
  Thanks to the fact that you can't dicker with the iPad at system level, there are lots of handy things developers can't do. A multiple-item clipboard is one. System-wide, TextExpander-style text replacement is another. And a third is color calibration. But there are always workarounds, and DataColor, the company behind the Spyder colorimeter, will now let ...
  05.26.11

• Microsoft on Windows 8, Tablets: Now You See It, Now You Don't
  Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer got ahead of himself on Monday when he publicly blurted out a general roadmap for the next version of Windows. Ballmer told an audience at a developer forum in Tokyo that Microsoft will have news to share about Windows 8 on tablets, slates and PCs over the next year. "As we look forward ...
  05.25.11

• Wired.com FAQ: Near Field Communications' Big (Money) Moment
  Mobile payments are booming -- and the space is set to get bigger. Silicon Valley titan Google is expected to announce a new mobile payments system at an event in New York City on Thursday. According to Bloomberg, Google is teaming up with Sprint, a longtime Google partner and the No. 3 wireless provider in the ...
  05.25.11

• Apple Promises Software Update to Kill 'MacDefender' Malware
  Apple has published instructions on removing a piece of malicious software that targeted Mac customers. The company claims that an upcoming Mac software update will remove the malware from infected systems. In a bulletin published Tuesday evening, Apple listed steps to remove the malware, and added that an upcoming software update for Mac OS X would ...
  05.25.11

• How Will States Tax Internet Downloads? Congress May Decide
  Here's an interesting conundrum, posed by Representative Dennis Ross (R-Florida), at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing held on Monday: "Imagine you are sitting in Dulles airport in Virginia, waiting for a flight back to Florida," Ross began in his opening remarks. "You download a music file from Apple, which is headquartered in California. The music ...
  05.25.11

• Our Survey Says, "Geeks FTW!"
  Not only is today Towel Day (in honour of Douglas Adams), Star Wars Day (A New Hope was first released on this day back in '77), and the Glorious 25 May (for Pratchett fans), but it is also the 6th Annual 'Geek Pride Day' and if a recent survey by the Opinion Research Corporation on ...
  05.25.11

• Russian Company Sells iOS Cracking Software
  If you trust Russian security company Elcomsoft with your credit card details, you can buy a piece of software which will let you crack the encryption on an iOS device and gain access to the juicy information contain within. The ¿79 software is called Elcomsoft Phone Password Breaker, and works with both iOS and blackberry devices. ...
  05.25.11

• Dell's Thin, Aluminum 15z Is Curiously Familiar
  This is Dell innovative new XPS 15z, apparently the "thinnest 15-inch PC on the planet." Does it look at all familiar? Let's just say it: The 15z is an obvious rip-off of the 15-inch MacBook Pro, from the squared-and-rounded aluminum body to the black screen bezel to the upward-facing speaker grilles to the chiclet keyboard, complete ...
  05.25.11

• Apple's App Store Surpasses Half-a-Million Apps
  After less than three years of existence, Apple's App Store has accumulated half-a-million mobile apps. The iTunes App Store, which launched in the summer of 2008, surpassed the 500,000 milestone Tuesday morning, according to 148Apps, an iPhone app reviews blog that has been tracking the store closely. To be clear, that's 500,000 apps that Apple has approved ...
  05.24.11

• Report: Intel-Powered Tablets to Debut This Summer
  Long absent from the mobile-device arena, Intel processors may arrive in tablets as soon as this summer. Acer will launch a tablet powered by Intel's "Oak Trail" processor, which could start selling as early as July, according to sources cited by DigiTimes. Asus and Lenovo will follow Acer's lead shortly thereafter, say the sources. While none of ...
  05.24.11

• Gamebook Adventures Make Fantasy Reading Interactive and Fun (Plus a Big Giveaway)
  You pull away the debris until there is enough space to crawl through the blockage. On the far side of the barricade you find a  chilling discovery. It is the corpse of a roughly dressed man, whose dessicated form looks like it has been dried and left here for generations. The hide and leather worn ...
  05.24.11

• Launching Today: iPad Subscriptions
  Finally. A year ago, when we launched the Wired iPad app, we promised that subscriptions were on their way. And indeed they were¿it just took a while for the right path to become clear (much traveling between New York and Cupertino paid off). Today, I'm pleased to announce that we've arrived. If you want Wired ...
  05.24.11

• Clip-On SoundJaw Fixes iPad 2's Terrible Speaker
  SoundJaw is a small plastic widget that fixes one of the worst things about the iPad 2 -- its stupid, tinny backwards-facing speaker. It clips onto the bottom of the iPad 2 (and also the iPad 1) and bounces the sound back towards you, greatly increasing its volume. The original iPad sounded pretty great for something ...
  05.24.11

• App Shrinks iPhone Data Usage System-Wide
  Onavo is an app which cuts your cellphone data use drastically. Amazingly, it works in the background even on the iPhone and iPad, which sounds like some kind of impossible voodoo given Apple's strict multitasking rules. It turns out that the app does actually compress data, but not how you think. Once installed, it performs some ...
  05.24.11