Speedtest.net overhauled with new look, new features

Speedtest.net is pretty much the go-to site for quickly figuring out how fast (or slow) your connection really is and comparing the numbers your ISP boasts with what it actually delivers. And now it's got a new coat of paint and a couple of neat features. In brief:

• New UI: The map widget is much improved; it actually looks like a map now, and it's easy to see where you are.
• Smart server selection: If there are several test servers nearby, Speedtest will now ping each to see which has the least latency and use that for the test. You can still specify servers manually, too.
• User accounts: You can sign up for a free account and aggregate results from several computers/connections.
• Speed Wave: This new feature lets you add your test results to the results of many other users, and get a nice composite view.

All in all, you get some nice, new functionality and a snazzier interface to boot. Nice!

Speedtest.net overhauled with new look, new features originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/07/speedtest-net-overhauled-with-new-look-new-features/

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The iPhone's Future Predictive Keyboard Makes Certain Keys Larger Without You Ever Noticing (Updated) [Apple]

Apple has been granted a patent for a predictive text keyboard on mobile devices that will automatically increase the size of touch targets without actually doing so visually. Although this patent, which Apple Insider dug up, is bit confusing in concept, it's execution makes sense. In fact, the idea of implementing this idea without visual indicators actually makes this whole idea much more functional. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/9Gp2kdexdUA/the-iphones-future-predictive-keyboard-could-make-certain-keys-larger-without-you-ever-noticing

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Gmail for iOS Gets Mercifully Smoother Scrolling and Handy Image Saves [Gmail]

Google has rolled out a minor update to Gmail for iOS. Version 1.3 includes faster scrolling and animation (thankfully) on the iPhone and iPod touch. Additionally, now you can save photo attachments to your library the same way you save images from Facebook on your phone, by simply touching and holding. Google has also mended some bugs, and these aren't a huge changes, but they're definitely positive ones. [9to5Mac] More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8AKNZmryzFw/gmail-for-ios-gets-mercifully-smoother-scrolling-and-handy-image-saves

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Ice Cream Sandwich arrives on the Sprint HTC EVO Design 4G

 

Hot on the heels of this morning's Sprint HTC EVO 3D Ice Cream Sandwich update, it looks like the Android 4.0 update is also rolling out for the EVO Design 4G. Promised around the same time by the carrier a couple of weeks back, the EVO Design update consists of the same cocktail of Android 4.0.3 and HTC Sense 3.6, and the OTA package weighs in at just over 256MB. The update's arrival follows the launch of ICS for the international EVO 3D and HTC Raider, earlier this month.

So you've got a slightly polished up version of HTC's custom UI, in addition to standard Ice Cream Sandwich features we've become familiar with over the past eight months --

• A refined, evolved user interface that is simple, beautiful and useful
• Face Unlock: use state-of-the-art facial recognition technology to unlock your phone with a smile
• Redesigned camera app which introduces Scenes like Panorama, and Effects such as Vignette, Depth of Field, Vintage and Posterize
• Web browser now lets you sync Google Chrome™ bookmarks, request full desktop versions of sites, see your open tabs in a new layout
• People: browse friends, family and coworkers, see their photos in high-resolution and check their latest status updates from Google+
• Improved keyboard with incredibly accurate typing, an inline spell checker and improved copy and paste support
• Redesigned Gmail™ app that now lets you swipe between conversations to catch up quickly and search for emails even without a data connection
• Google+ integration that lets you hangout and video chat with up to 10 friends using your front-facing camera

Sprint EVO Design 4G owners will want to head to Settings > About phone > Software updates and hit the button to check whether their update to ICS is ready. If you're rocking an EVO Design, hit the comments and let us know how you're getting on with ICS.

Thanks, Anon!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/qG9878RrnUQ/story01.htm

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Chrome 11 beta adds new experimental APIs for proxies, Web navigation

Google Chrome 11 -- which just recently made the move to the browser's beta channel -- has received a minor update that gives developers access to two new APIs.

The first is a full-featured proxy API, which will, for example, allow users to set different proxy servers for normal browsing and Incognito mode. Proxy auto-config scripts are also supported by the API.

The second -- Web Navigation Extension -- is a bit more expansive. This API will allow devs to build everything from more powerful safe browsing extensions -- like Traffic Light -- to data analysis and reporting extensions.

Both APIs are currently experimental, so you'll need to enable them on the about:flags page to try out any relevant extensions. Apart from a proxy example built by Google and shipped with the Chromium source, we're not aware of any examples just yet, however. We'll let you know when we spot any slick, new extensions which do surface.

Chrome 11 beta adds new experimental APIs for proxies, Web navigation originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/chrome-11-beta-adds-new-experimental-apis-for-proxies-web-navig/

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Review: Sony Vaio T-Series Ultrabook

Sony's Vaio T Series is more restrained than the company's other notebooks, offering a slimmed-down computing experience complete with third-generation Core i5 CPU for just 800 bones.

Source: http://www.wired.com/reviews/2012/07/sony-vaio-t-series/

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Altaro Hyper-V Backup beta launched, only 250 places available

This one's for the sysadmins in the audience: Altaro, makers of our favorite "time machine for Windows" back solution, OopsBackup, have just announced a new product entering beta called Hyper-V Backup.

It's a backup solution for virtual machines running on Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization solution. If that sentence just seemed like a bunch of buzzwords crammed together, Hyper-V backup is not for you. But, if you actually use Hyper-V and are hankering for a good backup solution, Altaro might be worth checking out.

The beta run is limited - Altaro are looking for just 250 testers. All participants will get a free license key to the final, production version. So if you're interested in helping test Hyper-V Backup, get yourself over to Altaro now and join the beta.

Altaro Hyper-V Backup beta launched, only 250 places available originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/02/altaro-hyper-v-backup-beta-launched-only-250-places-available/

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Croon Audio Announces Its Sleek, Hi-Fi Audio Speaker System -The Original

Croon Audio has announced their new Bluetooth speaker, the Original.  The speaker’s housing is “made from 8mm MDF (Medium-Density fiberboard) manufactured wood which allows for VLD (Very Low Distortion) technology when listening to music at a high volume.”  The 10.5”x 8” x 3.5” body has a Class D amp and two 2.5″ front-facing full-range speakers [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/07/27/croon-audio-announces-its-sleek-hi-fi-audio-speaker-system-the-original/

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Microsoft seals Perceptive Pixel deal, welcomes PPI team to the Office Division

In case you haven't noticed, Microsoft's been in a blissful shopping mood lately -- and while we already knew the company had snatched up the creator of that enormous 82-inch touchscreen, today's the day a more formal introduction is taking place. Via its Official Microsoft Blog, the Redmond-based outfit is suitably welcoming the Perceptive Pixel team aboard the Office Division, also announcing that PPI's Founder, Jeff Han, will be joining as a "general manager" and reporting to Kurt DelBene. Naturally, we're still wondering what exactly the acquisition will bring to the table, but if Perceptive Pixel's previous doings are any indication of what's to come, we can expect some more delightful novelties to come out of Microsoft's HQ in the hopefully-not-so-distant future.

Filed under: Displays, Misc. Gadgets, Software

Microsoft seals Perceptive Pixel deal, welcomes PPI team to the Office Division originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 13:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/NJwEMuDjzEY/

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Facebook launches unified mobile site, announces 250 million mobile users

Facebook has announced that its two mobile sites -- m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com -- have been unified, bringing a simpler mobile experience to Facebook users. And there are a lot of those -- a quarter billion, according to Facebook.

Smartphone users won't be losing any functionality because of the consolidation. If your phone supported the enhacned features offered by touch.facebook.com, the new site will automatically flip the switch when you visit.

Rolling the sites together helps simplify things for Facebook's developer team. Now changes can be pushed to a single site instead of two separate sites, which makes it easier to ensure that all mobile users receive a nearly identical experience regardless of the device they're using.

The new Facebook mobile can also check to see if your phone supports geolocation. If it doesn't, you won't be seeing much of Facebook Places -- which obviously relies heavily on geolocation. Images can also be optimized on the fly to keep page performance from suffering on less powerful devices. You can see the three different versions of the share button below, courtesy our friends at TechCrunch.

Facebook launches unified mobile site, announces 250 million mobile users originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/facebook-launches-unified-mobile-site-announces-250-million-mob/

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Windows 8 Explorer to feature Ribbon UI, SkyDrive and Mesh integration?

Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott have posted a second look at some of the early changes which have surface in Windows 8 milestone 3. First there was the restyled Welcome Screen, and now it appears that Microsoft is toying with bringing the Ribbon UI to Explorer.

The Ribbon, like in Microsoft Word and Excel, is context-aware, adding tabs for specific tasks which apply to the folder you're viewing -- such as library or picture management. You can also make out two new buttons in the status bar, which allow you to change the current folder's view style.

It's clear from all the placeholder images and repeated elements that this is very much a work in progress, but featuring the Ribbon more prominently in Windows 8 would certainly be a logical progression for Microsoft. It's slowly become more ubiquitous, moving beyond Office and into Wordpad, Paint, and several of the Windows Live Essentials applications.

There's more to the screenshots than the Ribbon UI, however. Our friend Long Zheng has noted two interesting elements in the images: Web sharing and sync (image after the break). That would likely mean users will be able to quickly upload files to SkyDrive and synchronize using Live Mesh right from Explorer in Windows 8. That's not a total surprise considering many of the earliest leaked images of Windows 8 showed Windows Live integration on the desktop.

Continue reading Windows 8 Explorer to feature Ribbon UI, SkyDrive and Mesh integration?

Windows 8 Explorer to feature Ribbon UI, SkyDrive and Mesh integration? originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/03/windows-8-explorer-to-feature-ribbon-ui-skydrive-and-mesh-integ/

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Facebook launches unified mobile site, announces 250 million mobile users

Facebook has announced that its two mobile sites -- m.facebook.com and touch.facebook.com -- have been unified, bringing a simpler mobile experience to Facebook users. And there are a lot of those -- a quarter billion, according to Facebook.

Smartphone users won't be losing any functionality because of the consolidation. If your phone supported the enhacned features offered by touch.facebook.com, the new site will automatically flip the switch when you visit.

Rolling the sites together helps simplify things for Facebook's developer team. Now changes can be pushed to a single site instead of two separate sites, which makes it easier to ensure that all mobile users receive a nearly identical experience regardless of the device they're using.

The new Facebook mobile can also check to see if your phone supports geolocation. If it doesn't, you won't be seeing much of Facebook Places -- which obviously relies heavily on geolocation. Images can also be optimized on the fly to keep page performance from suffering on less powerful devices. You can see the three different versions of the share button below, courtesy our friends at TechCrunch.

Facebook launches unified mobile site, announces 250 million mobile users originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/01/facebook-launches-unified-mobile-site-announces-250-million-mob/

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Jurors Selected by the Close of Apple v. Samsung, Day One

After a grueling day of being grilled by both Judge Koh and lawyers representing Apple and Samsung, a jury of nine individuals was finally selected and sworn in. The jury will determine the outcomes of the tech giants' heated intellectual property case.

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/07/jurors-selected-apple-samsung/

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How Long Do You Wait Before Ditching a Dying Social Network? [Chatroom]

We've all gotten ourselves so immersed in using an online service and social network, that we continued to use it even when we knew it was on the way out (stop pretending like you weren't checking your Myspace last year). Digg, post-acquisition, has now fallen into this group. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/7WLmKYlICmA/how-long-do-you-wait-before-ditching-a-dying-social-network

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