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    The Ouya. No, Really.

    Ren Alcantara
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    The Ouya. No, Really.

    Late last year, we had a few bits about the Ouya, the super-cheap (USD 99) Android-powered gaming console. While the record-breaking Kickstarter project hasn’t changed the world with it’s almost USD 9 Million worth of crowdsourced funds, there have been videos of the unboxing online. For those of you who are still itching to get new on the device, here’s a VIDEO of the console playing a game called Roasty Rooster on Youtube.

    The game itself isn’t really anything that will cause the presses to stop and the world to grind to a halt while people run to the stores in a desperate bid to get their hands on an Ouya, it is at least proof that the a device exists in the wild, and is happily running a game. The console has been available for devs since the 28th of December, 2012, and is expected to hit retail shelves April this year. It’s set to run Nvidia Tegra 3 system-on-chip, 8GB on internal flash memory, 1GB of RAM and a 1.GHz quad-core ARM Cortex A9 processor with an Nvidia ULP GeForce GPU, all on Android 4.1 Jellybean. We’re all excited for what the Ouya can do (particularly once people start hacking it), so stay posted to get the latest on this latest Android wondertoy.

    The Grading Game could be a Grammar Nazi’s favorite app

    Gadgets Team
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    The Grading Game could be a Grammar Nazi’s favorite app

    Have a knack for pointing out misspelled words in your friends’ tweets? Feeling a sudden urge to chuck a dictionary at those who can’t tell the difference between ‘its’ and ‘it’s’? Then here’s an app that might be perfect for you. The Grading Game is an iOS app that would be great for passing time if you’re a Grammar Nazi.

    In the game, you play the role of a teacher’s assistant to the mad, vindictive Dr. Snerpus. In various levels, you perform a number of corrections—fixing gramatical errors, run-on sentences, improper capitalizations, and misspelled words—on term papers of Dr. Snerpus’ students. You are given a time limit on each paper to find as many corrections as you can. The goal, apparently, is to give the student the worst possible grade—a big fat F. A video preview of the gameplay can be found here.

    The Grading Game costs USD $0.99 on iTunes.

    Google Play will probably hit one million apps this coming June

    Gadgets Team
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    Google Play will probably hit one million apps this coming June

    The relative number of apps for the marketplace of either iOS or Android is usually a pretty moot point because of the sheer size of both app stores, but it never hurts for both sides to have more than their competitor. The Android Marketplace has managed to get on even terms with Apple’s iTunes back in October as far as number of apps is concerned (700K), and Sociable is predicting that the Android Marketplace may get to the 1 millionth mark come June. The tech site used a process of polynomial regression in an attempt to roughly determine when the Android Marketplace would hit 1 million apps, and it looks like June is the magic month for Google. Of course, that number does not guarantee that there will be 1 million quality apps on the Android Marketplace, but at least there’s a fair chance of actually finding and downloading an app relevant to your interests.

    Source: Sociable

    Lenovo splitting into two – Lenovo Business Group and Think Business Group – to better compete with Apple, effective April 1st

    Gadgets Team
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    Lenovo splitting into two – Lenovo Business Group and Think Business Group – to better compete with Apple, effective April 1st

    While Lenovo has been doing well in the PC market, it seems that the company’s performance has not satisfied CEO Yang Yuanqing. In an internal email to Lenovo employees, the Lenovo head honcho has said that their Think brand is currently their best assest in the high-end market, and as such is possibly their best chance at competing head-to-head with Apple in the hi-end market. To help the company accomplish just that, Yang has split the company into two distinct business groups – Lenovo Business Group (LBG) and Think Business Group (TBG).

    LGB will be headed by Senior Vice President (Mobile Internet Digital Home) Liu Jun and will concentrate on mainstream consumer and business desktops, laptops, and tablets, as well as smartphones and smart TVs. TBG on the other hand, will be headed by Senior Vice President (Product Group) Dr. Peter Hortensius and will take care of the business oriented Think brand in the consumer market. We’re still trying to figure out exactly what these changes mean for the local arm of Lenovo. The split will happen on April 1, 2013.

    Source: Engadget

    Globe Telecom Gives Mindanao relief ops a helping hand

    Ren Alcantara
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    Globe Telecom Gives Mindanao relief ops a helping hand

    As the residents of Davao Oriental and the Compostela valley struggle with the continued lack of drinking water and food brought about by typhoon Pablo, Globe has increased its relief efforts by handing out food packs and potable water to survivors in Cateel, Baganga and Boston, Davao, as well as New Bataan, Brgy. Aurora and Brgy. Poblacion in the Compostela valley.

    “We saw the devastating trail of destruction which Typhoon Pablo left in Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley.  The people there need our help now. So aside from relief operations, Libreng Tawag centers, and ICT support that Globe is providing, we are also encouraging everyone to do his or her share by giving time, effort, or money,” said Rob I. Nazal, Head of Globe Corporate Social Responsibility.

    Globe’s CSR Program, Globe bridging Communities, also receive a PHP 500,000 donation from SingTel, which helped ease the burden of even more survivors in the affected areas. Globe’s own employees even signed up to help repack goods, much like their efforts during the habagat in August of last year. DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman personally thanked the volunteers. “For everything that you pack, that would have meant  a warm cloth for someone who is cold, filling the stomach of someone who is hungry, assuring a family that they have food in the next three or four days.   This may be such a small help but for people who are hungry, it’s a big thing, said the Department Secretary.

    Globe subscribers can be a part of the relief effort.  Donations can be sent via GCASH electronic wallet by typing DONATE<amount><MPIN>Pablo then send to 2882.

    Google is bringing maps back to Windows Phone

    Ren Alcantara
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    0
    Google is bringing maps back to Windows Phone

    We reported earlier that Windows Phone users got redirects when trying to access Google Maps from their devices, but now it seems there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The verge contacted the Big G about the issue, and they received the following statement:

    “We periodically test Google Maps compatibility with mobile browsers to make sure we deliver the best experience for those users.

    In our last test, IE mobile still did not offer a good maps experience with no ability to pan or zoom and perform basic map functionality. As a result, we chose to continue to redirect IE mobile users to Google.com where they could at least make local searches. The Firefox mobile browser did offer a somewhat better user experience and that’s why there is no redirect for those users.

    Recent improvements to IE mobile and Google Maps now deliver a better experience and we are currently working to remove the redirect. We will continue to test Google Maps compatibility with other mobile browsers to ensure the best possible experience for users.”

    The TL;DR explanation is that IE and Maps weren’t playing nice together, but because of improvements that are being applied, the redirect should be removed in short order. It’s no big surprise that the two companies aren’t the best of buddies, and don’t always agree on program execution, plus IE really isn’t the most popular browser for mobile, so it’s great to see that a solution to the whole problem is being worked on. For the meantime, Windows Phone users might want to take out the old map atlas or take out that iPad they have lying around when nobody is looking.

    Source: The Verge

    Photo from Laptopmag.com

    Robot band Compressorhead covers Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades”

    Gadgets Team
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    Today we stumbled upon a most peculiar video on YouTube. The clip features a robot band known as Compressorhead covering one of Motörhead’s classic tracks, “Ace of Spades”.

    Compressorhead is a three-piece, all-robot band from Germany composed of Stickboy (drums), Fingers (guitar) and Bones (bass). Stickboy rocks four arms and pounds on a 14-piece Pearl kit, while Fingers, the guitarist, wields 78 fingers. Not much is known about Bones and the official website claims that he hasn’t had a proper picture with the band yet (he must be a bit shy).

    Their setlist consists of an extensive selection of well-known rock songs, including tracks from Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, The Clash, Rage Against the Machine, The Ramones and, as you’ve seen, Motörhead.

    The description on the “Ace of Spades” video states that it was taken during one of Compresshorhead’s “band practice” sessions. They were possibly rehearsing for their biggest gig yet–the annual Big Day Out tour in Australia. Although Stickboy has already made his Big Day Out debut in 2008, it will be the first time he comes out with his new bandmates. This year, Compressorhead will be joining the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Killers and many other acts in a series of concerts in Sydney, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth from January 18 to 28.

    Compressorhead has dubbed themselves as the “world’s heaviest metal band.”

    Browser version of Google Maps not working on Windows Phone 8 devices

    Gadgets Team
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    Browser version of Google Maps not working on Windows Phone 8 devices

    While there’s no official Google Maps app for WP8  devices as of yet, Google aficionados who liked using Google Maps over the built-in navigation solution on WP8 devices could always go to the browser version of El Goog’s wundermap to find their way around town. Unfortunately, it seems that particular workaround has stopped bearing fruit, as the peeps from WPCentral has noticed that going to the mobile version of Google’s navigation site using a WP8 device merely redirects you to Google’s home page for mobile devices.

    The redirect has been confirmed by a WPCenter commenter as originating from Google’s side, and as he explains, “something on Google’s side is keying off the user agent for windows phone.” It’s not yet clear if this particular issue was just an honest mistake or the continual efforts of Google to lock-out WP8 users from their services.

    Source: WPCentral 

    Some Galaxy S III’s are experiencing sudden death syndrome, Samsung is aware and are making a fix

    Gadgets Team
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    Some Galaxy S III’s are experiencing sudden death syndrome, Samsung is aware and are making a fix

    Did your Samsung Galaxy S III give up the ghost for no apparent reason? Well, you’re not alone. Users are experiencing issues with some Galaxy S IIIs not working for some reason, although the good news is that Samsung is aware of this and are working on a fix. A Samsung spokesperson told tech site Tweakers that the problem affects a relatively low number of Galaxy S III devices, and it seems that all the devices affected are 16GB models.

    Source: Sam Mobile

    ZTE rumored to unveil 5.7-inch P945 phablet

    Gadgets Team
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    ZTE rumored to unveil 5.7-inch P945 phablet

    If you thought that Huawei was alone in their quest to create the most unweildy phablet known to man, you’d be wrong. Rumor has it that ZTE is also jumping in feet first into the lets-make-a-comically-sized-phablet craze with their P945 phablet. This particular device is rumored to have a moderately sedate 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 5.7-inch display that surprisingly only has 720p resolution, 8 megapixel camera and a large, 3000 mAh battery. The entire thing is supposed to be less than 9mm thin, which means it should be easy to put in your bag or pocket, provided that it’s vertical size doesn’t get in the way of pocketing the thing. Like most leaks around this time, we’ll probably know the real story once CES begins in a few days.

    Source: UnwiredView 

    Hewlett-Packard extends converged cloud portfolio for hybrid delivery environments

    Gadgets Team
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    Hewlett-Packard extends converged cloud portfolio for hybrid delivery environments

    Hewlett-Packard (HP) recently extended its Converged Cloud portfolio to help customers succeed in a hybrid world, showing once again a shift towards cloud-based servers because of their drive agility, speed innovation and lower costs.

    Some of the new cloud-based solutions, HP CloudSystem and HP Cloud Service Automation (CSA) 3.1, provide both the foundation and the necessary management platform for the fast deployment of cloud-based services, while HP Continuous Delivery Automation (CDA) 1.1 fully automates the application release process for applications that use the cloud.

    The enhanced functionality of the HP CloudSystem includes managing cloud requirements for cost, security and availability with an open, extensible architecture for heterogeneous IT environments, along with gaining instant access to additional capacity and flexibility for service demands on an as-needed, pay-as-you-go basis. Administration time is cut and development of service offerings is accelerated with the HP Cloud Maps portfolio that has 50 new prepackaged application templates, with a total of 200 templates that allow clients to create custom catalogs of application services ready for push-button deployment.

    HP CSA 3.1 provides business clients with a comprehensive, unified cloud management platform for brokering and managing enterprise-grade applications and infrastructures specifically for cloud services. In addition, it ensures business continuity, so in the event of failure, it continues to operate. It can also protect against security threats with HP TippingPoint.

    HP CDA 1.1 fully automates the application release process, enabling clients to deliver high-quality applications and eliminate the delays that are traditionally caused by manual transitions between teams during the application life cycle.

    “HP is committed to delivering cloud capabilities that enterprises can rely on,” said Jim Merritt, senior vice president, Enterprise Group & managing director, Asia Pacific and Japan, HP. “Today’s announcements enable customers to more affordably and easily take advantage of the agility of the cloud without jeopardizing their enterprise service level agreements.”

    69 percent of business and IT executives based in the Asia-Pacific region plan to pursue a hybrid delivery model that encompasses traditional, private, managed and public cloud environments. 61 percent are concerned with vendor lock-in, and 72 percent agreed that portability of workloads between cloud models is important to their cloud implementations.

    Data suggests that Windows 8 is less popular than Vista

    Gadgets Team
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    Data suggests that Windows 8 is less popular than Vista

    Data seems to suggest that Microsoft’s latest OS, Windows 8, is proving less popular than Windows Vista – an operating system that many in the enthusiast community has panned for being slow, clunky and unresponsive. Data from Net Applications, collected from monitoring 40,000 sites for its clients suggest that Windows 8 online usage share two months after it’s initial release is around 1.6%, which is less than the 2.2% share that Windows Vista commanded 2 months after its release.

    While this sounds pretty dire, you also have to take note that there’s a number of factors that may have affected the stats, chief of which is the availability of multiple OS nowadays, which include iOS, Android and OS X to name a few. You can also blame the high cost of Windows 8 touch-equipped notebooks for this particular stat.

    Source: Kitguru.net

    G-Form’s XTREME iPhone 5 case protects 5th gen iPod Touch from 100,000 feet drop

    Gadgets Team
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    G-Form’s XTREME iPhone 5 case protects 5th gen iPod Touch from 100,000 feet drop

    There’s a ton of iPhone 5 cases out in the market that promises extreme protection from the most horrifying of drops. Case maker G-Form is one of them, but instead of just dropping an iOS device from the edge of a table, they opted to drop one from 100,000 feet, just a few thousand feet shy from the edge of space. Granted, they used an 5th generation iPod Touch in their XTREME iPhone 5 case to do it, but that’s still pretty damn impressive. The company launched their XTREME iPhone 5 case via a balloon over the Nevada desert, and aside from some minor temperature related hiccups when it was recovered on the ground, the 5th gen iPod Touch was none worse for the wear. Unfortunately, we’re not aware of any local dealers that pack G-Form’s XTREME iPhone 5 case, so if you want to grab one of their cases, you’ll have to go through their official website to do so. 

    Razer outs Orbweaver Elite Mechanical Keyboard

    Gadgets Team
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    Razer outs Orbweaver Elite Mechanical Keyboard

    Razer has just added a new mechanical keyboard to it’s already burgeoning lineup, but this particular mechanical keyboard is a bit.. different. The Orbweaver is not a keyboard in the traditional sense – it’s more of a gaming-optimized mechanical keyboard, and much like a high-performance race car, it jettisons what’s not needed and enhances the important bits that allow you to trounce your opponent.

    For the Orbweaver, that means putting in 20 mechanical keys that have a low actuation force of only 50 grams, alongside a thumbstick that can be used for additional movement or as a modifier for macros and such. The Orbweaver isn’t going to come cheap though – Razer has pegged the price of their newest gaming gear at $129.99 before taxes, which is around Php 5310 before taxes.

    Archos unveils Android powered TV-Connect

    Gadgets Team
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    Archos unveils Android powered TV-Connect

    It’s no Google TV, but Archos’ latest offering puts Android front and center in the big screen. Their newest Android device, TV-Connect, allows you to access the wonders of Google’s OS on your existing TV. The TV-Connect is essentially an Android computer and is powered by a 1.5GHz multi core CPU and 1GB of RAM, topped off with 8GB of storage and Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. To control the shenanigans on screen, the TV-Connect uses a handy remote that has a keyboard built into it, along with analog sticks and a d-pad to duplicate multi-touch gestures and swipes.

    What’s nice about the TV-Connect is that since it’s an Android device, you’ll be able to access the thousands of apps available in Google Play. You’ll also be able to go online, stream content from the web and do all the other things that normal Android devices can. The Archos TV-Connect should be hitting stores overseas in February with an attached £99 price point, or about Php 6572 before taxes.

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