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    Google Nexus branded tablet will be made with Asus, will surface in July

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    Google Nexus branded tablet will be made with Asus, will surface in July

    While Google has made a splash in the smartphone market with their Android OS, it hasn’t enjoyed the same success when it comes to their tablets. Now the search giant has supposedly teamed up with Taiwanese manufacturer Asus to deliver the first Nexus branded tablet device, which is supposedly hitting the streets come July. Unlike the Nexus series of smartphones, the Nexus branded tablet is supposedly being created to compete with cheaper tablet alternatives like the Kindle Fire. The Verge says that the new device will sport an NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, 7-inch screen and will be WiFi only. The device reportedly should have only cost $249 (which fits in nicely with Asus’ promised price for the MeMo 370T) and had a release date of  May, but Google is supposedly postponing the launch to make some design changes and to lower the price of the device further.

    Source: The Verge

    Samsung looks to create own mobile ad platform to compete with Google and Apple

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    Samsung looks to create own mobile ad platform to compete with Google and Apple

    Korean electronics behemoth is supposedly looking into creating a mobile ad network that would compete with Google and Apple, the WSJ reports. Together with OpenX Technologies Inc., Samsung plans to create the Samsung AdHub market which aims to promote mobile ads on Samsung’s phones and tablets in the second half of this year. This move is not a surprise, considering that Samsung has a very large install base when it comes to mobile phones – Samsung has just achieved a 2 million unit milestone on its ground-breaking Galaxy Note, and estimates say that their lower-end Android offering, the Galaxy Y, enjoys 1.75 million shipments every month. It’s not clear how this deal will affect their partnership with Google, which offer their own mobile ad service on Android devices.

    Source: WSJ

    Trojan virus made for Mac has now infected more than 600,000 devices worldwide

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    Trojan virus made for Mac has now infected more than 600,000 devices worldwide

    Thought Macs never get viruses? Think again. Dr. Web, a Russian anti-virus company has reported that there are now over 600,000 Macs worldwide that is infected with the Flashback Trojan, malware that’s been designed to steal personal information such as passwords. Dr. Web malware analyst Sorokin Ivan posted on Twitter saying that there are now over 600,000 Macs infected with the Trojan, with 274 of the infected hailing from Cupertino, California – which is the headquarters of Apple. According to Dr. Web’s estimates, the majority of the infected machines are in the US, with our country only accounting for 0.1% of the infections (or about 600 machines infected).

    The malware was discovered back in 2011 masquerading as an Adobe plug-in installer, and has since been modified to target an unpatched Java Vulnerability within OS X, which has subsequently been patched by Apple. If you’re a Mac user and are paranoid about your current security state, F-Secure has published a guide how to find out if your machine is infected or not, as well as instructions to remove it.

    Source: Ars Technica

    Google and Ayala Museum help bring art to everyone

    Gadgets Team
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    Google and Ayala Museum help bring art to everyone

    Google and Ayala Museum announced today that everyone in the world can now view selected dioramas of the museum’s popular “The Diorama  Experience” exhibition online with a few simple mouse clicks.

    Ayala Museum is joining the Art Project (www.googleartproject.com), a global partnership between Google and 151 cultural institutions in 40 countries that aims to make artwork accessible to anyone anywhere anytime. More than 30,000 images of artworks can be viewed online in high resolution.

    Ayala Museum will be submitting  photographs of 30 out of its 60 dioramas  which depict significant moments in Philippine history.

    According to Mariles L. Gustilo, Senior Director for Arts & Culture at Ayala Museum, “We’re really excited to be part of the Google Art Project. It is a great way to bring the richness of Philippine history & art to the world, no matter how far and what time of day.”

    According to Google’s Nelson Mattos, VP Engineering: “Google is committed to bringing all types of culture online and making it accessible. The Art Project demonstrates how the Internet helps spread knowledge.”

    The Art Project has expanded dramatically since it first launched in February 2011 with 1,000 online images. In addition to its new total of 30,000 images, the Art Project now includes a wider range of cultural institutions: large and small, traditional art museums as well as less traditional settings for great art. You can start your journey at the White House in  Washington D.C., continue to the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar and then finish at [MUSEUM].

    Find out even more about the Art Project on the new YouTube channel www.youtube.com/googleartproject) and explore the
    project at the www.googleartproject.com.

    Asus PadFone priced in Taiwan – $610 for phone, $850 for the phone and tablet plus stylus

    Gadgets Team
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    Asus PadFone priced in Taiwan – $610 for phone, $850 for the phone and tablet plus stylus

    While we’re waiting for the official release of the Asus PadFone here in our shores, the revolutionary smartphone/tablet device has already launched today in Asus’ homeland, Taiwan. So how much will Taiwanese citizens be ponying up for Asus’ transformagical device? Well, you can expect to pay about  NT$17,990 or about $610 (Php 25,985) for just the dual-core 1.5GHz processor powered phone, NT$24,980 or about $850 (Php 36,082) for the phone, tablet dock and stylus and about NT$28,901 or about $980 (Php 41,745) for the phone, tablet dock, stylus and keyboard. Take note that this isn’t the final price of the device when it hits our shores, as we still have taxes and other things to account for. The device will be going on sale on April 20th, so if you’re planning a trip to Taiwan soon, you might want to pick one up.

    Google’s augmented reality glasses project begins testing: meet Project Glass

    Gadgets Team
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    Google’s augmented reality glasses project begins testing: meet Project Glass

    Google has just unveiled a project that it has been working on for quite a while: Project Glass. Developed by Google[x] , a slice of the company that’s focused on making long-term projects, Project Glass aims to seamlessly combine location search, maps, video chat, and messaging with Google’s services into one unobtrusive package that you wear. Three Google employees in Google X (Babak Parviz, Steve Lee and Sebastian Thrun) shared the progress of Project Glass through Google+ which included a video and a couple of pictures and asked people for their suggestions how to make the tech better.

    “A group of us from Google[x] started Project Glass to build this kind of technology, one that helps you explore and share your world, putting you back in the moment. We’re sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input. So we took a few design photos to show what this technology could look like and created a video to demonstrate what it might enable you to do.”

    Though it’s simply at the prototype stage, the functionality of the glasses is obvious. The small HUD sits on the upper right of the device, which we’re guessing only shows up when you look up and to the right. The UI within the device is simple and elegant, and judging from the demo video that Google shared, the device will come with voice recognition technology that’s on par or even better than Apple’s Siri. We’re also guessing that the augmented reality specs will sync with your Android device, which means that it won’t need to have a powerful processor built into it, though at the current rate processor power and prices are going, it still might have one. We’ve embedded the video below for you guys to check out.

     

     
    Source: Google

    Proposed bill in Arizona makes trolling illegal

    Gadgets Team
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    Proposed bill in Arizona makes trolling illegal

    Yes, you read the title right – Arizona House Bill 2549 which passed both of Arizona’s legislative houses on March 29, is set to make trolling people on the internet illegal in the state of Arizona. The bill is an update to state’s telephone harassment law, and under the proposed legislation if a person is found guilty of violating the law, he (or she) will can be slapped with a class 1 misdemeanor, which in Arizona means that you can be fined $2,500 and put in jail for up to six months.

    The Bill says that “It is unlawful for any person, with intent to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend, to use any electronic or digital device and use any obscene, lewd or profane language or suggest any lewd or lascivious act, or threaten to inflict physical harm to the person or property of any person.” And while we’re not a big fan of cyberbullying or online harassment, the bill sets a dangerous precedent that supporters of similar censorship bills both in the United States and here locally are sure to capitalize on. The bill is currently awaiting approval from Arizona’s governor Janice K. Brewer.

    Opponents of the bill say that the wording is too vague and broad and might be twisted to not just include one-on-one correspondence, but public forums like community site Reddit and 4Chan. The bill’s enforcement is also problematic, as it states that the offense only has to occur on Arizona soil.

    Source: MSN

     

    Canon claims new EOS 60Da is suited for astronomy enthusiasts

    Gadgets Team
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    Canon claims new EOS 60Da is suited for astronomy enthusiasts

    The Canon EOS 60Da DSLR camera is geared towards photographers, astronomers, and hobbyists who want to take great photos of the night sky. The successor to the EOS 20Da has a modified infrared filter and a low-noise sensor with an intensified hydrogen-alpha sensitivity that according to Canon allows users to capture images of “red hydrogen emission” nebulae and further cosmic phenomena that your own eyes can’t see. The company claims that the camera is able to get an accurate depiction of the night sky and other happenings in our solar system that is hard to achieve with other conventional cameras.

    Although some photographers are claiming that there’s a cheaper alternative that involves replacing a DSLR’s stock Hydrogen-Alpha (Ha) filter with one that lets that part of the spectrum through, it’s really more than just the filter that makes the EOS 60Da specialized for astral photography.

    At the heart of the EOS 60Da is an 18-megapixel CMOS sensor. It also has a 3-inch Clear View LCD screen, a flip-out variable angle display, and a nine-point autofocus system. The new camera will be released later this month for USD $1,4900 (approximately Php 63,000).

    Living Innovation celebrates a night of luxury and design

    Gadgets Team
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    Living Innovation celebrates a night of luxury and design

    We were fortunate enough to be invited to a swanky dinner party by Bang and Olufsen’s local distributor, Living Innovations, at the home of none other than Living Innovation’s General Manager, Ferdinand Ong. On display during the event were iconic Bang and Olufsen products that sported the latest technologies (like their 3D-enabled  Beovision 4-85) and cutting edge design. The event served as a showcase of how well Bang and Olufsen products integrate into the modern home, as was shown to us Ferdinand Ong via his demonstration of  Beo 6 touchscreen remote control which he pre-programmed to control the lights, projector and TV. And while some of Bang and Olufsen’s products are priced too high for the normal consumer (the aforementioned Beo 6 touchscreen remote control retails for around 50-60 thousand pesos), there are (relatively) affordable and stylish products available in the B&O range. Their Beosound 8 iPad/iPhone/iPod dock retails at a relatively more sedate price of Php 65,450.

    [album: https://gadgetsmagazine.com.ph/wp-content/plugins/dm-albums/dm-albums.php?currdir=/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/[email protected]/Bang and O/]

    For those Mad About Travel, this event is for you

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    For those Mad About Travel, this event is for you

    A delicious retreat spot, a fitness plan for the beach body, an excellent luggage for half the price, a refreshing body massage; yes it could be the rising temperature causing the daydreams. But at the Mad About Travel 2012, these were no hallucinations. Last March 16-18, 2012, the fair was held at TriNoma Mall with invited attendees benefiting from discounts on premium items and a variety of offerings from event partners. The event focused on promoting Health and Wellness by means of traveling.

    Guests were welcomed with cocktails as event partners namely Philippine Airlines, Filman Travel Agency, Allied Bank, Fitness First, El Nido Resort, Philltoa, Bellarocca Island Resort and Spa, Blue Water Spa opened their booths granting special packages and services. Brands Slendertone, Backjoy, Fitflop, Healthy Back Bag, Hedgren, Delsey, Travelon and Go Travel showcased their best product selections. Airline flights, hotel accommodations and gift certificates were raffled off simultaneous with exciting games throughout the fair. The Travel Club held their sale event, trading premium travel items at friendlier costs.

    Celebrating its 20th year on December 2012, The Travel Club partnered with Allied Bank to release the first-ever The Travel Club Platinum Mastercard. Special privileges include discounts on Primer products; earning of Mabuhay Miles mileage points, Rebates, 0% Installment Payment Option, Balance Transfer, Free Purchase Protection Insurance and Free Travel Insurance just to name a few. Application forms for The Travel Club Platinum Mastercard were made available at the event.

    The Travel Club thrives on the goal of providing the most satisfying customer experience not only through product offerings but also through self-initiated events aimed at ensuring affordable, convenient and comfortable travel. The Travel Club is known for its wide selection of premium and international brands of luggage, bags and travel accessories namely Tumi, T-Tech by Tumi, Victorinox, Delsey, Ace, Mendoza, Zero Halliburton and World Traveller, Columbia, The North Face, Sea to Summit, Nalgene, Eagle Creek, etc. It has come a long way from its first store at SM Megamall in 1992 to 38 more at present. The Travel Club is the first-ever concept store of retail giant the Primer Group of Companies.

    All these and more will be at the next Mad About Travel in Abreeza Davao on April 27-29, Ayala Center Cebu on July 22-29, and Glorietta on October 12-14. Mad About Travel is made possible by partners: Philippine Airlines, Filman Travel Agency, Allied Bank, Fitness First, El Nido Resort, Philltoa, Bellarocca Island Resort and Spa, Blue Water Spa, Manila Bulletin, Brushstroke Creatives, Dispatch and Travelife Magazines, Slendertone, Backjoy FitFlop, Hedgren, Healthy Back Bag, Delsey, Travelon and Go Travel.

    The Travel Club is owned and operated by The Primer Group of Companies.

    Facebook counter-sues Yahoo with patent claims

    Gadgets Team
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    Facebook counter-sues Yahoo with patent claims

    Just like we predicted, the Yahoo vs. Facebook spat just got ugly, with the social media giant bringing its full weight against their once business partner Yahoo in a patent counter-suit. Facebook is saying that Yahoo has allegedly infringed on ten of Facebook’s patents which include its homepage, content optimization, relevance engine, Flickr photo-sharing service and advertising.

    Ted Ullyot, general counsel of Facebook has said that they would defend themselves vigorously against Yahoo’s lawsuit, and this is their blunt answer. “While we are asserting patent claims of our own, we do so in response to Yahoo’s short-sighted decision to attack one of its partners and prioritize litigation over innovation.”

    Yahoo spokesman Eric Berman said Facebook’s counterclaim is “nothing more than a cynical attempt to distract from the weakness of its defense.”

    While both parties have enormous sums at their disposal, Facebook has the leg up in this particular fight – not only is the social networking company on the way up, but it’s currently heading for a lucrative IPO, which some has speculated that would reach $100 billion. Yahoo on the other hand has been in troubled waters as of late, which frames their puzzling lawsuit firmly in the “hail-mary” playbook.

    Source: Reuters

    Review: Sony HDR-PJ10 Handycam

    Gadgets Team
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    Review: Sony HDR-PJ10 Handycam

    By Paolo Toledo

    Ever had those moments when you found yourself coming up with a cool gadget idea that combines two or more things?

    Enter the ultra-cool Sony HDR-PJ10 Handycam. It’s a compact HD camcorder with its own built-in projector. It is ergonomically sound, making it a comfortable fit in your hand in terms of its design and weight, with all buttons and straps well-placed for an overall sleek exterior. Our once wild dreams are now real enough to touch.

    Having your own projector fitted into your recording device is as useful and as fun to use as it sounds. The HDR-PJ10 allows you not only to record all your memories in 1920×1080/60p Full HD video, but it also lets you playback all your movies and images on any surface via a high-contrast projector, neatly snuggled to the LCD flip-panel. I had fun recording videos with friends and family, and playing them back on various surfaces (i.e. walls, ceilings, backs of other people) for all to enjoy in an instant.

    The projected image itself is surprisingly stunning, crisp and sharp. The projector can flash up to as much as a 60-inch diagonal screen, so all you have to do is find a surface to project on and—coupled with advanced Clear Phase stereo speakers—you have an instant mobile theater on hand to amaze any audience.

    Boasting resolutions at 1920×1080 and full HD 60p, picture quality is brilliant as any HD camcorder out there. Its wide angle G lens delivers quality optical performance, color reproduction, and amazingly detailed images—all with an enhanced framing area that eliminates cropping out images on the fringe. Also equipped with 29.8mm focal length, you get a broad enough view for wide-angle shooting, and combined with Sony’s trademark Optical SteadyShot, you can still get clean video shots, especially during active outdoor situations.

    My slight gripe with the PJ-10’s imaging capabilities is that still photos are only captured in 3-megapixels. It would have been a delight to also get high-quality photos at the same time to make this device the perfect all-around recording (and playback) gadget but of course, something always has to give.

    But one thing I really appreciated was the embedded 16GB flash memory. This addressed my worry about HD video storage since it really will take up huge amounts of space. But with this internal memory size, you can actually record up to 6-hours of HD video footage without even using the memory card slot. The device also has a nice add-on in the form of a built-in USB cable that connects directly to your PC, and is nicely inserted into the hand strap to avoid getting in the way.

    In terms of display, the 3.0-inch touchscreeen Clear Photo LCD also delivers the same sharp and clear images onscreen, although I did find response time with a bit of a lag when selecting options, and sometimes the interface of the features menu was rather tedious to go through. This was especially a bother when navigating while on projector mode since you had to toggle the zoom button a number of times just to get to one option, choose another video, or even to clear the display.

    The HDR-PJ10 also offers a wide range of shooting modes that stem from the Intelligent Auto mode, as it analyzes your shot and selects settings from 10 different scenes: Landscape, Backlight, Twilight, Spotlight, Low Light, Macro, Portrait, Baby, Walk and Tripod—making you end up with as many as 90 possible setting combinations. Added to this are the slow-motion capture features of Smooth Slow Record, and the Golf Shot that captures a few seconds of motion as a sequence of up to 22 still images (stop-motion style).

    In conclusion, the Sony HDR-PJ10 is just one exciting and high-performance gadget because not only does it shoot brilliant HD video, but it also has a high-contrast projector built into the device itself.

    Specifications:
    TYPE: Digital Video Camera Recorder (1920 x 1080; Full HD 60p) with Projector
    DIMENSIONS: 58.5mm x 64.5mm x128mm
    WEIGHT: 12.9 oz (w/battery)
    STABILIZATION: Optical SteadyShot Image stabilization w/Active mode
    ZOOM: 30x (optical)/350x (digital)/42x (extended)
    IMAGING SENSOR: 4.5mm Back-illuminated “Exmor R” CMOS
    BATTERY LIFE: Approx. 1.5 hours
    DISPLAY: 3.0” Touch-Screen Clear Photo LCD PLUS (230K)
    FLASH: Built-in Flash
    HD OUTPUT : HDMI Out (mini)/Component Video Out (Component A/V cable)
    PROJECTOR RESOLUTION: 640 x 360 (10” – 60” screen)
    INTERNAL MEMORY: 16GB Flash Memory
    EXTERNAL MEMORY: Memory Stick PRO Duo (Mark 2); Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo; SD/ SDHC/ SDXC Memory Card (Class 4 or Higher)

    What’s Hot:
    • Built-in high-contrast projector
    • Captures 1920 x 1080 Full HD 60p video
    • 16GB internal memory (up to 6 hours video)
    • Built-in USB cable
    • Sleek and efficient design

    What’s Not:
    • Only captures 3-megapixel photos
    • Menu gets tedious to work (in projector mode)
    • No viewfinder

     Bottomline:
    The Sony HDR-PJ10 with built-in projector is an incredible all-in-one high-performance recording and projection system that delivers stunning HD videos and images, packed with features, and very easy to handle. It’s at top of its class in terms of feature and design at this price point.

    Buy Meter: 9.0

    [This review originally appeared in the July 2011 issue of Gadgets Magazine]

    Western Digital releases 2TB My Passport external hard drives

    Gadgets Team
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    1
    Western Digital releases 2TB My Passport external hard drives

    Western Digital has released a 2TB (2-terabyte) version of its My Passport external hard drives. Although the company already has the MyBook storage solutions that offer more storage space, they’re significantly larger and harder to carry around, while the 2TB Passport measures only 111 x 82 x 21mm in size and weighs only half a pound. To make it even better than previous models, it’s equipped with USB 3.0 for much faster connections and data transfer while sporting a new external design that’s more resistant to scratches.

    Like the previous Passport hard drives, the 2TB version also comes with WD SmartWare auto backup software, password protection, and a polycarbonate WD Nomad travel case that further protects it from bumps. The 2TB My Passport mini drive is priced at a suggested retail price of US $249.99 (approximately Php 10,500), which is not a bad deal considering how we need more storage space now than ever before with today’s software and large file sizes, plus it’s always vital to have a backup of your work at all times.

     

    Temple Run arrives on Android with Instagram soon to follow

    Gadgets Team
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    Temple Run arrives on Android with Instagram soon to follow

    With the number of Android device users growing every day, more and more apps that were previously made only for iOS gadgets are also making their way to the Android platform.

    Temple Run, a highly-successful game that has been downloaded 45 million times on the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, is one of them, so owners of Android devices can now also partake in the fun of seeking to avoid hoards of vulture-looking monkeys without falling to their death.

    In other news, the world popular photo-sharing app, Instagram, is also on its way to Google’s Android platform. Instagram has a whopping 27 million registered iOS users and this is expected to double once the software is made available on Android.

    Dust-up over Facebook privacy issue – aide suspended over refusal to hand over FB access

    Gadgets Team
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    Dust-up over Facebook privacy issue – aide suspended over refusal to hand over FB access

    “Should employers have access to their employees’ Facebook accounts?” This contentious question has been making the rounds in the tech beat as of late, and has finally come to a head via the case of one Kimberly Hester, a teacher’s aide at Frank Squires Elementary School in Cassopolis, Mich. Ms. Hester posted a photo on her FB account on her own time of a co-worker’s pants around her ankles and a pair of shoes which she decided was all in good fun. Unfortunately, one of her FB friends (who is also a parent of a student at the school) apparently took offense and reported her. She was later summoned to the office of Lewis-Cass Intermediate superintendent Robert Colby, who asked to see her Facebook account. She did not agree.

    “He asked me three times if he could view my Facebook and I repeatedly said I was not OK with that,” Hester told WSBT.

    She then received a letter from the Special Education Director at Lewis Cass informing her that “…in the absence of you voluntarily granting Lewis Cass ISD administration access to you[r] Facebook page, we will assume the worst and act accordingly.”

    The incident led to her being suspended which, in turn, led to her filing a lawsuit against the school. Her case is slated for arbitration this May.

    “I stand by it,” Hester told WSBT. “I did nothing wrong. And I would not, still to this day, let them in my Facebook. And I don’t think it’s OK for an employer to ask you.”

    With social networking sites becoming a fact of our daily life, is it fair for schools and other institutions to impose sanctions based on your actions on social media sites? Do schools and the place where you work have a right to levy punishments based on what’s on your Facebook account? Let us know in the comments.

    Source: WSBT

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