by Edwin - on August 31st, 2011
This rather interesting piece of stationary will feature a built-in hand-cranked pencil sharpener as well as a place for you to stash away your pencil in the ruler itself when you do not need it. Made out of beautiful, sturdy rosewood, this is one modern piece of school stationary that is old school in nature. Perfect for any math class that you have enrolled your little one in, that?s for sure.
Though the Motorola Pro+ is an attractive evolution of the original Droid Pro (and the GSM Motorola Pro and Sprint MOTOROLA XPRT) design, the device still lacks the ease of use to attract BlackBerry users to switch. Unlike BlackBerry smartphones, which used to use the ?pearl? or trackball and have now switched to a trackpad, the Motorola Pro only has a touchscreen, capacitive touch Android navigation buttons, and keyboard, making users shift between the keyboard and the screen.
While the omission of a trackpad or navigation pad seems like a minor detail, in usage, it makes a big difference in the ability to both use the device with just one hand or to navigate the OS and the device efficiently with two hands.
For instance, if users were to navigate to a website and enter in their login credentials, they would have to first tap on the browser icon, then tap on the address bar field, move their hand to the keyboard to enter the URL, then move their hand to the display to click on the username field, then move their hand back to the keyboard to enter in the username, then move their hand to keyboard to type, and then move their hand back to the screen to tap on the password field, then move their hand back to the keyboard to enter the password, and then move their hand back to the screen to tap to login.
With Research in Motion?s implementation of a trackpad, users could mainly keep their hands centered on the keyboard and just swing their thumbs upward to the trackpad to navigate between the different field, similar to the paradigm employed on a laptop with the keyboard placed just above the trackpad where navigation is easy and doesn?t require the end user to move their hands off of the keyboard.
While the Motorola Pro, and now the evolved Pro+, is one of the best imitation of a BlackBerry?the ridged keyboard is very similar to the BlackBerry Bold?s keyboard though the Motorola keyboard is a lot more narrow as Motorola opted for a portrait-oriented display rather than the landscape-oriented display that affords more real estate in the width area?keyboard, it is sad that Motorola engineers did not see fit to replicate the trackpad as well to bring over that simple ease of use on a device that?s designed to attract over BlackBerry users to the Android platform.
Android ?pro? device manufacturers are quickly learning though. Samsung had introduced two pro smartphone models that are designed to compete with the BlackBerry platform recently, and those models come with the front-facing QWERTY coupled with a landscape-oriented display that will make it a wider device to give the keyboard some breathing room, along with the handy trackpad navigation.
So while the Motorola Pro+?s specs are great?a 3.1-inch VGA display (up from a 2.8-inch HVGA screen) and a 1 GHz CPU?the lack of some crucial ease of use elements, including the much maligned omission of a trackpad, will make it hard to convince BlackBerry users to switch, especially considering that the BlackBerry platform is not known for glitzy games nor apps, but the quick ability to fire off an email, compose a text, or communicate without much effort. The much touted enterprise-driven security features implemented by Moto will surely help keep IT managers happy, but will enterprise users be frustrated with the lack of design thought?
Category: Editorials
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Phenomenally stupid �female Shepard hair colour polls aside, Commander Shepard was probably one of the most memorable protagonists Bioware has ever created. Bioware isn?t really known for drawing its protagonists? stories, however and Shepard is definitely not getting even a hint of special treatment. Mass Effect 3 is the last game featuring Shepard as anything other than a cameo (and/or Citadel shop spokesman).
?We have ambitious plans to continue this franchise going forward. Mass Effect 3 is simultaneously a couple of different things: a thrilling and epic conclusion to the trilogy as we promised our fans we?d provide for Commander Shepard, but it?s also a brand new beginning ? it?s an entry point for new fans,? Bioware co-founder Ray Muzyka said. We just hope they follow the tried and tested Star Trek formula, because if Shepard was Mass Effect?s Kirk, we can?t wait to see its Picard.
Source PC Gamer
We all know that we should exercise regularly to stay fit and healthy, but doing so can be a real chore. Using gadgets to keep us excited about our workouts is just one way to stay inspired to keep up good habits. One such gadget that can help you keep track of your fitness activities and goals is the Fitbit Wireless Activity Tracker. It?s sort of like a pedometer on steroids that can give you an overall snapshot of your daily activity level.�
Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view.
Fitbit Wireless Activity Tracker
USB charging dock / base station
Belt clip
Wrist band holder
The Fitbit is a small plastic device with a rubberized coating, one button and a built in blue OLED display.
It?s shaped like a clip to easily allow you to attach it to your clothing, etc.
It comes with a plastic belt clip holder, but you can just as easily slide it over your belt or waist band without using the holder at all. At least that?s how I have been using the Fitbit during my review period.
Also included is a wrist band. The wrist band is used to hold the Fitbit while you?re sleeping so that it can record your sleep patterns.
To starting using the Fitbit, you will first need to charge it using the included USB charging dock / base station (the Fitbit will need to be recharged every 3-7 days depending on how active you are). The dock is also a wireless receiver that will update your activity data on the web whenever you come within 15 feet of the dock with your Fitbit.
After you?ve charged your Fitbit Tracker for the first time, you will need to install a small program on your PC or Mac and then register the tracker online by going to the Fitbit website. You?ll be asked to enter some basic information such as your height, weight, age, gender, etc. Once you?ve completed that step, you can slide the Fitbit on your belt and start accumulating steps and activity. There?s no need to calibrate it for your walking stride. The Fitbit contains a motion sensor like the ones found in the Nintendo Wii and can sense your motion in three dimensions and convert it into information about your daily activities such as walking, running and general household/lifestyle activities. For counting your steps, it is claimed to be 95-97% accurate.
One of the features I like best about the Fitbit is that the built in OLED display shows you your progress in bright blue easy to ready text. By repeatedly pressing the button on the display, it will show different info such as how many steps you?ve accumulated for the day?
How many miles you?ve walked?
Calories you?ve burned?
And it will also show your overall activity level for the day by displaying a flower that grows as you are more active.
The only thing the Fitbit doesn?t display is the time of day? Not a big deal, but it might be a nice feature.
Once you?ve walked around a bit, you can upload your data to your Fitbit account on the web. You don?t have to plug the Fitbit into the USB dock to do so. Just go in the same room as the dock and it will transmit the data wirelessly.
To view your data, you login to your account on the Fitbit site. The dashboard gives you a quick overall view of your data.
The web interface has options to add the foods you?ve eaten throughout the day, activities you?ve done, your weight for the day, mood and there?s even a space to write a journal entry.
If you have a smartphone or other mobile device, you can access your account through http://m.fitbit.com/ and add activities and foods through that interface too.
Adding the food you?ve consumed and your activities helps to give a more accurate view of your calories burned vs. consumed. Fitbit does help you out by estimating the calories burned. Here?s an explanation from their FAQ:
When you first join Fitbit, your dashboard will show an estimated number of calories burned for that day. The estimate is based on your BMR (Base Metabolic Rate) which we calculate using the height, weight, age and gender information you provide during sign up. If you are using the Tracker and syncing your data we replace the estimated burn with the tracker?s data plus any additional activities you might log that were not captured by the tracker.
When nothing much is logged, we try to guess how many calories you have burned if you were sedentary. (Sedentary means you got out of bed, got dressed, went to your day job, came home and did nothing much more than walk to your car.) Once you start logging activities, we assume that you know best and we stop estimating; we use the data you provided. If you only log a small portion of your activity, we?ll be missing a lot.
(If you are not using the Tracker at all, and just using the website to manually log your food or activities, then you will only see estimated calorie burn plus what you manually log in activities. If this applies to you, you should probably also log your general life activities ? i.e. 8 hours of working at a desk or 1 hour or so of house work to get a better picture of how many calories you are actually burning.)
I?ll admit that it can be a ?chore? to add the foods and activities via the web page. I personally prefer to use the Fitbit just to track my steps. Typically, if you can get at least 10,000 steps a day, you should be relatively healthy.
If you wear the Fitbit on your wrist at night, it will even help you track your sleeping patterns. It?s not going to help you sleep, but it can give you an idea of just how many hours of real sleep you?re getting each night. The tracker shows how many times you woke up during the night vs. slept.
You will also receive a weekly email that gives you an overview of the past week?s activity (steps, distance, calories, weight, sleep, etc.)
When you buy the Fitbit, you can use the web site for free to do everything I?ve listed above. There is also a Premium service that offers some extra features such as more detailed reports, comparisons to other Fitbit members, special training suggestions and the ability to export data as an XLS or CSV file. The Premium service runs $49.99/yr.
The Fitbit Wireless Activity Tracker can be used as a simple pedometer and even more if you are diligent enough to add your foods and activities through the web interface. The fact that it wirelessly updates your info to the web, has a built in display that gives you info on your steps, distance, and calories, makes it a nice gadget to keep you motivated to stay healthy and moving.
| Price: | $99.95 |
| Manufacturer: | Fitbit |
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HTC Omega / HTC Radar Specifications:
* Processor 1.5GHz
* Screen 3.8 inch WVGA screen SLCD
* Camera 8 megapixel
* Flash LED plus
* Ability 720p camcorder
* 512MB of RAM
* There is a camera on the front
Today HTC Omega is still a rumor and probably just a code name in which the official product name will probably HTC Radar, we wait further news on 1 September.
Tags: HTC Omega, HTC Omega / HTC Radar Specs, HTC Omega Processor, HTC Radar, Photo HTC Radar, Picture HTC Omega
by Mark R - on August 29th, 2011
The reason why is because they were using the attendees at PAX to be extras in their game, March 32nd. The game is planned to be a combination of a contemporary noir story in 12 episodes, and it is completely interactive.
Apparently, every character in March 32nd is nothing more than silhouettes of different colors. Their booth was set up so that it could record attendee?s silhouettes, and they will eventually appear as extras within the game before its release next Spring.
It really looked interesting, and I decided to try it out for myself. You know that scene in TV/movies where a guy casually leaves a suitcase behind so someone else can pick it up? I played the guy that dropped off the suitcase. Look for it in the game, as that is my silhouette. I had to sign off on it so my likeness could be used.
I?m not certain how effective a game will be with nothing but silhouettes, but I am told that the game is told from the point-of-view of an amnesiac who sees his dystopian world in a crazy way. I can?t wait to see how it turns out, and I?ll be looking for me in it.
You can buy customized Tshirts, Mugs, Mousepads, Photo books etc with your own artwork, but how about an audio speaker? That?s new right? Zazzle gives you the ability. You can choose from a large selection of existing styles, or upload your own image to create a one of a kind speaker. Hey, that speaker above looks pretty snazzy if I do say so myself 
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MIT is working on a new electric vehicle, which is called the CityCar, and the vehicle will be able to fold up to reduce the actual size of the car when it is parked.
The video below shows a prototype of the CityCar in action, the final production version will be larger than the actual one featured in the video below.
MIT is expecting to have an actual usable version of the CityCar some time next year, and it may go into production in the future.
Source MIT, The Next Web
The following specifications of the Nokia 701:
* Symbian Belle
* Processor 1GHz
* 8MP Camera full focus
* Dual LED flash on the back
* Being able to record HD video
* 8GB internal memory
* MicroSD slot 32 GB
* 3.5-inch screen ClearBack
* Corning Gorilla Glass Coatings
* Screen is bright
* The screen can be seen in the hot sun and strong
* The battery lasts up to 17 hours talktime
* 550 hours standby
* Connectivity 3G HSUPA
* WiFi
* NFC
* Bluetooth
* GPS
* FM radio
Nokia 701 has several colors including:
* Steel dark
* Silver light
* Amethyst violet
* White
The Nokia 701 is the most expensive price compared to other third-Nokia Symbian belle is 290 euros.
Tags: 701, Nokia, Nokia 701, Nokia 701 clearback 3.5 inches, Nokia 701 full focus 8mp camera, Nokia 701 Price, Nokia 701 Processor, Nokia 701 Specs, Nokia 701 Symbian Belle, Nokia C7, Picture Nokia 701
12:00
Tom
