Chrome 11 vs Firefox 4 vs IE 9

Motorola's 4.3-inch Photon 4G brings Tegra 2, kickstand magic to Sprint (video hands-on)

You know something big is about to go down when you can get the CEOs from two major tech companies to sit down together for lunch. As suspected, today's Sprint / Motorola event, presided over by Dan Hesse and Sanjay Jha, marked the debut of the rumored Photon 4G. The handset packs a 4.3-inch qHD display, 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of built-in memory, and pre-installed Gingerbread -- plus, for better or worse, the latest version of Blur. The skinny new smartphone's got front and rear facing cameras (the latter of which is eight megapixels), a dedicated camera button, and micro USB and HDMI ports, which will hook into a soon to be announced docking device.

Apple iCloud brings previously purchased apps back from the dead

Lamenting the time you restored your iPhone and lost that beloved VLC app because it's no longer available on the App Store? Cheer up, there's an iCloud for that. The service allows you to re-download any app you've previously purchased on any of your iOS devices -- including killed apps. We decided to give it a whirl, testing our luck with an iPhone 3GS humming along on iOS 4.3.3. Upon browsing the Purchases section of the App Store, we beheld Tris, an app that hasn't been available in nearly three years. Sure enough, we pressed the iCloud icon and within seconds, the ol' Tetris clone was back in action. So if you were one of the four people that downloaded I am Rich before it was killed, you'll be sure to enjoy that $1,000 investment for years to come.

Zach Honig contributed to this report.

CDFX Apps

Sony answers more PlayStation Vita questions: no to video output, yes to region-free

We heard earlier at E3 that the PlayStation Vita might be able to do video output via the multiport on the bottom of the handheld, but it's now looking like that won't be the case -- at least according to the official FAQ that Sony has made available.

CE-Oh no he didn't!: Stephen Elop says 'Apple created Android,' the conditions necessary for its existence

Nokia's freshman CEO is speaking at the Open Mobile Summit right now. As expected, he's covering the same ol' ground, explaining why Nokia ditched Symbian and MeeGo to build the "third ecosystem" with Microsoft -- you know, after totally dominating the high-end smartphone market just three years ago. He's also being credited with the following quote:

"Apple created Android, or at least created the conditions necessary for Android to come into being"

SRWare Iron – A Chromium-based browser that respects your privacy

Google Chrome, since its release, has found huge popularity amongst users and developers alike. The Google-owned browser, based on the open source Chromium project is also an integral part of the upcoming Chromebooks. Now, as fast and secure as Google Chrome is, many users are more concerned about their privacy while using this browser. There are articles floating around on the internet criticizing Google for its intrusive privacy policies. Providing a good solution to this problem comes SRWare Iron, a Chromium-based browser that is optimized for privacy and security. Let’s take a look at what SR Ware offers and how it is different from Google Chrome.

Avoiding a Cloud Computing Armageddon

Cloud computing is all the rage today, with everyone from the U.S. Federal government to Apple herding us into a brave new world of remotely hosted data and services.  There are, of course, many advantages to the cloud concept.  But as usual, this new IT architecture has some inherent and serious risks that cloud proponents hope potential customers will not dwell on.

Apple iOS 5 preview

iOS 5 won't be ready for the masses until this Fall, but lucky developers -- and eager tech bloggers -- are able to get in on the action right now. We just got done downloading the 730MB BETA, and have decided to turn our iPhone 4 and iPad 2 into guinea pigs for all the newness. Apple says that there are over 200 new features baked into the updated OS, and we've run through the biggies from Notification Center to Twitter to that oh-so-convenient split keyboard for you -- all you need to do is click after the break.

tricky tips for ubuntu 11.04 unity

The following tutorial will teach Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) users how to customize the new interface developed by Canonical for the Ubuntu operating system, Unity.

The new Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty Narwhal) operating system introduced a different user interface, designed by Canonical, called Unity. But the development team did not offered some easy to understand and learn tricks, to make Unity usable by human beings.

With these trips and tricks, users should familiarize with Unity and find it very useful and user friendly. Without any ado, we'll let you now test these nice tricks.

But first, you will need the Compiz Fusion Settings Manager Tool installed in your Ubuntu 11.04 operating system. To install it, click the link below:


Install CompizConfig Settings Manager
Unity Autohide

We bet that few of you knew that Unity can be hidden during your entire session. To do this, press the Windows key and search for compiz. Click the CompizConfig Settings Manager icon and search for the 'Ubuntu Unity Plugin' entry. All you have to do now is to set the "Hide Launcher" option on "Autohide".

ios 5 :everything you want to know

Scott Forstall has just taken the WWDC 2011 stage and details about the changes and improvements in iOS 5 are flowing thick and fast. Keep one tab in your browser locked to this post as we update it with all the new features, and throw another one open for our liveblog where you'll get to see and read the very latest as it happens.

Lenovo's IdeaPad U300S flaunts its trim frame at Computex

So-called Ultrabooks were all the rage at Computex 2011, and ASUS, LG and Compal weren't the only ones to stake a claim -- this Lenovo IdeaPad U300S is another contender in the ultra-thin, sub-$1,000 notebook game.

Droid X2 review

Would a Droid X by any other name smell as sweet? When we reviewed that phone last year we found it to be a solid performer in a solid chassis. In short: a very good phone. Now it's back with a new name, or a revised one at least, the Motorola Droid X2 offering the same basic design as its predecessor but packing a lot more heat on the inside -- a dual-core dose of Tegra 2, to be specific. Will it tickle your olfactory sensors just like the first X?

Motorola Droid 3 leaks out in tutorial vids, confirms 8MP camera and 1080p recordings (video)

Verizon and Motorola have kept a tighter lid on the Droid 3 than many recent smartphones we've seen, but a nice big leak just sprang from the bottom of the pot -- startup gadget blog PhonePads obtained three tutorial videos of the five-row QWERTY slider strutting its stuff.

Champtron's 65-incher can recognize two-finger touch, make for a decently spacious second screen (video)

If you can never have enough screen real estate while working, you might want to give Champtron's 65-inch behemoth a look. It's a 1080p Sharp panel imbued with the ability to recognize two touch inputs at a time -- which can be fingers or "any" other sort of stylus -- which should prove pretty damn useful when you're trying to Photoshop a little extra sheen atop Steve Ballmer's glorious dome.

InfiniTV 4 CableCARD tuner prices are dropping, down to $256 shipped from $399 previously

Whether it's due to pressure from SiliconDust's HDHomeRun Prime or as a result of simplified hardwareis unclear,

MasterImage touts 4.3-, 7- and 10-inch glasses-free 3D displays, interest from 'first tier' device makers

 5:17PM

MasterImage and its parallax barrier 3D technology have been around for a while. Though nothing major -- excepting the Hitachi H001 in Japan -- has ever come of this company's efforts,

Switched On: As Windows loses its windows

You say you want a revolution? Well, you know... . you might get one if you're a patient Windows user. With Windows' eighth major release (at least according to Microsoft's math), its name is becoming metaphorical. Taking on a default look that is rooted in Windows Phone 7 -- the first "Windows" to eschew windows -- with a smattering of Media Center, the next major version of Windows marks an overhaul of the initial user interface. Indeed, it is even a more radical departure than Apple made between Mac OS X and iOS, which preserved a scaled-down dock and icons, or between Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X.

Visualized: Acer's Iconia Tab A500 is 'a better choice' than the iPad (update: video!)

We were making our way through Taipei's sublime metro system this week and what did we see on the side of the stairway? Why, it was a collection of iPad images, but rather than an Apple-funded advert, this was an Acer-instigated bit of spec sheet trash talk.

Kno brings textbooks to iPad, millions of children now dread getting Apple tablet for Christmas

You know the old saying, right? If you can't beat them, license your designs to third-party manufacturers and develop an app for your competitor's hardware.

Inhabitat's Week in Green:hybrid hydrogen hovercraft, amphibious ice cream, and the transparent solar touchscreen laptop of our dreams

Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. 
Solar energy supercharged our power grid and gadgets this week as Inhabitat showcased a hot solar laptop set within a transparent case that allows sunlight to shine straight through it

How would you change Fujifilm's FinePix X100?

Photokina 2010 was the launching pad for a relatively new class of point-and-shoot, and Fujifilm'sFinePix X100 was just one of the many high-end, zoomless compacts designed to put DSLR-level image quality into your right (or left, for southpaws) rear pocket. Of course, the compromise is the inability to swap lenses and the omission of an optical zoom, but evidently the market research has shown that there's a market for this thing, yet. The X100 oozes beauty, but it most definitely comes at a cost -- over $1,000 at last check.

Google Translate API gets reprieve, servers will accept cash for interpreter duties

Last month, Google said it intended to pull the plug on a variety of APIs, including one rather curious pick -- Google Translate, which had actually been getting so much use that it was allegedly causing an "economic burden" for the company.

Making this Code Your Own

Shopkeeper No, I’m afraid not actually guv, we’re fresh out of parrots. I’ll tell you what though … I’ll lop its back legs off, make good, strip the fur, stick a couple of wings on and staple on a beak of your own choice. (taking small box and rattling it) No problem. Lovely parrot. 
While I’ve been giving you coding examples, I’ve assumed that generalising from them will be self evident.  I understand that that it is not.  In this tutorial we will look at ways of approaching the code with a view to giving you some guidance on how to make this code your own.

HTC Open Sources Sense UI, Dev Program Later This Summer

HTC CEO Peter Chou has announced during the Qualcomm-backed Uplinq conference that the manufacturer’s Sense 3.0 

user interface, which has been the linchpin for the majority of its Android smart device lineup will be open sourced with a new developer program launching this summer.

Mercedes-Benz completes hydrogen-powered F-Cell World Drive, but had to bring its own fuel

At January's Detroit Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz eagerly showed off its hydrogen-powered F-Cell car, vowing to prove the viability of fuel-cell vehicles by driving three of them around the world.

Batarang controllers to be thrown at E3, come back in October

If multiple batmobiles, a bat-usb stick, and a bat-puter aren't enough to convince you Bruce Wayne is a vain egomaniac, maybe these Batman: Arkham City batarang controllers will give you pause.

Mad Catz' exclusive Xbox 360 wireless headphones revealed: integrated voice chat, 5.8GHz base station

Remember how Mad Catz scored the exclusive rights to produce Xbox 360 wireless headphones? Here's the deal: these cans don't need to be tethered to your controller for voice chat or plugged into a wall to charge.

Newest Kinect hack: a grocery cart that loyally follows disabled shoppers (video)

Microsoft's Kinect is the gift that keeps on giving for hackers, spawning everything from glasses-free teleconferencing to Tesla coil manipulation to uh, well, Android dance parties

Motorola Xoom hits 1.7GHz, teeters on the edge of oblivion

Just when we thought the Motorola Xoom had hit its stride at a blazing 1.504 billion operations per second, the trusty Tiamat kernel has strapped on an veritable afterburner capable of 1.7GHz.

Sony's dual-screen S2 tablet hits the FCC, boasting AT&T-ready cellular frequencies

Regardless of how you might feel about the potential dangers of electromagnetic radiation, it came in mighty handy today -- identifying this brand-new Sony S2 tablet headed to the USA. The FCC recently got a glimpse at Sir Howard's dual-screen Honeycomb clamshell, and thanks to the public portion of their reports, we've got some crucial specs: the Sony "SGPT211US" will sport 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth, and most tellingly,

Why Startups Should Raise Money at the Top End of Normal

I have conversations with entrepreneurs and other VCs on a daily basis about fund raising, the prices of deals, how much companies should raise, etc. I’ve stopped talking about this as much publicly because it’s such a heated, emotional topic where the points-of-view are strictly subjective and for which the answers will only be revealed in the future.

Windows logo planted on upcoming Apple Store in Germany (video)

A quick glance at the above photo might have you believing that's the site of a Microsoft Store being constructed; actually, it's an Apple Store.