Microsoft streamlining Windows 8 install process, promises setup in just 11 clicks
Trudging through Windows 7′s upgrade process drags users through as many as four wizards, 60 windows, and more mouse clicks than anybody at Microsoft cared to count. In a recent study covering PC upgrades, Redmond found this was simply too much of a hassle for many customers. The fix? Consolidate and streamline — according to the outfit’s Building Windows 8 blog, upgrading customers will be able to power through installing Windows 8 using a single wizard in as few as 11 clicks. The new process scans the machine for compatibility, checks for the best version of Windows to install, and prompts the user through the process. Moreover, using Windows 8′s upcoming web delivery method pre-keys the setup image, freeing users from remembering a 25-digit product key. Advanced users will be able to use a new Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit to create customized unattended setup configurations for multi-boot and specialized network installations. Want to read into all the juicy details? Hit the source link below.
Microsoft streamlining Windows 8 install process, promises setup in just 11 clicks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Nov 2011 23:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Nook Tablet gets rooted, bootloader stays under lock and key
Jealous of that root-ready Kindle Fire, but not ready to trudge through the Amazon to get it? Don’t worry, you can stay huddled up with your Nook Tablet and get all the device rooting you want — with a few caveats. Although the good folks on the XDA Forums haven’t unlocked the slab’s bootloader just yet, they’ve managed to root the tablet all the same. Jumping through a few technical hoops (or stumbling across forum user Indirect’s one-click Windows utility) will score you access to the Android market and another way to sideload apps on the souped up slate. Custom ROMs? Not yet; in addition to killing the root with every device reboot, the locked bootloader is keeping the Nook’s tweaked build of Android 2.3 front and center. Hit up the source link below to get started.
Update: Indirect has updated his forum post to clarify that the root is permanent.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Nook Tablet gets rooted, bootloader stays under lock and key originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Nov 2011 18:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Wolfram Alpha search engine now tracks flight paths, trajectory information
If you’ve ever looked up in the sky and wondered where a plane might be headed, Wolfram Alpha might just know the answer. The search engine, which recently began incorporating data from the FAA can now, with a five-minute delay from real-time data, use a flight’s speed, heading and altitude to offer a projection of a plane’s position. A search for ‘flights overhead’ via the Wolfram Alpha web site or app will use your location to pinpoint flights that should be visible to you. That string currently only works if the flight has at least one endpoint in the United States, so tracking international flights might be limited. Even so, this should allow you to look up flight delays, check when the next flight will be, see a cool interactive sky map and track a specific flight, of course. You’ll have no valid excuse for being late to pick a friend up from the airport ever again.
Wolfram Alpha search engine now tracks flight paths, trajectory information originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 19 Nov 2011 08:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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SwiftKey X 2.2 arrives for smartphones and tablets with support for 35 languages
If you’re unhappy with your current Android keyboard, TouchType would like to think that it delivers a better option. The company’s popular input alternative, SwiftKey X, has just received a major update with support for 35 languages, along with full localization for the major European ones. Even if you happen to speak plain ol’ English, the software promises better accuracy and prediction than before with a new multitouch framework. There’s even something for those who like to go really alternative, as Dvorak and Colemak layouts have been added to the mix. Topping it all off, version 2.2 introduces support for Ice Cream Sandwich, along with a host of user interface refinements — which you’ll find in the gallery below. After a quick run around the block with SwiftKey’s latest, we must say that we were quite pleased. Then again, we happen to really like Android’s stock keyboard, too. As for the complete list of languages, just check the PR after the break.
Gallery: SwiftKey X 2.2
Continue reading SwiftKey X 2.2 arrives for smartphones and tablets with support for 35 languages
SwiftKey X 2.2 arrives for smartphones and tablets with support for 35 languages originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 18 Nov 2011 03:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Kindle Fire gets rooted with ‘one click,’ paves the way for Amazonian adventures
Yesterday, we saw the Kindle Fire get ripped apart. Today, it’s been rooted. The solution comes courtesy of a user lovingly known as “death2all11o,” who posted the “1-click’ recipe to Android Forums earlier today. The procedure seems relatively straightforward, requiring only a copy of SuperOneClick 2.2, an Android SDK, and a bit of hacktastic know-how. For a more detailed guide, hit up the source links below.
[Thanks, Blake]
Kindle Fire gets rooted with ‘one click,’ paves the way for Amazonian adventures originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Nov 2011 06:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google Programming Language is Go for 2012 launch
Compared to the gamut of conversational languages, the programming variety shifts at lighting-fast speed. And next year, a new language will get the official nod from Google, which first introduced Go in 2009. With its new language, Mountain View set out to create a programming environment that’s easier and faster to use, without sacrificing efficiency. Programmers may need to wait until early 2012 for Go to launch out of experimental status, but you can buy that cute Gopher mascot (in furry plush form) over at the Google Store today.
Google Programming Language is Go for 2012 launch originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
DreamWorks CEO envisions an internet with more animation, fewer words
Is the internet on the cusp of a post-text era? Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg certainly thinks so. Speaking at the Techonomy conference in Tucson yesterday, Katzenberg confirmed that his company is already working on expanding 3D animation to the realm of social media, as part of a collaboration with Intel. As Technology Review reports, the two companies have been working on the project for the better part of four years, developing 12-core chips and software capable of delivering real-time photographic animation. Katzenberg didn’t offer many details beyond that, but seemed confident that his company’s new technology could radically alter the way users share and engage with online content by transcending the boundaries of traditional text. “Text is a learned process but what we do [at Dreamworks] is intuitive and instinctual and you do it from the moment you are born,” he said, “We’re trying to see if we can move many of these things we can do today in text but moving up to video and audio… with sight and sound.” The exec went on to cite Apple’s Siri personal assistant as proof that this transition is already underway: “Whether we do it or somebody else does it, we will move from a text world into a audio visual one.” Intriguing claims, to be sure, but we’ll know more next year, when Dreamworks’ new campaign gets underway.
DreamWorks CEO envisions an internet with more animation, fewer words originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Netflix reveals new user interface experience for Android tablets, iPad counterpart coming soon
You’ve already had a peek at it in the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet, but it seems that redesigned user interface is going to be hitting more than just the holiday’s most-talked about duo. Netflix has made official a newly redesigned user interface experience for Android tablets — one that “makes browsing and instantly watching unlimited TV shows and movies streaming from Netflix better than ever.” The new look provides multiple rows of titles with larger artwork to scroll through, with Neil Hunt, chief product officer at Netflix, noting that the company has seen a “threefold increase in how long Netflix members are watching on their tablets.” As of today, interested consumers can simply update their Netflix app in the Android Market, while iPad users are being asked to wait “a few weeks,” after which the new tablet experience will be dubbed Tabster and led on Twitter by a 17-year old methamphetamine addict.
Netflix reveals new user interface experience for Android tablets, iPad counterpart coming soon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Nov 2011 08:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Zinio now available on Amazon Appstore, brings 5,000 magazines to Kindle Fire
Continue reading Zinio now available on Amazon Appstore, brings 5,000 magazines to Kindle Fire
Zinio now available on Amazon Appstore, brings 5,000 magazines to Kindle Fire originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Nov 2011 05:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
DoubleTwist releases new version for Android faithful, shows off premium EQ
Continue reading DoubleTwist releases new version for Android faithful, shows off premium EQ
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DoubleTwist releases new version for Android faithful, shows off premium EQ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.