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Are You Tech-Ready for March Madness? March 18, 2010

Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : sports , add a comment

With only a few hours left till one of the biggest sporting events of the year, we wanna help you stay up to date on everything related to March Madness, sharing with you a slew of gadgets and apps to cover the variety of your needs, from watching the games, to checking scores, to seeing  if you picked that game upset in your brackets while on the go– with something available for your computer, iPhone/iPod Touch or other smartphones.

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Nexus One Coming to Sprint and AT&T March 18, 2010

Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones , add a comment

There has been much talk about the Nexus One coming to Sprint and AT&T, and over the last two days, those rumors became fact. Google yesterday announced that those interested in an AT&T 3G version of the latest and greatest Android device, without the need to switch to T-Mobile, can now buy their own for $530 without contract, the same price as the unlocked, no-contract T-Mobile 3G version (T-Mobile also has a subsidized $180 with a new 2 year contract and special plan).

Additionally, Sprint announced today that they too plan to carry the Nexus One very soon– though unlike the AT&T-capable version, the Sprint Nexus One is still in the same territory as the Verizon Nexus One: we now know it’s coming, we just don’t know exactly when and for what price.

Both the Sprint and AT&T versions of the Nexus One will be sold only and directly from Google’s online store– google.com/phone.

So, anyone out there excited for the Nexus One to come to your carrier?

To learn more about the Nexus One, see our initial post here.

rapportive – Review March 17, 2010

Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : First Look/Reviews, Misc., web , add a comment

Some math: Gmail – ads + contact social info = ?

Ok – so browser plugins aren’t really something I usually write about here – but this one here’s an exception. To jump right in, I love rapportive. Love it. It’s just cool.

Backing up just a bit. Gmail users – you guys all know the ads on the right side of emails you read, right? Well, rapportive is a Firefox and Chrome plugin, that simply replaces them. Now that’s nice, but not only does it get rid of the ads, it replaces them with something pretty useful: a contact profile of the person who sent the email you’re reading, based on public profiles. And for the most part, it installs and runs very smoothly – just go to the site, install, and a few painless seconds later, you’re ready to roll – just go to Gmail, read an email, and rapportive’ll do the rest – showing info pulled from their Google Profile, links to Facebook, Twitter, flickr etc, if they have that info publicly available, so it’s pretty neat for connecting with the people you talk to. Also, a nice feature exists of being able to jot down a private note about the person for yourself for the next time you talk with the person.

It’s not perfect – not everyone I talk to has a profile – but overall, its pretty nice. rapportive is available for my favorite price of “free”  – as a plugin for Firefox and Google Chrome, with IE support on the way. Check it out here.

Is This Microsoft’s Tablet? March 16, 2010

Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Rumors, microsoft, tablets , add a comment

With the iPad launch nearing, things in this rejuvenated tablet market look to become much more interesting– and much more intense. Now there’s been word for a while of rumors of Microsoft making their own tablet– codenamed “Courier”– and recently more shots of what this device is have leaked out, and I, as someone who views the iPad as a possible the perfect school computer, and is really considering buying my own iPad once it comes out (though I might wait that little extra time for the 3G version)– would  really consider dropping those plans immediately for this. Yes, this looks to be that good.

The Courier truly is a very unique and very cool device– with dual multi-touch screens (reminds me of an open notebook), a very stylish and sleek interface (while rumored to be based off the Windows Phone 7 Series OS, this is not just plain copy of a Windows 7 or Windows Phone 7, but something different that looks to be perfectly designed for this type of device), a camera (something we all know the iPad is missing), and a special “Courier pen” that can be used for writing notes onto the tablet. Seriously check out this video of the Courier from Engadget:

Whether or not you like Microsoft or are “an Apple fanboy,” you gotta admit this looks amazing. There also is said to be a headphone jack for media playback, some really cool artistic apps for all you creative types out there, an eBook app (as seen below; maybe this is also Microsoft’s attempt to get into the very hot eBook game, as the iPad is Apple’s), and as you saw in the video, a dedicated website for uploading your work and sharing it with the world. I mean, imagine this– your taking notes in school miss a day. You upload this and your friends can come in and instantly fill in what’s missing (as well as save the notes if they needed). Projects and collaboration couldn’t have been made easier.

The web looks great here as well (exactly as you’d expect on your laptop or desktop)–  and if this thing can do some gaming like Windows Phone 7 Series, I’ll be the first to line up!

I’m really hoping Microsoft fesses up to this soon (as of right now, we still gotta categorize this as a rumor as of course Microsoft hasn’t acknowledged that this thing even exists), and before I and many others give in to the temptation and go for the the iPad. But seeing as the iPad goes on sale in only a couple of weeks– which tablet would you rather go with– the iPad, Courier or are you looking at some other tablet?

Pix, video and info via Engadget

Everything You Need To Know About God of War III March 15, 2010

Posted by Zev Rosenbaum in : Video Games , add a comment

Lovers of blood, gore, and killing the Greek gods are waiting anxiously for next Tuesday, March 16. That’s the day that God of War 3 is coming out and this game will conclude the biggest and toughest path to revenge that has ever been written into a video game. Click to read more on what’s new, whats old, and what is just plain awesome in God of War 3.

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HOWTO – iChat Extended March 15, 2010

Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Apple, Computers, How-To , add a comment

Go Beyond AIM…

This one’s mainly for Mac users, but can be used for Windows as well. Last week, I wrote a review of Meebo, a multi-IM app for iPhone (also Beejive IM, a similar app). Meebo also has an online webapp component for PC use, but many (including myself), prefer full applications – such as iChat, Mac OS’s built in IM app.

Now, it’s easy to set up AIM with iChat – just type in screen name and password, and you’re good to go. But in recent years, new chat services have been cropping up – specifically, Google Talk and Facebook Chat – as part of accounts you already have. Now for me, I hate having multiple things open for what is essentially the same purpose. So, here’s a little help in setting up iChat with not only AIM, but Google Talk or Facebook Chat as well.

Google Talk (Snow Leopard 10.6) -

This one’s pretty easy – iChat 5 has the feature of adding a Google Account just as easily as an AIM account – just select the Google Account option when creating a new account in preferences.

Google Talk (10.4 Tiger/10.5 Leopard) –

A bit more difficult, but not by much. When creating a new account, select “Jabber Account” – as the ID, enter your Gmail account “______@gmail.com”, your password as the password. The server is talk.google.com, and the port is 5223 – and check the Use SSL box. All set.

Facebook Chat: (10.4-10.6) –

Similar to Google Talk – but a few differences. First, you need your Facebook username – “______@chat.facebook.com” – which you can find by going to the “Account Settings” – where it lists your username (right after your name, 2nd from the top).  Going into iChat now – in Preferences, go to the “Add Account”, and again, select Jabber. Enter in the “______@chat.facebook.com”, the _____ being your Facebook username from earlier, and the password, your regularly Facebook password. Server options are: server is “chat.facebook.com”, Port is 5222. Uncheck SSL for this one. And you’re good to go.

Personal tip – in General Preferences in iChat, enable “Use the same status for all accounts” – allowing you to log in and out of all 3 at once. Enjoy!

Now, for everyone else – those not using iChat. While not personally familiar with these programs, Google lists here how to set up other clients, and Facebook is compatable with Pidgin, Adium, and anything else that can use Jabber using settings that they give here. Enjoy!

Sony Officially Announces the PlayStation Move Motion Controller March 10, 2010

Posted by Zev Rosenbaum in : Video Games , 1 comment so far

We saw a brief glimpse of it last year at E3, and we have not seen much of it since. However, last night at the Game Developers Conference in San Fransisco, Sony unveiled new details about the upcoming PlayStation Move– Sony’s wireless “wand-like” motion-sensing controller.

The Move will be made up of two parts very similar to how Nintendo has it with the Wii– the main  “wand” (the one in the pic above with the wrist strap and giant glowing circle on top) is officially known as the Move, and will have smaller wand like controller (seen on the left) called the sub-controller. As you can tell these look very similar to the Wii’s Wiimote and Nunchuck, and they function very similarly but are also very different. For example, unlike on the Wii, these are going to be used in both casual as well as much more intense games such as the upcoming SOCOM 4 (which, as anyone who has played SOCOM before knows, it’s no Mario). So how else are they different? Well…

Sports Champions on the PS3

Like Microsoft’s Project Natal for the 360, the PlayStation Move will be launched sometime around the holiday season (Sony, again like Microsoft, is viewing this like a major console launch) in either a bundle with a new PS3, by itself, or in a “Starter Kit” bundle with a PS Eye, controller and game for under $100 (which if you ask us looks to be a very solid deal).

One thing that I can’t though seem to wrap my head around is why Sony put an extra X and an extra O on the sub-controller, considering the Move already has them? I guess we will just have to wait to find out what their purpose is for when E3 rolls around June 3rd, and more info on the Move is sure to be announced.

If you want to see the first trailer for the PlayStation Move or more pix, check out Joystiq’s post on the Move here

Info and pix from Joystiq

NFL Mobile Coming to Verizon Next Month March 10, 2010

Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Cell Phones, sports , add a comment

NFL RedZone– coming soon to Verizon Wireless

We know, it’s March. All our focus should be on Selection Sunday next week and March Madness (and baseball, for those who only care about the pros) and not so much on football for the next couple of months, with football taking a seat in the way back. (And don’t worry, we’re gonna have a lot of ways for you to use tech to keep up with both March Madness and the MLB season very soon).

Today, however, we’re gonna keep the focus on the NFL– as what Verizon and the NFL announced today is pretty sick for all you Verizon users out there. Not only will you guys soon get exclusive Skype, but for the next 4 years (at least, according to the Wall Street Journal) you will soon be getting exclusive access to the NFL Mobile. Starting next month with the NFL Draft, Verizon users will not only be able to follow live on their phones (we’re talking live video, not just an ESPN livecast), but also will have access to on-demand video of NFL Network analysis of the Draft, pick-by-pick Draft tracker updated in real time, and in-depth prospect profiles, blogs, news and more.

And come next season, users will be able to not only watch Sunday and Thursday night games, NFL RedZone, and the NFL Network live from your phones, but also game highlights and an extensive collection of on-demand video featuring analysis and inside access from NFL Network and NFL Films, live radio broadcasts of every regular season and playoff game from both home and away teams, access to fantasy information, news, and player and team statistics, and customizable NFL alerts, ringtones and graphics.

All I can say, if your a football fan on Verizon, than today truly is your lucky day. We’re not yet sure exactly which phones will get the app or how much the app will cost (which again, is a Verizon exclusive, so sadly all you Sprint users that had the NFL Mobile Live app look to be out of luck now), but hopefully we’ll know more info before April 22nd.

In the meantime, who you think goes number one next month?