Windows 8 wallpaper available to download, Jupiter and Twin UI spotted

windows 8 wallpaper
With Windows 8 milestone 3 now up for grabs for select Microsoft Connect partners, it's inevitable that leaked bits and pieces will start popping up around the Web. In fact, the first "official" wallpaper image from the still-brewing OS is already making the rounds.

As you can see, it's got a similar feel to the good ol' Windows 7 default background, but features a more subdued smattering of cerulean hues. Those of you who want to use the Windows 8 wallpaper on your current desktop can download it from our file dump.

A few other details have been revealed, too. According to ZDNet's source, the Windows 8 Jupiter libraries and Twin UI are starting to take shape -- though all that's been located thus far are "[various files] scattered throughout the OS" and the aptly-named twinui.dll.

Windows 8 wallpaper available to download, Jupiter and Twin UI spotted originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/download-windows-8-wallpaper/

Joshua Heinlein Markus Wigger Alexander Berner Oliver Büdenbender

Panasonic Plans to Build a 'Sustainable Smart Town' in Japan by 2014 [Green]

Japan may still be recovering from earthquake-related woes, but that's not stopping Panasonic and eight partner companies from pushing ahead with their own rebuilding effort that could reshape the way future cities and towns are built. Part demonstration initiative and part reclamation project, Panasonic and friends are turning the footprint of one of the company's former factory sites into a 47-acre, 1,000-home "smart town" with energy- and eco-conscious considerations leading the development. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/vjWEl03OOv4/panasonic-plans-to-build-a-sustainable-smart-town-in-japan-by-2014

Sabine Kinzler Frieda Falkner Hans-Joachim Kammann Antonio Fellberg

Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4

Firefox 4 save tabs
When Firefox 4's tab grouping tool, Panorama, had its keyboard shortcut changed to the finger-breaking combo of Ctrl+Shift+E, we thought Panorama would get dropped before FF4's final release -- but, thankfully, it made the cut!

If you've used Firefox 4 and Panorama, you might have noticed that Mozilla's new browser doesn't always save your tab groupings when you close the browser -- a bit of a pain, if you spend a long time setting up the perfect groups! This is tied into the removal of the 'Save and Quit' dialog box -- and enabling Panorama tab group saving is just a matter of re-enabling the Save and Quit dialog.

Open a new tab and head to about:config. Click through the warning and type 'quit' into the filter box. Double click browser.showQuitWarning to change its value to true (see image after the break). That's it -- now you'll have the option of saving your tabs, and thus tab groups, when you close Firefox.

For more tech tips, visit our tips index.

Continue reading Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4

Save your tabs and Panorama tab groups in Firefox 4 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/save-your-tabs-and-panorama-tab-groups-in-firefox-4/

Ingeburg Otte Moritz Beller Gabriela Prell Sylvia Lösche

Google bids $900 million for Nortel's patents to protect against litigation trolls

Nortel, once one of the biggest telecoms company in the world but now in the death throes of bankruptcy, has selected Google's $900 million bid for its patent portfolio as the stalking horse bid. This doesn't mean that Google will automatically win Nortel's massive array of telecoms patents, but it does mean that Google is the preferred buyer.

Google, which has a history of lobbying for patent law reform, has been the target of many patent litigation suits. Google's relative infancy means that it has a lot less patents in the vault than big-hitters like Microsoft, Oracle and IBM, and buying Nortel's portfolio of 6,000 patents could provide better protection against patent litigation in the future. It's worth noting that both Apple and RIM have showed interested in the portfolio, too.

Mashable speculates that the patents -- which are nearly all telecoms-related -- will be used to defend against Oracle's attacks on Android's use of Java. We reckon that Google is simply looking to cover its future endeavors in the world of networking. In the absence of patent law reform, and continued threats to net neutrality, owning a bunch of telecoms patents sounds like a very sensible move.

Google bids $900 million for Nortel's patents to protect against litigation trolls originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/google-bids-900-million-for-nortels-patents-to-protect-from-li/

Edith Berner Lea Linden Kevin Fickenscher Amelie Schweizer

Gemini's FirstMix USB DJ controller now available for novice mixers

Seasoned DJs have plenty of ways to hone their electronica acumen, but for less experienced audiophiles, Gemini has just unleashed FirstMix -- a USB-based controller designed to help the everyman get in touch with his inner Pete Tong. The device's layout is simple enough, with two scratch wheels, rotaries and a cross fader. All you have to do is connect the panel to your laptop, select the tunes you'd like to mash up from your iTunes library and use FirstMix's touch-sensitive jog control to scratch the night away. To help you get started, Gemini will ship its new controller with MixVibes' Cross LE DJ software, but it's compatible with Virtual DJ and other mixing programs, as well. If you're interested in taking FirstMix for a spin, you can find one at retailers like Musician's Friend, for about $100. Otherwise, you could just head past the break for a demo video, along with a full press release.

Continue reading Gemini's FirstMix USB DJ controller now available for novice mixers

Gemini's FirstMix USB DJ controller now available for novice mixers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/01/geminis-firstmix-usb-dj-controller-now-available-for-novice-mix/

Christa Eymann Ingrid Schur Emily Trautmann Charlotte Kadelbach

Ask DLS: What's your primary Web browser?

Competition is a good thing, and the browser arena has been a fierce arena for years now. There are at least four "major" browsers each vying for your attention, along with lots of smaller spin-offs (SRWare Iron or Flock, anyone?).

While the browser usage charts we share from time to time show overall browser usage amongst the Web at large, Download Squad readers are not exactly the average bunch in terms of browser use. So today we have one simple question for you:

What's your primary Web browser?

View Poll

Ask DLS: What's your primary Web browser? originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/16/ask-dls-whats-your-primary-browser/

Franziska Spanier Erna Van den Hout Laura Pauli Janna Löhnig

Ask DLS: What's your primary Web browser?

Competition is a good thing, and the browser arena has been a fierce arena for years now. There are at least four "major" browsers each vying for your attention, along with lots of smaller spin-offs (SRWare Iron or Flock, anyone?).

While the browser usage charts we share from time to time show overall browser usage amongst the Web at large, Download Squad readers are not exactly the average bunch in terms of browser use. So today we have one simple question for you:

What's your primary Web browser?

View Poll

Ask DLS: What's your primary Web browser? originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Feb 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/16/ask-dls-whats-your-primary-browser/

Franziska Spanier Erna Van den Hout Laura Pauli Janna Löhnig

HP TouchPad Accidentally Shown Off on Video [Video]

For some reason, Sandisk was showing off the HP TouchPad at Computex Taipei. HP probably isn't too happy about their unreleased tablet moseying around some tradeshow but we're liking everything we see. And it looks like HP fixed the TouchPad's slowness problem too. Maybe. [Gadgets Magazine via CrunchGear] More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/2_j-v5s78mk/hp-touchpad-accidentally-shown-off-on-video

Laura Pauli Janna Löhnig Gabriela Schnee Rita Imhof

Best Video I've Seen Today Gives Me Goosebumps [Video]

You know, being a hard core Rolling Stones fan I thought nobody would ever beat Keith, Mick, Charlie and Bill at their own game. I was wrong. Albeit different, this version matches the original and it gives me goosebumps. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/DdrAgIkxwrU/best-video-ive-seen-today-gives-me-goosebumps

Emma Sauter Rosemarie Ramsauer Jörn Domenighini Marion Dallmeyer

Auslogics Disk Defrag 3.2 gets smarter, faster

auslogics defrag
Auslogics Disk Defrag has been part of my system maintenance toolkit for quite some time. With the release of version 3.2, it's now even better at tidying up and optimizing your system's hard disk drives. In addition to a cleaner, easier-to-use interface, Disk Defrag 3.2 offers improved single file and folder defragging, better processing of multiple disks, a simplified scheduling screen, and more informative tool tips. Auslogics has also fine-tuned the program's defragmentation and file consolidation algorithms.

For laptop users, there's a new option to lock the program if your system is running on battery power -- so scheduled operations don't kick in and drain your power source at an inopportune moment. If you happen to have an SSD installed in your PC, you can head to the Disk Defrag options and exclude it from scanning (many think that defragmenting an SSD is a very bad idea).

Auslogics Disk Defrag is a free download and works with most versions of Windows.

Auslogics Disk Defrag 3.2 gets smarter, faster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/11/auslogics-disk-defrag-3-2-gets-smarter-faster/

Elsa Alexander Furtmann Siegrid Holstein Michael Vollmar Robin Jones