Opera 11.10 gets HTML5 File API support, IMAP improvements

opera 11.10
The crew in Oslo keeps plugging away at Opera 11.10, and the latest snapshot build includes a number of improvements to Opera's built-in email client -- as well as HTML5-related additions.

On the IMAP front, Opera now supports special folders like sent items, spam, and trash. It also better handles duplicate items in Gmail -- such as those which appear in all mail and under your custom labels.

Opera 11.10 now partially supports the HTML5 File API as well, which means your favorite Web apps (like Gmail) may soon begin adding Opera to the list of supported browsers.

You can download the latest Opera 11.10 snapshot for Windows, Mac, or Linux from the official release post.

Update: The Opera 11.10 RC is now available, as pointed out by SlashZaku in the comments. Thanks!

Opera 11.10 gets HTML5 File API support, IMAP improvements originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/opera-11-10-gets-html5-file-api-support-imap-improvements/

Edith Hupertz Heinrich Peller Viktoria Barz Emma Sauter

Plantronics Voyager Pro HD headset knows when it's kissing your cheek

If you drive around all day bumping your gums with remote friends and colleagues, then you can't really get along with those more diminutive headsets on the market. That's where the fat and proud Voyager range from Plantronics comes in, with features like all-day battery life, a long boom, A2DP and an InstantMeeting app to connect you to conf calls on your iOS, Android or BlackBerry. The latest Voyager Pro HD model is the first to contain sensors that detect proximity to your jowls and allow the device to re-route calls appropriately. The Pro HD is available now at $100, which includes a year's subscription to the company's Vocalyst voice recognition service -- although we suspect a certain newcomer might have that area covered. The full PR is a click away.

Update: We've just been reminded that the earlier Pro UC headset also had the sensors, so please ignore what it says above (and in the Plantronics press release) about the Pro HD being the first. Thanks, b-e-q.

Continue reading Plantronics Voyager Pro HD headset knows when it's kissing your cheek

Plantronics Voyager Pro HD headset knows when it's kissing your cheek originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Oct 2011 03:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/11/plantronics-voyager-hd-headset-knows-when-its-kissing-your-chee/

Heinrich Peller Viktoria Barz Emma Sauter Rosemarie Ramsauer

Farragomate is a social fridge magnet game where you make up sentences

farragomate
You know those fridge magnet kits composed of a whole bunch of words? The ones you put all over your fridge door and then try to arrange into all sorts of juvenile and/or amusing sentences. Well, Farragomate is the social, webby version of that very same pastime.

You get to play with a bunch of random strangers in real-time, and make up sentences out of a pre-set collection of words, including some fairly naughty ones, and all players' nicknames. As you can imagine, some of the results are not child-friendly.

There are ten rounds to a game. Once a round is done, players get to vote for their favorite sentence from that round. You can't vote for your own creation, of course. There's in-game chat, too.

I think the vocabulary could be made a bit more eclectic, but even as it is, it's a nice way to spend a few minutes and meet random strangers on the Internet (always a thrilling experience).

Farragomate is a social fridge magnet game where you make up sentences originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/25/farragomate-is-a-social-game-where-you-make-up-sentences/

Marion Dallmeyer Hanna Wohlrab Henrik Brenner Karla Reusch

How to Maximize Your iPad Battery Life

Getting addicted to playing and using your iPad can really drain out the iPad battery life quickly but there are some tips on how you can effectively maximize it. You will find after reading this article that there are simple ways ? in fact some are common sense ? on how to keep your battery life running long. For most tech savvy people out there, some of these tips would not be any surprise but you will find these tips [...]

Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/how-to-maximize-your-ipad-battery-life/

Emily Trautmann Charlotte Kadelbach Hugo Ruß Edith Hupertz

Mozilla publishes name and shame list of slow Firefox add-ons, cracks down on tardy devs

Firefox slow-addons list
Mozilla, continuing its year-long crusade to speed up Firefox startup and shutdown times, has published a name and shame list of the Firefox's slowest add-ons.

The list is just one part of Mozilla's new efforts to highlight slow add-ons, and to help developers make their add-ons more efficient. Over the next two weeks, 'slow performance warnings' will be introduced in the add-on gallery so that users can see, before installation, which add-ons will slow down their browser. If that isn't enough to spur developers into cleaning up their add-ons, Mozilla has also begun reaching out to developers of slow add-ons with tips on how to improve add-on performance. Finally, add-on developers will soon have the ability to perform 'on-demand performance testing,' so that they can test their add-on before it's deployed publicly.

Mozilla reports that the average Firefox add-on slows down Firefox's start-up time by 10% -- which means, if you install 10 add-ons, you will double your start-up time. On fast desktop PCs that kind of slowdown might be negligible, but on older computers, laptops and smartphones, it could be the difference between a 5 and 10 second startup. Mozilla has obviously realized that while massive performance gains might've been made with Firefox 4, the addition of third-party add-ons can destroy any user-perceived improvements.

In other news, Mozilla says that a future build of Firefox will block the installation of add-ons (such as toolbars) by third-party software. Add-ons and toolbars that are bundled in this way will require explicit approval when you next open up Firefox. Hooray!

Mozilla publishes name and shame list of slow Firefox add-ons, cracks down on tardy devs originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/mozilla-publishes-name-and-shame-list-of-slow-firefox-add-ons/

Erna Van den Hout Laura Pauli Janna Löhnig

Daily Crunch: Desert Surveillance Edition

At Last You Can Fabricate Your Minecraft Creations The Gem Hsin Topaz Speakers Do Multifunction Right Scientists Create Microscopic, Lens-less Camera This Case Lets You Attach An SLR Lens To Your iPhone The Gem Hsin Topaz Speakers Do Multifunction Right

Source: http://www.crunchgear.com/2011/07/08/daily-crunch-desert-surveillance/

Emma Knebel Jason Randow Benjamin Schötz Johannes Liebl

Growing Up Geek: Terrence O'Brien

Welcome to Growing Up Geek, an ongoing feature where we take a look back at our youth and tell stories of growing up to be the nerds that we are. Today, we have our very own Associate Editor, Terrence O'Brien.

Growing Up Geek: Terrence O'Brien
In case you hadn't guessed, that's my father up there with a tiny me cradled in his arms. He's OG -- original geek -- and a defier of easy categorization that clearly explains how I ended up as the son of a gun I am today. In fact, without an understanding of where he came from and who he is, much of what would fill a completely self-centered Growing Up Geek simply wouldn't make sense. So, that's where we'll start the story, with a quick look at the man who, for better or worse, made me the nerd I am today.

Continue reading Growing Up Geek: Terrence O'Brien

Growing Up Geek: Terrence O'Brien originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 14:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/growing-up-geek-terrence-obrien/

Hugo Ruß Edith Hupertz Heinrich Peller Viktoria Barz

Amazon adds Kindle Fire-specific details to Developer Portal, A's your FAQ

The Kindle Fire may not be hitting the market until November, but Amazon has already updated its Developer Portal FAQ page with an entire section devoted to its forthcoming Android tablet. On the new page, you'll find largely standard information on things like the application process and how to set up an Android SDK emulator, though there are a few more salient tidbits, as well. For instance, Amazon says it will review every app in its Appstore for Fire compatibility, as part of an automated process. Rejected apps, Amazon informs us, will include those that rely on a gyroscope, camera, WAN module, Bluetooth, microphone, GPS, or micro SD. Apps are also forbidden from using Google's Mobile Services (and in-app billing), which, if included, will have to be "gracefully" removed. In terms of actual content, Amazon has outlawed all apps that change the tablet's UI in any way (including theme- or wallpaper-based tools), as well as any that demand root access (it remains to be seen how the company will treat the root-dependent apps already in its store). Interested devs can find more information at the source link, below.

Amazon adds Kindle Fire-specific details to Developer Portal, A's your FAQ originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 11:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/amazon-adds-kindle-fire-specific-details-to-developer-portal-a/

Nathalie Donnerhacke Anna-Lena Baumgärtel

Left Behind: X-Ray Chapels, Horseless Buggies, and Other Stories We Didn't Post [Video]

So much news passes before our collective eyes every day that we couldn't possibly cover it all. Mostly because much of it isn't worth covering! But here are a some borderline tidbits we passed on, just in case. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/nHtXZbTipw8/

Sabine Kinzler Frieda Falkner Hans-Joachim Kammann Antonio Fellberg