Technology archive for 2012-03-17

Alex Dobie / Android Central:CyanogenMod 9 makes root access an option, not the default  —  Since the earliest days of unofficial Android ROMs, root access and custom firmwares like CyanogenMod have gone hand in hand.  However, future versions of CyanogenMod will take a step back from always-on root …

We've already heard that Yahoo is looking to make massive layoffs. Another rumor now suggests that the Yahoo Research division is going to take a big hit. Both Google and Facebook are very interested.

jm223 writes "I'm currently a student at a major university, where I do IT work for a fairly large student group. Most of my job involves programming, and so far everyone has been happy with my work. Since we're students, though, no one really has the experience to offer major advice or critiques, and I'm curious about how my coding measures up — and, of course, how I can make it better. CS professors can offer feedback about class projects, but my schoolwork often bears little resemblance to my other work. So, when you're programming without an experienced manager above you, how do you go about improving?" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

If you've poured over the specs of Nokia's Lumia 710 and 800 handsets during the last few months, you've likely noticed the duo's lack of mobile hotspot functionally. Of course, the Finnish phone maker didn't completely abandoned the feature in Windows Phone, as the ability to turn your device into a portable access point will ship with its flagship Lumia 900 and the recently announced 610 at launch. Nokia admitted that the feature would be coming to the 800 months ago, and now Elop & Company have announced that the 710 is also on the shortlist. A recent Q&A post on its Connects blog explained that software updates will be "coming soon" -- by way of Zune update -- to remedy the discrepancy between the old and new. No word on what Nokia's definition of "soon" is, but you can find all the available details at the source link below.Nokia confirms Lumia 710, 800 to be knighted with mobile hotspot 'soon' originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 18:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink TmoNews  |  Nokia Connects  | Email this | Comments

An anonymous reader writes "On Thursday Felix Baumgartner climbed into a capsule carried by a balloon, floated up to 71,500 feet, and jumped out. He free-fell through the atmosphere for almost four minutes, hitting an estimated top speed of 364 mph. 'I wanted to open the parachute after descending for a while but I noticed that I was still at an altitude of 50,000ft,' he said. After finally deploying his chute, he fell for a bit over four more minutes, before successfully touching down in the New Mexico Desert. This was a test to prepare him for a jump of 120,000 feet later this summer, during which Baumgartner will break the record for highest free-fall jump — and the sound barrier. '... a 36-pound spacesuit is all that separates Baumgartner from a hostile world that would boil the blood in his body. Baumgartner will wear a chest pack crammed with data-hungry instruments to help ground controllers monitor the attempt — and log scientific data. Some will keep tabs on his heart rate and oxygen intake to see how a body in a spacesuit reacts to a boundary no one has broken (and lived to tell the tale): the speed of sound.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

You have to see the Retina display in person to truly understand why it's amazing. However, the iPad 2 is still a solid purchase.

Eric Eldon / TechCrunch:Rejoice, Twitter Power Users: “Next Generation” Tweetdeck Apps Coming For Android And iOS  —  The big Twitter redesign at the end of last year seemed to mean that the company was ditching power users to get more mainstream.  The web site and the mobile apps added “Connect” and “Discover” …

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment. This week's edition of IRL is geekier than usual because really, only the nerdiest of you would be reading a tech site when you could be pretending to be Irish. On tap (har!) we have James and Andy talking about their favorite ways to charge gadgets on the go, while Darren, a man after serious photographers' hearts, tells what happened when he took his beloved D3S in to have the sensor cleaned.Continue reading IRL: Rayovac Mobile Power Pack, a TomTom car charger and cleaning a DSLR sensorIRL: Rayovac Mobile Power Pack, a TomTom car charger and cleaning a DSLR sensor originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 16:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

Yahoo this week filed a lawsuit against Facebook over 10 of its patents. The technology industry is up in arms: most are not so much with Facebook, but they are definitely against Yahoo.

mikejuk writes "Atari is offering up to $100,000 in a contest for a new version of Pong, the classic game that launched video games 40 years ago, for the iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch. The judges for the contest include Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari, who came up with the original idea for Pong. So, what does a 21st century Pong look like? How does it play? And what role does touch have in this, the simplest of games?" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Dante D'Orazio / The Verge:TiVo co-founder and CTO Jim Barton resigns  —  TiVo is losing its CTO and co-founder, Jim Barton.  The news was released in an SEC filing that says that Barton resigned, effective yesterday, and will take up a $25,000 per month consulting role at the company “related to patent matters …

New submitter BSAtHome writes "People with a healthy interest in fundamental freedoms and basic human rights have probably heard about SABAM, the Belgian collecting society for music royalties, which has become one of the global poster children for how outrageously out-of-touch-with-reality certain rightsholders groups appear to be. This morning, word got out in Belgian media that SABAM is spending time and resources to contact local libraries across the nation, warning them that they will start charging fees because the libraries engage volunteers to read books to kids. Volunteers. Who – again – read books to kids." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Liz Gannes / AllThingsD:Great App-pectations: When Innovation Leapfrogs Phone Capabilities  —  As comic Louis C.K. would say about technology: Everything is amazing and nobody is happy.  —  Nowhere is that more true as app developers push the possibilities of how to use our smartphones' location awareness and reach …

Need something to sate that Windows 8-lust Microsoft stirred up with its Consumer Preview? Then take a gander at this in-development vehicle control app shown off at the company's Redmond campus as part of this year's Worldwide Public Safety Symposium. Developed by Modularis, an outfit known for their enterprise, federal and OEM automation solutions, the Metro-style application turns its host slate into a virtual controller, granting users remote access to door locks, sirens, lights, as well as the ability to pull cloud-based data -- courtesy of Windows Azure -- from multiple cars to determine GPS location. And, as you'll see in the video after the break, it also has the unintended and wholly amusing benefit of freaking out innocent passers-by.Continue reading Windows 8 app keeps perps under virtual lock and key, frightens pedestrians (video)Windows 8 app keeps perps under virtual lock and key, frightens pedestrians (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  GeekWire  | Email this | Comments

It doesn't matter where you run.It doesn't matter how fast you run.It doesn't matter how far you run.Just run.That’s the slogan for the new Zombies Run app for iOS, an adventure game of...

Yeah, streaming Skyrim on a Tegra 3-powered Ice Cream Sandwich tablet is nice and all, but what about folks who want a more immersive experience with their beloved time sink? One tech-savvy gamer took matters into his own hands -- conjuring a bit of electronics alchemy by throwing together Sony's HMZ-T1 head-mounted display with a Kinect sensor, a TrackIR5 for head tracking and voice recognition software. The result is an experience that allows any wannabe adventurer to press onward into Tamriel's frozen north by marching in place while imbibing in a true, head-mounted first-person perspective. Admittedly, stomping around and flailing one's arms may lack the elegance and playability of The Gadget Show's $650,000 Battlefield 3 simulator, but at $1500, it's a homegrown virtual reality experience that's actually within reach. Now go forth and explore the video after the break.Continue reading Kinect makes pact with head-mounted display, virtual reality Skyrim ensuesKinect makes pact with head-mounted display, virtual reality Skyrim ensues originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 14:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink The Next Web  |  Zookal  | Email this | Comments

The new Apple iPad (third iPad, iPad 3) has already been jailbroken in at least three different ways. It won't be long now before anyone with the new iPad will be able to jailbreak it themselves.

Besides a little o' the green, you'll likely need a mug holder for the shower, a foamer to get a good head on your beer and a lightsaber bottle opener. And there's much more...

While TVs continue to get thinner and more beautiful and soundbars are making surround sound more discreet, the components we connect to them have largely remained dull black or silver boxes. And there are still all those ugly wires to manage. If you want to get your gear out of sight, there are a few solutions to help.

Andrew Storms: There will be people calling for Microsoft to scrap MAPP but considering the market value of the information shared with MAPP partners, one confirmed leak in four years is a pretty...

Co-founder of TiVo and CTO Jim Barton has long outlasted our deathwatch, but his time as an executive at the DVR maker quietly came to an end this week according to documents filed with the SEC. CEO Tom Rogers thanked Jim for his "commitment to innovation" in a statement, and the filing indicates he will stick around as a $25,000 per month consultant in "patent matters and litigation" among other things -- nice work if you can get it -- until March 15, 2015, but his reason for stepping down is unspecified. As Multichannel News notes, Barton was working with fellow co-founder Mike Ramsay (who left in 2007) at Silicon Graphics on a project for Time Warner when they had the idea for the DVR and eventually founded TiVo in 1997. That early movement may not have resulted in dominance over pay-Tv provided DVRs, but some favorable legal settlements and successful partnerships like its deal with Virgin Media mean he's leaving the company with its prospects looking a bit better than they did back in the dark days of '05.[Thanks, David]TiVo co-founder, CTO Jim Barton resigns originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 13:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  Multichannel News, TiVo  | Email this | Comments

holy_calamity writes "This article talks about software from Microsoft Research that looks like a smarter, more private version of Facebook's timeline. Lifebrowser uses machine learning techniques to process photos, emails, web history, documents and other data on your computer and automatically create an interactive timeline with an awareness of what's important and what's not. Lifebrowser is intended to be a prosthetic for memory. When a user searches their archive for specific information, Lifebrowser presents notable photos and other information to aid recollection." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The iPad 2 is a very thin tablet, and most third party cases are made to fit it precisely. The new iPad is slightly thicker than the iPad 2, and many are wondering if top cases will fit. I have...

The US Navy announced a new robotics research facility this week located within the existing Naval Research Laboratory's main site in Washington D.C. The Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research, or LASR, was created to support NRL research in "robotics and autonomous systems of interest to the Navy, the Marine Corps and the Department of Defense," wrote LASR director Alan C. Shultz, mentioning that a familiar sounding autonomous firefighting robot would be among the lab's projects. The new facility is kitted out with a litany of realistic environmental simulation bays, allowing NRL scientists to pit their research against the elements with ease. Researchers will also have access to machine shops stocked with 3D printers and other goodies, a power and energy lab, a sensor lab and what Shultz calls the "world's largest space for real-time motion capture." Sounds great, at least as long as the research projects never get ahold of a certain Navy-funded AI report. Check out Shultz' official statement at the White House blog link below.US Navy LASR research facility builds robots, not ray guns originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 13:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Information Week  |  White House blog, LASR  | Email this | Comments

Florian Mueller / FOSS Patents:Apple loses final ITC ruling against Motorola Mobility: preliminary finding of no violation affirmed  —  On January 13, an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) at the ITC made an initial determination (a recommendation for a decision) that didn't hold Motorola Mobility to infringe three Apple patents.

New submitter srussia writes with this quote from Wired:"DARPA director Regina Dugan will soon be stepping down from her position atop the Pentagon's premiere research shop to take a job with Google. Dugan, whose controversial tenure at the agency lasted just under three years, was 'offered and accepted at senior executive position' with the internet giant, according to DARPA spokesman Eric Mazzacone. She felt she could not say no to such an 'innovative company,' he adds. ... 'There is a time and a place for daydreaming. But it is not at DARPA,' she told a congressional panel in March 2011. 'DARPA is not the place of dreamlike musings or fantasies, not a place for self-indulging in wishes and hopes. DARPA is a place of doing.' For an agency that spent millions of dollars on shape-shifting robots, Mach 20 missiles, and mind-controlled limbs, it was something of a revolutionary statement. The shift was only one of the reasons why Dugan was a highly polarizing figure within her agency, and in the larger defense research community." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

The preliminary decision already determined that, in this case, Motorola Mobility hadn't violated any of Apple's patents with its Droid series, and now a final review has affirmed those initial findings. While this might not be a massive turn up for the books, it does close the doors on at least one big name patent dispute. That said, Apple can appeal to the Federal Circuit, and given that it has done before, it's likely the iPad maker will do so here. But, for now at least, it's cork popping time over in Libertyville.Final ITC ruling affirms Motorola Mobility didn't violate Apple's patents originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink FOSS Patents  |  ITC(PDF)  | Email this | Comments

It's no secret Wacom has a firm grasp on what it takes to make great graphic input devices. Fresh off of its introduction of the Inkling last Fall, the outfit recently unveiled the latest member of its high-end pen tablet line, the Intous5 touch. Essentially, Wacom took what made the Intuos4 a great addition to any designer or illustrator's workflow and refined it, with this latest iteration sporting a new rubber-coated shell. It also implements touch gestures -- much like those on the fresh Bamboo models -- which can be customized to speed up tasks you need to be complete on the regular, preferably without the aid of a mouse. Sure, a new matte black suit and the ability to navigate Adobe Creative Suite without a pen seem impressive at first glance, but is the new model worth investing northward of $229? Are you better off sticking with the Intuos4 you splurged on a while back? Let's see. Gallery: Wacom Intuos5 touchContinue reading Wacom Intuos5 touch reviewWacom Intuos5 touch review originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  Wacom  | Email this | Comments

An anonymous reader writes "One of the major unanswered questions about Bill C-30, Canada's lawful access/online surveillance bill, is who will pay for the costs associated with responding to law enforcement demands for subscriberinformation ('look ups') and installation of surveillance equipment ('hook ups'). Michael Geist recently obtained documents (PDF) from Public Safety under the Access to Information Act that indicates the government doesn't really have its own answer. But he reports that the police do — a new 'public safety' tax to be added to Internet and wireless bills." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Barry Schwartz / Search Engine Land:Too Much SEO?  Google's Working On An “Over-Optimization” Penalty For That  —  Google's Matt Cutts announced that Google is working on a search ranking penalty for sites that are “over-optimized” or “overly SEO'ed.”  —  Matt announced this during a panel Search Engine Land's Editor-In-Chief …

Pioneer has been dishing out its line of digital DJ tools for long enough that you'd hope it knows what the spinners want, and these days it seems that's remixing tools. The RMX1000 is a new effects based unit, that looks like an evolution of the firm's EFX range. It still cooks up those chops, rolls, and reverbs, but also has a companion "Remixbox" software, as well as studio-friendly VST / AU functionality. The software lets you overwrite the default set-up with one of your own, and there's an SD card slot so you can leave yours at home, but still bring your settings to the club. Word is that pro DJ settings will be available for download, so nosey DJs can see how James Zabiela likes his high-pass filters. The effects themselves come in four flavors: Scene, Isolator, Release and X-Pad. Connectivity-wise it's rocking a pair of RCA and 1 / 4-inch plugs for both in-and out-put, and there's USB for the computer / MIDI hook-up. It's set to land in June with a $1000 price tag, but in the meantime if you want to see if it'll be worth your savings, hit-up the video after the break, or click the PR for the full specs.Continue reading Pioneer launches RMX1000 Remix Station, now no tune is safe (video)Pioneer launches RMX1000 Remix Station, now no tune is safe (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Electronista  |  Pioneer  | Email this | Comments

Hugh Pickens writes "Chalk up another looming casualty of the Internet age: business cards. Ubiquitous as pinstripes, the 2-by-3.5-inch pieces of card stock have long been a staple in executive briefcases. But now, writes Matt Stevens, young and Web-savvy people who are accustomed to connecting digitally, see business cards as irrelevant, wasteful — and just plain lame. 'When I go into a meeting and there are five bankers across the table, they all hand me business cards and they all end up in a pile, in a shoe box somewhere,' says Diego Berdakin, the founder of BeachMint, a fast-growing e-commerce site that has raised $75 million from investors without ever bothering to print a card. 'If someone comes in to meet me, we've already been connected through email, so it really doesn't feel like a necessity in my life.' Some 77 million smartphone users have downloaded the Bump app, which allows them to bump their phones together and instantly exchange contact information. Others carry a personalized quick-response code that smartphones can scan like a hyperlink. At 36, Ralph Barbagallo is near the cutoff for Generation Y but despises business cards all the same. Barbagallo says he goes to three major conferences a year and has to distribute paper cards, but lugging and exchanging fistfuls of them is a pain and it's hard to remember who is who. 'When they run out this time, I'm not printing any more,' says Barbagallo. 'They need to die somehow.'"[..]

The beginning of a series on "The Little Things That Serve" - analysis of small customer service stories - good and bad by those who tell them. So businesses can learn. Please take the survey at...

Are we shocked to see an untethered iOS 5.1 jailbreak for the new iPad? Not so much. Are we surprised to see it arrive so quick? Hell, yes. The iPad 2's untethered jailbreak took an eternity, whereas this new tunnel seems to have been dug during one fleeting Friday night. The hacker to thank is i0n1c, aka Stefan Esser -- a man who moves so fast his YouTube clip reportedly had 28 likes before it had even finished uploading. Just leap that final fence, Stefan, by releasing your jailbreak to the public, and we shall re-christen you bi0n1c. (Unless you want to keep your current handle, which would also be fine.)Continue reading Untethered jailbreak for new iPad shown on YouTube, not quite ready for downloadUntethered jailbreak for new iPad shown on YouTube, not quite ready for download originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 09:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Redmond Pie  |  xpI0n1c (YouTube)  | Email this | Comments

theodp writes "Microsoft, reports GeekWire, is seeking a patent on monetizing the buttons of your TV remote. In its application for a patent on 'Control-based Content Pricing,' Microsoft explains how one can jack up the cable bill of those who dare fast-forward past a diaper commercial or replay a sports highlight. From the patent application: 'If a user initiates a navigation control input to advance past (e.g., skip over) an advertisement, the cost of a requested on-demand movie may be increased. Similarly, if a user initiates a replay of a sporting event, the user may be charged for the replay control input and for each subsequent view control input.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

In a comment that should neither surprise nor excite anyone, Nokia's design chief Marko Ahtisaar (pictured) told a Finnish magazine that the mobile giant is readying a tablet to take on the iPad...

Bryan Bishop / The Verge:AT&T brings customer's throttling dispute to an end with $850 payout  —  AT&T's back-and-forth with Matt Spaccarelli, the customer that took the carrier to small claims court for its throttling practices on unlimited data plans, appears to be over.  AP reports that the carrier sent Spaccarelli …

New submitter ebombme writes "Netflix has decided to go the route of AT&T and others by trying to take away the rights of their users to form class action lawsuits against them. A copy of the new terms of use states 'These Terms of Use provide that all disputes between you and Netflix will be resolved by BINDING ARBITRATION. YOU AGREE TO GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO GO TO COURT to assert or defend your rights under this contract (except for matters that may be taken to small claims court). Your rights will be determined by a NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR and NOT a judge or jury and your claims cannot be brought as a class action. Please review the Arbitration Agreement below for the details regarding your agreement to arbitrate any disputes with Netflix.'" Read more of this story at Slashdot.

In a comment that should neither surprise nor excite anyone, Nokia's design chief Marko Ahtisaar told a Finnish magazine that the mobile giant is readying a tablet to take on the iPad -- and every...

cold fjord writes with some stunning news from the world of science, excerpting:"A new study has failed to find evidence that psychic ability is real. Skeptics may scoff at the finding as obvious, but the research is important because it refutes a study published in a psychological journal last year that claimed to find evidence of extrasensory perception. That research, conducted by Daryl Bem of Cornell University, triggered outrage in the psychological community when the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology announced in 2010 that the paper had been accepted for publication." Here's a link to the academic paper. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Still rockin' one of those (cargo) pocket-sized GoFlex streaming drives we showed you a while back? Marvelous. According to Gear Diary, Seagate's given the site intel saying it's getting ready to roll out a Satellite firmware refresh on the 19th of this month. Allegedly, the update will boost the limit on the number of devices that can be connected simultaneously, making the jump from three to eight, as well as promising to double your battery life in the process. The company says the updated firmware will come gratis to all "original devices" (hear that Androids?), while all new GoFlex drives are expected to ship with it on board. And now, you know.Seagate GoFlex Satellite reportedly getting firmware update on March 19th originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 07:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  Gear Diary  | Email this | Comments

silentbrad writes "An investigation by CBC News has turned up voters all over Canada who say the reason they got robocalls sending them to fictitious polling stations was that they'd revealed they would not vote Conservative. Although the Conservative Party has denied any involvement in the calls, these new details suggest that the misleading calls relied on data gathered by, and carefully guarded by, the Conservative Party. Known as 'CIMS,' the database assigns a 'smiley' face to supporters, and a 'sad' face to non-Conservatives. Liberal and NDP politicians say it would make no sense to call randomly, since many of the voters misled would be Conservatives." Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Manan Kakkar / Techie Buzz:Apple Copies Zune Tag Line For iTunes  —  This is too good to not be reproduced.  Looks like the photocopiers at Cupertino are working overtime.  Perhaps, the artists at Cupertino are out of innovation.  Use any of the many smart retorts by the loud Apple fans over the years against Microsoft and reverse the company names.

While it may not be the good news the Android army was hoping for, TWC's got some Big Apple-sized bits to share. Via its Untangled blog, Time Warner announced it's finally adding local channels to its iPhone / iPad app and TWCTV site, including CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC and Univision (because you can never have enough novelas). Unfortunately, the goodies won't be up for everyone's viewing pleasure, as the additions are only for folks within the NYC boroughs. That said, the cable giant plans to add "a few more markets by the end of the year." Want to find out if your favorite local news show made the cut? The full list can be found at the source link below.Time Warner Cable brings 26 local NYC channels to iOS app, website originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 05:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink   |  TWC Untangled  | Email this | Comments

Andrew Rassweiler / iSuppli:New iPad 32GB + 4G Carries $364.35 Bill of Materials  —  The new iPad, equipped with 32 Gigabytes (GB) of NAND flash memory and 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless capability, carries a bill of materials (BOM) of $364.35.  When the $10.75 manufacturing costs are added in, the cost to produce the new iPad rises to $375.10.

Zach Epstein / BGR:iPad launch day: Where are all the sell-outs?  —  iPad launch day is quite a fiasco.  Apple Stores around the country see eager customers line up hours or even days ahead of the tablet's release, and people often wait hours before they finally make it into the store to purchase an iPad — if there are any left.

dsinc writes "A Polish security researcher, Krzysztof Kotowicz, makes an worrisome entry in his blog: with a few lines of Javascript,any web site could list the extensions installed in Chrome (and the other browsers of the Chromium family). Proof of concept is provided here. As there are addons which deal with very personal things like pregnancy or religion, the easiness of access to those very private elements of your life is really troubling." Note: the proof of concept works, so don't click that link if the concept bothers you. Read more of this story at Slashdot.

If you've ever felt the burning urge to mirror your smartphone's display onto a larger screen, then you might consider stuffing GeChic's portable, 13.3-inch monitor into the ol' man purse for your next wayward outing. We're not promising that it'll be simple, but in addition to supporting laptops, game consoles and digital cameras, you can also rig up your smartphone to the On-Lap 1302 monitor -- with the assistance of a tangle of adapters, batteries and cords, that is. The product is said to be just 8mm thick, but most importantly, this 1366 x 768 display can be powered either from your laptop's USB port or an external battery pack. It includes proper hookups for VGA and HDMI video connections (via a proprietary 30-pin connector), but laptop users may also purchase a Mini DisplayPort accessory. Throw in Apple's Digital AV Adapter or an MHL to HDMI solution, and boom, you've also got support for your iPhone and many Android smartphones. Okay, so it's a bit convoluted, but the product's video touts this as, "The best idea ever," and along with its homespun production, we think you'll enjoy it for a good laugh -- so just hop the break. Those interested in such gear will find it on Newegg next month for $199.Continue reading GeChic On-Lap 1302 is a 'Secret Tool' to give your smartphone dual screens (video)GeChic On-Lap 1302 is a 'Secret Tool' to give your smartphone dual screens (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 17 Mar 2012 03:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for[..]

(Reuters) - The maker of an Internet film gone viral that calls for the arrest of Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony has been hospitalized in California following an "unfortunate incident" that his group and family said on Friday stemmed from the emotional toll of recent weeks.