8pen is a painful way to enter text on Android devices

8penText entry on a small screen is a formidable problem; as can be expected, there are a ton of competing solutions, with Swype (and Swype-like keyboards, such as SlideIT) getting a lot of attention.

8pen takes a completely different tack to the keyboard problem, by eliminating it altogether. To paraphrase Bob Marley, "no keyboard, no cry." According to 8pen, by drawing "natural" gestures on your touchscreen, you'd be able to "write without viewing".

The idea is to give you a central graffiti-like area with a grid of characters. All gestures originate from the central area and terminate there, too. To type the letter "e", for example, you have to start at the center, swipe down, hang a left (crossing the green line) and go back to the center area. To type "l" (a lowercase L), you have to do the same, but continue one quadrant further, returning to the center dot from the top quadrant, having crossed both the green and blue lines.

If this sounds insanely complex, you're right. I'm no stranger to alternative keyboard layouts, and I know full well that switching input methods takes some getting used to. But compared to SlideIT, 8pen is downright painful. And yes, I will review SlideIT soon.

Still, if you're curious and/or masochistic, I've put up a QR code for 8pen after the jump. Enjoy! (I guess...)

Continue reading 8pen is a painful way to enter text on Android devices

8pen is a painful way to enter text on Android devices originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/13/8pen-is-a-painful-way-to-enter-text-on-android-devices/

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The Santa Chronicles: A Look into the Shady Life of the Man in Red [History]

You probably don't give Santa a second look when you see him in a department store or on a street corner every December...but maybe you should. More »


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Usher's 'OMG' Is MTV News' #1 Song Of 2010!

Club smash, featuring will.i.am, tops our list of the Top 25 Songs of the year.
By James Montgomery


Usher
Photo: Getty Images

MTV News' Top 25 Songs of 2010 has reached an end. We've already counted down the rest, and now it's time to get to the best: Usher's "OMG," the song that perfectly sums up the past 12 months of popular music — and makes you wanna move until you can't move no more.

If 2010 proved anything, it's that a DJ really can save your life ... or at least get you to #1 on the Hot 100. After years of staring at each other from across the room, hip-hop, pop and R&B all decided to finally get in bed with dance music, and the results weren't always pretty, but they were certainly successful. To date, only 17 songs have made it to the top spot of Billboard's singles chart in 2010, and nearly two-thirds of them — from Ke$ha's "Tik Tok" to Far East Movement's "Like a G6" — were, in some way, dance songs.

In that regard, no song better sums up 2010 pop music quite like Usher's "OMG," the dance song to end all dance songs. Sure, it may not have matched the swagger of Kanye West's "Power," the snarl of Rick Ross' "B.M.F. (Blowin' Money Fast)" or the inbox-clogging spread of Cee Lo's "F--- You," but it didn't have to. None of those songs went to #1, after all. "OMG" did. Twice.

Even among songs that managed to snag that top spot — Eminem and Rihanna's "Love the Way You Lie," Katy Perry's "California Gurls," B.o.B and Bruno Mars' "Nothin' on You" — "OMG" stood out from the pack, mostly because of its pedigree. It's not a stretch to say that any of those tracks could've (and probably would've) been #1 in any other year; "OMG" could only have done it in 2010, because it was crafted to do nothing else. No other song this year was as of the moment, as singular and shiny and downright undeniable. There's a reason it was named on more ballots than any other song on our countdown and justly takes the title of MTV News' #1 Song of 2010.

And while all that is important, it's largely beside the point. "OMG" is the kind of song that truly defies deep inspection, because it's not exactly headphone music. Rather, it was made for the clubs, designed to envelop you on the dance floor and not let go until the final "oh-ohh-oh-ooh-oh." And in that regard, it succeeds in spades. It is a masterful melding of R&B, and Euro dance, all icy synths and handclaps, starbursts and stutters and sing-along chants. It ebbs and flows, stops and starts, pumps and preens. Simply put, you cannot listen to it without moving in some way. (MTV's Dee Caligiuri, who voted on our countdown, probably put it best one night when she declared: "There are so many dances you can do to it!") And if that's not the definition of a success, well, then I don't know what is.

A large portion of the credit for "OMG" has to go to will.i.am, who not only produced the track (I know!), but was smart enough to see this whole dance thing coming when he teamed up with producer David Guetta last year. Those songs — "Boom Boom Pow" and "I Gotta Feeling" — were, of course, massive, but neither of them are as good as this. Given full control, Will goes off the deep end, cramming the song with every dance trick in the book — and probably some new ones he just invented on the spot. And Usher, whose career, truth be told, was sort of in need of a shot in the arm, is the beneficiary. He floats and gloats above the mix, suave and cocksure, knowing that he is exactly the right man at the right time. That time, of course, had to be 2010.

Because in a year when so many big-name acts embraced the DJ, he flat-out did it better than any of them. "OMG" represents the peak of the dance-pop era in which we live, a song as undeniable as it is of the moment. We can only speculate as to what next year will bring, but there's really no denying that, as 2010 comes to a close, Usher stands above all else, reinvigorated and ready for more. It's enough to make you say "Oh My God," really.

How does Usher's "OMG" rank among the year's best songs? Let us know in the comments!

MTV News' Top 25 Songs of 2010 have all been counted down. But the fun isn't over yet: We still want to see your picks in the comments below!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1653969/20101209/usher.jhtml

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Nanopore DNA sequencing technique promises entire genome in minutes or your money back

Scientists refine speedy nanopore DNA sequencing technique, entire genome in minutes or your money back
Those vaguely affordable DNA tests that promise to tell you just how likely you are to be stricken by some horrible and unavoidable genetic affliction in the future? They only look at a tiny fraction of the bits and bobs and bases that make up your genetic code. There's a race on to develop a quick and inexpensive way to sequence a human's entire genome, a process that costs about a million thousands of dollars now and takes ages but, via the technique under development at Imperial College London, could be done in a few minutes for a couple of bucks in 10 years. The process relies on nanopores, which are the go-to tech for companies trying to pull this off. Basically, a DNA strand is pushed through a 2nm hole on a silicon chip and, as it moves through, that chip is able to use an electrical charge to read the strand's coding sequence. That is then spit out to a supercomputer to crunch the numbers at a speed of 10 million bases per second and, within minutes, you too can have some hard data to make you freak out about the future -- and maybe a place to put your iPod, too.

Update: As many of you pointed out, there are multiple places to get your full genome scanned now for prices in the mere thousands of dollars. Pocket change, really.

Nanopore DNA sequencing technique promises entire genome in minutes or your money back originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Dec 2010 08:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Trap the Tiger is a cute, checkers-like Time Waster for all ages

trapthetiger

When I was a kid, I used to love playing checkers; figuring out your opponent's next move, trying to trap their pieces and guessing what they'd do next. Trap the Tiger is a cute time-waster that captures some of that magic while being simple enough for kids to get and for grown-ups to enjoy (well, I liked it, at least).

The game starts off with a tiger at the center of the board, and a seemingly random arrangement of dark and light circles (the exact color scheme changes every level). When you click a circle, it becomes dark, and the tiger gets one move. The tiger can only move over light circles, one circle at a time. It tries to inch its way to the edge of the board, and eventually escape. If it manages to exit the board, you lose and the tiger wins.

It starts off quite easy, but quickly becomes complex. It doesn't have many bells and whistles, and I mean that in the most literal sense; the game is devoid of any sound effects. But if you (or your kid) is up for a few minutes of thought, you should definitely give Trap the Tiger a spin.

Trap the Tiger is a cute, checkers-like Time Waster for all ages originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/13/trap-the-tiger-is-a-cute-checkers-like-time-waster-for-all-ages/

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Choosing Between a laptop and an iPad: A guide

One of the big questions many consumers are faced with today is whether to purchase a laptop or an iPad. We hope to take some of the pressure off and help make that decision easier for you in this guide. Since many of you are already more than well aware of what laptops can be [...]

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Beyonce Says She Wants To 'Make My Own Genre Of Music'

Singer is in the studio working on Sasha Fierce follow-up.
By Gil Kaufman


Beyoncé
Photo: Getty Images

Beyoncé doesn't have that much left to prove in her career. She's a megaplatinum artist, an accomplished actress, half of one of the most successful musical couples in history and a fashion icon.

But on the follow-up to her smash 2008 Grammy-winning album I Am ... Sasha Fierce, the singer is aiming to carve an entirely new lane for herself.

"I love to dance, I love to sing, and I'm actually in the studio now writing songs and producing," the singer told "Entertainment Tonight" from the set of a new commercial she's filming for Vizio televisions. "I have a lot of live instruments that I'm putting into the tracks to try to change the sound and make my own genre of music." The commercial will debut on Thanksgiving day, just after the singer rocks prime-time TV with an ABC Thanksgiving special entitled "I Am ... World Tour."

Among the producers and songwriters working with Beyoncé on the new, as-yet-untitled album is Ne-Yo, who helped write one of the 29-year-old singer's biggest hits, "Irreplaceable."

Ne-Yo told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Beyoncé's fourth solo effort is "coming along nicely. I can't speak too much on it, but it's another direction for her, and she's carving out her own niche. ... In a minute nobody will be in Beyoncé's lane. They really can't get in her lane now, but they really can't get in her lane after this album."

In the meantime, producer Jim Jonsin, who produced her song "Sweet Dreams," has also said he has some new directions in mind for Beyoncé. "I'd like to take it even more Depeche Mode-ish, like '80s electro with just some hard drums," he told Rap-Up TV. "I'd love to go there."

That fits with what songwriter Sean "The Pen" Garrett recently told Entertainment Weekly. Garrett, who was behind such hits as "Video Phone," "Diva" and "Upgrade U," said that he was slated to hit the studio with Beyoncé in September and that the results would be hard-hitting.

"I think we are doing a lot of uptempo records for this one," he said. "She's in such a good place right now in life that she is interested in making party music, definitely."

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1652659/20101119/knowles_beyonce.jhtml

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Dell Streak 7 television ad slides leak out

Dell Streak 7

That Dell tablet that just got its WiFi certification?  It looks like it will be the new Dell Streak 7, and be showing up on your television in a series of commercials.  Engadget got hold of the slides for the commercial script, along with a little Easter egg -- one of them shows a Netflix app, which we knew was coming eventually.  There's a full set of slides at the source link, and they're worth a look.

It's nice to see Dell sticking to the Streak brand, even if this one's going to end up confusing consumers about the OS with the inclusion of a big fat 7 at the end of the name.  Something tells me we'll know more come CES, and in between cold beers we'll find time to tell you.  So Dude, are you getting a Dell? [Engadget]

Dell Streak 7 television ad slides leak out posted originally by Android Central

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CrunchGear Week in Review: Ornament Express Edition

Here’s what’s been happening on CrunchGear this week: CrunchGear’s 12 Days of Christmas CrunchGear’s Holiday Gift Guide The Luddite?s Gift Guide The Porsche Design Bobsled Is Here, Hope You Brought Your Credit Card A DIY Gorillapod Right In Time For Gift Giving Make Your Own Steve Jobs Christmas Ornament The iGrill Turns Your iPhone Into [...]

Source: http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/12/20/week-in-review-ornament-express/

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Trillian for Android review -- not quite worth your money yet

Trillian logoEarlier this week, Trillian, one of the oldest third-party IM client developers, released its Android app. I've always found Trillian a bit gimicky -- kind of like a 'Super Mega' Windows Live Messenger, with more bells and whistles than I really need, and a bloated, hard-to-navigate UI as a result.

Trillian for Android, I'm sad to say, is no better. Ultimately, it's functional but it feels like the shedding of its beta moniker was more than a little hasty. If that wasn't bad enough, it'll cost you $5 from the Android Market.

Continue reading Trillian for Android review -- not quite worth your money yet

Trillian for Android review -- not quite worth your money yet originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/21/trillian-for-android-taken-for-a-spin-not-worth-your-money-just/

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