Daily Crunch: Travellers in Space and Time Edition

Video: TalkTorque 2 Robot Will Be A Master In Non-Verbal Communication Fly Or Die: The Nexus S, Barbie Video Girl, And AR.Drone (TCTV) Go Back To The Future Doc And Marty With This iPhone 4 Flux Capacitor Decal What I Want For Christmas: A 16:9 iPad They Got Him! Children?s Cancer Ward Console Thief Apprehended

Source: http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/12/23/travellers-space-time/

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Epistle is a Dropbox-syncing, minimalistic text editor for Android

epistle

I've got a serious text editor fetish, and as such, it extends across devices. I've been on the lookout for a simple text editor for Android for a while now. There's complex software, with tagging support, SimpleNote sync and lots of other bells and whistles, and at the other end of the range there are really simple editors with no sync functionality at all.

And then I found Epistle. I've just started testing it, but so far I'm pretty excited about it. It's as simple as can be, with just one extra: it supports Dropbox sync, and the sync appears to work well. You create a note on the device, and it instantly appears in a Dropbox folder called epistle right at the root of your Dropbox. Update the note on the desktop, and it's updated on the device.

Epistle's two main disadvantages at this point are that it doesn't let you pick a Dropbox folder manually but just adds a folder to your Dropbox root, and that it doesn't support right-to-left languages such as Hebrew and Arabic. Other than that, it's a fairly strong contender in the "simple editor" category.

Epistle is a Dropbox-syncing, minimalistic text editor for Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/13/epistle-is-a-dropbox-syncing-minimalistic-text-editor-for-andro/

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Windows Phone 7 "Mango" may add HTML5, Silverlight support to WP7's browser

Over at ZDNet, Mary Jo Foley has been speculating about the future of Windows Phone 7. According to Foley, a major update is due around Jan/Feb 2011, adding copy/paste functionality and two major browsing enhancements: HTML 5 support and a Silverlight plug-in. Foley also wonders whether enterprise tweaks might be part of the game plan as well. Microsoft, of course, doesn't comment on rumors -- so we'll have to wait for someone to score some hands-on time with the WP7 update.

Despite the update's appetizing codename, Microsoft doesn't seem to be converging on a single food-related theme for its Windows Phone OS. The next release, Windows Phone 8, is codenamed "Apollo". We can only hope 8.5 will be codenamed "Starbuck".

Bear in mind this is all sheer speculation; however, after Windows Phone 7's somewhat lackluster launch, any sort of improvement could be exciting.

Windows Phone 7 "Mango" may add HTML5, Silverlight support to WP7's browser originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 16 Dec 2010 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/16/windows-phone-7-5-mango-may-add-html5-better-silverlight-supp/

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Teaser For Michael Jackson's 'Hold My Hand' Video Released

A 30-second preview of MJ's duet with Akon promises epic images.
By Gil Kaufman


Michael Jackson
Photo: Ebet Roberts/ Redferns

It's hard enough to finish a song by a noted perfectionist such as Michael Jackson after the singer's death, but the challenge of filming a video for the first posthumous single from the most celebrated video maker in music history has got to be even more daunting.

So MJ fans must have been eager to check out a 30-second teaser of the clip for the Akon collaboration "Hold My Hand," that was posted on Jackson's website over the weekend, just over a week before the King of Pop's first posthumous studio album, Michael, is slated to hit stores.

The quick-cut preview opens with Jackson, bathed in a spotlight on stage and dressed in a black leather jacket, black pants and a gold lame unitard, blowing a kiss to unseen fans and spreading his arms wide. With the song's swelling, cinematic strings and Jackson and Akon's vibrant vocals on the chorus pumping behind, we then see a succession of images, including a mother holding a smiling baby, MJ on stage during his prime, a lit-up Ferris wheel, a grade-school girl stretching her arms toward the sun, a baby in a diaper learning how to walk and the track's title graffitied on a cement wall.

The action then moves inside to a dark venue, as a blinding light emerges in the distance from the point of view of an ecstatic, clapping crowd. It quickly becomes clear that the audience is awaiting Jackson's arrival on stage, as his unmistakable profile appears in shadow on the curtain. More quick cuts reveal a b-girl in a gold lame top busting a few moves while swinging chains and a child MJ impersonator shuffling his feet amid classic images of Jackson on stage at various points in his career.

Those clips are then interspersed with shots of a huge chorus singing the song's refrain while waving their arms in the air on a set that looks like a reservoir or a dam. The teaser ends with a montage of children's hands and a close-up of a grand piano cued to the tune's haunting keyboard break.

The duet with Akon was recorded in 2007 and, as a message on MJ's site points out, "a handwritten note from Michael belonging to his estate indicated his desire that 'Hold My Hand' be the first single on his next project."

After an unfinished version leaked in 2008, Akon recently went back into the studio to complete production on the track.

What do you think of the "Hold My Hand" teaser clip? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1653590/20101206/jackson_michael.jhtml

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Google Cloud Print hands-on

Google Cloud Print just launched, and we're glad to announce... it works! At least from the Chrome test page.

Google are expected to launch cloud print-enabled Android apps later today, which will mean you can print from your phone direct to your printer -- or indeed any printer that's connected to Google Cloud Print.

The gallery should walk you through each of the steps. It took a while for the document to be printed (a few minutes) but it did eventually print -- that could merely be a connection issue on my end, however.

Google Cloud Print hands-on originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 07 Dec 2010 10:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/07/google-cloud-print-hands-on/

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Chrome to Phone for Android adds history display

Google's Chrome to Phone tandem is a great way to share Web links from your desktop to your Android device, and it's just gotten a bit better. Today's update brings a more useful start screen to the Android app, which now displays your previously sent links grouped by when you sent them.

You'll see a today group, your last seven days, last month, and older. We'd like to see a daily breakdown for the previous week listing -- in case we've been particularly push-y for the last seven days.

History is, nevertheless, a very useful addition to Chrome to Phone -- but wouldn't it be nice if our Chrome bookmarks would just sync with Android phones without any tinkering?

Chrome to Phone Extension for Google Chrome

Chrome to Phone for Android

Chrome to Phone for Android adds history display originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/09/chrome-to-phone-for-android-adds-history-groups/

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Britney Spears' Producer Opens Up About Her New Album

'She is actually damn professional,' Shellback says in radio interview.
By Jocelyn Vena


Britney Spears
Photo: Eric Charbonneau/ Le Studio/ Wireimage

Britney Spears fans are gearing up for the release of the singer's new music in 2011. With the album due out in March, and a single expected to drop before then, details are slowly emerging about the music and what it was like to work with Spears on the follow-up to 2008's Circus.

"Right now we are preparing for Britney's upcoming album, which will be released in March. Some other things too, but the main focus is the album," Swedish producer Shellback said in a recent radio interview. "It works in many different ways [when you work with Britney]. You can make something absolutely new, or take a beat that's three years old and come up with a good sound."

Shellback, who worked with Pink on "Raise Your Glass," collaborated with Dr. Luke and Max Martin on music for Spears. The producers are donating a guitar they used on the album to charity.

"[Britney]'s actually damn professional. You read a lot on the Internet that Britney is not singing and mimes, but she is actually damn professional," Shellback said. "She's done it since she was 16. And just rhythmic way, she is f---ing awesome! And you do not have to go through and talk about the rhythms and stuff that you sometimes have to do. She's very easy in the studio."

Spears has shared her excitement about the new album with fans via her Twitter page. "I'm almost done with my new album and it will be coming out this March," she wrote. "I AM IN L-O-V-E WITH IT!"

Are you excited for Britney's new album? Tell us in the comments below!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1654749/20101221/spears_britney.jhtml

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'Glee' Britney Spears Episode Slammed By Parents Television Council

Group describes show as 'an endorsement of narcotics abuse, public masturbation, and school-sanctioned burlesque.'
By James Dinh


Heather Morris in the "Britney/Brittany" episode of "Glee"
Photo: FOX

Last week's episode of "Glee" found Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) shouting, "It's a Britney Spears sex riot!" as she attempted to put a stop to the glee club's saucy rendition of "Toxic."

But she's not the only one who had an issue with the Spears takeover at William McKinley High School. The hit Fox show has come under fire as the Parents Television Council has deemed the "Britney/Brittany" episode the "Worst TV Show of the Week" due to the broadcast's "explicit sexual content."

A message posted on the organization's website decries the episode's "skimpy outfits" and "sultry grinds" during "I'm a Slave 4 U." And even though "Glee" castmembers show very little skin in the re-creation for the 2001 Madonna duet "Me Against the Music," the PTC said the interpretation included "plenty of girl-girl bumping and grinding."

According to the group, the tribute to the always-controversial Spears wasn't appropriate because the singer is far from a suitable role model.

"Glee earned its highest ratings ever with this Britney Spears tribute, drawing 13.3 million viewers," the message continued. "A scary thought considering that the mostly young teen/tween audience basically witnessed an endorsement of narcotics abuse, public masturbation, and school-sanctioned burlesque. But perhaps most troubling is the deification of a troubled pop star into a symbol of empowerment and self-esteem. Considering her stints in rehab, her very public breakdowns, and her questionable parenting skills, there is absolutely no way Spears should be considered a role model. The producers of the show can spare us the old song-and-dance about fallen celebs turning their lives around. What's next? Portraying Ike Turner as a reformed feminist?"

Spears knows controversy and criticism far too well. Since the beginning of her career, she's always raised eyebrows with everything from her sex-kitten public image to her sometimes-questionable parental judgment. While the pop star has played it relatively safe since her comeback, the singer did make headlines last year for her suggestive single "If U Seek Amy," the third offering from her album Circus.

Do you think the "Britney/Brittany" episode of "Glee" was inappropriate? Tell us in the comments below!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1649574/20101007/spears_britney.jhtml

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