MySpace was sold… for a mere $35 million. Google+ was launched. LulzSec sank the Lulz Boat. The run-up to the July 4 Independence Day celebrations here in the US wasn't a quiet one after all—and here are the top ten general tech news stories of the week, collected for your reading pleasure.
Read the comments on this post
Ashlee Simpson Donna Feldman Jodi Lyn OKeefe Emma Watson Amy Smart
Could this be the N7?
The Nokia Symbian leaks continue at a pace with the latest being some blurrycam shots of the Nokia 700 Zeta.
The Zeta was one of the four handsets detailed by the spec sheet leak that Pocket-lint reported on, on Tuesday - and could be the phone that comes to the market as the N7.
In these pics you can see Symbian Belle - the next version of Anna - in operation, as well as the 5-megapixel with LED flash.
We're not too sure about the previous boasts of being "the thinnest smartphone ever" though - with measurement of 110 x 51 x 10mm and a weight of 80g.
The 3.2-inch display is said to be nHD AMOLDED and the previous spec sheet leak suggested NFC capabilities too.
The Nokia 700 Zeta is one of 10 possible Symbian handsets that could be coming our way before Nokia jumps fully into bed with Windows Phone 7. We've also heard whispers of the N5, the Nokia 701 Helen, the Nokia 600 Cindy, the Nokia 500 Fate, the N6 and the N7 - although it's not clear if some of these devices are, in fact, the same handsets.
?
Tags: Nokia Nokia 700 Nokia N7 Phones Mobile phones
Nokia 700 Zeta leaked pics emerge originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:14:31 +0100
Sarah Shahi Anna Paquin Diane Kruger Magdalena Wróbel Connie Nielsen
New design launched
Google has got a new homepage today, but before you wonder what new features it’s added, the company has really just streamlined things further as it aims to speed up getting you to the results.
“Starting today, you might begin noticing that things look a little different across Google products. We’re working on a project to bring you a new and improved Google experience, and over the next few months, you’ll continue to see more updates to our look and feel. Even our classic homepage is getting a bit of a makeover,” says Google in a blog post.
The new Google homepage how comes with a smaller logo and links moved to the top and bottom edges of the browser for a cleaner look rather than clumped in the middle as previously.
That basically means there will be a consistent top nav to the Google apps?portfolio?allowing people to dart between the apps with a navigation option that is in the same place each time.
For those that find these things interesting, Google says the new design is around three key elements: Focus, Elasticity, and Effortless.
It’s a mantra the company has been shouting for some time, and we suspect also now key to how the company probably rates websites around the web within its search engine as it strives to simplify the web.
The Focus part of the three stands for getting its navigation elements out of the way of what’s going on in the browser window.
“Even simple changes, like using bolder colours for actionable buttons or hiding navigation buttons until they’re actually needed, can help you better focus on only what you need at the moment.”
Elasticity is all about making the design look the same across various screens like your desktop, laptop, or mobile, while the final one; Effortlessness, is about employing new technologies like HTML5, WebGL so while it might look simple it’s still cutting edge tech powering it all.
“Starting today and over the course of the next few months, look for a series of design improvements across all our products, including?Google Search, Google Maps and Gmail,” warns Google suggesting that hitting refresh on the Google homepage over and over again, isn’t likely to work right this second.
Tags: Software Online Google Search engines
Google rolls out new look originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 22:49:00 +0100
Gretha Cavazzoni Marla Sokoloff Jennifer Love Hewitt Tina Fey Gina Philips
Last week I got my hands on a brand new ASUS VX7 Lamborghini gaming laptop. It?s a beautiful PC, as I noted in my unboxing photo gallery blog, so I wanted to devote this piece to the PC?s performance, which looks to be seriously impressive.
What?s inside
My VX7 is loaded with a second-generation Intel Core i7-2630 processor, 8GB of memory, a brand-new NVIDIA GTX 460M graphics card, and 1.5TB of storage spread across 2 drives. It?s a beast of a PC and on paper, one of the most impressive I?ve seen to date, and is on par power-wise with offerings from Alienware, Maingear and Origin. One like mine will run you about $2299. That?s a lot of money for a PC, but like I always say, you get what you pay for. In the case of the VX7, you?re getting great performance and a very unique look and feel, so I think the price is reasonable.
Using the PC
In many cases PCs trade off aesthetics for usability. When I got the VX7 I feared that would be the case, but to my surprise ASUS did a very good job of making the PC as beautiful to use as it is to look at. The leather palmrest feels great on your hands when typing or gaming, and the glass trackpad feels good on your finger, even when mousing for a long time. Is it as good as the beautiful glass-coated trackpad on the Lenovo U260? No, it?s not. But it?s very usable and looks a lot better than the average matte-black polycarbonate trackpads on most PCs. Typing is a breeze on the backlit keyboard, too, and keystrokes are crisp and responsive. Gamers will tell you that having a good keyboard is critical; if the keys are too stiff, keystrokes are forced and unresponsive, and if they?re too soft, keystrokes are unintentionally repeated, resulting in wasted ammo and imprecise action. This one is just right.
Even more impressive than the PC?s ergonomics is the sound and video. The full HD 1920x1080 display looks fantastic when gaming or browsing the web, and the speakers on this thing are loud enough to rattle your windows. Or in my case, invoke the ire of your office mates. Together they provide a truly immersive gaming experience. Really good stuff.
Performance
As you?d expect from a PC with absolute top-of-the-line specs ? and a $2000+ price tag ? performance was incredible, especially in core fundamentals:
Keep in mind that these numbers are with Windows 7 Ultimate installed on a standard 7200rpm spinning drive. If this PC had an SSD, they?d be even more impressive. (Speaking of, be sure to watch the ?Ben and Ryan Explain: HDDs vs. SSDs? video for more info on why SSDs are so dang fast).
With a Core i7 and 8GB of RAM under the hood multitasking was no problem; I was able to load every application in my standard test set ? Zune, IE9, Metrotwit, Windows Live Messenger, Mesh and Mail, and all of Office 2010, without any problem whatsoever. Gaming is where things really got interesting; I tried out both Call of Duty: Black Ops and Crysis 2 and they both ran flawlessly. At 1920x1080 resolution. And full frame rate. With all of the variables maxed out. It was really, really impressive to see this kind of performance out of a laptop.
Final Thoughts
If you?re looking for a power gaming PC with style to burn, the ASUS VX7 Lamborghini is for you. Its smoking fast, drop-dead gorgeous, and for what you?re getting, carries a pretty reasonable price tag.
Have a question about this or any other PC? Post a comment, hit me on Twitter, or Ask Ben Anything via email!
Mia Kirshner Elisabeth Röhm Lily Allen Emmanuelle Chriqui Anna Faris
JT and Specific Media buy site for $35m
In David Fincher's The Social Network Justin Timberlake plays internet entrepreneur Sean Parker who was involved in the creation and early success of Facebook.
In real life Justin Timberlake plays an internet entrepreneur (also called Justin Timberlake) who has, along with ad agency Specific Media, bought out Facebook's one-time rival MySpace.
The figure for the buyout is $35 million - a whopping $545 million less than Rupert Murdoch's News Corp payed for the social network back in 2005.
The one time undisputed king of the online social world (with 300m registered users making it the top ranked social network from 2006-2008) has seen a dramatic fall in popularity during the Facebook boom years - its active users now stands at just 35 million.
MySpace had tried to reinvent itself as of late as a music-orientated platform and it seems that JT wants to continue down that path.
“There’s a need for a place where fans can go to interact with their favourite entertainers,” he said. “I’m excited to help revitalise MySpace by using its social media platform to bring artists and fans together.”
Its expected that jobs will continue to be slashed at the Beverley Hills based company, with the numbers to come down to 250 - a long way from the 1,500 employees it had just two years ago.
Tags: the social network Social networking Specific Media Justin Timberlake Internet Online MySpace
Justin Timberlake gets into character to invest in MySpace originally appeared on http://www.pocket-lint.com on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:27:47 +0100
Melissa Howard Samantha Mumba Busy Philipps Thora Birch Jennifer Garner
Microsoft will announce and release Office 2010 Service Pack 1 on Tuesday.
The software giant is readying the Office 2010 SP1 release alongside the general availability launch of Office 365. Microsoft had previously promised Office 2010 SP1 ?by the end of June.? WinRumors understands, from sources familiar with Microsoft?s plans, that the SP1 download will be made available at 9AM PST on Tuesday June 28. SP1 releases for both Office client suites and SharePoint server products will be made available. All language versions of SP1 will release at the same time. Service Pack 1 will be offered as a manual download from the Download Center and from Microsoft Update.
Microsoft will include the following important fixes in SP1:
Microsoft plans to include the following security and non-security related fixes:
Office 2010 SP1 to be released this week WinRumors
Shania Twain Gwen Stefani Sunny Mabrey Karolína Kurková Laura Harring
Send via e-mail
Submit to Digg
Add to Live Favorites
