Apple OS X Lion 10.7 review — Engadget

Never one to shy away from dramatic hyperbole, Steve Jobs declared ours a “post-PC world” about this time last year, acknowledging a move away from personal computers as smartphones and tablets become even more ubiquitous. And while Jobs might happily look on as iPhones and iPads become our primarily tie to the outside world, the question remains: what happens to the PC during this grand transition? To a large extent, the answer lies in the OS, which brings us to OS X Lion. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to post-PC computing.In typically grandiose fashion, the company has declared OS X 10.7 “the worlds most advanced desktop operating system,” touting the addition of over 250 new features. The list is pretty uneven on the game-changing scale, with updates running the gamut from Airdrop file-sharing over WiFi to a full-screen version of the bundled chess game. If theres one thing tying it all together, though, its something that Jobs touched on when he first unveiled the OS back in October: the unmistakable influence of iOS. Now its true, we already got a taste of that with gesture-based trackpads and the Mac App Store, but those were merely glimpses of things to come. Apple borrows so heavily from iOS that at times, cycling through features makes the whole thing feel like youre merely operating an iPad with a keyboard attached. [click below to read more]

via Apple OS X Lion 10.7 review — Engadget.

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Apple Mac OS X Lion available now in the App Store — Engadget

 

For developers willing to shell out $99 for an annual membership in Apples group of Mac OS app creators, Lion is old news already. But the rest of you can finally download Apples latest operating system — Mac OS 10.7 — by hitting up the App Store on your Snow Leopard 10.6.8-equipped Mac, assuming its powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, i5 or i7 processor. From our experience with the pre-release version, the 4GB download could take over an hour, even on a high-speed connection, but once you have the installer in hand the upgrade process itself should be complete in about 20 minutes. Well be posting a full review of Lion later this week, but you can check out our hands-on preview for a sneak peek at Apples latest consumer OS in the meantime.

via Apple Mac OS X Lion available now in the App Store — Engadget.

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Apple: Mac OS X Lion to hit the App Store tomorrow — Engadget

Well it looks like the cats finally out of the bag virtual box. Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer just confirmed during todays earnings call that Mac OS 10.7 is due to hit the Mac App Store tomorrow, making Lion available as a 4GB download for $30. The new operating system packs 250 new features, including an iOS-like app launcher, multi-touch gestures, AirDrop for direct file sharing, and system-wide Resume. More enhancements that will feel particularly familiar to iOS users include a new version of Mail with conversation view, and reverse touchpad scrolling. Well have a full review of Lion later this week, but check out our hands-on preview for our initial impressions. Want to collaborate on projects with multiple machines? Lion Server will also be available as a $50 download — for those of you that need to support

via Apple: Mac OS X Lion to hit the App Store tomorrow — Engadget.

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Google+ app for iPhone now available — Engadget

Google promised that iPhone users would soon be getting a Google+ app of their own, and its now here. Not surprisingly, it looks a lot like the Android app, including views of your main stream and nearby users, sharing via Circles, and support for the Huddle group messaging feature. Its not a universal app, though, so iPad users are still left out for the time being, as are those with an iPod touch, for yet reasons unknown.

via Google+ app for iPhone now available — Engadget.

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Amazon rolls out textbook rentals for Kindle, promises discounts up to 80 percent — Engadget

 

Students can already save a few bucks by opting for a digital version of a textbook over a hardcover, and they can now save even more courtesy of Amazon if they aren’t too intent on hanging onto the book after they’re done with it. The company has just announced textbook rentals for Kindle, which promises to let students save “up to 80 percent” off the list price of those often pricey textbooks. That discount varies depending on the rental period — which can be anywhere from 30 to 360 days — and the option is already available on “tens of thousands” of textbooks from a number of publishers including John Wiley & Sons, Elsevier and Taylor & Francis. What’s more, you can also rest assured that all of your annotations will be saved even after the rental has expired, and be accessible at any time on the Kindle website (or in the book itself if you ever decide to rent it again for old time’s sake). Press release is after the break.

via Amazon rolls out textbook rentals for Kindle, promises discounts up to 80 percent — Engadget.

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Apple to launch low-priced iPhone for $350, iPhone 4S/5 end of summer

 

We know these next-generation iPhone rumors have been out of control aren’t they every year right before a new iPhone is slated to be released?, but we just received some new information from an incredibly solid source of ours. According to our source, Apple will indeed be launching a prepaid / lower cost iPhone this year. We are told the handset will retail for no more than $350 without contract. Ready for the really interesting part? It’s entirely possible that the low-cost iPhone will in fact be the iPhone 3GS. We reported that we were able to independently confirm that the iPhone 5 featured a radical new design, however this source of ours isn’t quite sure that will be the next iPhone. Whether it’s the iPhone 4S or 5, it will be coming out or “at least announced by the end of Summer, late August-ish.” They theorized that we’d have seen new 3rd party cases by now if the upcoming iPhone featured a different exterior, though Apple has surely been cracking down on their case specification leaks. If this turns out to be true, it will mean there would be an iPhone 4S in addition to the prepaid iPhone 3GS available within the next month to two. Let’s do one better, though. In addition to that news, we are told that Apple will continue to sell the curr

via Apple to launch low-priced iPhone for $350, iPhone 4S/5 end of summer.

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WiFi hacker lands 18-year prison sentence, sex offender status for campaign of cyber vengeance — Engadget

 

Look, we understand that being accused of pedophilia is horrible but, if youre not keen on spending time in the pokey, its probably not best to exact your revenge by hacking and framing your accusers for making terrorist threats or downloading child pornography. That was the unfortunate route chosen by Minnesotan Barry Ardolf, whose neighbors Matt and Bethany Kostolnik went to the police after he allegedly kissed their four-year-old son on the lips. Ardolf broke into the couples Wi-Fi and e-mail accounts, and used them to post porn on MySpace, send threats to Joe Biden, and explicit come-ons to Matts coworkers. Now the the 46-year-old cyberbully is facing 18 years in prison, a tough sentence for a first time offender sure, but an investigation revealed the Kostolniks were not his first victims. In addition to his lengthy stay in jail Ardolf will also have to register as a sex offender — an irony were sure isnt lost on him.

via WiFi hacker lands 18-year prison sentence, sex offender status for campaign of cyber vengeance — Engadget.

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Google teases Photovine, slides back into image sharing — Engadget

Remember when Google acquired Slide way back in 2010? A year after coasting smoothly down the chute into Mountain View, the social gaming company has finally begun to make a splash, launching Prizes beta last week, and now teasing Photovine, a social networking app that lets you connect with people through photo-driven themes. You could participate in a vine about your crazy weekend at the lake, join other users in a thread of kitten shots, or share unboxing pics of a new gadget while comparing regional discrepancies with users from around the world. For now, Photovine is little more than an amateurish three-page website with a brief FAQ and a somewhat-hidden reference to Slide and Google, but the services objective seems to be on-point, and it has potential to attract a diverse group of users. We look forward to watching the vine bud and grow after its yet-to-be-announced public launch, but head over to the source link for a more detailed look in the meantime.

via Google teases Photovine, slides back into image sharing — Engadget.

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Line2 brings phone functionality to iPad for 10 bucks a month video — Engadget

Remember that ridiculous Steven Slater rap video promoting Line2s in-flight texting app? Well, the VoIP company just dusted off the point-and-shoot and hopped back over to YouTube, this time peddling a complete telephony solution for iPad. Launching July 28th, the service will let you place phone calls using a wired headset or the built-in speaker and mic, listen to voicemail, and send texts from a single HD interface. After a one-week trial, youll pay $10 per month or $100 per year for the privilege, though with free number porting and unlimited domestic calling thats a fairly solid deal. Many of us barely use our cell phones to place phone calls anymore, but if youre looking to extend that little-used functionality to your tablet, then Line2 for iPad may be ringing. We havent had a chance to go hands-on just yet, but click past the break for a comprehensive video demo, complete with in-app email and an iTunes-like contacts carousel.

via Line2 brings phone functionality to iPad for 10 bucks a month video — Engadget.

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WOW — You Can Soon Transfer Money On PayPal By Bumping Two Androids Together

Laura Chambers, senior director of PayPal Mobile, showed off how PayPal’s new NFC Android widget can be used to transfer money simply by tapping together two Nexus S phones.
The addition of NFC is a big step for PayPal, a company that has already been dealing with mobile payments for some time via apps. Now instead of opening up PayPal’s app and filling out a money transfer on your Android smartphone, you can save time by tapping a payment request into a widget (assuming you own an NFC-equipped phone).
The NFC transfer process is simple (see video below). You can either request to send or request to receive money via the new PayPal widget. Once the request is sent, you simply hold the phones together until they buzz, then enter your PayPal password or mobile PIN, to complete the transfer. Continue reading

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