PlayOnLinux Installs Windows Games and Programs on Linux Hassle-Free [Linux Downloads]

PlayOnLinux Installs Windows Games and Programs on Linux Hassle-Free [Linux Downloads]:

Wine is a great way to run your favorite Windows programs on Linux, but if you don't want to mess with a program's settings to get it just right, free app PlayOnLinux has a bunch in its database that you can install with one click. More »

Fisker's Project Nina exposed ahead of New York Auto Show debut

Fisker's Project Nina exposed ahead of New York Auto Show debut:

An unreleased gadget is pretty easy to conceal, but an upcoming automobile? Not so much. Thanks to some quick reflexes, you're looking at the first spy shots of Fisker's second and smaller plug-in hybrid sedan, heretofore known as Project Nina. Last we heard, the BMW-powered auto had been put on life-support, as the remainder of the company's DOE loan evaporated as it failed to meet timely deadlines in bringing its first EV, the Karma, to market. That could mean the above is a mere concept designed to woo potential investors -- but with less than a week before its supposed New York auto show debut, it won't be long until we know for sure. Until then, ogle at more eye candy of the beaut over at Autoblog in the source link below.

Fisker's Project Nina exposed ahead of New York Auto Show debut originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 10:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Prince of Persia creator finds lost source code, cues delicate chip fanfare

Prince of Persia creator finds lost source code, cues delicate chip fanfare:

No, we don't mean the modern interpretation and its moody sequels -- this is the 1989 original. Jordan Mechner created the first Prince of Persia game for the Apple II. However, the source code ended up lost in the sands of time -- until Mechner's dad discovered a box filled with 3.5-inch ProDOS disks. The creator's now attempting to transfer the code across to his MacBook Air and get it working on modern platforms. We just have to remember how to beat our evil reflection.
Continue reading Prince of Persia creator finds lost source code, cues delicate chip fanfare

Prince of Persia creator finds lost source code, cues delicate chip fanfare originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Six-legged calf defies survival odds to become Swiss national treasure: Mark Molloy

Six-legged calf defies survival odds to become Swiss national treasure

Holy cow! A rare six-legged calf named Lilli, who was given no chance of survival by vets, has defied the odds to become a national celebrity in Switzerland.

Six-legged calf Lilli has survived against the odds (Picture: EPA/Peter Schneider)

After being born with a rare genetic disorder which left the animal with two extra limbs, vets feared the worst for the baby calf.
However, it seems seven-week old Lilli is made of stronger stuff - despite having two extra limbs attached to her back - after being snapped running around a sunny field in the agricultural Swiss outpost of Weissenburg.
The survival story has captured the hearts of the triangular chocolate producing nation and Lilli was featured in popular daily newspaper Blick earlier this week.
Lilli has become a national celebrity in Switzerland (Picture: EPA/Peter Schneider)

Since then, the young brown-and-white calf has hit headlines around the world and become a global internet sensation.
Farmer Andreas Knutti revealed he couldn't bring himself to euthanise the animal because she was 'so full of life'.
'She was so alive, so impetuous,' said the farmer.
'Even if she is not a normal milking cow, I do not want to get rid of her. Perhaps we will find a zoo for her.'
Lilli's additional legs are the result of a genetic mutation (Picture: EPA/Peter Schneider)

Vet Auto Zardiashvili believes the curve in her spine caused by the genetic defect means she will never be a normal milking cow.
He also explained the mutation may be due to issues at conception.
'Most probably there were twins, but then the embryos were united and we've got a strange lamb,' Mr Zardiashvili said.
Mr Knutti says he expects Lilli to join her family when they head for higher Alpine pastures this summer - a centuries old Swiss tradition.
VIDEO:
Watch Lilli frolicking in the Swiss Alps

PSA: Interactive Starry Night now available for the iPad (video)

PSA: Interactive Starry Night now available for the iPad (video):

Greek Artist Petros Vrellis is a big admirer of Vincent Van Gogh, which prompted him to produce an interactive version of Starry Night. It took him a patience-sapping six months to produce the original PC version, where finger swipes redirect the painter's famous daubs into a light and sound show. Of course, there was such a clamor from users all desperate to have a go, that he managed to produce an iPad app in a little under a month. Now you can pick it up from the App Store at the source link, or head on past the break to see this new version in action (you really do have to see it).

Continue reading PSA: Interactive Starry Night now available for the iPad (video)

PSA: Interactive Starry Night now available for the iPad (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Liquor stores will laugh in the Face.com at your fake ID

Liquor stores will laugh in the Face.com at your fake ID:

Okay, it's only 3 months till your glorious 21st birthday, so near, yet technology has to come along and rain on your parade. You might think you look legal, but if claims by engineers at Face.com are to be believed, they're not having it. Using the firm's face recognition technology and a new API, they believe it can determine age based on a photo. The technology is open to all developers who might want to add age restriction into their apps, although it's unlikely that you would want to rely on this as your sole method of verification. The algorithm takes a number of factors into account, such as face shape, and skin smoothness, so at the very least you'll be able to find out if your t-zone routine is working. Hit up the more coverage, where there's a free iOS app to learn the harsh reality.

Liquor stores will laugh in the Face.com at your fake ID originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google reCAPTCHAs now featuring Street View addresses, 221b Baker St. to get even more famous

Google reCAPTCHAs now featuring Street View addresses, 221b Baker St. to get even more famous:

If you've enjoyed decrypting the often frustratingly skewed (and occasionally humorously juxtaposed) reCAPTCHAs, you might be a bit sad to learn that Google is mixing things up with some rather more boring numerals. The combinations of two words are typically used as part of a registration form to ensure the registrant is, indeed, human. Google is now replacing one of the words in some of its reCAPTCHA forms with photos gleaned from Street View service. Google says it uses these numbers internally to improve the accuracy of Street View and that pulling them into reCAPTCHAs is part of an "experiment" to "determine if using imagery might also be an effective way to further refine our tools for fighting machine and bot-related abuse online."

In other words, Google's bots are already capable of decoding these numbers, which makes this all sound like a bit of a challenge to the rest of the OCR-loving coders in the world. Any takers?

[Image Credit: dirtbag]

Google reCAPTCHAs now featuring Street View addresses, 221b Baker St. to get even more famous originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mega-long odds for winning jackpot

Mega-long odds for winning jackpot:
With the multistate Mega Millions jackpot set to reach a world-record $540 million Friday, lottery players across the country are wondering if there's a way to guarantee becoming an overnight multimillionaire.

HTC One X and One S on sale now in Germany, flagship gets unboxed in France (video)

HTC One X and One S on sale now in Germany, flagship gets unboxed in France (video):

Itching to get your hands on HTC's new breed of smartphones? Best get yourself over to Germany then, as a batch of the flagship One X and its (slightly) smaller brother, the One S, are up for sale -- early. Mediamarkt is where you'll need to go, with several stores also providing HTC One X models on the shop floor to play with. Better still, some excited Frenchmen have already performed the requisite packaging autopsy on the new plastic capsules, revealing (amongst other things) a new SIM pin that's -- logically -- microSIM-shaped. You can marvel at all the rubber bands and plastic bags after the break.
Continue reading HTC One X and One S on sale now in Germany, flagship gets unboxed in France (video)

HTC One X and One S on sale now in Germany, flagship gets unboxed in France (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple has Apple Stores, Samsung has... this!

Apple has Apple Stores, Samsung has... this!:

You know those heady dreams of a new Samsung product launch today? Well consider them punctured. There's no new gadgets to announce, but instead a teaming-up with UK retailer Phones 4u, offering a dedicated space for Samsung to dip its toes into retail waters. Located on London's Oxford Street -- and just around the corner from an Apple Store -- the shop-within-a-shop displays all of the Korean makers' big hitters, with several tables housing Galaxy Tab 10.1s, Galaxy Notes and Galaxy S IIs. The rest of that expansive galactic family dot the periphery of the room, but then you'd probably come here primarily to test-drive the aforementioned flagships. The tables themselves are dressed down; no pricing or carrier information clogging up the surfaces, just the devices and some Galaxy branding. Samsung's claimed the whole top floor and the shop is already training up dedicated Samsung staff to answer pressing questions like what's the point of the Galaxy Ace Plus whether that phone has Gorilla glass and when we can expect to see a Galaxy S III in the flesh.

Gallery: Samsung launches store inside Oxford Street Phones 4u

Apple has Apple Stores, Samsung has... this! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Plex Media Server beta adds DLNA support, streams to PS3, Xbox 360, WP7 and more

Plex Media Server beta adds DLNA support, streams to PS3, Xbox 360, WP7 and more:

Using Plex as your media server software is great, with its ability to organize and transcode media for playback on a variety of devices, but what about platforms that still lack a compatible client? The freshest beta version of Plex Media Server fixes that by supporting DLNA, making it compatible right out of the box with many of the HDTVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles and other connected devices released recently. There are some limitations when it's being used this way in terms of metadata and subtitle support, but we're pretty sure being able to access Plex at all from devices like the PS3 (as shown above), Xbox 360 and WDTV Live (the profiles it's been tested with so far) is worth it. Also featured in the beta is support for Silverlight Smooth Streaming, which comes in handy for the new Windows Phone 7 client app. Check out the blog post for all the details or just head to the download page to try it out yourself if you're on a Windows PC or Mac -- Linux builds are still being tested.

Plex Media Server beta adds DLNA support, streams to PS3, Xbox 360, WP7 and more originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 05:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony outs Xperia Play ICS beta for unlocked phones, wants to know which games work

Sony outs Xperia Play ICS beta for unlocked phones, wants to know which games work:

While the promised Sony Xperia Ice Cream Sandwich upgrade rollout is quickly running out of March and into April for all models, the company has just unleashed a new beta version of the upgrade for Xperia Play owners. Following the alpha release in December and a beta update in February for the Arc S, Neo V and Ray, Sony has pushed this version for the Play to find out which games may need some work to be compatible with Android 4.0. The usual drawbacks remain however, so because this release requires unlocking your bootloader -- which will keep users from upgrading to the final ICS update when it comes out -- and it lacks such creature comforts as Google Mobile Services apps (Gmail, Google Maps, Face Unlock) it's intended for developers only. If your gamepad-equipped handset is staying official-upgrade only, you can safely check out a video of the beta ROM running on an Arc S embedded after the break and take this as a heads up that the final release is that much closer.
Continue reading Sony outs Xperia Play ICS beta for unlocked phones, wants to know which games work

Sony outs Xperia Play ICS beta for unlocked phones, wants to know which games work originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 04:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toddler discovering his shadow for first time becomes YouTube hit: Mark Molloy

Toddler discovering his shadow for first time becomes YouTube hit

A video of an 18-month toddler discovering his shadow for the first time has become an overnight YouTube hit.

Chasing shadows: Toddler Devin (Picture: YouTube/ asianlakergirl)

It has racked up 130,000 views in just two days after being uploaded by the boy's parents on the video-sharing website, receiving hundreds of likes.
The one-minute-and-40-second clip shows adorable infant Devin being introduced to his shadow by his father.
After initially appearing skeptical over the appearance of his projected figure, the youngster is encouraged to say hello with a wave.
Devin gets to drips with his shadow (Picture: YouTube/ asianlakergirl)

An excited Devin then proceeds to chase around his elusive shadow before attempting to pin it down by jumping on top of it.
The youngster looks overcome with joy when he finally manages to track it down.



Hundreds of users have commented on the endearing video, with one saying: 'Now is the perfect time to make him watch peter pan!'
Another added: 'Cutest thing I've ever seen? Hmm, yes!'
Who needs toys when you have this source of constant toddler entertainment?!
VIDEO:
Watch toddler Devin discover his own shadow

Croatian woman making a fortune from made-to-measure penis warmers

Croatian woman making a fortune from made-to-measure penis warmers: Mark Molloy

Croatian woman making fortune from made-to-measure penis warmers

Croatian seamstress Radmila Kus has revealed she is struggling to cope with the huge demand for her latest product - her very own range of willy warmers.

Chilly warmers: Radmila Kus shows off her luxury crotch-et work (Picture: CEN)




Knitting fan Radmila said 'she just can't keep up' after launching her bespoke men's product - and has had to recruit a small army of knitters in a bid to increase production.
The traditional piece of European clothing was historically used by Croats for exceptionally long horse rides or by shepherds.
They were especially popular in Croatia's remote Mrkopalj mountain region where wives knitted the protectors to help their husbands cope with the area's freezing weather.
'Local men here wore these for centuries. In those days the clothing was not so good and people weren't rich enough to keep warm,' the designer explained.
'Frostbite was a real problem and to avoid permanent damage these warmers came into use.
'Wives believed that keeping their man's private parts warm allowed him to remain fertile and increased their chance of having children.'
The 55-year-old's revival of a century-old tradition has paid off handsomely and she can't seem to make enough of the made-to-measure garments.
'I used to make slippers for tourists but these willy warmers are so popular I just can't keep up,' she said.



'I guess people can put up with cold feet as long as everything else is warm.'
The seamstress also said that any customers wishing to protect their modesty could send her their measurements in advance.
'Of course they would make them to measure which is what I am also doing,' she revealed.
'But if people are shy, they can provide me with the measurements they've taken themselves.'
She was recently invited to speak about her products in the US where she planned to give one of her personalised gifts to President Barack Obama.

MySeatFinder Automatically Upgrades You To a Better Airline Seat, Is a Potential Lifesaver [Travel]

MySeatFinder Automatically Upgrades You To a Better Airline Seat, Is a Potential Lifesaver [Travel]:

Flying is great! It gets you where you're going incredibly fast. Unfortunately, flying sucks! Being stuck with a bad, downright uncomfortable seat isn't fun no matter how fast you're traveling. New web service MySeatFinder uses airline seating maps to automatically upgrade your seat to the most comfortable spot it can nab. More »

Swedish Teleco Firms Looking Into Block VoIP Claiming Losses In Earnings

Swedish Teleco Firms Looking Into Block VoIP Claiming Losses In Earnings:
An anonymous reader writes "Telia, a Swedish telecommunications company, is now looking into possible solutions to block free VoIP services like Skype and Vibr, claiming the losses are beginning to take its toll on the total earnings. Critics are saying the companies have wrongly implemented outdated pricing models, and the act could threaten net transparency and Independence. A new report from regulators of the European phone market shows that more and more telecommunications companies will block their subscribers from using free services. The European Commission is investigating whether it is possible to prohibit the blocking of legal services online."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Paper: the iPad sketchbook app from the brains of Courier (video)

Paper: the iPad sketchbook app from the brains of Courier (video):

Go figure -- Microsoft's Courier project lives again... as an exclusive app on Apple's iPad. FiftyThree, a company that features folks who previously worked on the aforesaid Courier initiative, has just put forth a monumental effort dubbed Paper. The app, which is available for free in the App Store, is a sophisticated sketchbook with a highly unique user interface that's seemingly designed with the budding artist in mind. Put simply, the company feels that this app is "where ideas begin," enabling users to capture mental light bulbs as sketches, diagrams, illustrations, notes or drawings before sharing them across the web.

Of course, "free" only gets you in the door; in-app purchases ($2 per brush, for example) keeps the creators in business, but it's unclear at this point if a paid edition will be offered for those who aren't much on cherry-picking what they do and don't want to pony up for. Not surprisingly, the app ships with native support for the new iPad's Retina display, and while fingers are welcome, a capacitive stylus is recommended. Eager to see more? Peek the video just after the break, and get your download on in the source link.
Continue reading Paper: the iPad sketchbook app from the brains of Courier (video)

Paper: the iPad sketchbook app from the brains of Courier (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 02:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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