Break out the birthday paddle: Google turns 12!

Filed under: Google

It's time to hand out the birthday paddlin'!

Yes, today marks Google's 12th anniversary. Looking back at all the Google news we've covered since Downloadsquad was founded, it's hard to believe that all the acquisitions, free software, and privacy ... er ... missteps have occurred in only 12 relatively short years.

Google's cake doodle is provided by pop artist Wayne Thibaud, who our friends at Switched point out has rather a thing for painting cakes.

Enjoy your day, Google -- and here's to another year of having no shortage of news about you to report on!

PS: Such an important day for nerd culture deserves something more than Happy Birthday, so I've embedded Weird Al's White and Nerdy after the break.

Break out the birthday paddle: Google turns 12! originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Malata launches a candy-colored educational smartbook, we give it a whirl

The tablet craze may have pushed smartbooks out of the spotlight, but don't tell Malata that -- the ODM's launching an ARM-powered mini laptop in China this very week. Spotted at Mobilize 2010, the Malata T9000 is a cute-as-a-button blue and black clamshell with a 10-inch, 1024 x 600 screen and a Marvell Armada 166 inside, running a Chinese version of Linux (on an 8GB SSD) designed for the educational market. It's most certainly cheap and underpowered, but we weren't really able to tell, as the UI didn't actually launch any usable applications when we randomly clicked on the icons strewn about. That said, it's got a fairly usable, springy little keyboard and a good number of ports, so it might be fun to tinker with, but we won't shed a tear if the machine never makes it stateside.

Gallery: Malata T9000 smartbook, hands-on

Malata launches a candy-colored educational smartbook, we give it a whirl originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 21:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba announces 'no-frills' Satellite C660 laptop

We've got to give Toshiba a bit of credit here -- it's certainly not trying to sell its new Satellite C660 (and accompanying Satellite Pro model) as something it's not. Tossing around words like "adequate" and "no-frills," the company says that the revised Satellite is a "smart and affordable" solution, and it does indeed look like it'll satisfy those looking for only the basics. That includes a 15.6-inch display, your choice of Intel or AMD processors up to a Core i3 or Athlon II, integrated graphics only, up to 8GB of RAM, up to a 640GB hard drive, and a multitouch trackpad, among other standard fare. The only difference with the Pro model, it seems, is Windows 7 Professional for the OS, a black textured casing, and a "non-reflective" screen. No word on exact pricing just yet, but you can look for this one to at least be available in Europe, the Middle East and Africa sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. Full press release is after the break.

Continue reading Toshiba announces 'no-frills' Satellite C660 laptop

Toshiba announces 'no-frills' Satellite C660 laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 04:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iRobot patents "Celestial Navigation System" for the Roomba

While Roomba's automated approach to floor cleaning might've been novel for its day, its random bumbling is starting to look dated, particularly in comparison to laser-guided, ultra smart vacuums like the Neato XV-11. Well, iRobot is naturally not going to take this lying down, and the company has received a patent for a new "Celestial Navigation System" based on IR beacons bounced off walls and ceilings that the Roomba can track and calculate its position from. It doesn't sound as fancy as Neato's completely self-contained system, and it'll require the setup of multiple beacons throughout the house to make the bot self-sufficient, but we're guessing it requires less processing and gadgetry on board to pull off -- which hopefully means Roomba can stuff this into bots cheaper than Neato's $400 XV-11. Mint, which was supposed to ship this summer from Evolution Robotics, uses a similar system to the one iRobot is proposing and has a rumored price of under $250.

iRobot patents "Celestial Navigation System" for the Roomba originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 09:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Engadget Podcast, live at 7:45PM EST!

PODCAST ALERT. PODCAST ALERT. THIS IS NOT A TEST. PLEASE PROCEED TO YOUR NEAREST MARKED USTREAM PLAYER. AND JOIN CHAT TOO, PLEASE. BOTH ARE AFTER THE BREAK. WE REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A TEST.

P.S. And don't forget that Ustream has Android and iPhone clients as well, if you're out and about and you can't join in on the Flash-based fun below.

Update: And... it's over! That got a little out of hand. Don't worry if you missed it, the regular podcast post will be up tomorrow.

The Engadget Podcast, live at 7:45PM EST! originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Defend Yourself is a quick HTML5-powered Time-Waster

Filed under: Fun, Games, Time-Wasters

Defend Yourself is a basic tower defense style game. You have a cannon at the bottom of the screen, and balls are dropping from the top of the screen -- blast away and deflect the oncoming balls in order to keep them from touching down at the base of the screen.

You don't have infinite ammo. There's an ammunition bar that runs out as you fire, and you need to pause every now and then to let it recharge (recharging is actually fairly speedy). As with any tower defense game, the oncoming enemies get quicker and tougher until you lose.

What's interesting to me is that there are no explosions or fancy graphics, but the game is still fun to play and it ran incredibly smoothly on my Chrome Canary. My score isn't all that impressive, so feel free to show off in the comments by posting screenshots of your final score!

ed note: iPad users: Does this game work for you? Is it fun to play on an iPad?

Defend Yourself is a quick HTML5-powered Time-Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Introducing the Android Central App

 

You begged. You pleaded. You yelled at us. (More than usual.) And so we now present you with the Android Central Android Application -- or ACAA for short. (Hey, it's better than Sideload Wonder Machine.) It's developed by Notice Software and powered by the same people who bring you your daily dose (and then some) of Android news every day, free of charge. We'll walk you through it and provide download links after the break.

Posted originally at Android Central

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Defend Yourself is a quick HTML5-powered Time-Waster

Filed under: Fun, Games, Time-Wasters

Defend Yourself is a basic tower defense style game. You have a cannon at the bottom of the screen, and balls are dropping from the top of the screen -- blast away and deflect the oncoming balls in order to keep them from touching down at the base of the screen.

You don't have infinite ammo. There's an ammunition bar that runs out as you fire, and you need to pause every now and then to let it recharge (recharging is actually fairly speedy). As with any tower defense game, the oncoming enemies get quicker and tougher until you lose.

What's interesting to me is that there are no explosions or fancy graphics, but the game is still fun to play and it ran incredibly smoothly on my Chrome Canary. My score isn't all that impressive, so feel free to show off in the comments by posting screenshots of your final score!

ed note: iPad users: Does this game work for you? Is it fun to play on an iPad?

Defend Yourself is a quick HTML5-powered Time-Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo shows off special edition Super Mario Bros. DSi and DSi XL

Yeah, Super Mario Bros. was kind of a big deal, and we can't fault Nintendo for wanting to celebrate: September 13th marked the 25th anniversary of the game's launch, and Nintendo is pushing out special editions of the DSi and DSi XL (pictured) to celebrate, along with some pretty sweet swag. We mentioned the handhelds this morning, but now we've got a couple pictures -- way to play it subdued, Nintendo. Unfortunately, the consoles are for Japan only, but what we're particularly digging is this Super Mario Collection Special Pack that Nintendo will be launching alongside. The pack will include a version of Super Mario All-Stars for the Wii, a soundtrack CD, and a "Super Mario History, 1985 to 2010" booklet with some unreleased materials like initial development planning sheets handwritten by Shigeru Miyamoto himself. Again, announced for Japan only. Sounds like the import industry is going to be hot this October when these things land!

Gallery: Nintendo shows off special edition Super Mario Bros. DSi and DSi XL

Nintendo shows off special edition Super Mario Bros. DSi and DSi XL originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ping finally gets proper iTunes integration

Filed under: Audio, Apple

Call me crazy, but if you're going to integrate a new social network into your desktop media library app, it might be a good idea for users to be able to share the items in their library from the get-go. That wasn't the case with Ping, however.

When it launched, songs could only be shared from the iTunes Store -- and who wants to dig around in the Store to find a song that is already in their local library just to share it on Ping? Not me, that's for sure.

With the latest update to iTunes, however, Ping is actually integrated with iTunes. As you play songs or search through your library, you can now click and post to Ping. It's much simpler, more logical, and the way Ping should have worked in iTunes from the beginning. There's also a sidebar that displays relevant information from across Ping about the artist you've selected.

I'm still not going to use Ping, but I'm glad to see that Apple moved quickly to fix what was a fairly silly gap in functionality.

Ping finally gets proper iTunes integration originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Epic 4G: problems so far -- and a few solutions

Since the Epic 4G launched on Sprint August 31, we've been receiving notes from owners on various issues they've experienced with the phone. We've heard about and experienced problems with the supposedly-fixed GPS, to surprisingly slow 3G uploads (fix on the way), to odd issues with battery drain and glitchy market install problems. Now that we're facing the end of Sprint's 30-day return period, we're wondering if Sprint and Samsung have shown enough of a commitment to resolving any problems to keep owners and potential buyers hanging on. Check after the break for a few of the issues we've found and what can be done about them, and let us know in our poll how optimistic you are about the future of this otherwise well-received device.

Continue reading Epic 4G: problems so far -- and a few solutions

Epic 4G: problems so far -- and a few solutions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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