Aching to ditch your cable box, but can’t bear to let go of that sweet, commercial-skipping DVR? If the folks behind PlayOn get their way, you won’t have to. MediaMall launched the beta for PlayLater this week, a service it’s calling “the world’s first DVR for online video.” The idea of a DVR for the internet sounds a little wonky at first, but it is an accurate description of the program’s facilities — pick a network (Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc.), a show, and an episode, and PlayLater downloads your selection to your computer’s hard drive for belated enjoyment. Simple? Sure, but not without a catch — anything PlayLater pulls down it wraps in a neat layer of DRM, locking that content to the PC that downloaded it. Time-shifting Hulu will set you back $5 a month, but beta testers (the first 5,000, at least) can score a free month just for trying it out. Hit the break for a press release and additional details.

Continue reading MediaMall’s PlayLater brings DVR to internet video

MediaMall’s PlayLater brings DVR to internet video originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading Sony’s S1 tablet spotted in the wild, S2 captured briefly on video

Sony’s S1 tablet spotted in the wild, S2 captured briefly on video originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sharp sends another Galapagos tablet through the FCC, keeps all the pertinent details to itself originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD is due to release a batch of new Llano APUs next month that are specifically tailored to desktops rather than laptops. The most powerful among them will be the 2.9GHz A8-3850, which has already caused a stir on the review circuit for one simple reason: it pulls off a brutal “one shot one kill” on Intel’s HD 3000 integrated graphics. AnandTech raised an impressed eyebrow at the fact that all its benchmarking games were playable on the $135 AMD chip, which roughly doubled frame rates in titles like Modern Warfare 2, Bioshock 2 and World of Warcraft compared to the more expensive Sandy Bridge i5 2500K. TechSpot declared the APU its “new budget king,” with graphical performance “on another level” compared even to an i7.

However, the superlatives quickly evaporated once reviewers shifted their focus to the CPU. TechReport spotted that pure CPU performance per dollar was actually lower than what you’d get from a lowly i3. Moreover, it reckoned you’d only have to spend an extra $70 to buy a much more powerful CPU and a separate graphics card — an option that comes “awfully close to making the A8-3850 seem irrelevant.” Ouch. Nevertheless, if an affordable processor with integrated graphics is what you’re after, then it’s fair to say this one sets the standard. Click the source links below for full reviews.

AMD Llano desktop APU gets reviewed: the best integrated graphics in town originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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London-based designer Kevin Grennan has a particular stance on the yet-to-be-fought Robots vs Humans war — it’ll stink, literally. Mocking a part of our bodies we spackle to stop secretions, this Brit created a robotic armpit that sweats out pheromones so you stay out of danger. As part of his graduate exhibit at the Royal College of Art, our android-averse artiste has three smelly cyborg concepts up for your schematic consideration: there’s the underarm-equipped, bomb-sniffing bot that’ll warn you away with the scent of human fear, and a picker robot that enchants female assembly liners to work harder, better, faster with its manly musk. Sure it all seems harmless, that is until you enter into a trusting relationship with an oxytocin-spritzing surgical automaton. We don’t blame you if any of the above has you locking the Roomba up for the night — that’s exactly Kevin’s point. But there’s no need to panic just yet, a future filled with “but I’m a real boy” robot-complexes is still a ways off.

Robotic armpit sweats you out of harm’s way, Uncanny Valley just got a lot stinkier originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Having a difficult time getting your honeydew list checked off because you’re trying to level up in Mafia Wars? You may want to just chuck the whole sheet of paper in the trash. Buried deep in Google Plus’ source code are a few curious references to at least two new services that may very well be destined for the invite-only social networking suite. The first is Google Games, the tech giant’s first venture into the world of social gaming. While this isn’t a big stunner — recent job postings insinuated that this feature would come around sooner or later — it makes perfect sense for it to be included as part of the Google+ experience to help strengthen Mountain View’s bid against the likes of Facebook.

Also on the company’s white board is Questions, a likely love child of Google’s $50 million acquisition of Aardvark. When the source code offers up hints like “you might try rephrasing or tagging your question to make it easier for someone to answer,” along with the utterance of sharing questions with others and commenting on answers, nothing could be more indicative of a social service. There still isn’t a strong indication that we’ll see these two features pop up anytime soon, but the hamster wheels are definitely turning right now, and we’re piecing the clues together. At the rate things are going, these services may easily be ready before we all get invites.

[Thanks, Ian]

Filed under: Software

Google+ code reveals intent to unleash Games and Questions to the social world originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Odds are that mentions of the Skate caused your mind to immediately wander to roller derbies or marine biology, but that’s clearly not the sort of imagery ZTE is looking to evoke with its forthcoming smartphone. After all, the Gingerbread device does seem a step up from the company’s usual offerings, and therefore deserves a far classier name — like the Monte Carlo. The rechristened phone will be arriving shaken, not stirred on Orange — no word on an exact date at the moment, just “soon.” The Android handset has a 4.3-inch screen, an 800MHz processor, and a five megapixel camera. From the looks of the Orange page, however, the giant Android drawing appears missing from the rear of the device. So much for class.

ZTE Skate dubbed ‘Monte Carlo,’ will be classing it up on Orange in the UK soon originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ah, the bicycle — that first symbol of locomotive independence from our youth. How we’ve often wished you came with a motor, solar power and some rechargeable batteries to make that ride less… taxing. Well, chin-up childhood glory days, because Terry Hope’s done all that and a bit more. The self-described EV enthusiast outfitted a Specialized FSR bike frame — chosen for its double crown suspension fork — with an array of three solar slats, a 24-volt one horsepower motor, and three 5,000mAh Li-ion batteries to assist your pedaling on those grueling uphill climbs. The sun-soaked panels powering this 18-speeder’s motor are a homemade mix of polycarbonate sheeting, aluminum and 18- x 6- x 6- inch mono crystalline cells that generate a combined 8.7-volt charge to the batteries of your choosing. While its beneficial turbo boost isn’t intended to replace that Harley you’ve got covered in the garage, it will takeover on those lazy days when you just feel like cruising. Hilarious robot voice over for the environmentally-conscious cyclist after the break.

Continue reading Solar Cross e-bike soaks in the sun, powers your pedals

Solar Cross e-bike soaks in the sun, powers your pedals originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen this sort of preposterousness before from BigBen, and we’re no closer to falling in love now than we were back in 2009. This behemoth allows you to get the full experience in the console’s Cyber Cycling Sports title, and the feeling of actually accomplishing something in the process? A presumably marketable side effect. The updated Cyberbike Magnetic Edition is available in North America this time around, relying on — surprise, surprise — magnetic resistance to offer a costly workout for those under 286 pounds. This oversized peripheral is available now for $199.99 (bike and game combo), which puts it a bit too far above the cost of an actual console ($150) for us to consider giving it a shot. Plus, we’ve already committed to biking downtown for our eventual Wii U pickup — and frankly, that’s enough to cover our yearly workout quota.

Continue reading Wii Cyberbike gives you a workout, costs more than the system itself

Wii Cyberbike gives you a workout, costs more than the system itself originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You know the rigamarole by now — product gets introduced, product takes forever to ship, and at long last, product hits the hands of a few lucky souls. And then, the fine folks over at iFixit rip said product limb from limb in the name of science. This go ’round, they found twelve larger chips and a smorgasbord of other bantam components within Apple’s first Thunderbolt cable, and they didn’t hesitate to suggest that the $50 asking price was at least somewhat justified. A Grant’s worth of dissection photos await you in the source.

Apple Thunderbolt cable gutted, a dozen other things found within originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 12:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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