Category: News

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Winamp users post petition on Change.org asking AOL to open source the media player

RIP WinampWinamp will cease to be on Dec. 20th.

Many are sad about this. Some refuse to go quietly into the night.

If you’re lit up about AOL pulling the plug, there’s a Change.org petition you can add your name to. They’re demanding AOL continue offering Winamp or allowing the Winamp code to slide into the world of open source software. It’s an honorable way to preserve some sense of internet history. 15 years and millions of users is quite a legacy to just quit on.

At the time of this writing, they’re about 8000 names short of their goal, so go get signing!

AOL: Keep Winamp alive or let it go open source

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Waze introduces Kevin Hart as new sassy voice to download for turn-by-turn navigation

waze windows phone app review somegadgetguy (2)Rewind several years (I honestly can’t remember how far back), and you be talking to a younger GadgetGuy who was probably flipping out about how cool it was that he could download a John Cleese voice pack for his Tom Tom GPS. It was awesome, and funny, and fresh. One of the first true celebrity partnerships for geeky tech gear, and it was much preferable to the disembodied soulless voices we were normally (and kinda still are) treated to.

Return to the present, and all that’s old is new again. Waze has announced a partnership with comedian Kevin Hart, and he’ll be adding some snark to your daily commute! It’s cute how they shoot this as if he has no idea what he’s doing…

It’s rolling out to Waze users, so not everyone will have it yet, but check in by going to your Waze settings, go to Sound, then select English – Ride Along. Enjoy!

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PSA: Moto G available in the USA ahead of schedule for $179 unlocked!

moto g purchase siteWelcome to the party Moto G! You’re early and I like that!

We honestly weren’t expecting Moto’s entry level handset here in the states until next year. It was clear they had designs of offering up a world phone to raise the game for consumers in developing areas.

The specs for the price are kind of ridiculous. For $179 you’ll get a Qualcomm 400 quad-core, a 4.5″ 720p screen, and 8GB of storage. Market-busting specs, and it’s clear Moto is trying to shake up the low end.

There are two versions available from the site one optimized for the USA and one for “World” networks. Here in the states that means you’ll be able to jump on either AT&T or T-Mobile HSPA+, as the G doesn’t include LTE.

If you’ve been shopping a low-cost Android smartphone option, this would be at the top of my list. Phones should be shipping out early next month.

Moto G Product Page

 

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Weekly Tech Round Table Nov 23 – XBox Launch, Nokia 1520 & 2520, and Moto X get’s KitKat

booredatwork roundtableTime for our weekly tech round table discussion with Boored at Work, BWOne, Mobile Burn, and yours truly.

We have a spirited discussion each week talking out (sometimes debating) the top tech news stories. You can watch live each Saturday at 11:30am Eastern, but if you miss it it’s recorded directly to Youtube for posterity. This week we tackle XBox One, new Nokia gear, and Moto X getting KitKat!

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PSA: Buy A Nokia Lumia 2520 before January 31st and get a FREE Power Keyboard (normally $150)!

Nokia-Power-Keyboard-with-Nokia-Lumia-2520It’s the season of giving, and Nokia is hooking it up for you tablet shoppers!

I recently named the Lumia 2520 the Windows RT tablet of the year, and I think it’s already a great bargain when you compare it to an iPad hardware-wise. Nokia is sweetening the pot though by throwing in a free Power Keyboard Cover! This baby sports a QWERTY keyboard and built in battery to add hours more run time to your Windows slate. Normally a $150 add on.

Just fill out this form, and you’re all set! Enjoy!

Related:
Dreamworks’ Dragons Adventure on the Lumia 2520
Lumia 2520 vs Surface 2
Lumia 2520 hands-on video

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RIP: Winamp to shut down December 20th 2013 – no longer available to download

RIP WinampI have such fond memories of Winamp. It was a mandatory download for MP3 playing back in the Windows XP days. No program like it had the wealth of streaming radio and customization options. Hours were spent selecting exactly the right skin and visualization plugins. It was the best.

Winamp even seemed primed for a potential comeback during the early days of Android, offering up a fantastic mobile app which synced to the desktop player, and served users WiFi music sync. Before the app market became Google Play, we didn’t have an iTunes-like media management system, and Winamp was pretty handy for quickly swapping and updating our playlists.

Unfortunately, in a world of cloud services like Pandora, Spotify, and Google Play Music, our poor little Winamp just wasn’t able to continue competing against streaming radio and cloud solutions.

The entire Winamp ecosystem is shutting down December 20th of this year.

No more downloading the desktop player. No more Winamp.com. All the other associated features will be turned off. Say goodnight Gracie.

Those who still have Winamp software installed, I’m sure it’ll still function locally, but I think it’s time to move on. Start finding other solutions. I haven’t used it in years, but I’m going to miss Winamp.

It no longer whips the llama’s ass…

(via Winamp)

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Google Wallet Card now Available for Everyone

google wallet cardGoogle has found itself in a sticky situation when it comes to Wallet. While trying to move forward with Tap+Pay NFC functionality, it ran into security road blocks with the major cell phone carriers who were developing their competing ISIS payment system.

Recently, Google has evolved what Wallet is. Starting with a more PayPal-like money sending service tied to GMail, including membership and rewards cards, and now moving Wallet out of its digital app situation and into your real-world um… wallet.

Now you can grab a Wallet card, which ties to your online Wallet account. If you have funds in Wallet online, you can use your card anywhere Mastercard is accepted to pay for goods and services. You can also use it to make cash withdrawals at ATM’s. As other online payment systems have started making inroads into the general shopping experience, none of them have been able to rival old fashioned plastic, so this Mastercard compatibility is pretty key.

It’s a handy end-run around the Tap+Pay fiasco, though I do hope we can see some of the NFC functionality return to non-Nexus handsets outside of Sprint (currently the only carrier supporting NFC Wallet). The timing on this is also critical as we’re about to see Amazon’s payment system go wider with a new set of developer API’s allowing smaller merchants to use Amazon’s one-click payment system on other sites.

(via Google Wallet)

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Kingston ships new encrypted USB 3 Flash Drives – Password protect your data with DataTraveler Vault Privacy 3.0

prodDT-DTVP30AV-imgI used to work a government contract. Even though I don’t handle sensitive information anymore I still password protect just about every device I own. I recently reviewed the Kingston DataTraveler 6000, a USB 2 flash drive which uses military grade encryption and anti-intrusion measures to make sure your mobile data can never fall into the wrong hands. I liked it a lot.

Kingston is now introducing a pair of USB 3 protected drives which might be good for businesses or those just looking for a bit more piece of mind with their own personal data. The Vault Privacy 3.0  features hardware based 256-bit AES encryption and password protection. After 10 failed login attempts the drive wipes itself clean making sure your data can’t be accessed.

The Vault Privacy 3.0 Anti-Virus offers all of the same intrusion protections while adding anti-virus protections into the mix courtesy of ESET/ClevX to protect against viruses, worms, rootkits, and other malware.

Both Vaults are available in sizes from 4GB to 64GB, and Kingston is first to market with USB 3 protected drives. Check them out if you’ve been looking for strategies to safeguard your info.

See our review of the Kingston DataTraveler Locker+ G3!

Full PR after the jump.

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