Skype slowly beginning to recover from massive outage

If you were lost without your Skype connection yesterday, the company's official blog has some heartening news for you this morning. Skype's engineers have been working hard to re-build the network of supernodes -- which had failed due to a software bug -- and have started seeing some encouraging signs.

Users in various locations have been able to sign in again, and Skype reports that around 5 million users are current connected. That's less than a third of what they normally see, but it's certainly better than hearing crickets. Skype isn't sure when the service will return to full capacity, so we'll just have to wait patiently.

You may also still have trouble accessing the Skype website -- either all its Web services have been affected, or the servers are simply being hammered with user requests.

Update: the Skype blog now reports that the number of connected users has doubled -- 10 million people are back online!

Skype slowly beginning to recover from massive outage originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/23/skype-slowly-beginning-to-recover-from-massive-outage/

INFOCUS QIMONDA CDW

Unrevoked 3 updated to support new EVO 4G hardware and SLCD Incredibles

A late Christmas present from team Unrevoked is now available for download. Yes, all you people who have HTC Evo 4Gs with the new hardware, or a Droid Incredible with an SLCD screen, can now get to rooting and flashing your devices. As announced via their Twitter account you can grab the download direct from the unrevoked website. Be sure to let us know how it's working for you all after you try it out. [Unrevoked via Twitter]

Unrevoked 3 updated to support new EVO 4G hardware and SLCD Incredibles posted originally by Android Central

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/ssjqmmqOps4/unrevoked-3-updated-support-new-evo-4g-hardware-and-slcd-incredibles

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The Engadget Podcast, live at 4:45PM EST!

It's the end of the year, so it's time for the boys to look back and reflect on the... oh, who are we kidding, we'll probably just do more skits. Join us below!

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.

Continue reading The Engadget Podcast, live at 4:45PM EST!

The Engadget Podcast, live at 4:45PM EST! originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 16:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/4NtcqZ5r6oM/

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Epistle is a Dropbox-syncing, minimalistic text editor for Android

epistle

I've got a serious text editor fetish, and as such, it extends across devices. I've been on the lookout for a simple text editor for Android for a while now. There's complex software, with tagging support, SimpleNote sync and lots of other bells and whistles, and at the other end of the range there are really simple editors with no sync functionality at all.

And then I found Epistle. I've just started testing it, but so far I'm pretty excited about it. It's as simple as can be, with just one extra: it supports Dropbox sync, and the sync appears to work well. You create a note on the device, and it instantly appears in a Dropbox folder called epistle right at the root of your Dropbox. Update the note on the desktop, and it's updated on the device.

Epistle's two main disadvantages at this point are that it doesn't let you pick a Dropbox folder manually but just adds a folder to your Dropbox root, and that it doesn't support right-to-left languages such as Hebrew and Arabic. Other than that, it's a fairly strong contender in the "simple editor" category.

Epistle is a Dropbox-syncing, minimalistic text editor for Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/13/epistle-is-a-dropbox-syncing-minimalistic-text-editor-for-andro/

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Aza Raskin leaves Mozilla to found health startup Massive Health

Aza Raskin

Aza Raskin, the genius behind many of Mozilla's design and usability innovations, is leaving the company. In his blog post, Raskin applauds Mozilla on many accounts, so it doesn't seem as though the move is made due to any sort of ill will; it appears as though Raskin simply wants to do something new.

That "something new" is a startup called Massive Health. Through Massive Health, Raskin hopes to put his design chops to use for helping people lose weight and deal with other chronic health issues. As can be expected, they already have a very well-designed webpage, but not much else at this stage.

This is a major loss for Mozilla; with Chrome quickly gaining traction in the browser market and still out-performing Firefox, at least in UI responsiveness, Mozilla's game of catch-up just became a tad more challenging.

Aza Raskin leaves Mozilla to found health startup Massive Health originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 15 Dec 2010 04:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/15/aza-raskin-leaves-mozilla-to-found-health-startup-massive-health/

LAWSON SOFTWARE INTERSECTIONS EPICOR SOFTWARE

See What Went Popular And When With Rrrewind

Developer Roberto Martinez wanted an easy way to see what was popular on any given social content site on any given day so he built Rrrewind, which lets you see what was hot on Delicious, Digg, Hacker News, Reddit, Hulu, Yahoo Videos, YouTube, Dribbble, Flickr, Amazon and Yahoo Buzz for any day in 2010 and some in 2009. Like a snapshot in virality or a Popurls with a history focus, Rrrewind allows you to go back in time and see an archive of the most viewed items on the Internet. Says Martinez, "It is NOT a social, local, deal related, disruptive app, just a damn useful site that let you go back in time and see what was popular on some sites. I built it because I hate to miss hot stuff on Delicious (snif), Hacker News, etc."

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/49l87sTvEYo/

CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR VIEWSONIC INTERNATIONAL GAME TECHNOLOGY

The best (or worst) security breaches of 2010

The best (or worst) security breaches of 2010
Very soon now -- probably in a year or two -- once everyone carries a smartphone, there won't be any discernible difference between our offline flesh-and-blood body and our online persona. That's not to say that real-life face-to-face interaction will slither into the abyss -- far from it! -- but we are reaching a stage where almost anything can be done online.

This obviously raises security concerns. If I can transfer money out of my bank account with just a name and password, so can you. That isn't to say that online security is worse than offline, however. SSL-encrypted communications are infinitely more secure than banking over the phone, or speaking in hushed tones in a brick-and-mortar bank. Passwords are a lot more secure than merely providing a 4-digit PIN or a mother's maiden name, too.

The actual problem is databases, or centralized repositories of information. It's no good having a password to your account if a nefarious types hacks a bank and takes all of the accounts. Likewise, putting your bag in a locker doesn't help if someone lifts the entire block of lockers into a truck and drives off.

2010 was a bad year for digital security breaches, and it won't get better until every organization and institution hires a security specialist and puts proper safeguards in place. This post, then, is dedicated to the organizations and institutions that left the barn door open in 2010 -- shame on you!

Continue reading The best (or worst) security breaches of 2010

The best (or worst) security breaches of 2010 originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/29/best-or-worst-security-breaches-of-2010/

ALLTEL RESEARCH IN MOTION YAHOO

Lefty Artists Rejoice ? SmudgeGuard

How many lefties do we have in the audience? Me too Don’t you just hate it when you’re drawing and writing and get ink on the side of your hand? There’s a product to solve that problem. The SmudgeGuard is a nylon glove that protect the outer edge of your hand/pinkie finger, while leaving the [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2010/12/29/lefty-artists-rejoice-smudgeguard/

EMC FORMFACTOR GOOGLE

Chicken-based camera stabilization more effective than the human head mount (video)

As you're undoubtedly well aware, the chicken's vestibulo-ocular reflex and gaze stabilizing function (Google it!) is highly evolved, making it just the thing for steadying your camera. Of course, you need access to live poultry, a tiny camera, some sort of rubber band, and the patience and skill to befriend a rooster and bring him to your film shoots. You've already seen one loyal Engadget reader's fledgling attempts at the Chicken Powered Steadicam[TM], but you can rest assured that this fowl gadget (groan) is constantly in development. Check out our friend Jeremiah's video after the break to see comparison shots between a rooster cam, a handheld camera, and one just sort of strapped to Jeremiah's head.

Continue reading Chicken-based camera stabilization more effective than the human head mount (video)

Chicken-based camera stabilization more effective than the human head mount (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Dec 2010 14:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/30/chicken-based-camera-stabilization-more-effective-than-the-human/

APPLIED MATERIALS INVENTEC ALLTEL

Bing Destinations serves up quick travel info for 3,000 cities worldwide

When you use your favorite search engine to pull up information about a particular city, Microsoft figures there's a decent chance you're thinking about traveling there. To help you research and make a decision faster, Bing has added Destination pages, which provide a one-page snapshot of travel information.

3,000 cities worldwide are supported at the moment, though you'll need to make sure your region is set to United States. To change, simple visit Bing and click on your current country in the top-right corner. The first thing you'll see is a snippet about the city from Frommers, publishers of the popular travel guidebooks. Below that is a three-by-three grid with short range weather, upcoming events, local attractions and news, and relevant photos and videos. The sidebar also displays links to local landmarks like sports arenas, museums, and parks.

Check out the demonstration video to see Destinations in action, or go give it a shot yourself at Bing.com.

Bing Destinations serves up quick travel info for 3,000 cities worldwide originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2010/12/21/bing-destinations-serves-up-quick-travel-info-for-3-000-cities-worldwide/

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