Xcom Global's international MiFi rentals getting cheaper, Eurotrips making a comeback

No sense in beating around the proverbial bush -- we're huge fans of Xcom Global's business model, and frankly, we're saddened that every single nation in the world isn't yet included in its list of supported countries. For those hearing the name for the first time, you'll be doing yourself a solid by catching up with our review of the service, which enables jetsetters to rent MiFis or USB WWAN devices for international destinations before taking off. The end result is an always-on data connection for a reasonable fee (read: no roaming), and it looks as if those fees are about to shrink in the coming months.

The company has informed us that it'll be previewing "membership pricing" starting next month, giving consumers the ability to pick up a MiFi for $14.95 per day or a USB WWAN dongle for $12.95 per day. The real story, however, is this: second MiFis for two-country itineraries will no longer incur an additional fee, and if you're setting out on a bona fide Eurotrip, every MiFi beyond that will ring up as a flat $30 fee regardless of trip length. We're told that the pricing scheme will be fully revealed in June, and that it's a permanent endeavor as opposed to a trial run. Membership itself will also be free, and while we're still holding out hope that Xcom can nail down a global MiFi solution, these pricing tweaks will certainly make it easy to nation-hop while across the pond.

Xcom Global's international MiFi rentals getting cheaper, Eurotrips making a comeback originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/29/xcom-globals-international-mifi-rentals-getting-cheaper-eurotr/

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Intelligence variability is not gender-dependent

By Michael Veldman

STAFF COLUMNIST

It is certainly understandable that many men feel that they must go on the defensive in the ostensible intellectual battle of the sexes. After all, we have been hearing for years about women surpassing men in college graduation rates, mean GPA, and income. Wait, one of those doesn?t belong, does it?

Source: http://tech.mit.edu/V131/N23/veldman.html

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LinkedIn app for Android now available

LinkedIn, the 'professional' social network, has finally launched an Android app. The app has previously been available in beta for a while. The final version includes support for messages, as well as a new Reconnect button, which suggests people you may know based on your profile and current connections. LinkedIn for Android obviously has all the features you'd expect, making it easy to connect with fellow LinkedIn users from your smartphone.

The app lets you post status updates, view updates from your contacts, view your contacts' profiles, add new contacts, search for LinkedIn users (this can be either limited to your contacts, or it can go through the entire user base), and respond to invitations.

LinkedIn expects to improve its Android app in future versions by adding some features that "have been heavily requested during the public Beta".

Download LinkedIn for Android for free from the Android Market, from LinkedIn directly, or just point your Android smartphone to m.linkedin.com/android

LinkedIn app for Android now available originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/linkedin-app-for-android-now-available/

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Colorful characters unite at Anime Boston 2011

By Jessica J. Pourian

STAFF COLUMNIST

Last weekend, I returned to the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) for my second convention of the year, after the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in March. As I stepped from the cab so graciously paid for by The Tech, I was surprised to see no one outside the building in costume or actually, anybody at all. I approached the doors and peered inside to see ? no one.

Source: http://tech.mit.edu/V131/N23/animeboston.html

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Can I Get Some Sustainability With That Shake?

This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued Energy Star ratings for large vat commercial fryers. These appliances are used by high-volume dining establishments ? like fast food chains, institutional cafeterias and full-service restaurants? to make french fries, hush puppies and anything else Paula Deen would promote, in bulk. Encouraging the industry to upgrade to more energy-efficient fryers could help reduce the overall environmental (if not health) impact of kitchens in the U.S. catering to the collective appetite for fried foods, an appetite that seems pervasive, and permanent here. One Texan cook, Mark Zable, has even invented a method to make deep-fried beer. According to a press statement and calculations by the EPA...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/JMG2qRbx1ZQ/

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Plex plays nice with your Honeycomb slate after app update

We've praised Plex in the past for delivering us box-free XMBC and for it's prodigious media streaming proficiency. Problem is, its app wasn't optimized for the Honeycomb OS and the upsized screen real estate of Android slates -- until now. With the updated code comes tablet-friendly layouts and fast-scrolling in all grid and list views so you can zip through your large local media library. It also includes direct play and internet streaming sans-transcoding (just like the recently revised iOS app) for sating those right now vid cravings. The improvements serve smaller Android devices as well, which makes the newly egalitarian app more enticing than ever before. Best of all, it's still only five bucks.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Plex plays nice with your Honeycomb slate after app update originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 30 Apr 2011 11:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/30/plex-plays-nice-with-your-honeycomb-slate-after-app-update/

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Royal wedding a top destination for Web users

The royal wedding was a hit among Web users, causing spikes in traffic on Akamai's network of sites. Concurrent users even topped World Cup traffic.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-20058599-17.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

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Skype 5.3 for Windows released, improves mobile video call quality

Version 5.3 of Skype for Windows has just been released, with the main emphasis of the new release being improved call quality, and the quality of video received by mobile Skype users. Presumably one party of the video call must be using Skype for Windows 5.3, though.

Beyond improved call quality, not much has changed. You can now see your friends' presence icons when contact cards are collapsed, and the topic editing button is now always visible on the conversation header. For a complete list of changes, hit up the Skype Garage blog.

Download Skype 5.3 for Windows

Skype 5.3 for Windows released, improves mobile video call quality originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/skype-5-3-for-windows-released-improves-mobile-video-call-quali/

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Instapaper's free version goes on extended hiatus, dev explains why

Marco Arment has an interesting writeup on his blog about his iOS app Instapaper (and, of course, the web service that runs behind it). Arment says on his blog that he's quietly been removing the free version of the app from the App Store, and that's resulted in a surprising effect: sales of the full app have actually increased. Because of this, Arment says he's rethinking a free version completely, and may not bother ever bringing it back to the App Store.

Traditionally, free or "lite" app versions are very helpful -- they give users a taste of what the app does without any overhead costs to them but the time to download, and they can raise awareness of an app in certain situations. Of course, the drawbacks are that a free app doesn't make any money, and it can often be a drain on resources, requiring extra development time or support.

That's where Arment says his problem comes in -- the free app isn't really worth it, doesn't convert to paid as he'd like it to, and perhaps most interesting, actually causes some "image problems." A lot of free users don't realize that the free version has a limited featureset, so they aren't even seeing what the full Instapaper app can do. Moreover, the reviews for the free app (drawing from a pool of users who haven't invested anything in the app, and can "download and dump" but still review it) are noticeably worse than those for the paid version.

The whole post is intriguing, and it really goes against some of the conventional wisdom on free versions of apps. Of course, I think games are different than Arment's service, but it's true -- while a free app will likely grab you a larger audience than just putting out a paid version, it still may not be the best thing for a specific app to do. Instapaper Free is gone for now, says Arment, and it may not be back at all.

Instapaper's free version goes on extended hiatus, dev explains why originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.tuaw.com/2011/04/28/instapapers-free-version-goes-on-extended-hiatus-dev-explains/

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Yammer, Chatter, Hot Water

Corporate social networks have advantages?and perils

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_19/b4227031833107.htm

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Video: 'Unpleasant Horse' is pony grinding done right

The controversial game was rejected by iPhone's� app store, which people suspected was because of its depiction of violence again flying ponies with hearts on their bums. In-Game's Todd Kenreck reviews the game.�(In-Game)

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/42828231#42828231

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PayPal pushes eBay earnings

Sticking to its knitting

eBay is celebrating a 20 per cent jump in profits in the last quarter, thanks mainly to its payment system PayPal.?

Free Webcast: Making the decision on hosted apps - What's the risk and reward?

Source: http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.co.uk/2011/04/28/ebay_paypal_results_strong/

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Which streaming media device is right for you?

There are more ways than ever to stream Netflix and other online services. But which device is best for you?

Source: http://news.cnet.com/which-streaming-media-device-is-right-for-you/8301-17938_105-20025670-1.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

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TechSpot: Intel SSD 510 Series 120GB Review

The OCZ Vertex 3 240GB blew us away when we reviewed it earlier this month. Its lighting fast transfer speeds and application performance left no room for the competition to breathe -- including the once-praised Samsung 470 Series and Crucial RealSSD C300 drives. The Vertex 3 proved to be dramatically...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/%7Er/neowin-all/%7E3/1r1HK-yyI9A/techspot-intel-ssd-510-series-120gb-review

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Amazon EC2 Crash Caused Data Loss

Relayman writes "Henry Blodget is reporting that the recent EC2 crash caused permanent data loss. Apparently, the backups that were being made were not sufficient to recover the lost data. Although a small percentage of the total data was lost, any data loss can be bad to a Website operator."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/%7Er/Slashdot/slashdot/%7E3/cCdU-voNf5o/Amazon-EC2-Crash-Caused-Data-Loss

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Mini Cooper Connected app adjusts music based on driving style, stops when airbags deploy

We're always looking for excuses to get behind the wheel, so naturally the new Dynamic Music function in the Mini Connected app made us yearn for a chance to hit the road. Version 2.0 brings this headline feature to the iPhone, which includes exclusively-composed music that adjusts based on things like a compatible Mini Cooper's "longitudinal and lateral acceleration." In other words, the faster and crazier you drive, the more exciting the music becomes. So instead of having mom in the passenger seat begging you to slow down, there's music that encourages you to do the opposite. The press release even references a "hallmark Mini go-kart feeling," so you might want to make sure everyone's buckled up before you plug in. Should anyone fail to do so, a new feature called Mission Control will let you know, also nagging about poor driving conditions. How's that for a mixed signal?

Continue reading Mini Cooper Connected app adjusts music based on driving style, stops when airbags deploy

Mini Cooper Connected app adjusts music based on driving style, stops when airbags deploy originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 28 Apr 2011 09:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/28/mini-cooper-connected-app-adjusts-music-based-on-driving-style/

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Windows Phone NoDo rollout nears completion, Telefonica, Telstra still testing

Universal availability of the copy-and-paste update to Windows Phone 7, codenamed NoDo, is almost here, according to Microsoft's latest schedule update. The final unpatched phone available in the US market, the HTC Surround sold by AT&T should start to receive its updates within the next ten business days. The network's other two handsets, the Samsung Focus and LG Quantum, have been receiving updates since last week.

European carrier Deutsche Telekom (which includes T-Mobile UK) has at last finished its testing, as has Australian carrier Optus. Updates from phones on these networks should also appear within the next ten business days or so. This leaves only two carriers still delaying the updates due to "testing": Telefonica, in Spain, and Telstra, in Australia.

The next patch for the operating system is already on the horizon. Currently believed to be shipping on May 3rd, Microsoft is due to roll out a fix for the bogus certificates issued by Comodo in March. This much-needed update highlights the difficulties Microsoft is having with shipping Windows Phone updates in a timely manner: the corresponding update for desktop Windows was delivered on March 23rd, just a week after the company was notified of the problem by Comodo.

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Source: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/index/~3/VrlT7s8RYpw/windows-phone-nodo-rollout-nears-completion-telefonica-telstra-still-testing.ars

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See the storms from space

Cosmic Log: As powerful storm systems continue to roll across the U.S. South this week, the GOES-13 satellite is busy keeping an eye on their progress to provide weather forecasters with imagery to help predict outbreaks of severe weather.

Source: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/04/28/6550544-see-the-storms-from-space

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Facebook shoots first, ignores questions later; account lock-out attack works (Update VIII)

Got enemies on Facebook? Facebook is so eager to protect copyright that the mere accusation of copyright infringement is enough to get an account locked. Ars found this out the hard way Thursday morning when our own Facebook page became inaccessible, with no warning, no explanation, and no clear appeal process.

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Source: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/index/~3/31WllwAZC-s/facebook-shoots-first-ignores-questions-later-account-lock-out-attack-works.ars

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Gmail: How do I Change the Default Font and Size?

If you do not like the default font and size when composing emails in Gmail, you can follow this guide to customize them the way you like.
(...)Read the rest of Gmail: How do I Change the Default Font and Size?

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Flipbac Camera Grips make your tiny point-and-shoot a little easier to hold

Being a DSLR user, I can appreciate the small size of point-and-shoot cameras. While they may not churn out the same quality pictures, they are much easier to carry around in your pocket. What frustrates [...]
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XSysInfo memory manager

Peek under the iOS bonnet with this diagnostic app

iOS App of the Week Android devices have a memory manager utility that can show you which apps and services are running in the background, and allow you to shut them down in order to free up some extra memory.?

Source: http://go.theregister.com/feed/www.reghardware.com/2011/04/28/app_of_the_week_ios_xsysinfo/

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Apple VP sells off $13.7 million in stock

Company's senior VP of Macintosh hardware engineering, Bob Mansfield, sells almost all his shares this week. No need to sound alarm bells though--he's got a track record of buying and selling.

Source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20058030-248.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

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Are we talking "cyber war" like the Bush admin talked WMDs?

Turn any corner in the complex metropolis that is Internet policy and you'll hear about the "cybersecurity" crisis in two nanoseconds. As a consequence, the public is treated to a regular diet of draconian fare coming from Sixty Minutes and Fresh Air about the "growing cyberwar threat."

Former National Security Adviser Richard A. Clarke suggests a thought exercise in his hit book Cyber War: imagine you are the assistant to the president for Homeland Security. The National Security Agency has just sent a critical alert to your BlackBerry: "Large scale movement of several different zero day malware programs moving on Internet in US, affecting critical infrastructure."

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Source: http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/index/~3/WLZvOaPOpP4/are-we-talking-cyber-war-like-the-bush-admin-talked-wmds.ars

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