[Web 2.0] Pearltrees defined itself as the “leading-edge social web curation tool and discovery platform”, personally, I prefer “visual collaborative web browsing interface“, the word “platform” is overrated these days. At the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco, the company, selected as one of only five companies to present at the Launch Pad event, unveiled its latest feature, the “super embed”. subject matter publishers will be able to gather web pages related to a topic, organize them into “pearl trees” and embed them in their composition pages, soon after readers will be able to browse these pages from the embedded pearl trees and read the related substance without leaving the commentary page. See an example embedded above, I copied Tom Foremski’s pearl tree titled “Tuesday Web 2.0 Expo Report”, check out his blog: Silicon Valley Watcher

Permalink: Pearltrees "Super Embed" Feature from Ubergizmo | Hot: Macbook Pro Review, ipad-review.html">iPad Review

Orginal post by Mike

Gizmodo reported today that the Microsoft Courier Tablet project has been canceled. The report must have been particularly bitter for Gizmodo, as the blog was first to uncover the project and referred to it many times as one that would ship Real Soon Now.

whether Gizmodo wants to see why Microsoft canceled Courier, they should read my September 23 column, "Why Microsoft's 'Courier' Tablet Will Never Exist."

Even now, Gizmodo seems betrayed and confused by the move, saying that Courier was "compelling," "innovative," and that they "loved" the interface.

The reason Gizmodo loved the "product" so much is that it was a fantasy product, not a real one. It's easy to conjure up magic when you don't have to build something.

that is one of the long-standing problems I have with a lot of tech coverage by both blogs and the mainstream media — they're indifferent to the distinction within an actual, real, shippable product — say, the Apple iPad — and the mere view for a product conjured up with Hollywood special effects — say, the Microsoft Courier.

I even wrote a column about that phenomenon (centered on the hype that followed Gizmodo's Courier coverage) called "Dispatch From Gadget Fantasy land." It makes delightful reading now that it appears the Courier will never exist.

adequate! Let's all shout blogs and news organizations on reporting vague ideas as imminent products that will soon be on the market. It's just sloppy reporting.

Orginal post by Mike

Gizmodo reported today that the Microsoft Courier Tablet project has been canceled. The report must have been particularly bitter for Gizmodo, as the blog was first to uncover the project and referred to it many times as one that would ship Real Soon Now.

whether Gizmodo wants to see why Microsoft canceled Courier, they should read my September 23 column, "Why Microsoft's 'Courier' Tablet Will Never Exist."

Even now, Gizmodo seems betrayed and confused by the move, saying that Courier was "compelling," "innovative," and that they "loved" the interface.

The reason Gizmodo loved the "product" so much is that it was a fantasy product, not a real one. It's easy to conjure up magic when you don't have to build something.

that is one of the long-standing problems I have with a lot of tech coverage by both blogs and the mainstream media — they're indifferent to the distinction within an actual, real, shippable product — say, the Apple iPad — and the mere concept for a product conjured up with Hollywood special effects — say, the Microsoft Courier.

I even wrote a column about that phenomenon (centered on the hype that followed Gizmodo's Courier coverage) called "Dispatch From Gadget Fantasy land." It makes delightful reading now that it appears the Courier will never exist.

adequate! Let's all signal blogs and news organizations on reporting vague ideas as imminent products that will soon be on the market. It's just sloppy reporting.

Orginal post by Mike

TomTom has introduced its latest GPS navigation system known as the Go Live 1000, where it will rely on a capacitive touchscreen which is more natural to finger input. Its interface was revamped in order to prepare life a whole lot easier when using it, while you get a similar web browser engine which is capable of running Chrome and Safari. Folks in Europe who pick up the TomTom Go Live 1000 will be able to benefit from a 1-year cellular-driven access from Vodafone, where you can enjoy live traffic, local searching and speed camera detection. IQ Routes is an ever present feature, relying on your past notes to know where to take a detour just in case there is a traffic gridlock. Powered by a 500MHz ARM11 chip and 128MB RAM, the Go Live 1000 will ship later that summer for a yet undisclosed price.

Permalink: TomTom Go Live 1000 GPS navigation system from Ubergizmo | Hot: Macbook Pro Review, ipad-review.html">iPad Review

Orginal post by Mike

Fresh from its iPhone success, Opera has now announced that the final version of Opera 10.52 is here, offering a slew of improvements, most notably its new speedy Java Script engine – Carakan. Opera claims that the new JavaScript engine is 10 times faster than the previous Mac version. Other improvements include multi-touch support which means you get pinch-to-zoom functions, two-finger swipe to scroll and various other gestures. The interface has plus been overhauled and completely rebuilt in Cocoa. You can check out the full changelog on Opera’s site.

Permalink: Opera 10.52 For Mac Arrives from Ubergizmo | Hot: Macbook Pro Review, ipad-review.html">iPad Review

Orginal post by Mike

Getting a cell phone to work enlarged term in a rural area is never an easy task, particularly whether your closest source of electricity is miles away. Industrial designer Andrew Williams is looking to try and tackle that issue with his concept cell phone design, dubbed the “Communication for Rural Africa”. Unlike your normal cell phones, that one doesn’t even have a battery; rather it is powered directly by a solar panel. Its minimalistic design means that there is only one button (and no other interface). When the button is pressed, it connects the user to a local operator who can soon after connect the signal to a desired party, eliminating the issue of having to remember troublesome phone numbers. Not too poor eh?

Permalink: Communication For Rural Africa Concept Phone Design from Ubergizmo | Hot: Macbook Pro Review, ipad-review.html">iPad Review

Orginal post by Mike

As we’ve mentioned many times recently, augmented reality is one of the more popular technologies recently, and now even Lego boxes are getting the augmented reality treatment. The boxes were created by the Danish toy company and augmented reality experts Metaio and can interface with kiosks in Lego stores. Just hold up the box and the QR cipher will activate the augmented reality feature, showing you a 3D model of the Lego kit inside. whether you twist and turn the box around, the 3D image twists and turns accordingly too, allowing you to see how it’ll look like from all angles. But decent talk, check out a video of it in action in the full post.

Note: that isn’t the first date that Lego has used augmented reality, but that instance it’s going worldwide!

Permalink: Lego Boxes Get Augmented Reality Too from Ubergizmo | Hot: Sony Vaio Z Review, ipad-review.html">iPad Review

Orginal post by Mike

The HTC Hero has gotten yet another clone, that moment round it looks more or less similar physically as with the Asia Pacific version of the HTC Hero (the one endowed with the chin), alongside Huawei Hisilicon’s top-of-the-line K3 533MHz processor which is a good 5MHz faster than the original HTC Hero’s 528MHz Qualcomm chip. Apart from that, you get 256MB of internal memory with an interface which is similar to the original. According to those who have tried it out, the entire interface is smoother than the real deal. No notion on pricing or availability though, but chances are that will be a China-only device for the moment.

Permalink: HTC Hero clone unveiled, not coming to US anytime soon. from Ubergizmo | Hot: Sony Vaio Z Review, ipad-review.html">iPad Review

Orginal post by Mike

Those of you shopping around for an SSD to replace your notebook’s aging hard disk should take note that OCZ has just introduced a new model to its 3.5-inch SSD line, the Colossus LT. Said SSD boasts a SATA 3.0Gbps interface, 128MB of cache and promises to deliver maximum read and write speeds of 260MB/s. The Colossus LT drives are currently available for pre-order, and they’re priced at: $399 (120GB), $799 (250GB), $1,549 (500GB) and $3,929 (1TB).

Permalink: OCZ Introduces The Colossus LT 3.5-Inch SSDs from Ubergizmo | Hot: Sony Vaio Z Review, ipad-review.html">iPad Review

Orginal post by Mike

Looks like Sagem wants in on the Android game too, as the French phone company has mentioned that they’re considering an entry-level version of their sports/lifestyle themed device that will be powered by Google’s Android OS. that news comes just after the pre-launch event last night for the Sagem Puma phone. The upcoming phone will most likely be heavily skinned, sporting Sagem’s Puma-themed interface, along with urls to the various services that the company has developed. Of course, the next-generation phone isn’t expected anytime soon, with the earliest period pinned at 2011, which fortunately isn’t all that far away. It’s plus worth noting that that probably won’t be the only Sagem phone to be powered by Android, as the company has committed to making a significant portion of its devices run Google’s mobile OS.

Permalink: Android-powered Sagem Puma Phone 2 Slated For 2011 from Ubergizmo | Hot: Sony Vaio Z Review, ipad-review.html">iPad Review

Orginal post by Mike