Vodafone's UK network taken down by a break-in (update: some services restored)

Some of our UK readers have woken up to the less than awesome discovery this morning that their phones have lost all connectivity to the outside world. 3G, 2G, SMS, and BlackBerry services on the Vodafone UK network are all down for what seems like a significant proportion of its user base -- an issue the carrier has since identified as being caused by a break-in at its Basingstoke exchange center. No further details have been provided, though work is naturally underway to repair the damage done and we're assured customers' private data has remained so. We can't imagine quite such a service disruption being caused by a random act of vandalism or burglary, perhaps a disgruntled employee felt the need to vent his or her frustrations in grand style? Or has O2 gone gangster on the competition?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Vodafone got in touch to say that 2G and 3G voice connectivity has been restored as of lunchtime in the UK and text and data services should be up within "the next couple of hours." The company estimates the issue has affected "a couple of hundred thousand users", though it expects that number to drop to zero before the day is through.

Vodafone's UK network taken down by a break-in (update: some services restored) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 28 Feb 2011 06:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Android Apps Everyone Should Have February 2011 [Apps]

It's that time of the month again, which is to say it's time to clean up our list of the absolute best Android apps. What new apps will show up? Which apps get the boot? More »

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Google Image Search now lets you filter vector-only results

Google Image Search just got a bit fancier: You can now filter search results to only include SVG files.

SVG files, which stand for Scalable Vector Graphics, are files you can easily edit and change without loss of definition. If you've been following our Corel tutorials, they might have given you some ideas about the power of vector graphics.

Being able to use Google to find such files gives designers a great head-start: Need to use a cat in your artwork? Just find a vector one which looks about right, and modify it for your needs! Anything can be edited - the cat's pose, its proportion, colors, etc.

Searching for these files is very simple: Just tack filetype:svg on to the end of your search, like cat filetype:svg, or go to the sidebar and click Images > SVG files.

Being able to find SVGs so easily also poses a bit of a copyright issue however. Anyone posting SVG files publicly should certainly put in a bit more of an effort to make their terms of use very clear, and anyone using them should heed those terms. Play nice folks!

Google Image Search now lets you filter vector-only results originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 14 Feb 2011 04:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Flash Player 10.2 with Stage Video hardware acceleration out of beta

Flash Player 10.2 is finally out of beta!

We've covered this upgrade before, and after three months of beta testing, Adobe feels ready to roll this one out as an official update.

The key features that make Flash 10.2 a worthwhile upgrade are:

• Proper full-screen support for multi-monitor systems: At long last, users with more than one monitor would be able to play a full-screen video on one monitor while working with another monitor! Hurrah! This long-overdue feature alone is worth the upgrade.
• Stage Video: Adobe's new API for high-performance video playback across multiple platforms. In simple terms, it makes HD video fast and easy on your computer. The only snag is that developers will have to build in support for it - it's not just a client-side change. Adobe says YouTube, Vimeo, and Brightcove are already hard at work adding support.
• Font smoothing: Flash player isn't all about video, after all. This improvement adds ClearType-like font smoothing.
• Hardware acceleration: Last but not least, Flash 10.2 supports IE 9's hardware acceleration capabilities ("GPU rendering").

All in all, Flash 10.2 sounds like a worthy upgrade. Click here for the download page, and if you're using Chrome, be sure to disable the built-in Flash plug-in to reap the benefits unless you're on the updated Dev channel.

Flash Player 10.2 with Stage Video hardware acceleration out of beta originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 09 Feb 2011 04:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How the Internet (Wrongly) Decided It Was Bart Simpson's Birthday [Blips]

Did you hear on the Twitters how Feb. 23rd was Bart Simpson's birthday? Netflix tweeted it! Rolling Stone tweeted! Some guy you started following a few months ago and instantly forgot about until now probably tweeted it! Only problem? They were all of them wrong. Here's how it happened. More »

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Beluga Delivers Group Chat to Smartphones, Browsers

If Google had executed Google Wave correctly, it would’ve looked something like Beluga, a cross-platform group chat client available for Android phones, iPhones and any computer with a web browser.
The free service has a streamlined interface for group chatting. Conversations are called “Pods,” so when you start chatting with a friend you create a Pod, [...]

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Linux Mint 10 KDE released; Mint 11 based on Ubuntu 11.04, but no Unity

Just a few days after the emergence of a release candidate, Linux Mint 10 KDE has been released. There are a few bugs (most notably, VLC is slow to open files), so be sure to check the full release notes.

Mint, which claims to be the 4th most popular desktop operating system (behind Windows, OS X and Ubuntu), prides itself on its elegance and out-of-the-box ease-of-use. With version 10, the only significant change is the addition of KDE 4.6, but the Software Manager and Update Manager have also received numerous tweaks. Adobe Flash 10.2 'Square' also makes its first appearance with Mint 10.

If you want to give Mint 10 a go, be sure to grab it from one of the mirrors, or use the 32- or 64-bit torrents -- the Mint site itself seems pretty slow at the moment, probably because of Mint's massive popularity...!

As far as Mint 11 goes, we now know that it will be called 'Katya', based on Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, and released in May. Interestingly, Mint 11 will use neither GNOME Shell or Unity -- instead, it will use a traditional GNOME 3-based desktop layout.

Linux Mint 10 KDE released; Mint 11 based on Ubuntu 11.04, but no Unity originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Roku XD|S Media Player Review

In my never ending quest to divorce myself from Comcast and their overpriced cable service, I have been searching for alternate methods for the family to watch our shows. The Mvix Ultio media device was an effort in frustration, that fell well short of my needs and expectations. Fortunately, there are many other options in [...]

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Chrome OS "panels" and Google Talk Chrome Web app go cross-platform

Back when we had the chance to play with some more mature builds of Chromium OS, one feature we particularly liked was its slick, panelized Google Talk funcationality. It later disappeared, replaced by a Gtalk app in the Chrome Web Store -- but while Google talks about 'the same platform everywhere,' the Gtalk Web app only worked on Chrome and Chromium OS.

What about all us Windows, Mac, and Linux users? Well, now we can get in on the action, too, even though the Chrome Web Store loudly proclaims ** THIS APP REQUIRES A CHROME NOTEBOOK **!

While that's not totally true anymore, you do need panel functionality, which your version of Chrome probably doesn't offer yet. However, if you have a recent Chromium build you can add the command line switch --enable-panels to enable basic panel functionality. There's no about:flags entry for this yet, so you'll have to use the switch for now. If you need help, just check our tutorial on how to add command line switches to Chrome.

Continue reading Chrome OS "panels" and Google Talk Chrome Web app go cross-platform

Chrome OS "panels" and Google Talk Chrome Web app go cross-platform originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 26 Feb 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CrunchGear Week in Review: Happy Valentine Edition

Here are some stories from the past week on CrunchGear: Powertrekk Fuel Cell Charges USB Powered Devices Hybrid Table-Lamp Is? Practical CrunchGear?s Valentine?s Day Gift Guide: Gifts For Girls Video: Esper Contactless Dominoes ?Reality Touchscreen? Is 10 Meters Long, Accepts 100 Touch Inputs

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WaterField iPhone Smart Case Review

WaterField is a company that makes bags, sleeves and cases that protect expensive tech toys. I own two of their iPhone/iPod Travel Cases and still use the large-sized one (I outgrew the other one). This bag still looks almost brand new after two years of constant daily stuffing and re-stuffing. That’s amazing. So when WaterField [...]

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Visual VoiceMail pulled from Android Market, Google accused of 'pulling an Apple'

Looks like Apple isn't the only one wanting to make sure that app payments are being run through appropriate channels. The Visual VoiceMail app, which has been downloaded about a million times (literally), has just been pulled from the Android Market. When developers at PhoneFusion asked the reasonable question, "why," they were simply directed to section 3.3 of the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement:

If you want to collect fees after the free trial expires, you must collect all fees for the full version of the Product through the Payment Processor on the Market... All fees received by Developers for Products distributed via the Market must be processed by the Market's Payment Processor.

The service allows users to purchase premium features through the company's website, something that many other apps do and that is certainly not new to Visual VoiceMail. What's next remains to be seen, but sadly Google is saying PhoneFusion must re-submit the app with a new name -- losing all the positive reviews it's racked up. Hardly an ideal solution.

Visual VoiceMail pulled from Android Market, Google accused of 'pulling an Apple' originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 21:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gaikai beta goes live, brings Mass Effect 2, Dead Space 2, Sims 3 and Second Life demos to your browser window

Remember Gaikai, the cloud computing service that lets you demo video games in your browser window without downloading a thing? It's live, meaning it's no longer just us tech journalists that get to give it a thorough try. Provided you have a blazing fast internet connection and both Flash and Java installed, four streaming game demos are a just a click (and possibly a survey, or a short wait) away, including three EA titles (Mass Effect 2, Dead Space 2, The Sims 3) and Second Life. As we discovered in our initial hands-on, it's not a flawless experience even with a fantastic internet connection, but it's not meant to be -- the entire point is to allow you to adequately sample a game right before making a purchase decision. It's also a free taste of the future, and you don't see those every day.

Gaikai beta goes live, brings Mass Effect 2, Dead Space 2, Sims 3 and Second Life demos to your browser window originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 20:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HD games optimized for NVIDIA Tegra tablets arriving in Android Market

With an avalanche of Android tablets powered by NVIDIA's Tegra 2 on display at CES 2011, it stands to reason that game developers would start releasing titles which can tap the platform's 3D power. A search on the Android Market website shows that's now starting to happen.

Several Tegra-optimized HD games are now listed -- including Samurai II: Vengeance, Spectral Souls, Backbreaker football, Dungeon Defenders, and an HD version of Fruit Ninja. The games range in price from $3 to about $14.50.

The descriptions proclaim smoother 3D, more realistic textures, and an overall superior gaming experience -- and not just when compared to the original Android versions. Samurai II proclaims "even more visual stunning graphics and polished gameplay" than its iOS version.

Take the jump to check out some sweet gameplay footage!

Continue reading HD games optimized for NVIDIA Tegra tablets arriving in Android Market

HD games optimized for NVIDIA Tegra tablets arriving in Android Market originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How an Adorable Pig Could Take Down the Internet [Video]

Oh, how I love the Onion! It constantly creates fantastic nightmare scenarios detailing how the world as we know it could be destroyed—or in this case, how a cute piglet could take down the Internet. More »

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Can Watson Answer Jeopardy Questions Like This? [Video]

Until Watson can pull out answers as good as Teen Jeopardy contestants, I want no part of this new robotic trivia movement. [Gawker TV] More »

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Deal of the Day ? HP TouchSmart tm2t 12? Core i5 ULV Tablet with Multi-touch

Today?s LogicBUY deal saves you up to $300 on the HP Touchsmart tm2t 12? laptop that converts to a multi-touch tablet. This convertible laptop/tablet has the low-voltage Intel Core i5-470UM cpu, 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5450 switchable graphics, and a zero-force touch display that can rotate 180 degrees and fold flat into a tablet. [...]

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Has Ubuntu Linux Lost Its Luster?

For those of us who love Ubuntu, it was both distressing and perplexing to read Bruce Byfield's recent blog post entitled, "Ubuntu: Where Did the Love Go?" Growing concerns and criticisms about Ubuntu's relationship with the open source community at large are Byfield's focus. Chief among them "the gap between the expectations created by Ubuntu and Canonical in their early days and their increasing tendency to focus on commercial concerns."

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Daily Crunch: Trip Screen Edition

CrunchGear?s Valentine?s Day Gift Guide: Gifts For Guys Electric Nose Lifter Bloodhound Rocket Car May Actually Launch Soon ?Reality Touchscreen? Is 10 Meters Long, Accepts 100 Touch Inputs Fox News Suggests Bulletstorm Is ?Worst Video Game In The World?

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HTC Merge first hands-on! (video)

HTC just rolled in to set up for our San Francisco reader meetup tonight, and what's this? They brought a brand-new HTC Merge with them. No one's talking about what carrier this interesting Android slider is going to launch on yet, but that Verizon-red earpiece and search button aren't exactly coy. Apart from that, it's pretty much exactly the device we've seen leaked all over for months now -- a really nice landscape Android slider with a solid keyboard. More pics in the gallery, and a video after the break!

Gallery: HTC Merge first hands-on!

Continue reading HTC Merge first hands-on! (video)

HTC Merge first hands-on! (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 20:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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