Location Finding With Google Maps Comes To Chrome and Firefox [Google]

If you are running Chrome 2.0+ or FireFox 3.5+ you will notice a dot in the upper left corner of Google Maps that should, theoretically, be able to locate your position using the W3C Geolocation API.

We have been around this block before with apps like Geode and Google Gears, but it has yet to catch on like it has with cellphones. Of course, all of this will change as more location-specific services are implemented. At any rate, give it a shot and let us know how accurate it is. It worked pretty well for me. [TechCrunch]

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How to: Make a Fisheye DSLR Lens for $16 [DIY]

Over at Instructables, user Banjomaster shows how to make a fisheye lens for his Nikon D90 for just $16, with the help of one of those wide-angle doorway peephole lenses.

The image associated with this post is best viewed using a browser.It looks like a pretty simple mod, both in materials required and construction method: It only needs a couple pieces of particle board, the aforementioned peephole lens, the spare lens shield that came with his camera, and of course some duct tape. The only possible caveat: The replacement wide-angle lens is significantly smaller than the camera's lens, so there's a circle around all of the shots. On the other hand, it's sort of cool; it makes everything look like you shot it through a hotel door. Check it out, we're sure it can be modified for other makes and models of DSLR. [Instructables]

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Lenovo's IdeaPad S10-2 reviewed: great battery life, but more of the same

Lenovo's S10-2 was a minor update to the original S10 (to put things nicely), but that's not to say it's not worth a look for those in the market for a 10-inch netbook. Boasting a slightly thinner, more beautified frame, the S10-2 also includes a tweaked keyboard, optional 3G, an extra USB port and none of the quirks that plagued the first edition. The benchmarking fiends over at HotHardware managed to sneak one of these things into their labs for testing, and while they largely found the S10-2 to be about the same as every other N270 + GMA 950 netbook out there, the 5.5 hour battery life was definitely impressive. All told, the S10-2 was found to be solid from top to bottom, but the $350 price tag did feel a bit steep considering just how many alternatives are out there. Still, even with the positive vibes, it's hard to recommend buying a WinXP netbook now with Windows 7 (and thus, no hardware limitations) just around the bend. Tap the read link if you're jonesing for more.

Filed under: Laptops

Lenovo's IdeaPad S10-2 reviewed: great battery life, but more of the same originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sprint mandating WiFi on future smartphones, WLAN-lovin' BlackBerry Tour coming next year

By the time Sprint gets around to releasing the 9630 Tour with WiFi, due out sometime early next year, we think most everyone'll have moved on to any one of the numerous BlackBerry devices likely to hit in the interim. What's more important in this FierceWireless report is that Sprint's requiring WiFi "in all its major devices going forward" -- which should mean pretty much every smartphone that lands in its CDMA-loving mitts. Verizon Wireless, who along with Sprint is also launching the WLAN-less Tour this Sunday, said that the company's working with RIM to get WiFi into future BlackBerry, but didn't oblige us with any hopeful descriptors that'd help us understand just how strong of a push was being made. Frankly, smartphones without WiFi at this point is downright criminal, and with CDMA phones trailing behind their GSM counterparts in this category, kudos to Sprint for taking the initiative.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Filed under: Cellphones

Sprint mandating WiFi on future smartphones, WLAN-lovin' BlackBerry Tour coming next year originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Silverlight 3 out of beta, joins forces with your GPU for HD streaming

A day earlier than expected, Microsoft has launched its third edition of Silverlight and its SDK. As Ars Technica notes, some of the bigger improvements on the user side are GPU hardware acceleration and new codec support including H.264, AAC, and MPEG-4. If you're looking to give it a spin, there's a Smooth Streaming demo available that, as the name suggests, does a pretty good job of streaming HD video with little stutter, even when skipping around. If you've got Firefox 2, Internet Explorer 6, Safari 3 or anything fresher, hit up the read link to get the update.

[Via Ars Technica]

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Read - Smooth Streaming demo

Filed under: Internet, Software

Silverlight 3 out of beta, joins forces with your GPU for HD streaming originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jul 2009 21:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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