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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Games at Google revealed in job posting, takes a stab at social gaming

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/22/games-at-google-revealed-in-job-posting-takes-a-stab-at-social/

Well, one of the few remaining sectors that Google has yet to conquer, gaming, will be Big G free no longer. The tech giant is looking for a product manager to man a new property called Games at Google. Obviously, with just a job posting to work with, details are scant, but we can tell you that the gaming platform will boast some social features -- an area where the Goog has struggled mightily. What don't we know? Just about anything else. Will it be a Game Center-like feature for Android phones? Or, perhaps, a web-gaming outlet for Chrome built with help from the folks at Zynga, who Google quietly partnered with back in the summer of oh-ten. Regardless, we're waiting with bated breath to find out when and where we'll be able to order hits in Mafia Wars next.

Games at Google revealed in job posting, takes a stab at social gaming originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon's 'DataGate' plans leaked in excruciating detail

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/22/edit-verizons-datagate-plans-leaked-in-excruciating-detail/

With each and every passing day, the rumors surrounding Verizon's new "usage plans" are getting tougher to ignore. It's only been two days since we initially heard Big Red was ready to ride its unlimited data plans into the sunset in favor of switching to a newer, more usage-friendly model, and the leaks continue to flood in. This go-round, very official-looking docs that offer up a whole slew of details are in the open air. Many of the details echo what we've heard before: the data plans are the same price, starting at $30 for 2GB and working up to increments of 5GB for $50 and 10GB for $80; mobile hotspot access is an additional $20 and you'll get hooked up with an extra pair of gigs; finally, going over these allotments will cost you $10 per GB.

As rumored yesterday, all customers grandfathered into the unlimited monthly data will be allowed to keep it, even when upgrading to new phones. Business discounts, currently applied to the limitless plans, would now only apply to primary lines that are willing to fork out $50 or more; however, the wording did not indicate whether or not those grandfathered in would still receive those same benefits. More leaked docs can be found after the break, so grab some lunch and find your favorite chair -- you'll need 'em.

Continue reading Verizon's 'DataGate' plans leaked in excruciating detail

Verizon's 'DataGate' plans leaked in excruciating detail originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lytro Is a Focus-Free Camera That Will Change How You Take Pictures Forever [Cameras]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5814337/lytro-is-a-focus+free-camera-that-will-change-how-you-take-pictures

The digital camera market is about to be turn upside by a young Stanford Ph.D named Ren Ng. Ng is the brainchild behind the Lytro camera which lets you take pictures without focusing. The technology is mind-bending. Mind-blowing. Wow.

The Lytro is a light field camera which is much different than your standard digital shooter. It doesn't capture one angle, one lighting effect or one focus plane. It captures everything, all at once, in one photo. The image can then be manipulated to change the focus from an item in the foreground to an item in the background on the fly. The camera is targeted for an end of the year launch and could cost under $500 if Ng can pull it all together.

You can check out a demo of the Lytro technology below. Click on different parts of the image and prepare yourself to be impressed. [Lytro, TechCrunch and Mashable]

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Swatch Straps a Third Eye Onto Wrists [Watches]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5814353/swatch-straps-a-third-eye-onto-wrists

For their latest range of cheap plastic watches, Swatch enlisted legendary fashion photographer Rankin to snap high-res photos of variously-colored irises, which look almost like the swirling milky-way close-up. On sale now, they cost $61/£38. [Swatch via Sub-Studio]

Tilera's new 100-core CPU elbows its way to the cloud, face-melt still included

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/21/tileras-new-100-core-cpu-elbows-its-way-to-the-cloud-face-melt/

Hundred core chips might not be breaking news -- especially if the company announcing it is Tilera -- but what if that new multi-core CPU drew an insanely lower wattage and set its sights on powering a few cloud server farms? Well, that's exactly what chip maker Tilera has up its silicon sleeve. "Co-developed with the world's leading cloud computing companies" -- take a guess who that might include -- the new 64-bit TileGx-3100 clocks in at up to 1.5GHz while sucking down a lighter 48W. Line that up next to the current cloud favorite, Intel's Xeon, and your power consumption is slashed nearly in half. Of course, the barrier to entry is high for the nascent chip developer since most code written is for the x86 -- requiring a whole new set of instructions for data centers to play nice. Expect to see this face-melting monster sometime early 2012, by which time, you'll probably have your 50,000 strong music library synced to the cloud.

Tilera's new 100-core CPU elbows its way to the cloud, face-melt still included originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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