One of the highlights of Android 2.0 has been the Google Maps Navigation app that delivers voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation on your phone for free. Until now, only Motorola Droid owners could take advantage of this sweet perk, but times they are a-changing.
On Monday, Google announced that its navigation app is now available for devices running Android 1.6 and higher, including the T-Mobile G1 and T-Mobile MyTouch 3G. While still in beta, the app provides voice-guided directions between two points, traffic information, and business searches.
This release also includes a new Layers feature that lets you overlay more information on the map, such as transit lines and Wikipedia articles about places, but it does not support the "Navigate to" voice command feature found on Android 2.0, so you'll have to input all your destinations using your phone's keyboard.
Google Maps Navigation for Android 1.6 is now available for download from the Android Market. Unlike other navigation apps or location-based services from the likes of TomTom, Garmin, and TeleNav, you don't have to pay a one-time fee or monthly subscription to use Google Maps Navigation. All you need is a data connection and you're good to go.
Engineers outside of the game industry continue to find uses for the powerful Cell processors housed within Sony's PlayStation 3. Last week, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Cyber Crimes Center said that it had begun using networked PS3s to crack encrypted caches of child pornography. The console has also been used as part of the Folding@home disease research project.
This week, it's the US Air Force that has begun to expand its current network of PS3s used for supercomputing research. As reported by Information Week, the Air Force plans to purchase 2,200 PS3s to add to its current network of 336 systems, which is housed at the Air Force Research Laboratory's information directorate in Rome, New York.
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Kindle competitors such as the Sony and Barnes & Noble make a big deal of
the fact that their e-book readers are compatible with the ePub file format.
That means, unlike the Kindle, that the Sony
Reader and forthcoming B&N
Nook (as well as other e-readers) can be used to read tens of thousands of
free
Google Books. Just choose a title, download the ePub version, and transfer
it to the compatible reader of your choice.
Yes, nearly all of the books and essays in question are public domain classics (and not-so-classic) of
yesteryear--the works of authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Verne, Mark
Twain, William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and the like. But free's free, and
these are the sort of canonical works of art that bookworms appreciate reading
and re-reading ad infinitum.
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Windows users still drooling over Apple's multitouch Magic Mouse might finally have an excuse to step into an Apple store, thanks to "a little hackery" by UneasySilence.
The hack exploits a vulnerability in Apple's latest Bluetooth Update, uncovering Magic Mouse drivers for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows from XP to 7. We've yet to put it to the test ourselves, but users online are reporting success with full use of the Magic Mouse's vertical touch-scrolling. Leave a comment and let us know if it works for you. Read more »
Even though Windows Mobile (WM) 6.5 was launched only recently, there has been much talk about the next major release, WM7. Though Microsoft has not officially announced the next version, MSMobiles is reporting that the HTC HD2 will enjoy an official update come next year. That's a pretty bold statement to make, considering neither Microsoft nor HTC has anything to say about the matter.
But we can see why such a rumor has been conceived. The HD2 is the first WM device with a capacitive touchscreen that supports multitouch, a feature WM7 will need to implement to keep up with the competition. Furthermore, the HD2 comes with a fast processor and 448MB of RAM, more than any other smartphone currently on the market. It's easy to assume that HTC has over-specced the HD2 in preparation for something more demanding than WM6.5. Read more »