A new potentially life-bearing “super-Earth” has been discovered orbiting a relatively nearby star. Described as the “best candidate” for supporting liquid water — and therefore life — the planet (GJ 667Cc) is believed to be about 4.5 times the size of Earth. The parent star (GJ 667C) is 22 light years away, and this is the second potentially Earth-like rock scientists have discovered orbiting the M-class dwarf. With a 28.15 day cycle, it’s calculated to receive 90 percent as much light as Earth, and much of that is infrared (meaning the actual energy delivered is about equal) — crucially hinting at similar temperatures and favorable conditions. Not enough is known about the atmosphere right now to fully nail the water prospects, but it’s still our best hope of discovering life as we (don’t) know it yet.

Continue reading New super-Earth detected, ‘best candidate’ for supporting life

New super-Earth detected, ‘best candidate’ for supporting life originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/03/new-super-earth-detected-best-candidate-for-supporting-life/

Fact: not everyone’s willing to pay a premium to enhance their personal listening experience. Fortunately for those of you who like noise cancellation and a flush bank account, Creative’s just taken the wraps off its $99 headset that’ll do the trick. The HN-900 offers great features — aside from the low price tag — such as 40-hours of active noise canceling powered by some AAA juice (for the times when you feel like ignoring the world), 40mm Neodymium drivers, and a built-in microphone to help with making and answering calls, just to highlight a few. Naturally, with such a stout feature set and low price, the headphones are selling like hotcakes and are currently out of stock. That said, you can still head over to the source to check out the rest of the deets and be one of the first in line once the second batch hits Creative’s virtual shelves.

Creative pumps out $99 HN-900 noise-canceling headphones originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/03/creative-hn-900-noise-canceling-headphones/

Ever wanted to order a tea and coffee, but found language to be a barrier? Then say bonjour, to Nokia Hello. Making creative use of NFC, Nokia Hello users can touch phones to exchange greetings, pleasantries, as well as the aforementioned beverage order. Mild joking aside, the project has been developed to ease those awkward international business interactions, which the team behind it somewhat ambitiously claim could be eliminated as soon as 2015. We’re not sure how loud Nokia employees are but Dr Marcus Redstrmm PhD, who led the project, thinks it can also cut their noise pollution by up to 85 percent. It’s still awaiting final testing, but it’ll be free once released — just be sure to touch back to say kiitos.

Nokia Hello: breaks down borders, gets the drinks in originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/03/nokia-hello-breaks-down-borders-gets-the-drinks-in/

Here’s some good news for all you Dropboxers out there: the company is offering a bundle of free storage space to anyone who tries the beta version of its new Experimental software. It’s really quite simple: just download the test program, upload a photo, and instantly get 500MB of free storage. Upload another photo or video, and an additional 500MB will magically appear at your doorstep. The idea is to test out the beta software’s new photo and video uploader, which automatically pulls media from any camera, smartphone or SD card and drops it in the cloud. Free space is limited to 5GB per user, and there’s an inherent risk to testing any unfinished product, but those willing to make the leap can find all the requisite materials and information at the source link, below.

Dropbox offers up to 5GB of free space to anyone willing to go beta originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/03/dropbox-beta-5gb-free-space/

If you use Rhapsody to satisfy your $10-per-month musical appetite, then here’s another way to digest. The service can now be accessed through an app tailored to Android slates, featuring music discovery tools like expert playlists and guides, original editorial content, and exclusive recordings — all on top of a 14 million song catalog. You’ll need Honeycomb or ICS plus a minimum nine-inch display to run it though, so all you HTC Flyer, Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus and other ‘handy pad’ owners will have to stick to the phone version. More details in the PR after the break.

Continue reading Rhapsody music streaming lands on Android tablets with ‘magazine-style’ app

Rhapsody music streaming lands on Android tablets with ‘magazine-style’ app originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/03/rhapsody-music-streaming-lands-on-android-tablets-with-magazine/

Are you ready for a showdown? You’re in luck! In the latest edition of our fine weekly, Myriam Joire tackles wrist-top computing, comparing the inPulse and WIMM One smartwatches. Also in this issue, Zachary Lutz takes the BlackBerry Curve 9360 for a spin; Dana Wollman puts HP’s latest Envy 15 through the paces; and Joe Pollicino tries to keep Klipsch’s Mode M40 headphones in place. If that wasn’t enough to pique your interest, our former editor-in-chief, Ryan Block, returns to take on the Distro QA and Box Brown offers a comic look at becoming an iBooks Author. So go on and get to downloading!

Distro Issue 26 PDF
Distro on the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Android Market
Distro APK (for sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
Follow Distro on Twitter

Distro Issue 26: Smartwatch face-off, Ryan Block and more originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/03/distro-issue-26-smartwatch-face-off-ryan-block-and-more/

We know what you’re thinking, because we initially thought it too, but this isn’t your average AR. With the help of chip designer ARM, a number of developers are building a new type of augmented reality that is altogether more powerful than the usual sprite-on-a-surface routine. Instead of requiring well-lit, artificial and often indoor surfaces and markers, this new technology sucks every ounce of juice from a smartphone’s processor in order to recognize, track and augment real-world 3D objects like people and buildings. It’s still at an early stage and far from being practical, but the exclusive videos after the break ought to prove that this approach has potential. In fact, it’s probably what augmented reality ought to have been in the first place. Read on for more.

Continue reading Taking next-gen augmented reality for an ARM-powered walk around the block

Taking next-gen augmented reality for an ARM-powered walk around the block originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/03/next-gen-augmented-reality-from-arm/

If a Nintendo Slide Pad slides into a garbage can in the Forest of Illusion, but no gamers are around to take a low-res 3D video of it, does it make a sound? Who would win in a timed Farmville match, Google’s new privacy policy reminders or the evil CG twin from the 2012 film Wall Street 3: Like Wall Street On The Social Network? How many BBMs does the Halle Berry lookalike in RIM’s new graphic novel exchange with Halle Berry herself on a weekly basis, what are their PIN numbers, and do either of them know Catwoman? There’s only one way to find out, and the only thing we know about that way is that it’s not not listening to the two hundred seventy-ninth edition of The Engadget Podcast.

Host: Tim Stevens, Brian Heater, Josh Fruhlinger
Producer: Trent Wolbe
Music: Last Friday Night

00:03:30 – Vote for the 2011 Engadget Awards!
00:04:37 – Introducing ‘Follow The Saga’: the whole story, regardless of where you jump in
00:06:09 – Windows Phone 8 detailed: dual cores, Skype Integration and NFC are a go
00:21:27 – Sony confirms Kazuo Hirai as new President and CEO, replacing Howard Stringer
00:30:45 – Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx review
00:40:30 – Nintendo Slide Pad for 3DS review
00:47:03 – Google clarifies what isn’t changing with new privacy policy
00:51:58 – Facebook files $5 billion IPO, values the company at nearly $100 billion
01:07:14 – RIM: It’s okay, we have superheroes 01:19:58 – Listener questions

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Engadget Podcast 279 – 02.03.2012 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/03/engadget-podcast-279-02-03-2012/

Despite occupying a questionable space on the scale of must-have audio goods, Jawbone’s little Bluetooth speaker that could managed to win us over with its ample range. Now, that stylish peripheral is about to get shunted out of the spotlight, making way for a plus-sized sibling. As recent FCC documents have revealed, the company has a Big Jambox in the works which is, presumably, bigger than its diminutive kin. Aside from ports for micro-USB, audio-in and power, not much else could be gleaned from the filing. Given its larger-than-life moniker, however, we’d expect this new offering to be more of a standard dock than kitschy accessory.

Jawbone Big Jambox packs on the pounds, rears its fat head at the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/03/jawbone-big-jambox-packs-on-the-pounds-rears-its-fat-head-at-th/

While users housing content on the troubled Megaupload site were given a two-week reprieve, one of its co-founders is having less luck. Kim Dotcom has lost his appeal for bail, with prosecutors fearing that he would flee from New Zealand and return to his native Germany, possibly making him safe from extradition. According to the BBC, the prosecution alleged that Dotcom — formerly Kim Schmitz — had multiple passports and bank accounts, and “a history of fleeing criminal charges.” His next court appearance his scheduled for February 22nd.

Megaupload co-founder’s bail appeal rejected originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/03/megaupload-co-founders-bail-appeal-rejected/