Without a doubt, the purveyance of personal electronics has changed our lives — not only have they put oodles of information at our fingertips, but they’ve also made pushing fully-clothed friends into the pool a warranty-voiding social faux pas. If you do get dunked, however, Apple wants to make sure you aren’t going to blame your phone’s apparent water damage on one of the (potentially faulty) detection stickers in use today, rather than your own perilous plunge. A new patent application uncovered by AppleInsider imagines an iDevice that detects water damage using a sensor covered in water soluble conductive glue that, when dissolved, allows the sensor to detect its absence and log damage. The patent outlines several different setups using one or more sensors, and hopes to provide a more reliable indicator of water damage than today’s methods. Of course, you wouldn’t have to worry about that if you were insured, would you?

Apple patent shows designs for more accurate water damage sensors originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/apple-patent-shows-designs-for-more-accurate-water-damage-sensor/

There was quite a stir sparked last week when it was revealed that Google was exploiting a loophole in a Apple’s Safari browser to track users through web ads, and that has now prompted a response from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer team, who unsurprisingly turned their attention to their own browser. In an official blog post today, they revealed that Google is indeed bypassing privacy settings in IE as well, although that’s only part of the story (more on that later). As Microsoft explains at some length, Google took advantage of what it describes as a “nuance” in the P3P specification, which effectively allowed it to bypass a user’s privacy settings and track them using cookies — a different method than that used in the case of Safari, but one that ultimately has the same goal. Microsoft says it’s contacted Google about the matter, but it’s offering a solution of its own in the meantime. It’ll require you to first upgrade to Internet Explorer 9 if you haven’t already, then install a Tracking Protection List that will completely block any such attempts by Google — details on it can be found at the source link below.

As ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley notes, however, Google isn’t the only company that was discovered to be taking advantage of the P3P loophole. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University’s CyLab say they alerted Microsoft to the vulnerability in 2010, and just two days ago the director of the lab, Lorrie Faith Cranor, wrote about about the issue again on the TAP blog (sponsored by Microsoft, incidentally), detailing how Facebook and others also skirt IE’s ability to block cookies. Indeed, Facebook readily admits on its site that it does not have a P3P policy, explaining that the standard is “out of date and does not reflect technologies that are currently in use on the web,” and that “most websites” also don’t currently have P3P policies. On that matter, Microsoft said in a statement to Foley that the “IE team is looking into the reports about Facebook,” but that it has “no additional information to share at this time.”

Update: Google’s Senior Vice President of Communications and Policy, Rachel Whetstone has now issued a statement in response to Microsoft’s blog post. It can be found in full after the break.

Continue reading Microsoft finds Google bypassed Internet Explorer’s privacy settings too, but it’s not alone (update: Google responds)

Microsoft finds Google bypassed Internet Explorer’s privacy settings too, but it’s not alone (update: Google responds) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/microsoft-finds-google-bypassed-internet-explorers-privacy-sett/

There was quite a stir sparked last week when it was revealed that Google was exploiting a loophole in a Apple’s Safari browser to track users through web ads, and that has now prompted a response from Microsoft’s Internet Explorer team, who unsurprisingly turned their attention to their own browser. In an official blog post today, they revealed that Google is indeed bypassing privacy settings in IE as well, although that’s only part of the story (more on that later). As Microsoft explains at some length, Google took advantage of what it describes as a “nuance” in the P3P specification, which effectively allowed it to bypass a user’s privacy settings and track them using cookies — a different method than that used in the case of Safari, but one that ultimately has the same goal. Microsoft says it’s contacted Google about the matter, but it’s offering a solution of its own in the meantime. It’ll require you to first upgrade to Internet Explorer 9 if you haven’t already, then install a Tracking Protection List that will completely block any such attempts by Google — details on it can be found at the source link below.

As ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley notes, however, Google isn’t the only company that was discovered to be taking advantage of the P3P loophole. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University’s CyLab say they alerted Microsoft to the vulnerability in 2010, and just two days ago the director of the lab, Lorrie Faith Cranor, wrote about about the issue again on the TAP blog (sponsored by Microsoft, incidentally), detailing how Facebook and others also skirt IE’s ability to block cookies. Indeed, Facebook readily admits on its site that it does not have a P3P policy, explaining that the standard is “out of date and does not reflect technologies that are currently in use on the web,” and that “most websites” also don’t currently have P3P policies. On that matter, Microsoft said in a statement to Foley that the “IE team is looking into the reports about Facebook,” but that it has “no additional information to share at this time.”

Microsoft finds Google bypassed Internet Explorer’s privacy settings too, but it’s not alone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/microsoft-finds-google-bypassed-internet-explorers-privacy-sett/

A device that was selling for around $600 on eBay just two years ago, is now officially priced at $199 — the second $100 price drop in the past eight months — and is available immediately from some of your favorite online retailers. That means both the USB and PCIe versions of the CableCARD tuner that can record four HD channels at once, cost a mere $50 per tuner. While this makes it the cheapest per-tuner CableCARD tuner ever available, the dual tuner Hauppauge WinTV DCR-2650 at $149 retail ($112 street) still requires the lowest total entry cost into the PC CableCARD tuner market. We’ve come a long way since ATI offered a single tuner for $299, but the still-pricey cards make it easy to understand understand why TV manufacturers and other set-top box makers, like Boxee, can’t hide the price of a CableCARD tuner in the cost of their products.

Continue reading Ceton officially drops the InfiniTV 4 price to $199

Ceton officially drops the InfiniTV 4 price to $199 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/ceton-officially-drops-the-infinitv-4-price-to-199/

Back when we first quietly met the IdeaPad U300e at CES, we were told it’d be carrying a $799 price tag; but contrary to that statement, Lenovo’s put the 13.3-inch Ultrabook up for grabs starting at $959 on its site. That near-grand amount will get you Intel’s Core i5-2476m CPU and HD3000 graphics, 4GB of RAM, a hybrid drive (32GB SSD mixed with 500GB HDD), as well as a Premium copy of Windows 7. More importantly, the machine wouldn’t gracefully fall under the “Ultra” category if it wasn’t flaunting a relatively slim form factor, in which it tightly squeezes through the standards at 0.7-inches in thickness. It’s also about half a pound heavier than its pricier, better specced sibling. Need some additional visuals to decide if it’s worth adding to your cart? Be sure to check out our photo gallery here.

Lenovo IdeaPad U300e Ultrabook available now, pricier than we thought originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/lenovo-ideapad-u300e-ultrabook-available-now/

Promises, promises. That’s what ASUS has been feeding those of you who choose to brazenly call the OG Transformer your slate of preference. In the past couple of months we were told to expect the ICS refresh in “early February,” before quickly slipping a couple of weeks. Needless to say, that time has passed and although the update was said to be under the G-Men microscope waiting for approval, ASUS is bearing bad news again. Via its Singapore Facebook page, the outfit now says the TF101 tab will be ready to taste the latest Android goodie “within the Feb / March 2012 period.” Naturally, customers aren’t taking the news lightly and have taken the likes complaints to the status update. You can feel free to join ‘em by hitting up the source link below.

ICS update for Eee Pad Transformer delayed (again) until March originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/asus-transformer-ice-cream-sandwich-update-delayed-until-march/

While it had a rocky moment in the middle, some heavy price-cutting and top-drawer games helped the system sell five million within a year in its native homeland. According to Nintendo, these are legitimate sell-through figures and as predicted, make the 3D-capable console Nintendo’s fastest selling console to date. You can take a look at some (translated) self-congratulatory backslapping from Nintendo below.

Continue reading Nintendo 3DS hits 5 million units faster than DS, the world goes ‘huh?’

Nintendo 3DS hits 5 million units faster than DS, the world goes ‘huh?’ originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/nintendo-3ds-hits-5-million-units-faster-than-ds-the-world-goes/

We knew it was coming to that broad area we like to call Europe sometime soon, and now Panasonic’s sharing the details on its Android-based return. Details about the 3.6 ounce (103 gram) device include that it’s packing a 4.3-inch qHD (960 x 540) screen that’s wrapped in a dust and water-proof shell. It’ll also be able to throw audio, video and web content to HDTVs of the same branding. Of course, a device like this deserves an equally enticing name, so you’ll be delighted to hear that the handset’s going to be called, oh, really? Eluga? Wow.

However, that’s not where the story ends, because we also received details about a phone that’s just arrived on Japan’s NTT DoCoMo. The Next Series P-04D is a “deep purple” (hush, now) handset that measures and weighs the same, has a 4.3-inch qHD OLED display, is running a 1.0GHz dual-core OMAP 4430 CPU and was also manufactured by Panasonic. We might not be so bold as to suggest both handsets are the same, but we might think about importing the P-04D just so we never have to say Eluga out loud.

Mat Smith contributed to this report

Panasonic’s new Eluga smartphone: pretty phone, ugly name originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/panasonic-eluga/

We’ve been enviously eyeing Fujitsu’s super-thin, super-powerful phones for a very long while. At CES, we were able to swing an early look at its unnamed Tegra 3 Arrows prototype and the question we asked, over and over, was if we’d ever see these devices in the west. A knowing smile followed with the response that it would “depend on the carriers involved.” A report in the Financial Times seems to confirm that the company’s planning to take Europe by storm as it unveils the finished model at next week’s Mobile World Congress — albeit with the same caveat that carriers are still yet to sign on. The report adds that Fujitsu will include biometric security, NFC and LTE in all future handsets: just more teasing for those nations still to adopt the standard.

Fujitsu’s super-slim, super-powerful phones could come to Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/fujitsu-arrows-europe-mwc/

We heard whispers of SkyDrive desktop applications a few days ago. Today, Microsoft confirmed just that alongside a Metro-style offering for Windows 8 and other improvements to its cloud storage tech. In a post on the Building Windows 8 blog, the outfit discusses file sync via desktop app for easy drag-and-drop use — much like we’ve become used to with Dropbox. The overhaul will support 2GB max file uploads through Windows Explorer and the desktop software will play nice with both Vista and Windows 7. Upgrades will also bring snappy, “touch-first” perusal of your files in a dedicated Windows 8 app and will offer accessibility in other Metro-syle applications should the need arise. The post states that “For app developers, this means that, so long as your app supports opening and saving documents and photos, it will automatically support SkyDrive without any additional work.” Similar to its cloud storage competitor, SkyDrive will also enable remote access via its web site in case you need to “fetch” that presentation on a co-worker’s PC. Still no word on extended storage options / pricing that we’ve heard rumblings about, though. For a closer look at the some of the tweaks, peep the gallery below or hit the source link for more on the particulars.

Gallery: Skydrive overhaul screenshots

Update: A video demo now awaits on the other side of the break.

Continue reading Microsoft details SkyDrive overhaul, Windows 8 app and desktop sync in tow (Update: video)

Microsoft details SkyDrive overhaul, Windows 8 app and desktop sync in tow (Update: video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/20/microsoft-details-skydrive-overhaul/