Linux may no longer be getting any more fresh Air, but it’s going to get a heaping helping of Flash thanks to a partnership between Adobe and Google. You see, Adobe the pair has been developing a new browser API to work with Flash, code-named “Pepper,” to provide Flash Player 11.2 in Chrome on any x86/64 platform — including Linux. From now on, Linux users will get new versions of Flash Player directly through the Pepper API in Chrome (as opposed to a download from Adobe), but Adobe promises to provide security updates for five years after its release. Don’t believe us? Get the good news direct from Adobe at the source below.

Update: To be clear, while this will keep Flash updated in Chrome, it’s uncertain what this means for other browsers like Firefox, Konqueror and Midori.

Google and Adobe team up to make Flash Player for Linux (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/google-and-adobe-team-up-to-make-flash-player-for-linux/

Last night we were sent an interesting report about Tesla Roadsters falling into an unfortunate state — a very terminal, very expensive state. According to theunderstatement a Tesla Roadster that is left to discharge completely, a process that could take many weeks, will need to have its entire battery pack replaced (pictured above) — at a cost of approximately $40,000. There are said to be no countermeasures that can prevent this short of keeping your car topped up, and while that may sound simple enough, it becomes tricky if you need to put the thing in storage for a few months.

While we haven’t been able to confirm all the “several” supposed cases of this happening, we did hear back from Tesla issuing a statement (after the break) that more or less affirms this could happen. Tesla uses a number of so-called “countermeasures” to prevent this, up to and including a representative from the company calling the owner should a battery pack trail dangerously low. Worryingly, though, this situation is said to be possible in both the upcoming Model S sedan and Model X SUV. Here’s to hoping for a little more clarity on this issue — and maybe a solution — before those two come to market.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Tesla Roadster EVs accused of ‘bricking,’ Tesla responds

Tesla Roadster EVs accused of ‘bricking,’ Tesla responds originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/tesla-roadsters-ev-accused-of-bricking-tesla-responds/

Nike just keep building on its Nike+ brand, turning what started life as a glorified pedometer, into a full-fledged workout-tracking platform. Hot on the heels of the FuelBand comes Nike+ Basketball and Nike+ Training, two new experiences with their own dedicated footwear. For ballers, the Hyperdunk+ features a pressure sensor that measures speed, jump height and even abstract concepts like “hustle.” It also features a ego Showcase mode that lets you superimpose workout data over video of you dunking and post it to the web. Nike+ Training, like almost every other workout app or digital accessory, turns getting in shape into a game. The app features a series of drills and challenges meant to improve speed, agility and strength, and your performance can be uploaded to a global leaderboard. The new apps and shoes, including the Hyper Workout+ for Women and the TR 1+ for men, will be available on June 29th in the US, UK, Germany, France and China. Head on after the break for one more image and PR.

Continue reading New Nike+ apps and shoes cater to basketball players and training athletes

New Nike+ apps and shoes cater to basketball players and training athletes originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/new-nike-apps-and-shoes/

We laid our hands on Fujitsu’s quad-core prototype at the start of the year, it now looks like the phone’s now ready to show itself outside the confines of a perspex box. Wielding a Tegra 3 chipset, there’s still no official name for the incoming handset, but we’re promised admirable battery life and those increasingly typical (for Japan, at least) water resistant credentials. We’ve also been told that this will be close to — if not the — final model of the handset, so we should get to test out that fingerprint sensor in person. Sure, it’s not the only quad-core device we’re expecting to see at MWC, but we’ll welcome it with open arms — if it does make the journey outside of Japan.

Fujitsu readies its ‘final model’ quad-core smartphone for reveal next week originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/fujitsu-readies-its-final-model-quad-core-smartphone-for-revea/

Call it sour grapes, posturing… whatever you want. The fact remains that T-Mobile has stuck its nose in the middle of Verizon’s quest to bulk up its wireless portfolio. Big Magenta filed a request with the FCC on Tuesday, asking the regulatory agency to step in and block the transfer of AWS spectrum licenses from Cox, Time Warner, Comcast and Bright House to Verizon. The deals, which will cost the carrier roughly $3.9 billion, are already drawing interest from the Justice Department, which is concerned it’ll place too much control in the company’s hands. T-Mobile, the smallest of the nationwide carriers, is equally worried about the concentration of spectrum in Verizon’s big red paws. Presumably, though, that has more to do with its inability to purchase it — especially in the aftermath of the collapsed ATT merger. Metro PCS and some public advocacy groups also voiced their opposition, while Sprint took a more measured approach, saying only that the FCC should look closely at the agreements. See, handset makers aren’t the only mobile companies that can whip up a good legal drama.

T-Mobile wants FCC to block Verizon’s spectrum deals with cable industry originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/t-mobile-wants-fcc-to-block-verizons-spectrum-deals-with-cable/

Rugged phones seem to be the exception more than the rule when it comes to smartphones. However, ATT apparently has one in the pipeline dubbed the Samsung Rugby Smart. Destined to be the latest addition to the lineup of Sammy’s military-spec devices, the Smart will — as you probably guessed — be the first member of the Rugby family to ditch the clamshell form factor and take on Android at the same time. Pocketnow, which leaked the above press renders, also mentions that the device is slated to offer Android 2.3.5, 512MB of RAM, HSPA+ and a 1,650mAh battery. Nothing impressive, to say the least, unless there are a few other surprises that await us sometime in the (hopefully) near future. We still haven’t heard a peep from ATT, but word has it that when it’s finally ready to storm shelves, we should expect to see it available for roughly $100. If we’re lucky, maybe we’ll even hear more about the Smart in, oh, the next week or so?

Samsung Rugby Smart gets rendered as it anxiously awaits our drops and kicks originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/samsung-rugby-smart-renders/

Ah, it was indeed only a matter of time. Much like the way HTC caved into fan pressure, ASUS has finally released a bootloader unlock tool for its Transformer Prime TF201. Understandably, the tablet will no longer be covered under warranty once you set it free, but the other catch is that it needs to be running Ice Cream Sandwich in the first place as well. Not that it concerned modder littlesteve who promptly ported a partially-working Ubuntu over to his unlocked slate, pictured above. Steve says there’s much work to be done yet, especially with enabling touchscreen support, so keep an eye on his tweets if you’re itching to get a taste of his pie. Now, about that mysterious TF300T…

ASUS gives Transformer Prime a bootloader unlock tool, Ubuntu promptly ported originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/asus-gives-transformer-prime-a-bootloader-unlock-tool-ubuntu-pr/

Flash for mobile may just be a spectator at its own wake at this point, but the desktop browser plug-in is still alive and (reasonably) well. In fact, Adobe has a host of plans for its flagship multimedia platform, as outlined in its 2012 roadmap. It all starts with 11.2, which should be landing sooner, rather than later, with support for right and left mouse clicks, multithreaded video decoding and improved GPU acceleration support. That will be followed by Cyril and Dolores, which will also expand the list of hardware-accelerated video cards, as well as improve overall performance and add a few welcome tweaks, like supporting keyboard input in full screen mode. Finally, in 2013, we’ll see the debut of Flash Next — a completely overhauled platform with major updates to the runtime core and ActionScript language that are designed to “meet the needs of developers over the next five to 10 years.” Check out the source for full details but, be warned — it’s PDF only.

Flash roadmap reveals new features, improved GPU support, lack of retirement plans originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/flash-roadmap-reveals-new-features-improved-gpu-support-lack-o/

Experiencing some issues downloading those expense reports via your Verizon LTE device this morning? You’re not alone. We’ve received reports of data outages in Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Pennsylvania and Ohio. We’ve reached out to VZW to find out what the issue is, and as soon as and we know more we’ll post it right here. For now, let us know if your LTE is letting you down in the comments below.

Update: Via Twitter, Verizon states “VZW is investigating customer issues in connecting to the 4GLTE data network. 3G data, voice and text services are operating reliably.” However, we’re hearing reports that 3G is down for customers as well in some areas.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Verizon 4G LTE outage hitting parts of the US (Updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/verizon-4g-lte-outage-hitting-parts-of-the-us/

Are you one of the many infuriated with Barnes Noble over how it partitioned the storage on the Nook Tablet — leaving you just 1GB for you own files? Well, it looks like the company has learned from its mistakes. While only about 5GB is free to load with apps and media on the new 8GB model, just 1GB of that is reserved for Nook Store content. BN is also offering to retroactively fix the 16GB boondoggle as well. If you visit a brick and mortar shop starting March 12th, a support rep will gladly help you repartition the internal storage, freeing up more than just one of the 13 available gigabytes for personal use. Having to bring it to the store is a bit of pain, but we suppose it’s better that getting stuck with 12GB of Angry Birds and e-books.

Barnes Noble offers to repartition Nook Tablet storage, concedes you may need more than 1GB originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Article source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/barnes-and-noble-offers-to-repartition-nook-tablet-storage/