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If you happen to rely heavily on Gmail for your day-to-day work, or even for personal things, you may be scrambling right now, as there is a Gmail outage going on. Twitter has run amuck, with people complaining left and right, and endless cries of “Gmail is down! Oh noes!!”. Remember peeps - if you need constant access to your data, you need to have it stored locally on your computer. Use Gmail over IMAP, so at least you always have your archives. Me personally? I use Mail.app in OS X so I always have access to my entire email history. So, just how many of you are severely affected by Gmail being down?
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A glimpse at a soon-to-come Microsoft Store
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Portable Audio / Video, Software,
Hey, remember when we told you that Microsoft Stores were on their way, and that we’d see them cropping up starting in June? Well it looks like we just got an image of the first store that is currently under construction. As you can see, it’s in a mall, and has one of those fancy mall covering that tell you that it’s coming soon. In particular, you can see that all the expected Microsoft brands are represented, including Windows, Xbox 360, Bing, Microsoft Office, and Zune.
We’ve gotta admit, we’re a little amped to set foot into one of these retail locations. You?
Read More 
| Microsoft Twitter Account
C100S Polycom Skype Communicator
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Accessories, USB, Internet, Peripherals,
Maybe it’s the word “communicator” in the name of the Polycom Skype Communicator, but it reminds me of a certain tool that Captain Kirk used on the original Star Trek series, except the flap is on the other side.
This Communicator enables the user to hold hands-free conversations, using high-quality microphones that can eliminate feedback and echoes. It hooks up to your computer via USB, and is perfect for Skype conversations or as an external speaker. You should be able to get the Polycom C100S USB Speakerphone for about $112.
Read More | Communicator C100S on Amazon
Latest Gear Live Videos
Win 3 Months of Slacker Radio Plus!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Features, Internet, Music,
By now, you know that we are big fans of Slacker Radio’s streaming music service. It has millions of songs in its catalogue, and real DJs actually control their channels, which means you get a great mix of songs that go well together. While Slacker is free, they also have a service called Slacker Radio Plus, which adds the following perks:
- Unlimited Skips
- Unlimited Song Requests
- No Audio or Banner Ads
- Complete Lyrics
- Over 2 Million Songs
So here’s what we are going to do - we are going to give away a 3-month subscription to five readers, and we are going to make it ridiculously easy to enter. All you need to do if become a fan of Gear Live on Facebook, and leave a comment on our wall. That’s it. On Tuesday we will randomly select five people, and let them know that they’ve won.
Read More | Gear Live's Facebook Page
Microsoft and Yahoo Reach A Deal: The Details
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Microsoft,
Remember that time when it looked like Microsoft was going to buy Yahoo? Well, it appears that Microsoft has convinced Yahoo to use Bing.
Reports are that this mutual deal will boost Yahoo’s profits by $500 million. Not only that, but Microsoft’s search market share is expected to jump from 8 percent to 28 percent.
I suppose you could call this a victory for either side, but rather a truce. That, or begun the Search Engine Wars have. We’ve got the full press release for you after the break.
Click to continue reading Microsoft and Yahoo Reach A Deal: The Details
Read More | Ubergizmo
Vanishd Hides your Web-surfing from your Boss
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Internet, Software,
Sometimes I wonder what type of age we live in when someone offers a browser based application that allows the user to surf the net while it appears that he or she is working. This is the purpose of Vanishd, a program still in the beta stage, which allows a spreadsheet or word processing document to be a veil of busywork over your pleasurable web-surfing. From their site:
VANISHD lets you browse the internet in privacy without co-workers, bosses, friends, or family seeing what you are surfing – all without any downloads or plugins. Covered by another web page, your web surfing viewing window is camouflaged. Simply moving the mouse off the browser window or right-clicking instantly hides the viewing window from prying eyes and only the cover web page is left visible. You can very easily adjust the size, shape, and location of the viewing window.
Read More | Vanishd
Google Wave public beta launches on September 30
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Google, Internet, Software,
In case you missed it, Google introduced Google Wave to the world a couple of months ago during their Google I/O conference back in May. It was instantly heralded as one of the best things ever seen on these here Internets, and regardless of how you feel about it, you’ve got to at least admit that there is some serious innovation happening there. Now, Google is preparing to release Google Wave in public beta. Starting September 30th, 100,000 people will get access to the Google Wave public beta. Wanna be a part of it? Hit the link below to apply.
If you haven’t seen it, here is the video where Google reveals Google Wave.
Read More | Google Wave Sign-up
Toshiba Announces Three Digital Media Frames
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Accessories, Smart Home, Internet,
Digital Picture Frames are very common these days, but Toshiba Digital Media Frames are quite uncommon. Toshiba announced three new types at Rockefeller Center today, as well as its partnership with FrameChannel. Not only do these Wi-Fi connected frames offer personalized weather, traffic, sports, music and video, but a FrameChannel account gives users access to Flickr, Photobucket, and Facebook.
The 8-inch models are available in white (DMF82XWU) and black (DMF82XKU) for about $179.99. The black 10-inch frame (DMF102XKU) is priced at $229.99. All three frames should be available in August.
Read More | CrunchGear
I’m sure you have noticed with all the 3D movies in the theaters these days, that 3D is the latest thing—or, at least, the latest returning thing. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time, and there have been a barrage of products at CES last January that seem to tell us that 3D is not only back, but it might be here to stay.
It would appear that YouTube is trying to get its hand in the 3D game. YouTube is currently testing out the idea of 3D videos by offering a few 3D View Style options. Granted, contributors will have to purchase special (and often expensive) video cameras in order to display their mundane activities in 3D, but it could be worth it. You can check out one of the 3D videos on YouTube now.
Read More | SEO Roundtable
Barnes & Noble named exclusive e-book provider for Plastic Logic eReader
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Internet, Wireless / WiFi,
Barnes & Noble has just announced that they’ve formed an alliance with Plastic Logic and that they’ll be the exclusive eBookstore for the Plastic Logic eReader device. This is a definite play at Amazon, as the Plastic Logic eReader is definitely being positioned as a Kindle competitor. Up until now, many wondered how the Plastic Logic eReader would compete in a world where Amazon sold both the device and the content, and now we’ve got our answer. If Barnes & Noble pushes the Plastic Logic eReader in stores as their e-book reader of choice, the Plastic Logic device just may have a shot after all.
In related news, Barnes & Noble has also announced a brand new eBookstore. It is available now, and is currently compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch, BlackBerry, Mac and PC. Even better, if you install the app and sign in, you get six free eBooks right off the bat. No, you don’t get to choose. The six titles are:
- The Last of the Mohicans
- Sense and Sensibility
- Dracula
- Pride and Prejudice
- Little Women
- Merriam-Webster’s Pocket Dictionary
Still, free is free. Full release after the break.
Click to continue reading Barnes & Noble named exclusive e-book provider for Plastic Logic eReader
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