Find Our Latest Video Reviews on YouTube!
If you want to stay on top of all of our video reviews of the latest tech, be sure to check out and subscribe to the Gear Live YouTube channel, hosted by Andru Edwards! It’s free!
Latest Gear Live Videos
We may be close to the day where cars won’t require steering wheels, at least according to Milan-based Parodia Electronica. They have developed a satellite navigation system on test vehicles which responds to data generated from dGPS (differential GPS). Simply put, the software can determine the position of the test vehicles to within +/- 50 centimeters. It uses servo commands from the navigation system to actuate an electro-hydraulic steering mechanism. They have successfully navigated on public roads in Southern Italy between a set of fixed points without any steering input from the driver, as they only control the brake and accelerator. Parodia’s technical director said, “The steering wheels are for show only.” Sounds like in years to come, we may be able to snooze all the way to work.
Read More 
| Transport Trends
Gallery: Parodia Electronic Self-Steering Cars
Advertisement
We told you about Gmail Drive before, but now that just about everyone has a Gmail account, we thought a reminder was in order. If you don’t need 2 GB of storage for email, why not take advantage of all that extra space Google provides? With Gmail Drive, you can move files to and from your Gmail web space through Windows Explorer. This is completely experimental and Google has blocked older versions of the Gmail Drive shell extension, so don’t expect this to last long. This version should still work with the new 2 GB update, as we have tried and succeeded.
Read More |diksoe.dk
Gallery: Use Gmail As A 2 GB Virtual Drive
Push up your taped glasses and adjust your pocket protectors (don’t worry, we’re doing it too). For every coding need Windows Notepad has suited everything from HTML to C and everything in between. If you can believe it, there is a way to improve upon the simple Notepad interface - enter Notepad2. Author Florian Balmer has made a unique new GUI for Notepad that you may find useful for all your programming needs. The download is a free, however it’s always nice to support a hardworking author with donations.
Read More |flo’s freeware
Gallery: Notepad: The Sequel
Ten Apple Mistakes Since Steve Job’s Return
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: PC / Laptop, Software,
While many geeks love to sing the praises of Apple, it must be said they the company is far from perfect. Apple|Matters takes a look at what they believe to be the top ten mistakes made by Apple since the return of Steve Jobs. While a few of them are now old and insignificant in today’s world (such as problems with the introductory iMac, or the iTools fiasco), it does call Apple out for doing things like continuing to remove functionality from iTunes through “upgrades”.
Read More | applematters
Gallery: Ten Apple Mistakes Since Steve Job’s Return
Windows users have enjoyed the luxury of syncing content from their PC’s to their PSP Memory Sticks to enjoy it on the go, while Mac users have waited patiently for the same opportunity. PocketMac For PSP has arrived, and allows Mac users to do just that.
PocketMac For PSP is the first program to allow Mac users to sync their contacts, music and photos from their machine to their PSP. And it’s fully integrated with iSync as well!
One interesting note about the software - it includes a technology that allows you to put your contacts on the PSP, yet the PSP does not have any contact management built-in. Very cool. Grab it for $9.95 USD.
Read More | PocketMac For PSP
Gallery: Use PocketMac to Sync PSP to Mac
Being huge Photoshop fans ourselves, we always get excited when we hear about updates to the software. Thusly, we were excited to read about some of the new features from the accidentally leaked press release. A few highlights from the leaked release:
Photoshop CS2 integrates a new set of intuitive tools, including an enhanced Spot Healing Brush, for handling common photographic problems such as blemishes, red-eye, noise, blurring and lens distortion. Smart Objects allow users to scale and transform images and vector illustrations without losing image quality — as well as create linked duplicates of embedded graphics — so that a single edit updates across multiple iterations.
Photoshop CS2 users will test the limits of creativity with new tools like Vanishing Point and Image Warping. Vanishing Point cuts tedious graphic and photo retouching tasks by allowing users to clone, paint and transform image objects while retaining visual perspective. Reinventing work flows such as product packaging development, Image Warping makes it easy to fold, stretch, pull, twist and wrap an image into shape by selecting an on-demand preset or dragging custom control points.
Read More | TechDig
Leaked Images | Psychotic Legends
Gallery: Photoshop CS2 Images and Press Release Leaked
PearPC Taking Donations to Sue CherryOS
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Software,
So this program called PearPC allows you to run Mac OS X on your Windows-based computer (or Microsoft Xbox). People complained of the agonizing slowness of the platform, and CherryOS announced that they planned on doing it the right way. Well, CherryOS came out, and it was also slow. Upon further inspection, it turns out that CherryOS basically stole a bunch of code straight out of PearPC to build their own software. We should have known something was up when they also named their product after a fruit. Nonetheless, PearPC is now asking for monetary help in suing the CherryOS people. If you care, go ahead and show a little support.
Read More | Starport
Gallery: PearPC Taking Donations to Sue CherryOS
Microsoft Windows XP N: No Media Player
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Software,
Okay, so a year or so ago Microsoft was ordered to remove Windows Media Player from all Windows XP operating systems they intended on selling in the European Union by way of an order in an antitrust suit. Originally, Microsoft wanted to call the unbundled version"Windows XP Reduced Media Edition”. The EU didn’t like that, because they thought it would mislead consumers and slow sales. Well, that meant it was time for Microsoft to put the old thinking cap back on, and they came up with a doozy. The final name of the stripped down OS will be “Windows XP Home Edition N” and “Windows XP Professional Edition N”. The “N” stands for “not with media player.” Awesome.
(Thanks Veronica!)
Read More | Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Gallery: Microsoft Windows XP N: No Media Player
Amazon has put up a preorder page for Apple’s next OS X update, Tiger. Looking at the product page, you will notice that there is no release date listed, but we expect you will have it in your hands sometime in April, possibly May. The features of the Tiger OS are said to be very close to what Microsoft plans to bring to the table in Longhorn.
Read More | Amazon Pre-Order
Gallery: Mac OS X ‘Tiger’ Available for Pre-Order at Amazon
DVForge had put up a challenge on their website over the weekend, offering $25,000 to anyone who could write a virus that would infect a couple of Mac computers. The stance was that this was in response to a Symantec report that stated that Mac OS X is very close to seeing its own share of attacks. DVForge says they were simply trying to prove that it could not be done. Other are saying that this was a nicely planned PR move to get people talking about the company, and buying their products. As of today, the challenge has been taken off of the DVForge site, and there is no mention of it anywhere.
Read More | applematters
Gallery: Write a Mac Virus for $25,000?
Advertisement
© Gear Live Inc. {year} – User-posted content, unless source is quoted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Public Domain License. Gear Live graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, videos, articles, blogs, forums, scripts and other service names are the trademarks of Gear Live Inc.