Awesomeness Archive

  • Google Goggles starts to get useful, adds text translation

    Google Goggles starts to get useful, adds text translation

    Posted on May 6, 2010 | No Comments
    In our experience, about the only thing Google Goggles is good for is telling you that your can of Coke looks like someone's face, but the company's just-released version 1.1 sounds like it might be on a whole new level of awesomeness. Basically, Goggles can now recognize text within the "region of interest" that you specify on the screen then give you the option to translate it to any language of your choosing. Between this and Google's already quite good Translate app, Android devices are getting dangerously close to letting monoglots (thanks for the great word, Google) travel safely and effectively in foreign lands. Other improvements in Goggles 1.1 include better barcode and image recognition (thank goodness), an improved UI, and the ability to initiate identification from your gallery, so it sounds like a must-download if you've got a phone running Android 1.6 or better. It's available now.

    Google Goggles starts to get useful, adds text translation originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 May 2010 11:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • Giant Gundam statue to make a comeback next year

    Giant Gundam statue to make a comeback next year

    Posted on December 23, 2009 | No Comments
    He'll be back: The awesome 1/1 scale Gundam statue that was erected on Tokyo's artificial island Odaiba in June and that was deconstructed in September this year, will be seen again in its full glory. We reported several times about the statue, which stands 60 feet tall and shows some cool special effects (see video below).

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  • The McIntosh MXA60 celebrates 60 years of audio awesomeness

    The McIntosh MXA60 celebrates 60 years of audio awesomeness

    Posted on December 9, 2009 | No Comments
    If I was suddenly to get John Biggs’ salary, I would dump a ton of money into McIntosh equipment. They are the best of the best in the audio world and the new compact MXA60 would fit perfectly in my bedroom. And bathroom. Yes, I would put a $7,500 audio system in my bathroom if [...]

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  • Asus’ U3S6: First USB 3.0 + SATA 6.0 PCI-E card

    Asus’ U3S6: First USB 3.0 + SATA 6.0 PCI-E card

    Posted on October 30, 2009 | No Comments
    Not that USB 3.0 will be useful anytime soon—how long did it take manufacturers to finally get behind USB 2.0?—but Asus' U3S6 should be, provided it's not cancelled, the world's first USB 3.0 + SATA 6.0 PCI-E card. Better news: it's only $30.

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  • Paperboy: The Movie is actually a better idea than Hollywood’s had in years

    Paperboy: The Movie is actually a better idea than Hollywood’s had in years

    Posted on September 29, 2009 | No Comments
    With the Hollywood Creative Machine (TM) officially out of new movie ideas, we’ve had to sit through countless craptastic remakes of movies about toys from the 80’s. While the above trailer for “Paperboy: The Movie” will likely never go into full production, you never know which junior-level assistant to the assistant to the associate producer [...]

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  • Microsoft has words for Game Informer and its RROD survey

    Microsoft has words for Game Informer and its RROD survey

    Posted on August 23, 2009 | No Comments
    So, the other week Game Informer published the results of a reader poll that found the Xbox 360 has a 54 percent failure rate. In typical PR fashion, Microsoft sent along the following statement to TG Daily defending the awesomeness of the Xbox 360 console.

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  • Special edition Street Fighter IV arcade sticks at San Diego Comic Con

    Special edition Street Fighter IV arcade sticks at San Diego Comic Con

    Posted on July 20, 2009 | No Comments
    To celebrate the awesomeness that is the San Diego Comic Con, which makes the New York Comic Con look like single-A baseball, Mad Catz will be handing out special edition Street Fighter IV arcade sticks to attendees. Well, “handing out,” for a price. It's$179.99, so it's not like you're getting a Comic Con discount.

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  • BlackBerry App World launching in 10 new markets later this month

    BlackBerry App World launching in 10 new markets later this month

    Posted on July 13, 2009 | No Comments
    Attention European BlackBerry Owners- Later this month the following 10 countries will be able to enjoy the awesomeness that is RIM’s BlackBerry App World. Cheers to you, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Ireland, Austria, Luxemburg, Portugal, the Netherlands and Belgium. For everyone else, RIM promises that new categories are on the way. Crunch Network: CrunchBase the free [...]

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  • Android 2.0 “Donut” features demoed at Google I/O

    Android 2.0 “Donut” features demoed at Google I/O

    Posted on May 27, 2009 | No Comments
    We're still trying to get used to the overwhelming joy of having Cupcake installed on our G1s, but it's full steam ahead over at Google where engineers are already slaving away on the Donut branch that'll eventually come to be known as Android 2.0. Demoed today at the first I/O keynote were Donut's universal search (known simply as "Android Search"), which will let you search both online and locally on the phone through contacts, calendars, music, and any app with the proper code, and a text-to-speech API, which should allow developers to integrate Google Voice Search-style awesomeness into the apps of their choice. We also got a brief glimpse of handwriting gestures used for searching through list -- the live example was drawing the letter 'e' and going to that specific point in a list of songs. Nothing wildly different interface-wise -- yet -- but we know from the initial 1.0 release that the UI's very much subject to change, not to mention the fact that HTC and others look poised to do some serious customization of their own. Check out the gallery for shots live from the I/O keynote!

    Gallery: Android 2.0 "Donut" features demoed at Google I/O

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    Android 2.0 "Donut" features demoed at Google I/O originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 May 2009 14:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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