Justice Department clears Google of WiFi wiretapping violations

Two years ago, Google drove its way into a fair amount of hot water when it accidentally (as was claimed) scooped up private data over WiFi while collecting Street View and location data. Now, the Justice Department has cleared the prolific mapsters of the wiretapping violations. The DOJ made its decision not to push for prosecution based on reports from employees and investigating key documents reports Wired. The Wiretap Act (which is the relevant one here) was argued to only pertain to "traditional radio services," by US District Judge James Ware, but neither the DOJ or FCC said they could find any evidence that Google accessed the date it snared. In an extra move of openness, the search giant has also released the entire FCC report on the Street View investigation (redacted to protect identities) which can be found in the more coverage link. So, next time you see the famous camera-topped wagons roll around, you can leave your tin hat in the closet.

Justice Department clears Google of WiFi wiretapping violations originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 15:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A government small enough to drown in a bathtub is small enough to lose an election (Unqualified Offerings)

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Origin PC joins the 11-inch, rebadged gaming laptop party, outs the EON 11-S

Last week may have drawn to a close, but the march of Clevo news continues. On the heels of Maingear announcing an 11-inch gaming notebook, Origin PC is throwing its own ultraportable into the ring: the EON 11-S. Though this is a new model for the company (the smallest laptop it's ever sold, in fact), it's not quite fresh to us: this is the same exact Clevo-made notebook Maingear unveiled two days ago, only re-badged under Origin PC's brand and available in a wider range of colors. As far as performance goes, then, that means you can expect Ivy Bridge processors, a 2GB NVIDIA GT 650M GPU, Optimus graphics-switching technology and a battery rated for 6.5 hours of runtime. In Origin PC's case, the laptop starts at $999 (compared with $1,099 for Maingear), though you'll have to head over to Origin's site for a breakdown of what specs you'll be getting at that lower price. (Spoiler alert: adding an Ivy Bridge CPU instantly bumps the price to $1,294.)

Gallery: Origin PC EON 11-S

Continue reading Origin PC joins the 11-inch, rebadged gaming laptop party, outs the EON 11-S

Origin PC joins the 11-inch, rebadged gaming laptop party, outs the EON 11-S originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Be Concise! ? The Top Questions Asked At A Y Combinator Interview

As of yesterday Y Combinator began its marathon series of interviews to decide which startup teams will ultimately go through the - now world-renowned - program. Interviews go on for five days. Rumours that people have been seen running screaming from the building shouting "The Horror!" have not been confirmed. But I'm currently in the Valley catching up with one or two of those European hopefuls trying to get into Paul Graham's good books - indeed I bumped into one team at San Francisco's SFO airport. Turns out the YC pitch document I saw being worked on a laptop on the plane over was for Stackblaze. The guys behind it, James Cunningham and Colin Hayhurst, also put together a cute web app full to the brim with the kinds of typically blunt questions you get asked at a YC interview. You can check it out here, and subject yourself to the same torture as all those YC hopefuls.

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All-Star Cast Invests 750K In Ben Huh And Matt Galligan?s Mobile News Startup Circa

SimpleGeo's Matt Galligan and Icanhascheezburger's?Ben Huh have teamed up to change the way people consume news via mobile. Their startup Circa, which boasts a newsworthy list of advisors like former Digg CEO Jay Adelson, has just raised 750K in seed funding from eonCapital, Quotidian Ventures, Techstars' David Cohen and David Tisch, Tumblr's David Karp, Eric Norlin, Manesh Arora, Pedro Torres-Picon, Rick Webb, Scott Belsky and Soraya Darabi. "40% of our current funding is provided by Davids," Galligan jokes.

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Woz: Windows Phone is 'beautiful,' Android 'no contest,' still loves iPhone, ask again tomorrow

When Steve Wozniak talks mobile, people love to listen. Last time we checked in, he was lauding some of Android's finer points, and now he's raining praise on Windows Phone. In an interview with A New Domain, the Apple co-founder was all too happy to share his recent positive experiences with the Espoo / Redmond collaboration. In particular, Woz waxes about how intuitive the interface is, and how naturally apps lead you around. He goes on to say how there's nothing he's seen that isn't more beautiful (than iOS and Android) on the Windows system, before claiming Android is "no contest" when it comes to the interface. It's not all lemonade and roses, however, as he then admits he's no fan of the voice control functionality compared to the other two platforms. When pushed to admit what he uses as default, it's still the iPhone -- two of them in fact -- but Woz's ability to see the best in all mobile operating systems will be sure to further confirm his status as one of tech's most liked. Head down to the source to hear for yourself.

[Thanks everyone who sent this in]

Woz: Windows Phone is 'beautiful,' Android 'no contest,' still loves iPhone, ask again tomorrow originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 12:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Octomom to Keep Her Kids ... According to Octomom

Octomom's 14 children will not be taken away from her because she is a fine mother and doing an exemplary job ... according to Nadya Suleman herself.

The Orange County Department of Children and Family Services came to her house on Thursday to investigate claims of her children living in putrid squalor.

According to Octo, they gave her a "clean bill of health."

Three DCFS workers showed up at Nadya Suleman's Orange County home, and she says they gave her a rave review ... despite the shocking living conditions.

Octo told TMZ, "[DCFS] said it's a very suitable environment for these children."

Even crazier, Octo claims DCFS workers were actually impressed with her parenting skills, saying "They can't even believe that I can do what I've been doing."

You know, we could say the same, though in an entirely different context.

Is this woman delusional? They couldn't possibly have said that, right? Octomom did have a four-person cleaning crew show up prior to DCFS' arrival, so it's likely the place was not as bad as when her hairstylist blew the whistle.

Still, it's gotta be a madhouse, and she has no way of supporting a family that size. It's well established. So should Octomom's kids be taken away?

[Photo: WENN.com]

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TomTom's new sat nav: perfect for your van down by the river

If you're prone to hitting the road in a trailer or camper, you probably know that the road isn't exactly made to accommodate to your less-than-dainty vehicle. In a bid to express its deepest sympathies (and, you know, make money), TomTom is unveiling a device made specifically for caravan owners. In addition to offering the standard TomTom Live features for keeping up to date with traffic and weather reports, the Go Live Camper and Caravan includes warnings for narrow roads, low bridges and the like, and it also highlights the nearest rest stops and other points of interest for road trippers. And because you probably trade in that motorhome for a smaller set of wheels on occasion, TomTom lets you switch to a different profile, complete with customizable specifications for size, weight and speed. The Go Live Camper and Caravan will set you back £349.99, and as the price indicates, it's currently only set up to handle roads across the pond.

TomTom's new sat nav: perfect for your van down by the river originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Apr 2012 02:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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House passes bill that would call for a single website tracking federal spending

The last time a proposed law captured our attention it was so widely loathed it was never even put to a vote, but today we bring you the kind of no-brainer legislation that seems to have strong support on both sides of the aisle. The US House of Representatives has passed the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA), a bill that calls for the creation of an independent board to log all federal spending on a single, centralized website. What's more, these expenses need to be recorded with identifiers and markup languages that make them more easily searchable. As Computerworld notes, the vote happens to come on the heels of a recent dust-up involving the US General Services Administration spending $823,000 on a conference in Vegas -- precisely the sort of excess this proposed website would be designed to expose. The next step, of course, is for the bill to win Senate approval, though for now it seems the legislation has garnered strong bi-partisan support: in a rare showing, all of the lawmakers who discussed the DATA Act on the House floor argued in favor of it.

House passes bill that would call for a single website tracking federal spending originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 10:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Walmart's website lets you Pay With Cash, strips away the 'convenience' of shopping online

Here's an idea: order products online, and then pay using regular 'ol dollar bills. Intrigued? That's exactly what Walmart has begun offering on its website today with its new Pay With Cash service. It's no different from initiating a normal web order, save for being another -- and potentially convoluted -- option to hand over your funds and checkout. After selecting PWC, you'll receive an order confirmation, which then allots you 48 hours to print it out and present it your local Wally World. From there, you can choose to pick up the item in store or have it shipped to your house -- in effect, stripping away some of the key conveniences of shopping online in the first place. Of course, one could likely just give their local store a call to place items on hold for a similar result, but hey, more options are always nice, right? At the very least, many without the likes of credit cards and Google Wallets might find some appreciation this method of retail purchasing. Hit up the links below for all the details.

Walmart's website lets you Pay With Cash, strips away the 'convenience' of shopping online originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Apr 2012 17:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Happy Anniversary, William & Kate! Their Year in Photos

As the royals prepare to celebrate their first year of marriage on April 29, take a look back at their cutest moments since their fairy-tale wedding

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Chael Sonnen vs. Anderson Silva II moved to UFC 148 in Las Vegas

After logistical problems put UFC 147 in Rio de Janeiro in question, UFC president Dana White confirmed today Chael Sonnen's title rematch with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will be moved to UFC 148 in Las Vegas on July 7.

"I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that Chael and Anderson will be fighting, but the bad news is that we can't do it here," White told a room full of reporters in Rio.

A United Nations convention causing logistical issues and difficulty finding a venue forced the change.

UFC 147, which will feature "The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil" finals as well as coaches Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva facing off, still does not have a venue. The fights are still expected to take place on June 23 in Brazil.

White said Anderson Silva was not happy about the fight moving from his home country.

"He was upset about not fighting in Brazil. It took a lot of talking, and I finally convinced Anderson to take this fight in Las Vegas," White said.

Silva said that he does have fans all over the world, so he is comfortable fighting in Las Vegas.

"I'm a UFC athlete and I don't have fans just in Brazil but all over the world. Nothing will change. But I will do my job as always," Silva said.

Sonnen was disappointed that he wouldn't get a chance to break the UFC's attendance record of 55,000 set in Toronto at UFC 129.

"It was disappointing. I was hoping to be a part of breaking that record. But Las Vegas is the fight capital of the world and this is the biggest fight in the history of combat. My plan was to come here, take your money and my new belt and go back to America, but now I have to wait and stomp him on July 7. That's exactly what I'm going to do."

Adding Sonnen vs. Silva II as the main event at UFC 148 strengthens what was already a blockbuster card. At UFC 148, Urijah Faber will fight Dominick Cruz for the bantamweight belt, Rich Franklin will face Cung Le, Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin will fight for the third time, and Michael Bisping will fight Tim Boetsch.

--

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In theaters November 21, 2012

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BYD intros dual-mode electric Qin vehicle, Remote Driving key for outside-the-car operation

The New York Auto Show may be done and over with, but the 2012 Beijing International Auto Show is just hitting its stride. Predictably, BYD is in attendance, and it's got a couple of new gizmos out on the red carpet. For starters, there's the Qin (pronounced "Chin," not Kin), a dual-mode electric vehicle that includes seven percent better efficiency, power and energy-saving in pure EV mode compared to the first generation's F3DM system. All told, the vehicle can scoot some 31 miles on a single 10KWh charge, and in hybrid mode, it can use both its 110KW electric motor and its 1.5 Turbo engine to output some 223KW of power and 440Nm of torque. For the technophiles, the car is also equipped with an intelligent cloud system platform, which incorporates things like "telematics, cloud-computing and a full-range of services 24 hours a day (like roadside assistance, vehicle positioning, remote monitoring, music and video downloads etc.)."

As if that weren't enough, the outfit's showcasing a new Remote Driving Controller for its F3 Plus, which enables owners to perform a variety of driving functions -- moving it forward / back, turning left / right and traveling at a "restricted speed" -- without having the owner inside of the vehicle. Naturally, we're anxiously awaiting a test unit of our own. Or, for a wave of lawsuits -- whichever comes first.

Continue reading BYD intros dual-mode electric Qin vehicle, Remote Driving key for outside-the-car operation

BYD intros dual-mode electric Qin vehicle, Remote Driving key for outside-the-car operation originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 06:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE outed on DroidDoes site

Update: And it's been pulled. But not quickly enough.

We've been hearing rumors of a third Droid Incredible for some time, and today it looks like the device has been outed a little early on Verizon's "Droid Does" site. Head to droiddoes.com/droidincredible4g? and sure enough, you'll find images and specs for the HTC Droid Incredible 4G LTE.

The new Incredible's specs are a close match of one of HTC's new high-end GSM phones, the One S. It's got a 1.2GHz dual-core CPU, a 4-inch qHD SuperLCD display, and on the software side it's running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and Sense 4. It's rocking the same dual and rear camera setup as the One S too, with a VGA front-facer and an 8MP rear camera, presumably the same HTC ImageSense shooter that's found on the manufacturer's other 2012 handsets. The site says it'll come in at $299 on contract, which is in line with other leading Verizon devices.

We've got a full list of specs after the break. But do note that we're still waiting on official word from Verizon, so specs and pricing could still change.

Thanks @joshgatewood!

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NewsFlash uses high-frequency light to transmit data from iPad to smartphone, we go hands-on (video)

MIT's Media Lab is chock-full of cutting-edge tech projects that researchers create, then often license to manufacturers and developers. One such project is called NewsFlash, and uses high-frequency red and green light to transmit data to the built-in camera on a receiving device -- in this case Samsung's Epic 4G. The concept is certainly familiar, and functions in much the same way as a QR code, generating flashing light that's invisible to the human eye instead of a cumbersome 2D square. In the Media Lab's implementation, an iPad is used to display a static news page with flashing colored bands at the top, representing just a few vertical pixels on the LCD.

As the device presents the standard touch experience you're already familiar with, it also broadcasts data that can be read by any camera, but flashes too quickly to be distracting or even noticeable to the naked eye. A NewsFlash app then interprets those flashes and displays a webpage as instructed -- either a mobile version with the same content, or a translation of foreign websites. As with most MediaLab projects, NewsFlash is simply a concept at this point, but it could one day make its way to your devices. Jump past the break to see it in action.

Gallery: MIT Media Lab: NewsFlash hands-on

Continue reading NewsFlash uses high-frequency light to transmit data from iPad to smartphone, we go hands-on (video)

NewsFlash uses high-frequency light to transmit data from iPad to smartphone, we go hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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