See, that wasn't so bad, now was it? If you're befuddled, we're simply referring to the week that iPad owners have had to listen to their Android-lovin' brethren gloat about having Dish Network's Remote Access app. As of today, that same piece of software is available in the App Store, enabling iPad owners to watch live and recorded programs so long as they've a broadband-connected, Sling-enabled device like the Sling Adapter. It'll also allow iPad owners to browse and search up to nine days of programming, schedule DVR recordings, manage conflicts, delete shows on multiple receivers, and use their tablet as a fully functional remote, but much to our dismay, it doesn't have the power to make Heroes a show worth watching again.

General Motors may have gone through a teeny tiny bankruptcy problem, but that doesn't mean it's behind the times. The American motor maker's just unveiled its latest crash test dummies -- or anthropomorphic testing devices, to give them their highfalutin title -- which are capable of beaming out status reports 10,000 times per second. Equipped with 70 to 80 sensors each, the new family of test devices spans a wide range of potential passengers, from fully grown males to toddlers, though it is slightly disappointing to see they all have washboard abs and perfect posture. Come now, GM, we'd hardly call a race of perfectly sculpted drones that can speak fast enough to converse with a hummingbird representative. Video and the full press release can be found after the break.

Sony has announced a new LCD display technology called Hybrid FPA (field-induced photo-reactive alignment), which it claims provides a bevy of improvements for LCDs in the areas of response time, contrast, panel stability, and production speed. For those of you who slept through display science in school (no shame), this boils down to Sony finding a better way to wrangle unruly liquid crystal molecules (LCMs) into more optimal alignments -- which is important since this affects how light passes and therefore how images are resolved. The new technique builds on earlier work, which focused on the vertical alignment of LCMs via an alignment layer. As the left diagram shows, through pre-tilt positioning at the substrate layer, LCMs were forced into a more stable vertical state, which made shifting them quicker and more precise while requiring less voltage. In other words, images resolved faster and more evenly, resulting in "cleaner" whites and blacks with less motion blur. Hybrid FPA simply improves the situation by aligning LCMs even more vertically, which produced response times of less than 3ms in tests. That's great news for 3D lovers and gamers, and should help Sony at least move units off of retailer shelves at some point, particularly if its plans for rapid commercialization of this tech hold true.

BBC.com managing director Luke Bradley-Jones has dropped some knowledge on the TV-loving world by revealing that the iPlayer's global launch will be on a "pure paid subscription model," to be followed thereafter by partnerships with advertisers on "free" areas of the British TV catchup service. The US is specifically named as one of the first new markets for the venture, which is expected to go live in the middle of next year. In addition to knowing you'll have to shell out to get your fix of Top Gear, Doctor Who and, erm, The Foods that Make Billions, you'll also be wanting to know that the first platform for the iPlayer outside the UK will be none other than Apple's iPad. What is it with Brits and the iPad?

We're not totally sure that Android 2.1 users will be happy to be bundled in with 2.2 consumers -- after all, there's plenty in Froyo that's not available on Eclair -- but the fact remains that a cool 83 percent of actively used Android phones right now run one of the two latest iterations. A reminder is merited to say that by "active" we mean those that accessed the Android Market over the foregoing two weeks -- which might have a slight bias toward over-representing the newer phones with folks either abandoning their Cupcake and Donut handsets or simply not searching for new apps for them. Either way, we reckon it's good to see such nice big slices taken up by Android's most advanced versions, it seems almost a shame that Gingerbread's arrival will soon disrupt things all over again. For now, we're off to our delicatessen, all this food talk's given us the munchies.

[Thanks, Dan]

Oh, sure -- Pentax may have thrown one in gratis on its K-7, and Nikon has done the same on its D3S, but none of that really matters if you're the proud owner of a Canon, now does it? For those fed up with accidentally moving their mode dial during a critical shoot, Canon is now offering a chargeable service for the EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D cameras. For the tidy sum of $100, the outfit will install a Mode Dial with a center-located lock button -- the goal here is to prevent the wheel from moving during "normal camera operation," while simultaneously milking an extra Benjamin out of the outfit's loyal customer base. 'Course, there's a glass half-full / half-empty way to look at this. You could bang on Canon for not including this from day one, or you could be grateful to have the option at all. Your move, cynic.

The sound of the original theremin frightened audiences of spooky and science fictiony movies in the '50s and '60s, and while this digital replication is perhaps a little less chilling it's also a lot less physical. It's the so-called Therenect from Martin Kaltenbrunner, created using the Open Frameworks and OpenKinect libraries. To play just hold your hands up, allow the software to detect them, and then let the digital falsetto flow, as Martin kindly demonstrates for you below.

A visual recap of the day's articles

Dec 1st 2010 | 50 Articles

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/eizos-duravision-lcd-does-glasses-free-3d-at-1080p-is-totally/

12:10 am

83 Comments

Eizo's DuraVision LCD does glasses-free 3D at 1080p, is totally bezelriffic

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/icon-notebook-textual-communication-avenue-for-the-microsoft-wo/

12:50 am

22 Comments

Icon Notebook: textual communication avenue for the Microsoft Word averse

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/ar-pursuit-augmented-reality-shooter-for-ar-drone-now-available/

1:58 am

56 Comments

AR.Pursuit augmented reality shooter app for AR.Drone now available on iTunes

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/sonos-job-opening-signals-entry-into-wireless-home-theater-audio/

1:29 am

17 Comments

Sonos job opening signals entry into wireless home theater audio?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/adobe-flash-player-10-2-beta-arrives-expands-hardware-accelerat/

2:29 am

192 Comments

Adobe Flash Player 10.2 beta arrives, expands hardware acceleration

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/google-editions-launching-in-us-before-the-end-of-the-year-goin/

3:48 am

83 Comments

Google Editions launching in US before the end of the year, going international in Q1 2011

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/fcc-to-address-net-neutrality-on-december-21st/

3:14 am

168 Comments

FCC addressing net neutrality on December 21st

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/asus-announces-ultraportable-u36-laptop/

4:36 am

80 Comments

ASUS announces ultraportable U36 laptop

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/playstation-phone-espied-in-greece-said-to-have-gingerbread-and/

6:07 am

240 Comments

PlayStation Phone espied in Greece, said to have Gingerbread and 4-inch screen (video)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/lg-and-qd-vision-unite-for-qleds-the-quantum-dot-displays-of-ou/

5:17 am

37 Comments

LG and QD Vision unite for QLEDs: the quantum dot displays of our power-efficient future

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/next-ipads-camera-supplier-outs-itself-in-taiwan-stock-exchange/

7:11 am

101 Comments

Next iPad's camera supplier outs itself in Taiwan Stock Exchange filing?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/motorola-olympus-shows-up-in-the-wild-demonstrates-unyielding-c/

6:28 am

111 Comments

Motorola Olympus shows up in the wild, demonstrates unyielding commitment to Motoblur

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/visiontek-killer-hd-5770-combo-nic-gpu-hikes-frame-rates-lowe/

8:00 am

51 Comments

VisionTek Killer HD 5770 combo NIC / GPU hikes frame rates, lowers ping times for $200

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/hp-dropping-windows-home-server-to-focus-on-webos-wont-be-hitt/

7:35 am

115 Comments

HP dropping Windows Home Server to focus on WebOS, won't be hitting the slopes at Vail

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/nrg-and-sunpower-partner-on-250-megawatt-solar-plant-plan-to-po/

9:06 am

34 Comments

NRG and SunPower partner on 250-megawatt solar plant, plan to power 100,000 California homes

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/dell-venue-pro-finally-available-to-order-99-on-contract-ship/

8:42 am

253 Comments

Dell Venue Pro finally available to order: $99 on contract, shipping December 9th

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/samsung-touts-super-pls-display-as-the-evolution-of-ips-on-smart/

8:19 am

110 Comments

Samsung touts Super PLS display as the evolution of IPS on smartphones, plans production in early 2011

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/caltech-sues-nokia-lg-others-over-camera-patents/

9:53 am

46 Comments

Caltech sues Nokia, LG, others over camera patents

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/yamahas-tsx-140-ipod-audio-system-wakes-you-gently-wont-rock/

9:29 am

20 Comments

Yamaha's TSX-140 iPod audio system wakes you gently, won't rock you to sleep

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/nielsen-android-makes-huge-gains-in-us-smartphone-marketshare/

11:02 am

480 Comments

Nielsen: Android makes huge gains in US smartphone marketshare, RIM takes a backseat, Apple leads in desirability

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/lmp-bluetooth-keypad-escapes-all-pretense-wants-to-befriend-you/

10:41 am

69 Comments

LMP Bluetooth Keypad escapes all pretense, wants to befriend your Apple Keyboard

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/coby-rolls-out-250-kyros-mid7015-android-tablet/

10:17 am

117 Comments

Coby rolls out $250 Kyros MID7015 Android tablet

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/verizon-lte-plans-start-at-50-month-for-5gb-of-data/

12:10 pm

419 Comments

Verizon LTE plans start at $50/month for 5GB of data

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/verizons-lte-network-announcement-event-live-at-12-00-et/

11:54 am

110 Comments

Verizon's LTE network announcement event live at 12:00 ET!

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/virgin-media-tv-powered-by-tivo-is-official-coming-soon-with-1/

11:51 am

62 Comments

Virgin Media TV powered by TiVo is official, coming soon with 1TB HDD, 3 tuners

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/verizons-lte-details-go-live-december-5th-38-markets-60-airp/

11:35 am

55 Comments

Verizon's LTE details go live: December 5th, 38 markets, 60 airports, and 2 USB modems

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/pcd-bigstream-ipod-iphone-dongle-revealed-looking-to-one-up-a/

11:24 am

10 Comments

PCD Bigstream iPod / iPhone dongle revealed, looking to one-up AirPlay next month

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/samsung-cooks-up-its-own-nfc-module-destined-for-the-nexus-s/

1:15 pm

45 Comments

Samsung cooks up its own NFC module, destined for the Nexus S?

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/cowon-x7-pmp-review/

12:45 pm

168 Comments

Cowon X7 PMP review

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/rim-sues-kik-in-canada-for-patent-infringement/

1:57 pm

97 Comments

RIM sues Kik in Canada for patent infringement

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/chevronwp7-unlocking-tool-pulled-in-hopes-microsoft-decides-to-p/

1:36 pm

92 Comments

ChevronWP7 unlocking tool pulled in hopes Microsoft decides to play along

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/sony-ericsson-liveview-review/

3:13 pm

142 Comments

Sony Ericsson LiveView review

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/ge-forms-new-home-energy-management-business-aimed-at-bridging-t/

2:42 pm

16 Comments

GE forms new home energy management business aimed at bridging the 'utility-consumer gap'

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/hidepon-works-turbine-train-small-enough-to-be-adorable-big-en/

2:21 pm

26 Comments

Hidepon Works turbine train: small enough to be adorable, big enough to ride

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/laptop-data-plans-comparing-speed-price-and-value/

3:55 pm

230 Comments

Laptop data plans: comparing LTE, WiMAX, and HSPA+ by speed, price, and value

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/verizon-lte-4g-preview-with-the-lg-vl600-modem/

3:31 pm

164 Comments

Verizon LTE / 4G preview with the LG VL600 modem

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/computer-engineer-barbie-now-available-and-her-phones-been-upg/

5:07 pm

147 Comments

Computer Engineer Barbie now available, and her phone has been upgraded since we last saw her

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/thinkgeek-tk-421-iphone-keyboard-case-review/

4:44 pm

157 Comments

ThinkGeek TK-421 iPhone keyboard case review

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/panasonic-officially-launches-exclusive-avatar-blu-ray-3d-pack-i/

4:19 pm

100 Comments

Panasonic officially launches exclusive Avatar Blu-ray 3D pack-in, discs hit $400+ on eBay

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/nc-state-and-cmu-develop-velocity-sensing-shoe-radar-aim-to-imp/

5:54 pm

23 Comments

NC State and CMU develop velocity-sensing shoe radar, aim to improve indoor GPS routing

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/google-reader-gets-native-android-app/

5:29 pm

99 Comments

Google Reader gets native Android app

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/keepin-it-real-fake-mini-galaxy-s-gazes-meaningfully-skyward-n/

7:15 pm

36 Comments

Keepin' it real fake: Mini Galaxy S gazes meaningfully skyward next to a mini grand piano

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/atv-flash-black-now-in-beta-ready-to-equip-your-new-apple-tv/

6:46 pm

31 Comments

aTV Flash (black) now in beta, ready to equip your new Apple TV with a browser

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/gameloft-advent-calendar-offers-free-iphone-android-games-until/

6:18 pm

72 Comments

Gameloft Advent Calendar offers free iPhone, Android games until Christmas

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/xim3-final-hardware-revealed-coming-soon-to-give-an-unfair-adva/

7:59 pm

80 Comments

XIM3 final hardware revealed, coming soon to give an unfair advantage in Xbox 360 shooters (video)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/motorola-mobilitys-mystery-gadget-streams-video-to-tablets-and/

7:31 pm

11 Comments

Motorola Mobility's mystery gadget streams video to tablets and phones

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/ion-audios-twin-video-dual-facing-camera-becomes-more-than-a-re/

9:05 pm

18 Comments

Ion Audio's Twin Video dual-facing camera becomes more than a render, starts shipping

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/hps-dreamscreen-400-is-the-touchscreen-linux-desktop-youll-nev/

8:31 pm

39 Comments

HP's DreamScreen 400 is the touchscreen Linux desktop you'll never own

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/archos-internet-tablets-get-firmware-updates-everybody-gets-a-f/

10:15 pm

7 Comments

Archos Internet Tablets get firmware updates, everybody gets a Froyo

http://www.engadget.com/2010/12/01/xbox-live-rewards-loyalty-program-goes-live-in-the-us-and-uk/

9:39 pm

29 Comments

Xbox Live Rewards loyalty program goes live in the US and UK

LTE

• Laptop data plans: comparing LTE, WiMAX, and HSPA+ by speed, price, and value
• Verizon LTE / 4G preview with the LG VL600 modem
• Verizon's LTE details go live: December 5th, 38 markets, 60 airports, and 2 USB modems
• Verizon LTE plans start at $50/month for 5GB of data
• Verizon's LTE network announcement event live at 12:00 ET!

Be (original)

• Cowon X7 PMP review
• ThinkGeek TK-421 iPhone keyboard case review
• Sony Ericsson LiveView review

Headline

• Adobe Flash Player 10.2 beta arrives, expands hardware acceleration
• FCC addressing net neutrality on December 21st
• Google Editions launching in US before the end of the year, going international in Q1 2011
• PlayStation Phone espied in Greece, said to have Gingerbread and 4-inch screen (video)
• Dell Venue Pro finally available to order: $99 on contract, shipping December 9th
• Nielsen: Android makes huge gains in US smartphone marketshare, RIM takes a backseat, Apple leads in desirability
• Samsung cooks up its own NFC module, destined for the Nexus S?
• ChevronWP7 unlocking tool pulled in hopes Microsoft decides to play along
• RIM sues Kik in Canada for patent infringement

They keep pulling us back in -- Logitech's latest Google TV ad takes a different, and yet still stalker related tack to sell users on the viability of search and web in their living room, focusing on the Kevin Bacon obsessed (and incredibly familiar looking) Ivan Cobenk. The main gist is that the Google TV is the key to easily finding your favorite video content, wherever it is... along with the slight danger of turning into Kevin Bacon. Give it a watch, while we're still not totally sure the Revue belongs in every living room this bit is far more convincing than the old screaming anthromophized HDTV.

The path to exascale computing is a long and windy one, and it's dangerously close to slipping into our shunned bucket of "awesome things that'll never happen." But we'll hand it to IBM -- those guys and gals are working to create a smarter planet, and against our better judgment, we actually think they're onto something here. Scientists at the outfit recently revealed "a new chip technology that integrates electrical and optical devices on the same piece of silicon, enabling computer chips to communicate using pulses of light (instead of electrical signals), resulting in smaller, faster and more power-efficient chips than is possible with conventional technologies." The new tech is labeled CMOS Integrated Silicon Nanophotonics, and if executed properly, it could lead to exaflop-level computing, or computers that could handle one million trillion calculations per second. In other words, your average exascale computer would operate around one thousand times faster than the fastest machine today, and would almost certainly give Garry Kasparov all he could stand. When asked to comment on the advancement, Dr. Yurii A. Vlasov, Manager of the Silicon Nanophotonics Department at IBM Research, nodded and uttered the following quip: "I'm am IBMer, and exascale tomfoolery is what I'm working on."*

*Not really, but you believed it, didn't you?

Okay, maybe not everybody, but the vast majority of the Android offerings from Archos are receiving some guilt-free sweet treats. Models 23, 32, 43, 70, and 101 (you know, these guys) are all on the lucky receiving end of firmware updates that bring Android 2.2.1 to the table. That comes with improved performance, better battery life estimation, and support for external GPS adapters. All yours for the low, low price of free -- well, assuming you've already bought the tablet, of course.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Remember this little "Twin Video" freak of nature from January? Well, Ion Audio went and built the thing, and while it looks dramatically different now, the general idea is the same: one camera faces you, the other camera faces your subject. Outside of that it's a pretty basic Flip-style camcorder, with a decent $120 price tag, SD card storage, and a rechargeable battery. Just remember, with great dual-facing power comes great dual-facing responsibility. Check out a sample video after the break.

"What's this thing? It looks pretty cool. What pretty icons! Can I touch them? I can, really?" Etc. That basically describes our infantile thought process when we stumbled across the DreamScreen 400 (not to be confused with the DreamScreen photo frame line), a new all-in-one desktop from HP, but suddenly it all became clear: this thing is built for the Indian market, and us chubby Americans will have to keep on dreaming. Still, it's an interesting thought experiment. HP has long sought to differentiate itself in its Windows-based offerings, and even at times abandoned its first OS love with its Mobile Internet Edition Ubuntu-based netbooks and now its upcoming webOS tablets. The DreamScreen 400, which runs some flavor of Linux with an extensive, touch-friendly HP skin on top, sort of demonstrates an alternate reality where HP decided to pursue Linux in the consumer desktop space -- Microsoft be damned. Of course, this is also an actual reality: you should be able to buy this 18.5-inch desktop in India for Rs. 19,999 (about $450) in India right around nowish, and we'll see where HP takes this software from here.

[Thanks, Chris J.]

It's been almost two years since the XIM2 finally became available, letting Xbox 360 gamers bring some additional inputs to their gaming -- namely a keyboard and a mouse. Now its successor is nearing availability and its final form has been unleashed to the world. This version is considerably more advanced than its predecessor, sporting a little LCD for easier programming and some very advanced game-specific tuning called "Smart Translators." These handle various settings for various games, automatically deleting the various sized and various shaped dead zones employed by various shooters, demonstrated in a video below. No price has been announced yet, but we're guessing it'll cost a good bit more than the (now discontinued) XIM2's $149.99.

[Thanks, K. Green]

Wonder why Motorola's set-top-box business got bundled in with the phones? If we had to guess, it's probably because Motorola Mobility is making a device that will wirelessly join both. Speaking at the Reuters Global Media Summit, company president Daniel Moloney said that Motorola's working on a standalone device that will wirelessly sling video to tablets and phones in the home, and will later be integrated directly into new set-top-boxes the company rolls out. "It's one consumer proposition that will come sooner rather than later," he told the crowd, suggesting that the device would be available through "service providers" rather than sold off the shelf, and that said providers might charge an additional service fee for its use. Here's hoping not. Perhaps Qualcomm finally found a buyer for that FLO TV spectrum, though?

If you were going to make a "mini" version of something else you'd probably want it to be significantly smaller. However, this "i9000 Mini" smartphone, cheekily adorned with both Samsung and Galaxy S branding, isn't any more svelte than the phone it is most certainly trying to be. If our eyes don't deceive us it's even fatter, though the capacitive touchscreen is indeed a half-inch smaller, down to 3.5-inches, and rather than being wide VGA it is instead half VGA -- doing with a measly 320 x 480 pixels. And no, it sure isn't AMOLED. Other specs include a five megapixel camera, 512MB of ROM and RAM, and dual SIM support. Roll with this 1,480 yuan (about $200) phone and you'll be rolling with Android 2.1, but the manufacturers promise it'll be updated to 2.2 in just a few weeks. If you can't trust a company that steals another company's design, logo, and trademarks, who can you trust?

It's always a bit of a funny business paying for hacks, but Fire Core's aTV Flash is a serious product and we can't blame them for trying to make a buck off the back of it. Now the sequel, aTV Flash (black), is here in beta form, bringing a subset of the aTV Flash's functionality to the brand new Apple TV, which runs that fancy new iOS-based 4.0 software. Most importantly, Fire Core brings a HTML5-compatible browser, but the Last.fm app and Plex Client are welcome tag alongs. "Coming soon" features include expanded media format support and networked storage support. The pre-order beta price is $20, while the final hack will retail for $30. For existing users, (black) is a free upgrade.

[Thanks, Gustavo]