Gesture Search is an experimental application introduced to Android back in March of last year. So while I know that it isn't new per se, it's new to me, as a recent Android convert. And to be honest, it takes a little practice. I'm not sure how many Android users out there are using (or are aware of) Android Gesture Search, so I thought I'd document the process of getting it set up and using it here, in case you want to give it a try.
Google officially announced today that, for a one-time $20 fee, Google Voice users could move their mobile phone number over to the service. The move was rumored when Engadget first noticed the feature's availability last week, but Google said that it was only a test and that it planned to offer the feature to all users in the near future.
According to some, porting your phone number over to the service can be an experience not unlike an LSD trip gone awry. If you want to avoid this, Google offers a few tips on how to make it an easy and smooth transition.
Internet of Things (IoT) is a term for when everyday ordinary objects are connected to the Internet via microchips. It's a simple concept with big implications for how we interact with the world, deal with the resulting mass of data, live our lives and...get the mail?
IoT can be something as complex as smart power grids or something as simple as - as evidenced by the object-hacking folks over at Make Magazine - getting push notifications every time a letter arrives. That's right, it's "You've Got Mail" for the real world, via push notifications for your iPhone.
Last year, we examined the many reasons why people jailbreak (that is, hack) their iPhones, with two articles detailing some of the best apps out there for jailbreakers. In August, we shared a list of several top apps, including the ever-useful Wi-Fi hotspot app MyWi, hacks that let you use FaceTime over 3G, tools for unlocking a phone and other tweaks and customizations. In October, we provided a list of 30 more reasons to jailbreak, which detailed new homescreen customizations and other applications.
But the jailbreaking community is always innovating, and there are new things released every day. Let's look at some of the latest additions.
Champagne and fireworks not your thing? Instead of partying it up this New Year's Eve weekend, why not take the time to do a little hacking instead?
Every so often, we like to feature a "weekend project" here on ReadWriteWeb. These generally consist of the kind of things you'll want to try out and play with when you have some free time, like over a weekend. Past projects have included things like hacking Nike+ for automatic Foursquare check-ins, a resource list on how to get started hacking Microsoft Kinect, experimenting with a customized, third-party version of Chrome OS called "Vanilla," and more.
This weekend, we've decided to round up a few resources detailing how to peek inside your mobile applications.
As one of the lucky recipients of the Cr-48 Chrome OS test notebook, I've been experimenting with how well I can unwire to live "in the cloud," as they say. If you're unfamiliar, the Cr-48 notebook computers are being used in Google's Pilot program for its new browser-based computer operating system named for its Web browser, Google Chrome.
Built on top of Linux, the feel of Chrome OS is that of just using a Web browser running on a small notebook computer. This leads to some obvious limitations, of course. For example, how do you transfer files from a USB device to Google Chrome OS? The short answer: you don't. But I found an exception just the other day - I managed to access photos on a USB Flash drive in a surprising way.
As a special Thanksgiving treat, members of the Windows Phone 7 homebrew community, Rafael Rivera, Chris Walsh and Long Zheng, released a tool for unlocking Windows Phone 7 devices to allow for the installation of unapproved applications. Similar to jailbreaking the iPhone, the new tool disables the controls which prevent "sideloading" apps, meaning loading apps outside of the official Windows Phone 7 Marketplace.
Although the software's developers claim the app is "completely safe and reversible," Microsoft has now released a statement saying just the opposite. Our advice? Proceed with caution, new jailbreakers.
On Monday, Apple shipped its long-awaited iOS 4.2.1 update for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch, which was the first major upgrade for the iPad since its launch earlier this year. Finally, iPad users have access to features like multitasking, app folders, threaded messaging and a Unified Inbox, thanks to this update. It also delivered new features called AirPrint and AirPlay to all iOS devices, the former for printing from mobile devices and the latter for streaming between mobile devices and Apple TV or other AirPlay-enabled hardware.
But for iPhone jailbreakers, there's only one question that comes to mind when a new upgrade is released: can you jailbreak it?
Earlier this month, hardware hacker Hector Marcan released his open source Kinect drivers, wining the $3,000 in prize money put up by Adafruit Industries, a NY-based company that sells DIY electronics kits. Since then, a lot of people have been posting hacks made possible through the release of these open source drivers - something which may have inspired you to hack your own Kinect peripheral.
Many non-technical folks have become more comfortable with hacking, thanks to the ease of "hacks" like jailbreaking the iPhone or rooting an Android. However, hacking Kinect isn't as easy as you might think. But if you're if you're a fairly advanced user, comfortable with the command line, Python, GitHub repo's, reverse engineering and more, this is one Weekend Project you're going to love.
The author of the web's first worm-virus, teamed with a man who dresses as a medieval warrior and goes to battle on the weekends and a woman who follows World of Warcraft, acupuncture and ballet, have raised $24 million dollars to storm the gates of the Google Castle. They got incredible press coverage when their new search engine, called Blekko, launched this week - but they are probably going to get slaughtered.
In the meantime, they have provided an opportunity for countless other freaks and geeks to use the magical tool they've built to grow our stature wherever we work; to cut through information overload, to shine a bright light on opportunities and to augment our minds with the snap of a finger. Read on for my advice about how to use Blekko and we'll use it well - for as long as it lasts.
