'Game Of Thrones' Season Two: 'What Is Dead May Never Die'

Westeros has seen better days. Franky, it's never been pretty over there, but the Seven Kingdoms are in even rougher shape than usual, as evidenced by the third episode of "Game of Thrones" season two, titled "What is Dead May Never Die." The Arya Stark-heavy affair saw the brutal deaths of two recurring characters, not [...]

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Editor?s desk: iTunes, App Store upgrades, Cocoaheads, wide-screen iPhone, features, and more

Sick as a dog. It never fails, a couple times every spring and fall, I get a sinus infection that makes me seriously wishing my head would just explode and get it over with. But no such luck. I still have a site to run. And a column to get done. For the people who are still alive...

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Roku 2 XD and Roku 2 XS launch today in Canada with over 100 channels

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Having already debuted in the UK, Roku is officially undertaking the second stage of its international attack plan by taking on a new region of North America: Canada. Given the box's roots and popularity as a Netflix streamer it's no surprise that the international rollouts just happen to be in English-speaking countries where the service is available, but there's more to be had, since Roku says it's launching with more than 100 channels north of the border. Hardware-wise, Roku is kicking things off with two of its higher-end players in the Roku 2 XS and Roku 2 XD. Both can handle video in resolutions up to 1080p and feature built-in WiFi while the XS throws in a gaming remote plus Ethernet and USB ports just like their US counterparts. The XD and XS can be has for $89.99 ad $109.99 CAD, respectively, either online from the usual sources, while London Drugs and Walmart are expected to offer them at retail by the end of the month. There's a bit more detail on the launch channels in the press release after the break, we'll expect more firsthand impressions from our Canadian friends once the NHL playoffs are over.

Continue reading Roku 2 XD and Roku 2 XS launch today in Canada with over 100 channels

Roku 2 XD and Roku 2 XS launch today in Canada with over 100 channels originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Apr 2012 03:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google, an underdog in Asia, lays plans for Taiwan data center

Taiwan gets Internet traffic easily from the United States. I sits at the ends of undersea cables that extend directly from North America before branching off to other parts of Asia.

Google dominates Internet search engines by such a wide margin in the United States that it?s a verb as well as the corporate name of its Silicon Valley-based creator.

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But in China, Google vies with the local, government-approved search engine Baidu ? which means 100 degrees ? and lags South Korea?s local brand Naver. It competes head on against fellow American company Yahoo for searches in Taiwan, splitting traffic roughly 50-50. Yahoo has also held a historic grip on Japan.

So this week, the 14-year-old Google announced that by the end of next year, it would open a data center in Taiwan to improve search speeds and reliability around the region.

Google has already started building data centers in Hong Kong and Singapore. But the larger one in Taiwan comes with government incentives and will boast a specific geographic advantage. That is, Taiwan gets Net traffic easily from the United States, home to Google and the source of numerous Internet search results, as it sits at the ends of undersea cables that extend directly here from North America before branching off to other parts of Asia.

Google will spend a combined $700 million on the three centers, which generally house computers and storage systems that help speed connections and keep them secure.

?More new Internet users are coming online everyday here in Asia than anywhere else in the world,? Google?s Asia Pacific President Daniel Alegre said at a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday at the coastal facility in Taiwan. ?That is why we are building data centers in Asia ??to ensure that our users here have the fastest, most reliable access possible to all of our services, so they can continue putting them to work.?

Google?s Taiwan data center will speed up searches particularly in China, which is just 160 kilometers (100 miles) away but has sought to censor Web searches. Baidu now controls about 75 percent of the searches in China.

?That?s a key, to serve China,? says Marvin Ma, software and services analyst with the market research firm IDC in Taipei. ?China will notice a clear improvement. And this way Google can avoid the censorship problem.?

In 2010, Google shut down its locally based Chinese search engine after a dispute with the communist government over censorship and cyber-attacks, a row that prompted harsh words from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Google won?t give market shares for Asia or estimate the overall number of users in the region. In South Korea, Naver still handles about two-thirds of the Internet searches, analysts estimate. But two years ago, Google and Yahoo signed a search-engine technology deal that has muffled the rivalry in Japan.

Google is also catching up in Taiwan as the ever popular Yahoo retrenches, with reports of layoffs in the pipeline, says Jamie Lin, founding partner with Taipei-based tech investor appWorks Ventures. ?If they don?t make any mistakes, Google is going to be the dominant player in a couple of years,? he says.

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Switched On: When the smartphone giveth, Part 1

Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

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Part II of this article will be coming next week -- stay tuned!

The rise of smartphones hasn't been kind to makers of devices such as digital cameras, digital music players and portable GPS devices. Handsets with a rich selection of apps have been increasingly cannibalizing sales of these products, leaving few ways for these once hot holiday gift items to compete. In some cases, though, they have enabled functionality that was once envisioned for standalone products that either failed in the market or never went much beyond a niche audience. Here are five examples of failed devices that never made much headway. The concepts behind them, though, ultimately found acceptance on smartphones.

Continue reading Switched On: When the smartphone giveth, Part 1

Switched On: When the smartphone giveth, Part 1 originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 15 Apr 2012 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rome cracks down on marauding centurions

The city has given a deadline of April 6 for the tourist terrors to clear away from the Colosseum area.

By Adam L. Freeman,?Contributor / April 2, 2012

Rome has given the centurions a deadline to clear out. The solders in question aren't from the ranks of an ancient legion, but are modern-day performers who pose for tourist?photos at the Colosseum.

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Men and women decked out in chest plates and helmets eke out a?tax-free living at Rome?s most popular attraction, posing for photos with foreign?visitors for 5 or 10 euros. Disoriented, jet lagged, or simply scared,?tourists have been known to pay up to 50 euros ($67). Some have been roughed?up when they refuse.

Arrests were made last summer in an undercover operation with police?in tunics and sandals handcuffing centurions and gladiators for?ripping off tourists. A recent Italian media report cited a policeman?as saying the centurions are all ex-convicts, ?every last one of?them.?

Now the city government says ?basta!? and wants them to pack up their?swords, shields, and ensigns and clear out by April 6.

?This will end badly. We?ll wage a revolution. We?ll burn down the?Coliseum rather than move from here,? a 21st-century centurion?recently told the Corriere della Sera newspaper.

Along with the fake ancient Roman soldiers, the city aims to rid?itself of the vast illegal industry of food and souvenir vendors that?feeds off the 6 million people who every year visit the site where?Russell Crowe avenged his family?s murder in the 2000 sword-and-sandal blockbuster "Gladiator."

City and national officials say they are defending?Rome-the-living-museum from an image akin to theme parks where?visitors feast on fast food and ham it up for the camera with?fairytale characters.

But the Italian economy is in recession and its prisons overcrowded so government bureaucrats should be vigilant for unrest?in the legionary ranks. They might want to reconsider a plan that puts?ex-cons out of work.

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These AR Glasses Make Your Food Look Huge So You Want To Eat Less [Augmented Reality]

We've seen some pretty crazy potential uses for Google Glasses, but what if instead of helping you commute better, they made your diet easier? These augmented reality glasses do just that by tricking you into thinking you've eaten more than you have. Obesity solved! More »


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