Tired of seeing TouchPad Android demos that you can’t quite get your hands on? Buck up buttercup, CyanogenMod 7.1.0′s unique flavour of Gingerbread has finally made its way to HP’s disowned slate; but beware — they’re calling this one the “lower your expectations” edition for a reason. A new video and forum update belabours the point that the alpha is an early, buggy build that is not intended for the general public. However, if you’re brave enough to install CyanogenMod anyway, you’ll wind up with a neat assortment of usable features, including multiboot support, ten-point multitouch, functional WiFi, camera support for video chat, limited GPU acceleration and a ton of other features that are either working now, or are near completion. The team says there are too many non-functional features to properly list at the moment, but advise brave testers to expect app incompatibility and poorly optimized power consumption. Ready to throw caution to the wind? Hit the source link below, as it’s chock full of cautionary tales, installation instructions, and download links.

SOURCE via Rootzwiki

It got a bit overshadowed by Apple’s other software updates last week, but Apple TV users also have a few new features to enjoy whenever they’re ready to plop down on the couch. Version 4.4 of the Apple TV software is now available to download, which adds the new Photo Stream feature to view photos stored in iCloud, as well as AirPlay mirroring, plus content from the NHL and Wall Street Journal, and a new movie trailer section. You’ll also now be able to view subtitles in Netflix (when available, of course), and you have a few new slideshow themes to choose from.

SOURCE via Apple

Microsoft is prepping another update to the Xbox 360 dashboard and, as usual, that means some folks will be able to get an early peek courtesy of the company’s preview program. While there’s still no date set for a roll-out, those interested in participating this time around can now put their name in for consideration in the program, which is said to be a more automated process than before. As for the dashboard update itself, it boasts a new design for “integrated Kinect and controller navigation,” new “Beacons” for playing online with friends, deeper Facebook integration, and cloud storage for your saved games and Xbox Live profile. According to Microsoft’s Major Nelson, “other features and entertainment partner apps” may also become available during the program period. Hit the source link below for the complete details.

SOURCE via Joystiq

The idea of a portable, impressively useful touchscreen interface has very quickly gone from the world of science fiction to depictions of dubious accuracy on mainstream shows like NCIS or CSI. The consumer, alas, has had to make due with smaller touchscreen interfaces on our phones and tablets and giant, spy-catching rigs aren’t coming to us anytime soon, but if scientists at the Carnegie Mellon Human Computer Interaction Institute have anything to say about it, we might soon get the next best thing. In a joint project with Microsoft, they’ve created a unique technology that allows a functional multi-touch screen to be displayed on almost any surface, including the body.

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StatCounter data suggests that, on a global basis, the number of people using Chrome exceeded those who were using Firefox last Sunday. Chrome beat Firefox with a market share of 26.22% versus 26.16%. It’s not much and it was just one day, but it is a significant event as Chrome has caught up with Firefox on weekend days.

Chrome has substantially higher market share on weekends than during the week and the current data implies that the browser needs about four to six weeks to catch up with any number on a weekend on an average market share basis. If this trend holds up, then we should be seeing Chrome match average Firefox market share by mid- to end-November.

For the first half of the month, Chrome averaged 24.85%, which is more than 1.2 points up from last month, while Firefox is slightly down to 26.68%. IE has fallen for the first half of the month below the 40% mark and was estimated at 39.99%.

Chrome market share is, just as it is the case with all other browsers significantly fragmented across the world. In North America, for example, Chrome share is only 20.01%, while it is at 40.82% in South America, according to StatCounter.

On Sunday, Sesame Street’s YouTube channel briefly turned from a space for learning about the ABCs, to a space for learning about the naughty practices of adults. And while we’ve come to question Bert and Ernie’s true relationship over the years as we’ve grown older, their “friendship” apparently isn’t anything close to the skin trade viewers consumed for roughly twenty minutes.

According to reports, the site was hacked to offer an eyeful of hard-core porn until Google went into full alert and suspended the page twenty minutes later. The main page was replaced by a similar Sesame Street-themed layout although the logo adds the slogan It’s Where Porn Lives. All links listed on the fake page led to an adult film called First Anal Quest: Angelica. We assume that we needn’t explain the video’s “plot.”

“We apologize for any inconvenience our audience may have experienced today on our Sesame Street YouTube channel,” the Sesame Workshop said in a statement Monday morning. “Our channel was compromised and we are presently working with YouTube/Google to restore our original content. We always strive to provide age-appropriate content for our viewers and hope to resolve this problem quickly.”

When it was live, the hacked Sesame Street page claimed to be owned by YouTube member “mredxwx” who in turn uploaded a video on his own YouTube page claiming that he was not responsible for the hack. “I did not hack Sesame Street,” he responds in a video. “I am an honest YouTuber. I work hard to make quality gameplay videos AND MOST IMPORTANT I RESPECT THE COMMUNITY GUIDELINES.”

That’s a complete 180-degree from the message he supposedly posted on the fake YouTube page. “Who doesn’t love porn kids? Right! Everyone loves it! I’m Mredxwx and my partner Mrsuicider91 are here to bring you many nice content! Please don’t let Sesame Street to get this account back kids. Please… let me and Mrsuicider91 have it and we gonna make all the America happy!”

As of this writing, the Sesame Street YouTube is back up and running its usual muppet-stuffed content. But how the site was replaced in the first place is still in question. “Precisely how Sesame Street’s YouTube channel got hacked is presently a mystery – but it’s natural to assume that they were sloppy with their password security,” security firm Sophos ponders in a blog Monday.

Has LulzSec returned? The group hacked into PBS.org back in May because they took offense to the portrayal of Bradley Manning in a segment on PBS’s Frontline news magazine program. The group then stated that they were hired by 21-year-old Brandon “Shadow DXS” Pike who in turn denied the claim, saying that LulzSec and Anonymous were getting back at him because he wanted to distance himself from their “criminal” ways.

“I made it apparent that I’m not a supporter of Anonymous,” he said. But unfortunately, “anyone that goes against Anonymous is subject to their harassment.”

YouTube user Mredxwx is now feeling his pain although right now it’s unclear if the Sesame Street hacking is related to Anonymous and/or LulzSec, or something completely different.

SOURCE via The Next Web

General Motors is working on a new vehicle communications system that could help avert up to 81 percent of crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The system uses small mobile devices, like smart phone applications, to gather information about the vehicle’s surroundings.

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