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Hacking Team is back
When you call yourself "Hacking Team," you're borrowing a legacy of persecution and suffering at the hands of legal authorities. The same kind that drove Aaron Swartz to become the most famous hacker suicide of our era. You're effectively wrapping yourself in a mantle bled into by the skins of coders and crackers who are considered criminals by wider society -- regardless of innocence. You've grafted your brandished title -- "Hacking Team" -- onto the backs of those living under the oppressive fear of being rounded up, stripped of rights, and imprisoned for vague, state-defined crimes.
Gadget Rewind 2005: Slingbox
A company called Sling Media burst onto the scene in 2005 with a relatively new idea: give customers the ability to access their home cable and video services while they're traveling. Its "place-shifting" concept was embodied in its first device: the Slingbox. While you're on the road, this set-top-like box served to connect you to your very own TiVo recorded shows, media PC or cable and satellite TV services, provided you had a computer with Sling Media's software and an internet connection (preferably high-speed). The original design was somewhat unique, resembling an oversized candy bar (Sling calls it an "ingot"), and it was a clear favorite of both Engadget editors and readers, earning the title of best home entertainment device for 2005. At launch, the $250 price certainly wasn't cheap -- especially for standard definition only -- and it was markedly Windows-centric, excluding Apple users until its Mac compatible software arrived around 2007.
Fitbug Orb fitness tracker priced at $50, can go up to six months between charges
The Fitbug Orb seems like a veritable shot across Fitbit's bow. This latest fitness wearable is priced at $50 and can go six months between charges, matching the Fitbit Zip's longevity and undercutting its price by $10. You aren't tied to wearing it on your wrist either, as you can place the Orb just about anywhere on your person if the white, pink or black color options don't gel with your wardrobe. What's more, it uses a personal training app called KiK (not to be confused with Kickr) to monitor your activity, and give you a push notification if you're not living up to your potential. It can even connect to MyFitnessPal if you'd rather store all your metrics be in one place. The Orb's price-point could make it the impulse buy that actually improves your well-being, unlike that cheap tablet you bought.
Orb Audio celebrates 10 year anniversary with Mod1X speaker, subOne and subMini subwoofers
Orb Audio clearly subscribes to the "do it right the first time" school of thought: Since 2003 it has released exactly one product, the Mod1 speaker. That changes today, because the funky modular audio system is getting both a refresh, and pair of subwoofers to celebrate the firm's 10-year anniversary. The Mod1X satellites sport a new aluminum driver the company says can handle higher power and has improved midrange and high frequency performance. For aesthetics, they're available in black, white, "hammered Earth," polished steel and antiqued copper and bronze finishes. If you like your bass down low, Orb has you covered here too. The subONE is a 200-watt subwoofer squeezed into a cabinet measuring less than 12 inches on each side, and it features anti-clipping and thermal overload circuits as well as auto voltage-sensing tech -- just in case you use it abroad. A small room doesn't mean you don't need big sound, so it's nice to see Orb address that with the 100-watt subMINI that's tucked into a dual ported 9-inch cabinet. Sure, an $889 starting price for surround sound is a little pricey, but, unlike other aspects of your home theater, good speakers can last a lifetime.
Streaming outfit Orb Networks acquired, winding down operations
Orb has long kept busy making its media streaming solutions compatible with everything from Android to the Wii, but now the business as we know it is trotting off into the sunset. Joe Costello, founder and CEO of Orb Networks, quietly announced on the firm's website that the team and technology have been acquired by one of its "large strategic partners who completely shared the Orb vision for building a standard platform for media solutions and beyond." Costello didn't divulge the buyer's identity, but noted that their new owners had been "investing aggressively in this technology," and Orb will lead their streaming media charge. Although the company stopped selling its products in May, it will continue to honor the one year replacement warranty for Orb Music and TV. The hardware and Orb BR should continue to work, but changes made by streaming services could throw a spanner in the works, as bug fixes and updates are off the table. Orb Live apps, on the other hand, rely on the firm's cloud servers that are slated to shut down by the end of the year. Mycast, the outfit's free service, is expected to work through August, but won't see life past 2013. Hit the source links below for Orb's parting words. [Thanks, Tom]
Nexus Q starts shipping in earnest from Google Play, social streaming reaches our doors in five days
The Nexus Q media streamer might not have generated the same kind of mania as the Nexus 7 tablet, but it's still good news that Google is now shipping its mysteriously social orb. Google Play has the Q in stock and expects new US orders to arrive on doorsteps within the next three to five days. We're not expecting the kind of runaway sales of the $299 hub that have made the more utilitarian Nexus 7 hard to find, but anyone who spends a lot of their leisure time in the Google media ecosystem might appreciate the integration. Alas, that made-in-the-USA design still isn't available outside of the USA, so those in other countries will have to make do with alternatives.
Orb Live finally lands for Android: streams video, delivers Hulu without the Plus
Orb may have taken its sweet time, but an Android port of its Orb Live streaming app is finally available. By now you probably know the deal: install the Orb Caster app on your PC then fire up Live on your handset and you can start watching Netflix, Hulu (without a Plus account), YouTube, live TV (with the aid of a tuner) and video from other streaming sources like ESPN3 right on your phone over 3G, 4G or WiFi. In fact, Orb will stream just about any media from your PC to your phone, provided you can swallow the $10 price of the app. Orb Live for Android isn't showing up in the market just yet for us, but we suspect it won't be much longer now. [Image credit: GigaOM]
Orb Audio modular stereo speaker systems review
Hey, do you like things that sound good? That's funny, we do too. In a world jam-packed with mass-produced, perfectly adequate home-theater-in-a-box solutions, it can be really hard to differentiate between speaker solutions for your computer, TV, or stereo system. It takes a lot for small-scale, high-quality systems to stand out and justify their costs, especially when entire surround kits can be had for under a hundred bucks. But like that song said that one time, you can't put a price tag on love. Orb Audio's eponymously constructed speakers are little works of art that you can rearrange to suit your taste, budget, and decor -- but are they a good solution for you? It's a good question! Read on to find out just how the Orb family might or might not be the best decision you've ever made. %Gallery-123746%
Orb BR software comes to PS3 and other Blu-ray players, 1080p streaming for $20
The tiny, coaster-like design of the Orb TV is hard not to like, but the lack of HD output is mighty tough to stomach these days. Plus, who wants another doo-dad cluttering up their entertainment center? Thankfully, the next product from Orb is much smaller: a disc. You pop the software into your internet-connected PS3 or Blu-ray player and magically it turns into a top-shelf media streamer. You'll have connectivity with Netflix, Hulu Plus, Comedy Central, Amazon VoD, and naturally YouTube. The discs are set to ship in February for $19.99, which puts even the $99 Orb TV to shame, but we're curious to see how the performance is. You can be sure we'll be finding out for you soon.
Orb TV is the $99 video streamer that will do Netflix and Hulu, but not HD
Your Apple TVs and your Google TVs hold a lot of potential, but their limited access to content freely available to any 'ol PC and Mac is what you'd call a bit of a problem. The latest product from Orb fixes that by being a simple media streamer, relying on a computer elsewhere on the network to pull that content locally before turning around and pumping it back out to the company's new Orb TV coaster, which in turn displays it on your actual TV. Since the content is hitting the computer first (the "Orb Caster") Hulu is available on-tap, but somewhere along the way support for HD video quality goes out the window: this thing maxes out at VGA. Sure, you can already do this with your TVersity's and the like, but the Orb TV is a lot smaller than your average media extender hardware, has a very handy remote control app for iPhones and Androids, and kindly will support multiple Orb devices on the same network. Best of all? It's shipping right now, so make with the clicking and get your Gleek on. Update: We're being told the Android app is available now as well.
NEC develops thin, flexible and 'practical' Organic Radical Battery
NEC first announced its super-thin Organic Radical Battery (or ORB) technology a full five years ago, but it's now finally back with what it describes as the first "practical" prototypes of the batteries. While these new batteries are about twice as thick as NEC's first such units, they're still only 0.7 mm thin, and are apparently much more reliable while also delivering 1.4 times more output (specifically, a capacity of 5mAh). The key to that boost, it seems, are some newly developed, highly conductive cathodes, which consists of some solid organic radical material that were turned into a gel and then uniformly compounded with carbon materials. What does that mean for actual consumers? Well, if NEC has its way, the batteries could be a thin, flexible power source for things like smart cards, wearable devices, and flexible e-paper displays. Full press release is after the break.
Orb MP-1 music player pulls Sonos-like tricks for way less than a Benjamin
Streaming music from a computer to all manner of home audio devices is an area Sonos, Logitech, and Apple have been competing in for years. The recently-released MP-1 music player from Orb, though, is a surprise contender that can perform a host of streaming duties for less than $70. Like the competition, it works by connecting to a powered audio device via an in-line jack, and can play music stored locally, on a network, or from services like Pandora when streamed over 802.11b/g/n WiFi through its companion Orb Caster media server software. To sweeten the package, the company is also throwing in their Orb Controller app for iOS devices -- which normally costs $10 -- for a low price of free, and apparently has plans to release an Android version of the remote sometime in the near future. Sure, it's a little strange for us to see a company known for their free media streaming software jump in the hardware game so abruptly, but the MP-1's mixture of functionality for the price is a pretty enticing first step. Plus, if the move ignites a price war to the bottom with the aforementioned competition, who are we to complain? [Thanks, Tom]
Netgear's ReadyNAS Ultra 4 and Ultra 6 stream to TiVo, mobile, and DLNA-certified devices
The "Death of Local Media Storage," eh Netgear? The company is certainly proud of its latest unveiling, the ReadyNAS Ultra series, as the aforementioned press release headline exemplifies. In addition to the usual network storage capabilities, the gang can stream media to any TiVo device, DLNA-certified machine (via Skifta), and mobile devices using Orb technologies. All machines feature 1.66GHz Intel Atom CPUs, 1GB RAM, and RAID 0, 1, 5, and 6 data protection. Need a hefty do-it-all box for storage? The Ultra 4 (2 x 2TB, single-core processor) and Ultra 6 (3 x 2TB, dual-core) will start shipping in mid-July, with pre-orders available in the very near future, for a penny under $900 and $1350, respectively. And if you want the capabilities in a lighter form factor, keep an eye out for an Ultra 2 in October. %Gallery-97195%
Frozen orbs to be greed only in patch 3.3.3
Well, this is a welcome change -- now that Frozen Orbs are going to be the new crafting tokens, exchangeable for Frost Lotus and Eternal Fire, among other things, Wryxian announced that they will be greed only in the upcoming patch. Wryxian No, you won't be able to exchange Frozen Orbs for Emblems of Frost. Yeah it just takes one person to press Need after everyone's pressed Greed on the Frozen Orbs and you miss out. But the good news is that in patch 3.3.3 this won't be the case anymore -- the roll for Frozen Orbs will be an automatic Greed roll. Rejoice! source I wonder whether this is now some sort of flag in their database that they could use for other items. Like Books of Glyph Mastery. Nothing is more annoying than someone ninja looting jerk looting something that everyone gains equal benefit from. Edit: Ninjas are cool. People who steal from their peers are not. Stop calling them ninjas. Patch 3.3.3 brings about small but noteworthy changes to the World of Warcraft. From a faster CoT, to putting those old Frozen Orbs to better use, to changes to the auction house -- there's several things all WoW players need to know. WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.3.3 will keep you up to date!
Seen@GDC: The spherical future of video game interactivity
We don't just go to GDC in search of hot scoops. We're also constantly scanning our periphery for the next big movement in video game technology. This year, it came in the form of the VirtuSphere – a device we've heard about since 2006 but haven't seen in person until today. No, it's not a magical orb which infuses its user with moral excellence; it's a virtual reality peripheral controlled by its enveloped user's strut. The technology was demoed on the show floor at GDC with a rudimentary first-person shooter. The player wears a visor (which changes the camera's view as the player looks around in real time) and holds a light gun peripheral. They can walk around the rolling sphere, which moves the player's in-game avatar around the level. Sounds too awesome to be true, doesn't it? Hey, we'd never lie to you. Check out a video demonstration of the device after the jump. What? Did we try it out? No, unfortunately, we've got a thing about dizzy-puking in public.
Orb has landed for Intel Macs
If you are a sometime PC user you probably know about Orb, a multimedia sharing tool that allows you to access your media from anywhere you have an internet connection and a browser. Now, Orb has come to the Mac and it's got great possibilities -- but it's a mixed bag in terms of reliability. You can download Orb for free, and set up a no-cost account. The software will index your iPhoto libraries, as well as your iTunes library, both audio and video. You can then log into your Orb account on any other computer, fire up a browser, and play your media files. Orb has also had an iPhone app that logs you in and gets your media as well. It's been available for a long time, but only would work with a PC-based host. Now your Mac is accessible too. Orb still lacks a few features you can get on the PC version. One big one is it won't talk to a TV tuner, so you can't look at live video from home on another computer. I expect this will be coming in short order. You can share media with others from the Orb website. They will need a free account, but they can watch a movie or listen to music or view photos just as you do.
Orb for Mac finally arrives, streams media from OS X to any internet-connected device
Wow, where've you been, Orb? It's been a full year since we heard anything from the once-adored media streaming outfit, and while it's been streaming out content to iPhones for quite some time, those relying on Macs to do it have been left in the damp night air. Until now, that is. Orb for Macintosh has finally hit the streets, bringing with it OS X 10.5 and 10.6 compatibility that enables any and all media from iTunes to be sent out over the internet and consumed on any outside device with access to the web. We're talking laptops, UMPCs, smartphones and even that ancient PC your grandmother still uses with Windows ME. There's no mention of any DRM restrictions, and it'll even allow you to stream live TV if you can manage to connect a tuner card to your Apple. Oh, and did we mention that Orb is completely free? Hit the download link below to get your weekend started off right. Read - Download Orb Read - Press release
Orb 2.0 streams live TV to your iPhone
We knew Orb was working on an iPhone port of its media-streaming app, and it looks like Orb 2.0 just stealthily went live in the App Store. The $10 app lets TV junkies watch live TV from a tuner connected to a Windows PC, as well as stream music, videos, and photos from their libraries. Even cooler, Orb allows you to monitor a webcam, so you can finally nail those Diet Coke thieves from the comfort of your cube (or keep an eye on your infant, whatever.) Sadly there's no date for the Mac and Linux versions, but Orb says they're on the way. Alright Sling, looks like the ball's in your court.[Via jkOnTheRun]
WildTangent to digitally distribute Kalypso titles
We know that you've probably been racked by worry since it was revealed last week that WildTangent, developer of the pseudo-successful Fate (and alleged spyware distributor), would be closing its internal studios -- however, the company hasn't quite kicked the bucket. Its digital distribution platform, Orb (which former CEO Alex. St. John assured us would eventually replace the modern gaming console) is still in operation -- moreover, its catalog was recently bolstered as a result of a deal between WildTangent and UK developer Kalypso Media.Kalypso, best known for its strategy title Sins of a Solar Empire, has given WildTangent the right to digitally distribute their entire back catalog, as well as the right to distribute all future titles they develop. Sure, it's not a giant step towards St. John's promised revolution, but it may be enough to keep the Grim Reaper from darkening WildTangent's doorstep for a while.
Alex St. John: We're playing the 'last generation of consoles'
Congratulations! You're now a part of history ... or at least, a part of Alex St. John's alternate reality. Spend enough time with "the guy who talked Microsoft into the console business" and you might start seeing a big red countdown -- the kind that ends in KA-BOOM! -- tattooed on your gaming console, the UK's Telegraph reports. "I think we're looking at the last generation of consoles. There's not going to be an Xbox 720 or a PS4, I'll make that bet, not going to happen," St. John predicts. Not surprisingly, St. John's grim prophecy doubles as a convincing plug for WildTangent's forthcoming virtual console: Orb. Orb will offer "enthusiast" games (BioShock and Assassin's Creed are two "possible" examples) for free on an ad-driven, session-by-session basis. In theory, this kind of digital platform could one day replace disc-based consoles, as it offers "free" gaming through an advertising model that consumers have accepted in other markets and cuts out the huge economic losses that console manufacturers can't seem to avoid (um, except for Nintendo!). "I'll take the heat if I'm wrong and don't mind being mocked in the future with people going 'Wow, was he wrong,'" St. John says of his market forecast, "But it doesn't happen to me very often."