Alto
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TCL's first soundbars ship this spring
TCL is getting into the soundbar game -- no, for real this time! Last year, the company announced the TCL Roku Smart Soundbar, the first product in a new line of Alto-branded audio hardware. The problem? That soundbar never actually shipped. We're not sure what happened, but it hasn't stopped TCL from pursuing its home speaker aspirations. Today, the company has unveiled two new soundbars: the Alto 5 and 7. The former is 31.5 inches wide and designed for 43-inch or larger TVs. The latter, meanwhile, is 36 inches long and meant for 55-inch or higher panels.
TCL taps Roku's wireless speaker tech for its Alto soundbar
After Roku announced its wireless speaker platform last week, it's no surprise we're seeing new devices at CES with the tech built in. TCL already bakes Roku into some of its televisions, and now it's using Roku Connect for a new soundbar. The audio device will be part of TCL's Alto line, a collection of gear that company will offer that includes both "standard and smart solutions."
Alto uses your emails to clean up your calendar
Smartphones are an absolute godsend for organizing... well, pretty much everything. Yet despite all they do for us, it can still be hugely frustrating when your various calendar apps don't play nicely with each other. AOL (Engadget's parent company, for full disclosure) is trying to solve this headache with the latest update for its Mail tool, Alto.
AOL's Alto email Dashboard adds Alexa and Slack integrations
Email, it's the granddaddy of messaging apps. That doesn't mean it doesn't need a little nudge into the teens... the tens... whatever we're calling this decade. AOL's Alto is exactly that, a modern email client that extracts all the useful info tucked away within it, putting it front and center in a Google Now-like "Dashboard." Today, it's getting a little more up to date, with hooks into Amazon's ubiquitous Alexa, and the work-chat du jour, Slack.
AOL's Alto Dashboard is a daily organizer for your email
In this era of texting and instant messaging you might not be emailing many long, heartfelt letters to your best friend from college. I certainly don't. But I'm still drowning in a sea of less personal correspondence: Receipts. Bill payments. Flight confirmations. Even with apps like Gmail sorting these assorted messages into tidy little folders, it's pretty easy to lose track of the things I might need to know. Alto, the email app from AOL (Engadget's parent company), is attempting to fix inboxes like mine with its new feature, Alto Dashboard. Out today, the dashboard places the most important bits front and center and lets you act on them, without ever leaving the app.
Tranquil snowboarding game 'Alto's Adventure' is coming to Android
There are basically no downsides to using Android anymore, but one of the few remaining bummers is that most great mobile games hit the iPhone first. That was the case with the wonderfully tranquil and beautiful snowboarding game Alto's Adventure that came out this past February, but fortunately that'll be rectified soon. Developer NoodleCake is working with the team that originally created Alto's Adventure to port the game over to Android and the Kindle Fire, and it should be ready to go soon. Unfortunately, that's not now, but you can stay tuned to the Alto's Adventure Twitter feed for updates. And if you're an iOS user and haven't tried this game yet, do yourself a favor and give it a go -- it's an endless runner that manages to somehow be relaxing, a rare combo.
AOL Alto webmail client dropping support for iCloud in December
AOL has reached out to iCloud users of its Alto webmail client to announce it will be dropping support for the Apple service on December 2. Alto is a service that integrates your Yahoo, Gmail and other email services into one mailbox. iCloud users received the following email from Alto today. Thanks for using Alto to read and send mail from your @iCloud, @me or @mac account. We've been honored to host those accounts and get great, positive feedback on the experience from users like you. But we're sad to say that Alto will no longer support iCloud accounts as of December 2, 2013. We sincerely regret the frustration this will cause. You can close your account now by clicking the Plus sign (+) on the left of your Alto inbox, then clicking the iCloud account name and the Close Alto Account button at the bottom of the column that opens. Or you can simply wait and do nothing and you will automatically lose access on December 2nd. We would love to continue giving you Alto's great view of your non-iCloud email accounts. Any other supported IMAP-accessible email will continue to work, including Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL Mail and others. AOL is TUAW's parent company.
AOL previews cloud-based Alto mail, iCloud-ready
AOL is now taking beta invite requests for its new Alto email congregation tool. Not looking to compete outright with the likes of Gmail, Yahoo! or its own AOL client on the email front, Alto will instead act as a singular destination for users to check all their existing accounts at once. The service can also sync with your iCloud account, and AOL has stated that an iOS version of the Alto platform is in the works as well. Alto looks to give your standard inbox browsing experience a visual twist by grouping your content into stacks based on a common theme. Emails including media (such as photos) will be grouped in one pile, social goings-on in another and so on. You can drag and drop emails into new piles if they end up going astray, and create custom groupings based on various criteria. If you really want to go all-out, you can even link up your Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts and keep track of all your social notifications from within Alto. There's no word on whether Alto will eventually be supported by ads or a subscription model, but for now the service will be free for anyone who scores an invitation. The paid Sanebox service, mentioned last night, currently offers a similar pre-inbox filtering tool, starting at $2.04/month. Note: Alto and TUAW are both owned by AOL.
AOL unveils Alto: a web-based email client with an emphasis on aesthetics and organization
A cleanly organized inbox may be a holy grail that's seemingly out of reach, but AOL (which happens to be our parent company) has unveiled a web-based e-mail client dubbed Alto to help cut through clutter. Instead of signing up for a brand-new email address, users log into the service with an existing Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL or iCloud account and can use Alto to organize, send and receive messages. In addition to the traditional list view of received emails, Alto takes a cue from analog letters and automatically sorts mail into stacks depending on whether they contain attachments, photos, daily deals, notifications from social networks and bulletins from retailers. Users can customize and hide existing piles or even create new stacks based on key words, recipients, senders and other parameters. Have more than one email account that needs its contents wrangled into order? No problem. Alto can handle up to five accounts per user. If you're intrigued by the cloud-based client, you can take a gander at the gallery of screenshots below or head past the break for more details in the press release. Alto is currently accepting users on a first come, first serve basis in a limited preview, so hit the source link if you feel inclined to take it for a spin.
The Road to Mordor: Making your alts work for you
I have a confession to make. My name is Justin, and I'm a Lord of the Rings Online altoholic. I know. I have a problem! I'm weak! DON'T STARE WITH THOSE ACCUSING EYES! I always start out in games with the best of intentions: I'm going to stick with just one character, at least until I hit the level cap. I'll only make new characters to reserve names I like. I won't get class envy and wonder what's on the other side of the fence. I'll stay strong! I'll be an oak! And then I turn out to be a willow tree, blowing about in the winds of whimsy, and suddenly I end up with alts staggered all over the leveling track. It's all right; I've come to embrace my altoholic tendencies because it really is who I am as a gamer. I like to sample everything, to try out different approaches to the game, and if I don't end up with a maxed-out uber-raider, then I can live with it. If you follow this pattern and are prone to rolling up a lot of alts in LotRO, there are several advantages you can gain over the monogamous players out there. Today I want to take a look at how you can make your alts work for you, if only to give you an excuse to keep rolling them!
Computing pioneer Chuck Thacker wins Turing Award
Chuck Thacker may not be quite the same household name as some other computing pioneers, but it's pretty hard to overstate the influence he's had on the industry, a feat for which he's now be honored with the A.M. Turing Award -- widely considered to be the "Nobel prize of computing." While Thacker is now a "Technical Fellow" at Microsoft, he first made a name for himself at Xerox PARC, where he not only helped design and realize the very first modern computer, the Alto, but co-invented Ethernet, and contributed to a range of other projects that have had a lasting impact on computing to this day. Later, while at Microsoft Reseach, Thacker oversaw the design of the very first Tablet PC prototypes, and he continues to lead up a computer-architecture group at the company and be involved with various research efforts. Of course, that's only scratching the surface -- hit up the links below for a more complete background of the man's work, and head on past the break for a short video put together for the occasion by Microsoft.
Logitech intros Alto Cordless laptop stand / dock
Logitech just busted out a couple of new additions to its Alto line of laptop stands a few months ago, but it looks like the company has found yet more ways to make your laptop a bit more comfortable to use, with it today introducing its new Alto Cordless model. The main distinction here, of course, is that the keyboard is now freed from the main unit thanks to some newfangled wireless technology although, as with the original Alto, you'll have to supply your own mouse (which can be accommodated by one of the three USB ports on the base). Also like the original, the Alto Cordless can elevate your laptop for some more comfortable viewing, although it's apparently not recommended for use with laptops larger than 15.4-inches. Look for this one to be available sometime next month for an even $100, with an optional $20 power adapter also available for those that need powered USB ports.[Via HardwareGeeks]
Logitech's Alto Express and Connect, Kinetik bags - show your laptop some love
Turns out last year's kinda-clunky Alto isn't where Logitech's laptop-propping agenda comes to a close: today the company is announcing two new stands, the $29 Alto Express, a one-piece clear plastic and rubber laptop stand reminiscent of the iCurve; and the $80 Alto Connect, a slightly more advanced x-shaped stand with a four port USB hub. (Both Altos are available this month, peep the Connect in the gallery below.) Also up: Logitech makes the jump from producing accessories to producing accessories to carry your accessories with its Kinetik bag line. Priced at $100, this September your 15 or 17-inch laptop can sit snugly in an "exo-shell" encased bag from the same people who would also love nothing more than to sell you enough high-margin peripherals to fill its every fold.%Gallery-4108%
Logitech's Alto stand elevates your notebook
Looking to take your notebook to new heights? Aside from the overtly deliberate PUN that Logitech is forcing down our throats here, the Alto notebook stand ups the ante of prior renditions by including a full-sized keyboard, sleek(er) design, and an ability to hold notebooks "up to nine pounds." The collapsible device can reportedly be setup in "less than 30 seconds," and measures just 9.33- x 16.84- x 1.41-inches when folded over and not in use. The integrated keyboard touts a variety of "media controls" to handle volume, track, and macro functions, and it also offers a trio of non-powered USB ports for connecting low-power peripherals. Logitech expects to roll these $99 risers out in December for those residing in the UK, while Americans will have to wait until January. [Via Laptoping]
