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New tech can run your car's infotainment system for you
If you've ever listened to CDs or digital music on a car or the computer, you've already encountered Gracenote -- even if this is the first time you've heard of the name. Gracenote recognizes tracks as they're played and displays the title, artist, and (for newer auto infotainment systems) even the album art. Now Gracenote has launched a brand new product for in-dash systems called "Entourage," which is a completely different entity from the company's Automatic Content Recognition System for TV with the same name. Entourage for cars was developed to augment your streaming and internet radio apps -- it's not an app itself, but rather a technology that infotainment systems can use. A company spokesperson gave this scenario to GigaOM as an example: when you hear a particular song playing on FM radio, you can tell your car's dashboard loaded with Entourage to create playlists across all your apps, or even in just one of them, like Pandora.
Zeebox can now listen in, automatically identify what you're watching
Zeebox is making good on its cooperation with Gracenote today with the announcement that the second screen app can now automatically identify what you're watching through analysis of the show's "audio fingerprint." Several second screen TV apps use similar technology to sync up with what's on TV, although this implementation is more closely matched to what we've seen from IntoNow. Naturally, use of the latest feature is entirely optional, which includes the ability to automatically listen in when you start the app, along the with ability to manually activate the function by tapping a microphone icon. Gracenote reps tell us that Zeebox records a short, Vine-length audio clip, and then generates an audio profile based on that, which is recognized by Gracenote's Entourage system -- the audio recording itself never leaves your device. The new functionality is available on all versions of Zeebox, which includes Android, BlackBerry and iOS, but the ability for Gracenote to automatically identify shows is limited to programs that've aired in the past seven days.
AppleScripting Email > Developing a Quoted Reply Service
A reader recently wrote to me with a problem. Apparently, Microsoft Outlook no longer contains the ability to create quote level chunks of text when replying to messages in plain text format. Why this functionality was removed, I can't say. But, with a little help from AppleScript and Automator, I was able to help the reader to add this functionality back via a Service. Better yet, the Service can be set up to work in any email client, or even system-wide in any app. Here's how you can do it... Building the Service 1. Launch Automator (in /Applications) and create a new Service workflow. Creating a Service workflow in Automator 2. Configure the workflow (at the top) to process selected text in any application, or your favorite email client, such as Mail or Outlook. Then, select the "Output replaces selected text" checkbox. In this screenshot, the Service is set to appear only in the Outlook app. 3. Find and add the Run AppleScript action to the workflow. It should link up with the header, indicating that it receives text as input. Enter the following script into the action. Note: If you get stuck, you can download the completed script and workflow here. Example of the completed workflow 4. The script above is set to limit lines to a maximum of 42 characters. If you want longer lines, go ahead and adjust this in the script. Just set the theMaxLineLength variable to the desired length. Also, note that this is a guideline. The script tries not to break words in the middle. So, if an extra long word is encountered, you may still have lines longer than the maximum length. 5. Save the workflow as Email > Quote Selected Text. Automator puts it where it needs to go. Saving the Service workflow Using the Service Now, anytime you're in your email app and want to create quoted text in a plain text message, just select the desired text. Right-click it (or Option+Click it) to display the contextual menu. Then, select Services > Email > Quote Selected Text. Again, this is intended for plain text messages. It will probably generate inconsistent results with HTML formatted text. Triggering the workflow from the Services contextual menu in Outlook to process selected text in a message If you don't see the Services menu in the contextual menu, then whatever app you're using may not support contextual Services. In this case, try triggering the workflow from the App > Services menu instead. Triggering the workflow from the Application > Services menu If all goes well, your selected text is passed to the Service workflow, and the processed quoted text is inserted. Happy Scripting! A message containing processed text
Zeebox picks Gracenote Entourage for its second screen TV chat platform
It was around this time last year that Gracenote's embryonic automatic content recognition system for TV emerged under the name "Entourage." Now, it's been picked up by the increasingly popular second-screen app Zeebox, enabling you to automatically identify whatever it is you're watching. Even better, it'll connect you with other users who are also gasping along to the same episode of Pregnant in Heels you are. All the pairing has to do now is dream a better verb for this process before Shazam-ing becomes the legally-uncomfortable term by default
Hulu Japan lands HBO content, but don't expect any changes in the US
Hulu Japan has mailed in a status update noting that its content library has increased by more than 300 percent since launching last fall, now amounting to over 800 films and around 6,900 TV shows. Newly added to that list is Mad Men and more notably, "select HBO shows" including Entourage and Sex And The City today, followed by Entourage and Band of Brothers later this year. Of course, similar to the situation that sees Showtime favorites like Dexter available on Netflix in Latin America but not here in the States, it doesn't make it any more likely HBO will suddenly become cord-cutter friendly at home -- this is an international deal only. Hulu does have more good news in Japan though, now that it works on more devices with the Wii coming soon and "aggressive expansion" planned for the rest of 2012. While it doesn't help the list of Hulu Plus-compatible Android phones grow any faster, there is a quick trailer celebrating the new content, viewers on either side of the Pacific can check it out after the break.
Entourage shuts down Edge content store, devices reportedly discontinued
It seems natural selection has finally caught up with the Entourage Edge. When we first reviewed the combination touchscreen/E Ink "dualbook," we wondered whether its neither-fish-nor-fowl design would catch on -- especially priced at $500. That price dropped substantially with its successor, the Pocket Edge, but neither device truly found its feet, in part because of a lack of applications and no updates beyond Android 1.6. And now comes word that the Edge store has officially closed, with customers having until May 27 to download any purchased content. It all points to RIP for the Edge family, and Good E-Reader claims to have recent confirmation from the company. In its goodbye message Entourage steers users toward the Amazon app store, where it notes "you will now have access to a lot of Android Apps that Google would never give us access to." Obvious bitterness aside, the team reportedly has a new device in the works, this time in the typical slate model. [Thanks, Roy]
Microsoft releases Office 2011 Service Pack 1
Office 2011 version 14.1 (Service Pack 1) is now available from Microsoft's website. As announced on April 6, the update includes a variety of improvements to the new Outlook for Mac, including built-in support for Apple's Sync Services which allows users to more easily synchronize Outlook data with other Mac OS X software (like iCal and BusyCal) and devices (like the iPhone and iPad) through iTunes. The update also includes the usual fixes for "critical issues" and patches a security vulnerability that could allow an attacker "to overwrite the contents of your computer's memory with malicious code." Microsoft offers more details about the software update on its official Office for Mac blog. Even if the update isn't showing in Office's AutoUpdate utility yet, you can download the 246 MB package here. [via MacUpdate]
Entourage: The Complete Seventh Season Blu-ray set arrives July 12th
One of our favorite summer TV shows will have a new season out on Blu-ray as HBO announced Entourage: The Complete Seventh Season will be available on July 12th. That gets the dual 50GB disc set out with enough time for fans to marathon their way through (while wearing Five Towns t-shirts and Viking Quest headgear, of course) before the eighth and final season kicks off July 24th. Extras include DTS-HD MA soundtrack, three commentaries, a behind the scenes doc and a featurette focused on season seven addition Sasha Grey. There's more details after the break, or you can just lay down $49.95 for a preorder.
Office 2011 Service Pack 1 due next week, improves Outlook compatibility
The upgrade from Microsoft Office 2008 to 2011 has not been without its drawbacks; for users of Entourage who moved to the all-new Outlook for Mac, in particular, there have been a few holes in the feature lineup. None of them are necessarily showstoppers, but the collection of odd omissions has given the flagship mail/calendar/contact management platform an air of unfinished business over the past few months. Good news, though: Microsoft's Office for Mac blog reports that we will be seeing Service Pack 1 for Office 2011 next week. The big-ticket returning feature for Outlook is calendar support in Sync Services, meaning that Outlook calendars may once again synchronize locally with iCal, BusyCal or tethered iPhones, iPod touch or iPad units through iTunes. Outlook's punch list also includes editing support for Exchange's server-side rules (which last appeared on the Mac in Outlook 2001 for Mac OS 9!), the return of the Redirect and Resend options in addition to simple message forwarding, and editing of messages in the Inbox. Excel is also getting better Solver integration, and there are sure to be hundreds of other bug fixes and minor improvements. While the Sync Services calendar support is welcome, it's slightly ironic that it's coming back to Microsoft's PIM at the same time that Apple's MobileMe calendars are transitioning to CalDAV -- which in turn is breaking Sync Services support for those hosted calendars via iCal and BusyCal. That means there still won't be a supported way to get MobileMe calendars to synchronize with Outlook for Mac (or Entourage 2008, for that matter), at least in the short term. There are some Outlook users who will be able to synchronize to MobileMe's CalDAV servers... but they aren't using Mac OS X. 32-bit versions of Outlook 2007 or 2010 on Windows can indeed sync up to MobileMe, with the help of Apple's MobileMe control panel on Windows XP, Vista or 7. The Office 2011 SP1 download will be available sometime the week of April 11; we'll let you know when it drops. Hat tip to The Loop.
There's a lot going on in these Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit commercials
EA has developed one of the most perplexing ad campaigns we've ever seen to promote its upcoming racer, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. It's a five-part mini-series following the shenanigans of two valets, one of which is also secretly a renegade cop (?), and one of which is also a street racer (?). Of course, they don't bust fools or drive fast in these ads. They park cars, because they're valets. Sometimes, they don't park the cars, because they're edgy. Oh, and they're played by Jerry Ferrara and Kevin Dillon, whom you may know from the hit television series Entourage, or, if you're not an HBO subscriber, Hotel for Dogs. Check out the first two entries into this commercial series, titled "Officer Douche" and "You Park It," respectively, after the jump. After that, join us in wishing that these ads get their own spin-off television show, Cavemen-style. We'd love to see the complexities of these characters unfold, you know?
Entourage Pocket Edge 'dualbook' up for $399.99 Amazon pre-order
So, the dual-screen (9.7-inch E Ink and 10.1-inch LCD) Entourage Edge was too big for you, eh? That's understandable. But what about the Pocket Edge, the self-described "world's first mini dualbook" with a 6-inch E Ink panel and 7-inch resistive touchscreen LCD. It's an eBook reader and 7-inch tablet all in one and it's up for a $399.99 pre-order on Amazon right now. What could possibly go wrong?
Entourage Pocket Edge reveals itself on the Home Shopping Network
We're still trying to understand why Entourage has chosen the Home Shopping Network of all places to reveal its new Pocket Edge, but at least we now know that the previously spied dualscreen tablet / e-reader lives! Although the 1.35-pound device has been shrunken down with smaller displays -- a 6-inch "Wacom Penabled" e-ink panel and 7-inch LCD -- it actually doesn't appear like much else has been changed from the original. Unfortunately, that means our biggest complaints about the device are very much present -- it's got a resistive touchscreen and appears to run an older version of Android. If it's any consolation, the trackball on the right edge has been replaced with an optical touchpad and there are now red and black color options. Spec-wise, it still boasts 4GB of storage, a 2 megapixel camera (hopefully there's software now that takes advantage of it), 802.11 b/g, a USB port, and micro-SD slot. It is, however, more affordable -- though it's originally priced at $499, HSN has a sale running that puts it at $399. Of course, no word on if a 3G version will be arriving at Verizon as we've previously heard, but we're sure this thing will get its official unveil sometime soon. Until then feel free to keep yourself preoccupied with the gallery below and at the source link -- just don't get lost in the cookware section. %Gallery-106304%
Entourage Pocket Edge in the wild at Marvell event, scared out of hiding by Schwarzenegger
What's this -- the slim, Verizon-bound successor to the Entourage Edge, out in plain sight? Just so, because Marvell wanted to look its best when the Governator came by. When California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger toured Marvell headquarters as part of a trade mission to Asia, a Forbes camera crew tagged along, and got us this first glimpse of the "Verizon Pocket Edge" shown immediately above. Though it's hard to tell what's changed from this angle -- save a lack of front-facing camera on the right -- a second photo taken by the Associated Press (after the break) shows the e-reader is significantly smaller in size, so perhaps it's the 7-inch device we were originally told about. Hats off to The Digital Reader for spotting the device, weeks after the newswires had packed up and moved on.
Screen Grabs: Turtle gets his Kinect on
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com. The producers of Entourage have already shown their tech savvy with a littering of BlackBerry, Jawbone and iPad use, but how about some unreleased hardware? Turtle was spotted doing a bit of cardio in last night's episode, nothing too shocking about that, but he did it using Microsoft's Kinect peripheral as a workout buddy. Last time we checked, that motion-controlled goodness wasn't supposed to be out for another two months -- we can only guess that good old Sal Assante managed to get his name on that top-secret beta tester list. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Verizon's remaining 2010 roadmap to be an Android-fest of phones and tablets?
Practically everything we've heard -- both officially and through tipsters -- lines up with information coming out of Phone Arena this week detailing a truly Google-heavy upcoming Fall and Winter release schedule for our friends at Big Red. Starting next month, it seems that we'll see a global version of the just-launched Droid 2, possibly with a white option (though it seems this could also be the R2-D2 model), and the Motorola WX455 we'd leaked has been named "Citrus" and will (as you probably could've guessed) target the low end of the market and the young'uns who are looking for an affordable way to get into Android; as WWAN-enabled laptops go, they'll be picking up the Dell Vostro V13 and the HP Pavilion DM1. Follow the break for the rest of the action! [Thanks, Steven C.]
Entourage Edge gets rooted with ease, may get a bit more exciting
It's probably in large part due to the design, but the Entourage Edge never has taken off the way Barnes & Noble's Nook or Amazon's Kindle has. But now, that all has a chance to change. The dual-screen e-reader has finally had its very own root canal, and it's probably the easiest root process we've ever seen. The crafty folks over at Android Police were able to tap into the Edge's inner workings by entering a simple code into the Debug menu, and from there, it's a few short steps to installing Superuser. The purpose? To restart the imagination of owners, and to snag Android 2.2, the Android Market and a couple of overclocking opportunities if they're lucky. Head on past the break for a quick video, and then dart to the source link if you're itching to replicate this on your own device.
Screen Grabs: Ari Gold will definitely fire this guy once he notices he's using an iPad
Screen Grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com. The latest episode of HBO's Entourage (if that's the kind of thing you're into) might have been a bit of an eye opener if you're also the kind of person who keeps an eye open for gadgets. Ari Gold's legal adviser (seen in around the 4th minute of the episode if you need the proof) has an iPad set up, keyboard and all. Now, we know Ari's character pretty well. He's the BlackBerry Bold type -- and while his wife uses an iPhone, we have a hard time believing Ari's going to put up with the iPad in the office nonsense for very long. You, young man, are on very thin ice. There's one more shot after the break. [Thanks, Pat]
Entourage Systems partners with Cengage Learning, bringing lots more digital books to the Edge
Surely you remember the Entourage Edge, the dual-screened, Android-powered tablet/netbook that we concluded just wasn't worth your time -- nor your $500, at least. That said, you may not have heard of Cengage Learning, but they're a massive publishing conglomeration that prints everything from Chilton auto manuals to those giant hair style books found at salons and full of Zoolander rejects doing their best Magnum impression. Between those literary extremes falls a whole raft of textbooks, content that these two companies will start sharing in time for the fall semester, helping to boost the Edge's street cred as a legitimate satchel replacement for scholarly types. Now all Entourage needs to do is boost the battery life, up the responsiveness, and knock a couple-hundred bucks off the price.
Verizon getting two e-readers / tablets from Entourage in September?
We're being told that Verizon has a pair of devices that it's identifying as "e-readers" on the roadmap for September of this year, but what's really interesting is that they're called "Entourage." It's possible there's no association to the company of the same name, but we're kind of thinking that the carrier has hooked up with the makers of the oddball Edge for these devices -- especially since we know they both share an affinity for Android. We don't know the specifics of the units other than the fact that they'll be 7- and 10-inch tablets -- presumably sans the Edge's crazy dual-display design, though we can't say for sure. Verizon has yet to play the e-reader game the same way Sprint and AT&T have with the Kindle and Nook -- and of course, we've no doubt they'd love a viable iPad competitor. Who's buying? [Thanks, RBF]
Summer HDTV suggestions
Hopefully you're recovered from any Memorial Day barbecue related shenanigans because warm weather is here and your presence is needed -- inside watching TV. Heat and sunlight are the enemy, and there's plenty of programing to keep us where the air conditioning blows from now until the fall. Check GeekTonic for a list of summer TV programming, while our friends at TV Squad have tossed in a list of premieres, finales and specials for all of June -- our most anticipated shows are after the break, let us know what you'll be watching in the comments.