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Google Cloud Print adds FedEx, Canon to remote printing roster, throws Android users a PDF bone
Chrome users are in store for a bundle of printing perks today courtesy of a recent update to Google Cloud Print. In addition to wirelessly sending documents to nearby printers, Mountain View's now adding FedEx to the drop down destination list, granting users the ability to obtain retrieval codes for use at any of that shipping service's locations across the U.S. The remote printing feature has also gained an additional device partner, enlisting Canon into the ranks of participating companies, occupied by the likes of Epson, Kodak and HP. And as an extra bonus for the Android faithful, handsets and tablets sporting the search giant's Ice Cream Sandwich OS will now be able to receive and display transmitted docs as PDFs, although you'll need to install the beta version of the company's mobile browser to take advantage of this seamless integration. Open OS, meet the closed-off cloud.
Post-apocalyptic L.A.W takes us from sketches to art to screen
Good-looking graphics don't just magically appear overnight in MMOs, delivered by the FedEx equivalent of the leprechaun community. The look and design of a game is a lengthy process full of revisions, abandoned doodles, and brainstorming -- something we end-users tend not to appreciate. Consider today your education, then, as the team behind the post-apocalyptic L.A.W -- Living After War released a whole crate of images with the intent of showing us how the iterative process works. In the gallery below you can check out different versions of the same buildings, vehicles, and mobs at various stages of their making. From sketches to concept art to in-game models, these screens are a great crash course in understanding how involved the development team has to get to make these games a reality. %Gallery-135873% [Source: ProSiebenSat.1 press release]
Enter at Your Own Rift: The no-quest challenge
OK, I know you all probably want to talk about the news that addons are coming to RIFT, but the truth is that it's not that big of an issue for me. My feelings on addons are that I'm for them if they enhance the game and encourage player creativity, but I'm against them if they reduce players to mere statistics in the eyes of others (GearScore) or are absolutely necessary to tackle the game's content. So if you feel passionate about this topic, I give you leave to vent more about it in the comments below, but as for me and mine, we're going to look at quests today. More specifically, not doing them. Now, I generally like quests. They give me a feeling of accomplishment (as I am fond of checking off items from my to-do lists in real life), the stories are occasionally interesting, and they give nice boosts to leveling. But I've come to realize something interesting about RIFT that might run under the radar of most: Quests are superfluous to the game. Well, at the very least, they're optional and not the mandatory tasks that most modern MMOs make them out to be. So I had a thought. What about playing RIFT without questing at all -- taking on a "no-quest challenge" of sorts? Is it not only possible but fun too? Hit the jump and we'll examine this from all the angles.
HP unleashes iOS ePrint app, proves it still rules wireless printing
It's the perfect time to panic: the most important presentation of your career is in less than an hour, and a pie chart is missing. Fear not, thanks to HP's free ePrint Service app for iPhone. With it you can taste the goodness of printing important docs sans-wire to a nearby FedEx Office, Hilton lobby or airport lounge. Whether it's an email attachment, webpage, image or all of the above, just hop into the app to find the printer nearest you and fire it off. Add this to a hefty helping of AirPrint-capable printers and your iPhone is now an omnipotent, HP-powered weapon of wireless domination. Full PR after the break.
HP Slate beginning to ship?
We've got word from one loyal reader that his HP Slate is en route from Shanghai, and he even provided us PDF proof of that fact, just to quell any doubts. We're not sure if that's some little slip on HP and FedEx's part, or a sign of larger things to come (be sure to let us know in the comments if you've received similar notice), but for now all we know is that something enterprisey is scheduled to show up on one Dave P.'s doorstep on December 6th. Godspeed, dear tablet. Godspeed. [Thanks, Dave P.]
The Road to Mordor: Rise of Isengard is coming!
Tweet [Update: Made a clarification that there is no indication of "open-world" PvMP in the expansion.] Times are tough in Middle-earth, even after the inexplicable appearance of several hundred thousand new adventurers this fall. The Fellowship of the Ring is broken, Sauron is rising in power, and the White Hand of Saruman is marching across the lands. Even the bravest and hardiest soldier of the Free Peoples cannot be blamed for feeling disheartened, especially in the face of the monumental struggle to come. Welcome to the beginning of The Two Towers in Lord of the Rings Online. Welcome to Isengard. The rumors are true: Next year we will be venturing into LotRO's third expansion, titled Rise of Isengard, to confront evil in its own backyard. While this may not be the Rohan or Gondor expansion that we've anticipated, Turbine is fairly confident that it will be well-received by players and will represent an ambitious step forward on (wait for it) the road to Mordor. Turbine's Adam Mersky and Aaron Campbell were on hand to outline for us the company's near- and far-future plans with Massively, starting with the imminent November update and cruising all the way through 2011. Hit the jump as we look at interactive theater, busy bees, Monster Play improvements and, of course, Isengard.
The Road to Mordor: A look back at Volume 1
This past week I finally finished Volume 1 of the epic storyline for the very first time in my LotRO career. Yeah, I know, welcome to 2008, right? My inner survey department says that 60% of this column's readers finished Volume 1 a long time ago (and perhaps many times since), and are currently sitting there with a bemused expression as if to say, "Oh, isn't that quaint as a duck's burp?" The other 40% probably gave up on the epic storyline somewhere around North Downs -- AKA The Zone That Saps Your Will To Live. While it may be old news, Volume 1 is still quite relevant in the LotRO landscape for many reasons. One, it's what I've spent the past month of my life playing through, and I always assume that everyone is experiencing the same thing I am due to being a raging egomaniac. Two, ever since it recently received a makeover that allows any and everyone to solo all the way through it, there's been a newfound appreciation for the quest line, even from veterans who gave up on it long ago. And three, with all of the new people coming into the game this year, it'll be the very first thing they experience. So as I sit on my high (grey) horse and look back over all fifteen books that comprise this massive Volume, I'm struck by a number of thoughts: some good, some bad, some itchy. Let's reminisce, shall we?
First iPhone 4 units being delivered
Aw, suki suki now! Looks like we've got our first iPhone 4 delivery here in the US, a full 24 hours before the first batch is supposed to land. The best news isn't that throngs of pre-orderers are seeing their units "out for delivery" today, but that this Mac Rumors user was able to activate his unit already in seamless fashion. 'Course, we highly doubt it'll be so easy for everyone else crashing the servers tomorrow and Thursday, but there it is. So, anyone else seeing their iPhone 4 marked as "out for delivery?" Or better still, "in hand?" Give us a shout in comments below. [Thanks, Anonymous] Update: We've moved the FedEx image past the break, as one lucky Mac Rumors member already has his in hand. And so it begins. [Thanks, Adam] Update 2: A reader has sent us over the above picture of his own brand new iPhone 4, which has only just arrived. [Thanks, Mark!]
Inhabitat's Week in Green: hypermiling, electric FedEx, and frog foam
The Week in Green is a new item from our friends at Inhabitat, recapping the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us. This week Inhabitat explored the high-tech side of green building, showcasing Shigeru Ban's new design for the Pomidou-Metz art museum, and announcing the near-completion of the greenest skyscraper in the world. We also explored green building strategies ranging from super efficient LED lamps. We also saw several signs that the next generation of efficient vehicles is right around the corner - this week Chevrolet rolled out its first production Volt while Nissan announced the final pricing of its Leaf EV - a remarkably affordable $25,280. Even the hard working vehicles at FedEx are getting some much-needed relief as the company rolls out its first round of electric delivery vans. And if you're concerned about green vehicles going the distance, look no further than this student-built supercar that's able to get 2,487 MPG. This week biotech also blew our minds as researchers unveiled plant-based molecules that could create more efficient solar cells and a new type of photovoltaic frog foam that's capable of capturing carbon. Finally, sticks and stones may break bones, but scientists have figured out a way to grow new ones -- using liposuctioned human fat.
Bloom 'Box' Energy Server hands-on (literally) with video!
So here it is, the now-famous (that was fast) Bloom "Box" Energy Servers -- all five of 'em -- working their magic at eBay's north campus. Not much to look at, but we're happy to say it retains a low temperature -- the only heat we really found was due to direct exposure to the light -- and remains quiet while running. There are vents just underneath the sides where cool air was being pumped out. Of course, its raison d'etre is its ability to more efficiently deliver power, which is not something we can really test ourselves. Bloom Energy showcased a number of customers today -- FedEx, Walmart, Staples, Google, Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Cox, and of course, eBay -- and if the numbers meet their mark, you can color us mighty impressed. You know the drill: gallery below, quick video after the break! %Gallery-86437% %Gallery-86409%
The Bloom Box: a power plant for the home (video)
Those two blocks can power the average high-consumption American home -- one block can power the average European home. At least that's the claim being made by K.R. Sridhar, founder of Bloom Energy, on 60 Minutes last night. The original technology comes from an oxygen generator meant for a scrapped NASA Mars program that's been converted, with the help of an estimated $400 million in private funding, into a fuel cell. Bloom's design feeds oxygen into one side of a cell while fuel (natural gas, bio gas from landfill waste, solar, etc) is supplied to the other side to provide the chemical reaction required for power. The cells themselves are inexpensive ceramic disks painted with a secret green "ink" on one side and a black "ink" on the other. The disks are separated by a cheap metal alloy, instead of more precious metals like platinum, and stacked into a cube of varying capabilities -- a stack of 64 can power a small business like Starbucks. Now get this, skeptics: there are already several corporate customers using refrigerator-sized Bloom Boxes. The corporate-sized cells cost $700,000 to $800,000 and are installed at 20 customers you've already heard of including FedEx and Wal-mart -- Google was first to this green energy party, using its Bloom Boxes to power a data center for the last 18 months. Ebay has installed its boxes on the front lawn of its San Jose location. It estimates to receive almost 15% of its energy needs from Bloom, saving about $100,000 since installing its five boxes 9 months ago -- an estimate we assume doesn't factor in the millions Ebay paid for the boxes themselves. Bloom makes about one box a day at the moment and believes that within 5 to 10 years it can drive down the cost to about $3,000 to make it suitable for home use. Sounds awfully aggressive to us. Nevertheless, Bloom Energy will go public with details on Wednesday -- until then, check the 60 Minutes sneak peek after the break. [Thanks, Abe P.]
FedEx Senseaware tracks everything about your package, probably causes OCD
What do you get when you throw cellular and GPS radios in with an accelerometer, a thermometer and a light sensor? If you answered a decently featured phone, you'd be almost right. FedEx has concocted the above tracker to be able to tell you everything about the package it's in -- if it has been opened, dropped, outside of temperature range, or insufficiently loved by its deliverator. The GPS and cellular signals are used to provide a real time position, and all that data is fed through a web platform for the increasingly obsessive sender to monitor. It is now being deployed with 50 medical clients -- who actually have a use for all the intel -- and once production ramps up and economies of scale kick in, the opening price of $120 a month is expected to drop rapidly. You can expect the Senseaware tracker to show up worldwide some time next year.
The iPhones have landed, iPlan in tow
Day one of iPhone release week begins today dear friends, so you can expect a flurry of activity throughout the week as we ready for Friday the 29th. The first iPhone shipments began arriving this past weekend at various airports across the nation -- apparently greeted by armed personnel -- and will soon be in the loving arms of FedEx. The shipping plans for Friday call for FedEx drivers to deliver the goods in teams (one must carry the boxes, the other wields a big stick) for the 6pm store opening. The Boy Genius may have found some details on the iPhone data plan, purportedly dubbed the "iPlan." The word is that this unlimited data plan -- unlimited at EDGE speeds is, of course, by definition a bit limiting -- will squeeze your wallet for between $34 and $44 dollars and may include 2,000 or unlimited text messages. Keep an eagle eye on AT&T's site for that; we can't all get into line on Friday without knowing what we're signing up for, right? We hope?Read - iPhone data planRead - iPhone shipment details
Widget Watch: Delivery Status 3.6 remembers tracking numbers, gets even easier to use
Mike Piontek can't stop making his phenomenal Delivery Status Dashboard widget cooler. As if features like compatibility with a zillion shipping services and Growl notifications aren't cool enough, a couple of recent updates have brought some handy performance enhancements and compatibility with even more services. First up is support for Purolator, Google Checkout, and FexEd SmartPost. Next is a new drop-down menu on the tracking number entry box that remembers the last 10 numbers you've tracked with each service. Finally, new buttons appear on the widget when you mouse over to both magnify the widget for easier viewing and open a new Delivery Status widget altogether, making it easier to track a second package from the same service (by default) while still allowing you to select any other service in Delivery Status' expanding list. Of course, plenty of bugs have been fixed since the last time we've mentioned this widget, which is still provided as donationware from Piontek's site.Update: Corrected the spelling of Mike's name -- sorry!
T-Mobile offers free wi-fi with latest update
Reluctant to update your PSP to the latest firmware? You may want to reconsider. The latest firmware offers PSP users the ability to access T-Mobile's wi-fi service for free. T-Mobile HotSpots can be found at over 8,000 locations across the US, and can be found in Starbucks, Borders, FedEx Kinko's, Hyatt, Red Roof Inns, Sofitel and Novotel Hotels, and select airports. Now, you'll be able to frag friends through Infrastructure almost anywhere in the US ... for free! How sweet is that? I went to a Starbucks to test it out, and found the process is quite easy: Bring your PSP® system to a location that provides a T-Mobile HotSpot. (Refer to the T-Mobile HotSpot U.S. Location Map.) Select (Network Settings) under (Settings). Select [Infrastructure Mode]. Select [New Connection]. Select [Use Wireless Hotspot]. Select the T-Mobile HotSpot icon. If you have an existing T-Mobile HotSpot account, select [Enter User Credentials].Enter your user ID and password, and then press the right button.orIf you do not have an account, select [Use Promotional Access] to sign up for a complimentary six-month T-Mobile HotSpot account. (To qualify for this promotional access, you must authenticate your PSP® system to the T-Mobile HotSpot network prior to March 28, 2008.) Check the contents of the settings list. Save the settings. [Via PlayStation]
T-Mobile promises three free months of WiFi for Vista users
We know, it's a tough call. Do you stick with the operating system you finally got running like a well-oiled machine, or do you throw caution to the wind and pick up Vista even though service packs are already in the works? Just in case you needed a little more persuading to upgrade your laptop to Microsoft's latest OS, or to snag a brand new machine with Vista pre-installed, T-Mobile is hoping to coax users by offering up three months of free hotspot service at the firm's North American WiFi access points found at Starbucks, Borders, FedEx-Kinkos, hotel chains, etc. Interestingly, the offer actually goes "live" on Australia Day, while the freebie comes to an end on April 30th, so if you somehow acquire yourself a copy before the January 30th street date, you can snag a few more precious hours of gratis surfing courtesy of Mr. Gates and T-Mobile.[Via BetaNews]
MD-10 departs LAX with Northrop Grumman's Guardian anti-missile system
Considering all these homemade sentries we're teaching mischievous folks how to build, and all the zany ideas popping into folks' brains after catching the Jack Bauer power hours, it's no surprise that our Department of Homeland Security is equipping as many aircrafts as it can with anti-missile systems. While we'd heard that Boeing's laser-equipped 747-400F was ready for takeoff, and that these aircraft-mounted weapon detection systems weren't too far off, it looks like the DHS has completed the first step in rolling the technology out. An MD-10 cargo plane took to the friendly skies from LAX airport today as the "operational testing and evaluation of the laser system designed to defend against shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles" began, and while its doubtful that we'll be seeing the very pricey Guardian system on typical passengers flights anytime soon, equipping the Civil Reserve Air Fleet is potentially one of the uppermost priorities. And for those paranoid folks who can't wait to get this on their next Southwest friendly fare flight, you should probably consider how much coin you'd have to lay down to help compensate for the $1 million installation cost (per plane), not to mention the $365 airlines would be forced to cough up each flight for "operational and maintenance costs" -- yeah, we'll hold off for awhile.
Widget Watch: Delivery Status
I am on my Mac for about 80% of my waking day, and I drift to sleep thinking of cool things I could do with my Mac. That means that I purchase many things online. It is convenient and usually cheaper, but you do have to wait for the package to show up. Enter Delivery Status, a very cool widget from Mike Piontek.This widget goes beyond tracking UPS and FedEx shipments, though it'll do that as well. Not only does this Widget track packages via UPS, FedEx, DHL, and the US Post Office, it also tracks your order status from Amazon and the Apple Store.Not too shabby for a free widget.
Apple recycling program begins
We wrote about Apple's recycling program when it was first announced, and now it is in full effect, yo. All you have to do is buy a new Mac and then you can participate in the program. You either get an email (if you purchased your Mac from the online Apple store), or you'll get asked if you want to participate at the store. You'll then get an email with instructions. Pack up your old computer (Mac or PC), take it to a FedEx location (with that email you got) and that is all!
No expedited shipping for Europeans
The above image says it all really. People purchasing Macs in the U.K. and, I assume, Europe are stuck with a vague 3-7 day shipping method while Americans get the option of a superior free 5 day service or the option of 2-3 day shipping for $18 extra. Why?
