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Switched On: The Old Adventures of New 3D

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

DNP Switched On The Old Adventures of New 3D

In the unmarked office of 3-D Vision, Inc., you can see a television or PC display a videogame or movie with a convincing stereoscopic effect. That might not seem very unique. However, the television is a CRT from the 1990s, the video game is Super Mario for the Nintendo 64 and the movie is The Wizard of Oz, made in 1939.

Despite the growth in 3D television sales, the requirement to wear 3D glasses has loomed as one of the most significant barriers to adoption. 3-D Vision's technology still requires glasses, at least for now. However, with some caveats, it overcomes some of the other, oft-overlooked barriers to 3D adoption by creating 3D video from 2D content on 2D (or 3D) displays. On televisions, this is achieved via a small set-top box -- a prototype of which approaches the size and noise level of a mini-fridge -- that plugs into the video source and the TV and converts the video in real-time with virtually no latency. The box should be available early next year.

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Switched On: The Old Adventures of New 3D originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 02 Sep 2012 17:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Distro Issue 55: a cautionary tale of the state-supported 38 Studios

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Distro Issue 55 the cautionary tale of 38 Studios and state investments

In 2004, Curt Schilling and a badly injured ankle led the Red Sox to their first World Series championship in 86 years. That's right, he was the ace that helped break the "Curse of the Bambino" from the mound. Fast forward to 2010, where Schilling had hung up his cleats and lobbied for Rhode Island officials to give his video game outfit, 38 Studios, a $75 million loan guarantee. Just two years later, the studio filed for Chapter 7, leaving the state's taxpayers holding the tab. In this week's issue, Jason Hidalgo takes a look at what went down in New England and examines the risk of public funds being used to support private tech companies. We had folks on the ground in Berlin to monitor the happenings at IFA this week and a few notable gadgets from said event occupy "Hands-on". As far as full-on reviews go, we put the Archos 101 XS, Motorola Photon Q 4G LTE and Acer Aspire V5 through their paces. "Forum" is chock full of even more reads, eSports commentator John Sargent stops by for the Q&A, "Time Machines" kicks it old school and "Eyes-on" takes on 35mm, retro-style photography. The week is over, so hit the link that you fancy the most to grab your copy and let the relaxation begin.

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Distro Issue 55: a cautionary tale of the state-supported 38 Studios originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: Trading places

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

DNP Switched On trading places

If widespread rumors hold true, the coming weeks will see two of the most successful tablet vendors invade each other's screen size turf. Apple, which once rebuked the 7-inch tablet as unfit for normally proportioned human hands, appears ready to try its own hand at an iPad rumored to be on the larger side of the 7- to 8-inch range. Amazon, which lagged its bookselling rival Barnes & Noble in bringing out a color tablet, stands ready to introduce an infernal successor to the Kindle Fire that may include a display that is close to 9-inches or larger.

It's not quite the first ride along the screen size escalator for either company. For Apple, a smaller iPad would fill in the iOS screen size gap between the iPhone and iPad. For Amazon, also rumored to be working on a phone, a larger color tablet would revisit the ground it explored to lackluster results with the Kindle DX. That product hasn't kept up with even e-paper-based e-readers with advances such as touchscreens and side-lighting, both of which are found in the latest Nook Simple Nook.

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Switched On: Trading places originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Aug 2012 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Distro Issue 54 arrives with the complete Engadget back to school guide!

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Distro Issue 54 arrives with the complete Engadget back to school gear guide!

Well, friends, back to school season is in full swing. For some, it's a time of great sorrow, but for others it's a glorious time that usually means some new tech is on the way to combat the year's upcoming workload. Lucky for all of those in the latter group, the folks here at Engadget HQ have done our homework and compiled our picks in 14 different categories for your buying reference. In this issue of our weekly, we give you the full rundown on what to look for when you're in the midst of your back to school gadget shopping. As you might expect, some of the usual suspects are here as well for your weekend reading exploits -- including a closer look at the Wacom Cintiq 24HD touch, hands-on with a few of Gamescom's gadgets and a list of "Rec Reading" for the end of this seven-day period. Don't wait any longer, though. Hit your link of choice below to grab an end of summer guide of your very own.

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Distro Issue 54 arrives with the complete Engadget back to school guide! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Aug 2012 10:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: The watch and the workhorse

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

DNP Switched On the watch and the workhorse

In mature, competitive markets flooded with products, many brands come and go. Last week, though, two companies came to New York City to celebrate milestone anniversaries of their electronic products. Lenovo celebrated the 20th anniversary of the ThinkPad as Casio marked the 30th anniversary of the G-Shock watch. The notebook PC remains among the most versatile and complex devices consumers use today while the watch is one of the simplest. Yet some commonality between these two products may include lessons for other technology products that wish to remain around for decades.

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Switched On: The watch and the workhorse originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Aug 2012 16:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Distro Issue 53: Will the S Pen-wielding Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 rise above its tablet foes?

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Distro Issue 53 Will the S Penweilding Samsung Galaxy Note 101 rise above its tablet foes

The unfinished Galaxy Note 10.1 was cast into Android slate prime time at Mobile World Congress a few months back. Now the production model as arrived and we put it through its paces in this week's edition of our e-publication. If tablets aren't really your thing, we also give the Vizio Thin + Light and the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon the in-depth review treatment this time around. "Eyes-on" takes a closer look at the B&O Beolit 12, "Rec Reading" offers a collection of Rudy Rucker's short stories, "Weekly Stat" catches a nice breeze and Red Hat's Chris Moody gives the Q&A a piece of his mind. Grab your S Pen (or other stylus of choice) and tap on the appropriate download link below to sort out your weekend reading.

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Distro Issue 53: Will the S Pen-wielding Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 rise above its tablet foes? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: Surface damage

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

DNP Switched On surface damage

As Switched On discussed a few weeks ago, and as Microsoft noted in its recent 10-K filing, it is an unavoidable truth that the company getting into the hardware market will cause conflict with its partners. The extent of that conflict, though, depends on many variables and Microsoft can -- and must -- take steps to ameliorate it.

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Switched On: Surface damage originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 12 Aug 2012 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Distro Issue 52: Does the MakerBot Replicator signal the dawn of in-home 3D printing?

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Distro Issue 52 Does the MakerBot Replicator signal the dawn of inhome 3D printing

Almost every day it seems like folks are finding a way to add to the number of practical uses for 3D printers. What was once a hobbyist's dream gadget is now being used to produce faux arteries for lab-grown tissue and Magic Arms. As the pricey peripherals work their way into the mainstream, are they soon to be found in most homes? That's the quandary we tackle in this edition of our weekly tablet mag as Brian Heater spends some quality time with the MakerBot Replicator at Engadget's NYC Headquarters. Not really into $2,000 output devices? No sweat. The Meizu MX 4-core, Toshiba U845W and Parrot Zik headphones all get the proper review treatment. "Hands-on" visits SIGGRAPH, "Weekly Stat" examines the shortcomings of our handsets, "Reaction Time" discusses THQ, "IRL" packs in three more of our gadget confessions and GameStop CEO Paul Raines admits his affinity for Jelly Bean in this week's Q&A. Go on and usher in the weekend by hitting up your download link of choice down below.

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Distro Issue 52: Does the MakerBot Replicator signal the dawn of in-home 3D printing? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Distro Issue 51 arrives with an in-depth look at Apple’s Mountain Lion

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Distro Issue 51 arrives with an indepth look at Apple's Mountain Lion

In case you hadn't heard, Apple released the latest version of OS X recently. As expected, the newfangled Mountain Lion operating system touts a number of added features -- some of which bring it even closer in sync with iOS. In this week's issue of our e-magazine, the beast steps out into the spotlight and we offer a word or two (a few thousand, to be exact) in our full-length review of the software. If the work of the folks in Cupertino isn't exactly your cup of tea, we also give the new Outlook.com and T-Mo's version of the Galaxy Note a close examination with the Engadget fine-toothed comb. HTC's Eric Lin takes a shot at the Q&A, "This is the Modem World" discusses gadget smells, "Reaction Time" chats about blockbuster releases and "IRL" exposes more of the devices that we use on the regular. Trust us, you'll want to get comfortable this time around. Kick your shoes off and head to your download link of choice to get started.

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Distro Issue 51 arrives with an in-depth look at Apple's Mountain Lion originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Aug 2012 09:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Switched On: For OUYA, it’s game on

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Each week Ross Rubin contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology.

DNP Switched On For Ouya, it's game on

In discussing the varied routes Android has taken to the television, Switched On recently touched on OUYA, the cuboid game console that will run Android games. The project has surpassed the $5.5 million mark on Kickstarter and once seemed poised to pass the Pebble smartwatch's record for overall funds collected just like it broke the record for funds collected in the first day.

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Switched On: For OUYA, it's game on originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Jul 2012 17:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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