Ask Engadget: best 'money is no object' laptop?

We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Chris, who simply has too much money to blow on a super-laptop. If you're looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com.

"I sold my business and I want to replace my laptop [HP Pavilion G6] with a completely unreasonably expensive top of the line machine. I want it to do everything I do (gaming, coding, web design) all at the same time. Apart from the fact I need two hard drive bays, I'm completely open-minded, so what should I be buying? Thank you!"

Quell your gnashing teeth, members of the 99 percent, he's done well for himself and now he needs our help. We were able to trick out an Alienware M18x to full capacity for $6,700 -- with an over-clocked 4GHz Intel Core i7 CPU, 32GB of RAM, two 2GB NVIDIA GTX 675M GPUs in SLI mode and 1.2TB of SSD RAID storage. That's the benchmark, folks: who out there can find something more powerful?

Ask Engadget: best 'money is no object' laptop? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 28 Apr 2012 23:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How would you change the LG Nitro HD?

AT&T's LG Nitro HD is one of those rare devices your writer has actually used. We carried it as our daily driver during this year's CES and were won over by that gorgeous screen, speedy LTE and its thin and light design. Unfortunately our experience matched those in the review: herky-jerky performance and battery life that meant we were always on the lookout for a power point. Of course, you can't have amazing battery life without doubling its thickness, but would you have taken that compromise? We're asking you: how would you change it?

How would you change the LG Nitro HD? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Apr 2012 22:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jonas Brothers' Secret Boy-Band Weapon: Instruments

'It's a rare thing for a boy band. ... I don't know of a whole lot of boy bands that do that,' Nick Jonas tells MTV News.
By John Mitchell

Nick and Joe Jonas
Photo: Todd Williamson/ WireImage

The Jonas Brothers rode easily into the second round of our Battle of the Boy Bands, demolishing Menudo by taking 80 percent of the vote. But they are facing stiff competition from another group of three real-life brothers in round two: Hanson.

With the JoBros back in the studio working on a comeback album, and with each brother (Joe, Nick and Kevin) pursuing his own solo effort, they remain one of the most active bands in the competition. So why vote Jonas? Read on.

Strongest Chart Achievement
Well, it certainly doesn't get much better than having the #1 album in the country, and the Jo Bros have had two: 2008's A Little Bit Longer and 2009's Lines, Vines and Trying Times. Longer is the real jewel in the Brothers' crown, though, shifting an impressive 525,402 copies in its debut frame. On the strength of the hit single "Burnin' Up," the album held on to the #1 spot in its second week of release and continued to sell briskly on its way to going double platinum in the U.S.

A Little Bit Longer remains the band's best-selling album and even earned a spot on Rolling Stone's list of the best albums of 2008.

Standout Video
Since they didn't make much of an impression on mainstream audiences with their debut (see below), the brothers started anew when they joined Hollywood Records and amped up their pop sound for their self-titled sophomore album. The album's first single, "Year 3000," brought them plenty of mainstream attention, but its second single, "S.O.S.," kicked things up even further.

The song became the group's first top 20 hit, buoyed by its video, which was filmed on the RMS Queen Mary superliner in the summer of 2007. With well over 93 million views, the "S.O.S." video is easily the band's most-viewed clip.

Defining Tune
For its sheer crossover appeal, it's gotta be "Burnin' Up." The song is the JoBros biggest hit by far, debuting to strong enough digital sales to spur a #5 opening on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making it their highest charting song to date. This single was a sales smash, moving more than 2 million digital downloads to become the band's second platinum-selling song after "S.O.S.," and it became a bona fide radio hit over the summer of 2008.

As much as we love our boy bands, they aren't often embraced by critics. However, this song, like its mothership album A Little Bit Longer, was. The acclaim Longer and "Burnin' Up" earned helped the JoBros along to their lone Grammy nomination (for Best New Artist) in 2009.

Debut Album
The Jonas Brothers' first album as a group — Nick released a solo album before he, Joe and Kevin united to create the band — was 2006's It's About Time. The record was pretty low-profile (to say the least), though it managed to make an impression in the Christian market and sell 62,000 copies in the U.S. The lack of interest the album generated for the band led to them being dropped from Columbia Records, though they were snapped up by Hollywood Records almost immediately.

While it didn't generate much heat for the boys in 2006, the album has become something of a collector's item for fans in the years since, and because it is currently out of print, copies are rare and expensive on online auction sites like eBay.

Biggest Competition
The Jonas Brothers are currently embroiled in a tough showdown with Hanson, another brotherly threesome with an affinity for playing guitars and penning their own tunes (both boy-band rarities). Hanson is decidedly '90s and the Bros are very of the aughts, meaning its unlikely they share a fanbase, but Hanson has one thing going for them that the JoBros don't: nostalgia. People have a way of romanticizing their fond recollections of the recent past, so the Jonases have a real battle here.

When we asked Nick Jonas why fans should vote for his group above all other boy bands in our bracket, he went straight for the very thing that sets the Jonas Brothers and their main competition, Hanson, apart. "I think that we are a good one to vote for because we play our own instruments," Nick said. "It's a rare thing for a boy band. ... I don't know of a whole lot of boy bands that do that."

Is that good enough to keep them in the competition? Only time will tell.

Voting in round two of MTV's Battle of the Boy Bands runs until noon ET on Monday, April 30. Winners are determined by fan votes, so if your favorite band made the cut, make sure you keep voting. Tune in to AMTV and MTV Hits for their boy-band video takeovers each day and make sure to spread the word on Twitter using the hashtag #BBB and like us on Facebook for updates!

Related Videos

• Battle Of The Boy Bands

Related Photos

• MTV Buzzworthy Blog: Battle Of The Boy Bands!

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You Can Finally Play Google Map's Labyrinth Game [Games]

Google first teased us with a demo video of its map-based Cube game way back in January. But instead of having it ready to kill time during the cold winter months back in February, the game has only just been released this week. Finally. More »

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[NSFW-L] Who needs Android? Well, somebody needs something here ...

We have no words. If you're offended by course language, don't watch the video after the break. No complaining. You've been warned. Windows Phone, this guy's all yours.

Via @daniel_rubino

read more

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Droplet and StackAR bring physical interface to virtual experiences, communicate through light (hands-on)

Light-based communication seems to wind throughout the MIT Media Lab -- it is a universal language, after all, since many devices output light, be it with a dedicated LED or a standard LCD, and have the capacity to view and interpret it. One such device, coined Droplet, essentially redirects light from one source to another, while also serving as a physical interface for tablet-based tasks. Rob Hemsley, a research assistant at the Media Lab, was on hand to demonstrate two of his projects. Droplet is a compact self-contained module with an integrated RGB LED, a photodiode and a CR1216 lithium coin battery -- which provides roughly one day of power in the gadget's current early prototype status. Today's demo used a computer-connected HDTV and a capacitive-touch-enabled tablet. Using the TV to pull up a custom Google Calendar module, Hemsley held the Droplet up to a defined area on the display, which then output a series of colors, transmitting data to the module. Then, that data was pushed to a tablet after placing the Droplet on the display, pulling up the same calendar appointment and providing a physical interface for adjusting the date and time, which is retained in the cloud and the module itself, which also outputs pulsing light as it counts down to the appointment time.

StackAR, the second project, functions in much the same way, but instead of outputting a countdown indicator, it displays schematics for a LilyPad Arduino when placed on the tablet, identifying connectors based on a pre-selected program. The capacitive display can recognize orientation, letting you drop the controller in any position throughout the surface, then outputting a map to match. Like the Droplet, StackAR can also recognize light input, even letting you program the Arduino directly from the tablet by outputting light, effectively simplifying the interface creation process even further. You can also add software control to the board, which will work in conjunction with the hardware, bringing universal control interfaces to the otherwise space-limited Arduino. Both projects appear to have incredible potential, but they're clearly not ready for production just yet. For now, you can get a better feel for Droplet and StackAR in our hands-on video just past the break.

Gallery: MIT Media Lab: Droplet and StackAR hands-on

Continue reading Droplet and StackAR bring physical interface to virtual experiences, communicate through light (hands-on)

Droplet and StackAR bring physical interface to virtual experiences, communicate through light (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Weather-driven demand boosts UK gas prices

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Samsung countdown teases next Galaxy phone with anagram

Sammy's latest marketing ploy kicked off with a string of nonsense that could just as easily have come from the Sunday morning jumble: "Destination: tgeltaayehxnx," declared the Samsung Mobile Twitter account. Anagram wizards will read that as, "the next Galaxy," and wouldn't you know it, it's also the URL for an auspicious countdown clock. Sammy promises to let visitors take "the next step" in about 17 hours and counting. Bonafide internet sleuths can find an extra carrot strung up in the site's source, reading, "discover how Samsung is about to challenge the way you view the Galaxy once more." Is Samsung about to break its own May 3rd unveiling? We'll let you know in 16 hours and change.

Update: It seems like that ticker just might be counting down to some sort of anagram guessing game, according to an Engadget tipster who partook in some directory diving. Among a series of assets of different colored lettered tiles he found images with instructions warnings, reading "Click on the letters in the correct order to reveal your real destination," and "Following technology blindly often gets you nowhere." Ominous.

[Thanks, Naor]

Samsung countdown teases next Galaxy phone with anagram originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 22 Apr 2012 14:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amerks have no room for error (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

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Paint Park (for PS Vita)

FourSquare, Netflix, and Twitter represent just a few of the free, fun downloadable programs in the PlayStation Vita's ($299, 4 stars) PS Store?Sony's own Paint Park (free) is now a member of that mix. Paint Park transforms the PS Vita's 5-inch OLED display into a sketchpad that lets you create doodles from scratch, mark up images taken with either of the PS Vita's cameras, and compete in ad-hoc drawing competitions with other Paint Park users that's an entertaining Draw Something alternative. I have a few niggles?such as the marker color selection being limited and the ability for players to vote for themselves in drawing matches, which may result in a high number of ties?but overall, Paint Park is a solid PS Vita app.

Grabbing the Paper and Markers
You can choose to "Paint Alone" or "Paint With Friends" upon launching Paint Park. I selected the former, which caused a dialog box to open that prompted me to "Enter A Room." I did, and encountered an all-white screen that moved me to think that the app froze or crashed. A dog-ear in the lower-right corner of the screen indicated that the blank screen was indeed the "canvas." Paint Park could use a more obvious "Start Drawing!" prompt to welcome users.?

Tapping the downward pointing triangle in the upper-right hand corner of the screen opens a menu containing a numerous options. I could undo strokes, delete a canvas, open a photo album to import images from my PS Vita, select one of four brush sizes, and choose a brush color. There are a dozen colors in total, but the range isn't as wide as I'd like; there's no true purple, but there are two blue and green hues. Also, I would like the ability to assign a color to individual markers to create a Crayola box of sorts; when you change the marker color, the color is change across all the brush sizes.

PlayStation Picaso
A finger is all you need to begin creating artwork. A magnifying glass appears onscreen to help you apply detail, but I had some difficulty coloring within lines and making fine edits due to my large fingers. I made a few quick doodles, including a very rudimentary Batman with the Gotham City skyline in the background (see slideshow).

One of the cooler features is the ability to incorporate real-world photos. Tapping the camera option on the menu lets you snap photos using either the PS Vita's front or rear-facing camera. You can then apply the markers to it as you would with a blank canvas. Flicking the dog-ear brings up a fresh canvas and saves your previous work to your memory card. Note: You'll need Sony's clunky Content Management software to download your creations off the PS Vita.

Take On Me
"Paint With Friends" lets five Paint Park users enter head-to-head competitions (in ad-hoc local wireless play) to see who can create the best art. A player creates a room in which the content is held, and a subject (such as "PCMag.com"?see slideshow), or just let Paint Park choose a topic for the participants. All involved have a limited amount of time to draw the topic or photo. All drawings and photos are displayed on-screen after the timer expires, and everyone has the opportunity to vote for the best image.

Unfortunately, you can vote for yourself, so there may come times when the match ends in a tie should the individual parties think they're truly the best (or just want to troll their friends). Several of my three-person contests ended in ties.

An Artistic Endeavor
Paint Park isn't a "must-have" PS Vita app, but it's one that comes in handy when you want to kill time in a waiting room or during a commute. For some laughs, gather a few PS Vita owning friends together and compete?just don't take the outcomes too seriously.

More Console Games Reviews:
??? Paint Park (for PS Vita)
??? Silent Hill HD Collection
??? Mass Effect 3
??? Journey
??? FIFA Soccer 12
?? more

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2012 KIA Rio EX 5-door Test Drive

For the past 2 weeks I’ve been lucky enough to test drive a new car. The first car was a 2012 Mazda Mazda 3 and this past week it was a KIA Rio EX 5-Door. I loved the KIA Optima I test drove last year, so I was excited to try the smaller, more?economical?Rio. Note: [...]

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IRL: Logitech UE Air Speaker, the Canon Rebel XT and an Arduino non-starter

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

Welcome back to IRL, and if we do say so ourselves, this week's edition is a doozy. On one end of the gadget-loving spectrum, Jason is still happily using his Canon Rebel XT, while Darren remains thoroughly unsatisfied with his $400 AirPlay speaker (it was easy to set up, at least -- he'll give it that). And, just for good measure, we threw in an Arduino fail. So, which piece of audio gear is on our "do not buy" list? Who needs to take a course in wiring-based coding? And does Jason have anything negative to say about his DSLR? Head past the break to find out.

Continue reading IRL: Logitech UE Air Speaker, the Canon Rebel XT and an Arduino non-starter

IRL: Logitech UE Air Speaker, the Canon Rebel XT and an Arduino non-starter originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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