Technology Round-Up (12/02/12)

Thanks to Chad for putting this together.

Technology Round-UpPoll

Syria experienced a war-induced communications blackout that extended from Thursday to Sunday.

What would you do with no access to TV, phones, and the internet for nearly three days? [Poll]

Apple

Apple is acknowledging World AIDS Day in stores and online.

Apple has fired the chief in charge of iOS Maps, and it is working frantically to improve the app.

Is Apple's Eddy Cue the next Steve Jobs?

Check out the i.am+ camera addon for iPhones.

In the Netherlands, the Apple/Samsung patent battle has gone in Apple's favor; certain Galaxy models have been banned from the area.

GM will be the first automobile manufacturer to feature Siri integration.

Check out a review of the new 21.5-inch iMac. The upgraded 27-inch iMac posts performance that is 54% improved. Both are now available online.

See what's new with iTunes 11.

A version of Photoshop CS6 compatible with Retina displays could arrive December 11.

Internet

More details about Redbox Instant have been revealed.

Barnes & Noble's digital sales have increased 38%.

Verisign's official ownership of the .COM domain has been renewed.

Bing Maps has received 121 TB of "new satellite and aerial imagery."

Amazon has started showing off its mapping API.

Outlook.com (the much-improved and feature-enhanced version of Hotmail) has 25 million uses and an Android app.

Google

Traveling through Mexico is now slightly safer with Google Maps Navigation.

Website publishing has been added to Google Drive.

Google has purchased a digital coupon company called Incentive Targeting.

The Google Drive mobile app now features on-the-go spreadsheet editing.

Gmail now features Google Drive integration and 10 GB (not MB) attachments.

Google search can now describe medications to you.

The Google Play store will start linking reviews to your Google+ account.

Electronics

After 24 years, Nintendo Power magazine has released its last issue. Your round-up author fondly remembers his subscription when he was 8 or 9. He even wrote a letter to Nintendo Power asking for advice for the Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, and he received a multi-page response with pictures explaining how to get the Yoshi doll. R.I.P. Nintendo Power.

The Nintendo Wii Mini may be released shortly.

Nintendo has apologized for the frustratingly difficult setup procedure for the Wii U, and it has provided an online video guide.

A new Sony patent reveals a two-part dual-shock controller with integrated Playstation Move.

Mitsubishi has unveiled the all-electric i-MiEV Evolution race car.

Chevy has released some impressive numbers for its upcoming 2014 Spark EV: "under $25,000, 0-60 in 8 seconds and a 20-minute fast charge."

Fiat has shown off its 500e all-electric car.

Check out a hybrid sports bicycle.

A new train in Japan will travel at 311 mph.

See a two-week review of the Samsung Galaxy Camera.

Audiophiles will appreciate the iRiver AK100 portable music player, which supports numerous lossless audio codecs.

For a surprisingly reasonable $1,450, the RedRay 4K home theater projector will allow people to experience 4096x2160 ultra high-def videos.

Shortly after TI announced a color upgrade for the TI-84, Casio has announced a touchscreen version of its graphing calculator.

Mobile

Blackberry will finally be overtaken in the enterprise market next year. Is anyone else surprise that it's taken this long?

Blacberry has renamed the App World to "Blackberry World." Because that was the reason people weren't buying Blackberries anymore...

Photos of the Blackberry 10L have leaked.

The latest cell phone carrier rankings are out: Verizon is #1, AT&T is dead last.

The HTC 8X for Verizon is unlocked out-of-the-box and can run on AT&T and T-Mobile's GSM networks.

The HTC One VX will be released for AT&T on December 7th.

Interested in the Galaxy S3 Mini? Don't be.

Cyanogenmod 10.1 is now available for the Nexus 4.

The HTC "Windows Phone 8S will not be coming to the US."

The Nokia Lumia 822 beats out the Lumia 820 (way to go Nokia, for model numbers that somewhat make sense).

Windows Phone 7.8 should arrive in early 2013 for phones currently running Mango (7.5). Speaking of Windows Phone updates, Microsoft has an over-the-air update in the works to fix random rebooting issues.

The Droid RAZRs are getting Android Jellybean 4.1.

Apps

Check out an augmented reality Pong game to celebrate Pong's 40th anniversary. Atari itself has celebrated the event with a free iOS Pong World game.

The iconic Dreamcast game, Jet Set Radio, is available for iOS and Android for $5.

Rdio 2.0 has been released for iOS.

Barnes & Noble has updated its Nook app pack for iOS and Android. The iOS version can now read books aloud using iOS's built-in text-to-speech.

Bing Translator has been updated for Windows Phone 8.

The latest Firefox Android update features built-in support for H.264 videos.

The latest Skype update for iOS features Windows Live integration.

Computer/Tablet

The Microsoft Surface Pro, which will run a full desktop version of Windows 8, will cost $899 for the 64GB version.

The Acer Chromebook is now available for $199 at Newegg, TigerDirect, and Staples.com. Check out a review of the bargain-priced netbook.

Dell listed a Linux laptop as more expensive than the Windows variant. Shortly after the article's publication, Dell dropped the Linux-based model by $100.

Despite heavy promotion of Windows 8, the new OS is not spurring new PC sales yet. However, 40 million Windows 8 licenses were sold in a month thanks to well-priced $40 upgrades.

The next line of Intel processors may ship directly attached to the motherboards, making them non-upgradeable.

Reviews are in: The OCZ Vector SSD is an impressive hard drive.

Evernote has added text-to-speech to its Google Chrome extension.

Tips/Tricks

Engadget has released a holiday gift guide for e-readers, laptops, and camcorders.

Get a bundle of THQ games on Steam for only $1. The package has been so popular that it raised $2.4 million in a day.

Add Steam games to your Windows 8 start menu with Pin Steam.

Customize the Windows 8 Start Menu with new backgrounds and color schemes using Decor8.

Fix your online reputation.

Learn how to make your emails shorter so people will actually read them.

Learn how to power on your computer remotely.

Miscellaneous

A hockey writer in Montreal has been writing about an NHL 2K3 season in light of the real league's lockout.

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Contributor: CyberInferno