Jeff Bezos Calls Sales Tax Requirements On Amazon Unconstitutional

Steve1960 writes "Amazon.com chief Jeff Bezos says the online retailer won't collect tax from most of its 90 million customers until Congress clearly mandates it. Although a growing number of states are demanding that Amazon collect and remit tax on sales within their borders, such demands are 'interference in interstate commerce' and prohibited by the Constitution, Bezos said."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/LIr7ZnoGECM/Jeff-Bezos-Calls-Sales-Tax-Requirements-On-Amazon-Unconstitutional

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Angry Birds Rio catapults into webOS App Catalog

After having been available for iOS and Android for around a couple of weeks, Angry Birds Rio, the latest edition of the casual gaming megahit, has finally reached webOS as well.

Angry Birds Rio has two episodes that contain over 60 new levels at the moment, but episodic updates are promised to arrive throughout this year. Let's not forget that Angry Birds Rio brings the biggest change to the franchise yet -- you no longer aim for little green pigs. This time, in fact, your anger is directed at monkeys who are to blame for holding other fowl hostage in cages.

Buy Angry Birds Rio for webOS for $1.99 from the webOS App Catalog

Angry Birds Rio catapults into webOS App Catalog originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/08/angry-birds-rio-catapults-into-webos-app-catalog/

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Blood turbine to power your pacemaker, become legendary band name

Why bother with risky battery-changing surgical operations when your own cardiovascular system can provide all the power your heart-shocking pacemaker will ever need? Engineers at Switzerland's University of Bern have been working on tiny turbines; turbines small enough, in fact, to fit inside a human artery. Working like a blood powered hydroelectric generator, a working prototype -- tested in a simulated artery -- has been able to produce 800 microwatts of electricity. That's roughly eighty times the power required to power the average pacemaker; such a device could provide independent, sustainable power to neurostimulators, blood-pressure sensors, and other implanted medical gizmos. Researchers are concerned, however, that a blood turbine's adding agitation of blood flow might lead to clotting, and are continuing to tweak and rework the design to minimize this risk. Similar, but unrelated cardiovascular power designs have attempted to alleviate the concern by doing away with the rotating, fluid powered components, opting to generate electricity by oscillating magnets by utilizing changes in blood pressure -- which sounds awesome, but still falls shy of "blood turbine," in the contest for most Metal medical device.

Blood turbine to power your pacemaker, become legendary band name originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 May 2011 08:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/17/blood-turbine-to-power-your-pacemaker-become-legendary-band-nam/

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AppleCrate II: Apple II-Based Parallel Computer

sproketboy noted that many years ago
Michael J. Mahon built the AppleCrate — a parallel stack of Apple IIs — for no good reason. Recently he came back with the AppleCrate II, which more than doubles the number of motherboards, and at least triples the awesomeness.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotApple/~3/JEs8mvOX8us/AppleCrate-II-Apple-II-Based-Parallel-Computer

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Opera 11.10 includes improved power saving features

Just recently, the Opera 11.10 release candidate was made available for download. It brought a handful of important feature additions -- like HTML5 File API support and IMAP enhancements -- and loads of bugfixes. Nestled in amongst the other details in the Opera team's announcement is one more interesting tidbit: Opera 11.10 offers improved battery optimizations.

The timing here is certainly interesting, what with Microsoft's recent report on how much power the top five Web browsers consume. In its findings, Opera 11 was fairly low in the standings. While we've not seen any new benchmarks yet, we're curious to know whether the Opera 11.10 RC offers any significant gains.

If you're running Opera 11.10 on a laptop, let us know if you're seeing an improvement in your battery life while browsing!

Opera 11.10 includes improved power saving features originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/opera-11-10-includes-improved-power-saving-features/

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Barnes & Noble logs 1m Nook app downloads in first week, people are probably playing Angry Birds instead of reading

We were pretty stoked when Barnes & Noble finally made Android apps a legit feature on the Nook Color (lack of Market access be damned) and, unsurprisingly, many of you were, too -- the company reports that within a week of making these applications available, it hit 1 million downloads. It would seem we can glean two stunningly obvious things from this tidbit: one, the addition of features through software updates makes people happy. Two: you people really feel the need to play Angry Birds on every device you own, don't you? According to B&N, the never-ending avian spectacle topped the paid app list, with Fliq Calendar leading the free ones. Missing from this stat, of course, is any insight into how fast this catalog is growing -- a good question, since these Android applications have to get tweaked especially for the Nook Color before you can download 'em. Self-congratulatory press release after the break.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble logs 1m Nook app downloads in first week, people are probably playing Angry Birds instead of reading

Barnes & Noble logs 1m Nook app downloads in first week, people are probably playing Angry Birds instead of reading originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 14:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/16/barnes-and-noble-logs-1-million-nook-app-downloads-in-first-week/

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Philips EnduraLED A21 bulb offers bright light for big bucks

If the expected price tag for Philips' latest LED light bulb is any indication, a brighter tomorrow won't come cheap. The "75W replacement," known as the EnudraLED A21, apparently reduces energy by 80 percent, lasts 25 times longer than its conventional counterpart, and is expected to cost between $40 and $45. Given that's significantly less expensive than the outfit's 60W equivalent, but for us regular folks, that's not exactly a drop in the bucket. However, if you're picking up what Philips is laying down, the bulb -- which uses a mere 17 watts of electricity to beam 1,100 lumens -- could save the US 5,220 megawatts of electricity and $630,000,000 annually (if we all switch over tomorrow). That certainly sounds good, but somehow we doubt a $45 light bulb is going to be the incandescent killer. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Philips EnduraLED A21 bulb offers bright light for big bucks

Philips EnduraLED A21 bulb offers bright light for big bucks originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 22:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/16/philips-enduraled-a21-bulb-offers-bright-light-for-big-bucks/

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New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching

Later today, Firefox will undergo its biggest developmental upheaval ever. Mozilla-central, the source of nightly builds, will be renumbered to version 5 -- and at long last, after years of wallowing around version 1, Mozilla's rendering and layout engine, Gecko, will also have its version number updated to match Firefox.

Shortly thereafter, Firefox's new channel system will be implemented. Firefox 5a2 will be introduced as the first Aurora build, and we should also see a Firefox 6 Nightly build. While we we're not sure where they came from, one Sören Hentzschel seems to have unearthed the new Nightly and Aurora logos (see above), along with new About Firefox dialogs (after the break).

In other news, if you want to take a sneak peek at the new 'channel changing' technology that will be introduced in upcoming Firefox builds, head to about:config and create a new string called app.update.desiredChannel -- the value doesn't matter. Then open Help > About Firefox and you'll be able to switch channel, but it doesn't do anything just yet (image after the break). Here's hoping that Firefox channel switching is smoother than Chrome.

Continue reading New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching

New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/11/new-firefox-nightly-and-aurora-logos-unearthed-and-how-to-enabl/

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Angry Birds Rio catapults into webOS App Catalog

After having been available for iOS and Android for around a couple of weeks, Angry Birds Rio, the latest edition of the casual gaming megahit, has finally reached webOS as well.

Angry Birds Rio has two episodes that contain over 60 new levels at the moment, but episodic updates are promised to arrive throughout this year. Let's not forget that Angry Birds Rio brings the biggest change to the franchise yet -- you no longer aim for little green pigs. This time, in fact, your anger is directed at monkeys who are to blame for holding other fowl hostage in cages.

Buy Angry Birds Rio for webOS for $1.99 from the webOS App Catalog

Angry Birds Rio catapults into webOS App Catalog originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/08/angry-birds-rio-catapults-into-webos-app-catalog/

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Skype 5.3 for Windows released, improves mobile video call quality

Version 5.3 of Skype for Windows has just been released, with the main emphasis of the new release being improved call quality, and the quality of video received by mobile Skype users. Presumably one party of the video call must be using Skype for Windows 5.3, though.

Beyond improved call quality, not much has changed. You can now see your friends' presence icons when contact cards are collapsed, and the topic editing button is now always visible on the conversation header. For a complete list of changes, hit up the Skype Garage blog.

Download Skype 5.3 for Windows

Skype 5.3 for Windows released, improves mobile video call quality originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/skype-5-3-for-windows-released-improves-mobile-video-call-quali/

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Samsung Galaxy S II US carrier names revealed: AT&T Attain, Verizon Function, and Sprint Within

Anticipation, thy name is Galaxy S II. Or is it Galaxy S 2 Attain? Perhaps it's Galaxy S 2 Function or Within, it all depends on what carrier you prefer, really. You see, the sleuths at Pocketnow have unearthed a silicone case for sale that lists those three names as the particular branding Samsung's new flagship smartphone will enjoy with AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, respectively. That, combined with earlier trademark filings by Sammy asking for Galaxy Attain, Function and Within registrations would lead us to believe that we are indeed looking at the final product monikers. T-Mobile is notably missing from the list, but we suspect that may be because its variant of the Galaxy S II is materially different in design to the original GSII. The good news for everyone else is that the same silicone case will be interchangeable among AT&T, Verizon and Sprint devices, leaving very little room for those guys to screw things up.

Samsung Galaxy S II US carrier names revealed: AT&T Attain, Verizon Function, and Sprint Within originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 06:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/16/samsung-galaxy-s-ii-us-carrier-names-revealed-atandt-attain-veri/

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Spotify Challenges iTunes With iPod Support, Playlist Synching

Stoobalou writes with this excerpt from thinq.co.uk: "Spotify has made a surprise announcement, and while it's still not the long-awaited US launch, it will be making a splash over the pond: the streaming music service is morphing into an iTunes competitor. In what is a clear attempt at rattling Apple's cage, Spotify has unveiled a pair of major new features: the ability to synchronise Spotify playlists with iPods, and the option to buy MP3 files to own — both key features of the iTunes platform. Any playlist created via the Spotify player can be downloaded in a single step, making 'digital mix-tape' creation significantly simpler."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotApple/~3/bu7MEqUUvGw/Spotify-Challenges-iTunes-With-iPod-Support-Playlist-Synching

FIDELITY NATIONAL INFORMATION SVCS. FISERV GOOGLE GRUPO IUSACELL HARRIS

Chocomize personalized chocolate: giveaway and discount code

Okay, I know what you're thinking: chocolate on Download Squad? That's right! That's because Chocomize is one of the nerdiest ways to get chocolate online: it's a website where you customize your own bar using a multi-step process.

We've covered Chocomize before in our holiday gift guide, so when they reached out to us offering to do a giveaway, we really couldn't resist.

Chocomize is giving away ten gift certificates, each worth $50, for you to create your own customized chocolate. They sent us some pictures of their recent creations, which you can find in the gallery below.

Regardless of the giveaway, you can use the discount code switched to get 10% off any Chocomize order. The code is valid through April 20th - just in time for Easter!

To participate, simply leave a comment. Fine print is after the jump.

Gallery: Chocomize personalized chocolate

Continue reading Chocomize personalized chocolate: giveaway and discount code

Chocomize personalized chocolate: giveaway and discount code originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/giveaway-and-discount-code-chocomize-personalized-chocolate/

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NASA's Underwater Training Facility

An anonymous reader writes "The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations project (NEEMO) sends groups of NASA employees and contractors to live in the Aquarius underwater laboratory for up to three weeks to study human survival in preparation for future space exploration. NASA has used it since 2001 for a number of missions, usually lasting 10 to 14 days, with research conducted by astronauts and others NASA employees."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/dljw3ICjxrM/NASAs-Underwater-Training-Facility

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Screen Grabs: futuristic Nokia smartphone answers the product placement call in Real Steel

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 dot com.

In the futuristic world of the would-be summer blockbuster Real Steel, Rock 'em Sock 'em-esque robots have become participants in a very real sport and, it seems, Nokia is still going strong -- although you probably knew that if you've seen the latest Star Trek movie. In fact, this device bears more than a small resemblance to the one used by a young James T. Kirk, with it boasting the same translucent shell that encases what's still unmistakably a Nokia design. Head on past the break for the full trailer, and look for the phone to make an appearance around the 16 second mark -- although we wouldn't recommend taking this as a hint of what's to come for Windows Phone.

Continue reading Screen Grabs: futuristic Nokia smartphone answers the product placement call in Real Steel

Screen Grabs: futuristic Nokia smartphone answers the product placement call in Real Steel originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 May 2011 18:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/13/screen-grabs-futuristic-nokia-smartphone-answers-the-product-pl/

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Judge Issues Gag Order For Twitter

the simurgh writes with this excerpt from Reuters: "A British judge has banned Twitter users from identifying a brain-damaged woman in one of the first attempts to prevent the messaging website from revealing sensitive information. The ruling follows the publication on Twitter on Sunday of a list of celebrities alleged to have tried to cover up sexual indiscretions by obtaining court gag orders. The injunction, dated May 12 and seen by Reuters on Friday, includes Twitter and Facebook in the list of media prohibited from disclosing the information. It was issued in the Court of Protection in the case of a mother who wants to withdraw life support from her brain-damaged daughter. It prevents the identification of the woman and those caring for her."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/MsVTrGTjwjY/Judge-Issues-Gag-Order-For-Twitter

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New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching

Later today, Firefox will undergo its biggest developmental upheaval ever. Mozilla-central, the source of nightly builds, will be renumbered to version 5 -- and at long last, after years of wallowing around version 1, Mozilla's rendering and layout engine, Gecko, will also have its version number updated to match Firefox.

Shortly thereafter, Firefox's new channel system will be implemented. Firefox 5a2 will be introduced as the first Aurora build, and we should also see a Firefox 6 Nightly build. While we we're not sure where they came from, one Sören Hentzschel seems to have unearthed the new Nightly and Aurora logos (see above), along with new About Firefox dialogs (after the break).

In other news, if you want to take a sneak peek at the new 'channel changing' technology that will be introduced in upcoming Firefox builds, head to about:config and create a new string called app.update.desiredChannel -- the value doesn't matter. Then open Help > About Firefox and you'll be able to switch channel, but it doesn't do anything just yet (image after the break). Here's hoping that Firefox channel switching is smoother than Chrome.

Continue reading New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching

New Firefox Nightly and Aurora logos unearthed, and how to enable channel switching originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 11 Apr 2011 07:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/11/new-firefox-nightly-and-aurora-logos-unearthed-and-how-to-enabl/

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First Firefox 6 build next week, Firefox 7 by May, and aurora channel introduced

Mozilla's Engineering Project Manager, Christian Legnitto, has detailed the release schedule for Firefox 5, 6 and 7. If all goes to plan, Firefox 6.0a1 will be released next week, April 12, and Firefox 7.0a1 in the middle of May. The final build of Firefox 5 should be released on June 21, exactly three months after the release of Firefox 4.

Along with the faster 6-week release cadence, Firefox's new Chrome-like release channels have also been given names and anticipated update frequencies. The most notable change is the introduction of a new alpha channel -- which is analogous to Chrome Canary -- that will be called 'aurora' and will update nightly. Aurora will be where fixes and features are tested, and either approved for Beta, or backed out to Central. Aurora will have a new icon, too.

The Nightly (mozilla-central) channel will remain unchanged in name and frequency, but it will gain a new 'nightly icon.' The Beta (mozilla-beta) channel will remain as-is, with new builds rolling out weekly. The Release (mozilla-release) channel will also remain as-is, with security and stability updates coming every 6 to 12 weeks.

It should be noted that the names (including 'aurora') are not necessarily final, but it's unlikely that they'll change. We're also awaiting the arrival of the new 'channel switching' technology, which should arrive in the next few days -- in time for the release of Firefox 6 aurora!

First Firefox 6 build next week, Firefox 7 by May, and aurora channel introduced originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 05:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/first-firefox-6-build-next-week-firefox-7-by-may-and-aurora-ch/

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MOPS Shadow T800 brings analog joystick, hearts & spades to Android

Sure, the Xperia Play may have that slick gamepad slider, shoulder buttons, and Sony Playstation's official blessing, but can it hold its own against the Shadow's analog pad? Probably, because despite the new contender's self described status of a "mobile Playstation," its lack of shoulder buttons won't help it play any of those Xperia-exclusive PSone games it can't download. Still, besides being known as the "Phantom of the Opera" phone (thanks, Google Translate), this MOPS Shadow T800 has a lot going for it. This analog Android packs a Froyo-powered 806MHz processor, 512MB of RAM, front and rear 5 megapixel and 0.3 megapixel cameras, respectively, a 3.5 inch 320 x 480 touchscreen, and a whole mess of standard GPS, Bluetooth, and 3G radios. Not enough? Okay, fine; the device also comes pre-loaded with a handful of emulators, as well as a legit copy of Assassin's Creed. Besides, who doesn't want a phone with card-suit face buttons? Bragging rights will set you back 2680 yuan ($410), assuming you're in China when this thing launches later this month.

MOPS Shadow T800 brings analog joystick, hearts & spades to Android originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 May 2011 07:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Netease Mobile, MOPS  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/14/mops-shadow-t800-brings-analog-joystick-hearts-and-spades-to-andr/

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