Here comes LibreOffice -- an Oracle-free fork of OpenOffice

Filed under: OpenOffice.org

First it was OpenSolaris, now it's OpenOffice. Yes, another previously-Sun-led initiative is being forked as a 'thanks-but-no-thanks' response to the arrival of Oracle on the scene.

The freshly-formed Document Foundation is being created to further the goals and aspirations of OpenOffice.org, and will produce LibreOffice -- a more community-focused project. Initial supporters of LibreOffice include the FSF, OSI, Canonical, and the GNOME foundation. Oracle has been invited to the party as well, though they've yet to RSVP.

As The H points out, there's some uncertainty about Oracle's commitment to OpenOffice development, hence the desire by a certain group to fork. The Document Foundation hopes that LibreOffice's independence from Oracle will attract more contributors and lead to an even better, more popular product.

Here comes LibreOffice -- an Oracle-free fork of OpenOffice originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPad and Chromium OS dance on video

Oh Hexxeh, you sly tease. Yesterday, we saw the Chromium OS impresario post up an image of Google's browser-centric environment running around inside Apple's iPad and today he's followed it up with a video. Unfortunately, it's not the best performance demo in the world and is all too brief, but it does show touch sensitivity (kinda) functioning and -- the strongest evidence that we're no longer using iOS -- a mouse cursor! Join us after the break as we follow the fascinating journey of an attempted Spotify Extension installation in Chrome.

[Thanks, Aaron]

Continue reading iPad and Chromium OS dance on video

iPad and Chromium OS dance on video originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 08:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here's How You Get Rid of That Ping Drop-Down In iTunes [Ping]

iTunes 10.0.1 brought with it a Ping drop-down menu. Which some people liked! But if Ping's not your thing, here's how you get rid of that drop-down menu altogether. More »

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Light-Trails Show Cleaning Robot is Tirelessly Loyal

The folks at BotJunkie didn’t trust their brand new Mint floor-mopping robot, so they decided to spy on it. Whilst testing out the little square bot’s cleaning skills, reviewer Evan Ackerman took these long-exposure photographs to track Mint’s movements in the dark, when it thought it couldn’t be seen. The one above shows Mint in [...]

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CSL's $500 Spice Mi700 DroidPad runs Froyo, looks awfully familiar

Seen this fellow before? Look closer. Seeing any similarities? For all intents and purposes, CSL's new Spice Mi700 DroidPad is just a rebadged Viewpad 7 / Camangi FM600, and given that CSL was also responsible for manufacturing the JooJoo, we'd say these guys know a thing or two about building a tablet. The device ships with Qualcomm's 600MHz MSM722, stock Android 2.2 (Froyo), the same nasty widgets that ship on FM600, a total lack of Flash support and no access to paid apps via the App Market. There's also a 3 megapixel camera on the rear, a VGA webcam on the front, WVGA capacitive touchpanel (7-inch), inbuilt WiFi / WWAN / Bluetooth, a microSD card slot and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It's said to be available starting this month for $500, but early reviews aren't exactly giving it two thumbs up -- crank 'er down to $250 and we suspect those views will shift.

CSL's $500 Spice Mi700 DroidPad runs Froyo, looks awfully familiar originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Saddleback Leather Company Macbook Laptop Sleeve Review

Saddleback Leather Company offers a variety of rugged leather bags, suitcases, duffles, wallets and accessories that have earned the reputation of becoming heirloom quality items that your family will fight over after you’re dead. I don’t know if Macbook Pro laptops will be around at the time of my demise, but if they are, I [...]

Filed in categories: Laptop Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Laptop, Sleeve

Saddleback Leather Company Macbook Laptop Sleeve Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 27, 2010 at 11:00 am.

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Important Reminder: Free iPhone 4 Case Program Ends Today [Apple]

Today is September 30, the last day of thefree case program that fixes the iPhone 4's antenna design problem. So if you didn't get yours, now it's the time to do it following these instructions. More »

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Sony PRS-650 Touch Edition eBook Reader Review

It?s September, and that means updated readers from Sony!� I?ve been a devoted fan of the PRS readers since 2006 ? first the PRS-500, then PRS-505, and the PRS-600 last year.� I?ve loved my Sonys and spent thousands of hours reading on them over the years.� Unfortunately, the PRS-600, while beautiful, eventually fell out of [...]

Filed in categories: Featured Items, Reviews, eBook Readers and Gear

Tagged: Sony Ebook Readers, Sony PRS-650 Touch Edition

Sony PRS-650 Touch Edition eBook Reader Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 28, 2010 at 7:30 am.

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Break out the birthday paddle: Google turns 12!

Filed under: Google

It's time to hand out the birthday paddlin'!

Yes, today marks Google's 12th anniversary. Looking back at all the Google news we've covered since Downloadsquad was founded, it's hard to believe that all the acquisitions, free software, and privacy ... er ... missteps have occurred in only 12 relatively short years.

Google's cake doodle is provided by pop artist Wayne Thibaud, who our friends at Switched point out has rather a thing for painting cakes.

Enjoy your day, Google -- and here's to another year of having no shortage of news about you to report on!

PS: Such an important day for nerd culture deserves something more than Happy Birthday, so I've embedded Weird Al's White and Nerdy after the break.

Break out the birthday paddle: Google turns 12! originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Skype and Facebook teaming up on SMS, voice and video chat

Filed under: VoIP, Social Software

If you're the biggest social network around and you need to tap someone for video chat, who better to do it than the biggest name in video calling? That's what Facebook thinks, and they're teaming up with Skype to deliver SMS and voice/video chat using Facebook Connect.

As Kara Swisher reports, Facebook hopes that giving users stronger communication tools will lead to a tighter community -- more users using it more often. Skype will likely see a nice increase in its monthly usage as well. While 124 million people Skyping at least once a month is certainly impressive, Facebook integration will no doubt provide a big boost.

Skype 5, which is set to release in a few weeks, will add a Facebook tab from where you'll be able to SMS or call your FB friends. The new version is currently in beta testing right now, but Facebook integration has yet to appear.

Skype and Facebook teaming up on SMS, voice and video chat originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 08:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gold To Go ATMs dispense precious metals to the superwealthy, heading to the states this year

Goldline might be a bust (sorry, Glenn), but you're not gonna let that stop you from preparing for the imminent collapse of society. Or maybe you just want to hang with your friends at the Ayn Rand Book Club (The Fountainhead again?) and they prefer Krugerrands to the fiat currency of the USA. Any way you slice it, Americans (including our friend Scott) have "gold fever." Luckily, it turns out that the Gold To Go vending machines we saw early this year are on their way to the states. Stocked with up to ten different gold bars or coins, these bad boys accept cash or plastic and use a VPN to phone home to Germany for updates on the cost of precious metals every 10 minutes. They also feature an ID scanner / camera combo for preventing (or at least slowing down) potential money launderers. The devices can be found currently in the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, Bankshop in Reutlingen, Germany, The Westin Palace in Madrid, and the Orio al Serio International Airport, and they'll be hitting Las Vegas and Florida sometime this year. There might also be one next to the Coinstar machine at the Murray Ave. Giant Eagle (we'll check it out and let you know).

Gold To Go ATMs dispense precious metals to the superwealthy, heading to the states this year originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 15:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Use VPN On Your iPad To Protect Privacy | Plus Special Giveaway Inside

When it comes to online privacy while using your iPad you need all the protection you can get. Luckily Golden Frog provides a service called VyprVPN that keeps your data safe. You may not be aware but your surfing as well as other online activities are constantly being tracked and recorded by your ISP and [...]

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Easy2Pick Wireless Luggage Finder

We have some tree-frog green Eagle Creek luggage that’s easy to find on the luggage carousel, but if your luggage is a bit hard to spot on the luggage-go-round, you might need an Easy2Pick Wireless Luggage Finder from NAFTLI, Inc.� Simply attach the luggage tag transmitter (with normal address card, too) to your bag and [...]

Filed in categories: Gear, News, Travel Gear

Tagged: Luggage finder, Wireless

Easy2Pick Wireless Luggage Finder originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 27, 2010 at 7:30 am.

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Nintendo shows off special edition Super Mario Bros. DSi and DSi XL

Yeah, Super Mario Bros. was kind of a big deal, and we can't fault Nintendo for wanting to celebrate: September 13th marked the 25th anniversary of the game's launch, and Nintendo is pushing out special editions of the DSi and DSi XL (pictured) to celebrate, along with some pretty sweet swag. We mentioned the handhelds this morning, but now we've got a couple pictures -- way to play it subdued, Nintendo. Unfortunately, the consoles are for Japan only, but what we're particularly digging is this Super Mario Collection Special Pack that Nintendo will be launching alongside. The pack will include a version of Super Mario All-Stars for the Wii, a soundtrack CD, and a "Super Mario History, 1985 to 2010" booklet with some unreleased materials like initial development planning sheets handwritten by Shigeru Miyamoto himself. Again, announced for Japan only. Sounds like the import industry is going to be hot this October when these things land!

Gallery: Nintendo shows off special edition Super Mario Bros. DSi and DSi XL

Nintendo shows off special edition Super Mario Bros. DSi and DSi XL originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Sep 2010 19:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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