SwiftKey X keyboard app is free today on Amazon, be swift or pay $3.99

By Sharif Sakr  posted Jul 21st 2011 7:36AM

After plenty of hands-on time with SwiftKey X, we reckon it's probably the best virtual keyboard you can get for Android phones. And, for the next 21 hours or so, it's even better than that -- because it's free at Amazon's Appstore. So, if you're brandishing Android 2.1 or higher and you type in one of the 17 supported languages, then the source link below beckons. Come back quickly, though, or we'll miss you terribly. (The tablet version of the app is still $4.99, mind -- but there's always tomorrow.)

Vegetarian Diet May Protect Against Common Bowel Disorder

ScienceDaily (July 19, 2011) — Vegetarians are a third less likely to get a common bowel disorder (diverticular disease) than their meat eating counterparts, finds a new study published on theBritish Medical Journal website.


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NAND Flash Better Than DRAM For PC Performance

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday July 20, @01:15AM 

from the drams-do-better-for-memory-loss dept.

Lucas123 writes"Adding NAND flash memory to a PC does more for performance than DRAM and costs less, according to a new study. As the price difference between the two memory types widens, NAND flash will become the memory of choice in the PC. The effects of NAND flash adoption are already being felt in the DRAM market, as revenue in 2011 is expected to decline 11.8%."

WTF? I don't remember this!!!

Borders Books, Dead At 40

Posted by timothy on Tuesday July 19, @08:09AM 

from the will-be-sorely-missed dept.

theodp writes"There will be no storybook ending for Borders. The 40-year-old book seller could start shuttering its 399 remaining stores as early as Friday(store closing map). The Ann Arbor, MI-based chain, which helped pioneer the big-box bookseller concept, is seeking court approval to sell off its assets after it failed to receive any bids that would keep it in business. Hang on to those Borders Midnight Magic Party memories, kids!"

IE6 Still Going Strong In China

Posted by timothy on Tuesday July 19, @02:08AM 

from the not-so-big-in-japan dept.

RackNine writes"Net Applications estimates that IE6 has a share of 33.8% in China, StatCounter estimates about 40.2%. Consider the fact that there are currently about 477 million Internet users in China and you get 160 to 192 million IE6 users. That is potentially more than all Internet users in Africa and the Middle East combined (187 million)."

Dual-boot your Nook Color with Android using a micro-SD card, $35

As David Chernicoff over atBetween the Lines reminds us, the Barnes & Noble Nook Color is an Android device at its core (it runs Froyo 2.2), so it is a shame that the B&N interface would hide the “major capabilities of an Android 2.2 tablet.”


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Do 'Ultracool' Brown Dwarfs Surround Us?

Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday July 18, @10:04AM 

from the itsatrap dept.

astroengine writes"The recent discovery of two very cool 'T-class' brown dwarfs in our cosmic neighborhood has prompted speculation that there may be many more ultracool 'failed stars' nearby. Not only are these objects themselves very interesting to study, should there be many such brown dwarfs spanning interstellar space. Perhaps they could be used as 'stepping stones' to the stars."

Stanford Students Build "JediBot"

Posted by samzenpus on Monday July 18, @10:45AM 

from the may-the-grades-be-with-you dept.

An anonymous reader writes"By combining a dexterous robotic arm, a foam-padded lightsaber, the movement tracking capabilities of Microsoft's Kinect sensor, and some clever software, students at Stanford University have created what can only be called a JediBot. Using a series of pre-programmed 'attack moves', and Kinect to detect the location of the enemy's light saber, JediBot can attack and defend with surprising grace. For now its attack moves are fairly slow — it can only attack once every 2 or 3 seconds — but presumably you could tweak a knob (and remove the foam padding) to turn JediBot into a real killing machine."I look forward to model that can also "force choke" an opponent.