iPad

Hands-on with the HP Slate 500

Even before Apple's iPad was officially announced, HP was showing off a prototype tablet on stage at CES 2010. Since then, the company and its slate have been in and out of public view, offering up tantalizing sneak peek videos, followed by rumors of delays and OS changes, further complicated by the company's merger with Palm.

At long last, an actual HP tablet is being officially released--but it may not be exactly what you'd expect. The HP Slate 500 Tablet PC is a 9-inch Windows 7 slate, aimed at business and industrial users, rather than casual consumers. In fact, it seems to be exactly the same product we obtained a series of leaked photos of several weeks ago, right down to the leather case and docking stand.

We got a chance to sit down with the HP Slate 500 recently, and found it to be a lightweight, sturdy device, with a slick industrial design and several hardware advantages over the iPad, especially when it comes to ports and connections. … Read more

FarmVille makes its way to the iPad

FarmVille is now available to iPad customers, Zynga announced today.

Would-be farmers can get their hands on FarmVille by downloading it for free from Apple's App Store. Those who have been playing the game elsewhere can now continue to seed the fields and run tractors over their farms on Apple's tablet. Users who are new to the game can start a whole new farm within the app. Push notifications will be used to alert farmers to the health of their crops, Zynga said.

After FarmVille became popular on Facebook and quickly started annoying friends of players who were … Read more

TapDisc for iOS: Tap-timing, color-changing, disc-saving fun

TapDisc for iOS combines a unique and challenging mixture of timing, strategy, and unique gameplay to create an interesting and fun new style of touch-screen game.

The more innovative games on the iOS platform tend to take advantage of the more notable properties of a touch-screen interface. TapDisc attempts to do the same with a stylized "tap-to-save" gameplay that creates a pretty interesting and addicting game environment--if you're patient enough to learn it.

TapDisc requires its players to "save" floating discs as they bounce around the screen attempting to avoid harm-inflicting orbs along the way. Discs change colors signifying how long the saving sphere (where the user touches) must be on screen to save the disc.

Keeping up?… Read more

The 404 692: Where NDC strikes back (podcast)

The 404 Podcast, and the CNET office in general, hasn't been the same without Natali Del Conte around, so we're all super psyched for the long-awaited return of NDC Thursdays...well, everyone except Wilson; he's at home waiting for the perfect time to interrupt today's show.

Although she describes the difficulty in leaving her newborn son at home, the self-proclaimed domestic diva is back in the office after her maternity leave to make her son proud!

Oh, she also tells us what she did on her lunch break yesterday, but that's no big deal...!!!! Don't miss the first half of today's episode, and be sure to send your congrats to the new Mrs. Morris!

At Apple's Mac OS X event yesterday, Steve Jobs unveiled both an update to Apple's MAC operating system, now called Mac OS X Lion (now with FaceTime,) as well as a refresh to the Macbook Air line of portable, and pricey, laptops. The new Airs are much smaller than the originals and now benefit from ultralong battery life and instant-on functionality thanks to the integrated solid-state drives.

Prices range from $999 up to $1,599 based on screen size (11.6-inch or 13.3-inch), processor type, and storage capacity. We're all still waiting for the next iPad to drop before we run to the nearest Apple Store, but keep an eye on CNET.com for benchmark scores in an upcoming review.

We're also rolling out our first batch of VIDEO VOICEMAILS today and since they're just YouTube links people send over, check them out for yourself!!

Jeremy has bad news about "Back to the Future."

Aaron has good news from Hawaii.

Ben has nice things to say about The 404!

Michael has a deadly gift for Natali and Justin!

If you have something you want to say about the show, record a YouTube video and send the link to the404(at)cnet(dot)com and we'll play it on the air! As usual, audio voicemails are also welcome, and the number to dial is 1-866-404-CNET (2638).

Tune in tomorrow when TONY HAWK will once again join us in the studio to chat about skateboard, video games, and more!

Episode 692 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Angry Birds goes goth at midnight

Attention, Angry Birds fans! According to the game's maker Rovio, Angry Birds: Halloween should be hitting Apple's App Store tonight at midnight your local time.

The game is exclusive to Apple's iOS platform, with a regular version for iPhones and iPod Touches at 99 cents, and an HD version for iPads for $1.99.

It's not an add-on, but a stand-alone game with 45 levels, new elements, graphics, and sounds. And don't worry about future Angry Birds updates, Rovio has pledged to keep adding new levels to the regular game, which I've beaten, with … Read more

PwnageTool jailbreaks 4.1 devices, Apple TV 2

Here's some Apple news that has nothing to do with today's Back to Mac announcements: The Dev Team today released PwnageTool 4.1, a jailbreaking app for OS X that allows users of iDevices--iPod Touches, iPads, iPhones--to load custom firmware on their gadgets.

The tool uses a variety of exploits to maintain carrier unlocks on unlocked devices, and works on any device that can run iOS 4.1 (3.2.2 for iPad users). The only devices it doesn't work on are the original iPhone and the first two generations of the iPod Touch, the Dev Team … Read more

The 404 691: Where tech guys should not be handymen (podcast)

The days of selling your used video games back to retail stores may be over sooner than we thought. The SF-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals recently made a ruling in the case of Vernor vs. Autodesk (LOL) that software publishers have the right to restrict the resale of their products to another users.

In the same way that many software companies require second round users to re-register for access, the ruling is major news for companies that buy back and sell video games, DVDs, books, and music.

But GameStop is definitely one of the bigger companies affected, as used game sales make up 46-percent of the company's gross income of $260 million per quarter. We knew the demise of GameStop would happen eventually, but thought it would because of games moving into the cloud.

And here's yet another reason not to join Facebook, if you haven't already. If you live in Victoria, Australia, police now have the court's approval to serve you papers via Facebook as a last attempt following prior attempts to contact you.

The subpoena comes in the form of a private message and even includes a video shot of the order that reads "as if the Respondent was being directly spoken to." They can also serve via text message as well, so just don't commit any heinous crimes and you'll be fine.

Tune into the rest of today's episode of The 404 Podcast to hear some personal stories about our high school jobs (yes, one of us was a dishwasher), as well as a long overdue Calls From the Public!

Episode 691 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Apple unveils new MacBook Airs, previews Lion

CUPERTINO, Calif.--With both an update to its operating system due next summer and new laptops available now, Apple is trying to infuse the Mac with some of the best qualities of the iPhone and iPad.

The new line of MacBook Airs are thinner and lighter than the prior model, while aiming to offer the kind of instant-on and ultra-long battery life found in the iPad. Available in both 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch models, the machines range from $999 to $1,599 depending on the combination of screen, processor, and storage. All use flash memory rather than a hard … Read more

Macs get more like iPads

A few months ago, we wondered how iOS could make its way into OS X. Apple was clearly thinking the same thing, because the summer 2011 release of OS X Lion looks like it's going to make Macs very iPad-like indeed.

First and foremost, an App Store will be hitting the Mac "within 90 days" according to today's Apple keynote, with software updates and much of the same look and feel as what exists on the iPad. It looks as if the Mac App Store will focus on Mac-specific apps, but it can't require too … Read more

Samsung Galaxy Tab landing Nov. 11 for $600

The Galaxy Tab will be made available on November 11 for $599.99, Samsung and Verizon announced today.

The Samsung-built tablet will boast Android 2.2 and "full support" for Adobe's Flash 10.1 platform. The device will feature a 7-inch display and a 1GHz Cortex A8 processor.

The Galaxy Tab will offer 3G connectivity via Verizon's network. Data plans for the Galaxy Tab will start at $20 per month for 1GB of data. Verizon did not immediately respond to request for comment on other data plans it would be offering for the Galaxy Tab.

Unlike … Read more