Xbox 360 gets Kinect-controlled Netflix from today

Being a lazy couch potato just got easier thanks to Microsoft’s announcement about integrating the Kinect motion controller into the Xbox LIVE Netflix app. Starting today, Netflix now supports Kinect controls, meaning you don’t even have to reach for the remote to watch your favorite TV shows or movies.

Xbox 360 owners who use the Netflix app will now have two options for accessing the app. In addition to the regular way of taking your Xbox 360 online, you can also launch Netflix from the Kinect Hub and choose a “recommended” title using your voice and hang gestures, instead of a remote.

So, what’s the catch? The “recommended” films will be the only ones that are fully navigable through the Kinect’s sub-dashboard Netflix app. The rest of the films, which is the majority right now, require you to start playing them using a controller. But, once you start them, you can use the Kinect to control the film. To start watching a film you just say “Xbox play,” and it begins. You can also fast forward, pause, and rewind the film with your voice or hand gestures.

Xbox was the first console to launch Netflix streaming back in 2008, and now the Xbox is the only device that lets you navigate the movie-watching experience with the wave of a hand or with your voice.

Xbox LIVE general manager Pete Thompson said in a press release that by integrating Kinect into the Netflix experience on Xbox LIVE, Microsoft is continuing to change the way people experience their home entertainment.

Do you have an Xbox, a Kinect, and use the Netflix app? If you try out the Kinect-controlled Netflix, please let us know what you think.

via Game Hunters

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Geek deals: Save up to $400 off the Lenovo IdeaPad Z570

After a short hiatus due to Intel’s Sandy Bridge delays, we are finally starting to see laptops with 2nd generation Intel Core processors ship in bulk. Announced back in January and just starting to ship last week, Lenovo’s IdeaPad Z570 gives you Sandy Bridge performance with a hefty discount.

Built around a slightly redesigned chassis, the Z570 seeks to compete in the crowded 15.6-inch laptop market. You can choose between a new Core i3 or i5 processor, both with the revamped Intel HD graphics that are a far cry better than previous integrated graphics options. HDMI and VGA output are standard, along with three USB 2.0 ports and an eSATA/USB combo port. A 500GB hard drive and DVD burner mean you won’t be lacking for storage options either. The specs are all competitive with what we’ve come to expect from Sandy Bridge laptops and Lenovo is being aggressive with the pricing as well.

You can pickup the Z570 mode 102433U with a Core i3 for $599 or step up to a Core i5 system with 6GB RAM for only $799, after $100 and $200 coupons respectively. These stackable coupons are good until April 20th.

Visit LogicBuy to get the Lenovo IdeaPad Z570 laptop coupons.

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Toshiba’s Self Erasing Drives leave thieves empty handed

When we talk about data theft, we’re usually talking about trojans and backdoors: hackers tunneling into your machine over the Internet and slurping down your most sensitive data.
There’s a less widely feared method of stealing personal data from a user, though: ripping the user’s hard drive from the machine physically and transplanting it into another PC entirely.
Just try doing that kind of brain transplant with one of Toshiba’s new Self Erasing Drives. Rip it out of one computer and try to plug it into another and the SED will instantly wipe its most sensitive data, leaving thieves with nothing but an empty hard drive.
This isn’t just any old erase which shareware unerasing tools can reverse. Instead, the SED performs a full cryptographic erase on itself. The difference is in the method. In a normal erase, a hard drive simply overwrites several times until it’s no longer readable, while a cryptoerase destroys the crypto keys necessary to unlock that data, which is done using a 256-bit AES algorithm. If you’ve ever lost an iPhone, this is the same method employed by Apple to enable remote wipes of a smartphone.
You can configure the Toshiba SED in multiple ways, one of which destroys the entire hard drive if it is ripped out of its usual machine. Another wipes certain sections of the disk on every reboot; still another wipes out parts of the drive if an unauthorized host tries to connect, or a password is entered incorrectly too many times.
Otherwise, Toshiba’s SEDs are standard hard drives, coming in sizes of up to 640GB. Technically, Toshiba’s not doing anything here with hardware that software can’t perform, and in fact, the next version of OS X reportedly protects data similarly using software. Still, hardware encryption is ultimately the only way to be sure that your data is safe at all, and the Toshiba Self Erasing Drive leaves absolutely no room for compromise: either your data is secure, or it’s gone.
Read more at Toshiba, via Gadget Lab

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Borderlands on sale at Steam, 75 percent off

Borderlands on sale at Steam, 75 percent off – Video Games Reviews, Cheats | Geek.com .wp-polls .pollbar {margin: 1px;font-size: 6px;line-height: 8px;height: 8px;background-image: url('http://www.geek.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-polls/images/default/pollbg.gif');border: 1px solid #c8c8c8;} Home Apple Gadgets Mobile Games Chips Forums Shop Tech Support Chips Apple Mobile Games Gadgets Software The Lounge Geek.com Stuff Cameras Cell Phones Computers Electronics Laptops Memory Monitors PDAs Software Storage Devices Video Games All Products Search: All Articles Products Glossary Forums Log In Register Username: Password: Cancel Forgot Username / Password? Back to Games Print Borderlands on sale at Steam, 75 percent off Apr. 14, 2011 (12:35 pm) By: Jennifer Bergen

Perhaps it’s because its tax season, or maybe it’s because spring is in the air and the people over at Steam are in a good mood, whatever the reason, Steam is offering a ridiculously good deal on Gearbox Software’s first-person shooter-meets RPG, Borderlands, today only.

The company is knocking off 75 percent off of all Borderland products. The Game of the Year edition, which features additional post-release content in addition to the original game, is now just $7.50. The original version is only $4.99 today.

If you already own Borderlands and want to purchase a DLC pack, you can save 75 percent on those, too. Individually, each pack is now $2.49, but all four can be purchased for just $7.49 today.

If you’ve been waiting patiently for Gearbox Software’s Duke Nukem Forever release, whose date has repeatedly slipped further and further away, and is now due out in June, Borderlands may just be enough to tide you over.

Read more at Steam. Via Joystiq.

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Vuzix iWear Personal Display Glasses

For years people have dreamed of proper virtual reality. There has been much debate whether or not it would really work, but never the less the Vuzix iWear Personal Display Glasses are a fantastic solution for anyone who wants to give it a go for themselves. A pair of lightweight glasses with integrated headphones provides [...]

Vuzix iWear Personal Display Glasses is a post from: Gadgets For Men (UK)

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Air Keyboard – Wireless Motion Control For Your Computer-HDTV Setup

What is an Air Keyboard and why do you need one for your living room? Well that’s what we thought when we first heard of it, but it does make sense as there’s been a massive trend recently of people hooking up their new HD TVs to their PCs. This has been largely due to [...]

Air Keyboard – Wireless Motion Control For Your Computer-HDTV Setup is a post from: Gadgets For Men (UK)

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Wallee iPad Case & Wall Mount Holder

Anyone who has owned or just seen the Apple iPad in action marvels at its media handling capabilities. Carrying your music library around with you is nothing new, but being able to stream video like the BBC iPlayer content to a portable device with such a big clear screen is really impressive. So why might [...]

Wallee iPad Case & Wall Mount Holder is a post from: Gadgets For Men (UK)

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Sonic Boom Alarm Clock – A Very Loud & Bed Shaking Wake Up Call!

An alarm clock that will wake up the deaf, we kid you not! The Sonic Boom Alarm Clock is the loudest gadget we have ever seen boasting a 113 decibel wakeup call. To put that into layman’s terms it is said that pain begins at 125db and this alarm clock on full tilt is louder [...]

Sonic Boom Alarm Clock – A Very Loud & Bed Shaking Wake Up Call! is a post from: Gadgets For Men (UK)

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Twilight Tracer Flashing Golf Ball – High Visibility For Golfing In Poor Light

Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden… or GOLF as it is more commonly known has had a massive gadget boom recently and we often have golfing gadgets cross the desks at GFM Towers. However, on the “hole” a lot of them don’t come up to “par”. But when some little “birdie” told us about the new Twilight [...]

Twilight Tracer Flashing Golf Ball – High Visibility For Golfing In Poor Light is a post from: Gadgets For Men (UK)

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Desktop Coffee Maker – Convenience For The (Lazy) Caffeine Addict!

There is nothing quite like a cup of hot, steaming coffee to get you through that long night’s load of work. On those tedious evenings where your eyes are fixed to the screen and the only thing on your mind is sleep, what you need is a convenient Desktop Coffee Maker! Many of us (including [...]

Desktop Coffee Maker – Convenience For The (Lazy) Caffeine Addict! is a post from: Gadgets For Men (UK)

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