packing

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded

Facebook launches the Open Compute Project, a collaboration with hardware manufacturers, aimed at making more energy-efficient Web-centric computers

The FCC adopts new rules on roaming rates and cell phone signal boosters

T-Mobile confirms that the Sidekick 4G will cost $99 when it launches April 20

Atari Greatest Hits brings vintage Atari titles to the iPad and iPhone

The personal jet pack takes a 7-minute flight in New Zealand, a new record.

The three-year wait for a recreational jetpack may be almost over--assuming regulators give their approval.

New Zealand's Martin Aircraft said that its Martin Jetpack--which has a 200-horsepower piston gasoline engine that powers a couple of ducted fans--remained aloft for more than seven minutes in its latest test. That may not be enough time to get you to the store and back, but it represents a record.

A man on the ground flew the Martin Jetpack by radio control; a weighted dummy, "Jetson," served as the pilot. No mention yet on an updated timetable for putting a human through a rigorous series of test runs, though the company has previously said that it's on track to do just that sometime in the current quarter.

The jetpack itself is 5 feet tall and 5.5 feet wide and made of a carbon fiber composite with a pinch of Kevlar for the rotor. It uses regular gasoline and will travel a grand distance of 31.5 miles at a maximum speed of 63 mph, which should comfortably take you from home to office (and back) in a jiffy, and with a lot of noise. … Read more

Bumping up security, stability, and adding a few new features, Microsoft's Mac Team announced on their blog today that the first major update for Office for Mac 2011, dubbed Service Pack 1, will be available for download next Wednesday. The major new feature will enable syncing from Microsoft's Outlook to Apple's Sync Services.

Calendars, contacts, notes, and tasks will all be available for syncing to any Apple device, including iPads, iPhones, and iPods. One limitation to be aware of, according to the announcement on the Microsoft Mac Team blog:

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded...and, no, there are no April Fools' jokes in today's show!

Google denies working on a mobile app that searches faces and uncovers personal info

AT&T offers a new Mobile Protection Pack to locate and insure mobile phones

Samsung and Visa will offer mobile phone payment systems using NFC tech at the 2012 Olympic Games

Amazon.com may be working on a mobile phone payments system as well

Activision announces the next Spider-Man game

AT&T announced a new equipment protection plan today that bundles insurance, support, and phone location services for $9.99 per month. Most of the carrier's current handsets (PDF) will be compatible with the AT&T Mobile Protection Pack, though iPhone and iPad users will have to resort to other solutions like Apple's MobileMe and Find My iPhone/iPad.

Customers who sign up for the service will get:

Mobile Insurance (formerly called Wireless Phone Insurance) will replace handsets that disappear through loss or theft, become inoperable through accidental or liquid damage, or suffer from mechanical and … Read more

Today marks an important milestone for Windows 7: the arrival of its first service pack since the operating system's release in late 2009.

Service Pack 1 was released to manufacturers earlier this month, with the announcement that it would arrive in consumers' hands this week. The software is set to hit Windows Update later today, with it already being posted as a 1.95GB download bundle for all versions on Microsoft's Download Center. TechNet subscribers and Microsoft volume license customers got access to the update last week.

Microsoft says the standalone update package should weigh in at 527MB … Read more

Microsoft said today that it had sent the first service pack for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to original equipment manufacturers, with a consumer release to follow later this month.

The news comes several weeks after Microsoft's Russian Windows localization team had reported the update as being finalized from its first and only release candidate, and released to manufacturers.

Microsoft says the update will go out to consumers through Windows Update on February 22. TechNet subscribers and Microsoft's volume license customers will get their hands on it a week earlier, on the 16th.

SP1 includes an … Read more

The first service pack for Windows 7 has been sent to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), according to a post on TechNet by Microsoft's Russian Windows Visualization team.

Microsoft launched the first release candidate for Windows 7 SP1, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 in late October of last year, saying that it would be the only RC prior to the software being finalized and made available to manufacturers. The company also promised that SP1 would arrive in the hands of users in the "first half" of 2011.

Blog Winrumors, which reported the news earlier today, weighs in, … Read more

Puzz! Bapp! Zbam! No, it's not a fight scene from the old "Batman" sitcom; it's three of the forty-something logic games and puzzles packed together in a mere 365K download in Logyx Pack. With names like Foldex, Thux, Rotiz, Chakz, Spiny Goo, and Qwez, the games themselves are all simple and easy to understand but offer a wide variety of challenges.

Logyx Pack is portable freeware that opened as soon as we unzipped and clicked its program file. The main interface accesses all games from the Play menu's Games No. 1 and Games No. 2 … Read more