| Google Maps updates streetview for New Orleans, reminds us the jazz plays on Aug 16th 2012, 11:24  In many ways, Google's Streetview is a document. A snapshot in time. Usually, this amounts to pictures of a sunny clear day in downtown Localsville, but it can also be a reminder of times less bright. Since Hurricane Katrina, the city has been working hard to rebuild neighborhoods and communities, and better prepare itself for the future. Today -- via Google's Lat Lon Blog -- Mayor Mitch Landrieu proudly announced that Streetview has been updated to reflect those efforts, and show New Orleans in that familiar, sunny way. Whether it's Congo Square ("the birthplace of jazz"), the city's parks, or more recent features and attractions, Landrieu proudly extends an invite to all of us to come take a look, enjoy the virtual tour, and "whet our appetite." We say put the Gumbo on. Filed under: Internet Google Maps updates streetview for New Orleans, reminds us the jazz plays on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 07:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Google Lat Lon Blog | Email this | Comments | | Creative reveals Sound Blaster ZxR, Zx, and Z PCI-Express sound cards, pumps up the volume Aug 16th 2012, 11:02  Along with your first day at school, and (for the boys at least) growing your first peach fuzz mustache, many of you might also never forget your first Sound Blaster soundcard. In the present day (unless you're blessed with youth) only the Sound Blaster can be enjoyed again, and today Creative introduces its new Z-series. The latest PCI-Express cards use the firm's Core3D quad-core sound and voice processor and come in three variants: the Sound Blaster ZxR, the Zx and the Z. As you might have guessed, the more letters, the higher up the food chain it is. The flagship ZxR ($249.99) boasts a 127dB SNR, sockets for swappable Op-Amps, 80mW into 600 ohm headphone pre-amp, plus RCA / optical connectivity (via additional daughter board) and an external "ACM" control module for less fiddling around the back of your machine. You can save yourself $100 with the Zx model, if you don't want the ZxR's "DBpro" daughter board, and the Z edition saves a further $50 at the expense of the external controller. Want to dive into the full specifications? Plug in to the PR after the break. Continue reading Creative reveals Sound Blaster ZxR, Zx, and Z PCI-Express sound cards, pumps up the volume Filed under: Desktops, Gaming, Peripherals Creative reveals Sound Blaster ZxR, Zx, and Z PCI-Express sound cards, pumps up the volume originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 07:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments | | Lenovo's Q1 shows 'record high' market share, profits up 30 percent to $141 million Aug 16th 2012, 10:27  After delivering an overachieving laptop, Lenovo has delivered financial results that also exceeded expectations, producing $8 billion in revenue and $141 million net profit. Those figures are up 35 and 30 percent respectively over last year, which the company has chalked up to a higher than ever market share of 15 percent. That growth came in part from a 59 percent sales bump in emerging markets like India and Brazil, on top of a 9 percent spurt in its home market -- lifting the company 24 percent in world-wide PC shipments for the quarter. Lenovo has also become the second largest player in China's smartphone market, after Samsung, now up to a 13 percent market share. CEO Yang Yuanqing also proclaimed that, unlike other Redmond partners, he wasn't stressed about Microsoft's Surface tablet -- and that his company had "much better hardware" than the software giant. Continue reading Lenovo's Q1 shows 'record high' market share, profits up 30 percent to $141 million Filed under: Laptops, Tablet PCs Lenovo's Q1 shows 'record high' market share, profits up 30 percent to $141 million originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 06:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink WSJ | | Email this | Comments | | ESPN launches ESPNFC site and apps, updates ESPN Goals with match previews, highlights Aug 16th 2012, 09:59  Some football leagues around the globe have already kicked off the 2012-2013 season, but there's still some time before the ball officially starts rolling in other parts of the world -- unless, of course, you take into consideration this past Sunday's Community Shield. In any case, ESPN appears to have prepared itself pretty well for the upcoming footie spell, announcing an all-new ESPNFC landing page and a full set of applications to accompany the fresh site -- which will essentially be replacing what we used to know as ESPNsoccernet. Furthermore, The Worldwide Leader in Sports updated its ESPN Goals app on iOS, Android and Windows Phone, bringing game previews and highlights, analyst ramblings from folks like Tommy Smith, as well as the ability to easily share these videos with friends on Twitter or Facebook. If you asked us, we'd say this isn't a half bad way to keep yourself updated on the latest global soccer happenings, and could, perhaps, even help in your quest to become fantasy league champion. Continue reading ESPN launches ESPNFC site and apps, updates ESPN Goals with match previews, highlights Filed under: Cellphones, Internet, Software ESPN launches ESPNFC site and apps, updates ESPN Goals with match previews, highlights originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 05:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink Pocket-lint | ESPNFC | Email this | Comments | |