Engadget's back to school guide 2011: gaming

Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we're getting our game on -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back -- at the end of the month we'll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides -- and hit up the hub page right here!

Let's be honest, balancing coursework with recreation is just as important as maintaining a balanced food diet -- perhaps even more. After you spend countless hours hitting the books, cramming for tests, and writing papers, you're just going to need something to turn your brain to mush. Don't worry, we have just the thing: video games. It doesn't matter how many midterms you have, we're sure we can find something to help you slack off. Of course, it's not going to be easy; you'll have to wait until next semester (at least) to get your hands on the PlayStation Vita, but that doesn't mean that you don't have options now. Jump past the break -- we can probably help you find something to get you through mid-terms with your sanity intact. Don't want to shell out cash to have fun this semester? Enter our back to school sweepstakes! Simply leave a comment below for a chance to win, and drop by our giveaway page for more details.

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Engadget's back to school guide 2011: gaming originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T Responds To DoJ: The Facts Will Prevail In Court

Following today's reports that the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a complaint opposing the $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile by AT&T, the big blue carrier has issued a response stating plans to ask for an expedited hearing "so that the enormous benefits of this merger can be fully reviewed." The DOJ cites antitrust issues in its complaint, saying "AT&T?s elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low- priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market." But AT&T begs to differ.

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Bodykit BodyBag Review

Front of Bodykit "BodyBag" Some folks are “shoe” folks, some ladies are “purse” folks and many people who read this site are “bag folks”.� They love bags to carry gadgets in!� A company out of the UK called Bodykit is bringing some pretty unusual designs to the market.� Don’t think camping and back-packing with these.� [...]

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Windows Home Server 2011 released to manufacturers

Just a little under two months after its release candidate went live, Windows Home Server (WHS) 2011 has been finalized and released into the wild. The new version of Microsoft's slick, do-it-all server OS is a big step forward from its predecessor.

Built on the Windows Server 2008 R2 base, Home Server 2011 features a simpler dashboard, a better backup solution, dead simple remote access to your home computers, and Silverlight-powered remote media streaming. For a more detailed look at what's new in Windows Home Server 2011, you check out Microsoft's official breakdown.

Drive Extender, of course, didn't resurface for the final release of WHS 2011 and that's something a lot of power users are still pretty irked about. Even without Extender, Windows Home Server offers a boatload of useful functionality and might be a good fit for your home network. Manufacturers have already begun building hardware, so you should be able to pick up a device in the very near future.

An evaluation download for Windows Home Server 2011 will be made available in April -- we'll let you know when the links are ready.

Windows Home Server 2011 released to manufacturers originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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id America Gasket Brushed Aluminum iPhone 4 Case Review

Vroom, Vroom….this case definitely makes me think of engines and gear-heads. The Gasket case from id America is unique in the iPhone case world. It is cut from a single piece of aircraft aluminum in the shape of a car engine’s head gasket. A cool idea in a flooded market. The Gasket case is compatible [...]

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Sand Trap is a fun and difficult physics maze game

Sand Trap is one of those games that at first seem too hard to bother with, but when you try to stop playing it you discover you're hooked.

The goal is to get as much sand as you possibly can out of the maze and into the bucket at the bottom of the screen. You need to rotate your maze every which way to get the sand rolling around it. You then try to direct the sand to one of the exits of the maze, and hopefully into the bucket. It took me several tries to actually get sand into the bucket, but that might be due to the fact that I didn't even realize the bucket was there at first. Things improved significantly after that.

As you level up, the mazes get more complicated, with moving parts and other things making your life more difficult. Once you manage to get through all these obstacles and get enough sand into your bucket, you can move on.

As I mentioned, this is not an easy game, but it's highly addictive. The graphics remind me of some long lost game from the 80s, but this just proves that you don't need super graphics and crazy sound to make a game work. There's a soothing guitar track playing in the background and that's it, as far as I could hear, and you can enjoy it just as much with no sound at all.

If you like a fun physics challenge, don't miss out on this one!

Sand Trap is a fun and difficult physics maze game originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone Cases for the Girly-Girls

Lipstick Shades offers a line of bright, colorful cases and stickers for iPhones. �When you order from their website, you can get them personalized with your name or initials for $56 for an iPhone 3G/3GS or an iPhone 4 case; �you can choose from a multitude of styles. �You can choose monogrammed iPhone 4 decals [...]

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Watch Bill Nye Try to Explain Irene and Climate Change on Fox Business [Watch This]

Check out our favorite science guy, Bill Nye, struggle to be tactful when all he wants to do is explain science to people. That's why we love you, Bill. This Fox host loves you, too. Science, maybe less so. [Mediaite] More »

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Libra for Android helps you track your weight using The Hacker's Diet system

I'm getting fat; that's what you see on the screenshot to the right -- my gradual move from chubby to portly. But never mind the numbers, look at the pretty graph!

If you've ever read The Hacker's Diet, this graph should be instantly recognizable. Each point shows the weight for a given day, while the trend line lets you see if you're gaining or losing weight.

When I use my "main" PC, I have a homebrew solution for creating and maintaining this graph. But I've had to find a temporary solution for Android, and Libra is it.

It's a beautifully simple app, very true to the spirit of The Hacker's Diet. You can create a shortcut on your homescreen that brings you right into the data entry screen, so you just tap the shortcut every morning, feed in your weight for the day and hit OK, and then you get to see your progress (or lack thereof) on the graph.

The app remembers the previous day's weigh-in, which makes it easy to enter today's weight (as they're usually not too different). The graph is zoomable and scrollable, and most importantly, you can export the data to CSV so you're not locked into the app.

If you ever need to track your weight using an Android device for any period of time, Libra is one excellent solution.

Libra for Android helps you track your weight using The Hacker's Diet system originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daily Deal: Case-Mate Tough Case for AT&T iPhone 4 in pink, yellow, green for only $7.95!

For today only, the TiPb Store has the Case-Mate Tough Case for AT&T iPhone 4 in pink, yellow, or green on sale for only $7.95!. That's maximum protection meets maximum color... Now get them before they're gone! Shop Case-Mate Tough Case for AT&T iPhone 4 now!

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Tailgating Might Actually Make Sense with DISH's Tailgater Antenna [Video]

I never got tailgating sports events if you don't actually have tickets to the game. Why not just stay home and grill with friends or go to a bar? Still, it's a pretty big deal 'round some parts, and with DISH's super-portable satellite, it might not suck as much. More »

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HTC Sense 3.5 caught on camera, gets a manicured walkthrough (video)

It was only a matter of time before leaked screen shots of HTC's Sense 3.5 became leaked video footage. Purportedly running on the OEM's unreleased, ladies-only Bliss handset, XDA.cn has a hands-on of the Android-based UI that looks to be more of a refinement, than revolutionary update. So, what can we glimpse from this apparent sneak peek? The ROM, shown to be running atop Android 2.3.4, now sports a more pared-down look, as evinced by the lock screen's sleeker ring. There's still the same seven homescreens on offer, although it now appears you can delete the contents of a selected screen by dragging it to the trash. Gone is the familiar home panel with its curved shape, in favor of two non-intrusive, dedicated app and phone buttons on the left and right sides of the screen. The widgets also look to have taken on a roomier size, and the volume can now be controlled via an on-screen widget. Aside from those minor tweaks, not much else has changed, but you can definitely see an improvement in the UI's fluidity. Could this be HTC's very next upgrade to its popular Android skin, or are we looking at a slickly-produced ROM? You can judge for yourself in the video after the break.

Continue reading HTC Sense 3.5 caught on camera, gets a manicured walkthrough (video)

HTC Sense 3.5 caught on camera, gets a manicured walkthrough (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bowers & Wilkins Gives Its Customers a Special AirPlay Party Mode [Apps]

Airplay's pretty great, right? You can zap whatever music you like on over to your compatible device. Fun. Great. Just one problem: Only one person can be AirPlayin' at any given time. Minor quibble? Maybe, but it's a tad antisocial. More »

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Google Cloud Print comes to HP ePrint printers

HP has become the first major OEM to deliver support for Google Cloud Print in retail-boxed printers. In an official release, HP announced that its ePrint-enabled printers are now fully Cloud Print compatible. Just sign in to your Google account, pick your HP ePrint device, and you're ready to fire off a print job from anywhere you've got Internet access. Well, as long as your app supports Cloud Print as well -- like Gmail and Google Docs, for example.

We're curious, though -- how many of you are still printing? Like our pals at Engadget, our printers have been mostly gathering dust for the last few years.

Google Cloud Print comes to HP ePrint printers originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sonnet's Echo brings ExpressCard to Thunderbolt machines

Looking for more stuff to plug into that Thunderbolt port? If you've got a smattering of ExpressCard/34 doodads laying around, Sonnet's upcoming Echo adapter might just fit the bill. Scheduled for an October release, the $149 gizmo can now be pre-ordered from the company's online store, but be forewarned that it'll ship sans cable. So if you haven't already picked up one of these guys, be prepared to part with a half Benjamin before you join in on all the fun. All in all, a pricey affair, but that's what you get for living on the bleeding edge, you futuristic maverick, you.

[Thanks, Mmm]

Continue reading Sonnet's Echo brings ExpressCard to Thunderbolt machines

Sonnet's Echo brings ExpressCard to Thunderbolt machines originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 29 Aug 2011 03:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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