How many SDK’s does it take to screw in a light bulb? You won’t find the answer in this week’s leaky edition of the Engadget Podcast Show, but you will get an exclusive chance to peer into the future of Paul Miller’s voiceover career. Hosts: Josh Topolsky, Nilay Patel, Paul Miller Producer: Trent Wolbe Music: MPC2059 - The Beyonce Error Hear the podcast 00:01:40 - iPad pre-order is go — will you buy one? 00:08:37 - iPad mute switch magicked into a ’screen rotation lock’ overnight, a flurry of other tidbits emerge 00:14:18 - Leaked Dell Streak flyer shows multitude of color options, confirmed specifications 00:14:35 - Microsoft’s Courier ‘digital journal’: exclusive pictures and details (update: video!) 00:16:35 - Leak: Microsoft Pink phones coming to Verizon, on shelves April 20th? 00:24:42 - JooJoo revamps interface ahead of launch, adds local video playback — and changes color 00:32:02 - JooJoo hits the FCC, reveals NVIDIA Ion, 3G card 00:35:17 - HP Slate makes an appearance to show off Flash, stays for a rock concert 00:50:24 - Palm’s webOS PDK beta adds Pixi native development, PDK’d apps will hit the Catalog mid year 00:51:07 - Android NDK hits Release 3, brings OpenGL ES 2.0 access to devs 00:51:30 - Microsoft shows off XNA games running on Windows Phone, full 3D is a go 01:04:38 - PlayStation Move: everything you ever wanted to know 01:11:45 - Joystiq and Sony VP Scott Rohde talk PlayStation Move 01:17:20 - Caption Contest: 3D is a mind blow, everyone can agree on that Subscribe to the podcast [ iTunes ] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC). [ RSS MP3 ] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically

This doesn’t come as much of a surprise, but Android Central seems to have obtained a screen shot from a deep, dark, top-secret Verizon system that indicated that the upcoming CDMA version of the Nexus One will be “available only through www.Google.com/Phones.” That, of course, matches T-Mobile’s strategy of quietly letting Google do its thing — and Verizon’s strategy of keeping its network “open” — so you’ll just have to remember to not line up at your local store at 8PM the night before the launch, otherwise you’re going to come away very, very disappointed. What’s a whole lot stranger, though, is a mention that it runs HTC’s Sense UI , which means one of a few things: Google’s allowing carriers and manufacturers to have their way with the Android builds sold directly through its own store, the Verizon-branded Nexus One is the Incredible , or the document is just sorely confused. The way we see it, there’d simply not be enough differentiation between the Nexus One and the Incredible for them to come to market as separate products if they were both running Sense — and besides, isn’t variety the spice of life? Update: That was quick — it seems Verizon has already updated its specs to remove the reference to Sense and change the URL from google.com/phones to google.com/phone — no plural. Thanks, ninjalex76! Verizon’s Nexus One to be sold only through Google, have Sense UI (or not) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

Sure, in the past we’ve got a hearty chuckle out of initiatives that involved Redfly terminals and Clippy variants , but the question remains: how can we get cutting-edge tech into the hands of soldiers faster? We’ve recently come across some RFIs for DARPA projects aimed at developing apps and an App Store for Android and the iPhone OS, with two in particular — Mobile Apps for the Military (DARPA-SN-10-27), and Transformative Apps (DARPA-BAA-10-41) — catching our eye. The agency is calling for apps for battlefield, humanitarian, and disaster recovery missions, including command and control, mission planning, surveillance, reconnaissance, and language translation. Of course, if you start taking commercial smartphones out to the field there’s the small matter of network coverage — if you thought that getting a reliable connection in midtown Manhattan was an issue, what about downtown Kabul? Looks like DARPA also has plans for a military that brings its own towers with them, light-weight mobile base stations that could create a “secure mobile tactical network … compatible with commercial smartphones.” What do you think?

Ever wanted to know exactly where that disembodied penis you just met on Chatroulette is located? Good news! Now you can. More

Also shitcanned by Apple in the Great App Store Purge of 2010: Wi-Fi scanning apps. The reason being that they used private frameworks to access wireless info. While some of these apps might’ve been useful, especially the ones with GPS functionality to locate hotspots, using private frameworks is kinda like painting a big “ban me” target on your back, even if you do slip through the approval process. [ Softpedia via MaximumPC via DVICE ]

In 2002, to experience augmented reality was to lash 26 pounds of equipment to your body and hobble waywardly within the confines of predefined area. In 2010, you can augment the entire world with a free app for your smartphone. This shot of the Columbia University’s Mobile Augmented Reality System (MARS) comes from a PopSci story written 10 Februaries ago. (The magazine’s searchable archives just went online.) This right around the time that augmented reality had made the jump from esoteric sci-fi concept to actual thing , albeit in the form of awkward research projects and simplistic military applications: If you strap on this rig, as [the writer] had, you begin to understand the profound possibilities of an AR system, which can superimpose computer-generated text, graphics, 3D animation, sound, or any other or any other digitized data on the real world. As much as modern smartphone apps like Layar actually do more —they’re connected to the internet constantly, for one—they still don’t meet one of the core criteria of the augmented reality concept: they’re not glasses. In other words, you’ve got to hold your smartphone out in front of you, as if you’re taking a video at all times, which is as obnoxious as it is exhausting to your upper arms.

The discovery is still literally in the building blocks stage, but a team of researchers from Florida State University say that four new so-called “multiferroic” crystals they’ve identified could eventually lead to a “new generation” of computer chips. Those new chips would apparently not only be able to expand the capacity of storage devices by 1,000 to a million times but, since data would be written both electrically and magnetically, they’d also be far more secure. As if that wasn’t enough, the researchers also say any future chips would have “far less environmental impact” than current chips, as they wouldn’t rely on lead as chips now do. Of course, the researchers are quick to point out that won’t happen overnight, with Sir Harold Kroto saying that this discovery is “where the transistor was when it was first invented,” and adding that “it’s a long, hard road before we catch up.” Crystal discovery could pave the way for new generation of computer chips originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds

Netbook graphics are inherently weak, especially with Intel’s much-derided integrated graphics. But the new Nvidia Ion —like its predecessor —lets even a wimpy netbook Hulk out to play DX10 games and 1080p videos. The difference? It’s a discrete graphics chip. The original Ion was an integrated chipset (a spin on the GeForce 9400M inside of unibody MacBooks), but since Nvidia can no longer make chipsets for Intel’s latest chips, the new, souped-up Ion is a separate graphics chip that connects via PCI Express and uses Nvidia’s Optimus technology to automagically switch between Intel’s integrated graphics and Ion, retaining your netbook’s solid battery life. The claim is up to 10 hours (though that obviously depends on what tasks you’re doing)

Mario Kart is one of the most popular games on the DS, but imagine using a virtual steering wheel to control your car. A patent has turned up showing just that, taking the DSi’s touchscreen control to the next level. In typical patent jargon, the document says: In one exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation, a video game or other application displays an image of a steering wheel. Such display may be on the same screen as one that displays other information such as a race course or other environment through which the vehicle may be maneuvered in a simulated fashion, or it may be on a different screen. The steering wheel display is, in one exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementation, displayed on a screen that is touch sensitive. The touch-sensitive functionality of the screen is used in at least some exemplary illustrative non-limiting implementations to allow the video game player to control the position of the steering wheel displayed on the screen

Some people thought I was unfair to Flash , calling it an unnecessary piece of power-sucking crap that has no real use beyond online video and advertising. So here’s the question: Apart from video, what are exactly your top Flash sites? Flash is not going to be used in Windows Phone 7 , the iPod touch, the iPad, and many other mobile devices, but it is coming to Android and Pre. Some people seem to be very upset about it because they think the lack of Flash on these devices is going to limit their enjoyment of the web. However, if you take out Flash-containered video players and advertising delivery (both dedicated promotional sites like Nike.com and banners) what are other web sites that you people can’t live without? Remember that video sites like YouTube and Vimeo are already replacing Flash players with HTML5 and h.264.