Mountain View’s lawyers can collectively breathe a sigh of relief, as the FTC has accepted an earlier proposal relating to Buzz’s numerous privacy violations. The service — which already settled one suit and is scheduled for rendezvous with the grim reaper — was singled out by the commission for misleading users by partially opting them in, even after they had explicitly declined to do so. As punishment, Google will be required to field yearly audits from an independent party for the next twenty years (!).

Okay, so it’s a little later than expected , but we’re happy to report that at least some Northeast Regional trains have now been augmented by AmtrakConnect. This (free) WiFi has been available on Acela trains for some time now, and in a few lucky Regional trains in the Northwest. Amtrak still hasn’t confirmed the existence of this connectivity, so we can’t say for sure just how many of its trains have been suitably augmented, but we know that at least number 69, the Adirondack, has it, because we’re using it right now

Coby’s latest in budget slates hit the federal testing tables on Friday, getting the customary teardown and tell-all photo shoot. The Coby Kyros MID7012 comfortably fits a 800Mhz processor, 256MB of RAM, 4GB of internal memory, WiFi and a microSD card slot into its case. The seven-inch Gingerbread tablet hasn’t landed on Coby’s US website yet, but nimble fingered Googlers can find the slab for about $100. Coby Kyros MID7012 tablet gets an FCC teardown, flaunts a roomy case originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 23 Oct 2011 03:35:00 EDT

We know you’ve got questions, and if you’re brave enough to ask the world for answers, here’s the outlet to do so. This week’s Ask Engadget inquiry is coming to us from Christian, who seems to be into the idea of traveling sans wires. If you’re looking to send in an inquiry of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com .

If you’d thought that OmniTouch and PocketTouch were the end of Microsoft Research’s natural user interface projects, think again. It’s now released a video of the HoloDesk, a tool that lets you manipulate virtual 3D objects with your bare hands. Looking through a transparent display, the objects react nearly instantly, rolling from a sheet of real paper into a real cup and falling into shadow if you block the virtual light-source