Tech News

50 Cent Proud Of 'Intense' New Video Game, Says Eminem Cheats At 'Pac-Man'

2010-10-01T09:06:00.001-07:00

'50 Cent: Blood on the Sand' is out Tuesday on Xbox 360 and PS3.By Stephen Totilo

50 Cent

Photo: MTV News

NEW YORK — This week, 50 Cent's big game is a gun-filled adventure in the desert. Next time? It could be a special G-Unit version of "Tetris."
The hip-hop icon talked to MTV News in the G-Unit offices near Madison Square Garden about "50 Cent: Blood on the Sand," out today on Xbox 360 and PS3.

You may think of 50 Cent first as a rapper, but the man's life is now filled with video games, including titles of his own. First there was "50 Cent Bulletproof," then a PSP spin-off and now "Blood on the Sand." The latest takes 50 to a Middle Eastern-looking city to chase down a crystal skull that's been stolen from him and his crew. The new game has 18 unreleased 50 tracks, plus hits from several G-Unit and 50 albums and a score from Swizz Beatz.
"The game is an intense experience," 50 said. It was developed by the British studio Swordfish, but it's 50 who came up with the skull bit. "The crystal skull actually exists," he said. "It's a diamond, an artifact. I saw it in a magazine in Dubai. I took it and said, 'Make this what they're after.' "
Video games are everywhere for 50. He's got video games on the tour bus, an Xbox 360 in the front and a PS3 in the back. He doesn't play them as much as the rest of the G-Unit. They're giving the PS3 more time than the 360 lately because they just got it. They're playing lots of sports games.
He's got the games he battles Eminem in. "We have different versions of Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and regular Pac-Man in Detroit, in the studio where me and Em record at," 50 said. "We sit there and we pride ourselves on who actually has the higher score on those games."
Eminem has the advantage on 50 right now. "He cheats because he's developed the patterns and sh-- ... After a while you get enough time playing it and you develop these strategies and patterns in the actual game and it's kind of like cheating. I don't get as much time to play in the arcade game."
50's got a lot of video games he wants to make after "Blood on the Sand." You might be surprised at what he's thinking about: "I'd like to be a part of developing, marketing and promoting a game I'm not actually in," he said. "It could be like Tetris. It's one of my favorite games."
He's even got games in his beefs. His video for "I'll Be the Shooter" amps up his beef with Rick Ross thanks in part to the inclusion of virtual firefights from "Blood on the Sand." Gaming as part of rap-battling? It broadens the means of expression, he said.
"So it's not misinterpreted that hip-hop is a negative art-form, I'll take it to somewhere where they can see a sense of humor and where it's productive at the same time."
However, that doesn't mean that 50's going to keep tying his games into his beefs. "I'm not sure, and if I tell you now, they'll be waiting for it. My whole thing is being unpredictable when it comes to each altercation or situation."
And let's not leave this out: He's got the video game he wants to turn into a movie. "I am actually optioning the rights to 'Saints Row' to do a movie about that game," 50 said, referring to the "Grand Theft Auto"-like series from "Blood on the Sand" publisher THQ.
Oh, and 50's got a Wii — we'll have more on that tomorrow on our MTV Multiplayer blog. But today, the game 50 most cares about is "50 Cent: Blood on the Sand," out on the Xbox 360 and PS3, rated M and the latest release in one of hip-hop's most powerful brands.
For more on "Blood on the Sand" and other video games, check out our gaming blog, Multiplayer.

Related Photos

"50 Cent: Blood On The Sand" Screen Shots

Related Artists

50 Cent

G-Unit

Eminem

Swizz Beatz

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MobileMe Gallery App Updated

2010-10-01T06:06:00.001-07:00

The MobileMe Gallery app version 1.1 is now available in the App Store. The update offers a more convenient way to add your friends' galleries so that you can view their photos as easily as your own. From the Galleries screen, tap Add a Friend and then Choose Contacts (the number in parentheses indicates how many MobileMe members are in your address book). The Gallery app shows you all your friends in your iPhone contacts with MobileMe accounts while checking to see if they have active galleries. Choose the ones you want and tap Add.

If you already have the MobileMe Gallery app installed, tap App Store on your iPhone or iPod touch and then Updates to get the latest version. If you don't already have it, search for MobileMe Gallery in the App Store and download it for free.

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redsn0w and ultrasn0w Still Work on iPhone OS 3.0.1

2010-10-01T03:06:00.001-07:00

As you should already know by now, there's a new iPhone OS version released in order to deal with that SMS security issue that threatened every iPhone in the world. In case you own a jailbroken and unlocked phone then you should know that redsn0w and ultrasn0w will work on the new iPhone OS 3.0.1 version. So go ahead, update your iPhone, get the latest OS, and then do your jailbreaking and unlocking just as you normally would with the regular iPhone OS 3.0. Not that we're advising your to either jailbreak or unlock any handset. We're just saying...

via iPhone Dev Team

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Alternate Disc-Tractions: Get Him to the Greek 2-disc unrated edition review

2010-10-01T00:06:00.001-07:00

FROM GAMERTELL - There is so much to laugh at and enjoy in this Blu-ray release of Get Him To the Greek that it’s hard to pass it by. Click through to find out why…
MORE »

Full Story » | Written by NEWS for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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I Can?t Work Under These Conditions :-)

2010-09-30T21:06:00.001-07:00

Total number of internal TechCrunch meetings in the five years prior to AOL Acquisition: 1

I'm not even sure our AOL acquisition has legally closed yet. But today we celebrate our new corporate overlords with...an internal all hands. EVP David Eun, Heather's new boss, scheduled a whopping 3.5 hour all hands meeting today starting at 11. Everyone's here in the office pretending like it's perfectly normal to be awake and in the office at this ridiculous hour. And God help us if news breaks, because we'll all be in the conference room acting out a Dilbert cartoon.

I really don't like internal meetings, even if they do serve a purpose. We once had an all hands here at TechCrunch but it ended after a few minutes because I wanted to go back to my office and do anything else besides be in a meeting. I really hope this doesn't become a regular thing.

Ok, I'm off to go review HR policies, or something.

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Maccast 2010.03.17 - Macworld Expo 2010: Busy Mac

2010-09-30T18:06:00.001-07:00

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. A special episode of the Maccast with John Chaffee from BusyMac. John and I missed each other on the show floor at Macworld Expo 2010, but I heard a lot about his product BusyCal (a great alternative to iCal). A couple weeks ago I was able to grab John on Skype and we talked about BusyCal, his past life working on another great Mac calendar app, Now Up-to-Date, and about his impressions of Macworld Expo 2010 in general.

Links

BusyMac - BusyCal and BusySync

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Palm Pre Commercials Creator Defends His Work

2010-09-30T15:06:00.001-07:00

Remember those weird Palm Pre commercials? Well it looks like a lot of people didn't like them that much. And all this hasn't escaped Gary Koepke, the co-founder of Modernist, the ad agency behind the ads. Here's what he said about the Palm Pre campaign:
We weren't trying to creep people out, but one thing I have learned now in this digital age is people can be as rude as they want as long as they don't have to look you in the face. The Pre is probably being talked about more than other phones right now because of the marketing and advertising, and that's a good thing. Could the ads work harder to show exactly how the phone works? Yes, but we knew it would be polarizing people to have a woman not shout at them and tell an interesting story.

It's a very different look and feel for this sector. There's nobody involved in an iPhone ad, and 'Your life is on BlackBerry' -- isn't that great? Instead of having a life? We wanted a middle ground between those two places -- what about the people who want a really great smartphone?
Let's say we understand! We still like better other commercials. And the customers like them a lot more too. AT&T and Apple has sold over 5 million iPhones in the last quarter while RIM is selling lots of BlackBerry phones too. How many Pre units has Palm and Sprint sold so far? Did the commercials help increase that number? We can't say since we don't have any of those official numbers!

via adage

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We Send a Mole to Angry Birds HQ and Find Toys, Hollywood Deals and Swagger

2010-09-30T12:06:00.001-07:00

Journalist Monty Munford is the only other person I know who seems to just roam the planet on a whim, finding interesting things in somewhat random countries. (Appropriately, I met him at a cricket game in Mumbai. I was researching my book on entrepreneurship around the world and he was just wrapping his latest Bollywood film.)

A few weeks ago he wrote a post for us about Somaliland using mobile and wire services to become a cashless society. Yesterday, he sent me a note from Helsinki. As far as I can tell he flew there just to get an Angry Birds toy for his kid. He did a little reporting for us on the phenomenon while he was there. Reminds me of the early days of Facebook when a young Mark Zuckerberg had "It's CEO, Bitch" business cards and supreme confidence he could take over the world. He kinda turned out to be right. Will Rovio's Mighty Eagle Peter Vesterbacka?

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Maccast 2010.04.22

2010-09-30T09:06:00.001-07:00

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 299. Next gen iPhone lost, found, and exposed. Apple Q2 results are amazing. iPhone OS 4 features start to leak out. Sites already talking next gen iPad. Apple announced headphone replacement program. Some Universities banning iPads from their networks. Has Apple won the Great Flash War? Results of the Maccast Textplus Wi-fi Challenge. iPad thoughts a few weeks later. Desktop to Mobile app pricing dilemma. Killer iTunes features you probably don't use. BearExtender n3 Giveaway

Special thanks to our sponsors:

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New music, Jamie All Over by Mayday Parade (iTunes)

EOL: Earth Day iPad Stand (via Cult of Mac)

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No Comment From Yahoo Media Chief Jimmy Pitaro On Whether He's Leaving The Company

2010-09-30T06:06:00.001-07:00

At an Advertising Week panel about web TV Wednesday afternoon, Yahoo media chief Jimmy Pitaro had no comment on the previous day's report that he is leaving the company.
But he did have a lot to say about Yahoo's video programming.
"We have shows that can easily do 5 million streams in a given day, but we want to move away from this one-off concept," he said. "We want people coming back like they do on television. The next phase of our evolution is to focus more on what our editors and producers think is creative and smart and will resonate with our audience."
New York Times media reporter Brian Stelter, who was moderating the panel, asked Pitaro if Yahoo's newest video show, "Ready. Set. Dance!" was an example of that. "Ready. Set. Dance!", which launched today, is the first show Yahoo has produced as part of its partnership with Ben Silverman’s company, Electus. Silverman was also on the panel, as was Bravo's Andy Cohen.
"'Ready. Set. Dance!' is much more creative," said Pitaro. "It's actually a show I could see living on television, and this is probably the first time I've seen anything like that on Yahoo."
Also: "Our problem is scaling. We can't grow as quickly as we want to. So we're out there striking deals like the one we did with Ben. But we're not having a problem monetizing our video shows right now."Join the conversation about this story »

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Google Instant Gets Even More Instant With More Features And New Countries

2010-09-30T03:06:00.001-07:00

Today at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, Google's Marissa Mayer took the stage to talk with our own Michael Arrington. But before her talk she had a couple new things to announce. Specifically, new things about the recently-announced Google Instant.

Mayer invited a couple Google employees up on stage to show off a couple new Google Instant features. One allows you to use keyboard navigations with the service. The other brings Instant features to other search verticals -- like video and news search. These features will be rolling out of the next couple of days, Google says.

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Maccast 2010.05.15

2010-09-30T00:06:00.001-07:00

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 302. iPad supply feels the global crunch. Apple working on iPad Wi-Fi fix. Apple's new "What Is iPad" Ad. CSI: Cupertino, documents unsealed. 4G iPhone rumors continue to flow. Mobile Me updates in the works. Mac sales up with new Macbook Pros. Homeland Security warns of Safari Exploit. Follow-up PGP Whole Disk Encryption. Auto BCC from Mail.app per Account. Playing audiobooks and podcasts in double speed. Interview with the Photo Booth Guy. Manage iPhone Photos without iPhoto. Using old scanners in Snow Leopard. Winners of the Maccast TextPlus Wi-Fi Challenge.

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Circus Ponies NoteBook - The Easy Way to Get Organized on the Mac. Try it FREE for 30 Days.

Citrix - GoToAssist - Instantly view and control customer computers with secure, easy-to-use GoToAssist® Express. Try it FREE for 30 days.

New music, Soft Rocked By Me by Jonathan Coulton

EOL: Load your Apple IIe via iPad (via Panic Blog)

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Here's Why Microsoft Needs To Make Office Apps For The iPad (AAPL, GOOG, MSFT)

2010-09-08T05:06:00.001-07:00

One thing has been consistent since Apple's iPad launched in April: Apple's iWork apps, its versions of Microsoft Office apps -- Word ("Pages"), Excel ("Numbers"), and PowerPoint ("Keynote") -- are near the top of the best-selling paid apps list pretty much every day, no matter the competition.
With Apple likely approaching the mark of 5 million iPads shipped, it's possible that it has sold hundreds of thousands of copies of each of its iWork apps, generating millions in revenue.
So, the obvious takeaway: Even on the iPad -- a device that isn't all that great yet for getting serious work done -- people want to buy office apps.
That's one of the reasons that BlackBerry maker Research In Motion -- which has a big enterprise customer base for the BlackBerry, and is in the process of producing its own tablet computer -- just bought a company called DataViz, which makes Office-reading apps for a variety of mobile platforms.
But it has much bigger implications for Microsoft, which still gets almost half of its profits from selling Office apps. (And some for Google, which is trying to be disruptive with its Google Docs suite.)
Specifically, Microsoft should develop Office apps for the iPad, Android, Chrome OS, BlackBerry tablet, and any other computing platform that is likely to become popular over the next 5-10 years.
Microsoft has had a nice run relying on the Windows monopoly over the years on the PC, plus a half-assed effort to make Office for the Mac. But tablets are starting to get some real traction, and if Microsoft wants to keep people tied into its Office suite, it needs to go where the people are going.
This includes smartphones -- which it's doing with Windows Phone 7, but it should also do for the iPhone and BlackBerry -- and especially tablets.
Microsoft might be able to accomplish this with a universal web app, but because the App Store -- and not web search -- is where people go directly to look for software for iOS devices, actual apps are probably a good idea.
Microsoft will probably never be able to capture the market share of Office customers on non-Windows platforms the way it has on Windows. But if it wants Office to continue to dominate the office-apps industry like it has for years, it doesn't have much of a choice. Right now, it is losing that market in its infancy. People are increasingly going to move their time spent in front of the computer to other devices, and Microsoft needs to follow them, because the Office juggernaut is at risk. (Windows is, too, but that's another story.)
Google, too, needs to make sure that Google Docs are optimized for touchscreens, especially the iPad and Android-based tablets. No commands that require a mouse.
It probably doesn't need to make an actual Google Docs app -- no one is used to using Google Docs apps on PCs -- unless it thinks that's the best way to do things. But it at least needs to make sure that Google Docs customers are satisfied with what they're getting on tablets. Google Docs won't be an effective Office replacement until it's available everywhere people want to use it.
But this is much more important to Microsoft than Google, so it's time to start showing a sense of urgency.
Earlier: Here's How Apple Is Beginning To Destroy Google's Core Search BusinessJoin the conversation about this story »See Also:Here's How Apple Is Beginning To Destroy Google's Core Search BusinessRIM Buys Another Company -- This Time To Defend Itself Against MicrosoftThe Truth About The iPad, Day 100

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iOS 4.1 to finally integrate Game Center

2010-09-08T02:06:00.001-07:00

Section: Apple News, Conferences, Press Events, iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iDevice Apps, iPhone OS, SDK and hacks

When Apple first previewed iOS 4 back in April, one of the many features touted was Game Center, a social gaming network akin to Xbox Live. Game Center is a standalone app, but Apple also provides APIs so developers can hook their apps into the service. The release of iOS 4 came and went, and there was no sign of Game Center. But in their press event yesterday, Apple announced that Game Center will be available when iOS 4.1 is available sometime next week. Users will be able to keep track of high scores and challenge their friends in games that have multiplayer functionality.

Representatives from Epic games were given the opportunity to demo their upcoming game, tentatively titled “Project Sword.” In its current state, the game is sort of a one-on-one sword fighting game. Gameplay wasn’t the focus here, however, because the game was made using the Unreal 3 engine, and the graphics looked sinfully gorgeous for a device that is supposed to be used for making phone calls. There is a demo version of the app available that lets the player walk around an empty level, with no actual swordplay. It is available as a free download.

With a polished game management hub on the way, as well as robust games that push the limits of the iOS platform, the landscape for games on iOS certainly looks incredibly exciting.

Also see:

Apple announces new iPod Touch, Game Center, available next week
More on Apple?s Game Center for iPhone, iPod Touch

Full Story » | Written by Indraneel Purohit for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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Mac 101: Use Preview to display a slideshow (update)

2010-09-07T23:06:00.001-07:00

Over the weekend I went to visit some relatives I haven't seen for some time. As is required by such family gatherings, I brought a large number of photographs to share with them.

I planned to show the photographs on my MacBook, which has recently been refurbished, but hasn't had iPhoto reinstalled on it. Running late, I didn't have time to install it as planned. As a last resort, I thought I'd just show the photos using Quick Look and scroll through them in full screen.

When I eventually got round to showing off my photos (you know, that rather drowsy time just after dinner), I realized that Quick Look won't let you scroll through items when in full screen, let alone do a slideshow (which would be pretty useful). However, you can resize the Quick Look window to almost full screen.

Well, to say the least, with hundreds of photos to get through, people already getting bored, my finger hurting from scrolling and my wife giving me the look that says "I told you so," I began to wish I had made the time to reinstall iPhoto. There was no internet access either, so I couldn't even download something like Picasa.

At that point my cousin strolled into the room and said, "That must be taking you ages, why don't you just do a slideshow using Preview?" He then selected all the photos in the folder, right clicked and selected 'Open With Preview.' With the Preview app open, he selected 'View' from the menu bar and then 'Slideshow.' It was that simple.

Thankfully, I was able to leave the photos to display themselves. People could watch as much or as little as they wanted, when they felt like it (the way such photo exhibitions should be!).

You can check out more things to do with Preview at this Apple support page.

Update: A few bright commenters have pointed out that you can, in fact, do a slideshow using Quick Look. First, select more than one photo, then hit the space bar or the Quick Look button. By selecting more than one photo the slideshow options will appear in the Quick Look window. Thanks! TUAWMac 101: Use Preview to display a slideshow (update) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 05 Sep 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Square iPhone app lets you charge credit cards on the go

2010-09-07T20:06:00.001-07:00

In the past there have been several offerings for those who want to use their iPhone to charge one of their customers credit card but they require you to punch in the card's entire number.

A recently announced project codenamed Square is looking to remedy that as it will make use of a magentic-strip reader that plugs into the iPhone's headphone port. All users of the app need to do is swipe the card, punch in the amount and have the customer sign right on the phone. After the transaction is complete it is geotagged and a receipt is sent via email.

There's no word on when exactly this will hit the market but when it does it is sure to be very valuable to those who do selling on the go.

Read (CoolHunting)

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Mobee announces Magic Charger to keep your Magic Mouse charged?magically

2010-09-07T17:06:00.001-07:00

Section: Macintosh / Apple Hardware, Peripherals, Mice

Sick of replacing batteries in your Magic Mouse? Disposable batteries really just make the process a little less, well, magical, don’t they? And rechargeables aren’t perfect either. Mobee would like to change all of that with their Magic Charger. It’s a wireless charging solution for the Magic Mouse that replaces the battery compartment and batteries with inductive rechargeables, making charging your Magic Mouse as simple as placing it on the recharge pad.

The Mobee Magic Charger is one of the most practical applications for wireless charging that I’ve seen. Normally to take advantage of wireless (inductive) charging, you have to encase your device in some clunky adapter. This is a bit different. All you have to do is replace the bottom compartment and batteries of your Magic Mouse with their adapter.

Here’s a video showing how easy this thing is to install and use.

Sure, you still need an adapter, but come on, this is totally convenient. All you have to do to charge your mouse now is throw it on the inductive stand. Want to use it again? Just take it off. No more low battery warnings from OSX, and no more replacing batteries. It doesn’t even need a wall outlet, only a free USB port.

You can now preorder a Mobee Magic Charger for $49.99. They’re set to ship in October. And if you like what you see, rumor has it Mobee will be announcing some more interesting products in the coming days.

Product [Mobee Magic Charger]

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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Updated to iTunes 9.2 on Windows? Update Your Control Panel, too.

2010-09-07T14:06:00.001-07:00

If you are a Windows user and have updated to iTunes v9.2, you also need to update your MobileMe Control Panel to v1.6 to continue syncing contacts, calendars, and bookmarks with MobileMe.

In addition to being compatible with iTunes v.9.2, the new Control Panel delivers improved contact sync with Microsoft Outlook, giving you the new option to place all contacts into the main address book folder in Outlook. This makes it easier to search and use autocomplete with those contacts in Outlook, even when your contacts are organized into groups on MobileMe.

Just run Apple Software Update on your Windows PC to update. Or download it here.

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Maccast 2010.02.28

2010-09-07T11:06:00.001-07:00

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 292. Apple takes some heat on supplier responsibility. The great Flash war of 2010. More reports of iPad's impending sales doom. iPad's A4 custom, but not PA Semi custom? A video player that remembers you spot. Sending an attachment from the iPhone. Review: OWLE Bubo. Running a Mac "sandbox".

Special thanks to our sponsors:

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Path Finder 5, Path Finder is a comprehensive file browser for OS X that combines the best of Apple's Finder with powerful, integrated utilities and some innovative ways of accessing and manipulating your files.

New music, Booty Voodoo by Lee Coulter (iTunes)

EOL: The TiPhone (via Cult of Mac)

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Kevin Rose Responds To Digg Criticism On Diggnation, Mostly Tells Users To Chill

2010-09-07T08:06:00.001-07:00

Digg founder Kevin Rose cheerfully responds to the mountains of criticism around the newly launched Digg 4. His overall theme is that users need to deal with it.

Rose says that he's "gotta take risk" with the service in his quest to push it beyond the 30 million or so monthly visitors to the masses. He wants 20,000 - 30,000 diggs on the top stories v. the few hundred diggs that most top stories get today.

To do that Digg is pushing stories that it thinks are more relevant to you, because people and entities you follow have pushed those stories, too. It's a lot like Twitter, most say, and the soul of Digg is gone.

Video is below.

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Switched Roundup: Top Posts This Week

2010-09-07T05:06:00.001-07:00

Here are the top 10 posts on Switched from this past week:

Dangerous 'LOL is this you?' Spam Hits Facebook Chat
Eager Juror Removed from Jury Over Facebook Posting
NASA Launches Photo Archives on Flickr's Commons
College Kids in Colorado Crash NASA Satellite
Austin's Recycled and Colorful Cocktail Dress Made From Computer Wire
The Best e-Readers Compared: Kindle, Kobo, Nook and Reader Throw Down
Thorough Thieves Steal Canadian Student's Thesis, Backup, Research
Sci-Nonfi: The 10 Best Science Shows to Watch Online
The Secret Behind the PlayStation Controller Symbols
Electricity Could Be Pulled from Air, Research Claims
Switched Roundup: Top Posts This Week originally appeared on Switched on Sat, 04 Sep 2010 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Consumer Watchdog Plants Gargantuan Anti-Google Ad in Times Square

2010-09-07T02:06:00.001-07:00

After Google inadvertently gathered personal information from its Street View cars and rendered Gmail addresses more visible with the ill-conceived launch of Google Buzz, the company soon found itself under fire from governments and consumer advocacy groups. Few critics, however, have been as vocal as Consumer Watchdog, which has now placed an enormous anti-Google ad in the middle of Times Square.

As Fast Company explains, the 540-square-foot Jumbotron stunt features a stylized cartoon of Google CEO Eric Schmidt handing out ice cream to children, in exchange for their private information. Titled 'Don't be Evil?' (an obvious reference to Google's well-known motto), the clip portrays Schmidt as a quasi-pedophilic ice cream truck driver who doles out frozen treats to kids, while quietly collecting their personal data. The massive satire was put together as part of a Consumer Watchdog project called 'Inside Google,' in the hopes of raising consumer awareness about what the organization calls Schmidt's complete "lack of regard for our privacy."Continue reading Consumer Watchdog Plants Gargantuan Anti-Google Ad in Times SquareConsumer Watchdog Plants Gargantuan Anti-Google Ad in Times Square originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Green Day Music Coming Exclusively To 'Rock Band'

2010-09-06T23:06:00.001-07:00

Three-song pack, including 'Know Your Enemy,' will be available July 7 through Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.By Russ Frushtick

Green Day

Photo: Marina Chavez

After several non-denial denials and premature band reveals, Harmonix and MTV Games announced Thursday (June 11) that Green Day music will be coming exclusively to "Rock Band."
Available July 7 through Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, the first Green Day release on "Rock Band" will be a three-song pack taken from their latest album, 21st Century Breakdown. The songs will include "21 Guns," "Know Your Enemy" and "East Jesus Nowhere." Future releases are planned, but details on those remain hush-hush.
Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong seems pretty pumped about the project: "We are excited to be working with MTV and Harmonix. They are leaders and visionaries in the world of music and video games, and 'Rock Band' is a really cool way for fans of all ages to experience our music."
This will be the first time Green Day songs will be playable in a music or rhythm game. Up until now, die-hard fans have been forced to create hacked versions of the songs and add them to modded versions of "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" (a practice that isn't exactly encouraged by the games' developers or artists).
This isn't the first time "Rock Band" has managed to wrangle exclusive big-name artists. "The Beatles: Rock Band," which launches in September, will be the first time music from the Fab Four will be featured in a rhythm and music game.
For more "Rock Band" news, check out Multiplayer.MTV.com.

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The Nintendo DS And PSP Games We're Most Excited For In 2009

2010-09-06T20:06:00.001-07:00

We can't wait to get 'Mario and Luigi RPG 3' and 'Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars' in our hands.By Stephen Totilo

"Patapon 2"

Photo: Sony

The iPhone may prove to be big player in video games in 2009, but right now, the five games we most want to play on the go are on the Nintendo DS and PSP.
Here are our five most-anticipated portable games of 2009:
5. "Rhythm Heaven"
How do I describe this one? It's a weird music game that involves tapping and swiping the DS stylus — not just in sync to the game's music, but to characters on the screen who dance or punch or karate-chop things — or all sorts of other oddness. The Japan-only original, "Rhythm Tengoku" for the Game Boy Advance, is one of my favorite games ever. This DS sequel will hopefully be at least half as good. Nintendo says this one is coming out in the first half of the year.
4. "Loco Roco 2"
The first edition of this PSP blob-rolling game was one of the most cheerful and creatively illustrated games I had played on any platform. The blob-rolling is back and looks to be even more imaginative this time. This game is already out in other parts of the world and will be released in America in the spring.
3. "Patapon 2"
This PSP sequel follows up last year's rhythm war-strategy game. That's right — rhythm war strategy. As with the 2008 "Patapon," players control an army of soldiers that almost look like a bunch of punctuation marks, marching from left to right across the PSP's screen in a battle against birds, dragons and other beasts. The player doesn't control the army. Instead, the player taps out the drumbeats that send the army marching forward, back or into various types of attacks. Keeping the rhythm keeps the combat going. Play this one with headphones, and you'll be hooked.
2. "Mario and Luigi RPG 3"
Good things about the "Mario" role-playing game series include the frequent use of Luigi as a projectile weapon, the industry-leading comedy scripts, the exhaustive cameos of many great Mario series characters big and small — and, my favorite, the "Mario" role-playing games are big without being bulky, sporting a streamlined RPG structure that requires a lot less time spent fiddling with menus and more time in action and expanding the story. This DS game probably won't be out until the second half of 2009.
1. "Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars"
Not much of a surprise, right? The folks at Rockstar have been working on this first DS "GTA" for years. It's still not clear how they can provide a "GTA"-quality soundtrack in a DS cartridge (I'm guessing they won't). But I do expect Rockstar's knack for great characters and creative chaotic gameplay to be in full force. This one is rated M and will be out in March.
Those are my five most-anticipated portable games for this year. Honorable mention has to go to Sony's upcoming "Resistance Retribution," coming out for the PSP this winter. And, certainly, those iPhone and iPod Touch games are getting better and better.
What portable games are you most excited for? Let us know below. And check out our most-anticipated Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 3 games from earlier this week.
For more gaming coverage, check out the MTV Multiplayer blog.

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Stunning Time-Lapse Footage From the International Space Station

2010-09-06T17:06:00.001-07:00

There's nothing like images of Earth from space to make you feel both insignificant and full of wonder. This time-lapsed footage, taken from the International Space Station (in HD no less), is some of the most stunning we've seen in a long time. Snapped by NASA astronaut Don Pettit, this footage makes us think we picked the wrong profession.Continue reading Stunning Time-Lapse Footage From the International Space StationStunning Time-Lapse Footage From the International Space Station originally appeared on Switched on Mon, 06 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Inventive Inmates Smuggle Cell Phones With Bows and Arrows

2010-09-06T14:06:00.001-07:00

There are plenty of ways to get a cell phone into prison, and not all of them involve shoving them in uncomfortable places. Inventive Brazilian inmates have already trained pigeons to sneak the mobile devices through the bars, but the latest innovation in cell phone smuggling is by far the most badass... and dangerous. According to the AP, criminal associates on the outside have started strapping phones to arrows and firing them over prison walls with bows. A 17-year-old was caught when one of the arrows he launched into a Brazilian penitentiary struck an officer in the back. Luckily, the officer wasn't seriously injured, because the cell phone was inexplicably attached to the tip of arrow, blunting the impact. The youth was apparently able to get at least four phones into the prison before he was caught. We bet American prisoners with sore rectums are wondering why they didn't think of this one.Inventive Inmates Smuggle Cell Phones With Bows and Arrows originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Analyst: Apple producing more iPads

2010-09-06T11:06:00.001-07:00

Analyst Katy Huberty from Morgan Stanley tells All Things D that she believes Apple is ramping up production on the iPad, aiming to build as many as three million a month by the end of this year. That would mean that the company could make 36 million iPads next year, which brings the total close to (but not quite) the whopping 40 million units predicted by her supply chain analysis. Sales estimates for next year started out around 10 million iPads, but have since risen to as high as 42 million units, which would be quite a year for a product that didn't exist before this past April.

Currently, says Huberty, Apple is producing about two million iPads a month, and that's brought shipping times on the website down, and helped availability across the board. But the manufacturing process needs to be refined even further, and of course if, as expected earlier next year, the device sees a revision, that may delay things even further. There seems to be one thing most analysts agree on, however: Apple is going to sell a whole lot of iPads in 2011.TUAWAnalyst: Apple producing more iPads originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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One million Ping users in just 48 hours

2010-09-06T08:06:00.001-07:00

Section: iTunes, Mac Software, Apple Software, Audio / Video
Did we expect anything less than this from Apple? On Friday, Apple issued a press release to brag share the news that in the first 48 hours of iTunes 10 being available, one million users had signed up to use the new music-oriented social network, Ping. According to the press release, around three million people had downloaded iTunes 10, one third of whom decided to sign up to the social network to share their musical tastes.

There are no official numbers on how many artists are currently using the social network—it feels quite limited at the time of writing, with many artists having no presence. I’m sure that over time the number of artists will grow considerably as the benefits of having a Ping presence continue to prove themselves. With 160 million registered users in the iTunes Store, as more and more of those sign up to Ping, the demand for artists to also use the service will grow.

It’s not a bad start for Ping, and it’s still very much in the early days. Only time will tell if this will be the music social network, or just a music-based hang out for the Apple fanboys. Personally, I’d put my money on the first of the two—this is Apple after all.

Read [Apple PR]

Full Story » | Written by Ed Parry for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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Maccast 2010.04.16

2010-09-06T05:06:00.001-07:00

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 298. iPad popularity means shortages and delays. iPhone OS 4 Preview. More blows in the Great Flash War of 2010. New Macbook Pros are finally here. i5s and i7s all around (almost). 27" iMac updates. Leopard, Snow Leopard Security Update 2010-003. New Mac virus raising HellRTS. Questions about buying a new Macbook. Enable Text-to-Speech in iBooks on the iPad. Review: BearExtender n3. Wi-fi Security on iPads and iPhones. You must quit iPhoto to back up pics with Time Machine.

Special thanks to our sponsor:

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New music, Woodwork by The Kathy Fleishmann Band (iTunes)

EOL: How to Print from the iPad (via TUAW)

Shownotes in: HTML or OPML
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AOL Didn't Have A Choice For Search, And It Shows (AOL, GOOG, MSFT)

2010-09-06T02:06:00.001-07:00

AOL doesn't seem to have gotten any big upfront payments from Google for its search deal.
How come?
Probably because AOL wasn't in a very good position to negotiate.
The speculation is that while CEO Tim Armstrong may have talked and even negotiated with a handful of search companies (he says it was six or seven), he only really ever had one choice…Google – the incumbent.
One source familiar with the process gave us two big reasons:

AOL has about ~4.5 million access subscribers who still generate huge amounts of cash for the company. It can't do anything to scare them away. They are very used to seeing Google search results. Can't mess with that.

The only real rival to Google for AOL search was Microsoft. But AOL couldn't do a search deal with Microsoft because it wants to sell to Microsoft. The only reason Microsoft would ever actually buy AOL is to get AOL's search business. If AOL turned itself over to Bing for a cash payment now, Microsoft would no longer have any incentive to take that step. It's that whole if-you-give-the-milk-away-no-one-will-buy-the-cow thing.

And then there's another reason: Money. Microsoft's revenue-per-search is so much lower than Google's that Microsoft would have had to have taken a huge loss on the deal to guarantee as much revenue to AOL as Google will deliver. Join the conversation about this story »See Also:JULY SEARCH SHARE: Google Loses, Yahoo Gains, Bing Hits WallComScore: Here's How We're Going To Weed Out Bogus Searches From Our Stats Now That Everyone Is Gaming The SystemTHE MICROSOFT INVESTOR: Betting On Gaming With Its Mobile Strategy Is Not Wise

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Official Twitter app updated for iPad

2010-09-05T23:06:00.001-07:00

A few months ago, Twitter announced that they had acquired Tweetie and the web (I refuse to use the word "blogosphere" because it is a stupid word) exploded with predictions that they had effectively killed off the market for 3rd party Twitter applications by offering a free alternative.

With the release of Twitter as a universal app that now includes iPad support (read the official announcement here) I feel confident that the reports of the death of 3rd party Twitter applications have been greatly exaggerated.
The UI for Twitter for iPad is, without question, unlike any other Twitter application that we've seen. Opinions around the TUAW offices differ on whether this difference is "awesome" or "an abomination." I definitely range towards the latter end of the scale, and judging by most of the comments of people that I follow on Twitter, the initial reaction is definitely one of "too busy" and "over designed."
This is in sharp contrast to Twitterrific, which just released a major update for the iPad and iPhone where the Iconfactory made dramatic simplifications to the app, while retaining the most important features for the most users. (Craig Hockenberry talked about those changes here.)TUAWOfficial Twitter app updated for iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Motorola Morrison spotted at FCC

2010-09-05T20:06:00.001-07:00

We've been hearing about the fabled Motorola Morrison for some time now but without any official word we were left in the dark in terms of a price point and release date.

Luckily, thanks to the FCC, we now know that the phone is at least a bit closer to hitting North American carriers. Other than a few basic specs, make note that T-Mobile's 3G bands are prominently displayed in the above screen capture. Our source also confirms that the handset will be running Android and have WiFi.

A coincidence? Probably not, expect this phone on T-Mobile, at some point in the near future.

vis FCC

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Macintosh product news - August 30, 2010

2010-09-05T17:06:00.001-07:00

Section: Mac Software, Miscellaneous / Other, System UtilitiesMacintosh product updates and announcements for August 30, 2010:

Software

Kapeli has announced DockView 1.03, a new Mac OS X app that extends the Dock and makes it aware of the windows that applications have open. With DockView, whenever a user points the mouse at an application’s icon, thumbnail images of the windows are displayed. DockView helps Mac OS X users visualize the windows they currently have open and easily find the window they are looking for. DockView is also able to display the previews in the default Mac CMD Tab application switcher.
Objective Decision has announced Contactizer 3.8.8, an update to their popular business management application for Mac OS X. Contactizer is an all-in-one solution for managing, sharing and organizing personal and business information. Contactizer Pro 3.8 makes your business management experience more efficient, productive and inventive thanks a wealth of high-performing and innovative features. Version 3.8 is a major upgrade that includes powerful new features to manage your professional life.
Marketcircle Inc. has released Billings Pro, an update to its time billing and invoicing solution for Mac OS X and iPhone. BIllings Pro is a multi-user time tracking and invoicing application for for multi-user businesses, with a simple Web interface for workers to track time. Billings Pro uses Marketcircle’s Apple Design Award Winning desktop interface from Billings 3, as well as an iPhone application based heavily off of their Macworld Best of Show winning application, Billings Touch.

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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Square Enix Publishing Ankama's Wakfu In North America

2010-09-05T14:06:00.001-07:00

Square Enix announced that it is releasing Wakfu, an upcoming free-to-play tactical MMORPG from French developer and publisher Ankama Games (Dofus series), to North America. Wakfu features an anime-style world, 12 character classes (each with a total of 25 spells), customizable characters, and a turn-based, tactical combat system. Players actions also affect the game's environments, in that killing a particular monster or mining an ore can prevent that creature/resource from appearing again. In France, Ankama's ...

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iTunes 101: How to set up Ping

2010-09-05T11:06:00.001-07:00

Apple has jumped into the social media pool with both feet by introducing Ping to iTunes 10. Since this is brand-new, we'll show you how to set it up and start pinging your friends. Whatever that means.

After installing iTunes 10, you'll see the Ping button. Click it to enter your Apple ID and begin the process of creating your profile. It'll pull the information stored on the account, like name and address, but fortunately you can edit it. You can add a photo to represent yourself as well. There are many PhotoBooth-style filters available, so have fun playing around.

Note that your photo won't go live until Apple approves it. Mine took a good 20 minutes to show up, and others have said the same thing. Just be patient, it'll get there.

Click below to read more.

Gallery: How to set up PingTUAWiTunes 101: How to set up Ping originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Macintosh product news - August 30, 2010

2010-09-05T08:06:00.001-07:00

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Square iPhone app lets you charge credit cards on the go

2010-09-05T05:06:00.001-07:00

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iPhone, iPod and iPad product news - August 30, 2010

2010-09-05T02:06:00.001-07:00

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iDevice AppsiPhone, iPod and iPad product updates and announcements for August 30, 2010:

Apps

Coladia has released Secret of the Lost Cavern HD 1.0 for iPad. Secret of the Lost Cavern is an adventure game that plunges the player into an inspiring journey that takes place during the Paleolithic period in prehistoric time, 15,000 years B.C. Learn about Prehistoric life, follow the path of your mentor and work with him to recreate the paintings of the renowned Lascaux Cave. The gameplay & each puzzle are designed to take unique advantage of the touch capabilities of the iPad.
Playus Soft has announced the release of their definitive dual-stick shooter Creatures: First Blood. The goal of Creatures: First Blood is to use your dual-stick shooter skills to survive the waves upon waves of monsters, and each wave is more difficult than the last. There are also a slew of weapons to collect, including shotguns, machine guns, rocket launchers, and rail guns.
Spielhaus has released Firemen Panic 1.0 for iPhone and iPod touch. Developed as a true “pick up and play” game, this fast-paced, tilt-based game features a burning building where people are jumping out of windows to escape the fire. The player has to position a saftey net and help them land softly. At the same time, distracted old ladies roam the streets in front of the building, eventually being hit by falling furniture.
Funky Visions has released Jiggle Balls HD 1.0, their new entertainment app for the iPad. Jiggle Balls HD comes with plenty of ball bouncing sound effects and many ball types to choose from. Select your ball type, size, weight, bounciness, and stickiness. Then play around with the world physics by changing the gravity and rotating your device. Specifically designed for the iPad, Jiggle Balls HD includes better graphics, more sounds, ball types, backgrounds, and a whole new menu system.
Riptide Games has announced iArrPirate 1.3 for iPhone and iPod touch. With iArrPirate users can turn anyone and anything into a Pirate using custom illustrated objects. Final pirate photos can then be posted to Facebook, Twitter, emailed or saved on the device. To mark the launch and celebrate Talk Like a Pirate Day, Riptide Games has also kicked off the iArrPirate 50 contest. Make the best tweet/photo combination between now and Talk Like a Pirate Day, September 19, 2010.
Maddysoft has announced Palettes 3.0, an update to their popular color palette tool for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Developed specifically to take advantage of an iOS device’s unique capabilities and touch interface, Palettes is a powerful productivity tool for creating and maintaining color palettes. Grab colors from a photograph, a website, or add colors using any one of 5 color models. Quickly find matching colors with support for many different color schemes.
iHomeEducator has released iLiveMath Farm Fresh 3.0 for iOS. Developed specifically for K-7th grade, kids can count color splashed fruits and vegetables. Early readers can learn about teamwork as well as addition in the classic folktale of “Stone Soup.” Higher grades get ready for challenging mental word problems that require multi-step mastery of multiplication and division. iLiveMath Farm Fresh is now featured on iTunes “New and Noteworthy” under the Education category.
Houdah Software has announced ACTPrinter 3.0 for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. ACTPrinter is a game changing application which finally takes the paper out of electronic tickets, boarding passes, and more. With ACTPrinter, all your documents travel with you - on your iPad or iPhone. Take emails, web pages, letters, and more with you for reading on the go. In version 3.0, printouts may now be organized in sections. New printouts are always added to the Inbox, and more.
Agile Tortoise, Inc. has announced Terminology 1.0 for iOS. Terminology is a dictionary, thesaurus, research tool or just playground for those curious about words. Reaching #25 on the Top iPad Paid App Charts, the iPhone version is ready to bring this easy to use dictionary/thesaurus app to your pocket. It sets itself apart from other dictionary and thesaurus Apps in the iTunes App Store with its rich, readable interface and easy access to further research with the built-in browser.
Fortuna Mobile has released SharkWatch! 1.2 for iPhone and iPod touch. SharkWatch! is a social networking app, dedicated to shark sightings and education, or anyone curious about our ocean’s apex predator. SharkWatch! users can share their shark encounters with other users of the app, as well as with other social networking groups; browse through sightings posted by the SharkWatch! community; find out which sharks may get up close and personal at the local beach, and more.
Michael L. Farrell has released Afterwing HD 1.01 for iPad devices. Featuring a configurable cockpit view or chase view, Afterwing HD provides users with a unique paper-plane flying experience that takes advantage of the device’s modern motion control features. By pulling back or rotating the device, the user can influence the flight controls for the protagonist flyer and use his weapons to rise against the massive sea of opponent aircraft.
Green Queens and Kings has announced Green Quest 1.1 for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Green Quest is the start of a new generation of apps that gets kids outside, helps them learn respect and compassion for the earth, and encourages family time. Parents and teachers will want their kids to use Green Quest with friends, neighbors, and in classrooms around the globe. Green Quest makes being Earth friendly easy and fun.
Appbrella has announced Rain Go Away ABCs 1.0, their fun new learning and discovery app for iPhone and iPad. Rain Go Away ABCs is an enchanting interactive app filled with hand-painted art, jiggle and tilt animations, and indoor activities for parents and children to do together. Each page of Rain Go Away ABCs includes interactive animations with sound effects for toddlers and preschoolers to discover. This app is perfect for any day of the week, and a lifesaver on long, rainy afternoons.
iStoryTime has announced My First Day of School 2.1 for iPad and iPhone 4, a book for preschool and kindergarten age children who are preparing for their first day of school. Just in time for school “My First Day of School” helps children overcome separation anxiety. “My First Day of School” is part of the ‘Change is Strange’ series by Ricki Booker, developed to help make life’s changes easier for kids and their parents.
Beanheads Consulting Inc. has announced Sort Shots - iPad Edition 2.0. Sort Shots - iPad Edition utilizes metadata/EXIF information from photos for easy image searching. Easily import keywords from Adobe Bridge and Lightroom, Apple iPhoto, Nik Software/Nikon NX2, Microsoft Expression Media. Update your keywords and export the images with the keywords to Adobe Lightroom and Bridge. Version 2.0 retains original image qualities including full resolution and more.
Everyone?s favorite high-flying gnome is back with a brand new iPhone episode, Tomb of the Pharaoh. Fling this little nugget into a new world with fresh targets, brand new achievements, and a terrifying mini-game, Bat Attack. Chuck Gnome is good and ready to launch into this new adventure, but he can?t get there without you. Help a brother out and slingshot him there. Enjoy the arcade-style shooting gallery game now with new progress indicators that let you know what targets you need to hit to unlock new levels. The Chuck Gnome V1.1 update introduces a new episode, music, achievements and mini-game that add to the fun and value of this quirky pick-up-and-play title.
A new hot air balloon game for iPhone and iPad is ready to transport players using the only medium worth living for: the app. “The Web Is Dead,” and the developers at Eyedip could not care less. Why bother with it when when the Flight Doodle app for the iPhone and iPad was just unveiled? No one wants to spend all day “searching” when clever games like this are available right this second. With the World Wide Web in such obvious decline, it?s no wonder Eyedip is creating more and more apps to delightfully entertain and simply satisfy people of the world. Enter Flight Doodle and Flight Doodle HD.
dBelement, LLC has announced HiFutureMe 1.2, their free, quick, easy and useful app for iPhone and iPod touch. HiFutureMe is an amazingly simple app that allows you to send messages to your future self. HiFutureMe launches instantly, and gets right to the point. Write your message, select a time and hit “Send”. The only bells and whistles are ones you’ll hear when you are awarded the “greatest punctuality” and “remembers things best in the world” award.
Legal Radiation has released Flying Discs 1.0 for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users. The application is a new product launch that took beta testers by storm. Flying Discs is a reflex and mental sharpening game that the testers pronounced as extremely addictive and say that other games seem slow and dull by comparison. There is a kids’ version included and developers are also offering a money contest.
myPANTONE X-Ref, an iPhone application and Web tool that allows designers to cross-reference between PANTONE Color Libraries, has been updated to include the new PANTONE PLUS SERIES Colors. PANTONE PLUS is the next generation of the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM and offers 566 new colors.
Your tweets and pics could soon actually matter to your neighbors, thanks to OverHeard, the new iPhone app that sorts shared content by where they originated. Users can watch as hundreds of pins, representing text and images, fall on a map of their neighborhood or anywhere else in the world.
Helix Coding has announced LivingRoom for iPad 1.2, a major upgrade to their interior design application. LivingRoom gives professional and amateur designers alike a complete set of tools to plan and design spaces. The app lets users create floor plans, lay out furniture, choose and apply materials, and share the results with one press. It provides a large library of structural and design objects, lets users keep notes for each project, and makes it easy to add custom textures.
Charlie’s Games has announced their 2 for 1 Special offer. Until the fourth of September 2010, gamers can get Charlie’s Games two latest releases, Irukandji and Bullet Candy Perfect for a small donation. What’s more, you can also opt to send the games to a friend. Irukandji is a fun score attack shoot-em-up, set in an abstract underwater trench. Bullet Candy Perfect is a fun shoot-em-up game, with sharp, super smooth 3D graphics and a cool techno soundtrack.

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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Nokia 5800i Gets Approved by the FCC

2010-09-04T23:06:00.001-07:00

Another version of the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic has been approved by the FCC. The 5800i is the version I am talking about and it's probably going to be headed to China. The 5800i is going to be pretty similar to the regular 5800 version. In terms of features you can expect it to offer you WCDMA 900/2100MHz,quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE and WiFi connectivity. That WiFi is a little strange for a Chinese considering that we've heard lots of rumors about the WiFi-less iPhone made for China. Or should we assume this 5800i is simply a refresh of the 5800? Are we getting that capacitive screen that was rumored a while ago?

via FCC

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Macintosh product news - August 30, 2010

2010-09-04T20:06:00.001-07:00

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Mariner announces Narrator text to speech program

2010-09-04T17:06:00.001-07:00

Section: Mac Software, Audio / Video, Miscellaneous / Other, Writing / Publishing

Adding even more functionality to their suite of programs for the creative writer, Mariner today announced Narrator. Using the voices built into Mac OS X, Narrator offers a collection of tools that enable you to take text to speech. Just paste your text into the window or import an RTF, .txt or .doc file into Narrator and your letter, story—any text—is brought to life using voice synthesis. You can choose different voices, rates, pitches, inflections and volumes for each character you assign, giving your text a wide range of expressiveness.

And why would you want to do this? If you learn from listening, you can hear your notes read back to you. If you’re writing a script, you can hear the dialogue in different voices. If your working on a novel, you can export it to iTunes to listen to on your iPod to make sure what you’re writing is what you want to hear.

And if the built-in Mac OS X voices aren’t enough for you, Mariner has teamed with Cepstral to provide additional voices for purchase. Create your own little robot drama troupe.

Narrator is now available as a download only for just $39.95. More more details and system requirements, visit marinersoftware.com.

Product [Narrator]

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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8-Bit Eclectic Method Mixtape Mashes Up Classics, 'Angry Birds' Lands on Android

2010-09-04T14:06:00.001-07:00

There's a load of great tech news happening out there every day, and, unfortunately, we just can't cover it all. Here are a few of the other noteworthy things we saw today on our never-ending journey through the wild, wild Web.

Vimeo user Eclectic Method takes the Girl Talk approach to mixing up the visuals and music from classic 8-bit games like 'Tetris,' 'Duck Hunt' and 'Super Mario Bros.' [From: Vimeo]
Android users can now waste an inordinate amount of time playing games on their phones now that 'Angry Birds' has finally landed in the Marketplace. [From: TechRadar]
Magnum photographer Martin Parr offers tips for improving your holiday photographs. [From: Guardian.co.uk]
Apples in Stereo's frontman Robert Schneider hooked his brain up to a Moog MG-1 synthesizer via a hacked version of Mattel's EEG-reading MindFlex toy. The results were certainly better than expected. [From: Wired.co.uk]

Got a tip? Want to talk to us? In need of more choice links like these? Drop us a line on Twitter and check out our Tumblr blog.
8-Bit Eclectic Method Mixtape Mashes Up Classics, 'Angry Birds' Lands on Android originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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The New 'Watchmen' Video Game: See Screenshots And Our First Impressions

2010-09-04T11:06:00.001-07:00

'The End Is Nigh,' due out in March, serves as a prequel to the highly anticipated movie.

Photo: Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment

TECHNITROL TAKETWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE SYNTEL SYNTAXBRILLIAN SYNOPSYS

Here's The Real Problem With Labor Unions

2010-09-04T08:06:00.001-07:00

As everyone should know by now, my main concern with unions is specifically with public unions. While I do not care for unions at all, and never have, at least with private unions, someone other than corrupt politicians buying votes is bargaining at the other end of the table.In the case of public unions, if politicians strike a bad deal, taxpayers foot the bill. In the case of private corporations, if management strikes a bad deal, the company goes bankrupt, shareholders take a hit, or the jobs move elsewhere, as soon as the contract is up.Except in few cases every now and again, private unions just cannot seem to understand this simple economic fact.Machinists Union Pickets Cessna AircraftThe Kansas Wichita Eagle highlights the typical union response, public or private, in Cessna's initial offer to Machinists includes wage cut
Machinist union members at Cessna Aircraft picketed near the company's plant in southwest Wichita on Thursday to protest jobs being sent outside the city.
Members fought strong, gusty afternoon winds and carried signs that read "Keep it Made in Wichita," "Outsourcing is Treason" and "We built the Air Capital," as they picketed at K-42 and Hoover roads. Some carried American flags.
Cessna and the Machinists union are in the midst of contract negotiations. The current contract expires Sept. 19. About 2,300 hourly workers at Cessna are covered by the agreement. Hawker Beechcraft also has reopened negotiations with the union as it considers sending work to Louisiana, Mississippi and outside the country.
Cessna's initial proposal is for a 10-year agreement that cuts wages 4.2 percent, weakens job security, replaces the pension plan with a 401(k) plan and increases the share of the cost of health insurance paid by the workers to 30 percent, said union spokesman Bob Wood.
"There's no job security in the current proposal," Wood said.
"Wichita is based on aircraft," said Cynthia Hise. "If you don't get a good contract...." Darren Hise finished her sentence. "It's going to hurt the whole economy in Wichita."
Reflections on Job SecurityHere's the deal. The Hises and the union in general appear ready willing and able to "hurt the whole Wichita economy" if they do not get what they want.I have to ask "How stupid is that?"The answer is "tremendously stupid".It is far better to have a good paying job and no job security than no job at all and no prospects of a job. That's what it boils down to, and like it or not, that is the economic reality.I do not know what salaries are, but a 10 year contract with only a 4.2% pay cut does not strike me as a bad deal. Those who think otherwise need to compare it to the alternative: seeing all the jobs go to Louisiana, Mississippi, or outside the country.By the way, wouldn't residents of Louisiana and Mississippi be very grateful for those job, regardless of what the salary was? I think so. So the bottom line is this mess, is the unions would be to blame and only the unions to blame if Cessna moves elsewhere. The union will also be responsible for wrecking the entire local economy if it happens.Take the contract and run! It's for 10 years! Because .... You Don't Know What You've Lost Till Its Gone, Then It's Too Late. In this case, it will be gone forever.Mike "Mish" Shedlockhttp://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.comClick Here To Scroll Thru My Recent Post ListJoin the conversation about this story »See Also:7 Weak Spots In The Employment Report

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QUIZ: Guess The Media Stars From Their Yearbook Photos

2010-09-04T05:06:00.001-07:00

The summer is over and it's back-to-school season once again.
A new generation takes on the academic challenge for another year filled with hopes and dreams for a big, bright future.
To mark the occasion, we dug out the old yearbook photos of 10 big media personalities.
Can you recognize who these freckled young faces belong to?So, test your mettle...Who are these people? >Join the conversation about this story »

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Apple awarded new patents

2010-09-04T02:06:00.001-07:00

This past week, Apple had a host of new patents officially approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office. From streamlining the way images are rendered to preventing the accidental opening of applications, a large chunk of the patents seem to relate to the ways that a user interacts with a device. Macsimum News has a synopsis of all the patents awarded.

A few of the patents that stick out are for operations that we take for granted on a daily basis.

One of them relates to scrolling through a list on a touch input device (say your iPhone contacts list), with the acceleration of the scrolling of that list being determined by the input of your finger. That's pretty nifty!

Another is for immediate search feedback on a Web browser application, like the Safari search bar. So, for instance, when you start typing in the first few letters of a search query and a list pops up of the potential items that you're searching for - that's immediate search feedback.

I think I would be lost without this feature. Often times, I can't remember the title of a song, but if I can remember the first couple lyrics, I can type them in, and a link to the song title will appear in the list. Or when I can't quite remember how to spell a word (embarrassing, I know), I go to the Safari search bar instead of going to the dictionary. Somehow, it's always the easier place to turn to.

These are some pretty simple features, but they make such a profound difference in the ways that we use and interact with the computer devices around us on a daily basis. There's some solid innovation going on over there in Cupertino.TUAWApple awarded new patents originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

VARIAN SEMICONDUCTOR EQUIPMENT ASSOCIATES UNITED ONLINE UNISYS TRIQUINT SEMICONDUCTOR TRIMBLE NAVIGATION LIMITED

Square iPhone app lets you charge credit cards on the go

2010-09-03T23:06:00.001-07:00

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iDisk App updated for iPad

2010-09-03T20:06:00.001-07:00

The new iDisk 1.2 app is now available for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. On the iPad it is optimized for the larger screen and includes the ability to open iDisk documents in other apps, for example a PDF in iBooks. It also allows you to take advantage of multitasking on iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS with iOS 4. Click here for a complete list of what's new.

The iDisk app is available as a free download from the App Store. If you already have iDisk installed, just launch the App Store from your device and tap Updates.

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Maccast 2010.03.17 - Macworld Expo 2010: Busy Mac

2010-09-03T17:06:00.001-07:00

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If Your Startup Can't Get Money In New York Right Now, There's Something Wrong With It

2010-09-03T14:06:00.001-07:00

Smart Decisions is supported by Mercedes-Benz.

Good news New York City startups: It's never been easier to raise money to get your company off the ground.
One plugged in digital media exec told us, "If you can't get money for your startup right now, then there's something wrong with you." Other people in the scene basically confirmed this, but added a few caveats.
Chiefly, getting quality capital is as challenging as ever. And big brand name VCs aren't changing their pace of funding.
However, New York City is awash in capital for early stage startups looking for smallish (under $1 million) sized rounds. There's a lot of "hedge fund guys" looking to invest in tech startups in New York right now, says one New York investor.
"If you're a hedge fund guy you're used to billions. And when you see valuations in the millions, it seems like nothing to invest," says this investor. But he adds, the hedge fund guys don't get the technology business. Taking their money, therefore, he argues is less valuable.
Of course, he's talking his book, but he says he walked away from investing in a startup after some hedge fund guys made the valuation out of whack. The terms were more favorable for the startup, but it would have scared off later round investment, he says.
A VC we spoke with touched upon the idea of later round investment. He's seeing a lot of angel funding cash out there, but he thinks some startups are getting funding before they're ready for it, or deserve it. And when the startups go looking for a series A or B round, they might find that getting that later round is much more challenging.
One person we know who has a startup trying to raise money was floored at how easy it was to get a small slug of cash. It was basically a short phone call with a potential investor who said, "I've heard good things about you from people I trust. When you're ready for me to invest, just call me back."
The growth in early stage funds in New York is being driven by a few factors say the people we spoke with.
1. The New York tech scene is flourishing. And coverage of it is too, thus investors are interested.
2. Some of the people that had successful New York based startups in the early part of the decade are investing in New York startups now.
3. Wall Street types are willing to spend money on startups.
4. It's easier than ever to do a lightweight startup. You don't need much money for many web based companies. If you need less money, it's easier to get funding.
5. Companies are acquisitive again. Google has purchased 25 companies in 12 months. Facebook is acquiring at a decent clip. Even Apple is buying some companies. And there's many other companies stepping up their M&A.
Add it all together, and the city is looking quite "frothy," according to our digital media exec friend.Join the conversation about this story »

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'Def Jam Rapstar' Video Game Coming This Year

2010-09-03T11:06:00.001-07:00

Game's trailer features Young Jeezy, but track list has not been announced.By Russ Frushtick

Young Jeezy

Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images

Wonder how you stack up against Jay-Z, Mos Def and Dr. Dre? Good news: You'll get your chance with the upcoming release of "Def Jam Rapstar" from 4mm Games later this year.
The title will let you step behind the mic and perform karaoke hits from Def Jam recording artists.
Speaking with IGN, 4mm CEO Nicholas Perrett mentioned the goals for the game and whom they're designing it for. "I think, at the highest level, we're trying to make a game that appeals to a very broad audience of anyone who has really enjoyed hip-hop music at any point in the last 30 years."
Perrett went on to describe some of the features that will be revealed at next week's E3 Expo, saying that gamers will be able to continue the playing even after they've finished the song, and that there will be a strong community following behind the title to ensure that it has a long lifespan.
The partnership with the record label opens up a lot of possibilities, as well. "Def Jam means hip-hop. And I think it goes right to the core of why we're in partnership with Def Jam — why hasn't anyone made this game yet? — all comes back to, it's difficult, because there's only a few people who could probably pull it off."
The song list is, unfortunately, still unconfirmed, but a new trailer for "Def Jam Rapstar" on IGN featured Young Jeezy's "Put On." It's important to note that it won't just be new artists featured in the game. Perrett said, "If I had a grandma who was into a particular type of hip-hop song, I want to know that I've got that as much as the one that my 14-year-old nephew is listening to."
There's no word yet on how the game will actually play, but we're going to be getting a closer look at the title at E3 next week, so stay tuned.
For more video game news check out our gaming blog at Multiplayer.MTV.com.

Related Artists

Young Jeezy

Jay-Z

Mos Def

Dr. Dre

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New MobileMe Gallery App for iPhone

2010-09-03T08:06:00.001-07:00

The MobileMe Gallery app provides a great new way to view published photos and movies directly on your iPhone or iPod touch. You can flick left or right to move through photos, pinch to zoom, or rotate your iPhone or iPod touch for a landscape view. The MobileMe Gallery app automatically stores photos you've viewed so you can quickly access them again, even without a network connection. And you can easily view friends' public galleries by selecting them from your iPhone contacts or entering their member name. See how it works in this video.

To install the free MobileMe Gallery app on your iPhone or iPod touch, make sure you are running iPhone OS 3.1 then search for "MobileMe Gallery" in the App Store, select it, and tap Free and then Install. You can also download the app on your computer from the iTunes App Store and it will be installed the next time you sync your device.

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Game Center coming in iOS 4.1, Epic Games working on Project Sword

2010-09-03T05:06:00.001-07:00

Steve Jobs just showed off some screenshots and functionality for Game Center, which will be officially releasing with iOS 4.1 next week. The official app will provide social networking features for App Store games, including friends lists, achievements, "auto matching" (the rest of the world calls that matchmaking), challenges and a host of other cross-platform features for gamers on Apple's mobile platform.

Jobs also invited a few gentlemen from Epic Games onstage to show off "Project Sword," a gorgeous title running in the Unreal Engine inside iOS. It's an action RPG title that's coming soon with full Game Center integration, and the demo featured practically instant multiplayer fighting from a third-person perspective, as well as first-person world exploration. Seriously, this thing looked great, but you don't have to take my word for it -- Epic has already uploaded the very same environment shown in the demo as a free app, so go download and check it out now. It does require an iPhone 3GS or better, but man that's a good looking game.

Game Center is finally coming out with iOS 4.1, which Jobs said would be available next week. Looking forward to it!TUAWGame Center coming in iOS 4.1, Epic Games working on Project Sword originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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BeamAtic Headlights Remedy the Blight of Blinding High Beams

2010-09-03T02:06:00.001-07:00

Blinding high beams, the ignorance of turn signals and creepers in the passing lane rank among -- and perhaps as -- the most annoying nuisances on the road. Enviable Japanese drivers may soon forget about one of those infuriating tendencies, though, with the arrival of new BeamAtic Premium headlights.

France's Valeo SA developed the technology, which reportedly relies on an on-board camera and image processing software to identify approaching vehicles. The system then utilizes the headlights' "moveable dousers" to shift the light away from the eyes of oncoming drivers. Blinding brights, then, (which could actually be left on all the time) no longer appear quite so blinding or bright. Ichiko Industries plans to release the luminous lifesavers in Japan next month, and hopes that the devices will soon become factory standards for various manufacturers. An array of other pavement plagues still clog the streets, but -- until that awesome laser-guided navigation system finally arrives -- this should at least help quell some of the rage.BeamAtic Headlights Remedy the Blight of Blinding High Beams originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Happy Birthday Chrome, You?re About To Overtake Firefox On TechCrunch

2010-09-02T23:06:00.001-07:00

As we pointed out earlier, today is Google Chrome's second birthday. Since it launched in beta on September 2, 2008, it has come a long way (it's already 6 versions deep). Back then, it was Windows-only, with official Mac and Linux support only coming late last year. But now it's on the verge of another milestone: becoming the top browser coming to this site.

I've checked out our logs over the past few years to see how well Chrome has been doing compared to its rival browsers. The numbers are shockingly strong for such a new entry -- particularly in the past year. Obviously, TechCrunch has a tech-centric audience, but I don't think it's�off-base�to say that you're also a leading audience of early adopters that often point to where the general public will be in the future.

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Dear Aunt TUAW: From Earth to Romania

2010-09-02T20:06:00.001-07:00

Dear Aunt TUAW,

I have a late 2008 MacBook Pro and a 4 year old MacBook Pro that I will be taking to Romania next month to give to my in-laws so we can video conference with them. Seeing as they are not very computer literate, I want to be able to perform remote control / screen sharing in case the need should arise.

I know that OSX has built-in screen sharing capabilities on a local network, but over the Internet is something else altogether. I know that there are several services, such as LogMeIn, that provide this service for a fee, but I was wondering if I could do this without paying for a service.

Can you direct me to some documentation as to how to set this up? ssh configuration, port forwarding on the firewall, etc.... that might be able to get me started? Or make a recommendation that would be how you would do this.

Love,

Your Nephew Chris M.TUAWDear Aunt TUAW: From Earth to Romania originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Apple releases preview 3 of Xcode 4

2010-09-02T17:06:00.001-07:00

Okay, I might be a little bit fangrrlish about the new Xcode 4 IDE. But seriously, it's really an awesome update to the existing Xcode tools. Yes, it's still majorly buggy and yes, there are still many features missing in action -- but it's such a treat to see how the new tools are evolving into their final form.

Today, Apple has released developer preview 3 of the new Xcode 4 suite, which you can download by heading over to the developer.apple.com site. You will need to sign in with your online or paid developer credentials to access the page and the preview dmg. I'm a little iffy about what the NDA situation is with regards to the release (I believe it is under NDA until it leaves beta) so I'll leave finding out about the details (there's a Readme and release notes) to you.TUAWApple releases preview 3 of Xcode 4 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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This Week In Video Game Criticism: Latin, Social Games, Progress In Death

2010-09-02T14:06:00.001-07:00

[This week, our partnership with game criticism site Critical Distance brings us Ben Abraham's picks among fascinating bloggers on player autonomy, building successful game worlds, and when game elements alter our perception of the game world.] I'm taking a break from compiling This Week in Video Game Criticism for a few weeks, but it will continue with a few guest authors. The weekly posts are already a collaboration with the numerous people who send in ...

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Google Sued Over Nexus One 3G Connectivity Problems, Misleading Claims

2010-09-02T11:06:00.001-07:00

On Tuesday, Google was slapped with a breach of contract class action lawsuit alleging that its Nexus One smartphone failed to maintain 3G connectivity and that the Mountain View company not only made misleading claims about the product's capabilities but also failed to adequately support customers in search of answers.

Plaintiff Nathan Nabors of Florida is seeking damages and class action interest on behalf of residents of his home state as well as California who have bought the Nexus One since its January debut.

The only defendant named in the suit is Google - in other words, manufacturer HTC and exclusive 3G carrier T-Mobile USA are not included in the suit. The potential size of the classes is not specified in the complaint.

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September 2010 Apple media event liveblog

2010-09-02T08:06:00.001-07:00

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php/option=com_mobile/task=viewaltcast/altcast_code=a0bf0f5a9c" >September 1st Apple Media Event</a>

Welcome to our live Apple Fall event! Today, we'll be liveblogging Apple's announcements and adding our traditional TUAW twist to the proceedings. Watch Apple's live stream with us as we analyze, celebrate, and otherwise party down with Apple's traditional September iPod refresh. Will there be new TV rentals? iTunes in the cloud? A refreshed nano? Find out with TUAW and share the excitement!

Please note: due to the hundreds of participants and hundreds of comments we cannot publish everyone during the liveblog. We aren't ignoring you, it just isn't possible. Thank you for understanding.

TUAWSeptember 2010 Apple media event liveblog originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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iPhone Appdemic: iRoach 2

2010-09-02T05:06:00.001-07:00

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iDevice Apps, Features, AppidemicDo you like insects? Do you like the satisfaction of having things go squish? Do you want to combine those two interests without all of the fuss and hassle of cleaning up your driveway? If you can answer a solid “yes” to all of these then you may enjoy iRoach 2.

What is it?

iRoach is a kind of virtual cockroach squishing game. If that sounds like it will get boring very quickly, then you are right.

How does it work?

The game consists of tapping on the right bugs while avoiding the wrong ones. The bugs are easy enough to tell apart, with long bugs being the biggest obstacle to squishing everyone. The best things that can be said for this game is that it will kill some time on the subway, and the graphics were very clear an clean. Those roaches were almost HD.

Is it contagious?

Not really. The game gets boring quickly. You might want to give it to a little boy, but most people won?t be amused by iRoach 2 for long.

Category: Games
Developer: Suponix
Cost: $0.99
Download: iRoach 2

Full Story » | Written by Katie Gatto for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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'Love Plus +' Resort Lures Gamers With Augmented Reality Girls

2010-09-02T02:06:00.001-07:00

Japanese gamers, specifically male ones, are downright obsessed with 'Love Plus.' In case you've never heard of it, 'Love Plus' is a dating simulator in which players get a virtual pet girl to chat up and (hopefully) kiss. The DS title is getting the sequel treatment, 'Love Plus +,' and, to promote the new installment, Konami created an augmented reality iPhone app. The app allows users to interact and take photos with their digital love interests at 13 "romantic" spots around the resort town of Atami.

Scattered around the town, and even in the rooms of the Ohnoya hotel, are small black and white squares telling the app to render the virtual teenage girls. Since the promotion began in July, over 2,000 players have come to visit and take snapshots with their digital sweethearts. Over 200 even rented rooms at Ohnoya just to interact with one of the characters as she lounged on a love seat. Check out the trailer for the game after the break, and be prepared for major culture shock.Continue reading 'Love Plus +' Resort Lures Gamers With Augmented Reality Girls'Love Plus +' Resort Lures Gamers With Augmented Reality Girls originally appeared on Switched on Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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MobileMe Gallery App Updated

2010-09-01T23:06:00.001-07:00

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Maccast 2010.04.16

2010-09-01T20:06:00.001-07:00

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Apple Strikes Trademark Agreement With Golf Equipment Company PING

2010-09-01T17:06:00.001-07:00

Golf sporting goods PING has just issued a release stating that it has comes to a trademark agreement with Apple over the technology company's new music social network, aptly called Ping.

PING, which apparently owns the trademark for the name "ping," and its parent company, Karsten Manufacturing Corporation is licensing its trademark for the name PING, so that Apple could use the name for its new feature.

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Maccast 2010.04.16

2010-09-01T14:06:00.001-07:00

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Roku cuts price of media players in possible anticipation of new Apple TV

2010-09-01T11:06:00.001-07:00

Maybe it's coincidence, but probably not. On the eve of a rumored announcement of an updated US $99.00 Apple TV, Roku has cut the price of its media players. The standard definition model has been slashed $20 to $59.99, and the high definition model has been trimmed by $30 to $99.99.

The Roku hardware supports 50 different channels, including Netflix and Vimeo, with no PC or Mac connection needed. Apple is expected to announce a revamped Apple TV, rumored to be called the iTV. It may be built on iOS 4, which would allow many of the iPad and iPhone apps to be run on it.

Of course no one knows for sure what Apple will announce tomorrow, but it's not uncommon to see price cuts from competitors just before Apple makes its plans public. If you're set on buying an iTV, you'll obviously want to wait until Wednesday's show, but if you've had your eye on a Roku, saving a few extra bucks is never a bad thing.TUAWRoku cuts price of media players in possible anticipation of new Apple TV originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Intense Pinball World Championship Goes Down to the Final Ball

2010-09-01T08:06:00.001-07:00

Unaware observers may expect a game with "significant saves," "skillful catches," "fadeaway passes," "failed traps," "flubbed shots" and "drains" to represent some thrilling new competition that combines various aspects of soccer, football, baseball and basketball. Those dramatic pieces of a recent play-by-play don't describe the craziest, most ridiculous sport since flickerball, though. This is pinball: a $10,000 World Championship game of pinball to be exact.

The four-man showdown occurred August 27th, and the high-intensity battle for the title wasn't determined until the final player drained his final ball. Tilt Warning captured the entire event from overhead cameras, and -- although the video runs for a seemingly interminable amount of time -- the footage features amazingly accurate pinpoint placement, machine-jarring saves and frustrating failures. Since the match goes down to the wire, we don't want to give anything away, but don't expect any bravado, arrogance or showmanship. While pinball definitely rules, the sport desperately needs a smack-talking, mullet-wearing, flag-waving anti-hero. So, come on Billy 'King of Kong' Mitchell. Let's see if you run the flippers as well you run that mouth.
Continue reading Intense Pinball World Championship Goes Down to the Final BallIntense Pinball World Championship Goes Down to the Final Ball originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Samsung's special edition r450 coming to MetroPCS

2010-09-01T05:06:00.001-07:00

Samsung has recently announced an allicane with tattoo artist Mark Machado to bring a special edition r450 to MetroPCS.

As you can see, this device will feature designs by Mark Machado (who goes by Mister Cartoon) on the exterior fo the phone along with similarly designed backgrounds, animations and ringtones.

Furthermore, Samsung and MetroPCS have said that there will only be 30,010 Mister Cartoon edition r450s made so if you are looking to get down on this device you better do is soon.

via SUN

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Rumor: Shrunken 6th gen iPad Nano coming soon?

2010-09-01T02:06:00.001-07:00

Section: Rumors, Apple News, Conferences, Press Events, iPod, iPod nano
Question: How do you know an Apple press event is on the horizon? Answer: The rumor mill goes crazy! On top of recent iTV and FaceTime rumors, AppleInsider now has reason to believe we’ll be seeing the 6th generation of the iPod Nano as well. What could Apple possibly do to that device this time do you ask? Make is more nano!

The new iPod Nano is rumored to have a 3cm by 3cm screen (the previous was about 3cm by 2.5cm), and, according to the pictures, it appears as if that’s all the device will be. With a screen on front (presumably touch or perhaps having the controls on the back), the device is basically a square with a screen on it and dock connector on the bottom.

Skeptical? Join our live blog on September 1st to find out the truth.

Via [AppleInsider]

Full Story » | Written by Josh Holat for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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Maccast 2010.04.22

2010-08-31T23:06:00.001-07:00

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Watch a Max Adventure level get created in three minutes

2010-08-31T20:06:00.001-07:00

The good folks at Imangi Studios (husband-and-wife team Natalia and Keith) are hard at work on their latest iPhone game Max Adventure, and they've been sharing updates from the trials and tribulations of making a big iPhone game via their twitter accounts. Among those updates today was this little gem above -- Keith Shepherd hammering out a Max Adventure level over a time-lapse video.

It's pretty cool to see, not only for how he builds the level block-by-block, but to see what changes as he goes along versus what apparently was the original plan. The whole time lapse plays out from a four hour period of real time, and considering how big the game will eventually be, this is probably a drop in the bucket.

Shepherd also says the level editor is one that Imangi actually built for themselves, alongside Max Adventure (though presumably they'd be able to use it for other apps as well). Fun little behind-the-scenes of an iPhone game on this Saturday afternoon.TUAWWatch a Max Adventure level get created in three minutes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Sci-Nonfi: The 10 Best Science Shows to Watch Online

2010-08-31T17:06:00.001-07:00

Back-to-school season leaves us feeling bittersweet. Sure, we're psyched that we'll never have to cram for another final or tweak the margins of a term paper, but a part of us actually misses the atmosphere of academia. We don't think we're alone in saying that, after a few years out of school, we actually miss the relatively hassle-free life of learning for learning's sake. Since we aren't heading back anytime soon though, we did the next best thing, and pulled together the greatest science and technology-centric TV programs ever made. All of them have at least a few clips, if not full episodes or entire series, available online, and most are available on DVD, as well. When your brain says it's hungry, feed it.Continue reading Sci-Nonfi: The 10 Best Science Shows to Watch OnlineSci-Nonfi: The 10 Best Science Shows to Watch Online originally appeared on Switched on Tue, 31 Aug 2010 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Inbox Hero: Gmail Priority Inbox Has Doused My Raging Email Fire ? For Now

2010-08-31T14:06:00.001-07:00

Hopefully you're reading this as you're waking up with access to Gmail Priority Inbox. Jason already posted his review/overview last night, so I figured I'd just talk a bit about how I've been using it for the past several days since Google turned it on for me to test out on my account. My opinion of it is in-line with Jason's -- once you fine-tune it, it's game-changingly awesome. There is simply no way I could ever go back to using Gmail without it enabled. So how have I tuned it?

First of all, before you get started, I highly recommend that you watch the overview video Google made for the feature. It's two minutes long, and makes the basics easy to understand. For most people, the basics are probably good enough. But for people who get a lot of email, you're going to want to go a bit deeper.

My favorite aspect of Priority Inbox is the settings that allows you to create four different sections of your inbox. Yes, you could previously do this with the Multiple Inboxes feature, but these new settings make things much easier to understand and implement. The three default sections here are: "Important & unread," "Starred," and "Everything else" -- but there's an option to add a fourth, which you should. You should create a new label that you can quickly tag emails with. For example, I chose "A1" since "A" shows up first in the Labels drop down menu. Set this section (which is actually the second section) to show emails with that label.

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Digital Chocolate claims it created Mafia Wars name, files lawsuit against Zynga

2010-08-31T11:06:00.001-07:00

FROM GAMERTELL - Digital Chocolate and Zynga are about to butt heads over who owns the rights to the name Mafia Wars. Somebody at Zynga may get a horse’s head left in their bed.
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Macintosh product news - August 26, 2010

2010-08-31T08:06:00.001-07:00

Section: Mac Software, Audio / Video, Miscellaneous / Other, Web Applications / DevelopmentMacintosh product updates and announcements for August 26, 2010:

Software

XtraLean Software has announced DataLore 1.1, the latest update to its file searching tool for Mac OS X. DataLore is a unique front end to Spotlight that makes it easier and faster to search and share files both locally on one’s own computer, as well as on other Macs on the same network. Version 1.1 adds over a dozen new enhancements to the user interface that simplify browsing the contents of a Mac and improves the speed of searching for files both locally and on the network.
NimbleHost has announced Codafy 1.0, the first plugin for RapidWeaver to add native “Firebug” functionality to the popular Mac OS X website design application. The free Codafy RapidWeaver plugin enables web designers to easily see how the underlying HTML, CSS, and Javascript code of their website relates to the actual design, improving workflow and reducing development time.
IK Multimedia and Sonic Reality have introduced DrummerTracks—a new series of style-based full-length drum backing tracks performed by top studio drummers. Unlike loops, DrummerTracks are full song drum tracks, recorded in world-class studios by sound powerhouse Sonic Reality, and designed for use as play-along tracks for the AmpliTube range of software and mobile apps.

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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Nirvana Bandmates 'Dismayed' By Kurt Cobain's Image In 'Guitar Hero 5'

2010-08-31T05:06:00.001-07:00

Courtney Love also speaks out, but game's publisher claims she agreed to the use of Cobain's likeness.By James Montgomery

Nirvana's Kurt Cobain

Photo: Frank Micelotta/Getty Images

To those who grew up idolizing the man and his music, the news that late, lamented Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain would appear as an unlockable character in "Guitar Hero 5" — one that strikes rock-star poses and rocks out to Bon Jovi tracks, mind you — seemed particularly disrespectful to his legacy, not to mention a tad bit ghastly.
Now, imagine how you'd feel if you were his widow, his former bandmates or his friend.
Because over the past week, all those people — Courtney Love (who, in addition to being Cobain's widow and the mother of his child, is also the arbiter of his estate), Nirvana's Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic and author/friend Everett True — have weighed in on the subject, each expressing their disgust at the way Cobain's likeness is used in the game and some even threatening legal action against its publisher, Activision.
It all started when True — author of "Nirvana: The Biography" and the man who, as legend has it, introduced Cobain to Love in 1991 at a Butthole Surfers gig — published a profanity-laced missive about the game on his blog and accused Love and Grohl of sanctioning the use of Cobain's likeness.
Love responded to True's claims via her Twitter account, writing that she "never signed of [sic]" on Activision's use of Cobain's likeness in the game and threatened to sue the publisher for "breach of contract" (she also took more than a few potshots at Grohl, writing, "If there's a hell, he's going. I'm not").
"For the record, this 'Guitar Hero' sh-- is breach of contract on a bully's part, and there will be a proper addressing of this," Love wrote. "We are going to sue the sh-- out of Activision. 'We' being the Trust, the Estate, the LLC and the various LLCs of Cobain Enterprises."
Of course, this drew a response from Activision itself, who, in a statement released Thursday (September 10), denied Love's claims and said they had attained all the necessary agreements to feature Cobain in the game.
"Guitar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain's likeness as a fully playable character in 'Guitar Hero 5,' " the statement read.
And, in an interview with the U.K.'s Guardian, Activision Vice President Tim Riley took it one step further, saying Love was "great to work with" and "supplied us with videos and photos [of Cobain]" for use in the game.
"She picked the wardrobe and the hairstyle, which turned out to be the 'Teen Spirit' look, then we went back and forth over changes — some subtle, some not so subtle," Riley told the paper. "[Love wanted] a sort of athletic definition, but not overly so."
And finally, late Thursday night, Grohl and Novoselic waded into the fray, releasing a joint statement that said that while they were disappointed by the entire situation, they had no control over the use of Cobain's likeness in the "Guitar Hero" game. But they did ask Activision to make amends by "re-locking" the Cobain character.
"We want people to know that we are dismayed and very disappointed in the way a facsimile of Kurt is used in the 'Guitar Hero' game. The name and likeness of Kurt Cobain are the sole property of his estate — we have no control whatsoever in that area," the statement read. "While we were aware of Kurt's image being used with two Nirvana songs, we didn't know players have the ability to unlock the character. This feature allows the character to be used with any kind of song the player wants. We urge Activision to do the right thing in 're-locking' Kurt's character so that this won't continue in the future.
"It's hard to watch an image of Kurt pantomiming other artists' music alongside cartoon characters," the statement continued. "Kurt Cobain wrote songs that hold a lot of meaning to people all over the world. We feel he deserves better."
A spokesperson for Activision has not responded to MTV News' request for comment on Grohl and Novoselic's statement.
For more on "Guitar Hero 5," check out Multiplayer.MTV.com.

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Maccast 2010.03.11

2010-08-31T02:06:00.001-07:00

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 293. US iPad sales start in tomorrow, rumors and info. 4th rev of iPhone SDK brings new rumor. Apple takes issue with HTC. Rumors of Apple moving media to the cloud. Updates for media pros. Apple didn't stop App Store hack and slash at porn. Are the chips down for Apple and Intel? Flash rant follow-up. Emailing attachments from iPhone/iPod Touch follow-up. Backing up bookmarks from multiple browsers. Defining a backup strategy that works for you. Spotlight search tips

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New music, Lives of Strangers by Friday Mile (iTunes)

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FTC makes ruling in iTunes review case

2010-08-30T23:06:00.001-07:00

The Federal Trade Commission, of all things, has laid down a ruling in the strange case of Reverb Communications' iTunes reviews. We didn't get to this story the first time around, but a PR firm named Reverb Communications (disclaimer: I've attended their press events here in LA) was accused a while back of asking its staff to leave positive iTunes reviews on some of their clients' App Store titles. This wasn't just a request to have the staff try out and review client games -- they had an "internal user reviews" process, in which employees of the firm were paid specifically to leave positive reviews -- "not over the top" were their words -- on iTunes and online message boards.

Now, the Federal Trade Commission, ruling under the recent regulations for endorsements online, has decided to settle the case. No money is changing hands, but Reverb and its executive have been asked to remove all of the reviews posted. You can read more about the agreement on the FTC's website. The FTC says that anyone endorsing a product online "should disclose the material connection the reviewer shares with the seller of the product or service," and that Reverb didn't do that.

For its part, Reverb and executive Tracy Snitker would like to brush the accusations off. "Rather than continuing to spend time and money arguing, and laying off employees to fight what we believed was a frivolous matter, we settled this case and ended the discussion," she told the New York Times. But this ruling seems more important than that -- it's the FTC's first enforcement of the Internet review guidelines, and so we'll have to see what kinds of precedents this case sets.TUAWFTC makes ruling in iTunes review case originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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iPhone, iPod and iPad product news - August 27, 2010

2010-08-30T20:06:00.001-07:00

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iDevice Apps, iDevice AccessoriesiPhone, iPod and iPad product updates and announcements for August 27, 2010:

Apps
Accessories

Apps

Independent developer Buddy Bergman has released The Language Buddy 1.0, his new app for iPhone and iPod touch. The Language Buddy provides a simple interface to enter in a word or short phrase in your native language along with a Romanized “sounds like” spelling for another language. You can also assign photos and audio clips. The Language Buddy provides an easy way to manage new words and phrases as you make your travels to far off or local lands.
In conjunction with AppDope.com, Sauce Digital is running a competition to win $50 of iTunes vouchers and loads of promo codes. Details can be found at appdope.com. To enter, just post links to AppDope.com from as many other websites as you can, or get other people/websites to. This could be on a blog, a forum, a social networking site, or any other website. They don?t have to be run by you, so feel free to talk to other website owners.
Lucas Remmerswaal has announced the release of The Tale of Tortoise Buffett and Trader Hare 1.3 for iPad users. This app teaches the good habits that fueled the success of billionaire Warren Buffett. Mr. Buffett’s values and principles are powerful and effective yet, as this story shows, are so basic and simple that a child can grasp them. Released just in time for Warren Buffett’s 80th birthday, The Tale of Tortoise Buffett and Trader Hare 1.3 was inspired by his life and success.
Mad Dog Software has announced BoxMaster 1.0, their new Dots and Boxes game for iOS. Boxmaster is a turn based game where players compete to take control of the most boxes on the screen. It’s simple enough that young kids can play, yet strategic enough that adults can enjoy a challenging game. Designed from the ground up to leverage the iPad’s high resolution display, BoxMaster provides a space themed game board complete with explosions, sound effects with OpenFeint support.
ARZ Associates Inc. has announced LeadMyGoals 1.0 for the iPhone, iPod, and iPad. Created as a simple yet practical mobile solution to manage tasks and goals, this app allows the user to organize their priorities and track their progress as they complete tasks and move towards achieving their personal goals from anywhere. An active tracking capability also allows the user to closely monitor the progress or each task or goal as they are completed.
Pinball HD and Pinball HD for iPhone are now on sale for only 33% of their regular price. This offer is available for a limited time, so you?d better hurry.
Full Fat Games today is pleased to announce a poster of “Mahoney” the Zombie Cop to celebrate Zombie Flick 1.0 being featured on the App Store. Six variants of the poster can be found on the game website for desktop computers, iPad, iPhone and iPhone 4. Zombie Flick is a massive follow up the the hugely successful ‘Deadball Specialist’. Featuring three stunning environments, Zombie Flick offers dozens of unusual weapons, from frisbees and vinyl records to lava lamps and ukuleles.
Kaplan Publishing is offering more than 90 book titles as free downloads exclusively on the iBookstore until August 30th and then 20 free titles from August 31st until Sept. 6th. These titles would normally cost a student hundreds of dollars, but now they can download them for free!
Venan Entertainment has announced that both of its critically-acclaimed and best-selling independent Venan Arcade titles are going on sale, and will be on sale through Labor Day to help make students’ lives more bearable as they enter the new school year. The epic space-faring action/RPG Space Miner: Space Ore Bust is now available for $1.99 down from $4.99, while the original arcade ninja climber Ninjatown: Trees Of Doom! has been reduced to $0.99 from $1.99.
For a limited time, the full version of TextNow will be 100% free in the App-Store. As a part of this special offer, the developers are going to include the New Phone Number Feature, for all users, at no additional cost.
Angel Eyes is an augmented reality iPhone app which helps a person take a snapshot and change the person’s eye color. The user can use the app in both snapshot mode where the 3D eyes are overlaid on a snapshot as well as a live video mode where the eyes are overlaid on a live video feed. The app was written using face detection software and uses OpenGL and 3D graphics.

Accessories

Universal Electronic Accessories (Uniea) has announced it is offering a 25% discount on all online purchases as part of a Back To School promotion. The offer is scheduled to run from August 27th until September 30th, giving students and parents alike ample time to take full advantage of this promotion.
Grace Digital Audio is bringing your music outdoors with three new wireless weatherproof speaker systems. Just in time for Labor Day, the Rock Speaker, Schooner II, and Mini-Bullets II allow you to enjoy the freedom of wireless audio technology. Whether by the pool, at the BBQ, or at the tailgate, Grace Digital?s innovative audio system provides a family of audio products that work seamlessly to create the ultimate indoor/outdoor audio solution.

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Official: Apple event September 1st

2010-08-30T17:06:00.001-07:00

Section: Rumors, Apple News, Conferences, Press Events, iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, iPod touch, iDevice Apps, iPhone OS, SDK and hacks, iTunes, iTunes Movie/TV Rentals and Purchases, Macintosh / Apple Hardware, Apple TV

If you’ve been waiting for a new FaceTime enabled iPod touch or refreshed AppleTV or possibly even an iTV, your wait may be about to end. Apple has sent out invitations to a special event to happen next week Wednesday, September 1st in San Francisco.

Apple’s invites to this special event seem to suggest something involving music. As mentioned, we’ll most likely be hearing something about a new iPod touch, a completely new AppleTV (possibly renamed as the iTV) and maybe even an announcement concerning streaming iTunes or $.99 TV episode rentals.

We’re expecting to see both a regular camera and a front facing camera on the iPod touch. I’d say it’s likely that it will also have a retina display and maybe even a redesigned case. There’s even a small chance we could see an update to the iPad, though I think Apple will hold onto that one for a few more months.

Rumored updates to the AppleTV include it running iOS, getting its own apps and even getting a new name: iTV. I’ve even heard rumors that it might be getting FaceTime support, which would be awesome, though less likely. The rumors I’ve been hearing concering the AppleTV are really quite exciting. I think it’s time that the AppleTV becomes a product more people will actually find useful.

And finally, it’s likely we might hear some new developements concerning either streaming iTunes or new pricing for TV episodes as low as $.99.

But as much as I want a new iPod touch with cameras or even a new AppleTV/iTV, I really just want the guitar pictured on the invite.

Via [Engadget]

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Samsung Galaxy graduates from FCC

2010-08-30T14:06:00.001-07:00

The FCC is really on a roll today first the Motorola Morrison then the HTC Touch Diamond2, and now this. What you see above is a shot of the Samsung Galaxy taken from an FCC document.

The model number of this particular device is A3LGTI7500L with the L at the end reportedly meaning it is destined for Latin American carriers. Don't be too discouraged, however, as this means that the Android-touting Galaxy is that much closer to being released on a US carrier.

via Engadget

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How Founders Should Decide When It's Time To Sell

2010-08-30T11:06:00.001-07:00

I’ve been thinking lately about how founders should decide when it is time to sell their startups and how to put aside the different incentives that often drive these decisions.
Large VC funds have a strong appetite to fund entrepreneurs that want to swing for the fences.
This was evident in Sand Hill Road criticisms of Aaron Patzer for deciding to sell Mint for only $170MM and the coining of the term “The Patzer Problem;” describing entrepreneurs that are viewed as selling too early, where the return looks great for the Founders and perhaps smaller investors, but is disappointing for larger funds.
This post was also influenced by criticism I've heard of the East Coast, where entrepreneurs and investors are viewed as having less appetite for risk, selling startups early at the first good offer. Bill Warner has shared some interesting thoughts on this topic and calls for Boston to strive toward more home runs in the interest of building a healthier entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Contrasted to the Patzer Problem and the calls for East Coast entrepreneurs to aim for grand slams, is the story of Zappos, where Tony Hsieh ultimately conceded that he was pressured to sell the company to Amazon due to his investor’s desire for liquidity. Finally my thoughts were advanced by the much covered decision of Foursquare to take capital rather than sell to Facebook or Yahoo. The debate was fraught with value judgments of whether they would be selling it too early on the one hand or irrational not to sell on the other.
Understandably, investor and management self interest and incentives are very much at play in the discussion of when to sell. All of this talk of differing incentives has caused me to revisit our sale of Brontes to 3M in 2006. We did sell early, but I’m convinced that we did not only act on our own incentives.
I genuinely think that as a board we considered an objective view of when was the right time to sell the company. That is the duty of loyalty which board members have to the company’s shareholders. A board member should be explicit about his own incentives, but put them aside to attempt to objectively measure whether accepting an offer to sell the company is the right outcome for all shareholders. But how does a board member figure out whether it is in the interests of the shareholders to sell? Ambitious startups have so much potential, yet are typically backed with expectation of eventual liquidity.
We did this by thinking hard about the risk that we had in front of us versus the amount we were being offered for the company. Personally, I also considered the offer in the context of the dilution we would face as we attempted to build revenue and move to cash flow break-even. We had lots of clarity on that dilution, as we had a $25MM Series B financing in escrow when we sold. With a refresh of the option pool that amounted to 40% dilution, which meant that to our existing shareholders the $95MM offer was the dilution adjusted equivalent to $160MM offer after our next round. In other words, existing shareholders would have the same return after the financing only if we could clear that hurdle.
Now measure the progress of the company. We felt we had game changing technology, which was deep and defensible. We had the potential to completely shift the way a market functioned. We had evidence the technology worked and the system was in full beta in a form that was pretty much finalized for go to market. Clinical results might take a while and have some rough patches, but experts would agree from in-vitro quantitative measures that the system would work clinically.
In other words, we were at a peak of hope. We were not going to be paid anything extra for early revenues. Such a revenue ramp was already assumed into the price. The question was how long it would take the economic reality to catch up with hope and help us surpass the dilution adjusted offer of $160MM?
Our best guess was three years. Our first year plan was $3MM in revenue and our second was roughly $8MM. It would only be in our third year of sales that we’d cross the $15MM in revenue we expected was necessary for reality to fully catch up with hope to believe someone would possibly pay more than $160MM for the company. In other words, if we hit our plan for the next three years, our company would be worth roughly what we were being paid per share today. With all the inherent risk in our plan for the next three years, I still think that’s a no brainer scenario for selling.
Value creation at a startup is non-linear. Startups have inflection points where value increases significantly and meaningful future progress is assumed into the price of the company. These are peaks of hope. Startups don't typically appreciate in value against these peaks simply by meeting a plan. Reality needs time to catch up to the hope. Another major inflection point needs to take place to surpass that peak in order to get a meaningfully higher price. The right question is how far away is that next peak and how much dilution will be endured in that time.
Based on this thought process, I think a rough and somewhat objective rubric can be established for when to sell: based on your plan, how long will reality take to catch up with the hope? Time is an important measure of risk in that startup visibility rarely stretches beyond 12 months. When an offer, based on reasonable multiples, is compensating a company for the past year's performance, selling is about liquidating the asset. When a company is being paid a standard multiple against a high confidence next year plan, selling is still largely about liquidity but does offset a year of risk in the plan. When that multiple is applied to the next two years of risk, the board should be giving very strong consideration to selling. At three years, I think it really is a no brainer.
Hard to know, but I'd guess that the Patzer Problem was more about VC interests than whether it was a no brainer for shareholders, on a dilution adjusted basis, to sell Mint for $170 million. I wonder how many years of Mint's plan they were being compensated ahead of. Probably they were at a peak of hope. If so, it was a good time to sell.
Note: Obviously, this is a rough rubric and it is difficult to determine fair multiples for any early stage company. Also, it can be argued that most of the shareholders are usually represented at the board level and therefore board members are justified in largely acting in their own best interests. I’m not as big a fan of that argument, because most companies are started with some friends and family capital, which is not represented on the board. Also, employees must be considered. Of course, price is only one consideration when it comes to selling a company, particularly for the employees. These issues are highly complex and the post is a simplification, but I believe the key point is to get beyond the discussion of individual interests and get an objective view of the offer measured against the risk.
This post originally appeared at Anything's Possible and is republished here with permission.
Join the conversation about this story »See Also:Sorry Kids, First Time Entrepreneurs Don't Usually Get FundingMoneyBall For Startups: Invest BEFORE Product/Market Fit, Double-Down AFTERThe Right Way To Think About Seed Investing

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Mac 101: Keep all your service info close to hand

2010-08-30T08:06:00.001-07:00

More Mac 101, our series of tips and tricks for novice Mac users.

As reliable and fantastic as your Mac is, chances are it will occasionally need service. When you're speaking with a representative on the phone or standing at the Genius Bar with your lovely, you'll be asked to provide some basic information, like the model, OS and so on.

That's the easy stuff we know off the top of our heads. Other specifics, like serial number, the kind of processor, the date of purchase and so on are harder to remember. Fortunately, Apple has produced some cheat sheets that you can print, fill out and store away until they're needed.

There are three documents available: "My Mac Hardware," "My Mac OS X Software and my Apple ID," and "My Internet Connection." Print them, fill them out and keep them stashed somewhere safe. It'll only take a minute and when you need them, you'll be glad they're there.TUAWMac 101: Keep all your service info close to hand originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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iPhone Appidemic: Polar Fishing

2010-08-30T05:06:00.001-07:00

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iDevice Apps, Features, AppidemicPolar Fishing is a logic game that offers both single and multi-player online game modes. The idea is to get all the fish of your opponent before your opponent gets all your fish. It’s a pretty simple game with beautifully hand-drawn graphics that may either give you countless hours of mind-boggling challenge or bore you if you’re into fast-paced action games.

What is it?

Polar Fishing falls under the puzzle block category with a mixture of strategy and logic. This makes the game unique and interesting to play. Your objective is to push blocks on your side towards the 5 x 5 iceberg which forms the main puzzle board in an attempt to make a row of three or more ice blocks with similar objects in them. As you form a row, the blocks disappear from the iceberg and one or more fish get added to your side from your opponent’s side. As the row of blocks disappears, a new opportunity to form more rows of the same blocks emerge. The game continues until you or your opponent runs out of fish.

How does it work?

The gameplay is pretty simple. At first, you are given five blocks with different objects in them. You push one block towards the iceberg with the aim of forming a row of similar blocks. Your opponent will try to do the same thing. At first, the game may seem boring. But as you get the hang of it, you’ll soon find out it can actually be pretty exciting. It is a fun game, no doubt. But then, like I said, gamers who opt for the fast-paced action games may not like Polar Fishing.

It is contagious?

Polar Fishing slowly got me hooked. I haven’t tried playing the game with friends on a Wi-Fi network, so I can’t really say if the game will provide a new level of fun once you get to play with others. But as it is with the single player mode, the game was able to provide me with several hours of fun gaming.

Category: Games
Developer: Reversity Studios
Cost: $0.99
Download: Polar Fishing

Full Story » | Written by Arnold Zafra for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

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Maccast 2010.05.26

2010-08-30T02:06:00.001-07:00

A podcast about all things Macintosh. For Mac geeks, by Mac geeks. Show 303. iPad's shipping abroad. New Macbooks. Apple's Q3 shaping up quite nicely. iPhone's importance to Apple. OS X updates and soon to be updates. iPhone OS 4 reaches 4th beta. Keynote set for WWDC. Guess who? Apple's Back to School Promo is back. German tax gone on all iPads. Controlling audio speed in Quicktime X. Beyond the basic Get Info. Review: iPad Keyboard Dock. Apple is about function over features. Application switcher tricks.

Download Adam's iTunes/Quicktime Playback Speed Applescript (zip ~4KB)

Instructions:
Place extracted Applescript in ~/Library/iTunes/Scripts. Open iTunes. Select track and choose 'Set Playback Speed and Open in Quicktime' from the script menu.

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New music, Get Over It by Matthew Ebel (iTunes)

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Bubble Blinders: The Untold Story of the Search Business Model

2010-08-29T23:06:00.001-07:00

Ali Partovi is an angel investor, startup advisor, and serial entrepreneur.

Earlier this month, Paul Graham wrote a terrific article, ?What Happened to Yahoo,? blaming Yahoo?s demise on two factors. First, ?easy money? from banner ads led Yahoo to ignore search in the late ?90s. Second, ambivalence about being a technology company meant Yahoo hired sub-par engineers and didn?t empower them to innovate. While I agree with Graham?s points, there?s a broader story to be told.

The story begins in 1996 with an 18-year-old college dropout named Scott Banister, who came up with a simple but elegant concept that turned out to be one of the best business ideas in history.

This is the true story of the search business model -- a concept that John Battelle and other search historians have erroneously attributed to Bill Gross for Goto.com. Although Gross deserves the lion?s share of credit for recognizing a good idea and more importantly for implementing it, the credit for developing the idea itself belongs elsewhere. But first, let?s recall the world of search in the late ?90s.

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Choose who dies in new Left 4 Dead expansion

2010-08-29T20:06:00.001-07:00

FROM GAMERTELL - Valve keeps the Left 4 Dead series content coming, and its latest expansion will let you choose which original survivor doesn’t make it out alive.
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Last day for Bodega half-off sales on Mac apps

2010-08-29T17:06:00.001-07:00

Update: If it wasn't clear originally -- you have to download the Bodega client first, and purchase the apps through its store. Some readers were confused by the link to the 1Password site, which was for illustration purposes only -- the discount on the Mac client is specific to Bodega.

Today's the last day to grab some deals from Bodega. The would-be app store for Mac OS X software is offering a 50 percent discount on the following applications through the end of the day:

1Password ($19.97)
Sandvox ($28.50)
Cockpit ($12.49)
MoneyWell ($24.99)
Clean My Mac ($14.97)
Brush Pilot ($7.50)
Mac DVDRIpper Pro ($4.97)
My Living Desktop ($17.47)

This is a great deal on some really awesome software for your Mac. A good many of us love 1Password, and Sandvox is a great WYSIWYG web editor that's won an Apple Design Award.

To take advantage of the sale, you need to purchase the software through Bodega, which is a free download.TUAWLast day for Bodega half-off sales on Mac apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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iPhone Appidemic: Polar Fishing

2010-08-29T14:06:00.001-07:00

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'Wii Fit' Balance Board Gives New Meaning to Baby-Mobile

2010-08-29T02:06:00.001-07:00

Nintendo has suffered through a fairly miserable summer. The Xbox 360 recently seized the Wii's established position at the top of the console sales charts, and Sony continues to encroach on Nintendo's once dominant peripheral standing. The revered company definitely experienced some admirable breakthroughs, though, particularly with 'Wii Fit.' The American Heart Association now promotes the game, the armed forces plan to shape-up recruits with it and various universities rely on it to diagnose sports-related concussions.

The 'Wii Fit' balance board may be used in the near future to actually mobilize infants, as well as special needs children who may not be able to fully control their own movements and extremities. To accomplish that feat, researchers at Ithaca College have stacked a 'Wii Fit' board (with an attached baby seat) on top of a robotic, motorized chair. The Fit-scooter employs "responsive pressure sensors in each of [the balance board's] four corners" so a seated tyke can control it simply by leaning in any direction. Built-in sonar also reportedly steers wayward babes away from dangerous obstacles or collisions, and an override joystick allows cautious parents and caregivers to commandeer the kid-carrier at any time.Continue reading 'Wii Fit' Balance Board Gives New Meaning to Baby-Mobile'Wii Fit' Balance Board Gives New Meaning to Baby-Mobile originally appeared on Switched on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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iPhone Appidemic: Touch Chaos

2010-08-28T23:06:00.001-07:00

Section: iPhone / iPod touch / iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iDevice Apps, Features, AppidemicTouch Chaos is a simple game meant to challenge your hand-eye coordination in a fairly straightforward way. In doing so, it aims to offer hours of casual gaming time to fill in those minutes spent waiting for the bus, etc.

What is it?
The basic concept of the game is to tap on the colored dots on the screen to explode them (make them go away). During this, more dots come into the playing arena and collide with and ricochet off one another to keep things interesting. The faster and more accurately you get rid of the dots, the better you do.

How does it work?
Touch Chaos doesn’t consist of just randomly squishing dots. Instead, you must coordinate the color of the dot you explode with the color of the frame of the iPhone’s screen. Then, at the end of the game, the app informs you of your accuracy as well as some other stats to help keep track of how well you’re doing.

Is it contagious?
As a way to pass the time, this game would certainly do the trick. However, as a contagious game where gameplay is constantly evolving and keeping you hooked, Touch Chaos doesn’t fit that description.

Category: Games
Developer: David Puplava
Cost: $0.99
Download: Touch Chaos

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Determining the Strength of Your MobileMe Password

2010-08-28T20:06:00.001-07:00

One of the simplest ways to keep your accounts secure is to create a strong password that is resistant to attempts to discover it. To help you make a unique password we've added a password strength meter which dynamically assesses the strength of a password as you create it. You can take advantage of it by visiting me.com, clicking Account Settings (gear icon) and going to the Password Settings page. When creating your password, you can click on "Get a Password Suggestion" for ideas.

In addition to creating a strong password, remember to never share it with anyone. For more tips on keeping your MobileMe account secure, please read this article.

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Metallica 'Guitar Hero' Details Revealed

2010-08-28T17:06:00.001-07:00

In addition to 28 Metallica tunes, game features tracks by Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, System of a Down, more.By Tracey John

Metallica's James Hetfield

Photo: Ethan Miller/ Getty Images

Metallica are so excited about their upcoming "Guitar Hero" video game that they couldn't wait to tell their fans what songs were in it.
The band's official Web site recently revealed the full set list of songs that will appear in "Guitar Hero: Metallica," due March 29, which includes 28 tracks spanning Metallica's entire career, as well as tunes from 21 other artists, such as Foo Fighters, Slayer, Queen, Alice in Chains, Lynyrd Skynyrd and System of a Down.
"Metallica gave us input on guest artists they'd like to see in their game, bands that they felt were really important to them," the game's lead designer, Alan Flores, told MTV News during a demo in New York earlier this month. "Guitar Hero: Metallica" is similar to November's full-band music game, "Guitar Hero: World Tour," but players will get to jam to songs strictly by Metallica and the musicians that inspire them.
The game's plot line is based on a true story of European fans who attended every Metallica show until they were finally invited by the band to open for them onstage. Players will take on the role of musicians trying to follow in Metallica's footsteps, but they'll also be able to play as singer James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo.
"The very first thing you do is you play as Metallica," Flores explained. "We wanted to hit you hard, and we didn't want to put that off."
Flores, a longtime Metallica fan himself who's worked on past "Guitar Hero" games, said that when his company, Activision Blizzard, showed the band their work on June's "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith," it was a no-brainer. "They were really impressed by it, and they basically wanted a similar treatment," he said. "So we took that as a blueprint and crammed a lot of new bonus stuff in there."
The bonus material includes virtual re-creations of the venues Metallica's played in, pop-up trivia about the band's history and lyrics, unlockable videos of live performances and exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage from their motion-capture sessions.
The biggest addition is the "expert-plus" difficulty to all the gameplay modes, which adds a second bass pedal so that "Guitar Hero" drummers can play double bass drum tracks with both feet, just like Ulrich does. The second bass pedal, compatible with the existing "Guitar Hero: World Tour" drum peripheral, will be sold in stores separately when "Guitar Hero: Metallica" is released.
"It's a game that can be really hard if you're up for that challenge," Flores said. "But if you want to get in there and just play some songs, it's there for you. Even if you don't like Metallica but you like 'Guitar Hero,' the songs are just so fun to play."
The track list for "Guitar Hero: Metallica," according to Metallica's Web site:
Metallica Tracks:
• "All Nightmare Long"
• "Battery"
• "Creeping Death"
• "Disposable Heroes"
• "Dyers Eve"
• "Enter Sandman"
• "Fade to Black"
• "Fight Fire With Fire"
• "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
• "Frantic"
• "Fuel"
• "Hit the Lights"
• "King Nothing"
• "Master of Puppets"
• "Mercyful Fate (Medley)"
• "No Leaf Clover"
• "Nothing Else Matters"
• "One"
• "Orion"
• "Sad but True"
• "Seek and Destroy"
• "The Memory Remains"
• "The Shortest Straw"
• "The Thing That Should Not Be"
• "The Unforgiven"
• "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)"
• "Wherever I May Roam"
• "Whiplash"
Other Artists:
• Alice in Chains - "No Excuses"
• Bob Seger - "Turn the Page"
• Corrosion of Conformity - "Albatross"
• Diamond Head - "Am I Evil?"
• Foo Fighters - "Stacked Actors"
• Judas Priest - "Hell Bent for Leather"
• Kyuss - "Demon Cleaner"
• Lynyrd Skynyrd - "Tuesday's Gone"
• Machine Head - "Beautiful Mourning"
• Mastodon - "Blood and Thunder"
• Mercyful Fate - "Evil"
• Michael Schenker Group - "Armed and Ready"
• Motörhead - "Ace of Spades"
• Queen - "Stone Cold Crazy"
• Samhain - "Mother of Mercy"
• Slayer - "War Ensemble"
• Social Distortion - "Mommy's Little Monster"
• Suicidal Tendencies - "War Inside My Head"
• System of a Down - "Toxicity"
• The Sword - "The Black River"
• Thin Lizzy - "The Boys Are Back in Town"
For more gaming coverage, check out our Multiplayer blog.

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Namco Bandai working on Facebook games

2010-08-28T14:06:00.001-07:00

FROM GAMERTELL - Namco Bandai is working on two Facebook games - City of Football and Treasure Abyss. You can actually start playing Treasure Abyss right now, but prepare to wait a while for it to load. Both games will also eventually appear on the iPhone and iPod Touch.
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Motorola Morrison spotted at FCC

2010-08-28T11:06:00.001-07:00

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Check Out The Amazing Place In China That Inspired The "Floating Mountains" In Avatar

2010-08-28T08:06:00.001-07:00

Avatar has raked in over $2.7 billion worldwide in the box office due to its groundbreaking technology and beautiful scenery.
What most people don't know is that much of Pandora's landscape was modeled after a real place – Zhangjiajie in the Hunan province of China.
The gorgeous quartz-sandstone pillars of Zhangjiajie (specifically, the 3,544 foot high "Southern Sky Column") became the basis for the floating "Hallelujah Mountains" of Pandora.
The Zhangjiajie government then went so far as to rename the "Southern Sky Column" to "Avatar Hallelujah Mountain." However, this proved to be a very unpopular decision and the government went on to deny ever renaming the pillar. "We only added a way to call the mountain. The previous name is not abolished," says a Zhangjiajie tourism official via Reuters.
At any rate, the real-life scenery in Zhangjiajie is breath-taking and we have the pictures to prove it.Flip Through Pictures Of Zhangjiajie And Compare Them To Avatar >Join the conversation about this story »See Also:It's Official: Titanic Sinks Under Avatar's Box Office TotalsAvatar Producer: We 'Have To' Make A SequelWhat Do People REALLY Think Of 3D TV?

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Gmail Bug Made Some Users Look Like Spammers

2010-08-28T05:06:00.001-07:00

This week, a bug in Gmail greatly angered a number of users, especially those who use Google Apps for professional purposes. A flaw in the Big G's messaging system caused some e-mails to be sent multiple times. Google claims the overall number of users was small (just 2.5-percent), but, thanks to Gmail's popularity, that tiny fraction could amount to 4 million users. To make matters worse for the PR department, some customers were business users of Google Apps, and were distressed that the glitch had made them look like spammers, potentially damaging professional relationships.

According to a post on the Gmail help forums, the flaw has been fixed and no more duplicate e-mails should have been sent out after 10:27 p.m. PST on Thursday, August 26th. Still, the plugged hole is probably of little consolation to those who now have to apologize to friends, family and colleagues. At least they can blame the debacle on Google.Gmail Bug Made Some Users Look Like Spammers originally appeared on Switched on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Oh, Plex. You tease!

2010-08-28T02:06:00.001-07:00

All sorts of buzz in the blogosphere this afternoon after Plex, makers of a respected Mac-based digital media center application updated their blog with a cryptic hint that seems to point to next Wednesday's Apple event.

Plex provides a centralized way to access your media library from a simple TV interface -- think FrontRow on steroids. Many Mac mini-based media centers have been built around Plex.

So does Plex's post add weight to "Apple TV" refresh rumors? It certainly tantalizes.

Thanks, Robert

Update: It's Plex Nine! Rewritten from the ground up, offering a better organized underlying architecture.TUAWOh, Plex. You tease! originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Samsung's i5700 Galaxy-lite approved by Wi-Fi Alliance

2010-08-27T23:06:00.001-07:00

Samsung's Android-powered i7500 Galaxy has been around for some time now but has yet to find its way onto a US carrier. However, Samsung seems to have the device's younger sibling, the i5700 Galaxy-lite, in the works.

What you see above is a document released by the Wi-Fi Alliance effectively approving said device. Now, we have virtually no details on the Galaxy-lite other than that it features WiFi and will almost definitely be running Android.

However, we'll keep you posted once Samsung officially announces the i5700 Galaxy-lite.

via EngadgetMobile

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