Recently, Apple awarded patent for the iPhone?s ?slide to unlock?. However, not all the iPhone users love this invention to unlock the screen. Developers have already built hacks like “Tap to Unlock” for jailbroken iPhone. Here comes another hack called “VUnlock” that lets you use volume buttons to unlock the iPhone screen.
VUnlock is a hack [...]
Thursday, August 26, 2010
DLS Review: Picasa 3.8 released, now with Picnik editor
Filed under: Design, Google, Imaging Tips
Picasa 3.8 was unleashed upon the world a couple of days ago. It brings with it several major features, such as Batch Upload, something called "Face Movie," which creates an animation out of a series of images of the same person, and last but certainly not least, Picnik photo editing.
That's right - Picasa can now upload your photo seamlessly to Picnik, and it allows you to edit it there, then you can download it back when you're done. Google says Picnik is "photo-editing awesomeness that lives in the cloud." I had to see how awesome it really was for myself, so I took the feature for an extensive spin with a photo of a fluffly white poodle. To see the results, keep reading after the fold.So, as you've seen in the screenshot heading this post, the first thing that happens when you click the Edit in Picnik button is that you get this prompt. This is but one of a series of prompts and progress bars that you'll get to enjoy before being able to actually edit your photo, as you shall soon see. Fortunately, this one can optionally be switched off using that little checkbox at the bottom.
So you've clicked OK, now here comes the first progress bar. This one is actually a throbber, if you want to get technical about it, but it does have a percentage count. It immediately jumped to 100% and stayed there for a while, then I got to see the next progress bar.
Yes! Progress is being made, indeed! We're done with the first bar, and now we get to experience Picnik's humorous progress bar, including such indicators as "Warming breeze" and "Laying blankets." Aren't progress bars fun?
Okay, we're done with that progress bar, too! Here comes the next one. This one is all business; it says "Loading" and has cogwheels, and the percentage is moving quite rapidly on my 10Mbps connection. It's all very ... progressive.
Okay, that was the last of the progress bars. They will be missed, I'm sure. Now we're finally in Picnik with our photo. This is pretty neat because it doesn't open in an external window; it's gracefully embedded right into Picasa.
By default, Picnik loads with the "Edit" tab. This is a bit of a UI design oversight, I think. As you can see, you can Auto-fix, Rotate, Crop, Resize, adjust Exposure, etc. (everything Picasa already lets you do). In other words, after all of these progress bars, the first functionality you see is what you've had on your own computer just a couple of moments ago.
So, I switched tabs and went to Create. While there isn't a screenshot of the bar itself, you get a nice strip of effects down the left side of the image. Most effects have a couple of settings, and the image is adjusted on the fly (kind of like a preview in Photoshop). If you have sharp eyes, you'll see a subtly-labeled "premium" feature tucked in there and mixed in with the other functions.
You'd have to be sharper-eyed than I am, though. I just clicked that button, and I got this massive banner in my face. Get more with Picnik Premium. Okay, ... this begs a couple of questions: (1) Why are the Premium features mixed so randomly into the "regular" features? (2) As a Picasa user, I obviously like my photo management software free (otherwise I'd go for Lightroom). So, ... why can't I just opt out of it altogether?
Here's my image after applying one effect to it. I must say, the effects are very neat and impressive. I was very happy with this result.
Ah, yet another premium annoyance. You get the banner only for the first time, but then, whenever you click a Premium feature, you get this strip overlaid on the lower left corner of your image. I get it, Picnik -- we all need to make money. But why mix those features in like that?
And another close-up of a Premium-labeled effect button.
In a previous screenshot, I've shown you the result of a full-image effect, or in other words, a "filter." But there are also effects that come with a brush; this is one of them (a smudge tool).
Here comes another annoyance! There I was, editing my photo for several minutes, when suddenly a massive pop-up is shown on the lower right corner. It exclaimed "That's a huge photo!" Uh, ... why tell me now? I've been working with it for a while now, and things were going fine. Possibly, it's because Picnik felt that it made "things run slowly," but honestly (and to Picnik's credit), I felt that it was very responsive all throughout. There was no real need for this pop-up, and I found the style a bit too bold.
Okay, I'm all done editing my photo, and now I want to retrieve it from "the cloud." Picasa/Picnik thoughtfully asks me whether I'd like to replace the photo or save a new copy. I opted to save a new copy, and this function worked perfectly. It was very nice and very smooth.
Oh, I forget, ... it took a while, though. It was busy "Processing."
And here's the result! It's the same poodle, but it's very artsy.
And here's a side-by-side of the original and the modified photo. I love what Picnik let me do to this photo! That's really cool.
The good:
Tightly integrated with Picasa
Beautiful effects
Fast and responsive
The bad:
Premium features randomly sprinkled all over the place
Integration with the cloud involves a ton of progress bars, even with a fast connection
First tab you see lets you do all the stuff you can already do in Picasa anyway
Bottom line: If you have a progress-bar fetish, you're going to love the Picasa/Picnik combo. Otherwise, ... meh. I mean, the resulting image is very nice, but the experience is marred by annoyances that could probably be avoided.DLS Review: Picasa 3.8 released, now with Picnik editor originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Picasa 3.8 was unleashed upon the world a couple of days ago. It brings with it several major features, such as Batch Upload, something called "Face Movie," which creates an animation out of a series of images of the same person, and last but certainly not least, Picnik photo editing.
That's right - Picasa can now upload your photo seamlessly to Picnik, and it allows you to edit it there, then you can download it back when you're done. Google says Picnik is "photo-editing awesomeness that lives in the cloud." I had to see how awesome it really was for myself, so I took the feature for an extensive spin with a photo of a fluffly white poodle. To see the results, keep reading after the fold.So, as you've seen in the screenshot heading this post, the first thing that happens when you click the Edit in Picnik button is that you get this prompt. This is but one of a series of prompts and progress bars that you'll get to enjoy before being able to actually edit your photo, as you shall soon see. Fortunately, this one can optionally be switched off using that little checkbox at the bottom.
So you've clicked OK, now here comes the first progress bar. This one is actually a throbber, if you want to get technical about it, but it does have a percentage count. It immediately jumped to 100% and stayed there for a while, then I got to see the next progress bar.
Yes! Progress is being made, indeed! We're done with the first bar, and now we get to experience Picnik's humorous progress bar, including such indicators as "Warming breeze" and "Laying blankets." Aren't progress bars fun?
Okay, we're done with that progress bar, too! Here comes the next one. This one is all business; it says "Loading" and has cogwheels, and the percentage is moving quite rapidly on my 10Mbps connection. It's all very ... progressive.
Okay, that was the last of the progress bars. They will be missed, I'm sure. Now we're finally in Picnik with our photo. This is pretty neat because it doesn't open in an external window; it's gracefully embedded right into Picasa.
By default, Picnik loads with the "Edit" tab. This is a bit of a UI design oversight, I think. As you can see, you can Auto-fix, Rotate, Crop, Resize, adjust Exposure, etc. (everything Picasa already lets you do). In other words, after all of these progress bars, the first functionality you see is what you've had on your own computer just a couple of moments ago.
So, I switched tabs and went to Create. While there isn't a screenshot of the bar itself, you get a nice strip of effects down the left side of the image. Most effects have a couple of settings, and the image is adjusted on the fly (kind of like a preview in Photoshop). If you have sharp eyes, you'll see a subtly-labeled "premium" feature tucked in there and mixed in with the other functions.
You'd have to be sharper-eyed than I am, though. I just clicked that button, and I got this massive banner in my face. Get more with Picnik Premium. Okay, ... this begs a couple of questions: (1) Why are the Premium features mixed so randomly into the "regular" features? (2) As a Picasa user, I obviously like my photo management software free (otherwise I'd go for Lightroom). So, ... why can't I just opt out of it altogether?
Here's my image after applying one effect to it. I must say, the effects are very neat and impressive. I was very happy with this result.
Ah, yet another premium annoyance. You get the banner only for the first time, but then, whenever you click a Premium feature, you get this strip overlaid on the lower left corner of your image. I get it, Picnik -- we all need to make money. But why mix those features in like that?
And another close-up of a Premium-labeled effect button.
In a previous screenshot, I've shown you the result of a full-image effect, or in other words, a "filter." But there are also effects that come with a brush; this is one of them (a smudge tool).
Here comes another annoyance! There I was, editing my photo for several minutes, when suddenly a massive pop-up is shown on the lower right corner. It exclaimed "That's a huge photo!" Uh, ... why tell me now? I've been working with it for a while now, and things were going fine. Possibly, it's because Picnik felt that it made "things run slowly," but honestly (and to Picnik's credit), I felt that it was very responsive all throughout. There was no real need for this pop-up, and I found the style a bit too bold.
Okay, I'm all done editing my photo, and now I want to retrieve it from "the cloud." Picasa/Picnik thoughtfully asks me whether I'd like to replace the photo or save a new copy. I opted to save a new copy, and this function worked perfectly. It was very nice and very smooth.
Oh, I forget, ... it took a while, though. It was busy "Processing."
And here's the result! It's the same poodle, but it's very artsy.
And here's a side-by-side of the original and the modified photo. I love what Picnik let me do to this photo! That's really cool.
The good:
Tightly integrated with Picasa
Beautiful effects
Fast and responsive
The bad:
Premium features randomly sprinkled all over the place
Integration with the cloud involves a ton of progress bars, even with a fast connection
First tab you see lets you do all the stuff you can already do in Picasa anyway
Bottom line: If you have a progress-bar fetish, you're going to love the Picasa/Picnik combo. Otherwise, ... meh. I mean, the resulting image is very nice, but the experience is marred by annoyances that could probably be avoided.DLS Review: Picasa 3.8 released, now with Picnik editor originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Playboy Goes Non Nude For iPad
Soon the official Playboy iPad App will be revealed but certain other elements won’t be. What we’re trying to say is that in order to follow Apple’s very strict anti-obscenity rules Playboy has agreed to keep their app for the iPad tablet device entirely non-nude and tasteful. With no nudity allowed Playboy may just have [...]
Did Microsoft Russia leak the new Internet Explorer 9 user interface?
Filed under: Microsoft, Beta, Browsers
This time the leaked Internet Explorer 9 image we're looking at is a bit more trustworthy than the mock-up we received back on April 1st. As Mary Jo Foley reports, the image above was posted by Microsoft's Russian PR site, though the post has since been pulled from the server and now returns a 404 error.
If this is the new interface, it's certainly been simplified from the IE8 incarnation. A few things look odd to me, however. First, there's the way the back button is cut off by the Bing Web page -- it seems like the UI element should float on top rather than being cropped by the content below. I'm also not convinced that placing the tabs next to the address bar is a good move -- the bar will be quite cramped when multiple tabs are open.
I do like the look of the favorites, home, and history(?) button on the far-right side and the introduction of a unified address/search box. Too often I've had a circular conversation while trying to instruct users to type into the address bar and not the search box in IE. This is one change I'd be really happy to see.
It's only two and a half more weeks until we find out if this is our first look at the IE9 beta interface. Even then, it'll be a beta version -- and could very well change before the final version ships early next year.Did Microsoft Russia leak the new Internet Explorer 9 user interface? originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
This time the leaked Internet Explorer 9 image we're looking at is a bit more trustworthy than the mock-up we received back on April 1st. As Mary Jo Foley reports, the image above was posted by Microsoft's Russian PR site, though the post has since been pulled from the server and now returns a 404 error.
If this is the new interface, it's certainly been simplified from the IE8 incarnation. A few things look odd to me, however. First, there's the way the back button is cut off by the Bing Web page -- it seems like the UI element should float on top rather than being cropped by the content below. I'm also not convinced that placing the tabs next to the address bar is a good move -- the bar will be quite cramped when multiple tabs are open.
I do like the look of the favorites, home, and history(?) button on the far-right side and the introduction of a unified address/search box. Too often I've had a circular conversation while trying to instruct users to type into the address bar and not the search box in IE. This is one change I'd be really happy to see.
It's only two and a half more weeks until we find out if this is our first look at the IE9 beta interface. Even then, it'll be a beta version -- and could very well change before the final version ships early next year.Did Microsoft Russia leak the new Internet Explorer 9 user interface? originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
COMMSCOPE COMMUNICATIONS HOLDINGS COMPAL ELECTRONICS COSMOTE MOBILE TELECOM
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Review: Daily Tracker for iPhone
Daily Tracker from CVZ Productions is like a Swiss Army knife of productivity apps. This thing does a little bit of everything; though you can’t actually stab anyone with it, I don’t want you to think that detracts from its value or anything.
It’s fairly safe to assume that I have become somewhat obsessed with to-do [...]
It’s fairly safe to assume that I have become somewhat obsessed with to-do [...]
Adobe Photoshop Express for Android taken for a spin, leaves me a little unsatisfied
Filed under: Photo, Utilities, Adobe, AndroidFrom the outset, a smartphone photo manipulation app is a fantastic idea. Thanks to the turtleneck mafia, awful-and-noisy-built-in-camera photography has become something far bigger than most of us expected -- who could've predicted that the iPhone would become the most popular camera on Flickr in under two years? But now, ladies and gentlemen, it 's the turn of the Android. With dozens of new Android handsets emerging every month, and with the Android market share creeping ahead of the iPhone, it's now time to talk about Android photography.
There's a bit of a problem, though: most photo manipulation software for Android phones smells worse than a Titan's loincloth. Mashable has a list of them, but they're all plagued with inadequacies and bugs; some are slow and some simply don't work on newer phones!
Enter Photoshop Express for Android. From Adobe you'd expect nothing short of a photo editing miracle app, but alas that isn't the case. Photoshop Express is certainly useful -- and it is a very polished, professional app that's free of bugs -- but I just wish it did a bit more. I wish it wasn't so annoyingly devoid of obvious, easy-to-implement features.From the outset, Photoshop Express is very smart. You're welcomed with a pretty, blue Adobe splash screen, and then you're shown all of the photos currently on your phone. You can start editing right away, or choose a photo to upload.
You also have the option of viewing your online photos (those stored at Photoshop.com), but here's my first gripe: you can't download photos to your phone! I wanted to edit one of my Photoshop.com photos, but the app simply won't let me. I have no idea why Adobe has locked it down in this way -- perhaps to provide a 'new feature!!1' for the next release? (Also, look at the Phone/Online tabs in the image above -- notice how the 'depressed' look indicates which tab you're on. I don't like it!)
Back to editing, then. Either select a photo already on your phone, or push the hardware camera button to take a new photo. This is the screen you'll see:
Beneath those four headings there are a variety of functions. Here's a complete list (don't worry, there aren't many): crop, straighten, rotate, flip, exposure, saturation, tint, black & white, contrast, brightness, soft focus, effects, and borders. Most of these are self-explanatory, and they all do the same thing as their desktop software equivalent. The 'effects' are nice, providing you with a bunch of pre-programmed filters that'll make your mundane on-the-way-to-work photos less boring.
There's a couple of handy undo/redo buttons at the bottom -- and no, you can't make those two annoying bars disappear while you edit the photo. The only way to see the final result is to save the image (thus losing your undo/redo history... awesome!)
Finally, the app has the ability to upload your edited photos to Photoshop.com, Facebook and TwitPic. You can also set it to 'auto upload' your photos, which is a rather cool way of keeping your phone synchronized with your Interwebs. [If you're interested, you can see my awesome full-size photo on Photoshop.com!]
Photoshop Express for Android Tech Specs
Installed Size -- 2MB, but it has a cache that will grow as your library of images expands!
Speed/Responsiveness -- Snappy and smooth (Android 1.6 @ 600 MHz, LG GT540 Swift)
User Interface -- Pretty and very intuitive, except for the complete lack of buttons on the 'Online photos' tab, grrr
Configurability & Extensibility -- Nope, nothing like that (but being able to upload to other non-Photoshop.com services is cool)
License -- Free, closed-source
Share TweetAdobe Photoshop Express for Android taken for a spin, leaves me a little unsatisfied originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
There's a bit of a problem, though: most photo manipulation software for Android phones smells worse than a Titan's loincloth. Mashable has a list of them, but they're all plagued with inadequacies and bugs; some are slow and some simply don't work on newer phones!
Enter Photoshop Express for Android. From Adobe you'd expect nothing short of a photo editing miracle app, but alas that isn't the case. Photoshop Express is certainly useful -- and it is a very polished, professional app that's free of bugs -- but I just wish it did a bit more. I wish it wasn't so annoyingly devoid of obvious, easy-to-implement features.From the outset, Photoshop Express is very smart. You're welcomed with a pretty, blue Adobe splash screen, and then you're shown all of the photos currently on your phone. You can start editing right away, or choose a photo to upload.
You also have the option of viewing your online photos (those stored at Photoshop.com), but here's my first gripe: you can't download photos to your phone! I wanted to edit one of my Photoshop.com photos, but the app simply won't let me. I have no idea why Adobe has locked it down in this way -- perhaps to provide a 'new feature!!1' for the next release? (Also, look at the Phone/Online tabs in the image above -- notice how the 'depressed' look indicates which tab you're on. I don't like it!)
Back to editing, then. Either select a photo already on your phone, or push the hardware camera button to take a new photo. This is the screen you'll see:
Beneath those four headings there are a variety of functions. Here's a complete list (don't worry, there aren't many): crop, straighten, rotate, flip, exposure, saturation, tint, black & white, contrast, brightness, soft focus, effects, and borders. Most of these are self-explanatory, and they all do the same thing as their desktop software equivalent. The 'effects' are nice, providing you with a bunch of pre-programmed filters that'll make your mundane on-the-way-to-work photos less boring.
There's a couple of handy undo/redo buttons at the bottom -- and no, you can't make those two annoying bars disappear while you edit the photo. The only way to see the final result is to save the image (thus losing your undo/redo history... awesome!)
Finally, the app has the ability to upload your edited photos to Photoshop.com, Facebook and TwitPic. You can also set it to 'auto upload' your photos, which is a rather cool way of keeping your phone synchronized with your Interwebs. [If you're interested, you can see my awesome full-size photo on Photoshop.com!]
Photoshop Express for Android Tech Specs
Installed Size -- 2MB, but it has a cache that will grow as your library of images expands!
Speed/Responsiveness -- Snappy and smooth (Android 1.6 @ 600 MHz, LG GT540 Swift)
User Interface -- Pretty and very intuitive, except for the complete lack of buttons on the 'Online photos' tab, grrr
Configurability & Extensibility -- Nope, nothing like that (but being able to upload to other non-Photoshop.com services is cool)
License -- Free, closed-source
Share TweetAdobe Photoshop Express for Android taken for a spin, leaves me a little unsatisfied originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Minimalist Facebook extension de-crapifies Facebook's layout
Filed under: Social Software
Do you hate the Facebook layout? Are you annoyed by that useless right-side navigation bar? If you're using a browser that supports userscripts (which is basically all of them), you can clean up Facebook with a script called Minimalist Facebook. It works in Firefox with Greasemonkey, in Chrome as an extension, and in Safari with Greasekit.
Minimalist Facebook knocks out Facebook's right column, makes the news feed wider, gets rid of the "chat" section in the left sidebar, and makes the chat list semi-transparent. It's not going to stop stupid apps from showing up in your news feed, but it does make Facebook feel a lot more usable.
[via Firefox Facts]Minimalist Facebook extension de-crapifies Facebook's layout originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Do you hate the Facebook layout? Are you annoyed by that useless right-side navigation bar? If you're using a browser that supports userscripts (which is basically all of them), you can clean up Facebook with a script called Minimalist Facebook. It works in Firefox with Greasemonkey, in Chrome as an extension, and in Safari with Greasekit.
Minimalist Facebook knocks out Facebook's right column, makes the news feed wider, gets rid of the "chat" section in the left sidebar, and makes the chat list semi-transparent. It's not going to stop stupid apps from showing up in your news feed, but it does make Facebook feel a lot more usable.
[via Firefox Facts]Minimalist Facebook extension de-crapifies Facebook's layout originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
MICROSOFT MILLICOM INTL CELLULAR MOBILE TELESYSTEMS NANYA TECHNOLOGY
USB Go, connettere due computer tramite porta USB
In molte case odierne, vi sono pi� di due computer. Visto che il costo � diminuito notevolmente, e vista anche la diffusione dei NetBook, un computer pu� essere comprato anche da chi non ne abbisogna per lavoro. In questo modo, per�, i computer entrano in possesso di utenti che spesso non sanno usare a pieno [...]
Valve VP: We're not working on Steam for Linux
Filed under: Games, Linux
Well, so much for hints, Linux users. While it initially looked as though Valve's gaming behemoth was headed your way when the Mac client arrived, that may not actually be the case.
In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Valve's VP of Marketing Doug Lombardi has bad news for Linux gamers: "There's no Linux version that we're working on right now."
Sorry to take the Steam out of your locomotives. But hey, look on the bright side -- Lombardi didn't say they weren't going to work on it in the future or that they had never worked on a Linux version. If you like reading into things, his phrasing leaves plenty of room for speculation.
[via Web Upd8]Valve VP: We're not working on Steam for Linux originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Well, so much for hints, Linux users. While it initially looked as though Valve's gaming behemoth was headed your way when the Mac client arrived, that may not actually be the case.
In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, Valve's VP of Marketing Doug Lombardi has bad news for Linux gamers: "There's no Linux version that we're working on right now."
Sorry to take the Steam out of your locomotives. But hey, look on the bright side -- Lombardi didn't say they weren't going to work on it in the future or that they had never worked on a Linux version. If you like reading into things, his phrasing leaves plenty of room for speculation.
[via Web Upd8]Valve VP: We're not working on Steam for Linux originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Mayorama could be the ultimate Foursquare companion, but it's not quite there yet
Filed under: Web services, Social Software, iPhoneIf you're a mayorship-obsessed, Foursquare-loving, check-in fiend with an iPhone, Mayorama could be the best 99 cents you spend this week. It promises to show you the status of your mayorships -- how many check-ins you have at each venue, and how many to go until you become mayor -- and give you a list of targets (nearby vulnerable venues you can check into). Even if you're just wondering how many more morning Starbucks visits will make you mayor, 99 cents isn't a lot to pay for the info.
The thing is, Mayorama's not quite there yet. It has trouble grabbing your info from Foursquare (it works, it just displays a message saying that it didn't), and it can only show nearby venues. I get that being nearby means valid check-ins, but what if you just want to see whether driving across town could make you mayor? You can't, because your check-in history is the one part of the app that doesn't load.
I'm sure these problems will be cleared up with an update, but there are also some essential features for mayorship-hunters that ought to be included. A venue search would be nice, for one thing, and that has to be available in the Foursquare API. Also, the ability to check in off the grid would be really nice. It sucks to spam your friends with your repetitive mayor-seeking check-ins, and Mayorama doesn't give you the option not to broadcast. I find myself checking Mayorama and then switching to the Foursquare app to check in siliently.
This could be the app I've been looking for to put the fun back into the whole mayorship thing, but it just doesn't quite work as advertised yet. Still, for a buck, it's well worth trying.Mayorama could be the ultimate Foursquare companion, but it's not quite there yet originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
The thing is, Mayorama's not quite there yet. It has trouble grabbing your info from Foursquare (it works, it just displays a message saying that it didn't), and it can only show nearby venues. I get that being nearby means valid check-ins, but what if you just want to see whether driving across town could make you mayor? You can't, because your check-in history is the one part of the app that doesn't load.
I'm sure these problems will be cleared up with an update, but there are also some essential features for mayorship-hunters that ought to be included. A venue search would be nice, for one thing, and that has to be available in the Foursquare API. Also, the ability to check in off the grid would be really nice. It sucks to spam your friends with your repetitive mayor-seeking check-ins, and Mayorama doesn't give you the option not to broadcast. I find myself checking Mayorama and then switching to the Foursquare app to check in siliently.
This could be the app I've been looking for to put the fun back into the whole mayorship thing, but it just doesn't quite work as advertised yet. Still, for a buck, it's well worth trying.Mayorama could be the ultimate Foursquare companion, but it's not quite there yet originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
How Chrome Extension Gallery domain verification will help protect users
Filed under: Google, Browsers
Yesterday, Google announced on the Chromium blog that they were introducing two changes affecting the Chrome Extensions Gallery: a $5 registration fee for new developers, and domain verification. The measures are designed to provide a level of quality assurance and security which was previously lacking.
Domain verification is the big security addition. If you read our posts on how to install Chrome Web Apps right now, you might have seen part of Google's plan in action already. For example, if you tried to install the Google Reader app from our server by simply clicking it with your left mouse button, you would see the dialog above: "Apps must be served from the host that they affect."
That provides a very simple but effective defense against malicious apps. Worried that a Gmail app might steal your credentials or log your conversations? No problem -- unless the app is served up from Gmail itself Chrome won't let you install it.
It's not perfect, obviously. The apps on our post could be installed anyway by simply right-clicking, choosing save as, and dragging the app from your download bar back into the main Chrome window. To the average user, however, that's probably complex enough to be a deterrent. Pair this with Google's new domain verification stamp, and you've got a decent way to assure users they're installing safe apps from a trusted source.
Every little bit helps when it comes to security, and I can certainly see domain verification being something even my least technical friends and family can understand -- and appreciate.How Chrome Extension Gallery domain verification will help protect users originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Yesterday, Google announced on the Chromium blog that they were introducing two changes affecting the Chrome Extensions Gallery: a $5 registration fee for new developers, and domain verification. The measures are designed to provide a level of quality assurance and security which was previously lacking.
Domain verification is the big security addition. If you read our posts on how to install Chrome Web Apps right now, you might have seen part of Google's plan in action already. For example, if you tried to install the Google Reader app from our server by simply clicking it with your left mouse button, you would see the dialog above: "Apps must be served from the host that they affect."
That provides a very simple but effective defense against malicious apps. Worried that a Gmail app might steal your credentials or log your conversations? No problem -- unless the app is served up from Gmail itself Chrome won't let you install it.
It's not perfect, obviously. The apps on our post could be installed anyway by simply right-clicking, choosing save as, and dragging the app from your download bar back into the main Chrome window. To the average user, however, that's probably complex enough to be a deterrent. Pair this with Google's new domain verification stamp, and you've got a decent way to assure users they're installing safe apps from a trusted source.
Every little bit helps when it comes to security, and I can certainly see domain verification being something even my least technical friends and family can understand -- and appreciate.How Chrome Extension Gallery domain verification will help protect users originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Got Facebook Login Issue on iPhone? Update to Facebook 3.2.2
The recent release of Facebook 3.2, that adds the new “Places” feature, is quite buggy. From my experience, I failed to upload photos to my Facebook account. Some users using jailbroken iPhones also encountered login issue when signing into the application.
Earlier, Facebook developers already acknowledged the login issue on jailbroken iPhone and promised a fix [...]
Earlier, Facebook developers already acknowledged the login issue on jailbroken iPhone and promised a fix [...]
Got Facebook Login Issue on iPhone? Update to Facebook 3.2.2
The recent release of Facebook 3.2, that adds the new “Places” feature, is quite buggy. From my experience, I failed to upload photos to my Facebook account. Some users using jailbroken iPhones also encountered login issue when signing into the application.
Earlier, Facebook developers already acknowledged the login issue on jailbroken iPhone and promised a fix [...]
Earlier, Facebook developers already acknowledged the login issue on jailbroken iPhone and promised a fix [...]
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IconWatch, orologio da polso molto geek
IconWatch, orologio da polso molto geek
In questo blog si parla sempre delle solite cose: servizi online, software, servizi online, software e novità in generale. Oggi voglio provare a fare qualcosa di nuovo e, invece di presentarvi il solito software freeware presentarvi un accessorio. Si tratta di un orologio, e non del solito orologio da polso con il suo bel quadrante ordinario [...]
Nicole Scherzinger
Katie Cassidy
Arielle Kebbel
In questo blog si parla sempre delle solite cose: servizi online, software, servizi online, software e novità in generale. Oggi voglio provare a fare qualcosa di nuovo e, invece di presentarvi il solito software freeware presentarvi un accessorio. Si tratta di un orologio, e non del solito orologio da polso con il suo bel quadrante ordinario [...]
In questo blog si parla sempre delle solite cose: servizi online, software, servizi online, software e novità in generale. Oggi voglio provare a fare qualcosa di nuovo e, invece di presentarvi il solito software freeware presentarvi un accessorio.
Si tratta di un orologio, e non del solito orologio da polso con il suo bel quadrante ordinario con all’interno qualche lancetta ordinaria. L’orologio in questione si chiama Icon Watch ed è uno degli indumenti più geek che abbia mai visto.
(...)
Continua a leggere IconWatch, orologio da polso molto geek, su Geekissimo
IconWatch, orologio da polso molto geek, pubblicato su Geekissimo il 24/05/2010
© Angelo Iasevoli per Geekissimo, 2010. | Permalink | 10 commenti | Aggiungi su del.icio.us
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Post tags: accessorio, Geek, nerd, orologio
Nicole Scherzinger
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Star Walk Goes To New Heights In Version 4.4
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[Updated] Wrttn.me is an awesome Web notepad, supports Markdown
Filed under: Text, Web services
[UPDATE:] As it turns out, wrttn.me is a clone of wrttn.in. I have now amended the links in the screenshot to point to the original tool, after verifying the fact. The review below is still valid for the original tool (all the more so, in fact). Thanks to alert commenter nuttendorfer!
When I first laid eyes upon Wrttn.me, I couldn't help but notice how spartan it all was. There was nary an image in sight and no flashy CSS3 effects, much less any Flash. The whole thing was just ... text.
And then I started digging in, and I discovered a surprisingly powerful, well-thought-out tool for sharing notes (with optional embedded images and videos), collaborating on them, and getting feedback on your work.
Wrttn.me doesn't require you to log in. Much like PiratePad, you just start writing. I should mention, though, that it doesn't have synchronous real-time editing a la Wave, PiratePad, or Gobi (or all of those other apps that I like so much).
What it does have is built-in support for custom CSS, support for Markdown, Textile, raw HTML or plain text, and a way to allow people to comment on your note (again, without signing in) by using a third party service called DISQUS.
Of course, there's an API, so you can easily create notes from your own services or embed notes into your own site. The whole thing feels incredibly well-thought-out. It's like the developer spent a lot of time pondering the question, "what's the least annoying and most open way to do this thing?"
Support multiple markup types, don't require logging in, provide an open API, and produce both a public URL (view only or comment if enabled) and an "admin" URL for editing your note as needed. It's all there!
Now, if it only had EtherPad-style editing, this thing could blow most existing notes solutions out of the water. Kudos!
Share Tweet[Updated] Wrttn.me is an awesome Web notepad, supports Markdown originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
[UPDATE:] As it turns out, wrttn.me is a clone of wrttn.in. I have now amended the links in the screenshot to point to the original tool, after verifying the fact. The review below is still valid for the original tool (all the more so, in fact). Thanks to alert commenter nuttendorfer!
When I first laid eyes upon Wrttn.me, I couldn't help but notice how spartan it all was. There was nary an image in sight and no flashy CSS3 effects, much less any Flash. The whole thing was just ... text.
And then I started digging in, and I discovered a surprisingly powerful, well-thought-out tool for sharing notes (with optional embedded images and videos), collaborating on them, and getting feedback on your work.
Wrttn.me doesn't require you to log in. Much like PiratePad, you just start writing. I should mention, though, that it doesn't have synchronous real-time editing a la Wave, PiratePad, or Gobi (or all of those other apps that I like so much).
What it does have is built-in support for custom CSS, support for Markdown, Textile, raw HTML or plain text, and a way to allow people to comment on your note (again, without signing in) by using a third party service called DISQUS.
Of course, there's an API, so you can easily create notes from your own services or embed notes into your own site. The whole thing feels incredibly well-thought-out. It's like the developer spent a lot of time pondering the question, "what's the least annoying and most open way to do this thing?"
Support multiple markup types, don't require logging in, provide an open API, and produce both a public URL (view only or comment if enabled) and an "admin" URL for editing your note as needed. It's all there!
Now, if it only had EtherPad-style editing, this thing could blow most existing notes solutions out of the water. Kudos!
Share Tweet[Updated] Wrttn.me is an awesome Web notepad, supports Markdown originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Natale Geek: 5 gadget da NON mettere sotto l?albero
Tra mutande rosse, pandori zombi e sciarpe del nonno riciclate, sotto l?albero di Natale ci finisce davvero qualsiasi schifezza possibile e immaginabile.
Almeno noi geek cerchiamo quindi di rendere queste feste pi� piacevoli, evitando di regalare e farci regalare cose come quelle che stiamo per proporvi. Cinque gadget tecnologici da non mettere sotto l?albero per nessun [...]
Almeno noi geek cerchiamo quindi di rendere queste feste pi� piacevoli, evitando di regalare e farci regalare cose come quelle che stiamo per proporvi. Cinque gadget tecnologici da non mettere sotto l?albero per nessun [...]
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Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Age of Empires Online -- the next iteration of the famous franchise is kinda, um, FarmVille...
Filed under: Games, Social Software
Do not adjust your monitor -- it's meant to look cartoony!
Age of Empires Online, the long-awaited update to one of the most famous RTS franchises, is coming, along with a truly massive deviation from its usual format. Yes, it's still an RTS; yes, there are still buildings and military and a campaign -- but that's where the similarities end!.
Age of Empires Online is actually closer to FarmVille than an Age of Empires title. Your city is saved online, accessible from anywhere (the game will be digitally distributed, so you can log in from anywhere). You will carry out quests, which will take the form of single- and multi-player cooperative missions. Of course there's in-game chat too, so you can talk to your friends while you play. Basically, it's a social MMO, but with 'real' RTS gameplay tacked on. Watch the video on its website to see some actual gameplay.
I'm not quite sure what to make of it all. The FAQ has tantalizing yet thoroughly useless hints at what to expect. There's no sign of what it will cost, but I presume it will be free, if it wants to compete with FarmVille. That opens another kettle of fish: as a full RTS, it must be cost inga lot more than other Flash-based MMOs to develop... how will they monetize it?
Age of Empires Online is slated for release sometime in 2011. You can try your chances, like me, and sign up for the Closed Beta, though! (The beta sign-up survey asks if you've played FarmVille and Mafia Wars, incidentally...)
Oh, and apparently this is a Windows PC exclusive -- I had so hoped for a mobile title to challenge Civilization for Facebook...Age of Empires Online -- the next iteration of the famous franchise is kinda, um, FarmVille... originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Do not adjust your monitor -- it's meant to look cartoony!
Age of Empires Online, the long-awaited update to one of the most famous RTS franchises, is coming, along with a truly massive deviation from its usual format. Yes, it's still an RTS; yes, there are still buildings and military and a campaign -- but that's where the similarities end!.
Age of Empires Online is actually closer to FarmVille than an Age of Empires title. Your city is saved online, accessible from anywhere (the game will be digitally distributed, so you can log in from anywhere). You will carry out quests, which will take the form of single- and multi-player cooperative missions. Of course there's in-game chat too, so you can talk to your friends while you play. Basically, it's a social MMO, but with 'real' RTS gameplay tacked on. Watch the video on its website to see some actual gameplay.
I'm not quite sure what to make of it all. The FAQ has tantalizing yet thoroughly useless hints at what to expect. There's no sign of what it will cost, but I presume it will be free, if it wants to compete with FarmVille. That opens another kettle of fish: as a full RTS, it must be cost inga lot more than other Flash-based MMOs to develop... how will they monetize it?
Age of Empires Online is slated for release sometime in 2011. You can try your chances, like me, and sign up for the Closed Beta, though! (The beta sign-up survey asks if you've played FarmVille and Mafia Wars, incidentally...)
Oh, and apparently this is a Windows PC exclusive -- I had so hoped for a mobile title to challenge Civilization for Facebook...Age of Empires Online -- the next iteration of the famous franchise is kinda, um, FarmVille... originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Facebook for iPhone 3.2.2 ? Login fixed?
Facebook promised a fix for ailing iPhone users and here it (apparently is) — Facebook for iPhone 3.2.2.
They claim it fixes the login issue, which seems to have been primarily caused by conflicts with some Jailbreak apps.
We’ll let you be the judges of that, however. Working now?
[iTunes link]
Facebook for iPhone 3.2.2 — Login fixed? is [...]Facebook for iPhone 3.2.2 — Login fixed? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
They claim it fixes the login issue, which seems to have been primarily caused by conflicts with some Jailbreak apps.
We’ll let you be the judges of that, however. Working now?
[iTunes link]
Facebook for iPhone 3.2.2 — Login fixed? is [...]Facebook for iPhone 3.2.2 — Login fixed? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Protect Your iPad With iShine Microfiber Sleeve
Tweet Every iPad owner understands the importance of keeping their device both protected and clean. It takes very little time for oil from your hands to build up on the iPad’s screen, leaving plenty of unwanted smudges. There is an affordable solution though thanks to the iShine Microfiber iPad Sleeve. The iShine Sleeve is a [...]
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