ipod accessory

MacBreak 161: Macbreak: Wiimote Adaptation

2008-10-13T14:55:00.009-07:00

MacBreak 161: Macbreak: Wiimote Adaptation
Keith Lang stops in to show us how to adapt a Wiimote for a 3D experience.

MacBreak 50 Macworld 2007: MacTank

2008-10-13T14:55:00.007-07:00

Merlin chats with the developers of MailTank and MailTemplate. Read more

Video of 'aluminum MacBook' surfaces

2008-10-13T14:55:00.005-07:00

Video of 'aluminum MacBook' surfaces

Filed under: Rumors, MacBook

An often-blurry QuickTime spy video of what appears to be an aluminum MacBook enclosure is available now on apple.pro. (If the video link isn't working, try watching it on YouTube; there are stills available here.)

The video is a series of close-up shots, none showing the thickness of the enclosure, nor the keyboard. The only features visible in the video are the new location for the power button, and a larger trackpad. Its authenticity could not be independently verified.

Yesterday, apple.pro had photos of what appears to be the same enclosure. Is it the new MacBook? We'll see on October 14.

[Via Electronista.]

Thanks, Josh, for the YouTube link!

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Proposal: Two Minor Specification Edits

2008-10-13T14:55:00.003-07:00

Proposal: Two Minor Specification Edits
Looks like the RSS Advisory Board felt like some changes were in order. Here, take a look for yourself…. The following RSS Advisory Board proposal has been made by Rogers Cadenhead and seconded by Matthew Bookspan and Greg Smith. Under the advisory board charter, the board has seven days to vote on it. Interested parties can comment [...]

Looks like the RSS Advisory Board felt like some changes were in order. Here, take a look for yourself….

The following RSS Advisory Board proposal has been made by Rogers Cadenhead and seconded by Matthew Bookspan and Greg Smith.

Under the advisory board charter, the board has seven days to vote on it. Interested parties can comment on the proposal on the mailing list RSS-Public.
Proposal

The current RSS specification contains two minor issues I’d like to resolve.

1. The docs element refers to an outdated URL for the specification instead of the current URL.

For as long as the board operates,�http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specificatio… will be the permanent URL of the current version of the spec. The domain name is the property of the board, so it can move to a new host as needed in the future…. Source: rssboard.org

7 Firefox Quick Searches You Should Set Up

2008-10-13T14:55:00.001-07:00

A Firefox Quick Search is one of the coolest Firefox features and at the same time the least known one. Using Quick Search feature you can search a website of your choice directly from the Firefox address bar. So instead of say going to www.youtube.com and then searching for standup comedy, you can set up a [...]

So instead of say going to www.youtube.com and then searching for standup comedy, you can set up a Firefox Quick Search for Youtube and then type in the address bar y standup comedy. Hit enter and you will be taken straight to the search results on Youtube.com.

Let me illustrate how this actually works by setting up a quick search for MakeUseOf.com. And the best thing about this feature is that it takes only about 10 seconds to set up. So, follow me! Once we’re done you will be able to do this for any other website as well.

How To Create Quick Search for MakeUseOf.com

Add a Keyword for this Search …

(2) Next, you should see a small window like the one below. Here basically you need to enter a name for that Quick Search (I usually use the name of the website here) and the keyword that you want to use for it. You might want to use something short and easy to remember for the keyword. For instance, for MakeUseOf it can be muo, for Youtube y or yt or you, etc.

(3) Once it’s been added to your bookmarks you will be able to search the website right from the address bar. For instance, as can be seen above when creating Quick Search for MakeUseOf.com we used the keyword muo.

Now let’s say I want to search MakeUseOf.com for some reverse phone number lookup website. To do that I can simply type muo reverse phone number lookup website into the address bar and hit enter.

And here is where it takes me … directly to the search results.

So as you can see, quick searches can be major time savers. Instead of going to the website and searching from there you’re able to search directly from the Firefox address bar.

I highly recommend you setup Quick Searches for the websites you frequent. Here are some of the essential sites I have on my quick searches.

MakeUseOf

Youtube - I guess it’s fair to assume that for many of us Youtube became the to go place for videos. It’s the only video sharing site I visit. I use keyword you for it.

IMDB - I am a major movie addict and frequently use IMDB (Internet Movie Database) to check reviews and ratings before watching the movie. A quick address bar entry imdb some_movie_title takes me straight to the needed page on IMDB.com.

Wikipedia - The Wikipedia search is already included among default Firefox search engines, nonetheless it’s still a lot faster to search it directly from the address bar. My keyword for Wikipedia search is wik.

Del.icio.us - Believe it or not but I use del.icio.us as much as Google these days. Since you’re searching through people’s bookmarks it can be quite effective when it comes to finding the right website for the task.

PriceGrabber - This lets quickly lookup the price of a product across different retailers. No need to digg through eBay or Amazon listings, simply type in the keyword and product you want to check inside the address bar and hit enter.

ThePirateBay - If you frequently download torrents then setting up a keyword search for your favorite torrent search website might be a good idea as well. I prefer to use ThePirateBay, you may use something else.

What are you favorite Quick Searches? Let me know in comments.

(By) Aibek, the guy behind MakeUseOf.com

New subscriber? Get your freebies at MakeUseOf Downloads. Enjoy!

Tags:browser tips, firefox tips, productivity, shortcuts

Scratch offers Numark-controlled Guitar Hero for hip-hop heads

2008-10-09T17:46:00.005-07:00

Scratch offers Numark-controlled Guitar Hero for hip-hop heads

Filed under: Gaming

Are the blatant rockist tendencies of Guitar Hero and Rock Band ruining your enjoyment of those otherwise brilliant titles? Of course they are -- we noted your b-boy flava from two blocks away. But don't sweat it because Genius Products, 7 Studios and Quincy Jones III have your niche in their sights and will happily sell you Scratch: The Ultimate DJ when it hits the stores sometime in Spring 2009. With a game controller designed by Numark (known worldwide for its DJ controllers -- there's an example for you after the break), the game will be available for the Xbox 360 and PS3 and feature tracks by "many" (as yet unnamed) hip-hop artists. Trevor Drinkwater, President and CEO of Genius Products promises all and sundry "a cutting-edge game that captures the vital energy of hip-hop culture." And here we thought they were cynically jumping on the Guitar Hero bandwagon! We stand corrected.

Continue reading Scratch offers Numark-controlled Guitar Hero for hip-hop heads

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BurnAgain FS 1.1 update adds Tiger support, more

2008-10-09T17:46:00.003-07:00

BurnAgain FS 1.1 update adds Tiger support, more
Freeridecoding has released a v1.1 update to its multi-session CD/DVD burning utility, BurnAgain FS. The patch adds Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger support and a German localization, as well as improvements to the software's file-removing feature. FS treats CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs like hard drives, mounting them as a volume on the desktop for adding files, changing disc titles and "erasing" files...

MUO Games : Now Boarding - An Addictive Adobe Air Game

2008-10-09T17:46:00.001-07:00

I am not the kind of person who has the patience to play through a resource management game. I remembered when I first played Rollercoaster Tycoon - it only lasted me 15 minutes before I decided to call it quits and I never played the game again. When I got my hands on Now Boarding, a [...]

I am not the kind of person who has the patience to play through a resource management game. I remembered when I first played Rollercoaster Tycoon - it only lasted me 15 minutes before I decided to call it quits and I never played the game again.

When I got my hands on Now Boarding, a resource management game based on the Adobe Air platform, I didn’t have much interest initially and put aside only 15 minutes just to test it out. In the end, I spent the whole afternoon playing it. It completely blew my mind.

Now Boarding is a well designed tycoon-style game by Gabob. It is a 2D flash-based game with a simple cartoon-like interface. The storyline is simple: Airway Airlines is facing some serious management problems and their airport is going to be closed if they don’t get some help. You are being employed to take charge of the daily operation of the airport and to keep the airlines business alive.

Starting with two 737 4-seater airplanes, your task is to ferry your passengers to where they want to go and make them happy in the process. Every passenger is tagged with an alphabet associated with the city that they want to go to. What you need to do is to load them to the planes and send the flights to the respective destination cities. As more and more passengers appear in the boarding lounge, each wanting to go to different places, you will have to make swift decisions on which passengers go on which planes and plan the flight routes effectively to avoid dropping the passengers at the wrong destinations.

As of all games, the initial stage is often very easy. With only three cities and a small number of passengers to manage, you will be able to rake in great profits and obtain excellent customer ratings easily in the early stage. As you expand to other cities and more and more passengers keep coming, things start to become complicated. You will have to decide if you want to send an empty plane to another city to pick up passengers or make the plane go on a detour when it is on its way back. At such moments, you can be thrown into a state of disorder easily and you need to make quick decisions and avoid any mistakes. In the process, you also have to keep your passengers entertained, otherwise they will rate you ‘F’ for your services. If you accumulate too many ‘F’’s, you will have to restart the month.

After every round (each round is equivalent to one month in the game), you will be able to manage the other aspects of your airport. You can upgrade the plane to a bigger one that can seat more passengers, promote/fire your employees according to their performance, increase the number of chairs in the waiting area and also decorate your terminal with plants, paintings and snack bars so as to keep your passengers happy.

If you are looking for a game that can keep you occupied for hours, or even days and one that is bundled with some challenges and difficulties, yet allows you to feel that you are in control of the game, then you have to try Now Boarding.

The game is free to download and you get to play the full episode 1 of the Career mode for free. Those who want more can upgrade to the full version at $16.99 in which you get to enjoy two other modes: Free Play and Survival. You can also play the original version at Gimme5Game for free.

Now Boarding requires Adobe Air to work. You can

download the Adobe air for your platform here,
download Now Boarding here,
or play the game at Gimme5Game here.

After playing it, come back to the comments and let us know what you think of the game. How far did you get in the game? How many passengers did you annoy?! What was your rating?

(By) Damien Oh is an all-out technology geek who loves to tweak and hack various operating systems to make life easier. Check out his blog at MakeTechEasier.com where he shares all the tips, tricks and tutorials.

New subscriber? Get your freebies at MakeUseOf Downloads. Enjoy!

Tags:adobe AIR, Games

GBTV #0412 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-10-09T17:45:00.013-07:00

Robotic breakthroughs are entering our lives quickly in the form of useful by-products. As scientist work to build safe, humanoid robots, the technology they discover shows up in cameras, cars, video games and more.

The final Brief for Innovation Week is a couple days late because we did a little Chicken Fried Bacon thing with Kat from RealCookN.TV and it left us feeling a little ill. It tasted great, but two slices of deep-fried battered bacon isn't all that different than eating 50 piece fried shrimp plate.

Brief 412 is about robotics starting with information from Intel about research they're doing on catoms (claytronic atoms). Catoms will be programmable electronic atoms that will form electronic devices and rearranged themselves to form other electronic devices. A research group at Intel is supporting The Big Trip through PaidByPixels.com and we'll get some access to some of their research. I'm hoping we'll get to see what they're looking at that indicates catom technology will be available in my lifetime.

iRobot is a leader in bringing practical robots to market for consumers and military applications. They've sold 2.5 million floor cleaning robots to early adopters like me. It isn't a bad number, but it also doesn't indicate mass appeal. The Christian Science Monitor just ran a piece about how different the persception robots is between American consumers and Japanese consumers. Americans are skeptical. Japanese are optimistic. Hopefully, exposing American kids to robotic toys like Pleo will start to change all that.

Roboticists like Aaron Edsinger is working on bring robots to market that don't require a manual. Domo is a cute little guy that adapts to his environment and has the ability to put stuff on shelves.

Even though the thought of having robots actively involved in our daily lives seems far away, it's actually happened already. Robotics research has lead to discoveries that are already being incorporated into consumer technology. Facial focus technology in consumer cameras came from robotics research. The same is try of all kinds of technologies being used in modern cars. C-3P0 and R2-D2 may be years away, but robots are already working to make our lives better today. Read more

MacBreak 72: Minute: Keyboard form navigation

2008-10-09T17:45:00.011-07:00

MacBreak 72: Minute: Keyboard form navigation
Merlin gives your spacebar a power-up, showing you how to use your keyboard to more quickly navigate web forms.

Beta Beat: fruux keeps you in sync

2008-10-09T17:45:00.009-07:00

Beta Beat: fruux keeps you in sync

Filed under: Software, Beta Beat, .Mac

One of the most frequent questions we hear from readers on our Ask TUAW posts (and for our doting Aunt TUAW) is a simple one, with no simple answer: "How can I replace the synchronization features of MobileMe with a free service or a software package that doesn't cost me $99 a year?" We feel your pain.

For anyone looking to cut their cash outlay and maintain multi-Mac data sync, there are options for calendaring (BusySync, Google's CalDAV support) and some for address books (address-o-sync, or the free Google & Yahoo sync in Leopard's Address Book), and some products that handle both calendars and contacts (SpanningSync, Plaxo) -- but if you're in the mood for a free all-in-one approach, you may want to check out a promising beta service from a team of European developers: fruux.

Starting with address book sync in earlier versions, fruux has now progressed to include calendar, task and bookmark sync via Apple's built-in apps (Address Book, iCal & Safari) and a cloud service that stores the synchronized data. The system pref pane interface is no-frills and the product is definitely still a work in progress (there are prominent warnings to back up your data beforehand and frequently thereafter), so it may not suit your needs just yet -- but it's definitely one to watch. Future roadmap plans include an iPhone client and a web interface to your PIM data.

Thanks Dominik, Hagen & everyone who sent this in.

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MUO Games - 5 Rhythmic Flash Games To Groove Up Your Day

2008-10-09T17:45:00.007-07:00

Rhythm. I’ve been told by a good friend of mine that I have none. That I can’t dance, can’t feel the music. I’ve tried to prove her wrong. But I must admit that I can’t. Dance, that is. As for the rhythm, I won’t lay down the weapons just yet. OK, I may suck on the [...]

Rhythm. I’ve been told by a good friend of mine that I have none. That I can’t dance, can’t feel the music. I’ve tried to prove her wrong. But I must admit that I can’t. Dance, that is.

As for the rhythm, I won’t lay down the weapons just yet. OK, I may suck on the dance floor, but that doesn’t prove anything. I’ll just move on to another platform to prove myself.

The platform in question is a virtual platform. Games. Rhythm games, to be exact. Can you feel the rhythm? Vini vidi vici.

In this second episode of our weekly flash games compilation we’re going in a whole other direction. This week’s games are all about music and rhythm.

Some of the games are of the popular kind, spin-offs from Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution. But others approach the genre with a different view. Read on for six of the best musical flash games.

The Traditional Two

Let’s start out with the two games in this round-up which belong to the traditional rhythm genre; Adagio and Rhythm Fireworks. Not that there’s anything wrong with traditional. There’s a reason these kinds of games became ‘traditional’ in the first place.

Adagio

Adagio is a Guitar Hero spin-off. It’s a result of ‘Rock Out’, a Newgrounds and Armor Games collaboration contest, where users tried to make the best possible rhythm games whilst competing for an Xbox Elite and a total of $10,000 in prize money.

This game didn’t win, but is nevertheless a great game. It’s got really nice graphics and though the arsenal of six songs is somewhat limited, you’ll enjoy all the time you have.

Do you think you can beat my scores? Mind, only first tries count! Share yours in the comments!

Rhythm Fireworks

Just like Adagio’s is based on Guitar Hero, Rhythm Firework’s is based on Dance Dance Revolution. For those who don’t know DDR by name, it’s that game where you hop to the music on a dance pad.

It isn’t a complete clone though, as Rhythm Firework uses a system of color variations to heighten the complexity a bit. It features a humble number of six songs, thus also limiting the different possibilities, but you only have to look at the high scores to find ‘replay’ motivation.

The Innovative Three

Of course it’d get boring to always play similar games, so we’ve also made a list of some progressive music and rhythm games; Music in Motion, Music Catch and Chaoz Escape.

Music in Motion

Music in Motion shares the developer of Rhythm Fireworks, Coolio-Niato. In this game he uses a hugely different concept though. A very interesting one, if I may say so.

MiM features four different levels, and with it, four different kinds of gameplay.

You’ll be running through, evading and fighting music. Check here for the walkthrough.

Music Catch

Music Catch is a very relaxing game. You move your mouse around while the game fires the music at you. You gather the notes by hovering over them. Collect yellow orbs to multiply your score, but watch out for the red ones!

Turn your lights down and the music up, and snooze away into the swift world of Music Catch.

Chaoz Escape

Another game that came forth from the Rock Out competition. Chaoz Devotion and Chaoz Fantasy were two songs composed by ParagonX9 . As a tribute, Lonechicken decided to make an interactive experience of the music.

Move your mouse around the scene and try to evade the red tones, while enjoying the music and artwork.

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And You?

Do you know any other great rhythm games? Want to share your high-scores? Tell us about them in the comments!

We’ll be back next week with another compilation of great flash games. Know that suggestions can always be mailed to simon+flash@makeuseof.com .

(courtesy of xkcd.com)

(By) Simon is a student from Belgium who wastes his time relaxing, gaming and surfing the net. He would tell you to check out his blog, only he doesn't have one (yet)!

New subscriber? Get your freebies at MakeUseOf Downloads. Enjoy!

Tags:Cool Websites, flash, Games, music, online games

MacBreak 38: Path Finder

2008-10-09T17:45:00.005-07:00

Merlin Mann is back to talk about Path Finder, a feature-rich alternative to OS X's Finder. Read more

GBTV #442 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-10-09T17:45:00.003-07:00

GBTV #442 (small) | GeekBrief.TV
On Sunday, we had a meetup at the Great State Fair of Texas. Friends of the Brief got together so we could all eat way too much. Some of the braver souls in the group tried Chicken Fried Bacon for the first time while those of us with Chicken Fried Bacon experience stuck with our "Never Again!" position. We were invited to visit a Smart Home exhibit at The Women's Museum. A team of women engineers were heavily involved in the tech used in the exhibit. Marji Smith, Director of Product Strategy at AMX, gives us an overview of the Smart Home in Brief #442, and she'll give us a more in depth look at the tech in action on the next episode. Stay subscribed! :)

Kingston ships new 32GB DataTraveler

2008-10-09T17:45:00.001-07:00

Kingston Technology says it is shipping a new USB flash drive, the DataTraveler 150. The drive is available solely in a 32GB capacity, and is distinguished by its bright orange coloring and a removable cap which can attach to its rear while in use. Though it supports Windows Vista and its ReadyBoost memory expansion technology, the 150 is also compatible with Windows XP and 2000, Mac OS X 10.3 o...

GBTV #425 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-10-07T17:07:00.015-07:00

Microsoft announced an update to the Zune. The most exciting of the features is the ability to tag songs from the FM radio to buy over WiFi or later when you're connected to your computer.

The Nano predictions were right, curved screen and all. Apple also updated the iPod Touch to make it thinner, with a contoured back. Both have the new Genius technology that will suggest songs and playlists.

iTunes 8.0 is now out. The Grid view is fantastic! TV shows will now be offered in HD for $2.99. Oh! Oh! Oh! NBC is back in the iTunes Store. Read more

Pro Tools 8 to host new interface, effects

2008-10-07T17:07:00.013-07:00

The Avid-owned firm Digidesign has revealed some of the details of Pro Tools 8, the next version of its music production suite. The major focus of the software will be its interface, which is firstly being given a more cosmetically "modern" look, but also adjustments to windows and options. The Edit window toolbar can now be configured, for instance, and Editor windows are dockable, including ne...

Join The MakeUseOf Community On MyBlogLog!

2008-10-07T17:07:00.011-07:00

Last week we told you about how to follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Today I would like to invite everyone to join the MakeUseOf Community on Yahoo’s MyBlogLog Network. MyBlogLog is the largest social networking site centered around blogs. Thanks to everyone who has already joined and helped getting MakeUseOf into the Top 50 communities. [...]

Last week we told you about how to follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Today I would like to invite everyone to join the MakeUseOf Community on Yahoo’s MyBlogLog Network.

MyBlogLog is the largest social networking site centered around blogs. Thanks to everyone who has already joined and helped getting MakeUseOf into the Top 50 communities. If you’re a MakeUseOf reader and haven’t joined our community yet, you’re welcome to join us.

Thanks!

(By) Aibek, the guy behind MakeUseOf.

New subscriber? Get your freebies at MakeUseOf Downloads. Enjoy!

Tags:announcements, mybloglog

GBTV #0371 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-10-07T17:07:00.009-07:00

QIK.com, the camera streaming service announce support for two Windows Mobile phones.

Sanyo upgraded the Xacti to include a 300fps Slow-motion feature.

The HDD Stage Rack now supports two SATA drives and connects via eSATA or USB 2.0.

LocatePC phones home when a PC is stolen.

Superlame is a free Web app that lets you add cartoon balloons to your photos.

I'll be live with Woopra President, John P. Saturday, June 7th at 12 PM Pacific time on CaliLIVE.tv. Read more

GBTV #0407 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-10-07T17:07:00.007-07:00

A UK Web site called Mobilefun is selling an iPhone case with a solar panel built in. It also works with the iPod Touch.

I got a DearCali.com question about backing up Firefox bookmarks. We use a plug-in called Foxmarks that synchronizes bookmarks for any computer you add it to.

The Chaos Computer Club created a tool for reporters and athletes traveling to China. It's a USB drive with applications that allow travelers to override Chinese blocks.

The CamBall is a video camera and recorder packed into a black plastic sphere about the size of a ping pong ball. I kind of want one, but they're only available in Korea. Cue the photo of the remote controlled cow.

This episode was produced and edited by Max Murphy from MacNewsWeekly.com. Max is on a 3000 mile road trip with his dad and brother. Our apartment marks the halfway point. They're headed to New Orleans, Atlanta and then back to New York. You can follow Max on Twitter at Twitter.com/MacNewsWeekly Read more

TUAW Review: WunderRadio

2008-10-07T17:07:00.005-07:00

TUAW Review: WunderRadio

Filed under: Audio, Software, iPhone, App Store

The geniuses at Weather Underground have done it again! Now they've capitalized on their insight into weather radio to bring the iPhone world WunderRadio. Available in the App Store (click opens iTunes) for US$5.99, WunderRadio provides NOAA Weather streams based on your current location.

But there's a lot more to WunderRadio than NOAA Weather. Weather Underground has joined with RadioTime.com to provide thousands of radio streams from around the world. Once again, based on your current location, WunderRadio provides a listing of nearby stations to provide you with local AM, FM, and Internet radio streams.

Enthusiasts of live police, fire, and EMS scanners get a bonus in the form of scanner feeds from ScanAmerica.us. With all of this content, who needs iTunes? Of course, the app has to do a good job of capturing the audio stream on the iPhone.

"The initial impetus behind this application was to provide iPhone users with instant access to local weather radio streams," said Alan Steremberg, President of Weather Underground. "During development, we decided to extend the scope of radio stations offered by working with RadioTime - the result is an easy to use portal to over 60,000 of the best talk, music and sports radio stations around the globe."

Read on for a quick review of WunderRadio.

Continue reading TUAW Review: WunderRadio

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GBTV #0372 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-10-07T17:07:00.003-07:00

It's not usually my nature to be snarky about a person, but on Brief 372, I make an exception.

Yesterday, Peter Ha from CruchGear posted a video from TheStreet.com, and I had to bring it to your attention. In the video, Gary Krakow, apparently an old-school tech journalist, is asked what Steve Jobs needs to do to get the iPhone competitive in a corporate environment. His answer is crazier than anything my favorite Mr. Cranky Pants, John C. Dvorak has ever said about Apple. Read more

It’s No Game - Your Online Gaming Assets at Risk!

2008-10-07T17:07:00.001-07:00

I love computer gaming. In a real sense computer gaming was the driver behind my interest, in the early 1980’s, in becoming computer literate, and then taking that literacy to new levels. Computer gaming has changed enormously of course from the early 1980’s to the present. The technical changes in both the games themselves, and the [...]

I love computer gaming. In a real sense computer gaming was the driver behind my interest, in the early 1980’s, in becoming computer literate, and then taking that literacy to new levels.

Computer gaming has changed enormously of course from the early 1980’s to the present. The technical changes in both the games themselves, and the platforms the games run on, would have seemed like science fiction viewed from the perspective of the early days.

Online gaming has effectively opened up a whole new world of computer gaming, both literally and figuratively, and has changed the face and the complexities of computer gaming.

Played over the internet, online games allow gamers to become part of a virtual world, consisting of literally millions of players who form online communities with all the associated social aspects of real world communities; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Just as there are crooks and cyber criminals in a real world community, these same type of characters also inhabit the virtual worlds of internet gaming.

You might wonder why virtual reality would mimic real life so closely that it would include virtual criminals. The answer is very simple - money, and lots of it.

In many virtual worlds, virtual currencies are used to purchase virtual possessions. You may be surprised to learn that these virtual possessions have real world value, in real world cash, and as in real life; a market exists for stolen goods in these other worlds.

The first step cyber criminals employ in stripping gamers of their virtual possessions (remember, real world cash), is password theft - an activity that has increased dramatically recently.

Stolen passwords for games such as World of Warcraft and Lineage, are particularly valuable, since in these games it is common for less skilled gamers to buy/pay for the virtual possessions they have been unable to acquire through skilled game play.

Increasingly, the theft of passwords relies on specially designed malware, whose function is to steal online gaming passwords, allowing crooks access to gamers virtual possessions so that these possessions, just as in real life, can be sold.

Explaining just how this works Greg Hoglund, CEO of HBGary, developers of advanced software security technologies says,

“Once a criminal learns a gamer’s username and password, he can log into the game and sell the victim’s virtual possessions for virtual gold coins. Those coins are then handed to another character in the game who sells the gold for real-world dollars at an online exchange such as IGE. IGE operates a network that deals with the legitimate buying and selling of virtual currencies and assets on the internet.

Video gaming companies are now fighting back through the use of authenticators. An authenticator is an electronic device which generates a unique, one-time use password which combined with the user’s regular password provides an increased security level against malicious attacks, including keyloggers and Trojans.

Blizzard Entertainment, the company behind such popular games as World of Warcraft, Lineage, Diablo and StarCraft sells an authenticator for $6.50 USD through the Blizzard online store.

So, if you are one of the millions of virtual gamers, purchasing an authenticator to help protect your virtual assets, it seems to me, is vital.

If you’re interested in FREE online gaming then check out an excellent article by Simon, one of my fellow writers here on Makeuseof.com - Top Five Free Online Shooter Games.

(By) Bill Mullins. Bill is involved in the computer industry, including diagnostics, networking and system security. Check out his personal Blog; Tech Thoughts.

New subscriber? Get your freebies at MakeUseOf Downloads. Enjoy!

Tags:authenticators, crooks, cyber criminals, keyloggers, malware, online games, password theft, Trojans, video games, virtual assets

Reggie Fils-Aime denies Wii HD rumor

2008-10-07T17:06:00.003-07:00

Filed under: Gaming

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime sat down with VentureBeat on the heels of last week's DSi announcement, and while he didn't drop any major bombshells, he did put the kibosh on those Wii HD rumors, saying that they were "pure rumor and speculation" and that Nintendo wouldn't show off upcoming models to devs as the rumors claimed. Reggie also downplayed the talk that Nintendo is going head to head against Apple, saying that Ninty's always "viewed ourselves as competing in a larger entertainment space." That's the end of that for now, we suppose -- but Reggie didn't close the door on either rumor entirely, and his closing comment that Nintendo's good fortunes "makes us the most paranoid people in the world" certainly keeps possibilities open. Hit the read link for the full interview.

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GBTV #361 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-10-07T17:06:00.001-07:00

GBTV #361 (small) | GeekBrief.TV
On Brief #361, I talk to My Home 2.0 Guru #2, Brian Albert. He's the craziest person I've ever put on The Brief. He showed me some of the projects he's built over the course of his life, and I try to convince him to call himself a geek.

MacBreak 22: The Uncluttered Desktop

2008-10-02T18:58:00.003-07:00

Leo Laporte and guest Merlin Mann show you how to clear your desktop from distractions using Finder MenuShade and Sprited Away. Read more

GClue releases Plasma and iKoto for iPhone

2008-10-02T18:58:00.001-07:00

GClue releases Plasma and iKoto for iPhone
GClue has released two new apps for the iPhone, iKoto and Plasma. iKoto is an application that lets users play a virtual Koto (Japanese Harp), an instrument traditional to Japan that produces oriental tones. The app also features recording functions and a demonstration that plays the song "Rokudan no shirabe" while visually vibrating each string so the user can follow along....

MacBreak 28: 4 New Mac Gems

2008-10-01T14:36:00.011-07:00

MacBreak 28: 4 New Mac Gems
Leo Laporte is back with Jonathan Seff and Jason Snell to introduce you to four must-see Mac utilities.

GBTV #0398 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-10-01T14:36:00.009-07:00

GBTV #0398 (small) | GeekBrief.TV
I can't do shownotes because it would give away the joke, but this episode is Max at Mac News Weekly fault.

GBTV #0374 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-10-01T14:36:00.007-07:00

Producing a technically good streaming show isn't something we need to do for any reason beyond the difficulty of making it work without spending thousands of dollars on equipment. The challenge has driven us to distraction. We've spent days researching options and talking to developers. We've spent nights dreaming about possible solutions. Streaming doesn't scale like podcasting, but it's a lot of fun to go live whether it's on QIK or On Location or in the studio.

Leo Laporte is doing the best job of anyone. He's got the talent to keep viewers interested for a long period of time and/or keep checking in throughout the day. He also has the foresight to invest in equipment to make his stream look better than any other live show I've seen. That's why he is and pretty much always has been a role model. TWiT is a leader because of talent plus Leo's commitment to making it sound great. TWiT Live will be a leader in streaming for the same reasons.

Leo is using a $10,000 TriCaster for switching and lower thirds. We considered investing in one, but we aren't going to be live every day.

We've researched alternatives and there aren't that many. Sony has it's AnyCast, but it's about $20,000. The Datavideo SE-800 sells for about $5000, but it doesn't really fit the mission.

We started looking into software solutions too. Mike Versteeg's VidBlaster is awesome. He's now working to make it work with streaming services like Ustream.TV, but it's going to take some time. Wirecast would be a great solution too, if it worked with the streaming services. Ustream tells me it will by August.

Tonight we're testing CamTwist Studio on CaliLive.TV at 8PM CDT.

It's almost like this quest has become a massive mountain we have to conquer before we can move on and get back to normal. We want to get to the point where we can produce a live streaming show that looks as good as TV. This Brief is about our streaming quest, but I hope it can result in motivating some hardware developers to consider the emerging demand for an even less expensive solution than Tricaster. Tricaster is awesome and the price is low for what it accomplishes, but churches, community groups and people like me are looking for something that isn't being sold yet. Hopefully someone who watches Geek Brief will take on the challenge and meet the need.

I opened up a topic on GBTVTalk.com to discuss the need Read more

LaCie debuts ultra-color LED-lit displays [u]

2008-10-01T14:36:00.005-07:00

(Updated with new pricing) LaCie has unveiled its new 700 series displays designed for applications requiring color accuracy. The 720, 724, and 730 feature 20, 24, and 30 inch screen sizes, respectively. RGB-LED backlighting technology is used in each model, allowing for ultra-wide color gamuts up to 123 percent of the Adobe RGB space with the 724 and 730. ColorKeeper stabilization technology anal...

Super Talent intros a sub-$300, 128GB solid-state drive -- things will never be the same

2008-10-01T14:36:00.003-07:00

Filed under: Storage

If you've been waiting for SSD prices to drop to reasonable ranges -- now may be the time to put the credit card down. Super Talent has begun selling its 128GB, 2.5-inch, SATA II "MasterDrive LX" for the shocking affordable price of $299, which works out to about $2.49 per gigabyte. If that still puts of pinch on your pocketbook (and what doesn't right now?), then perhaps you can be enticed by the company's 64GB offering, which clocks in at a fairly doable $179. With prices this low, you barely have a defense against purchase... unless, you know... you don't have the money. Then we totally understand.

[Via jkOnTheRun]

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"Official" geocaching app coming soon

2008-10-01T14:36:00.001-07:00

Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store

Long-time TUAW readers know that I'm a fan of geocaching, and that I wrote a post about using the iPhone 3G for geocaching back in July. At the time, there were no true geocaching apps available for the iPhone 3G, so I talked about how to use the software that comes on the phone to find hidden caches.

Since July, a number of apps have appeared (Geopher Lite and iGeocacher to name a couple), but I've been holding out for one from Groundspeak, the folks who first started up Geocaching.com back in 2000. While listening to my favorite podcast, Podcacher, this morning, I heard co-host Sonny talking about the upcoming release of the "official" geocaching iPhone app. When I returned home from a walk I was tracking with TrailGuru, I visited Geocaching.com and read the details in their online forums.

The app has been submitted to the App Store, will cost US$9.99, and will initially allow iPhone owners to find caches near them, look up trackable items like travel bugs, save cache information for use when outside of phone network range, and limit results to save bandwidth. The next version will provide the capability to log found caches while in the field.

Be sure to check out the Geocaching.com forums for more screenshots.

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Bloglines, NetNewsWire most popular RSS readers

2008-10-01T14:35:00.007-07:00

After 10 days of collecting votes, we have some results in our Dec. 5 poll that asked you what RSS readers you use. Bloglines was the winner, with 187 votes, followed by NetNewsWire with 163 votes. It's interesting to see the number of readers who are Mac users. FeedDemon, considered tne best RSS readers for Windows by some, only received 34 votes. Readers could vote for multiple selections.

Yahoo received 89 votes, followed by Google's 51 votes. "Other software reader" garnered 94 votes, with 41 votes going to "other online reader." Seven voters said they don't read RSS feeds. Combining Bloglines, Newsgator, Yahoo, Google and "other online reader" indicates that a large chunk of our readership get their RSS-feed information online rather than from software applications.

It suggests to me that they are getting their news, but perhaps are missing some of the extra features found in software apps. But this could be good news for the new Web 2.0 online readers slowly surfacing. They may be able to attract more people than the desktop software developers can, shaking up this growing niche of the software industry.

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iPhone 3G to be sold in Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands

2008-10-01T14:35:00.005-07:00

iPhone 3G to be sold in Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands
AT&T has announced that it is set to launch the iPhone 3G in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands on October 17th. Customers in the territories will have the benefit of pricing that matches stateside terms, specifically the $200 price for an 8GB model, and the $300 charge for 16GB. Apple and AT&T could face extra competition shortly after the launch, due to T-Mobile's acquisition of SunCom Wirel...

GBTV #0401 (small) | Ones and 0s

2008-10-01T14:35:00.003-07:00

GBTV #0401 (small) | Ones and 0s
One of my friends, Jeff McCord recently wrote a post on his blog about the nastiness of comments on YouTube. I keep hearing the same thing about Digg.com users too. The Web is very much an extension of who we are as people and it's really sad when we forget that. I think I'm guilty too. The episode where I made fun of Gary Krakow for saying Steve Jobs should "put the BlackBerry on the iPhone" was a perfect example of me not thinking about Krakow as a fellow human being. Even though I thought (and lots of bloggers thought) what Gary said was crazy, my goal is not to be mean to anyone anytime.

Geoff Smith might be well known for his "can't get them outta my head" jingles, but he's a brilliant musician who records real music that I love. Jonathan Davis is a student filmmaker who interned for us last Christmas. This Summer, Jonathan is interning for one of the top music video producers in the world. Neal thought it would be cool to introduce Jonathan to Geoff on the off chance that Jonathan could help Geoff do a little music video. Jonathan didn't just help Geoff do a little music video. Jonathan and Geoff produced an amazing music video based on Geoff's song Ones and 0s.

Ones and 0s is about how nasty comments on a blog post can really hurt a person. I loved the song from the first time I heard it. I hope you like the song and the premiere of the video. We're honored that Geoff and Jonathan are letting us release it first. If you have a blog or a Web site and you like the song and the video, please consider embedding it. This version is just the video without me introducing it. I love the idea of confronting mean, inappropriate comments with music.

Ones and 0s by Geoff Smith from Cali Lewis on Vimeo.

There's also an Apple TV optimized version in my Junk Trunk at junktrunk.mevio.com

Geoff and Jonathan will join me live on Ustream.TV Wednesday night at 6 PM PDT. I want to deconstruct the making of the video with them. If you have questions about how the video was made, join us!

It's been a long drive. I'm going to sleep and I'll be back with tech news in about 24 hours.

Cali's Shirt Courtesy of Brew City Online
Go there.

Mio's Knight Rider GPS gets reviewed, high-fived

2008-10-01T14:35:00.001-07:00

Filed under: GPS

Sure, we've been totally into Mio's Knight Rider GPS, but how does it really stack up? PC Magazine took it out for a test drive and found that the device is essentially a Moov 300, which they say has solid route calculation times and a straightforward menu system. The Knight Rider version comes pre-loaded with maps for the US, Canada and Puerto Rico -- an improvement over typical Mio US-only map packs -- and the reviewer likes the device's 58 POI categories (compared to the Moov 310's paltry 35). The biggest knock on the unit is the lack of live traffic on-board; you have to purchase a subscription and a separate receiver (not yet available on Mio's web site). Of course, you could always go for the aforementioned 310 with a built-in traffic receiver (and $20 lower price tag), but how cool would that be? Not cool at all. Don't take our word for it, though, hit the read link and check out the whole review for yourself.

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RSS mashup: Amazon, eBay, Yahoo! product results

2008-09-29T20:32:00.007-07:00

A new RSS mashup site acts as a meta search engine reaching into Amazon, Google, eBay, Yahoo!, Flickr, YouTube, and Technorati. You cannot mash all the search results into one feed, but you can merge Amazon, eBay, and Yahoo! Shopping into a single product feed, which is damn convenient. The site is weak on design, but it works. Used to be called Longtail, but (according to a posted explanation) that term has been trademarked by its popularizer, Chris Anderson. The mashup site is now called BaeBo, and is operated by Fancis Shanahan. (BaeBo is the language spoken in the Solomon islands ... perhaps it has other meanings, too.)

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Ubuntu up and running on Pandora

2008-09-29T20:32:00.005-07:00

Filed under: Gaming, Handhelds

All kinds of exciting things are happening in the Pandora universe, and now one enterprising individual has succeeded in getting Ubuntu 7.04 up and running on his development model. Things move pretty slowly, and no luck yet with Firefox, but the thrilling video does catch him playing with GIMP and the Xfce desktop environment. See for yourself after the break.

[Thanks, Stern]

Continue reading Ubuntu up and running on Pandora

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GBTV #0379 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-09-29T20:32:00.003-07:00

Kaleidescape released two new movie players. The 1080p upscales stand definition DVDs to deliver a viewing experience that rivals Blu-ray. Information about the Kaleidescape court case is here and a review of the player is here.

The Aztech WL850MS HD Media Streamer uses wireless N to stream 1080p video wirelessly over your home network.

The Cuisipro Ice Cream Scoop & Stack produces 3.75 oz., perfectly cylindrical scoops.

Rogers Wireless may match AT&T pricing for the iPhone, including the data plan.

Popgadget has a tip for skipping voice mail greatings when you call mobile phones.

XBMC is a cross-platform media center application that works on OSX, Windows, Linux and Xbox. It's my favorite application for the Mac that I've come across this year. Thanks to everyone who recommended it. Read more

First Look: Briefcase for iPhone

2008-09-29T20:32:00.001-07:00

Filed under: Software, Beta Beat, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Briefcase is the latest in a flood of apps for the iPhone that let you transfer files to and from a PC or Mac, then view them on the iPhone. After using a beta for several weeks, my personal opinion is that Briefcase is the easiest of the bunch to use. So far, it's also the only app of this type to allow Wi-Fi file transfer between iPhones.

Several competing applications require running special software on the host computer, Briefcase doesn't. Mac users just turn on File Sharing in System Preferences and make sure that the iPhone and Mac are on the same Wi-Fi network. A list of machines appears on the iPhone, you tap on one to connect, and once the user of the computer allows you to have access, you can browse the directories of the machine you're connected to. WIndows and Linux machines simply need to support remote login via SSH. You can also make remote connections to machines if you know the IP address and SSH port number.

When Briefcase arrives in the App Store soon, it will cost US$4.99. A free version, Briefcase Lite, just lacks the ability to zap files to other iPhones. We'll write a full review soon. Until then, enjoy the gallery.

Gallery: FirstLookBriefcase

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A Look At The New Google Moderator

2008-09-29T20:31:00.005-07:00

Recently Google unveiled Moderator. Moderator is a tool that allows you to crowdsource questions and suggestions. To put things in perspective, Google Moderator was developed as an internal tool to see what questions a majority of people wanted to ask during a talk and then ask the top questions to the presenter. However, it found more [...]

Recently Google unveiled Moderator. Moderator is a tool that allows you to crowdsource questions and suggestions.

To put things in perspective, Google Moderator was developed as an internal tool to see what questions a majority of people wanted to ask during a talk and then ask the top questions to the presenter. However, it found more uses and now it has been opened to the masses via the app engine.

So lets take this new tool for a spin, shall we ?

The primary use for Moderator is to crowdsource questions or suggestions. Let’s say we would like all of our readers to let us know if they want us to cover a particular app or recommend a solution to a particular need or problem. Google Moderator is ideal for such things. Here’s how we would go about it.

Create a new series

A series is like the top level heading under which you would like to group all the questions. I put in MakeUseOf since most of the questions and suggestions would be MakeUseOf related.

Create a topic

Topics are the next lower level in the hierarchy to series. Topics would be used to keep the things tidy. Like there is a featured series “Ask a World Leader” over at Moderator in which people submit questions they will like to ask famous personalities. So to keep things tidy, each personality becomes a topic. So now if you want to ask Barack Obama a new question you would go to the respective topic and put in a question.

For our MakeUseOf series I put in a Article Requests topic, where you can submit your article requests or thumbs up/ thumbs down other readers’ suggestions/requests. Periodically we will pick the one that is on the top.

Now let people vote and ask questions

Others can now vote on the questions that have been submitted in the topic. People can give a positive vote (which is essentially a thumbs up) or a negative vote (thumbs down). Depending on the positive to negative count of the various questions, the most popular question will eventually rise to the top. If a question has 100 total votes of which 50 are positive and 50 are negative, it will be ranked lower than a question with 90 total votes, of which 85 are positive and only 5 are negative.

Some things I missed:

See here

(2) Since the main focus is people, letting others know that you have created a new series and would like to know their suggestions would be helpful. So I greatly missed a share this link. Right now you have to go back to the series and copy paste the link from the address bar.

(3) No email notifications or RSS feeds at the moment. I think it would be nice if people could subscribe to the topics, or if the owner could get notifications of important events like a new top question, or a new event.

Go ahead, check out Google Moderator, see how you like it, how you would like to MakeUseOf it and then let us know in the comments. Oh, and by the way, there really is a MakeUseOf series over there at Moderator. So go ahead check it out as well and contribute.

(By) Varun Kashyap - Programmer, Blogger and Tech enthusiast, who blogs about tips, tricks, tutorials, latest on the web on his TechCrazy Blog

New subscriber? Get your freebies at MakeUseOf Downloads. Enjoy!

Tags:crowdsourcing, Google, google moderator, Q&A websites

WordPress 2

2008-09-29T20:31:00.003-07:00

After rumors met silence from the WordPress.org site, an official announcement has finally been posted: WordPress 2.0 has been released. I haven't yet tested it (though I trust WordPress, I wouldn't dare upgrade before backing up my databases and WP folders), but I haven't seen (substantial) reports of migration problems. WordPress 2 is named "Duke," and documented upgrades include a WYSIWYG entry-writing interface (it's about time!) and inline image uploading (it's asbout time!). There is also some kind of Ajaxy-sounding drag-and-drop of interface elements. WordPress has done amazingly well to date, thanks largely to its (relative) ease of installation and operationsl quickness--both selling points when compared to Movable Type, in particular. The program's geekiness, while appealing to many users, probably holds it back from more widespread use. The new WP2 features make it sound ready to rock in a bigger arena. Here is the announcement and download page.

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Spreadsheet iPhone app supports text, dates, formulas

2008-09-29T20:31:00.001-07:00

Spreadsheet iPhone app supports text, dates, formulas
Softalk has released Spreadsheet, an app that allows for the creation of spreadsheets on the iPhone. The program uses a standard grid, where users can add text, numeric, or date data into the cells. Users can scroll through the grids or zoom in on particular areas. Supported functions are grouped into six categories including Date/time, General, Math, Statistical, String, and Trigonometry....

MacBreak 08: Automator Life Poster

2008-09-25T18:17:00.013-07:00

Leo and Automator guru Sal Soghoian show you how to use Automator and iPhoto to create a poster-sized collection of your photos. Read more

Macvide releases standalone Flash Player 1.7 for Mac

2008-09-25T18:17:00.011-07:00

Macvide today announced Flash Player 1.7,the latest version of its standalone Flash utility for Mac OS X. The application allows users to play Flash content while offline, including games or videos. All Flash formats are supported, including SWF and FLV files. Content can be dowloaded from sites such as YouTube to be played anytime. Manual time line control is provided while watching videos....

Forums: RAM configurations, application questions

2008-09-25T18:17:00.009-07:00

Forum roundup: Recently MacNN forum goers have reported more occurrences of Safari crashing since the new 2.1 software upgrade. One member is looking for a way to stream eyetv online so it can be watched, via a web based service, away from home. A question about the new version of VLC player is discussed in this thread. A debate about the best RAM configuration for a MacBook is the topic of thi...

GBTV #0346 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-09-25T18:17:00.007-07:00

GBTV #0346 (small) | GeekBrief.TV
I start Brief 346 with a public apology for the most embarrassing thing I've ever done in my life. Then we introduced the alpha phase of an idea to bring an open source element to Geek Brief.

It looks like there could be a problem with Psystar, the company that says it's selling Mac clones. Gizmodo is on it and they're doing a great job. They have their readers on the ground tracking down whether or not Psystar is the real deal or not.

Joe Finnigan brought us our first open source story about a Web application called iubo. It's a U.K. startup that enables users to organize personal and public information in a single place that you can search. It's like a private search engine you can use to search the details from your life.

's Baggers is a restaurant that was opened last year in German. It doesn't have waiters. Food is delivered to diners via roller-coaster like tracks. Footage is from the BBC, and I heard about the restaurant listening to The World on NPR.

Lindsay Plumley, a huge Friend of the Brief, submitted a story about the gigantic 1080p displays that will hang above the field in the new Dallas Cowboy stadium. Lindsay's blog is borrowedlinks.blogspot.com.

We end the episode with the craziest robot footage I've ever seen. The song is Drive Away by Matthew Ebel.

PocketMac for iPhone syncs Entourage, Meeting Maker

2008-09-25T18:17:00.005-07:00

PocketMac for iPhone syncs Entourage, Meeting Maker
Information Appliance Associates has released its latest mobile sync product, PocketMac for iPhone. The app is capable of syncing Entourage, Meeting Maker, and Lotus Notes information. Users select which particular categories they would like synced, instead of being forced to transfer all information. If 411 is used to get phone numbers text messaged to the phone, that information can be added to ...

MacBreak 87: Studio: Audio Keyframes

2008-09-25T18:17:00.003-07:00

MacBreak 87: Studio: Audio Keyframes
Mark Spencer shows us how to use audio to drive animation in Motion.

MacBreak 147: NAB: Mogul

2008-09-25T18:17:00.001-07:00

MacBreak 147: NAB: Mogul
Alex stops by Imagineer Systems to check out their new product Mogul.

RSS mashup: Amazon, eBay, Yahoo! product results

2008-09-24T02:51:00.005-07:00

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GBTV #423 (small) | CEDIA Expo #7

2008-09-24T02:51:00.003-07:00

CEDIA Update #7 is full length today. Toshiba's XDE DVD Players are another option to Blu-ray. They're working on upconversion like we've never seen.

I've been learning a lot about how Hz effects your TV viewing experience. Philips announced their new Aurea II 100Hz Displays at IFA last week and Sharp announced their Aquos 120Hz Displays.

You can save money on domain name registrations and renewals from GoDaddy.com with discount codes GB1, GB2 and GB3. For an explanation of each code, click here. Read more

Amazon confirms T-Mobile G1 music store

2008-09-24T02:51:00.001-07:00

Amazon today preceded the launch of the T-Mobile G1 by announcing its rumored online music store for the new Android phone, putting the device in close competition with the iPhone. The service gives owners of T-Mobile's imminent smartphone access to the full, unprotected MP3 catalog of Amazon's store and thus lets customers copy tracks back to a computer or another device, including iPods, Macs a...

MacBreak 84: Minute: Saft

2008-09-24T02:50:00.013-07:00

MacBreak 84: Minute: Saft
Merlin shows us how to bookmark sets of tabs in Safari with Saft.

Sony's VAIO VGC-JS190J all-in-one PC gets reviewed

2008-09-24T02:50:00.011-07:00

Filed under: Desktops, Media PCs

After spending a bit of time with Sony's new all-in-one desktop lineup at CEDIA 2008, it was easy to recognize that some serious thought went into the design. CNET was able to corral one of the lower-end JS units, the VAIO VGC-JS190J to be specific, and took the time to determine whether the innards were as delightful as the exterior. Overall, critics found that it was the "best deal" going on an all-in-one desktop with an inbuilt Blu-ray drive, and amazingly, they found it "relatively free of software clutter." Furthermore, they yearned for more screen space than just 20-inches when watching those BD flicks, but outside of that, they found that "no other all-in-one, including Apple's iMac, could do as much, as fast, for the same price." Sounds like a winner, no?

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MacBreak 33: The Distracted Mac

2008-09-24T02:50:00.009-07:00

Merlin Mann is back to show you how to free your Mac from visual clutter. Read more

VMWare offers free training videos on YouTube

2008-09-24T02:50:00.007-07:00

Filed under: Found Footage

VMWare has started publishing short, but informative YouTube videos demonstrating various tasks in the new version of Fusion for the Mac. One of the videos (shown above, YouTube link here) shows how to install Windows XP in a new virtual machine in Fusion 2.0.

If you don't want to watch low-quality YouTube videos, you can send an email to downloadrequest@vmware.com. An auto responder will return a message with links to download the high-quality versions of the videos.

Thanks, Jason!

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Sony adds video podcast support to PSP

2008-09-24T02:50:00.005-07:00

Sony adds video podcast support to PSP
The Sony PSP is definitely moving way beyond video games these days. Then again, I suppose there are number of people thinking that it had to happen thanks to the Apple iPod’s success. Video podcast support is coming to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) thanks to a firmware update Sony Computer Entertainment has published. The update takes [...]

The Sony PSP is definitely moving way beyond video games these days. Then again, I suppose there are number of people thinking that it had to happen thanks to the Apple iPod’s success.

Video podcast support is coming to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) thanks to a firmware update Sony Computer Entertainment has published.

The update takes the PSP firmware to version 2.8. It allows the PSP to receive video clips through RSS (really simple syndication) feeds from blogs and other websites. Sony first added RSS and podcast support in November 2005 and expanded it in April this year.

Additionally the firmware update adds compatibility for the “.3gp” audio format used by some mobile phones, and greater access to content stored on Memory Stick memory cards…. Source: MacWorld

Apple Stores for Calgary, Honolulu, Geneva, Bristol

2008-09-24T02:50:00.003-07:00

This week marks a slew of Apple Store openings, as Israel's first Apple location, launched by iDigital, opened Sunday, Geneva and Bristol open Thursday, Friday sees Zurich's Glattzentrum shopping center open and Honolulu's third store arrives Saturday alongside Calgary. Geneva opens four days earlier than originally predicted, and will be located on the Rue de Rive. Geneva and Zurich's Glattzentru...

T-Mobile's CTO on G1 unlocking and tethering -- plus a few details you might have missed

2008-09-24T02:50:00.001-07:00

T-Mobile's CTO on G1 unlocking and tethering -- plus a few details you might have missed

Filed under: Cellphones

While there was a flurry (actually, a full on snowstorm) of news today about the G1, there's a few bits of info you might not have heard, largely because no one is reporting them. We had a chance to speak with T-Mobile CTO Cole Brodman after the event today, and he had some illuminating -- and frankly refreshing -- takes on some of our more pressing questions. When asked about what T-Mobile's reaction would be to users creating tethering or unlocking apps for the phone, he was surprisingly even-keeled, noting that while the company didn't encourage the practice, they wouldn't lock down the OS or update the software to break those applications. Our impression was that as long as their use was relegated to a small percentage of owners, T-Mobile likely wouldn't take action, though he did voice concerns over tethering apps and their effect on the network, with a clearly guarded eye to letting users have free reign. More interestingly, buyers would be able to have access to a "contract free" G1 (with a price point of $399), and could unlock the device with T-Mobile's blessing after 90 days. Brodman also said that the company's policy of unlocking phones for customers in good standing wouldn't change for this phone.

Continue reading T-Mobile's CTO on G1 unlocking and tethering -- plus a few details you might have missed

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Thank You MakeUseOf Sponsors

2008-09-19T16:37:00.001-07:00

Now it’s time to say thanks to our beloved sponsors who help us pay the bills over here. So make sure to click through and check them out. CrazyEgg - Great website traffic analytics tool for people who don’t really like looking at numbers, and are more visual. GoDaddy - Want to start a blog [...]

Now it’s time to say thanks to our beloved sponsors who help us pay the bills over here. So make sure to click through and check them out.

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GoDaddy - Want to start a blog and looking for a good domain name? GoDaddy is the most popular website for domain names. Use our link to get 10% off.

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Revou - Starting your own site like twitter has never been so simple. Revou lets you run your own microblogging site just like Twitter & Jaiku.

WP Review Site - Wordpress plugin that can transform your blog into a powerful review site.

If you’re interested in becoming MakeUseOf Sponsor you can find out more about it here. Hurry, only 2 spots left for October.

First look: Earthscape

2008-09-19T16:35:00.003-07:00

First look: Earthscape

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

This morning I took a stroll through the free bin in the App Store and found Earthscape [App Store link here] was, for a limited time, offered as a free download (it is now back to $4.99). I would pay a couple of bucks for Earthscape, although it isn't much more than a neat tech demo and didn't appear to serve any practical purpose. It is neat, but not essential.

The app is like a miniature version of Google Earth, minus street maps and not quite as "3D" or functional.

For a complete walkthrough of the app and its features, check the gallery.

Gallery: Earthscape

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Memorex intros $269 MVBD-2510 Blu-ray player

2008-09-19T16:35:00.001-07:00

Memorex intros $269 MVBD-2510 Blu-ray player

Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment

Right, so we're pretty stoked about having one more option in the sub-$300 Blu-ray deck club, but the lack of Profile 2.0 (which is only the latest, most up-to-date Profile, you know) is a real bummer. That aside, the BonusView-enabled MVBD-2510 doesn't seem like a half bad attempt from Memorex. It features audio decoding for Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS-HD High Resolution along with Master Audio bitstream output. You'll also find 5.1 analog audio outputs, a white LED display and a few brushed metal accents to jazz it up externally. Look for it this November beside a whole host of new Memorex cleaning supplies.

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Steve Jobs ranks #61 on Forbes 400 Richest Americans

2008-09-19T16:34:00.007-07:00

Steve Jobs ranks #61 on Forbes 400 Richest Americans
Apple CEO Steve Jobs now ranks No. 61 on the latest Forbes 400 list of wealthiest people in America. Every member of the ranks has a net worth of at least $1.3 billion. Although Jobs fell slightly from his No. 56 spot last year, he has gained significantly since 2006 where he sat at No. 132. His net worth has held steady at $5.7 billion for the past few years....

MacBreak 06: Email Encryption

2008-09-19T16:34:00.005-07:00

MacBreak 06: Email Encryption
Leo and Emery survey the available tools and techniques for keeping email secure and private on your Mac.

Google to sell 400k Androids by year's end: report

2008-09-19T16:34:00.003-07:00

Analysts predict the soon-to-be-released Google Android will sell about 400,000 examples in the fourth quarter of 2008, garnering 4 percent of the entire smartphone market in the process, Strategy Analytics predicts in a study published on Friday. The group's representatives said Google is a well-recognized brand that will make for a successful launch, which is slated for an event on September 23....

MacBreak 15: Little Snitch

2008-09-19T16:34:00.001-07:00

MacBreak 15: Little Snitch
Emery Wells and guest Kenji Kato show you how to monitor and control applications' network activity using Little Snitch.

Behind the Scenes Of Songbird - An Exclusive Interview

2008-09-15T06:28:00.011-07:00

Behind the Scenes Of Songbird - An Exclusive Interview
We’ve previously covered Songbird on Make Use Of when Mark wrote about it as an iTunes killer back in January. I then wrote my own article six months later presenting my own favourite Songbird extensions. Since then I’ve been following the development of Songbird with a great deal of interest and was excited when Songbird [...]

We’ve previously covered Songbird on Make Use Of when Mark wrote about it as an iTunes killer back in January. I then wrote my own article six months later presenting my own favourite Songbird extensions.

Since then I’ve been following the development of Songbird with a great deal of interest and was excited when Songbird 0.7 was released a few weeks ago.

This release introduced a great new UI, more features and significant performance improvements, all very welcome additions.

With Songbird on track and cranking up the pace for a version 1 release by December I decided to contact the Songbird team for an interview about their project. Rob Lord is the founder and CEO of Songbird and took the time to answer these questions about Songbird:

Perhaps you’d like to describe the team behind Songbird. I believe a number of you have been involved in previous media projects?

Hi Laurence, thanks for the interview. Yes, our Pioneers of the Inevitable team includes key developers from media players including Winamp and the Yahoo! Music Jukebox.

What do you think about development in other media players? With 4 main choices for consumers (iTunes, WMP, Media Monkey and Winamp) and each with a pretty unique market, things seem to have slowed down in the last couple of years. Apple only releases a new version of iTunes when they have a new product to peddle and Microsoft with their newest OS.

Our perspective is that the traditional desktop media player feature list is complete, thus there has been little innovation in desktop media players for years. However, what happens when a desktop media player is connected to the Web is an unexplored and intriguing opportunity. Songbird re-architects the traditional desktop media player to go there. Songbird is an open, customizable desktop media player that is built to play the Web.

Songbird has an incredible amount of potential. Have you been getting much interest or support from significant online companies such as Amazon? Without an iTunes/iPod lock yet still supporting them I would assume companies would be jumping on an opportunity like Songbird =)

Songbird has attracted a lot of attention from consumer electronics companies, especially handset makers, and media retailers/service providers. We’ll be making announcements as the partnerships are ready to launch.

We hear everyday from device makers that they want to focus on their devices. We hear everyday from digital media retailers, subscription, radio, video, recommendation, locker and other service providers that they want to focus on their services. Yet everybody - users, developers, device makers and service providers - wants those devices and services to work together with software. But only Apple offers a credible integrated service + software + device experience. Songbird is the solution for all those who benefit from open, customizable media player software. Songbird is the open solution for service + software + device integration.

That said, Songbird isn’t yet ready for everyone. If a user needs full feature parity with traditional desktop media players or has never installed a Firefox add-on, Songbird isn’t ready for them yet.

Songbird is based on Mozilla and not Firefox itself as I initially assumed. Can you explain what this means? Do improvements in Firefox, such as FF3 and 3.1 become part of Songbird? Does the Songbird team work with the Firefox team?

Songbird, like Firefox, is built from the Mozilla platform. So, yes, new Firefox features and enhancements are inherited by Songbird. Also our team provides testing, fixes and patches back to Mozilla.

What’s the best song you’ve ever discovered through Songbird?

So much to choose from! A Ratatat remix from the Gorilla vs. Bear music blog comes to mind.

What feature do you miss the most personally when using Songbird? CD ripping and burning?

CD Rip/Burn isn’t an issue for me because I ripped my CD collection years ago. I’m 99% pure digital now. Key for me is support for my iPhone 3G so I can leave my older iPod behind. FYI, CD Rip/Burn is on our roadmap.

What Media Software did you use before Songbird?

Winamp was for many including me the seminal MP3 player. Winamp was first to go big in the 90s with skins, plug-ins, EQ, visualizations, etc. and its community responded with thousands of extensions – the kind of vital community we see supporting Firefox today. In the last five years, I found myself recommending iTunes to others for its relative simplicity — and found myself using it for the solid service + software + device integration.

The approach for Songbird is almost a ‘make-your-own’ media player, even more so than Firefox is as a browser. By that I mean the Songbird Media player includes only the most basic functions and almost all new features, device support and codecs are all added via extensions. It’s a great idea as users can avoid having any features they’ll never use (such as iPod support when they don’t have an iPod), however will the most popular extensions eventually become part of Songbird, or are you keeping the system like it is?

You nailed our thinking. Like Firefox, Songbird will offer a baseline of what ever media player user needs and then offer customization via add-ons to your specific media player preferences. We’re experimenting with including highly requested add-ons, such as Last.FM integration, in the first-run bundle.

Does using Songbird make you more attractive to the opposite sex?

Works for me and my lady. Try playing the Groove Salad channel via SHOUTcast for best results. YMMV. ; )

Tell us your five favourite extensions.

Hard to pick as there are over 250 Songbird add-ons currently – and they are all specialized features. We’re very grateful to all the individual Songbird add-on developers that have embraced Songbird and the Songbird community.

Rather than pick favorites, here are the add-ons with the widest appeal based on downloads:

Wikipedia - artist biography of the currently playing artist.
Mashtape - a mash-up of Flickr photo, YouTube vdeos, Last.FM bios of the currently playing artist.
MediaFlow - Like iTunes Coverflow, view you music library by flipping through album art.
Last.FM Cover Fetcher - retrieve album art from Last.FM for your music library.
Last.FM Recommendations - artist recommendations from Last.FM based on currently playing artist.

Songbird have also been cool enough to provide us with a Songbird T-shirt to give away! To win this just comment below and tell us the craziest place you’re going to wear it (When you get the shirt we expect a photo proving it - and we’ll publish it! So no bare bottoms please!)

NOTE FROM THE EDITOR : MUO employees are not eligible to enter! This one’s for the readers!

MacBreak 52 Macworld 2007: Mac Gadgets with Justine Ezarik

2008-09-15T06:28:00.009-07:00

New MacBreak Host Justine Ezarik shows us some of the cool Mac gadgets and software from the Macworld expo. Read more

MacBreak 115: Macworld 2008: MacHeist

2008-09-15T06:28:00.007-07:00

MacBreak 115: Macworld 2008: MacHeist
Kendra Arimoto gets details on the MacHeist Bundle at Macworld.

Hackers hit LHC computer system, deemed "scary experience"

2008-09-15T06:28:00.005-07:00

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Those already fearful of the Large Hadron Collider's potential Earth-ending capabilities may want to turn away for this one, as it looks like the situation has managed to get a bit more perilous, with a team of hackers apparently successful in mounting an attack on a system that is "one step away" from the computer system that controls of one of the LHC's massive detectors. According to The Telegraph newspaper, the group, calling itself the "Greek Security Team," left behind a half a dozen files on the system and damaged one CERN file, in addition to displaying the page above on the cmsmon.cern.ch website, which still remained inaccessible as of Friday. Somewhat disconcertingly, one of the scientists working at CERN simply described the incident as a "scary experience," with a CERN spokesperson further adding that they thought it was just someone "making the point that [the system] was hackable." Um, okaaaay.

[Via CNET News]

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Second Seinfeld/Gates ad surfaces

2008-09-15T06:28:00.003-07:00

Second Seinfeld/Gates ad surfaces
Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled a new ad featuring founder Bill Gates and comedian Jerry Seinfeld, cozying up to an allegedly typical American family in an attempt to discover what the average user wants. The ad follows in the same vein as the first, comprised mostly of Seinfeld's well-known comedy style "about nothing." Both Seinfeld and Gates portray a character who act like opposites of their com...

Panasonic intros 1st Micro Four Thirds camera

2008-09-15T06:28:00.001-07:00

Panasonic chose Friday to break new ground with the launch of the Lumix G1, the first known production camera based on the Micro Four Thirds pseudo-SLR system. The absence of the traditional mirror and a smaller lens mount produce a 12.1-megapixel camera which is both the smallest and lightest to carry swappable lenses but which still has the sensor size and focusing abilities of a more typical D...

Found Footage: Database app for iPhone -- HanDBase

2008-09-15T06:27:00.003-07:00

Filed under: Software

Another longtime developer of apps for Palm and Windows Mobile has been heard from! DDH Software, developer of HanDBase, announced that its flagship database app will be available for iPhone in the 4th quarter of 2008. At this time, DDH hasn't provided pricing or an exact ship date, but it did provide the link to the YouTube video seen above.

To quote the DDH Software website, "HanDBase is a light and fast relational database manager for desktops, PDAs, and smartphones which offers data entry, searching, sorting, filtering, printing and synchronization across a wide variety of desktop computers, handheld computing devices and smartphones."

If the YouTube video is too grainy for you, try the QuickTime movie instead (click here).

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GBTV #0346 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-09-15T06:27:00.001-07:00

I start Brief 346 with a public apology for the most embarrassing thing I've ever done in my life. Then we introduced the alpha phase of an idea to bring an open source element to Geek Brief.

It looks like there could be a problem with Psystar, the company that says it's selling Mac clones. Gizmodo is on it and they're doing a great job. They have their readers on the ground tracking down whether or not Psystar is the real deal or not.

Joe Finnigan brought us our first open source story about a Web application called iubo. It's a U.K. startup that enables users to organize personal and public information in a single place that you can search. It's like a private search engine you can use to search the details from your life.

's Baggers is a restaurant that was opened last year in German. It doesn't have waiters. Food is delivered to diners via roller-coaster like tracks. Footage is from the BBC, and I heard about the restaurant listening to The World on NPR.

Lindsay Plumley, a huge Friend of the Brief, submitted a story about the gigantic 1080p displays that will hang above the field in the new Dallas Cowboy stadium. Lindsay's blog is borrowedlinks.blogspot.com.

We end the episode with the craziest robot footage I've ever seen. The song is Drive Away by Matthew Ebel. Read more

Lenovo stops selling Linux-based PCs via the web

2008-09-13T20:56:00.005-07:00

Lenovo stops selling Linux-based PCs via the web

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

While Dell seems to be madly and passionately in love with Linux, rival Lenovo is breaking things off... or at least refusing to take things any further via IM. Reportedly, the computer maker has decided it best to stop offering Linux-based machines via its online sales portal, though open-source fanatics can still snap up Linux-infused rigs through Lenovo's own or partner direct sales teams. Ray Gorman, a spokesman for the company, noted that its "commitment to Linux has not changed," and he continued on to say that "what has changed is that customers will no longer be able to order Lenovo ThinkPads and ThinkCentres with pre-installed Linux via the lenovo.com website." Truthfully, there's no bitterness with Linux here -- online sales figures simply didn't justify keeping 'em on there. And you know, money talks.

[Via The Inquirer]

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Cythbot Guitar Hero robot uncomfortably demonstrated on video

2008-09-13T20:56:00.003-07:00

Cythbot Guitar Hero robot uncomfortably demonstrated on video

Filed under: Gaming, Robots

Not that we haven't seen robotic Guitar Hero masters before, but Cyth Systems' egotistically named Cythbot is just a full cut above the rest. Boasting some of the most advanced, high-dollar equipment known to mankind (okay, so maybe that's a stretch, but just barely), the creation uses a highly sophisticated viewing method to determine which notes to hit, and it can even decide whether slamming the whammy bar is a good idea or not. Too bad you'll be entirely too distracted by the introverted hosts to even notice how awesome this thing is, but the video's in the read link if you care to try.

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Lightsaber Unleashed adds official Star Wars content

2008-09-13T20:56:00.001-07:00

Lightsaber Unleashed adds official Star Wars content
TheMacBox, developers of PhoneSaber, has announced the impending return of the gadget app under the name Lightsaber Unleashed, featuring characters and more from the upcoming Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game. The app displays a virtual lightsaber that makes noises mimicking the motions of the weapon from the Star Wars film. The app was pulled from iTunes after THQ Wireless spoke with TheM...

iTunes 8 causes Windows Vista BSOD

2008-09-13T20:55:00.013-07:00

Filed under: iTunes

Some Windows Vista users are having significant problems using iTunes 8, which crashes the operating system with a "blue screen of death" when an iPod or iPhone is connected to the PC.

Apple today released a tech note, suggesting to uninstall Apple Mobile Device Support, restart the computer, and re-download and re-install the iTunes 8 installer. It's unclear what about Apple Mobile Device Support was causing the problem.

According to Macworld and ZDNet, Apple simply replaced the files associated with Apple Mobile Device Support (usbaapl.sys or usbaapl64.sys) with the versions shipped with iTunes 7.7.

Computerworld highlighted several irate comments from an Apple Discussions thread on the subject, including precious gems such as "I love how Apple owns up to problems... IT'S NOT US! IT MUST BE YOU! OR MICROSOFT! OR YOUR MOUSE! OR YOUR CHAIR!"

Adorable.

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GBTV #0385 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-09-13T20:55:00.011-07:00

Drobo released an SDK today. Developers can build apps to make Drobo do more after joining the Drobo Developer Community.

Fontstruct is a free, Web-based app for future typography rock stars. I want the creator of the next Helvetica to be a GeekBrief.TV viewer.

GoLive2 is releasing a Wiimote inspired series of controllers for PC gaming and they're calling them Stix.

Philippe Starck designed a small wind turbine that might generate 20% to 60% of the energy needed to power a home. I skeptical, but definitely interested.

149 Series Mitsubishi HDTVs will include 16-point speaker systems that simulate 5.1 surround sound. Read more

GBTV #0347 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-09-13T20:55:00.009-07:00

This is our first trip to New York. I'm here to host an advertising awards ceremony. I always enjoy getting opportunities to do something I've never done before, so when they asked, I said, "Absolutely!"While we were here, I wanted to grab some time with Natali Del Conte to talk about her new gig as Senior Editor for CNET TV. We walked over to Central Park and chatted about her new show, Loaded, her transition from print journalism to video, and her famous flickr photos of food.The Cali's in New York Theme was written by Geoff Smith long ago for a trip that fell through. All-in-all there about been about six trips to New York that ended up not happening, for one reason or another. Read more

GBTV #0347 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-09-13T20:55:00.007-07:00

BloxOr Web-based RSS Reader Emulates Desktop

2008-09-13T20:55:00.005-07:00

This is sweet. BloxOr is a Web-based RSS aggregator whose Ajaxy underpinning makes it very much like a desktop newsreader. Three viewing panes reveal the user's list of feeds, the list of items within any single feed, and the content of the feed item. This arrangement, standard on many desktop programs, eliminates the two-pane system common in Web aggregators which requires a click to see the feed item's content. BloxOr works beautifully, and registration requires only a username and password; no email address.

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MacBreak 154: MacBreak Studio: The Job Chain

2008-09-13T20:55:00.003-07:00

MacBreak 154: MacBreak Studio: The Job Chain
Alex brings back Brian Gary to show us how we can save time by linking jobs in Compressor.

Leica trots out D-LUX 4, C-LUX 3 and M8.2 digital cameras

2008-09-13T20:55:00.001-07:00

Filed under: Digital Cameras

We'll be straight with you -- we're still struggling to wade through Google's machine translation of a few Polish releases, but the long of short of it is that Leica has finally announced the long-expected M8.2, D-LUX 4 and C-LUX 3. All the good stuff (pricing, ship dates, availability regions, etc.) seems to be missing, but the Leica faithful won't mind paying a translator to figure out what the links below really mean.

Read - D-LUX 4 and C-LUX 3
Read - M8.2

[Thanks, Peer]

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MUO Games - The Best Places for Flash Games

2008-09-13T07:01:00.007-07:00

MUO Games - The Best Places for Flash Games
Flash was originally created (and also broadly used) for website design. It didn’t stay with that though, as Flash also proved to be a great platform for animations and web games. Throughout the years, tons of sites have risen, offering an overload of Flash content. We will be discussing a few of these sites today. More [...]

Flash was originally created (and also broadly used) for website design. It didn’t stay with that though, as Flash also proved to be a great platform for animations and web games. Throughout the years, tons of sites have risen, offering an overload of Flash content.

We will be discussing a few of these sites today. More precisely, the best places for good and free flash games that play right out of your browser. What more do you want?

Newgrounds

Newgrounds is one of the most popular flash ‘portals’ around. It was also one of the first I discovered, about 8 or 9 years ago to be exact. There was a time I visited Newgrounds everyday, utterly addicted to the movies and games. I started making my own things some time after (like stop motion movies and a very crappy dress-up game). After that, I decided to leave it to the pro’s.

You’ll be amazed by the quality of the work. I am too, everytime I visit.

Newgrounds’ system allows everyone to submit their flash content. Then it’ll receive ratings from other users and be deleted if it’s not good enough. The best submissions will reach the frontpage or the daily top five.

Check out the games section here.

Albino Blacksheep

Albino Blacksheep is another huge flash site. It started a few years after Newgrounds, originally as a music orientated website. Over the years it grow towards other media, like flash. Now it has a user-base that’s almost similar to that of Newgrounds.

Albino Blacksheep works also completely of user-submitted content. In their help pages, they’ve included the image below, explaining the Albino Blacksheep flow.

Besides a recently renovated interface, they also feature a Wii Games page. On this page you’ll find flash games that are carefully selected and adjusted, making them playable using the Wii browser.

Take a look at the Albino Blacksheep games section for a wide variety of great games.

Armor Games

Armor Games is both a flash game directory and a game sponsor. People can submit their flash games after which they’ll be reviewed and checked to see if they’re appropriate for the website and possible sponsorship.

You’ll often see games sponsored by AG on other sites like Newgrounds or Albino Blacksheep, but they also post all games they sponsor on their own website.

Check out the Armor Games website for a directory of the highest quality.

Zylom

Zylom is a great place to go if you want to train your brain. This Realgames project hosts over 200 fun and free games. This might not seem much compared to Newgrounds or Albino Blacksheep, but that’s mainly because they don’t work with a user-submitting system.

Though they aren’t flash games, they are also playable right out of your browser.

Take a look at the Zylom website here.

And You?

We at Make Use Of are interested in your opinion.

What flash websites do you prefer? What flash games do you play? Have you played Alien Hominid yet? Anaksha perhaps? And while you’re at it, check out the other comments as well.

MacBreak 129: Macworld 2008: AcoustiLock

2008-09-13T07:01:00.005-07:00

MacBreak 129: Macworld 2008: AcoustiLock
Dr. Kiki Sanford takes a look at what Noren Products has been putting into its AcoustiLock noise reduction cabinets.

MacBreak 49 Macworld 2007: AppZapper, Pzziz and Cha-Ching

2008-09-13T07:01:00.003-07:00

Leo and Merlin continue their tour of 'Tiny Town', visiting with the makers of Cha-Ching, Pzziz and AppZapper. Read more

Runtime Revolution 3.0 improves script editor

2008-09-13T07:01:00.001-07:00

Runtime Revolution has released Revolution 3.0, the latest version of its application programming tool. The script editor for the app has been redesigned, and is said to be more efficient and easier to learn for newcomers. Many visual enhancements have been added as well, including nested arrays, object improvements, and native gradient support for seven different fills with complete programming c...

Macworld 2009 registrations open, new social network

2008-09-13T07:00:00.011-07:00

Registrations for the Macworld Conference & Expo 2009 are now open, with show organizer IDG creating a brand new web site that offers enhanced Web 2.0 compatibility. The new website allows users to interact with Macworld attendees and other Mac users through Facebook, MySpace, and the Expo's own proprietary social network. The 2009 Expo will run from January 5th to the 9th, and several different p...

Tech.Life.Blogged - Send me voice mail for free and how to get yours

2008-09-13T07:00:00.009-07:00

So since when did Odeo decide to branch out from the RSS syndication business and into the voicemail racket? It must of been pretty recently because this is the first that I have heard of it.
(more…)

Apple deals: refurb iPod price cut, peripherals

2008-09-13T07:00:00.007-07:00

With the release of the new iPod models Apple's online store has reduced the price on their refurbished iPods from the previous generation 4GB iPod nano in silver ($99) to the 1GB iPod shuffle ($39) in silver, blue, green and purple. 8GB iPod nanos ($129) are also available in silver, blue, green, black or pink. The iPod classic is available in two configurations 80GB ($169) or 160GB ($249) with...

MacBreak 28: 4 New Mac Gems

2008-09-13T07:00:00.005-07:00

MacBreak 28: 4 New Mac Gems
Leo Laporte is back with Jonathan Seff and Jason Snell to introduce you to four must-see Mac utilities.

More specs on Canon 5D Mark II revealed

2008-09-13T07:00:00.003-07:00

More specs on Canon 5D Mark II revealed
A French Canon DSLR news site claims to have the newest updates on the specifications of the upcoming Canon 5D Mark II. The new report has the camera using a 24MP, 24x36mm CMOS sensor and a new grip making up the magnesium alloy case. Like the recently unveiled D90 from competitor Nikon, the 5D Mark II allegedly offers a similar movie recording mode, previously reported as being capable of recordi...

GBTV #0365 (small) | GeekBrief.TV

2008-09-13T07:00:00.001-07:00

GBTV #0365 (small) | GeekBrief.TV
If you've thought about unlocking your Apple TV but didn't want to take the risk, aTV Flash offers a great solution in the form of a simple USB flash drive. Plug it in and get all the advantages of an unlocked Apple TV. Take the drive out, and your Apple TV is back to being Cupertino approved.

Seagate Showcase is a new solution for expanding DVR storage up to 1TB.

The Mytunes MP3 Amp is a small speaker for you MP3 player that looks like a guitar amp.

My elusive Neal makes his first official appearance on the Brief to talk about using the Wii Fit to loose 20 pounds. MakeOverMe.TV is where both Neal and I will keep track of our WiiFitness.

Because some people asked I put a clip from my hosting duties at the New York Festivals Innovative Advertising Awards. The full video is here.

MacBreak 52 Macworld 2007: Mac Gadgets with Justine Ezarik

2008-09-12T20:30:00.007-07:00

New MacBreak Host Justine Ezarik shows us some of the cool Mac gadgets and software from the Macworld expo. Read more

Ads in RSS: Obnoxious Works

2008-09-12T20:30:00.005-07:00

Don't get me wrong; I'm all for ads in RSS, and have said so for months. I have intuitively felt that inconspicuous ads would probably work best, if only because they would piss off readers less than big, loud ads. However, a study from Pheedo indicates the reverse is true, and it's two layers of bad news. First, ads run as separate RSS feed items are far more successful (generating about eight times the clickthroughs) as ads embedded in RSS items. Then, it turns out that blitzing the feed with ads in every other item is the most successful tactic of all. Of course, you might lose most of your readers, but the remaining ones will be clicking your ads.

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Hackers hit LHC computer system, deemed "scary experience"

2008-09-12T20:30:00.003-07:00

Hackers hit LHC computer system, deemed "scary experience"

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

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Apple deals: refurb iPod price cut, peripherals

2008-09-12T20:30:00.001-07:00

ipod accessory

MacBreak 161: Macbreak: Wiimote Adaptation

MacBreak 50 Macworld 2007: MacTank

Video of 'aluminum MacBook' surfaces

Proposal: Two Minor Specification Edits

7 Firefox Quick Searches You Should Set Up

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The Traditional Two

The Innovative Three

|

And You?

(courtesy of xkcd.com)

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First Look: Briefcase for iPhone

A Look At The New Google Moderator

Create a new series

Create a topic

Now let people vote and ask questions

Some things I missed:

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PocketMac for iPhone syncs Entourage, Meeting Maker

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RSS mashup: Amazon, eBay, Yahoo! product results

GBTV #423 (small) | CEDIA Expo #7

Amazon confirms T-Mobile G1 music store

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Sony's VAIO VGC-JS190J all-in-one PC gets reviewed

MacBreak 33: The Distracted Mac

VMWare offers free training videos on YouTube

Sony adds video podcast support to PSP

Apple Stores for Calgary, Honolulu, Geneva, Bristol

T-Mobile's CTO on G1 unlocking and tethering -- plus a few details you might have missed

Thank You MakeUseOf Sponsors

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