tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60429324116740914332011-11-24T09:21:46.760-08:00N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.comBlogger122481100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-75467855725264604982010-07-28T02:00:00.003-07:002010-07-28T02:00:36.018-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/analysis/" rel="tag">Analysis</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/browser/" rel="tag">Browsers</a></p><div style="text-align: center; "><img alt="EU Browser Choice Screen" width="520" height="257" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/03/clipboard02.png" /></div> <br /> The European Commission responded earlier today to the <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/05/gang-of-six-browsers-petition-eu-for-immediate-review-of-brows/">petition submitted by the 'Gang of Six' web browsers</a> seeking "any of a myriad of small changes" to alert users of the 7 browser choices not initially displayed on Microsoft's new European <a href="http://browserchoice.eu">Browser Choice</a> update dialog. In <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20000129-264.html">an email to CNet writer Stephen Shankland</a>, EC spokeswoman Amelia Torres writes:<br /> <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; "><blockquote> <p style="margin-top: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 17px; ">"The elements of the Choice Screen were published on the Internet and attention was drawn to them both through a press release and a notice in the EU's Official Journal, in all the languages of the Union.<strong> </strong>Two of the signatories made submissions in response to this market test, but did not raise the suggestions they advance now. Nor did any other market participant. The elements in question therefore remained unchanged when the <strong>final commitments were made binding on Microsoft by the Commission's decision of 16 December 2009."<br /> </strong><em>(emphasis added)</em><strong><br type="_moz" /> </strong></p> </blockquote> <p style="margin-top: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 17px; ">Torres' response leaves little room to argue the merits of the 'Gang of Six' petition. I contacted Flock's Shawn Hardin for a response to Torres' remarks.</p> <blockquote> <p style="margin-top: 15px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-size: 12px; font-family: inherit; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 17px; ">"<strong>Microsoft informed us on 12/16/09 that Flock had been selected for inclusion.</strong> This was the first time Flock received any official information about a decision that Flock would be participating in the program. Prior to this, Flock was never identified or invited as an "interested party" by the European Commission"</p> <em>(emphasis added)</em></blockquote></span>The EU comment period ends on December 16th when the agreement became binding -- Immediately following which, Microsoft announced the results of the convoluted ranking calculation which defined the 12 browsers to be included. <br /> <br /> In contrast to Torres' response on behalf of the Commission, the <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/competition/index_en.htm">Directorate General of Competition</a> has responded by scheduling a meeting to discuss the petition with the signatories for Monday. <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right;"><a share_url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/05/breaking-ec-response-raises-more-questions-for-gang-of-six-br" type="button_count" name="fb_share" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php">Share</a><script src="http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share" type="text/javascript"></script></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/05/breaking-ec-response-raises-more-questions-for-gang-of-six-br'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F03%2F05%2Fbreaking-ec-response-raises-more-questions-for-gang-of-six-br%26title%3DBREAKING%3A+EC+response+raises+more+questions+for+'Gang+of+Six'+browsers"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/05/breaking-ec-response-raises-more-questions-for-gang-of-six-br/">BREAKING: EC response raises more questions for 'Gang of Six' browsers</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:50:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/05/breaking-ec-response-raises-more-questions-for-gang-of-six-br/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19385801/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/05/breaking-ec-response-raises-more-questions-for-gang-of-six-br/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-7546785572526460498?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-75200219698824407822010-07-28T02:00:00.001-07:002010-07-28T02:00:07.570-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/security/" rel="tag">Security</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/symantec/" rel="tag">Symantec</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/analysis/" rel="tag">Analysis</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/05/npe12as-df.jpg" /></div> I spend a lot of time during the work week removing malware from customers' computers. So whenever I happen upon a new malware cleanup app, I make it a point to put it through the paces. Better tools make my job easier, after all.<br /> <br /> Today I'm checking out <a href="http://security.symantec.com/nbrt/npe.asp?ssdcat=221&amp;lcid=1033&amp;origin=unk&amp;env=production&amp;tooltype=NMR">Norton Power Eraser</a> -- a free, portable malware cleanup tool from the folks at Symantec. I had tried to test earlier beta versions of NPE, but there was a rather major bug which prevented me from doing so. When I tried launching the program in safe mode with networking, it would fail just after startup because it was unable to communicate with Symantec's servers (NPE is a cloud-powered program).<br /> <br /> Fortunately, Symantec has since fixed that issue. So with yet another infected system on my workbench, I fired up NPE and put it to work.<p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/13/dls-beta-review-free-portable-norton-power-eraser-takes-aim/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>DLS (beta) review: free, portable Norton Power Eraser takes aim at malware</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/13/dls-beta-review-free-portable-norton-power-eraser-takes-aim/">DLS (beta) review: free, portable Norton Power Eraser takes aim at malware</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 13 May 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://security.symantec.com/nbrt/npe.asp?lcid=1033&amp;origin=default>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/13/dls-beta-review-free-portable-norton-power-eraser-takes-aim/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19476305/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/13/dls-beta-review-free-portable-norton-power-eraser-takes-aim/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-7520021969882440782?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-49021182465953045882010-07-27T21:00:00.003-07:002010-07-27T21:00:35.916-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/developer/" rel="tag">Developer</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/features/" rel="tag">Features</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/lists/" rel="tag">Lists</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com"><img align="middle" hspace="4" height="257" border="0" width="578" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/jsrecommendations.png" alt="JavaScript Resources" /></a></div> <p>As a relative newcomer to the world of web development, it sometimes seems to me as though there is a gulf in the field: The "pros" versus the "wannabe developers". As if there's a tight-knit clique of developers, all well-versed in arcane stuff like advanced user scripts, HTML5, or Ruby on Rails -- and then there's the "rest of the world", composed of mere mortals just trying to hack something together that would somehow display and sort of work across multiple browsers.</p> <p>So the question becomes: How do I bridge the gap? How can I become a decent, skilled JavaScript developer without spending a boatload of money?</p> <p>After the fold you can see my take on that issue, consisting of one piece of advice and five resources which I find useful in this quest!</p><p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/09/six-great-resources-for-budding-javascript-coders/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Six great resources for budding JavaScript coders</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/09/six-great-resources-for-budding-javascript-coders/">Six great resources for budding JavaScript coders</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 09 Jun 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.downloadsquad.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/09/six-great-resources-for-budding-javascript-coders/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19509735/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/09/six-great-resources-for-budding-javascript-coders/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-4902118246595304588?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-9969361587779660262010-07-27T21:00:00.001-07:002010-07-27T21:00:11.159-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/design/" rel="tag">Design</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/lists/" rel="tag">Lists</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cdartdisplay.com/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" height="162 width=" border="0" align="middle" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/cdartdisplay-7447.png" alt="cdartdisplay" /></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.cdartdisplay.com/">CD Art Display</a> is a great little utility that puts the album art for the music you're listening to right on your desktop. It works with numerous players (iTunes, Foobar2000, Winamp, Helium, Windows Media Player, and more), and it shows you the album art for whatever track is currently playing with a beautiful skin. The art has to be in the album's folder, but if you don't already have it, CD Art Display can help you find it (it has a feature for automatically downloading covers).</p> <p>Since it already interfaces with your player, CD Art Display also lets you switch to the next or previous track, pause/play, change the volume, and even rate the song and find and display its lyrics (right in the program, not in a pop-up browser window). It's pretty neat stuff!</p> <p>CD Art Display isn't new; the last stable version (2.0.1) was released on September 8, 2009. The program is certainly not dead, though; <a href="http://www.cdartdisplay.com/index.php?categoryid=14&amp;p2000_sectionid=3">CD Art Display 3.0 Beta</a> was last updated on July 12, so it seems like development is definitely ongoing.</p> <p>There are currently over 200 skins in the <a href="http://www.cdartdisplay.com/index.php?categoryid=2&amp;p13_sectionid=3">official gallery</a>, so picking nine was tricky. However, I used the program's built-in browser to go through lots and lots of skins, installing and testing, until I found nine skins that I really liked. You can check them out after the jump!</p><p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/nine-cool-cd-art-display-skins-to-showcase-your-music/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Nine cool CD Art Display skins to showcase your music</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/nine-cool-cd-art-display-skins-to-showcase-your-music/">Nine cool CD Art Display skins to showcase your music</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.cdartdisplay.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/nine-cool-cd-art-display-skins-to-showcase-your-music/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19567588/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/nine-cool-cd-art-display-skins-to-showcase-your-music/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-996936158777966026?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-1649088642367682792010-07-27T17:00:00.003-07:002010-07-27T17:00:45.523-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/" rel="tag">Windows</a></p><div style="text-align: center; "><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" width="580" height="399" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/hamster-vid.jpg" /></div> <div style="text-align: left; ">Like many of the apps in this category, <a href="http://videoconverter.hamstersoft.com/">Hamster Free Video Converter</a> utilizes the open source FFmpeg to handle video conversion. <em>Unlike </em>a lot of others, it's got a simple, easy-to-use interface which even the most casual users should be able to manage.<br /> <br /> Just follow the tabs! Step 1: choose a video or multiple videos (<em>Hamster does batch conversions, too!</em>). Step 2: select your desired format (AVI, MPEG, WMV, FLV, MP3, or 3GP) or your mobile device. Built-in options include the iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, as well as Blackberry, HTC, Archos, and Sony devices (among others). Step 3: convert your videos!<br /> <br /> Don't like the default yellow theme? No problem. Simply open the settings menu, choose theme, and use the slider to select a tone that's more to your liking.<br /> <br /> Hamster is an excellent free option if you're looking for a way to create mobile-friendly versions of your favorite videos. There's virtually no learning curve, so it's the perfect app to recommend to your friends who always seem to have shortcuts to crippled trial versions of crappy video converters on their desktops.</div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/24/free-video-convert-iphone-ipad-android-blackberry/">Hamster batch converts your video files for free</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://videoconverter.hamstersoft.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/24/free-video-convert-iphone-ipad-android-blackberry/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19567115/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/24/free-video-convert-iphone-ipad-android-blackberry/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-164908864236768279?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-77854923173825194002010-07-27T17:00:00.001-07:002010-07-27T17:00:08.836-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a></p><a href="http://apiblog.youtube.com/2010/07/new-way-to-embed-youtube-videos.html"><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/youtubelogo250.jpg" /></a>Most of you have probably embedded a YouTube video at one time or another, even if it's just to share it on Facebook. Because copying and pasting is so easy, you might not have paid much attention to the embed code itself, though. Well, now's a good time to start looking, because YouTube is changing to <a href="http://apiblog.youtube.com/2010/07/new-way-to-embed-youtube-videos.html">a shorter, more compatible embed code</a>, using the <code>&lt;iframe&gt;</code> tag. <br /> <br /> What does that mean to the average YouTube user? Well, for one thing, the new code adapts to users' viewing environments, serving HTML5 or Flash videos depending on your browser and settings. It's also a big step toward showing embedded YouTube videos on mobile devices that don't have a dedicated YouTube player. <br /> <br /> If you want to try out this enhanced embedding capability on your own site, you can just copy-paste this block of code, and fill in the video ID for the video you want to embed: <br /> <br /> <code>&lt;iframe class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="385" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/<b>VIDEO_ID</b>" frameborder="0"&gt;<br /> &lt;/iframe&gt;</code> <br /> <br type="_moz" /><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/youtubes-shiny-new-html5-embed-code-is-now-live/">YouTube's shiny new HTML5 embed code is now live</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 15:10:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://apiblog.youtube.com/2010/07/new-way-to-embed-youtube-videos.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/youtubes-shiny-new-html5-embed-code-is-now-live/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19569048/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/youtubes-shiny-new-html5-embed-code-is-now-live/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-7785492317382519400?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-61403312220480866642010-07-27T12:03:00.009-07:002010-07-27T12:03:46.116-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/retrocomputing/" rel="tag">Retrocomputing</a></p><img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2009/12/1595434129_489551f8b6_m.jpg" alt="" /><em>We leave you with a tale of a person's first computer, and her desire to get rid of the thing! - Ed.</em><br /> <br /> Being in my late 20's, I am a member of the first generation of people that grew up with computers in pretty much all aspects of my life. I've witnessed and adapted to many new trends: Apple II's quirky ability to lock up when the 5 1/4" floppy got dusty, the introduction of a CD ROM drive to school computers and the widespread use of the Internet in homes and beyond. That makes me the first person many family members and older friends turn to for computer help.<br /> <br /> About six years ago, I built a computer for my mom out of bargain computer parts found around the house and online. I was pretty thrilled as I didn't spend much on it and, while it was a little slow due to bargain RAM and processor selections, it ran pretty well. My mom had taken a few computer courses at the local community college and had gotten used to <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/tag/Windows/">Windows</a> 98 on their prehistoric computers, so I thought loading Windows 98 on the computer before giving it to her for her birthday would be the best choice. I was wrong. I became the 24-hour computer helpdesk and dial up Internet support.<br /> <br /> Windows 98 played its role nicely, allowing her to get online and type up letters to print and mail (email was not her strong suit) and play solitaire, seeming to not need my computer help at the beginning. Also true to its role, however, Windows 98 started to throw blue screen exception errors occasionally which frightened my 50-something mother who thought this was indicative of having done something illegal and that the cops were on their way. She called me at work or late at night with a panic in her voice that told me she was sweating. I tried telling her that it was no big deal and that I'd look at it the next time I made the 60-mile trek to her house but that did little to soothe her jitters. She would start reading the numbers of the exception error off, expecting me to be able to write it down and immediately diagnose the problem.<br /> <br /> To be fair, I wasn't as diligent as I should've been in researching the problem. I was in my early 20's and Mom's computer problems weren't high on my priority list. I did ask a few friends, who essentially confirmed my beliefs that perhaps something more robust than Windows 98 should be installed, and I offered to take the computer home one Christmas. My mom misunderstood my intention to take it home to fix it and instead thought I was taking it home for good. She sighed and grabbed my arm and said, "Oh my God, thank you. That thing was no end to stress for me". So my final part in providing computer help was taking the thing home. Although I do provide helpdesk services today, looking up phone numbers that she finds on her caller ID that she doesn't recognize and looking for ink ribbons for her Brother electric typewriter, which she now uses for writing holiday letters.<br /> <br /> <hr /> <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/12/31/what-was-your-first-computer/">Back to the table of contents.</a><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/12/31/helping-my-mom-slide-technologically-backwards/">Helping My Mom Slide Technologically Backwards</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/12/31/helping-my-mom-slide-technologically-backwards/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19296472/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/12/31/helping-my-mom-slide-technologically-backwards/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-6140331222048086664?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-13043009179469235332010-07-27T12:03:00.007-07:002010-07-27T12:03:38.334-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><a href="http://www.sarcmark.com"><img hspace="4" height="200" width="200" vspace="4" border="0" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/01/smdownloadbutton2001.png" /></a>I was going to write about this one on Friday but figured it was perfect fodder for a bad Monday morning. You can now, for the disgusting sum of $2, <a href="http://www.sarcmark.com">use the SarcMark</a>. No longer will your slightly-questionable statements be misconstrued as sarcastic; no longer will you be forced to use a smiley when you write something contentious! The SarcMark is here, ladies and gentlemen, and it'll give you yet another reason to have your brain replaced with a big ball of cotton candy -- as if reality TV wasn't enough!<br /> <br /> This is probably the most stupid invention ever. Not only does it cost $2, but you need to install it on both the sending <em>and</em> receiving computer. So that's $4. For a squiggly piece of punctuation. Hah.<br /> <br /> I don't know about you, but I kind of <em>like </em>writing ambiguous sentences in emails. If I'm flirting with a girl, I can something like: 'I really like flat-chested girls'. If she sends an outrageous reply you can just claim you were being sarcastic. The SarcMark is bad news -- if you don't believe me, watch the introductory commercial after the break... :(<br /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php" name="fb_share" type="button_count" share_url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/18/for-just-2-dollars-you-can-now-clarify-your-written-sarcasm-with-the-sarcmark">Share</a><script src="http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share" type="text/javascript"></script></span> <span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/18/for-just-2-dollars-you-can-now-clarify-your-written-sarcasm-with-the-sarcmark'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span></div><p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/18/for-just-2-dollars-you-can-now-clarify-your-written-sarcasm-with-the-sarcmark/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>For just $2 you can now clarify your written sarcasm with the SarcMark -- HELL YEAH!</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/18/for-just-2-dollars-you-can-now-clarify-your-written-sarcasm-with-the-sarcmark/">For just $2 you can now clarify your written sarcasm with the SarcMark -- HELL YEAH!</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.sarcmark.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/18/for-just-2-dollars-you-can-now-clarify-your-written-sarcasm-with-the-sarcmark/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19320330/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/18/for-just-2-dollars-you-can-now-clarify-your-written-sarcasm-with-the-sarcmark/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-1304300917946923533?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-47867318954458746342010-07-27T12:03:00.005-07:002010-07-27T12:03:23.415-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/text/" rel="tag">Text</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/macintosh/" rel="tag">Macintosh</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><p><a href="http://threemagination.com/chocksee/"><img width="250" vspace="16" hspace="4" height="175" border="0" align="right" alt="CHOCKSEE" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/01/chocksee.jpg" /></a>If you happen to follow Mac indie software development, you've probably heard of Craig Hockenberry, the developer behind Twitterrific. Hockenberry is known for an online persona he sometimes takes on Twitter, where he types in all capitals. This persona is sometimes known as the CHOCKLOCK, and has resulted in people that are "in the know" referring to CapsLock as CHOCKLOCK.</p> <p>All of that is background to explain why the utility I'm about to tell you about is called CHOCKSEE. <a href="http://threemagination.com/chocksee/">CHOCKSEE</a> is a Mac utility that will show you a pretty floating bezel on the screen if you happen to bump the CapsLock key, much like what you see on a Mac if you hit the Eject key.</p> <p>And that's all that it does. Cute? Definitely. Useful? Kinda, sorta. I mean, there's already a visual indicator that your CapsLock key is on: ALL YOUR TEXT IS IN UPPERCASE LETTERS.</p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/25/chocksee-visually-warns-you-when-your-capslock-key-is-activated/">CHOCKSEE visually warns you when your CapsLock key is activated</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 25 Jan 2010 17:23:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://threemagination.com/chocksee/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/25/chocksee-visually-warns-you-when-your-capslock-key-is-activated/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19330695/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/25/chocksee-visually-warns-you-when-your-capslock-key-is-activated/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-4786731895445874634?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-12090129217036349372010-07-27T12:03:00.003-07:002010-07-27T12:03:12.747-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><em><img hspace="4" height="191" border="0" align="right" width="250" vspace="4" alt="Valve" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/01/valvesteamlogo.jpg" />Build it and they will come...</em><br /> <br /> <strong><em>Build it and they will come!</em></strong><br /> <br /> Holy feces, folks, get this: people are paying for downloadable content. <br /> <br /> Yes, stick this in your pipe and smoke it, Mr. MPAA/RIAA/ESA -- Valve's numero uno digital content distribution software, Steam, <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/news/3390/">now has over 25 million active users</a>. Those 25 million users managed a peak concurrency of <em>2.5 million games players, </em>racking up more than <strong>13 billion player minutes</strong> per month.<br /> <br /> <span style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 7px;"><script> digg_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/29/steam-grows-by-205-percent-in-2009-and-now-has-over-25-million-users/'; </script> <script src="http://digg.com/api/diggthis.js"></script></span> But of course, the proof is in the profits: there are now over 1,000 games available on Steam, distributed by over 100 developers and publishers -- big-boys and independents alike. All told, Steam sold 205% more units in 2009 than the previous year.<br /> <br /> Gabe Newell, the president and uber fuhrer of Valve, was quick to add that Steam has grown immensely each and ever year of its existence. Steam's only been around for five years, but in that time there have been numerous improvements and additions to the range of products provided by Valve, resulting in a greater-than-100-percent increase in sales year-over-year since its creation.<br /> <br /> Despite Steam's success, and I certainly wish it all the success in the world -- DIGITAL DISTRIBUTION WORKS DAMMIT -- I think we'd all like them to focus on getting <em>Half Life 2: Episode 3</em> out of the door. <br /> <br /> Any time now. This year. Please. <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right;"><a share_url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/29/steam-grows-by-205-percent-in-2009-and-now-has-over-25-million-users" type="button_count" name="fb_share" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php">Share</a><script src="http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share" type="text/javascript"></script></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/29/steam-grows-by-205-percent-in-2009-and-now-has-over-25-million-users'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F01%2F29%2Fsteam-grows-by-205-percent-in-2009-and-now-has-over-25-million-users%26title%3DSteam+grows+by+205%25+in+2009+--+and+now+has+over+25+million+users"><img style="border: 0px none;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/29/steam-grows-by-205-percent-in-2009-and-now-has-over-25-million-users/">Steam grows by 205% in 2009 -- and now has over 25 million users</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:31:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://store.steampowered.com/news/3390/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/29/steam-grows-by-205-percent-in-2009-and-now-has-over-25-million-users/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19338138/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/29/steam-grows-by-205-percent-in-2009-and-now-has-over-25-million-users/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-1209012921703634937?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-74198988655635738152010-07-27T12:03:00.001-07:002010-07-27T12:03:03.673-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/e-mail/" rel="tag">E-mail</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-2-0/" rel="tag">web 2.0</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://threadbox.com/"><img width="565" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="118" border="0" alt="http://threadbox.com/" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/02/ccbettythreadboxemail.jpg" /></a></div> With the tagline 'work outside the inbox', and customary all-lower-case branding, <a href="http://www.ccbetty.com/">Cc:Betty</a> has just been relaunched and rebranded as <a href="http://www.threadbox.com/">Threadbox</a>. Citing 'branding issues' and the need to 'reel in the cute', Threadbox is still the same software -- it just has a different name.<br /> <br /> If you haven't heard of Cc:Betty, it's a very neat email organizer. As you probably guessed from the (old) name, you add Betty in the CC field when you write an email -- she, in a display of classic sexist misogyny, then keeps all your email threads shipshape and tidy. Where Cc:Betty really comes into its (her) own is group discussions: mailing lists, event organization, projects -- things like that.<br /> <br /> The irony is, while you have to request an invite for Threadbox access, you can <a href="http://www.ccbetty.com/">sign up to Cc:Betty right now</a>. I presume accounts at Cc:Betty will be merged with Threadbox in due course.<br /> <br /> There's an awful commercial for Threadbox after the break, but the demo video on the Cc:Betty website is better.<br /> <br /> [via <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2010/02/04/ccbetty-threadbox/?">VentureBeat</a>]<p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/05/email-threading-and-organization-tool-axes-cutesy-name-becomes/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Cc:Betty email threading tool axes cutesy name, becomes Threadbox</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/05/email-threading-and-organization-tool-axes-cutesy-name-becomes/">Cc:Betty email threading tool axes cutesy name, becomes Threadbox</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 15:28:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://venturebeat.com/2010/02/04/ccbetty-threadbox/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed:+Venturebeat+(VentureBeat)>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/05/email-threading-and-organization-tool-axes-cutesy-name-becomes/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19345892/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/05/email-threading-and-organization-tool-axes-cutesy-name-becomes/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-7419898865563573815?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-68929667845685549472010-07-27T12:02:00.009-07:002010-07-27T12:02:52.290-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/retrocomputing/" rel="tag">Retrocomputing</a></p><div style="text-align: center; "><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" width="580" height="75" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/02/neworleanssaintssuperbowl.jpg" /></div> I'm about to shock you with my most blatant 're-newsing' to date. I pray, what with the spectacular Super Bowl tonight, that you can forgive me -- well, at least the Americans amongst you. OK, the Americans from the Deep South. BUT ANYWAY...<br /> <br /> Computerworld has <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9152078/Top_10_Super_Bowl_tech_ads">a gallery of the 10 best Super Bowl technology ads</a>, from 1976 (Xerox!) to present day (Garmin). They're all classics that you've probably seen in some form or another on the Internet, but the best -- the most 'of its time' -- has to be Apple's <em>1984</em>. Moving forward to 1997, there's Intel's hilariously awful Pentium MMX 'Play that funky music, white boy' ad (has to be seen to be believed), while the rest of the 90s are littered with the almost-corpses there's-a-pulse-if-you-shut-up-and-listen CompuServe, Lotus and Iomega.<br /> <br /> At the end of the Computerworld article there's a great Atari ad from 1982 that apparently makes them 'cringe'. They obviously have <em>no </em>taste at all because it's my favorite -- and you can see it after the break.<br type="_moz" /><p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/07/top-10-super-bowl-tech-ads/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Top 10 Super Bowl tech ads</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/07/top-10-super-bowl-tech-ads/">Top 10 Super Bowl tech ads</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Sun, 07 Feb 2010 21:56:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9152078/Top_10_Super_Bowl_tech_ads>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/07/top-10-super-bowl-tech-ads/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19348341/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/07/top-10-super-bowl-tech-ads/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-6892966784568554947?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-8059994516514258342010-07-27T12:02:00.007-07:002010-07-27T12:02:41.955-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/linux/" rel="tag">Linux</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><a href="http://qntm.org/suicide"><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/02/suicidelinux12.jpg" /></a>Linux gurus who pride themselves on their skills with the command line would finally have a way to prove it if one guy's wacky idea came to fruition. Yes, it's <a href="http://qntm.org/suicide">Suicide Linux</a>, where any unrecognized command is parsed as "rm -rf /" ... that's Linux for "your hard drive's content go boom." Sorry, no helpful spelling correction in Bash, just boom. This concept popped up on Sam Hughes' qntm.org last year, and has been making the rounds of the web again this week.<br /> <br /> Why would you ever want to play Suicide Linux? Well, it's certainly not practical, but it makes more sense as a game than as an actual operating system. See how many days you can make it without erasing all your files! Hell, I probably wouldn't even be able to survive Suicide Mac OS X for more than a week (sometimes I flub my Quicksilver commands when I'm tired, okay?!), so Suicide Linux sounds to me like a test invented by an overdramatic movie villain. <br /> <br /> Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I couldn't find an actual download of a Suicide Linux distro, but it seems like it wouldn't be that difficult to create ... especially for someone who could use it. <br type="_moz" /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right;"><a share_url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/19/think-youve-mastered-linux-prove-it-with-suicide-linux" type="button_count" name="fb_share" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php">Share</a><script src="http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share" type="text/javascript"></script></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/19/think-youve-mastered-linux-prove-it-with-suicide-linux'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F02%2F19%2Fthink-youve-mastered-linux-prove-it-with-suicide-linux%26title%3DThink+you've+mastered+Linux%3F+Prove+it%2C+with+Suicide+Linux"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/19/think-youve-mastered-linux-prove-it-with-suicide-linux/">Think you've mastered Linux? Prove it, with Suicide Linux</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://qntm.org/suicide>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/19/think-youve-mastered-linux-prove-it-with-suicide-linux/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19363130/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/19/think-youve-mastered-linux-prove-it-with-suicide-linux/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-805999451651425834?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-25066060594482311882010-07-27T12:02:00.005-07:002010-07-27T12:02:32.912-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web/" rel="tag">Web</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><br /> <div style="text-align: center;"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/02/shadyurl.png" alt="" /></div> There are dozens of URL shortener available on the web like <a href="http://www.tr.im/">tr.im</a>, <a href="http://www.bit.ly/">bit.ly</a>, and <a href="http://www.goo.gl/">goo.gl</a>, to name just a few. They all take long URLs and squeeze them into fewer characters to make a link that is easier to share, tweet, or email to friends. <br /> <br /> It's about using the smallest space possible: On Twitter or instant message status even a 60 character long URL can be too long. For example the URL http://www.downloadsquad.com/ contains 29 characters and can be shortened to http://tr.im/ORcH - 17 characters. But it doesn't <em>always </em>have to be about efficiency. <br /> <br /> Why not have some fun with your links?<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.shadyurl.com/index.php">ShadyURL</a> is a little bit different: "Don't just shorten your URL, make it suspicious and frightening," they say. Hey, why use a run-of-the-mill bit.ly link with some random letters when you can zap someone over to http://5z8.info/inject_now_l2k9y_snufffilms? That'll make your coworkers think twice before they click -- or possibly not, depending on what they're into.<br /> <br /> Okay, maybe it's not the best service for transforming URLs prior to sending them to your boss but definitely an eye catcher on Facebook and other social websites. Go check it out and hit the "try again" button after submitting your link to get a freshly-vandalized link.<br /> <br /> [Via <a href="http://www.neatorama.com/2010/02/18/shadyurl-makes-your-innocent-website-look-disturbing/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Neatorama+%28Neatorama%29">Neatorama</a>]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/19/shadyurl-makes-your-url-suspicious-and-frightening/">Make your friends think twice before they click with ShadyURL's NSFW-looking links</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:23:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.shadyurl.com/index.php>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/19/shadyurl-makes-your-url-suspicious-and-frightening/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19364961/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/19/shadyurl-makes-your-url-suspicious-and-frightening/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-2506606059448231188?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-27135993493462089442010-07-27T12:02:00.003-07:002010-07-27T12:02:21.733-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/news/" rel="tag">News</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/microsoft/" rel="tag">Microsoft</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/browser/" rel="tag">Browsers</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><a href="http://ie6funeral.com/"><img hspace="4" border="0" align="right" vspace="4" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/02/atenie6funeralcom.jpg" /></a><blockquote> <div>Internet Explorer Six, resident of the interwebs for over 8 years, died the morning of March 1, 2010 in Mountain View, California, as a result of a workplace injury sustained at the headquarters of Google, Inc.</div> </blockquote><blockquote> </blockquote>So begins <a href="http://ie6funeral.com/">the obituary</a> of once-beloved browser that overstayed its welcome on this mortal Web. We've known IE6 was <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/12/01/8-years-late-microsoft-proactively-pushes-users-to-upgrade-from/">in poor health</a> for some time, but it hasn't exactly died swiftly and with dignity. In fact, I reported just days ago that it was <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/22/new-windows-browser-ballot-screen-finally-ditches-ie6-but-it-re/">still alive</a>!<br /> <br /> While IE6 still clings to corporate IT departments and giving web designers fits, one design firm has decided to send the old, crummy browser out in style, with a proper wake.<br /> <br /> The <a href="http://ie6funeral.com/">IE6 Funeral</a> will take place March 1st at the offices of <a href="http://atendesigngroup.com/">Aten Design Group</a> in Denver, Colorado. Why pick March 1st as IE6's date of death? That's when <a href="http://googleenterprise.blogspot.com/2010/01/modern-browsers-for-modern-applications.html">Google cuts off IE6 support</a> in Google Docs and Google Sites, and starts phasing it out in other crucial products. On March 13th, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/07/20/youtube-and-digg-help-speed-up-the-slow-death-of-ie6/">YouTube will stop working in IE6</a>, sadly taking away one of the main wastes of time for corporate employees who are still stuck with the browser. <br /> <br /> Is it too early to celebrate, though? As I <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/22/new-windows-browser-ballot-screen-finally-ditches-ie6-but-it-re/">reported earlier this week</a>, some companies want to ditch IE6, but can't, because it's the only thing that works with old industry-specific software they still rely on. Personally, I think IE6 had its glory days, but now I can't wait to dance on its grave. Too bad I can't make it to Denver next week! <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php" name="fb_share" type="button_count" share_url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/24/how-you-know-ie6-is-dead-the-funerals-already-scheduled">Share</a><script src="http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share" type="text/javascript"></script></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/24/how-you-know-ie6-is-dead-the-funerals-already-scheduled'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F02%2F24%2Fhow-you-know-ie6-is-dead-the-funerals-already-scheduled%26title%3DHow+you+know+IE6+is+dead%3A+the+funeral's+already+scheduled!"><img alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" style="border: 0px none;" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/24/how-you-know-ie6-is-dead-the-funerals-already-scheduled/">How you know IE6 is dead: the funeral's already scheduled!</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://ie6funeral.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/24/how-you-know-ie6-is-dead-the-funerals-already-scheduled/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19370856/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/24/how-you-know-ie6-is-dead-the-funerals-already-scheduled/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-2713599349346208944?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-30151076937572127432010-07-27T12:02:00.001-07:002010-07-27T12:02:12.308-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/blogging/" rel="tag">Blogging</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://linkbaitgenerator.com/index.php"><img hspace="4" height="251" width="481" vspace="4" border="0" align="middle" alt="Linkbait Generator" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/03/linkbait.png" /></a></div> <br /> I'm going to file this one under "social commentary", actually. <a href="http://linkbaitgenerator.com/index.php">Linkbait Generator</a> is a pretty interesting tool I found over at the always-interesting <a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/linkbait-generator-generate-catchy-blog-post-titles/">MakeUseOf</a>. It does one thing, and does it quite well: generate titles for blog posts that will probably get clicks. <br /> <br /> For some reason, people seem to be obsessed with lists. If you go to Digg's <a href="http://digg.com/all/popular/24hours">"Popular" page</a>, you are sure to find at least one list (right now I see "10 Ways Women turn Men Off"). But it's more than just lists; there seems to be one simple formula that gets clicks. I think that's kind of sad, really, but it's true. Linkbait Generator lets you capitalize on that formula by generating titles (and ideas) for posts that are likely to get clicks. <br /> <br /> If you already have something you'd like to write a post about, you can feed it in a textbox (not shown in the screenshot above), and get ideas. I put in "jogging" and got "The top 7 scariest videos of all time about jogging". I am positive that if I'd write a post like that, it would get tons of clicks. Sad, yet very useful for bloggers who rely on clicks for a living (or extra income).<br /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right;"><a share_url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/18/8-reasons-to-love-furries-and-more-on-linkbait-generator" type="button_count" name="fb_share" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php">Share</a><script src="http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share" type="text/javascript"></script></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/18/8-reasons-to-love-furries-and-more-on-linkbait-generator'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F03%2F18%2F8-reasons-to-love-furries-and-more-on-linkbait-generator%26title%3D8+reasons+to+love+furries%2C+and+more%2C+on+Linkbait+Generator"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/18/8-reasons-to-love-furries-and-more-on-linkbait-generator/">8 reasons to love furries, and more, on Linkbait Generator</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://linkbaitgenerator.com/index.php>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/18/8-reasons-to-love-furries-and-more-on-linkbait-generator/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19405414/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/18/8-reasons-to-love-furries-and-more-on-linkbait-generator/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3015107693757212743?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-30165559466119289922010-07-27T12:01:00.010-07:002010-07-27T12:02:00.955-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><a href="http://unhappyhipsters.com/"><strong><img width="250" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="348" border="0" align="right" alt="Uhappy Hipsters" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/03/tumblrkzol2wtnam1qam6ylo1500-1269369628.jpg" /></strong></a><strong>"His mother was right; asking girls to read his screenplay on the first date was a mistake."</strong><strong> <br /> <br /> </strong>That's the caption <a href="http://unhappyhipsters.com/">Unhappy Hipsters</a> set for this image of an aging hipster reading some artsy book under a Kandinsky poster, with a plaid shirt loosely hanging in the background and colorful, thick-rimmed sunglasses resting fashionably on the all-white, sophisticated shelving unit next to him. The site (tumblog, actually) features numerous such images off catalogs, each carefully captioned. Some of the captions are almost as long as a short story.<br /> <br /> Needless to say, I love it. I find the hipster culture fascinating. There's something about how it <em>is</em> commercial while trying so hard to appear indie and non-commercial ... I just went to an Urban Outfitters for the first time last week (we don't have them in Israel), and I was struck by how easily you can slide into this ready-made "indie" lifestyle, carefully crafted by the same guys who sell all the "normal" stuff for the "non-hipsters" (or "squares", to use Sixties slang).<br /> <br /> Unhappy Hipsters beautifully captures the inner humor of the hipster wave and sub-culture, and how ridiculous it can often seem from the outside. I'm guessing it's written by hipsters, for hipsters, and self-irony is never a bad thing in my book. <br /> <br /> [Via: <a href="http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2226-link-unhappy-hipsters">37signals</a>]<br /> <br /><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/23/unhappy-hipsters-is-full-of-anti-hipster-juice/">Unhappy Hipsters is full of anti-hipster juice</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://unhappyhipsters.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/23/unhappy-hipsters-is-full-of-anti-hipster-juice/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19411361/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/23/unhappy-hipsters-is-full-of-anti-hipster-juice/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3016555946611928992?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-51593481827520756992010-07-27T12:01:00.009-07:002010-07-27T12:01:54.172-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/p2p/" rel="tag">P2P</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><div style="text-align: center; "><a href="http://www.vertor.com/index.php?mod=blog&amp;id=6"><img border="0" hspace="8" vspace="8" align="middle" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/04/copyrightcondoms1.jpg" /></a></div> I'm sure you're sick of reading about April Fools' Day jokes, but this is one prank with a serious message. Russian Torrent site Vertor, tired of anti-piracy groups trying to shut them down, <a href="http://www.vertor.com/index.php?mod=blog&amp;id=6">sent a most unusual package</a> to six of its biggest opponents, including the MPAA. What was inside? Condoms! <br /> <br /> They were Russian Vizit Overture flavored condoms (in mint, banana and strawberry!) with an attached note saying, "We wish your parents had used it." <a href="http://www.vertor.com/index.php?mod=blog&amp;id=6">On Vertor's blog</a>, they explain that this is part April-Fool, part real message. The message is "stop harassing our users, and basically cease to exist." I don't think it will accomplish anything, other than letting the MPAA, RIAA, IFPI, BREIN, BPI and BSA know that they don't have a lot of friends in the torrent community. Not exactly news, but pretty funny. <br /> <br /> Vertor has posted the tracking numbers of the condom shipments online, as well, so curious fans can see when they're delivered.<br /> <br /> [via <a href="http://torrentfreak.com/torrent-site-ships-condoms-to-anti-piracy-offices-100401/">TorrentFreak</a>]<br /> <br /> <br type="_moz" /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right;"><a share_url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/04/01/torrent-site-sends-condoms-to-mpaa-in-serious-april-fools-messa" type="button_count" name="fb_share" href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php">Share</a><script src="http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share" type="text/javascript"></script></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/04/01/torrent-site-sends-condoms-to-mpaa-in-serious-april-fools-messa'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F04%2F01%2Ftorrent-site-sends-condoms-to-mpaa-in-serious-april-fools-messa%26title%3DTorrent+site+sends+condoms+to+MPAA+in+serious+April+Fools'+message"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/04/01/torrent-site-sends-condoms-to-mpaa-in-serious-april-fools-messa/">Torrent site sends condoms to MPAA in serious April Fools' message</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/04/01/torrent-site-sends-condoms-to-mpaa-in-serious-april-fools-messa/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19423347/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/04/01/torrent-site-sends-condoms-to-mpaa-in-serious-april-fools-messa/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-5159348182752075699?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-70157945603456431692010-07-27T12:01:00.007-07:002010-07-27T12:01:40.117-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/design/" rel="tag">Design</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/retrocomputing/" rel="tag">Retrocomputing</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://wonder-tonic.com/geocitiesizer/"><img width="580" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="257" border="0" align="middle" alt="Geoceties-izer" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/04/geoceties-izer-3393.png" /></a></div> <p>Ahhh, the good old days. When men were real men, and websites were horrific white-on-dayglo-yellow creations lovingly crafted in notepad, complete with animated GIFs of randomly dancing M&amp;M's and poor MIDI versions of Oasis' Wonderwall on auto-play.</p> <p>Miss those days? Do you? Come on, you can admit it... we're all friends here. Okay, you don't have to say anything -- I can see it in your eyes, and I have just the thing for you!</p> <p>Enter the <a href="http://wonder-tonic.com/geocitiesizer/">Geoceties-izer</a>! This incredible service lets you feed it with any website, and spits out a complete copy of the site, exactly as it would have looked like had it been created in Geocities back in the happy 90's. You <em>really</em> have to try it -- the screenshot above does it absolutely no justice; I just didn't know where to begin! Should I zoom out and show the broken images and wide expanse of yellow? Should I zoom in on that dancing M&amp;M?</p> <p>And how can I convey the incredible emotional impact a poor MIDI rendition of Wonderwall can bestow upon an unsuspecting ear, right when it autoplays on page-load, amidst that sea of eye-searing yellow?</p> <p>You really, really have to experience this. If you're using headphones, don't. Share it with your office-mates. Just <a href="http://wonder-tonic.com/geocitiesizer/content.php?theme=2&amp;music=4&amp;url=www.downloadsquad.com">click</a>. You may not get the same Wonderwall-on-yellow background I got (on a second attempt I got Alanis and Bill Gates with devil's horns), but it is sure to please.</p> <p>OMG, "Isn't it Ironic" in MIDI.</p> <p>[Via: <a href="http://www.woot.com/Blog/">Woot blog</a>]</p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/04/28/make-your-website-look-like-its-a-geocities-site/">Geocities-izer lets you browse your favorite website with 90s goggles</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 12:07:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://wonder-tonic.com/geocitiesizer/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/04/28/make-your-website-look-like-its-a-geocities-site/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19457388/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/04/28/make-your-website-look-like-its-a-geocities-site/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-7015794560345643169?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-36651042103295316802010-07-27T12:01:00.005-07:002010-07-27T12:01:32.118-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><p style="text-align:center;"><img border="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="580" height="414" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/05/nofacebook.jpg" /></p> <p>Facebook has become a major hot-button topic recently, what with the <a href="http://endofweb.co.uk/2009/12/facebook-and-privacy-neverending-story/">endless privacy issues</a> and <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/05/facebook-chat-privacy-security-delete-account/">bug reports</a> floating around and all, so you may be thinking about leaving the social network. Unfortunately, kicking the habit may not be so easily done.</p> <p>Maybe you want to <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/13/farewell-to-facebook-at-least-for-now/">deactivate your account</a>, and let it sit while you think things over. Maybe you're afraid of outright <em>deleting</em> your account out of fear that you may become an elusive Internet hermit. Maybe keeping the account active is the only way your Mom will get off your case about not calling home often enough. Or perhaps you just don't want to abandon all your friends, who don't even use email or chat services anymore because of Facebook dependency. Sure, you've tried explaining it to them, but they still don't understand why you would want to leave such a fantabulous, wonderfully <em>free</em> social network. It's the greatest thing since sliced bread -- don't you know?</p> <p>Maybe you find yourself stuck in a loathsome, controlling relationship with Mark Zuckerberg, and you just can't force yourself away from his buggy social clutches. <em>Maybe you feel like you need some help.</em></p> <p>Sadly, Dr. Drew Pinsky doesn't take cases like this for cheap, but you can still get the help you need to kick the Facebook habit <em>right in the face</em>, once and for all -- <strong>and you can <a href="http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/76681">do it with a userscript</a></strong>.</p> <p>The script, called <em>No Facebook</em>, can be installed in any browser running Greasemonkey/Greasekit or in Chrome as an extension. Basically, when you have the script enabled and try to visit Facebook, you get directed to a page with nothing but the friendly reminder pictured above.</p> <p>Now, whether you've decided to deactivate, delete, or simply leave your account open, you can at least exercise some control over your junkie self. Just remember -- <em>you're not alone</em>.</p> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F05%2F14%2Fuserscript-facebook-privacy-redirect&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/14/userscript-facebook-privacy-redirect'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/14/userscript-facebook-privacy-redirect" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/14/userscript-facebook-privacy-redirect'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F05%2F14%2Fuserscript-facebook-privacy-redirect%26title%3DNew+userscript+lets+you+%26quot%3BJust+Say+No%26quot%3B+to+Facebook"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/14/userscript-facebook-privacy-redirect/">New userscript lets you "Just Say No" to Facebook</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 14 May 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://userscripts.org/scripts/show/76681>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/14/userscript-facebook-privacy-redirect/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19476713/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/14/userscript-facebook-privacy-redirect/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3665104210329531680?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-48062884550505856912010-07-27T12:01:00.003-07:002010-07-27T12:01:20.561-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/social-software/" rel="tag">Social Software</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.quitfacebookday.com/"><img width="580" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="271" border="0" align="middle" alt="QuitFacebookDay" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/05/quitefacebookday-1814.png" /></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.quitfacebookday.com/">QuitFacebookDay</a> is a website with one, simple agenda: To get you to stop buying bottled water.</p> <p>Well, actually no, but perhaps you can guess the agenda by the domain and the ten-foot-tall header.</p> <p>What? Did I hear someone say "<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/17/the-time-has-come-for-me-to-say-goodbye-to-facebook-too/">Drama Queen</a>"?</p> <p>Yes, I admit this is kind of dumb, but I really could not resist. Human beings are social creatures, so what better way to quit a social network than... socially?</p> <p>The site is basically an all-out anti-Facebook rant. They explain in fairly simple terms why you should quit Facebook. The bottom line is that you don't have to quit all by yourself, and be a lonely maverick. You sign your name and add to the number of "committed Facebook quitters", and come May 31st, you <em>all</em> quit together.</p> <p>At the time of this writing, there are 13,379 "committed quitters". Assuming they all really do quit, that would work out to approximately 0.0000334 percent of the entire Facebook user base! Way to go, guys!!!</p> <p>No, but seriously though, I really think change is coming. Maybe not exactly via this bullhorn, but you guys just wait and see -- by 2012, we'll have another strong player in the social networking arena.<br /> <br /> <em>[I bet you can be 'the first to like this page' with that ShareThis button... -Ed]</em><br /> </p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/24/quitfacebookday-lets-you-you-guessed-it/">QuitFacebookDay lets you ... you guessed it!</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 24 May 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.quitfacebookday.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/24/quitfacebookday-lets-you-you-guessed-it/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19488087/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/24/quitfacebookday-lets-you-you-guessed-it/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-4806288455050585691?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-83346305895116930282010-07-27T12:01:00.001-07:002010-07-27T12:01:09.396-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/social-software/" rel="tag">Social Software</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><p><img width="580" vspace="0" hspace="0" height="414" border="0" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/05/facebookquit.jpg" alt="" /></p> <p>It's May 31st, which makes it not only Memorial Day here in the States, but also the first officially unofficial <strong>Quit Facebook Day</strong>.</p> <p>You may have noticed that Facebook has been getting <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/tag/facebook/">a lot of attention from us</a> recently, and it's really no surprise given the amount of public sentiment toward the social-networking site. About a week ago, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/24/quitfacebookday-lets-you-you-guessed-it/">one of those posts</a> was about a movement to get users to leave the network in droves, spearheaded by the website <a href="http://quitfacebookday.com">QuitFacebookDay.com</a>.</p> <p>Well, it's time to ante up.</p> <p>Earlier this month, a couple of our writers <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/17/the-time-has-come-for-me-to-say-goodbye-to-facebook-too/">up and quit the network</a>, setting their accounts on the path to peaceful rest. According to the counter on QuitFacebookDay.com, some 26,000 users have pledged to quit just like they did, making this Blue Monday a <em>Facebook Blue</em> Monday -- or so they hope. Considering the fact that Facebook has somewhere in the range of <strong>400 million</strong> users, 26,000 just doesn't seem substantial enough to make Mark Zuckerberg shed a tear.</p> <p>That being said, we're still curious. Are you quitting today?<br /> <br /> <p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/31/quit-facebook-day-poll/#poll47310">View Poll</a></p></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/31/quit-facebook-day-poll/">It's Quit Facebook Day, are you in or out?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 31 May 2010 07:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/31/quit-facebook-day-poll/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19497399/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/31/quit-facebook-day-poll/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-8334630589511693028?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-51992559346908824412010-07-27T12:00:00.007-07:002010-07-27T12:00:51.453-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/news/" rel="tag">News</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/google/" rel="tag">Google</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/microsoft/" rel="tag">Microsoft</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/search/" rel="tag">Search</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><p style="text-align: center"><a href="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/googlepic2.jpg"><img border="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="580" height="345" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/googlepic1.jpg" /></a></p> <div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 2px;"><script type="text/javascript"> digg_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/02/google-lets-us-wallpaper-the-search-page-i-set-mine-to-a-bing/'; </script> <script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"> </script></div> <p>Last month, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/07/the-hidden-first-step-of-google-redesign-explanation-bing/">we had some fun</a> with Google's explanation of their recent redesign of search results, but it looks like Google isn't quite done yet with <em>not</em> copying Bing.</p> <p>In their quest to make their search engine sexier and more appealing to the fickle masses, Google's <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/freeze-frame.html">now begun to let users add a background image</a> of their choosing to the main search landing page. Is this cool? Yes. Is it copying Bing? We'll let you decide, but note that the picture above is a screenshot of Bing's landing page uploaded to Picasa and set as my Google Search background image. Google's suggestion that it only looks <em>vaguely</em> familiar only makes it funnier. (Click image for full size.)</p> <p>And that's where the militant commenters will start saying that it's not copying, since Google lets the users pick their own backgrounds, while Bing just force-feeds fake Feng Shui. As much as I'm tempted to agree with them, I end up remembering the kids in school who would copy your answer in a test, and then expand on it and make it even better than yours. You know the type.</p> <p>Whether it's obvious copying or not isn't all that important anyway. It's actually a pretty nice little feature; you can choose any image you want so long as it's at least 800x600 in size, and you simply pick from whatever's sitting in your Picasa account. Then, whenever you hit up Google's landing page, the image fades into opacity in the background so it doesn't slow down your searching.</p> <p>They're still rolling the feature out at the moment, and somewhat slowly at that, so you may not see the option to add a background image for a few days.</p> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F02%2Fgoogle-lets-us-wallpaper-the-search-page-i-set-mine-to-a-bing&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/02/google-lets-us-wallpaper-the-search-page-i-set-mine-to-a-bing'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/02/google-lets-us-wallpaper-the-search-page-i-set-mine-to-a-bing" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/02/google-lets-us-wallpaper-the-search-page-i-set-mine-to-a-bing'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F02%2Fgoogle-lets-us-wallpaper-the-search-page-i-set-mine-to-a-bing%26title%3DGoogle+lets+us+wallpaper+the+Search+page+-+I+set+mine+to+a+Bing+screenshot"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/02/google-lets-us-wallpaper-the-search-page-i-set-mine-to-a-bing/">Google lets us wallpaper the Search page - I set mine to a Bing screenshot</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 02 Jun 2010 22:33:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/freeze-frame.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/02/google-lets-us-wallpaper-the-search-page-i-set-mine-to-a-bing/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19501295/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/02/google-lets-us-wallpaper-the-search-page-i-set-mine-to-a-bing/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-5199255934690882441?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-86976584130236591622010-07-27T12:00:00.005-07:002010-07-27T12:00:36.651-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><div align="center"><object width="560" height="340"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hUiq__WrO6w&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;fs=1?color1=0x234900&amp;color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hUiq__WrO6w&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;fs=1?color1=0x234900&amp;color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object></div> When I started writing here, I never once thought I'd get to write a story about <em>Hitler</em>. I knew I'd get the chance to write about many different things, topics that really push the boundary on what constitutes 'a download' but... <em>mein F&uuml;hrer</em>... well, the Third Reich and its illustrious general has always remained just out of reach. Until now. Thanks to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downfall_(film)">Der Untergang</a> and <a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/downfall-hitler-meme">the Hitler Meme</a>, I can finally cross 'Hitler' off my to-do list.<br /> <br /> Watch as Hitler, the tyrannical mastermind behind Chrome, laments the success of Opera 10.60. Marvel as Chrome is knocked from its Axis. <br /> <br /> As far as &uuml;ber-geeky videos go, this is one of the best I've seen. It's fantastically well-observed -- and watch out for the 'BS' line, it's classic.<br /> <br /> [<a href="http://www.opera.com/">Download Opera 10.60 now!</a>]<br type="_moz" /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F05%2Fhitler-finds-out-about-opera-10-60&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/hitler-finds-out-about-opera-10-60'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/hitler-finds-out-about-opera-10-60" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/hitler-finds-out-about-opera-10-60'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F05%2Fhitler-finds-out-about-opera-10-60%26title%3DHitler+finds+out+about+Opera+10.60"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/hitler-finds-out-about-opera-10-60/">Hitler finds out about Opera 10.60</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUiq__WrO6w>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/hitler-finds-out-about-opera-10-60/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19542076/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/hitler-finds-out-about-opera-10-60/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-8697658413023659162?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-37610973367485479212010-07-27T12:00:00.003-07:002010-07-27T12:00:23.863-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/social-software/" rel="tag">Social Software</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://stories.facebook.com"><img vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="middle" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/facebookstories1.jpg" alt="" /></a></div> Facebook has just launched a new feature-slash-PR-initiative called <a href="http://stories.facebook.com">Facebook Stories</a>, which lets you -- you guessed it! -- share your stories about Facebook. Judging by the categories, they're hoping users will share the positive, miraculous things Facebook has done for them. <br /> <br /> Love, friendship, peace, communities and support groups are all on the list, but most of the Facebook stories in my social circle fall into categories like parties, stalking, binge drinking and wondering if your data is being sold to advertisers.<br /> <br /> It's not that I endorse irresponsible behavior or think that Facebook should endorse it, but it's a huge stretch to recast Facebook as a massive force for good in the community. Granted, Facebook users did the world a favor by <a href="http://www.geekosystem.com/betty-white-saturday-night-live-facebook/">getting Betty White to host Saturday Night Live</a>, and you occasionally see a criminal tracked down and caught on Facebook, but it's hardly some kind of sunshiney community social movement with a focus on puppy rescue.<br /> <br /> Also, there's no real filtering of the stories, so a lot of them miss the intended point entirely. To see what I mean, click on the "celebrities" category and read all the love notes to Justin Bieber. This PR plan seems like it could backfire pretty quickly.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/21/facebook-stories-lets-you-share-your-story-about-how-facebook-is/">Facebook Stories lets you share your story about how Facebook isn't creepy or bent on world domination</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://stories.facebook.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/21/facebook-stories-lets-you-share-your-story-about-how-facebook-is/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19563291/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/21/facebook-stories-lets-you-share-your-story-about-how-facebook-is/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3761097336748547921?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-18557911284367379892010-07-27T12:00:00.001-07:002010-07-27T12:00:12.441-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/humor/" rel="tag">Humor</a></p><img width="250" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="250" border="0" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/trail.jpg" />Normally this one would fall just outside the Download Squad perimeter, but who doesn't enjoy chuckling at an unlucky criminal? And besides, there's software involved -- which you'll be able to download at some point -- which does kinda make it relevant!<br /> <br /> See, this particular thief strolled up and nabbed an iPhone out of an unsuspecting woman's hand. Unfortunately for him, the phone was in the middle of a demo -- which happened to be for a realtime GPS tracking app with camera and mic support. The app -- <a href="http://www.covialabs.com/">Covia Labs</a>' Alert &amp; Respond -- was pumping out his position on a map of San Francisco as he made his escape.<br /> <br /> Once the woman notified police, it took all of ten minutes to arrest the "thief" -- who probably could have saved himself some embarassment by looking at the iPhone's screen to see what it was doing.<br /> <br /> At least Covia was kind enough not to turn on the mic or camera -- they didn't want to alert him. <br /> <br /> Man, wouldn't it have been sweet if they had?<br /> <br /> [via <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/crime/detail?entry_id=68288&amp;tsp=1">San Francisco Chronicle</a> -- <em>original </em><em>image by Flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/65193799@N00/111598522/">dbking</a></em>]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/22/hapless-boob-steals-iphone-while-it-demos-realtime-gps-tracking/">Hapless boob steals iPhone while it demos realtime GPS tracking app</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/crime/detail?entry_id=68288&amp;tsp=1>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/22/hapless-boob-steals-iphone-while-it-demos-realtime-gps-tracking/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19564253/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/22/hapless-boob-steals-iphone-while-it-demos-realtime-gps-tracking/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-1855791128436737989?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-31857213790967871672010-07-27T07:00:00.005-07:002010-07-27T07:00:54.921-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/" rel="tag">Windows</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/education/" rel="tag">Education</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsxp/togglekeys.aspx"><img align="middle" hspace="4" height="235 width=" border="0" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/togglekeys-6702.png" alt="togglekeys" /></a></div> <p>I recently wrote about a utility called <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/23/keyboard-leds-for-windows-puts-the-leds-on-your-system-tray/">Keyboard Leds</a> which puts a small icon in your system tray showing keyboard LED status, for systems which do not have actual keyboards LEDs (or have tiny ones).</p> <p>Commenter <em>Lonnie McClure</em> pointed out a very handy built-in Windows accessibility feature, which does the same job, but uses sound instead of images. It's called <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsxp/togglekeys.aspx">Toggle Keys</a>, and it makes a short "chirp" when you hit Num Lock, Scroll Lock or Caps Lock, and a different chirp when you hit any of them again to turn it off. While this doesn't let you track their current status, it does let you prevent accidental activation and easily see if your press just turned the function on or off (because the sound is different).</p> <p>What I like about this solution is that it doesn't add yet another system tray icon (I have 22 of those, at present), and that it's built right into Windows so it doesn't require an additional install. There are two ways to turn it on:</p> <p><strong>Keyboard shortcut:</strong> By default, just press and hold Num Lock for five seconds. You should then hear a chirp, which means the feauture is on. When you want to turn it back off, press and hold Num Lock for five seconds again.</p> <p><strong>Via the Control Panel:</strong> (In Windows 7) Go to <strong>Control Panel</strong> &gt; <strong>Ease of Access Center</strong> &gt; <strong>Make the keyboard easier to use</strong> &gt; check <strong>Turn on Toggle Keys</strong>.</p> <p>Thanks, <em>Lonnie!</em></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/24/toggle-keys-replace-keyboard-LED-caps-num-lock/">Comment followup: Use sounds instead of missing keyboad LEDs with Toggle Keys</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Sat, 24 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsxp/togglekeys.aspx>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/24/toggle-keys-replace-keyboard-LED-caps-num-lock/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19567050/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/24/toggle-keys-replace-keyboard-LED-caps-num-lock/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3185721379096787167?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-35950008637037958182010-07-27T07:00:00.003-07:002010-07-27T07:00:29.956-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-2-0/" rel="tag">web 2.0</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/education/" rel="tag">Education</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://touration.com/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" height="219 width=" border="0" align="middle" alt="touration" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/touration-6123.png" /></a></div> <p><a href="http://touration.com/">Touration</a> is a simple to use web app for creating visual tours of your Web pages. If you go to their page and click <strong>Show me how it works</strong> you'll get a demo tour that would explain the concept in about 10 seconds, but the gist of it is that you get callouts that walk you through page elements, one by one.</p> <p>They also offer a <a href="http://touration.com/sample/?wt-edit=1">demo</a> of the editor, which is really simple to use -- which is a large part of its appeal. Simply click a page element and create a rich-text callout for it; that's all there is to it. You can also add floating "dialog boxes" (i.e, explanations not directly related to any one page element), or "groups". Groups are basically callouts which highlight arbitrary sections of the page and not just one image or piece of text.</p> <p>Note that this is a <em>page</em> tour, rather than a site tour. I think it can come in handy for sites with complex visual layouts or for web apps which pack loads of functionality onto a single page.</p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/touration-web-page-walkthrough/">Touration lets you easily create guided tours for a Web page</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://touration.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/touration-web-page-walkthrough/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19567823/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/touration-web-page-walkthrough/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3595000863703795818?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-27993733534548621822010-07-27T07:00:00.001-07:002010-07-27T07:00:17.197-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/google/" rel="tag">Google</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/search/" rel="tag">Search</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/education/" rel="tag">Education</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&amp;q=ameliorate&amp;aq=f&amp;aqi=l1g10&amp;aql=&amp;oq=&amp;gs_rfai="><img vspace="4" hspace="4" height="144 width=" border="0" align="middle" alt="google" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/google-8737.png" /></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&amp;q=ameliorate&amp;aq=f&amp;aqi=l1g10&amp;aql=&amp;oq=&amp;gs_rfai=">Google</a> has had a "dictionary lookup" feature for a while now -- all you had to do was slap <strong>define: </strong>before your search term. But they've now made it better, and mostly, made it easier for people to find it: Just search for a "difficult" word, and a definition would pop up as the first result, with quick links to some dictionaries.</p> <p>What's interesting is that you don't get an instant definition for <em>every</em> word you search for as a single word: it's just the "big words". I would love to see the algorithm they use for deciding when to pop up a definition and when to stay mum.</p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/google-now-defines-some-words-automatically/">Google now defines some words you search for automatically</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&amp;q=ameliorate&amp;aq=f&amp;aqi=l1g10&amp;aql=&amp;oq=&amp;gs_rfai=>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/google-now-defines-some-words-automatically/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19569190/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/google-now-defines-some-words-automatically/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-2799373353454862182?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-56309601768012860212010-07-27T02:00:00.003-07:002010-07-27T02:00:34.914-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/blogging/" rel="tag">Blogging</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/palm/" rel="tag">Palm</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/freeware/" rel="tag">Freeware</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/aol/" rel="tag">AOL</a></p><a href="http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/01/engadget-now-available-for-pre-and-pixi-the-first-webos-app-of/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/01/engadget_2010-01-01_203312.jpg" alt="" /></a>It's not quite the App Store frenzy by any stretch, however Palm's webOS App Catalog has hit an important milestone with 1,000 applications now available for the Palm Pre and Pixi devices. <br /> <br /> We're going to be covering some of these 1,000 in the coming days here at Download Squad, however we'd be remiss to not mention the 1,000th app which (quite by chance) happens to be from our comrades at Engadget.<br /> <br /> The Engadget app - which complements the iPhone and iPod touch application <a href="http://www.tuaw.com/2009/12/30/engadget-releases-iphone-app/">covered by our friends at TUAW</a> a few days ago - provides you with news from Engadget, Engadget Mobile and Engadget HD along with comments for each story. There's also the option to share stories via Facebook, Email and Twitter.<br /> <br /> You can grab the (free) Engadget application directly to your phone <a href="http://developer.palm.com/appredirect/?packageid=com.aol.engadget&amp;applicationid=1065">here</a>, or browse for it in the App Catalog.<br /><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/02/palms-webos-app-catalogue-hits-1-000-apps/">Palm's webOS App Catalog hits 1,000 apps</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Sat, 02 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/02/palms-webos-app-catalogue-hits-1-000-apps/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19300164/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/01/02/palms-webos-app-catalogue-hits-1-000-apps/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-5630960176801286021?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-49234326005902164272010-07-27T02:00:00.001-07:002010-07-27T02:00:05.007-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/social-software/" rel="tag">Social Software</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/aol/" rel="tag">AOL</a></p><a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/aol-cracks-open-aims-door-and-lets-in-facebook/"><img hspace="4" border="0" align="right" vspace="4" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/02/aimfacebookmerge1.jpg" /></a>AOL and Facebook have just announced one of the biggest and most useful social networking partnerships to hit the Internet since ... well, ever. Now, instead of having to use Facebook Chat -- which is frankly kind of clunky and obnoxious -- you'll be able to chat with all your Facebook buddies via AOL Instant Messenger. It's peanut butter meets jelly! Friends list meets buddy list! AIM meets Facebook Chat! <br /> <br /> <a href="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/aol-cracks-open-aims-door-and-lets-in-facebook/">The New York Times</a> astutely points out that <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/tag/AIM/">AIM</a> and <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/tag/Facebook/">Facebook</a> contact lists have historically been fairly closed off, although some multi-protocol chat clients (like Adium) have supported both. It's a great partnership for both companies, though, because Facebook desperately needs a better chat experience, and AOL needs a gateway for more users to try out its other services. <br /> <br /> What do you think, DLS readers? Are you glad to see Facebook's social graph getting pulled into AIM?<br /> <br /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php" name="fb_share" type="button_count" share_url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/10/your-facebook-friends-list-is-coming-to-aol-instant-messenger">Share</a><script src="http://static.ak.fbcdn.net/connect.php/js/FB.Share" type="text/javascript"></script></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/10/your-facebook-friends-list-is-coming-to-aol-instant-messenger'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F02%2F10%2Fyour-facebook-friends-list-is-coming-to-aol-instant-messenger%26title%3DYour+Facebook+friends+list+is+coming+to+AOL+Instant+Messenger"><img alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" style="border: 0px none;" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/10/your-facebook-friends-list-is-coming-to-aol-instant-messenger/">Your Facebook friends list is coming to AOL Instant Messenger</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/aol-cracks-open-aims-door-and-lets-in-facebook/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/10/your-facebook-friends-list-is-coming-to-aol-instant-messenger/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19352527/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/02/10/your-facebook-friends-list-is-coming-to-aol-instant-messenger/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-4923432600590216427?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-101994879693517352010-07-26T21:03:00.005-07:002010-07-26T21:03:24.006-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ezzal.com/15011/games/puzzle-games/reaction-effect.html"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" height="326 width=" border="0" align="middle" alt="reactioneffect" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/reactioneffect-1426.png" /></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.ezzal.com/15011/games/puzzle-games/reaction-effect.html">Reaction Effect</a> is a simple game to understand, and it's quite addictive.</p> <p>The board consists of a matrix of 16x16 circles. Each circle has a curved line on it and rotates 90 degrees when you click it. When the edge of a line touches the edge of a line on another circle, that circle makes a 90-degree turn as well; once it turns, it may line up with another circle and cause <em>it</em> to turn. It's a chain reaction that sounds a tad complex on paper, but once you click a single circle, you get it instantly.</p> <p>For every move of a circle, you get a point. Therefore, if you click a circle and it causes another circle to move, that's two points for you. If you click a circle and it causes 566 other circles to move in a crazy cascade of chain reactions, you get 567 points (go me!).</p> <p>There's no timer, no enemies, and no level bosses. There isn't even a soundtrack to get on your nerves. It's a simple, soothing brain teaser. How much did you get?</p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/17/reaction-effect-is-a-chain-reaction-brain-teaser-time-waster/">Reaction Effect is a chain reaction brain teaser - Time Waster</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.ezzal.com/15011/games/puzzle-games/reaction-effect.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/17/reaction-effect-is-a-chain-reaction-brain-teaser-time-waster/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19505002/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/17/reaction-effect-is-a-chain-reaction-brain-teaser-time-waster/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-10199487969351735?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-83999697249173631432010-07-26T21:03:00.003-07:002010-07-26T21:03:13.468-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/developer/" rel="tag">Developer</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/apple/" rel="tag">Apple</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/microsoft/" rel="tag">Microsoft</a></p><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" width="176" height="208" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/na-ykgiwindows-phone-7logo176x208jpg1761.jpg" />In a bid to drum up support for its upcoming Windows Phone 7 platform, Microsoft is <a href="http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/Windows+Phone+7/news.asp?c=21387">reportedly offering 'substantial' amounts of cash to iPhone developers</a> if they agree to port their apps to its new smartphone platform.<br /> <br /> This follows in the footsteps of a rumor that Microsoft may change its mobile development tools to allow easier porting from iPhone/iPad Objective C to Windows Phone 7's C# and Silverlight. The developer that contacted PocketGamer seems to think that Microsoft will have to offer both money <strong>and </strong>better porting tools if it wishes to woo the iPhone's burgeoning crowd of game developers.<br /> <br /> Desperate plea, or simply Microsoft putting money to good use? You decide.<br /> <br /> [via <a href="http://9to5mac.com/win_apple_app">9to5Mac</a>]<br type="_moz" /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F18%2Fmicrosoft-offers-apple-developers-money-to-switch-iphone-wp7&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/18/microsoft-offers-apple-developers-money-to-switch-iphone-wp7'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/18/microsoft-offers-apple-developers-money-to-switch-iphone-wp7" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/18/microsoft-offers-apple-developers-money-to-switch-iphone-wp7'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F18%2Fmicrosoft-offers-apple-developers-money-to-switch-iphone-wp7%26title%3DMicrosoft+steps+it+up+a+notch+and+offers+Apple+developers+money+to+switch+platform"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/18/microsoft-offers-apple-developers-money-to-switch-iphone-wp7/">Microsoft steps it up a notch and offers Apple developers money to switch platform</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 07:35:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.pocketgamer.biz/r/PG.Biz/Windows+Phone+7/news.asp?c=21387>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/18/microsoft-offers-apple-developers-money-to-switch-iphone-wp7/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19521732/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/18/microsoft-offers-apple-developers-money-to-switch-iphone-wp7/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-8399969724917363143?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-22573686806948200732010-07-26T21:03:00.001-07:002010-07-26T21:03:03.306-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/steammassiveplayitsafesale.jpg" alt="" /></div> <div>They've done it again! With the nerdgasmic slogan 'Play it Safe -- Stay inside' Steam has just launched its mind-blowing summer sale. For just TEN days, <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/">between June 24 and July 4</a>, there is a metric shit ton of awesome games available for so-cheap-it's-almost-better-than-piracy.</div> <br /> Not only are there cheap bundles -- the <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/sub/4589/">complete 2K Games pack</a> for just &pound;70 ($110), for example! -- but there's also a bunch of 'Today Only!' offers if you want to buy individual games.<br /> <br /> For the next 20 hours, for example, you can buy <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/8850/">BioShock 2 for just &pound;10</a> ($15), or <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/240/">Counter-Strike: Source for &pound;4.76</a> ($7).<br /> <br /> There's no way of telling what will be on sale tomorrow, so keep an eye out! You can be guaranteed of some absolute <em>steals</em>. <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; width: 70px;" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F24%2Fits-that-time-again-massive-steam-summer-sale-up-to-85-off-major-games&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/24/its-that-time-again-massive-steam-summer-sale-up-to-85-off-major-games'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/24/its-that-time-again-massive-steam-summer-sale-up-to-85-off-major-games" data-locale="en_GB" data-button-style="small-button" class="google-buzz-button" title="Post on Google Buzz"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a href="http://reddit.com/submit" onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/24/its-that-time-again-massive-steam-summer-sale-up-to-85-off-major-games'; return false"> <img border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" alt="submit to reddit" style="border: 0px none;" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F24%2Fits-that-time-again-massive-steam-summer-sale-up-to-85-off-major-games%26title%3DIt's+that+time+again%3A+massive+Steam+summer+sale%2C+up+to+85%25+off+major+games"><img src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" alt="StumbleUpon.com" style="border: 0px none;" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/24/its-that-time-again-massive-steam-summer-sale-up-to-85-off-major-games/">It's that time again: massive Steam summer sale, up to 85% off major games</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 24 Jun 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://store.steampowered.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/24/its-that-time-again-massive-steam-summer-sale-up-to-85-off-major-games/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19530156/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/24/its-that-time-again-massive-steam-summer-sale-up-to-85-off-major-games/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-2257368680694820073?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-80894285809059381402010-07-26T21:02:00.011-07:002010-07-26T21:02:53.307-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a></p><a href="http://www.kongregate.com/games/raitendo/action-turnip"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="0" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/actionturnipgame1.jpg" /></a>If you've played and loved <a href="http://www.kongregate.com/games/AdamAtomic/canabalt">Canabalt</a>, the high-speed, one-button jumping game, you'll probably enjoy <a href="http://www.kongregate.com/games/raitendo/action-turnip">Action Turnip</a>. Just as in Canabalt, your character moves forward automatically, and you avoid obstacles by timing your jumps. Unlike in Canabalt, you're a turnip with firepower. Seriously, you play as a turnip.<br /> <br /> Action Turnip combines the familiar running action with enemies you can shoot down using the mouse. Your job is to stay alive and keep moving forward, because the longest survival time gets a high score. You can also pick Turnabalt Mode, where there are no enemies, just jumps. If you're going to do that, though, you should just play Canabalt, or the quirky, brilliant spin-off, <a href="http://games.adultswim.com/robot-unicorn-attack-twitchy-online-game.html">Robot Unicorn Attack</a>. <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F05%2Faction-turnip-is-a-canabalt-plus-shooting-time-waster-where-you&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/action-turnip-is-a-canabalt-plus-shooting-time-waster-where-you'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/action-turnip-is-a-canabalt-plus-shooting-time-waster-where-you" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/action-turnip-is-a-canabalt-plus-shooting-time-waster-where-you'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F05%2Faction-turnip-is-a-canabalt-plus-shooting-time-waster-where-you%26title%3DAction+Turnip+is+a+Canabalt+plus+shooting+Time+Waster+(where+you're+a+turnip!)"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/action-turnip-is-a-canabalt-plus-shooting-time-waster-where-you/">Action Turnip is a Canabalt plus shooting Time Waster (where you're a turnip!)</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.kongregate.com/games/raitendo/action-turnip>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/action-turnip-is-a-canabalt-plus-shooting-time-waster-where-you/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19541900/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/action-turnip-is-a-canabalt-plus-shooting-time-waster-where-you/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-8089428580905938140?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-33013705552628755162010-07-26T21:02:00.009-07:002010-07-26T21:02:43.307-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a></p><div style="text-align: center; "><a href="http://www.bubblebox.com/play/action/1813.htm"><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" width="580" height="387" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/ragdollcannon3bubblebox.jpg" /></a></div> If you hadn't gathered, today is a slow news day -- and when there's nothing to write about, the first thing we do, here in the Download Squad bunker, is play some games. It's a hard life, but someone's gotta do it.<br /> <br /> First up today is <a href="http://www.bubblebox.com/play/action/1813.htm">Ragdoll Cannon 3</a>. As you can imagine, there are two (very successful) <a href="http://www.bubblebox.com/play/action/1098.htm">earlier</a> <a href="http://www.kongregate.com/games/Johnny_K/ragdoll-cannon">versions</a>, but #3, in my opinion, is the best yet.<br /> <br /> It's not hard -- in fact it's incredibly easy if you're good at 'angles' -- and by virtue of being very fast, furious and simple, it's a lot of fun too. There's something so innately satisfying about firing a rag doll from a cannon with a juicy, explosive <em>phop</em>. <br /> <br /> The aim of each level is to hit the 'HERE' box. In essence, then, it's a very basic physics game: you fire rag dolls at objects you wish to interact with. Sometimes you are clearing the way to the HERE box, and sometimes you simply have to find the right angle to fire your doll across the screen. It's usually very easy, but sometimes you need to think one or two moves ahead. <br /> <br /> For those that like a challenge, there are achievements. Mostly these revolve around finishing a level with as few rag dolls as possible. There's also a level designer -- yes, you can make your own levels and share them with friends! Very cool.<br /> <br /> Finally, here's a tip: you can fire your cannon like a machine gun, if you click fast enough. It's disgustingly enjoyable to fire a stream of stick men into hard objects... and necessary to complete a few of the levels!<br /> <br /> <em>[thanks to Michele for the </em><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/contact/feedback"><em>tip</em></a><em>!]</em><br type="_moz" /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F06%2Fragdoll-cannon-3&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/ragdoll-cannon-3'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/ragdoll-cannon-3" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/ragdoll-cannon-3'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F06%2Fragdoll-cannon-3%26title%3DRagdoll+Cannon+3+is+a+fun+and+easy+way+to+waste+30+minutes"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/ragdoll-cannon-3/">Ragdoll Cannon 3 is a fun and easy way to waste 30 minutes</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.bubblebox.com/play/action/1813.htm>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/ragdoll-cannon-3/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19543080/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/ragdoll-cannon-3/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3301370555262875516?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-46148796027019015552010-07-26T21:02:00.007-07:002010-07-26T21:02:33.133-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kongregate.com/games/TomDot/coma"><img vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="middle" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/comaflashgame.jpg" /></a></div> If you play one Flash game this week, make it <a href="http://www.kongregate.com/games/wittyhobos/coma">Coma</a>. This surreal, beautifully-illustrated story will take you a half-hour, tops, to play through, but it will be absolutely worth it. The game takes place in the subconscious of a boy named Pete, and he's dreaming up some pretty strange stuff. His dad has locked his sister in the basement, and there are spooky woods and weird characters all around.<br /> <br /> Coma's really more of a movie than a game. The controls are just left and right arrows, plus the up arrow to jump. No shooting, no enemies, no real dexterity required (although Pete's jumps are tough to get the hang of, at first). There's no way to die, either. You just play through a cinematic experience and get rewarded with a heck of an ending. I actually got a little spooked near the end, believe it or not.<br /> <br /> If you're actually too busy to take half an hour to finish the game, you can go the slightly less satisfying route and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8evFJfUwsnA">watch a 10-minute walkthrough on YouTube</a>.<br /> <br /> <strong>UPDATE:</strong> The person who uploaded Coma to Kongregate was not the original creator. I've changed the link here to a legit version that wasn't stolen. <br /> <br /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true" style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; width: 70px;" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F06%2Fcoma-take-a-half-hour-out-of-your-day-for-this-gorgeous-time-wa&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/coma-take-a-half-hour-out-of-your-day-for-this-gorgeous-time-wa'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/coma-take-a-half-hour-out-of-your-day-for-this-gorgeous-time-wa" data-locale="en_GB" data-button-style="small-button" class="google-buzz-button" title="Post on Google Buzz" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/coma-take-a-half-hour-out-of-your-day-for-this-gorgeous-time-wa'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img border="0" alt="submit to reddit" style="border: 0px none;" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F06%2Fcoma-take-a-half-hour-out-of-your-day-for-this-gorgeous-time-wa%26title%3DComa%3A+take+a+half-hour+out+of+your+day+for+this+gorgeous+Time+Waster"><img alt="StumbleUpon.com" style="border: 0px none;" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/coma-take-a-half-hour-out-of-your-day-for-this-gorgeous-time-wa/">Coma: take a half-hour out of your day for this gorgeous Time Waster</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.kongregate.com/games/wittyhobos/coma>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/coma-take-a-half-hour-out-of-your-day-for-this-gorgeous-time-wa/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19542868/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/coma-take-a-half-hour-out-of-your-day-for-this-gorgeous-time-wa/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-4614879602701901555?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-49327330789079495722010-07-26T21:02:00.005-07:002010-07-26T21:02:23.023-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://armorgames.com/play/6137/crush-the-castle-2"><img width="580" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="328" border="0" align="middle" alt="crushthecastle2" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/crushthecastle2-2124.png" /></a></div> <p><a href="http://armorgames.com/play/6137/crush-the-castle-2">Crush the Castle 2</a> is really, really addictive. I don't even know why; I mean, the graphics are solid, and the soundtrack is very nice. But in the end, all you do is hurl rocks at castles and make them collapse, killing all sorts of royalty along the way.</p> <p>I think it's because the game makes you feel good about yourself; I mean, it's really easy, but not <em>too</em> easy, at least for me. When you fire your trebuchet precisely enough to crash a "castle" in one go, you get a medal. Ahhh, medals are satisfying! Once you get a couple of medals, you get a weapons upgrade. Lather, rinse, repeat. Or is that, fire, crush, repeat?</p> <p>The game makes it so easy to "cheat" that I'm not sure it even counts as cheating. If you don't destroy the castle on the first shot and you still want you bonus, just hit "Reset" and you can try again. It's basically like taking another shot, but the first one doesn't count. You can hit "Reset" as many times as you want.</p> <p>The game has a narrative, too, as you can see by the screenshot. You play on a map, and you unlock regions (or "continents"). I got through the first continent in a few minutes (well, maybe more than just a few). The strongest ammo you get at the end is composed of three metal balls which simply knock the castle down. But once you get to the second continent things become more explosive.</p> <p><strong>Bottom line:</strong> Maybe I'm easily amused, but I like this game. It's no <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/coma-take-a-half-hour-out-of-your-day-for-this-gorgeous-time-wa/">Coma</a> but it's still loads of fun.</p> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true" style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; width: 70px;" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F06%2Fcrush-the-castle-2-is-an-addictive-destructive-physics-time-was&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/crush-the-castle-2-is-an-addictive-destructive-physics-time-was'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/crush-the-castle-2-is-an-addictive-destructive-physics-time-was" data-locale="en_GB" data-button-style="small-button" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" class="google-buzz-button" title="Post on Google Buzz"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/crush-the-castle-2-is-an-addictive-destructive-physics-time-was'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img border="0" alt="submit to reddit" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" style="border: 0px none;" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F06%2Fcrush-the-castle-2-is-an-addictive-destructive-physics-time-was%26title%3DCrush+the+Castle+2+is+an+addictive%2C+destructive+physics+Time+Waster"><img alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" style="border: 0px none;" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/crush-the-castle-2-is-an-addictive-destructive-physics-time-was/">Crush the Castle 2 is an addictive, destructive physics Time Waster</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://armorgames.com/play/6137/crush-the-castle-2>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/crush-the-castle-2-is-an-addictive-destructive-physics-time-was/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19543696/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/crush-the-castle-2-is-an-addictive-destructive-physics-time-was/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-4932733078907949572?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-80505563121943580962010-07-26T21:02:00.003-07:002010-07-26T21:02:13.045-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/battlenetrealid.jpg" alt="" /> <div style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 2px;"><script type="text/javascript"> digg_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/07/blizzard-starcraft-2-and-world-of-warcraft-facebook-integration-real-id'; </script> <script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"> </script></div> I could clamber onto my soap box and rant all day about Blizzard's pathetic, poorly thought-out Real ID implementation - <em>but</em> - as this isn't a games blog, I've been told to keep it short and sweet. So, straight to the diabolical point: Real ID is just the beginning. With StarCraft 2's launch at the end of July, <a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2010/05/blizzard-and-facebooks-friendly-social-networking-deal-launches-with-starcraft-ii-/1">Battle.net will also feature Facebook integration</a>.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://us.battle.net/realid/"> Real ID</a>, if you haven't been apprised, is Blizzard's Orwellian approach to policing its community. In one fell swoop it removes the anonymity, agency and escapism that actually make massively multiplayer online games enjoyable. But again, I shan't go on -- <a href="http://www.wow.com/2010/07/07/breakfast-topic-real-id-or-real-bad-idea/">read WoW.com's coverage</a>, if you want to find out more.<br /> <br /> Battle.net's integration with Facebook is actually quite neat, if you don't mind the whole invasion-of-privacy thing. You'll be able to connect to Facebook from Battle.net and import your friends, rather than having to know your friends' email addresses. Still, with some <a href="http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=25712374700&amp;sid=1">2,000 pages of complaints on the official World of Warcraft forums</a>, you can be damn sure that it'll be a while before the community is able to stand back, take stock and analyse at the bigger picture.<br /> <br /> Incidentally, if you're a fan of StarCraft or World of Warcraft, and you're opposed to these proposed changes, go and register your discontent on the forum! It's not too late to force Blizzard to rethink their totalitarian technology. <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true" style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; width: 70px;" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F07%2Fblizzard-starcraft-2-and-world-of-warcraft-facebook-integration-real-id&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/07/blizzard-starcraft-2-and-world-of-warcraft-facebook-integration-real-id'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/07/blizzard-starcraft-2-and-world-of-warcraft-facebook-integration-real-id" data-locale="en_GB" data-button-style="small-button" class="google-buzz-button" title="Post on Google Buzz"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a href="http://reddit.com/submit" onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/07/blizzard-starcraft-2-and-world-of-warcraft-facebook-integration-real-id'; return false"> <img border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" alt="submit to reddit" style="border: 0px none;" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F07%2Fblizzard-starcraft-2-and-world-of-warcraft-facebook-integration-real-id%26title%3DBlizzard's+StarCraft+2+and+World+of+Warcraft+to+implement+Facebook+integration"><img src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" alt="StumbleUpon.com" style="border: 0px none;" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/07/blizzard-starcraft-2-and-world-of-warcraft-facebook-integration-real-id/">Blizzard's StarCraft 2 and World of Warcraft to implement Facebook integration</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gamehunters/post/2010/05/blizzard-and-facebooks-friendly-social-networking-deal-launches-with-starcraft-ii-/1>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/07/blizzard-starcraft-2-and-world-of-warcraft-facebook-integration-real-id/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19544993/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/07/blizzard-starcraft-2-and-world-of-warcraft-facebook-integration-real-id/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-8050556312194358096?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-52916846507487028572010-07-26T21:02:00.001-07:002010-07-26T21:02:02.873-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/adobe/" rel="tag">Adobe</a></p><img width="250" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="121" border="0" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/adobemaxflash3d.jpg" />The next version of Flash, amidst growing competition from emerging 3D-in-the-browser technologies <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebGL">WebGL</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O3D">O3D</a>, will feature <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20009940-264.html">support for 3D graphics</a>.<br /> <br /> But don't get too excited just yet -- we'll probably have to wait until October and the <a href="http://max.adobe.com/">Adobe MAX 2010 conference</a> before we find out more. There, on October 27th, a Flash player engineer will give a talk about "the next-generation 3D API coming in a future version of Flash Player." How exciting is that?!<br /> <br /> It's an interesting move, and I feel that it's just in time too. WebGL and O3D might be exciting propositions in themselves, but they don't enjoy almost-100% saturation -- not yet at least. <em>Every </em>existing Web game maker uses Flash -- and you can be guaranteed that they'd rather code 3D games and applications for a platform they already intimately know.<br /> <br /> It sure looks like Adobe isn't going to give up on Flash without a fight. First peer-to-peer transfers with 10.1, and now proper 3D. Assuming the 3D performance is good enough, we could see some very interesting FPS and MMORPG Flash games next year.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/adobe-flash-11-will-feature-a-proper-3d-rendering-engine-and-api/">Adobe Flash 11 will feature a proper 3D rendering engine and API</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20009940-264.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/adobe-flash-11-will-feature-a-proper-3d-rendering-engine-and-api/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19547868/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/adobe-flash-11-will-feature-a-proper-3d-rendering-engine-and-api/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-5291684650748702857?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-25786944471099917322010-07-26T21:01:00.009-07:002010-07-26T21:01:53.656-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a></p><a href="http://knifetanks.com/"><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/knifetank1-1.jpg" /></a>If you loved the classic tank battle game Combat on the Atari -- or even if you're too young to have heard of it -- you'll probably love <a href="http://knifetanks.com/">KnifeTank</a>. In this hand-illustrated battle, you play a normal tank versus other kickass tanks with huge knives attached. KnifeTanks increase in number as you advance in levels, and there are more obstacles on the battlefield to contend with, too. Hit all of the music blocks in a level to advance, but be careful which way your shots ricochet!<br /> <br /> The two coolest things about KnifeTank -- other than a tank with a frickin' knife on it, I mean -- are the original 8-Bit soundtrack and the fact that the game's all HTML5. Yeah, that's right: it's not a Flash game, it's entirely HTML5 and JavaScript. That means you need a Webkit browser like Chrome or Safari to get the most out of it, but it also means you don't need Flash.<br /> <br /> Of course, those technical details are second to the gameplay, and I wouldn't be endorsing KnifeTank if it didn't have some replay value. <br type="_moz" /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F09%2Fknifetank-is-a-cool-illustrated-update-of-ataris-classic-comba&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/knifetank-is-a-cool-illustrated-update-of-ataris-classic-comba'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/knifetank-is-a-cool-illustrated-update-of-ataris-classic-comba" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/knifetank-is-a-cool-illustrated-update-of-ataris-classic-comba'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F09%2Fknifetank-is-a-cool-illustrated-update-of-ataris-classic-comba%26title%3DKnifeTank+is+a+cool+illustrated+update+of+Atari's+classic%2C+Combat+-+Time+Waster"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/knifetank-is-a-cool-illustrated-update-of-ataris-classic-comba/">KnifeTank is a cool illustrated update of Atari's classic, Combat - Time Waster</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/knifetank-is-a-cool-illustrated-update-of-ataris-classic-comba/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19548490/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/knifetank-is-a-cool-illustrated-update-of-ataris-classic-comba/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-2578694447109991732?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-61373747540154937312010-07-26T21:01:00.007-07:002010-07-26T21:01:42.769-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/productivity/" rel="tag">Productivity</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/iphone/" rel="tag">iPhone</a></p><div style="text-align: center; "><a href="http://epicwinapp.com"><img border="0" hspace="8" vspace="8" align="middle" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/epicwintodoapp.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> Many geeks view daily life and its challenges the way they view a role-playing video game. Clean up your apartment? Get experience points! Go to work? Collect gold! Work out? Increase your strength attributes! Well, a new iPhone app called <a href="http://www.epicwinapp.com/">Epic Win</a> attempts to translate those imaginary points into real points in a game. <br /> <br /> It hasn't been released yet, but the trailer shows how the game will work. Completing different types of to-do items offers different levels of XP and loot, motivating you to actually get things done. Your character develops based on what you do in your real life, and traveling to different locations opens up possibilities for new kinds of loot.<br /> <br /> What do you think, DLS readers? Would an RPG like this actually help you get things done?<br type="_moz" /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F09%2Fepic-win-app-turns-your-life-into-an-rpg-to-help-you-attack-your&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/epic-win-app-turns-your-life-into-an-rpg-to-help-you-attack-your'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/epic-win-app-turns-your-life-into-an-rpg-to-help-you-attack-your" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/epic-win-app-turns-your-life-into-an-rpg-to-help-you-attack-your'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F09%2Fepic-win-app-turns-your-life-into-an-rpg-to-help-you-attack-your%26title%3DEpic+Win+app+turns+your+life+into+an+RPG+to+help+you+attack+your+to-do+list"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/epic-win-app-turns-your-life-into-an-rpg-to-help-you-attack-your/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Epic Win app turns your life into an RPG to help you attack your to-do list</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/epic-win-app-turns-your-life-into-an-rpg-to-help-you-attack-your/">Epic Win app turns your life into an RPG to help you attack your to-do list</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:05:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://epicwinapp.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/epic-win-app-turns-your-life-into-an-rpg-to-help-you-attack-your/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19548791/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/epic-win-app-turns-your-life-into-an-rpg-to-help-you-attack-your/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-6137374754015493731?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-39801164097029377282010-07-26T21:01:00.005-07:002010-07-26T21:01:32.749-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/google/" rel="tag">Google</a></p><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/10/google-secretly-invested-100-million-in-zynga-preparing-to-launch-google-games/"><img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/googlegameszynga.jpg" alt="" /></a>Word on the internet this weekend was that Google has invested a huge amount of money in Zynga, the company that makes Facebook-centered games like FarmVille, Mafia Wars and FrontierVille. Rumor has it that the $100 million-plus investment is part of a larger strategy that will end up with the launch of Google Games later this year. There's no more popular, more addictive collection of games on the Web than Zynga's, so it makes sense that Google wouldn't want to compete starting from scratch. <br /> <br /> <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/10/google-secretly-invested-100-million-in-zynga-preparing-to-launch-google-games/">TechCrunch speculates</a> that Google will be able to break up Zynga's partnership with PayPal, and push all those in-game purchases through Google Checkout. Of course, this is also a major development in Google's relationship to Facebook, because Zynga has gathered a massive amount of data from Facebook users, so Google could be using that as a backdoor to buy into Facebook's network and boost its own social offerings (like Google Me, maybe) <em>[Google Me needs games too! -Ed]</em>. In case there was any doubt Google Games is for real, TC also posted a link to a <a href="http://www.google.com/intl/en/jobs/uslocations/mountain-view/product/product-management-leader-games-mountain-view/index.html">job opening for a Google Games product lead</a>. <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; width: 70px;" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F12%2Ffarmville-zynga-google-games&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/12/farmville-zynga-google-games'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/12/farmville-zynga-google-games" data-locale="en_GB" data-button-style="small-button" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" class="google-buzz-button" title="Post on Google Buzz"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/12/farmville-zynga-google-games'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img border="0" alt="submit to reddit" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" style="border: 0px none;" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F12%2Ffarmville-zynga-google-games%26title%3DIs+FarmVille+maker+Zynga+about+to+become+Google+Games%3F"><img alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" style="border: 0px none;" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/12/farmville-zynga-google-games/">Is FarmVille maker Zynga about to become Google Games?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/10/google-secretly-invested-100-million-in-zynga-preparing-to-launch-google-games/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/12/farmville-zynga-google-games/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19549753/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/12/farmville-zynga-google-games/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3980116409702937728?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-8587775739142225902010-07-26T21:01:00.003-07:002010-07-26T21:01:22.932-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/kids/" rel="tag">Kids</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a></p><div style="text-align: center; "><a href="http://www.playsuperme.com/games/swerveball/"><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" width="580" height="414" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/swerveballsupermegame.jpg" /></a></div> Swerveball is part of a new game called <a href="http://www.playsuperme.com/">SuperMe</a>. If you think it sounds a bit new-age self-helpish, don't worry: it is. With the rather hopeful headline of 'Be better at life', SuperMe is a collection of mini-games, quizzes, inspirational interviews and 'cheat codes for life'. And, despite it being angled at teenagers, I think there might just be something for everyone on SuperMe.<br /> <br /> Anyway, because this is a Time Waster slot, I ought to talk about the actual game: <a href="http://www.playsuperme.com/games/swerveball/">Swerveball</a>. Chances are you've played something like it before, but Swerveball adds another element: reflection. Without giving away the 'trick', not only is the game fun, but it also teaches you a little something about <em>life</em>. The game itself actually gets quite tricky if you fail the 'reflection tests' at the end of each level! <br /> <br /> As a Time Waster, Swerveball is great -- but if you want a little more, connect your Facebook account to SuperMe and dive in! And if you have a teenage son or daughter, sit them down and force them to play.<br type="_moz" /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F13%2Fswerveball-is-part-of-a-new-web-game-that-helps-you-be-better-at&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/13/swerveball-is-part-of-a-new-web-game-that-helps-you-be-better-at'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/13/swerveball-is-part-of-a-new-web-game-that-helps-you-be-better-at" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/13/swerveball-is-part-of-a-new-web-game-that-helps-you-be-better-at'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F13%2Fswerveball-is-part-of-a-new-web-game-that-helps-you-be-better-at%26title%3DSwerveball+is+part+of+a+new+Web+game+that+helps+you+be+better+at+life+(Time+Waster...+or+not!)"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/13/swerveball-is-part-of-a-new-web-game-that-helps-you-be-better-at/">Swerveball is part of a new Web game that helps you be better at life (Time Waster... or not!)</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/13/swerveball-is-part-of-a-new-web-game-that-helps-you-be-better-at/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19552200/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/13/swerveball-is-part-of-a-new-web-game-that-helps-you-be-better-at/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-858777573914222590?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-21723001208907686292010-07-26T21:01:00.001-07:002010-07-26T21:01:12.462-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1pd.org/play/21710_iq-ball.aspx"><img width="580" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="388" border="0" align="middle" alt="IQ Ball" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/iqball-2316.png" /><br /> </a></p> <p><a href="http://1pd.org/play/21710_iq-ball.aspx"><br /> IQ Ball</a> is a fun little time waster that casts you as a fuzzy ball with a long, sticky tongue; your tongue serves as a grappling hook, and you must use it to navigate through levels and reach specific targets (or pull them to you).</p> <p>However, your tongue is only so long; it can't reach <em>everywhere</em>, so you need to try to reach what you can. It also won't stick to everything; you find something that it can reach and stick to, and then use your tongue to walk through the level until you reach the target (or pull it over to you).</p> <p>In the screenshot above, you can see the level number on the bottom right and the number of clicks that you've performed in the level on the bottom left. On this level, you need to swing like a monkey on the wire in order to reach the target. So, you have to grab and release until you get to the end.</p> <p>Another nice touch is that the game instantly pauses and mutes when it loses focus. I see more and more developers doing this, and it's a welcome and thoughtful feature. I'll leave you with a tip: on level five, mind the cable car that's going down at the very beginning. If you don't stick to it, the level is lost forever (or until you restart it).</p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/15/iq-ball-is-a-cute-grappling-hook-time-waster/">IQ Ball is a cute, grappling hook Time Waster</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://1pd.org/play/21710_iq-ball.aspx>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/15/iq-ball-is-a-cute-grappling-hook-time-waster/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19554299/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/15/iq-ball-is-a-cute-grappling-hook-time-waster/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-2172300120890768629?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-34864806366353238412010-07-26T21:00:00.010-07:002010-07-26T21:01:03.584-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1pd.org/play/21413_black-and-white.aspx"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" height="342 width=" border="0" align="middle" alt="blackandwhite" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/blackandwhite-1358.png" /></a></div> <p>In <a href="http://1pd.org/play/21413_black-and-white.aspx">Black And White</a> you control two cats, a black one and white one, which move simultaneously in opposite directions as you use the arrow keys (and Z to jump). The goal is to bring each cat to its own door (the black cat goes to the black door, while the white one goes to the white door).</p> <p>The only problem is that the cats are inseparable. Every movement made by one is mirrored by the other, and this gets tricky because the way to the door is not always the same for both cats. The cats sometimes have to help each other: one cat would hold down a button, which would then disable a wall so that the other cat can move through it. But then, as soon as you move the other cat through the wall, the first cat (who was holding the button down), also moves. And then the wall becomes solid again. Pretty tricky!</p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/black-and-white-is-a-cat-tastic-platform-time-waster/">Black And White is a cat-tastic platform Time Waster</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://1pd.org/play/21413_black-and-white.aspx>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/black-and-white-is-a-cat-tastic-platform-time-waster/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19556855/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/black-and-white-is-a-cat-tastic-platform-time-waster/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3486480636635323841?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-80497403471616992632010-07-26T21:00:00.009-07:002010-07-26T21:00:50.488-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.aluminumangel.org/attack/"><img width="580" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="315" border="0" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/crack-attack.jpg" alt="" /></a></div> <p>As you can gather from the title, <a href="http://www.aluminumangel.org/attack/">Crack Attack</a> is not a Flash game. It's a time waster that you have to <em>download</em>; we don't see too many of those around here. Having to download a game is a pretty hefty barrier to entrance, so a downloadable game has to be <em>really</em> good for me to cover it.</p> <p>This one is. In fact, my girlfriend (a leading authority on Crack Attack) goes so far as to describe it as "engaging and breathtaking." Your goal is simply to join three blocks of the same color and make them vanish. This sounds like the same old same old, but Crack Attack manages to make the process really interesting.</p> <p>Granted, the single-player mode is not <em>that</em> much cooler than your simple <em>Tetris </em>or<em> Bejewelled</em>. You need to keep the screen clean while the blocks keep rising, and the blocks that you clear keep turning into "garbage" (which is just bars, really) of various sizes and colors that falls on you from the sky. There are three different types of garbage (red, blue, and gray), and as you will find out, it takes a different trick to make each kind vanish. This gets more challenging as things start to move faster and faster, and the bars keep stacking up.</p><p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/crack-attack-free-two-player-bejewelled/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Challenge your friends in Crack Attack -- a fun, furious, and free Time-Waster</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/crack-attack-free-two-player-bejewelled/">Challenge your friends in Crack Attack -- a fun, furious, and free Time-Waster</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.aluminumangel.org/attack/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/crack-attack-free-two-player-bejewelled/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19554362/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/crack-attack-free-two-player-bejewelled/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-8049740347161699263?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-69930866648745584732010-07-26T21:00:00.007-07:002010-07-26T21:00:39.325-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://gopherwoodstudios.com/entanglement/?n=1"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" height="332 width=" border="0" align="middle" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/entanglement-2026.png" alt="entanglement" /></a></div> <p>I am really enjoying watching HTML5 come into its own and mature into a full-fledged platform for video, Web apps, and now some games, too. <a href="http://gopherwoodstudios.com/entanglement/?n=1">Entanglement</a> is an HTML5-driven puzzle game, and it feels just like Flash.</p> <p>It's a simple brain teaser. You start with a hexagon in the middle of the board. An orange line comes out of that hexagon and touches another hexagon right next to it. That other hexagon shows several possible paths that the orange line could take, depending on how you connect it. You can rotate the second hexagon using the mouse wheel or arrow keys. Once you hit the space bar or click the mouse button, the orange line "flows" into it, and the path becomes longer. You now get another hexagon to rotate and connect.</p> <p>The goal is to make the path as long as you can without going back to the source point, allowing the path to cross itself, or touching the side of the board. My record is 23. Post your (undoubtedly higher) records below!</p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/20/entanglement-is-an-engaging-html5-powered-time-waster/">Entanglement is an engaging, HTML5-powered Time-Waster</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://gopherwoodstudios.com/entanglement/?n=1>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/20/entanglement-is-an-engaging-html5-powered-time-waster/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19556401/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/20/entanglement-is-an-engaging-html5-powered-time-waster/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-6993086664874558473?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-90302346541742228712010-07-26T21:00:00.005-07:002010-07-26T21:00:28.776-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.kongregate.com/games/EvilDog/pixevo-the-fountain"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" height="300 width=" border="0" align="middle" alt="pixevo-thefountain" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/pixevo-thefountain-6569.png" /></a></div> <p>When <a href="http://www.kongregate.com/games/EvilDog/pixevo-the-fountain">PixEvo - The Fountain</a> first begins, you're a tiny, blocky pixel. You can't walk -- you can only skip from place to place, using the up arrow keys and then the left/right arrow while you're airborne.</p> <p>So you start helplessly bouncing around the screen, doing the only thing that you can really do at this point, which is "eat" the tiny dots. Suddenly, something happens! You grow bigger! Now you can jump farther than ever before!</p> <p>Justifiably enthused, you take the challenge and start hopping farther and farther, eating all the tiny dots that you can reach. Suddenly, you get legs! You're no longer constrained to hopping around; now you can <em>walk</em>. So, you start walking and trying to eat even more dots in order to see what ability you gain next. As you see, it was at this point that I took the screenshot. I had eaten six dots, and I had ten more to go before I gained a new ability.</p> <p>This is just about when the game got <em>really</em> frustrating; if you miss a jump and land incorrectly, you often have to take a whole series of smaller jumps to get back to where you were. Then, if you miss again, you have to do it again ... and again. The good part is that you can't die, so you can just keep at it until you succeed. <br /> <br /> ... And when you think about it, the frustration factor often makes for rather effective <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/tag/timewaster/">time-waster</a>s.</p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/21/pixevo-the-fountain-is-an-incredibly-frustrating-pixelated-ti/">PixEvo - The Fountain is an incredibly frustrating, pixelated Time-Waster</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 21 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.kongregate.com/games/EvilDog/pixevo-the-fountain>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/21/pixevo-the-fountain-is-an-incredibly-frustrating-pixelated-ti/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19556385/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/21/pixevo-the-fountain-is-an-incredibly-frustrating-pixelated-ti/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-9030234654174222871?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-12396408142201080572010-07-26T21:00:00.003-07:002010-07-26T21:00:17.526-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.addictinggames.com/futility-game.html"><img hspace="4" height="410 width=" vspace="4" border="0" align="middle" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/futility-5363.png" alt="futility" /></a></div> <p>In a way, <a href="http://www.addictinggames.com/futility-game.html">Futility</a> is a soothing time-waster. It's soothing in the same way that Fight Club is soothing; there is absolutely no way that you're going to win.</p> <p>It's a short and cute game with a distinctly philosophical message (which I disagree with, but it still makes the point). It starts off as a normal platformer; you run and jump around, trying to skip from one platform to the next. You die along the way, but you have multiple lives, so you just reincarnate and keep on moving briskly through the level.</p> <p>On and on you go, ... until you finally reach The Boss. It doesn't actually have a name in the game, but if it had one, that would be it. The Boss is a huge ball that basically bounces all over you, killing you repeatedly, until you run out of lives.</p> <p>Then, it's game over. I could find no way to defeat the boss or even escape it; once you reach the end, that's it. Am I missing something here, or is this the message?</p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/22/futility-is-a-time-waster-you-will-lose-no-doubt-about-it/">Futility is a Time-Waster you will lose, no doubt about it</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.addictinggames.com/futility-game.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/22/futility-is-a-time-waster-you-will-lose-no-doubt-about-it/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19563577/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/22/futility-is-a-time-waster-you-will-lose-no-doubt-about-it/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-1239640814220108057?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-86956988247557355502010-07-26T21:00:00.001-07:002010-07-26T21:00:08.494-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/kids/" rel="tag">Kids</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/time-waster/" rel="tag">Time-Wasters</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web/" rel="tag">Web</a></p><p><img width="250" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="179" border="0" align="right" alt="Fantastic Contraption 2" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/fantasticcontraption2.jpg" />When Lee posted about <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/08/04/fun-with-physics-fantastic-contraption-ftw-time-waster/">Fantastic Contraption back in 2008</a>, I literally lost multiple days playing through it, mastering it, and then retrying levels in interesting and creative ways. It was, and still is, one of my all-time favorite physics-based games.</p> <p>So I was delighted today when a friend sent me a simple link over IM, and when I clicked it to find out what it was, I was greeted with its sequel, <a href="http://www.kongregate.com/games/sparkworkz/fantastic-contraption-2">Fantastic Contraption 2</a>. Now, I'm not going to claim that it's new, but it's certainly new to me, and we haven't posted about it before.</p> <p>I recall that there was another attempt at a sequel that was far too complicated to be fun. Fortunately, though, Fantastic Contraption 2 retains the simplicity of the first one while introducing a new gameplay mechanic: magnets.</p> <p>I've only just dipped my toe into the fantasticness that is Fantastic Contraption 2, but I can tell right now that I'm going to be losing hours to this thing all over again. Yes, it's that good.</p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/fantastic-contraption-2-is-a-sequel-worthy-of-time-wasting/">Fantastic Contraption 2 is a sequel worthy of Time Wasting</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.kongregate.com/games/sparkworkz/fantastic-contraption-2>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/fantastic-contraption-2-is-a-sequel-worthy-of-time-wasting/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19566855/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/26/fantastic-contraption-2-is-a-sequel-worthy-of-time-wasting/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-8695698824755735550?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-70735159513370524042010-07-26T17:00:00.003-07:002010-07-26T17:00:52.239-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/security/" rel="tag">Security</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/text/" rel="tag">Text</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/" rel="tag">Windows</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/macintosh/" rel="tag">Macintosh</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/linux/" rel="tag">Linux</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/how-tos/" rel="tag">How-Tos</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/unix/" rel="tag">Unix</a></p><img align="right" hspace="0" height="200" border="0" width="200" vspace="0" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/notynt250.png" alt="" /> <p> </p> <div style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 2px;"><script type="text/javascript"> digg_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/17/how-to-block-ads-or-annoyances-tynt-any-browser-any-os/'; </script> <script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"> </script></div> Now, we've previously covered extensions for both <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/31/tynt-blocker-chrome-extension-stops-tynt-from-adding-junk-to-you/">Chrome</a> and <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/15/tynt-blocker-extension-comes-to-safari-too/">Safari 5</a> that stop Tynt from ruining your copy/paste party, but if you've got administrative rights to whatever computer you're currently using, you can put a stop to more than that. You can block services like Tynt -- or even entire ad networks -- once and for all with nothing more than a text editor and admin rights. <p> </p> <p>All you have to do to block ads, Tynt, or even Facebook from ever bothering you again is to add their hostnames to your computer's <strong>hosts</strong> file. The best thing about this is that you can do it whether you're using a Windows PC, Mac, or Linux. They've all got hosts files, and power-users have been using them for years to speed up browsing or block ad networks. As an example of using the hosts file as a system-wide ad-blocker, check out <a href="http://pgl.yoyo.org/as/serverlist.php?showintro=0;hostformat=hosts">this list</a> of ad network hostnames that's ready to be pasted in.</p> <p>For the purposes of this short guide, we're going to use <a href="http://www.tynt.com">Tynt</a> as our target service to block. Remember, you can use this method to block <em>anything</em>. Simply apply the steps used here to put the kibosh on whatever other services or sites you choose.</p> <p>If you're unfamiliar with Tynt, it basically appends an "attribution" link to any text copied off of a page that uses it. The usual user-response when this happens is an audible cursing of the site using it and a quick deletion of the added link.</p> <p>While the site owners who use Tynt tend to claim they're doing it to ensure proper attribution, it's actually more about getting exposure and linkbacks. Anybody who's come across this annoyance can attest to the fact that it's not making anything proper or easy for the person doing the copying -- and contrary to the beliefs of the ultra-paranoid, a user shouldn't be branded a thief and plagiarist just for copying and pasting text.</p><p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/17/how-to-block-ads-or-annoyances-tynt-any-browser-any-os/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>How to block ads or annoying services like Tynt in any browser, on any computer -- without additional software</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/17/how-to-block-ads-or-annoyances-tynt-any-browser-any-os/">How to block ads or annoying services like Tynt in any browser, on any computer -- without additional software</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 17 Jun 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/17/how-to-block-ads-or-annoyances-tynt-any-browser-any-os/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19519776/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/17/how-to-block-ads-or-annoyances-tynt-any-browser-any-os/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-7073515951337052404?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-6301932407172222482010-07-26T17:00:00.001-07:002010-07-26T17:00:10.261-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/text/" rel="tag">Text</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/how-tos/" rel="tag">How-Tos</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/iphone/" rel="tag">iPhone</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.simplehelp.net/2010/06/23/how-to-add-pdfs-to-ibooks-using-dropbox/"><img vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="middle" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/pdfsindropboxiphone1-1.jpg" alt="" /></a></div> I jumped for joy when I saw <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5570616/add-pdfs-to-your-ibooks-collection-using-dropbox">a post at Lifehacker</a> explaining <a href="http://www.simplehelp.net/2010/06/23/how-to-add-pdfs-to-ibooks-using-dropbox/">how to read PDFs on your iPhone or iPad</a> using Apple's new iBooks app. I figured someone would come up with a way to do it, and I should have known it would rely on the ultra-useful Dropbox. <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/tag/Dropbox/">Dropbox</a> is an amazing cloud storage app that works on several platforms, and one of them happens to be iOS, making it possible to transfer PDF files to your mobile device.<br /> <br /> Once you've got the files uploaded to Dropbox, though, how do you get them into iBooks? Just <strong>find the PDF in Dropbox</strong> on your phone, hit <strong>"Open With"</strong> and choose <strong>iBooks</strong>. It's easy as pie, and your PDF files will automatically sync through Dropbox, too. You don't even have to bother plugging in your device or using iTunes. Brilliant! <p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/how-to-read-pdfs-in-apples-ibooks-with-a-little-help-from-drop/">How To: Read PDFs in Apple's iBooks with a little help from Dropbox</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.simplehelp.net/2010/06/23/how-to-add-pdfs-to-ibooks-using-dropbox/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/how-to-read-pdfs-in-apples-ibooks-with-a-little-help-from-drop/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19527784/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/how-to-read-pdfs-in-apples-ibooks-with-a-little-help-from-drop/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-630193240717222248?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-2461264986794610142010-07-26T12:00:00.007-07:002010-07-26T12:00:52.486-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/news/" rel="tag">News</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/google/" rel="tag">Google</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/search/" rel="tag">Search</a></p><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="0" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/googlecnrenewal.jpg" />Wednesday was a big day for Google in China. It's the deadline for a renewal of the search giant's Internet Content Provider license, the license that allows Google to keep operating in China. On Monday, <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/update-on-china.html">Google explained</a> in a blog post that it would stop redirecting traffic from Google.cn to its Hong Kong site, Google.hk, because China was displeased with the redirect and unlikely to approve Google's license if it stayed in place.<br /> <br /> On Wednesday, Google reported that its search results were "partially blocked" in China. Google's search recommendations, showing related searches, were inaccessible to Chinese surfers, but regular Google results seemed to be unaffected. There's no official news on the status of Google's license yet, but some serious drama will undoubtedly ensue if it's not renewed. <br /> <br /> [via <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/google-sees-china-disruptions-at-license-deadline-2010-06-30">Marketwatch</a>]<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/01/google-hits-chinese-license-deadline-reports-partially-blocked/">Google hits Chinese license deadline, reports "partially blocked" search results</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.marketwatch.com/story/google-sees-china-disruptions-at-license-deadline-2010-06-30>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/01/google-hits-chinese-license-deadline-reports-partially-blocked/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19537797/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/01/google-hits-chinese-license-deadline-reports-partially-blocked/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-246126498679461014?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-78942627793847605482010-07-26T12:00:00.005-07:002010-07-26T12:00:36.030-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/news/" rel="tag">News</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/google/" rel="tag">Google</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/search/" rel="tag">Search</a></p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10566318.stm"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/googlecnlogo1-1.jpg" alt="" /></a>At the beginning of the month, we told you how Google's license to operate in China was up for renewal. Well, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10566318.stm">that renewal has finally come through</a>, and Google will be allowed to stay in the country. The search giant had temporarily redirected its Chinese site to Google.hk in Hong Kong, to avoid censorship, but ended the redirect to make sure the renewal went through.<br /> <br /> It's not surprising that Google got its license approved again, especially after making that concession, but it is surprising that the company says it will still provide unfiltered results. " <meta charset="utf-8">Users can conduct web search or continue to use Google.cn services like music and text translate, which we can provide locally without filtering." Not all of Google's services are available through Google.cn, though, so even though there's no longer an automatic redirect, there's still a link to Google.hk on Google's Chinese homepage. <br /> </meta><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/google-gets-license-renewed-to-stay-in-china-unfiltered-sort-o/">Google gets license renewed to stay in China, unfiltered (sort of)</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10566318.stm>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/google-gets-license-renewed-to-stay-in-china-unfiltered-sort-o/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19548397/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/google-gets-license-renewed-to-stay-in-china-unfiltered-sort-o/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-7894262779384760548?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-37735172471054584822010-07-26T12:00:00.003-07:002010-07-26T12:00:21.764-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/business/" rel="tag">Business</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/search/" rel="tag">Search</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AvK1cfvhF58P7l8oXQUSBKSbvZx4?p=Download+Squad&amp;toggle=1&amp;cop=mss&amp;ei=UTF-8&amp;fr=yfp-t-701"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" height="238 width=" border="0" align="middle" alt="yahoo" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/yahoo-8131.png" /></a></div> <p>Business Insider just published June's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/june-comscore-search-numbers-out-google-share-down-bing-and-yahoo-up-2010-7">comScore Search Numbers</a>. The picture is actually quite predictable; Google seriously dominates the market, and Microsoft and Yahoo trail behind. There's no big news there.</p> <p>What <em>is</em> interesting is that comScore apparently thinks that Yahoo and Microsoft are trying to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/comscore-says-itll-fix-search-share-measurement-now-that-yahoo-and-microsoft-are-gaming-it-2010-6">game its system</a>. For example, both Bing and Yahoo show relevant search suggestions at the top of the results page. Clicking a suggestion generates another search query, which serves to boost that search engine's market share in comScore's reports.</p> <p>This is but one tactic that Microsoft and Yahoo use. Business Insider claims that the companies have been "putting a ton of links on their popular homepages that are search queries disguised as content, and have been stitching together image slideshows as search queries, too."</p> <p>Personally, I think this is utter hype. If you look at Google's sidebar, you will see that clicking the sidebar (or any type of search refinement) will also cause more search queries to be sent to Google's servers.</p> <p>The only difference here is that, unlike Google, both Microsoft and Yahoo have major portals and content sites. So, these two companies are simply tying their search engines tightly into their content sites; after all, for many people "Internet" and "search" are almost synonymous. Is that really so bad?</p> <p>The bottom line is that comScore is going to adjust the numbers to "compensate" for this; in fact, June's numbers are already posted along with the adjustments. I think that this is mainly because Microsoft and Yahoo are not Google; they work differently - does that mean they're "gaming the system?"</p> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F13%2Fyahoo-and-microsoft-trying-to-game-comscore-for-a-better-market-share&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/13/yahoo-and-microsoft-trying-to-game-comscore-for-a-better-market-share'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/13/yahoo-and-microsoft-trying-to-game-comscore-for-a-better-market-share" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/13/yahoo-and-microsoft-trying-to-game-comscore-for-a-better-market-share'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F13%2Fyahoo-and-microsoft-trying-to-game-comscore-for-a-better-market-share%26title%3DAre+Yahoo+and+Microsoft+trying+to+game+comScore+for+a+better+market+share%3F"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/13/yahoo-and-microsoft-trying-to-game-comscore-for-a-better-market-share/">Are Yahoo and Microsoft trying to game comScore for a better market share?</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=AvK1cfvhF58P7l8oXQUSBKSbvZx4?p=Download+Squad&amp;toggle=1&amp;cop=mss&amp;ei=UTF-8&amp;fr=yfp-t-701>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/13/yahoo-and-microsoft-trying-to-game-comscore-for-a-better-market-share/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19551763/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/13/yahoo-and-microsoft-trying-to-game-comscore-for-a-better-market-share/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3773517247105458482?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-81691250293512629472010-07-26T12:00:00.001-07:002010-07-26T12:00:07.059-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/google/" rel="tag">Google</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/search/" rel="tag">Search</a></p><div style="text-align: center; "><a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/ooh-ahh-google-images-presents-nicer.html"><img border="0" hspace="8" vspace="8" align="middle" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/googleimagesearchnew1.jpg" /></a></div> <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/ooh-ahh-google-images-presents-nicer.html">Google Image Search has just gotten a much-needed refresh</a> that looks great, works better than ever, and keeps Google competitive with Bing's image search. At the risk of sounding like a Google advertisement, this update is awesome. As a regular image search user, I have to say that every change the Google Image Search team just made is an improvement. <br /> <br /> First, the new results page: it's denser with images than ever before, and you can view 1,000 images in one scrolling page before you have to jump to another one. The thumbnails in the results are larger than before, too, which gives you much better idea of what's worth clicking on. There are also new keyboard shortcuts (page up/page down) to make browsing faster.<br /> <br /> When you do click on an image, you're no longer presented with an annoying frame at the top of your browser window. That frame was the worst thing about Google Image Search, and I am quite glad they removed it. Instead, the image appears, full size, in a lightbox above a greyed-out version of the page where it appears. If you want to view the whole page, just click outside the image. <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F20%2Fgoogle-image-search-gets-a-new-look-becomes-even-more-useful&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/20/google-image-search-gets-a-new-look-becomes-even-more-useful'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/20/google-image-search-gets-a-new-look-becomes-even-more-useful" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/20/google-image-search-gets-a-new-look-becomes-even-more-useful'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F20%2Fgoogle-image-search-gets-a-new-look-becomes-even-more-useful%26title%3DGoogle+Image+Search+gets+a+new+look%2C+becomes+even+more+useful"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/20/google-image-search-gets-a-new-look-becomes-even-more-useful/">Google Image Search gets a new look, becomes even more useful</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:05:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/07/ooh-ahh-google-images-presents-nicer.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/20/google-image-search-gets-a-new-look-becomes-even-more-useful/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19561861/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/20/google-image-search-gets-a-new-look-becomes-even-more-useful/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-8169125029351262947?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-46714772707244477592010-07-26T07:03:00.007-07:002010-07-26T07:03:33.183-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><div align="center"><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/J7Na63vUvsc&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x234900&amp;color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/J7Na63vUvsc&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;fs=1&amp;color1=0x234900&amp;color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div> Swype, if you've not heard of it before, is a new on-screen keyboard input method. It does away with the abhorrent, RSI-inducing finger-tip tapping method of input on today's smartphones. In fact, judging by the '<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTooBnKAdSw">Swype vs. iPhone</a>' video that TechCrunch pushed out last year, Swype might even be as fast as those little BlackBerry keyboards.<br /> <br /> But enough talk of iPhones and BlackBerrys -- Swype's main purpose is replacing the tap-tap-tap on-screen keyboard that ships with <em>Android </em>smartphones. I hope Swype eventually appears on other smartphone platforms, but for now it's Android-only -- and as of this morning, you can join the public beta and get your hands on <a href="https://beta.swype.com/">a free copy of Swype</a>. They say it'll only be open for a few days, so you'll want to get in there quickly.<br /> <br /> Anyway, rather than <a href="http://www.swypeinc.com/product.html">listing the features</a>, I suggest you watch the video review above. I must warn you, I do say 'ass' and 'shit' a few times, so it may not be safe for work (depending on where you work). <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; width: 70px;" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F16%2Fswype-for-android-opens-up-for-public-beta-testing-and-a-video&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/16/swype-for-android-opens-up-for-public-beta-testing-and-a-video'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/16/swype-for-android-opens-up-for-public-beta-testing-and-a-video" data-locale="en_GB" data-button-style="small-button" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" class="google-buzz-button" title="Post on Google Buzz"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/16/swype-for-android-opens-up-for-public-beta-testing-and-a-video'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img border="0" alt="submit to reddit" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" style="border: 0px none;" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F16%2Fswype-for-android-opens-up-for-public-beta-testing-and-a-video%26title%3DSwype%2C+the+high-speed+on-screen+keyboard+for+Android+opens+up+for+public+beta+testing+(and+a+video+review)"><img alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" style="border: 0px none;" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/16/swype-for-android-opens-up-for-public-beta-testing-and-a-video/">Swype, the high-speed on-screen keyboard for Android opens up for public beta testing (and a video review)</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://beta.swype.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/16/swype-for-android-opens-up-for-public-beta-testing-and-a-video/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19518899/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/16/swype-for-android-opens-up-for-public-beta-testing-and-a-video/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-4671477270724447759?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-64229990088662647252010-07-26T07:03:00.005-07:002010-07-26T07:03:22.773-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/photo/" rel="tag">Photo</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><img width="250" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="375" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/justpicturesandroidalbumintro.jpg" alt="" />Android's built-in image browser, 'Gallery', isn't fantastic. By default it displays a load of tiny, unwieldy and laggy thumbnails. While you can strongarm it into behaving better, why bother when excellent alternatives like <a href="http://code.google.com/p/justpictures/">JustPictures</a> are available?<br /> <br /> From the outset, JustPictures replicates the built-in Android app -- but it's <em>faster</em>, <em>prettier</em>, and less <em>fiddly</em>. You are presented with a simple view of the folders on your phone's memory card -- click through to each one, flip through the images within, zoom -- but it doesn't stop there. JustPictures lets you connect to <em>social networks</em> and photo sharing sites.<br /> <br /> It's utterly sensible, if you think about it. There might have been a time when we kept a lot of photos on our phone, but today we keep an <em>insane </em>amount of photos on Facebook and Flickr. It's the ability to grab photos from the Internet that makes JustPictures a killer app -- but read on to find out about its plethora of other neat features!<p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/21/justpictures-android-photo-app-facebook-flickr-smugmug/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Screenshot tour: JustPictures is an awesome photo app with powerful web integration</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/21/justpictures-android-photo-app-facebook-flickr-smugmug/">Screenshot tour: JustPictures is an awesome photo app with powerful web integration</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://code.google.com/p/justpictures/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/21/justpictures-android-photo-app-facebook-flickr-smugmug/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19524421/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/21/justpictures-android-photo-app-facebook-flickr-smugmug/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-6422999008866264725?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-17566077529484911192010-07-26T07:03:00.003-07:002010-07-26T07:03:12.987-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/adobe/" rel="tag">Adobe</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/mobile/" rel="tag">Mobile</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/androidflash1.jpg" />The much-anticipated test of Flash on a major mobile platform is about to begin! <a href="http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/201006/06222010FlashPlayerAvailability.html">Flash 10.1 is finally ready for download on Android devices</a> running Android 2.2 Froyo. Flash has also been sent to Adobe's other mobile partners, meaning it should be available for BlackBerry, Palm's WebOS, and WIndows Phone 7 in the near future. In fact, Adobe says Flash will even come pre-installed on some phones.<br /> <br /> Mobile-optimized Flash sites are starting to pop up in preparation for widespread Flash adoption, but there are still questions about performance and battery life when it comes to Flash-heavy interactive sites. Fortunately, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/05/21/kongregate-brings-its-flash-games-to-android-platform/">many Flash games are being redesigned </a>to allow touchscreen controls, so Flash will be good for more than just mobile video. And really, won't it be nice not to see blue legos everywhere you go on your phone's browser?<br /> <br /> There are still questions remaining, though: Will mobile device batteries stand up to Flash? Will Android users love it? WIll Steve Jobs have to eat his words about Flash not being ready for mobile hardware? We'll find out soon!<br /> <br /> If you have an Android 2.2 device, including the <meta charset="utf-8">Dell Streak, Google Nexus One, HTC Evo, HTC Desire, HTC Incredible, DROID, Milestone or Samsung Galaxy S, you can get Flash 10.1 in the Android Market. <br type="_moz" /> </meta><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/22/flash-10-1-officially-hits-android-other-mobile-platforms-to-fo/">Flash 10.1 officially hits Android, other mobile platforms to follow</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:52:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/22/flash-10-1-officially-hits-android-other-mobile-platforms-to-fo/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19526419/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/22/flash-10-1-officially-hits-android-other-mobile-platforms-to-fo/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-1756607752948491119?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-71287028659041076152010-07-26T07:03:00.001-07:002010-07-26T07:03:03.153-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/google/" rel="tag">Google</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2010/06/google-maps-for-android-helps-you-find.html"><img vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="middle" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/google-maps-for-android-helps-you-find-the-right-place-catch-a-train-and-add-latitude-friends---official-google-mobile-blog.jpg" /></a></div> <a href="http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2010/06/google-maps-for-android-helps-you-find.html">Google Maps on Android</a> was already leaps and bounds ahead of the experience on other mobile devices, but Google just unleashed some new features that make it even better. The latest update adds train and bus schedules, support for adding Google Latitude contacts, and Google Place Pages integration.<br /> <br /> Android users can now grab transit schedules -- where they're available, anyway -- just by clicking a station or stop on the map. On my iPhone, I'm using Maps to find a route, and a separate app to view the schedules. Now Android users have got me beat. Jealous!<br /> <br /> <a href="http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/12/go-beyond-just-few-stars-see-what-makes.html">Google Place Pages</a>, which launched not that long ago on the Web, are now available within maps. Place Pages give you at-a-glance info about businesses, including reviews. For the mobile version, they've organized the reviews using quick links to the terms that come up most often (food, service, atmosphere ... you get the idea). You may want to use Yelp or Urbanspoon for more detail, but Place Pages are very quick if you just need to find the closest place to eat.<br /> <br /> As far as <a href="http://www.google.com/mobile/latitude/">Latitude</a> goes, Google has added a "suggested friends" list at the bottom of your Latitude contacts. Obviously, this is a big push to get more users sharing their locations on Latitude, which hasn't exactly taken off like a rocket since it was first released. At the very least, adding a few more contacts will make Latitude a more useful experience, so it's worth a shot.<br /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; width: 70px;" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F23%2Fgoogle-maps-for-android-adds-transit-schedules-and-latitude-feat&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/google-maps-for-android-adds-transit-schedules-and-latitude-feat'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/google-maps-for-android-adds-transit-schedules-and-latitude-feat" data-locale="en_GB" data-button-style="small-button" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" class="google-buzz-button" title="Post on Google Buzz"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/google-maps-for-android-adds-transit-schedules-and-latitude-feat'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img border="0" alt="submit to reddit" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" style="border: 0px none;" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F23%2Fgoogle-maps-for-android-adds-transit-schedules-and-latitude-feat%26title%3DGoogle+Maps+for+Android+adds+transit+schedules+and+Latitude+features"><img alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" style="border: 0px none;" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/google-maps-for-android-adds-transit-schedules-and-latitude-feat/">Google Maps for Android adds transit schedules and Latitude features</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 07:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2010/06/google-maps-for-android-helps-you-find.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/google-maps-for-android-adds-transit-schedules-and-latitude-feat/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19527451/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/google-maps-for-android-adds-transit-schedules-and-latitude-feat/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-7128702865904107615?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-56839284055754352402010-07-26T07:02:00.011-07:002010-07-26T07:02:52.514-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/security/" rel="tag">Security</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/mobile/" rel="tag">Mobile</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" width="250" height="250" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/androidspywarelogo.jpg" />A new report from SMobile Systems suggests that almost 20% of the 48,000 apps on the Android Marketplace <a href="http://threatcenter.smobilesystems.com/?p=1887">could be spyware</a>.<br /> <br /> Now, this is a potential risk -- as in, 20% of apps have functionality that could be likened to spyware. If you've installed apps on an Android smartphone, you'll know that you get a big warning screen that tells you which services and data the app will have access to. There's no risk when an app only wants to save to your SD card, but apps can <em>make </em>calls, <em>send </em>SMSes or even read your email! Therein lies the risk: users might be installing Android apps that have the ability to transmit your personal data to a third party.<br /> <br /> While I'm sure the vast majority of available apps are not spyware -- this is probably just developers selecting the wrong 'flags' when they upload their app to the Marketplace -- it does highlight a big risk with 'open' app stores. Only 3 months ago we covered a story about <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/03/11/8000-iphone-and-android-devices-hacked-to-form-a-botnet/">Android and iPhone devices being turned into a giant botnet</a>!<br /> <br /> With Android going mainstream, you can be guaranteed that the platform will soon have its very own breed of malware. Once enough newbies have had their Android phones <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_(electronics)">bricked</a> by malware, how long do you think it'll be before they retreat to Apple's walled utopia?<br /> <br /> [via <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20008518-245.html">CNET</a> -- <a href="http://threatcenter.smobilesystems.com/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=8">direct PDF download of the report</a>]<br type="_moz" /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F23%2Fandroid-20-percent-spyware&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/android-20-percent-spyware'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/android-20-percent-spyware" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/android-20-percent-spyware'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F23%2Fandroid-20-percent-spyware%26title%3DUp+to+20%25+of+Android+apps+could+be+spyware"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/android-20-percent-spyware/">Up to 20% of Android apps could be spyware</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20008518-245.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/android-20-percent-spyware/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19528121/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/android-20-percent-spyware/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-5683928405575435240?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-76409631784728417702010-07-26T07:02:00.009-07:002010-07-26T07:02:42.841-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/security/" rel="tag">Security</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/androidlogo-1277463911.jpg" />Google, in a fantastic case of counter-PR, has published a story detailing how it has the ability to <a href="http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/06/exercising-our-remote-application.html">remotely remove applications from an Android phone</a>. It comes just a day after the sensational news that <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/android-20-percent-spyware/">up to 20% of Android apps could be malware</a>, and is obviously intended to showcase some of the meatier safeguards available on the Android platform.<br /> <br /> The story details how the Android Security team removed two applications that broke the <a href="http://www.google.com/mobile/android/market-tos.html">Android Market Terms of Service</a> -- here's the clause in question:<blockquote> <div> </div> </blockquote><blockquote> <div>2.4 From time to time, Google may discover a Product on the Market that violates the Android Market Developer Distribution Agreement or other legal agreements, laws, regulations or policies. You agree that in such an instance Google retains the right to remotely remove those applications from your Device at its sole discretion and without notice to you.</div> </blockquote><blockquote> <div> </div> </blockquote>(Is 'from time to time' regular legalese?)<br /> <br /> The story itself leaves a lot of questions unanswered -- are developers contacted before their app is removed? is the app's locally-stored data purged? -- but the point of it is clear: Google wants you to know that they have a firm reign on the Android Market. Erroneous apps will be <em>exterminated</em>.<br /> <br /> I feel safer already!<br type="_moz" /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F25%2Fgoogle-can-remotely-remove-applications-from-your-android-phone&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/25/google-can-remotely-remove-applications-from-your-android-phone'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/25/google-can-remotely-remove-applications-from-your-android-phone" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/25/google-can-remotely-remove-applications-from-your-android-phone'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F06%2F25%2Fgoogle-can-remotely-remove-applications-from-your-android-phone%26title%3DGoogle+can+remotely+remove+applications+from+your+Android+phone"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/25/google-can-remotely-remove-applications-from-your-android-phone/">Google can remotely remove applications from your Android phone</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 25 Jun 2010 07:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/06/exercising-our-remote-application.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/25/google-can-remotely-remove-applications-from-your-android-phone/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19530862/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/25/google-can-remotely-remove-applications-from-your-android-phone/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-7640963178472841770?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-9701251513508940422010-07-26T07:02:00.007-07:002010-07-26T07:02:32.398-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/security/" rel="tag">Security</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/features/" rel="tag">Features</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/mobile/" rel="tag">Mobile</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><img align="right" hspace="4" border="0" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/androidlogo-1277736643.jpg" alt="" />Last week I (and a bunch of other sites) ran a scandalous-sounding story about the Android Market and how 'up to 20% of its apps could be malware'. Google actually contacted us and asked for a retraction; I refused. Instead, I decided to explain the Android Market permission system.<br /> <br /> If you don't own an Android phone, the permission system is fantastic. Every app has to define which resources it wants access to. When you install an app (via the Market), you are shown a bunch of very clear warnings that detail what data and services the app will have access to. The great thing about this system is that apps can't <em>lie</em>. An app can't, after two weeks, gain access to your email.<br /> <br /> The system is, in all honesty, fantastic. The only <em>real </em>weakness is user ignorance -- if you install a wallpaper app that wants the ability to send SMSes, that's your fault!<br /> <br /> So, this guide goes some way to explaining what each of the permissions allow your phone to do. I'm not going to cover every single facet of the system, but hopefully you'll be a little more <em>savvy </em>by the time I finish.<p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/28/understanding-the-android-market-security-system/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Understanding the Android Market security system</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/28/understanding-the-android-market-security-system/">Understanding the Android Market security system</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/28/understanding-the-android-market-security-system/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19533548/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/28/understanding-the-android-market-security-system/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-970125151350894042?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-39155203299755084352010-07-26T07:02:00.005-07:002010-07-26T07:02:22.084-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/os-updates/" rel="tag">OS Updates</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/google/" rel="tag">Google</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><a href="http://www.unwiredview.com/2010/06/30/android-3-0-gingerbread-details-1280x760-resolution-1ghz-minimum-specs-mid-oct-release/"><img align="right" hspace="4" border="0" vspace="4" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/06/gingerbreadandroid.jpg" /></a> <div style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 2px;"><script type="text/javascript"> digg_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/30/android-3-0-gingerbread-rumored-to-launch-in-october-for-high-en/'; </script> <script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"> </script></div> While a lot of people are still waiting for Android 2.2 Froyo to arrive on their phones, new details about the next update, Android 3.0 Gingerbread, have started making the rounds online. <meta charset="utf-8">The new OS will supposedly arrive in October, followed by new handsets in November and December. <br /> <br /> According to mobile site <a href="http://www.unwiredview.com/2010/06/30/android-3-0-gingerbread-details-1280x760-resolution-1ghz-minimum-specs-mid-oct-release/">Unwired View</a>, details of Gingerbread were revealed in a <a href="http://digestive.podfm.ru/19/">Russian-only podcast</a> by Eldar Murtazin of <a href="http://www.mobile-review.com/index-en.shtml">mobile-review.com</a>. <br /> <br /> Now that you know where the rumors are coming from, let's take a look at the good stuff: <br /> <ul> <li>Gingerbread will only run on high-end Android phones (1GHZ CPUs and better), while the less powerful, more affordable phones will still use 2.1 or Froyo.</li> <li>There's an all-new UI that reportedly looks a lot like the Nexus One's Gallery app.</li> <li>Gingerbread supports a resolution of 1280x760 for larger displays, 4" and up. That sounds more like a tablet feature than a phone feature, eh?</li> </ul> As Unwiredview points out, this might spell doom for the various device-specific third-party UI shells that are floating around out there. Froyo devices will still have them, of course, but Gingerbread users can expect a more consistent UI across devices. <br /> [via <a href="http://mobiputing.com/2010/06/google-android-gingerbread-coming-in-october-with-a-1ghz-cpu-requirement/">Mobiputing</a>]<br /> </meta><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/30/android-3-0-gingerbread-rumored-to-launch-in-october-for-high-en/">Android 3.0 Gingerbread rumored to launch in October for high-end devices</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.unwiredview.com/2010/06/30/android-3-0-gingerbread-details-1280x760-resolution-1ghz-minimum-specs-mid-oct-release/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/30/android-3-0-gingerbread-rumored-to-launch-in-october-for-high-en/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19537300/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/30/android-3-0-gingerbread-rumored-to-launch-in-october-for-high-en/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3915520329975508435?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-44220551380277166052010-07-26T07:02:00.003-07:002010-07-26T07:02:11.883-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/mobile/" rel="tag">Mobile</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><a href="http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/mits-android-optometry-app-could-help-you-stop-squinting-all-th/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="0" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/mitoptimetryapp.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/mits-android-optometry-app-could-help-you-stop-squinting-all-th/">Our friends at Engadget</a> just reported on a revolutionary new optometry app from MIT that lets you analyze your vision using an Android phone. It uses a small box to refract the image from a smartphone screen and makes adjustments until you can see it perfectly, just like the eye doctor did with that expensive equipment last time you visited. Here's the thing, though: this app isn't expensive. It just requires a 2-buck box to look through.<br /> <br /> The app was designed to be used in poor areas of the world where accurate vision diagnoses are tricky to come by, but it could just as easily be for starving students who need to order glasses online so they can see the board in class and still afford the next month's supply of Ramen noodles. I'm sure this is going to catch some flack from professional optometrists (who, after all, have a degree in this stuff), but providing an essential service to people who didn't have access before is a noble goal. <br /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true" style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; width: 70px;" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F02%2Fmits-do-it-yourself-android-optometry-app-puts-a-new-glasses-pr&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/02/mits-do-it-yourself-android-optometry-app-puts-a-new-glasses-pr'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/02/mits-do-it-yourself-android-optometry-app-puts-a-new-glasses-pr" data-locale="en_GB" data-button-style="small-button" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" class="google-buzz-button" title="Post on Google Buzz"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/02/mits-do-it-yourself-android-optometry-app-puts-a-new-glasses-pr'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img border="0" alt="submit to reddit" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" style="border: 0px none;" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F02%2Fmits-do-it-yourself-android-optometry-app-puts-a-new-glasses-pr%26title%3DMIT's+do-it-yourself+Android+optometry+app+puts+a+new+glasses+prescription+in+your+pocket"><img alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" style="border: 0px none;" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/02/mits-do-it-yourself-android-optometry-app-puts-a-new-glasses-pr/">MIT's do-it-yourself Android optometry app puts a new glasses prescription in your pocket</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/02/mits-android-optometry-app-could-help-you-stop-squinting-all-th/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/02/mits-do-it-yourself-android-optometry-app-puts-a-new-glasses-pr/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19540391/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/02/mits-do-it-yourself-android-optometry-app-puts-a-new-glasses-pr/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-4422055138027716605?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-43642291740630962672010-07-26T07:02:00.001-07:002010-07-26T07:02:02.131-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/e-mail/" rel="tag">E-mail</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/yahoo/" rel="tag">Yahoo!</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><a href="http://ymobileblog.com/blog/2010/06/30/yahoo-brings-its-world-class-communications-experiences-to-your-android-phone-plus-introduces-the-all-new-html5-mobile-web-mail"><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/yahooonandroid.jpg" /></a>Yahoo! has come into Google's house, introducing apps for its competing services on the Android platform. Android is obviously geared up to work with Gmail and Google Apps from the start, but now you can use the Yahoo! versions instead. <a href="http://ymobileblog.com/blog/2010/06/30/yahoo-brings-its-world-class-communications-experiences-to-your-android-phone-plus-introduces-the-all-new-html5-mobile-web-mail">Yahoo! Mail and Yahoo! Messenger</a> (does anyone still use Yahoo! Messenger?) are now in the Android Market, and there's even a Yahoo! Search widget. The apps were announced in a blog post with <a href="http://ymobileblog.com/blog/2010/06/30/yahoo-brings-its-world-class-communications-experiences-to-your-android-phone-plus-introduces-the-all-new-html5-mobile-web-mail">the longest, most meandering title in history</a>.<br /> <br /> I don't know many Android users who would be interested in switching to Yahoo!, especially when Google's service is so convenient on Android phones, but at least you have the option now. <a href="http://lifehacker.com/5577250/yahoo-releases-mail-messenger-and-search-apps-for-android">Lifehacker reports</a> that intregration with the OS is actually pretty good, too: Yahoo! Mail can access your phone's address book, for example. The apps have push notifications and the ability to download attachments, too. <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F03%2Fyahoo-introduces-mail-messenger-and-search-on-googles-android&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/03/yahoo-introduces-mail-messenger-and-search-on-googles-android'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/03/yahoo-introduces-mail-messenger-and-search-on-googles-android" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/03/yahoo-introduces-mail-messenger-and-search-on-googles-android'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F03%2Fyahoo-introduces-mail-messenger-and-search-on-googles-android%26title%3DYahoo!+introduces+Mail%2C+Messenger+and+Search+on+Google's+Android+platform"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/03/yahoo-introduces-mail-messenger-and-search-on-googles-android/">Yahoo! introduces Mail, Messenger and Search on Google's Android platform</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Sat, 03 Jul 2010 20:15:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://ymobileblog.com/blog/2010/06/30/yahoo-brings-its-world-class-communications-experiences-to-your-android-phone-plus-introduces-the-all-new-html5-mobile-web-mail>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/03/yahoo-introduces-mail-messenger-and-search-on-googles-android/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19540889/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/03/yahoo-introduces-mail-messenger-and-search-on-googles-android/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-4364229174063096267?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-57698356888607841982010-07-26T07:01:00.009-07:002010-07-26T07:01:52.199-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><img width="150" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="149" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/test-1278591381.jpg" alt="" />One of the most impressive features of Android 2.2 Froyo shown off at Google I/O was its 'push' functionality. If you missed the keynote, it's worth watching -- but in short: you can push things from your desktop computer to your phone. Reading some news, but have to head off to work? Just click a button and it pops up on your phone. The same goes for apps: browse the Android Market on your desktop, click a button and it's automatically installed to your phone.<br /> <br /> The only problem is... Android Market hasn't been updated yet. The push functionality is there in Android 2.2, but Google simply hasn't turned it on for the official Market (take a look at the <a href="http://www.android.com/market/">official Android Market site</a> -- it sucks). AppBrain, on the other hand, <em>has </em>enabled 'app pushing', and according to Monsieur Linder of Mobiputing, <a href="http://mobiputing.com/2010/07/push-android-apps-to-your-phone-from-appbrains-fast-web-installer/">it's really damn cool</a>. Once you've installed the <a href="http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.appspot.swisscodemonkeys.apppusher">AppBrain Fast Web Installer</a> (or scan the QR barcode on the right!) on your phone, just browse the extensive library of <a href="http://www.appbrain.com/">AppBrain apps</a> and install them! All it takes is a single click. How lovely.<br /> <br /> If you have an Android 2.2 phone I strongly suggest you try it out -- and if you need a little more convincing, there's a video of Herr Linder using the new Fast Web Installer after the break.<br /> <br /> <strong>Update: this works with old versions of Android too! Very, very cool.</strong><br /> <p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/08/got-an-android-2-2-phone-check-out-appbrains-new-push-instal/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Got an Android phone? Check out AppBrain's new 'push' installer</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/08/got-an-android-2-2-phone-check-out-appbrains-new-push-instal/">Got an Android phone? Check out AppBrain's new 'push' installer</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://mobiputing.com/2010/07/push-android-apps-to-your-phone-from-appbrains-fast-web-installer/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/08/got-an-android-2-2-phone-check-out-appbrains-new-push-instal/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19546240/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/08/got-an-android-2-2-phone-check-out-appbrains-new-push-instal/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-5769835688860784198?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-18299163877930632872010-07-26T07:01:00.007-07:002010-07-26T07:01:41.441-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/web-services/" rel="tag">Web services</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/google/" rel="tag">Google</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/iphone/" rel="tag">iPhone</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://m.youtube.com"><img vspace="8" hspace="8" border="0" align="middle" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/newyoutubemobilesite.jpg" /></a></div> For a long time, the best way to watch YouTube on a mobile device has been through a YouTube app, like the one that comes with the iPhone. The mobile site was confusing to navigate, and not all that attractive to look at. Well, that dusty mobile version has been revised into <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGT8ZCTBoBA&amp;feature=player_embedded#!">a pretty, easy-to-use, HTML5-friendly site</a>, and it makes a good case for watching YouTube in your mobile browser again. <br /> <br /> Part of the <a href="http://m.youtube.com">new YouTube Mobile website</a> is simply making the buttons bigger, so they're easier to tap on touchscreen phones. It also adds familiar features from the full YouTube site, like liking, unliking and adding to favorites. Focusing on the mobile website means YouTube can update its mobile experience more quickly than native apps, which take a while to update. The site works with iPhone and Android phones so far.<br /> <br /> This seems like a subtle knock on Apple for not offering a new and better YouTube app with the iPhone 4. Because the YouTube app comes with the iPhone OS, it doesn't get updated unless the OS gets updated. iOS 4 would have been a good opportunity to do that, but Apple didn't take it. I'm sure Google would have gone ahead with a new mobile site anyway, because they're selling a browser-based strategy for everything these days, but it's still interesting that they framed this update in such anti-native-app terms.<br /> <br /> [via <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20009887-265.html">CNET</a>]<br /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true" style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; width: 70px;" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F08%2Fyoutube-mobile-site-update&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/08/youtube-mobile-site-update'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/08/youtube-mobile-site-update" data-locale="en_GB" data-button-style="small-button" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" class="google-buzz-button" title="Post on Google Buzz"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/08/youtube-mobile-site-update'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img border="0" alt="submit to reddit" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" style="border: 0px none;" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F08%2Fyoutube-mobile-site-update%26title%3DYouTube's+mobile+site+gets+a+new+look%2C+beats+up+on+native+YouTube+apps"><img alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" style="border: 0px none;" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/08/youtube-mobile-site-update/">YouTube's mobile site gets a new look, beats up on native YouTube apps</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://m.youtube.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/08/youtube-mobile-site-update/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19546608/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/08/youtube-mobile-site-update/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-1829916387793063287?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-35986825569660969312010-07-26T07:01:00.005-07:002010-07-26T07:01:33.884-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/developer/" rel="tag">Developer</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/security/" rel="tag">Security</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/education/" rel="tag">Education</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/about/"><img hspace="0" height="369" border="0" width="600" vspace="4" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/androidappinventor.jpg" alt="" /></a></div> <div style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 2px;"><script type="text/javascript"> digg_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/12/app-inventor-lets-you-build-your-own-android-app-well-soon-it/'; </script> <script src="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js" type="text/javascript"> </script></div> Aimed at educators and the unwashed masses, here comes <a href="http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/about/">the Android App Inventor</a>. It's been in development for a year and testing has already been carried out on "sixth graders, high school girls and nursing students," and, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/technology/12google.html">according to the New York Times</a> it has been a resounding success.<br /> <br /> Just take a look at what Google has crafted! Read through <a href="http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/learn/tutorials/index.html">the tutorials</a>, or watch the video after the break. It's simple yet so <em>functional</em>. If you want to get in on the action, you need to <a href="https://services.google.com/fb/forms/appinventorinterest/">sign up for the App Inventor for Android closed beta</a>. You might have to lie about being an educator, though...<br /> <br /> I think we might actually be seeing a resurgence in the teaching of programming and logical, syntactic thinking! First <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/10/small-basic-kids-beginners-learn-programming/">Microsoft Small Basic</a>, and now this! There was even <a href="http://www.runrev.com/company/runrev-blog/revmobile-and-apples-iphone-sdk-agreement">some talk</a> of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HyperCard">HyperCard</a>-esque development tool emerging on iOS, but the no-non-native-code license agreement would seemingly make that infeasible.<br /> <br /> This might be an actual return to scientific trial-and-error education... how blissful that would be! No more frakkin' spoon feeding!<br /> <br /> [via <a href="http://technologizer.com/2010/07/11/app-inventor-android/">Technologizer</a>]<p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/12/app-inventor-lets-you-build-your-own-android-app-well-soon-it/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>App Inventor lets you build your own Android app (well, soon: it's in closed beta)</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/12/app-inventor-lets-you-build-your-own-android-app-well-soon-it/">App Inventor lets you build your own Android app (well, soon: it's in closed beta)</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 12 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://technologizer.com/2010/07/11/app-inventor-android/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/technology/12google.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/12/app-inventor-lets-you-build-your-own-android-app-well-soon-it/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19550200/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/12/app-inventor-lets-you-build-your-own-android-app-well-soon-it/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3598682556966096931?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-1599454907347910162010-07-26T07:01:00.003-07:002010-07-26T07:01:20.040-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/browser/" rel="tag">Browsers</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><div align="center"><object width="560" height="445"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/0p7fb8p2CO4&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;fs=1?color1=0x234900&amp;color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/0p7fb8p2CO4&amp;hl=en_GB&amp;fs=1?color1=0x234900&amp;color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="445"></embed></object></div> <br /> <a href="http://my.opera.com/operamini/blog/">Opera Mini 5.1 for Android has been released</a> -- visit m.opera.com, or simply search for 'Opera' on Android Market. This is only a minor patch, but it should be both faster and easy to use. Mini can now also be set as your default browser -- about time!<br /> <br /> Anyway, without any real way to benchmark Opera Mini 5 against other mobile browsers, I decided to pit it against <em>a desktop browser</em> -- Chrome 6, to be exact. Watch the video; be impressed! Opera Mini certainly isn't as fast as a desktop computer -- but then again, what mobile browser is? Also, bear in mind that I'm using a very high-speed Internet connection. On a crippled '2G' or Wi-Fi link, the difference between Mini and Chrome would be far smaller -- Opera's compression technology only really shines when there is limited bandwidth available.<br /> <br /> Still, you can see that Opera Mini makes an excellent replacement for the default Android browser. There's no reason why you shouldn't use Opera Mini 5, put it that way.<br /> <br /> <em>Now </em>I need to find some way of artificially limiting my bandwidth so that I can see if Opera Mini is actually faster than desktop Chrome!<br /> <br /> <br type="_moz" /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F14%2Fopera-mini-5-1-for-android-released-compared-desktop-chrome&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/14/opera-mini-5-1-for-android-released-compared-desktop-chrome'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/14/opera-mini-5-1-for-android-released-compared-desktop-chrome" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/14/opera-mini-5-1-for-android-released-compared-desktop-chrome'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F14%2Fopera-mini-5-1-for-android-released-compared-desktop-chrome%26title%3DOpera+Mini+5.1+for+Android+released%2C+put+to+the+test+against+desktop+Chrome+(video)"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/14/opera-mini-5-1-for-android-released-compared-desktop-chrome/">Opera Mini 5.1 for Android released, put to the test against desktop Chrome (video)</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://my.opera.com/operamini/blog/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/14/opera-mini-5-1-for-android-released-compared-desktop-chrome/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19553770/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/14/opera-mini-5-1-for-android-released-compared-desktop-chrome/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-159945490734791016?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-69545500759460684612010-07-26T07:01:00.001-07:002010-07-26T07:01:06.607-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><a href="http://www.swiftkey.net/index.html"><img hspace="4" vspace="4" border="0" align="right" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/swiftkeyandroidinputchat.jpg" alt="" /></a>If you own an Android phone, I hope you have Swype installed. I don't think I'm overstating it when I say that Swype is by far the most awesomest input mechanism ever invented for software keyboards.<br /> <br /> But maybe you<em> don't like </em>swiping your finger across your screen. Maybe you <em>like</em> jabbing away at a hard, low-feedback, RSI-inducing touch screen. Maybe you're a closet masochist who <em>likes </em>antiquated, backwater input methods. Well, in that case, <a href="http://www.swiftkey.net/index.html">SwiftKey</a> is really rather good -- it is, in essence, predictive text on steroids. It's a free download, too!<br /> <br /> It has some rather neat features, as you can see in the screenshot to the right. It has a big, fat smiley button -- because <em>everyone </em>likes smileys. If you tap space, it inserts the emboldened suggestion in the middle. It also has a horizontal version that's a lot easier to use because, of course, the buttons are wider.<br /> <br /> Like almost every probabilistic predictive text engine, SwiftKey learns as you type. For every SMS that you send, SwiftKey is one step closer to predicting your next SMS's format with rather scary accuracy. The SwiftKey site claims that typing a 55-word, 273-character message requires just <strong>108 key</strong> presses. Of course, with Swype that would be just 55 key presses, but who's counting...<br /> <br /> The magic doesn't end there, though! According to <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/14/swiftkey-beta-brings-new-keyboard-world-class-predictive-text-t/">Engadget</a>, SwiftKey actually scans the SMSes you sent prior to installation. This way it can quickly get up to speed on your writing <em>style</em>; very neat.<br /> <br /> Anyway, there's a couple more screenshots, some tech specs and a video of SwiftKey versus standard predictive text on the Google Nexus One, after the break.<p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/15/swiftkey-android-predictive-keyboard-like-swype/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>SwiftKey for Android is like Swype, but for hyper-conservative Amish types that love tap-tap-tapping</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/15/swiftkey-android-predictive-keyboard-like-swype/">SwiftKey for Android is like Swype, but for hyper-conservative Amish types that love tap-tap-tapping</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.swiftkey.net/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/15/swiftkey-android-predictive-keyboard-like-swype/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19555244/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/15/swiftkey-android-predictive-keyboard-like-swype/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-6954550075946068461?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-15962147779147762122010-07-26T07:00:00.009-07:002010-07-26T07:00:53.307-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/security/" rel="tag">Security</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/hardware/" rel="tag">Hardware</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><a href="http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/07/14/droid-x-actually-self-destructs-if-you-try-to-mod-it/"><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/droidxbomb1-1.jpg" /></a>Android fans love that their OS is much more freely modified than a relatively closed system like Apple's iOS, but the new Droid X is reportedly far from mod-friendly. Droid X has a self-destruct sequence built on a technology called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EFUSE">eFuse</a>, which disables the bootloader and bricks the phone if you try to tinker with it. The only way to get your Droid X working again after eFuse has been triggered is via a hardware fix from Motorola.<br /> <br /> So, what kind of modding triggers the eFuse? Messing with the bootloader itself, the firmware, or the Android kernel will all result in bricking. There's no way to delete the software, either, as it's apparently part of a chip that the Droid X needs to boot, and eFuse lets the chip reprogram itself (in this case, to stop your phone from booting). You can get more details from <a href="http://www.mydroidworld.com/forums/droid-x-discussion/3330-how-droid-x-locked-down-let-me-tell-you-what-i-know.html">a post on the MyDroidWorld forums</a>. What is going on, here? It doesn't make any sense that companies marketing an open phone would want to treat their customers this way.<br /> <br /> [via <a href="http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/07/14/droid-x-actually-self-destructs-if-you-try-to-mod-it/">MobileCrunch</a>]<br /> <br /> <strong>Update</strong>: <a href="http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2010/07/15/reality-check-modding-the-droid-x-may-not-lead-to-a-bricked-phone/">Boy Genius Report says</a> the bootloader is probably the same as the one on the Milestone, and that it "may not" or "probably won't" brick your phone. They do suspect, however, that it will be "difficult to crack." <br /> <br /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; width: 70px;" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F15%2Fandroid-modders-beware-droid-x-bricks-itself-if-you-try-to-modi&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/15/android-modders-beware-droid-x-bricks-itself-if-you-try-to-modi'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/15/android-modders-beware-droid-x-bricks-itself-if-you-try-to-modi" data-locale="en_GB" data-button-style="small-button" class="google-buzz-button" title="Post on Google Buzz" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/15/android-modders-beware-droid-x-bricks-itself-if-you-try-to-modi'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img border="0" alt="submit to reddit" style="border: 0px none;" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F15%2Fandroid-modders-beware-droid-x-bricks-itself-if-you-try-to-modi%26title%3DAndroid+modders+beware%3A+Droid+X+bricks+itself+if+you+try+to+modify+it"><img alt="StumbleUpon.com" style="border: 0px none;" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/15/android-modders-beware-droid-x-bricks-itself-if-you-try-to-modi/">Android modders beware: Droid X bricks itself if you try to modify it</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:10:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/07/14/droid-x-actually-self-destructs-if-you-try-to-mod-it/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/15/android-modders-beware-droid-x-bricks-itself-if-you-try-to-modi/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19556016/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/15/android-modders-beware-droid-x-bricks-itself-if-you-try-to-modi/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-1596214777914776212?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-30358125292711997012010-07-26T07:00:00.007-07:002010-07-26T07:00:43.576-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://unrevoked.com/#phones"><img width="580" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="479" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/unrevo.jpg" /></a></div> Not everyone who wants to root his or her Android phone is interested in doing things the hard way (like me, for example -- if I had an Android phone, of course). Want to make things easy on yourself? Download <a href="http://unrevoked.com/">unr<strong>evo</strong>ked</a> and let it do the heavy lifting for you!<br /> <br /> The tool provides simple rooting for five HTC Android phones: the Incredible, Desire, Aria, Hero, and Evo. <br /> <br /> Windows users: you'll need to first load the included HBoot drivers -- Linux and Mac users won't. You'll also need to make sure that no other programs are trying to access your device via USB (like HTC Sync or DoubleTwist, for example).<br /> <br /> [via <a href="http://www.droid-life.com/2010/07/15/finally-the-droid-life-incredible-has-been-rooted">Droid Life</a>] <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F16%2Froot-your-htc-android-phone-with-unrevoked&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/root-your-htc-android-phone-with-unrevoked'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/root-your-htc-android-phone-with-unrevoked" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/root-your-htc-android-phone-with-unrevoked'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F16%2Froot-your-htc-android-phone-with-unrevoked%26title%3DRoot+your+HTC+Android+phone+with+unrevoked"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/root-your-htc-android-phone-with-unrevoked/">Root your HTC Android phone with unrevoked</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://unrevoked.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/root-your-htc-android-phone-with-unrevoked/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19557430/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/root-your-htc-android-phone-with-unrevoked/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3035812529271199701?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-45595602605561129572010-07-26T07:00:00.005-07:002010-07-26T07:00:31.177-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/hardware/" rel="tag">Hardware</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><a href="http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/16/motorola-responds-to-droid-x-bootloader-controversy-says-efuse/"><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/droidxrecovmode.jpg" /></a>Our sister site, <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/16/motorola-responds-to-droid-x-bootloader-controversy-says-efuse/">Engadget</a>, has done some laudable reporting on the <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/15/android-modders-beware-droid-x-bricks-itself-if-you-try-to-modi/">Droid X "self-destruct" controversy</a> I covered yesterday. The Droid X was rumored to brick itself if a user modified the bootloader, but <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/16/motorola-responds-to-droid-x-bootloader-controversy-says-efuse/">Engadget asked Motorola</a> about those rumors and found out they're only half-true. Yes, the eFuse chip in the Droid X will "protect users" by forcing the phone into recovery mode, but it won't brick it. <br /> <br /> Once your phone is in recovery mode, you can fix it by reinstalling an approved, untampered version of the software. So, the rumors that the phone was difficult to mod were absolutely true, but the rumors that a hardware fix from Motorola would be required to get your phone working again were wrong. No bricking here, people. <br /> <br /> The next step, of course, is for Droid modders who want to hack different wrappers for the OS (like HTC Sense, or Froyo) onto their Droid Xs to figure out a way around the bootloader protection on the phone. I suspect it's only a matter of time. <br type="_moz" /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F16%2Fmotorola-droid-x-brick-self-destruct&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/motorola-droid-x-brick-self-destruct'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/motorola-droid-x-brick-self-destruct" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/motorola-droid-x-brick-self-destruct'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F16%2Fmotorola-droid-x-brick-self-destruct%26title%3DMotorola+on+Droid+X+eFuse+controversy%3A+it+won't+brick+your+phone%2C+just+shut+it+down+til+you+reinstall+%26quot%3Bapproved+software%26quot%3B"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/motorola-droid-x-brick-self-destruct/">Motorola on Droid X self-destruct controversy: it won't brick your phone, just put it in recovery mode</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/16/motorola-responds-to-droid-x-bootloader-controversy-says-efuse/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/motorola-droid-x-brick-self-destruct/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19557727/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/16/motorola-droid-x-brick-self-destruct/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-4559560260556112957?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-75794160851595607882010-07-26T07:00:00.003-07:002010-07-26T07:00:17.788-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/browser/" rel="tag">Browsers</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/mobile/" rel="tag">Mobile</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><img hspace="4" height="375" border="0" align="right" width="250" vspace="4" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/skyfiremainscreen.jpg" />A lot has been said about the <a href="http://www.skyfire.com/">Skyfire mobile Web browser</a> -- and apparently <a href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/skyfire/android-browser/prweb4184114.htm">over half a million people</a> have downloaded it! -- but is it <em>actually any good</em>? Sure it offers Flash video playback, but with a built-in YouTube app that ships with almost every new smartphone, is it <em>really </em>necessary to install a separate browser <em>just </em>to watch videos?<br /> <br /> While 500,000 downloads isn't indicative of 500,000 <em>users</em>, such a figure certainly suggest that a lot of people want to watch non-YouTube videos on their phones. Well, it's that, or perhaps Skyfire <em>actually </em>offers a better browsing experience than Android's built-in browser, or <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/14/opera-mini-5-1-for-android-released-compared-desktop-chrome/">Opera Mini</a>. <br /> <br /> From the outset, Skyfire seems to tick all the boxes. It's built on WebKit, so it should be as fast and fully-featured as other mobile options. It has a built-in 'share' tool that lets you easily share links via email. Like Opera Mini, Skyfire also has tabs and an excellent home screen. Unlike the built-in Android browser, Skyfire lets you alter your '<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_agent">user agent</a>' so that you can view both desktop and mobile versions of sites.<br /> <br /> In fact, even without taking its full-screen Flash video playback functionality into account, Skyfire is a worthy browser replacement.<br /> <br /> <em>Which is a good thing, because Skyfire's video playback isn't very good.</em> <br /> <p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/18/hands-on-with-skyfire-the-rich-media-i-e-flash-video-andro/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Hands on with Skyfire, the 'rich media' (i.e. Flash video) Android Web browser</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/18/hands-on-with-skyfire-the-rich-media-i-e-flash-video-andro/">Hands on with Skyfire, the 'rich media' (i.e. Flash video) Android Web browser</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Sun, 18 Jul 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/18/hands-on-with-skyfire-the-rich-media-i-e-flash-video-andro/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19558643/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/18/hands-on-with-skyfire-the-rich-media-i-e-flash-video-andro/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-7579416085159560788?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-62323099916828672072010-07-26T07:00:00.001-07:002010-07-26T07:00:05.141-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/developer/" rel="tag">Developer</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/adobe/" rel="tag">Adobe</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><div style="text-align: center; "><a href="http://www.flashmobileblog.com/2010/07/17/flashtime-p2p-video-calls-on-android/"><img border="0" hspace="8" vspace="8" align="middle" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/flashtimedemo.jpg" /></a></div> Adobe is starting to talk up the upcoming Air 2.5 for Android, which has added so many new features that the <a href="http://www.flashmobileblog.com/2010/07/17/flashtime-p2p-video-calls-on-android/">FlashMobileBlog</a> says it's now at feature parity with the desktop version of the Flash Platform. What does that mean for users? Well, Air for Android can now use the camera and microphone, which means ...<br /> <br /> ... there's now a video chat app, similar to Skype or FaceTime, that's based on Air for Android. It's called FlashTime, and it's just being demo'd right now, with no working beta or source code available, but you can <a href="http://www.flashmobileblog.com/2010/07/17/flashtime-p2p-video-calls-on-android/">see it in action in a video on the FlashMobileBlog</a>. It's a cool proof-of-concept that shows what Air will eventually be capable of on Android devices. <br type="_moz" /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F19%2Fadobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/adobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/adobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/adobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F19%2Fadobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat%26title%3DAdobe+gets+ready+to+release+Air+2.5+for+Android%2C+plus+FlashTime+video+chat+app"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/adobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat/">Adobe gets ready to release Air 2.5 for Android, plus FlashTime video chat app</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.flashmobileblog.com/2010/07/17/flashtime-p2p-video-calls-on-android/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/adobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19559892/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/adobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-6232309991682867207?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-31927035356708606622010-07-26T02:00:00.003-07:002010-07-26T02:00:31.800-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/games/" rel="tag">Games</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/internet/" rel="tag">Internet</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/adobe/" rel="tag">Adobe</a></p><img width="250" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="121" border="0" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/adobemaxflash3d.jpg" />The next version of Flash, amidst growing competition from emerging 3D-in-the-browser technologies <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WebGL">WebGL</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O3D">O3D</a>, will feature <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20009940-264.html">support for 3D graphics</a>.<br /> <br /> But don't get too excited just yet -- we'll probably have to wait until October and the <a href="http://max.adobe.com/">Adobe MAX 2010 conference</a> before we find out more. There, on October 27th, a Flash player engineer will give a talk about "the next-generation 3D API coming in a future version of Flash Player." How exciting is that?!<br /> <br /> It's an interesting move, and I feel that it's just in time too. WebGL and O3D might be exciting propositions in themselves, but they don't enjoy almost-100% saturation -- not yet at least. <em>Every </em>existing Web game maker uses Flash -- and you can be guaranteed that they'd rather code 3D games and applications for a platform they already intimately know.<br /> <br /> It sure looks like Adobe isn't going to give up on Flash without a fight. First peer-to-peer transfers with 10.1, and now proper 3D. Assuming the 3D performance is good enough, we could see some very interesting FPS and MMORPG Flash games next year.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/adobe-flash-11-will-feature-a-proper-3d-rendering-engine-and-api/">Adobe Flash 11 will feature a proper 3D rendering engine and API</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 09 Jul 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20009940-264.html>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/adobe-flash-11-will-feature-a-proper-3d-rendering-engine-and-api/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19547868/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/09/adobe-flash-11-will-feature-a-proper-3d-rendering-engine-and-api/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3192703535670860662?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-60810645556239787992010-07-26T02:00:00.001-07:002010-07-26T02:00:11.873-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/developer/" rel="tag">Developer</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/video/" rel="tag">Video</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/adobe/" rel="tag">Adobe</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/android/" rel="tag">Android</a></p><div style="text-align: center; "><a href="http://www.flashmobileblog.com/2010/07/17/flashtime-p2p-video-calls-on-android/"><img border="0" hspace="8" vspace="8" align="middle" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/flashtimedemo.jpg" /></a></div> Adobe is starting to talk up the upcoming Air 2.5 for Android, which has added so many new features that the <a href="http://www.flashmobileblog.com/2010/07/17/flashtime-p2p-video-calls-on-android/">FlashMobileBlog</a> says it's now at feature parity with the desktop version of the Flash Platform. What does that mean for users? Well, Air for Android can now use the camera and microphone, which means ...<br /> <br /> ... there's now a video chat app, similar to Skype or FaceTime, that's based on Air for Android. It's called FlashTime, and it's just being demo'd right now, with no working beta or source code available, but you can <a href="http://www.flashmobileblog.com/2010/07/17/flashtime-p2p-video-calls-on-android/">see it in action in a video on the FlashMobileBlog</a>. It's a cool proof-of-concept that shows what Air will eventually be capable of on Android devices. <br type="_moz" /> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F19%2Fadobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/adobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/adobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/adobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F19%2Fadobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat%26title%3DAdobe+gets+ready+to+release+Air+2.5+for+Android%2C+plus+FlashTime+video+chat+app"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/adobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat/">Adobe gets ready to release Air 2.5 for Android, plus FlashTime video chat app</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.flashmobileblog.com/2010/07/17/flashtime-p2p-video-calls-on-android/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/adobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19559892/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/19/adobe-air-2-5-android-flashtime-video-chat/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-6081064555623978799?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-59119394698465791552010-07-25T21:03:00.005-07:002010-07-25T21:03:27.701-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/" rel="tag">Windows</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/open-source/" rel="tag">Open Source</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://portableapps.com/node/24104"><img width="580" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="413" border="0" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/portapps.jpg" alt="" /></a></div> John T. Haller's Portable Apps suite sets the standard when it comes to one-stop-shopping for programs for your USB flash drive. Today on the official Platform blog, <a href="http://portableapps.com/node/24104">Haller has shared details and screenshots of the upcoming 2.0 release</a> -- and it's looking good.<br /> <br /> Currently in beta for about two more weeks, the final release is slated for some time later this month. Among the improvements you'll find are an enhanced theming system, a new Aero-enabled theme, and a built-in PortableApps.Com Updater to keep your suite current. There's also an expanded options screen with dozens of user-configurable settings and access to the new themes via an easy-to-use switcher.<br /> <br /> Another part of the 2.0 platform is the much-improved Launcher, which makes it even easier for developers to create portable versions of their apps. More details about the Launcher can be found <a href="http://portableapps.com/news/2010-06-30_-_portableapps.com_launcher_2.0">on the PortableApps blog</a>.<p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/01/portable-apps-platform-2-0-coming-soon-with-loads-of-improvement/">Portable Apps platform 2.0 coming soon with loads of improvements</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:30:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://portableapps.com/node/24104>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/01/portable-apps-platform-2-0-coming-soon-with-loads-of-improvement/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19538680/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/01/portable-apps-platform-2-0-coming-soon-with-loads-of-improvement/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-5911939469846579155?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-50824303058385013142010-07-25T21:03:00.003-07:002010-07-25T21:03:18.365-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/" rel="tag">Windows</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/gtweak.png" /></div> <div style="text-align: left;">There was a time when the vast majority of my time spent online was wrapped in the awesomeness of ASCII art and two-color interfaces. If you're anything like Sebastian or me, you get a little excited any time you come across a brand new app which harkens back to the days of the BBS.<br /> <br /> ... Like <a href="http://www.gtweak.110mb.com/index.php?p=1_4_GTweak">GTweak</a>, which eschews the shiny, modern look most Windows tweaking apps go for in favor of good old fashioned CMD goodness. You may not find quite as many tweaks under the hood as you will with, say, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/05/29/7-free-windows-7-tweaking-utilities/">these 7 programs</a>, but there are still plenty of useful ones included -- like renaming the Recycle Bin, hiding/unhiding the Admin account, autorun/System Restore/hibernation enable and disable -- and loads more.<br /> <br /> GTweak runs on Windows 2000 or newer -- and you've gotta love the fact that the developer specifically notes that it won't run on Win98. Make sure you right-click GTweak and run as Administrator on Vista and 7, otherwise it won't work properly.</div> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true" style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; width: 70px;" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F02%2Fgtweak-is-a-windows-tweaking-app-for-cmd-fanatics&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/02/gtweak-is-a-windows-tweaking-app-for-cmd-fanatics'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/02/gtweak-is-a-windows-tweaking-app-for-cmd-fanatics" data-locale="en_GB" data-button-style="small-button" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post" class="google-buzz-button" title="Post on Google Buzz"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/02/gtweak-is-a-windows-tweaking-app-for-cmd-fanatics'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img border="0" alt="submit to reddit" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" style="border: 0px none;" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F02%2Fgtweak-is-a-windows-tweaking-app-for-cmd-fanatics%26title%3DGTweak+is+a+Windows+tweaking+app+for+CMD+fanatics"><img alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" style="border: 0px none;" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/02/gtweak-is-a-windows-tweaking-app-for-cmd-fanatics/">GTweak is a Windows tweaking app for CMD fanatics</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.gtweak.110mb.com/index.php?p=1_4_GTweak>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/02/gtweak-is-a-windows-tweaking-app-for-cmd-fanatics/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19539953/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/02/gtweak-is-a-windows-tweaking-app-for-cmd-fanatics/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-5082430305838501314?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-23480919381085009882010-07-25T21:03:00.001-07:002010-07-25T21:03:07.495-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/" rel="tag">Windows</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows-x64/" rel="tag">Windows x64</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/"><img width="382" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="176" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/unlocker.jpg" /><br /> </a></div> <div style="text-align: left;">If you've ever received an error message when trying to delete a file, then you know what <a href="http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/">Unlocker</a> is for. It's a free utility for deleting or moving files that are locked by a Windows process -- which is why Unlocker has long been a part of my malware-busting toolkit.<br /> <br /> If you've got a 64-bit Windows system, you might have tried an existing version only to find out that it can't work its magic. Fortunately, developer Cedrick Collomb purchased a Windows x64 machine a while back, and he figured he ought to be able to run his own app on his own machine.<br /> <br /> Unlocker 1.9.0 beta was released just a few days ago and is (nearly) ready to rock on Vista and WIndows 7 x64. Bonus: the alpha version is also available for testing, and it even has fully signed drivers.<br /> <br /> Two quick things are worth noting. First, it <em>is</em> a beta build -- so expect to encounter some bugs if you decide to test it. Second, your antivirus app may throw a false positive when you extract or execute Unlocker. There is no malware inside; check <a href="http://ccollomb.free.fr/blog/?p=69">Collomb's blog</a> for more on the topic.</div> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F05%2Funlocker-now-removes-stubborn-files-on-64-bit-windows&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/unlocker-now-removes-stubborn-files-on-64-bit-windows'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/unlocker-now-removes-stubborn-files-on-64-bit-windows" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/unlocker-now-removes-stubborn-files-on-64-bit-windows'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F05%2Funlocker-now-removes-stubborn-files-on-64-bit-windows%26title%3DUnlocker+now+removes+stubborn+files+on+64-bit+Windows"><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/unlocker-now-removes-stubborn-files-on-64-bit-windows/">Unlocker now removes stubborn files on 64-bit Windows</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://ccollomb.free.fr/unlocker/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/unlocker-now-removes-stubborn-files-on-64-bit-windows/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19542007/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/unlocker-now-removes-stubborn-files-on-64-bit-windows/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-2348091938108500988?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-42444101622055295382010-07-25T21:02:00.011-07:002010-07-25T21:02:57.763-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/fun/" rel="tag">Fun</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/" rel="tag">Windows</a></p><div style="text-align: center; "><a href="http://smsw.info/"><img border="0" hspace="4" vspace="4" width="352" height="263" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/whisky-cat.jpg" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: left; ">Who doesn't enjoy a nice, full-bodied whisky? <em>[whisk<strong>e</strong>y? -Ed]</em> Clearly at least some geeky types do, like Yanishevskyy Alexander. He's the chap behind <a href="http://smsw.info/">Whisky Catalog</a> -- a nice, little app which lets you document your single malt adventures.<br /> <br /> Like any other good database app, Whisky Catalog makes adding entries a snap. Flag a whisky as owned or just tasted, bookmark your favorites, and put 'em on a wish list. You can even export your data to CSV -- in case you wanted to whip up some fancy presentation charts in Excel, for example. Hey, if you're going to geek out with your whisky, why not go all the way?<br /> <br /> ... And while we're on the subject of whisky, don't forget about social network/review site <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2009/09/09/wine-grow-some-stones-laddie-connosr-is-a-social-site-for-whi/">Connosr</a>.</div> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F05%2Fwhisky-catalog-because-geeks-like-fine-spirits-too&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/whisky-catalog-because-geeks-like-fine-spirits-too'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a title="Post on Google Buzz" class="google-buzz-button" data-button-style="small-button" data-locale="en_GB" data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/whisky-catalog-because-geeks-like-fine-spirits-too" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/whisky-catalog-because-geeks-like-fine-spirits-too'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img style="border: 0px;" alt="submit to reddit" border="0" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top:-2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F05%2Fwhisky-catalog-because-geeks-like-fine-spirits-too%26title%3DWhisky+Catalog%3A+because+geeks+like+fine+spirits%2C+too."><img style="border: 0px;" alt="StumbleUpon.com" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/whisky-catalog-because-geeks-like-fine-spirits-too/">Whisky Catalog: because geeks like fine spirits, too.</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:15:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://smsw.info/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/whisky-catalog-because-geeks-like-fine-spirits-too/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19542186/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/whisky-catalog-because-geeks-like-fine-spirits-too/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-4244410162205529538?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-80128287195822232542010-07-25T21:02:00.009-07:002010-07-25T21:02:52.807-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/" rel="tag">Windows</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/productivity/" rel="tag">Productivity</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/open-source/" rel="tag">Open Source</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.autohotkey.com/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" height="195 width=" border="0" align="middle" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/autohotkey-1997.png" alt="autohotkey" /></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.autohotkey.com/">AutoHotkey</a> is one of the most incredible applications <em>ever</em>. As far as programming languages go, it's not exactly elegant. But it is easy to learn (if not to master), free, open-source and insanely powerful.</p> <p>But I guess you might already know all that. What you might <em>not</em> know is why no new AutoHotkey version has been released since September 25, 2009. That's almost a year of stagnation: for one of the most active scripting communities on the Web, that's a small eternity. Is the project dead?</p> <p>Several AutoHotkey branches started popping up, including a .NET port called <a href="http://www.autohotkey.com/forum/topic34421.html&amp;sid=b2df02f36dc21d9dce2c696b1b7c8266">IronAHK</a> and other varieties. And still there was no word from AutoHotkey's developer, Chris. He was simply gone; no word on the forums for months, despite multiple threads wondering where he is and whether or not he's deserted the project</p> <p>I decided to send Chris an email, and to my surprise (and delight), he replied! It turned into a short interview, which you can read after the jump.</p><p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/is-the-autohotkey-project-dead-a-quick-word-with-the-developer/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Is the AutoHotkey project dead? A quick word with the developer</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/is-the-autohotkey-project-dead-a-quick-word-with-the-developer/">Is the AutoHotkey project dead? A quick word with the developer</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.autohotkey.com/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/is-the-autohotkey-project-dead-a-quick-word-with-the-developer/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19542327/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/05/is-the-autohotkey-project-dead-a-quick-word-with-the-developer/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-8012828719582223254?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-15190511340629463602010-07-25T21:02:00.007-07:002010-07-25T21:02:37.139-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/utilities/" rel="tag">Utilities</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/" rel="tag">Windows</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/op-ed/" rel="tag">Op-Ed</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/drive-monitor/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" height="257 width=" border="0" align="middle" alt="acronisdrivemonitor" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/acronisdrivemonitor-3877.png" /></a></div> <p><a href="http://www.acronis.eu/">Acronis</a> is a fairly trusted name in the world of system utilities. Such trust is not easily gained, and should not be abused. This is all the more reason why I am so disappointed with <a href="http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/drive-monitor/">Acronis Drive Monitor</a>.</p> <p>I downloaded it, hoping for an easy utility to tell me whether or not my drive was failing. Before letting me download this "free" tool, Acronis wanted my full name, country and email address. Okay, no problem.</p> <p>Since I like Acronis so much, I decided to install it on my real system and not on a virtual machine like I usually do. So I then stepped through their own weird installer, which completed installing the program and then bounced back to the first screen, asking me again whether or not I'd like to install it or "unzip the installation files". Okay, but this was just the download and installation. Maybe the program is still good?</p> <p>Keeping my hopes up, I launched it. The first thing it tells me is that "I have no backup software installed". Oh, really? I happen to have Oops!Backup, which frankly blows anything Acronis has to offer out of the water. But <em>no</em>, if I don't have <em>Acronis</em> backup, that means "I don't have backup". And the program alerts about it in the most confusing manner, just like it would alert a drive malfunction. This might really cause some novice users to worry.</p> <p>Then I notice a temperature warning for a disk. The summary doesn't say which disk, and doesn't say what temperature. You have to click through to see (even though it's just four characters of information!). So I click and get a list of my physical drives. No drive has an alert symbol next to it, and they all have 100% health (so why show me an alert, Acronis? Just for fun?). So I have to go through each drive to figure out which one is overheating. After a moment I find it, and see the disk temperature is 118F.</p> <p>Okay, maybe it's just set to American defaults, right? Surely there's some way to set it to Celsius. Right? <em>Wrong!</em> Fahrenheit it is, and if you don't like it, that's too bad.</p> <p>I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that this tool is a shoddy vessel for promoting other Acronis products, and is, quite frankly, an insult to their users' intelligence. If I had to summarize the product in a single word, I would say <em>crap</em>.</p> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowtransparency="true" style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; width: 70px;" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F06%2Fsoftware-to-steer-clear-of-acronis-drive-monitor&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/software-to-steer-clear-of-acronis-drive-monitor'; tweetmeme_source='DownloadSquad'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js"></script></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-right: 7px;"><script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.google.com/buzz/api/button.js"></script><a data-url="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/software-to-steer-clear-of-acronis-drive-monitor" data-locale="en_GB" data-button-style="small-button" class="google-buzz-button" title="Post on Google Buzz" href="http://www.google.com/buzz/post"> Share </a></span> <span style="float: right; margin-top: -1px; margin-left: -7px; margin-right: 2px;"><a onclick="window.location = 'http://reddit.com/submit?url=http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/software-to-steer-clear-of-acronis-drive-monitor'; return false" href="http://reddit.com/submit"> <img border="0" alt="submit to reddit" style="border: 0px none;" src="http://reddit.com/static/spreddit7.gif" /> </a></span><span style="float: right; margin-top: -2px;"><a href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F06%2Fsoftware-to-steer-clear-of-acronis-drive-monitor%26title%3DSoftware+to+steer+clear+of%3A+Acronis+Drive+Monitor"><img alt="StumbleUpon.com" style="border: 0px none;" src="http://cdn.stumble-upon.com/images/badgeStumble.png" /></a></span></div><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/software-to-steer-clear-of-acronis-drive-monitor/">Software to steer clear of: Acronis Drive Monitor</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href=http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/drive-monitor/>Read</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/software-to-steer-clear-of-acronis-drive-monitor/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19543756/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/06/software-to-steer-clear-of-acronis-drive-monitor/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-1519051134062946360?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-30298870356372935942010-07-25T21:02:00.005-07:002010-07-25T21:02:26.645-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/security/" rel="tag">Security</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/" rel="tag">Windows</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><img width="580" vspace="4" hspace="4" height="393" border="0" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/immunet2.jpg" /></div> Download Squad was one of the first places you read about Immunet's cloud-powered antivirus software when it debuted last year. Since then, their team has been keeping us apprised of changes -- and there have been plenty.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/06/23/immunet-free-windows-antivirus/">Immunet 2.0</a> is a big improvement over the original, adding multiple scanning engines, a social component, and a new Plus version that includes additional scanning and defense features. The free version, of course, is still an excellent, free antivirus app -- but if you can have the Plus version for free..., why not check it out?!<br /> <br /> The Immunet crew has given us 10 keys for Immunet 2 Plus, and we're giving them away to ten lucky Download Squad readers! And, hey, ... if <em>you</em> don't need it, you've probably got a family member who could use a little more malware protection. Am I right?<br /> <br /> <em>Take the jump for the obligatory legalese, then get those entries in</em>!<p><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/07/giveaway-win-a-copy-of-immunet-antivirus-2-0-plus/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Giveaway: Win a copy of Immunet Antivirus 2.0 Plus!</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;background:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/07/giveaway-win-a-copy-of-immunet-antivirus-2-0-plus/">Giveaway: Win a copy of Immunet Antivirus 2.0 Plus!</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com">Download Squad</a> on Wed, 07 Jul 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/07/giveaway-win-a-copy-of-immunet-antivirus-2-0-plus/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/forward/19542075/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/07/giveaway-win-a-copy-of-immunet-antivirus-2-0-plus/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6042932411674091433-3029887035637293594?l=d0wnl0ad3r.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>N0 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/08773036512346917569noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6042932411674091433.post-57444067732401864062010-07-25T21:02:00.003-07:002010-07-25T21:02:16.523-07:00 <p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/windows/" rel="tag">Windows</a>, <a href="http://www.downloadsquad.com/category/microsoft/" rel="tag">Microsoft</a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2010/07/12/public-beta-now-available-for-windows-7-and-windows-server-2008-r2-service-pack-1.aspx"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" height="310 width=" border="0" align="middle" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2010/07/windowsxp-1920.png" alt="windowsxp" /></a></div> <p>Ahh, I just love Windows XP. Don't you? That default theme never fails to irritate me. It's a UI so tacky that it pushed me to spend countless hours in figuring out how to customize it or get rid of it altogether (go LiteStep!).</p> <p>Other Windows XP users are not as fortunate; these are mainly people sitting in gray, depressing cubicles, with restrictive IT departments and massive corporate-wide Windows installations. Up until today, these cubicled masses had some hope for a friendlier computing environment. After all, XP wasn't going to be supported forever, right?</p> <p>Wrong. Today <a href="http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2010/07/12/public-beta-now-available-for-windows-7-and-windows-server-2008-r2-service-pack-1.aspx">Microsoft announced</a> Windows 7 users will be able to downgrade to XP at any point during Windows 7's life cycle. For Windows 7 Ultimate, that means up until 2020. In Microsoft's words:<br /> <em><br /> Going forward, businesses can continue to purchase new PCs and utilize end user downgrade rights to Windows XP or Windows Vista until they are ready to use Windows 7. Enabling such rights throughout the Windows 7 lifecycle will make it easier for customers as they plan deployments to Windows 7. </em></p> <p>What this effectively means is that IT departments who have an established enterprise-wide Windows XP installation base now don't have to upgrade. If (when) they buy new computers, they can just take their shiny new hardware and trick it out with crappy, outmoded Windows XP. Their users must be so happy!<br /> <br /> <strong>UPDATE:</strong> Microsoft has updated the <a href="http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2010/07/12/public-beta-now-available-for-windows-7-and-windows-server-2008-r2-service-pack-1.aspx">original post</a> to make things a bit clearer. It turns out the original information wasn't fully spot-on. Below are the exact details on what the extension means:<br /> <br /> The <strong>sales</strong> lifecycle of Windows 7 will end two years after the release of the next version of Windows (which we don't yet know a ship date for). Downgrade rights only apply to how long Windows 7 will sell on OEM PCs - this is where the EULA comes into play, as mentioned above.<br /> <br /> The <strong>support</strong> lifecycle of Windows 7 will be officially supported until 2019 - 10 years from its ship date. In simpler terms, as long as Windows 7 is <em>sold</em> via OEMs you can downgrade to XP. Once it stops selling, I assume the downgrade rights would be to Windows 7 itself (as we'll have the new version of Windows out). <br /> </p> <p>[Via: <a href="http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9179109/Microsoft_extends_Windows_XP_downgrade_rights_until_2020">ComputerWorld</a>]</p> <div style="width: 100%; height: 15px; display: block; margin-top: 3px;"><span style="float: right; height: 15px; margin-top: -2px;"><iframe frameborder="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.downloadsquad.com%2F2010%2F07%2F13%2Fms-announces-windows-xp-will-be-sticking-around-for-ten-more-ye&amp;layout=button_count&amp;width=100" style="border: medium none; overflow: hidden; width: 70px;" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></span><span style="float: right;"><script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_url = 'http://www.downloadsquad.com/2010/07/13/ms-announces-windows-xp-will-be-sticking-around-for-ten-more-ye'; tweetmeme_so