9 Temporary Structures that Grew into Cultural Icons [Architecture]

Technically, this shouldn't still exist. Originally meant to be dismantled after the 1897 Tennessee Centenial Expo, the Nashville Parthenon was such a hit with the public it became a permanent attraction. Our friends at Oobject have some other great examples of temporary architecture with staying power. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/8jSX3BR4bBc/9-unintentionally-permanent-structures

Heidemarie Frick Maike Beetz Fiona Henschel Joshua Heinlein

The White iPhone 4 Shows Itself In the UK, Possibly Hitting Stores Next Week [Iphone4]

Engadget says that's the box for the white iPhone 4 shipping to Vodaphone retail outlets in the UK. Someone unwitting sales associate sold one to a customer before Vodaphone sent out a comapny-wide email halting sales until "next week." More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Shju5i92AWo/the-white-iphone-4-shows-itself-in-the-uk-possibly-hitting-stores-next-week

Franziska Spanier Erna Van den Hout Laura Pauli Janna Löhnig

Let it Slide is an engaging, difficult puzzle game

letitslide
I have a thing for physics games, and I've been known to post the occasional platformer or action game here and there. But Let it Slide is one of the brainiest games I've posted to date.

The idea is very simple, and far from original: You get a board with pieces arranged in a particular pattern; you have to slide those around until you get the special piece into its target location.

It's not even about finding out where the target location is - you can just hover over "dim tiles" and instantly see where you're supposed to bring the special piece. But getting it there is a whole different story.

There are five tutorial levels, which I strongly recommend you do. Then there are twenty "beginner" levels, but that's really a misnomer. If those are the beginner levels, I don't want to know what the intermediate and advanced levels look like!

Every time you finish a level you get a score based on how many clicks it took you - each level has a "par" (the minimum number of clicks it could be completed in), and your performance is compared to that gold standard. Because it's such a brainy game, getting it right is quite satisfying. I was downright proud of myself when I managed to finish a few levels. All in all, quite recommended, especially if you've got a few minutes of quiet. It might actually help you focus better later on.

Let it Slide is an engaging, difficult puzzle game originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/23/let-it-slide-is-an-engaging-difficult-puzzle-game/

Annika Schäffer Edgar Betz Antonia Koppe Gertrud Hölzl

Vayable Is A Marketplace For Unique Travel Experiences

Like an Airbnb for travel experiences, secondary market place Vayable launches today to offer travelers the opportunity to buy experiences in exotic locales all over the world, from Rome to Rio as the well worn cliche goes. Founders Jamie Wong and Samrat Jeyaprakash tell me that the key difference between Vayable and the other "Airbnb for experiences" Skyara is that Vayable is targeting travelers specifically, especially those who are tired of the relative banality of activity offerings from sites like Orbitz and Expedia.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/8aF01rTgIlU/

Finja Kerkhoff Sascha Dörr Kristin Gehrmann Annette Lechner

Amazon Cloud Player review: functional, not mind blowing, and still US-only

Amazon Android Cloud Player appIt's hard to believe: our world-spanning network, our Internet, which is the cornerstone of free speech and free society -- which, on a good day, is capable of causing populist revolutions -- is still crippled by banal geolocation restrictions. We are, of course, talking about Amazon's two latest offerings, both of which are only available in the United States. Last week it was the excellent Android Appstore for Android, and today it's the Amazon Cloud Player for Web and Android.

Along with Cloud Player, Amazon also launched Cloud Drive, which is basically just like any other cloud storage digital locker. It's not particularly feature rich, and there's no real reason to use it over something like SugarSync or SkyDrive -- it does work outside the US, however.

Its primary purpose, as far as we're concerned, is that it stores your your Cloud Player music in a subdirectory. You get 5GB of Cloud Drive storage for free, and then it's $1 per gigabyte per year if you need more space.

The Amazon Cloud Player itself will not, to put it bluntly, blow your mind. It works, but it's very much an early, and possibly rushed, release. Let's dive in to the Web and Android players for a closer look.

Continue reading Amazon Cloud Player review: functional, not mind blowing, and still US-only

Amazon Cloud Player review: functional, not mind blowing, and still US-only originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/29/amazon-cloud-player-hands-on-review-functional-not-mind-blowin/

Annika Schäffer Edgar Betz Antonia Koppe Gertrud Hölzl

Jailbreak app store, Cydia still suffering post-Amazon EC2 outage

Jailbreak app store, Cydia still suffering post-Amazon EC2 outage Amazon EC2, their cloud hosting solution, has been struggling with outages over the last day or so, taking down a lot of popular web services including the Cydia Store for Jailbreak users, FourSquare, among others. While Amazon’s EC2 status board shows things are back to normal, a bunch of Jailbreak readers (and some of our own [...]

Jailbreak app store, Cydia still suffering post-Amazon EC2 outage is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/uMf1qCzBH5A/

Malin Hock Helmut Hölzer Maurice Giese Frederik Faulhaber

Leaked Images Reveal New NEX-C3 Is a Giant-Flashed Beauty [Cameras]

Camera rumormongers have gotten their paws on leaked shots of the new NEX-C3, and it's rather purty. Guts-wise, it'll pack the same 16.2MP sensor as its predecessor, but adds that splendid external flash. [DP Review via CrunchGear] More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/0Ay8ScrnxzA/leaked-images-reveal-new-nex+c3-is-a-giant+flashed-beauty

Fiona Henschel Joshua Heinlein Markus Wigger Alexander Berner

Speedtest.net overhauled with new look, new features

speedtest
Speedtest.net is pretty much the go-to site for quickly figuring out how fast (or slow) your connection really is and comparing the numbers your ISP boasts with what it actually delivers. And now it's got a new coat of paint and a couple of neat features. In brief:
  • New UI: The map widget is much improved; it actually looks like a map now, and it's easy to see where you are.
  • Smart server selection: If there are several test servers nearby, Speedtest will now ping each to see which has the least latency and use that for the test. You can still specify servers manually, too.
  • User accounts: You can sign up for a free account and aggregate results from several computers/connections.
  • Speed Wave: This new feature lets you add your test results to the results of many other users, and get a nice composite view.
All in all, you get some nice, new functionality and a snazzier interface to boot. Nice!

Speedtest.net overhauled with new look, new features originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/07/speedtest-net-overhauled-with-new-look-new-features/

Sascha Dörr Kristin Gehrmann Annette Lechner Margarethe Lachner

Balance is a challenging mouse-based physics game

balance
Years of computer use have taught us that the mouse cursor is "above" the windows. It doesn't push anything around; at least not without you clicking anything.

Balance takes that ingrained bit of knowledge and cancels it out. Suddenly your cursor (a blue dot) is solid - and if it touches the blue block, it pushes it around.

Your job is to use your cursor to nudge the blue block over to the orange block. You will have to push it, lift it and even flip it on its side, and then balance it. It's a very tricky game - one I wouldn't recommend tackling with a laptop trackpad.

Still, if you have a mouse and a hankering for a little physics gameplay, this is a cute little game. I like how the blue block never stops smiling, it makes me feel better about the world.

Balance is a challenging mouse-based physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/10/balance-is-a-challenging-mouse-based-physics-game/

Antonia Koppe Gertrud Hölzl Ulrike Kellner Nicola Kohnen

The Best Deal of the Day [Dealzmodo]

Pictures of cats, pictures of dogs. Pictures of rats, pictures of frogs. Pictures of horribly contaminated ponds filled with toxic waste that will render an entire ecosystem uninhabitable for generations. Pictures of pigs, pictures of figs, pictures of giraffes, pictures of twigs. Nature! Greenery! Flora! Fauna! A great way to celebrate Earth Day is to go outdoors and take some photos of it. It being earth. And then, go back home with your significant other, look at all the great photos you capped, and make wild, animalistic Earth Day love. But you'll need a memory card—how about this Lexar SDHC 8 GB card, for only $11? Earth Day sex! - SB More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Gxq5xBjMOvg/the-best-deal-of-the-day

Birte Höß Kerstin Klos Dieter Schreiter Monika Kley