Google's Blogger platform adds five new HTML5 Dynamic Views

Google Blogger Mosaic Dynamic View
Google, as part of its ongoing and much-needed overhaul of its popular Blogger platform, has just enabled five dynamic, HTML5ish, AJAXy 'Dynamic Views'. There's a video introducing the new layouts after the break.

The five new views provide fresh and interesting ways to explore your favorite Blogger blogs. The Mosaic view, for example, creates a wall of thumbnails -- click one, and it zooms to fill the screen; click it again and it minimizes. Flipcard is similar to Mosaic, but not quite as eclectic. Sidebar, Timeslide and Snapshot round off the new views, with each one obviously targeted at different types of content, from photo blogs, to text-only philosophy blogs, and everything in between.

For now, you have to visit a Blogger blog and add /view to the URL to enable the new Dynamic Views. If you own a Blogger blog, you can disable the new views -- and really, why weren't they disabled by default?

If feedback is positive -- which we're sure it will be -- these Dynamic Views will soon be enabled by default. You'll also be able to edit the views in much the same way as current Blogger templates.

Continue reading Google's Blogger platform adds five new HTML5 Dynamic Views

Google's Blogger platform adds five new HTML5 Dynamic Views originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/google-blogger-platform-introduces-five-new-html5-dynamic-views/

Gertrud Hölzl Ulrike Kellner Nicola Kohnen Laura Ungricht

Farragomate is a social fridge magnet game where you make up sentences

farragomate
You know those fridge magnet kits composed of a whole bunch of words? The ones you put all over your fridge door and then try to arrange into all sorts of juvenile and/or amusing sentences. Well, Farragomate is the social, webby version of that very same pastime.

You get to play with a bunch of random strangers in real-time, and make up sentences out of a pre-set collection of words, including some fairly naughty ones, and all players' nicknames. As you can imagine, some of the results are not child-friendly.

There are ten rounds to a game. Once a round is done, players get to vote for their favorite sentence from that round. You can't vote for your own creation, of course. There's in-game chat, too.

I think the vocabulary could be made a bit more eclectic, but even as it is, it's a nice way to spend a few minutes and meet random strangers on the Internet (always a thrilling experience).

Farragomate is a social fridge magnet game where you make up sentences originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/25/farragomate-is-a-social-game-where-you-make-up-sentences/

Antonio Fellberg Emma Knebel Jason Randow Benjamin Schötz

Mobile Miscellany: week of October 3, 2011

This week was packed with news on the mobile front, so it was easy to miss a few stories here and there. Here's some of the other stuff that happened in the wide world of wireless for the week of October 3, 2011:
  • The Pantech Hotshot featurephone (above left) launched on Verizon this week. It's a full 3.2-inch touchscreen with a 3.2 megapixel camera and video capture. It's offered for $100 with a two-year contract. [PhoneScoop]
  • AT&T launched the Pantech Link II (above right) this week, a follow-up to the popular Quick Messaging Device. It features BREW mobile 1.0.2 and is available for $10 with a two-year commitment.
  • Cincinnati Bell launched the HTC Sensation 4G for $250 with a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate.
  • The HTC Amaze 4G is heading north. Canadian carrier Telus has given the device its own piece of real estate on its site, having it listed as "coming soon." [AndroidCentral]
  • According to benchmark tests, the Sony Ericsson Nozumi actually has a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm CPU and uses Android 2.3.5. [LandofDroid]
  • Open Range Communications, a WiMAX provider in the Denver area, is laying off more than a hundred employees, shutting down its WiMAX service to new customers and the CEO resigned. [PhoneScoop]
  • Prefer the Washington Post over the New York Times? The former has its own Android app now available in the Market for free. [AndroidCentral]
  • The Nokia N9 is now officially for sale in Australia, on Telstra. Vodafone and Optus haven't put the device on sale yet, though both companies have announced intentions to do so at some point. [ComputerWorld]

Mobile Miscellany: week of October 3, 2011 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Oct 2011 11:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/r4kcI6z3qZI/

Gabriela Prell Sylvia Lösche Steven Walnsch Lennart Tonn

Deal of the Day ? Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E220s 12.5? Intel Core i5 Laptop for $559.20

Today?s LogicBUY Deal is the 12.5? Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E220s Intel Core i5 laptop for $559.20.  Features:  4GB memory, 320GB 7200rpm hard drive, fingerprint reader, and more. $1419.99- $720 instant savings ? 20% stackable coupon  = $559.20 with free shipping.  This is the lowest price LogicBUY has seen for this laptop. This deal expires October [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/10/06/deal-of-the-day-%e2%80%93-lenovo-thinkpad-edge-e220s-12-5%e2%80%9d-intel-core-i5-laptop-for-559-20/

Gabriela Schnee Rita Imhof Angelika Frey Mika Bernhardt

Cueboy Quest is an adorable 8-bit style physics game

cueboyquest
Yes, that's right, I said adorable. Because Cueboy Quest really is!

You play an 8-bit cowboy whose goal on each level is to get to the door (and thus to the next level), but the door is often locked. To get it to open, you must shoot at one or more targets, and those targets aren't always in your line of sight. For example, on one level the the target is a balloon which is stuck all the way at the other end of the screen. You must first nudge it free, and then watch it float up and try to shoot it before it floats clear off the screen. Your bullets are chunky pixels that have some weight - the have arcing trajectories, so you don't always hit exactly where you aim.

There's another level where you must jump on the balloon as it floats up, use it as a platform to get to the other end of the screen, and then turn to shoot it very quickly before it flies away. Each level is very short, and most of them are quite easy. And not only are the graphics 8-bit blocky, but they're large too. Simply beautiful!

Cueboy Quest is an adorable 8-bit style physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/22/cueboy-quest-is-an-adorable-8-bit-style-physics-game/

Ulrike Kellner Nicola Kohnen Laura Ungricht Edith Berner

Windows 8 Explorer to feature Ribbon UI, SkyDrive and Mesh integration?

windows 8 explorer ribbon
Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott have posted a second look at some of the early changes which have surface in Windows 8 milestone 3. First there was the restyled Welcome Screen, and now it appears that Microsoft is toying with bringing the Ribbon UI to Explorer.

The Ribbon, like in Microsoft Word and Excel, is context-aware, adding tabs for specific tasks which apply to the folder you're viewing -- such as library or picture management. You can also make out two new buttons in the status bar, which allow you to change the current folder's view style.

It's clear from all the placeholder images and repeated elements that this is very much a work in progress, but featuring the Ribbon more prominently in Windows 8 would certainly be a logical progression for Microsoft. It's slowly become more ubiquitous, moving beyond Office and into Wordpad, Paint, and several of the Windows Live Essentials applications.

There's more to the screenshots than the Ribbon UI, however. Our friend Long Zheng has noted two interesting elements in the images: Web sharing and sync (image after the break). That would likely mean users will be able to quickly upload files to SkyDrive and synchronize using Live Mesh right from Explorer in Windows 8. That's not a total surprise considering many of the earliest leaked images of Windows 8 showed Windows Live integration on the desktop.

Continue reading Windows 8 Explorer to feature Ribbon UI, SkyDrive and Mesh integration?

Windows 8 Explorer to feature Ribbon UI, SkyDrive and Mesh integration? originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 03 Apr 2011 08:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/03/windows-8-explorer-to-feature-ribbon-ui-skydrive-and-mesh-integ/

Michel Rohr Hilde Baaden Hartmut Theobald Nicholas Graul

The Japan Earthquake Weakened Earth's Gravity [Earthquake]

The Japan earthquake in March was big. Obviously. But recent satellite analysis by researchers reveal it was so big that it actually affected the gravitational field surrounding Japan. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/DCvY-gH0qY8/the-japan-earthquake-weakened-earths-gravity

Elfriede Oltmanns Janine Hillenbrand Vivien Strupp Elena Lasch

This Climbing Robot Cockroach Gives Me More Heebie Jeebies Than a Real Cockroach [Video]

Whenever I see a cockroach scampering around I don't even think, I just stomp the shit out of it. HOWEVAH. If I saw this freaking robot cockroach climbing my walls, I'd shriek and freak out like a little baby. This thing is seriously scary. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/h9EZbMKmfyo/this-climbing-robot-cockroach-gives-me-more-heebie-jeebies-than-a-real-cockroach

Monika Kley Heidemarie Frick Maike Beetz Fiona Henschel

Sony Reader WiFi review

Sony's timing could have been better with the Reader WiFi PRS-T1. The device, which was unveiled back at IFA in late August, is set to launch within a fortnight. In the intervening time, Amazon, the clear leader in the space, unveiled two new readers -- the fourth-generation Kindle and the Kindle Touch. Sony's got a ways to go if it's going to become a dominant force in the e-reader market outside of its native Japan, alongside the Kindle and the Nook. The PRS-T1 certainly takes some steps in that direction, both in terms of pricing and features -- but is it enough to get consumers to stand up and take notice? Find out in our review after the break.

Continue reading Sony Reader WiFi review

Sony Reader WiFi review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 16:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/07/sony-reader-wifi-review/

Janine Hillenbrand Vivien Strupp Elena Lasch Hans-Jürgen Haake

The cost of switching to LTE: Sprint to spend $10 billion over the next two years

Wonder just how much it costs to phase out iDEN and WiMAX networks and put all your eggs in one, CDMA / LTE-flavored basket? Well, Joe Euteneuer, Sprint's CFO, just offered up a frank answer here at its "Strategy Update" event: $10 billion over the next two years. That's a heckuva lot more than the $4 billion to $5 billion Wall Street was expecting, but Euteneuer assured all the suited-up financial analysts in the room that the company should save $10 billion to $11 billion through 2017 (a figure widely reported before today), with $4 billion of that resulting from not having to maintain the 'ol ball and chain iDEN network anymore. Now it's true, we're a minority in this meeting of industry analysts, but you don't need to be a banker to understand that's one telling figure: clearly, the company's betting its future not just on the (CDMA!) iPhone, but LTE's brand of 4G.

The cost of switching to LTE: Sprint to spend $10 billion over the next two years originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 12:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/3aeQnZfROkc/

Simone Temme Heidemarie Stegmann Annika Schäffer Edgar Betz