T-Mobile's Daily Pay As You Go Plan Will Be the Best Phone Plan for People Traveling to the US [T-Mobile]

TmoNews just got leaked info about T-Mobile's new pay as you go plans and it confirms the new $60 'unlimited' plan (up to 2GB of data). That's okay. What's more exciting is the daily pay as you go plan and the new $30 unlimited web and text plan. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/cDQJPRsCN6s/t+mobiles-daily-pay-as-you-go-plan-will-be-the-best-phone-plan-for-people-traveling-to-the-us

Vivien Strupp Elena Lasch Hans-Jürgen Haake Arno Zimmerling

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/

Oliver Büdenbender Christa Eymann Ingrid Schur Emily Trautmann

BattlePaint is an addictive geometric shooter game

battlepaint
In BattlePaint, you play a cube. In fact, you're not even a cube -- just a square. But boy, are you fast! And you can shoot in all directions. That's important, because there are baddies coming in from all over the place.

The "baddies" are swarms of other squares, in all sorts of pretty colors. They track you all over the screen, and you run around very quickly and just shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. If that doesn't sound very emotionally deep, it's because it isn't. But it's fun!

After you shoot a baddy, it splashes paint as it disappears. You need to skate across this blob of paint and "eat it up" to get points. This game is fast. It clocked in at around 60-70 FPS on my system, and was loads of fun to play. It does tend to insult you when you die, though, but don't be offended -- I don't think it's personal.

BattlePaint is an addictive geometric shooter game originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/09/battlepaint-is-an-addictive-geometric-shooter-game/

Nathalie Füllgraf Janine Harrer Emilia Münchow Claus Rehberg

The Sticky Boom Clings with the Power of Static [Video]

Grabbing objects in space has always been a challenge and has generally relied on mechanical claws to do the gripping. The problem is that these claws are limited in what they can grapple. That's why Altius Space Machines' gripper uses electroadhesion. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/93OBF1zK03Y/the-sticky-boom-clings-with-the-power-of-static

Johannes Liebl Arne Koller Fiona Brandenburg Franziska Spanier

Garmin's Forerunner 910XT sport watch begs to become your new swimming buddy

After introducing the Forerunner 610 alongside its lineup of runner-friendly watches, Garmin has introduced a new high tech gadget that's targeted to hardcore swimmers and triathletes: enter the Forerunner 910XT. With a price tag of $400, it's certainly intended for the most dedicated (or affluent) jocks, but for the outlay of cash, you'll find it provides detailed metrics such as swim distance, pool lengths, along with stroke identification and count. It even goes so far as to report one's SWOLF score, which is a measure of a swimmer's efficiency (calculated as the number of strokes to swim a lap, plus the time to travel said distance). The Forerunner 910XT is water resistant to 50 meters, but it's certainly apt for use on dry land, too. For instance, it provides stats about one's elevation, heart rate and speed, and offers built-in GPS. The battery life is limited to 20 hours, although we'd imagine your endurance will give out long before that time. If you've found your new obsession, you'll find the full PR after the break.

Continue reading Garmin's Forerunner 910XT sport watch begs to become your new swimming buddy

Garmin's Forerunner 910XT sport watch begs to become your new swimming buddy originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 05:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/qKti1b28Dhs/

Malin Hock Helmut Hölzer Maurice Giese Frederik Faulhaber

Elephant Quest is an addictive, deep platformer

elephantquest
When someone tells me about a "platformer", my first thought is that it's probably a simple game that mainly revolves around running and jumping around, with a minimal plot. [Play a Zelda game! -Ed]

Elephant Quest is one platformer that managed to prove me completely wrong. Yes, you do run and jump around, and you also shoot at stuff. But the game has much, much more going for it.

Basically, as you run, jump and shoot, you gain experience points and level up. Hitting Space brings you into an interface where you can convert your experience points into Charisma, Intelligence, Agility and Dexterity points. Once you've "specialized" your points, you then get to pick what exact skills you'd like to enhance in each field. For example, you could use your dexterity to enhance your weapons or increase your swiftness.

The game is played in a huge maze; you go through rooms using doors, and there's a large map. As the name implies, there are quests you can take, too. For example, one quest had me searching all over the place for ten balloons.

The bottom line is that this is a surprisingly deep game that just might ensnare you for a good bit longer than you intended to play. Beware!

Elephant Quest is an addictive, deep platformer originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/25/elephant-quest-is-an-addictive-deep-platformer/

Henrik Brenner Karla Reusch Wilhelm Klassen Nathalie Füllgraf

Classic Shell now makes Internet Explorer 9 look like IE8

classic shell make windows 7 look like xp
If you used Windows XP for a long time (who didn't?), one of the biggest changes when moving to Windows 7 or Vista was the massively-altered Explorer. While the new Explorer introduces some useful new features, it also removed just as many -- which is where Classic Shell comes in!

We've covered Classic Shell before, but here's the crib note: Classic Shell restores almost every Windows XP-era Explorer feature. The best change, in our opinion, is the reemergence of the 'up' arrow, meaning you now navigate without using the Windows Vista/7 'breadcrumbs' address bar. The status bar yet again shows the total size of your selection, and -- praise be! -- the diabolical Windows 7 Copy File 'copy and replace?' dialog has been replaced with a Windows XP lookalike (image after the break).

New to the most recent version of Classic Shell is the ability to make IE9 look like IE8. With Classic Shell the title bar yet again has a caption, so you can see the full title of Web pages. The current security zone and loading progress indicator have been put back into the status bar, too. If you enable 'Show tabs on a separate row,' it's almost like using IE8.

Finally, Classic Shell replaces the omnipotent Windows 7 Start Menu with the age-old 'classic' Windows 2000/XP-style Start Menu. Classic Shell makes the Start Menu skinable, too, if you're into the kind of thing.

As awesome as it sounds, we've only touched on a small section of Classic Shell's feature set. Check the Classic Shell site for a complete list. There's a few more images of Classic Shell in action after the break.

Download Classic Shell for Windows

Continue reading Classic Shell now makes Internet Explorer 9 look like IE8

Classic Shell now makes Internet Explorer 9 look like IE8 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/classic-shell-makes-windows-explorer-and-ie9-look-like-their-anc/

Amelie Schweizer Elfriede Oltmanns Janine Hillenbrand Vivien Strupp

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0?.PLUS

Samsung has announced their successor to their Galaxy Tab 7.0 imaginatively named….. Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus. With  1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 7? WSVGA (1024 x 600) PLS display , 1GB of RAM, 16/32GB of internal memory, microSD slot (up to 32GB), 3-megapixel auto focus rear camera, 2-megapixel front facing camera, Android 3.2 Honeycomb (with TouchWiz), and [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/10/03/samsung-galaxy-tab-7-0-plus/

Luca Liebe Finja Kerkhoff Sascha Dörr Kristin Gehrmann

NEC LaVie Touch hands-on

Originally scheduled for a September launch under the VersaPro type VT moniker, NEC's LaVie Touch Windows 7 tablet is finally hitting the Japanese market next week. Alas, there are still no plans on an international release for this 10.1-inch Atom Z670-powered device, but at CEATEC we were lucky enough to stumble upon it along with its DVD dock and wireless input peripherals -- all included for ¥99,960 ($1,300), which is a huge drop from the original ¥144,000 ($1,873) customizable bundle.

Despite the slightly more sensible pricing, is the LaVie Touch still worth the money? Probably a stretch given the much cheaper offerings from the likes of Acer and Samsung, but regardless, kudos to NEC for keeping its tablet's weight just under 730g (1.6 pounds) while promising 10.6 hours of battery life. For comparison's sake, the Acer Iconia W500 weighs 970g (2.14 pounds) and only packs up to six hours worth of battery juice. The NEC tablet felt firm in our hands and its IPS LCD didn't disappoint, though Windows 7 on this particular unit was slightly laggy during our hands-on, so be sure to check it out in the stores first before you hand over your hard-earned yen.

NEC LaVie Touch hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Oct 2011 14:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/1702X1MdHss/

Carola Auer Luca Liebe Finja Kerkhoff Sascha Dörr

Kindle Fire ? A Tablet for the Masses?

So, the Amazon ?Kindle Fire? tablet is now reality and I believe it will be a big seller. At $199 it is within shouting distance of that ?no brainer? gadget purchase price. Best of all, for us consumers, Amazon is forcing the rest of the tablet market to prove their value and ?reason for being?. [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/10/02/a-tablet-for-the-masses/

Rita Imhof Angelika Frey Mika Bernhardt Ingeburg Liebermann