15 New Articles on MakeUseOf |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [May 2nd 2013]
- Is Buying Second-Hand Software Legal?
- Discover New Music With Twitter #music for Desktop & iPhone [Web & iOS]
- Can I Sync iTunes With My Android? Three Sync Apps, Compared
- MakeUseOf Tests: What’s The Best Voice Recognition Keyboard For Android?
- 3 Websites To Download Virtual Disk Images For VirtualBox
- Chameleon Launcher For Android Phones Offers Context-Based Home Screens And Big, Beautiful Widgets
- 3 Unusual Uses For A Gmail Account
- Action/Strategy Intensity Makes Extraction: Project Outbreak For Windows Phone Unmissable
- 12 New Versions Of Classic Retro Games, Free To Play
- 5 Best Body Contest Sites Where You Can Win Money For Being Fit
- 5 Minecraft How-To Tips To Start Crafting Like A Pro
- Wacky Wiki: 6 Fascinating People On Wikipedia
- The Gadgets & Games Of Kickstarter – May 2nd 2013 Edition
- Google Adds Popular Activities To Search Results For Apps That Use Google+ Sign In [Updates]
| Cool Websites and Tools [May 2nd 2013] Posted: 02 May 2013 09:31 PM PDT
These are just half of the websites that we discovered in the last couple of days. If you want us to send you daily round-ups of all cool websites we come across, leave your email here. Or follow us via RSS feed. The post Cool Websites and Tools [May 2nd 2013] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Is Buying Second-Hand Software Legal? Posted: 02 May 2013 08:00 PM PDT
This is a HUGE topic especially considering the international scope of MakeUseOf.com’s readership. I can’t possibly cover all the legal aspects, both criminal and civil, of anything for every country that our readers come from. My focus will be mostly on Canada and the United States, since that is where my familiarity lies. You will probably find that in the Commonwealth countries the laws are similar to Canada. Criminal LawWhat does illegal mean? That seems like a simple enough term, yet people use it in ways that have nothing to do with the meaning. For an activity to be illegal there has to be a law that prohibits the activity. If it’s just a recommendation or even a regulation against it, it isn’t really illegal. If we’re talking about criminal law, then no, I have not found a criminal code that lists selling second-hand software as illegal, specifically.
That being said, a criminal court might find you in breach of a copyright law. I’m not sure exactly how, or if that’s reasonable, but courts can make some pretty out there rulings when it comes to copyright law. I went through the Digital Media Copyright Act and the World Intellectual Property Organizations recommendations. I didn’t find anything explicitly against selling second-hand software. I didn’t even find anything remotely associated to second-hand software sales. Case LawI also searched through two well-known Intellectual Property Law websites, Benedict.com and The Intellectual Property Server. My searches on selling second-hand software came up with inconclusive results as well.
The ruling applies to both downloaded software and copies of software on removable media. What does that mean? I can sell you the license and let you download the software, say, from my FTP site. But only in the European Union for certain. The United States of America seems to have a somewhat more oppressive take on the sale of second hand or used software. They have something called the First Sale Doctrine when it comes to software. To quote Wired magazine:
What does that mean in plain English? It means, when it comes to software or anything carrying a license to use, no one has the right to sell that license again once they’ve bought it. How does that work for retailers? I don’t know. This case was a result of a man trying to sell used copies of Autodesk software on eBay. eBay, in my opinion and to their credit, fought this ruling along with the American Library Association. Can you imagine buying a book and not being able to resell it? The court said that when you buy a book you buy the book – you’re not just buying a license to read the book. Hmm. How does that work for eBooks? The appeals court sidestepped that issue by passing it off to Congress, saying that Congress can change copyright laws, “if it deems these or other policy considerations … require a different approach." What if you buy it in the U.S.A. and want to sell it in the E.U.? Who knows? End User License AgreementsThen there are the End User License Agreements (EULA). EULA’s are a form of contract law. Basically you are giving the software company consideration, your money, for their consideration – the right to use their software. Something of value has to transfer from both parties for a contract to be a contract. Most EULA’s have not been tested in civil courts so it can’t really be said what a EULA can and can’t do. At least not until you are in court with the software company. My guess is they have better lawyers than you and more money and time to throw at the case, so you’ll probably lose.
Adobe has this answer to the question, “Once I’ve upgraded, can I use, sell, or transfer the previous versions of the software?”
Clear as mud, right? Let’s see what Microsoft has to say on the issue. After over an hour of trying to navigate the Microsoft site to find the EULA for the most recent version of Office, I couldn’t find the EULA. So I took a look at the EULA for my copy of Office 2010. Here’s what I found:
I don’t know where to look from here. But I think they are trying to say they own the software and all I can do is use it. You might be amazed what is actually in some of these EULA’s. Read our article, 10 Ridiculous EULA Clauses That You May Have Already Agreed To, for some laughs and shocks. Digital Rights ManagementIn case there is any confusion about who owns the contents of whatever medium it is that you are using, many companies have come up with something called Digital Rights Management (DRM) methods. If you want to get a deeper view of what DRM is, check out the article, What Is DRM & Why Does It Exist If It's So Evil?
Basically, producers of content try to find a way to make sure that you don’t loan, rent, give, or sell their product by making it fail if you do. I’m not sure how this can be legal if there are used CD and record stores around. But it exists. The Take AwayIs selling second hand software illegal? I don’t know. I don’t think anyone really knows. It appears like there are a lot of opinions and desires out there, but it also seems that nothing gets answered for certain until the case goes to the courts. That is a really expensive, embarrassing, and time consuming process. Make the best decision that you can. Contact the maker of the software and ask them if you’re really concerned and don’t understand. That’s about all I can suggest. Image Credit: Criminal Court via gt8073a at Flickr, Gavel and Book via Shutterstock, EULA’s via DonkeyHotey at Flickr, DRM CD via rebopper at Flickr, The post Is Buying Second-Hand Software Legal? appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discover New Music With Twitter #music for Desktop & iPhone [Web & iOS] Posted: 02 May 2013 07:30 PM PDT
The tool is available in the form of a free iPhone app and as a web app that works in a standard desktop browser. Both the web and mobile versions feature the same functionality, so it’s time to find out whether the service is the powerful discovery tool that many of us have been hoping for. Hashtag MusicThe new #music service splits its expertise into four main sections on both the iOS and browser version – Popular, Emerging, Suggested and an area called #NowPlaying. On the iOS app, swiping left and right will move between these sections and in the web app users can simply hover the menu button in the top left corner – this should work a treat on touchscreens.
Popular artists are taken from Twitter activity site-wide, and it’s there you will find an overwhelming amount of commercial music. If you’re into more obscure sounds then you probably won’t spend too long here, but it’s still nice to get an up-to-date picture of what the micro-blogging community is currently listening to.
The Emerging section is designed to showcase so-called “hidden” talent, somehow extrapolated from Tweets. From what I’ve read on Twitter’s side, this list is mostly assembled from the #NowPlaying hashtag, something I’ll be getting to a little later in the review. It works fairly well, though some of the suggestions on this list aren’t as new as I’d perhaps like: established artists like The Gaslight Anthem appear next to truly obscure, non-verified accounts each time I have used the service.
The Suggested section takes artists you are following on Twitter and finds other similar artists based on these findings. It works, but you’ll need to follow enough artists to get a decent amount of suggestions. As someone who hasn’t really used Twitter to keep up with musicians, I found the few artists I was following when I started using the service produced some truly random results.
#NowPlaying is essentially a method of sharing music across the service. On both mobile and browser apps this features songs in Tweets tagged with the #NowPlaying hashtag from your feed, but its site-wide usage runs a little deeper. For artists the #NowPlaying hashtag is more than just a way to share your music, it’s how Twitter decides whether your band appears on the service or not. Artists wondering why they’re not recognised clearly need to Tweet more (and I’m sure Twitter would love that). Unsurprisingly, Twitter #music requires you have a Twitter account, just like recent video venture Vine. Much like Twitter itself, #music also has an area for your personal profile. Here you can see recognised artists you follow and jump straight to their profiles. I found it slightly disappointing to only have the big artists I follow appear on this page, but that’s where the #NowPlaying tag comes in. It’s a clever way for Twitter to get artists sending out updates and music as the social network tries to make itself the new go-to for socially-inclined music fans.
Tapping an artist will take you to their profile and give you the opportunity to follow them on Twitter as well as seeing who they follow. This is billed as a great way to discover similar music, but it does rather depend on the artists ability to follow relevant artists. Some don’t, and this throws #music off the scent a little but it’s a nice way of passing on recommendations (in theory). Streaming via Spotify & RdioIn addition to 30-second previews of tracks that are pulled from iTunes, along with a link to buy, #music integrates streaming from both Spotify and Rdio. Connecting my Spotify account was a painless affair, and on the mobile side of things allowed me to play music from Spotify within the #music app. On the desktop there is no web streaming, and (for Spotify at least) users must have the desktop app open on their desktop. The play link will then trigger the loading of a song on Spotify in the background. This is an ideal solution for using Twitter’s vast number of Tweets and baked-in discovery tools to listen to full-tracks on a service many users actually pay for. Occasionally something will go wrong when the song isn’t available on Spotify, and in this instance the 30-second iTunes clip won’t play either. This results in an error message about the song not being available which is a small bug, but one that the developers should probably fix soon.
I can’t vouch for Rdio but Spotify integration left me wanting more, particularly on the mobile side of things. When you listen to a song, and it plays in the #music app, there’s actually no way of saving that track with out exiting the app, opening Spotify, searching for it, and adding it to a playlist. The quickest way of “saving” a track is to actually Tweet it, a solution I didn’t find ideal. On the desktop this was less of an issue due to Spotify’s reliance on a desktop client. If #music created a playlist called “Liked from #music” in Spotify then I could sort out my saved tracks at a later point and I’d be quite happy. In ConclusionTwitter’s new #music experiment is a bold leap forward into territory that’s already familiar to the social network. Many fans follow their favourite bands and artists on Twitter to get up-to-date information, remixes and tour details. Twitter also provides a way for fans to connect on a slightly more personal level with their favourite musicians. #music rolls this into one neat, discovery package and once more artists start using the #NowPlaying tag then the already bustling service will feel a lot busier. Spotify and Rdio integration makes it the perfect accompaniment for users of these services, though a method of saving songs required to make it a truly useful partnership. Twitter has done well to launch the service with so much momentum and it’s well worth checking out, particularly if you use Spotify or Rdio. Android users look out for an app “soon”, according to Twitter. Download/Visit: Twitter #music for iPhone at the App Store / Twitter Music Desktop Have you tried Twitter #music? What do you think? Let us know in the comments below. The post Discover New Music With Twitter #music for Desktop & iPhone [Web & iOS] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Can I Sync iTunes With My Android? Three Sync Apps, Compared Posted: 02 May 2013 07:00 PM PDT
Maybe you’re hesitant to switch to Android because all of your media is on iTunes and you’re afraid of losing all of that by moving away from your iPhone. Or maybe you use Android but you prefer iTunes as your desktop media player. Either way, syncing from iTunes to Android can be a pain in the neck, but there are a few apps that may ease the process for you. Easy Phone Tunes
Easy Phone Tunes runs as a two-part setup: a desktop program that can read your iTunes data and an Android app that receives all of the sent data. This is a no-frills app for sure, void of any eye candy. This is as bare-bones as it gets, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad by any means. I consider the minimalism to be a plus. Without all the bells and whistles, using Easy Phone Tunes ends up being a very straightforward process. You run the desktop program, start up the Android app, click the big synchronization button, and everything is taken care of for you. It’s pretty much impossible to get it wrong. That’s how easy it is. This app is great because it can transfer the entire iTunes library or only select playlists, which offers a bit of flexibility to you based on how much data you need transferred. Unlike iTunes to Android Sync, which only runs on Windows, Easy Phone Tunes runs on both Windows and Mac. The one downside is that, while this app can sync tracks purchased from the iTunes Store, it cannot handle DRM-protected tracks. iSyncr Lite
iSyncr is a powerful media synchronizer for Android and it interfaces well with iTunes, but it costs $3.99 USD. Thankfully, they have a Lite version that still works for iTunes-to-Android syncs. As it turns out, iSyncr is created by the same team that developed Rocket Player, which I recently reviewed and loved. With its simple interface, iSyncr allows you to quickly and painlessly keep your iTunes and Android in line with each other. However, it does more than simple sync:
What are the limitations of the Lite version? You can only synchronize one playlist at a time and playlists are capped at 20 songs each. If you want to synchronize smart playlists, the Lite version doesn’t synchronize the play counts on the songs. That’s it in terms of limits. Depending on how you use your music, those limits might hurt you a great deal or not affect you at all. SyncTunes Wireless
SyncTunes Wireless shows up on Google Play as “iTunes to Android Wireless” so don’t get too confused. Like the previous apps on this list, SyncTunes Wireless works by transferring your iTunes data (e.g., music, videos, podcasts, etc.) over WiFi. It does not play music nor does it download music from the Internet. Personally, I think the interface is a bit ugly and therefore hard to navigate. You’ll need to install both the desktop program and the Android app, but they’ve written a full “how to get started” guide on their website to aid you through setup. One cool feature is that you can set filters on the songs you synchronize. For example, you can set it to only sync songs after a specific date or songs that are under a specific time length. On the other hand, this app is only available for Windows and it does not properly handle DRM-protected tracks. On top of all that, this app is split between a Free and a Premium version. The Free version has a 100 track/song limit and only one playlist. The limits can be removed by upgrading to Premium which costs $3.25 USD. Personally, I think it isn’t worth the price and you should only consider this app if the previous two in this list don’t work for you. ConclusionOf the three choices laid out here, I believe the best overall app is Easy Phone Tunes. Not only does it have the broadest appeal (it’s available on both Windows and Mac AND it’s really easy to use) but its feature set is complete and doesn’t leave you feeling like you deserve more. iSyncr Lite came in at a close second, but the Lite version limitations were too much for me. If you have the will to upgrade to the Premium version, though, I think iSyncr blows all of its competition right out of the water. Do you know of any other iTunes-to-Android synchronization apps that I missed? Please share them in the comments! The post Can I Sync iTunes With My Android? Three Sync Apps, Compared appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MakeUseOf Tests: What’s The Best Voice Recognition Keyboard For Android? Posted: 02 May 2013 06:30 PM PDT
But swiping is not the only input method on your Android device. Voice recognition has become increasingly popular, and more options are becoming available over time. One can hope that with this increased popularity comes increased accuracy as well. Can you really dictate whole sentences to your Android device, without wasting more time than it’s worth correcting mistakes? To find out, I took two major voice-enabled keyboards, and one lesser known one, and put them all to the test. Which one offers the best accuracy? Read on to find out! How Was The Testing Done?As mentioned above, I tested three different voice-input keyboards: Jelly Bean’s default (Google voice typing), Swype, and TouchPal. Each of these keyboards offers voice recognition which you can use to dictate emails, text messages, notes, and anything else you can think of. The feature is very easy to use in all these apps — simply tap the voice icon and start talking. As a test, I used the following paragraph from the book Life of Pi: “Can you believe it, Richard Parker? People, food, a bed. Life is ours once again. Oh, what bliss! The ship came closer still. It looked like an oil tanker. The shape of its bow was becoming distinct. Salvation wore a robe of black metal with white trim.” As you can see, there are no big or complicated words in this paragraph and no weird names, so I was in no way trying to trip or fail the apps. As most people don’t tend to use big or complicated words in emails, text messages and notes, this seemed like a good enough test. I tried to speak fairly slowly while dictating the paragraph, but not much slower than my normal speech. I used DiffChecker to find the differences between the original paragraph and the dictated ones. For the purposes of this review, I did not go into further features available in every app. I was only interested to see how accurate their voice-recognition feature it. Google Voice Typing
Google voice typing is available as part of Android’s default keyboard in Android 4.0+ (ICS) and up. If it’s not already enabled, you can enable it by accessing your device’s settings, tapping on “Language & input”, and ticking the box next to “Google voice typing”.
Google voice typing is also included in a another Android keyboard called SwiftKey, which you can purchase on Google Play for $1.99. A 30-day free trial is also available. Usage: Google voice typing types on the screen as you speak, so you can see the result as you go. It’s not immediate, though — there’s actually quite a lag — so you might get confused if you try to read the output while speaking. This lag also means that if you speak too quickly, the engine might miss or skip entire sentences. Results: Can you believe its, Richard Parker? People, the bed. Wife is ours once again. Oh, what do list! The ship them closer still. It looks like the oil tanker. The shape of its value would be coming to stink. Salvation Warroad of black metal with white trim.
To be fair, I should disclose that I tried this paragraph on both the default keyboard and on SwiftKey, so it turned out that I tried Google voice typing more times than the other two. While they both use the same engine, I somehow managed to get better results while using SwiftKey, but this was probably just sheer luck. Results, SwiftKey: Can you believe it, Richard Parker? People, food, a bed. Life is hours once again. Oh, what’s list! The ship came closer still. It looks like an oil tanker. The shape of a spell was becoming distinct. Salvation for a robe of black metal with white trim.
Conclusion: Between “Oh, what to do list!” and “the shape of its value would be coming to stink”, I don’t think much of my initial try. The second one looks much, much better, but I felt that I had to go a bit slower than I would like to get that result, and it still wasn’t perfect. And no matter what I did, Google heard “list” when I said “bliss”. Swype (Dragon Dictation)
Swype is probably one of the most familiar keyboards available for Android, and now also incorporates the Dragon Dictation voice dictionary. Swype is available for Android 2.2+, and you can download it from Google Play for $0.99. A 30-day free trial is also available. Usage: Unlike Google voice typing, Swype’s output doesn’t appear as you speak. Rather, you get to record your entire speech, in this case, my Life of Pi paragraph, and the app will transform it to text as soon as you hit “Done”. Depending on the length of your dictation, the analyses phase may take longer or shorter times, but is generally very fast. It’s worth noting that if you go too long without stopping, the screen might turn off and you’ll lose all your work, so it pays to stop for analysis every once in a while. Results: Can you believe it, Richard Parker? People, food, the bed. Life is ours once again. Oh, that place! I should can closer still. It looked like an oil tanker. The shape of its bow was becoming distinct. Salvation for rogue black metal with white trim.
Conclusion: Swype failed on the word bliss as well, but also on the much simpler word “ship”. In addition, it took a pretty simple phrase such as “wore a robe” and turned into something more complicated: “for rogue”. All in all, I was pretty satisfied with this result, but it still failed in places I felt it shouldn’t have. Just for laughs, I’ll also share what happened when I went too fast with Swype, talking as I would to a regular person standing in front of me:
Some of this is still perfect, but I had to laugh at “it’s an editorial tanker” and “the shape of its dad was becoming distinct”. TouchPal
For those of you who don’t own an Android 4.0+ device, TouchPal is the only option on this list that is completely free, no strings attached. While the app itself is available for Android 1.6+ devices, the voice-recognition feature, which is what we’re interested in, is only supported by Android 2.2+ devices. A promising option for those of you with older devices, but can it really deliver? Usage: Using TouchPal for dictation is a completely different experience than the other two apps I tested. While both Google voice typing and Swype let you speak freely until you were done, TouchPal cuts you off after each sentence. When you dictate a period, or when it just thinks a sentence is over, is simply stops recording and lets you choose between several difference suggestions for your sentence. On the one hand, this is a good way to ensure you have less mistakes by choosing the best suggestion for each sentence, but it also makes the dictation process slower and harder, with unexpected stops and a frequent need to repeat a sentence that was cut off in the middle. In order to test the app like all the others, I simply chose the first option the app suggested for each sentence I dictated. Results: can you believe it, Richard Parker? people, food, the bed. life is hours once again. Oh, what do list! you should come closer still. it looks like an oil tanker. the shape of a Down was the coming to stand. salvation Warroad black metal with white trim.
Conclusion: The first thing that jumps out is that TouchPal did not automatically capitalize the first letter in most sentences. This is surprising, because all my periods appeared as they should, and still TouchPal could not do the basic task of capitalizing for me. As for speech recognition, I wasn’t impressed. It seems that TouchPal took the mistakes made in all other keyboards, combined them, and added some of its own. So again I got the infamous “Oh, what to do list!” but I also got a “Warroad black metal”, and “the shape of a Down was coming to stand”, whatever that may be. Which Is Best?I must say, I’m pretty disappointed in all three of these after this test. I haven’t been using this kind of speech recognition much in the past year or so, and I definitely expected something a bit better, especially since Google’s voice typing in Google Now seems to always be pretty accurate. The only thing I can think of is that longer paragraphs are just harder to deal with than a simple query. If I had to choose one, I would go with Swype. If you don’t go too fast, its recognition abilities are superior to the others, if not perfect. If you own an Android 4.0+ device, you might as well use the default keyboard for free. Just make sure you speak slowly and give it time to catch up with you every once in a while, and you should be fine. Do you use speech recognition on your phone? Which is your favorite option? Share in the comments! The post MakeUseOf Tests: What’s The Best Voice Recognition Keyboard For Android? appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 Websites To Download Virtual Disk Images For VirtualBox Posted: 02 May 2013 05:30 PM PDT
Virtual machines are more useful than just for fun and games, and they’ve helped me a huge deal in work-related areas of my life. Using a virtual machine offers a great sandbox if you’re ever dealing with sketchy software that may be riddled with things that you’re way too nervous to allow on your main disk. While some trojans and malware are sophisticated enough to pass through virtual disks, it’s still a common practice. In a very well-written post from Justin just last year, it was thoroughly explained how you can get a VirtualBox up and running in practically a matter of minutes (depending on your download speed). In this post, I’d like to show you three great websites where you can find a heap of free virtual disk images. VirtualBoxes on SourceForgeVirtualBoxes takes on an extremely convenient and familiar approach to offering a very high number of free VDIs to you and I.
You’ve surely navigated and downloaded from SourceForge before, and VirtualBoxes follows the exact same format.
VirtualBoxes boasts 49 VDIs that you can download, all 100% free. They are as follows:
VirtualBoxes.orgThe Images section of VirtualBoxes.org actually amounts to nothing more than a new face wrapped around our previous entry’s downloads. So why list both? Because you have a choice! VirtualBoxes.org takes the VirtualBoxes SourceForge page and sets it off with a more user-friendly interface. If browsing the SourceForge page comes across as uncomfortable to you, VirtualBoxes.org makes an attempt at sorting the VDIs more effectively and even includes screenshots.
Downloads on this version of the website offer slightly more information in regards to each VDI. You are told the file size, active user accounts (if any), and any notes that people deem worth sharing.
Being practically the same website, VirtualBoxes.org also includes links to 49 active VDIs. VirtualBoxImages.comVirtualBoxImages.com is probably the most well-known collection of VDIs online.
Navigating through the downloads is incredibly easy. Just click the header for a VDI that you’re interested in and you’ll be taken to a page that offers a torrent link above a list of patch notes and some information regarding the VDI that you’ve chosen. You’ll also get a nice screenshot, a date for the most recent activation, and the release date of the VDI.
The available VDIs on this website are well into the hundreds, and here are a few examples of what you can expect to be offered:
These three (or two, depending on how you look at it) offer the best selection of clean and completely free virtual disk images that you should be able to find online. Remember, be cautious when you’re hunting down a website to download any VDIs or ISOs frpm because many of the lesser-known websites harbor malware-infected versions that are out to do nothing more than give you an incredibly hard time. Is there a reputable VDI vendor that I don’t have on the list? Please share any more that you know of in the comments section below! The post 3 Websites To Download Virtual Disk Images For VirtualBox appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chameleon Launcher For Android Phones Offers Context-Based Home Screens And Big, Beautiful Widgets Posted: 02 May 2013 04:30 PM PDT
Most Android launchers are relatively similar: Nova, Apex, and friends usually offer what you’d expect: One or more homescreens with some third-party widgets, an app drawer, and app folders. You can also change the wallpaper and customize the icons. Various launchers try to distinguish themselves by supporting screen swipes and other gestures (a Nova feature I use heavily), but at first blush, most are nearly identical. And then there’s Chameleon Launcher for Phones (as opposed to the original version for tablets). This is a bold rethinking of the launcher — not quite on the order of Facebook Home, but definitely distinguishable from most other launchers. It will also set you back about $3. Being different doesn’t mean it’s necessarily better, but it does merit a close look, especially given its slick aesthetics. First, a VideoBefore we start dissecting Chameleon and prodding it for weaknesses (of which there are a few), let’s give its makers a chance to present it and show what’s great about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN9m4UHdf-0 As you can see on the video, Chameleon tries to use every available pixel of screen real-estate by filling everything up with custom rectangular widgets. A homescreen can look like this:
That’s very dense, and a bit of an acquired taste. Also making a brief appearance in the video around the 13-second mark is the innovative Contexts feature, which we’ll discuss next. ContextsThe theory behind this feature is simple and compelling: Different times of day, or different environments, call for different launchers. Your morning commute may call for easy access to the weather, your Twitter feed, and a bunch of news apps like Flipboard. When you’re back home trying to unwind in the evening, you may not want a Twitter widget in front of you, preferring instead a list of your favorite games paired with an inspiring Instagram feed. By default, Chameleon ships with just a single context, named Home:
It is easy to rename it and add a new one. This simple screen is a good example of the interface style you’ll find throughout Chameleon: It looks at home on Android and blends in well with the angular ICS/Jelly Bean aesthetic, but it’s very much its own thing ,too. You can switch contexts manually, but Chameleon can also flip to a given context based on the time of day, a Wi-Fi network you’re connected to, or a location:
You can also combine more than one condition. Widgets and FoldersChameleon’s custom widgets make up a large part of the experience. Basically, everything is a widget — even app icons you put in the screen have to go into an “icon container,” which is just a widget:
This consistency makes it easy to create a screen that feels orderly despite being packed full of information. Widgets containing icons can’t be scrolled. In other words, the widget you see above can only contain four icons. If you want to load it with more icons, you can either resize it so it takes the full width of the screen (your options are half-width or full-width, nothing in the middle). You can create folders containing multiple icons by dropping one icon on top of another. You have to be careful, though:
The screenshot above shows me holding the icon for Spirit XHD (the semi-transparent one) between Zen Bound 2 and Temple Run. In that position, dropping the icon just kicked one of the other icons off the grid, replacing it with the Spirit XHD icon. What I really wanted to do was to create a folder, but that requires more careful positioning. Once created, a folder looks like this:
“Temple Run 2 & Stuff” was the name Chameleon automatically assigned for the folder. Needs Some WorkDo you see the empty YouTube widget in the screenshot above? This is not because I was too lazy to configure it:
I granted Chameleon Widget with access to my YouTube account repeatedly, but to no avail. The widget remained empty. The Instagram widget did work, but would sometimes act up:
Above you see just two rows of images being pulled in from Instagram. This was an occasional issue: At other times, the widget pulled in four rows, correctly filling up all available space. Also, keen-eyed readers may not that the screenshot above has a scrollbar at the bottom: By default, each context contains at least two homescreens. Scroll right, and you get this:
It’s an invitation to use the homescreen, which is nice. What isn’t as nice is that there is no way to remove that screen, so effectively, you will always have one more screen than you wanted. Final Thoughts: A Solid Concept Marred By Technical IssuesChameleon has a lot going for it. By offering intelligent contexts, making everything into a widget, and adhering to a strict grid, it transforms Android in subtle ways. The result looks fresh, but performance and reliability issues plague what could otherwise be a very compelling alternative for the traditional Android launchers out there. Will you be installing Chameleon, or will you wait for it to become more stable? The post Chameleon Launcher For Android Phones Offers Context-Based Home Screens And Big, Beautiful Widgets appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 Unusual Uses For A Gmail Account Posted: 02 May 2013 03:00 PM PDT
Since Gmail comes with so many in-depth features, some hidden and some available as browser add-ons, it can be used in ways that are not immediately obvious. We previously elaborated on alternative uses like writing a diary, keeping your diet, or organizing books and movies. Much has happened since then and we found that Gmail can handle some seriously challenging tasks now. Maintain Inbox Zero by Pairing Filters with AliasesFilters are fine and dandy, but they require a lot of manual intervention and sometimes fail. Each new subscription and every outdated filter means more emails will default to your inbox until you are bothered enough to fix or set up a new filter. Enter Gmail aliases. Instead of filtering emails by their content, use a unique email address for different purposes and set up filters based on the aliases emails were sent to. You can create Gmail aliases on the spot, simply by adding +xyz to the part before the @ sign. For example email sent to tina+feedback@thisdomain.com or tina+offer@thisdomain.com will arrive in the inbox of tina@thisdomain.com .
Now each time you sign up for something online or hand out your email address, decide where you want those emails to go and use the respective alias. By combining aliases with filters, your email will automatically get sorted and you won’t have to worry about a cluttered inbox anymore. Aliases can be used in many other creative ways :
Auto-Answer Emails with Canned ResponsesEssentially, canned responses are saved snippets of text that you can insert into your emails. Instead of typing the same stuff over and over again, you ‘can’ it once and subsequently dish it out whenever needed. The person on the other end receives the information they needed faster and you gain time, too. Find a great walk-through for setting up Gmail canned responses and auto-responders here.
Canned responses are great for manually pasting standard bits of text where you need them, but there are more clever things you can do with them! Paired with filters and aliases, canned responses can answer your email without you intervening at all. Here are a few ideas:
Manage Customer Relationships and ProjectsWhy use an additional service if you can meet all your CRM and PM needs within Gmail? Plenty of browser add-ons can turn Gmail into a productivity beast that will make other established tools look dated. My favorites are Boomerang and Streak, both available for Chrome. With Boomerang you can schedule emails and reminders. You can make archived emails return to your inbox when you need them, send emails on a specific date, and make sure you are reminded of an email you sent whether or not the recipient has replied in the meantime. It’s a great tool for managing projects with deadlines and following up on conversations. You could even automate emails with Birthday wishes, so you will never forget. The add-on is available for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari and the free version is limited to 10 emails per month. Streak on the other hand is a full-fledged project management add-on for teams. It offers templates for the most common types of projects, but you can also set up custom ones. With multiple people collaborating, each from their own inbox, you can assign tasks, have a colleague follow up on a support request, or collectively move projects from start to finish. Another great tool that belongs into this category is ActiveInbox. Unfortunately, I haven’t been using it myself (yet). However, it does look impressive. See for yourself: The free version of ActiveInbox offers all key features, except for deadlines, notes, GCal integration, and saving / syncing preferences. ConclusionWith Gmail you can do so much more than sending and receiving emails. It’s a versatile tool, which can be adapted to your needs. If there is an insane or creative use you can think of, there will be ways to make it happen. How do you tap the full potential of Gmail? Have you discovered any cool uses for Gmail that I didn’t address above? The post 3 Unusual Uses For A Gmail Account appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Action/Strategy Intensity Makes Extraction: Project Outbreak For Windows Phone Unmissable Posted: 02 May 2013 02:30 PM PDT
The result is that you take charge of a military contractor who drops in to exterminate the Opening with a request for a thumb print, the game sadly takes its time getting you into the action thanks to some slow loading and heavy handed storytelling, but once you're in… Playing Extraction: Project OutbreakThrowing your man into an urban landscape, the game requires just a couple of taps to get moving. Tap the map to change your character's position, and draw a ring around your target to prompt your character to start shooting. This combination of gestures means that you can move while shooting, enabling you to plan your next move as the targets are struck down. Weapons can be changed, and reloaded by tapping the appropriate weapon icon. Note that if ammo is low, a skill shot can be attempted, a single strike that will – if successful – take the enemy down.
Stats across the top of the screen inform you of your progress, measuring skill, health, and the number of zombies that remain. Although small, these can be quickly checked as you play. Gameplay can be disorientating at times as navigation across the map is tricky, even with the compass/map screen to check. Ammo and health pickups are available, but these should be used only when required. Completing MissionsTo complete a mission in Extraction: Project Outbreak, you need to meet the objectives. To help, different weapons can be selected, but early in the game you will only have access to a choice of one primary and one secondary weapon.
There are four basic mission types: Mission types:
In addition, there will be some secondary objectives, such as collecting intelligence, represented by a dropped item from a felled enemy. As an Xbox Live title, Extraction: Project Outbreak has a number of achievements that can be unlocked, contributing to your Gamerscore.
A successful mission will result in a congratulatory screen (as seen above) in which your performance will be summarised and credits and XP awarded. Between missions you will be returned to your player stat screen, where you can check which achievements have been earned and level your character – as long as sufficient XP has been earned. If you're in a particular hurry, however, you can level up in the game. Meanwhile weapons can also be upgraded, adding improved ammo or range, for instance. If you're short of in-game credits for weapons or skill upgrades you can purchase additional ones in-game, using your Xbox Gold as currency. Graphics & SoundGraphically, Extraction: Project Outbreak has a lot to do, combining large graphics of dropships with the urban landscape and the player characters and enemies. Even on the large display of a Lumia 920 Windows Phone 8 device, these can prove difficult to see at times, while the drops can easily be confused with non-bonus landscape items. Graphics, really, are little more than functional.
On the audio side, however, considerable atmosphere is achieved with dramatic music and excellent sound effects. Gun shots, bio-engineered weapons, explosions and more are featured, and work well with the graphics. Conclusion and LinkGraphical disappointments and occasional bugs aside (I've only experienced one crash-to-Start screen, although many of the bugs that occurred when the game was initially released seem to have been resolved), Extraction: Project Outbreak succeeds in being a fun action/strategy title with a lot to offer in terms of mission variation and gameplay depth. Available for just $0.99 (79p in the UK) from the Windows Phone Store, the Extraction: Project Outbreak game deserves its position in our guide to the Best of Windows Phone Apps. The post Action/Strategy Intensity Makes Extraction: Project Outbreak For Windows Phone Unmissable appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12 New Versions Of Classic Retro Games, Free To Play Posted: 02 May 2013 01:00 PM PDT
It’s hard to describe, now, just how exciting retro gameplay was in its time. Try as modern remakes do, many fail to capture the charm of the original games – graphical updates leave something missing. If you want to play brand new games that capture the old feeling of playing a retro title for the first time, then, you may need to turn to fan creations. So it’s a good thing there are so many: the Internet is nothing if not collaborative and an array of people have used it to collaborate – or at least share – re-imagined versions of retro classics. Even better: they’re almost all free for you to play. Mario Fan GamesIt’s no secret that I’ve got a soft spot for a certain Italian plumber from Japan – as a kid I drove my family nuts with my fandom. I’m not alone: tons of people commit a lot of free time to bring unofficial Mario games to the web.
TetrisWe’ve shown you the best Tetris clones to play online, so check that list of retro games out if you want a quick list. There are some surprising remakes out there, though.
Want to explore more alternative versions of Tetris? Check out these cool Tetris spinoff games, then. And a Host Of Others…
ConclusionOf course, fan-made remakes aren’t the best way to experience the best of yesterday. There are a variety of ways we preserve the fading games of yesterday. But fan games reflect the depth of love fans feel for these classics – a love official, modern remakes can’t capture. Have any of these games reminded you why you love a classic? Let’s talk below. Oh, and I just feel like I should mention Cave Story. This one isn’t a remake of any particular game – more like the embodiment of an entire era of gaming. But if you have happy memories playing 8-bit games, and want to relive them, check this one out. You won’t regret it – this game masterfully combines elements from a number of classic games, and it’s completely free for PC, Mac and Linux users. It’s the closest thing you’ll find to that childhood feeling you had playing games as a kid. The post 12 New Versions Of Classic Retro Games, Free To Play appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 Best Body Contest Sites Where You Can Win Money For Being Fit Posted: 02 May 2013 12:00 PM PDT
Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to be in shape, and everyone has different things that motivate them. One very powerful motivator has always been competition – or “gamification” as some people refer to it these days. One good example of this are the Expresso bikes at the local YMCA gym around here. They’re networked to the Internet, and will mark down your time/distance on a leaderboard that the YMCA staff post up on the bulletin board near the exercise equipment. I have to say, seeing my name up there on the list is quite motivating. It becomes a struggle to move your name further up to the top of the list. Suddenly, you’re competing out of pride in a sense, but you’re also gaining the benefit of weight-loss and a fit body. Another way to use this kind of motivation to drive your exercise regimen is by entering into fitness competitions – so-called best body contests – for cold, hard cash. If you’ve never heard about this, you may be surprised to learn that there are lots of “best body contest” sites out there that will give cash awards to people that transform their physiques dramatically through exercise. Entering a Best Body ContestHere at MakeUseOf, we used a whole lot of tricks to stay healthy and help our readers stay fit. We use exercise Android apps as a personal trainer or to track fitness goals, we use online programs to stay in shape; heck, we even use infographics for fitness inspiration! Well, what I’m going to offer you in this article is a list of five websites that annually give away cash to people that have developed their best body through exercise and diet. Prizes can range from a few hundred bucks to several thousand, but you know what, when you’re making the choice to run that last mile, or eat that jelly doughnut in the break room at work – that money can really be a great motivator to do the right thing. One site that has been doing this “Biggest Loser” style giveaway is a site called Healthy Loser. As far as I can tell, it’s also one of the bigger prizes I’ve seen for such an online contest.
If big money is a motivator, and you don’t mind submitting your photos and proving weight loss with “weigh-in” sessions (via Skype, video-taped or from a doctor), then this is the contest for you. Of course, one of the most motivational sites for me, any time I get back into working out, has always been BodyBuilding.com. So, it should come as no surprise that Body Building offers regular fitness challenges to its readers.
Of course, some “best body” contests are exactly that – they’re about nothing except who has got the best body. In that arena, TMZ has you covered with the TMZ Beachin’ Body Contest.
Given, you can win a $250 prize and other gifts in the process, but for that cash you’re pretty much presenting yourself to the TMZ readership as drool material for the opposite gender. You would think that the people that enter these are mostly aspiring fitness models – but you’ll actually find a wide assortment of firm bodies of both genders and all walks of life in the annual slideshow of contestants. If your speed is less about vanity and more about just melting off the fat and getting healthy, you may want to check out the Burn The Fat Challenge. This is a fitness site owned and operated by fitness guru and author Tom Venuto.
The contest rules imply that you don’t need to pay and that entering the contest is free, but it does say throughout that you need to be a Burn the Fat inner circle member, and joining features credit card icons, so I’m assuming that you do need to sign up as a member to enter these contests. With that said, the prizes aren’t too shabby – there are nearly two dozen sprees ranging from $500 to $100. This is an ideal place to enter contests if you’re looking for a fitness site to become a member of (with an associated monthly fee) – but if you’re just looking for a one-shot deal, you may want to go for one of the other contest sites listed in this article. Years ago, I read the book Body for Life by Bill Phillips. It was a very inspiring book, and helped me drop about 30 pounds through weight training and aerobic activity as well as diet. Since then, Body For Life has become a total brand in itself. I’m not sure if Bill Phillips is associated with it any more, but the site remains as motivational as ever through continued Body for Life fitness challenges.
Oh – and if you’re up for the challenge, supposedly the transformations you see above take just 12 weeks. Seriously. I kept up with the program in my late 20′s and got about half-way there, before life took over (as it always does). The transformation was certainly happening, that’s for sure. Maybe if I’d been enrolled in an actual contest – I might have made it! So, those are the 5 best body contests that have some of the better cash prizes out there. If you’re not so much into showing off your body in photos and just want some cash motivation – don’t forget to check with various health food or nutritional companies out there. Many times, they’ll encourage people to get healthy (and use their products) through cash motivation with such contests. One example of that is Your Best Body by YOR health products (located across the world).
So, as you can see, there’s plenty of motivation out there to get back in shape and earn some moola in the process. It’s spring already, so you know that those beach days are coming soon. Why not sign up at a few of these sites and get yourself ready for that fateful moment when you know you’re going to have to strip down to your swimsuit. Have you ever entered any fitness contests like this? Do you think you have what it takes to enter a best body contest? Offer your own experiences and fitness tips in the comments section below! Image Credit: bodybuilding man and woman via Shutterstock The post 5 Best Body Contest Sites Where You Can Win Money For Being Fit appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 Minecraft How-To Tips To Start Crafting Like A Pro Posted: 02 May 2013 11:00 AM PDT
Ultimately, the limits of Minecraft are (for the most part) limited only by your imagination. That being said, if you're struggling to come up with worthwhile ideas, you may want to check out some cool Minecraft how-to projects as well as Minecraft creations. If you're still at a loss, keep reading for additional Minecraft how-to ideas. Improve Your Crafting Knowledge
Texture Packs
Add-ons and TekkitThe default Minecraft experience is capable of a lot of cool stuff, but another great thing about Minecraft is that it can be extended with add-ons. Although you can hand pick add-ons and install them all manually according to the provided instructions, you can save some time by downloading Tekkit. Tekkit is a modified version of Minecraft which already includes a different texture pack along with plenty of highly interesting add-ons. With them, you can build machinery that can do a lot of work for you (think of a factory), but at the same time it requires a lot of work to get the materials and recipes needed to create all those pieces of machinery. PvP and MoreIs there any other game that you absolutely love? You can probably host your own version of that game on Minecraft and play accordingly. If one of your favorite games is a first-person shooter, you can have a PvP (player versus player) game using assorted weapons included in Minecraft. You can then also use the automatically generated terrain for a unique challenge during every session, or you can take the time to create your own Minecraft "maps" in which you can host your PvP sessions. Adventure MapsFinally, if you want an adventure, there are plenty of adventure maps available for Minecraft. These give you a developer-made world, along with plenty of instructions on how to complete the adventure map. Some are easier than others, and some are more interactive than others. Good ones can be a lot of fun though, so it's worth looking into if you'd like. If you need to see some examples, you can find plenty of people playing all sorts of adventure maps on YouTube. More Minecraft How-To Tips?These are some very general, yet creative ideas to get you going into many different uses of Minecraft. There's a reason why Minecraft has barely any plot, because it allows you to do virtually whatever you could possibly want. If you need any more ideas, you can find plenty of stuff by just browsing through Minecraft videos on YouTube. What's your favorite thing to do on Minecraft? Have you made any cool creations? Let us know in the comments! The post 5 Minecraft How-To Tips To Start Crafting Like A Pro appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wacky Wiki: 6 Fascinating People On Wikipedia Posted: 02 May 2013 10:00 AM PDT
Most people approach Wikipedia as they approach Google: they head there with a search term already in mind. But that approach may mean you miss out on much of what Wikipedia has to offer. It boasts entries that are obscure, odd, offbeat, and unlikely to be seen by more than a handful of people. Welcome to the world of weird Wikipedia. What follows is a list of six people with their own Wikipedia entries. They have been chosen for being interesting, intriguing, and (relatively) important. You may well have heard of some of these people, but I doubt you’ll have heard of them all. Each one has a fascinating background and will likely lead you further down the Wikipedia rabbit-hole. John Titor
John Titor is the name of a man claiming to be a time traveller from the future. Titor posted to Internet forums at the beginning of the millenium, outlining future events from the year 2000 to the year 2036, which is the time he claims to have travelled from. Titor detailed the state of affairs in his timeline, outlined the basic elements of his time machine, and made predictions for the coming years. Those predictions were not accurate, leading many to totally trash the claims. But it’s a fascinating story nonetheless. Stanislav Petrov
Stanislav Petrov is someone humanity should collectively thank. Without him it’s very possible that none of us would be alive today. This is due to Petrov preventing a possible nuclear war by correctly judging that the satellite warning system of the Soviet Air Defence Forces was malfunctioning. In 1983, Petrov decided not to report an incoming missile launched from the U.S. to his superiors, correctly judging that the report was erroneous. Had he not made this judgment call a missile could have been launched on the U.S. in retaliation, and an all-out nuclear war would have begun. Natasha Demkina
Natasha Demkina is a rare breed, as she has the ability to see inside the bodies of other people. In other words she possesses X-ray vision that allows her to diagnose people with illnesses. This is all just alleged, of course, but interestingly no one has been able to disprove her claims. Demkina’s amazing ability manifested when she was around 10-years-old, and people have been seeking out her help ever since. Demkina has travelled around the world demonstrating her extraordinary ability, but now works at the Center of Special Diagnostics of the Natalya Demkina (TSSD). Roy Sullivan
Roy Sullivan is either the luckiest man who ever lived or the unluckiest man who ever lived, depending on your point of view. Being struck by lightning on seven separate occasions is insanely unlucky, but he survived them all without any serious injury, which is amazing good luck. Rather unsurprisingly this makes Sullivan the holder of the Guinness World Records record for the most lightning strikes, with his occupation as a U.S. park ranger in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia contributing greatly. In an ironic final twist Sullivan ended up taking his own life at the age of 71. Wolfe+585, Senior
Wolfe+585, Senior is otherwise known as Hubert Blaine Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorff, Sr. But this is just a shortened version of his full name… Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Apollo Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenbergerdorffvoralternwarengewissenhaftschaferswessenschafewarenwohlgepflegeundsorgfaltigkeitbeschutzenvonangreifendurchihrraubgierigfeindewelchevoralternzwolftausendjahresvorandieerscheinenwanderersteerdemenschderraumschiffgebrauchlichtalsseinursprungvonkraftgestartseinlangefahrthinzwischensternartigraumaufdersuchenachdiesternwelchegehabtbewohnbarplanetenkreisedrehensichundwohinderneurassevonverstandigmenschlichkeitkonntefortplanzenundsicherfreuenanlebenslanglichfreudeundruhemitnichteinfurchtvorangreifenvonandererintelligentgeschopfsvonhinzwischensternartigraum, Senior. This is, as you may have guessed, the longest personal name ever recorded, comprising of 746 letters. Wolfe+585, Senior was a German immigrant to the U.S., where he became a typesetter. He died in 1985, and is likely to forever be the record holder as the category no longer exists. Guy Goma
Guy Goma is an ordinary man. In fact, he may be just about the most ordinary man you have ever read about online. However, he gained international fame when he was accidently interviewed on BBC News after being mistaken for someone else. The video of the incident is embedded below for your viewing pleasure. Goma was a Congolese business studies graduate who had applied for a job in the IT department of the BBC. While waiting to be interviewed for the position he was wrongly identified as technology expert Guy Kewney and interviewed live on air about the court case between Apple Computer and Apple Corps. His reaction to the mix-up was priceless.
ConclusionsI don’t know about you but I feel thoroughly enlightened after learning (more) about six people who I was previously either unaware of or only vaguely familiar with. And if you, like me, clicked on some of the links spread liberally throughout the Wikipedia entries for these people then you’re still discovering new things as we speak. These are just six of the amazing people whose lives are outlined on Wikipedia, but there are many more. If you have your own to share with the rest of the MakeUseOf readership then please leave a link and related response in the comments section below. The post Wacky Wiki: 6 Fascinating People On Wikipedia appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Gadgets & Games Of Kickstarter – May 2nd 2013 Edition Posted: 02 May 2013 09:31 AM PDT
Each Kickstarter is its own drama representing the hopes and dreams of at least one person. Will it succeed? Will it fail? Will it become a media sensation? It's impossible to know before the money starts flooding in – or doesn't So pop some popcorn and grab your mouse. We've got some Kickstarters to watch. The Up-And-ComersDrive With Lynk
Modern cars have a lot of electronics in them. This includes an on-board computer that monitors how the vehicle is driven and the state of the engine; RPMs, fuel consumption, pedal position, etc. With the correct device, this data can be harnessed to create an in-depth profile of driving habits, and Lynk wants to give consumers an easy way to access that information. I think it's a great idea, and the project does a good job of explaining the project – but the catch is a huge $750,000 goal. Can Lynk make it? Infinity Cell Kinect ChargerI recently wrote an article about how to charge a smartphone in an emergency. One reader responded that the methods, though they worked, usually relied on some external power source like a battery or solar panel. Infinity aims to solve that problem with a kinetic charger that can provide power to a smartphone by shaking it, or by walking with the charger attached to your waist. The project launched just a few days ago and has a goal of $155,000. I hope they make it, because there's certainly a need for this kind of device. Lightpack
A few years ago HDTV manufacturer began to sell televisions with a featured called Ambilight which projected light behind a television's display, effectively framing it. The goal of this feature was to reduce eye strain and improve perceived contrast; most reviewers were impressed, if not blown away. Now Lightpack wants to bring the same idea to every home theater or office with a small box that can be used with a television, PC or Mac. The project's creators say that Lightpack will reduce eye strain and increase perceived display size. Though just launched, the project has already made over $100,000 of its $261,962 goal. The CompetitorsCamelot Unchained
After a very successful early blitz that put the project past $1.2 million, Camelot unchained – a massively multiplayer game developed with Mark Jacobs at the head – has hit a bit of a roadblock. Revenue now sits at just over $1.4 million of the $2 million dollar goal and there is, at time of this writing, only a few days left. The situation for this PVP-MMO and spiritual successor to Dark Age of Camelot seems dire, but some large projects have seen a huge up-tick in pledges near their end and most projects that get past the halfway point fund. Flowstorm
Flowstorm's developers have done everything right. They have a great concept, have been covered at major media outlets, and have even provided a playable demo that lets anyone enjoy a few introductory levels for free. Yet, in spite of all this, the project sits at less than $5,000 of its modest $50,000 funding goal. That's a real shame – and once again demonstrates that new game ideas have a hard time competing against Kickstarters rooted in an established and beloved franchise. Skydog
This project is about a router. Seems boring, right? What makes Skydog different is that it's built from the ground up to work with a smartphone or tablet app that can monitor usage, change settings and more. The idea is similar to another project, called Guardian, that didn't make its goal – but that project also asked for stratospheric $358,000. Skydog wants a far more modest $75,000 and is extremely close with 19 days to go. It may even be funded by the time you read this. The LosersDUO
DUO is a high-performance 3D sensor that's aimed at the do-it-yourself crowd. If you're thinking of Kinect, you're not far off, but DUO is designed specifically to work with a wide range of hardware and provide better input quality than the Kinect can currently handle. The project seemed on track the last time we checked on it, but it lost momentum and came in at just $62,529; far below the $110,000 goal. A lack of updates may have been the problem, as the projects creators added just two, and one of those is a sad farewell written when it became clear the project wouldn’t fund. Guardian
If you want to know what not to do when creating a Kickstarter, check out Guardian. The idea is identical to Skydog, which is near its funding goal, but Guardian never broken $50,000. Why? The project's duration was too long, the funding goal too high, and updates too infrequent. The project page went for a month and half – yep, a month and a half – without update after the final update on March 9th. That's not how you get people to fork over $350,000. Picsu
Thunk. That's the sound of Picsu making $1,577 over the course of a month. That's, um, not a lot – and the project, which aimed to create a power supply for hobbyists that could be installed in a computer's 5.25" bay, only wanted $5,200. Picsu's failure to make its goal may have been due to the creator's misunderstanding about what the target market wants. Several commenters on the project's page pointed out features they'd like to see that weren't included. The WinnersSorry, folks – no winners this time around, though Skydog is so close that it may be funded by the time you read this. The post The Gadgets & Games Of Kickstarter – May 2nd 2013 Edition appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Google Adds Popular Activities To Search Results For Apps That Use Google+ Sign In [Updates] Posted: 02 May 2013 08:30 AM PDT
As always, Google is trying to tie everything in around its two main products — Google Search and Google+. In order to display these app activities on the search results page, apps will need to offer Google+ sign-in as an option. The common sign-in will allow Google to tally user activity, and show us what’s trending among a particular app’s users. This is a great way for Google to get apps and website to use the recently announced Google+ sign-in feature, which could otherwise become obsolete among other available options such as Facebook Connect.
Movie and music apps (and websites) are at the head of the queue for the new app activities, and Google will be starting app activities off with Deezer, Fandango, Flixster, Slacker Radio, Songza, SoundCloud and TuneIn. Other apps and services will soon join in their wake. Google says more improvements will be padded in as the feature rolls out gradually. More information available under the click of a mouse is always welcome, although Google’s increasing social integration into Search might not be welcome by all. What’s your take on this latest update? Source: Google Plus Blog The post Google Adds Popular Activities To Search Results For Apps That Use Google+ Sign In [Updates] appeared first on MakeUseOf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
![muo Cool Websites and Tools [May 2nd 2013]](http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/muo.jpg "Cool Websites and Tools [May 2nd 2013] image")
Check out some of the latest MakeUseOf discoveries. Most of the listed websites are FREE or come with a decent free account option. If you want to have similar cool website round-ups delivered to your daily email, subscribe 
This is by no means a legal document and don’t think that this substitutes for the opinions of an officer of the court. Let me be clear – I’m going to present to you the research that I’ve done and what it means to me. It is NOT legal advice. Now that is out of the way, lets get to the heart of the matter on whether buying second-hand software is legal or illegal.
Twitter’s new 
When I speak to friends who prefer iPhones over Androids, many of them cite “ease of synchronization” as one of their most important reasons. I have to hand it to Apple on that point: even though they like to create exclusivity with their products, they make integration between their products very easy – in particular, syncing from iTunes to a mobile device. But what if you have an Android?
A while ago, we took 
If you’ve yet to play around with your own virtual machine, you’re missing out. When I first found out that this type of technology was possible, literally emulating another operating system and essentially another “computer” within your own, I was pretty stunned and amazed. This opened a lot of possibilities for me and offered a lot of new things for me to explore and get familiar with. It was a real joy to go back and revisit my favorite OS of all time, Windows 98.
Gmail is a 
Those pesky zombies – even when they're not described as such, have become the de facto earthbound opponent in many video games, and that's the case in 
Re-live the thrill of playing retro games like Mario, Sonic and Megaman for the first time – thanks to fan creations. If you want to play new versions of your favorite retro game classics – but don’t want to wait for the company behind them to put something out – it’s time to dig into the vast array of fan-made, free to play retro remakes from around the web.
Recently, I found myself getting back into another “health” kick. Maybe it’s springtime rolling around the corner, and the idea that there’s no longer a nice, loose winter coat to cover up all of that weight gain during the winter. Or maybe it’s just the fact that being fit just feels a whole lot better and brings more energy.
Even since before its official release in November 2011, 
Perhaps you haven't heard, but there is a nifty website called 
The face of search could change once again with Google’s new “app activities” in Google Search. From now on, any app or website that allows its users to use Google+ sign-in, would be able to showcase what’s popular with its users alongside its Google search results. Searching for Fandango, for example, will automatically show the top movies among Google users, and click a movie will lead directly to its page on Fandango.
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