Words With Friends for Android updated, promises "smoother game experience"

wordswithfriends
As several of you noted in the comments to our post asking for cross-platform iOS/Android games, Words With Friends for Android does not provide the smoothest gaming experience... and that's being rather charitable.

You might be happy to hear that a couple of days ago Zynga released an update which promises to solve many of the Android-specific issues, such as notifications not popping up.

Sadly, installing the update is not a smooth experience; you have to manually uninstall the previous version, and then go to the Android Market and install it. What's nice is that it doesn't lose your saved games - this screenshot shows a game I've started before the update and continued after updating.

How's the new update working out for you? Let us know in the comments!

Words With Friends for Android updated, promises "smoother game experience" originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 04 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/04/words-with-friends-for-android-updated-promises-smoother-game/

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IE9 and Firefox 4 post top marks in Web browser power use comparison

Over on the Internet Explorer Blog, Microsoft has posted results from an extensive comparison of the top five Web browsers. The goal: to determine whether Internet Explorer 9, Firefox 4, Chrome 10, Safari 5, or Opera 11 is able to squeeze the most life out of your laptop's battery.

A baseline was determined with test systems sitting idle, and then browsers were pointed at about:blank, a news site, the HTML5 Galactic demo, and the IE9 fish tank demo. Perhaps unsurprisingly, IE9 came out on top -- though Firefox 4 was a very close second on nearly every test. As you can see, the other browsers didn't necessarily fare quite as well, with Google Chrome, Safari, and Opera all posting significantly worse scores. In Opera 11's case, a laptop battery would last over one hour more with Internet Explorer 9 installed.


But what we'd really like to know is where did Microsoft find the dilithium crystals required to run a Galactic Total Power Consumption test...

IE9 and Firefox 4 post top marks in Web browser power use comparison originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 07:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/30/ie9-and-firefox-4-post-top-marks-in-pc-power-use-comparison/

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Speedtest.net overhauled with new look, new features

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

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

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

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How the Army Trains Soldiers For an IED Attack [Military]

Not all of the US military's simulators are designed for pilots. At the Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center combatants can now experience what it's like when an improvised explosive device goes off, and how to deal with the aftermath. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/p3NAf7-p8-k/how-the-army-trains-soldiers-for-an-ied-attack

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Ice Cream Sandwich enters Android's versioning chart with 0.6 percent

Android versions

Google's just released the latest numbers showing the distribution of the various versions of Android. Ice Cream Sandwich has made the list for the first time, with Android 4.0 totalling 0.6 percent of the devices activated. That's actually split into two versions of ICS -- Android 4.0 through 4.0.2, which comprises the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and Android 4.0.3, which is currently rolling out to the Samsung Nexus S. (The Galaxy Nexus will be updated to 4.0.3 in good time.) 

In other unexpected news, Honeycomb (Android 3.x) has hit a total 3.3 percent, Gingerbread (Android 2.3) is up a bit more, now totalling 55.5 percent, and Froyo (Android 2.2) is down to 30.4 percent. Eclair (Android 2.1) has dropped to 8.5 percent, while Donut (Android 1.6) hit 1.1 percent, and Cupcake (Android 1.5) is at 0.6 percent.

Again, that's the first showing for Ice Cream Sandwich. We'll want to watch how quickly that one grows, whether it's from new devices (which we really hope to see soon), or software updates (which we hope to see just as soon).

Numbers are for the two weeks ending Jan. 3

Source: Android Developer Blog

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/4ohTqukeGow/story01.htm

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Urban Tool Wallets Review

Urban Tool is an Austrian company that makes “stylish accessories for portable gadgets.”  They also make small accessories like these wallets they sent to The Gadgeteer.  Let’s give them a look. Most of the pictures in this review, including the top photo, can be clicked for an enlarged view. Urban Tool identifies these as Wallet [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/01/04/urban-tool-wallets-review/

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Konstruct for iOS creates generative augmented reality art with your voice

Konstruct generative augmented reality art for iOS
If you have an artistic temperament, but you weren't blessed with steady hands or an eye for color, Konstruct might be the app for you. Not only does the iPhone app let you produce generative art using words, warbles and whistles, but it also uses augmented reality to bring your artistic creation to life.

To get started, you first need to print out the Konstruct marker and place it wherever you'd like to create your AR sculpture -- it could be on your living room wall, or on the floor of your bathroom, it doesn't matter. Open the app, point your iPhone at the marker, and start making some noises! Once you're done, you can save your creation, or simply wipe the slate clean and start again.

The volume of your voice affects the size of the shapes that are drawn on the screen, and you can move your head around to alter the path of your 'brush' -- but to change the shape of your brush or modify the color palette you have to use a menu. Without knowledge of the app's internal workings, it's hard to say what the actual difference between whistling, talking and singing is -- and judging by the developer's affinity for whistling in the demo video (after the break), the app probably doesn't perform that much analysis on your input.

Still, Konstruct is just a prototype! A later version could do away with menus and rely entirely on the location, tonality, quality and amplitude of your voice -- and judging by the the words of the developer, James Alliban, there is definitely more in store for Konstruct: "The idea of transforming entire cities into user generated virtual art galleries really appeals to me. I see Konstruct as an early prototype that will hopefully be realised in this form in the future."

Download Konstruct for free from the App Store (iPhone 3GS and 4 only)

[Thanks to Richard for the tip!]

Continue reading Konstruct for iOS creates generative augmented reality art with your voice

Konstruct for iOS creates generative augmented reality art with your voice originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/konstruct-for-ios-creates-generative-augmented-reality-art-with/

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Luminch One: an Arduino lamp you control with the wave of a hand (video)

Luminch One
A DIY lamp may not sound like the most thrilling project on Earth, but the Luminch One is special. Not only does this hand-made light from Francisco Castro provide illumination -- the most important function of any lamp -- but it does so while looking beautiful and providing a level of interactivity missing from most household lighting solutions. Underneath the pixelated-looking paper shade is an LED bulb controlled by an Arduino hooked up to an IR sensor. Simply wave your hand over the top to turn it on and off. You can also control the brightness by holding your hand above the stylized beacon momentarily to engage the dimmer, then moving your hand up and down to set your preferred lumen level. Check out the video after the break and head on over to the source for complete build instructions.

Continue reading Luminch One: an Arduino lamp you control with the wave of a hand (video)

Luminch One: an Arduino lamp you control with the wave of a hand (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/eU8jDwastpk/

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TiVo, AT&T patent settlement will send at least $215 million TiVo's way through 2018

After leveraging its DVR patent portfolio into a $500 million settlement with Dish Network and Echostar TiVo has made it rain again, cutting a mutual patent licensing deal with AT&T that settles their litigation and will result in at least $215 million heading its way through 2018. Additional license fees are possible based on AT&T's U-verse DVR subscriber base, so besides the $51 million up front and recurring payments after that, there could be even more money at stake. Despite intervention on its behalf by Microsoft, AT&T apparently decided caving was the best option. Next we'll see what happens next in a similar battle with Verizon and whether TiVo decides to continue developing its products or just sit back and let the licensing money roll in. CEO Tom Rogers said in a statement (included after the break) that it provides TiVo rights to "innovate TiVo products and services under license from AT&T", although if it were us we'd make the call after taking a Scrooge McDuck-style dive into a pool filled with Dish and AT&T's money.

Continue reading TiVo, AT&T patent settlement will send at least $215 million TiVo's way through 2018

TiVo, AT&T patent settlement will send at least $215 million TiVo's way through 2018 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/03/tivo-att-patent-settlement-dvr-lawsuit/

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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/

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