Interlocked is a three-dimensional brain teaser

interlocked
Back when I was a kid, I used to love crafting ornate puzzle boxes out of Lego. There would be just one way to open the box, by carefully shifting and rotating a bunch of pieces. Well, either that, or breaking the box in frustration.

Interlocked takes that spirit and turns it into a beautiful Flash game. It's a good thing the soundtrack is soothing, because the game itself can get pretty frustrating.

At the start of each level, you're presented with a box built out of blocks in different colors. You can click and drag the mouse to rotate the box any which way. Once you decide you want to shift a part of the box, hit SPACE to switch into "move" mode. You can then click any part of the box and drag it. Of course, you can only move a part as long as nothing is in its way. So it becomes a matter of understanding how the box is built, and what parts you need to move around so you could eventually take the box apart.

It's a tricky, difficult game, but it's a great brain teaser -- and definitely a keeper.

Interlocked is a three-dimensional brain teaser originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/29/interlocked-is-a-three-dimensional-brain-teaser/

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Add playback hotkeys to Amazon Cloud Player with a Chrome extension

Sure, Amazon's Cloud Player works -- as long as you're in the U.S. or willing to do some tinkering -- but it's fairly simplistic at the moment. There are plenty of features missing which we'd like to see added -- but since Cloud Player is a Web app we don't have to wait for Amazon!

Google Chrome users, for example, can add playback hotkeys with an extension called keyMazony. Once installed, you'll have keyboard control of your Amazon Cloud Player queue. keyMazony commands will work as long as you're in the same Chrome window as Cloud Player, even if its tab doesn't have focus. The key combinations are customizable as well -- just make sure you don't set up a combo that conflicts with another extension or Chrome's built-in keyboard shortcuts.

Add playback hotkeys to Amazon Cloud Player with a Chrome extension originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 31 Mar 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/31/add-playback-hotkeys-to-amazon-cloud-player-with-a-chrome-extens/

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Sony Ericsson bringing Ice Cream Sandwich to Xperia handsets?

HTC may be busy pondering its Android 4.0 future, but Sony Ericsson is apparently ready to take a bite out of Google's Ice Cream Sandwich. Yesterday, in a post on its Facebook page, Sony Ericsson's Dutch branch stated that it will indeed upgrade its Xperia lineup to the latest Android OS, though it didn't offer any details on release dates. We reached out to the manufacturer for confirmation, and received the following statement:
Sony Ericsson is currently rolling out the upgrade to Gingerbread 2.3.4 across its entire 2011 Xperia smartphone portfolio. This software upgrade will be available through a phased roll out in select markets. Beyond Gingerbread 2.3.4, we plan to upgrade our 2011 Xperia smartphone portfolio to the next Android platform made available to us.
The company went on to say that all official software announcements will be posted on its blog, so we'll let you know as soon as we have more details.

Sony Ericsson bringing Ice Cream Sandwich to Xperia handsets? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 05:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink All About Phones (Translated)  |  sourceSony Ericsson Nederland (Facebook)  | Email this | Comments


Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Q1D5G26lqP8/

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Major Chinese supplier halts rare earths production in attempt to boost prices

With prices sliding and uncertainty rising, China's biggest producer of rare earth minerals has suddenly decided to suspend all operations, in a move that could strain already tense relations with the West. Baotou Steel, a miner, refiner and vendor located in Inner Mongolia, announced the decision in a statement today, explaining that it's simply looking to "balance supply and demand" in response to a prolonged price slump within China. Since June, in fact, prices of neodymium oxide and europium oxide have declined by 34 and 35 percent, respectively, with many analysts attributing the drop to mounting economic uncertainty in the US and Europe. Earlier this year, the Chinese government announced plans to merge or close some 35 rare earths producers within the mineral-rich northern region of Inner Mongolia, effectively crowning Baotou Steel as the industry's epicenter. Now, of course, that's all changed, though the shutdown will only last for one month. It's also worth noting that China still exerts rather considerable influence upon the market, accounting for roughly 97 percent of all production of rare earths -- a group of 17 minerals used to manufacture gadgets like cellphones, flat-screen TVs and EV batteries, among others. And while new deposits and market projections may point to a transforming landscape, it's unlikely that Chinese influence will wane anytime soon -- much to the chagrin of Western free trade advocates.

Major Chinese supplier halts rare earths production in attempt to boost prices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/20/major-chinese-supplier-halts-rare-earths-production-in-attempt-t/

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Sony Ericsson bringing Ice Cream Sandwich to Xperia handsets?

HTC may be busy pondering its Android 4.0 future, but Sony Ericsson is apparently ready to take a bite out of Google's Ice Cream Sandwich. Yesterday, in a post on its Facebook page, Sony Ericsson's Dutch branch stated that it will indeed upgrade its Xperia lineup to the latest Android OS, though it didn't offer any details on release dates. We reached out to the manufacturer for confirmation, and received the following statement:
Sony Ericsson is currently rolling out the upgrade to Gingerbread 2.3.4 across its entire 2011 Xperia smartphone portfolio. This software upgrade will be available through a phased roll out in select markets. Beyond Gingerbread 2.3.4, we plan to upgrade our 2011 Xperia smartphone portfolio to the next Android platform made available to us.
The company went on to say that all official software announcements will be posted on its blog, so we'll let you know as soon as we have more details.

Sony Ericsson bringing Ice Cream Sandwich to Xperia handsets? originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 05:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink All About Phones (Translated)  |  sourceSony Ericsson Nederland (Facebook)  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/20/sony-ericsson-bringing-ice-cream-sandwich-to-xperia-handsets/

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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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Kindle 3 (Keyboard) not gone or forgotten ? Firmware Update

While the Amazon Kindle family is still growing with new models, it looks like Amazon hasn’t forgotten or stopped developing for those who have or prefer the Kindle 3 ( Keyboard ). Firmware 3.3 updates the K3 to match some of the features of the newly (to be) released siblings. Primarily : Download your archived [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/10/17/kindle-3-keyboard-not-gone-or-forgotten-firmware-update/

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British royal family announces iOS and Android wedding app

William and KateTo celebrate the imminent marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Royal Collection will release an Android an iOS app that chronicles the last seven royal marriages, including Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert in 1840.

Ironically, the app won't actually feature anything to do with William and Kate's marriage -- rather, it will focus on the "tradition, splendor and romance" that are intrinsic to British royal marriages. "[The app] will share the stories of past royal weddings and offer a wealth of historical context for the ceremony on April 29."

Unfortunately, the app, which has been lumbered with the fantastically creative name of 'Royal App,' won't be available until April 18 -- just 11 days before Kate's big day. It won't be free, either: it'll cost the rather princely sum of £1.79, or three of your Tea Party-loving dollars. The money will go to the Royal Collection, though, which is a good cause!

British royal family announces iOS and Android wedding app originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/british-royal-family-announces-ios-and-android-wedding-app/

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Only 3.8 Million Honeycomb Tablets Sold So Far

Android developer Al Sutton crunched some Google numbers and came up with the following result: Only 3.4 million Android Honeycomb tablets have been sold. That’s less tablets than Apple sold iPhones this last weekend. Sutton took Android’s “current distribution” numbers, which show the various slices of the Android pie occupied by the various version. V3.x, the [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/10/only-3-8-million-honeycomb-tablets-sold-so-far/

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