Week two of Sony’s holiday sale offers free games, bigger discounts

Retro City Rampage -- Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure reference

Sony's efforts to mark down its PlayStation Network offerings enters week two and the deals to be had are even better than they were last week.

Last week we brought you word of Sony’s PlayStation Network holiday sale. In sum, the company plans to serve up a huge selection of discounts on over 40 different games each week until the end of 2012, with new games (and thus new deals) appearing to replace the old ones every seven days. While those aforementioned deals are largely now defunct, the company has rolled out a new selection of discounts, all of which can be found listed on the official PlayStation.blog.

Or, assuming you’re too lazy to click through that link, you can find the full list below:

Instant Game Collection

  • Retro City Rampage (both PS3 & PS Vita)

Discounts

  • Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty (30%) – PS Plus Price $7.35
  • Galaga Legions DX (30%) – PS Plus Price $4.90
  • Mortal Kombat (30%) – PS Plus Price $14.70
  • Duke Nukem Forever (30%) – PS Plus Price $9.80
  • Simpsons The Arcade Game (30%) – PS Plus Price $4.90
  • Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational Vita (30%) – PS Plus Price $8.74
  • Mafia II (30%) – PS Plus Price $9.80
  • Killzone 3 Multiplayer (30%) – PS Plus Price $7.35
  • Unit 13 (30%) – PS Plus Price $17.49
  • Journey (30%) – PS Plus Price $7.35
  • Papo & Yo (30%) – PS Plus Price $7.35
  • Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (30%) – PS Plus Price $17.14
  • Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD (30%) – PS Plus Price $7.34
  • Starhawk (30%) – PS Plus Price $19.60

Last Chance (Leaving on 12/31)

  • PS Vita Instant Game Collection – Jet Set Radio
  • PS3 Instant Game Collection – BioShock 2
  • Instant Game Collection – Bloodrayne Betrayal
  • Discount – Music Unlimited Premium 1 Year Subscription
  • Discount – Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty
  • Discount – Galaga Legions DX
  • Discount – Mortal Kombat
  • Discount – Duke Nukem Forever
  • Discount – Simpsons The Arcade Game
  • Discount – Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational Vita
  • Discount – Mafia II
  • Discount – Killzone 3 Multiplayer
  • Discount – Unit 13
  • Discount – Journey
  • Discount – Papo & Yo
  • Discount – Metal Gear Solid HD Collection PS3
  • Discount – Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater HD
  • Discount – Starhawk
You’ll notice that helpfully, while the discounts from last week are technically no longer in effect, a number of them have been re-discounted for this week’s sale. Those would be the titles listed under the “Last Chance” section. Further, if you’re wondering what that “Instant Game Collection” heading refers to, that would be games that have been newly added to the list of titles available for free to PlayStation Plus subscribers. We’re specifically highlighting this as this week’s offering of Retro City Rampage should appeal to any PlayStation 3 or Vita owners. The game is a phenomenal parody of both classic 8-bit games and Grand Theft Auto-style open world titles, slathered in a thick coating of pop culture references. One mission might have you piloting the time-traveling phone booth seen in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, while another might see your character being beaten to death by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Now that’s it’s free you’ve got no excuse to miss out on one of the best indie games in recent memory.
 
As for the rest of the games, there are few caveats here. Obviously you need to own whichever bit of console hardware they appear on, and must have a functional Internet connection with which to connect to the PlayStation Network, but otherwise the only thing you need remember is that a PlayStation Plus account will grant you better discounts than not having one. The subscription will only set you back $50 per year, so if there are enough titles here that catch your eye, the purchase might be entirely subsidized by the amount of cash you could save in discounts. We’re sure that’s part of Sony’s marketing scheme, but it’s a clever scheme so we’re not going to fault the company for this plan.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

J.J. Abrams explains why he won’t be directing Star Wars: Episode VII

J.J. Abrams

Though he was approached to helm the upcoming, wildly anticipated Star Wars: Episode VII, geek fan favorite J.J. Abrams turned down the opportunity to instead focus on his nascent Star Trek franchise.

On October 30 it was announced that George Lucas had sold Lucasfilm to the massive Disney corporation. That was huge news in and of itself, but there was a second related bit of info that inspired the online masses to gasp in shock and tentative excitment: Disney had decided to waste no time in exploiting its new film rights and would be pushing Star Wars: Episode VII into production immediately.

While the worldwide geek collective has yet to decide whether or not this is good news, we’ve instead turned our attentions to sussing out and debating the pros and cons of potential directors for the movie. One of the biggest, most talked about names on this list has always been J.J. Abrams, an auteur who has long been a favorite among fans of genre fare, both for his work on clever television shows like Lost and for his unexpectedly excellent reboot of Paramount’s Star Trek franchise with 2009′s film of the same name. Unfortunately, a newly-published piece in Empire magazine (via The Hollywod Reporter) explains why Abrams won’t be seated in the director’s chair when Star Trek: Episode VII hits theaters in 2015.

“There were the very early conversations [with Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy] and I quickly said that, because of my loyalty to Star Trek and also just being a fan, I wouldn’t even want to be involved in the next version of those things,” Abrams said. “I declined any involvement very early on. I’d rather be in the audience not knowing what was coming, rather than being involved in the minutiae of making them.”

Abrams claims that while he was a much bigger Star Wars fan growing up than he was a Star Trek fan, it’s exactly this apathy that makes him a perfect director for the latter franchise. He holds the events of the previous Star Wars films to be sacrosanct, thus making it much more difficult to effectively reboot the series without the direct involvement of George Lucas. Star Trek however, offers a fictional universe in which he’s perfectly comfortable with taking the kinds of creative risks that made his 2009 film such a success.

Obviously this comes as sad news for fans hoping to see the trademark Abrams style applied to the Star Wars universe, but it does allow the masses to continue their ongoing online argument over who should helm the film. At this point we’ve almost entirely exhausted the selection of big-name directors likely to be tied to Star Wars purely by virtue of their prior work in the sci-fi genre, so it looks increasingly as if Star Wars: Episode VII will be made by a lesser-known auteur. That greatly expands the number of potential candidates, so until Disney/Lucasfilm offers up solid info on the director’s identity, arguments over who it might be will continue to rage unabated.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

The many ways wireless carriers changed in 2012

2012 brought a lot of changes to mobile. New networks, new technology, new contracts. It all happened so fast, so it'd be easy to forget exactly what happened. We'll flash back to January and take a look at everything that changed this year - and how it might effect your mobile experience in years to come.

If anyone bought into the whole 2012 “end of the world” thing, it sure wasn’t the big guys in the mobile industry. This year ushered in all kinds of changes, from how phone contracts work to who was in charge of companies. 2012 seemed like more of a building block year than anything, with changes put in place to be expanded on in future months and years. This is probably the year that you got a new phone, maybe from a new carrier, with a brand new subscription structure that connects to a newly built wireless network. Let’s take a look back at the big changes 2012 brought.

 

New plans focus on data, for better or worse

In an impressively forward-thinking attempt to build phone contracts in a way that accounted for the increasing popularity and use of smartphones and wireless networks, some of the biggest mobile network providers decided to move away from call and text minutes and instead charge for data usage. Not wanting to seem too on top of things, though, the new plans were structured in a way that took a flow chart and instruction booklet to understand. AT&T and Verizon set up their subscriptions to be priced based on data usage, making texting, and phone calls essentially free. Because they’re both built on the idea of sharing data across many devices, the system managed to do little good for people that still use their phones as, you know, phones. Many cried out for the return of their unlimited data, something now treated like an expiring natural resource. While there’s fear this route only serves to hurt consumers, it appears it’s a path we’re destined to go down.

Expanding arm of LTE keeps reaching for more

The biggest reason for the new approach to data distribution is the ever-expanding coverage of 4G LTE networks and constant sales of 4G ready phones. The impressively fast wireless network has popped up all over, starting in major markets and expanding across the map. Verizon and AT&T are in a race to cover the entire U.S. with 4G LTE access, while other companies slowly get involved in attempts to keep up. Building the infrastructure for a 4G network is a long and expensive process, but lagging behind can cost companies subscribers. Just ask Sprint. 4G has become so important that even the smaller players like Cricket are committing to it to stay competitive. American phone owners should be grateful, though. The UK is just starting to get it’s very first 4G network up and running.

Big bets on NFC

One of the biggest winners in mobile this year was Samsung. It turns itself into one of the top dogs in phones and solds piles of units. Part of its success might be attributed to Near-Field Communications (NFC). It’s the technology that powers the S Beam feature on the Galaxy handsets and it’s likely to be a lot more prominent in coming years. Samsung seems to be proving the worth of the otherwise uncertain idea, something that will surely please the folks behind mobile wallets and retailers that embrace them. Google is in on this investment, because … why not? It’s not the only one, though. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile joined forces to create Isis, which also launched this year in a few markets. While mobile wallets appear to be the most common use for NFC, who knows where else we’ll see it pop up in the future?

Foreign investments and mergers

America is a huge market for mobile, but there’s not a ton of competition. The big guys keep getting bigger and the little guys get absorbed by the ever-growing belly of major providers. With money to be made and competition to be created, it’s time for American consumers to get served a platter of mobile cuisine from around the world. It’s no surprise that Softbank, one of the biggest non-American phone providers and one known for buying up companies, put cash on the table for whatever is left of Sprint. Those scraps don’t come cheap, as the purchase cost Softbank $20.1 billion. The influence of the Japanese company could serve consumers well, or it could just be Softbank looking to make a couple extra bucks in a bigger market. While Sprint got a Pacific influence, MetroPCS is getting more of a European vibe after agreeing to a merger with Deutsche Telekom owned T-Mobile. Putting together the fourth and fifth biggest mobile companies in the United States, we’ll look for Deutsche Telekom to build an affordable alternative to the big guys with the Frankenstein-like creation of the fused T-Mobile and MetroPCS.

New faces in old places

When a company is subject to merger or takeover, it’s expected to see some new faces pop up on the board of directors. It’s not too often you see changes when things are going well, though. Despite being the most profitable company in the history of ever, Apple decided it needed some new blood after a good but not great year. With the pressure on, Apple decided to dump Google and make it’s own map app, and counted on Richard Williamson to direct the app to success. He, much like the app he help designed, missed the target destination. Williamson got the boot shortly after the iOS 6 change over, but he wasn’t the only one out the door. He wasn’t the only one, as software chief Scott Forstall and retail boss John Browett were sent packing as well. Apple’s headed in a new direction despite success, which is a problem Research in Motion wished it had. The maker of the Blackberry had two CEOs step down at the start of the year, handing over the reins to Thorsten Heins. If 2013 is the year of the Blackberry or if a different fruit-based phone company stays on top, we’ll likely be looking back at 2012 and saying how great those moves were.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

EA removes links to real-world gun manufacturers from Medal of Honor Warfighter site

Medal of Honor Warfighter

Though it heralded the link to real guns in the run-up to Medal of Honor Warfighter's release, EA has cut ties with manufacturers in the wake of the recent shooting rampage in Newtown, CT.

When EA first began winding up the gears on the Medal of Honor Warfighter PR machine, the company wanted to highlight the game’s realism. That’s nothing new for the first-person shooter genre, and especially not the military-focused subgenre, but EA took it a step further than most publishers had at any point previous. If you were to visit the official site for Medal of Honor Warfighter at the time of the game’s October 23 release you would have noticed that alongside the standard lists of game features and screeenshots, EA had included links to the websites of the real world companies who manufacture the weapons found in the game. Ostensibly the idea was that players would enjoy shooting virtual insurgents with a given weapon so much that they’d be unable to resist the temptation to rush out and buy a .50cal anti-material rifle of their own.

That’s a pretty ballsy marketing scheme, no matter how you look at it, but in the wake of the tragedy that befall Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, it becomes undeniably macabre. While EA didn’t immediately realize how this marketing effort would look in that light, the Internet masses (specifically the fine people over at The Gameological Society) called the company out, and EA was quick to claim that it had effectively forgotten about the links — no surprise given the financial and critical failure of Warfighter — but then removed them post-haste. Now a visit to the Warfighter site will only include overt advertising links to Zero Dark Thirty, a film based on the events of the SEAL raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound that resulted in the death of the terrorist leader. An in-game map pack based on the film may be a baffling promotional tie-in, but it’s certainly less chilling than efforts to boost sales of military weaponry via a game that is arguably more popular among teenagers than it is discerning adults.

Despite EA’s efforts to strike its ill-advised marketing efforts from historical record, the Internet never forgets and those who look hard enough will still find remnants of the campaign. As the New York Times points out, part of this effort included EA filming a promotional video with arms designer/manufacturer Magpul which is still readily available on YouTube. The video, which clocks in at just a bit over three minutes, is mostly a behind-the-scenes look at a promotional photoshoot for Medal of Honor Warfighter, but it’s quite apparent from the lingering shots focused on assault rifles and their accessories that the footage (and resulting promotional photos) could quite accurately be described as “gun porn.”

In reaction to all of this the Times published an article this morning highlighting the until-recently growing trend of games being cross promoted alongside the real-world incarnations of the weapons they feature. The piece cites games like Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 as well as EA’s Battlefield 3 as two examples, before stating that neither publisher received any monetary compensation from weapons manufacturers for including their guns within these games. Instead, it seems, the gun manufacturers are perfectly happy to license their guns’ likenesses to gaming companies purely for the exposure it provides. The article is quite illuminating, and a great read for anyone intrigued by how these efforts might change in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting — or, more worryingly, why these efforts might not change at all in the long run. As the gaming publishers point out, these companies view such efforts as no different than their titles which use other real-world people and items, such as the cars found in EA’s Need for Speed titles, or the NFL players seen in EA’s ubiquitous Madden football franchise. Only time will tell if the recent tragedy might inspire true change in EA’s advertising plans.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Get Episode 1 of The Walking Dead on Xbox Live for free

The Walking Dead

Telltale Games has announced that the first episode of The Walking Dead is available for free download on the Xbox Live Marketplace from now until the end of the year.

You’ve already played The Walking Dead, right? You read our reviews of the episodic title’s five entries or our overall review and decided that the game’s $5 per episode asking price was perfectly reasonable, no? Or maybe you saw our Best Games of the Year list that named Telltale’s adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s comic series as the best title of 2012. Surely that would have convinced you to rush out and buy it.

Why are you looking so glum? You haven’t played The Walking Dead? Seriously? Well, we won’t fault you for not paying attention, but now you have no excuse. Last week Telltale made the first episode of The Walking Dead available for free on iOS, and this week the company has announced a similar plan to offer Episode 1 to all Xbox 360 owners via the Xbox Live Marketplace.

Have a look at what appeared on the official Telltale Twitter account last night:

FREE FOR A LIMITED TIME @telltalegames  # TheWalkingDead Ep 1 FREE on @Xbox LIVE Marketplace!

The best part? There’s no loopholes and no hurdles to jump over to pick up the first episode. Simply fire up the Xbox Live Marketplace, bring up The Walking Dead, and download the initial entry totally gratis. The one caveat is that this deal is only good until midnight on December 31, so you’ve got about a week left to download and enjoy Episode 1.

Once you’ve enjoyed Episode 1 though, you’re likely to want to play through the game’s other four episodes. Luckily for you they’ve remained at that low $5 price point. Assuming you pick up Episode 1 for free, the rest of the game will only set you back $20, which is a great deal for the best, most engaging story to hit the gaming world in 2012.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Samsung reportedly targeting half a billion phone sales in 2013

Samsung reportedly targeting half a billion phone sales in 2013

Can the forthcoming Galaxy S4 help Samsung past 500m sales in 2013?

Samsung has set its sights on shifting an astonishing half a billion mobile phones in 2013, according to reports in Korea.

The Korea Times quotes unnamed sources at Samsung and its suppliers, who claimed the Seoul-based company wants to improve upon by 20 per cent upon a reported 420m sales in 2012.

That would take the total sales up to 510 million, with 390 million smartphone units and 120 million feature phone sales targeted.

Achieving such a figure would take Samsung further ahead of rivals like Nokia, which it overtook to become the world's largest phone manufacturer earlier this year.

Roll up for the Galaxy S4

Much of Samsung's ability to continue this year's incredible momentum will depend upon the success of the heavily-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone.

The Galaxy S3 has been a sales juggernaut and the first handset to really surpass Apple's iPhone in terms of critical acclaim.

If the S4 has the same impact, then there's no reason why Samsung can't achieve its lofty goals.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Firefox 64-bit will live on through nightlies after user backlash

Mozilla is backtracking on its decision to kill the 64-bit version of Firefox following heavy backlash from users. Last month, managing engineer Benjamin Smedberg called for coders to cease development of the 64-bit builds, calling them a "constant source of misunderstanding and frustration" due to lousy support for plug-ins, performance enhancements and bug fixes, which effectively made 64-bit users second-class.

To an extent, it sounded like Smedberg thought Mozilla would be doing folks a favor by forcing them to use the 32-bit browser, which is better supported all around. However, many 64-bit users disagreed quite strongly with that notion -- especially those who regularly hit the 4GB memory limit of the 32-bit browser. That negative response has prompted Smedberg to announce a modified plan that serves as a compromise.

Although Mozilla still plans to force 64-bit users on to a 32-bit version of Firefox through an automatic update, the developer will continue to provide nightly builds of the 64-bit browser. It seems this move would help transition those running 64-bit variants to a more secure 32-bit version of Firefox, while folks who are hell-bent on running the 64-bit version can always redownload and reinstall it after the forced migration.

Additionally, Smedberg plans to change the default first-run and update page for 64-bit builds to tell users they're running unsupported software. He also wants to disable the browser's crash reporter, enable click-to-play plugins by default as well as reduce engineering loads by discontinuing 64-bit tests and on-checkin builds -- we're not entirely sure what that entails, but it simply sounds like less developmental focus.

"After I announced my decision to disable 64-bit Windows nightlies, there was significant negative feedback. After reviewing that feedback, and consulting with Release Engineering, I believe that we can keep a set of users happy by making a modification to the original plan," Smedberg said. "I do hope that the projects and developers who are interested in win64 will work together to maintain this build configuration. I am interested in hearing from volunteers who want to become the 64-bit build maintainer. I will also set up a discussion list specifically for win64 issues, if that would be valuable."


Source : techspot[dot]com

Apple secures patent for SIM connector tech in iPhone, iPad

Apple secures patent for SIM connector tech in iPhone, iPad

Christmas Day patent win for Apple

Apple has won a key patent in the battle to ensure that its SIM-card technology becomes the industry standard for mobile devices.

The patent pertains to connectors for Micro SIM cards (which Apple has now replaced with the Nano SIM) and the methods of transferring the cards in and out of smartphones or tablets safely and securely.

The ruling, published by the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) on Christmas Day, also covers "the plunger system" of ejecting the SIM card by using a metal pin, or SIM ejection tool.

The filing, uncovered by Patently Apple, specifically mentions iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad, but can also apply to MacBooks and media centers, Apple has pointed out.

Closer to becoming standard

Apple's victory comes after a long year of battling with Nokia over SIM card technology and the next industry standards.

Apple has offered royalty-free licensing to rival companies if the European Telecommunications Standards Institute backed its new nano-SIM technology, which ended up appearing in the new iPhone 5.

The ETSI did back Apple and this most recent patent victory in the United States may discourage other companies from continuing their fight against Apple's SIM tech as the industry looks towards standardised solutions.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Surprise! Google extends free Gmail voice calling yet again

gmail-logo-good

Google has announced that its calling service through its Gmail app will remain free for yet another year in the U.S. and Canada.

The holidays are over, but Google is still in the giving spirit. The search engine giant announced on Wednesday that it would extend its free domestic calling service via Gmail in the United States and Canada through 2013.

“Many of you call phones from Gmail to easily connect with friends and family,” Google’s official blog read. “If you’re in the U.S. and Canada, you’ll continue to be able to make free domestic calls through 2013. Plus, in most countries, you can still call the rest of the world from Gmail at insanely low rates.”

While this is good news for avid Google users, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise. At the end of 2011 and 2010, the company announced that it would continue offering free voice calling via the Gmail chat widget, and it looks like that function is here to stay yet again.

Google introduced voice calling through Gmail back in 2008, but said that this feature would only be free for its first year. Since then, it has extended this offer year after year. As Google’s voice calling ability enters its fifth year, the service remains free. This announcement comes just after the company decided to cut some free services earlier this month. 

Referred to as “winter cleaning,” Google unveiled a list of less popular apps and services that will not make it to 2013. This includes Google Calendar features such as the ability to create new reservable times for the Calendar through Appointment Slots, among other capabilities.

While Google continues to keep its domestic calling service free of charge in the United States and Canada, the company has done little to update the feature that provides the base for this service: Google Voice. It did provide some new tweaks, such as the addition contacts integration with Google+ and the launch of an updated Android app. On the whole, however, Google Voice remained untouched in 2012.

To make a phone call in Google’s online chat service, simply click the phone icon in the top left corner of the chat box. This should be located in the middle of the video chat option and icon that allows you to add more friends to an individual chat. Offering free voice calls keeps Google in competition with rival companies such as Facebook, which offers free video phone services within its chat widget. 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

The movies of 2013 we hope don’t suck (part 1)

With 2012 ending, we look ahead to 2013 for the movies we hope don’t suck.

Well, looks like those troublemaking Mayans were wrong after all. Who knew that a calendar made by a civilization that practiced ritual human sacrifice might not be the most reliable when it came to the mathematics of predicting the end of the world? Perhaps not paying bills for the last six months wasn’t the wisest idea after all.

Well, with the world firmly in the “not ending yet” category, it is time to look ahead to 2013. No ancient civilizations have called for 2013 to be the end of time, so it’s a good time to look forward to the movies that will not just be among the biggest of the year, but the films that will have a lasting impact on the next year, and the year after.

They are the films that we are rooting for, the ones we hope succeed for one reason or another. But more than anything else, even more than we hope they are great and entertaining films, we just really, really hope that they don’t suck.

A Good Day to Die Hard

(February 14)

The Die Hard series has never exactly been grounded in reality. In the first three movies, Bruce Willis’ John McClane lived out a first person shooter and killed more people than prostate cancer, and yet even so the last film, Live Free or Die Hard was over the top even by those standards. This is a series where the main character laughingly flips physics the bird and regularly outruns explosions, and yet the last film was too much. Hacker villains that would make Anonymous members jealous, a formerly down to Earth hero that substituted jokes for punching people in the throat, and at one point McClane even ran over the top of a jet in the air… A jet. A freaking jet. There are no words for this level of ridiculousness.

The fourth film departed from the tradition of the other films by playing down the “everyman hero” angle and ramping up the pretty ‘splosions and the superheroic nature of John “the most dangerous hungover cop in the world” McClane. For the fifth film, you can expect the walking explosion to continue his cataclysmic world tour, this time bringing the pain to Russia.

The series is also looking toward the future. Bruce Willis is still looking good, and the magic of Hollywood could have him kicking ass for decades to come (just look at Clint Eastwood, who was born when there were still real Nazis in the world and yet continues to project the image that he could murder you with a toothpick). But the good times can’t go on forever, and so the new Die Hard introduces a new McClane. Jai Courtney of Spartacus: Blood and Sand fame takes on the role of Jack McClane, the definition of a son of a gun.

If the series is planning to continue with Courtney as either the star, or even just a co-star opposite Willis, it will have to be successfully established in this film. It will probably be a money maker on name recognition alone – and that could probably support sixth film –  but for the sake of the good name of the Die Hard franchise we hope this film doesn’t suck.

Oz: The Great and Powerful

(March 8)

Sam Raimi returns to the world of Oz with a prequel to the 1900 book and the beloved 1939 film starring a bunch of flying monkeys, some emotionally crippled halfwits, and a girl with an iffy fashion sense. When the 1939 film was released it painted a wildly imaginative vision of a make believe land, and it did it with a budget that was five times less than Drew Brees’ annual salary. But the Wizard of Oz didn’t put up 5,416 passing yards in a season either, so maybe it’s a wash.

Raimi’s look at Oz comes with a hefty $200 million price tag as well as a bevy of A-list stars, including Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, and James Franco as the Wizard himself. Most importantly though, it stars Bruce Campbell as Gore, the Dark Wizard. A Raimi movie just wouldn’t be complete without an appearance from Campbell.

Not to be confused with the HBO prison drama – although it would certainly be ballsy to see the Cowardly Lion get shanked on the Yellow Brick Road by a monkey that just drops the shiv and casually flies away – the film could also reignite interest in one of the best known properties in the world.

Coming earlier in the year than most big budget, effects laden films traditionally appear, Oz could end up shifting the Hollywood landscape if it does well. With so many blockbusters competing with each other in a relatively tight period, expanding the blockbuster season to include March may prove to be a smart move. Oz won’t be the first movie to try that, but it could be the one that changes things. Assuming, of course, it doesn’t suck.

GI Joe: Retaliation

(March 29)

This film has already had something of a troubled life, all thanks to the unfortunate popularity of Magic Mike, aka Channing Tatum. It’s not his fault, of course, but rather that of the filmmakers that wanted to get out of the Channing Tatum business. Instead, Tatum’s growing popularity took the bullet and saved his (character’s) life.

The film was originally due on June 29, 2012, but the plan was to kill off Tatum’s character, Duke, early on. This didn’t test well, so the movie went back to the drawing board under the thinly veiled excuse of reworking it for 3D and to increase its international advertising campaign.

Test screenings weren’t happy to see Tatum bite it, so reshoots were commissioned and the on screen relationship between Tatum and Dwayne Johnson’s character of Roadblock was strengthened. Following the surprisingly successful male stripper story loosely based on Tatum’s life, Magic Mike, the studio also shifted some of the advertising to make sure people knew that Tatum and his magical member were still in the movie and had a significant role.

The first movie was goofy. It inexplicably featured people wearing exoskeletons for what appeared to be no other reason than to beat up Paris, while the amazingly good cast that included Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Christopher Eccelston, Rachel Nichols, and Dennis Quaid managed to breathe an air of respectability into it. All of those names are missing from this film, but they have been replaced by Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Adrianne Palicki, and RZA. It is shocking, the level of talent that these films have attracted. The producers must have a staggeringly comprehensive set of blackmail pictures on everyone in Hollywood. But with the childhood of so many invested in the GI Joe brand, and such an impressive cast, we just hope the movie doesn’t suck, and we are already looking forward to the next sequel starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Helen Mirren, Al Pacino, and whoever else the filmmakers can convince to jump on board the GI Joe train.

Evil Dead

(April 12)

The original Evil Dead was intended to be a serious horror film, but it just sucked at it. It was laughable, and so Sam Raimi and company decided to roll with it and revel in the notion of a horror comedy. That produced two (three if you count the original that was partially remade as The Evil Dead II) of the biggest cult hits of all time. Ash’s dialogue in Army of Darkness has entered into the lexicon in such a way that presidents have even quoted it. There is no direct proof of that, but it is (probably) true (maybe).

The reboot is entirely Raimi’s idea, and he pushed ahead even against the wishes of most fans who were more interested in a sequel with Bruce Campbell returning as Ash than a remake. But Raimi insisted that he had a good idea, and asked fans for their support and trust.

The film is apparently going to attempt to do what the first film tried for, and be a legitimately disturbing horror film. There will likely be a good deal of humor, but that may just be color and not the intention as it was in the later films in the series. That seems like an odd shift for a series that was famous for lines like “this is my boomstick” and severed hands giving the finger to its original owner.

But it is Raimi’s franchise to do with as he will. It is an important series, and one that has influenced many people for decades now. So we just hope that the film, which has the daunting tag line “The most terrifying film you will ever experience,” doesn’t suck.

Iron Man 3

(May 3)

With Jon Favreau foolishly asking for a bit more money after directing and producing two of the biggest films ever and helping to launch the Marvel universe on screen, the keys to the franchise fall to Shane Black, one of the men that helped save Robert Downey Jr.’s career after his experimentation with drugs became a full on graduate study course in substance abuse.

Black is an interesting choice, and so far the trailers have presented a shift in tone for the series. It looks dark, which certainly isn’t a bad thing, but it also marks a stark (see what we did there?) departure for the series that has a few heavy moments, but for the most part was about a rich, smart guy that built a toy capable of destroying Botswana in an afternoon.

Marvel was quick to rush in and claim the trailer was a bit misleading and the film will be more lighthearted, which in itself causes more concern than a trailer with a slight tonal shift. If Marvel is paranoid about the reaction of a single trailer released more than six months before a film hits theaters, it could mean that the studio intends to interfere with the future offerings in the Marvel universe.

On the other hand, it might mean nothing at all. The Marvel universe is still going strong, and The Avengers justified all the planning that came before it. But now phase two begins with Iron Man 3. Can the studio continue to push out quality films that can connect with each other? There is more of a cushion for this second wave of Marvel movies, but a bad film could lead to problems in the future. Hopefully Iron Man 3 will begin this new era in style, and it won’t suck.

Star Trek Into Darkness

(May 17)

JJ Abrams pulled off a minor miracle with his reboot of the Star Trek franchise. He took one of the most sprawling and complex mythologies in fiction, featuring what is one of the (if not the) most passionate fan base in the world, and made a film that rebooted the entire continuity, attracted new fans, and did so without alienating too many people. The guy should win a Nobel Peace Prize, because the alternative would have ended his career and brought a seething anger to bear on Paramount.

The pressure is off in that regard, but the new film needs to live up to the expectations its predecessor set in order to continue building upon what long ago proved itself to be one of the most viable franchises in entertainment.

The new film looks good so far. The identity of the villain played by Benedict Cumberbatch has been kept so quiet that Abrams and the Bad Robot crew could step in for the CIA in a pinch. Is he Khan? Is he Gary Mitchell? Is he just some dude with a really big gun? The odds are there will be a major twist to it all, but despite our need to dig for answers as fans, hopefully the secret will remain under wraps until the film is fully unveiled. That won’t stop us from guessing though.

So until the film is released this May and the fantastically named Benedict Cumberbatch is revealed to be Khan (it has to be Khan, right?), the chatter will continue, which is a good sign. It means the interest is high in both the film and the franchise. If it delivers, that could also lead to more Star Trek content, maybe even a new TV series of some kind. As long, of course, as the movie doesn’t suck.

Fast and Furious 6

(May 24)

The name may change to something like Fast Six or Fasterer and the Furiousest or something equally heavy in unnecessary alliteration, but a gasoline covered rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Well, not sweet, per se, but you get the point.

The gear head crew lead by the gruff Vin Diesel and Keanu Reeves’ illegitimate brother Paul Walker return, along with Dwayne Johnson. The details of the plot are still murky, except that it will feature the return of the presumed dead character Letty (Michele Rodriguez), as was teased at the end of Fast Five. There is a very good chance that cars will also feature prominently. It does raise the question of where the film fits in the series’ continuity though.

Both the fourth and fifth movie take place before the events of the third film set in Tokyo, where the character of Han (played by the actor Sung Kang) – who appeared in the fourth and fifth films – died. Kang is listed as appearing in the sixth film, which may mean that this film will once again technically be a prequel (despite all the discrepancies with cars). That is just dumb. And in a series where the characters dragged a bank vault weighing several tons down the streets of Rio and used it as a weapon, that is saying a lot.

The Han character was a good one and it was a mistake to let him go, but it is time to move on. The filmmakers could try to explain that he faked his death, despite very clearly exploding, but at least it would get the franchise’s time line moving forward. But despite all that, with these films you know what you are going to get and there is an audience happy to dive in. There is even talk of a seventh movie already. So while these movies certainly don’t make your soul sore, they are entertaining, and we hope the newest addition to the family doesn’t suck. But please just let Han die already.

Man of Steel

(June 14)

There are so many reasons that we hope this film doesn’t suck, and so many reasons that it could. Director Zack Snyder has a good instinct for action. His films have some eye popping visuals, and he has a knack for shooting super powered fisticuffs. But when it comes to a deep and compelling story, the jury is still out. Feel free to argue in the comments below. 

And then there is the subject matter itself. You have a character that can punch the planet so hard that the Earth weeps, and you need to make him relatable to the average guy. Batman is human. Spider-Man is just a guy with cool powers. Iron Man is just a dude in a fancy suit. But Superman is basically a god walking among humanity, occasionally coming down from Heaven to beat up a mugger or stop a liquor store robbery. Finding an interesting angle is tougher than it sounds.

So can Snyder show us a story that makes Superman more than just a quantum powered boxer? That is the question. And it isn’t just a question of Snyder’s directorial talents, it is a tough task for anyone with many pitfalls – but just as many rewards. It also doesn’t hurt than in his corner, Snyder has Christopher Nolan acting as a producer, but the depth of his involvement is questionable. If it all works, it could be the first step towards DC aping the Marvel plan and combining its properties for a financial smorgasbord culminating with a Justice League movie starring characters established in other films, and it could also help to launch countless other DC properties. Or it could all fall apart.

So if it works there is a pot of gold waiting under DC’s rainbow, but a lot depends on Man of Steel. DC’s ambitions can survive a bad Superman movie – after all Superman Returns didn’t affect Nolan’s Batman trilogy – but a good Superman film will change everything and open a whole lot of doors. As long as the film doesn’t suck.

Monsters University

(June 21)

There is more on the line with this film than you might think. On one hand it is fairly innocuous. It is a prequel to a film that was liked, but not nearly as well loved as some of Pixar’s classics – which begs the question of why did they make it at all? With the notable exception of the Toy Story films, Pixar’s strength has lied in creating new properties that continue to surprise and amaze. Making a prequel to a film that was released twelve years prior, a prequel that people weren’t exactly clamoring for is perplexing. But it is Pixar.

Following the mediocre Cars 2 and the underwhelming Brave, Pixar has shown that it is fallible  There was a time not long ago when anything Pixar put out was almost a guaranteed classic. Things change though, and while there is certainly still gold to be mined, the current slate isn’t as impressive as we might hope.

Monsters Inc. was a good movie, but it wasn’t Pixar’s best, not even close. The odds are this movie will follow suit and be good – maybe even very good – but not great. At least not great on the level of Wall-E or Up. But maybe we’re wrong.

Pixar is an important studio, perhaps one of the most important film studios of the last decade. It excels at storytelling, and it always has the potential for excellence. We need that excellence to show itself again. Monsters University probably won’t come close to the heights that Pixar can reach, but a good film can ease a lot of concerns going forward. Unlike the other films on this list, not sucking may not be enough, but it is a start.

World War Z

(June 21)

Beware the wrath of super stacker zombies! They can be anywhere and everywhere, and judging by the trailers, they can even turn themselves into the most fearsome ladders that the world has ever seen! Loosely based on the book of the same name, the current zombie craze sweeping the world continues, and now features Brad Pitt.

The story is about zombies. What more do you really need to know? They are hungry, and humans are the scrumptious morsels that they desire. Zombies are a trend, and a hot one at that. And while the name World War Z certainly isn’t as familiar to people as The Walking Dead or Resident Evil, it is just as important to those that read and loved the book.

The zombie craze hasn’t burned itself out yet, but there will come a day – and soon – when audiences tire of the over-saturation of the sub-genre within the horror genre. That might help to weed out some of the zombie cash grab films that are on the way, but it is bad for the horror genre in general. Whether you love or hate the zombie craze, it has helped to bring attention to the horror genre that was for years the providence of torture porn films like Saw and Hostel. The zombie fad has been mostly good for the horror genre, and when it fades the questions of what happens to horror films next will need to be answered. 

World War Z may be great, or it may be silly. Judging by the trailer it could go either way. But as long as it doesn’t suck, the zombie genre – and the horror genre with it – will live to see another day.

Check back next week for Part 2. 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

How to back up your Gmail

gmail

Don't leave it up to chance. We'll teach you how to back up your Gmail account regularly so you have a copy of your messages even when you're offline.

Gmail can be such a reliable email service that soon after opening an account, you might find yourself using it for everything from job applications to everyday emails, to corresponding with friends and family. But take heed: the service isn’t perfect. Though it’s not common, widescale Gmail outages have happened and are not impossible. If you now rely on Gmail for most of your incoming and outgoing emails, it’s advisable, for your own sanity, to have a backup of your data just in case something goes wrong. 

Thunderbird, Apple Mail, Outlook, and other email clients

It’s time to put email clients to use – including ones that come pre-installed on your computer. If you’ve never used one before, know that it can effectively back up any email account, including Gmail. To note, if you have activated Google’s 2-step verification, you have to input an application-specific password (generate one via Google’s 2-step verification page) the first time a client asks for your password. 

If you decide to back up your email using a client, the first thing you have to do is tweak your Gmail settings. Here’s how:

1. Click the gear button on the top right-hand corner of your Gmail page.
2. Click Settings, then Forwarding POP/IMAP.
3.  Enable IMAP and make sure you choose “Do not limit the number of messages in an IMAP folder” under Folder Size Limits.
4. Click Save Changes. 
5. Visit Google Support’s IMAP page for instructions on how to use your Gmail with mail clients.

Using Thunderbird:
1. Download and install Mozilla Thunderbird (link starts download).
2.  Create a new account, and input your Gmail username and password or application-specific password.
3.  Click Get Mail to download your emails. 

Using Apple’s Mail app:
1.  Launch Mail app > Mail > Preferences.
2. Click the + button, and input your Gmail email address and password or application-specific password.
3. Click Mailbox > Synchronize > Gmail.
4. Right click on the Gmail account in Mail’s left-hand menu, and click Get Account Info.
5. Click All Mail to download all your emails on Mac.

Using Outlook
1. Launch Outlook > Tools > Account Settings.
2. Click New.
3. Input your email address and password or application-specific password.
4.  Your emails will automatically start downloading.

Gmail Offline, Gmail Backup, and other third-party backup programs

You can also access your Gmail account without Internet connection via a Chrome app called Gmail Offline. It doesn’t automatically back up all your emails, but it works great if you only need access to some of your latest messages.

Another option is third-party backup programs like Gmail backup. Download the program from the site – it hasn’t been updated within the last few years, but it still works fine – install it, and input your email address and password or application-specific password. The program isn’t a full email client, and you’ll need a separate client to read the messages it saves, but it”s a great way to export your emails so you can have them on hand. 

Backupify is another service you can use to back up your Gmail account and your other Google services. Unfortunately, unlike the other options we’ve discussed, it isn’t free. Backupify saves your data on the cloud for a minimum of $3 per month for 35GB of space.  

Contacts backup

If you don’t want to back up your emails but need a copy of your contacts list, you can easily export it.

1. Click the drop-down menu below the Gmail logo > choose Contacts.
2. Click the More drop-down menu and choose Export.
3. Choose the Contacts group you’d like to export and the file type.

Do you use another way to back up your Gmail account? Let us know in the comments! 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Panasonic P-02E Confirmed via FCC Sighting

Recently we reported on the Panasonic P-02E showing up on server logs. It was believed this could be a Panasonic 1080p handset designed specifically for the Japanese market. Interestingly enough, an FCC sighting now confirms the device.

Despite the FCC entry, it remains unclear whether or not Panasonic will actually launch the device outside of its home country. The entry gives us hope, but more than likely if it does reach its way out of Japan, it will be some time after the official Japanese launch.

So what do we know about the smartphone? It has a 5-inch 1080p HD display, a 1.5GHz quad-core S4 processor and Android 4.1.2. Other features confirmed include wireless charging, microSD, LTE and NFC support.

Based on what we know so far, what do you think of Panasonic’s 1080p smartphone? Would you be interested or are you more compelled by other upcoming 1080p devices like the Oppo Find 5?



Source : mobilemag[dot]com

ZTE Nubia Z5 quad-core unveiled with slim body, big 1080p screen

ZTE Nubia Z5 quad-core unveiled with slim body, big 1080p screen

ZTE may have a winner on its hands with the Nubia Z5

As promised, the ZTE Nubia Z5 was unveiled in China on Wednesday, and the big new Android smartphone looks like a winner right off the bat.

Its previously rumored specs were not exaggerated, as the Nubia Z5 does indeed come in a 5-inch form with a Qualcomm 1.5GHz quad-core processor, full 1080p display, 2GB of memory, and 13MP/2MP cameras on the back and front, respectively.

Wednesday's announcement also revealed that ZTE's Nubia Z5 will come packing 32GB of storage, Wi-Fi display and MHL output for displaying content on larger screens, and either Yamaha or Dolby Digital Plus sound output.

Best of all, though, is the Nubia Z5's incredibly thin chassis - at just 7.6mm thick and weighing 126g, it's the slimmest 5-inch smartphone on the market.

Packing it in

Like we ourselves did at Christmas dinner on Tuesday, the ZTE Nubia Z5 packs a lot in, despite its extremely thin 7.6mm frame.

That includes a 2,300mAh batter in addition to everything mentioned above.

The Nubia Z5 manages to compare favorably in size with Samsung's Galaxy Note II and Galaxy S3, while still sporting a gorgeous screen and powerful innards.

It was even designed by Italian designer Stefano Giovannoni.

Please, take our money

As Engadget pointed out on Wednesday, Nubia is a new division of Chinese company ZTE, so thus far it's impossible to guess when the Z5 will be made available internationally.

In China, its cost ranges from ¥3,456 (US$554, UK£343, AU$535) to ¥7,890 (US$1,265, UK£785, AU$1,222) for the "titanium edition."

When it does become available internationally, Engadget reported, it will be LTE-compatible (no surprise there).

TechRadar will be on hand at CES 2013 to check out the ZTE Nubia Z5 if it does indeed make an appearance, so keep your eyes peeled as we head into the new year.


Source : techradar[dot]com

RIM Will Reward BB10 Devs with $100 Per Android App Ported


One of the reasons why the BlackBerry platform has waned in recent years is the lack of apps. While iOS and Android continue to grow their selection, BlackBerry has fallen behind. RIM doesn’t want a repeat performance of that with their upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform and that’s why they promised it would launch with at least 70,000 apps. So, how are they going to get there?

Research in Motion has announced a virtual event called Android Port-A-Thon. The idea here is to get developers to port their Android apps over to BlackBerry 10 and RIM is willing to pay you to do it. For every paid app that is successfully ported and approved, RIM will pay you a cool sum of $100. That’s per app, up to a maximum of 20 apps per vendor.

Furthermore, if you port at least five apps, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a BlackBerry 10 Dev Alpha Device. They have 100 of those to give away. Every eligible app that you submit over that minimum of five will net you one extra entry in this draw. So, if you hit that maximum of 20 apps above, you’ll earn yourself $2,000 and 16 entries into the Dev Alpha Device draw.

The BlackBerry Developer Blog has more details, including how you can go about with the app porting process from Android. There are links to guides and tools and such. Android Port-A-Thon starts on January 11, 2013 at 12pm EST and runs for 36 hours. You must log in and port during that time to net the rewards.



Source : mobilemag[dot]com

Rumor: Tomb Raider introduces the young Lara Croft to the joys of multiplayer

After missing its 2012 release date Square-Enix and Crystal Dynamics' reboot of Tomb Raider will release in the spring. Not only will it be Lara Croft's first new game in years, it will be the first Tomb Raider game to feature multiplayer modes.

On Dec. 14 Square-Enix and developer Crystal Dynamics began teasing an announcement for Tomb Raider, the spring 2013 reboot starring a young Lara Croft surviving her first adventure in the exciting world of grave robbery. The announcement promised to “change the way play Tomb Raider forever.” Based on leaked details from British retailer GAME, the changes aren’t groundbreaking at all based on modern console game trends: Tomb Raider will have competitive multiplayer when it ships this spring.

All Games Beta (via NeoGAF) spotted the GAME listing on Monday. Amongst the key features listed for Tomb Raider was the following item: “Survive as a team: Play a variety of multiplayer modes as Lara’s shipmates or Yamatai’s scavengers.” The listing was promptly removed after All Games Beta published its stor.

This is the first confirmation that Lara’s rebirth as a Nathan Drake-style adventure game hero would follow Uncharted into building a multiplayer mode on top of a narrative-focused game. It isn’t technically Lara’s first multiplayer adventure. That distinction goes to the excellent downloadable Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light, but it is the first game with the Tomb Raider brand to let players go head to head.

Details about the upcoming reboot first leaked out back in 2009, with rumors claiming that Crystal Dynamics planned to make an origin story game following the disappointing sales and development of Tomb Raider: Underworld. This rumors re-emerged in late 2010 Word at the time was that the new game would actually be an open world game. While that hasn’t turned out to be true, the rumors that Lara’s new adventure would see her exploring a Japanese island as a younger woman were absolutely true. There was no indication then that the game would be multiplayer.

Frankly, it’s disappointing to hear that Square-Enix felt the need to devote resources to the development of a multiplayer game that will in all likelihood be ignored by the game’s audience. Tomb Raider was delayed multiple times and it’s hard not to wonder if it was this multiplayer mode that held the title up. Dishonored, Skyrim, and other titles have proven that modern console games can succeed without wasting money and time on a multiplayer mode needed to fill a marketing bulletpoint.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Nokia Lumia 920T will cost just $0.16 in China

nokia 920t price in China

China has long been known as a place to pick up low-cost smartphones, but that’s just in regards to domestically made phones right? Well not anymore as Nokia’s plans for the Lumia 920T have emerged.

Currently Chinese smartphone users are expected to buy their phones outright from the start and pay for what they use on a monthly basis, this has led to some amazing phones arriving on the mainland at very affordable prices. However, international players have been eyeing the market and tend to grab their share with subsidised devices.

This is Nokia’s plan anyway, and they are hoping to grab a huge share of the market with the Windows-powered Lumia 920T, with retail price starting at just 1 Yuan ($0.16). Of course customers will then be expected to pay a monthly fee for the phone, but 1 Yuan (less than the price of a shopping bag) is going to be a hard bargain to a pass up.

The only problems we can see from the offer is with the supply chain of the Lumia 920T. Considering how stock shortages have plagued the international Lumia 920, will the same situation occur with the Chinese variant?



Source : mobilemag[dot]com

Nintendo Wii U games go free-to-play in 2013 with Tank! Tank! Tank!

Namco Bandai's Tank! Tank! Tank! is the Nintendo Wii U's first free-to-play game, marking the house of Mario's first full foray into one of gaming's fastest growing markets.

Nintendo Wii U represents a lot of firsts for the Kyoto-based company. It’s the first Nintendo home console to receive multiple firmware updates within days of its release. It’s the very first Nintendo console to offer up all of its retail games as downloadable titles at the exact same time they come out in stores. It’s the first Nintendo console to make backwards compatibility with its predecessor, namely the Wii, a ridiculous chore. It’s also going to be the very first Nintendo console to offer free-to-play video games.  What will new Wii U owners be able to play for nothing at first and in tiny increments after that?

Namco Bandai’s arcade shooter launch game Tank! Tank! Tank! is going free-to-play in 2013 but only in Japan to start. The publisher will offer the game as an upgradeable demo starting early next year. Here’s how it works: Downloading the Tank!! Tank! Tank! basic pack from the eShop doesn’t cost a dime and includes access to the City Map alongside the multiplayer modes Free For All, Giant Monster, and Team Battle mode. While this content’s free, you can only play three times a day.

After that, you’d got to pay for each piece of the game. The multiplayer My Kong mode, where one player on the GamePad controls a giant monster and the others control tanks trying to bring them down runs an extra 1,000 yen ($12.) Additional multiplayer areas like Volcano, Beach, and Canyon run 200 yen ($2.30) a pop, while the single player mode costs 2,200 yen ($26) on its own. At the end of January, unlocking the full game via the eShop will cost 5,040 yen ($66), more than the $60 price tag on the current retail version of the game.

Nintendo has said all along that it would encourage Wii U developers to embrace all different sales models on the new eShop, including free-to-play. Shortly after E3 2012, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata emphasized how his company was embracing alternative digital distribution pricing. “With respect to the Wii U system, when we began working on it, one of our goals was to have a variety of purchase options and additional e-commerce options available at its launch,” Iwata said during an investor question and answer session,”And because of that, we have prepared a Digital Rights Management system. We have designed the system from a technical standpoint to allow developers to freely take advantage of things like free-to-play and micro transactions.“

Tank! Tank! Tank! will be an interesting test for the Wii U, at least in Japan. Namco has only confirmed the piecemeal downloadable version for its homeland, not the US or Europe. Considering the success of other free-to-play games involving tanks like the 45 million player-strong World of Tanks, Namco will likely move the new version overseas in short order.


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Best Mac Apps

Best mac apps os x

Wondering what software to install on your Mac? Look no further than this rundown of the best Mac apps available.

There are literally hundreds of thousands of great software programs compatible with OS X in Apple’s App Store – not to mention the thousands more that are scattered across the Web. In this list, we’ve compiled some of the best Mac apps available. Since there are so many apps available, we pared it down to only include programs that are most likely to be useful to the average Mac user. 

Jump to:

Utilities 

Afloat
There are loads of great window management tools out there, and each one seems to take a different approach to the same task. Afloat is a wonderfully simple utility that allows you to ‘float’ certain windows and keep them on top. You can also pin windows to the front of the screen, and adjust the transparency of any window you choose. This transparency function is especially useful for users working with limited screen space, which makes Afloat a must-have for 13 or 15-inch MacBook owners.

Other notable windows management tools include: DivvyBetter Snap Tool, and Cinch.

Boom
Give your Mac a volume boost with Boom, a tiny program that allows you to turn up the volume past Apple’s pre-determined boundaries. This might not be the most useful app on this list if you already have volume-boosting PC speakers, but if you’re working with your Mac’s built-in speakers, then this utility is especially useful. While it’s generally not a good idea to push your speakers past their limit, Boom comes in handy when you’re watching or listening to things that aren’t very loud to begin with and need an extra boost to be audible.

Breakaway
Breakaway is a simple utility that pauses iTunes when it detects that your headphone jack is unplugged. You can also set it to pause your music and movies when you hit mute to make your life that much easier. Never again will you have to suffer through an embarrassing moment when your headphones pop out for a second and cause your computer to blast Ricky Martin’s greatest hits at full volume for a few seconds as you fumble to plug your phones back in.

Fan Control
Sometimes your Mac gets hot. When it does, and you feel like it could use some extra cooling down, use the Fan Control app to designate how many RPMs your fan spins at. 

Caffeine
Always a favorite, this one keeps your computer from going into sleep mode or performing the auto-dim function. Great for reading long documents or any other activity in which you don’t touch the keyboard or mouse for extended periods of time. 

Perian
Perian is essentially a codec pack that augments QuickTime and makes it capable of reading pretty much any file format. It’s extremely lightweight and it saves you from having to download another program just to play your media.  

Next Page: Media Apps 


Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Minecraft: The Story of Mojang uploaded to TPB by the producers

Minecraft: The Story of Mojang premiered this past weekend but if you happened to miss the showing for whatever reason, fear not as the producers have since uploaded the film directly to The Pirate Bay for all to download free of charge.

The movie originally debuted on Xbox Live on Saturday to users in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Portugal, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, the UK and the US. According to 2 Player Productions, they knew the film would eventually end up as a torrent anyway so they wanted to be the first to get it up and open a dialog.

The description on the torrent points out that torrents and piracy are a way of life and it probably isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. They note that there are many people who wish to punish people for that but they have a more realistic outlook on things.

The producers go on to say that everyone has been there and that everyone has needed to torrent at some point. Perhaps a user doesn’t have the money, or maybe they are the type that like to try before buying. Or in the case of the Minecraft film, maybe some people were pissed off because it premiered on Xbox Live.

Those interested in supporting the filmmakers can buy and download an $8 DRM-free digital copy of the movie or pick up a $20 physical DVD. If you aren’t familiar with the film, feel free to watch the embedded trailer above.


Source : techspot[dot]com

HTC One S handsets finally receiving Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

HTC One S handsets finally receiving Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Everyone likes Jelly Beans at Christmas

Some HTC One S handsets are receiving the long-promised Android Jelly Bean update almost six months after it was initially touted.

The XDA Developers site has posted a host of CID (Customer ID) numbers that are eligible for the download, which pertain to Worldwide English versions of the device, mainly sold in Europe.

The overdue update comes after HTC promised some juicy Jelly Bean for the music-themed handset, first in July and then in October.

XDA has posted links to the direct download from HTC's site.

No US launch yet

The update comes following a roll out of Jelly Bean for the flagship HTC One X device last month

There's no indication of when Statesiders might receive the HTC One S update, but this European roll-out is surely a good sign.


Source : techradar[dot]com

Smartphones murdering the iPod

Smartphones murdering the iPod

Dinosaur!

We all love our shiny smartphones, but the latest stats on MP3 players prove that the sleek handset in your pocket is a cold-eyed killer.

Yep, according to Mintel's research sales of the humble MP3 player - and let's face it that means mainly Apple iPods - have dropped by a massive 22 per cent year on year.

And that's not all, with Mintel insisting that sales will halve again by 2017, making it a business worth just £25 million in the UK, which to the likes of Apple is pretty much the equivalent of the coins it has rattling together down the back of its sofa.

Natural selection

That, according to both experts and anyone with a modicum of common sense, is due to the rise and rise of the smartphone, all of which come with MP3 player functionality and make having an iPod a bit unnecessary.

But before you start feeling all sympathetic and wistful for the good old days, you should remember that the MP3 player pretty much assassinated both the Walkman and the mini-disc player in its climb to the top of our music buddy charts.

GIve it until 2017 and we'll see if Mintel are right, or if brain chips have made our phones obsolete by then anyway.


Source : techradar[dot]com

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