A t-shirt-stuffed Linux store has opened for business, the proceeds from which support the Linux Foundation. But since Linux users are such penny-pinchers, $18 is probably more than they’ll pay for a single garment of clothing. [LinuxStore via CrunchGear] More »
The premise of Tweet Defense is simple: The more you tweet and the more Twitter followers you gain, the stronger your tower defenses will be. Clever, though hopefully RT bonuses will come in the future. $1. [iTunes via Kotaku]
From the new BBC program Wonders of The Solar System, this clip of a solar eclipse over Varanasi is something you really must watch. The view sure beats staring through a pinhole reflection in a cardboard box. [BBC]
Palm’s complement to their SDK, the webOS Plug-in Development Kit (PDK), is available in beta form now. Download it here.
Palm webOS PDK Public Beta Now Available
Palm Demonstrates New Games at Game Developers Conference
SAN FRANCISCO, Game Developers Conference (GDC), March 9, 2010 – Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) today announced that a public beta version of the Palm® webOS™ Plug-in Development Kit (PDK) is now available at the Palm Developer Center (developer.palm.com). Palm is demonstrating new games from early PDK developers in its booth at GDC (No. 2016).
The PDK complements the Palm webOS Software Development Kit (SDK), letting developers use C and C++ alongside the web technologies that power the SDK and mix them seamlessly within a single app. The PDK enables new functionality, including immersive 3D graphics, and gives developers who have built games for other platforms an easy way to bring their titles to the webOS platform. Developers can download the beta PDK and start developing today, but distribution of games built with the beta PDK will require functionality provided in an upcoming Palm webOS update.
“Palm webOS is the go-to platform for great games on two of the three leading carrier networks,” said Katie Mitic, senior vice president, Product Marketing, Palm, Inc. “We have both the developer tools and the hardware necessary for a world-class gaming experience, and an impressive portfolio of webOS game titles from top-notch developers to show for it.”
At CES in January, Palm introduced 12 games built by four leading developers with early access to the PDK:
• “Asphalt 5” (Gameloft)
• “Brain Challenge®” (Gameloft)
• “Glyder 2” (Glu Mobile)
• “Let’s Golf!” (Gameloft)
• “MONOPOLY” (EA Mobile™)
• “Need for Speed™ Undercover” (EA Mobile)
• “SCRABBLE” (EA Mobile)
• “Sudoku” (EA Mobile)
• “Tetris®” (EA Mobile)
• “The Oregon Trail” (Gameloft)
• “The Sims™ 3” (EA Mobile)
• “X-Plane” (Laminar Research)Since then, more than 20 exciting webOS titles have been launched by these early-access developers:
• “Apollo” (Laminar Research)
• “Assassin’s Creed™ – Altair’s Chronicles” (Gameloft)
• “Brothers In Arms®: Hour of Heroes” (Gameloft)
• “Castle of Magic” (Gameloft)
• “Deer Hunter 3D” (Glu Mobile)
• “Dungeon Hunter” (Gameloft)
• “Earthworm Jim” (Gameloft)
• “Gangstar: West Coast Hustle” (Gameloft)
• “Giant Fighting Robots” (Laminar Research)
• “Guitar Hero 5 Mobile” (Glu Mobile)
• “Hero of Sparta” (Gameloft)
• “Real Soccer 2010” (Gameloft)
• “Real Tennis” (Gameloft)
• “World Series of Poker: Hold’em Legend” (Glu Mobile)
• “X-Plane Airliner” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Carrier” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Extreme” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Glider” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Helicopter” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Racing” (Laminar Research)
• “X-Plane Space Shuttle” (Laminar Research)“The Palm webOS PDK is extremely powerful and far-reaching, as evidenced by the number of titles we’ve been able to bring to the webOS platform in a very short time,” said Baudouin Corman, vice president of publishing, Americas, Gameloft. “It’s quite difficult to make a great phone that’s also an outstanding gaming platform; Palm has been successful delivering both.”
More information about the beta PDK is available at the Palm Developer Center (developer.palm.com). More information about games for Palm webOS is available at www.palm.com/applications.
According to Oppenheimer’s Yair Reiner, Apple’s lawsuit against HTC didn’t come out of left field as most of us thought. Really, Apple had warned handset manufacturers that they were going to be stricter about enforcing their patents.
“Starting in January, Apple launched a series of C-Level discussions with tier-1 handset makers to underscore its growing displeasure at seeing its iPhone-related IP [intellectual property] infringed. The lawsuit filed against HTC thus appears to be Apple’s way of putting a public, lawyered-up exclamation point on a series of blunt conversations that have been occurring behind closed doors.”
Note: Reiner doesn’t mention Apple warning HTC specifically, but as a tier-1 handset manufacturer, it’s hard to imagine their exclusion from such conversations.
As Reiner tells it, Apple’s actions have sent “rival software and hardware teams…back to the drawing board to look for work-arounds” while lawyers look for holes in the suit. That’s not fantastic news if you don’t either produce or carry an iPhone. [Brainstorm Tech]
If you’ve got $22 and know a deserving kid, these LEGO Star Wars watches are about as adorable as gifts get. If you’ve got $30 and consider yourself deserving, there are slightly less cute adult versions, too. [StarWarsShop via Geekologie]
The 4N Watch was designed with a relatively simple goal—display digital time through mechanical, analog function.
Despite the exposed gears and jumble of numbers, the watch operates upon logic that anyone can grasp. Really, three numbered discs rotate to display the proper 3 to 4 digits of time (we’re assuming the hour disc displays the 11 and 12 hours on its own). That’s much more reasonable than a tiny arm sorting through a large pile of numbers with every new minute, which is pretty much what we imagined upon first glance.
Unfortunately, only 16 watches will be produced. So enjoy the picture. [4N via SlashGear]
Alongside Sony’s upcoming 3D-capable LCD sets, the company has announced standalone shutter glasses and an infrared emitter to drive them. For a family of four, the 3D upgrade would cost $587.
Sony’s TDG-BR100 and TDG-BR50 active shutter glasses will cost about $133 this June in Japan. The emitter will run about $55. (Prices converted from yen.)
Keep in mind, if you buy Sony’s flagship LX900 TV, starting at $3900, you get the emitter and two sets of glasses “free.” But clearly, Sony’s money making strategy is as much, if not more on the peripherals than it is on the televisions themselves. While their glasses may be a higher quality than others in the industry—a reasonable possibility—at least one manufacturer assured me at CES that their shutter glasses would cost about 1/4 Sony’s current asking price. [Sony Japan via Akihabara News]
“A strong wind is produced as the centrifuge induces a cyclone…The smell of boiling insulation emanates from the overloaded 25 amp cables. If not perfectly adjusted and lubricated, it will shred the teeth off brass gears in under a second.”
That’s Neil Fraser’s description of his 10-foot centrifuge he used to induce 3x gravity onto a lava lamp. And even though the lava lamp succeeds (doesn’t explode all over the place), the test itself is still a worthy watch. It’s not often you see the world from a centrifuge’s POV. [Neil Fraser via Digg via Neatorama]
For this week’s Shooting Challenge, I asked you to capture a photography by the light of just one candle. Your response, as always, was remarkable.
“Taken with a tripod mounted Canon XSi with a Canon 50mm f1.8 and an extension tube. Exposure was f/2 @ 1/50s, ISO 320.”
[Ed note: Close call, given the Portal shot in the galleries.]
-Adam Carlson
“This was “shot” using my Canon 7D with the 50mm f1.8 prime. Tripod, ISO 800, 1/6 shutter, f2.8. The only light in the image is from a taper candle inserted into a disassembled MAG-Lite. To keep the flame from melting the reflective lens of the flashlight, the setup was aimed up and the final image rotated.”
-Christian Shaffer
“The shot was taken with my Canon S90 @ F8, ISO 400 and with a 15sec exposure on a tripod. To achieve the blur, I adjusted the head of the tripod downward and back to it’s starting position quickly at the start of the exposure.”
-Jesse Oliveri
Camera: Mamiya RZ67
Lens: Mamiya-Sekor 110mm
Film: Kodak 160VC
Shot at: f2.8 at 1 sec
Reflective metered with a Sekonik L-508
Scanned at a low resolution
-Gabriel Padilla
Canon 5dMark II
Sigma 70-200mm EX
ISO 100
F 2.8
Shutter speed 2.5
“I hung the statue upside down to make it appear that the light was coming from up above. Using long term exposure I quickly moved the candle to light the side of his face.”
[Ed note: This image subverted my expectations completely, re-imagining soft candle light as a crisp backlight. Also, I have a soft spot for The Incredibles, silhouettes and the color red.]
-Felix Mendoza
Note: there are two galleries this week for the sake of our back end:
If participants proved one thing this week, it’s that a single candle is more than apt for photography by modern dSLRS. Well, that, and they’re all gluttons for punishment. Nice job, everyone.
Now cheer* on your favorites in the comments!
(*Just be sure to do so without, you know, being a dick to other participants. Also, for anyone wondering why the lead shot didn’t win, it was taken last summer making it ineligible for competition.)
Theoretically, this RGB lamp concept could mix 16 million color variations, but really, we’d be happy enough with seven in this shot. [macmeier and dailytonic via mocoloco]
It’s official, Valve’s digital distribution service Steam is coming to Mac, and bringing Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series (along with Source) with it this April. But there’s more.
Apparently, through Steam Play, gamers will be able to play supported titles (anything built on Source, it seems) on a PC (say, at work) then continue the game from the same point on their Mac (say, at home). Both versions of these games come bundled in one price—which is completely, totally, unbelievably forward-thinking and awesome. [Image by Kotaku]
VALVE TO DELIVER STEAM & SOURCE ON MAC
Leading Gaming Service Expands to Mac Platform
March 8, 2010 – Valve announced today it will bring Steam, Valve’s gaming service, and Source, Valve’s gaming engine, to the Mac.
Steam and Valve’s library of games including Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Counter-Strike, Portal, and the Half-Life series will be available in April.
“As we transition from entertainment as a product to entertainment as a service, customers and developers need open, high-quality Internet clients,” said Gabe Newell, President of Valve. “The Mac is a great platform for entertainment services.”
“Our Steam partners, who are delivering over a thousand games to 25 million Steam clients, are very excited about adding support for the Mac,” said Jason Holtman, Director of Business Development at Valve. “Steamworks for the Mac supports all of the Steamworks APIs, and we have added a new feature, called Steam Play, which allows customers who purchase the product for the Mac or Windows to play on the other platform free of charge. For example, Steam Play, in combination with the Steam Cloud, allows a gamer playing on their work PC to go home and pick up playing the same game at the same point on their home Mac. We expect most developers and publishers to take advantage of Steam Play.”
“We looked at a variety of methods to get our games onto the Mac and in the end decided to go with native versions rather than emulation,” said John Cook, Director of Steam Development. “The inclusion of WebKit into Steam, and of OpenGL into Source gives us a lot of flexibility in how we move these technologies forward. We are treating the Mac as a tier-1 platform so all of our future games will release simultaneously on Windows, Mac, and the Xbox 360. Updates for the Mac will be available simultaneously with the Windows updates. Furthermore, Mac and Windows players will be part of the same multiplayer universe, sharing servers, lobbies, and so forth. We fully support a heterogeneous mix of servers and clients. The first Mac Steam client will be the new generation currently in beta testing on Windows.”
Portal 2 will be Valve’s first simultaneous release for Mac and Windows. “Checking in code produces a PC build and Mac build at the same time, automatically, so the two platforms are perfectly in lock-step,” said Josh Weier, Portal 2 Project Lead. “We’re always playing a native version on the Mac right alongside the PC. This makes it very easy for us and for anyone using Source to do game development for the Mac.
Comcast is fairly evil, to be sure. But if they’re doing one thing right, it’s the latest version of their free iPhone app, Comcast Mobile App 2.0.
In this walkthrough, you’ll see that not only can you set recordings from your iPhone, but you can do so over the multiple DVRs that you may have in your house. (Note: so far, this function is only available in select areas.) Meanwhile, everyone receives new push notifications reminding you to watch or record your favorite shows…which admittedly sounds a bit useless in the DVR era.
If you’re watching the clip, skip about 20 seconds in to get to the meat of it. (Not that Scott the Comcast guy doesn’t seem very nice.) [iTunes via Comcast Blog Thanks Simon!]
At its surface, a recently uncovered Apple patent application describes a Motion Based Input Selection. But a closer look reveals that Apple wants the iPhone to become your life’s omnitool.
Using near field communication—or RFID, which isn’t in the current crop of iPhones—coupled with a cute, onscreen UI (like a combination lock), Apple’s patent describes a future in which iPhone users open their front doors and even pay for their next iPhone with a 3-digit pin. Many have already dubbed it the “iKey.”
I’m not sure that I could stand waiting at Walgreen’s while the guy in front of me attempted to wield the iPhone’s accelerometers with enough dexterity to purchase some antacid and the latest edition of Sport Fishing. But given that a good chunk of the world is already benefiting from phone-based RFID shopping, there’s little question that the basic premise is a good one. [Patent (PDF) and Telegraph and ElectricPig via Slashdot]
This hard drive clock by Russian designer Viacheslav Slavinsky feels like it could fly off its hinge at any moment, impaling onlookers shuriken-style…which is exactly why the video is so entrancing.
To craft the device, Slavinsky stripped back the hard drive to just one platter, which was ground down and etched with digits. Combined with an immaculately timed LED backlight rig (synced through IR), you get this:
As Slavinsky explains, “This is an awesome piece of hackage that tends to impress people. Unfortunately it fails at being quiet and reliable, which is a very important quality of a useful timepiece. Strobeshnik makes an awesome exhibition item however and can be classified as art.” We’re inclined to agree—to silence the Strobeshnik would be as sinful as welding an effective muffler on a Harley. [Strobeshnik via MAKE via DVICE]
That annoying, proprietary cord that you need to duplicate/upgrade your Xbox 360 hard drive used to be bundled exclusively with Microsoft’s overpriced drives. Now it’s being sold on its own for $15, making eBay drives attractive. [Blast Magazine via Kotaku]
At the Hanover zoo, an orangutan must pull a succession of strings before being rewarded with a nut. Sometimes, the experience gets a bit frustrating:
We’ve all been there, buddy. We’ve all been there. [Telegraph via Animals don’t think…][Image by Rex Features]
BBC’s Life, or as we’ve called it, Planet Earth Part II, is finally coming to Discovery starting March 21st. In this clip, the crew teases some of the amazing technique that allowed the documentary to capture so many new “firsts.”
If you haven’t seen our earlier coverage of Life, the clips you’ll find here are definitely worth your time, as is this behind the scenes of a few of Life‘s most epic moments. It may be old news to our friends overseas, but for those of us in America, it’s definitely time to set the DVR.
If only this $14 Steve Jobs MacBook decal really looked like Steve Jobs, something more stable could finally replace the black mock turtle lint effigy I’ve constructed in his name. If only. [Etsy via GeekyGadgets]
