Be sure to "middle click" on the post links to open them in a new tab. Kids get your mom or dad to approve all the news feeds, some may be PG-13 or higher.
Are you rich and short about 16GB of storage? Buddy, have I got a product for you. The SolidAlliance Mnemosyne USB drive is a beautifully designed little object that not only looks money, but stores your deepest, chromiest secrets (or mp3s). What’s the catch, you ask? No catch! Unless you consider a price tag of $10,000 a catch.
Yes, like many pieces of excellent design (and, of course, many pieces of terrible design), the Mnemosyne is so overpriced as to be relegated to the position of status symbol. Aside from its colossal MSRP, there are some other problems. It will, of course, be a fingerprint magnet if you use it at all. And honestly, 16GB is a little skimpy for ten grand.
I’m sure they could contact Guinness if they wanted to and get the record for most expensive USB drive, but the peasants who that record would impress aren’t exactly their target demographic! HA HA HA! (rich guy laugh)
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go sail around on my solid gold schooner, the “Galleon.” Get it — galleon? HA HA HA! Collar up!
Let’s be clear: it was his prerogative to put his race in the advert. I’m just repeating what I heard. But let’s also be honest. Say you wanted soccer (football) lessons. Given two identical ads on Craigslist, would you go with a guy born and raised in Brazil or some local yokel? I realize this is a sticky issue for potential Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor, but for us it’s less of a problem. The Brazil guy, am I right? Because he’s more likely to have been immersed in soccer culture from birth and to have played since childhood, developing skills people like me think only exist in Shaolin Soccer.
Sure, we’ve got our own, more official courses, but how can you resist one-on-one tutoring on such topics as:
Muta stacking
Lurker stop and stacking
Cloacked zergling
Learn Korean lango, like “chobo” “gosu” “ww” etc
Advanced micro/macro management (able to stand off 12 zerglings with just 3 zealots or fend off 18 zealots with just 4 cannons) < - EXTREME SKILL
Sounds pretty serious, and for $20-$35/hour, you’d better be serious too. I think a lot of these skills will carry over to Starcraft II as well, so you’re getting kind of a bargain here. Bay Area only, unfortunately.
I’m especially intrigued by the promise that “Korean girls will be intrigued that you’re such a good Starcraft player.” That’d be good, because my “blogger” lines are starting to wear thin on that variety.
Did you know you can switch tabs in Firefox by making a twisting motion with your fingers on a multi-touch surface? I did. Turns out I’ve been doing it for months — I thought I was late to the party and was too ashamed to mention it to anybody for fear of an epic internet ribbing (”What, you just figured that out?”). But no, apparently it was top secret and highly experimental. That was in the beta, though; it looks like the official version has reduced it to a hack. Fortunately, mastering this multi-touch-enabling technique will allow you to tweak your gestures, resulting in everlasting glory.
Simply open a new tab (I’ll wait) —
Put “about:config” in the address bar, no quotes. It’ll ask you if you’re sure. Yes, you are. You are okay.
Ready? Okay, now type “twist” into the search box.
Double-click on the twist right, and put “Browser:NextTab” into the box, without the quotes.
Theeen, in twist left, put “Browser:PrevTab” without the quotes.
You’re done! Now, I found the gesture (it applies immediately, try putting one finger down and rotating another around it) to be a bit slow to respond, so I changed that other setting, the threshold one, from its default (25) to 10. You can mess around and figure out what’s best for you.
See, tweaking is easy! If you’re afraid you’ve ruined something, just right-click (or “context menu click”) on any box you’ve modified and hit reset.
Curiosity piqued? Type “gesture” into the search box and try modifying a few of those settings. I don’t particularly like the twist, so I’m about to set tab switching to three-fingered swipes. Aren’t we just having so much fun?
Oh boy. I’ve found a reason to charge my Pre back from the dead. ZodTTD, purveyor of iPhone emulators galore, has struck again by installing psx4all on his Palm Pre. Surprisingly enough, Zod says the Pre’s hardware runs the emulator way better than the iPhone 3GS. But it’s not all peaches and cream.
Allow me to admit something shocking right off the bat: I have not watched these ads. I am blogging in ignorance , because it seems pretty clear what’s going on here. As was the case with the Seinfeld ads, it seems that once again, Microsoft is barking too hard, and up the wrong tree at that. Your browser is bad, it’s been bad for years. Sure, IE8 is way better than its predecessors, but that’s as close to polishing poop and calling it gold as anyone has ever come. But this isn’t the way to make people try it.
Another blast-from-the-past celebrity? Internet disorders? Even the most forgiving of watchers (a group that does not include me) must recognize this as a desperate and ham-fisted attempt at going viral. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Microsoft, you need to be honest and direct. Show your logo first, admit there are multiple browsers, then say why IE8 is good for people. Show the product and show it working. Seinfeld, S.H.Y.N.E.S.S., and “Welcome to the Social” are pretentious and ineffective. “I’m a PC” was trying too hard, but it was on the right track. But try to remember, Microsoft: you’re not selling people, you’re selling software. Leave the highfalutin nonsense to Apple and perfume commercials.
If I’m wrong please let me know, I don’t want to give Microsoft any more of my eyeball time than I already have.
The novel, published on July 1, 1984, predicted the World Wide Web, cyberspace, and a lot of other things. Which of William Gibson's predictions have come true, and which still seem far off?
After reporting that Microsoft will be charging up to twice as much for the full version of Windows 7E in Europe compared to Windows 7 in the United States, Microsoft was not charging more because of the anti-trust regulators in Europe. Consumers can purchase an upgrade for as little as $199 in the U.S. whilst Europeans will pay 309 or $433.99 (US) for the full version. Microsoft states the reason for the missing upgrade of Windows 7 is that Vista came with Internet Explorer 8 pre-installed, while Windows 7E will not. Due to complications, and a short notice to fix the IE8 problem, the upgrade versions are delayed.
Apple has released a beta build 7C97d of iPhone OS 3.1 to its developers today. Although there is no official change log yet (as this is a first beta) we have installed the update on a 3G and 3GS here in the Neowin office and it's noticeably faster moving around the OS. We are still tinkering around trying to find further changes but rumour has it this update is getting pumped out to address some battery issues that users have been complaining about over at the Apple iPhone discussion forums. Early indications show that the tethering hack we detailed earlier this month does work correctly. We will update the list below with our findings. What's new?
Well, iPhone OS 3.1 Beta just went live on Apple's developer center and, as usual, it's a quest to figure out what has changed. Our lovely developer friends have already started tearing it apart in search of that hidden gem detailing the iPhone 4GFP (The FP stands for "Face punch"), and we're keeping tabs on what they find.
Let us know what you uncover, and we'll add it to the list.
The Machinedrum is not something you can easily acquire. It’s hard to find Elektron in your local drum machine shop - not that there are many drum machine shops out there but fortunately all their products can be ordered online - if the price isn’t too steep for you. Anyway, I was eager to try this little beast out so let’s see what it can do.
The Machinedrum is a drum synthesizer with a small sample memory. It has 6 audio outputs and 2 inputs making it a device capable of serious routing and sound designing on stage or in studio. The heart of the machine is the 16 track sequencer which is very easy to use and unlike other devices out there it can in fact be used for live production. You get 64 step patterns out of the box - some are great, some are not - and 130 “machines” that are basically the sounds you can use and edit as you wish.
Look and feel
It’s a brick. I like the simple design and the square buttons although they are quite loud. The body is made of steel but the unit only weighs around 6 pounds. The screen could be bigger in my opinion. When you are performing live you often need to glance on the screen and it can be hard to read. In fact the black/white area around the screen could be used for a bigger screen making it easier to see things. Then again, you can read most of the stuff from the step sequencer and surely you wont be spending time editing sounds on stage. All the buttons and knobs are made of plastic and they react without latency.
Control
Sound selection is done with the big black wheel. You can see which sound is selected on the nearby LED bar. Changing patterns is a piece of cake and I love how the Machinedrum handles that. By selecting a bank from A to H and pressing a number you can change the pattern on the next beat. Recording beats can be done in different ways. The original drum machine method is to select a sound and select when it should be played. The alternate method is live recording with quantize of course. It works like a charm. Effects are handled on the screen and it’s easy to do some weird stuff with it. You can record the effect changes you made to your sound although it is hard to control them with a little knob. I love that the device responds immediately to everything.
Sound
The Machinedrum sounds great. Superb quality kits can be achieved in a small amount of time (see video). Audio signals can be routed to any of the 6 outputs. A great thing to mess around is recording external audio and resample them. 2.5 MB of sample memory however raises some questions. Why not include bigger memory or a CF card slot? Because of the lack of storage I’m refusing to call it a sampler. Resampling can be applied to the built in sounds as well opening a whole new world of sounds without limits. The sound is punchy, deep, delicate and very dynamic. Different kits will give you different styles from nu jazz to techno.
Overall
The Machinedrum SPS-1 UW will cost you $1790, shipping included. In the package Elektron’s midi interface, a TM-1 is included. It might be a little too high for “just” a drum synthesizer. This device sounds great, it’s easy to use and it’s very compact. You can take it with you in your backpack and you can lay superb beats and patterns down in a minute. If you are looking for a sampler, I suggest you look somewhere else. However, to be honest the Machinedrum is the best drum machine out there. Period.
I’m no marketing wizard, but Guitar Hero Smash Hits could have been called Guitar Hero: Songs From The First Guitar Hero Games Before The Drums and Microphone Existed But Now You Can Play the Good Songs from Those Games on the Drums and Sing Too. Again, I’m no marketing wizard.
And Guitar Hero Smash Hits isn’t a bad game at all. It is what it is, though: a greatest hits game. If you’ve played all the Guitar Hero games before World Tour and you’re only interested in playing guitar, then you’ll find little of value here. But if you liked all of the early songs and have always wished you could play the drumming and singing parts, then Smash Hits is worth a closer look.
What’s Inside?
Smash Hits features 48 songs from five earlier Guitar Hero games: Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero II, Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. All the songs found on Smash Hits are the master tracks from the original bands, whereas some of them were professional recordings from studio bands in the earlier games. There’s not a whole lot of difference other than that, though, except that you can now play the songs on the drums and you can sing using the microphone.
Everything else is your standard Guitar Hero game: Career Mode with a loose storyline, multiplayer, or quick play, plus you can take advantage of the built-in GHTunes track editor now if you want to take a stab at making your own song.
Why Not DLC?
Could all the tracks in the game have been made available as downloadable content and played on Guitar Hero: World Tour instead of inside of full retail packaging? Yes, absolutely. But Activision made an entire game out of it and you end up saving some money in the long run since you get 48 tracks for $60 — that’s assuming you like all of the tracks, though.
Who Would Like This Game?
This is a good game for people who loved the music from the first run of Guitar Hero games and want to be able to play the drum parts and/or sing the music parts.
It’s also a good game for someone looking to get into the whole Guitar Hero thing in the first place. I actually prefer the tracks in this game to the tracks in Guitar Hero World Tour. There’s not as much fluff here — all the bands and songs are easily recognizable and more rock-ish, whereas Guitar Hero: World Tour contained a bit broader set list as far as genres are concerned. This one’s got more pure rock and metal.
Who Wouldn’t Like This Game?
Anyone who just wants to play guitar and has already cruised through most or all of the Guitar Hero games before World Tour. You’d feel downright ripped off, as not a whole lot’s changed on the guitar and bass end of things.
However, you have access to all the songs without unlocking them first if you use the Quick Play mode and it’s easier to progress in Career Mode because you just need a certain number of stars for new venues to open up — those stars can be attained through a pretty big selection of initial songs, so play your favorites to move ahead quickly.
Finally, Guitar Hero Smash Hits doesn’t feature downloadable content aside from fan-made GHTunes tracks. So if you own GHWT and you’ve downloaded new songs, you won’t be able to play them in Smash Hits. That’s a big omission, in my opinion. Activision could have potentially enticed a fair amount of early fans to pick up Smash Hits even though they’ve already played all the songs before had they been able to download new songs to the game.
Conclusion
Guitar Hero Smash Hits is a standard Guitar Hero game through and through. There aren’t a whole lot of surprises here but if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it (as they say). It takes the early music of the series and leverages some of the gameplay features from Guitar Hero World Tour and Guitar Hero Metallica to make for a solid game with an above-average setlist.
If you like the series and you like the available songs, you won’t be disappointed. I think it could have been priced at $40 or made available as downloadable content but at $60, it’s still a good enough game to purchase if you’re new to the series and want to get set up with a good track list or if you’re a fan of the earlier games and want to play some of the earlier songs on drums or using the microphone.
According to a report on the Web, a newly-released iPhone 3GS became so hot during normal use, that its white case turned a bit brown. While this toasted iPhone...
Here’s a quick tip for you Mac users who are going to be downloading Firefox 3.5 today. Give this optimized version, named Shiretoko, a try. It’s only for Intel Macs, but it’s supposed to speed up boot time and whatnot. I don’t know, I use it (along with this icon pack) and, all things being equal, I think it works just swell. So give it a shot!
Cooliris, the visually-enthralling free browser plug-in that allows you to navigate through online photos and video via a 3-D image wall, has been updated to...
Users who turn to Cadent Computing's wineCellar to log and organize their wine collection will now be able sync entries via a new synchronization service added...
Don’t want to waste $37 to see Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen at the movie theater? Most critics wouldn’t blame you although a lot of fans are enjoying the summer flick. But anyway, watch the video above and save yourself some cash. It tells the same story and has a perportionant amount of explosions.
Here’s a four-port USB hub from Elecom that comes with magnetic backing and hooks for easy mounting on most surfaces. It retails for $40. I want one. Don’t you?
If you're part of a company which is enrolled in the Microsoft Partner program, and you are lusting for the ability to try out Microsoft's Surface SDK, your wish is now granted. According to Ars Technica, Microsoft has opened up the SDK to three different levels of Partners, each with bigger benefits than the tier below it. To get access to it, you'll have to join what Microsoft is calling the Surface QuickStart Program, which has the three aforementioned tiers; the lowest are called Microsoft Surface Community Members, a step above that are called the Surface Partners and the highest level are Strategic Partners. We've included a chart below detailing the benefits, thanks to Ars Technica.
Analysis: Ksplice, according to its developers, "enables running systems to stay secure without the disruption of re-booting." And guess what? It works.
Are you rich and short about 16GB of storage? Buddy, have I got a product for you. The SolidAlliance Mnemosyne USB drive is a beautifully designed little object that not only looks money, but stores your deepest, chromiest secrets (or mp3s). What’s the catch, you ask? No catch! Unless you consider a price tag of $10,000 a catch.
Oh boy. I’ve found a reason to charge my Pre back from the dead. ZodTTD, purveyor of iPhone emulators galore, has struck again by installing psx4all on his Palm Pre. Surprisingly enough, Zod says the Pre’s hardware runs the emulator way better than the iPhone 3GS. But it’s not all peaches and cream.
Well, 
