Software / Web Services

The iPhone and iPod touch have become solid gaming platforms, particularly in the last few months. Apps  that offer everything from the robust gameplay of Madden to time and battery-sucking casual games are available in the apps store. Some are free but others will cost you. Which of the paid games are worth the cash? We’ve got an app a feature for that.

Check out our list of the top iPhone games worth paying for. The list includes puzzle games, retro games, games where you shoot zombies, sports games and more. I’m partial to Arrr! Pirates vs. Aliens because I love both pirates and aliens, but there’s nothing more satisfying at the end of a long day than punching a virtual boxer over and over during a long commute.

Today, Google set techie tongues wagging when it showed the first demo of its highly-anticipated Chrome OS, during a Webcast and press conference. Confused by all the hype? Don’t be. We’ve broken down everything you need to know into 10 simple tidbits.

1. It’s speedy. The focus of Chrome OS is speed and simplicity. Users should expect everything from booting to loading Web pages to be much snappier than today’s PCs. The system you’ll see at the end of this video boots in about 7 seconds, and when it does it puts users right into the browser. Google also claims that sleeping netbooks will wake up in under a second.
2. All applications will be Web-based. Chrome OS is essentially a browser users will have to rely on Web apps for everything they do with their netbooks. However, since there are still times when people need to use their machines when not connected, the operating system will cache data and apps to the local drive when needed, similar to the way Google Gears works. This is possible because of the HTML 5 standard. Click here for 3 – 10

Later today Google is holding a big Chrome OS event at their headquarters in Mountain View to announce more details about their new Linux-based operating system. We’ll probably see a comprehensive demo and a little something to get everyone excited about what it’s capable of. Check our blog for coverage.

Google’s new OS is being developed specifically for netbooks and as Google has the Midas touch these days with Android popping up everywhere it’s easy to get excited about shades and shadows — but what about specifics?

Linux distros haven’t traditionally done well on netbooks. High return rates plus the lure of an operating system most people are already familiar with led the way for manufacturers to drop Linux in favor of Windows XP altogether early in the life of the category. Many people say Chrome OS could change all that, but I wonder what features it would have to include to make that happen.

Forget what Google may or may not reveal later today, what do you think Chrome OS will be like? And, more importantly, what should it be and do in order to pull Windows (or even Mac OS) users into the fold? Should the GUI attempt to emulate Windows or go for something closer to Android? The promises of a simple, web-based OS are great, but what would you like a Chrome OS netbook to be able to do when it’s not connected?

While we’ve had access to a preview version of Office 2010 since the summer, Microsoft has finally reached public beta on the next generation of its ubiquitous office suite. That means you can now download Office 2010 beta from Microsoft for free. As it costs nothing, we recommend that you install the beta and see for yourself if the new versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, et. al are significant improvements over their Office 2007 counterparts.

After reviewing the preview version and spending some quality time with the beta of Office 2010, we’ve come up with the list of 10 things to keep in mind as you research and test the software for yourself.

1. Backstage view is the new name for File and Print menu. Where in Office 2003 and before you had the File menu and in Office 2007 you had the magic Office orb in the upper left hand corner of the screen, you now need to click on the File tab and go to a whole separate screen called Backstage view to see your file, print, and settings options. Microsoft touts Backstage as giving users “easy, organized access to tolls that were previously spread across several locations.” We see it as a bit cumbersome, because it makes covers over your work while you’re just trying to do a simple task like save or print, something that previously was accomplished with small dialogue boxes that floated above your documents.

   However, in Backstage, you do get a nice preview thumbnail of the document that is being obstruced and some interesting specs such as the file size, total editing time, and number of Words in a Word document.

   Read the rest of this entry »

Today, Adobe released the beta version of Flash Player 10.1, and it provides a huge boost in video quality and frame rates for notebooks and netbooks that offer hardware video decoding. For example, on low-power Atom netbooks equipped with Nvidia’s Ion graphics, Flash Player 10.1 takes some of the work the CPU was doing and offloads it to the GPU. This makes it possible for machines like the HP Mini 311 ($399.99) to stream HD content from Hulu, YouTube, and other sources without choking. You’ll also see better frame rates on standard-def videos, especially when played at full screen.

We first compared Flash Player 10.1 vs. Flash 10 using two HP Mini 311s equipped with Nvidia Ion graphics, one running XP, and the other Windows 7 Premium ($75.99). And we measured the frame rates of video playback on Hulu and YouTube with the netbooks outputting their video signal to a 32-inch Samsung HDTV. Because Intel’s 4 Series chipsets also supports hardware video decoding, we ran the same tests on an Acer Aspire 1810t ($599.99), which has GMA4500MHD graphics. To see if your notebook or netbook supports video hardware acceleration in Flash 10.1, click here.

Up until now, streaming Flash video off of sites such as Hulu.com was an iffy proposition on Ion netbooks, as the app used the CPU to do most of the work. But with Flash Player 10.1, that’s no longer an issue. As you’ll see in the video and chart below, what was a slideshow now becomes watchable. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it’s a heck of a lot better. Our ULV ultraportable also showed improvment in most tests. Read the rest of this entry »

Hulu may be the current face of the TV-on-the-Web movement, but it’s not the only player in the game. YouTube, for example,  stepped up with its Shows and Movies sections, and now Microsoft is following suit with the new Bing Video.

Microsoft has begun rolling out the new Bing Video (replacing MSN Video), which will aggregate Hollywood content from a variety of sources including ABC, Hulu, and YouTube.  Bing Video features over 900 television shows including Flash Forward, The Jay Leno Show, and The Office.  In some brief time with the service, we liked that we could browse content based on channel (such as Bravo, National Geographic), but there seemed to be an unusually high number of clips in relation to full length shows. The movie section is even worse–we couldn’t find one full-length flick amongst the trailers, interviews, and clips.

Certainly, Bing Video is still in the early phases, and we expect more compelling content to be added over time. Do you think, however, that there’s a need for yet another ideo source? Sound off in the comments below.

Checking out this list of free holiday Wi-Fi offerings from various sponsors, I’m happy to see that there will be more places I can access the Internet without exhorbitant fees. Yes, I’ll have to sit through an ad or be forced to use a specific search engine, but if it’s between that and $13/hour, I’ll take having to use Bing for a little while instead of my default.

If this marketing strategy works out, could this be the shape of free public Wi-Fi in the future? When major players decide to allow free access, there’s usually a reason… or a catch. Barnes & Noble now offers free wireless in its stores as a way to tempt customers to buy eBooks. Starbucks allows 2 hours of free wireless per day, but to access it you need a Starbucks card with a regularly updated balance.

Is this kind of marketing a good balance between what the user needs and what companies need as GigaOM purports? I love free Wi-Fi but I also can’t help but wonder if we’re headed toward a slippery slope. What wonders or horrors will await us at the bottom?

The Mozilla Blog reminded us today that it’s been five years since Firefox 1.0 first entered the world. Hard to believe that the upstart browser is so old, yet it also feels like Firefox is such an indispensable tool for the Web that I hardly know how I got along without it.

I remember the days when Netscape ruled and only people who barely knew how to operate their computers used Internet Explorer. But just like in that seminal memoir The Other Guy Blinked: How Pepsi Won the Cola Wars, Netscape lost its footing with some disastrous decisions in the late 90s which ultimately led to an inferior product. Microsoft and IE took over PCs and budding web designers (like myself) all cried silent tears.

But out of the ashes of Netscape’s demise came Mozilla, and from Mozilla came Firefox, and five years later we’re still enjoying the benefits of a free, open source browser that complies with Web standards and makes browsing a bit safer.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hulu may be the face of the TV-on-the-Web movement, but the one aspect of  service that’s severely lacking is the movie selection. Sure, you can watch cult classics like the unintentionally hilarious Troll 2, but if you’re looking for Hollywood’s finest selections, Hulu’s a wasteland.

Enter Epix, a new premium cable TV movie channel (available to FIOS customers)  that’s a joint venture between Lionsgate, MGM Studios, and Viacom. The channel will also be accompanied by a web portal that will allow those subscribers to view content online. Epix will offer over 300 movies when it launches this weekend (including recent hits like Iron Man and Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull), which will scale up to 720p resolution depending on a subscriber’s connection speed.

Having such close Hollywood ties means Epix will receive content faster than rival channels; you can expect movies to show up 9 months after their theatrical runs, as opposed to a year with HBO. Epix will also include behind the scenes interviews and features, as well as original content.

One of Epix’ coolest features is the  ability for a FIOS subscriber to watch a movie with up to five other friends, even if they aren’t FIOS customers. The host has the ability to control the video playback.

Intrigued? You can sample Epix by requesting a three-day pass here. It’s not quite cutting the cable cord, but service does present more options that traditional movie channels.

[Hat Tip: Read Write Web]

If streaming media is in your blood, Roku has announced two new products that may grab your interest: The Roku SD and Roku HD-XR. Both players deliver content from Amazon, MLB.TV, and Netflix, but contain subtle differentiators.

The Roku SD player ($79.99) connects to your TV using composite cables for enjoying DVD-quality visuals. The box also includes 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and an Ethernet port.

The Roku HD-XR ($129) has a dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi radio that enables it to stream high-definition content, as well as HDMI, component, composite, and S-Video connections. It also includes a USB port (Roku hasn’t stated the port’s exact purpose, but we suspect that it will eventually allow you to plug in an external drive so you can playback your own media).

The original Roku player ($99.99) still lives on, and it’s virtually identical to the Roku HD-XR except that it has 802.11g Wi-Fi, and lacks the USB port. Roku also announced that it will launch the Roku Channel Store this fall, which will allow customers to add new content channels.

With so many options available for receiving streaming video content, do you think it’s time to cut the cord?