"Technology" via Brandon in Google Reader

Windows 7 and DirectX 11 - not just good news for gamers!

2009-10-23T19:00:00Z

Filed under: Games, Video, Features, Microsoft

Let me begin with some common knowledge to put us on some common ground. Vista sucks. By association, DirectX10 sucks. In fact, you might not even know what DirectX is -- and you would be forgiven!

DirectX is the piece of software that sits between your computer, and your video games. If you don't play games, you won't have heard of it. When you play a game on your PC it goes through DirectX. And until now, that's all DirectX did.

It's true: DirectX 10 premiered some nice new technologies. But because they were only available on Vista, which as we all know sucked more than a Hoover with a fresh, high-suction bag, DirectX 11 will be the first time most of us get to experience these new, funky technologies.

Continue reading Windows 7 and DirectX 11 - not just good news for gamers!

Windows 7 and DirectX 11 - not just good news for gamers! originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics: Window 7 - Microsoft - Microsoft Windows - Windows Vista - Download Squad

Livebrush

2009-10-10T17:43:55Z

Livebrush is a fantastic new organic drawing application built on Adobe AIR by David Fasullo. Not just a desktop application but also a design community encouraging the creation of organic art together with extensions to the application by the community.

This is a paid for application but you can try and play with the lite version before making that purchase of $10 for the full Livebrush Pro app.

Livebrush is a drawing application. It employs an easy-to-use brush tool that reacts to your gesture. By combining simple motion controls with brush styles, Livebrush offers a fun and unique way to create graphics

The best way to describe Livebrush is as a line drawing tool on steroids. There are an overwhelming number of options available for your brush strokes including a standard set of 100 styles and decorators. Each of these can then be customised and tailored to suite your style and project.

You control the speed, angle width and other parameters for your brush stroke. Detailed colour options are available to really enhance that drawing.

See some example artworks in my flickr account here and here. I’m sure you can all do a lot better than this! The Livebrush flickr account is located here.

Video review

Design eye

The interface follows some common conventions for such drawing apps like Photoshop, Illustrator etc. Although I found some standard interactions were not there. Resizing the app smaller chopped the artboard and no scrollbars were created. The iconography on the layers palette was a little non intuitive. Where I was expecting a trash can for delete I had a cross on a button in the middle. Also the lack of tooltips as a guide made heavy work of the UI.

Also Don’t assume that I want the application to open up to the maximum width of my screen.

In some instances I found there were just too many options especially for a beginner like myself. A simple task like finding out how to change the line / brush colour was not as clear as it could be. The status text at the top ( Project New Project as an example) really look like buttons, I was trying to click them to create a new project.

Interface woes aside this app produces some truly stunning pieces of art that you can export as SVG, or PNG. There is an export layers option too.

Technical eye

This is a comprehensive Adobe AIR application built using FLash CS4, ActionScript 3 and the Adobe AIR framework.

In summary

Try this Adobe AIR application for some truly different organic type art for your projects. I can see this begin useful for backdrops to websites, posters and music promotions. When combined with your work in Photoshop this will be invaluable.

Being a paid for application costing only $10 USD you can’t really go wrong. Try it today.

Tagged with: designer

Advertise here on the RefreshingApps feed and get noticed. Find out more.

Install Snow Leopard on Your Hackintosh PC, No Hacking Required [How To]

2009-09-16T00:00:00Z

Two weeks ago I detailed how to build a Hackintosh with Snow Leopard, start to finish, with a little Terminal work. If you're not comfortable with command-line hacking, you can now install Snow Leopard on your Hackintosh with just a few point-and-clicks.

So what's changed between my last guide and this one? In short, one of the incredibly helpful and generous people who helped walk me through the installation process last time was kind enough to wrap all the tedious Terminal work into one dead simple installer. Where two weeks ago I showed you how to prepare your thumb drive (and after that, hard drive) with a custom bootloader that allows you to boot into OS X on regular old PC hardware, now all you have to do is run a package, point it at the drive you want to prepare, and then let it take care of all the nitty gritty. It could not be more simple.

Now onto the revised process!

NOTE: Just like the last post, this guide is focused specifically on the hardware I suggested in the previous guide—specifically the motherboard. If you try following this guide on other hardware, there's a very good chance it won't work as advertised.

What You'll Need

Supported hardware. I laid out my list of supported hardware in my previous post here. It's not the only hardware that will work with OS X, but it's the only hardware that's guaranteed to work with this guide.
A USB thumb drive that's at least 8GB in size (I'm using this 16GB Corsair drive, but obviously any sufficiently sized thumb drive should do just fine.)
A copy of the Snow Leopard Install DVD. You can use the $29 "Upgrade" disc to install, even though this is a fresh installation. Note: If you feel like being completely honest, go ahead and buy the Mac Box Set-though, honestly, Apple's practically made it hard *not* to buy the fully functional install disc.
Another Mac to prepare your thumb drive. (You'll only need this other Mac for a few steps. I used my MacBook Pro, but you could also borrow a friend's for an hour or so, too.)
The EP45UD3P Snow Leopard install package. This package allows you to skip all the command line work in my last guide, and you can download it here.

Step One: Prepare Your Thumb Drive

In this step, you're going to format your thumb drive and then restore the Snow Leopard DVD image to the thumb drive because later we'll be installing Snow Leopard to your hard drive using this thumb drive rather than the DVD. "Why?" you ask. Because in order to boot the installer, we need to customize the disk image with some special helper files of our own.

I went into great detail on this process last time, so this time I'm just going to include the step-by-step video below (made by the same generous man who created the EP45UD3P Snow Leopard installer package). If you want to read the very detailed version for a thorough explanation of how to rip the Snow Leopard install DVD to a disk image and then restore that image to your thumb drive, go here. (Come back when you get to the "Semi-heavy Terminal work" warning. That's when you're ready for the new and improved easy part.)

Note: Watch the video in HD and fullscreen to get a closer look at everything that's happening.

As you can see in the video, after you restore the Snow Leopard install DVD to your thumb drive, all you've got to do is fire up the EP45UD3P Snow Leopard.pkg file (if you haven't already downloaded and unzipped it, you can grab it here), select your thumb drive, and, let the installer take care of all the dirty work that you previously had to do one line at a time in Terminal.

Once you've finished there, you're ready to set your BIOS and install Snow Leopard.

Step 2: Set Your BIOS

Before you can boot into or install OS X on your Hackintosh, you've got to make some small adjustments to your system BIOS (press Delete at system startup to tweak your BIOS settings). Rather than taking you step by step through every change you need to make, I've simply snapped a picture of the relevant BIOS screens and added some notes. Just click through these images and make sure your BIOS settings match up.

Step 3: Install Snow Leopard

If you've made it this far, the hard part is over. Now it's time to install Snow Leopard, which—unlike what we've done so far—is extremely easy.

Make sure you've set the boot priority in your BIOS to boot from your thumb drive (you can see how in this pic), then simply plug your prepared thumb drive into your Hackintosh and power it up. Since screenshots aren't really an option—and since it's a fairly easy process—my install instructions come in video format:

The quick version goes like this: Boot into the Snow Leopard installer, format the hard drive you want to install Snow Leopard to (go to Utilities -> Disk Utility, then click on the drive, select 1 Partition, Mac OS X Journaled (~~Case-Sensitive~~ Update: Several readers have suggested that case-sensitive formatting can cause problems with some applications, like Adobe's Creative Suite, so you may be better off sticking with plain old Mac OS X Journaled.), give it a name, and make sure GUID Partition Table is set in the Options. After you Apply the new partition, go back to the installer and install like normal to that drive. When you reboot after the install completes, press the arrow keys at the graphical boot menu and select the drive you just installed Snow Leopard to.

Two Last Tweaks

You could just stop there and be pretty happy at your new Hackintosh, but there are two little, easily performed tweaks you'll want to tackle to get everything in tip top shape: The first will get your sound fully working, and the second will allow you to boot into Snow Leopard without your thumb drive.

Tweak One: Snow Leopard should be up and running on your Hackintosh like a dream—with one exception: Sound isn't entirely working yet. You may notice that sound actually does work in some instances, but not all. In the old guide, you needed to install a custom audio kext (your Mac's equivalent to a driver); the setup has been slightly tweaked in this new method, so all you should actually need to do is open up the Sound preference pane in System Preferences (/Applications/System Preferences), click the Output tab, and change the output device to Built-in Line output (I haven't tested with digital out, but it should work fine in theory).

Tweak Two: At this point, in order to boot to your newly installed Snow Leopard installation, you need to have your thumb drive plugged in so it loads the custom bootloader, from which you can select your new Snow Leopard hard drive. To install the custom bootloader to your hard drive (so you no longer need the thumb drive to boot), again download the EP45UD3P Snow Leopard.pkg zip file and run it, but this time, instead of choosing to install the package to your thumb drive, select the hard drive you've installed Snow Leopard to. Once the installer completes, you'll no longer need your thumb drive plugged in to boot into Snow Leopard.

Congratulations! You've Got a Fully Functional Hackintosh—the Easy Way

Where the method I covered previously required a good amount of time and care in Terminal, this new and improved method is a breeze, and it works even better. (Sound works out of the box without any custom kexts, for example.)

It's also worth noting that you can go ahead and upgrade to OS X 10.6.1 without any problems.

If you've given the Hackintosh route a try since my first post, let's hear how it's been working out for you in the comments. If this extra ease-of-installation was just what the doctor ordered, go grab the parts listed in the last post and get ready for a fun weekend.

Adam Pash is the editor of Lifehacker; he loves a good hack, enjoys his Macintosh, and craves the power of a Mac Pro, so building a Hack Pro was a perfect fit. His special feature Hack Attack appears on Lifehacker. Subscribe to the Hack Attack RSS feed to get new installments in your newsreader.

STDU Viewer: one-stop ebook reader for PDF, DJV, XPS, CBZ, CBR, TIFF, and TXT formats

2009-10-05T19:41:26Z

STDU Viewer is a free, all-around edocument and ebook reader that supports PDF, Deja-Vu (DJV), Comic Book Archive (CBZ, CBR), TIFF, Text, and XPS documents. It offers a good range of functions including a tabbed interface for multiple document views, a powerful search function, user defined actions for double-clicking on any of the four quarters of the screen, navigate by thumbnail preview, bookmarking, and versatile layout/zooming options.

If you’re interested in a single-stop ebook and edocument reader check out STDU Viewer. It offers support for many ebook formats, including PDF, Deja-Vu, as well as the comic book formats CBZ and CBR, and is an excellent program to boot.

If you’re wondering if STDU Viewer is a good PDF reader the answer is yes. Very good in fact, and makes for a great replacement to Adobe’s reader. Here are my top ten SIX things I like about this program:

One ebook reader to rule them all: I love the range of formats that it covers, which comprises the most common ebook formats on the internet.
Tabs: are not just for Firefox anymore, and the ability to work with multiple documents simultaneously each on its own tab is not only fashionable, it makes for a good user experience.
Search: what’s cool about the search function is that, unlike other readers, it doesn’t just jump to the next instance of the text but actually presents a list of results (see screenshot to the right)
User-defined double clicking action: STDU Viewer will divide the page into four quadrants and allows you to define an action to be performed when you double click on each quadrant. For example you could set it up such that if you double click on the bottom right of the screen the program would perform a page down.
Thumbnails: you could place page thumbnails and the left hand margin and use them to browse. Very cool (see screenshot at the top of this post). This applies to all formats and not just comic book archives.
Bookmarks: if you’re reading a document you need bookmarks right? Right. STDU allows you to set bookmarks for later use. It does not store these bookmarks within the document itself.

Wish list:

Support for: .LIT and HTML Help CHM files. This would REALLY make this program an indispensable install.

The verdict: a very nice program; install this one and use for all (or most) of your ebook / edocument reading needs.

I also like that the program is so well laid out from a usability point of view and that it is kept so simple and straightforward. Now if they would only extend their support to .LIT and .CHM files! Regardless, this reader is highly recommended.

Version Tested: 1.5

Compatibility: Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista.

Go to the program home page to download the latest version (approx 1.65 megs).

Adobe Flash CS5 converts Flash to iPhone apps

2009-10-06T14:00:00Z

Filed under: Developer, Games, Adobe

Flash is coming to the iPhone! Well, sort of. Adobe is showing off a new feature of Flash CS5 Professional that will convert Flash/Actionscript into iPhone apps. The public beta of CS5 with Flash Platform is due out later this year, but for now, you can test out some iPhone games that were created with the new system. For comparison, check out the puzzle game Chroma Circuit on the web and then on the iPhone.

This is good news for Flash developers who want to get their games into the App Store without having to write iPhone-native apps themselves, especially because it allows them to reuse the same code on the web or on Flash-friendly mobile platforms. This might mean that we'll see some of our favorite Flash time-wasters on the iPhone, too. There's also the possibility that the App Store will be flooded with the same awful Flash games that plague the web now. Developing a lame Flash game for the web doesn't have the same $99 pricetag that signing up for the iPhone developer program does, though, so that might keep the quality of iPhone game offerings from taking a huge dive.

Adobe Flash CS5 converts Flash to iPhone apps originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics: iPhone - Adobe Flash - App Store - Download Squad - Flash CS5 Professional

Free VMWare Player 3 can now create virtual machines

2009-10-06T16:00:00Z

Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Linux, Freeware, Beta

VirtualBox has always enjoyed one key advantage over VMWare: it's free. Sure, the VMWare Player is also free -- but all it can do is boot virtual machines which have been previously by another app.

Rather, that's all it could do until now. VMWare Player version 3 has hit the release candidate stage and is available for public download, and guess what? It's now got the ability to create virtual machines. That's pretty amazing news for virtualization hobbyists like myself.

Apart from the added VM creation chops, Player v3 also offers OpenGL support in guest machines, ALSA support on Linux guests, ThinPrint powered printing, Windows 7 support, and multiple monitor support.

And yes, it even supports Aero Glass in Vista and WIndows 7 just like its big brother.

Another great addition is the easy install wizard, which makes setting up popular operating systems on a new guest machine ridiculously easy. That is, when it works. The wizard should create a floppy configuration file which Ubuntu reads during the install process. When I tested with the Karmic Koala beta, though, Ubuntu's installer wouldn't recognize the floppy image and crapped out.

A regular install, on the other hand, worked just fine and completed in roughly the same amount of time as it took under VIrtualBox -- if not slightly less.

The download is free, weighs in at about 90Mb, and you'll need to have a registered account with VMWare to get access to the downloads.

Free VMWare Player 3 can now create virtual machines originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics: Linux - Download Squad - Operating system - VMware - List of Ubuntu releases

EU approves Microsoft's browser ballot screen for 5-year stint

2009-10-07T14:30:00Z

Filed under: News, Microsoft, Browsers

Back in July, Microsoft thought they had a pretty solid compromise to put before EU regulators with their web browser ballot screen. Concerns were raised throughout the process -- first by Opera and later by Mozilla's brass -- but it looks as though the EU is giving Microsoft the go-ahead.

According to Nelie Kroes, European Commissioner for Competition Policy, the ballot screen will include the twelve most popular browsers in the EU. To make the cut, a browser must be among the top dozen in usage share in the EU territory.

Kroes' spoke favorably of Microsoft's efforts:

The Commission's preliminary view is that Microsoft's commitments would indeed address our competition concerns.

Microsoft's proposal in particular recognises the principle that consumers should be given a free and effective choice of web browser. It would empower all current and future users of Windows in Europe to choose which browser they wished to use. It would therefore have a direct and immediate impact on the market.

Does this mean we won't be hearing any more about this issue? Likely not. First and foremost, the deployment is being considered "market testing" at this point. On top of that, not much has changed since Opera first complained about the ballot screen and the install process also isn't as simple as Mozilla wanted it to be.

The approved screen will include "more information" buttons for each browser and download links, but that seems to have been enough to satisfy the EU. Microsoft has indeed enabled users to make a choice - figuring out how to get another browser completely installed is going to be up to the end user.

At least for now. The EU has included a review clause so the commission can ensure the ballot screen is "working properly" over the next five years.

EU approves Microsoft's browser ballot screen for 5-year stint originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics: Microsoft - Opera - Download Squad - Web browser - European Commission

MediaFire pees on Skipscreen's boots, seeks to ban Firefox add-on

2009-10-07T18:00:00Z

Filed under: Utilities, Mozilla, P2P, Browsers

When I wrote about Skipscreen back in April, I figured it was probably the kind of add-on that someone, somewhere wouldn't like. Possibly the free hosting providers whose roadblocks Skipscreen is designed to circumvent.

Fast forward to today, and that's exactly the case. MediaFire has decided that Mozilla needs to remove the add-on from its directory immediately, citing violations of the MediaFire TOS. Skipscreen hijacks bandwidth, they say. It acts like a robot/spider/retrieval app -- which we forbid, they say. It reformats our web pages without our consent, they say.

The last claim I find particularly weak. Why? By their logic, if you've designed a MediaFire CSS remix and posted it to Userstyles.org, that makes you a nasty little thug.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has already penned a response on Skipscreen's behalf, spelling out in great detail how the add-on functions within MediaFire's rules. Technically, anyway. Whether or not the letter wins Mozilla's favor remains to be seen.

Both the takedown request and EFF response have been posted on Skipscreen's blog - have a look, and share your thoughts in the comments!

On a deliciously ironic note, Skipscreen supporters have decided to strike back by uploading copies of the Firefox addon to MediaFire servers. I see what you did there.

MediaFire pees on Skipscreen's boots, seeks to ban Firefox add-on originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics: Download Squad - Firefox - Mozilla - Add-on - Electronic Frontier Foundation

Apple Gets Okay to Block Third-Party Gadgets (Like the Palm Pre) from Syncing with iTunes [Apple]

2009-09-24T17:30:00Z

When we put together our iTunes wishlist, item number three on the list got wistful that someday Apple might consider allowing non-iPod devices to sync with their music player. Palm went so far as to pretend its Pre was an iPod so users could sync with iTunes—an action that started a cat and mouse game between Apple and Palm for blocking and enabling Palm-Pre-to-iTunes syncing. Palm then complained to the USB Implementers Forum, a non-profit group that oversees USB standards. According to the New York Times, not only did Palm not get the answer they were looking for—they were actually told that using Apple's vendor ID to spoof that the Pre is an iPod is a violation of policy. In short, don't expect Apple to open that walled garden any time soon. [NYT]

Use Google Docs to Convert Images to Text [Documents]

2009-09-29T11:40:00Z

It's not an official feature (yet), but Google Docs can perform OCR image-to-text conversions on high-resolution files you upload to it. They have to be pretty darned clear and crisp, but it's a nice freebie.

Those with webapps or services that upload to Google Docs can use this URL parameter to accept PNG, JPG, and GIF files for conversion, listed as an "experimental" feature at the moment.

Users, in the meantime, can try out a conversion using their own accounts at the Google Code Samples link. I tried uploading PNG screen grabs of Lifehacker and Wikipedia to Google Docs for conversion. Docs returned nothing with Lifehacker's text, and a somewhat muddled take on the Wikipedia entry for "life hack" with both PNG and JPG uploads (the full-quality JPG conversion, not pictured, fared just a bit better). Those were taken using nothing more than Ubuntu's screen capture tool and GIMP, however, so if you've got a better screen capture tool, or an actual camera shot of some relatively clear text, you'll probably do better.

Tell us how automatic Google Doc OCR might help you out in the comments.

DocList API OCR Demo [ via Digital Inspiration]

Backpack Generates 40 Watts Just By Walking [Gadgets]

2009-10-01T15:20:00Z

Defense Tech's Bryant Jordan was at the Disneyland of military gadgetry—the Modern Day Marine event at Quantico—and came across this power-generating backpack, which has stepped from prototype to reality. It can generate 40 watts just by walking.

It works great, apparently. The backpack itself is mounted on rails, so it moves up and down when its wearer moves. The movement generates enough electricity to power your gadgets, and the design actually relieves stress from the user. [Lightning Packs via Defense Tech]

Cyclopedia Augmented Reality iPhone App Drenches Your World In Wikipedia [IPhone Apps]

2009-10-01T22:20:00Z

App concepts don't get much simpler than this, or much cooler: Cyclopedia takes Wikipedia's tens of thousands of geotagged entries, and overlays them onto a live, compass-oriented view of your surroundings.

If this sounds an awful lot like Wikitude, the AR Android app that just can't seem to eek its way into the App Store, that's because it is an awful lot like Wikitude—except with a more polished interface, and, well, iPhone support. (Sort of: non-3GSers need not apply). As with Wikitude, firing this thing up around a familiar location won't really blow your mind, since Wikipedia's geographic article density is still pretty low.

But if you're visiting a new place—that is, a place Wikipedia editors care to write about—Cyclopedia ceases to be an AR tech demo, and with adjustable search radii, a top-down map mode and non-geocaches Wikipedia searching, actually starts to be useful. Available now in the App Store for $2; video demo at the source link. [Chemical Wedding]

Giz Explains: Why You Can't Get Decent Earphones for Less Than $100 [Giz Explains]

2009-10-02T15:00:00Z

Crappy earbuds are killing music. It's true. The problem is that good earbuds, like speakers, aren't cheap.

We're gonna be talking in-ear earbuds—canalphones, really, or in-ear monitors, if you're snooty—since all the good stuff goes deep into your precious earholes. We aren't talking about headphones because great headphones aren't the most discreet things around—can't defeat physics, children. Unless you derive some sick pleasure from jogging with a pair of giant cans bolted to your head, earbuds are the way to go.

It's All About the Drivers—No, Not Those Kind

Whether you're talking about headphones or earbuds, they work a lot like loudspeakers, just miniaturized. The key element in both are drivers, though earphone drivers are a lot smaller, and do a lot less work to make the same music.

There are two main types of drivers: The a dynamic driver works just like a traditional one in big ol' speaker. The benefit of the dynamic driver is that it produces a nice bass response, though it can be hard to miniaturize.

A balanced armature driver is pretty common in serious in-ear monitors, since it's easy to shrink down. Originally found in hearing aids, it houses a magnetic armature that moves when an electric current runs through the coil, putting pressure on the diaphragm, creating sound. It can be, and often is, paired with a dynamic driver.

Most earbuds just have the one driver, though more and more have multiple drivers. That costs more 'cause it's harder to cram more than one into a tiny casing meant to rest gravity-free in your ear. With multiple drivers also comes a "crossover network," circuitry meant to divide music into different frequencies and route them to the appropriate drivers, an additional payload to stuff into that tight space. Once all that is crammed in, however, multi-driver earbuds typically sound better than single-driver ones, because the woofer, tweeter and mid-range horn are more innately equipped to handle their own domains of sound—from boomy bass to sizzly treble.

Among the least expensive multiple-driver earbuds are Apple's fancier $80 in-ear earbuds, which use two drivers, a tweeter for highs, and another for everything else. It gets more expensive as you creep up. Shure's three-driver SE530 lists for $500 (but can be found for much less). Ultimate Ears' UE-11 Pro, which will run you a ridiculous $1150, come with a correspondingly ridiculous four drivers. That's one for mid-range and one for highs and two for bass.

Some companies opt for a single driver because they think it's better, since there aren't complications with crossover networks, trying to get all the drivers to work together to produce seamless sound. On the other hand, with a single driver, you're asking one driver to do everything: highs, lows and mid-range, says Stereophile senior contributing editor Michael Fremer Fremer. (Yes, that Michael Fremer.) That's why , FutureSonics, for instance, makers of pro monitoring gear, charges so much for their single-driver earbuds. "A really good single-driver can sound really good," says Fremer.

What It's Made Of, How It's Made

Besides more drivers, what you get in pricier earbuds is (surprise, surprise) better materials, finer build quality and a more focused design. Michael Johns, headphones manager for Shure—known for earbuds with MSRP ranging from $100 to $500 but rarely double digits—told me that most of the really cheap ($20) headphones on the market are basically rebranded crap from no-name factories, and that when you buy those with suggested retail pricing between $50 and $100, you're mostly paying for style, not sound. The top-tier brands, of which there are many, tend to design and engineer their own headphones. The expense of that is, unfortunately, passed on to you.

The cost of raw ingredients is also passed to you—the cable material, the magnet behind the diaphragm, the diaphragm material itself, the overall quality of the driver, and the enclosure. (Again, all of the stuff that jacks up the price of higher quality loudspeakers too.) None of that stuff, when it's well made, is cheap. Fremer says, for instance, that better headphones actually use stronger magnets than cheaper headphones. As you might guess, the more powerful the magnet, the higher the cost.

The Fit

With legit in-ear buds, fit matters a lot, because the seal is critical. Not only does a good seal mean less ambient noise infiltrates your ears—allowing you to keep your volume low while still catching the full dynamic range—but an airtight seal is how you get decent bass response. And you want something shoved deep down inside your ear to be comfortable, as well as fit, so there's a lot of different kinds of tips earbud makers have come up with. Besides the standard rubber bulb, there's squishy foam, and the Christmas tree-lookin' triple-flange sleeves. What works best often comes down to your own ears and personal preference, which is why better earbuds come with a ton of tips.

What Do I Buy?

So, uh, what's the sweet spot price for great headphones? If Shure and Fremer had their way, everybody would spend upwards of $200 on their earbuds, but if you twist their arm, they'll agree that $100 is where buds start getting decent. The real trick, according to Fremer, is just getting people to "spend that first hundred bucks."

The law of diminishing returns tends to kick in above that point: The difference between $300 set of buds and a $400 pair is nowhere near the jump from $20 to $100. Even smaller is the difference in models between generations. The best value on the market might be a previous-gen version of Shure's 500 series buds at a cut rate ($290), but if you can find $100 earbuds for 70 bucks, it's even better.

Interestingly, Fremer says what you're looking for in great earbuds is "a relatively flat frequency response so no frequency is accentuated above another," so "the product that sounds the best is usually the one that impresses you the least at first." Buds that tout big bass, for instance, don't actually have better bass, just more of it. (You can always adjust the EQ if you want more bass.)

Whatever you do, for Christ's sake—and yours—ditch the iPod earbuds.

Still something you wanna know? Send questions about buds, tips or hot waitresses who deserve big tips to tips@gizmodo.com, with "Giz Explains" in the subject line.

Sony Getting Closer to TVs With No Cables Whatsoever [Wireless Power]

2009-10-02T17:28:33Z

This TV has absolutely no cables connected to it. No video cable. No audio cable. And no power cable. How's this wicked sorcery possible? Thanks to Sony's new Wireless Power Transfer technology, which can send 60 watts over the air.

Sony's Wireless Power Transfer can push 60 watts of electrical energy over almost 20 inches (50 centimeters). That's a pretty decent distance, especially when they say that it can be extended using passive extender units. In fact, they have already achieved 31 inches in other tests.

They claim that their method—which sounds similar to Intel's—uses some dharmastastic magnetic resonance, in which electromagnetic energy gets transmitted from one device to another, both sharing the same resonant frequencies.

Sony says that this system offers 80% efficiency, which may get reduced to about a minimum of 60% if there is a misalignment in the frequencies, which needs to be corrected.

I don't know if this is safe for our bodies or not, but I would like to have it. Even if that requires me not wearing my tinfoil hat while watching the sixth season of Lost. [Sony via i4u]

7 great ways to get Windows 7 cheap (or even free!)

2009-09-18T20:00:00Z

Filed under: Features, Windows, Microsoft, Lists

Here at Download Squad, we like saving money. We love finding freebies, and we're certainly not ashamed to walk up to the cash register with a fistful of coupons. Since the announcement of the Windows 7 pricing scheme, we've been looking for ways to cut the costs to make the move.

We've compiled a list of seven ways you can get that Windows 7 goodness without shelling out quite as many bucks. Read on for savings!

Continue reading 7 great ways to get Windows 7 cheap (or even free!)

7 great ways to get Windows 7 cheap (or even free!) originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics: Microsoft - Download Squad - Windows 7 - Fri - Operating system

Windows 7 OEM prices unveiled (Here's a hint, cheaper than full retail)

2009-09-29T20:30:00Z

Filed under: OS Updates, Windows, Microsoft

Microsoft has a habit of releasing multiple versions of its operating systems and multiple pricing levels. And Windows 7 will be no different. No, I'm not talking about Windows 7 Starter, Basic, Home Premium, Ultimate, Professional and so forth, although each of those will be available. I'm talking about OEM versus full versions.

The company typically sells a retail boxed version of Windows which users can install on nearly any computer, and the license can be transferred from one computer to another if, for example, your computer breaks down and you buy a replacement.

But you can also pick up an OEM license that's designed for system builders. These OEM copies offer most of the features found in a full retail version, but the license can't be transferred. Once it's installed on a computer and activated, it's locked to that hardware. You won't get any support, and you'll have to perform a clean install, not an upgrade. The upshot is that OEM copies of Windows are typically cheaper.

Newegg has begun taking pre-orders for Windows 7 OEM licenses, and they're significantly cheaper than the full retail versions. In fact, they're even cheaper than the upgrade editions of Windows 7. Windows 7 Home Premium OEM will set you back $110, while Professional costs $140 and Ultimate will run you $190. That's compared with $200, $300, and $320 respectively for the full retail versions.

Newegg is also offering a few bucks off of each OEM license for customers who place orders by October 20th. Windows 7 will be officially launched on October 22nd.

[via Ars Technica]

Windows 7 OEM prices unveiled (Here's a hint, cheaper than full retail) originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics: Windows 7 - Microsoft Windows - Operating system - Microsoft - Windows Vista

Dropbox drops onto the iPhone

2009-09-30T00:00:00Z

Filed under: Utilities, Productivity, iPhone

Dropbox, the über-slick cloud storage and backup app, now has an iPhone version. You can use the iPhone app to get to your Dropbox on the go, sync media files from your phone to your Dropbox, and share links. You'll need a free Dropbox account - which comes with 2 gigs of storage space - to use the iPhone app, but you can sign up directly from your iPhone.

The iPhone app works with Dropbox's photo gallery feature, so it's easy to upload and view photos on the go. You can also download any of your stored files that you can view on an iPhone, which strikes me as pretty darn brilliant: now, instead of just using Dropbox to back up your computer, you can use it to back up all the media on your phone, too.

If you're away from a computer and your iPhone's music and photos get wiped, they'll still be safely waiting for you in your Dropbox.

Update: Although you can obviously store music (and anything else) on your Dropbox account, there's not actually a way to sync music to your iPhone via Dropbox. Oops. Photos and videos definitely work, though.

Dropbox drops onto the iPhone originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics: iPhone - Download Squad - Dropbox - Handhelds - Smartphones

First USB 3.0 Webcam Already Impresses with 1080p60 Streaming

2009-09-21T08:38:38Z

Buckle up for a new caliber in USB devices as USB 3.0 starts getting exploited. Point Grey wows us with their new video camera which they plan to debut at 2009 Intel Developer Forum. What looks like an HD-wannabe webcam is actually capable of pumping full 1080p video at an astounding 60fps. The widened pipe of USB 3.0 actually may make high bandwidth devices cheaper now that they can push raw data through to the host computer's CPU. Previous devices would have to include additional circuitry to compress the data before channeling to the host. The camera uses a 3 mega-pixel Sony CMOS sensor to capture the 1920x1080 video images.

Since host controllers for SuperSpeed USB have yet to hit the market they've formed a special alliance with Fresco Logic. Fresco Logic's FL1000 controller is used in their test system via a PCI-Express USB 3.0 interface card. We'll have to wait patiently for the IDF 2009 to find out the price on either the card or the camera. The first host controllers we are likely to see will likely be included on ASUS motherboards and Fujitsu laptops, but we're still waiting on confirmation of a production date. Check back with us and we'll update as soon as they are available.
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Google buys reCAPTCHA to improve book-scanning technology

2009-09-16T21:00:00Z

Filed under: News, Google

You know those tests that you have to fill out when signing up for new web services? The ones that ask you to enter the text you see in a box to prove that you're human? Those are called CAPTCHAs. And a company called reCAPTCHA does something really interesting with them.

It finds hard-to-read text scanned from old newspapers and books. Because the ink and paper isn't in such good shape, spambots have a hard time reading the words, but people usually don't have too much trouble. And when you're entering a word in the box, you're actually helping reCAPTCHA's software to get better at reading these old texts.

Now if your'e starting to see why a company like Google, which has been scanning old and new books like mad over the last few years, might be interested in reCAPTCHA, you're not alone. Google announced today that it's acquiring the company. Web sites that use reCAPTCHA to protect themselves and their users from spam and fraud will continue to be able to use the service, because honestly, reCAPTCHA wouldn't be as useful to Google if the company were to shut off that part of the service.

via Business Insider

Google buys reCAPTCHA to improve book-scanning technology originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sponsored Topics: Google - Download Squad - search - Search Engines - Web service

MS LifeCam Cinema - True 720p Webcam with Stiff CPU Requirement

2009-08-20T06:09:22Z

Some 2MP webcams that claim to deliver 720p video but only manage 960x720 while a few really struggle to maintain reasonable frame rate. MS is set to ship the first webcam advertised to stream 1280 x 720 at 30fps (720p). Redmond also gives the true HD webcam an ambitious name - LifeCam Cinema. Included is a glass lens, auto focus (no more manual focus ring), 4x digital room and noise-cancelling mic mounted atop the LifeCam Cinema. There's even proprietary ClearFrame technology to further improve video quality, but its results remain to be seen. MS doesn't skimp on build quality either with aluminum and a stand that works equally well on both laptop screen and desktop LCD monitor.

As far as system requirement is concerned, the MS LifeCam Cinema demands at least a 1.6Ghz duo-core, and recommends a mighty 3Ghz processor which may seem overkill for video conferencing application but it's too earlier to tell. Bundled software is, needless to say, tightly integrated with Windows and Live! services. For $80 listed, the LifeCam Cinema should be another credible alternative to this high-end USB video camera.
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