Facebook Getting Another Update? December 30, 2009
Posted by Zev Rosenbaum in : Computers, Rumors , 1 comment so far
Yes its that time of the year again. Its time for a new facebook layout. Will it be a welcomed update or will stir up a storm of complaints like the last update? Read on for more. (more…)
Get the Wii Internet Channel for FREE September 2, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Video Games , add a comment
Want to be able to view the internet right from your Wii but didn’t wanna have to pay the 500 Wii Points (about $6) to get it? Then boot up that Wii, head to the Wii Shop Channel and go download it now because Nintendo finally wised up and made this FREE for everyone, starting today.
Already bought the Internet Channel for that 500 Wii Points and feeling a little upset? Don’t worry, Nintendo is offering those of you who did a free NES game from the Virtual Console (as long as it’s 500 Wii Points). Oh, and you should also know that this has it’s perks too– Nintendo today also announced that they upgraded the browser (which is powered by Opera– meaning it’s a solid browser) to Adobe Flash 3.1, which means things like watching YouTube should be perfectly ok from your Wii.
I put this today on my own Wii (I didn’t want to spend the money on it, but hey, if it’s free why not), and I gotta say– this is really awesome. It works just like your Firefox/Safari/Chrome/Opera/Internet Explorer/whatever you use to browse the web on your computer, loading sites like ESPN and TeenTechBlog (I heard it’s an awesome site so I had to check it out), and it loaded both those sites perfectly (though I couldn’t play any ESPN Video).
More info on the Wii’s Internet Channel can be found at Nintendo’s site here.
All in all, watch’a waiting for– turn on that Wii and let us know what you think of Nintendo’s Internet Channel. Did I mention it’s FREE?
Google Announces Chrome OS July 8, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Computers, Google , add a comment
Are you a Mac, PC, or a Chrome OS?
Yup, you read that headline right. The often rumored Google operating system is coming. Announced earlier this morning by Google, Chrome OS is an operating system designed to run on netbooks (those laptops that are realitivly low powered and cheap– usually between 10-11 , and with cost usually under $500. A lot of companies like ASUS, HP, Dell, Acer all make netbooks) and is designed to be simple and fast.
Google has yet to release, well, pretty much any info on this new OS, but it definitely sounds interesting– after all, Google makes some pretty interesting software, and an OS that could in a simple and quick way (hopefully built around the great Chrome browser interface that is found in the browser that is out now for Macs and Windows) combine the existing Google suite of services, and you have one really nice product. Seriously, Google already has all the parts: Gmail for email, Google Docs for word processing and as an office suite, Chrome for web browsing, Calender for, well a calender.. you get the idea.
As for the other half of software (i.e. developers)? Well, Google will be using a web-based application system (think early iPhone stuff, pre-2.0 update, when apps were only online and couldn’t be saved to the phone), and this will for sure be interesting to see if it’ll work or if they too will switch to an “App Store” type model like Apple has now, where you can download apps to run on the device without the need to be online. No word yet on how Google’s mobile Android OS will play into this (which is really gonna be interesting to see because netbooks running Android are said to be coming later this year).
While it’s WAY to early to say how Chrome OS will turn out (it’s said to be coming second half of 2010– or a year or so from now), Google has managed to get my (and pretty much the rest of the internet’s) attention on this very cool and promising product. As always, we’ll post more updates as soon as we get ‘em.
Firefox 3.5 Out– All the Info You Need and First Take July 1, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Computers , add a comment
So, you like using Firefox 3 as your browser of choice over other options such as Safari 4, Opera 9, Google Chrome or Internet Explorer 8? Hey, that’s not a bad thing at all and Firefox 3 is my proud browser of choice (I like it a WHOLE lot better than IE8, Safari 4 and Chrome– and I never really got into Opera). I really love its simplicity and speed, and today Mozilla, the guys behind Firefox, today have officially released the next version of Firefox 3– nicely named Firefox 3.5.
For all the info on what’s new in 3.5 and for a little first take, hit the more link.
Safari 4 – Review June 18, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Apple, Computers, First Look/Reviews , add a comment
The New Top Sites Interface of Safari 4
About a week ago, in the midst of the Apple announcements at WWDC (which we covered here), something that may have slipped in through the cracks between all the hype around new MacBook Pro’s, Snow Leopard, and a little something called the iPhone 3G S, was the release of the final version of Safari 4. I had been using the beta version of Safari 4 for a while, and now spent the last few weeks using the final build.
So, should this be your go to browser on both Windows and Mac? Read on for the answer.
Auditorium December 14, 2008
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Computers, Video Games , add a comment
A screenshot of Auditorium (it looks cooler when it’s moving)
Auditorium is the latest game I’ve found online, and frankly, it is incredible.
The basic premise of the game is that there is a river of “audio-visual particles” that flows across the screen. You must use the various tools the game gives you (a vortex creator, directional changes, and others that have yet to appear in the demo) to manipulate the river and get it to reach any of the various boxes. When the boxes are hit, they fill up with a steady stream of particles, when the flow is diverted, the boxes recede. As the various boxes around the board fill, each plays a part of a soaring orchestral harmony that sets off the game.
Also in the mix are color areas, which change the color, and then allow you to fill different colored boxes. The game only gives you a certain amount of tools per level, though, actually making it difficult.
All in all, the game is excellent – the particle effects are spectacular, the music wonderful, and the gameplay and puzzles unique and challenging enough to be fun. My only complaint – its only in demo stages right now, which of course means that its not finished yet.
Play Auditorium here.
Customize your Gmail Themes November 20, 2008
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Computers , 1 comment so far
Once again, Google’s added another nice update to the technically still-in-beta Gmail.
While this won’t be doing a whole lot functionally, Google has added themes to Gmail, allowing you to customize your entire interface in one of about 30 themes. They look nice, and add a little coolness to the normally bland Gmail interface, similar to iGoogle themes. Also, it seems that, like with iGoogle, they’ll be adding more themes over time.
Useful? Not really. Fun and Cool? Yes. To apply, just go to your settings, and click on the new theme tab. Even if you dont customize btw, Google has updated the entire Gmail interface slightly. That’s all folks.
YouTube: Now Playing Full Movies For Free! November 10, 2008
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Computers , 2comments
Yup you read that right- YouTube is now playing full length movies online for FREE! This is big news, and a real blow to Hulu, which until now, was the only LEGAL (yeah we know YouTube always had movies online for free 
) way to watch TV shows and movies. Like Hulu, advertisements will be inserted by the video, you know to keep this all free.
Don’t get too excited though: these movies are right now only from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (aka MGM), and the movies aren’t among the most recent — like the old American Gladiators (not the TV show that was on NBC a few years back).
But hey, the big thing here is that movies are starting to come to YouTube, and hopefully soon we’ll have some more modern movies, possibly from even some other companies (though don’t count on FOX or NBC/Universal coming soon- the two companies created Hulu).
Anyways, what you think- you gonna watch more movies from the internet now, which site would you rather use for movies- Hulu or YouTube? Sound off in the comments.
Info from MSNBC.com