Here it is steampunk/fantasy enthusiasts. A mechanical dragon of your very own, who will burden his back with whatever you see fit to put on it. Now you can drink coffee on the back of this beast and feel like a steampunk dragon hunter.
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Wireless devices are usually far more convenient than their tethered alternative. But in this case losing the USB cable has made the REX-WIFISD1 SD/SDHX/SDXC and flash drive reader a bit on the bulky side. So what do you really gain for it being wireless? The ability to access it from any mobile device. More »
Just a couple of months ago, Google acquired photo-editing app Snapseed. The company is now releasing an Android version of the app, as well as updating the iOS version. The best part, however, is that they’ve dropped the price of both versions to no cost at all, bringing advanced photo-editing tools to iOS and Android users for free.
The app features basic editing tools like tune, straighten, and crop, and it also comes with different creative filters like black & white and vintage that you can apply individually to photos or in combination. There’s also a feature called Control Point, which allows you to selectively edit your photo by brightening just a face or darken just the sky.
The app now also comes with Google+ integration, allowing you to easily share your Snapseed creations seamlessly with your friends on Google’s social network. You can also tag other Google+ members and share to specific Circles. It’s yet another method that will hopefully encourage users to take advantage of the company’s social networking site.
The creators of the app have exclaimed that Snapseed isn’t a competitor to Instagram, and they’re no where close to wanting to copy the popular photo-sharing app. Google has made it clear that it’s not a head-to-head battle with Instagram, since Google’s strategy is to go after the users who want more customization when editing photos, instead of just applying retro filters.
Snapseed is available now for free in the Google Play store, and the updated iOS version is also available now for free in the iTunes App Store.
Google releases Snapseed for Android, updates iOS version is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Google’s social service has provided a venue for chatting and collaborating with family and friends, but it hasn’t exactly been the best place to get to know strangers who happen to share similar interests. That seems to be the idea behind Communities — think of it as Facebook Groups, but within the Google ecosystem. Google+ Communities can be open to anyone on the network, but they can be private if you wish, so members have the opportunity to share photos, forum posts, and even add Hangouts and Events without worrying about that content being available to anyone and everyone on the web. The network’s latest feature is set to roll out today, so keep an eye out for the Communities icon to hit your Google+ sidebar. You can also snag a sneak peek in the intro video just past the break.
Continue reading Google+ makes you feel at home with Communities, ‘a place for whatever you’re into’
Source: Google Blog
Google+ is “the fastest-growing network thingy ever” Google’s Vic Gundotra has claimed, with 235m active users on the social network. The latest batch of activity stats comes as Google launches Google+ Communities, its challenge to Facebook Groups and other online discussion boards, though the 235m figure doesn’t mean that every one of those users are regularly hitting up the Google+ site.
In fact, the 235m figure includes anybody who +1′s an app in Google Play, who uses Hangouts in Gmail, or who connects with their friends in search. Around 135m are active in the Google+ stream itself, still an impressive number, though the minority in comparison to the more than 500m who Gundotra says have upgraded their account.
“During the holidays we reconnect with loved ones and rediscover what makes us tick” Gundotra writes. “And it’s times like these that remind me why we started Google+ in the first place: to make online sharing as meaningful as the real thing.”
With the addition of Google+ Communities, meanwhile, Google may well cut through some of the new-user confusion any social network faces. The Communities will eventually feed into search, meaning they’re likely to be discovered – and participated in – by users seeking out similar topics and themes, such as cookery or cats. Once they start using a Community page, a greater user of Google+ in general is likely.
Google: 235m active Google+ users is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Google’s just flipped the switch on updates for its maps of ten European countries and regions: Andorra, Bulgaria, Estonia, Gibraltar, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. As part of Page And Co.’s Ground Truth project, the refresh increases the accuracy and detail of maps by combining human input with a wide array of data, such as satellite and Street View imagery. With the refresh, Google’s cartography has been spruced up with building outlines, walking paths, ferry lines, park boundaries, new highways and more. The update brings the number of countries mapped as part of the search titan’s Ground Truth initiative to 40, and pushes the total number of miles of road cataloged in Google Maps to 27.9 million.
Source: Official Google Blog
Most of us grew up believing that gravity is just the mass of two objects attracting each other. We probably still think that, really, since who spends their time reading up on gravity? Well, that’s WRONG. More »
Google has revealed its answer to Facebook Groups, Google+ Communities, a way for like-minded souls to create hubs of discussion and media on any topic they’re interested in. Hitting all Google+ accounts today, Communities works as a topic-specific discussion board, with support for various sub-topics branching off from that, and with a choice of privacy settings to control whether anybody can participate, or if it’s locked down.
Communities can be made fully public, or demand membership before they can be used. Alternatively, they can be private, with a choice as to whether or not they show up in search results. It’s also possible to post new content to the Communities you’re part of simply by choosing them in the circles section of a new update.
Hangout video chats and Events are both integrated, as you’d expect, and there’s gallery support along with YouTube video embeds. There are also various filters, for cutting information down into specific topics, while members of individual Communities will be able to share directly into them by choosing that Community page when they hit +1 around the web.
“Facebook most generally is about the people you already know, about your real world connections” Google’s Brad Horowitz said of Google+ Communities’ rivals. “On Twitter, well it’s really hard to have a meaningful conversation in 140-character snippets.” According to Horowitz, the new feature is all about “making it easy to find your tribe.”
Google+ Communities:
[via TechCrunch; via TNW; via The Verge]
Google+ Communities turns social upstart into discussion hub is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
The notion of tracking cars for insurance purposes tends to polarize us: it’s either a technical marvel that gives an honest appraisal of how we drive, or a dystopian nightmare that makes it impossible to have a little fun without a large bill. MetroMile is banking on more of us taking the optimistic view. It claims to have the first ‘true’ pay-per-mile car insurance, and combines a fixed base fee with mileage derived from a tracking device attached to a given vehicle. Weekend drivers can theoretically save 20 to 50 percent, and any customer can see detailed analytics online. The catch, of course, is having to be comfortable with an insurer as a silent copilot. MetroMile is careful to note that it’s only watching mileage — it doesn’t care if motorists swing by the racetrack or across the border. Provided that they’re happy with relaying a piece of their driving experience to outsiders, Oregonians can sign up for MetroMile’s experiment today; who knows, it might just pay off.
Filed under: Transportation
Source: MetroMile
Right on the money, both Rockstar and Gameloft have released their respective games to the mobile market. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour are now available for purchasing and downloading in the iTunes App Store. While Modern Combat 4 is planned to be released on Android “shortly after” today, Vice City was actually planned to have a simultaneous launch. However, the Android version seems to be MIA for the time being.
Modern Combat 4 costs $6.99, which may seem like a steep price, but you can’t really go wrong with one of the best first-person shooters on any mobile platform. Plus, it works on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad. Also if you didn’t already know, the game comes with multiplayer, complete with leaderboards and over 20,000 weapon arrangements.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City will cost you $4.99, the same price as Grand Theft Auto III when it launched not too long ago. As aforementioned, the Android version seems to be MIA. The Google Play store link shows up in Google search results, but clicking on it will lead to a 404. It’ll probably only be a matter of time before it’s fixed, so we’ll update you once it goes live in the Google Play store.
UPDATE: Rockstar has issued a statement on the missing Android version of the game:
“We’re aware that some users have attempted to download Vice City: 10th Anniversary Edition from the Google Play Store and have experienced validation errors. Just to be clear: the game is not available for Android devices just yet, and if you’re seeing it listed on the Store then this is an error, and you shouldn’t attempt to download it. We’ll keep you up to date and let you know as soon as the game is live and available to purchase.”
While Rockstar originally said that the game would be released on iOS and Android at the same time, it looks like that’s no longer the case.
If you’ve played GTA: Vice City before, the mobile version will be very familiar to you, since it’s essentially a port of the console and PC version, but with a few few enhancements implemented, including updated character models and lighting effects, as well as more precise firing and targeting options with weapons.
Download Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for iOS now.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour now available [UPDATE] is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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