Hasta La Gadget!

It’s not hard to see that offering high-quality games through the cloud has its pitfalls, not the least of which is getting customers to pay. Square Enix may have licked that last problem through its new Coreonline web gaming service. Players can still pony up for the full-priced games or even single levels if they want unfettered access, but the cleverness comes through Coreonline’s parking meter approach to ad-supported free play: the more ads you watch and the longer they run, the longer you’ll get to play without spending a single coin. As our colleagues at Joystiq found out, however, the current level of OS support is inconsistent. Windows gamers can use Chrome, Firefox or Internet Explorer to start playing, but their Mac-owning friends have to lean on Chrome for some games and can’t even consider running the marquee title, Hitman: Blood Money. Square Enix’s library of eligible games will start expanding in October; while there’s no guarantee the Final Fantasy series or many other dream games will make it to the roster, Coreonline’s approach might just be viable enough to spare us a few raids on the bargain bins.

Continue reading Square Enix Coreonline offers top-tier games on the web for free — if you feed the ad meter

Filed under: Gaming, Internet

Square Enix Coreonline offers top-tier games on the web for free — if you feed the ad meter originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 20:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve had Google’s Chrome browser on iPad and iPhone since June and now it has received its first update. After a recent update for the Google+ iOS app added sharing of links to Chrome, the lead feature in the new version is the ability to share from Chrome to “your favorite social network” (Google+, Facebook or Twitter). There have been a few other tweaks that the team says are in response to user reports including better sync sign in error messages, language detection and a fix for blank pages in incognito mode. While a share function that’s limited to just a few apps and not being able to use it as the default browser still doesn’t quite match the Android edition, users who prefer it to Safari can snag Chrome 21.0.1180.77 free in the usual place.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs, Software

Google Chrome for iOS update brings sharing to G+, Facebook and Twitter originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 21:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google’s enabled yet another new function for its linchpin search engine, which will now hold onto your preferences, assigning them to your Google account and activating across all your web-ready devices and browsers. Saved settings include language preference, results per page and whether to enable Google Instant. It has also separated mobile and desktop options, to ensure your phone isn’t clogged up with hundreds of results on a weedy 3G connection. Hit the settings tag on the Google search page to enable the feature.

Filed under: Internet

Google adds saved search settings, keeps them tied to your account across browsers and devices originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Aug 2012 07:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you own one of the Amazon Kindle Fire tablets, and don’t care for the default web browser you may be looking for some alternatives. I can tell you from experience that the web browser that ships on the Fire isn’t the best. Maxthon has announced that it has updated its browser for the Kindle Fire with new features.

The updated browser is available for download right now at no cost. Maxthon says that the new browser improves speed, functionality, and convenience. The browser supports multiple platforms so you can switch from your Fire tablet to your Android smartphones, PC, or iPad and be in the same place. The sinking of tabs, history, and favorites is enabled using free cloud services.

Other new features of the app include improved start with better uptime and playback of videos. The browser also features page pre-fetching that predicts and automatically loads the next page you’re viewing. The browser also has text auto wrapping, which is optimized to accommodate the Fire screen.

The browser also supports a super gesture feature that allows users to create, close, and switch tabs using gestures. The browser has various themes and skins available, and has tabbed browsing with powerful management tools. Other features include a download manager, private browsing mode that doesn’t save history, and quick access to view the last closed tabs and the most visited sites. You can download the app here.

Maxthon browser for Kindle Fire gets updated is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’ve been marathoning a new favorite TV show on Netflix recently you may have noticed that on the PlayStation 3 (above) and browser-based (after the break, along with a quick demo video) players it’s got a new tweak. At the end of each episode as the credits roll it pops up a quick (and very basic cable TV post movie-like) prompt with info about the the next episode and, unless you select a particular viewing option, search or go back to browsing, keeps right on playing. For movies, it pops up three similar recommendations instead. This “post-play” experience takes a couple of remote presses out of long viewing sessions, and on Netflix’s end probably makes it easier for folks to choose to sit through “one more episode” and keep those viewing hours boosted.

On the other hand, not every one likes the automation, either here or on the Xbox 360 app. Whether that’s because viewers need an emotional pause after a particularly gripping episode of Lost or they — and by they, we mean this blogger in particular — tend to doze off mid-episode, the good news is that every other episode it prompts the user if they want to keep playing before moving on. Like every other tweak or announcement even this move will probably be debated amongst viewers, feel free to dive into the lone season of Terriers in the name of research before letting us know if you’re a fan.

Continue reading Netflix rolls out new ‘post-play experience’ on web player, PS3 (video)

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment

Netflix rolls out new ‘post-play experience’ on web player, PS3 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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