Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/v8T9afogCis/
Friday, August 3, 2012
Zynga VP Sean Kelly: Zynga Will Make Back The Money It Spent Acquiring OMGPOP
Mozilla publishes name and shame list of slow Firefox add-ons, cracks down on tardy devs
The list is just one part of Mozilla's new efforts to highlight slow add-ons, and to help developers make their add-ons more efficient. Over the next two weeks, 'slow performance warnings' will be introduced in the add-on gallery so that users can see, before installation, which add-ons will slow down their browser. If that isn't enough to spur developers into cleaning up their add-ons, Mozilla has also begun reaching out to developers of slow add-ons with tips on how to improve add-on performance. Finally, add-on developers will soon have the ability to perform 'on-demand performance testing,' so that they can test their add-on before it's deployed publicly.
Mozilla reports that the average Firefox add-on slows down Firefox's start-up time by 10% -- which means, if you install 10 add-ons, you will double your start-up time. On fast desktop PCs that kind of slowdown might be negligible, but on older computers, laptops and smartphones, it could be the difference between a 5 and 10 second startup. Mozilla has obviously realized that while massive performance gains might've been made with Firefox 4, the addition of third-party add-ons can destroy any user-perceived improvements.
In other news, Mozilla says that a future build of Firefox will block the installation of add-ons (such as toolbars) by third-party software. Add-ons and toolbars that are bundled in this way will require explicit approval when you next open up Firefox. Hooray!
Mozilla publishes name and shame list of slow Firefox add-ons, cracks down on tardy devs originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Cueboy Quest is an adorable 8-bit style physics game
You play an 8-bit cowboy whose goal on each level is to get to the door (and thus to the next level), but the door is often locked. To get it to open, you must shoot at one or more targets, and those targets aren't always in your line of sight. For example, on one level the the target is a balloon which is stuck all the way at the other end of the screen. You must first nudge it free, and then watch it float up and try to shoot it before it floats clear off the screen. Your bullets are chunky pixels that have some weight - the have arcing trajectories, so you don't always hit exactly where you aim.
There's another level where you must jump on the balloon as it floats up, use it as a platform to get to the other end of the screen, and then turn to shoot it very quickly before it flies away. Each level is very short, and most of them are quite easy. And not only are the graphics 8-bit blocky, but they're large too. Simply beautiful!
Cueboy Quest is an adorable 8-bit style physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/22/cueboy-quest-is-an-adorable-8-bit-style-physics-game/
Honeywell next up to get a patent license from Microsoft, goes the Android handheld route
Stop us if you've heard this one before: a company that wants to start using (or keep using) a Google OS strikes a patent licensing deal with Microsoft to avoid the legal barrage that will invariably follow if it says no. It's Honeywell singing the tune this time, and the company has reached an agreement that will let it use Android or Chrome OS on devices like a new edition of the Dolphin 7800 rugged handheld (shown here) without perpetually looking over its shoulder. Neither side is going into the specifics, although Microsoft has steered Honeywell into using its boilerplate copy about royalties trading hands. The truce won't help the prices of Honeywell devices; even so, it's good news for developers and customers who've been part of the company's official Android feedback program. We're still yearning for the day when we can get root access on a Honeywell thermostat.
Filed under: Handhelds, Software
Honeywell next up to get a patent license from Microsoft, goes the Android handheld route originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 21:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsSource: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/02/honeywell-next-up-to-get-a-patent-license-from-microsoft-goes-t/
iMore show 304: September 12
Rene, Georgia, and Seth talk about the rumored September 12, 2012 Apple event, the iPhone 5, the iPad mini, the iPod line, iOS 6 surprises, and more. This is the iMore Show!
[YouTube says it will take 2000 hours to upload the video for this show. I believe they are lying and busted. When/if they fix themselves, we'll add it in. Thanks for the patience, and in the meantime you can enjoy the video by the direct download link below!]
- Subscribe via iTunes: Audio | Video
- Subscribe via RSS: Audio | Video
- Download directly: Audio | Video
Show notes
Hosts
- Rene Ritchie (@reneritchie)
- Georgia (GeorgiaTiPb
- Seth Clifford (@sethclifford)
Credits
You can reach all of us on Twitter @iMore, or you can email us at podcast@imore.com
For all our podcasts -- audio and video -- including iPhone and iPad Live, ZEN and TECH, Iterate, and more, see MobileNations.com/shows
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/TsO85KiJk7E/story01.htm
This $200 Camera Turns Your TV Into a Skype Center [Skype]
Denon intros Cocoon Home and Portable AirPlay docks, will transform songs into musical butterflies
Denon's got a snazzy new pair of iPhone speaker docks to show the world -- the Cocoon Home and Cocoon Portable. The Home features AirPlay streaming from iPhones, iPods, Mac and PCs through 100 watts of total power. Its 25-percent smaller sibling has 50 watts of power and battery life of up to five hours. Both docks will be hitting this summer for $599 and $499, respectively. We're crossing our fingers for a Steve Guttenberg spokesman deal. Full press details after the break.
Filed under: Home Entertainment
Denon intros Cocoon Home and Portable AirPlay docks, will transform songs into musical butterflies originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 12:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | CommentsSource: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/emOoUxbSLzE/
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Twitter Wilts Ahead of Summer Games
Ouya, OnLive Shaking Up Video Game World
Adblock Plus developer pokes holes in Mozilla's new add-on performance tests
Rather surprisingly, it turns out that Mozilla's numbers could be significantly wrong -- and if they're not wrong, the factors that Mozilla uses to tabulate an add-ons final score should definitely be made more transparent.
In the first set of tests, Palant shows that FlashGot's position in the top 10 is probably due to a fault in Mozilla's testing setup, and that add-ons can perform very differently depending on which operating system they're being tested on. In the second analysis, Palant uncovers an irregularity that doesn't seem to have an obvious cause -- but it could be due to an I/O bottleneck on Mozilla's test machines. Basically, even though performance testing of Read It Later is disabled because of a bug, it still (somehow!) manages to record a 14% slow-down on Windows 7.
Palant concludes both analyses by scolding Mozilla for going public with the performance data before its testing methods had been confirmed accurate. It definitely looks like Mozilla has been more than a little reckless, considering the importance of Firefox's add-on ecosystem.
Adblock Plus developer pokes holes in Mozilla's new add-on performance tests originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 08 Apr 2011 05:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Twitter Wilts Ahead of Summer Games
Internet Explorer 9 nears 4% share on Windows 7, IE6 extinction countdown picks up steam
It's also interesting to note that there are now more than 1,000 sites utilizing Internet Explorer 9's Windows 7 integration features -- like the new desktop notification support we showed you in Hotmail.
But perhaps the best news of all is that Microsoft's IE6countdown.com now has more than 400 partners and is generating nearly two million pageviews per month, helping to lure users away from the woefully out-of-date browser. Can the end come soon enough, DS readers?
Internet Explorer 9 nears 4% share on Windows 7, IE6 extinction countdown picks up steam originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 01 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
How to turn your non-magnetic Nexus 7 case into a marvel of modern industry
Oh, that Jerry Hildenbrand. He's not just another pretty face. (Another pretty neckbeard, maybe. But another pretty face?) It seems our resident tinkerer has taken the official Nexus 7 case (read our full review), which for some reason lacks the magnet that will automatically turn on the Nexus 7 when the cover's open, and has, shall we say, fixed it.
Tools required: One Nexus 7 case. One multitool. One magnet. Homer Simpson and Spider Pig preferred, but not required.
Jerry's got the full deets in this forum thread.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/NmKqaXMr6Fk/story01.htm