Posts tagged Flash at Switched

Posts with tag flash

PETA Makes Scary Version of 'Cooking Mama' Game, Majesco Replies

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Nov 20th 2008 at 7:15PM

Animal rights activist group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has never been known for its subtlety. Actually, that's an understatement. PETA has long been known for its over-dramatic publicity stunts. It's not that we always disagree with PETA's goals, it's just that their methods make us so uncomfortable we start to think that maybe Ted Nugent isn't such a bad guy after all.

The group's latest target is Thanksgiving. PETA has created a flash version of the Nintendo Wii hit 'Cooking Mama' (we hear the lawyers warming up their suing pens right now) that gruesomely details the steps involved in gutting and dressing a turkey.

Even if you lose, PETA still rewards you with a video that shows off the terrible conditions at commercial turkey farms. We agree it's not pretty, but they're gonna have a hard time convincing people that their food should be treated better. Especially if their main method of preaching is a flash version of an incredibly frustrating video game.

Majesco (publisher of 'Cooking Mama') responded with a press release noting that the new title 'Cooking Mama: World Kitchen' features plenty of vegetarian dishes, including miso soup and rice cakes. The gaming publisher doesn't appear to be taking the offense too seriously, since half of the release consisted of quotes from the fictional game's protagonist, 'Mama,' including her claim that her, "...only goal is to ensure you leave the table well fed."

We don't know about you, but we're hungry now. Maybe the Nuge can go kill us some grub. [From: Download Squad]

Eye-Fi Doubles the Speed of Its Wi-Fi Camera Cards

by Darren Murph, posted Sep 28th 2008 at 9:31AM

Frustrated by somewhat sluggish transfers from your otherwise spectacular Eye-Fi card? Fret not, as the company has just announced a forthcoming update at Photokina that will reportedly enable new and existing Eye-Fi owners to make "the upload of digital photos from camera to computer twice as fast." Also of note, as of October 5th, users can even add features that aren't already included on their card and renew annual services by tapping into the updated Eye-Fi Manager Web application. In related news, the outfit will be pushing its wares to Japan and Canada by the year's end, and in even more related news, Eye-Fi now supports direct photo uploads to Apple's MobileMe and the AdoramaPix service.

Read - Eye-Fi getting 2x faster
Read - Eye-Fi going international

Top Camcorders Under $200

by Switched Staff, posted Sep 8th 2008 at 2:00PM

'Budget' camcorders used to mean "at least $400," but the past year has seen the introduction of a new generation of compact, easy-to-use models that are small enough to fit in your pocket and, best of all, cost less than $200. Plus, these little things are durable, since they use Flash memory, which has no moving parts to break, making them perfect for carrying around. Lastly, the new budget camcorders have built-in, fold-out USB connectors and on-board software that make editing or sharing your movies on sites such as YouTube and AOL Video a cinch (no more bulky software installations or arsenal of cables to haul around).

We took the six most popular sub-$200 Flash camcorders for a test drive, shooting footage everywhere from our office desks and neighborhood parties to the far-flung lands where we took our summer vacations. We then edited our footage on a daily basis back on our laptops. Some of these cameras are winners, and some are losers -- read on to find out which of these is actually worth more than a couple of Benjamins.....

Next >>

NFL Games Streaming Online at NBC Sports, Starting Tonight

by Tim Stevens, posted Sep 5th 2008 at 4:41PM

Last night, the 2008 NFL season kicked off and along with it came NBC Sports' first ever streaming of live football games -- sure, you can plop down on the couch for the game just as you've done for years, but now you'll be able to tune in live from your computer. Thursday night's entry to live online football was the New York Giants stomping the Washington Redskins, and, according to reports, the online experience was good, but not great.

The service offers four user-selectable camera angles, which is a nice feature, but sadly it seems that every time you pick a new camera angle, you have to sit through a commercial! NewTeeVee said that although the video quality was alright, it looked worse than the online Olympics footage.

The site uses Adobe's Flash to handle the streaming, which contrasts to NBC's use of Microsoft's competing Silverlight technology for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Looks like NFL players aren't the only one playing the field. [From: NewTeeVee, and Adobe.com]

Hackers Using Facebook Wall to Spread Viruses

by Tim Stevens, posted Aug 8th 2008 at 5:17PM

Usually walls are used to keep things out, you know, like the wind, or bugs, or barbarian invaders. Ironic, then, that Facebook's iconic Wall, the thing that helped to set it apart from MySpace and grab a huge share of the online social networking space, is actually being used by some to spread malicious software capable of turning your machine into a zombie, so that others with bad intents can control it and make it do their bidding online.

The "attack" is actually rather unsophisticated -- just a link posted to the wall to a site that supposedly has a video of, what else, a celebrity caught in a private moment doing naughty things with a special someone. Naturally the site doesn't have any such video, just a fake version of the Flash plugin that is actually the malware itself. You're prompted to install it to view the video and, once installed, your machine is theirs for the taking.

So, as always, be careful where you click, keep your virus scanner up to date, and only install plug-ins like that from official sources, like Adobe.com. [Source: PC World]

Losing Face on Facebook: Five True Stories

Five Flash Games to Waste Away the Afternoon

by Thomas Houston, posted Apr 18th 2008 at 3:51PM

Stuck at your desk with some time to waste before a meeting? Flash games are perfect for filling in your spare time: The games load quickly, they require no installation or downloads, and, most importantly, they can be quickly minimized and replaced with that spreadsheet you should be working on. We picked out five of the most addictive and creative Flash games that are sure to make the hours fly by.

Line Rider

We still can't quite figure out why creating tracks and loops for a little man to slide down is so much fun, but it's the kind of gameplay that has made Line Rider a classic entry in the ever-expanding world of time-wasting Flash games. Though it has no defined goals or scoring systems, Line Rider can keep you entertained for hours while you try to perfect a huge jump-backflip-loop combo. Don't miss the insane levels created with the simple track editor on YouTube.

Next >>

Play 'The World's Hardest Game'

by Thomas Houston, posted Mar 25th 2008 at 5:24PM

In need of a break? 'The World's Hardest Game' should keep you entertained with at least a half-hour of time-wasting fun and frustration.

The rules are simple enough: Move the red square using the arrow cursor keys on your keyboard and avoid the moving blue circles while collecting the yellow ones. To finish each level, move to the green section. Simple concept, but it's easier said than done (and it's all set to a frenetic techno soundtrack).

Because 'The World's Hardest Game' is a flash game, it loads in your browser and you can start playing quickly -- no installation necessary! While we don't know if it lives up to its title, the game is pretty hard, and does a great job of taunting you with discouraging text messages onscreen -- "I guarantee you will fail," among others -- as you move along to the each new level.

Play now!

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Apple Releases New iPhone and iPod Touch

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Feb 5th 2008 at 11:34AM

Apple Updates iPhone and iPod Touch with More Storage

Ever since Apple discontinued the 4-gigabyte iPhone and subsequently introduced the 16-gigabyte iPod Touch, we've been waiting with baited breath for the Cupertino crew to give some 16-gig love to their flagship handset. As of this morning, the wait is over and for a cool $499 the multi-touch gadget du-jour with a robust 16-gigabytes of video and music storage can be yours.

The surprise this morning though is that the iPod Touch got an upgrade too, and for the same five Benjamins you can get a phone-less 32-gigabyte monster that will hold up to 7,000 songs or 40 hours of video. The iPod Touch update is particularly nice since now those of us with sizable music collections might actually consider buying one. Engadget has additional coverage of this story.

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Adobe Flash Update May Bring HD to YouTube

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Dec 7th 2007 at 3:15PM

Adobe Flash Player just got a bit of an upgrade the other day, one affectionately known as 'Moviestar.' The third update to Flash 9 adds a couple of features that may not immediately mean that much to the average user -- support for the H.264 codec, AAC audio support, and hardware graphics acceleration.

So what does that mean for you, the web-video-obsessed public? It means a much greater quality video experience is on the way. Supporting H.264 (the same codec used by Quicktime) means that HD video in your browser is just around the corner. Imagine watching that great video of the skateboarding dog in 1080 lines of resolution. The hardware acceleration in the update also means that better quality video rendering and scaling to full screen will finally make it possible to watch YouTube videos not only in high-def, but also in full-screen high def. These features are even available in the Linux version, which is the first time Adobe has kept the Linux version of Flash current with the Windows and Mac versions.

The only problem is the current version of Flash CS3, the application used for building Flash based applications, players and sites, doesn't support the new features, and no time table for an update has been set by Adobe.

From BetaNews

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MatchBox Twenty and Others Release Music on USB Drives

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Oct 19th 2007 at 11:42AM

Record Industry Releasing Music on USB Drives

Shhh... you hear that? That's the sound of the record industry grasping at straws. The latest desperate attempt to lure in consumers is selling albums on USB drives. This isn't the first time artists have gone the digital drive route, but the move is getting a renewed push from the record industry.

Universal, Warner and EMI have all announced plans to sell music on USB Flash drives. Details are scant, and there's no word on format, bit rate, DRM-or-not... nothing. All we do know is that they'll pack the drives up with extras like videos, desktop wallpapers and icons. We also know that these drives will be more expensive than their CD counterparts. As you can see from the above picture, the drives will come in fan-friendly wristband forms, for starters.

Earlier this year, the White Stripes dropped its latest album 'Icky Thump' on overpriced, albeit cool looking, USB drives. The band was beat to market by the Barenaked Ladies by a full two years, though. Now, Matchbox Twenty is preparing to release its next album 'Exile on Mainstream' on a USB bracelet.

Willie Nelson, the estate of Bob Marley, the Rolling Stones, and UK group the Fratellis all have also jumped on the bandwagon. However we can save the labels some time by letting them in on a secret: no one buys these things.

From Engadget and USA Today

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