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Posts with tag flash

Engadget

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 2:00PMFeatured Story



'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.....

NFL Games Streaming Online at NBC Sports, Starting Tonight

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

NFL Games Streaming Online at NBC SportsLast 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 5:17PMBreaking News

Facebook Wall Used for MalwareUsually 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]

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.

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 Update May Bring HD to YouTubeAdobe 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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Nokia Working with Competition on Memory Card Standard

by Tim Stevens, posted Sep 17th 2007 at 11:20AM

CompactFlash

If you own a phone, camera, and MP3 player, chances are you have several types of memory cards, and none are interchangeable. It all started with the relatively ubiquitous CompactFlash format (pictured above) back in 1994. But since then, dozens of companies have developed dozens of different types of cards like MMC, SmartMedia, SD, Memory Stick, xD-Picture Card, and the list goes on.

Nokia is working on introducing yet another standard, a news byte that would be worthy of a groan if not for one crucial bit of information: the company is actually working with its competitors to ensure this new type of card is a proper standard.

The new card format will be called Universal Flash Storage, or UFS, and is being developed in partnership with other electronics companies like Sony Ericsson, Samsung, and Texas Instruments. At this point details are scarce other than the standard promises higher speed than current cards along with greater reliability. While that sounds nice, we're just looking forward to ditching our collection of 8-in-1 card readers. Unfortunately, we won't be able to do that until 2009 or so, since that's when the various companies are expected to finalize this plan.

From BetaNews

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New iPods Next Month?

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Aug 22nd 2007 at 4:01PM


We said it first, and now everyone else is starting to come around. Analysts are saying that next month they expect a refreshed iPod, which will likely use the same big and responsive touchscreen that the iPhone uses. Apple Insider is reporting that we can expect an update of both the iPod and the iPod Nano.

Many are expecting the updated video iPod would also use the same big widescreen display that the iPhone uses. According to analysts, the new Nano may well see a price drop and an increase over the maximum 8-gigabyte (GB) memory it has now.

We'll just have to wait and see what actually happens when Steve Jobs makes the announcement, which will most likely take place at next month's annual Apple Expo in Paris.


From Engadget and Apple Insider



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Open Your Beer With a USB Drive

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Apr 27th 2007 at 8:20AM


What's the easiest way to spruce up a cheap trinket?

Add USB of course!

This pretty useless and cheap looking contraption, called the Popdrive, sticks a 1-gigabyte USB flash drive onto the handle of a standard issue bottle opener. So now you can get your drink on and carry around tons of electronic documents -- just make sure not to mess up any of those documents if you've had one too many.

Really the most impressive thing about this product is that the manufacturer has the gall to charge $30 for such a flimsy-looking toy.

At least the USB Beverage Chiller and the USB Butt Cooler will keep our drinks and posteriors cold, respectively.

From Oh Gizmo

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