Firefox 4 Friday: 25 million downloads, anti-aliasing, and how to make it look like Firefox 3

Firefox 4 racks up 25 million downloads in 3 days
If you've had your head under a rock for the last few days, here's this week's Firefox news in brief: Firefox 4 was finally released.

Yes, 13 months after the initial release of Firefox 3.7 alpha 1 and four more alpha builds, a renumbering to 4.0 and 12 beta releases, and finally a release candidate (or two), Firefox 4 has been released into the wild.

Just like every other Firefox release, initial reception for the new browser has been nothing short of insane. 7.1 million downloads were registered in the first 24 hours and the download rate continued to accelerate, clocking in more than 15 million downloads after two days. At the time of writing, three days in, Firefox 4 has been downloaded over 25 million times. In case you're wondering, the United States accounts for 7 million of those downloads, just beating out Germany's Firefox-downloads-per-capita.

But now that you've installed Firefox 4 (you have, right?), what do you do now? Well, obviously, in true Download Squad fashion, it's time to tweak Firefox 4 using add-ons and about:config hacks!

First up is an add-on called Stratiform that lets you change every aspect of the Firefox 4 browser chrome -- including the color of that orange button!

Continue reading Firefox 4 Friday: 25 million downloads, anti-aliasing, and how to make it look like Firefox 3

Firefox 4 Friday: 25 million downloads, anti-aliasing, and how to make it look like Firefox 3 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/25/firefox-4-friday-25-million-downloads-anti-aliasing-and-how-t/

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Livestream Broadcaster hands-on

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According to CEO Max Haot the logical next step for Livestream -- now well established as a reliable service for bringing live video feeds to the internet -- is just to get more people distributing live video by any means necessary. To that end, the company is jumping into the hardware business with this palm-sized Livestream Broadcaster unit that just went up for preorders a few days ago. With a subsidized price of $495, it connects to video cameras directly over HDMI then reencodes and uploads the video on the fly to the company's servers (unlimited streaming costs $45 per month, each encoder comes with three months free) via Ethernet, WiFi or a 3G / 4G USB dongle. Even on the wireless-internet challenged LVCC floor it was sending several streams and enabling user control via buttons on the unit itself, or remotely from a PC or iPhone / iPad. These boxes are still on target to ship at the end of May and and showed off everything those without the backing of a tech / media conglomerate (cough), like small businesses or independent bloggers, would need to make their productions available for viewing as they happen.

Continue reading Livestream Broadcaster hands-on

Livestream Broadcaster hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/17/livestream-broadcaster-hands-on/

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Hauppauge Broadway scores DVR-like record and playback features

Hauppauge Broadway scores DVR-like record and playback features

Sure, we didn't have too many major qualms with the Broadway when we reviewed it in February, but it didn't exactly bowl us over either. Still, if it gets a steady diet of software updates like today's it could turn into quite an impressive device. The budget TV streamer now has the ability to act like a DVR if you attach a storage device to one of its empty USB ports. Of course, you can't just pull up the recorded programs on your set top box as you would with standard DVR, but it does allow you to stream them to your various devices without the need to be watching live. For a few more details check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading Hauppauge Broadway scores DVR-like record and playback features

Hauppauge Broadway scores DVR-like record and playback features originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 04:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/17/hauppauge-broadway-scores-dvr-like-record-and-playback-features/

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Alternative PC Tablets Like the iPad

Over the past two decades, alternative PC tablets like the iPad have been developed by computer entrepreneurs like the late Steve Jobs to make people’s lives easier in many ways, as well as more entertaining. The iPad was first released in 2010 and within a year, it had sold more units than all other tablets put together. Already it has been updated once, and the iPad 3 may be released within the next month or so – although even now [...]

Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/alternative-pc-tablets-like-ipad/

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Ultrasound Treatment Cures Prostate Cancer Perfectly Nine Times in Ten [Medicine]

A new treatment, using highly focused ultrasound, effectively kills cancerous prostate tumors nine times out of ten. What's more, the technique produces virtually no side effects and means patients only have to spend a single evening in hospital. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/KoMQzAk772s/ultrasound-treatment-cures-prostate-cancer-perfectly-nine-times-in-ten

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Dodge is a space-shooter in which you have no weapons

dodge
Space-shooters are usually a fairly fiery affair, with many types of guns, weapon upgrades, power-ups and more. Dodge does away with all of that, while keeping the very essence of a space shooter: Dark background, fast action, and stuff blowing up all over the place.

Your vector-looking spacecraft is the fastest thing on the screen, most of the time. And as the header implies, you have absolutely no weapons; you can't get any, either. All you have is agility and maneuverability.

Your opponents shoot heat-seeking missiles at you; the missiles lock on and start tracking you. The trick is to dodge the missiles while putting them in the path of one of your enemies, thus letting them have a taste of their own medicine.

There are three types of enemies, at least in the first few levels: "simple" spaceships which fire slow projectiles, "tanks" which seem to be more serious and take more hits to destroy, and "circles." The circles simply explode, spewing twenty or thirty very fast projectiles. This sounds dangerous, but is actually great once you learn to use them; they are very destructive for tanks, and can even blow up other circles.

The soundtrack is very techno, but it meshes very well with this type of game. Intense fun!

Dodge is a space-shooter in which you have no weapons originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/01/dodge-is-a-space-shooter-in-which-you-have-no-weapons/

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The Household Car Module Puts Your Kitchen on Wheels [Video]

While you might not have room in your driveway for a full-on mobile home, you can pack a lot of the features into your regular-sized car. If you're a serious camper or road warrior, the SwissRoomBox, a household unit that folds into the trunk of your vehicle, will serve all your needs. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/s9Vaf1Q12Nw/the-household-car-module-puts-your-kitchen-on-wheels

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Add a Windows 8 user tile to your Windows 7 taskbar

Now that Windows 8 images have begun leaking out, it's only a matter of time until developers start releasing mods for Windows 7 which mimic upcoming features. Over at Into Windows, they've spotted one such mod already.

In the earliest Windows 8 images, we saw Windows Live integration on the taskbar. In the far right corner, there's a user tile displayed. If you'd like to do the same on Windows 7, download Taskbar User Tile from DeviantArt user AngelWZR.

Once installed, your current picture will appear on the taskbar. Click it, and a menu appears which allows you to log off, switch users, and access the control panel. Right now, the mod only works if your taskbar is displayed on the bottom of your Windows desktop.

Add a Windows 8 user tile to your Windows 7 taskbar originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/add-a-windows-8-user-tile-to-your-windows-7-taskbar/

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Google finally grabs Gmail domain and trademark in Germany: users can drop the 'oogle'

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Google has offered its email client to willing Germans since 2005, however the typical Gmail domain had already been snapped up by a local businessman in Germany and the company had to plump for the longer googlemail.de addresses. Now, according to the Financial Times, both the Gmail trademark and domain were transferred across to Google earlier this month, although there are no specifics as to how much money changed hands in the deal. With that minor issue sorted, Google packs its backs for its next destination -- maybe it should try Iran.

Google finally grabs Gmail domain and trademark in Germany: users can drop the 'oogle' originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ZjBcfF5tn2Q/

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Konstruct for iOS creates generative augmented reality art with your voice

Konstruct generative augmented reality art for iOS
If you have an artistic temperament, but you weren't blessed with steady hands or an eye for color, Konstruct might be the app for you. Not only does the iPhone app let you produce generative art using words, warbles and whistles, but it also uses augmented reality to bring your artistic creation to life.

To get started, you first need to print out the Konstruct marker and place it wherever you'd like to create your AR sculpture -- it could be on your living room wall, or on the floor of your bathroom, it doesn't matter. Open the app, point your iPhone at the marker, and start making some noises! Once you're done, you can save your creation, or simply wipe the slate clean and start again.

The volume of your voice affects the size of the shapes that are drawn on the screen, and you can move your head around to alter the path of your 'brush' -- but to change the shape of your brush or modify the color palette you have to use a menu. Without knowledge of the app's internal workings, it's hard to say what the actual difference between whistling, talking and singing is -- and judging by the developer's affinity for whistling in the demo video (after the break), the app probably doesn't perform that much analysis on your input.

Still, Konstruct is just a prototype! A later version could do away with menus and rely entirely on the location, tonality, quality and amplitude of your voice -- and judging by the the words of the developer, James Alliban, there is definitely more in store for Konstruct: "The idea of transforming entire cities into user generated virtual art galleries really appeals to me. I see Konstruct as an early prototype that will hopefully be realised in this form in the future."

Download Konstruct for free from the App Store (iPhone 3GS and 4 only)

[Thanks to Richard for the tip!]

Continue reading Konstruct for iOS creates generative augmented reality art with your voice

Konstruct for iOS creates generative augmented reality art with your voice originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/konstruct-for-ios-creates-generative-augmented-reality-art-with/

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