Monday, 28 February 2011

How to Automatically Download TV Shows as Soon as They've Aired (or Turn Your PC into a TiVo) [How To]

Video content is readily available online for you to download, but the download process isn't always as simple and automated clicking a button on a TiVO or DVR. Fortunately, with a little set up and some help from a few great tools and BitTorrent or Usenet, you can turn your computer into a TiVo-like downloader. Here's how to set them up. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/13zr3n3-a0E/how-to-turn-your-computer-into-an-internet-personal-video-recorder

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China Is Copying the Web Too [Internet]

China is not only copying consoles, iPhones and Rolexes. They are also in the business of copying web sites. Why come up with an original idea when you just can watch the west and clone the successful ideas for 1.3 billion people? This is their Foursquare clone. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/MoEVMizw9uA/

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Creepy app uses Twitter and Flickr data to track anyone on a map

locate anyone twitter flickr map
When you post a photo online -- especially from a phone with a built-in camera -- you're likely sharing more than the picture itself. The same is true for updates you post on Twitter. Location data is commonly included, and crafty types can do all kinds of creepy things with that information.

A good example of what's possible is Creepy, a desktop app which lets you track a Flickr or Twitter user's position on a map. Just pop in a Twitter or Flickr ID, and if the person has posted any geocoded data Creepy will pin the corresponding locations on a map. Satellite, street, and hybrid maps from Google and Virtual Earth are available, as are OpenAerialMap and OpenStreetMap.

Above, you can see where @scobleizer has been puttering around. Pop in anyone you want and then wait patiently -- Creepy analyzes quite a bit of data, so it can take a while for your results to appear. The mapping magic works as long as the user you search for has enabled geolocation features -- and that likely includes the vast majority of Twitter and Flickr users using a mobile app.

Creepy is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and the application's source code is also downloadable.

Creepy app uses Twitter and Flickr data to track anyone on a map originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Feb 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/25/creepy-app-uses-twitter-and-flickr-data-to-track-anyone-on-a-map/

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Five privacy protection Firefox add-ons for Data Privacy Day

dataprivacyday
Happy Data Privacy Day! While Lee already published one roundup showing a multitude of various tools, this post is all about Firefox!

If you're reading Download Squad, you already know all of these classics. Kudos to you! Now go ahead and let your less computer-savvy coworkers or family members read this list, and make sure they install at least one of these if they use Firefox at all.

  • HTTPS Everywhere is an add-on by the beardies over at the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation). It forces Firefox to communicate using HTTPS (secure HTTP) with a number of major websites, such as Google, Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook, PayPal and others.
  • Ghostery focuses on those corporations and institutions bent on tracking your movements around the Web (or on their own websites). It detects when you're being tracked by Google Analytics, Facebook and over 400 other ad networks, and provides an easy way to block those tracking mechanisms while leaving all other JavaScript functionality intact.
  • Web of Trust provides a clear "traffic light" indication showing which sites you can trust with your credit card details, and which sites you should be leery of. The ratings are user-generated, and you don't have to access the actual website in question to view them - they show up right on the search results page when you use Google, Yahoo!, Bing and even Wikipedia.
  • NoScript is somewhat similar to Ghostery mentioned above, in that it also blocks JavaScript. But it's a more extreme solution: Rather than just block trackers, it implements a "white list", blocking all JavaScript except for scripts running on domains you trust. One of its many advantages is that it protects against cross-site scripting attacks.
  • BetterPrivacy protects you against a different kind of cookie - one that you can't flush just by clearing your browser history. These cookies are called Local Storage Objects, or Flash cookies, and are put on your computer using the Flash plug-in. BetterPrivacy scrubs these cookies off your system every time your exit your browser.
Did I miss any of the must-have privacy add-ons for Firefox? Share your recommendations in the comments!

[Image credit: dcJohn]

Five privacy protection Firefox add-ons for Data Privacy Day originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/28/five-privacy-protection-firefox-add-ons-for-data-privacy-day/

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Paranormal Shark Activity is a hopping Time Waster

paranormalsharkactivity
The shark is a majestic creature; it's also pretty dangerous. When Paranormal Shark Activity starts off, you're just a dude hanging out on the pier. You quickly discover there's no way to go left (back to the city or the port, presumably) - there's only one choice, which is to keep going right, into the water.

Once you go into the water, the actual game starts. A huge (and I do mean huge) shark appears on the left side of the frame, and you have to keep jumping between crates and platforms floating on the water to try and keep ahead of the shark.

When you fall into the water between crates, you don't drown - you just float there, idling about as shark bait. Hitting SPACE makes you jump for the next platform.

Once you've gone for a short while, you will start picking up the occasional bomb along the way. Hitting UP will launch a bomb at the shark, which will then disappear for a few seconds.

When the shark reappears, it may do so from any side of the screen - so don't get to close too the right side!

Paranormal Shark Activity is a hopping Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 03 Feb 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/03/paranormal-shark-activity-is-a-hopping-time-waster/

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Sunday, 27 February 2011

OS X Lion Will Take Better Care of SSDs with TRIM Support [Blips]

OS X Lion Will Use TRIM commands when dealing with SSDs, which will extend the life of the storage devices found in all MacBook Airs. [HardMac via Cult of Mac] More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/PR9qD4Qxl1s/os-x-lion-will-take-better-care-of-ssds

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How to Piss People Off In One Easy Step [Wtf]

Step one: Alter benches in New Zealand so that they press advertising messages about short shorts into the back of a person's bare thighs. You're done. [Copyranter via Neatorama] More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/4pBZAPL3VUA/how-to-piss-people-off-with-an-advertisement-in-one-easy-step

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'Apple just f***** over online music subs for the iPhone' -- Last.fm co-founder on Apple's 30% cut

Speaking rather frankly on IRC, Last.fm's co-founder Richard Jones has condemned Apple's move to grab 30% of content-based subscription fees: "Apple just f***** over online music subs for the iPhone."

Jones' apoplectic outburst is just one of many, too. Rhapsody yesterday said it won't bow to Apple's subscription policy, and CEO of on-demand music streamer we7, speaking to paidContent, thinks that the 30% share "makes music subscriptions economically unviable." If big-hitters like Spotify and Rdio can't produce the 30% that High Lord Jobs demands, how can they possibly continue to provide their services to iOS apps without increasing their price? The crazy thing is, because of Apple's price-matching ultimatum, everyone -- including users of other smartphone platforms -- will have to pay the higher price.

On another front entirely, according to some law professors quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Apple's move could even be kiboshed by antitrust and anticompetitive legislation. These could be interesting times indeed.

While leveraging its massive and wealthy userbase to get a slice of the subscription pie might've sounded great on paper, 30% might simply be too much to ask for. At the very least, it looks like Hulu, Netflix, Spotify, Last.fm and Rdio users are destined to pay a few dollars more per month. Or perhaps content providers will simply stick it to iOS and decamp to Google's dirty, bohemian app ecosystem.

'Apple just f***** over online music subs for the iPhone' -- Last.fm co-founder on Apple's 30% cut originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 17 Feb 2011 07:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/02/17/apple-just-f-over-online-music-subs-for-the-iphone-lastfm/

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Teardown: What?s Inside The Motorola Xoom

From the outside, tablets are almost all the same, especially when seen from the front. But like a pretty actor in a reality TV show, once you get under their skin you find out what really makes them tick. So it is with the Motorola Xoom, which has been opened up and photographed by — [...]

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/02/teardown-whats-inside-the-motorola-xoom/

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Sony Wants Translucent Mirrors in All Their DSLRs [Photography]

After releasing DSLR cameras such as the a33 and a55, which feature a translucent mirror inside, Sony said they plan to put the same tech all of their interchangable-lens cameras...eventually. The translucent mirror technology helps to increase shutter speed. [Photo Rumors via PetaPixel] More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/4X6Q_s_m1LQ/sony-wants-translucent-mirrors-in-all-their-dslrs

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Mac OS X Lion has TRIM support for SSDs, HiDPI resolutions for improved pixel density?

As you'd expect, developers have wasted no time in tearing apart the Mac OS X Lion preview, and in so doing they've allegedly discovered some intriguing things -- namely, support for the SSD-wiping TRIM command, and a series of high-DPI display modes which would allow for icons and UI elements with twice the graphical detail -- which could mean a PC-sized Retina Display. The former doesn't sound like the most exciting upgrade, but it's truly a boon for Mac users with solid state storage, as TRIM can greatly improve write speeds in compatible drives. As far as the improved pixel density rumors are concerned, it's not clear whether Apple's actually looking at doubling display resolutions in new computers (9to5Mac imagines a 15-inch MacBook Pro with a 2880 x 1800 screen) or whether Apple's simply moving to maintain icons that are precisely the same physical size across all its displays -- which would make fantastic sense for a touchscreen UI, by the way.

Mac OS X Lion has TRIM support for SSDs, HiDPI resolutions for improved pixel density? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 26 Feb 2011 19:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/bhy3zoHpY6A/

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