Apple will take 30% of subscription fees from content-based apps like Hulu, Netflix

Apple has just announced that its recurring subscription plans will not only be available to magazine-type apps. Any content-based app, such as Hulu, Netflix or Spotify will be able to take advantage of Apple's App Store billing system.

The plot thickens, though: Apple has mandated that all content-based subscription services must enable in-app sign-up. In other words, if Hulu Plus is available for $7.99 from the Hulu website, users must also be able to sign up via the Hulu iOS app.

Apple, of course, will take its usual 30% cut of all subscriptions that originate from within iOS apps.

Apple will take 30% of subscription fees from content-based apps like Hulu, Netflix originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 15 Feb 2011 09:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

mobile kindle usb flash

Tesla Death Ray is an addictive tower defense game

Last week I wrote about Xeno Defense and this week I found Tesla Death Ray, which is almost as addictive, but is clad in a somewhat different costume.

It's a tower defense game in which you have to zap your enemies to oblivion. Much like in Xeno Defense, at the end of each level you get to the store and can use your hard-earned points to purchase upgrades and repair your tower.

Unlike Xeno Defense, you only get to the store if you pass the level. This makes the game much harder, because it means if you've made some wrong choices in terms of upgrades, now you're stuck with a level you simply cannot pass, and need to start the game all over again.

I should at least be able to sell off some of my equipment between retries of the same level, I think. But despite this one flaw, the game manages to be addictive, fun, and fast. I like it, and probably would have finished it if it hadn't been for the upgrade problem.

Tesla Death Ray is an addictive tower defense game originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 13 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

usb flash touch microsoft

Mac OS X Lion features multi-user remoting, offers inexpensive Windows Server alternative

Right down at the bottom of the Mac OS X Lion page on the Apple website is a tidbit that we should probably pay more attention to: OS X Lion will come with Lion Server built-in. It will be included on the same disc -- it will come pre-installed with every Mac that Apple sells. You will get all of the juicy Server features for free.

Now, this isn't to say that Lion Server has an overwhelming feature set, but it's more than enough to run a home or small business network -- and when you compare it to the cost of a preconfigured Windows Home Server box or Small Business Server 2008, which can be hundreds of dollars, it becomes a very good deal indeed.

If we haven't sold you yet, check out a feature that 9to5 Mac has just discovered in Lion Server: multi-user remoting. Multi-user remoting means that someone can be sitting at a Mac with OS X Lion installed, and someone else can log in remotely without interrupting the current user. If you prefer Windows terminology, it's like running concurrent RDP sessions.

9to5 Mac goes on to mention that if you have MobileMe and combine it with Back to my Mac you should be able to have concurrent users logging in from all over the world. There might be some potential tie-ins with future versions of iOS, too!

Mac OS X Lion features multi-user remoting, offers inexpensive Windows Server alternative originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

playstation mobile kindle usb

What Was James Franco Staring at on His iPhone During the Oscars? [Caption Contest]

Probably-stoned Oscars host James Franco and his giggly, unbearable sidekick Anne Hathaway: mediocre. But whilst bombing, Franco couldn't keep his mitts off his iPhone—he first appeared on stage gleefully gripping it. So what's he doing with the thing? More »

wired android gadget mobile

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.

Permalink Electronista, CrunchGear  |  MacRumors, MacGeneration  | Email this | Comments

gawker gizmodo crunchgear wired

A Small Car is a frustrating 3D Flash Time-Waster

It's not often that I see 3D attempted in Flash, and to be honest, after playing A Small Car I can see why.

It's not that it's not a fun game - otherwise I wouldn't mention it as a potential Time Waster. It's just very frustrating. Your job is to steer a car over a complex course, hanging in mid-air, to the checkered "landing zone" at the end of each level. You sometimes need to jump, too - so that means you can't always drive super-slow. The tracks are quite short, and it's all keyboard driven -- you don't need to use the mouse for anything.

As an experiment in 3D Flash content, it is quite impressive. The graphics are very blocky, but the motion is smooth. You can even change cameras by pressing C if you want to see what the track looks like from the driver's seat.

It's a fun game, but only if you've got plenty of patience.

A Small Car is a frustrating 3D Flash Time-Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 28 Jan 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

android gadget mobile ipad

Man builds machine to push phone buttons from half a world away (video)

If your ambition was to travel the world, and your job to push the buttons of three cellphones located in South Korea, you might go insane. That seems to be what happened to Mok Young Bak, at least, when he invented the crazy contraption depicted in the video above. Called the Caduceus, it's a telepresence machine that does just one thing -- it controls every single button on each of those three phones with a series of servo motors and actuator cables, and moves a pendulum-like webcam so he can clearly see each screen from wherever he happens to be. That way, he can enjoy tourism while leaving his livelihood within reach, at least so long as concerned neighbors don't assume the terrible din is, say, a killer robot assembly line, and insist that police investigate.

Man builds machine to push phone buttons from half a world away (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 27 Feb 2011 11:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Hack a Day  | Email this | Comments

flash touch microsoft app