Tag: The Future »

The year is 2150. The Earth's resources have been completely drained, so humanity is forced to seek out a suitable replacement in the vast emptiness of space. It's a song and dance any sci-fi fans is familiar with, but one that's often overlooked as a backdrop for a video game. Space Frontier takes that backdrop and turns it into the game's entire basis for existence.

Thirty different planets are out there to colonize, with a total of forty stages to complete. Each habitable world has its own special circumstances and conditions, so what might make for a successful settling on one may not work on another. Factoring in the various missions and scoring that's based on a player's speed of completion, and we have ourselves one consistently playable little space adventure.

Anyone anxious to start their own space-age real estate business can give Space Frontier a look right now. $3.99 is all it'll take to get the ball rolling.

When Apple announced their FaceTime initiative with the launch of the iPhone 4, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that you would see the tech implemented in ways that Apple didn't originally intend.  Though it was implied that Apple planned on opening up their FaceTime standards to the tech world, I think that it would be safe to assume that they were not about to sanction an in-house developed cross platform communication application.  Fortunately for us, Tango's got our backs with their new Tango Video Calls software.

Integrating a new system that is nearly as simple as FaceTime, this is the first program of its kind, even expanding video chat onto devices like the 3GS, which do not support FaceTime.  Here are some of the features they are promising:

• Free video calling to your friends and family around the world, wherever you are


• Call between iPhone and other smartphones on 3G and Wi-Fi


• Populates Tango Contacts automatically from existing phone contact list


• Invite friends and others by e-mail or text


• Switch cameras and swap screens to show what is around you


• Move between video to audio and back to video


• Simple and easy to use


• Create an account in less than five seconds - New profile not required

Interestingly enough, they neglected to note the ability for devices on the proprietary iOS platform to now video conference with those on Android based devices.  Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, that is CROSS-PLATFORM communication!  Honestly, I am amazed that Apple hasn't put the kibosh on this app for that reason alone, but as of late things seem to be more lax in the App Store review department (not that we are complaining).  Plus, if you are using Tango, that means you no longer have to deal with the pesky Wi-Fi limitations of FaceTime.

Really, when you do everything that Apple's signature app doesn't why wouldn't you be successful.  It certainly won't hurt matters much when you realize that it will cost you nothing to download this little marvel.  So what are you waiting for?  The future of communication is just a download away.

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As much as I hate to say it, the folk over in the Android camp had one thing that I wanted so much that I thought about buying one of their phones. I didn't, but it was a blip in my thought process.

The feature that I wanted so dearly was Google Goggles, a visual search feature that, up to now, was only available on the Android platform. As of now, Google Goggles is a new feature in the Google Mobile app -- you know, the one that lets you speak your searches and gives you locally relevant results.

Instead of going through needless searches to identify a visual object like a building, for example, Google Goggles uses the iPhone camera to identify what is in the picture. Like any new technology, it doesn't work 100% of the time, and doesn't recognize somethings like animals, plants, or food, but it does do a great job identifying anything with a clear label (including wine, as shown in the video), various points of interest, and even foreign languages (it'll translate to English). Give Google some time and I'm sure it'll identify people and animals (including their names and birthdays), but that's for the future.

Google Mobile only works with the English language and requires the auto focusing camera of the iPhone 3GS or 4, leaving iPhone 3G owners out of the loop. Like everything Google, the app is also free so be sure to pick it up today!

[Source: Google Blog]