Version 5.3 of Skype for Windows has just been released, with the main emphasis of the new release being improved call quality, and the quality of video received by mobile Skype users. Presumably one party of the video call must be using Skype for Windows 5.3, though.

Beyond improved call quality, not much has changed. You can now see your friends’ presence icons when contact cards are collapsed, and the topic editing button is now always visible on the conversation header. For a complete list of changes, hit up the Skype Garage blog.

Download Skype 5.3 for Windows

Skype 5.3 for Windows released, improves mobile video call quality originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 12:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/07/skype-5-3-for-windows-released-improves-mobile-video-call-quali/

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/bJ40uIIcdXg/story01.htm

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Years of computer use have taught us that the mouse cursor is “above” the windows. It doesn’t push anything around; at least not without you clicking anything.

Balance takes that ingrained bit of knowledge and cancels it out. Suddenly your cursor (a blue dot) is solid – and if it touches the blue block, it pushes it around.

Your job is to use your cursor to nudge the blue block over to the orange block. You will have to push it, lift it and even flip it on its side, and then balance it. It’s a very tricky game – one I wouldn’t recommend tackling with a laptop trackpad.

Still, if you have a mouse and a hankering for a little physics gameplay, this is a cute little game. I like how the blue block never stops smiling, it makes me feel better about the world.

Balance is a challenging mouse-based physics game originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/10/balance-is-a-challenging-mouse-based-physics-game/

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Cause that's pretty freakin' huge.

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Remember when Google launched its desktop-only Flight Search service back in the fall? Well, now it’s made the travel checking tool both Android and iOS friendly. All the key flight-finding features of the desktop version are present: search, discover by location, filter by price, airline and calendar view, and have been optimized for the small screen. Bear in mind that this isn’t a native app, El Goog has just tweaked the web-service for the respective mobile browsers, hoping to make those spur of the moment travel plans less taxing. Hit the source link below for further info.

Google updates Flight Search for Android, iOS originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/google-updates-flight-search-for-android-ios/

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The adorable, metallic-haired EMIEW 2 has been given permission to go on the internet and it’s going to use that privilege to find exactly where you left that stapler. First, the android uses its built-in camera to take a snapshot of objects and then queries the visual data online to recognise it. Then, as shown in Hitachi’s recent demonstration, it teams up with an array of cameras dotted around a hypothetical office. These help the robot seek out specific objects and guide puny humans to what they need — with some voice recognition thrown into the mix. Skeptical types can watch the robot find and destroy all that lost property right after the break.

Continue reading EMIEW 2 robot connects to the internet, wants to google your stuff (video)

EMIEW 2 robot connects to the internet, wants to google your stuff (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/emiew-2-connects-to-the-internet-wants-to-google-your-stuff-vi/

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Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/02/ipad-rumor-reblog/

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It’s true, what they say: Our digital lives are moving to the cloud. Whenever we fire up Facebook instead of a local email client, we’re taking part in the shift from locally-run software to the networked app world. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/-XnOYC80D8Y/how-no-amount-of-cloud-computing-will-kill-off-local-music-storage

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Google Goggles could soon become a set of physical goggles if murmurings from within the company are true. Could this be the death knell for smart phones? More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/LUBRDtS4NlM/googles-mystery-hud-glasses-could-be-on-sale-by-the-holidays

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Continue reading AT&T launches pilot program for expanded push-to-talk services

AT&T launches pilot program for expanded push-to-talk services originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/02/22/atandt-launches-pilot-program-for-expanded-push-to-talk-services/

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Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/02/17/organize-your-change-with-a-chawly-changer-coin-dispenser/

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Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/02/ipad-rumor-reblog/

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Well, that was quicker than I expected. Here we are, mostly through February — Mobile Nations Fitness Month — and what started as two weeks of solid daily walking as slipped back into 16-hour days at a desk.

Why am I not surprised.

I know I'm not alone there — we've all started some sort of exercise regimen only to let life, work, school — the old routine — sneak back in. And you know what? All the gadgets in the world can't keep it from happening. (Or, in my case, all the gadgets in the world are the direct cause.) That one's totally on me.

But, wait. No it's not. Frankly, I'm very disappointed in all of you. Two weeks away, and not one "What happened to Phil?!?!?!" thread in our our Health and Fitness forums. Fine. I get it. I'm on my own here. Thanks for nothing.

So we've got a week to go in Mobile Nations Fitness Month. And this ain't gonna be easy — I head to Mobile World Congress on Friday. Here's what we're going to do:

• I'm strapping the Fitbit back on. Let's see how far one walks at MWC, shall we? And perhaps there will be a contest around it.
• From now through Feb. 29 (it's a leap year, yo!), anyone who posts in the Health and Fitness forums is entered to win an Acer Iconia Tab A200. (Anyone who posts "I'm only posting to enter to win!" is lame and will not win.)
• If you see me sitting down somewhere, kick me in the rear and tell me to get my fat butt moving. Time's a wastin'.

So Mobile Nations Fitness Month isn't yet a bust. We've still got some time left. And perhaps we've all learned an important lesson. … … … Ah, right. The tech is fun, but it's not going to put in the miles for you.

The Pulse Surface Controller is a vibration-based musical instrument that finally puts those years of air drumming to use. It’s a small, piezo-based MIDI controller that lets you turn pretty much any surface into a musical instrument. The device has a built-in suction cup, comes with velcro straps and plugs into your computer’s microphone port. The fun really starts with the dedicated controller software, that converts your percussive punches to your virtual instrument of choice. You’re not limited to drums either, as you can map your taps to a velocity sensitive melodic generator to create musical tones and scales. Luckily you won’t have to sit on your hands to get one of these either, as the Pulse Surface Controller System is available now for $59, or you can tap-tap-tap the video after the break for a demo.

Continue reading Pulse Surface Controller System: bangs the drum, desk, window

Pulse Surface Controller System: bangs the drum, desk, window originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/vx_T-KLISNQ/

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Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/02/17/digitech-istomp-effects-pedal-for-ios-devices/

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This is not a surprise, but a welcome confirmation for the millions of business citizens and students of the world who have already adopted Apple’s tablet as a work tool: Microsoft Office could be coming to the iPad in the next few weeks. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/GOdf0LMVP8I/office-for-ipad-release-is-imminent

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Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2012/02/21/col-littleton-no-47-no-49-phone-holsters-review/

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/32QAkznab8g/story01.htm

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Have you ever wondered what the Web was like before the Mosaic Web browser? If you were born in the last 20-odd years, or you only discovered your inner geek recently, did you miss out on monochrome monitors and the dial-up BBS era? Well, here’s your chance to get a sneak peek at history: grab the ChromeLite extension and marvel as the entire Web is transformed into ASCII characters.

Now, ChromeLite isn’t really all that functional. For the most part, it simply strips images and converts text into a monospaced terminal font. There are a few Easter eggs inserted — such as a fun message at the bottom of YouTube (image after the break) — and some fun ASCII art, but that’s about it. Rather oddly, most JavaScript continues to work — so you can still enjoy Google Instant Search!

ChromeLite was actually made by Google as an April Fools’ joke — and indeed, an annoying ‘you can uninstall this!’ message appears at the top of every page — but we’re kind of hoping that Google, or another developer, takes ChromeLite and turns it into a real ASCII browsing extension with configurable settings. If anything, it will provide an easy way to save bandwidth and CPU time.

Continue reading ChromeLite: experience the ASCII Web of yesteryear

ChromeLite: experience the ASCII Web of yesteryear originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/chromelite-experience-the-ascii-web-of-yesteryear/

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Sand Trap is one of those games that at first seem too hard to bother with, but when you try to stop playing it you discover you’re hooked.

The goal is to get as much sand as you possibly can out of the maze and into the bucket at the bottom of the screen. You need to rotate your maze every which way to get the sand rolling around it. You then try to direct the sand to one of the exits of the maze, and hopefully into the bucket. It took me several tries to actually get sand into the bucket, but that might be due to the fact that I didn’t even realize the bucket was there at first. Things improved significantly after that.

As you level up, the mazes get more complicated, with moving parts and other things making your life more difficult. Once you manage to get through all these obstacles and get enough sand into your bucket, you can move on.

As I mentioned, this is not an easy game, but it’s highly addictive. The graphics remind me of some long lost game from the 80s, but this just proves that you don’t need super graphics and crazy sound to make a game work. There’s a soothing guitar track playing in the background and that’s it, as far as I could hear, and you can enjoy it just as much with no sound at all.

If you like a fun physics challenge, don’t miss out on this one!

Sand Trap is a fun and difficult physics maze game originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/sand-trap-is-a-fun-physics-maze-game/

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