Items tagged with GUI
A new Apple patent has emerged that shows a new, more immersive 3D desktop GUI, which looks essentially like cover flow but for applications instead of just for items within Finder windows. It also seems like an incredibly obvious (though no less attractive and innovative) evolution of displaying open applications, and it will certainly allow users to increase the speed of their workflow. It appears that you can click (or swipe?) your way through open applications that are presented as a series of windows, and whichever application is front and center is the currently active app. You can work with a given application without leaving the cover flow environment, which is a nice touch, and if you...
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Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky has published an update to the Building Windows 8 blog in which he sheds light on how Windows 8 treats the GUI differently than any previous version of the operating system. One of the concerns surrounding Windows 8 has been whether or not the operating system's new 'Metro' UI would supplant the more conventional GUI and whether or not users would be able to switch between the two. Microsoft has already demonstrated an updated version of Explorer's UI structure, as partial proof that the company is devoted to preserving both the old and new presentation methods. According to Sinofsky, Windows 8 will treat the desktop as an optional environment. He notes that the company's...
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The nascent tablet market segment has already strained the Wintel alliance; both Microsoft and Intel have made marketing/strategic decisions that the other isn't fond of. Intel's recent financial analyst day has only made things worse; Microsoft is quite unhappy with the CPU manufacturer's remarks regarding Windows 8. Microsoft's declaration that Windows 8 would run on ARM processors was one of the most talked about announcements of last January's CES, but Intel's remarks this week cast doubt on the usefulness of the ARM-flavored version of that operating system. Renée James, Intel's general manager of the software & services group, claimed in his presentation that Microsoft's Windows...
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Tablets and mobile devices are central to Microsoft's plans for CES 2011. In addition to its demo of an early Windows 8 build running on ARM CPUs, the software giant will be demonstrating a number of tablets running Windows 7. If this sounds familiar it's because Microsoft did much the same thing last year—but very little came of the company's push a year ago. Analysts expect the slate/tablet market to explode over the next few years and Redmond wants a piece of the action. It's less than-clear, however, if the tablet version of Windows 7 is capable of standing up to the competition. Spend a few hours with Windows 7's current multitouch mode and you'll soon be wondering why the company...
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This one would make Vernon Reid proud -- or maybe not? Regardless, here's a little something for Sunday night kick-back and amusement. If you've ever played Guitar Hero and attempted Living Color's song, Cult of Personality on any setting but easy, you'll know why some axe-slinging musicians are called "heroes". With his stylings classified as a hybrid "Metal Funk" fusion, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Reid as one of top 100 greatest guitarists of all time. There's no question, in the game the song is a pretty steep challenge on the higher difficulty settings but not for Cyth Systems' Guitar Hero playing machine. ...
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Whoops, don't start strumming yet. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Performance Designed Products (PDP) announced on Thursday a voluntary recall of the Rage Wireless Guitar controller for the Nintendo Wii. As the CPSC announcement says: Hazard: A circuit board defect can cause AA batteries used in the guitar to leak if the batteries are installed incorrectly, posing a risk of chemical burns to consumers. Incidents/Injuries: Performance Designed Products has received one report of a burn to a consumer. Description: The Rage Wireless Guitar controller is designed to be used on the Nintendo Wii system. The guitar is blue or white and is 31 inches long. The guitar contains battery-operated...
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Tired of playing Trogdor and Freebird over and over? Maybe help is on the way. Representatives of the remaining Beatles are in discussions with the makers of both the Guitar Hero and Rock Band video games. Activision and MTV Games are after a deal for the most sought-after catalog of music ever. A final deal would be worth several million dollars, according to a person familiar with the talks, and could be reached in a matter of weeks. However, it would have first to win the blessing of both Apple Corps, the company established by the band to oversee its business interests, and EMI, the UK music group that owns the Beatles master recordings. Both declined to comment.The surviving Beatles and...
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You probably remember the Megan Meier case, in which a teenage girl committed suicide after a MySpace romance went bad. The romance itself and the boy involved were in fact fictional, perpetrated as a vindictive prank by the mother of a former friend who lived down the street.A Missouri woman who prosecutors say drove a 13-year-old neighbour girl to suicide with a cruel MySpace hoax pleaded innocent to federal charges on Thursday in the unprecedented case. Lori Drew, who is accused of creating the fake MySpace persona of a 16-year-old boy to woo and then viciously reject neighbour Megan Meier, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and accessing a protected computer to obtain information....
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The New York State Supreme Court issued a ruling today against Dell and Dell Financial Services (DFS), finding the company guilty of "fraud, false advertising, deceptive business practices, and abusive debt collection practices." The ruling is the end result of a lawsuit filed by New York State Attorney General, Andrew M Cuomo, in May 2007. After the ruling, Cuomo issued a statement saying that Dell and DFS essentially used "a bait and switch that left thousands of people paying for essentially no service at all." He also said: "We have won an important victory that will force Dell to live up to its responsibilities and pay back its customers for profits that were pocketed but not deserved."...
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Activision keeps on rockin' with the mega-popular Guitar Hero brand. The gaming giant just announced plans for the next installment of the shreddin' series. Get ready, 'cause Guitar Hero: World Tour is set to hit shelves before the holiday season.In response to the racket created by Rock Band, Activision has turned up the volume with a new set of peripherals for World Tour. Faux rockers will be able to buy a drum kit and bass pedal to form a full band. With the promise of a "battle of the bands" mode in the offing, button-pushing buddies can strut their stuff and face off against four of their closest friends.We're sure to see a full complement of new bands on board, extra downloadable tracks...
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A common knock on the wildly popular Guitar Hero console gamer is that it's a shame that people don't just learn how to play the guitar instead. It's easier to play the actual guitar than many songs on Guitar Hero on its most challenging setting, after all. Perhaps the critics were wrong about Guitar Hero siphoning off interest in the actual instrument. Six of the top twenty iTunes podcasts are guitar tutorials by iVideosongs.When possible, iVideosongs gets guitarists who actually wrote popular songs to explain each riff in detail. At the very least, the instructors are professional guitarists with in-depth knowledge and a nice way of imparting it. The focus is on the guitar, but the site includes...
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Linux fans felt as though Wal-Mart's decision to retail inexpensive computers that use Linux for their operating system meant that the free, open source software would finally break out into general public. Oh yeah, and Ron Paul's going to be President. "This really wasn't what our customers were looking for," said Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien.To test demand for systems with the open-source operating system, Wal-Mart stocked the $199 "Green gPC," made by Everex of Taiwan, in about 600 stores starting late in October.Walmart.com, the chain's e-commerce site, had sold Linux-based computers before and will continue selling the gPC. This was the first time they appeared...
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The Asus Eee PC is a nifty laptop. And it became a sort of talisman of hope for Linux fans. Windows Vista demands too many resources for a stripped down lappie, and Linux seemed to fit the bill for the OS. The 800 pound gorilla at Microsoft is still XP, and it's in the room with the penguin now.Asus has formally launched its bonsai laptop, the Eee PC, in Japan, pre-installing the machine with Windows XP Home Edition rather than Linux.The machine's specifications proved to be those of the standard 4GB solid-state disc model - the Eee PC 701, aka the 4G, though in Japan it's called the 4G-X.In addition to 4GB of storage, the 0.92kg 4G-X has 512MB of DDR 2 memory, a 7in, 800 x 480 display,...
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The sale price alone is worth the story, but that's not the best part. A Canadian dad, ebay username of k_lid, sold his son's Guitar Hero III game (for the Nintendo Wii) on eBay for $9,100.01 after catching him smoking pot in the backyard with two of his "delinquent" friends."I am now finding it hard to justify rewarding him with this gift after he so greatly disappointed me," writes the brooding parent on his eBay listing page. "I know smoking a joint isn't the end of the world, but if you can convince me that he deserves the gift, then I will end the auction."Consequently, the $90 game sold for $9,100.01 to an Australian buyer. Apparently, the majority of people sided with the dad.Our...
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