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Genius EasyPen F610E


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Chip Chain
App Pick - Chip Chain

EA to discontinue Online Pass DRM

Normally when we talk about EA it's to tell you about how they've come up with a new way to make their customers angry, but not today. EA has announced that they are going to discontinue using their Online Pass program which disabled online features of a game if you borrowed it from a friend or bought it used and if you wanted to play online you had to pay and additional fee. Sony and Microsoft has also discontinued their use of similar programs which is probably why EA is doing the same but in the end this is good news for gamers. The Verge has more details.

Electronic Arts has a reputation to rebuild, and today the video game company is making one important gesture: VentureBeat reports that EA is getting rid of its oft-loathed Online Pass program. Basically, Online Pass was an attempt to allow Electronic Arts to profit even from second-hand game sales using a form of DRM: it would restrict multiplayer and other online functionality only to users who bought a brand-new copy of the game, or specifically paid EA for a code after their used game purchase.

2013 Google I/O Highlights

Google hosted their 2013 I/O keynote yesterday and announced some of their new products for the upcoming year. Google+ has a few new updates, Android has a few new features like a music service to take on Spotify, and there will be a special version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 (without all the Samsung software) released. People who were hoping for a new Nexus 7 tablet or Nexus 4 phone will be disappointed but overall the new products announced yesterday seems decent enough. The Verge has more details over here.

I/O is Google’s biggest event of the year, a three-day soiree for the company and its developers to talk about the present and future of Google’s products. It’s also the week Google tends to make its biggest announcements — from the Nexus 7 to Google TV, Chrome to Glass and everything in between, Google plays its biggest cards every year in the middle of May.

Goodbye Lotus 1-2-3

IBM has announced that they are going to be retiring the Lotus brand and their famous product Lotus 1-2-3 (IBM acquired Lotus a few years back now). If you've been around personal computers since the beginning you will remember Lotus 1-2-3 and how it probably blew your mind when it was first released. Products like Excel has rendered Lotus 1-2-3 obsolete and it was just a matter of time until it was retired, but it had a good 30 year run. ZDNet has more on the legacy of Lotus 1-2-3.

This early spreadsheet turned the Apple II from a hobbyist toy to a business computer. VisiCalc came with room for improvement, though. In addition, a new architecture and operating system, the Intel-based IBM PC and MS-DOS, also needed a spreadsheet to be taken seriously. That spreadsheet, released in early 1983, would be Lotus 1-2-3, and it would change the world. It became the PC's killer app, and the world would never be the same.

WTU Episode #211 - BlackBerry (Finally) Goes Cross-Platform

We have just posted up Episode #211 of Weekly Tech Update.  In this episode we are discussing Blackberry bringing BB to the masses, our Google I/O wish list and move over OUYA, here comes GamePop.  We have those stories and more. . .  Below are the show notes.
 

Download Episode #211
Show Notes
Subscribe to the feed.

Subscribe in iTunes!
Subscribe in Zune Marketplace!

Microsoft Confirms 8.1 Will Be Free

After much deliberation, Microsoft has dropped the "Blue" name from Windows 8.1 and is calling it just that - Windows 8.1.  The good news in all of this is that Microsoft is sucking it up and giving this patch away for free.  Granted, if it was an entirely new OS, it would be worth some extra money, but Windows 8.1 is fixing some issues and adding functionality that should have been there in the first place.

Not charging extra for Windows 8.1 is consistent with the company's practice of offering "decimal point" updates to operating systems for free. However, when Microsoft Corp. announced the update last week, it didn't say that it would be free. The company also hadn't disclosed the system's formal name, leaving open the possibility that it would be a larger update, perhaps to Windows 9.

Source: NDTV

Genius EasyPen F610E Graphics Tablet

Tablet In A BoxWe have just posted our review of the Genius EasyPen F610E Graphics Tablet.  This tablet is a great tablet that has a bargain price tag and a whole lot of features.  Granted, Genius isn't as popular as Wacom, but the money you'll save is pretty awesome - and it works very well.  I've got a couple of small issues with it, but it's not a deal breaker.  Please check out our review for all the details.

The Genius EasyPeb F610E is a bargain at $99 and you can find it even cheaper than that online.  It seems to have good quality, excellent performance and an average software bundle.  When you combine this with a bargain price-tag, you have a winner.  While the Genius name may not inspire as much confidence as Wacom, we’ve had no issues with this tablet during our review and the support from Genius seems to be getting better and better here in North America.

What Google Should Bring to I/O

Google I/O is just days away and there is some speculation and a whole lot of hope briming around this year's conference.  There are a few things that Android lovers are hoping for this year, and I would tend to agree with many of these that are on the list.  Other than the Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 updates, we are hoping for some solid information on the Motorola X-Phone.  We only have days to wait.

Android fans may be a bit disappointed if their expectation is brand new hardware. While the 2012 Google I/O conference saw the introduction of the new $199 Nexus 7 seven-inch tablet and the Nexus Q streaming media hub, the 2013 conference is likely to feature no brand new Android hardware. Instead, it's likely that Google will refresh some existing products and possibly provide more details on some of its upcoming Android hardware.

Source: CNET

Google Glass and Fred Armisen

Fred Armisen from SNL actually uses Google Glass for the first time (not a sketch).  Interview with Tim Sweeney of Engadget.

Source: Engadet

Google Wants Into Stream Music

The steaming music service is big business.  There are a ton of companies that are playing in this space and Spotify is one of the bigger players in this game.  It looks like Google may want into this market as well - and they've got the bandwidth, servers and customer uploaded content to play around with.  Google I/O 2013 could be pretty interesting.

Google Play isn't quite a robust rival to Apple's iTunes at this point, as the New York Times notes, but YouTube's heavy usage by record labels as a promotional tool may have helped Google in their  licensing negotiations. Plus, Apple's attempts to start a Pandora-like streaming service have stalled, meaning that Google might get a bump simply by winning the race. According to the Times, the Google streaming service won't offer a free version. The subscription cost will be comparable to their competitors, at around $10 a month. 

Source: The Atlantic Wire

Android App Pick - Chip Chain

We have just posted up another Android App Pick of the Week and this week we have a very fun game that will keep you coming back for more.  Chip Chain is our pick this week and this fun game blends connect four with bejeweled and makes for a great combination.  Check it out and get so much more than your money's worth with this free app!
 


Enjoy!

Send a Scent with your Phone

Finally, we have a portable device for sharing scents with your friends.  Scentee (ChatPerf) has a piece of hardware that plugs into a smartphone and helps spread the aroma of awesomeness.  Do we have the perfect solution for iFart?  I think so.

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