twist

Challenging word game

Guess The Phrase offers players a challenging word jumble and pop culture game rolled into one. With simple game play and challenging questions, this program does an excellent job of balancing fun with fact.

With an instantly understandable layout and helpful hints along the way, users will have no trouble with the program's interface or its cartoonish look. However, a Help file is available for those in need. The game consists of jumbled letters that resemble a word search, hangmanesque blank spaces where the answer must be filled in, and with a clue. Users must link touching letters to … Read more

Why can't Palm follow Zune's lead?

As predicted, Apple decided it didn't want a competitor piggybacking off its software, and the latest update to iTunes prevents Apple's iconic media-management app from recognizing the Palm Pre.

Pre customers have a couple of workarounds--DoubleTwist, a free app that will sync media from your Mac or PC to almost any device, sounds particularly promising. (Bonus: it was created by DVD Jon, who's been tweaking digital-media control schemes since before the iPod was born.)

But that doesn't help Palm, who recognizes that having a strong digital media story is key to competing in the consumer … Read more

Microsoft Surface to play defense at Super Bowl

<a href="http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&playlist=videoByUuids:uuids:286ccd43-a8c8-4fd8-be1f-f942d4da016f&showPlaylist=true&from=msnvideo" target="_new" title="Super Bowl: Microsoft Surface helps police monitor security">Video: Super Bowl: Microsoft Surface helps police monitor security</a>

Tampa authorities will utilize Microsoft's Surface touch-screen device, along with other technologies, as part of Super Bowl Sunday security, according to Ars Technica.

For well over a year now, more than 60 federal, state, regional, local, and municipal authorities have been working with the E-Sponder technology partnership to plan … Read more

WiiWare and Virtual Console releases for this week

This week brings us a brand-new Mega Man game sticking true to its 8-bit roots and a classic Dodge Ball game from the NES era.

WiiWare Mega Man 9 (Capcom, 1,000 Wii points): Mega Man 9 is truly an homage to the original classic 8-bit series. Even though the game is brand new with unique stages and bosses, the game has the traditional graphics and gameplay from that of the NES classic franchise. PL?TTCHEN twist 'n' paint (Bplus, 1,000 Wii points): PL?TTCHEN twist 'n' paint is a self-described puzzle-shooter that requires you to paint certain tiles … Read more

WiiWare and Virtual Console releases for this week

A DS game reborn and a classic fighting game make up this week's releases. Virtual Console

Fatal Fury 2 (1993, NeoGeo, 900 Wii points): Fatal Fury 2 introduced brand new characters to the classic fighting game along with stage-specific interactive backgrounds. The game also revamped the two-line battle mode, possibly the most notable feature of the entire series.

WiiWare

Magnetica Twist (Nintendo, 1,000 Wii points): This new Magnetica game is a "twist" on the DS original--which itself was a port from a 1998 arcade puzzle game. In this updated version for the Wii, you'll be … Read more

iTunes mobile media syncing: Unlock and load

Jon Lech Johansen doesn't like DRM. His first public success at breaking it awarded him an indictment orchestrated by Norwegian and U.S. entertainment big-wigs. Though landing him in hot water with the authorities, it also landed him a job. "DVD Jon," who now works with doubleTwist Ventures, has turned his attention to iTunes (for Windows and Mac), and to a freeware application that wrests songs from iTunes control for delivery on a range of high-end mobile devices.

DoubleTwist desktop 1.0, released this week, does double and triple duty by converting any purchased iTunes tracks to … Read more

'DVD Jon' frees your media with DoubleTwist

The man notorious for cracking the DVD code, and Apple's FairPlay DRM, is looking to make a legitimate business out of his expertise.

Beginning Tuesday, the first product from his company, DoubleTwist Ventures, will enter open beta. Called DoubleTwist, it's a free desktop client that essentially allows any kind of music, photo, or video file to be shared between a long list of portable media players, and through Web-based social networks.

Instead of iTunes songs or videos taken with a Nokia N95 remaining locked on the phone, DoubleTwist software allows for dragging, dropping, and syncing of different media … Read more