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Photo effects maker

SpiceFX for Movie Maker provides a simple set of photo effects. By creating a moving set of filters, it's an entirely different type of photo filter.

The program's helpful interface made it a cinch to operate. Thanks to its onscreen instructions and very visual layout, we never felt compelled to visit the online Help file for instructions. While the idea of applying various photographic masks and filters didn't initially sound like anything earthshaking, we were impressed by this program's collection. We could apply various shapes, fades, pans, zooms, and other effects with an impressive amount of … Read more

Photo fun

You don't have to have a 5-megapixel Droid to get good results with FxCamera. The fun, free app contains a set of filters that simulate photo treatment from a Polaroid or toy camera effect to a Warholesque snap. Our favorite? The SymmetriCam view, which drops a flipped copy next to the original image. Autofocus helps keep photos sharp, and a sharing feature helps spread the word. Of course, we'd like to see more filters, and we wish that FxCamera--like every other camera app of its kind--also rolled in some basic editing tools.

KOR-fx, like music to my...chest

Although Rock Band comes pretty close to the "real thing," there's something missing: the vibrations that hit your heart when playing a real drum set.

Immerz, which until recently was a one-man company, created a device that lets you feel real-life sensations of a game, movie, or music. KOR-fx is made up of two plastic devices that lay on your chest and synchronize vibrations with received audio signals.

President and physicist Shahriar S. Afshar, calls it acousto-haptic technology, something he turned to after three years participating in privately funded research. The result of Afshar's experiment contradicted … Read more

iSkin debuts slick new iPhone case: Solo FX SE

iSkin's colorful, form-fitting Solo line of iPhone cases has some of the slicker designs out there. Now the company has come out with the "special-edition" Solo FX SE, which sports a "luxurious outer surface treatment" that combines an "understated" matte finish with a "subtle," embossed, designer pattern.

Available in Onyx (black), Cosmo (pink), and Ice (white) for $34.99 (list), the Solo FX SE is the only Solo infused with Microban antimicrobial product protection that iSkin says prevents the growth of odor-and-stain-causing bacteria on the product.

This Solo is also the … Read more

Photo filter program

Citra FX Photo Effects provides users with a fast option for applying photo filters. With a wide range of options and some neat ways of applying them, this program excels.

We needed a brief visit to the Help file to research what these mysterious command icons meant. With that under our belt, we were scrolling through the drop-down menus and clicking and dragging our options in no time. We were able to apply effects to our images by selecting a specific area and making a circle, square, heart, or free-form shape. The filters and masks we applied to these new … Read more

Gateway teases new FX series budget gaming laptops

We've been getting a handful of reader queries per week recently about Gateway's well-known line of budget gaming laptops. The FX systems, including the most recent models, the P-7805u FX and P-7808u FX, have always impressed with mid-high-end components, big screens, and--most importantly--low prices. But these models have an unfortunate habit of vanishing from store shelves before the next update is ready, leaving PC gamers in a lurch.

Fortunately, two new models are within reach (although one isn't really all that new), even if they're not available for sale yet. Gateway lists both the P-7807u FX and P-7809u FX as "available soon," with the latter model slated for J&R and Fry's, and the former for "select retailers," (which usually means Newegg.com). Note that the P-7807u FX isn't exactly brand new--it's been available sporadically in some areas, but it looks like Gateway is "relaunching" it at a discounted price.

Both keep the same Nvidia GeForce 9800 GPU (which is getting a bit long in the tooth), but the prices are still hard to beat, and these should be fine for all but the most hard-core, frame-rate-obsessed gamers. Here's a glance at the specs:… Read more

Altec's stylin' Expressionist Plus PC speakers

Altec Lansing is adding to its line of Expressionist PC speakers with the Expressionist Plus, which goes by the model number FX3021 and carries a list price of $99.95.

The compact, 24-watt, 2.1 system includes a sub with a 5.25-inch driver and two angle-adjustable satellite speakers with 2-inch drivers.

Don Milks, Altec Lansing's Senior Manager of Product Management for PC Audio, says, "The Expressionist Plus subwoofer packs tremendous punch for its tiny size," and he declares this "the best performing $99 PC speaker on the market."

OK, Don. We look forward to … Read more

Sun updates JavaFX and Java SE

Sun Microsystems has delivered updates to JavaFX, its platform for rich Internet application development, and to Java Platform Standard Edition.

JavaFX 1.2, launched at the JavaOne conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, adds support for Linux and OpenSolaris. The software previously worked with the Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X operating systems only.

The Sun software, first released in December 2008, is a framework and language. It provides a unified model for developing internet applications running across different types of devices. The platform is integrated with the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), so JavaFX applications will run on … Read more