platforms

Living in a VM world

The big industry event about virtualization is VMworld, usually held in late Summer / early Fall. You don't have to wait for VMware's conference, however, to find yourself in VM World. We now live in it, every day.

It's really quite amazing how quickly virtualization has swept through, and become ensconced in, IT. Data centers have--for decades--been famously conservative when it comes to introducing changes that might threaten to disrupt production applications. For years, whenever we'd ask operationally focused IT managers about introducing new control software--for workload management, service provisioning, automated orchestration, and so on--we always heard … Read more

Extreme jogging!

Grim Joggers is an interesting take on the running game genre made famous by the innovative and artistic game Canabalt. As in all games in the running genre, your goal is to survive as long as possible in a dangerous, fast-moving landscape. While you'll mostly be trying to beat your previous high scores, Grim Joggers also supports Game Center so you can match up your best distance with other players around the world.

What sets Grim Joggers apart is that instead of just one character to control, you're controlling an entire team of joggers you'll need to … Read more

Be a mobile DJ and play that level again: iPhone apps of the week

As we draw closer to the release of the iPad 2, the Apple rumor sites are heating up, with the usual speculation and research into hidden clues about what the new device will be like. Rumors about faster processor speed and front- and rear-facing cameras have been out there for a while, but an article over at AppleInsider breaks down what types of the iPad 2 Apple is banking on selling most.

The first iPad came in Wi-Fi-only and 3G/Wi-Fi varieties. But with the introduction of iOS devices to Verizon, Apple has needed to make some adjustments to the hardware to make sure it works on all carriers.

According to the article, Apple is expected to offer three variations of the iPad 2: a Wi-Fi only version, a GSM/UMTS version for AT&T, and a CDMA/EV-DO version for Verizon.

AppleInsider reports that Apple is producing more of the 3G-enabled models than the others and concludes that the company thinks most people will opt for the 3G version over just Wi-Fi.

It's tough to say what Apple is really planning, but if you were going to buy an iPad 2 at launch, which variation would you buy? Let me know in the comments.

This week's apps include an app that lets you bring two turntables anywhere and a platform game that's so difficult you can't stop playing.… Read more

Soundfreaq speaker goes red for Valentine's Day

I'm a big fan of Soundfreaq's Sound Platform speaker. Released last year though Target and Amazon.com, the $199 iPod/iPhone speaker looks cool, sounds great, and offers useful extras such as Bluetooth pairing and a remote control.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, the company is releasing a limited-edition version with a red and black design. It's available for preorder on Amazon and should ship in time to set the mood.

Dig deep for big rewards

Miner Disturbance is a fun mining game that will immediately remind you of arcade classic Dig Dug, but offers much more. The object of the game is to complete goals as you dig downward into each mine. Some goals will require that you collect a certain number of minerals, and others will only require that you've dug to a specific depth.

But as you dig your way deeper, you'll face baddies like moles, bats, and other underground dwellers that you'll be able to defeat by swinging your pick. As you go farther into the game, you'll … Read more

Just like game cabinets of old

Buganoids is a free arcade game with 8-bit graphics, old-school sound and gameplay, and a circular range of movement reminiscent of classic stand-up tube-shooters like Tempest and Gyruss.

Buganoids' schtick is simple and addictive: you move clockwise or counterclockwise around the "surface" of a planet, shooting into the interior to take out advancing enemy bad guys--in this case, menacing little bees, birds, turtles, and centipede-type creatures, which emerge from holes in the planet's surface. The game's interface is explicitly styled after a stand-up arcade game: under the main screen, you press photo-realistic buttons to rotate left … Read more

B&N's PubIt self-publishing platform goes live

Back in May, Barnes & Noble announced that it would be launching a self-publishing platform, and now its PubIt service has officially gone live. The new DIY publishing option allows independent publishers and self-publishing writers to distribute their works digitally through BN.com and Barnes & Noble's eBookstore.

The new service will compete with Amazon's pioneering Digital Text Platform (DTP), which many writers have turned to for distributing their works to the Kindle and other devices that run the Kindle Reader software. Sony, too, has a DYI option for its Reader Store, and Apple is now allowing self-publishers … Read more

Exif edits on command

ExifTool is a handy, free Perl-based program for editing the Exif information in digital image files as well as the meta information in other digital files, such as music and movies. It's available in several configurations; we tested the standalone Windows executable version, which doesn't require Perl and omits some of the features of the command-line version but offers essentially the same functionality, including, notably, a command-line capability.

ExifTool downloads as a ZIP file and unpacks as a Windows executable file that we chose to park on the desktop. To use ExifTool, you simply drag and drop a … Read more

AMD drops the ATI brand

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded: AMD drops the ATI brand as it evolves the CPU and GPU. Apple rumors suggest a radically redesigned and smaller iPod nano without a clickwheel. USA Today restructures itself for emerging mobile platforms. YouTube may get movie rentals as Google tries to negotiate a deal.