Filed under: Gaming, Software, Odds and ends, Developer

Good news for indie game designers on OS X -- GarageGames has released version 1.7 of their Torque Game Builder, which allows programmers to create games for almost any platform from within an OS X interface. This latest release improves the editors for link points and collision polygons, as well as a new editor for vector objects and new t2dSceneObject methods. If you know what all that means, then you could probably program a better game than I could.

But the good news here is the one of the cheapest and best tools for game developers is now better than ever. Demos and trials of the tool are available on GarageGames' site, and licenses are as cheap as $100 for independent game developers. You've got the tools-- now go make us some great Mac games!

[Via Macminute]

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We have found many elegant covers for cell phones, as well as those that are functional enough to keep them protected against the evils of your pocket change. Now we have discovered some that are almost charming. Annie’s Costume Company carries a monkey, manatee, frog, pig, lobster, and the Tazmanian Devil of Warner Bros. fame, but we are definitely partial to Kenny. The stretchable covers fit most mobile phones including Nokia, Motorola, AT&T, Sprint, Samsung, Kyocera, Panasonic, and Audiovox. Look for a $10.95 price.

Tags: animals (T), cell phone (T), cell phone cover (T), kenny (T), south park (T), tasmanian devil (T)

Read More | Annie's Costumes

We have written about USB aromatherapy before, but Brando has outdone themselves with this dispenser that also has an AM/FM tuner, speakers and an in-line for an MP3 player. The gadget should do something for your mood visually as it changes between 7 different shades. At a size of 88 x 88 x 116 mm and a weight of 124 g, the device comes with a USB cord and needs batteries to keep the music, odors, and colors going. Find it for $30.00.

(Thanks, Fanny)

Tags: am/fm tuner (T), aromatherapy (T), colors (T), mp3 players (T), radio (T), stress (T), usb (T)

Read More | Brando

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iTunes

Even though Apple's stock prices are in the slumps, iTunes usage is certainly not! Website Optimization posted that iTunes has surpassed RealPlayer usage in terms of online streaming -- for the first time in history. They cite that iTunes was the only online streaming player that had a positive growth over year 2007. Here's how the online players break down as of December 2007:

• iTunes - 35,664
• QuickTime - 12,787
• RealPlayer - 27,565
  
• Windows Media Player - 75,865

iTunes is now the second most popular streaming player behind Windows Media Player. Web Optimization also stated that iTunes has an annual growth of about 26.8%. There's no doubt that we will hear about this more when Steve takes the stage at a future music-related event.

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Digitalcube has unveiled a multimedia electronic dictionary in Korea. The i-station UDIC features a 4.3-inch LCD touchscreen that swivels, a QWERTY keyboard, and supports text-to-speech. With 50 kinds of dictionaries and access to a multi-search enging, thank goodness it also features a translation service, as it looks to us like Korean is the main language featured, which of course is logical. It can also caption movies and is powered by an Alchemy AU 1250 CPU and DVE. Contact Digitalcube for price and availability.

Tags: captions (T), dictionary (T), digitalcube (T), korea (T), lcd (T), qwerty (T), translating (T)

Read More | Aving

Filed under: Cellphones

Alright, HTC Touch owners -- who's going to take the hit and install this leaked build of TouchFLO 2.0 that's been spreading around under the codename Manila? From the screenshots, it looks like it does a better job of taking over from the standard WinMo interface, but it still retains the reskinned-launcher relationship with the OS that we find slightly awkward. Still, we're curious -- who's got the stones to give it a shot?

[Via The Unwired]

 

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Filed under: Cult of Mac, Odds and ends, Apple

The Mac web can be a pretty serious place, and that is why I was a little melancholy when I first heard that Crazy Apple Rumors would be going on hiatus for awhile. CARS, as those in the know call it, has been consistently funny for a good long time (feel free not to comment if you don't agree with me. Humor is a tricky thing, and it is highly personal) and the Internet will be a slightly less funny place without it.

Given the hiatus Brent Simmons, of NetNewsWire fame, suggested that a few folks link to their favorite CARS moment. I was all for it, because it would give me reason to link to the one and only time I appeared in CARS. The story was about the delay of Leopard (remember that?) and how it warped my tiny little brain. Still funny, if you ask me.

Here's hoping John Moltz, the man behind the site, will rest up quickly and be back to mocking Apple rumors in no time.

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Filed under: Peripherals

For the individual first on the waiting list for inflatable garb (and the average traveler looking to trim down that carry-on), the Jelly click is quite the dream come true. Granted, it seems as if this blow-up critter is merely a concept at the moment, but that's not to say some unorthodox peripheral company out there won't grab hold of the idea and run with it. In case you couldn't piece it together based on the photo above, this mouse lays perfectly flat for intercontinental jaunts, but a few light puffs turns it into a tool your hand can really get along with -- until it brushes up against a sharp object, that is.

[Via Yanko Design]

 

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Step on down into Nikon's booth with us. Lots of goodies on display here, but what really struck us was how much the central section of the booth was taken up by (gasp!) photos. Seriously, it had a bit of a gallery feel, except with way more people. But we're here to get our geek on, so it's over to the gear counters we go! The stripped-down D3 body was nice, and Nikon showed off one in cross section as well, just so you don't have to cut your own in half.

 

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Filed under: Digital Cameras

Here's twin brother to Pentax's K20D DSLR, the Samsung GX-20. It looks like a nice bit of kit, and we're really curious to see if any differences between the two as a result of Samsung doing its own thing with the JPEG processing. If you've been watching either this model or the K20D, you know the specs: 14.6-megapixel CMOS, live view LCD and ISO that you can crank up to 3200. Note the Pentax KAF mount, so you can put Pentax glass on this body; and there are some nice lenses in the Pentax stable to be sure. Also, Samsung was showing off their extended grip with wireless capability.

 

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