Download Squad http://downloadsquad.switched.com Download Squad. http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/downloadsquad.switched.com/media/feedlogo.gif Download Squad http://downloadsquad.switched.com prods@weblogsinc.com (Weblogs, Inc. Producers) support@weblogsinc.com (Weblogs, Inc. Web Support) en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. View our terms of service here: http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/ Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/ <![CDATA[BioLabs: Outbreak! - Today's Time Waster]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/06/16/biolabs-outbreak-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/06/16/biolabs-outbreak-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/06/16/biolabs-outbreak-todays-time-waster/#comments BioLabs: Outbreak! - Today's Time WasterTime wasting is fun, especially when things need to get done. For that purpose BioLabs: Outbreak! is perfect, because it offers the player a fairly repetitive task that is interesting enough that you can keep doing it instead of what you should actually be doing. That, coupled with a very forgiving learning curve, allows you to really take your time with it and get the most out of your time wasting investment.

The concept is simple: there is an outbreak of some sort (inside a purple rectangle of all places) and you must administer an antidote to contain and kill off all the elements of the outbreak. But there is a catch, of course. The quantity of antidote is limited and the outbreak continues to grow in size as you progress through the levels. You contain the outbreak by growing bubbles of antidote and surrounding the individual cells with those bubbles. If during the antidote-bubble-growing-process the antidote makes contact with the outbreak, the bubble breaks and wastes precious antidote. So, it is important to exercise caution when growing bubbles, especially in the later stages.

And that's about as deep BioLabs: Outbreak! gets, which is probably good since you really don't want to spend too much time with any one time waster. In the end, BioLabs: Outbreak! will have wasted a good bit of your day and will let you enjoy the hectic catch-up session that follows your time wasting exploits.

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BioLabs: Outbreak! - Today's Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> biolabs outbreakBiolabsOutbreakfungametime wasterTimeWastertimewasters Romeo Wahed Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[RateBeer - Which brew is for you?]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/31/ratebeer-which-brew-is-for-you/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/31/ratebeer-which-brew-is-for-you/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/31/ratebeer-which-brew-is-for-you/#comments RateBeer - Which brew is for you?Ever wish you could harness the power of the collective intelligence to help you find that perfect stout or pale ale? RateBeer may well be the link to help you find that ultimate brew. Touting itself the most accurate and most-visited source of beer information, Rate Beer has an impressive index of beers which are all, well, rated.

Beers can be viewed by latest ratings, category (such as style and country of origin), a top 50 list, annual top beer lists, and any beer or brand you want to search for to see how it fares against the rest of the world of beers. There is subscriber style "premium content" on the site, which mostly revolves around additional rankings like "Beer God's Top 50 Beers" and rankings by state. But all the core features of the site are available for free - which is perusing the main rankings and contributing your own ratings of beers you have enjoyed.

The site also has an event calendar that is fairly stocked with beer-related events, a guide to beer in different areas utilizing Google Maps by highlighting the best places to down a brew around town, and forums for those that like talking about beer almost as much as they like imbibing it. The only downside that we perceive is that the layout and interface are somewhat unintuitive, especially for those of us who are sensitive to usability. But, it's no deal breaker, and is far outweighed by the volume of information and ratings available on the site. Happy brew hunting.

[via LifeHacker]

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RateBeer - Which brew is for you? originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 31 May 2008 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> beerrankingsrate beerRateBeerratings Romeo Wahed Sat, 31 May 2008 18:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[MotherLoad - Today's Time Waster]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/30/motherload-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/30/motherload-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/30/motherload-todays-time-waster/#comments MotherLoad - Digging for oreToday's time waster is MotherLoad - the time waster that lets you excavate your time away. You are an operator of a digging vehicle on Mars, being one of the brave few that dares dig in this hostile environment. The game's objective is simple: dig your way to riches and upgrade your digging vessel as you sell the collected ore on your way to the hidden treasures deep within Mars.

The game has fantastically intuitive controls, which - although being merely the arrow keys - can really be sensed when the digger moves exactly as expected. This not only allows you to get into the time wasting action quickly, but comes in handy as your digging vessel is rather fragile and needs to be cared for if you want to survive multiple trips below the surface.

In order to make any progress in the game, getting upgrades is crucial. Your vessel's fuel range as well as the cargo space that holds the excavated ore is very limited, besides the fact that the beginning drill is awfully inefficient. But, as you make progress and hit certain depths, say 1,000 feet, you will get bonuses from your employers which should help with getting these upgrades more quickly. Once you have some good gear on your excavator, you'll be able to start hitting deeper depths where the ore becomes progressively more valuable.

But be warned, after having pulled in your first few loads and made some basic upgrades, MotherLoad becomes incredibly addicting. Remember to waste time responsibly.

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MotherLoad - Today's Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 30 May 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> gamesmotherloadtime wasterTimeWastertimewasters Romeo Wahed Fri, 30 May 2008 11:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Blobular - Today's Time Waster]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/29/blobular-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/29/blobular-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/29/blobular-todays-time-waster/#comments Blobular, blobbing your time awayOn some days, the urge to waste time is just a little stronger than others. If it happens to be one of those days for you today, you are in luck, because Blobular will not only help you waste your time, but also make you slightly nauseous.

The game starts innocently enough: Blobular, a blob out and about in the world, needs to get back home to Blobsville. To start you off on your journey, you pick how Blobular looks (his/her/its eyes and body color) and then enter a world of collectible items and foes. Each level has a given number of items you need to collect in order to pass it while running against the clock and avoiding enemies.

But here's the catch: you move your blob by spinning the world around and letting gravity pull the blob around. Although this is slightly disorienting (and slightly nauseating), once you get adjusted this time waster has some potential. As you collect more items (say mushrooms), your blob begins to grow and won't fit through smaller gaps anymore. You can then split your blob apart into smaller blobs that can fit through these gaps, and merge again whenever you please.

Continue until you have finished the game, are done wasting time, or can't continue due to nausea from all the spinning. Don't say we didn't warn you.

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Blobular - Today's Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 29 May 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> blobulartime wasterTimeWastertimewasters Romeo Wahed Thu, 29 May 2008 11:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Googleholic for May 20, 2008]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/20/googleholic-for-may-20-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/20/googleholic-for-may-20-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/20/googleholic-for-may-20-2008/#comments Googleholic for May 20, 2008
Welcome to Googleholic, your bi-weekly fix of everything Google! In this edition:
  • Google gets a new office in Taipei
  • Third party advertising tags on Google
  • Google China mourns to commemorate earthquake victims
  • FeedFlare now available for Blogger comments

Continue reading Googleholic for May 20, 2008

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Googleholic for May 20, 2008 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 20 May 2008 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> google chinagoogle healthgoogle translateGoogleChinaGoogleHealthgoogleholicGoogleTranslatethird party adsThirdPartyAds Romeo Wahed Tue, 20 May 2008 23:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Googleholic for May 13, 2008]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/13/googleholic-for-may-13-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/13/googleholic-for-may-13-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/13/googleholic-for-may-13-2008/#comments Googleholic for April 13, 2008
Welcome to Googleholic, your bi-weekly fix of everything Google!

In this edition:
  • Search for real estate on Google Maps
  • Faces getting blurred in Street View
  • Gmail gets slight loading speed boost
  • Wikipedia comes to Google Maps

Continue reading Googleholic for May 13, 2008

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Googleholic for May 13, 2008 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 13 May 2008 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> faces getting blurredFacesGettingBlurredgooglegoogle mapsgoogleholicGoogleMapsstreet viewStreetViewwikipedia Romeo Wahed Tue, 13 May 2008 23:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Googleholic for May 7, 2008]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/07/googleholic-for-may-7-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/07/googleholic-for-may-7-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/07/googleholic-for-may-7-2008/#comments Googleholic for May 7, 2008
Welcome to Googleholic, your bi-weekly fix of everything Google!

In this edition:
  • Google Maps gets a minor makeover
  • Increased photo storage on Orkut
  • Multi-size embedding and select for Google Presentations
  • Google supports Unicode 5.1

Continue reading Googleholic for May 7, 2008

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Googleholic for May 7, 2008 originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 07 May 2008 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> googlegoogle presentationsgoogleholicGooglePresentationsobscure yet popular social networkObscureYetPopularSocialNetworkorkutphoto storagePhotoStorageunicode 5.1Unicode5.1 Romeo Wahed Wed, 07 May 2008 08:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[The Beard - Today's Time Waster]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/06/the-beard-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/06/the-beard-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/06/the-beard-todays-time-waster/#comments The Beard is a unique time waster in that it is actually possible to be beaten in a relatively short amount of time yet still be totally enjoyable. So instead of spending your entire day wasting time, just get the instant gratification of sweet victory and move on.

The premise is this: you are a knight fighting a giant floating head with a beard in a side-scrolling environment. Think of it as a boss you would encounter in Mega Man and other comparable titles. The "Beard" has a number of moves that you have to dodge as you try to get close and take a swing at him with your plunger or magic bolts. As you get hits you also get experience, which cause you to level and get better weapons with more reach.

The learning curve is fairly easy, and the game's animation and sound effects make for quick and gratifying gameplay. But, you do only get three lives, so expect a fair number of retries before you lay the Beard to rest. And yes, fighting a giant floating beard is actually more fun than you might imagine.

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The Beard - Today's Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 06 May 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> fungamesthe beardTheBeardtime wastersTimeWasters Romeo Wahed Tue, 06 May 2008 11:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Comboll - Today's Time Waster]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/05/comboll-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/05/comboll-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/05/comboll-todays-time-waster/#comments Comboll - Jump your day awayThere are days that call for time wasters of a nature that have virtually no learning curve, are simple, and mindless the way Snake is. Comboll is all of those things, but also adds to that the element of very intuitive, nice bouncy physics that are good the way gummy bears are.

The goal of the game (if you can call it that) is to keep your sphere alive in a world of red and blue bars that horizontally scroll across the screen and accumulate as many points as possible. If you continue to bounce on bars of one color, you can build a combo, allowing you to earn a large number of points very quickly. In the event that you do fail to make a jump, your score is reset and you get to do it some more with almost no delay.

You can influence the jump and movement of your ball with the directional keys, allowing you to aim for bars of your chosen color. You can also "double jump" in mid air, letting you stretch some jumps to get where you want. The game comes in two modes, normal and extreme, but after playing the game for a bit we have come to the conclusion that the extreme mode is definitely better, since the bars disappear after you jump on them and hostile flying triangles will make it more difficult to make the jumps you want to.

All things said, if Comboll were an arcade game in the 70's, people would have spent all their quarters trying to play it.

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Comboll - Today's Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 05 May 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> combollfungamestime wasterTimeWastertimewasters Romeo Wahed Mon, 05 May 2008 11:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Happy Belated Birthday - Spam turns 30]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/05/happy-belated-birthday-spam-turns-30/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/05/happy-belated-birthday-spam-turns-30/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/05/happy-belated-birthday-spam-turns-30/#comments 30 fateful years have passed since what is believed to be the first piece of spam has defiled the inboxes of unwitting victims. Since then things have gotten much worse, with Internet scams at an all time high and spam comprising up to 90% of all email.

Gary Thuerk, the only soul that can lay claim to the title "Father of Spam," is the man who started it all, even if he's not to blame for the monstrosity that all of this has evolved into. The enlightening moment in his mind was this: "It's too much work to send everyone an e-mail," ... "So we'll send one e-mail to everyone." And thus the beast was born.

His email inviting people to come see a product presentation of the DECSYSTEM-20 FAMILY, which was written in all caps (setting the standard for years to come), was met with a very negative reaction foreshadowing how we still feel today about unsolicited emails. Interestingly enough, the email generated about $12 million in sales for Thuerk, which is probably why spam is still filling the inboxes of young and old alike: it works.

[via Geeks are Sexy]

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Happy Belated Birthday - Spam turns 30 originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 05 May 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 30 years of spam30YearsOfSpamhappy birthdayHappyBirthdaymay 3 1978May31978spam Romeo Wahed Mon, 05 May 2008 09:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[AIMP2 - An alternative media player]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/04/aimp2-an-alternative-media-player/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/04/aimp2-an-alternative-media-player/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/04/aimp2-an-alternative-media-player/#comments AIMP2 Audio players come in all shapes and sizes, from resource hogging beasts such as iTunes and Windows Media Player, to relatively more lightweight competitors such as Winamp, MediaMonkey. And if you happen to have an iPod or some other sort of portable media player, chances are you are sort of locked in to whatever application works best with your portable device. But let's say you don't care about support for a portable player and just want a capable, lightweight player that has frills but not too many.

Meet AIMP2. AIMP2 weighs in at a mere 2.88MB, has a slightly smaller memory footprint than Winamp and can do just about everything you want except sync with a portable device. It supports anything from AAC to WMA, allows you to record radio streams, has a fully fledged library to organize your music, allows you to manipulate playlists while listening to another, and even supports a number of Winamp plug-ins. And for those who like to wake up and fall asleep to music, AIMP2 also includes a timed start and an auto shutdown timer.

Although lacking some of the features that the bigger media players may have, AIMP2 has an impressive feature set for its size. Additional skins and plug-ins are relatively scarce, but the basic skin works so well other skins are almost unnecessary beyond mere aesthetics. It has also been localized for a number of languages (the default being Russian), which makes this a very international user friendly application.

Overall, AIMP2 just feels right, and is a good alternative for anyone that is looking for something that works the way it should.

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AIMP2 - An alternative media player originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 04 May 2008 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> aimp2freewaremedia playerMediaPlayermusic Romeo Wahed Sun, 04 May 2008 21:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[TwitterSnooze! - Give your chatty Twitter friends a timeout]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/04/twittersnooze-give-your-chatty-twitter-friends-a-timeout/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/04/twittersnooze-give-your-chatty-twitter-friends-a-timeout/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/04/twittersnooze-give-your-chatty-twitter-friends-a-timeout/#comments TwitterSnooze! - Time out your chatty Twitter friends
Sometimes even the best in our Twitterati can break the unspoken twittettiquette and pollute what was once a beautiful arrangement of tweets with excessive twitterage. Or maybe they are just at a conference about turning door knobs with your teeth and you wish you could just tune them out while they rage on about the best way to mend a chipped tooth on the fly from a failed attempt. Or something like that.

Well TwitterSnooze! let's you get back in touch with the Twitter you love by giving the people that are harshing your mellow a timeout and putting the zen back into your Twitter. Simply enter your username and password, the person you want to snooze, and how long you want them out of your hair for (between 1 and 30 days). The only real side effect is that they will get an e-mail update that they have been unfollowed, but you can have the fact that they are merely being "snoozed" announced in your Twitter stream to avoid any confusion.

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TwitterSnooze! - Give your chatty Twitter friends a timeout originally appeared on Download Squad on Sun, 04 May 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> peace of mindPeaceOfMindsnoozetime outTimeOuttwitter Romeo Wahed Sun, 04 May 2008 10:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Yahoo bid is no more, Microsoft withdraws]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/03/yahoo-bid-is-no-more-microsoft-withdraws/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/03/yahoo-bid-is-no-more-microsoft-withdraws/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/05/03/yahoo-bid-is-no-more-microsoft-withdraws/#comments Yahoo bid is no more
Earlier today we covered how the Microsoft and Yahoo thing might actually go through, or go bust altogether. Long story short: Microsoft withdrew its offer.

Three months after everyone went bananas because Microsoft put out the bid to buy Yahoo, Ballmer finally says it's "in the best interest of Microsoft" to withdraw its bid. And probably in the best interest of, and great relief to, Yahoo product users who thought Microsoft would ravage all that was good about the services and turn Flickr into some sort of Microsoft Photo Share Premium Family Live while Yahoo Mail would spend eternity as Hot Live Yahoo Mail. Microsoft shareholders who didn't think the bid was a good idea in the first place are probably pretty happy too. And Google. And probably a lot of other people.

So what does the future look like for Microsoft? Keep going of course, says Ballmer: "While Yahoo would have accelerated our strategy, I am confident that we can continue to move forward toward our goals." And Yahoo will probably have to deal with lawsuits from disgruntled shareholders that thought this was a really good idea.

And, if the details of this drama intrigue you, read the whole "not to be" letter from Ballmer to Yang.

[via paidContent]

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Yahoo bid is no more, Microsoft withdraws originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 03 May 2008 22:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> ballmerjerrymicrohoomicrosoftwithdraw bidWithdrawBidyahooyang Romeo Wahed Sat, 03 May 2008 22:45:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Googleholic for April 29, 2008]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/29/googleholic-for-april-29-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/29/googleholic-for-april-29-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/29/googleholic-for-april-29-2008/#comments Googleholic for April 29, 2008
Welcome to Googleholic, your bi-weekly fix of everything Google!

In this edition:

  • Street View for Google map directions
  • Google's PageRank for images: VisualRank
  • Stock Screener for Google Finance
  • Speaker Notes and YouTube videos for Google Presentations

Continue reading Googleholic for April 29, 2008

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Googleholic for April 29, 2008 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> googlegoogle docsgoogle financeGoogleDocsGoogleFinancegoogleholicstock screenerStockScreenerstreet viewStreetViewvisual rankVisualRank Romeo Wahed Tue, 29 Apr 2008 19:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[R.O.B.O.T. - Today's Time Waster]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/25/r-o-b-o-t-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/25/r-o-b-o-t-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/25/r-o-b-o-t-todays-time-waster/#comments R.O.B.O.T. - Relatively Obedient Being Of Though If you have a penchant for survival/defense type games, R.O.B.O.T. (Relatively Obedient Being Of Thought) will be right up your alley for your time wasting needs. It is basically a cross-over of both a defense game and a survival game (which intrinsically overlap as it is) in which you utilize both manual movement and firing with turret placement to advance through levels.

The premise appears to be that you are a Robot defending a heap of rubble and dirt, or getting attacked on top of it, however you like to think of it. As you kill enemies and progress through waves, you are able to buy upgrades for you plasma gun (your primary means of disposal), your treads, a placeable (and enhanceable) turret, as well as your shields, armor, and an EMP shockwave for use against heavily shielded enemies. Of course, the waves continue to get harder, with more enemies coming in all shapes and sizes and attack styles, which keeps things interesting.

Once you progress a fair bit into the game, it is fairly difficult even on easy, but if you feel that does not apply to you can go all the way up to Insane difficulty. But, regardless of the difficulty your play it at, it's all very forgiving since you can always continue from the last wave you managed to clear.

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R.O.B.O.T. - Today's Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> defensefungamesr.o.b.o.t.survivaltime wasterTimeWastertimewasters Romeo Wahed Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Googleholic for April 22, 2008]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/22/googleholic-for-april-22-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/22/googleholic-for-april-22-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/22/googleholic-for-april-22-2008/#comments Googleholic for April 22, 2008
Welcome to Googleholic -- your bi-weekly fix of everything Google! In this edition:
  • Google named world's most powerful brand
  • iGoogle gets developer sandbox
  • Google celebrates Earth Day
  • WHOIS OneBox graces Google search once again

Continue reading Googleholic for April 22, 2008

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Googleholic for April 22, 2008 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> developerearth dayEarthDaygooglegoogle brandGoogleBrandgoogleholicigooglesandboxwhois Romeo Wahed Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Ramps - Today's Time Waster]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/18/ramps-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/18/ramps-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/18/ramps-todays-time-waster/#comments Ramps
Today's time waster is Ramps, which basically revolves around setting up ramps so that they guide a ball into a little bin in a sea of lava. You can adjust the ramp position as well as angle, utilizing ball velocity and bounce to jump gaps between the ramps. A warning if you are looking for a challenge: the game starts out ridiculously easy, and doesn't get difficult until vacuum holes and robotic sharks are introduced, which still isn't a problem since it appears that a score reduction is the only penalty incurred for losing a ball.

But when the day calls for some easy puzzle solving to pass the time, Ramps fills that niche perfectly. There's a definite sense of progression with a lenient learning curve, which ought to fit right with those that don't have the energy to play a game that requires more energy than the work they are putting off. The game's only real downside is that the "physics" and ball dynamics can be irritating, and levels are a bit repetitive. If that is not a deal breaker for you, give it a try, but it's no Incredible Machine.

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Ramps - Today's Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> rampstime wasterTimeWastertimewasters Romeo Wahed Fri, 18 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[BayWords: Pirate Bay's blogging service]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/17/baywords-pirate-bays-blogging-service/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/17/baywords-pirate-bays-blogging-service/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/17/baywords-pirate-bays-blogging-service/#comments BayWords - Pirate Bay's blogging serviceIt looks like torrents isn't the only business the Pirate Bay is concerning itself with. First there was image hosting and now there's blogging. BayWords is the site's foray into the world of blogging services, aiming to provide a service that does not want to restrict "uncomfortable thoughts and ideas" and let people say and link to what they want (as long as it complies with Swedish law).

Apparently one of the Pirate Bay captains, Brokep, had a friend who's blog was shut down by linking to copyrighted material. This inspired him to offer this alternative, which runs on a customized version of a multi user install of Wordpress. The site plans to continue adding features, updates, and themes, and encourages users to "blog your heart out."

If you've been looking for a place to take your blog, BayWords might offer a nice home, as long as you don't mind having "myname.baywords.com" as your address. Or maybe you just want to be able to tell people that your blog is hosted by Swedish pirates. Or something like that. Unfortunately, it does look like ads will be implemented eventually to cover expenses, but information on bandwidth or other stats are not available at this point.

[via TorrentFreak]

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BayWords: Pirate Bay's blogging service originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> baywordsblogbloggingpirate bayPirateBay Romeo Wahed Thu, 17 Apr 2008 09:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Twitter can get you out of jail - sort of]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/16/twitter-can-get-you-out-of-jail-sort-of/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/16/twitter-can-get-you-out-of-jail-sort-of/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/16/twitter-can-get-you-out-of-jail-sort-of/#comments Twitter has so many useful usesIf you have a decent social network but still haven't jumped onto the Twitter bandwagon yet, here's another reason to get on: when you find yourself arrested in a foreign country that may not offer you contact with the outside world, send a tweet out before you get taken down. Like James Karl Buck, who tweeted himself out of jail in Egypt.

After getting arrested for taking photos of a demonstration, Buck tweeted the word "ARRESTED." His friends, obviously knowing what that meant, talked to the right people, because the next day Buck walked out with an attorney paid for by U.C. Berkeley while having the U.S. embassy on the phone with him.

This story of a Twitter emergency use highlights two things: 1) using Twitter on a cellphone can be a great way to let a lot of people know fast that something is wrong, and 2) it's probably only as effective as the social network in your Twitter-sphere. Which is really just a guess, but an emergency tweet is unlikely to carry the same amount of weight with people that you don't know.

Although probably no one should rely on Twitter as an emergency service, it's nice to know that it's there in case we need to let everyone know we're in trouble. Thanks Twitter.

[via Techmeme]

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Twitter can get you out of jail - sort of originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> emergencyjailtweettwitter Romeo Wahed Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Googleholic for April 15, 2008]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/15/googleholic-for-april-15-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/15/googleholic-for-april-15-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/15/googleholic-for-april-15-2008/#comments Googleholic for April 15, 2008
Welcome to Googleholic - your bi-weekly fix of everything Google! In this edition:
  • Geotagged YouTube videos on Google Maps
  • Google Earth 4.3 to be released later today, includes Street View
  • Market leader in China within 5 years - Goodbye Baidu?

Continue reading Googleholic for April 15, 2008

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Googleholic for April 15, 2008 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> baiduchinagooglegoogle earthgoogle mapsGoogleEarthgoogleholicGoogleMapsstreet viewStreetViewvideo Romeo Wahed Tue, 15 Apr 2008 21:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Googleholic for April 11, 2008]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/11/googleholic-for-april-11-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/11/googleholic-for-april-11-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/11/googleholic-for-april-11-2008/#comments Googleholic for April 11, 2008
Welcome to Googleholic - your bi-weekly fix of everything Google! In this edition:
  • Google Maps tracks Olympic torch around world
  • Google hiring: "Gmail doesn't yet build itself"

Continue reading Googleholic for April 11, 2008

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Googleholic for April 11, 2008 originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> gmailgooglegoogle earthGoogleEarthgoogleholicmapsolympic torchOlympicTorch Romeo Wahed Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Nanotube - Today's Time Waster]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/08/nanotube-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/08/nanotube-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/08/nanotube-todays-time-waster/#comments Nanotube Time WasterToday's time waster is one of those that expresses its elegance through sheer simplicity and minimalism. In Nanotube, you only need the left and right directional keys and your ability to track multiple targets simultaneously (your multi-target awareness?).

The game goes like this: you are presented with a circle that has partially colored blocks, and using the directional keys, you can manipulate and spin the colors around the circle, much like you would move the paddle in Pong. As colored balls come towards the circle from the center, you attempt to block them with the appropriately colored block. If you succeed in doing this, you will get points, if you fail, you will start losing health. After each round you survive, you move onto the next, each becoming increasingly difficult with the surface area of the blocks decreasing, and the number of colors and rate of ball release increasing.

Obviously, with any game or time waster that operates at this level of simplicity, words can do it very little justice and you'd better be off just trying it. Imagine trying to get someone excited about Tetris using only words.

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Nanotube - Today's Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> fungamesnanotubetime wastersTimeWasters Romeo Wahed Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Craiglist demands fan blog's domain - joins 21st century]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/04/craiglist-demands-fan-blogs-domain-joins-21st-century/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/04/craiglist-demands-fan-blogs-domain-joins-21st-century/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/04/craiglist-demands-fan-blogs-domain-joins-21st-century/#comments Craigslist doing it's thingYesterday, we posted that Craigslist joined the 20th century with a 1990's-esque blog to let the world in on what's going on within the inner self of Craigslist. Today, Craigslist is already making fantastic progress through time. No, the blog still looks like it belongs in 1996, but it is demanding that the fan operated craigslistblog.org surrender it's domain.

Although Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster hasn't asked Tim White, the fan blogger, to stop blogging - he does claim that the domain name infringes on intellectual property and is confusing to the media and the public. That, and some of the content Tim White was using was exclusive to Craigslist and shouldn't be posted. In an effort to meet halfway, the blog now prominently displays that it is indeed an "unofficial" blog and has removed the content in question, but apparently that is not enough. Probably now that Buckmaster has his own blog he feels the need to defend it with a lawsuit.

If you are interested in what the exact correspondence was, Valleywag has it available for your viewing pleasure. It is however, sad to see a company like Craigslist resort to 21st century intellectual property chest-beating strongarm tactics instead of engaging the blogger in a civilized manner and at least attempting to come to a mutually agreeable resolution before issuing threats. This is neither going to make Craigslist look good nor will it make them any friends.

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Craiglist demands fan blog's domain - joins 21st century originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> blogbuckmastercraigslistintellectual propertyIntellectualProperty Romeo Wahed Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[X-HOC - Time Waster]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/04/x-hoc-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/04/x-hoc-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/04/04/x-hoc-time-waster/#comments X-Hoc - Soccer for androidsWhen life lays on the pressure and you're reeling from post April Fools day reality distortion, few things can help you zone out and postpone real life like a time waster.

X-HOC is the name of the game, and it works a lot like an indoor soccer game if it was played by a bunch of robots. The premise is fairly simple: put a silver orb (the "ball") into a black rectangle on the opposing side (the "goal") using passes, shots, and tackles. But, unlike real soccer, there are no out of bounds so you can bank passes off the wall to make some quick plays and keep the ball from the enemy team.

Although X-HOC has a bit of a learning curve until you get a hang of the game's "physics," it is what time waster are at their best: simple, challenging, and an excellent time sink.

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X-HOC - Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> fungamestime wasterTimeWastertimewastersx-hoc Romeo Wahed Fri, 04 Apr 2008 10:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Beyond Nike + iPod: Apple's new fitness project]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/28/beyond-nike-ipod-apples-new-fitness-project/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/28/beyond-nike-ipod-apples-new-fitness-project/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/28/beyond-nike-ipod-apples-new-fitness-project/#comments Mmm... An apple pie after that workout perhaps?If you liked the iPod/Nike+ gadget to help you with your runs, you may be excited to know that was merely the beginning of what seems to be a much larger pie Apple has been working on (pun absolutely intended).

AppleInsider appears to have gotten its hands on some patent filings made for what looks like a comprehensive "fitness companion." At this point, it looks like a bunch of iTunes-esque prompts for a "fitness inteview" to help you get a fitness program for your goals, and flow chart type displays of how these programs might look as you are using them.

Considering that it is still in the patent stages, we have no idea if Apple is really going to follow through. But at least we can be hopeful. Whether this will work on current iPod Touch/iPhone technology or on next generation models isn't clear, especially with rumors of new iPods coming on the market later this year.

Or maybe we can just memorize our workouts and write down our progress on paper. Old school, but it works.

[via TechMeme]

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Beyond Nike + iPod: Apple's new fitness project originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> applefitnessiphoneipodmobilepatent Romeo Wahed Fri, 28 Mar 2008 10:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Googleholic for March 25, 2008]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/25/googleholic-for-march-25-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/25/googleholic-for-march-25-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/25/googleholic-for-march-25-2008/#comments Googleholic for March 25, 2008
Welcome to Googleholic - your bi-weekly fix of everything Google!

This edition covers:
  • Google wants unused TV channels for super Wi-Fi
  • Patriot Act does not love Google
  • Google cares: Online safety for kids

Continue reading Googleholic for March 25, 2008

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Googleholic for March 25, 2008 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> canadagooglegoogleholickidsonline safetyOnlineSafetyprivacywi-fi on steroidsWi-fiOnSteroids Romeo Wahed Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Googleholic for March 18, 2008]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/18/googleholic-for-march-18-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/18/googleholic-for-march-18-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/18/googleholic-for-march-18-2008/#comments Googleholic for March 18, 2008
Welcome to Googleholic - your bi-weekly fix of everything Google!

This edition covers:
  • Google Maps allows user edits
  • Google launches Google for Non-Profits
  • See semi-hidden Google Reader interaction statistics
  • DoubleClick employees to apply to Google to keep their job

Continue reading Googleholic for March 18, 2008

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Googleholic for March 18, 2008 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> doubleclickgooglegoogle for non-profitsgoogle mapsgoogle readerGoogleForNon-profitsgoogleholicGoogleMapsGoogleReader Romeo Wahed Tue, 18 Mar 2008 21:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Googleholic for March 11, 2008]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/11/googleholic-for-march-11-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/11/googleholic-for-march-11-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/11/googleholic-for-march-11-2008/#comments Googleholic for March 11, 2008
Welcome to Googleholic - your bi-weekly fix of everything Google!

This edition covers:
  • Welcome to Google Town, er, Nanaimo
  • Google stock dips to 52-week low
  • "How Google keeps your information secure"
  • Slow loading sites will get penalized by Adwords
Welcome to Google Town, er, Nanaimo

If you thought Mountain View was the town of Google, take a look at Nanaimo, British Columbia. The town has mapped almost everything about itself on Google, including lot sizes of properties, business information, zoning information, and stuff like the real-time position of fire trucks in the city. The place even has its own RSS feed that can alert people to accident sites. Considering that the town only has a population of 78,000, the cataloging of just about "everything" that can be captured electronically is naturally easier than it may be in a sprawling metropolis, but Nanaimo may very well set a precedent in how much information we may be able to access online about any town. Keeping our fingers crossed.


Continue reading Googleholic for March 11, 2008

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Googleholic for March 11, 2008 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> GoogleGoogleholicInternet Romeo Wahed Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Googleholic for March 4, 2008]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/04/googleholic-for-march-4-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/04/googleholic-for-march-4-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/03/04/googleholic-for-march-4-2008/#comments Googleholic for March 4, 2008
Welcome to Googleholic - your bi-weekly fix of everything Google!

This edition covers:
  • Find parking spaces with Google Maps
  • Google's attempt to improve Ads and how it's not working
  • Google backs human genome project

Continue reading Googleholic for March 4, 2008

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Googleholic for March 4, 2008 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> adsensecomscoregenome projectGenomeProjectGooglegoogle mapsgoogleholicGoogleMaps Romeo Wahed Tue, 04 Mar 2008 17:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[M.A.D. - Today's Time Waster]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/28/m-a-d-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/28/m-a-d-todays-time-waster/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/28/m-a-d-todays-time-waster/#comments M.A.D. - Mutually Assured Destruction
If you enjoyed the arcade classic Missile Command, you will be happy to know that today's time waster is right up your alley. M.A.D., short for Mutually Assured Destruction, takes the classic Missile Command concept and builds on it with a variety of different upgrades, abilities, and enemy projectiles.

The goal of the game is to survive an onslaught of incoming missiles. You do this by shooting your own missiles at the incoming ones, which requires a little bit of reaction speed and dexterity as you have to aim yours on an intercepting path. However, although you will initially only be bombarded with plain go-in-a-straight-line missiles, you will soon have to face homing missiles and missiles with irregular flight patterns. Of course, to deal with these oddballs, you have an arsenal of support weapons to help make things easier, ranging from flak weaponry, emp discharges, and localized time distortion fields.

What all of this really means, is that if you have some time that needs disposing, M.A.D. is there to help - especially if you enjoy time wasters of the survival type.

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M.A.D. - Today's Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> fungamem.a.d.time wasterTimeWastertimewasters Romeo Wahed Thu, 28 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[LearnItLists - Learn 10 words a day, get better at a foreign language]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/28/learnitlists-learn-10-words-a-day-get-better-at-a-foreign-lan/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/28/learnitlists-learn-10-words-a-day-get-better-at-a-foreign-lan/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/28/learnitlists-learn-10-words-a-day-get-better-at-a-foreign-lan/#comments LeanItListsSome linguists say that most of the time people speaking any language only use about 1000 words. If you believe that, then you might also think that if you learned those 1000 common words, you would have a basic degree of fluency. If the idea of rote memorization and vocabulary building in this manner strikes your fancy, LearnItLists is there to help.

LearnItLists is essentially a web gadget that quizzes/flashcards you with 10 words a day in the language you would like to learn. You sign up for an account, pick your language, add it to your Google homepage (optional), and get busy memorizing. In a hundred days, doing 10 a day, you'll have your 1000 words, and be ready to rock with the best of them. Or close to it. Currently, the gadget supports about 16 languages, with more on the way (such as simplified Chinese).

The interface is clean, easy to use, and is intuitive in the way flash cards and vocab sheets are. So if you have been running from building your linguistic skills, give LearnItLists a look.

[via MakeUseOf]

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LearnItLists - Learn 10 words a day, get better at a foreign language originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> flash cardsFlashCardsforeign languageForeignLanguagelanguagelearnitlistsvocabulary Romeo Wahed Thu, 28 Feb 2008 10:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Picanswers - Ask questions with photos]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/27/picanswers-ask-questions-with-photos/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/27/picanswers-ask-questions-with-photos/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/27/picanswers-ask-questions-with-photos/#comments PicAnswersPicAnswers is a site to help you find answers to questions that are difficult to explain without some visual aids. Which, seriously, is genius. Like anything else Web 2.0, it is community based, with the community as a whole doing both the asking and the answering.

Let's say you've had a painting (or picture of a painting) you've had hang on your wall ever since you were a kid and you suddenly wanted to know who the artist was or what the story behind that painting is. Take a photo, upload it, ask your question, and wait for responses. The community is still growing, so don't expect an avalanche of comments at once, but it looks like PicAnswers is picking up momentum and people are getting their questions answered.

Even if you have no particular question of your own, checking out some of the things that other people are pondering about is fun. It's almost like show and tell - except that it's more like show and ask. Sate your curiosity, ask some questions, share some knowledge, and learn a thing or two.

[via gHacks]

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Picanswers - Ask questions with photos originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 27 Feb 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> answersfunphotospicanswersquestions Romeo Wahed Wed, 27 Feb 2008 19:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Senate to outlaw phishing (again) while stripping away domain privacy]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/27/senate-to-outlaw-phishing-again-while-stripping-away-domain-pr/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/27/senate-to-outlaw-phishing-again-while-stripping-away-domain-pr/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/27/senate-to-outlaw-phishing-again-while-stripping-away-domain-pr/#comments Say goodbye to phishing. Again.Despite the fact that phishing is already illegal, some senators felt that it needed to be made a little more illegal. A bill (PDF) introduced by three senators including, of "series of tubes" fame, Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens, seeks to outlaw phishing all over again, as well as make it illegal for people to mask or hide their private information if they own domain names.

Specifically, if the bill passes, any domain that is used for any "commercial activity" must have the correct contact information available of the owner. So, technically, this could mean that even an anonymous blog running ads to pay for its servers, could potentially be at risk of breaking the law if they don't cough up the information.

Besides the fact that this is almost no different than trying to introduce a new bill that will fine people for speeding on the road, this bill appears to be a self-serving tool so that someone can say that they tried to crack down on phishing and Internet fraud and add that they have fought the good fight. Way to look out for the people.

Or maybe we're wrong, and doubling up legislation to make extra sure that it is illegal is a good idea - especially while stripping away more layers of privacy.

[via Techdirt]

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Senate to outlaw phishing (again) while stripping away domain privacy originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> domain privacyDomainPrivacyphishingsenator Romeo Wahed Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Googleholic for February 26, 2008]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/26/googleholic-for-february-26-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/26/googleholic-for-february-26-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/26/googleholic-for-february-26-2008/#comments Googleholic for February 26, 2008
Welcome to Googleholic - your bi-weekly fix of everything Google!

This edition covers:
  • Put Google Talk in your blog - "chatback"
  • Pakistan's YouTube ban causes two hour downtime
  • Google helps lay another undersea cable to Japan
Put Google Talk in your blog - "chatback"

Google Talk has announced a new feature called "chatback," which is a way for you to better connect with visitors to your blog or online profile, by allowing them to chat with you directly from your site. The visitors won't need to download anything or sign up for an account - as long as you're online with your Google Talk account, they can message you via the chatback widget you throw up on your site. If this sounds like a good way to add value to your site, grab the widget.

Pakistan's YouTube ban causes two hour downtime

According to BBC News, the recent downtime on YouTube was a result of ISPs in Pakistan attempting to reroute traffic from YouTube after Pakistan wanted the site banned for containing some anti-Islamic content of Dutch origin. Apparently, the ISP shared its Border Gateway Protocol data for blocking YouTube within Pakistan with other ISPs, which passed it on to others. Nice. But things have resolved now, and everyone can get their daily dose of YouTube again without interruption.

Google helps lay another undersea cable to Japan

Google is part of an effort to lay another undersea cable to Japan, together with five other partners, Bharti Airtel, Global Transit, Singtel, KDDI, and Pacnet. The whole project costs about $300 million and will be done in about 2010, adding about 7.5 tbps of bandwidth.

Other Google related bits we've been covering at Download Squad:

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Googleholic for February 26, 2008 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> chatbackgooglegoogle chatgoogle talkGoogleChatgoogleholicGoogleTalkyoutube Romeo Wahed Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Phrasr - Flickr based photo-word-slideshow maker]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/26/phrasr-flickr-based-photo-word-slideshow-maker/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/26/phrasr-flickr-based-photo-word-slideshow-maker/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/26/phrasr-flickr-based-photo-word-slideshow-maker/#comments Phrasr is Flickr fun
Phrasr is an interesting little flash-based Flickr app that let's you play with words and Flickr photos. Basically, you start by typing in words - which could be a cohesive sentence or a random jumble of words - click "start," and Phrasr will get busy by finding photos on Flickr that relate to those words and attach them by lining them up into a sort of slideshow.

Then you can do a little bit of editing work, if you're up to it. Although the initial serve up of images might be nice, you may want to browse through some more choices. You can change any of the photos by clicking "change," and Phrasr will search for other photos that relate to that word. Some words such as "is" "I" or "the," don't get a photo associated automatically, so you'll have to pick them out yourself if you want photos for them.

Once you have created the ideal word-slideshow, give it a title, add your name if you really want to, and hit publish. You can then check out the original photos on Flickr, send your creation to a friend via e-mail, check out what other people have made, or make another one. So if you've been waiting for a way to breathe life into a quote or phrase you like, or just want to remind someone to "do the recycling" with a bit of visual flair, Phrasr is there to help.

[via AppScout]

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Phrasr - Flickr based photo-word-slideshow maker originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> flickrfunphotosphrasr Romeo Wahed Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Googleholic for February 19, 2008]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/19/googleholic-for-february-19-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/19/googleholic-for-february-19-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/19/googleholic-for-february-19-2008/#comments Googleholic for February 19, 2008
Welcome to Googleholic - your bi-weekly fix of everything Google!

This edition covers:
  • Google loses #2 spot on Alexa rankings
  • Blueprint of Google's new data center in Harper's magazine
  • Google Adwords makes changes to URL policy

Continue reading Googleholic for February 19, 2008

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Googleholic for February 19, 2008 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> adwordsalexabloggerdata centerDataCentergooglegoogleholic Romeo Wahed Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Googleholic for February 12, 2008]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/12/googleholic-for-february-12-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/12/googleholic-for-february-12-2008/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/12/googleholic-for-february-12-2008/#comments Googleholic for February 12, 2008
Welcome to Googleholic - your bi-weekly fix of everything Google!

This edition covers:
  • Google "hijacking" 404 pages
  • Gmail surveys the connection between love and e-mail
  • T-Mobile: Goodbye Google, Hello Yahoo
  • Why the Google Logo looks how it does
  • Google Ad share drops
Google "hijacking" 404 pages

It looks like Google Toolbar beta 5 carries a little surprise for 404 pages - a new default view. Instead of being served up a vanilla browser generated page when you encounter a 404, the Toolbar will come to your rescue with alternate recommendations and a Google search bar. If this is not to your liking, the Toolbar does enable you to disable this feature. But, webmasters that have custom 404 pages will have to make sure that their 404 pages are larger than 512 bytes if they want to keep users with the Google Toolbar able to see the custom pages.

Gmail surveys the connection between love and e-mail

According to the survey, Gmail (and other webmail services) have been helping Cupid with his work - with 1 in 3 people having used webmail for sending love-related messages. As might be expected, the age group of these users tends to be on the younger side. But as the young get older, will e-mail become standard fare in the game of love?

T-Mobile: Goodbye Google, Hello Yahoo

T-Mobile users in Europe will no longer have Google be the default search for their mobile phones and will find themselves with a slice of Yahoo instead. Of course, Google isn't one to be dumped without a fallback - as Google will have it's mobile search be the power behind Nokia search.

Continue reading Googleholic for February 12, 2008

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Googleholic for February 12, 2008 originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 12 Feb 2008 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> 404adsgmailgooglegoogle toolbargoogleholicGoogleToolbar Romeo Wahed Tue, 12 Feb 2008 21:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[RIAA: Bundle copyright filters with anti-virus software?]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/08/riaa-bundle-copyright-filters-with-anti-virus-software/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/08/riaa-bundle-copyright-filters-with-anti-virus-software/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/08/riaa-bundle-copyright-filters-with-anti-virus-software/#comments RIAA wants to be bundled with antivirus softwareIn its ever-continuing quest to prevent piracy, the RIAA announced in a State of the Net conference on January 30th, that it likes the idea of filters on the end user's platform that will detect if a user is doing anything illegal with copyrighted material.

Why would anyone want to install such a filter? In a video excerpt from the conference over at Public Knowledge, an RIAA representative points out that users will install filters that benefit them such as antivirus software - therefore, copyright filters could be bundled with anti-virus software, integrated into modems, or put together with some sort of package from an ISP, to help detect copyright violations. The purpose, of such filters, would be primarily to create a workaround that prevents users from using encryption to avoid detection.

The question of the day then: how much money would the music industry have to pay anti-virus/spyware/malware companies to cover the cost of customers switching to alternatives that come without the copyright filter?

[via Techdirt]

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RIAA: Bundle copyright filters with anti-virus software? originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> antiviruscopyrightriaa Romeo Wahed Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:30:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[Facebook apps to begin feedback based notifications]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/07/facebook-apps-to-begin-feedback-based-notifications/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/07/facebook-apps-to-begin-feedback-based-notifications/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/07/facebook-apps-to-begin-feedback-based-notifications/#comments Facebook application notifications to be feedback basedFor those who have hoped for less application madness on Facebook, an announcement on the Facebook Developers blog should be of interest to you: a reward system for applications that are "compelling."

So, instead of giving applications a limit of 40 notifications per user per day, the amount of notifications sent out will adjust in accordance with the feedback an application gets. The more an application gets ignored, reported as spam, or hidden, the less notifications users will receive. The aim of this little adjustment is to reduce notifications that users will find to be of a "spammy" nature, while encouraging developers to make applications that users will want their friends to know about.

Whether that means that notifications of friends adding or using applications that have gotten a "bad rep" will start disappearing, is still not clear. But, it's reasonable to think that some of the notification "noise" will be reduced.

In the meantime, until the update is put in place, developers will be provided with two new "Insight" statistics tabs, to give them a better understanding of how users are responding to their applications. Users can expect to start seeing changes as early as next week.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

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Facebook apps to begin feedback based notifications originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> applicationsdevelopersfacebook Romeo Wahed Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:00:00 EST Download Squad <![CDATA[As malicious code increases, so does confidence in Internet security]]> http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/07/as-malicious-code-increases-so-does-confidence-in-internet-secu/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/07/as-malicious-code-increases-so-does-confidence-in-internet-secu/ http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2008/02/07/as-malicious-code-increases-so-does-confidence-in-internet-secu/#comments Internet securityBaseline put up an interesting piece about a Cisco Systems survey showing that "56 percent of remote workers using enterprise PCs to access the Internet say their perception of Internet security increased." Which, interestingly enough, is at a time when malicious code threats are on the rise, according to, at least, this Symantec Internet Security Threat Report (PDF).

Granted, the Symantec source may not be totally unbiased, but the reported rise of malicious code being up 185% in the first 6 months of 2007 compared to the last 6 months of 2006, would suggest that any confidence in security getting better is largely based on perception alone.

Apparently, the big reason why remote workers have a heightened confidence in Internet security is because they are not responsible for the security on their enterprise machines, since someone else is technically in charge of it. That, bundled with a mass migration of services such as banking to the Internet, seems to give people false confidence that the Internet is getting "safer."

But what are the perceptions of Internet security for the average end user? With some recommending to stop using antivirus software altogether due to lack of stopping power and drain on processing performance, are we being naive when using the Internet for sensitive transactions? Maybe, but it's interesting to see how marketing for security software and new uses for the Internet are giving it an aura of safety beyond what is perhaps merited.

Or maybe we've got it all wrong, and Internet security is indeed getting better despite an influx of malicious code.

[via Slashdot]

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As malicious code increases, so does confidence in Internet security originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]]> internetsecuritytrend Romeo Wahed Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:00:00 EST Download Squad