Code Retard

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CNET)

Are you a puzzle gamer? My iOS devices have a mix of gaming genres, from action arcade titles and racing games, to FPS shooters and role-playing adventure games. But sometimes I also like to focus in and test my logic and problem-solving skills with puzzle games.

Some great games have come out recently that are worthy of any puzzle-gaming fan’s
iPhone. All of these titles are worthy of checking out, because they have plenty of challenge, are all very polished graphically, and are perfect for when you want to put your brain-teaser skills to the test.

This week’s iOS app collection is all about arcade puzzle games. The first combines lessons from past iPhone games to make for a great brain-teaser. The second has you blowing up ice sculptures using different types of bombs. The third challenges you to divert water to a cute little alligator’s tub.

You’ll need to drag and attach the eerie tendrils to the eye to get it to the goal.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Contre Jour (99 cents) is an arcade puzzler that veteran gamers will see as a mashup of game mechanics and inspiration from several other popular titles. Though it’s been out for a while, Contre Jour is a well-executed and challenging puzzle game with polished art and sound.

On each short level of Contre Jour, you’re trying to get a charming little alien (essentially, a rolling eyeball) to the level’s exit. The alien doesn’t move on its own, so you need to use attached ropes (some elastic, some not, some with movable anchors), slingshots, malleable ground (which you can shape with a touch), teleporters, and other elements to get the alien to its goal. Each progressive level relies on an increasingly Rube-Goldbergian series of actions, which you must carefully time to get the alien to the exit–ideally grabbing between one and three floating blue lights along the way.

Contre Jour may not introduce a lot of new ideas as a puzzler, but it does a good job of refining some of our favorite ones–and it pulls them all together into an attractive and fairly addictive package. If you’re a fan of arcade puzzle games, Contre Jour is definitely worth a download.

You have to destroy the entire sculpture to get a perfect score, but how you do it is up to you.

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Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Amazing Breaker (99 cents) is an arcade physics puzzler that challenges you to fling bombs into ice sculptures with a slingshot.

Amazing Breaker’s slingshot schtick is not unique, but this app’s combination of quick-playing levels, increasingly complex gameplay, and high-res graphics sets it above most physics puzzlers. In each new level, you slingshot a series of bombs up into an ornate ice sculpture, and you have to smash 90 percent of the sculpture to progress to the next level (smash 95 percent for two stars, 100 percent for three). The complexity comes in as you decide how and whether to bank bombs off the sides and top of the screen, and how you choose to array four different types of bombs in order, including “split” bombs (tap to divide into three bomblets) and “ghost” bombs (which you can maneuver as they pass through the sculpture). Add to this the occasional timed power-up and the ability to set up chain reactions if you can set off bombs near one another, and Amazing Breaker’s levels can quickly become devilish brain-teasers that reward thoughtful play and arcade reflexes.

If you’re a fan of physics puzzlers, Amazing Breaker is a cut above and a worthwhile download–and you can start out with the free version, which lets you try out the game’s first 16 levels.

Every level comes with a new challenge, but in the end, you have to get swampy his bath water.

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Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Where’s My Water? (99 cents) is a charming physics puzzler, in which you funnel clean water to the bathtub of a fastidious little alligator named Swampy.

Where’s My Water? ranks among the better arcade puzzlers, sharing some similarities (fast-paced levels, an intuitive interface, and a winningly cartoony protagonist) but with a central schtick that’s mostly all its own: you dig paths through dirt, creating channels for liquid to flow from one place to another. Ideally, you’ll get enough clean water into a pipe to fill Swampy’s tub, but along the way you have to contend with various obstacles, including acid (which can combine with your water), algae (which acid will eat, or which will grow in contact with water), and all sorts of water-activated switches and elements. With some planning, you’re also hoping to float between one and three rubber duckies along the way. Levels aren’t too tough (at least at first), but getting all three duckies can take some forethought and tricky multitouch timing. The interface isn’t always perfect (an antiquated scroll bar can be frustrating at times, and digging isn’t too precise), but overall Where’s My Water? is slick, satisfying, and silly–in a good way.

Where’s My Water? is a worthwhile download for fans of cute physics puzzlers, and with any luck we can look forward to more levels on top of its initial 100.

Rovio “Mighty Eagle” Peter Vesterbacka

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Stephen Shankland/CNET)

Angry Birds maker Rovio is looking to go public. But it might surprise you just where it plans to do so.

Speaking to Reuters in an interview published today, Rovio’s chief marketing officer and “Mighty Eagle” Peter Vesterbacka said that his company plans to go public in 2013 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. He cited the Asian market’s growth, as well as its “people and the money” to justify the decision.

Rovio has been talking about an IPO for months now, but its focus on Hong Kong is new. Back in May, the company’s CEO Mikael Hed told Reuters that Rovio would like hold its IPO on Wall Street in two or three years. Just a couple of months ago, Vesterbacka told Bloomberg Television in an interview that his company was hoping to file for its IPO “a year from now,” but didn’t say where. Vesterbacka did, however, tell Bloomberg that he expected Rovio to go public at a $1 billion valuation.

Although Rovio is best known for its Angry Birds mobile game–which at last count, tallied 600 million downloads since its launch in 2009–the developer has created a massive business around the franchise. Rovio currently sells stuffed toys, shirts, school supplies, and even cookbooks branded with Angry Birds.

The business model has become so successful, Rovio will generate $100 million in revenue this year, Vesterbacka told Finnish news outlet Tekniikka Talous in a recent interview (Google Translate page), adding that the company could see that figure grow again next year when it launches five to six new games based on the Angry Birds franchise.

Although Rovio’s apparent decision to go public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange might surprise some investors, it makes some sense, considering how important the Asia market has become to the company. Earlier this year, Rovio announced that China has become its second-largest market behind the U.S., and could account for 100 million Angry Birds downloads by the end of 2011.

That success doesn’t necessarily mean investors will jump at the chance to buy Rovio stock. The company is essentially known for a single franchise, which can be viewed as a significant risk to its future. And with countless developers offering new games in the hopes of taking Angry Birds down, there’s no telling if Rovio can keep up its success.

But don’t tell Vesterbacka that. He told Tekniikka Talous that Rovio has visions of becoming the Walt Disney Co. of this generation.

“That is the target,” he told the news outlet. “There is no reason why we should not be able to build a company of that size.”

The new TweetDeck.

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Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

The new TweetDeck (download for Windows
and Mac) has launched, and it’s the first version since Twitter bought the company. There’s a new logo and blue skin to reflect that, but far bigger changes happened under the hood.

It’s not entirely clear when the new versions were released, since Twitter didn’t announce them, but the company has completely abandoned the old program. Gone is the cross-platform program built on Adobe AIR, and gone are many of its features. In its place, Twitter has built two new programs native to Windows and
Mac, respectively, and streamlined their functionality to more closely reflect the official Twitter workflow. TweetDeck is still available as a Chrome Web App, and for iOS and
Android, although they haven’t recent an upgrade like the Windows and Mac clients.

Before its purchase, TweetDeck had released native clients alongside the AIR version, but the new releases appear unrelated.

The basics of TweetDeck’s functions remain, including multiple Twitter and Facebook account support and customizable columns, while new-Twitter style retweeting and direct messaging have been improved. There’s also separate columns for Facebook newsfeeds and Facebook notifications.

Old TweetDeck users can log in with their TweetDeck accounts to save the trouble of re-entering in multiple account usernames and passwords.

Facebook is now the only non-Twitter account that TweetDeck supports. MySpace, LinkedIn, Foursquare, and Google Buzz have all been dropped. The loss of Buzz is not exactly catastrophic, but it does indicate that Twitter isn’t about to drop its hard line on cross-social network pollination. Also gone are color and font customizations, keyboard shortcuts, URL shortening service options, and TweetDeck’s tweaks to minimize API calls.

Notification box moving still exists, but now you simply grab it when it appears and drag it to the part of the screen you want it to be in. That’s a definite improvement over the weird X-Y axis widget in the old TweetDeck’s settings.

Overall, I found the new TweetDeck experience to be better than the old one. There’s less behavioral wonkiness, and it feels like it’s natural extension of Twitter. However, dropping support for all accounts besides Twitter and Facebook doesn’t bode well for people who have their hopes up for Google Plus integration.

Google’s Cloud Print now is the default print manager in Chrome.

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Screenshot by Seth Rosenblatt/CNET)

Google’s remote printing feature called Cloud Print got a big boost with Chrome 16, the company announced today. Cloud Print now comes directly integrated into the browser, along with a host of useful changes to the service.

The update expands Cloud Print into a more robust tool, which Google said has more than 6 million connected printers and numerous
Android and iOS apps to support it since its debut in April. Along with the Chrome integration, the new Cloud Print update gives Chromebook users a full, traditional Print Preview option, and the service now lets you save Web pages such as receipts and confirmation pages to Google Docs.

Cloud Print now can share and control printer access; its interface has been tweaked to be more
tablet-friendly; and the Print button has been developed into an element that site designers can add independently to their Web sites.

Hitting Control+P (or Command+P on a
Mac) will now default to the Cloud Print interface, although your local printer will still be selected. Cloud Print is an option from the drop-down on the left, and there’s an option below it to choose to run the print job through your operating system’s print manager.

A Google spokesperson clarified that Chrome previously had limited Cloud Print integration that depended on a Web app or Chrome extension, but it didn’t use the browser’s print flow directly. This means that both Chrome the browser and the Chrome OS have identical Cloud Print workflow.

Google has removed five additional apps from the
Android Market that mobile-security firm Lookout alleges appear to be engaged in SMS fraud targeting Europeans.

The apps were removed after Lookout discovered them yesterday, a Lookout representative told CNET today. That brings the total number of apps removed that Lookout has dubbed “RuFraud” (Russian Fraud) to 27, the representative said.

The apps, which appear to be free versions of legitimate games or wallpaper, are designed to do nothing more than charge premium SMS toll rates on European phones, according to Lookout. The rates are buried within the terms of service, and users may not realize that they will be charged $5 per SMS, according to the firm.

Technically, the apps aren’t malware because they aren’t designed to take advantage of a security vulnerability. But apps can still be pulled from the market, if they don’t adequately disclose pricing terms, or if they infringe on copyrighted material.

Google confirmed yesterday that it had removed 22 Lookout-identified fraudulent apps, before the firm found the five additional ones, but it did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest apps found.

Here is the most up-to-date list of the apps:

This is the list of 27 apps flagged by Lookout for alleged fraudulent behavior that have been removed from the Android Market.

(Credit:
Lookout)

All images shot by you and your friends are saved to the same roll for everyone to enjoy.

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Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

The Hipstamatic D-Series camera app announced today offers a new way to tie photos and social networking together.

Synthetic, developer of the popular retro-image
iPhone app Hipstamatic, have enjoyed plenty of success in the iTunes App Store since the app was released two years ago. Now, the company aims to make the retro-image-taking experience more social with its new D-Series camera app, available December 15.

The Hipstamatic D-Series app lets you connect with a group of friends via Facebook and snap pictures that all go to a common “film roll.” Made for parties, concerts, and any other event, Hipstamatic D-Series makes it possible for any number of people to snap photos on the same roll. Once invited, your friends can use their individual phones to take pictures and all the images get saved and automatically synced at the end of a roll. When a roll is finished (24 pictures), everyone invited to a “camera” can view the photos you took and share them via Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail.

Hipstamatic D-Series will be a free app that comes with one camera (with its own preset effects). But through in-app purchase, you can buy three other cameras with different effects for 99 cents each. Each of the different cameras advertises various effects, and one of them, the MegaZuck 84 camera, is free when you register through Facebook.

Hipstamatic D-Series will become available this Thursday, December 15, for free in the iTunes App Store.

This bird’s-eye view of a users profile puts a lot of information easily at hand.

As long as there are computers, there are likely to be mothers and fathers, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, and assorted thrice-removed ne’er-do-wells asking for PC help.

Israeli startup Soluto has a new way for all the tech-savvy helpers of the world to disseminate their knowledge, the company announced today. The new Soluto app is currently in closed beta, although the company has offered CNET readers early access.

The company is keeping its name and the stylized look, but it has abandoned its prior focus, a Windows utility that would analyze and help prevent program crashes leveraging a cloud-based database and the magical powers of crowd-sourcing data. The new Soluto will allow that special someone that Soluto Chief Product Officer Roee Adler calls the “home CTO” to diagnose a problem and push solutions.

These include installing new applications, solving non-responsive programs and crashes, pushing silent upgrades, and removing bloatware from boot-up. There won’t be any remote file access for security reasons, says Soluto, but you will also be able to track basic hardware maintenance such as fan speed, CPU temperature, and battery wear in laptops. Programs are pushed out to users through Ninite, a batch installer and updater.

To test out the new closed beta, you can register at Soluto’s Web site with the access code “sethsentme”. You can create a personal Soluto account, or login via Facebook. Currently, the program is limited to managing five computers. Once you’re using Soluto, you can invite friends directly without having to worry about the access code. Computers that have the agent installed will have to be rebooted before the program will work.

Soluto 2.0 aims for ‘the home CTO’

“There are probably tens of millions of people who have problems with the basics, like setting up iTunes, or downloading an app,” said Adler. The new Soluto, he said, will allow anybody to offer secure, limited remote access to installing programs, but Soluto is also looking beyond the home to small business with only a couple dozen computers to manage. “Repair is a $30 billion industry in the IT market, and it’s craving innovation. But nobody helps the IT managers who are managing 50 PCs,” he said. As with many products, Soluto plans to remain free for home users, and sell licenses to businesses. Future plans include support for Macs, iOS, and
Android devices.

The program exists in the cloud and opens a tab in your default browser, and relies on the same PC Genome backend that powered the previous version. It requires only a small downloadable agent so that the Web app can talk to the computer. Soluto’s built on HTML4, said Adler, so that it will work in any modern browser.

Users of the previous version of Soluto soon will be migrated to the new version, the company said in an FAQ.

Not unlike the previous Soluto, this new take looks great on paper but leaves many questions about user adoption. There are many well-known remote-control programs that provide deeper hooks into the computer, such as GoToMyPC and TeamViewer, although Soluto’s Web-based interface and PC Genome guts do set it apart. The model sounds solid, but as the world goes mobile, much of Soluto’s success will depend on its ability to quickly support more than just Windows.

“You know what’s hardest about computers? It’s not Windows XP or crashes,” Adler said with a smile. “It’s the fear that people have of the technology. We want to reduce the barrier for asking for help, and reduce the barrier for giving help.”

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Apple’s updated iTunes today to 10.5.2 (Windows or Mac), adding fixes for the iTunes Match service and audio distortion issues experienced with some CDs.

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Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

The iTunes Match service, launched in version 10.5.1 on November 14, lets users match up music they own with better quality sound files from the iTunes catalog for $24.99 per year.

While details are sparse (with no updates to Apple’s site at the time of this writing), the update is for users running Windows XP SP2 or later, and only for those running
Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or later.

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Over 100 million apps have been downloaded from the Mac App Store.

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Apple)

Apple’s
Mac App Store is officially a success.

The company announced today that the store, which is available to Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Lion users, has reached 100 million application downloads. Given that success, Apple is calling the service the “fastest growing PC software store in the world.”

Apple launched the Mac App Store in January as a free download for Snow Leopard users. The marketplace, like Apple’s mobile App Store, allows users to sift through both free and paid programs and download them to their devices. Apple shares 70 percent of the revenue generated from paid applications with developers, and keeps the remaining 30 percent for itself.

Just a day after the Mac App Store launched with a little over 1,000 programs, Apple announced that 1 million applications had been downloaded during its first 24 hours of availability. Since then, Apple says, the store has added “thousands” of applications.

Apple reported in October that its mobile application store is also doing well, averaging 1 billion monthly downloads of its more than 500,000 available apps. All told, over 18 billion apps have been downloaded from that store since its launch in 2008, and the company has paid out over $3 billion to developers.

Google’s
Android Market is also doing well. Last week, the search giant said that 1 billion apps are being downloaded from its store each month. So far, Android device owners have downloaded a total of 10 billions apps.

Update 5:54 a.m. PT
to include more details.

Download Community,

I just wanted to send out a quick follow-up to my post on Wednesday.

(By the way, yes I now I have my own account, so I can post here myself. I wanted to get that last one up quickly since it was already late in coming, and Cat already had an account, so I went with it. Sad, but true. Oh, and because you all know who Cat is, but may have no clue who I am, I’m the General Manager of Download.com).

Clearly we had a big breakdown this past week and I sincerely apologize to our users and to our developer community. I especially want to apologize for our error in wrapping Nmap, and any open source software. It was truly unintended. We may be dumb enough to have screwed up, but we know what distinguishes us from other providers out there, and we want to have a much better record in delivering against that expectation. It truly sucks when we don’t, and you’ve rightfully held our feet to the flame this week as a result.

We’ve taken immediate steps to make sure the download manager works like it’s supposed to. Most importantly, of course, is the fact that offers are absolutely not supposed to be included with open source software downloads. We are revising many of our processes, we are scrubbing the catalog, and we will have these mistakes fixed as soon as humanly possible. In addition, we need to make it more clear that the download manager always disappears from a user’s system after an install is completed, and that the inclusion of offers in the download process is optional to software publishers. We have more work to do, but I hope you will be happy with the results.

We appreciate your feedback and your patience. Please keep them both coming.

Thanks,

Sean