Spikes Tend to Kill You is an super-fast retro platformer -- Time Waster

Spikes Tend to Kill You has got to be one of the nicest games I've played in a while. It's an old-school platformer, and it is very well made.

You're just a cube, and the graphics are retro. But the game is very fast and very responsive. Each level takes exactly one screen, and as you may have gathered from the name, touching spikes is not a good idea.

Other than avoiding spikes, you will have to avoid bullets. Those rounded protrusions you see sticking out from the walls in the screenshots are cannons, shooting out bullets at specific intervals. You can touch the cannon, but can't touch a bullet. So you need to time your movement just right, often taking into account more than just one cannon.

When you strike out, you immediately start the level again - no waiting, no limited lives. Very very addictive. Eventually you get familiar enough with a level to "choreograph" it - i.e, you know exactly when to jump, when to run, and when to wait. And then, of course, you move to the next level.

The only slight downside here is that the soundtrack is too 8-bit for me, but I guess that's a personal thing. A superb time-waster.

Spikes Tend to Kill You is an super-fast retro platformer -- Time Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NASA's Wish List [Nasa]

With free-flying robots and antimatter engines, NASA's "wish list" doesn't read like the typical lists of wants and desires you might receive from a loved one. Which is great, because if NASA was jonesing for Pokemon we'd be in trouble. More »

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Homebuilt UAV hunts down hydrogen balloons, shoots firework missiles (video)

Augmented reality is swell, don't get us wrong, but it's no substitute for the real thing -- especially when that thing is a badass tricopter equipped with a jury-rigged firework cannon to rain down miniature hell. Swedish R/C enthusiasts built this first-person flying contraption to carry out a single mission -- destroy a series of hydrogen-filled balloons -- which will hopefully be hard-coded into future automatons too. After all, balloons could serve as an excellent distraction when they inevitably come for you. Still, there's no need to worry quite yet, so kick back and enjoy the video above while you contemplate humanity's end.

Homebuilt UAV hunts down hydrogen balloons, shoots firework missiles (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 30 Jan 2011 14:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How to change a default application on Android

This week's tips series is all about Android, highlighting some the operating system's built-in utilities, and better ways of getting stuff done. For other technology tips, check our Tips index.

When you first try an alternative launcher or Web browser, Android asks if you'd like that application to be the default from now on. You may say yes and then come to regret it later on - perhaps you've decided you like another launcher better, or wish to go back to using the stock Android browser.

While you could always uninstall the application you no longer wish to be the default, that's a bit of a brute-force solution. Perhaps you still want it on your system, but only wish to use it every now and then.

To make an app stop being a "default application" for a certain type of action, do this:

1) Go to Settings > Applications > Manage applications.
2) Locate your application in the list. If the list is too long, you can hit the Running tab, because your app most likely is still running somewhere in the background.
3) Once you've located it, tap its name.
4) You will now find yourself in the Application info screen. Scroll down until you see the heading which says Launch by default.
5) Press the Clear defaults button, shown in the screenshot.

When you next try to perform the operation previously associated with this app (launch a browser, go to the home screen, etc.), you will be presented with a dialog letting you choose what app should be used. Presto!

How to change a default application on Android originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CorelDRAW video tutorial: Make a Polaroid-like image in five minutes

When most people hear the words "vector graphics", the first thing that comes to mind is Adobe Illustrator. While Illustrator is a wonderful application, it's certainly not the only game in town: I've been using CorelDRAW for several years now, and I just love it.

I'm not a graphics pro by any stretch of the imagination, but I do need to turn out a few pretty pixels here and there for my day job. If you're just thinking about getting into vector graphics, or if you've tried Illustrator and it proved too daunting, CorelDRAW might be just what you need.

Rather than just talk about CorelDRAW or write a tutorial, I figured it would be best to show it off in a short video. I took an image of my awesome cat, Ivan, and made it into a Polaroid-like snapshot. It took me less than five minutes, without any templates or saved settings. To see how I did it, hit Play after the fold.

By the way, this is the first of four CorelDRAW tutorials to be published in the next few weeks. If you'd like to see specific aspects of CorelDRAW in action, feel free to let me know in the comments!

Continue reading CorelDRAW video tutorial: Make a Polaroid-like image in five minutes

CorelDRAW video tutorial: Make a Polaroid-like image in five minutes originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Facebook to let advertisers use your posts in Sponsored Stories

Can't stop gushing about your favorite new gadget or your latest album purchase? If you're posting about it on Facebook, there's a chance your words could wind up used by advertisers without your knowledge. Facebook has begun allowing companies to re-post endorsements from users as "Sponsored Stories," and there's no way for you to opt out at the moment.

It's not all bad, though. Sponsored Stories retain the same privacy settings that applied to your original post. That means if you only allow friends to see it, they're the only people who will see the Sponsored Story in Facebook's sidebar. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (we see what they did there) isn't happy about this, telling the Associated Press that the ads are "subtle and misleading" and that users should object to companies trying to profit from their "name or likeness without[...]consent."

There's a good chance you already did consent, of course, by agreeing to Facebook's terms of use. But hey, they backpedaled on something like this before -- remember the woman whose husband saw her face used in a "find singles near you" ad? There's a very good chance Facebook will allow users to opt out, especially with the inevitable storm of discontent which is already a-brewin'.

Facebook to let advertisers use your posts in Sponsored Stories originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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News Corp and Apple set date for The Daily launch: February 2nd

The Daily, News Corp's iPad-specific news"paper," is living up to speculation about an early February inauguration with the announcement of a launch event on February 2nd. CEO Rupert Murdoch is explicitly mentioned on the invite, though Apple's presence will be fulfilled by Eddy Cue, presumably a late draft-in to substitute for his company's CEO, Steve Jobs, who's currently out on medical leave. Even without the great Apple orator, we expect the arrival of the first tablet-only news outlet to be a significant event, so we'll be strapping on our liveblogging gear and heading out to the Guggenheim Museum for a looksie. You'll join us in spirit, won't you?

News Corp and Apple set date for The Daily launch: February 2nd originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 13:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sleek Smartphone Antenna Booster Review: The Dropped Call Eater [Review]

For the better part of a year I've been trying to test the Wilson Sleek Smartphone Antenna Booster. Problem is, I kept going too far away from civilization. But apparently Death Valley is just far enough. More »

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Under Construction [Imagecache]

This is The Shard, a skyscraper currently under construction next to the London Bridge, as photographed by Rob Telford. It goes to show that with the right perspective, even an incomplete building can be a thing of beauty. More »

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PSA: Notion Ink Adam can be unbricked, and here's the 80MB fix

There were tears of joy at the Notion Ink Adam launch, but also tears of shame, as owners of the long-awaited Pixel Qi tablet who downloaded the very first OTA update had their slate brutally bricked. Thankfully, the Notion Ink team appears to have issued a speedy fix, as you can download the ROM directly from the company's website and flash it the comfort of your own home. Assuming you've got a Windows or Linux PC handy, it's only an 80MB download away, and you'll find file links and a detailed set of instructions right after the break. We'll also note that this gives the hacker community an intriguing opportunity to peek through the Adam's code -- if you find anything interesting, be sure to let us know!

Continue reading PSA: Notion Ink Adam can be unbricked, and here's the 80MB fix

PSA: Notion Ink Adam can be unbricked, and here's the 80MB fix originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Jan 2011 16:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daily Crunch: Squid Vicious Shot First Edition

Edible Concept: Tetris Sugar Cubes I Cannot In Good Conscience Recommend Buying This Yoda Robe Unfortunately, These Han And Greedo Bookends Are Sold Out Popping Popcorn With Lasers Is Awesome And Healthy Kickstarter: The PadPivot Might Be The First True Universal, Multi-Function Tablet Stand

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Woman Hangs Up On Apple, Nearly Misses Out on $10,000 App Store Prize [Hangups]

Gail Davis hates telemarketers. Hates 'em. Hangs up on their ilk as soon as she hears a wisp of their tortured, desperate breath over the telephone. Sadly, this same hatred nearly cost her family a cool $10,000 gift card. More »

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