Month: May 2009

When it comes to troubleshooting friend’s and relatives computers from afar, one of the best remote access applications I’ve ever used is CrossLoop. When I switched to Mac, however, I had to dump it but I’m pleased to see the developers have finally launched a Mac version.

The great thing is that the Mac version supports access of both Windows and Macs so you can help out people on both platforms. In addition, Crossloop now serves as an online marketplace, where you can connect not only to friends, but to online experts who, for an hourly fee, will help you with technical issue.

The key to CrossLoop’s appeal is its simplicity. After installing CrossLoop, you are prompted whether you want to create an account although this is optional. Afterwards you are presented with small panel with two tabs. Select the ‘Join’ tab if you would like to connect and control a friend’s Mac. Select the ‘Host’ tab if you would like someone to access to your Mac i.e. to receive technical help.

This host tab contains an important 12-digit access code that your friend will need to enter to connect to your PC. Obviously, the only requirement is that the other person has CrossLoop installed too to initiate a session. Once done, you’re ready to go. A separate window opens on your desktop with your friend’s desktop and you can tinker with it to your heart’s content.

Obviously, the main concern with such desktop sharing applications is speed and security. As regards speed, you can choose whether to share in low or high quality, the former being faster and recommended for slow internet connections. It’s great that CrossLoop now offers this choice because there’s nothing worse than trying to share over a slow connection.

As far as security is concerned, the developer maintains that all sent information is highly encrypted with a 128-bit algorithm using the randomly generated 12-digit access code mentioned earlier. There’s no need to worry about anyone accessing your PC without permission either – a pop-up requesting permission from you alerts you before any information is exchanged. Most recently, CrossLoop has introduced file sending plus an online marketplace of experts which enables you to find professional Mac specialists who can help with your problems with fees ranging from around$50 an hour.

The only minor drawback of CrossLoop is that it doesn’t support multiple connections, although for most people seeking technical help, this is probably neither desirable or practical either. The bottom line is that CrossLoop really is an excellent application for what it offers i.e. simple and effective remote connections. The fact that it is free only adds to its appeal considering similar programs such as Copilot charge anything up to $5 for just 24 hours of use.

iPhone: What’s the point of spending years of your life training to be a doctor when it’s so easy to practice medicine illegally in backstreets? In Amateur Surgeon Lite you play the role of Alan Probe, a pizza delivery guy who stumbles into the world of backstreet medicine. Your task is to perform surgery on a variety of patients using whatever tools you have to hand, including pizza cutters, salad tongs and staplers. Hilarious fun!

Mac: Just because Macs are normally virus free doesn’t mean you never have to scan yours. Leopard Cache Cleaner (now updated to version 4.0.24) is a solid application to scan and clean your Mac of alls sorts of unwanted files. You’ll easily remove cache, language localization files and other unnecessary data in just a few easy clicks.

Windows: Decorating your house is not always as easy as it seems, but luckily Envisioneer Express (updated to version 5.0) can lend you a hand. This free interior design app lets you create a detailed floor plan of any room or a complete flat and decorate it with lots of detail, in both 2D and 3D rendering.

Fans of rhythm games will love Timewarp, a browser game that will really challenge your abilities. It works like Guitar Hero, you have to tap rhythms that are moving towards you. There are a number of keyboard configurations – I prefer the left hand ASDF setup. The twist with TimeWarp is that the better you do, the faster it goes, and the harder it gets. See if your fingers can keep up!

Requires the wonderful Unity plug-in .

Nokia launched its new mobile app store yesterday, Ovi Store, to howls of derision from users. The general hoo-hah centred around the speed of the service, which in the eyes of many, made the launch a total disaster. Yes, it was very, very slow for a while, but that’s par for the course given the amount of hype the app store had received before. It’s worth bearing in mind also that the worldwide release actually took place ahead of schedule. The hole-picking has continued in the first 24-hours of Ovi Store’s life – not enough content, no trial versions, flawed category system, users can only give programs ratings of between one and three stars, etc. True, these glitches and oversights  give Ovi Store a less-than polished feel, but is it really all that bad?

Ever the optimist, I wouldn’t regard the Ovi Store as an unmitigated disaster and managed to find some things about it that I actually quite like. For instance, it’s a lot more open than the walled iPhone App Store. You can get download links sent directly to your phone from any computer, send to a friend, or install it directly on the device. Once downloaded you can launch the app immediately without leaving the browser (of course iPhone users wouldn’t understand the concept of running multiple apps simultaneously). The fact that Ovi Store supports operator billing with many networks means buying apps is much less hassle than with an iTunes account. The user interface isn’t as bad as many people are making out. I like the fact that screenshots are displayed for all programs and the ‘related programs’ section is useful too.

Let’s not forget that Ovi Store has only been going for a day, so we shouldn’t condemn it to death just yet, especially when it shows signs of promise. Given time, glitches will be ironed out and big-name mobile developers like Google and Yahoo! will come on board. In terms of being a disaster, I think the Ovi Store is more like falling off a lilo than the sinking of the Titanic.

When I first heard about Microsoft Vine a month ago I must say I was pretty surprised. Vine was described as “an instant messaging tool to stay in touch during times of crisis, when standard communications are either broken or not working properly”. That description, together with the fact that the program was released as closed beta – which, you know, always contributes to the hype – caught my attention immediately.

Today I received my invitation to test Microsoft Vine and the truth is I’m a bit disappointed. Maybe it’s because I’m lucky to live in an area where earthquakes, floods, tornadoes and other natural disasters are only seen on TV, or simply because I expected something else after waiting for the invitation for a whole month. The thing is I didn’t find Microsoft Vine that useful at all.

This is Vine’s main interface, which shows up after installing the program and finishing the correspondent system reboot. Microsoft Vine works with your Live ID account, so if you don’t have any yet you’ll need to create one (not right in the middle of a crisis, hopefully).

After that, the desktop client shows up featuring an interactive world map where you can mark the places you care about. The map can be zoomed in to a quite high level of detail, and also switched from plain drawing to satellite imagery and viceversa.

The two other tabs on the program’s main interface lead you to your personal data (Vitals) and your contact list (People). Regarding the first one, you can fill in a form with some personal information (name and address) plus all the possible ways to reach you (e-mail, phone, mobile). These data can be printed on a PDF emergency card which you can crop and put in your wallet or handbag, so that you always have your important information at hand.

The second tab, People,  is where your contact list is stored. The list can be organized in several different groups, which eases the task of sending alerts to several people at the same time. You can also see the message history for each contact.

Generally speaking, Microsoft Vine serves an honorable purpose: helping people to communicate in real time when disaster strikes and there’s nothing else available. It lets you send reports and receive alerts via its desktop client, by e-mail or text messages. It also displays news regarding the places you care about.

But I’m not sure about the real effectiveness of this tool, or whether it would be a useful way to communicate in middle of a crisis. I just can’t picture someone taking the time of starting their computer, logging into the system and starting Vine, while everyone else is simply running for their lives. In a way it reminds me of that hilarious scene in The IT Crowd where Moss, unable to remember the new emergency number, uses e-mail to report a fire: funny to see, but totally senseless.

Critics of Apple fanatics have said that there’s nothing special about Apple, and it’s unfair for Microsoft to be labeled an uncool big corporation, when Apple is just a big corporation too.

Nevertheless, Apple products do have that special something that makes them likable. In the case of OSX, that special something is just being smooth and fast and working properly.  The iPhone effect on the mobile industry has been incredible. It’s incredible any company could jump into a developed market and revolutionise it just like that, and it’s incredible no established mobile manufacturer had made something that worked that well before.

There is something cool about Apple, and as a corporation they seem to get a lot more right than many. It’s a surprise, then, that the iPhone App Store seems to be getting stuck in controversies.

First was the Babyshaker app, that was bizarrely approved even though it was obviously offensive. Then Apple failed to approve applications for really odd reasons. The Nine Inch Nails app, that would allow users to link to an album with potentially offensive lyrics was banned, despite that material being easily available through iTunes (it was later accepted).

Now we have Eucalyptus, a reader that uses an online library of out of copyright literature. It was rejected on the grounds that you could read Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana – an English translation from the 1800s! The developer wisely pointed out this library is freely available on the internet, and you’ll only find that book if you expressly search for it, as you would using Apple’s own Safari. Apple have now accepted the application – but they must have people in their approval system with very strict ideas about objectionable material.

It all seems very un-Apple, and tarnishes their image as “the cool corporation”. Arbitrary bureaucratic absurdity is the thing of governments and faceless corporations – why are Apple doing it? Perhaps these strange decisions are just wrinkles in the system that will be ironed out. There are so many apps being submitted, maybe its not so bad to make the odd mistake.

More Apple Tablet rumours. OnSoftware‘s mockups are much better. [TechCrunch]

Twitter continues its meteoric rise. Unlike MySpace. [The Guardian]

New version of Google Chrome may be 30% faster! [GoogleBlog]

Facebook phishing warning/advice: [AllFacebook]

Codemaster’s FUEL out June 5th on PC PS3 and Xbox. Looks great. [Eurogamer]

Vote for your favourite robot [Kotaku]