Reviews and News » News

Prosperent – The Adsense Alternative

News and Reviews — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:16:11 +0000

Everyone knows adsense – google adwords, adsense - we all bow in thy honor.

But we know damn well that we get sick of adsense and google’s restrictions. Whether it be difficulty in being accepted as an adsense publisher or adsense banning/disallowing an account based on site content.

Prosperent is the new Kid on the scene that gives us some hope and promise. What you get with Prosperent as an Adsense Alternative:

1. Transparency

2. Paid by action (product sales) not by click.

3. Extensive array of products

4. Ease of use – build adsense – style banners just as easily as you would with Adsense.

5. Power – Powerful API which lets you dig further into the product and configuration – letting you use links anywhere!

6. Did I mention easy to use?

Bottom line is that Prosperent will make you money.

It is free to join. Split test it as you would any other ad platform.

If you have any comments or questions please leave them here and I’ll be happy to assist.

Join Prosperent!

Microsoft: Cheap PS3s Not A Concern

Noel Kuhlman — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 19:40:12 +0000

The console wars are officially on, not that Microsoft particularly cares. In an interview with Game Informer magazine, Xbox 360 director of product management Aaron Greenberg proudly declared, “It’s not a real concern to us.”

Characterizing Sony’s anticipated PS3 numbers (over September) as a “short term bump,” he claims to be unsurprised. Given how many people held back on getting a PS3 due to the price, after all, the post-markdown heightened sales are to be expected.

Greenberg added, “What I can tell you is we remain confident that Xbox 360 will not only outsell PS3 for the full calendar year, but for this entire generation.” Strong words, considering the current-gen consoles are only in the middle of their lifecycles. With the PS3′s better and more powerful hardware, that pronouncement can actually be a closer call than he’d like us to believe.

Not for this year, though. Microsoft has posted powerful sales over the past three quarters, with consistent year-over-year increases, despite the economic downturn. More importantly, Greenberg points out the ecosystem surrounding the consoles, such as the user base of Xbox Live and the exclusive titles, as a deciding factor. Eventual success, according to him, comes down to “much more than just hardware sales…it’s about…investing in the future.”

We’ll see. Microsoft can deny it all they want, but with an attractive price point and increases home adoption for the PS3, the landscape could change drastically within the next 12 months.

WikiReader Lets You Browse Wikipedia Offline

Noel Kuhlman — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:16:38 +0000

Ever had a laugh at some of the entries in Wikipedia? Good news for you. You can now enjoy the same lack of reliable information in your pocket with the WikiReader, a new compact handheld that brings the community-edited encyclopedia offline.

Use Wikipedia much? Don’t let the frequent inclusion of misinformation stop you. Heck, I use it all the time too, referencing it without even batting an eyelash. Now, you can take the lack of drive to research a step further by scoring the single-purpose device that’s, basically, a Wikipedia database in your pocket.

The WikiReader is a handheld device that functions the same way electronic dictionaries used to do. Instead of words and definitions, however, it lets you peruse articles taken from Wikipedia. Featuring three million English language articles from the online database, all saved in an SD card, you’ll never have to visit a library again, even without an internet connection.

Essentially an e-reader that shows nothing but Wikipedia content, the device comes in a small form factor (with a durable plastic build) that literally fits in one palm. It sports a monochrome screen (yes, monochrome) with a tempered glass touchscreen directly over it. The device itself only has three physical buttons (Search, History and Random), but adds various onscreen controls for navigation and typing (including a QWERTY keyboard and hyperlinks between articles). It runs on two AAA batteries, which are good enough to last it an entire year.

The WikiReader is currently selling for $99 and comes with an SD card containing the 3 million offline articles. Users can download updated articles periodically from the site. The more technologically-challenged, on the other hand, can opt to receive an updated SD card annually for $29.

[WikiReader website]

Full Flash On Smartphones By Mid-2010, Except The iPhone

Noel Kuhlman — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 19:19:58 +0000

Adobe has announced their upcoming plans for Flash 10.1 on mobile devices, effectively defining the future of Flash support on smartphone platforms. According to the company, full Flash is coming to browsers on Android, Blackberry, Symbian, WebOS and Windows Mobile phones beginning in the middle of 2010. You read that right – there’s no iPhone on that list.

As it is, Apple is choosing to keep the iPhone a closed platform. That means no full Flash for Safari users, although Adobe has been granted some leeway on the applications area.

For the rest of the smartphone roster, beta versions of full Flash support will begin rolling out by the end of the year. Windows Mobile and webOS users get first crack, followed by Android and Symbian handset owners early in 2010. Blackberry is last in on the action, having only joined Adobe’s Open Screen project as of late.

What, exactly, can you expect with full Flash on your phone? You get full-featured execution of Flash videos and apps, HTTP streaming and support for mobile input models, including multi-touch, gestures and accelerometer movements. The prospect this creates for future Flash games is quite the event to imagine.

Even better, the new implementation lets you process streaming HD videos using the hardware GPU, which should put an end to the spotty playback currently available on the current crop of smartphones. Is mobile YouTube playback finally going to tip over this side of excellent? That’s what Adobe is gunning for. We’d know if it works soon enough.

via Gizmodo

Spotify Adds Offline Caching For 3,333 Songs To Desktop App

Noel Kuhlman — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:22:14 +0000

The desktop version of Spotify just got better. Europe’s favorite streaming online jukebox just added offline listen to the desktop app. That means, in a nutshell, you can now cache your favorite playlists and enjoy them without an internet connection. Win!

Sure, the Spotify iPhone app already does this. For those without Apple’s Jesus-phone, though, there has been no way to listen to anything from the service if you’re stuck in some godforsaken place with no web access. Not anymore.

Just like the iPhone app, the desktop version now gets to store up to 3,333 tracks for offline listening. That’s more songs than you can ever enjoy in one sitting, ensuring plenty of options for those who want a good rotation of tunes without having to clog their data lines.

Making the playlist available is as simple as punching a button on the right hand side of the interface. Of course, you’ll need to be using the premium version for the feature to be available, so fork up that €10/£10, you tightwad.

Seriously, this service just continues to get better. With Spotify bound to debut in the US before the end of the year, expect all the other music services to get some worthy competition (including you, iTunes). Beware!

[Spotify]

The iPhone Is Getting A Physical Keyboard…Sort Of

Noel Kuhlman — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:35:00 +0000

The headline is a tad misleading. Everyody’s favorite handset isn’t getting an actual keyboard as part of its hardware suite. Instead, it’s getting the Blackberry treatment with an accessory iPhone case (of sorts) that makes the thing look like one of RIM’s units with a front-mounted QWERTY keypad. And it’s inexplicably called the iTwinge.

One of my long-awaited features for the iPhone has been an actual keyboard that I can either plug in or connect to via Bluetooth. Heck, I’ll give up carrying my netbook around when one of those come out. I won’t get that here. Instead, we get a dock with a three-row QWERTY panel that lets you type on the iPhone using a physical keypad.

The thing, in all honesty, looks ridiculous. Even worse, the mechanics by which it functions look equally simple, which makes it hilarious that Mobile Mechatronics (the company behind the iTwinge) is being cagey about its inner working. From what we can tell, it simply absorbs the physical key presses and passes it along to a capacitive nodule directly touching the screen – you touch a letter, it touches the same.

iTwinge is supposed to work with all iPhone 3G and 3GS models, with a release slated for November 19. I would have guessed it’s a joke peripheral, but they’re taking actual orders beginning last Wednesday, so I don’t know.

Major failure, if I do say so myself.

3D PS3 Shown Off At IFA, Apparently Works

Noel Kuhlman — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 22:41:01 +0000

You have, no doubt, heard about Sony’s 3D plans for the Playstation 3. Today, they have the whole thing showing off at a booth at the IFA in Berlin. Being nowhere near Germany, all we can do is live vicariously through other’s accounts – it’s reportedly awesome.

The whole thing works, as has been Sony’s never-ending modus operandi, in a proprietary manner. That’s no surprise. What seems amazing is that the whole thing appears to work so seamlessly and with little set-up.

According tp the reports, the setup involves a regular unmodified Playstation 3 console (both the fat and skinny ones will do), any PS3 title you pick up at GameStop, a new 3D Bravia TV (which is set for release at the end of 2010) and a pair of 3D glasses. The PS3 is hooked up to the TV by HDMI, the game is popped in the slot, you put on the glasses and that’s it – you’re killing enemy soldiers in 1080p-quality Call Of Duty like they were right in front of you. Damn.

Sony claims the system will work on all existing PS3 games (only games, not movies, by the way). It’s a lofty intention and it’s one we hope will come into fruition. Can you imagine how madly that will change the gaming landscape?

As we noted earlier, the system (using the 3D Bravia) is being prepped for a fourth quarter 2010 release. Sony’s long-term plans, however, involve outfitting the 3D capability on the PS3 itself, allowing it to provide the life-like quality to ordinary HDTVs.

I can’t believe it either, but Sony seems poised to reassert the Playstation’s role as the alpha console on the block. With the price drop, the PS3 Slim and this upcoming 3D system, the console wars really is about to heat up.

Nokia Booklet 3G Specs Are Out, Just A Connected Netbook After All

Noel Kuhlman — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:59:21 +0000

After last week’s hype about the Nokia Booklet 3G, the “mini-laptop” finally had its specs detailed in an official way. The verdict: it’s just a netbook, alright (and an under-powered one, at that).

Touting slim lines and a MacBook-like aluminum unibody, it’s one good-looking piece of hardware. Regardless, hot looks getting priced to the hilt only works when your name is Apple. Unfortunately, Nokia didn’t heed the warning.

Core specs consist of a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z530 CPU, Intel Poulsbo US15W chipset, 1GB of non-expandable RAM and a 120GB HDD. Other hardware features include a 10.1-inch LCD with 1280 x 720 resolution, a 1.3-megapixel webcam, an onboard accelerometer and the usual set of ports (USB, audio, SD card). Connectivity is largely what sets the machine apart, offering aGPS, Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and a 3G modem.

Battery is of particular note here, as Nokia claims an operating life of 12 hours. While that claim is being contended by many, it’s important to note that the device will likely be used as a work computer, instead of a multimedia machine. As such, lasting for that long might actually make sense.

Overall, high expectations came plummeting down the ground as soon as Nokia announced pricing for the Booklet 3G. According to the company, it will be going for €575 ($818) before subsidies and taxes. Even with all the extra connectivity hardware, that’s still a mighty tough sell. Good luck next time.

Sony Announces PS3 Slim, Introduces Price Cuts, Console Wars About To Get Ugly

Noel Kuhlman — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 20:48:07 +0000

The Sony PS3 has been in the losing end of the console wars for a while now. However, diehards have always maintained that it was ahead of its time and will find its place on top once people are able to catch up with its more advanced hardware. Well, that time could be soon, as a modified price point and a new slim version just made the machine considerably more enticing.

That’s right, long-running rumors of a PS3 Slim have now been confirmed by Sony, who unveiled the new machine this week. Measuring 33 percent smaller and 36 percent lighter than the original PS3, it turns the bulky game console into a sleek-looking beauty.

Sporting a black matte finish (with glossy sides), the PS3 Slim comes with much of the same capabilities as its “fatter” predecessor, but completely ditches compatibility with PS2 titles. It features new physical controls on the front panel, a swappable hard disk, quieter operation, better energy savings (it uses the power-sipping 45nm Cell processors) and a BRAVIA Sync feature that lets you control the machine via the TV remote.

Sony is pricing the 120GB Sony PS3 Slim at $299, making the PS3 arguably affordable for the first time during its entire lifecycle. They also dropped the price of the 80GB PS3 to $299, which would make it less of an attraction, unless you’re looking for compatibility with PS2 games (which, I think, is a major selling point).

If you’ve been holding out from getting a PS3 because of the prohibitive costs, it might be a good time to begin considering it. Price drops for existing “fat” PS3s are now effective, with the Sony PS3 Slim expected to hit store shelves beginning September 1.

PS3 Slim Review: A Mixed Bag, But Everyone I Know’s Buying One

Zune HD Coming On September 15, Might Not Save The Zune As People Expect

Noel Kuhlman — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:32:14 +0000

Will Zune HD save Microsoft’s Zune brand? Judging from the current buzz going around the blogosphere, it just might. However, many aren’t too sure.

Of course, Zune HD is an impressive piece of hardware. To start things off, it gets a 3.3-inch OLED touchscreen with 480 x 272 pixels and a 16:9 aspect ratio, playing the center attraction on a sleek and stylish chassis. Powered by the Nvidia Tegra, it gets the full benefits of the single-chip all-in-one platform.

It features 720p video processing (output is done via an HDMI dock), HD radio, Wi-Fi connectivity, a full HTML browser and third-party apps support. Because Nvidia’s hardware fits in an 800MHz processor, GeForce graphics, HD video capabilities, audio processing and an imaging unit all on a single package, the Zune HD manages to keep its slim lines while offering tremendous capabilities.

Microsoft is pegging that it’s considerably better than the iPod Touch. Based on those specs, there’s not even a comparison. But there, however, lies the problem.

As a device intended to go head to head with the iPod Touch, the Zune HD is going against a piece of hardware that’s over two years old. If Microsoft seriously thinks that’s the battle it needs to fight, they just might have another thing coming.

Fact is, there’s a good likelihood that Apple will release new iPod Touch units this year too. Most likely, it will be in September, around the same time of the Zune HD’s launch (scheduled for the 15th). If the new iPod Touch mirrors even close to the same hardware as the iPhone 3GS (minus the cell phone receivers), the Zune HD will suddenly find itself in a very different battlefield.

Obviously, it’s not time to declare the Zune platform as “officially revived” just yet.

Reviews and News » News

Prosperent – The Adsense Alternative

Popular:

Microsoft: Cheap PS3s Not A Concern

Related Posts

WikiReader Lets You Browse Wikipedia Offline

Popular:

Full Flash On Smartphones By Mid-2010, Except The iPhone

Related Posts

Spotify Adds Offline Caching For 3,333 Songs To Desktop App

Popular:

The iPhone Is Getting A Physical Keyboard…Sort Of

Popular:

3D PS3 Shown Off At IFA, Apparently Works

Related Posts

Nokia Booklet 3G Specs Are Out, Just A Connected Netbook After All

Related Posts

Sony Announces PS3 Slim, Introduces Price Cuts, Console Wars About To Get Ugly

Related Posts

Zune HD Coming On September 15, Might Not Save The Zune As People Expect

Related Posts