About Tim Brookes
Tim is a freelance writer who lives in Melbourne, Australia. You can follow him on Twitter.
It's Time We Had a Word About Overdone HDR Photography... [Opinion]
HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, and in photographic terms generally produces an image where the entire scene is balanced, and evenly exposed. Recently I’ve not been seeing much of this on the web. I’m talking about overdone, blown-out seizure-inducing "photographs" where each slider has been cranked up to 11. Did the novelty just wear off or am I just a miserable sod?
Classic Handheld Consoles: Emulate 7 Retro Portables With These Top Emulators
In the late 80's, video gaming was gaining in popularity with the release of highly successful consoles from companies like Nintendo, Atari and Sega. Once technology had improved (and shrunk considerably) portable games consoles were possible, adding another theatre of war for hardware manufacturers to do battle on. It wasn’t a fad either.
Visual Boy Advance - A Game Boy Advance Emulator For Multiple Platforms [Windows, Mac & Linux]
Nintendo’s Game Boy tore up the market and proved its worth as a successor to the popular Game and Watch handheld upon initial release in 1989. The numbers are impressive - the original console, Game Boy Pocket and Color shifted nearly 120 million units in total worldwide before being retired. The Game Boy Advance stepped up in 2001.
Epicurious: A Free Recipe & Shopping List App [iOS, WebOS, Android + More]
Thanks to services like Epicurious, discovering new recipes and food is easier than ever. Now that the website has rolled out a full course of applications for various mobile platforms, this wealth of tasty knowledge fits into the palm of your hand or comfortably on your kitchen worktop. In this article I'll be mainly looking at the iPhone version of the Epicurious app, although the WebOS tablet version gets a decent mention too.
'Let's Play' Videos: Because Watching People Play Games Is Funny & Less Time Consuming [Stuff To Watch]
For years now people have been playing games, recording their efforts and posting the resulting videos online (often with a hilarious voice-over) for the entertainment of others. To many, and for the sake of this week's Stuff to Watch, they're known as Let's Play videos (LPs). Here I'll be highlighting a couple of users who have produced some epic LPs over the years, as well as some hand-picked videos to start you off if you're in unfamiliar territory.
Cold Calling Computer Technicians: Don't Fall for a Scam Like This [Scam Alert!]
You've probably heard the term "don't scam a scammer" but I've always been fond of "don't scam a tech writer" myself. I'm not saying we're infallible, but if your scam involves the Internet, a Windows PC and a cold calling technician, it won't take long for the penny to drop. This isn't the first time Mr Windows Repair Guy has so helpfully graced us with his detailed instructions.
5 Essential App Cataloging Apps For Your HP TouchPad
I’ll be brutally honest - there really aren’t an awful lot of apps available to those who picked up a cheap HP TouchPad in the firesale a few weeks ago. It’s undoubtedly one of the main reasons that the tablet was ill-received by consumers and eventually cut loose by HP. However, there are a few very nice applications and services that are well-designed, very useful and totally free.
The HP TouchPad Setup Guide Part 2: Overclocking Your Tablet [WebOS]
Last time I showed you how to speed up your newly acquired HP TouchPad with a number of patches and tweaks. There’s no denying that the performance increase is noticeable but the device still seems to lag and stutter at points. If you’re still disappointed with performance and are looking to turbo-charge your TouchPad, then a 1.5GHz speed bump might just do the trick.
HP TouchPad Setup Guide Part 1: Speed Up Your Tablet With Preware, Homebrew & Patches [WebOS]
Welcome to WebOS, an operating system that will never compare to iOS for speed. Many believed that WebOS 3.0 would have real potential in the portable market - but HP WebOS went wrong somewhere. Luckily the homebrew community is here to patch up WebOS and get your TouchPad running faster, smoother and better than it did when it left the factory.
Start A "Dead Drop" In Your City & Share Files With People In The Street
Who’d have thought in 2011 - the year of the fibre optic broadband connection - we’d be cementing USB sticks into the wall to share files? Not me, but that’s exactly what the term "dead drop" entails. Devised by blogger Aram Bartholl, this offline and anonymous file sharing method has taken off around the globe.
So You Bought A TouchPad: 5 Uses For Your "Dead" Tablet PC
The dust has settled and by now you should either be bitterly disappointed or overjoyed at the bargain you just snagged. If you were lucky enough to grab yourself a firesale HP TouchPad or are considering picking one up from a friend then you’ll probably be wondering exactly what use you’ll get out of it.
6 Reasons To Avoid The BlackBerry PlayBook
The BlackBerry PlayBook is available. It has the brand behind it, but does it make for a wise purchase decision? Read this article to decide for yourself if the PlayBook gives you the bang for the buck. If you own a PlayBook, do tell us your side of the story too.
6 Mobile HTML5 Games You Can Play On Your Smartphone For Free
Web apps have come a long way in the last few years, and with the dawn of HTML5 even more complex, self-contained games and tools can be created. Smartphone manufacturers have (on the whole) been quick to ensure compatibility with the new standards, ushering in a new breed of palm-sized entertainment.
4 Big Name iOS Apps That Could Do With A Rethink
When a big name brand with a swelling bank account and past record of providing innovative products and services creates a sub-par mobile app, many of us have to resort to the mobile web or give up altogether. It’s a shame because software that runs natively on your device should perform faster, provide a couple of extra bells and whistles and much of the time allow some limited offline access too.
Heroes of Newerth: A Free To Play Cross-Platform Action RTS [Windows, Mac & Linux]
Here’s something you don’t see every day - a competent, multiplayer strategy game that plays nice with all three major operating systems... for free! Heroes of Newerth is the name, and team-based Warcraft-esque online strategy is the game. Originally released as a full-price game in May 2010, Heroes of Newerth has just gone free to play
How To Stream Music & Video To Your iPhone, iPod Touch Or iPad From A Mac Or Windows PC [iOS]
An issue I encountered when I first received my iPhone was the inability to stream my fairly well-organised music and video collection direct to my new device. I don’t use iTunes other than on my iPhone for the odd podcast, mainly because I’m primarily a Linux user, so I thought I would try Air Playit for Windows and Mac OS X.
Tubufy – Turn Your Spotify, MOG & Last.fm Playlists Into Music Video Channels
In 1981, MTV launched, with the first ever video broadcast. Now, 30 years on, we don't really need MTV any more. Why let someone else behind the scenes pick what music you should listen to (or watch, in this instance) when you can create your own personalised music channel using your existing playlists?
7 Ways to Boost Your Cell Phone Battery Life [iPhone, Android, Other Smartphones]
By far one of the most disappointing features in just about every smartphone these days is the battery life, which for most of us requires at least one charge per 24-hour period. Are you a power-user or do you simply need a few quick tips on battery maintenance? It's time to get a grip and take control of your power consumption. Below you will find power-saving tips to help squeeze as much juice out of your smartphone as possible.
BBC Launches International iPlayer iPad App With Subscription [News]
The BBC's popular on-demand catch up service iPlayer has been released to the international community for a monthly fee. The app itself is free to download but use of the service will cost users €6.99 per month or €49.99 for the entire year. At present the service is only available in Europe in the following countries.