Android users can get an automatic refund for a purchased app, by deleting the app from their devices within 15 minutes of purchasing it. This is a far cry from the 24 hour window that was provided to Android users until recently, but easier than the process in Apple’s iOS store. Shoppers in the iOS store can get refunds, too, albeit through a bit of a convoluted process. Read more
If you’re like me, you’ve got boxes and drawers filled with video tape, CDs, DVDs, hard drives, and even audio cassette tapes. Some of that stuff might seem indestructible, but it isn’t. Physical media deteriorate over time, and Tech and Life recently highlighted a couple of articles from PCMech that detail just how long you can expect your physical media to last, and what you can do to preserve your files.
If you haven’t already heard about Sony’s PSP 2, codenamed Next Generation Portable (NGP), then you are in for a treat! The NGP features power enough to rival the Playstation 3 — and that’s not just fluffy marketing-speak. The specs of this little beast are off the charts.
Read on for a rundown of what’s included, and a NGP gameplay video of Uncharted.
And all of the other stuff you expect from a PSP.
Sony obviously plans to swing hard for the mobile gaming system title. Some people have already pointed out that they skipped the 3D craze here, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t planning another model with 3D capability. In fact, it is highly possible that there will be multiple versions of the NGP available at different price points when it launches later this year (that’s what I said… later this year). A wifi-only version has been mentioned, for example, and it is likely that there will be other features that might be considered premium and affect the overall price point.
On that, Sony is still being rather hush-hush about how much this little beauty will cost, saying only that “It’s not going to be $599,” and that they “will shoot for an affordable price that’s appropriate for the handheld gaming space.” (Engadget)
PSOne games will be available for download on the PSP2, and downloaded PSP titles will be playable as well — seems you’re out of luck if you have a lot of UMD games, though. Either way, my white, Darth Vader emblazoned PSP 2000 is probably going up for sale, and soon!
Yummy, yes?
Recently, we talked a bit about Ge.tt, an extraordinarily easy way to send files to people without having to talk them through how to receive them. But what if you are the one who needs a file sent to you, and you want to make it as easy as possible to get that request taken care of? You could explain Ge.tt to people (it really is easy), or you could be a bit more direct and use the tool that one of our readers brought to our attention: AirDropper. After all, when you need something from someone, the best way to get it is to require the fewest steps possible — and to sweeten the deal, AirDropper uses your Dropbox folder, so you will be able to access the file(s) from anywhere.
Getting set up with AirDropper is pretty straightforward. You head to www.airdropper.com and click START. You will then be redirected to Dropbox to authenticate the AirDropper service, which will add an AirDropper folder in your Dropbox folder. Once that’s done, you will head back to AirDropper, and will be presented with a form that allows you to send an email (from your email address of choice) to multiple recipients to request files. The email contains your message, and a large, friendly button that says Upload and brings the user to an even friendlier ADD FILES interface. The file or files — AirDropper has supported multiple file sends since about September of 2010 — will then be sent directly to your Dropbox with no fuss, no muss, and not a worry except for your storage limit.
Note: If you are sending sensitive files, be sure to have a look over the AirDropper terms of service first.
AirDropper is free while in beta, but will likely charge for some of their service in the future, which will likely include tiered pricing for things like the size of the transfer(s), etc. Either way, it is definitely a useful tool!
Thanks to Martin for bringing it to our attention!
Google Turns On the Torrent Censor
In December of 2010, Google announced that it was planning to make “copyright work better online.” One of those steps was to remove “terms that are closely associated with piracy” from autocompletes, making it slightly more difficult for those looking for ways to find less than legit files to use their service. It seems that Google has made good on its promise, removing several search terms — and portions of search terms — from both autocomplete and Google Instant.
While some may cheer this move on Google’s part, there are several parties who are finding this censorship to be unfair. 40Tech has taken an anti-piracy stance on more than one occasion, but we are also not fans of censorship. Companies like RapidShare, Megaupload, and BitTorrent are most definitely used by those participating in shady file-sharing, but they are also used for legitimate, and often useful, purposes, yet these sites can no longer be found via Google’s autocomplete or Instant features. Is it fair that they be given selective treatment when, as a representative of RapidShare states: “A search engine’s results should reflect the users’ interests and not Google’s or anybody else’s?”
The selection of banned terms seems to be arbitrary, as not all well-known torrent sites are affected — you can still find The Pirate Bay, for instance. Anything using the search term “torr,” however, has been removed, along with several other terms and bits of terms. This is unfortunate for anyone doing some quick research on the torr symbol (a non-SI unit of pressure), or the high-IQ society Torr.org, or Torr the thin film and nanotechnology company, or anyone with the last name of Torr — which shows that Google’s approach is somewhat less than perfect.
Image from TorrentFreak
At this point, only autocomplete and Instant are affected. You can still find whatever you might be looking for when you press enter — but good luck if you are looking for something legitimate that incorporates one of Google’s banned terms and are hoping for some suggested results.
What do you think of Google’s approach here? Is it a good thing — or is it yet another form of relatively pointless censorship? Will making torrents a little bit harder to search for on Google actually have any impact on piracy at all? Let us know in the comments.