Google Earth iOS Update Adds Bike Routes, Earth Gallery And More

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Now you can access earthquake info, bike routes and lots more from within Google Earth ittself

Google Earth just got what turns out to be rather a big update. On paper it seems like nothing more than a few interface tweaks and the ability to open KML and KMZ files linked from Safari, but one new bullet point — “Touring support: load tours from the Earth Gallery or from mountain layer” — turns the map app into something entirely different.

First, V6.2.0 does have few other changes and fixes. The aforementioned ability to launch KML and KMZ files in Google Earth when clicked in the browser is actually very useful, letting you browse many travel and outdoor sites for routes and see them in a native app. Also, tapping on the screen to zoom now zooms in on the spot you tapped instead of the center of the screen.

But it’s the Earth Gallery which stands out. You launch it from the wrench at the top of the screen, and you get a sheet which lets you search for anything in the gallery. This includes travel tips, but also route-finding websites.

The Wikiloc layer is an amazing resource for bikes and hikers

One of these is Wikiloc, a wiki for sharing GPS routes. I use it to search for places to tour on my bike, or routes that will keep me away from major roads. With the new Google Earth you can not only open these routes directly in the app, but they are actually overlaid in a new layer right there in the app.

It’s super-neat. Activate the layer and the current map gets a lot of little icons showing hiking or cycling routes. Tap one, and it gives an overview of the route, with distance, elevation and so on. Tap again to show the route on the map as a thin white line. You can’t do a fly through like you can in the desktop version, but it’s a great way to fond a route when you’re out and about.

As ever, Google Earth is free. If you have any interest in the outdoors whatsoever, you should be downloading it for your iPhone or iPad right now.

 

 

(Via Cult of Mac.)

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How iTunes Could Kill Windows 8 Tablets

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It seems unlikely you'll ever see an iTunes icon here.

Despite being totally dedicated to Mac OS X right now, I can’t help but get excited about Windows 8. Having enjoyed the Metro UI experience with Windows Phone, I can’t wait to try it out on a tablet. And I know a lot of users feel the same way. But one thing that could put many of them off Windows 8 slates is the lack of iTunes.

Microsoft knows this, and it knows it’s a real problem that could kill Windows 8 tablets before they’ve even hit the market in the minds of many consumers.

For Microsoft to make Windows 8 a success, it’ll need the support of its biggest rival: Apple. A huge portion of Windows users use iOS devices that they sync with their PCs, and the iTunes Store for purchasing music, movies, TV shows, and apps. Of course, they need iTunes to do that.

The problem is, Windows 8 tablets run a touch-friendly version of the operating system built for ARM processors that exclusively uses the Metro user interface. It’s not like the PC version, which allows you to switch between the Metro and traditional Windows UIs. And because of this, Microsoft is encouraging developers to adapt their applications for the Metro UI.

There’s a good chance that Apple — a company famous for playing by its own rules — will decide it doesn’t want to play ball. And if that turns out to be the case, it’s one reason why consumers may decide not to adopt a Windows 8 tablet.

Rick Sherland, an analyst with Nomura Securities, believes “the incentive is for Apple not to do this.”

“If I can’t get iTunes on [a Windows 8 on ARM tablet],” Sherland continued, “that’s a big deal for me.”

Of course, Windows 8 does come with its own music app, which users could transfer all of their content to. But it’s not iTunes, and it won’t sync with iOS devices.

This is a problem Microsoft has been thinking about, according to Jay Greene over at CNET. Although the company declined to comment on the matter, its CEO, Steve Ballmer, revealed last year that Microsoft would “welcome Metro-style application from Apple in the iTunes case.”

“I don’t know what we’d see there,” Ballmer said. “But we’d certainly welcome those.”

Apple also declined to comment, CNET reports.

Do you think Apple will adapt iTunes for the Metro UI? And would a lack of iTunes encourage you to avoid Windows 8 tablets?

 

 

(Via Cult of Mac.)

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Make Windows XP Boot-Up Faster With A Quick Registry Tweak

I can not say exactly how much faster, since it all depends on your computer specifications (processor, RAM, hard-drive and stuff like that…), but from my experience, this tweak decreased the time to boot-up for about 9-10 seconds.Let’s get straight to the point. This Windows XP registry tweak will make your system boot much faster. How much?

Now you see how great this registry tweak is and it will get even better when you see how simple it is to apply. I will do my best to show you step-by-step and make it plain simple and of course with screenshots included.

How to make Windows XP start faster:

1. Click on “Start” on the taskbar.

2. Click “Run” located in the start menu.

3. Then in the “Run” panel, type: “regedit” without the quotation marks. (that will open up the Windows registry editor)

4. Then click on “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE” and expand it.

5. Then click on “SYSTEM” and expand it.

6. Then scroll down, and expand “CurrentControlSet”.

7. Under that, expand “Control”.

8. Then, under that one, locate and click on “ContentIndex”. (so when you click on it, it needs to be highlighted and it’s options need to show up in the right panel of Windows XP Registry Editor)

So to sum up, here’s where you need to navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CurrentControlSet \ Control \ ContentIndex

Let’s continue… You have just 6 more steps until the finish line!

9. When you have clicked on “ContentIndex” and it is highlighted and you see the options and parameters on the right side of the panel… Among those, you need to scroll all the way to the bottom and find the Registry key named “StartupDelay”.

10. Double-click on it and a new window panel will pop-up.

12. The new window has a field to enter value (and a default value entered already). But before you change the value, you need to change the base from Hexadecimal to Decimal. Take a look at the screenshot below to see what I am talking about:

Now when you change it to Decimal, it displays a different value (480000 instead of 75300).

13. So now, all you need to do is change the value from “480000” to “40000” (forty thousand)

Many people ask me if they can change it to an even smaller value than 40000, but I would not recommend doing that. I tested it and it doesn’t work. I did not feel any difference in boot-up time when I change it to value less than 40000 (and no, you can’t put 0 either).

14. After you’ve completed all the steps above, click “OK” and close the Registry Editor.

And one just one little thing you need to do to finish all this registry tweaking…

15. Restart your computer.

Now you can notice big difference in time that your system takes to boot-up. Mine was faster for 10 seconds than usual. How much faster does your Windows XP boot now? Share in the comments below!

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Changuito - Evolution of the Tumbadoras

Rhythms, techniques, and improvisation are the subjects of this tumbadora, or conga, masterclass conducted by legendary percussionist Changuito. Giovanni Hidalgo acts as interviewer as Changuito covers the essential movements for creating a sound with control. Demonstrated patterns include son montuno, guajira, batanga, abakua, palo, and bembe. Language: English/Spanish Year: 1996 Country: USA Running time: 01:30:41 Quality: DVD5 Video: NTSC 4:3 (720x480) VBR Audio: Dolby AC3, 2 ch Booklet: No Size: 3.2 Gb Dowmload DVD Here

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iOS 5.1 Has Been Jailbroken

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You just can’t keep the Dev Team down. Just hours after Apple officially released iOS 5.1, it’s already been jailbroken. But as usual with these 0-day jailbreaks, there are some caveats.

The iPhone Dev Team has just announced that they have updated their popular Redsn0w jailbreak tool to allow people to run unsigned code on their iPhones, iPod touches and iPads. But there are some drawbacks.

First of all, if you’ve got an iPhone 4S or iPad 2, you need not apply. The A5′s security against jailbreaking is a lot beefier than previous devices (expect this trend to continue with the A5X) and Redsn0w can’t crack it.

Secondly, this is a tethered jailbreak, meaning that every time you power off your device, you need to connect your device to a computer to boot it up again if you want it in jailbroken state. A little inconvenient, but not the end of the world.

Look for our official jailbreak tutorial later today, but in the meantime, you can download Redsn0w 0.9.10b6 here, and our old tutorial on jailbreaking iOS 5.0.1 for Redsn0w should be roughly compatible with the new update. Best of luck!

 

 

(Via Cult of Mac.)

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Roberta Radley - Harmonic Ear Training

Roberta Radley is the assistant chair of the Ear Training Department at Berklee College of Music. She has been using innovative methods to help her students her music more analytically for almost thirty years. SHe also performs regularly as a pianist and vocalist. A vital introduction to ear training for songwriters and performers looking to improve their listening skills and become better musicians. Starting with the bass line, you'll learn a step-by-step approach to help you break down the hearing process, internalize the music, and then identify the elements of the progression. Harmonic Ear Training will help you to: Recognize chord progressions quickly and confidently Incorporate chord progressions into your writing and performing Learn to listen to music more analytically, and apply this knowledge to all your projects Language: English Year: 2004 Country: USA Running time: 01:41:31 Quality: DVD5 Video: MPEG2 720x480 NTSC, 4:3, 29.970 fps Audio: AC3, 192 Kbps, 48.0 KHz, 2 ch Booklet: No Size: 3.8 Gb Download DVD Here

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Skype 5.6 For Mac Released with Automatic Updates, Lion Full-Screen, New Group Video Calling UI

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Earlier today, Skype updated its Mac client with a series of new features, bringing the app to version 5.6 up from the 5.5 beta released in January. Among the most notable improvements, full-screen support for OS X Lion will allow Skype users to eliminate distractions and focus on the chat or call at hand by putting the app in a dedicated workspace on 10.7. Speaking of calls, group video calling received a fresh coat of paint with an improved user interface design that now allows for easy switching between dynamic and non-dynamic modes — when dynamic mode is on, the person who is speaking is moved automatically to the top of the window, similarly to how Hangouts work on Google+.

Whilst still featuring the much criticized window design that was introduced with version 5.0 last year, Skype is making some subtle improvements to the app. For instance, messages can be removed from conversations now, and entire conversations can be deleted from the sidebar (and the history). The first-run experience has also been redesigned, now including a handy tutorial to show what’s new in the latest version of Skype, and guide users though some basic steps such as making a call. Equally important it’s the new Automatic Updates function, which will make sure Skype is running the latest version available and will relaunch the app every once in a while if an update has been detected and downloaded in the background. This option can be disabled in the Preferences.

Skype 5.6 is a recommended update for all Skype for Mac users (it also contains bug fixes), and it can be downloaded here.

"

 

(Via MacStories.)

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Parallels Desktop v7.0.15055 MAC OSX-P2P

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Here’s a nice software for many Mac user. Personally i prefer to use VMWare Fusion for OSX, i think it’s more faster than parallels…

Description:
Parallels Desktop is simply the world’s bestselling, top-rated, and most trusted solution for running Windows applications on your Mac. With Parallels Desktop for Mac, you can seamlessly run both Windows and Mac OS X applications side-by-side without rebooting. Drag-and-drop files between Windows and Mac applications, launch Windows applications from your Mac dock, and do much more with speed, control and confidence.

Seamless Simplicity Use Run Windows programs like they were native to your Mac. Setting up Parallels Desktop for Mac is simple and quick. Enjoy the best of both worlds – Windows and Mac OS X – on one seamless desktop.

Performance and Personalization Experience as much or as little Windows as you want. Multiple view modes make it possible for you to customize the level of integration between Mac and Windows without compromising performance.

Version 7.0.15055:

• Support for OS X Mountain Lion (experimental).
• Support for Windows 8 Consumer Preview (experimental).
• Download and install Windows 8 Consumer Preview right from the Parallels Wizard.

Release name: Parallels.Desktop.v7.0.15055.MAC.OSX-P2P
Size: 304MB
Links: Homepage – NFO

Download: TURBOBiT

 

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