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Filed under: Software, Deals

MacRabbit's Espresso has been updated to version 1.1, and along with it, the company is offering a contest where you can win a copy of the web development software for yourself and a friend. Version 1.0 was released back in March.

The contest takes on a nagging subject with a sense of humor. MacRabbit is challenging contestants to come up with witty "Buy Now" messages for the demo version of Espresso. Submissions can be sent via Twitter or e-mail.

Espresso 1.1 includes a revamped workspace, image preview, an improved projects organizer and other various improvements. You can find a complete list of changes here.

Espresso costs 59.95€ (nearly $88 USD) on its own, 49.95€ (a little more than $73 USD) for those who already own CSSEdit 2, and 79.90€ ($117 USD) if you want to purchase it with a copy of CSSEdit2. Espresso can be used in a full-featured trial mode for 15 days and requires OS X 10.5 or higher.

TUAWEspresso 1.1 arrives with 11-day giveaway originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)]

For this week's not-quite-the-holidays-yet giveaway, we've got a Band Hero prize pack for the Nintendo Wii and DS lined up for one lucky winner. That's right! Not just Band Hero for your silly old home console, but also for your handheld (that is, unless you have a Nintendo DSi or XXL -- sorry!). Prepare to be embraced by friends and relatives as a genuine American (or Canadian, excluding Quebec) hero while playing along to your favorite Taylor Swift song.

In honor of last night's Video Game Awards (and the subsequent flood of news and trailers), we're asking you to tell us what your favorite trailer or news was from the World Premiere-stravaganza. We'll pick one winner at random this week, so as always, be sure to keep an eye on the inbox!

• Leave a comment telling us what your favorite trailer or news was from last night's World Premiere-stravaganza (the VGAs).
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec -- likely because of The Kids in the Hall).
• Limit 1 entry per person per day
• This entry period ends at 7:31PM ET on Monday, December 13
  
• At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive one copy of Band Hero for Nintendo DS ($50 ARV) and one copy of Band Hero for Nintendo Wii ($50 ARV).
• For a list of complete rules, click here

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What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. For more info on our policy, click here.

Swag Sunday: Band Hero for everything Nintendo originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: Joystiq]

One of the main problems with initial Blu-ray director's chat sessions was a lack of feeling any life or interactivity, but Warner gave it another shot this weekend by offering audio over BD-Live as a moderator bounced audience provided questions off of director McG while watching Terminator: Salvation. Despite a less than stellar reputation, BD-Live has continued to slowly creep along, adding features and enhancements, so we wanted to if this event bodes well for the future of internet enabled discs. Check after the break for our impressions, plus a few clips of the director talking about what he did and didn't like about the finished product, director's cuts in general, and the possibility of doing another Terminator movie.

Continue reading Terminator: Salvation BD-Live director commentary impressions

Terminator: Salvation BD-Live director commentary impressions originally appeared on Engadget HD on Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: Engadget HD]

Filed under: Saving Money, Investing

Bryce Dallas Howard has a film career that includes roles in the megahit "Spider-Man 3" and the upcoming "Twilight: Eclipse." Her father, Ron Howard, has won an Oscar and directed worldwide blockbusters.

But it seems even Hollywood royalty can feel the economic pinch. Bryce said she and her husband, Seth Gabel, have had to readjust their lifestyle.

"We're needing to be significantly more responsible than before," Bryce told WalletPop in an interview to promote her new movie, "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond,"opening Dec. 30.

The 28-year-old actor said she had a recent conversation with her father in which he described his philosophy of personal finance. She listened. Bryce said she has no trust fund and has been financially independent from her family since leaving New York University in 2003.

Continue reading Saving money, the Ron Howard way

Saving money, the Ron Howard way originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: WalletPop Blog]

Filed under: Recession Diaries

As a record industry executive and owner of Minty Fresh Records, Chicago's Jim Powers has proved his creativity and eye for talent time and again. He discovered the Cowboy Junkies, was one of the first to sing the praises of Liz Phair, brought the music of the Cardigans to America, and turned Ralph Covert from an aging club rocker into a kids-music phenom.

So why is a guy like Powers dabbling in the world of iPhone apps, especially those designed to sniff out beer? It turns out that Powers, a beer connoisseur, found himself intrigued by the possibility of turning a pastime passion into a viable cash cow. And so, BeerCompass was born -- an app that locates suds and pubs anywhere on the planet.

WalletPop spoke with Powers not long after BeerCompass went public to find out what inspired his sudsy smart-phone creation, and how his detour into applications has fared financially.

WalletPop: Where did the idea for BeerCompass come from? Where were you, how did the idea come to you, and what was your first impulse once the light bulb went off?

Powers: I was talking with someone who was looking for marketing ideas for an app they were making for a festival, and I blurted out the idea of a compass dedicated to finding beer ... a "beer compass." I loved the idea and thought the compass had potential, so I made one.

Continue reading Will Jim Powers' BeerCompass point the way to money?

Will Jim Powers' BeerCompass point the way to money? originally appeared on WalletPop Blog on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last month we spoke with Heavy Rain executive producer Guillaume de Fondaumiere about Quantic Dream's upcoming PS3 adventure game. As a game far from the everyday, de Fondaumiere agreed that Heavy Rain has been a challenge to market. "It's a difficult game to market, because it's difficult for people to understand what it is unless they experience it," he admitted in our video interview above. "So we have to show it to them. We probably have to give them a playable demo for them to see and experience for themselves how different and unique this experience is."

We argued that a playable demo would simply reveal how unconventional the controls could be, to which de Fondaumiere responded: "You simply cannot use conventional game mechanisms when you want to create a unique experience. But I think that -- and user tests we've conducted show that -- you get used to it very quickly. It's quite intuitive. I'm not too concerned about this. At all, actually."

Finally, when asked if he had any final words to tell the Joystiq audience, de Fondaumiere advised fans not to sell the game back to GameStop after completing the story. "Buy the game, don't sell it. Keep it to yourself. You'll need it to continue and experience more episodes in the months following the launch of the game." So, DLC confirmed, right?

Video interview: Heavy Rain producer confirms DLC, talks game marketing originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: Joystiq [PlayStation]]

Green lovers have been patiently waiting for the commercialized version of OLPC's pull-string laptop charger, but in the meantime Easy Energy's YoGen should tide yank-happy hands over. Pulling the charger's lawnmower-style ripcord generates enough power through its patented alternator technology to charge up phones, iPods and a slew of other handheld gadgets. According to YoGen charging time is similar to that of standard AC adapters and gadgets can be brought back to life with just a few pulls -- as can be seen in the incredibly realistic videos below where YoGens magically appear to save the day, jump start an iPhone and help a man lie to his wife. Formal launch is due at CES, but those that can't wait to strengthen their hand muscles can preorder one now on YoGen's website for 40 bucks.

Continue reading YoGen ripcord charger available for the fidgety and eco-friendly

YoGen ripcord charger available for the fidgety and eco-friendly originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 14:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: Engadget]

Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Myers Motors

Myers Motors unveiled the NMG2 (or whatever its final name will be) back in September, and the company is already prepared to take pre-orders for the two-seat electric trike. The car's base price is $29,995 but, if a thousand people drop $250 on a pre-order, the price for everyone will drop by $5,000 (actually, for every 200 people who pre-order, Myers can get volume discounts and so will drop the price by $1,000). Myers will wait until June 5, 2010 to see how many pre-orders they have and set the final price then. Throw in an estimated Federal tax credit of $2,499.50, and Myers says the best possible price will be $22,495.50.

Of course, this is a vehicle and so there will be options. The only information on these released thus far are two upgraded battery packs. The base vehicle ships will a 60-mile li-ion pack, but 80-mile and 100-mile packs will also be available for $2,500 and $5,000 respectively. Myers says that more information will be made available later. Thanks to Sean P. for the tip!



[Source: Myers Motors]

NMG two-seat electric car now available for pre-order, could be as low as $22,495.50 originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: Autoblog Green]

Filed under: iPhone, Holidays

The card uses different colors of construction paper, card decorations, and an iPhone (!!!) to create the ultimate in holiday-mail technology. Combine the above with a scalpel or exacto knife, a little free time and elbow grease and what you get is a crafty and creative delivery medium for your loved one's gift that is sure to excite and delight. Of course, you have to start with an iPhone you're willing to give away...

Read on to see the video demonstration of how to construct the card.

[via Switched]

Continue reading World's most geeky Christmas card includes an iPhone

TUAWWorld's most geeky Christmas card includes an iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW)]

• Aliens In The Attic (Fox)
• I Love You, Beth Cooper (Fox)
• Say Anything... (Fox)
• Two Girls And A Guy (Fox)
• The Answer Man (Magnolia)
• Forrest Gump (Paramount)
• G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (Paramount)
• It's A Wonderful Life (Paramount)
• Command Performance (First Look)
• Direct Action (First Look)
• North By Northwest (Warner)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars - Season One (Warner)
• Not Forgotten (Anchor Bay)
• Rocky: The Undisputed Collection (MGM)
• The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (Sony)
• Earth 2100 (MPI)
• Food, Inc. (Magnolia)
• Howards End (Criterion)
• Wings Of Desire (Criterion)
• Love Actually (Universal)
• Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs (Image)
• The Narrows (Image)
• Witchblade: The Complete Series (Funimation)

Blu-ray releases on December 15th 2009 originally appeared on Engadget HD on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 15:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: Engadget HD]

Aww, we were having such a good time watching last night's Spike Video Game Awards show -- then the trailer for the recently dated UFC Undisputed 2010 aired, and really soured our enjoyment of the event. See, the first minute of the video utilizes the transformative special effects featured in Michael Jackson's "Black or White" music video, so immediately we started thinking about how this would be our first Christmas without MJ in our lives. Nothing could revive our good spirits after that. Not even Kimbo Slice's beard, which may be filled with hidden candies.

Check out the trailer after the jump, but feel free to skip to the 0:52 mark if you want to avoid the melancholy described above. Alternatively, skip to the 1:01 mark if you want to witness Kimbo's glorious, confection-rich facial hair.

Continue reading UFC Undisputed 2010 trailer reminds us of MJ, makes us sad

UFC Undisputed 2010 trailer reminds us of MJ, makes us sad originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: Joystiq [PlayStation]]

Filed under: Downloads, Action, Trailers

Old school sci-fi fans may be looking forward to the upcoming TRON: Legacy movie. Of course, where there's a movie based in a video game world, there's an actual game accompanying it. In comes TRON: Evolution, an action adventure game being developed to release before the movie. It looks like there's going to be strong collaboration between the movie and game development, but the game's plot will deal more with the TRON mythology and bridge events that occur between the two movies. The game is expected to release during the 2010 holiday season.

Download HD TRON: Evolution 'Virus' Trailer (90 MB)

TRON Evolution trailer infects the world originally appeared on Big Download Blog on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Read More... [Source: Big Download Blog]