maker

Many classic video games end with the hero getting the girl. There's Mario, Legend of Zelda, King Kong, and, now, Michele's Quest. You probably haven't heard of that last one because it's so new. It's the creation of Redditor Marchaka, who built the game as the key to an elaborate marriage proposal.

Michele's quest is a Final Fantasy-style role-playing video game built using the $70 RPG maker VX Ace from the Steam store. It took Marchaka 164 hours to put the game together and fill it with classic video game references and jokes.… Read more

Heavy audio users and those who like karaoke need specialized programs. MidiCo Karaoke Player and Maker for Mac purports to allow a number of karaoke related features, but its confusing interface and program glitches are problematic.

MidiCo Karaoke Player and Maker for Mac offers a free trial version, but playback is limited to two minutes. Unlocking the full version requires payment of $25.90. The program downloaded and installed quickly, which is expected from a small application. Upon startup, the application loads into a small window, which is difficult to interpret. After searching the drop-down menus, we found a link … Read more

It's so easy to take pictures and store them on your PC that you could quickly end up with the digital equivalent of the old shoebox stuffed with photos. You keep meaning to organize them into displays or albums, but it just never happens and eventually you aren't even sure who some of the people are or why you took the photos. Thankfully, Picture Collage Maker Pro offers a simple way to help you organize your photos into customized albums, calendars, special occasion cards, and more.

As soon as Picture Collage Maker Pro is installed, you're directed … Read more

For those users who have multiple disks with hundreds of files, organizing them may be a challenge. DiskCatalogMaker for Mac works well to organize these files, but most users will not find the limited features useful.

DiskCatalogMaker is available as a free trial version; the full purchase price is $29.99. Download and installation completed quickly, despite the lack of a native installer. Unfortunately, there were no obvious instructions to DiskCatalogMaker, but there are updates available. The program started quickly, but the interface was poorly designed. Instructions would have been helpful for all but the most sophisticated users. There are … Read more

MakerBot and open-source hardware pioneers Adafruit Industries have partnered to produce a limited edition Adafruit Replicator 2 3D Printer bundle.

For $2,295, buyers get a Replicator 2 -- one of the hottest consumer-grade 3D printers on the market today -- and three of Adafruit's most-popular kits. A Replicator 2 normally sells for $2,200.

The three kits included in the package are Adafruit's MintyBoost V3.0, an open-source hardware charger; a 512MB RAM Raspberry Pi Model B; and a Timesquare do-it-yourself watch kit with a red display matrix. … Read more

AUSTIN, Texas--What's next for 3D printing? MakerBot founder and CEO Bre Pettis answered that question in all-capital letters during his opening keynote speech here at South by Southwest 2013.

"LASERS," read a slide with factoid about his company's latest 3D printer, the MakerBot Digitizer.

"It's kind of like Tron," Pettis explained, as a prototype of the new printer fired its laser scanners at a garden gnome.

Introduced by South by Southwest Interactive director Hugh Forrest as the "hero of South by," Pettis started this year's conference with a brief history … Read more

MakerBot CEO Bre Pettis says his 3D printing company is working on a desktop 3D scanner called the Digitizer, to help ease the process of translating real-world objects into a 3D-printable software file.… Read more

For those who need custom disc labels, native programs may not have enough options. Fortunately, there are plenty of other programs to chose from. While functional, CD/DVD Disc Label Maker for Mac's price tag may not be justifiable for all but the heaviest users.

The free trial version of CD/DVD Disc Label Maker for Mac adds a mark to every disc printed while the full, unrestricted version requires a $29.99 payment. The program is nearly 100MB and has no native installer. While the program loaded quickly, the user is immediately prompted to enter, register, and pay … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Makerbong? 3D printing is getting stoned.

- Bloomberg's next ban may be loud headphones.

- A petition to change the national anthem to R. Kelly's 2003 hit "Ignition (Remix)."

- 404 Archive News: 404 Redditor fanbanlo posted a link to download 1,217 archived episodes of the show. Canoy took care of a search for all 404 episodes on CNET.… Read more