platformer

Twitter expands ad platform with 10,000 more businesses

Twitter moved one step up from its beta self-serve ad testing today and will now allow tens of thousands more self-serve ads on its site, according to Ad Age.

In a new promotion with American Express, Twitter will let AmEx cardholders and merchants who accept AmEx buy ads on its site. American Express will supposedly give each buyer a $100 advertising credit to get started placing ads on promoted tweets and accounts.

In December, Twitter announced it would start testing self-service ads with about 100 advertisers. The aim, Twitter said, was to make it easier for small- and medium-size companies … Read more

Author Solutions dances into the DIY e-book market with Booktango

With the boom in e-readers, self-publishing has become big business, and Author Solutions, one of the largest self-publishers in the U.S., has entered the DIY e-book market in a big way with Booktango.

Whether Booktango should be called an "e-book generating app" or "self-publishing platform" is hard to say, but it basically provides a free and simple way to upload your manuscript, edit it for proper formatting, then automatically serve it up to various e-bookstores, including Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and iBooks.

On the surface, Booktango, which bears the "beta" tag, looks fairly slick … Read more

Games that make you rage on iOS

Old-school gamers will remember an age when there were no continues, no checkpoints, and no respawns. If you died during a level, that was it--you went back to the beginning of the level to do it all again. The craziest thing about it? You liked it even though it drove you crazy.

These days, a gaming purist might say games have gotten too easy and gamers have gotten too soft. When dying in a game doesn't mean anything, how can you truly enjoy the game? I'm not sure it matters, but I can see both sides. Maybe after checking out this collection--if you don't throw your iPhone through your computer screen from frustration--you can tell me what you think in the comments.… Read more

Relive a console classic

Sonic CD is an excellent iOS port of what's widely considered the best game in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, an ill-fated but critically acclaimed 1993 release for the Sega CD console.

Anyone who has even passing familiarity with video game history will know the Sonic schtick--speeding around, spinning and jumping, and collecting rings--and the coolest thing that sets Sonic CD apart from other Sonic titles is a time-traveling feature that essentially lets you experience three different versions of each level (past, present, and future). The game looks and feels like the original, with settings and unlockable extras that … Read more

Netgear unveils Smart Network Cloud App Platform, invites developers

LAS VEGAS--Netgear announced today at CES 2012 its Smart Network Cloud Application Platform (SNCP), which enables consumers to purchase and download apps from the cloud to optimize and personalize their networking devices.

The company says Smart Network apps, ranging from games to tools and utilities, can be developed by anyone. For example, an independent programmer can develop a simple data-usage meter app that alerts consumers when their data cap is about to run out. Utility companies can also provide applications that allow users to monitor their energy usage. Or game developers can provide apps that optimize the connection for high-bandwidth games.… Read more

Games that swing on iOS

All of us, at one time or another, probably wished we could swing from building to building like Spider-Man, but the laws of physics (and lack of web-shooting glands on our wrists) make that dream impossible.

Fortunately there are iOS games that let you use ropes and grappling hooks to go for the greatest distance. Each has different objectives and skills you'll need to master, but the swinging mechanic is what sets them apart from other games in the iTunes App Store.

This week's app collection is all about swinging games. The first lets you methodically swing for … Read more

What a sneaky Stealth Bastard

Stealth Bastard is stealthy PC action game  filled with obstacles, deadly pitfalls, and of course, espionage action.

Created by Curve Studios, Stealth Bastard: Tactical Espionage Arsehole (for Windows) is a free side-scrolling platformer that that encourages using both stealth tactics and speed to race against the clock. Players control a ninjalike spy who can jump and cling to walls, hack through consoles, and sneak around the shadows. Dodge security cameras, killer lasers, and bladed pinwheels while running as fast as you can to the exit. Play through dozens of levels, download user-submitted stages, or create your own … Read more

HP mulling deal to unload WebOS, report says

Hewlett-Packard is considering a plan to unload its WebOS business in a deal that could net the company hundreds of millions of dollars, unidentified sources have told Reuters.

While Reuters doesn't identify who the potential buyer might be, it does note that the sales price would be well below the $1.2 billion that HP paid for Palm.

HP representatives did not respond to a request for comment on the report.

The mobile platform's future has been in limbo since then-CEO Leo Apotheker announced during an August earnings call that the company would discontinue operations for WebOS devices, … Read more

Online video startup Qwilt raises $24 million

As consumers turn more to mobile devices to watch Internet video, the greater the burden that traffic places on wireless carriers and Internet service providers.

Qwilt, a provider of video-infrastructure products, aims to ease that burden by preparing networks for the expected explosion in Internet video traffic. The company announced today it has raised $24 million in two rounds of funding from Accel Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Crescent Point Group, and Real Networks founder Rob Glaser.

"The explosion of Internet video viewed through all types of Web-enabled devices, from smartphones to iPads, calls for new technology to help the consumer … Read more