GeekwithEnvy

Richard Vincenti Jr

Free My Apps!

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I was browsing the web and tinkering around with apps when I stumbled upon this little gem.

FreeMyAppsLogo

FreeMyApps.com is a site that allows you to try out free apps and in return you get some points. Each app you download needs to be ran for at least 30 seconds and each app will offer a differing amount of points for using it. Once you accumulate enough points you can then turn them in for gift cards. Sound to good to be true? Yeah, I though so myself until I recieved my first gift card of $25 for Amazon.com. Yep, it really is that simple and you can access FreeMyApps through your favorite mobile iOS device (iPhone,iPad, iPodTouch).

What’s nice about this site is that quite often I find I actually enjoy some of the apps I try out. Some apps that I really like I may not have ever found or thought of trying, but did because I wanted the points. So, this actually works out really well for both you and the software developer. In fact, if you are a developer you can work with FreeMyApps to get your app put on their site. Simply head here to add your app to the list.

Test driving apps isn’t the only way you can earn points. If you can get a friend to use FreeMyApps on their iOS device and try one app from the list of apps to download, you will get rewarded even more points.

The website is offering iTunes gift cards in $10,$15,$25,and $50 amounts along with Amazon gift cards in amounts of $1,$2,$5,$10,$15,and $25. You can also get a $4 Postagram Gift Card.

All you need to do to get started is visit FreeMyApps on your iOS device then install the device profile for FreeMyApps, then start downloading and using free apps to earn points.

Asteroid Gets Very Close To Earth

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Eros Asteroid
Eros Asteroid (NASA)

On September 13th a fairly large asteroid came within 1.8 million miles of Earth, that may seem quite far way but that’s only about 7.5 times the distance that the Moon is away from Earth. The asteroid is named 2012 QG42 and was only recently discovered on August 26, 2012. Classified as being a PHA or potentially hazardous asteroid, the asteroid itself is estimated to be about 625 to 1,400 feet long but posed a minimal threat to Earth as it flew by. However, it is predicted that the asteroid will be making another trip near our home planet in the distant future that we will have to keep a close eye on.

As recently as March of 2012 we had another asteroid fly by us that was even closer, it was approximately 40,000 miles away which is very close considering the Moon is about 239,000 miles away. That asteroid was about 200 feet wide and had it hit Earth, it would have released about as much energy as one atomic bomb. Obviously it’s extremely important to keep an eye on the large debris that is floating around our solar system and we need to continue to research ways to defend our selves against these giant rocks. NASA claims to know where about 90% of the large PHA category asteroids are in our solar system, but just like 2012 QG42 you never know when one will sneak up on us.

Near Earth Asteroid Chart

Near Earth Asteroid Chart (NASA)

The largest recorded impact in recent history  was the Tunguska event which occurred in Siberia, Russia around 7:14 am local time. The large 220 million-pound asteroid hurdled through Earth’s atmosphere before finally breaking up under tremendous forces and basically exploding causing a massive amount of energy to be released. The explosion was said to be about 1000 times more powerful than the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima, which destroyed about 80 million trees in an area around 850 square miles.

Natives in the area near the impact described seeing light as bright as the sun and experiencing shock waves that knocked them off of their feet. Over the next few days after the impact the skies above Asia and Europe continued to glow as ice particles that were forced high up in the atmosphere reflected sunlight down on Earth from beyond the horizon.

Get Ready For The WiiU

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Nintendo will be releasing the Wii U on November 18th, 2012 and it looks pretty awesome. The Wii U will come with the all new WiiU game pad which has a 6.2″, 16:9 aspect ratio, LCD touch screen which has developers coming up with some pretty unique ways for you to interact with your favorite games. The handheld device also has a front facing camera and motion control. The new gamepad controller is a mini gaming powerhouse on it’s own that will allow Wii U owners to play their favorite games even when you can’t use your TV. With TVii you will be able to watch movies, TV shows and more right on your Wii U gamepad.

WiiU Controller

The Wii U console it self  is similar to the original Wii but with a more rounded look which comes in both black and white. Nintendo also has released a new Wii U Pro controller that looks similar to another well known controller on the market and should be useful when more precise controls are needed. Of course, the new WiiU just wouldn’t feel new unless it was capable of delivering HD graphics, which it does at 720p,1080i,and 1080p. What about your old Wii games? Well most all of your Wii games will work just fine with the new console, though I’m not sure how they will look with an HD output.

WiiUProControlWhite

 

The Wii U will be available in two versions, the Deluxe Set which will have 32GB of internal storage along with a Nintendo Land video game, Wii U Game pad Stand, Wii U Game pad Cradle, and Wii U console stand, Wii U Game pad with stylus and a Digital Promotion that will allow gamers to accumulate points for future downloads on the Nintendo eShop. The Basic Set will include 8GB of internal storage, Wii U Game pad with stylus, sensor bar, and power adapters and both versions will include an HDMI cable.

The Deluxe Set will be priced at $349.99

The Basic Set will be priced at $299.99

I personally am glad to see the return of Pikmin which looks absolutely amazing in HD on the new Wii Console. The new console will really help Nintendo match up with other gaming console features and not only that but I think in many ways, with the new gamepad, I think it should really stand out. The idea of bringing a mobile concept and merging it with the WiiU I think is really smart. The timing of the release feels right too and I think it should sell well in the U.S. Again, the console goes on sale 11-18-2012.

Want the full rundown of WiiU information? Head on over to Nintendo’s official page.

iPhone 5 Announcement

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Apple announced the much anticipated iPhone 5 today which is loaded up with plenty of new features along with a new thinner and lighter design. Overall, I think Apple really has brought the iPhone up to par with what most consumers were expecting or hoping to see in this latest revamp. So here’s a rundown of the major design changes and features to get you up-to-speed.

iPhone5 Black

iPhone5 White

Design Changes

The iPhone 5 is 18% thinner and 20% lighter and now features a larger retina display of 4″,  which is up from the previous 3.5″.The extra screen real estate is nice and it isn’t too overpowering, this extra space will allow for a new row of icons, which I think is pretty nice. The screen is also wide enough to support a 16:9 aspect ratio. Touch sensors are now built in the display which is what allows the new phone to be much thinner.  The glass back has been replaced by mostly metal now which will prevent the phone from cracking if you accidentally drop it. The dock connector and SIM card are also much smaller and the dock connector no longer requires that you have it facing towards the front, it will work both ways.

Power

With the new A6 chip the iPhone 5 will be much faster, up to about 2x as fast. Graphics also get an overhaul here and will deliver a faster, smoother experience when gaming. The battery life promises to be strong by offering 8 hours of browsing, 8 hours of talk, and 10 hours of video playback.

Camera

The new camera will allow you to take panoramic images and will feature the ability to record video in 1080p HD. You will also be able to use the front facing camera for FaceTime, which you will be able to initiate over your cellular network now instead of just Wi-Fi.

Sound

The iPhone has an additional microphone and the speakers get a bit of a touch up by adding more magnets which are supposed to improve audio quality. The phone will support wideband to make voices sound more natural. The speakers have also been designed to take up much less space and offer better noise canceling.

iOS 6

iOS 6 will come already installed on the new device and will feature FaceTime over 3G, Apple Maps, and new updates to Siri, just to name a few.

Network Support

iPhone 5 will support 4G LTE networks as well and claims that battery performance will still be solid despite the power demands of 4G. Wi-Fi performance will also be much better on the iPhone 5 with the addition of 802.11n wireless connectivity.

Price

The iPhone 5 will be priced as follows:

16GB – $199

32GB – $299

64GB – $399

The iPhone 5 will be available in two different colors, black and slate or white and silver.

For complete details on the new iPhone you can head to Apple’s official site.

 

World Of Warcraft Screenshots Contain User Info

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When you want to take a screenshot in World of Warcraft you can press the print screen button. However, players are starting to complain that the game is placing watermarks on their screenshots that contain User ID’s, timestamps, and server IP addresses. The watermarks may have been there since 2008.

World Of Warcraft Logo

PCGamer believes that the watermarks were in place so Blizzard could track down players who are using private servers and breaking the terms of service.

So what’s the big deal? Well, basically this information could be used to track other players down allowing someone to stalk you or try to get you tangled up in a phishing scam.

So what can you do? You can remove the watermark by changing your screenshot quality to the highest setting. You can change your screenshots to this setting by typing: /console SET screenshotQuality “10″.

Blizzard has not officially replied to any questions about the watermarks but I imagine they will have to address the issue sooner or later.