Monday, May 28, 2012

Steam On Mobile Is Going Places

Valve’s new Steam Mobile service is probably one of the best apps that I use with my Android, even though it’s only a few months old. There could be some improvements made, but Valve is already working on that.

Gamasutra talked to Kutta Srinivasan, a Valve engineer, about the app and where it is going. It’s most fascinating to see how the process of building the app first came about. There were already Steam apps on Android and iOS, but they were very limited in what they could do. They didn’t have access to the entirety of Steam, but Valve does and they used that to their advantage.

If you’ve used the app yet, you know that it looks amazingly like the PC counterpart with some mobile flair. Keeping the look and feel of Steam on the PC was an important goal for the team according to Srinivasan. That’s a good thing as the other Steam apps on mobile platforms aren’t very aesthetically pleasing.

Valve is going to keep on building the app and make it more like its PC counterpart. At least for now, the changes coming are “better screenshot support and the ability to view your game library.” This is fantastic news for me as I love looking at the screenshots my friends take in-game.

An interesting point to note is that chat is the most used feature of Steam mobile. The only problem they need to fix in regards to that is when you’re logged in to Steam on your PC and mobile device. Getting notifications on both can get pretty annoying after a while.

What do you think about Steam Mobile? Is it everything you’ve ever wanted? Or can Valve improve some features besides those listed? Let us know in the comments.


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Reddit Is Fun App Banned From Google Play

Reddit Is Fun App Banned From Google Play

When it comes to apps in either the Android Market Google Play store or Apple’s Appstore, developers have always walked a fine line when it comes to products that contain sexual content. Apps that contain porn or other explicit materials have been routinely banned from Apple’s Appstore and (to a lesser degree) the Android Market.

Now, an app that many would say truly embodies the phrase “walking a fine line” has been banned from Google Play. Developer Andrew Shu took to reddit and then Google+ to express his shock that his app, Reddit is Fun, was removed from the store:

Wow. I wasn’t expecting this. I got 2 emails from the Google Play Store telling me my apps, reddit is fun lite and pro, have been banned for sexually explicit material.

I’m not sure how to go about appealing this. After all it’s true that reddit content includes NSFW content. Not sure exactly why my app was singled out and the other reddit apps weren’t, though.

Any thoughts? Should I even bother appealing? As always I appreciate your input, /r/android. Thanks.

EDIT: I posted on Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/108576990588738594191/posts/8LfJmKX48R2 maybe it would help to gain awareness through that avenue? Thanks for all your support, guys.

There are a lot of questions that immediately come to mind here. First, the one Shu pointed out himself. Why was his app singled out? BaconReader and redditmag are still there, for instance.

One reddit commenter seems to think that it’s simply an issue of some NSFW subreddits now being listed as default with the new version of the app:

I think it’s because with the new build you have gonewild and the likes in the subreddit list. Perhaps ask if you can have a NSFW toggle in the settings or just exclude the main nsfw subreddits in the list. I dont think its a big deal cause obviously you aren’t going to include all subreddits anyway.

If so, that would probably be an easy fix. The other angle on this is why would a reddit app be banned in the first place, even for containing NSFW subreddits by default?

The Google Play Business and Program Policy clearly states that…

We don’t allow content that contains nudity, graphic sex acts, or sexually explicit material. We also don’t allow content that drives traffic to commercial pornography sites.

Google has a zero-tolerance policy against child pornography. If we become aware of content with child pornography, we will report it to the appropriate authorities and delete the Google Accounts of those involved with the distribution.

But as Android Police points out, the Google Play page for App Content ratings clearly includes a subset for “high-maturity” apps, which says:

Applications in this category may focus on or include frequent instances of sexual and suggestive content; graphic violence; social features; simulated gambling; and strong alcohol, tobacco and drug references. Applications may collect user location data for the purpose of sharing or publishing with the user’s consent.

Plus, reddit walks that fine line, but at its core it is simply a place to find NSFW content. So is an browser, or app that functions as a search engine. It’s not like reddit apps are the only ones that you can use to find pornographic content.


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Samsung Clarifies U.S. Release Date For Ice Cream Sandwich

Samsung Clarifies U.S. Release Date For Ice Cream Sandwich

This morning we reported that Samsung had announced that it was beginning to roll out upgrades to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich to customers with the Galaxy S II smartphone.

Samsung announced that the update would be available in Korea and several European countries today. A release in the UK is scheduled for March 19th, pending carrier testing and approval. There was no information in the announcement about the release of Ice Cream Sandwich on Galaxy S II phones in the US.

As part of this morning’s story, a request for more information was sent to Samsung. They had not replied by the time the story ran, however a Samsung representative sent the following statement just a few minutes ago:

Samsung is in close communication with both Google and our carrier partners to upgrade eligible devices to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich as quickly and as smoothly as possible. Specific models that are upgradable to ICS will vary by market. Other specifics for the ICS upgrade in the U.S. have not been announced.

So there you have. It looks like US Samsung customers will have to wait a bit longer for the update. While it is undoubtedly in Samsung’s best interest to get Ice Cream Sandwich to its devices in the US market as quickly as possible, there doesn’t seem to be any timeline for doing so.


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Sunday, May 27, 2012

Crave giveaway: Wahoo Run/Gym Pack for iPhone

Crave giveaway: Wahoo Run/Gym Pack for iPhone | Crave - CNET CNET Home Reviews Cell Phones Camcorders Digital Cameras Laptops TVs Car Tech Forums Appliances Cell Phone Accessories Components Desktops E-book Readers Games and Gear GPS Hard Drives & Storage Headphones Home Audio Home Video Internet Access Monitors MP3 Players Networking and Wi-Fi Peripherals Printers Software Tablets Web Hosting You are here: News Latest News Mobile Startups Cutting Edge Media Security Business Tech Health Tech Crave Apple Microsoft Politics & Law Gaming & Culture Blogs Video Photos RSS Download Windows Software Mac Software Mobile Apps Web Apps The Download Blog CNET TV Products Tech Shows How To Most Popular New Releases How To Computers Home Theater Smartphones Tablets Web Marketplace Today's Deals Exclusive Deals Coupon Codes Marketplace Blog Log In | Join Log In Join CNET Sign in with My profile Log out Click Here
CNET News Crave Crave giveaway: Wahoo Run/Gym Pack for iPhone Get your heart rate pumping with this week's Crave giveaway, the Wahoo Run/Gym Pack for the iPhone.

Bonnie Cha by Bonnie Cha March 23, 2012 12:01 AM PDT Follow @bonnieCNET (Credit:Wahoo Fitness)

Did you make a New Year's resolution to work out more? How's that going for you? Well, if you need a little help or extra motivation, then you'll love this week's giveaway.

Up for grabs is the Wahoo Run/Gym Pack for the iPhone. The fitness bundle includes a soft heart-rate monitor and a wireless Wahoo Key. The latter attaches to youriPhone via the 30-pin connector and wirelessly communicates with the monitor to read and record your heart rate.

The dongle features an ANT+ receiver, so it can work with other ANT+ fitness devices, such as a bike sensor, and is compatible with the iPhone 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S andiPad. Wahoo also offers a number of downloadable apps that you can use with the pack to track your workouts, calculate calories burned, and more.

Normally, the Wahoo Run/Gym Pack for the iPhone would run you $119.99, but you can get it for free. How? Well, there are a few rules, so please read carefully.

Register as a CNET user. Go to the top of this page and hit the Join CNET link to start the registration process. If you're already registered, there's no need to register again.Leave a comment below. You can leave whatever comment you want. If it's funny or insightful, it won't help you win, but we're trying to have fun here, so anything entertaining is appreciated.Leave only one comment. You may enter for this specific giveaway only once. If you enter more than one comment, you will be automatically disqualified.The winner will be chosen randomly. The winner will receive one (1) Wahoo Run/Gym Pack for iPhone with a retail value of $119.99. If you are chosen, you will be notified via e-mail. The winner must respond within three days of the end of the contest. If you do not respond within that period, another winner will be chosen.Entries can be submitted until Monday, March 26, at 12 p.m. ET.

And here's the disclaimer that our legal department said we had to include (sorry for the caps, but rules are rules):

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. YOU HAVE NOT YET WON. MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENT OF ONE OF THE 50 UNITED STATES OR D.C., 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AT DATE OF ENTRY INTO SWEEPSTAKES. VOID IN PUERTO RICO, ALL U.S. TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS AND WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Sweepstakes ends at 12 p.m. ET on Monday, March 26, 2012. See official rules for details.

Good luck.

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