Thursday, May 10, 2012

Want to write for Gnome Tech?

We over here at Gnome Tech are always searching for new writers to keep our website pushing out as much news as possible. We are now opening up this opportunity to the public and allowing our readers to take part in the Gnome Tech experience.

Below is a list of what we are looking for

  • People well versed in the world of tech
  • The ability to write easy to understand articles
  • Knowledge of a number of operating systems
  • Ability to write articles on a weekly basis 
This position is unpaid and is open to anyone. If you would like to apply or have any further questions you can email us at wethegnome@gmail.com

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Highway Rider: Review

Every once in a while, some developer in a magical land of computers and energy drinks will release a free app that is truly greater then those before. Well I an proud to say that day has finally come with the release of Highway Rider!
Highway Rider is a driving game focused around dodging obstacles and getting as many near misses as possible without crashing. The controls are extremely simple to use with the only real control being you tilting your device to steer the motorcycle. The game offers both single and multiplayer gameplay with the ability to invite friends and challenge them to see who can collect 50 near misses first! The animations are very well put together and even with this being a free app it shows great graphics. The game can provide you with hours of convenient and enjoyable gameplay. The game also includes a number of customizations that allow you to Change the look of both your rider and motorcycle. But like all great games there is always a downfall and in the case of Highway Rider it is it's lack of level diversity! You are stuck with one level with the scenery changing very if not at all. The addition of new levels and perhaps different gameplay options would be welcomed in a future update. Overall This has proven to be a free app with the ability to compete with those better known apps that cost money! I have no problem recommending this app to those of you searching for a fun app that can can keep you occupied in those boring moments of life!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

iOS 5.1.1 breakdown

Just when an iOS 5.1 jailbreak seemed at the horizon for my iPhone 4s apple had to crush my dreams and release iOS 5.1.1! I know that updating the version of iOS is completely optional and that I can avoid it if I'm extremely careful but, I'm one of those people who just can't stand that notification over my settings icon in fact it drives me crazy having to look at that every time I unlock my device. Fortunately a tethered jailbreak has already been proven to work on devices running 5.1.1 while excluding A5 powered devices from the party! Which gives my hope that if I do update the software version then I will be able to jailbreak my iPhone 4s in the near feature. Some of you are probably wondering what this new version of iOS brings to the table, well that's why I'm here!

•Improves reliability of using HDR option for photos taken using theLock Screen shortcut

•Addresses bugs that could prevent the new iPad from switching between 2G and 3G networks

•Fixes bugs that affected AirPlay video playback in some circumstances

•Improved reliability for syncing Safari bookmarks and Reading List

•Fixes an issue where 'Unable to purchase' alert could be displayed after successful purchase

Quite frankly I don't see this as being an absolutely necessary update and still think my iPhone is fine without it! Especially with the untethered iOS 5.1 jailbreak for A5 powered devices looming closer and closer I think I'll wait and see what the DEV team has up their sleeve before I commit to such an unnecessary update.

What do you think about this update? Share your opinion below!

Saturday, May 5, 2012

iPhone 5 Will Not Be Made of Liquidmetal

The rumor of the iPhone 5 being made out of liquidmetal instead of glass are now dead.  The technology is just not there yet for the size of the iPhone.  It may be used for smaller components, for example, a hinge for the MacBook air.  But don't be too disappointed because there is a still a great chance that Apple will be using this technology in a couple years.

Learn more about the liquidmetal technology here:
http://www.liquidmetal.com/
or here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidmetal

Friday, May 4, 2012

If You Gotta Spare Dollar: Ski Safari

Ski Safari is a recently released endless runner game on the App Store. It has a nice art style, upbeat music, and solid gameplay. 


You play as a skier named Sven who is forced out of his slumber by an avalanche. The objective of the game is to ski down the mountain, pulling off back flips, riding penguins, and score points as long as you can before the avalanche overtakes you.

Ski Safari has a one-touch control scheme that works well. Pressing the screen while surfaced will execute a jump, and holding the touch in the air will start your back flip.

Penguins, Yetis, hawks, and snow mobiles serve as power-ups. Penguins will increase your speed while also increasing your gliding capability in the air. Yetis also increase speed, but limit your gliding and back flips slowly.

Overall Ski Safari is a great endless runner with a lot of replay value. It's one of my favorite mobile games in recent memory, and it's only $0.99.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Cloud Storage Showdown!


In our modern tech society cloud storage is all the rage and a month ago Dropbox was your only major option. But this month we have seen the launch of not one but two cloud storage services under the names of Cubby and Google Drive. Both have proven to be true competitors in the cloud storage wars and may be giving Dropbox a run for its money. In this article I will go over my opinion of all three sevices and give you my honest opinion on which one I find the most useful and reliable.




1.    Dropbox

Dropbox is already fairly well known for in the cloud storage community and even though it may lack features people have fallen in love with the ability to sync up to 5GB of data across all their devices for free. Dropbox offers the very basics of cloud storage but has recently added on to their amount of features by giving their users the ability to share media with a url address for anyone to download and see. Dropbox has been extremely reliable and stable over the last couple months  and has made the experience of cloud storage so much more enjoyable. Dropbox is a free service with the ability to pay for more storage which storage ranging from 5GB to 1TB. You can download it today for Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, and Android.


2.     Cubby

Cubby is the second newest cloud storage option and continues to impress me day after day. Cubby was launched by LogMeIn at the beginning of this month as a beta service and has already seen wide spread adoption. It has by far giving me the best experience out of all three options with its easy to use desktop application and mobile apps for iOS and Android. Like Dropbox, Cubby gives you 5GB of free storage without the ability to increase your storage. Cubby offers some very nice features such as the ability to share a folder privately with certain people or with a url address. Even though Cubby is still in a beta phase it holds great promise in the cloud storage world. Cubby is also free to use and you can download it today on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.


3.     Google Drive

The newest member of the cloud storage family is Google Drive. Now we all new Google would have to release a cloud storage service in order to keep up with their competitors. Sadly Google drive is only available on Windows, Mac, and Android without any option for iOS use. But what Google Drive lacks in software it makes up in features, with the ability to sync between all your Google services such as Google Docs. While Google always seems to do great jobs with their software, I Don’t believe Google Drive is anywhere close to being as good as it could be. Overall it is an excellent service that I’m sure will only get better in the near future. You can take advantage of this free5GB storage by downloading the free application on your computer or Android phone.


4.     Who wins?
All three services offer something that the other doesn’t. Dropbox is the most stable, Cubby is the most user friendly, and Google Drive offers the most features. Overall Cubby has proven to be the better service of all three. Even though the service is still in beta I have been overly impressed with its easy to use interface. This service is surely going to take off when the full version of the software is released. I highly recommend Cubby to anyone who is trying to find the perfect cloud service that will fit their needs.

Monday, April 23, 2012

Minecraft pocket edition now includes crafting!

You can now craft in Minecraft pocket edition! The update began rolling out today across android and iOS devices and has already seen a huge amount of publicity! If you are unfamiliar with the Pocket edition of Minecraft it is essentially a very bare bones version of the popular computer game Minecraft!
But the last two updates for the app have brought the mobile version closer and closer to becoming the real thing. I have yet to spend enough time playing with the new updated version but I can tell you that fits perfectly and really has changed my view if the game. If you have not yet done yourself the favor of purchasing the game you can do so via the app store and play store for the one time fee of $6.99. Be sure to check back later for the full recap of the update!