Posts Tagged Steam

Verizon to offer APIs to give your data rate an on-demand boost, for a price

Posted by on Saturday, 5 November, 2011

There’s a ton of data-dependent apps these days, and with services like iCloud and Spotify gaining steam, your precious bytes of data can get bogged down with all the additional traffic. Help is on the way for Verizon customers, however, as the company plans to release an API that will allow users to speed up their connection at will from within apps. This network optimization API will be joined by a microtransaction API (developed in conjunction with Vodafone) to make sure Big Red gets paid for every bit of bandwidth nitro you ask for. Work on the APIs is ongoing at VZW’s Innovation Center in San Francisco, but neither API will be ready for prime time until next year. That’s a long time to wait, but the idea of improving our data connection at the press of a button has us positively giddy. What about you?

Verizon to offer APIs to give your data rate an on-demand boost, for a price originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 23:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Games for Windows Marketplace, Xbox.com becoming one big, game-obsessed family

Posted by on Saturday, 2 July, 2011

Games for Windows Marketplace will no longer have to drift through life alone. Microsoft announced this week that the Steam competitor will be absorbed by Xbox.com — a seemingly logical merger, given the site’s association with Xbox Live. The move comes in spite of an attempt on Microsoft’s part to completely revamp the service late last year. The Marketplace is set to move into its new digs on July 11th, so here’s hoping it takes advantage of its last few days of freedom in style — by sitting around in its underwear playing video games, naturally.

Games for Windows Marketplace, Xbox.com becoming one big, game-obsessed family originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Jul 2011 18:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s Proof That People Have Been Trying to Go Green for Over a Century [Green]

Posted by on Saturday, 9 April, 2011

Detailing Your Car? Be Sure You’re Using The Best Upholstery Cleaner

Posted by on Saturday, 18 December, 2010

The best upholstery cleaner for your auto might not be the same as the one you would use on your sofa. Car upholstery is meant to resist a bit more injury, and the stains you get in your automobile ( mud, oil, and who-knows-what from the outside ) are often stronger than indoor parlor stains. Many repair center owners counsel a product called “Blue Max” (by Car Brite as an all-purpose cleaner. Your best shot is to water down the product first and then spray it on. Let the mix sit, and then use soapy water with a scrub brush to wash up the stain and the product. Vacuum as the final step to keep the fabric fresh. While many are convinced Blue Max is the best upholstery cleaner for your auto, the stuff is strong. You are going to need to crack the windows a bit during and following cleaning to permit the fumes to escape. Some more gentle possibilities that others recommend when asked what is the best upholstery cleaner for the automobile are Blue Coral, Folex and Oxiclean. Remember that it’s always worth trying just water and soap with a light brush first, without any extra product .

To keep the inside of your car looking good, you also want to do upkeep cleaning on a regular basis. The best upholstery cleaner for maintenance is a vacuum. One strongly recommended product for reaching the interior of your car is a Bissell green machine. There are a couple of models you can consider. The little Green Cleaner is a mini steam vacuum with robust spray and suction for an one-step cleaning and drying process. It is designed compactly with a long rope to get to tough to reach spots. Best of all, it’s made with at least 75 percent recycled materials ( thus the “green” name ). The tiny Green Pro is a step up in size and strength, and uses hot water together with a cleaning agent. It has got a built-in heater for the water, and two collection tanks — one for the cleaner water and another for the dirty water after it is sucked back up. A few people note the sprayer on these products can get clogged, but if you run some lime-away product through the hose, it should be back to functioning as your best upholstery cleaner.

If you are trying to find more on upholstery care, you can check out one of my other articles on the best cleaners for upholstered furniture. For rather more cleaning tips, visit www.cleaningsecretsinfo.com and enroll in Pam’s free email course.
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Why I think Creative Writing is Important

Posted by on Friday, 17 September, 2010

Creative writing has always been my favourite kind of writing. To be honest, I don’t like poetry or journalism. In school I finished my first year of journalism only to decide I didn’t like it, there are too many rules.

That’s what is great about creative writing, you only have one rule; anything goes. Basically the only requirement is to figure out how you’re going to write the next great novel, are you going to draft it out via outline, brainstorm, or just go with the flow.

I like writing on the fly, I just open up a Microsoft word document and start typing. Some people can’t do this, and need organization and structure, not me. When I quit journalism in school, it was around that time that I also stopped writing. Sometimes life just carries you away for awhile. Many years went by and I felt incomplete. Life got in the way and laid me off. Suddenly I had plenty of time. I took up writing to help past the time. As soon as I started creating fictional characters and story-lines, I felt like my old self again, that I could accomplish anything. I felt young and energetic.

I decided to create a website Creative Writing Help to help people just like me re-discover the joy of writing. I find that writing is a great way to blow off steam. If life has you stressed out, writing is a great way to help you cope.. As soon as I sit down at my computer, I use my life experience to help weave wonderful stories and plots. Right now I am trying to get one of my stories published. I wouldn’t have been able to do this if I’d have given up writing.

Thanks and happy writing.


Will I benefit from a new wifi router in my situation?

Posted by on Saturday, 5 June, 2010

Question by Joe Z: Will I benefit from a new wifi router in my situation?
My family owns three laptops with 802.11n, and two old desktops which only have 802.11g. My current wifi antenna is an ancient Apple airport “snow” model, which only supports 802.11 a+b. Our internet is (as far as I know) only 1.5 Mbps, and the highest download rate I’ve ever seen (right next to the antennae, downloading from Steam) is 400kb/s, though most downloads cap around 200. The two older computers are upstairs, pretty much directly above the router, an the laptops move around the house. One room gets poor reception, which I suspect is the result of a large mirror near the entrance. Typical wifi performance on the newest laptop is:
RSSI: -70
Transmit Rate: 11

Will a new wifi antennae that supports the “n” standard improve our connection speed enough to justify the cost? And will “g” performance make a notable difference on our older computers?

Best answer:

Answer by Offensive Technician
1.5 mbps gives you a theoretical download maximum of 192 KB/sec (Based on a T1 which is 1536 kbps instead of 1500).

If you’ve seen anything higher, it was probably cached beforehand (if you take more time figuring out where to save files and name them before clicking “OK to download”, then your speeds will be off as the file has already started downloading in the background”.

A new router won’t give you any more speed.
And no, a mirror won’t reflect wifi signals any more than a standard wall.

Give your answer to this question below!