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The Tiny Graphics Engine Tigre has been updated with a lot of new demo applications and sample code. Tigre is a free graphics engine that allows to develop fast and reliable 2D and 3D applications bases on OpenGL ES.

There are currently 11 demo applications that shows what you can do with Tigre. The code of those samples is available too to get you some help getting started. Tigre is targeting to get a full featured rendering engine for advanced games and interfaces. Although the engine is still under development you could create already some awesome applications as the demos shows. Please tell me if you’re missing any features so I can add them to the "to do" list.

More about Tigre

Gallery with screenshots

This post was submitted by Phippu.

I’ve been called a skeptic, an alarmist, and a doomsayer because the focus of most of my technology blogging is on the risks of and what’s wrong with technology. I realize that I may sound like a Luddite despite the fact that I’m actually an early adapter and readily admit that I couldn’t function in my work without the plethora of technology that is currently at our fingertips. I guess the reason I come across as such a downer at times is that I assume that we all know about the incredible benefits that technology has to offer us; it’s not worth repeating what we all know to be true. At the same time, I recognize that, with the rapid advancements in computer and communication technology in the last decade, we haven’t had to time consider how these developments will shape our individual and collective lives.

I don’t have a problem with technology. To the contrary, it can be a wonderful tool for progress and change. Technology is already changing our lives cognitively, emotionally, and behaviorally; psychologically, physically, and socially; politically, culturally, and environmentally. My goal is not to suggest that we should reject technology, but rather to ensure that we have control over it rather it controlling us. The ultimate objective of this dissection of technology is to make certain that we use it with perspective and forethought to enhance our lives instead of indifferently or reactively to damage our lives.

I certainly don’t have all the answers. But before we can find answers, we must first ask the right questions. That is what I want to do, to ask the questions that need to be asked in the hope that minds greater than my own will help provide the answers.

With that preface, let me introduce you to the Law of Unintended Consequences and why I am so concerned about the breakneck pace of technological development. According to Wikipedia.com, this law states “that any purposeful action will produce some unanticipated or unintended consequences.” Furthermore, it is “a warning against the hubristic belief that humans can fully control the world around them.” Finally, “possible causes of unintended consequences include the world’s inherent complexity…perverse incentives, human stupidity, self-deception or other cognitive or emotional biases.”

The Law of Unintended Consequences can be seen everywhere in our lives, for example, in the wars in Irag and Afghanistan and the Great Recession. And it is absolutely pervasive in the new world of computer and communication technology. Consider the Internet, the Web, mobile phones, texting, facebook, and twitter. Here’s a satirical and fictitious quote attributed to twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey about his invention on theonion.com: “Twitter was intended to be a way for vacant, self-absorbed egotists to share their most banal and idiotic thoughts with anyone pathetic enough to read them. When I heard how Iranians were using my beloved creation for their own means—such as organizing a political movement and informing the outside world of the actions of a repressive regime—I couldn’t believe they’d ruined something so beautiful, simple, and absolutely pointless.” Though clearly speaking with tongue firmly planted in cheek, who would have predicted that technology would play a key role in the election of a president or the promotion of freedom in countries such as China and Iran. At the same time, who would have thought that mobile phones would be used by terrorists and drug dealers to further their causes or that texting while driving would increase the risk of an car accident 23 times.

Is there a more powerful force in our lives today than technology? I don’t think so. And, given its increasing influence on our individual and social landscapes, shouldn’t we understand the technologies as best we can?

We can increase that understanding and decrease its unintended consequences by exploiting the incredible technology we now have available to us. Why not employ the same strategies that software companies use – mass collaboration — in which they “leak” unfinished software to the amateur developers. In doing so, these “basement hackers” identify and resolve bugs, “tweak” the software, and, generally, polish the product far better than a team of in-house developers could ever do. Imagine if a new technology was similarly leaked to experts in the fields of psychology, sociology, and anthropology, as well as laypeople with a passion for the intersection of technology and humanity, and were encouraged to brainstorm on how it might be used, misused, and what its unintended consequences might be. Using the power of technology to harness the creative power of the many to further the value of technology seems like a no-brainer to me.

Of course, we can never know a priori all of the unintended consequences (just as most of us couldn’t have imagined that terrorists would use hijacked airliners as guided missiles), but reducing their number could make the positive effects of new technology all the more beneficial and its negative effects more manageable and less destructive.

Dr. Jim Taylor is internationally recognized for his work in the psychology of performance in business, parenting, and sport. He has been a consultant to and has provided individual and group training to executives and businesses throughtout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, including the Young Presidents’ Organization

Dr. Taylor is the author of ten books, including Positive Pushing: How to Raise a Successful and Happy Child, Your Children are Under Attack: How Popular Culture is Destroying Your Kids’ Values, and How You Can Protect Them, The Triathlete’s Guide to Mental Training, and Applied Sport Psychology: Four Perspectives, the Prime Sport book series, Psychology of Dance, Psychological Approaches for Sports Injury Rehabilitation, and Comprehensive Sports Injury Management.

He has has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends, UPN’s Life & Style, ABC’s World News This Weekend, and the major television network affiliates around the U.S.. He has participated in many radio shows. His research and writings have as been the subject of syndicated sports columns that have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country. Jim has been a columnist for The Denver Post , and has been interviewed for articles that have appeared in The New York Daily News, The Los Angeles Times, The London Times, The Chicago Tribune, U.S. News & World Report, The Christian Science Monitor, The London Telegraph, The Miami Herald, The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, The Baltimore Sun, The Denver Post, Skiing, Outside, and many other newspapers and magazines.

This post was submitted by drjim.

From time to time we show concept devices that are the pure products for the imagination of talented designers (and I am not talking about the HTC Trophy pic ).

Below is the latest design by Nak Phone Design, who is is hoping to become a professional designer and is asking for your comment below.

This concept appears to be a 3rd party shell for a device like the HD2, which brings features such a a large keyboard or game keys to today’s hardkey-short devices, and connects via bluetooth.  In my opinion, if cheap enough, I would be all over the concept.

What do you think?  Let us know below.

This post was submitted by Psikopathe.

The Web, the Internet, and all of the new media that has sprung from them, have been a boon to the information age, making information available at our fingertips instantaneously. The sheer volume of information now accessible on line is staggering. As of a few weeks ago, there were more than 21 billion pages on the Web. Information continues to become more available to more people in less time; from web sites to email to RSS feeds to Twitter, we have input at an unprecedented rate and volume. Ironically, as the frequency of information grows, the length of messages shrinks (e.g., Twitter’s 140-character limit. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; think of haiku). And, amazingly, the vast majority of this information is free.

For all its benefits, an unfortunate consequence of this torrent of information is that our “mental inbox” becomes overloaded. With our minds spilling over with information, our primary motivation is to empty it as quickly as possible. We typically use two “information survival” strategies when the inbox fills up. We output as quickly as possible without sufficient thought to either the incoming or outgoing messages. The obvious downside to this approach is that your input lacks thorough consideration and evaluation and your output lacks quality. Or, we are so overwhelmed by emails and text messages that we simply delete large swathes of messages without even looking at them. The obvious downside here is that important messages may be missed.

Information overload isn’t the only problem with this deluge of data that comes to those of us who are connected 24/7. Such large and never-ending quantities of input interfere with our ability to “innerput,” a word I created to denote our thought processes in response to input, including insights, synthesis, judgments, and decisions. With so much information coming in and the need to get information out, innerput suffers; there is neither the time nor the energy to adequately process all of the information.

Information is only a tool; it’s value lies in how we use it. And information has limited value, either as input or output, without innerput. Only through innerput does information become meaningful, only then can it morph from simple data to knowledge and wisdom. And that only comes when there is time for innerput; stopping in the middle of this flood of information to think about, wrestle with, challenge, and build on the information that arrives at our technological doorstep.

Dangers of input and output without innerput can be seen daily. Unfounded rumors that aren’t investigated adequately before they are posted spread across the Internet and are accepted and remain as “truth” even when they are definitively debunked later. Information without context limits its value to readers by restricting our understanding and its meaning to us. One-sided stories without the balance of another perspective create the illusion of accuracy and correctness. And all of this input doesn’t just describe phenomena that are happening in the world, it also impacts those very events because we make judgments about and decide on how we will respond based on these limited data.

For individuals, input without innerput has serious consequences. It means staying on the surface of information rather than diving deep into its meaning and implications. The absence of innerput prevents us from taking real ownership of the information and integrating it into our knowledge base. It also keeps us from transforming the input from cold and lifeless data into a power plant of insight, creativity, innovation, and action.

At a societal level, the consequences of too much input and not enough innerput are significant and sometimes dire. Input without innerput is often used as a weapon by extremists of every ilk against the forces of reason, moderation, and civil discourse. We see it in totalitarian regimes, fundamentalist causes, and ideological warfare. Drowning people in biased information is a common strategy used to prevent people from thinking deliberately and critically about the input to which they are exposed. In a torrent of information, the best way to survive is simply to accept it rather than resist it. The deadly combination of a tidal wave of input and the absence of innerput makes people more vulnerable to misinformation and undue influence.

So how can we swim against the tide of information overload and find the time for innerput? The answer to this question is really quite simple, but nonetheless far from easy. The power to control the amount of input we allow in, foster innerput, and ensure the quality of the output we produce is in our individual hands. Too often, I see people becoming slaves to technology rather than being its master; I see people being information junkies who just crave the input regardless of its value.

You control the flow of information in several ways. First, ask yourself what purpose all of this input serves and whether the typical information you receive each day really brings something of value to the table. You’ll likely realize that you’re inputting a great deal of information simply out of habit or perhaps a concern that you will miss out on something really important if you limit your input. Ask yourself: Do you really need to follow people on Twitter or Facebook or check your IMs every two minutes? Hopefully, this exercise will put your input load into perspective and show you that much of your input is unnecessary.
Next, choose the input you deem most important and jettison that which doesn’t clear that self-determined threshold. When you commit to input filtering and limits, you will establish new and healthier input habits.

With your input load reduced and your new understanding of the importance of innerput (you already knew it intuitively; I just needed to bring it into your consciousness), you now have the time to devote innerput to the input that you really value. The result? Less feeling of drowning in information, less stress, more time, more cogent thinking, and better quality output.

Dr. Jim Taylor is internationally recognized for his work in the psychology of performance in business, parenting, and sport. He has been a consultant to and has provided individual and group training to executives and businesses throughtout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Middle East, including the Young Presidents’ Organization

Dr. Taylor is the author of ten books, including Positive Pushing: How to Raise a Successful and Happy Child, Your Children are Under Attack: How Popular Culture is Destroying Your Kids’ Values, and How You Can Protect Them, The Triathlete’s Guide to Mental Training, and Applied Sport Psychology: Four Perspectives, the Prime Sport book series, Psychology of Dance, Psychological Approaches for Sports Injury Rehabilitation, and Comprehensive Sports Injury Management.

He has has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends, UPN’s Life & Style, ABC’s World News This Weekend, and the major television network affiliates around the U.S.. He has participated in many radio shows. His research and writings have as been the subject of syndicated sports columns that have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country. Jim has been a columnist for The Denver Post , and has been interviewed for articles that have appeared in The New York Daily News, The Los Angeles Times, The London Times, The Chicago Tribune, U.S. News & World Report, The Christian Science Monitor, The London Telegraph, The Miami Herald, The Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, The Baltimore Sun, The Denver Post, Skiing, Outside, and many other newspapers and magazines.

This post was submitted by drjim.

Elecont Weather 1.0.1029 has been released with a new Windows Mobile 6.5 oriented gesture interface, new themes, and new colors.

“Elecont Weather” is more than weather station for your Pocket PC or Smartphone. It produces accurate 10-day and hourly forecasts, warns you in case of high solar activity and severe weather (event of a severe thunderstorm, tornado, blizzard, hurricane, or other natural disasters). The most interesting feature is Barometer – a diagram showing the pressure changes during the past 24 hours. Now you always know the cause of headache if it is linked with changes in the air pressure. When Barometer detects pressure changes then it signals with a red color. “Elecont Weather” displays 10-day forecast with text descriptions separately for day and night time. You may find a lot of useful of weather parameters: “feels like” temperatures, chance of precipitation, humidity, visibility and much more. “Elecont Weather” has a global coverage (more than 51,000 locations). The data is provided by “WSI Corp.” (the world’s leading provider of weather-driven business solutions).

You may find more and download “Elecont Weather” from our software store and receive the 30% discount.

This post was submitted by elecont.

The popular Windows Mobile SMS Sync application has been updated to version 2.0. The new release contains a number of features that make backing up your text messages, or transferring them to a new phone, much easier and quicker – especially for non-technical users.Here are three key new features or areas of improvement in the update:

1.       User Interface
The first thing that you will notice about this new release is that the user interface has been completely overhauled.  The new interface makes backing up your text messages or restoring them extremely straightforward.

2.       Online Backup Storage
The most impressive new feature to the application is the new “Online Backup Storage” option.  This free service allows you to save your text message backup on SynergeTech Solutions’ secure server.  If you select this as your backup location, you simply login (or create) your account and the application takes care of the rest.  You can just as easily choose the “Online Backup Storage” as the location to restore text messages from.  With this feature, you could transfer your text messages to a new Windows Mobile phone without ever having to copy/email a file to the new device!

3.       Compatibility
The third area of the application to be addressed in this release is compatibility.  Windows Mobile SMS Sync 2.0 has been thoroughly tested on almost every device type and every version of Windows Mobile.  International languages are supported more universally in this release as well.  The restore functionality now makes sure to copy all the message properties – this way when you restore your messages, either after a hard reset or to a new phone, they are exactly as they had been before.

The application costs £9.99 and is available by visiting the SynergeTech Solutions’ website at www.synergetechsolutions.com/mobilesmssync.

This post was submitted by Brian Hamachek.

We told you two weeks ago that Samsung Omnia II was available for pre orders in Argentina through the carrier Personal. Finally, that Windows Phone have arrived to those lands and users can adquire it trough Personal. The plans available are the same that we told you in previous post.

Source: emovilPRO

This post was submitted by teo.