Did you hear the one about MySpace coming back from the grave? No, seriously… it actually relaunched this week, stop laughing! If you've already rejoined the onetime social networking giant and are bored to tears, here are five quick news items from the last 24 hours, all of which are probably more interesting... unless you like Justin Timberlake, maybe...
Are you the type who's always forgetting to send a birthday card? If so, the free Cleverbug app will make sure you never do it again. Once installed on your iPhone, Cleverbug allows mobile users to send printed, personalized birthday cards right from the device and even taps into Facebook for posting a virtual version of your card to a friend's wall. Each Facebook friend has a unique "store" of potential cards to choose from, and your first one is free just for trying out the app. Cleverbug cards arrive in less than a week, so head to the App Store and get downloading!
Any way you slice it, Thunderbolt has been slow to roll out since its introduction in February, 2011 on Apple's MacBook Pro line. Although Cupertino has since empowered the entire Mac lineup (minus the Mac Pro) with Intel's high-speed technology, a new report from Ars Technica takes a look behind the scenes to find out what the holdup is. As it turns out, Intel may be largely to blame, with the company's licensing and certification process proving to be more of a headache than lack of interest from accessory makers. The company's director of Thunderbolt Marketing and Planning even confessed as much at CES 2013 last week, claiming Intel was cherry-picking vendors it felt could offer the best products while meeting their stringent certification requirements. So don't get made at your vendor for delaying that Thunderbolt accessory you've had your eye on...
If you loved the Shortline Railroad game back in the '90s, you'll be happy to know that Belight Software has brought the official remake to the iPad with Rails, the company's first game for tablets. An addictive mix of strategy and traffic control, Rails puts the player in charge of the railroad, including building tracks, guiding trains to their stations and keeping the rail yard collision-free -- which is a lot harder than you might think! If you have both nerves of steel as well as smart strategy, Rails is ready and waiting for your iPad in the App Store, available for a limited time at a 50 percent discount for only $2.99.
SquidFX has brought its special brand of Final Cut Pro X plug-ins to Noise Industries' FxFactory this week with the debut of Borders, a $49 package containing 27 presets for framing video footage in unique ways. Borders allows video editors to control style options, build animations, control blend modes and more, while the Auto-Fit function keeps borders from overlapping your footage. Best of all, FxFactory users can try Borders absolutely free thanks to a downloadable trial version, and once you fall in love with it, buying the plug-in is just a click away.
Have you ever wished you could turn your iPhone into an internet-enabled walkie-talkie? With the free GroupVox app, now you can. GroupVox uses Facebook as a light and simple walkie-talkie app which even allows group conversations and Push-to-Talk using free, live voice communication over any data network. Not available at the moment? Friends can leave a voice message when a live chat isn't possible and you can listen to them at your leisure. Last but not least, GroupVox is capable of also sending text messages when voice isn't convenient, and the whole service is cross-platform with other devices. GroupVox 1.0 is now available on the App Store and requires iOS 5.0 or later.
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