Google set to offer free turn-by-turn GPS mobile app

Google announced today that it will be offering a free turn-by-turn directional GPS service for its Android 2.0 mobile devices.

According to Gizmodo, Google is working closely with Apple to deliver this app in the future to the iPhone. Google's GPS navigation will take advantage of Google Maps, hybrid and Street View images.

When Android 2.0 ships in November to consumers, the Google GPS mobile application will offer a fantastic feature list including traffic data. Traffic data will notify users of accidents and slow traffic on major highways. The cloud map network, which will be constantly updated, will offer the latest reports on highway traffic flow, using data from department's highway cameras and from cell phones using Google Maps.

Google's GPS application will offer cached maps, so users will still find their way, even if they loseInternet connection. There isn't any route planning for multiple destinations built into the mobile service, but you can search for points of interest along the way including gas and restaurants.

Google's GPS will offer a many more advantages over current devices, including showing satellite view of the overhead and a hybrid overlay with street names. The device will also offer a street view hybrid overlay with arrows when you're supposed to turn or at your final destination.

If the Google GPS releases for the iPhone in the near future, it will definitely ruffle some feathers with developers, who are selling similar applications for upwards of $50.

Quarter of British gamers download games

A survey of British gamers has found that a quarter prefer to purchase and download their games online, often through their console's store, rather than purchase a physical copy from a retail store. According to TNS, who conducted the survey, digital distribution will outstrip retail sales within three years.

The results of the UK National Gamers Survey 2009, which surveyed 13,000 people in the Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, the UK and the US, were unveiled at the London Games Conference last night.

The results show that more than half of gamers in the UK prefer to play video games on a console, with 35 percent preferring to play games on their computer instead. Of these numbers, 7 percent of console gamers said that they would buy a game or additional levels for a game directly through their console instead of going to the shops. This doubles to 14 percent for PC gamers.

Nineteen percent of respondents said they played games on their mobile phones, of which 44 percent download new games straight to their phone.

According to the Daily Telegraph, this is quite concerning for video game trailers, as stores usually recoup losses from game console sales by bundling them with a selection of games. With more and more titles becoming available directly from the console maker's online stores, this is becoming more difficult.

Industry insiders cite the recent price cuts on the PSP Go handheld console, which uses digital distribution only, as evidence of game downloads hurting profit margins.

Google to introduce a Google Wave app store

Google's upcoming 'Google Wave' communication platform is an interesting one; it's currently in testing, but it's arguably one of the most discussed online services this year. It's now been announced that it will even be getting its own app store, to help provide some more functionality.

According to The Next Web, the app store was announced at the Google Technology User Group meeting in London earlier, stating that, "an extension store is planned where developers would be able to display and charge for apps." This app store would help provide a bit of momentum for the service upon its public release, and it would be of benefit to developers also. Lars Resmussen, the engineer behind the concept of Wave, stated recently, "We'll almost certainly build a store… so many developers have asked us to build a marketplace - and we might do a revenue-sharing arrangement." It's known already that the company will make Google Wave's API public, so people can develop their own software based on it, and having a dedicated app store will obviously help keep everything contained in one place.

At the same meeting, it was noted that Google will not build a dedicated iPhone or Android Wave app any time in the near future, but instead will work to improve the mobile web interface; this'll allow them to update the service at any time, rather than submit a new app version for approval to Apple (providing its the iPhone app in question here).

Google Wave is certainly showing promise, but only upon public release will we truly know how well it'll fare in the real world.

VMware Fusion hits version 3.0

Want to run Windows side-by-side with Mac OS X on your Intel Mac? VMware Fusion just released a major update putting the software at version 3.0 and there's a lot of fixes and changes that make it worthy of checking out.

Those who have used VMware Fusion in the past know that it has had its share of hiccups with earlier versions, but most seem to have been ironed out in the latest release. Along with fixes, version 3.0 includes a performance boost making the overall experience more snappy and up to twice as fast when resuming from a suspended virtual machine. They also optimized it for Snow Leopard, utilizing the new operating system's advanced architecture with a 64-bit core engine and native support for the 64-bit kernel. The latest version also supports high-end 3D graphics using OpenGL 2.1 and DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3, enabling gamers to play the latest Windows games on their Mac.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Probably the best thing about the latest VMware Fusion is the ability to share content in your Windows environment with what you already have on your Mac. This means that you can pull in images, music, and documents from folders in the Mac Finder into your Windows environment. Even better, you can open Windows files from the Mac Finder and have them boot up in Windows on VMware Fusion automatically. Another avenue of access is the always-on Applications menu found in the Mac Menubar that lets you start up Windows apps in VMware Fusion even when the program isn't running.

Launch Windows apps directly from the Mac Menubar

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

In our testing we loaded up Windows 7 on VMware Fusion and most everything worked as advertised. We found some graphics issues like strange graphical artifacts showing up onscreen in certain cases. But overall, we were able to run Windows 7 fairly smoothly and use many of the new features without incident. Overall, with the addition of more features to make switching between the two operating systems less of a hassle and the affordable price tag of $79.99, Mac users who need a Windows environment will appreciate everything VMware fusion has to offer.

Keeps Windows 7 clean with System Mechanic 9

"Good" is always what you want to see when it comes to the state of your system, isn't it?

(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)

You get a new computer and it runs great. However, after a while, things start to get more and more sluggish. This is true for all operating systems, including those running the all new and shiny Windows 7.

That is because, other than user errors (such as misuse, viruses, spyware, accidental file deletion, harmful changes to the Registry and system settings, and so on), the OS doesn't take good care of itself. It collects and store junks from the Internet. It doesn't completely remove remnants of unwanted applications. Its Registry keeps getting more and more bloated with residual settings, and so on and so forth. All of these result in system clutter that over time slows down the machine.

This is when a cleanup software, like System Mechanic from Iolo, comes in handy.

I tried version 9.0.3 of the software recently, as it's the first I found that works with Windows 7 64-bit (the software itself is 32-bit, however) and it seemed to work well, though not perfectly.

The software has a nice, intuitive interface that shows off all the things it can do. And there are a lot of them: from fixing Registry errors, cleaning up junk files, and optimizing system settings, to handling more serious problems such as security risks and backing up Registry files. Novice users can get all of that done at once or automatically taken care of via the software's ActiveCare feature.

I generally keep my computer pretty clean, but System Mechanic still found almost 100 issues with the computer's Registry. While the computer didn't seem to be noticeably faster after the cleanup operation, it did boot faster and most of all, I felt like it was cleaner. Maybe that's the psychological effect.

What I truly like about the software, however, is its set of comprehensive tools that allow advanced users to tweak the settings of the computer or to take care of a particular task. For example, the Configure Windows Startup tool shows the list of applications and services that automatically start with the computer and allows for disabling or removing them individually. This is a handy tool that replaces the "Software Explorer" part that Microsoft has taken out of the Windows Defender in Windows 7. There are also many other useful tools.

System Mechanic does have its own quirks, however. The most noticeable is the fact that it doesn't recognize most current antivirus software, such as AVG Anti-Virus, Microsoft Security Essential, or Zone Alarm, and kept telling me I need to have one installed. This is probably because Iolo wants to coerce you into buying the Professional version of the software that also incorporates a virus scanner. The second thing is when you do a "Deep System analysis," which can take a while, the process can't be canceled. So make sure you do this when you have time.

Other than that, System Mechanic 9.0.3 is definitely worth a try and you can do that for free. The software comes with 30-day full-function free trial. After that, $39.95 includes a one-year subscription to Iolo Tune-up Definition updates.

A tale of two iPhone puzzle games

Connected's pipe-arranging puzzles are like potato chips: Bet you can't play just one.

A few weeks ago, I received e-mails from two developers within the space of about two hours. Each was pitching a new, "totally unique" puzzle game, and would I like to review them?

Now, I'm a sucker for puzzlers, especially on the iPhone, but the App Store is already teeming with them--each one claiming to be "original," "addictive," "brain-teasing," and so on. How truly unique could either of these newcomers be?

The first one, Connected, instantly reminded me of countless lay-the-pipe-before-the-water-escapes games--until I started playing it.

Connected does involve pipes, but here you're not fighting the clock (or the water). Instead, you merely have to figure out the proper arrangement of preselected pieces, which can be moved but not rotated.

It's a bit like Traffic Jam, but damn if it doesn't manage to be original, challenging, and insidiously addictive. With each level I somehow managed to complete, I told myself, "Just one more."

Add to it an elegant, simple interface and you've got 99 cents extremely well-spent.

The other game, Wriggle, also costs 99 cents--but there's a try-before-you-buy free version as well.

Great for kids but fun for anybody, Wriggle puts a great twist on block-sliding puzzles.

At first glance, Wriggle looks like a kids game--but don't let that fool you. While kids will undoubtedly enjoy the colorful, smiley-faced worms, there's plenty of challenge here for all ages.

Your goal is to help the blue worm escape the maze in as few moves as possible. This is done by dragging the heads and/or tails of the various worms that stand in his way.

Again, you can see elements of Traffic Jam, but that game doesn't go around corners. Wriggle does, and, like Connected, it comes across as a wholly unique kind of puzzle.

Wriggle also offers a bit more replay value, with four difficulty levels and the option of replaying any puzzle to see if you can win in fewer moves. You can even tweet your progress, if you're into that kind of thing.

Initially, I judged both games by their covers (make that screenshots), and that was a mistake. Connected and Wriggle are perfectly priced and perfectly entertaining. I highly recommend both.

Seen any unique puzzle games lately? Are there any you just can't put down? Share your puzzle faves in the comments. In the meantime, check out these five perfect puzzle games for the iPhone.

Firefox 3.5.4 closes security holes

Mozilla released Firefox 3.5.4 for Windows, Mac, and Linux on Tuesday to patch six critical security holes and some other problems.

The new browser version also improves stability and fixes a problem with clearing browser history, according to the release notes. Mozilla updated the corresponding version of its earlier browser to fix some of the same security problems by issuing Firefox 3.0.15.

The six vulnerabilities potentially could let remote attackers take over the computer by running their own software on the machine. For details, check the Firefox security site.

Meanwhile, Mozilla is on the brink of releasing the first beta of Firefox 3.6, a version that will add the Personas feature for a customizable look. Mozilla, trying to move to a faster Firefox release cycle, is debating whether to issue 3.6 as a minor release that arrives automatically or a major release that people must actively download.

Also Tuesday, Mozilla released SeaMonkey 2.0, which combines the Firefox browser and Thunderbird e-mail software into an all-in-one package. It uses Firefox 3.5.4.