Latest Posts from Switched

Here are a few of the other noteworthy things we saw today on our never-ending journey through the wild, wild Web.

Read:

My internet problem is the one so many of us struggle with: how do you choose when the constraints of geography, income and circumstance disappear? What goes in a playlist when all the music ever recorded is one click away? Which experts' thought processes should you tap into when tens of millions of them are on Twitter? How do you choose a book from the millions that you can discover with a Google Books search?

Watch:

• Construction crane building itself
• How to pronounce ASUS
• The Three Little Pigs popup book for iPad

Know:

• Isle of Tune is 'Sim City' mashed together with a bare bones music composer. Build musical streets, buildings and trees, and your pixelated cars will play the tune. [From: Isle of Tune]
• Co.Design looks at what was left out of the Facebook friendship visualization map that was making the rounds earlier this week. [From: Co.Design]
• Peter Kafka reports Murdoch's iPad newspaper, 'The Daily,' will launch on January 17th. [From: MediaMemo]

Got a tip? Want to talk to us? In need of more choice links like these? Drop us a line on Twitter and check out our Tumblr blog.

Big things come in small packages, they say -- and, as undernourished, nerdy shrimps, we're here to prove that adage correct. Pint-size protagonists have long been a gaming staple, from the compact physique of 'Mario' to the robo-twerp protagonist of 'Mega Man.' This week, we'll take a look at a new generation of microscopic mascots who star in games that are big fun.

'Endeavor' is an expansive platformer starring a dwarven hero. Beginning in the dwarf realm, you'll learn to move using the arrow keys and jump with the X button. You soon fall to the land below, though, where a mysterious voice offers to send you back to your home in reward for collecting gems scattered about the earth. As you traverse through dank caves, soaring peaks and deep oceans, you'll collect items like parachutes (that slow your fall) to flippers (for deep-diving) to help you in your quest. Collecting fruit gives you endurance, the limits of which are displayed in a bar at the top of the screen. Almost any action will reduce your stamina, so it's vital that you collect as many of these as you can. While the game may seem straightforward, it's important to remember that things may not be as they seem, and alternate paths are worth seeking out. We won't spoil it for you, but Endeavor offers a deep experience for those willing to explore.
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Everyone enjoys flipping through old photos on Facebook, but there are always a few, particularly memorable albums that deserve to be tucked away on your hard drive for posterity's sake. Doing so, of course, isn't that difficult. You could spend a few minutes going through every single photo in your album and saving it to your hard drive. Or, you could just download one of several helpful tools, and save yourself a lot of time.

FacePAD (short for Facebook Photo Album Downloader) is a popular Mozilla add-on that allows users to download photo albums with a single click of the mouse. Once you install FacePAD, all you have to do is find the album that you want to save on your computer, right click with your mouse, and select the 'Download with FacePAD' option from the menu. You'll then have to decide where you want to save them, and, once they're downloaded, FacePAD will automatically sort them in ascending order, based on the age of each photo. Or, if you're not much of a Firefox person, you can always use the Facebook Album Downloader, which is a Facebook application that offers essentially the same service.

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It was bound to happen eventually. Oregon, one of the first states to offer online testing and and digital writing exams, has decided that students will be allowed to click the spell check button while taking their state-wide writing tests. State Superintendent Susan Castillo told Oregon Live, "We are not letting a student's keyboarding skills get in the way of being able to judge their writing ability," implying that the spell check will primarily be used to catch typos -- not compensate for poor spelling sills. Department staff supporting the move point out that the spell check will not correct grammar errors or misused homonyms and punctuation. Students will still be required to identify the correct word when presented with options and differentiate between words that are commonly mixed up like "their" and "they're," "to" and "too" or "effect" and "affect."

Still, some worry that offering the tool will encourage students to ignore their spelling skills. If a student knows they will simply be able to hit a button and identify and correct words they're misspelled they'll be less inclined to try and remember the correct spelling. The state is addressing some of those concerns by only offering automatic spell check to students in grades five and above, saying that children in the fourth grade and below are still learning the fundamentals of spelling (though they'll still be able to use paper and electronic dictionaries).

Microsoft wants to make a better spell check and it's willing to pay $10,000 to the person or persons that can "build the best speller that proposes the most plausible spelling alternatives for each search query." The Microsoft Speller Challenge officially launches on January 17, 2011. Eligible participants (over 18, not a Microsoft employee and not living in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, or Syria) will be able to download a data set from Microsoft to start hacking away on their creations. The final product must deliver its spelling suggestions via the RESTful API, a protocol for delivering information over the Web. All entries must be in by May 27.

Though Microsoft hasn't stated exactly how it intends to use the winning entry, the contest is being sponsored by Bing, implying that it may end up as part of a search tool similar to Google's Suggest and search term correction. It could also end up powering a new cloud-based spell checker for Office that updates without the need for downloading software patches. If you've got the chops, make sure visit the registration page on January 17.

The ESPN 3D channel broadcast World Cup games over the summer and college football games during the fall. Now, the network -- which just released its NBA 3-D schedule -- is ready for some round-ball. The 3-dimensional hard-court coverage begins tonight at 7 p.m. (EST) when the New York Knicks visit the Miami Heat.

The network currently plans to offer 3-D hoops on a somewhat regular basis (typically with one game broadcast per week), and ESPN's official site now provides the specific schedule. That site also lists the requirements consumers need to receive the channel, including hardware and carrier information. To watch, you'll of course need a 3-D television, as well as a DirecTV, Comcast or AT&T subscription (Time Warner customers are out of luck). ESPN's growing 3-D lineup should definitely appeal to sports fan, particularly the NBA followers, but -- given the stagnating (or nonexistent) interest in home 3-D technology -- will anyone actually watch?

RIM apparently feels overwhelmed with the spirit of the season, because a select group of (often neglected) users just received an eagerly awaited software gift. The company just blessed its BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac OS with significant 2.0 upgrades, and music lovers should definitely reap the awards. The software update provides official Wi-Fi music sync support. According to Engadget, an additional "device switch wizard" also allows users to effectively "import and sync photos and videos with iPhoto and iTunes." So, the BB OS X crew will probably feel compelled to perform a little celebratory dance -- while those syncing celebrants jam with their shiny new presents, of course.

Joe Wooller hates clutter. He's also apparently, incredibly lazy. The 28-year-old Australian father of two decided he was done with hauling his keys around, and underwent a minor surgery in June to implant an RFID chip in his hand. The chip is used to open doors to his home, unlock his car and fire up his motorcycle. Wooller still needs his keys to open the gas tank on the motorcycle and has to punch in a code to disable his home security system, but he says that the RFID chip has made things simpler and more convenient in some respects. He told the Sydney Morning Herald, "You can't lock yourself out now... It's saved me from locking myself outside a couple of times. So that's been good."

Some have suggested that relying on an RFID that can be read and hacked by those with nefarious motives is dangerous. But Wooller points out that, while the tech is out there to steal data from his chip implant, it's unlikely that someone would carry it around with them. Additionally the range of the chip is so small that it would be obvious if someone were attempting to read it. Wooller's chip doesn't require any power and could survive for years inside his hand. We just hope that when the chip finally does stop working, he's got a spare key handy.

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Switched loves public art. Not only is it an interesting way to get the common citizen involved with space, but by blowing installations up into a large scale, technology often finds itself getting the strangest -- but most innovative -- applications. Think Jenny Holzer's projections or Rafael Lozano-Hemmer's Web-enabled interactive pieces; the spaces these projects inhabit are not only changed by the art and the technology that is used in its display, but also by the individuals watching.

This precise relationship is the concept behind Lima, Peru's light-and-sound set-up called "DJ Light." The idea behind the installation, by U.K.-based Cinimod Studio, is to encourage the public to "DJ" LED-powered lights and ambient sounds. By filling 85 inflatable balloons with illumination that has millions of color possibilities, a member of the crowd can stand in a DJ "booth", waving her arms like a conductor to an orchestra. A heat-sensor-equipped camera follows the movements, and each gesture is then translated into a color that the balloon assumes. By using the program MAX/MSP (often employed in live electronic music), movement also correlates to ambient noise, so each wave or point will make unique but matching sounds and lights.

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Polaroid's new creatively named 'Digital Camera App,' from LoL Software, just landed in the App Store, bringing the photo company's vintage analog looks to your digital iPhone photos. At $2.49, it's a bit pricey when the retro photo-making juggernauts are priced at free (instagr.am) and $1.99 (Hipstamatic). Digital Camera App features 30 photo filters, the usual Facebook and e-mail sharing, and AirPrint compatibility for printing directly from your phone.