nüvifone™. The navigation phone.
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Is the iPhone finally coming to Verizon? According to an article over at Apple Insider, sources in the Taiwan handset supply chain say Apple has contracted to produce a UMTS/CDMA hybrid iPhone, making it compatible with more networks worldwide. The sources say the move indicates that Apple is specifically targeting Verizon and that we may see Verizon iPhones by the end of next year.
Whenever I talk to anyone about the iPhone, they always say the same thing; they love the device, but wish that AT&T had better coverage. I happen to agree, because even where I work in San Francisco (a supposedly "hot" AT&T zone), I get really bad coverage at my desk and often need to walk to another part of the building to get decent reception. I even have to walk over to a window to send text messages! Maybe these new Verizon rumors will light a fire under AT&T to improve its coverage, because you can bet a lot of people will be jumping ship if Verizon gets the iPhone next year (including me!).
This week's apps include a free app to explore the latest NASA info and a game where you race at high speeds on a cushion of air.
View tons of images from several NASA missions including classic Space Shuttle shots
(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)The NASA app (free) gives you all the latest news, images, and video of current space missions from NASA. Get up-to-the minute updates of current missions with this official NASA app and follow the path of your favorite spacecraft. The interface is extremely easy to navigate, with buttons across the bottom for current missions, images, videos, and news updates. The missions screen lets you sort by your particular interest with info and multimedia about the International Space Station; NASA's recently unveiled ship, the Constellation; the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter; and several others.
The NASA app is perfect for those interested in science and space exploration with plenty of images and video to get a window into projects NASA is currently working on. The ability to follow current and future missions is particularly interesting because if you hear about a launch, you'll be able to track a ship's progress and follow along with the latest news from the mission. Anyone with an interest in science, space exploration, and current NASA missions should definitely grab this free app. When the next mission comes, you'll have a free tool on your iPhone to follow along as astronauts trace their path across the sky.
Use the pedal on the right to boost when the outer (yellow) meter is filled up
(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)Ground Effect ($3.99) is a hovercraft racing game with beautiful 3D graphics and challenging gameplay. Tilt your iPhone or iPod Touch to steer your hover craft and use onscreen controls to accelerate and break. The game is set up with tracks laid out across a ring of islands in a tropical setting. Choose from 10 different styles of hovercraft and race through check points around 14 different tracks you will unlock as you progress. You can race to unlock new tracks or choose Ghost Race to try to go for your best time against a ghost of your previous best lap.
Ground Effect has excellent 3D graphics and a control system that's easy to pick up and play, but difficult to master. Your hovercraft automatically accelerates to it's cruising speed, but you'll need to use the gas pedal to get a momentary boost to push you past opponents. Once the boost meter goes down, you'll need to wait some time before you can initiate another burst. As the game progresses and you race on harder tracks, you'll need to use the brakes at just the right time to quickly navigate sharper turns. Anyone who likes racing games and wants something a little different than the usual auto-racing type of game should check out Ground Effect. Unfortunately, there is no multiplayer option at this time, but a solid Wi-Fi multiplayer might be the thing to make this game truly great.
What's your favorite iPhone app? Are you excited that the iPhone may soon become available on Verizon? What other good science apps have you tried? What do you think of Ground Effect? Let me know in the comments!
Few topics interest me more than space. Though I'll admit that I don't know nearly as much as I would like, it has always been my goal to learn about the universe. I bet I'm not alone. That's why I'm sharing this list of 18 space sites. They all offer something neat. And they're all informative.
Space sites
Amazing Space Though the site is designed for students, Amazing Space is a fantastic resource for anyone who wants to learn something about space. If you want basic information on topics such as gravity and black holes, the site offers it. If you want to gain some knowledge about Earth and how it was formed, you can learn that too. It's not as in-depth as some sites in this roundup, but it's not meant to be. Amazing Space is for the beginner.
Astroengine Each day, Astroengine sifts through studies and documents released by scientists around the world and publishes those that don't get noticed. For example, Saturn's icy moon, Enceladus, might have a liquid ocean, according to a study published by scientists. Astroengine has a nice discussion on that. Few major sources do.
Astronomy Picture of the Day If you just want pictures of what's going on in space, look no further than NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day. Each day, the site is updated with one picture of space. Underneath the picture is an informative description of the image's significance. I go there every day to see what they'll display next. You should too.
Chandra The Chandra X-Ray Observatory from Harvard University continuously takes pictures of space phenomenon thousands of light years away. You can view all those pictures on the site. I'm amazed at the quality of the photos. If you want to see space outside of the solar system, this is the destination for you.
Daily Galaxy Daily Galaxy provides news and information about galactic events. There are also some videos that help you gain a better understanding of space. Daily Galaxy doesn't often stray beyond the Galaxy (thus its name), but you'll still find a wealth of information on the site. Check it out.
Hubble Site As you might expect, Hubble Site takes an in-depth look at the Hubble Telescope. From news to its latest image captures, the site has it all. You can even learn about how it works and how it helps scientists learn about space. The best part of the site is its galleries section. I literally spent over an hour last night looking through the beautiful images. The Hubble Site is fantastic. It's a must-see.
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's site is filled with space news. It also has updates on missions. But if you want to be entertained, you can spend hours perusing the site's images and videos depicting different solar systems and star clusters around the universe. NASA.gov even has interactive features that let you see objects in Space in 3D. You'll be blown away by NASA's resources.
... Read moreDon Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
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We've looked at and reviewed Windows and Firefox themes before at CNET Download.com, but after getting a new computer at home, I figured it was time to revisit new themes. Though a Firefox theme is hardly a must-have Killer Download, I would argue a working (or nonworking) environment in which you feel comfortable makes all your computing more enjoyable. Once I got the new system online, along with my usual security downloads and other useful utilities, I decided a little browser customization was in order.
Most of my regular computing at home including e-mail, writing, and other work-related stuff is done on my Mac. Since I designed my Windows machine from the ground up for gaming, it seemed fitting to me I would give it a gaming feel when it came to themes. Many gaming sites, including our very own GameSpot, have a darker-themed look to set off the graphics of the hottest new games. That's why I decided to cross over to the dark side when it came to choosing my Firefox themes. I should note dark themes are not for everyone, so only download these if you like the dark look.
Here are a few of my favorite dark themes so far, but I'm hoping readers will add more in the comments so we can all check them out. As with most Firefox themes, these themes are easy to install. After downloading, simply drag the .JAR file onto Firefox's theme dialog, select "Use theme", and restart your browser. You're new look should load right up.
I like the glassy buttons, but I would like it better if the sidebar shared in the darkness.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Aquatint Black is a dark grayish theme with glossy blue interface buttons. I like the look of this one mostly, but it does something weird with the graphics in my All-in-one Sidebar Firefox extension. Maybe this is an All-in-one Sidebar specific problem, but it also leaves all my bookmarks a much lighter color. All pull-down menus are the same dark gray color with a glossy-blue highlight running down the left side. If you're not sure about having a dark theme, this is the lightest of this group so you'll know immediately if it's your cup of tea.
The crisp colors of the icons look great on the dark interface.
(Credit: CNET Networks)Aero Fox does a great job of emulating the look and feel of Vista. Though Vista hasn't really caught on for a lot of Windows users, the glossy buttons in Aero Fox contrast perfectly with the darker overall theme. The glass-like quality of the interface looks great. They left the pull-down menus a pleasing dark gray (without the gloss) for better readability. Even if you're not a Vista user yet, this theme is definitely worthy of a look.
The darkest theme of this group has a really clean look.
(Credit: CNET Networks)NASA Night Launch is probably the darkest theme of the group, but it's also my favorite. The flat buttons look great on the dark interface, and a few other extras make it a nice-looking choice. As you load Web pages, you're treated to an animation of the Space Shuttle taking off in the throbber on the upper right. Window backgrounds include a larger picture of a night launch as well. Though the shuttle pictures are a little hokey, I like the overall theme the best out of this group.
If you're looking for a dark Windows theme to complete the look, try the Zune Theme we reviewed recently in the Daily Download. Got a dark theme for Firefox or Windows you like better? Let me know so I can check it out!
It's been quite a while since we visited the subject of best themes for Mozilla Firefox. It took a little while for some developers to catch up with the release of Version 2, but now there's a large number of cool add-ons for spicing up the look and feel of your your browser.
There's also a lot of crap. Luckily for you, I've waded through the morass and found what I consider to be the best themes for Mozilla Firefox. Of course, one of the greatest strengths of Firefox is the ability for every user to customize the browser as he or she sees fit. If you've got a favorite theme that I left off the list, tell me about it in the comments.
For a better look at the themes featured in this article, be sure to check out the related Download.com gallery.
11. Modern Modoki
Modern Moloki theme
Minimalism lives, and quite naturally with this stone-gray theme that's perfect for the Web surfer or developer who wants his or her browser to fade into nonexistence. It's clean, it's clear, hey...it's Netscape 8! Or is it 6? It's both: The look of 8 with the color scheme of versions 6 and 7. Its nigh invisibility makes it a solid choice for the mysterious 11th spot.
Most importantly, of course, it works with most major Firefox extensions with interface-altering features such as the pictured two-paned bookmarks and All-in-One Sidebar.
NASA Night Launch theme
What an appropriate Firefox theme to start off the Top 10 countdown! It's not kicking off the list, but it's blasting off anyway. The only thing that really distinguishes this theme from other polished dark Firefox themes is the shuttle image that "launches off" when a page is loading. See, you're traveling to another planet on the World Wide Web universe!
Snark aside, the shuttle imagery throughout the browser looks fantastic, and it's compatible with a long list of extensions. It's also a nice tribute to the STS-116 mission.
9. MidnightFox
MidnightFox
If you're gonna go dark, do it with style. I'm usually not much of a fan of black-background Firefox themes, but MidnightFox is a rare exception. The colorful buttons look great on the textured black interface, but unfortunately it didn't work very well with All-in-One Sidebar, one of my favorite extensions. It still surprised me enough with its fancy look to make it on the list.
Super Mario Bros. 3 theme
For the Mario fanboy in everyone, live the dream with tunnels for toolbar icons and pipes for scrolling. A recognizable little penny spins and spins as your Web pages load, but there's not much sign of the big man himself, and not a whole lot of polish.
All I can say is: needs more Yoshi.
7. extero
extero theme
I like the brand-new theme extero because it's not afraid to take chances--like black drop-down menus on a near-white interface. Some of the menu icons, such as "Print," are a little cryptic, but its Apple-esque style should prove popular.
The main reason it makes the list, however, is its "throbber," or the icon that animates while a Web page is loading. extero's is the coolest throbber I've seen this year...maybe the coolest ever.
HiVisGnome Jumbo theme
If you're gonna go big, you might as well go all the way. This helpful Firefox theme, developed as part of the Access Firefox project for users with vision problems, is the biggest theme I've ever seen. Some of the options icons look straight out of 1994, but it's hard to beat for customizing an interface that's as easy to see and use.
5. Miint
Miint Firefox theme
Ah, mint chocolate-chip ice cream. I'm personally not the biggest fan, but I send a shout out to my mom and everyone else who loves the stuff with Miint, a Firefox theme full of frosty green and dark chocolate goodness. There's nothing to scream about, but it has its own cool style.
4. Redshift V2
RedShift V2 theme
Take a slide into the darker side, with this black-and-red Firefox theme that could appeal to both goths and 2 Fast 2 Furious racing types. A side bonus: the red highlights throughout the interface may convince coworkers that you bite.
The unique look wasn't enough to keep me around long, however. As pictured, I made much use of the Theme Switcher feature enabled by the MR Tech Local Install extension during my trip into the world of themes.
3. Tinseltown
Tinseltown theme
If you're one of those Christmas-loving maniacs who decorates every inch of your desktop with yuletide icons and loves to torment your coworkers with your holiday cheer, congratulations. Your Firefox theme awaits.
Confusing green and red Christmas lights denote back and forward navigation, respectively; red-nosed Rudolph refreshes your browser (huh?); and Santa's hat means stop. Oh, it's the initials! Hmm. Too bad it does nothing to my "Closed Tabs" taskbar icon (available via TabMixPlus). I was hoping for reindeer dung.
Aside from the seasonal appropriateness, what merits Tinseltown's lofty status in my favorite Firefox themes list are the candy canes that replace your scroll and progress bars. Snazzy!
It's for use during the holiday season only, unless you're "that guy."
2. TrafficFox
TrafficFox theme
Go. Stop. Spin yourself crazy circling an inescapable roundabout. Vous n'avez pas la priorite! TrafficFox is the perfect Firefox theme for anyone who loves the term "information superhighway." Non?
Its sleek style--with traffic icons for navigation functions--and minimally intrusive yet informative interfaces transform Web surfing from a pedestrian experience to a joyride in a fancy European sports car. Really? Well, no. But the design does look slick.
Littlefox for Firefox theme
There are a number of great "mini" themes out there. The goal is to maximize screen space, making it ideal for viewing large pictures or videos with your browser. I'm sticking to the one that I use the most: Littlefox for Firefox by Alfred Kayser.
One of my favorite touches are the gear icons for my little bookmarklets like ZAP. It's clever like a Littlefox, and I'm sticking with it...for now.
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