Chocomize personalized chocolate: giveaway and discount code

Okay, I know what you're thinking: chocolate on Download Squad? That's right! That's because Chocomize is one of the nerdiest ways to get chocolate online: it's a website where you customize your own bar using a multi-step process.

We've covered Chocomize before in our holiday gift guide, so when they reached out to us offering to do a giveaway, we really couldn't resist.

Chocomize is giving away ten gift certificates, each worth $50, for you to create your own customized chocolate. They sent us some pictures of their recent creations, which you can find in the gallery below.

Regardless of the giveaway, you can use the discount code switched to get 10% off any Chocomize order. The code is valid through April 20th - just in time for Easter!

To participate, simply leave a comment. Fine print is after the jump.

Gallery: Chocomize personalized chocolate

Continue reading Chocomize personalized chocolate: giveaway and discount code

Chocomize personalized chocolate: giveaway and discount code originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/06/giveaway-and-discount-code-chocomize-personalized-chocolate/

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How I Was Nearly Seduced by Grouper, the Biggest Sham in Online Dating (Updated) [Dating]

A month ago, I was approached by Jerry Guo, ostensible Silicon Alley wunderkind who'd turned $400 in transit money into Grouper, a profitable dating startup. He guaranteed me a great time with "3 real girls." Update: Guo apologizes (sorta) More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/I2lF1WBWKuM/how-i-was-nearly-seduced-by-grouper-the-biggest-sham-in-online-dating

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Cloud Girlfriend will use a swarm of females to satisfy men

Cloud Girlfriend, despite what it sounds like, doesn't really have anything to do with cloud computing. Rather, it uses a cloud of women to pose as your girlfriend on Facebook, or your favorite social network of choice. The service is scheduled to launch 'soon,' and there's no indication of how much it will cost.

With the tagline 'The easiest way to get a girlfriend is to already have one,' Cloud Girlfriend promises to be a very interesting startup indeed. The brains of the operation, David Fuhriman, speaking to CNET, says it's all about fulfilling Maslow's hierarchy of needs. "CloudGirlfriend.com can fulfill Maslow's higher needs, even though the users know that the interaction is virtual. They will interact with a real person and see real profile images of the girl with whom they interact. This interaction can build confidence and esteem as well as provide real training experiences in navigating a friendship and a relationship."

Our concern, of course, is that it's very nearly April 1. We're also worried by the fact that Fuhriman has a name that sounds ominously like a social subculture that we've grown strangely attracted to here in the Download Squad bunker.

Finally, just stop and think about it for a second. Because your cloud girlfriend will be entirely virtual, she could be based anywhere. She could be underage -- or overage -- or she might be someone who you know in real life. She could even be a relative of yours, and you'd never know.

Let's not forget this is the Internet we're talking about, folks. Worst case scenario, she could turn out to be a hairy, male truck driver from Texas. Such as... your dad, perhaps?

Cloud Girlfriend will use a swarm of females to satisfy men originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 30 Mar 2011 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/03/30/cloud-girlfriend-will-use-an-army-of-females-to-please-lonely-me/

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Install the Windows Phone 7 NoDo update regardless of your carrier

Some of you who own Windows Phone 7 devices are still waiting for your pre-NoDo preparation update -- never mind NoDo itself. A few workarounds have been posted, but unfortunately they didn't work unless your carrier had completed testing and was ready to schedule the update.

Now, however, the Chevron WP7 team's Chris Walshie has delivered a handy little utility that will allow you to update any Windows Phone 7 device -- regardless of your carrier.

1. Download and install the Windows Phone Support Tool (x86 or x64) and the ChevronWP7 Updater (x86 or x64)
2. Launch ChevronWP7 Updater and select your language. If your language isn't listed, stop and do not update.
3. If were running WP7 build 7004 (you can verify in Zune) then run the updater twice.

Once the process completes, you should be able to copy and paste to your heart's content. Let's just hope all this update foolishness gets sorted out before we're supposed to receive Mango.

Install the Windows Phone 7 NoDo update regardless of your carrier originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/install-the-windows-phone-7-nodo-update-regardless-of-your-carri/

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British royal family announces iOS and Android wedding app

To celebrate the imminent marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Royal Collection will release an Android an iOS app that chronicles the last seven royal marriages, including Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert in 1840.

Ironically, the app won't actually feature anything to do with William and Kate's marriage -- rather, it will focus on the "tradition, splendor and romance" that are intrinsic to British royal marriages. "[The app] will share the stories of past royal weddings and offer a wealth of historical context for the ceremony on April 29."

Unfortunately, the app, which has been lumbered with the fantastically creative name of 'Royal App,' won't be available until April 18 -- just 11 days before Kate's big day. It won't be free, either: it'll cost the rather princely sum of £1.79, or three of your Tea Party-loving dollars. The money will go to the Royal Collection, though, which is a good cause!

British royal family announces iOS and Android wedding app originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/british-royal-family-announces-ios-and-android-wedding-app/

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Tiny 'jumping robots' have more in common with firecrackers than Johnny 5

Perhaps calling an immobile plastic bug with explosives strapped to its underside a "jumping robot" is a bit of a stretch, but who are we to argue with the Army Research Laboratory and the University of Maryland. The two groups have collaborated to create a pair of "robots" that measure just a few millimeters in size but can jump several centimeters in the air. One uses a spring like mechanism (which an operator must press down with a pair of tweezers) to propel it, while the other uses a small rocket, which can be triggered either by current applied over wires or a phototransistor (for untethered flight). It all makes for a pretty neat video, which you can find after the break - even if your sister's Furby was more robot than these tiny things.

Continue reading Tiny 'jumping robots' have more in common with firecrackers than Johnny 5

Tiny 'jumping robots' have more in common with firecrackers than Johnny 5 originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 01:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/30/tiny-jumping-robots-have-more-in-common-with-firecrackers-than/

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Mozilla publishes name and shame list of slow Firefox add-ons, cracks down on tardy devs

Mozilla, continuing its year-long crusade to speed up Firefox startup and shutdown times, has published a name and shame list of the Firefox's slowest add-ons.

The list is just one part of Mozilla's new efforts to highlight slow add-ons, and to help developers make their add-ons more efficient. Over the next two weeks, 'slow performance warnings' will be introduced in the add-on gallery so that users can see, before installation, which add-ons will slow down their browser. If that isn't enough to spur developers into cleaning up their add-ons, Mozilla has also begun reaching out to developers of slow add-ons with tips on how to improve add-on performance. Finally, add-on developers will soon have the ability to perform 'on-demand performance testing,' so that they can test their add-on before it's deployed publicly.

Mozilla reports that the average Firefox add-on slows down Firefox's start-up time by 10% -- which means, if you install 10 add-ons, you will double your start-up time. On fast desktop PCs that kind of slowdown might be negligible, but on older computers, laptops and smartphones, it could be the difference between a 5 and 10 second startup. Mozilla has obviously realized that while massive performance gains might've been made with Firefox 4, the addition of third-party add-ons can destroy any user-perceived improvements.

In other news, Mozilla says that a future build of Firefox will block the installation of add-ons (such as toolbars) by third-party software. Add-ons and toolbars that are bundled in this way will require explicit approval when you next open up Firefox. Hooray!

Mozilla publishes name and shame list of slow Firefox add-ons, cracks down on tardy devs originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/04/mozilla-publishes-name-and-shame-list-of-slow-firefox-add-ons/

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Verizon appeals net neutrality rules, let the legal wrangling begin

We told you it was only a matter of time and, honestly, it took a bit longer than expected. Verizon has officially filed an appeal to the FCC's net neutrality rules, which are set to take effect on Novemeber 20th. It wasn't until the regulations were published in the Federal Register on September 23rd that they became fair game for legal challenges -- a technicality that resulted in Verizon's previous attempt to block the rules being tossed out by the US Court of Appeals in April. While Verizon senior vice president and deputy general counsel, Michael E. Glover, assures netizens that the company is "fully committed to an open Internet," it none-the-less takes issue with the FCC's attempt to institute new "broad" and "sweeping" regulations on the telecommunications industry. We're sure this is only the first of several cases that will be brought before the courts challenging the commission's authority. Stayed tuned to see if and when MetroPCS re-enters the fray, and to find out the ultimate fate of net neutrality here in the US. Check out the brief statement from Verizon after the break.

Continue reading Verizon appeals net neutrality rules, let the legal wrangling begin

Verizon appeals net neutrality rules, let the legal wrangling begin originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/30/verizon-appeals-net-neutrality-rules-let-the-legal-wrangling-be/

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How Wikipedia Is Making QR Codes Useful Again [Wikipedia]

QR codes have fallen out of fashion and sunk to an all-time low. But Wikipedia and its QRpedia service may change all that. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/qcnRfd5oaNU/how-wikipedia-is-making-qr-codes-useful-again

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Tribute to the forgotten video game heroes: sound designers

Since my first childhood experiences with arcade machines and old cassettes, there's an aspect that I haven't paid much attention to, but has shaped the way I enjoy video games: music. In a world of constant graphic innovation, new gameplay mechanics and elaborate stories, the thing that remains with me are those soundtracks that bring to life those video game universes.

Last Friday I had the chance to pay a tribute to the forgotten heroes. Paying respects to the sound designers and composers that lifted certain titles to world-known tunes. What a better way to bring back joystick memories than with other geeks and gamers at the Royal Festival Hall in the SouthBank Centre in London? Such a great initiative deserved a post here.

The talented composer Andrew Skeet had the privilege of conducting none other than the London Philharmonic Orchestra, interpreting 25 songs from the video game world that have marked history. Presented by the witty Iain Lee, who writes for Retro Gamer, the show included some short introduction about the tracks played, little known facts about the game creator or how a particular piece was chosen for the video game.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appfreak/~3/nboC_b_b9O4/tribute-to-the-forgotten-video-game-heroes-sound-designers.html

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Fake Girlfriend Texting Service Is Actually Pretty Brilliant [Dating]

The notion of signing up for automated calls and texts from a machine pretending to be your girlfriend sounds pathetic—and I don't blame you for assuming it is. But here's why it's genius. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/1N-QCJ-TCNk/fake-girlfriend-texting-service-is-actually-pretty-brilliant

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VMware adds Mozy to its cloud and virtualization empire

Mozy is one of the most popular cloud backup services around, with more than one million users storing around 70 petabytes of data. Its popularity apparently put it on the acquisition radar of VMware -- which has now made Mozy part of its virtualization empire.

VMware's official blog post makes it clear that the company wasn't so much interested in Mozy as a consumer offering. Rather, it's the inner workings of Mozy which piqued VMware's curiosity. CTO Steve Herrod says, "Over the past 5 years, Mozy has built one of the best examples of a globally distributed, large-scale cloud offering." He adds that the move will allow VMware to "further ramp our own cloud-related learning and accelerate new IP, scale, and capabilities" of its existing offerings.

Existing Mozy customers don't need to worry, of course. VMware has pledged to continue running Mozy's service without interruption.

VMware adds Mozy to its cloud and virtualization empire originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/04/05/vmware-takes-over-operation-of-mozy/

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Samsung Announces The Dual-Core Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus

Despite the fact that Apple has found a way to block sales of the latest two Galaxy Tabs, Samsung is going to try try again. The company officially announced the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus this morning, a 7-inch, HSPA+, dual-core slate. With the 7.0 Plus, Samsung has basically covered every size tablet there is: two 10.1-inch models, an 8.9-incher, a 7.7-inch tab, now a straight up 7-incher, along with the 5.3-inch smartphone/tablet hybrid Galaxy Note.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/lHpPhbiAUKg/

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Poll: Did you preorder an Amazon Kindle Fire?

Now that a couple days have passed, and you have had ample time to read about the Amazon Kindle Fire, talk it over with all your "knowledgeable" friends, and make a decision, we are dying to know. Did you pull the trigger and preorder one of these, or are you waiting for another device? Is the ability to sideload Android applications enough for you, or are you looking for the full Android experience? Be sure to let us know, and if you haven't gone ahead with a preorder, will you be in the near future?

Preorder the Amazon Kindle Fire

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/cJ5XT_N8UXU/android-central-asks-did-you-preorder-amazon-kindle-fire

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