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Exclusive: Zelda 3DS 'feels totally different,' needs to be played in 3D

The Nintendo 3DS has already been through a lot. The first-ever glasses-less 3D portable console didn't have the most glamorous of launches when it hit the market more than two years ago. Tainted by an underwhelming batch of debut software, controversial 3D effect, and a disappointing battery life, the 3DS didn't have a whole lot going for it out of the gate.

If that wasn't enough of a burden, the 3DS was also forced to follow up the original DS, a predecessor that is approaching worldwide sales of 154 million units combined. It's the best-selling portable console of all time.

But in the 25 months since its release, the 3DS has made significant strides. A focus on the platform's online store and a hardware refresh with a much bigger screen and better battery have begun to right the ship. Most importantly, a bevy of compelling software has been made available -- though some have criticized the company's continual recycling of classic games. … Read more

Interactive Google Play app dishes up actor details

Google today introduced a new feature to the Google Play Movies and TV app for Android. Dubbed "info cards," they offer up contextually based "cards" with related information and links.

If you've ever watched a TV show or movie and wondered where you might have seen the actor before, or if you're curious what that song is playing in the end credits, these info cards save the day.

It may be a matter of pure coincidence, but Amazon today announced that X-Ray for TV is available for Kindle Fire and Wii U devices. Somewhat … Read more

MP3InfoEditor looks good but has functional issues

You probably think of your MP3s as songs, and so they are, usually. But they're also data files, and they contain a lot of information; some of it you can edit. Moo0's MP3InfoEditor lets you edit that information, including Artist, Title, Album, Year, and more, including a Comments field. It can read and write data in a huge range of text-encoding formats (the default Character Set is UTF-8; UTF-16 and UTF-16BE are available, too) and apply data to files in batches. With drag-and-drop and a Keep on Top option, it seems ideal for editing large numbers of files … Read more

Clarion Next Gate puts iPhone control, app integration on your windshield

Clarion Corporation of America announced today at CTIA 2012 a new way to connect your iPhone to your car: the Next Gate.

Clarion's Next Gate is a 7-inch WVGA touch display that mounts on your vehicle's windshield with a suction cup, much like a portable navigation device. (However, at 7 inches, its size is only rivaled by the largest of PNDs, such as Magellan's RoadMate 9055-LM.) The Next Gate features a cable connection to the iPhone 4's or iPhone 4S' 30-pin dock connector for data and charging; meanwhile the Clarion unit itself is powered by a … Read more

Keep weather data handy with WeatherInfo

WeatherInfo is a simple application that keeps the current conditions and five-day forecast at your fingertips. It's not the most feature-packed weather app we've seen, but if you're looking for a program that can hang out unobtrusively in your system tray and provide you with weather info when you need it, it's not a bad choice.

The program's interface is straightforward and easy to navigate, with tabs dividing it into screens for Current, Forecast, and Options. The Current tab shows a thermometer with the current temperature down the left side, and a text box displays … Read more

CrystalDiskInfo is a top-notch disk-watcher

CrystalDiskInfo is one of the tools we turn to when we want as much useful data as possible about our system's hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid-state drives (SSDs) as well as many external drives. This free system utility monitors the health and status of your drives and displays the information in a compact, easy-to-read interface. CrystalDiskInfo monitors and displays your drives' temperature and SMART data, and it can even alert you when things start to go wrong.

CrystalDiskInfo's user interface displays your drives' health status and temperature sensor data (where available) in a bar along the top … Read more

How to gather contact information with Postable

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Managing a large address book can be tedious, but it doesn't have to be. Usually when you send out requests for contact information you'll have to scour the e-mail you get back for all the pieces of info you're currently missing. With Postable, you can have contacts edit their own information by sharing a link with them, and then export all of the collected information right to your own address book. Here's how to get started:

First you'll need to head to Postable.com and sign up for an account. Hopefully OAuth support … Read more

Get more information with MediaInfo Lite

Most Windows users know that you can right-click on any file to view its properties, such as its file type, size, location, and dates that it was created, modified, and last accessed. If you wish the Windows properties menu included more information, try MediaInfo Lite. While it doesn't display full metadata, it does let you quickly access a little more information about your files, especially videos.

Once installed, MediaInfo Lite can be run as a standalone program or accessed via the context menu. We tried the program with several image files, and it displayed the file size and format, … Read more

Make your contact lists smarter on iPhone

How many contact lists do you have? A new iPhone app from Xobni unifies your contact lists into one app (already available for Android), helping you quickly find contact information from a number of sources.

Smartr Contacts for iPhone (Free) unifies your contacts by scanning your iPhone contact list and e-mail contacts, then grabbing information from social sites like Facebook and Twitter, to merge all the available data into a searchable supercharged contact list.

You start by adding your Gmail account, then social sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Once connected, Smartr Contacts goes to work tying your contact data … Read more

Steve Jobs and NeXT: Genesis of the new Apple

Some of the most revealing video of Steve Jobs can be seen when he was pitching NeXT Computer--a cutting-edge workstation that flopped but contained the seeds for successful Mac designs to come.

I was formally introduced to NeXT when Jobs visited the offices of InfoWorld in San Mateo, Calif.--where I worked as a reporter in the early 1990s. Surprisingly, not many people attended his session. (Or maybe it's not that surprising since Jobs and NeXT were perceived at that time to be on the skids.)

The small audience (and it was a relatively small conference room, to boot) … Read more