levels

Review: New Super Mario Forever 2012 is familiar, yet different

New Super Mario Forever 2012 looks and feels just like the real deal, even down to the music. Though it takes far too long to set up and there are a few kinks, it's a great way to get your Mario fix. If you like gaming on your computer, it beats dusting off the old Nintendo or paying big bucks for the original games on eBay.

During installation, this game will try to change your homepage and search to Bing. Make sure you opt out of that if you don't want it. The game takes a while to … Read more

ICANN to shift around top-level execs

ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is shifting around some key executives, the organization said in a blog posted Thursday.

Starting July 1, Akram Atallah, currently chief operating officer, will transition to a new role as president of the Generic Domains Division. Focusing on generic domain operations, the new division is considered necessary as ICANN's new gTLD (generic top-level domain) program will take on much greater responsibility moving forward, according to ICANN president and CEO Fadi Chehade.

ICANN's new gTLD program will expand the types of Internet extensions that are available -- such as .com, .… Read more

SXSW shocker: For LevelUp, business strategy trumps buzz

AUSTIN, Texas--If the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach, perhaps the optimal way to engineer real affection for your startup is to cook up a similar approach.

That seems to be the logic behind mobile pay service LevelUp's presence at South by Southwest, a show where brands are drowning out startups in search of their breakout moment.

LevelUp, a 2-year-old mobile pay service operated by Boston startup SCVNGR, skipped dog-and-pony-show antics for a far more practical strategy that is drumming up dollars instead of buzz. The company is powering mobile pay at every food … Read more

Google might open up certain top-level domains to the public

Google appears eager to let other organizations use certain top-level domains that it wants to acquire and manage.

Last June, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Named and Numbers (ICANN) revealed which companies and organizations had applied for their own generic top-level domains (gTLDs). The effort is part of a move to foster competition on the Internet by allowing companies to use a greater variety of TLDs beyond just .com.

Google applied for 101 of the 1,900 available gTLDs, looking to score such obvious ones as .google, .chrome, .gmail, .goog, and .youtube. But along with those gTLDs were ones that … Read more

Use your cell phone to detect mercury levels in water

It may not make your list of must-have camping gear, but a new sheet that detects mercury levels in water may prove useful to those who live or work downstream from industrial and mining sites (such as gold mines and coal-fired powered plants) and want to drink the local water.

When dipped in water for five minutes, the sheet, manufactured by chemists at the University of Burgos in Spain, signals the presence of mercury by turning red -- a process that can be seen with the naked eye.

Take a picture of that sheet with a digital camera, and you can learn the specific concentration of the mercury, a metal that is liquid at room temperature and has been found to cause long-term neurological issues after accumulating in the brain.… Read more

Sony's PlayStation 3 experiences its biggest hack yet

Hackers have found a way to break down one of the toughest defensive walls in Sony's PlayStation 3 software security, ensuring that those who use custom firmware can run homebrew software and pirated games forever.

A group calling itself "The Three Musketeers" on Monday released a secret set of LV0 codes that can decrypt the PlayStation 3's Level 0 (LV0) security layer used by the primary boot loader. This means that hackers should always have the ability to release custom firmware for the device any time Sony updates the console's software. Custom firmware gives PS3 owners the ability to run pirated games, homebrew software (such as retro game emulators), and even Linux. … Read more

Dirt-cheap dSLRs (roundup)

If you're looking for a cheap dSLR, about $500 or less including the usual 18-55mm kit lens, you don't have a lot of choice. If you're really vigilant and are willing to leave your comfort zone you can find a few more options.

What does leaving your comfort zone entail? First, ensure that the price you're looking at is for a new, not used or refurbished model. Second, if the seller insists that you have to speak to a salesperson in order to complete the order, that's a red flag -- they usually do that to deliver a high-pressure sales pitch for accessories. While you may be able to resist the pitch, outlets like that have a habit of messing up the order or delivering gray-market merchandise. (Note that gray-market products aren't bad as long as you're aware of what to expect, such as no warranty.)

I selected the products below because they are fairly widely available for less than $500, but with some work you can also find older recommended models like the Pentax K-x, Canon EOS Rebel T2i, and Rebel T1i for under $600 or with the occasional discount for less than $500.… Read more

The strangest new top-level domain applications

Earlier today in London, ICANN released a list of thousands of applications for new generic top-level domains. The applications include plenty of brand protection moves like .google and .bentley, as well as some more generic speculation plays like .beer or the very popular .app, which received several applications.

There was also plenty of weirdness buried in the list of suffixes, applicants, and primary contacts.

For example, it looks as though Google might be interested in giving the Cheezburger network a run for its money with oddball applications for domains .lol, .wow, and .fun.… Read more

Guess who wants new military top-level domains? Not the military...

Among the thousands of applications for new generic top-level domains that ICANN released today are three to run new .army, .navy and .airforce domains. The applicant isn't the U.S. Department of Defense -- or any other government entity for that matter -- it's those masters of cheap, spammy content, Demand Media.

The military suffixes are three of 26 applications that list United TLD Holdco Ltd. as the applicant -- United TLD is a Cayman Islands-based subsidiary of Demand Media, which runs eHow.com and other sites. The company was part of the inspiration behind tweaks to Google's search algorithm last year that resulted in giving less weight to so-called "content farms" -- like Demand Media.… Read more