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Discogs expands its marketplace to help you sell used audio gear
Discogs' vinyl-tracking app and database are handy for vinyl collectors on the hunt for some new goods. However, the company is moving beyond records and into audio gear as a whole with its next big project. In an interview with Thump, Discogs founder and CEO Kevin Lewandowski explained that it already launched a database called Gearogs for synths, drum machines, turntables and more.
Use Foursquare to hail your next Uber ride
Since it gave check-ins the boot, the main Foursquare app became a directory of restaurants, coffee shops, retail locations and more. Thanks to a partnership with Button, though, the mobile software is more useful. After you find a new spot for dinner, you'll be able to book a ride with Uber from inside the app. Once you select the option, you're given the choice of car and the wait time for each. If you're not familiar with Button, the company that links apps together, leveraging tools and services to enhance the experience. The new feature is already live in the Foursquare app, so if you fancy it, you can give it try right now.
Yahoo's old web directory still exists, but not for long
Way before Yahoo launched Search, it offered people from a different era a more primitive way to find websites: a web directory. While the advent of sophisticated search engines likely means you haven't seen that directory in a decade or so (confession: we didn't even realize it was still around), it apparently still exists... though not for long. Yahoo has just announced that it's finally shutting down the service on December 31st, 2014, 20 years after company founders Jerry Yang and David Filo first put it together. For the young 'uns who've never had to use it, the Yahoo Directory is exactly what it sounds like: a directory of websites you can browse to find the info you're looking for, something we clearly don't need anymore. Let us have a moment of silence as this relic of the early internet bids farewell and (along with Yahoo Education and short movie creation service Qwiki) joins the 60 other services Yahoo has recently killed in an effort to find its focus.
NeonGrid offers an IMDb-esque directory for web videos
There's no question how useful the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is for gathering info on a costume designer or the complete list of Ray Liotta films. Unfortunately, hasn't been a similar for works published on sites like Vimeo or YouTube... until now. Thanks to co-founder and former IMDB exec John W. Gibbons, NeonGrid looks to tackle the list of credits for online short films, music videos and commercials with details like actors, director and video lead -- complete with contact info. The directory allows folks who work on web-based moving pictures to tag their achievements that get organized alongside the corresponding video. As you might expect, a system of checks is built in to keep info accurate amongst the current tally of 30,000 credits.
Square believes it can trump Foursquare in the local recommendations game
Square collects a lot of store info by virtue of its payment business, so you'd think it would be great at recommending where to shop. And you may soon be right, according to the company's Ajit Varma. While he doesn't have a schedule, he tells The Verge that Square will eventually customize its directory to suggest hot or newly opened stores based on our spending habits. Varma even believes that his company could beat Foursquare in the local recommendations field, and it's easy to see why when Square knows that we're willing to buy, not just that we've entered a given store. Of course, this is all contingent on both a ubiquitous Square presence and consumerist intentions. Foursquare is entirely willing to point us to both free landmarks as well as stores without Square readers, so it's doubtful that the two services will ever completely overlap.
Magellan announces RoadMate RV9145 GPS device, offers campground navigation for $350
Looking to get a jump start on your summer road trip? Magellan wants to help out, with the RoadMate RV9145. This latest addition to the RoadMate family of GPS devices features an "extra-wide" seven-inch display, which drivers can use to locate campgrounds and navigate the open road, even in low light conditions. With the RV9145, you'll have access to the Good Sam Trailer Life RV Parks & Campground Directory, which offers information on more than 11,700 campground locations across the US and Canada, including those with WiFi and other amenities. Each route, moreover, can be tailored according to your vehicle's height, width and weight, as well as your own preferences for scenic or expedient traveling. The device also comes packed with Magellan's Smart Detour, which offers alternate routes whenever traffic gets unexpectedly thorny, and offers both 2D and 3D mapping capabilities. No word yet on when this device will hit the market, but when it does, you'll be able to grab it for $350.
California stops automatic phone book delivery following pressure from Verizon
We've long known paper books are on the decline, but now we're seeing the first death knell for the fattest of them all. California's public utilities commission has ruled that it will no longer deliver doorstops residential phone books unless folks specifically ask for it -- a move that's expected to prevent 1,870 tons of material from entering the state's waste stream. Californians, like everyone else, can search the White Pages online, but they'll still be able to request a paper copy or CD-ROM if they're feeling old-fashioned. For now, though, the state will continue to ship government White Pages and the Yellow Pages for local business listings (in a post-Yelp world, that seems antiquated). What's especially fascinating about all this is that the pressure to cease automatic phone book deliveries came from none other than Verizon, which mounted a case back in October, citing the enormous human and natural resources required to get updated phone books into people's hands each year. Of course, the estimated 1,870 tons of averted waste is a fraction of the 660,000 tons BanthePhoneBook.org says these tomes create every year, but here's hoping it'll be enough to make other states take note.
TUAW Tip: Moving your home folder to another disk (or moving it back)
In ye olde times, with "Mack OSe 9," many users chose to keep their personal files, work, and documents on a different physical disk from their startup disk. It was a safety measure: If one disk goes down, at least the other won't. There was no structural reason to keep files in a particular disk location, other than keeping them out of the System Folder. I visited a client yesterday whose drive scheme was set up exactly like this, and he wanted to be (finally) upgraded to Leopard. I wasn't sure how Leopard would handle the fact that his Users folder had been moved to a different drive, so (knowing I had backups of his entire system) I cautiously proceeded with the installation. After the installer finished, Leopard had created a fresh, blank Users folder on the startup disk with a home folder bearing the same username. This wasn't exactly the answer I was looking for. I had to link, somehow, the new Users/hisname folder with his existing user folder on the other volume. Turns out, Leopard handles this much better than previous versions of Mac OS X. Read on to find out how.
Bolster your Twitter followers with the video game industry directory
Sam Houston knows more about social networking in gaming communities than the rest of us combined. After all, he is the community manager for GamerDNA, a sort of ludological Facebook (only without the near-constant application invitations). So when Houston called out the gaming industry last summer for failing to use common social networking tools to keep in touch with their customers, they took it to heart, and joined the Twitter ranks en masse.Earlier today, Houston compiled a directory of gaming industry moguls who tweet with alarming frequency. If you've ever wondered about the daily exploits of folks like @djaffe and @fourzerotwo, but never been interested to read more than 140 characters about said exploits, you might want to check it out. Then again, you may just use this new information to further stalk @majornelson. We can't really condone that type of behavior.
Mac 101: Quickly change directory in save/open dialogs
More Mac 101, our series of tips for new Mac OS X users. Have you ever tried to open or save a file, and you want to quickly change from the directory (folder) you are browsing to another directory? It might be simpler than you think, and it doesn't require you to go searching for the directory from the dialog box! When in an open/save dialog, drag a folder from any Finder window (including the Desktop) to the dialog. The open/save dialog will instantly show that directory. You can then type in a file name to save as, or locate the file to open. Using this method to change directories can often save time; it's also one of the Mac OS X features that can be confusing for switchers, as the Windows XP & Vista behavior is quite different (dragging items to a dialog will copy them to the displayed directory, instead of changing the target).Want more tips and tricks like this? Visit TUAW's Mac 101 section!
How to uninstall the PTR client
A minor but important point: do not run the uninstaller to remove the Public Test Realm (PTR) client, just delete the PTR folder. Most people can find the PTR client inside the "WoWTest" folder, which resides in the "World of Warcraft" folder. More specifically, you should be able to locate the WoW Test folder in "C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft" or "C:\Program Files (x86)\World of Warcraft\". If you have MacOS X the "WoWTest" folder is stored in "Macintosh HD::Applications::World of Warcraft".Other people can find the PTR client inside of the folder "C:\Users\Public\Games\World of Warcraft Public Test" in Windows Vista and "C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft Public Test" in WindowsXP. MacOS X users can find the files in "MacintoshHD::Applications::World of Warcraft Public Test".This important bit of information came from blue poster Maaven on the official forums today. With Patch 3.0.2 being released tomorrow, the PTR client is useless and came be safely removed. But be sure that you remove it the way Maaven suggests.WoW Insider will have a lot of 3.0.2 coverage tomorrow. We'll also be keeping the light on tonight and will get you the patch notes as soon as they appear.
Wrath of the Lich King Beta weekend coverage roundup
Good Monday morning everyone! It's time for most of us to head back to work and school today, which means it's also a perfect time to catch up on any news you missed over the weekend -- after you're done with your work, of course. I'm sure you checked in at least once during the weekend and saw the big news. It's not just a rumor, the Wrath of the Lich King Beta is indeed live. I'm sure you were out barbequing, or camping, or whatever else all you people who had the weekend off were doing. We here at WoW Insider, of course, were working on rounding up and analyzing all the new information coming out from the newly NDA free Alpha and Beta. So if you missed the coverage, or if you just want to look it over again, read on. Also, keep an eye on our Wrath news page that we'll keep updated with the latest expansion news as it happens. General Information: First of all, you're probably going to want to read and bookmark our Wrath of the Lich King directory page. It will be updated every day with all the latest articles and information on the expansion. Check out the first iteration of the Wrath Beta patch notes. If you haven't signed up for a chance at a Beta key yet, be sure to visit Blizzard's official opt-in page. If you have signed up for a chance at a Beta key, keep an eye on your in-box. Netheara says that invites should be going out -- just watch out for the scams, of course. If you're still unsure about some aspect of the Beta, be sure to check the official Beta FAQ. Even if you're not in the Beta, you can still browse the official forums and see what testers are discussing -- and how the devs are answering them. Keep reading after the break for more on class changes, talents, tradeskills, and more.
Online mobile number directory shuts down in a flash
Intelius, a firm that appears to make a business out of trolling for private information and providing it to whomever has the appropriate coin, has shut down its online directory of mobile phone numbers -- a directory that contained some 90 million entries -- allegedly "in response to consumer feedback" after boatloads of people responded in anger to the service's very existence. The biggest problem for folks was that the directory wasn't opt-in, it was opt-out -- and opting out required jumping through ridiculous hoops like faxing (yes, faxing) your driver's license to the company. For its part, an Intelius spokesperson says that the company is simply "ahead of [its] time." If by "ahead of its time" they mean that in the future any nutjob with a few bucks will be able to look up your private cell number by name, then we're just fine with staying in the present, thankyouverymuch.
New WoW Insider directory page
New to WoW Insider and want to know what's in our back catalogue? Looking for our more reference-oriented posts? We know stories and features drop off the front page all too quickly and search isn't always the best way to find something, so we're always looking for ways to give you access to some of our older content that's still informative. We've started a new WoW Insider directory page to help you find some of our best guides, resources and original features. Is there a guide we haven't done yet that you'd like to see? Let us know what you want to know in the comments! WoW Insider directory
TUAW Tip: visit your Library
This tip could definitely be classified as rudimentary to some, but I thought it would be handy to shed some light on a folder in the Home directory that is rarely opened by many users: the Library. For those who sometimes wonder things such as where Safari stores your bookmarks or where Mail.app keeps all those messages you never reply to, your Library folder is calling your name. The Library in your Home folder is where Mac OS X stores all the data you enter into almost any and every application you use. Take a look at ~/Library/Safari, for example (the (~) stands for your Home folder). In there is just about everything Safari stores for you, including your bookmarks and history. There are plenty of other handy folders to check out in your Library, such as the Fonts folder which stores all the fonts you install, but I think the real meat of the Library is the Application Support folder. This is where most applications will store their information, such as Adium extras, Camino/Firefox bookmarks, NetNewsWire subscription information and the database file iWeb uses to create your website.The Library is where (almost) all of it happens boys and girls, so take a look around. There are a lot of handy folders in there, but more importantly: in addition to the rest of the folders in your Home directory, the Library is one of the most vital to back up. So feel free to look around and familiarize yourself with your Library, the "guy behind the guy" of your Mac OS X Home directory.
