effects

Twitter said today that it will withhold tweets from a country when there are local restrictions rather than having to block them globally.

"As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression," the company wrote on its blog. "Some differ so much from our ideas that we will not be able to exist there. Others are similar but, for historical or cultural reasons, restrict certain types of content, such as France or Germany, which ban pro-Nazi content."

Until now, the only way Twitter could … Read more

Paper Camera offers up a unique photography experience using a cute interface to produce simulated hand-drawn results, but you'll need to select your shots carefully. The interface looks like a camera made from paper (appropriately), with hand-drawn arrow buttons for switching effects; controls for contrast, brightness, and line weight on the right side; and a save button in the lower right. You have the choice of taking shots directly with your iPhone camera (showing the effect in real time) or selecting an image from your photo library.

Paper Camera is a neat concept, but in addition to requiring you … Read more

There's no shortage of math-related educational freeware (or, as they say in Britain and many other places, "maths") and U.K.-based Eptsoft would clearly like your local council to choose its product, Accounting Maths and Computing for Business Studies V10, for your schools. To that end, it offers an ad-supported, reduced-feature freeware version of this package of educational and financial tools. However, it also has what may well be the most persistent and annoying full-screen ads we've ever encountered, and it disables full-screen features so you can't possibly miss the constantly refreshing, ad-splashed background. … Read more

A funny thing happened when I sat down to test out Mass Effect 3's ability to shout out orders to my virtual squad mates: I resisted. Big time.

As a longtime Mass Effect fan (I'm almost embarrassed to admit I've played the previous two games enough times to see virtually all of the different endings), it was difficult not to fall back on to old habits. Despite some tweaks and additions to the game, Mass Effect 3 played similarly to its two predecessors, so the temptation was there.

But I persevered and actively avoided using buttons and pausing the game, instead barking my orders via the Xbox's Kinect peripheral, which powers the feature. After the initial awkward few minutes in which I learned the different commands on the fly, I was routinely telling my squadmates to fire singularity warp fields and throw grenades just as naturally as if I asked my co-worker to hand me an extra notepad. The result was a more satisfying experience and a stronger personal connection to the virtual characters flanking me in combat.

Gamers will get their own chance to try out the game on February 14, when EA and Bioware will release a free demo online to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles, as well as the PC. The game hits stores on March 6. … Read more

Eptsoft offers Electrical, Mechanics, and Maths as educational freeware. It includes a wide range of scientific and engineering formulas, calculators, and other tools in a series of clearly illustrated pop-up windows. It also has the most annoying and frustrating nag screen we've ever encountered in so-called freeware. It pops up every 20 seconds or so, obscures the entire screen, and must be closed manually to continue our "evaluation." You have to pay ("donate") to remove the ads and actually use the program. It's cheap, but it ain't free. Did we mention it's … Read more

There are a ton of image-editing apps that add effects to your images, but what about video?

Anyone who uses an iPhone 4 or 4S knows the smartphone takes great-looking video, but your options are limited with the Apple app when it comes to adding effects. Don't underestimate the value of adding effects, either: a good effect can turn a mundane subject into a great video.

This week's collection of iOS apps is all about adding effects to your videos. The first two have social components that let you share your completed videos and follow other users. The last is more specifically for adding effects, but is lacking when it comes to social components (and that may be exactly what you're after).… Read more

Photo Frames & Effects Free is a basic image editor with a handful of special image enhancements. It's definitely not the most impressive or comprehensive image editor we've seen, but for simple tweaks and effects it's not a bad choice.

The program's interface is plain and intuitive, with a tabbed menu giving users access to editing features, effects, and filters. The editing menu contains the basics, such as rotating and resizing tools and white balance and contrast controls, though we were surprised to find that the program doesn't seem to have a cropping feature. The … Read more

Two popular programs included with OS X are Photo Booth and iChat, both of which allow you to use a camera attached to the system to capture and send pictures and videos of yourself to friends and colleagues.

Both of these programs have a video effects section, where you can apply filters to stretch and warp your face into odd shapes, or have hearts or birds revolve around your head for a "lovestruck" or "dizzy" effect. While these features should work just fine, there are situations in which the effect either cuts in and out or … Read more

There are tons of photo-editing apps in the iTunes App Store, but a recent update to an old favorite might be one of the best yet. It's called Photogene 2 and it offers so many tools that it's almost like it does the job of multiple apps.

Photogene 2 (99 cents until November 17) is the successor of a favorite photo-editing app of ours on iOS, and this completely rebuilt version is definitely worth checking out. To start off, a redesigned interface offers intuitive controls for exploring Photogene2's many editing options.… Read more