• Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 and older.
• To enter, leave a comment tell us how many keys are on your keychain.
• The comment must be left before Friday, February 19, 2010, 11:59PM Eastern Standard Time.
• You may enter only once.
• Ten winners will be selected in a random drawing.
• Prize: One promo code for a copy of KeyGrinder (Value: US$0.99)
• Click Here for complete Official Rules.

TUAWTUAW review and giveaway: KeyGrinder for iPhone. It's PwdHash in an app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAWMacworld 2010: TUAW talks to OpenFeint originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TUAWTUAW TV Live: more on the aftermath of Macworld Expo at 5 PM ET originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Hello, this is Jay! The Direct Action soldier is invaluable to the team whether they’re attacking or defending. If attacking, it’s going to be your job to do as much damage as possible to key defensible points — like using your rockets to take out Defensive Emplacement Turrets. If defending, it’s the Direct Action guy’s job to keep key defense objectives up and running or out of enemy hands all together. Here are some specific tips to help you be the most effective Direct Action soldier you can be.

Basic Tips

• To be Direct Action, the most obvious step is to make sure you have a heavy machine gun in your loadout.
• Keep some kind of demolition gear with you at all times. Either a rocket launcher or mines will do the trick.
• Always stick with your squad. Keep the Commandos covered, and revive any fallen teammates if you have the “Resuscitation” skill equipped.

Advanced Tips

• Be sure to have loadouts geared for attacking and defending. If attacking, you probably won’t need a repair kit, so don’t take one. If defending make sure to have weapons that will best help you fend off attackers or stop a stolen vehicle from escaping!
• Make sure to have a good variety of weapons/gear in your loadouts. Always communicate with your squadmates to make certain you aren’t leaving anything behind that could prove valuable for your attack/defense.
• It’s a good idea to upgrade your machine gun as often as possible. Keep the red dot and foregrip on it to increase accuracy for most of your career.
• It’s also a good idea to get the “Increased Health” skill. Extra health will keep you alive longer. And the longer you live, the more enemies you can take out with your giant man cannon.
• Stay behind cover and move with your squad in waves. You’re not a one-man army and are meant to focus your demo on key objectives.

1Password, the oft-mentioned password manager and form filler, has just posted mockups of their in-the-works iPad version. Previously available on the desktop and for the iPhone, 1Password has undergone some visual overhauls already. The iPad version appears to take the current interface a little further with a few nice visual tweaks, and take full advantage of the large touch area of the iPad.

The design looks great to me, and I especially like the main toolbar with its recessed icons. The developers (and their graphic designer) appear to be taking the new form factor into consideration and generating a very usable interface. I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the iPad version, pending the purchase of an iPad, of course. Check out the post at the developer's blog for a better look!

TUAW1Password on your iPad originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The latest issue of PlayStation: The Official Magazine has a section called “Next Tech.” In it, a number of details about the possible future of the PS3 were laid out, including:

“…cross-game party chat is the obvious “next big feature,” even though it might be restricted to paid subscribers.”

Who among you would pay for such a service? What else could Sony include in their hypothetical premium PSN service that would entice you to fork over your cash? Let everybody know in a comment below!

TUAWiPhone battery dead? In a squeeze you can charge it with Jaffa oranges originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

VidZone, the free online music video streaming service for the PlayStation 3, has taken the European market by storm, becoming one of the most popular music video services on any platform as it rapidly expanded across 18 countries and built up a vast library of music. To learn more about the service, as well as its future, PlayStation LifeStyle interviewed Adrian Workman, the CEO of VidZone Digital Media.

PlayStation LifeStyle: Who are you, and what is your position at VidZone?

Adrian Workman: CEO of VidZone Digital Media. Set the company up in October 2001 having worked for the previous fifteen years in international music video distribution with major record labels.

PSLS: The PlayStation 3’s userbase is generally considered to consist of younger male gamers. Would you say that the VidZone demographic fits that stereotype?

AW: SCEE has just completed some research on VidZone and the average VidZone user is male and 29 years old, so we are skewing older than you’ve suggested.

PSLS: Why did you decide to provide music videos only, and not just music by itself?

AW: Our expertise is very aligned into the distribution of video rather than audio, hence the name, ‘VidZone,’ so we are playing to our strengths. We would like to become the largest music video service globally via PS3

PSLS: What is your primary income earner: adverts, or the mobile phone download service?

AW: The majority of our income is coming from standard media advertising and sponsorships.

PSLS:  Over recent years, music videos have played an important role in bringing bands or artists to the attention of the public. Are music videos merely a commercial tool, or do you believe that they enhance the quality of the music?

AW: From a personal perspective, I get more pleasure from watching a music video, as it provides both a visual and aural experience. That is not to say I don’t enjoy listening to music via my iPod, but if I had a choice, I would watch a music video or go to a concert where I’d gain a richer experience of the music.

PSLS: What are your criteria for accepting music to the service?

AW: We like the music videos to be associated to an artist that has had a commercial release on a major or indie record label. We get offered a lot of unsigned artists’ music videos, but generally the production value of the video is poor and would not stand up against the large high quality catalogue of music videos on VidZone.

PSLS: What do you think attracts viewers to your service rather than television, YouTube, or Spotify?

AW: VidZone provides the user with advanced functionality, as you’d expect with the PS3, including pause, rewind, fast forward, skipping to the next video, and creating your own playlists. If you’re a U2 fan, you can watch back to back U2 videos in any order you choose on VidZone…whatever time of day or night you choose. Linear television’s days are numbered as the viewing public is getting much savvier about how they watch their video entertainment and they want to be in control rather than dictated programming schedules. I don’t think you can compare the viewing experience of a high quality music video file via VidZone on an HDTV to the user experience of watching a lower quality file on YouTube via a PC. Spotify is a great audio experience, but VidZone has the added enjoyment of the pictures too!

PSLS: How has your close relationship with Sony, one of the largest music companies in the world, made it easier for you to provide their music videos?

AW: Providing a comprehensive music video service via the PS3 has been something the entire music industry has been waiting for, not just Sony Music. We have therefore had tremendous support from over 3,000 record labels internationally in equal measure.

PSLS: VidZone features Remote Play, how popular is this function?

AW: We can see from the stats that this functionality is being used, but it is certainly not as significant as via the PS3 console.

PSLS: With 3D implementation coming to the PS3 later in the year, would you consider bringing 3D music videos to VidZone?

AW: If the music industry and their artists were supportive of the format and VidZone’s application could support it then we would consider it in tandem with SCEE.

PSLS: Could you comment on the status of the North America release of VidZone?

AW: We receive numerous emails on our blog about launching VidZone in North America and other areas such as the Middle East and Latin America. To date we have launched in 18 countries, which has been a major undertaking, and we’ll look to roll out VidZone in other geographical areas over the coming years.

PSLS: What have been the main obstacles standing in the way of North American VidZone implementation?

AW: We are a UK company based on the doorstep of Europe, so it was appropriate that we launch an ad funded service in a market we know and understand and is close geographically. We continue to evaluate other potential territory releases, but we have only been operational for seven months, and going live in 18 countries has kept us working 24-7, so we are taking this one stage at a time.

PSLS: Finally, on a lighter note, what’s your favourite music video?

AW: The Prodigy ‘Smack My Bitch Up’.

PlayStation LifeStyle would like to thank Adrian Workman and VidZone Digital Media for taking the time to hold the interview. Stay tuned to PSLS for more interviews and PlayStation news.

TUAWAcrobat, Adobe Reader & Flash updated for critical security fixes originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For anyone who doesn’t know much about Blue Toad Murder Files: The Mysteries of Little Riddle, the game is a six-episode murder mystery exclusively for PSN. Set in the quaint English village of Little Riddle, you play as one of four members of the Blue Toad Detective Agency. Can you follow the clues and find the murderer? With each step of the investigation a puzzle is played and further clues about the case are revealed. Pay attention to what transpires – you will regularly be questioned on your knowledge of the case, and only observant detectives will learn the truth behind the events of the day.

We’re a British studio, best known for developing Buzz!, and Blue Toad Murder Files is our first self-published game. We’re really excited to hear what everyone thinks about it. I’ll be here for the next couple of hours (time difference permitting), so please let me know if you have any comments on thoughts. Thanks!