Gamers love to play games of course but being able to carry games around with them is something that many love to also do. One issue that comes to mind when you talk about portable gaming is the quality of games. Do to being more portable the machines that we carry around don’t have the same processor power or graphical capabilities unlike it’s distant cousin’s. We sacrifice the graphics and horsepower for portability.
The PSP has the most power and speed out of all portable gaming machines but issues involved are the horrible UMD disc that they come with. You need to combat battery life and the noisy spinning of the disc. The lack of very good games also sets the machine back.

The Nintendo DS is the most used portable machine catering to both Adults and kids. The machine actually is also a very successful system garnering over 9 iterations throughout it’s lifespan and counting with the new release of the Nintendo DSi. The lineup of games features every genre and makes it’s games fun for both adolescents to adults. To many the flaw comes with lower graphical power but allows you to have that “32bit” era style graphics that appeal to many older gamers.

Now we reach the system that this blog is all about, the Iphone/Touch. The unusual competitor of the PSP and DS from the same makers of the Apple brand. No one expected someone like Apple to make a machine that can remotely compete between Nintendo and Sony. When Apple decided to give out their SDK to the public and open the App Store old and new developers came to the scene to see what can be done to create new applications to further enhance the machine.
To Apple they were never behind in gaming but rather set it aside and watch how the industry folded in front of them. Deciding that the mobile arena was the safest route due to dominating the mp3 business with their ever so popular Ipod’s was a great idea. Ways developers grab attention to gamers in the App Store is to entice the audience by first having a great concept first of all. Second they either create a “lite” version which might be single levels, or limited weapons, time, etc…to get people to try the game out and decide if the full version would be worth while. The other route is to give the game out as a promotion for free which is always the way gamers would love and last would be to lower the price to 99 cents to $2.99 for a while before increasing the price to help benefit first time buyers.

Due to the games being so cheap this brings us to the addiction that many people have, games are limited to 99 cents to just over $10 which is a bargain compared to buying a Nintendo DS game at $30 or a PSP game at $40. No harm no foul to most people that purchase a game costing 99 cents compared to spending a fortune on another system game and being disappointed with it. This also makes the user want to seek more games due to price and causing many the addiction of looking at the App Store daily for the next deals or next release.
Gamers on the Iphone/Touch experience euphoria with their new device that causes many to drop their existing handheld and even high end systems and pick up the ever so popular Iphone/Touch. Igamer? Addiction? Maybe but what is shown is that Apple has brought their system to do what many never thought possible. To compete with the majors.

The App Store was introduced by Apple on July 10th, 2008 and has had over 1 billion apps sold by today’s date. Most people use either the Iphone or the Itouch and has felt the obsession caused by this store. Easily you can change the way you use the device by adding games, maps, music, video, and many other kinds of applications that enhance our use for us. But has this caused some of us to become addicted and become too focused on this device? I believe so.

What appealed to most people about the app store was the price ranges, like Apple’s own Itunes store, consumers had a choice or either purchasing songs by themselves for a small fee for each song (usually 99 cents each) or opt for the entire CD for a marginal discount. The app store doesn’t exactly work in that fashion but it does allow developers to bring out programs such as Toy Bot Dairies as a small series at a smaller discount instead of paying for a larger game costing triple the amount. Some like that idea while some desire to get everything at once.

The app store allows you to purchase over 25,000 different applications that are categorized by type. Wish for an app that gives you a better web browser? (btw no flash as of yet) Or rather purchase a app that let’s you type out blogs? (Like the one I’m using now) Then by all means you can purchase and use them. Prices are organized by the developers but range from being free to most reaching no higher than $10 (There are a few that reach above the threshold).

Issues with this is that majority of the apps are not too expensive which causes most people to blindly purchase apps but there is a catch. Many of the apps that are purchased are deleted off the device moments after being used, why is that? Why would someone just toss something away they just purchased? The reason is quality. Quality is not a word used too often when referring to apps. Anyone with a basic understanding of programming can bring out an app and charge whichever price they wish. Using this method the majority of the apps at the store are just plain bad and allows people to lose out of their hard earned money. Some consumers understand that the first iteration of the application might not go as smooth as people might have thought so they wait for updates from the developers. If the developers are loyal to their fans then they will create updates that allows the program to work as desired.

Now the introduction of 3.0 software for the Iphone/Touch will enable developers the chance to do something that might break or work in Apple’s favor. It allows the developers to do micro transactions for updates such as new maps or items. This can cause frustration to consumers that believe that you should pay a one time fee for their products rather then pay for updates. I agree to a certain point. You shouldn’t pay for an update that is required to make an application work correctly such as adding an option menu when an app is paused, but for adding new features I believe this would be the best way for someone to make extra money because as of this moment the only way for the developer to obtain more revenue is from new purchases.

Addiction comes in all forms but this new form, the app store has grown to overwhelming success that causes many people to check daily for the newest apps or for apps that are on sale from time to time. Will we need to create an App store Anonymous? I hope we don’t need to.

I once looked at juggling like anyone else would, a clown that juggles 5-7 balls or clubs in the air with stripped color clothes and white makeup. The kind that works for the circus or at kids birthday parties or even the kind that shows up on national t.v. juggling apples or chainsaws. We have all seen them before, purposely shown the wackiness that jugglers are but there is more than what most people know.

Juggling is an art form that many people deny as for clowns only. The purpose of being able to manipulate multiple objects in the air helps both coordination and concentration. I’m not here to offer you a history lesson, for anyone that wants to know the history of juggling and it’s meaning then please feel free to check out juggling wiki. I just would like to inform the reader about how juggling has turned from clowns to mainstream art form.

You might have seen some jugglers near you, the kind that grabs what they can find whether it’s a cluster or oranges to some bottles and manipulate them in the air, juggling is the art of manipulating more than one object in the air in various movements, whether you toss a ball and catch it behind your back or juggle 5 balls in the air, each motion you create acts as a form of art that is unique to you.  Juggling can be a great workout as well, once you work with more than

Now juggling isn’t just about balls and clubs, it’s more about visual art. Everyone has a different style that suits to them that allows them to be unique. Some juggle to certain styles of music, some desire a challenge and work on “numbers” juggling which means they focus on working on continuously juggling higher and higher numbers of items (balls, clubs, rings, ect..) in the air without dropping. Some would rather just focus on 3 balls or clubs and using a minimal amount to their advantage to do quick spins and movements. You can tell from someones juggling style how their personality is as well.  The more disciplined jugglers usually have a calmer demeanor but have perfect accuracy and flowing movements while erratic jugglers are shown to be more erratic personalities or funnier people.

In general juggling has been shown as a simple act of tossing objects in the air and subjected to being called clowns and joked around but as we continue to push our limits of juggling, people will see that what was once a hobby can in turn change to become an art.

Bring it back to the retro

It’s hard for me to explain a game where the explanations are only shown in Ikea style illustrations. OK let me try to explain how the game play works

Start Menu

You need to combine each color planet into it’s wire frame color, but the key is to make the planets you want to collide together with the same size. How is that done you ask? Well you need to either “split” or “join” each individual planet.

To split a planet all you need to go is press two fingers onto the planet and spread them apart, same with joining, you need to press one planet into another. By combining the planet with it’s counterpart you cause a “Supernova” which explodes and eliminates itself from the field. Then green bar represents the amount of life you have left. To lose life is to have one color contacting another color. You must work wish speed and finesse during the higher stages because the amount of planets will increase causing you to use two, three, even four fingers in an attempt to cause supernova’s all over the field and move on to the next stage.

Planets Unite!

Bliss comes with a price….difficulty

With it’s nice techno style music you will be in a trance combining planets together.  With each stage equals more challenges, more planet colors will appear and the frequency of planet’s entering the field increases as well.

To some the difficulty might be too much due to having to move, combine, splitting, with rapid succession but if you take the time to master the game play this game will offer you many hours of game play. I highly recommend this

excellent game. If you have any doubt still then please refer to the web developers website Ellis

Super Nova baby!

A couple weeks ago my co-worker Fred wanted me to help fix an issue he had with his laptop for the longest time. I said sure and took his laptop home. Upon starting up the computer I was examining what might been the issue. Everything seemed to work fine until I ran a virus scan and found some Trojan’s hiding away in a couple files named “N.jpg” and “M.jpg” deep inside folders. Cleaning them up I found Gigs of Pornography hiding away within those folders, I shrugged and allowed myself to not be bothered with them. Now the following day I returned the laptop back to Fred and was asked if I was snooping around. Of course I had to, how was I supposed to try and fix the issue he had? I came to realize that the file I deleted that was named “M.jpg” and “N.jpg” where Microsoft Office docs to hide from his spouse with hidden credit card numbers and SS# He never made a backup copy because he thought that I or anyone else would erase the file.

Another instance I came across might make people understand where i’m coming from. A friend of mine decided that it would be smart to install an extra cd-rom drive so he can burn copies of his music Cd’s. He decided that the best thing to do is to try and install it himself. Once he installed the drive he tried multiple times to burn the copies but to no avail. Upset he called me up to go with him to the computer store. I wanted to help fix the computer but I suppose he decided that the best route was instead of asking for a Friends help he wanted to take it back to the store and demand his money back. Sure I didn’t judge him, he just wanted his money back so I went with him. Ending up in line to return the CD-drive (BTW he was carrying the entire tower with him to prove it was the CD-drives fault), we were helped by a young man no latter than 23 years of age. Before I knew it my friend slammed the CD-drive on the counter with a thud and started yelling at the man stating that the CD drive broke his computer and wanted them to fix the machine with no charge and to give him store credit as well. The young man called the supervisor and when he came he wanted to examine the machine. Inside the CD drive was seated properly except for the cables dangling from the back of it (the power cables), yes my friend never plugged it in thinking that if he sat the CD-drive in the appropriate location it should automatically work.

Sigh….I have plenty more to share but this should be enough to show you the grief I had to go through. Share your stories of people that caused frustration in your life with computer problems.

     The inclusion of the App store allowed the device to become much more than just a flashier version of the ipod family, it allowed developers to create applications that would otherwise never be seen on another handheld. You can have a nice messenger such as http://www.beejive.com/iphone/ to controlling a MAC or PC with http://www.mobileairmouse.com/.

     But this isn’t a place to talk about what the Iphone can and can’t do, we all know what the machine is capable of. This is about what the Iphone can do for you and how it can help you create a perfect companion in case a desktop or a laptop is not feasible to carry around. For some people just listening to music or watching videos is enough for them but there are some that would like to carry around their Microsoft Documents or have a calendar of events for the week. Here are some applications that can appeal to almost everyone and help them come one step closer to having a powerful pocket computer where ever they go.

     #1. Saisuke http://tinyurl.com/6kzb7n

                    *A great calendar app that syncs very well with Google Calendar.  Notifications via sms, pop ups, or mail for appointments makes this program my top list for keeping yourself organized without pulling out your moleskines to checkoff that anniversary date you were supposed to go on.

     #2. Beejive IM http://tinyurl.com/3l59d5

                      *An excellent IM app that allows you to talk to Simultaneously IM on AIM, iChat, MobileMe, MSN/Windows Live, Yahoo!, MySpace, GoogleTalk, ICQ, & Jabber with no extra SMS charges. The client allows you to change the background text area to any photo you have saved on your iphone which is a nice change to the generic black/white looks. Push email alerts allows you to run other applications while the program stays logged in so you won’t have to wait for your friend to text you to say no to going out and rather load up peggle.

     #3. QuickOffice http://tinyurl.com/de3yke

                        *Now it’s hard for me to explain how great this application is without going over a page long but I will condense my opinion on this with 2 words “Buy Now“. If you ever need to carry around Microsoft Documents, or I should say any .Doc, .Docx, or .txt files then this should be the app for you. One thing that this app does that excels above all others is that you can edit or even create brand new Microsoft Office documents on the go without needing a laptop. Copy and Paste is available which is great if you need to edit documents. Another great feature of this program is the fact that you can mount your iphone as a wireless drive and drag and drop files without going through Itunes. Oh yes I’m rambling on about Word but I should also state that QuickOffice allows you to edit and create brand new excel documents. accepting both .XLS and XLSX you shouldn’t any fear of either creating or editing new files. I write essays for class on a weekly basis and having this application has helped me in the long run. By the way this is the most expensive app at $19.99 so some people will caution themselves from it but if you need to edit or create Microsoft Documents/Excel sheets then this is the app for you.

      #.4 MemoryInfo http://tinyurl.com/dzv7yx

                  *With the amount of apps most people use there has been times where either the program is very sluggish or crashes on you, even when you first start up an application. It’s not the world punishing you because you would rather boot up twitter instead of answering your bosses phone call to come in on Saturday, but the amount of ram that is being used to power all those apps that are running. Apps take a certain amount of ram and with each application you run and close the app still saps some of the ram away and stores it for themselves while you are on the losingend with crashes and slowdown. Not anymore. With MemoryInfo you can relinquish most of that stolen ram back with a touch of a button. The program allows giving the user back 35mb of ram or even more. Now when you switch back and forth from texting someone to playing a game you don’t ever need to worry about needing to reboot the machine again.

      #.5 Byline http://tinyurl.com/5kshvd

                 *Now how many people read RSS feeds? How many of you use Goggle Reader? Well if you answered yes to both questions then you need to look into Byline. Just sign in with your Goggle Reader account and have all your RSS feeds on the go. Allows offline reading if you “Star” the page with a press of a button or just tap on an article and let the app cache the page for you.

            From chatting with Beejive to editing Spreadsheets with Quickoffice, you can have it all and more on the go…..just make sure you keep your offline social life in check as well. Leave me your favorite list of apps and why it has helped you. Tell then Cya!

I understand that people need to stick up for their favorite version but it’s kinda getting out of hand. Recently I was watching some t.v. (which I rarely do nowadays) and stumbled upon an ad about Windows being superior to Apple. They stated that if you can find a computer for less than $1000 (or $2000 depends on the commercial you seen) then they would let her keep it. First of all why would they offer a computer for free? Are they afraid of Apple that much to give computers away now? Also with the $1000 computer I seen her go to an Apple store and state that she would go over her budget for the 17inch which can exceed $2000. I understand that much but why diss Apple stating it wouldn’t be cool to be a mac user? A PC laptop nowadays that is over $1000 is usually underpowered and with Vista sucking tons of resources (btw yes I understand you can fix that), it isn’t feasible to get a good laptop without having to switch OS.

Vista isn’t all bad mind you, it has a great find feature and indexing helps load up apps fast. The aero interface is beautiful to use if you have a high end machine that won’t eat up so much resources. Well…I tried to save Vista some points but it’s the OS that makes people enjoy Mac and turn away from PC. Vista is annoying to tweak and has tons of compatibility issues (which Microsoft is trying to fix). Due to the efficiently of Vista it’s no surprise that Microsoft is bringing out their new OS “Windows 7″ which is an updated version of Vista.

Mac users have a lot to complain but never think about the Macs flaws. You can’t use most third party applications, price (laptops start around $1000). Macs can easily get past third party apps by installing VM’s (Virtual Machines), which allows you to boot up another OS such as Windows XP and run at almost peek efficiency. But that does cause you to pay for the extra program plus the price of the OS.

As you can tell I have a lot of gripes with Vista, PC itself (XP, Window’s 98) are great OS and I religiously continue using them but I would love Vista to finally leave us.