Software

FingerGaming.com - Gaming on the iPhone and iPod Touch

I’m announcing my new website I’ve just finished putting together and now unveiling to the public, FingerGaming.com. FingerGaming.com is all about gaming on the iPhone and iPod Touch, now that Apple’s new App Store is open to the public and cranking out games every single day. Mobile gaming a rapidly growing industry, and FingerGaming.com is going to be a part of that by covering everything games on the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The reviews, the main features on the site, will feature videos I’ve recorded of me playing these games, screenshots, price, link to the developer of the game, and of course my thoughts on the game itself.

Already we’re seeing a slew of very fun, polished, widely talked about games. You have my personal favorites, MotionX Poker, a dice poker game with achievements, dozens of dice you can unlock and use, and gameplay mechanics that take advantage of the iPhone (multi-touch, accelerometer support, vibrate, etc.) There’s also Galcon, a fast-paced space strategy game that is incredibly addictive and easy to pick up and play. Labyrinth is an age-old game, with a modern approach. It’s the wooden box in a maze with holes that you have to tilt the iPhone/iPod Touch to avoid. It’s simple for everyone to pick up and enjoy, with over 500 levels to play through, with more that you can download over time.

All of these games can be had for $10 or less, some are even free, such as the excellent Aurora Feint. Portable gaming has never been this powerful, and intuitive, and now it’s here. Visit FingerGaming if you want to be part of this wonderful new world.

iPhone 2.0 Update and Apps Store

I’ve been having a field day with the new iPhone 2.0 firmware update and the new Apps Store that allows you to install all kinds of applications onto the iPhone (both 2g and the new 3g models.) I’ve recorded a video showing off some of these apps, mostly games (I am a gamer, after all.) You’ll have to forgive the buzzing sounds of the fan, I have to use powerful fans to keep my computer and room cool.

Click here to watch the video

In order of appearance in the video: Trism, MySpace Mobile, JirboSays, Pandora, and Super Monkey Ball.

Here’s my quick impressions of the apps I’ve tried so far:

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Declining Online Chats, Me or Them?

Years ago, I had a lot of online “buddies” on my buddy list, whether it’s for AIM, Yahoo, or MSN (I used Trillian to use all 3 service at the same time.) As the years gone by, the list has dwindled, and today there’s only 3 people I talk to on a regular basis. I’ve always wondered why; have I become anti-social online, or shied away from making new contacts?

It could be a number of factors, one of them being that I can’t stand the original, bloated interfaces for AIM, Yahoo Messenger, or MSN Messenger. All 3 suffer from feature-creep, use too much resources for such simple tasks, and sport terrible user interfaces. Which is why I used Trillian, until version 3 came out, and it suffered from a lot of the problems the other IM clients had. I ended up going back to version 2, which was minimalistic, easy to use, and use little resources.

Another reason is that I’ve discovered that a lot of people are willing to lie online, more so than if you were in person. I’ve had a number of friends and associates blocked and ignored because I found out things they had told me was a lie. I imagine a psychologist would have his hands full studying this phenomenon; there’s already research material on it already. Because it is harder to detect lies during textual interaction compared to face-to-face, and the consequences are less severe, people are as likely to lie than not. So there’s the lack of trust on my part with new friends.

The other reason is that most old friends have gotten busy as the years gone on, and I’ve changed my habits, so we see each other online less and less. Eventually we would just stop talking, and after 2 years, I’d remove them from my buddy list. There’s nothing wrong with this, we all have to live our lives.

If I did have a lot of friends online to talk to, I wish they’d all use Google Talk, which is my ideal instant messenger client. It’s simple, easy to use, uses little resources, and quality software. I’m sick of Trillian, AIM, Yahoo, and MSN Messenger, and anyone using the MySpace messenger should be shot on sight.

Firefox 2 Browser Released

For the love of all that is holy, people, upgrade your browser to the latest and greatest on the planet:   Firefox - Rediscover the Web

Sure, Internet Explorer 7 was released by Microsoft recently, but it’s too little, too late.  This review from Download.com gave it a 7.0.  In comparison, Firefox got an 8.3 at Download.com.

Some of my favorite highlights of this new update of Firefox 2.0:

• Live Titles (for bookmarks)
• Inline spell-checking
• Session Restore
• Easier to add and maintain extensions/addons.
• Strict anti-phishing technology for better security
• Better handling of RSS feeds

And really a bunch more that I can’t think of off the top of my head.  I already have family and friends enjoying this browser, and having less problems with viruses, spyware, and other annoying problems.  This means less frustrating phone calls for me to answer.

SteelSecurity Review

SteelSecurity is a suite of applications put together into a single interface. It is aimed at the hardcore gamer who wants his/her computer secure while not having it eat away precious resources while gaming, either offline or online. In fact, I’m the type of gamer that has eschewed antivirus software for years entirely because I got tired of forgetting to shut down the program before I start a game.

Everytime I got infected, I’d just reformat and reinstall Windows all over again. It was a complicated solution to the problem, but I had to have my gaming. With SteelSecurity, it looks to provide the solution that I’ve been looking for as a gamer, and I know many other gamers out there too would find it incredibly useful.

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For iTunes (SpotDJ, The Filter, & Qloud)

There’s been a number of new applications and services recently that are looking to extend the usefulness and fun of iTunes. I’m always looking for new ways to have a better iTunes experience. With that in mind, I thought I’d provide my thoughts on these new iTunes extensions. After the jump, you’ll find my thoughts on Qloud, The Filter, and Qloud.

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Google Analytics

After checking out both Mint and MeasureMaps in this post, I figure I should check out the new Google Analytics, which is a rebranded Urchin software. Analytics, while not entirely similar to either Mint or MeasureMaps, still provides essential stats about your visitors to your site. Google bought up Urchin last year, and Analytics is the result. From what I can tell, it’s an older version of Urchin, possibly because it is the stablest for Google to work with.

Analytics is full of graphs, numbers, and options for you to choose from. In fact, it’s so loaded, that it would be easy to feel overwhelmed, which isn’t a problem with MeasureMaps or Mint. However, it is a good thing, as it covers just about everything you could possibly want to know about your site, and the visitors that come there. Installation is simple; just fill out a few details, and Google hands you a javascript code to put on your site, and 12 hours later, Google has all the information presented for you.