I’m in a habit of sharing articles on Delicious, Twitter, and every now and then, on Facebook. The design specific ones I always share with the design group at LSC. From time to time I come across articles that I think friends would like, so I post them on their walls. Sometimes I come across something that I just think anyone who’s interested would love to see, but I don’t necessarily have anyone specific in mind.
The other day, I watched the trailer for the new game, Red Dead Redemption. It’s a Rockstar game that is set to be released some time this fall. From what I’ve read, it is basically Grand Theft Auto, but set in the West during the late 1800s. Usually I’m not into stuff set in the “old West,” but the graphics caught my eye right away. If the graphics are already that good in the trailer and it’s supposedly a huge, open world game from Rockstar, I couldn’t help but be excited. I posted it on Facebook and hours later I get the comment, “You spend so much time in worlds that don’t exist.” Of course it was a joke, not a jab or anything, but I started thinking about why I instantly felt like I had to defend myself.
I’m surprised that given what a digital world we live in, video games still receive such harsh stigma. I’ve loved video games since the first time I played the text game, Zork on our first computer, a tiny Apple II when I was 5. From there I went through several gaming systems including the Turbo Grafx 16, several Game Boy models, several Nintendo models, a Sega Genesis and every one of the Playstation models (PSX, PSOne, PS2, PSP, PS3).
I think the reason that I love video games so much is the challenge. I think another big part of the appeal is that it is the perfect blend of art and technology. Two things I’m very interested in. As time goes on, the challenges get harder and the graphics only get better. The art is no good if the programming isn’t smooth, but even that is making huge leaps. Last year produced some of the best video games I’ve ever seen (Little Big Planet, Bioshock, Metal Gear Solid 4, Grand Theft Auto 4, Fallout 3, SKATE, Burnout Paradise, Uncharted, etc.). This year is supposed to be even better. When you think about how much time and work goes into creating a game, I don’t see how anyone couldn’t appreciate it.
As I was reading through my RSS feeds, I came across a blog post on the Flip the Media blog entitled Can you live with your mobile phone? (I think they meant to say ‘without’ because the first line in the article started the same way.) Either way, I thought it was an interesting question, so I decided to check it out. The post was rather shorter than I expected, but luckily, the author linked to the source of their inspiration for the entry: You phone, your life: New apps change how you use mobile devices by John Boudreau of Mercury News.
They tell us where to eat, how to find friends, when to make a left turn.
Oh, and they can also make a phone call.
What a great starting set of lines. It’s so true. With the dawn of the Apple App Store (and subsequent app stores), you really can get software that perform almost any function that you need at any given time. What, you don’t have Midomi? Even then it’s only a few clicks and problem solved. You can find restaurants, keep track of expenses, make calls, text, update Twitter, check sports scores, etc. all from your cell phone. I think what’s even more impressive is that these services aren’t even limited to Apps on a smartphone. There’s numerous services you can sign up for that let you access information without even having a smartphone, just by using simple SMS (text messages).
I think I could live without my phone, my computer, etc. pretty easily for a set amount of time, but being the gadget freak that I am, I’d start to feel withdrawals within a few days. I have been in the habit lately of trying to avoid plugging in my computer on the weekends (unless I have a job deadline). I also try not to use it too much at night. During those times though, I find that I still have to check my email, Twitter, etc. I just use my iPod Touch. I think it’s a good compromise. I do not own a iPhone or other smartphone (although I may update this Summer). I find that I can achieve a perfect balance between my cellphone (Samsung Alias with flip QWERTY keyboard), my iPod Touch, and my laptop. I use my laptop most days, for the majority of the day. When I’m not “plugged in” I use my cellphone’s SMS capabilities on the go or my iPod Touch if I happen upon a wireless hot spot or in my apartment.
If I don’t need wireless, I prefer my iPod Touch. I keep track of my expenses, track notes, play games, write drafts of blog entries, listen to music, etc. If I need to say, update my Twitter, Facebook, Netflix Queue, etc. and I don’t have wireless, I can easily do all that and more from my cellphone via SMS. I could “live without” my phone, but I certainly wouldn’t want to.
Part III – Boxee – Right now, Boxee is a good app for those who have a Mac, or perhaps AppleTV, but I’m not sure it’s quite there yet for Windows/Linux users. It’s getting a lot of coverage lately so I’m going to cover it in this series.
Boxee, unlike the options in the previous post, is freeware based off of the opensource XBMC media center. Unless you’re simply going to run Boxee off of your Mac, it take a little bit of installation procedures to get it working on another system. Here’s a few links to those installations here:
Boxee is simply huge. It will pick media from your computer or give you various options of where you want to look for media including the web. Built-in, Boxee streams from services such as Joost, Last.fm, ABC, CNET, CNN, CBS, Hulu, Comedy Central, YouTube, MTV, Flickr…and sooooo many more. From music to photos to television and movies. If it’s accessible to your computer/internet connection, you can watch it through boxee.
So, yet again, I must express my love for everything Playstation. Several options for streaming video and televisions shows have started to emerge. Sony’s integration with third party, VidZone [N4G Trailer, Gizmodo article] is on its way as well with music video streaming. Then there’s the Playstation Store and any number of applications and hardware on the way. What’s not to love?
