Video games are supposed to be fun. Which is why early calls from critics and fan boys alike that the Nintendo Wii console was just a passing “fad” were out of their depth. According to VG Chartz the Wii sold an incredible 1.7 million units the week before Christmas. By comparison, Microsoft’s XBOX 360 sold 535,806 units and SONY’s struggling PlayStation 3 sold a mere 239,576.
Some people are under the impression that more expensive “AAA” apps, as they are calling them, are doing just fine thank you very much. All a developer has to do, they say, is market their app and the rest will take care of itself. Why didn’t I think of that?
If you care as much about icons and design as I do, then you’re probably asking yourself how I could allow a “for sale” badge to get plastered on Frenzic’s app icon like the ones I previously railed against. At first I couldn’t figure it out myself, and then it became very simple. I took off my “designer hat” and put on my other one… the one that says “business owner”.
Ask any person what’s their favorite adaptation of A Christmas Carol, and you never know what they’ll say. Without a doubt, my favorite version of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol is the 1970 musical adaptation, Scrooge.
People have been asking me for an “essentials” guide to Star Trek. Given the fact that my friend Louie is attempting to catch up on Star Trek before the big movie hits next spring, I thought it might be best to start at the beginning with Star Trek: The Original Series. Warp speed ahead!
I can’t tell you how many times that a client considered their icons to be an after thought. At the Iconfactory, we try and educate clients about the importance of icons and how they strengthen a brand. So when it comes to designing our icons for our own software products, we almost always end up obsessing over them. This time around, the drama was caused by the new icon for Frenzic for the iPhone.
Ask any Star Trek fan which series is their favorite and they’re likely to tell you Star Trek: The Next Generation. But from the futuristic utopia that was Roddenberry’s Next Gen universe, sprung the series I’ve come to regard as my favorite – Deep Space Nine. Considered by many to be the “troubled middle child”, caught between Next Generation and Voyager, Deep Space Nine never received the critical praise or audience numbers it deserved.
Back in August I wrote that I had test driven a 2006 Honda Fit and was in a holding pattern for the brand new 2009 model. The review that follows is meant to help other buyers like myself decide if the Fit is right for them. If you’re in the market for a new fuel efficient vehicle and have been thinking about the 2009 Honda Fit, then read on.
In what may turn out to be one of the best examples of timing in the last quarter century, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have made a major breakthrough in the field of solar energy. The scientists there have invented a coating that not only boosts the amount of light rays able to be absorbed by photovoltaic cells, but that also allows light to be absorbed from almost any angle.
When it comes to Twitter, I like to think that I fly by the seat of my pants. I don’t have hard and fast rules like some people do for using the popular micro-blogging service. But after many months of following several so-called “celebrities” on Twitter, I’m rapidly forming one regarding the rich and famous. Don’t follow them unless they are willing to reply to you.
Around the office we often get into conversations about our favorite movies, what we’ve seen recently and what’s worth watching or avoiding on DVD. On more than one occasion the topic of Pixar films have come up, which ones are our favorites and why. So here’s my list, enjoy!
With 11 days left until the 2008 General Election, I thought now would be a good time to get my predictions out. Some of these may be no brainers but at least I’ll be on record so I can see how I did after all is said and done. In no particular order they are:
We had been taken such a long break from recording our weekly podcast, that when Jen, Dave, Krystyn and myself finally got together last week to record the latest episode of The Sci-Fi Cast, I had forgotten just how much fun it was. That’s right folks, we’re back at it and have served up a special Halloween episode just in time for Samhain. Episode 13 is now live at a newly improved website and ready for your listening pleasure. We run down our favorite vampire, zombie and slasher flicks and throw in the usual assortment of geeky fun that our nine listeners have come to know and love.
Before last night’s debate, I had a vibrant discussion about the Presidential race with a close friend. I love talking politics, especially with people on the other side of the aisle. We were both enjoying the verbal sparring when my friend said something very telling. He said that he was starting to come to the realization that Obama would most likely win the election, and unless he somehow managed to screw up, Barack was riding a wave that would easily carry him into office. Then he said something which I think you’re going to be hearing a lot more over the next three weeks – “It’s okay though, I never liked McCain any how.”
What a week it’s been. Threats of America turning back to the economic equivalent of the stone age. A main course of showboating with a side of grandstanding from McCain and an interview so embarrassing from Palin that even conservative columnists are afraid to turn their TV’s sound on.
I love North Carolina, but sometimes living here can be frustrating. Today, on my three mile round trip to grab lunch at Wendy’s, I saw no less than 6 yard signs for McCain / Palin and not one for Barack Obama.
Sometimes you have to take a break from the big stuff and just enjoy the little things in life. For me, one of the things that gives me pleasure is spotting flubs in television and movies. Called continuity errors, they are gaffes made by the filmmakers that are antithetical to the story or the staging. Today I spotted one such error in one of my all-time favorite episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – Take Me Out To the Holosuite.
Blogger Andrew Sullivan has been on a roll lately with his insightful coverage of the Sarah Palin / John McCain journey into dishonor and distortion. In a recent post he highlights bits from a recent NYT article that states Palin’s tendency to hire long-time friends instead of qualified individuals for important positions. Sound like a certain President from Texas you know?
They say kids can be cruel and that’s never more true than when you have an unusual name. Growing up, I knew my parents had named me after my grandfather, Gedeon Oliver Maheux. That being said, it was a little tough for me to appreciate my family heritage when neighborhood kids would call me all manor of strange and hurtful names. All that changed one fateful day at Fenway Park in 1980.
Lately I’ve been trying to figure out why I consider myself a liberal, especially when my entire family are die hard Republicans. In many ways I am my father and mother’s son. I share their strong work ethic, their morals and their love of God and family. But at the same time there is a big part of me that wonders where the “compassionate” part of my conservative parents went.