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[CES 2010 Wrap-Up] The CES 2010 Geekies!

February 8th, 2010 · Feature

So, I was trying to think of how to do a wrap-up of my opinions of CES this year, without making it a plain boring article. Sadly, the best alternative I could come up with was an awards article. So without further introduction, the Geekies:

  • Most Tiring Gadget. I. Am. Sick. Of. 3D. TVs. Before CES, I thought they were a cool idea that was mostly a gimmick. After CES, I have lost any scrap of interest I may have had in them. That’s what happens when companies push a product too hard.
  • Most Useful Gadget. Technically wasn’t on the show floor (though they had a suite at the Hilton) – the Livescribe Pulse Pen. I’ve had the review unit for a little while, but I haven’t had a chance to play around with it until CES. This thing is amazing - It records what you write and what you hear, and links the two together (it does more, but that’s the part I like). Useful for reporting, probably for education as well, but I’m curious if it has much potential outside of those two areas.
  • Greatest Fail. My performance at the Build Your Own PC Race for Charity this year. Not only did I make a mistake that ended up in me being further back than ever before, but it’s the exact same mistake I made last year. Clearly, I do not learn from my own mistakes.
  • Greatest Disappointment: Sony. They announced a new design for their products which they called “monolithic”, had it descend from the sky, and didn’t play Also Sprach Zarathustra. Complete missed opportunity there. Let me help them out a bit:

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  • Biggest Crowd. I don’t really recall correctly, but I’m pretty sure the biggest crowd was the line for Pauley Perrette, aka Abby Sciuto from NCIS. Allegedly, people started lining up as soon as the floor opened, a good 4 hours before she appeared. A bit of a side note, earlier in the week, Stan Lee also appeared at the same booth, the Marvell booth (they make semiconductors, not comic books).
  • Biggest Surprise. Apparently I’m a Palm fanboy now? It seems pretty obvious to me now, but when I realized it it was pretty surprising to me.

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[The City] Religion of the City – Three Gods

February 6th, 2010 · RPG Bloggers Network, Settings

The Gods of the City are not constant. They are ever-changing, subject to the whims of those who dwell within. There are three ways they form and gain power:

  1. Pure, unadulterated belief in their power.
  2. Adherence to an ideal that the deity embodies.
  3. A physical representation of the deity that has been blessed by a cleric.

Since the Shift, many gods have died, others greatly weakened, and even a few have been created. Unfortunately, this has led to a great amount of tension and bickering within the pantheon of the remaining gods, each worried to lose whatever little power they have to another.

Because of the way they are formed, anyone can believe in any deity and they generally can be “right” about their beliefs. However, there are a few core deities that form a central pantheon that is widely acknowledged and (more importantly) respected within the City. In particular, three gods are revered (and feared).

Azarad, the god of artifice and madness. The source of power for most of the technology that powers the city. He is said to live at the top of the mountains where the elves make their forges, and that his energy is what brings their inventions to life. He also has a reputation as a dangerous and wild god, though not intentionally. He mutters nonsense words and phrases from atop his perch, and each one manifests its way on the material plane in some way or another, be it through an elf’s invention, a cleric’s spell, or a twisted piece of clockwork. All the other gods keep a close eye on him, in case he says anything that might require divine influence (and perhaps will help them regain some of their fame and power).

Laywen, the goddess of ice and snow. Before the Shift, she was one of the most beloved goddesses, the fire of her heart keeping people’s hearths lit, and her breath melting the snow when wintertime ended. But when the Shift came, altars to her husband, the king-god Aren, were replaced with furnaces and machinery, and her warm heart froze. Her power now comes from those who whisper her name in fear, and those who hope her icy breath will never touch them.

Ruman, the fierce, but detached, god of war and battle. His existence in the City is a bit of an enigma to some, as there have been no other cities or kingdoms to be at war with. But he finds his strength in the secret war that lies underneath most people’s notice. The constant struggle within the upper echelon of the government is only part of a much greater battle for control. However, to this day, nobody has been able to gain an edge in the battle – perhaps because no side has found an offering great enough to entice Ruman to their side.

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[Opinion] How I Became a Palm Fanboy

February 4th, 2010 · Links, Opinion

[Note: This was originally posted on TechFlash as a guest post; I have kindly been given permission to repost it here.]

I’m not entirely sure when it happened. It probably started a while ago — after all, I’ve been eagerly checking the PreCentral blog for the WebOS news for months now. I’ve been toying with Palm’s software development kit (though with limited success) since it was leaked. And when I was covering the Consumer Electronics Show for Scholastic last month, I rearranged almost my entire schedule to make sure I could get to the Palm press conference.

Somehow, I’ve become a Palm fanboy. Yes, that Palm. You know, the one behind the PDAs and the Palm Pilot? The one whose name became synonymous with “business”? The one that many thought was on the verge of collapse before it made waves at CES last year with its “revolutionary” WebOS software? Not a company with a lot of fanboys, I know. That’s why I’ve been trying to figure out how exactly it happened.

The funny thing is, I never really meant to get a Palm Pre. When it was announced last year at CES to rave reviews (Best of CES 2009, if I recall), I somehow missed it, so I didn’t get swept into all the hype. I was actually interested in getting an Android phone, but someone who knows about this kind of thing more than I do told me that Sprint wasn’t likely to pick up an Android phone. So instead I started looking at the Pre, and I liked what I saw.

(A few months later, the HTC Hero, an Android-powered phone, was released on Sprint’s network. But that’s beside the point. I’m happy with my decision.)

A picture of the Palm Pre mobile phone.

So what is it that I like about the phone? I’m really a big fan of the whole “card” metaphor. Running multiple applications is pretty handy, but more importantly, I love being able to flick stuff off the screen when I’m done. There’s nothing to learn; it works the way it intuitively should. Much cooler than having to learn an entirely new interface.

There’s also the way Palm keeps on pushing the devices beyond what I thought was possible. To be honest, I doubted that my Palm Pre would be able to run the 3D games they showed off at their CES press conference. Just a week ago I downloaded a demo for Asphalt 5, a racing game, and I was surprised to see it not only ran, but it ran smoothly! Sorry for ever doubting you, Palm. Giving people more power without forcing them to upgrade their device is a great way to make sure they keep coming back to you.

And yes, there are some obvious flaws with the Pre and WebOS. Palm is miles behind anyone else when it comes to apps, because they took too long getting out the developer’s program (and now, the Plugin Development Kit that enables 3D games like Asphalt). A lot of the really cool things that the phones are able to do require tweaks and hacks, which aren’t particularly easy to find or use for the average consumer. But I’m capable of looking past all of these flaws, because, after all, I’m a fanboy.

Okay, so I don’t know exactly why I’m a Palm fanboy. But does it really matter? Being a fanboy isn’t a rational decision. It’s the unashamed love of something regardless of any faults it might have. There’s no way to actually find out exactly why I’m a fanboy, I just am. There’s nothing more to –

Oh, wait, strike that. Now I know when I became a fanboy. When they announced there would be Oregon Trail for the Pre. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to make sure my family doesn’t die of dysentery.

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[SPUC] Week of February 3, 2010

February 3rd, 2010 · Secret Project Update Club

Didn’t get to update last week, because last week was terrible. This week isn’t so hot either, but I have time to make an update.

  1. Codename Backup Dancer – Came up with a unique way of presenting it that means writing it may be more entertaining than I originally thought – which is always a plus. A bit worried it might be too gimmicky for the sake of being gimmicky, but if it helps me make progress, than so be it.
  2. Codename Power Struggle – Unchanged.
  3. Codename Collegiate Level Pets – Unchanged.
  4. Codename Urban Spirits – Unchanged.
  5. Codename Four Contemporary Equestrians – Unchanged.
  6. Codename Atomica – Unchanged.
  7. Codename Memory Banks Intact – Unchanged.

Excuse of the Week: Umm, excuse me? Do you not see that I actually got something accomplished? No excuse needed, even if I only came up with it today!

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[Opinion] Other Videogames That Should Be Turned Into Pen and Paper RPGs

February 2nd, 2010 · Opinion, RPG Bloggers Network

Yesterday, I was having trouble coming up with a blog post, so Stargazer suggested I riff off of his “Videogames that should be turned into pen & paper RPGs” post. Instead, I did that today. So… yeah.

However, Stargazer beat me to a lot of the good CRPGs, so I decided to look to other genres to see what might make good tabletop games. Here’s what I came up with.

Bioshock

The cover art for the Xbox 360 game Bioshock.A Bioshock RPG would cover a lot of ground to suit all kinds of gamers. For those who are fans of hack and slash gameplay, there’s Rapture after the fall. For those who enjoy roleplaying, well, Rapture was hardly a picnic before the plane crash landed.

Plus it implies some interesting mechanics. ADAM is a tremendous boon to a character, but at a terrible cost. It would be pretty interesting to have some mechanics that backed this up.

The one weakness, of course, would be the setting being limited to the city of Rapture, but that’s hardly a weakness considering the depth of the city (no pun intended).

Ace Attorney series

The cover art for the first game in the Ace Attorney series, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.It might be a bit of a stretch, but I love the gonzo characters of the Ace Attorney series and the problem solving. There are some systems designed for crime solving, but I don’t know if they work the same way Ace Attorney does (although, Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth doesn’t even work the way Ace Attorney does). The more I talk about it, the more I see flaws in the idea of an Ace Attorney RPG… but that doesn’t keep me from wanting one. I mean, come on, how many players have wanted to shout “OBJECTION!” at their GMs (Judges)?

Elite Beat Agents/Ouendan

Hmm… my list seems to be leaning towards the DS. Oh, well. Imagine an RPG where you can delve into the layered and complicated lives of those who fight misfortune with music. Discover the true motivation behind the organization. Find out more between the rivalries of America’s Elite Beat Agents, and Japan’s Ouendan – and what caused the feud behind them so many years ago.

Okay, this last one is a bit in jest. But now that I think about it… there’s got to be a reason that you never see the two groups of agents in the same place. Perhaps something happened in the past? Now I’m really interested.

Any non-CRPGs you would like to see in tabletop form?

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[Review] Sikulu, the Kul Visual Programmer

January 30th, 2010 · Review

File this under “Cool concept, needs work”. Sikulu is a free visual programming language, but it’s not like Kodu or Mindstorms (or even LEGO Universe). The code itself is fairly standard, with if, while, and for loops. But instead of identifying what you want the program to click with code, you identify it with pictures.

The script behind a Sikuli program that automatically "Likes" all Facebook statuses in view.

It’s very intuitive, and you don’t have even have to take the pictures in advanced – you can do it all from inside the program. I’m a bit curious about how much you can actually do with it, but the website shows some pretty impressive examples. Plus, (I have to say this again) it’s really easy – that’s always a plus.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to work well with big pictures… or pictures that are too small. Sometimes a script will run accurately, and sometimes it won’t. In addition, the documentation needs some serious work before it can become accessible to those it is most useful for. But still, Sikulu is a great concept, and I can’t wait to see it a little while down the line, when it works a bit better. In the meantime, enjoy these possible uses for Sikulu.

  • Automatically “Like” all Facebook statuses. (See above)
  • Refresh Twitter as soon as new tweets come in.
  • Write your own blog posts. (What? No, I don’t do that!)

What would you use Sikulu to do?

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[Interview Link] The Student Who Risked Life and Limb For a Signed MacBook

January 29th, 2010 · Interview, Links

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is known to react strongly in the presence of Apple technology, and not always in a good way. Take, for example, the time when he pretended to stomp on an iPhone after a Microsoft employee tried to take his a picture with it.

Jordan Bennett, a 20-year-old sophomore at Nashville’s Belmont University, had heard these stories, but when Ballmer came to town last week to speak to the Nashville Technology Council, they didn’t stop Jordan from coming up with an idea — asking Microsoft’s top executive to sign his Apple MacBook Pro.

Recently, a video has been circulating around the internet showing a college student who asked Steve Ballmer to sign his MacBook Pro.

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The incident happened close to where I am (in fact, I almost went to the event myself), so I talked to the student, Jordan Bennett, about the experience. You can see the interview over at TechFlash – check it out!

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[Opinion] How Do You Like Your Demos?

January 28th, 2010 · Opinion

I was browsing some of the free apps on the Palm App Catalog (I’m not ready to make the plunge into purchasing any phone apps, yet), and I noticed that there were a lot of demos. Call ‘em “X Lite” or “X Free”, but that’s what they are, demos. They also all have different ways of limiting the functionality of the app. Some of them, I think, are better than others.

Limited Features

Unlimited usage, but there’s limitations on what you can do with the software. As long as the removed function isn’t key to the program, then this is a pretty good way of limiting the demo. I think, due to the downsides of the other two methods, this is likely one of the best ones there is.

Timed Trials

There are two varieties of a timed trial. The one that tends to be standard for computer programs is a number of days – 14 days to a month.Then there is what seems to be the standard for phone apps – a few minutes. The former, I’m okay with. The latter… I could do without. I don’t think you can get an idea of the application with such limited time using it. If there isn’t enough time for me to decide if I like the program, then I’m not going to buy it.

Number of Uses

Similar to the above strategy, this lets you open the program (for example) 15 times and do what you can with it. I don’t think this is as widespread as the other methods, but I’m alright with this one. In fact, it’s more useful to the consumer than the time-limited trial. The downside for the company is that if the person only needs to use it one, then they aren’t likely to purchase the product.

Any Combination

And of course, there are those that impose more than one of these restrictions. Like a limited number of uses over a short period of time, or restricted features for a limited number of uses. This is a Bad Idea. More restrictions equals more frustration for me, the consumer. Not a fan of this one. Although there is the exception of limited features with either of the other two, where you have access to the full program for a certain amount of time or number of uses, and then it gets restricted.

Outside of free, what do you think is the best way for someone to make a demo out of their product?

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[SPUC] Week of January 27, 2010

January 27th, 2010 · Secret Project Update Club

Didn’t get to update last week, because last week was terrible. This week isn’t so hot either, but I have time to make an update.

  1. Codename Backup Dancer – Unchanged.
  2. Codename Power Struggle – Unchanged.
  3. Codename Collegiate Level Pets – Recreated the framework. Made the revolutionary decision to learn what I need to know before starting to work on the project. Education starts now.
  4. Codename Urban Spirits – Started publishing it here looking for feedback.
  5. Codename Four Contemporary Equestrians – Unchanged.
  6. Codename Atomica – I have thought about it. More deeeply.
  7. Codename Memory Banks Intact – I am an idiot. The way I switched my blog over to DreamHost created a minor issue that isn’t really a problem. However, since I want to make sure that everything is well organized to save myself from pain down the road, that means I have to start over. From scratch.

Excuse of the Week: Two terrible weeks. Atomica prototype hopefully in the works, though.

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[Review] Three Articles You Must Check Out in Kobold Quarterly 12

January 26th, 2010 · RPG Bloggers Network, Review

The cover art for the twelfth issue of Kobold Quarterly.

Kobold Quarterly, Issue 12

I really had trouble picking out three articles from the most recent issue of Kobold Quarterly. Not that it’s a bad issue – the exact opposite, it’s amazing! Too good, that I couldn’t just pick three articles. But I knew that if I tried to make it longer, then eventually the list would spiral out of control and I’d have pretty much every article in there. Here are my three favorites instead.

  1. Telkari, Inevitable of Death. A great clockwork villain for use in your 3.5e (or 3.5e compatible) game. Telkari is a marut that punishes those who try to escape death – including nearly every living creature, since the gods have destroyed and rebuilt them multiple times. If the fluff wasn’t delicious enough, he also can cause the “clockwork plague” where the victim finds their insides being slowly replaced by clockwork parts.
  2. Elves: The Fallen Ones. Another example of some really fantastic fluff. This is a “Wicked Spin” by John Wick, and it takes the backstory of the elves and gives it a bit of a darker look. The Fallen Elves are spirits of the Great Trees, and their lifeforce is linked to the tree they protect. When their tree is cut down, they begin to die, and they spend their few years remaining to the best of their abilities. It’s great writing and of course the stats for the new race come with it too. There are a few odd typos, but nothing too distracting.
  3. Lessons from the Shadows. This article has a flaw, in that I’m not entirely sure who or what it’s geared towards. But it’s awesome anyway, because it talks about ninjas, and some of their tactics. In particular, I like the idea of projecting an aura of infamy – I want to figure out some way to fit that in to something.

Like I said, I had a lot of trouble picking out my top three articles. Seriously, I changed that list around a lot. There are a lot of articles I would to have liked to include that list. The Holy Remix has four Cleric variants that combine some of its class features with those of other classes. Spice Up Your Combat Encounters is by none other than Chatty DM, and is a great look at how to integrate 4e skill challenges into combat. And if you want another look at elves, there’s Impossible Caravans and Unseelie Ambassadors, a look at Open Design’s 4e patron project that’s currently in development.

This issue of Kobold Quarterly is even better than the last one I looked at (issue 10). I still like the icons that identify what system each article is for (although they’ve become less useful for me as Pathfinder has grown on me), but I would also like them to appear on the Table of Contents – just so I can glance and get an idea. Other than that minor tweak, Kobold Quarterly 12 is a great bang for your buck – check it out here [Affiliate Link].

Full Disclosure: I received a free PDF copy of Kobold Quarterly 12 to review.

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