LEGO Universe: the good, the bad, the unfulfilling
Hey kids! You’re on the internet now, where LEGO Universe’s restrictive chat filters are not in place. This review uses some words most deem inappropriate for young ears, so if your parents are reading...
View ArticlePersonally applicable
What makes a story something you want to experience over and over, something you think about or re-experience until you’ve internalized it? This is one of the things that I find myself pondering as I...
View ArticleLove letter to WebOS
When I pick up my Palm Pre, flick it on, and consider it I realize that this is the most amazing device I have ever owned. Sure, the hardware has some problems (why the hell won’t the damned “H” key...
View ArticleSpammers want to protect me from spam
I recently told a follower on Twitter to send me an email, and helpfully included the email in the tweet. I thought little of it; this is an email address that is published in plain text online because...
View ArticleFrom iPhone to Palm Pre: a comprehensive review
(Author’s note: I wrote the bulk of this review two months after I picked up a Palm Pre, and then forgot it in my drafts folder. Now, days after Palm’s announcement of the Pre2 on Verizon and the Pre3...
View ArticleWe need Internet Explorer
A friend recently linked to this comparison of IE 9 and Firefox 4, and I find these sorts of comparison interesting. The implied message, of course, is that Firefox is better because it supports...
View ArticleI am done wasting money on Adobe software
I first discovered Photoshop in high school when my friend showed me a doctored photo he had created, and it was a life-changing moment. Photoshop took something supremely boring to me (taking photos)...
View ArticleWhat is blogging
Daniel Jalkut, developer of the excellent MarsEdit blogging software, recently tweeted: I’m thinking of commissioning a dedicated site for teaching the basics of blogging. Unless somebody knows of a...
View ArticleMariner Software, I’m calling you out
Mariner Software is the publisher of some of my favorite Mac applications, including StoryMill. However, they do not actually want anyone to download their software. This is evidenced by the...
View ArticleWhy did two buttons take so long? The backstory behind TapNote 1.2
As anyone who follows me on Twitter or this blog is no doubt sick of hearing, TapNote 1.2 is now available and includes Dropbox sync! And to help my readers maintain their sanity, that’s all I will say...
View ArticleWhy nothing Apple does should surprise me
I do not—and have never—used Final Cut Pro. Or really any version of Final Cut. I remember one day I was sort of bumming around, looking at software, and I wondered briefly if the slimmed-down version...
View ArticleHP’s TouchPad: the App Catalog at launch
As you are doubtless aware if you have either read a review or seen a TouchPad yourself, the hardware is heavily inspired by the iPad. This is a good thing: the iPad’s size and screen resolution are a...
View ArticleLoving my HP TouchPad: a biased review
I love my TouchPad. That is the most important thing you should know. It is not without its imperfections, of course. I love it anyway. Unless you are remarkably similar to me, however, my love of the...
View ArticleWhy you no sync with Box.net, TapNote?
(Fair warning: this is only going to be interesting if you are a TapNote user who is interested in Box.net synching.) I’ve had a fair number of people recently suggesting that I implement Box.net...
View ArticleHP, webOS, and looking to the future
Yesterday HP dropped a bombshell on the webOS community when they announced that they are discontinuing all of their webOS hardware (phones and TouchPad), and have no plans in place to take the...
View ArticleAuthors you should read
I am a binge reader. I will go for months at a time without cracking the cover of a book, and then in the space of a week I will do nothing but scour book listings in my free time and avidly consume...
View ArticleLearning to code
Two of my younger extended family members have contacted me recently wondering how to get into app development, which is admittedly kind of a puzzler for me (apparently publishing TapWatch gained me...
View ArticleBuying Adobe Photoshop CS6 (or not)
Evidently a guy named Pat Dryburgh had some trouble buying Photoshop. His trial ran out, and when he purchased their Creative Cloud option to continue working, he discovered that his license number...
View ArticleWhither webOS?
My house is littered with webOS devices I no longer use. My Pre+, the phone that hooked me on webOS as a user and later tempted me into app development, lies facedown on top of a Pre 2 that I received...
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First impressions of Mojang’s Scrolls
When I was but a lad, my aunt introduced me to a little card game called Magic: The Gathering. And down that rabbit hole I went. Magic’s not perfect (and I haven’t purchased a card in years, at this...
View ArticleThe tragic internal consistency of Steins;Gate
The first time I watched the anime Steins;Gate, I was unsure why so many people were raving about it. The first six episodes or so I mostly spent wondering why I should care about these characters,...
View ArticleEspresso 3 beta is out!
Hooray! Espresso 3 is at last available as a public beta! I’ve been one of the few people using this version of the app for a while (yikes, is it years now?), and I think you’re going to love some of...
View ArticleArchetypal strategies in Ashes Reborn
Uh…been a while since I posted anything here, huh? Looks like the last time was [REDACTED] years ago. Since then I’ve dedicated quite a lot of my free time to the card game Ashes: Rise of the...
View ArticleA beginner’s guide to Ashes Reborn
So you’re interested in playing Ashes Reborn: Rise of the Phoenixborn, but feeling nervous because it seems daunting? Never fear! Ashes is one of those great games that’s easy to learn but hard to...
View ArticleDice efficiency in Ashes Reborn
Often times when people ask about how to win in Ashes Reborn, experienced players will tell them, “Use your dice more efficiently than your opponent.” However, because units and spells can exist on the...
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