Despite being one of the most cloned games in the history of computer gaming, Tetris still has every bit as much appeal as it did when it first hit the scene in June of 1985. Today, I’m taking a close look at the release of Tetris for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Electronic Arts has embraced the new platform by porting over titles like SimCity, Monopoly, Spore, Scrabble, and more. Tetris was brought over with an amazing response and deservingly so.

The graphics are stunning and very aesthetically pleasing. It is hard to imagine even the menu looking as good as it does when you take a look back at the Game Boy version of Tetris released in 1989. It is the same game, down to the general layout of the UI, but the fresh graphics are a great update.

Controls come complete with a learning curve that takes a session or two to get used to but once you get the hang of the nuances of their touch integration there really isn’t any other way this could be done. They figured out the easiest way to manage controls that utilizes the touch interface in the smoothest way possible. Just give the screen a quick tap to rotate the piece, and swipe your finger down to drop it. In order to combat flawed perception, a transparent copy of the piece appears on the stack to indicate where and how it will land if you drop the piece from its current position.

Overall, it’s the Tetris we know and love. This is no imitation of the original, but an updated version of it made by the biggest name in electronic gaming today and released for the newest portable gaming platform. If you are going to spend money on any game for the iPod or iPhone, then this should be at the top of any geek’s list.

Rating: 95 out of 100

In the world of free FPS there is good and there is not so good. From Combat Arms that combines the essence of Call of Duty 4 with the system requirements of Quake 3 to this little gem made for the iPod Touch and iPhone that goes by the name “Cube”.

Cube utilizes the accelerometer to control where you face much like mouse would in a PC game. This feature is tricky to accurately control until you get a good sense of how it functions. Sensitivity is the biggest surprise when you first handle the device as the slightest shift of your hand will send your aim to the ceiling.

Combat is fairly strait forward and simple. There is an invisible touch area of the screen that fires the weapon. You aim, you shoot, you kill. It couldn’t get any easier than that.

The graphics leave much to be desired but keep in mind that this is a mobile device as thick as a holiday newspaper ad insert and as big as your palm. It isn’t going to have the processing and graphical capabilities of your notebook or desktop. Still, the frame rate is splendidly up to par and there really isn’t any lag to speak of. Did I mention this game is free?

Rating: 87 out of 100

This image was taken via screen shot by Matt Ryan.

I love it when an application comes along that is not only fun to play around with but also useful in addition to being absolutely free. This combination can’t go wrong and this is certainly proven true with MotionX-Dice. Taking a look at practical application, let us imagine that you are discussing what type of restaurant you and your companion may be in the mood for. Do you want Mexican, Italian, Chinese, salad, sushi, or hamburgers? With a flick of the wrist the dice can decide your fate.

The application utilizes the built-in accelerometer that is standard on any iPhone or iPod Touch to detect shaking and uses it as a trigger to roll the dice. The sounds are well done and the physics engine is impressive.

MotionX-Dice

Perhaps the most impressive and undeniably awesome part of this particular app is the variety of dice to choose from. Dice themed to determine the fate of chance between Letterman and Leno are just one of the many textures available for you to pick from before you give the device a little shake. Table textures are also plentiful and equally interesting. This gem is free and it packs a serious punch in terms of overall character. I could see this app making a lot of money if it ever carries a price tag as its value is clearly apparent from the first flick of the wrist.

Rating: 90 out of 100

There was one problem when I attempted to save my creation it either worked on the fifth click or not at all. I had to print screen and paste it in to paint, crop it, and save it that way. This may have been a problem on my end, though it seemed rather persistent.

Overall, however, this is a site worth checking out if you have ever wanted to make an avatar of yourself South Park style!

Symantec has just released a gaming edition of their extremely popular Norton AntiVirus to the wild and for the past few days I have been testing it against my previous favorite antivirus for gaming machines: AVG Internet Security. I’ll start here by saying that though my previous reviews of Norton products have ended on less-than-spectacular tones, I went into this process giving Symantec a clean slate as a new program. This means that I put aside past disappointments and treated this program as if it was completely different from their previous offerings. Thankfully that appears to be the case here as I’ve never used a Norton program that has given me more reason to recommend it than their 2009 AntiVirus Gaming Edition.

Let’s start with the installation process. AVG has a pretty straightforward process including basic registration and minimal option selections. Norton goes about installation the same way, however they add a little extra in the way of customization options that relate to their market. Gamers will enjoy the settings allowing this program to run with minimal annoyances, especially while in gaming mode. Installation was extremely fast taking about 30-45 seconds and when compared to AVG it takes the flag against an installation time of 60-90 seconds.

As I am writing this, my computer is being scanned by Norton AntiVirus 2009 Gaming Edition and according to task manager it utilizes a steady 6MB of RAM idle though while scanning it holds on to 38MB of RAM, 15% Processor on a 2.2ghz 64-bit dual-core system. This is typical when compared to AVG that uses roughly the same system resources with varying memory usage between 36MB and 50MB on the same machine. The scans are taking about the same amount of time, but this version of Norton AntiVirus has a feature that allows you to scan for files that aren’t an active virus risk and remove them from the quick and automated scans. You can still do a full system scan that includes these files, but if you’re interested in speed and you don’t have high-risk critical data this may be a great option for you. Scans done with the abridged file structure took about 30 seconds to complete. This feature excluded roughly 82% of my over 1 terabyte of files. In the category of scanning footprint, I’d have to give this one to Norton AntiVirus 2009 Gaming Edition.

Let’s take a look price, shall we? AVG has only recently combined their anti-spyware, anti-rootkit, and anti-spam with their anti-virus with a yearly subscription fee of $54.99 USD. Norton AntiVirus 2009 Gaming Edition is available at a price point of $39.99 USD with yearly subscription renewals at the same price point. Feature-wise you get the same level of protection from the various classes of threats. This makes Norton a clear winner in pricing.

When it comes to updates, AVG does a daily scheduled update where it receives important virus definitions and program updates. One problem I have found with AVG is that it consistently has trouble connecting to the update server. This is a big deal when suddenly your program is incapable of updating for weeks on end. The only solution to this is reinstallation. I would normally omit problems like this except it has occurred in both versions 7 and now in 8. As I glance over at my laptop that still runs AVG, the update manager has crashed. Meanwhile, Norton updates every 5 to 15 minutes and during the time I’ve had this program installed, it has never failed to retrieve the update. Norton is the clear winner in this category.

Aesthetics should never be a deciding factor in your computer’s defense utilities, but they do help make the program more palatable. Norton has an unusual transparent ice and chain link fence look to it. It’s hard to really point out what it is the program has as a background design but it does have a bit of flair that grows on you over time. AVG has a fairly basic look though it makes up for its lack of pizzazz with a boost in intuitiveness. Most Windows users will enjoy the familiar menu style. Norton has a fairly intuitive interface for gamers, but if you’re appealing to a greater majority I think AVG wins when it comes to how aesthetics affect ease of use.

I would get in to a paragraph about accuracy and start quoting test after test run by various independent and not-so independent sources but the fact of the matter is an anti-virus should always be secondary to the user’s practices. I’m not hiding anything here as one test puts Norton above all others and another will cite Nod32 as the supreme anti-virus. The accuracy of a program is also dependant on their updates. One day AVG would reign as being the most protective then Nod32 comes out with an update that includes a new virus that AVG hasn’t added yet and the tables are turned. I’m going to declare a tie between AVG and Norton in the accuracy column.

Overall, the two programs have a certain appeal to their respective audiences. Norton AntiVirus 2009 Gaming Edition appeals to an audience of gamers that require full system resources for their more intensive games while AVG Internet Security provides a robust array of features that appeal to the average day-to-day user. Though Norton has, in the past, had a reputation for doing some unexpected things to a system this edition appears to deliver on its promise. Norton has received a lot of criticism from me and others for the LiveUpdate component and how it uninstalled. This has been a big issue for years and thankfully it is finally over as LiveUpdate is no longer separated from the main program. I’m going to have to give Norton my official recommendation for the first time in my life.

Written by: Matt Ryan
Edited by: Loonsbury ]]> http://www.lockergnome.com/mattryan/2008/11/27/norton-antivirus-2009-gaming-edition-reviewed/feed/ http://www.lockergnome.com/mattryan/2008/11/08/buzz-bites-have-bite/ http://www.lockergnome.com/mattryan/2008/11/08/buzz-bites-have-bite/#comments Sun, 09 Nov 2008 03:41:53 +0000 Matt Ryan http://www.lockergnome.com/mattryan/?p=108 So you enjoy the flavor of chocolate and the boost in energy you get from caffeine? Do you find yourself looking for products that combine the two in a way that makes for a tasty and potent product without spending an arm and a leg?

This is where Vroom Foods comes in. They have a product called Buzz Bites that has the caffeine of 1.25 energy drinks, 3 cans of Coke and a cup of coffee in a tiny package that takes a minimal amount of time to consume and packs a pretty potent punch. This product contains caffeine, B vitamins, ginseng, and taurine which is the standard blend of ingredients for any respectable energy product.

So, how does it measure up? Let’s start with taste which is possibly the first and most obvious thing you look for when choosing anything that goes in your mouth. Buzz Bites chocolate starts off with a very sweet attack on the palate that presents a mint-chocolatesque (I think I invented a word there) presence for the first few seconds. Sadly, this is quickly replaced with the common flavors that the energy-boosting ingredients seem to be known for. This gives the bite a little less of a sweet presentation and more of a bittersweet one might find with organic dark chocolate. If you like the bitterness of a darker chocolate then you will probably enjoy Buzz Bites, but if you want something more sweet then this may not be your favorite product. The mint chocolate version of Buzz Bites has a masking addition of mint that hides the blend of caffeine, ginseng, taurine, and B vitamins. It does this fairly well and has become my personal favorite.

Thanks to these troubling economic times, value is a serious consideration. Thankfully, the Buzz Bites line breaks down to roughly 50 cents per dose. This gives you every bit as much kick as a $2.00 cup of coffee, $2.86 worth of energy drinks, and $.86 worth of Penguin mints. This makes sense financially and gives you more money to spend on things that really matter like that new keyboard you’ve been oogling at the local computer store.

At 25 calories a piece, these little chocolate chews take out some of the guilt from enjoying something that looks and acts a lot like candy. The ingredients are:

Corn Syrup, Sweetened Condensed Skim Milk, Sugar, Part
Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Unsweetened Chocolate, Water,
Caffeine, Cocoa Powder, Proprietary Synergistic Energy
Blend (Taurine, Ginseng, Vitamins: Niacinamide, Pantothenic
Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamin Mononitrate, Cyanocobalamin),
Whey with Calcium Caseinate, Salt, Natural & Artificial
Flavors, Mono & Diglycerides, Sucralose, Acesufame-K
& Soy Lecithin.

The boost these mints give you come quickly and with minimal crashing. This is magic when you consider just how harsh some energy products can be. I’m extremely impressed with the effectiveness of these chews and would compare them to any leading energy product on the market.

Overall, this is a great product for anyone that enjoys the idea of a quick pick me up without a lot of costs involved. The flavor isn’t for everyone but if you enjoy bittersweet dark chocolate this might be a great option for you should you be tired of mints, energy drinks, and coffee. I personally prefer Vroom Food’s Foosh Energy Mints to this product, though you have to trust your individual palate.

All photos/images on this article are property of Vroom Foods, Inc.

We’ve all experienced moments where we just don’t have the energy to enjoy the things we do. Whether you’re in the middle of an extended gaming session, fighting your way through a midterm exam, or just surfing the web, there’s no denying the impact low energy can have on your productivity and enjoyment. This is a key reason for the existence of so many energy-boosting products out on the market today. Some stores are dedicated purely to carrying a wide blend of beverages, pills, candies, and even sprays that claim to boost your energy levels while keeping you focused on the task at hand. Sadly, not all of these products are created equal and it’s up to the consumer to discover which one works best for them.

On various blogs and sites I’ve reviewed several offerings that are intended to do just that, and today I’ve found one that surprised me a great deal in its simplicity, price point, and effectiveness. This product is called Foosh® Energy Mints. I received my first batch of these little white mints in the mail on Saturday just before a costume party. This proved to be the perfect test as once the party was over, I was utterly exhausted and more than ready to head straight to bed. I decided to take this opportunity to enjoy Foosh®. To my surprise, I was alert and awake within minutes of popping it in my mouth. I managed to stay up for six solid hours after that doing productive work that required focus and mental energy. I’d like to think that I’m used to high caffeine levels, so the boost I received from this one mint left me surprised.

The first thing you notice when you taste one of these mints is the natural peppermint extract with which they are generously flavored. The peppermint is about as strong as an Altoid and lasts about as long. If fresh breath is what you’re after, then you’ll certainly find this mint to be quite effective at delivering on that promise. Unlike most energy products, the flavors commonly added by the caffeine, ginseng, taurine, and vitamin content are not very noticeable. Most energy mints and gum seem too haunted by the all-too-familiar aftertaste to be enjoyable. The one downside is the lack of flavor options for this product, so if you are not a fan of peppermint, you may consider this disappointing. I’m giving these mints 4 out of 5 points for taste and quality.

For many folks on a budget, the cost of energy products can have as much impact on the overall experience as anything else. Vroom Foods has provided several charts to compare the cost of their mint against other energy boost offerings on the market. For example, a typical energy drink can run between $1.50 and $2.50 with some few exceptions even higher than that. Foosh boasts having more energy per serving than the majority of energy drinks at around $0.25 per serving. This certainly makes sense when you consider your monthly budget. After doing a fair share of research on pricing in the energy category, finding a cheaper alternative with comparable amounts of active ingredients is proving difficult if not impossible. I’m going to have to give Foosh 5 out of 5 points for value.

The heart of any good energy product is exactly how much of a boost it really gives. Foosh is compared by Vroom Foods to others by the levels of caffeine present in each serving. This may not be a very accurate way of rating the effectiveness of the mint in comparison to other products, but the differences are worth recognition. For example, one Foosh Energy Mint has the same caffeine level as 1.25 energy drinks, 2 cups of tea, 3 cans of soda, or 14 standard caffeinated mints. Their biggest and most advertised comparison is that one mint is equal to having one cup of coffee in terms of caffeine level. The boost I received from a Foosh Energy Mint seemed to be greater than what I have come to expect from a can of Red Bull or a bottle of Bawls. Still, caffeine is not the only stimulant out on the market and I’ve experienced some very positive results that I would say are about equal to the boost Foosh gave me using non-caffeine alternatives. Though B vitamins, taurine, and ginseng are included in the active ingredients for Foosh, the comparisons are all based on caffeine levels alone. I’m rating Foosh in relation to all energy boosting products on the market since that is how it is advertised. I’m giving this product 3 out of 5 points for energy boost.

Overall, Foosh delivers on its promise with a pleasant taste, great price point, and competitive energy boost. These little mints have won me over and will be part of my regular purchases should I be feeling a little low on energy. I would recommend that the folks over at Vroom Foods develop versions of Foosh in spearmint, citrus, cherry, or other flavors to appeal to more consumers. I think if they appeal to a wider range of palates, they may well compete with the likes of Red Bull, Bawls, Jolt, Penguin, and other fine highly caffeinated products on the market today. I’m going to give this delicious little mint an overall score of 4 out of 5 points.

All images provided by and property of Vroom Foods, Inc.

You’ll note that Internet Explorer is NOT listed here, and for a very good reason. Internet Explorer has gone with Microsoft’s typical mentality of creating their own standards as far as page rendering is concerned that they purposely ignore the needs of many of their users. As a result, pages and sites fail to render properly on a regular basis. I can’t say enough how much I recommend against using Internet Explorer as your primary browser. The following is a list of browsers that I will give my recommendation to.

Mozilla Firefox has earned top credit for being the most popular alternative to Internet Explorer and as such has become the cats pajamas for most geeks out there. The platform is open and as such creates an abundant platform for third party add-ons that add a new variety of features. For example, this blog post is being made using ScribeFire, while checking my Twitter status using TwitterFox, and so on and so forth. This browser has been vetted and continues to improve with version 3.1 that is being released presently in beta 1.

Google Chrome hit the scene with an unpresedented amount of buzz due to its being the first browser released by cloud computing giant Google. Google is arguably the most powerful tech company out there due to being not only the most popular search engine, but a host to many of the most popular web applications online today. Whether you’re using Google Maps to get directions to your next stop, or Google Docs to keep you and your co-contributors up to date on the sales figures of your startup, or even enjoying a video on YouTube and Google Video, Google is pretty much the monolith company for your web-browsing needs. The leap forward made by Google as they launched this browser gave rise to fears that a company that already knows more about you than you do may also control the rest of your browsing experience giving them a level of control that seems almost frightening. These fears were quickly swept to the side as users discovered one of the fastest browsing experiences to date. Google Chrome offers users the speed of Webkit, the simplicity Google is known for, and the versatility of FireFox in one package. The downside being because it is a non-vetted browser, many users have discovered bugs and glitches that turn one of the most innovative browsers in to one of the most bug-ridden browsers out there. Thankfully, Google has been quick to solve many of the problems and plug many of the holes created by its new program. In time, I believe that Google Chrome may well overtake Firefox due to its wide marketing granted to it by its own search engine.

Speaking of Webkit, Safari from Apple is also on this list. Safari is built on the WebKit platform with a few modifications here and there from Apple engineers eager to create a very well rounded browsing experience. Safari on the Mac OSX is notably fast, secure, and elegant. Rendering appears smoother and the overall experience has an invisible learning curve for users of other browsers. Safari does, however, have some noticeable flaws in the ways of support from websites. A lot of websites out there will require that you use either FireFox, Google Chrome, or Internet Explorer to access them, stating that the browser you are using is simply not up to date. This is a matter of market share more than anything else, and the more Safari continues to grow in the Windows community, the more these little flaws will find their way out of the user experience. After releasing Safari for Windows, Apple was met with critique from security advocates as they tested the browser against common attacks. They found that the Safari browser was not quite as secure as Apple had boasted. Thankfully, Apple went quick to work fixing the vast array of security flaws in the browser. Today, Safari is still under the radar for the most part from attackers that may otherwise target it. There is a saying that the Mac doesn’t have viruses simply because it’s not important enough to write one for, not because it is so secure.

Opera browser has gained notoriety among mobile and Linux users as being a flexible platform with released aimed at mobile devices as well as other applications. Several gaming systems have integrated the Opera browser to allow web surfing using them. Opera boasts an incredible lightweight and pleasant experience without having to sort through a lot of third party add-ons. Built in RSS, email, torrent, and content blocking is standard on the browser. This is a great browser for beginners looking for a better experience than IE without having to learn any new tricks. Images appear to render differently than other browsers and this left me with a feeling that this would be a great experience for someone that loves visual candy on sites. The browser features speed dial which stores your 9 favorite websites in an easy to browse page for immediate viewing and selection. This feature has been copied by Google Chrome and on many Firefox add-ons.

Overall, these browsers have advantages and disadvantages for every user. It comes down to which one you prefer for your own uses. I personally have used all four of these as my primary browser at one time or another, and would happily recommend any of them over Microsoft’s offering.

I arrived with an open mind however and discovered a very realistic version of Burning Man that holds true to the artistic feeling of the event. Some of the best prim artists in SL turned out to create their unique art for the event and there is no shortage of eye candy to examine on this giant sim.

That’s when I surfed over to take a good look at the site and see what it’s really about. I found that my initial reaction was somewhat premature. The site really is full of geeks that have similar passions and could very well be considered experts in their own fields. Yes, you can go to Linkedin and enjoy the professional environment while getting your name out there, but are you really among enthusiasts and truly passionate community members? Do you really share a passion or just a mutual profession? I think not. Sure you will find many who are, but it is quite refreshing to see a social network built around sheer passion and the connections they make.

Are you a Star Wars Geek? A podcaster geek? Do you consider yourself a gadget geek or a computer geek? Do you geek out in Dungeons and Dragons or CyberPunk? What are you a geek of? Check out geeks.pirillo.com and take a look at a social network that brings passionate enthusiasts of a wide variety of subjects together.