For those people who buy anti-virus software or those that need it, there are free opensource options out there that are very good solutions. My favorite is ClamWin. This is a free opensource anti-virus software that functions just as well as Norton or any other anti virus software out there.
ClamWin: http://www.clamwin.com/
The sequel to Halo 3 will be released tomorrow and I thought I would post some interesting stuff about this game because it has changed gaming tremendously.
There are some awesome things about this game, including the fact that there is a movie that Microsoft created for it (which cost 10 million) called Forward Unto Dawn.
First some stats:
*Preorders of Halo 4 are 1,179,659 as of last week.
*Sales of Halo games in general just totaled 46 million.
*The Halo 4 soundtrack debuted at number 50 in the top billboard charts last week, a first for a video game
*Additionally, the Limited Edition of the game has been sold out for months. Have you ever heard of a video game selling out?
Now for those that do not know, MLG (Major League Gaming) which is the professional video game league will be using Halo 4 in competition just as it has the other Halo games. And for those that do not know, MLG pros can make millions of $$$ a year.
For more info on Halo 4, check out the website here
To watch the Halo Movie, Forward Unto Dawn, use the following videos. Microsoft has been kind enough to release the movie online for free in 5 clips. The 2 minute trailer is first if you want to preview what will take 90 minutes to watch:
Decent article here explaining the problems with patents in the tech world – Article. Now we all know patents are a problem and hindering innovation in technology, even if people find out the benefits of the online format vs traditional patent style. Maybe there are some solutions that would work for everyone? Just think about this problem when you read the following quote from the article:
“Patents threaten every software developer, and the patent wars we have long feared have broken out. Software developers and software users – which in our society, is most people – need software to be free of patents.
When Dan Ravicher of the Public Patent Foundation studied one large program (Linux, which is the kernel of the GNU/Linux operating system) in 2004, he found 283 U.S. patents that appeared to cover computing ideas implemented in the source code of that program. That same year, it was estimated that Linux was .25 percent of the whole GNU/Linux system. Multiplying 300 by 400 we get the order-of-magnitude estimate that the system as a whole was threatened by around 100,000 patents.”
I have been using Zone Alarm for years to protect my PC. It is an awesome firewall that protects you from everything trying to access the computer and from everything on your computer trying to access the internet without your permission. If you have a PC, this is the firewall I would use over all others, and there is a free version:
Just had to access the run command this morning and realized it was gone. There are 2 ways to access it.
1. Press the Windows Symbol key(
)+R
2. This one puts it into the start options permanently:
, clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, and then clicking Taskbar and Start Menu.The rumor is that he left because he refused to sign a document that Apple Maps was a failure:
“Apple asked Scott Forstall to leave the company because Forstall refused to sign his name on a letter apologizing for Apple’s Maps app, according to a report. Citing “people familiar with the matter,” The Wall Street Journal reports that Forstall (pictured), a 15-year veteran at Apple, wanted the company to address the poor reception for Maps without apologizing. However, CEO Tim Cook disagreed and sent an e-mail to customers on Sept. 28 stating that Maps “fell short.”” – Source
I think the main question is why did Apple even try to compete with Google Maps? Google has invested so many millions into making their apps perfect. Why did Apple care to compete? Was there really more money to be made by having their own maps? The reason I ask this is because a large % of Apple users had no idea Google made their maps and still has no idea that Apple now makes them. They really dont care. They just want maps and gps. Apple should have never tried to compete with Google on the maps app unless Apple was planning to do something innovative with the product…like what they did when iPhone was first invented. Sure their maps is going to get better and get good but Google maps is really good and is getting better too. Why they chose to compete with that app is beyond me. So here is my message for Apple: Do not compete for the sake of competing and having a monopoly. You will never be better than everyone at everything. Let this be a lesson learned. If you cannot improve something why try to recreate the wheel? Unless you can make that wheel better do not waste your time and energy on it. Why not invest in making iTunes user friendly? It has to be the worst piece of software I have used (from an HCI perspective that is). I could think of a 20 things off the top of my head that Apple would have been better off investing in or improving. Why they thought Apple Maps was a good idea I will never know.
This is an update to a previous blog post of mine that has now been updated (https://raypastore.com/wordpress/2011/05/developing-a-website-for-the-mobile-web/)
So when developing a website for the mobile web we need to take into consideration the screen’s size. Obviously since we develop on a computer we need to test a lot to make sure our page looks right on the mobile device. So here are a few quick tips which are updated from my previous post:
1. Most phones compress the page (display) 980 pixels in width. That means that a page that is 980 pixels on a browser (desktop) will be compressed to the fit the phone. However, that is not always the case so we add this line of code:
2. The line of code, which is placed in the header (<head>):
The nexus 4 is a phone and 7 and 10 are tablets. I am going to talk about the nexus 4 because this is the device that both amazes and disappoints me.
First of all, here is the information on all 3 devices: http://www.google.com/nexus/
Now onto the nexus 4:
8mp camera
Quad core processor
2 GB Ram
So what disappoints me: NO 4G. I really wish this phone had 4G. And since this phone is HSPA I am not 100% sure it will run on verizon (rumor is that it will not work on verizon) but it will definitely with ATT.
Now why is this phone the best phone on the market right now: I can buy an unlocked version for $299. Thats right, under no contract with a carrier I can buy this phone outright for $299.
Now for those that do not know what this means let me share with you….When you normally get a phone under contract through verizon/att you pay $299 for a phone that normally costs $650. So you actually pay for that difference in your contract, meaning that your plan is higher than what it really should be so that you pay back that difference in the 2 year contract you sign. So technically when you buy a phone outright, your monthly plan should be significantly cheaper. But its not, why? Phone companies are making money off of you not knowing this information. Well the information is well known just not by the general consumer so no one complains. So if we start buying phones off contract then companies will have no choice but to get rid of their ridiculous monthly fees that we are currently paying.
I made this little chart for my students as a guide to help them know what options are available for mobile device development:
|
Developing for the mobile device |
||||
| Native Apps | Mobile Web | |||
| Apple | Android | Android Browsers |
Apple Browsers |
|
| xCode | x | |||
| Eclipse | x | |||
| HTML(5) Mobile Packaging software
(ie software that outputs to xCode and Eclipse such as PhoneGap) |
x | x | x | x |
| HTML (5) Development Software (ie software that outputs HTML/HTML5 such as dreamweaver) | x | x | ||
| Flash (any Adobe Air compatible software) | x | x | x | x |
Since I spoke about this last night in class I wanted to post a tutorial for any of my students brave enough to attempt their first app. Here is a tutorial to use Xcode to create your first app:
Remember you do need an Apple developer ID to do this or you can apply for an education one for free that allows you to test the app on your iOS device here: