Month: May 2011

June 7th sees 2011’s E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) open in Los Angeles, and it looks like being a pretty good year for PC gamers. I’ve been looking over what developers are promising to show there, and picked out what I think are the most exciting upcoming games for PCs!

Bioshock: Infinite (2012)
What’s been seen so far of Bioshock: Infinite looks fantastic. The story shifts to a new environment, of floating city Columbia in 1912. Lighter and less claustrophobic than Rapture, Columbia yet again has a wonderfully distinctive aging science fiction look to it, but it’s definitely different to the original games. While the mix of FPS and special powers remains, Bioshock: Infinite is sure to be one of the most original games we’ll see at E3.

Rage (Sept 11 2011)
When the creator of Wolfenstein and Doom makes a new first person shooter, you sit up and take note. Considering id Software’s last original game, Doom 3, was in 2004, Rage is certainly not being rushed, and uses id’s new ‘id Tech 5’ engine. It looks really impressive, and it’ll be fascinating to see what the originators will do with the FPS genre, which is always in need of fresh ideas. We’ve already had a peak into what Rage for PC will be like,  as the game is already  available for iOS. Continue reading “Preview: My Top 5 PC Games of E3”

With their crisp bright screens, iPhones are easy to read from quite a distance. I am always conscious on the subway that strangers could easily read what I’m writing if they wanted. Private Writer allows you to hide the text on your screen so you people can’t snoop at your personal messages!

Private Writer is really simple – it gives you a space to write, and if you look carefully you will see your text is actually present, just very very faint. This makes it practically impossible for others to see what you’re typing! Be warned though, that once you’ve finished and you want to export your text, whatever application you choose will show your message clear as day. However, you can send your SMS or tweet fast enough that noone will be able to catch what you wrote.

Download Private Writer and you’ll be able to send a text about that strange smelling person on the train without worrying if they are watching you!

If you’re running out of steam this holiday weekend then go check out EA’s Memorial Day game sale and get some cheap  iOS and Android apps.

The developer is offering different knockdown deals on a range of its mobile games. You can grab iOS games such as Need for Speed Undercover, FIFA 11, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12, The Sims 3 and Scrabble for 99 cents. Besides this offer, there’s also up to  80 percent off of some awesome EA iPad titles, including Dead Space HD, Game of Life HD and NBA Jam HD.

Android fans needn’t feel left out because you can grab up to 50% off of Tetris, The Sims 3, NFS Shift, The Game of Life, FIFA 10 and Worms, or download Monopoly or Bejeweled 2 for just a buck each. Note, that the Memorial Day offer is only applicable to users in the US and Canada.

Back in 2000 I was lucky enough to meet up with Google’s CTO, the so-called ‘Employee Number One’, Craig Silverstein. He’d invited me along to the Dorchester in London to talk about the search engine’s new AdWords solution, just before the product was rolled out.

Silverstein spoke about the idea of a new pay-per-click and site-targeted advertising system that would be integrated into Google Search. After listening to his imagination-tickling speech, I unashamedly gave Silverstein’s ego a full body massage, telling him that I thought his new AdWords product will change the business world forever and even transform Google into an industry in its own right. He flashed a knowing smile and just said “that’s what I’m hoping”.

True to our mutual optimism that day, this was to be the moment Google went supernova. AdWords went on to become the company’s main revenue stream, generating revenues of $28 billion in 2010. Moreover, it has given businesses a quick and relatively cost-effective way to bring targeted customers through their doors.

Yesterday, as  I watched Google present its new Wallet solution, I got that same tingly feeling as I had 10 years ago, that something truly game changing is about to drop.

Continue reading “Mobile Wallet – Google’s most important product for 10 years”

The lack of any major innovations in QuarkXPress‘ recent update to version 9 has left many dedicated Quark users disappointed at the evolution of the once unassailable desktop publishing application. As more companies and designers switch to Adobe products, especially InDesign, the question is: can Quark ever make it back from the brink?

While the latest QuarkXPress offers some great new features (such as the ability to create interactive books for iPads and support for eBook publishing), it can’t fight against the rising tide of users switching to Adobe. Most designers use multiple applications in their creative work, so it makes sense to use integrated products such as InDesign and Illustrator. Since Adobe products follow a similar kind of format and layout, once you’ve learned to use one, you quickly learn how to use the others in the suite.

Quark’s problems are not helped by the fact that it is incredibly expensive for what you get. The full package totals almost $2,000 and for about the same money, you could have the entire Adobe CS5 suite. Quark will not only have to start pricing its product far more competitively if its to keep up with Adobe, but will also have to make some serious innovations to give designers a compelling reason to choose it as their desktop publishing software of choice.