Web Designer and Developer
Matt
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Posts by Matt
More Black Friday 2008 Deals
Nov 16, 2008
Now only two weeks away, Black Friday is sneaking up on us like those people sneak in line at the last minute right when the stores open. Although this will be a rather weak Black Friday compared to those in the past, there are still some deals to be found. Here are my picks of stores and items to look out for when you’re half awake and freezing at 5AM promising yourself this is the last year you’re doing this.
- Best Buy / Toshiba 15.4″ Laptop / $379.99
- Circuit City / 260 DVDs and CDs / $2.99 – $3.99 each
- Circuit City / Select Blu-ray Discs / $8.99
- Target / 750GB External hard Drive / $88.88
- Wal-Mart / Magnavox Blu-ray Player / $128
- Wal-Mart / Xbox 360 & Guitar Hero III / $199
Little Big Planet + PSP = 2009?
Nov 14, 2008
Little Big Planet must be selling really well because there are rumors of bringing it to the PSP sometime in 2009. The game could give the PSP a little boost in sales which have been lagging as developer’s have been developing on the DS more as of late. How much Sackboy will have to give up in order to be ported to the PS3′s little portable friend?
Best Buy Black Friday Ad Not Impressive
Nov 14, 2008
The Best Buy black friday (day after Thanksgiving) sales ad has hit the internet and it’s not looking too impresive this year. In the past Best Buy has provided some of the best doorbuster deals of all the major retailers but with the financial market in ruins, and people looking for deals every which way, maybe Best Buy couldn’t afford to let things go at ridiculous prices. Or maybe people are just sick and tired camping out in front of a store for two days in the freezing cold in order to try and save $300 on a new TV.
Apple iTunes Store Bargain Bin Movies
Nov 11, 2008
I don’t enjoy rebuying my movie collection every time a new format comes out, first VHS, then DVD and now digital. The thing I like least about buying digital is that it’s stuck in a format that I can’t physically touch. I’m glad Apple realized we don’t want to pay a lot for digital movies because they started an iTunes store movie bargain bin. A bunch of movies will be released each week for only $5. With movies like Terminator 2 on the list, the movies are pretty good too. Not sure yet if by limited time they mean the movies or the bargain bin but we should find out next week.
Target's Digital Camera Gift Card
Nov 11, 2008
You see colorful attention grabbing gift cards all the time while waiting in line at stores but they usually don’t serve a function other than being a card for spending money. This season, Target is doing something a little different, a functional digital camera and gift card in one. The camera features 1.2MP and 8MB of on board memory for about 50 shots and comes with a USB cord, driver disk and a 40 free prints voucher. After you spend the initial $50-$1,000 gift, the camera can be reloaded with money and memories.
More @ Target
Two Blu-ray Discs and Remote For $40
Nov 9, 2008
Best Buy is having a deal this week (week of Nov 9, 2008) where if you buy two Blu-ray discs, you get a free Blu-ray remote. The Blu-ray discs usually go for $20 a piece and the remote is usually $20 also. Simply add two Blu-ray discs to your cart, then add the PS3 remote to your cart from this link and the discount will automatically come off.
Choose from the following Blu-ray titles: Troy, TMNT, Wyatt Earp, Alexander, Swordfish, Bullitt, The Brave One, Pan’s Labryinth, March of the Penguins, A Clockwork Orange, The Fugitive, Rush Hour 3, The Departed, Enter The Dragon, I Am Legend and 300.
California's Proposed High-Speed Train System
Nov 8, 2008
California is planning a state-of-the-art high speed train system that would travel north and south through the state from Sacramento and San Francisco to San Diego, and stop everywhere in between. The technology in the train system is inspired by the what’s already in place in Europe and Asia where trains can travel at speeds of over 200 MPH at times. The maximum trip length, from San Diego to San Francisco which is 500 miles will take just under four hours. If driving, that same trip driving would be double the time. Check out the website below for tons oh videos and information on the project.
Microsoft: No More Licenses For Windows 3.x
Nov 6, 2008
As of November 1st, 2008, Microsoft has stopped issuing licenses for Windows 3.x which debuted in May, 1990. The 18 year old operating system carried Microsoft through the early 90′s up until Windows 95 came out in August, 1995. Windows 3.x included a significantly revamped user interface as well as many technical improvements over Windows previous OS. In order to install Windows 3.x, you needed a hard drive with a whopping 6-7 MB of free space.
New Sega Game Includes 40 Genesis Titles
Nov 6, 2008
Today Sega announced a new game titled Sonic’s Ultimate Genesis Collection. Although the game has Sonic in the title, it will include way more than just our speedy blue hedgehog friend. Packed with 40 titles from the Sega Genesis era, the game compilation is set to be released in Spring, 2009 on the 360 and PS3. One of the features from the game will be an output of the games in 720p for hi-res classic goodness.
Some highlight games from the compilation will be:
- Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle
- Altered Beast
- Columns
- Ecco the Dolphin series
- Golden Axe series
- Phantasy Star series
- Sonic the Hedgehog series
- Streets of Rage series
Baltimore/DC Area gets Google Street Maps
Nov 5, 2008
Google has finally added their street view service to the Baltimore/DC metro area. The service lets you view pictures to scope out areas for whatever reason using Google Maps without actually traveling there. The service has been available for a while now in other cities but was just recently turned on in the area. I heard the reason it didn’t come to the area sooner was for security reasons but according to the Fox 45 news it is because they were shooting hi-res pictures which delayed the process. Whatever the reason, it’s nice to see they added the area.
More @ Google Maps.
Wal-Mart Pre Black Friday Sale on PS3, PSP
Nov 5, 2008
With Black Friday (The day after Thanksgiving) sales still a good three weeks away, Wal-Mart will be having some in-store specials to jump start Christmas shopping this holiday season. The fun starts this Saturday at Wal-Mart stores at 8AM. Buy a 80GB PS3 at regular price and get $100 Wal-Mart gift card. You can use that $100 towards the sale on Greatest Hits games which are usually $30 but will be $20. Also, if you buy either a PSP or a PS2 at regular price you will get a $30 gift card.
Sky Village: Made With 60m Building Blocks
Nov 4, 2008
An interesting looking boxy structure is soon going to help fill the skyline in Copenhagen, Denmark. Sky Village, designed by MVRDV and co-architect ADEPT, will contain space for retail, offices, housing, parking/storage and a hotel. The design is based on a grid of 60 meter pixels that allow the flexibility to re-design units like giant Lego blocks. These ‘pixels’ all surround the central core of the building.
More @ Contemporist.
A Bunch of New Gmail Features
Nov 4, 2008
Gmail: Google’s approach to email, has recently announced a bunch of new updates. Gmail has already not too arguably been the best online e-mail solution and the new slew of updates just prove that even more. Maybe with all these new features, Google will finally take Gmail out of Beta? Here are the highlights of the new features:
- Tons of new emoticons that are now available in e-mails, not just chat
- Colored labels to better categorize your e-mails
- Chat with groups of people, not just one on one
- Chat with your AIM friends in Gmail chat
- New 20MB maximum attachment file size
- No invitations needed anymore to sign up for Gmail
- Check up to five e-mail accounts through Gmail
W3Counter Web 2.0 Friendly Statistics
Nov 3, 2008
When tracking your statistics on your blog, there are many options. If you have a self hosted WordPress site, there are built in widgets that you can download and install. Your hosting company may also provide free statistics to you already. But I usually like to use statistic sites where you can sign up, copy code and paste into your sidebar.
I’ve been using Extreme Tracking for a while now. They make you put a button on your site that links to your public statistics but the statistics are very easy to read and user friendly. I actually just discovered a new tracker provided by W3Counter. The thing that makes W3Counter different is the deep amount of statistics provided. The deep web 2.0 friendly stats make it easy to monitor who is coming to your site and how they’re getting there.
Another cool feature of W3Counter statistics is the Google Maps view you get of your visitors. You can zoom in and out, slick on the markers and view the IP address of that visitor, how they got to your site and the time and date of the visit. The above screenshot is just of the past 24 hours but It’s going to be fun to watch the visitors multiply on the map and see where they are located.
PopCap Releases Bejeweled Twist
Nov 2, 2008
PopCap Games released Bejeweled Twist last Monday, a game four years in the making. The twist is that instead of swapping two gems you now rotate four in a clockwise motion in order to get three of the same color in a row and cancel them out. I haven’t had a chance to download and play it yet but the graphics and music look and sound even better than the first. Hopefully we see a OSX and App store version soon.
More @ popcap.com