Web Designer and Developer
Matt
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Posts by Matt
Slide-It Keyboard Makes It Easier To Type
Dec 25, 2011
As part of the 10-cent app downloads that Android had last week in celebration of their 10 billion total app downloads, Slide-It keyboard was something that I decided to download and try. I can say that it certainly changed the way I type on my phone keyboard. Slide-it keyboard lets you actually swipe your finger across the keys with short stops at the letters you want to type with before you move on to the next letter of the word. I’ve found that overall it does speed up the way I type on my phone but there are certain words that the keyboard thinks is something else. When that happens I just type by taping the letters for that word and then continuing to swipe for the next. My version of Slide-it also came with three skins that change to color of the keyboard if you’re into that.
It looks like the price is now $5.99 but there’s also a free version available @ Android Market.
Warioland 4 on Game Boy Advance
Dec 25, 2011
Looking around on the internet the other day, I came across this beautiful artwork for Warioland 4, a Game Boy Advance game that Nintendo released back in 2001. This game may be forgotten by now but it’s actually a really fun game that’s worth taking a second look at. Unlike most other Nintendo platformers that have 40-100 levels to discover, Warioland 4 only has 20 levels to explore. But the levels are more massive than what you’re used to. Each level has a theme (jungle, ruins, haunted hotel, etc.) and there are four themes to a passage. Once you get to the end of a level, a portal opens up which you must get to in a set amount of time or Wario will begin to lose the treasures he has collected along the way.
Warioland 4 is included in the list of Game Boy Advance games available for download for Nintendo 3DS as of December 16, 2011.
Flight Control Soars Into Your Touchpad
Dec 23, 2011
The great news is that the Touchpad now has Flight Control available to download. And I was right, this is a game that’s much easier and better to play on a tablet vs on a phone due to the amount of action on the screen all at once. Flight Control is a game where you control the flight paths of aircrafts and helicopters. Different size planes need to land on different runways in some levels. The game was developed by Namco and Firemint and was first available back in March of 2009 and has sold over two million units worldwide. Best of all it’s only 99 cents in the Touchpad app store.
Angry Birds Turns Two Years Old
Dec 11, 2011
Angry Birds has really been a defining game for the touch generation (iPad, iPod, iPhone, Android, etc). It’s hard to believe that it has only been out for two years when it seems like it has been so much longer. To celebrate, there have been some new levels released today for the iPhone. Here are my favorite Angry Bird characters listed from most to least favorite:
- Black Angry Bird – The black Angry Bird is my favorite because he’s basically a bomb that does a lot of damage. After this bird lands and causes a minimal initial damage, you can tap to make the black Angry Bird explode or wait a few seconds for his built-in timer do it itself.
- Yellow Angry Bird – Although the triangular yellow Angry Bird may not look like much at first, he can cause some serious damage by his user-controlled speed burst he gets when you tap the screen. If you do use him just right and aim properly he can cause some level-clearing destruction that will help you throughout the game.
- Big Brother Bird – This bird may not be the brightest bird in the bunch but he can cause harm due to his intense size. Once you see just how big he is compared to the others he will become an instant favorite.
- Blue Bird – At first you will think that this bird is a wimpy little guy but big things come in small packages. He splits off into three birds when the user taps the screen which when done properly can put the baddies in check.
WebOS To Become Open-Source
Dec 10, 2011
Yesterday HP announced that they were going to release the code for WebOS, the operating system found inside Palm phones and Touchpad. HP’s will still have a role as it continues to contribute development, engineering and support resources to WebOS. Current Touchpad owners should still be able to receive support in the near-future, and hopefully a lot longer. The webOS division of HP will shift much of its 600 person staff into a separate startup business that will try to take advantage of the 750,000 HP Touchpads that have been sold. WebOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable. It has a lot of potential and will hopefully have a place in homes across the country.
Android Offers 10 Cent Apps In Celebration!
Dec 10, 2011
Google announced that as of last Thursday Android is celebrating the download of 10 billion apps. With the holiday season in full bloom and because 10 billion is such a big number, Google is having big discounts on 10 new apps a day for 10 days. The theme seems to be 10 here. Now is a great time for Android users to pick up some highly discounted premium apps, some of which cost $5 before the deal. I have already picked up some great apps for my phone including:
- Beautiful Widgets
- Can Knockdown
- Game Dev Story
- Blue Skies Live Wallpaper
More @ Android.
Clap Mini USB Cameras
Nov 26, 2011
You already have a USB thumb drive and you already have a digital camera that fits in your pocket so why not have a device that does both? These little Clap Mini USB Cameras will shoot both pictures and video in a way that would make James Bond cry. Insert a MicroSD card for extra storage and use it as a regular USB storage drive as well. They come with 16GB of memory and are available in red, blue and black. Available now for $64.
More @ Zakka Shop.
Lowering Your Comcast Cable & Internet Bill
Nov 26, 2011
Last year I called Comcast to see what deals they had on cable TV. At the time I already had Comcast internet. The man I spoke to set me up with a package that included hi-speed internet, hundreds of channels of HD cable TV including HBO, and a DVR all for roughly $110/month. The deal seemed good and I was satisfied with that price.
I was quite surprised when 12 months after I started with the package the bill shot up to $180/month. I was upset so I decided to call Comcast to see if there was anything they could do for me. I told them that if they couldn’t lower my bill back to the reasonable price I was paying before the price hike that I’d like to cancel the cable service. The gentleman on the line from Comcast took a look to see what promotions that they had and found one that was similar to my old bill.
From my experience, Comcast has a history of this. They figure that unless you complain about your service pricing being too high, then you are okay with paying it. Comcast also has a monopoly in my area on high-speed internet. They are literally the only company in my neighborhood that offers it. The moral of this story is that it doesn’t hurt to complain about high monthly cable bills because they are negotiable.
Moshi Moshi Retro Handset for iPhone and Android
Nov 23, 2011
Back in the day you’d see these iconic telephone booth phones everywhere. They have a good weight to them and a handle that makes them very easy to grip. In a day in age where small is sexier, you’d think that these old telephones were a thing of the past but they’re actually still around. Not only are they comfortable to hold but they reduce up to 99% of the radiation absorbed compared to a direct use of your mobile phone. The phone handset currently comes in over 10 different colors and is available on Amazon.com.
More @ Amazon.
New York Times Magazine Lego Cover
Nov 20, 2011
The New York Times Magazine decided to create a giant Lego building in the shape of the T in the New York Times logo for a cover. The inspiration for the scene was Central Park. In total the scene took eleven days of non-stop work in 16-hour shifts. Creating the round edges of the T and coming up with the layout of the rooftop were the biggest challenges of the design. it’s about 6 feet by 6 feet in size and it may be difficult to spot but there are four mini-figs reading The New York Times.
Newborn Baby Expands Father’s Vocabulary
Nov 20, 2011
Being a first time father of a newborn baby, there are some words and terms that I’ve never heard before or I’d heard but didn’t ever use. If you’re a first time mother or father and are not familiar with these words, don’t feel bad. Some of them you will learn throughout the pregnancy and up until after the baby is born.
- Contraction: The tightening of the uterus as the baby gets pushed down the birth canal.
- Colostrum: A yellowish liquid found in mothers mammary gland a few days before and after the birth of their young.
- Dilated: Amount that the cervix has opened in preparation for childbirth. Between 1-10 cm.
- Effaced: The thinning of the uterus, measured in percentage.
- Meconium: The earliest stools of an infant which is composed of materials ingested during the time the infant spends in the uterus
- Skin-to-skin: Refers to positioning baby directly on you so that their skin is touching yours. It’s a calming experience for baby and bonding experience for you.
- Swaddle: to bind (an infant, especially a newborn infant) with long, narrow strips of cloth or blankets to prevent free movement.
- Tummy time: When you place baby on his/her tummy so they can practice lifting their head.
I’m sure as my daughter gets older there will be more words to learn but for now this list is somewhat short.
Zinio: A Magazine Reader For Touchpad
Nov 14, 2011
After everyone bought an HP Touchpad during the firesale a couple months ago, they slowly began to realize that support is not so great in the land of WebOS. Lately though, developers have been releasing some killer apps that save the Touchpad from being JATWAA (Just Another Tablet Without Any Apps). Zinio has earlier this month released their popular app for the Touchpad. Zinio is the world’s largest digital newsstand offering over 4,000 magazines. There are even some free full magazine and magazine excerpts to download. If you decide to buy one, the average price of a magazine in Zinio is about $5, about what you’d expect to find it for at the store. A good thing is that because the magazines are downloaded to your Touchpad, you can read them away from wifi hotspots. And not surprisingly, the experience of reading a magazine with this app is really quite nice.
More @ Zinio.
Zelda 25th Anniversary Special Edition 3DS
Nov 13, 2011
Gamestop seems to have a way with scoring exclusive, limited-edition consoles because they have done so once again. A leaked ad for GameStop’s Black Friday 2011 deals shows that the 25th Anniversary limited edition 3DS Zelda bundle will be made available on Friday, November 25th. A copy of Ocarina of Time 3D and a special 3DS system with Zelda-inspired artistry on the casing will be included in the package. The price will be $199.
Super Mario 3D Land Jumps Your Way
Nov 13, 2011
Today, Nintendo has released Super Mario 3D Land for the Nintendo 3DS here in the U.S. Mario is back in what may look and sound familiar but there are a lot new things about this game which looks like a lot of fun. Super Mario 3D Land combines the elements of traditional side-scrolling Mario titles with those of the modern open world Mario titles. It has sold over 343,000 copies in its first week in Japan.
Doodle Jump: A Simple, Simply Addictive App
Nov 13, 2011
Sometimes, the simpler the game, the more addictive it becomes. There’s something good about the simplicity of a game that requires little effort which makes it low-tense, relaxed and more enjoyable. Doodle Jump is just that, simple and addictive. In the game, you control the Doodler, a character that must get to the top! No one really knows why the Doodler must get to the top or even what’s up there but it really doesn’t matter about that. And even though the Doodler will never make it to the top because it’s impossible and doesn’t exist, the fun lies in the continuous jumping that the Doodler make on his way.
The way you control the Doodler as he jumps from platform to platform is by tilting your device left or right, using its built-in accelerometer. The control is so simple that it’s genius, but be careful because not every platform will support you and there are usually large gaps between them. Along the way, the Doodler can get a short boost from various objects including jetpacks, propeller hats, rockets, spring shoes and trampolines. There are also things that the Doodler must avoid including monsters and UFOs. If it is difficult to avoid them, the Doodler can shoot them (by tapping on the screen) or jump on them which will make them fall and they will terminate. Ultimately, the game ends when you can’t make a jump and fall to the bottom.
Another neat easter egg about the game is that there are a number of included themes. The themes don’t really affect gameplay except in some cases like the Halloween theme where it’s much darker and therefore more difficult. The themes that are currently available are: Original, Christmas, Halloween, Rainforest, Space, Soccer, Ocean, Easter. Developed by Lima Sky, Doodle Jump has already been downloaded over 10,000,000 times on multiple devices since it was first released in April, 2009. It’s nice to play a game that doesn’t involve different levels. How do you mark your success? High-scores! Go ahead, grab it for a buck and enjoy your flight.