Well there’s one thing that can be said for having an iPhone: there is really no limit to the variety of applications you can enjoy on your mobile. Amazingly, The Apple App store now has over 25,00 applications for their users to download and enjoy. So which apps are the most popular among iPhone users? It looks like iPhone users love their games! In fact, there are over 6000 gaming apps available for the iPhone.
Many people are pointing out the pace in which the Apple App store is growing, as they have far surpassed the Windows Mobile App store, which despite its longevity only provides for 20,000 apps. This is likely due to the pace as which the iPhone itself is selling, as well as the ease of use of the Apple App store.
If you’re a huge Apple fangirl (or boy) like I am, you’ll be probably be excited to learn of Apple’s new and improved Mini offering. They have now unveiled an updated Mac Mini (which I personally have been waiting for, for quite some time now, and know I’m certainly not the only one), which is touted as being both faster and more eco friendly than previous versions of the tiny mac.
The Mini starts at just under six hundred dollars, includes WiFi, bluetooth, an Intel 2.0 GHz Core 2 chip, an awesome Nvidia GeForce 9400M graphics card, and my personal favorite, five USB ports. I am somebody who is always running out of USB room, and believe you can never, ever, have too many USB ports.
Comics industry heavyweight Marvel has joined with a very obscure gaming production firm called Gazillion Entertainment with the intent to produce a variety of new web games, according to VentureBeat.Their first joint offering is said to be a web titled inspired by Super Hero Squad, which is a new cartoon series which features some popular Marvel characters. The game is not expected to be finished until 2010.
Gazillion is also currently in the process of making both PC and Console versions of Marvel Universe, a much anticipated MMO. Now, apparently the new joint ventures between Marvel and Gazillion Entertainment will not have an impact on Marvel’s current agreements wither other gaming producers, such as Activision. So any titles currently under works with those companies should continue on as planned.
One thing I love about Marvel inspired movies and games is the sound effects. I have always been interested in such things, and like to check out some of the Free Sound Effects sites on the web. I guess that makes me a geek, but I don’t care! I like to create small videos and put them on YouTube and stuff. It’s a lot of fun and actually pretty easy to do.
In some news that just might make those that shelled out a couple of hundred dollars for their iPhone upset: it looks like the iPhone could be about to get very cheap (or even free) this summer. How? I mean, the iPhone is extremely popular, why would they lower their price?
Well, there are heavy rumors that a next generation iPhone will be launched this summer, and in that case, many wireless providers would want to clear out their existing iPhone inventory in preparation for the new release. In fact, internet rumors are circulating that O2 may slash their iPhone prices in May, perhaps even offering the popular gadget for free by June (with a contract).
It will be interesting to see if this materializes, and if so, I can’t wait to get a look at the next gen iPhone!
For those of you who are not into the iPhone, and perhaps are looking for a cheaper calling alternative, I’d recommend trying out one of the various VOIP services available. In fact, there are some great resources which allow you to compare internet phone services on the internet.
Spectrotel offers the best deals even if you compare internet phone services with other companies. Check out the other Spectrotel profile here.
Little Big Planet was the clear and heavy victor at the recent twelfth Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, receiving 8 accolades which included both major prizes in Game of the Year (2008) as well as Console Game of the Year. These are all big prizes and so major kudos should be given to the creation company, as it has shown that they understand what people want in their video games these days.
The premise of Little Big Planet includes giving gamers the control of little alien-esque, but oddly cute creatures called Sackboys or Sackgirls, taking them through a series of different platforms, and watching them evolve as the game progresses. It’s certainly a new and innovative idea which is someone rare in this world of first person shooter after first person shooter. It’s very nice to see a company coming out with something different and unexpected like this.
Other interesting award winners include NHL 09, which won Sports Game of the Year 2008, and my personal favorite of 2008, Fallout 3, which I thought may have had a chance at game of the year “settled” for RPG of the year.
I wonder how many people will actually pay for these games, as it’s known that many can be found online through game torrents, and that is becoming a popular way to get games these days.
Recently Microsoft disclosed it mistakenly overpaid a few out of 1,400 workers it had to lay off a month earlier and, therefore, is requesting a refund for the money. Subsequently, Microsoft had decided to overturn their decision and stated that these employees could keep the payment. The company’s senior VP for human resources Lisa Brummel, stated that 25 workers had received letters regarding the overpayment amounts of usually ranging between $4,000 to $5,000.
Brummel did acknowledge that the incident came to her attention after appearing on TechCrunch, a technology blog. The site has a posting of a letter with a Microsoft letterhead dated the 18th of February. Brummel called on the phone a majority of the 25 workers to personally inform them of Microsoft’s final decision. Microsoft announced its layoffs on January 22, it also reported its last quarter net income for 2008 to be lower by 11% year-to-year, but still reached $4.17 billion.
I think that not reclaiming the over payments makes Microsoft look like a great company with a huge heart, and who doesn’t want to do business with a company that has those attributes. If I worked in the Microsoft public relations department, I would probably want to find some optimized press release services to make sure that the company’s generosity becomes known by many.
The math wiz holiday, happening only nine times every 100 years, will be on March 3 of this year (since 3 is the square root of 9). A Redwood City teacher, Ron Gordon, initiated the competition is intended to get participants energized regarding the special day. $339 is what the winning contestant will receive for the biggest Square Root Day celebration. The teacher’s daughter already has a Facebook page, and many people have viewed it and intended to participate in some form. The celebration are quite diverse, including cutting vegetable roots into squares, and other creative ideas. The previous Root Day happened five years previously, on the second 2004, which coincidentally is Groundhog Day. Next day is the fourth of April 2016.
Now of course not everybody is a math wiz, and so you may want to take some time out of celebrating square root day and do a little homework. There are resources online that provide Free homework help so that may be of interest to those of you who are looking to ace your next test, or get an A on your next report card. It really is important to buckle down, as employers, colleges and grad programs all want to hire the best and brightest these days.