apple juice

One of my favorite Mac games of all time received an update earlier this week. Spaceward Ho! 5 was released, and it’s better than ever.

I downloaded the demo, and at first glance is very similar to version 4, but they have made quite a few small enhancements, and one major one (IMO). Now, instead of having to use Filesharing to play network games, all the network games are handled with TCP/IP and a central server run by Delta Tao.

I also noticed on Delta Tao’s homepage, a new version of Eric’s Solitaire is coming out for Mac OS X! 🙂 You may be wondering why I’m excited about a solataire game, but then, you probably haven’t played Eric’s Solitaire.

stepping carefully
old shoes on tentative feet
yard filled with dog poo

Well the online Christmas is coming together nicely. I’ve yet to enter a mall in search of gifts, and I think I’m down to one or two more gifts to purchase, so it’s looking good.

Some people are all up in arms about the proliferation of “registering” for Christmas gifts. I can see the point, but I also like the idea of having someone able to see what I’m interested at least. But in the case of my Amazon wishlist, it’s as much for me than anyone else.

You don’t know how many times I’ve gone to the record store and had a complete brain fart. Which CD was I going to buy? Now when I find a CD I want to get, I add it to the list. I either print it out when I go to the record store or just order from Amazon.

Everyone’s favorite homepage, and probably among the coolest places in the world to work, Google.com, has created what maybe the greatest thing ever for online shoppers. Froogle. (Get it? Froogle/Frugal?)

Anyways, it’s what you’d expect, Google for shopping. It’s everything Google is known for, simplicity, speed, accuracy. I’m hooked already, try it out.

Google Viewer
As long as I’m on the google subject, check out the Google Viewer as well. What will they come up with next?

The “evolution” of digital “lifeforms” is another fascinating subject that I wish I had more time to learn about. One scientist decided to recreate some of the machines he had evolved in his computer programs in real life. They’re actually quite beautiful if you ask me.

Wired, in my opinion, has gone downhill since I first started reading the magazine. However, they still write some cool articles from time to time. This article, discussing some of the battle scenes for The Two Towers is amazing.

When an animator places agents into a simulation, they’re released to do what they will. It’s not crowd control but anarchy. That’s because each agent makes decisions from its point of view. Still, when properly genetically engineered, the right character will always win the fight. “It’s possible to rig fights, but it hasn’t been done,” Regelous said. “In the first test fight we had 1,000 silver guys and 1,000 golden guys. We set off the simulation, and in the distance you could see several guys running for the hills.”

It’s scary to take two leaps ahead and think about the possibilities of some sort of “intelligent” program wired up to a robot. that has more advanced motor movements than the newest Asimo robot.

Today’s Cool Site:

Memigo.

If you are a bit of a news junkie, as I am, you will find this site to be indispensible. It works sort of like Amazon’s Recommends feature. Based on the stories you read and rank, it gives you more stories that it thinks you’ll like, based on those ratings and the ratings of others.

Check it out!