News, Reviews and more from Australia's Macintosh Authority
News, Reviews and more from Australia's Macintosh Authority
There's nothing wrong with protecting your intellectual property if you're a business. On the other hand, leaving consumers high and dry when licences fail to work as they're meant to really sucks, even if the property in question is just a relatively minor game title. Thankfully, Apple does this a lot better than its biggest competitor. The future of software delivery, as we've been promised for some time now, is in digital delivery. Certainly, it's a model that's proven wildly successful for a number of shareware-style operators with applications that are easy to download and install, but what about larger applications? Well, that market's being tested out right now in the games world, and Apple is right in the thick of it, thanks to the digital delivery of games via the iTunes Store.
Alex Kidman | Aug 20, 2008
Rather subtly, in the middle of a crowded week and a somewhat overhyped launch, Apple managed to sneak a few other products out the door. One of them marks the company's first successful foray into the portable gaming market. Heck, I'll go further than that. It marks the company's first push with a computing device capable of playing cutting-edge games since the Apple II. I'm referring, of course, to the iPhone 3G. As I write this, seven of the top ten Apps available from the App Store are all games.
Alex Kidman | Jul 23, 2008
Sometimes, it's better to play with yourself. No, wait, that's not quite right. I've been spending some time recently on an iMac playing two fairly significant fantasy action games. First, I've been enjoying playing through Lionhead's Fable: The Lost Chapters, recently brought to the Mac by Feral Interactive. Then I went head to head with the big challenge in fantasy games right now; Blizzard's well-loved World Of Warcraft.
Alex Kidman | Jun 25, 2008
I’m finding it difficult to be a Mac gamer in a fundamental area: controls. Mac games can only ever be as good as the controls that developers can reasonably expect the player base to have, and in the case of Macs, the picture is … well … it’s not very good, really. First off, there’s the classic keyboard and mouse combination. Beloved of both the first-person shooter fan and the RTS obsessive, a good mouse and keyboard can be the difference between successfully leading a raid on the evil Horde and coming away with the glory, or being slaughtered in the first five seconds because you can’t, for example, press both mouse buttons simultaneously.
Alex Kidman | Apr 2, 2008
People who live in areas of great geographic instability — I'm thinking here of the San Andreas fault, or the guy whose job it is to sweep Krakatau clean — live in a certain amount of trepidation, never quite sure when the next big earthquake will hit. Earthquakes are big, nasty events that change the landscape for the worst, and all too often, irrevocably. The reason why I'm pontificating on earthquakes? I reckon the Mac world isn't just due, but quite possibly overdue, for a major shakeup.
Alex Kidman | Mar 6, 2008
So, having discussed the Eee PC over on the Australian Macworld Forums – you should head there after you’ve read this (but not until you do – that would be rude), I cracked yesterday, and went out and purchased one. I’d been pondering the machine for a while; a cheap ultraportable that’s good for travelling and working in-between meetings? Something I can leave on a table in the house and check intermittently in between tasks? That’s ideal. I’d given some thought a while back to tracking down a cheap iBook for the same task, but to be honest I’ve never been that happy with the concept of a totally second-hand notebook. There’s just too much that can have happened to an older notebook that I, as a purchaser, might not be aware of.
Alex Kidman | Feb 7, 2008
Before I start, a quick confession. While I've been an avid gamer for most of my life, I've not really been a Mac gamer per se. Well, actually, I should clarify that statement -- I haven't been a Mac gamer in the most recent phase of my gaming life. I've come across some of my favourite games ever on Apple platforms, just not all that recently. Titles that have eaten up countless hours of my life first came to my attention on Macs -- titles like Sim City or Prince Of Persia spring immediately to mind. Going back a little further in Apple's history,there were titles like Karateka and B.C's Quest For Tires. Stop giggling in the back there, or I'll thwack you with my old-man stick... if I can remember where I left it.
Alex Kidman | Jan 17, 2008
"Don't forget to get there very, very early", was the advice given to me by practically everyone prior to this morning's Macworld Conference Keynote. "Things get pretty hairy", they claimed -- and they weren't referencing Australian Macworld's fine editor. So at 5am, having been woken by the loud gentleman speaking German VERY LOUDLY, I prepared towander down the chilly streets of San Francisco and wait. And wait, and wait, and wait. Annoyance doesn't quite cover my mood when another Australian journalist makes an appearance two hours later, right behind me.
Alex Kidman | Jan 17, 2008
The timing of the announcement is a curious tactic for Apple. Announcing a refresh of a major product line six days out from theMacworld Expo is a little weird; I can't think why Steve Jobs wouldn'thave wanted to pull a big blue sheet off a Mac Pro (the Xserve marketis pretty specialised when you come to it) and startle the world withit. Then again, perhaps he's got something even snazzier in mind; aFlash-based MacBook Pro that costs $300, reads your mind, does yourironing and has a Time Machine that works with any wireless networkconnection.
Alex Kidman | Jan 10, 2008
And more to the point, why didn't it? If you look at the world of PC gaming, two things become apparent: (1) Virtually the entire PC gaming population is playing World Of Warcraft. Statistically, you may be playing it right now, and not evenrealise it. (2) The momentum's been lost to the console world.
Alex Kidman | Dec 11, 2007
I have three cats, and one MacBook. You’d think that pure numerical superiority would be enough for the cats to feel confident in their lot — but that’s not entirely the case. Even the fact that the MacBook is only portable where the felines are fully mobile isn’t enough for them. You see, I’ve come to the conclusion that at least one of my cats is — there is no better word — envious of my MacBook.
Alex Kidman | Dec 10, 2007
Many decades ago, there was a linoleum layer’s apprentice. For the sake of personality, let’s call him Alf. Like most apprentices, Alf was given all the tedious, noisy, potentially painful jobs that nobody else wanted to do. On one particular day in 1962, Alf was given the job of nailing down a large Masonite board to some timber, in preparation for some truly hideous lino to be set down. Alf was bored, Alf was feeling rebellious, and Alf knew it would be a long time before anyone spotted what he was up to — so he went nuts. Spiral patterns of staples, double, triple and quadruple staples — this board wasn’t going to come up without a fight.
Alex Kidman | Dec 10, 2007
Australian free-to-air television guide IceTV is now available via the iTunes App Store for people to install on their iPhones. Usage of the free app requires registration with the IceTV service, which is free and provides a one-day TV listing. Paid subscribers to the IceTV service get a seven-day listing. Other features available to subscribers are the ability to record programs remotely using EyeTV, a personalised TV guide and recommendations based on shows you've previously recorded.
