I’m 16.. been a computer nerd for most of my life.. I’ve bee messing around on them since before I could know what I was doing. Now, I know my way around Windows fairly well. My favorite operating system is Windows 7.. XP is pretty good too.. but no Apple operating systems, other than iOS. When I was 9 I started running sound with my dad.. at around 10 I was doing it solo, now I’m known in my church as one of the go-to guys for if there’s a problem with a sound system and computers.

- Garret

Plug-In #1: IE Tab
Let’s face it.. even though in
November 2010, 20% of people were using Chrome, some webpages just
aren’t compatible. Well.. there’s an option so that you won’t
have to leave the wonderful browser to go to an inferior browser,
such as Internet Explorer or Firefox. This plug in will let
you go to those annoying webpages, and use them in an
internet explorer compatibility, with the speed of Google
Chrome. Now, you won’t be running all pages in this mode
(hopefully) so it will run only when it tells you to.

Plug-In #2:
Lazarus: Form Recovery We all know the
pain of filling out an online form.. by the time you’ve reached the
end, you get the message along the lines of you’ve taken too long.
That’s where this plug-in comes in handy. It caches what you’ve
filled out so far, and if you time out, refresh the page, hit the
Egyptian looking button on the address bar up top.. and it puts
back in all that you’ve written already. Very useful

Plug-In #3:Unfriend Finder
This plug in is for most people in America. These people contribute to one of the

largest hobbies that currently exists. Social Networkers.
Specifically.. Facebookers. This is a good plug in for if you see
your friend list going down. It will tell you when someone’s
account has been deleted/hidden or if they’ve defriended you. This
plug in gets updated frequently, as facebook updates frequently.

Plug-In #4: Site to Phone
Those of us who use iOS
or Android as well as our computers know how sometimes, we wish
that there was a webpage that we could easily transfer from our
computer to our smartphone (or other device). This usually gets
accomplished by emailing the link to your email.. then opening it
on the device.. this is a waste of time. The plug-in here saves
time and energy (not to mention inbox space). What you do is you
open the webpage you wish to send to the smart device.. and you
click on the icon that has an iPhone looking thing with an arrow
pointing up. Once that icon is clicked, you go to your device and
click on the bookmark that you set up to work with this plug in
(they tell you which address to bookmark). That bookmark is then
tied to that link that you wanted to send. When you want a
different one to be on your device.. hit the icon on your browser,
and it sends that link to your smart device.

- Garret

5. N [Link] [Also for: Mac, Linux]

Believe it or not, that is the name. Just N. This is actually one of the hardest video games I’ve ever played. You play as a little ninja who jumps around, trying to get little yellow orbs. Like coins in Mario games, these orbs aren’t necessary to the game play. All you really need to do is flip the (sometimes multiple) switches to open the door, then run through it. Sounds easy right? Think again. One of my favorite mechanics in this game is the wall jumping feature. You can jump between two close walls, or just jump up one wall. This control allows you to move all around the map without a hitch. Here’s some of the game in action. (Sorry for no sound):

4. Canabalt Portable [Link] [Also for: Mac and Linux through flash version]

Simplicity is the key in Canabalt. It started out as a little flash game that was made in one weekend. The game was first hosted on the creator’s (Adam Atomic’s) website. The game was “slightly more popular than expected”. So the next obvious step was to make it into an iPhone app, witch I have previously talked about here. But then came the final piece to the puzzle: the desktop version. Just download the game and put it in a folder of your choice to get the great flash game without internet. The premise is simple: press the space bar to jump while the world falls apart around you. The game just runs for you. Also, the number of meters your run is your final score. But this run is no walk in the park. There are buildings that crumble, ships that crash right in front of you, and obstacles in your way. How far can you get?

3. Quake Live [Link] [Also for: Mac and Linux]

Unlike the other games, both this game and Battlefield Heroes are browser based, meaning you only need to download a small plugin and the rest of the game is streamed right to you. Quake live, however, is quite different from Battlefield Heroes. Quake live is your one-stop shop for crazy fast action that you can hardly keep track of. There are 7 crazy guns you can choose from, each opening a new way to demolish your enemy. Now I wasn’t around for the days of people being addicted to playing Quake 1 multiplayer, but I imagine this is what it feels like. There’s deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture the flag modes. And if you ask me, that is enough. Being made by id software, you know it’s going to be fun. What really astounds me is most of the data for the games is streamed right through the internet. That’s cool.

2. Spelunky [Link]

Ahhh Spelunky. How did I live before thee? For some people, the phrase “randomly generated dungeons” sounds bad. This is not the case in Spelunky. What we have here is a platformer that will blow your mind. When you start the game, you notice that you look a lot like Indiana Jones, whip and all. You navigate down the caves with only a whip, 4 ropes, and 4 bombs. Along the way you can buy new items using the loot you’ve collected from a shopkeeper. But that’s not all you can do at the shop. If you run off with one of his items, he pulls out his shotgun and tries to shoot you. One time I pulled out a bomb in his shop. He yelled, “terrorist!” and shot me. And from now on, every time I see that shopkeeper I plot to destroy him. The gameplay combined with the random levels and the 8-bitesque graphics makes this one of the most addicting games I have ever played.

1. Battlefield Heroes [Link] [Also for: Mac and Linux]

Here it is. The best game you can get for free on Windows without going to The Pirate Bay. Don’t let the cheeseball trailer fool you. This game is amazing. Like Quake Live, all you need to play is a small browser plugin, and the servers somewhere else in the world handle the rest. Developed by Electronic Arts and Digital Illusions CE, Battlefield Heroes is based of the immensely popular Battlefield series, most recently with Battlefield 1943 for PlayStation 3. Unlike most other shooters, Battlefield games really do feel like, well, a battlefield. You can go anywhere in huge environments, with fighter planes adding a new dimension for traveling. You start out by picking a team, with the Royals obviously being the British army, and the Nationals being the German army. Then you pick you’re class. You can choose from Soldier, Gunner, and Commando. But don’t worry: you can create up to 4 characters so if you don’t like your class you can always create a new hero. Soldiers have healing powers and light guns, Gunners have heavy guns, lots of HP, and explosives, and Commandos have sniper rifles and knives. The gameplay is fast and never gets old, making it my number one free game for Windows.

Do you have any other suggestions for fun and free games?

1.Facebook [Free] [iTunes Link]

I think this one is just obvious. It seems like today, almost everyone I know has a Facebook. The interface is very easy and fast, with features such as Status Updating, Message Writing, Event Planning, and even built in chat. And with the 3.1 update, the app now boasts push notifications for status comments and new messages in your inbox.

2.Tweetie 2 [$2.99] [iTunes Link]

On the opposite side of the social network family is Twitter, the 140 character updating madhouse that has taken the world by storm. Twitter apps are a dime a dozen today, but this is my personal favorite. The streamlined interface makes it very easy to read a whole group of tweets, then pick up later where you left off. And the nice metallic sheen gives the whole app a clean and polished look.

3.Pandora Radio [Free] [iTunes Link]

Sometimes I just want to turn on music but without worrying about what playlist or song to listen to. That’s where Pandora Radio comes in. You choose a song or an artist that you like, and Pandora plays songs by that artist and songs that sound like the music of that artist. If you don’t have an iPhone or an iPod Touch you can still visit the web interface here.

4.Dropbox [Free] [iTunes Link]

Everyone here likes Dropbox, right? Right? Dropbox is the free service where you can sync files across multiple computers. Along with a nifty web interface, Dropbox also comes with it’s on iPhone app! You can see your files and view text files and documents. If you wish you can also add files as your “favorites”, making them available for offline use. This app is so simple it just works!

5. Canabalt [$2.99] [iTunes Link]

This has to be my go-to game for a quick spin. The premise is simple: you jump from building to building while all hell breaks loose around you. All you have to do is press the screen to jump. Mechas loom in the background, bulildings crumble, and ships fall right in front of you. Clever, simple, and addicting, this game is work every penny.

6.NetNewsWire [Free, Premium=$4.99][iTunes Link]

Let’s face it: the Google Reader mobile interface is terrible. I was looking for a new way to read my Google Reader subscriptions. Hence I stumbled on this little gem. The first thing you do when you start NetNewsWire is enter your Google account username and password. And Waboom! All your news is right there, sorted by the source. There is a premium version of the app, but I can’t speak for you’re $4.99 you would spend on it.

7.Skype [Free] [iTunes Link]

If there’s one desktop program I loooooooove, it’s Skype. Skype is the IM client known for it’s amazing quality video conferencing. With an iPod touch you can text chat with your Skype buddies. With an iPhone, you can actually talk to your contacts. I don’t think there’s much more to say about this app, besides that if you use Skype at all, even a little bit, you need to download this app.

8.IMDB [Free] [iTunes Link]

IMDB, or The Internet Movie Database, is an amazing project. It is THE place to go for everything about actors, directors, and movies in general. And this app brings the entire database to your fingertips, so to speak. This app is great for those times when you’re watching a movie and you think “Now where have I seen that actor before?” I really think that the most amazing part about this information is that it’s 100% free!

9. Evernote [Free] [iTunes Link]

Now what would an iPhone Swiss-Army kit be without good ‘ol Evernote? Evernote is not only an app, but also a desktop application and a web interface. You can write notes with text, add pictures, .mp3 files, .pdfs, and many more. My favorite part about this app is the ability to sync between iPhone to desktop to web and back over again. Never will you ever forget anything again!

10.Dan Bricklin’s Note Taker [Free, Premium $1.99] [iTunes Link]

Now this is one you don’t hear about every day. Note Taker is exactly what it sounds like: you take notes. But unlike other apps like Evernote, you actually write notes with your finger here. The interface is smooth and snappy, and writing with one finger feels very good. The app automatically pans over when you run out of room to write.

So there you have it. From the fun to the productive, these are the 10 apps you need to have on any iPhone or iPod Touch. I suggest getting a $15 iTunes card and buying all of these apps. You can get them all for $13, and still have $2 left to buy a new one-hit wonder song. What are your favorite iPhone/iPod Touch apps?

I got this game about a week ago, not really knowing what to expect. What I got was a great football minigame, with a few pitfalls.

The first thing I liked about this game was it’s .99 cents price tag. I’m all for the .99 cent games, as you may or may not know. When I first started up, I was surprised to see that the game uses the endorphin engine, which was used to power the physics of Grand Theft Auto 4. And as expected, the physics are amazing. Sacks look real, and the players never fall the same way twice.

The premise of the game is as follows: You start at the 50 yard line, and have to run your way to the endzone, avoiding rival players and running over bonus point blocks along the way. You have buttons to spin left and right, as well as buttons to juke left and right. To move the player, you put the iPhone/iPod Touch level to the ground, and tilt the device left and right to steer.  As you tilt left, the camera tilts left, making the game feel that much more real.

Another great feature is the character creation. You can customize the skin color, team, name, and jersey number. I’m glad I didn’t have to play as a default players.

With all this praise I’m giving this app, it must be the perfect game,right? Wrong. There are a few bugs that keeps this game from living up to it’s potential. First off, there’s Facebook Connect. That sounds good right? It’s actually horrible. When you turn on auto-posting, the game spams your wall telling everyone every little detail of what you’ve been doing in the game.And I don’t think my friends really liked that. Of coarse, you can say not to autopost, but all this does is bring up this horribly formatted Facebook Connect box that you can barely use! And when you do manage to enter your credentials, it spams your page for all the stuff you achieved in that playing session.

The last thing I don’t like is that you have to hold the iPhone/iPod Touch level to the ground to move. But this is just a minor complaint.

All in all, this is one riot of a football minigame. The game ran smoothly and beautifully, even on my 1st gen iPod Touch. And with it’s .99 cent price tag, it’s hard to go wrong with this one. Just as long as you don’t expect anything out of the Facebook Connect feature.

Let’s reacap.

Good:

• Easy to use controls
• .99 cents!
• Realistic physics
• Character Creation
• Runs smooth, even on older hardware

Bad:

• Facebook Connect broken
• Sometimes awkward controls

I give this game 9 out of 10 stars.

-Mike V. 10/16/09

• Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., creator of the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise, outright refused to utilize a laugh track when production began on The Alvin Show (CBS, 1961-62) in 1961. Bagdasarian’s reasoning was if the show was funny, the viewers would laugh without being prompted. The Alvin Show was cancelled after a single season.

• Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz refused to employ a laugh track during the production of the holiday favorite A Charlie Brown Christmas (CBS, 1965). Like Bagdasarian, Schulz maintained that the audience should be able to enjoy the show at their own pace, without being cued when to laugh. When CBS executives saw the final product, they were horrified and believed the special would be a flop (CBS did create a version of the show with the laugh track added, just in case Schulz changed his mind. This version remains unavailable). When the show first aired on December 9, 1965, it was a surprise critical and commercial hit.

• Larry Gelbart, creator of M*A*S*H (CBS, 1972-83), initially wanted the show to air entirely without a laugh track (“Just like the actual Korean War”, he remarked dryly). However, CBS rejected the idea. Eventually a compromise was reached, and the producers of the series were allowed to omit the laugh track during operating room scenes if they wished. As a result, few scenes in the operating room contain canned laughter. Certain episodes omitted the laugh track completely, as did some international and syndicated airings of the show; the DVD releases, meanwhile, give the viewer a choice of laughing or non-laughing soundtracks.

So are the laugh tracks worth it? I personally don’t think so. It distracts the viewer, and it makes the shows nearly unbearable. Michael Pollick writes:

• A laugh track, sometimes called canned laughter by critics, is a collection of pre-recorded audience laughs and applause sounds added to television programs during post-production. A laugh track’s main purpose is to trigger a response from home viewers who may not understand all of the intended humor during a taped sitcom. The belief is that laughter creates laughter, so a laugh track supplements natural reactions to a set-up and punchline. Some television producers call this practice sweetening the track.

What do all you people out there think? Hello? Anyone? Just one comment? PLEASE?!