Zen Garden - @ 20six.co.uk

Changing Times: A Palm Makeover

Sometimes, you don't need to buy a new Palm inorder to satisfy your lust of technology. It always boils down to how you badly need a specific hardware feature. The rest are modifiable through software patches and add-ons.
In my case, I have two Palms - Tungsten T and Tungsten C (figures that I haven't bought anything new within the last two years or so). For the past years, I've been switching from one to the other depending on what my needs are. We all know that one has the bluetooth with a smaller form factor and the other has the WiFi and the thumboard - each are unique on its own. Since I've moved here in Canada, I've been carrying the Tungsten T for its smaller form factor. Recently, I've switched back to the C since I need more built-in RAM, WiFi and a thumboard. With the switch, I've done some tweaks to let my Palm look more like an OS X machine.
Here's what I've installed: Palm Revolt with the OS X skin, Font Smoother with the Lucida Grande Bold 13 font, IconsPlus with OS X icons, TMP (to replace the built-in Datebook). Most of these are sharewares which you could try using before buying. This would be a great way of having a new Palm without buying one.
W

25.12.06 00:32
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REVIEW: Astraware Sudoku 1.30

Sudoku took the world by storm. I'm not here to talk about this number game (that originated from Japan), but it surpassed itself from being a fad thus constantly appearing side by side with the Crossword Puzzle on every single newspaper. Admittedly, I wasn't a big fan until recently. There wasn't a single bus ride without having seen anybody with a newspaper and a pencil. Indeed, Sudoku became the crossword puzzle of this generation. Honestly, number games are a bit complex than word games but the fun factor is as exciting and more rewarding.
Playing Sudoku with pen and paper is quite cumbersome and messy especially for beginners and for those who are not good in numbers. I personally think that playing it on an electronic mobile device will give the player a better experience. What could be a better device to play the game than with a Palm. Yes, I've seen and tested other iteration from other devices like the Nintendo DS and those stand-alone Sudoku gaming devices, but nothing beats the touch screen and the interface implementation of Astraware's Sudoku on the Palm. Astraware Sudoku comes with a multi-level puzzle that would give you instantly hours of Sudoku fun. If you've already finished all puzzles, there's an option to let you connect wirelessly to download the Puzzle for the Day (provided you have a wireless enabled Palm connected to the web) or create your own puzzle. Which in my case, I usually copy the puzzles from the magazine and play it with my Palm (while commuting to work).
Let's talk about how the interface became perfect for Sudoku. First, it has a clean and intuitive interface. No fuss, non complicated. The interface is very straight forward. Second, it has a pencil mode to jot down the number possibilities. Third, entering the numbers is very easy. Just tap the desired cell grid and the corresponding numbers on the right of the screen. The pencil marks could be entered by either tapping the numbers at the bottom of the screen or entering the numbers through Graffiti or the thumboard of your device. That's as easy and intuitive as it could get. No learning curve required, only skills in solving Sudoku puzzles. Challenge wise, its open ended. There's unlimited possibilities (either by solving all included puzzles, downloading puzzles or creating puzzles). This makes Astraware Sudoku so addictive that I've been playing it non-stop for several months now. Its clearly a winner!
You can download a free trial over at Astraware's website.

8.9.06 03:01
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NEWS: Apple Introduces MacBook

Now its official! Its available even in black.

Apple unveiled the newly designed MacBook, the world?s most advanced consumer notebook featuring the Intel Core Duo processor and a gorgeous new 13-inch glossy widescreen display, all in a sleek design that is up to five times faster than the iBook and up to four times faster than the 12-inch PowerBook. Together with the 15-and 17-inch MacBook Pros, the new MacBook completes Apple's Intel-based portables lineup and replaces both the iBook and the 12-inch PowerBook.

8.9.06 01:59
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NEWS: Bejeweled included with new Palm® TreoTM 700p smartphone

THE MIDLANDS, UK - May 16th 2006 - Astraware® and PopCap Games® are excited to announce that their flagship game, Bejeweled®, has been selected to be bundled with the new Palm® TreoTM 700p smartphone, Palm, Inc.'s first Palm OS® based Treo smartphone on EvDO.

Bejeweled for Palm OS is the official handheld version of PopCap's classic puzzle game which has consumed more than 1 billion hours of leisure time since its introduction in 2001. In addition to its accolade as the best selling handheld game ever, Bejeweled has won an array of awards including Game of the Year from Handango in 2003 and was inducted into Computer Gaming World?s Hall of Fame - one of only 2 puzzle games included.

"We are very happy to be able to include Bejeweled with our new Treo 700p smartphone," said Mark Bercow, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Palm, Inc. "It is particularly fitting to partner the award-winning classic handheld game with the newest smartphone in our popular Treo line."

"How could any Palm device be complete without Bejeweled? The perfect five minute game - although many people admit to playing it for somewhat longer than that!" said Howard Tomlinson, CEO of Astraware. "I'm delighted for it to be included with the Treo 700p!"

Bejeweled is amazingly simple to play, but unbelievably hard to put down! Players simply select adjacent pairs of gems to swap them and make matching horizontal and vertical lines of three or more. The game features two fun types of play - Easy for more relaxed moments and Timed for a frantic against-the-clock challenge. For more information on Bejeweled and other great Astraware games visit their website.

Originally conceived and developed by PopCap Games for web and PC play, the handheld version of Bejeweled has been recreated for Palm OS® and Windows Mobile® by Astraware, and has consistently been one of the most popular handheld titles, played by casual gamers and professionals alike in their spare moments.

As the first Palm OS based Treo smartphone on EvDO, the Palm Treo 700p smartphone uses its fast data connection to speed email, messaging, large attachment downloads and web browsing.(1) The speed also allows for streaming multimedia content, and the Treo 700p smartphone ships with Palm?s first built-in streaming application. Treo 700p users also can take advantage of broadbandlike EvDO speeds on their laptop computers by using the new smartphone as a wireless modem via USB or Bluetooth® wireless technology. By using SD memory cards, currently available with 2GB of storage (sold separately), in addition to the 128MB of built-in memory (60MB dedicated user storage), users have plenty of room to download and carry important documents and multimedia content. More information about the Palm Treo 700p smartphone can be found here.

17.5.06 03:23
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NEWS: Crazy offers in the Club Astraware May-hem Sale!

THE MIDLANDS, UK - May 12th, 2006 - Need more mayhem in your life? Astraware has just the thing for you! All Club Astraware members get access to our crazy Club Astraware May-hem Sale, starting 15th May 2006, which promises a third or more off a wacky selection of top games!

Every day for 8 days from Monday 15th May we will be offering Club Astraware members big discounts on a range of games including Tradewinds, Chuzzle, Mazera, Broken Sword and Bejeweled 2. Only Club Astraware members will be able to access these great offers, but it's not too late to join - it only takes a few minutes and it's completely free! Even better news is that you can earn points from the games you buy that can be used to get money off future purchases.

To join Club Astraware now, visit their website.

Make sure to visit the Astraware website at http://www.astraware.com from Monday to check out each day's special offers. You'd be crazy to miss them!

About Astraware

Founded in 1994, Astraware Limited develops, publishes and distributes games for mobile devices. Some of the company's best known handheld titles include Bejeweled(R), Cubis, Zuma, Insaniquarium and Zap!2000/2016. Astraware is a Microsoft(R) Certified Gold Partner. Handango have presented awards to Astraware twice in recent years, with Game of The Year in 2003 for Bejeweled, and Palm OS(R) Developer of the Year in 2004. Mobile gaming enthusiasts have downloaded more than 30 million copies of Astraware's products, and the company has customers in over 100 countries. For more information, contact Alison Barclay at alison@astraware.com, or visit their website.

13.5.06 03:24
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THOUGHT: Bootcamping 'til Leopard

Today, Apple introduced the public beta of Boot Camp. What does this move implies towards Apple's future? It looks very very rosy - not that I like to install Windows on my Mac.

iPod was only the beginning - the introduction for the Book 2 in Apple's saga. The success of iPod doesn't really mean that iPod owners would like to own a Mac right away. Apple learned their lesson from the past on how Microsoft grabbed market share away from them. This will be done thesame as well to Microsoft through karma (remember that Steve Jobs fully believes in it). Basically, Microsoft didn't focus themselves on the hardware, instead made their presence on every PCs that were being sold. They copy every single thing that Apple makes with their OS (and Apple couldn't do anything on that). Would Apple compete with Microsoft head on? The answer is No. Steve Jobs is not stupid to waste Apple's resources in competing head-on with the world's biggest software developer. Instead, Apple makes Microsoft its biggest ally and concentrate on what they do best - designing the experience. Don't get me wrong, Apple is not shifting to Windows (its not even included on the next iteration of OS X). They're just providing an alt / option to Windows users, thus making the decision to switch faster than waiting for a blue moon.

This move of Apple will have its casualities. Not Microsoft, but the licensee of Windows in the likes of HP, Dell, Toshiba, etc. You would now understand why Apple wouldn't want to license OS X. If Apple licensed out OS X, the Mac platform would grow a bit but will never be near that of Windows. Aside from that, Apple would not be able to control the insanely great Mac experience if its installed on different hardware designs. If Apple would keep OS X to themselves and offer Boot Camp, this would make it easier for the Windows users to switch. There's no hardware manufacturer can do both Windows and Mac aside from Apple. Apple makes their hardware sleek and sexy as well as the OS. The only contender for the the Windows camp (that makes good hardware) is Sony, but they only have a small overall marketshare. This argument alone would let Apple's shareholders very very happy. And guess what's gonna happen next (when Apple finally reclaims its position as the biggest computer vendor in the industry)?

What are your thoughts?

W

8.9.06 02:27
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Apple: 30 Years of Thinking Differently

Here's to the crazy ones.
The misfits.
The rebels.
The troublemakers.
The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently.
They're not fond of rules
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them,
disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing that you can't do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They invent. They imagine. They heal.
They explore. They create. They inspire.
They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art?
Or sit in silence and hear a song that's never been written?
Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
We make tools for these kinds of people.
While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can
change the world, are the ones who do.

From the first time I laid my eyes on Apple, the first touch to the recent awe, these lines still inspires me. Cheers to Apple for the 30 years of true innovation and to those of us who still continues to think differently.

W

1.4.06 06:29
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