tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15252035768547169892012-01-06T20:23:13.987-08:00Bruin Basketball, Terrific Tech, and Random Ramblings.OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.comBlogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-15531009264444608902012-01-06T17:41:00.000-08:002012-01-06T20:23:14.001-08:002012-01-06T20:23:14.001-08:00

Hey, it's not 2011 anymore! That means I can now make a list of something(s) from 2011. I would make a list of top 10 movies, but it would only have 3 movies on it. And I would make a list of top 10 TV shows, but that would have about 2. So instead I will make a list of things I actually did do this year. Note that not every game below was released in 2011. This is just a list of games that I

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-33394007775004933172011-10-09T17:03:00.000-07:002011-10-09T17:26:19.027-07:002011-10-09T17:26:19.027-07:00

It's been four days and it's still hard to get my thoughts together. I think my mind still can't fathom that he's gone. He shaped my life and the lives of others in ways I never even thought about until now, despite us not knowing him personally. That Steve Jobs changed the world is not an overstatement. In a personal sense, he is a big reason for me having such a great interest in computers and

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-20377238669823327812011-04-09T10:01:00.001-07:002011-04-09T10:41:20.355-07:002011-04-09T10:41:20.355-07:00

I came across this link in a message board thread at The Escapist. It's a black and white grid. You click on the squares in the grid and each square corresponds to a music note. You can make a pretty cool tune even if you're not musically inclined.http://seawitchery.tumblr.com/post/4070384205/i-started-out-clicking-strategically-and-by-theCheck it out!

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-62021553466851214542011-04-07T21:40:00.000-07:002011-04-07T23:26:02.270-07:002011-04-07T23:26:02.270-07:00

I am a big Instant Messenger (IM) user. I've been using one service or another since the mid-to-late 1990s. First it was ICQ, and then AIM. Yahoo and Microsoft came along with their IM services. Each of these had their own client applications that you used that allowed you to sign on, see which of your buddies were online, and chat with them at your leisure.Like most things, IM clients matured as

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-24883236899728074382011-01-16T20:19:00.000-08:002011-01-16T20:47:45.521-08:002011-01-16T20:47:45.521-08:00

If you haven't been living under a rock, you probably know that this past week Verizon announced that iPhone 4 (or iPhone in general) is finally going to be available on Verizon's network. Once the excitement wore off, I got to thinking. Actually, I started thinking this several weeks before the announcement, since the rumor mill had been reaching a fever pitch, and I was skeptical.So as you

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-81724665997605621682010-11-13T12:46:00.000-08:002010-11-13T13:07:59.246-08:002010-11-13T13:07:59.246-08:00

Soosiz - $1.99 (Appshopper Link)Mario-style platforming games are kind of a hit or miss with the iPhone's on-screen controls. Depending on how the developer implements the buttons, it could be very bad (like Mega Man II), or very good, like the game I'm reviewing right here. For action-platforming games, reflexes are key; being able to jump at a moment's notice to avoid an enemy or obstacle is

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-64456017091201706932010-11-13T12:28:00.000-08:002010-11-13T12:44:06.734-08:002010-11-13T12:44:06.734-08:00

Skullpogo - $1.99 (Appshopper link)I really should have written this as a Halloween post, but I guess better late than never. Skullpogo is another simple game that you can pick up and play for a few minutes. As the name implies, you control a skeleton dude on a pogo stick, whose lot in life is to bounce forever and knock out pigs, zombies, bats, black cats, and other pesky creatures. You slide

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-5132878451703272862010-08-27T14:01:00.000-07:002010-08-27T14:46:29.140-07:002010-08-27T14:46:29.140-07:00

Bit Pilot - $0.99 (Appshopper Link)Video games have been around for a bit over 30 years now, but in that relatively short time, they've evolved considerably. Just about every aspect of gaming has changed - the graphics, the storytelling, the exposure, and the types that are out there. We've got billion dollar companies churning out games with budgets bigger than Hollywood movies and teams of

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-34566472058169399922010-08-27T10:46:00.000-07:002010-08-27T11:28:05.737-07:002010-08-27T11:28:05.737-07:00

Tilt to Live - $2.99 (Appshopper link)Many have attempted to bring big budget, full-featured games from consoles and computers to the portable, small-screened iPhone. Some games turn out well, but many of them suffer from the small screen and the lack of physical buttons. This is why certain types of games really excel on the iPhone and others don't.Tilt to Live is an example of a simple game

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-51954121901192391322010-08-27T10:30:00.000-07:002010-08-27T11:27:43.048-07:002010-08-27T11:27:43.048-07:00

MiniSquadron - $2.99 (Appshopper link)MiniSquadron SE - Free + DLC (Appshopper link)Every time I do a game review I grapple with the problem of what to mention and what not to mention. If I go into too much detail, I risk making the reader feel lost because he or she hasn't played the game yet. There's so much about MiniSquadron and its followup that it's hard to cover all of it without being too

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-71714536371874047502010-07-30T15:35:00.000-07:002010-07-30T16:02:20.034-07:002010-07-30T16:02:20.034-07:00

Tales of Monkey Island Episodes 1-5 (video game)A: Didn't know if I'd like the new character designs after playing (or watching someone play) the previous Monkey Island games. But they grew on me, and so did the story. The writers went where I never thought they would, and even though most of the puzzles were not very difficult, I was kept engaged and entertained by the twists and all the wacky

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-27363102116992204082010-06-04T17:20:00.000-07:002010-06-04T18:02:06.139-07:002010-06-04T18:02:06.139-07:00

This is a pretty crappy topic to make my first post in a long time, but I have to do this now. As you have probably heard, AT&T is changing their data plan for new smartphone customers.The current plan is $30/month for "unlimited data", which is their way of saying 5GB max.Now, as of June 7, 2010, new customers are subject to a tiered system, with the following:- $15/month for 200MB- $25/month

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-72119836790829070912010-03-13T17:18:00.000-08:002010-03-13T17:46:15.344-08:002010-03-13T17:46:15.344-08:00

Review - Eyegore's Eye Blast - $1.99 (free version available) (Appshopper Link)One of the great things about the App Store and the games in it is the propensity for its developers to take a formula that works and use the special capabilities of the iPhone/iPod touch to add something very cool and interesting. In some cases, it has to do with touch controls being more precise than moving a pointer

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-32607455027367502262010-03-13T16:42:00.000-08:002010-03-13T17:05:58.169-08:002010-03-13T17:05:58.169-08:00

Review - Samurai: Way of the Warrior - $1.99 (free version available) (Appshopper link)One of the things iPhone game developers have to contend with when designing controls for a game is the lack of physical control buttons, like a game console or other portable like the Sony PSP and Nintendo DS. Since the beginning of iPhone games, many creative control schemes have surfaced to compensate for

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-36591157534278548692010-02-28T12:33:00.000-08:002010-02-28T12:55:13.934-08:002010-02-28T12:55:13.934-08:00

Review - Alchemize - $2.99 (AppShopper Link)The puzzle game genre has been around a very long time - since the early days of video games, really. The first one that comes to mind is Tetris, in which falling blocks fit together to make rows disappear. Since then, thousands of other games have paid homage to it or otherwise tweaked the formula to make things a little different and a little more

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-17375587193623599202010-01-17T15:50:00.000-08:002010-01-17T16:17:51.763-08:002010-01-17T16:17:51.763-08:00

I've always been a fan of real time strategy (RTS) games and turn-based strategy games. The problem is, I suck at them. So normally I ignore them. This is why you may have noticed they were conspicuously missing from my list of top 15 games of the decade. However, I was drawn to Rogue Planet as soon as I saw screenshots of it. The beauty of the App Store, of course, is that lite versions

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-39765677611473200682010-01-17T15:16:00.001-08:002010-01-17T15:46:33.246-08:002010-01-17T15:46:33.246-08:00

I came across this game called Cartoon Wars when looking for new iPod touch games to play. It's a "castle defense" game with a hand-drawn stick figure style to it. You start out with your castle, which has a giant crossbow attached to it, and the ability to train warriors, your basic fighting units. The opposing castle is at the opposite end of the screen, which you can view by scrolling with

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-76131103367681630892010-01-11T22:35:00.000-08:002010-01-11T22:48:32.691-08:002010-01-11T22:48:32.691-08:00

Hey! Everyone's doing it. So why not? The following is my list of the top 15 games of the last ten years. I tried to do a top 11 list but I just couldn't settle on that last one.Please keep in mind that since I've been a high school student, a starving college student, and now a full time employee, I don't have a ton of different systems to play games on, or the time to try all of them out.

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-71401661943615354282009-08-28T09:57:00.000-07:002009-08-28T10:30:02.091-07:002009-08-28T10:30:02.091-07:00

Blog posts that get imported to Facebook get truncated. If you're viewing this in Facebook on your computer, click View Original Post or just go to omnigeno.blogspot.com.Most of us who have iPhones or iPod touches also use the Facebook application for iPhone. Well, yesterday, the folks at Facebook released a totally retooled version of the iPhone app, bringing much more features and improved

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-84303826314236257072009-08-28T08:50:00.000-07:002009-08-28T09:04:27.226-07:002009-08-28T09:04:27.226-07:00

No preface here. Just going to jump right in. This is in reply to Naomi's question.Here's an unbiased answer from a Mac user.It comes down to a few things.In my personal experience and in the experiences of my friends and relatives, price does not equal value. Yes, the upfront price of a Windows machine is less than than of a Mac, but are you getting more for your money? Macs, especially the

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-11411906982604019142009-08-27T21:41:00.000-07:002009-08-27T21:52:43.033-07:002009-08-27T21:52:43.033-07:00

So I was just checking out the Yelp application for iPhone/iPod Touch on my iPod. I typically don't use it, because without a persistent internet connection while on the go, it's really of no use to me. But I was bored while waiting for something, so I checked out reviews for restaurants near me.One neat feature of this Yelp app is that it has a button on the business' page to call them from

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-69122446761093267842009-08-27T17:15:00.001-07:002009-08-27T17:27:19.076-07:002009-08-27T17:27:19.076-07:00

Because today is "Just Because Day," here's another installment of Bizarre Holidays!Today, August 27th, is Global Forgiveness Day. As in, forgive me for writing another one of these blog posts.Tomorrow, August 28th, is Crackers over the keyboard Day. Why the 29th is not Clean Your Keyboard Day is beyond me. But at least we have the 30th, which is National Marshmallow Toasting Day. Man, I

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-35213535894743922652009-08-26T17:37:00.000-07:002009-08-26T17:52:19.315-07:002009-08-26T17:52:19.315-07:00

I don't know how many of you use MSN Messenger... most people who correspond with people in different countries use it (if they're not using Skype) but people here in the US mostly use AIM.Anyway, I just got an IM from one of my MSN buddies, but she was offline at the time, and judging by the link and the text of the IM, I know she wasn't actually the one who sent it. I can only imagine that it

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-76310252765339876662009-08-26T15:07:00.000-07:002009-08-26T15:50:25.270-07:002009-08-26T15:50:25.270-07:00

Well, since it's very, very likely that no one is as excited about this as I am, for good reason, I'm not going to dwell on the fact that this is my 100th post on this blog.I'm really here to write a little about creative uses of the iPhone I came across. For a while now, musicians have been putting out apps to promote their music. They've had interesting ideas too.Death Cab for Cutie, for

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1525203576854716989.post-90325236961812010752009-08-22T08:40:00.000-07:002009-08-22T08:43:07.048-07:002009-08-22T08:43:07.048-07:00

The second most popular sentiment I used to find in my middle school and high school yearbooks, aside from the decidedly uncreative "have a nice summer, see you next year" was "Don't ever change."At the time, my reaction to people writing this to me probably ranged from satisfied to ambivalent. I figured it meant that they liked me just the way I was. And that was good, especially for a kid who,

OmniGenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09058991137909104370noreply@blogger.com0