Talk it Up…Technology News

MatchGraph for iPhone

2010-07-08T14:32:00.000-07:00

Interesting way to learn graphing concepts. Develop an understanding of math and science concepts.

Tech Learning

Who’s Playing Social Games? [STATS]

2010-02-17T09:47:00.000-08:00

i found the stats interesting. More older people 40+ than I thought. Where are all the kiddos?

From Mashable

Social Gaming

2010-02-08T09:14:00.000-08:00

How Social Gaming is Improving Education
http://mashable.com/2010/02/07/social-gaming-education/

The Future of Gaming: 5 Social Predictions
http://mashable.com/2009/11/09/gaming-predictions/

These articles are from Mashable a great resource for social media.

Maxims of Game Design [02.04.10]

2010-02-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

From Game Career Guide

2010-02-01T18:41:00.001-08:00

5 Teaching Tips for Professors—From Video Games
The Chronicle of Higher Education

retrieved: 2.1.10

2010-01-26T20:43:00.001-08:00

11 Very Powerful Gmail tips by D. Johnson Mix the Net

http://www.mixthenet.com/gmail-powerful-tips/<br class="khtml-block-placeholder">

MW2 Patch for Color Blind Gamers Urged

2009-12-15T08:30:00.001-08:00

http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/12/15/mw2-patch-color-blind-gamers-urged

Animating the News - Bad Journalism?

2009-12-14T08:48:00.000-08:00

On one hand having studied journalism I find this "fill in the gaps" reporting somewhat frightening. It can certainly lead people to inappropriate conclusions. What if people think they are actual reenactments of the events?

On the other hand, I found the animation and the technique of the quickly produced animations very interesting. They can knock out twenty animations a day.

I thought it was interesting enough to share. Animation journalists? Hmmm.

Tiger Woods and the Animation of News

Animation News Video

Animating the News: How Videogame Technologies Can Alter Our Perceptions of Real Life Events

Is it done yet? (Food thermometer)

2009-10-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

PDF File here

FTC: Bloggers Must Disclose Payments For Reviews -- Or Pay Big

2009-10-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

Excerpt: The Federal Trade Commission will try to regulate blogging for the first time, requiring writers on the Web to clearly disclose any freebies or payments they get from companies for reviewing their products.

Read more

Retrieved: 10.5.09

2009-09-29T13:17:00.001-07:00

Financial Literacy Game by Persuasive Games
Play game here

If you need to create a 3D timeline

2009-09-17T09:27:00.000-07:00

Bee Docs
Present full screen interactive timelines with a 3D perspective. Use the arrow keys or your Apple Remote to fly over your timeline or integrate them with your Keynote presentations.

http://www.beedocs.com/index.php

2009-09-08T14:55:00.001-07:00

http://www.icyte.com./<br class="khtml-block-placeholder">

Save web pages or the whole site.

Comics on iPhone

2009-07-28T14:03:00.001-07:00

App brings comic store to iPhone

Link

audioBoo iphone app

2009-07-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

An iphone application for recording and sharing your audio with the world.

http://audioboo.fm

Square root of x divided by zero: The speed, size and dependability of programming languages

2009-06-01T05:55:00.000-07:00

Square root of x divided by zero: The speed, size and dependability of programming languages

2D Boy rapid prototyping software

2009-05-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

Indie game developers 2D Boy have just released their open-source program for rapid prototyping.

http://www.offworld.com/2009/05/gimme-indie-tools-2d-boy-unlea.html

2D Boy is the company behind the great WiiWare title "World of Goo." This might be worth looking into if we are going to move forward with rapid prototyping as a method of development.

2009-05-12T12:56:00.001-07:00

Video Games Find New Market With Mobile Devices

FROM NPR: "> Link

iPhone Apps for New Moms

2009-05-08T14:55:00.001-07:00

Perhaps this will help us think of some creative games for the progeny of these new moms...

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1896919_1896920,00.html

Wearable, Projected Computer from MIT

2009-05-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

The "sixth sense" is a prototype out of MIT's Media Lab that allows you to wear the computer around your neck, and project (and then interact with) onto any surface... your hand, your wrist, the wall, a bar code... Very inspiring and a fresh approach to interface.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html

Paper Moon

2009-05-05T09:00:00.000-07:00

This game looks amazing. Limited palette and old-school platforming ahoy!

http://blurst.com/paper-moon/play

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

2009-05-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

Popular Science:

"According to the Entertainment Software Association, 40 percent of video game players are female, while women over 18 represent a larger built-in audience than even teenage boys. But where are the titles"

Google's Web 3D

2009-04-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

Google is trying to create an open standard for interactive 3D content on the web: O3D.

Taking a Picture of the iPhone Screen

2009-04-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

To take a screen shot on the iPhone or iPod touch, hold down both buttons at the same time. It is then saved in your "Photos" app.

Lifehacker - CometDocs Converts Between More than 50 File Types - PDF

2009-04-23T06:12:00.000-07:00

Lifehacker - CometDocs Converts Between More than 50 File Types - PDF: "ou can convert PDFs to Excel files, huge TIFF images to PDF, icon files into images, and the site even does a little OCR work on certain image-to-text conversions"

Scarygirl

2009-04-15T05:51:00.000-07:00

Scarygirl - Offworld
This game looks beautiful. I want to play this one.

WiiSpray: WiiMote spray can

2009-04-03T10:33:00.000-07:00

http://www.wiispray.com/

Looks pretty cool.

closer look at the device:
http://www.wiispray.com/press/

Can design save the newspaper?

2009-04-03T07:29:00.000-07:00

Check out this brief TED talk by Jacek Utko about how design might save the newspaper. This is actually a good listen even if you don't care about the decline of the newspaper, because his is a point that is generalizable to other efforts.

Gizmodo - Learn How to Build iPhone Apps from Stanford University - iPhone

2009-04-03T06:57:00.000-07:00

Gizmodo - Learn How to Build iPhone Apps from Stanford University - iPhone

2009-03-30T10:25:00.001-07:00

Collaborative writing: etherpad.com

looks kinda neat. No sign up needed. -- haven't tried it yet.

2009-03-30T10:23:00.001-07:00

Transformative Works and Cultures : Vol 2 (2009)

2009-03-30T05:46:00.000-07:00

Vol 2 (2009)
Journal issue dedicated to:

Games as Transformative Works

Looks pretty cool

2009-03-24T13:48:00.001-07:00

New 6th to 12th grade public school that uses gaming methods to teach.

link

2009-03-23T13:01:00.001-07:00

Video Game Grad Programs Open Up The Industry

NPR

Innovations make fitness fancier - CNET News

2009-03-19T06:10:00.000-07:00

Innovations make fitness fancier - CNET News

2009-03-18T22:06:00.001-07:00

National Center for the History or Electronic Games:
http://www.ncheg.org/

Google Voice

2009-03-13T14:26:00.000-07:00

Google is only a few week away from launching it's new free service called 'Google Speak'.

It boasts a lot of cool features like...

- Listening in on calls before you answer them
- Simultanius redirection of any call to multiple numbers allowing one shared number for work, home, and/or cell.
-Cheap long distance (like 2 cents a min to China)
-Free voice mail (even get your voice mails transcribed instantly and sent as text messages)

https://www.google.com/voice/about

Most Useful Bookmarklets

2009-03-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

Guide to Most Useful Bookmarklets for Chrome, Firefox, Safari, etc.
I have been reading about bookmarklets a bit lately. They seem to travel better than add-ons or extensions.

The Electric Company

2009-03-12T06:28:00.000-07:00

The Electric Company - Videos
The new re-imagined Electric Company has begun on PBS. I think it looks pretty good. Check out some of the videos. I particularly like the Captain Cluck animation.

CONSOLE by NAJLE.com

2009-03-12T06:09:00.000-07:00

DAFT PUNk

Go Daft!

Readability

2009-03-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

Readability is a bookmarklet that strips out nasty advertising and other distracting content from a page to make it readable with a single click.

World’s Largest Media Center Remote Control?

2009-03-05T07:00:00.000-08:00

World’s Largest Media Center Remote Control? I’m

a fitness game to be had?

Apartment Therapy Unplugged | How To...Remove Your Online Identity

2009-03-05T06:59:00.000-08:00

How To...Remove Your Online Identity

Wordle - Beautiful Word Clouds

2009-02-25T14:08:00.000-08:00

Wordle makes nice-looking tag clouds. Requires Java.

Cartography with Photoshop

2009-02-23T10:55:00.000-08:00

While looking for mapmaking resources for the iPhone game I'm working on, I stumbled upon a nice series of Photoshop tutorials called Fantasy Cartography with Adobe Photoshop (link goes to the first episode). Basically, it's a video series showing a lot of cartography tips and tricks for fantasy RPG games, but the tips and tricks are applicable to many other pursuits with Photoshop, as well.

In particular, I learned a lot about adjustment layers and working with Photoshop to achieve maximal flexibility without relying on the undo history. The adjustment layer and masking tools were introduced after I first began using Photoshop, and I hadn't taken the time to delve into them. These tutorials really drove home how to integrate them easily into your Photoshop work and how flexible they make your Photoshop documents down the road.

11 Free And Useful Open-Source Alternatives For Designers - Opensource, Free and Useful Online Resources for Designers and Developers

2009-02-19T05:45:00.000-08:00

11 Free And Useful Open-Source Alternatives For Designers - Opensource, Free and Useful Online Resources for Designers and Developers: "11 Free And Useful Open-Source Alternatives For Designers in which most of them are cross-platform."

Cameron Moll on Conference Speaking

2009-02-18T08:24:00.000-08:00

Cameron Moll just blogged 20 tips for better conference speaking.

'80s Flashback With 'Retro Game Challenge

2009-02-18T07:10:00.001-08:00

Retro Game Challenge' for the Nintendo DS, a collection of new games designed to mimic and parody those of the 1980s

http://www.wired.com/video/latest-videos/latest/1815816633/80s-flashback-with-retro-game-challenge/13389089001

Ben Balistreri's Blog

2009-02-13T10:56:00.000-08:00

Ben Balistreri

It is really awesome.

Creating a Necromancer for Castle Crashers

2009-02-13T09:12:00.000-08:00

Dan Paladin of The Behemoth continues his Flash videos, this time showing how he created the Necromancer level and boss. Be sure to check out his other video for creating the Frost King!

http://www.vimeo.com/3170624

TED: David Merrill: Siftables, the toy blocks that think

2009-02-13T07:08:00.001-08:00

MIT grad student David Merrill demos Siftables -- cookie-sized, computerized tiles you can stack and shuffle in your hands. These future-toys can do math, play music, and talk to their friends, too. Is this the next thing in hands-on learning?

Pretty Cool

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_merrill_demos_siftables_the_smart_blocks.html

How Not To Sort By Average Rating

2009-02-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

How Not To Sort By Average Rating is a discussion on how to take ratings and make them meaningful for any number of reviews. I've actually been wondering about this for a while, especially since we sometimes talk about "a web site where kids or parents can rate games". It's nice to know that the problem is solved when we go to implement...

Symbol6 : How We Created an iPhone Game � All Things Gogogic

2009-02-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

Symbol6 : How We Created an iPhone Game � All Things Gogogic

YourFonts

2009-02-11T07:44:00.000-08:00

YourFonts - Generate Your Own Fonts Online
With YourFonts you can make a TrueType font from your own handwriting for free. The process is simple, quick and basically idiot-proof. Print out a template from the site, write in your letters, scan, upload and -- voila -- there you have it.

I thought this might be cool for the ATV project...

The Oregon Trail

2009-02-10T09:59:00.001-08:00

http://www.offworld.com/2009/02/apple-classic-oregon-trail-com.html

A remake of the oregon trail is coming to the iPhone and iPod Touch, with updated graphics! I just hope they are tasteful in their depiction of dysentary.

Presentation Zen: Lessons from the art of storyboarding

2009-02-05T13:43:00.000-08:00

Cool Google video about Lessons from the art of storyboarding.

Pipl

2009-02-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

Yikes.

WhatTheFont

2009-02-05T12:13:00.000-08:00

WhatTheFont!!
Great tool. A friend just yesterday asked me what font was on a logo a client had given him. The client did not have any of the original artwork and needed it recreated... enter WhatTheFont. It worked like a charm. Just uploaded an image(they list specifications but I just uploaded the logo with no tweaking) It still worked and gave me the right font.

CSS Grid Designer

2009-02-05T10:19:00.001-08:00

Here's a handy tool for designing grids and columns for web: Grid Designer.

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | North East/N Isles | Elderly wanted for Wii experiment

2009-02-05T08:46:00.000-08:00

BBC NEWS | UK | Scotland | North East/N Isles | Elderly wanted for Wii experiment

Closure.

2009-02-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

Closure.
Great game... try it. Stay in the light.

Creating an Undead Cyclops

2009-02-04T08:56:00.000-08:00

Dan Paladin, an animator for The Behemoth (makers of Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers) has a time-lapse video up showing how he created and animated his undead cyclops boss using Flash.

http://coldhardflash.com/2009/02/harness-and-hanson-rock-ghost-town.html

LeapFrog announces educational, interactive Zippity - Engadget

2009-02-04T06:32:00.000-08:00

Zippity - Engadget
I want the adult version of this thing. I like the organic look and the color.

Amazon moves into casual gaming

2009-02-04T06:27:00.000-08:00

Amazon moves into casual gaming
Maybe temper the enthusiasm... I went to download one of the free sample games and they are Windows only. Oh well.

Introducing EverSave 1.0.1

2009-01-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

EverSave, a free app (for Macs only) that does just that — saves your work in any application, on a timed schedule or at any time you switch between applications. And, just as importantly, there’s an option to have EverSave ask before each save. Yes, thank-you.

Tux Paint

2009-01-28T06:38:00.000-08:00

Tux Paint
Tux Paint is a free, award-winning drawing program for children ages 3 to 12 (for example, preschool and K-6). It combines an easy-to-use interface, fun sound effects, and an encouraging cartoon mascot who guides children as they use the program.

DIY Lighting Hacks for Digital Photographers

2009-01-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

DIY Lighting Hacks for Digital Photographers

They all look like fun to make too.

Layer Tennis

2009-01-23T09:02:00.000-08:00

Layer Tennis is an online design competition that sounds interesting to watch:

Two competitors swap a file back and forth in real-time, adding to and embellishing the work. Each artist gets fifteen minutes to complete a "volley" and then we post that to the site live.

The players may be designers, animators, illustrators or pretty much anything else, and they can use any tool or application they like. The match progresses volley by volley.

A third participant, a writer, provides play-by-play commentary on the action as it happens.

To get an idea of how it works, check out Van Meter vs. Hutchinson or Glass vs. Inman.

FREE: web-based meeting playground

2009-01-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

Twiddla is a web-based meeting playground. I haven't tried it but it seems cool.

Twiddla

SMIL animation and 3D canvas library for Firefox

2009-01-21T08:52:00.001-08:00

Article

For educational purposes only: Retrieved 1.21.09

Cooking: Rouxbe Has Seriously Impressive Cooking Videos

2009-01-20T08:08:00.000-08:00

Cooking: Rouxbe Has Seriously Impressive Cooking Videos

Crayon Physics Deluxe: iphone game

2009-01-15T08:15:00.000-08:00

A 2D physics puzzle / sandbox game for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, in which you get to experience what it would be like if your drawings would be magically transformed into real physical objects. Solve puzzles with your artistic vision and creative use of physics.

http://www.crayonphysicsdeluxe.com/

Year of Awesome JavaScript

2009-01-13T13:17:00.000-08:00

Nihilogic presented a roundup of awesome Javascript, wherein you can see the sorts of things which are being done in Javascript these days.

Best of the "De-Makes" competition

2009-01-12T11:25:00.000-08:00

ByteJacker has a nice overview of the highlights of an indie game "de-make" competition with some interesting tidbits.

A "de-make" is like a "re-make" of a game, only targeting older hardware than the game was originally released on. For example, one of the de-make games featured is a version of Shadow of the Colossus for the Color TRS-80. Yowza.

Objectified

2009-01-07T07:27:00.000-08:00

There's a trailer up for an upcoming documentary called Objectified, which is all about industrial design and its effect on our lives. Looks interesting.

Random Good Stuff - Fun & Entertainment Blog

2009-01-07T07:17:00.000-08:00

Random Good Stuff - Fun & Entertainment Blog

Fun Game

Soupbase.com

2009-01-07T06:59:00.000-08:00

Special Price for Wise Bread Readers at SoupBase.Com!

I know it is not a typical post for this blog but I thought it would appeal. Soup day is a big hit and I wanted to participate but I was struggling with a soup base. I think I have found the solution and thought y'all might be interested too. Here is to soup!

Picasa for Mac Finally Arrives

2009-01-06T05:58:00.000-08:00

After an Agonizing Wait,... "Mac users, you can stop holding your breath. Google announced Monday that Picasa for the Mac, a free desktop application for editing, organizing and sharing digital photos, is now available as a public beta through Google Labs."

2009-01-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

How To Draw A Mac Internet Globe Icon

2009-01-05T10:37:00.000-08:00

Here's a nice tutorial on how to draw the Mac's internet globe icon in Photoshop. A good example of what you can achieve with just ovals and layer styles.

Tim Burton's new offering

2009-01-05T08:51:00.000-08:00

There's a trailer up for Tim Burton's next movie, called 9. It looks like a gothic, post-apocalyptic version of Little Big Planet.

Stanza: A Revolution in Reading | Lexcycle

2009-01-05T07:40:00.000-08:00

Stanza: A Revolution in Reading | Lexcycle

Demons - Game

2008-12-23T08:58:00.000-08:00

Demons - ITV Drama

Maybe we can steal... er borrow, some stuff for our ATV safety game?

New Features in Drop.io

2008-12-19T10:11:00.000-08:00

We should give Drop.io a try. Maybe over break I'll try it out for a test run.

View Article

Retrieved: 12.19.08

3D Spore Creature Sculptures

2008-12-19T09:19:00.000-08:00

http://www.offworld.com/2008/12/sporesculptor-opens-for-3d-pri.html

For only fifty bucks, you can get a 3D printed sculpture of your very own Spore creature. There are a few limitations (no long, thin antennae, eyes on stalks, thin legs and huge bodies, etc.) but the end result looks to bee pretty high quality. I think these would make great decorations for the Game Lab!

Digital Photography: David Pogue's Best Photography Tricks (and Ours)

2008-12-19T06:30:00.000-08:00

Digital Photography: David Pogue's Best Photography Tricks (and Ours): "Tech columnist David Pogue pulls out 'The Best Photography Tricks of All Time' for anyone shooting digital, including the crafty use of a lampshade:

It turns out that the threads at the top of just about any lamp—the place where the lampshade screws on—are precisely the same diameter as a tripod mount! In a pinch, you can whip off the lampshade, screw on the camera, and presto: You've got a rock-steady indoor tripod."

How To Download and Play Flash Games Offline | MakeUseOf.com

2008-12-17T06:28:00.000-08:00

How To Download and Play Flash Games Offline | MakeUseOf.com

My game!

Ask the Experts: 31 Games Students Should Play

2008-12-15T13:01:00.000-08:00

Retrieved: 12.15.08 fr Game Career Guide

Game Career Guide

Minotaur China Shop

2008-12-12T09:54:00.000-08:00

Minotaur China Shop

A very entertaining, funny game about a Minotaur whose only dream is to own his own china shop. You can make money either by being careful, avoiding accidents, and giving customers the fine china items they want,or by breaking as many things as you can until you go into a Minotaur Rage, and let your insurance company reimburse you for the destroyed items. Very funny, and pretty well made.

DUCK [Public Folder]: Opening Titles movie

2008-12-12T06:54:00.000-08:00

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa

Download and watch! It is awesome. From the same animator who did the end credits for 'Lemony Snicket' and the 'Dragon' commercial for United.

Zotero

2008-12-11T07:59:00.000-08:00

http://www.zotero.org/

A free, easy-to-use Firefox extension to help you collect, manage, and cite your research sources. It lives right where you do your work — in the web browser itself.

Biggest Full Moon of the Year

2008-12-11T07:14:00.000-08:00

Biggest Full Moon of the Year:

"Okay, the Moon is 14% bigger, but can you actually tell the difference?"

perigeetastic!

Slate's year-end gaming club. (8) - By N'Gai Croal , Seth Schiesel, Chris Suellentrop, and Stephen Totilo - Slate Magazine

2008-12-11T06:58:00.000-08:00

Slate's year-end gaming club. (8) - By N'Gai Croal , Seth Schiesel, Chris Suellentrop, and Stephen Totilo - Slate Magazine

Adobe vs Toon Boom | Cartoon Brew: Leading the Animation Conversation

2008-12-11T06:19:00.000-08:00

Adobe vs Toon Boom :
"Adobe and Toon Boom. The latter is currently making a serious run to overtake Adobe Flash as the preferred software package for 2D digital animators. Toon Boom’s new Animate software has an animator-friendly set of features and more importantly, it’s price-competitive with Flash."

Maybe we ought to have a look at Toon Boom's ne Animate? I disliked Toon Boom a few years ago but it sounds as if they are seriously aiming for Flash.

A BeTaMaXMaS

2008-12-10T06:20:00.000-08:00

A BeTaMaXMaS
The MOST TOTALLY RADICAL AWESOME Site for Christmas this year. Don't forget to adjust the rabit ears for a better picture.

Lego Robot Solves Rubik's Cubes Better Than You!

2008-12-09T08:26:00.000-08:00

Remember that Lego Mindstorms NXT kit we bought a while back? The one that's been sitting half-built and not-programmed in our lab for over a year now? Well, Hans Andersson has been busy with it, and has built a robot that uses the motors and camera to solve Rubik's Cubes. The machine is pretty fast, and averages around 60 moves per solution. Even better, he has the instructions and source code up for download on his website, linked at the end of this article.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/87991-Lego-Robot-Solves-Rubiks-Cubes-Yes-Really

iPhone a TV gaming device?

2008-12-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

Hidden SDK features transform iPhone into TV gaming device

This looks interesting, but I only skimmed the article.

Article Here

.Tel

2008-12-04T06:12:00.000-08:00

.Tel Is Just A Featureless Social Network That Costs $10/year

in reality it’s just another startup that paid a fee to ICANN for the right to sell you a web page that has all your personal information published on it.

Meh.

Jumpstart Folks announce MMO for kids

2008-12-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

Knowledge Adventure, the people behind the JumpStart educational games, have announce JumpStart World, an MMO for kids.

The spaces left in the game development world are starting to fill up.

Eleven Clever Tips for Digital Camera Owners | Popular Science

2008-12-03T06:04:00.000-08:00

Eleven Clever Tips for Digital Camera Owners | Popular Science: