Sometimes I want to play a game. On Windows. On a laptop. That weighs three pounds. This kind of limits my options, but here’s a few games that worked out decently enough. Of course, some obvious choices like old school point and click games will run fine, but what I found is that even a number of retro pixel style games can be graphically intensive. It’s hard work looking easy.
more...
All the g2k14 summary reports from the OpenBSD Journal, plus a few relevant extras.
A comparison of some CPUs using my favorite benchmark, md5 -t.
Dell CS24, Xeon L5450 @ 2.5GHz
Time = 0.242135 seconds
Speed = 412992751.977203 bytes/secondThinkpad T430s, i5-3320M @ 2.6GHz (plus turbo)
Time = 0.184372 seconds
Speed = 542381706.549801 bytes/secondThinkpad X200s, Core2 @ 1.8GHz
Time = 0.325009 seconds
Speed = 307683787.218200 bytes/secondThinkpad X1 Carbon, i5-5300U @ 2.3GHz
Time = 0.206281 seconds
Speed = 484775621.603541 bytes/secondNo name router, Atom @ 1.8GHz
Time = 0.399222 seconds
Speed = 250487197.599331 bytes/secondSun T5120, T2 @ 1.2GHz
Time = 1.809987 seconds
Speed = 55249015.600665 bytes/secondBeagleBone Black, ARM Cortex A8
Time = 1.373115 seconds
Speed = 72827112.077284 bytes/secondEdgeRouter Lite, Octeon @ 500MHz
Time = 2.198556 seconds
Speed = 45484399.760570 bytes/secondIntel “Braswell” Celeron N3050 @ 1.6GHz
Time = 0.334014 seconds
Speed = 299388648.380008 bytes/second
I read a bunch of zombie themed novels. Some have lots of zombies, others not so many. Some are real books, some are what I was hoping were the upper echelons of more or less self published work.
more...
I was growing tired of my old iPhone games so I bought some new ones. I play only on an iPhone, not an iPad. I was mostly looking for quick fix games, not anything to rival a console game.
more...
Some free iPhone apps I’ve found useful. I’ve written about paid apps and games in other posts.
Facebook - Maybe not the most useful, but probably the most used.
Chase - If the deposit by camera feature worked more reliably, this would be great, but it only works in perfect lighting and some checks it just doesn’t like at all. It’s usually worth one attempt, then the check goes into the eventual bank visit pile.
Netflix - With the TV cable, works great as a portable Roku. Don’t watch much on the iPhone screen, however.
Instapaper Free, Economist Free - Were very useful when I had more reliable reading time. Now that I’m alone with the phone less often, I’m less inclined to rely on it for timely reading.
Stanza - Broad and easy to browse selection of free books.
Kindle - Switched to the Kindle app after getting the Kindle device. Not all the books are free, but the books I purchase I tend to want to read quickly, or at least comfortably. That leaves all the free books to be read on the phone at a more leisurely pace.
Photosynth - A panoramic picture stitcher. Very easy to use, produces reasonable results considering the limitations of the input, works fast. Gold star.
Open Table - Find a restaurant, make a reservation, walk there, earn rewards. Sweet deal.
Amazon - Ironically, used this app the most in a Barnes & Noble store.
iPhone apps I paid for and don’t regret. Apps where I know the author are marked kta. See also the games and free apps roundups.
WhatsApp - Text message replacement. Not a heavy texter, so I’m not saving money, but it has a few bonus features like location sharing and group chat that make it nicer than SMS. Even though I never run out of texts, there is the peace of mind being freed from even considering if a message is worth 20c. kta.
iTrans NYC - Subway maps. Bought this just to always have a subway map available, but discovered a great second use. Download the neighborhood maps ahead of time, and you’ll have fast offline access to detailed street maps without waiting to make a cell connection. kta.
JotNot Pro - Portable document scanner. Someday I hope to use this, as detailed in my paperless project post.
Camera+ - A great drop in replacement for the default app. It only takes a few touchups to drastically improve the visible detail of photos taken with the builtin camera.
Nike+ GPS - Run tracker. I find the phone too heavy to carry on every run, but take the app with me every once in a while, particularly when trying out a new route.
Split Expense - Total up expenses, then send bills to your friends. Bought it after a friend used it on a trip, then used it myself on a later one. The app is very basic, but easy enough to use once you’re used to it. As much as the formality of tracking every purchase seems like it’d drag down the fun, I found the opposite to be true. People stopped worrying about who paid for what when they knew that an accurate settling up would occur.
Precorder - Video recorder that’s always a few seconds ahead. Would have loved to have this app a million times, then I bought and haven’t needed it since. Am hoping to get a chance to use it. kta.
Some notes on a few games I’ve purchased for my iPhone. I paid some minimum amount of money for all of these. Compare with the paid app roundup and the free app roundup elsewhere.
more...