The holiday season is fast approaching, though I'm sure all parents reading this would rather…
In a world where all smartphones and tablets are capable of playing brilliant video games such as Angry Birds and Candy Crush Saga, it’s easy to forget about the dedicated handheld games consoles on the market. And with the 3DS and PS Vita being the latest and greatest handheld games consoles, it’s even easier to forget about the humble Nintendo DS. However, ignoring the DS would be a huge mistake.
Microsoft is facing an important next phase in its long and (sometimes) illustrious history. The past decade has seen the Redmond-based company struggle to maintain its once vice-like grip on computers. Now, Microsoft is attempting to change from the inside out, with a new company structure and strategy as outlined in a memo from Steve Ballmer to the employees in July. With all of this going on we decided to seek out your views on Microsoft and your suggestions regarding the future direction of the company.
Kickstarter has enabled a good number of games to be developed that otherwise wouldn’t have ever made it off the drawing board. And what follows are just five games from that list; all which look phenomenal, and all of which are due to be released in 2014. Let’s check them out!
As we enter September, we edge ever closer to Apple’s latest press event; during which the company is expected to reveal the latest iPhone, or, more accurately, iPhones. Apple always draws a crowd, but this press event is sure to draw even more than the usual levels of attention. So, were the rumored upgrades (if they can be called upgrades) enough to persuade the MakeUseOf readership commit to making a purchase?
Contrary to popular belief, video games aren’t a useless form of entertainment responsible for sucking precious time away from children and adults alike. Even generic first-person shooters such as the Call Of Duty titles could, in theory, help develop hand-eye coordination, strategic thinking, and teamwork. And there are plenty of other titles that offer similar unseen opportunities for mental growth. What follows are six educational console games that parents can buy for their offspring and be safe in the knowledge that there is an educational element embedded somewhere in the gameplay.
One of the reasons for struggling with diets is the amount of work it takes organizing a diet that will help make you slim and healthy while providing some respite from the continual grind of calorie-counting and workouts. Which is where Eat This Much enters stage left, with its “auto-magic” meal plan and multitude of customization options.
The history of the Internet stretches back as far as 1969, but it didn’t become popular until the 1990s when the whole thing became commercialized, ISPs started offering access, and the World Wide Web emerged to give normal people something to actually do online. What did the Internet look like to people in the early 1990s when the vast majority had likely never even heard of it, let alone used it. For the purposes of both education and entertainment we can travel back in time to 1995 (or thereabouts). And it’s all thanks to the power of YouTube.
Before the original Game Boy arrived on the scene as the 1980s gave way to the 1990s, all eager gamers had to play while out of the house were handheld electronic games that came as part of a single unit. There was no swapping games in and out, you bought the unit, and you were stuck playing that game until such time as you (or, more likely, your parents) bought a replacement. I don’t particularly miss those days, but because they happened during my childhood I have an occasional yearning to revisit them for a dose of nostalgia. Which is where a website called Pica Pic proves its worth.
Lots of people like to “Like” things. I am of course referring to the Facebook Like, which has become a simple shortcut to stamping your approval on something. It’s time to take a look at the most popular fictional characters on Facebook. These are public figures who are so beloved by the general public they’ve managed to rack up millions of Facebook Likes. And yet none of them actually exist in the real world. Who are these people?
We asked you, Print Vs. Digital: What Is The Future For News? This question elicited a rather disappointing response, with just a handful of interested parties choosing to have their say on the issue. Still, those good people who did get involved generally had lots to say on the matter. The picture that emerged from the comments is one where print media is revered but is almost certain to be heading for destruction.
I regularly attend pub quizzes. Not only do these make sure I’m putting my brain to the test on a regular basis, the socializing is good for my sanity, and there’s beer available literally on tap. Unfortunately I cannot attend a pub quiz every night of the week, because I’d be both broke and an alcoholic. Thankfully there are plenty of alternative ways to quiz online, including a new Spotify app called Mr. Quizter.
Video games are an older form of entertainment than many people realize. They can be…
Figures don’t lie, and the figures suggest that the majority of Internet users choose Google over the rest of the competition. With that in mind it’s important to make sure all of those Google users are utilizing all that Google has to offer when it comes to its search engine. Everyone knows how to conduct a normal search by typing some words and/or a phrase into the box provided and following the links that emerge from the overcrowded fog. But Google Search offers a lot more than just the basics.
It’s extremely interesting to chart the history of your favorite website(s) from their origin point, all the way through their existence, and right up until the present day. And it’s entirely feasible too thanks to just a few key resources. In other words, time travel is entirely possible, as long as you only travel within the confines of the Internet.
A new generation of consoles obviously brings better visuals with it, but graphics aren’t everything. While previous console generations relied rather heavily on improvements to how the games looked, this one is set to value a wide variety of other features above pure aesthetic appeal.
As we mature (or to put it more bluntly, grow old) our tastes in many things change. The movies that we loved as teenagers will no longer appeal, the food we turned our noses up at as kids will now set our taste buds on fire. And the music that shaped our formative years will give way to new genres, new tempos, and new bands. But where to find this new music our brains long for and ears crave?
Song parodies have existed for centuries in one form or another. We won’t be travelling that far back through the swirling mists of time, but what follows are 10 of the funniest song parodies you can watch on YouTube right now. And because we’re too good to you all you can watch them right here on this page thanks to the power of embedding.
Reviewing something, whether it’s hardware, software, art, or an experience, is a deceptively tricky thing to do. You have to try and put aside personal biases and focus on the actual positives and negatives of that thing. Even if you manage to do this successfully, there will always be someone out there who disagrees with your review, and for one day only that person is me. What follows is a list of five video games that are almost universally acclaimed by the critics and beloved by gamers.
The Internet is still considered to be something akin to The Wild West, a lawless, still-emerging set of disparate communities all vying for attention. But this isn’t actually the case, and it hasn’t been for many years. Contrary to popular belief many of the laws and rules which apply in the real world also apply online.
It’s incredibly important to take the time to relax occasionally. It doesn’t do anyone any good to constantly be ON, to be working, to be stressed by the rigors of everyday life. In the same way you need to give your body a physical break every now and then, especially if you work with computers, you also need to give your mind a rest from time to time.
The PlayStation 4 has some fantastic games heading its way, which is one of the multitude of reasons why you should buy the Sony console over the Xbox One. Having already looked at five games exclusive to the PS4, it’s now time to look at five PS4 games that will be free-to-play (F2P). Gaming can be an expensive hobby, unless you utilize some of the many ways you can game on the cheap. It’s especially expensive at the start of a new generation of hardware, with the consoles sold at a premium until the costs come down enough for the manufacturers to cut prices. This won’t leave the average gamer with much money left to buy the actual games they want to play.
Laws against piracy of copyrighted materials existed well before the invention of the Internet, but this interconnected network of computers has turned piracy into an immediate and unfortunate problem for copyright owners of all shapes and sizes. The question is, where do we go from here? We sought to find answers to the problem of piracy in last week’s We Ask You column.
People use Facebook in lots of different ways. Connecting with friends, sharing photos online, and discovering news are just a few examples. Also popular are Facebook Pages, which are profiles for celebrities, bands, brands, and websites. Musicians in particular build immense followings on social networking sites, with fanbases the are millions-strong. Here are eight musicians with the most popular Pages you’ll find on Facebook.
