Chris Pirillo » gaming

Don’t Believe Everything You Read

Chris — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:22:13 +0000

Don’t Believe Everything You Read is a post from Chris Pirillo

I had to chuckle a little while ago when someone in our live chat room stated that Google’s new operating system will be 100% invulnerable to malware attacks. That’s an awful hefty claim for Google to make, if they in fact did. The truth is that nothing is impossible in this day and age of malware. Criminals, hackers and malware writers will indeed figure out a way to get inside of whatever Google comes up with. Sadly, it’s par for the course. It’s rumors like these that make people who don’t know any better think that they don’t need any type of security software.

I hate rumors and speculation. I’m a hard facts type of guy. Show me proof, or don’t tell me at all. I know, not everyone is like that. And that’s ok, I suppose. However, it’s imperative that you do your research, and find out the truth of the matter in anything you want to believe. It’s ok to have “faith”, yes. It’s not ok to blindly ASSume something is right and correct and real. Sometimes, that can get you in to trouble.

One of the reasons I love our community so much is that as Geeks, we take the time to back up what we say with facts and resources. Have you taken the time to read what it is they are trying to say?

Over in our Downloads Center, you’ll find new software and apps every day that may be vital to your existence! For instance, today we are featuring a piece of freeware that allows you, the parent, to control what sites are allowed on your family’s computers. Safety and security – for free!

Windows 7 – Better for Gamers?

Chris — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:21:51 +0000

Windows 7 – Better for Gamers? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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During a live call session the other night, people were on the phone to gab about Windows 7. We talked about everything from security to aesthetics. This particular caller, Sonu, is a member of our live community on a regular basis. He is a gamer, and had something interesting to note in favor of Windows 7 that I hadn’t yet heard. I’m wondering if you are experiencing this, as well.

Sonu has been using Windows Vista for awhile now, and has only recently upgraded to Windows 7. He has the exact same hardware setup, and all of the same software installed now as he did with Vista. However, he’s noticed one very large – and very welcome – change: he is getting 10-15 frames-per-second (FPS) more than he did back when he used Vista.

Is this something you other gamers out there are noticing as well? I imagine that this absolutely is a very good upgrade for you if you are. Let’s hear from you gaming Geeks… are you getting more FPS now on Windows 7 than you did on other operating systems?

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An Insider’s Look at the New Game Aion

Chris — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:00:57 +0000

An Insider’s Look at the New Game Aion is a post from Chris Pirillo

XX0wnsXY (Becca) is a girl gamer geek. She’s hardcore, boys, and regularly beats out her male counterparts in various games she plays. She’s been a part of our community for quite awhile now, and has contributed insights and commentary in the past when we’ve talked about various games.

Becca emailed me today, with the below review/guide for her new favorite game Aion. She took the time to write a very comprehensive piece for all of you, so I wanted to post it in full. Credit for the below goes entirely to Becca!

This is my first MMORPG (Massively Multi-player Online Role – Playing Game). (I used to be so against RPGs, but this one has swayed me). So, my review is submitted from a new user’s point of view. I would really like it if anyone with past MMORPG experience can reply and offer an experienced point of view on the game. I think the two contrasts would be interesting.

So the game is called Aion (”Eye-On”). It is, as I said, a MMO-RPG. It’s categorized as PvPvE (Player vs. Player vs. Environment). It’s been out in Korea for a year or more, and was released in the US a month ago.

The story line, in simple terms (although they go into great detail in multiple cut-scenes throughout the game, with awesome graphics):

A world of peace began to crumble after some of the race called “Draken” rebelled against the God “Aion”, and in turn, a huge battle broke out and the world was shattered in to three pieces. These events became known as “The Cataclysm” (Kat-a-Cliz-em) This created three races: “Elyos” (good) who live in “Elysea”, and Asmodians (Evil) who live in Asmodae, and Balaur -(The Draken renamed after their rebellion; not a playable race, NPC’s only, and are hostile against both Elyos and Asmodians, (which plays into the PvPvE.) who reside in the Abyss. The third piece, known as the “Abyss” is the space between Elysea and Asmodae, where both factions gain access at level 25 and begin the true PvP (Player vs. Player) aspect of the game.

You are able to choose which faction you would like to be at the start of your game. You begin your game by choosing one of the 4 classes, Male or Female; Warrior, Mage, Scout, or Priest. I, personally, chose to start as a Priest. You can customize your characters appearance greatly (from hair, skin, eye, and lip color, to extremety thickness, voice and much more).

You begin your journey in the “starter area”, which is different for each faction, of course. You level from 1-9 with simple quests that help you get acquainted with the various menu options and NPC’s. You also become acquainted with your current skills and abilities. Along with that, you become acquainted with the game’s travel systems, which are:

A Flight Transporter – Allows you to pay a fee to fly (on a winged animal of some sort, very cool looking) to your destination. The graphics are awesome during flight.

A Teleporter – You simply pay a fee and jump into a portal – and your game loads into your destination.

You can bring up your map by pressing “M”. It will give you a full overview of the area you are in, along with surrounding areas. You can press “N” and a smaller, more transparent version will appear, which is convenient while walking/flying and still needing to see where you are going. When you are grouped with other people in the same area, they will appear on the map as blue diamonds.

You will also become acquainted with Soul Healing and resurrection. Should you die along the way (and you will, believe me), you will be given the option to return to the place where you last bound your soul (You bind your soul to obelisk’s in major cities), or you can choose to wait (up to 30 minutes) and ask for someone to come resurrect you. Chanters and Clerics have the ability to resurrect. There are also resurrection stones that can be bought and acquired during quests that can be used on another player.

If you are not resurrected, you return to your bind point, and beside you will be a Soul Healer. For a fee, you will be healed of soul sickness (this makes your movement slow and you are unable to fly/glide) and you will recover your experience that you lost. The amount of experience lost depends on your level. The price of soul healing goes up the more times you die, and becomes very expensive over time, so you must be careful. You don’t have to worry about soul healing when it comes to PvP. If you are killed by the opposite faction, soul healing only costs 1 gold and you do not lose any experience. You do, however, lose Abyss Points (discussed later).

At level 9, you receive an “ascension” quest, which will allow you to become a “Daeva” (advanced humans who have tapped into the power of the Aether to gain new abilities and strengths that put them far beyond the power levels of any mortal human) and choose your subclass. The subclasses are:

For Warrior – Gladiator or Templar.

For Scout – Assassin or Ranger

For Priest – Chanter or Cleric

For Mage – Sorcerer or Spirit Master

I started as a Priest, so I chose to evolve into a Chanter. I won’t go into too much detail about the classes/subclasses, as that would take entirely too much time, but each one has its positives and negatives. I like being a Chanter, because we can adapt to pretty much any situation (I.E – we can heal, have buffs, have decent DPS – Damage per Second, and are needed in many group situations).

Shortly after you have completed your ascension quest, you receive a quest to earn your wings. Yes, you can fly in this game, which is something I hear is much different from any MMO out there. The flight ability in this game is so much fun and adds a new and interesting aspect to PvP. You will find that pre-abyss (lvls 1-24), you will use your wings mostly to glide down long hills to make your trips a little faster. There are a few designated areas where you are free to fly, otherwise you can only glide.

If you are interested in PvP before level 25, there are opportunities for this. There are temporary openings from one world to another (Elysea to Asmodae and vice versa) that allow you to go to the opposite factions world and hunt the enemy. These are known as Rifts. However, you have little chance to stay alive, unless you are grouped with other people. I found this annoying at times, because I would be trying to complete a quest in my world, and out of nowhere, comes a group of enemies and of course, I get killed. When the shoe is on the other foot however, it’s fun. Yeah Yeah, I can dish it but can’t take it. Enemies of the opposing faction show up on your radar as red diamonds. You will have to worry more about this in the Abyss.

The good thing is that rifts close after a certain number of people enter them, so they do not last forever. There are even spy quests that you can acquire that require you to go to the enemy’s world and complete a mission. They are very hard, but offer great rewards. I have yet to complete them… like I said, very hard.

Throughout your leveling experience, you will occasionally need to learn new skills/abilities. These are learned from your class trainer, and are in designated areas in the game. As you level, the price of learning your abilities goes up and can become quite costly. (At level 28 I paid over 70,000 gold for my new abilities).

Once you have bought your skill manual, it will appear as a book in your inventory (Hit I to access your inventory). Double click the book, and that skill will be learned. You can then press the letter K on your keyboard, and it will bring up a list of all of your skills. You can find your new skills and drag and drop them into your skill bar at the bottom of your screen:

Don’t worry, gold is plentiful in this game, and easily acquired. If you manage your gold right, you will have no trouble. If you do find yourself needing more, there are options to receive gold through the in-game mailing system. All you have to do is ask a friend for gold and they can attach it to mail and send it to your in-game mailbox (found at most major cities, in game). Gold is not hard to acquire through Grinding (Killing NPC enemies), either. There are also other options like selling items you have acquired via the Trade Broker (also found in major cities), or general goods merchants.

Like with many other games of this type, you can learn professions. Along with the professions, you can also Gather, which eventually evolves into Extraction. You begin gathering different plants/herbs. As you level, you receive the ability to extract the essence of an item, rather than the item itself, called Extract Vitality. After that comes Aether extraction, which is extracting from the sky (you must fly and risk falling to your death if you are not careful). I suggest leveling these things as you go. Many people say that it is not important, so I did not bother with it at first. When I reached level 20 I realized that many of the NPC’s gave quests to gather/extract an item and bring it to them. I skipped many quests and they add up! I spent many hours going back to level my gathering/extraction. Major setback, but I’m glad I did it. Definitely do this as you go.

Leveling solo is very do-able until level 20+. You will begin receiving quests that require a group. They will have the [group] prefix, letting you know to not even attempt to do the quest without more people to help. These are the most fun for me. You get to interact with other players and become an important part of the other players success. Very few of the quests you acquire are [group] quests, however they offer such great rewards, that they can’t afford to be skipped. Aion offers a LFG (Looking for Group) chat channel, which makes it easy to find people to group with.

Grouping is used for [Group] quests and instances. You can join the “LFG” Chat channel and ask for more people to help with your quest. Usually typed in this format: “Level 31 Chanter LFG Legendary Amethysts. PST (please send tell, which is just a whisper.). You will hopefully get some responses and from there, can invite people to your group (right click their name and select “invite to group”).. rinse and repeat.

One of the most menacing problems for MMO’s are the gold spammers (Those who want to sell you gold – it’s illegal, but people do buy so it keeps the gold spammers running rampant). They spam the chat with their links and make it hard for you to read any conversation going on between your legion or group. One easy fix to this is to create a new chat tab, and customize the options to allow only chat from your legion or group. To do this, open chat and right click on one of the tabs. From there you can choose “Add Tab”. Name it, and customize tab options. Voila!

At level 20. you can acquire “Stigmas”, which are basically extra abilities that you can receive that can separate one of the same class from the other. There are many stigmas that one class can choose, and that’s what makes me (one chanter) different from another. You must complete a quest to enable you to equip stigmas, but after that as you level, you will acquire more stigma slots. To view your current stigma slots, press “P” and select the Stigma tab.

Stigmas can be acquired from quests, NPC drops, or bought from the trade broker. Some are more rare than others. Each stigma requires stigma shards (can be acquired in the abyss from NPC enemies) to equip, and can only be equipped by a stigma master.

The next milestone is level 25. This is when you receive your “Abyss Entry Quest”, which is quite long, but very easy. Once you complete this quest, you gain entry access into the Abyss – the main PvP area. During the quest, you have to pick which area of your world you will access the Abyss from. Once you pick, you can enter the abyss by flying to the portal in the sky only in that area.

The Abyss offers many things, and has beautiful graphics. It offers many high experience/pay/item reward quests, and of course, it offers PvP. The Abyss can be very overwhelming at first. When you enter the Abyss, you are in a safe zone. There is an Aetheric Field around this area that prevents any enemy from penetrating. Once you venture out, you can collect quests, grind abyss enemies for high experience and abyss points (Points collected in the Abyss that when enough are acquired, you can get special items), and PvP.

Venturing out into the abyss requires flight. You can teleport to some areas, but you will have to fly a lot. There are flight rings that you will find between certain areas that you can fly through to gain flight time. You can refer to the bar at the bottom right of your screen to monitor your flight time drain. If you strafe through the rings, you can refill your bar quickly. There are also potions that increase flight time, along with equipment perks.

The ultimate goal of the Abyss is to capture fortresses from the opposing faction. I have no experience in this, but a month into the game, people are already doing it. You can see which fortresses are owned by which faction by pressing “M” to bring up the map and refer to the color key.

PvP is the most exciting feature for some MMO players. I like a little bit of both PvP and PvE. As I said before, when venturing out into the Abyss, you will run into an enemy from the opposing faction. They will appear on your radar as red diamonds, and when you are close enough to them to actually see them, their name will appear in red. They will have a rank (ie Rank 7 soldier), which is in reference to their abyss points. The lower their rank the more abyss experience they have, so beware of going against anyone too much lower than you. You are also unable to see the opposing faction’s level. Some like it this way, some don’t. Personally, I think it adds an interesting twist and requires a bit more strategy when approaching an enemy. To view your Abyss points/ranking press “P” and hit the “Abyss” tab:

As I continue to level, I learn more and more about the game. I do not have anything to compare the game to (first RPG), but I not only experience nothing but good things, I also hear good things, for the most part. The graphics are probably the best part of this game. They are absolutely beautiful. The storyline is interesting to follow, and it isn’t a total grind-fest to level. The pace is good, and the Abyss is fun.

Aion, like any other MMO (from what I’m told) has it’s problems. There are gold spammers and bots. The game has been out for a month in the US, and so far the development team has been working hard to keep them at bay. I’m not sure they will ever be totally rid of them, but I look forward to seeing what they come up with.

There are many guides for Aion out there, all of this content was written by me. All screen shots were taken in – game by me. Some sources were used for the storyline.

Very, VERY well-written and detailed guide, Becca! Thanks so much for sending this in. I have a feeling several of our gamer Geeks are now salivating to get their hands on Aion!

Dell Home Coupons

coupons — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 23:28:33 +0000

Dell Home Coupons is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Is This the Ultimate Game Controller?

Chris — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:36:00 +0000

Is This the Ultimate Game Controller? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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I met up with Cyrus while I was at PAX recently. He demonstrated for me (and all of you) what could possibly be the coolest, most uber-ultimate game controller ever! Imagine never having to pick up and hold a controller again, or mash keys on your poor, overworked keyboard. Imagine, if you will, that all you have to do is slip on a glove.

The Peregrine Glove gives you the power to control your game with the touch of a finger – literally. There’s no need to have to look down at a keyboard, or fumble for the correct keystrokes. Your game is now a part of you.

You can perform over 30 unique actions simply by touching your fingers, your palm or your thumb. Cyrus claims that it’s not as difficult to get used to as you would think. He demonstrated the Peregrine Glove while playing a game he’s been running for about four years. He said after probably 20 minutes, he had the basic hang of things. And, in under two hours he was playing like a pro using only the Peregrine Glove!

Free yourself from the constraints of cumbersome mice and keyboards when you’re playing your favorite game. Get rid of mis-strokes during a battle. Just touch your fingers together, and you’ll be wondering how you ever lived without this in your life.

Essential Reality P5 Gaming Glove

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What’s Better than Ventrilo for Voice Chat?

Chris — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:26:52 +0000

What’s Better than Ventrilo for Voice Chat? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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I used to rely on Ventrilo to communicate with the moderators from WyldRyde who help keep control in my chat room. It was kind of difficult to use, so we eventually just stopped connecting. However, I’ve found something much better that we can try!

Voxli is a free voice chat that anyone can use – anywhere, anytime! It’s great to use when gaming, as you can have up to 200 people at any one time chatting! Voxli runs right from within your browser (although it works best in Firefox, it works in any!) and you can enable push-to-talk so you aren’t taken away from your game.

Set up your Voxli chat and send the unique URL to up to 199 other people. It really is that easy. There’s nothing to download, and it works on both OS X and Windows!

Voxli allows you to add and change an avatar, or simply listen in on conversations other people are having! Once you install the plugin for Firefox, you don’t have to even ever sign in again!

Come on – you don’t need to keep downloading and connecting to programs like Ventrilo, Teamspeak or Skype. Those can all be resource hogs, and have problems and bugs all their own. Check out Voxli and you won’t be sorry!

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Where to Play Augmented Reality Games

Chris — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 19:48:52 +0000

Where to Play Augmented Reality Games is a post from Chris Pirillo

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It’s time for me to play with my balls – my cannon balls, that is. I was playing Cannonballz the game. There’s no need to register or log in, but you can connect it to your Facebook account! It will snap your picture and upload it right to your Facebook page, so everyone can see how well – or badly – you did!

Cannonballz is the first ever Augmented Reality game using ZugMo Motion Capture Technology, Flash and Facebook to make both you and your friends the stars of the game. Think fast and move faster as you dodge pirate cannonballs while saving your Facebook friends to become a legend on the leaderboard. No proprietary plug-ins to play! All you need is the latest version of Flash and a webcam and you’re good to go!

The idea is to move around to avoid getting whapped in the head with a cannon ball! It’s actually pretty fun, and not as easy as you would think. It’s augmented reality. It’s like I’m IN the game. It’s based on motion, so you might want to get your butt out of your chair for once!

You’ll have hours of fun playing this game, trust me. I could totally forget to work, and just spend all night dodging the balls.

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The Go-To Guy

Chris — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:08:00 +0000

The Go-To Guy is a post from Chris Pirillo

Even those of us who are power users or experts with technology need help sometimes. None of us can possibly know everything there is to know. Who do you go to when you get stuck and need an answer, or an extra set of eyes? Who can you call up to pick their brains, hopefully helping to solve your problem? I’m lucky to have a good network of friends that I know I can turn to, depending on what the problem is I’m facing. Being a Geek (and a guy!) – I admit I have a hard time reaching out and asking for help. I tend to research and fiddle, trying to fix whatever it is myself. But sometimes, you just have to wave that white flag and say “Help me!!”. So – who can you count on to give you those answers? Have you ever thanked them for taking the time out of their day to patiently help you? Make sure you do!

So much is going on around here right now. Gnomedex is only a week away, and the team is all very excited. We have an excellent lineup of presenters this year, many fun and exciting things going on in the hallways and in the evenings. I know we’re going to have a fabulous time – but not without a few more days of all of us running around like crazy. To all my volunteers and helpers… bless you, every one. No way would this ever be happening without you all!

Even amidst the hectic days right now, I still make time to check up on all of you. I love reading what you’re up to and what’s on your minds. I hope you make time in your day to do the same.

Lux-Pain DS Game Review

Chris — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 04:22:47 +0000

Lux-Pain DS Game Review is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Once again, my friend Michelle is helping me out by playing a game and reviewing it for me! She’s a gamer – and we all know I am not. Michelle is an RPG fan. She says that Lux-Pain isn’t so much an RPG as it is more of a storyline-based game. You don’t get to go where you want to go, as you would in a traditional RPG.

The story is interesting, in that it has to do with your world, and a separate world. You go around different areas, meeting different characters, and figure out what’s going on with the storyline. Your character has superpowers, allowing him/her to see if there’s something weird going on with other characters.

Michelle really likes the fact that she can use her superpowers on the “wronged” characters to try and erase the bad spirit, uncovering even more of the storyline. With much of the game looking like Anime, she says that people who are into that genre will definitely get into the game quickly.

The game is more of a mystery story, rather than one where you would collect armor and change your character. You will mostly go around collecting spirits and such, gaining experience, at the beginning.

If you’re a fan of this type of game, you’ll enjoy this game quite a lot I think. It’s very different from what most people think of when they think of an RPG, but that doesn’t mean it’s not fun! If you like getting into storylines, then Lux-Pain is for you!

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Do You Like Wall-E?

Chris — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:09:47 +0000

Do You Like Wall-E? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Do you like Wall-E? Of course you do – we all do! This little game controller connects to your television using a couple of cables. Join Wall-E and Eve on this amazing adventure! Scour the wasteland for ancient artifacts, solve the puzzles and navigate the treacherous corridors of Axiom. Pre-loaded games include: Trash Dash, Solar Solver, Earth World Map and Axiom Adventure.

Why am I playing this instead of being on the Internet? Well, I was in a hotel. We all know the type of luck I have with hotel Internet connections. So I decided to check out what’s what in my hotel room, and discovered this awesome little game gadget.

Life is sometimes just that good.

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What Cross-Platform Freeware Games Can You Download?

Chris — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:24:32 +0000

What Cross-Platform Freeware Games Can You Download? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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I was trying to play Capture the Flag. It’s a cross-platform game that you can get for free! You can battle with up to 16 players in a variety of game modes. Teeworlds includes Team Deathmatch and Capture The Flag. You can even design your own maps!

No matter what operating system you’re using, you can play along. I asked you guys to send along awesome resources, and this is one of them! The graphics and audio are excellent, and the game is fun. It’s free and works on all platforms – so what more could you want?

Check out Teeworlds… maybe even set up your own Geeks server for all of us to play together!

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Nintendo DSi Unboxing and Review

Chris — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:12:50 +0000

Nintendo DSi Unboxing and Review is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Here we go – the Nintendo DSi! I unboxed it prior to recording the video, because my live audience couldn’t wait. My first impression is very positive, because I really like the matte finish. It’s nice and light, which means it’s quite portable.

There are two cameras on the Nintendo DSi. I took a very nice picture with the front-facing camera. It’s very Wii-ish… the sounds, the UI and the touch screen.

When I was playing with the camera, I was having a lot of fun. You can play with the image dynamically before you even take the photo, and of course edit it after if need be. You can distort the image in real-time before ever taking the snapshot. You can take pictures using either the inward or outward facing camera and chose from 11 different lenses to customize your shots

I love the sounds and the visuals. The number one reason I would recommend the Nintendo DSi over the regular DS is the simple fact that everything just sounds and looks so great.

You can download exclusive games, clocks and calendars via the Nintendo DSi Shop. If you register online, you get like 1000 points to use, as well as a few free games! Nintendo DSiWare games and applications will be available at a range of values, starting at 200 points.

Overall, I am already in love with my DSi. The UI is great, even if the Internet connectivity isn’t thus far (at least on my connection). Give me your own thoughts on the DSi, or any other gaming system that you prefer.

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Cross-Platform Open Source Video Game: Nexuiz

Chris — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 06:06:03 +0000

Cross-Platform Open Source Video Game: Nexuiz is a post from Chris Pirillo

I’m all about open source – and I know my community is all about gaming. Put these two things together, and it’s a formula for success (usually). Not every project shines, but Samual wanted us to know about this one in particular…

Hey, I’m in a community of developers and game enthusiasts who created the game Nexuiz, built on the Darkplaces game engine (derived from the Quake I game engine). I know you may not normally review open source game projects, but take a look at this game. The physics in this game are the most unique, allowing for strafing and weapon jumping. Since this game is open source and uses OpenGL, you can imagine it has been compiled for quite a few platforms. Including, but not limited to, Windows, OS X, Linux and UNIX. There has been talk about moving the game to a console, but no action has been taken yet.

The community has created a full tournament system (The Ladders) where people can enter into competitions of our many game types. Public multiplayer servers usually have about 20 to 100 active players at one time – if not, bots can be placed into the game. Single player has a large amount of levels which get harder with each stage. In total, the game has 12 game types, most popular being: LMS (Last Man Standing), CTF (Capture the Flag), DM (DeathMatch), TDM (Team DeathMatch), 1v1 (One versus One, mainly on private servers), Race (because of the physics in this game, you can accelerate yourself at very high speeds, allowing you to race through checkpoints in maps), and many more. All in all, the game is developed by professionals with some free time, and is, in essence, able to compete with the industry’s standards.

How to Play Games and Get Free Stuff

Chris — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:45:44 +0000

How to Play Games and Get Free Stuff is a post from Chris Pirillo

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During our latest GoToMeeting, we were viewing Connor’s desktop. Connor wanted to show all of us a way to get free things by playing the same games you’re already playing every day!

Eamonn is JACTs gamer reward software that supports more than 300 different games. Eamonn simply rewards active game play and does not interfere with the game itself. Eamonn is 100% free of any adware, spyware or malware.

You play your favorite games and JACT’s software client, Eamonn, rewards you with “BUX” for active game play. These “BUX” accumulate in your account and can be redeemed for prizes from the JACT Mall. Think of it as a frequent flyer rewards program but for gamers.

You’re playing games anyway, so you might as well get some stuff out of it!

We do the GoToMeeting thing regularly, and it’s such an easy way to share desktops. There’s a VOiP function as well, which is how I pull in the presenter each week. Using GoToMeeting is just so much better than having to drive across town, or fly across the country (or the World!).

Email me your ideas for our next meeting!

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Top 10 Cases for Gaming

coupons — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 08:57:24 +0000

Top 10 Cases for Gaming is a post from Chris Pirillo

This is Frilio Rolthnor’s submission for the HP Magic Giveaway. Feel free to leave comments for this article as you see fit – your feedback is certainly welcomed! If you’d like to submit your own how-to, what-is, or top-five list, you can send it to me. Views and opinions of this writer are not necessarily my own:

Top 5 Mid-Towers

5. Antec Three Hundred – The Antec Three Hundred is an amazing case for the price. It has really good cable management for a mid tower and very good airflow. With the addition of two 120mm fans in the front brackets, it provides optimal circulation to its 120mm rear, and 140mm exhaust. It has three external 5.25″ drive bays, and six internal 3.5″ hdd bays. On the right side of the hdd bays is a large cable management compartment that has room for all your excess power supply cables.

4. Raidmax Smilodon – The Smilodon is a great case, especially for those who are building their first computer. Both the left and right side panels fold down easily, and the motherboard tray folds out too. There is a lot of side intake, and with the rear exhaust, this case has good airflow. All 4 external 5.25″ bays, 2 external 3.5″ bays and the internal hdd bays have a tool-less design. Because of these features, the Raidmax Smilodon makes a great case for the first-time build.

3. NZXT Tempest – The Tempest is a great mid tower because it has excellent airflow and a lot of space. It has three external tool-less 5.25″ bays, and two removable hdd cages that hold 4 hard drives each. Each of the cages has a 120mm fan that provides great intake, and keeps the hard discs cool. At the top of the case are two 140mm fans which provide excellent exhaust next to the rear mounted 120mm fan. Underneath the motherboard tray is a large opening for cables to hide behind making cable management that much easier.

2. Thermaltake Armor+ MX – The Armor+MX is a great mid tower case. Looking at its left side panel, one finds a massive 230mm intake fan, huge for a mid tower. In addition to that there is also a 140mm intake at the front and a 120mm exhaust at the back. There are 6 tool-less 5.25″ bays and a removable hdd cage with 4 internal tool-less hdd bays. This case has plenty of room for large power supplies, and if you don’t need one too big you can mount some large fans or a liquid cooling system on the top, and there are tool-less expansion slots.

1. Antec Nine Hundred – The Antec Nine Hundred is amazing for a mid-tower case. It has a total of nine bays, which can be occupied either by 5.25″ devices or its two hdd cages. Each three disc cage easily slides in and out, can be mounted in any three consecutive 5.25″ bays, and has a 120mm 3 speed fan. It has a massive 200mm exhaust fan on the top, and a 120mm at the back. This case has lots of room, a bottom mounted power supply, and it provides some of the best airflow one can find in a mid tower case.

The Top 5 Full Towers

5. Thermaltake Spedo Advance Package – The Thermaltake Spedo Advance Package case features many features, such as a 140mm intake fan, two 120mm exhaust fans, and a mount for a right side panel (behind the motherboard). The case has 7 external 5.25″ drive bays; an external 3.5″ drive bay, and 6 hdd bays, all of which are tool-less. In addition to its cable management holes that lead through the motherboard tray, there are also panels that can be attached behind the motherboard tray to keep cables in to aid in fitting on the right side panel. There is also a large window with a large 230mm fan on the left side panel. The advanced package has a separation panel that can be used to block mixed airflow between the expansion cards and the rest of the motherboard. Channeling air in this way helps keep the overall case temperatures less.

4. Cooler Master Cosmos S – The Cosmos S features a heat sensitive power button that needs no force to activate. There is a 140mm intake fan, a 120mm rear exhaust fan, two 120mm top exhaust fans, and a large 230mm intake fan on the left side panel. There are 7 external 5.25″ drive bays, and a removable cage that holds 4 internal hdd bays. Two large handles on the top provide a rigid way to move the case, and the top fans can be removed to add a liquid cooling radiator. This case is very large, and has many cable management holes to route wires to the back side of the case.

3. Thermaltake Armor+ – The Thermaltake Armor+ is a massive case, both in size and weight. At the front, there are 7 5.25″ bays, and a removable hard drive cage that will take 5 3.5″ hard drives. There are also two 3.5″ drive bays on the bottom that can be replaced with 2 120mm or 140mm fans. There is a 140mm intake fan on the front, a 120mm rear exhaust fan, and either 2 120mm fans, 2 140mm fans, or a liquid cooling radiator can be mounted on the top. This case is very large, so even extended ATX motherboards can be installed with its 10 tool-less expansion slots. The motherboard tray is also removable, so it is very easy to install the motherboard and components outside the case.

2. Antec Twelve Hundred – The Antec Twelve Hundred is a beautiful case. It has 12 front 5.25″ drive bays, and nine of those can be converted to 3.5″ bays with its three, three disc hdd cages. Each of the cages can be repositioned in any of the drive bays, and are equipped with 120mm fans and a fan controller is on each cage on the outside of the case. This case also has two rear 120mm exhaust fans and a large 200mm top exhaust fan, and two more fans can be added, one on the interior side of a hdd cage and another on the large window on the left side panel. There are many cable management holes, and the whole interior of the case is painted black, which looks very nice compared to most cases.

1. LIAN LI PC-P80 – The LIAN LI PC-P80 Armorsuit case is one of the best cases currently on the market. This case has 12 5.25″ bays, which can be occupied with hdd cages that will support up to 6 3.5″ drives. This case has a door, which features three 140mm fans that provide optimal airflow for cooling, along with a top 140mm exhaust fan and a rear 120mm exhaust. There is a large mount for even the biggest of power supplies, a video card support bar, and the motherboard tray is removable.

How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

Get Your Own Web Site

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

Starting at just $3.99/month, web hosting from GoDaddy includes 99.9% uptime, 24/7 support and free access to GoDaddy Hosting Connection, THE place to install over 30 FREE applications sure to help you get the most from your hosting plan and Web site. Enter code CP2 at checkout, and save an additional 10% on any order.

Plus, as a friend of Chris Pirillo, enter code CHRIS7, that's C-H-R-I-S and the number 7, when you check out, and save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com.

VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.