Software

Hellgate: London: Windows

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iWork: Mac

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to give it time to mature. Or so I thought.

While I appreciate the beautiful templates and intuitive interface that iWork offers, what remains when all the pretties are stripped away? iWork Lite: The version you weren't bargaining on but should have expected for a mere $79.99 (MSRP).

My hope was that Pages would reference Webster's New World Dictionary, which is regarded as a superior reference in hard copy form for capitalization and proper hyphenation. While Pages approaches this level of accuracy, it doesn't quite make the grade. This calls into question its usefulness for English majors, journalists and writers of all stripes. Worse, Pages proofreader is a poor substitute for MS Word's grammar checker. As a result, Pages is also a questionable choice for teachers, students and professionals.

Other purported iWork limitations include:


* Few keyboard shortcuts (native Mac users once prided themselves on the ease with which they could zip through tasks with minimal mouse clicks);
* Cannot change the "save as" to default to an export file type;
* No auto-save/recovery;
* No auto-correct;
* Pages lacks an outline function;
* Weak on functionality: Does not support right-to-left language types. Cross references and the automatic numbering of legends, equations, references are missing. Limitations using the chart editor. "Start count at" and indentation level controls frustrate some users. No HTML import/export;
* iWork Server/Client works on an intranet using Rendezvous, but does not support Internet networking;
* Pages supports only basic citation and footnoting. Cannot use footnotes and endnotes simultaneously. Can accept Grapher/LaTeXiT services but does not support bibliographies (fails to interface with EndNote, for example);
* Opens Appleworks files only via the "import" command;
* Cannot add images -- such as company logo -- to Pages headers or footers;
* Numbers will not satisfy technical users, nor those who wish to include some of the following in a Keynote presentation: It does not support pivot tables. Cannot plot a graph with two y-axes. Will not graph error bars. Does not support Visual Basic macros. Cannot perform trendline analysis or basic statistics (t-test). Does not permit users to freeze/unfreeze panes;
* Apple reports: "Your ability to open a large Numbers file or import a large Microsoft Excel file into Numbers '08 may be constrained by the amount of memory installed on your computer. This constraint adjusts with the addition and removal of memory from the computer."
* Users porting complex Excel documents to Numbers report the need to perform numerous corrections;
* Does not include a database application. Lacks SQL database integration, among others;
* Does not support envelope printing within Pages (envelope printing is left up to Mac Address Book);
* Does not support mail merge (except from Mac Address Book);
* Cannot email a page from within an iWorks application;
* Does not include a standalone email application (relies instead on the integrated email application in OS X);
* Apparently, native iWork files are actually packages, which many web-based email servers do not support. To overcome this limitation, iWork files must be exported and/or saved and subsequently attached to outgoing web-based email messages as archives (zipped files);
*iWorks users who are borderline on system compatibility or whose machines place them at the lower end of iWork's system requirements may encounter sluggish performance (I encountered a number of pauses during which the rainbow colored beach ball appeared while working in Pages).

Do I recommend iWork? That depends on who, what, where and why you wish to use it. From my vantage point, iWork is not a Microsoft Office competitor but an entry-level trio of applications that are big on potential but small on delivery. Nevertheless, there are some users -- primarily those who require strong visuals and a template-based approach to productivity -- who may benefit from iWork 2008.

Bioshock: Windows

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to give it time to mature. Or so I thought.



While I appreciate the beautiful templates and intuitive interface that iWork offers, what remains when all the pretties are stripped away? iWork Lite: The version you weren't bargaining on but should have expected for a mere $79.99 (MSRP).



My hope was that Pages would reference Webster's New World Dictionary, which is regarded as a superior reference in hard copy form for capitalization and proper hyphenation. While Pages approaches this level of accuracy, it doesn't quite make the grade. This calls into question its usefulness for English majors, journalists and writers of all stripes. Worse, Pages proofreader is a poor substitute for MS Word's grammar checker. As a result, Pages is also a questionable choice for teachers, students and professionals.



Other purported iWork limitations include:





* Few keyboard shortcuts (native Mac users once prided themselves on the ease with which they could zip through tasks with minimal mouse clicks);

* Cannot change the "save as" to default to an export file type;

* No auto-save/recovery;

* No auto-correct;

* Pages lacks an outline function;

* Weak on functionality: Does not support right-to-left language types. Cross references and the automatic numbering of legends, equations, references are missing. Limitations using the chart editor. "Start count at" and indentation level controls frustrate some users. No HTML import/export;

* iWork Server/Client works on an intranet using Rendezvous, but does not support Internet networking;

* Pages supports only basic citation and footnoting. Cannot use footnotes and endnotes simultaneously. Can accept Grapher/LaTeXiT services but does not support bibliographies (fails to interface with EndNote, for example);

* Opens Appleworks files only via the "import" command;

* Cannot add images -- such as company logo -- to Pages headers or footers;

* Numbers will not satisfy technical users, nor those who wish to include some of the following in a Keynote presentation: It does not support pivot tables. Cannot plot a graph with two y-axes. Will not graph error bars. Does not support Visual Basic macros. Cannot perform trendline analysis or basic statistics (t-test). Does not permit users to freeze/unfreeze panes;

* Apple reports: "Your ability to open a large Numbers file or import a large Microsoft Excel file into Numbers '08 may be constrained by the amount of memory installed on your computer. This constraint adjusts with the addition and removal of memory from the computer."

* Users porting complex Excel documents to Numbers report the need to perform numerous corrections;

* Does not include a database application. Lacks SQL database integration, among others;

* Does not support envelope printing within Pages (envelope printing is left up to Mac Address Book);

* Does not support mail merge (except from Mac Address Book);

* Cannot email a page from within an iWorks application;

* Does not include a standalone email application (relies instead on the integrated email application in OS X);

* Apparently, native iWork files are actually packages, which many web-based email servers do not support. To overcome this limitation, iWork files must be exported and/or saved and subsequently attached to outgoing web-based email messages as archives (zipped files);

*iWorks users who are borderline on system compatibility or whose machines place them at the lower end of iWork's system requirements may encounter sluggish performance (I encountered a number of pauses during which the rainbow colored beach ball appeared while working in Pages).



Do I recommend iWork? That depends on who, what, where and why you wish to use it. From my vantage point, iWork is not a Microsoft Office competitor but an entry-level trio of applications that are big on potential but small on delivery. Nevertheless, there are some users -- primarily those who require strong visuals and a template-based approach to productivity -- who may benefit from iWork 2008.

Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures: Windows

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pervasive (you can verify this by visiting Funcom's official forums for Age of Conan). I attempted to use two separate high-end systems, both different architectures: one has an AMD 64 bit CPU, quad core, with a NVidia video card, the other is a dual core Intel-based system with an ATI video card. The Intel system runs Windows XP Pro SP2 and has 3.5 GB of RAM. The AMD system runs Vista Premium and has 4 GB of RAM. Both video cards are current generation, and are capable of running other modern games at the highest settings without issue. I tried running the client with my drivers and firmware fully up to date, attempted using different versions, and a wide variety of other modifications, but could never run the game with any semblance of stability. To qualify, I am a very well paid IT worker with over ten years of experience. I am currently a network engineer and work with everything from storage area networks to basic system analysis and administration for Netware and Windows servers (and occasionally Linux). I know full well what I'm doing.

Next, regarding the advertising of the product: Age of Conan is missing much of what is promised on the box, including technical features such as DirectX 10 (if you're not tech saavy, DirectX is an "application programming interface" for mutlimedia - graphics and audio. DirectX 10 is the latest and greatest version). DirectX 10 offers more powerful visual effects and cleaner, more detailed graphics. This game only supports DirectX 9. Large scale player-versus-player combat is not fully implemented. End-game "raiding" (content meant for large groups of players) is generally inaccessible to the average player. More on lacking features later.

Regarding game play: The virtual game world is not well realized. Many of the zones (sections of the virtual world) you adventure within may look large and expansive, but only a very small area is actually navigable; you are confined by invisible barriers into very small, track-like spaces. And unlike other MMO's where players can travel freely through an immersive persistent world, Age of Conan is heavily "instanced". That is, only a small number of people can be in any zone at the same time. When more players try to enter zone a new instance is created, which is a copy of the zone in which a set number of players are allowed into. So, although there may be 80 people in one zone, there may be four instances of that zone with only 20 players in each (I'm using arbitrary numbers as an example, it varies by zone).

Again, back to content: the game is very light on this. Aside from the very polished starting area that guides you through your first 19-20 levels, there isn't many fun and compelling activities. The quests are very formulaic and pedestrian (kill x amount of y, bring them to me), and quickly dissapear at higher levels, forcing players to "grind" (repeatedly killing the same creatures over and over again, for hours, to advance in the game). The crafting system, a staple of the MMO genre, is severely lacking. It does not reward appropriately for time spent, feels largely incomplete, and for lack of a better word is terribly boring. The developer is constantly making adjustments to how the character classes function, which is frustrating to players as they are forced to keep "respeccing" (modifying the abilities of their character skills), which costs money. Accruing money consumes considerable time. You get the picture. Many core game mechanics, such as character stats (think the standard Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom...) do not actually work. All of the gear your characters can use look similar, typically some form of a kilt, and is some hue of brown 99% of the time (I promise you I am not exaggerating). I could literally go on all day in this section. Suffice to say the game isn't very fun, as much of it is missing or does not function correctly.

And finally, there is virtually no customer service: in-game petitions for assistance routinely last for twelve hours or longer without being responded too, and more often than not are deleted with no notification, and no reason given as to why. To compound problems, The developer FunCom openly admitted on their official forums that the majority of customer service (both in-game and moderators on their web forums) currently consists of volunteers.

A fair warning to anyone thinking about purchasing this game. Buyer beware.

Hellgate: London: Windows

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pervasive (you can verify this by visiting Funcom's official forums for Age of Conan). I attempted to use two separate high-end systems, both different architectures: one has an AMD 64 bit CPU, quad core, with a NVidia video card, the other is a dual core Intel-based system with an ATI video card. The Intel system runs Windows XP Pro SP2 and has 3.5 GB of RAM. The AMD system runs Vista Premium and has 4 GB of RAM. Both video cards are current generation, and are capable of running other modern games at the highest settings without issue. I tried running the client with my drivers and firmware fully up to date, attempted using different versions, and a wide variety of other modifications, but could never run the game with any semblance of stability. To qualify, I am a very well paid IT worker with over ten years of experience. I am currently a network engineer and work with everything from storage area networks to basic system analysis and administration for Netware and Windows servers (and occasionally Linux). I know full well what I'm doing.



Next, regarding the advertising of the product: Age of Conan is missing much of what is promised on the box, including technical features such as DirectX 10 (if you're not tech saavy, DirectX is an "application programming interface" for mutlimedia - graphics and audio. DirectX 10 is the latest and greatest version). DirectX 10 offers more powerful visual effects and cleaner, more detailed graphics. This game only supports DirectX 9. Large scale player-versus-player combat is not fully implemented. End-game "raiding" (content meant for large groups of players) is generally inaccessible to the average player. More on lacking features later.



Regarding game play: The virtual game world is not well realized. Many of the zones (sections of the virtual world) you adventure within may look large and expansive, but only a very small area is actually navigable; you are confined by invisible barriers into very small, track-like spaces. And unlike other MMO's where players can travel freely through an immersive persistent world, Age of Conan is heavily "instanced". That is, only a small number of people can be in any zone at the same time. When more players try to enter zone a new instance is created, which is a copy of the zone in which a set number of players are allowed into. So, although there may be 80 people in one zone, there may be four instances of that zone with only 20 players in each (I'm using arbitrary numbers as an example, it varies by zone).



Again, back to content: the game is very light on this. Aside from the very polished starting area that guides you through your first 19-20 levels, there isn't many fun and compelling activities. The quests are very formulaic and pedestrian (kill x amount of y, bring them to me), and quickly dissapear at higher levels, forcing players to "grind" (repeatedly killing the same creatures over and over again, for hours, to advance in the game). The crafting system, a staple of the MMO genre, is severely lacking. It does not reward appropriately for time spent, feels largely incomplete, and for lack of a better word is terribly boring. The developer is constantly making adjustments to how the character classes function, which is frustrating to players as they are forced to keep "respeccing" (modifying the abilities of their character skills), which costs money. Accruing money consumes considerable time. You get the picture. Many core game mechanics, such as character stats (think the standard Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom...) do not actually work. All of the gear your characters can use look similar, typically some form of a kilt, and is some hue of brown 99% of the time (I promise you I am not exaggerating). I could literally go on all day in this section. Suffice to say the game isn't very fun, as much of it is missing or does not function correctly.



And finally, there is virtually no customer service: in-game petitions for assistance routinely last for twelve hours or longer without being responded too, and more often than not are deleted with no notification, and no reason given as to why. To compound problems, The developer FunCom openly admitted on their official forums that the majority of customer service (both in-game and moderators on their web forums) currently consists of volunteers.



A fair warning to anyone thinking about purchasing this game. Buyer beware.

Mass Effect: Windows

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for every NPC and character that talks to you. How many times have we played a game where only some of characters are voice-acted? Oblivian comes to mind. How good is the voice acting? If you know your Star Trek you might just recognize some of the voices! They used more than a few proffesional actors and it showed.

Graphics are actually quite stunning. People complain that there are glitches and sure, there are. However, the body motions, skin tones, facial expressions and fluid movement of the characters blows something like Oblivian out of the water. The aliens and people 'look' real and they move in a more graceful manner than the characters of other games. Lips don't quite match up to speech and I think that's gaming's next big challenge.

Buggy? A bit, squad controls are difficult to use and your friendly AI aren't the brightest lot. There are some graphic glitches but nothing that makes the game unplayable.

Combat? Similar to other bioware games. However they really went for ranged combat over melee and did their best to have cover and move and fire tactics. Does it work? No. The AI (enemy and friendly) aren't bright enough to use the environment as well as you can. Or even close for that matter. Your own character can get a bit confused to. Many a time I was knelt, with my back to a wall, only for the enemy to flank the wall and not show up on my hud as a potential target until I detached myself from over.

Replayability? The game has plenty of venues to visit, but you see most of it all the first time through. No major changes in storyline besides following the Paragon or Renegade path either and maybe a few subplot tweaks. Some may want to play the game again as a different class, but I don't think that alone would inspire me. The game isn't 'sandbox' enough for me to play more than twice.

Rated M! Wow...talk about overkill. Blood? Hardly any gore compared to most games. Nudity? Ummm, I think a Pert shower commercial shows just as much. Language? Nothing that matches up to late night tv. Violence? Ok, plenty of that. I don't mind when games get the M rating, but if they do then I sure wish they would make the game for the older audience. Don't dumb things down for the young teens! Mass Effect, for all its 'M' rating, is a game directed at the teen crowd. It isn't dark, it isn't complex, and the sex is so mild you have to wonder why the 'panic' over it. I think the gaming industry has to learn how to do an M game. The Witcher, there's an M game! Grand Theft Auto, also M...and played by young teens (sigh). Mass Effect...how it ranks into the same field as those two is beyond me.

DRM? So apparently I can only play this game if I'm online and ask Bioware if it is 'ok' to play. Hmmm, so I can't play this if my internet connection goes down, can't play this on a laptop, on say an airplane, and in a few years I may not be able to play it at all? That's a pity and software companies need a better way to protect against piracy than to punish honest buyers. It's my game, I bought it, it isn't an online game, ergo I shouldn't have to be online to play it.

Pros: The game tries to immerse a player into a science fiction film, and I think they did a great job with the tools at hand. They wanted to tell a story and did a fine job of it, and the graphics surely enhanced said story!

Cons: Combat AI is pretty terrible. DRM makes me suspicious. M for mature when it isn't.

Worth $50? Mmmm, yeah. You do get a fair ammount of gameplay out of it even if you only play once. I think if it drops to $39.99 it's a steal!

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties Expansion Pack: Windows

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the British). If you already have a British city - create a Japanese one just to try them out, you won't be disappointed. This expansion pack adds a ton of units and options to purchase while playing. Get it!

Colorvision S3P100 Datacolor Spyder 3 Pro - Windows Macintosh

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the British). If you already have a British city - create a Japanese one just to try them out, you won't be disappointed. This expansion pack adds a ton of units and options to purchase while playing. Get it!

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 with SiteAdvisor - 3 User-VIRUSSCAN PLUS SUB MINI-BOX 3U CROM

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perhaps the feature of this version that I like most is the Site Advisor feature (something not found in free scanners). What this does is pre-scan all the webpages you are going to against a central database and lets you know if virus or spyware problems have been found on those pages. This is particularly useful for people who are not familiar with more advanced methods for avoiding suspect websites. However, this feature is somewhat problematic because on two of my older systems it significantly slowed Internet Explorer 7 (though it did not slow down Firefox 3 at all).

Also useful is the Easy Networking tool that is included. This allows you to see a map of your network and to see the status of the McAfee software on each. It does not use anything more sophisticated than a Windows Workgroup but it makes it easier to set up and use a home network to share printers and files. However, I recommend caution setting up a network using this tool if you also have a wireless router. It may or may not warn you about setting up strong encryption on your router to prevent people from logging on to your home network and viewing your network shares.

Overall I feel pretty good about this software and I plan to leave it on all three computers. I'm not entirely sure I'll renew the license in a year but I suppose I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 with SiteAdvisor - 3 User-VIRUSSCAN PLUS SUB MINI-BOX 3U CROM

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perhaps the feature of this version that I like most is the Site Advisor feature (something not found in free scanners). What this does is pre-scan all the webpages you are going to against a central database and lets you know if virus or spyware problems have been found on those pages. This is particularly useful for people who are not familiar with more advanced methods for avoiding suspect websites. However, this feature is somewhat problematic because on two of my older systems it significantly slowed Internet Explorer 7 (though it did not slow down Firefox 3 at all).



Also useful is the Easy Networking tool that is included. This allows you to see a map of your network and to see the status of the McAfee software on each. It does not use anything more sophisticated than a Windows Workgroup but it makes it easier to set up and use a home network to share printers and files. However, I recommend caution setting up a network using this tool if you also have a wireless router. It may or may not warn you about setting up strong encryption on your router to prevent people from logging on to your home network and viewing your network shares.



Overall I feel pretty good about this software and I plan to leave it on all three computers. I'm not entirely sure I'll renew the license in a year but I suppose I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade with Service Pack 1: Windows

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you a clue as to the holes in their programming, you will find out when you load the DVD. Good luck.

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 with SiteAdvisor - 3 User-VIRUSSCAN PLUS SUB MINI-BOX 3U CROM

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you a clue as to the holes in their programming, you will find out when you load the DVD. Good luck.

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 with SiteAdvisor - 3 User-VIRUSSCAN PLUS SUB MINI-BOX 3U CROM

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you a clue as to the holes in their programming, you will find out when you load the DVD. Good luck.

McAfee VirusScan Plus 2008 with SiteAdvisor - 3 User-VIRUSSCAN PLUS SUB MINI-BOX 3U CROM

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a little bit, but the protection is comprehensive.

I have noticed that McShield much faster than Symantic in On-Access scanning
* Easy to share : A 3-user license is very easy to share, you get to create an online account with McAfee with which you can download the latest version of antivirus on any computer and install it

Prosoft Manufacturing Drive Genius 2 - Macintosh

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a little bit, but the protection is comprehensive.



I have noticed that McShield much faster than Symantic in On-Access scanning

* Easy to share : A 3-user license is very easy to share, you get to create an online account with McAfee with which you can download the latest version of antivirus on any computer and install it

The Sims 2 Double Deluxe: Windows

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a little bit, but the protection is comprehensive.





I have noticed that McShield much faster than Symantic in On-Access scanning


* Easy to share : A 3-user license is very easy to share, you get to create an online account with McAfee with which you can download the latest version of antivirus on any computer and install it

Cars: Mater-National: Windows

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a little bit, but the protection is comprehensive.







I have noticed that McShield much faster than Symantic in On-Access scanning



* Easy to share : A 3-user license is very easy to share, you get to create an online account with McAfee with which you can download the latest version of antivirus on any computer and install it

Diablo Battle Chest: Mac/Windows

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installation through the games graphics menu (which looks quite sharp in a separate, smaller window), however pre-installation it only says it gives you 600 x 400 as being available.
Anyway, I wish I had known that before trying and failing 3 different downloads, so I thought I'd pass it along.

Battlefield 2142: Deluxe Edition: Windows

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that an awesome game. The titan mode is the real winner here. I have been involved in some serious fights around and inside the Titan for supermacy. You have 14 maps of intense battles and the game rewards the players who played the most with more effective weapons as well as armor unlocks and a persistent talent system. I will however, seriously recommend all newbies(until you have unlocked some weps and armor too) to stick with armored vehicles and only try to engage one-on-one if you have the advantage or are in a group. Otherwise you will be relentlessly farmed by players who have uber weapons than you for a very long time.

iWork: Mac

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It's competent and works like most other Apple programs. This is the Apple equivalent to Microsoft Excel
-Keynote is the best application of the suite. It is a powerful presentation design program that is not only on par with, but superior to Microsoft Powerpoint, which it is aimed at. If you want an idea of what it can do, just watch any of Steve Job's keynote addresses to see a good presentation in action. He uses Keynote, too.

Cons:
-Generally speaking, if you are familiar with MS Office programs (as I am), you'll have a bear of a time migrating over to iWork. Apple has its own version of what is logical in the interface, and though I can't say if it's better or worse, it's definitely different and hard to navigate for an MS Office veteran. If you're new to such programs, though, it's probably more intuitive.
-Pages is a little light on features and flexibility. This offers a simpler user interface, but also means you lose a lot of power that the professional grade MS Word offers. It also has a lot of trouble importing anything but the most simplistic Word documents and doesn't appear to be compatible with Office 2008 for Mac yet (I'm not sure about Office 2007 for Windows, though).
-Numbers is the weakest program in the suite. It's not really usable in a standard office practice as it lacks so many features and capabilities that have been in Excel for generations. It's more-or-less a sort of placeholder until Apple decides it really wants to be in the Enterprise market. Few home users will bother learning to use a spreadsheet program of any type unless they have to. This is more of an afterthought.
-Keynote is the jewel of the set. It's only real weakness is that it will ruin you on Microsoft Powerpoint if you ever have to go back or have to export your presentation into Powerpoit format. That's the Achilles' Heel of Keynote is the lack of widespread use anywhere. Industry doesn't use it. Education doesn't use it. Heck, even hotels and conference rooms don't use it. You have to bring your own Mac if you really want to use it.

Overall, this is a great suite for the money, but can't really compete with its entrenched and much more mature Microsoft counterparts (except for Keynote). This is a must-have if you use your Mac for anything productive, especially if your budget is a bit tight.