Mac OS X

Review: Nancy Drew: Trail of the Twister for PC and Mac

KevinLeeC — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 21:29:27 -0400

After 80 years in the detective biz, you’d think that Nancy Drew was ready to hang up her magnifying glass. But if Her Interactive’s newest game is any indication, Nancy is firmly committed to living on the edge.

In Nancy Drew: Trail of the Twister, the world-famous detective goes undercover with a team of storm-chasing researchers. Nancy’s new friends are competing for a $100,000,000 prize that will be awarded to whomever can work out a foolproof way to predict tornadoes. This meteorological equivalent of the X-Prize is driving somebody to crime. The team is plagued by mysterious equipment failures so Nancy is sent in as a ringer to try to clear away the fog and get the real data. Loosely based on The Mystery of Tornado Alley (Nancy Drew #155), Trail of the Twister presents players with interesting puzzles, intriguing characters and a compelling environment.

Like most of the twenty-one previous entries in the Nancy Drew game series, Trail of the Twister uses 3D pre-rendered backgrounds and animated characters to give life to the story. From the moment Nancy arrives at the farmhouse/base-station players will get to explore a rich and convincing environment while meeting interesting characters and solving challenging puzzles. The first-person view puts the player (literally) in the story and aids in making the action immersive.

For example, as part of her assignment working on the team, Nancy has to file papers according to strange, symbol-based filing system. The instructions are presented in the form of a classic logic puzzle which players solve by manipulating file folders and labels. Although the puzzle isn’t terribly difficult, it serves as a warm-up for the challenges to come. The file folder metaphor gives the puzzle a reason to exist and feels holistically integrated into the storytelling rather than bolted-on. Similarly, another early puzzle challenges players to work out optimal coverage for a storm-warning siren system. Again, the clever us of theme serves to reinforce the game rather than detract from it.

On a larger scale, Nancy also has to solve the mystery and this involves meeting and interacting with a wide variety of interesting characters. The voice acting is surprisingly strong, which serves to punch up the emotional appeal of the game.

Nancy will also learn about tornadoes and get a chance to experience some of the most frightening weather anyone can face. The compelling setting serves as a strong backdrop to the main action of the story.

In a nod to being “player friendly” Trail of the Twister also offers two different difficulty settings -- Junior or Senior Detective -- to make the action accessible to a wider audience. It also has a “safety net” which will return players to a point before their fatal mistake.

In short, Trail of the Twister is a worthy successor to the previous twenty-one adventures which have sold a total of more than eight million copies. But, in the best tradition of detective stories, Her Interactive has one more trick up its sleeve. Trail of the Twister is the first Nancy Drew game to support the Mac OS.

So, if you’re a Nancy Drew fan, a mystery fan, or just a fan of a good adventure Trail of the Twister is well worth the $19.99 price tag.

Review: Rohos Logon Key for Mac:

thehowlingwolves — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:29:07 -0500

Rohos Logon Key is a small program that runs on your Mac to lock your computer to prevent unauthorized use. The Rohos Key utilizes any USB port to secure your Mac thus providing hardware support to lock your laptop.

The security benefits are:

Automatically locking your Mac screen when the USB Key is unplugged
Two-factor authentication: PIN code + USB Key
Unlocking your Mac with a USB token is fully automatic and fast!
Regular password based login may be prohibited with “Allow to log in only by using USB Key” option

Rohos Logon Key will use the on-board serial number from any USB device to lock the Mac with a password that you define. No data is stored on the USB key so you can use any USB device mac compatible on not mac compatible.

Rohos Logon Key works with the following USB devices:

Any USB flash drive or iPod.
Bluetooth enabled mobile or iPhone.
YubiKey.
Touchatag device with RFID tags.

I have tested Rohos Logon Key with the USB flash and YubiKey's and worked very well. Once Rohos Logon Key is enabled there are 5 actions that the removal of the USB key can be set to:

Lock the desktop
Log out
Sleep
Shut Down
No Action

Once you reinsert the USB key, Rohos Logon Key will ask for a password to logon to your Mac. That's it; very simple lock and unlock. If you do forget the password and make 3 wrong attempts to enter PIN, the USB key will become blocked for logon. So you may be asking yourself, "How do I get my Mac unlocked?" There is a simple way to remove Rohos Logon Key program from your Mac by booting into safe mode and following the simple instructions on Rohos web site.

Conclusion:

For $32 Rohos Logon Key is a great simple program for locking your Mac and keeping your family off your Mac. Most proficient users could bypass the simple lock. One improvement I would like to see is the capability to register multiple USB keys for unlocking your Mac. A beefed-up security system would be useful so it isn't so easy to bypass the security.

In the Interest of Full Disclosure: We received a free copy of this for review purposes.

Review: Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer's Edition

Dale — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 07:45:59 -0500

The video game industry has become huge, a multi-billion dollar industry, far from the early days of Pong and Pac-Man. As it has blossomed, it has developed its own trends and set its own records. To commemorate the industry's various accomplishments, the Guinness Book of World Records has published a specific volume just for video games, the Guinness World Records 2010 Gamer's Edition.

Laid out in the style of most video game magazines, this full-color folio-size book features facts and records from the early days of gaming to the present. Its 216 pages offer a fun read for fans of video games and trivia. The illustrations help keep the attention of those used to short game levels. Some game facts include:

Longest delay between video game installments: 21 years, Bionic Commando
First tennis videogame: Tennis for Two, 1958
Best selling game on any platform: Sonic the Hedgehog 2

Parents will note that this book covers all video games, including M-Rated ones. Some of the illustrations depict violent scenes or characters with less-than-modest costumes, but as still images, there's nothing extremely controversial that will get this book on banned book lists. Still, you might want to leaf through it a bit before buying.

If you want your child to read or are a fan of gaming yourself, this volume offers an interesting collection of facts. If it sounds interesting to you, you'll likely enjoy it and consider it worth your $15, if you can put the controller down long enough to read it!

Video Game Gift Ideas for 2009

Dale — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:57:35 -0500

2009 saw the release of a lot of great video games, plus a few serious clunkers. While you can check out our reviews for all kinds of ideas, here are some of our favorites from the past few months that we recommend for families:

The Beatles: Rock Band: Wii, 360, PS3 (All Ages)
Band Hero: 1-4 players, Wii, 360, PS3, DS Lite (Reviews forthcoming, but both console and handheld versions come recommended)
Need for Speed Nitro: 1-4 players, Wii & DS (All ages)
DJ Hero: 1-2 Players, Wii, 360, PS3 (Tween-Adult)
Jewel Master Egypt: 1 player, DS (All ages)
LEGO Rock Band: 1-4 players, Wii, 360, PS3 (Tween-Adult) (We don't recommend the DS version)
101-in-1 Party Megamix: 1-4 Players, Wii (All ages)
System Flaw: 1 Player, DSi-only (All ages)
Medieval Games: 1-4 Players, Wii (All Ages)
Cars Race-O-Rama: 1 Player, DS (Age 7+)
The Island of Dr. Frankenstein: 1 Player, Wii (Tween & younger)
My Baby First Steps: 1 player, Wii, DS (Age 3-8)
Katamari Forever: 1-2 Players, PS3
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2: 1-4 Players (Wii, 360, PS3) (The DS version is decent but not a must-have)
Scribblenauts: 1 Player, DS
Mini Ninjas: 1 Player, All platforms (Age 10+)

Note the number of players for these games, especially if you have a large family and want something for everyone, and make sure to read the reviews to make sure it's what you're looking for.

Review: Keyboard Town PALS for Mac & PC

John Wilkerson — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 16:33:13 -0400

Keyboard Town PALS is an interactive, educational tool for teaching children ages 7-12 how to type. Through the use of associative learning, drills and speed tests are eliminated and children can learn to type words and sentences in as little as one hour without the pressure to perform.

Though I was not able to demo the entire software package, what I did see really impressed me. I put it to the ultimate test, I started using it while my children were in the other room. Before I knew it, they were asking if they could use it too.

You'd think that puppets wouldn't interest children in the 21st century but there's something magical about good puppeteering that draws in children of all ages. In fact, the voice acting and puppeteering is exceptional in this software. The reason for this is because some of the people working on this project were part of the crew of Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. The quality really shines through and really helps to make it engaging for children.

Through the associative learning system, children associate their "PALS" with keys on the keyboard. This helps them to memorize the locations of the keys much easier than rote repetition. My six year old son was more interested in the characters than typing but I could see that he was learning something despite his rapt attention on the puppets. Though his attention span is very short, I could see how 10-15 minutes a day with this tool could have him typing within a week or so.

Keyboard Town PALS comes in two flavors: an online version that can be used with any OS that has a broadband connection and a browser with the Adobe Flash player or a PC-only home version. I'd advise going with the web-based version because your children can start typing sooner. Keyboard Town PALS will have your children keyboarding their way to success.

LEGO Universe: New Images

Dale — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 21:09:57 -0400

Yes, LEGO Rock Band is due out this year, but that's not the only big LEGO game in your near future. LEGO Universe promises to take the virtual world to a new level as you build that virtual world. Including both pirates and ninjas, as well as spacescapes and many more environments, we have built a library of images for your perusal to get a taste of this new world. Visit our image gallery to piece together an understanding.

Review: Astound Sound for MAC & PC

John Wilkerson — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:13:37 -0400

Astound Sound from GenAudio promises to improve your audio experience with music, movies and games and it delivers. Since using Astound Sound I've heard things in music and movies that I didn't hear before. It totally changes the way you hear audio on your computer. For this review I've used screen shot from the Mac

Let's get the technical details out of the way first:

* Expander 2.1 runs on Macintosh and Windows, and activates through any application that produces sound.
* Virtual audio device driver that captures all audio and processes it in real-time.
* User Interface control allows you to switch listening modes on demand. Meaning you can adjust from settings that are made for music, movies and games, each with its own slider.
* Keyboard short-cuts allow you to switch between listening modes and are customizable.
* Preamp increases or decreases input gain, reducing the possibility of distortion without losing any audio quality. So you can enjoy a rich, fuller sound experience, with every part of the sound remaining crisp and clear.

Have you ever watched a movie and wished you could hear a conversation in scene that sounded muffled. Maybe you were listening to a favorite song and thought you heard a violin in there somewhere but you just weren't sure. Astound Sound takes those nuances in the audio of a game, music or movie and improves it so that your a richer experience.

Astound Sound installs easily on both Mac and PC and requires a reboot on booth platforms. Anything that produces sound on your computer passes through Astound Sound and is enhanced on the fly. Once installed all you have to do is choose a preset you prefer and listen. Astound Sound does the rest.

You'll find yourself wanting to change the setting every once in a while because not all audio is equal. That is easily done using hot-keys or a menu bar icon on the Mac or a system tray icon on the PC. I found myself playing around with it just to see how differently things would sound. Songs and movies that have had their audio tracks enhanced and layered will really pop with Astound Sound. you'll here conversations that took place in the background and in action flicks it feel like you're in the middle of the scene. While watching Back to the Future when Marty McFly went back in time it was like I was sitting in the DeLorean with him.

Astound Sound will not, however, help you if you have bad or cheap speakers. It will make things sound better but it's not a replacement for those speakers you got free with a rebate at Staples. I recommend using over-the-ear headphones as this really helps to immerse you in the audio. Also, very simple audio doesn't get enhanced much. For example, if you're listening to a podcast recorded in mono at 64kbps, you won't get that much out of the software. To truly get a full experience you need audio that has been enhanced and has enough depth for Astound Sound to pull it out.

$39.95 seems steep for software the just enhances audio so if you're not an audiophile this may not interest you. You can download the software for a 30-day trial if you need convincing and I would highly recommend doing that before you decide to purchase the software to see if it's right for you.

Overall, I found Astound Sound to be a great utility to enhance your listening experience though I think the price is a little steep.

Review: Pet Pals New Leash on Life for PC

KevinLeeC — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:30:35 -0400

The point of Legacy Interactive’s Pet Pals games is to experience life as a veterinarian. Substituting a mouse for any number of medical tools, Pet Pals New Leash on Life gives you a chance to try your hand at saving a variety of tiny lives.

Like its predecessors, Pet Pals New Leash on Life casts you in the role of a new hire at a veterinary clinic. The twist in this game is that you are at a clinic which is attached to a pet adoption center. In addition to helping cure the animals, you have to help them through the adoption process.

If the thought of jumping into the world of veterinary medicine with both feet scares you, don’t worry. Pet Pals New Leash on Life is very gentle and will guide you every step of the way if you wish. On-screen prompts tell you what tools to use and where to apply them. Clicking through the various menus and techniques is simple and quick.

One nice feature of the game is that each exam begins by offering you a chance to ask a series of questions of your Vet Tech. Presented with five possible questions, you have to select the three most relevant. So, while it pays to ask if the ailing kitten has been eating, you probably want to avoid asking about its favorite toy.

Following the interview, you’ll have a chance to wade in to the thick of it as you poke, prod, and assess your patient. Based on your findings, you’ll have to make a diagnosis and undertake a treatment plan. After you’re done, your boss will evaluate your performance.

In addition to your duties as veterinarian, Pet Pals New Leash on Life requires you to participate in “enrichment activities” with the animals up for adoption. In layman’s terms, you get to play with them and groom them and feed them. The game sets targets you have to achieve with each animal, but hitting the mark isn’t difficult. When the animal is ready for a new home, you’ll get to play an adoption mini-game to find out exactly what kind of home they’ll end up in. Oddly, even though it’s clearly tightly scripted, there is some satisfaction to placing a rescue animal with an imaginary family.

The graphics can be somewhat graphic, but never over-the-top. The animals (and people) have the smooth look of old-style CG, but the voice acting and sound effects are generally good. The pre-rendered sets look like you’d expect them to look and the animals’ movements are convincing.

There’s a little new knowledge to be gained here (and opportunities to show it off in mini-games and quizzes built into the main game) and a certain pleasure to be taken in healing the critters. While it won’t ever be mistaken for a true veterinary simulator, for the right audience -- pre-adolescent girls come to mind -- this is an entertaining diversion which is worth the modest price.

DTV Transition: Save Money on Cable or Satellite

Dale — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:30:40 -0400

Any analog TV signals that haven't shut down already will do so within the next three months. If you have a digital TV, cable, or satellite, you need not worry, and worst case, you'll need a digital converter box if you don't already have one. But if you'd like to save some money, we have some suggestions where to get your content.

We used to use Dish Network, but since they kept sending us the same replacement DVR model that had "known problems," we got tired of paying for lousy service and decided to save money by getting our TV content from alternative sources to save some money. We discussed these options in our DTV Transition show, but below, you'll find more details and links on the discussion.

Digital Over the Air

Because our house is roughly 50 miles from our local stations' towers, we needed to find a decent antenna to pull them in. Note that the satellite providers do offer package deals with just your local stations, but you'll pay at least $10/month for basic channels, plus at least $5 for HD if you have an HDTV, plus you won't get the stations' bonus channels (the .1, .2, etc. networks that offer additional programming).

Antenna

If you plan to or currently get your TV via a traditional antenna, you'll need some information before buying. First, you'll need an antenna. Your distance from your towers will determine determine what antenna you need. We still have problems, because we're unable to mount our antenna outside, but some family members have powered rabbit ears and get stations from two different cities in opposite directions, so we recommend starting inexpensive and working your way up, buying from stores that will allow you to easily return those that don't work for you.

UHF/VHF

As our NBC affiliate (VHF) prepared to switch off their analog signal, we could see that we were getting the signal clear and strong, but when they finally threw the switch to turn off analog completely, we lost the signal altogether until our 6th antenna. What happened? Before they switched, their digital signal was actually being broadcast in the UHF band, and the TV was somehow seeing it as the correct VHF channel, as it should be, but when they dropped that signal to switch to the correct VHF band, we found out that our antenna didn't do a decent job of pulling in VHF, so before you spend a lot of money on an antenna, you may want to contact any of your local stations that haven't switched over to all digital to see whether they'll be using a different frequency afterward.

IPTV

The Internet offers more video than ever before, not just limited to video sharing sites like YouTube. Most networks offer some or all of their programming online, and we've found that we actually prefer getting it online, since it has fewer ads and more choices. Instead of waiting for content to become available, just browse through the thousands of movies and shows already waiting for your view.

Hulu

Hulu.com, besides producing a hilarious Super Bowl ad, offers the largest database of online television on the Internet. Not only can you search their collection, but the collections hosted by all of the major network and cable channels. They feature current shows as well as old favorites, with hundreds of family-friendly shows, my personal favorite being ALF. If you have a slow DSL connection, start the show, pause, and wait for the cache to fill. This head start should keep you from getting stuttering pauses. If it hesitates again, pause again to fill the cache again.

Video Podcasts

TV doesn't offer the only episodic content for families, although video podcasts offer very few family-oriented shows. Most of the animated series are inappropriate for kids and geared toward college-aged boys, but a few series will interest your kids:

Animal Rescue Force Friends
FamilyFun TV
Doctor Floyd's Video Podcast
Plus a bunch of others from Nickelodeon, PBS, and Disney, although they're mostly just a collection of clips from their shows

(If you have other video podcast suggestions, leave a comment below!)

Netflix

Netflix is best known for mailing DVD's to its subscribers. Given the vast variety of movies, documentaries, and TV seasons, this alone is generally a better deal than your local rental store, but we really find value in its instant watch feature. Subscribers can watch about 20% of their available shows/movies instantly, so if your discs are both in the mail, you can still watch something on your computer or TV. Using an Xbox 360, TiVo, or other device, you can create a list of movies and shows you'd like to watch instantly, then just scroll through the list. If you have a slow internet connection (DSL), you won't be able to get HD video via instant watch, and if your connection is slow enough, the video can be downright blurry, but because the Netflix software tests your speed, you should never get choppy pauses. We use both the TiVo and Xbox 360 for this purpose, but even though the TiVo is more convenient, since most of our other shows are already there, the Xbox 360 has a more attractive interface and shows what percentage of each show you have viewed, so we use the Xbox 360 for Netflix Instant Watch.

TiVo

We bought a TiVo to work with our antenna, and the two work great together. In addition to the aforementioned Netflix integration, basic DVR functions, and recording suggested shows based on what shows you like, watch YouTube, and more. If you don't have an HDTV but want to buy a TiVo, buy an HD TiVo right away--it'll work with your SDTV, and when you're ready to upgrade to an HDTV, you'll be all set. We also recommend the Western Digital My DVR Expander Hard Drive which expands your storage capability considerably (You can use other eSATA HD's, but this one is the best price we've seen for that capacity, so it was a no-brainer for us.), and if you have a wireless home network, the TiVo Wireless G USB Network Adapter.

Xbox 360

Besides the Netflix functionality (and games, obviously), the Xbox 360 can play DVD's and stream video from your computer via your home network. The instructions give details for Windows users, and Mac users can check out our complete Xbox 360/Macintosh guide, allowing you to watch any of the movies on your computer and in your iTunes library. Note that you can't stream copy-protected video this way, like movies you download from iTunes, but see below for a solution to this.

We also recommend the Xbox 360 Universal Media Remote if you plan to use the Xbox 360 for video viewing.

AppleTV

AppleTV deserves a mention, but just barely. We recommend, instead of an AppleTV, that you just buy an Xbox 360 Arcade, saving about $25 and getting much more functionality. The only people who should get an AppleTV would be those with a lot of copy-protected video bought from the iTunes store that is stored on a desktop computer in a different room, and to those people, I recommend looking into Netflix.

Overlays

If you plan to watch a lot of online video from Hulu and other sources, you may want to check out an application that gives a better interface, the best of which appears to be Boxee. Besides giving a more intuitive interface than a web browser, Boxee also incorporates a social network-like option to share your favorite shows and recommendations with others.

The Bigger Screen: Computer to TV

We've mentioned watching TV over the Internet, but if you don't want to watch on a tiny screen, you can connect your computer to your TV directly and "mirror" the video. If you have an HDTV or other TV with a VGA port, you can connect your computer directly. Some computers (Macs, especially) will need an adapter, and if your SDTV lacks a VGA port, you'll need a VGA to RCA adapter.

Since you won't likely want to keep running over to the computer to pause and change shows, we recommend getting a wireless mouse to use as a remote. (Yes, we're just lazy that way!)

Handheld Video Out

If you have an iPod or other portable video device, you may also be able to connect it directly to your TV for viewing. The Xbox 360 can read your iPod or Zune via USB using the sync cable that came with the handheld device. You can also use a video-out cable, but you'll have to check with the manufacturer for the necessary cable. (Hint: Non-"Touch" iPods can use a standard 1/8" mini-plug-to-RCA cord like those included with most camcorders--just swap the yellow and red plugs.) This provides, incidentally, another solution to make an AppleTV unnecessary, although it requires a cord.

What's Right for Your Family?

By getting some additional equipment, you'll have a larger up-front cost, but consider what you're paying your cable or satellite provider and weigh the costs. You may just be able to drop the monthly fee and get more available video.

Let us know what solutions you've found by leaving a comment below!

Episode 62: DTV Transition

Dale — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 00:02:16 -0400

Abandoning the news for a new format, Dale and Teresa return in good health with new useful information.

DTV Transition: Spend less and get more and better video content
New Contest with a huge prize package

Feedback

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And check out the News for more news, reviews, and other content.

Next time: An interview talking about video games in school music classes

Music by Kevin McLeod