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Welcome back, real books, I’ve missed you
To be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve picked up a book. When I got my iPad I was surprised at how quickly I traded books in for eBooks as I’ve always been a proponent of the “Nothing can replace holding a physical book in your hands” mentality.
However after a few eBooks read on the iPad, I kind of seemed to lose interest in reading anything at all, which was unusual for me. Do eBooks devalue the appreciation behind reading somehow?
This past weekend I spent a couple of hours at Borders in the city as I had free time between that morning’s errand at the Apple store and meeting my friend Ellen that afternoon. I picked up a book, bought a coffee from the in-store Gloria Jeans, and started reading. When I finished my coffee I moved to the lower ground floor, where armchairs were scattered between shelves of books. It’s like the urge to read gripped me once more! This felt different to reading on my iPad. Reading an ebook, for me, is just something you do. The book may be excellent and I certainly get through books quicker when I read them as eBooks – but holding this physical book in my hands wasn’t just about getting through the text or finding out the story; it was an entire experience.
It very much helped that the book itself sucked me in from the very first page (The Passage by Justin Cronin, which I’ll write a review of when I finish). When it was time to go I purchased the book and now all I can think about is reading more and more of it.
Now that I think back on it I’m reminded of the scene I read in The Neverending Story by Michael Ende (translated by Ralph Manheim) years ago, one of the most memorable things I’ve ever read that left a lasting impression on me through the years – the scene of boy making a nook for himself in his school’s attic and hiding out there through the day and night as it rained outside, reading this book. He was immersed in his own world – adventuring through Fantastica, fighting glorious battles, and meeting fantastic creatures. The outside world and the ordinary people in it were forgotten and disappeared as he went deeper and deeper into his adventure. I think the movie based on The Neverending Story book really depicted this scene beautifully and recreated that same feeling that I got from the book. Then again this was years ago, so my mind’s probably embelished the scene. When I read a book, I always dream about having that kind of experience – holed up somewhere quiet, or curled up in a corner near a window in a cozy armchair with a quilt or blanket keeping me warm, just reading for days on end. Unfortunately I don’t think anything will be able to match the awesome impression that the scene in The Neverending Story made on me, but I compare everything to it.
No Safari, No Service!
One of the most ‘wtf’ conversations I’ve had in a while was a couple of weeks ago with a guy from the Perth Apple store.
I called up the Apple store to ask how many iPhone 4s they have in stock. When the guy on the other line became aware that the reason for my asking is because I needed to exchange my faulty iPhone 4, he said that I’d need to make an appointment with the Genius Bar online. So, a little confused but optimistic, I go online at lunch time to make my appointment. Unfortunately the booking page won’t open and comes up blank in both IE and Firefox, so I call the Apple store again to see if I can make an appointment over the phone (the following isn’t a word-for-word exact copy of what was said, just how I remember it):
Me: I just called up about exchanging my faulty iPhone 4 and was told to make an appointment online, but the booking page is blank when I try it in IE and Firefox, can I make an appointment over the phone?
Apple guy: Oh yeah, our site was really made to work with Safari. Firefox has a bug with our site.
Me: Um..o-k…soooo…
Apple guy: Yeah, do you have a Mac available?
Me: Not at the moment…
Apple guy: Oh that’s ok, you can download a PC version of Safari online.
Me: heh…I need to download a new web browser to be able to make an appointment to return my faulty device?
Apple guy: *pause* Oh, no..I can do it over the phone for you.
Me: Yeah that’d be great, thanks.
Unfortunately when he tried to make an appointment on his end the system turned out to be down and he said he’d have to call me back :S. The guy was really nice the whole time, I think their processes are just a bit..weird. On my way home from the city I ended up just walking in and they fit me in, my iPhone was exchanged straight away. Unfortunately the new iPhone had one of the same issues as the original one I bought on launch date, so I had to return it again this past Saturday. Thankfully this one is all good so far!
Grrrrrr – AUTOSAVE! AUTOSAVE!
I really hate it when games become a chore. Maybe that’s why I got bored with World of Warcraft so quickly – it felt more like a chore than a fun thing to do. It is also why I quit Mass Effect – after spending somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour fighting to finally get to the end of the winding road that I had to drive over I reached the final cutscene just to find myself dead within five seconds.
That’s fine, I thought. It’ll just restart me back at the cutscene.
That’s not what happened. I found myself back at the very beginning of the level. I didn’t have it in me to go through that entire thing again, left the game, and every time I thought about going back to it I had the mental image of having to go through that entire level all over again.
Don’t get me wrong – it’s not that I think games shouldn’t be challenging or hard or even frustrating sometimes. But the mechanics of the gameplay isn’t what should frustrate me as the player. If anything should frustrate me or prove challenging it should be part of the in-game role I assume or figuring out that puzzle or level. I don’t mind being frustrated by other players or characters. I don’t mind being challenged by bosses or other in-game situations.
What I do mind is being forced out of the world I’m currently immersed in. Taking me back to the beginning of the level that took me at least half an hour to get through is like pressing the rewind button, or skipping a record back to the beginning. In that instance, it wasn’t interaction with anything in the game that was annoying and frustrating to me as a character, or a person acting out this story – it was the mechanic of the game, not the world, and it made me angry as the player of the game.
I didn’t go through that level in the first place because I thought it was just the awesomest experience ever and wanted to do it over and over again – I don’t want to drive up the same fricking mountain for half an hour twice in a row – that’s not fun. I just wanted to get to the end and continue along the storyline.
I admit – I should have saved the game manually when I had a chance. Silly me, assuming that a cutscene would mean an autosave. I’ve learned my lesson for next time. However, I think that whoever decided that if the player dies at the very end of that level they’ll go back to the very beginning instead of starting back at the cutscene made a bad choice.
Every responsible business owner should have a pet
I’ve been so busy with Techalite lately that the only thing that’s been able to drag me away from work are my dog and the rainbow lorikeet we found injured on the road. I’m of the opinion that every responsible small business owner could benefit from owning a pet. I found out first hand how easy it is to get sucked into working on your business – working on clients, networking, participating in small business forums, working on your own site, writing, and the endless array of other tasks that just never end – and never actually take time to relax and do something that doesn’t involve your work; or heck, even do nothing for a change.
I know that every evening as I’m link building or writing or doing one of the other gazillions of things to do I need to stop and take my dog for a walk, and to give attention and play with the little rainbow lorikeet. My pets rely on me to take care of them and keep them happy, so they can make me shut the laptop and take a break from work like no one else can.
Keep in mind I’m not recommending every business owner to run out and get a pet now – the key here I think is responsible. Too many people would get a pet, pay attention to it for the first few days, weeks, maybe a couple of months, and then forget that it needs ongoing care and attention – not just a food bowl set in front of it once a day.
And now, I finally took some photos of the new addition – the rainbow lorikeet we found. Here they are!
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- Lorikeet’s new cage
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- Lorikeet and I cuddling
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- Our Rainbow Lorikeet
Latest Favorite iPhone Apps
I keep finding awesome iPhone apps and meaning to write reviews about them, but something more urgent always comes up and it never ends up happening. So I figured I’d put together one post with some of my new iPhone apps which I think are pretty awesome.
Highborn – A turn-based strategy game by Jet Set Games. I used to work with the Joseph, who’s the designer there, and was so excited about this game! It didn’t let me down. You play as a knight on a mission, ridding the world of evil with your team of do-gooders. One of my favorite parts of this game has to be the dialog between characters – it’s just hilarious. I’ll write a more in-depth post about the game when I get the time. The iPad version was recently released 
Get it!
Mega Jump – A nice and simple jumping game not unlike Doodle Jump, with a few differences. Your little creature jumps to collect coins. Collecting a coin (or landing on top of one) makes you jump farther up. You tilt the iPhone to control which direction your create is jumping in. You also collect boosters and powerups or negative effects as you jump. You unlock different stages, creatures, and other goodies throughout the course of the game. I’m actually finding this game quite challening – I’m only on stage 2 and have been at it for a couple of days!
NinJump – another jumping game. You’re a ninja running up the side of a building. On the other side is another side of a building. You tap the screen to jump from one building to the other to avoid and/or kill obstacles. Successfully attacking 3 obstacles in a row gives you a temporary powerup. You can also collect shields. Pretty fun casual game.
EpicWin – a to-do app that turns your life into a role playing game. You create a character and earn XP for every chore you complete. As you complete more and more chores in different categories (like Strength, Stamina, and Intelligence) your character levels up, travels along the map, and finds loot. I have to say the actual to-do features aren’t very robust in this app yet, but the developers sound enthusiastic about updating the app and adding new features on a regular basis.