The Past (Abandonware), The Present (MMOGs) and The Future (Wii) of Gaming

Last week I started 3 new blogs and have even added links to them from the main page, but haven't actually told you about them. The three webistes are MMO Today, Daily Abandonware (Screenshot below) and Wii Insider. As you can see, they are all gaming-related. Here you will find the latest news about your favourite game type. You will also find videos made by the gaming community to show you what other people are doing to make the most of the same hobby that you have.



The new websites are made possible by means of new program code (currently titled BlogPost) that I have recently written which makes sure to find news updates and keep everything in place. So far it is looking good, and I have had some positive comments about the blogs already. I even got praised by a game developer for coming up with the idea behind these websites.

Refurbished Shopping Store

I have just finished editing the stores pages with some new layouts and the latest product updates. Should be easier for you to get around the malls now.

Shop safely!

Top 10 Software for the Vista Developer

Earlier this week I told you about how I am enjoying my experience with Windows Vista, but haven't actually told you what software I am currently running for software and web development. What I will do now is to list the 10 best programs which I use regularly that actually work on Vista succesfully.

1. Google's Gmail

Google's Gmail has become an essential service for me. It has its limitations, but it also has one big advantage; you can carry around and read your virtual mailbox from everywhere. And with 6 Gigs of storage (and growing) there's enough space for the most active of e-mail users.


2. Mozilla's Firefox

Since Vista already comes with an excellent browser in the form of Internet Explorer 7, I wanted to give you another browsing option. Both IE7 and Firefox are valid alternatives. Firefox has been the better browser for a number of years, but IE7 has improved a lot. At this point I'm really undecided if one of them is far better than the other. All I can say is that Firefox conforms to the web standards better, and IE deviates a bit. In fact if you are developing for the web, you have to install both programs to test how your pages perform on each one before posting on the Internet.


3. Microsoft's Visual Studio 2008 Express Edition

If you still haven't got your hands dirty with the 2008 editions of C#, Visual Basic and Visual Web Developer, now is the time to do so. Moreover Microsoft is offering you to start learning one of these languages for free with the Express Editions. In fact, you can develop fully blown programs and websites with them. You have the latest development tools at your fingertips, so now there's no excuse to start working on that old idea.


4. Helios' Textpad

If you don't plan to develop for Microsoft's .net and ASP.net platforms only, you will also need another development platform. I know there's stuff like Netbeans for Java and so on, but when it comes to other languages like Java and PHP I prefer a quick and simple editor. Textpad is one program that I have been using for these two years, and I have brought it along on Vista. Textpad allows you to try it for free, and registration costs $33, although in my opinion $10 less would be a fairer price.


5. Adobe's Dreamweaver

If you want to use Dreamweaver you have to buy it, but rest assured that there isn't a better website development environment around. Nothing comes even close. Looking at Dreamweaver for the first time might be intimidating, but start using it and your production will start increasing immediately.


6. Antonio Da Cruz's Photofiltre

When it comes to quickly editing a picture before posting it onto a website or blog, nothing beats this program. Yes Photofiltre is quick, simple and also manages to obtain decent results with modified JPEG images. Avoid this free program at your own risk.


7. Sun's OpenOffice

I don't even remember when I last used Microsoft's Office suite. I have been completely converted to OpenOffice, which is nothing less than a free alternative. And with the confusing 2007 layout of Microsoft's product, installing OpenOffice on Vista brought a sigh of relief.


8. Microsoft's SyncToy
Unlike most people that compile these kind of lists, I don't have a grudge against Microsoft and I dutifully praise them when they do good things. For free! And SyncToy is such a good thing. This tiny package copies any file modifications on one disk to other disks that you specify. I use it mostly to keep all my website code, program sources, important documents and school assignments the same both on my portable and fixed disks. In this way I have the latest version of my files wherever I go, and a safe copy back home.


9. IAC Search & Media's Bloglines

Development work does not always mean sitting down and writing code all day. Many times it also means sitting down and reading news about what other people are coming up with to solve their problems. I started with Bloglines all those years ago during the RSS boom. Although there may be better alternatives out there and I have tried some of them, so far none has convinced me enough to switch. So daily Bloglines it is.


10. Syntax Rebels' Mass Text Replacer

I could not end this list before mentioning my own Mass Text Replacer. I have worked on the program to make sure that it supports Windows Vista. If you have a lot of pages that need any kind of text modification, you cannot live without Mass Text Replacer. And at $15.45 it's a steal.

Moving to Vista

I'm now happily working and blogging on my new home computer running Windows Vista. But how did this happen you may ask?

Well, I had used Vista before, during Beta 2 and RC1 to be exact. As a developer I had to test my software to see how it behaved on this new operating system. And it behaved pretty much as desired. So that was good.

When Vista was officially released, I didn't make the jump immediately. I heard a lot of complaints about incompatability, and I had a lot of software on my XP machine that I did not want to lose. So I waited.

Last week however, my home computer's motherboard died. So I went to buy a new one. And at the shop there was an offer to buy Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic on discount. So I bought it.

Then I bought a hard disk to get a dual operating system choice. I think I still would need XP sometimes. Anyway, Windows Vista actually installed better with the new motherboard than XP did. All the drivers except for the LAN adapter installed automatically. With Windows XP I had to install all the drivers, and there were above 100 updates downloaded from Microsoft's website to bring the system up to date.

Now I have been using Vista for 4 days, and I can say that I am quite happy with it. All the work I do at home (software, web development and blogging) is working wonders. The only fault I have so far is that the CD player is not working with Audio CDs, and with XP it's fine. I still have to check and find what is happening, for now I have to work in silence...

Command And Conquer: Generals on Classic Game Guides

I have completed the fact page for Command & Conquer: Generals on the classic gaming website. This game has kept me playing for a long time and was one of the best real time strategy games of yesteryear.

Set in a modern day scenario, you can choose between one of three factions in campaign mode. Each army has different weaponry at its disposal, but it's ultimately the quickest and most aggresive general that wins.

Now I have prepared the complete storyline with screenshots and even saved game downloads for you to enjoy this game more. Anytime you want.

BOTS Weekend Event

I know I'm telling you this on the last day of the event, but don't forget that there are bonus treasure chests and double points this weekend at Bots!!. This is the best day anyway as it is Sunday and you still have one whole day to play.

For those who don't know, Bots!! is a free arcade massively multiplayer online RPG that puts a team of players together in a hectic battlefield against computer robots and in a competition for who gets the most points. Your Robots can be customised with various body parts. Players can get them through item drops, which are in fact dropped by defeated enemies, or from the Acclaim shop.

Good luck in obtaining as much bounty as you can!

E-mail is Evil

Is everyone experiencing a sudden surge of spam, or is it just me that is getting inundated with trash? I don't know, all of a sudden I have above 7000 e-mails in my spam folder, and I do try to delete them regularly.



I always made it a point to check all spam messages whenever I had some spare time, because there is always the odd good message that slips in there. And it may be from a client that needs some help. However, I just cannot keep up. The more messages I delete, the more they come!

At least there's always something in life that enlightens your mood with some unexpected humour. Gmail for example, persists on inviting me to buy some spam imperial tortilla sandwiches. I have to agree that with a full stomach the world becomes a better place, so cut each roll in half and start serving.