Day: November 7, 2012

Why do you hate Windows 8?

Posted on by Nimgimli

I’m seeing a lot of comments around the social networks from people who seem really passionate in their hatred for Windows 8.

I’ve been running it on my laptop since it launched and on my desktop (which I use for probably 12 hours a day) since last weekend, and I’m really quite pleased with Microsoft’s new OS so far. I find it to be much faster in terms of UI response, and I think the Start Screen is a huge improvement over the Start Menu (finding things on my system is way faster with the Start Screen than it was with the Start Menu, and popping open the Start Screen feels faster then opening the Start Menu), though I can still just use Fences on my Desktop if I prefer. I also am thrilled that I can have different task bars on each of my two monitors, and though this isn’t really critical, I’m happy to be able to run different desktop wallpaper on each monitor.

What’s really odd is I find I use the mouse less than I did in Windows 7. Sure Windows 8 works great with a touchscreen (well, I’m assuming that…haven’t tried it myself) but there are enough keyboard shortcuts that navigating around has me using the mouse less than I ever did (it could be many of these keyboard shortcuts always existed and I never bothered to learn them).

Anyway, like I said I see a lot of “Windows 8 sucks!” level comments but few of them with actual reasons why. I’d love to hear why people are switching to, or threatening to switch to, Ubuntu (good choice!) or Mac (awful choice!) because of the new OS.

Is Molyneux’s Curiosity the next Cow Clicker?

Posted on by Nimgimli

Does Molyneux’s Curiosity remind anyone else of Ian Bogost’s Cow Clicker? I haven’t played either, mind you. I just can’t get past thinking Molyneux is somewhere laughing his head off at everyone playing his new “game” (which, as I understand it, consists of tapping on a single, shared giant cube to erode it away until someone, somewhere, reveals the “secret” inside, which I predict is going to be “Remember to drink your Ovaltine”).

If you’re not familiar with Cow Clicker, it’s kind of a parody of Facebook games. You have a cow and you can click on it once every 6 hours to earn clicks. You can read more about it at Bogost’s post but essentially he is (I think, don’t mean to put words in his mouth) illuminating how little game there is (or was, times are a’changing) in Facebook games.

Molyneux’s title is getting press everywhere because he’s Molyneux I guess. And because he talks a good game (pun most definitely intended). So we get quotes like:

�The concept is, �Is the power of Curiosity enough to drive the world?,�� Molyneux explained, describing Curiosity�s conceptual origins. �Because now, mobile connects people together in a way we�ve never been able to before to solve a mystery and the mystery is what is hidden inside this big, black cube. Initially it�s black, but as it gets chipped away, there are going to be many images that are going to be coming across the cube, but what you do essentially is just chip away. Is just the power of mystery enough to drive people to find out what�s in the center?�

(From With Curiosity, Peter Molyneux Explores Whether A Cube Can Capture The World�s Attention over at TechCrunch.)

What really fascinates me is that you can spend real money on tools that help you erode the cube faster. I’d love to know how many people are spending money on this stuff. There’s a Diamond Chisel that apparently sells for the equivalent of $80,000 and I’m sure it’s in there as a lark. An Iron Chisel costs the equivalent of $8 and lets you destroy nine chunks at a time for 5 minutes. Pricey stuff. (Data lifted from The hidden truth of enigmatic experimental game Curiosity at VentureBeat.)

You can get Curiosity on Android and iOS, I’m told. Consider it an opinionated decision that I’m not going to bother to provide links to it. I kind of hate that this game exists, for reasons that I haven’t quite figured out yet.