Tuesday, September 15, 2009

MAG Beta

I have been invited to help test the new Playstation 3 game MAG which is still in beta. MAG is a 256-player First-Person Shooter. I'm downloading the game client as I write this and will update this blog as I play it. I'm Aware of the nondisclosure agreement and promise not to break it. I hope to file some bug reports and help Sony release a fully polished game in January 2010.

I'm excited about MAG because it resembles (in my eyes) the same atmosphere as Sony's PlanetSide. That game had good potential but died after the introduction of mechs.


I leave you with a video development diary of MAG, previously known as Massive Action Game.


Monday, September 07, 2009

Ubuntu is the Best Windows!

I took my nephew shopping for a laptop. And of course I want to let him use Linux. I formatted the laptop and installed Ubuntu and did everything in my power to change the look of Ubuntu to look like Windows. Now he uses it thinking its Windows, and that's a good thing. Now he has everything he expects in a computer, without windows and without viruses. He is very happy with it. I'll explain how to do it here.



How to make Ubuntu Linux look like Windows XP or Vista for your children:

  1. Install Ubuntu
  2. Install Ubuntu Tweak and Ultimatix
  3. Using Ultimatix, install extra fonts, extra themes, wine, wine doors, aMSN, Google Earth, media codecs, VLC, and all the games (don't install ultimate edition themes)
  4. Using Add/Remove utility, install all educational and games packages, and Cheese program too. (don't install games over 100MB)
  5. Remove the top Gnome panel and change the lower panel to look like Windows' task bar (like the screenshot above)
  6. Apply the Mythbuntu theme (comes from step 3 above) with a black background
  7. Using Ubuntu Tweak, lock down all Gnome panels and enable desktop icons for My Computer, Home Folder, Trash, and Network.
  8. For Firefox, install Flash plug-in and Adblock Plus add-on. And add bookmarks for your kids favorite sites.
That's it. You now have a Windows laptop without Windows. and everything should just-work. Now re-wrap the laptop and give it to your kid.

I expect that later on I'll show him how to change themes and get rid of the windows look once and for all.

Also, you can change Ubuntu to look like a Mac!! but no kids use Macs anyway.