What if your wallpaper was digital?

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

So I had a random thought tonight and I figured I’d just run with it. What if there was wallpaper that was actually a think, digital, HD screen that covered the walls in the rooms of your house. And let’s say this wallpaper can connect to your computer via WiFi.

Now on your computer there’s a program in which you can enter any room in your house and click on a wall and ‘drag and drop’ designs, posters, and pictures that would all instantly appear on that wall in your house. You could change the color of your walls depending on your mood. You could change any picture ‘hanging’ on your wall whenever you felt like it. You could make ‘posters’ and drag them wherever you please. You could decorate for the holidays with ease.

How cool would it be to drag something from your computer screen and drop it onto a wall? A picture, or a movie even. Having a party? Project the iTunes visualizer onto your walls. Why not?

You’ve seen it in Sci-Fi movies. Walls that reflect the weather outside, or different scenes of nature (or cityscapes). When will it be coming to your home?

You could use projectors, but I think a thin sheet like fabric would be cool. And it should adjust to the light levels in the room as necessary and of course it should be able to be dimmed or shut off while sleeping.

So anyway, just a random train of thought I had tonight in my fatigued state. A guy can dream.

My MacBook Pro is here!

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

My 13″ MacBook Pro (also my first Mac ever) arrived after work yesterday and for the last 24 hours I’ve been in love with this beautiful machine. I intend to post some more detailed thoughts as I get to know the machine better, but for now I’ll leave you with a few (awkward) photos 🙂

13″ MacBook Pro
2.5ghz Intel i5
8GB RAM
500 GB hard drive

Chris Pirillo’s iPhone 5 unboxing

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

One of my all time favorite tech geeks, Chris Pirillo, unboxed his iPhone 5 live on YouTube today and it’s definitely worth a watch if you’re interested in the iPhone. The live stream is still going, but you’ll be able to watch the recorded version soon after it ends. At the moment the video is just over an hour, so there’s plenty of detail within.

Check it out:

The new World of Warcraft Battle Chest

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

World of Warcraft has been around for 8 years now, so it’s hard to imagine there are very many people who have yet to try the game, and yet there must still be those who are uninitiated. Blizzard already allows new players to download the client for free and play a character up to level 20 for free (probably a much better method of letting players get a taste of WoW compared to the old 14 day trials that got me hooked). Today, however, Blizzard took their efforts to hook new players even further:

The new World of Warcraft Battle Chest

The new version of Battle Chest includes WoW, The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King (the first and second expansion respectively) all for $19.99 (of course to play you still need to subscribe at $14.99/mo). But “that’s not all!”. Blizzard has made The Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King content available to all subscribers at no additional cost. That’s right, if you already own WoW Vanilla (in other words WoW but not the expansions) and are a subscriber (or become a subscriber I presume) you will not have to purchase anything more and will be able to play the game to level 80 without any restrictions.

This deal should certainly appeal to new players and those who have tried WoW but never had a desire to purchase the expansions. Simply subscribe to the game and you can continue questing from level 50-80 at no additional cost (beyond the subscription fee of course).

Should new players then want to venture further they will still need to purchase Cataclysm (the third expansion) for $39.99 (price may drop sometime after the release of Mists of Pandaria), and WoW’s fourth expansion, Mists of Pandaria, which releases Tuesday 9/25 for $39.99.

Guild Wars 2 now on Mac!

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

My first MacBook is set to arrive in the mail Friday and now I’m even more excited because not only will I be able to play World of Warcraft and Diablo III on it without running bootcamp or an emulator, but I’ll now also be able to try out Guild Wars 2!

Yesterday it was announced on the Guild Wars website that Guild Wars 2 is now playable on Macs in beta form. Anyone who has purchased Guild Wars 2 can now download the Mac client. It’s in beta because the software hasn’t been finalized, however it’s a step in the right direction to release a Mac client so soon after the game’s release. Can’t wait to give it a try.

Humble Bundle 6, great deal!

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

If you don’t know what the ‘Humble Bundle‘ is, let me briefly explain. It’s a bundle of indie games where YOU decide what you pay for a bundle of 5 quality games and the money goes to charity (EFF and Child’s Play) and the game developers. Not only do you decide what you pay, you also decide how much of what you pay goes to charity and how much goes to the developers.

The Humble Bundle is always a great deal, but Humble Bundle 6 looks to be one of the best yet, mainly because it includes Torchlight. When Torchlight first came out on the PC it was $20 for early supporters and something like $30 after that (I believe). It also sold for $15 on Xbox Live Arcade and was well worth it. Torchlight is a single player game that’s very similar to Diablo and Diablo II and is actually developed by a lot of guys who worked on Diablo.

In addition to Torchlight you get 4 other games with any contribution. The titles are Rochard, Shatter, S.P.A.Z., and Vessel. However if you pay more than the average contribution (currently $5.71) you get a 6th title, Dustforce.

The games are DRM free, multiplatform, and are also available through Steam (with a contribution of at least $1).

You also get the soundtracks for 5 of the games with your contribution.

Check out the trailer for Humble Bundle 6 below:

Decided to go Mac

Posted on by GumballsPlaysGames

So I’ve been a Windows PC user for my entire life. The only time I ever used a Mac was in Elementary school computer classes (ancient Macintosh machines) and typing class in middle school (colorful iMacs). I had always admired Macs, Apple and the wonderful story of Steve Jobs’ rise, fall and rise again (Pirates of Silicon Valley has long been one of my favorite movies, and Walter Isaacson’s biography is a wonderful read. I also enjoy Wozniak’s iWoz). The first Apple product I ever owned was an iPod video which I received in 2005, and it totally changed my life…Sort of. I mean I had been using a portable CD player all through high school and had to carry around a bulky CD holder filled with discs I’d burn just about every week as my musical tastes fluctuated.

The second Apple product I’ve purchased was an iPhone 4 which I bought the day I graduated basic training while on base liberty (October 2011). I had previously used a ‘dumb’ phone (Motorola Razr) and an almost smart phone (have no clue what it was, but it had a slide out keyboard and internet access at least). The iPod completely revolutionized how I listened to music, and likewise the iPhone totally changed the way I used a cell phone. I love the iOS and it’s simplicity. My iPhone is going to look just like anyone else’s iPhone. I can operate and navigate any other iPhone just as easily as I can my own, and what’s available on anyone else’s iPhone is available on mine as well through the well maintained app store.

I’ve always admired Macs, ever since the first Justin Long “I’m a Mac” commercials. Likewise I think seeing Macs used by all the tech savvy and ‘cultured’ characters on TV shows and movies has planted a desire to own a Mac in my head as well. However I think what really triggered the desire to purchase a Mac has been reading Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs. I’ve always idolized Jobs, and the story of Apple fascinates me so much that it almost feels like it’s my duty to purchase and use a Mac.

There’s really nothing special about a Windows PC. There’s no standard model. You can purchase a PC from a wide variety of manufacturers and what you get will be completely different (in a sense) than what the next person gets. For many this is a good thing, however I always find myself with something less desirable, less solid, less functional than what everyone else has. I think the fact that there are really only a handful of models of Macs is appealing. I know exactly what I’m getting and I’m not going to end up with an incredibly inferior product (which I consider the Samusng RV520 laptop that I type this on to be).

Long story short, last Friday I ordered a 13″, 2.5ghz i5, 8gb RAM, 500gb hard drive MacBook Pro and it should arrive in the mail by the end of this week. I’m incredibly excited to learn a new operating system and to see just how well the computer will perform. I’ll be sure to post my thoughts as I acclimate myself to the world of Macintosh and OS X. Thanks for reading 🙂