Articles by Michael Anderson




Link Between Availability and Piracy Grows Stronger at PiracyData.org

While I reject the argument that anyone is FORCED into piracy by … well, anything – I do recognize that some people want to see the latest movie as soon as it comes available for home viewing. The problem is sometimes they cannot rent or buy that movie digitally, and as a result choose to pirate rather than not watch. A new site called PiracyData.org takes the latest Bittorrent data on the most pirated films, and matches that up with the availability information from Canistream.it – which is an awesome site to check movie availability in a single location, by…




Supermarket Management for Kindle Fire FREE Today Only (10/10) !

Supermarket Management is a time-management game, meaning that you are working to accomplish numerous tasks in a certain amount of time to reach your goals and keep your customers satisfied, getting harder with each level. The game is available on multiple platforms, but for today (10/10) only it is FREE on the Amazon Appstore! Go grab it now!




Google Introduces the HP Chromebook 11

While I was unable to successfully ‘go all in’, my family absolutely loves the Samsung 11.6″ Chromebook. It is perfect for writing reports, doing email, Facebooking, and web research; it has been in constant daily use since I got it. Now Google has announced the next version of their budget laptop – the $279 HP Chromebook 11.



The Rebirth of Vinyl Continues with an Estimated 30% Growth for 2013

  While I have always been an advocate of ‘owning’ music (as opposed to stealing or streaming), I have stuck with the latest tech trends: through the years I have had 45’s, 8-tracks, LPs, cassettes, CDs and MP3s. Each has strengths and weaknesses, but I am still bemused about the recent vinyl resurgence – which continues with estimates of 30% 2013 increase! Of course it is important to remember that the top-selling vinyl album of 2012 was Blunderbuss by Jack White – and that sold 34,000 copies (yes, 34 THOUSAND) … and the second top-selling album was Abbey Road by…


Whopper of the Week – Google’s Schmidt Says ‘Android More Secure Than iOS’

  This week at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt was asked a question about Android security. Rather than answer directly, he said “Not secure? It’s more secure than the iPhone.” Perhaps unsurprisingly this drew laughter from the crowd – but he was being laughed AT, not WITH. Because it comes after a report showed >1 million Android apps had malware. The report from F-Secure showed that in 2012 Android accounted for 79% of malware and malicious attacks, up from 66% in 2011. While there is certainly some impact of the platform market share, the actual numbers are way out…



The Wonder Woman Short That Puts Hollywood to Shame

Despite the success of Lynda Carter in the 70s TV show, there has never been a Wonder Woman movie or another TV show. There was a failed attempt a couple of years ago, and the rumored Justice League movie became a ‘Man of Steel’ sequel. Now Rainfall Films gives a short look at Wonder Woman with great costumes and atmosphere.


Special Enquiry Detail 2 – Engaged to Kill for Mac Review

A few months ago I reviewed the iPad version of Special Enquiry Detail 2 – Engaged to Kill HD and found it lived up to the high level of the original. Now G5 and Floodlight have released the game for the Mac. The port works perfectly, with the characters and mystery every bit as intriguing as before. Type of app: Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure (HOPA) game Platform/where to buy: Mac; available in the Mac App Store Developer: Floodlight Games / G5 Entertainment Description: Special Enquiry Detail 2 has loads of content, including: Six highly intriguing chapters 44 locations to examine…


Where Angels Cry for Kindle Fire Review

In the world of hidden object games, developers can craft purely hidden object screen game types as well as more adventure-oriented games. Where Angels Cry is on the adventure side of the genre, which forces more plot and character development. I said in the iPad version review the game handles these well, and the Kindle Fire version is also great. Type of app: Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure (HOPA) Platform/where to buy: Kindle Fire; available in the Amazon App Store Developer: Cateia Games / G5 Entertainment Description: Here are some of the features: ? 18 amazing mini-games and puzzles to solve…


Brightstone Mysteries: Paranormal Hotel Brings Haunting Fun to iOS!

Brightstone Mysteries: Paranormal Hotel takes you on a journey with Detective Bridget “Biggi” Brightstone as she explores a hotel that holds many mysteries. This is a classic Cateia game, like many others G5 has published for iOS, and I love the way they put together games that combine hidden objects and puzzles in a story-based adventure. Type of app: Adventure Game Platform/where to buy: iPad (iPhone version available here); available in the iTunes App Store Developer: Cateia Games / G5 Entertainment Description: ? 50 arduous levels to conquer ? Five intriguing chapters to navigate ? 15 puzzling mini-games to master…


How Important Are Benchmarks? Enough for Samsung to Tweak the Note 3 System to Cheat!

For some people benchmarks don’t matter … and for others they are ALL that matter. For hardware companies, benchmarks provide an internal performance metric and external bragging rights. But new evidence shows that Samsung tweaked their Galaxy Note 3 to perform better on benchmarks than in ‘normal usage’. This isn’t the first time they’ve done this, either! According to an article at ArsTechnica, Samsung tweaked their CPU performance when a known benchmark app was run, so it would give better than expected results. This was noticed when the Galaxy Note 3 outperformed the LG G2 — despite the two sharing…


Cognition Episode 3 The Oracle Review – The Best Of This Chilling Series Yet!

After the first Cognition episode I praised the game but complained about the accents; the second episode had me spouting high praise for the game while still noting an issue with accents. But after completing the third episode all I can say is WHO CARES about the accents, this series is so good I just can’t wait for the conclusion! Type of app: Adventure Game Platform/where to buy: Mac or PC; full season pass with soundtracks available in the Phoenix Online Studios Store Developer: Phoenix Online Studios LLC Description: Here are some of the features: – Play as Erica Reed,…


The Sachal Studios Orchestra – ‘Jazz and All That: In Memory of Dave Brubeck’ CD Review

Tribute albums always make me cringe, because I have heard way too many that either feel indulgent or like a cash-in. But more and more I am hearing tributes that are smart and thoughtful and pay real tribute to great artists. ‘Jazz and All That’ is such a tribute, going far beyond just being a Dave Brubeck tribute album. Musical Genre: Jazz Where to buy: iTunes or Amazon. Artist: The Sachal Studios Orchestra Description: From the artist: Sachal Jazz Ensemble, master musicians from Pakistan who incorporate ancient instruments, such as sitar, sarod, tabla, and dholak into the sounds and rhythms…