Remember these Nintendo Commercials from the 1980's and 90's?

I have a particularly fond memory for the one that starts at 1:06 – the Mario commercial featured in the still picture above. I remember wondering, as a child, how it was that I never heard of this North American “dress up and make Mario visible from outerspace” stunt when I was a kid. It never occured to me that there might be some editing trickery, and, as a Pennsylvanian, had never been so jealous of all of those states who make up the center of our nation – like those lucky people in colorado who got to be part of Mario’s face. I was so jealous. It’s great to look back at these and see just how vividly I remember these commercials.

Gaming famine – pre convention season…

It’s that time of year. Were it not for gems and a few well placed downloadable releases, we would be drowning in boredom. Fez and Trials Evolution have saved the sanity of most people (though neither really tickles my fancy), Skullgirls has woken fighting gamers from their slumber, and World Gone Sour has at least put a smile on my face. But Everything else, for me, is just trying to catch up on old titles. Games I got tired of playing I’m giving another go (still having a hard time getting through Alice: Madness Returns, though…), and games that I got distracted from with too much other stuff going on I’m finally getting back to (Halo: CE Anniversary Edition).

But this is that time of year, and I hope you’ve noticed the pattern by now, where everyone bunkers down, gets tight lipped, and doesn’t discuss much. News stops breaking, games stop releasing, and we’re stuck playing mediocre-at-best titles for a few months while everybody out there tries to wait until PAX and E3 to “blow your mind” with their brand new game! Big and small studios alike, we’re stuck waiting for the next big thing.

Although, I must admit, this year is more promising than the last several. Fans of the first Prototype will have something to play again, soon. Max Payne is bringing bullet-time back in vogue (here’s hoping the film noir style pays a visit, as well). Minecraft will find a new home on the Xbox 360 and Starhawk will keep PS3 owners flying high. And every person who owned a PC during the 1990’s probably remembers playing some iteration of Diablo and may just be excited to hear that the third installment is finally about to arrive. Although it’s certainly not a drought of gaming, many of these titles do appeal to niche audiences. Here’s hoping that something is coming down the line for you.

Windows Phone 7’s only problem

Windows Phone 7 is a beautiful operating system. It is an environment that is unapologetically different from the things that came before it. It is efficient, fast, simple, vibrant, easy to use, distinct, professional, and fun. It’s so many different things at once that you think it would be confusing, or contradicting… but it isn’t. At every turn and from every angle, Windows Phone 7 has it’s act together. Sure people mention that some apps are missing from Windows Phone 7, but really there is only one big problem with Windows Phone 7: t doesn’t solve any problems that the other options competitors in the field don’t already solve. Continue reading “Windows Phone 7’s only problem”

Download Skype for Windows Phone 7 now!


Skype is one of the apps for Windows Phone 7 has been one of the “missing” apps that has made people say “this is why we can’t take Windows Phone 7 seriously.” You can search for it on the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, but you probably won’t find anything. It seems like it is nowhere to be found – but it has been hiding out there since it was in beta.

Skype’s Windows Phone 7 is most easily available via a direct link to a page on the Windows Phone Marketplace. I haven’t used it very much, but it’s exciting to finally be able to get it downloaded and running. Now if I just had a WP7 with a front facing camera!