Monday 23 December 2013

Steve Paris' iOS Games Christmas Extravaganza

When Apple released iPhone in 2007, it wasn't designed with third party apps in mind. In fact, Steve Jobs spent a long time telling developers that web apps - programs that make use of technologies available through a browser - were the way to go if they wanted a presence on Apple's new revolutionary device.

But developers would have none of it, and because iPhone was touted as running OS X (albeit a stripped down version of it), they knew how to program for it and demanded the opportunity to do so. After all, it was no secret web apps couldn't match the responsiveness and data access speeds of native programs.

Apple relented, the App Store was introduced, and the rest is history.

Friday 20 December 2013

Oceanhorn - Interview with Cornfox & Bros

Creating a game is no easy task; Forge Reply for instance, had a team of fifteen working on the excellent Joe Dever's Lone Wolf, so it's pretty remarkable that three people set about creating and designing a vast, ambitious game of adventure and exploration for iOS called "Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas".

Thursday 19 December 2013

MacLife Review - Journeys of Invention

Ever wanted to visit the amazing Science Museum in London but either didn't have the time or lived in the wrong part of the planet? Well now you can explore and manipulate 81 objects that are either on display there or in its repository, thanks to Journeys of Invention, a new iPad app from TouchPress. Read more about it by reading my review in MacLife.

Friday 13 December 2013

Little Baby Jesus

A different interpretation...
Christmas is coming, the decorations are going up, tinsel and lights adorn the high street in an attempt to make up for the darkness that just comes way too soon this time of year (unless you're in the Southern Hemisphere of course, in which case it's time to grab your togs and jandals, slip, slap, slop, and head down to the beach!)

As you walk down the streets of any Western country, it's highly likely that you'll bump into a church or even a shop, which will have a nativity scene on display in some form or other, with little baby Jesus in a manger, overlooked by his loving mother Mary, Joseph, a few animals, some shepherds, an angel or two for good measure, and of course, the three wise men.

It's such a part of the festivities in predominantly Christian countries that we most likely take it for granted, and in fact, my 9-year old daughter was asked to create a two-page project on the birth of Jesus for a school report.

Thursday 12 December 2013

MacWorld - Get Started in iMovie for Mac

iMovie isn't solely available on iOS; it's been on the Mac for a lot longer and here is the first of an ongoing series of tutorials I'm writing for MacWorld UK. Check it out...

Wednesday 11 December 2013

MacWorld - How to use Video in iMovie for iOS

Here's my first tutorial for MacWorld UK covering iMovie for iOS. Part of a new ongoing series. Enjoy...

Tuesday 3 December 2013

Gravity Makes Me Sick

I've always had a problem watching those early 3D movies, those that necessitated wearing special glasses fitted with a separate red and blue filter. Something about them didn't feel right at all. I got nauseous and disorientated watching them, but Angel and I were keen to see Gravity, and in my neck of the woods, you couldn't get to watch it in 2D unless you were open to missing work or the school run, or both.

Monday 2 December 2013

MacWorld - 10 Tips for iMovie 10

Are you new to video editing? Wondering if the new version of iMovie is worth it? I wrote 10 tips about this latest update for MacWorld UK. Check it out...

MacLife Review - Elements in Action

There's a new education app in town called Elements in Action, which you can use either on its own or as a companion to the excellent The Elements: A Visual Exploration. I've reviewed it for MacLife.