Monument Valley - the hyper-praised indie game from UsTwo - has just hit a bump in the road. It wants to charge users for new levels. This particular review has been doing the rounds on Twitter. Yes, it's hyperbolic and ranty - but it is the absolute truth. Monument Valley is overpriced. Now, don't get me wrong, it is a gorgeous game. Sure, it's a bit derivative of the Xbox hit Fez. There's no story to follow except for some cod-philosophy which tries its best to be deep, but ends up…
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The Internet's own bearded wonder - Documentally - talks for about a minute on the wonder that is... The No Phone! 🔊 No Phone🎤 Terence Eden 💾 Download this audio file. Get About A Minute as soon as each episode goes live. Stick this Podcast Feed into your podcatcher Or you can Subscribe on iTunes Intro music "Gran Vals" performed by Brian Streckfus. Stopwatch Icon by Ilsur Aptukov from The Noun Project. This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribut…
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A quick chat with Paul Johnston of Padajo about his ideas on the future of mobile. 🔊 Future of Mobile🎤 Terence Eden 💾 Download this audio file. Get About A Minute as soon as each episode goes live. Stick this Podcast Feed into your podcatcher Or you can Subscribe on iTunes Intro music "Gran Vals" performed by Brian Streckfus. Stopwatch Icon by Ilsur Aptukov from The Noun Project. This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licens…
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Last year I complained about a dangerous change to Google's Maps app. When driving, you want to spend the majority of your time concentrating on the road ahead. Flicking one's eyes to the mirrors & speedometer should be enough to quickly assess one's environment. The same applies for SatNav apps - every second that is spend trying to figure out what the graphics means is a second where the road goes unobserved. Recently, I've been trying Nokia's new Here maps for Android. There's a lot to…
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The Internet Movie Database is one of the most venerable sites on the Web. It was founded by a British programmer in 1990 as a collection of Usenet posts (kids, ask your parents). By 1993 it was on the nascent World Wide Web - and was hosted out of Cardiff University in Wales. IMDb was one of the earliest success stories for the UK Internet industry when, in 1998, Amazon.com bought them. Given its proud heritiage, why don't Amazon care about the British users of its site? If you visit the…
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VWTech Co Ltd are yet another company out of Shenzen, China, selling weird and wonderful gadgets at knockdown prices. I decided to treat myself to one of their "Unique Real Handmade Natural Wood Wooden Hard Bamboo Shockproof Case For Samsung Galaxy Note 3" It promised to be a laser-cut and engraved, bamboo case for my Note 3. For £10, I thought it was worth a punt. After waiting a week for delivery, it arrived smothered in bubble wrap and looking gorgeous! The case comes in two halves - …
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I'm a big fan of the EU. For all its flaws, it has kept the peace for decades. Not only does it prevent physical wars - but it reduces the harm caused by companies warring against each other. Like most legislatures, it works on glacial timelines. Not only tackling the problems of the past, but also assuming the future is static. In the fast moving technology industry, this has been a mixed blessing. Mandating the need for a physical SIM and ensuring phones can be unlocked has kept EU…
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My mother loves her BlackBerry, even though it is one of my cast offs. Sadly, her ancient Torch finally gave up the ghost a few weeks ago. We spent some time trying to work out the best phone for her before, eventually, settling on.... another BlackBerry Torch! Why? My mum has an Android tablet which she likes very much. Her Windows laptop suits her needs fine. She admires her friends' iPhones and iPads. Yet she still chose the classic BlackBerry - not BB10 - over all the other phones…
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Let's play "Spot The Difference"! The review on the left comes from the North American version of Plants vs. Zombies™ 2 whereas the one on the right is from the Worldwide version of Plants vs. Zombies™ 2. The above screenshot was taken shortly after the release of the North American version. The scores as of today have harmonised (4.2/5 vs 4.4/5) but there is still a disproportionate number of 1 star reviews on the American version. Both have the same version number (1.8.265164), release da…
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The UK telecoms regulator Ofcom is attempting to simplify the way consumers are charged for telephone calls. (Disclaimer: I work for a company which is regulated by Ofcom. This is my personal blog.) To deal with the multitude of different types of phone numbers - each with their own unique cost - and the rise of the mobile phone, Ofcom want this to be the norm by 2015: Under new rules confirmed today, telephone users calling service numbers will in future see the cost broken down into an…
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Just the look of those permissions is enough to break me out in a cold sweat! According to Lookout - the leading security solution for Android - it's a payware scam. No doubt ready to send a barrage of Premium SMS to drain my phone's credit. It's quite upsetting that a company like Yahoo would allow adverts like this on its networks. I understand that they have to look at millions of adverts - and some advertisers will change their sites after the advertising campaign goes live - but there …
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I don't often play games - and I rarely pay for Android apps. Blackbar got me to spring a couple of quid based on a single screenshot. That's it. Read a letter, type in which words have been redacted. If you get it right, you're rewarded with the next letter. I can't understand why this game hasn't been made before. There's literally nothing to have stopped this game being developed on early 8-bit microcomputers. It is interactive fiction - but unlike any I've played before. Rather…
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