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When downloading the new version of Google Earth, I came across this message. I don’t like when applications install background processes on your computer and when they don’t give you an option to not install it. Thankfully, if you do a little looking before you download, you come across a “Customize your installation with advanced setup” link that leads to another page with a checkbox that says “Allow Google Earth to automatically install recommended updates.” I turned that off and this dialog no longer came up with the new version. I’m sure this change officially happened a while ago, but it upsets me that most people will see this and think, “I have to install some background updater app or I can’t use this?”. It takes a little fishing to see that there actually is an option to not install it. I’d rather not have another background application.

Source: Wired.com
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Using a simple scraping tool, a marketer could then turn a list of e-mail addresses into a rich, full-fledged set of markeying profiles, with names, pictures, ages, locations, interests, photos, wall posts, affiliations and names of your friends, depending on how users have their profiles set. Run a few algorithms on that data and you can start to make inferences about race, income, sexual orientation and interests.

While that information isn’t available for all users, Facebook changed its privacy settings in early December so that certain information can’t be made private, including one’s name, current city, profile picture, gender, networks and friend list (the latter can be somewhat hidden from public view).

Anyone with your e-mail address can harvest that information, the company admits.

This doesn’t sound good. I’m still on Facebook and I really do need to cut it from my list of social networks. Problem is, I do still use it for promoting events for my residents and keeping in touch with a few of them. But, I digress. Definitely give this report a read.

Gravity Sling is a game in which you control an astronaut stuck in space. You pick a direction and magnitude and send him flying around the orbits of planets until he reaches his ship, trying not to crash into planets or become lost in space on the way. It’s a well made game that can make beautiful fractal shapes as the astronaut leaves a line behind him when traveling in orbit, slowly changing in color as time goes on. The game also has a nice music track and solid graphics.

What I like most about this game, though, is how they set it up. On the App Store, it’s a free download. In this free download, you get 19/109 levels to try out with a myriad of situations: one planet, multiple planets, moving planets, etc. The introductory level set gives you a taste of the game at no cost. The other 90 levels are separated into three different 30-level packs and worth $0.99 each. I love this model much more than the whole lite/full version system because, in some cases, it cuts down on the number of apps in the App Store and keeps all the reviews for the app in one place. Now, there also is a Gravity Sling Deluxe, which has all the levels already in and unlocked (and at the time of writing, it was on sale for $0.99, 66% off) for people who don’t want to deal with in-app purchases or don’t have iPhone OS 3.0 (which is required for in-app purchases). I went ahead and bought it, but then worried that it wouldn’t remember that I did all but one of the introductory levels already. Much to my surprise, it had all the data still there (most likely due to the OpenFeint system the game hooks itself up to). I found that to be awesome and I’m glad I could support the developer of such a great app.

I really hope that in-app purchases become a way to upgrade from lite to full versions of software in the future. I don’t like seeing those huge “Lite” or “Free” banners all over applications in the store. I’m happy with the way Gravity Sling’s developer has done it.

Go check it out in the App Store (regular version, deluxe version).

Lately, I’ve been playing a game on my iPhone called Home Run Battle 3D, a home run derby game with an arcade and classic mode. The classic mode is the standard derby: anything that’s not a home run is an out and you have 10 outs to hit as many home runs as possible. Unlike the arcade mode, the pitcher only throws fastballs. In arcade mode, you can also get points for hits that don’t make it out of the field of play. Items such as score doublers come up during the game which adds some variety. Also, the pitcher throws a variety of pitches in this mode which can become challenging. There is an online mode as well where you can play against other sluggers across the country. You can customize your slugger with a variety of uniforms, bats, gloves, etc. (the spiked bat in the picture is an example of the offerings). Smashing home runs out of the park is a rewarding experience and the game is really addicting.

I do have a few qualms about the experience, though. You can customize your slugger by using “gold balls” – you get them by hitting them out the park in either the classic or arcade modes, by playing online, or by completing a number of achievements. The issue I have with these gold balls is that you don’t get them very quickly and things in the game cost a lot. When you’re only getting 3-5 gold balls a game and things cost 500+ gold balls, you’ll be playing for a while before you get anything unless you complete an achievement. Also, I find it deplorable that it costs gold balls to change your slugger’s skin color or hair style. What if I want to make my slugger in his own likeness and not as a white guy with black hair? What kind of message is the game (probably unintentionally) trying to send? Also, the game’s graphics can be a little glitchy – when you hit poles, it makes the sound before it hits and the ball’s flight doesn’t change. Also, the slugger walks awkwardly when walking to the plate, and he and the pitcher stop dead when the ball is in flight, their sprites not moving at all.

Despite the game’s flaws, though, I enjoy playing it overall but I think I prefer the offline over the online play. You can check it out on the App Store; there’s a lite version, as well.

The iPhone’s mail program is solid for quick reading and replying or deleting of messages. It also does a very good job of reading a variety of attachments. However, it is a bit simplistic in some of its features. The one missing feature that bothers me the most is the ability to flag messages. Mail programs mark messages as read as soon as you open then; “read” messages can just as easily be “skimmed”. I like to be able to flag messages that I find important that I want to get back to later. That I can’t flag messages requires me to leave messages read or mark them unread again, neither of which are optimal solutions.

Another thing that bothers me about the iPhone’s mail program is its search. I’m glad Apple added a search feature so that we can find what we’re looking for; however, the search is limited to finding and reading messages. What if I am searching for messages to bulk move them? What if I am searching for messages so I can delete them? The iPhone mail program doesn’t let me do these things, requiring me to wait until I get back to my computer unless I want to manually search for each message.

The iPhone’s mail program is adequate for retrieving and quickly replying to messages. However, when something comes that you want to save for later, you have to work around its limitations of not being able to flag messages. There are also other limitations such as not being able to move messages between accounts. It’s a decent app and I’m not going to stop using it (I don’t think I have much of a choice), but it could be improved.

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