December 2011
1 post
The End of This Blog
For years, I’ve tried to maintain a blog outside of my professional work, first through Wordpress, and then through Tumblr. Except when I’m not busy with work, which is basically never, I haven’t been able to make the commitment. The fact that I last posted here 11 months ago is proof enough.
Fortunately, now’s a great time to not have a personal blog. Twitter allows me to...
January 2011
1 post
Great moments in misleading PR headlines
The story: Sprint jacks up its data pricing by $10 per month.
The press release’s headline: “Smartphones Drive Wireless Data Explosion”
Did they think we wouldn’t notice?
September 2010
2 posts
Growing Up Gamer
A few weeks ago, fellow games writer Daniel Lipscombe sent out a call for participants in “Gamers Speak.” It’s a blog where he throws the same 13 questions at gamers (mostly game writers, so far — we have big egos and love to talk about ourselves) and publishes the responses in whole. Here’s mine.
Lest that blog ever go away, I’ll repost my favorite anecdote...
One Battles Axes, the Other Adds Death
Yesterday I beat Ax Battler: The Legend of Golden Axe. My urge to play was brought on by hacking the Wii and installing a Game Gear emulator on it, which in turn was brought on by Sunday boredom.
Ax Battler is a leading candidate for my all-time favorite completely terrible game. The core platform swordplay is a chunkier, laggier version of Zelda 2, and there’s an overworld map that’s...
August 2010
2 posts
Writing for the New York Times, I think, is kind of like becoming a made man, at least in the way movies portray it. Suddenly a lot of people want to meet you. Respect is commanded by association. Friends and family no longer question your career path. It’s a rush.
Here’s my story on the current state of 3-D television, which appeared in the Business section on Monday. I’ve also...
He Gives Great Quotes?
Jerry Seinfeld once said that being friends with a former romantic partner is like two magicians trying to entertain each other. “Because, you know each other so well, you know all of each others tricks … The one goes, ‘Look, a rabbit.’ The other goes, ‘So? … I believe this is your card.’” I’ve always thought the same thing could be said about...
July 2010
1 post
Oh hi!
Looks like I’ve neglected the old personal blog again. Some random observations:
Finally got to play Red Dead Redemption, and quickly formed the dissenting opinion that it’s boring. High production values are worth something, but once you realize the scope of the actual action entails dead-simple shooting and listless horse riding, there’s just not much to do but run around and...
May 2010
1 post
Waka Waka, or, the Google Pac-Man Debate
At Daring Fireball, John Gruber takes issue with a wonky piece that I wrote for Technologizer about Google Pac-Man. The game was created with HTML and Javascript, which I read as a subtle jab at Apple. Here’s the quote Gruber pulls:
“So, you can look at Google Pac-Man for iPhone two ways: The more benign explanation is that Google on some level agrees with Apple, and wanted to create...
April 2010
5 posts
Halo Be Dead?
I’m happy with this punchy little post on Technologizer that ponders the fate of Halo in the wake of Bungie’s exclusive development deal with Activision. Personally, I’m thrilled to see Bungie shake things up — a little wary given Activision’s tendency to milk franchises dry, but optimistic — as it’s about time the developer rejuvenated itself with some...
A Real Conversation About Fake Games
Jared: “what is the point of this game if there is no consequence for dying?”
Teammate: “idk lol”
Teammate: “to level up”
Jared: “sigh”
-Chat during Pocket Legends, a free to play MMO for iPad. I’m deleting the game and playing Progress Wars instead.
Duh, iPhone Game Center
It’s been all about Apple lately, and I’m just about ready for it to stop. Not necessarily because there isn’t more to be said about the company and what it’s trying to do, but because it’s discouraging to see the vast amounts of people that only read commentary to have their preconceptions validated. And Apple, for whatever reason, brings out the worst feelings in a...
On the iPad
Like every other tech blogger out there, I wrote way too many articles about the iPad. It is a beast that cannot be satisfied, as one editor put it. Here are a few of my favorite posts: For MyCE, a brief review. It’s more of a statement on why I, or anyone, would buy the thing, and why it’s an important product. For Technologizer, some thoughts about how the big touchscreen saves the...
Changes
Obviously, I let the Newmanfeed fall by the wayside. When you write roughly 10 articles a day, you want to relax, not link dump. So I’m going to abandon that practice, along with my old blog, from which I’ve drifted away for similar reasons.
Here, I hope to post a smaller running sample of work. Not necessarily the best of the best, just whatever strikes me as worth sharing. Perhaps...
September 2009
68 posts
Network Neutrality's Real Battle: Mobile (PC... →
Intel wants netbook-centric apps (CD Freaks) →
Microsoft snagging Apple Store staff (CD Freaks) →
UK anti-piracy costs outweigh losses (CD Freaks) →
Rumor: PS3 Will Host Downloadable PS2, Dreamcast... →
Lose/Lose: The Game That Deletes Your Files... →
New iPhone Ads: Keep Pushing Those Apps... →
Intel Shows Off 22nm Chip, AMD Boasts Hexacore CPU... →
MSI Wind U110 ECO Battery Runs 15-Plus Hours... →
Microsoft Yanks Apple Store Managers, Staff... →
Sony Ericsson Earbuds Detect Presence of Ears... →
Are Game Downloads Successful? We’ll Soon Know... →
Sony Ericsson’s Motion-Sensing Earbuds Sound Cool... →
Google Books Won't Hit Digital Shelves Anytime... →
Intel antitrust case gets nasty (CD Freaks) →
Apple probes iPhone 3.1 battery woes (CD Freaks) →
Halo 3: ODST Review Roundup Says “Good, Not Great”... →
Blur Fades from 2009, Delayed to 2010 →
FCC Chair is All About Net Neutrality →
Dell Acquires Perot Systems for Move Into IT... →
Zune HD is Selling Well? →
AmazonBasics: Electronics for Cheap →
Playstation 4 Concept Not Endorsed by Sony, Still... →
Sorry for the lapse in updates. I blame life. Newmanfeed resumes now.
15 Tech T-Shirts We Love (PC World) →
Loopt Does Background Functions on the iPhone.... →
Happy (Almost) 10th Birthday, Sega Dreamcast!... →
AT&T launches its own Web TV portal (CD Freaks) →
Samsung: OLED notebooks coming in 2010 (CD Freaks) →
Suda 51 Still Awesome in No More Heroes 2 Trailer... →
Network Woes? Hate the iPhone, Not AT&T (PC World) →
Bluetooth Rings Turn Hand Into Handset... →
Microsoft Can Keep Shipping Word, Court Says... →
Zune Software Update Could Yield HD Movies... →
Boeing’s Advanced Tactical Laser Scores a Frag... →
Yikes, Yelp is Gaining on Citysearch... →
Oh, Just Tell Us the Xbox 360 Failure Rate... →