App Review: Order and Chaos

Written by Doug Puccetti(Me) on www.techhog.com:

Order and Chaos is a must have for anyone with an Android or iOS device!

Overview:

Order and Chaos by Gameloft is an Massive Multilayer Online Role Playing Game or, more simply put MMORPG, that is available for your mobile device (sorry Windows 7 users). It is one of its kind having 3D graphics and being a real time, open world MMORPG for your mobile cell phone or tablet. With little to no game lag and only a few minor glitches, it is defiantly worth the $6.99 purchase price in the market. Normally MMORPG’s like World of Warcraft and Aion require a hefty monthly payment. Order and Chaos is different when it comes to this.
When you first purchase the game from the market or Gameloft’s website, you have to set up a Gameloft live account. It’s simple and the account is free to have. After you set up your account you will then have 3 free months of play time for Order and Chaos. This is pretty neat knowing you just spent $6.99 on it. After the 3 months are over you’ll be prompted to purchase more game time. Have no fear, it wont break the bank. He are the prices for game time:
$0.99 a month is fairly cheap knowing that games can sometimes charge an upwards of $15.00 per month. Its a total of $6.00 a year if you buy two 6 month subscriptions. There is no way this game will break the bank. Purchasing things is as simple as taping on your inventory, going to ‘Get More Coins’, taping on what you would like to purchase (game time, runes, in game gold), and paying with your Android Market account or iTunes account.

Introduction:

Like I stated above, the game runs flawlessly and has pretty decent graphics for a cellphone/tablet game. The graphics do remind me and others of World of Warcraft but that is something I can see past. Before you start playing you have to double check and make sure your WiFi is connected. If its not than you will get prompted to change your setting for this game uses a lot of data.
After logging in to your freshly made Gameloft live account, you will get to the character selection screen. This allows you to create 3 characters (4 if you purchase the slot) choosing between Orc, Undead, Human and Elf. You then will have the option to customize your character with over 100 different combinations such as hair color, skin color, face features and hair style. When that is all said and done you will be able to choose a class. Pick between Warrior, Ranger, Mage and Monk but choose wisely, what you pick is what you get. Then name your character and select what server you want to play on. As of right now there are only 4 servers and the game is not cross platform. Meaning people with the Android version can not play with people that have the iOS version… yet.

Controls, UI and Gameplay:

The controls and UI are user friendly in my book but I will say they took a while to get used to. Playing in landscape mode you need to use the left thumb to move and the right thumb to change camera view, jump, attack, use spells and abilities, loot monsters and pretty much anything else you can think of. Pinch in and out with your fingers to zoom the camera in and out.Your health and vital information is in the upper left (including your current level) and enemy vitals as well. Your mini map is on the upper right allowing you to tap it to open a larger world map. At the bottom of the screen you see and arrow pointing up. Tap on that arrow and it expands the real time in game chat. There are options for talking globally, locally or whisper to a friend. The arrow on the right expands out and allows you to store more items like potions and food.
When in your menu/inventory you will be able to look at what things are in your bags, inspect items you might have, check quests, see what friends are online, etc.
You will also be able to choose from a few different professions in game. They include Blacksmithing, Tailoring and Leatherworking. Through out your journey you will be able to level professions through 5 ranks; Primary, Intermediate, Advanced, Professional and Master. Another thing to note are deaths. When you die you can choose to re-spawn at your location for 1 rune or at a local graveyard for a loss of gold if your character is above level 10. If there is a nearby monk, they can resurrect you instead.
 

Conclusion:

When you’re first starting you might get frustrated with how slow the game play is, but as you progress things happen faster and become more challenging. The game sometimes feels repetitive at times when you just do quests and kill creatures, but you can also join a party to defeat dungeons together or elite monsters. I have encountered a few glitches while playing Order and Chaos. First glitch that I keep running in to is my target gets DE-targeted until it attacks me again. That bothers me most when I’m at low health and trying to finish the fight before I die. Other than that there are times where NPC’s (Non Player Characters) get glitched or wont talk to me when I need to hand in a quest (I hope its not because I forgot to shower…)
Gameloft has provided us, as gamers, with a wonderful and mind blowing game for our cell phones/tablets. So what are you waiting for, head over to the Android Market, Apple’s app Store or Gameloft’s website and join thousands as they fight the battle of Order and Chaos.
For detailed in game information check out the Order and Chaos Wiki

Online shopping deals at become.com

Well everyone, I hate to say it but its that time of year again. Its the holiday season. Over the years gifts have gotten more complex and maybe even expensive in some cases; and now with internet shopping, preparing for that holiday gift exchange couldn't be any easier than when in the comfort of your own home. That's why sites like www.become.com are great. They allow you to compare prices to find the best and lowest deal without the hassle of looking on every website. 

If you are in the market for a new router this holiday season head over to become.com. With comparing prices from top stores like internet routers from Best Buy you can really find your self the best deal on the web. And these aren't cheap routers by any means, they are high quality and top of the line router company's that provide blazing speeds for anyone on your shopping list.

Maybe an internet router isn't something you need this holiday season. Become.com has everything from home and garden to technology including top of the line watches. We all know that special someone who still wears a watch because they refuse to look at their cellphone. Checking out the selection of Invicta Black watches would be far from disappointment.

But enough of that, lets talk about something everyone could use, A used LCD TV. Even my parents are jumping on the flat screen band wagon this holiday season. One thing they have encountered is price. Tv's aren't cheap by any means, but using become.com to find the cheapest deal on the web is a great idea.

So what are you waiting for, Head over to www.become.com and start comparing!

Game Reviews Starting Soon

I have been thinking lately. Since I have Been focusing on writing on www.techhog.com with my phone reviews and news, I think Ill start reviewing games on this site. Games will include PC, Xbox, PS3 and Wii.

Ill be reviewing basic elements of newer games. Nothing in-depth that will give away the story line, just what to expect, basics of the game and most importantly, my thoughts on the game.

Games you can expect to soon see include:

1. Skyrim (Of course)
2. Diablo III (Beta)
3. Path of Exile(Beta)
4. Star Wars Old Republic (Beta)
5. and other games that are requested. 

I will also be writing about Random games like:

• Indie games in the Xbox marketplace
• Patches and new Downloaded content
• Starcraft custom games, Etc...

Hope you guys enjoy this new change, and hopefully this will be one of your new stops for game information and reviews.

Any games you would like to see? Let me know!!

Tweet me @ohmyitsDoug
or email me at info.dailyelectronic@gmail.com

Technology loving parents

Written by my friend Betty Walls
My parents surprisingly love technology. They are always the first to have the newest device. It is shocking, but they are normally ahead of me in getting whatever is new to the technology market. I don’t know why they are so fascinated with it. Most of my friends’ parents could care less and almost reject technology. While it annoys my friends, I can completely understand. That generation grew up without computers, Satellite internet or even Facebook. Most people’s natural reaction is to reject change. I am still puzzled why my parents are the opposite. It would be different if they were this welcoming about every change in life, but they are not. When I first moved to college, I thought my mom would be getting an apartment next to mine. When I introduced my dad to my boyfriend, I thought he was going to have a heart attack. They have never reacted well to change and I guess I will be forever puzzled as to why they are so accepting of technology.

Vote for Techhog.com for a Mobbie!

Hey EVERYONE! Please vote for Techhog.com for a Mobbie this year. It would mean so much for us to win this prestigious award. Just click on the link and follow the instructions that are on our site. You can vote once a day till November 10th. But one vote is all I ask for.
Thanks for all your support!

http://www.techhog.com/featured/vote-for-techhog-com-in-the-2011-maryland-mobbies/

Windows Phone 7 Look on Android Using Launcher 7, Statusbar+ and WP7 Lock

Written by Doug Puccetti(Me) on www.techhog.com:
If you're anything like me, your phone looks different every week or so. I either change my Home Launcher application from ADW to MIUI or Launcher Pro or Launcher 7. But the one I've seem to have been using the longest is Launcher 7. This is a Home Launcher Application that mimics the metro UI of WP7 (Windows Phone 7). I enjoy the look of WP7 but love the Android market place. So having them both is pretty awesome. The applications I will be covering are Launcher 7, Statusbar+ and WP7 Lock.

Launcher 7:

Launcher 7 has been around for a while. When it first came out I tried it, but there were too many bugs and not enough options. Now, using version 1.0.1.18, most of the bugs are gone. This launcher runs smooth while scrolling through the apps and even main screen. There is a free and paid version of this application. Ive noticed that the free version drains battery faster than the paid one. Could be because the adds but who knows. You can change the color and transparency of the metro tiles, make a tile display as an image and pretty much short cut anything to the main screen just like on a normal WP7 device. There are three background themes; Black, White and Wallpaper. The status bar can also be changed to Black letters, White letters or Transparent bar. I feel this is the best WP7 launcher for an Android device.

Statusbar+:
This is also needed because Launcher 7's status bar disappears when you aren't on the home screen. Statusbar+ allows the status bar to stay the whole time no matter what app or setting you are using. So there is no more frustration when your cool WP7 notification bar disappears.  You can change the color of the status bar, enable click to drop display icons (like WP7), enable swipe down for notifications, etc. Some setting changes require you to reboot your device for them to become active. This is definitely an essential piece to the Wp7 look on Android. There is also a free and paid version of this as well.

WP7 Lock:
Wp7 Lock is a lock screen that looks just like a WP7 lock screen. You swipe up to unlock. The lock screen shows Messages, missed calls and emails. You can also change the unlock image by changing your background image in your phones settings. This some times force crashed or doesn't load at first. Just go to your apps and click on Wp7 Lock and disable and re-enable it again. Than it should work.
Well there you have it. The three essentials for converting your Android phone to a WP7 mimic. Hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. Any questions feel free to ask me or the developer of Launcher 7. He is very helpful and quick to respond to any issue you are having.

Download the apps here:
Launcher 7, Statusbar+, WP7 Lock

A New Flexible Phone Prototype by Nokia

Written by Doug Puccetti(Me) on www.techhog.com:

At the Nokia World Event, Nokia not only showed their new line of Windows Phones but they also showed off a prototype of a flexible phone. Kind of like an accelerometer used inside phones to correctly orientate the device, shuffle a song or drive a car in a game; this flexible phone has points where pressure can be added.

Adding pressure to specific sides of the device will do different things. Twisting/bending the phone left or right edges will either change the song, photo or switch applications depending on what application/setting you are in. Bending the phone in and out will make it zoom in or zoom out and bending it in the middle of the left or the right side will either open/play an application or go back to the previous application/screen.

The screen is obviously a type of plastic. So that means its not scratch resistant. In my opinion, there is nothing worse than a bunch of scratches on my screen. But, the screen is a nice WVGA OLED display with wide viewing angles.

Will this UI ever catch on? or will it just stay a prototype? Bending your phone takes more effort and one more hand than just taping on the screen to open an application or scroll through a list. We will have to see where Nokia goes with this prototype.

Source: GSMarena

Steve Ballmer Announces 4 New Features for Windows 8

 

 Written by Doug Puccetti(Me) on www.techhog.com:

At the Dell Conference last Friday, Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer revealed 4 new features to the new Tablet OS Windows 8. These 4 features are lock screen, Metro start screen, Metro live tiles and Windows 8 servers. I understand that these things have been talked about before but at the recent conference these were the four main features he highlighted.

Lockscreen: Even tho the lock screens are pretty standard, this is one of the things you see most often. When you’re away from your device, it locks like it should. However, even tho its locked, you still receive notifications, emails and social media updated right on the screen for when you get back (sounds like every other mobile OS?).

Metro UI Start Screen: Many people have complained about this start screen and the Metro live tiles. Windows developers have been doing their best to keep up and fix these issues as Ballmer reminds everyone that this is an early version of Windows 8, not the final product.

Windows Metro Live Tiles: Windows developers have stuck with the simplistic live tiles. But with Windows 8 they are showing off something new. You can make custom live tiles that display specific information from news or stock. So any information you might need could be instantly available. Now I can see that being a feature people use often.

Windows Server 8: This feature was available back in 2008 however, it was not perfected. Now with windows 8 in the works, Microsoft plans on perfecting this virtual server for IT administrators making it faster and smoother. I know not many people are worried about this but I’m sure there are developers and tech workers who are very excited.
Well that’s an update of Windows 8. One main feature that most of us are excited about is porting programs and information from Windows 7 to Windows 8. Will this be the next best step for Microsoft?

Porting Android Applications to Blackberry Made Easy

Written by Doug Puccetti(Me) on www.techhog.com:

Recently Blackberry released a packager for Android apps that will allow Android developers to redesign, format and submit their application to the Blackberry platform using the SDK and ADT plug-in's provided by RIM. This tool kit will package all your information, sign and prep everything you will need for a successful submission. This is mainly for porting games and applications to the new Blackberry Playbook and such. Devices that will make user experience very enjoyable on both platforms (less likely on phones but, still available).  But is this a good idea? As we know, Blackberry is pretty much a dying market for most mobile users. Most of Blackberry's revenue comes from company's who use Blackberry's as company phones due to contracts. So are company's going to want to play your android games or use your apps? Applications ported to Blackberry that may be useful will be programs company's can adhere to and use on a daily basis.

Will this move help Blackberry out of it's slump?

One of the Biggest Release Events for Android to Date

Written by Doug Puccetti(Me) on www.techhog.com:

So tomorrow is the day. The day we finally see the Motorola Droid RAZR in person, the day where Samsung’s Galaxy Nexus is revealed and, most importantly (in my opinion), the day we are introduced to Android 4.0 ICS (Ice Cream Sandwich). At noon eastern time the reveal of the Motorola RAZR for Verizon Wireless will begin. But Samsung and Google take the stage at 9:30 pm EST to begin the most anticipated release for Android users to this date. You can watch this event live tomorrow night on Youtube at www.youtube.com/android. I know we will do all we can to watch this event live. So I hope everyone does the same. This will be one release event you do not want to miss!