The Dark Knight Rises Review

Let's be really short and concise. It's a truly amazing movie and a fitting tribute to the spectacular trilogy. You won't regret watching it. 

Just Mobile AluPen Capacitive Stylus for iPad Review

Available at xtand.com for ~$25

The Good: 

-It looks absolutely gorgeous. 

-Incredibly durable since it is made out of a single block of aluminium. Includes a leather carry pouch along with product.

-It is one of the best styluses out there.

-It makes my life a whole lot easier without having to carry notebooks and other stuff that this can replace.

The Bad:

-The circumference of the pen, in my honest humble opinion, is too big (don't make any stupid jokes please.).

-The tip of the stylus depresses a little too much for my liking.

Using it: I used this with the superb app Penultimate and it's been a great joy to use. It follows shape of an actual pencil instead of just having a rounded circumference, which is definitely great to see and adds style to the pen. While the cost of the product alone may be a huge barrier to many, this is really one of the best styluses out there for the iPad or just about any capacitive screen if you're serious about doing productive work on it. I used to carry 4 notebooks plus some handouts together with my MacBook Air (which is not that heavy but it still takes up space, right?) and have instead just brought along my iPad together with the AluPen stylus and handouts. This is not some kind of revolutionary product where I can say, WITH THIS PEN, WE CAN DECLARE DEATH TO PEN, PAPER AND PENCIL,  but rather, something that makes my life easier on a day to day basis

Score: 8/10 (Silver)

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Format and Scale for Reviews

For most of the product that I'm going to be reviewing on this website, it will follow this format and scale,

The Good:

The Bad:

Using it:

Score:

The scoring system is out of 10 and is as follows,

1- Avoid at all costs. Burn your cash if you're going to purchase this product - at least you'll still get heat out of burning it.

2- Almost identical to 1, however, there is 1 minor thing that the product does well. Still, do not buy it. Email me and I'll tell you my bank account number, where you can dispose that money you were going to spend.

3- There are some colossal problems to the product and the bad heavily outweighs the good. Try it in store first and you'll still most likely be disappointed.

4- The product has some good and bad points. However, there is a glaring problem or two that prevents me from recommending it at all. 

5- This is AVERAGE. Not 6, not 8, but 5. Products in this level is average, the good and bad balances each other. Try it in stores first.

6- An slightly above average product, with about 3-4 minor problems. It is recommended that you try this in stores. All the above rules apply.

7- This product is above substantially above average with only 3 minor problems that does not affect day-to-day operations. The product must be a joy to use without any problems hindering it. All the above rules apply.

8 (Silver)- Why no bronze? Because I hate that color. But anyway, for a product to get an 8/10, it has to have no more than 2 minor problem that does not affect the product in day-to-day operations. Product must look good and is value for money!

9 (Gold)- This product has to be amazing. With almost no flaws at all, this product can only have 1 downside to it, for example, the buttons on a iPhone case feels a little stiff - something that does not really affect day-to-day operation. The product must look great and it must be something that changes the way we do things on a daily basis.

10 (Platinum)- This award will almost never be given out unless the product is completely flawless. There is not a single mistake I can find at all and it must be a product that pushes or have a significant impact on the industry. Currently, I can't actually think of an example of one. We'll have to see.

So there you have it guys, the format and scaling for reviews. This grading scale will be used by me and hopefully, some of the other writers in this blog. Thanks for reading. 

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A Look at Gaming Review Scores

With the recent release of the legendary 'vaporware' Duke Nukem Forever, the subsequent reviews got me thinking about gaming reviews, and the usage of scores to rate games, along with what reviewers actually entail, and what I believe they should. This includes 1-10, A-F, and 1-5. These ratings are supposed to follow the general pattern of the lowest score being a complete disaster, the middle score (5, C+, 2.5) meaning mediocre, and the highest score meaning Outstanding. However, recent reviews have begun to make me think differently. Do these scores really reflect what they should? Let's have a deeper look.

The aforementioned Duke Nukem Forever was met with mixed reviews at best, but some of the scores, and what they reflected, astonished me. There are quite a few examples of this, two of them being the Edge review, and the Eurogamer review. Both of these reviews gave the game a 3/10, which to me reads 'very disappointing'. But before we delve into the reviews themselves, I think it's definitely worth taking a look at Duke Nukem Forever as a game, first and foremost.

Duke Nukem Forever began production in 1996, and was just released now in 2011. Throughout this 15 year production hell, the game was given several release dates which were quickly made moot, and was made by two different developers. Originally, 3D Realms began production in 1996, but were down-sized in 2009 for financial reasons. This led to a legal battle between 3D Realms and 2K games, until in 2010, it was announced that Gearbox Software would be finishing the development of the game. The game was just released in 2011, after 15 years of hype and disbelief. The background of the game definitely has a bearing on the review scores.

Generally, most reviews agree that the game is mediocre-at-best, and is worthy of 1 play through at the most. However, some reviews say practically the same things about the game, but give them different scores, ranging from .5 to 2 whole points. The question this raises is whether all reviewers should stick to a general reviewing system, such as 1 specific score meaning a specific thing. This would benefit gamers because this system works without any hype or presumptions affecting the score, just the game's quality. However, this may take away reviewer's disappointments which other reader's may agree with, even if they are from hype or what they took the game to be. 

In the end, gaming review scores are only opinions, but it is very interesting to see what changes some people's opinions, and in turn the review scores. Some reviewers review the game on it's merits as a stand-alone product, away from any hype and comparisons with other games. Whilst this prevents the reviewer's pre-conceived notions affecting the score, it also does not factor in better options within the gaming market, which may lead to a reader feeling scammed. On the other hand, some reviewers like to incorporate their own opinions and other games heavily into their reviews, in order to make the review much more representative of the game's 'stature' within the gaming market as a whole.

Now this post did not exactly have one sole purpose, except to view game reviews from a different perspective, especially as consumers are beginning to look for reviews to separate 'must-buys' from 'rentals' in these hard times. In my opinion, gaming reviews are not rules to follow, but merely guidelines and sophisticated recommendations from the industry's experts, which is why I prefer reviews to have opinions galore and to involve everything, ranging from the effect of the game's hype (or lack thereof) to what the reviewer was initially expecting. But this is just my opinion, so feel free to comment and let me know how you feel about gaming reviews, and what they represent. 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-06-12-duke-nukem-forever-review?page=3#justposted

http://www.next-gen.biz/reviews/duke-nukem-forever-review

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Nukem_Forever

Mac App Menu

I’m thrilled to share with you the announcement of Mac App Menu, a website dedicated to the publishing of news and reviews regarding the newly announced Mac App Store. News and reviews are the main topics they cover, but noteworthy Mac app sale alerts, comparisons, roundups, and tips are written about, too. It's one of the first websites centered around the Mac App Store, so you should definitely check it out!

http://macappmenu.squarespace.com