Though gaming on the Mac has grown significantly over the years, it is still dominated by Windows. The few games that do exist for the Mac are often expensive, and not every wants to or can install BootCamp to play Windows games. With that in mind, we compiled a list of the top 20 free Mac games. The list is by no means comprehensive, but it’s a great start to an awesome gaming experience on one of the best operating systems at no cost. See the games after the jump.
As much as we all love technology, those quad core computers and 80-inch TVs don’t come cheap. That’s where a site called Tech Bargains comes in. I’ve browsed this site daily for the last two years, and don’t know why I didn’t post about it until now. The site posts deals on all sorts of gizmos and gadgets from Internet retailers and brick and mortar stores, including computers, LCD TVs, hard drives, cell phones, and just about everything else under the sun. If it has to with tech, Tech Bargains has a deal for it.Though I rarely buy what I see on the site, it’s always nice to keep with price trends. Some items I have bought after seeing on TechBargains.com include a Viewsonic 20″ LCD for only $199.99, an Inspiron 1501 notebook for $600, and more. The website also features consumer information to help buyers make informative decisions, recall notices, and news when new products are released.
I found a unique little product on the web today called the Belkin Washable Mouse. Priced at $29.99, the mouse’s claim to fame is, well, its washability. Why, oh why Belkin? It certainly is nice clean your mouse every once and awhile, but wash it in water? Most people have something called cleaner and paper towels for cleaning their gadgetry. Unless you happen to have exceptionally sticky fingers or the habit of spilling liquids all over your computer, take your $29.99 and get a real mouse. What was Belkin thinking when they made this?
Other features of the mouse include 1200 dpi and a scroll pad that works both horizontally and vertically. You can read more about it on Belkin’s site or buy it at Amazon if you are so foolish.
Budget gamers rejoice! NVIDIA has released the first video card of its new 9000-series, the 9600 GT. Priced at only $199, the card is targeted towards those looking for an SLI setup without breaking the bank. NVIDIA’s goal in releasing the card is to give PC gamers something that can play the latest games very well, but at the same time be very affordable.
The 9600 GT is a midrange card. It’s typical for video card companies to release their highest-end video cards first in a new series, but NVIDIA is making a good choice in my opinion. Latest-generation video cards will no longer be for those with deep pockets only, and legacy users will be encouraged to upgrade their hardware.
The 9600 GT features the following specifications:
64 stream processors @ 1625 MHz each
256-bit memory @ 900 MHz
64 nm
DirectX 10
PCI Express 2.0 (backwards compatible with PCI Express 1.0)
The cards are available right now, and some sites have already started postingreviews.
A new update appeared on Apple’s site today. It has lowered the price of its 1 GB iPod Shuffle to only $49, while adding a new 2 GB model for $69.
This sudden price change isn’t as unexpected as it seems. Flash memory prices have been falling for ages, and one can easily pick up a 1 GB or even 2 GB player for $30 or less. The 1 GB Shuffles are available now on Apple’s website, but those wishing to pick up one of the new 2 GB models will have to wait until the end of the month for their release.
So, what does one do with a screenless 1 GB MP3 player? That’s the million dollar question for today. Perhaps they would be useful for someone with a very small music library or for working out, but most people would find themselves more comfortable with the Shuffle’s big brother the Nano, which offers more storage space and a color screen starting at $100.
Those who bought an HD-DVD player recently will be disappointed. The bitter war between the two DVD successors HD-DVD and Blu-ray seems to be coming to an end. Over the last year and a half movie enthusiasts have been split between the two formats, and up until now it seemed as though the war might go on much longer. Recent events, however, have pushed HD-DVD out of the picture and Blu-ray into the forefront. After Netflix and Best Buy announced their support for Blu-ray, HD-DVD was done a severe blow. Now HD-DVD has been given its killing blow, with Wal-Mart and Toshiba saying they will leave the HD-DVD camp and stick with Blu-ray. It looks like things are finally over for HD-DVD.
Many people, myself included, could care less about this development. I see no reason to switch to either of the new formats because I’m still happy with DVD. Hopefully now that HD-DVD is out of the picture Blu-ray will become more adopted and prices will go down.
After this week’s rant at Dell, it’s time to roll out another Thankful Thursday. For those unfamiliar with Thankful Thursday, the new weekly posting tradition here at PC Fastlane is meant provide a change from the rants that are sometimes posted. A lot of developments occur in the technology world that benefit the lives of disadvantaged individuals, and something cool and interesting is released almost every day in the world of gadgetry.
There might just be a replacement for the Concorde. A team of specialists have come up with a hypersonic aircraft design that can travel at twice the speed of the Concorde. It is capable of flying from Brussels to Australia in under five hours.
New T-ray device could find hidden art work. A new tetrahertz device, which works similar to an x-ray, could allow archaeologists to find old art work and murals covered by plaster or paint.
The rant I posted last Sunday has caught Dell’s attention, as well as the attention of other bloggers and social network users across the web. Thank you to everyone who read my post. For those unfamiliar with what happened, both the AC adapter and battery on my Dell notebook with a freshly-expired warranty died within a day of each other. A representative from Dell’s Community Outreach Liaison has responded to my complaints.
Bluetooth headset maker Jaw Bone has released a new commercial that can be seen on YouTube. What makes it so wonderful? Two Asian chicks beat up a rude asshole at a dry cleaners. If you can get past the violence, you’ll find the commercial is quite funny. It’s not surprising it has already had more than 25,000 views and a great rating on YouTube.I normally don’t blog about YouTube videos, but this one is too good to pass up.
Admit it. Window’s user interface sucks. It may have been innovate when Windows 95 was released, but now it’s time for a change. Sure, Vista brought along a cool graphics upgrade, but the same inefficient, clunky interface is still there. A new project called Cairo aims to change that.
PC Fastlane is a technology blog that keeps up-to-date with the latest happenings in the world of bits and bytes. The brain child of computer enthusiast Daniel Foster, the site has been around for more than two years and has been viewed by hundreds of thousands worldwide.
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