STG's

And Another thing... - by Eoin Colfer is a new sequel (Part Six of Three) for the HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. That might be surprising to some, as the original author of the series is dead. However, there were a few cases where new authors did very interesting additions to existing series. Looking up into my bookcase, the new Foundation books (by the 3 B - Bear, Brin and Benford) and the new Dune books by Brian Herbert are fine examples of books I've enjoyed. As you can imagine, not everyone felt the same way. And Another thing... is a very fun read, in the continuous insanity style of HHGTTG. It continues where the last book left off, and in the traditional way of the series, the Earth is about to be destroyed by the Vogons. Again. The guide notes was profusely spread throughout the book. It was a bit on the boundary between fun and just annoying. In a very uncommon occasion for me, I actually read this one on paper - it's been a few years since I...

I use CIS (Comodo Internet Security) for a couple of my computers. I decided to install v4 because, well, it is a firewall/AV so it is a good idea to keep it updated.  Plus, v3 has been enormously annoying because it ignores installation modes and keeps asking me dozens of times whether to allow this or that. I'm getting Zonealarm flashbacks - inability to recall previous choices is one of the main reasons I ditched it (I used it from v 1.0, for about 8 years). The auto-update fails after a few seconds. So I went to download it manually - without even a link, which would be a nice touch when the auto-update failed. The install was a bit annoying and needed two reboots. After the second reboot, the program installed. Well, sort of as their interface simply wouldn't start. It also proceeded to sandbox a bunch of my programs in a way that they wouldn't work. The whole sandbox idea is pretty good, and has been done for years on other programs. Of course, many virus...

Pioneer one is a seriously indie movie. Not only it was made for US$6000 through kickstarter , it can be redistributed and downloaded for free. I've just watched it and it was interesting. It's surprising to see how close some of the production values are to regular series, although it's obvious that they put some thought on how to need minimum locations and props. They are now seeking donation to make the next 3 episodes for US$20000. Depending on how much you donate, you get different extras, starting with the music for US$5, and getting credit on an upcoming episode for US$100.

I've just noticed the demo for Iron Grip: Warlord on Steam, and checked it out. It is a mix of RTS, FPS and a tower defense game. The graphics are so outdated it's silly. The level design is barely ok. That said, I just loved the gameplay... I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a demo so much. And if you have an older computer, it should still play fine (an advantage for those outdated graphics). I've sometimes thought of RTS/FPS hybrids. This one is everything I dreamed of. After playing a level I went and bought it - it's pretty cheap at US$9.95. Totally recommended. Drop by their site  now, and download the demo.

Alien Breed: Impact is a third-person shooter, on a spaceship invaded by aliens. The game uses Unreal Engine 3.0 and it's graphically beautiful. I've found the gameplay - full of aliens that pop out of nowhere and explosions that happen just as you arrive - to be incredibly annoying. The demo constantly stopping to show you a cutscene didn't help either. Really NOT recommended.

Interesting article on how Unity is using the Native Client Google system to run without plug-ins on Chrome (as I understand it, this is currently on the beta Chromium only). The Native Client is going to be huge, if they can solve all security problems.