Sunday, May 18, 2014

How To Divorce Yourself From Google And Keep Your Android Tablet

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Gray Modern Theme For SeaMonkey

  While not video game related, I felt that I should share my newest contribution to browser skinning.  I remember seeing this theme years ago for the original Mozilla browser.  I believe this theme dates back to Netscape Navigator.  The pale blue version was nice in 2002, but not very pleasant for modern operating systems.  If you are a Mozilla/SeaMonkey loyalist, please check out my Gray Modern theme!


You can download this theme for SeaMonkey here

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Techno Cop

  I recently had the chance to play an early ultra-violent game for the Sega Genesis.  This game is freely available to play on PC due to advances in emulation.

   Techno Cop is a 1990 action video game released for Sega Genesis. The gameplay combines pseudo-3D driving in the graphical style of Outrun with side-scrolling action as the player controls a police officer driving to and then moved through various seedy locations in a one-man war against crime. The game was the first game on the Genesis to have a warning label due to its violent content.
The game was largely panned by video game critics for its simplistic graphics, sound, and the fact that many of the levels looked too similar.

Gameplay

  In the single-player side-scrolling game the player is a cop in a seedy futuristic urban city. Armed with a pistol, the player has to kill various thugs, before the timer runs out. While the game has several levels, the background in the game does not change often.
The other half of the game is a driving sequence, similar to other computer games such as Roadblasters.
Techno Cop was one of the first games made for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis from a third party developer and was part of an attempt by Razorsoft to test what sort of content would Sega allow on a game made for one of its systems.

Violent Content

  Both Nintendo of America and Sega of America insisted upon previewing games made for their system, prior to release, to check for bugs and potentially controversial or offensive content. Sega allowed Techno Cop to be released without requiring Razor Soft to remove or tone down the game's violent content. Along with the blood, when the playable character shot at another character, they would be blown apart.

Super Mario 64.. Now in HD!

I have successfully increased internal texture resolutions from 64x64 pixels to 512x512 pixels.  The results are outstanding.  Credit goes to Mollymutt for the original texture pack.  I have been working on retexturing the game, again, in 512x512 instead of his original 128x128.   So far I've worked on the exterior of the castle and the first level.

Below is a link to the modified Mollymutt texture pack and plugins.
High Res Texture Pack Download





The first thing you must do is download a N64 emulator and get the Rice video plugin.   Check "Use custom textures if available" Place this texture pack in the hi_res texture folder and it will load up automatically.

Transform your Kindle Fire into a fully functional Android tablet

UPDATE! The newly released 6.2.1 and 6.2.2 Amazon updates will break previous root access. This, however, has been bypassed, thanks to RootzWiki and AndroidPolice. Please check out http://forum.xda-developers.com/showt.... (You need root access to register your device with your Google account). This will allow you access to the Android Market App and Gmail.

This video will show you the benefits of bypassing the Amazon Launcher and App Store to fully realize the capabilities of your Kindle Fire tablet. The Kindle Fire was created to be a "Media Consumption" device and Amazon peripheral. This video will demonstrate what a Kindle Fire is actually capable of. My instructions are only meant to point you in the right direction.

This video demonstrates what you can do with a Kindle Fire without even needing to root.


This video demonstrates how to install Android 4.3 and completely wipe out the Kindle OS.


Instructions
/////////////////////

1. Root your Kindle Fire - http://www.kindlefirewire.com will show you how to do this. You will need a program called SuperOneClick, and follow simple instructions.

2. Apps - Side load a separate Android Launcher (Go Launcher, ICS), Android Market, and an internet browser. With a little research, this is very easy to do. You can add customized widgets to your Home Screen using Go Launcher or Elixer 2.
Other indispensable apps include ES File Explorer and MX Media Player. ES File Explorer will allow you to navigate to network shares located on your PC. MX Media Player will allow you to play and stream various video file types that may be stored on your PC.

3. Wallpaper - The Kindle Fire automatically changes the wallpaper each time the device wakes from sleep mode or is turned on. If you've installed a third party launcher and want your wallpaper to always be displayed instead of being changed to one of Amazon's default wallpapers. Here's how to keep the Fire from changing your wallpaper.
Note: The following was performed on a rooted Kindle Fire.
We are going to use ES File Explorer to do this, it allows you to do this easily and you can create a shortcut to the appropriate system directory so that you can make changes easily in the future. If you don't have ES File Explorer installed on your Kindle Fire, open the device's web browser and go here to install it.
Use your third party launcher (AWD, Go Launcher, etc.) to change the wallpaper on your device. Don't let the device go to sleep yet, it will change your wallpaper.
Open ES File Explorer and click the Star icon at the top of the app.
Select Phone.
You will need to navigate the directories as follows: data/data/com.android.settings/files
Inside the files directory, long tap wallpaper and select Properties.
Select the Change button.
Uncheck the two checkboxes that are checked under the write column.
Select the OK button.
Select the OK button on the Properties window.
Now your Kindle Fire wallpaper can not be changed by you or the operating system. To change your wallpaper, place checks back in the two boxes and change your wallpaper. When finished, uncheck the two boxes again to permanently save your changes.

4. GetJar - This is another portal for free Kindle Fire apps. Please visit http://www.getjar.com on your Kindle for access.

Definition - Side Load - Install apps directly from a shared folder on your PC. This is very easy to do via a Wi-Fi connection and ES File Explorer.

Top Ten Crazy Christian Games

I know you've seen videos highlighting ridiculous religiously themed games on the Nintendo Entertainment System.  Please check out this entertaining video.  I hope you enjoy.





#10 Break-Out The Bible.
A Break-Out clone with bible verses.

#9 Scripture Chess
A competent chess game ruined with bible verses.

#8 King Solomon's Trivia Challenge 1 & 2
Trivia game with multiple choice questions.

#7 The Bible Game
Similar in nature to the King Solomon game.

#6 Adam's Venture (Starring Adam Venture)
What looks to be an otherwise good adventure game is overshadowed with heavy handed Christian mythology.

#5 Charlie Church Mouse Games
The Christian version of Leapfrog or Jumpstart.

#4 Guitar Praise
Guitar Hero clone.

#3 Praise Champion
Karaoke game featuring Christian songs.

#2 Left Behind Series
Command and Conquer style game play.

#1 The You Testament
The craziest Christian theme game ever created.