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Last week, I got my hands on the new hit game Spore. I’ve been playing it all weekend and I’m completely hooked. It’s so much fun! If you’re a fan of the SimCity and Sims games, then you’re sure to enjoy this title.

I was worried that it wouldn’t play on my computer. My Mac Mini has an integrated Intel graphics processor, and the Mac version of Spore doesn’t allow that configuration. The fastest Windows PC that I own is a Dell laptop with a Pentium M processor at 1.7 Ghz, 1 GB RAM, and ATI Mobile X300 graphics card. Despite being below the system requirements laid out by EA, the laptop seems to play the game with ease. All of the settings for audio and graphics are set to a minimum by default. Despite being set low, I’m still very impressed with the graphics.

So far, I’ve worked my way from the ground up by passing the Cell stage, the Creature stage, the Tribal stage, and now I’ve reached the Civilization stage. The game gets more impressive and complex as you evolve into higher stages. Watch the videos of Spore on YouTube that showcase the Tribal, Civilization, and Space stages of the game. After watching those clips, I was wowed at the possibilities that lie ahead.

I’m having a ball playing Spore. Two big thumbs up!

After a decade of writing down the things I hate, I’ve finally started on a list of things that amuse me. As a result, I’ve made a new page on the site called Great List. Enjoy.

One of my favorite Facebook applications is a game called Mouse Hunt. The concept sounds pretty silly when you try to explain it to someone. Essentially, it’s a game where you set a virtual mouse trap and earn game points and gold for every mouse you find in your trap. There are several virtual “towns” to hunt in, and you spend your gold to buy better traps and cheeses. There are many varieties of mice to catch, and the mice evolve as you increase your hunting status. I started as a Novice user, then worked my way up past Journeyman status to reach Master status. Laura is even farther ahead, holding the title of GrandMaster.

In the big picture of life, this game is meaningless, and really serves no purpose whatsoever. But it is quite fun to check in on, and can become quite addicting. If you use Facebook, try adding this app. Mouse Hunt was rated 4.9 out of 5 stars after over 1000 votes on Facebook. That makes a pretty good case for giving it a try.

Tonight, I merged the former Mac and PC categories on this blog into a single new category called Tech. It will encompass all computing topics and all things tech-related. On a side note, tonight I have also renamed the former Net category to Sites, and the former Blog category to SiteNews.

One of my favorite websites for technology news is Ars Technica. I regularly read their RSS news feeds. I particularly like the Mac-centric news in the Apple section of their website.

I’ve discovered a great band that I somehow didn’t know about until now. They’re called Phantom Planet, and I just bought their 2008 album called Raise the Dead. It’s great! This is the first CD I’ve gone nuts over in a long time. This band has a great sound. They don’t sound like every other band on the radio today.

On Raise the Dead, tracks 2 (Dropped), 3 (Leader), and 4 (Do the Panic) are absolutely incredible songs. Those tracks alone are hands down worth the price of the CD. I’m hooked. This CD is totally worth the money! I’m thrilled to have discovered this band. I recommend that you give this album a listen.

If you enjoy playing Flash games online, I recommend that you check out Desktop Tower Defense. It is completely addictive! I’ve had a blast playing this game tonight. Try it yourself!

Since I bought my first Mac last summer, I’ve become a true Mac fan. I love my Mac Mini very much. It’s the most fun, unique computer I’ve ever owned. I would recommend one to all of my friends and family. The centerpiece of this greatness is the Mac OS.

I’ve been using Windows since version 3.0 was released in the early 1990s. Switching entirely to the Mac operating system took some getting used to. Having used Windows XP for years, and often tinkering with Linux, I can say that OSX is the best operating system on the market. I’ve used Tiger (10.4) and now use Leopard (10.5). Currently, Leopard is on version 10.5.4.

Still, I am not all praise when it comes to Apple’s OS. Below, I have listed some features/changes that I want to see in future updates to 10.5, or in the future 10.6 release, due in 2009. I’m sure I can come up with many more, but this is simply a conversation starter.

CRAIG’S MAC OSX WISHLIST:

1. Add a true maximize button to all windows. Currently, I like how the green plus sign usually resizes to make information display correctly automatically, but I want true maximization. True maximization is having the application window as large as it can be, barring space for the menu bar, and the Dock (unless on auto hide). Another button doesn’t have to be added, necessarily. Simply toggle the green plus button with, say, the Apple key, or CTRL. As a former Windows user, this is a glaring issue for me.
2. All web browsers should have a fullscreen mode. This is achieved by hitting F11 on Windows/Linux systems. Safari, Firefox, and Camino all lack the fullscreen browsing mode on the Mac OS. Why is this? Ironically, Opera has one that does this on the Mac. That is proof that it can be done. Make it so!
3. Add more features to the Dock preferences. A button to toggle a 2D or 3D appearance should definitely be there, just for starters. Too often, one has to access the Terminal to enter commands to edit the Dock.
4. Make it easy to add Dashboard widgets directly on the desktop. There is a way to jump through some hoops to do this today (via Terminal), but Apple needs to make it upfront and easy.
5. Include an option in the system preferences to turn the Dashboard off all together. Again, today we use the Terminal to manipulate this behavior. Come on!
6. Make the built-in OS firewall more obvious. A new install should at least tell you what it is set to by default, and explain the reasoning behind it. I don’t want it in my face, but a new user should be told upfront what it is doing for you in the background, then leave you alone. I had to search it out to find the firewall, and it was vague when I found it.
7. Time Machine needs to give the end user way, way more options. The on/off option of backing up every single hour, or not at all, is way too broad. Hacks and third-party tools shouldn’t be required to tweak the Time Machine.
8. With Spaces, I want to be able to switch to another space with a mouse gesture of some kind.
9. Mail needs more options for the mail checking schedule. I want to set mine to 10 minutes, but I can’t. I can only choose 5, 15, 30, or 1 hour. Fooey!
10. Apple needs to be more open about the updates to the OS. Each point release should be accompanied by a detailed list of changes, or at least as much as possible without compromising security.

Again, this is just a list a threw together. If you have more to add, then please comment on the post. If I think of more, I’ll do the same. In the future, if I come up with a lot more, I’ll make a new post.

I have been using Google Chrome for the first time tonight. Conveniently, it imported my Firefox and IE bookmarks on its own. The feel of Chrome is more that of Firefox than Internet Explorer. Chrome seems to be a capable browser, despite the fact that it isn’t a finished product. It certainly has a nice interface, and is very easy on the eyes. I thought that sites loaded pretty fast, though my view was skewed by the old Pentium-III computer I was using for the test.

Oddly, when I visited my favorite browser identifier website, Browser & OS Identifier, Chrome was listed in the browser details, but the site told me I was using Safari.

Google released its own web browser today, called Chrome. At the moment, it is only available in beta to Windows users only. Mac and Linux versions are said to be in the works. I’ve been reading about on it online. I’m pleased that they are releasing Chrome as an open-source application. Tonight, I downloaded the app, but haven’t installed it yet. I’m eager to try Chrome, but I seriously doubt any browser will pull me away from Firefox 3.

So why did Google make its own web browser? Google tries to answer that here. In my opinion, with an already flooded browser market (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Camino, Opera, etc.), I don’t see the need for another browser. Web developers have enough juggling to do already.

In the big picture, I’d rather see an entire Google operating system. If somehow releasing their own browser is a small step in that direction, then I cheer them on. I only hope it doesn’t become another one of Google’s forever-beta programs. Gmail to this day still calls itself a beta product. Get real! It has been a final product for years now. What’s with all the betas? Slap a 1.0 on it and kick it out the door.

Tonight, I got sucked into the movie Stargate, which happened to be playing on the Encore Channel. I’ve seen it before and it’s a pretty good movie. The looming question that comes to my mind: Is it just me, or does the actor playing Kasuf in this movie (Erick Avari) look exactly like Afghanistan President Hamed Karzai? Crazy!