So I found out last night during my accounting class that Steve Jobs died. That really sucks- I'm sure Apple's stock took a hit right after it happened. Steve was a guy who believed in innovation- making the human experience as magical and as user friendly as possible, even if it meant failure. Jobs had his fair share of failures when with Apple, but when he gets it right, he sure does hit it out of the park. After all, I'm writing this post on a used Macbook Air that I bought recently. My last laptop, an HP, has a lot more computing power, and Windows 7 is a great OS. But it's got to be a testament to the way Steve endorsed his products that almost all of my personal technology- my laptop, my tablet, and my mp3 player- come from Cupertino by way of China. Not giving up my Windows Phone anytime soon, Apple. sorry.

But even without me, there's still a whole army of iPhone users who claim that it's the best thing since sliced bread. Hardcore Android users passionately dispute that fact, but that's what it is- a fact. The customer is always right, and if you don't believe the iPhone is the best thing since sliced bread, just look at the sales numbers. Look at the number of apps people are buying on a daily basis. It all has to mean something, and considering where Apple was 10 years ago, Steve Jobs has done an unparalleled....job....with the company he founded, was forced out of, and then asked to join back.

We probably could have foreseen Jobs' health problems accumulate- after all, the he had been looking quite gaunt in the last few Apple keynotes, and was rumored to not even be healthy enough to be at his final keynote that introduced iOS 5 to the world. Tim Cook was named CEO just six weeks before Jobs' death, but nobody believed that it would happen this soon. This suddenly. This unexpectedly.

Normally with cancer patients, you can see the deterioration happen right before your eyes. The patient becomes bedridden, they have a thousand different meds pumping through their bodies, and the doctor can give a time frame of days- maybe even hours- before the patient is going to die. Was Jobs putting on a happy face for all of us this time? Did he know that this was coming? I'd have to assume so- it's not like he didn't have the money to go through with any necessary surgeries to stop the cancer. But he still showed up to work, still gave his keynotes as if nothing had ever happened to him. Jobs, up until the day he passed, chose to think different. There aren't too many people who I consider have lived their lives fully by what they have taught, but I hold him in that regard.

Look what his products have allowed to happen- autistic children and grandparents alike use the iPad to improve their brain activity. Some consider OSX to be the most user friendly operating system on the market today. The iPod changed the music industry entirely. And we don't even need to start on the impact of the iPhone on the smartphone market.

Godspeed, Steve. I don't ever think you will fully realize what a difference you've made in our world today.

Kindle Fire to Burn iPad? 3 Reasons it Will, 3 Reasons it Won't

Okay, so this new Kindle seems pretty awesome. Not iPad awesome, but definitely good enough to cut into Apple's market share. I'm not sure if Jeff Bezos and company are ready to take on Goliath- they may only be trying to create a new genre, as the iPad did when it was released. Well, here are three reasons why Amazon will do some serious damage in the tablet market and three reasons why they won't.

Why It Will Do Well:

1- Price
The first thing I noticed about the Kindle was its svelte price- $199 for a tablet is unheard of, and although companies haven't started to seriously undercut each other to cut into Apple's market share, Amazon may put some tablet makers out of the game with this price point. Plus, it helps that if your kid spills juice on it, or you leave it on the counter somewhere, you're only out of $200, not $500 minimum.

2- Familiarity
Millions of people already own Amazon Kindles and are happy with them, so for Amazon users, this is a natural step up. Sure, they can activate a kindle app on other devices, but more than likely, if they're happy with the Kindle, my guess is that they'll stick with the Kindle Fire. The device is still small and thin, so they get to keep the form factor, even with the overhaul

3- Doesn't Do Much
Some people just like simple. My mom wouldn't be able to use an iPad because she wouldn't understand how to work half the apps and gestures on it. She would need something simple to read books, check the internet, and keep up with her email. The Kindle Fire is perfect for her.

Why It Won't Do Well:

1- iPad Has Familiarity, Too
Amazon's Kindle is cool, but the iPad is getting to a point where the name is becoming a general term for all products like it- take Kleenex, Q Tips, or yes, even the iPod as examples. The iPad has just about become the end-all be-all in tablets.

2- Not Very Many Apps
For some, the Kindle Fire not being able to do much is a good thing. For most, however, it is a bad thing. People want to buy a tablet and download a bunch of apps for it. If Amazon can't support a large app library, they may not thrive.

3- No 3G Option
I thought this would be an obvious addition to the Kindle Fire, but apparently I'm wrong. With a device this compact, 3G would be an obvious shoe in as I see it.

At this point, I don't even think the Fire is competing with the iPad- the only area where it seriously competes is price, and even still, it offers an entirely different set of attributes. I'll be interested to see what comes of this.

Waiting For the Right Piece- Ranking My 5 Favorite Puzzle Video Games of All Time

Next to platformers, my favorite type of video games are puzzle games. They're like a good workout; they begin with a slow buildup and eventually lead to a frantic rush that ends with me barely breathing in a pool of my own sweat and blood. Hey, I don't go to the gym very often.

When I rate a puzzle game, I base it upon three major criteria:

Depth- Is it easy to learn, but hard to master?
Learning Curve- How slowly or quickly is the game's difficulty ramped up level to level??
Addictiveness- If you put it in front of me right now, what's the likelihood that I'll play for at least an hour?

As a result, I've come up with five pure puzzlers that I have found, in my own personal experience, to be the best. Sure, there are games out there that I've never played before that some of you would put in your five- just let me know in the comments section if there's something I have missed. If it's obscure, I probably haven't played it, and won't find out about it until you say something! For the most part though, I believe that most of you could see two or three of these games making your lists. Without further ado, here are my Top Five!

 5. Puzzle Bobble/Bust A Move

Level 1. Enjoy the simple lines and four color scheme,
because from here on out, it's mayhem.

When it comes down to sheer play time, I've logged more hours on Puzzle Bobble than most other arcade games. Why? Puzzle Bobble was one of only a handful of Neo Geo games to get a dedicated arcade cabinet; excluding the Metal Slug and Samurai Showdown series, most other Neo Geo games were packed into a 4 game cabinet. So as a result, Puzzle Bobble stands out at most arcades I have visited, and still can take any spare quarters from my pocket. The game itself is simple enough; the player just shoots colored orbs up into the playing field, trying to clear all of the orbs by connecting three of the same order. My favorite part of these games were the "killshots" that could finish a level in a matter of seconds, but took a relatively skilled player to hit. The game gets docked a little for exponentially amping up the difficulty after the first five or so levels, but I still can't resist playing a Puzzle Bobble machine if I see one.


 4. Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo (HD Remix)

Looks like Dan is taking a beating.
Nice to see nothing has changed.

Despite being the first (and only) in this series, Capcom decided to make fun of its tendency to overname its Street Fighter games by going all out with this one. The game was simple enough, but what made it fun was the fighting. Capcom didn't stray much from the tried and true "match the colors" format, but having the Street Fighter characters act out the puzzle battle was a fun addition- the bigger your combo on the puzzle chute, the more cans of whoop ass your character opened on your opponent's. The fighting had no bearing on the game since the person whose column filled up first still lost, but it was still fun to watch. Just to mess with us even more, Capcom put the game up on Xbox Live/Playstation Network, and converted it to HD Remix, making the name a little longer, and making gamers a lot happier.


3. Tetris

The points that Tetris earned for the dancing Russian
were immediately docked when the game decided that
I had an L block deficiency.

Tetris is iconic. Tetris is fun. Tetris is a fun party game with the right group. But no, Tetris is not my #1. Go ahead, burn me at the stake now. Most reviewers would put Tetris on their list where Shao Kahn is on the Mortal Kombat II Battle Plan- at the tippy top with no signs of letting up. Tetris MADE the original Game Boy, but Tetris doesn't have a great replay value with me. I will play a couple of games at a time, but after 20 minutes, Tetris and I are through for a couple weeks. Part of the reason comes from the fact that Classic Tetris is a never ending affair with no real benchmark to pass other than your high score. At least with a game like Pac Man, I could gauge success by reaching harder levels with each passing quarter; once you hit Speed 10 on Tetris, it was just a matter of time until you died. It just doesn't replay well for me. If it wasn't for that, it would probably rank higher. But the addictive nature of the game that got other players caught up in the madness never caught on with me. I COULD just make Tetris #1 and say that puzzle games just don't interest me as much as I thought, but two other games were able to keep my interest pretty easily....


 2. Lumines Puzzle Fusion

If you turn the speakers up when playing Lumines,
you may accidentally start a rave.

When I first got my PSP back in 2005, I actively looked for a puzzle game for it that WASN'T Tetris (see?). I looked around online and found this little puzzle game that was getting rave reviews. It was called Lumines, and boy was it good. You have these square blocks that are divided into four smaller squares- all you have to do is make rectangles of the same color that are at least 2x2 in size. These larger blocks get cleared by a timeline that moves across the playing field, serving a purpose not much different than that of a windshield wiper.

The real challenge of Lumines comes in the music. Lumines plays a set line of music tracks, all of differing speeds and styles, meaning you may very well follow a pop ballad with Japanese ska. The devil is in these speeds, though. The entire speed of the game is based upon the current song, including the timeline. If it's a slow sappy song, the timeline moves at a slower rate, allowing you to make huge combos. Of course, if you're running out of space, the slow timeline may screw you over since you won't clear out blocks as fast. Then, you may get some extremely fast scat that moves like top speed Tetris. Not much room for combos, but a skilled player can get out of a space jam pretty quickly. The game's selling point is that it keeps you on your toes, due to the constant (and sometimes drastic) change in speed. There were times where I begged for the song to change to allow me to out of a bad situation, and that unpredictability and constant suspense kept me coming back for more. The PSP's second edition added more tracks and music videos, and eventually the game was ported to PS3, Xbox, and iOS. This is one of those games that SHOULD have been a tie in with the PSP- it was that good. If you have a current gen system, PLEASE download this game immediately- you will not be disappointed.


 1. Klax

Klax Wave.
Say no more. Say no less.

 It is the 2010s....and it is STILL time for Klax.

 For the bulk of my life, I had parents who were separated or divorced. But I got to see my dad a lot; I always enjoyed spending time with my dad, and thus I always looked forward to weekends. We'd go to the movies, check out the new tech at Best Buy, scavenge for dinner, or just sit around and watch TV- just guy stuff. But one weekend each year was awesome, despite the fact that it was the one pickup weekend where I'd see my dad the least; the Robbins Alumni Association Dinner Dance.

The club members stayed at the Holiday Inn for the weekend so that they would be on site for all of the prep work, and rightly so; the dinner dance was the largest source of the club's cash flow, and, as such, required my dad's undivided attention for the weekend. My dad would always come get me that weekend, and I always got my own hotel room, so who was I to argue with 48 hours without adult supervision?

We used to have an Aladdin's Castle in the nearby mall, but it closed down before I was old enough to enjoy it. In Matteson, the Holiday Inn arcade was the next best thing. Whereas the nearby Chuck E. Cheese mainly dabbled in Skee Ball and baby rides, the Holiday Inn was boss. Over the years the arcade had a 6 player X Men cabinet, STUN Runner, a Neo Geo four-game cabinet, a Fun House pinball machine, and most importantly, Klax. Klax was created in 1989 by Atari as a way to get a puzzle game out on the market- they were tied up in litigation over the rights to Tetris, and this was their backup plan just in case they lost the rights. It was the nineties....and it was time for Klax.

 I didn't get my first taste of Klax until February of 1997, but I was hooked. Klax was this Tetris/Tic Tac Toe mashup that required players to drop tiles on this 25 square gameboard. But the challenge wasn't just about completing the level objective (score a number of points, get three diagonal scores, last for 50 tiles, etc.). You also had to keep the board from filling up, AND you could only let a few tiles fall off the edge of the screen before the game was over. It was incredibly addictive, and the levels were short enough to make you want to try again, but long enough to make you feel that you were taking on a real challenge. If you were a really good player, you'd try and form the big X and earn a warp...it was hard but worth it.

The game can be frustrating at times, especially when  you get a tile rush full of the pieces you DON'T want, and I don't have a killer reason why the game is so good- it just is. Simply put, it's incredibly fun, addictive, and it holds up well to this day, despite the fact that this is the only game on the list to not come out with a "new" version, despite being ported to every system of its time. I also don't know why a new edition hasn't come out since its inception, but Atari needs to get on that soon. If you happen to come across this game, PLAY IT IMMEDIATELY.

Agree? Disagree? Did I miss something? Let me know in the Comments section below- I'd love to hear from you!