Rants and Raves

Changing the game so everybody wins!

A game site that is actually worth playing on: LiveSearchClub. Here’s the deal: You pick from 6 games to earn tickets from completing. Microsoft will then give you rewards based on how many tickets you have.

The games are all word games of some type, from crosswords, to anagrams to wordplay trivia. Each game gives a set amount of tickets based on completion, from 3 to 25.

The prizes range from 1 music download to a complete XBox 360 system. Don’t expect to get the 360 quickly, though. It is time consuming, and costs 35000 tickets to get.

One downfall to this site is that there are only a set number of puzzles for each game. If you happen to complete all of the puzzles, expect to wait a while before new ones are added. My suggestion would be to go through and play all of the games evenly, so you don’t get bored.

List of prizes: ————————————————- Tickets

Ratings:

• 4 out of 5 for originality
• 4 out of 5 for layout
• 4 out of 5 stability
• 4 out of 5 overall

Bottomline: If you are looking to score a free Zune or 360, this is for you. The games are reasonably short and addictive. It will keep you checking back for updates, with the only major downfall being how long it will take you to get a good prize.

What is the New Global Future?

We have heard about different ways the world is going to end: The Apocalypse, Global Warming, Nuclear Holocaust. What about starvation and overpopulation?

The Project for the New Global Future addresses just this.

So, who is doing their part to stabilize the world’s population? How about DuPont. As explained here, DuPont uses a carcinogen to create teflon, which builds up in our bodies every year.

And what about China? Well, they have nukes and a history of war. Of course they are a friend.

Enemies list includes Al Gore and Greenpeace, because of their compulsion to save the planet, and everyone on it.

There’s even a nifty little tool that calculates different up to the second stats of deaths, births, and computers built.

• 4 out of 5 for design
• 5 out of 5 for originality
• 4 out of 5 overall

Bottomline: If you are looking for a new cause, this should be it. The sarcastic overtone of the site brings to light the problems with overpopulation and crowding, while putting into perspective, all of the “end of the world” theories.

Looking for a media driven myspace graphics and avatars? Then look no further! DesignMyProfile.com has a decent assortment of pics from video game and album covers, to movie posters.

You hotlink directly from their site, with an easy to use interface that any newbie could adapt to. Just copy/paste from the code box below each image.

With hundreds of selections, and growing all the time, DesignMyProfile.com is soon to become the avid Myspace user’s haven.

• 3 out of 5 for design
• 2 out of 5 for originality
• 3 out of 5 for usefulness
• 3 out of 5 overall

Bottomline: If you like adding pictures to your myspace profile page, just to make it “prettier”, then this site is for you. It appears to be very stable. My only real issue was the lack of a “search” feature. It made getting around this site only for those who have the time to sift through the pages and pages of content.

Dungeons and Dragons: a fantasy role-playing game (RPG).

DnDOnlineGames.com: a bulletin board version of the fantasy role-playing game.

If you love playing D&D (dungeons and dragons, for those of you who don’t know), but just can’t seem to find people to play the table top version with, then DnDOG is for you.

There are hundreds of active games, from Second Edition to 3.5. There are even d20 Modern, Star Wars d20, and a forum for “other” d20 games, where you could DM any game you would like.

The signup process is painless, just like any BB. There are open game threads, as well as advertising threads, that will help you find a game after you have signed up.

All games are “home brewed”, and screened before-hand to make sure they are being run by a DM who is descriptive and creative. All ranks of players join these games, from newbies to elite.

Creating a game is pretty simple as well. Just submit a great description of what the game will entail, and what kind of characters you are wanting/needing for the campaign, and wait for it to be approved.

One unique feature of this board, is the ability to roll random dice rolls, by just using a tag. It makes playing online table top possible. And let me tell ya, it is definitely random. Don’t expect to see a lot of 20s, based on the statistics of getting them. No loaded dice here.

Another great feature is character creation. It has a built in character sheet site, that allows you to create your character using a standard sheet. Roll your dice in a specified thread for the game, and input them into your sheet.

As with any board, while you wait for game updates, you can join in the random banter, ask questions, help newbies, or join other games.

One major flaw with this website, though, is stability. When it DOES connect, it takes a minute to load. The site has serious server issues, and you never know when you are going to have to wait five minutes, or even a day, before you can get it to load again.

There are a few different layouts, which allow you to add some customization to the site, but nothing is extremely fetching. One good idea they have implemented, was flow. The boards flow in an intelligent way, so you can find what you are looking for, rather easily and quickly.

• 4 out of 5 for design
• 4 out of 5 for features
• 2 out of 5 for stability
• 4 out of 5 overall

Bottomline: DnDOnlineGames.com is a great site if you are wanting to appease the d&d junkie in you. The on-site character sheet is great and the ability to roll dice in threads makes this hard to miss. The server issues will get you down, but once it’s up, you’ll be refreshing the page all the time, to see if you’ve missed anything.

Ever want to know everything about CSS? You should check out Veerle’s Blog’s Interesting Links page.

I was just roaming the internet, looking for interesting pages, and came across it. She really has done her homework.

If you are really wanting to create your own css, or just need some tips for creating a new layout, visit her page.

Virtual world of Kaneva - Imagine what you can do

In a laboratory, in Atlanta, GA, scientists combined the DNA of Myspace, YouTube, Flickr and Second Life. This frankenstein creation was then named Kaneva.

You are blessed with unlimited space and bandwidth for pictures and video, and the only ads to speak of are google ads at the bottom of a few pages.

The profile editor is very comprehensive and user friendly. It uses a drag and drop method that allows you add and remove any section that you want. It has a section for css, if you would rather go that method. You can also set up your profile to be more of a website format, with as many pages as you would like.

The communities section is always filled with active groups, for anything you could think of, from sharing wallpapers, to playing online casino games to fan groups. You can also create your own community to connect with other members with the same interest.

The best part is that there is a unique 3d world associated with your profile. Since Kaneva is still in beta, it is kinda lacking in the avatar section, but they are adding new things everyday. At the moment, there are a few stores, where you can buy clothes, hair, furniture, etc. with either free reward credits, or by buying credits. You also have the ability to trade other players, for items that you really want, but may not be able to afford.

In this 3d world, you are given an “apartment”, in which you can showcase all of the videos and pictures you have uploaded. You can decorate it with all sorts of furniture, picture frames, even televisions. You can invite friends, or make it a public hangout. If it becomes too small to put all of your items and gifts, you can upgrade to a larger home.
Your communities are even created in this world, as a club, for people to hang out at. You can decorate it the same way you decorate your apartment.

The main thing that differs between Kaneva and SecondLife, is that Kaneva is striving for a “family friendly” atmosphere. So, you won’t see Playboy buying land in Kaneva. But, this can make for a more enjoyable atmosphere, as you won’t have all those annoying guys yelling “take off your clothes” every 5 minutes.

I have 2 sets of scores for this site, as it is technically 2 different entities:

Website:

• 4 out of 5 for design
• 4 out of 5 for features
• 4 out of 5 for stability
• 4 out of 5 overall

Virtual Reality:

• 3 out of 5 for stability (it’s still stress testing)
• 4 out of 5 for features
• 3 out of 5 overall

Bottomline:

For a free 3d world, Kaneva is fantastic, especially considering all the nifty features, but it is still a baby. Don’t expect all the kinks to be ironed out real soon, but you should still enjoy yourself.

NuTang.com - the Ultimate Weblog Community

Another good idea, that could be improved.

NuTang is a blog site that allows users to collect money based on how popular their blog is. The site’s revenue is generated by Yahoo ads, at the bottom of the page. If your blog is viewed a lot, you generate more money.

NuTang is invite only, so unless you know someone who has a journal there, good luck getting a code. Not that it’s a big loss. I have been using it for a couple of weeks, (a few posts here and there) and it appears to be exactly like every other blog site you could use, and possibly even lacking in some style points. There aren’t very many templates, and unless you know their proprietary code, then you are wasting your time by making your own.

The money you “earn” is a very small amount. In roughly a month, I’ve made 26 cents. So, if you are thinking of joining the site based on that detail, don’t. You can’t even cash out until you’ve made at least $20.

The community itself, seems to be comprised of rather intelligent people. There are, as with any community, a few morons here and there, but overall, good people. The “Infamous Shoutbox” gives you some added exposure, as long as you are active on the site, and can keep up with what scrolls through there.

The ability to recommend posts allows the other readers to make your posts more “favorable” and possibly gain enough momentum to get onto the front page.

Overall, NuTang seems to be just another blogging site, that is lacking in features that the big boys have, such as detailed templates, and a larger following. The unique feature that would entice someone to join, doesn’t generate enough money to warrant leaving your current blog behind.

• 2 out of 5 for design
• 3 out of 5 for features
• 4 out of 5 for stability
• 3 out of 5 overall

CherryTAP - It’s Happy Hour!

CherryTap.com is another myspace clone. The major differences are:

1. 18+ only
2. Nude Pics Allowed

The site itself is a novel idea: An adult myspace. The server is sound, the coding is great. One major flaw: The site has way too much clutter.

Upon signing up for Cherrytap, I was directed to my homepage, of which has about 50 things going on at once. There are user pictures scrolling across the top, a “Bar Tab” frame, that lists everything my friends and friends’ friends have done recently, immediately next to that is a “Shoutbox”, then a site wide ShoutBox. Under that is my dashboard, then my bar tab is posted again, in a larger format, then to the immediate right of that is a small “snapshot” of my profile, the person’s profile who invited me, and another small dashboard. All of this resizes to the size of my browser window, which means, I can’t get rid of any of it.

There are quite a few members on this site, and it does have some nifty features such as virtual gifts, photo albums, and a points system. But does it have to all be announced on my front page?!

To be honest, I’m more disappointed that there is no forum, and the community feature is rather lacking. It’s almost impossible to reach people in areas that interest you, unless you happen to find them on accident.

Another big issue I have, is that the bulletins page is separate, and you wouldn’t even notice it, unless you were looking for the link. It makes bulletins pretty useless.

Ratings:

• 2 out of 5 for design
• 3 out of 5 for features
• 4 out of 5 for Stability
• 3 out of 5 Overall
  

Technical Details

* Optical zoom: 1
* optical_sensor_resolution: 3.1 MP
* Viewfinder Type: Optical
* 16MB internal memory

Pros:
* This is a very tiny camera. It’s easy to pick up and go anywhere.
* Very inexpensive 3.1 megapixel camera
* Doubles as a webcam
* Internal batteries charge through usb

Cons:
* Only has internal memory, with no room for expansion
* Has no flash, so if it’s even slightly dark, you get no picture
* If battery dies, (which happens gradually, over time), then you lose all of your pictures
* No lcd screen

Now, overall, this is a pretty alright camera, especially considering you can pick one up for about 40-50 bucks online. But, I would recommend saving up your money for a better camera.
My biggest issue with this cam is that it has a very inaccurate eye lens. I can look out the lens, but it isn’t even CLOSE to what the picture will actually contain. It’s always either taking pictures of the tops of people’s heads or their arms, or feet.
Another major drawback is the lack of a flash at all. Come on, even camera PHONES have flash’s these days. How difficult is it to implement just a tiny little bulb? So, unless you are outside, or in a room surrounded by windows during the daytime, you aren’t going to get a bright enough picture to see anything.

Ratings:

• 3 out of 5 for price
• 2 out of 5 for functionality
• 4 out of 5 for style
• 3 out of 5 overall

Are you tired of those sites that say “Get a free (insert expensive electronic)”, and they never follow through? Or you have to spend 300 bucks worth of trials to get a $350 item?

Well look no further! iPodSweepstakes doesn’t lie to you. Yes, you have to sign up for offers, but you don’t have to sign up for anything that costs money. It isn’t a quick thing, unless you DO want to sign up for free trials, but it is real. Not only do you get “points” for signing up for free offers, you also get an entry into a daily drawing, for each free trial and sign-up you click on.

They have 3 different iPods available, depending on how many points you have:

• iPod Shuffle 1000 pts
• iPod Nano 2000 pts
• iPod Video 3000 pts

They also started carrying a $75 iTunes gift card for 1000 points. And have many colors for each iPod.

They have a referral program, but it isn’t necessary to have your friends sign up, just to get your free iPod. No pyramid scheme here.
For each one that clicks on the link, you get an entry into the daily sweepstakes, as well as an extra 100 points when 5 friends become active members.

If there’s a free site your going to join this year, this is the one!

iPodSweepstakes