Smart Fridge

OK! so maybe I got just a little bit upset the first time, the burns have healed and I've forgiven my fridge.

Aesthetically it looks almost identical to white goods of the past although the display panel on the front and inch thick user Manuel quickly remind me how different this is going to be. But hey, if it can make shopping fun or at least easier, I'm all for learning something new.

I thought I'd run through some of the features of the wireless fridge to help cement them in my memory, it might even be useful to all of you who are considering getting one. Gone are the days where you simply bought your shopping and crammed it into the fridge only to rustle through the mess at 3am because you cant sleep and need to snack.

One of the main features you have with this fridge is that when you've bought all of your shopping you have the option to swipe a card at the checkout tills which will then store data on all of your refrigeration goods that you've purchased, once you've loaded your fridge back home simply scan the card via a device on the control panel and it then creates a database of the items you've just bought, registering that they are now inside the fridge, easy!

There are 4 features on the control panel that I really like, one allows you to check the sell by date on all of your items and it'll even tell you how many days they have left before they spoil.

Another function is a repair button, if the fridge stops functioning properly this feature will go through some basic diagnostics with you to help solve the problem, if that fails to get it working it will allow you to book someone to come out and repair the fridge!

A feature that I think will be extremely useful is the ability to download my fridges content list onto my LIFEphone. It will also show me items that I've run out of or items that are past their sell by date so I know exactly what I've run out of should I wish to purchase them again. This is all done by smart sensors placed inside the casing of the fridge which recognises when an item has been taken out of it via the identification tag installed on its packaging.

And finally there is a feature which advises me on products similar to those found in my purchase history, so rather than simplifying shopping to the point where I find myself buying the same stuff week in week out, pressing this button will give me some information on products I've not tried yet but those that are from the same brand I buy or similar types of foods. I like the fact that it creates more possibilities for me as well as making things more convenient.

Although I think consumers need to be very careful as to who will be in charge of regulating this particular feature.

....There are plenty more features, the fridge has the ability to assess its contents and produce recipe options for me. It'll even preheat my oven or prepare other appliances should they be required to make the meal.

I love it when a plan comes together

A friend brought to my attention that his LIFEphone created a far better route to work this morning.

Ironically - you knew it was coming - he arrived at the office 15 minutes late.

His little gadget failed to pick up on the traffic situation, it foolishly identified what the quickest way to work would be with the assumption he would be the only man on the roads.

I thought to myself, this is no good Timmy, your going to get your miserable ass fired. So, I decided to download, for free, traffic update software from LIFEphone.org. It refreshes every 30 seconds to give me the best possible route to work - as I'm on the move - whilst also taking into account traffic congestion.

Get it Free at LIFEphone.org - its still BETA - but it at least you won't get a disciplinary from your ultimate bad ass manager.

Freakin' Fridge

Damn you!

My new fridge is proving to be more trouble than its worth, it damn near killed me.

I request a simple breakfast meal with eggs.

I pressed "begin" on the display panel, I followed the instructions - like you do - but the fridge told my hob to turn on in advance of me pouring the bloody oil in the pan.

Nothing like a sizzling oil shower to the face, eh.

Kameo

Kameo: Elements of Power

I bought this game for £9 at the weekend. Bargain i thought. It was the first game released on the Xbox 360 after all.

Yeah i know, I'm slightly late in picking this one up.

I lthoroughly enjoyed Banjo Kazooie, Grabbed by the Ghoulies and even Viva Pinata, they were all made by Rare as is this title. Their reputation made it easy for me to finally give this one a try.

Its an enjoyable experience it plays well and is graphically diverse and colourful, I've not seen a better use in bump mapping.However I felt Kameo herself looked quite bland in comparison to the many other characters dotted about the world, they spent a lot time modelling the elemental characters and non playable characters so i was disappointed with kameo's overall appearance.

I have to admit i preferred the concept back in 2002, it came across as more of an RPG, how you nurture your elemental warriors would depend on the powerful beast they'd grow into.

This game, simply put, is an extremely linear adventure game and quite a short one at that. The main variables come from upgrading your 10 elemental warriors by finding up to 100 rare fruit strategically hidden throughout the game, this causes you to prioritise slightly.
Regardless of this, simple really does sum this game up. There is no reply value. And the geography of the world is unclear.

The user isnt able to save the game so returning to the game the following day results in your progress being saved but you often find kameo has spawned in a different area. I also have issues with the map, it can only be seen in certain zones and in the areas featuring them the white dots signalling places of interest don't make it clear as to whether you can travel through them or not. Not to mention the location that they represent.

The achievements are rather disapointing, they are only rewarded for linear progression through the games main quest line. Why not reward gamers for collecting all 100 elemental fruit or all 12 elixers or all hidden elemental warrior skins.

I do enjoy however the influx of warrior skins, each warrior has a skin stashed somewhere in the world, they are simply colour variants, however a free download of fan based concepts adds a wonderful new meaning to all 10 characters.

My main gripes with this game is that its far to simple, whilst there is plenty of free roaming to do your decisions have no effect on the world and how it sees you. you can go into peoples houses, destroy things and steal from chests yet there is no consequences for your actions. The content you destroy simply re-spawns. Hence the rewards inside the chests are meaning less. Runes(the games form of currency) are easy to get hold of because of this re-spawn feature. Even so there is nothing worth purchasing that will profoundly improve your progression through the game.

Finally, i would've liked to see more parameters for clearing a level, it plays similar to banjo kazooie so its a shame there are no alternative incentives to beat the game such as collecting 100 "things" or rescuing 7 of "those"

Its an enjoyable experience just extremely short and quite linear, there isn't a whole lot to do outside the main quest line that's worth your while. The game looks gorgeous however the world just isnt diverse enough.

Scenario Planning

Yeah, I know, its been a while. This will hardly be worth the wait...what am I saying just read.

Scenario III: Resource Shortage

World wide power shortage causes gaming prices to increase dramatically. This means many gamers and developers can no longer afford this pastime, a power saving movement will begin, developers will incorporate energy saving advice into games, the approach by developers will drastically change as they try to conserve energy by prioritising functionality over realism.

Games will become simpler visually they will also become less immerse. Developers will have to come up with ways of making games that now look 10 year older appealing in new innovative ways.

Purists will rebel and produce a rival faction to counter this energy saving movement they will refuse to accept capped technology, believing there should be no limit.

Computers using more energy than the agreed cap will be deemed illegal.