@stephenamp Twitter Word Cloud!

I've always liked word clouds. Well, always being since I first saw them maybe a year ago. Anyway I made this using Wordle.com and thought I'd share it. Not too exciting but the good thing I'm taking from the cloud is that most of the words are positive ones... it helps to have a positive mindset! :) Follow me here!

My favourite iPhone apps

The number of "Top iPhone Apps" articles/blog posts I've read are
probably in the hundreds. For the most part they usually recommend the
same apps - NetNewsWire, Last.FM, Twitterific etc. Well yes those apps
are great but there are thousands upon thousands of apps out there so
surely there are a few fantastic ones being missed by the masses. With
this post I'm hoping to draw some attention to a few *slightly* less
recognized apps that I use regularly to enhance my digital lifestyle!

*** RunKeeper ***
RunKeeper is an app designed to take advantage of the built in GPS in
the iPhone. It tracks your running time, speed, distance and even your
exact location which can be exported to Google Maps. All this is then
stored both on your phone and on the runkeeper.com website where you
can see more usable maps and graphs of your activities and trends over
time. I say activities as it isn't strictly for runners-RunKeeper can
be used for cycling, hiking, skiing and whatever else you can think
of... Though they'd have to fall into the "Other" label! Anyway it
really is a classy application and as it's available as an ad-
supported free download it should be considered a must download for
any fitness following iPhone owners out there. The Pro version is
practically identical sans adverts but I'd recommend the purchase
simply for the fact that these guys have put out such a great app and
deserve the support. One additional feature I haven't mentioned-RK can
automatically tweet your latest run to your twitter account! So as
soon as I finish that 10 mile cycle to work or 2 mile jog in the park
it automatically posts the distance and a map straight to my
account.... Which leads nicely to my next app!

*** Tweetie ***
I know what you're thinking! Why buy a Twitter app when Twitterific is
more than adequate? Well let me just say that the difference between
the two is practically chalk and cheese. Tweetie brings a beautiful
interface, much like the iPhone's SMS threads where your messages
appear on the right and your friends' on the left. It really is a lot
cleaner and prettier on the eye. You also get easy access to multiple
accounts, similar to the way multiple email accounts work with the
mail app, as well as the ability to follow/unfollow, attach pics/links
etc, search for nearby tweets and even look at the latest trend topics
on twitter! No ads, no annoying tweet sound haha... I just really like
this Twitter app.

*** PDANet ***
This one is a bit of a black sheep as it isn't instantly available to
the masses. PDANet is an application that allows you to use the 3G
connection on your phone as an Internet connection for your laptop/PC
and it is only available to those with Jailbroken phones. The ability
to share your mobiles Internet connection may not sound great to some
but for anyone without a home phone line or any other way to get
access to broadband at home this app is an absolute Godsend. With the
option to connect via USB or even wifi (though battery drain occurs
with the latter even when plugged in) you can connect in seconds and
with download rates of over 100kbps (and I mean genuine 100kb not like
when you buy 8meg broadband and get 300kbps or whatever) it more than
matches most basic home broadband options.

As I said PDANet is only available to those with jailbroken iPhones.
If there is one piece of advice I can give you it is to definitely do
this! It takes a matter of minutes when you have the right software
and the amount of customisation it opens up is astounding. You truly
are setting your iPhone free! Now I have flames licking the icons from
the bottom of my home screen, lightsaber sounds when I lock and
unlock, the ability to run apps in the background when returning to
home or doing other things (great for fring/IM) and my phone
automatically tells last.fm every single song I listen to through the
regular iPhone player! If you have an iPhone and a small amount of
technical ability you really really really should jb.

Anyway I hope these mini reviews have drawn your attention to some
great apps and you find as much use out of them as I do!

Sent from my iPhone

360 REVIEW: Sonic Unleashed

Sonic, Sonic, Sonic... Where do I start?! Having been born in the Eighties I was fortunate enough to witness the birth of the legend. At one time the blue blur was adored by Western youth as much as David Beckham currently is in Asia. But how the mighty have fallen... And Sonic more so. :-) I'm sure every review written for modern Sonic games is full of this nostalgia, all of us babbling on about how great 3 was and then the pants that followed. Well trying to avoid covered ground I'm just going to say this - make sure you've all checked Sonic Adventure and the GBA Sonics because they were awesome!

Anyway I purchased the latest attempt at capturing the glory of our younger days for a bargain price of £20 at Game. I wasn't expecting too much and mostly thought it would be something for the girlfriend to play and hopefully unknowingly rack up my achievement points... see we CAN out think them! Well it didn't quite work out like that anyway... I'd say I've easily put in just as many hours as her. In short, this game is just fun.

For those that now nothing of the game it is not strictly the Sonic that we know and love. In the opening cut scene a series of events leaves us with a dual persona-by day we still have the too cool for school hedgehog of yesterday but by night he is transforméd! Just like Teen Wolf (but less crap) we get Sonic the Werehog, the slower but stronger and more beautiful side of the great S. Now you may wonder what on Earth Team Sonic were thinking when they introduced this semi-new character but the change in gameplay between the two personalities is astounding. The hedgehog levels tend to involve the traditional high speed movement and whizzing through stages as quickly as possible, where as the werehog intoduces the other elements of great platformers like exploration and battle. Instead of simply speeding through each area and bouncing off everything in sight you are forced to use differed skills, with balance and timing being tested far more frequently. You also engage in battle areas (think Final Fantasy) often, where you have to defeat a collective of foes before been allowed to progress. The werehog can attack in several different ways and stringing buttons together creates all sorts of "combo" attacks which become more devestating as you gain experience. You can also educate (maybe?!) your hedgehog with experience (which is actually collected as an object left from battles) though as he is a slightly less complex character you'll likely max out his 2 attributes far quicker than the 5 far more influencing elements of the werehog. Anyway this all adds much needed dimension to the game and in fact opens it up to a much wider audience. What is often forgotten in the Sonic bashing that usually accompanies reviews of the next gen outings is that not EVERYONE has been playing games since the birth of Sega! So keeping the balance between games that are difficult enough to please the die hards and simple enough for newbies is a difficult task. Introducing the werehog! His movement is much friendlier to those new to the platform genre making it easier to familiarize and strengthen their control of the main character. This was incredibly noticable whilst playing with my girlfriend who had far more interesting things to do in her youth (that's a whole different post!) than playing computer games. We'd often have her doing the werehog levels, exploring and experimenting with button combos etc whilst I'd do the hedgehog ones where reactions (i.e. experience) played a far greater role. See it's a game for the whole family!

As for the levels themselves they are incredibly beautiful at times. For anyone who played the original Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast you may remember the "Whoa!" moment of level one when being chased by that killer whale from all sorts of camera angles?! Well I found myself amazed several times at the dazzling twists and turns through beautiful scenery found throughout the various stages. Just watch out for those moments where you have to press A (or another button, Shenmue cinematic stylee) or you'll be admiring them again. Several times! The mix between true 3D and classic side on view is seamless and stays true to the original Sonic ways whilst spicing up the visuals and adding the complexity expected in modern day gaming. I'd love to say that it was without it's fault but there are a few difficulties with the 3d angle from time to time (stop moving around so often!) but in honesty it adds that frustration needed to make a great game what it is. If I hadn't drown so many times in the Labyrinth Zone or been endlessly crushed on Scrap Brain then I probably wouldn't be writing this today! So if you do find yourself cursing the angles or just complaining about the game not doing what you tell it just remember that it NEVER did and we've always been losing those precious 1-ups in such unfair ways. We've just forgotten how infuriating it can be. =]

To round up I don't think I couldve asked for more from Sonic Unleashed. No it doesn't have the breath-taking graphics of your Gears of Wars or the incredible stories of your Metal Gears. But that's not where video games started. Originally they started with you and maybe a few friends just bashing away at the controller seeing who could get passed the big boss. They started with Fun. They started with Sonic. And he's definitely back!!

Sent from my iPhone