Disqus - Latest Comments for zephyrstarfields

Re: Mister D Says... - “The market reception for Zune is so disappointing...

zephyrstarfields — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:38:55 -0000

You sir, are an idiot.

Re: Mister D Says... - "Americans Are Beginning to Understand the Left"

zephyrstarfields — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:32:03 -0000

Also, this whole big state vs small state argument is damaged heavily by the last idiot that held presidential office. Eventually all governments reach a point where they believe the safety of the individuals is more important than preserving civil liberties. We reached that point post-9/11, and it wasn't a leftist at the helm.

Perhaps rather than focusing on left-right agendas, we should all be focusing on what is best for our children's futures. At this point, cooperation and understanding is more important than which side is correct. They're both imperfect.

Re: Mister D Says... - "Americans Are Beginning to Understand the Left"

zephyrstarfields — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:26:52 -0000

The problem with this article is the series of assumptions that the author makes about redistribution of wealth and the imposition of values on a society.

The left may impose values on a society, but the values imposed are, as the article states, about equality. The right, however, is also known for imposing values. However, those values are all values that are based upon religion and therefore have no place in government. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for a strong moral code and believe that a government has a certain responsibility to uphold said moral code. But the right has, on more than one occasion, pushed that moral code to its limits.

As for the redistribution of wealth, the author talks as though redistributing wealth in just America would not result in a society of entirely "lower middle class" individuals. There is soooo much money out there in the hands of so few people that it is unreal. If that money were redistributed (not that I'm saying it should be, I'm just pointing out flaws in the argument), there would be a lot more people whose lives would benefit than there would be those that didn't.

Furthermore, if money was redistributed not toward the poor, but rather toward scientific & medical research and education, our society would progress forward very quickly. Consumerism, and capitalism at its very core, are very important for progressing a society through the industrial revolution. However, there comes a time where consumerism and capitalism actually begin to hinder progress, as citizens are more concerned with acquiring wealth so that they can acquire products rather than so they can better themselves and their society.

If our planet is ever to reach the threshold of interplanetary travel, colonization, environmental repair, and planetary defense (for when the next giant meteoroid that is on a collision with the planet is within range for us to do something about it), then we must stop focusing on the blasted right vs left argument and instead find something in the middle.

I don't know about you, but I'm actually quite tired of it after almost 30 years. That's why Canada and Europe are so inviting. Plus, shorter work week.

Re: We (Finally) Have A Winner! AppAwards Grand Prize Winner Chosen

zephyrstarfields — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:13:47 -0000

This was a brilliant contest and, I hope, very successful! Congrats to Michael and all the other app winners!

Can't wait 'til next year!

Re: Apple Pulls Google Voice-Enabled Apps, Rejects Official Google Voice App

zephyrstarfields — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:33:10 -0000

This is pretty naïve on AT&T's part, as there are already apps on the store that let you use free text messaging and other apps that make international calls cheaper. I can't wait for Apple to ditch AT&T, because crap like this is getting to be more frustrating than I can handle. It doesn't matter what the cell phone companies do, they're going to lose money on this and eventually they're going to lose the business as a whole. No technology survives forever. It will always be succeeded by something better.

Re: Three Great $.99 Games Updated: ShapeShape, The Battle Of Pirate Bay, And Mummy’s Revenge

zephyrstarfields — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:53:57 -0000

The Battle of Pirate Bay looks awesome. Perhaps a 99¢ sale is what I need to make a decision.

Re: AppAwards Winner Of Most Innovative User Interface: Giveaway

zephyrstarfields — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:50:49 -0000

A lot of these apps I had never heard of before. But after checking out the various options, I figured that Ocarina was the best, just because of the awesome idea. It blew my mind.

Re: AppAwards Winner Of Most Creative Game: Giveaway

zephyrstarfields — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:48:22 -0000

Best decision for an award, yet. This is one of the most creative apps ever created for the iPhone platform. Excellent choice.

Re: Next-Gen iPod Touch To Have Integrated Camera And Microphone?

zephyrstarfields — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:03:07 -0000

This has been a long time coming and I'll be interested to see what excuses developers have next about why their apps only work on iPhones and not iPod Touches.

Re: AppAwards Winners Announced, Check To See If Your Favorite App Won

zephyrstarfields — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:02:01 -0000

I have a feeling that many of the people that voted for Rolando 2 did so without having played it, but because they loved Rolando 1 so much.

As for Facebook, I've often said it was the best use of the iPhone 2.0 software. Now that 3.0 is out, it definitely needs an update to remain relevant, but it is still a solid application that gets a LOT of use.

I'm just glad that the grand prize is based on randomness and not "whomever's vote most closely resembles the results wins the grand prize". Cause then I'd be screwed.

Re: Apple Wants You To Follow Their Directions, Patent Filing Reveals Proprietary GPS Software

zephyrstarfields — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 20:37:28 -0000

If the built-in Maps application had the ability to cache areas in the phone so that the maps don't have to be downloaded every time over 3G/EDGE/Wi-Fi/whatever and an option to preprogram routes with multiple checkpoints, I would be super-excited. These current patent features would be nice, too.

Re: Own An iPhone And Blu-Ray Player? Get Extra Features On Fast & Furious Blu-Ray Disc

zephyrstarfields — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 19:02:27 -0000

It's nice to see a convergence of devices involving the iPhone and another product that is NOT made by Apple. I'd love to see Microsoft make a remote control app for the iPhone for the 360, but they can't be seen to openly accept the existence of Apple products.

Re: Maximum Bake! Must.Eat.Birds. Cake Contest Underway

zephyrstarfields — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:39:36 -0000

I wish I had the skill to create little clay models of the Nomsters, then launch them into the air at birds in the background of a picture of me eating cake.

Anyone that wins by using my idea has to give me half their winnings.

Re: Zombies Vs. Sheep Hits App Store, Protect Your Sheep At All Costs

zephyrstarfields — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 18:34:14 -0000

Hooray, OpenFeint 2.0! Now we can hopefully see direct comparisons between it and Plus , although I still don't know of Plus is in any app other than the one app by ngmoco.

Also, Zombies vs. Sheep looks awesome. The graphics are gorgeous.

Re: BillMinder Updated With Push Notifications, Never Miss A Bill Payment Again

zephyrstarfields — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 13:41:43 -0000

Lee, I didn't even know Agile Web Solutions had started charging for 1Password, I thought it was still free. Hope I win, though, as I've got lots of friends I could gift it to.

As for BillMinder, does it pull bill info from your various payees? Cause I'd love to receive all my bills through this instead of having to check 'em online at the time I go to pay them. Way easier to budget that way.

If not, it still looks like an awesome application, but I could see an app with the combined features of BillMinder, Bank of America BillPay, and some sort of bill polling source that uses your login info to get all your bills and due dates.

Re: AppAwards Voting Has Been Extended, TODAY Is Your Last Chance To Vote

zephyrstarfields — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:56:28 -0000

Hahah, Lee. I totally agree with that sentiment. Anyone else find it awesome that a game that's not a game (like Pocket God) manages to make it into an award category for Most Innovative Game. I hope it wins.

Re: Review: Moonlights

zephyrstarfields — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:52:44 -0000

World of Goo should have been on iPhone within months of its release. It's an excellent title. This looks to be quite the same in terms of gameplay, but I doubt it has the same quirky sense of humor inherent in Goo.

Re: Rising From The Ashes: My iPhone Is Reborn

zephyrstarfields — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 10:49:54 -0000

I'm confused. I know several Apple Geniuses personally and they aren't sure what "simple trick" was used, either. The only thing they do to fix iPhones is run a diagnostic utility to see what's wrong and then restore the iPhone to factory defaults. If this particular guy did something special, then he hasn't seen fit to share it with too many people, or it hasn't been sanctioned by "The Man" as acceptable troubleshooting practice.

Re: Today Is National Ice Cream Day! Celebrate It With Free Scoops

zephyrstarfields — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:27:13 -0000

What better way to spend an afternoon than to eat ice cream while playing Scoops and Textropolis. SkyBurger? Meh. I guess I'd have to see what it offers that Scoops does not.

Re: Strange Flavour Says Jailbreaking And Grunts Just Don’t Get Along

zephyrstarfields — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:19:00 -0000

Also, Apple themselves includes in the license for the iPhone and iTunes store agreement that unauthorized modification of the firmware or software of the device is not supported. So if the devs don't want to try and find a workaround for it, they are protected as a result. It's a user's decision to jailbreak and they accept responsibility for any issues that come from it.

Re: Strange Flavour Says Jailbreaking And Grunts Just Don’t Get Along

zephyrstarfields — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:13:09 -0000

My friends used to give me crap for not jailbreaking. I told them repeatedly how I was worried about data loss and instability. Now, twice in as many weeks there have been reports of features/applications that don't work with jailbreaking. Just thought that was interesting.

Re: Fring Update Released, Now Able To Send Push Notifications For Incoming VoIP Calls

zephyrstarfields — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:02:56 -0000

I wonder if it costs a great deal more (in server costs) to keep users logged in. That might explain why Nimbuzz can only keep you logged in for 30 minutes, while AIM & IM can go much longer. Come on, Meebo. Give us 3 days.

Re: Time To Fire Up Those Engines, Real Racing v1.1 Update Released

zephyrstarfields — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:43:08 -0000

More racers means more awesome. Racing games were meant for the iPhone, just as they were for the Wii. It'll be interesting to see how the touch controls play out, but as they're likely requested, I'm sure they did a good job.

Re: You Shall Not Pass! Introducing Our New Tower Defense Games Applist

zephyrstarfields — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:59:43 -0000

Wow. There are several TD games I've not heard about. TapDefense is a great free game and was my first tower defense experience on an iPhone. Agreed, as well, that the iPhone is perfectly suited for Tower Defense.

Also, you forgot Crystal Defenders. It's a bit different from most TD games, but I think it qualifies.

Re: Developers Unable To Issue Promo Codes For Apps Rated 17+

zephyrstarfields — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:33:00 -0000

It seems unlikely that Apple would make this change without first discussing a plan to resolve the issue it creates. However, the resolution is probably still in development, whereas the prevention of promo code issuance is easily triggered.