Weblog Entries

Retro-gaming: DOS Games

This weekend I was feeling extremely bored, there was nothing to do outside in the boring and small city where I live, no pool to swim, my friends were out, and I didn’t want to pass the time doing nothing… the solution?

Well, I spent this entire sunday playing old videogames, the ones I used to play when I was 4 -10 years old, back then when I had my trusty IBM 486SX PC.

If you want to play DOS games on a modern computer, you’ll need a DOS Emulator like Dosbox, since most of your devices won’t be compatible with the old technologies used back then. Soundblaster anyone?

Among everything I played there were many great games, but I’d like to put here some of favorites:

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Just received my TOEIC Test Report

The TOEIC test (Test of English for International Communication), evaluates the ability of non-native English speakers in the use of Business English. It’s widely used as a certification tool by thousands of companies worldwide when it comes to measure one’s English proficiency.

Back in November of last year I did that test just for the sake of doing it and while I could see my results online in December, I couldn’t get the certificate until today.

I got 890 points out of 990. Breaking it down into parts, in the Listening Comprehension section I got 430 points and 460 points in the Reading section.

What does that mean? ETS which is the organization behind this test (also the TOEFL and others) host a can-do table which serves as an interpretation of the scores.

This time we had the opportunity to take the test for free since the Chilean Economic Development Agency was paying for it. This is because they want to create a registry of English speakers, in order to attract foreign capital by clearly stating the amount and quality of our human resources. Our data is now also part of a Job Board.

As for me, I’m pretty happy about this… I always wanted to take a test like that, it was for free and I got a good score.

Make My Logo Bigger

Some minutes ago I was looking for some resources to learn about logo design, but another cool website showed up in Google, Make My Logo Bigger.

The website features a fake video infomercial (which I embedded a Youtube copy here) selling products to make websites and advertisements both print and online really stand out, and one of them is a cream to make the company’s logo bigger. Seriously, watch the video… if you are a designer you may remember something that all your clients say to you, simply because they have no idea about design.

How-to Video Sites: Learn something new everyday

When text just doesn’t cut it and still pictures aren’t enough, video is the answer when it comes to demonstrations and instruction. That’s the concept under the new How-to Video Sites which have been appearing in the last 2 years, taking advantage of this technology in a truly Web 2.0 fashion.

Here’s a little review of my favorite ones:

Videojug: This is the first one I came across. It’s a UK based website with a large collection of quality videos, most of them professionally made by themselves. In case of more personal subjects like dating or lifestyles, many of the videos are acted by people in an often funny way while the explanations are narrated (they are also available in text).

When it comes to more specific things, sometimes they interview experts in the subject. There is content in many categories, and users can also upload their own as well.

Viewdo: This is one of the first, if not the first one that started with this new concept. At first it was like Videojug, with professionally produced content, but then they allowed users to upload their own. It has plenty of user-created videos, and a good variety of well categorized content.

5min: Got five minutes? 5min the Life Videopedia is a great offer too. It features a unique player called the “Smart Player” which allows you to do extra stuff like zooming in or putting the film in slow motion.

Some examples:

• How to be the Perfect Boyfriend on Videojug
• How to Tie a Tie (Double Windsor) on Viewdo
• How Slot Machines Work on 5min

Windows Vista sticker prank

Some time ago a website started to sell stickers that have the following printed on them: “Now slower and with more bugs”. It was just a matter of time before someone did something creative with them: Brad Carter stopped by a Target store, and slapped some of them on Windows Vista boxes.

As for my experience with Windows Vista, I can say that it has been OK except for the performance issues I’m getting on my machines with it. Match or not… Who knows? Anyway, Brad stuck more stickers on other objects as well.