Macinations

October 25, 2016

Ember – Some final thoughts

I have now completed Ember and figured I would share a few thoughts about the experience. To put it simply, Ember is a tremendous amount of fun and is probably the best game I’ve played this year. I found it to have a deep and interesting story that unfolds not just through the events of the game, but through the dozens of books you find along the way. Plus there is a lot to learn through side conversations and tavern interactions. The more citizens you speak with and the more books you stop to read, the more you learn about Domus, the events that brought about the Lightbringer and the tension between different races. And even if the books don’t give enlightenment about the lore of the world, such as the famed tome, The Domus Pub Crawl, they are still amusing and add to the fabric of the game. Additionally, Ember has great momentum, always moving you forward to the […]

October 25, 2016

Audials One 2017 for $19

Audials has released the latest version of Audials One and it can be had for a 50% discount with a price of $19. Audials One is the combination app that lets you capture music, video and your screen. In addition, it features the ability to listen to Internet Radio from all over the world. Also, there is a converter tool that works with both video and audio files. And finally, it features a music search and music wishlist function. Put in the name of an artist or album, and Audials will go searching for it. All in all, it’s quite impressive. The 2017 edition will be my fourth upgrade. I use Audials One to record streaming music, to extract the audio from video files and have recorded a few shows with the streaming capture feature. It’s music and video management is quite good, comparable to MediaMonkey, although it’s not as adept at generating thumbnails for video files. If you listen […]

September 28, 2016

Ember – An RPG that pays tribute to games like Ultima and Diablo

They say time is relative to the developer. And it was about a year ago when I first read news of new RPG being created that would be heavily influence by Ultima and Diablo. Oddly, it was intended to be a mobile game and available at the end of 2015. Well, that kinda, sorta, never really happened. Instead, the game was built for the desktop and it now available on Steam. However, it does an impressive job of keeping a price of a mobile game and is $9.99. And this is not some Flash based game, this rascal is a hefty 4GB download. I hadn’t been tracking the release, so it coming to Steam was a complete surprise. Nevertheless, I immediately bought a copy. And after playing for a few hours, it’s an impressive game that does play like an Ultima from the days of old. In typical style, I looted crypts and rifled through the pockets on my slain […]

September 15, 2016

Amazon Echo, Tap and Dot

So there is a new offering for the Amazon Echo Dot, and a nice price tag to go with it. It’s the new 2.0 version, although I’m not sure what they’ve done under the plastic to warrant a 2.0 revision. The original Echo has been software updated multiple times I’m sure and doesn’t bear a 2.0 moniker. Nevertheless, a new model is out, this time in white and at a price of $49.99, which is significantly lower than the introductory price. I got my first Echo Dot at the higher offering. However, I did jump on board and ordered another. I decided to get the white one and it will go in the living room. So why exactly get an Echo Dot? What is it good for? Well, it makes a perfect alarm clock that’s for sure. The original is in my bedroom and is set every night. The alarm is far more pleasant that the horrific buzzing of a […]

August 30, 2016

WinZip 20.5 for $10

Although I have a copy of WinZip, I haven’t been diligent in keeping it up to date. I mean, has the zip/unzip process really changed that much? And if I do find myself in some sort of bind, 7Zip has been there to sort things out. winZip has actually been preinstalled on a couple of machine and it works find so why go chasing the latest edition? However, I just got an email with a pretty sweet offer, an Upgrade to WinZip 20.5 for a mere $10. I would have to say that’s a good deal. And this is the Pro version, which has a few more bells and whistles than the Standard, but I doubt I will notice a difference and the link is for the Pro edition, so no real choice there. This is a great price for WinZip, which has a history of being a decent compression tool. The regular price was a bit steep at $30 for […]

Ember – Some final thoughts

Audials One 2017 for $19

Ember – An RPG that pays tribute to games like Ultima and Diablo

Amazon Echo, Tap and Dot

WinZip 20.5 for $10

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