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FireNES Adds Tons-O-Nintendo Fun to Firefox - Time Waster



If you didn't notice from reading my last massive time waster, I love classic gaming. I'm also a Firefox user, and always on the hunt for good addons like the rest of you. Thank god for FireNES, an awesome addon for Firefox that gives you ready access to a massive repository of NES games.

After you install it, customize your toolbar and add the FireNES button to give yourself one-click access to the sidebar. The full ROMs list is massive, The toplist contains the 100-or-so most played titles, and you can add any game to your list of favorites with a simple right click.

Best of all, you don't have to hunt down ROMs on horibly cluttered, scam-laden websites. Awesome.

The only possible downside to all this: habla usted español? The developer's page is Spanish only - not a big deal, the install link is easy to find and you can always run it through your favorite translation app.

You're never too old to have a Facebook page

Facebook

If you think you're too old to do something like go back to college, learn how to scuba dive, or be social on the interwebs, you can either think again or stay beholden to your self imposed rigid beliefs. One person who throws such nonsense to the wind, is Ivy Bean, a 102 year old former mill worker, who has the distinction of being the oldest person on Facebook.

With 1,217 friends on Facebook (and climbing), Ivy's story has definitely resonated with people. She started with just 9 friends when her story was first published today. It just shows, even if you're late to the party, it's getting there that matters.

To find out more about Ivy and be her friend, check out the Oldest person on Facebook - Ivy Bean group.

Do you want to be Ivy's friend? Why or why not?

10 Ways To Game Like It's 1989 - Epic Time Waster

Yes, I understand that a decent video card that will run Crysis can be had for just North of $100, but these fancy-pants games just aren't for me. I grew up with a Commodore 64, Wildcat BBS, and MUDs. Every now and then I get a hankerin' for some old-school gaming action, and here's where I go to get my fix.

Abandonia
Abandonia is one of the biggest and best-known abandonware sites around. Abandonware is software the copyright holders don't support or distribute any more. Why does that matter? Well, it means that they mostly don't care whether someone like Abandonia distributes it for free (read Wikipedia for more).

And Abandonia is more than happy to redistribute forgotten classics. Their collection boasts such classics as Descent, Ghosts 'n' Goblins, Bad Street Brawler, Starflight, and Betrayal at Krondor. What's more, they have "extras" like boxshots, CD inserts, and printable maps for many of the titles.

Continue reading 10 Ways To Game Like It's 1989 - Epic Time Waster

Coccinella - the whiteboard thrill just doesn't last



Despite its seriously flawed name, Coccinella, the open source IM client, has some interesting features that might make you do a double take. The idea of chatting and having the ability to draw on a whiteboard, as well as play chess during a chat session sounds like fun, so I decided to give it a spin.

I learned from the process that Coccinella is the Latin name for ladybug. It is not, as I had thought originally, a bacteria found in pond scum. I continued my pursuit, preferring to focus on the cute little ladybug in the logo and ignore the unfortunate "ella" associations with the name.

Coccinella is a free download for Windows, Linux and Mac. After downloading the application, the set up assistant leads you to select from a list of servers to open a new account on. Although Coccinella can connect to any Jabber/XMPP instant messaging server including Google Talk, AOL, MSN and ICQ, you have to dig for information to find out how. The set up assistant leads you to select from various servers and so I created an account with Jabber.org. I was happy I did.

Continue reading Coccinella - the whiteboard thrill just doesn't last

Another iPhone app pulled: this time it's PhoneSaber

Earlier this week, I told you how the $1000 do-nothing application called I Am Rich had been pulled from the iTunes app store. While I doubt many people miss that particular bit of software, the latest app to be removed from the store was actually kind of fun: it's PhoneSaber, a lightsaber simulator for your iPhone. It uses the accelerometer in your device to respond as you swing your phone, making noises straight out of Star Wars. It was also free.

According to TheMacBox, the creators of the app, "I've had a chat with a guy from THQ Wireless (who own the rights for Star Wars apps on mobiles) and as we were always expecting, PhoneSaber is not allowed to be on there." Apparently THQ discussed the idea of an official, licensed PhoneSaber app, which could be tied to Star Wars advertising. TheMacBox is being given access to the original saber sounds to develop the new app, and they're pushing for it to remain free. If you have PhoneSaber already, you're probably safe: since the creators removed the app voluntarily, Apple probably won't remotely delete it from your device.

[via Macenstein]

Have Phun with Physics - Time Waster

Phun Physics
So here at Download Squad we've been into wasting time lately. Here's another time waster, this time all about physics.

You can visit Phunland and download Phun which is a 2D physics sandbox type game. Basically you have your toolbox of gears, levers, springs, boxes and more to build whatever your heart desires. You can start with a preloaded scene that has some pieces already there or go from scratch to build whatever you want.

I chose a wagon and added some springs to make it keep smashing backwards into the wall. I am more of a word nerd than a physics nerd so this was about the extent of my capabilities.

The media page has lots of YouTube videos of phun physics in action as well as a movie explaining phun and even playing the phun theme song.

So if you need some phun fun check it out. If you're one of those people who finds physics enjoyable it just might get your creative juices moving on a boring afternoon.

[Thanks, Glenn Tobey]

Turbanizer: You, But With a Turban! - Time Waster

I tried not to post about this, but after using it I just couldn't help myself.

Yet another head-in-hole type photo manipulator, Turbanizer takes your image and allows you to overlay any of several fashionable turbans. The simple interface provides the granular controls you'll need to create an oh-so-convincing composite: it'll scale your photo or the turban as well as tweak the color intensity of your fabulous new headgear.

With more than 120,000 beautiful creations to date, the public is clearly embracing the opportunity to try on a turban without making the lengthy plane ride to the Middle East. Why, Turbanizer's not only fun, it's also environmentally friendly! There's even support for your Flickr and Facebook photos (though laziness and the desire to produce the screenshot above necessitated a Google image search, in my case).

As a bonus, Turbanizer even displays interesting facts about turbans while you wait for their Flash application to load. Give it a try yourself - and as-salaam alaykum!

Useless $1000 iPhone app disappears - did Apple remove it?

It looks like Apple has removed one of the most talked-about iPhone apps in its app store. The app doesn't do chat, it doesn't connect you to any web services, and it doesn't even let you enter any text. It's called I Am Rich, and it does absolutely nothing. The price tag? A reasonable $999.99. Apparently having its red gem icon on your iPhone's home screen is supposed to bring you a grand worth of prestige.

When this app was first discovered, there was an immediate flurry of folks wondering how it got past Apple's screening process. Although I can't find any comment from Apple, and the app's creator hasn't updated his website, the app store link to I Am Rich no longer works. I wonder whether the author made any sales before it was removed. At around $100 to develop, a single sale would leave him with 10 times what he put in.

Stop stealing my Letters!!! - Time Waster

stop stealing my letters!
This is a simple and quick time waster for you word nerds from Lunchtimers. Or even for those of you that always like to slip a naughty word into a scrabble game.

Remember those refrigerator magnets you had when you were a kid that were all letters? Letters is the same concept in your browser with one fun twist. Instead of just you playing with the letters you have to share with whoever else is logged in. When I tried it there were 12 people sharing letters.

Every time I got close to spelling out "Download Squad Rules" someone kept stealing my letters, moving them around and trying to put them into their own words. Of course when someone named Kevin tried to proclaim he was god, I took the time to change it to goofy which seemed to annoy him since the next thing he came up with was who?

There were plenty of people using their letters to spell out naughty words and plenty of others who would immediately try and change those naughty words into something nicer.

See what you can spell before someone steals your letters.

babysmash! lets you let your little one beat on your computer

babysmash!Kids get computers. It seems like they take to them almost immediately, once they are big enough to be able to control a mouse. But what about kids that aren't yet big enough? I know both of my boys wanted to bang away on the keyboard from a very young age.

Rather than opening a Word document and setting the font to a huge size, why not run a program that is specifically created for young children? Well, that's what Scot Hanselman must have thought when he decided to create Baby Smash.

Baby Smash is a simple Windows program that will lock out the special keys on the keyboard so that baby can't accidentally exit the program, and will then show colorful shapes with fun sound effects in response to baby's key presses, or more likely key mashes (and slams, and bangs, and mashes, etc.).

Scott is a well-known Windows development blogger who recently went to work for Microsoft. He's using the development of Baby Smash to teach Windows development concepts on his popular blog, ComputerZen.

Dino Run - Time Waster

Dino RunDino Run is an online flash-based time waster with a great classic arcade feel. You play the part of a small dinosaur, and you run. And run.

The premise of the game is that you are running from a "pyroclastic wall of doom", while trying to find power-ups like eggs, super eggs, bones, critters, birds, and plants. Each of these things help you in different ways, such as earning you DNA which allows you to evolve your dinosaur with additional abilities.

The wall of doom is actually a pretty novel way to introduce an extra level of suspense to the game. When you're well ahead of it, you don't really have any indicator just how far ahead you are. So while you have time to slow down and attempt to get some of the more powerful power-ups, every moment that you waste feels like an eternity. When the wall of doom catches up to you, the screen darkens and it starts to envelop you like a wave. You can actually continue to play as it covers over you, so much so that you can't even see your dinosaur, and it's possible to run your way out of trouble. In fact, if you do this, you actually earn risk points.

The graphics and music are all deliciously reminiscent of 8-bit gaming days of yore. Dino Run is what I wish my Commodore 64 games were like.

Fun With Physics? Fantastic Contraption FTW! - Time Waster


I suffered through two years of physics in high school, and it's not really a subject that most people would consider an exciting way to waste time on a Friday afternoon. Well, slap me silly, Fantastic Contraption proves that physics can indeed be fun!

The goal is simple: assemble your contraption in the work area (the light blue box) and propel the pink wheel into the pink box. You're provided only a handful of simplistic components with which to build - wheels, a water-drive rod, and sticks. Assemble them like a caveman MacGuyver to reach the goal, and move on to the next level! The physics is surprisingly realistic, and the game can get quite challenging.

Registering allows you to create and save levels, and you're given given a url that links directly to your creation so you can frustrate your friends. Unfortunately, playing other user's saved games requires a $10 registration fee, but you'll have plenty of fun playing the free levels.

Micro Olympics - Time Waster

Micro Olympics is a simple,yet addictive Flash-based game that brings wasting time and shooting things out of a cannon to a whole new level.

There are three varieties of Micro Olympics, the original, Micro Olympics on Mars and Micro Olympics Christmas. All three have the same guiding principal: shoot your plane, flying saucer or Santa's sled further than your competitor.

You control the height of your launch by clicking on the cannon and stopping at your desired angle. The velocity of the launch is then chosen by when you click on the canon as you see the velocity increase and decrease. Match the right angle with high enough velocity and you're golden.

In each round you are given three opportunities to best your competitors average distance. After each launch session, you are awarded points based on distance, bonus points dependent on other features and money that can be used at the end of each round to buy add-ons that will help you obtain higher distances, either through power-ups or bonus points.

The first few rounds are pretty easy, but after that, I got stuck and had to start playing with power-ups to increase my distance. Thirty minutes later, I finally remembered that I better start writing up this post instead of playing Micro Olympics.

The graphics are pretty hilarious, especially when landing (Christmas Olympics is worth a play just to see how Santa lands in the snow -- adorable). The sounds are fun too, but office workers might want to make sure that you disable the effects and background music or mute your workstation before playing.

Totem Destroyer - Time Waster

Totem DestroyerTotem Destroyer is a fun little Flash-based physics game that is one part Indiana Jones, and one part Jenga.

The game play is simple; click on blocks to destroy them, while ensuring that the golden idol never touches the ground. There are three types of blocks: brown, green, and black. The brown ones are regular blocks and can be destroyed. The green ones are both bouncier than the brown ones, and have less friction, and they too can be destroyed. The black ones cannot be destroyed.

Each level starts with the idol balanced precariously on a stack of blocks, and your goal is to destroy the prescribed number of blocks without breaking the idol. There are 25 levels of mostly increasing difficulty, so this time waster should last you through your coffee break and part of your lunch break.

Evite goes 2.0

invitationAt some point you've probably used evite, either by receiving or sending an invitation. In the past the online application was great for sending invitations but it was a one shot deal - create and send an evite and when the event is over, the evite is dead.

Last year evite went mobile in an effort to keep up with all of us and on Friday, evite went 2.0. Users can now integrate photos from Flickr, videos from YouTube and playlists from Imeem. The changes should make it easier to integrate content you already have on the web into your evite options instead of requiring separate uploads of information.

The redesign also attempts to make evite easier to navigate, introducing more tabs for organizing different sections of the site. Developers have also added some custom options for the way hosts and attendees can interact with each other.

[via Mashable, CNET]

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