Hook

Jeff and I find ourselves in a conversation about candy in this morning's preshow that bleeds over into today's recorded episode. Why? Well, we heard a story about Steve Jobs proposing a Willy Wonka style contest to celebrate the sale of the millionth original Apple iMac.

It comes from a book coming out soon called "Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success," and it talks about how Steve wanted to put a custom gold ticket inside a single iMac box that would land the winner a trip to Cupertino, Calif., for a tour of … Read more

Of all the terrible video game movie adaptations, the 1991 version of "Super Mario Bros." got the most critical reaction.

Its story is chronicled in a new book called "Generation Xbox: How video games invaded Hollywood," so we'll spend some time today dissecting all the negative reviews and discover how it became a cult favorite.

Bridget Carey joins us for the first half with a backstage pass to her new show, CNET Update!

It rounds up all the top tech stories of the day and keeps a close eye on product updates, emerging trends, and … Read more

All of us, at one time or another, probably wished we could swing from building to building like Spider-Man, but the laws of physics (and lack of web-shooting glands on our wrists) make that dream impossible.

Fortunately there are iOS games that let you use ropes and grappling hooks to go for the greatest distance. Each has different objectives and skills you'll need to master, but the swinging mechanic is what sets them apart from other games in the iTunes App Store.

This week's app collection is all about swinging games. The first lets you methodically swing for … Read more

Hook Worlds is the latest sequel to one of our all-time favorite game franchises in the escape genre on iOS, Hook Champ. Though there are four different game types in Hook Worlds, the object remains mostly the same as in its predecessors: use your grappling hook to swing from object to object to achieve the longest distance possible. The graphics are smooth with high frame rates as you swing through caves, under rooftops, and over hot lava. Unlike the earlier games in the genre, Hook Worlds has dynamically created maps with no end--you simply need to last as long as … Read more

Just yesterday I wrote about a running game based on the viral video Baby Monkey (riding backwards on a pig). It's a fairly simple running game, but it got me to thinking about what would be the best games in the escape/running/survival genre (I'm not sure there's a standardized name for this genre). When I saw that a new game came out (the third in this collection) that added even more to the escape genre, I knew I had the theme for this week's post.

Escape games are not for everyone. Regardless of the setting, these games are the type that get you worked up, with your heart beating fast, trying to get as far as you can to beat your high score. All it takes is one mistake and you'll need to start over, so those with video game rage issues may want to skip this collection--we don't want anyone throwing their iPhones across the room.… Read more

With 2010 coming to a close, it's time to look back at some of the greatest games to hit the iOS over the course of the year. I have many more favorites than I've listed in this slideshow, but I guess I have to make a cutoff somewhere. In any case, many factors have contributed to the iPhone becoming one of the greatest gaming platforms yet, and I think it will continue to get even better in 2011.

There's no question that the popularity of the iPhone made game developers see an opportunity to create something special … Read more

Super QuickHook is the sequel to one of our favorite iPhone games of 2009, adding brand-new locations, new obstacles, and more fun and addictive gameplay.

As with Hook Champ, the object of the game is to swing from obstacle to obstacle using a grappling hook you shoot ahead of you by touching the screen to swing through levels. Super QuickHook adds a scrollable level-selection screen with new maps and environments, OpenFeint connectivity for high scores and leaderboards, and a new Endless Mode that challenges you to see how long you can last ahead of an avalanche.

With Hook Champ's … Read more

Probably like many people reading this blog post, I experienced firsthand the trouble Apple and AT&T had with the overwhelming number of preorders for the iPhone 4 on Tuesday. I thought I was being smart by deciding to skip the long lines and get the iPhone 4 delivered to my house, but I ended up getting nothing but errors after only the first few steps into the process.

After several attempts, I decided to wait a couple of days before trying again and ended up buying the black 32GB model through Apple on Thursday. Unfortunately, with the enormous … Read more

Security research firm Matousec has published details of a technique for bypassing some of the protections offered by widely used Windows security software, including programs from McAfee and Trend Micro.

However, the attack has serious limitations, including the requirement that the attacker must already have the ability to execute code on a system, Matousec acknowledged. That means the method would have to be used in combination with another attack vector, or employed by an attacker with local access to a system.

The method, called an argument-switch attack, can be used against Windows security programs that use a technique called System … Read more