island

Adventurous puzzle game

Many puzzle games fall into the trap of becoming repetitive and boring. You play them for a while, and they're fun, but eventually they're just not that interesting or challenging. Jewel Island solves this problem by making puzzle-solving part of a larger journey; you're not just solving puzzles for their own sake, but to move to the next step in the search for treasure.

The object of Jewel Island is to solve progressively more difficult puzzles in order to move to different points on a treasure map, eventually reaching the treasure and winning the game. We've … Read more

Download Tales of Monkey Island (PC), Chapter 1, free

If you like adventure games, monkeys, and/or free stuff, today's your lucky day. LucasArts is offering a free download of Tales of Monkey Island - Chapter 1: Launch of the Screaming Narwhal.

This offer is good today only, and the clock is already ticking, so hurry up lest ye miss yer chance, ye, um, scurvy dog.

(Did I mention today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day? That's LucasArts' impetus for the freebie. But I'm going to restrain myself from going all yo-ho-ho on you. Try to, anyway.)

If the name Monkey Island doesn't ring … Read more

What iPhone apps do you prize the most?

You know the old get-to-know-you quiz about the desert island? What books would you bring? What movies? What foods?

Let's play the app version! If you were stranded on a desert island and could have only five iPhone apps (other than those already built in, of course), what would they be? Here's my list:

Kindle: An e-book reader is a must, and while I also use eReader and Stanza, I like being able to grab sample chapters from the Kindle Store before deciding what books to buy. ( The books themselves are too expensive, but my island-living expenses are … Read more

Playing God on your iPhone

Pocket God is an open-ended, relatively crude (in more ways than one) simulation game in which you rule over a small tribe of extremely durable and cartoonishly primitive islanders. If you're new to the game, the otherwise intuitive interface can be a little overwhelming at first--because with each free update, Pocket God adds some new feature to the game world, all accessed through touch interaction with the island's inhabitants and the game's dense, icon-based drop-down menus. Actions range from extremely simple ("poking" an islander and watching him react, or shaking your device to create an &… Read more

Retro Game Alert: Monkey Island on the iPhone

As a gaming system, the iPhone has had its share of praises and attacks, but it's hard to challenge the appeal of retro titles on the system. With a perfect version of Myst under its belt, the iPhone's gone one better with a release of The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition that launched last night on iTunes.

For those who don't remember, The Secret of Monkey Island is perhaps one of the most celebrated graphic adventures in the once-popular genre. Originally released in 1990, there were three other sequels released, the last in 2000. LucasArts once … Read more

Don't text while walking? Girl learns the hard way

We've seen stories on the dangers of DWT (driving while texting). But are we now facing the growing problem of WWT (walking while texting)?

Alexa Longueira,a 15-year-old from Staten Island, learned a painful lesson about the hazards of texting recently. While intent on text messaging as she walked on a sidewalk along the New York borough's Victory Boulevard, she stepped right into an open manhole, sending her several feet into the raw sewage below.

Suffering some cuts and bruises, Longueira was checked out at Staten Island University Hospital and released.

The manhole had been left open briefly … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 1008: China delays pr0k-blocker

China has delayed required installation of Green Dam Youth Escort, but we find out it does a better job blocking pork than porn. Whew. Protect those kids from the piggies! Also a big win for remote cable DVRs! And the Pirate Bay got sold. You can sell it?

Listen now: Download today's podcast Subscribe now: iTunes (audio) | iTunes (video) | RSS (audio) | RSS (video) EPISODE 1008

Swedish company to buy Pirate Bay http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10275759-83.html http://thepiratebay.org/blog/164

China Delays Mandating Filtering Software http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124636491863372821.html

China also filters Jonny Depp, … Read more

A kitchen island for a cozy kitchen

Kitchens can never have enough counter space. Trying to create even the simplest of dishes requires a good workable area. From chopping vegetables to marinating meats, it is essential to have room to work with. Unfortunately, many small kitchens offer very little workable area. Luckily, there are solutions. From tables to additional stands, there are products designed to address this very need. However, the island is the one piece of kitchen furniture that I have found that I cannot live without.

The Empire Island Kitchen Baking Island caters to those in need of some serious spatial upgrading. If you dream … Read more

They're attacking from the river!

7 Cities is a "tower defense" real-time strategy game, which pits your bristling array of Meso-American towers against a relentless pirate armada and their beastly aquatic allies. You can play the game's survival or seven-level campaign mode (in which you defend seven ever-more-precariously situated cities), and in both you must spend your gold wisely to build defenses around the set path--a river or rivers--upon which your enemies advance.

Similar to other games, you can choose from a variety of towers (such as arrows, cannons, lightning, and even power-boosting Obelisk towers) to take down enemies and boss monsters … Read more