The Eye of Time travel clock is simply fun to look at. While featuring a small, portable size (measuring only 3.1″ x 2.6″), the Eye of Time travel clock boasts a built-in magnifying glass so that you can easily read the time from afar. The magnifying glass can also be removed from the face of the clock to help you read a map or all that pesky fine print. If you’d like to purchase the Eye of Time Clock, please visit us at: www.vat19.com

Plans For A Portable, Solid-wall Structure. That Keeps You Warm And Dry When Youre In The Outdoors. Built On A Trailer – Can Go Anywhere A Pick-up Or Suv Can.
Portable Hunting Camp – Camp Comfort.

Hey, check out these auctions:

Cool, arent they?

Hey, check out these auctions:

Cool, arent they?

Hey, check out these auctions:

Cool, arent they?

Hey, check out these auctions:

Cool, arent they?

So if you remember a little but ago, I mentioned that my computer failed.  Well, when this happened I really wasn’t worried, since I had both an external hard disk and MozyHome to back my files up.  Well, I very recently got my laptop back from HP after my second hard disk failure of the year.  Obviously the new hard disk had no data, so I assumed I could simply connect to Mozy to back up my files.

WRONG.  When I connected my new computer, I followed the instructions, and picked the option which promised to let be recover all of my lost files.  Unfortunately, instead of restoring the files, it wiped them all out.  Now, I have to note, while I’m no hacker, I’m more than competent at using a computer.  I’ve never done anything critically stupid like wiping my hard disk accidentally.  I consider myself a reasonably intelligent guy, but no super-genius.  So if I manage to wipe all of my files, what about all of the people who are less tech-savvy than me?  I’m sure they could manage to use the Mozy, but definitely wouldn’t be able to recover their files.  So I’m going to have to change my initial review of Mozy.  It’s still usable – it helped me out in a pinch before.

But Mozy is nothing compared to an external hard disk.  An external hard disk gives you much more space, and usually a much faster backup and restoration speed.  Mozy does have unlimited space for a fixed monthly price, but at a certain point speed constraints on backups make “unlimited” far from feasible.  If you want to back up all your files daily but the backup takes 25 hours, things aren’t exactly working out.  On the other hand with a USB 2.0 connection you can backup to a terabyte drive overnight.  Filling a terabyte drive to the brim takes a good bit more time, but I don’t think most users would be doing that.

The bottom line to me is an issue of price and space.  If you can afford a little bit of money a month, Mozy is probably better.  Just don’t let your hard disk fail, and remember that you will be spending more money overall.  If you can afford a larger price point, go for the hard disk.  With regards to space, if you only deal with bookmarks and word files, Mozy may work well for you.  If you want to back up more than one video file though, go for an external hard disk.  You can mix and match these at your pleasure, but for a user like me an external hard disk is essential.  And that’s why I own two and use both of them regularly!

I hope many of you have at least heard of Hamachi, even if you haven’t been using it.  When it comes to VPNs (Virtual Private Networks), it is in my opinion the way to go.  For most VPNs, you have to go through large amounts of software configuration, and sometimes even hardware (router) configuration.  You have to set up port forwarding, sometimes SSH tunnels, and sometimes even more.  I have to be honest, I’ve never successfully managed to set up a VPN myself.  That’s why I turn to Hamachi!

SO what makes Hamachi my favorite tool for VPN?  First, it’s free!  That’s right, you can set up your own VPN with hamachi free fo charge.  There’s also an upgrade option, which allows for a faster network speed and more computers on your network.  If you’re considering networked gaming, you might want to consider an upgrade.  For most other VPN functions, it should be more than adequate.  What’s even better?  All you have to do is install, and Hamachi takes care of all the configuration for you.  This configuration is usually the hardest part, but Hamachi has boiled it down to nothing!

That’s all there is to it – Hamachi eliminates all the hard parts of the configuration.  So now that it’s set up, how can you use it?  Really, the possibilities are almost endless.  Nowadays, lots of applications have networking features, and of course having multiple computers gives you more to work with.  So how do I use Hamachi?  Mostly, I use one computer as a backup, and store important files there.  I also use it to store my music collection – I have a setup so I can play my music portably!  And it also lets me play some networked games like Demigod too.  It’s an essential tool for your portable laptop!

Do you like computer games?  I know I do.  There’s a ton of great titles out there, but there is also a large volume of chaff – and there’s even virtually identical games released under different names by different companies.  And this is especially true of the MMO genre (and even more so true of the i-rpg games on the iPhone – they’re all identical!) – Most games are repackaging of the same old concepts and enemies.  And since World of Warcraft is so insanely popular, most games are knockoffs of this general mold – hunting quests, the camera controls, just the general feel pervades so many games.  Blizzard’s success has effectively killed a lot of the innovation in the MMORPG genre.

Then I played Atlantica.  In a lot of respects it admittedly does resemble the World of Warcraft model, but in a lot of respects it doesn’t.  One major difference is that you start the game with a party of three, and you consistently control more than one character.  The big, big difference though is that combat is turn based.  It takes an interesting approach to this – you’re given a time limit for your turn, dependant on how many people are in your party.  There’s a variety of mercenaries that you can hire, and via quests you can expand you main party size.  Each type of mercenary has a unique attack pattern and at least one unique skill.  Another feature I like is the auto move function – instead of wandering looking for a quest objective, you can click a button and be taken to it.  It’s incredibly convenient.

The potential diversification of your group is something I definitely like about this game.  Even the typical elemental attacks are divided among several characters, so you are forced to make a choice between versatility and strength (choices are always good – more choices means each player has more opportunities to play their way.  Sometimes the choices are tough though).  Usually the weaker classes have the ability to hit multiple enemies, while stronger ones are confined to attacking only the enemies in the front.  The magic classes also have three special abilities as opposed to melee classes’ one skill (though the melee skills often have tactical advantages – for example the archer has the ability to silence enemy spell casters).

Admittedly I’ve only played a little of this game due to my busy schedule.  It has, however, been a refreshing change from the usual repetition inherent to most MMORPGs.  I’ll be continuing playing it, and if I find anything else that impresses or disappoints me I’ll let you know.  Definitely give it a try if you like RPGs!

I have to say, this game is impressive.  It’s of the 4X genre: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate.  You’re allowed to choose one of three races, and are then given your own planet to begin with.  There’s a wide range of campaigns to choose from, including several random missions.  All of them are similar in that your objective is to eliminate the enemy – even peace offerings are really only a tool for eliminating mutual enemies.  There’s also missions given in the larger campaigns where do favors for other factions and receive rewards.

So criticism?  One, this game is bone crushingly mind meltingly difficult even on easy settings.  Enemies tend to gang up on you, and being attacked by the space pirates can set you back a lot.  It’s very hard to set a balance between expansion and your defenses, and resources are extremely scarce at best.  The three races are virtually identical – there are almost no differences in technology, slight differences in ships, and a few differences in the flagships.  The fact that there is enemy presence everywhere around you right from the start definitely complicates things.  Even a short campaign can take several hours (my shortest is 8 hours so far).

The best point is the zoom in this game.  You can zoom all the way out, and see how each star system connects to each other.  Then with a flick of the mouse wheel you can zoom all the way in on one ship, and watch it fight other ships within a star system.  It’s also delightful to play (assuming you like tactical simulations or empire building games).  It’s also great since you can play a huge campaign online with your friends (I also understand you can save an online campaign, but I haven’t tried it yet)

I do think it could be better – the inclusion of mods could allow for player created races, more skills, and a wide variety of new ships.  I look forward to more titles from this company though (the name slips my mind) – despite a few shortcomings, I highly recommend it to anyone who likes empire games or tactical simulations.  I do note it’s graphically intensive, so be sure to check your graphics settings on your portable laptop, or it will run very slowly.