And though they clearly aren’t the same company that started producing Pong (while virtually single-handedly inventing the video game) in the 1970s, they remain a fantastic example of innovation.
Atari 2600: the Game Console that Started it All!I still remember (like it was yesterday!) the Christmas morning when my Dad gave my brother a cartridge for the Atari 2600 in his stocking. As my brother tried to explain that it was no good without the unit, my Dad started laughing and told him to go look in his room. The 2600 changed our lives forever!
Check out the infographic below to see how Atari became a household name in the 1980s, got killed when Nintendo came on the scene and ultimately reinvented themselves after several changes in ownership. You may not be aware, but a lot of the great Atari titles are alive and well today!
Latest Update: Since many of the apps we reference in the updates and content below are starting to remove the codes, you can see the codes are available in the commentsbelow.
2nd Update: The Unlock Code for Bonus Level 2 is divided between 4 apps:Elfster, Earbits, Astrid, and Hipmunk.
Update: Unlock Code for Bonus Level 1 is found in the BBC Good Food App for Chrome (more details below).
After playing the December 25th level of Angry Birds for Chrome (with the sequence of Christmas comics), 3 bonus levels appeared this morning.
Some quick searching online revealed that at least one of the Christmas Bonus Level Unlock Codes for Angry Birds Chrome Edition could be found by installing the Google Books app. After installing the Google Books app (which essentially just opens the Google Books website), there was a banner ad running. The ad said an unlock code could be found by reading at least 5 pages of Birds for Dummies. Purchasing the book was not required: I simply read through several pages of the free preview. Suddenly, the unlock code appeared.
Angry Birds for Chrome Christmas Bonus Levels Unlock Code
I entered it several times into the Angry Birds Chrome app on the screen shown here. While previous “guesses” had resulted in an “Invalid Code” message, this time I didn’t see that message. Unfortunately, however, it didn’t appear as though anything had changed. After re-entering it several times, I finally realized that level 3 of the Christmas Bonus Levels had, in fact, been unlocked! Great!
But now… where do we find those other 2 unlock codes?
Keep up with the Twitter conversation by following me: @TheDavidJohnson.
How to Install the Google Books App
From your Google Chrome web browser, visit the Chrome Webstore
It should now appear in your normal list of apps when you open a new tab in Google Chrome.
The code contained in the Google Books app is for level 3.
Where to Find the Unlock Code for Level 1
BBC Good Food App: Angry Birds Code Offer
For level 1, you need the BBC Good Food app. Install it the same way you installed the Google Books App (above).
Once you’ve got the app launched, look for an Angry Birds offer in the lower right-hand corner of the main app screen. Once you click it, the Unlock Code for Bonus Level 1 will be revealed.
Where to Find the Unlock Code for Level 2
For Christmas Bonus Level 2, the unlock code is contained in 4 chunks inside each of 4 different apps. Each app has its own trickery for locating the digits contained therein.
I started with Hipmunk. Once you get it installed, you need to login. I chose to use my Google Account (since I’m in Chrome and that’s what I use for Angry Birds login purposes). You’ll see an image of the Hipmunk mascot with a reference to Angry Birds on the home screen.
Clicking that only gets you the following set of instructions:
Click “Start Game!”
Perform a hotel search
Turn on a Heatmap
This seems a little vague and is obviously intended to force you to get to know what the app does a little bit. I ran a search, which was easy enough, but locating how to turn on the heatmap function was a little more ambiguous.
Hipmunk: Where to find the Heatmaps
After playing around with it for a couple of minutes, I finally spotted the heatmaps just above the Google map itself in the upper right-hand corner of the search results screen.
Once you click on one, a massive hover box containing the portion of the code that comes from Hipmunk will be displayed.
Knock on Wood Game: Play Angry Birds for Real! Each of the other apps has its own methodology. The Hipmunk blog has a post with some additional info. If you get stuck on anything, just post in the comments below.
Angry Birds: Everybody needs a stuffed King Pig with Sounds!In the meantime, maybe you should pick up an Angry Birds item or two. The “Knock on Wood” Game is a blast… my 6-year-old daughter got it for Christmas. But she doesn’t yet have the stuffed pig!
**Update (October 16, 2011): The process is a lot simpler now than it was a few weeks ago. This thread outlines the new simpler method for achieving root for your Evo Shift 4G. (I haven’t tried it myself, but I’d use it if my device weren’t already rooted.)
A few months ago, I upgraded my HTC Hero on Sprint to the HTC Evo Shift 4G. I liked the Shift because it had a good size and promised a little better battery life than the original HTC Evo. I didn’t need 2 cameras and a couple of the other bells & whistles of the bigger device, so the Shift looked to be a great choice.
And it was… for months. But unfortunately, the latest OTA (over-the-air) update that came to the device in late August / early September created a giant mess. For the first time ever, the Evo Shift started running slow. Every time I would hit the “Home” button to exit an app, the HTC Sense UI would restart. I wasn’t actually aware this was exactly what was occurring, but the home screen took forever to come up and the HTC logo would spin for a while. This was incredibly frustrating.
Rebooting the device didn’t help. Eliminating some apps made no difference. On a couple of occasions, using the device was so frustrating that I was about ready to throw it at the pavement.
Root, Root, Root Your Phone
I’ve written previously about rooting my HTC Hero. That turned out to be the best thing I could’ve done with that device. But I had hesitated to root the Shift. In fact, I hadn’t even looked into it because I was so happy with the device’s performance and really enjoyed the latest version of HTC’s proprietary Sense UI. Sense is a set of apps and tweaks that sits on top of the device’s Android O/S.
My experience with the HTC Hero was that by rooting it, I gave up access to the Sense UI. I liked it enough on the Evo Shift that I hadn’t gone down that road.
But with all my frustrations after the latest OTA update (which bumped me to Android 2.3.3 “Gingerbread”), I wondered what could be done. So… I started to check out the community of Android device hackers.
What I discovered was both delightful and frustrating. First of all, the guys & gals that work on this stuff had found a way to re-install the Sense UI after rooting the device. (This was not possible when I originally rooted my Hero.) Yippee for me! I can root the device and have full control, but still get the enjoyment out of Sense.
The downside — which was a bit frustrating — was that the road to get to a nicely-running, rooted “Gingerbread” (Android 2.3.3) Evo Shift with Sense UI was pretty convoluted.
Essentially, here’s what had to happen:
Backup everything
Gain a “temporary” root (goes away on reboot) on the Evo Shift
Install some code to the device allowing a downgrade
Backup everything
Downgrade to “Froyo” (Android 2.2)
Permanently root the device on Android 2.2.
Backup the device
Install a nice fresh new ROM
Definitely convoluted. Definitely more frustrating than the process on the HTC Hero (when I did it). But the results have been amazing. I’m running a custom ROM called MikShifted-G “Executive” from TheMikMik. It is gorgeous. It is lightning fast. All the “bugginess” from my device is ancient history.
And of course, with a rooted device, there’s no end to what you can do that was locked down previously by Sprint & HTC. All the Android goodness is there… and it gets better all the time!
I’m glad I rooted my Evo Shift 4G. You will be too!
For reference: xda-devleopers is the ultimate resource for rooting Android devices. For the HTC “Speedy” (Evo Shift 4G) running Android 2.3 (“Gingerbread”) this thread in particular will be helpful. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s worth it!
Over the last few months, I’ve had the privilege of becoming acquainted with Melinda Leeson, DOM. She’s an acupuncture and homeopathic physician who operates a clinic here in Sarasota called “Nature’s Own Wellness.”
Now let me first say that I haven’t yet tried acupuncture. Prior to meeting Dr. Leeson, I would’ve placed it in the category of “things that might be helpful that I might be willing to try.” Frankly, I would’ve never thought that I suffered from any condition that would’ve been helped by acupuncture.
As far as homeopathy goes, I would’ve said, “I’m definitely open to it.” I have a healthy skepticism about medications. In fact, I tend to think that as a general rule, we Americans are little too quick to reach for (or ask our doctors for) a bottle of pills. The idea of natural remedies that don’t involve a lot of bizarre pharmaceuticals is actually appealing to me. Thankfully, I’ve been very blessed with great health. Aside from some injuries that have required chiropractic treatment, I rarely darken the door of a doctor’s office… unless they are a client!
And that’s how I happened to meet Dr. Leeson. We were introduced by Sarasota florist and my good friend and client, Becki Creighton. Since Becki has raved and raved about her experiences with Dr. Leeson, I was delighted to be able to meet her.
One of the things that Dr. Leeson (who tends to call herself Melinda) helped me understand is that acupuncture doesn’t hurt. I guess a lot of people assume (as I did) that the needles would prick or sting a bit on the way in. Evidently that is not the case… most people don’t feel anything and are even surprised to find out a needle as already been inserted.
Another thing she helped me understand is that the needles are about energy flow. Traditional Chinese medicine looks at physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energy differently than we tend to think of it here. This is very intriguing to me, as is the idea that treating a specific symptom or condition really should be done from a holistic perspective. She explained that she spends a great deal of time with her patients… learning about their lives, how they spend their time, what they eat, what stresses they experience, and so on. This helps her arrive at a course of treatment that is more likely to get to the source of the problem(s) and not just alleviate a symptom.
Another interesting thing I learned is that the practice of Chinese herbal medicine goes beyond acupuncture to the use of herbs and teas that introduce natural substances which may target certain deficiencies and so forth. This is very interesting to me because I’m convinced that eating the same foods over and over again — does anyone do this but me? — is bound to cause us to come up short in certain areas… not to mention ending up with too much in some others!
Overall, her use of homeopathic remedies goes most deeply into re-balancing or correcting the driving forces within each person that initially set up the energetic patterns for disease. This is a major departure from what we typically experience in health care today. And… to me, it’s worth exploring.
Another thing I didn’t know is that traditional Chinese medicine — acupuncture, herbal remedies, etc. — is able to really help with a wide variety of ailments. Melinda helps her patients with everything from weight loss to chemical imbalances. She works on colds and flu, ADD/ADHD, symptoms of menopause, osteoporosis, allergies, chronic fatigue, headaches, joint pain, fibromyalgia, arthritis, insomnia, depression… the list truly goes on and on.
Whether or not you’ve ever considered or tried acupuncture, Sarasota has a true gem in Dr. Melinda Leeson. I’ve spent a number of hours getting to know her — both face-to-face and over the phone — and she is a highly conscientious, precious, compassionate person. She has demonstrated the highest integrity, which in and of itself gives me reason to highly recommend her. Here’s how to find her:
Nature’s Own Wellness (Website: http://www.naturesownwellness.com) 7029 South Tamiami Trail, Suite A, Sarasota, FL 34231 Appointments & Info: (941) 926-9082
Google celebrates its 13th birthday with a special Google Doodle!
It’s hard to believe, but the website most of us use everyday to start just about anything we do online didn’t exist until 13 years ago.
Their rise to dominance didn’t take place until later, but the company was incorporated in September, 1998. By 2000, they were processing 100 million searches per day… and of course, today they own the US search market. (Market share varies depending who measures it and what they measure… but for all intents & purposes, they’re the search engine that matters.)
In addition to the 28,000 people they employ directly, Google and its products have an impact on the businesses, careers and income on an incredibly high number of people. I’m sure someone has tried to do it, but it would truly be impossible to measure the economic impact of this behemoth. This could be why Google officials were recently testifying before Congress regarding the competitiveness of their operations… but that’s something for another day.
For today… on behalf of small businesses and marketers everywhere… Happy Birthday, Google! We’re celebrating right along with you today!
It’s truly hard to fathom that 10 years have passed. We were changed by that day, and perhaps we still don’t comprehend fully how.
For me, the day serves as a bookend… the beginning of a season of work that continues to grow and develop today. I launched out full time in Epiphany Marketing (the business I still operate) on Monday, September 10th. Had Tuesday been uneventful, Monday might be a faded memory… perhaps I might not have even really marked the date in my mind.
But Tuesday was eventful. A sudden jolt that reminded us all that life is short. That things can change… instantly. That whatever you’d been doing suddenly may no longer have been important. Perhaps it had never been.
Since it came at the beginning of a new season for me, it underscored the fact that there is important work to be done. That, as Seth Godin pointed out today, “…we have an obligation to stand up, stand out and to do work that matters.”
I’ve shared on a previous anniversary of that fateful day about Sarasota’s role in its events, and on the amazing community response.
Today, however, my thoughts are simpler and clearer. As a change agent, there’s still so much to do.
“Mow-Wow” was how I always knew her. The story goes that my brother (who was her first grandchild) invented the moniker for her as a toddler, and it simply stuck. She was a loving, devoted Grandmother to me, who frequently had a mischievous gleam in her eye and was always quick with a remark and a hearty laugh.
But behind the spunky exterior was a quiet strength that was born in her large-family upbringing on a farm in rural Oklahoma. Her German-speaking grandparents left difficult circumstances in Russia and landed in Nebraska. Her parents married and eventually made their way to a new homestead outside of Weatherford, Oklahoma, where they started a family, eventually having 10 children.
The community in Weatherford was a tight-knit, family-oriented one. As it became more & more likely for World War II to impact the United States, she took a job with the War Department in Washington, D.C., which eventually led to her meeting the young Marine who stole her heart. The story goes that she actually dated his friend, but he snagged her. They fell in love and were married in September, 1945, once he returned from the Pacific theater at the end of the war.
They started their life together in Georgia, where he attended college and entered the ministry. She lived the majority of her adult life as a Pastor’s wife, caring for people and contributing her myriad skills to the congregational life and activities in churches across Oklahoma, eventually settling in Denver, Colorado.
Mow-Wow demonstrated a tremendous amount of diligence in her life. Some of my earliest memories of her involve her sitting at the breakfast table in their Littleton, Colorado home, praying for each & every family member by name and poring over the Scriptures. It seemed she was always memorizing passages from her beloved Bible, and if I walked by her, I would frequently hear her “muttering” the Scriptures under her breath. She lived & breathed the Word of God.
She raised 3 incredibly gifted and talented children, one of which thankfully became my Mother. All of her children have tremendous musical abilities, and I’m a grateful beneficiary of the disciplines that were part of her household where music lessons are concerned. Her children are all 3 accomplished pianists and music lovers. We are a very musical family, and I believe in large part we owe it to Mow-Wow’s determination to cultivate those abilities.
I’m grateful for so many experiences with her in my life. As a boy, I learned Scriptures from her and always enjoyed visits to her home. She was a hard-working homemaker, an amazing cook, and a joy to be around… although not without the occasional cantankerous moment. I was so grateful when she & Pa-Po decided to make the move to Florida in 1998 and spend their twilight years here. It has meant that my Mom’s side of the family has spent significant amounts of time together, which I’ve been very blessed to be part of along the way.
Unfortunately, she had a late-night fall 2 years ago, which resulted in a broken femur. The surgery to repair the break was a little hard for her to recover from, and she had a further setback when she had a stroke in the recovery process. My Grandfather had been by her side through her major heart surgery several years prior, and was always strong for her. But after her fall and subsequent stroke, his own health began to decline. He passed away in January, 2010, just a few days shy of his 89th birthday. She lived to reach her own 89th birthday in April of this year, but was tired from her health struggles.
She was greatly loved and will be sorely missed.
A public viewing will be held on Thursday, May 12th, from 6pm-8pm at Brown and Sons Funeral Home, 604 43rd Street West, Bradenton, FL 34209 (map here). A funeral service celebrating the life of Erma L. Carroll will be held on Friday, May 13th at 11am at the same location. She will be interred at the Sarasota National Cemetary at 2:30pm.
My favorite independent Sarasota coffee shop is currently featured as a Tampa Bay Area Groupon deal! Just wanted to give a quick heads-up to my Sarasota readers who are also coffee connoisseurs. Spend $6, and get $12 worth of stuff on your next visit. Here’s the Groupon deal. Get it now: it expires today!
While they also sell & service espresso machines (residential & commercial), their cafe on Bee Ridge has been a welcome addition since they opened last year. Great-tasting food, free wi-fi and lots of beverage options make The Beanz Man a fantastic choice. And, as we’ve mentioned before, they make the ultimate Almond cappuccino. Be sure & tell ’em I sent ya!
Those who know me well — and shoot… even those who read this blog! — know that I’m a Starbucks fan. I carry the Gold card, I’ve unlocked the Foursquare “Barista Badge,” and I’ve had Starbucks almond cappuccinos on multiple continents.
However… in the famous revamping of 2008, Starbucks ditched a few of my favorite things. Some of them hit a little closer to home than others. The loss of the Bearista left me with one less source for cute little stuffed animals to bring home to my wife and daughter. That hurt. Thankfully, the Bearista is back this fall.
What hurt even worse, however, and what is not back… is Starbucks almond syrup. My eulogy to this personal favorite continues to bring visitors from all over the world to this site.
Starbucks has a consistent product… all over the world. That makes it worth counting on… no matter where you are.
However, since the demise of their almond syrup, I’ve taken to checking out local, independent coffee shops to see what treasures I might discover — especially here in Sarasota, Florida. Consequently, I’ve found that there are some places around town that produce some fantastic products. LeLu Coffee Lounge on Siesta Key is one such place. In fact, they make a mocha using genuine Ghirardelli syrup that makes my wife melt. +1 for LeLu!
But just yesterday I believe I may have discovered Nirvana. No… not the Kurt Cobain-fronted grunge band from the 90s. But the real deal… the ultimate almond Cappuccino. And it doesn’t smell like Teen Spirit!
Locals here in Sarasota may recall the name, “The Beanz Man.” We knew it as a dealer of a wide variety of personal and professional espresso machines. When their shop disappeared from North Washington Boulevard, I thought perhaps it was another casualty of the economic times, so to speak.
Turns out, they suffered a devastating fire. I don’t know the details, but apparently it forced them to relocate and start over. Imagine my surprise when I spotted their vans parked in the parking lot next door to my office on Bee Ridge Road a few months ago!
Well… not only did they move… but last week they opened a full-fledged cafe! They serve a variety of sandwiches and soups. I walked over to it for lunch yesterday with my wonderful wife, Jill, and had a prosciutto and fontina sandwich that was spectacular.
But… what do you get when you take an espresso machine dealer… one who probably knows the ins and outs of making espresso-based drinks as well as anyone else… and put him in his very own cafe?
You get the handmade cappuccino of your life… with the perfect amount of almond syrup to boot! (At least… that’s what you get if you’re me! You might order something else… that, I recognize. But that would be your loss.)
Actually… I’m sure that any espresso-based drink you could possibly dream up would be amazing at The Beanz Man Espresso Bar Cafe. Here’s a sure thing: I’ll be walking next door more often… a lot more often. Check out the cafe page on their website to download yourself a coupon, then head on over there yourself. Enjoy something to munch on at one of their nifty little cafe tables, or sink down into the cozy couch and fire up your favorite wi-fi device to do some surfing.
Recently, I received word from PayPal that they’ve decided to discontinue the incredibly useful PayPal Plug-in.
As the final day approaches, PayPal doesn’t seem to be backing down from its impending termination. September 22, 2010 is officially the last day to use the tool.
It’s a sad day. This has been, by far, one of PayPal’s most valuable features.
What Are Single Use Debit Cards?
To anyone who makes online purchases, having the ability to generate a valid, disposable card number is a dream come true. If you’ve ever had a debit card number compromised — either because of bank error, security breaches, or just jerks who get lucky with their random card number software — you know how painful it is to clean up the process. You get to contact the issuing bank, cancel the card, go without usage of it for days or even weeks while they replace it, and deal with the whole issue of getting your money back from whomever may have successfully nabbed some.
What a mess!
It’s like “Identity Theft Lite.”
A couple of years ago, we went through a nasty streak of these problems at my house. On multiple issuing banks, we had several business and personal debit cards compromised. In some cases, there were fraudulent charges (or in some cases, just authorizations). In other cases, we were informed by the bank that there was a breach of security and they recommended immediate replacement.
It’s not a fun situation. Especially when you have meticulous habits (as we do in my house) around using card numbers at reputable sites only, always verifying SSL status before punching a card number in, using firewalls when surfing at public hotspots, etc…
It seems that you can’t be too careful. And even when you’re doing your best, you can get stung through no fault of your own.
So, imagine my delight when I discovered that PayPal was offering a free piece of software that permitted me to generate a brand new card number on demand. There was no physical card attached at all. It was merely a valid card number, complete with its own expiration date (usually about 2 months from the date it was generated), valid CVV digits, and billed to the billing address on my PayPal account. And the best thing? It could only be used once.
So… about to make a purchase from an online retailer that wants to store your credit card information (for your convenience, of course!)? Just open the plug-in, login to PayPal with your password, and in a click or two and about as many seconds on the clock, you’d have a card number that would be approved right away for your purchase… but would forever be declined thereafter.
They even gave me an option of creating multiple use card numbers for recurring billing purposes. Need to be able to track charges from a certain retailer, vendor, or supplier? No problem. Just generate the a multiple-use card number for that vendor, and you’re in full control. You can cancel the number at any time to stop them from charging you… without having to go through the hassle of replacing your physical card and getting stuck without the ability to use it in the meantime.
Don’t have your wallet close by while you’re trying to check out of a website with a purchase? No problem. Just open up another browser window and crank out a valid card number on the spot.
I could go on and on. The usefulness of this fantastic service seemed to grow by the day.
In All Fairness…
The software itself left something to be desired. Originally, I installed the plug-in on my Firefox browser. Over time, as Firefox was updated, the plug-in didn’t get along with it so well. So… I ended up having to install it on the dreaded Internet Explorer. That was a pain… especially since I trust Internet Explorer as far as I can throw it. (Ever tried to throw a piece of software?)
But… despite the rather clunky user interface, and the annoying and odd fact that there was no way to get to your previously generated cards, receipts inbox or the other nifty features of this tool from the main PayPal website (the only way to open that part of their site was to use the plug-in… which took you to that magical part of the site), the tool was still nothing short of invaluable.
What To Do?
Honestly, I don’t know. I’m searching for “Virtual Debit Cards,” or “Secure Debit Card Generator,” or “Single Use Debit Cards,” or “Disposable Debit Card” online. Nothing so far seems to be a good match. I’ve found a number of complaints in the PayPal community forums where users like me are publicly lamenting the loss of this tool. There are some complaints from international users that they never had access to the tool to begin with (apparently it was only for US customers).
But nothing that looks like it could serve as a replacement for this valuable tool.
I can’t help but suspect that I’ll be using PayPal less and less. And I’ll probably be more inclined to move any balance in my PayPal account much more quickly into my main business checking account. I’m sure I’ll still use the PayPal debit card that I carry for my business… but probably less often.
Will that hurt PayPal? Probably not much. I’m certainly only one business owner… and I’m guessing that adoption of this tool wasn’t very widespread (otherwise they’d be more aggressively announcing alternative features). So… I’m sure they calculated the risk associated with cancelling the tool and decided it was worthwhile for whatever reason.
But I’ll be moving at least some of my PayPal business once I find a replacement solution.
