GamePro is Shutting Down

Bad news, guys.  One of the best gaming mags in the industry (no, I'm not biased), GamePro, is shutting its doors on December 5.  Both the online and the print versions of the magazine will be gone and rolled into PCWorld.  GamePro announced the sad news via a note at the top of its website:

"Thank you for your loyalty, support, and participation in the GamePro.com community. At noon on December 5, 2011, the U.S. version of GamePro online will shut down as an independent site. GamePro will become part of PCWorld.com (http://www.pcworld.com/gamepro) offering gaming news, reviews, and how-tos from the PCWorld team. Thank you to the entire GamePro staff for their hard work and dedication."

GamePro has been publishing game-related content for more than 22 years, since its inception in May 1989.

A Comprehensive List of Online Deal Sites

OMG EVERYONE, BLACK FRIDAY IS ALMOST HERE.  I AM SO STOKED!

Just kidding.  I don't do Black Friday unless I happen to be awake at 6 a.m. (not uncommon, I usually head to bed around 7 a.m. on weekdays) and I'm tremendously bored.  I live across the street from the Westfield Valley Fair mall in San Jose/Santa Clara, so making the Black Friday trek isn't exactly difficult.  It's almost like the stores are opening just for me.

Anyway, because Black Friday and the start of the holiday shopping season is just around the corner, I thought y'all might be interested in some tips on how to save money.  Yes -- who isn't interested in that, right?  Well, here's the first step to saving money: online deal sites.  I say "first step" because if you want to purchase any gifts from these sites, you should move fast -- many of them are not exactly known for their speedy shipping service.

I check most of these sites daily (though I don't buy a lot -- I'm just a window-shopper), and I've ordered from all of them.  Without further ado, here they are.

Gilt Groupe
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Gilt Groupe is, as far as I know, the first of its kind.  Gilt initially started out selling high-end designer fashions at decent -- but not insane -- prices, but they've since moved on to multiple markets, including food, travel, and "experiences."

Gilt is one of the classier sale sites.  At the moment, they're selling discounted items from brands such as Pucci, Furla, and Via Spiga.  They also have a Groupon-like "Gilt City" that offers discounted "experiences," such as an Audi rental or a spa trip.  These experiences are fancier than what other daily deal sites offer.

I've ordered multiple items from Gilt, and they're very professional and quick.  Shipping is decently cheap and your item ships out pretty soon after the sale ends.  Most of their sales aren't stay-up-all-night worthy -- unless you happen to really love a brand that never goes on sale -- but they're good for discovering high-end brands you didn't know about.

I shop here because: It's great for finding new high-end designers at a discount.  I've never been unsatisfied with a Gilt purchase, even if it was my first purchase from the designer.
Sells: Men's, women's, and children's high-end fashions; designer home goods; foodie gifts; Groupon-like "experiences"; vacation packages.
Shipping:$5.95 for regular orders (additional charges apply for oversize items). Free shipping on any items ordered within one hour of your last purchase.
Returns: 21 days. Store credit with free shipping or full refund minus shipping and restocking ($9.95 for orders under $100; $14.95 for orders over $100).
Invite a friend and get: 20% off one order after they make their first purchase. Your friend also gets 20% off their first purchase.


Rue La La
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Rue La La differentiates itself from other online sample sites by focusing on customer service and the general consumer experience.  Rue La La has the best returns policy of any of the sample sale sites -- you can return just about anything, excluding final sale items, for 30 days, for store credit or a refund.  Rue La La also features a concierge service that will answer any questions you have within 24 hours.

Rue La La is on par with Gilt Groupe when it comes to sales.  They offer higher-end brands, such as Judith Leiber, La Perla, and Kate Spade.  They also have a "Local" option, similar to Gilt's "City" sales, as well as travel sales.  Rue La La has the fastest shipping of any of these sites -- they ship immediately after the sales end and it usually takes less than a week to get your items.

Rue La La is great for people who value customer service over discounts.  Though Rue La La offers some great sales, they keep people coming back with their awesome consumer-oriented outlook.

I shop here because: The experience is flawless.  I never have to wait for my items, I can return them for 30 days after I receive them, and if I have any questions about fit or sizing or quality, I can just call up the concierge.
Sells: Men's, women's, and children's high-end fashions; designer home goods; hotel and vacation packages; local experiences.
Shipping: $9.95 flat rate for 30 days (additional charges apply for oversize items)
Returns: 30 days. Store credit with free shipping or full refund minus shipping charges.
Invite a friend and get: $10 credit after they make their first purchase.

Ideeli
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Ideeli (I think it's pronounced "ideally") has fewer high-ticket items than Rue La La or Gilt Groupe, but they're always great finds.  Ideeli also has a great friend-invite incentive: $25 for each friend who makes a purchase.  Gilt and Rue La La (I believe) used to offer $25 but have since decreased that to 20 percent and $10, respectively.

Ideeli uses fast shipping -- items usually get there in under a week.  They don't always ship immediately after sales end, but they do let you know when items are expected to ship (usually a range of 3-5 days) so you know approximately when you'll get your order.

I shop here because: They always have great items, and their prices are better than Gilt and Rue La La.
Sells: Men's, women's, and children's fashions; home goods; hotel and vacation packages.
Shipping: $9.95 flat rate per day (until 10 p.m.)
Returns: 21 days. Store credit with free shipping or full refund minus shipping charges ($7.95).
Invite a friend and get: $25 credit after they make their first purchase.

Beyond the Rack
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I'm not gonna lie: Beyond the Rack is kind of ghetto.  They sell a lot of items that are extremely cheap, but also unbranded (or they don't tell you the brand).  They ship erratically and they use the cheapest shipping available so it can take over two weeks to arrive.  They occasionally run out of items that you've ordered and give you a refund.  They do not offer any shipping incentives -- each order, no matter when it's placed, will cost you $9.95 to ship.

That said, Beyond the Rack has a few advantages.  Not only do they offer like a hundred new sales each day (other sale sites offer, at most, 10 new sales per day), their sales last for a couple of days longer than other sites.  Also, they are cheaper -- if only by a few dollars -- than all of the other sale sites (sites often carry the same merchandise).  Finally, Beyond the Rack offers super-high-end designer brands right alongside dollar-store rejects.  These brands include Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Christian Louboutin, Jimmy Choo, and Prada. 

I shop here because: They're cheap and they have a lot of options every day.
Sells: Men's, women's, and children's high-end and low-end fashions; home goods.
Shipping: $9.95 flat rate per order.
Returns: 14 days for store credit only (minus shipping costs).
Invite a friend and get: $10 credit after they make their first purchase.

HauteLook
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If you've exhausted the other sale sites listed here, you should check out HauteLook.  They offer a mix of designer and non-designer items, including accessories and make-up, as well as vacation and travel packages.  HauteLook also has more new sales per day than the average sample sale site, though Beyond the Rack still trumps all of them.

I'm not going to lie -- I haven't purchased anything from HauteLook in awhile.  That's partly because I keep forgetting about them (there are no real incentives for me to go check them out -- their designers are pretty middle-of-the-line), and partly because they sell a lot of items that show up on other sites.  However, the shipping is nice -- it's not a flat rate, which means I'm more comfortable buying cheap stuff.

I shop here because: Their accessories and make-up sales are great, and their "Getaway" packages are very good deals as well.
Sells: Men's, women's, and children's fashions; beauty items; home goods; travel packages.
Shipping: $5.95 - $9.95 depending on order value.
Returns: 21 days. Store credit with free shipping or full refund minus shipping charges ($5.95).
Invite a friend and get: $10 credit after they make their first purchase.

NoMoreRack
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NoMoreRack isn't like the other sites on this list -- it's more like Woot.com, in that it offers specific item daily deals instead of sample sales.  However, some of these deals are INSANE (and they are aptly-named "Insanity Deals").  The Insanity Deals are similar to Woot's "Bag of Crap" in that you have to basically be on that or you'll miss it.

NoMoreRack offers Insanity Deals throughout the day in limited quantities.  Some of the Insanity Deals that people have recently scored?  An iPad 2 for about $44, a Kindle Touch for $16, and a Sony Laptop for $19.  Er...yeah.  They don't tell you when these deals will go live, though, so you have to sit around refreshing the page constantly or you'll miss them (and even then, you'll probably still miss them).  That said, NoMoreRack's other deals aren't bad, and many of them are free (plus $0.99 - $2.00 shipping)...can't really go wrong with that.

I shop here because: The deals are super awesome.
Sells: Mostly women's accessories and clothing, but also random items and electronics.
Shipping: Flat rate of $2 on most deals, less on free items.
Returns: 30 days for store credit only, minus shipping charges.
Invite a friend and get: Friend points, which can be redeemed for big-ticket items such as blenders and Xbox 360s.

So RIM...Wants to Be Obsolete?

Take a last look at the Adobe Flash logo

You may have heard the shocking news: Adobe has decided to cease developing its Flash Player for mobile browsers.  Well, it turns out that Adobe is also yanking Flash from connected TVs, and will focus on pushing native apps.

Whatever.

The interesting part isn't really that Adobe is starting to give up on its Flash platform--it's been giving up on Flash for a while now, and it has even released an HTML5 development tool called Adobe Edge.  But what is interesting is that Research In Motion, maker of BlackBerrys and, um, more BlackBerrys (oh, and that PlayBook tablet thingy), is determined to be obsolete.

RIM told AllThingsD on Wednesday that it has licensed Adobe's source code and will continue to support Flash on its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.

"As an Adobe source code licensee, we will continue to work on and release our own implementations. RIM remains committed to delivering an uncompromised Web browsing experience to our customers, including native support for Adobe Flash Player on our BlackBerry PlayBook tablet (similar to a desktop PC browser), as well as HTML5 support on both our BlackBerry smartphone and PlayBook browsers," RIM said to AllThingsD in a statement.

"In fact, we are pleased that Adobe will focus more efforts on the opportunities that HTML5 presents for our developers, and shares our commitment to HTML5 as we discussed together at DevCon Americas."

RIM BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet

Er...yeah.  Okay, RIM.  Do what you gotta do.  It's not like the PlayBook is exactly shooting off shelves--just a month ago retailers slashed the PlayBook's prices to as low as $250 (originally $500).  And now it's being reported that if you buy two PlayBooks you'll get a third one absolutely free. Yeah...I think this is the first time I've seen a normally $500 tablet go the type of sale usually reserved for pens and deodorant.

Also, Google will reportedly stop offering its BlackBerry Gmail application later this month, and they will no longer support the app, though users who already have the app installed will be able to continue using it.  That's even better news for RIM and its tablet, considering the PlayBook doesn't have a native e-mail app (or native calendar or contact apps, but who's counting).

Instead, Google will focus on "building a great Gmail experience in the mobile browser," the company said Tuesday.  Hopefully that experience will use Flash, because otherwise RIM can kiss its tablet situation good-bye...

Game I'm Obsessed With: Temple Run

<3

Temple Run is a free universal iOS app (that means it's optimized for both iPhone/iPod Touch screens and iPad screens) by Imangi Studios.  And it's awesome.

It basically combines everything I love: simplicity, endless gameplay, and Indiana Jones.  Yeah, Indy was totally my first love.

Anyway, Temple Run is an endless running game in which you are running away from a bunch of temple guarding monkeys with skull faces (kind of makes me think of Congo), because you just stole an idol that looks a lot like the idol in the first Indy film.

To escape the monkeys (well, you never actually escape), you must jump over tree branches, navigate the path, and slide under fire and wire.  Er...it's simpler than it sounds.

Gameplay is simple: your characters is constantly running, and you just have to avoid the obstacles.  Tilting your device will cause your character to run on one side of the path (good for collecting coins, but be careful because on those narrow paths with no walls, you will fall off).

To turn a corner, you have to swipe to the left or the right--this isn't intuitive at first, but you'll get used to it pretty quickly.  To jump over an object, swipe up, and to slide under an object, swipe down.  That's all you need to know.

As you run there are coins and power-ups to be collected.  Coins let you purchase better power-ups for future gameplay, as well as earn achievements.  Most of the obstacles will kill you instantly, but some (such as the smaller tree root) will just trip you up.  If you trip, the monkeys will catch up to you for a little while, and if you trip again they'll catch you and...eat you.  Or something.

Anyway, it's a great game--the graphics are well-rendered, though sometimes they can be a little dark, the game isn't over-simple but it's easy enough to figure out, and it's fast-paced...and it gets even faster.  Plus, the behind-the-runner viewpoint totally makes you feel like Indiana.

Confessions of a Cosmo Girl

My buddy Patrick tipped me off to this Reddit thread which basically is about how Cosmopolitan is a hack-mag with no journalistic integrity and a bunch of bitter female writers who sit around and make up impossible sex tips so that couples will feel awkward and/or inadequate in the bedroom.

I beg to differ.

As you may know (if you've read my 'About Me' section), I used to work for Cosmo back when I lived in New York City, which is where their headquarters are located.  I was an Editorial Features Intern.  Later, I moved to the bay area and started writing techie stuff.  It's a pretty typical move -- glossy women's mags about sex and relationships to consumer electronics.  Before I worked at Cosmo I wrote for GIANT, which covers the rap/hip-hop scene, so I really am a girl of many talents.

Anyway, I am not surprised that Cosmo gets ribbed for being a fluffy piece of fluffy fluffiness that has no journalistic integrity.  After all, it's just sex and relationship tips -- not weighty economic theory -- right?  Er.  Sort of.  But for what it's worth, here are some answers to the questions I get about my stint at Cosmo.

"Was it totally like The Devil Wears Prada?"

Haha...no.  Not at all, actually.  First of all, The Devil Wears Prada is about Vogue, which is a fashion magazine run by the infamous Anna Wintour.  Cosmo is -- contrary to popular belief -- primarily a relationship (not sex!) magazine.  The majority of Cosmo's content is aimed at young women in relationships, though a sizable chunk is aimed at women who are playing the field.

Anyway, my experience at Cosmo wasn't a thing like The Devil Wears Prada.  I actually filled in for the "Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief" position several times when Mina (the current assistant at the time) was sick or otherwise out of the office.  Cosmo Editor-in-Chief Kate White is one of the most personable people I've ever met -- and she was always excited to talk to anyone and everyone, including lowly interns such as myself.  She's very professional, but also very fun and bubbly -- like everyone else in the office, actually.  Since I left Cosmo in 2008, I have been in regular contact with her and she has actually helped me a lot in my writing career.

For what it's worth, I hear Vogue is a lot like the movie.  I once got into a Conde Nast elevator with Anna Wintour, and she gave off a very cold, powerful vibe.

"Did you just sit around all day making up sex tips?"

Again...nope.  In fact, we got the majority of our sex tips from experts ("sexperts," if you will).  And no, unlike what the Reddit thread is suggesting, we did not just use Help a Reporter (HARO) and believe every "expert" with a "book coming out in three years."  Our experts had to meet at least two criteria: they had to have one or more published (as in, available now) books on the topic of sex and relationships, and they had to have a degree -- at least a Master's, preferably a PhD -- in a sex-related field (Human Sexuality, Psychology, etc).


Though we did solicit tips from everywhere -- including HARO -- that doesn't mean we used them.  Heck, I use HARO right now for some of my articles, not because it yields tons of great sources, but because it helps me gather general intel.  For example, sometimes I use HARO to see if there's a lot of interest in a topic.

The rest of our sex tips were from our in-house editorial team, writers, people on the street, and, of course, readers.  Now while these might not be "expert" sex tips, let's be totally serious: everyone likes different things in sex.  So while an expert can tell you all sorts of scientifically-proven things about sex, if your guy doesn't like it...it's kind of a fail.  So getting tips from readers/non-experts is totally valid (assuming these non-experts are having sex, obviously).

It's a similar situation in consumer electronics.  While experts can geek out all day long about fancy specs and 32nm microchips, it's really the consumers' input that we're interested in.  Most consumers will never use their electronics to the fullest extent anyway, so they're naturally more interested in the non-techie specs: size, shape, battery life, prettiness, and ease-of-use.

"Some of the tips in Cosmo are pretty stupid. My boyfriend doesn't like this one."

Really?  Does anyone actually buy Cosmo thinking, "Oh, wow, all 101 of these sex tips are going to be exactly tailored to me and my partner!"  I mean, there's a reason there are 101 of them, and not...two.

"Be serious.  Do you just recycle the covers?  I can't even count the number of times that I've seen 'Six Sexy Ways to Please Your Dude' in the past six months."

Actually, yes, you can.  Like most magazines, Cosmo takes its cover very seriously.  Though most of the covers look very similar, none of them are the same.  Not only does Cosmo take care not to run the same type of main feature in a year (when I was at Cosmo we scrapped a story on skincare tips because we'd run a story four months prior on sun safety), but they actually try not to use the same words from to cover to cover if at all possible.  (Though we sometimes mix it up by using the same words on one cover -- for maximum effect.)

"Isn't Cosmo just the same thing, every single issue?  Even if you try to avoid too much repetition, come on -- it's just sex tips, relationship tips, and beauty tips over and over and over."

Well, people are not buying it because it's a surprise magazine.  I don't think any magazine would do well if they totally revamped their content every month.  Our dedicated following of Cosmo girls (and guys?) would probably not love it if our November special was "Economic Theory and Beatnik Poetry," instead of "Sexy Bachelors."

Just like I'm sure my PCWorld readers would be a little confused if our November special was "Glamorous Make-Up Tips," rather than "100 Best Tech Products."

Duh.

--

Basically, Cosmo is like any other magazine -- except, unlike a lot of magazines, it still has the funding for an in-house fact-checking department.  If anything, Cosmo is more rigorous about fact-checking and other "journalistic integrity" nuances than most magazines, because it's so "fluffy."

Let me know if you have any other questions about my Cosmo experience!

Google Indexes Facebook Comments: Is It a Privacy Breach?

The other day, on my Facebook newsfeed, I saw a lot of people posting about a recent change to Google's indexing system -- namely, that Google now indexes AJAX and JavaScript pages.  What's written in JavaScript that you might not want indexed (or, if you're a Webmaster, might want indexed)?

Facebook comments.

Until this change, comments made using Facebook's commenting system -- on Facebook's site or on sites that happen to use the Facebook commenting system -- were not searchable, as they were not indexed by the Google bot.  Now they are.

Now I've written a lot of, ahem, not so flattering articles about Facebook's privacy concerns.  However, this new change is not as big of a concern as people are making it out to be.

This is not a huge privacy breach.  While your comments used to be "unsearchable," that doesn't mean they were private.  Google still only indexes comments left on public pages -- either public forums that happen to use Facebook comments (many sites use Facebook comments, including TechCrunch), or your Facebook friends' walls. 

So all this really means is that you should be a little more careful about what you write in public forums.  The comments you make won't appear in most searches, but if people search specifically for your name then they may pop up.  You should also be a little more wary of what you post on your friends' walls -- after all, you don't know which of your friends might be lax about Facebook privacy (likely more than you think), and there's not much you can do about that.

Obviously, when you post things on places where you don't (and shouldn't) have direct control over the privacy settings, you should be careful.  This is a legitimate matter of "you posted it, what do you expect" -- unlike most Facebook privacy issues.

Read my article on the changes over at PCWorld.

Things to Consider When Buying a Laptop

If you buy a MacBook Air, you are not looking for power.

When it comes to desktops, people are usually looking for one thing, and one thing only: power.  When it comes to laptops, however, it's another story.  Sure, people are still looking for power -- but they're also willing to sacrifice some specs for prettiness, convenience, and portability.

I review a lot of laptops for PCWorld (two or three every couple of weeks), so I've seen a lot of machines in my tenure as a freelance tech writer.  You can sit online and compare laptops specs all day long -- but here's what you should really look at when you purchase your next non-desktop computer:

Port Selection...and Location 

You can find a list of a laptop's ports online, but what does that tell you?  Not a whole lot.  When it comes to laptops, port location is pretty important -- what if you need to plug a couple of bulky peripherals in, but all of your USB ports are right next to each other?  If you're plugging in an external display, wouldn't you rather have your display ports located on the back -- rather than the side -- of the laptop?  If you plan on using your laptop while it's perched on your knees in bed, those microphone/headphone jacks on the front are going to cause a serious problem.

USB ports should be plentiful, and located on both sides of the machine.  Headphone/microphone jacks should be on the side of the computer.  Don't be swayed by ports you'll never use -- I've never known anyone to accidentally have to use an eSATA port.

Speaker Location

If the speakers are located underneath the chassis (on the bottom of the laptop, usually in the front) and you plan on using the laptop on your, um, lap, this may be a problem.  College students who plan on watching a lot of Lost reruns in bed should look for laptops with speakers on the top of the computer, usually near the keyboard.

Annoying Lights

Does the computer have a lot of annoying lights that are unnecessarily bright -- including indicator lights?  If so, can they be turned off (if they're indicator lights, the answer is "probably not").  When you're standing in a retail store's bright lighting, indicator lights won't look so obnoxious, but just wait until you try to use your computer in your bedroom late at night.

How Far Back Does the Screen Tilt

In case you couldn't tell, I use my laptop in bed all the time.  I usually have it propped up on my knees -- that is, my knees are bent and my laptop is sitting at an angle.  This makes typing a little easier, because the keyboard is at an angle.  However, this would be impossible if my laptop's screen did not tilt back at least 45 degrees -- and stay there.

You should not only check how far back the laptop's screen tilts, but also how sturdy the hinge is -- I've had plenty of laptops slam shut on my fingers when I try to prop them up at this angle.

Do You Love the Keyboard?

The keyboard is one of the most important features -- way more important than the touchpad, in my opinion.  You can easily plug in an external mouse, but plugging in an external keyboard is a bit more obnoxious.  So you'd better love, or at least seriously like, the keyboard before you purchase the machine.

Things to look at include the keyboard's "stiffness" (do the keys press down easily, or are they stiff? Does it matter where you press them -- can you press the edge, or do you have to press directly in the middle?), whether the keyboard is loud/quiet (just think about being in a boardroom and typing on an obnoxiously loud keyboard...yeah), and how big/small certain keys are (makers sometimes skimp on Return keys, Shift keys, and Fn keys). 

Is it Pretty, is it Light, and Does it Fit in Your Bag?

Laptops are meant to be seen.  There's no excuse for lazy hardware makers to skimp on their machine's design -- unless it happens to be particularly cheap (and even then...not really).  Laptops should also be portable.  If you don't plan on carrying it around with you, it's probably a better idea to get a desktop, since you'll get more "bang for your buck."  Even desktop replacements should be portable, to a certain extent.