So you’ve had all the family togetherness, awkward dates, spoiled sports stars and overrated high-brow writing you can take this weekend? We’ve compiled The Favs, some of the best connected entertainment stories from this past week to feed your need for intellectual growth short of going back to work tomorrow morning. Some of it’s original reporting, and some of it is the work of others.
[divider] Gaming [/divider]The Philosophy of SimCity: An Interview With the Game’s Lead Designer
Yeah, yeah I know. We’ve averaged about one article on Maxis’ SimCity game each week since we began the column. Why? We find that that the story of the game’s systems and development are a perfect microcosm of where games on Windows devices are headed. This week, The Atlantic took a deep dive with the title’s series designer. The Philosophy of SimCity, An Interview with the Game’s Lead Designer
[divider] New Media [/divider]
Netflix, Reed Hastings Survives Missteps to Joins Silicon Valley’s Elite
Everyone loves a good come back story, and if you don’t -well there is something wrong with you. Regardless of if you’re a subscriber or not, the fact remains that Reed Hasting’s Netflix has changed the nature of video-on-demand, subscription services, and digital entertainment in the last eight years. While BusinessWeek‘s piece goes into every nook and cranny, the fact remains that you don’t need to read seven pages to understand why Netflix is a big deal. Also, the guy has bravado. You just can’t teach that. Netflix And Reed Hastings Survive Missteps to Join Silicon Valley’s Elite
[divider] Windows 8 [/divider]
How Internet Explorer 10 was Inspired by iPad Users
If there was ever any doubt in your mind that Microsoft is primary a numbers driven design machine these days, the tale of how Microsoft choose to create a Metro version of it’s Internet Explorer browser void of any persistent on-screen elements will solve that. We counted references of at least four separate polls and studies in this piece from ArsTechnica. Not that there’s anything wrong with numbers generated data design, it’s just more likely that those users were using tablets.How Internet Explorer 10 Was Inspired by iPad Users
[divider] Windows Phone [/divider]
Windows Phone, Who do you trust?
Forget whatever nonsense you might have read about which Windows Phone vendors are better, or how HTC devices have some enhanced designed techniques. In this forum post, Charms55 completely details exactly why choosing a Windows Phone device from what’s popular might not be as complicated of an idea as you think. Today’s Game: Who Do You Trust?
