Gamasutra: Ramin Shokrizade's Blog - The Top F2P Monetization Tricks
Finally, I would like to relay that King.com feels that their use of data in their game is for the purpose of "optimizing fun", not profits...�
Hasnain says:
"Research has shown that putting even one intermediate currency between the consumer and real money, such as a “game gem” (premium currency), makes the consumer much less adept at assessing the value of the transaction. Additional intermediary objects, what I call “layering”, makes it even harder for the brain to accurately assess the situation, especially if there is some additional stress applied."
Just reading that leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
Posted on 2014-03-06T01:02:15+0000
Solid Angle: BioShock Infinite Lighting
solid-angle.blogspot.com
Hasnain says:
This is a really impressive writeup on the lighting and rendering that went on behind the scenes in BioShock Infinite.
Posted on 2014-03-04T23:27:07+0000
1 in 10 Americans think HTML is an STD, study finds
If you're talking tech with Americans, you may want to avoid using any jargon.
Hasnain says:
"12% said "USB" is the acronym for a European country. In fact, USB is a type of connector."
Posted on 2014-03-04T23:26:18+0000
With Free Version of Windows, Microsoft Gives In to the Google Way | Wired Business | Wired.com
Another day, another report of a Windows price cut. Having lost the war for mobile computing, Microsoft is finally trading operating system revenue for ubiquity -- Google style.
Hasnain says:
"Microsoft, it seems, is also following in the footsteps of Google operating systems such as Android and Chrome OS. Last week, The Verge reported that Redmond is preparing a free version of Windows 8.1, its latest operating system for desktop and laptop PCs."
Posted on 2014-03-04T23:25:28+0000
For Runner With M.S., No Pain While Racing, No Feeling at the Finish
Despite a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis three years ago, Kayla Montgomery, 18, has gone on to become one of the fastest young distance runners in the country.
Hasnain says:
“I make myself do it,” she said.
“I tell myself, ‘I know you’re tired and you can’t feel anything and it’s hard but you’re going to finish this.’ And then I do.”
Posted on 2014-03-04T23:24:01+0000
Mandatory vacations in tech: better code, happier companies - The Sourcegraph Blog
Can a policy that banks use to combat insider fraud also make tech companies produce better products and happier employees? Sure. At Sourcegraph, our mandatory vacation policy requires everyone to completely disconnect from work for at least 2 weeks each year—no exceptions. We’ve instituted this pol...
Hasnain says:
"Can a policy that banks use to combat insider fraud also make tech companies produce better products and happier employees? Sure. "
Posted on 2014-03-04T23:22:36+0000
If the Moon Was Only 1 Pixel - A tediously accurate map of the solar system
joshworth.com
Critical crypto bug leaves Linux, hundreds of apps open to eavesdropping
This GnuTLS bug is worse than the big Apple "goto fail" bug patched last week.
The sanitary pad revolutionary
Arunachalam Muruganantham has helped bring cheap sanitary pads to rural India, by inventing a simple machine to make them - but it nearly cost him his marriage.
Hasnain says:
"He was once asked whether receiving the award from the Indian president was the happiest moment of his life. He said no - his proudest moment came after he installed a machine in a remote village in Uttarakhand, in the foothills of the Himalayas, where for many generations nobody had earned enough to allow children to go to school.
A year later, he received a call from a woman in the village to say that her daughter had started school. "Where Nehru failed," he says, "one machine succeeded.""
This guy is inspiring.
Posted on 2014-03-04T18:12:42+0000
Downloading Software Safely Is Nearly Impossible
Let’s say you have a brand-new Windows laptop and you’re just oh, so happy. You’re pretty sure the NSA did not interdict it during shipment, and thus that it comes only with the flaky goatware Micr...