There seems to be something wired into the human psyche that makes us want to play – and to play games in particular. Games deliver the satisfaction of solving a puzzle, the adrenaline rush of competition, or just a simple diversion in our day. They allow us to get wound up or unwind depending on the occasion. They give us opportunity for interacting socially. The original Olympics even put games ahead of political and military rivalry.

Games come in many different forms – riddles, puzzles, board games, card games, raffles, races, all manner of sports. My youngest son always wants me to play games with him – generally of the Mille Bornes, mancala, Battleship, MasterMind variety. All of my children play sports – soccer, baseball, volleyball. My wife likes logic puzzles. I am a mild sudoku addict myself. I also like to watch games on TV – this shows that games stir us at a deep enough level that we can enjoy them even if we are just spectators participating vicariously. If you haven’t found a type of game to suit you, you probably haven’t looked hard enough.

Games have an interesting tendency to push technology or at least ride on its coattails. The mathematics of probability owe some debt to our penchant for gambling – we want to know how likely some outcome is and whether we should believe the coin/die is fair. Chess evolved to play-by-mail and with clocks. In the early history of automobiles and aviation, technology and racing are intextricably intertwined – competition driving an “arms race” of innovation. Before that some element of genetics is tied up in the breeding of race horses. In sports the impact of technology on the game play itself is unmistakable – better balls, shoes, clubs, rackets, artificial playing fields, instant replay, … as well as in larger benefits/issues – such as physical therapy, surgical repairs of various types, and unfortunately steroid use. A large part of the revenue stream and fan base for sports no longer depends on the fan attending the event in person; rather, we remotely celebratesor mourn our team’s fortunes – by radio in earlier decades and now on TV and internet forums. Game shows were some of the first television programs and the last decade has seen a whole new genre of “reality TV” shows which have some element of competition involved. I’m sure with a little reflection you could probably think of a dozen other ways that technology and games/competition have spurred one another along.

But I would contend that gaming experience has been most dramatically impacted in the last 30 years by the microchip as a vehicle to create games as software. Note: when I speak about computers and computer games here I am using a very broad definition – interactive entertainment mediated by a microprocessor. This includes handheld gaming devices, games on consoles in the home, web or cloud based games running on a server but experienced on any device, as well as games running locally on phone/tablet/laptop/desktop.

Computers let us play games alone that previously required a human opponent to be collocated with us who wanted to play at the same time – either allowing us to play against the computer or against other human players anywhere in the world.

In some cases, computer games mimic the mechanics of games from the “real world” (like Blackjack or Risk) – with the added benefit that the computer keeps track of the rules, keeps score, doesn’t require a lot of room for cards/boards, etc.

In others games, they let us play alone they offer novel experiences not available to us in the real world (fantasy and sci-fi settings) or let us experiment in ways that are not safe/cost effective in the real world (flight simulators). Computer games let us “save” a scenario and replay it to explore different choices and outcomes. Computer games let us be bold in situations where our natural instinct for self preservation inhibit our ability to function optimally (racing, combat).

A single computing device can play a wide variety of different games – simply by loading them as software. This offers a compactness/flexibility that physical games can’t match.

In short, gaming matters to us as humans because interactivity engages us into the experience. Unlike books or movies, games are a form of entertainment that lets us participate and impact what happens next. Computer games offer a huge variety of such interactive experiences.

Not surprisingly, computer based gaming is big business. The handheld and home consoles such as the Nintendo DS and Wii, Sony PlayStation and PSP, Microsoft Xbox have a large ecosystem. Apple’s success with the iPhone is at least partly due to the large number of game apps that developers built for it – transforming the smart phone from a utilitarian communication/productivity device to something that provides portable fun. On the PC, games like World of Warcraft and StarCraft II, Call of Duty: Black Ops have millions of players and generate many millions of dollars in business – and they are only the tip of the iceberg.

Since Intel is a major technology company, some natural questions follow:
1) What types of games are popular/growing? What are the trends in computer based gaming? In light of this, what types of hardware and software capabilities are required from the central processing unit (CPU)? from graphics?
2) Intel recently launched new processors with built-in graphics for notebooks and desktops. How well do they align to the trends above?
3) Intel has an excellent reputation for fast CPUs, power efficiency, reliable chipsets, and good execution to roadmaps. In contrast, Intel’s previous “integrated graphics” have a less than stellar reputation for compatibility and performance in games. Is that low reputation deserved? If so, why is that and what is Intel doing to correct the underlying issues?

In a word: Is Intel serious about gaming and, particularly, is Intel going to deliver good gaming experiences with its Intel HD Graphics?

In the next several weeks I plan to walk through my view of computer games and answer the questions above. I hope that you will come along with me on the journeyand share your feedback and thoughts (both positive and negative). I welcome the challenge…like any good gamer!

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Technology@Intel

A few days ago I received a cute little gaming handset from Framemory, the makers of the digital photo keychain and of the glossy digital photo frame I wrote about last year.

Kodi is their latest product and this time is about a gaming handset especially designed for kids. It’s small enough to be held in one little hand and comes in several nice colors that you can choose from – Olive Green, Grapes Purple, Garnet Red, Hazelnut Brown and Mango Yellow. Mine is Mango Yellow, a combination between gold and bronze, and is glossy, just like in the official photos.

The box
Kodi comes in a nice box highlighting it’s features, in which you can find the gaming device, a clear stand, a strap, a miniUSB-to-USB cable, and the user manual.

Features

Digital photo frame
Kodi is a round, lightweight device that is easy to handle with one hand, and has a small 1.44-inch display of 28 x 128 pixels, USB interface, built-in 2MB flash memory, support for JPEG, BMP and GIF pictures, a size of 60 x 60 x 17.5 mm at 35.5 grams, and enough space for up to 50 images.

Gaming device
As it is a gaming device, you can download many shake games and play them wherever you are. Mine has one pre-loaded game, the classic Dice, but I’ve understood that Framemory will soon make more games available for download. Downloadable games include Loach, Coin, Housework, Ninja, Scissors, Fruit, Egg, Loach and Card, and some also feature voice besides the LED light flashing.

Dice can be accessed by pressing on the main button on the front and you need to shake the device and stop it to see if dice match, which is extremely simple and fun for a kid. More than that, I think kids would enjoy playing with Kodi because it lights up and flashes during shake games.

Time and date
Besides the digital photo frame and gaming features, Kodi also comes with some other useful settings, such as clock and date, standby time and backlight.

Functionality

Kodi has four control buttons –one Mode button located on the front and three smaller buttons placed on the right side. You can use them with the same hand you’re holding it in.

To turn Kodi on you only need to keep the Enter button pressed for about three seconds, then using the Enter, Up and Down buttons you can access the menu and browse through options and settings.

By default, Kodi displays all the images in the memory as a slideshow. While in standby mode, it starts showing the time (hour, minutes and seconds) and date. If you press the Mode button it will gets back to the slideshow and if you press it once again it will get into the game mode where you can select the game you want to play.

It is very easy to use and to turn it off you need to keep the Enter button pressed for another 3 seconds.

Kodi also comes with a built-in application that starts running automatically as it connects to the computer. Through it you can transfer images of friends, nature, pets, foods and whatever you like and manage the existing photos.

Other features

It will probably sound incredible, but, according to the official description, Kodi powers from a built-in 3.7 V Li-Ion battery of 15mAh that keeps it in standby for up to 36 hours. To conserve power, it uses low-power elements and smart power management technologies.

Play the following video to see how Kodi works:

What I like at Kodi

-It’s a small device with intuitive and easy-to-use interface, which is great for kids. You can download fun shake games and add your favorite images to share them with others.
-The software comes pre-loaded and runs automatically as you connect Kodi to the computer via USB. There is no CD in the box and you don’t need additional software tools to manage the contents.
-It charges while connected via USB.
-It has enough memory to store lots of photos and games.
-The overall design is great and the device seems durable.

Things that could be improved

-The box seems very fragile.
-The software is currently compatible with Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista only, so you can’t manage the contents on a Linux-based laptop, or on a Windows 7 system. Maybe the compatibility will be expanded in the near future.

Where to get it from

You can buy Kodi from MallBox for .95, while Amazon, Best Buy, kmart, Sears and newegg will have it soon, too.

Related Unique Gift Ideas:

• Parrot Dia Android-Powered Wireless Digital Photo Frame
• Digital Picture Frame Looking Like a Painting
• Panasonic MW-10 Audio System, iPod Dock and Digital Photo Frame
• Sony Launches Digital Picture Frame With CRYSTALLIZED – Swarovski Elements
• Framemory’s 7-Inch Glossy Digital Picture Frame

Unique Gift Ideas and the Latest Gadgets for Women

Older people usually play the games to set their minds away from the cares of life so that they can have time to relax. Playing the games alone as an individual with no challenger gives one an experience that is not too pleasing and can end up getting quite bored. This is why online games come in handy as the ultimate solution for this because they are able remove the loneliness that comes with playing alone.

It is not a necessity to have friends so as to play the game together. This is due to the fact that there are now countless sites over the internet that provide the latest games to fit all kinds of people regardless of their age. The online companies have even take it a notch higher to a point where they offer software for download so that one can install them on their computer and play games at their own convenience.

The online games are split into different categories such as adventure, puzzle, oracle, racing, arcade, role playing, shooting skills, strategy, casino, career mode, board and may others. The most popular are the action, strategy and career mode genres. They give the player an incredible experience to ensure that one remains fixated to the screen.

Adventure games give the players a marvelous opportunity to explore new kingdoms and worlds with others having the benefits of exploring the localities. They require one to look for some stuff or to eliminate aliens such as dragons and devils. The games are designed in such a way that one along the process loses the track of time and one can actually spend hours on end without feeling exhausted.

There are also other categories that one stands to enjoy and these include puzzles that are designed to leave the mind refreshed all day long. They are both enjoyable and at the same time mind boggling.

The games might appear like they are easy to take part in at first glance but, one will realize that they become more complicated as one proceeds. This means that you need to sharpen your skills to enjoy the games fully. Through the games, one is able to have a respite after going through challenging activities during the day. These games are also a good fit for children because they are in a position to solve problems quite early in their lives and also get to know how to analyze things.

There are many other free online games that one stands to enjoy such as casino games, which include poker, blackjack and roulette. The virtual casinos on the internet offer players a chance to feel lifted in their minds. These games are designed to resemble a real casino where one is given the chips to begin the game. The games have a great benefit by creating interaction between the players online where they share ideas on how to best play the games.

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