Hijinks Inc.

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  • Aurora Feint hits 1.0.1.1, dodges rotten vegetables

    The secretly best free game on the App store just came out with another patch.

    1.0.1.1 fixes the “memory full” error message that plagued 1.0.0.1, and introduces a few minor graphical effects to the mining game. It also tweaks the resource requirements for the smithing patterns. And the peasants rejoiced!

    Unfortunately along with the improvements 1.0.1.1 brought along a few nasty bugs, not the least of which is a server side error that corrupts your save file and forces you start over, losing your precious resources and advancement. In addition there’s been a handful of reports of a graphical error involving a brick stuck in the falling animation.

    The devs have promised a fix to all the problems will come in the quickly upcoming 1.0.1.2.

  • Passive Income – August 2008

    For most of the month of August I was gone, first on a family vacation in Michigan, then on a trip to the badlands. So, how did all that travel affect my passive income? Well, my AdSense revenue declined since I wasn’t around to post any new content, and I spent all my money in July, so my interest income was a classic example of an epic fail.

    • Interest: $30.89
    • Dividends: $44.88
    • Credit Card Rewards: $81.53
    • AdSense: $11.41
    • Text Ads: $29.91
    • Surveys: $18.00

    Leaving me with $216.32, not too shabby.

    (more…)

  • Yahoo’s Plan for Saving Money? Move to Nebraska!

    Yahoo is reportedly considering moving a small chunk (more like a crumb) of their failing operations to Omaha, bringing about 50 jobs to the area with an average salary of $68,700.

    Valleywag’s take?

    Yahoo is specifically looking at a piece of property in an Omaha suburb, says the AP, confusing us. Doesn’t there have to be an urban area for there to be a suburban area? We thought the city outskirts around Omaha had a simpler name: farmland.

    Apparently this is all speculation based on the fact that the company recently applied for some serious state tax breaks available in Nebraska. Nebraska Tax Commissioner Doug Ewald (we have a tax commissioner?) is quoted by the AP as saying that the application for tax breaks doesn’t guarantee Yahoo is coming to the state.

  • Kevin Rose says revamp of iPod line coming, and soon

    Behold the new iPod Nano! At least, that’s what Kevin Rose thinks. In a post on his blog Rose cites several rumors, including:

    – Revamp of entire iPod line.
    – Small cosmetic changes to Touch, Nano to see significant redesign.
    – iPods to see fairly large price drops to distance itself from the $199 iPhone.
    – iPod touch 2.1 software, iPhone to get update very soon after.
    – iTunes 8.0 (“it’s a big update w/new features”).
    – All of this coming in the next 2-3 weeks.

    Crazy? Well, rumors of a Zune-like iPod have been floating around for a few weeks now, and Kevin’s comments would lend credence to the theory. There are a couple interesting things about this set of rumors.

    First and foremost, the price cuts. If Apple rethinks their pricing structure based on a $199 iPhone, can we expect a $99 Nano? And second, if the announcement window Kevin presents is correct, Apple will be celebrating the 1st anniversary of the 3rd gen Nano by replacing it with the 4th gen version. Either the fatty didn’t get them the sales they expected, or Apple is counting on their customers to buy a new iPod every time they release a new generation. I’d say a little of both is true.

    If Kevin Rose is correct, expect Apple’s shares to plummet as investors cry bitterly about the price cuts, then recommit their souls to Steve Jobs as Apple rakes in disgusting amounts of money this holiday season.

  • 1UP Yours on: iPhone Gaming

    Last week I said I might post the transcript to the discussion I started on 1UP Yours concerning iPhone gaming. Eight days later, here it is.

    The Cast

    Andrew Pfister: Podcast Producer at 1UP.com
    Garnett Lee: Senior Editor of Previews at 1UP and EGM
    Shane Bettenhausen: Executive Editor of Video Games at 1UP.com
    John Davison: Former Editorial Director of 1UP, co-founder and executive editor of WhatTheyPlay.com
    Mark MacDonald: Former Executive Editor at EGM, former director at Gamevideos.com, currently traveling the world.

    Andrew Pfister:     Free At Last asks, “Why do I keep hearing the iPhone mentioned in the same sentence with the DS and PSP? Do people know something I don’t? It’s a great conversation piece, and yes, people can do some pretty cool things with multi-touch and the accelerometer (i.e. Aurora Feint), but its still just a novelty item, not a true gaming platform. You can’t have a handheld gaming device without buttons.” (more…)