What happens if your Xbox Live account gets hacked? Tracey over at Kotaku has investigated and found that Microsoft’s processes can sometimes take months to resolve the issue if it gets resolved at all, despite recent changes meant to speed up the restoration of hacked accounts. A good read (and a precautionary tale about online services which have access to your credit card details). [Kotaku]
Picture this: After hours of web browsing, your body is contorted in various unnatural positions over time. Your legs up on the table, or you’re lying on the bed sideways with the laptop rotated sideways as well. Does that sound familiar? More »
Android/iPhone and Windows/Mac: Many Flash-based games work better with a retro controller than a keyboard and mouse. The free app WanderPlayer turns your iPhone or Android phone into a controller that already works with 100 popular web games right now with more on the way. More »
Many of us at Lifehacker are big fans of video games. Our esteemed Editor-in-Chief, however, is sceptical that gaming offers any value beyond simple entertainment. More often than not, he argues, games are a dangerous time sink. In this post, I hope to convince him — and any of you who may feel the same way about video games — otherwise, arguing that aside from being a great form of entertainment, video games can also relieve anxiety, teach new skills and help you stay motivated. And I’ve got science to back me up. More »
iOS and Android: Steam’s desktop apps for Mac and PC are fantastic not just for playing games, but communicating via chat, organising via Steam Groups and even reading news on upcoming titles. The new iPhone and Android apps let you do all this on your phone. More »
If you have a video game controller that’s worn down so much that the buttons barely work, you can give it new life with a few small pieces of aluminium foil. All you need to pull this off is a torx scredriver (something every techie should have on hand), a hole puncher, and a bit of glue or tape. More »
Mac: Computer games have come a long way since the days of Doom, Zork, Tie Fighter and Castle Wolfenstein, but many of us who grew up with those games would like to replay them. Boxer is a free app that will let you play any DOS game on your Mac. More »
It’s Christmas. You’re friends and family are together for that special time of the year to give, receive and eat. Once all the presents have been passed around and the food consumed, someone recommends you pull out Monopoly or Scrabble to pass the time. You sigh, knowing there’s a whole other world of board and card games your relatives are oblivious to. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to gently introduce them to this fabulous alternate universe? More »
Having spent much of the past few years whining about how online retailers who don’t pay GST are ruining the world, Gerry Harvey now seems to believe money can be made that way. Enter Harvey Norman Direct Import, a games-only site selling discounted titles imported from Europe. More »
This is just one more awesome thing Wolfram Alpha is capable of: it can take a jumbled set of letters and tell you what Scrabble words you can make with them. More »
