Alex Kidman

Every once in a while, I’ll do a vanity search on my name in Google. It’s apparently a very common kind of thing to do online, but I like to think that I do this for more than reasons of vanity. Well, I like to think that, anyway.

Seriously, however, it’s something of a hangover from when I worked as editor at ZDNet Reviews and later as editor at CNET.com.au, where it was worthwhile checking where stuff was being re-published, and whether such re-purposing was kosher. These days those chasing-people-with-cease-and-desists isn’t so much of a concern. Well, aside from folks ripping off my game reviews for YouTube purposes, anyway. It’s still interesting to see where my name pops up, and for which publication, and it has led to some interesting work avenues in the past.

I was digging through Wikipedia the other day (reading the entry on Martin Luther, if you must know) and the thought struck me that a Wikipedia personal search might be an interesting affair. Not that I’m noteworthy in and of myself, you understand. Frankly, I’d rather not be that famous in any huge regard, at least from the celebrity side of things. My surname means that searching for me can bring up some rather odd results in any search engine unless I’m rather specific. “Odd” can sometimes mean very, very disturbing, it should be noted.

Still, I’d been aware that I’d been linked to as a source for Wikipedia articles in the past, for my comments in a review of Ninja Gaiden for the original Xbox, and as an editor for the Australian version of Gamespot. That’s well prior to the current excellent Gamespot team, by the way; the site effectively rested inbetween my stewardship and its relaunch a few years later. But Wikipedia’s a fluid kind of beast, and my curiosity was piqued.

So what cropped up?

Well, the Ninja Gaiden review note is still there.

Gamespot isn’t, with the details on previous Australian editors replaced with a rather more bland listing of what Gamespot Au currently does. Apparently you’d have to be an American to be a notable Gamespot writer, but then I guess Wikipedia is horribly US-centric at the best of times.

I’m also linked for a review at CNET for one of LG’s Chocolate mobile phones.

Strangely for someone who writes a lot of reviews – and who often finds that I’m the first (and often only) person to put down a Web review on a given product – that’s the only pure “review” of mine that Wikipedia currently uses as a source. There is a half-newsy, half-review article on the open source image application Artweaver that I wrote for APCMag.com, but that rather clearly came out of their news rather than reviews budget.

The other two entries where I’m listed are frankly a little odd. Firstly, I’m cited in a list of video games notable for negative reception. When that came up I suspected it might be for a review I wrote of Backyard Wrestling: Don’t Try This At Home, a truly woeful game that still stands as having the worst score I’ve ever given anything. Just. I’m not a big fan of scores as the be all and end all, but in fact it’s nothing to do with Backyard Wrestling at all. Instead, it references a list article I wrote for PC Authority on games notable for violence, and specifically it seems for a really awful game called Custer’s Revenge. That game seems to follow me around; I quoted it on a Byteside panel I appeared at on the weekend as well.

And then finally, I’m referenced a list of Zelda games. Fair enough, you might think. I’ve reviewed more than a few of them. Except this is a list of Zelda games for Philips CD-i, a system I’ve never owned, relating to a review written originally for GameSpot AU and later ported over to CNET.com.au.

Truly, the ways of Wikipedia are weird.

OK, so today was something a little different…

(Post contains many images, so it’s after a page break. It’s your bandwidth I’m thinking of…)

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The sweat is just down to Sydney’s always appalling humidity today. The other stuff? Two reviews, live today at CNET.com.au:

Internode MiFi: “Internode’s MiFi 3G modem/router works quite well, but carrier issues and high pricing are a big downside.”

Samsung Q320: “Samsung’s Q320 impresses us on most levels, except for the critical issue of battery life.”

And now back to the sweating.

Another day of rather mixed articles for your perusal.

Firstly, PC Authority has a roundup of remote control applications for iPhone:

Amazing Apps for your iPhone: Remote Control Apps: “Control your music, video, mouse and even your entire PC with these five remote control applications for the iPhone.”

and then CNET.com.au has another two of my reviews up. Firstly, a Samsung notebook:

Samsung R519: “Samsung’s R519 brings entry-level pricing and sensibilities to the market in a notebook that won’t wow anybody, or send them broke either.”

and then a DS game review that affords me the ability to reference ’80s action-adventure series and potentially defame a member of the Rolling Stones, and all within context.

Band Hero (DS): “Band Hero for the DS tries very hard to mimic the success of its full console brethren. It fails very hard, too.”

My job is nothing if not varied. Today’s articles run the gamut from cinema apps for the iPhone to 802.11n routers. Firstly, CNET.com.au has a two-pack of router reviews of mine up:

Billion BiPAC 7404VNPX: “The 7404VNPX has pretty much every feature you could ever wish for in a modem router — except stability.”

Billion BiPAC 7800N: “Billion’s 802.11n modem/router provides good signal but loses the message somewhere along the way.”

While at PC Authority, another iPhone Apps column emerges, this time recommending the best ways to hit the silver screen on time with your iPhone:

Amazing Apps for your iPhone: Cinema Apps: “Connect your iPhone to the local cinema with these four apps for buying tickets, checking screening times, and seeing what’s on.”

It’s quite well recognised that the iPhone’s camera isn’t much to write home about.

It’s a heck of a lot better than the one included on the iPad, though…

I’ll let that one sink in for a while. It may come to you, it may not. In the meantime, I’ve delved once again into the world of iPhone photo Apps with a look at Panorama stitching apps for PC Authority:

Amazing Apps For Your iPhone: Panorama Photos: “The iPhone’s camera is, as we’ve discussed before , not the greatest bit of optical equipment on the planet. With the right Apps, however, you can make an ordinary camera into something extraordinary.”

I’ve been busy.

Really, really busy. But you might not realise that, as I’ve got a lot of work (and I really do mean a lot) backed up with multiple publishers waiting to hit the presses, both virtual and physical. Today, some of it even started to leak out.

No, wait. That sounds bad. Leaks are rarely a good sign. Instead: Today’s feast of excellent verbiage comes to you courtesy of MacTheMag and NetbookMojo.

Firstly, NetbookMojo, a new client of mine, although the article in question was written some time back.

Installing Windows 7 on a Netbook: “Want to get Windows 7 on your netbook? Alex Kidman’s guide makes it a breeze.”

Apple also launched some kind of new product today. You may have heard something about it. I wrote something more about it, by way of Jeff Minter, Wizball and a deciduous tree that yields latex used as arrow-tip poison. No, really.

MacTheBlog: iPad: First Impressions: “I woke up this morning terribly excited. Sweaty with anticipation. Delirious with the possibilities.”

OK, maybe I don’t. But the name of a thing is important — some marketing types would say it’s very important — and that’s the subject of my weekly Mac blog at MacTheBlog today:

MacTheBlog: Names Have Power: “OK, so Apple’s doing something next week. I’ve emphasised something there, because for all anyone outside of Apple’s elite inner leak circle knows, based on the invite, it could be releasing a new range of non-toxic body paints. Sure, it seems unlikely now, but ten years ago would you have picked Apple as one of the world’s biggest music sellers?”

Nope.

Nonetheless, that hasn’t stopped another printer review of mine emerging at CNET.com.au:

Canon Pixma MP990: “Canon’s Pixma MP990 should appeal to photo types wanting good quality, but they’ll need a little patience to go along with it.”

My, but it’s hot. And humid. And ‘hunpleasant. Today is clearly alliteration day. On with the show!

CNET.com.au has a PVR review of mine up:

LG MS409D HD DVR: “LG’s take on a dual-tuner DVR works well and has some unique features, but it’s expensive.”

Meanwhile, in the print world, the February issue of PC User is out in stores. Inside you’ll find my reviews of the NETGEAR WNDR3700 router, a roundup of notepad replacement applications and a whole bunch of gadget and games reviews. More specifically, on the gadget side I test TomTom’s XXL 540 GPS, Logitech’s Harmony 700 remote control, Sony’s Playstation 3 Play TV PVR, Philips’ AE5230 Digital Radio, Sony Ericsson’s Aino Phone, Withings’ WiFi Scale and Laser’s DVBT-MP32 Portable TV. On the games side, Ratchet & Clank A Crack In Time, Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Winter Games, NBA 2K10, New Super Mario Bros Wii and Lego Rock Band were all rocked out to. Especially Lego Rock Band…