I'm a computer and video gamer from waaaay back. I remember when Pong came out. I owned a Fairchild Channel 1 video game system. That came out just before the Atari 2600 for you video game buffs. I played games on my TRS-80 model 1 computer in 1979. From adventure games and first person shooters to strategy and massively multiplayer online games, I've been there and done that. Computer and video games have a way... Continue Reading

I have a confession to make. I am a packrat. It's not like when I die they are going to find stacks of National Geographic magazines in my house, but I do have a tendency to hold on to stuff that I think is cool. My old software collection always blows away people who visit my home. Perhaps I'll make a video of that someday. Continue Reading

Have you ever asked a child what they want for Christmas? They'll tell you exactly what they want, describe it in glorious detail, even point it out to you in the store so that you don't make a mistake and come home with the wrong version. Then on Christmas morning you get to see their eyes light up as they open the wrapping. It's a thrill... until New Year's Day when the toy is lying... Continue Reading

I like to think I've come a long way since I first started turning The Dallas/Fort Worth Software Review into WorldVillage.com. I now have a string of profitable websites. I speak regularly at conferences across the country. I've produced a top-selling iPhone app. And I've written a bunch of books, including a New York Times bestseller. But I know I didn't do any of this alone. Not only did I always have the support of... Continue Reading

When I went to my first Internet marketing conference I had a huge surprise. It wasn't the amount of information that I picked up sitting in the audience. And it wasn't the fascinating conversations I had sitting in the restaurants and the hotel bar in the evening. It was the fact that people knew me. Continue Reading

It's been two years in the making. Finally, Blizzard Entertainment has announced the long-awaited expansion pack to the world's most popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft. Wrath of the Lich King is set to hit stores on November 13th, and I expect it to be another huge best-seller. Some people are surprised to find out that I play computer games, but I like to work hard AND play hard. Those who know my story would know... Continue Reading

It was fall of 2005 when I was scheduled to speak at Robert Puddy's Focus 4 the Future Internet marketing conference. It was the first time I had spoken at an event and I was on a roster with Mike Filsaime, Gary Ambrose and Craig Perrine. Yes, I was nervous. But why should I be? My AdSense ebook was a huge success and my name had begun to spread in the Internet marketing community. The... Continue Reading

I've got a pretty colorful past. I got my first job when I was fourteen-years old, working behind the counter of a fast-food restaurant at Northbrook Court shopping mall in Northbrook, Illinois. After all, I needed to save up money to buy a TRS-80 Model I computer from Radio Shack! Once I acquired my driver's license, I worked in the health & beauty department at Venture. Yes, I was a stockboy. At the age of... Continue Reading

I make no secret of it. I am a 43-year old man who loves playing computer and video games. And why not? I was a teenage when Space Invaders, Asteroids and Centipede took over the arcades. I was sixteen when I bought my first computer, a TRS-80. It was great for primitive gaming. And I've got a great collection of old computer software in a special room in my basement. Perhaps I'll do a video... Continue Reading

I'm not a big sports fan. I used to watch a lot of baseball when I was a kid. And I watched a good bit of football in college. But as an adult, I just haven't made much time for sports. Continue Reading

I love to write my own newsletter. It gives me an opportunity to share my thoughts and feelings with you in a very personal way. However, my friend Eric Holmlund has written such a brilliant piece that I have asked him if I can reproduce it in its entirity. Being a great guy, Eric said no problem. With no further ado, here is Eric's post... ---------------------- I want to tell you about a young woman... Continue Reading

The information age really does move at the speed of light. Technology is advancing faster than we ever conceived possible. I've been online for 26 years now. In 1980, I bought my first computer, a TRS-80. This machine had 4K of RAM (not 4MB... 4K) and a cassette player that was used as a storage device. There wasn't even a floppy disc drive! I owned a 300 baud modem that I used to dial into... Continue Reading

Internet entrepreneur Joel Comm and his new book: "The AdSense Code: What Google Never Told You About Making Money with AdSense." reveal how anyone can generate passive income on the Internet. Since only those books that appeared on Oprah ranked higher, Comm figures Oprah and her audience would find his Internet income strategies the real story. Read on for today's news release... Continue Reading

I did it. I bit the PSP bullet and forked over my cash to Sony. I've been playing video games and computer games ever since there was such a beast. I remember when Pong first arrived on the scene. I owned a Fairchild Channel One video game system (the failed precursor to the Atari home video game system that sold millions of units). I've owned Nintendos, Playstations, XBox's and who knows what else. It was... Continue Reading

Spore is Will Wright's latest computer game, and it is set to revolutionize the PC gaming world. Creator of Sim City and The Sims, Spore is unlike anything else you have ever experienced in computer gaming. Due out in 2007, Spore will offer an open-ended gameplay style that will appeal to a wide variety of gamers. Continue Reading

It's been at least seven years since I have attended the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Since I was coming into town for the Affiliate Summit, I thought I'd come to town a day early and enjoy free entry as a member of the press. It took little arm-twisting to convince my good friend, Dave Taylor, to join me on this excursion. Continue Reading

I've gone the majority of the year without a compelling computer game to buy. Of course, I purchased World of Warcraft in 2004, so that doesn't count. But things have taken a turn for the better this past month. Look at what is now in my PC gaming queue. Continue Reading

SuDoKu is the hottest thing to come out of Japan since the Sony Playstation. What is SuDoKu? Simply put, it is a Japanese logic puzzle game that you can play on paper or on the computer. Essentially, you have nine 3 x 3 grids, aligned to form one 9 x 9 grid. Within each 3 x 3 grid, you must use every number from 1 to 9 only one time. But within the 9 x... Continue Reading

I will never forget the thrill of seeing my first video game. Pong opened the doorway to electronic gaming bliss and most in my generation have never looked back. I remember when Space Invaders and Asteroids came out, displacing the pinball machine as the game du jour. I remember begging my father for a Fairchild video game system, the predecessor to the Atari 2600. I remember playing games on my TRS-80 and being absolutely floored... Continue Reading

For the past few years, I have been slowly building a collection which has taken over my closet. Having grown up playing video games, I was there when the first home PC was introduced. I remember the thrill of playing Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy as a text adventure. (Incidentally, you can now play online for free. I remember when the first person shooter was born in the form of Wolfenstein 3D. I was there... Continue Reading

In 1996, Eidos Interactive came out of nowhere with a game that has become one of my all-time Top 10 computer games. (Maybe I'll do a top 10 series if I ever finish my 15 Best Movies of All Time) Continue Reading

A few years back, I was into selling on ebay big time. Since I am collector of old computer games, I found a market for like-minded collectors on ebay, reselling some of my $1 floppy disk software for as much as $50. It was a sweet deal. But I also learned a little bit about how the collector's market works on ebay, and I began looking out for retail products that would eventually become collector's... Continue Reading

If you have played computer games for many years, you may recall an early real-time strategy game called Lemmings. Available on many computer and video game platforms, Lemmings was one of the first truly addictive real-time strategy games that appealed to boys and girls (er, men and women?) The idea was simple. Escort a predetermined number of lemmings through a level by assigning them various skills, such as digging, building staircases, climbing, floating, bashing and... Continue Reading

Before you go any further, I must tell you that this article is NOT a movie review. Rather, it is a smack to the side of the head of Activision regarding the release of the new PC game of the same name. Available last week, amidst much hype due to the release of the movie, Spiderman 2: The Game was promised to be an extremely open-ended game where you had all of Manhattan Island to... Continue Reading

Parents, hide your children. Children, hide your parents. The computer game industry is turned on its ear with a game so vile, so addictive, so hazardous, that we have called upon the U.S. Government to impose new regulation banning it from the internet. Is it the latest incarnation of Grand Theft Auto? Is it the upcoming Doom 3? No, ladies and gentlemen. This is a stealth game. It looks harmless, but it pulls you into... Continue Reading

No entries this week because I have been out of town. In Texas, actually, feeding one of my hobbies. I am a collector of old computer games. I grew up playing on my TRS-80 and dos-based PC, and am quite nostalgic about the oldies from the eighties and early nineties. I have not found any stores in the OKC area that buy or sell old computer games, but there are a handful of places in... Continue Reading

I've been telling you about a newcomer on the video game/DVD rental market, GameZNFlix.com. They have finally launched their new site and they just announced that Ben Curtis (the former spokesman for Dell Computer) is going to be appearing in their new television commercials. This is a huge coup for GameZNFlix.com as they seek to compete with Netflix in the huge DVD rental market. The thing that makes their company different is that the monthly... Continue Reading

For your entertainment pleasure, I present five fun sites to liven up your surfing experience... Chicken Shoot - a barnyard blast! Home of the Underdogs - Download old computer games Just Adventure - a dying genre of computer games Yahoo! Games - Look for my face as an avatar in the table games Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - play the original Douglas Adams/Infocom text adventure online Continue Reading

I have been into computers since the TRS-80 Model I came out in the late seventies. I am not a programmer, but I can put a PC together from scratch, install an operating system and just about any software. I can tweak a machine under the hood and have been able to solve just about any problem I have encountered. To my family, friends and associates, I am the local computer guru. But even I... Continue Reading

I have been a computer gamer ever since I encountered Space Invaders on my TRS-80 (that REALLY dates me) about 25 years ago. Dozens of computer games are published every year, but only a handful of those I try actually keep my attention for the duration of the game. The last game to do so we Star Wars Galaxies (which has since lost my attention and I am cancelling my account). I had a great... Continue Reading

We departed from Conway, Arkansas around 10 am. About five hours later we pulled up to our home. The month flew by. It seems like yesterday I turned to Mary and said, "Are we really going to do this?" Now, it is over. We high-fived and I said, "We did it!" 2 kids 1 dog 31 days 1 packed minivan 1 flat tire 4720 miles 15 tanks of gas 103 hours of driving 16 hotels... Continue Reading

Google is good. Google is great. Check out the various results when typing in my name... Searching the web Searching Images - the first two results are computer artwork I did years ago. Searching Groups - this blew me away! Google has archived every blasted newsgroup that I participated in many years back. 8/24/97 - the launch of ClassicGames.com 7/5/95 - looking for software reviewers for our "new" site 7/26/94 - attempting to sell my... Continue Reading

Another beautiful morning in Red River! We've been eating breakfast in the room all week, so we decided to go out for eggs and pancakes this morning. We went to The Hole Thing Donut Shop and were very pleased with the meal. It was pricy, but that's the way it goes. Afterwards, we found a nice park where the kids could play, the dog could sniff, and Mary and I could sit and enjoy the... Continue Reading

I have finally gone and done it. I have purchased my first Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game for the PC, Star Wars Galaxies, from LucasArts. I have dabbled with the game for a few hours today and have found it to be quite entertaining. I am beginning to see the appeal of this genre. Certainly, there is a fair amount of battling to be done. But most impressive is the interaction with other people simultaneously... Continue Reading

Once again, if you are just joining us on this story, you may wish to click here to read so far. After the incredibly overwhelming reception (about 8 emails) I received from my print publication, I knew I needed to do something to get more exposure. It was then I met Ken Burge. He and I met around 1994 and instantly enjoyed discussing all things computers. I believe he was working for Texas Instruments at... Continue Reading

If you are just joining us on this story, you may wish to click here to read so far. Continuing... Those were the days of BBS's, bulletin board systems, where you would dial in to another computer with your blazing fast 2400 baud modem in order to post messages, download software and play text-based games online. It was also the time when AOL, Compuserve, Prodigy, GEnie and Delphi were battling it out to see who... Continue Reading

Come and listen to a story of boom and bust. A tale of exhuberent highs and devastating lows. A yarn so dramatic, so engaing, so tragic... wait... wrong story. This is about my experience with the Internet and how I rode the wave from the beginning, only to end up here. Ready? Come gather 'round... Part I: I can do that! I have always been a computer freek. Since Radio Shack launched the first TRS-80... Continue Reading

Sprung for a new computer game today, Enter the Matrix. Of course, it is based on The Matrix world and released to coincide with The Matrix Reloaded (which Mary and I intend to see Sunday evening). Cool - the Wachowski brothers wrote and directed the game, which is virtually unheard of in game production. Tons of additional footage was shot using principle actor JUST for the game. So it should add a lot to The... Continue Reading