July 31, 2008

Scrabble, Get your Game On!

So in case you have not got a Facebook account, and had the recent displeasure of attempting to make the switch to the Scrabble Beta application, let us assure you that it is not a pretty picture you are missing out on. But don't take our word for it, no, let us present you with the screenshot to the right. Taken from the Discussion Board for the Scrabble Beta application. We'll refer to this as "Exhibit A".

So, if you read the post titles shown in blue from Exhibit A, you will see that Scrabble Beta is not getting very favorable user feedback at this point. Not so much!

While we would like to add a more personal twist to this product review, we are sadly unable to join a game we've been invited to attend. :: super sad, super sad ::

Our recommendation is we hope you throw some serious developer and hardware super powers at that sh*t STAT Hasbro! First impressions count. 

Peace out yo,
Mystery Dinner Guest & Claude


Personal note from Claude:
So I just want to add that I am also pissed off right now about the recent Red Sox games. I mean, Manny's jog to first base the other night was just bullcr*p! Manny, you better get your game on too mister! We're watching you.

July 29, 2008

Not Cuil Enough for School

Ex-Googlers launched the new search engine cuil on Monday, what was touted to possibly be the "next google killer". C'mon now, really?

How many search engines have we seen try and enter the market to chip away at Google? And out of those, how many have actually been able to put a dent into Google's market share? Ok, just wanted to recap on that. 

cuil, pronounced "cool", is sadly another example of a product launch before it's time. From this launch, I have the following three cents:

  • PLEASE, for the love of GOD, STOP USING WEB 2. 0 NAMING CONVENTIONS WHEN INTRODUCING NEW PRODUCTS. I can't STAND IT. IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE and it makes me THINK YOU'RE A TWENTY-SOMETHING SHOULD BE ATTENDING COLLEGE BUT TURNED YOUR DORM INTO A WEB SERVING MORASS.
  • Can people please put more emphasis on stress testing and application QA before these gigantic go-lives? It only spells disaster when you don't, and reinforces that you come across looking like a 20-something skipping your calc and algebra classes. 
  • Could you please just accept that Google is here to stay? You can't compete with it, Microsoft can't compete with it, and Yahoo! certainly can't compete with it, so just call it a day and spend the money you are sinking down the toilet on some nice Gucci sunglasses, a villa in Tuscany, and bring all your friends along for the biggest and baddest bash you can throw. It'll still be cheaper than trying to fight this fight.
[MDG side note: Ok, so the third point I kinda disagree with, in theory, but still like to daydream about a fabulous party in Tuscany with all my entourage]

And, for those of you who think I'm being too harsh on the new cuil, here's a random sampling of AP headlines on their launch:

What do you think?

July 23, 2008

Firefox for your Computer's Health

In case you didn't get the memo, Firefox web browser by Mozilla is the best computer protection you can use when surfing the internet. Period.

Recent AP reports are saying that malware is undeniably on the rise; the sheer volume of computers being compromised by viruses, spam, botnets and malware is going through the roof.

But what can you, the innocent and unsuspecting web surfer do? You can start by ditching Internet Explorer as your web browser and using Firefox by Mozilla instead. Firefox is a free web browser, easy to install, and a gazillion times less likely to expose your computer to the crap that IE is all about.

So what are you waiting for? For heaven's sake, run *don't walk* to this URL address and download free Firefox today:



Peace Out,
Mystery Dinner Guest & Claude

p.s. For those of you who recently signed onto your Facebook account and found Claude missing from your Friends and Entourage, you can read about what went down in our last post. Now Claude Rolls with 1.