Minimalism
Latest
The life-changing magic of tidying up (your computer)
Someone once told me that consumerism is the process whereby our happiness is ripped from us so that it can be sold back to us at a profit. It's the sort of thing you don't think about when you're a kid, but gradually hits you as an adult. After all, three decades of constant consumption, retail therapy and 24-hour supermarkets takes its toll. I've reached a place where I'm being slowly suffocated by my possessions, both real and imaginary, and it's time to make a change.
The Daily Grind: When was the last time a character creator didn't tick you off?
For me, it was PlanetSide 2. Admittedly, I usually prefer insanely robust character creation systems; give me five million options or go away, right? And yet even with all the options, those games with the very best character creation systems -- a moment of silence, please, for Star Wars Galaxies and City of Heroes -- were saddled with their own strange quirks, like crazy boob sliders, insufficient tools for making non-European characters, and an obvious disdain for aging or overweight or otherwise socially unacceptable toons. You can have 50 different mohawk styles, but if you want wrinkles, realistic breast physics, or a waist thicker than your wrist, then god help you. By limiting options to four heads per gender (only one apiece European) and by making sure my female character is believably muscled and armored, PlanetSide 2's character creator manages to secure an advantage over more robust systems. By going minimalist and choosing to leave out almost everything instead of only one or two things that make me question the designers' motives, SOE has effectively curtailed complaints. But is that worth it? When was the last time a character creator didn't offend you? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Ziiiro Aurora and Orbit watches tell time with color, orbs of wonder
Time: how does it work? Well, the physicists are still trying to figure that out. And while they're tinkering with bosons and quarks and dark matter, the designers at Ziiiro are working on an equally important task: how to represent time, preferably in wrist-compatible form. Now they've got two new attempts, dubbed "Aurora" and "Orbit," that show time as a mix of colors or as a pair of circling orbs, respectively. They have about the same learning curve as earlier Ziiiro watches, and the company's website helpfully walks you through how to read them – "It's no rocket science at all!" If the designs are too minimalist for you, you can always treat yourself to Harry Winston's Opus Eleven. Otherwise, these will ship in late May and set you back €129 (about $184).
Modder removes buttons from Xbox 360 controller, still finds a way to play
At first glance, this Xbox 360 controller mod doesn't look as hardcore as some others we've seen, but its minimalism disguises its epicness. The modder took the controller apart and rebuilt it without the four face buttons or the direction pad, then placed a couple extra switches on the back that perform the same functions. The elaborate and not-at-all-easy process detailed beyond the read link results in a practical layout for hardcore types -- with the buttons on the lower back, leet first-person-shooter players don't have to take their hands off the sticks to perform actions like jumping and reloading, and the controller is less likely to rock due to alternating activity on the top and bottom. This isn't the first mod to employ this idea, but the complete removal of the dead face buttons for better aesthetics sets it apart. Video after the break.
