Hung Truong: The Blog!

Puzzle Alarm Clock Makes Sure You’re Awake!

This Puzzle Alarm Clock shoots out a simple 4 piece jigsaw puzzle when it’s time for you to wake up. The alarm clock won’t turn off until you put the pieces back together correctly. I guess the idea is that putting the puzzle back together stimulates your brain enough so that it wakes up. Seems like a pretty cool idea. But what happens when a piece flies under the bed? It’d be hammer time for the clock, methinks.

The Puzzle Alarm Clock can be yours for only $52! Hmmm, for that price I’d rather buy a few Neverlates, synchronize them, and stick them in various places in my room.

Countdown to Mother 3!

In case you don’t know, Mother 3 is the newest in the Mother series of games from Japan. Mother 2 was released here in the states as “Earthbound” for the SNES.

Anyway, over at the official Mother 3 webpage, they’re doing some kind of time-release teaser site. Every Tuesday, another present will be unwrapped, whether it be screenshots, game music, or screenshots. Hey Mother 3 people, get more creative!

Mother 3 is coming to the Gameboy Advance, which means I can play it on my Nintendo DS. I really liked Earthbound a lot (though not as much as my cousin), so I might import it and struggle through the Japanese to play it. The graphics are going to be just as spritey as on the SNES version, so I have a feeling this game will be retro RPGing at its best.

Mother 3 will be released in Japan on 4-20-06, so until then, be satisfied with the “presents.”

Awesome Choose Your Own Adventure Photoshopping!

This is semi-old, but I saw it at boingboing today, so hey! Over at somethingawful, there’s a bunch of covers for Choose Your Own Adventure Books that didn’t quite make it. Most of these are incredibly awesome.

Whenever I read those books, I’d always keep a finger on the last page where it branched out, just in case I died. This didn’t always work, because sometimes you’d die no matter which path you took. Stupid books!

I think there’s still a few of these books lying around my house. I’ll have to find them and see if I can do any better now.

Google Page Creator: Test Drive!

So I tried out the super-hip Google Page Creator that everyone’s talking about. I don’t think it’s that super awesome. For one thing, the templates are kinda rigid. I suppose they’re good for really simple web pages, but after using css and php and all that snazzy stuff, I’m not impressed by Google’s offering. They only offer 100MB of space, too. Didn’t geocities offer more like, 10 years ago?

Anyway, in order to increase my web presence (in an effort to control the world), I made Hung Truong: The Google Page! Enjoy.

Fun New Apple Products: Intel Mac Mini, iPod Hi-Fi, and Leather iPod Case

Today Apple had a “Fun new products” event. I think everyone was expecting a cool new video touch screen iPod gadget. Instead, what we get is kind of boring…

Intel Mac Mini

First off, there’s now an official Intel Mac Mini. I’ve been meaning to get a Mac, so now that there’s an Intel Mac, I can not feel guilty about buying one. (Disclaimer: My mom works at Intel). The entry model starts at $599. It’s still kind of expensive, so maybe I’ll wait ‘til I strike it rich.

iPod Hi-Fi

The new iPod is… not an iPod. Bummer. The iPod hi-fi is just an overpriced jukebox that you can stick your iPod on. iYawn. It seems that Apple is tired of letting all the third-party manufacturers profit from the iPod, so now they’re making overpriced accessories as well. The iPod hi-fi costs $349.

iPod Leather Case

Speaking of overpriced accessories, check out iPod Leather Case! Only $99! If this is a “fun new product” for Apple, I’m not impressed. It doesn’t even provide access to anything while the iPod is in the case!

So there you have it, Apple’s fun new products. I may get an Intel Mac Mini (I wonder if my mom can get a discount), but the others just plain suck!