Unless you’re running a Surface RT, for which Windows 8.1 was pulled due to a bootup bug, chances are you’re either already running the hotly-anticipated update to Microsoft’s newest OS, or you’re getting ready to take the plunge. There’s a lot of great new features, and the operating system as a whole feels much more polished than the original release version of Windows 8. But at a particular point of controversy is a little icon which once again resides at the far left of the Windows taskbar. It was there from Windows 95 onward, then gone in Windows 8, and then it not-so-mysteriously reappeared in the 8.1 update. Many users rejoiced at the return of the start button, but others (myself included) found ourselves disappointed instead. Not disappointed at Microsoft–they’re just doing what they must to increase adoption of Windows 8–but disappointed at the general tech community that handled change so poorly that they voted back in a feature which was patently obsoleted a year ago. Just ...

October is going to be a big month for a lot of people in the tech industry. Popular Linux distribution Ubuntu has been regularly releasing updates every April and October for nearly a decade, and earlier this year Microsoft confirmed that their game-changing Windows 8 operating system would be getting its first major update in October as well. If there’s anything that gets a geek excited it’s upgrades, so this week ThinkBoxly will be featuring a special duo of posts covering both new editions of these popular operating systems. First up: Windows 8.1, releasing October 18! I’ve been using Windows 8 ever since the first Developer Preview released a couple of years ago. While many have found the new features—especially the Start Screen—a bit difficult to adjust to, personally I found many of the changes very refreshing and useful. In some ways Microsoft worked smartphone and tablet paradigms into the desktop environment, and in other ways they recreated the smartphone and tablet environm...

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’m tired of zombies. The walking dead have been thoroughly exhausted from their march through seemingly every shooter game to be produced in the last decade, and then some. They aren’t scary anymore. There’s nothing new to be done with them. And no matter how many developers try, zombies just make a bad crutch to lean on when your game is need of some gravity. The fact that Plants vs Zombies exists as one of the better uses of the infected should give you an indication of just where they stand in the industry. Resident Evil: Revelations doesn’t change that. Instead it just sidesteps the issue entirely and breathes new life into the Resident Evil series without sacrificing the core of what has kept it running for so long. Graphics It’s somewhat difficult to judge the graphics of a game in these particular circumstances. Resident Evil: Revelations was originally released towards the end of 2012 exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS, and by that plat...

This week’s post is going to be a bit different than usual. A friend of mine recently pointed me to a certain video by way of Google+. In it, BlimeyCow’s Jordan Taylor rants about what’s wrong with videogames. His arguments aren’t particularly new or original, but it’s worth watching regardless. Take a look: Today I would like to respond to this video and make a few comments to all the gamers out there. Because the fact of the matter is… I Agree… Yes, I agree that games have grown too simple, too repetitive, too boring, too banal(*). I’m not just talking about games that are “cinematic”, on-rails experiences with lots of quick-time events, either. When developed properly and viewed as interactive movies, I think there’s a place for this kind of game—sometimes. What makes me cringe is the reaction that games like Call of Duty and Battlefield and Halo get. Halo was once an innovative production and Call of Duty served as a decent enough history lesson, but let’s face it, these days there...