"Do not try and win the debate. That's impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth: that there is no debate." Growing up in the 1990s was both a blessing and a curse. The world had never been so creative, so carefree, and so technologically advanced. Hey, don't laugh! We might not have had smartphones, but we had PDAs, and there was more in common than you might think. The internet was new and full of infinite possibilities, and humanity wasted no time beginning to realize its potential. It was an ...

To Moderate, or Not to Moderate: that is NOT the Question

For the past year-and-a-half, ThinkBoxly has been exclusively a devblog of my progress on developing original commercial content like VNgen. If you've followed me during that time, you've probably gotten used to the absence of editorial and feature-style posts (if you were ever aware they existed around here at all). But this is my blog, dang it, and I get to write what I want*. And as you can probably guess from the title, today's topic is hardly unrelated. Valve, it's time we developers had a little talk ...

On Steam, Valve, and Indie Developers

If you’ve frequented this website for any length of time, you’ve probably picked up on the fact that I am no great fan of Apple. However, despite my frustrations with their devices, I’ve long been a fan of iTunes as a digital distribution platform. Sure, there are far better music and video players out there, but when it came to downloading content for those alternative applications to munch on, iTunes was my go-to source for years. Unfortunately, after so long of Apple holding this one last mark on ...

So long iTunes, Hello Amazon Music!

Apple hasn’t been the same since the untimely death of founder and CEO Steve Jobs three years ago—few people will argue that. In days since all the familiar Apple products have gone on being iterated year in and year out, but if it seems to you that each successive generation brings with it fewer improvements and more problems, you’re not alone. The Apple Maps fiasco that left Apple actually recommending Google Maps after removing it from their own system, the so-called ‘antennagate’ affair that ...

Has the Apple Gone Rotten?

In case you were not aware, this past week marked the 46th annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Tech companies from all over the world came to show off the latest and greatest of their ongoing developments (and occasionally, commercially available products), ranging in category from smartphones to refrigerators. If it runs on an electrical charge, you’ll find it at CES. So among all the bells and whistles, what was it that stood out to me as the best gadget (or gadget booth) at the show? The ...

My Favorite Thing at CES 2013

Why am I writing an Apple post, you ask? Well ok, you probably don’t ask. It’s no big secret that earlier this week Apple held an event to announce the iPhone 5 and new lineup of iPods. Actually, a lack of secrecy really themed everything about the latest in Apple’s most popular products, arguably the most popular products in all of recent technology. Leak after leak after leak revealed information about the new iPhone; everything from its taller form factor to duo-tone backing to tiny 9-pin dock ...

Has the Apple Lost its Crisp?