bit-gamer.net recently did a research about micro-transactions that are becoming prevalent in today's games. quite an interesting article since more companies are opting for this model. the article also mentions DLC (downloadable contents) but didn't explore it that much.

• http://www.bit-tech....ction-investigation/

From BoingBoing via MetaFilter comes this 4 part story on how one businessman with a background in investigations got mad at a con artist scammer that sent him a fake invoice:

I mentioned yesterday that my firm received what I believe to be a fraudulent pseudo-invoice for services not rendered. It appeared to be a variation on the classic toner scam, discussed here.

For some reason, this one seriously pisses me off. Maybe its because the fraud is so blatant. Maybe it’s because the weasel-worded disclaimer designed to give them a defense to fraud claims is so perfunctory and lame. Maybe it’s because after I sent an email to the scammer’s lawyer, the scammer himself called me and tried to run a con on me. Like I’m a fucking rube.

So. I’ve decided to dedicate some time and money to investigating this scam and the people and companies responsible for it. I’ve also decided to write about the investigation, and use it as an opportunity to discuss con man culture and how anyone with an internet connection, a few bucks, and some time can investigate an attempted scam — or, preferably, conduct due diligence on a suspected scammer before they can even try to con you.

http://www.popehat.c...igation-chapter-one/

Interesting new productivity "gameification" tool:

http://www.pomodorium.com/

See Reddit discussion here: http://www.reddit.co...like_game_and_timer/

This application is based on time organizing technique with 25 minutes working cycles. During 25 minutes working cycle you have to work on your task with maximum focus and avoid any possible interruptions. After 25 minutes working cycle there is 5 minutes break cycle, in which you can take a break.

Application has pomodoro technique timer for counting 'working cycles' and user will get 25 "gold" for every completed working cycle and can use it for RPG-like activities : fighting monsters; buying items (weapons,shields,armors); traveling through the game map.

A new donator emailed me to tell me we were mentioned in the October 2011 edition of PC World magazine, in an article on freeware (ironically i'm not sure any DC apps are recommended in that article even though PC World does frequently recommend our software).

From the sidebar text on page 73:
"To find more donationware programs, a great resource is DonationCoder.com, a site that hosts the work of many freeware programmers but solicits donations on their behalf.  Best of all, DonationCoder.com certifies that none of the programs it hosts contain spyware or malware, and the site will refund your donation if you wish -- no questions asked.  With that kind of peace of mind, sending a little love to a hardworking programmer is easier than ever."

 

While reading some forum postings at the Sublime Text Editor site, I came across a pointer to an experiment that the developer at hardcoded.net  is running in something he calls "Fairware": http://open.hardcoded.net/.

How does Fairware work? All hours developers invest in projects are public, as well as their hourly rate expectations. All contributions from fair users are also instantly made public (anonymously). When contributions are made, they are allocated to unpaid development hours (see the F.A.Q. for details). Everyone can thus easily know how many hours have yet to be compensated. Also, users are made aware that the software is Fairware with a dialog that pops up for users who haven't contributed yet, reminding them of expectations from developers. With enough fair users, such a system allows open source developers working on software for a wide audience to do so full time. I don't know about you, but I find that awesome.

-http://open.hardcoded.net/about/

Of course, since the software is open source, you could build a version without the nag.  But it seems most (or at least enough) people aren't interested in bypassing the nag that way.

It looks like hardcoded.net has been doing this for about a year, and it appears to be more or less successful.  The applications look interesting enough that I may give a couple a go.  Also, there's a bunch of information and statistics about the Fairware concept itself (including stats on hours spent working on the software and the donations/payments received in return).

Interesting stuff.

Lifehacker seems less interesting to me lately, but occasionally they still publish a useful article.  This seems like one of those times.

While getting the best price is often your first concern, a great deal is suddenly not so great when you hate what you bought and can't return it. If you're looking for a good return policy, here are some the best places to shop (and places you should avoid).

http://lifehacker.co...a-good-return-policy