MakeUseOf.com: “Cool Websites and Tools [April 21st]” plus 9 more |  |
- Cool Websites and Tools [April 21st]
- Strip Generator – Create Free Highly Customizable Web Comics In Minutes
- The 5 Best Firefox 4 Addons For Tabbed Browsing
- 3 Apps For Perfect Flash Cards For Android That Teachers Can Use
- Hot Tech Deals [Apr 21st]
- Super Mario Brothers X: The Best Fan-Made Mario Game Ever [Windows]
- CoolPreviews – Browse Through Search Results Faster With Interactive Site Previews
- Geany – A Great Lightweight Code Editor For Linux
- Get A Minimalist Look On Your Facebook Homepage With Minimalist For Facebook [Chrome]
- The 5 Best Gaming Podcasts You Should Be Listening To
| Cool Websites and Tools [April 21st] Posted: 21 Apr 2011 08:31 PM PDT
These are just half of the websites that we discovered in the last couple of days. If you want us to send you daily round-ups of all cool websites we come across, leave your email here. Or follow us via RSS feed. Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
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| Strip Generator – Create Free Highly Customizable Web Comics In Minutes Posted: 21 Apr 2011 06:31 PM PDT
We’ve had Strip Generator in our MakeUseOf Directory for a while now but the site has gone through a number of changes over the years with new features and the introduction of a cleaner, easier to use interface. It really couldn’t be simpler to drop in some characters, objects and text down before sharing it with your friends. No artistic skills required, simply let your ideas take shape! Uses For Strip GeneratorArtists and those blessed with the ability to draw will probably look down on Strip Generator for its drag-and-drop simplicity. This makes it perfect for those with an idea, a punchline or a joke between friends to bring their ideas to 2D life in minutes.
Even those who draw their own strips from scratch may find uses for the website; as a storyboard or a plan for larger projects. If you’re interested in transferring your comics from pen-and-paper so you can design offline, check out our guide. There are also more ambitious Strip Generator comics floating around the website, which show off some of the more off-beat community creations (like this Helicoptero strip). Using objects and tools in ways other than they were intended requires a bit of experimentation, but is testament to the adaptability of the sandbox you have in front of you. You don’t need to register to use Strip Generator, so to get started simply visit the homepage and click Create New Strip. You’ll be asked once your strip is complete to register, so you can save your creations and re-edit ongoing projects. The WorkspaceWhen starting your strip, you are presented with the simple 3 frame comic format, which you can change by clicking on Frames at the top of the strip. Here you’re presented with lots of options, including 1 or 2 rows, full page designs and custom frames you define yourself.
You should always choose your frame first, and be sure of your decision. Changing the frame after beginning your strip will delete the lot, something you’ll be hoping to avoid. Once you’ve decided on a frame the rest is experimentation.
Characters and objects are handled by Strip Generator in the same way, and are highly transformable. Once you’ve chosen something from the appropriate tab, drag it into one of your frames. Clicking the item will highlight it, and display the scale and rotate controls – simply click and drag.
After selecting an object, the area to the right of your comic strip will display the various manipulations you can perform. These include sending the object forward and back (layers), adding blur and transparency and moving the object between frames, or detaching it altogether. If you’ve ever used photo manipulation software in the past then it should all be fairly familiar.
Text is handled similarly and whilst there’s no font options you can adjust size, placement, bold and italics and justification. Text can also be blurred, much like objects and the speech or thought bubble’s roundness can be user-defined too. Sharing Your CreationsOnce you’ve completed your strip hit Finish at the bottom. You will be taken to a page where you can define a thumbnail, add tags so your comic can be found and last of all give your strip a name. Hitting Publish will publish your work as an anonymous user, and on the next page you will be prompted to either log in or sign up to claim the credit.
You don’t have to register however, and you can remain anonymous if you please. If you do choose to register you will be given a Strip Generator blog, the URL of which will be username.stripgenerator.com.
There are all manner of social buttons and sharing options afoot your new creation, you can even print it out or simply save the image in your browser as you would normally.
ConclusionStrip Generator is a lot of fun, partly because it’s so easy to use and partly for the near-instantaneous results. If you’ve not got the patience to draw a full strip, have a spare 5 minutes and a great one-liner then Strip Generator is calling for your contributions. Have you tried Strip Generator to create web comics? Fancy linking your strips? Any other good comic generators you use? Let us know in the comments below! Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
 More articles about: cartoons, comics, creative, fun, hobby, reading
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| The 5 Best Firefox 4 Addons For Tabbed Browsing Posted: 21 Apr 2011 04:31 PM PDT
In this article I have profiled the 5 best Firefox 4 addons to organize tabs, work with them, and hibernate them. These addons can help you to group and manage your tabs, add more vertical or horizontal space to your browser window, and reduce the load Firefox puts on your system resources. TabGroups ManagerTabGroups Manager is my favorite tab-related extension. As the name suggests, you can create groups for your tabs, accessible via the group tab bar.
When you find yourself with an excess amount of groups that slow you down, you can hibernate selected groups to save system resources. Right-click a group tab and select > Hibernate. You can continue to send (not move) tabs to hibernated groups or move them from one open group to another via the right-click menu. Moreover, you can re-organize groups via the > Group your tabs button.
‘Group your tabs’ is an exciting new Firefox 4 feature, which becomes available with extensions such as TabGroups Manager. When you click the > Group your tabs button, Firefox switches to a separate view. White boxes indicate your open groups and thumbnails show the respective tabs. Among many other things, you can drag and drop the tabs from one group to another. To open a new group, drag a tab to the grey space and to see a group box, drag a second tab on top of it.
A similar extension, TooManyTabs, was recently reviewed by Ann: TooManyTabs Turns Your Firefox Into A Task Management Powerhouse New Tab KingNew Tab King makes use of the empty space in new tabs by filling it with thumbnails of your most used websites and a search bar through which you can search your bookmarks. Much like in Google Chrome, you can pin selected thumbails and re-arrange them via drag & drop.
That alone would be great. However, there is a lot more to discover in New Tab King. Not only can you customize the look of the new tab, via the extension’s options window you can access an incredible array of additional features. Click > [CTRL] + [SHIFT] + [A] to launch the addons window, then find the > Options button for the New Tab King extension.
Search Tabs / The Search SidebarStrictly speaking, this is not a tabs addon. However, it provides quick access to additional search results when performing a search on Google, Yahoo, or Bing. It thus saves you opening multiple tabs. To the right of your search engine results you will see a bar with a favicon list of websites, e.g. Amazon, Wikipedia, and Facebook. When hovering over a favicon, results from that specific domain or account will be shown. For example if you are logged into your Google Mail account, it will show show results from your personal mails. The tool comes pre-equipped with a host of sites, but you can customize it and add any domain you frequently search.
For some unknown reason I could not get this extension to work on my Windows XP computer, even after disabling most other extensions and cross-checking compatibility of the rest in Firefox 4 installed under Windows 7. I would think that blocking flash disables this extension. However, that was not the culprit. Vertical TabsVertical Tabs moves your tabs into the vertical and also allows you to group them. I would recommend this extension for those of you with a high-resolution wide-screen monitor, which allows you to spare a few pixels of horizontal space to gain a better overview of your tabs. It’s great when you do research and open many tabs with identical favicons.
Like TabGroups Manager, Vertical Tabs supports > Group your tabs. Also note the > List all tabs button, which is another highlight of this extension as it provides a search feature.
Vertical Tabs is an experimental extension for Firefox 4 only. Custom Tab WidthIf you don’t have any vertical space to share, you might want to work on your tabs width. This minimalistic extension does only one thing, it allows you to customize the width of your tabs. To shrink tabs indefinitely, set the minimum width to 1.
A stylish alternative to Custom Tab Width is FaviconizeTab. It reduces selected tabs to the size of its Favicon. Note that Custom Tab Width overrides FaviconizeTab, thus you have to decide for one of them. Need more ideas to manage your tab overload? Have a look at these articles:
How do you organize and manage your tabs? Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
 More articles about: browsing, browsing tools, firefox, firefox addons, firefox tips, Mozilla, productivity, productivity tips, tabs
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| 3 Apps For Perfect Flash Cards For Android That Teachers Can Use Posted: 21 Apr 2011 02:31 PM PDT
Today we’ll take a look at some of the better applications with flash cards for Android, which teachers could recommend to students for studying flashcards in their classes. There’s a number of applications out there, so if none of these take your fancy, there’s still plenty more free options to choose from. When trying to decide which application to write the flashcards for, there’s a number of things to consider :
StudyDroidStudyDroid is an easy-to-use flashcard application. You can get started very quickly making your own flashcards by clicking “add“. You can also make your own flashcards on your computer or you can browse the public flashcards at Studydroid to find something you like. When making your cards, it’s easy to change the text size or colour of the cards to make them more memorable.
GFlash+GFlash+ is my personal favourite flashcard application for Android. I like that I can keep a Google document with the up-to-date flashcard information and occasionally re-sync the phone’s flashcards to the online version. All that’s required is to build (or import) a simple spreadsheet in Google Documents and share it with the email address gwhizmobile@gmail.com, thus sharing it publicly to all gFlash+ users. The free version won’t allow URLs or embedded media, but it’s still very useful to have control over the public version of your original flashcards, since you can add to them or fix minor errors.
Kaka FlashcardsKaka Flashcards lets you import public flashcards from Studystack or Quizlet easily via their application, from your SD card, using a QR code and many other ways. You can also quickly export your cards as .csv for later use or for use with other flashcard programs. It’s got a great interface and looks very professional. Cards are shown to learners according to the Leitner system.
More Android EducationIf you’re into self-education and want some ideas for edutainment on your Android or online, here’s a few more articles you’ll probably appreciate:
Do you use flashcard apps on your phone? What’s your app with flash cards for Android? Why? Let us know in the comments! Image Credit: ShutterStock Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
 More articles about: education, flashcards, google android, learning, teachers, teaching
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| Posted: 21 Apr 2011 01:30 PM PDT
For more fresh hot deals, visit our Hot Tech Deals page, which is constantly updated.
Image credit: Modified from Svengraph’s icon set Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on MakeUseOf Answers!
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| Super Mario Brothers X: The Best Fan-Made Mario Game Ever [Windows] Posted: 21 Apr 2011 12:31 PM PDT
Whether you know it or not, you want to play new 2D Mario levels. Nintendo takes its dear sweet time putting such levels out, so if you need something to hold you over until the inevitable release of New Super Mario Brothers Wii 2, I highly recommend you check out this unofficial fan-built game. It’s free, so you have nothing to lose by trying it out. You might even find things here you like better than Nintendo’s own projects. The GameI could tell you a lot about this game, but why don’t you see for yourself. Here’s a video with highlights : Find that interesting? Then head on over the Super Mario Brothers X download page to get started. You’ll find the game there. Windows only; sorry Mac and Linux users. The game itself combines elements from all the different Mario games in history. For example, there’s a world map reminiscent of Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo:
Other maps look more like they belong in Super Mario Three. Gameplay is similarly mixed. Some of the levels look like they belong in Super Mario 2, that odd Mario game famous for its throwable onions:
Other levels look more like Super Mario 3 or Super Mario World:
Even more levels mix and match elements from all of the different games in the series history. The result is kind of weird but a lot of fun. Heck, the occasional level looks nothing like a Mario level, instead borrowing from other video game series. You’ll have to play to find out what I mean. There are a variety of powerups from throughout the series, and more than a few created just for this game. The music comes from a variety of eras too, but all of it will make you feel nostalgic. The levels aren’t as consistent as ones put out by Nintendo; I’d be lying if I said they were. Some are really easy, some are frustratingly difficult, and they don’t always seem to be in any sort of logical order. Having said that, there’s a good blend here of challenge and progress. Mario fans will enjoy themselves. Note that you can play as Mario or as a few other players. Most unusual is the inclusion of Link, from the Zelda series. This gives the game a bit of a Super Mario Crossover feel, which isn’t a bad thing. Other Level SetsDid you beat the default level sets too quickly? Don’t worry; there’s more. At the same download page as before you’ll find additional levels. Unzip these files and add them to the “worlds” folder wherever you installed Super Mario Brothers X and you can start playing these levels right away. There are four extra campaigns right now; presumably more will show up, so keep watching the download page. Design Your Own LevelsBeat all of those levels too? Wow, you’ve got a lot of time on your hands. So much time in fact, that you should probably start building your own levels. There’s a built-in tool here for doing just that, and it requires no programming ability:
You won’t make a masterpiece overnight, but with a little work and a lot of time you’ll have a Mario game to call your own. Brilliant. ConclusionIs this game legal? Probably not, in the strictest sense. Whatever the case may be though, it’s clear the creators of Super Mario Brothers X love the company that made the original Mario games. This message shows up every time you launch the game:
A nice sentiment, to be sure. Shutting down this game is probably within Nintendo’s rights, but a message like this makes me wonder if it would be in their best interests. This is probably the best fan-made Mario Brothers games I’ve ever seen, but it’s not the only one. Be sure to check out our list of the best free web Mario games and our writeup of Super Mario War, the ultimate multi-player Mario game. Also feel free to share any other great Mario fan games in the comments below! Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
 More articles about: fan, fun, game reviews, nintendo, old-school
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| CoolPreviews – Browse Through Search Results Faster With Interactive Site Previews Posted: 21 Apr 2011 11:31 AM PDT
I’ve used the Google preview option before, but never really found the time to really dig into how much time the right website preview solution could save. Basically, I was too busy to discover how much time I could save – as ironic as that sounds. That is, until I discovered CoolPreview. Using The CoolPreviews Firefox PluginOnce you install the CoolPreviews plugin, the link preview feature is ready to go. Also, unlike Google Instant Preview, the CoolPreviews plugin will give you a link preview window everywhere you go on the Internet, regardless of what website you’re on. All you have to do is hover your mouse over any link at all, and you’ll see the CoolPreviews icon show up.
Hover your mouse over that icon, and the preview “window” pops up and shows you the webpage in a scrollable format. It’s actually like having an embedded browser window inside the existing browser window. You can explore the page, click on links and check out the site without ever leaving the current page that you’re on. If you like what you see, just click the button at the top of the window to open the site in a new tab. Don’t like it? Just close the window.
If you don’t want to bother with opening and closing the preview window every time you want to see a link, just click on the pin icon at the upper right corner of the screen and the preview window will stay available.
Just slide the preview window down to the corner of your browser window, and it’ll show you a quick preview of every link you hover your mouse over – a fast and easy way to browse the web from one browser window. Gone are the days of opening tab after tab just to check links.
As you browse through the Internet in one tab, you just glide your mouse over each link, glance at the site in the website preview pane, move on the the next link, and keep on rolling until you see the page that has the information you want. Then you can click to open it in a new tab (or just navigate the page from the preview window itself!) It’s also really easy to customize the behavior and appearance of the preview window by clicking on the settings button. Change when the preview window appears, where it shows up on the browser window, and even the theme of the preview window.
Additional FeaturesAnother really useful feature of CoolPreviews is the Google Images feature. When you search Google Images and hover your mouse over an image, a preview of the picture in its actual size will show up in the CoolPreviews window. If you want to see all of the images from the Google Image results in a clean and convenient slideshow gallery, just click on the Play button.
A large slideshow window will open with the selected image in the center pane, and a navigation slider at the bottom. Just click the arrow to browse through all of the Google Image results.
Another really cool feature of CoolPreviews is the Temporary Bookmark Stack. If you find a cool site that you want to bookmark for future reading, just tap the “Stack” button, and the add-on will toss the URL into a virtual stack of webpages.
You’ll see a small tab attached to the right side of the browser window which you can tap on to explore your stack of bookmarks whenever you like.
What’s the point of “temporary” bookmarks? Well, have you ever been researching a particular subject, and you wanted to just fly through search results and save the URL’s for deeper reading later? Basicaly, CoolPreviews lets you do three steps in one. You do a Google Search, hover over the links to see a page preview, and when you see something useful, you can bookmark it to read later. You can do all three steps with a single click. CoolPreviews converted me to the world of “link previews” – and I’ve already started cutting down a lot of time off my research efforts. I’m confident it’ll do the same for you. Give it a try and let us know how you liked it in the comments section below! Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
 More articles about: bookmarks, browsing, browsing tools, firefox, firefox addons, firefox tips, Google, Mozilla, preview, search
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| Geany – A Great Lightweight Code Editor For Linux Posted: 21 Apr 2011 10:31 AM PDT
However, I’m glad to know that there are now two really good IDEs out there, and Geany is one of them. Compared to Eclipse, the other good IDE, it’s much more lightweight but just as capable. Basic Features
Geany supports all of the major programming languages, and offers all the common features that you expect for an IDE, such as syntax highlighting and line numbering. When you open it up (which doesn’t take very long at all), you’ll be greeted with a clean interface and lots of white space to work with. All of the compiler’s messages will appear in the box at the bottom of the window, which is extremely important for debugging your code. From here, you can open a new file and select the default file type for the language you want to program with. It loads the basic configuration for that file, and away you go.
Light Is RightAside from being lightweight, Geany does a great job of staying out of the way while you code, and displaying certain features right where you need them. Line numbers, syntax highlighting, automatically closing braces, parenthesis, and more, all do what they need to do, and don’t alter your personal workflow style. For a programmer, it’s very good to develop a coding habit you’re comfortable with and use a code editor that doesn’t force you to do things differently. Configurability
Just like Xournal in my earlier review, Geany comes with plenty of options even though it’s lightweight. There’s many things you can configure, including some that I never knew could be configured. These options are an important part of Geany and its ability to stay out of your way and let you work the way you want to. It’s highly recommended that you at least look at the options that Geany offers so that you can configure them the way you want, and make Geany all the more pleasing. Compiling Your Code
Compiling and running your code is very easy. Simply click one button to compile, and when that completes, click another button to run. What happens when you hit run depends on what you’ve programmed, but as an example, if you programmed a very basic program in Java and run it, the output will be displayed using your preferred terminal. Once the program runs to completion in the terminal, you just need to hit enter once to exit out. It keeps everything clean and simple, just like the rest of the program. ConclusionGeany is simply a great IDE for Linux, especially when Eclipse doesn’t appeal to your taste. However, even if Eclipse is alright in your opinion, you should still look at Geany for its ease of use and out-of-box, ready-to-use setup. If you program on Linux, what IDE do you use? If you use Geany, how do you rate it and what other features do you think are important? Let us know in the comments! Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
 More articles about: coding, programmer tools, programming
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| Get A Minimalist Look On Your Facebook Homepage With Minimalist For Facebook [Chrome] Posted: 21 Apr 2011 09:31 AM PDT
If you can’t stand Facebook’s hectic interface, you are not the only one. Luckily, there’s somebody who has done something about it by creating a Chrome extension called Minimalist for Facebook. As the name suggests, this extension will help Chrome users to hide unwanted elements from the Facebook homepage. As with every other browser-based interface hack, changes from this extension are local. That means that any changes will only be visible on your computer and will not alter the real interface on Facebook’s servers. InstallationInstalling Minimalist for Facebook on Chrome is as simple as installing other extensions: click the “Install” button, then Chrome will download and install it automatically.
After the installation, the Minimalist for Facebook icon will appear in the address bar telling you that it’s ready. The icon will appear every time you are on a Facebook page.
The extension will do nothing if you make no changes in the Options page. To modify the settings, open the Options page by clicking the address bar icon and choosing “Options“. To quickly activate/deactivate the extension click the “Toggle on/off” button. The “PANIC!” button will refresh the page to the latest applied settings.
The Minimalist for Facebook options page consists of two panes: the menus on the left and the settings on the right.
There are many elements of the Facebook page that you can modify. For example, the “General” page deals with things like icons, footers, and CSS.
While the “Theme” page mainly deals with layout and colors.
To get more information about what a menu will do, hover your mouse over the highest item on the page, and you will be shown an image of the modified item. For example, the “Toolbar” menu is the bar at the top of the page where the Facebook logo lies.
Other than modifying the elements within the toolbar, this menu also allows users to make the toolbar float and always visible on top even when the page is being scrolled down. The “Navigation” is the sidebar on the left of the page where your profile photo resides.
Don’t confuse the “Navigation” with “Sidebar” because the one that is called the sidebar is the bar on the right.
Aside from modifying the menu, Minimalist for Facebook also gives you additional features such as the ability to “Show full timestamps” and to “Show photo zoom on hover“. The latter feature will pop up the full size image of the picture you are hovering your mouse pointer over.
Import, Export & ResetI think one of the most important features of this extension is the ability to import and export your settings from one Chrome browser to another. So if you use more than one computer, you don’t have to go through the settings over and over again. All that you have to do is:
To make your job easier, you could save the text in your Dropbox folder and it will be always available on another computer. Another nice feature are the “Presets“. The buttons here will help you minimize your Facebook interface in one click, without having to go through all the settings. You could also save up to three custom settings that you’ve made.
If something goes wrong, or if you want to start afresh, you can press the “Reset All” button and everything will go back to the original settings.
To give you a clearer picture of what this extension can do, let’s do a comparison. Here is the Facebook interface without any tweaking.
And here’s the interface after deactivating some elements.
Even though you might not be one of those people who needs or wants to ‘minimalise’ your Facebook interface, you might still want to try the extension to get the additional features like the floating toolbar, full timestamps, and photo zoom. So try it out and tell us what you think. If you know and use any other Facebook enhancements, don’t forget to share your knowledge in the comments below. Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
 More articles about: chrome extensions, Facebook, Google Chrome, social media, social networks
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| The 5 Best Gaming Podcasts You Should Be Listening To Posted: 21 Apr 2011 08:31 AM PDT
While there are a lot of podcasts, it's no surprise that most podcasts cover topics of particular interest to tech-savvy listeners. That includes gamers. The number of podcasts available about gaming is tremendous. Not all are worth your time however, so I've rounded up the five gaming podcasts that I turn to when looking for mobile entertainment. Drunken Gamers Radio
As the title implies, Drunken Gamers Radio is an all-out, rant-filled, drink-fueled gaming love and hate-fest. I will warn you; most gaming podcasts are fine with dropping a swear word here or there, but Drunken Gamer Radio is certainly not what you want to listen to if children are in range (unless you don't like their parents). But in spite of the antics, Drunken Gamers Radio is exceptionally well produced. Mic quality is usually high – none of the static and hiss all too common among podcasting – and the commenters sound great, even when they're ranting aimlessly. The gaming podcast doesn't seem to have any set schedule, or any specific topics. This is not the gaming podcast you should listen to if you want to get any level-headed information about new games, but it's awesome for entertainment. Gamers With Jobs Conference Call
One problem with the gaming community is that it seems to be targeted towards perpetual teenagers despite the fact that many gamers are now adults with jobs and responsibilities. Gamers With Jobs is a blog that was founded in recognition of the fact that many gamers can't devote all of our time and energy towards gaming, even if we love them. The podcast cast and crew is a collection of Gamers With Jobs staff and freelance gaming writers who offer a mature perspective. Several have kids, and will talk about games that they've have fun playing with their children. There is plenty of talk about more mature games however, and Gamers With Jobs is one of the few podcasts that talks about indie games and mainstream games in equal measure. The podcast usually comes out on Tuesday and devotes some time every week to new games the cast has been playing. A Life Well Wasted
This podcast is unlike any other gaming podcast available. Each episode takes a look at a specific theme and usually touches on several sub-topics related to the central theme. It's essentially “This American Life” for gamers. Unlike most podcasts, A Life Well Wasted features numerous interviews with a variety of people including shop owners, professors and game bloggers. While most podcasts feature a cast that's content to comment on a topic, A Life Well Wasted is the only gaming podcast that actually delves into issues more deeply by interviewing the people involved. A Life Well Wasted is not frequently updated; there are only six episodes, and the last was posted in 2010. A new “season” of episodes is planned for 2011. Despite this, every gamer who wants to hear some wonderfully mature discussion of gaming and gaming culture should absolutely listen to A Life Well Wasted. There's no gaming podcast like it. Three Moves Ahead
Founded by freelance game writer Troy Goodfellow, Three Moves Ahead is the only weekly podcast that focuses exclusively on strategy gaming. The general focus is on PC games, but the cast often talk about board games and console games as well. Since its introduction the original founder and host, Troy Goodfellow, has taken a job in the games industry. The new host, Rob Zacny, has done a good job of keeping the show on its feet. Unlike many podcasts, the host of Three Moves Ahead isn't the ring-leader. The guests are given time to speak and lively debates often spring up without any particular person dominating the argument. Three Moves Ahead can wander a bit at times, and it hasn't always had the best production quality. The strength of the podcast has always been the knowledge of the cast and staff, all of whom have forgotten more about strategy games than the average gamer knows. Weekend Confirmed
A brilliant weekly gaming podcast, Weekend Confirmed is a must-listen for gamers who want to know about the latest and greatest games. The production quality of Weekend Confirmed rivals the best radio shows, and while the podcast can run a bit long at times, it sums up most of the important events in gaming during the previous week. This includes big releases, big controversies, and excitement over upcoming titles. Weekend Confirmed does have its flaws; the host, Garnett, sometimes uses phrases you've probably heard coming from kids trash-talking on Xbox Live. The discussion can be hit or miss as well, as certain cast members or guests seem to “win” arguments by force of will more than substance. Most of the big gaming podcasts have similar flaws, however. Weekend Confirmed is rather tame by gaming podcast standards, and it's certainly the most enjoyable way to learn about what's popular and controversial in gaming right now. ConclusionWhen formulating this list I considered over twenty-five gaming podcasts that I've listened to at least once and many more that I haven't had the chance to tune in on. If your favorite podcast isn't listed here, let us know about your favorite in the comments, and why you love it. Follow MakeUseOf on Twitter. Includes cool extras.
 More articles about: audio, game reviews, listen, Podcast
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