Civilization 4 and Why I Hate My Office Phone

Civilization 4 and Why I Hate My Office Phone

If you’re familiar with the strategy PC gaming series “Civilization”, you probably know that it’s only slightly less addictive than crack. I’ve never tried crack, but the “word on the street”, so to speak, is that it’s a bit hard to let go of. I recently purchased Civilization 4, which is the latest in the Civilization series. That in itself isn’t so interesting, but what happened to me at my job as a result of it most certainly is. I work as a network administrator for a large insurance company in Illinois.

Part of my job is to repair PC’s as needed, which is quite often considering how many there are around this place. I informed my coworker, also a big civilization fan that I had the game and he suggested I bring it in for a little test run. Against my better judgment, we decided to play a hot seat game during work. “Hot seat” means that one player takes a turn, followed by the other, which is only possible with turn based games such as Civ. We both figured that there would always be one of us to answer the phone in our little repair-shop cubbyhole so we didn’t see how we could possibly get caught. Boy were we wrong! About four hours into a game things started getting interesting.

My civilization found his civilization and we started going to war against each other, as one might expect. I sat down for my turn and my coworker decided to head off to the bathroom. The phone rang, and I didn’t pick up so that whoever was on the other end wouldn’t hear the Civ theme music or the explosive sound of my Panzers running over his infantry. What I failed to remember is that our advanced phone system allows anyone to communicate with us on an open speaker phone provided we aren’t on the phone already. My boss utilized this function since no one answered while I was taking my turn…o.k., actually while I was taking my turn and bragging out loud to myself about how well I was doing in the game. I found myself in his office that afternoon, but luckily I was only reprimanded and not fired. Not only did I get into trouble, my coworker continues to make jokes about it at my expense.

I hate my office phone.

Online Arcades And Office Life

Online Arcades And Office Life

There are different types of online games that fall under the categories of action, sports, adventure and shooting. You can download free online games and play them at leisure as per your convenience. Alternately, you can be online and play action games like Sonic and Mario against several other players, compete with them, as you shoot them down, and keep scores. You can chat with them online under different aliases. All you need is a Pentium or a compatible computer with latest software and a fast Internet connection.

Register at any online gaming site like Real arcade, www.free-arcade.ws, and start playing your favorite action and adventure games. You will usually compete against thousands of other players and online gaming can take the shape of a continuous tournament. The aim of online action games is to increase your arsenal, shoot the enemy, and increase your points. These games are richly animated and may have a storyline. Some common online action games include Space Escape, Indiana Jones, Pearl Diver, Gem Mania and Hacker.

Strategy games are more challenging and you have to gather resources like men and weapons and defeat the enemy. They support multiple players. Some of the all-time favorite games include War craft 3 and Age of the Empires 3. Many PC based games let you download updates of the game where the mouse & keyboard function as the joystick in these games. A maximum of twelve players can play strategy games at a time. You can form your own group of interested players and create rankings within your group.

Sports enthusiasts can play a variety of games from football to soccer to car racing and tennis. Car racing supports many players while football or golf will support a maximum of two players. Most people are familiar with the rules of the game and this makes sports games one of the most popular category of online games. You can have different levels of difficulty in the games and even play alone against the computer. The popular online sports games include FIFA Soccer, Need for Speed and Madden Football among others. You can play better flash versions of these games at our website. A variation of sports games are fantasy sports leagues where you have an ideal team, play matches against other teams and see how your team fares against them.

All of you bored with your monotonous lives out there have a chance to refresh yourself with the best free online games available at Free-Arcade.ws

Bluetooth Wireless In Your Home Office

Bluetooth Wireless In Your Home Office

Bluetooth is a wireless communication protocol that provides a method of wirelessly exchanging data between bluetooth enabled devices. Unlike Wi-Fi which requires more power to operate and a separate configuration for each device, Bluetooth requires low power consumption, is relatively simple to use, and is designed for use in a much smaller area. A network of devices formed around Bluetooth is known as a PAN, or Personal Area Network.

While the technology has been around for over ten years and its use has steadily grown, still relatively few take full advantage of the many capabilities it presents. One excellent use of Bluetooth technology for the consumer is in the home office.

The conversion of a typical home office set up to wireless technology is fairly simple and straightforward. It is not required to have any programming skills or advanced computer skills in order to make it work.

In converting your home office to Bluetooth wireless, the first order of business is acquiring an adapter for your computer. This is a small device which plugs into the USB port of your computer and will allow your computer to communicate with Bluetooth components. Many of these adapters (or dongles) are similar in size to the popular USB flash drives. The adapter becomes the “master” and is capable of communicating with up to seven Bluetooth enabled devices. They are manufactured by many well known companies in the wireless field, such as D-link and Linksys, and are readily available.

Moving on, you may then want to consider a wireless mouse and keyboard. These devices must be purchased with Bluetooth technology pre-installed (there are no converters available for these components). There are a considerable number on the market and most work basically the same. Your choice should be one of personal preference and as these are separate devices it is not necessary to replace both. Several of the more popular models are made by Logitech and Microsoft.

Next step is the printer. While there are several newer printers on the market that are bluetooth enabled, many opt for a printer adapter which will do the same job. If you are in the market for a new printer, it makes sense to buy one that is already Bluetooth capable. If not, adapters are readily available for most printers. They are similar to the computer adapter in that they plug into the printers USB port. There are also several models available which will utilize the parallel port for older printers.

Congratulations – you have just set up your Personal Area Network. However, no more hassling with wires and cables is just the beginning. And this is where the real beauty and functionality of Bluetooth lies. You now have a PAN that will work well with any Bluetooth enabled device. Upload and download data from your PDA without wires. Wirelessly upload and print photos from a Bluetooth enabled digital camera. Print documents from your laptop with no cables. If you enjoy music while you work, Bluetooth enabled stereo headphones are available.

It is great technology with endless possibilities for both productivity and enjoyment.