I loved playing Bejeweled Blitz. I had one minute to match as many jewels as I could and I got REALLY good at it. I even wrote an entry telling people how to do as well as I did.

• The Gadgets Page: How To Get A High Score on Bejeweled Blitz

When EA Games bought Pop Cap, I didn’t think it would be a problem, but I was sorely mistaken. Here are the many ways that EA Games keeps pushing the “Make Money” button over and over.

• They added Coins, which could be earned when I play the game.
• They allowed you to buy coins with real money.
• They added boost where you can buy extra time or other advantages with the coins.
• They added special gems that players can buy with coins at random times.
• They added the Special Gem blowouts where EVERY game you play, you’re offered a Special Gem.
• They added discount days on coins, so you can buy them for less money.
• They notify me when they are having Special Gem Blowouts of Coin Discounts using the push feature on my phone.

When they first started offering coins for sale, I vowed to NEVER pay to buy them. I would only earn coins by playing the game. Dan, however, eagerly welcomed the change and uses boosts and special gems on every game, gladly paying the extra money in an attempt to beat Nicole and me.

The day they started offering the coins for sale was the day that Bejeweled Blitz stopped being a game of skill. Now, whoever is willing to pay the most money will end up on the top of the list every week.

This has made me a tad bitter…

I know this, because this is the Facebook Post I made when I was temporarily at the top of the list with my high score.

It reads:

I just scored 356,600 and earned a 350K Star Medal in Bejeweled Blitz. No boosts or Special Gems. Suck that, EA GAMES!

I was playing in the middle of a Special Gems Blowout Thursday morning and didn’t buy any of the gems offered to me. Now, 350K isn’t that high of a score (Nicole and Emily regularly get 700K), but I did it without any of the artificial boosts and Special Gems that had been added. I got the high score (albeit temporarily) without paying a penny to EA GAMES.

How did I go from “Thank You, Pop Cap Games!!” to “Suck that, EA GAMES!” in a little over two years? I was so grateful and happy for my $5 game and now I HATE them and have decided not to play. All because someone gave EA games a button called “Make More Money.”

How To Make Money From Me Without Pissing Me OFF!

There are lots of ways that they could have made more money from me without ruining my beloved games. Here are a few:

• Offer a notification feature for a monthly fee. Each time one of my friends gets higher than me on the Facebook high scores, they push me a notification.
• Offer an All-Time High Score List for an extra fee. If you pay for this feature, you get a list of all your friends’ ultimate high scores and see how you rank against them.
• Offer better score tracking. Right now, you can see how you rank against each friend over the last five weeks. Why can’t I see that data from two years ago when I got that 500K score (without the help of boosts or Special Gems, BTW)? I’d pay an extra fee for that.

Instead of offering features like that for me, they have literally ruined the game for me. While some people may see the addition of paying for extra boosts and Special Gems as a way of leveling the playing field, winning games isn’t about leveling the playing field. Just think how that rule change would RUIN basketball. If the Utah Jazz could have just PAID an extra fee to get three more players on the court, Larry H. Miller would have done that in a second. We might have been able to beat Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls back in 1998. That’s not how basketball works. And it CERTAINLY shouldn’t be how Bejeweled Blitz works.

Scribblenauts Remix [iTunes Link] is an iPod version of Super Scribblenauts, and as soon as I heard about it I really wanted it.

It accepts all the phobias I know of including Brontophobia (Fear of thunder, not dinosaurs) as you see in this picture.

Creatures and people react exactly how you expect them to. For example vampires are scared of, and will flee from, garlic and “Garlicky” items, and people will flee from vampires.

The levels in it are mostly levels from Super Scribblenauts, but they are still very fun to play again because the number of possible solutions. In this one it seems slightly less picky about your solutions and makes it more enjoyable.

The one problem I’ve found is that when you start the game it is very difficult to move your character around, but this is easy to fix. First go into the “Start” menu. Then tap the joystick on the bottom right side. This will give you two joysticks on the screen to move. One for your character, and the other for the camera. This user interface is easier to use than using the touch screen.

If you find there aren’t enough levels there is some downloadable content you can get.

I suggest that you purchase this app for $1.00, because I really enjoy this game and I think you would too.

The promise was that Yurbuds would stay in my ears through the sweatiest workouts and they wouldn’t hurt. At the booth at CES, they measured my ears and said that the size 5 buds would fit in my ear, stay there and not hurt me.

That’s a tall order. I’ve never been able to use the Apple earbuds because they just fall right out of my ear. I’ve always had to use the in-canal ear buds, but after a half hour running, they hurt and need to come out, not to mention the gross factor of ear buds that have been in my ear canal and covered in ear wax. Blech!

The folks at the CES booth were quite adamant about the correct way to put the Yurbuds in my ears. I made sure that every time I put them on, I twisted them into my ear, just like they showed me.

I’ve tested the Yurbuds for the last two months, during the cold walks and runs of January and February. Honestly, I was quite impressed with them. They had only fallen out once, when my hand hit the cord and literally YANKED them out of my ears. I used the microphone once when my mom called during a workout and she was able to hear me and understand me while I talked. I used the button to advance past songs that I was sick of and it was handy as well.

But yesterday was different. It was a warm day for my walk, so all I did was throw on a hoody instead of piling on the fleece and layers. I couldn’t keep the damn earbuds in my ears. They fell out three or four times on my half hour walk. After two months of great workouts, I couldn’t understand why they stopped working, and then I remembered. During the freezing walks of January and February, I had always worn my fleecy ear band. Not only did it protect my ears from the cold, it was keeping in those Yurbuds. Yesterday, it was warm enough that I didn’t need extra protection. That’s why they kept falling out.

This morning, the freezing wind whipped the house noisily, so I bundled up. My Yurbuds stayed in place under my ear band and hat. I realized, with disappointment that the promise was not to be. Ear buds that shape just do not stay in my ears unassisted, and if your ears are shaped the same as mine, sadly, Yurbuds won’t work for you.

As soon as the weather warms up, I’ll have to relinquish my Yurbuds and return to the gross and painful in-canal ear buds that I’ve used for the last three years. I really hoped that Yurbuds would work for me, but sadly they weren’t quite good enough.

If your ears usually work with this shape of ear buds, then you’ll be immensely happy with Yurbuds. You can purchase them here: Yurbuds V10-11ID-10601 Inspire PRO Earphones at Amazon.com

I don’t usually do bad reviews, but this product was so expensive and so worthless that I planned on at least mentioning here that it was a problem, but then I promptly forgot. Luckily, YaYaLifestyle on YouTube mentioned it on her recent regrettable purchases. You can see her review here. I agree with everything she said and feel lucky that my polish lasted a day longer than hers.

On a more positive note, I’m extremely happy with the Sally Hansen Salon Effects polish strips. I tried them in this Are You Single? style because they were on sale at my grocery store (ironically on the EXACT same shelf where the Nutra Nail Gel Perfect had been displayed). They looked like a fun thing for Valentine’s Day, so I thought I’d try them, fully expecting them to fail me just as others had in the past. I applied them on Saturday 01-28-12 and they are still going strong a week and a half later. This picture was taken today and as you can see, I will end up having to remove them because my nails have grown out, not because of chipping or wear.

There has been some wear on the tips. It’s about the same wear as I would have when I had artificial nails and my manicure would last two weeks (or more). I used to get artificial nails just so I wouldn’t have to keep polishing my nails every three days. Now, Sally Hansen Salon Effects is my new saving grace for great nails.

I suspect that if I had a more uniformly colored design, the wear at the tip might be more noticeable, but keep in mind that some of that wear came from me filing off the edge of the sticker. I wasn’t quite as skilled at application as I will be after a few more tries. For detailed directions, here is a video from BellaSugar:

One note, I followed the instructions to the tee, right down to using nail polish remover on my nails right before applying the strips. I really think that removing every trace of oil from my fingernails has helped them stay on as long as they have.

If you are looking for a manicure to last you as long one you might get at the salon, go with the Sally Hansen Salon Effects and leave the Nutra Nail Gel Perfect on the shelf.

There are 33 games currently and more seem to be coming on a regular basis. As I began to write this review one new game was added, and it seems that one is added every week. My favorite games are Feed the Panda and World Wars.

In Feed the Panda your goal is to, well, feed the panda by cutting various ropes holding cookies.

In World Wars your goal is to take over the map. The game simulates dice rolling for your number of soldiers, and the computer opponent’s soldiers, and the winner either takes or defends their area depending who got the highest roll.

There are also games like solitaire and even a game to help you memorize the states and their location.

I really like this app and didn’t even mention many of the games. The games range from card games to “Zombie Burger.” Most of the games could be their own apps and still be fun, but there are a few that aren’t as fun and seem pointless like Potty Copter.

In Potty Copter you fly foreword and try not to crash. Thats about it…

This app is safe to put on your child’s iPod because, as far as I can tell, there are no In-App Purchases. There are a few games in this app that I haven’t tried yet. But from most of the games I have played they are fun and creative. I really enjoy the AddictingGames app and you should try it.

Eton got things right with their FRX3 Solar/Battery/Handcrank Charger. As soon as I saw it at their booth, I pulled out my iPhone and wanted PROOF that it would charge it. So many chargers had claimed to work with the iPhone that I really didn’t believe it would.

They gladly let me try it out.

It worked easily and the reason is quite ingenious.

Instead of depending on the user to crank the handle at the PERFECT speed to provide power to the iPhone, the Eton charges the iPhone with its battery. When you need to charge your iPhone, you must crank up their battery FIRST and then it will charge your phone without any problems.

Additionally, it can trickle charge the battery with its solar panel on the top, using an electrical outlet and with AAA batteries. I was really impressed with all the options available.

Here is a video of me attaching my phone to the charger.

It’s a good looking unit that comes in both black and red.

There is also a radio and a flashlight included, so it doubles as a great emergency tool.

They are going to retail for only $60 bucks, but there was no word on how soon they would be available. Until then, I’m checking the Eton website every few weeks to see if I can buy it.

• FRX3 Solar/Battery/Handcrank Charger

Hak5 did a FULL booth tour here:

You can understand why I was obsessed with waterproofed phones and other gadgets because my entire life had just been short circuited by a simple cup of coffee. That’s why Fujitsu’s booth at CES this year was so appealing to me.

The first thing we saw as we walked past the booth was a huge aquarium with a working phones and tablets within it.

My eyes were immediately drawn to the brightly colored phone at the bottom of the aquarium. Was it really running or was that just a fake screen?

The girl at the booth saw my fascination and reached her long arm into the aquarium to retrieve it.

She removed it and handed to me. Yes, it was a fully functional phone that had been sitting in that aquarium for at least a couple of hours.

I was shocked and amazed. My poor phone had been in my coffee cup for no more than a couple of seconds and it was completely destroyed. This phone could take hours in an aquarium with no problem. And, it wasn’t just the phone, there was a tablet with the same capability!

I was drawn in to the bank of phones available for hands-on play.

They were called Arrows and I loved that they came in a wide variety of colors. They felt really good in my hand.

Unlike the iPhone, they are made of plastic, so I was shocked at how light they were in my hands. After years of holding wafers of glass and aluminum, I had forgotten how light a phone could be.

The Arrows wasn’t the only waterproof phone they were showcasing. There was also a phone that claimed to be the thinnest smartphone on the market.

Actually, they only claimed to be the thinnest phone to be accepted by the FCC, so there must be a thinner phone out there that is still waiting for approval.

It was an impressive design as well.

The specs of the phone were the disappointing aspect, however. They only run Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), so they are a few versions behind the curve and no guarantee that I’d be able to upgrade to Ice Cream Sandwich when it comes out.

I was really attracted to the waterproof feature of these Fujitsu phones, but I have been less than impressed with Android Gingerbread. The fact that these phones use an operating system that is so far behind makes them unsuitable for me, so I kept on looking.

A truly awesome earbud organizer would not only roll up into a untangled mess in a little package, but also be a cross body bag to hold your iPod or iPhone. These earbuds aren’t connected to the case, so they are just something that makes your earbuds more bulky, but less tangled.

Don’t worry, The Gadgets Page hasn’t been blocked, but it could be under the proposed legislation, SOPA and PIPA. This isn’t the first time the government has tried to squash innovation. As an example, let’s look at the Wireless Telephone.

• A mobile phone from 1922? Not quite. – Paleofuture

I recently came across a short, silent film from 1922 called Eve’s Wireless. Distributed by the British Pathe company, the film supposedly shows two women using a wireless phone. Apparently this video has been making the rounds for the past few years. Could it be an early demonstration of some futuristic technology? I hate to be the Internet’s wet blanket, but no. It’s not a mobile phone.

He’s talking about this silent film called Eve’s Wireless:

The truth of the matter is that when the radio spectrum was less crowded, people of the past were able to use it to communicate. Sure, it was a one-way communication, but it WAS a wireless communication device (although there are an awful lot of “wires” grounding the device to the fire hydrant and on the umbrella for an antennae). Once the FTC got involved, only the chosen few were able to broadcast on the radio spectrum and devices like Eve’s Wireless were considered pirate radio.

It’s a lot like what the government is trying to do the Internet right now. At present, anyone who wants to and pays for the server can put information on the Internet. The U.S. Government right now is considering two bills: SOPA and PIPA to put dampeners on that freedom. Just like when the FTC appropriated the radio spectrum, the government is trying to stronghold the Internet, only allowing approved content to be accessible, supposedly under the banner of protecting us from “piracy.”

Would we have had our cell phones YEARS before they came on the market if the FTC hadn’t appropriated the radio spectrum and deemed all other users “pirates?” We’ll never know where innovation would have taken us had the government not intervened.

Let’s not make the same mistake twice…

For more info:

• Stop Online Piracy Act – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You can see a video of it here:

I have been using Powertech’s EZ GO Travel Outlet for the last few months and it has been a very reliable charger. The USB ports aren’t able to power my iPad, so I have to plug in the charger to one of the outlets, but other than that, it has been wonderful. I love that the cord is long enough to reach behind the nightstand in the hotel. That is one thing I DON’T like about this new Ultra Slim Charger. Without a cord, it makes me leave my iPhone, iPad and other things that need charging near the outlet. Sometimes nothing can beat a good old extension cord.