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Are There Good Game Controllers For The PC?
How To Use A Simple "To" Filter To Slow Email Spam
Need A Gift For Your Cat? Check Out This iPad App

Are There Good Game Controllers For The PC?

Posted: 20 Dec 2010 03:30 AM PST

There was a time not-so long ago when every single game controller made for PC use was absolute junk. Quality was abysmal, buttons didn’t work right and felt cheap, directional pads were either too stiff or too loose, and as for ergonomics – hmph – what ergonomics? You might as well have been holding a brick and it would have felt similar.

Fortunately these days we have game controller options which are just as good as what’s available on gaming consoles.

Gamepads

Microsoft’s offering is the best of the lot because the Xbox controller design is very well done. In addition, this is the same controller made for the Xbox itself.

Logitech’s offerings are Playstation-style, and are also quite good. Note the option with the rumble pad above.

In the end, it all depends if you prefer Xbox or Playstation controller ergonomics. If you like Xbox, go with Microsoft. If you like Playstation, go with Logitech.

Joysticks

When it comes to joysticks it’s all about the flight sim and nothing else. You have many choices, with one of the most ridiculous being the Saitek X52 Pro Flight Control System at a whopping $200. Don’t forget to add your rudder pedals for another $90.

Too expensive? Don’t worry, there are joysticks for under $25, but my personal recommendation is the Saitek PS33 Aviator Joystick. That’s $40, but for flight simulation it’s far superior than bargain-bin and doesn’t break the bank, plus it looks cool.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Are There Good Game Controllers For The PC?

How To Use A Simple "To" Filter To Slow Email Spam

Posted: 20 Dec 2010 03:00 AM PST

Chances are you’ve received spam that somehow found its way into your inbox, and nowhere in the email does your email address appear in To, Cc or Bcc.

You can use this to your advantage to slow spam by specifically requiring your email address to be in To, Cc or Bcc to be delivered to your inbox.

Important note before continuing: This method does have drawbacks; they’re listed after the instructions. Be sure to read them.

How to set up a required "To" filter for inbox delivery

Yahoo! Mail

Create a new filter where if the recipient does not contain your email address to move the message to the Trash folder.

Hotmail

Create a new rule that specifies if the To/cc address does not contain your email address to delete the message.

Gmail

Create a new filter, and in the To: field type a dash and then your email address:

The dash means "not", or in this specific instance "doesn’t contain".

Click the Next Step button on the same screen.

On the next screen, check the box Delete it, like this:

…and then click the Create Filter button.

Drawbacks

These are important to know any may be instant deal-breakers for some of you.

Some newsletters you receive may be deleted by mistake. PCMech’s newsletter wouldn’t because if you notice, your email address is directly in the To: field for each newsletter you receive from us; this is specifically done to ensure proper delivery. Other newsletters however may use To: as something else entirely, and if they do, any required-To: filter you’re using will send that to the Trash on arrival.

Mail delivered from other accounts will be sent to the Trash. Fortunately this one is an easy fix – simply add more recipients for whatever other accounts you receive mail from.

Sites that anonymize your address on delivery will be sent to the Trash. Craigslist for example anonymizes email addresses by default when people reply to your listings.

Unsure of whether this would work for you? Use a test folder.

Instead of setting up the filter to deliver messages that don’t match your email address to Trash, have them sent to a test folder of your choosing instead. For example, you could use a folder named "Filtered" for testing purposes. If you find having a To: filter works the way you want, you can modify it to send to Trash later. If not, simply remove the filter.

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

How To Use A Simple "To" Filter To Slow Email Spam

Need A Gift For Your Cat? Check Out This iPad App

Posted: 19 Dec 2010 10:00 AM PST

From the "I didn’t know there was even a market for this" department, this is just too good to not pass along. The free iPad app, Game for Cats is just that:

iPad Game for Cats: The World’s Best Video Game (for cats, not humans)
All the fun of your cat chasing a laser pointer without any of the work!

This app simply creates moving images on your iPad that you cat will try to attack. Of course, this raises the question of who lets their cat jump all over their fairly expensive computer screen? Then again, people apparently buy iPads for their toddlers. I just know that my cats and 2 year old would make short work of a device like this.

Am I a bit behind the times here? What do you think?

Post from: PCMech. Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On And Live The Digital Lifestyle.

Need A Gift For Your Cat? Check Out This iPad App