• iPhone Firmware 2.2
• iPhone Firmware 2.1
• iPhone Firmware 2.0.2
• iPhone Firmware 2.0.1
• iPhone Firmware 2.0
• iPhone Firmware 1.1.4

• iTunes version 8.0.0.35
• iTunes version 7.7.1
• iTunes version 7.7
• iTunes version 7.6.2
• iTunes version 7.6.1
• iTunes version 7.6
• iTunes version 7.5
• iTunes version 7.4

So while we wait impatiently, why not brush up on the basics by playing the original StarCraft in the mean time?

Unfortunately there’s a big obstacle: the game was initially released for Mac OS 9. While this isn’t a big deal for older PowerPC-based Macs that can run archaic software using the Classic emulator, the newer Intel systems are left out in the cold. So how can we relive the glory days of low-resolution, last century gaming?

Luckily Blizzard has got us covered. Buried away on the developer’s support site is a link to the Mac OS X Native Installer. Using this application and your dusty, old StarCraft disc, you can get a Carbon version of the game running on any Mac. Intel systems will use Rosetta emulation, but you won’t notice much slowdown since the game isn’t very processor intensive. This trick, however, won’t work for the StarEdit campaign editor, so budding creators should turn to the more advanced editor found in WarCraft III or you could just wait out StarCraft II’s release.

StarCraft lets you choose from three armies, each with unique fighting abilities. The Terran is the basic human group, complete with traditional marines, tanks, aircrafts and nuclear missiles. The Protoss is a powerful race whose buildings and many of its units require battery power to operate at full capacity. Finally the Zergs spit green acid and normally travel in massive groups due to their ability to produce units quickly.

I was pleasantly surprised to find I could still jump on Battle.net almost 10 years since I first played and find people to compete against online. Granted the majority of them only spoke Korean and devoured my Terran army in a few minutes, but it’s still a fun way to relive years past.

Blizzard also offers an OS X installer for Diablo II. If you have trouble running it on an Intel Mac even after using the native installer, hold the Option key when launching the app, and set the video options to “software.” Now you should be good to go to Hell and battle Satan. Just make sure to watch out for high-level bullies who try to smack down newbies.

Recent releases of StarCraft and Diablo II include the native installers on the disc, so if you bought your copy recently, hopefully you can look forward to going online and seeing new players, who dug their old copies out of the closet.

I have compiled a list of five games you probably have never heard of. All the games are playable even on a low-end MacBook and more importantly, simply fun! So log out of your Facebook account, shut down that e-mail client and do your brain a favor by getting your game on.

These games are all free, cross-platform and made either by the open source community, or by a single developer. Buckle up…

1. Armagetron (Advanced)

Remember the movie Tron? Armagetron is an OpenGL arcade game where you drive a so-called “light-cycle”. This vehicle leaves a small wall behind so the main objective is to make the other players hit your wall while trying to avoid hitting other players’ walls. You can play Tron against the computer or with up to 16 players using the multiplayer/lan mode.

Get your light-cycle here

2. Neverball

This game has already achieved cult status even though many people never actually tried it. Neverball makes heavy use of its physics engine: in order to reach the next level you have to guide a ball through an obstacle course with your arrow keys. The first levels are easy but it can get really tricky. There is another game included in the .dmg binary by the same author called Neverputt which uses Neverball’s physics engine for a cool little multiplayer mini-golf simulation.

Become addicted to Neverball here

3. Frets on Fire

Do you like Guitar Hero? Well why would you have to pay for it when there’s a great Finnish open source game called Frets on Fire? Frets on Fire features inverted keyboard gameplay (contrary to popular belief, guitar playing with your keyboard is fun), support for guitar controllers, and even song importing (you can compose your own songs, download community created songs or import Guitar Hero music). Take your keyboard and become a virtual rockstar!

Get ready to rock here (the Mac version is still experimental)

4. Cave Story

This game is a platformer masterpiece. The Japanese developer studio StudioPixel spent 5 years creating the game and they did a great job. Cave Story has everything a platformer would ever need: “solid controls, smooth gameplay, a great cast of characters and dialogue, an interesting plot, good music and beautiful old-school 2-D artwork.” Some people would probably put it in first place, but I’m not a big platformer fan.

Rock your pixelated socks here (don’t forget to download the English translation)

5. Moonlight Walks

“It’s the summer before you go away to college, and you’re spending it visiting with your aunt and uncle on a small island in the Atlantic ocean. One night, while out taking pictures of the full moon, you meet a girl walking down the beach…”

I’m sure some of you may know many other anime-style games but Moonlight Walks has a special place in my gamer heart. According to the website, Moonlight Walks is a bishoujo visual novel written by an American author in just one month. It features 21 paths to 4 different endings. What I like is the story and it’s a pity that the artwork is not on the same level. Don’t worry, even though it’s a novel, you will finish this game in about 20 minutes.

Take a walk in the moonlight now

When you have some time on your hands and you decide to play a game, try one of these five. You’ll see how small games can be fun and exciting. Do you know any other little games for casual gamers? Feel free to share your comments.

$ wget http://ftp.ussg.iu.edu/linux/ubuntu-releases/5.10/ubuntu-5.10-install-i386.iso

Due to power supply problem, my computer rebooted at 98% download. Again, after reboot I typed wget:

$ wget http://ftp.ussg.iu.edu/linux/ubuntu-releases/5.10/ubuntu-5.10-install-i386.iso

However, wget restarted to download complete ISO image again. I thought wget should resume partially downloaded ISO file.

Command to resume file download with wget

After reading man page, I found -c option. It will continue getting a partially downloaded file. This is useful when you want to finish a download started by a previous instance of wget, or by another program.

$ wget -c http://ftp.ussg.iu.edu/linux/ubuntu-releases/5.10/ubuntu-5.10-install-i386.iso