CalTrain Week 2: Books, Dual Screens, Automobiles..

Well, not so much with the automobiles, but my commute-based reading for this week was interrupted by both the Thanksgiving holiday, and Nintendo's devious launch of its DS handheld. So, with my time split between books and games, the mini-reviews come roughly in that order:

'The Second Coming of Steve Jobs' by Alan Deutschman - although this dates from around 2000, and plenty has happened since then, it's still a fascinating, if acerbic and borderline muck-raking look at the 'fall' of Jobs, or at least neXT's struggles, and his rehabilitation at Pixar and Apple. But if you wanted to know about Bill Gates' drunken prank-calls to Jobs' personal phone number, or the odd, complex story of Pixar, which Jobs sank $50 million into before it was even remotely successful, then you've come to the right place.



'Strip Jack' by Ian Rankin - Rankin's hard-boiled Scottish detective Inspector Rebus is one of the best, most gritty crime protagonists of the past few years, and I've commented before on the rather excellent BBC America-shown TV version of Rebus, starring John Hannah. This novel, starting with the shame of a Scottish MP found in a brothel and going far, far beyond that into lust and murder, shows Rankin's great sense of both plot and character, and is a great introduction to his work.




'Feel The Magic: XY/XX' by Sonic Team/Sega [DS] - if you like mini-games, as I do, then you'll like this game, no doubt. And some of the stylus/touchscreen-centered stages rock. But, compared to the might of Wario Ware, it falls down a little, and I think that's because of the 'Track & Field'-like necessity to blow, scrape, or point frantically for a bunch of the stages. It's fun and stimulating the first time around, but for repeat plays, it just feels a bit tiresome, on your muscles as well as your addiction gland. However, the stylish Flash-like presentation and the generally gonzo stage themes still make it a great launch title.

'Super Mario 64 DS' by Nintendo [DS] - firstly, play this using the included pen stylus, not the digital controller or the 'thumb stylus' that's attached to the DS' wrist strap. Since I was used to the thumb stylus from the Metroid Prime demo, I presumed it'd work well for this, too - not so. But when you've got the hang of the analog controls, you'll find a well-made, if not very DS-enhanced upgrade of the N64 classic, with a few extra touchscreen mini-games, and enough playability to go round. Just don't expect anything spectacular.