Photo by Andrea De Santis on Unsplash

LEGO at work, personal laptops, Sinclair, games for mental health, Diablo II: Resurrected, social media surveillance and iOS15.

Michael and Michael start things off right, with a very tangible example of playing games at work.  More precisely, playing with LEGO sets at work, and the power of taking breaks.  After a remembrance of Clive Sinclair, and his electric vehicle, the co-hosts turn to mental health games.  Michael R play tested The Guardian, which offers the player quests to improve their mental health.  This is a similar game dynamic as Pokemon Go, which encourages outdoor exercise to advance the game.  After discussing The Guardian, Michael and Michael remember several other gamified ways to get things done, like SuperBetter, Chore Wars and Sneaky Cards.  

Staying on the games theme, Michael and Michael discuss Diablo II: Resurrected before turning to an interesting case before the Massachusetts Supreme Court dealing with social media surveillance.  

Wrapping things up for this week, Michael and Michael reflect on what’s in iOS 15 and what is still to come – specifically, SharePlay and Universal Control. 

There’s even more links in the extended remix section, including Gitamini, the robot that influenced the title of this episode.  Check ‘em out!   

Thanks for listening!

Selected Links

Zapier blog post: Why you should build LEGO sets at work — https://zapier.com/blog/lego-productivity/ 

IFTTT — https://ifttt.com 

the Verge article: Why you need a personal laptop — https://www.theverge.com/22671697/personal-laptop-work-security-privacy 

the Verge article: Clive Sinclair, inventor of the ZX Spectrum personal computer, has died — https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/18/22680955/clive-sinclair-home-computers-electric-vehicle-calculator 

Microlino — https://microlino-car.com/en/ 

Microletta — https://microlino-car.com/en/microletta 

Fast Company article: Most mental health apps don’t work as advertised. This one actually does — and it’s a video game — https://www.fastcompany.com/90666879/the-guardians-innovation-by-design-2021 

SuperBetter — https://www.superbetter.com 

Chore Wars — http://www.chorewars.com 

Sneaky Cards — https://sneakycards.com 

Ars Technica article: Diablo II: Resurrected impressions: Maybe not the best time to bring back evil — https://arstechnica.