Chain Rxn, or... KISS

We are taking a little detour from disk technology today, so hang on to your bloomers while we go for a (ramblin') ride of a different type.

Maybe you have heard of the Facebook game Chain Rxn, or maybe you haven't... either way it turns out to be an extremely addicting game that has distracted me from the world of technology! Finally, something to drag me away from my geek aways, and lead me into other geek ways.

Anyway, Chain Rxn is a simple game that involves trying to set off the biggest chain reaction. It start with small balls floating around the screen, you drop a single blob onto the screen which the balls can run into, which creates another blob, which other balls can run into, which creates more blobs, which... I think you get the picture. Each collision creates a soothing ping sound, and becomes addicting very quickly! Each level requires a certain number of balls to be exploded, but the good news is you can start the level over if you don't reach the goal!

So, why am I writing about a simple, stupid game? Because I am always surprised when something so basic overshadows the ever superior, complex technology out there now. Maybe surprised isn't the right word, but many friends seem to jump from Guitar Hero to the latest XBox games (Halo, for example), only to come back to Guitar Hero a few weeks later. Is bigger, wilder, fancier really better?

You have probably heard of KISS (keep it simple, stupid), which simply means that a simple approach to a problem is generally the better solution. BTW, I have always viewed KISS as a command to someone not willing to listen, such as Keep it simple... STUPID!!! ;)

So, to continue the rambling, I think Kiss applies to everything, including manufacturing, engineering, and especially hardware and software design. There is definitely too much of a good thing, but we're used to it... and probably even demand it.

Anyway, while I tend to get as excited as the next guy about the next big technology release, I find that I typically come back to the simple things, Chain Rxn, iPhone Poker, etc. Which may explain my MacBook Pro, it may not have all of the bells and whistles that Microsoft is touting, but it's simple stupid, and just works. Plus... it plays Chain Rxn better than any of my Windows machines. ;)