Industry voice: Could Windows 9 launch Microsoft back into business?

Getting under the skin of the software giant is not always easy.
But there is clearly something in Microsoft's DNA that has created a good-bad-good gene when it comes to developing its operating systems. In essence, every time it skips a generation, it's significantly enhanced.
Remember Windows 95? It was a great product for its time. Innovative, intuitive – an OS that really moved the world of personal, and more importantly business, computing forward.
Sure, it had some bugs, but software development on that scale is bound to have early teething problems and they were quickly resolved.

New millennium

Then came Windows ME, a product supposedly fit for the new Millennium. Except, no-one appeared to have told the development team that a move into the 21st Century was supposed to engender improvement, not retrograde steps. While ME showed some ingenuity, much of it was regressive particularly for business users, who were not a happy bunch of campers.
Skip a generation from 95 and welcome Windows XP. A giant leap for computer-kind, XP was a significant springboard for Microsoft to build a whole new suite of products and really enhance existing business applications such as its Office suite.
It was stable, reliable and incorporated enough innovation to keep customers loyal. In fact, there are still organisations using XP and are very happy with it, despite the rest of the world having moved on.
Vista was next. Clearly the rogue gene had found its way back into the code and its launch was greeted to the sound of one hand clapping. Enough said - and swiftly on to Windows 7. Again, genuine innovation and a drive towards integration with mobile technologies. Great for businesses that were starting to get to grips with an 'always-on' world.
By now, the trend was pretty clear and, apparently, not just an anomaly. Windows 8: yes, a rock-
solid system which works well, but an OS that was half-baked when it came to business.
The interface was a radical departure from day-to-day working environments and, although 8.1 has been an improvement, the concept of partial control via tiles and partial control through traditional menu layouts just does not work – particularly when most of the workforce is highly unlikely to have touch screens.
In my view, this was a personal consumer OS that should have stayed that way and been clearly separated from business users. It's the reason why most businesses have held-off from full Windows 8 implementation.

Who cares?

So, given Microsoft's genetic record, Windows 9 should be a real humdinger for business and, if the rumours are correct, there will be an element of consumer and enterprise separation. But before us geeks get too carried away, there is a fundamental question to be asked: "does business really care that much?"
The reality is that, for many business users, the interest in PCs has waned and they are simply seen as a 'must have' tool to do their job, rather than engendering the kind of excitement that used to occur every time new innovations, applications or hardware appeared.
The focus is now on mobile tech and that means Windows 9 has a very specific job to do: it needs to be a reliable workhorse not a sparkly, whizz-bang package.
Compare an OS to the office photocopier. Unless you are running a print shop or the design department of a major corporate, how many buttons, features and gizmos do you actually need to make a few copies? Speed, yes. Reliability, most definitely. Collation, probably. As for the rest – who even understands what that button with the strange reverse arrow icon means, let alone how to use it?
The same can be said for an OS. It needs to do the bog-standard stuff totally reliably and be robust enough to withstand the lowest common denominator user.
It must be easy to support and fully backwards-compatible with both software and hardware. It certainly has to be fast and run software glitch-free and efficiently. Most importantly, Windows 9 has to be totally cloud future-proofed, regardless of the system or service.
Until it's launched, we won't know for certain, but my hope is that Windows 9 will also include a 'killer' feature similar to Apple's Siri personal assistant, along with 'smart' coding that can rationalise password storage, predict usage patterns and reporting requirements. We'll have to wait and see but, if Microsoft's genetic code is true to form, we're in for another step forward.

• Dr Peter Chadha is CEO of DrPete Inc and Chair of Steegle.com. With more than 20 years of independent consulting, his company now provides strategic IT reviews and implementation to global enterprise. He takes a pragmatic approach to business solutions, but is a technology evangelist.

New modulator enables faster wireless data transmission

SINGAPORE: Scientists have developed a modulator that converts an electrical signal into an optical signal to enable faster wireless data transmission.

Wireless transmission at microwave frequencies is important for high-data-rate transmission applications, such as mobile phone networks, satellite links and remote imaging.

Xianshu Luo and colleagues from the A STAR Institute of Microelectronics in Singapore have investigated different designs of silicon modulator that enable fast data conversion from electrical to optical signals.

A key component in a microwave photonic network is the modulator, which converts an electrical signal into an optical signal.

"The performance of the microwave photonic system relies on the quality of this conversion, which is determined by factors such as loss, noise and signal distortion," said Luo.

As the modulator acts a bridge between optical components and silicon-based electronics, it should be fabricated on a silicon chip.

The researchers built their modulators according to standard specifications used for semiconductor electronics.

A typical modulator consists of two small channels for light - so-called waveguides - etched into a silicon chip.

Light is fed into a waveguide on the chip, which then splits into two; modulation occurs when these two beams are reunited.

If the light passing through one channel is delayed slightly compared to that in the other channel, the signals from both beams will either cancel each other out or reinforce each other. This property is used to generate the '0' and '1' signals for digital transmission.

In silicon modulators, light transmission in one waveguide is delayed by applying a radio signal, which results in electrical charges either being added to or removed from the material surrounding the waveguide.

This addition or subtraction of charge modifies the optical properties of silicon.

Modulators based on the addition or removal of electrical charges have different attributes. While the initial injection of electrical charge carriers - charges that are free to move - is fast in modulators based on the addition of charges, the carrier recombination takes time, which slows down the overall speed.

Modulators that have electrical carriers removed, reducing the nonlinear optical effects, experience less noise in the modulated signals.

The different characteristics of the two types of modulator mean that they are suited to different applications.

Both designs are capable of fast speeds, with the devices under test having an operation bandwidth of about 10 gigahertz, according to Luo.

"More recently we have demonstrated similar modulators with even larger bandwidths of up to 28 gigahertz, which means that they can work at even faster rates of data transmission," he said.

Guest article: Must-know facts about bitcoin

For a moment, imagine Arnab Goswami (the news anchor of Times Now) going ballistic about bitcoins! Picture him hollering, "India wants to know" , "the nation wants to know" , "investors want to know" , followed by his AK47 lethal volley of questions to rip apart anyone representing bitcoins on his programme!

I thank the stars that no 'scam' has emerged linking bitcoins to our illustrious political parties in India (so far). The day that happens, even God will switch on Times Now and stay riveted to see what will explode on the TV screen! While Goswami may be busy playing Sherlock Holmes for the upcoming elections, let me conduct my own investigation into this really arcane, complicated and surreal bitcoin business and dig up some facts for you...

What are bitcoins?

It is an invisible (virtual) currency that lets people do business with each other. Let's assume that you want to motivate me into doing a sting operation on a political party that claims to have eliminated corruption but honestly has done nothing in the matter. I am well equipped to carry out the mission, but do not want to be traced to this sensitive operation at all. You obviously want to remain anonymous. What we both want is a secretly shot video that we will finally leak on YouTube .com.
How do we do business? Using bitcoins!
You offer to pay me for my services via bitcoins and I accept the same. Why bitcoins? Because bitcoins are anonymous and are not traceable by anyone. They are the perfect way for people to do business with each other without revealing identities. They don't leave any digital footprints like credit card records, bank transactions, etc.
So let's say that we agree to a 'deal' and you agree to send me bitcoins in advance to pay me for my job. I set the price at 3 bitcoins for my work. While writing this article, the current rate is about 38,000 per bitcoin. So, you are paying me about 1.15 lakh for this covert operation.

Fact:

Bitcoin is a real currency that fluctuates in price and which can be exchanged to conduct real business.

So how does it work?

The genius of bitcoin is in the way it works. To verify that you actually own these 3 bitcoins you've promised to give me, we both need to trigger the bitcoin system to undergo an elaborate 'verification' process. This involves the entire community of bitcoiners (also known as miners) who will go through complex coded algorithms and programmes to check that the 3 bitcoins you possess really exist and that they can be transferred to me. The miners will be paid a fee for their service and will also earn bitcoins as a reward for executing these complex calculations! This earning of bitcoins is what creates new bitcoins in the system and introduces more currency into circulation. The process of verification is programmed to get harder and harder every passing day and that is how the 'supply of new bitcoins' into the general pool is limited.
Now, don't think these 'miners' are sitting in some controversial coalmines of the coalgate scam dishing out free coal! These miners are supercool geeks who have stacked up computers in far flung locations (remote parts of Finland) with cheap electricity and cool weather to perform these calculations!

Fact:

The business of transacting bitcoins and earning bitcoins in return is really the nerve centre of this esoteric currency, and this is what makes it unique.
Who created bitcoins?

A couple of weeks ago, a journalist in the US really took the bitcoins investigations to the last mile. She hunted down bitcoin's secret inventor (pseudonym "Satoshi Nakamoto" ) to a house in the suburbs of Los Angeles and knocked on his door repeatedly requesting that she be allowed to speak with him.
The spectacled, introverted, super shy Japanese gentleman who loves toy trains was the last person you could imagine to be the founder and father of this rocket science currency.
Satoshi Nakamoto when directly questioned about his involvement, neither denied nor complied with the investigation , but it became clear that he was most probably the 'inventor' of this supreme currency that other geniuses later contributed to.

Fact:

Bitcoin is a work of not one but many geniuses. Satoshi Nakamoto may have been the chief blueprint architect whose master design many other super clever architects used to build on.



Why are bitcoins so valuable?

The absolute brilliance of bitcoins is that only 21 million bitcoins will ever be made available in the market. (So far 13 million are in circulation and 8 million more will be gradually released into the system by the end of 2140).
Given that the entire bitcoins currency is generate d by a l go - rithms, it is very easy to make sure that once the 21 million mark is reached there are no more bitcoins to be issued . Bitcoins, their issue and their maximum circulation have been predetermined from the beginning and therein lies its innate value.
Anything in the world that is valuable and restricted in supply constantly grows in value! This single-handedly explains the old adage of never going wrong investing in real estate because "land is the kinda stuff that just doesn't grow" . I would credit Nakamoto for blending technological and economic brilliance in his invention of bitcoins. The currency, its rapid adoption, its growing value (of course with gyrations) teach all of us the Zen lesson: "Less is More" .

Fact:

Bitcoins will get harder and harder to earn. Hence they will only keep growing in value as the years roll by.

What are the risks associated with bitcoins?

In February this year, the largest and the most active bitcoin exchange in the world — Mt. Gox — went bankrupt.
Mt. Gox (don't be tempted to think that the place is a mountain) was started in 2010 and quickly became the largest bitcoin exchange in the world, accounting for almost 70% of total traded volume of bitcoins in 2013.
Now, any 'exchange' that involves humans , machines and algorithms is prone to fraud, technical glitches and botch-ups. The bankruptcy of Mt. Gox was partially because 850,000 bitcoins belonging to its members and its own tre asur y wor th $450 million at that time (since then, the value of bitcoins has appreciated !) had gone 'missing' .

How can a digital currency that is supposed to be verified and cross verified go missing? The assurance of bitcoins, as I explained earlier, is that the currency is completely code-driven and every bitcoin ever generated, exchanged and used is always recorded. So even if the bitcoins got stolen, shouldn't they show up on some terminal somewhere? This is like saying that even if you somehow manage to steal a Van Gogh painting from a highly guarded museum in Europe, what will you do with it? After all, a Van Gogh costs millions and its buyers are usually museums and globally recognized art collectors. The fact is that Van Goghs do go missing and never get found. That is because there is an underground, grey market for everything — bitcoins included.

Fact:

Bitcoin is vulnerable despite being proclaimed as a digital currency with a permanent trace. But its theft only points to the fact that it is potentially very valuable; who steals rubbish anyway?

Is bitcoin just another scam, albeit a hi-tech one?

I don't think so. Bitcoins is a revolution, just like currencies that came into being to represent 'stored value' . Can you imagine what we would be doing today if we were still stuck to the barter system? If you ordered a television from Flipkart, what would you give the goods on delivery (not COD) guy in return? Some potatoes you had grown in the backyard?
Rumour has it that Nakamoto was highly frustrated by the 'expensive' friction caused by intermediaries when people wanted to exchange cash. Read: He was not appreciative of the process of swiping credit cards or complexities of bank transfers and the fees involved.
Bitcoins have moved beyond the 'geeky' gamer type currency image. Multiple ATMs of bitcoins have opened in the US and larger commercial establishments have begun accepting bitcoins in payments, such as the Virgin Galactic flights (that take you to the edge of space) and cost 1.50 crore per journey.

Fact:

Bitcoin is here to stay. It may have its share of troubles, but its acceptability is growing leaps and bounds. The moment the RBI allows Indians to own a bitcoin, you should get one for yourself ! Who knows, that may be the 'Van Gogh' of the next century?
While watching the reports on the discovery of Nakamoto and how the lady journalist tried to talk him into revealing his identity, I was struck by how similar the scene was to the one in the movie Kill Bill Vol 1 when Uma Thurman 'The Bride' walks into that small sake bar in Okinawa and makes silly conversation with the barman until she finally says that she is there to meet "Hattori Hanzo" . When he hears that word, the entire scene changes and they talk 'business' .
After a month, when Hattori Hanzo gives The (blonde) Bride the sword, he says, "Yellow-haired warrior. Go."
I wonder what Nakamoto said when he finished the last piece of code on bitcoins and launched it into the world? I would love to hear it directly from him.

Small Google+ Design Change Looks More Like Facebook

If you share links on Google+, you may have noticed a small, yet positive change this week.
That's because link posts have been redesigned to include larger images, and cleaner titles. Links posted to Google+ used to include a small thumbnail photo and a blue, underlined link. Now the images span the entire post and the titles are black, not blue, and don't have any underline at all

See also: Sorry, Google+, We Still Won't Come to Your Party

The new design is on top, with larger photos and no blue link for the title. Below is the old design for link posts on Google+.

Image: Mashable

It's a small change, but one that looks much more visually appealing than before. A company spokesperson confirmed the new look is available to all users, and Mashable first noticed it on Wednesday.

In Depth: 50 best iPad games: the greatest free and paid-for games around

The 50 best iPad games: 1-25

No-one predicted the meteoric rise of gaming on iOS, and we're not sure anyone knew what the iPad was for at all when it first appeared.
However, Apple's tablet has become a very able gaming platform. With more screen space than the iPhone, games have the means to be more immersive; the iPad's therefore a perfect platform for adventure games, strategy titles and puzzlers.
But, just like the iPhone, there are so many iPad games that it's tough to unearth the gems and avoid the dross. That's our mission here - to bring you 50 of the very best iPad games, mixing traditional fare with titles that could only have appeared on a capable and modern multitouch device.

1. Asphalt 8: Airborne

At some point, a total buffoon decreed that racing games should be dull and grey, on grey tracks, with grey controls. Gameloft's Asphalt series dispenses with such foolish notions, along with quite a bit of reality. Here, in Asphalt 8, you zoom along at ludicrous speeds, drifting for miles through exciting city courses, occasionally being hurled into the air to perform stunts that absolutely aren't acceptable according to the car manufacturer's warrantee.

2. Badland ($3.99/£2.49)

This darkly humorous title at its core echoes copter-style games, in you prodding the screen to make your avatar fly. But the hazards and traps are devious and plentiful, imaginative and deadly contraptions in silhouette, ready to eliminate any passing creature. Your retaliation comes in cloning your flying monster, and figuring out how to manipulate the environment to bring as many clones home as possible.

3. Bejeweled HD (free)

We've lost count of how many gem-swappers exist for iOS, but PopCap's Bejeweled has a long history, maturity reflected in this iPad release. Along with a polished standard mode, where you match three or more gems with each swap, there's Diamond Mine (dig into the ground), Butterflies (save insects from spider-ronch doom), and Poker (make 'hands' of gems).

4. Beyond Ynth HD ($2.99/£1.99)

This fantastic platform puzzler stars a bug who's oddly averse to flying. Instead, he gets about 2D levels by rolling around in boxes full of platforms. Beyond Ynth HD hangs on a quest, but each level forms a devious test, where you must figure out precisely how to reach the end via careful use of boxes, switches and even environmental hazards.

5. Bit Pilot ($1.99/£1.49)

A pilot finds himself trapped inside a tiny area of space frequented by an alarming number of deadly asteroids. You must stave off death for as long as possible. Bit Pilot is the best of the iOS avoid 'em ups, with precise one- and two-thumb controls guiding your tiny ship, effortlessly dodging between rocky foes — until the inevitable collision.

6. Blackbar ($2.99/£1.99)

As much a warning about digital surveillance as a word-based puzzler, Blackbar is a unique and compelling iOS classic. The game comprises single screens of communications, many involving your friend who's gone to work in the city within what you soon learn is a worryingly oppressive society. You literally fill in the blanks, while becoming immersed in a stark dystopian reality that's fortunately still peppered with warmth, humour and humanity.

7. Boson X ($1.99/£1.49)

In what we assume is a totally accurate representation of what boffins in Geneva get up to, Boson X finds scientists sprinting inside colliders, running over energy panels and then discovering particles by leaping into the abyss. It's equal parts Super Hexagon, Tempest and Canabalt, and it's very addictive indeed.

8. CRUSH! ($0.99/69p)

CRUSH! is deceptive. At first, it appears to be little more than a collapse game, where you prod a coloured tile, only for the rest to collapse into the now empty space. But subtle changes to the formula elevate this title to greatness: the tiles wrap around, and each removal sees your pile jump towards a line of death. So even when tiles are moving at speed, you must carefully consider each tap.

9. Device 6 ($3.99/£2.49)

Device 6 is first and foremost a story — a mystery into which protagonist Anna finds herself propelled. She awakes on an island, but where is she? How did she get there? Why can't she remember anything? The game fuses literature with adventuring, the very words forming corridors you travel along, integrated puzzles being dotted about for you to investigate. It's a truly inspiring experience, an imaginative, ambitious and brilliantly realised creation that showcases how iOS can be the home for something unique and wonderful.

10. Death Ray Manta ($0.99/69p)

Akin to what Robotron might have looked like had its developer managed to recreate a 24-hour sherbet binge on-screen, Death Ray Manta is a wonderful, eye-searing twin-stick shooter. But whereas you initially think KILL ALL THE THINGS, each level contains a collectable 'tiffin'. Death Ray Manta therefore becomes both shooter and puzzler as you attempt to score the maximum 64 — and you've got only one life.

11. Eliss Infinity ($2.99/£1.99)

Eliss was the first game to truly take advantage of iOS's multitouch capabilities, with you combining and tearing apart planets to fling into like-coloured and suitably-sized wormholes. This semi-sequel brings the original's levels into glorious Retina and adds a totally bonkers endless mode. Unique, challenging and fun, this is a game that defines the platform.

12. Magnetic Billiards (free)

A game that could have been called Reverse Pool For Show-Offs, Magnetic Billiards lacks pockets. Instead, the aim is to join like-coloured balls that cling together on colliding. Along the way, you get more points for trick shots and 'buzzing' other balls that must otherwise be avoided. 20 diverse tables are provided for free, and many more can be unlocked for $1.99/£1.49.

13. Hero Academy (free)

There's a point in chess where you sometimes wish your knight would just give your opponent's bishop a thoroughly good trampling. Sadly, few chess games do such things (the ancient Battlechess being an exception), but Hero Academy takes the idea and runs with it. On specially designed boards, wizards attack knights, and demons defend their turf against samurais. It's an engaging turn-based effort with plenty of depth.

14. Frisbee Forever 2 (free)

As noted elsewhere in this list, we love Frisbee Forever. This sequel is essentially more of the same: fling your plastic disc away, guide it through hoops, collect stars, and make it to the finish line. What makes Frisbee Forever 2 really stand out is the lush locations you get to fly through, including ancient ruins and beautiful snowy hillsides.

15. Hundreds ($4.99/£2.99)

Stark and minimal, Hundreds is both playful and brutal at its core. The aim is to inflate discs until the magic 100 figure is reached, but any collisions while a disc is inflating (and a volatile red) spell the immediate end of your go. Initially simple, Hundreds rapidly throws hazards into the mix, forcing deep thinking and quick fingers.

16. Icebreaker: A Viking Voyage HD ($2.99/£1.99)

There are more famous swiping games on iOS — Cut the Rope and Fruit Ninja spring to mind — but Icebreaker has oodles more charm, loads more character and, importantly, better puzzles. The animated, cartoon-like world feels alive under your fingers as you cut ice blocks, rope, slime and more to return helmeted chums to a waiting boat.

17. Impossible Road ($1.99/£1.49)

A roller-coaster ribbon of road winds through space, and your only aim is to stay on it and reach the highest-numbered gate. But Impossible Road is sneaky: the winding track is one you can leave and rejoin, if you've enough skill, 'cheating' your way to higher scores. It's like the distillation of Super Monkey Ball, Rainbow Road and queue-skipping, all bundled up in a stark, razor-sharp package.

18. Joining Hands 2 ($2.99/£1.99)

There's a child-like innocence at the heart of this sweet-natured puzzler. The critters that inhabit the game's world just want to hold hands. They live on a hexagonal grid, and it's your job to move them into position, whereupon they whoop with glee when all linked. Bright, bold and addictive, Joining Hands 2 is also a very child-friendly game — although whether kids will be able to master the tougher levels is another matter!

19. Limbo ($4.99/£2.99)

A boy awakens in hell, and must work his way through a deadly forest. Gruesome deaths and trial and error gradually lead to progress, as he forces his way deeper into the gloom and greater mystery. Originating on the Xbox, this Limbo fares surprisingly well on iOS, with smartly designed controls; and its eerie beauty and intriguing environments remain hypnotic.

20. Minotron: 2112 ($1.99/£1.49)

Jeff Minter's gaming pedigree is very long indeed, and he went all out on this update of his own Llamatron, which itself was a tribute to Robotron, the original twin-stick blaster. In Minotron, the levels are populated by all manner of oddball foes, and the action comes thick and fast. A smart scoring system enables you to tackle the game in 'pure' fashion or pick up from your best score at any level previously reached.

21. Need For Speed Most Wanted ($6.99/£2.99)

Racing games are all very well, but too many aim for simulation rather than evoking the glorious feeling of speeding along like a maniac. Most Wanted absolutely nails the fun side of arcade racing, and is reminiscent of classic console title OutRun 2 in enabling you to drift effortlessly for miles. Add to that varied city streets on which to best rivals and avoid (or smash) the cops, and you've a tremendous iOS racer.

22. Osmos HD ($4.99/£2.99)

This superb arcade puzzler is at times microscopic and at others galactic in nature, as you use the power of physics and time to move your 'mote' about. Some levels in Osmos are primordial soup, the mote propelled by ejecting bits of itself, all the while aiming to absorb everything around it; elsewhere, motes circle sun-like 'Attractors', and your challenge becomes one of understanding the intersecting trajectories of orbital paths.

23. Pinball Arcade ($0.99/69p)

The iPhone's a bit small for pinball, but the larger iPad screen is perfect for a bit of ball-spanging. Pinball Arcade is the go-to app for realistic pinball, because it lovingly and accurately recreates a huge number of classic tables. Tales of the Arabian Nights is bundled for free, and the likes of Twilight Zone, Black Knight, Bride of PinBot and Star Trek: The Next Generation are available via IAP.

24. PUK ($1.99/£1.49)

PUK reminds us of what someone with a minimalism fetish might make of Angry Birds, before speeding everything up to manic levels. Here, each level lasts mere seconds, as you frantically fling discs at portals; and then just as you've got into the groove, deadly black levels aim to throw you off balance. There are no cartoon squawks here — just pure, adrenaline-fuelled arcade action.

25. Plague Inc ($0.99/99p)

Having no truck with saving the world, Plague Inc. instead has you methodically and purposefully ruin it, bringing about the end of humanity through a global plague. Puny humans fight back as the infection adapts and grows. It's lots of fun right up until you chance upon an article about antibiotic resistance…

50 best iPad games: 26-50

26. Plants vs Zombies HD ($0.99/69p)

Yes, we know there's a Plants vs. Zombies 2, but some dolt infected that with a pointless time-travel gimmick and a freemium business model. The charming, amusing, silly and sweet original remains where it's at. For the uninitiated, in Plants vs Zombies you repel zombies with the power of hostile plants. Countless other defence titles exist for iOS, but PopCap's classic is still the best.

27. Pocket Planes (free)

The Tiny Tower devs take to the air in game form, with Pocket Planes. In this management sim, you take command of a fleet of planes, aiming to not entirely annoy people as you ferry them around the world. Like Tiny Tower, this one's a touch grindy, but it's a similarly amusing time-waster.

28. Slydris ($1.99/£1.49)

This sort-of-Tetris has you drop sets of coloured blocks into a well. Tactics are of paramount importance, since you can move only one block for each new line of junk that's introduced. Slydris therefore becomes an ongoing challenge, a deceptively deep slice of strategy, gravity, block management and combos.

29. SpellTower ($1.99/£1.49)

This fantastic word game starts off easy. You get a grid of letters and remove them by dragging out words. Your only foe in SpellTower is gravity, letters falling into empty space as completed words disappear. But then come new modes, with ferocious timers and numbered letters that won't vanish unless you craft long enough words. And there always seem to be too many Vs!

30. Splice: Tree of Life ($3.99/£2.49)

A regimented game set in a world of microbes, Splice is all about arranging said microbes to fit within predefined outlines. Restrictions abound, based on binary trees, forcing you to think ahead regarding where to drop your microbes and when to splice them. Grasp the basic mechanics and the game opens up, but it never relinquishes its devious edge, later introducing freeform microbes, and those that grow and vaporise.

31. Super Hexagon ($2.99/£1.99)

Ah, Super Hexagon. We remember that first game, which must have lasted all of three seconds. Much like the next — and the next. But then we recognised patterns in the walls that closed in on our tiny ship, and learned to react and dodge. Then you threw increasingly tough difficulty levels at us, and we've been smitten ever since.

32. Super Monsters Ate My Condo (free)

The original Monsters Ate My Condo was like Jenga and a match-three game shoved into a blender with a massive dollop of crazy. Super Monsters Ate My Condo is a semi-sequel which takes a time-attack approach, shoe-horning the bizarre tower-building/floor-matching/monster-feeding into a tiny amount of time, breaking your brain in the process.

33. QatQi (free)

QatQi starts off a bit like Scrabble in the dark, until you figure out that you're really immersed in a kind of Roguelike mash-up. So although the aim is to make crosswords from a selection of letters, you're also tasked with exploring dungeons to find score-boosting stars and special tiles.

34. Super Stickman Golf 2 ($0.99/69p)

If you've often thought golf would be much better if it was played on Mars, or in a giant castle, or in dank caverns with glue-like surfaces, Super Stickman Golf 2 is the game for you. Its side-on charms echo Angry Birds in its artillery core, but this is a far smarter and more polished game. It also boasts two equally brilliant but different multiplayer modes: one-on-one asynchronous play and frantic multiplayer racing.

35. Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP ($4.99/£2.99)

Apple's mobile platform has become an unlikely home for traditional point-and-click adventures. Sword & Sworcery has long been a favourite, with its sense of mystery, palpable atmosphere, gorgeous pixel art and an evocative soundtrack. Exploratory in nature, this is a true adventure in the real sense of the word, and it's not to be missed.

36. The Room ($0.99/69p)

There's something wonderfully old-school about The Room, in its Myst-like exploration and sense of mystery. But this is a truly touchscreen experience, with you investigating inexplicable boxes with seemingly infinite nooks and crannies, which unlock to present yet more secrets and routes to explore. An obscure narrative is woven throughout, along with plenty of scares. Devour it greedily, preferably at night, in a dark room, and then take on its more expansive sequel.

37. Royal Revolt (free)

In Royal Revolt, the king is dead and his siblings have stolen his kingdom while the prince was at school. Unfortunately for them, he was studying magic and is now out for revenge. The game itself is a real-time-strategy effort with some seriously cute and well-animated graphics.

38. Threes! ($1.99/£1.49)

Threes! is all about matching numbered cards. 1s and 2s merge to make 3s, and then pairs of identical cards can subsequently be merged, doubling their face value. With each swipe, a new card enters the tiny grid, forcing you to carefully manage your growing collection and think many moves ahead. The ingenious mix of risk and reward makes it hugely frustrating when you're a fraction from an elusive 1536 card, but so addictive you'll immediately want another go.

39. Trainyard ($2.99/£1.99)

Trainyard is another devious puzzler that at first seems a cinch. Initially, you merely drag tracks to lead trains between stations of the same colour. But then rocks enter the fray, along with colour-mixing and train-splitting. Before you know it, you've 14 stations, seven trains, hazards aplenty and an aching brain from figuring out how to get all the trains home safely.

40. Ticket To Ride ($6.99/$4.99)

The iPad screen's just about big enough to cater for traditional board games, and Ticket to Ride is an excellent example. The game involves claiming routes across the USA, cunningly blocking opponents via the use of little plastic (virtual) trains. There's pass-and-play to compete with friends, or a four-level AI to pit your wits against.

41. Tiny Wings HD ($2.99/£1.99)

This sweet, endless title stars a bird who loves to fly but doesn't have the wings for it. Instead, she uses gravity, sliding down hills and then propelling herself into the air from the top of adjacent slopes. Meanwhile, in another mode, her offspring are happily racing, bounding over lakes, eager to earn the biggest fish from their mother. Whichever route you take, Tiny Wings is a vibrant, warm and friendly experience.

42. Touchgrind Skate 2 ($4.99/£2.99)

You can almost see the development process behind this one: "Hey, fingers look a bit like legs, so if we put a skateboard underneath…" And so arrived one of the finest iOS sports titles, with you using your fingers to roam urban locations and perform gnarly stunts. Admittedly, this game is tricky to master, but it's hugely rewarding when you do so, and video highlights can be shared with your friends. The game's also a great example of touchscreen-oriented innovation — Touchgrind Skate just wouldn't be the same with a traditional controller.

43. Triple Town (free)

In Triple Town, you have to think many moves ahead to succeed. It's a match game where trios of things combine to make other things, thereby giving you more space on the board to evolve your town. At times surreal, Triple Town is also brain-bending and thoroughly addictive. Free moves slowly replenish, and you can also unlock unlimited moves via IAP.

44. Walking Dead (free)

We do like a good zombie yarn, as long as we're not the subject matter, having just had our brains eaten. Walking Dead successfully jumped from comic to TV screen, and it's just as good in its interactive incarnation. The first part of the story is free, and you can then buy new episodes; if you survive, season 2 is also available.

45. World of Goo HD ($4.99/£2.99)

It didn't begin life on the iPad, but World of Goo certainly makes sense on it. A bewitching game of physics puzzles and bridge building, the title also has real heart at its core. Through powerful imagery, haunting audio and the odd moment of poignancy, you find yourself actually caring about little blobs of goo, rather than merely storming through the game's many levels.

46. XCOM ($19.99/£13.99)

This game feels almost like a brazen slap in the face to iPad detractors who claim Apple's tablet can't handle AAA titles. Showing up only eight months after its release on high-powered consoles, the iOS version of XCOM loses little of the original's brilliance. Earth has been invaded, and troops under your command must fight back, in tense turn-based battles. Tough, terrifying and suitably deep, this smart, sophisticated title feels perfectly at home on an iPad, despite its console origins.

47. Year Walk ($3.99/£2.49)

Year Walk preceded the same developer's iOS masterpiece Device 6, but is equally daring. It's a first-person adventure of sorts, with more than a nod towards horror literature and, frankly, the just plain weird. It's unsettling, clever, distinctive and beautifully crafted — another unmissable and original touchscreen creation.

48. Zen Pinball (free)

More pinball! This one's a bit less realistic than Gameprom's efforts, but Zen Pinball is very pretty, with a bright and exciting free table, Sorcerer's Lair. Further tables are available via IAP, including some Marvel-themed and surprisingly great Star Wars efforts, but the sole freebie should have pinball addicts happily sated for a while.

49. Letterpress (free)

Who knew you could have such fun with a five-by-five grid of letters? In Letterpress, you play friends via Game Center, making words to colour lettered squares. Surround any and they're out of reach from your friend's tally. Cue: word-tug-o'-war, last-minute reversals of fortune, and arguments about whether 'qat' is a real word or not (it is).

50. Gridrunner Free (free)

Gridrunner Free has the look of a lost 1980s arcade game, with hints of Caterpillar and Space Invaders. But this is really a thoroughly modern affair, with perfect touch controls and bullet-hell-style gameplay, albeit bullet-hell in the video game equivalent of a shoebox. Oh, and you get only one life in survival mode, making every game a frantic bid to stay alive (more modes can be unlocked via the 69p In-App Purchase).