What’s the difference, really, between shuffling off to the Xerox machine to make 50 copies of the TPS reports, and shuffling down to Un’Goro Crater to get 15 pieces of dinosaur meat for your Venomhide Ravasaur? Not much, except there’s a more tangible reward for the latter. Gamer-friendly PIM QuestTracker (free/donationware) manages them both the same way.
If you’re looking for something to replace Microsoft Project, this isn’t it. Featurewise, QuestTracker is very sparse, on par with the task lister built into Gmail. It supports one level of hierarchy; you have quest groups, and quests within them. You cannot reorder quests in a group, or groups in the window. Quests are either done or undone. Each quest can have a detailed text description, describing what needs to be done, how, why, or anything else.
You can set a quest to be recurring. For example, no matter how often you complete the quest “Empty The Trash,” it comes back each morning (or whatever period of time you set), and you don’t even need to hunt down a goblin with punctuation hovering over his head. By default, completed quests are hidden, though not deleted. You can show completed quests, but instead of being checked, they are highlighted in green.
It is also possible to export or import quest lists, which is useful when upgrading to new versions, as QuestTracker is rapidly adding features. This is important, as QuestTracker right now is a nifty idea waiting to blossom. Simply calling tasks “quests” isn’t an exceptional bit of functionality. I would love it if QuestTracker borrowed a bit more from Warcraft. For example, a typical WoW quest would have you gather 15 goblin ears, and track that you’ve collected 7/15. This is more useful than a simple “You have done it/You have not done it” interface. Many quests are also staged: Do part 1, you get part 2. A tracking system which didn’t show you the “next quest” until you’ve completed the “current” one would be helpful, adding more depth and imposing an order on completion.
QuestTracker would also benefit from an aesthetic makeover. It borrows concepts from WoW, but is very graphically plain. The overall structure–”Quests” to the left, descriptions to the right–is the same, but no one looking at it would confuse it with an in-game window. There are tons of fonts out there which strongly resemble Blizzard’s chosen typefaces; you might as well play up the connection in look and feel.
If you need a very straightforward quest…I mean, task…tracking program that is extremely lightweight (ideal for netbooks), QuestTracker is worth checking out. Despite being a fairly early beta, I noticed no stability problems. Development is ongoing, and QuestTracker is free and open source. Overall, I’d say Quest Tracker shows promise for open world task management quests, but it isn’t ready to start seriously raiding endgame productivity instances.
TIMELINE – Google shutters Chinese site, moves to Hong Kong
Google Inc closed its China-based search service on Monday and began redirecting Web searchers to an uncensored site in Hong Kong, drawing harsh comments from Beijing that raised doubts about the company’s future in the world’s largest Internet market.
Following are some key developments in Google’s bumpy foray into China:
2000 – Google develops Chinese-language interface for its Google.com website.
2002 – Google.com becomes temporarily unavailable to Chinese users, with interference from domestic competition suspected.
July 2005 – Google hires ex-Microsoft executive Lee Kai Fu as head of Google China. Microsoft sues Google over the move, claiming Lee will inevitably disclose propriety information to Google. The two rivals reach a settlement on the suit over Lee in December.
Jan 2006 – Google rolls out Google.cn, its China-based search page that, in accordance with Chinese rules, censors search results. Google says it made the trade-off to “make meaningful and positive contributions” to development in China while abiding by the country’s strict censorship laws.
Aug 2008 – Google launches free music downloads for users in China to better compete with market leader Baidu Inc.
March 2009 – China blocks access to Google’s YouTube video site.
June 2009 – A Chinese official accuses Google of spreading obscene content over the Internet. The comments come a day after Google.com, Gmail and other Google online services became inaccessible to many users in China.
Sept 2009 – Lee resigns as Google China head to start his own company. Google appoints sales chief John Liu to take over Lee’s business and operational responsibilities.
Oct 2009 – A group of Chinese authors accuses Google of violating copyrights with its digital library, with many threatening to sue.
Jan 2010 – Google announces it is no longer willing to censor searches in China and may pull out of the country.
Jan 2010 – Google postpones launch of two Android phones in China.
Feb 2010 – The New York Times reports the hacking attacks on Google had been traced to two schools in China, citing people familiar with the investigation. The schools deny involvement.
March 22, 2010 – Google announces it will move its mainland Chinese-language portal and begin rerouting searches to its Hong Kong-based site.
(Compiled by Melanie Lee; Editing by Ken Wills and Anshuman Daga)