CGP

Windows 8, man.

2013-08-13T02:39:00.004-04:00

I had the privilege of setting up two Windows 8 machines recently for two very different users and with two very different setups. I thought this was interesting because every Windows 7 setup I've ever done was reasonably similar.

"These are the new things your system does and all the old things from your XP machine work about the same way." --This is Windows 7--

"This is how you get to your email, oh wait, the Mail app doesn't support POP3. I guess go to the webpage since you don't want to sign up for Office 365... oh it's like Office but now you pay annually... you can buy it once... oh, you don't want to pay that much. Yeah, the web browser is very different, you can get the old one if you..." (you get the point) --Replacement desktop Windows 8--

"Yeah, it can do internet and play games and do all sorts of things from this app store. You can also click here and use old Windows programs too but they aren't made for touch." --New tablet Windows 8 (not RT)--

Needless to say, one experience was much more positive than the other. I can send it down to the concept of tablet vs. desktop but that's not quite it. As I watched two different people try to acclimate themselves with something new I saw a mixture of frustration and relief from the man replacing his old desktop (It wasn't POSTing and honestly, it was a dinosaur and needed replaced IMHO) and awe and surprise from the man testing out his new tablet. And I'll stumble into a bit of a segway for my first point. One man expected nothing but the other expected his old machine and more.

Expectation

One of the worst feelings for a consumer to have is that of being cheated after struggling with your product. They will tell their friends to avoid the product and company even if they are 100% in the right. Ahead of Windows Blue it feels unfair to criticize Windows 8 so, but it has to be said. The Modern UI feels so forced in a desktop setup that it's a really hard sale.

It works as its advocates will tell you, but as I will tell you, just barely. In a desktop setup, it is not better and that's the problem. To convince someone that their old machine was in need of this OS upgrade it must be better.

Throwing the apps in front of someone's face is a great setup for a tablet. See it, touch it. On a desktop it is unintuitive and confusing. Most people are trained on the idea of the file system having levels and (sometimes forced) categories. At this point, we are be ushered into an era of one touch, one app, one purpose, and one common interface.

Ecchi Sketchy One Touchy

Whether on a mouse and keyboard, trackpad, touch screen, or that crazy pressure sensitive tech DoCoMo was working on a while ago, you are using your hands to work your PC. A crazy transfer from the vast broad strokes from a mouse, trackpad, or one of those nubs Lenovo refuses to give up, to the fine controls possible with your fingers has left the GUI industry torn. Mandate a 3 product minimum like Apple (phone, tablet, PC), or try to smash two product categories together like Google and Microsoft.

The Desktop

The old machine: MidGen P4 CPU@2.8Ghz, 2GB RAM, onboard GPU (AKA: Dinosaur)
The new machine: pre-Haswell i3@2.0Ghz, 4GB RAM, onboard GPU (I didn't order it)

Mo Peripherals, Mo Problems

Something you all need to understand about the elderly is that they think the world should work for them. They have spent a lot of time in this world and in their own minds. They are extremely familiar with both.

I've heard the Windows 8 advocates shouting from every corner of the map about how amazing it is and I was ready to believe this. It's great. It really is. For me. As demonstrated by my series of sentence fragments, I was thinking about Windows 8 in my world in my mind.

Here was my challenge:

Describe every visible thing on the Windows 8 start screen in relation to real life or Windows XP.
Explain why Office is ridiculous suddenly.
Explain the fresh hell that is the Win8 photo importer for an old Kodak digital camera.
Explain why their printer is now unusable.

Excuse me Microsoft, let me drop everything and learn a new way to do almost everything. Longer story slightly shorter, we picked up a decent USB flash drive for file backup, a new printer, a download of Open Office, and a fair share of headaches.

At the end of the day, the computer is less functional than the old one. The one benefit is that it will POST and performance is significantly improved.

Now I'll finally move on to the tablet and perhaps a more optimistic view of Windows 8. The question to lead the assault will be as follows. Why, when I click Internet Explorer with a mouse, am I taken to the touch version of the app.

The Tablet

Asus VivoTab Smart 400: Pre-Haswell Atom@1.9Ghz(if it feels like it), 2GB RAM, Onboard GPU, 64GB MicroSD.

This thing rocks. Microsoft, without a doubt, has pulled out all the stops and created a fantastic Tablet UI. It flows smoothly and loads quickly. I honestly feel that the touch version of IE beats Safari and Chrome to the finish line. Perhaps though, this is because IE's desktop interface and features are behind both Chrome and Safari. Microsoft seems to have forgotten the heaps of traditional computing setups running its OS.

All that needed to be explained was new and fresh. The product is understood to be a new thing and not a replacement of something antiquated. The owner doesn't try to make it be his old PC only asking what it else it can do.

Now that little tablet is part of an interesting setup. With an HDMI cable, it becomes a streaming device for Netflix and Pandora. (Sure we only mirror at 720p but it looks pretty good) It is a nice research device for time spent on the toilet or sitting in front of a setting midsummer's sun on the patio.

A Conclusion of Sorts (not a TL;DR)

Microsoft seems to have overstretched itself with Windows 8 by building multiple products in one for a lot of different hardware. They haven't. They built a great tablet UI and forced other hardware to work around that.

Oh, There You Are Nintendo!

2013-01-23T20:01:00.000-05:00

A triumphant (and frankly surprising) return of the Nintendo Game Machine

It would seem over the past few months Nintendo has stepped back into the dark workrooms of Nintendo EAD, allowing a wealth of other companies to hold the spotlight in the release of the Nintendo Wii U. This has, of course, raised concern in the gaming news world over what exactly Nintendo was working on and when these long awaited titles would see the light of day. Today, during the latest installment of Nintendo Direct, Nintendo's web-based press conference show, viewers were reminded why Nintendo is known for "dropping the bomb" when it comes to releasing new game info.

Before today's conference is discussed, however, it is important to note how effective this peculiar strategy of "quiet confidence" has been for Nintendo and the Wii U over the last few months.

While a great introduction to the Gamepad, Nintendoland is not the groundbreaking title players wanted.

Nintendo's consoles have received flack since as far back as the Nintendo 64 for the lack of third party support. They historically rely heavily on the first party titles from Nintendo to carry their weight through the entire console cycle. Breaking this tradition is not as easy a feat as one might imagine. Because any third party title would be in a sense competing with the offerings from Nintendo, the choice to publish on a system from the Big N might not always be a financially sound one. Third party titles have rarely sold the best on a Nintendo system, for various reasons other than the aforementioned one. It's hard to blame Nintendo, their first party titles more often than not deserve the praise they receive, and there has never been a real drive to try to get other publishers to show the system a healthy amount of support.

If you showed this to someone in 2008 and said this game is
a lead launch title for the new Nintendo system, they would slap you for lying.

This has changed, it seems, and the strategy to do so implored a technique of being purposefully absent during the console's launch. Third party titles really stole the show through the Wii U release. Sure there was New Super Mario Bros. U and Nintendoland, but with just those two major titles, Nintendo offered the weakest launch support for a system in the company's history. And it worked. Exclusive titles like ZombiU became the talk of the launch, as well as the distribution of huge third party offerings on a Nintendo console for the first time. How is it that when a Nintendo console launches the average gamer is more interested in buying the new Call Of Duty, Assassin's Creed, or Ubisoft title than they are a Nintendo game? Games like these were finally allowed to thrive on a Nintendo platform, and set a tone that Nintendo surely wants to maintain throughout the rest of the console's lifetime.

It would seem that this backseat position of Nintendo's would last a while, with no revelations of any new titles on the horizon. While gamers are enjoying playing Mass Effect 3 with the gamepad or jumping through the "Castle Rock" level of the Rayman Origins Demo for the 20th time, there has been a thirst for more. And right when this thirst was beginning to turn into frustration, Nintendo delivered.

The phrase "pinch me, I must be dreaming" was in high demand during this conference.

Today's conference was a very unexpected breath of fresh air for loyal Nintendo fans. The Nintendo Direct series has had a tendency of being...somewhat humdrum and unsurprising. Whether or not this is due to the infamous Nintendo hype train is certainly up for debate, but regardless of this, most viewers come away feeling a little disappointed. That was not the case today, as Nintendo, by all accounts, delivered. One could argue that from a purely informative standpoint, there was as much discussed in the 30 minute Direct Presentation as was during the 2012 E3 conference. And they were all important, Nintendo related announcements.

The bar for this year's E3 has been set VERY high. As if the hype was not already crazy as it is.

This is the key here. Nintendo has made the push to make third party titles a viable option for the system, but they have not forgotten the reason people will shell out $350 without thinking twice for something with that famous "N" logo. We now know for certain that we can expect a new 3D Mario game, a new Mario Kart title, a new Smash Bros., and a new Zelda for the Nintendo Wii U. The highly anticipated Bayonetta 2 has a very strong team behind it, and should be a major release for the system. Wind Waker Reborn marks the first Nintendo entry into the "HD Remake" market (3DS remakes aside). The new Xenoblade game gives RPG lovers something to look forward to, and The Fire Emblem/Shin Megame Tensei crossover shows an exciting new Nintendo game development strategy. This coupled with the announcement of two huge system updates and the beginning of a new Virtual Console service made this the biggest and best Nintendo Direct to date.

Its hard to say whether or not the timeline of game info, releases, and lack thereof was a part of Nintendo's plan all along, but it appears to have been a successful strategy. The amount of support being shown for this console by both third party developers and Nintendo themselves is staggering. Only two months from release, the stage has been set for a HUGE year of game releases and development info. It is an exciting time to be a Nintendo fan, and more importantly: an exciting time to be a gamer.

These are my new things. [3/3]

2013-01-10T18:36:00.001-05:00

Once upon a time, $100 was an expensive set of headphones.

Dr. Dre... I love your music but I hate your horrible headphones. Beats by Dre. Soul by Ludacris. Ultimate Ears from Logitech. What is the deal with charging so much for mediocre headphones. Oh, that's right. Bass. The subwoofer generation is awful. I hate to love my trunk full of subs and that half of the watts in my surround sound are less than 200hz. It sounds amazing, for listening only.

"You need professional headphones" they said. Yes, of course. I'm going to be working in Pro Tools, Premiere Pro, and with big cameras and boom microphones. I need flat response headphones. I just had no idea I'd love them so much.

I was thinking that I would lose my bass. I was thinking the treble would split my ears. And worse. I was afraid the mids would kill me like a saxophone solo in a Dave Matthews Band song. I was so wrong.

I bought the Sony MDR-7506 headphones. They are as classic as headphones get. They released many years ago and the design has not really changed much besides adding some plastic where there was once metal. I was stuck making the decision between these and the Sennheiser HD280 Pro headphones. Luckily my friend bought the 280s and I was able to try them out to see if I'd made the right decision. I think I had. The Sennheisers are by no stretch bad but they are a bit softer in their sound reproduction. Not quieter but I prefer the more crisp treble and bass on the Sony's. I'd suggest trying them out before making your decision but if you are the kind of person that prefers a speaker with a tweeter, I'd recommend the Sony's.

They come with a connector to allow you to hook them to nearly any jack. It's gold plated and screws on. This secure connection is a must for professionals.

The headphones come with a case for travel and these cans fold up nicely for transportations. This greatly helps with my fear of snapping them in half. Hey, I'm not made of money.

They came beautifully packaged to the point that makes Apple packaging look subtle. You can tell these are not a Walmart product. (Stop shopping there... forever)

They sound... right. There is not an exaggerated sound and music really sounds good. I find myself closing my eyes and just focusing on the smallest details in the music which are now treated equally to the bass. I came from the Sony MDR-X200 headphones and while they are very good for the price, you lose some of that more precise treble. If you are an audiophile on a budget, they are a solid choice. The Sony MDR-V6 cans are also a solid choice that many people would argue are as good as the 7506 headphones but for 20 bucks less. I haven't tried them so I couldn't tell you either way.

Well, this has been my report of the semester that left my wallet smoldering and very thin. I still need to buy a new external hard drive to edit on. A decent microphone to record on. A decent camera and maybe Final Cut Pro X. I understand I'm 1 of about 10 people worldwide that likes the software. Enjoy some pictures. Thanks for reading.

These are my new things. [2/3]

2013-01-10T17:51:00.001-05:00

I like to be in control.

Perhaps some people would call me a control freak, but I don't think that is very polite. I find that input devices, that is the stuff you touch, poke, talk to, or wave at to control your computer or electronic device, are woefully under appreciated in the space of user experience. With that I'm thinking of the Macintosh ideal for mice and keyboards. There are, like any other component, many factors you must balance in order to make a product. Recently Apple has become the cool company somehow.

When did computers get cool?

But really. When did devices made for editing documents and calculating huge strings of data become so mainstream. Apple did not start innovating in 2007 with the iPhone. They've been placing the focus on small and sleek since the 80's. Forgive the quality of the video but you get my point.

Small and sleek simply was not the thing people wanted. They wanted compatibility and power. Who cares about how great your computer looks when you are running a database query and you want your old PC DOS data to work.

Then the Internet became consumer grade. Library card catalogs. Sales records. Maybe some very nerdy IRCs. This was the old internet. The dot com boom helped make the internet mainstream. Users could just pop in your favorite website and get some news or entertainment on demand. But could you contribute? Only if you knew HTML.

I'll save you some nerdy history details and move you forward to Web 2.0 as old geeks may say. It's social networking. Friendster, Myspace, YouTube, and blogs. Everyone wanted a computer and it was no longer a power race.

Magical?

Humans are not symmetrical so why are the things we use?

When users are just clicking back and forth between wedding pictures and a rant about pop culture figures recent decision, who cares about the DPI of a mouse or the action on a keyboard. It just needs to work. To be fair, Apple's tackpad is a thing of wonders and at this time, unparalleled, but their Magic Mouse is an absolute piece of trash. It defines form over function. It's uncomfortable to use and is ridiculously heavy. It has some great additions like multitouch and bluetooth support but it seems to have forgotten was it was. A mouse.

If you only reach for your mouse about three times an hour then this will work fine for you but if you are like me and want to edit something, you use the mouse far too often to drag that hunk of aluminum (aluminium if you are wrong) across your desk. So I went Logitech!

And it tracks on glass!

Now you guys get to see how dirty the glass on my desk is.

I like glass desks. I realize the are posh and tacky but I like them. So for years I was cursed to buy ugly and quickly decaying mouse mats. Then I read about Logitech's Darkfield Technology. Combining several principles I have no understanding of with several other principles I somehow understand even less, logitech made this thing track on glass. Like a puck sliding on ice, the mouse glides with ease and precision with the slightest prod.

This mouse is great and it's fully Macintosh compatible. There are a few things in the software that don't work quite as expected but Logitech gives you the controls to take care of that. The mouse is called the Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX. (Remember, if you buy through my links I make a small percentage and that can help me bring you guys more reviews. Thanks!)

What! No Penguin! Oh that's right, Linux doesn't need your official support.

A couple problems I've had with it are that the back and forward buttons, instead of moving the internet browser back and forward a page as I'd expected, they switched me to different desktops. This was tested in Chrome but easily fixed by changing the commands on those buttons the delete key and shift+delete. The mouse works flawlessly on Windows 7 however which leads me to assume the functioning on Mac OS was a result of Apple's recent changes to the way gestures are handled, but I really have no proof of that and to be fair it was an easy fix.

The tracking is smooth and I've noticed no problems or inaccuracies from tracking on glass. I'm really considering getting the big brother for my Windows desktop now.

What's your type?

Well, that's a bit personal but she's smart, and funny with a great... oh it's a pun, and not even a very good one. Shame. But really, the things I want in a keyboard include a slim form factor, good key travel, good key spacing, a number pad, and extra USB ports. Apple finally delivered! The Macintosh keyboard has been out for a few years now but it doesn't need to change at all. The keys have a nice feel and good travel and It has two USB ports built in so I can always have my new mouse receiver plugged in. This is a huge plus considering I only have two USB ports and one of those connects to my Time Machine drive immediately when I reach my desk.

A close second place was the Logitech Solar Keyboard but a couple things kept me away from it. The first was that since it was wireless it was not a USB hub and the second was that I tested it and just didn't like the way it felt. Everyone has a certain level of tension and travel they like but I just though it felt a little too loose and squishy when typing. It is still a great keyboard especially being solar powered but it just wasn't for me this time around. It also comes in black which I really like. They also included Macintosh keys so your are not forced to deal with an oddly placed command key. Really, this was a very close second place for me and I'd still definitely suggest it. I have the Logitech Illuminated Keyboard on my Windows machine and will not be replacing that until it falls apart. A serious quality keyboard.

Thanks everyone for reading part 2. I hope I could offer you some good information. I'm most excited for part 3. It's about my new headphones. And no, it's not those awful Beats. Stay tuned for part 3. Coming soon.

These are my new things. [1/3]

2013-01-09T19:58:00.002-05:00

As I enter my third semester as a telecommunications major I found myself needing to upgrade my computer gear, especially on my Mac side. I had been using the built in keyboard and mouse on my MacBook Pro since 2009 and it really is just awful for anything but web browsing.

So, first on the list.

A hard drive. I regret now not documenting the whole event but putting the thing in was fairly straightforward and without incident. I loaded a backup image from my Time Machine backup and was good to go in just a couple hours.

I bought the Seagate Momentus XT 750GB hard drive. It comes with 8GB worth of solid state storage built in that automatically caches commonly accessed sik sectors in order to bring certain actions up to near SSD performance. The results are quite spectacular. Read and Write speeds doubled in many scenarios but keep in mind this is a computer from 2009 and the stock drive was built more for silence and power efficiency where the Seagate is exactly the opposite.

The new drive is noticeably louder in the simple fact that I can hear it when I rarely ever became aware the previous drive was spinning at all. Contrary to the assertions of the anti-Mac crowds, the upgrade was quick and easy...easier than any PC laptop I've ever worked on. Don't get me wrong. Some of the higher end gaming PCs come right apart with upgrades in mind but none, until this past year, that were quite as easy as the MacBook unless they had a special door for the HDD. I'm extremely happy with the upgrade and the size increase is a new order of convenience to someone like me that typically deals with fifty or more gigs of HD footage for editing. It's an absolute pain editing off an external drive not to mention the constant fear the external drive with become disconnected or knocked.

It lacks a hemi but it's still RAM.

This is the first place I would send someone looking to squeeze some life out of their aging MacBook Pro. Especially after upgrading to Lion and beyond, RAM is a valuable resource under Mac OS. My computer came with 4GB stock and I took it up to 8GB with some reasonably priced sticks from Crucial. Seriously. I paid about $40 for this upgrade and the sticks go on sale for much less than that all the time. The performance increase was huge epecially if you use real apps. You know, the stuff that makes a Mac a Mac. Some Mac exclusives like Final Cut Pro X (a solid program despite the haters) or Logic Pro really make great use of the extra RAM. You'll see some great improvement on programs like Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Pro Tools, and of course video games.

Don't expect your machine to become a gaming powerhouse, you really never should have gone with Mac OS if you are after a gaming PC, but it certainly helps with the simpler games like Team Fortress 2 or World of Warcraft. I one hundred percent recommend this upgrade for all users.

It's time... for plot!

2012-10-29T18:46:00.000-04:00

Save me Obiwan Kenobe

How boring. Another save the princess, defeat the horrible villain, save the world plot. Throw that in the basket with all of the evil organizations and alien invasions. Sure it's fun and easy to understand but where is the lasting value? Who was I fighting in Halo again? The Combine, Helghast, Covenant? While different in origin and look, they are the same basic thing. A cheap and easy way to have an endless supply of drones for you to slaughter. Human enough to be familiar and alien enough to kill without guilt.

This is why gamers are thrilled with some new indie games busting onto the scene with remarkable success. Braid (steam), Limbo (steam), Fragile Dreams, or maybe even throw something like Analogue: A Hate Story (steam). They were not too radical in gameplay and really didn't forward the industry that much. Maybe they even took it a step back, to the days before it was a corporate ruled adventure. I'll admit, many of these ideas come from the amazing film, Indie Game The Movie.

This image is from Reddit and the anime is Guilty Crown

This is a rather short entry but just thinking about games and their stories which got me thinking about how games have been so mass produced that games have no soul and even to the point where the breakout games get squashed in reviews for the things you can get over, like awkward controls or glitchy graphics. If a game is going to have a story I want it to be worth it and not just a cover for bad level flow. Humorous graphic.

The Revolution [2/2]

2012-10-21T15:50:00.000-04:00

Hello.

Be sure to check out part 1 before reading this.

Simple and catchy. Apple was the name in graphics. Perhaps it can be attributed to a lack of focus or perhaps a surplus of it, Apple quickly fell behind in gaming. Microsoft bolstered its own offering with many bonuses to help gamers. Easy to update video drivers, the powerful DirectX software, and a format that lends itself better to gaming powerhouses.

Mac was a niche.

The huge growth of gaming in general led to the demise of gaming on Mac. This was a business corporations could build on. This idea was worth millions. Billions. Now that marketing strategies and financial concern were a part of game making, the Mac platform was not worth supporting.

Ok... that may have been a bit dramatic but this is certainly how it felt. In the 90's it seemed like nearly every game had Mac support or at least a Mac version. As time went on and graphics became 3D and GPU accelerated and other fantastic things, Windows pulled ahead with Direct3D and a wider array of hardware. Linux is still pretty far above most consumers at this point. Hell, even Windows and Mac were up there.

Wublam! Physics! Shading! Texture Mapping! Antialiasing! Other GPU words!

If you were a gamer you had an Alienware, XPS, or built your own PC. Why? because 200fps just didn't seem like enough. Let's just drop in a couple 2 slot GPUs in here and some crazy heatpiped RAM, and a huge hunk of metal fins and fans on top of my overclocked GPU.

Not very Apple.

Perhaps gaming progress has slowed, at least graphically. Why can my PC build from 2008 able to play games released in 2012? On High. Simply put, because then I can buy the game. Microsoft and Sony have built 10 year game consoles we will be forced to endure for 2 or 3 more years. The WiiU fills that midway Dreamcast spot (good luck Nintendo). The progress of game graphics has plateaued for the time being and because of this even low end computers can play new games. Even Macs.

Macs aren't known for being gaming powerhouse. They are powerful but in entirely different ways. This slowing in gaming let the Macintosh system catch up a bit. Even now Apple is taking a bit of interest in Gaming. The success of games on its iOS device may have helped as well. Decent GPUs. Fast Processors. Flash Storage and a bunch or RAM. These new macs are set up to win in gaming and the Dual GPUs in the 15 inch models of MacBook Pros preserve that Macintosh low power feel, if you want it.

Steam.

And then there was Steam. For ages we have had some AAA titles on Macintosh, from Halo to Bioshock to Starcraft, the platform always had a little support but there was quite a lot that went into making a Mac version and then the cost of the game was not parallel to the version on PC. Finding a Mac game in a store was also a challenge. Unless you were lucky enought o be near a large electronics store you may be out of luck. Enter Steam. The runaway digital distribution success from Valve.

Debuting with some of their greatest games, Valve ported their own source engine to Macintosh as well as Steam. Offering services like steam play, Macintosh was a valid gaming platform. Before Mac gamers had to use bootcamp for a quick game of Team Fortress 2, now you can do it without closing down your Mac Apps.

It's not perfect.

Microsoft's lead in PC gaming allowed the company and the developers plenty of time to get very good at the software. Developers knew Windows and Microsoft gave them better and better tools as time went on to improve their game's performance and visual. Apple is now behind. They handle the video card drivers for you. They handle the updates for OpenGL for you. In fact at this point, there is an improved version of OpenGl on Mountain Lion as opposed to Lion. That's a twenty dollar investment for a software update.

As my time with Mac gaming increases something becomes painfully obvious. Apple did not consider gaming at all when designing their last gen products.Their current gen products seem to be a little more aware with proper exhaust for heat. This is in reference to the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Though that product may be one step forward, two back. The RAM is soldered to the logic board and replacing the GPU is far from an option.

With gaming you need to just ignore Apples keyboard, mouse, and trackpad. The tracking on the Mighty and Magic mouses is not optimized for gaming and not all games support raw inputs. The one button design in general is not for gaming. The keyboard is not so horrible but the flat chicklet key design does not provide the feedback I prefer with games. I have to look at the keyboard far too often.

More users look for open as things close down.

I'll admit that the closing of Windows 8's ecosystem may be exagerated by many; it is a threat. Macintosh is pretty open for the time being with the App Store being only an optional source of apps. This "iPading" of Mac has me fearing for the future. The PC is dying according to many but I still want it around. Linux.

Linux is the open. The final stand. I know, I know, nerds. There are others but I'm trying to write an Al Gore style article! It's inconvenient? Too bad. You have to manually unpack that file and sometimes compile it on your own. Nightly builds are a risk but something must be done!

Steam, once again. On Linux. It's only in beta but it looks promising. A Linux gaming rig? It's a mega-nerd's wet dream but it may happen.

Reality.

A direct threat to gaming is far away. The now is Apple needs to get its act together and accept its new gamer brothers. Also discontinue all iOS development; I think that is just my opinion though.

I'm planning a new video. I'm currenty running OSX Lion on my 2009 MacBook Pro with only intergrated graphics. I'm going to do some game testing and see how things improve in Mountain Lion then compare that back to Windows 7 and if timing works out Windows 8.

The Revolution [1/2]

2012-10-02T15:57:00.000-04:00

1099 free hours.

Mac OS, Linux, iOS, even Android are pushing into PC gaming in a big way. While iOS and Android may not seem like a contender at first thought, they are taking over that social games and flash games space. Game developers are looking at new operating systems for their big games as well.

Mobile

Once upon a time, flash was as big a deal as javascript or css on web pages. Well maybe not that important, but it was not possible to experience the whole internet without it (an idea some tech companies hold onto). Changing hands from Macromedia to Adobe, it was obvious flash was going to be big. It did what HTML and other embedded video just couldn't and that was provide an easy and cheap way to make a site interactive. These new dynamic interactions saw the expansion of point and click navigation on sites and interactive windows containing videos or games. Who could forget watching NumaNuma, or Shig on albinoblacksheep.com?

Kongregate became a great success followed soon by social outlets like Facebook for the new casual gaming experience.

Enter the iPhone.

From gsmarena.com

No, not that one. This one.

From gsmarena.com

Games already designed for point and click just seemed to work with touch controls. With the addition of simple conversion tools for iOS and a powerful toolset from Apple the games came fast and easy.

From iTunes

Simple games for a simple platform.

Early on in the iPhone's lifecycle and for some, the iPod Touch, the greatest game options were in the form of simple and painfully addicting games like Cube Runner or Jelly Car... also that bubble paper game. The games were such a step back from flash games and other casual games based on input. Developers just weren't used to the lack of freedom, or more precisely, the lack of restriction with a full multi-touch surface. Before a game's directional controls were simply the arrow keys or WASD but now... do we do a swipe? A flick? Maybe a trace? Perhaps a virtual D-pad or control stick? And what about tilt!?

From iTunes

There has been an evolution, an improvement on the idea of free range of motion.

Building on what has been learned from things like the Nintendo DS and Wii, developers finally got around to figuring out the best ways to do controls on touch screens. Just look at Infinity Blade on iOS. Besides being a graphics beast, it also shows that the platform is a real and important thing. Good controls and a huge name behind it, success was at their fingertips of anyone looking to get in this business. Many years of work and we finally get to this level of quality, but now we must ask, was it fast enough? Have the others caught up?

Android was not far behind in the games department but seemed to lack a lot of the finess of it's iOS counterpart. The games were often less optimized and laggier on all but high end Android phones.

Free!

Free games on Android are rarely free. By this I mean they are as free as the rest of the internet. People provide the reader with information and media and pray that they don't have ad-blockers installed and perhaps take an interest in a ad and click it... or as in my Android experience, accidentally graze an ad and then furiously tap the back button. Android games are free in the same sense that a Victoria's Secret ad is a free gentleman's magazine. How much is it worth to the user to know that some of these apps are burning their data in the background ready to throw an ad in game or up on the notification bar? Uninstall.

From Google Play Store

Android did have one benefit of entering the ring after the touch screen controls had some of their details hammered out and refined. It also had the advantage of being far more open than iOS. If a developer couldn't get their app onto the famous app store over at Apple, just throw it up on the ~~Android Market~~ Play Store and if they still can't do that, throw the app online and let the user download it on their own.

Why pop on a PC, open a web browser, type a URL and click through several pages to play a games when the device in user's pocket offers an arguably better experience?

From windowsphone.com

Windows Phone 7 and 8 are honorable mentions because the way Microsoft has implemented Xbox makes it feel like a more complete gaming console. Game Center is trying but still does not have the support of something like Xbox Live.

If someone has a Windows Phone they could be playing and getting achievements for DODONPACHI MAXIMUM. I have to pull out my Sega Saturn and the wonderful 3D controller to play some DODONPACHI. Admittedly, one could get their Cave shmup fill on iOS with Deathsmiles and Espgaluda but there is something remarkable about the high quality games on ~~Zune~~ Windows Phone.

From windowsphone.com

There are some other gems on there like like Z0MB1ES (on teh ph0ne). Similar to Apples iPhone principles in hardware, Microsoft required Windows Phones to have a certain level of hardware power. This helped lead to a standard level of performance for apps as well as a bit of confidence that most users can run it. Hopping on the Google Play Store with anything but a beast phone, one might look at the graphics and say "This game looks beautiful, it probably won't run on my phone, so I'm not going to risk the $5."

Trophievements

My achievements (admit it, you care), my friends list, and a company that has yet to lose my credit card information online. Xbox has a hold on gaming and the trust of many gamers. Imagine telling a COD fan that he can unlock more perks faster by NFC trading on a Windows Phone certain things unlocked in a clever mini game. Or a short range broadcast of that avid gamer's skill levels for those around to arrange a challenge at a later date, or now. How about WoW or TF2? SC2? I know the people that play COD, WoW, and TF2. Those dedicated players want that stuff and if they need a Windows Phone to attach it to their online alias, they will pursue it. Come on, they talk about it so much they have made the acronym a word like a high school kid naming their favorite bands. There is already Xbox Companion, I fear it is only a matter of time.

Windows Phone seems to have a secret focus on gaming that is hidden far behind a layer of very 2D tiles in a world obsessed with skeuomorphism and grids.

This got longer than I thought it would, I would trim some fat if I was writing professionally but here I'll just make a part 2.

How to Play Sega Saturn Import Games with Game Shark

2012-08-13T23:55:00.000-04:00

I had to dig through old forums to find this, so I thought I'd try to help with the search results here.

Start with Game Shark in.
Go to the screen to play game without enhancements.
Hold down the x,y, and z buttons then press start.

That's it. Hope this helps at least one person out there. I'm playing Dodonpachi Japanese version with this method as I write.

Dango Decal

2012-07-24T02:04:00.000-04:00

I bought this dango decal for my MacBook a few days ago and love it. These are from the anime Clannad and Clannad: After Stories. I really enjoyed their role in the whole show and am happy to have them adorn my computer. Also, it seems like fun to see if anyone recognizes them in public.

I bought the decal on Amazon and like the look of it so much I decided to share it here.

Collector's Editions and Final Fantasy XIII-2

2012-06-22T14:50:00.001-04:00

Collector's editions are great but a little silly. You have games like Halo Reach that do it quite well offering content that is not essential to the game for those who want to display it and avoiding any penalty to those that don't care. This is also true for Deathsmiles and several others.

Then there are preorder bonuses like special art books or soundtracks. Again, these things don't hurt the game for anyone else but provide incentive to be an early adopter.

Finally, the inspiration for this video is Final Fantasy XIII-2. The "Collector's Edition" was cheap on Amazon a while back so I jumped on that deal and ordered it since I quite enjoyed the first one. When I popped it open I had several concerns, one was that the game was not in a separate case and another was that the art book was attached to the case. Thinking that I'd have to open a fragile cardboard case that takes about ten steps to open every time I want to play the game is terrifying. Surely it will lead to a ripped box, and I had this happen with Oblivion on Xbox 360. So now I need a case to hold the game disc and look stupid on my shelf.

And finally, I dislike EA's trend of calling first release a limited edition because it comes with DLC. These one play games are not what limited editions are about. I think it should provide more content for early buyers, not take from those who can't swing the cost or are unsure of the game.

Loving Akai Katana, Great job Cave... dammit

2012-06-12T23:35:00.003-04:00

That wasn't too hard

2012-06-12T23:34:00.001-04:00

My first successful repairing of an Xbox 360 with RRoD. To be honest it probably would have been fine with just having the two pounds of dust removed but the Arctic Silver 5 probably helped too.

Update 4/19/12 | Sam's Scary Games

2012-04-19T14:28:00.001-04:00

This is a quick recap of what I've done and what we have planned for the near future.

Future plans:
Recently NickjacksonD has joined my reviewing and general ridiculousness (thanks Rob Dyrdek!) squad. His plans will now be featured on these updates.

Nick - Dead Space 2, Sam's Scary Games Review
Sam - edit: Downpour is more expensive than the money I have. re-evaluating the situation.

Past Completions:

Nick: N/A
Sam: Condemned, Dead Space, Doom 3, Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly, F.E.A.R., Half-Life 2, Resident Evil 4.

This is a huge link to the playlist!

A Look at Xenoblade Chronicles

2012-04-19T13:56:00.001-04:00

Sam's Scary Games, Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon

2012-03-15T13:01:00.001-04:00

2012-03-01T20:40:00.001-05:00

A while back I became fed up with Google's ads on my blog when this happened. So I have since become an affiliate with Crunchyroll, a site for streaming anime. However, these ads are less profitable unless every visitor is super into getting some premium streaming HD anime! </sales pitch> I have affiliations with Amazon and Play-Asia too so I may start working those in as well.

Man, it's hard being respectable on the internet.

Dead Space Review

2012-02-06T19:13:00.000-05:00

This is my review of Dead Space on the Xbox 360. I took a more streamlined approach to this video and did not go into so much depth.

January 2012 Update

2012-01-03T19:53:00.001-05:00

What a Glorious Year for Xbox Gaming 2007 Will Be

2011-12-21T01:54:00.001-05:00

This is just a little look back at the Xbox 360 in the year 2006 and 2007 by looking at my old copy of OXM. The idea behind this is XKCD's five-year game lag which can save you a ton of money!

This magazine has it all! Halo, DOA... Extreme, Rainbow 6, and Half-Life 2! I'm a big DOA fan but DOA Extreme 2 is just not good. I don't care about your line of decency for the in game models but there is just no game there. Bad mini games that you have to play on your own.

Oh XKCD

2011-12-07T01:38:00.001-05:00

You are amazing.

WTF Is This Google?

2011-12-04T18:47:00.001-05:00

This horrifying ad was on my blog. What is this... I don't even... come on! I'll let a lot of stupid stuff online slide, but this? "Halo" a game that doesn't exist (Halo: Combat Evolved.) It's on Valhalla on Halo 3, the photoshopping is awful and if at some point playpickle.com got in browser Xbox 360 emulation working I'd be freaking impressed.

...

...

...

You know what? NO!
My blog will now be ad free, this is a horrible offence to gaming.

Nintendo is Learning to be Modern

2011-12-04T18:42:00.001-05:00

So I was registering my copy of Skyward Sword on Club Nintendo when BAM! Social networking and integration and it's not annoying or intrusive. I love it when this sort of thing makes it to Nintendo because they are really lagging behind in the internet realm.

Also, as a side note. This little game is the reason I've had almost zero updates with Contreramanjaro. That and finals, those are important too...

Sam's Scary Games Update

2011-12-04T18:22:00.001-05:00

Game Title	Platform	Video
Clock Tower 3	Playstation 2	Coming Soon
Condemned: Criminal Origins	Xbox 360	YouTube
Condemned 2: Bloodshot	Xbox 360	Coming Soon
Dead Space	Xbox 360	Coming Soon
Doom 3	Xbox	YouTube
Eternal Darkness	Gamecube	Coming Soon
Fatal Frame	Xbox/Playstation 2	Coming Soon
Fatal Frame II	Xbox/Playstation 2	YouTube
F.E.A.R.	Xbox 360	YouTube
F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin	Xbox 360	Coming Soon
Fragile Dreams	Wii	Coming Soon
Half-Life 2 [select levels]	Multiple	YouTube
Parasite Eve	Playstation	Coming Soon
Penumbra Collection	PC	Coming Soon
Resident Evil 4	Multiple	YouTube
Resident Evil: Code Veronica	Dreamcast	Coming Soon
Silent Hill	Playstation	Coming Soon
Silent Hill 2	Xbox/Playstation 2	Coming Soon
Silent Hill 3	Playstation 2	Coming Soon
Silent Hill 4	Xbox/Playstation 2	Coming Soon
Silent Hill:Shattered Memories	Wii	Coming Soon
Silent Hill: Homecoming	Xbox 360	Coming Soon
Siren	Playstation 2	Coming Soon
The Suffering	Xbox/Playstation 2	Coming Soon
The Suffering: The Ties That Bind	Xbox/Playstation 2	Coming Soon

Games to buy still:
Bioshock (Don't yell at me, I have it on PC but I only review console games)
Clive Barker's Jericho
Clock Tower (1,2)
Dead Space 2
Illbleed
Rule of Rose
System Shock
Fatal Frame 3
Zero: something no kamen (Fatal Frame 4)
Ju-on: The Grudge
More RE
Silent Hill Origins

Xbox 360 Game Case Comparison

2011-11-18T21:01:00.001-05:00

When I buy a new game one of my main concerns is the quality of the case and its contents. Recently plastic saving designs have led to weaker cases that are far more prone to tearing. I hate these.

It seems like Halo CE Anniversary got the design right. It uses less platic and won't get a rip in the paper it it brushed a desk corner (like my Skyward Sword box >:( now has.)

CGP