Xeonwales Blog

FINAL FANTASY XIV: - The End of an Era

2012-11-11T22:32:00.002+00:00

During the last few week's, Square-Enix have hyped 'The end of an era' event on Final Fantasy XIV. For week's, we have seen the imperial's invading Eorzea. For weeks, we have waited..

Now, November 11th 2012, The end has arrived.

At 6.00am (GMT), players from all over the globe logged in to the FFXIV servers to see the end. At 7.00am, most of those players were still waiting to get in. Luckily, i managed to get in at 6.15, and for the best part, managed to stay logged in.

As soon as I was in, i headed to Camp Brittlebark to help in the fight against the Empire. With promises of an epic battle between good & evil, I was more than up for the challenge. But when I arrived at Brittlebark, I was shocked to find out that it was the same as it had been for the last two weeks. Imperial's attacking the zone. Ul'dah was the same. So I thought i'd wait. Square told me something was going to happen at Brittlebark, so i waited.

7.50am rolled around, and apart from the odd disconnection, the area remained the same. Only a handful of imperial troops randomly spawning & a boss fight with a lv100 Juggernaught, but nothing really to deserve dragging many players out of bed, and forcing them to go without sleep (me included)

Then, at exactly 8.00am, without any major event script leading up to it, the servers were shut down without notice.

----The Below paragraph was taken from unfathomablewritings - I really could not have put this better myself----

In the end, spending those last two hours in the game were wasted for most players, but it was not all bad. Once the servers were brought down, we were treated to a CGI video cutscene that blew everyone away. There is no doubt that Square outdid themselves with that video, and many believe it made up for the disaster that was the event. Only downside was that you didn't need to take part in the event to see the cutscene.

The video is one of the best uses of CGI i have seen, coupled with Final Fantasy's amazing music collection, this really is worth a watch. If i had to do this morning all over again, I would without a moments notice. It was great seeing so many lost players online & a Linkshell full of people i only see now & again. The atmosphere around the end was better than the actual thing, but this video..... this video is something else.

Enjoy & i'll catch you in 2.0 - Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn.

Shenmue mobile social game cancelled in Japan

2012-01-03T22:08:00.001+00:00

Being a die-hard Shenmue fan like is a fairly upsetting experience.

Having seen only two of a planned trilogy of games released on the amazing Sega Dreamcast, Shenmue fans in the west will now have to hold a candlelight vigil for the mobile social game Shenmue Gai (a.k.a. Shenmue Town), which has been cancelled after a year of operations.

The formerly Japan-only title was a free-to-play game which wasn't a port or conversion. Instead, it was built on the world and story of the main series.

It was expected to evolve into a smartphone and browser-based game later down the line (Shenmue creator Suzuki hinted last year at a iOS port), but - as with everything Shenmue-related - things don't seem to have worked out.

Console yourself with the above picture of Ryo sporting his plaster and Nozomi wearing her trademark white jumper.

RIP Shenmue.

Another MMO bites the dust

2011-12-12T09:58:00.001+00:00

If you spend countless hours on Facebook boosting the stats of your Order & Chaos Online character, we suggest you stop.

Gameloft's MMORPG will be closing its doors indefinitely on December 20th.

As you can see for yourself in the screenshot below, though, you'll still be able to "fight along with friends" in the iPhone, iPad, and Android versions of the fantasy title.

History lesson

Gameloft's massively multiplayer online role-playing game hit Mark Zuckerberg's social network back in July. You can play completely free of charge until you hit level ten.

From that point on, a subscription - paid for with Facebook credits - is required to progress further.

I have e-mailed Gameloft for more details & will update this post when i get a reply.

Important announcement concerning FINAL FANTASY XIV billing

2011-12-06T11:02:00.001+00:00

As a valued FINAL FANTASY XIV customer, we are grateful as always for your ongoing support and dedication.

In addition to our recent announcement on the upcoming release of FINAL FANTASY XIV Version 2.0, we also revealed our plans to start the recurring billing options. Below are further details regarding recurring billing.

The recurring billing will be effective starting January 6th, 2012.
In order to ensure that no one is charged without prior consent, we have decided to suspend all FINAL FANTASY XIV service accounts on January 5th, 2012.

Google+ update for iOS

2011-12-06T10:11:00.001+00:00

Google just rolled out an update to its IOS Google+ app that finally adds some key features that were previously only available from your desktop browser. It's not a huge update, but version 1.0.7.2940 adds full resolution image uploading, the ability to +1 photos, and yes, Google+ now offers the power of... search from within the app. Additionally, the old black icon has been dropped in favor of a deep red and white design more in line with the recent Google+ redesign's notifications. Grab the updated app for free at the iTunes App Store.

New 360 update Brings TV Content Tomorrow

2011-12-05T19:48:00.001+00:00

Microsoft is pushing out its redesigned Xbox 360 interface tomorrow and with it comes the first wave of entertainment app updates for the console. In the UK this means a LoveFilm application but the US is getting some more meaningful additions like Hulu Plus, ESPN and Netflix. Other European countries are getting localized content so that Spain, for example, gets something called “Telefónica España Movistar Imagenio” which sounds brilliant, at least.

There is another wave of content due later this month which brings 4 On Demand and Demand 5 as well as various internet streaming services like MSN Crackle and blinkbox.

In 2012, there will be further access to MLB.TV in the US & BBC iPlayer access to the UK.

As well as a redesigned interface, this update brings Bing and increases the scope of the voice control with Kinect. Those 360 owners who want to will be able to search their consoles using Bing to find all related content as well as being able to control the new wealth of entertainment applications using voice and gesture.

I for one cannot wait for this release!

FIFA 12 now out on Android

2011-12-05T18:43:00.001+00:00

EA Sports has just released FIFA 12 (or FIFA Soccer 12 in North America) on the Xperia Play for free.

The latest version of the football franchise joins the likes of Dead Space and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit as part of the studio's recently introduced free games initiative on Xperia Play.
FIFA 12 includes all the usual modes like Leagues, Cups, Quick Match, as well as a Daily Challenge mode. It also includes a new replay system, stadiums, and commentaries. All the licensed teams have been updated with new players.

For the moment, it looks as though FIFA 12 will be exclusive to the Xperia range of smartphones, which, of course, means it's available now on the arc, ray, and neo, in addition to the Play.

You can find FIFA 12 on the phone’s game launcher under the 'Free EA Games' icon - this will take you to the EA storefront.

Quake 3 played on Xperia Play

2011-11-30T16:23:00.000+00:00

Inside Infinity Blade 2 Gameplay Trailer

2011-11-30T16:16:00.000+00:00

Final Fantasy XIII-2 Opening Released!

2011-11-23T20:14:00.000+00:00

Square Enix has released the opening of Final Fantasy XIII-2. To be honest it isn’t full opening, but it is nicely edited version of it. The opening looks pretty impressive and awesome! Most of things you have already seen in trailers, but if you want avoid spoiler – don’t watch. Enjoy!

Bad Blood TCG Review

2011-11-13T15:35:00.001+00:00

Bad Blood TCG is a simple, accessible trading card game on mobile

Trading card games are almost a complete anomaly to me. I’ve dabbled in the Magic: The Gathering video games, but they’ve never really clicked or made a ton of sense when I actually start playing. I realize they’re wildly popular and I’m in the minority when you start diving into hardcore tabletop gaming fans, but something about them has never gotten me interested. Let’s see if Creative Mobile’s Bad Blood can change my mind.
Bad Blood pits humans, werewolves and vampires against in each other in direct card combat. Each card has up to three base statistics: attack power, health and a number that determines when it can enter battle. Cards in battle are paired up vertically to fight, with only special abilities (as described on the card) reaching other cards. Each side takes turns attacking from left to right (as you, the player, views the field) until they run out of cards in play. Victory is determined when a side runs out of overall health or there are no cards left, whichever comes first.

There’s a lengthy campaign through multiple dungeons, online play against other humans, and one-off battles and dungeon runs offline. As much game as there is to play, there’s no tutorial or help section. When you first launch the game after installing it, you’re taken directly to a battle that’s already been set up, and you watch it all happen with zero interaction other than confirming that you read something. It’s very disconcerting, because what you don’t realize is how little you actually do interact with this game, especially when the most “gamey” part is taking place.

Once you choose the cards that make up your deck, and which deck or decks will do battle, the game then takes over and plays out the battle on its own. At first this very much turned me off, but I kept playing and eventually it didn’t really bother me. I actually liked watching things unfold, but it does take some of the emotional involvement away from the results. Whether you win or lose is not much up to you. Even if you send exactly the same selection into the same battle, the results might be completely different based on what order the cards are dealt. While this might sound like a detriment to the game, it’s actually something that kept me playing when I might have put other games down.

Bad Blood is a free-to-download, microtransaction-supported app. You gain experience and gold as you go that can be used at the in-game shop to buy more decks and campaigns. I found that I never needed to spend real-life money to buy more gold since the cards that I was rewarded were generally good enough to win me most of the battles. You can also remove the in-game ads for a small charge via in-app purchase. Gold costs anywhere from £0.69 for 1,000 to £29.99 for 100,000.

I found myself surprised at how much I enjoyed my time with Bad Blood. Considering that I don’t have a given affinity for trading card games already, I wasn’t entirely sure that I’d want to play this. Though some of you who are more experienced with this type of game might find it pedestrian, Bad Blood gets all the basics of a mobile game correct. Quite frankly, it’s about as addictive as anything I’ve ever played on my phone.

Bad Blood TCG is available exclusively on Android. Get it Here

Final Fantasy XIII Players Get A Special Item When Starting XIII-2

2011-11-13T11:10:00.000+00:00

Final Fantasy XIII-2 will have at least two bonuses for fans that played the previous game. When you start Final Fantasy XIII-2, the game will show a series of narrated digest scenes that let players know what the characters have been up to. Producer Yoshinori Kitase also revealed Final Fantasy XIII save data will also unlock a special item. Kitase wouldn’t reveal what the gift is, but said it would be something handy that would not break game balance.

In the interview, Kitase discussed the Historia Crux system, which lets players travel through time. The development team implemented this feature so Final Fantasy XIII-2 would feel less linear than XIII. While you can travel to the future, you won’t be able to revisit Lightning’s journey during or before Final Fantasy XIII. The events of XIII caused time paradoxes, which allow Serah and Noel to travel through time. Kitase explained your actions affect the future. It is possible to change what happens in the game by making changes in the past. After completing Final Fantasy XIII-2 players will be able to replay any time period with their party fully powered up.

Kitase commented that Final Fantasy XIII-2 fits on one disc because the game uses real time rendering and less pre-rendered movies. This change also allowed the team to display different clothes and equipment during event scenes. He says load times should be short and if players want to lessen them they can install the game on Xbox 360. Since the interview was conducted on Xbox.com, Kitase did not say if the PlayStation 3 version would have an install option too.

Skyrim reaches nearly 250,000 concurrent Steam users on day one, topples MW3

2011-11-12T12:57:00.001+00:00

Skyrim’s kind of a big deal. Seeing as you’ve probably heard it mentioned more than the word “the” in the past 24 hours, I doubt that comes as a Tamriel-sized surprise to you. That said, at this point, even my cold, jaded soul can’t help but say damn.

According to Steam’s tracker, Skyrim’s rocketed to 231,593 players (as of writing) during its first 24 hours. For reference, Modern Warfare 3′s currently in distant second at 78,161. That’s sort of, you know, insane. It’s probably also a record number of people concurrently falling to their knees, gazing up into the falling rain, and cursing a single interface designer’s name.

DC Universe Gets a Boost of 1 Million New Players

2011-11-12T12:52:00.001+00:00

The free-to-play model seems to be working for SOE.

“In just one week alone, 1 million new players have joined DCUO with a 50/50 split between PC and PS3," said Lorin Jameson, Executive Director of Development, SOE Austin. While no numbers were given for the player base before the switch, 1 million players is quite a large number. Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XI boasts a player base that hovers around that mark, for example. Jameson went on to compare DCUO to Free Realms and Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, two games that have done very well for SOE.

"Our business model philosophy of Free to Play Your Way makes DCUO accessible to every type of player so they can choose to play the game in a way that suits them best,” said Jameson. “ We have a lot of exciting things coming up for players to enjoy in the game and are thrilled at the initial enthusiasm for the game's free-to-play transition."

The Adventure is coming to an end...

2011-11-08T21:57:00.000+00:00

Posted @ LegoUniverse

Hello Adventurers,

We are very sad to announce that LEGO Universe will be closing on Janurary 31, 2012. This was a very difficult decision to make, but unfortunately LEGO Universe has not been able to attract the number of members needed to keep the game open.

We are thankful to have had the opportunity to share this adventure wiith an amazing community of players. We hope you will continue to enjoy LEGO Universe for the last few months. As a thank you, if you are a paying subscriber on December 31, 2011, we will provide you the full game for the final month for free. Click here for the details.

Again, we want to thank the fantastic community of players who made LEGO Universe such a vibrant, fun and creative experience.

(You can discuss this article on the message boards)

Sincerely,

The LEGO Universe Team

FINAL FANTASY XIII-2 EUROPEAN BOX ART RELEASED

2011-11-06T23:00:00.000+00:00

Square Enix France has released the European cover art of Final Fantasy XIII-2! So it looks like Europe will has the traditional cover like Japan does too, but a bit bigger version of it.

DC Universe F2P Just Too Popular, Server Down

2011-11-04T18:44:00.001+00:00

Someone better call Queen Latifah, because DC Universe players are bringing down the house. Literally! The US & EU servers are in a state of limbo, going up and down as players flood in to see Superman break Bane’s back, or vice versa. In response, Deadmeat has posted an announcement on the DC Universe forums:

'As folks have seen we have had some major issues today keeping our US Servers up and running. We are working very hard to correct the problem and we will be keeping the servers down until we can deploy new software to help us fix the issues. The response to our new Free to Play model has been overwhelming (literally) and we are very excited about all the new players in the game. We are working hard to make sure DC Universe Online is the best experience possible.'

Hopefully Sony can get this fixed in a manner that does not involve the ritualistic sacrifice of whoever suggested merging servers right before a free to play transition. Or the sacrifice of a blogger who questions the viability of said sacrifice.

DC Universe Online registers 120,000 new players

2011-11-04T16:08:00.000+00:00

If the early returns are any indication, DC Universe Online's free-to-play conversion is looking pretty successful. Sony Online Entertainment boss John Smedley recently tweeted that the superhero MMO picked up 120,000 new player registrations since its Tuesday evening cutover.

Smedley also said that concurrent users swelled 400% during the same time period. The one downside to the title's newfound popularity is the login queues. Earlier this year SOE consolidated all of the game's launch-day shards down to a few "megaservers" and PC Gamer reports that login queues are paying the price as a flood of F2P tire-kickers descends on Gotham City and Metropolis en masse.

Source: PC Gamer

Square Enix and DeNA bringing social Final Fantasy title to Japanese Mobage platform

2011-10-29T19:43:00.001+01:00

Square Enix has announced that it's teaming up with social games specialist DeNA to bring a social Final Fantasy game to the latter's Japanese Mobage platform.

There aren't many details floating about at present, but the new title will revolve around the concept of "fighting for teammates", which we presume is where the social aspects come into it.

Both companies will work on the project together, with Square Enix providing Final Fantasy characters and DeNA lending its social experience.

If you're a user of DeNA's social network, you'll be able to pre-order the title through Mobage Japan's website. You can also earn several in-game benefits by picking up a copy of Final Fantasy Type-0 for PSP.

City of Heroes Freedom Review

2011-10-26T16:08:00.000+01:00

Returning to a free City of Heroes

By now most gamers realize that going free isn't a sign of a struggling game. A previously pay-to-play MMO that goes free-to-play often sees a major increase in revenue, an increase in active users, and much more. Perfectly healthy games with active and substantial populations go free to see those increases even if the title doesn't "need" the infusion. Let City of Heroes be a perfect example of that ideal.

City of Heroes has been going strong for over 7 years now. A sizable and loyal following has been with the game through 20 Issues (free updates), and with its 21st issue, the game became City of Heroes Freedom. City of Heroes Freedom uses a free-to-play hybrid model where an optional subscription is available, but players can play the game for free with no client purchase.

Membership comes in three different versions. Players can be Free, Premium, or VIPs. A Free player is more limited than a Premium player, and VIPs have access to everything the game has to offer. Visit the membership matrix for details on the restrictions of each level of membership. Continue below for a look at these memberships and how they affect gameplay.

Free Members

Downloading and playing City of Heroes Freedom for free is an easy process. A gamer just needs to start an NCSoft Master account or link an existing account to City of Heroes Freedom. From there, they are just one download away from character creation and power selection. Someone who has never tried City of Heroes will be considered a Free member when starting out. They will have limitations on what they can do in the game, but without being familiar with it, most players won't see the boundaries too early.

The biggest restriction a Free member will encounter, and probably the most obvious, is the character slot limit. A Free player only has access to two character slots. City of Heroes is known for creating alt-itus in many gamers, and the character slot limit will hurt if a new player enjoys the game. Other restrictions will start to irk a Free player if s/he truly enjoys the game, too. Free players can't join Super Groups (guilds), they have limited chat, and no access to in-game mail.

Luckily, though, there is plenty to hold a Free player's attention. Making a character is not limited in many ways. There are costume pieces locked out unless purchased, but some of these; like a good portion of the capes and auras, are unlocked through leveling a character. Leveling content is plentiful and those that enjoy the game should consider upgrading to a Premium membership since it is a one-time and permanent switch.

Premium Members

Premium Members become such by buying any amount of Paragon Points. This purchase is minimal depending on how many points the Free player wants to buy. The least of which costs $5 for 400 Paragon Points. Paragon Points are used to buy a number things in the Paragon Market. For example, power sets, costumes, archetypes, and much more are just a click away.

Returning players, gamers that previously bought City of Heroes before it went free-to-play, will automatically begin as Premium members. Plenty of previously pay-to-play only games are jumping on this bandwagon, and each title has its own quirks and problems when it comes to getting their model right. Some take too much away from a returning player. Specifically, a few transitioned titles will take expansion content away from a player that already purchased it. City of Heroes is not one of those MMOs.

If a returning player had purchased Going Rogue, s/he will find much of that content intact. This includes the Dual Pistols power set, the Demon Summoning power set (although the Mastermind archetype is required), and the Alignment system. If a returning player previous bought any of the booster packs before the game went free, then those will also still be available.

Premium members still have only two character slots, but if that member is a returning player, s/he retains any slots bought or unlocked before the game went free. Premium accounts can also join Super Groups, receive tells, access the in-game mail system, and start working their way up the Paragon Rewards tree. A gamer that just can't handle missing out on the incarnate system can opt to subscribe for it and other amenities.

VIPs

City of Heroes Freedom VIPs pay $14.99 per month to have full, unrestricted access to the game. Systems like the incarnate levels and invention use are included alongside full access to inventory and bank options. Full access to the Mission Architect system is included as well.

In addition to having everything the game has to offer, VIPs also get a 400 Paragon Point stipend every month they subscribe. With each month a VIP is subscribed, s/he also receives one Paragon Reward token (explained below). Getting Paragon Reward tokens lets players that drop to a Premium membership keep some of the features City of Heroes has for VIPs or paid purchase.

Currently, VIPs don't miss out on much in the Paragon Market. There are things that must be purchased, even for a VIP and that's what their stipend is used for. There is a power set available for purchase that VIPs must purchase like Premium and Free members, but VIPs do get paid content for free in the form of the Signature Series.

Paragon Rewards

Paragon Rewards NCSoft and Paragon Studios also introduced Paragon Rewards alongside City of Heroes Freedom. This reward program works similarly to CoH's previous veteran rewards program with some noticeable differences.

If you do decide to spend money on the game, you'll be given Paragon Reward tokens. For every $15 you spend on Paragon Points, you'll receive one Paragon Reward token. This can be done by all membership levels, even by VIPs if they choose to buy $15 worth of Paragon Points.

Using these points on the Paragon Rewards table gives players permanent access to features like costume parts, archetypes, and system access. It's a nice way to promote the buying of Paragon Points and reward players for their loyalty. Each token a player spends unlocks something for the game, and filling up each tier of the Paragon Reward table offers up a boon of bonuses. For instance, having eight tokens, which is enough to fill up through tier four, unlocks rewards in the Mission Architect, the ability to earn Reward Merits and Vanguard Merits, an increased inf. cap, lifetime access to the Auction House, and much more.

Hybrid free-to-play models often just strip away content from paid subscribers when they drop to a non-paid membership. The Paragon Rewards program lets players earn and keep their bonuses which is a welcome albeit confusing set up. Check out the Paragon Wiki for a clear and easy way to see what is available at each tier and with each token.

There's a substantial game to be played at the Free level, but if you want more like inventions, auctions, and Mission Architect you're going to have to spend money. The Paragon Rewards system makes each $15 you spend worth a bit more in the long term, but it does close off the option to just buy access to things like using and making inventions (only purchasable for 30 days at a time or unlocked through the Paragon Rewards system). Only time will tell if the Paragon Market will keep the content flowing without upsetting paying subscribers or disappointing non-paying gamers. Most of City of Heroes success will depend on that.

Steve Jobs obituary

2011-10-06T21:01:00.000+01:00

Steve Jobs has died at the age of 56. Jobs was the charismatic mastermind behind Apple. With his leadership, the company went from a startup in his parents' garage to the highest-valued company in the world, introducing the idea that technology can be an object of desire.

@techradar - RIP Steve Jobs - You made the world a more interesting place. A leading light in technology has been extinguished

Jobs' career began when he dropped out of Reed College on Oregon after a year, choosing instead to drop in on other classes at the campus. One was calligraphy. "It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating,"

A decade later that course influenced his work on the Macintosh, which introduced beautiful typography to a computer for the first time. "And since Windows just copied the Mac," he later explained, "it's likely that [without this] no personal computer would have them."

@simonwalton - You don't have to be an Apple fan to appreciate just how much Jobs shaped our world. What a genius he was.

Jobs' intuition for balancing technology and art would become the cornerstone of Apple's game plan, but his business savvy and sales ability would also pave his way to a rare fortune.

One example was in 1975. A 20-year-old Jobs was working for Atari, building a reputation for getting things done.

@stephenfry - Woke to the news of Steve Jobs's death. He changed the world. I knew him a little and admired him entirely. Love to Apple and his family.

Bosses offered Steve a huge bonus if he could improve their flagship arcade game, Breakout. Jobs turned to his geeky friend Steve 'Woz' Wozniak, offering half the $700 fee if he could complete it in four days.

Apple began one year later, when Jobs found Woz building his own computer. He saw potential in the relatively small prototype, and suggested they go into business -- Woz as product designer, Jobs as salesman.

Everything was perfect; they were young, talented and living in Silicon Valley at just the right time. Computers were set to become the most profitable industry in the world. After one year they brought their flagship computer to market: the Apple II. It made them rich.

@xeonwales - Mac changed computers. iPod changed music. iPhone changed mobile phones. Pixar changed movies . Jobs changed the world. #RIPSteveJobs

"From almost the beginning at Apple we were, for some incredibly lucky reason, fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time," he told the Smithsonian. "The contributions we tried to make embodied values not only of technical excellence and innovation -- which I think we did our share of -- but innovation of a more humanistic kind."

Jobs became a superstar in the 80s, but with the growing pressure of running a global business, he needed help. He turned to Pepsi boss John Sculley in 1983, famously asking, "Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life, or do you want to come with me and change the world?"

@VINNYGUADAGNINO - Everybody put an iPhone up in the air one time #ripstevejobs

Sculley accepted, but the relationship soured. Jobs was fired.

Being kicked out of the company he founded and lived for most of his adult life left him devastated.

But Jobs later admitted it was the best thing that ever happened to him. The weight of Apple's vast success had begun to starve his creativity, and being fired let him appreciate being a beginner again.

During this time he founded Pixar, which made the first ever computer animated film, Toy Story -- a genuine classic. When Disney bought the company for $7.4bn in 2006, Jobs became Disney's largest single shareholder.

At the same time, Jobs also ventured back into computing with a new company, NeXT. It built an operating system and Jobs later sold it to his old friends at Apple, who renamed it OS X.

@TNADixie - Saddened to hear about the passing of Steve Jobs. A true visionary and leader. It's amazing how one person's ideas truly changed our lives.

But Apple had begun to flounder without its original visionary, and Jobs returned to lead it in 1997.

From that point on, every leading Apple product was given at least one killer feature to separate it from the copycat industry that would surround it.

The first iMac was a stylish jab at the beige computers of the day, with a striking range of colours. Jony Ive's refreshing design became a thing of mainstream technology lust -- you didn't need to be a geek to love computers any more.

Then the iPod and iTunes brought about a revolution in the music industry. In fact, it was so much more than just music -- it opened the door to digital products being a normal thing to buy.

The iPhone would be Apple's greatest coup. It brought touchscreen phones to the mainstream and Apple became a leading player in the mobile phone industry, out of nowhere. Suddenly, Apple could do anything.

The iPad could be the culmination of Jobs' genius. The product had been planned for decades: this concept video is from 1987. It shows how Apple wanted to produce a tablet with what would become FaceTime and Siri two decades ago, predicting it would be available in September 2011.

"My model for business is The Beatles," Jobs said in 2003. "There were four guys who kept each others', kind of, negative tendencies in check. They balanced each other, and the total was greater than the sum of the parts. And that's how I see business. You know, great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people."

Away from his work, Jobs was a family man, married in 1991 to Laurene Powell. After stepping down from Apple after his third medical leave in August this year, with Tim Cook taking his seat as CEO, a neighbour described his son's high school graduation.

"There Steve stood, tears streaming down his cheeks, his smile wide and proud, as his son received his diploma and walked on into his own bright future, leaving behind a good man and a good father who can be sure of the rightness of this, perhaps his most important legacy of all."

Jobs' greatest words could be from that Stanford University speech he made in 2005.

"Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith... Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle.

"As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.

"Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

Original posted at Cnet UK

Jailbreak iOS 5 GM

2011-10-05T19:48:00.003+01:00

Originally posted at cydiahelp.com

Following the release of iOS 5 GM, MuscleNerd has announced that today’s released Redsn0w 0.9.9b2 can jailbreak iOS 5 GM on iPhone 4, 3GS, iPad and iPod touch. We’ve a quick guide below to show you how to jailbreak iOS 5 GM using ~~Redsn0w 0.9.9b2~~ (update below).

As usual, the jailbreak is not untethered yet. iOS 5 GM untethered jailbreak will be available once it’s released to public, not in GM release. Below is the full steps.

UPDATE: Redsn0w 0.9.9b3 has been released to jailbreak iOS 5 GM without need to point to iOS 5 beta 7.

Jailbreak iOS 5 GM

STEP 1: Download Redsn0w 0.9.9b3 (Windows – Mac).

STEP 2: Download iOS 5 GM for your iOS device from here.

STEP 3: Launch Redsn0w 0.9.9b3, Extras then Select IPSW and point redsn0w to the iOS 5 GM downloaded above.

STEP 4: Now hit OK and get back to the main screen then click on Jailbreak and redsn0w 0.9.9b3 will begin its work. You’ll get your device in DFU mode by following the on-screen instruction then you’re there

Few minutes later you’ll get your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch jailbroken on iOS 5 GM.

NOTE: This jailbreak won’t work on iPad 2. For iPad 2 users, you have to wait for iOS 5 final release to get your jailbreak.

UPDATE: Sn0wbreeze 2.8b8 released to jailbreak iOS 5 GM on Windows, you can download it here.

How to install iOS 5 GM

2011-10-05T19:39:00.001+01:00

iOS 5 just went golden yesterday after Apple unveiled iPhone 4S, and promised to release the final version on Oct. 12th. If you cannot wait that long and want to lay a hand on it right now like me, you could download the Golden Master version, which is amount to the final release version, and have installed right now! Here's how (for Mac only):

1. Download the latest iTunes 10.5 beta 9, direct link, install it

2. Download iOS 5 for your iPhone, downloads are available here,

3. Extract the IPSW file from the iOS 5 seed

4. Back up your iPhone by iTunes

5. Open iTunes, connect your iPhone, press and hold option key and choose "restore", select the IPSW file from where you extracted it

6. Wait till the system is loaded and your iPhone restarts

7. Setup preferences, iCloud and sync with your back up

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light landing exclusively on Xperia Play

2011-09-30T17:35:00.000+01:00

Square Enix and Sony Ericsson have just revealed that the twin-stick action-adventure game Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will be arriving exclusively (for Android) on Xperia Play in November.

The game was originally released on PSN and Xbox Live Arcade, and saw everyone’s favourite ‘well-equipped’ tomb raider team up with an ancient warrior to stop all hell being set loose amongst an old temple.

Square Enix has also revealed that Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light will be the first of a number of releases scheduled for the Xperia Play, with Ben Cusack, head of mobile for Square Enix Europe, saying, “this is just the start of what we plan to do together”.

iPhone 4 Home button issue - Fix?

2011-09-28T21:00:00.000+01:00

It has come to my attention (Thanx to @Thisispocket) that many iPhone 4 users are reporting a bug where the iPhone Home Button does not always respond to single-click or double-clicks. It might be software related as most people seem to have begun noticing this problem after installing iOS 4.1+. It was hoped the bug would be fixed in iOS 4.2.1 but no such luck. 4.3 did not offer any improvement. Other causes that have been considered include a hardware short or dust or lint getting under the button. Ally also mentions that it may be caused by the home button not being properly centred. Here are some (potential) fixes

Issues (intermittent)

You single or double-click and nothing happens
You double-click and it only registers a single click

Fixes

1.) Open any application

2.) Press and hold the power button until the slide to shutdown swipe bar appears.

3.) Release Power button

4.) Press and hold Home button Lightly until screen returns to icon screen

Or try this:
1.) Connect the phone to you'r PC/MAC

2.) As soon as you plug it in, Press and hold the home button until the voice control appears.

3.) Release Home button

4.) Press cancel, reboot the phone.

I have tested the 1st method on my iPhone @ MrsXeonWales's iPhone (both suffered the same issue) & now I have a fully working Home button again!!

Hope this helps someone!