Stock photo not by me
So, I finally got the notification that my upgrade to Windows 10 was ready to install the other night. I had Windows set to update at 3 am, so this way when I got home, Windows should be ready.
With Sony pretty much stealing E3 when they revealed that you can pretty much do whatever you wish with your games, and NOT having it connect to the interwebs once every 24 hours, Microsoft announced today that it will pull the plug on it’s initial DRM policies, and retain what it’s been doing with the XBox 360. Meaning you can sell YOUR games, you can lend out YOUR games, and you can buy USED games. Furthermore, XBox One will no longer need to phone home once every 24 hours to tell it’s parent’s that it’s not doing anything illegal. XBox fans can now jump for joy.
The damage I think has been done, and I’m sure it has already lost some fans. Who know’s if they will jump back, with it having a higher price tag also will sure still play a major role. I feel that MS has not handled this all too well, and some comments made after the initial announcement will linger on to some of us. I in particular didn’t like that one comment from Don Mattrick, stating that users without good internet connection can just stick to the XBox 360. (see video)
[youtube http://youtu.be/DxkEe_l7S3g]I wonder if will get um….schitt canned.
And lastly, I just found out that some MS employees were sabotaging some Wii U displays at some Best Buy’s, saying things like ‘why buy a Wii U when the XBone will be out in a matter of months”. Way to stick it to them eh MS.
[youtube http://youtu.be/nKI5QzPYP9k]I will probably buy a Wii U, well before I get an XBox One. No matter, I made up my mind after Sony’s press conference at E3. My Playstation 4 is pre-ordered.
I don’t know, but it seems like Microsoft is giving gamers a big ‘screw you’ with their DRM, always needing to check in, Kinect required XBone. A recent comment from one of their officials, Don Matrick was interviewed prior to E3, and he said that gamer’s can stick to the XB360 if they don’t have an internet connection.
I’ve stayed away from this subject really, only because I wanted to see what was what during E3, and maybe they may shed some more light. But, it just looks like they are sticking with their DRM policies, and well, after Sony‘s stance on the subject, and this comment, it looks like Microsoft is sinking quite fast.
-original article-
With all the hoopla regarding XBox One’s DRM, Sony released a short instructional video demonstrating how one person can share a game to another person on the Playstation 4. Very informative.
[youtube http://youtu.be/DOosVWP–j0]
Looks like my cable box
Microsoft announced it’s next console at a press event earlier today. I’ve been sort of following it through out the day, grabbing little tid bits here and there . From what I gather, it looks like it will be more than a gaming machine, it will be an all in one media type hub. It’s pretty much made to look to sit right next to your cable box and make it not so stand off-ish. I am not too crazy on the looks, but at the same time I don’t mind it. It’s made to be one with your home entertainment center, and it wont stick out like a sore thumb. Microsoft also announced a new Kinect to go along with the XB1, and you cannot have an XB1 without a Kinect since it sort of needs it.
Don’t like the fact that you are tied to the Kinect, but I guess you can view it as having a Wii Motion Sensor but beefed up. It’s another thing that will break, and in my mind, can be avoided, but somehow, you need a Kinect for the XB1 to work.
The controller looks about the same as the old XB360’s. Some changes of course, but overall, like the PS4, it retains that shape we all are used to already.
Hardware specs wise, it seems to be on par with the PS4. Both are running AMD chips on x86 architecture, both will have 8 GB of RAM (though PS4 will use GDDR5 as opposed to DDR3 on the XB1), DX 11.1 graphics capabilities, 500 GB of storage and a bevy of wireless signals, and USB 3 ports. It will be able to support 4k also. No real details on what the hardware can do as of yet.
They did show off some trailers, which look pretty impressive, but for some reason it didn’t have the same ‘oomph’ that the PS4 ones did. But this was a fairly short event, so I’ll hold my reservations on that for now.
To be honest, I’m not as wowed with this. It may very well blow my socks off later on, but as of now, I am putting my money on Ps4 first. The tied to Kinect feature was a bit of a let down for me, but other than that, it looks like it’s going to be a powerhouse of a unit. It’s up to the developers to really tie all what it can offer together.
I am excited to see what can be done with this and the PS4. Hardware specs wise, both seem to be going at it neck and neck, and it will be exciting to see what sort of edge each machine can offer to the gamers. Not all that media stuff, but on the games itself. I couldn’t care less if it can handle Netflix and what not, but I want to see what it will be able to offer to us, the gamers, on the gaming side of things. I need to do some more reading on this, and digest all the info that’s been outed. Update’s to follow.
Photo courtesy of Kotaku
Someone from Reddit pieced it together. looks PS3 ish. I kind of like the minimalist design. Who knows how close this is to the final product.
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Photo courtesy of IGN
Not to be outdone by Microsofts next gen XBox announcement set tomorrow, Sony teased us with glimpses of the PS4. We will still have to wait until June when they announce more info on their upcoming console.
I’m really curious also as to what Microsoft is set out to announce tomorrow.
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So after the pound cake commercial’s Cam Newton has released a few more equally funny windows phone commercials.
Money Bags
Peanut Butter and Jelly
Catch the oop
I think that first phrase just sums in all up.
The Big Cheese and I have been wasting away our weekends playing ridiculously fun yet extremely frustrating video games on our PS3’s.
One of our favorite games of the past year or so has been Resident Evil 5. We have literally played that game to death. But that didn’t stifle our fun. We kept playing it up until The Big Cheese broke his arm (and that’s a story for another day).
After the summer long hiatus and an uneventful waiting period, it finally released. Resident Evil 6.
Upon first glance, the third-person shooter doesn’t seem all that different from the older RE games. HOWEVER. Before actually jumping into the full game experience, Capcom was generous enough to throw in a mandatory tutorial. This 20-30 minute long prelude to the actual campaign starts with Leon Kennedy and Helena Harper. You play as Leon, learning the controls and mannerisms of the game.
I just have to say. The graphics? Beautiful. The game actually tells you to put the brightness down as low as possible (so that a grey six on the screen is barely visible). It really looks like a movie. The graphics are a sight to behold (even on my standard-def tube TV box), but of course, as any gamer should know, graphics aren’t everything. The sound is well done, too, by the way. Very detailed and crisp.
The controls are very different from the standard shooter, and will most likely be a difficult adjustment for a person that has solely been playing Call of Duty lately, such as I.
You can play through the campaign as one of three characters, each with a different story line: Chris Redfield, Jake Muller, and the aforementioned Leon S. Kennedy.
I’m really hoping for a great experience with this game, as chilling as it may be.
Many storylines= much fun.
iPhone 5. I hope people out there are disappointed by this lackluster device, because I am.
I’m not an Apple guy by any means, but I was actually hoping for a well spec’d phone from them this time. Not to say that the specs of the new iPhone 5 aren’t good, I’m just saying that it’s nothing new or impressive.
The two biggest upgrades to the iPhone are 4G LTE and the 4 inch screen. Apple will probably go as far to say that they are the pioneers of 4G technology, when they aren’t. Of course, now many more people will know about 4G LTE, considering that the technology is now on an Apple iPhone. Then there will be the people (especially those on AT&T) questioning how it is different from HSPA+, called 4G on the AT&T iPhone 4S. On Android devices running HSPA+ it is titled as such, or H+.
The 4 inch screen is lacking as well, and it isn’t even HD. It’s a 4 inch screen! Most phones are of 4.5 inches to 5.2 inches, with 4.8 being the average “sweet spot.” This iteration is a 16:9, a widescreen Retina Display. Of course, the pixel density is stellar, something I actually can complement an iPhone about. But it still isn’t HD. Apple is going to continue with its Retina display.
They added Facebook sync in iOS 6, so now all Facebook contacts will be on the phone if desired. Guess what? Android did that. From the start. Another thing Apple has blatantly stolen from Android is the notification pull down from iOS 5. Catch up, Apple.
They’ve used the same camera as the iPhone 4S, just with a newer, thinner, more durable cover. Improvement, but won’t change the fact that the iPhone will produce blurry images and pretty much work like a brick in low light situations. Even so, this overshadowed the brilliant Nokia PureView Camera on the Nokia Lumia 920, a gorgeously designed phone with a simple and clean user interface on Windows 8.
The processor it’s running is the Apple A6 chip. A dual core CPU with quad core graphics, essentially making the media experience smooth. But internationally, there are Android phones running quad core CPU’s along with quad core GPU’s. Apple is behind a bit on this one.
Apple decided to get rid of Google Maps in favor of their own native Maps. The native Maps app has a fly-over feature, essentially mimicking Google’s Street View and Building View. Oh, and the biggest thing improved for the iPhone’s maps? It now has turn-by-turn navigation! Isn’t that a surprise, the Maps application has features that Google Maps and Google Earth have had nearly from the get-go! Oh, Apple, catching up.
Siri has also had some updating, and now it copies the Google Now, Android 4.1’s native voice actions app. Siri can now tell sports scores and allow you to make reservations on the go.
But perhaps one of the most talked about things is the new dock connector, misleadingly called the Lightning dock connector. For one, the Lightning cable is only a USB 3.0 cable. Most iMacs are at USB 4.0, making for insanely fast data transfers. Also, people with all the speaker accessories will now need to buy special adapters so their new iPhone 5’s will be able to fit on the dock! A question asked moreover about this new dock is why didn’t Apple just go with the industry standard MicroUSB? The world may never know.
With all the similarities to Android phones, why isn’t Apple the company getting sued?
Point is, Apple is merely evolving the iPhone brand, but in the process making it less innovative, and less… Different.
Exciting, isn’t it? Apple is the one having to play catch up in the technology world.
Will you be waiting in line to buy the iPhone 5? Or will you wait for it to cool down to get it? Maybe you’ll wait for the inevitable launch of the iPhone 5S? How about switching to an Android 4.0 device or a Windows 8 device?
Time for a laugh.
I just wrote a blog 