Sunday, November 24, 2013

Customer service

I buy things online a lot. Almost always from Amazon, and let me tell you that they are good. I have always gotten quick responses and and great results. Example: I tried to buy some music using promo codes and while the codes seemed responsive they charged my credit card. The let me know that the codes where inactive when I asked and they refunded my card and gave me 5$ free for using on their mp3 platform. More companies need to learn that even after someone buys your product that you do your damnedest to make them want to keep using your services.

Another example would be the company Anker. They reply within 24 hours, they are willing to help, and they are nice. They know that if you are having issues that it is their job to help you out. I recently had an issue with one of the mice I bought from them and they where willing to refund and pay for the shipping.

These companies are to be trusted and have proved it time and time again.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Tech time: Next-Gen consoles.

The next gen consoles are launching this holiday season. First is the PS4 which launched on the 15th. And second is the Xbox One, launching on the 22nd. Both of these will be wildly successful but as different as they are that run on very similar hardware. Im going to talk about the hearts of these machines.

     AMD is a company that makes computer possessors, the control center of any device. They also make Graphics cards, they power all those textures and models in games. For simplicity sake I will refer to the GPU(graphics card) and CPU(Possessor).

     The two major companies that make CPU's are Intel and AMD. Traditionally Intel performs better but cost more and the opposite is true for AMD. I personally am a fan of AMD because they are a forward thinking company and Il tell you why. AMD makes this little thing called and APU(Advanced Processing Unit.) This physically looks like a standard CPU but it acts like a CPU and a GPU in one. It is a low power consumption alternative to owning the two apart. They are also dirt cheap.

     This is important because the Xbox One and the PS4 both use them. The top of the line APU available for consumers is a quad-core. Now with this in mind the next-gens run on a beefed up 8 core. This is kinda crazy and will offer a lot of possibilities for developers in the future. The graphics power behind it isnt amazing but it gets the job done well.

    If I had to put my money somewhere(excluding pc gaming) it would be in the Xbox One. In my experience the fanbase is more "loyal" and Sony is a bit unstable and it isnt known exactly what the future holds for them.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Indie hour

On this Indie hour we will look at Auditorium by Cipher Prime. Control light to make music, different colors make different loops and when they all combine you are left with a beautiful light show and a sweet tune. I, in retrospect, cant think of any point when the game got repetitive or boring. The game is 7$ right now on steam and is a nice break from from the wave of generic shooters. I highly recommend Cipher primes other works, they have lots more and you will be hearing about them here very soon.


Link dump:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/205870/

Hotline Miami

     A haze of colors and blood, swinging your bat and pumping your assailant full of lead. Pulsing music fills your ears, its a little distracting but it keeps you going. Your phone beckons but who waits on the other end is a mystery. Dead hookers a DeLorean, and animal masks, this is  Hotline Miami.

     Hotline Miami is a top-down "helicopter view, or imagine the camera is hovering directly above the character pointing down" there is death, the struggle of a man who is in too deep before it begins, and some kick ass music.

    The game takes place in the 80's and is so psychedelic and trippy at some points it is like playing a fever dream. The game is 10$ on steam and is worth every penny. My rule is that a game has to either give me equal or more hours of entertainment to how many dollars went into buying it OR has to be really good, enough so to make up for the short play-time. This game is a shining example of the second option.

    Essentially, BUY IT. it will run on any low end system and will give you one hell of a ride.

  Link dump:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/219150/ store page.

A little problem I have

I'm not sure if you can read the announcement on the Metro Last Light tile, if you cant open it in a new tab. My issue is what it says "Now available on Linux, Mac, and PC" now here's the thing. A pc isn't an operating system. Mac OSX+ and Linux are operating systems. A PC is capable of running Mac OSX+ or any Linux distribution(version) in fact all Linux distros (term specifically used for different versions of Linux) are designed for a PC. Aside for android but that's kinda different. When people refer to a PC as an operating system or they say "Mac vs PC" they have no idea what they are saying. its annoying and kinda movie studio lawyer in where you question their understanding of their designated medium.

        If anyone who has hands in this industry ever please this then please help people understand.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Tech war: Console vs PC

     The battle of console vs pc has existed for a long, long time. Each platform has their pro's and con's and today I will objectively look at each.



    First off I will talk console(Xbox 360 and PS4). The console is simple, it is a controller with a set number of functions and it requires no effort from the user. This makes it easy to just buy a Console and plug it in, easy low effort, low yield gaming. Price is also a big factor, 200-250$ for a full fledged gaming system. That is great, its an easy access platform that, even though im a pc gamer, i think every one should have as their first gaming experience.

   Now its PC's turn. The pc is a whole different ballgame, it requires a lot more work but it is higher yield. One of thee major things about pc is the controls. A mouse is very precise, more so than a joy stick at least and a keyboard has a lot more room for inputs and key-binds. Pc gaming is also, in the long run, cheaper. games are cheaper and upgrades aren't necessary very often. A pc also gives the user a learning experience and can help the user learn a lot about computers and could even help them get a job. Content creation is all on pc (mods, making games, etc). And a mid-ranged pc will out perform a console any day in terms of graphics, and game-play.

    The cons of a console include, the worst community ever, not to generalize but there is a lot of children and it gets old fast. I don't like getting death threats from 12 year old, it isn't fun. Graphics, im no graphics nut but they do enhance an already great game and console just cant deliver. Controls, games for console like first person shooters are designed for mouse input, the twitch ability just isn't there. Library, pc has a whole library of indie games and more titles are released every day, weather they be indie or big name. (Xbox only) Paid subscription, it sucks. Thats it.

    Cons of pc gaming include, Price. A "gaming pc" that is fully capable of any game at max settings could cost about 1500$. an pc that is about 2/3 of that ability is about 500-700. Thats about it, you get cheap games, indie bundles, an active and creative community and mods. Oh man mods.

    A "mod" is a customization of a game usually made by a group of community members and they truly enrich the game experience.


Ultimately it is your choice. Just make the right one.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Windows *7* 8

Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted in a while but here you go.

I am an avid user of windows 8 and with the release of 8.1 I am happy as ever but it could be better. I have been using windows 8 as an alternate windows 7(best this to his shelves since XP) besides, why wouldn't I. Windows 8 is faster and more secure, ultimately better. There is however a trade off, Metro. Metro is the "square OS" that windows has bundled with windows 8 and I don't like it, i just don't use it. It confuses me that so many people hate windows 8, it runs all the same programs as 7 and is faster. For those who just wanted a faster windows 7 out of 8 there is salvation, startisback. Startisback is a program that can completely eliminate all traces of windows 8 with no hassle (other than the price). It lets you disable hot corners (when you put your mouse in a corner an irritating stuff starts cluttering the screen.)
This is an image of my windows 8.1 desktop.

The price for 2 licenses is 3$ and for 5 it is 5$. cheap, worth it, get it. i would get five in case I to buy more computers in the future, or maybe a tablet. As a serious tech user I recommend.




Link Dump: