Hey folks – quick heads up that the Galaxy Nexus 4 which has been totally sold out for the last month is now available in the Google Playstore. If you were thinking of picking one up, I’d head over there and put your order in real quick before it becomes too late! I put in for one myself and the site is saying it ships in 1-2 weeks for both versions (8G and 16 G). This is Google’s latest in the Nexus Series, and it comes with the vanilla (raw) version of Google’s latest mobile OS Jellybean. Are you getting one?
I often wonder what it must have been like to actually be in Rome while the great gladiators of ancient times battled in front of frenzied crowds clamoring for more blood and torn flesh. Chunks of guts lay on the floor from your defeated enemies while you stand towering above their lifeless carcass laughing aloud – weapon of choice hoisted in victory!
So that’s pretty much the God of War: Ascension Multiplayer pack which you can download from the PlayStation network if you’re a PlayStation Plus Member. I played around with it for a while and it was pretty cool! You have to choose a God to align yourself with – Zeus, Ares, Poseidon, or Hades. They give you a weapon and certain abilities that are unique to them. After that you off to the Hercules arena where you battle other mortals over the PlayStation Network. It’s pretty much a free-for-all really, however, button mashing though tempting is not the way to go. Timing is really everything, as well as collecting power-ups before the others.
In between matches you can level up your character by equipping any relics you found or leveling up your magic, weapons, or armor. You get points by doing different things around the stage like getting a certain number of kills, or collecting a certain number of secondary weapons. The better you do in battle, the more points you will have in your possession to spend on better upgrades. Check it out on the PSN and don’t say anything if you run into me online and I wash you up!
If you’re like me, then you’re always looking at start-ups lamenting about how you came up with the idea for the mp3 player back in high-school and someone stole your idea. We have tons of ideas, but don’t quite know how to bring them forth into reality – be it funds, or drive, or whatever stands in the way of a good idea’s fruition. Well keep reading, I have good news for you.
I spent some time with Brian Shields, Co-Founder of Incubate NYC. Incubate is a program developed by Brian and Marcus Mayo to help those of us with brilliant ideas to take said idea and give birth to it in reality. It’s a start-up program specifically designed for first time entrepreneurs. When I spoke with Marcus, he told me what makes the program unique is the support system that comes along with being in the program. Being in the fox hole so-to-speak with others can be profoundly helpful. Seeing how someone else solves a problem can be helpful to you or vice-avers. He also mentioned that three main keys to the success of a particular project are getting started, knowing what to focus on, and sticking with it.
The program is a 5 week “Bootcamp” – which is basically workshop to refine your business ideas and concepts. However, what’s cool is that the program doesn’t stop there. Once the bootcamp is finished, graduates still have access to the Incubate NYC resources and community. It seemed quite unique to me, and I’ll update you guys once I’ve gone through it.
Honestly, many people were really looking forward to play Raiden in his ultimate Cyborg Ninja Form and the change is coming closer than ever. You can definitely count me in as one of those folks and Konami has just announced that it’s Metal Gear Rising: Revengance Demo will drop next week on the 22nd. The demo will show the first chapter in the game which is pretty cool. The game drops officially on Feb.19th.
It looks like Raiden has some internal mental issues that he’s coping with, and unfortunately, other people are around for him to work out his frustrations on. Oh well, pretty much everything in the game is collateral damage as his sword can cut almost everything.
See the latest “Jack the Ripper” trailer below:
UPDATE:
I got a chance to play a demo that came with the Zone of Enders HD Pack. So let me say this – the graphics are amazing! I actually took a few moments just to look at the work that went into the model of Raiden. A ton of effort clearly went into making this game candy for the eyes.
In terms of gameplay – it has similar elements to the regular Metal Gear franchise in that you can store weapons and health items in sort of an app drawer where you can call upon them in the middle of a fight. As you can guess, a huge part of the game-play is the High Frequency Blade Raiden is carrying. That thing is crazy – cutting just about everything other than walls or doors that mark the end of an environment. Trees, boxes, cans – you name it – all get sliced. The cutting mechanic does take some getting used to though I won’t lie, and got frustrating at times. Especially when you are fighting at a fast pace. I couldn’t get all the moves down, but I think with a little more practice I’ll probably get it. I just have to be willing to traverse that learning curve.
If you are looking for a stealth game – look elsewhere. This is strictly an arcade game. I don’t even think Raiden can crouch. He can’t even jump that high either, which sort of annoyed me. I’m pretty sure there will be all sorts of software and battle upgrades you can get later so I’ll look forward to that. If you ask me, this is looking pretty good and I can’t wait to get my hands on the full version.
We got a chance to review the new HTC 8X with Windows Phone 8. I got the navy blue phone which was really nice. No doubt you’re asking the question: How is it different than any other phones, and any other Windows Phone 8 devices. Well keep reading to find out. As usual, I’ve divided the review into two main portions. The stuff I liked and the stuff I didn’t.
What I liked:
Size:
The screen is 4.3 inches which isn’t the largest display out there, but it definitely gives you plenty of room to see what’s going on. The dimensions end up making it long (132.35 x 66.2 x 10.12 mm) but it really fits the Windows Phone motif where you have to scroll forever to get to what you want. It’s also really slender so it’s comfortable to hold on to.
Screen:
It has an HD 720p screen and it certainly looks like it. The screen is beautiful to look at and all the colors are really vibrant. The black background wasn’t as nice as Nokia’s “true black” which apparently kills all light around anything being displayed for a richer black background, but the 8X screen really isn’t too bad.
Speed:
Everything was snappy and I really think this was due to both the processor and the nature of the OS. Windows Phone 8 doesn’t have a lot going on so it’s gestures are really simple and the results are a really simple and smooth experience. I never get any stutter of any kind when scrolling around. CPU is a Qualcomm® S4 1.5 GHz, Dual-core processor which doesn’t slouch around. Add that to Verizon’s LTE speed online and I didn’t have to wait for anything. Downloading was zippy, watching video was fast. This was really a pleasant experience. Whenever I wanted to do something – I didn’t really have to wait any real length of time to get going.
Camera:
The camera took really nice pictures as you can see below. Many of which weren’t in the best of lighting conditions. I’m not photographer, but I was impressed and think it will get the job done for those of us who just need to snap a quickie on the go with a significant other, or with family and friends. Skype worked really well with the front facing camera except that movement seemed a little blurred when I moved around too much. The front facing camera is 2.1 MP which is really competitive in the phone market these days.
OS:
Microsoft wasn’t lying. This OS really was tailored to the user. It’s all about displaying my personal and relevant information without really having to delve too deeply to find it. All of my emails (and we’ll talk about this later) are a tap away and I can see how many I’ve missed while my phone was in my pocket. I can see messages, and items ready for download. It’s like I’ve got an assistant with all of the information for my day ready for me which is really cool. I do however miss widgets though, but the live tiles try to fill that gap. If your coming from Android, you will probably miss them. Yet there is definitely something to be gained from the simplistic approach.
What I didn’t like:
Power Button Position:
On some Samsung devices – the power button is on the side so you can wake/sleep your phone the the tap of your thumb. That would be nice with this phone because it’s so tall. I found myself having to adjust my grip just to get my pointer finger in a position to hit the power button which was a little annoying. Also, the button is not really raised so I couldn’t tell if I had hit the button or not. On several occasions I had not hit the button, but had been pressing on the space between the button and the right edge of the phone.
Google Sync Not Active:
So apparently Google and Microsoft are not playing nice and the user is beginning to feel it. Google has disabled it’s exchange active sync. What that means is you won’t automatically get your Google Calendar appointments or contacts transferred over to your shiny new Windows Phone. I did notice this when I was testing the HTC 8X. None of my Google Calendar events were in my Windows Calendar. None of my contacts either. To add fuel to the fire, I wasn’t able to use Google maps either, however, I hear that’s being fixed. That issue wasn’t too bad since I actually like Windows Maps. It has cool features like available wifi hotspots which can be handy, and places to eat and check out based on your location.
Build:
The Phone build wasn’t bad. I really liked the soft material on the back, but I didn’t like that there was no option to remove or replace the battery. I also didn’t feel like the phone was a really expensive device. I’m getting spoiled by Nokia and Apple and their superb build quality. Now, even when a phone has no real defects – if it doesn’t feel like a work of art, I’m not too impressed.
Summary:
All in all – I do recommend this phone, especially to those who would like to upgrade from their present Windows device. It’s a solid phone that really performs well. I have no complaints in terms of negative experiences besides the Active Sync issue with Google which is not to be overlooked. If you feel like you are immersed in the Google ecosystem and can’t do without your Google contacts and calendar then you may have a problem. This will definitely effect a large amount of people who will switch back to Android or for fear of losing data will stick with Android and not get the chance to check Windows Phone 8 out. It’s a shame really because I love testing new devices and seeing what else other companies are coming up with. Google’s move reeks of “sheep herding” and I don’t know about you, but I’m no sheep.
BMW recently showed off their new i8 and i3 concept cars here in New York City so I got a chance to take a look at them up close. You can peruse the gallery below for some images. What I will say is that when these vehicles are for sale, they will be highly desirable. Other car makers are jumping on the electric band wagon of course but BMW seems to have bode its time for a while. Good move it seems as company’s like Fisker, and Ford have been forced to make some recalls on their electric vehicle offerings.
I definitely don’t mean to say that BMW has the best electric vehicle as that remains to be seen, but I will say that BMW seems to have the most stylish electric vehicle in the i8. Even the Tesla Roadster, as sexy as that vehicle is, just doesn’t seem to be the paragon of affluence and technology that the i8 exudes. Looking at this car, one really feels like they have arrived in a sci-fi future.
The vehicle has unique offerings like laser lights which are more efficient that LEDs, and, of course, have a more focused wavelength that other light sources. The sports car boasts around 100mpg as well as a 3 cylinder
r combustion engine that powers the rear axle. The two engines work together for improved overall performance.
The only gripe I had is when I order mine, i don’t want the colors so loud. That blue can get old fast I think. Otherwise, you will sure turn heads if your the first person to own one of these puppies!
So you know how there are a ton of apps out there that allow you to mix music and make beats in the iTunes store? Yeah, they’re loads of fun but you know what would be a great idea? If someone came out with an app that instead of producing, allowed you to start your own music label! Wouldn’t that be hot? You could sign your own artists, and hire producers, and even watch your artist’s tracks move up the charts. If your like me, your slapping yourself for not thinking of this idea sooner.
Apparently great minds think alike and Hungry Eyes Film and Television Inc. along with XMG Studio Inc. have developed this very same idea as a mobile app. You get to roll like P Diddy, or Russell Simmons. You manage your artists and build their fan bases by going on tour and selling records. You can even mix your own tracks with music from real producers including Ryan Hemsworth, Jake One, BADBADNOTGOOD, Frank Dukes, Marco Polo and others.
This app sounds legit so I can’t wait to try it out when it drops in the iTunes store on the 12th. Does this sound like something worth coping to you?
Check out the video Below, which I must say myself is pretty dang good with the rhyming explanation!
Skyfall, the new Bond flick comes out November 9th and I’m quite sure many of you will go and check it out. Maybe not so much for what you don’t know about James Bond, but perhaps for what you do know about the character. Love him or hate him, Bond has always been a very polarizing figure to movie-goers. My take on that is because he never really departs from the characteristics that make him James Bod. The womanizing, the drinking, the wanton disregard for his life and others’. That is until Skyfall.
I consider Skyfall the completion of the reinvention of Jams Bond for this century. All of the previous Bond’s have followed a very rigid script. You’ve got your women in distress, your super cool spy gadgets, your lavish parties, and of course your over-the-top villain. Every man’s so-called dream for the most part. You could see the shift in styles with Casino Royal with a more rugged and slightly more realistic, at least combat-wise, spy thriller. Skyfall is the completion of that shift. Below I’ll talk about the stuff that worked, the stuff that didn’t and a quick summary.
What Worked
Combat
I think that Bond’s fighting skills have evolved over the years and Daniel Craig’s Bond is a much more physical one. He’s definitely got the body for it and he makes the physically daring shots of the movie more believable. Also, he’s not invincible. He get’s hit often, but is relentless which is something I enjoy watching. There’s a particular scene where Bond literal digs pieces of bullet from his chest with a knife. Granted, I didn’t really believe someone in real life would do that, but if this Bond where real, he totally would.
Technology
Or I should say lack thereof! One of the themes I think the director is re-thinking. I suppose to make Bond more believable they had to get rid of the outlandishness of the gadgets. And so they have. I was brought here kicking and screaming, but I must admit that it works. I think they even poked fun at the lack of gadgetry at one point with Q remarking that he wasn’t in the business of making exploding pens! At that – I was heart broken, but it really made sense. Daniel Craig is outwitting his opponents in the fine art of fisticuffs – not chess, so anything more would be inauthentic to this imagining of James Bond.
The Villain, played by Javier Bardem does make excellent use of technology, but much more in a cyber genius sort of way. However, if you actually know a thing or two about coding then please look-away or be prepared to roll the eyes. There is lots of hacking and cyber espionage that might tickle the fancy of more modern audiences.
Villain
Javier Bardem does a fantastic job as the villain, and completely steels the show once he’s on screen. Perhaps that’s why he doesn’t make an appearance until well into the movie. He’s frightening, unpredictable, and really quite lovable – until you realize he’s completely crazy. He totally hits a home-run here, and he is quite easily in my top five Bond Villains. Besides Jaws and Boris.
What Didn’t Work
Bond Girls
I think for the most part everything worked except for the Bond Girls. Now here’s why. They couldn’t make up their minds on how to portray women in this movie. In previous Bond’s – they were very shovanistic and completely stereotypical. It works because they were that way with every character in the movie. The Bond girls don’t work anymore in Skyfall because on one hand you have a very strong and self-reliant female lead in Naomi Harris, while you have a more traditional female lead in Berenice Marlohe. And Bond does the nasty with both. And also a native on some Island who shall remain nameless. So on one hand it looks like they are going progressive, but Bond is still disrepectin’ the honeys which leaves me scratching my head. Which path shall we take? Giving women some respect in these movies finally or just letting them be eye-candy. Either path is cool, because it’s all in the fictional world, but you’ve got to know which path your going down, and choose it openly. There were definitely conflicting tones when it came to the women in the movie which could have been avoided.
Summary
All in all, I found it to be quite enjoyable to watch. There is quite a bit of “changing of the guard” so-to-speak so be ready for that, but I think it’s all for the best. It’s what must be done to keep Bond fresh. I think Mr. Craig has about 2, maybe 3 more runs at Bond, and it will be on to the next one. However, until then, enjoy the latest installment Skyfall as we see a more intimate look at James Bond.
Yeah, yeah, this review is kind of late – however, can you blame me? I was too busy trying to get VC points! They are so hard to come by until I got a few tips from some friends. At any rate, take a look at my Likes and Dislikes for the new installment of NBA2K13 and see whether they take the franchise to the next level, or if it falls flat on it’s face.
Likes:
Different Modes
There are many different modes that you can play with this game. So much so that you will really be playing this for a while trying to master each one. Right now I’m developing my player who got drafted to the Grizzlies. You can have conversations with the GM, boost your twitter following, have post game conferences and negotiate contracts. It’s really cool to kind of play the game from that perspective. NBA2K13 is by no means the first game to employ the ability to build your character from scratch, but I really like the way it was executed here. It really brings the game to what we see happening in the NBA today.
If developing your own player is not your thing, you can develop your team just the way you want to in the “My Team” mode. Execute trades, and build a powerhouse of a team. Not your thing – you can play games with up-to-date teams at your leisure. You can also play online with your friends in still more modes like “Quick Match Team Up” and “Tournaments”.
Shoes
The Shoes man! If you are a sneaker fiend you can really spend a lot of time in this area. You can pick from hundreds of pairs of shoes, and you can even modify the colors down to the rubber souls! You can choose from different brands as well including 2K Generic brand, Spalding, Under Armor, Reebok, Converse, Nike, Jordans, and more. After you finish editing your shoe you can even name them.
Moves
There are tons of moves to choose from to leave your opponent in the dust. from crazy dunks, alley-oops, hook shots, crossovers, fade-aways. Even hesitations, and slight post-up moves. the lean-back that Kobe always does, the shimmey, they are all there and some. Not only that, but there are even moves that are particular to star players so Dirk’s crazy unstoppable awkward fade-away is present, as Derrick Roses ball-handling. I really don’t mind just watching a game play out because it really is entertaining to watch. I end up rooting for a team even though I know it isn’t real.
Music
The music is Boss. Period. Produced by Jay-Z as you no doubt have heard repeatedly, but it goes a long way. I think the era of generic video game beat is now fading as more deals are made with video game companies and famous musicians. You can of course edit the track listing and even add your own library in the editor but the titles are quite good including Nas, Daft Punk, U2 and of course Jay-Z among the line-up. Full Track listing can be found here.
Dislikes:
Graphics
There were times when I was really wondering about the graphic quality of the game over all. For instance – the screen with the starter line-up just before the game starts looks last gen. Seriously. There are other screens like this scattered throughout which really has me scratching my head as most of the game’s graphic quality is top-notch. Also, if your on PS3 make sure “PS – Smoothing” is turned on so the in-game graphics looks as good as it is meant to be. I also found the background screens with all the colors and moving parts to be really quite distracting. The interface could really be cleaned up, but that really is aesthetic preference. However, the game designers could really do something about it.
Too Many Moves
Yeah, I had moves in the section of Likes, but dang there are a lot of them to master. I end up trying to perform all of them and end up getting the ball stripped. Take it from me, just master a few of them – the ones that work for you and stick with those.
VC Points
I’m questionable with these. It definitely drives the game forward, but does everything have to cost these VC Points – even skills? Also, why do the cost so blasted much!? I can understand shoes, and unique articles of clothing. I can even understand training camps etc. but I would much rather my skills being upped based on my style of play and exploits on the court. It gives me more of a sense of accomplishment rather then me putting the game on coach mode to get easy points and just buying a decent jump shot.
Product Placements
the are everywhere this time around. Sprint, Nike, Jordan, Gatorade. You can spot them a mile away. Though they do add some credibility to the game and make it close to what goes on in reality, it does seem to be a little distracting at times. What if I don’t like Gatorade? Or I prefer a different brand? I think they may be alienating a few folks with this move, but that’s just my two cents. It really didn’t dampen my enthusiasm for playing the game so take that with a grain of salt.
Summary:
Over all this is my favorite NBA2K game so far in the franchise. They seem to keep the stuff that works and continue improving on everything else. Seeing the Dream Team, and all the other old school players is just fantastic and they all look so good graphically. I love the level of control of my own player, or team as well as over the shoes my character wears. It really makes me feel like I’m apart of the action which I suppose is the point. Good move 2K, good move. I’m sure in the coming years, they’ll tighten up on the background graphic elements and when that day comes, I will definitely be rejoicing. But until then, this game is still a winner.
Windows Phone 8 was officially unveiled today. Many people, myself included, are really looking forward to see what Microsoft has up it’s sleeve in this battle for the best mobile UI. Does Windows Phone 8 have enough to gain momentum against the entrenched Android and iOS platforms? This is by no means an exhaustive review, but just preliminary highlights.
I saw the entire keynote and a few things jumped out at me”
Data Sense
Though a little late to the party, this is a welcome addition to the mobile UI. It does exactly what you might think it does. It keeps track of your data usage for you so you know whether or not you can afford to give that thumbs up or no. However, it goes a step further by intelligently compressing websites, as well as autmatically flagging and using existing wifi data connections. This is estimated to save about 45% of the data that could have been used according to Joe Belfiore.
Kids Corner
This allows the Windows Phone 8 owner to compartmentalize his or her phone so that only the apps they choose are accessible to the kids. They brought Jessica Alba out to demonstrate the usefulness. That said, I thought Dieter Bohn and Chris Ziegler made a good point over at The Verge when they said this might still be useful for people who don’t necessarily have kids when lending the phone to a friend. Rooms
This is really the natural next step of the people hub on Windows Phone. Rooms is basically a more private group where you can share location, calendar events, etc… with your closest buddies. What I found interesting was that you can include people who are not necessarily Windows Phone users in this group and they can still receive updates. I’m not clear on what features won’t work across android or iOS devices though.
Skydrive
Skydrive was really interesting to watch in action because of two main points. First, they give you 7 Gigs to play with which is about 2 Gigs more than normal with these cloud services now-a-days. Second, it works in a similar fashion to when playing a game on a windows device. If on Xbox, you can pick up on your windows phone and vice-versa. The same with your work documents. You can continue working on presentations, and Word documents across the Windows Phone, PC, or Microsoft Tablet.
Wallet
This app allows you to pay via NFC, and store your credit information. It also spots local deals which can really come in handy for someone like me who is always on the go and can’t necessarily plan around a good deal on groupon. I really can’t wait to try this out for an extended period of time.
