Virtual reality, or VR, was a major technology trend in 2016. In fact, I and several colleagues in our customer service shop attended a VR fair. And that was early this past summer. Thousands attended. Consequently, Samsung VR leads the pack, but competitors are catching up.
At the CES conference in Las Vegas, Tim Baxter, president of Samsung Electronics America, made an announcement. Mr. Baxter said Samsung sold five million Samsung VR Galaxy headsets. Also, these headsets are for mobile devices. So if you have a mobile device, which many Americans do, you can use Samsung VR. But wait…there’s more. Baxter said Samsung VR customers viewed over 10 million hours of VR. Furthermore, they upload even more hours of video through Gear 360 camera. So the VR craze isn’t going anywhere. That’s good news for software makers, good news for Samsung, and good news for Samsung VR customers.
But Samsung isn’t the only one capitalizing off the VR craze. Ever hear of Pico Technology? Their headquarters are in China. They’re coming out with the Pico Neo CV. They’re lightweight and customers can use them out of the box. They use Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processors and Qualcomm Snapdragon VR software. They also have built in HI-FI speakers. A Pico executive demonstrated them at the CES conference. They should be out this year, so we don’t know what the price is.
But I want to focus on Samsung. They had a hard 2016. In fact, I’ll say Samsung VR will be the saving grace of Samsung this year. It had better be. Samsung needs to hit the year 2017 out of the park. And the virtual reality craze could do just that. But you know competitors are watching. Do you think it was a coincidence Pico announced their VR sets at the CES conference? It’s only one of the most popular conferences for those in IT service. I also hear others are building VR headsets. So yes, Samsung desperately needs to invest in VR technology. But will other tech companies prevail?
Do you have a Netflix account? Okay, do you have a smartphone? Since many Americans have both, Netflix wants to revolutionize your travel.
In addition to that, Netflix wants to fix your boredom. That’s why they’re adding offline playback. But what is offline playback? This means Netflix users can watch their favorite shows on their smartphone without Wi-Fi connection. Because Netflix customers asked for this for years. Now, it’s here. So they announced it yesterday and it’s effective as I speak. Netflix issued a tweet saying, “Airplane mode. Road trip mode. Stuck (in traffic) mode. Your favorite shows are now available for download anytime.”
Also, it’s fairly easy to get. Netflix has a download button for certain programs. But they’re not including every show on Netflix. Furthermore, they’re adding new shows on a constant basis. As expected, they’re starting with their most popular original shows. Therefore, expect Narcos, The Crown, and Orange is the New Black to be on the offline playback list. Also, expect old favorites to be on the list. For example, one can never go wrong with Twilight Zone. Since it’s the Holiday season, how about putting on Bing Crosby’s White Christmas? The opportunities should be endless.
Can I confess something? I think this is the greatest move Netflix ever made. First of all, who doesn’t get stuck in some kind of traffic? It could be long airport delays or bad traffic with bad kids in the back seat. How awesome would it be to download a Netflix video? It would give you and your family sanity. And another thing…don’t you hate it when you can’t get good WiFi, or WiFi at all? But this is especially true underground. This is where offline playback comes in. During a train ride, this would be better than gold! It seems like Netflix has a great list to launch this. What are some show you want to see join the offline playlist?
It’s almost Christmas shopping season. The kids make their list and check it twice. Hence, video games are probably on the list. One video game console could be the new PlayStation Pro 4. Introducing PlayStation 4 Pro: Is This Buy Good?
First of all, it’s an odd looking console. When is the last time you saw a video game system looking like a pyramid? But it does come with an extra USB port. They made the eject power button a little easier to use. Note the phrase ‘a little’. While it is a little bulkier than the regular Playstation 4, it shouldn’t take any more space. But it will take up some wallet space. The Playstation 4 Pro will cast around $400.
Now, let’s focus on the inside. The PlayStation 4 Pro gives you a faster CPU and an extra GB of RAM. The hard drive doubles from 500 GB to 1TB. Also, the speed is nearly double that of regular Playstation 4. Many people, especially techies, brag about their 4K resolution. What does this mean in layman’s terms? That means your games will look more realistic and will draw you into the game. Furthermore, the sound allegedly better. In the 2016 video game world, that means everything.
However, it this a good buy? Well, lines are already getting long at gaming stores here in Boston. But then again, lines were long for the latest Samsung Galaxy flop. But a video game system is only as good as their video games. What good was Nintendo without Super Mario Brothers and Zelda? And what good was Sega Genesis without Sonic the Hedgehog? It looks like Pro 4 has you covered. There are already good games. But now there are games like ‘Horizon: Zero Dawn’ and ‘The Last Guardian’. These are tailor made for 4 Pro. So this advanced machine will cost around $400. The regular Playstation 4 will cost around $300. Is the advanced Playstation 4 worth the extra yard? It this buy good?
History is made today. And the bickering and hate is almost over; we can only hope. Because today is US Election Day. Personally, I want to bury myself in Netflix and I’ll hear who won tomorrow morning. But since some of you are gluttons for stress and punishment, here is where you can follow election coverage online.
Since so many Americans are on You Tube, why not start there? Several You Tube channels will keep election coverage going all night long. Such channels include MTV, Bloomberg, NBC, Telemondo, Info Wars, and Young Turks. Also, Twitter will stream BuzzFeed’s election coverage starting at 6pm Eastern, 5pm Central and 3pm Pacific. This is just the start.
Because we know Facebook wants in. Which is why CNN, ABC News, New York Times, PBS, and others will stream election coverage through them. In addition to that, most of us have smartphone apps. Many news apps, including Fox News, CBSN, C-Span, Politico, Vice, Slate, and several others will offer coverage. Google and Bing will share polling data as soon as the polls close. In fact, do you know where your polling station is? If not, Google can help you with that as well. You can even watch election results through VR technology.
So there you have it. But what about us who actually want to keep our sanity? Thank goodness for the Weather Channel. Starting at 3pm Eastern, the Weather Channel will offer you 9 hours of ‘chill marathon‘. This includes nature scenery and smooth jazz. Of course, You Tube has thousands upon thousands of non-election channels for your escape. If America needed a ‘Netflix and chill’ night, it’s tonight. If you’re trying to escape the election coverage, Facebook is NOT the place to do so. My FB friends are obsessed with this election. I’m guessing many of yours are too. That’s why I’m not logging on Facebook for the next week or so. What are some other places you can follow election coverage? What are some other places you can escape election coverage?
Thursday, Apple revealed their new App. They simply call it TV. So according to Apple CEO Tim Cook, there’s no reason to watch TV any other way. Is he right? So let’s look at Apple’s New TV app: Is it all that?
They promise help you navigate through 1600 video providers on TV’s platform. That’s right. Apparently, over 1600 streamer apps contribute to this platform. In addition to that, TV has 8,000 total apps. It debuts in December 2016. Furthermore, TV lets Apple TV customers browse through their categories easier. Also, they can ask Apple’s voice Siri for help. You can just tell her you want to watch a certain show or a even a certain channel. Siri does that work for you. So no more flipping through hundreds of channels for over 30 minutes (don’t act like I’m the only one who does that!). Also, you can play Minecraft on Apple TV. Finally, you can integrate Twitter into this TV app. That’s perfect for talking about the NFL, or hit shows like The Walking Dead and Empire. So what’s there not to like about this TV app?
It lacks two of the most popular streaming sites today: Amazon and Netflix. That’s a potential problem. While Netflix is still in Apple TV, they won’t be taking part in this TV app. Of course, Amazon Video has nothing to do with Apple TV period, except for being a fierce competitor. But it seems like both are missing a huge opportunity. Can’t consumers use the TV app to catch up on shows like Bloodline, Orange is the New Black, or House of Cards? And what about previous seasons of other popular shows? But I will give this Apple TV app credit; it offers a lot. This will encourage more Americans to cut ties with cable TV. In my humble opinion, that’s always a good thing. But Cook believes this TV app will totally dominate the TV world? Is it right for one company to have that kind of power?
I say this because there are several incidents. First of all, there’s the drama within the Kardashian family over Rob’s fiance Blac Chyna. Rob tweeted out Kylie Jenner’s phone number to the world in a social media rant. Rob published other personal information of Kylie’s. In addition to that, Kim K. allegedly released a private conversation between husband Kanye West and pop star Taylor Swift. This was due to unflattering lyrics about Swift in Kanye’s song “Famous”. This video went on Snapchat in July 2016.
There are also sexual humiliation and revenge porn. During an online rap beef between online Kanye West and?Wiz Khalifa, reality TV star Amber Rose posted intimate, embarrassing details of West’s sex life. Keep in mind West and Rose dated for a time. When teen idol Grace Moretz stood up for Swift on social media, Khloe Kardashian struck. She posted photos of a woman looking like Moretz. What’s wrong with that? Moretz’s impersonator was almost naked from the waist down and on top of a strange guy. This borderlines on sextortion.
Furthermore, there are other examples of celebrities bullying celebrities. One can look at our presidential candidates, even our world leaders. While there have always been celebrity beefs, rarely has it escalated to this. I am NOT in the business of reporting Hollywood gossip. That’s not what this blog is about, and it’s not what I’m about as a man. But a point needs to be made. Whether we like it or not, whether they like it or not, celebrities are role models. Millions of teens look up these people. Cyber bullying is not the message you want to teach our kids. They need to handle their beef privately, and/or use such platforms to forgive and respect each other. ? If that weren’t bad enough, the people I mention have kids of their own! What are they teaching their own children about cyber bullying?
