Nov 23, 2013 | Entertainment
Yesterday, XBox One is released. I’ve expressed mixed emotions about it, especially when you look at the hype that was given it.
The numbers say Xbox One sold over one million units so far. That’s the same number of units Play Station 4 sold last week in the same amount of time. So the race looks rather even, right? There is one factor: the number of countries these gaming units were released in. Xbox numbers include the numbers sold in 13 countries. The numbers of PS4 are the numbers in the US and Canada alone. Did you know that over 60 million zombies have been sacrificed in Dead Rising 3?
I’m interested in which Xbox One games sold the most. When I find out’ I’ll let you know. What I do know is that I tried looking for a few, and they were sold out. Speaking of which, Xbox One is sold out at most retail stores. But as you know, the holiday shopping season is very, very young. And there’s still a lot of buying and selling to do. By January 2, who do you think is going to have the higher numbers?
Nov 22, 2013 | Entertainment
It’s here! The XBox one, which gamers have anticipated for months, is now released to the public this November 22, 2013. Let’s see how people are responding.
The cost is $499, $100 more that PS4. But it offers more…or does it? The look of it reminds me of the VCR’s of the 1980s, and it is heavy to carry. There’s no Windows Media Center. Remember those hyped up features? According to some reports, some of those may not be available for months.
But there’s still a lot of good with XBox One. It’s facial technology and language/voice are very impressive. The controllers and dashboards are a lot better. The graphics are to die for! There are some games that are out, but some won’t be out until June, for unknown reasons. I didn’t notice any long lines are madness or any parties celebrating the XBox One release. Maybe it’s because Microsoft did a better job organizing pre-orders.
Or maybe it’s because the PS4 was cheaper. The economy is still sluggish, so price is a factor. Reports say the two dueling consoles are neck and neck in the sales race. Overseas, Play Station 4 is beating XBox One. So maybe there’s another reason you don’t hear about long lines and parties. Personally, I wouldn’t mind having both systems. Who do you think will win the gaming war of 2013?
Nov 21, 2013 | Computer technology, internet, Wireless
Some time ago, I reported to you about certain airlines allowing passengers to use mobile services during takeoff and landing. Well, frequent fliers are going to love this one!
One airline is going even further than that. Southwest Airlines is the first major U.S. airline to provide gate-to-gate WiFi Internet service. Southwest is using different satellite technology from their competitors. Most of the others use Gogo, which only powers in-flight WiFi. But that might be changing. Gogo is upgrading Internet speed and adding talking and texting features.? Southwest uses technological services from a satellite WiFi company called Row 44.
From what I know about this, I doubt other airlines will follow this lead anytime soon. I know Gogo is trying to up the ante with their services. What I don’t know is whether it will contribute to gate-to-gate WiFi service. Back on Oct. 31, the FAA relaxed laws, making it doable for for your smart whatever to be used anytime during flight, including takeoff and landing. Plus, every airport I’ve flown in and had layovers in have had their own WiFi. So Southwest’s gate to gate service may or may not be necessary. Is Southwest’s gate to gate WiFi a good idea?
Nov 20, 2013 | internet, Security
Online dating service Cupid Media, which gives you a choice of ethnicity and lifestyles while looking for a mate, suffered a major, major compromise.
An online break-in caused 42 million accounts to be compromised. This compromised included consumer records, password and email addresses. The breach took place way back in January 2013. According to Cupid Media director Andrew Bolton, they have notified those who may have been affected. He said they found the break in and took immediate actions to confront it. It’s also believed the same hacking group that got Cupid Media also got Adobe and PR Newswire, among others.
But there is a lesson to be learned here. Apparently, these hackers knew what passwords to use. Cupid users used passwords ‘123456’ and ‘111111’ over a combined three million times. Letter passwords, ‘iloveyou’, ‘lovely’, ‘qwerty’, ‘mylove’ and ‘iloveu’ were used a combined over 240,000 times. Now that pales in comparison to three million, but keep in mind this is a dating service website. So my conclusion is when you use straight number passwords or passwords retaining to the host website, that makes it easier for hackers to use and abuse. I’m glad many websites make you use a combination of letters and numbers to make you mix it up. That’s what I try to do anyway. And I know it’s hard to do, but try to get a different password for every site, or at least every other site. What tips do you have for password safety?
Nov 19, 2013 | Computer technology, Wireless
Two months ago, Samsung released it’s Galaxy Gear smartwatch. Critics believed this device was doomed to failure, due to it’s lackluster looks and lack of apps. Those critics are being proven wrong.
So far, over 800,000 Galaxy Gear smartwatches have been sold. They’re expecting even bigger numbers when the holiday season comes. Samsung has used aggressive marketing tactics like fashion shows to get this product out. The smartwatch is priced at around $300. It’s an accessory to the Galaxy smartphone, and it’s screen can take photos and handle messages. In fact, some Europe retailers will give customers free watches when they get a Galaxy Gear smartphone on contract. Samsung brags it’s the most wearable smartwatch out there.
Samsung isn’t the only ones in the smart watch game. Pebble watches started being shipped in January 2013. By the end of July, 275,000 of them were sold. Some places even sold out of them. So the success of Galaxy and Pebbles tells me and should tell you that smartwatches are here to stay. They may not sell out as well as the two new video game systems, but I think they will sell enough to make a statement. For a watch that can do this much, I think $300 is a great price. Pebble watches can go for far less. My question is: When is Apple coming out with it’s smartwatch?
Nov 18, 2013 | Security
The Internet, particularly Google, is intensifying it’s fight against online child abuse. They plan to implement changes to prevent abusive, perverse images of children and teenagers from being sought after? through their search engine.
According to Google chairman Eric Schmidt, “We’ve fine-tuned Google Search to prevent links to child sexual abuse material from appearing in our results.” First, these changes will take place in the English speaking countries. But in six months, it will be implemented to all nations around the world. Search engine sites like Bing and Yahoo are expected to enforce similar restrictions to fight child pornography and other child abuses. A major advocate of fighting online child abuse is British Prime Minister David Cameron. Prime Minister Cameron goes as far as to say if search engines can’t do their part to keep child abuse images away from pedophiles, the search engine sites will be held accountable. England was the site of a major tragedy that started with child abuse images. Five year-old April Jones was murdered by online child porn addict Mark Bridger.
I’m glad something is being done, finally. I’m sorry it took the murder of an innocent small child to get people to wake up to this real evil. If you’ve read my blogs, you know I’m pro-freedom on just about all things. But in this case, I’m glad restrictions are being implemented. Anything that glorifies the abuse and exploitation of children in any way needs to be snuffed out! Another thing, if anybody seeks out these abusive websites, they will be directed to charities who help treat child porn addicts. Do you think this is an effective way to fight the savagery of child abuse and exploitation?
Nov 17, 2013 | Entertainment
Two days ago, back on Nov. 15, 2013 , Play Station 4 was released. I reported about the crazy lines and parties. Let’s see the results.
Sony’s newest gaming console sold over one million copies in a 24 hour period. Think about that. Back in November 2006, Play Station 3 was released. As of November 2013, it has sold 80 million units in a seven year period. I don’t know how well Play Station 4 is going to do during the holiday season and beyond, but if this is any indication, this new gaming system will beat it’s predecessor easily. Keep in mind it hasn’t even be released in Europe yet; that doesn’t come until November 29.
Play Station 4 has received rave reviews from critics as well. Many claim it’s leaps and bounds better that the last Play Station. Some say it was well worth the wait. For seven years, it had better be! But not all the news was good news. Some reviewers have complained of duds and defections right outside the box.? Some have reported blue flashing lights. Some said the machine won’t turn on at all.? Don’t panic, this dysfunction has reportedly only affected one in six-hundred consoles sold so far.? So I wouldn’t be worried. So back to your regularly scheduled shopping already in progress. Or are you waiting for the Xbox One?
Nov 16, 2013 | Security
A warning by the FBI said that hacker activist group Anonymous broke into computers and obtained sensitive information. This campaign started around last Christmas.
A series of electronic break-ins that started last December left ‘back doors’ for the hacktivists to return, and they have been returning. The warning said the attacks have hit the US Army, US Energy Dept. and US Dept. of Health and Human Services at least. An investigation is still ongoing. Computer operators and others are told what to look for in case of an attack. According to the US Energy Dept., some stolen data includes bank account info on 2,000 people. If you recall, the group launched a cyber attack on eBay/Pay Pal, in retaliation to Pay Pal blocking donation to the controversial site Wikileaks.
Got mixed feelings on this one. One on hand, it’s never good when someone’s banking information is put out there. What if an innocent person has his ID stolen and is wiped out because of this cyber attack? I must admit, I do have a soft spot for anonymous. At least they’re raising awareness about what really goes on in government. At least they’re trying to keep them honest and expose corruption. Some of their methods are questionable, but it’s better than being apathetic and complacent. Who do I side with?
Nov 15, 2013 | Computer technology, Entertainment
Today, November 15, 2013, is the release day of Sony’s Play Station 4. I’m sure most of you already know that. Let’s see what this console has to offer, and how some people celebrated.
For many, the madness started at midnight, literally. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, people waited as early as 14 hours in advanced in hopes to get the few remaining available new Play Stations. In Ft. Collins, Colorado, dozens hovered around the city Best Buy by 8:30 Thursday night. One veteran late night shopper had a system of exchanging bathroom breaks with other people in line. In New York City, one hotel hosted a launch party. This party included a live TV show, a light show, and celebrity guest appearances. People started waiting 24 hours in advance for that one.
Why would people go to such extreme lengths? For starters, this is the first Play Station release in 7 years. The games are said to be more innovative. The system will cost you around $400. It has 8 Advanced Micro Device’s processing brains, a 500 gigabyte hard drive, and a 1080p screen resolutions and runs 60 frames per second. Plays Station 4 uses the Duel Shock 4 controller. New games with the new console include Killzone: Shadow Fall and Call of Duty: Ghosts.
Is Plays Station 4 worth it? I’d say is worth buying. It’s not worth standing in line all hours of the night for (but if you ask me, no item is worth all that!) But for $400, I think it’s a good bargain. It would be nice if they included some games. I remember when Nintendo came out, they included Duck Hunt and Super Mario Brothers 1. But from what I’ve heard, I would give it a try. I just wonder why it took seven years for them to build this station. Keep in mind Xbox One comes out next week. Whose going to win the war: Play Station One or Xbox One?
Nov 14, 2013 | Security
One of the biggest news issues this year has been the revelation of the government surveillance on our technology. Little did I know how fast the surveillance has increased in such a short time.
According to one Google blog, government requests for Google use have more than doubled in just four years around the world. The request have more than tripled in the US. Between January-June 2013, more than two-thirds of those request (10,918 during that period alone) were subpoenas, 22% were warrants. By far, the US leads the world in government request for info on their citizens. India, Germany and France placed distant runner-ups (about 2600-2000) a piece.
What’s to make of this? I think Google should be given props for even giving us this release! When this story broke several months ago, many thought the NSA and tech companies were in cahoots. Now I’m starting to see things differently. Not only that, this blog doesn’t apologize for letting us know either! Plus, it sort of reinforces what many of us already know. This surveillance didn’t just start; it’s been going on for years. Though the US leads the league in this activity, they’re by no means the only ones. I believe knowledge is power. The more we know the specifics about this, the more awake, alert and aware we will all be. Do you wonder how much information requests we will have three years from now?
