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Phlashman
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Home page: http://theville.co.uk
Posts by Phlashman
Hello. I’m Ashley and I’m a Mac.
08 months ago
Anyone who’s read my previous blogs won’t be surprised to learn that I’ve gone Mac. Those who knew me before 2008, might be.
First some history, beyond computers mainly used for games during my childhood (mainly consoles and an Amiga 600) my first computer was a PC. Running Windows 95, 133 MHz, 4 Mb Ram Packard Bell. It was huge, slow and very offline. Since then my home computer has always been a PC, 1 x Windows 98, 2 x XP and an Alienware water cooled beast running Vista in 2007. But that’s not to say I’ve lived a Microsoft sheltered life, I’ve also used Macs at every job I’ve ever had starting with pre-candy-coloured macs with biege boxes running OS 7, 8, 9 and OS X. Sometimes they were just machines in the office, others they were my main working machine.
Macs did use to look like this.
As I moved more into the programming side of things, using a Mac made less and less sense, and for the past 10 years most of my work has been on Windows, and I got very comfortable doing so. To me Windows is that old pair of trainers, falling to bits, but the perfect fit, slip on in seconds and look right with anything. Macs never came into consideration when replacing my home PC, I had Mini Mac as a HTPC in the living room, rarely used, never even considered using it for much beyond playing videos and testing the occasional website.
What changed? Why have I gone Mac? I guess it started in 2008, with a purchase of a certain new phone, the iPhone 3G. It was a revelation, computing isn’t ment to be this easy. I didn’t need to know about file formats, .dll’s, drivers… I hate to say it but it was strange to have a gadget that “Just worked”. The App store took the risk out of buying/installing software, the apps were very well priced and very well supported. I’m now on my second iPhone, the 4, and the experience has only got better with each new version of iOS.
Pleased with the iPhone, I was sold on the iPad as soon as I saw it. No, I was up-sold from the iPhone. Again the iPad revolutionised my computing. My PC was falling out of use at home. Turning it on became an effort compared to sliding open my iPad. The only time I used it was when I had something “big” to do. Some Programming, writing a long blog, editing some photos, sorting out a new Spotify playlist… Even though it was an Alienware PC gaming was too much of an effort (have you got the latest drivers, the latest directX etc. etc) compared to firing up something new on the iPad or resorting to the Xbox for a proper game. Don’t get me wrong. An iPhone and an iPad cannot replace a PC in my usage case, I imagine it can for some, but as a power user no way can I go PC-less. The comfy trainer was fine, but I was starting to get tired of getting wet feet though the holes.
So a few months ago my beast of a PC starts to take a few tries at booting up, slowing down for no apparent reason, then the network card stopped working… you get the idea. Lots of progress bar not moving and the feeling that multi-tasking is best avoided. So the search for a replacement started and thanks to the iPad and the iPhone, Apple where in the race. Again I’m not a Mac n00b, so I had a better look at the work Macs to see where OS X was, and it had come a long way since I last used it. Not soon after was the announcement of OS X Lion, with the key idea being that Apple are looking to bring what they’d learn’t from the iPhone and iPad to the Mac.
This was all I needed to hear. A few month later new iMac’s arrived and soon after Lion got released. Luck would have it that my PC took a turn for the worse a few days after Lion had come out. Well not really luck, I was planning to save for a few month before purchasing but when my PC couldn’t keep alive for more than 5 minutes at a time my hand was forced.
So I’ve had my lovely 27″ iMac for a few weeks now, I’m going to leave it a few months before putting up my thoughts about how successful the switch has been so I can get past that “justifying you’re purchase” thing. But so far I’m loving it, it just works.
Ashley.
Quick Catchup!
08 months ago
by Phlashman
in Random Posts
Hello, I’m still here!
Yeah, I’m busy, I’m lazy. I’m afraid you’re just going to have to live with it.
Anyway, I wanted to quickly post a new blog as I’ve updated wordpress and the theme quite a bit. Plus hopefully I’ll have a few new blog posts coming up as there’s some things I really want to write about and get my thoughts out. Mainly on my new iMac, Apple and Steve Jobs (he’s retired if you didn’t know), the Star Wars blu-rays (Lucas is up to his old tricks) and the state of play at Leicester City. They’ll all need their own blog, so I’m going to use this one to just update you on what else is going on.
Work, obviously I’ve been very busy. But I’ve been cranking out some good stuff IMO. I’m really loving HTML5, the last year has seen far better adoption (Chrome’s now the UK #2 browser, AWESOME!) and with tools like jQuery and Modernizr using the new features is a lot less risky as you can easily make fallback solutions. Got some good praise from friends in the same line of work which is always nice. So I’m feeling good and positive about that side of things.
Wedding, my older brother Simon is getting married at the end of September and I’m really pleased for him and his girlfriend Vicky. They’ve been together for years now, so we all know her very well, she’s really already part of the family and it’s about time it was all official and everything (not that you have to be married). But I’m also his best man… well one of his best men, Wayne (my younger brother) is also a best man. So it means stag party arranging, best man speeches and dressing smart. Anyone who knows me will know I’m not great at 2 of those thing (stag party arranging/night outs and dressing smart), I can manage the speech fine, well in my own mind. The stag do is in a week, we’re going to the city away game at Barnsley first and then on to Blackpool for a night out, to be honest I’m quite nervous about the night out, I haven’t been out for a night like that for years and could end up freaking out. Hopefully I’ll manage to survive, I’m sure I’ll be fine (maybe), Wayne is a party animal so I might need to rely on his skills a bit there. The speech is about done, I wrote it for myself and Wayne (he’s still got to add a few personal bits) therefore we only really have half a speech each which makes it easier for both of us. The dressing smart should be do-able, we’ve got rented posh clothes and we’re all matching so it should be fine, I’ll post a picture after, you can judge for yourself.
Other stuff, not really much going on except I’ve got a bit less lazy and got some around the house jobs either done or underway. Which is good.
Erm that’s it then. Hopefully new blog about normal stuff very soon.
One login to rule them all.
01 year ago
by Phlashman
in Technology
Logins are not one the sexy of topics on the internet, but it’s fast becoming one of the most important. Your username and password is one of the most valuable piece’s of information of your digital existence, and not in a identity theft sense. The real value is who you log in with, there’s a good chance if you’re a tech savvy person you’ll have an account for all of the big web services. Google, Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft (LiveID) and Yahoo! are the gate keepers to vast areas of the internet. If you don’t have an account with any of these the things you can do on the internet will be extremely limited and it’s only going to get worse.
I’ve experienced this recently with some of my favourite sites which have switched to the Facebook comments system and as I don’t have a Facebook account this locks me out of commenting on sites and stories. In fact, I actively block my browser from loading anything from Facebook.com both for increased browsing speed and privacy. So I no longer even get to see what other people are saying. I can see why blog owners have done it, commenting with the new system produces a wall post on the users Facebook profile with a link to the original article. So it’s a great source of new readers. I have no beef with the website owners. The problem is you have to have a Facebook login to use it (ok, you can use Yahoo! but who has one?). Apparently the other login providers (namely Twitter and Google) pulled Facebook’s access to the API. What this shows is the battle for a single exclusive login has begun.
From a simple users point of view it makes much sense. One set of login details to remember, login into systems once and everything is ready for you, your data, your preferences, all just as you like it, just as you left it. For companies it makes sense, login to their system, use their services, their devices, their software, their shops, generate premium quality advertising data and of course take a small cut when you process the payments.
The problems though are hidden but very serious. Let’s say Google, Twitter and Apple also make comment systems and also make them exclusive. Then there will be 2 options for website owners, support one and hope you pick the winner, or sniff out what login people are using and present the relevant one or a choice. The problem with picking is the winner it’s how do you judge the winner? Do you go with the social impact of Twitter, the sheer numbers on Facebook, the search and advertising of Google or Apple’s coolness and knack of actually producing money? The problem with using them all is you dilute your community in to smaller groups, so your individual impact will be less.
The next problem with these large login systems is that you very quickly get locked into an ecosystem. You bought an iPhone or an Android phone right? you spent a fair bit on apps? now what’s you’re next phone going to be? are you going to throw away all the money you’ve spent on apps? really? Then look into the future where iOS and Android offer large scale cloud storage for all your data, all your game saves, all your schedule, all your documents, photos, videos… sure you could download them and re-upload them and re-organise them and re-buy the apps if they exist on the other side. But you’re going to need a damn good reason to do so.
So as this battle gets going what are the sides and where are they coming from, where are they going?
Facebook
Facebook brings the numbers. 600 million, 50% of America has accounts, 30-40% in the rest of the developed world. They have well detailed profiles, they have your friends list and they have a near ubiquity across the internet. They want to carry on as is, if the current trends continue they will be the one login. Everyone else is trying to stop them. Privacy is the major concern, it’d be hard to trust Facebook in the dominant position.
Google
Google bring the technology and the openness. The fact that they make apps for iOS shows they aren’t interested in total lockdown. The problem is they’ve never expressed a united vision. Many Google products are worlds apart in design and very loosely connected together. Many don’t feel personal or simple.
Twitter
Twitter is an odd one, it’s much smaller than the competition but really punches above it’s weight. More people use Twitter than Gmail and activity per user is higher than Facebook. My guess is that it will be gobbled up by one of the bigger companies. Google, Apple and Microsoft would all be good suitors. Apple would be my bet, they’ve worked with Twitter before (iTunes links) and have a huge cash pile to buy them with. I also think there’d be a good demographic match.
Apple
Apple have great momentum across many parts of the tech industry, they are leading the show in every area except one. There online strategy goes little beyond apple.com and iTunes. MobileMe isn’t anywhere near the scale of Gmail or Hotmail/Microsoft’s online services. But they have a huge datacenter ready to role and are surely going to show their hand soon. 200 million iTunes accounts with credit card details attached and even more without, could be a huge factor.
Microsoft
I wasn’t sure if I should put Microsoft in this list. But 370 million Hotmail users is no small matter. Indeed before the advent of the social networks Microsoft’s .net ID’s were there most used online login system. Add in the 30+ million Xbox Live users and counting them out is stupid. Again the problem here is they haven’t got an overall united vision but worse than that, they are too slow to react. Apple was on iPhone 4 before the MS entered the market with WP7. There is still no response to the iPad in sight, you could argue they still haven’t even taken on the iPod properly. But if you look at Xbox Live they do have the ability to innovate and change the market completely.
So there we have it. I’m sure 2011 will be a huge year for all of these companies. Yeah, we’ll all probably continue to use several logins for many years to come. But the day you’ll actually need to are numbered.
Ashley.
iPad 2, iPad 3 and then…
01 year ago
by Phlashman
in Technology
Yeah, 2 blogs in 2 days. Didn’t see that one coming did you?
So last week after what seemed like an eternity of rumour and speculation, Apple showed off the new iPad 2. The first revision of a device that has had a huge impact on the tech industry. Laptops, Netbooks and even PCs have all taken a hit in sales thanks to the iPad. 15 million were sold in the first 9 months, far more than anyone predicted, making it the fastest selling consumer electric device of all time. Competitors are rushing to compete with it, with limited success. 
Google’s Honeycomb version of Android is just hitting the shelves, reviews are good but the words ‘unfinished’, ‘beta version feel’ and ‘not quite ready’ keep popping up in the product reviews. Steve Jobs gave a prime example during the iPad 2 press conference showing that the iPad has over 65,000 apps designed specifically for it, then pointing out that Google’s market place had 100 apps ready for tablet devices. Then there’s the price, which none of the competitors have been able to beat and in many cases they’ve not even come close.
So it’s clear the iPad is a success. The question is where next. The iPad 2 is more of a refinement than a ‘from scratch’ redesign, 33% slimmer, better processor, better graphics, better sound, gyroscope and front/rear cameras. All at that same unbeatable price. For me as a person who is routinely asked which gadget someone would buy it’s extremely hard for me to recommend anything but the iPad 2.
But, I’d always have to offer a bit footnote. Rumour has it that an iPad with a retina display, like that on the iPhone 4, might be available in September. It makes lots of sense for many reasons. Apple could want to move the iPad yearly refresh to September to make the most of the big pre-Xmas sales period, at the moment people are going to start expecting new iPads just after Xmas, so will hold off buying one.
Another reason is because a retina display is inevitable, Apple tout the iPad as a great reading device (and it is) but if they are true serious about it, the iPad will need a retina display, you can bet the competition is thinking about it. They see the tablet wars differently to Apple and are trying to beat the iPad on specs, ignoring the user experience. So, all the more reason for Apple to get in there early and set the standard high enough that again the competition can’t match it. Lastly it gives Apple the chance to introduce a premium iPad line, maybe as an iPad HD or iPad Pro. Then they are free to compete on two fronts, the regular iPad at the low end and the iPad HD at the other.
For many people the iPad 2 will be plenty, my advice would be to jump on now, it’ll do you fine for the next couple of years until a retina display becomes standard. For iPad 1 owners I’d say, as you are probably an early adopter, you’ll be best of saving your pennies and sitting on your hands to see how this retina thing plays out. If you make it through to September you’ll make it to next March if the rumours don’t pan out. The retina display iPad is happening, it’s just a matter of when.
So sorted right? Well yes, but all this got me thinking. What are the next steps? What about iPad 4? iPad 5? Sure there’s one or two more things on the horizon that would warrant upgrades (LTE 4G mobile internet) but you start to look down the line, would an upgrade to 3D really be worth it? a faster processor, better graphics? In a world where connections are getting faster and more reliable, more and more heavy processes can take place in data-centres. It’s just a matter of time until economics forces the issue. Are we soon going to reach a technological celling? In mobile devices, I think we might be.
Ashley.
It’s the future now, Damn it!
11 year ago
by Phlashman
in Technology
So earlier tonight I was a little bored and got the sudden urge to watch some Star Wars films. Not a too unreasonable urge given my geek nature. I was even willing to part with actual real life money to see at least one in HD probably 2 and I’d probibly watch a third tomorrow. So as it’s 2011, I have a 50Mb internet connection, I have a Xbox 360, PS3 and HD Sky Box surely somewhere some how some combination of these couple of years old technologies would deliver some of the most popular movies of all time in to my home.
No. No Star Wars on Zune, No Star Wars on Lovefilm streaming, No Star Wars on iTunes (except clone wars, which is awesome, but my Sky Box has a few episodes on it), not even a desperate search to see if it’s being shown on ITV4 or something bought anything up. How is this possible in 2011?
As we all know Mr. Lucas hasn’t made anything of note since The Last Crusade in ’89 and has spent the last 20 years trying his hardest to bleed as much money out of Star Wars as possible. Which is understandable really, because his cut of the $2 billion original trilogy box office couldn’t of lasted him long, good job he got all that money from the toy and extras because it was quite a while before he made the prequels, which made a pityful $2.5 billion at the box office. Never mind the video releases, eventual DVD release, cinematic re-releases. So you’d imagine being so poor he’d be desperate to take my money for an internet HD version? Obviously not.
This is a prime example of the movie industry making the same mistakes the music industry have been making for years. Sticking to old world measures to restrict customer choice rather than letting the customer choose how they’d like to consume your content with a wide range of options as some people want different things. Again lets look at Star Wars to see the real world example. Let’s take the HD original trilogy (the films I’d like to watch) they were first shown on Sky HD on Jan 1 2007 (more than 4 years ago), in 2010 they got shown on ITV4 HD, the blu-ray release is scheduled for release in September 2011. So it’s going to be nearly 5 years from the first showings to the first chance to actually own it.
And then they are shocked and outraged when people pirate films? In any business if you treat your customers that badly, you shouldn’t be surprised that they don’t want to do business with you.
Luckily, we’re coming to a crunch point. Netflix in the US has set out the blue-print for the future, a monthly fee for access to a huge streaming database of movies. Spotify is doing the same for music and the tech giants are taking notice. Amazon bought Lovefilm (regularly called the Netflix of the UK, I wouldn’t go that far), Google are looking to move their youtube brand in to the movie market and Microsoft’s Zune service is available but they are doing a great job of not telling anyone about it (Example: my brother got a new HDTV the other day, not yet having any HD content to play on it I said why don’t you just watch a few trailers on the Zune Marketplace as they’re HD and on his 40Mb internet will be blu-ray quality. He said ‘what?’ he plays on his Xbox for hours almost every night and didn’t know about it).
And then of course there’s Apple. iTunes accounts for 70% of music sales, but total sales have stalled. They have the largest number of people with an internet account linked to a credit card, for one click purchasing. 200 Million people according to Steve Jobs on Wednesday. They have a huge data-centre ready to light up. Maybe 2011 is the year AppleTV stops being a hobby?
So things are looking good for the future. But the future is now, Damn it! Every day that consumer choice is stifled piracy will increase, these services have been technically achievable for years and not being able to watch Star Wars in HD tonight has really pissed me off.
I’m off to have a bath and then watch an episode of Clone Wars. I think I’m going to need a rest before I digest the news about The Phantom Menace being converted to 3D and re-released in Feb 2012.
Ashley.
Digital Comics
01 year ago
I love reading digitial comics on my iPad. Before my iPad I’d still read comics, normally once a series had been collated into what known as a trade paperback (or trade, or TBP) but the cost would seriously limit my reading. For example an issue from a series I’ve recently loved “Hack/Slash” issue 28 Dec 2009. Cover price $3.50, UK Price £3.50 ($5.16), and trust me it takes some finding. Comics aren’t big here in the UK because it’s unrealistic to take that sort of punt on something. Remember in the UK comics aren’t carried in shops (except the occasional specialist store in the big cities), and even then you’ll be lucky to find much beyond DC and Marvel.
But as soon as the iPad came along I knew things were about to change and boy has it changed. It’s so much better from a UK comics reader’s point of view now. Prices are matched with the US much better. That same issue of Hack/Slash cost me 59p, a price that is about as good as free. OK, I can’t lend it to anyone without lending them my iPad (not that I lend anyone comics anyway) but the fact I have it at all is testament to the iPad and the Comics by Comixology app. I would never of come across the series without them. Over the last few months I’ve read every bit of Hack/Slash available and I highly recommend you do the same.
That said, recently Kotaku had a really good post about digital comics and what’s wrong with it at the moment. I’ve also read other blogs and articles about digital comics and there’s a growing consensus and for some a growing frustration about how the digital comic market is operating.
First comics are generally not available “day and date”, meaning the same day the print version hits the shop. Sometimes it might be a few weeks delay but in other cases it’s years. Action Comics, the comic that spawned Superman, one of DC’s biggest comics, the latest issue is July 2007. Plus considering that issue is #851 you’d expect there to be plenty of back issues to get stuck into? There’s 8. Yes, less than 1% of one of the most popular comic in the world is available. I understand it might take time to digitize the back catalog, but digital comics have been on the cards for years, add the 10 months the iPad has been out, 8 issues is just pathetic.
Another problem many have is many series don’t have free or low-cost introduction issues. Most comics are £1.19 ($1.99), while it’s hardily a fortune it’s too much if you are looking for something new. Some series do have free first issues, which is good. But some have 8 page Issue 0 previews, which aren’t enough to give you a feel about weather you’ll like a series or not. Rarely have I found a series that I take an instant like to. To give a series a proper chance you have to get to issue 3 or 4. I’d love to see issues 1 & 2 free and 3 & 4 at 59p (99c). By then I’ll probably know if I’m will to put down £1.19 an issue. Don’t get me wrong I think 59p an issue is a good price points for all comics.
The last problem is a problem with locating certain comics. Going digital is a great chance for comics to regain a place in mainstream media. Over the past 20+ years they’ve slowly been whittled down to a niche and unless you have some knowledge, buying a comic can be quite a task. The “comic book guy” of the Simpson is how a great many people see it. Some publishers haven’t made it easy, restricting their comics to their app. So even if you do get a great recommendation about a new comic, unless you know who published it you might have trouble finding it. Luckly many publisher are working with Comixology including Marvel and DC. It’s fast becoming “the” digital comic shop but I hope it doesn’t become “the only” digital comic shop. In something as new and rapidly changing as digital comics, competition is a must. I’d also like to see better recommendation and new reader points (points in long running comics where new readers can pick up the story) to be much better highlighted.
So, digital comics are great, but they could be better. Hopefully since it’s still early days the current problem will be sorted out in time. If you have a iPad I urge you to download some of the comic apps and have a look around. Also this post let me post a load of really cool art from said comics.
Ashley.
Merry Xmas, a Happy New Year and Bah-Humbug
01 year ago
by Phlashman
in Random Posts
Well, it’s that time of year again. We’ve currently got 6″ of snow on the ground here in Coalville, which of course means everyone can’t go anywhere and are complaining about it… as they go about their business pretty much as normal. As with most people who’ve ever been on a skiing holiday, complaining about 6″ of snow it truly pathetic. Don’t get me wrong, I love the snow, it’s the British attitude to it that gets me.
Anyways, Christmas, which you might know as Xmas, is about here. I am hardly Mr. Xmas, my favorite thing about it is the time off work. Everything else just winds me up. Sprouts? Who actually likes them? Several hours of kids running down batteries on toys that make no sense and will be broke with 24/48 hours? Spending a small fortune in busy shops, trying to guess what your loved one’s would like with a two month countdown (only 20, 10, 5, 4, 3, 2 ,1 shopping days left)? The panic buying of food and drink to survive the 24 hours that some shops will be shut?
I could really do without it all.
But you let people know how you feel and you become the worst person on Earth. People look at you like you just shot their dog. Is it really that bad to just want a few days off work and the chance to relax? I’m not going to just become a recluse over Xmas but I don’t want to spend the little time I have traipsing from one relative to another’s to spend the whole day having the same boring meal time after time. A whistle stop tour with drinks and present giving is fine.
Today has been a prime example of why I feel this way. I had 2 presents left to get. One for my mum and the other for my Brother’s girlfriend (Mother of my Nephew), basically I was wanting to get some sort of bathtime/smelly set as I have no idea what they actually want. This involves A) going to shops, not my favorite thing to do and B) Buying something I have no idea about. Sure enough I walk into the local Boots and nothing. Nothing that falls vaguely into the category I was looking for. No problem, there’s at least 2 more shops I know should sell something. 2 more blanks. Not to mention I have to queue to get out of one of the shops despite not buying anything.
Now the pressure is on. You can’t not get a gift, I’ve already got too many people vouchers (because you can’t give too many vouchers say the Xmas happy police). A handy reminder from a passerby that tomorrow is Xmas eve doesn’t help either.
Luckily my brother Wayne is awesome. He’s in Leicester now and is finding the two final presents for me, he’s saved me a truly horrid Xmas eve.
So yeah, today has not been relaxing.
I do wish everyone a Merry Xmas and a happy new year, but just remember not everyone enjoys the Xmas spirit, so make them happy and don’t force it on them.
Ashley.
Apps, Apps and Apps
01 year ago
by Phlashman
in Technology
Apps are everywhere. It’s the tech buzzword of the year and the year before that. There are loads, loads and loads. 300,000 apps on the Apple app store alone, 50,000+ on Android, Facebook apps, Blackberry apps, Google TV apps… so many just getting seen is a major task. But when you do, and if you app is good enough you can strike gold. Angry Birds has been downloaded over 36 million times in 10 months. To put this in perspective all Mario games (including games that he’s just appears in, like Smash Bros.) have sold 210 million over 30 years. Sure, Angry birds costs a lot less than a Mario game, but it was also much cheaper to make, quicker to make. 36 million downloads at $1+ each for a outlay of $100,000 max.
The current status of apps reminds me a lot of the internet boom, there are some great apps making us rethink how we do basic things. But there’s also a load of crap and finding the gems in an ever grown mountain of poop isn’t getting much easier. The app ecosystem feels very much like the web pre-Google. Yeah, there are Apps and sites that try to help out on this front, like Chomp.com or appshopper.com, but much as we had Yahoo! and askjeeves.com finding the apps you want is still a chore.
So how to fix it? Android Market place and (more importantly) the Apple App Store have to take the lead in solving these problems. First they have to allow developers to have more flexible pricing structures supported by the API. For example, half the detritus in the app stores can be removed with support for Demo modes, clearing out the junk ‘lite’ and ‘free’ versions. In app purchasing of extra levels doesn’t seem to go far enough for me, I either want a free demo version or to buy it and have it all. The model used on XBLA where every game has a trial mode would be good. Or a time based demo which would be good for non-gaming apps.
Subscription models, these seem to be on the cards in the next few weeks, but it’s very late. The app stores are already clogged with more than a year or so monthly new apps. Off topic for a moment, it’s rumoured that the launch of subscriptions for apps will come with the launch with a new tablet only paper. I’m not sure if it’s doomed from the off or not. I’ll blog about it once the facts are out. I hope they allow subscription models to be used with any app and not just magazine/newspaper apps as this might be a good way for other services to work, MMO games and media services could be good uses too.
These things would allow users to try more apps to help them find the right apps. Currently some apps chances are restricted to those who have the money to take the chance on a app if they don’t have a ‘lite’ or ‘demo’ version.
Lastly, the app stores have to get social. The best recommendations come from friends. Game Center is a good start. I’ve played more new games on my iPad since getting 4.2 as I can see what my friends are playing and what they thought of certain games. But this needs to be universal for all apps. Ping should of been this, It should of imported your twitter/facebook/contacts and centralised and shared your likes not just in music, but films, TV, books…. and apps. If it was all free to try too, I’d be trying more apps and if they are good I’ll be buying more apps.
Myself, I’m itching to get developing apps. I just haven’t the time or equipment at the moment. I’m hoping that the app stores solve some of these problem. It’s still early days in the new world of apps, the best it yet to come but when it does I hope it’s easier to find it.
Ashley.
Gaming 2010
0
Looking at the rest of the release schedule for 2010 it appears I’ve got to the end of my gaming year already. For a guy who founded one of the biggest Xbox sites in Europe I play and have time for very few games. This year, Borderlands, Bioshock 2, Heavy Rain, Red Dead Redemption, Bayonetta and Starcraft II are all games I’ve managed to miss. So, in no way is this a thorough review of the year. Merely a opinion on what I have played this year.
This mainly consists of 5 games, there have been others but these 5 got the most hours logged.
The start of the year was dominated with Modern Warfare 2, yes, it was released last year but for the first 4-5 months of 2010 I was addicted. The map packs hit just at the right times to keep me going. I mainly played with my brothers, we’ve got pretty good and we’ve had some good fun. People seem to have problems with it, but they tend to be the ultra competitive types.
I did find a game that drew my attention from MW2, Mass Effect 2. For me this game is without a doubt the current pinnacle of gaming. The story telling is better than 99% of current films and TV, add the improved gameplay over the original and it really is perfection. Later in the year the Shadow Broker DLC was great but just makes the wait for the third and final part of the story even harder. I’d love to see the series go MMO as the universe is set up in such a way that there could easily be a thousand stories told over many years from many different points of view and I could easily lose myself in it.
Then the gaming year only got going again during this final quarter of the year, marked for me with 3 big shooters all with huge hype in tow. Halo: Reach, Medal of Honor and Call of Duty: Black Ops. Halo: Reach delivered, it was truly worthy of being Bungie’s swan song to the franchise, though in the multiplayer I felt it was hard to adapt after such a heavy CoD addiction earlier on the year. Halo 1 will always have a special place in my heart and maybe it’s nostalgia for it that keeps me from loving it’s sequels as much. I don’t envy whoever has to make the next Halo game.
Then there was Medal of Honor and Black Ops. Two games that looked like they were going to head-to-head for the exact same market. First up was Medal of Honor, and it disappointed, badly. It felt rushed and heartless, buggy and unoriginal. It was a clear example of how not to make a game, luckily weeks later Black Ops turned out to be the exact opposite. The single player, which I finished just yesterday, is a prime example of story telling in an action game. Building to an epic final act. Sure there wasn’t the depth that Mass Effect had, but for a shooter, a genre that’s pretty devoid of story-telling, it’s up there in the top 5 easily. I’m still digging into the multiplayer, it’s early days, the good news is my CoD online addiction and the warm feeling it give is coming back.
So that’s my gaming year, I really wish I’d had the time to play more games and maybe of the xmas period I’ll get something else in, regardless 2010 has been a good gaming year.
Ashley.
P.S. in other news: We beat Derby 2-0 at the weekend which was glorious, I saw Jackass 3D which was good (I still think 3D is a gimmick though) and Apple have a big iTunes related announcement tomorrow! Should I get excited about Steve Jobs Reading my blog?
3 Months Later…
01 year ago
Yep, I’m Lazy. Well my excuse was going to be mental exhaustion which would be kinda true but still… I’m just lazy.
As I’m going to try to not just write for my blog on a quarterly basis I’ll just blog briefly on some of what’s happened since July then go over them more in the next few days and weeks.
First on the City front. Ignore my last post, the Malaysians turned out to be Thais and Paulo Sousa got sacked after a terrible start… but now we have Sven-Goran Eriksson and result have picked up and there’s hope the season won’t be so bad after all.
Second, apparently Steve Jobs doesn’t read my blog so no Apple subscription service.. yet. They have completed a huge data-center in North Carolina which should come online any moment now. It’s huge, so huge in fact they are building an identical one right next to it. They’re a cooking something. iPad multi-tasking should arrive this week, so that’ll be nice.
Third, Call of Duty: Black Ops comes out on Tuesday. It’s kind of uncool to like Call of Duty games but I like them and that’s what my brothers mainly play. To be honest I prefer them to Halo now. I’ve got Tuesday off so I can get a fair bit of play in day one. It’s an interesting time in gaming, casual games seem to be changing the market and as I’m more a “core” gamer I’m not sure how I feel about it.
Fourth, TV seems a little empty without the promise of more Lost or 24 on the horizon. Caprica has been cancelled so has The Event, something that was looking promising. Stargate Universe seem to be plodding along quite well though and The Walking Dead looks like it could be a quality new series. I haven’t been to the Cinema in forever it seems, but my little brother Joe has passed his driving test so hopefully that’ll change. Really looking forward to Tron with it’s Daft Punk soundtrack. Sucker Punch is looking great and there’s a new Superman in the works which is great.
Lastly, news, politics and the rest. I think I’m needing a good news story right now. The news is just cuts cuts cuts, though I won’t really be affected people will be and it’s pretty depressing. I rarely go into town (Coalville) but did the other week and the number of empty shops was shocking, it’s feeling like a town on the brink of collapse. I’m quite in to my American politics too, and as someone of the left of the political spectrum, I find the situation over there quite distressing.
So, I’ll be expanding on the above in future post. But for now at least I’ve proved I’m still here.
Laters.
Ashley.
P.S. This lifted me a little:
But really I do love a bit of Dubstep on the way home on a cold winter night, here’s a spotify playlist I put together. Tweet me if you need a Spotify invite. @Phlashman