These are my new things. [2/3]

I like to be in control.

Perhaps some people would call me a control freak, but I don't think that is very polite. I find that input devices, that is the stuff you touch, poke, talk to, or wave at to control your computer or electronic device, are woefully under appreciated in the space of user experience. With that I'm thinking of the Macintosh ideal for mice and keyboards. There are, like any other component, many factors you must balance in order to make a product. Recently Apple has become the cool company somehow.

When did computers get cool?

But really. When did devices made for editing documents and calculating huge strings of data become so mainstream. Apple did not start innovating in 2007 with the iPhone. They've been placing the focus on small and sleek since the 80's. Forgive the quality of the video but you get my point.

Small and sleek simply was not the thing people wanted. They wanted compatibility and power. Who cares about how great your computer looks when you are running a database query and you want your old PC DOS data to work.

Then the Internet became consumer grade. Library card catalogs. Sales records. Maybe some very nerdy IRCs. This was the old internet. The dot com boom helped make the internet mainstream. Users could just pop in your favorite website and get some news or entertainment on demand. But could you contribute? Only if you knew HTML. 

I'll save you some nerdy history details and move you forward to Web 2.0 as old geeks may say. It's social networking. Friendster, Myspace, YouTube, and blogs. Everyone wanted a computer and it was no longer a power race.

Magical?

Humans are not symmetrical so why are the things we use?

When users are just clicking back and forth between wedding pictures and a rant about pop culture figures recent decision, who cares about the DPI of a mouse or the action on a keyboard. It just needs to work. To be fair, Apple's tackpad is a thing of wonders and at this time, unparalleled, but their Magic Mouse is an absolute piece of trash. It defines form over function. It's uncomfortable to use and is ridiculously heavy. It has some great additions like multitouch and bluetooth support but it seems to have forgotten was it was. A mouse.

If you only reach for your mouse about three times an hour then this will work fine for you but if you are like me and want to edit something, you use the mouse far too often to drag that hunk of aluminum (aluminium if you are wrong) across your desk. So I went Logitech!

And it tracks on glass!

Now you guys get to see how dirty the glass on my desk is.

I like glass desks. I realize the are posh and tacky but I like them. So for years I was cursed to buy ugly and quickly decaying mouse mats. Then I read about Logitech's Darkfield Technology. Combining several principles I have no understanding of with several other principles I somehow understand even less, logitech made this thing track on glass. Like a puck sliding on ice, the mouse glides with ease and precision with the slightest prod. 

This mouse is great and it's fully Macintosh compatible. There are a few things in the software that don't work quite as expected but Logitech gives you the controls to take care of that. The mouse is called the Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX. (Remember, if you buy through my links I make a small percentage and that can help me bring you guys more reviews. Thanks!)

What! No Penguin! Oh that's right, Linux doesn't need your official support.

A couple problems I've had with it are that the back and forward buttons, instead of moving the internet browser back and forward a page as I'd expected, they switched me to different desktops. This was tested in Chrome but easily fixed by changing the commands on those buttons the delete key and shift+delete. The mouse works flawlessly on Windows 7 however which leads me to assume the functioning on Mac OS was a result of Apple's recent changes to the way gestures are handled, but I really have no proof of that and to be fair it was an easy fix.

The tracking is smooth and I've noticed no problems or inaccuracies from tracking on glass. I'm really considering getting the big brother for my Windows desktop now. 

What's your type?

Well, that's a bit personal but she's smart, and funny with a great... oh it's a pun, and not even a very good one. Shame. But really, the things I want in a keyboard include a slim form factor, good key travel, good key spacing, a number pad, and extra USB ports. Apple finally delivered! The Macintosh keyboard has been out for a few years now but it doesn't need to change at all. The keys have a nice feel and good travel and It has two USB ports built in so I can always have my new mouse receiver plugged in. This is a huge plus considering I only have two USB ports and one of those connects to my Time Machine drive immediately when I reach my desk.

A close second place was the Logitech Solar Keyboard but a couple things kept me away from it. The first was that since it was wireless it was not a USB hub and the second was that I tested it and just didn't like the way it felt. Everyone has a certain level of tension and travel they like but I just though it felt a little too loose and squishy when typing. It is still a great keyboard especially being solar powered but it just wasn't for me this time around. It also comes in black which I really like. They also included Macintosh keys so your are not forced to deal with an oddly placed command key. Really, this was a very close second place for me and I'd still definitely suggest it. I have the Logitech Illuminated Keyboard on my Windows machine and will not be replacing that until it falls apart. A serious quality keyboard.

Thanks everyone for reading part 2. I hope I could offer you some good information. I'm most excited for part 3. It's about my new headphones. And no, it's not those awful Beats. Stay tuned for part 3. Coming soon.

These are my new things. [1/3]

As I enter my third semester as a telecommunications major I found myself needing to upgrade my computer gear, especially on my Mac side. I had been using the built in keyboard and mouse on my MacBook Pro since 2009 and it really is just awful for anything but web browsing. 

So, first on the list. 

A hard drive. I regret now not documenting the whole event but putting the thing in was fairly straightforward and without incident. I loaded a backup image from my Time Machine backup and was good to go in just a couple hours.

I bought the Seagate Momentus XT 750GB hard drive. It comes with 8GB worth of solid state storage built in that automatically caches commonly accessed sik sectors in order to bring certain actions up to near SSD performance. The results are quite spectacular. Read and Write speeds doubled in many scenarios but keep in mind this is a computer from 2009 and the stock drive was built more for silence and power efficiency where the Seagate is exactly the opposite.

The new drive is noticeably louder in the simple fact that I can hear it when I rarely ever became aware the previous drive was spinning at all. Contrary to the assertions of the anti-Mac crowds, the upgrade was quick and easy...easier than any PC laptop I've ever worked on. Don't get me wrong. Some of the higher end gaming PCs come right apart with upgrades in mind but none, until this past year, that were quite as easy as the MacBook unless they had a special door for the HDD. I'm extremely happy with the upgrade and the size increase is a new order of convenience to someone like me that typically deals with fifty or more gigs of HD footage for editing. It's an absolute pain editing off an external drive not to mention the constant fear the external drive with become disconnected or knocked.

It lacks a hemi but it's still RAM.

This is the first place I would send someone looking to squeeze some life out of their aging MacBook Pro. Especially after upgrading to Lion and beyond, RAM is a valuable resource under Mac OS. My computer came with 4GB stock and I took it up to 8GB with some reasonably priced sticks from Crucial. Seriously. I paid about $40 for this upgrade and the sticks go on sale for much less than that all the time. The performance increase was huge epecially if you use real apps. You know, the stuff that makes a Mac a Mac. Some Mac exclusives like Final Cut Pro X (a solid program despite the haters) or Logic Pro really make great use of the extra RAM. You'll see some great improvement on programs like Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Pro Tools, and of course video games.

Don't expect your machine to become a gaming powerhouse, you really never should have gone with Mac OS if you are after a gaming PC, but it certainly helps with the simpler games like Team Fortress 2 or World of Warcraft. I one hundred percent recommend this upgrade for all users.

The Revolution [1/2]

1099 free hours.

Mac OS, Linux, iOS, even Android are pushing into PC gaming in a big way. While iOS and Android may not seem like a contender at first thought, they are taking over that social games and flash games space. Game developers are looking at new operating systems for their big games as well.

Mobile

Once upon a time, flash was as big a deal as javascript or css on web pages. Well maybe not that important, but it was not possible to experience the whole internet without it (an idea some tech companies hold onto). Changing hands from Macromedia to Adobe, it was obvious flash was going to be big. It did what HTML and other embedded video just couldn't and that was provide an easy and cheap way to make a site interactive. These new dynamic interactions saw the expansion of point and click navigation on sites and interactive windows containing videos or games. Who could forget watching NumaNuma, or Shig on albinoblacksheep.com?

Kongregate became a great success followed soon by social outlets like Facebook for the new casual gaming experience. 

Enter the iPhone.

From gsmarena.com

No, not that one. This one.

From gsmarena.com

Games already designed for point and click just seemed to work with touch controls. With the addition of simple conversion tools for iOS and a powerful toolset from Apple the games came fast and easy.

From iTunes

Simple games for a simple platform.

Early on in the iPhone's lifecycle and for some, the iPod Touch, the greatest game options were in the form of simple and painfully addicting games like Cube Runner or Jelly Car... also that bubble paper game. The games were such a step back from flash games and other casual games based on input. Developers just weren't used to the lack of freedom, or more precisely, the lack of restriction with a full multi-touch surface. Before a game's directional controls were simply the arrow keys or WASD but now... do we do a swipe? A flick? Maybe a trace? Perhaps a virtual D-pad or control stick? And what about tilt!?

From iTunes

There has been an evolution, an improvement on the idea of free range of motion. 

Building on what has been learned from things like the Nintendo DS and Wii, developers finally got around to figuring out the best ways to do controls on touch screens. Just look at Infinity Blade on iOS. Besides being a graphics beast, it also shows that the platform is a real and important thing. Good controls and a huge name behind it, success was at their fingertips of anyone looking to get in this business. Many years of work and we finally get to this level of quality, but now we must ask, was it fast enough? Have the others caught up?

Android was not far behind in the games department but seemed to lack a lot of the finess of it's iOS counterpart. The games were often less optimized and laggier on all but high end Android phones.

Free! 

Free games on Android are rarely free. By this I mean they are as free as the rest of the internet. People provide the reader with information and media and pray that they don't have ad-blockers installed and perhaps take an interest in a ad and click it... or as in my Android experience, accidentally graze an ad and then furiously tap the back button. Android games are free in the same sense that a Victoria's Secret ad is a free gentleman's magazine. How much is it worth to the user to know that some of these apps are burning their data in the background ready to throw an ad in game or up on the notification bar? Uninstall.

From Google Play Store

Android did have one benefit of entering the ring after the touch screen controls had some of their details hammered out and refined. It also had the advantage of being far more open than iOS. If a developer couldn't get their app onto the famous app store over at Apple, just throw it up on the Android Market Play Store and if they still can't do that, throw the app online and let the user download it on their own.

Why pop on a PC, open a web browser, type a URL and click through several pages to play a games when the device in user's pocket offers an arguably better experience?

From windowsphone.com

Windows Phone 7 and 8 are honorable mentions because the way Microsoft has implemented Xbox makes it feel like a more complete gaming console. Game Center is trying but still does not have the support of something like Xbox Live.

If someone has a Windows Phone they could be playing and getting achievements for DODONPACHI MAXIMUM. I have to pull out my Sega Saturn and the wonderful 3D controller to play some DODONPACHI. Admittedly, one could get their Cave shmup fill on iOS with Deathsmiles and Espgaluda but there is something remarkable about the high quality games on Zune Windows Phone.

From windowsphone.com

There are some other gems on there like like Z0MB1ES (on teh ph0ne). Similar to Apples iPhone principles in hardware, Microsoft required Windows Phones to have a certain level of hardware power. This helped lead to a standard level of performance for apps as well as a bit of confidence that most users can run it. Hopping on the Google Play Store with anything but a beast phone, one might look at the graphics and say "This game looks beautiful, it probably won't run on my phone, so I'm not going to risk the $5."

Trophievements

My achievements (admit it, you care), my friends list, and a company that has yet to lose my credit card information online. Xbox has a hold on gaming and the trust of many gamers. Imagine telling a COD fan that he can unlock more perks faster by NFC trading on a Windows Phone certain things unlocked in a clever mini game. Or a short range broadcast of that avid gamer's skill levels for those around to arrange a challenge at a later date, or now. How about WoW or TF2? SC2? I know the people that play COD, WoW, and TF2. Those dedicated players want that stuff and if they need a Windows Phone to attach it to their online alias, they will pursue it. Come on, they talk about it so much they have made the acronym a word like a high school kid naming their favorite bands. There is already Xbox Companion, I fear it is only a matter of time.

Windows Phone seems to have a secret focus on gaming that is hidden far behind a layer of very 2D tiles in a world obsessed with skeuomorphism and grids.

This got longer than I thought it would, I would trim some fat if I was writing professionally but here I'll just make a part 2.