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Friday, November 30, 2012

Some Thoughts on the Current State of Xbox Live

It's been more than 1 month since Windows 8 was released to the general public. With Windows 8, we now have 3 ways to play our Xbox (Live) games: on our console (Xbox 360), on our phone (Windows Phone), and now our Computer (Windows 8) as well. However, the current state of games is somewhat lacking on the Windows 8 end.

When Windows 8 came out, I was expecting some of the biggest console Xbox (360) hits like Halo to make their way to Windows 8. As of now, I have not seen this happen. An upside is that some popular games on the Windows Phone side of Xbox were ported to Windows 8.

One aspect of having these 3 platforms available for us for gaming is that has been overlooked in many instances is the aspect of integration between systems. One idea for integration is in a given game, there are some goodies within that game that can be used on that game's port for a different platform. One game that does do this is Kinectimals on Windows Phone. Once you have your pet on one system (like Windows Phone), you can transfer it to another system and continue raising the exact same pet (like Xbox 360). Another idea for integration is to use one system to control another. An example here is using something on windows phone to control the game in some way on an Xbox 360. The last aspect I will add for now is the aspect of multiplayer cross-platform gaming. Basically a person on one platform's port of a game can play someone else at the exact same game on a different platform. An example of this would be someone playing Halo on Xbox 360 is playing against another person in the exact same scenario, but on Halo on Windows 8.


Finally, for a while now, I have felt that the Xbox 360 is slowly dying. From what I have seen as far as upcoming releases go, I see no new games being released. What is being released are sequels being released for existing game series. This will only work for a short time. Offering the Kinect as a way to enhance games was a step in the right direction, but I feel like more can be done. Independent and small company games are the only thing that can save the Xbox 360 platform for the future.

So what do you think of this? Do you agree that Microsoft can do more with Xbox Live? Please share your thoughts with everyone in the comment box below.

If you've ever been to a long night gaming session, you know how hard it is to stay awake after awhile, especially if it's been a long day. To help you out, try drinking some Mystic Monk Coffee. Mystic Monk Coffee (use this link or click on the picture below to access the store and purchase) is what you really need when it comes to coffee. Trust me, it's good coffee (in most instances, much better than Starbucks coffee) and you won't regret buying some (just keep it away from your computer keyboard or laptop/tablet). For the summer (or what's left of it), they are also offering Iced Coffee as well. If you like tea more than coffee, they also offer tea. Using the link (or picture below) to buy the coffee (or tea) helps the monks out and helps me with college expenses as well. The coffee (or tea) also makes for great gifts for friends and family as well.






For my existing Windows Phone apps, things are getting really rough since finals are coming up soon, so I will be releasing updates after I am done with finals (if I am lucky, I might just get them out before that time). This applies to Mobile Media Manager (both free and paid versions) and BSA Eagle Tracker. I am sorry it's taking so long (I want it to be a quality update).

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Political Circus Scoreboard for 2012

Well, I am back, as promised, with the next Political Circus (Election 2012) report.

As of now, here is the score:

Romney  (total: 186)
Kentucky - 8 votes
West Virginia - 5 votes
Indiana - 11 votes
South Carolina - 9 votes
Tennessee - 11 votes
Georgia - 16 votes
Alabama - 9 votes
Mississippi - 6 votes
Arkansas - 6 votes
Louisiana - 8 votes
Texas - 38 votes
Oklahoma - 7 votes
Kansas - 6 votes
Nebraska -5 votes
Wyoming - 3 votes
South Dakota - 3 votes
North Dakota - 3 votes
Utah - 6 votes
Arizona - 11 votes
North Carolina - 15


Obama  (total: 158)
 Vermont - 3 votes
Maine - 4 votes
Massachusetts - 11 votes
Rhode Island - 4 votes
Connecticut - 7 votes
New Jersey - 14 votes
New York - 29 votes
Delaware - 3 votes
Maryland - 10 votes
Illinois - 20 votes
Michigan - 16 votes
Pennsylvania - 20 votes
District of Columbia - 3 votes
New Hampshire - 4 votes
Minnesota - 10 votes


Control of House
Democrats - 105
Republicans - 162


Control of Senate
Democrats - 45
Republicans - 42
Independent - 2

As the evening goes on, I will try to update this every 15-30 minutes. It's still early, so I'm not expecting any ground-breaking revelations until later. If 15-30 minutes isn't good enough for you, I will be on twitter as @rctechgeek  (feel free to follow me) using the hashtag "#politicalcircus2012".


Update (19:59 E.S.T) : added House and Senate totals, Romney gets WV

Update(20:06 E.S.T): results are coming in too fast to catalog individual updates, so I will just continue to update the scoreboard and you can just check that

Update(21:53 E.S.T.): just realized I had switched the values of members of the house and senate and switched them back to their correct places

Update: Unfortunately, Obama has captured enough electoral votes to win a second term.

As we're watching the election, may I suggest some Mystic Monk Coffee to go along with it (if decaf is your thing around this time of day, that works too)? If you like tea more than coffee, they also offer tea. Using the link (or picture below) to buy the coffee (or tea) helps the monks out and helps me with college expenses as well. The coffee (or tea) also makes for great gifts for friends and family.






Mid-Afternoon Report of this Year's Political Circus

Before I begin, I know I should have posted an entry on this during the morning, but I got caught up in school stuff.

Anyway, this year's political circus (excuse me, general election) isn't over yet and we are already getting reports of voter discrimination in various parts of the US.

First, the same group of members of the New Black Panther Party we saw back during the 2008 election are back in Philadelphia. It is sad that they were not prosecuted for voter intimidation the first time.  (http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/11/black-panthers-in-back-at-their-posts-in-philadelphia-on-election-day/)

Next addition to the circus is the story in Philadelphia in which election workers were ordered by court order to cover a mural of Obama. I would like to know why this was not taken care of before the voting there started.  (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/11/06/judge-issuing-order-to-reinstate-booted-philadelphia-election-officials/)

That is all the stories I have for now. In our election report, the New York Times is currently reporting that New Hampshire has gone to Obama. This result is unofficial and we won't know the real results until tonight.

If you haven't voted yet (or even if you have), please remember that we are accountable for every vote we cast. Each vote we cast should be in support of someone who respects every human being's right to life, from conception to the natural stages of death.

For your benefit and use, I have created a twitter hash tag "#politicalcircus2012" which you can use to share your voting experiences and gripes and to get reports of who's winning. The comment box is open for this as well. Stay tuned for more election coverage later in the day.

My twitter username is @rctechgeek

While we are waiting for the results, why not drink a little coffee? If you are going to drink coffee, why not drink it like a mystic monk? Some tasty Mystic Monk Coffee (use this link or click on the picture below to access the store and purchase) is what you really need when it comes to coffee. Trust me, it's good coffee (in most instances, much better than Starbucks coffee) and you won't regret buying some (just keep it away from your computer keyboard or laptop/tablet). If you like tea more than coffee, they also offer tea. Using the link (or picture below) to buy the coffee (or tea) helps the monks out and helps me with college expenses as well. The coffee (or tea) also makes for great gifts for friends and family.






Also, feel free to try out my apps for Windows Phone: Mobile Media Manager, a media player app I made which has some features which (I feel) are missing from the system Zune player, and BSA Eagle Tracker, an app that boy scouts can use to track their progress to Eagle Scout (when the scout handbook isn't always handy). I will admit that an update for both the free version and the paid version of Mobile Media Manager is badly needed, and I am in the process of making them in what little spare time I have (school sucks up much free time). BSA Eagle Tracker is also getting an update to fix a minor bug in it.

BSA Eagle Tracker download: http://bit.ly/Mm1Upo
Mobile Media Manager (paid version) download: http://bit.ly/y3rf6V
Mobile Media Manager (free version) download: http://bit.ly/xGCsWE

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