Rooting my Android phone was probably the best thing I've ever done to it, besides taking the little guy home with me, of course. I love the control it gives me over the software I decide to load onto my device, which has amazing impact. For starters, the operating systems available give me great battery life, and are a much lighter package than any OEM system with all of their "bloatware". And of course, I've been able to upgrade my phone to 2.3 Gingerbread before HTC released their update for it. To be honest, I'm still not sure if they've released their build for the Incredible yet.
Mostly, I've used CyanogenMod 7 throughout the life of my phone. I've dabbled in OMGB and MIUI and both are really good. Although I was dissapointed to hear that the Incredible will probably not be getting CyanogenMod 9, which is the new ICS version of CyanogenMod. I was pretty dissapointed at the notion that my device, a mere year and a half old, was too much of an antique to get any kind of support in the modding community. But then, I found AOPK. I'd heard of them, but they didn't have a build for the Incredible, until recently. I first attempted to install 39, and ran into issues with my display. Seemed like a kernel issue, considering that it seemed like it was having issues displaying info on my screen correctly. However, the RootzWiki thread on AOKP for the Incredible informed me that builds 38 and 39 aren't working for this device, and 37 is the most current working build.
So far, I'm quite impressed at how well ICS works on my Incredible. I was worried that since it really only meets minimum specs for ICS, that it'd be akin to running 1.6 Donut back in Android's prime. But honestly, while I do notice that it's not as snappy as it could be, I don't notice any significant lags or delays that would cause me to worry about using it as my daily driver. Which is exactly what I'm gonna do for the foreseeable future; enjoying Chrome Beta and other features and software that until now I was unable to use.
UPDATE: After a day or so running this as my primary driver, I decided to go back to CyanogenMod. The less than snappy response time does take a toll as the day goes on. The memory usage is almost always up near maximum and it caused a couple of crash reboots, a bit too frequently for my taste of a daily driver. I do have a clockworkmod backup of it in case I want to revisit it, but the recent update to CM 7.2.0 is super snappy and quick and just works better with my hardware as a daily driver.
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Facebook Can't Get Out Of It's Own Way
It's so popular to hate on Facebook these days that if ever I bring up any kind of qualm I have about how Facebook works, I'm labeled as a hater. It's just how these kinds of things go I guess. I don't let it get to me anymore, but it used to perturb me quite a bit. So to anybody who's going to construe any kind of legitimate and logical complaint about Facebook as mindless hatred, leave now.
The root of all of my frustrations with Facebook is that it's spurred a massive gold-rush of personal data mining by creating an environment in which developers can try to get you to agree to give them access to your personal profile information by installing apps and dangling a carrot out in front of the common user. Prime example of this is whenever I want to read an article hosted by Yahoo! that a friend of mine has shared on Facebook. All I want to do is click the link and be taken to Yahoo!'s article and read the damn thing. But, alas, I must be stopped by Yahoo!'s Facebook app, as it is the portal through which I must get to the article. No I don't want to install your app. I just want to read the article, not give you access to all of my personal information. And so I deny the app's requests and carry on through my news feed disappointed that Facebook actually impeded the social sharing that it's supposed to facilitate. Completely the opposite of how it was supposed to happen. Somewhere along the line, after Facebook rose to social networking dominance, it began to take on all kinds of other projects and sew them onto it's existing frame, in a stupid mission to become the only destination anybody has on the Internet. Games and Apps saw that anybody who produced content for the Internet could produce that same content within Facebook. And now what we have is this Frankenstein of a once well polished social network that tries to be too many other things, and that mission has gotten in the way of the only thing people really want to use a social network for: Sharing information. That is it. The one thing any social network is useful for. And now Facebook is allowing the free reign it's given 3rd party developers to make apps, to get in the way of itself. Which, to me at least, is absolutely infuriating. I should not be stopped from viewing the content that I am tempted with in my news feed. That is completely anti-productive for Facebook to do.
And another problem that has been beginning to piss me off lately is the intrusion of advertisements into my Timeline. I was perfectly fine with ads off to the side of every page. But when they actually appear within the content that I'm searching for in my or someone else's Timeline, it makes for an awesomely effective distraction and it's that much more difficult to find what I'm looking for. Which, again, is the exact opposite of what Facebook is supposed to do. Connecting people who share information and making that information easier to find is the prime directive, if you will, of a social network. So once again, you have Facebook getting in it's own way. And Facebook now being a publicly traded company, these kinds of things are just going to get worse now that there's investors to please.
Now, fortunately (or unfortunately, really), my friends still produce interesting enough content such that I haven't been willing to stop going to Facebook to see what they're up to, or what they're reading or sharing. But it's becoming more of a chore to check Facebook for me; becoming more of a headache every time I leave the site, because it's almost always because I can't stand being denied reading an interesting story for the sake of installing someone's app.
The root of all of my frustrations with Facebook is that it's spurred a massive gold-rush of personal data mining by creating an environment in which developers can try to get you to agree to give them access to your personal profile information by installing apps and dangling a carrot out in front of the common user. Prime example of this is whenever I want to read an article hosted by Yahoo! that a friend of mine has shared on Facebook. All I want to do is click the link and be taken to Yahoo!'s article and read the damn thing. But, alas, I must be stopped by Yahoo!'s Facebook app, as it is the portal through which I must get to the article. No I don't want to install your app. I just want to read the article, not give you access to all of my personal information. And so I deny the app's requests and carry on through my news feed disappointed that Facebook actually impeded the social sharing that it's supposed to facilitate. Completely the opposite of how it was supposed to happen. Somewhere along the line, after Facebook rose to social networking dominance, it began to take on all kinds of other projects and sew them onto it's existing frame, in a stupid mission to become the only destination anybody has on the Internet. Games and Apps saw that anybody who produced content for the Internet could produce that same content within Facebook. And now what we have is this Frankenstein of a once well polished social network that tries to be too many other things, and that mission has gotten in the way of the only thing people really want to use a social network for: Sharing information. That is it. The one thing any social network is useful for. And now Facebook is allowing the free reign it's given 3rd party developers to make apps, to get in the way of itself. Which, to me at least, is absolutely infuriating. I should not be stopped from viewing the content that I am tempted with in my news feed. That is completely anti-productive for Facebook to do.
And another problem that has been beginning to piss me off lately is the intrusion of advertisements into my Timeline. I was perfectly fine with ads off to the side of every page. But when they actually appear within the content that I'm searching for in my or someone else's Timeline, it makes for an awesomely effective distraction and it's that much more difficult to find what I'm looking for. Which, again, is the exact opposite of what Facebook is supposed to do. Connecting people who share information and making that information easier to find is the prime directive, if you will, of a social network. So once again, you have Facebook getting in it's own way. And Facebook now being a publicly traded company, these kinds of things are just going to get worse now that there's investors to please.
Now, fortunately (or unfortunately, really), my friends still produce interesting enough content such that I haven't been willing to stop going to Facebook to see what they're up to, or what they're reading or sharing. But it's becoming more of a chore to check Facebook for me; becoming more of a headache every time I leave the site, because it's almost always because I can't stand being denied reading an interesting story for the sake of installing someone's app.
Monday, June 4, 2012
E3 2012: Ubisoft Press Conference Reaction
Ubisoft had the 3rd press conference of the day and blew Microsoft and EA out of the water. After this showcase, I'm not only excited for some stuff to come out, but I've also been convinced to go back and play some titles that I missed in the past.
I was worried at the outset, as they began with a showcase of Just Dance 4. It consisted of a live demo with hot chicks in skimpy outfits dancing with the game they were dancing to behind them and FloRida performing with a ridiculous microphone. I was not expecting much if this is what they were opening with.
But things got better with Far Cry 3, whose predecessors I've never played, but would if I had a decent PC. Looks like a solid and exciting game.
Then they moved to what I was itching to see more of, Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Disappointingly there wasn't much except a premiere trailer, which is different from the gameplay that Microsoft's conference showcased earlier today. At least the trailer was very bad ass. From what I gathered, Sam is now the head of "4th Echelon", and it looks like Anna Grimmsdottir is back too. It looks like it focuses on more of what Conviction began, with the fast paced takedowns and "think on your feet" pace. Thankfully it doesn't seem to do away with the emphasis on stealth. I was pretty disheartened when Sam spoke and I didn't hear Mike Ironside. It doesn't appear to be a younger Sam Fisher, but it does seem like the iconic voice I love so much. While it's a let down to be sure, it won't stop me from buying it. I'm really anxious to see what more comes out of E3 in the next couple days, because it's gonna be agonizing waiting a whole year to play it. It's slated for Spring of 2013.
Next up was some showcasing of a new Rayman title utilizing the Wii U, which actually looked really fun and then some junk about E sports and a cheesy demo of a game called Shootmania with some world champion Counter Strike players.
Then the big one...Assassin's Creed 3. Now while I've never played these games, I am most definitely going back and playing them because both the trailer and gameplay demo looked incredible. Being such a fan of Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid and Batman Arkham City/Asylum...just about any stealth based game, I'm not sure why I never picked them up, but that's gonna change.
The last presentation began very odd, with a trailer that seemed more like a lecture about how the world has become so connected and how personal information collection is being used against the average Joe. I was thinking, where are they going with this. And then a gameplay demo ensued for a game called Watch Dogs, which is by far the best game announced/demoed thus far, and I don't see it being dethroned either. Basic premise is that you are a kind of vigilante who uses the city's infrastructure to spy and cause mayhem to things to accomplish your objective. The pace seems varied and there seems to be a good mix of intelligently thinking about the situation, and violent action.
I was worried at the outset, as they began with a showcase of Just Dance 4. It consisted of a live demo with hot chicks in skimpy outfits dancing with the game they were dancing to behind them and FloRida performing with a ridiculous microphone. I was not expecting much if this is what they were opening with.
But things got better with Far Cry 3, whose predecessors I've never played, but would if I had a decent PC. Looks like a solid and exciting game.
Then they moved to what I was itching to see more of, Splinter Cell: Blacklist. Disappointingly there wasn't much except a premiere trailer, which is different from the gameplay that Microsoft's conference showcased earlier today. At least the trailer was very bad ass. From what I gathered, Sam is now the head of "4th Echelon", and it looks like Anna Grimmsdottir is back too. It looks like it focuses on more of what Conviction began, with the fast paced takedowns and "think on your feet" pace. Thankfully it doesn't seem to do away with the emphasis on stealth. I was pretty disheartened when Sam spoke and I didn't hear Mike Ironside. It doesn't appear to be a younger Sam Fisher, but it does seem like the iconic voice I love so much. While it's a let down to be sure, it won't stop me from buying it. I'm really anxious to see what more comes out of E3 in the next couple days, because it's gonna be agonizing waiting a whole year to play it. It's slated for Spring of 2013.Next up was some showcasing of a new Rayman title utilizing the Wii U, which actually looked really fun and then some junk about E sports and a cheesy demo of a game called Shootmania with some world champion Counter Strike players.
Then the big one...Assassin's Creed 3. Now while I've never played these games, I am most definitely going back and playing them because both the trailer and gameplay demo looked incredible. Being such a fan of Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid and Batman Arkham City/Asylum...just about any stealth based game, I'm not sure why I never picked them up, but that's gonna change.
The last presentation began very odd, with a trailer that seemed more like a lecture about how the world has become so connected and how personal information collection is being used against the average Joe. I was thinking, where are they going with this. And then a gameplay demo ensued for a game called Watch Dogs, which is by far the best game announced/demoed thus far, and I don't see it being dethroned either. Basic premise is that you are a kind of vigilante who uses the city's infrastructure to spy and cause mayhem to things to accomplish your objective. The pace seems varied and there seems to be a good mix of intelligently thinking about the situation, and violent action.
E3 2012: EA Press Conference Reaction
I wasn't looking for much from EA's press conference. Despite being the largest video game publisher in the world, I'm not a fan. Although, as it happens, they publish one of my favorite games, Battlefield 3. And with so much activity in the Battlefield world lately, I most definitely sat through them droning on about their sports franchises (including an entire 20 minutes on FIFA 13) so that I could hear from DICE.
The big Battlefield announcement was Battlefield Premium. For a one time fee of $50 (it's $49.99 but let's call it what it is) a player can gain access to, what I am rather surprised to be, an impressive host of content for the price. First and foremost, you get all 5 of the expansions. At the normal price of $15 apiece, that'd run you $75. So for just this, you're saving $25 versus doing it a la carte. On top of that, you get a number of exclusive in-game items like solider camouflages, gun camouflages, special dog tags, a unique melee knife, and unique assignments. Players also get the privilege to reset stats, get priority queuing into servers as well as exclusive double XP events.
Frankly, I think that's a ton of content for the price. When I first heard rumors about this premium service DICE was gonna slap onto Battlefield, I was worried they'd ruin it. Thank God they haven't. I've never been a fan of exclusives. But it looks like the industry is finally finding a way to do it right. It used to be that it gave people who had the dough a decided advantage in the game itself. Since I'm planning on buying all of these expansions anyways, I have an actual economic reason that's not silly for also getting all the extra gimmicky in-game goodies that I feel kinda silly for wanting to pay for anyways. Unfortunately for me, I already shelled out $15 for Back to Karkand, so I'm only saving $10 in the end, but that's still some money. Which means I'm gonna have to buy it before next week, when Close Quarters comes out or else I'm actually losing money on just the expansion pack values and actually paying some for the gimmicks. Which I suppose wouldn't be so bad, because while I hate to admit it, I have actually paid for things like Xbox Live avatar items before. (Hangs head in shame).
Although one very exciting, and quite surprising piece of news from the press conference, was the demo of Medal of Honor Warfighter. I'd heard about this a few weeks ago, but EA had a nice little live gameplay demo of some singleplayer action, followed by some edited video of some multiplayer. I was pleasantly surprised at how good the singleplayer action looked. It's nice to see the Frostbite 2 engine at work in another game than just Battlefield, and to see another developer using the engine than just DICE. Despite it being the same engine, the developer seems to have tweaked it well enough that it doesn't look to be just another Battlefield impersonator, which is what many criticized the first Medal of Honor (not really the "first" per se, as MoH goes back a very long way) as being. I personally never thought that, having owned and played both Battlefield Bad Co. 2 and Medal of Honor. The multiplayer seems to have introduced a rather compelling aspect, which is the choice of which country to fight for. EA seemed to suggest during their demo that since gamers exist all over the world, it'd be good to cater to those that aren't Americans. Let's face it, most modern military FPSs feature militaries from one of the world's major powers (U.S., Russia, UK is just about as big as the pool gets). Nearly every country with a respectable military has a branch that features Tier 1 SpecOps operators and letting someone from Canada or Germany or Australia play as their own flag is, I think, a very cool, yet brilliantly simple way, of enhancing the game and maybe even drawing in some gamers who would have previously passed this title over. How exactly your choice of homeland will effect the actual game play remains to be seen, as not much in way of this was revealed during the demo. I suppose we'll see. But all things considered, I enjoyed the first MoH and it's sequel looks to be even better. I might actually have to pass it up, unfortunately, because of the investment in Battlefield Premium I'm ultimately going to make.
The other big game at the showing was Crysis 3, and I've never played any of those and they don't really peak my interest much, as well as Madden and FIFA 13. Although I do enjoy EA Sports' titles (except for FIFA, I just can't get into soccer...yes soccer), I almost never have money to buy them. The show also saw other demos and announcements including a SimCity re-boot from Maxis (I didn't know they were still around), a Need For Speed: Most Wanted re-boot from the makers of Hot Pursuit, and an official partnership announcement between EA Sports and UFC.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)