Creative may be famous for their Sound Blaster products and especially that I knew some of the modern products like the external USB Sound Card and other stuffs that allow you to control the volume and other audio effects. Unfortunately, when it comes to today's products from Creative, it looked like I missed out everything they showed at Singapore Expo. The speakers have their own music player/recorder feature in which you can use the micro-SD card to record and play sounds stored on it. Without the card, the music player/recorder features are kind of pointless. There's also the NFC and Bluetooth support for most of Sound Blaster Roar speakers. I might have technical knowledge about Bluetooh technology like it's a Personal Area Network and it does have a short range of connectivity compared to LAN or even WAN. However, as there were too many Bluetooth interferences there, there might be delays no matter how good and professional the devices are. There were already so much of products that come with wireless/wired control-like devices. The microphone record device I saw was the SoundBlaster R3. It had the volume and reverb control as well as the microphone jack and multiple headphone jacks but the output device was obviously the computer or perhaps, the mobile device. Plus, there is also support for some other features for Sound Blaster Roar series devices. The iRoar has its own wireless microphone device and whenever you speak, the sound also comes out of the iRoar speaker which can be useful for karaoke. However, it may seem that gaming or some other multimedia technology is a true purpose for me if I want to buy those speakers.
Other speakers include the Sound Blaster AXX which may have the same functions as Sound Blaster Roar series but I think I might have seen it on some Japanese YouTuber's video showing him singing out the YouTube theme song with the speaker active, and the X and E series Sound Blaster amplifiers which may look like some docks to me where you can hook up multiple headphone jacks.
Lastly, there are gaming headsets from Creative which still have the same specialty as the other Sound Blaster products as well as other accessories where you can adjust the sound quality in a special technical way.
It was a major shame that I missed out on so much modern Creative products as they are seriously professional and superior. The next roadshow Creative will be involved will be next year's CES and I guess that they will be showing the same stuffs there.
There are multiple gaming booths this time and especially that Acer took the roadshow by surprise by entering the gaming PC market as well. The Aftershock gaming desktop computer which was HyperGate looked completely cased with no optical disk drives and front ports whatsoever from what I saw but on the inside, there were cooling systems cranked that made the computers bulky to carry. Also, you do get the external DVD drive as a compensation should you choose to buy that computer or Aftershock Tremor. The way you turn on the Aftershock Hypergate is due to the fact the that the power button is located at the top which may be unusual in terms of design and it appears that there are way so many ports at the back which can be useful for hooking up multiple monitors for hardcore gaming at the cost of so much electrical power from having multiple graphics cards. Also, there are ports at the top of the case of Hypergate as well where the power button is. Needless to say, Aftershock PC is another local company like Creative Labs is. How did they get involved in the gaming PC market anyway?
There's the Acer gaming tablet whose design is very gaming computer-like. It looks hardcore to say the least for the design but trying to find games that suit this device well is a challenging thing. However, it appears that Acer Predator tablet is not the only gaming tablet out there. There are other gaming tablets if you look up on the net but obviously, on the internal case design part, it seems that the Acer Predator tablet is the only tablet that has special design. I'm NOT talking about the external case where you can attach to your phone or tablet or something, I'm talking about the internal skin of the device. Even if you come up with a gaming tablet case to match that Acer Predator tablet, the quality won't be that best like that unless the case has its own speakers where you can hook it up to the headphone jack. Unfortunately, the Acer Predator tablet is likely to be shown on the second day of SITEX event. Also, according to reviews, the technical specs of the tablet don't seem to be as great as the tablet design itself when compared to other epic Android devices for gaming.
Lastly, I was persuaded to buy the earpiece from Klipsch as if that manufacturer can be 100% trusted due to the fact that their products are seriously superior in sound quality. I tried it and adjusted the computer's volume to 64% and I still can hear the typing sound of the keyboard despite having the output sound.
Friday, November 27, 2015
Raspberry Pi 2 and Zero
Raspberry Pi is the credit-card sized embedded computer system that is useful mostly for developers and engineers where they can program stuffs and run on Raspberry Pi devices but there are other purposes if you're not a developer like turning one device into a media center, server and other stuff you want the Raspberry Pi to act as. The CPU and GPU are obviously different but useful for embedded devices and the OS is whatever Linux based distribution you can run on. There's also the default OS along with default packages for Raspberry Pi devices as well as the hardware addons like the touch screen monitor, casing for the device, breadboard for whatever engineering stuff you want, etc.
Raspberry Pi 2 has support for Sailfish OS, Snappy Ubuntu Core, Windows 10 IOT and the list goes on. The Raspberry Pi devices may be the definition of IOT but speaking of IOT, there may be chances that they may be more vulnerable to cyber-penetration that you may need to find some services or apps to secure the devices.
Unfortunately for Raspberry Pi Zero, although it may be faster than the original Raspberry Pi, as the title suggests, it has some of the features missing from both the original Raspberry Pi and Raspberry Pi 2 such as the lack of Ethernet port and standard USB ports, and some parts of the system specs are inferior if you compare Raspberry Pi Zero to Raspberry Pi 2.
Raspberry Pi 2 has support for Sailfish OS, Snappy Ubuntu Core, Windows 10 IOT and the list goes on. The Raspberry Pi devices may be the definition of IOT but speaking of IOT, there may be chances that they may be more vulnerable to cyber-penetration that you may need to find some services or apps to secure the devices.
Unfortunately for Raspberry Pi Zero, although it may be faster than the original Raspberry Pi, as the title suggests, it has some of the features missing from both the original Raspberry Pi and Raspberry Pi 2 such as the lack of Ethernet port and standard USB ports, and some parts of the system specs are inferior if you compare Raspberry Pi Zero to Raspberry Pi 2.
Unofficial Remote Play for PC that streams Playstation 4 games
Undoubtedly, Xbox One and Playstation 4 have several processor cores that make them so powerful for hardcore console gaming but there are already official workarounds in making console streaming smooth ever since the Playstation 3 era where you can use Playstation Portable or Vita to remotely stream Playstation 3 console through Remote Play and it's the same for streaming Playstation 4 on the Playstation Vita as well using the same method. There was also Remote Play feature for PC that allowed you to stream Playstation 3 games but that was for some Sony-branded computers. Unofficially, there was a similar program for non-Sony-branded computers that allowed you to do the same thing but it may probably defeat the purpose of competition as it may look like an unofficial third-party solution. Those I mentioned above were official methods and it's the same for Xbox App for Windows 10 which is the official streaming method by Microsoft where you can stream Xbox One system on a computer running Windows 10. I guess that your computer must be seriously powerful enough to stream Xbox One system as a Remote Play feature.
Then, there is an unofficial Remote Play feature for PC that allows you to stream Playstation 4 games. However, there are already doubts that Sony will sue the person who's making this feature and besides, it's looking third-party-ish if you ask. There was an Android version which is free but the PC version will be paid which is kind of bullshit. Xperia devices have the official Remote Play feature but mixing console technology with smartphone and tablet technology isn't going to help and Playstation for Android was already a flop that Sony went back to focus on console part which is already a big hit again thanks to Playstation 4 being done right although the Playstation Vita is made a legacy in the West but popular in the East and it is kind of like Sony's version of Saturn or PC-Engine.
Funny thing is, my first discovery about this feature came from Lazy Game Reviews' tweet about it. Perhaps, DOS gaming and classic computers were the reasons I discovered and subscribed to Lazy Game Reviews' YouTube channel but I don't know if I may get interested in playing DOS games one day in the future. There might be some DOS games I played before in my childhood but now, things have changed and somehow, some of the DOS games couldn't even work correctly back then.
Then, there is an unofficial Remote Play feature for PC that allows you to stream Playstation 4 games. However, there are already doubts that Sony will sue the person who's making this feature and besides, it's looking third-party-ish if you ask. There was an Android version which is free but the PC version will be paid which is kind of bullshit. Xperia devices have the official Remote Play feature but mixing console technology with smartphone and tablet technology isn't going to help and Playstation for Android was already a flop that Sony went back to focus on console part which is already a big hit again thanks to Playstation 4 being done right although the Playstation Vita is made a legacy in the West but popular in the East and it is kind of like Sony's version of Saturn or PC-Engine.
Funny thing is, my first discovery about this feature came from Lazy Game Reviews' tweet about it. Perhaps, DOS gaming and classic computers were the reasons I discovered and subscribed to Lazy Game Reviews' YouTube channel but I don't know if I may get interested in playing DOS games one day in the future. There might be some DOS games I played before in my childhood but now, things have changed and somehow, some of the DOS games couldn't even work correctly back then.
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Comcast's man-in-the-middle attack as a method of accusing users of copyright infringement
Well, if you live in the US and your family happens to be using Comcast as the US ISP, you already know that you've been having a hard time trying to get things much smoother and more fair but one day, if you're going to relocate to your new home and you know how seriously evil that ISP is, you may have a smart option to choose other ISP instead. If you thought that Verizon's illegal data collection with various smartphone apps and services wasn't bad enough, what about the fact that Comcast has done the man-in-the-middle attack on users with insecure connection that accuses them of copyright infringement? This is obviously the same kind of security breach as the cyber-criminals had done in the past which they demanded the users that users' private information be released or something.
Man-in-the-middle attack is that while you're sending email to the other person for example, the attacker can sneak in and try to modify it before the email is reached to the other person. When that happens, it can pose a cyber-relationship problem between you and that person and it will take time for you to explain the truth that someone has tempered with your email you're sending. The attack can be mitigated with HTTPS connection and nowadays, the search engine websites are already in HTTPS mode so you don't have to worry about that but it's not the same for the other websites and you're going to need HTTPS Everywhere from EFF that forces every website to be in HTTPS mode for secure surfing.
It's such an easy-level cyber-security attack that can be easily prevented but of course, when it comes to on-going cyber-security attacks that will take a long time to get a strong but reliable security solution against them, it's nothing easy. On top of that, the cyber-security problems have evolved to the next level and so does the technology.
And lastly, this is probably the STUPIDEST cyber-security attack at the CORPORATE level the users of that ISP have ever ENCOUNTERED IN THEIR LIVES! Data collection by various companies for advertisement was already bullshit enough but this makes those users think on what the hell goes through that ISP's knuckleheads. Also, people around the globe already know on how extremely bad Comcast is in general as if that ISP can do whatever evil things that ISP wants. What this attack does is to deliver the warning pop-up message on insecure websites you visit via the six-strike system as if they will throttle down your connection speed or perhaps terminate your access but no, like I've mentioned, it's more like a security breach, that kind of security attack is something a cyber-criminal can do to us at the standard level that we can easily prevent it.
By the way, about this year's Consumerist's Worst Company in America tournament, there will be surprises when they see the final results one day perhaps sometime at the end of this year or maybe sometime next year. This is something the US people can be interested to take a look at and especially that various Wikipedia articles about those companies have mentioned the WCIA campaigns/tournaments but for those who don't live in the US like me, I guess that we know a little amount or nothing about other worst companies in America.
Man-in-the-middle attack is that while you're sending email to the other person for example, the attacker can sneak in and try to modify it before the email is reached to the other person. When that happens, it can pose a cyber-relationship problem between you and that person and it will take time for you to explain the truth that someone has tempered with your email you're sending. The attack can be mitigated with HTTPS connection and nowadays, the search engine websites are already in HTTPS mode so you don't have to worry about that but it's not the same for the other websites and you're going to need HTTPS Everywhere from EFF that forces every website to be in HTTPS mode for secure surfing.
It's such an easy-level cyber-security attack that can be easily prevented but of course, when it comes to on-going cyber-security attacks that will take a long time to get a strong but reliable security solution against them, it's nothing easy. On top of that, the cyber-security problems have evolved to the next level and so does the technology.
And lastly, this is probably the STUPIDEST cyber-security attack at the CORPORATE level the users of that ISP have ever ENCOUNTERED IN THEIR LIVES! Data collection by various companies for advertisement was already bullshit enough but this makes those users think on what the hell goes through that ISP's knuckleheads. Also, people around the globe already know on how extremely bad Comcast is in general as if that ISP can do whatever evil things that ISP wants. What this attack does is to deliver the warning pop-up message on insecure websites you visit via the six-strike system as if they will throttle down your connection speed or perhaps terminate your access but no, like I've mentioned, it's more like a security breach, that kind of security attack is something a cyber-criminal can do to us at the standard level that we can easily prevent it.
By the way, about this year's Consumerist's Worst Company in America tournament, there will be surprises when they see the final results one day perhaps sometime at the end of this year or maybe sometime next year. This is something the US people can be interested to take a look at and especially that various Wikipedia articles about those companies have mentioned the WCIA campaigns/tournaments but for those who don't live in the US like me, I guess that we know a little amount or nothing about other worst companies in America.
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Beatmania IIDX 23 Copula first play
Now that we know that Beatmania IIDX 23 Copula recently came out last week, I figured out that it was a proper time to get going to the arcades again. Songs that were in parts of One More Extra Stage and Course modes in IIDX Pendual are normally playable. New to the gameplay includes the Hell Charge Notes, more assistance options although going for Easy Clear, Auto-Scratch or both may seem to be the standard options to be used in case the song is getting much harder to clear normally, and the ability to choose Normal, Mirror, EX or EX-Mirror in the Class mode.
Again, the rhythm game machines were arranged and now, there are two Beatmania IIDX machines instead of one this time again. I don't know about the machine on the left but man, please don't tell me that the IIDX machine on the left is the one with the LCD monitor again. It was a pain in the past like I thought that the machine wouldn't respond well in network connectivity stuff but it turned out that the machine was having some problem with the hard disk drive or something that replacement would be needed or something.
Also, the policy is getting more strict than ever that anyone who damages the machine in the arcades will have to take responsibility and the arcade center staffs have the rights to shut it off when that happens. Anyone who refuses to cooperate with them will be reported to the cops and worst of all, there will be no refunds for any machine that is damaged. Maybe there should be security cameras in the arcade if that's the case but since the rhythm games nowadays are suited for players aged 16 and above as I guess, you won't find any childish and mischievous troubles that easily.
Again, the rhythm game machines were arranged and now, there are two Beatmania IIDX machines instead of one this time again. I don't know about the machine on the left but man, please don't tell me that the IIDX machine on the left is the one with the LCD monitor again. It was a pain in the past like I thought that the machine wouldn't respond well in network connectivity stuff but it turned out that the machine was having some problem with the hard disk drive or something that replacement would be needed or something.
Also, the policy is getting more strict than ever that anyone who damages the machine in the arcades will have to take responsibility and the arcade center staffs have the rights to shut it off when that happens. Anyone who refuses to cooperate with them will be reported to the cops and worst of all, there will be no refunds for any machine that is damaged. Maybe there should be security cameras in the arcade if that's the case but since the rhythm games nowadays are suited for players aged 16 and above as I guess, you won't find any childish and mischievous troubles that easily.
Yahoo Mail locks users out over Ad-Block but it was a test
Great, nobody knows what the hell Yahoo is testing for new product experience but nowadays, things have already changed and I'm already checking emails on my AOL, Outlook and Sina accounts. Jeez, I wish I could have migrated every mail subscription from my AOL account to my Outlook or Sina account as a safer bet and especially that I'm receiving new mails from newer subscriptions. In fact, who the hell uses Yahoo mail in the present time?
Last time, Google Chrome users with Ad-Blocker extensions were forced to watch the full-ads on YouTube despite having those extensions due to a bug and that things would be fixed in the later versions of Google Chrome that might be based on later versions of Chromium but here, what Yahoo did was more of an experimental test and nobody knows what are they planning this time.
Last time, Google Chrome users with Ad-Blocker extensions were forced to watch the full-ads on YouTube despite having those extensions due to a bug and that things would be fixed in the later versions of Google Chrome that might be based on later versions of Chromium but here, what Yahoo did was more of an experimental test and nobody knows what are they planning this time.
Friday, November 20, 2015
Playstation 2 backwards compatibility for Playstation 4
Perhaps, this is where Sony is doing it right again while still preparing the bullshit Playstation Now service which is seriously as costly as watching rented movies and TV shows from Netflix or perhaps using Windows Azure for awesome cloud virtualization. Microsoft already had the Xbox 360 backwards compatibility for Xbox One starting with the New Xbox One Experience powered by Windows 10 and there may be some rumors indicating that the Xbox 360 backwards compatibility is done using software emulation via virtual machine. This might be due to the fact that cloud streaming like Playstation Now does was going to be problematic for Microsoft that the legacy way of backwards compatibility was being used again. Maybe, the Xbox One uses the Hyper-V to make use of Xbox 360 VM for Xbox 360 games but where, in the game OS part? It may even pose more theories about how hypervisor works for Xbox One itself as the host OS in which it is divided into two parts, Windows OS and game OS. It's kind of like the Hyper-V OS is based on Hyper-V Server 8 that emulates the game OS and the modified Windows OS for that console.
For the Playstation 2 backwards compatibility for Playstation 4, the emulation program may seem to be the same as the one for Playstation 3 or maybe a different one which is Playstation 3 emulator running Playstation 2 emulator on the PS4. On the Playstation Vita, if you're playing Playstation 1 games, chances are, it makes use of the Playstation Portable emulator which runs Playstation 1 emulator for that inside the console. Some of the games may have less slowdowns, the others may have slowdowns in some stages due to inaccurate backwards compatibilty. This news of Playstation 2 emulation on Playstation 4 is due to the arrival of the Star Wars bundled Playstation 4 system in which there will be some Star Wars game that were originally on the Playstation 2 coming in for the Playstation 4 via emulation. Indeed, the emulation of previous Playstation consoles for Playstation 4 is on the way.
For the Playstation 2 backwards compatibility for Playstation 4, the emulation program may seem to be the same as the one for Playstation 3 or maybe a different one which is Playstation 3 emulator running Playstation 2 emulator on the PS4. On the Playstation Vita, if you're playing Playstation 1 games, chances are, it makes use of the Playstation Portable emulator which runs Playstation 1 emulator for that inside the console. Some of the games may have less slowdowns, the others may have slowdowns in some stages due to inaccurate backwards compatibilty. This news of Playstation 2 emulation on Playstation 4 is due to the arrival of the Star Wars bundled Playstation 4 system in which there will be some Star Wars game that were originally on the Playstation 2 coming in for the Playstation 4 via emulation. Indeed, the emulation of previous Playstation consoles for Playstation 4 is on the way.
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