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Nvidia GeForce Grid

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When we think of gaming today we think about our computers, tablets, phones, handhelds, and consoles. We are always looking for more processing power, better graphics capabilities, and more RAM. Wouldn’t it be nice if the platform didn’t really matter anymore? What about looking at it from a developers point of view? Imagine creating a game that just works everywhere on everything. This type of technology is going to go mainstream and it’s going to revolutionize the way we use hardware.Nvidia Logo

I would go as far as to predict that the next generation of consoles that are released may very well be the last that actually do all of the data processing inside the hardware itself. I believe that cloud based gaming will become the standard and I think it will be amazing.

As someone who has worked with developing games, I understand wanting to make sure that anyone who experiences your game should experience it in the best way possible. You don’t want gamers to experience a lower quality version of your game just because of their hardware limitations.

Imagine how much easier it will be for game developers to send out patches and update their software, you can be sure that everyone is up-to-date with the latest bug fixes and features. Will patch day become a thing of the past?  Secondary servers could be loaded up with the new version of the game and then swapped with the live version instantaneously.

Cloud based gaming is not without it’s flaws. Latency, which most online gamers are quite aware of and monitor regularly, has been a huge issue when trying to deliver an epic experience in real-time across the inter webs. Nvidia has come up with a solution to this problem and they are calling this new technology GeForce Grid. Geforce Grid is basically a supercomputer that you can tap into from your home. It’s almost like having Nvidia as your next door neighbor and whenever they come out with something better they just come into your house and upgrade your hardware first thing in the morning.

Now, I am not entirely sure how this will be marketed, I am thinking you might be able purchase server time and be able to play any title that is registered with your account. There will need to be some type of equipment for when you wanted to play on your television but most likely you will only need something for your controller to connect to. Most of the gaming hardware we will use will basically be a shell with a screen, talk about light weight.

This new technology is exciting to say the least and will be interesting to watch evolve. This will undoubtably reach far beyond the gaming space and reach into every aspect of our digital world.

If you would like to learn more about GeForce Grid, head to Nvidia’s official website here.

 

Star Trek Online

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Enjoy MMO style games? Well, how about one that takes you to the “Final Frontier”. I am of course talking about Star Trek Online, which is a Free-to-Play MMO that allows you to dive deep into the world of Star Trek. If you’re like me than nothing brings back geek nostalgia quite like Star Trek and if your fan you should check out Star Trek Online .Star Trek Online

Star Trek Online (STO) features combat in space as well as combat on the ground, which brings an awesome twist to this genre of gaming. You can live out our dreams of being in command of  a Federation Starship right from the comfort of your living room. Fans of Star Trek will appreciate the look and feel of this game as well as all of the story driven features that make it feel like a welcome addition to the Star Trek universe.

Feature Episodes are a feature that allow you to start an episode that you must complete in order to move on to the next episode, thus creating a chain of events that eventually become part of a larger overall storyline. The episodes are fun and engaging and add depth to the game. You will also receive rewards for completing each episode and you will receive a larger reward for completing a series within a given time.STOW1

As with any MMO you will need to choose a faction. There are currently two playable factions, the Federation and the Klingons. You will however interact with many other factions such as the Romulans, Cardassians, Dominion, Undine, Borg, and the Tholians.

Character customization is actually not too bad and character models look really nice. The world around you looks great no matter where you are or what your exploring. In overall gameplay, you will spend most of your time wandering around the universe discovering new races, doing battle with your enemies, and collecting resources.

If you play other MMO’s and feel like you need a change or if you just love Star Trek, Star Trek Online is a great game to get into. You can head over to the official site here to download and play the game for free.

 

Internet Explorer Security Issue To Be Addressed

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If you use Internet Explorer then you may want to be extra careful when surfing the web, as a hole in the browsers security has been exploited. This security hole allows an attacker to gain access to your system simply by visiting a malicious website.

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This exploit has gone unnoticed for the last few releases of Internet Explorer and has primarily been used to infect machines with “Poison Ivy”, a back-door Trojan. Many computers have already been infected with the Trojan, so it’s important that you keep up on your definition updates and scans for your preferred anti-malware, anti-virus software.

This only goes to show that even if you think you’re fully protected from malicious software, you’re still at risk if you don’t use your best judgement when visiting unknown websites. Stick to sites you know have a good track record. You can use tools like Site Advisor to check url’s before you visit them, this site is ran by McAfee and does not require you to download anything, you simply type in the url you wish to check and search. It will let you know if the site has been flagged for malicious activity and it will also show you a list of files and other sites the website links to and whether or not they could pose a risk to your computer. However, some sites that are new and haven’t been scanned by McAfee will show up as untested, these sites should probably be avoided until you know for sure that they are safe to visit.

No matter what operating system you use, you should always have you computer check for updates automatically. You can even manually check from time to time and make sure the latest updates are installed. Microsoft releases updates constantly and the majority of what your downloading is to protect you from malicious code. This doesn’t just apply to OS software either, make sure your anti-virus software is also up-to-date with the latest definitions.

Microsoft is aware of this vulnerability and has listed it as critical, the company has recently posted a security bulletin on the matter here. An official fix is slated to be released on Friday and should allow IE users to browse securely again.

iOS 6 Rundown

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So, we got the update but.. what changed? I notice a few different icons on the screen but what else has happened? Well, we round up some key features of iOS 6 here so you don’t have to. Apple Logo

Facebook

Facebook is now fully integrated into the OS it self, which is really nice for Facebook users out there as it allows you to connect with Facebook without you having stop what your doing and switch apps. Facebook events are tied directly into Calendar and sharing links is super easy. ‘Likes’ are now part of iTunes and the Apps store.  It almost feels as if Facebook was meant to be a part of iOS from the start.

Maps

Well, no more Google Maps as Apple has decided it’s time to do the map business all by itself. The new map application looks really good and it would seem that, at least initially, Google Maps users should’t miss much. The new maps are quite detailed and look really slick even standard mode. I test drove the the 3D view by flying around Los Angeles and everything seemed to work really well. Turn-By-Turn navigation also makes an appearance with this map update, which has been long overdue.

Siri
Our old friend Siri gets some improvements as well, including movie reviews,facts and trailers from Rotten Tomatoes. Siri can also help you find something to eat by listing restaurants by price and rating. Need to know any sports scores? Siri covers that for you too, simply ask what the score is of a specific team and you’re good to go. You can also open applications by simply asking Siri what to launch.  Siri has seen quite a few improvements with this update and I can see Siri becoming more and more useful in the future, especially if Siri is to be integrated into new automobiles.

 

Safari

Safari gets iCloud Tabs which will allow you to view any open tabs form one iOS device on any other connected iOS device. Safari now features full screen landscape browsing, which looks great. Safari will also save entire webpages so you can view them offline later.

 

Facetime

Facetime will now work over a cellular network. Simple enough but I have yet to see it in action, I am wondering how the overall quality will be.

Phone

Well with everything the iPhone can do I think we tend to forget that it actually makes phone calls. Apple has added some features for the phone including being able to instantly send a text message to a recently declined phone call. You can also set call reminders when you decline a call or use a do-not-disturb mode to completely block all calls or only allow calls from high priority contacts.

 

Mac will also see the integration of Facebook into OSX Mountain Lion along with a few other updates in the new version 10.8.2. These are just a few of the new features on iOS 6, if your interested in everything head to Apple’s official site.

Torchlight II Soundtrack for Free and My Rant

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To help you get in the Torchlight mood, Runic games has released the Torchlight II full soundtrack with album artwork, pretty nice right? You can download the soundtrack for free on the official Torchlight II website. The release day for Torchlight II is Thursday September 20th.Torchlight II Outlander

I don’t know if you’re into this kind of thing or not but personally I love the music from many of my favorite game titles. I think that the music in games is often overlooked, which is quite sad considering the amount of hard work and talent that goes into these compositions. I love listening to soundtracks while I work, I find that it can really put me in a creative mood.

Many gamers will just queue up their favorite play list and turn the in-game music off, which I totally get why you would want to do this after playing the game several times, but when you first play a game, try to experience the game the way the developers wanted you to experience it. I am also referring to the sound effects here too, remember that these guys are custom tailoring the audio to the in-game world around you, it adds an entire layer of depth to your experience.

What’s more interesting is that if you ask most gamers today if they enjoy classical music they would probably answer no, but in reality we are surrounded by it, whether it’s in our favorite games or movies. Now, I’m not limiting everything to just the classical stuff, there’s a lot of other good non-classical tracks out there. I often prefer the more ambient music while I work or study. There are plenty of crazy game soundtracks out there that I like, in fact there’s a ton of classic game music that has be re-done with a full orchestra and includes music from titles like Zelda, Castlevania, and even Sonic The Hedgehog. Just Youtube any of your favorite songs and you will most likely find many different versions and interpretations, there’s even a whole orchestra dedicated to game music. You can check them out here.

So I say to those who work in the game industry and create music and audio effects, your work is appreciated!