GeekwithEnvy

Mac

Do we Really Need Certain Apps for our PC?

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With both OSX and Windows now featuring an app store we can now get many of our favorite applications all in one place and with peace of mind when it comes to security. I have been using Windows 8 for some time now and one of the apps that I use is the Netflix app. The app has been somewhat buggy as of late, but over all it seems to get the job done. I finished watching an episode of Mythbusters and then went off to run some errands. I came home later and jumped onto my Macbook and started working. Square modern app icons.

A hour or so had passed and I decided that I wanted to watch another episode of Mythbusters. I started to head to my web browser when I suddenly stopped and wondered if there was a Netflix app for OSX, something similar to what Windows 8 has. I quickly opened the App Store and searched for Netflix, only to find that it doesn’t exist. I thought that it was kind of strange considering OSX has been around for a while and it seems like it would be useful.

I quickly began to realize that the lack of a OSX Netflix app isn’t actually that big of deal. I only need to click a bookmark in my web browser and I have access to all of the content and features that any app would have. Then I started to question the need for apps like these in the first place, at least for your laptop or desktop. What’s the difference between an app on my desktop vs a link on my desktop that takes me to Netflix? Where is the benefit? With new web browsers that harness the power of our machines more than ever by making use of our GPU and extra processing power, why bother with an app? I am looking for any opportunity that can save disk space and the lifespan of my SSD.

What makes the web based app more appealing is the fact that it’s often more reliable. I mentioned earlier that I have been dealing with quite a few bugs since I have started using the new Netflix app, but when it comes to the website, I have had virtually no issues. Some of this could be due to the website being around much longer than the app and therefore less buggy. Why bother with the app at all when we seem to be moving toward a cloud based world? If we are trying to create a much more seamless experience then why leave the browser that we spend so much time using, just to open an app? The answer isn’t so clear at this point, which is why the pros don’t seem to know either. This is basically the wild west era of the OS and everyone seems to be trying a little bit of everything and then waiting to see what consumers end up doing.

We can always look at things from the other prospective, which seems to be a movement away from the web as we know it today. Maybe we just make everything an app, including all our favorite websites and instead of downloading them, we just launch them from the cloud. Perhaps, we can just get rid of the web address altogether and then just use google to search for apps instead. Who knows how strange things will become and how practical any of this actually is.

One thing is for certain, we are in the middle of a long evolution that will leave us with a much different computer experience than currently we have today. We are stuck in a phase between old and new and it feels weird but I think were headed in the right direction, it’s just going to take another five years or more before we can fully adapt this new way of doing things. It is ultimately up to us, the consumers, to figure out what we want. If we don’t buy it, it won’t continue to exist and so we ultimately decide what works and what doesn’t. So what do you think?

 

Starcraft II Heart of The Swarm Available For Pre-Purchase

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Starcraft II Heart of the Swarm Logo

It’s official, StarCraft® II: Heart of the Swarm™ will be released to the masses on March 12, 2013, but you don’t have to wait to buy it. You can pre-purchase the new Starcraft expansion now by logging into battle.net. The expansion will cost $39.99.

Heart of the Swarm is the first expansion set to Blizzard Entertainment’s sci-fi real-time strategy game StarCraft® II: Wings of Liberty™. Heart of the Swarm continues the epic story from Wings of Liberty with an all-new campaign that focuses on Kerrigan, the former Queen of Blades. This expansion will feature 20 new campaign missions, new gameplay mechanics, new multiplayer maps, new units, and new pre-rendered cinematics.

Zerg ScreenShot1

Multiplayer Unit Rundown

Shredder

The Shredder is a new unit built from the Factory that allows the terran player to control the battlefield. In its mobile form, the Shredder has no attack — but when set to stationary mode, it channels area-effect damage to both the air and ground. If a friendly unit enters the range of the Shredder, the weapon shuts off.

Warhound

 The Warhound is a small, walking ground mech that wields an effective anti-air weapon with splash damage, much like the Thor from Wings of Liberty. The difference is that the Warhound is smaller and much more nimble, though it gives up some range on its anti-air missiles in exchange for this mobility. The Warhound also wields a small ground attack weapon that does additional damage to mechanical units, making it particularly well suited to taking out enemy Siege Tanks — though it’s not particularly effective against non-mechanical units.

Viper

The Viper is a new flying unit with three unique abilities. Blinding Cloud temporarily reduces the attack range of all ground units inside the cloud to melee range, and prevents energy-based abilities from being used. Abduct allows the Viper to physically pull a unit to the Viper’s location. Finally, the Viper has a one-time ability called Ocular Parasite, which allows it to detach its eye stalk and meld it onto any friendly, non-massive unit, turning that unit into a detector.

Swarm Host

The Swarm Host is a slow-moving ground unit that has no standard attack. When burrowed, the Swarm Host spawns a continuous stream of slow-moving melee units called Locusts that can be used to lay siege and pressure entrenched enemy positions.

Tempest

The tempest is a new capital ship that deals massive area-of-effect damage to air units. It also has a standard ground attack, but its chief role is to help gain air superiority.

Oracle

The Oracle is a psionic warship, built from a Stargate, that uses several unique abilities to raid and harass the enemy. The first is Entomb, which can temporarily block mineral fields from being harvested. Another ability, Preordain, grants vision of a targeted enemy building, allowing the protoss to see which units or technologies are being researched. Rounding out its kit is Phase Shift, which phases a target building, preventing it from being attacked, using its abilities, or granting technology. Not only can structures like missile turrets be prevented from attacking, but using this ability on a zerg Spire would block the production of Mutalisks, Corruptors, and air upgrades.

Replicant

 Replicants have one ability: to transform itself into any non-massive unit. They’re expensive, so cloning a Zergling would not be very cost effective, but transforming into a specialized unit like a Raven, Infestor, or Siege Tank could open up interesting strategic options for the protoss.

New Multiplayer Maps

SCMapWinter SCMapJungle SCMapCity

New Multiplayer Units

SwarmHost
Starcraft II Multiplayer Unit: Swarm Host
WarHound
Starcraft II Multiplayer Unit: War Hound
Viper
Starcraft II Multiplayer Unit: Viper
Tempest
Starcraft II Multiplayer Unit: Tempest
Shredder
Starcraft II Multiplayer Unit: Shredder
Replicant
Starcraft II Multiplayer Unit: Replicant
Oracle
Starcraft II Multiplayer Unit: Oracle
BattleHellion
Starcraft II Multiplayer Unit: Battle Hellion

Diablo III Expansion Confirmed

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Yes, it is official a Diablo III expansion is in progress. Mike Morhaime of Blizzard Entertainment confirmed the expansion during an earnings call.diablo3logo

The details are limited at this time and we don’t have any hints towards how much progress has been made on the new expansion, but knowing Blizzard’s reputation for releasing games when they are “ready”, it’s probably safe to say it’s going to be a little while. Opinion of Diablo III is split down the middle as many fans were disappointed in some aspects of the game. The lack of an offline gameplay mode was disappointing  for long time Diablo fans who didn’t want to have to deal with server issues just to play the game by themselves.

The controversial real money auction house (RMAH), has some gamers claiming that is takes away one of the major incentives to keep playing the game, finding loot. Diablo III has seen some improvement through the release of patch 1.0.5, but something still feels likes it’s missing. I think that Blizzard should move their focus away from some of the previously mentioned features and really fine-tune the gameplay experience itself. Hopefully we will see this next expansion reinvigorate Diablo with not only new lands and lore to explore but adding or removing, some key features.

diablo screenshot 1

Regardless of how you feel about Diablo III, Activision has stated that the game is the #1 bestselling game in dollars and units on the PC in the U.S. and Europe since it’s launch. I had a feeling the game would sell well considering how many players still love Diablo II and it’s expansion, Lord of Destruction. The real question is whether or not those same people who originally bought the game will continue to stick with Diablo and purchase the new expansion.

As always we will keep you informed on the latest details surrounding the D3 expansion.

Apple Thinking About Dropping Intel

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Apple has been very successful when it comes to developing  their own chips, like the new Dual Core A6X. These chips are growing more and more powerful with each iteration and soon, according to Bloomberg, Apple feels that they will eventually be able to cram enough power into their chips to run their laptops and desktops as well. In 2005 Apple decided to bring Intel into the mix when it came to processing power for the Mac. Intel makes some of the fastest an most powerful chips on the planet including the i7, which is the current chip used across the Mac experience.

Mac Pro


The idea here is to create a seamless experience across their entire product line up, something Microsoft is also trying to achieve. Having the same chip architecture in each device can make that happen. There’s no doubt that Apple will try their hardest to make everything they can in-house, but how will this impact the Apple community?

Can Apple really create a chip that can do everything just as well as a world class Intel chip can do? After all, were not talking about Angry Birds here. I am trying to imagine running applications like Adobe Photoshop and Final Cut Pro on an Apple CPU, it just doesn’t feel like it’s possible.

Apple can attract the talent needed to design great chips but this is still new territory for them and they will need time to grow and learn as a chip manufacturer. Yes, mobile devices are very powerful these days but the processing demands of pro users is many times that of any current mobile chip and at least for now, I can’t see any immediate change in the near future. As for the the next ten years or so, we could be looking at a much different story.

One of the great benefits of Apple moving to an Intel based machine was the ability to run Microsoft software on Apple hardware. If Apple were to switch chips, would you still be able to run Microsoft Windows on the Mac? How well would other developers receive that new chip line up? I think that this could potentially isolate Apple again and in way that works against them. Could this move be as bad as the decision to abandon Google and release an unfinished Map product? It’s not just the power of the Intel chip, it’s also about the name. Consumers want to see “Intel Inside” their Mac computers, it gives us confidence in that product’s capabilities, it’s a name we have grown to trust over the years.

It’s important to note that these are just rumors at best, but I don’t have any doubt in my mind that Apple is hard at work trying to find ways to put the Apple logo on everything they can inside their machines.

 

 

Microsoft Acting More Like Apple

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It’s been a crazy week for the world of computer technology. With new hardware and software making it’s debut and keynotes to present it all to the masses but as the madness continues, I can’t help but notice that Microsoft seems to be taking industry cues from other big players like Apple.Microsoft Logo

Microsoft just isn’t the trendsetter here anymore and the proof is in the products that the software giant has recently released. Microsoft is now deep into the hardware game and it’s not just gaming consoles or mp3 players anymore, were talking about a PC with the Microsoft logo on it. The comparison to Apple is obvious, but not just because of the hardware itself but also because of the way they describe it. In a recent video released form Microsoft, (shown at the bottom of this page) you can begin to feel the Apple vibe right away.

Windows 8 features a store much like the App Store in OSX. The UI is completely different from the App Store but the idea is the same. The app based system simplifies the way a user finds, downloads, installs and removes applications. This new store also sandboxes applications which can have the potential to create a more secure OS. It’s a system we have all become accustomed to using and we should feel right at home using it in Windows 8, but why? It’s because we seen this before, on Apple devices.

Having an operating system that works on virtually any modern computer is pretty awesome but you can’t deny the fact that that user experience can vary greatly from system to system. With Microsoft creating it’s own tablet, it has absolute control over the experience the user has with the device, this is the mentality Apple has continued stand by year after year, and Microsoft seems to be adopting it. I would love to see what a Microsoft desktop or laptop would look like and I wonder what effect it would have on the industry. Could you imagine if HP or Dell made it’s own operating system? Would they be Linux Based? Interesting food for thought.

When I say that Microsoft is acting more like Apple I don’t mean that they are sitting around copying them, I mean that it’s clear that Apple has become the major trendsetter for the industry. The hardware and software that Apple has created over the last decade has changed what we think a PC experience should look and feel like. I am excited to see Microsoft embrace these new ideas because it’s something that I think most of us want and it sends a message to the world that Microsoft is here to compete.