Open letter to Xbox One from a mom who will not be buying it.

Posted by Shea in Assorted geekery and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Dear Microsoft;

Just wanted to drop you a line concerning your Xbox One, and why as both a mom and a geek, I won’t be buying it.  Don’t get me wrong,  I know you haven’t worked out all the wrinkles yet, so we’re all working on partial information here, but…

 

…do you really think any parent will buy this?

 

Because you haven’t created the ultimate in gaming, you realize that.  You’ve created a home entertainment system that no one asked for.  While the PS4 deserves a smack down for (like you) not allowing previous gen games to be played on it, at least they haven’t added insult to injury regarding both after-purchase cost and privacy.

After purchase cost:  ”What is that?”, asks parents.  I’ll explain it to them, Microsoft – you’ve already done a bang-up job on damage control.

 

Parents!  Let’s say you buy a game for your kid, at £40.  Now, let’s say after a week, your kid wants to swap his game with his friend’s.  Normally, that would cost you nothing – the kids trade games for a week, all is well.  This time, however, the rules are a bit different.  If your kid’s friend wants to come over and log in (and then play the game through his account), sure, but if your kid’s friend doesn’t feel like being logged in on a foreign machine all the time, your kid can just PAY A FEE and continue playing…

…back up and re-read that.  Your kid gets lent a game by a friend, who purchased a disk for £40.  The disk is in your possession.  To play it on your machine, and your account, YOU HAVE TO PAY MORE.   And here’s the kicker, the cost?  THE SAME AS THE DISK WAS NEW.  This means that not only can’t you swap games with friends to see if you like it, you also can’t buy/sell 2nd hand games like at GameStop, etc, or borrow them through Netflix.

Sup, Hal 9000.

Sup, Hal 9000.

So, not only will every game be essentially a new game, there is the privacy issue.  You see, Xbox One will be connected always to the internet (for super duper fun interactive insert bullshit comment here play!).  You can opt to turn the internet off, but it will be on at least once a day to sync.  ”But my computer is on all the time, what’s the problem?”, I hear you ask.  Look at one of the ‘features’ of the Xbox One – voice activated turn on.  Do you know *how* that works?  For the console to hear you, the camera and mic must always be on.  Always.   Considering how ridiculously easy it is to hack into systems nowadays, how long do you think it will be till the first major privacy breach?  Because I don’t know about you, but unless I am Skyping, my camera is not only off, but is actually covered.  The average 13 year old isn’t going to think of covering the camera between sessions.

Microsoft, there is also the myriad of geek issues – a non-replaceable hard drive that ensures you can’t self-enlarge , you can only buy an external drive, or pay into your ‘cloud’ service (hello, monthly fee!).  There is also the fact that I didn’t spend two decades lonely and collecting games only NOT to play them on my new console, or that it will be hella slow compared to the PS4 (as the PS4 is dedicated to just playing games versus watching you watch tv and a host of other processing-slowing functions), the fact that most of the integrated-home-system features (like the tv watching) are US only, or the fact that you, Microsoft, can’t give any clear answers to somewhat obvious questions.

And that’s the biggest red flag for me as a parent, and a geek – if you didn’t think these questions were going to be raised on press launch day, you are not smart enough to deserve my money.  You obviously think so little of me as the purchaser of your product that you’d thought you slip this bullshit in, and that hurts me.  You see, the generation that grew up with you is the generation who, as parents, will be purchasing your product.  And we are slightly more tech aware than our parents were about all this stuff.  We are looking at this not only through the lens of gamers, but parental guidance figures, and we want both reliability, power, and safety.  Right now, you are 0/3.  Figure out what you are saying, stop letting your various twitter accounts contradict each other, and for the love of God, remember that this is the Internet – gossip moves at the speed of light, it doesn’t need to be egged on by you all not seeming to know what message you are supposed to be on. We’re not even going to touch on the fact that I have never, ever heard anyone say “Golly, I’d love to have my gaming system on all the damn time, watching me watch tv and popping in with fun suggestions!”.  Did you do *any* market research as to who would even want this?  Or did you just assume we’d buy into it with enough big-screen presentations?

 

Sorry, Microsoft.  I don’t mean to rain on your big day.  But the fact is, this gamer won’t be getting an Xbox One till you clean up your act.  My gamer baby deserves better.

 

Sincerely,

 

Shea Wong

 

The Oklahoma tornado, and other things I have to tune out.

Posted by Shea in Politics and tagged with , , , , ,

I’m a expat from the US, and the midwest to be more specific.  I woke in London to word that a massive series of tornadoes (or one super tornado) hit Oklahoma, killing 90+ and counting.  The images are terrible, there is no doubt about it.  20 of those 90 dead are children, even worse.  Whole neighbourhoods are wiped out, and recovery will be in months, not weeks.

So why can’t I feel anything for them?

I think it might be a defence mechanism.  I know what’s about to happen in the US – the religious hucksters, tinfoil brigade, and one-uppers are about to descend.

Religious hucksters (not all religious people, mind) like Westboro Baptist will blame the gays for God’s wrath, while Pat Robertson and the 700 Club will…well, they usually blame the gays.  I don’t know how they are going to explain God’s wrath considering Oklahoma banned gay marriage (it’s worth pointing out morons actually blamed Hurricane Sandy on the New York/New Jersey areas on gay marriage being allowed.  No, really.)  Maybe God changed his mind on two dudes getting hitched?

Tinfoil Brigade:  From Alex Jones, who I’m sure will somehow blame NOAA (the  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to Glenn Beck, who will somehow blame Obama (maybe we should have built a fence to protect us from immigrant funnels of wind?), within days you’ll hear the phrases ‘FEMA deathcamps’, ‘New World Order’, and the like.  (Side note, if you are from outside the US and don’t know what these phrases mean, be glad.  The stupidity is so thick with the tinfoil brigade you could cut it with a knife).

The political one-uppers:  I have a confession, I am one of these people.  See, when the tri-state area was underwater for a few months with Hurricane Sandy, a whole lot of Republicans voted against any sort of aid for them.  And since then, there have been two major natural disasters since then – one in Texas, and one last night in Oklahoma.  Who wants to guess that the representatives who voted against aid for fellow Americans in the liberal north will now be asking for it in the ‘pull yourselves up by your bootstraps’ neck of their woods?  Now, I know talking about politics post tragedy usually brings in cries of ‘Too soon!’ and ‘Don’t you care about suffering?’

And yes, I do.  Which is why I am bringing it up.

I cared about the folks drowning after Sandy, and was enraged when 67 Republicans (and no Democrats it should be noted) voted to let them rot versus look like they were attempting to help President Obama.  I was apoplectic when they branded Chris Christie, Republican and New Jersey governor, a ‘traitor’ as he worked with democrat Obama to get his state sorted as quickly as possible.  And I care about the poor peoples’ lives currently affected, I do.  Just because Oklahoma voted in a few morons doesn’t mean everyone in Oklahoma is a moron.  Far from it.  But it’s specifically after disasters such as this that we do need to discuss the polarization of politics, and how if the various Oklahoma Republicans had had one shred of decency when considering other Americans’ plight, people wouldn’t be pointing out their specific hypocrisy now.  Because post-disaster, it’s politicians who vote on relief.  It’s politics who designate a number to suffering.  And it’s fool politicians like Rand Paul and other ‘bootstrappers’ who will use their political platform to pile on to their suffering to win votes in their home states.  It’s all politics.

For what it’s worth, I hope Oklahoma gets the full weight of the federal government’s benefit, and quickly.  They shouldn’t be forced to suffer for months like the tri state area did.  If you want to donate to the Red Cross, they are also on the ground setting up triage units.  A direct donation link is here.  But I can’t let myself become invested in the disaster, as it makes it even more difficult not to become enraged when the tinfoil brigade, hucksters, and political gamesmenship starts.

BassBuds and BassBoomz Bluetooth speaker product review

Posted by Shea in Reviews, Giveaways, and Competitions and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

BassBuds and BassBoomz.  You may have never heard about them in the over-hyped, ginormous SkullCandy headphones market.  But trust me, you will.  Small in size, but massive in sound quality, they are quickly becoming the favourite for both music lovers as well as music creators.  Here’s why:

SONY DSC

SONY DSCSONY DSC

 

 

 

 

 

 

Let’s take a look first at the pieces themselves.  BassBoomz is a *tiny* speaker, reminiscent of a Bose speaker in their heyday - you find it difficult to believe any sort of decent noise will come out.  Sure, it expands slightly, but there’s no way it’s going to sound better than your little purple boombox when you were little.  You turn it on, and…

…wow.  That is a gorgeous depth of sound.  Then you connect it to any device of your choosing – two ports plus Bluetooth ensures your BassBoomz will easily connect to your devices.  You pop on your favourite track and…

OMG.  That is seriously impressive.  A full, rich sound, from such a small speaker.  And it’s tough as well – the hard metal casing of the speaker means I’m not afraid to twist it down and toss it in my bag for great sounding music wherever I want!

 

And when I say “wherever I want”, I mean it!


On to the BassBuds.

 

SONY DSC First, the packaging is lovely – you can see the BassBuds box next to to the BassBoomz package.  You get a set of the BassBuds headphones, 3 different sizes of ear buds attachments, and a lovely little drawstring bag to carry the other ear buds in.

 

 

 

 

SONY DSC

 

SONY DSCSONY DSC

I normally don’t spend a great deal of time looking at stuff that goes in my ears, but FWOAR are these things pretty.  Gorgeous finish, Swarovski crystals in the ends, and incredibly soft and supple earbud protectors.  The middle image is your control button.  With that you can make/receive calls, pause an MP3, or record a memo to yourself.  And the set comes with an easy-to-carry card till you get acclimated to it (although it’s quite intuitive).

The thing that really struck me about these were the level of sound, and noise reduction.   I am admittedly a huge fan of ‘cans’, those earmuff looking headphones, because when I want to enjoy music, I want to do it in peace.  But just inserting these BassBuds, the level of noise reduction was amazing.  Even in very busy cafes of London, I can tune out with my music without hearing insane background noise.  The quality of sound is the same as the BassBoomz – superior.  It’s a rarity that I review a product and declare “I must own everything this company makes!”, but I would scream that to the hills for BassBuds and BassBoomz.  It really is that good of a product.

awesome colour range

But, I would be remiss if I didn’t talk fashion, so here you go:  not only do the BassBuds come with the gorgeous little bling at the end, they come in a huge array of colours, enough to satisfy every member of the family!

 

This is a sponsored post. 

We have a winner!

Posted by Shea in Uncategorized

RANDOM.ORG - True Random Number Service - Google Chrome 17052013 204145Thanks to all for the fun Friday giveaway, it was really neat seeing all these great childhood toys.  It reminded me of what I loved, and what my kid will one day enjoy!  But there can only be one winner, and this time round it is #43 comment from the top, Vicki, with her Fashion Studio designer plates thingies!   Well done Vicki, please email me at shea@sheawong.com with your full name and mailing address!

And I had so much fun doing this one, I may go for another next week (time permitting).  Have a great night all, and hope you enjoyed this jaunt down memory lane!

Friday Giveaway!

Posted by Shea in Reviews, Giveaways, and Competitions and tagged with ,

I’m bored, let’s have a giveaway!

shea wong groove tube giveaway

Groove Tube is this amazing game I found a few weeks ago, a truly unique puzzle.  The labyrinth you need to navigate is inside the tube you are holding, so you need to use memory, luck, and patience to figure it out!  I generally get bored with puzzles, but this one kept me intrigued for a few hours straight, no mean feat!

I’m giving away one to a UK reader – just comment below with your name and your favourite old school toy/game.  I was always partial to HUNGRY HUNGRY HIPPO, as I loved yelling that name through the house.

Make sure you follow me on Bloglovin/Google Blogs/Email/Etc to catch all my one-day giveaways!  And don’t forget, I have a competition for a Karcher Window Vac (RRP £60) and a giveaway for a Debrett’s Guide (RRP £20) right here!

 

Giveaway ends tonight at 8 pm! (don’t worry if you don’t see your comment straight away, I just need to approve it,  as long as you comment before 8 you will be in!)

 

ThePrizeFinder – UK Competitions

Product Review: Instantgram!

Posted by Shea in Reviews, Giveaways, and Competitions and tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

As most people know, I am both a geek and an expat.  Technology is a huge way that my friends and family back home can keep up with my exploits and so on.  My family all have wifi photo frames, and of course we use Skype, but when I’m on the go, it’s just me and my mobile phone’s camera.  That’s when apps like Instagram can really come in handy – two quick clicks, and it’s uploaded to my site where they can watch the kid grow up!  But there are so many pics you just want to keep at your fingertips, rather than on a screen.

 

Enter Instantgram.

 

 

Instantgram

Instantgram is a new photo printing service that prints instagram photos on magnets or super cute traditional squares.  The process couldn’t be easier – Instantgram asks you to login to your Instagram account, and pick your favourite photos.  Instantgram then prints them on high quality paper or 2″ by 2″ magnets (about the same size as an iPhone screen), and you can pop them on your fridge, office cubicle, or anywhere else you like!

I was really impressed by the point and click process – as Instagram had already done all the work, it took about 3 minutes from clicking on to purchasing.  And in about 10 days, my parents will be getting 9 adorable magnets of their grandkid!  The best part?  Free worldwide shipping.  Being 5000 miles away, that’s such a bonus (seriously you guys, shipping is so expensive here!)

With a 10 day turnaround, I wouldn’t call this a go-to gift option for an OMG NEED IT TOMORROW emergency, but how cute would these be in lieu of Christmas card photos?  Pop one in each Xmas card, and give your family an easy pic they can enjoy all year long!

 

This is a sponsored post.  

 

Buycott and the push for actual tech activism

Posted by Shea in Politics and tagged with , , ,

There’s a new app gone to market, Buycott.  It will allow you to scan an item in the grocery store and see exactly which umbrella corporation will benefit from your purchase.  While the rollout has been buggy to say the least (seriously, don’t bother using it for another month till they work everything out), the concept is brilliant.  Informed decision making.

So why is this needed in the first place?  Blame marketing…and politics.

There are three types of branding in the marketing world:  Umbrella (family), multiple, and combination.

Umbrella brands are brands that all share the same name.  For instance, Microsoft.  Microsoft Word is connected to Micrsoft Windows 7 is connected to etc.  Very easy to tell on first glance if a product is owned/made by Microsoft.  Great for brand unity.

Multiple brands all look like stand-alone products, but share a parent company.  For instance, Unilever makes many of the household products you enjoy, but you won’t see their name emblazoned across your Dove bath soap or Axe body spray.  Letting brands stand alone means if there is a scandal, the parent company’s name is less damaged.

Combination brands take a little from both to create a cohesive brand.  Sony always slaps their name at the front of a product, but you know the difference between a Bravia tv and a Viao laptop.

 

So why is this app needed?  At some point, companies began owning other companies in such a way that you could buy a product and never know where your money was actually going.  And before major corporate funding, this really wasn’t a huge issue.  But since our last election was the most highly funded, and the majority given was by corporate interests, voting with your dollars has become as important as voting at the ballot box.  So instead of this:

Chart showing a portion of what holding companies own what. Click to expand, it's biiiiiig.

Chart showing a portion of what holding companies own what. Click to expand, it’s biiiiiig.

 

We now will have a nifty little app that we can customize to tell us if the corporate donors we dislike will be getting our cash.  I have to say, I like it.  In a few weeks when the bugs are worked out, I’ll have a way to electronically make a difference.

Minor off topic rant here:  I like petitions, I do.  They are a great way of letting people know how you feel.  Or rather, they were.  When businesses didn’t decide elections, they were downright fabulous.  But as that is not the case, ladies and gentlemen, you do have to vote with your dollars.  And while that is far more time consuming than clicking ‘like’, its the brave new world.  Money talks.  Start speaking with yours, or accept that your voice will be muffled.

 

So, what’s the downside to all this?  Well, for a nation that is pretty divided already, this is just another way to delineate the right from the left.  The left will boycott Koch and Monsanto, the right, anything owned by Soros and major liberals.  Purchasing will, on a much larger scale, become an indicator of political affinity.  And that’s difficult. What if you host a party, and your friends bring Dixie cups (owned by Koch brothers?), will you think less of them?  What about if your company always puts you up in Renaissance Hotels, and you now know they are owned by Marriott, major contributors to the Romney campaign?  Do you ask for a transfer?  And if so, to who?  That’s the difficult thing:  companies and products are so ingrained in our society that if we see our favoured item as owned by the ‘enemy’, will we still have the strength to give it up for our principles?

Too bad there’s not an app for that.