Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

The MMO Times: “Chewie, We’re Home”

han-chewie-episode-7Issue 117: Hello again! Why the Han quote from the new Star Wars trailer? Because Star Wars! The past week has been interesting in that we’ve had some surprising announcements and the launch of a new IP. Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm officially launched this week (though I haven’t played it since early beta). Bathesda announced the next iteration of a popular title and apparently there is a video game hall of fame now. All of this before E3, which is still two weeks away. I wonder if E3 is going to have some big news.

As the weather gets nicer out you should get out there and enjoy. Save the gaming for after dark. While the daystar can burnz us, it also provides our bodies with vitamin D (which keeps you from looking pale so pale!) Granted the launching of Heroes, more Overwatch game play videos, Aion expansion, and other tantalizing news found below will test your willpower. In the meantime, KCGO!

Tech Talk: Windows 10’s Imminent Release

borgJune started with Microsoft announcing that Windows 10 will launch on July 29th (so by imminent I meant two months). Be that as it may, many may wonder if Windows 10 is worth the upgrade and I would say it is. I know many may be shocked to hear me say that as I have been a long time advocate for Windows 7 and a long time opponent of *the dismal* Windows 8; but I have my reasons. Windows 10 does appear to have some of the Windows 8 look-and-feel, but Microsoft was (finally) smarter about how it was implemented for those of us that don’t always use touch-enabled devices.

I would recommend you upgrade, for starters, because Windows 10 will be free (probably Microsoft’s way of saying “Sorry we made you waste your money on Windows 8”). I haven’t looked again, yet, but the last thing I heard was that Microsoft will be offering Windows 10 for free for one year if you are currently using Windows 7 and it will be free indefinitely if you are using Windows 8. A few folks have told me that might have changed, but I haven’t seen that printed anywhere yet (if you know this has changed, please leave a comment).

If you are running Windows 7, it might behoove you to upgrade because mainstream support for Windows 7 ended January 13th of this year. This basically means Microsoft will stop providing security updates and you are on your own to protect yourself from viruses and malware. Windows 7 does have extended support for another 5 years but I don’t really know what all that entails (my theory is bug fixes and minor tweaks).

I have had the Tech Preview of Windows 10 installed in a VM on a work laptop for a few months, so I’ve gotten to play around with it off-and-on. If you have been using Windows 7 then, from a usability perspective, Windows 10 won’t be a huge shift for you. It’s basically Windows 7 with some tiles in the start menu. There are some other features that may improve your experience, but all the primary functionality should still be pretty familiar (there is just more color, ostentatious design does make things feel new and shiny). Perhaps after Windows 10 officially launches I can do a write up of some of the other features you didn’t know about that you might find useful (ex: multiple desktops – of course if you have used a Mac, this is a feature that has been around for several years).

NOTE: If you do plan to upgrade to Windows 10, you can reserve your upgrade now. If your Windows 7/8.1 environments are up-to-date with all service packs and updates, you should see a Windows icon in the lower right section of your taskbar.

/cheers

(P.S. In not-so-related news, Microsoft is re-branding Windows 8.1 and will reveal the “new look” in a special Vanity Wired issue subtitled “Call Me C8L1N”)

The MMO Times: Everything Is Awesome!

lego-sw-crewIssue 116: Greetings Gamers! I bet you all were starting to think that I had fallen off the wagon again and forgot to post another MMO Times. Actually the delay is primarily because there wasn’t much to talk about and, again, I didn’t want to post “Little Tommy’s Fanboi Blog Site” as legitimate and interesting MMO news.

In this issue we have some more Patch 6.2 details for Warlords of Draenor, an awesome animated clip for the LEGO fans, some Secret World news and more. So while you are waiting for Taco Tuesday and searching for the KRAGLE, perhaps these articles will help pass the time because “everything is awesome when we’re living our dream”. KCGO

Happy Towel Day!

towel-definition Towel Day is when we celebrate the life and books of Douglas Adams. It, ironically, coincides with Geek Pride Day and, this year, it also coincides with Memorial Day. So when you head out to those Memorial Day parades, don’t forget to bring your towel.

Now, as a special treat for this Towel Day, I have snagged some vogon poetry from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Please, try not to run screaming from the building:

Vogon_poetry2Oh freddled gruntbuggly,
Thy micturations are to me
As plurdled gabbleblotchits
On a lurgid bee.
Groop, I implore thee, my foonting turlingdromes
And hooptiously drangle me
With crinkly bindlewurdles,
Or I will rend thee in the gobberwarts with my blurglecruncheon,
See if I don’t!

– Prostetnic Vogon Jeltz

TV Is Marvel-ous!

marvelFirst it was Vampires – post-Buffy vampires. Television networks and production studios became obsessed with vampires (thanks to Stephenie Meyer). Vampires are cool, except for the kind that sparkle *shudder*. Then “The Walking Dead”, “World War Z”, “Day Z”, etc; i.e. zombies! Zombies are much more interesting than vampires (except for iZombie, that show didn’t make sense, from a zombie canon perspective).

During the obsession with the undead Marvel was producing comic-movie-after-comic-movie, culminating in the first Avengers movie and Captain America: The First Avenger. Then the dam burst and the flood waters of Marvel super heroes started spilling forth not only more movies, but TV series as well. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Agent Carter, Daredevil and I believe there are more to come. I know DC has been trying to do the same thing with Gotham, Flash, Arrow, etc, but the Marvel shows have been doing something quite unique. All the shows and movies are linked. Events that happen in a movie will somehow directly or indirectly tie back into one of the shows (and vice-versa). This is something even Star Trek couldn’t keep consistent with all the TV series and movies.

I think its actually quite clever and brilliant marketing. I watched Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. just before Avengers: Age of Ultron came out and I immediately wanted to see the movie after that episode. The other thing the writers of the show do quite well is not to spoil the movies in the episodes that follow the movie’s release. I have yet to see The Dark World, and I know there have been references to the movie in an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. but they didn’t say anything that gave anything away.

I know I’m probably the biased fanboy, and now all the Twi-hards get an opportunity to roll their eyes, but I really love the new comic content. Granted a few movies have been a little less than stellar (ex: the first Hulk movie), but I’ve been enjoying all of the TV series. Keep up the good work!

minion_keboard_smI could get so much more accomplished if I only had minions!

The MMO Times … Returns!

darth-vader-lukeIssue 115: The MMO Times is coming back. The gaming news just seemed to come to an abrupt halt where there just wasn’t anything interesting to share. I didn’t want to try to dig up menial stories that have little to no credibility just to keep providing a new post/email. I’m not interested in filling up your inboxes with junk. Of course then various real life events quickly exacerbated that hiatus; but hopefully we are back in full swing for a while. It has been about 6 weeks as the last MMO Times post was back when we lost our beloved Mr. Spock. Rest In Peace, Leonard Nimoy!

Upon our return it seems the interesting news is predominately Blizzard titles; primarily WoW and Diablo III (including some Warcraft movie news). The rumor mill has churned out a few things, specifically for WildStar. There is also some exciting news for a classic title (though it is not MMO related). Hopefully there is something you didn’t know about in the links below. In the meantime, KCGO.

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