When you think of Apple, what’s the first thing you think of? For the company’s fans, it’s undoubtedly Steve Jobs, Macs, the iPhone, and iPad. For the company’s haters, it’s typically issues they have with its control over its products, high prices, and its fans, who think their favorite company is superior to all others.
Let me say this loud and clear: any game console that tries to block used games will fail. And I, along with other gamers, will be happy to see it.
Over the last year or so, we’ve been hearing rumors that Microsoft’s next console, currently codenamed Durango, could ban used games. Microsoft, of course, hasn’t said anything on the matter, deciding instead to keep its plans close to the vest until it finally has the chance to unveil the device to the world. But the steady drumbeat of claims that the console won’t support used games is concerning.
Today it’s come to our attention that a collection of iPhone users out there believe that Apple might, in their next iteration of iOS, decide to give the average smartphone user Android-level customization options. I couldn’t disagree more. Though it’s clear that Apple should – in an early adopter’s dream universe – need by now to bring some major changes to their mobile operating system iOS, it’s just not going to happen. With Apple, change comes only when change is needed, and if you’ve seen the cash this company makes with each new iteration of its iPhone line and think they’re in dire need of any sort of radical change, you’re out of your mind.
I’m worried about Nintendo. Yes, I know that I’ve told you here on SlashGear that I’m not the biggest fan of the Wii (or Wii U, for that matter) and I’m suspect of the value of Nintendo’s games library, but the company is still important to me.
iOS 6 finally got its jailbreak after several months being available, and iPhone 5 users have no doubt been rejoicing the ability to open up the iOS platform to customize their devices and add tweaks that Apple doesn’t normally allow. However, this only spawned the opportunity for Android loyalists to remind us all that if you want a truly open platform without the need for jailbreaking/rooting, then there’s always Google’s mobile operating system to make you feel better. However, what most Android users fail to realize is that the platform isn’t as open as most users think.
I have a Wii U. And although I find its motion implementation quite fun at times, and the addition of a second screen a good idea, I haven’t played it at all in the last couple of weeks.
I decided to conduct an informal poll with other people I know who also own a Wii U. I asked them if they’ve been playing with the console much since its launch. Nearly every person said that they played it somewhat heavily in the first week after launch, but little after that.
Over the weekend, I had the pleasure of partying with a bunch of my friends. All of them are pretty big nerds, just like me. If you’re a nerd too, you know that not much changes when a bunch of nerds get a few drinks in them, they just talk about nerdy things louder than usual. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to hear that the Steam autumn sale was among the topics that came up that night.
Is anyone else excited about the month of November? From a technology industry perspective, it’s going to be huge, with launches of everything from the new iPad Mini to the Amazon Kindle Fire HD with LTE. Windows 8 will hit its stride with a host of products running that operating system. Even Google is getting into the swing of things with its Nexus line.
If you’re a gaming fan, you had quite a nostalgic moment on Monday: it was the 20th anniversary of what might just be the greatest racing game ever made: Super Mario Kart.
For those in the dark (or too young to remember the game), Super Mario Kart launched in 1992 on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and is the first in the go-kart racing series. It featured all of today’s Nintendo favorites, including Mario and Donkey Kong, and kept gamers engaged for hours at a time.
How much warning is too much warning? At what point does an excess of caution evolve into fear, uncertainty and doubt? That the DNSChanger malware failed to down internet connections across the globe on Monday, despite increasingly shrill warnings that the FBI was preparing to pull the plug on the temporary servers keeping them afloat, is undoubtedly A Good Thing. However, it highlights one of the persistent issues facing computing: the challenges in balancing caution and panic.
The biggest tech event of the year – if you believe the financial pundits – has been and gone, leaving analysts, shareholders and Mark Zuckerberg to pick through the remains of the Facebook IPO. Seldom have so many gathered to stretch credibility and understanding to talk about so little. In the end, despite stock flat-lining in a way that sent delicious shivers of schadenfreude down the spines of those who still can’t quite see the worth in shared contemplation of navels, Facebook has more than $16bn of extra cash in its account. For actual Facebook users though – in fact, for just about everyone, even if they’re now a shareholder in the company – the IPO is, so far, gloriously irrelevant.
You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs, but Nokia‘s looking more scrambled than anything else today. Some number crunching after Nokia’s warning of worse-than-predicted financials for Q1 2012 reveals quite how badly the Finnish company’s legacy business is crumbling: the same business that Nokia was relying on to keep it afloat during the Windows Phone transition. The headline figure: a mere 83 million handset sales, down from 108.5m a year ago.
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