What Are You Playing This Weekend?

It looks like a PlayStation 3 weekend at RPad.TV headquarters. I’m still loving The Unfinished Swan, but reading some of the reviews has made me angry. I will let go of that anger by getting lost in this beautiful game once again. I’m also making a trip to a friend’s house to play some PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Earlier in the week I went to a party for the game. It was super-fun to play and watch. This one should be a hit at nerd gatherings. Also, I’m currently really bad at the game. Hopefully I can get enough practice in before it’s released so as not to embarrass myself online.

How about you? What’s on your weekend playlist?

Will You Buy a Halo 4 War Games Pass?

Microsoft has announced details and pricing for Halo 4‘s War Games Pass. This $24.99 subscription gives gamers three upcoming Halo 4 map packs at a discounted price. Fans will receive the Crimson Map Pack, Majestic Map Pack, and Castle Map Pack  in December 2012, February 2013, and April 2013, respectively. Here are additional details from Microsoft’s Major Nelson:

Retailing for $24.99 USD (2,000 Microsoft Points), the “Halo 4” War Games Map Pass confirms your access to three War Games map packs as they become available in December, February and April, and represents a savings of more than 15 percent versus purchasing the packs individually. In addition, Map Pass purchasers will receive two bonus in-game helmets, as well as a unique in-game emblem.

There’s no doubt that Microsoft will sell millions of copies of Halo 4, but will it also sell millions of Halo 4 War Games Passes? The discounted price is sweet and unique in-game items are always fun, but some players will want to wait to see how the map packs are reviewed before spending money on them. Then again, it’s Halo. The quality has been consistent and there are tons of players that will always want the latest.

How about you guys and dolls? Do you see yourself paying $24.99 for a Halo 4 War Games Pass?

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New Noobz Trailer in the House!

Here’s the latest trailer for Noobz, a road-trip movie about competitive gaming starring Jason Mewes and Zelda Williams. If the subject matter and stars aren’t enough reasons to watch it, Noobz also features Adam Sessler and the great Casper Van Dien. That reminds me, I have to call director Blake Freeman about casting me in Noobz II: Even Nerdier. Anyway, check out the trailer and share your thoughts on it in the comments section (please!). Continue reading “New Noobz Trailer in the House!”

SwiftKey Flow Swipe-Based Keyboard (Beta)

As many of you know, I love using Swype on my Android phones. Tracing is just much faster than typing for me. Swype has its quirks and is far from perfect, so I was intrigued to learn that SwiftKey has a swipe-based keyboard in beta. A favorite of many Android users, SwiftKey is known for its powerful prediction engine. The company is combining that prediction engine and a swipe-based keyboard in a product called SwiftKey Flow.

In a recent post on the company blog, SwiftKey’s Joe Braidwood wrote: Continue reading “SwiftKey Flow Swipe-Based Keyboard (Beta)”

Coffee Talk #528: User Upgradability and You

Starting with the MacBook Air, Apple has been making it harder and harder for its customers to upgrade their laptops. Things like RAM soldered onto the motherboard and non-standard NAND flash modules make it more difficult for tinkerers to tinker. That trend moved onto the MacBook Pro 15 with Retina Display earlier in the year, as well as the recently released MacBook Pro 13 with Retina Display. Are you unhappy with this trend? Or does it not bother you at all?

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, early Windows 8 reviews, Jessica Biel’s pink wedding dress, or Pablo Sandoval crushing it in the World Series, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Starting with the MacBook Air, Apple has been making it harder and harder for its customers to upgrade their laptops. Things like RAM soldered onto the motherboard and non-standard NAND flash modules make it more difficult for tinkerers to tinker. That trend moved onto the MacBook Pro 15 with Retina Display earlier in the year, as well as the recently released MacBook Pro 13 with Retina Display. Are you unhappy with this trend? Or does it not bother you at all?

Some Apple fans feel that the move is justified. They believe that it’s a reasonable price to pay for Apple’s superbly engineered laptops. Others believe it sucks. Apple charges a premium for RAM and hard drive upgrades. In older MacBooks, you had cheaper options from several third-party vendors. With these newer MacBooks, upgrades are much more difficult.

My current machine is a late 2011 MacBook Pro 15. I swapped out the optical drive and replaced it with a Samsung 830 SSD. This setup allows me to use the SSD as my primary drive and the already installed hard drive as my video editing scratch disc. I swapped out the 4GB of included RAM for 16GB from Ram Experts; this upgrade was a fraction of what Apple would have charged. Setting up a new MacBook Pro with Retina Display in this fashion would be impossible for most users (myself included) due to the upgradability limitations. As a tinkering nerd, I don’t like this trend.

How about you? Do you not care to upgrade your laptop once you have it? Or are you bothered by this trend of laptops that are impossible or extremely difficult to upgrade?

NBA Removes Center Position From All-Star Ballot

The NBA has announced that the center position will not be on the 2012-2013 all-star ballot. In years past, fans chose two guards, two forwards, and a center. This season, they will be able to choose three “frontcourt” players and two guards. In today’s press press release NBA executive vice president of basketball operations Stu Jackson said:

The NBA’s competition committee and the league office agreed that having the center position as the only specific position singled out on the ballot was outdated and not representative of today’s game or players. Our players have become more versatile each season, and this ballot will more accurately reflect that versatility.

Translation: The league’s centers pale in comparison to Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing and Shaquille O’Neal, and it would embarrass the NBA to have someone like Thiago Splitter in the All-Star Game.

I’m kind of split on this one. It’s true that there’s arguably one great center in the game right now and that selecting general frontcourt players would make for a better All-Star Game. But what happens when the league is full of great centers again? Will the NBA put the position back on the ballot? That would make this reactionary move look foolish.

How do you feel about the NBA eliminating the center position on the all-star ballot in favor of general frontcourt players? Smart move? Or a reactionary move that will be changed in the future?

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Denny’s to Feature Food and Drinks Based on The Hobbit

You’ve seen the first television commercial for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, now wash it down with some Shire Sausage at Denny’s! The restaurant chain has announced a line of food of beverages based on the upcoming movie. I’m pretty sure the Hobbit Hole Breakfast was not what JRR Tolkien had in mind when he wrote the book, but let’s just go with it. Here’s a clip from the press release:

Denny’s new “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey”-themed menu will feature a diverse selection of eleven new breakfast, lunch and dinner menu offerings including the “Hobbit Hole Breakfast,” “Frodo’s Pot Roast Skillet,” and “Build Your Own Hobbit Slam,” which includes new limited time holiday favorites such as “Pumpkin Patch Pancakes,” “Shire Sausage,” and “Seed Cake French Toast.”

Normally, I ignore restaurant tie-ins with movies, but this one is so cheesy (not in the dairy-product sense) that it makes me smile. I don’t even like Denny’s all that much, but I sure as hell am going to order some of these dishes when they become available on November 6, 2012.

Any of these Hobbit-themed concoctions sound good to you?

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Xbox Co-Creator Heads to Dave & Buster’s

I was surprised to learn that Xbox co-creator Kevin Bachus took a job with Dave & Buster’s as the company’s senior vice president of entertainment and game strategy. The possibilities are intriguing. Bachus is a sharp man, but he’s had a rough go of it since leaving Microsoft (see Infinium Labs/Phantom Entertainment). Although home consoles have greatly diminished the popularity of arcades, I believe people are still interested in them as a social destination based around gaming (the food and booze help too). I’m anxious to see what changes Bachus will make to the Dave & Buster’s formula. Here’s a quote from “Dancing” Dean Takahashi’s article:

Video game enthusiasts are always looking for the next big thing, and I believe Dave & Buster’s is uniquely positioned to deliver it to them. As a long-time fan of Dave & Buster’s, I am excited to have the opportunity to help shape the next phase of interactive entertainment outside of the home.

On a purely personal level, there are two things I hope this hiring results in. I hope that Bachus is successful in his new role and takes Dave & Buster’s to new heights. He was always nice to me and I’d like to see him to well. As a gamer and a consumer (of beer, spirits, and sliders), I’d love to see a fresh gaming experience at Dave & Buster’s. In my head, I see a cool form of gaming that can be enjoyed at home, but is enhanced when played at a physical location. Yes, that’s a really vague description, but I think there are some fascinating possibilities there. Imagine a social game that can play on your PC, phone, or tablet and also play — with more features and live social contact — at an arcade . That would be sweet.

Then again, I don’t know how appealing that idea would be to the valuable 18-34 demographic. I grew up with arcades and miss location-based gaming. Younger gamers that grew up with home consoles might not see the appeal…or they could see something completely novel. I’m not smart enough to intuit something like that.

That’s where you come in! I’d love to hear your thoughts on gaming at physical locations. Is that something you like to do every now and then? Or are you completely satisfied with the home-console experience?

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Today’s Poll: Most Exciting New Apple Product

Apple has declared war on Christmas by announcing a slew of new products set to ship this holiday season. While most tech nerds knew the iPad Mini was coming and many surmised that the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display was in the works, there were a few surprises. New models in the iMac and Mac Mini lines were also unveiled. While most Apple fans were thrilled by these new products, those that bought the “new” iPad earlier in 2012 were a bit annoyed that Apple unveiled a fourth-generation iPad too; the company typically refreshes its iOS products once a year, so this was a bit soon.

Out of all the products Apple announced today, I want to know which one excites you the most. Please vote in today’s poll and expand on your answer in the comments section.

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