The new Playstation is set to announce on September 7th has yet to be shown. There will be two new versions of the PS released. One version has already been leaked but the specs have yet to be released. Project Neo is still somewhat of a mystery.

The new Playstation that has already been leaked will undoubtedly be very similar to the PS4 that currently exists. The only difference would probably be hard drive space. What would be a great strategy is if the PS 4.5 Slim jumps from shipping with 1TB of HD space to 2TB of HD space. By shipping the PS 4.5 slim with 2TB, PS will have an advantage over Xbox for at least a few seasons especially with the integration of VR gaming. If the PS 4.5 does not ship with 2TB of space then the PS needs to be compatible with external hard drives.

One thing that we have noticed among all VR headsets is that the wiring is a mess. Imagine dragging around wires and trying to make your playing experience seamless but still having to be conscious of tripping over a wire? Dragging a wire around is troublesome enough now you have to worry about dragging your console and TV with you? There will undoubtedly be accidents similar to when the Wii arrived and consumers were “launching” their Wii Remote at the television set. But ruining your console and TV by yanking the cords out should not be something you have to deal with but until VR becomes something you could access wirelessly, accidents are bound to happen.

What Playstation has the opportunity to do with Project Neo, and might do, is enclose all of the VR components within the housing itself instead of having the external processing unit outside of the housing as it has been currently viewed.

Ultimately, there should only be one cable to and from the VR headset.

With PS4 leading the charge with a console that is fully capable of playing VR games, only the diehard Xbox fans are going to stick around and hope that Microsoft’s Project Scorpio meets or exceeds their expectations.

The decision for Xbox to wait until next season could continue to hurt them. Yes, Xbox may also have the advantage and see what Playstation debuts with their project Neo giving Microsoft a solid year to raise the specs of the Scorpio but it may be already too late for Microsoft by that time. Consumers would have already made the investment to buy a Playstation because of the PSVR capability, exclusive games, Call of Duty early DLC release (which YES does influence some buying decisions), and improving free PS Plus services.

But… what if the Playstation Neo is modular based? What if you could build a PS and upgrade the hardware of the PS at will? This would be similar to what Razor Zone is doing with Project Christine (below image).

New consoles (Playstations) need to be modular. Playstation should team up with retailers like GameStop or Best Buy to service your PS4 and upgrade the modules. Or! you should be able to do it yourself. Upgrading your PS4 should be as easy as upgrading your hard drive or as easy as inserting a USB thumb drive.

The expectations of consoles and PCs are getting narrower and narrower. If PS4 expects to compete with PC gamers than PS needs to make their consoles upgradable whether by the gamer or the retailer.

Tick and Tock development is also coming to a close with manufactures like Intel announcing the end of Tick and Tock manufacturing.

That means that the upgradability of hardware will not exist year-over-year for PCs. New hardware will not be available to a device for a few years.

For example, a device that is built in 2018 may have some similar components as a device that was built in 2016. The way that a 2018 device can be sold to you at the same price of a 2016 device is through the increase of enclosed un-upgradable hard drive space or the upgrade of other technology in the device.

Apple has already realized this when is comes their PC hardware. Much of the hardware that comes with the Mac Pro is already 3 years old and there are only rumors that there may finally be an upgrade for the Mac Pro.

Playstation is taking on a larger market and has made it evident with some of the marketing moves that PS has made within just the last year.

Playstation is opening up to PC gamers.

Playstation has now become an app as it is now available on MAC and PCs. Now PS players can play games on their laptop or PC.

PS has also made its debut on Microsoft’s own operating system through that very same PS4 Remote Play app.

Laptops and PCs that average people are using are becoming almost as powerful as the PC that the average PC gamer is using. Although, PC gamers are always going to upgrade their hardware a lot sooner than casual gamers, the developers are only going to create a game that is available on a platform that is available to a large market.

Playstation is gaining ground on Microsoft and it is almost as if Microsoft is letting them. Maybe Microsoft was not even planning on actually releasing the Xbox One when they did and Project Scorpio is what they intended to release and Microsoft just got caught off guard when Sony initially announced the PS4.

Microsoft has announced plans to release a mid-cycle console but not for another year, giving PS more time to gain a larger lead on the industry.

It seems that Microsoft is only investing in two things right now, Minecraft and Halo.

Xbox has been losing exclusives to Playstation even when Xbox decided to start making games backwards compatible. Xbox’s strategy tends to be nostalgia, trying to remind customers what they use to love about Xbox. Xbox has not been forward thinking and has instead been trying to get away with putting forward the bare minimum and see if consumers will buy it.

What makes the Scorpio different from other leaks that we normally hear about, is that Microsoft wants you to know about it. Microsoft themselves told you about the Scorpio and “leaked” the upcoming console while at the same time releasing the Xbox One Slim.

Maybe gaming just isn’t at the forefront of Microsoft’s agenda. Maybe Microsoft sees gaming
as something of the past and instead of working on a console, Microsoft wants to bet all
its money on the upcoming HaloLens and maybe that’s what Microsoft sees as the future.
But nothing will be as immersive as VR not even HoloLens, which will just place an overlay
on top or your current existing environment. One thing is clear, Sony is taking gaming
very serious. So much so, that Sony has shifted much of its annual budget towards Playstation
with Playstation responsible for 78% of Sony’s annual profits. So stay tuned. The console wars
are just getting started.

RELATED LINKS
+sony.com
+playstation.com
+microsoft.com
+razerzone.com
+apple.com

The new Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is almost out. But is it any different from previous games? Does it offer anything new that the other shooter games have not already done? Now that there are 3 different game developers responsible for creating the franchise on a rotating basis, Treyarch, Sledgehammer, and Infinity Ward, the game should feel different every year. This time around, the mechanics for Black Ops have changed from Sledgehammer’s successful World War II of last year. This time, Treyarch has brought back some of that same characters from Black Ops III that you could customize the appearance of along with allowing you to change the unique ability that each character posseses. Each character has two different abilities that are achieved by getting kills in the game or by completing the objective. Unlike kill streaks, even when you die in the game and re-spawn your progress on gaining the ability is not lost. Another game function that was previously available, wall running, is now gone. Wall running allowed you to run along all flat vertical surfaces including buildings, walls, and mountainsides. One mechanic that is missing from the previous game is being able to dash and boost to maneuver around enemies. Also, characters use to have the ability to jump higher by repeatedly pressing the jump button. Movement of your soldier is definitely more limited which would be something that players may either hate or like if they are comparing the game to Advanced Warfare, Infinate Warfare, or even Black Ops III. Weapons are as customizable as before. The 10 point system is back, giving you more customization for your loadout. If you want to sacrafice your tacticals and lethals for having more weapon attachments, the 10 point system allows you to do that.

RELATED LINKS
+callofduty.com
+treyarch.com
+twitch.com

Plan to go 100% wireless. Meaning, that you need to invest an additional $100 in buying a decent wireless charger and wireless headphones if you want this case to do its job. Dirt and debris enters the case when the port door is open. There is not a secure seal between the screen protector side of the case and the lip of the port hole when the port door is open.

Dirt and debris frequently entered the case while jogging and wired headphones were connected to the iPhone. I frequently had to open the case and clean both the phone and the case from all of the debris that entered.

The gap is significant enough that sand got between the screen protector and the phone. Luckily, the sand did not scratch the phone glass but where the sand was wedged, did leave a permanent embossed mark on the screen protector from the inside of the case. Is this gap a manufacturer defect with just my case or are all iPhone X fre cases like this? I have been buying LifeProof cases since the iPhone 4s and never had this problem before.

Initially, it seemed that the port door took a significant amount of effort to open when I first used the case. I felt like I was using too much force and was afraid that I was going to chip or break the port door.

The only third-party chargers that are guaranteed to work with this case are wireless chargers. The port hole is not wide enough for some third-party charging cables to fit into. Wish I would have known this before I wasted money on an extra third-party charging cable. The charging cable that comes with the iPhone works fine but those are not the best or most durable. I was trying to use a braided charging cable with this case.

The only Pros for everyday use are the slim lightweight design and the ability to actually hear and talk with the case on.

RELATED LINKS
+lifeproof.com
+apple.com

You cannot deny the fact that The Force Awakens was A New Hope in “disguise.” Much of the same dialogue and establishment of the characters. JJ Abrams instead switched the story line and relationship that Luke and Darth had for the relationship that Han and Kylo Ren. Much of the scenery and landscape that Anakin, Luke, and Rey all start out in the same arid dry desert landscape. BB8 is the new R3D2. What role do you think Finn will play? Maybe the new Luke? Was there a reason that Finn was able to overpower the cloning process of the Stormtroopers? Although Finn wasn’t trained or prepared to use the lightsaber is there a possibility that he will learn the ways of the Force?

Expect to see Star Wars films with these same characters for nearly 5 more films. I believe that I called it when I said that they were going to kill Han Solo’s character off. Expect the same fate for all the old characters. Luke Skywalker would most likely be the character that will be carried through the majority of the films. Princess Leah is most likely to die in the same heroic fashion as Han Solo within the next two adaptations of the film. Maybe by sending herself in to deal with disciplining her adolescent son.

The film ends with fighters having to destroy the Starkiller Base a large planet that has been retrofitted with a super weapon (Death Star). Hopefully the purpose of this film was a way to reintroduce characters or to act as a reboot of the franchise and that JJ actually has a lot more to offer in the next films to come. Maybe JJ was busy working on Star Trek and his Amazon Prime series “11.22.63” and knows that he will cover a lot more ground in the next movie. With Episode VIII already in the works expect some news to surface of where the Jedi are headed next under Luke’s guidance.

RELATED LINKS
+starwars.com

The year 2020 is approaching fast and I believe that it will be a big year in electric vehicles. Car batteries will be cheaper, solar cells will produce more energy, and more electric cars will be on the road. Even in the afterlife, Edison is still bitter and still trying to ruin Tesla. Edison is playing catch up with Tesla as far as solar panels go. Edison feels that it could convince lawmakers to rid of the subsidies for solar only to benefit Edison’s own grid. Tesla is one step ahead with their Powerwalls. Who needs to be on Edison’s grid when anyone can be off the grid by generating their own power and storing their own power for emergencies? There is too much interest in Green Energy and the possibilities of what electric cars are capable of doing, thanks to Tesla, is immense. The public is becoming more involved in politics and if the decision is up to them they will vote for an expansion of electric infrastructure.

Don’t count Nissan out either though. Many of the electric cars on the road are Nissan Leafs. With the subsidies that exist in certain areas, it is worth it to buy a Leaf especially when Nissan is offering to pay for your energy for 2 years. Nissan is responsible for bridging the gap and transitioning owners from gas powered vehicles to electric cars. For many, Tesla vehicles are still too expensive. But, electric cars are still not for everyone. Probably the biggest issues that still exist are cost, time to charge, distance, and lack of quick charging stations for the vehicles. There has still yet to be a standard charging port established for all vehicles. Meaning that all electric vehicles cannot all charge at the same stations. It took roughly 100 years after the first Model T rolled off the assembly line for vehicles to become affordable. I predict it will take a fraction of that time for electric vehicles to be that affordable. Or would you even want to buy one or even have to buy one? Do not be surprised if services such as Uber or Lyft get rid of their drivers all together and adopt driverless electric vehicles. When the cost of quick charging stations drop from the thousands to the hundreds, that’s when EV cars will really take off. When the gigafactories that are currently under construction are complete, then the electric cars will really take off. There is no going back. Electric cars today will not have to see the same fate as GM’s EV1. Electric cars are here to stay and are paving the road to the future.

RELATED LINKS
+nissanusa.com
+teslamotors.com

Will it bend again? When you TRY to bend things... do they bend? Find out next when our TechTeam puts the iPhone 6S to the highly sophisticated bend test with our highly advanced - high quality bending equipment. Will the glass break sending our TechTeam to the hospital !? Will the battery explode send battery acid into the TechTeam's eyes!? Will the $600 that we could have spent on giving to homeless people be well spent on trying to bend the shit out of it!? FIND OUT NEXT !

RELATED LINKS
+ #bendgate

It seems that over the years that music has been getting closer and closer to disappearing from the face of the Earth. Music only exists in the past. There was a brief window in the 2000’s that gave music hope. The few bands from the period that continue to be consistent with producing a great album are Interpol, Silversun Pickups, and one other guy that I refuse to list in fear that I might jinx him and his career goes down the same path. The monopolies created by the music industry gobbling up smaller record labels are solely responsible. Music has been at a standstill for the past 3 years. There are not that many bands or people that you could actually call artists that have emerged. If there are artists that are noteworthy, there are being ignored by the music industry and it is unlikely. Independent labels are playing it safe and focusing on smaller rosters. The music clubs that you use to go to are open to local bands not touring bands. People are being fed by the big music labels and what’s on the menu is not that appetizing.

Artists like Lana Del Rey and Kimbra were actually making noteworthy music that put them into the limelight. The reason was because their style was different from everything else that was out there. Now these artists are trying to merge and blend in with the rest in order to survive and stay on the radio by being quirky or provocative. Sooner or later these artists are giving in the hipster trends and singing about how they taste like Pepsi Cola. There was one radio station that I depended on for new music but now even that station has made it hard to distinguish themselves from every other iHeart station. Once these artists sign to the record label they do not have the same freedom that had on an independent label. Every artist that is on mainstream music stations have taken appropriation to a whole new level. Everything you hear has become a cover song without singing songs word for word. Do not consider what you hear that is “new” today even to be “music,” consider it plagiarism. My pre-programmed radio stations are now all set to KPFK 90.7 talk radio (a breath of fresh air), which also does have some noteworthy music programs through out the week.

RELATED LINKS
+interpolnyc.com
+silversunpickups.com

It will be interested to see how the X-Files will portray the monsters, aliens, or maybe some zombies in the new season about to begin. If you take a look at some of the old episodes, which are available on Netflix, you’ll see that much of the graphics were not that great. Maybe back then the graphics looked amazing on a screen with low resolution but it will not hold up on today’s standards. Will there be both practical effects and CGI? There has to be some grounding in order to make these stories believable and relatable to the stories and experiences. You can’t go too far out on a limb otherwise you may lose interest.

What I always wondered is that some of these cases are never really solved. Mulder and Scully always get to encounter a creature or demon but never really get to be the Ghostbusters and rid of the pests. The creature seems to just die off or lives on and is forgotten forever. Yes, the X-Files are at most times unexplained phenomenon but why is it that some of the creatures never return or strike again or team up with another demon?

It will be interesting what type of cases the duo will be dealing with as well. One thing that I would like to see tackled are conspiracies or cover ups. For example, assassinations, missing planes, foo fighters, and the glowing blue lights that were seen flying over Los Angeles recently. Mulder and Scully should create adaptations and theories to events that are actually occurring toady in public and in everyday lives. I believe that by doing so will generate more interest. Storylines need to start being interconnected with a stronger X-Files mythology. It seems that one episode lives separate from another. You never really hear a reference to past encounters in an episode; you always exist in the now. The closest that you get to an encounter put into historical context are the X-Files movies. Hopefully this time Scully will be convinced that Mulder knows what he’s talking about. And hopefully this mini-series does not turn into an over the top comedic-spoof that you now expect from the Syfy channel.

RELATED LINKS
+fox.com