Why People Should Stop Hating Valve

Ever since Team Fortress 2 went free-to-play, people have been bashing Valve for ruining a game. This is a completely false statement. Let me explain why:

First, of course, are the hats. I will say, I can see where people are coming from. Some people make their characters looks so unrecognizably ugly, that people don't even know what class is heading towards them. I get that. Team Fortress 2 was developed with class silhouettes in mind, and hats completely ruin them. That's why I think Valve should let users disable viewing custom class content like that.

At the same time, however, people seem to hate Valve for creating the Mann Co. Store. They say that Valve is greedy, and that they are letting people buy their way into being good. This makes absolutely no sense. The Mann Co. Store is a completely optional shop in Team Fortress 2 where you can buy weapons and hats for a price. Are the prices high? Yes. Would I ever buy something from there? No. But do I whine and complain about how others can? No, because it doesn't matter. You don't have to buy stuff from the store, and it doesn't affect the way you play. All items are balanced, and while some might be more overpowered than others, in the long run, Valve eventually ends up nerfing them anyway, and the problem is easily taken care of. The Mann Co. Store is simply a way for Valve to make money off of a game after they made it free. And you call them greedy? Sure, they might give you crates you can't open without purchasing keys. Sure, they might have exclusive hats or paints that aren't found through random drops. But, in the end, it doesn't really affect how you play, and it certainly doesn't make Valve greedy for earning money off of the stupid people that buy items from them.

Second is the fact that the game is free. I apparently was the only person that thought this was cool. I could finally get all my cheap friends to play this great game! Plus, it was an easy way to earn free points! But no one else saw it that way. They all though that the Team Fortress 2 fanbase would just become a mass of unknowledgeable stupid people, who would not know how to play the game, and never learn. This is another point I don't understand. I can see why, in the short term, making a game free-to-play would be devastating to the original fans of the game, especially when Valve decided to only compensate by giving us an exclusive hat (which, in the end, is probably not worth the $20 everyone paid for the game). But, in the long term, doesn't this just mean more stuff? More fans means more servers, more players, more community items, along with more support from Valve. It's not like these people will stay stupid for forever. They'll learn how to play like everyone else, and eventually become good at it.

So, yeah. "You think you're cool? Well, guess what, you're not. Do not make fun of, uh, Team Fortress 2."

Gizmodo

Alright, I've said this at least thirty times, but I really need to explain myself here. I hate Gizmodo. I used to love them. I read their articles all the time. And they do post useful information. But I hate how many of their articles are don't even try to avoid bias from the article. It's stupid, and annoying.

Take this one (watch for language), about Ashton Kutcher "leaving Twitter". The news here isn't much more than a blip. Ashton Kutcher is leaving Twitter, explain why, the end. Now, sure, they add in how stupid it is. And while I agree with them on that point, the main problem is that they make it the main point of the article. Sure, Ashton Kutcher is leaving Twitter, but he's a coward! Omg! News news news! I bet viewers will flock to this article because of how interesting the title is! I understand there needs to be appeal to draw viewers in. I get that. But the article itself doesn't have to be filled with the same stuff the title implies. But this article goes even further.

They go on to talk about their opinion on Joe Paterno, someone who's only indirectly related to this article. I myself disagree with their opinion on what happened, but, still. It's stupid. No one wants to read an article about Ashton Kutcher, only to learn that the author of the article, Mat Honan, thinks that Paterno got what he deserved. That's not something that makes people intrigued to read the piece, or like the article. It's irrelevant and annoying.

And that's why I stopped reading Gizmodo.

Make Your Crap-Phone Like a Smartphone

Smartphones have access to a lot of helpful tools that can be really useful, especially when traveling abroad. Unfortunately  they also come with the requirement of paying for a data package, which is an extra cost most people don't appreciate. While you can't get your phone to do everything a smartphone can, there are a lot of helpful tools out there that can make your phone more powerful than it currently is. Here's a couple of those tools:

Bing 411:
Normally, I'd suggest a Google service, like GOOG-411, but, as of November last year, the project has been discontinued. Bing 411 works almost exactly the same, and just as well. Simply call the number (1-800-246-4411), and tell it what you want it to do. It essentially gives you access to the powerful tools Bing offers online, all over voice instead. Some of the services it offers are:

• Find local shops and restaurants
• Get directions to said locations
• Find phone numbers to call buisnesses
• Get local traffic reports
• Find movie theater showtimes and ticket information
• Find the current weather and future forecasts

Another feature Bing 411 offers is the ability to send you text messages with some of the provided information. This is useful if you don't want to rack up more and more minutes forcing Bing to repeat driving directions for you. Click here to try out Bing 411.

Google SMS:

The downside to Bing 411 is that it's fully automated; So, if you can't get it to comprehend your voice commands, you're out of luck. Fortunately, Google runs a service that lets you text it commands, while it replies with the information you request. Google SMS is also more feature rich than Bing 411, with features like:

• Flight information
• Calculator/converter
• Driving directions
• World clock
• Weather
• Shopping information
• Translations
• Web snippets
• Zip code locations
• Stocks
• Sports scores
• Dictionary definitions
• Movie theater times
• Local business locations and information

Unfortunately, from experience, sometimes the 160 character limit hinders results (Like when asking for Cardinal game scores, it will provide scores from the Arizona Cardinals), and, sometimes, the features don't work at all. More often than not, though, the service works as-advertised. Additionally, Google provides SMS access to Google Calendar (allowing you to send yourself event reminders, and view upcoming events), and create blog posts for Blogger by sending texts. Click here to try out any of these services.

Facebook Text Messages:
If you're an avid Facebook user, you probably find times where you want to socialize on-the-go. Fortunately, Facebook runs a service that lets you send commands via SMS to perform the following actions:

• Update your status
• Send friend requests
• Subscribe to people
• Receive notifications

Many people find the last feature annoying, others find it useful. Whatever the case, you can sign up to use Facebook Text Messages, and turn notifications off. It's up to you. Visit this link to start using Facebook Text Messages.

Additionally, Facebook runs a service that lets you upload pictures and videos via MMS. Simply access the Facebook Mobile page to obtain your secret photo/video uploading email address, and add it as a contact in your phone. The next time you have a photo to upload, send it via that email, with the caption as the subject of the message. It will automatically upload to a special Mobile Uploads album on Facebook, and appear in your friends' news feeds. This feature does not cost any money, as long as you pay your mobile carrier for MMS uploads.

Google+ via SMS:

Just like Facebook, Googly+ also allows you to access your account through text messages. However, Google's service allows you to have much more control over what you do. Some provided features are:

• Update your status
• Specify privacy settings for status update
• Use Messenger via SMS

Unfortunately, Google+'s SMS service does not allow you to upload images and videos via MMS yet. If you're still interested, however, head to this link to start using Google+ via SMS.

Twitter Mobile:

Twitter, being designed to be used via text messages, has built in capabilities to let you tweet, follow, and message others on Twitter. Some features are:

• Send tweets
• Follow/unfollow users
• View a user's latest tweet
• Retweet or favorite said tweet
• Send a direct message to a user
• Notifications of tweets from specific users
• Notifications of direct messages and replies

Just like Facebook, Twitter allows you to turn off mobile notifications if you find it annoying. To set up Twitter for your phone, click here.

YouTube Upload from Mobile:

YouTube allows you to upload videos from your phone via SMS. To do this, you'll have to set it up first, by getting a unique email address, similar to Facebook's photo/video upload. Add the email as a contact, and send your video to the email address, with the title of the video located in the subject of the message. YouTube will then automatically upload the video to your account.

Windows Live Messenger via Mobile:

This is probably one of my favorite mobile "apps". This one lets you IM friends on Windows Live Messenger via your phone. It also allows you to update your WLM status. Although it's not feature rich, the lone feature it supports works and is very powerful on its own. To set up Windows Live Messenger via Mobile, simply click here.

There's plenty more mobile services out there that I haven't covered, but these are by far the most useful, and, personally, my favorite. None of these use data, and some don't even use text messaging, if you don't pay for either of those. It's a good backup to have in case you find yourself roaming on another network, or maybe even on a network without data. Even then, these are all very powerful tools that allow you to access more of the internet from simply sending a text or speaking a command.

Facebook Phone Numbers

Once again, Gizmodo has blown everything out of proportion, this time with Facebook's contact sync feature. So, here's a short blog post to explain things a bit.

If you have Facebook for your iPhone, it has a feature that lets you sync your phone contacts and Facebook contacts. I've had mine replace pictures on my phone with pictures of people on Facebook; That way, I don't have to take new ones each time someone gets a haircut or something like that. It's not really all that important, but it's nifty, so I have it turned on. This feature is OFF by default. I had to turn it on to get it to do anything.

On another note, if you were stupid enough to give Facebook your phone number, and set it public for all to see, then, on Facebook, you can access a list of your Facebook contacts who have shared their phone numbers online. They also add your synced phone contacts to that list, if you have that turned on.

Facebook is not stealing your phone number and handing it out to people. Facebook is not taking your contacts and publishing them to the internet, or putting them in a database. It is highly unlikely Facebook would ever make such information public in the first place. What benefit would that be to anyone?

Final E3 Impressions

So, E3's major conferences just finished today, and here's what I have to say:

Microsoft: Waaaayy too much about the Kinect. People go to E3 to see the latest and greatest, and if all you have to talk about is a bunch of casual titles, then I'm kind of concerned. On another topic of discussion, why on earth  is Minecraft coming to the Xbox 360? Developed by another company? Being developed despite the fact that you have two other versions not even finished? Kinect support? Possibly a Kinect-only title? Who thought that was a good idea?

Sony: Even though there weren't very many surprises here, the PSV looks delicious, especially for the price. I just hope all the developers have the same idea as Naughty Dog does (about the touchscreen). The one bad thing is that you chose AT&T for the 3G service. Did you do any research about this decision?

Nintendo: The Wii U is what the Wii should have been. Unfortunately, it looks like you'll just be playing catch-up until you decide to beef up your console, and not try and make it like last generation's. The controller seems pretty uncomfortable, and although having a screen does have its pros, it overall makes the controller way too big. However, it looks like third-party developers are on-board with this console, with big names like Assassin's Creed coming to the platform. As for the 3DS, I'm glad to see you finally announced some titles, not to mention that they look really good. I'm not sure about the whole flying thing for Mario Kart, but StarFox, Super Mario, and... Super Smash Bros.!? I kind of want a 3DS now.

Programs you need to download.

These are all programs you should have installed on your computer (for anyone and everyone). I suggest you at least read this, as you probably have some of these already.

1. (Free) Virus protection software
This is one thing pretty much everyone should have. What most people don't know is that free virus protection is actually better than the stuff you pay for. Software like Norton or McAfee normally give you more protection than you need (or want), slows your computer down, and can be really annoying when it asks for updates and stuff like that. I would suggest installing AVG Free, Microsoft Security Essentials, or Avast!.


2. A better internet browser
Time to face the truth: Internet Explorer is the worst browser out there. Because it is used by a TON of people, it's the most targeted for virus attacks and, therefore, the most exploited. It also is missing support for a lot of standardized web features and, as such, makes web developers' jobs a nightmare. Plus, other browsers have lots of great features that Internet Explorer doesn't have, a better design, and are faster by far. I suggest either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. (If you're still unsure why you should switch, or which one to choose, take a look at these pages.


(If you, for whatever reason, feel like you must use Internet Explorer, I urge you to at least download the new Internet Explorer 9. While still not the best choice out of all the browsers available, it's much better [and much more web-standards-compliant] than Internet Explorer 7 or 8.)




3. Some sort of office suite
Unfortunately, unlike the other two applications I suggested you download here, this one more than likely costs you money, but, trust me, it's worth it. Almost everyone one (Friends, family, work, school, etc.) uses Microsoft Office, and, if you don't, it's kind of hard to get around. I suggest Home and Student (or Professional, if you'd like Outlook, Publisher, or Access.)


Of course, if you really need to, there are some free alternatives. Google Docs, Open Office, and Microsoft Office Web Apps all offer about the same functionality (which is to say, not much). They all also let you read Office documents. Open Office is downloadable, if you'd like an offline client as well. I honestly would suggest actually buying Microsoft Office, but, if you're really that frugal, these are your best options.


That's all for now. I might add more later.

BEST. DAY. EVER.

So it's a halfday, and an upcoming three day weekend. Pretty excited. Then this happened.

BEST. DAY. EVER.

LEAVE NOTCH ALONE

I can't stand to hear people whine about how bad of a job Notch is doing. Seriously, he's one of, like, five programmers in a tiny little company. He made a fun game that a bunch of people bought, but you can't expect him to be some sort of EA CEO or something like that. He's doing his job, and a fine one at that. The game works well, apart from a few small bugs, and those bugs have never caused any serious damage. So leave the porr guy alone. He's got a great beard and an awesome hat. That's reason alone to love him.

Video Games and Violence, Fast Food, and Obscene Music

I know, I know. It's the same old song and dance. Blah blah blah.

But, I found out today, fast food and video games and violence are very closely related. I'm sure you've heard of both of the "controversial issues.""Violent video games influence kids to make bad decisions." "Fast food makes you fat." "Today's rap is disgusting and infecting our kids minds." The list goes on and on. But these are all very closely related.

We are putting the blame on the wrong people.

Society today has some sort of issue with putting the blame on themselves. It is not video game companies' fault for infecting the minds of children. It's not fast food companies' fault for making kids fat. It's not rap artists' fault for giving teenagers bad ideas. It's the people that buy them.

Does the ESRB not do enough for you? They rate every game, give you reasons why, and even offer details about each specific game to those who want them. (They're free, online!) Does the news about fast food resturants not tell you enough? How it isn't real meat, how it's all bad for you? Do you not see the "EXPLICIT" marking on iTunes, or the "Parental Advisory" sticker on the album cover? These are all the precautions made for people that don't seem to understand why exactly something is bad.

And yet, somehow, people seem to make it "not their fault." How do you "unknowingly" show your ID when buying Grand Theft Auto for your kid, then find out it's obscene, then decide to blame the developer of the game, and not yourself?

This is what has made me so mad about the whole argument on video games and violence today, along with obscene lyrics and fast food. If you don't like it, don't buy it! You can talk about how horrible it is that other kids are getting their hands on some of this stuff when they really shouldn't be (and, heck, I agree with you), but you can't say that it's anyone else's fault but their own. There are already precautions in place to keep people from doing said things, and it's best to let those people be.

Video Game Review: Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble

I decided I might start doing things like this more often. Here goes.

Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble is a successor to the supposedly amazing game, Viewtiful Joe on the GameCube. It was highly praised and is considered one of the best GameCube games of all time. This DS "sequel" is not.

To be honest, I've never played Viewtiful Joe before, so I was a bit confused when I started the game. Why did this guy just wander on to some movie set to try and beat an actor up, only to realize he can't use his powers outside of "movie world (whatever that is)?" What kind of superhero doesn't already know his weaknesses? This is how the first sequence takes placed. I figured that this guy only has real super powers in movies, but not off the set (or something like that), and now he wants to save the world from crime, but he can't for obvious reasons. Ok, makes sense to me. I guess.

Then we're told that some guy who Joe knows has this camera that lets him use his powers in the real world. It's never explained where this camera comes from or how it does what it does, it just appears with this old guy and he tells him to shout the magic words and power up. This is where I realized the story in this game probably isn't that great.

The game is your average beat-em-up side-scroller. You find robots (who's appearance are also unexplained) using your "V-Power." V-Power gives Joe special abilities, such as the ability to slow down time, or the ability to... scratch enemies? What?

Yes, you're supposed to scratch enemies, and it's treated like kicking or punching someone. It's supposed to be for enemies that are, in a sense, blocking your attacks by attacking you. The problem with this is that it's out of the way. It's hard to pull out your stylus and start scratching the enemy in the alloted time, and you can't see anything if you stab your finger around on the screen.

At this point, I stopped playing the game.

I will commend Capcom for making a game that, aside from the touchscreen aspects, didn't use the DS's gimmicks. The top screen shows you fighting, the bottom screen just shows a more zoomed in view. The microphone, to my knowledge, is never used. This is surprising for a game released fairly early in the DS's lifecycle, when features like these were abused to no end.

Capcom also did a good job with the graphics. They pushed the limits of the DS by making pretty big levels with a bunch of moving, 3D objects. They also utilized "cell shading," something the DS excells at. So, all in all, the graphics aren't that bad either.

So,what's the problem?

Double Trouble has controls that work, apart from the touchscreen aspect, which is a pretty hard concept to grasp. The graphics aren't that bad, and it doesn't abuse the DS's features. The real issue is that that's about it. There's nothing very interesting about this game. You beat up bad guys and move on. The story is barely a story at all, as things just seem to happen with no explanation. There is no online or multiplayer, there's no cool feature that changes the game at all. It's just a regular beat-em-up.

I'd give this game a 7/10. It's not horrible by any means, but there's nothing to keep you interested, and the touch screen thing just doesn't work. If you want a regular beat-em-up, this game is what you want, but it doesn't seem to change a whole lot as nothing seems to happen ever.