Touch screen experiment

Some many moons ago I posted on my facebook that I have removed the screen protector from my Nokia Lumia 830 Windows phone. I had said I will explain later why. Now is the time.

Some many moons more before that I posted an interesting question. With someone as picky as me about screens, how will I find touch screens for a desktop that accumulates greasy finger prints?

It was time to put it to the test and a smart phone undergoes the worst of it so it is a perfect candidate.

Result after over a year of use without the protector:

Scratches on main screen: yes.

Scratches on camera: yes

Finger grease permanent: no. wipes off easily.

This phone has gorilla glass 3 so the scratches were a disappointment. When ever I wanted a clean clear view of the screen I wiped it clean. However this is easier done with a portable devices. I would not want to do this every time with, say, a 32"+ VDU -thus question answered on touch screen VDU.

Would I recommend a screen protector for a mobile device? This answer is complicated and is by individual preference. If you replace your phone once a year or two years, don't bother with the protector. By the time the scratches become prominent enough, it will be time for a new phone. If you don't have the cash flow to get new phones at the above frequency, get the screen protector.

A screen protector also does more than scratch protect. A good quality one will absorb impacts preventing screen fracturing. So there are other reasons to use a screen protector as well.

Lightworks

This is a short blog update.

I am currently processing a lot of video clips and want to retain its quality as much as possible. I wanted something that will let me do that without costing me a fortune. I found Lightworks and it's free (limited to 720P resolution video unless you get the paid version).

The video clips were captured on my PlayStation 4 but I noticed an interesting problem. Lightworks reads and lets me edit them fine but during export it would blank out the second half of the clip. PS4 encoding is likely causing some problems so to fix it I used the hugely popular Handbrake encoder(also free) to re-encode the clips at the highest quality possible without a placebo effect. Lightworks was able to export these files fine. However the higher quality mp4 encoding left a problem. MP4 is what is considered a "playback-friendly" format and not an "edit-friendly" format. In other words I needed AVI.
Once again Lightworks is great because it has a Transcode mode. I used it to transcode the mp4's into AVI which is an edit-friendly format.

Since I am busy with my video project, I will likely talk about my experience with Lightworks more later but that depends on how it goes though! I am impressed with it so far.

I have done video editing and sound editing as a hobby for a while now and have some great works (that I am not willing to publish, sorry!). I have learnt a great deal in these areas so I am certainly not an amateur. Some of my past video games have involved taking one type of sound and turning it into another type of sound. Of course sitting with a sound engineer for Mai FM a long time ago taught me heaps and that knowledge still sits with me today. So Lightworks really is, for me, all about features and how easily I can do stuff in it.

Ok so the update wasn't so short, but that's the beauty of enthusiasm!

Uncharted: Drakes Fortune, the completed game review for the remastered version.

Previously on Uncharted Review...

I have now been able to play the re-mastered version of Uncharted:Drakes Fortune to completion on 'Crushing' difficulty. Yes, on that difficulty, that was my first play through! Why play on easy when a world of challenge awaits!

In the previous early play-through review I indicated that I am not a fan of Third Person Perspective(tpp) games but Uncharted could be the game that changes that. I also mentioned other things about the game that I absolutely loved. So do I retract any of it, do I add anything to it, do I have any moans about it? Let's begin this journey into Uncharted:Drakes Fortune and find out!

More than not liking 3rd person perspective games', I absolutely loath playing action games with the controller. I am a mouse and keyboard guy and that love will stay thank you very much. However if I were to play a third person perspective game, it would certainly be with a controller. So uncharted had two things going against it; One is that it is being played by a guy who hates tpp games, and secondly, hates playing it(action game) with a controller. What a challenge Naughty Dog, so how did you do? Very well, thank you!

Yes that's right, Naughty Dog absolutely nailed it. From the moment the game started with the introduction video, you were drawn into the story -you just don't realise it then. What becomes immediately obvious soon is how amazingly seamless this game is at transitioning from cinematic to player control. Throughout the game the flow happens several times, sometimes in between quick succession cinematics where you have to hit some keys to keep the cinematic rolling(and keeping Nathan alive of course). I have never seen any game pull it off so smoothly; the adventure suddenly has a new protagonist, YOU. Often times cinematics in games seem disjointed and where transitions are present, are rough, sudden, even curt. Uncharted fixes this and does it right.

It is hard to find games that are rich in story and rich in environment. That marriage is present in Uncharted:Drakes fortune thus making it the best adventure game I have ever played. The rich scenery, the lush forest, the fauna, all very nicely done. No game can produce real water effects yet, but with uncharted it does not matter at all. The environment gives plenty of excuses for artificial water effects; so much so that you wont even notice.

This game was quite difficult in action scenes on crushing difficulty. There were places where you can get stuck and only after so many deaths, might you work out that in fact there is a better way to win it. The ending scene is one very good example of that. No hints are given and you keep dying until you work out that the scene itself is a puzzle! Once you work out that puzzle, the game is won in a matter of seconds in that scene. There were a hand full of annoyances but they are too minor to talk about. Little moans like "why cant I carry more than two weapons"? As a fan of the Doom series of games, I am used to carrying everything I find. However after finishing uncharted, you realise that in fact you really did not need to carry any more than primary, side arm, and a pocket full of grenades.

It is very hard to find an adventure game that would make Indiana Jones look like an amature BUT at the same time engrossing the player so tightly, you wont want it to end, you wont want to put the controller down, you might not even want to eat! In my opinion, no game comes close to this amazing adventure story that has to be lived through. Everyone must go out and get this! It is a playstation exclusive title, so go get a ps4 too just cause it's Uncharted. This game is now the new benchmark for all adventure games. Top spot Naughty Dog and Sony, and thanks for bringing me an adventure, like nothing I have ever experienced before.

Uncharted, The Nathan Drake Collection (PS4) review.

Lets start with something negative and see it turn into a positive. Now there's a twist! I do not like playing 3rd person perspective games, I like FPS and then I  like playing with a mouse and keyboard when playing those games. I had never played Uncharted, despite pleas from a couple of friends to try it. It looked good in the you tube videos and for sure I chalked it in as a game I will "someday" try. That someday came as a Boxing day special PS4 bundle and I got all three episodes in one go. The Drake's Fortune, Among Thieves, and Drake's Deception.

I can say this game is like Tomb Raider. I could say this game looks like a tomb Raider Rip. I could say atleast Tomb Raider has a busty female protagonist. Infact I could continue on and say Uncharted is like Tomb Raider this and Tomb Raider that. The question then would be if I am right. I am goign to go ahead and say no, I will not be right and here is why.

On the point that it is like Tomb Raider, yes the game play is but that is where the similarity stops. Where Uncharted takes over and becomes an IP in its own right and more to the point becomes a new game and story unto itself is how it does it. It has a rich colourful story telling that is blended seamlessly into the gameplay. The cut scenes are not imposing because they form the complex integrated story line that is very well in tune with the environment you are about to play and have just played. It feels like a movie in action adventure and mystery whose story line unfolding is in your hands. Tomb raider felt like you discover something, you kill some baddies, you finish the game. This is quite different in uncharted because your protagonist is constantly in an environment of adventure. There are puzzles to solve yes but this too is done in a really interactive way that feels part of the game instead of being separated from it.

I  have only played this for a few hours and I am up to Chapter 4 in Drake's fortune. This chapter started with a bang and in Indiana Jones style jumping out of planes. Nathan Drake, our protagonist is very vocal and it adds to the wonderful cinematic atmosphere of this game. I still dislike playing 3rd person perspective, but I cant put down the controller for Uncharted. Perhaps it is Uncharted that will make me like 3rd person perspective modes, we will just have to wait and see. If you have not played Uncharted, or if you are purely an FPS gamer but looking for a game to try out third person perspective style, or someone looking for a great action adventure mystery game, go pick this up. If you are on the PS4, get the remastered version collection which I have. Overall impression, snaps the needle on the positive gauge. Awesomely done cinematic experience.

Need for speed (2015) review

Well well well so its all true then. What "they" have been saying. Mixed feelings it is then. Don't get your coffee, this is going to be a really short review.

Why, the new Need for Speed game, of course.
Reading about the cut scenes people were talking about in forums felt like may be people were exaggerating a little and that it cant be that bad. After all, people do tend to....exaggerate about games.
But after loading it up and having a couple of hours with it I can say without reservation, "WHAT THE HELL WERE EA THINKING?"
Yawn, seriously! Its just UN-INTERESTING cut scene and drift fest. I tend to give games the benefit of the doubt, I always have ever since I have been gaming, but I cannot give this thing any benefits from the doubts it has. 
I liked that the police were in the background and not really interfering as much. So they did do some things right, I'll give them that. At this point, i'll go with the critics and say I have mixed feeling about this. You can't hate it, but you can't like it either.

It looks like EA tried to bolt on the best parts of all previous games into one game, except the problem there is that those best parts worked for the themes those games were made for. In this NFS it feels like an interior decorator kept forgetting what theme is meant to be implemented. 

Here is what made the original great:
A no fuss thrill ride. Cops there but not interfering excessively (Hence it made it fun to grossly outrun them with super cars -hah catch me if you can!). Digressing a bit, the first Need for speed Most wanted game is the best cop chase game ever so lets keep cop chases as a separate NFS franchise. Back to what made the original great; the videos were about CARS, about what made them special, about its history. There were videos of the real versions driving on actual tracks.  I loved watching those videos in the original road and track version. Use real cars, make it fun, turn it into a THRILL RIDE again EA.

Playstation four (ps4) Experience.

I took advantage of the boxing day sales to get some smashing discounts on stuff but my main focus for battling the lines was the PS4. Cars were parked on grass, and in places you wouldn't have thought could be used as car parks. Vehicles were circling car parks like vultures out to feed. Among that chaos was I, who drove in and got a park straight away! Talk about lucky!

I waited before posting this blog to discuss what my experience with PS4 is like versus the ps3 I still have. The short answer is that I don't see anything significant in it that I did not experience in my ps3. There are some new stuff that poped out which I will discuss further. That aside from comparing hardware because for obvious reasons the PS4 has better hardware and since it is a console, it is right to say that the ps4 is better hardware.

One of the great things I do like about the PS4 is that its power features are configurable. My favorite so far is setting the rest mode to 3 hours. This means when I tell the Ps4 to turn off, it will remain in rest mode for three hours and supply power to the USB port before shutting down. I like this because it means after playing, I can plug my controller into it and it is ready and charged for me next time with out having to worry about power usage by the PS4. With the PS3 I had to leave it on to charge controllers -and no I think external chargers are a waste of money, a USB cable is so much cheaper -and the PS3 has two USB sockets as does the PS4. I also like that Sony has kept the interface simple. In comparison to the Xbox one, I found the Sony PS4 interface just as capable with much better usability.

The controller feels the same as the PS3 Dual Shock 3 but it is nice to have a mouse-pad and extra buttons on there. My most loved feature of the Dual Shock 4 controller is the ability to connect a set of headphones with mic on it. I have an awesome pair, the Sony MDR-ZX660 headphone and mic, plugged into it and the audio quality is great!


The question then is why did I buy the PS4. Well it's simple, I bought the PS3 too late and it was near its end of life. I also needed a separate blu-ray player for my lounge. The main reason, however, is that newer games either support PS3 and PS4 or just PS4 which made the decision easier. The PS3 is now being used as something to continue playing my old favorites, as well as acting as a blu-ray player and media device for my lounge tv.

So should you buy the PS4, yes you should since newer games will either support both or just PS4. I would strongly encourage being patient and waiting for specials in your area before getting one, however. The new controller it comes with makes for a nicer private game playing thanks to the headphone and mic socket on the controller. Overall experience with the PS4 has been positive.

Western Digital Elements drive, One TB, Pull-apart insides

Last night I pulled apart the Western Digital Elements portable 2.5" External hard drive.
This drive is quite light and easy to carry around. My new favorite in portability and relatively cheap.
I remember hauling a box full of floppies mid to late nineties, this elements drive is so much better!

Prying open the case was not too bad. Simple unplug the cable, gently expand one of the edges with a jewelers screwdriver flat head and then insert a larger flat head in the cavity and pry gently all around. Do not start at the cable end but on the side middle. Once the cover is poped on all sides, simple slide the cover up at the cable input and it should gently lift out with no damage.

I will discuss further after the images, but here they are(Click to enlarge):

Cover off. Drive still in bottom casing.

Drive out of bottom casing.

Cable end of the drive. You can see the Drive form factor for a 2.5 in is retained but is bonded to the disk controller that has a USB interface built into it.

Better view of the drive controller and USB interface circuit board at the bottom of the drive.

Put back together. The screwdriver is the smallest one I have and it is 13 cm in length.

The drive controller circuit board that is normally present on all Hard Disk Drives to control and communicate between the host and the drive mechanics also has a usb interface. It does not appear like you can simply purchase a 2.5" drive and put it in this casing. However at the low costs these things are, why would you want to! The drive is from their Western Digital Blue range.

The drive mounting screws have rubber around them that slides freely into the bottom half of the casing. This provides some cushion against shock and likely helps reduce vibrations from the drive filtering onto the surface the unit is in contact with. Other than that, the inside is fairly unremarkable.

This is an awesome drive and it is currently plugged into my NetGear R8000 Nighthawk wireless router so I can share files on any devices on my wireless network. I mostly put backup files on it however.

Enjoy, and remember, I pulled this apart so you don't have to!