Video Game Review: Astro's Playroom

My grandson has been spending a lot of time at my house this week and whenever he shows up, he wants to play Astro's Playroom. He calls it the "Robot Game." He'll come down in my office, which is where I have my PlayStation 5 set up, and we will play for an hour before we are asked to come join the rest of the family. That is fine though as you really don't want to play video games for more than an hour a day.

Astro's Playroom is a game that comes installed on all PlayStation 5 consoles. When I first saw the game, it didn't interest me that much. I actually didn't want to play it until my grandson wanted to spend time with me and I knew it would be a fun and safe game for him. We tried it out a bit and he really likes most of the game. There are certain levels that are a bit too intense and he doesn't like them. He also gets bored of watching me fail on a number of the challenges. Overall though, we have a lot of fun.

One of the purposes of the game is to get PlayStation 5 owners familiar with the DualSense wireless controller. If you are familiar with the PlayStation 4's DualShock 4 wireless controller, it is the next step in the evolution of input. It has all the bells and whistles of the previous controller and also includes haptic feedback. That means you feel things like recoil in the triggers when firing a gun. It adds a new level of sensing to the gaming experience and needs to be felt to be understood. This brings us back to Astro's Playroom and how it shows you all of the features of the DualSense wireless controller.

I encourage everyone to run through the game just to see what the new platform is capable of doing. The game only took me about 5 or so hours to complete and that includes explaining things to my grandson. It has an ESRB rating of E for Everyone and truly is a game that everyone can play and will enjoy.

It is important that I let everyone know that I do work in research and development at Sony Interactive Entertainment, which is the company responsible for the PlayStation 5 console. The game is free and didn't cost me anything, nor will it cost you as long as you own a PS5.

Apple's Email Update for Big Sur Blows

Generally I am a fan of Apple products. This is not because they are technically better than the competition but because they have a more polished look and feel. When you buy something from Apple, it just feels easier to use. On occasion they make a mistake and that happened with the latest update of their operating system. They made certain things more complex than they need to be and it is painful. The latest update to their e-mail program is a prime example.

A few days ago I was going through my e-mail and accidentally deleted a message that I still needed. I opened my trash only to discover that it wasn't there. Wait a second, does this mean that all of the e-mails I deleted got permanently removed from my computer? That is bad as it is easy to delete a group of messages when you only want to delete a single one in the thread. This sent me on a search to solve the problem.

The first thing I did was check my e-mail preferences. I had everything set to copy deleted messages to the trash and then purge the trash of all messages older than a month. I also experimented with deleting a message and then undoing the action. As expected, the deleted message reappeared in my inbox. That means the e-mail program was storing them somewhere and I just needed to find out where.

My next source of help came from an Internet search. I had to go through a number of messages on Apple's support forum but eventually found the culprit. The engineers decided that people might have multiple e-mail accounts and so they created multiple trash bins. When I looked at the trash folder "On My Mac," it didn't contain a single message. I needed to locate the trash bin associated with my e-mail account. Normally I would expect it to show up along with all of the other folders on the left side of my e-mail program. It wasn't there and so I needed to add it. How do you do that? There is a search box on the upper right side of the e-mail program and I searched for "Trash." Sure enough I had 2 trash folders: one on my mac and the other for the domain name for my e-mail. I clicked on the account trash folder and it crashed the e-mail program.

I found the right trash folder but couldn't get to it without crashing my e-mail. I did find a solution though. I simply clicked the "+" icon next next to the "Favorites" section on the left of my e-mail and added "All Trash" to it. Now I have to click on "All Trash" which brings up my 2 trash folders and I can see all of the e-mail I have deleted in the past month.

I don't know why the software developers at Apple went out of their way to complicate something that should be so simple. I wouldn't expect this from a company that generally creates intuitive user interfaces. Apple, you failed me on this one.

Thanksgiving 2020

Today is Thanksgiving and I thought I would write a quick note. Normally I would be heading to bed early today so I could catch a flight to Japan tomorrow morning. Fortunately I just have to wake up early so I can go skiing. COVID-19 is keeping me from traveling and I can't say that I miss it much. Instead of having to be somewhere in person, I will attend my annual meetings virtually and I am truly thankful for that. Before this year, that was thought to be impossible.

For some, this has been a tragic year and it is tough to find things to be thankful for. I do miss a lot of things that we can't do because of the global pandemic but I also see a number of little things that are worth celebrating. Hopefully you can see them to. Happy Thanksgiving 2020!

Playing Video Games with a 3 Year Old

A few days ago my 3-year-old grandson came over and wanted to play video games with me. He loves cars and so I gave him a PS3 controller while I played a racing game on the PS4. He didn't know that he wasn't really controlling the car on the TV and enjoyed our short time together playing the game. I would tell him to hold one of the triggers down to make the car go faster. Then I would look at what he did and made sure to match his actions. We both cheered when we won the game and received a trophy for our accomplishment.

A few days later he came over and wanted to play a new game on the PS5. I sat him on my lap and gave him a 2nd controller while I controlled the game. Every so often I would tell him to press the square button and then matched his movement to coincide. The game requires the player to move the controller around and it makes me smile as my grandson mimics my actions. We gather coins and collected PlayStation artifacts in "Astro's Playroom." Since we play as a robot, my grandson calls it "the robot game." Now every time he comes over he wants to play the robot game.

"Astro's Playroom" is the free game included with all PlayStation 5 consoles. I have to say that I enjoy playing it with him. While I could easily finish the game, I wait for him to come over before trying new areas in the game. He is also getting pretty good at hitting the square button to punch the bad robots and pressing the X button to jump. I have to pay close attention to him but if I do it right, he really thinks he is playing. My favorite is when a bad robot jumps out and surprises him. He gets excited and squeals anxiously.

Unfortunately it won't take my grandson long to figure out he isn't controlling the video game and he will want to play for real. My hope is that I have given him enough training so that he will be able to pick up the game movements and not get frustrated. Until then we are having fun playing games together and plan to do a lot of that during the Thanksgiving holiday. I imagine he will take over and be better than me by Christmas.

PS5 is Cheap Compared to Skiing

My youngest daughter is a ski instructor at Alta Ski Resort here in Utah. Before lunch I talked with her a bit and she looked into how much she makes per lesson compared with how much the resort makes. It is important this season as there won't be group lessons because of COVID-19. That means she will be giving private lessons all winter long. For an all-day private lesson, Alta Ski School charges $700. Let's not worry about how much of that my daughter will see (not much, if you are wondering). That figure startled her as it did me. I decided that if I was just getting into skiing, I couldn't afford it.

That $700 figure doesn't include ski equipment rentals, lift tickets, or food. So basically, if you need help learning how to ski, plan on dropping $1000 for a single day of skiing. All I can say is, "Wow!"

Now Alta is known as a relatively inexpensive place to ski. When I was in college, I liked Alta because a lift ticket cost so much less than other resorts in the area. Naturally my daughter and I became curious and looked at how much private lessons are at Park City. You can plan on dropping $900 there. We also looked at the most expensive resort in Utah and that is Deer Valley. During peak season, expect to spend over $1100 for private lessons there.

When the PlayStation 5 price was announced, I thought it a bit pricey. Now I realize that I can afford to play video games a lot easier than I can afford to go skiing. For the price of one day of skiing, I can get a PS5 and an XBox Series X. The only problem is finding a store with the new video game consoles.

The Right Size 4K Monitor

When I got my latest computer a few months ago, I made sure to pick up a 4K monitor. I started with a 27-inch one and quickly discovered that I couldn't really use all the pixels. I had to scale up the display or sit really close to the monitor with my reading glasses. That isn't very practical and so I looked for a new one. 

Instead of spending a lot of money, I purchased an inexpensive 4K 43-inch TV from Walmart.com for less than $200. My son makes fun of me because he thinks the quality of the image is not that great. For how I use my computer, it is perfect for me. I would not recommend this solution for someone doing extensive photo editing or creating scenic videos. But if you spend most of your time reading e-mail and surfing the web, it does a great job. 

The important thing is getting the right size. With almost 4,000 horizontal pixels (3840 actually) and 2160 vertical pixels, it is the equivalent of 4-1080p monitors stacked next to each other. It is a huge improvement of the 2-1080p monitors I had before it.

So remember when you go to get a 4K monitor, it isn't the number of pixels that is important, it is the size of those pixels. If the monitor is too small, you have to sit too close. If it is too large, it might not fit on your desk. My personal opinion is that 43-inches is about perfect for 4K.

Getting My PlayStation 5

Yesterday I received my PlayStation 5 at 10:10am thanks to next-day service from UPS. I have to say that it was a bitter-sweet moment. I am happy to have the latest generation video game console but I also see all of the problems people are going through to try and get one. I had a neighbor text me asking if I had a way of working magic so he could help his boss get one. I had to respond that I couldn't help my sons get any. I even tried.

My oldest son found out that Walmart would be making stock available throughout the day at specific times. In an effort to help him get one, I logged onto the Walmart site at 3 different times. On multiple occasions I got a PS5 in the shopping cart only to have them all sold out before I could finish paying for the device. I found the experience disappointing.

Today my youngest son wanted to log into my PS5 and remote play it. I have several new games loaded on my PS5 and told him to give one of them a try. He has been eagerly anticipating the new Spider-Man and really wanted to give it a go. Unfortunately his wife has made him promise he won't play it until he finishes his first semester of grad school. He did get a kick out playing with the new user interface (UI) all the way in Ohio while the physical machine is located with me in Utah.

For those that have yet to purchase the PlayStation 5, all I can say is that Sony is working hard to make more stock available as quickly as possible. While I work for the company I don't have any insight into how many units are being produced nor which stores have stock available right now. The only reason I have my console is that the company set aside enough units so that the employees could get them on day 1 if they wished. I sincerely appreciate that they did that for us.

Smartphone Camera to the Rescue

Tomorrow the PlayStation 5 will be made available in the United States and I will slowly start migrating all of my game play from the PS4 to the PS5. The PlayStation VR will work with the PS5 but you need an adapter. It is free but you must to request it from Sony. I went through that process this afternoon and discovered I required the serial number of the PSVR. The website does a great job explaining where it is and so I pulled out my reading glasses and headed to get the information.

Unfortunately the older I get, the worse my vision becomes. While I used to be able to read such tiny writing there is no way I could make out the serial numbers even with my glasses. Fortunately I had my phone with me and so I just took a picture of those tiny little numbers on the back of the PSVR control box. Then I zoomed in on the picture and could easily read the numbers. Now my adapter is on the way.

When phones first started getting cameras I thought they were a joke and wouldn't really be that useful. Then I started taking more pictures of spectacular sites simply because I have a camera with me all the time. Now the camera is my go-to device when I need to fill out warranty cards and other services that require serial numbers. Manufacturers always seem to hide them in difficult-to-read places. Just grabbing my phone and snapping a picture is so much easier. No need to hunt down a pen and paper to write the number down. Then when I am done with the picture, I can delete the photo.

Avoiding Internet Scams

Back in August my daughter sent me a link to an inflatable stand-up paddleboard (SUP) website that had a steep discount for outdoors enthusiasts. The site listed the retail price for the boards as being around $400 and my price would be around $70. I should have remembered that anything too good to be true usually is. I figured at that price, I should get 2 and so I did. I rationalized that even if it was a scam (it was) that I could afford to lose $140. In hindsight, I really should be more discriminating as I really don't want to lose $140.

After paying for the 2 paddleboards, I immediately got an e-mail from American Express saying that I purchased from a vendor that uses "SafeKey" and I am extra protected when shopping online. That sent a red flag as I do a lot of shopping online and have never received a similar message. If I ever see an e-mail like that again, I will know I am about to get scamed and take some of the cautions I am about to share with you. I have also told American Express that I think their message about SafeKey is a load of garbage and I don't trust it at all.

I received several messages from the paddleboard vendor about what I purchased and received shipping confirmation. Unfortunately the confirmation didn't match what I expected. When I made the online purchase I could only select shipping from DHL. When I looked up the shipment on DHL, they had no record of it. The shipping confirmation I received came from the Chinese postal service. By this point I knew I had been scamed and saved all e-mails.

I figured it was a scam early in the process as I told my oldest son I got a great deal on some paddleboards. When he looked at the manufacturer's site, he saw a retail price of $600. I looked at it and saw that it looked exactly like the site I used to order from but it also contained a warning about not to purchase $70 paddleboards as it was a scam. The difference in web address of the fake site and the real sight was very subtle and required careful reading. Naturally I called my credit card company (American Express) and immediately disputed the charge. I also put a block on the company so they cannot charge my credit card again for the next 4 years.

One of the e-mails I got early in the process told me that my credit card would be charged by Laycouture of Toledo. Interestingly enough, DON'T ever buy anything from them either. They have a website that appears to be selling women's underwear. Not lingerie but actual every-day underwear. When you click on any of the links though, they don't work and that is a huge red flag. The site looks very professional though as did the place I bought the paddleboards from.

About 2 weeks later I got a small package in the mail from China. It contained a set of Apple AirPods. I hate AirPods as they don't fit my ears and I think they are plain awful. Remember I do work for Sony and may be a bit biased. In any event, I had no idea who sent them. They could have been a birthday gift as they arrived just before that special day. I had also recently purchased an Apple Mac computer and AirPods were being sent as a gift for free. Ultimately it turns out that the fake paddleboard company had sent them so that when I disputed the charge to my credit card company, they had a record of me receiving something from them. It wasn't what I ordered but I did actually receive something. In hindsight I should have taken a picture as evidence. Instead I had my daughter sell them. If this happens to you, take a picture of the address label and what came in the box. Fortunately the US postal service has a record that they delivered the package into my mailbox. There is no way that 2 inflatable stand-up paddleboards that each weight 17.5 pounds will fit into my mailbox with paddles and a floor pump. So I had to document that.

Ultimately I have to document all of this with my credit card company and provide them the documentation saying that I did not receive what I purchased. I am still waiting to hear back from them as to whether or not I gave enough evidence of fraud. American Express has treated me well in the past and so I have no reason to believe I will have to pay the $140.

Always remember if something is too good of a deal, beware. The fake paddleboard company did an excellent job of making a believable website. It looked exactly like the real manufacturer's and I fell for it. Hopefully you can learn from my experience and avoid something like it in the future.