PlayStation 4 Announcement

This afternoon I huddled around a coworker's desk and watched Sony Computer Entertainment's launch of the PlayStation 4. We kind of assumed that is what the announcement would be but weren't quite sure. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. There were three major things missing from the announcement though:

1. When it will be available for purchase?
2. What it looks like?
3. How much it will cost?

Otherwise, it was nice to see the announcement. Some things we did find out are:

1. The new console is actually called a PlayStation 4 and not some other name like Orbis.
2. The CPU and GPU are on the same chip, creating a really impressive piece of hardware with almost 2 TeraFLOPS or 2 trillion floating point operations per second of processing power.
3. The CPU is Intel x86 based.
4. The Dual-Shock 4 controller was shown and is similar to the existing controller but with the addition of a touch pad, headphone jack, and a few other enhancement goodies.
5. You will be able to play PlayStation 1, 2, & 3 games on it (using Sony's cloud gaming service)
6. You will be able to play PS4 games on your PlayStation Vita (again using Sony's cloud gaming service)
7. You will be able to use other devices like your phone or tablet to play your PS4 games (again using Sony's cloud gaming service).
8. The graphics are truly next-generation.
9. There are a number of features that will make it easier to play games with friends.

Sony also kept hinting that there will be a number of announcements throughout the year. We will probably see more at the Game Developer's Conference this Spring and then additional follow-up at E3 in the Summer.

If I was going to guess at a release date, I would hope Sony could get it to us before Christmas. If that is the case, then I know what I want in my stocking this year. I guess I better start being good right now.

New Video Game Consoles

Tomorrow Sony PlayStation is expected to make a big announcement. The general consensus is that it will be regarding their new console unit which theoretically will be called the PlayStation 4. This brings up the question regarding if we need a new console or not. Both Microsoft and Sony seem to think we do as do a lot of industry experts. According to some, the PS3 and XBox 360 are over half a decade old and a new console will reignite the industry. Others think phones and tablets are the new gaming platform.

I think it all boils down to content. If you can create a compelling game on a basic console, then there is no reason buy an expensive next generation one. Sony sold a great many PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles because of a number of great games. Microsoft did the same for the Xbox and Xbox 360 simply because of Halo and a few other exclusive games. Publishers like EA and Activision don't care which console you own and create games for both. That is a lot of content.

With next generation tablets and smartphones, it is only a matter of time before they become powerful enough to play current console games. So what can the console creators do to make their products more compelling than the tablet and phone manufacturers? Perhaps we will find out tomorrow.

Income Tax Time Again

Last night I sat down to start preparing my income tax filing for 2012 as it is that time of year again. Last year I had them done in January. This year the IRS decided to hold off on processing any tax filings before January 31st. I know that Congress could have thrown some last-minute changes at them, but secretly I think they just need an excuse to hold onto my money for a little longer. Every year I get a sizable refund because of all my allowed deductions. I would decrease the amount withheld from my paycheck, but the moment I do that, Congress is going to eliminate all of my deductions and I will get hit with penalties. It is better to receive than to owe.

I have used TurboTax for the past 5 years and so I fired up my old Windows XP computer to begin the process. The computer normally boots into Linux except for the once-a-year task of doing my taxes. Naturally it took ages for the computer to boot. Once it did boot, everything ran so slowly, it was almost unusable. After about 30 minutes of waiting, I decided I would install the Mac version on the Mac-Mini used by my kids. I did an online purchase and immediately downloaded the software. When I went to run TurboTax, it told me my computer was too old. You see, my Mac-Mini uses an Intel Duo, which is only a 32-bit processor. I need an Intel Duo 2, which is a 64-bit processor. Meanwhile the abacus running Windows XP in the basement is a perfectly acceptable computer according to Intuit, the makers of TurboTax.

I have a number of Mac computers perfectly capable of running TurboTax and so I will have to install it on one of them. I wish I had known all of that before wasting an hour of my life last night. You may be wondering why I just don't use the online version of TurboTax as it would have made my life a lot easier. That's easy as I don't trust anyone with my financial data. That is why I use an old computer that only gets turned on once a year. There is no possible chance a hacker can get at that data without physically coming into my house. Yes I am probably a bit paranoid.

Another Apple Mistake

I think Steve Jobs would die he wasn't already dead and if he knew what his successors were doing to his company. I used to be a big fan of Apple and their products. That is changing at an alarming rate. This last week was the crowning moment that has me avoiding everything and anything to do with Apple. I even had a pear for breakfast this morning instead of the usual red fruit.

Last week I was in a meeting when a coworker walked in and asked me to try and log into our company's virtual private network or VPN. While other coworkers could accomplish the task on their Window's-based laptops, I couldn't on my Mac. I logged a support ticket with our IT's help desk. They got back to me and said that Apple turned off Java. Our IT department had a workaround that solved the problem but it left me with a few questions.

I did a quick search on the Internet and discovered that the Department of Homeland Security sent out a warning that running Java in your browser could open you up to potential security threats. Apple then decided to turn off Java running in browsers on every Mac computer connected to the Internet. My first question is: How did they do that? A good second question is: If Apple could screw up my computer, doesn't that mean someone else could? If I was an unscrupulous hacker and found out about Apple's little trick, I would be looking for a way to exploit it.

Frankly it scares me knowing that a company can reach into my computer and make modifications without my consent. While I have been happy with Apple in the past, I'm not any more. It is time to start looking for another laptop, tablet, and phone supplier. At least it gives me something to write about.