Gaming - Console or a PC?

I think about what the best gaming platform is from time to time, and the conclusion I come to is that all platforms have their strengths and weaknesses. Specifically, I'm referring to gaming consoles and computers.

Console Strengths

1. Portability - it's really easy to take one over to a friend's house and plug into their TV.
2. The platform - it's a set system that developers create the game for, so they have a big advantage knowing exactly what hardware the game will be run on.
3. Simplicity - you just pop a disc in and go. With digital downloads, you can just start the game without a disc. It doesn't get any easier than that. The only hiccup is the occasional patch.
4. Cool controllers - consoles do have really cool controls, though the Xbox controller can also be used on a PC.
5. Services - consoles today are media centers as much as game consoles. Netflix and Hulu are just as at home there as Halo and Uncharted. Select a service from the screen, sign in, and you're watching shows.
6.  Popularity - there are a lot of console gamers, so it's easy to find multiplayer matches in popular games, and there is a lot of diversity.
7. Price - consoles are almost always cheaper initially than a gaming PC. Depending on the PC, even after putting a couple years of money into services, they can still be cheaper.
8. Everyone has the same hardware - everyone is more even in multiplayer matches because they are basically using the same hardware that everyone else is, even if they buy aftermarket controllers.
9. Game styles - some games are just better on console than PC. In my opinion, Diablo 3 is much more fun to play on the console than the PC. I miss the mouse when it comes time to look in the inventory, but other than that, I'd much rather play it with the gamepad.

Gaming PC Strengths

1. DIY - you can build it how you want it. You can spend $500 or $3500.
2. Windows OS - some might see this as a con, but you can do anything with it because of the OS. You're not only using the proprietary console OS and stuck with its limitations.
3. Multi tasking - you can do more than just play a game at once on the PC. You can have multiple monitors and have a video going on one while you game on the other. That's pretty cool!
4. Voice chat - you have a plethora of options for voice chat, where the consoles limit users to their service. Also the voice chat services on PC are basically all free and high quality. The voice quality on Xbox Live and the PSN don't sound as good. This of course depends on your internet connection, too.
5.  Precision - this is just my opinion, but a mouse is more precise than a joystick. For me, it's much easier to play an FPS on a PC than a console.
6. Game types - some games just can't be played on a console because of the controller limitations. For example, Starcraft II, or most any point-and-click style of game.
7. Downloadable content - with stuff like Steam and Origin around, there is practically no need at all anymore to purchase a physical game disc. I kind of miss that, really. But in reality it's a strength. While consoles allow this as well, they are just now getting up to speed with day 1 downloads for popular games. Also, console hard drive space is much more limited than a computer's, though you can upgrade a PS3 and PS4 hard drive. As far as I know the Xbox 360 and Xbox One do not have this capability.
8. Power - PCs just plain have more power, unless you build a super cheap gaming rig ($500 range). Even then, they are typically more powerful than the current gen console that's out. Keep in mind they have to power Windows and background processes as well, though.
9. Graphics - if you can build a decent PC, let's say $600+, then you will most likely be seeing better graphics than what's on a console. Also, if you're playing on a monitor instead of a TV, you'll be seeing a sharper image, too. 1080p TVs are nice, but unless you have a really high quality TV, it's not going to be as sharp as a good monitor. You will typically give up size when using a monitor vs a TV, though.

I won't really go into cons. I think it's self-evident when looking at the strengths of each what the cons of the other are.

For me, it comes down to what games you want to play and how you want to play them. Lately, I'm really leaning towards consoles more because it's great to just turn on the console and the TV and start playing. Plus if you like that relaxed environment on the couch or Lazy Boy while gaming, that's really the way to go.

However, don't discount the ability to use the PC just like a console. If you use Steam as your major download platform, it has Big Picture mode that basically makes your PC function as a game console. I've tried it on my TV and it works great. You can basically build a dedicated game console for yourself by combining it with the Steam Big Picture mode. For the most part, you won't really need to use a keyboard and mouse, though there are some instances where it is still required. You can however shut down or restart your PC from the Steam Big Picture mode, which is really cool (and do it all with a controller).

In the end, while you can build a "Steam Box" and make it very console-like, it still feels somewhat hacked together and it isn't 100% controllable with a gamepad. This takes some of the fun out of it for me, as I'd really like to ditch the keyboard and mouse all together on a living room setup. Also, ditching the kb+mouse setup throws multi-tasking out the window as well, so it all depends on why you want to build a gaming PC in the first place - just for games, or to multi-task as well.

If anyone's on the fence about what to do, hopefully seeing the strengths of each setup will help someone make a decision.

-Xplaced

10 Clever ways to use Dropbox

I love Dropbox, and I found a good article with some really cool ways to use it. Here's the link:

http://lifehacker.com/5933884/top-10-clever-uses-for-dropbox

Dropbox can definitely save you some time and help you get files quickly from one PC to another. I especially like the LAN sync option. If only Google Drive would do some of that stuff, they would be a contender. Until then, Dropbox is where it is for me.

Quick Tip for Chrome - Fast Access to Downloads tab

If you're like me and you click more than use hot keys, here's a quick tip to use your Home button as a fast access to your Chrome browser's "Downloads" tab. Most folks don't have it enabled and are not using it anyway, so this is a good way to put it to use for myself, so I figured I would share it with others.

1. Open Chrome.
2. Click Settings (three lines in upper right corner).
3. Click the word "Settings".
4. Check "Show Home Button."
5. Click "Change" underneath that.
6. Select "Open this page" and enter:  chrome://downloads/
7. Click "OK" and close the settings window.

Now when you want quick access to your downloads page, click the Home button and it will show all your downloads.

The hot key to open "Downloads" is Ctrl + J for those who use the keyboard more.

Windows 8 - How I Feel About It

I've been using Windows 8 since before it was publicly released through our comany's ISV partnership with Microsoft. After using it for months now, I have some pros and cons I'd like to list about it. I'm writing these from the perspective of a desktop or laptop PC user (what I'd think are the typical users of a Windows OS).

Cons:

1. Mixing the modes. It was an insane idea to mix the new "Metro" mode with the regular desktop mode (Aero mode? I don't know what it's really called... I just call that "Windows" really). When installing, you should be able to choose one or the other and live in that mode, not live in both. It's confusing and they don't work well together.
2. "Apps" - again, this is the Metro side of things. I don't see the point in "Apps" on a desktop PC at all. The good old tried-and-true Windows desktop is the place to be still.
3. Apps go full screen when you use them. Really? Isn't the OS called WINDOWS? Why would you make all the programs run full screen!? Might as well rename the OS if you're gonna do that.
4. No Start Button! What! That's crazy. I've purchased Start8 for $5 so I have a button back. It's a real nightmare when logging into a remote PC that has Windows 8, where the little corner gestures are basically worthless. If you can't navigate a GUI with a mouse sucessfully, you need to redesign your GUI. I really hope MS learns from mistakes this time around and Windows 9 comes with a Start Button. Now, however, I don't really mind the new Start Screen that much. It's the lack of a button that I don't like, and Metro Apps that I don't like. The new Start Screen I don't think is half bad. More on that later.
5. Networking - I think this is messed up. Clicking the network icon in the system tray gives you some kind of funky new menu that really doesn't give you anything in the way of options. You can still right click the icon and get to the Network and Sharing Center, but it seems like a waste to me when you can't just simply click the icon and be presented with meaningful options.
6. Aero Glass being gone. I guess that's not a hard con, more of a "wish there was an option for it still" con. I'm cool with the new minimalistic look. But it just feels weird to remove something that was there in a previous version that worked OK... sort of like the Start Button!
7. Start Screen ordering is really, really bad. You have to stick to 2 columns because of their crappy "two tile" layout with some applications. Ordering things is more difficult than it should be. As a desktop user, or any user for that matter, I should be able to drag and drop a program shortcut wherever I want it to be on that screen and it should stay there. I shouldn't have to fiddle around with the locations of other icons to get the one icons I need to be in a spot to stay there.
8. Overall ease-of-use - there just isn't any. It's hard to use. That's a backwards step for users. It's wrong to make something so different that it alienates the users and they have to re-learn how to do simple things. Turning off the PC is one of those things. Asking someone to turn off the PC shouldn't be a hard thing to do. Also getting to things by going to the Start Screen should be easier. There's a LOT of wasted space on that screen, and I think it could have been put to good use by putting things like Control Panel links, Programs and Features (which should still be called "Add/Remove Programs, btw!) Network, and important things like that. I think there could have been a decent looking bar across the top of the screen where these things are found, but no. They just wasted all that space. It literally can't be used by anything.
9. The All Apps screen is harder to navigate than the regular classic start menu. That's a backwards step.
10. The Charms menu. What the heck? That crap needs to go.
11. Finally (I'll stop here), no ability to go "legacy" and have a Windows 7 look that disables the Metro interface. This kinda relates back to point 1.

Pros:

It's not without its pros. Here are a few I like.

1. File Copies - this is more meaningful and works well. You can pause copies, which is pretty cool. The More Details option and graphical readout for speed is pretty nice too.
2. Start Screen - I actually like the new start screen. I feel like it's useful and easier to quickly find and click a program on that screen versus the old Start Menu. I do still however think a button should be there for access to this screen (hence my addition of Start8). I simply set Start8 to be a button I click that flips over to the start screen instead of using it lick the old classic menu. I'm not a fan of 3rd party apps for basic OS operations and I typically want to run my PC as clean as possible, but the lack of a start button is just too crazy.
3. Snappiness - the OS seems snappier to me compared to Win 7. I can't quantify it, but I feel like it is more snappy. I also disable a lot of the visual hoopla that doesn't give me anything helpful, so that makes it feel all the more snappy to me.
4. The Ribbon Bar on the windows - I like that, and I have it showing all the time. The ability to hide it is good too. It's cool to be able to go to Computer and get to important stuff off that one screen, like Control Panel, Programs and Features, Manage, and System Properties. You can almost get to all you need from that one screen.
5. Start Screen icons don't do that weird "pop in" that desktop icons do. They layered it better so this is basically non-existent. I like that. The start screen is faster to load than the desktop as well.

Unfortunately the cons outweigh the pros to me. If you're comfortable with Windows 7, I see no reason at all to move to Windows 8. Win 7 will do whatever you need to do. If you want to upgrade and just like to experience new stuff (like me), then sure, give it a go. It takes a while to get used to the new Start Screen, but I think that I do like it more than the older menu. However the older menu did provide more in the way of "ease of use" compared to the new screen. Things like Control Panel were easy to get to just by clicking Start, and that's not the case anymore.

Overall I'd say stick with Windows 7 unless you just like having the latest stuff.

-Xplaced

Remote Desktop Crashing Randomly? Try this!

I've been running into a maddening Remote Desktop crash lately and it was really getting on my nerves. So I toyed around until I am 99% sure I discovered what was causing the crash, and a solution for it.

Thankfully for me it was pretty simple. I had to disable sound on the Remote Desktop tool. I also disabled sound on the remote PC by going into Sounds and for Windows Sounds, selecting "No Sounds" just to be safe.

For whatever reason, sound was instantly crashing my RDP sessions. If I ever run into this issue again in the future on other PCs, I will disable sound and see if that resolves it.

The way I found out it was sound was I was using a messenger client, and everytime I sent a message, it would instantly crash. I realized I had sound enabled for sending messages. So, so check it out further, I went to the sound icon in the lower right and slid the volume bar up. Sure enough, when I let go of it, the "ding" sound that was supposed to play didn't, and I immediately got a crash just like when I was sending messages.

Fortunately so far my RDP sessions are working properly again. I'm using Windows 8 on both boxes, so I don't know if that has something to do with it or not. Most likely yes, as I don't recall this issue when I was using Windows 7 or earlier.

-Xplaced