Group items tagged

This article (by Emily Price) details a few interesting facts surrounding the social media giant 'Facebook', particularly around gaming. We are all familiar with social games, such as Mafia Wars and Farmville, and Facebook has been recently seeing most of their income from in-game advertisements and in-app purchases. Facebook has seen a 13% growth in gaming users since September 2011 (226 million - 251 million.) Facebook now has over 900 million users, and over 500 million users are utilizing Facebook via a mobile platform. Facebook says that games grow on the network in five different ways: App Center, Notifications, News Feed, Timeline, and games users have Bookmarked. 8 out of the 10 top iOS games have Facebook integrated, and the top two categories of games users play on Facebook are 'Simulation' and 'Games and Puzzles.' This relates to Portable Computing because Facebook has recently taken large steps to improve the user's mobile experience, understanding that most of their core audience is on smart devices. This relates to eLifestyle because we see these social networks like Facebook integrating gaming into the user's social feed, allowing them to spend more time on the site. This relates to Economics because as games become cheaper and more accesible, we see that most of the gaming market is taken by mobile games; no longer do we have to go to an electronics boutique to purchase a $60 triple-A game, when we can buy the $0.99 version of said game or another digitally. Mobile games are the consumer conscious choice because you get the most "bang for your buck." This relates to ICS20 because although most of us say that our time on Facebook is deteriorating, we still are entrenched in the social gaming environment; this is demonstrated by Facebook's 65 million user growth in 2012 alone.

Facebook is a website that is used by many users around the world. It is used to see others profiles and keep in touch with all your friends. Facebook usually has many games you can play with your friends like battleship and farmville. But now Facebook is thinking of having full games on the website. They want games to be easily accessible to buy. They want to start with games like Magicka, Dead Rising2, Saints Row3, etc. I think it is a great idea for Facebook because they can make a lot of money if they put popular games on the web. I personally would not buy them off Facebook because I prefer video games on a ps3 or xbox. It relates to the course because you need to program these games on the web for people to buy. As well, its on a social networking site which makes the games get purchased more often. 

This article is of interest to me because it explains what the best processor is for gaming. I have always loved playing video games and I am constantly on the computer but now I can do both. Learning about which processor is best for gaming is important and significant for someone who wants to play video games on the computer. Choosing the right processor is key to have the best gaming experience possible. This starts from choosing a processor that is in your price range, has powerful graphic features, but can also fulfill your needs of playing fast, at a high performance, and without it taking too much space on your hard drive. Overall, I have a better understanding about gaming on the computer and I hope to use this information to start to game on the computer in the most efficient and fastest way to play.

Think you're privacy settings in your social network accounts work? Think again. hundreds of third party applications may have gained access to your Facebook account, some of them are ones you never knew you installed.. This is what Leslie Canteris was shocked about when Sisler high school in Winnipeg had an exercise about online privacy. These third party apps can take anything from your Facebook account. Many Canadian students don't understand how to protect their privacy. They don't want to be tracked, but have no clue to avoid it. in fact, kids spend more time changing their privacy settings on their social networks more than adults. People should not use their real names when playing online games, and come up with tough passwords that are hard for outsiders to crack. I applaud Sisler high school for teaching their students about social media privacy. I think that more high schools should talk to its students about this issue since social media is a huge part of many peoples daily lives.

Angry Birds has become one of the most popular games for people of all ages to play while on the go, but if your someone who is a veteran player, and may be getting a bit tired of the same old basic mechanics, fear not, because there is a solution that requires a new skill for playing the game. This new creative and innovative answer to gamer's problems is a real slingshot that interfaces with the game over a USB connection. The slingshot is recognized by a PC as a mouse and the angle of the shot depends on how the player is holding the slingshot.  Also, the company has designed this USB compatible slingshot so the skills and tools are available to everyday people to go and build one themselves. All the components are widely available and relatively cheap to buy. In addition, mbed have released instructions and code for creating their prototype. I believe this is a interesting and intelligent way to attract more people to play Angry Birds and also an exciting creation to sustain the present gamers. This advancement enhances the overall experience of playing Angry Birds and this demonstrates how successful this game has become over the years and the attention it receives to maintain and increase it's high praise and recognition as a worldwide well-known computer game.

Facebook is now offering the option to disallow all applications from sharing and/or accessing your information. Currently, there is a lot of talk about privacy on the internet and how a lot of people don't like having advertisements and notifications shoved into their face every time they use social networking sites or play games.  Nowadays a lot of games have 'share' options built into them that allows you to share useless achievements such as how many cows you bought or how much wheat you need to feed them. This annoys many people who use social networking sites to just talk with friends and get up-to-date information from pages they liked.  The 'nuclear' option will allow people who do not want to be bothered by friends' status updates on games and also people who don't want applications to share what they are doing to others without them knowing or without their consent. This may cause many game developers to change tactics on how they want to attract users from sites such as Facebook because they don't want to risk getting blocked by everyone. 

This article talks about zombie apocalypse in an empty mall in Readings, U.K. The mall got an idea from the movie called Walking Dead. This mall has brought internet game into real life where people can fight against zombies for 4 hours for $189. this relates to our course because this shows the internet impact on culture that they are making internet game into real life game. Before, they didn't even care about games and they just played at home on their computer but now internet game became part of our culture. This relates to one of our lessons in our courses that talks about internet impact on culture. 

This article is about the app that has been #1 for the past months. Its Candy crush created by King Digital Entertainment. This game is a match-three puzzled video game that now is everywhere. Including the apple app store, google play store, facebook, pc and more. It is so popular that there are 46 million average monthly users and its worth $22.50 per share in the stock market. However, does this game deserve being one of the best game app? I think that it does deserve being one of the best games in mobile. There are similar popular games such as jewel mania but candy crush has bubbly colourful visuals, different storyline/goal for every set of levels, and it looks delicious. Also when you are stuck, you can ask your friends to help in social networks which i think helps the game to be known more. King is still installing new features and new levels to it. So I don't think this game will go away anytime soon especially with all the advertisement it's in and the popularity.

This article disuses how some people (mostly teens) have been getting "addicted" to facebook. In this article a girl named Newton (not her real name) says that "I can go a whole day without Facebook," she said. "But I've never made it through an entire weekend." Although there are no statistics on "Facebook addiction" -- it isn't an actual medical diagnosis therapists say they're seeing more and more people like Newton who've crossed the line from social networking to social dysfunction. "Last Friday, I had three clients in my office with Facebook problems," said Paula Pile, a marriage and family therapist in Greensboro, North Carolina. "It's turned into a compulsion -- a compulsion to dissociate from your real world and go live in the Facebook world." Facebook can lower social interaction among teens, as well as lower their study time, and family time. I think people shouldn't take facebook this seriously. I personally do not consider facebook as such an important thing in your life. Facebook is supposed to be used to check emails, stay in touch with your friends etc. Not to waste countless hours on games and other apps on facebook, just going through people's pictures and profiles. Instead there is so many other things to do with your life.

MindJolt, the game distribution company that was acquired by MySpace founder and former CEO Chris DeWolfe last year, has made two significant acquisitions in the gaming space today- game developer Social Gaming Network (SGN) and game network Hallpass Media. The acquisitions were first reported by the New York Times. Financial terms of the acquisitions were not disclosed.

What started out as a minor distraction is now an issue that parents are beginning to take notice of. Popular electronics are becoming more than just a form of entertainment, it is also believed to negatively affect a child's mental development. Since kids these days are relatively less active due to technology, this problem also affects the kids social skills, education, and physical health. Social networking sites such as Facebook are also a problem because parents worry that their kids may be too young to have an account on Facebook, Twitter, etc. and therefore, post inappropriate pictures or see posts that others post that is not suitable for kids.  Jim Steyer, the Common Sense Media founder, help parents better understand the new media by providing a review of video games, movies etc. This way, parents can gain insight  on the newest and popular video games, movies etc. The Common Sense Media website also provides suggestions on how to deal with children and teenagers when it comes to being too addicted to mobile technology. There is another popular method that is simple: ban you kid from using Facebook.

Love or hate gaming, this Sony advert properly captures the very essence of video games. It's about the experiences. It's about the memories. Video games allow a person to, even briefly, become someone else, and enter their life and see a different world. Link, Ghost, and Gordon Freeman all become part of a gamer's narrative with just as much consequence as Tom Sawyer or The Hardy Boys.

this article is about using your Apple iPhone or iTouch as an add-on to a new Hasbro Nerf Laser Tag game. i think its pretty genius using your iPhone or iTouch as your own screen, but i also think that they should be other types of laser tag "guns"

This article is about how you can plug in your iphone or ipod to plastic guns and play laser tag. You can get the app and it shows you where you hit your friend, what level you are etc. I think its good for this generation because teens these days enjoy playing shooting games and almost everyone loves lazer tag. I believe this is a great game that's coming out because I know I would want to play it, and its something fun to do with all your friends.  

This is an article that explains and acknowledges that evolution of the iPod. From the original iPod models, to the iPod shuffle, and now to the iPod touch, this Apple invention took everyone by surprise and through they years, it has made a historic mark in the world of technology. This evolution is impactful to our world because everyone at some time or another has owned or used some form of an iPod and despite its high price tag, this is nothing that stopped consumers to contribute to more than 220 million iPods sold, comprising over 70% of the market for all portable audio players. It is astonishing to see how far this one creation has come with each generation improving in memory, megapixels, features, ports, size, weight, and much more. The iPod is certainly a revolutionary piece of technology and hardware and as much contributions and success this device has made to the lives of many, it can only be assumed that another one is on it's way. The improvements and advancements to the external and internal design will present itself in various ways, that is sure to catch the eyes of millions of people worldwide, making another mark to the impact of the iPod. 

The Evolution of the iPod. This article talks about the numerous iPods sold throughout the past several  years. More than 220 million Ipods have been sold as of 2009. These iPods are always improving and changing size that seems to best suit people in many ways. Technology always has a huge impact on people and the way they  use things. These iPods have a social impact throughout and will continue to do so. Some people want an iPod that is strictly for music, and there are iPods for that. Whereas others would like more of a variety within, that's where the iPod touch is necessary. It contains a browser, email, camera, and Apps to play games on. 

I can not count how many times already that I have had something spoiled for me, be it a television series I have yet to watch, a book I have yet to buy and read, a movie still left to watch, or even a new music video for a certain Korean boy band that I follow and cry over. And all of these disgusting spoilers, that ruin my entertainment, come from the single source that is the Internet. I can't even innocently scroll through my dashboard on Tumblr to update my blog anymore without discovering five plot twists in which I have not yet been pleasantly surprised in, a death scene I least expected before it was my time to watch it, and maybe even a leaked practice video to a supposedly secret EXO comeback. Not only does this infuriate me to no end, but it also fuels the fires of my happiness in that someone created the "Spoiler Shield" app - a way to specifically block all of the spoilers you will find while going through your social media sites. Just simply input the subject you would not like to previously see before you invest the time to actually watch it, and the app will block all spoilers relating to it in real time so that going on your social media daily will never be a problem again. At last, I have found an app that will keep my eyes innocent to .gifs from Game of Thrones Season 4 so that I can now watch the show without it being ruined. The idea that this app will prevent me from stumbling over random spoilers greatly pleases me.

This article deals the idea that over the past 30 years people have become more dependent on social networking sites and video games.  The time spent on these websites have greatly increased because the have become more accessible to use and become portable through smart phones. I personally have noticed that people in class can't go 1 or 2 hours without pulling out there iphone and playing a game. People have become to misuse and overuse technology way more then ever before.

In this article, it states that the 2014 Sochi winter Olympics were the most tweeted and most mentioned moments, athletes and sports up to date. The most mentioned sports on twitter in order were ice hockey, curling, and figure skating while the most mentioned sport on Facebook in order was ice hockey, figure skating and bobsleigh. In all, 40 million Olympic-related tweets were sent during the games and 45 million different Facebook users were responsible for a combined 120 million posts, comments and likes on Facebook. twitter did break down the top moments on Twitter of the games was USA's win over Russia in men's ice hockey shootout was 72, 630 TPM  while Facebook created a video that showed the most popular sports in each country each day. Canada was mainly talking about Ice hockey with a little figure skating 

The Sennheiser is the most popular headset. This is because it has great audio, crystal clear voice quality, and is very comfortable. This headset is very convenient for video conferences and especially in gaming. I recommend that gamers who play online games that involve multiplayer such as fps should purchase this.  This is because it will really improve situations where someone can sneak behind you, and BOOM, you die. :(

Still think mobile gaming isn't a big deal? GameStop disagrees. Though they may not be as in-depth or graphically stimulating as console or PC-based games, but mobile games are accessible to everyone. My grandma can't play L.A. Noire, but she's beat every level of Angry Birds. So it only makes sense that GameStop has decided to put a couple new devices on its shelves: the iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

The author of this post, Whitson Gordon creates a External GPU mount so that your gaming experiences with a laptop can be improved. Basically(click link to website to see picture) he takes a full size GPU and connects it to the express card slot on the laptop, improving performance for a few hundred bucks. Downside? Its not very mobile. (Just get a desktop)