Well, Perhaps not EA Games themselves, but the CEO of Electronic Arts, John Riccitello, has had a lot to say at recent intervies, conventions, and stock holder meetings. Of note he has commented that he believes 3D does not appear to be in our near future.
While consumer electronics (TV) companies are quick to push this new technology on us, we don't seem to be buying it, and neither is he. It takes more than fancy whirligig to get and hold people's attention. It has to somehow enrich their lives, and that enrichment must be worth the money spent on it. With the high price tag of 3DTV sets, the fact that it causes eyestrain and headaches, and the novelty of there being no real content for it - many years could pass before the average consumer is duped into buying one. Especially since we just dolled out (in some cases entire) paychecks to buy an HDTV to replace a set that was working perfectly fine before the FCC pushed Digital Television down our throats.
Riccitello also made mention that he thought "Social Games" like the Sims are on the rise. Is it any wonder? More people are stuck inside the house working on computers and playing video games. Computers may be wired for that - but we are not. We need social interaction and word play to keep our minds and bodies sharp. Electronics baseball games may be fun for a bit, but there is nothing like the thrill of cracking a bat with a ball ourselves,' or at least sitting in a crowd of people watching someone else do it!
Another comment he made had to do with mobile gaming gaining ground. It seems that the iPad is the fastest moving platform for video games these days. Wull gee - I can recall the thrill of "mobile games" when I was young. I had this Mattell Electric Football game with a stadium shaped housing and a 9-yard screen. There were 6 buttons, and LED's that flashed across the screen. It didn't matter what line I was standing in, I wasn't as bored as the other people standing in line. Of course it was somewhat addicting, and I played it in places where I shouldn't. The Sunday school teacher didn't think it was quite as entertaining as I did when I scored a touchdown, and soon it disappeared. Nowdays, the iPad seems to be the Jeu de jour, and EA Games plans to be right on the top of that barrel, and we're not just talking Tetris (although that is one of them). Alice, Coconut Dodge, Shift 2, Transformers, Ultimate Mortal Combat 3 (the first one wasn't ultimate enough?) and Battlefield Bad Company 2 are just the beginning.
For more information on Electronics and Electronics Theory - follow this blog, and go to ElectronicsTheory.Com!
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
FCC Bullies YOU out of CASH!
A group of telephone companies, led by AT&T & Verizon, are asking the government to REDUCE FEES that THEY pay to have calls connected by smaller rural carriers.
In short - If a smaller (cheaper) carrier in, say Ipswitch, MO., decides they want to connect to AT&T so you can make your phone call in the burbs - Club Fed gets their piece of the action. Why? Simple - because they can.
Apparently, they get SO much of the action that the bigger cell phone companies are wanting to have it reduced. Of course, any fees they have to pay, they simply pass along to you - so why do they care? Because it forces them to charge you more money - and frankly, neither they, nor I, understand why this is even necessary.
Look, the Govt forced AT&T to break up due to "Monopoly" reasons, and now that they have, they are charging tax revenue every time your signal changes from one carrier to another, and those taxes are passed on to your monthly bill.
The request to lower (not eliminate completely) the charges amounts to as much as $8 Billion a year, which is only part of a group of suggestions they give for restructuring phone service to aid in getting us a better, faster phone and internet service not only in the major cities, but in the burbs as well.
I suggest that you email the FCC commissioners and tell them you back the phone companies in stopping the Taxes and saving you money:
For More information, or to learn about Electronics - visit ElectronicsTheory.Com
In short - If a smaller (cheaper) carrier in, say Ipswitch, MO., decides they want to connect to AT&T so you can make your phone call in the burbs - Club Fed gets their piece of the action. Why? Simple - because they can.
Apparently, they get SO much of the action that the bigger cell phone companies are wanting to have it reduced. Of course, any fees they have to pay, they simply pass along to you - so why do they care? Because it forces them to charge you more money - and frankly, neither they, nor I, understand why this is even necessary.
Look, the Govt forced AT&T to break up due to "Monopoly" reasons, and now that they have, they are charging tax revenue every time your signal changes from one carrier to another, and those taxes are passed on to your monthly bill.
The request to lower (not eliminate completely) the charges amounts to as much as $8 Billion a year, which is only part of a group of suggestions they give for restructuring phone service to aid in getting us a better, faster phone and internet service not only in the major cities, but in the burbs as well.
I suggest that you email the FCC commissioners and tell them you back the phone companies in stopping the Taxes and saving you money:
- Chairman Julius Genachowski: Julius.Genachowski@fcc.gov
- Commissioner Michael J. Copps: Michael.Copps@fcc.gov
- Commissioner Robert McDowell: Robert.McDowell@fcc.gov
- Commissioner Mignon Clyburn: Mignon.Clyburn@fcc.gov
For More information, or to learn about Electronics - visit ElectronicsTheory.Com
What OS do the SMART people use?
FERMI labs, CERN, and many other High Energy Laboratories across the world have a couple of things in common:
Recently release (2 days ago) is the new version 6.1 with more power and capabilities than ever! But you might be asking, "What exactly is Scientific Linux?"
Scientific Linux is an operating system - alternative to Windows or Mac OS, that you can put on YOUR computer. It is Linux based, which means that it has its roots in UNIX - an operating system made for mainframes!
Scientific Linux is specifically designed to handle the mathematics and scientific needs of those in the Physics, Engineering, Chemistry, and other high tech realms.
Of course, like any other version of linux, it has the ability of running programs like Open Office (a better alternative to Microsoft Office with more capabilities), Krita (leaves Photoshop in the DUST!),and many more FREE software packages that rival or excel anything you can find in the Windows world.
BTW- You can still run all your favorite beloved windows programs in windows under linux as a "Virtual Machine", so really you don't have to lose anything....
However - the strength of SL is that it is an RPM based (Red-Hat family) version of Linux designed specifically for the technical world. Whether you are a frequency coordinator that needs to do terrain mapping for frequency studies, a designer of nuclear reactors, or a college student wanting to get an edge on his fellow students both in and after college - then throw away windows - THIS is the Operating System for YOU!
For more information about computers and electronics in general, visit ElectronicsTheory.Com
- They have some of the smartest people in the world working there
- They use Scientific Linux
Recently release (2 days ago) is the new version 6.1 with more power and capabilities than ever! But you might be asking, "What exactly is Scientific Linux?"
Scientific Linux is an operating system - alternative to Windows or Mac OS, that you can put on YOUR computer. It is Linux based, which means that it has its roots in UNIX - an operating system made for mainframes!
Scientific Linux is specifically designed to handle the mathematics and scientific needs of those in the Physics, Engineering, Chemistry, and other high tech realms.
Of course, like any other version of linux, it has the ability of running programs like Open Office (a better alternative to Microsoft Office with more capabilities), Krita (leaves Photoshop in the DUST!),and many more FREE software packages that rival or excel anything you can find in the Windows world.
BTW- You can still run all your favorite beloved windows programs in windows under linux as a "Virtual Machine", so really you don't have to lose anything....
However - the strength of SL is that it is an RPM based (Red-Hat family) version of Linux designed specifically for the technical world. Whether you are a frequency coordinator that needs to do terrain mapping for frequency studies, a designer of nuclear reactors, or a college student wanting to get an edge on his fellow students both in and after college - then throw away windows - THIS is the Operating System for YOU!
For more information about computers and electronics in general, visit ElectronicsTheory.Com
Friday, July 29, 2011
Video Games - Play More Pay Less!
Thursday, Redbox announced that it is going to add video game rentals to an additional 5,000 of its highly visible kiosks beginning around August 1st.
Last month the company announced that game titles for the Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation will be added to 16,000 more redbox kiosks toward the end of June, and that the total should reach 27,000.
Mitch Lowe - company president made the statement, “More than 1.5 billion movie rentals and the positive consumer reaction to video games highlight the ongoing demand for physical media.”
Since all game titles carried in Redbox kiosks can be rented for $2 per night, it makes sense to "try before you buy" a game that can cost $40 and up. Also, for those who don't play the games often, but want them around for grandkids or holidays, renting is the perfect option!
Presently, Redbox owns and operates approximately 33,000 video rental kiosks across the nation, and the company made no indication of if or when video games would be added to the remaining 6,000 kiosks.
Joes Resnik, Vice President of video games at Redbox states, "Whether customers are playing a new game or genre, trying a game before they buy it or simply entertaining friends and family, they’re embracing the availability of games at Redbox."
Last month the company announced that game titles for the Wii, Xbox 360, and PlayStation will be added to 16,000 more redbox kiosks toward the end of June, and that the total should reach 27,000.
Mitch Lowe - company president made the statement, “More than 1.5 billion movie rentals and the positive consumer reaction to video games highlight the ongoing demand for physical media.”
Since all game titles carried in Redbox kiosks can be rented for $2 per night, it makes sense to "try before you buy" a game that can cost $40 and up. Also, for those who don't play the games often, but want them around for grandkids or holidays, renting is the perfect option!
Presently, Redbox owns and operates approximately 33,000 video rental kiosks across the nation, and the company made no indication of if or when video games would be added to the remaining 6,000 kiosks.
Joes Resnik, Vice President of video games at Redbox states, "Whether customers are playing a new game or genre, trying a game before they buy it or simply entertaining friends and family, they’re embracing the availability of games at Redbox."
Engineer Students Turn Genius - New finding shows Solar Panels Save Energy!
Somehow, our gene pool has gotten smarter, as they have recently discovered that Solar Panels, in addition to generating Electricity, have an extra benefit of cooling the house or workplace on which they are mounted!
Gee - anyone ever heard of a SHADE TREE?
A study conducted by a team at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, led by Jan Kleissal used thermal imaging to monitor the temperature of buildings. Apparently they found that that during daylight hours the ceiling of a building with solar panels was five degrees Fahrenheit (2.8 degrees Celsius) cooler than the ceiling of an equivalent building without solar panels.
So, we needed a group of Engineers to learn that it is cooler in the shade?
Remind me not to send my kid to UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering! I don't need some college professor and a lot of expensive test equipment to teach him what ought to be common sense.
Wait - even the test equipment wasn't that expensive, when you consider that you can buy a Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer with Laser Targeting from Harbor Freight for $40.
What the team really discovered is that the cooling effect of the solar panels decreased the building's total energy costs, which amounted to a 38 percent reduction in "annual cooling load". This of course, required 38% less cooling, smaller air conditioners needed, less electricity used, etc.
Ok, so something good came of it - they were able to put numbers to it, but so far what is missing is HOW MUCH less cooling is needed PER SQUARE FOOT of SOLAR PANEL.
But then, hey, I could do the same thing with a white tarp and for a lot less money than solar panels cost, right?
I'm not saying that their "study" is a total waste of time, but I think the students could gain more practical knowledge and experience by studying how to create MORE electricity using a satellite dish coated with chrome paint, focussed at a water pipe that turns a steam operated turbine generator!
Your Thoughts?
(To learn MORE about Electronics - go to ElectronicsTheory.Com
Gee - anyone ever heard of a SHADE TREE?
A study conducted by a team at the UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering, led by Jan Kleissal used thermal imaging to monitor the temperature of buildings. Apparently they found that that during daylight hours the ceiling of a building with solar panels was five degrees Fahrenheit (2.8 degrees Celsius) cooler than the ceiling of an equivalent building without solar panels.
So, we needed a group of Engineers to learn that it is cooler in the shade?
Remind me not to send my kid to UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering! I don't need some college professor and a lot of expensive test equipment to teach him what ought to be common sense.
Wait - even the test equipment wasn't that expensive, when you consider that you can buy a Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer with Laser Targeting from Harbor Freight for $40.
What the team really discovered is that the cooling effect of the solar panels decreased the building's total energy costs, which amounted to a 38 percent reduction in "annual cooling load". This of course, required 38% less cooling, smaller air conditioners needed, less electricity used, etc.
Ok, so something good came of it - they were able to put numbers to it, but so far what is missing is HOW MUCH less cooling is needed PER SQUARE FOOT of SOLAR PANEL.
But then, hey, I could do the same thing with a white tarp and for a lot less money than solar panels cost, right?
I'm not saying that their "study" is a total waste of time, but I think the students could gain more practical knowledge and experience by studying how to create MORE electricity using a satellite dish coated with chrome paint, focussed at a water pipe that turns a steam operated turbine generator!
Your Thoughts?
(To learn MORE about Electronics - go to ElectronicsTheory.Com
New Data Blows Huge Hole in Global Warming
On July 26, Dr. Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville and U.S. Science Team Leader for the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer flying on NASA’s Aqua satellite stated, “The satellite observations suggest there is much more energy lost to space during and after warming than the climate models show...There is a huge discrepancy between the data and the forecasts that is especially big over the oceans.”
In addition to finding that far less heat is being trapped than computer models predict, the NASA satellite data proves the atmosphere begins to shed heat into space long before United Nations computer models predicted.
In short we have a common computer issue here - garbage in, garbage out. The predictions were based on false science, so they give us faulty data in return.
On a personal note - I've always believed in pure science. Start with FACTS, make a theory based on the FACTS, then alter the theory when the FACTS prove the theory wrong... but this method would throw evolution out the window - along with the Big Bang theory (both proven scientifically unsound for various reasons) and the world being the flat center of the universe.
Fact: Carbon Monoxide is a HEAVIER than air gas (it sinks)
Fact: Freon (R12) is a HEAVIER than air gas (it sinks)
Can some one please explain to me how these two heavier than air gasses get into the upper atmosphere to eat the ozone and create a hole in the ozone layer to begin with?
Fact: Ozone protects us from the sun's radiation.
Fact: Ozone is created by electric arcs (natural or man-made)
Fact: Ozone is created in the upper atmosphere by the sun's rays ionizing portions of the upper atmosphere
Fact: The North Pole gets less sun.
Ergo - By NATURAL phenomena, there will ALWAYS be less ozone above the North Pole. If we truly thought it were a problem, we could create electric ark devices at the North Pole specifically designed to generate more ozone.
So why if this is scientifically sound would the rumor of Global Warming ever get started?
Fact: People (as a whole) are greedy.
Fact: People as a group, run like cattle when they are scared.
Fact: There is money to be made by hype.
Fact: The whole Ozone depletion global warming scare was created to generate profits for those who are willing to scare others into giving them cash.
Fact: There is political power to be gained as well - If you can scare enough people into believing you - you can get elected!
Learn More at ElectronicsTheory.Com
In addition to finding that far less heat is being trapped than computer models predict, the NASA satellite data proves the atmosphere begins to shed heat into space long before United Nations computer models predicted.
In short we have a common computer issue here - garbage in, garbage out. The predictions were based on false science, so they give us faulty data in return.
On a personal note - I've always believed in pure science. Start with FACTS, make a theory based on the FACTS, then alter the theory when the FACTS prove the theory wrong... but this method would throw evolution out the window - along with the Big Bang theory (both proven scientifically unsound for various reasons) and the world being the flat center of the universe.
Fact: Carbon Monoxide is a HEAVIER than air gas (it sinks)
Fact: Freon (R12) is a HEAVIER than air gas (it sinks)
Can some one please explain to me how these two heavier than air gasses get into the upper atmosphere to eat the ozone and create a hole in the ozone layer to begin with?
Fact: Ozone protects us from the sun's radiation.
Fact: Ozone is created by electric arcs (natural or man-made)
Fact: Ozone is created in the upper atmosphere by the sun's rays ionizing portions of the upper atmosphere
Fact: The North Pole gets less sun.
Ergo - By NATURAL phenomena, there will ALWAYS be less ozone above the North Pole. If we truly thought it were a problem, we could create electric ark devices at the North Pole specifically designed to generate more ozone.
So why if this is scientifically sound would the rumor of Global Warming ever get started?
Fact: People (as a whole) are greedy.
Fact: People as a group, run like cattle when they are scared.
Fact: There is money to be made by hype.
Fact: The whole Ozone depletion global warming scare was created to generate profits for those who are willing to scare others into giving them cash.
Fact: There is political power to be gained as well - If you can scare enough people into believing you - you can get elected!
Learn More at ElectronicsTheory.Com
NASA ORION Program: TCS Gets $1.8 Million in Contracts for Electronic Equipment and Engineering Services
TeleCommunication Systems, Inc. (TCS) , a world leader in communication equipment, announced today that it received contracts worth $1.8 million to supply electronic parts, engineering services, prohibited materials analysis, and more. These parts and services are expected to be delivered in 2011 in support of NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, that is scheduled to launch capability around 2017. What does this mean for you?
Mike Bristol, senior vice president and general manager of government solutions for TCS said,"The NASA Orion program demands a level of performance that is very difficult to attain...Our ability to provide highly individualized engineering and support services in a way that exceeds the most demanding expectations sets us apart. That commitment to excellence is what we bring to our client, to NASA, and to the future of manned space flight."
Learn More about Electronics at ElectronicsTheory.Com
- ) Buy Stock in TCS NOW
- ) They might be hiring!
- ) You might be able to sell them that highly technical do-dad.
Mike Bristol, senior vice president and general manager of government solutions for TCS said,"The NASA Orion program demands a level of performance that is very difficult to attain...Our ability to provide highly individualized engineering and support services in a way that exceeds the most demanding expectations sets us apart. That commitment to excellence is what we bring to our client, to NASA, and to the future of manned space flight."
Learn More about Electronics at ElectronicsTheory.Com
Thursday, July 28, 2011
EA Games makes a smart move - No 3D
At todays annual EA games meeting, one of the shareholders asked chief executive John Riccitiello what he thought about stereoscopic 3D games.
His reply:
“We have not seen a big uptake for 3D gaming,” Riccitiello responded. “We have not seen a big uptake in 3D TVs in the home. We are not here trying to drive a market. We are here to react to what consumers want.
It seems the TV industry isn't learning anything from the movie industry. TV manufacturers would love to sell 3D TV's at exorbitant prices, but strangly - the public isn't buying. Heck, they just had to shell out a month's wages for a new HDTV, and they expect that to last at least 3-5 years before they'll be willing to buy a newer technology.
Not to mention the problems of headaches and eyestrain that may NEVER be overcome. Let's face it - your eyes aren't meant to see through green and red (or horizontally and vertically) polarized filters.
I do own a couple of games with 3D technology myself, but frankly - they suck. The games are great - but the 3D leaves quite a bit to be desired on my 2D HDTV, even in 1080p. And I'm not sure I want to trade in my tremendous picture anytime soon for a new set that will guarantee I'll get more headaches.
Read more at http://www.electronicstheory.com
Your thoughts?