WordVania • 20th December 2022
Sony's Sales Pitch for PSVR2 has been Underwhelming
We're two months out from the launch of PlayStation VR 2 and Sony has some work to do. Well, they actually have a lot of work to do. The hefty price tag of $549 USD for the base model and $599 USD for the Horizon: Call of the Mountain bundle has been a point of concern amongst PlayStation fans since preorders went live in November. The technology behind the PSVR2 is a notable upgrade over the original released for the PlayStation 4 back in 2016. The new headset, exclusive to the PlayStation 5
WordVania • 23rd November 2022
All I Want for Christmas is a Honda e
I'm not much of a car guy but I have to say that the Honda e is the reason I went out and applied for my learner's permit recently. Wait, after 44 years of not driving, the Honda E made you want to get your license; you can't be serious? I had been mulling over the idea of going for my driver's license for years. I loved watching car shows like Top Gear and playing games like Gran Turismo and Forza. It's fun learning about the latest car technology and features. I get a kick out of racing the
Medium • 21st September 2022
Now is the Time for Microsoft to Release a Portable Xbox
Now is the Time for Microsoft to Release a Portable Xbox We're currently living through a portable gaming revolution. The Nintendo Switch philosophy of a console that can also be taken with you on the go has been adopted by many hardware manufacturers in recent years. There are a myriad of devices that now allow you to take your gaming on the go while also having the option to hook it up to your large screen TV at home. Many of the Chinese manufactured retro consoles from manufacturers such as
Medium • 13th September 2022
Analogue Pocket is on the Verge of Becoming One of the Best Handhelds Ever
Analogue Pocket is on the Verge of Becoming One of the Best Handhelds Ever The Analogue Pocket is set to become a portable FPGA powerhouse in the next few weeks. Developers in the FPGA community are hard at work on porting cores over from the successful Mister project and we've started to see their labours bare fruit. When firmware 1.1 released earlier this summer, it was accompanied by the launch of several third-party cores from mystery FPGA developer Spiritualized1997. Game Boy, Game Boy C
Medium • 7th September 2022
How an Apple AirTag May Have Saved My Father-In-Law's Life
How an Apple AirTag May Have Saved My Father-In-Law's Life My father-in-law, Alan, suffers from dementia and is prone to opening locked doors and leaving the house unexpectedly. On Saturday evening we discovered that my Al had gone missing. He left the house around 5:30pm and was last seen going south towards the lake on the west side of Toronto. For anyone who has had to take care of someone with dementia, you know this is one of the worst scenarios imaginable. A dementia sufferer has no con
Medium • 16th August 2022
Analogue Pocket: Firmware 1.1 — Even More FPGA Power in Your Pocket
Analogue Pocket: Firmware 1.1 — Even More FPGA Power in Your Pocket Late last year I received my Analogue Pocket and fell in love with it immediately. It's got a sleek form factor, a gorgeous screen and out of the box it can play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges. I shared my initial thoughts on the device back in early January:
Medium • 9th August 2022
A Robot Served Me Lunch
I have been frequenting my local Boston Pizza for years. For those not familiar with Boston Pizza, it's a chain restaurant in Canada that serves a wide array of pub food, pasta, and plenty of beer options. I don't think Boston has ever been known for its pizza, but the chain is successful, so I guess the name works. Over the years I had also become familiar with some of the staff who always…
Medium • 28th July 2022
I, For One, Welcome Our New AI Writing Overlords.
I, For One, Welcome Our New AI Writing Overlords. You've seen the articles here on Medium. AI writing is all the rave these days. Why put in the work yourself when you can just punch in a bunch of related keywords and just let the AI spit out a semi-coherent story for your readers to digest. I guess for some of you the prospect of handing off writing work to a machine learning algorithm is exciting. I'm not sure why. We got…
Surface Pro 8 as a Reading Tablet. NOPE!
My Experience With Surface Pro 8 as a Reading Tablet I set out on a subway trip earlier this week and decided to bring along my Surface Pro 8 so that I could read some comic books via Comixology on the go. It seemed like a great opportunity to test out my Surface as a tablet since its form factor is designed for that function. First, getting an Android app like Comixology up and running on my Surface Pro 8 was a little more…
Return of the CRT: A Gamer's Mid-Life Crisis
I remember getting rid of that old, bulky CRT television I had from the early-to-mid 2000s. It was a Sony Wega 20" and I got it on a payment plan from Future Shop. I loved that TV. But what I loved even more was kicking its giant and heavy ass to the curb in favor of a brand spanking new 2006 Sharp 37" HDTV. It weighed half as much and offered a larger, superior picture.
Tablets as an Impromptu Note Taking Solution Are Still Flawed
Tablets as an Impromptu Note Taking Solution Are Still Flawed Ever since I purchased my first iPad 12 years ago, I have been hooked on the form factor. As big as a sheet of paper, or smaller, these devices make media consumption on-the-go a breeze. They have gotten lighter, faster, and now have as much power as some laptop computers. Despite their evolution over the years, they haven't quite become the all-in-one…
Medium • 27th June 2022
Will iPadOS 16 Finally Make the iPad a Viable Work Machine?
Disclaimer: iPadOS 16 is currently in beta. Features may change and improvement may be made to the overall quality of the experience. Apple recently held their annual Worldwide Developer's Conference in Cupertino California where they revealed upcoming operating system updates for their flagship products.
Medium • 11th January 2022
Analogue Pocket — Was it Worth the Wait?
Analogue Pocket — Was it Worth the Wait? My Experience. Announced way back in October of 2019 before the world as we know it changed, the Analogue Pocket promised to deliver FPGA gaming into our eager hands in 2020. Well, it took them longer, a lot longer, to deliver. They did manage to secure preorders, with payment upfront, in August of 2020 and announced an expected release of May 2021, but even then, they needed eight extra months to finally…
Medium • 29th December 2021
What You Should Know About FPGA Retro Gaming
What You Should Know About FPGA Retro Gaming Retro gaming enthusiasts have been spoiled for content these past few years. From the rise of clone consoles from manufacturers like Retron and handhelds that can hold thousands of classic games from companies like Anbernic, retro gaming is as popular as ever. We have also seen the exploding popularity of retro-stylized new games from indie developers, some of which have even been released for classic consoles…
Gamers Are Angry About NFTs in Their Video Games
Gamers Are Angry About NFTs in Their Video Games Ownership of digital goods is something that I have struggled with ever since I bought my first piece of horse armor for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion way back on the Xbox 360. I remember purchasing it, more for curiosity's sake than anything else. I didn't need the horse armor but the concept of being able to add enhancements to games for a small fee was something I was excited to…
The Matrix: Awakens Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo is not Quite a Super Mario 64 Moment, but it's Close
The Matrix: Awakens Unreal Engine 5 Tech Demo is not Quite a Super Mario 64 Moment, but it's Close The last announcement at the 2021 Game Awards was the launch of the Matrix: Awakens, an Unreal Engine 5 tech demo set in a fictional city. From the little clips we saw during the show it looked like an impressive graphical presentation, but it didn't look like it had much going for it in terms of gameplay besides some…
Medium • 5th December 2021
iPad Mini 2021 (6th Generation) Review
A Little Background on my History with the iPad Mini Product Line I was an early adopter of the original iPad Mini back in November of 2012. The compact design juxtaposed with the not-so-compact screen size was a perfect match. It was sized to fit inside my coat pocket but large enough not to force me to squint when reading novels or comic books.
Medium • 2nd December 2021
iPad Pro as My Daily Work Machine– My Experience
iPad Pro as My Daily Work Machine– My Experience Apple lifted me up and then let me down. The form factor of the iPad is one that I have loved form the beginning. Back in April of 2010, when the first iPad was announced and released, there was a two-month delay before it would be released in Canada. That did not stop me however as I managed to snap one up off eBay at a reasonable price and it was in my hands a week after the US…