E3 2023 Canceled... but does it matter anymore?

E3... E3, if you haven't heard by now, it's canceled... again! Does it matter though?

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) didn't have to let it go this route, they could have... and technically still could do a digital presentation (but they aren't). Did they wait to the point that people are now shrugging off the legendary Superbowl of video game events? I believe so.

Waiting around wasn't going to present them to emerging audiences, and more adults are hanging up their headsets more often because of time constraints (although we're challenging some to just try different games). Those who may have wanted to see them come back, they've begun enjoying other video game presentations. 

Is it all on them? Not at all, when you consider major publishers like Nintendo, Sony, Sega, Microsoft, Ubisoft, and Tencent reportedly withdrawing, but... you don't back down if E3 is something you want to happen. You double down, and fill those freaking slots!

Again, E3 could have gone digital this year, and these companies aren't the only ones around (duh of the day), but the ESA has to be willing to stand with Indie and other lesser-known companies. Look at Devolver Digital, I salute them because they aren't just crossing their fingers during the traditional game expo window, they're going in with a middle finger up + all their craziness. The ESA can learn a thing or two from them. 

I'm also disappointed because it's another year that opportunities are stripped from those who could've worked the event or done the work to deliver a digital showcase. It also is one less place where other developers and publishers were able to get shine. I don't know what they'll do for the sake of bouncing back, but if it gives the ESA solace... no one that's interested in game expos will just turn away E3.

Support us below!

Save BIG on fun & trips!

Microsoft tried to do what?!

Microsoft is already shaking things up in the area of acquisitions, but damn, did Microsoft really try to get Xbox Game Pass on Playstation?! Based on the tweet from Tom Warren, it appears so. Haha Aww man, you have to have a real set on you to even attempt to put your game platform on another company's platform.

Tom didn't just stop there. He's basically saying is Sony focused on maximizing its profits by minimizing the newly released game options on, Playstation Plus. The gloves are coming off, but it might be a good thing for Playstation fans. Let's say this is true, Sony might increase the options you have to play just to avoid slack from fans.

"I think he's calling this out for Xbox's benefit, not Playstation fans. As long as the fans win... it's fine, but I think Tom mentioned this to point out what Sony might be doing to turn fans off and potentially turn (at least some of) them in the direction of Xbox. PC fans are the biggest winners if you think about it." - Blu

Support us below!

Is the Surface Laptop Go 2... Worth the Buy?

 

While working on a pending project... I got a little sidetracked eyeing the Surface Laptop Go 2. The first version turned my head, but what features do the Surface Laptop Go 2 have that make it worth the purchase?

Let's jump in.

Before I speak on anything else, I have to point out the fact that the laptop has a 12.4" PixelSense touchscreen... which isn't the biggest. So if you were looking for a bigger laptop... keep looking, but... if you were looking for a laptop on the smaller side... this will likely be the smallest quality option you will find. By the way, even if I own other laptops, a well-equipped smaller laptop wouldn't turn me off if it has specific factors I'm looking for. I'm not always in the mood to handle a larger laptop... and I know a number of people in that boat... and one of the perks of this laptop is that it only weighs in at 2.48 pounds... making it the lightest surface laptop thus far.

The Surface Laptop Go 2 comes in Platinum, Sage, Ice Blue, and Sandstone. Platinum has more of a professional touch in my opinion, but the Sage + Sandstone models look nice also. The Ice Blue is... cool (and blue is my favorite color), but... I would love to see this one in a different shade of blue.

This laptop features a full-size keyboard and rocks a 10-point multi-touch screen. 

Before I forget: The 12.4" PixelSense display has the same resolution of 1536 x 1024 (148ppi) screen... as the original Laptop Go.

One thing I'm not crazy about with the entry model... is the RAM and the memory (yikes). 4GB? That's a no-no, I think they all should be 8GB to give the actual laptop justice and bump the storage up on the others. 128GB SSD comes with the entry and mid-range models. 256GB SSD could be for the mid with more for the higher end. I know that some of you don't use as much storage as some of us so aim towards your needs (I can use up 128GB within a few hours). Looking at the price, I'd say if you plan to get your hands on this at all... grab the mid-range at least but it's only $50 less than the best model sooo... consider the best option.

By the way, Microsoft showcases Xbox Game Pass on this laptop, but... that would only make sense with the games playable with lower specs or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate which gives you the ability to play from the cloud. I mention this for the parents who may see the games and assume this is a gaming laptop.

For Artists:

I would say that the Surface Laptop Go 2 is also a missed opportunity for artists who want a 2-in-1 for drawing... but that's a segue into getting a Surface Go 3 (if you don't mind the keyboard attachment cover). I was just thinking of the Surface Laptop Go 2's best model at least having the ability to be folded back so that it can be drawn on. It's light, you can use it as a laptop, and it could've been an awesome drawing tablet alternative that you could fold back and use a Microsoft Surface Pen on. It's easy to shrug that off though... because you can get the Surface Go 3 with 8GB RAM + 128GB SSD for less than the entry Surface Laptop Go 2. The entry for the SG3 is $399.99, adding a keyboard attachment/cover would still land you at about $70 less (though you're looking at 4GB RAM + 64GB eMMC storage).

You can always connect an external drawing tablet, but... I'd suggest the Surface Go 3 for artists, while those looking for a small(er than average) laptop to consider the Surface Laptop Go 2.

Additional specs are as follows:

One Touch sign-in w/ Finger Print Power Button (excluding the base model)
Quad Core 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7 Processor 2.42 - 4.2GHz
Firmware TPM 2.0 (for security purposes... like with Bitlocker)
Windows 11 Home
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 1-month trial (cloud gaming, but don't forget your controller)
Ambient light sensor
1 USB-C port
1 USB-A port
3.5mm headphone jack
1 Surface Connect port (for your charger and Surface Dock connection)
720p HD f2.0 camera (front-facing)... though the best version should've been 1080p
Dual far-field Studio Mics
Omnisonic Speakers with Dolby Audio Premium: I haven't had the opportunity to sit down and experience the Omnisonic speaker like that... so I can't really tell you where they land on the cool point meter, but they're utilizing Dolby Audio Premium. Dolby Audio Premium delivers a virtual surround sound experience... so if these speakers deliver in quality... the software will do the rest.
WiFi 6
Bluetooth 5.1
Battery life (up to) 13.5 hours

I personally wouldn't drop the coin on the Surface Laptop Go 2... but if I did, I'd go for the best version. That said, realistically, it doesn't have what I'm looking for... and I wouldn't want it to collect dust because of that. If I had a specific project that required me to travel frequently, I'd add this to a comparison list... but I think the specs would lose out to the competition (even under the same brand).

Support us below!

Laptop Cellphone Side Clip

I don't buy the apology... 343 Industries!

This is the problem when you create Federal holidays for certain things, companies try to commercialize them... and things like this also happen (racism is still a problem in the industry). 343 apologizes after naming a Juneteenth nameplate palette... bonobo (which is an ape). 

I look at the apology like this... so Halo Infinite, which is space-based... happens to find a small spot to apply "Bonobo" for something related directly to Juneteenth after all this time of never slipping up with a file name? If it smells like crap, it has to be crap. I suspect that someone had it named that way and either planned to let it be released under "Bonobo" or they forgot to change the name while enjoying some undercover racism.

Before I move forward, I have to give credit where credit is due. Smissmass from Reddit caught this before they made the name change. I'd prefer for them to remove the Juneteenth nameplate palette from the game completely anyway, and I also think that the person responsible needs to be punished accordingly. Juneteenth isn't a game.

Support us below!

Up to 63% Off!

Got a $100 for the Xbox Series X Mini Fridge?

When you think about it, this is a mini-fridge, you can get them... anywhere. Then you get a huge smile on your face over the fact that it's a freaking Xbox Series X Mini Fridge, like... heck yeah, Happy Thanksahallowishmas to me if there were ever such a holiday!

The Pre-Order window is almost here... literally, you can start pre-ordering on Oct. 19 (2021) and I doubt the window will be open long because you can only manufacture so many for the holiday window. I don't know how long these things will be in production, so if it's something you will end up kicking yourself in the butt about for not jumping on when you get the chance... pre-order when it's go time. Collectors will certainly want to snatch one of these up, just make sure no one opens it up. 

I hope the mass buyers sit this one out... because they've certainly gotten in the way of pre-order opportunities for a number of people all in the name of greed. Take 5, sit down, take a nap, forget about the pre-order window if you intend is to buy as many as you can in order to make someone pay you more than $100. Anyway, if you get one... enjoy your mini-fridge when you get it and... game on!

I know it's a fridge, I know this, but... I would've loved to see some USB-C outlets on this thing or something or have the top of the fridge be a wireless charging station.

Support us below!

Microsoft Surface Laptop Go... pen compatibility?

Surface Laptop Go is Microsoft's budget-friendly Surface option. It rocks a 12.4" touchscreen display, comes in at a lightweight of 2.45 pounds, full-size keyboard + good size precision trackpad (watch those palms) and... all the etceteras you see below:

720p HD camera
Fingerprint Power Button
One Touch sign-in on select models
USB-C + USB-A ports
Surface Connect (which could've been the more cost-friendly Thunderbolt 3 or something)
Headphone jack
1536 X 1024 (148 PPI)
3:2 Aspect Ratio
10 point multi-touch
4GB or 8GB LPDDR4x RAM
10th Gen Intel Core i5-1035G1 Processor
13 hour max battery life
Intel UHD Graphics
eMMC: 64GB + SSD: 128GB or 256GB storage
Dual far-field Studio Mics
Omnisonic Speakers w/ Dolby Audio
Bluetooth 5.0
Aluminum top + Polycarbonate base

1 Year Limited Warranty

In the box you get the (Duh of the day) Surface Laptop Go, 39W Power Supply, Quick Start Guide,
and documents for Safety + Warranty.

What you don't see is a (dun dun dun)... a pen, but is it compatible? That's what I was wondering when I initially saw the Surface Laptop Go reveal, so I did some digging and came across this road to nowhere (I'll come back to this).

There are 3 different options for the Surface Laptop Go, starting at $549.99 w/ the best specs chilling out in the $899.99 option. You would think that $899.99 would come with a little something extra outside of the ram and storage increase, but... from what I've seen... there isn't.

Now we're back at that... road to nowhere. Maybe it's just me, but where in this video do you see products specific to the... Surface Laptop Go?

It's annoying when companies come out with products and will not go that extra mile to spell out what's actually compatible with that product. How helpful would it be for Sony to release the Playstation 5 and list accessories for past gens in a link meant to be for the PS5? Imagine the good intentions of your parent(s), significant other, friends, or whoever...  resulting in a gift that's not compatible... that would suck for the both of you. 

Just to be clear, this isn't a company vs company comparison, that was only an example of incompatible products. The person in charge of what's presented on Microsoft's site... has to get it together. Microsoft isn't the only company guilty of this, I've had a similar problem with HP. 

It's not that hard, spell out what's compatible with your product... don't even have a link labeled "Shop Surface Laptop Go Accessories" only to have everything else for everything else tucked in there. WTF? If there aren't many compatible products, list the compatible ones on the same page as the product... that's a win-win.

Overall, I don't know anyone signing up to buy something knowing that it will end in disappointment. Money isn't as easy to come by for a lot of people, especially right now... so it's imperative to spell things out or you may find that your potential customers are going elsewhere to buy a similar product that delivered. Your product probably delivered too, but who knows that it actually delivers if you don't showcase it?

Going back to the specs, I don't think that this product is compatible with a pen... because they don't list that the product is Pen enabled (unlike the Surface Laptop 3). This doesn't mean you can't buy a drawing tablet to connect to the Surface Laptop Go in order to do your thing, but... it's safe to assume that you'd be wasting your money on a Pen thinking it will work with this product. 

Doesn't make the product good or bad, and I'm not saying it's right or wrong to buy it... but if you're looking to buy a product that gives you the ability to draw on the screen... it's better safe than sorry not to buy unless Microsoft says the product is compatible. 

Yes, in the accessories area they show pens, but... as you see under the compatibility area under these pens... the Surface Laptop Go is nowhere to be found.

Support us below!

My Response To: Ugly Guys Need To Work Harder + More!