Yearly Archives: 2014
CES 2014 Roundup
With the annual Consumer Electronics Show come and gone for another year, it’s time for us to look at the best and most interesting bits of news and technology. We’ve already looked at the Valve-endorsed Steam Machines and Sony’s PlayStation Now cloud gaming service but there’s so much more to CES than those two things.
So here are five new pieces of hardware and software that I thought were the most interesting.
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Geek Links of the Week
The hacker who reopened the Steubenville rape case could face a prison term that’s up to five times longer than the rapists. The law doesn’t always equal justice. [HackRead]
Last weekend, Mega boss Kim Dotcom was the subject of two very different profiles by 60 Minutes and Vice. Interestingly contrasting views of the man. [Warming Glow]
Mashable just raised $13 million to fund an expansion effort. Anybody want to give et geekera even 1% of that to hire some writers, produce more content, move off of WP.com, make the site look better and turn this into a cutting edge operation? No? Just thought I’d ask. [CNN Money]
Apparently a recent episode of Agents of SHIELD quietly incorporated a piece of Mass Effect 3 concept art. Who knew? [Eurogamer]
Which actor is the deadliest in Hollywood? Not as in who has killed the most careers but who has killed the most people on-screen. [Randal S. Olson]
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Gone Home Review: A House is Not a Home
This year’s surprise hit game was a little indie game called Gone Home. The debut effort of a small indie dev made up of BioShock 2: Minerva’s Den devs is in a way inspired by BioShock but much simpler and focused. For many critics, the straight-forward focus on story made it near-perfect and the game of the year. Many gamers, though, didn’t find it as good as it was hyped up to be. So where does it fall on the spectrum?
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China Lifts Ban on Games Consoles
Just in time for the start of a new console generation, the Chinese government has rescinded a 14-year-old ban on the sale of video game consoles in the country. The temporary ban will allow Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to sell their consoles in China for the first time since 2000.
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The Economics of Steam Trading Cards and the Steam Wallet
It’s been six months since Steam introduced their Trading Cards. When they first launched, I was utterly confused as to why anyone would be interested in virtual trading cards that had no purpose and no value. It just seemed like a way for Valve to make some money that no one would buy into.
However, having just completed the Steam Holiday Sale, it’s readily apparent that Valve has hit a home run with the Trading Cards. It’s not just the transaction fees that are making Valve money. The spin-off effect from Trading Cards does just as much to make Steam even more profitable.
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Sony Officially Reveals PlayStation Now Cloud Gaming Service
The cloud gaming service formerly called Gaikai and informally referred to by gaming news writers as PlayStation Cloud was officially announced by Sony at CES. The service is now called PlayStation Now and is going to be available on just about every device that you can imagine.
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Sony’s New Patent to Add Content to Classic Games Played in the Cloud
When Sony rolls out its PlayStation Cloud service on the PlayStation 4 later this year, you might see some new content in your favourite classic games. A newly revealed Sony patent indicates that Sony is planning introduce new content into emulated games, including those emulated and streamed by Gaikai.
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Valve Unveils Thirteen Steam Machines at CES 2014
We came into CES 2014 expecting Valve to show off some of the Steam Machines that various third parties were making. However, I don’t think we expected over a dozen Steam Machines to choose from when they start rolling out. According to Valve, each of these machines will come loaded with Steam OS and will include a Steam Controller.
So let’s look at all of the Steam Machine manufacturers and what they’re offering.
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Comic Book Pull List for January 8, 2014
After a week off, the comic book pull list is back. Today, I think I want to do a TV-themed look ahead at the week. I know I’ve previewed Adventure Time series before but Boom Studios has a new series with Finn and Jake called Adventure Time: Flip Side. Nastasha Romanov has been with The Avengers and SHIELD in the Marvel-verse but now she gets her own series in Black Widow #1. And, finally, while we’re used to DC Comics properties getting series on The CW, it’s the other way around now. The CW series The Vampire Diaries gets their own comic series with The Vampire Diaries #1.
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Marvel Takes Over Star Wars Comics in 2015
In a move that should shock no one, another part of the Star Wars empire has been taken over by another Disney company. Disney’s comic book company, a little publisher called Marvel, will be taking over the Star Wars licence starting in 2014.
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