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Archives for : Xbox

Halo: Nightfall Trailer – First Look (Live Action Series Coming November 2014)

Halo: Nightfall introduces a pivotal new character, Jameson Locke, a legendary manhunter and agent with the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), Earth’s most powerful and secretive military branch. When he and his team are caught in a horrific biological attack, they unravel a plot that draws them to an ancient, hellish artifact, where they will be forced to fight for their survival, question everything, and ultimately choose between their loyalties and their lives.

Taking place between the events of Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians, Halo: Nightfall is Locke’s origin story which will lend insight and understanding into the character he becomes in Halo 5: Guardians.

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Broken From the Shackles of Xbox Live?

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I don’t know how, but over the last month or so, I just haven’t been playing any Xbox. Even with the excitement of Destiny right around the corner, I have no interest in going up there and turning it on (still bat***t crazy about it coming out in general though). I have a pile of games I haven’t even opened yet. Halo? COD? None of it lights that gamer flame to lure me in. Could it be that I somehow calmy removed the gaming shackles to enjoy a little more of reality? Was the flame blown out? Is it just a phase? Only time will tell.

I think it’s a good thing that I haven’t hid behind the Xbox with all of my free time though this summer.

During the same time, I have focused more on a pilgrimage about getting outside and doing dangerous things (hiking, rappelling, now ascending and other crazy fun acts) as if I need to get something out of my system. As well as working on investments and expanding my portfolio(*s). My book for example sold it’s first copy within an hour of newly being online in the Kindle store (right on!).

With having little to zero work in my main field for two months (and knowing that until next week, it will continue this way), I have had to do everything possible to keep my mind busy.  Earlier in the year, so many indefinably wonderful things were happening all at once, that a pedestal grew rapidly with pride and encouragement (a positive one). To mention a few, I experienced gains, unlimited work and blindly developed interests that I have never felt my life. Then, almost all at once, life threw every possible curveball to not just push me around, but completely knock that pedestal down sending me flying towards the ground in a massive face plant. Everything I built up this year with positive anticipation, was gone.

A test from God? Maybe. Why? Don’t know. What I do know, is

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Destiny Launch Party at Microsoft Stores

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Microsoft will be having a midnight release party at all Microsoft stores around the country for Destiny. It’s release date is September 9th, 2014 so if you want in, you better be there at the strike of midnight. There will supposedly be drinks, food, game play and giveaways (“and more”).

Apparently from August 26th (tomorrow) through September 5th, there will also be challenges, tournaments and some other activities for the release of Madden NFL 15. On September 6th, each store will have Madden NFL gift bags for the first 25 customers who buy it, and there will be a big party.

Who cares about that though right? It’s all about Destiny! I know it is for me as I have grown tired of Call of Duty myself. I tried playing just the other night as my cousin was over and he wanted to blow some “****” up, but I quickly found myself irritable..and that’s no fun. Too much drama and ignorance online.

Destiny looks like it will be a lot of fun. A nice mix between Halo and…Mass Effect maybe?

So who’s anxious? I know I needed something to be anxious about to make up for this summer (this summer has been both a blessing, and a faceplant)…thank you Bungie.

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Updates coming to the Win 8 Themed AV Startpage

WP_20130713_001[1]For those of you that use the startpage in which we created for everyone (a unique page to replace their browser’s startpage or “new tab” page…more details below), there is an update coming that you probably have already seen begin.

We have already moved a few links around based on popularity or recommendations and now we are adding a whole new section. We have received some requests to bring in more of a presence for gaming. So you may have noticed there are 4 scenes instead of 3 on the page; one of which very well states “coming soon”.

This will be dedicated to both console and online video games. For the online games we will try to focus on the free games and will attempt to update shortcuts based on popularity so that no unpopular game is wasting space 🙂

You can get to the startpage by the following link: http://www.animevortex.net/html/startpage

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What is the startpage? The startpage was created by us to offer users a fun and unique approach to setting their startpage or “new tab” page in their browser. It is themed after Windows 8/Phone/Xbox’s metro style theme. It works with your mouse for both scrolling and clicking (arrow icons), as well as your keyboard as you can use the left and right arrows on your keyboard to switch scenes, each scene with it’s own group of shortcuts. Now with 4 categories (scenes) it offers the main scene, Games, Social and News/Fun.

Other updates you will have noticed is the background has been switched to an image vs a solid color (used to be purple) and we will look at future options for that as well…maybe a rotation feature depending on load times.

Also, Google search box now sends all search queries via Google Encrypted Search (better for local privacy when it comes to your online search activity). If you chose a different search provider, that obviously no longer applies.

What is Google Encrypted Search? That comes down to all of the recent complaints about internet privacy and how the search engines track everything you do and provide that information to the websites you click on through referrer information as well as analytic data (data farming) for the displayed advertisements. With Google Encrypted, it isn’t a perfect solution thanks to Google’s own actions behind it but basically if the website you click in the results uses HTTP, it will have no idea where you’re coming from or what your search query is. If it uses HTTPS, it will receive referrer information normally. So it prevents half of the shared data to the world about your search activities…the other half however will still see it. Is this addition to the page a big one?….not really. It’s just something extra to have on there.

Answers (Q&A): 

“Why is it you chose Google for the search box vs the others engines”: Google is only set by default due to popularity (more users use it over the others). You can actually click on the little magnifying glass icon and it will give you a selection of Google, Yahoo, Bing and even Wikipedia. So the control is actually in your own hands 😀

…I guess that covers the questions that have came in heh.

Xbox 360’s New Dashboard (December Update) Review

Like the McDonalds commercials best say…”I’m lovin it”. The new features are great, the Kinect integration feels good, and the voice command options are solid. I am looking forward to what Microsoft comes up with next.

I’m thinking the system still needs a quicker way of reaching a list of online friends as well as a menu system that isn’t so lagged. It can be aggravating at times waiting for the main “x” (button) menu to popup or navigate. The dashboard is amazingly fast and accurate….its just the popup menu seems to never get any attention (outside of a few new options or icons).

I think the new UFC options will be a hit for a lot of MMA fans out there, bringing lots of behind the scene footage and interviews, as well as PPV features for live fights.

They have added additional support for the Xbox Companion Devices (i.e., Windows Phone 7 devices) that can interact with the system for reasons such as controlling DVDs or accessing additional information about what you have on the screen.