Bill Loguidice's Blog, page 78
November 20, 2017
Pay your own price JAVA books from O’Reilly
Here’s the link. Offer expires 2017-12-04 11:00:00 PST.
Coffee and tea and the Java and me. O’Reilly Media is back, and this time they brought a fresh pot of Java. Get Java Cookbook, Java Performance: The Definitive Guide, Minecraft Modding with Forge, Jenkins: The Definitive Guide, and more great ebooks. Ahhh, tasty tasty knowledge!
Pay what you want. All together, these books would cost over $531. Here at Humble Bundle, you choose the price and increase your contribution to upgrade your bundle! This bundle has a minimum $1 purchase.
Read them anywhere. These books are available in PDF, ePUB, and MOBI formats, meaning you can read them anywhere at any time. Instructions and a list of recommended reading programs can be found here.
Support charity. Choose where the money goes – between the publisher, O’Reilly Media, and Code for America via the PayPal Giving Fund. If you like what we do, you can leave us a Humble Tip too!
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Get Brütal Legend for free as the Fall Sale continues!
The Fall Sale is still going strong and we’ve got another FREE game to grab! We’re giving away Brütal Legend FREE for 48 hours! This promotion will end on Wednesday, November 22 at 10 a.m. Pacific time.
Click this link to get Brütal Legend on the Humble Store.
We’ve also added more games from new publishers to the sale, including BANDAI NAMCO, Devolver Digital, SEGA, Frontier Developments, and more!
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November 17, 2017
Lessons learned from cord cutting Comcast Xfinity
In this editorial, I take a personal look at the why and how of becoming a cord cutter.
After having a cable bill from Comcast that exceeded $270 per month for quite a while, it was time for a change. Frankly, on sheer inertia, I would have kept paying that amount of whatever the current Triple Play deal pricing would have been after renewing another contract, but I was having performance issues that couldn’t easily be resolved. It seems the cable that ran to my family room cable box did not carry a full-strength, consistent signal, which caused occasional audio drops. They were frequent enough to be annoying. Unfortunately, getting a new run of cable into that area of my house would have been impractical.
Another factor in changing how we did things besides cost and performance issues was that we finally got a really good 4K TV, one that supports both HDR and Dolby Vision (along with a good surround sound system versus our previous sound bar). Comcast’s best cable box at present – which we had two of – the X1, only supports 1080p. That’s not a major issue in and of itself, but even the 1080p output is highly compressed, looking silly in comparison to what we were getting from streaming apps. As such, I was skeptical even with the eventual implementation of a 4K cable box, my image quality would improve all that much.
Anyway, for the $270+, we were getting two X1 DVR cable boxes, land line phone service, and Blast! Internet, which was around 100 Mbps or so max speed (it can burst to about 150 Mbps). Since everyone in my household, save for my 3 year old, has their own cell phone, there was no need for the land line phone service, which was basically just for telemarketers to keep busy with even though we were listed on the “do not call” registry. Between all that and the standard cable problem of paying for tons of channels we never looked at (especially all but forcing you to get premium channels for the best possible deal), it was not a particularly compelling offering. As such, I broached the subject with my wife about becoming cord cutters, and, surprisingly, she was receptive. The only catch was I thought we were still under contract, but that resolved itself when Comcast called me to get me on a new deal. After confirming I was indeed out of contract, I made my move.
The Internet Issue
After easily shooting down all of the Comcast rep’s (sometimes laughable) canned challenges, I was officially out of my contract. I dropped the land line phone service and cable TV, and just kept the Internet service, which I was still paying Comcast for, along with their ridiculous modem rental fee. I bumped the Internet speed up a tier or two. Unfortunately, the rep on the phone didn’t realize that my Comcast-provided DOCSIS 3.0 modem didn’t support the faster speeds, so I was getting consistent service drops. After calling back, I was told I needed to go to my not-quite-local Comcast store and exchange my modem for a newer one.
Long part of this story short, the Comcast store did not have a DOCSIS 3.1 modem on offer and didn’t know when they’d get it in. Wasted trip. Unfortunately, they chose to give me a new DOCSIS 3.0 modem anyway, which turned out to be defective. I went back the next day and got a working one, and had to drop my Internet speed back down to the 100 Mbps or so that worked with this model. I assumed I had to wait for Comcast to get a DOCSIS 3.1 modem in stock, but after doing a bit of research, I found out there was a new class of DOCSIS 3.1 modem available at retail that was actually certified to work with Comcast (I bought this one).
The NETGEAR CM1000 DOCSIS 3.1 modem has proven a reliable performer.
After way too much back and forth on the phone with Comcast, I was finally able to get that modem working and registered. I also got their fastest possible speed, which is their 1000 Mbps service. I wanted the extra speed because streaming TV in multiple locations throughout the house combined with tons of normally connected devices made me think I’d be stressing the slower connection way-too-much. Combined with my Netgear Orbi setup, I’ve been able to generally get 450 – 600 Mbps depending upon location in the house (and device – some devices like smartphones cap out around 250 Mbps or so).
The NETGEAR Orbi is also highly recommended.
The best part of having my own modem is that I don’t have to pay the monthly lifetime rental fee to Comcast. So the only thing I’m paying Comcast for is their fastest Internet service, which comes out at under $110 with all the usual taxes and fees. Pricey, but well worth it to me and a far cry from the $270+.
Cord Cutting
While the Internet thing was happening concurrently to all that follows, I thought it best to break these stories out, since their issues/resolutions were really pretty different. Anyway, the first order of business with cord cutting is making sure the channels you want to watch are available on a streaming service you want to subscribe to. The two more popular, full-featured services are PlayStation Vue and Sling, which I ultimately went with, but I did try several others, including DirectTV (most have trial periods, which is really important). Although I’d prefer a single service, and specifically PlayStation Vue, only by having both Vue and Sling could I cover all the channels we watched. This is because there are certain channel/ownership blocks that are only on one or the other, like Fox, Comedy Central, History, Science Channel, etc.
Even with the two services, and adding in DVR functionality, I was still well under what I was paying previously. So for something like $100 less, we got to watch all of the channels we normally watch, got better picture quality, much faster Internet, and no practical limits to how and where we watched. It was all a win.
Anyway, an important thing to point out is that depending upon the streaming box (or TV or console) that you use, a particular service or service’s functionality will vary dramatically. For instance, on an Apple TV 4K, the PlayStation Vue app has a proper TV guide, while on a Roku, the PlayStation Vue app has nothing resembling a traditional TV guide. These differences are present in most other apps as well, with only a handful, like Netflix, making a decent show of consistency across devices.
Streaming Boxes
Although we have smart TVs in our family room and bedroom, and multiple current consoles, none of those offered both PlayStation Vue and Sling, only one or the other, and sometimes neither. There were also other limitations and/or restrictions when it came to interfaces. That’s why dedicated streaming boxes are so appealing. For the most part, they’ll offer the most streaming app options.
After doing some research, I bought two Roku 4‘s since I wanted 4K support. Unfortunately, I really wasn’t satisfied with how the Roku handled 4K output on my particular TV. I left the one Roku 4 in our master bedroom since that’s a lesser 4K TV (no HDR on that one), and not that important to have the absolute best quality, and gave the other one to our oldest daughter who has a standard 1080p set (previously I would have of course had to have gotten her a cable box, which wasn’t worth the cost).
I replaced the family room Roku 4 with an Nvidia Shield TV. It was quite a bit more expensive, but seemed to have the extra oomph I was looking for. Unfortunately, after an update that added Google Assistant support, the Sling app stopped working correctly on it, no longer allowing me access to On Demand or DVR’d content. Fortunately, the Apple TV 4K had just come out with the nice bonus of not only support HDR, but also Dolby Vision, and doing so full-time (so as not to require the TV to switch modes back and forth). So, in the Nvidia Shield TV’s place the Apple TV 4K went, which is what we have on our big family room TV setup to this day.
The Nvidia Shield TV is good, but has its issues.
While I don’t like the partially touch sensitive remote (the Nvidia Shield TV’s remote suffers from this too, while the Roku’s favors physical buttons), I have no real complaints otherwise. We can easily move between apps, and, for the most part, all features are supported. I’m still waiting on an Amazon Prime Video app for it, though, but that should be available soon. Anyway, once I get my basement back in order, the Nvidia Shield TV will be put back into use with a TV down there.
Conclusion
Cord cutting is still not for the faint of heart, particularly the more complicated your existing setup. However, I can say I’m much happier with our current setup and totally get why people do this. I’m saving money and in total control of the experience, completely long-term subscription/rental/leasing free. As a result, I can also move between streaming services at any time without issue. This is important, as competition is currently fierce, and an increasing number of services are entering the fray. In fact, it’s telling that even Comcast is getting in on the action, albeit with an offering that’s non-competitive at the moment.
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Subscribe to Humble Monthly for over $100 worth of games for just $12!
Subscribe to Humble Monthly for six amazing games delivered to your inbox every month. Plus, you’ll immediately unlock H1Z1 and get discounts on the Humble Store!
Here’s the link with more details.
Don’t forget, if you subscribe now, you’ll immediately receive H1Z1 + 2 in-game Trickster crates with more to come!
As always, each game is yours to keep and you can cancel anytime, as well as enjoy 10% off the Humble Store.
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Buy one get one free on select (and exclusive) PlayStation 4 and Vita games!
Buy one get one free on select, exclusive PlayStation 4 and Vita games. These are nice, deluxe physical packages that can be had for two for just $29.99! Simply add two to your cart for the cost of one game to be zeroed out.
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The Activision Edition of the Atari Flashback 8 Gold is now available!
To help clear up any confusion, yes, the Atari Flashback 8 Gold: Activision Edition, is now available. This is a plug and play console with a generous selection of classic Atari 2600 games with great new features like HDMI output, two 2.4Ghz wireless controllers styled after the originals, save states, and rewind functionality. You can see the full list of 130 first and third party, as well as homebrew, games, here.
Through the end of next week, the Atari Flashback 8 Gold: Activision Edition will be available exclusively from Walmart.com (link here), with free two day shipping. After that, it will be available from retailers everywhere.
You can see a review of the standard Atari Flashback 8 Gold here. Functionality is the same, just with different game lists and look to their respective menus.
Finally, if you’d like to read about a large selection of Atari 2600 and Flashback series games, check out my new book from Prima Games, Atari Flashback: The Essential Companion, which releases next week. Among its many features, the book makes for a great reference source on how to play over 65 Atari 2600 classics.
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November 16, 2017
Humble Store sale plus free copy of Killer is Dead – Nightmare Edition!
To kick off this massive sale, we’re giving away Killer is Dead – Nightmare Edition for FREE for 48 hours! This promotion will end on Saturday, November 18 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific time.
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Exclusive Cursed Castilla EX Limited Edition for PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) available soon!
Here’s the link: Cursed Castilla EX [Limited Edition] – Play-Asia.com Exclusive
The November 21, 2017, release date is right around the corner!
Features
Explore Tolomera del Rey in depth through to 8 game stages
Fight against 48+ types of enemies and 19 final bosses
Banish the evil invading the Kingdom with 4 different endings
Become a seasoned monster hunter with the illustrated bestiary with unlockable information about the legends featured in the game
Brag about your combat skills with 15 unlockable achievements
Yell your battle cry with songs for the original soundtrack and the remastered audio
Revive the glory of the arcade times with 10 different screen view modes
Description
LIMITED TO ONLY 4,000 COPIES WORLDWIDE!
A young witch’s sorrow has been corrupted by a malicious demon who uses her tears to open a gateway to hell. Now, the kingdom is threatened as evil floods the countryside. Enter the world of the Cursed Castilla, embroiled in the mysteries of European folklore. You take on the role of Don Ramiro, a knight appointed by King Alphonse VI, and charged with the perilous mission to: travel the cursed lands of Tolomera, banish the creatures that plague them and close the gateway.
Set in the Spanish kingdom of Castilla during the Middle Ages, you will be invited to take part in a love letter to Spanish folklore and the best of retro platformers. Here Don Ramiro will face not only legends from the chivalrous romances of Amadis de Gaula but also powerful European mythos brought to life. But even if you survive these challenges, you may end up losing the souls of your companions and even your own if you are not careful!
But all is not lost! Fate has given you a range of weapons to bring the battle to the heart of the demon. There are secrets to be found and power-ups to be had!
Prepare yourself for a journey into the Cursed Castilla Ex, the extended version of the acclaimed arcade classic Maldita Castilla, created originally by the Spanish developer Locomalito – in collaboration with Abylight Studios.
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November 15, 2017
Pay what you want for Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 Humble Comics Bundle!
Click here for the link. Offer expires 2017-11-29 11:00:00 PST.
Bundle. James Bundle. James Bond, the icon of espionage, sneaks into Humble Bundle with this collection of comics! Follow 007 as his deadly talents are tested to their limits in titles like James Bond: Service, James Bond: BLACK BOX, James Bond: Moneypenny, and more from Warren Ellis, Andy Diggle, and other great creators.
Pay what you want. All together, these comics would cost over $74. Here at Humble Bundle, you choose the price and increase your contribution to upgrade your bundle! This bundle has a minimum $1 purchase.
Read them anywhere. These comics are available in multiple formats including CBZ, PDF, and ePub, so they work on your computer, e-readers, iPads, cell phones, and a wide array of mobile devices! Instructions and a list of recommended reading programs can be found here.
Support charity. Choose where the money goes – between the publisher, and, if you’d like, a charity of your choice via the PayPal Giving Fund. If you like what we do, you can leave us a Humble Tip too!
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November 14, 2017
Natural Disaster Relief – $370 worth of games for just $30!
The Humble Care Package Bundle just launched! In the wake of multiple large-scale natural disasters and the increasing effects of climate change, we humbly recognize our responsibility to the global community. Alongside developers and creators, we are bundling a care package of much-needed funds for emergency relief.
This special one-week bundle features over $370 in amazing games for just $30. 100% of your payments will be split equally between Direct Relief, the American Red Cross, GlobalGiving, Save the Children, and Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Humble Bundle will proudly match the first $300,000 raised.
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