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mikeszekely

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Everything posted by mikeszekely

  1. mikeszekely
    It all worked out in the end, so it's all good. Speaking of pegging his weapons on in chopper mode... how the hell does his gun mount under his nose? The super helpful directions just have a picture of him, from a view slightly to the right and slight above dead on, with an unhelpful "attach weapon here" and a arrow pointing to the nose. But I don't see anywhere to actually peg it.
  2. mikeszekely
    I didn't try it with all of the headphones I have, because I must have at least three pairs of earbuds and three sets of cans, but the bass with Beats on was pretty distorted on the included headphones. I only use earbuds when I'm traveling light, though, because the cans are comfier. My Panasonic cans are a little light on bass, so I might like Beats with them, but the expensive Sony cans I have are ultra-bassy as it is. On a note totally unrelated to phones but very much a tech note, I've been having issues with my mouse lately. It's a Logitech Performance Mouse MX, which I'd picked specifically because it's their top of the line mouse that still works with a Unifying receiver (my keyboard is a Logitech Wireless Illuminated Keyboard K800). Basically, the left-click wasn't working right, so sometimes it wouldn't register clicks, sometimes it'd register a double-click when you only clicked once, and holding a click down to click-drag (or to draw a bow in Far Cry 3) was basically impossible. Apparently, it's a common problem for the Performance Mouse MX, so even though I really loved that mouse, I decided to replace it with something else. Now, since I built my new tower last year, I'd gone from keeping my tower up on the desk to down on the floor, and I found that plugging in flash drives and what not was a chore. So I bought a powered 7-port USB hub, and suddenly had enough ports that keeping everything on a Unifying receiver wasn't as big a deal. And since I primarily use my desktop for gaming, I decided to go with a gaming mouse. I settled on the Logitech G700s, which was on sale at Best Buy for $80, plus I had a $40 rewards coupon. Lo and behold, I get to the store and find plenty of the G700s... but off to the side, marked down to a mere $55, was the previous model, the G700. As near as I can tell, the only real differences between the G700 and the G700s are a higher max DPI setting on the G700s and some rather ugly cosmetic differences. So I walked out of Best Buy with the G700 for $15 after using my Rewards.
  3. mikeszekely
    Yeah. If you're actually using the phone's speakers, it's pretty good. If you have good headphones, though, it just cranks up and distorts the bass.
  4. mikeszekely
    Do you have the black One or the white/silver One? I have the white/silver one, and while my screen has a layer of fingerprints on it so thick it's a wonder I can see through it (maybe because I can't stop playing with it... seriously, that aluminum body and gorgeous screen is like tech crack), they're not really showing on the back. I've had a smartphone since the days of Windows Mobile 6, and in six smartphones I've never had a case. Fingerprints aren't nearly as irksome as people who buy these amazingly thin, stylish phones and slap them in those OtterBox cases that turn them into rubberized black bricks the size an '80s cassette Walkman. That being said, leave it to the people who gave us the One to come up with a case so stylish I'm almost tempted to get it anyway...
  5. mikeszekely
    Ceaseless? Unless you mean caseless... but if that's what you mean, I totally have the courage for that. First thing my wife does after getting her iPhone is shop for a case, and she asked me what case I was getting. I told her none... I can't stand anything that would add weight or thickness to the phone. If HTC really does offer us the ability to switch to stock Android, I'll definitely do it. I'm not saying Sense is bad... I know I thought it would be, from previous HTC phones, but it's actually not bad at all. It's just that I'm coming off a Nexus phone, and I've really grown to love stock Jelly Bean. But I doubt it'll happen. Even if HTC's cool with it, AT&T will find a way to screw us over.
  6. mikeszekely
    I decided to give my local Targets one more go. They didn't have any, so I was going to buy yours, but someone beat me to it.I guess it worked out, though. My Amazon order came yesterday. I'm pleased with him. I love Nick Roche's art, so I'm fine with him being more IDW than G1. His bot mode is great. As far as alt modes go, he's the best triple-changer I've encountered, but it seems that triple changing still requires some compromises. In chopper mode, his elbows kind of just stick out, and I can't quite get his butt flap to stay pegged in place. In car mode, he looks cool but his side panels don't seem to fit well. Overall, though, I'd highly recommend him. He's one of the best Hasbro Transformers in ages.
  7. mikeszekely
    Well, here's what I can tell you. From the one call I made on the One vs. the two or three I made when I had the S4, yes, the S4 has better call quality. It's not a night and day difference, though. The call I made on the One was perfectly clear, it was just a little tinnier. Reception is fine on both, which is to say significantly better than when I had a Galaxy Nexus on Verizon. Here in Irwin (about 30 miles east from Pittsburgh) I've got a good LTE signal. Of course, YMMV with reception, being that you're on the other side of the country and talking about a different carrier. It's probably worth noting that I've read that the T-Mobile and Sprint versions seem to have antenna issues similar to the iPhone 4 if you hold it a certain way in your left hand, but I haven't heard that about the international version or the AT&T version. For battery life, Android in general is simply not as efficient as the iPhone. I'm not sure how much you use your phone... I don't really play games, I do a little texting, some Twitter, some email, some websurfing, and some e-reading, mostly, and my wife is pretty much in the same boat. Out of the box with no changes to settings, she'll have more than 70% left at the end of the day, so she can use her phone for two or three days on a charge. Me, I turn off all vibration, set the screen at 1/3rd to 1/4 of maximum brightness, turn off auto brightness, turn off Bluetooth, GPS, and Wi-Fi when they're not in use, set weather updates to once every three hours, and set my email and Twitter to update manually. I also condition my battery by charging the phone to full, unplugging it, turning it off, then plugging it back in until the charging light goes out. The extra 300mAh in the S4 didn't really make a difference for me; I can make it through the day ok, but my phone goes on the charger on my nightstand every night when I go to bed. Which made the S4 problematic, because it pushes a notification that the battery is charged that makes a sound and turns the screen on. In the middle of the night, it was enough to wake me up. The One doesn't do that. In terms of screen quality, The One has a slightly higher pixel density and more natural colors. The S4 is vibrant, but looked a little warm to me. I loved that it was bigger, though. The S4's screen is the size of the One's screen plus the row of capacitive buttons. While I hated to give up the large screen, I think the One's looks better. And they're both much bigger than the biggest iPhone. I've read that the One has a better camera than the S4 and the iPhone 5, and there are websites out there with lots of pictures and tests to argue that. I haven't taken any, so I have no comment. In terms of build quality, I have to stress that the S4 isn't bad. Yes, it's plastic, but it feels solid despite feeling light and thin. And how deliciously thin it is! That being said, it felt really cheap compared to my wife's iPhone, and it was one of the many tiny reasons I switched the the One. The One's construction is very similar to the iPhone with the aluminum unibody and the glass face. Coming from an iPhone 5, you'll be right at home with the feel of the One. That means it's a little heavier than the S4, but not majorly so. At it's thickest point, it's about as thick as an iPhone 5, so if they're both on a table screen up they look similar. However, the One's back has a gentle, natural-feeling curve. If they're laying on a table screen down, the One seems thinner than the iPhone. I guess the biggest adjustment to make is getting used to the software. Android isn't as dead simple as iOS, but my opinion as someone who's used both is that Android tends to be a lot more flexible. Given a choice, I prefer stock Android (at least post 4.0) to iOS. But it's difficult to get stock Android. Both the One and the S4 are customized with manufacturer skins and loaded with carrier bloatware. The bloatware can largely be turned off, but you're stuck with the skins. For me, I can say that I thought Samsung's skin looked closer to stock Android, but I was wrong, and after playing with both phones, I found that I hated Samsung's TouchWiz skin, while HTC's Sense skin is more of a minor nuisance. Learning the ins and outs of Android may take some time, but for basic stuff it's not too different. You have a launcher at the bottom with apps that will show on every home screen, and rows of icons on each home screen that you can page through. You'll find both phones come with the usual calendar, contacts, messaging, and email apps, and you can probably find apps for anything else you want in the Play Store. If you're used to iOS, though, I can say that there's a lot less games in the Android App store. I can't really comment on the physical home button. It's part of the Apple experience, so I expect it on my iPad. But coming from a Galaxy Nexus and a Nexus 7 tablet, it felt unnecessary to me on the S4. It's right-of-center placement on the One irks me more than the fact that it's a capacitive button. If you can, try both in the store and see what you think feels better. All I can ultimately tell you is that I thought I would like the S4 better, especially coming from a Samsung phone before, but I was totally wrong. I took it back, bought the One instead, and I'm much happier with it.
  8. mikeszekely
    Yeah, I took the S4 back, bought a One. No regrets so far. Sure, I wish it had stock Android instead of Sense, but Sense actually bothers me less than TouchWiz after messing with it. And yeah, I wish the screen was a little bigger (and after having two Nexus devices, I wish the power button was where the volume button is), but the build quality is bit nicer.
  9. mikeszekely
    Well, I wanted to move to AT&T from Verizon, and I didn't have $650 to burn. Let's just say it was an extremely difficult decision. Both phones are excellent, but not perfect. The One has a better screen, and I really dig the aluminum, but I don't like Sense, I don't like that a whole home screen is taken up by some weird thingy I'll never use, I don't like that the home button is right-of-center, and I don't like that the screen is only 4.8". As for the S4, I don't like TouchWiz and all the goofy Samsung apps, I don't like the oval shape, and I don't like the physical home button. At the end of the day, I did go home with the S4. It really boiled down to it having a slightly larger screen (I really think 5" is my perfect size) and the fact that TouchWiz, while awful for someone coming from a Nexus, is less awful than Sense. Here's hoping that the fellows at XDA figure out how to get the AT&T S4 to run a stock Android ROM built from the "Nexus" S4. In the future, though, I'm hoping Google sells a reasonably-priced 5" "Nexus 5" with LTE. EDIT: After a day with it, I can't say I'm loving the S4. Sure, it's thin, light, and has a big screen, but TouchWiz is just awful. Maybe I was wrong thinking it'd be less awful than Sense? One super huge annoying thing, the screen comes on with a notification when the battery's done charging. This is problematic for me, because I charge my phone on my nightstand and use it for my alarm clock. I don't need this thing waking me up at 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning every night. If someone can confirm that the One does NOT do that, I might head back to the AT&T store today.
  10. mikeszekely
    Ordered!
  11. mikeszekely
    Nope. And I see Springer's up to around $40. Man, I've checked my local TRU, two different Targets, and two different Walmarts on multiple occasions. I bought the only Blitzwing I saw, I've encountered Shockwave more than once, but Springer isn't more than a myth in my neck of the woods.
  12. mikeszekely
    I wouldn't say weird. You can get a new device subsidized by renewing your contract. You couldn't renew the contract on your phone, because you'd just done that, but you renewed it on the iPad. But instead of using the subsidy on a new iPad, you used it on a phone, and applied your existing number to it. I used to to the same sort of thing all the time. If my line was up, I'd renew it and get a subsidized phone. If my wife's line was up, I renew her line, but activate the subsidized phone with my number. But now I just don't want to stay with Verizon. I've pretty much settled on AT&T; for all the crap they get about their network, it's second only to Verizon's for coverage, especially for AT&T. But unlike with Verizon, I'll be able to buy Nexus phones directly from Google in the future. For now, I'm going to get a subsidized phone for being a new customer. I'd been favoring the HTC One for awhile, but after seeing it in person the S4 is a lot more appealing than I thought it'd be.
  13. mikeszekely
    I've been playing STO almost exclusively for the last month. There have been issues with the servers crashing right when the launched the Neverwinter beta, and a little lag in the last week as they got Romulus ready. Nothing as bad as the last two days, though.
  14. mikeszekely
    Saw it today, and I liked it. Sure, JJ's Trek is stupider and flashier, more style than substance, than the Treks that came before it. So it makes for a lousy TV show, but fun movies, if you ask me.
  15. mikeszekely
    Well, Legacy of Romulus was released, but good luck playing it. The servers are down for at least the third time in two days, and when the game is up take a number and get in queue. I don't want to complain too much, since I'm a silver player, but it's not like I never spend money in game. Cryptic's not exactly encouraging me to spend more. From what I can tell, the Romulan content is padded with non-Romulan content.
  16. mikeszekely
    This is definitely where they started to run into issues. Windows 8 is actually pretty good on a touch screen. And when you look at the sales tablets vs. the sales of more traditional computers, the writing's on the wall. I can't blame Microsoft for planning for the future. But the problem is, they were afraid of departing too much from the Windows we all know and love. They designed an interface that works great for touch, bolted it onto "classic" Windows, and then tried to work backward to make the interface work with a mouse and keyboard. The result is confusing, counter to what we've been using for 15 years, and simply not effective for desktop computing. Maybe it would have been better if they'd given users a choice. Maybe Microsoft was afraid that having separate desktop and touchscreen interfaces would create fragmentation. I don't know. I just know Windows 8 is a mess. And in the next few years, I don't see Microsoft fixing it. I do see them, and hardware manufacturers, pushing more touchscreen devices. I see them doing it even as they backpedal and reintroduce the Start Menu to Windows 8.1. Hey, I like the Ribbon! The updated Windows Explorer was probably the only feature of Windows 8 I actually did like...
  17. mikeszekely
    I was a console gamer first. NES, SNES, the original PlayStation, N64, Dreamcast, PS2 (two, actually), Gamecube, Xbox, Xbox 360 (three), Wii, PS3 (two), and even a Wii U. I've owned a lot of handhelds, too. A quick count shows 62 Xbox 360 games currently sitting on my shelf. I didn't really start to get into PC gaming until after I was married. My wife would want to watch TV in the evening, and I either needed to hook my consoles up to another TV, play a handheld, or play on PC if I wanted to game while she was around. Over time, I came to prefer mouse and keyboard for some games and appreciate the convenience of services like Steam. But your point's still valid. So I'm a PC gamer; I'll take a pass on the Xbox One.
  18. mikeszekely
    As a PC gamer, the online thing doesn't bother me as much the mandatory Kinect. What you think of as impressive, I think of as useless. But yeah, mandatory online is still a complaint. Even Steam gives me an offline mode that let me play Civ V in Beijing for three weeks. And sure, backwards compatibility, by itself, isn't a showstopper (although you think it'd at least play XBLA games). I'm not thrilled that I need to keep my Xbox 360 around for my largish Rock Band library. Also as a PC gamer, I'm used to not being able to buy used games or loan games to my friends. I'm also used to really awesome Steam sales, and buying games digitally long after they disappear from store shelves. While I'm sure Microsoft will have a digital delivery system in place for the Xbox One, I've never been impressed with the prices of Xbox 360 games on Live. And yes, the fact that it runs Windows 8's kernel, and will likely have some form of Metro interface, bugs me too. As I said before, these are all a lot of little things. Each one would be easily overlooked if the Xbox One had some epic features or must-play games, but it doesn't. And the little things add up.
  19. mikeszekely
    I had to do a lot of training on Windows 8 for my job. I kept telling myself that it's just the UI, and once you get used to it it's fine. Then I bought a Windows 8 laptop, and I realized I've been lying. I've had software issues, driver issues, insanely long (like half-hour plus) boot up times for "Configuring Windows" even when it hadn't downloaded any updates. After a week of struggles, I wound up doing a clean install of Windows 7 (which was an adventure in and of itself, but one I was able to resolve). I'm working on my Masters in Information Systems and Technology. Right now, I'm studying human interaction and usability design. From a graphic design standpoint, Metro might be pretty slick. Personally, I think it's too flat, but I'm not an artist, so what do I know? From a human interaction and usability point of view, though, it's at best unintuitive. For non-touchscreen users it fails on even basic principles of usability. I know Microsoft is feeling the heat from the iPad, but you cannot simply design a new touchscreen interface, then work backward to try to figure out how it works with a mouse and keyboard, especially when doing so requires you to unlearn 15+ years of training to even figure out how to turn the stupid thing off. I don't see myself getting either this year. Sony may be able to sell me eventually on exclusive titles, or if the Vita streaming feature works pretty well. The free games that PS+ users get won't hurt either. But I didn't hear one thing from Microsoft today that made the Xbox One sound appealing, and several little things that aren't huge deals on their own, but add up to a pretty unappealing console. I hope that it does well. I hope that develops see it and the PS4 as an incentive to keep developing major games instead of smartphone time-killers. I just don't see me buying one.
  20. mikeszekely
    Since I've by and large transitioned from consoles to PC, I've had a hard time getting into "next-gen." I bought a Wii U for nostalgia and, to this day, only own one game for it. If I buy a PS4, it's only because I like the idea of starting a game on it and picking it up on my Vita. The Xbox One has been particularly underwhelming, though. Mandatory Kinect, no backwards-compatibility, even with XBLA games, and no used games? Oh, and let's not forget that it runs on the Windows 8 kernel. All I really need for Microsoft to totally kill any interest I have is to announce a $500+ price tag.
  21. mikeszekely
    Damn! That looks really good! I'd paint mine, but I'm sure it wouldn't come out half as nice...
  22. mikeszekely
    Somehow, I doubt that the "enhanced HD remake" of FFVIII will be any more of an upgrade than the re-release of VII. I'm guessing that they're choosing VIII instead of VII because, in their minds, they already did VII. I say "meh" to VII and VIII anyway. Wake me up if they do IX, though. Buy and download legitimately? No, I think the PSN is your only option. Illegitimately, I'm sure you can find ISO images or SNES FFIII ROMs that'll run on an emulator. And there are emulators for just about everything these days. Side note, if you have a PSP or a Vita, you should totally get a PSN ID. Not only can you download the PSX version of FFVI, you can download the best version of the best Final Fantasy game ever, Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection. 'Course, if you have an iPhone or an iPad, you can download FFIV:TCC for that. Or maybe wait for an Android version.
  23. mikeszekely
    If I wanted to drive a non-Evo Lancer, I'd get in my car and go somewhere. Seems like I'm always around 15 over the speed limit anyway.
  24. mikeszekely
    Meh. Don't get me wrong, I put probably hundreds of hours into Gran Turismo 2 and Gran Turismo 3 back in the day. Problem is, I don't feel like Gran Turismo's ever really moved on from that. I didn't put nearly as much time into GT4, and I don't think I had GT5 for more than a day or two before I offered to sell it to a friend. Without trying to start a debate about realism/physics/graphics/number of cars/etc, I just think that the Forza series is more fun. It's largely academic for me anyway. I've basically quit playing consoles. It's too difficult when the wife always seems to be wanting to watch TV. Sure, I could hook the stuff up to another TV, but it's just been easier for me to get into PC gaming instead.
  25. mikeszekely
    If they make a Voyager-sized Quakewave, that will probably be the first third-party TF I buy, and he'll go with my Classics. Yeah, BH Shockwave would definitely be out of scale with any MP figures. I'm not sure exactly how large Shockwave should be in any given continuity, but in my mind, between the Marvel comics, the original cartoon, and the IDW comics, I'd say he should be similar in size to Megatron.
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