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mikeszekely

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  1. mikeszekely
    Not gonna lie... I'd have preferred a new Metroidvania. But I liked Lords of Shadow enough that I was looking forward to Mirror of Fate. With grad school occupying so much of my time, bursts of handheld gaming is all I have time for. And since there's next to nothing to play on the Vita, the 3DS has quickly become my gaming platform of choice.
  2. mikeszekely
    I just discovered Archer a little while ago on Netflix... wound up loving it so much I bought the first two seasons on DVD, torrented season 3, and will buy it when it becomes available.
  3. mikeszekely
    Norton IS actually isn't bad. It's been getting top marks for detection and removal among paid consumer AV software, and the recent versions are much lighter and less obtrusive than the bossy resource hog that made up previous versions. It's actually a requirement for my online grad school, so I have it on the laptop that I use pretty much just for school. If you're going to use a paid antivirus that isn't a corporate edition, go with Norton.But on most of my Windows computers, I use Microsoft Security Essentials. It's not quite as hands off as Norton, since it still bugs me every two weeks to do a scan while Norton runs its scans whenever the computer is on but idle, but it's super light, less bothersome than most free AVs, and has a great detection rate. If something gets by it, it's not as hot at removal, but on par with the other freebies. I honestly can't think of a reason to use any other free AV software (but keep Malwarebytes handy in case something goes wrong). Az, we use Symantec Endpoint at work and it seems really good, but I've been hearing some really good stuff about Sophos. Any thoughts? So far, I don't use anything on either of my two Macs, but it's worth pointing out that Macs are not inherently more secure, just less of target. An IT security expert once said something like Windows is like a house in a bad neighborhood with locks on the doors and bars on the windows, while Mac is like a house in the countryside with no neighbors around but the front door is unlocked. The iPad, iPod, and iPhone are definitely increasing interest in Macs, though, which is going to make them more of a target. How much longer my Macs go unprotected remains to be seen. For what it's worth, the same thing is true about Android. I don't use any AV on my phone or my Nexus 7, but I expect Android to be an attractive target for malware makers in the coming years. For now, though, the iPad and iPhones get a pass, since the only way to get new software on them without jailbreaking is through the App Store.
  4. mikeszekely
    I guess my computer's about three. It's a first-gen Core i7... 920, I think. 12GB of RAM, Asus Sabertooth mobo, GTX 465 graphics. I can't honestly say I've had trouble with any games, so I'm not sure I honestly need to upgrade at all, but I definitely have that itch. While I could easily afford a GTX 660Ti right now with what I've got stashed away for upgrades, a part of me feels like it's time to start on a whole new box. For the record, I do really prefer desktops. I have a 27" Samsung monitor, Logitech Wireless Illuminated Keyboard, Logitech Performance Mouse MX, and some kind of Logitech surround sound system who's exact mode escapes me. If I was still living in my apartment, I probably wouldn't be thinking about a laptop at all. But there's two things that have me thinking laptop. First, when I visited Beijing this year, I took my old Asus laptop with me to entertain myself with. While it ran Civilization V like a champ and Skyrim on acceptable settings, Deus Ex ran horribly unless I turned the graphics pretty far down. The second thing was that I bought a house. While I didn't mind whiling away the cold PA winter in my "man cave," as the weather grew warmer I found myself wanting to spend more time in the living room or kitchen, where I have high ceilings, big windows, French doors to the back yard, and a more open, airy floor plan. It got bad enough that I actually bought an HP Envy 6 laptop to do my usual web browsing and grad school work on. I kind of think if I got something with an i5 or i7 and a GTX 660M or 670M, it ought to be good enough that I should get performance equal to or better than my desktop, and I won't have to play in the man cave. Then again, fall is coming...
  5. mikeszekely
    Yeah, I've got my eye on that as well. But I need to decide if I want to upgrade my GPU, build a whole new computer, or buy a gaming laptop.
  6. mikeszekely
    Done! And if my wife asks me why, I'll tell her Black Valkyrie said so.
  7. mikeszekely
    It's funny that you mention that. I bought the regular 3DS for $129 on sale at Target last year. I was all set to ignore the 3DS XL, since on paper it looked like the only difference was a larger screen.Then my local Target got a display 3DS in, and I had a chance to actually handle one. I quickly realized that the larger screen makes more of a difference than I thought. Maybe I'm just getting older, but the XL's screen fills my field of vision better and is easier to see in a way that makes gaming on it feel more immersive. That alone might not have been enough to push me over the edge to upgrade, but what really got me is how much more comfortable the XL is. The edges are smoother and the unit feels more solid. I'm basically sold. I heard Gamestop is giving $100 on the 3DS on the 3DS XL. I try to avoid them as much as I can, but I might have to take a trip out there today.
  8. mikeszekely
    Kind of depends on what you're into, right? I mean, some people would say that the obvious one is the Halo series, but personally I lost interest in that series with Halo 2.If you like racing games, the Forza series is, in my opinion, much better than Gran Turismo. If you like RPGs, I hear the Fable games are supposed to be pretty good. And there's always the original Mass Effect. Otherwise, I can't really say. I looked over at my shelf, and almost every Xbox game I own is also available on PS3. I guess, for me, the first choice is PC, then after that I usually go with Xbox unless it's a PS3 exclusive. My PS3 gets more use, but I guess it's more a media player that happens to play games to me.
  9. mikeszekely
    It's longer than the first one, but not by a lot. It took me 8 hours or so to get through the campaign. There's hidden audio logs and blueprints in the levels, plus the usual trophies/achievements, but not much else to get you to replay. In fact, as I mentioned, you can't even pick a different character to play as when you replay. And no, there's still no local multiplayer.I've been hearing a lot of good things about Sleeping Dogs, but I heard the PC version is good, not just a half-hearted port. So I'm going to wait for a Steam sale.
  10. mikeszekely
    That trailer disappoints me on two levels. For one, it's not Robocop. And two, despite the title, it's not related to the Prototype game/comic book series. ...I'll probably rent it though.
  11. mikeszekely
    OK, I finished the campaign. There are a few annoying bits, and you don't get to pick your character anymore. I think that kind of decreases the replay value, and it probably means less time as your favorite character (I played as Optimus and Megatron almost exclusively, unless they weren't in option in WfC). Oh, and the game isn't divided into an Autobot and Decepticon campaign. On the plus side, the story seems more cinematic. It's not bad guys do stuff, then good guys do stuff... it's a cohesive story that takes the narrative threads of a few characters and brings them together. And by assigning you the character that you play, they're able to make those characters really feel different and design the level around that character's differences. For example, Cliffjumper can turn invisible (I know, why not Mirage, right?), and his level involves stealth. Soundwave can use Rumble and Lazerbeak to open doors. I haven't gotten into the multiplayer, but I would definitely say that the campaign is honestly better than WfC.
  12. mikeszekely
    Not too silly. They didn't say if they did, and I didn't ask. But yeah, if they switch to the old RAM, and the computer runs like normal, that'd pretty much settle the matter.
  13. mikeszekely
    It POSTS on the third power cycle, every time like clockwork. And once it posts, it boots fine, Windows loads fine, no errors. It'll run for days and days. But if they shut it off, it'll power cycle three times and boot on the third.There's a possibility that ESD damaged something when my buddy put the new RAM in, but this computer's run fine for probably three years before the RAM upgrade. If there's an issue with the mobo/PSU/CPU, it's recent. Occam's razor would still have me finger the RAM as the culprit, I think.
  14. mikeszekely
    Yeah, probably. But if I'm going to play with an Xbox controller, I might as well play on my 70" TV.
  15. mikeszekely
    Yeah, I'm usually on PC myself. But you can't even customize your controls on the PC version, so I grabbed it for Xbox.
  16. mikeszekely
    It's mikeszekely. It's in my sig. But I'm playing on Xbox 360.
  17. mikeszekely
    OK, this is a weird one, so I thought I'd run it by you guys. A friend of mine recently upgraded her computer's RAM. The computer has worked fine since her husband built it, but now it's behaving a little oddly. From a powered off state, when you push the power the light comes on and you can hear the fans spin up, but nothing displays on the monitor. After a second it'll power back off, back on, do the same thing, power off, and then power on. On the third time, it boots perfectly normally. It's always on, off, on, off, on, boot, and never any video until it actually starts to boot. Since the problem started with the RAM, I'd guess that the problem lies there, but it's weird that on the third time the computer boots fine without any issues. And once it's booted, she's not having any errors or issues. I checked the BIOS settings on her motherboard, thinking there might be a problem with the RAM timing. Everything's set to auto and looks ok. Suggestions?
  18. mikeszekely
    Woo-hoo! Fall of Cybertron today! Which reminds me... anyone got an extra G1 Retro Pack for the Xbox version? PM me. I've got a download code for War for Cybertron I'm willing to trade.
  19. mikeszekely
    I can't imagine why thermal paste wouldn't be fine, but I say that with the disclaimer that I've never replaced a motherboard in a laptop (only removed them to get to the freaking hard drive that Dell thinks is fun to make as inaccessible as possible).
  20. mikeszekely
    It is huge! I can safely say that it will fit both my Asus gaming laptop AND the HP Envy 6 laptop I use for grad school, plus chargers for both, plus books, plus an external hard drive, flash drives, a mouse, and an external DVD burner.
  21. mikeszekely
    Yes. Everything pegs tight in both modes for all of the FoC toys so far, except for the following:Prime's alt mode bumpers kind of hang loosely from the bottom of his forearms in bot mode. Shockwave's wings are connected to his body with a ball joint that allows them to rotate between his bot mode and his alt mode, but his wings don't actually peg into anything in either mode. The end of Shockwave's gun comes off really easily. There are panels on the sides of Shockwave's lower legs that rotate back to cover his upper legs in alt mode. Although these panels have a tab that should fit into slots on his hips, they fit very loosley. The panels fit securely in bot mode, though, and for what it's worth not of Shockwave's parts are floppy. I grabbed him in his alt mode by the edge of the front and shook him hard; nothing moved. Jazz seems pretty solid in bot mode. When you un-peg his spoiler from his butt in bot mode, the whole thing gets really floppy. The instructions make things seem complicated, but he's actually the easiest of the three to transform. When you pull the back end of his alt mode up and kind of flatten him, the front end and top of his alt mode sort of lines up naturally, but doesn't peg together. There's a tiny peg that keeps his shoulders connected to his chest; you pop it loose, turn his shoulder and peg it down so it can't rotate, then turn and peg his forearm onto the edge of the panel. His arm is then a rigid piece that you can swing back and connect to a peg near his spoiler. When his arms are pegged there, they hold everything else in place. Oh, it's important to fold his legs up under him before you put his arms in place, though. His legs peg together, but they don't peg to anything. They kind of just sit there. But again, once his arms are in place his legs can't move.
  22. mikeszekely
    I'll be happy if I can get MP-10 before the holiday rush. In other news, I went to the Target by my work. Looks like they restocked big time; I wasn't able to find a Vehicon, but I did pick up Knock Out from Prime. They had Hot Shot, but truthfully that's one fo the worst recent molds, and since he's not even on the show I had no trouble leaving him on the peg. They also had all three Fall of Cybertron figures so far. I grabbed Shockwave, who I really wanted. Then, even though I said I wasn't going to, I said screw it and picked up Jazz too. Is it just Prime, Jazz, and Shockwave in the first wave? I'm really looking forward to Grimlock, and I kind of want Kickback and the Combaticons too. EDIT: Some quick impressions: Knock Out: awkward transformation, especially around the arms and chest. If you love the character or are a Prime completionist, go for it, but only Cliffjumper and Bee are worse. Shockwave: Simple transformation that turns him into a space brick. Seriously, his alt mode is worse than DotM Shockwave. But with that head and chest, it's the closest we're going to get to a Classics Shockwave for awhile. Jazz: Pretty disappointing after his awesome RTS toy. His transformation isn't that great, and mostly involves using his chest at the front, folding his back up to the the top, folding his arms around to the sides, and stuffing his spindly legs underneath. Buy him if you're a fan of Jazz or a Fall of Cybtertron/War for Cybetron completionist, otherwise pass.
  23. mikeszekely
    You won't regret it; it's a really solid bag. And I'm telling you, if your laptop doesn't fit, they don't make a bag big enough for it.
  24. mikeszekely
    My Asus is a 16.1", but like I said, it's a mammoth bag. There's plenty of room left over in the padded laptop pocket, which itself is in the largest of the bag's pockets. I've routinely used it to carry multiple D&D books and the laptop, and like I said before, I used it to carry all but my clothes with me when I went to China. I'll show you a pick of my Asus nestled inside. Note how much I can pull the pocket back, and the fact that there's still a bit of space between the laptop and the top of the bag.
  25. mikeszekely
    So I've still never seen a Vehicon or Knock Out, but my local Target had some Fall of Cybertron toys. Specifically, a lone Optimus and a pair of Jazzes. I passed on Jazz. It's not that he looks bad, but the I've got no attachment to that design, which is honestly kind of dull compared to RTS Jazz. I did pick up Optimus though, since I buy pretty much every Optimus. I was prepared to be disappointed; pics I've seen have him looking smallish and kind of simple. I was pleasantly surprised though. Yeah, he is smallish. In vehicle mode, he's shorter that pretty much every other Deluxe-class Transformer I own. In bot mode, he's a good head shorter than War for Cybertron Prime. But he's pretty solid, with no real lose pieces or floppy panels in alt mode. Transformation is simple, but that's kind of refreshing after how complicated War for Cybertron Prime was. In bot mode, the only kibble on him are the bumpers that fold down onto the bottom of his forearms. Unlike almost every other prime in recent memory, his back is basically kibble free. And he's pretty poseable too. If I have one complaint, aside from his size, it's that he's slightly oddly proportioned. His head and shoulders are set back a little bit, like he's permanently puffing his chest out. Ultimately, I'd say I like him better than War for Cybertron Prime. I just can't believe that Deluxes have gone up to $14.99 despite shrinking to almost a Scout.
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