So people, if you are one of those that busts out the phone PLEASE LEAVE once you finish your business.  There could be a line waiting for you.

That is all.

http://np.reddit.com/r/grilledcheese/comments/2or1p3/you_people_make_me_sick/

So here are a few things that really bug me.  The more power a router users to support traffic the power it takes up and the more heat it generate.  Yes we are talking pennies here, but still, Comcast is building a business on your power and hosting. WITHOUT asking you! And what if you are paying for highspeed service with spotty service?  So now that there could be even more demand on my spotty service, that means I actually WILL notice a slowdown regardless of how much bandwidth they add.  Which also begs another question, if my service has been slow and not up to the level I pay for, suddenly they can fix it?

Now in the realworld, how much will this really matter?  That really depends.  If you happen to live in an area where the public frequent, you might be feeling it. If you living in a residential area, most likely nothing much will change.  Remember only other Comcast users are suppose to have access to this service. According to the Comcast FAQ, here is how people can access your router.

Yes, you can access XFINITY WiFi with one of the following options:

• XFINITY Internet subscribers get access to the fastest WiFi with the most coverage on the go at over 1,000,000 hotspot locations across the country. Explore XFINITY Internet deals.

• Limited Free Trial: At select XFINITY WiFi hotspot locations, visitors are allowed two 60-minute complimentary sessions per month. You must wait 24 hours between sessions.

• XFINITY WiFi Access Pass: Use XFINITY WiFi for an hour, a day or a week by purchasing an XFINITY WiFi Access Pass. XFINITY WiFi Access Passes are not available in all locations

Sigh. I’m blow away by this, I know that for 95% of the Comcast people this does not matter much, and in some ways, its a benefit; say someones comes over to visit, they can access the internet without you having to give them access; but given that Comcast is a monopoly and becoming an even bigger one, this is not a good sign.

As promised, here are the steps to stop public sharing of your Comcast Xfinity wifi from Dwight:

• Log into your Comcast account page at customer.comcast.com.

• Click on Users & Preferences.

• Look for a heading on the page for “Service Address.” Below your address, click the link that reads “Manage Xfinity WiFi.”

• Click the button for “Disable Xfinity Wifi Home Hotspot.”

• Click Save.

You can see screenshots of the process in the slideshow above. Note that this will only work once the hotspot is live on your router.

Some other details about the hotspots:

• Each hotspot actually contains separate connections for 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz Wi-Fi devices, and the Arris routers use the 802.11n standard.

• If you have one of the Arris modem/router combos, but are using your own Wi-Fi router, the Arris device won’t broadcast the free hotspot. Likewise if you are using your own modem as well as your own router.

• If you opt out of hosting a hotspot, you can still use others’ Xfinity Wi-Fi hotspots with your Comcast login.

Its not like these are things you need to have a major in AI to know; and the fact, I did a spot check of all the outlets that announced this ‘great event’, and with each one the commentators seemed to know more about the Turing test, and other problems with this story, then the writers.

Come on guys, I know you have to rush a story out to beat everyone, but at LEAST go back later and check your facts, or read the comments and update your story.

So out comes this article  month back on how EA is thinking of putting out an offline mode.  I read the post and though, ok, lets see when they do it.  Later on I returned back to this post and read what I though was a really wonderful comment from Casey Reece on Penny Arcade.  This comment sums up my feelings on SC and why I just cannot bring myself to give EA a penny for this game.

Why this entire episode has been so vile is that EA essentially took a series that had never before had a bad entry in it; and then used it to redefine the very concept of a “bad entry.”

This would be the same if Nintendo released a 2-D side-scrolling Mario game in 1999 that controlled horribly. When it decided to actually be recognized by the console.

Every Sim City game from the first onwards showed such ambition and such love, that those who loved it (rightly) in return were always rewarded. This is a series that has built up nearly a quarter century of good associations, good press, and good feelings. It was a staple in gaming that stood above the concerns of most games (do they work, does it control well, and will you still enjoy it in a year), and delivered on our expectations time and time again. The jump in conceptualization between the first and second Sim Cities was in essence a complete rebirth. The third Sim City then took everything the second did (and much, much more) and polished it even further.

The fourth in the series was an amalgamation of everything that everybody ever wanted in a Sim City game, period. It just nailed it. And nailed it so hard, that they didn’t even consider creating a new one for over a decade.

Until they did. And the concepts for the new Sim City were absolutely worthy of the title. Even so far as to actually justify just naming it “Sim City” and not having to do the “5” afterwards – because that is how large the ambition was with this title.

The idea that every Sim was individually counted – that your factories produced actual goods you could track and watch move throughout your city – that the graphical interface and the statistics (graphs) interface had melded together into a more organic, living, and real entity. This, alongside your map and commerce being directly relate-able to other online Sim City players gave the promise and potential of this Sim City title an absolutely star-bound voyage. And Sim City games were always great – they always came through – and they always rocked the house with whatever it is they tried to accomplish.

Except for this one.

But not only that – this one got things wrong that even the first Sim City got right. Actual balance between commerce, industry, and residential. That the third Sim City nailed; how to get the proper Sims to the proper situations (fire department, police, etc. – they didn’t have robbers doing stick ups right next to the police station – not even in the first).

Then, it turns out, the entire “advanced” engine which is having so many difficulties with acting legit is because the actual “advanced” engine was a lie. It could track a few thousand of your Sims, and after that, everything was made up. The very anti-thesis to what makes a Sim City game.

Even if you got some of the world’s most creative minds in the same room, they couldn’t have possibly planned a better screw-up of one of video-gaming’s most classic franchises. What had always stood as the absolute proof of all good that could be accomplished with and through games was essentially shot dead in a debacle of being unable to connect – and then unable to get a refund. The good will of a quarter century took EA essentially one month to devastate, blow-up, and then salt into the earth forever more.

And now they’re coming out with a game that supposedly is the actual game they promised in the first place? How is that even possible? The entire game was a lie to begin with – did they now manage to actually build the engine they promised and failed to deliver after how many years in production – now just after a few months? Promising to bring in features that should have never been removed – and then having the absolute gull to ask money for it?

That upgrade should be absolutely free. To have the nerve to release an absolutely ruined product, and then when you’re on the verge of (supposedly) correcting your mistake, they ask everyone to pay for it again?

Are they serious? Have they no idea how much bad-will they’ve brought upon themselves with this train-wreck from the start? Are they really that callous? That stupid?

Of course. It’s EA. America’s worst voted company two years running, and, from what they’re showing, at least a few years more.

The big changes are as follows:

• Microsoft’s new stance will drop the always-online requirement for the console.
• Xbox One will no longer have to check in at least once every 24 hours for games to work.
• Game discs will work just as they do on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles — meaning no restrictions, new or used.
• An Internet connection is now only necessary for the initial console setup.
• Microsoft is even drop region-locking — you can play a game from Japan on an Xbox One from America, for example.
• Rental games are allowed.

Except from the press release

So, today I am announcing the following changes to Xbox One and how you can play, share, lend, and resell your games exactly as you do today on Xbox 360. Here is what that means:

An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games – After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.

Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today – There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360.

In addition to buying a disc from a retailer, you can also download games from Xbox Live on day of release. If you choose to download your games, you will be able to play them offline just like you do today. Xbox One games will be playable on any Xbox One console — there will be no regional restrictions.

BTW, there will be a Jailbreak for iOS7, just give it time.  Not sure about an Unlock though.

This is a first pass list BTW, I will be editing and improving as time goes on.

Control Center – SBSettings

I love SBSetting and finally it seems Apple is feeling the love.  However, they still have a way to go.  SBSetting is control center times 3.   Although Control Center feels more OS’ish, it lacks many of the customizations I’ve come to expect from SBSettings.  There is also NCSettings, which has a few bells, but I have not tried it.

App Store AutoUpdate – Auto App Updater

I do not use this because I have an older phone and like to know what is going to be updated or not before I do it.  However, should my next phone be Apple, I would have installed this, if Apple did not already do it.  Its a great feature that Android has had for awhile now.

LiveClock – LiveClock

How more direct rip off can you get? LiveClock changes the clock icon to actually tell you the proper time.  Neat.  So what does Apples LiveClock (noticed the same name?) basically the same thing … except you cannot customize it.

The App Switcher – Auxo

App switching is a big missing element in iphones.  Yes we can do it now, but its clumsy.  Auxo looks to address that by using the WebOS inspired approach.  Its was a little buggy for me so I do have it installed anymore.  I read Dash is pretty good but I have yet to try it.

Lock Animations – UnlockFX

Did you really dig those unlock animations you saw?  Go get UnlockFX and feel the love. I have a few hacks running around the unlock screen so I did not want to invite a conflict, but I never tried it so it might be fine.

Folders – Infinifolders

So now you can finally out folders into folders!  BRILLIANT!  How did they think of that?  Oh that’s right. Infinifolders.  They did a nice job though.

Parallax – DeepEnd

I really liked DeepEnd when I saw it, but never did install it. 3DBoard is like this too. Its cool and all .. I dont know, maybe I will install it later. However, Apple has taken this as inspiration for Parallax.  Its not exactly the same, but the same idea, just a different approach to the illusion.  Basically it give the feel that your icons are on a diffent dept level then your background. There is a good reason for this.  Since Apple’s icons have gone flat, you need this so that not everything is lost in a bleed of colors.Speaking of Icons

Flat Icons – FlatIcons

There are TONNES of flat design themes out there you can download via Jailbreak to give your iOS a cleaner, dare I say it, METRO look.  Finally Apple has decided to take this route (I’m not saying its better or worse) but what is annoying is you do not have a choice.  YOU WILL HAVE THE FLAT ICON DESIGN AND YOU WILL LOVE IT!  Right.  I think that is one of the key annoying things about Apple.  THEY decided the old icon are not good enough anymore and THEY decided what the new design is.  Having a choice of so many themes, I looked at the new design as yet just another Theme idea.  Its nice, some things I like, something things I do not.  But with Jailbreak, I get to CHOOSE what I want.

Tabs – Tabs+

So now iOS7 lets you have unlimited tabs.  Cool.  You can do that now using Tabs+.  Although I would bet Apple is better about memory with this.

…  I need to add more.  Suggestions anybody?

Lucy Bradshall from Maxis made a blog post explaining why SimCity will not run in offline mode because it was not part of Maxis ‘vision’ for SimCity.  Here are the reason they give and my replies:

• We keep the simulation state of the region up to date for all players.  Even when playing solo, this keeps the interactions between cities up to date in a shared view of the world.

That’s great if the servers could keep up, but even with the doubling of servers and slowing SimCity down to Lama, it still takes hours for some city to city or person to person interactions to take place.  Fail. And for SimCity Players like myself.  I do not need much less want this.

• Players who want to reach the peak of each specialization can count on surrounding cities to provide services or resources, even workers.  As other players build, your city can draw on their resources.

Great.  Then make this an option.  This can easily be simulated in a single player mode.

• Our Great Works rely on contributions from multiple cities in a region.  Connected services keep each player’s contributions updated and the progression on Great Works moving ahead.

For who?  What is I only play perhaps once a week?  How am I suppose to keep up?

• All of our social world features – world challenges, world events, world leaderboards and world achievements – use our servers to update the status of all cities.
• Our servers handle gifts between players.
• We’ve created a dynamic supply and demand model for trading by keeping a Global Market updated with changing demands on key resources.
• We update each city’s visual representation as well.  If you visit another player’s city, you’ll see the most up to date visual status.
• We even check to make sure that all the cities saved are legit, so that the region play, leaderboards, challenges and achievements rewards and status have integrity.

I have the same answer for the rest here.  NON of these features and function require always on connections.  Changes in the city can be cued to be updated once a game year. One can open a socket and exchange and update that data (IF THEY WANT TO).  To force people in to a feature and function requirement that in all actuality has only a marginal effect on the inner workings of your City does not make any sense.

And that is we get to the enviable jailbreak efforts to run SimCity offline. Initially Maxis said the SimCity 5 2013 could not be run offline.  That was quickly disproved by a few hackers to got it to function fine, only missing a few features and the ability to save.  I think it will only be a matter of time before someone writes a packet sniffer, decodes the DRM protocol and  just redirects the send / get requests for saving a city, and placing it on a local hard drive.  So now, not only has this foolish ‘vision’ cost you customers, it will actually drive up the interest in pirate version because a majority of SimCity players, myself included, want to play SimCity as a fun diversion, not a goal focused game where you are trying to compete with other players.

Oh and remember this gem?

Maxis general manager Lucy Bradshaw told Polygon. ”It wouldn’t be possible to make the game offline without a significant amount of engineering work by our team.”

Not only did a hacker prove that wrong, a dev from Maxis said it outright!

A developer at Maxis told John Walker of Rock Paper Shotgun. “They are still acting as servers, doing some amount of computation to route messages of various types between both players and cities. As well, they’re doing cloud storage of save games, interfacing with Origin, and all of that. But for the game itself? No, they’re not doing anything.

Its only a matter of time Maxis.  Someone will Jailbreak SimCity to allow saves and even fix the population issue and unlike Apple which benefited because the jailbreak community pushed the iPhone forward into development, people will (if possible) mod and expand the pirate version.

http://www.ea.com/news/simcity-update-straight-answers-from-lucy

{Update:  According to TC, they are NOT going to end it. In fact, there is to be more!  Ug

“Scroogled will go on as long as Google keeps Scroogling people. We know Google doesn’t like it when the facts come out. Chapter two of the consumer education campaign has shown people care about their privacy. More than 3.5 million people visited scroogled.com, and nearly 115,000 people signed a petition asking Google to stop going through their Gmail. Stay tuned for the next chapter.”

If you have not seen them already, its a set of really ‘forced’ adverts where some clueless person is upset that Google is using keywords to fear monger gmail users because they will show adverts based on their email content.  So what?  Remember, if you are not paying for the product, you are the product. Aside from them looking for an issue that is not really there, and doing a poor job of it, it smells of desperation. To invent a word like ‘scroogled’ (who came up with that?) and suddenly its something you need to avoid is pretty weak.  Worse, does not say why you should use the recommended alternative, Outlook.  The funny thing is; Outlook is 100 times more powerful then gmail is.  If they simply had a commercial pointing that out, they would get further.

So this has been on my rant list for awhile and then this pops up on VentureBeat; Microsoft is to kill the Scroogled campaign.  About time. I guess I should give them credit for realizing these adverts are not working, but will they take a lesson from this?  That basically if you want us to buy/use your service, tell us why its better.  No flush, no fear mongering.  Say what you want about Apple (I’m not exactly the biggest fan boy out there as I type this on my PC) but they understand marketing.  When they put a commercial together, its clean and clear.  Here is what we have, here is what it can do for you.  Simple.  Presented in a clear and pleasant manner.   One would think people would have figured that out by now.

If you want to watch one of these painful adverts, check it out… Or not.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WIluNt0mvA

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=63u-RG-31B0