Back to School!

Two weeks have already passed as a third year Information Technology Student, and all I can say is that things are starting to get harder. Mini projects every quarter that are equivalent to a four quarter thesis project (if compared to the project we did last year). It's an early warning for me, a sign that I should step up my game in studying because elements like time pressure and advanced lessons are starting to appear. Being in school is not enough, so I have to study more at home when I have free time. Considering that I should achieve the 1.50 mark this semester, it's going to be tough, but I'm prepared for the nightmares to come :D

This is the path I've chosen and my passion. So fighting! :D

Downright Disturbing: The Deep Web

I heard and I have noticed that there is something that spreaded like wildfire in social networking sites and the internet as a whole: The Deep Web. I believe that this "Deep Web" curiosity was kickstarted by a movie-documentary that is also called "Deep Web". So what is this thing? Deep Web is actually a top level secured site that is only accessible by using some methods like having TOR browser, proxy, etc. These sites are not searchable by search engines and the domain is .onion. 

In the image above, you can get an idea that the deep web is not the usual and why it is "deep" and unsearchable by normal means. The deep web is actually a sanctuary or haven for sick people. A sick domain made for equally sick people. It's the underground scene of the internet. Buying and selling of drugs, child porn, gore, human experiments, grotesque scenes from World War II, in short: psycho stuff. Traversing this "hidden" side of the internet should be also done with caution. Why? Because once you enter an onion site, you will be on the watchlist of the FBI. This is where becoming anonymous and the use of proxies become important. That's all I can say, and I'm not going to tell how to enter the onion world. If you want to, though, try searching google.

GTA San Andreas Mods

GTA San Andreas was undoubtedly almost everyone's favorite game. No matter how old it is, it's still awesome. The nostalgia when I first played it when I was 7 years old was still fresh in my mind, especially when I'm still playing it for a while today. The things that make me go back to playing this game are the gameplay and the VERY customizable characteristic of this game. Basically, almost everyone with a know-how in programming can create a script that can "modify" the game without messing it up. They call it "mods" or modifications. I was very intrigued about this because the programming language used for scripting mods in this game is C#, which is a PL that I have learned just last year. I tried to check it out, how to script and all, but it felt like hieroglyphs at my first glance. To my observation, it's like C# fused with assembly. I also realized that the mods have a dedicated builder/IDE. It's called Sanny Builder. I tried to open a mod using Visual Studio 2010, but sadly it didn't open. For the mod's structure, it's pretty weird and the logic takes some minutes to understand. I want to learn it. Just to learn how scripting works and how the mod library and the game itself communicates. I know that mods are like things injected at the memory stream of the game, it's pretty cool and simple to see but I bet that I'll be challenged to understand it fully. Learning this can improve my know-how in the game development field (somehow) and prepare myself in every programming situation.

Going Down?

So what do these "mods" do? It depends on the programmer. If a programmer envisions a program that will make the character take a selfie that is otherwise not doable in the base game, then the program/mod will add that feature. There are actually thousands of mods in the net. Selfie, parkour, gravity gun (my favorite) were awesome add-ons for the game. Without them, the game will be like a stale bread. Dull and empty. The programmers who did these were awesome, too. Without their imaginative minds, there will be no mods. I actually look up to them and want to be like them someday. The game was never the same when I used the mods. It's cool and they've brought color to the game.

Going Up?

Oh, I almost forgot. There's also the skins. You can also change the appearance or skin of the character and it's pretty cool. There are also many of these out there. They're basically models from other games that were rigged into 3d model editor like Maya and 3DS Max to suit the GTA main character's skeleton or other peds' (the pedestrians the main character encounters in the game) They're a variety and I want to learn this too.

But first...

Another Game Review by me: Bust A Groove 2

So I was fiddling with my phone again when I saw an old, vintage (well, not really vintage,) game on the most coveted and most respected classic platform of all time, the PS1. It is called "Bust a Groove 2." Actually, I already played the "1," but I quitted it because it was so hard. Lol.

Astounding 3d except the faces.

Basically, this game is all about dancing with a little combat. You must outrun the enemy in matter of points and you can attack your opponent to stop him from making points for a short amount of time. Simple mechanics, but the gameplay itself is hard. You must follow the music's beat to execute the dance moves. I don't know for others, but I find it really hard to time it lol.  Here's a sample gameplay.   

Also, the game was a massive overhaul from the previous game. The UI became pretty neat, but the gameplay is as is. The costumes, scenery, and environment, changed though.

I think the most intriguing part in this game are the characters. They are all interesting, mainly because of their absurd stories and characteristics. There's one character that likes to dress as a baby, even complete with a rattle and a bunny suit! There's even a criminal! Weird, but I like it. I'll keep playing it until I get the hang of it :D

   

         

Mark Anthony Cruz's Review of the Game "Assassin's Creed: Liberation"

I remember hearing about this game series/franchise called “Assassin’s Creed” before. They say it was cool, and I even saw the game (AC II, as far as I remember) in action from my classmate’s pc. I was first introduced to this series by the mobile phone versions of the game. I downloaded them all, and all I can say is they’re dull 2d sidescrollers, with the exception of one. The 3d version. It was cool that it works on an ancient phone. Lol. That’s what I thought. So I got a bright idea: “Why not try the PC version, then?”. So I downloaded one of the many iterations of the franchise called Assassin’s Creed: Liberation. Here’s what it looks like:

Looks Cool.

Pretty cool, huh? And the best part is the lead is a female! I’m actually fond of playing as females in video games so, this is actually an added bonus for me. I don’t know if that’s the same for you, though. Many criticized the game for having a female lead. I mean, what’s the big deal anyway? It’s not a problem unless you’re a woman-hater or a misogynist, in which I have learned that the fanbase consists of these types of people. So basically the lead assassin’s name is Aveline, a French-African(oops, looks like I already know the storyline of this) woman who lives in 18th century New Orleans, when it was still a colony of France, then later transferred rule to the Spanish. It was the time when the blacks were sold as slaves and were discriminated by the whites. Aveline was a semi privileged black, though. It was mainly because of her French descent. Despite being wealthy and wass pretty lucky than her fellow blacks, she joined the Assassin Brotherhood, which is an organization that upholds justice and does things that an Assassin would casually say: “The usual” (assassinations) against their enemy: the Templars. The Templars are basically the bad guys with typical characteristics: corrupt, mysterious, and shady. These guys are typically people that hold political powers, generals, soldiers, and the like. So Aveline’s mission is to kill these guys (duh) And one more thing, the games is presented as a game (a game within a game, a publisher within a publisher lol) by Abstergo, a company that is pro-Templars. They revised Aveline’s story to make her and the Assassin Brotherhood look bad, but hackers aided the player to know the truth by decensoring and showing what really happened.

Looks pretty neat. She's not only busy with being an Assassin, but being a businesswoman too!

Let’s go with the graphics. For a 2gb game, it is really worth the download. The scenery, the characters, and the detail. You can even see the character’s freckles in the cutscenes! Seeing these, I wonder if the other Assassin’s Creed games with whopping 7-23gb (the main series) have to offer lol. The HD tag the game claims is worth it. I’ll give it a 9/10

Yikes!!!

The gameplay… there are a lot of downsides here. The only things that are good are the combat, the parkour, and the acrobatic movements. But the reaction of the guards is a major letdown. They don’t attack once they see you, the closely examine you. Even in a secluded, heavily-guarded area that simply screams: “NO ENTRY!”, the guards just fail to be guards. They’re like territorial cats lol. The reaction is slow. I mean, what will you do if you see a white, hooded figure complete with a sword, a machete, and a handblade comes close to you? To the guards, “Just stare at them” Lol just hide and they’ll quickly lose interest to you. The “Avoid being detected” missions really makes me laugh. They can see me already, and even if I pull out my blowpipe lugged with poisons, they just don’t give a damn. Until, of course, they realize that I’m an enemy but at that time they’re already dead. XD And one more thing. They also don’t care if one of their comrades died. They’ll even step on the corpse lol. They don’t even get alarmed that there’s an enemy just around there. The chain kill feature is great, though. It’s a time stop that gives you a chance to kill a number of targets (the numbers depend on the weapons), an unbreakable combo chain. Overall, I’ll give it a 6/10

Having a clear view on the busy streets :D

As for the storyline, I’m already halfway through but I still don’t get the gist of it. All I get is that a woman is trying to liberate the black slaves and uplifting their conditions by killing some bad guys. Further than that, I don’t know anymore lol. But jumping from building to building was fun! I’ll give it a 7/10.

So all in all, Assassin’s Creed: Liberation HD is a great graphical game that is really shabby on the inside, with the graphics the only remarkable factor. I really want to dive in to Aveline’s story but, the devs just didn’t cut it. It wasn’t full delivered. Well, the game is just a spin-off, after all. A game that is not part of the main series. But what I can say is this is a game that’s not too good for who want to try out the franchise. It just doesn’t give you the “Assassin” role lol. I’ll give the whole game a 7/10

Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and HP Data Centers

iPhone 6 Plus Review

This year’s launch of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus wasn’t exactly the smoothest of rollouts. There were glitches during the Sept. 9 unveiling, a delayed and problematic pre-order process and an iOS 8 launch on Wednesday that saw key features pulled at the last-minute. But that didn’t stop the company from booking an astounding four million in iPhone pre-sales, and it didn’t dissuade thousands of people from standing in line for hours (some, for days) for a chance to buy one of the new iPhones.

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are the first to offer display sizes larger than any previous model (up from their predecessor’s 4 in. screen to 4.7 in. and 5.5 in., respectively). They also include a new A8 system-on-chip processor; faster LTE access; NFC for the upcoming Apple Pay system; a new M8 motion sensor and processor; support for 802.11ac Wi-Fi; better 8-megapixel cameras; and even a new barometer sensor.

In hand is my new 128GB iPhone 6 in Space Gray. Like many, I awoke just before 3 a.m. on Sept. 12 to preorder my iPhone. After 20 minutes of trying to access the Apple Store online while simultaneously using the Apple Store app on my iPhone 5S and iPad Air, I was finally able to get into the store using the iPad and place my order. Many would-be buyers weren’t so lucky, and within a short time, hoped-for delivery dates of Sept. 19 slipped to a week to 10 days. (For iPhone 6 Plus buyers, those delivery dates are now well into October.)

My iPhone 6

Getting my pre-order meant that unlike last year, I could watch various reports of the thousands and thousands of fans hoping to buy iPhones yesterday from the comfort of my own home.

Cool.

The UPS man arrived at mid-afternoon; minutes later, the box was open and I was holding my new phone. Hours (and hours and hours) later — after literally the slowest iCloud restore I’ve ever experienced — my iPhone 6 was set up and ready, a near clone of the iPhone 5S save for the bigger screen, sleeker styling and better everything

First impressions

I should note that these are just my first impressions; a full review, including a look at how the new A8 chip works and whether battery life remains good, will come after I’ve had some serious time with the iPhone 6. (Follow me on Twitter or check my site if you want to know when the final review is published.) But it seems already clear from the crowds lining up to buy it to the details I can see up close that this will be a home run for Apple.

The biggest change, of course, is that the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus features screen sizes much bigger than earlier iPhones. Picking which one is the right for you is the first decision iPhone buyers had to make this year. I chose the iPhone 6 because it’s more portable.

My initial impression of the 4.7-in. screen: it’s a great screen. The iPhone 6 display is larger than, but just as pixel-dense (326 pixels per inch) as the older iPhone 5/5C/5S, and the viewing angles are insane. While there is some slight shifting when viewing off center, colors retain a remarkable consistency — even at extreme angles. Apple calls these screens Retina HD displays — the 6 Plus packs 401 pixels per inch on its display — and the improvements are worthy of the new name.

The iPhone 6 doesn’t have the most pixel-dense or largest screen out there, but what it does have won’t bring in complaints from new owners. Images, text and videos are well saturated, sharp and bright.

How big is too big?

What may bring complaints, though, is the size of the display, which extends a tad beyond my limits of comfortable one-handed operation. I have already found myself shifting the iPhone 6 more often in hand to compensate for the larger size. And I have quickly learned to appreciate the new feature called Reachability, which lowers some of the interface closer to where your thumb is located when the Home button is touched twice. It’s a smart and useful feature that goes a long way to reducing the amount of yoga your thumb must accomplish to reach the top-most interface elements and the Notification area.

I do enjoy the larger viewing area for reading, games and videos, though I wish the iPhone’s frame had been shrunk a bit to hug the screen more. I’ll also be glad when all third-party apps have been optimized for the larger sizes. As it stands, those apps that haven’t yet been updated are scaled up to full screen, which is useful if you have poor vision, but results in a softer look and sometimes blurry interface elements. For those apps, the additional screen size is largely a waste until they’re redesigned.

I’ve long been a fan of the iPhone 5 and 5S designs. Last year, I was keen to get the white/silver 5S because of the way the chamfered edges haloed light around the white-framed display (in concert with how light played off the metallic Touch ID ring). The look and overall design really appealed to me and pulled me away from my usual space gray/black models.

This year’s iPhone 6 and 6 Plus loses the reflective chamfered edges in favor of a sleek and thin pill-shaped profile, featuring a glass front that tapers into a smooth curve to meet the anodized aluminum body. On the Space Gray model, the entire front of the iPhone is cloaked in black, with components like the camera, sensors and even the display borders barely visible. The result is that the front of the new iPhone delivers a sleek, nearly unbroken black shine.

Build quality and design

I better understand the intention, the attempt at symmetry, in the shape of the original iPhone in 2007, because the iPhone 6 does that design better. With the exception of the rectangular display, nearly every aspect of the latest design swoops into a curve, forgoing the hard angles that have been part of the iPhone look since 2010′s iPhone 4.

Build quality is best-in-class, with the parts displaying precision craftsmanship and tight tolerances; if you’re a hardware fan, you have got to appreciate Apple’s designs.

While the iPhone 6 looks like an iPhone, it doesn’t feel like recent models. The smooth shape and texture are a departure from the style of the iPhone 4 and 5 families, and not just because the iPhone case is larger to compensate for the screen. The overall shape, from its thin form (6.9mm) to the lack of hard angles, means it feels smoother in your hand than previous models. But the sleek feel comes with a caveat: The anodized aluminum casing is a little more slippery, so iPhone 6 owners should be a bit mindful when carrying this model.

Both the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are thinner than the old iPhone 5S, and have rounded edges.

Final thoughts

There is much more to this iPhone — and how it integrates with Apple’s new iOS 8 — I have yet to explore. I’ll be putting it through its paces in the next week or so. But I don’t need a lot of time to know that the iPhone 6 has all of the marks of being another hit product. It’s fast, it’s gorgeous, and it comes complete with an app and media ecosystem that is second to none. That’s why people get up at 3 a.m. to pre-order or brave the urban outdoors for days – for this kind of technological excellence.

Apple has delivered again.

Source: COMPUTER WORLD