Posts Tagged ‘Microsoft’
Tip: Update Windows Now
From ZDNet, a tip: update Windows now.
Upgrade paths from Windows XP to Windows Vista. Dotted lines indicate that a “clean install” is required; otherwise, an in-place upgrade is possible. Black lines indicate upgrade paths between Vista versions. Windows XP Professional x64 and Windows 2000 both require clean installs for every Vista edition. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Seriously. I don’t use Windows anymore (see the image above), but apparently this is one of those really bad things that has the potential to screw up your computer.
The flaw, which also affects Windows 10, allows a hacker to take over a machine.
Does that sound fun to you? It’s doesn’t to me. “All versions,” according to ZDNet, means “Windows Vista, 7, 8, and 8.1” and based on the quote above, Windows 10.
I haven’t used Windows regularly since XP Pro. That was a fine OS. It helped that I bought a Thinkpad, one of the last models made by IBM before they sold that part of their business to Lenovo, and the computer came with very little pre-installed crapware. Crapware, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, is stupid software that comes installed on many Windows computers. Usually all the stuff does is cause your OS to slow to a crawl and make you want to throw your computer out the window. (No pun intended.) I have spent… let’s see… carry the 1… a boat-load of hours uninstalling crapware from the PCs of friends and family.
Anyway, this isn’t a crapware problem, at least not as far as I can tell. Assuming Windows Vista/7/8/8.1/10 still work somewhat similarly to Windows XP, updating your OS should be fairly easy. As Nike used to say, just do it.
Source: Microsoft releases emergency patch for all versions of Windows | ZDNet
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
Minecraft Story Mode Announced
Minecraft Story Mode is coming in 2015.
The fact that Minecraft does not have a story is apparently not a problem.
This was back in 2013.
Confused? That’s OK. You’re probably an adult. Ask your kids. Or check out this semi-game on Mojang.com. (More on that later.)
The new game will be made by Mojang, the original developer of Minecraft, and Telltale Games. Telltale is best-known for their mega-hit episodic game The Walking Dead, based on the comic book and TV show. That game is NOT for children, and since Minecraft is played by a lot of young’uns, some have expressed concern that Minecraft Story Mode will be violent. What I’ve read says this will not be the case. I’m inclined to believe it, since that would hurt sales enormously.
Minecraft, of course, is the game that your children are probably playing, possibly right now as you read this. Mojang, the company that spawned the worldwide phenomenon, was purchased by Microsoft for a huge pile of money earlier this year.
It’s official, today we welcome Mojang to the Microsoft Studios family. We're excited for the possibilities ahead w/the Minecraft community.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) November 6, 2014
This latest news about Minecraft Story Mode was hailed on Twitter by California Representative Jared Huffman…
Glad @mojang is partnering w/San Rafael’s @telltalegames on new game based on #minecraft—my son’s favorite game! https://t.co/YSOL1Yf0xa
— Rep. Jared Huffman (@RepHuffman) December 18, 2014
…and he received mad props for doing so:
@RepHuffman @Mojang @telltalegames lolz hey got to give this politician props, I was surprised to see your tweet about Minecraft 🙂
— The Famous Kurt Paul (@ninjanomical) December 18, 2014
What’s my point? That Minecraft is a big deal. Microsoft reportedly paid $2.5 billion for Mojang, and they expect to make that money back by July of 2015, according to a story on IGN.com. That should give you an idea of why this is newsworthy.
I don’t play Minecraft, and don’t plan on playing the new game, although I imagine I will at least hear more about it and possibly find myself being asked “Dad can I buy Minecraft Story Mode?” I did play with this interactive press release on Mojang.com called Info Quest II. It’s actually a fairly amusing bit of business, and a clever way to answer folks’ questions about a new game. Obviously this particular announcement lends itself to an 8-bit-style kindasorta game; I doubt we’ll see car companies use this technique to let the public know about their latest offerings. In this case, I paid more attention to the news than I would have if it had just been a press release. Here’s the link if you want to check it out.
Play Info Quest II. You might learn something…. (Mojang.com)
If there’s a Minecrafter in your house, you might want to buy them Minecraft: The Complete Handbook Collection, a boxed set of books about Minecraft. Or a Minecraft Steve Action Figure. (Trust me, that’s a thing.)
Also of interest: This “Minecraft” Community Is Saving The Lives Of Children With Autism (Buzzfeed.com)
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
Dad Concerned Son’s E-Gaming Career May Not Last Forever
The headline “Dad Concerned Son’s E-Gaming Career May Not Last Forever” may sound like it belongs on The Onion, but it’s real. Here are some quotes from an article that was on the FRONT PAGE of the New York Times a few weeks back.
(Note: the photo below is from a a DOTA Championship back in 2005. Remember 2005? Good times, good times. OK, not really.)
English: The top three finalists in DotA Allstars, from WCG 2005 (a computer gaming championship). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
His obsession with video games was a sore point with Mr. Dager’s parents during his teenage years, as it was for the parents of many top gamers.
“I, and many players like me, sacrificed everything,” said Mr. Dager, who is almost a senior in college but is not attending school now. “We gave up on sports and friends and school just so we can play more.”
Mr. Dager’s income was meager last year, amounting to less than $20,000. But he estimates his income so far this year at more than $200,000.
He recently looked at a condominium to buy in Fort Wayne. His father, Joe Dager, said he was proud of his son’s success but uncertain about the longevity of his son’s career.
“There’s hardly a week that goes by when we don’t reiterate the fact that that’s all fine and good, but at some point you do have to make provisions to finish school,” his father said. “We say that, but I don’t know if Bill Gates’s parents are still saying that to him.”
(Note: emphasis added above.)
Quick comment: making money playing video games does not mean you are Bill Gates. It doesn’t even mean you’re a programmer, or know a thing about how to start a successful business, much less the multibillion dollar Microsoft. So let’s not get too crazy.
What I say to kids who tell me they want an e-gaming/e-sports career is the following: start really young, keep your expectations realistic, and don’t skip college unless you’ve got something tangible happening where you are making actual money. Not potential money. Actual money. And any money you make? Save it. Put it in the bank. Invest it in something low-risk. (Unless you have a trust fund or something. In that case, be a mensch and donate your winnings. That would be a nice thing to do.) Because the game that you happen to be a master of could easily disappear as quickly as it became popular. Maybe even faster.
In E-Sports, Video Gamers Draw Real Crowds and Big Money – NYTimes.com.
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content.)
Tweets Tweets and More Tweets (Tweets)
Tweets. Tweets. Twitter! It’s all about The Twitter. Except when it’s all about The Facebook. Or The Google. Those are The Big Three, I think. Oh! The YouTube. So much for (un)holy trinities.
Emergency “Twitter was down so I wrote my tweet on paper and photographed it and posted on flickr” : Satire on internet culture (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Anyway, here are some tweets we stumbled across that we decided to share with you.
How this works, parents using Bing to get a free tablet for their child’s classroom, I have no idea. But Microsoft has done stranger things so we figured it was worth sharing.
60 parents using @bing for a month can earn a school a tablet. #bingclassroom #mom2summit
— Jana Anthoine (@jana0926) May 2, 2014
Nathan Rabin is a funny guy. Also a very good writer. Pick up his books, any of them. They’re good.
Most of the traffic for my THE FOUR SEASONS Forgotbuster comes from Google searches for "middle-aged, sexually exciting stir-fry."
— Nathan Rabin (@nathanrabin) May 2, 2014
Apparently I follow Jimmy Fallon on Twitter. (I badly need to look at my Twitter account. By the way, are you following me @brettsinger? You should. I’m very interesting.) Anyway, here Mr. Fallon tweets a rather kindly worded review of Seth Rogen’s latest film, Neighbors. The tone matches Fallon’s general image, which is that he seems like a nice guy.
Congrats @Sethrogen. I just watched Neighbors – hilarious and also sweet – best movie I've seen in a while. Well done all around.
— jimmy fallon (@jimmyfallon) May 2, 2014
And here’s a photo of Jimmy Fallon, because why not.
Related articles (Note: These are offsite links; DaddyTips takes no responsibility for outside content. In this case, the articles below may have little or no relation to the content on this page. Sorry about that. But maybe you’ll find something interesting anyway.)
DadNews Daily – Miley And Nick Sing Together
Happy Friday! Some entertainment news today, defining the term “entertainment” loosely, as well as why I may be done with Windows after the Conficker non-event. Read more »
