You're busy, we get that. The cute hamster gif was a good way to send the message, but we're wondering whether you really needed thirteen gigs for that one gif and the "definitely not a virus.exe" attachment. Maybe a bit excessive? Be that as it may, message received, and we don't want to interrupt your mass-emailing schedule.
So you don't have time to sit down and listen to an hour of in-depth tech advice and news? It's all good. How about ten minutes to read over an out-depth summary of that same tech advice and news? Well, here you go. For the week ending March 7th, 2017, this is the Calling All Platforms Tech podcast summary.
Lastly, Landen introduced us to a hidden feature of the new Google Assistant that will be available shortly to all Android 6 and newer phones. By using the natural language processing built in to the assistant, your phone can play marco/polo with you. Which you can use to find it if it's lost. We checked, neither Cortana or Siri are that clever, though we did find an interesting pizza joint a few dozen miles away.
Go figure. Also, there wasn't much Microsoft news this week.
Beyond that, store stock seems to indicate that the iPhone SE, the little 4-inch phone based on the form of the iPhone 5 with the internals of the 6s, may be due for an upgrade. And as the last small phone in the premium space, we say yes please. The two most reliable sources for iPhone rumors, the Wall Street Journal and KGI Securities, are in disagreement over whether this years iPhones will be getting USB-C ports. WSJ says yes, KGI says no. So... yeah, we've got no clue.
Finally, the next version of macOS, 10.13, has some reserved URL space on Apple's servers. That's literally it, though, which is a confirmation that 10.13 is coming, with no information about what might be in it. Not even sure why I mentioned it, now that I... mention... it... Also, a new graphic novel based on the massive legal document that is the iTunes terms and conditions has been released! It's called, fittingly, Terms and Conditions: The Graphic Novel. Think of it as an unofficial accompaniment to Apple's self-published version.
The Game Developer Conference wrapped up this past week as well, with one of the noteworthy announcements being the release of Nvidia's latest monster, the GTX 1080 Ti. Touting speeds of up to 35% faster than last years already beastly GTX 1080 and a starting price north of $600, perhaps the better half of that news is that the GTX 1080 (still beastly, need I remind you) is now a couple-hundred bucks cheaper than is was. Also, Ubisoft announced they are building a game in the Avatar universe. Before you get excited, no, not Avatar: The Last Airbender. The blue alien version. Yeah, we were pretty disappointed too.
In this weeks installment of "this doesn't actually suck," may we present DOOM + Tim Allen.
In Overwatch news, as a followup to last week, yes we did in fact get a new hero. Her name is Orisa, and we've got gameplay of her in action. Microsoft also announced the upcoming Xbox Game Pass subscription service, which will give you access to hundreds of Xbox One and Xbox 360 titles for a low monthly price of (we don't actually know the price yet, sorry)! It's supposed to include some fairly recent titles as well, so definitely worth a look.
Finally, the Nintendo Switch is out! The verdicts are pretty much in. The console does the whole "switching" thing for which it is named really darn well, and that feels pretty magical. Beyond that, there are a lot of little things that fall short, from a flimsy kickstand to bad placement of the charging port and controllers that can't stay connected if you hold them wrong. Almost sounds like an Apple product, actually... The hardware is also not much of an improvement over the Wii U, if at all, considering at full 1080p HD the new Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will cause framerate drops from time to time. So this will not be the console to convince AAA games to come back to Nintendo.
Are we sure this isn't the iPhone 4? It sounds an awful lot like the iPhone 4 all over again. Which sold really well, so, you know. There's our prediction.
So you don't have time to sit down and listen to an hour of in-depth tech advice and news? It's all good. How about ten minutes to read over an out-depth summary of that same tech advice and news? Well, here you go. For the week ending March 7th, 2017, this is the Calling All Platforms Tech podcast summary.
Landen
Landen kicked things off this week with the announcement of an upcoming new fitness band from Fitbit, the Alta HR. Claiming to be the thinnest fitness band with an integrated heart rate monitor, we unfortunately don't have details much beyond that it will include the interchangeable bands that Fitbit is famous for. Also, the latest security update for Android has come out for Nexus and Pixel phones, and also for any other OEMs that decide to allow it.For all you folks who have Cortana set up on your Windows PC and are using an Android phone with it, this could be a welcome addition.You may recall a few podcasts ago when we talked about Cortana getting a widget on the lock screen in Android. Well, it's out! (yay) By swiping left or right on the little thing you can view all of your Cortana feeds and updates, but you won't be able to issue commands directly from the lock screen. This isn't surprising. But for all you folks who have Cortana set up on your Windows PC and are using an Android phone with it, this could be a welcome addition.
Lastly, Landen introduced us to a hidden feature of the new Google Assistant that will be available shortly to all Android 6 and newer phones. By using the natural language processing built in to the assistant, your phone can play marco/polo with you. Which you can use to find it if it's lost. We checked, neither Cortana or Siri are that clever, though we did find an interesting pizza joint a few dozen miles away.
Wes
Considering every job that has a desk seems to require Microsoft Office literacy, it's not a bad resource.In Microsoft news, Wes introduced us to a new/updated Microsoft Office training center that is going to be useful for anyone needing to brush up on their Office mojo. And considering every job that has a desk seems to require Microsoft Office literacy, it's not a bad resource. Microsoft also renamed Windows Holographic to Window Mixed Reality, which doesn't have the number 10 in it, which made some of us (Caleb) sad. This led to us trying to divine the future of VR/AR in relation to Windows and Xbox, and frankly, it turns out none of us are diviners.
Go figure. Also, there wasn't much Microsoft news this week.
Caleb
Don't become so embedded in an ecosystem that you can't shop somewhere else.In Apple news, Tim Cook has promised that more stuff is coming from Apple in the pro Mac space. That uh, that leads to a whole can of worms, because to all appearances Apple has been steadily becoming more and more consumer focused since, well, the return of Steve Jobs back in the heady days of '97. This particular rabbit hole is filled with conflicting wants from macOS, angst over Apple's hardware business, and discussions concerning the "golden calf," and is probably worthy of an article all on its own. Suffice it to say that the best advice we can give holds true. Don't become so embedded in an ecosystem that you can't shop somewhere else.
Beyond that, store stock seems to indicate that the iPhone SE, the little 4-inch phone based on the form of the iPhone 5 with the internals of the 6s, may be due for an upgrade. And as the last small phone in the premium space, we say yes please. The two most reliable sources for iPhone rumors, the Wall Street Journal and KGI Securities, are in disagreement over whether this years iPhones will be getting USB-C ports. WSJ says yes, KGI says no. So... yeah, we've got no clue.
Finally, the next version of macOS, 10.13, has some reserved URL space on Apple's servers. That's literally it, though, which is a confirmation that 10.13 is coming, with no information about what might be in it. Not even sure why I mentioned it, now that I... mention... it... Also, a new graphic novel based on the massive legal document that is the iTunes terms and conditions has been released! It's called, fittingly, Terms and Conditions: The Graphic Novel. Think of it as an unofficial accompaniment to Apple's self-published version.
Gaming
If you're really interested in playing retro games on your phone or tablet, we'd recommend grabbing a bluetooth controller for the best experience.Landon actually kicked our gaming news off this week as well, with a mention of Capcom's plans to begin porting some of their classic catalogue of video games to mobile devices! While we all agree that this is a great idea and please bring it on, we also agree that ports of this nature can be a little hit-and-miss. If you're really interested in playing retro games on your phone or tablet, we'd recommend grabbing a bluetooth controller for the best experience.
The Game Developer Conference wrapped up this past week as well, with one of the noteworthy announcements being the release of Nvidia's latest monster, the GTX 1080 Ti. Touting speeds of up to 35% faster than last years already beastly GTX 1080 and a starting price north of $600, perhaps the better half of that news is that the GTX 1080 (still beastly, need I remind you) is now a couple-hundred bucks cheaper than is was. Also, Ubisoft announced they are building a game in the Avatar universe. Before you get excited, no, not Avatar: The Last Airbender. The blue alien version. Yeah, we were pretty disappointed too.
In this weeks installment of "this doesn't actually suck," may we present DOOM + Tim Allen.
In Overwatch news, as a followup to last week, yes we did in fact get a new hero. Her name is Orisa, and we've got gameplay of her in action. Microsoft also announced the upcoming Xbox Game Pass subscription service, which will give you access to hundreds of Xbox One and Xbox 360 titles for a low monthly price of (we don't actually know the price yet, sorry)! It's supposed to include some fairly recent titles as well, so definitely worth a look.
Finally, the Nintendo Switch is out! The verdicts are pretty much in. The console does the whole "switching" thing for which it is named really darn well, and that feels pretty magical. Beyond that, there are a lot of little things that fall short, from a flimsy kickstand to bad placement of the charging port and controllers that can't stay connected if you hold them wrong. Almost sounds like an Apple product, actually... The hardware is also not much of an improvement over the Wii U, if at all, considering at full 1080p HD the new Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will cause framerate drops from time to time. So this will not be the console to convince AAA games to come back to Nintendo.
The Switch! Sure, there are some issues, but the hardware is cool, the portability is borderline magical, and the headline game is virtually flawless.BUT, and this is a big one, evidently if you bought the new Zelda game you're going to forgive the issues in favor of what the console and what Nintendo has done really well. Sure, there are some issues, but the hardware is cool, the portability is borderline magical, and the headline game is virtually flawless. So people will learn to live with it. This may be the worthy successor to the Wii that we all wanted. Gamers will reject it for being underpowered and gimmicky. But normal, average families all over the globe are going to find this is the console that fits into their lifestyle the best, and they'll buy it, use it, and forget about all the little issues.
Are we sure this isn't the iPhone 4? It sounds an awful lot like the iPhone 4 all over again. Which sold really well, so, you know. There's our prediction.
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