Free Games

  • Twitch

    • Cyber Hook

      • 2020
      • A fast-paced first person 3D platformer that has you speeding through a retrowave world with parkour and a grappling hook to blast enemies, manipulate time, and abuse physics
  • Epic Games

    • Galactic Civilizations III

      • 2015
      • A 4X (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) turn-based strategy game from the makers of Sins of a Solar Empire, it has you building a civilization that will stand the test of time as you make a name for yourself through diplomacy, espionage, technology, and more

Universal chat app Beeper is looking to bring iMessage to Windows and Android, but it’s a little hacky

  • The launch of Beeper was announced by Eric Migicovsky, who you may remember as the CEO and founder of Pebble, one of the earliest smartwatches
    • The Kickstarter for the e-paper gadget ran almost 9 years ago, and it helped show the world what a connected smart-device on your wrist could accomplish
  • This new venture is an attempt to unify 15 different chat platforms, like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Slack, Twitter, Discord, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger, into a single app for $10/month
  • The biggest draw though is iMessage, which is only officially available on Apple devices
    • They get around this using “some trickery”, namely always-on software on a supported device to forward the messages from iMessage into a compatible format
    • If you have a Mac that you never turn off you’re set- you just install the Beeper Mac app to act as a bridge and away you go
    • If you don’t, then Beeper will apparently send subscribers a jailbroken iPhone with the Beeper app pre-installed
      • In a follow-up tweet, Migicovsky said that he has 50 old iPhone 4S’s at his desk ready to be used with Beeper
  • As convenient as all that sounds, if someone offered me $10/month to stay on the messaging platforms I already use I would take it in a heartbeat, so I’m clearly not the intended target
    • If it sounds good to you, you can sign up for an invitation at beeperhq.com (make sure to let them know who sent you!)

Brave is officially the first browser to support peer-to-peer websites

  • Using the IPFS protocol (compared to HTTP), it makes loading webpages work similar to BitTorrent by using data from available peers instead of always referring back to the main web server
  • It could mean a more resilient internet with lower hosting costs, but it could also mean higher costs for people browsing and a greater potential for malicious intervention

China’s US Embassy is the latest political entity to have their Twitter account suspended, thanks to a tweet dehumanizing Uighur muslim women and calling them “baby-making machines”, violating Twitter’s policies

  • The tweet has been made unavailable, but Twitter requires account owners to manually delete tweets that violate its rules before unlocking accounts

After repeated rounds of blowback, WhatsApp is now delaying the privacy policy changes that will have them sharing data with Facebook without any kind of opt-out mechanism until May

  • We’ll have to see if this helps the platform regain ground after Signal and Telegram have grown so much since the initial announcement, but hopefully this marks another change in the public’s willingness to hand their info to Facebook without a second thought

Following the removal of Parler from the App Store, non-profit group “Coalition for a Safer Web” has sued Apple to get Telegram banned from the platform as well

  • The group accuses Telegram of hosting conversations of “white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and other hateful content”, but unlike Parler which was founded to be a community for those types of extremists Telegram is somewhat interchangeable with any other messaging platform so I don’t see this getting too far

Posting To YouTube again!

  • Last episode we posted was 229
  • New Automation program to help Josh out
  • Josh is also going to try to live stream on tuesdays

This Week In Gaming History

January 16 – 2013 – Zamboni – Browser

  • Google presented a small game on their front page.
    • In celebration of the 112th birthday of Frank Zamboni, the creator of the world’s first self-propelled ice-resurfacing machine which is commonly known as a Zamboni
  • The player controls an ice-cleaning machine and needs to clean up after a group of kids, hockey-players, or skaters (all of them together in later levels).
    • With each level the number of persons onscreen increases and cleaning up takes more time, also once in several levels the size of the screen itself increases.
    • The player may collect items left behind such as fuel cans (needed to refuel the Zamboni), ice cones (for points), and coffee pots (for a speed boost).
    • There are also banana peels which will cause the player loose control over the machine for a couple of seconds.

January 17 – 2014 – Mario Party: Island Tour – Nintendo 3DS

  • Mario Party: Island Tour continues the Mario Party franchise after the 2007 Mario Party DS release and takes it to the Nintendo 3DS.
    • One can play with any off the previous Mario Party DS characters such as Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Wario, Daisy, Waluigi, Toad and the new character Boo.
    • A secret ninth character can be unlocked by playing through one of the available game modes.
  • The game is played on seven different boards (6 standard and 1 unlockable) and features 81 different mini-games in the so-called Party Mode, which also can be played “without the use of a game board in the Mini-Game Mode.
    • Island Tour also features AR and supports Streetpass, which can be used in the third mode: StreetPass Minigames.
    • The fourth and final mode is Bowser’s Tower in which players must play through 30 floors of minigames, with every 5 floors featuring a boss battle.
  • The general concept of playing the game is still the same and does not much differ, compared to its previous iteration of Mario Party DS

January 18 – 2011 – LittleBigPlanet 2 – Playstation 3

  • When an inter-dimensional vacuum cleaner called the Negativatron appears, Sackboy must step back into action, alongside Larry Da Vinci and The Alliance, to save Craftworld and Avalonia.
  • LittleBigPlanet 2 is a side-scrolling platformer like it’s predecessor, once again working on three plains which the player can move between, and allowing the player to create their own levels.
    • This sequel includes more sophisticated customisation tools which allow more options for more complex user-generated content.
    • These features include, and are not limited to, the Controlinator, which allows one to assign action triggers to buttons on the controller, as well as Sackbots, AI-controlled sack-people.

January 19 – 2015 – HuniePop – Linux, Mac, Windows

  • HuniePop is a dating simulation including visual novel aspects and minor RPG elements.
    • The player controls a character who attempted to pick up Kyo, a magic love fairy in disguise.
    • Because of your pathetic attempts she decides to help you conquer hearts.
  • The game contains eight girls as well as some secret, unlockable ones.
    • There are more than twenty locations and more than 250 items such as foods, drinks, gifts, accessories and panties.
    • The girls can also be customized in their appearance with unlockable items.
    • The dating part of the game incorporates a match-three puzzle game with upgradable traits/stats.

January 20 – 1992 – Evander Holyfield’s “Real Deal” Boxing – Genesis

  • Evander Holyfield’s “Real Deal” Boxing is a boxing simulation.
    • Holyfield is the only licensed boxer, the rest are fictitious.
    • Rather than a fanciful approach like Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!, the developers went for a more strategic simulation.
    • The game is played from a pseudo-3D side view with moving around the ring handled by scrolling the backdrop and moving the ropes. A top down camera is shown at the top of the screen.
  • Players can either play a quick exhibition match or fight their way through the career mode, using a created boxer to work their way up the 30-boxer ranking list until they fight Holyfield himself.
    • During character creation, players can choose the fighter’s color of skin, trunks and hair, haircut, dominant hand and stats emphasis. Between matches, career mode offers various exercises to assign the boxer to improve his stats.
  • During the fights, besides an energy bar, the fighters have a head and a torso damage meter.
    • This meters are images of their head and torso, which become gradually grey, from top to bottom, as they are hit.
    • If one of these meters becomes totally grey, it will start blinking, warning that it the fighter takes some more punches on that area, he will loose the fight by TKO.
    • Being knocked down three times in a round also leads to a TKO.
    • During the rounds’ breaks, fighters regain strength as the girl with the round sign passes along their sides.
  • Fighters can perform three types of punches: jabs, hooks and uppers, which can be aimed at the opponent’s head or torso.
    • Fighters can also taunt their opponents.
    • If by some reason the fighters avoid to fight, the spectators will start to hiss at them.
    • To keep the spectators pleased, the fighters must keep punching each other on a regular basis.

January 21 – 1998 – Resident Evil 2 – PlayStation – North America

  • Plot:
    • Even though Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine were able to destroy the Umbrella corporation’s undead monsters in the original Resident Evil, Umbrella’s experiments with the T-virus continued unhindered.
    • Claire Redfield, the younger sister of Chris, and Leon Kennedy, a rookie cop on his first day of the job, arrive in the sleepy midwestern town of Raccoon City only to find the city in flaming ruins due to the inhabitants having been transformed into mindless flesh-eating freaks.
    • Although Claire and Leon team up, they are soon separated and trapped inside the city by a car crash.
    • Seeking refuge within the Raccoon City police station, each character must find a way to escape from the nightmare while solving the mystery of what happened to Raccoon City.
  • Besides the zombie population (which is much more diverse than the original, including teenage girl zombies, maniac cop zombies, and even melting naked zombies), Claire and Leon will also have to deal with a variety of freakish mutants including giant poisonous spiders, walking venus-fly-traps, and speedy wall-crawling Lickers.
    • Each character will also be pursued by one seemingly unstoppable foe: a horrific and constantly evolving man-monster known as the “G-Type” (Leon’s Scenario) , or a taciturn but inhumanly powerful Umbrella agent who is nonetheless saddled with the rather quaint name of Mr. X (Claire’s Scenario).
  • Like the previous game in the series, Resident Evil 2 is a 3D action-adventure using three-dimensional polygon characters over two-dimensional pre-rendered backgrounds, with the action viewed through a variety of cinematic fixed camera angles in each room.
    • Just like the original Resident Evil, players can choose to play as one of two possible characters.
    • Each character goes through the same initial scenario, but with differences in the type of weaponry they find and the people they meet along the way.
    • Leon will team up with a mysterious woman calling herself Ada Wong, while Claire will find herself charged with protecting a little girl named Sherry Birkin.
  • Unlike the original Resident Evil, beating the game for the first time unlocks a second scenario to be played with the character you didn’t choose, with new locations, maps, enemies, a longer and more climactic ending.
    • Your actions in the first scenario can also affect the outcome of certain events in the second scenario.
    • Additionally ammo and healing items are more plentiful than in the original game, although you still aren’t given enough bullets to kill every enemy you meet.

January 22 – 1997 – Carnage Heart – PlayStation

  • Carnage Heartis a video game for the PlayStation, developed by Artdink.
    • Its gameplay is a mecha-based, turn-based strategy game, where the player takes the role of a commander in a war fought by robots.
    • The robots, called Overkill Engines (OKEs), cannot be directly controlled in battle; they must be programmed beforehand to behave in a certain way under certain conditions using a flow diagram system.
  • The game features a fairly complex negotiation system that allows the player to purchase, research, or upgrade new equipment and parts.
    • The OKEs themselves can be upgraded as well through this system, allowing for extended use of the same model for as long as possible.
    • The various companies involved in the negotiation process can also provide valuable information about the purchases of the enemy, allowing the player to better plan for the next advance in enemy technology.
  • To aid the player in learning the gameplay, Carnage Heart was packaged with an unusually large amount of materials for a console game of the time: in addition to the game disc and above-average length manual, the jewel case contained a 58-page strategy guide and a tutorial disc with a 30-minute, fully voice-guided overview of most aspects of the game.

Tidbits

  • Some clever users of the dating app Bumble apparently took advantage of the app’s political filters to gather information on the insurgents during the January 6th US Capitol riot, taking screenshots and soliciting photos from people that had broken in to the building in order to send them to the FBI
  • Apple is rumoured to be developing their own standalone VR headset, a la Oculus Quest, expected to release some time in 2022, and based on the performance of the new M1 Macs I’m pretty excited
  • Apple is once again extending the free Apple TV+ trial that customers got with new devices, so anyone with a subscription that was set to expire before June can now keep using it until July 2021
  • Career stats from Halo 2, 3, ODST, and Reach, along with the entire halo.bungie.net website, will go offline on February 9th
    • The data hasn’t been updated since 343 took control of the Halo franchise so it makes sense, but it’s a little disappointing that they didn’t try to fold it into the Master Chief Collection and keep it around

Would you like to know more?

  • You might recall about three years back when Elon Musk’s “The Boring Company” decided to sell “Not a Flamethrower”s. Who could have known they could cause legal issues for the owners?
    • TechCrunch put together a great article detailing some of the problems that buyers have had, from one man stuck in an Italian prison to another served with a search warrant by armed officers in his own home
    • Though functionally similar to propane torches for melting ice or applying roofing materials, giving it a rifle stock and pistol grip has rightfully made many people concerned when it comes to deciding if these “Not a Flamethrower”s are weapons
    • London’s rapid response team dedicated to tackling gun crime actually tracked shipments as they entered the country, and up to 1,000 purchasers in Switzerland had theirs confiscated and were issued fines

 

For more content, Patreon supports get access to upcoming ideas and more!

Thank you so much to Dalton. Our longest Patron, we love ya bud, and I hope you are like OMG me? When and if you eventually read this.

And thanks to the rest of our ‘fanily’ that support us.
And if you want to support us too, its as easy as clicking this link!
And talk to us in the comments!

Free games

  • Epic Games

    • Kingdom Come: Deliverance

      • 2018
      • Story-driven open world action RPG with immersive, branching quest lines set in the kingdom of Bohemia, an imperial state of the Holy Roman Empire, with a focus on historically accurate content
    • Aztez

      • 2017
      • Hybrid side-scrolling brawler and turn-based strategy game set in the world of the Aztec Empire, developed by a two-person team and designed to play like an arcade game with the action of God of War or Devil May Cry

Security warning- if you have an Android device running either 8 or 9 you’ll need to be wary of using Bluetooth

  • A critical bug was found recently that allows anyone within bluetooth range to gain access to your phone’s storage, letting them lift personal files and install malware without any input from you
  • The February 2020 security patch includes a fix for this bug, so you’ll want to make sure you’re up to date as soon as possible by going to System > Advanced > System update
  • If you’re unable to get that patch for whatever reason, like your device is too old, you should consider turning off your device’s bluetooth entirely. You won’t be able to use your wireless accessories, but you’ll also be safe from the hack

FYI, if you’re playing the BioShock collection you’re going to need to manage your save files effectively

  • Apparently if you use all 10 available save slots in one of the games, it won’t let you save at all in the others- save space is shared between all games in the collection
  • This has been an issue since the collection was first released back in 2016, but there hasn’t been any patch or fix to either increase the save space available or separate storage for each game

The Pokémon Home cloud service for transferring Pokémon between games is now available, and Nintendo continues to baffle with their choices regarding connectivity

  • The app exists on the Switch, Android and iOS, and the idea is that you can transfer Pokémon from one game into another by linking your Nintendo account on each device
  • At the moment it’s a little one-sided though- you can take Pokémon from Bank for the 3DS, the Let’s Go games, and eventually Pokémon Go, but you can’t put them back
    • The only way to get Pokémon back out is into the new Sword and Shield games- those support bi-directional travel for Pokémon in Home
  • There are a couple of cool pieces though
    • The app supports trading via Wonder Box, the GTS, opening a Room Trade event with up to 20 people, or just one-to-one trading with a friend
    • You can also register Pokémon in Home in your National Pokédex, and get info on abilities and moves
  • But, since this is Nintendo and a mobile app, there’s a premium plan involved
    • With a Basic (free) plan you can’t remove any Pokémon from Pokémon Bank, you’re limited to 30 Pokémon in Home, and you can’t host room trades
    • If you want to pay $16USD a year you can get those missing features and hold up to 6,000 Pokémon, though it’s a tough sell for a recurring cost

E-cigarette maker Juul is being sued by the Massachusetts Attorney General for predatory advertising targeting children

  • The company’s early marketing used young, cool-looking models, recruited teen influencers, and bought advertisements on CartoonNetwork.com, Nick.com and NickJr.com
    • They also hit sites like allfreekidscrafts.com, dailydressupgames.com… places that are pretty specifically frequented by children
    • They even gave out advice over email on how to get around age restrictions to buy Juul products online
  • They even held presentations in schools by going in to mental health / addiction seminars and saying their products are “totally safe”, with no teachers present or parental consent
    • When approached afterward and asked about struggles with nicotine addiction, the Juul rep advised that people should switch from cigarettes to Juul
  • All-in, the company seems bent on singlehandedly reversing decades of progress combatting tobacco and nicotine use, especially in minors

Hitting a bit of whiplash, Nvidia’s announced that all Activision Blizzard games are going to be removed from GeForce Now at the publisher’s request

  • This will impact everything like Overwatch, WoW, Starcraft 2, and Call of Duty, though Destiny 2 is still streamable since Bungie split with Activision previously
  • Blizzard hasn’t publicly commented on the reason, but last month they entered into a partnership with Google Cloud to provide infrastructure for its games as well as switching their Overwatch League streams to YouTube, so there could be something in the works over at Stadia HQ
  • The worst part is that the games had been playable through the beta and after launch, so there could very well be people that bought them with the sole expectation of playing them on GeForce Now
    • This serves as another reminder that though subscription gaming is convenient it also means you’re giving up full ownership of the ability to use things that you’ve paid for. Access to your games only lasts as long as companies are willing to provide it

Games to play with your Valentine

Play Together!

  • Lego Games
    • You can play your favorite universe with your number 2!
    • Weather its Star Wars, DC, Marvel, Indiana Jones or whatever you have, its a fun casual collect-a-thon with low stakes.
  • Overcooked
    • Work together to make food for the hungry masses!
    • It requires communication and crisis management with your partner.
  • Portal 2
    • The Co-Op campaign has an interesting story and progression makes you feel smrt!
    • Since 2011 this puzzle game has been making pairs figure out complicated puzzles, with portals!m
  • Mario Kart
    • Everyone’s favorite arcade racer already
    • If you’re not into sabotaging each-other, compete in VS races on the same team!
  • Lovers In A Dangerous Spacetime
    • Alan and I played this a while ago
    • The two of you take stations on a cute spaceship in this 2D adventure
  • Minecraft
    • Why not have fun in arguably the biggest sandbox game ever made
    • Go on an epic quest or settle down and build your dream castle
  • Borderlands
    • A game that only gets better with more people
    • Make it a digital double date and shoot and loot the night away!

Collaborate together

  • Kings Quest
  • What Remains of Edith Finch
  • The Station
  • Gone Home

Tidbits

  • Microsoft’s planned changes to Office 365 that we talked about in episode 285, involving installing a browser extension forcing people to use the Bing search engine, has officially been rolled back a bit
    • The option still exists but now it’s actually an option, and it defaults to Off
    • If your organization’s administrators turn it on though, keep in mind you’ll still need to go into the extension settings to change your search engine instead of your browser’s normal settings
  • Almost a year later, it looks like BioWare is aiming to resurrect Anthem with a “more substantial reinvention than an update or expansion”
    • General Manager Casey Hudson says the team will be halting new seasonal updates as it focuses on the overhaul, giving themselves time to test and iterate while focusing on gameplay
    • My favourite bit is how they want to “reinvent the core gameplay loop with clear goals, motivating challenges and progression with meaningful rewards.”
  • The one and only Nintendo PlayStation is up for auction until early March, currently sitting on Heritage Auctions with a bid of $48,000 USD
    • The device was the final collaboration between Nintendo and Sony before plans for a Super Nintendo CD-ROM system fell through over licensing, and hopefully it ends up in a museum rather than collecting dust in a basement somewhere

 

For more content, Patreon supports get access to upcoming ideas and more!

Thank you to Karen, giving us the incentive to be more creative!

And thanks to all our ‘fanily’ that support us.
And if you want to support us too, its as easy as clicking this link!
We are a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB
And talk to us in the comments!

Free games

  • Epic Games

    • The Messenger

      • 2018
      • As a demon army besieges his village, a young ninja ventures through a cursed world, to deliver a scroll paramount to his clan’s survival. What begins as a classic action platformer soon unravels into an expansive time-traveling adventure full of thrills, surprises, and humour.

Pokemon Sword and Shield are under fire ahead of their release this weekend because of weird limitations and broken promises

  • First up is the fact that even though new Pokemon are being introduced, bringing the total up over 1,000, they’ve actually removed many older ones from the game
    • For instance, Bulbasaur and Squirtle were cut but we’ve seen Charizard in trailers so far
    • Apparently the game’s producer, Junichi Masuda, worried that the new ones would be overshadowed by fan favourites, and that it would be too time-consuming to include all the different Pokemon
    • Many fans are disappointed though, because not being able to catch some is one thing but since they’re being completely excluded from the game you can’t even trade them forward
      • There are hardcore fans that complete the National Pokedex, owning every single Pokemon, in each game as it comes out. This is the first time that it won’t be possible
    • The worst part of this is that they said it would be too time-consuming to rebuild all the Pokemon from scratch, and they didn’t have the manpower to do all 800+ from the previous generations, but dataminers have confirmed that the character models are taken almost completely from the 3DS games
  • Not only have they removed Pokemon, but they’ve also removed some random moves (like Karate Chop and Hidden Power) so that even if a Pokemon is included in the game it can’t be traded forward if it knows one of them
  • Some are saying that if The Pokemon Company wanted to clear the way for the new generation, they should have just started with a clean slate and let this be its own isolated experience instead of picking and choosing which previous gen moves and monsters would be brought forward
  • And in one last strange little feature, the sound control settings are locked behind an optional item
    • There’s an NPC in one of the cities that gives you ‘Hi-tech Earbuds’, and unless you speak to them the options for changing Background Music, Sound Effects, and Pokemon Cries are not available in your settings screen.

Google has quietly partnered with Ascension, the USA’s second-largest health system, and gained access to medical records for tens of millions of Americans

  • In what they’ve code-named Project Nightingale, at least 150 Google employees have access to patient health info including diagnoses, test results, and hospital records, including names and birthdates
  • Both Google and Ascension say the project is compliant with federal health information privacy protections, but the more you spread this kind of thing around in the cloud the more vulnerable it’s going to be
    • Whether that’s actually the case remains to be seen, as after the Wall Street Journal broke the story the project is now under investigation by the Office for Civil Rights in the Department of Health and Human Services

Bringing more ammunition to the Delete Facebook bonfire, users have discovered that Facebook actively uses your iPhone’s camera while you’re scrolling through your timeline

  • It only works if you’ve granted the app permission to use your camera, so that’s something at least
  • Facebook has apparently confirmed the issue, calling it a bug, but say they have no evidence of photos or videos uploaded due to it

Many smartphone owners were surprised this week when they started receiving delayed text messages from Valentine’s Day this year

  • Apparently the glitch was due to the cross carrier messaging system, causing cell companies across north america to send or re-send random texts from that day
  • People reported everything from random messages, Valentines from exes, or even messages from people who have since died

Han Shot Last Video

Hazbin Hotel

Tidbits

  • Good news everyone, they seem to have fixed the crime against nature that was the live-action Sonic model
    • Instead of weirdly almost-human proportions, Sonic is back to his usual spindly limbs and big hands, feet, and head
  • Disney+ is here, and for $9 CAD/month or $90/year you can get access to decades of Disney-owned content along with new stuff like The Mandalorian and The World According to Jeff Goldblum
    • One thing of note is that the service brings us yet another re-edit of the Han Solo / Greedo interaction, removing the straight-on shot of the exploding dummy and making it look like Greedo shouted something right before being killed
    • I do really want to watch The Mandalorian though

Alan and Josh recommend Living With Yourself

 

Literally Misleading

Last Week:

Reddit User – Pyro4201990
8 men have to go and bring a coworker to see his mom.
Saving Private Ryan

This Week:

Reddit User – WyngZero
A goat teaches the progeny of incest to kill things effectively

 

For more content, Patreon supports get access to upcoming ideas and more!

A huge thanks to Dalton, for supporting us for so long.

And thanks to all our ‘fanily’ that support us.
And if you want to support us too, its as easy as clicking this link!
We are a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB
And talk to us in the comments!

Free games

  • Sony

    • In a last-minute swap Sony changed out Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 in favour of
    • Detroit: Become Human Digital Deluxe Edition

      • 2018
      • Narrative adventure game similar in style to Heavy Rain, following three different androids in their struggles with their growing humanity, that hit some rough waters in the press with their handling of historical and thematic allegories
      • Includes Detroit: Become Human, Heavy Rain, Detroit digital art book and soundtrack, 2 dynamic themes, and 22 PSN avatars
    • Horizon Chase Turbo

      • 2018
      • Modern take on 90’s arcade racers like Out Run and Top Gear with stylized graphics and four-player local co-op
  • Twitch

    • For the King

      • 2017
      • A strategic RPG that blends tabletop and roguelike elements in a challenging turn-based single-player or co-op adventure that spans the procedurally generated realms
    • The Escapists

      • 2014
      • Top-down strategy game where you assume the role of a prisoner that must escape from 6 different prisons
    • Cultist Simulator

      • 2018
      • Card-based narrative-driven simulation game where you try to create a cult-like following in a nameless society with different elements like people, health, emotions, items, lore, and more
    • Yooka-Laylee

      • 2017
      • An open-world Banjo-Kazooie style platformer that’s colorful and fun, plus you can see us in the credits as backers!
  • Epic Games

    • Torchlight

      • 2009
      • This critically acclaimed Action-RPG dungeon crawl has you choosing from three powerful heroes to adventure the procedurally generated depths for endless treasure and glory.
 

Any Mac users of the video conferencing app Zoom have had an interesting time with security this week

  • Earlier in the week a substantial security issue came to light with Zoom that was apparently reported to them back in March- before they released an update on Tuesday, uninstalling the app the regular way wouldn’t actually remove it from your computer
    • By installing it you also installed a web server on your system that can be used to reinstall the app without your permission
    • So if you clicked on a meeting invite link, or even visited a compromised website, Zoom would launch you into a conference call with your webcam on by default. Even if you thought you’d removed it from your computer
    • If you wanted to remove the app from your computer entirely, it involved opening your Mac’s Terminal and running commands to kill the web server, then completely removing the hidden files it put on your computer, and finally removing it as you would any other app
  • Tuesday’s patch removed the web server, but Apple has now taken it one step further
    • Using their behind-the-scenes security systems built in to macOS, they’ve worked with Zoom to push out a silent update yesterday that takes care of removing the webserver regardless of what version of Zoom you have installed.
  • All said and done this was a bit of a mess, and highlights why installing applications on your computer willy-nilly isn’t the best idea
    • You can use your browser to join meetings instead of an app for most if not all of the major web conferencing providers, which is a lot less intrusive
 

Good news on the security front, it looks like Amazon has enabled 2FA for all accounts

  • You can enable it by going into your account settings under Login & Security and clicking on Two-Step Verification Settings
  • There are options for both using an app like Google Authenticator or Authy or using a phone number, though if you use an app it will still optionally ask for a phone number as a backup
    • Many security experts recommend using an app since text messages and phonecalls can be intercepted, though 99% of the population doesn’t need to worry about that
  • One thing to note is any legacy apps or devices trying to log in to your account will now need an extra step
    • When login first fails Amazon will send a one-time password to your phone that you need to then add to the end of your normal Amazon password
 

Nintendo’s announced their new Switch Lite, the Switch console that doesn’t switch

  • The changes include shrinking the console down a bit, with a 5.5″ screen instead of the original’s 6.2″, permanently attaching the controllers, adding a proper d-pad on the left, and removing the HD rumble, kickstand, and ability to connect to TV’s
    • Thanks to the smaller screen and a processor change the battery will get about 30 minutes longer life as well, depending on the game, even with it weighing a third less than the original
    • It comes in three colours: turquoise, grey, and yellow
  • Nintendo is planning on keeping both versions on the market, distinguishing the Lite as a portable-focused version of the switch while keeping the original around for its flexibility
    • They’ve promised that all Switch games capable of handheld-mode will work on the Lite, so you could play games like 1-2 Switch or Just Dance, but you’d have to pair additional controllers to it and find a way to prop it up
    • The surprising news from this though is they’re also keeping the 3DS/2DS consoles around as well, so we’re still not seeing them switch to a single-console focus
  • Apparently one idea for this device is a second Switch for a household that already owns one, to be more portable or give more options for people that want to play different games at the same time
    • While there’s no capability to transfer games and saves between devices, because Nintendo still adamantly refuses to look at Xbox Live or PSN for the last decade, they’ve said that is the eventual intention
  • Coming this September for $260 CAD ($200 USD)
 

The Chinese company Xiaomi is gearing up to launch their new phone, the CC9, and alongside it their new “Mimoji” avatars.

  • Now keep in mind, these are not to be confused with Apple’s Memoji. Xiaomi’s Mimoji are completely separate and distinct from that, despite them being almost identical-looking customizable 3D torso-less characters that you can pose and send to friends.
  • In a press release Xiaomi refute any claims that it’s a clone, saying that they’ve conducted internal audits and found no evidence of plagarism
    • This is of course after their Mi 8 phone last year that was nearly identical to the iPhone X, and the Airpods clone they release earlier this year
    • Unfortunately someone should have told their marketing team that, since apparently the product page for the Xiaomi CC9 showcased Apple Music Memoji ads
      • The ads were also seen on multiple e-commerce websites alongside Xiaomi’s official Mimoji graphics
      • According to their public relations general manager, staff “uploaded the wrong content” to the websites, though if they had those Apple videos so readily available and easily mistaken I’m curious what exactly their internal audit was looking for

 

YouTube is starting to fix the copyright claiming system

 
In a series of Tweets:
Lots to come w/ copyright – today we’re starting w/ a few changes: : Manual claims now require timestamps showing exactly what is claimed : Improved editing tools will easily remove manually claimed content & automatically release claims
 
More about timestamps : They’ll help you know why you got a manual claim and what part of your video to edit if you choose to make changes. Copyright owners who repeatedly fail to provide accurate data for timestamps will have their access to manual claiming revoked.
 
Updates to our editing tools for manual claims will help you:  Mute the timestamped segment of your video  Replace claimed audio w/ a song from our Audio Library  Trim out a timestamped segment altogether
 
There are more changes to come than we can count on one  for copyright – this is just the beginning! We’ll continue to share updates as our teams work to make things better for you.
 
 
 

Congrats to Cooooouk

James Downing on getting his LOZ Link to the Past 1000% Official shirt on an official Nintendo Stream
 
 

Tidbits

  • Apple has temporarily disabled the Walkie-Talkie app for Apple Watch due to an eavesdropping bug
    • According to their statement they were just made aware of the issue this week and while there are specific conditions and events that need to happen to exploit it, and they’re not aware of it being used against a customer, they’ve disabled the app until a fix can be deployed
  • In a surprise move, The Walking Dead issue #193 is apparently the final comic in the series
    • In order to disguise the end the duo behind the series, Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard, arranged with Image Comics to advertise three more issues to retailers
  • For $10, you can turn your copy of Starcraft Remastered into a Newgrounds Flash game
    • All the graphics were created by the YouTube channel Carbot Animations, and look goofy in the best ways
    • The official mod is available to buy from Blizzard and has been tested at an official tournament in South Korea
 

Alan recommends Hey Riddle Riddle

  • It’s a riddle podcast with fantastic energy hosted by three great improvisers: Adal Rifai, Erin Keif, and JPC
  • The riddles are fun, the weird improv scenes are hilarious, and if you’re at all decent at riddles it’s a nice ego boost to solve them before the hosts do

 

Literally Misleading

Family member Scott, adds another great one. Check out his twitter @scottybomb and his podcast The Read-Along, its a weekly book club for where you can follow along with Scott and Anita!
 
Movie – Lost in a foreign land, our protagonist must learn to communicate with the locals to help him stay out trouble, and find a way home.
 
If you have a Literally Misleading Description, message Josh directly on our Discord, or Twitter @fushigiyami
 

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And thanks to all our ‘fanily’ that support us.
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For the last gaming history of the year, and my birthday month, I want to cover my favourite games ever. It has only 4 entries across 15 years, all the releases are loved in their own way, and they’re still played for fun and skilled competition. Lets not waste anymore time, and make sure to pick stock, as we learn all about Super Smash Bros.

For more info, Patreon supports get access to our show notes!

A huge thanks to Dalton, our favourite fan. And thanks to all our Official Fans that support us.
And if you want to support us too, its as easy as clicking this link!

Also, make sure to check out RIPT Apparel for sweet 24 tee shirt designs. And don’t forget to use the coupon code PS2JSHOW for 10% off!

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Like when we covered God of War back on PS2J 196. I decided this would be a good opportunity to do another episode that covers the lore of a video game franchise, rather than the development. And being this special episode falls on Halloween, get ready for a spooky episode.

With a total of 22 games released, this franchise has been infecting gamers for 21 years. At this point, it would be fare to call it a Biohazard. You should think of mixing your green and red herbs, we’re about to learn the story behind Resident Evil.

For more info, Patreon supports get access to our show notes!

A huge thanks to Dalton, our favourite fan. And thanks to all our Official Fans that support us.
And if you want to support us too, its as easy as clicking this link!

Also, make sure to check out RIPT Apparel for sweet 24 tee shirt designs. And don’t forget to use the coupon code PS2JSHOW for 10% off!

We are a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB

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A Prime Evil is coming to Heroes Of The Storm. Amazon is offering less to Canadians. Josh suggests a cartoon on Netflix, and Alan recommends a blast from the past on the 3DS Virtual Console.

For more info, Patreon supports get access to our show notes!

A huge thanks to Dalton, our favourite fan. And thanks to all our Official Fans that support us.
And if you want to support us too, its as easy as clicking this link!

Also, make sure to check out RIPT Apparel for sweet 24 tee shirt designs. And don’t forget to use the coupon code PS2JSHOW for 10% off!

We are a proud member of the Alberta Podcast Network powered by ATB

And talk to us in the comments!
Or…

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We look at 20 years of Pokemon games. And how they have evolved over these many years.

Pokemon Mini

 

And here is a link to our old Pokemon-centric episode.

PS2J 32 – Pokemon 20th Anniversary with Jo, Dana and Veronica

 

For our info on this episode, support our Patreon to get all our show notes.

PS2J has a Patreon and it’s better than ever!

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