Free games

• Epic Games

  • Batman Arkham Collection

    • Arkham Asylum
      • 2009
    • Arkham City
      • 2011
    • Arkham Knight
      • 2015
    • The three most critically acclaimed Batman games to date, with iconic actors like Mark Hamill, Kevin Conroy and Arleen Sorkin (the original inspiration for Harley Quinn for her role in Days of Our Lives), solid combat, and intriguing detective work, all along with just excellent gameplay and storytelling

  • Lego Batman 1-3

    • 2008, 2012, 2014
    • Classic LEGO video game gameplay that has you exploring, building, and collecting LEGO studs in the DC universe

New Apple software is here, and we’ve got a bunch of the details

• iOS 13

  • The major bullet points to this one are:
    • Systemwide dark mode
      • This makes all native apps have a black background, which is gorgeous on the OLED displays, and third party apps can use the Dark Mode APIs to include the feature automatically
    • Revamped Photos app
      • with automatic curation and a selection of highlights from different points in your life
    • New photo editing interface
      • with more options available right from the bottom of the Photos app and the addition of a full suite of video editing options
    • A new unobtrusive volume HUD, which is a massive improvement over the gigantic square that appeared in the middle of your screen previously
    • The Sign In with Apple option we’ve talked about previously, which gives you a convenient way to sign in to apps and websites with Touch or FaceID while also giving you options to limit what data you show the app itself (as we’ve mentioned, you can even generate single-use randomized email addresses that forward to your AppleID automatically)
    • Improved location tracking options that lets you limit what data apps can access, and warns you when apps have been using your location in the background
    • Updated Maps features like better pedestrian data, more precise addresses, and a Look Around feature that’s basically Google Street View but easier to navigate
    • And a new Reminders app that completely overhauls the experience along with easier tools to add reminders and Messages integration so you can set a reminder for when you text someone
    • Not to mention being faster and more efficient even on older phones, going all the way back to the 6s and 6s Plus
  • Unfortunately all this comes at a cost, and that cost is bugs
    • This is one of the buggier versions to be released in recent memory, with things like missing notification bubbles and minor email loading issues still being present after multiple beta versions
    • I’ve been running this version for about a week now, and if you don’t like living on the bleeding edge it may be worthwhile to wait for iOS 13.1 coming on September 24th
      • It’ll be bringing not only more stability, but extra features like sharing and automatically updating ETA with friends, automation and scheduling in the Shortcuts app, and built-in data separation for when your personal device is being managed by your employer

• watchOS 6

  • The big pieces here are:
    • A dedicated App Store, with apps that can be downloaded and used completely independent of any apps on your phone
    • New watch faces, which are pretty slick (my new favourite is the Modular Compact, which combines my need for information with my want to not have a ridiculously crowded screen on my wrist)
    • Built in Cycle Tracking, so that women can log their cycles and track fertility
    • A new Noise app that lets you track sound levels in your environment and sends you notifications if it reaches dangerous levels
    • And Activity Trends that will give you a better look at your overall activity progress along with coaching to reach your goals
  • This has been a pretty stable one, especially compared to iOS 13, but I can’t help but wish that they’d found a way to bring that always-on screen of the Series 5 to older devices

• Apple Arcade

  • is here with its own dedicated tab in the App Store, and at $5.99 CAD (plus a free month-long trial) it’s pretty tempting. The games look fantastic (I’m still looking at Sayonara Wild Hearts), include no microtransactions, and one subscription lets up to 6 family members access the full library
  • Some of the developers on board are Annapurna Interactive (What Remains of Edith Finch, Donut County), Bossa Studios (Surgeon Simulator, I Am Bread), Cartoon Network, Konami, SEGA, and many more
  • The games can also be played on not only your phone but also iPad, Apple TV, and Mac, with full support for Made of iPhone game controllers as well as PS4 and Xbox controllers. Yep, you can use console controllers with your phone now
  • You can even start a game on one device and then swap to a different one without losing any progress
  • More than 50 games are available now, and Apple has announced plans to release new titles on a weekly basis
• We also have the new iPadOS coming September 30th and macOS Catalina expected sometime this October

There’s a new game launcher in town, and it’s co-opting all of your Grand Theft Auto games

• The Rockstar Games Launcher went live on Tuesday, including the ability to purchase a bunch of different Rockstar games along with their associated microtransactions and letting players find and boot up games installed from Steam
  • The selection is decent, but they’re missing many older GTA and Max Payne titles
• There aren’t any exclusives or discounts, but if you install it you can get a free copy of GTA: San Andreas on your PC
• Unfortunately that ability to boot up Steam games that they tout as a feature has a bit of a dark side- using the Rockstar Games Launcher is now mandatory for many of their games
  • ArsTechnica’s testing showed that when launching GTAV from Steam it automatically loads up the RGL install process. So that’s neat
• It will be interesting to see what kind of incentives Rockstar introduces, but at the moment a PC version of Red Dead Redemption 2 could give many people a reason to download yet another launcher

Facebook’s announced a new set of Portal video chat devices, and they now want a camera and microphone in your living room at all times

• In addition to spying on you constantly, the little camera bar known as Portal TV connects to your television for video chat, Amazon Prime Video, and Spotify
• They’re also introducing a couple of new Portal devices that are essentially thick digital picture frames that you use for video chat
• Facebook assures users that they can opt out of the company accessing recordings collected in their home, but it is on by default and many may not know to disable that setting
• So if you’re interested in spending $150-$200 on a device that just kinda does what most phones, tablets, and computers already do, in addition to spying on you if you’re not careful, you can get that opportunity on October 15th

Tidbits

• NBC is launching their own streaming service called Peacock in April 2020, and it will exclusively host The Office and Parks & Rec (they’ll be removed from other services in the fall)
  • Other shows will include SNL, Cheers, 30 Rock, Frasier, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a spinoff of Battlestar Galactica, and a new comedy from Mike Schur (creator of The Good Place)

Alan recommends AppleCare

Literally Misleading