2011 – I Fight Dragons – Kaboom!


Kaboom!is the new album from I Fight Dragons, and it is everything I had hoped it would be. I don’t even think I can put in to words how quickly I became hooked on this album. I downloaded it from their website almost as soon as it became available. And for weeks before that, I enjoyed the music video they released for the album’s first single, “The Geeks Will Inherit the Earth.” You can find it on their website, or stay tuned for our next video of the week!

In what I can best describe as “what Weezer would’ve sounded like if they knew how,” Kaboom! really takes the band from a chiptune group of geeks to a mainstream band with an appeal to the niche geek audience. I could hear this being on the radio, and frankly, I hope it makes it. It’s probably never going to be top 40, but I want it to be. And I think that if anybody stands a chance, more than Frontalot, more than MC Chris, it’s I Fight Dragons, and their opportunity be on the 2012 Vans Warped Tour.

Listen to them now, so you don’t have to hear the “I told ya so” from me later. 😉

Transferring your Xbox 360 data

It’s Sunday. If I were doing my blogging as I should’ve been, then you would already know it’s time for the Xbox Tip of the Week! Too bad I haven’t been. Still, with the holidays recently passed, whether your received a new console as a gift, or (like me) you couldn’t resist a Black Friday deal, you may need to do some migrating of data. So why not learn how easy it is to use a Data Transfer Kit.

Just a year or two ago, these kits had to be ordered directly from Microsoft, and included a special disc to be inserted to your new console to begin the data transfer. Black Market vendors promised a good deal on eBay, but they never sent you a genuine data transfer cable or the correct disc. But now? It’s simple! The cable can be picked up in any major retail store and the software is built right in to the dashboard.

The steps are very straight forward, and a complete guide from Microsoft is available on Xbox.com, but it’s as simple as removing the old drive from the old console, snapping it to the data transfer cable, then plugging it in to the USB port on the new console. Then, when you power on the new console, you will be prompted on which direction you wish to transfer the data: select “Yes, Transfer TO CONSOLE” and the process begins. It is essentially “cut and paste.” If everything succeeds, the old drive will be wiped back to what is essentially a factory default state.

Good luck, and enjoy the fresh new console!

It's 2012… Prediction Time!

I predict this year will be better for me than any other in my life. I’m making the time to make things happen. I have more time than I act like I do, it’s time to do something with it. That’s my resolution for 2012!

Now then, before the world ends, here’s what I’m expecting, good and bad, for 2012.

Consoles:

  • The PlayStation 3 wanted to last longer than any of the others, but it’s delayed release will crush the dreams of a 10 year console life cycle – they don’t want to be seen as lagging behind, so they will unveil details at E3 of the PlayStation 4.
  • The “Next Xbox” will be unveiled at E3, and in a surprise move it’ll be announced for this holiday season. While I agree with many industry experts, it feels a year too early, it’s never too early to make money.
  • The “Next Xbox” will be named Xbox 365. This meshes with the branding already in place of other Microsoft Products. Office Live, which stemmed from Xbox Live and Live Search, merged with Business Productivity Online Suite and became OFfice 365. The next Xbox will follow the branding change and be called Xbox 365.
  • The Wii U specs will be released at E3, with a holiday 2012 release date as well. I think this is more likely than the “Xbox 365” (again, my predicted name) being available this year, as Nintendo really needs to prove its use to the “core” gamers if they want to keep selling. The millions who adopted the Wii and made the silly name a household must-have aren’t going to upgrade their console for more Wii Sports sequels.
  • The handheld gaming market will be dominated by the 3DS, with devices like the Windows Phone 7/8 and Android/iPads featuring OnLive gaining in acceptance.

Computing:

  • Windows 8 will not see the same mass adoption that Windows 7 has. It will be popular enough among the tech community to be worth upgrading to, but it will fail to impress the mass audience and will also fail on tablets (to my own chagrin).
  • Companies will release wrist-watch sized Android based devices, but they will not gain large acceptance.
  • Paying for goods with your cell phone via some form of NFC will gain wide-spread acceptance commercially, but not with the average home user. You’ll be able to use it, but you mostly won’t.
  • Your grandma still won’t want an e-reader, but your mom will ask more questions than last year.
  • HTML5 (and HTML in general) will be setting the new standard, flash sites will fizzle, and SilverLight will still only be used by Microsoft and MSNBC partnered sites!

Entertainment:

  • Sorry, but Steam Punk will become as common place as glittery vampires. It’s already begun, with the recent Justin Bieber video.
  • ChipTune music, a personal favorite of mine, will emerge with one or more pop songs, and grow in popularity at dance clubs – but people will just think it’s a quaint new fad, not something we’ve been enjoying for years! (If your girlfriend made you watch the latest episode of 90210, and you saw ‘the runway scene’ you’ll know this to be coming true, as well).
  • A new service, likely run by an existing entity, will emerge to directly compete with Netflix (here’s looking at you, Amazon and RedBox).

I wish I had more for you, but I’m all tapped out. All I know is that this is going to be an exciting year, and we’re all going through it together. So stay tuned, stay active, and keep the comments coming!