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Can Apple Pass Android as a Gaming Platform in 2015?

With the value of the remote gambling sector set to exceed $182.8 billion by the end of 2015, it is clear that this medium represents the future of gambling. The use of mobile and tablet devices also is expected to peak and rise by more than 20 percent in the next 12 months, meaning that these platforms will play a pivotal role in driving growth throughout the sector. From a user perspective, however, the most difficult challenge is selecting the ideal platform and operating system from which to indulge your passion for gaming.

With this in mind, let’s take a look at the key considerations for consumers and consider which platform offers the best value for money. Apple and Android are the two main choices, so keep the following points in mind before making a decision.

Historically, Android handsets dominated the gaming market in terms of graphics and gameplay. While some would argue that this has not changed after the release of the Nvidia Shield Tablet, however, the much-improved iOS 8 and Metal graphics engine has at least created a starting point for debate. In fact, when you consider the multi-purpose nature of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, these handsets arguably offer a more convenient gaming experience and far greater value for the consumer’s hard-earned money.

In terms of the range of available games, it is a slightly different story. The Android platform is partnered with the Google Play store, which includes a huge array of games and various titles across multiple genres. From increasingly popular puzzles to games that encourage men and women gambling, this range offers a more diverse gaming experience that will engage players of all ages. The same cannot be said for Apple, who despite increasing its library remains far behind Android in terms of library size.

While this may be considered as a tie, it is fair to say that the Android gaming experience remains a little more developed than the Apple alternative at present. The Nvidia Shield Tablet, which is the first device of its kind that has been designed specifically for gaming, has helped to maintain this competitive market edge as has Android’s partnership with Google Play. While next year’s iOS 9 upgrade and the release of the iPhone 6s may alter this landscape further, for now it is fair to say that Android remains marginally ahead of Apple for gaming.

Source: Guest Blogger at Black Girl Nerds

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7 Jobs That the Internet Killed

 

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Media-Distribution Stores

Thanks to the convenience and limitlessness of the Internet, the once-popular video stores are dwindling in number. The Internet has made movies so accessible that it has eliminated the need to leave one’s home to get a movie. Video-streaming services like Netflix give consumers instant access to a library of selections. The change in the video-distribution industry is one of the main reasons Blockbuster closed its retail stores and ended its mail-distribution services.

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Journalism

News reporting has been greatly affected by the ever-growing Internet. Today, news is not only spread by newspapers, TV, radio and magazines, but also through social media, blogs, podcasts and a variety of other media platforms available because of Internet access. Even the speed of the news cycle has been intensified as news is circulating 24/7 with social media. News distribution is in the hands of everyday citizens as much as it is with seasoned veterans.

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Camera Film Developers

Digital camera and photo-sharing technologies have made going to the film store almost unnecessary. Unless you need an old film roll developed, sharing photos has become easier than it’s ever been because of the Internet. Applications like Instagram allow you to photograph, edit and publish your photos and videos.

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Music Store Attendants

Much like the video stores, going to a music store isn’t necessary now that songs can be bought a la carte on the Internet. People purchase their music through iTunes or stream it online through services like Pandora or Spotify. The Internet also opens the door to pirating music and downloading it for free.

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Librarians

The Internet is a massive source of instantaneous information. Powerful search engines like Google provide more information much faster than the local librarian. Access to books, studies and any other published material can be found at the click of a button.

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Mail Carriers

Easy access to email and countless other messaging tools fueled by the Internet has lessened the demand for mail carriers. The U.S. Postal Service reduced its workforce from 623,000 in 2009 to 491,000 in 2013, according to The Washington Post.

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Publishers

The Internet has become a hot bed for innovation and creativity. Self-publishing through blogs or other means has been successful at generating and attracting a larger audience.

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An Open Letter to All Blerds

Dear Friend,

We first met in elementary school. I was always curious what you were talking about, laughing raucously with the older kids. You must have seen my interest when we made eye contact across the room because you smiled and waved a hand for me to come over. A polite invitation must not have been enough, so I felt nervous as you got up and walked across the cafeteria to ask if I watched Tommy become the White Ranger. Who hadn’t, I wondered.

We were steady for years until I started to figure out romantic relationships. It was hard to juggle you and them, and they didn’t understand you that well, but those are just excuses. I fell off before Wanda said “No more mutants” and to this day I try to make up the time we lost. Our relationship has been a Deborah Cox song; not “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here,” but the duet with R.L. people forget existed. I’m an adult now, and I know the secret you never tried to keep: Nerds are the most awesome people you can keep in your life. And Blerds? If you recognized R.L. from Next and were flooded with nostalgia, and you remember the exact moment Tommy pulled out his dagger in the white costume, you understand how special we are in our tiny sliver of the Venn diagram.

Blerds have the best community on the Internet, hands down. You are to online communities what The Wire is to television: Something so amazing that you feel woefully ineffective to explain it. I haven’t dabbled in all online communities to compare – I missed the new parent community, the vegan community, the country music community, among others – but I am confident in saying geeky people of color are the most fun, supportive and socially conscious group I could ever have the pleasure of knowing. You bond over memories of Gargoyles, debate fan casting of Saga, and band together against the onslaught of aggressions constantly hurled against you. You face a constant barrage of racism, sexism and trolls, yet when the Titans attack you mount up a coalition who swarm Facebook threads and Twitter feeds and you take back Wall Maria.

I have always been years behind social media, and was especially hesitant to join anything like Twitter or Tumblr. I kept to my quiet world of Facebook in the comfort of 200 carefully selected friends. It wasn’t until 2014 that I reconnected with Whitney Syphax Walker, watched the launch of Black Nerd Problems, followed other sites in the blerdsphere, and was led to a Whole New World on an African-print magic flying carpet.

Read more from Jordan Calhoun at Blacknerdproblems.com

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5 Issues with the Latest Release of ‘The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies’

… and by extension, the whole series of movies.

Plenty of other people have done better, more detailed reviews of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit films. I’m not going to add to that list. Instead, I’m giving you a non-review in the form of a listicle. I’ll try to keep this as spoiler-free as possible.

This list is presented by Troy L. Wiggins from Afrofantasy.

Here are the five things that I disliked the most about the latest big-screen installment of The Hobbit:

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Not Enough Bilbo

I’m not too keen on Martin Freeman’s comedic stylings, but the man can play a darn good halfling. The film series is called The Hobbit for Ilúvatar’s sake, but we only see Bilbo show up in key plot moments, and even then only to do something entirely predictable for the sake of pushing the story along. Bilbo is the most well-rounded, most believable, most interesting character in the film (dare I say the whole film trilogy), but Jackson saw fit to give Thranduil more screen time – presumably to show us all what an awesome job the effects team did with Lee Pace’s makeup.

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Xbox Live, PlayStation Hackers Ruin Christmas For Many Gamers After Shutting Down Network

Sony hacked again

On Christmas morning excited gamers all across the country were unwrapping their new PlayStation 4s and Xboxes and getting ready to take their virtual adventures online.

Unfortunately, their excitement was quickly turned to disappointment when it was revealed that both the Xbox Live and PlayStation Network online services were experiencing outages at the hands of hackers.

PlayStation sent a tweet out to their disappointed followers explaining that they were aware of the outage and working quickly to resolve the issue.

“We’re aware that some users are having issues logging into PSN—engineers are investigating,” the tweet said.

Currently, Sony’s PlayStation Network is still offline but Microsoft’s Xbox Live has managed to recover.

To be clear, neither of the gaming giants have confirmed what caused the outages, but reports are pointing to a group of hackers identifying itself as Lizard Squad.

The group of self-proclaimed hackers did not actually manage to “hack” either of the gaming giants but instead have managed to launch a massive distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

This simply stops would-be online gamers from logging on the networks but does not pose a serious threat to gamers or the companies.

Many people are also questioning the validity of the claims by Lizard Squad that they are truly the ones behind the outages.

The group has been adamant about getting recognition and even asked for gifts cards from Kim Dotcom, the founder of Megaupload.

It has not been confirmed if Dotcom complied with their wishes but the group did recently send out a tweet supporting Megaupload and Dotcom’s latest business ventures.

During an interview with WinBeta through an encrypted connection, Lizard Squad claimed that they started hacking the systems simply “for the laughs” but eventually realized they had a major opportunity on their hands.

Despite asking for gift cards from Dotcom, the group claimed the real purpose of the widespread outages was to force “these companies to upgrade the security on their networks,” Business Insider reported.

The group also claimed they had the ability to “take down NASDAQ if they wanted to damage the economy,” but said they simply weren’t interested in doing so.

While the outages came as an unfortunate surprise to many gamers, people who follow the group on social media weren’t so surprised.

Lizard Squad warned that they would take down the online networks over the holidays and they clearly followed through with the promise.

The group announced that they halted the cyber attacks, but as Sony struggles to get their services back up and running many believe it could simply be complications from the sheer amount of new users over the holiday season.

Either way, it’s a rough end of the year for Sony which was recently hacked as it prepared to release The Interview to theaters across the country.

The new comedy about a plot to take out North Korea’s Kim Jong Un sparked threats of violent attacks and led to many emails from Sony executives being released to the public. 

It was never confirmed if North Korea was truly behind the massive hack but the very idea of it encouraged movie goers to rush to independent theaters to see the film—not only for entertainment, but as a proclaimed stance against terrorism.

 

 

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DC Comics Casting of Viola Davis as Amanda Waller Is Exciting

Be clear, the announcement that Viola Davis is now cast as Amanda “The Wall” Waller in the upcoming Suicide Squad movie is pretty exciting news. Sure, we saw Angela “Did I give you permission to speak my name?” Bassett play her in Green Lantern, but we all know Amanda doesn’t mess with Green Lantern like that in the comics, so her role wasn’t going to be major here. Yes, Amanda Waller was also portrayed on Smallville (we see you, Pam Grier), and her cold all-business demeanor (but not her likeness) has been (arguably?) most accurate under Cynthia Addai-Robinson with her portrayal in Arrow. However, what we have here is a big start. Suicide Squad is Amanda Waller’s wheelhouse. If I could be so inclined to quote from the album of Beyonce, track 11 verse 8, this movie will have Viola Davis on her …

For those of you who don’t know much about Amanda Waller from DC Comics, the woman who Shoryuken/Dragon uppercuts the glass ceiling with how hard she goes in the paint. Let me give you the rundown right quickly. This is a woman who runs a squad of villains doing suicide missions in order to get time off for their sentences or pardons (rarely happens), the way she gets sh*t done with politics, through politics or by passing politics all together would make Theodore Roosevelt get her name tattooed across the belly while shouting out, “Yaasss, Amanda! Yaaasssss.” Waller takes the big stick ideology, breaks it over here knee and says, “Let me show you how we goin’ do this.” She ain’t taken sass from anyone, Batman included.

Now, if we keeping it over 9,000 power level, we can already see hints of Amanda Waller appear in Davis’ role of Annalise Keating in How to Get Away With Murder. Keating is a lawyer who goes for the headshot kill or the jugular in the courtroom on the show. However, the main difference is we see Annalise Keating vulnerable eventually within the series. That doesn’t exist with Waller. Amanda Waller has no vulnerability, no weaknesses to exploit. There is nothing she won’t do, and nobody she won’t merk for the mission or the long game. She is a strategist, she is a straight-up general, and she is in charge.

Read more from Omar Holman at Blacknerdproblems.com

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5 Unexpected Ways Gaming Can Enhance Real-Life Skills

There’s an invariable amount of knowledge to be had when you amass the thousands upon thousands of hours of gaming in a gamer’s life. For years, there have been a number of attempts, both successful and not, to brand forms of gaming as particularly educational and market them to kids, particularly those who have parents who are more stringent about the way their children spend their time in front of a computer or console. Here’s my short list of five skills that have been ingrained in me through gaming — mostly through indirect subsidiary parts of major franchise titles.

This list is presented by Ian Khadan at Black Nerd Problems.

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How to Read a Map

Maps are a basic part of games across countless genres. Maps are used in games to relay landscape, resource, quest, story line and territorial claims among countless other variations that cater to what a game designer may feel necessary to convey to the gamer. Though there’s precedent for reading maps, particularly in urban areas, via Google Maps or something of the like, there aren’t many people I’ve met who can truly read a topographical map. Just consider you’re dropped into the middle of nowhere and you’re given nothing but a map of the immediate 10-mile radius around you. I don’t imagine there are many folks in both urban and suburban areas who can even locate where they are on that map given the context of the landscape, topography and direction they’re placed in. Through gaming, I’ve honed this skill solely because that’s exactly what many games do, they drop you in the middle of nowhere and you have to figure out the best route to loot, food or shelter. Many games even incorporate nature as a compass in that you can use the sun in game (because in-game time and the passage of it is synchronized with real-world time) to determine what direction you’re heading. Now I’m not saying that I’ve been transformed into some sort of survivor-man because of what I’ve learned about map reading via gaming, as I certainly am not about swallowing any bugs for small amounts of protein, but I can confidently say that if I’m dropped in the wild and I’ve got an accurate map of the area, I’m most certainly capable of finding the nearest Chinese food buffet.

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