Can Halo 5 move Xbox One consoles for Microsoft? That’s one of the things Drex and I talked about last night. Also on the list: free Wi-fi in Vancouver, why you should stay in school, and tonight’s Rainbow Six Siege video game tournament in Richmond.
This week, what Halo 5 means for Microsoft, Canada’s Rainbow Six Siege tournament comes to Vancouver, the first free Wi-Fi hotspots in Vancouver go online, and how to win friends and influence people with your brain.
Can Halo 5 boost sales of Xbox One?
The latest adventure in the Master Chief saga released on Tuesday, and with it sales of Microsoft’s Xbox One console spiked. As I wrote in the Globe & Mail this week, it’s not the first time the Halo franchise has carried the burden of its hardware.
Halo 4 was the first game from 343 Industries, which took over development from Bungie. Making that game was, said studio head Bonnie Ross, “us learning how to build Halo.”
But Halo 5 is all 343, and updates the franchise for next-generation hardware (it’s exclusive to the Xbox One).
It’s available now, and I have no hesitation recommending that people who want to play Halo 5 had better get an Xbox One if they don’t already have the system.
Win prizes at the Rainbow Six Siege tournament tomorrow
One hundred gamers will get a chance to play Ubisoft’s upcoming tactical shooter, Rainbow Six Siege, as part of a cross-Canada tournament.
This Thursday, Oct. 29, at the Shark Club in Richmond (10331 St. Edwards Drive), 20 teams of five players will go head-to-head in real-world combat environments. Registration for the tournament begins at 5:00 p.m., and the tournament begins at 6:00 p.m. Participants must be of legal drinking age to participate or be a spectator.
Prizes include:
Xbox One consoles
HyperX Cloud headsets
Ubisoft prize packs
The top-scoring team will be invited to compete in the finale in Toronto on Nov. 5 with a chance at a $5,000 grand prize.
Vancouver and Telus turn on free Wi-Fi hotspots
The City of Vancouver has a digital strategy, part of which is making Wi-Fi accessible to its citizens. And visitors, of course.
And the first six hotspots, implemented by Telus, have been turned on. Find them at:
Champlain Heights Community Centre
Coal Harbour Community Centre
Fraserview Golf Course Club House
Langara Golf Course Club House
Mount Pleasant Community Centre
Roundhouse Community Centre
Just look for the network name #VanWiFi on your mobile device or computer, and accept the terms and conditions.
Another 37 sites in Vancouver, including community centres, pools, golf courses, theatres, and marinas will also be getting hotspots.
Reason to stay in school #84: Create your own Mjölnir
Okay, kids. If you stay in school you’ll learn things like math and physics and circuits and electronics and programming and art and materials and design and craft.
Then you can use all of those things to create a replica of Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir, which is equipped with a couple of electromagnets and a fingerprint scanner like you find on mobile devices.
Then you can go into the world, activate the electromagnets on a big hunk of metal, and challenge people to pick it up. “Are you worthy?” you’ll say.
And no matter how hard they try, no matter how strong or crafty, nobody will be able to lift it. Then you will walk over, and …
Well, just watch. This could be you if you stay in school.
This week, a look at Epic’s Bluetooth earbud headphones, finding Wi-Fi when you’re away from home, and contemplating ad-blocking apps on mobile devices.
Epic’s earbuds good for listening while moving, but not great for talking
I’ve actually got a few different sets of headphones and earbuds that I use for different situations. Gaming is different from listening to music. Which is different from traveling. Which is different from commuting on a bike.
I have yet to find the best earbuds to wear when riding my bike around town. They need to be earbuds and they need to be sweat and water resistant. Other than that, I’m flexible.
I’ve been wearing the JLab Epic Bluetooth earbuds (US$100) for a couple of weeks, and they’re pretty good. They come with a range of silicon tips for ear canals of different sizes, and the loops that fit around the back of my ear keep them in place when I’m on the move. They are made with memory wire, so the loops can be shaped to fit your own ears.
They have a battery life of some 10 hours, and the quality of sound output is pretty good.
But they aren’t staying in my collection, though. The Bluetooth connection drops out when my phone is in my pockets, and the microphone, which is on the cord that goes behind my head, isn’t sensitive enough, so I have to yell.
I like the idea of Bluetooth headphones for working out, because a cable to a device can be dangerous. But I’m sticking with my wired sport headphones for the time being.
How to find Wi-Fi when you’re out and about
Instabridge is an app for Android and iOS that makes it easy to find Wi-Fi out in the world. And it will help you get access to those hubs that may be locked down because members of the community can choose to share login details with other members of the Instabridge community.
The app started off as a way of giving your friends access to your home Wi-Fi through Facebook when they visited. But it’s become a go-to resource for Wi-Fi hotspots.
The app lists freely available Wi-Fi like what you can find at coffee shops and libraries. But it also gives users access to any Wi-Fi network for which the password has been shared. That could include companies or organizations that are okay sharing their Wi-Fi network with Instabridge users.
We all prefer to use our mobile devices while connected to Wi-Fi, of course, because mobile networks can be slow and expensive.
On that note…
Ad blockers make a difference on mobile
Software that blocks advertisements from showing up on web pages have been used on computers for years. Now they’re available for mobile devices, too.
Crystal is one such app designed for iOS. Using Crystal can reduce the drain on your battery, it can reduce the amount of mobile data you use, it will speed up your mobile browsing, and it prevents websites from tracking you and collecting your information.
I’m not going to debate the philosophical merits of ad blocking, here. Instead, I’ll just cite some user statistics that suggest why ad blocking on mobile has become important.
The data comes from a blog post by Crystal developer Dean Murphy. who was writing about why he created the software. He got more than 800 responses to an informal survey in which he asked users why they were using his software.
The biggest reason people want to block ads, it seems, is because they make sites difficult to read and navigate. Murphy also found that people are not against the idea of advertising, but they have a low tolerance for crappy ads.
Which is why there’s an initiative called Acceptable Ads, promoted by AdBlcokPlus, which aims to list some of the ways that advertising can be presented so as not to complete destroy the user experience.
The honest truth is that if we didn’t have websites autoplaying full screen video ads, we probably wouldn’t need ad blockers.
Last Wednesday, Drex and I talked about how technology – and social media in particular – have affected the Canadian federal election. We also discussed the enhanced digital versions of the Harry Potter novels that have come to iBooks, and I shared some thoughts on the Star Wars: Battlefront beta.
The Mind Control Division is the intelligence arm of Blaine Kyllo's Solo Corps Creative Incorporated. This department conducts investigations and experiments into media and technology culture.
