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Hi,
Thanks for reading DVD Catalyst Newsletter 129.
Continuing from the previous weeks, I spent the majority of my time in code. I finished up DVD Catalyst 4 v4.4.4.2, which is available this very minute, and spent a lot of time on the website stuff/documentation for the app I have been working on. Things are coming along nicely, and it should be all ready before the next newsletter.
More down below, lets start first with this weeks tech news:
Tech News:
Call of Duty Ghosts Released:
Call of Duty®: Ghosts
The latest entry in the popular Call of Duty game-series, Call of Duty : Ghosts was released earlier this week.
Throughout the years, the series, along with its direct competitor, the Battlefield, have been pushing the boundaries when it comes to stunning visuals on gaming systems like the XBOX and Playstation. With this release being at the end of the "current" generation of consoles, it yet again ups the ante for the XBOX 360 and PS3, and, with the new generation of consoles being released this month, it also sets the tone for what is to come.
Alongside the release of the game itself, a companion-app, enabling users to manage some of their game-statistics, has been released for mobile devices:
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.activision.callofduty.mobile
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id733712309
Windows Phone: Call of Duty® | Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United States)
PS4 Week:
PS4? - PlayStation®4 Console | PS4? Features Games & Videos
This coming week, the successor of the 7 year old PS3 will be released. While a few big name games that were planned to be released alongside the PS4 have shifted to next year, the line-up of launch titles is still quite impressive. With the XBOX One's release the week after, it remains to be seen which one will be more popular this time around.
For me, I'm not sure yet. I like the XBOX' features better (not sure about kinect though), but, the remote play functionality of the PS4 in combination with the PS Vita (which is collecting dust at the moment) is something that does make me think more about the PS4.
But, I've been burned by Sony (numerous times) before, so I'm holding off to see how it works before making a choice between the 2.
Modular Robots:
MOSS - The Dynamic Robot Construction Kit by Modular Robotics ? Kickstarter
When it comes to world news, I usually look at European news sources. While CNN provides a lot of news, on a regular basis, it seems to "miss" developments in some areas. On my Galaxy Note 3, I have the BBC News app installed, and just pull it up a few times a day.
Aside from the usual news, they had something on about modular robots that caught my eye.
As a developer and a geek, I enjoy tinkering with these types of things, and the concept of using magnetic balls for connection pieces is pretty neat. The pricing is a bit much for a "toy" for me, but it is something I'm definately keeping an eye on.
Tools4Movies News:
DVD Catalyst 4 v4.4.4.2 update:
As mentioned above, earlier this week, I updated DVD Catalyst 4 to 4.4.4.2. The update, as the version numbering indicates, is a small update, mainly offering some new device profiles (Kindle Fire HDX, iPad Air, iPad Mini 2). A few small tweaks were done in code, but nothing that is really noticeable if you upgrade from 4.4.4.0.
The update, since its still DVD Catalyst 4, is free for existing customers. Use the download link you received upon purchase, or tap on the cat-eyes in DVD Catalyst 4 to update to the latest version.
With the update, I also added a few new guides on the website:
Amazon Kindle Fire HDX:
https://www.tools4movies.com/dvd-catalyst-amazon-kindle-fire-hdx-guide/
Apple iPad Air:
https://www.tools4movies.com/dvd-catalyst-apple-ipad-air-guide/
For more guides, visit the website here:
https://www.tools4movies.com/devices/
Thoughts:
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Week 4:
I've been using the Galaxy Note 3 for 4 weeks already, wow, time flies I guess.
It's been holding up very well, and I am still very pleased with how it fits in my life-schedule. Battery-life is great, and I haven't had much issues with it.
A full review will come up when my other project is done, but here are some additional experiences.
Of course with my head mostly in code during the week, I don't push it too far, but whenever I have a few minutes, I fiddle with it a bit.
As mentioned above, I have a few foreign news apps on it to keep me informed throughout the day. They all work well, however, there is an issue with all of them if there is no internet connection available. I am not sure if it is just because of the way the apps are, or if it is an issue with the Note 3 in particular, but even with the home-screen flipboard, if there is no wifi/cell signal, they turn completely back and after 20 seconds or so, they crash. During this time, the phone itself seems unresponsive as well. This happens a lot, because signal in my area is very weak (I'm using a signal booster during the day).
Aside from the news-apps, I actually use S-Health to give me an idea of my daily movement (it counts my steps). I love the stock clock/weather display on the home-screen, but because I wanted to have the step-counter on my home-screen (I only use one home-screen), I ended up installing Beautiful Widgets to be able to use a smaller, similar-looking setup.
As for other apps, I use both Netflix and MovieGallery (obviously) at nights for watching videos on it, and I have Plants vs Zombies 2 and, Tiny Death Star (see below) on it as well. Both haven't been used yet, but there are a few doc-appointments for my wife scheduled the next week, so I'll surely end up trying those while waiting at the hospital.
Tiny Death Star Game:
Star Wars: Tiny Death Star Now Live on Google Play, It?s ?Episode 8-Bit? ? Droid Life
On one of the Android sites I frequent, this game caught my eye.
With everything in life going on, I don't have much time for games, but it looked like an old Sim Tower game I used to play, so I gave it a shot.
The game itself is "freemium", meaning it is free, but in order to make some quick progress, you can purchase coins and such to speed things up. But after playing it for a few minutes, I didn't run into anything pushy.
Game play is similar to Sim Tower, and the star wars theme around it is done quite well with some quite wordings on classic lines from the movies. On top of that, its available on almost all device types. I played it on the Surface RT myself
More info and download links for all the supported (Android, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft) systems :
Star Wars: Tiny Death Star App | Disney Games
Closings:
And that's it for DVD Catalyst Newsletter 129.
Keep an eye out for information on the new app I am finishing up. I should be able to finish it up somewhere next week, so look on the website (link), Facebook (link) or Google+ (link) for updates.
Thanks again for reading, and have a great weekend.
Sincerely,
Mitch
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