2012

Having a blog gives me the license to make one of the best of lists. But, always the pessimist, I'll start with what sucked

The Worst

Dwight Howard
Remember that time Van Gundy was being interviewed about the problems with Dwight, and he was being pretty candid about the rocky relationship, and then Dwight popped up, put his arm around his coach without any knowledge of what was being talked about? That was hard to watch.

The Hobbit
Okay, I haven't seen the movie, so this isn't a critique on it's quality, the point is... I haven't seen the movie. The guy who attended the midnight showings of the last two Lord of the Rings films. The guy who was inspired by Aragorn to grow his hair out. The think is, when news broke that The Hobbit was going to be a trilogy, it was like a balloon was deflated. It feels like a cash-grab, and one that I can avoid, for the time being. I'm sure I'll eventually see it, and that it may be pretty good, but it won't be the whole story; just a tease.

The Public
Blaming mass murders on video games. Backing religious extremists politicians. Letting Chris Brown be relevant. The sad state of social media. George Carlin once said, “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that.”

The Meh

Superhero Movies
The Avengers, Spider-man, Dark Knight Whatever... While all commercial successes, failed to excite. They all, kind of, just lived up to expectations. If this was the 90s, that would be more than enough, but I want something more. If you're not going to inspire or do something different, what's the point?

Streaming Services
Netflix stayed more expensive. Hulu has commercials even if you're a paid user. Content owners still make their content difficult to get to. Who cares, anymore?

The Walking Dead
Season 3 started out pretty great; it moved at a faster clip and had some seriously freaky moments, but has since become bogged down in it's own lore. Some characters act without motivation and often, the show just feels trite. If it didn't do so many cool, nasty things you wouldn't normally see on TV, it wouldn't be worth watching.

Video Games
Nintendo came out with a new console, which has failed to garner excitement. The 3DS and Vita are just kind of there. All the big games were part 3s or 4s, so if you weren't already invested, there wasn't a lot to be excited about. The saving grace, for me, were downloadable games, like Rock Band Blitz and The Walking Dead. The new systems can't come soon enough.

The iPad Mini
A retina screen away from being on the next part of this list.

The Best

Perfume - Fake It

This song may have been a B-Side in 2010, but it became a single this year... so... it's my list, anyway.

CM Punk
This year he became the longest reigning champ of the past 25 years, even surpassing the golden boy, John Cena. He had great matches with Ziggler, Jericho, Cena, Henry, Kane, Bryan, Ryback, Big Show, and even Vince. He was hilarious and threatening. The Rock's stint at WrestleMania may have been what lured me back to wrestling, but Punk is what kept me here.

Boardwalk Empire
Somehow, this show got even better. It was always good, although a little light on plot. The first two seasons were about character development. Season 3 was about turning points and consequences. The show was made by Bobby Cannavale's portrayal of Gyp Rosetti.

Gangnam Style
I don't need to link to it, I just had to bring it up so I could say, "I told you so!"

Smart Toilets
My biggest revelation of 2012. In the future, our grandkids are going to say, "You did what with paper?"

What The Next Walking Dead Game Needs To Be

I've only finished the first chapter in The Walking Dead adventure game, and as everyone who's played it has stated, it's awesome. Essentially, all you're doing is making choices, who to side with, what to do, even who to save. These choices have impacts on relationships and events that'll play out in the story. Very cool stuff.

But I do have a suggestion for the next version:

Make it multiplayer!

The iPhone can already do multiplayer games. How about the action is streamed on your Apple TV, while everyone with an iOS device gets to vote on choices? Then after big decisions, it shows who voted which way. It's a way to share the compelling story, and argue with your friends about the choices they voted on.

What The iPad 4 Tells Us About The iPad 5

People were in an uproar. "How could they replace my iPad after only 6 months?"

But upon further inspection, it's clear that the newest iPad is an update, not an upgrade. A faster processor and a better FaceTime camera. That's pretty much it. While these improvements are welcome, they're certainly not enough to warrant an upgrade from the previous model.

So why was Apple so quick to introduce a new model? Why are they clearing out the 6 month old "new" iPad for $380 bucks?

Perhaps, iPad 4 has more to do with iPad 5.

Previous iPads were introduced during the Spring. Now that they have a new model, they can wait until Summer, at least. I'm anticipating a new refined design, both, in software and hardware. Expect the iPad 5 to be thinner, which seems to be Apple's latest modus operandi. iPad 5 will have a laminated screen, leading to a sleeker, more svelte appearance.

But aside from exterior aesthetics, I think the next round of iOS devices will feature a reimagined OS. This is more than just the recent promotion of Jony Ive as the head of software interface; I'm expecting a complete re-thinking of iOS. As Microsoft tries to position it's Surface device as a work machine, Apple has a real opportunity to beat them to the punch. An iPad that is as much about work, as it is play, would take the device to next level.

It's fun to speculate.

How To Turn Off Your iPhone With A Stuck Power Button

A few months ago, my iPhone's power button crapped out on me. Since then, I've ran into half a dozen people with the same problem. I can get the phone repaired for about $90, or I can probably repair it myself for half that. But then I run the risk of seriously mucking something up. So I decided to wait until the new iPhone comes out before I start tinkering with this one.
However, I still needed a way to turn the iPhone off and on in the meantime. So, here's how to do it:

Open up 'Settings', then click on 'General'.

Scroll down, and select 'Accessibility'.

Scroll down, and select 'AssistiveTouch'.

Turn 'AssistiveTouch' on. A new button will appear on the lower, right-hand corner of the screen. Tap it.

A new menu pops up. Select 'Device'.

Now a 'Lock Screen' button appears. It acts just like the power button. Tap it to put the device to sleep. But if you hold the button for a few seconds...

You get the 'Power Off' screen. You know what to do from here.

Turning your iPhone back on requires you to plug it into a charger, both outlet and USB work. A little inconvenient, but still a life-saver.