East Berlin, on the fateful night of the fall of the Berlin Wall, is when Industria is not set. Yes, you read the copy correctly. The game supposedly begins with East Germany, but the game takes place in the city of Hakavik, a place not in East Germany. Its prologue hints the beginning of the journey, but hardly a fitting description for a video game which its primary focus is in narrative storytelling.
Are Foldable Smartphones the Future? Pt. 2
I was asked recently if I would be willing to update my old piece, Are Foldable Smartphones the Future? with the news foldable smartphone is still around. Indeed, Samsung and Xiaomi, the two largest Android makers, have been pushing both folds and flips since its initial launch. Well received it may be, but so was 3D TV, hence why I am writing part 2 of foldable smartphone op-ed, not an update to the old one. In fact, Mark Gurman has recently written a piece that Apple may be working on a foldable iPad set to release by 2028 —my golly,…
App Store, Refund, and “Pro” Apps
Refunds on any platform comes with its own bags of issues, but Apple App Store was something else. Last week, after two requests for refunds didn’t go through, I contacted Apple customer support to see if there is a way to get a real person involved to get a refund on an app. I wouldn’t name the app. It’s otherwise a well known app, except for its dubious product lineups. So for this story, we will call the app Foo.
How to Move Save Data from PlayStation Plus Cloud Storage
The title of this post is rather wordy than it should be. If you are planning to subscribe to PlayStation Plus in another account for myriad of reasons, this is the process you want it done BEFORE the subscription runs out. The emphasis is well-deserved, as you would lose access to your cloud storage immediately after the subscription runs out, and Sony doesn’t offer read-only access to the expired storage. (note: save datas on the cloud is stored for up to 6 months, though anecdotally users have reported it’s often longer than that)
PlayStation Plus, Subscription, and Region Lock
All three major console platforms offer some sort of subscription at this point, and PlayStation, if I recall correctly, was the earliest to adopt the subscription requirements for multiplayer experience. What this means for anyone living abroad is they need to make a decision that will stick unlike no other. Currently Sony has a yearly plan for Essential tier of PlayStation Plus, which is $79.99 per year. “PlayStation Plus” is the name of the subscription, and the Essential is the name of the cheapest one available. Don’t worry, it gets even more confusing.
App Store, Refund, and DLCs
I didn’t think to see the remains of the wild west of App Store in 2024. I had bought an app that is working rather well with a minor glitch, and the developers’ response to the glitch was that the feature is actually part of the “pro” version. The pro version of the same app was sold at $9.99. I went ahead and bought it, and surprisingly I saw the same glitch again. After some googling, I found out they are actually identical apps only that the free version of the app has $9.99 in-app purchase to unlock the pro…
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves Spiel
My first experience with the Dungeons & Dragons IP was actually the movie, Dungeons & Dragons from the year 2000. The film was a failure in both box office figures and critiques. One thing I do know since is that the half-century old TRPG doesn’t have a “main quest” that can be adapted to a film nicely and squarely. It is a tool, and that means you better know how to yield it.
How to Fix AirPods Playing One Channel Only on Windows
This problem has plagued me for the past few months. As some of you are aware, I have an Intel Mac, not the latest Apple Silicon hardwares with GPTK or else. This meant that whenever I booted up to Bootcamp Windows, I was facing several challenges. One of them was Bluetooth accessories; I needed to pair them again. My solution to this was to use a Bluetooth audio dongle for USB-C devices. Surprisingly it wasn’t the pairing that I should have worried about.
How to Copy File Path in macOS Finder
This week is bit hectic with everything going on in South Korea. So this one is one of the reserved pieces I was thinking to publish should I need more time to work on a post. This is a commonly known trick for seasoned Mac users, and a feature I believe should be available on most GUIs.
Poppy Playtime: Chapter 1-3 Spiel
Poppy Playtime as an indie horror game has a special place in many PC gamers’ heart. There is no doubt it has a special place in my heart as well, only that place doesn’t happen to coincide with “great” in “great-ok-fail” scale. Chapter 1 went viral as a new IP in horror with its focus on intense chase sequence. Its survival horror predecessors built chase sequences around the stealth mechanics, whereas the new comer created a almost film-like, action oriented sequence that is still true to the tone of the horror while providing smooth transition in each moment of desperation.
How to Change Windows Hibernation Behavior
Did you know Windows 11 is shipped with power button replaced with hibernation? If you are starting a computer from cold boot, the computer isn’t starting a boot up process from scratch; in fact, it’s reloading the cache from what was on the previous session.
How to Fix Firefox “Unable to Access” DSM Web on macOS
If you are having trouble connecting to Synology DSM via web with recent influx of Firefox and macOS updates, this is likely the cause. The odd bit of it all is that in my case, it didn’t happen after an update. I didn’t get any updates on either one, it just happened out of the blue. Many tips I found on DSM often recommended creating a certificate or look into Firefox’s certificate related settings, but I didn’t have my NAS set to be exposed to WAN; if I am only using it locally —with VPN, you don’t need external access—,…
How to Fix Harmony Activity Input on LG TV
Logitech Harmony is no longer maintained. Perhaps “maintained” is not the right word; Logitech stopped manufacturing of the product, but the server —for accounts and DBs— is maintained. As far as I am aware, this also indicates the DB for the device lists and commands aren’t kept up as rigorously. Many users are already stockpiling their remotes, and frankly so long as I can keep the Logitech Hub (i.e. control via smartphone app), I think I will have few more years until there is a good replacement or HDMI finally decides to do something about CEC.
HDMI Nightmares, Switches, and Dongles
Few years ago, when I was looking for a replacement USB hub in South Korea, I quickly realized I was in the world of trouble. The listings for a powered USB hub with at least USB 3 rating were swarmed with Chinese knock-offs, and a lot of them didn’t ship with the power adapter when it clearly needed one to be “powered”. USB-C hub didn’t help either; majority of the hubs were meant to be a dock, not a hub for laptops with USB-C.
How to Block HDMI-CEC
This week is a home theater special. If you have just upgraded your home theater during Black Friday, chances are you are probably facing the same problem as I do. The infamous HDMI-CEC; it doesn’t work. The last time I had the pleasure of working with HDMI-CEC, which happens to be today, it was waking each other up endlessly like network live-lock.