3 days in: The Lenovo Miix 320

So first off let me real quick say this isn't a review. A review of this tablet will be coming out at a later date. 3 days is not long enough for me to fully judge a computer. This is more of a first impressions review.

The Lenovo Miix 320 is a detachable computer. That means you can remove the keyboard and use it as a tablet. (Although I prefer to kind of it more as a tablet that you can attach to a keyboard.) It has 2gb of Ram and an Intel Atom x5 at 1.44ghz. It runs a full version of windows.

I bought this tablet because I wanted a more portable computer then my laptop was giving me. I wanted something I could say, take into a restaurant and not look like I brought in my laptop. But I also wanted a full version of windows. And I can say, at least in the last 3 days, it has done that. And pretty well actually. It's a bit slower then I'm used too, but it's not crippling slow. You can get minor stuff done such as browser the web and watch videos. I've also been using it to do some minor music edits and that's going fine as well.

My one kind, of compliant so fair is the keyboard. And that's mostly the layout. It's a little different. Instead of having the F1 keys they are all there as FN keys. And the backspace in in a weird location, making it harder to type then what I'm used too.

(Notice: I wrote this at 3 days in, but I forgot to post it. It's now been 5 days.)

Unpopular Opinion: Pokemon isn't fun.

Ah Pokemon. Nintendo ultra popular JRPG. For .the three of you who don't know. Pokemon is a JRPG game about catching and fighting monsters. Your goal is to go to challenge the 8 pokemon Gym leaders to earn their Gym's badge. There's a little more, but that's the bulk of the game.

I actually really like the idea of Pokemon games. I love the idea of building your team by catching randomly appearing Pokemon. It's a fun unique idea and really helps make you want to continue and see what other Pokemon you'll encounter. I've never really cared about the evolution of Pokemon. I tend to personally prefer tier one Pokemon appearance the most.

The big problem I have with Pokemon is the repetitiveness of the battles. Because of the way Pokemon battles work battles can take a while. Instead of the normal RPG style of all the enemies being on screen at once, you have to battle one at a time. The same goes for how many pokemon you have attacking. Unless you have a double battle.

In double battles you have two Pokemon to fight and you also have two Pokemon to attack with. This would be better, but this type of battle isn't super common. The main fight style is still one at a time. PLUS, sometimes you have to fight two trainers at the same time. So you still have lots of Pokemon to fight.

The games also just aren't different enough. I've played Pokemon Diamond. I've also played a fair amount of Pokemon Omega Ruby. (I think that's the one.) And they played exactly the same. The main draw to new Pokemon games is the new Pokemon. But I don't care about the appearance of my Pokemon. I know. "If you don't like it don't buy." And I don't buy. But that also doesn't excuse laziness.
And I do know there's a slight different in the story. New "team" and new Special Pokemon there trying to steal or whatever. Still not enough. I can get the same experience in Pokemon Diamond. (If I didn't lose my copy.)

For the record, this all just my opinion and I think it's great if you get enjoyment from these games. I just don't. And I thought I might write out my reasons.

Unpopular opinions: Fallout: New Vegas is awful.

I've never put much time into Fallout: New Vegas, because the game never grabbed me. A big piece of that is the world design.
When I play a Fallout game, I want to go explore a post-apocalyptic city. Not go walk in a bland desert. There's nothing to really break up desert. There's a few building, but nothing major. For the most part you are just following a road. Going to Los Vegas. And there's no real drive to keep you going. The story is "Someone tried to kill you from Los Vegas. Go find them." A lot of Fallout games have stories like that, but the world keeps me going. But this one lacks it. Although I hear the story gets better once you're in Los Vegas, that means nothing if the story isn't good enough to get you TO Los Vegas.

I don't normally feel like there should more guidance/story stuff right out of the gate of a game, but this one REALLY needs it. There's no drive to keep going. There's not enough in the world and there's not enough story to keep me going.

At some point I will play New Vegas all the way though, no matter what, it's NOT the best fallout game. They all have their failings.

Snorp Vs. HP Pavilion x360 Round 2

I like this laptop. I really, truly do. It's small and runs quite fast. (Unless it's freezing but I'll get into that later.) It feels of solid build as well. But no. This laptop is bad. And I mean really, really bad.

HP can not for the life of them, from what I can tell, build a solid one of these. I've had all sorts problems with these stupid laptops. So I'm going detail all my problems with them. Because why the heck not? Maybe this will help someone out.

Laptop 1, The Original.

This one. This one was actually the worst of all three of them. Alright. I'll tell the whole story of this one.
So I had just decided that my MSI laptop, (Another really crudy laptop, but that's a story for another day.) need to be replaced. So I started researching laptops. And I instantly fell in love with the idea of getting HP Pavilion x360. It look perfect for me. It had a touch screen, was small, and was kind of fast, so I could play at least minor games on it. So I decided I was gonna get this model of laptop. So I went to Best Buy, and got it. So we'll skip ahead a few days, because nothing really interesting happened for a few days. And, the Thursday of the week I got it, the fan started making this really awful noise. It sounded like it was breaking.

So... I had to return it. This time I just went to Best Buy and exchanged it for another, of the same type. Because once again I'll say it. I actually really do like this model of computer. It's perfect for me. But they all keep breaking on my one way or another.

Laptop 2, the phantom touch.

This laptop. Oh how much I loved this one. This one was perfect. It had a quiet fan. And it didn't have the problem laptop 3, has. So after exchanging laptop 1, I got this one. This one lasted me into the new year. (Laptop 1 got exchanged in mid-December) Then. On a day in January, (I think about mid-January) the touch screen randomly started touching (Called "Ghost touching.") So first I tried to clean the screen it's self. And then I did research. What happened is that somehow some dirt got under the screen. I should have just sent that one out on warranty, but I wanted instant results. So I exchanged that one as well. And I got...

Laptop 3, Water and Fire 

Ahh... Laptop 3. My current laptop. This one. This one has history. So I'll just skip ahead to the problems on this laptop.

One day, I spilled some stuff on the keyboard. So the keys became sticky when you pressed them. So, I decided to wash them off, with a wet paper towel. Well, sadly I had not made it dry enough. So some water dripped down, and killed the mother board. Meaning this computer has basically NO water resistance. I mean, I don't need a water proof computer, but I my computer to be able to survive a small water spill. (Which would be equivalent I think) so this time I couldn't exchange it. I had to send it back on warranty. So I did it. I'm actually surprised that they didn't just give me the money for a new laptop in credit., apparently Best Buy will replace a broken mother board with Geek Squad Warranty. Good on them. Anyway, on with the story.

So after I it back I started noticing small problems. One problem was that the mouse pad would randomly glitch and move my mouse. And there were a few new "creaking sounds" (Although I'll put that one more on the fact they had to take apart the computer to repair it.) But a big thing, (Something that I think was happening pre-first send in.) was that it was running very, very hot. Like so hot it would actually hurt if you touch the bottom of the computer. And then it started randomly turning off when it got hot. So, just today (the day I'm writing this.) I took it back to Best Buy, to repair the mouse and the heating.

And those are the major problems I've had with my laptop. But there one other thing I'll note here though. The laptop tends to freeze while being moved around a lot. I don't know about the first two, but it was very notice able with the third laptop. That might also, have to do with the over heating, say as to how it was definitely more notice able when hot.

But I'll say it one last time. I actually really like this laptop.  When I go to Best Buy and see the preview version of this laptop, I think to myself "This is a great laptop, but mine have had so many problems. Hopefully this time it will work out better." Because if you actually feel the laptops and see the laptops, they feel and look great! But I actually blame it on the smaller size of the laptop. They had to compress everything thing down. So their isn't as much breathing room. they could have added a water tray are for spills. And everything wouldn't heat up. The second one, was the only one I felt like had a small problem. The other two feel like they have had major problems.

I'd still actually recommend this laptop though. You should make sure to get a warranty, but when they aren't causing problems... the HP Pavilion x360 is actually a really good laptop. Maybe I'm letting it off to easy... but as I said, it's actually a perfect fit for me. Just I wish it was built better.

Fresh first impressions of "Arms" for the Nintendo Switch

I just tried the ARMS demo. It's not great. It's not bad either. Here I'll go into details about my first impressions thoughts. (For the record, I only played two matches. My impressions might be different if played a little longer. Sadly I started at 5:50. So I didn't have that much time.)

For those who don't know ARMS is Nintendo latest IP. It's a fighting game. ARM's big gimmick is... well... that you can use motion controls and punch using your real arms.

First, I'll go into the good things. The game feels nice to play. The game (At least in controller mode) handles really well. The graphic and art style are also very nice. I like the color full art style of the game.

Now, the bad. As mentioned before, the gimmick is the motion controls. But because it's Nintendo, they couldn't just make it just that you punch with motion controls, they had to make it so you did EVERYTHING with motion controls. To move forward? Just tilt the controllers forward. To move backwards? Tilt them backward. But due to the fact that motion controls just weren't made for actually moving your character, it gets easily of sync. Meaning that you'll find yourself searching for "that sweet spot" that will allow you to actually move forward. And the same goes for every other direction.

What makes this worse it that, it doesn't feel like you're in the game by doing this. I'd personally be way more immersed in the game without moving my hands trying to find "that sweet spot." I'd love to actually PUNCH with the motion controls. But I hate that I have to move with them. So if I end up getting this game, I'll end up just using the normal controller controls. And that's a real shame.

Thoughts on the SNES Mini rumor

Today rumors have surfaced that the reason the NES Classic, was discontinued, because Nintendo is making an SNES Classic. If Nintendo has decided to discontinue it, because of the SNES mini, Nintendo has once again shown, they don't understand the US market.

What Nintendo fails to understand is that, not everyone who got a NES Classic would get an SNES mini. Sure some people (I'd even venture half the people) will also get the SNES classic, but if you look at the sales numbers, the NES sold over 10 million more then the SNES. Meaning that at least 10 million people who owned a NES and could connect with an NES Classic, won't be able to connect with an SNES Classic.


If the SNES Classic is why they discontinued the  NES Classic, they still don't see that they could have made way more money, from the combined sales. The SNES Classic and NES Classic, clearly won't have the same games. People weren't just buying just because "It looks like an NES, but smaller, how cute" people were buying for the memories of the games on it. Memories that, the games on an SNES Classic, won't be able to fill. Sure there might be other memories and that's why I'm sure the SNES Classic will do good, but different ones.

I think what Nintendo is really worried about, at the heart of it, that if they  have two classics out on the market, they will hurt each other's sales. Which just isn't true. Personally... I'd prefer an SNES Classic, because (Even though I'm not from either of there eras) I love Super Mario world. But guess what. I'd buy a Classic anyway. At the very least, because it would be cool to use a new NES controller, with a new console. Not to mention, to try the older games, because I'm not from the NES era, I haven't tried.

I'll leave it with this:
 Dear Nintendo,

You should put the NES Classic back into production along side with the SNES classic. I'll buy both. And I'm sure 50% and more will too. And the people who won't buy an SNES classic, never would have. (Well... they might have before you gave us all the issues with the NES Classics, and saw how awfully you handled that.)

Yours truly,
          Snorp09

Thoughts on the NES Classic being discontinued.

Hasn't ever tech site/video game site talked about this? Well... I might as well join in.

For the one or two of you who don't know, the NES Classic was a plug and play game console made by Nintendo that contained 30 Nintendo Entertainment System games. The console for the past few months has been plagued by supply and demand issues. To the point that when a store would get shipments it made headlines.

Last week Nintendo issued a statement to IGN stating that the last shipment (For this year, as if that means anything) of NES Classic would be arriving to stores in North America this month.

I personally believe that the reason behind the discontinuation, is that Nintendo doesn't want to de-value their IPs (Intellectual Property, not IP address.) Nintendo has shown in the past that they value there old games at the price of around 5-10 dollars. With the NES Classic they would be selling the games at 2$ each. I believe Nintendo thinks that their games are worth more then that. Despite the fact, the gaming community has been saying Virtual Console games (A way to play old games on your other consoles) have been over priced.

I also believe they don't want to hurt future VC (Which is what I'll be calling Virtual Console for the rest of this Article) sales. I believe Nintendo is scared that people will go out and by an NES Classic and not re-buy the games when they come out on the Nintendo Switch's VC. Despite the fact, for the last three consoles Nintendo has put out, people have had to re-buy them.

I  personally believe though, this will hurt Nintendo's future VC sales. I'll explain this way.
Alright. Lets say, some nostalgic parents go out and buy the affordable NES Classic. When they get back, they show their kids some of the old games they played when they were kids. The kids enjoy the old games, so when they can, they buy it for their own console's VC.
I feel Nintendo is looking short term, if I'm right. And they will be hurting sales in the future.

There's one other thing I'd personally like to address. The rumor that nintendo discontinuing the console due to hacking to add more roms (Rom files are the games).

Although it is possible, I do believe they are dumb enough to do it, they could just as well patch the system. Sure the original models would still be able to add roms, but this thing would have continued to sell like crazy, making the hack-able ones the minority.

And it's not like it will stop piracy. There's all sorts of sites that allow you to download roms, that you can find with a simple google search. Plus emulators a available for every single platform out there! Even their own consoles! In fact, I believe this will drive more people then would have originally to get a Retro Pie.

I have no doubt in my mind, this stupid order came from Nintendo of Japan. Nintendo of Japan continues to show it's ignorance towards the US market every day it seems. By the way, I haven't seen that many places report this. The Famicom Classic (The Japanese Version) is only discontinued temporarily.

One last thing. If you go to ebay, you'll see, that a lot of the classics for sale, have been hacked. I'm personally worried that at some point that it'll be rare to find a non-hacked one. As person who (Although loves custom/hacked stuff) has a great appreciation for stock (Non-modded) systems... I think it would be a great shame should that happen. And there's a good chance... it could have been avoided, if Nintendo didn't discontinue it.

Snorp's review of the HP Pavilion x360 2-in-1 laptop

The HP Pavilion x360 is a 2-in-1 laptop running windows 10. The one I have, has an i3 processor (2.3ghz), 6gb of ram and has a 500gb Hard drive. The touch screen is nice and responsive and allows for all ten of your fingers to be used.

The appearance of the device is  nice and simple, mine being sliver on the outside and on the inside being black, with a few stripes at the bottom.

The screen is not detachable like some 2-in-one offer. But you can fold the screen backward to be used more like a tablet.

The built-in Bang & Olufsen speakers are very nice. Sounding like my old MSI computer's max volume at about 50.

The fan is pretty quiet, depending on what you are using.

I would 80% recommend this computer because it has a very solid feel to it, the speakers are great, and only cost 500$ (From best buy.) BUT:

Please note:

When I very bought the computer, I got a defective one. Or at the very least, the fan was defective. It was super loud and sounded like a motor or something. I don't know if was only that model, but make sure to listen to the fan, and make sure its not defective. I still recommend this computer, just be careful that you don't get a defective one.

UPDATE:

The day after I wrote this review the laptop's touch screen started ghost touching (Touching with me touching it) so I had to return it and get a new one (Of the same model.) SO ONCE AGAIN: Its a good computer if you get a non-defective one.
UPDATED SCORE: I would only 50% (Maybe 40%) recommend this.