mobile – workrock

September 26, 2019

Mobile games

Way back in 2004 Nintendo launched the first portable console to feature 2 gaming screens, the lower one being a touch screen. And while I never had a chance to play on the DS, I was always fascinated with the quality of the games it offered and the response it received from the fans.

On paper DS was weaker to PSP (the immediate competitor) but it terms of games that were fun to play it was second to none. DS offered gaming experiences that could match or even surpass any handheld or console device on the market.

DS launched with the intention of creating games that anyone could play. Even if you were not a gamer. Things like brain age and nintendogs appealed to a lot of people outside the gaming circle. And this was one of the big reasons for its massive success. Comparatively speaking neither the Vita, nor the 3DS did as well as their predecessors.In Fact mobiles slowly became handheld gaming device of choice.

Mobile phones have taken this concept of casual gaming to a new level. Online distribution. Free to play games. Being a device that everyone carries with them, mobiles have fully realized the vision of the Nintendo DS, with games that everyone plays.

Mobiles are not without their own faults. As radical as DS was it did not try to get rid of tradition altogether. It still had buttons. Similarly, while Wii was experimenting with motion sensing to make games more appealing to non gamers , the wiimote could also work as a traditional joystick. Nintendo switch, the latest gaming platform from nintendo can transform between the home console and a handheld but it’s still a proper gaming system.

Mobile phones on the other hand, well they can play video games all right. But they are not designed for it, for purists at least. It’s fun touching and poking on the screen for a while but serious gamers miss the physical buttons. A racer doesn’t feel as responsive on a touch screen. Nor does a fighter. Moreover touching on a screen impedes the gameplay. On a portable device screen space is limited. And if that is being obstructed by the finger it can take you out of the experience.

But there is one category of games that stand out on mobiles and have found a natural home.

RPGs, both western and japanese flavors. The games that focus on the atmosphere and story as opposed to the action. The gameplay is slower and more strategic. You won’t die if you are a bit slow to react. You can take your time in between turns. You can pause the game and come back when you’re ready to play. Turn based RPGs are seeing a resurgence on mobile.

While on consoles these games are passed on in favor of big budget titles on the mobile they are appealing. For one you can play them in short bursts. Rather than sitting through a 50 hour RPG you play it 15 minutes at a time. In the subway. Between meals. Before going to bed.

And here you’ll find so many great mobile games. From old school classics like Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy to steven universe attack the light. Even when it comes to action there are certain games that translate really well.

Take lego games for example. Whether it’s lego batman, or marvel’s super heroes or for that matter star wars, lego games are mighty fun to play on mobile. Its their focus on light action, tight platforming and plenty of collectibles that make their translation on a portable device seamless. Even when there are no physical buttons.

PUBG and Fortnite have proved that a mobile can be used to play competitive multiplayer games online. Pokemon go shattered records when it was released a few years back.

It’s no surprise really, a mobile still has all the advantages of a handheld console. It may not have buttons, but it’s got better built in social features. Facebook, youtube, twitter all on the same device. You can play and let your friends know about your experience.

Or you can look up on guides if you’re stuck. Or you can simply put your phone on sleep if your tired. The game starts off from where you left. You don’t have to commit to a play time. Its liberating in a way only a handheld can be.

And yet despite all it’s advantages it feels incomplete. Something seems missing. You don’t really get to see the same amount of dedication among the fans for mobile as there was for handhelds in the past. Why is that I wonder?

workrockin@gmail.com

September 7, 2019September 7, 2019

Should you use google Fi?

One of the biggest advantages of Google Fi is the international coverage. If you are say a traveller or a business person who has to frequently go to different countries it would make sense to get a google fi connection.

You won’t have to shop around for different SIM card providers and pay bills to multiple networks. You get a predictable bill as well as a data plan for your money. No additional roaming charges. It is quite convenient and frankly speaking is something that should have been been promoted by core networks themselves considering how many people are travelling internationally so frequently.

There are other benefits like automatically connecting to WiFi networks and some “quality of life” upgrades but those are minor conveniences and not something that should influence your purchase decision.

On the other hand if you’re not spending too much time travelling, maybe only once or twice a year out of the country, then I don’t think that Google Fi is the best choice for you right now and the local plans may indeed be cheaper depending upon where you’re living.

To summarize, if your goal is to have an international mobile.plan with predictable pricing and max coverage google Fi is a good choice. It’s way better than having to buy SIM cards at destination. However if you’re not moving too much a local service provider may give you a better deal. Compare plans before buying.

Further Reading

Google Fi is a type of Mobile Virtual Network Operator. MVNO does not own the infrastructure but buys it from other providers in bulk and then sell it to individuals. Thereby passing on the cost savings.

You’d be surprised to know that around the world there are more than 900 MVNOs offering services to customers with over 220 M mobile connections.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_virtual_network_operator

Although at the moment google operates as a mobile virtual network operator for Fi, it’s also getting into providing network access as well with it’s fiber project.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Fiber

https://fiber.google.com/

As well as their undersea cables

https://www.cnet.com/news/google-third-subsea-cable-equiano-connect-portugal-south-africa-nigeria/

https://9to5google.com/2019/05/29/google-indigo-cable-live/amp/

Additionally google is also building wifi hotspots around the world with it’s google station and it’s wifi router products

https://station.google.com/

https://store.google.com/?srp=/product/google_wifi

So it’s possible that in the future there may be a time when Google’s network and access points are better than those of its partners. And the best way to enjoy these services would be through the Google Fi project. Until that happens I’d say go with what’s best for you.

workrockin@gmail.com

August 16, 2019

soft talk.

Uncomplicated, vendor neutral, interoperable messaging platform. Works on all devices. Online. Offline

soft talk is a programmable, api first messaging platform for digital organizations. Soft talk allows mobile network operators to provide Rich Content Messaging (RCM) services to their subscribers.

Built in interoperability ensures that soft talk platform is compatible with vendor deployments across the world. A uniform standardized core is supported by a flexible, programmable front end to allow each operator create while label, differentiated services to delight their customers.

soft talk’s support for presence, contact list, messaging, file transfer, gaming, content syndication and encryption allows it to be used in all kinds of industries.

soft talk’s not just a general messaging application for consumers but can be used in an enterprise setting for business communication as well.

Features

1.Integrated presence, address book and messaging features. Including store and forward. Content syndication, multi user chat and multimedia.

2.Decentralized but interoperable. Multiple soft talk machines may be deployed to distribute the load while at the same time remaining connected to the core of the service provider. The built in interoperability means that it can work across geographic regions, vendors and devices. So your subscribers will never feel left out of the loop.

3.Flexible. It can be used for general purpose messaging. Rich Content Messaging (RCM)support allows multimedia, file transfers, gaming and even social networking features. soft talk’s messaging technology can evolve into any form of communication demanded by the consumers and businesses alike. soft talk gives network operators ability to support personalized use cases.

4.Secure. soft talk can be used even for highly sensitive financial transactions. soft talk identifies users. It also has the capability to identify devices for use cases that require secure machine to machine transactions. It allows self registration of new subscribers but it can also support an administrator approval based workflow.

5.Standardized. Works over IP protocol suite. Compatible with IPV6. Understands HTTP. Although you will rarely feel the need, the protocol can be extended to support even more features.

The soft talk platform can be deployed on pre-configured machines in data centers. soft talk supports multiple machine architectures. arm,x86, risc etc. in case you need we also provide dedicated machines and soft talk servers to deploy on premise. All machines run high speed ssds and high volume hdd drives. They come with multi core processors to support high velocity communications between subscribers. Built in gigabit Ethernet and wifi cards allow the machines to communicate with each other either in a data center environment or as stand alone compute units deployed at client locations.

soft talk infuses new energy into the default messaging infrastructure. It gets rid of all the things holding mobile messaging back. No character limits. Free content sharing. Support for business communication and machine to machine messaging. soft talk is a future proof, stable messaging platform that just works.

workrockin@gmail.com