#you could instead release it on CDs (or even blu-rays)

[amplexadversary]

I kind of operate on a similar, but not completely overlapping view that, given different media have different strengths and weaknesses, selecting one with such that your project can take the fullest advantage of is a key component of being a skilled artist, when one has control over that kind of thing.

Which, taken to extremes, marks an artistic choice that takes advantage of a unique or mostly-unique feature of the work's medium as a highly desirable one, even if it makes the work hard to adapt, or forces an adaptation to drop the feature of the work that the medium enabled (though, to be honest, I think more of those themselves can be worked around than people tend to strictly assume.)

What's the fancy theory term for the belief that the virtue of a medium is in the things that distinguish it from other media, and the most successful pieces of art qua (film, novels, video games) are specifically those impossible to present in any other way?

Anyway I don't wholly endorse it, but on some instinctive level I do think art created by people who do is more, like, aesthetically virtuous than stuff you can adapt without destroying the whole point of it.

[nonbinaryhatboxghost]

10:40pm. Hi! I’ve been fixating (mock gasp) lately on acquiring and reacquiring Blu-rays and DVDs that I used to have when I was younger. I discovered someone selling the entire James Bond Special Edition DVD collection on eBay for a rather ridiculously low price, so I rolled the dice on that. I did it because I love and miss animated DVD menus and how the ones specifically made for the first 20 Bond movies were customized for each individual title before the 2006 Ultimate Editions got rid of them in favor of a more uniform menu that was put on all of the Bond movies.

I bought back the LOST soundtrack CDs after losing them in The Great Disc Loss of 2018 (when I was so broke that I had to start selling my media collection to get by). And boy howdy do I love those soundtracks and Giacchino’s music in general. I also managed to find a copy of Mondo’s out-of-print vinyl release of Giacchino’s amazing score for Speed Racer.

A while back, I spent over a month hunting eBay for mostly hardcover copies of every book that Stephen King has published, and they now sit in a shelf unit across from my bed.

I perused the Mondo webstore for any titles I had considered buying in the past but hesitated on, and bought them because that company is in the process of being gutted by Funko. I highly doubt Mondo will survive into 2025, so I got a few Giacchino vinyls I’d been debating along with a couple of art books.

I also got all of the Star Trek shows that I love on DVD or Blu-ray, even the ones that haven’t ended yet.

I helped a friend acquire a DVD he’d been looking for on-and-off over the last few years, as well as the soundtrack for myself. I bought the handful of James Bond soundtracks that weren’t already in my library, mostly digitally but there was one that was only available on an out-of-print CD, so I tracked down a cheap copy of it from a Discogs seller in Australia.

And I’m also thinking about the Universal Classic Monsters, specifically the ones in the recently-released Essentials Collection that contain glorious artwork by Alex Ross. I managed to find a set that claims to have art cards of all the portraits he made for the monsters, pictured below

Earlier today, I brought this current collecting spree up with my flatmate and wondered why I’m feeling particularly drawn to more nostalgic purchases lately. He theorized it was just my brain taking a break from focusing on whatever Stephen King book I was previously reading.

I don’t know. Streaming being completely unreliable as a consistent source for movies and shows is likely a factor. I’m currently stressed at work for a variety of reasons, maybe this is simply extreme retail therapy.

Despite the many things I’ve mentioned acquiring above, I collect things like discs and books because I don’t actually have that much space to hold things, and it’s easier to find space for these instead of posters or figures.

There could also be my continued confusion and frustration over my social life, specifically that I’m having trouble finding a good place to socialize. My current relationships are going well, I just also would like to meet new people and have something else to look forward to doing. I was very much a mess when I did karaoke every week back in 2018, but it was something consistent. I’ve had trouble finding a consistent musical outlet out here.

Ah well. Rambling. Trying to get back in the habit of journaling on here. I’ll be okay. I hope you will be, too.

[shihalyfie]

Kizuna itself vs. the two versions of the novel

Written on request from a friend who wanted to remain anonymous. This is more of an editorial than a meta, and while I usually have a policy of “this is an analysis blog, not a review blog” it goes into more of my personal impressions and opinions than usual, but it’s something I write hoping to be helpful.

There are basically three “official” full versions of Kizuna: one being, of course, the movie itself, one being the Dash X Bunko version of the novel, and one being the Shueisha Mirai Bunko version of it. While it’s certainly not to say that any of the three is an “incomplete” version of the narrative, if you really want as full of a picture of the story as possible, somehow, each of all three versions of the story happens to have really important information that the other two do not. If I had to pick only one of these three versions to recommend to people, I would of course pick the movie itself; it’s obviously the base story everything else is based off of and was the one the production centered around as a priority, but the novelizations have a surprising amount of info that provide a lot of insight into the movie’s story and themes.

I get the impression that the creation of Kizuna involved making a lot more story and background details than could fit in a 95-minute movie, so these novelizations, which were based directly off the original movie script, ended up being an outlet for a lot of these details (and as much as I could be harsh on the movie itself for being a bit “reliant” on extra material, I have to admit that Adventure and 02 were both like this too -- a lot of our current understanding of the series comes from the Adventure novels and drama CDs -- so frankly I’m thankful we at least got this with a 95-minute movie instead of a yearlong series). On the flip side, while I'm not going to say that the novels are completely and utterly inaccurate representations of the movie, in a perhaps too-close approximation of Adventure and 02's writing style, this is a movie where even the nuances in a single line or split-second moment carry heavy implications, which become much blurrier or harder to identify when they’re presented differently (or not even presented at all) in the novel’s context, especially when they emphasize very different things from what the movie itself was emphasizing.

The short version of this is that I believe the Dash X version contains the greater amount of “plot and story” information but significantly misses out on the emotional themes and presentation, whereas the Shueisha Mirai version abridges and cuts chunks of content but is much better at conveying the intended message. More on this below the cut. (Note that the following post spoils Kizuna’s plot events.)

The movie itself

Since the following parts are more “in comparison to the movie”, I’m not going to go too much into this in this section, but one thing I will say is that the official English subtitle translation for the movie is really not great. Even if you take out nitpickiness about the fact it misses several significant nuances (the difference between “unchangeable fate” and “changeable destiny”, or the fact that Gennai refers to partnership dissolution as a “case” and not like it’s something that happens overall) at really plot-important moments, some lines (thankfully, usually not plot-important ones) are just straight-up incorrect. And worse, there’s evidence the official English dub was based on that translation! (I’m not faulting the people in charge of the dub for this, but whoever handed them that translation to work with.)

The dialogue in the Dash X Bunko version is transcribed effectively word-for-word from the dialogue in the movie (or perhaps vice versa, given that the novel is based on the original script), so I highly recommend checking that version as a reference for dialogue or if you want to do any intimate analysis on it. I don't want to go as far as to suggest not supporting the official version of the movie because of this, but at least please be aware that the translation used there is not entirely reliable.

Dash X Bunko

If you talk about “the Kizuna novel”, this is the one that people usually tend to be referring to, for two reasons. Firstly, it was translated shortly after the movie’s release, and due to the unfortunate circumstances of Kizuna being delayed in accessibility outside Japan for several months, this basically served as the only comprehensive source of info about the movie outside Japan for a very long time. Secondly, in Japan, this one was marketed as “the one for adults” in contrast to the Shueisha Mirai one being “for kids”, which meant that a lot of people assumed that the latter one was just an incredibly stripped down version that was otherwise disposable or replaceable. (This is very, very much not the case, and is extremely ironic when it comes to a movie that partially centers around the dangers of looking down too much on things associated with childhood.)

When it comes to “plot and story info”, this is the one that probably serves as the best reference (especially for fanfic writers or those who need a refresher on certain plot events or to look up something quickly), and probably has the most “comprehensive” listing of plot events surrounding the movie. The dialogue in it is a word-for-word recreation of the movie’s script, and actually includes more scenes than the movie itself does, including two that I suspect to be deleted scenes (a detailing of the specifics behind the initial plan to pursue Eosmon, and a conversation between Koushirou and Tentomon) and adaptations of the first and second memorial shorts within their context in the movie. It also contains some interesting background details and extra context for some things in the movie that you might think would normally be animation flair or something, but take a very interesting implication of story importance if they’re going out of their way to write this in the script. (There’s a scene where Agumon and Gabumon appear in front of their partners when they’d been behind them a minute before, and it’s easy to think this might be an animation error, but not only does the surrounding context make this unlikely, the novel itself actually directly states that their positions had changed.) Given that, I think it was very fortunate that this novel was available to us for those outside Japan waiting for the actual movie to come out, because this level of detail was very important to have on hand rather than fragmented spoilers on social media.

However, the part where I think the novel is significantly deficient in compared to the actual movie (and also to the other version of the novel) is that it describes the plot events in too blunt of a manner and doesn’t bring out its themes very well. (It’s kind of like having a long and very detailed Wikipedia article plot summary; it definitely got all the hard facts down, but the emotion is gone, which is still a pretty significant issue when media’s all about the feelings and message in the end.) While “considering the movie to be more cynical than it’s probably meant to be” happens regardless of which version someone’s working from, I’ve talked to perhaps an unnervingly high number of people who started with the novel and were absolutely convinced that the movie’s message was about adulthood sucking and needing to just accept it, until they saw how the actual movie pulled it off and the surrounding atmosphere and realized it definitely was not. (I think one really big factor here is that a lot of the visual imagery makes it extremely, extremely hard to miss that Menoa’s mentality is completely screwed up and her way of seeing things was dubious to begin with; prose descriptions really just don’t capture the way they slam this in your face with visual and musical cues during the climax of the movie.)

You can figure this out from the novel itself, but you have to really be looking closely at the way they word things, and on top of that it’s hard to figure out which parts you should be focusing on and which parts aren’t actually that important -- in other words, the “choice of priorities” gets a bit lost in there. Even the little things lose a lot of value; it’s theoretically possible to use the novel to put together that Daisuke is wearing his sunglasses indoors during his first scene, but you have to put together the context clues from completely different paragraphs to figure this out, none of which compares to the actual hilarity of visually seeing him wearing the thing in a very obviously dimly lit restaurant because he’s our beloved idiot. (For more details, please see my post with more elaboration on this and more examples of this kind of thing.)

I wouldn’t say that the movie itself isn’t guilty of (perhaps accidentally) having some degree of mixed messaging, but I would say this problem is rather exacerbated by the novel’s way of presenting it due to its dedication to dropping every single plot detail and event without much in the way of choosing what to contextualize and what to put emphasis on (as it turns out, treating practically everything in the movie as if it has equal weight might not be a great idea). So, again, for that reason I think the novel serves as a good reference in terms of remembering what happened in it and knowing the movie’s contents, but I also feel that it’s really not the greatest deliverer of the movie’s message or themes at all.

Shueisha Mirai Bunko

The second version of the novel was not translated until several months after the movie first released, and shortly before the Blu-ray and streaming versions of the movie itself came out anyway, so my impression is that on this end a lot of people don’t even know it was a thing. On top of that, even those who know about it often dismiss it as the “kid version” -- and to be fair, it did baffle quite a few people as to why this version even exists (Kizuna is technically not unacceptable for kid viewing and its plot is still understandable regardless of age, but since the movie is so heavily about the millennial existential crisis, it’s not something kids would really relate to). So a lot of people tended to just skip over it...which is really a shame, because it contains some interesting things that actually aren’t in the other two versions at all. For instance, did you know that, as of this writing, this is the only thing that plainly states the specific explanation for why Yamato decided to become an astronaut, for the first time in 20 real-life years?

While there are still some things that weren’t in the movie proper (mainly the Eosmon initial plan and the adaptation of the second memorial short), for the most part, the actual events are somewhat abridged compared to the movie and the Dash X version, and other than a few stray lines, there’s not a lot of extra information that would be as helpful for referencing the events of the plot. The version of the novel here is rather broadly interpretive of the scenes in the movie, so several things are condensed or taken out (and, amusingly, because it’s assuming that the kids reading this don’t actually know the original Adventure or 02, it has to describe what each character is like in a quick one-liner).

However, interestingly enough, it’s because it’s so heavily interpretive that it illuminates a lot of things that weren’t really easy to glean out of the Dash X version. For instance:

Some scenes are described with “other perspectives” that give you info on someone else’s point of view. (For instance, we see more of Yamato’s perspective and thoughts when he has his first phone call with Daisuke, or a bit more detail in the process of how Eosmon kidnappings work.)

We get a lot more information on what’s going through everyone’s heads during each scene, and what emotions they’re feeling at a given time. (This is something that you could at least get to some degree in the movie itself from facial expressions and framing, but would often be a lot blurrier in the Dash X version; here, it’s spelled out in words.)

When things are abridged, you get a clearer idea of what the intended point and theme of the scene was because it’s stripped down to include only that part. In one really interesting case, the scene with Agumon finding Taichi’s AVs has a “censored” equivalent where Taichi’s pushed to a corner because he can’t find anything non-alcoholic in his fridge -- so when you look at the two versions of the scene and what they have in common, you can figure out that the point isn’t that it was a lewd joke for the sake of it, but rather that Taichi’s forcing himself into boxes of “adulthood” that are actually meaningless and impractical.

Some of the descriptions of the characters, scenes, and background information make it a lot more obvious as to their purpose in the narrative (it outright confirms that Miyako being in Spain means that her personality is getting overly enabled there).

The scene where the circumstances behind Morphomon’s disappearance are revealed makes it significantly less subtle what the point is. In the actual movie, a lot of this involved visual framing with Menoa seeming to become more and more distant, but in this version of the novel they basically whack you over the head with the final confirmation that Menoa is guilty of neglecting her own partner, which contradicts her own assertions that “they were always together” (maybe not emotionally, it seems!) and helps clarify the commonality between her, Taichi, Yamato, and Sora in what exactly led to their partners disappearing.

Bonus: this version of the novel really wants you to know that the ending of the movie is about Taichi and Yamato fully having the determination to turn things around and lead up to the 02 epilogue. (The movie’s version of this involves the extended version of Taichi’s thesis and the credits photo with Yamato obviously next to a rocket, while this novel’s version involves more detailed fleshing out of how Taichi and Yamato decided to use their experiences to move onto their eventual career paths and what kind of hope they still have at the end. The Dash X version...didn’t really have a very strong equivalent here.)

In other words, while this version of the novel isn’t the greatest reference for plot or worldbuilding, it does a much more effective job being straightforward about the intended themes and message of the movie, and even if the scenes in it are much more loosely adapted, it’s much better at adapting the emotional nuances of the things that would normally be conveyed via visuals, expressions, and voice acting. (Although I would still say that the movie itself is the best reference for that kind of thing, of course.) If you just want lore or plot ideas, I don’t think it’ll help you very much, but since this series is so much about characters that had their ways of thinking fleshed out in such incredible detail, and about strong theme messaging, this is all still very valuable information in its own way.

[artistjojo1228]

Mord Und Totschlag (1967)

I can’t believe it either, but this film (titled A Degree of Murder in English) finally has a DVD/Blu-Ray release! It’d be nice if they’d release the soundtrack on CD and vinyl, but at this rate, I’ll take what I can get.

Anyway, this film’s in German, and there’s no subtitles, but basically the synopsis goes something like this: “ Marie (Anita Pallenberg) shoots her ex-boyfriend with his own gun, after he attempts to beat her. Instead of reporting this to the police she hires two men to help her dump the body in a construction site near an autobahn. While doing this she becomes romantically involved with both men. “ (lifted from Wikipedia).

The soundtrack was recorded by Brian Jones, who was dating Anita at the time (though by the time this film came out, she’d left him for Keith Richards). To me, this movie represents one of the few pieces of concrete evidence that Brian could at least write music, even if he had more difficulty with lyrics.

Honestly, I couldn’t tell you what’s more coveted amongst us hardcore Brian Jones fans: any evidence of his songwriting/composing abilities or any time we get to hear his singing voice (for me, it’s a toss-up).

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Thoughts on Mary Poppins Returns

I’ve fallen behind on my current-movie viewing due to a number of factors (the only cinema screenings I’ve been to in the last 6 months in fact have been Aquaman at Christmas and twice to see Alita Battle Angel a few weeks ago), but I’m getting caught up as the blu-rays come out. I saw Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse last night and will comment about it later (the tl;dr - good movie, a treasure trove for fans of pop culture, but looks awful on Blu-ray due to the textures used and I still think Incredibles 2 was more deserving of the Best Animated Feature Oscar), but since I actually invoked Mary Poppins Returns in a post I did about Alita yesterday, I thought I’d give some thoughts on this one first.

A spoiler/length break first as I get a bit wordy. I also do touch on some mild spoilers.

The Good

* Emily Blunt. Being unfamiliar with her other musical work, I was not prepared for how good a singer she is. Whether she stacks up to Julie Andrews is in the ear of the beholder, but I thought she was great. She wisely didn’t base her Mary on Julie, in the process giving us a slightly more cynical, world-weary Mary appropriate for someone with a quarter century more life experiences and adventures. I heard some reviewers call her a sexier Mary than Julie’s. I say nonsense to that - they’re equal (the only difference being Emily having a bit more innuendo in one of her songs, which I’ll mention later). One other comment is that when she played Mary, Julie Andrews was not an experienced film actress with only a few TV and film credits prior to Poppins - she was more a stage actress (her lack of screen experience was one of the reasons why Audrey Hepburn got the role of Eliza Doolittle for the My Fair Lady movie instead of Julie); Emily, by contrast, has been making movies and TV shows since 2003, so she has a level of screen-confidence that adds contrast to her performance.

* Lin-Manuel Miranda. Not being overly interested in Hamilton, Miranda has never been on my radar, so I came into this with a clear slate. He is a terrific addition to the film, he commands the screen (even stealing a couple of scenes from Emily, much as Dick van Dyke did from Julie), and director Rob Marshall wisely gives him a couple of Broadway show-like sequences and lets him go wild. This wasn’t his first film role - he has a number of movie and TV credits - but this is his first lead in a major film, and it won’t be his last.

* The kids. The three child actors chosen come off like 25 year olds who have been transplanted into pre-teen brains. Amazing. If they ever decide to remake Harry Potter, they could do worse than consider these three.

* Nackvid Keyd. Although this person’s cameo was I think intended to be a surprise, the trailers and other promotions give it away. Nonetheless, I’m going to keep it spoiler-free for those who haven’t seen it, by using the actor’s pseudonym here. He’s only on screen for about 3 minutes but it’s an amazing 180 seconds - and to both his and the director’s credit, "Mr. Keyd” actually doesn’t upstage the current cast. And his inclusion - as well as a cameo by another veteran of the original film - shows respect to the original film.

* Angela Lansbury. Her cameo (which I don’t think was intended to be quite the same level of surprise as Mr. Keyd’s) was amazing. This was a woman who made her screen debut in the 1944 Ingrid Bergman film Gaslight. Here, she plays a character equivalent to the first movie’s bird woman (though a little more sprightly). It’s widely believed this part was originally meant to be played by Julie Andrews, but Julie, to her credit, reportedly felt appearing in the film would take away from Emily Blunt (similar to how an alleged plan to have Sean Connery appear in Daniel Craig’s Bond film Skyfall as the groundskeeper was wisely dropped in favour of bringing Albert Finney in for the role. Soon as Sean appeared on screen, Daniel would have been done).

* Replicating the look of the original film. There are some scenes where this doesn’t apply, in particular the use of actual locations in London (the original film was all shot on soundstages in Hollywood), but the attention to detail in replicating iconic locations like Cherry Tree Lane, the Banks’ home, etc., is amazing, even allowing for it not being 100% the same - which is understandable since, after 25 years, you would expect a room to get a fresh coat of paint. There’s a touching featurette on the Blu-ray where “Nackvid Keyd” visits the Cherry Tree Lane set and is amazed at the detail.

The meh...

1. The music. Despite my praise for the cast, I was less impressed by the music (even though I bought the CD). Granted, the original score has had more than 50 years to become iconic, and there are a few songs here that could rise to the same level in a half-century. But, at least for me, they never delivered another “Feed the Birds” or “Chim Chim Cheree”. In fact, some of the songs felt almost like pastiches of the Sherman Brother’s originals. The closest to something that felt brand-new was a rap-like song performed by Miranda during the animated sequence, “Cover is Not the Book” (it actually works, while actually referencing something similar that Dick Van Dyke did in the original.)

The not so good

1. They call it a sequel, but, really, it’s more a remake. I’m not alone in noting that the film duplicates the original almost beat for beat. The order of events is similar, the types of songs are similar. Some of the songs sound similar to the earlier versions, even. Instead of acrobatic chimney sweeps, we have acrobatic leeries who go around lighting street lamps. Instead of Uncle Albert who floats when he laughs, we have Aunt Topsy who, for whatever reason, has a condition where her entire world turns upside down once every two weeks. George Banks becomes dejected over apparently losing his job at the bank; Michael Banks becomes dejected over apparently losing his house due to the bank - and both have epiphanies thanks to someone singing them songs. Both films have big production numbers set in animated alternate universes and another involving airbourne objects in the park. Etc. The only really original thing here plotwise is while the original film actually had no villain (George Banks comes the closest to being an antagonist, but even then he barely qualifies), here there is an actual clearly defined villain, as well as a scene or two of actual jeopardy which we never saw in the original. More on this momentarily.

2. The tone is all over the place ... and too much of it is kinda depressing. We know a film set in the height of the Great Depression isn’t going to be all goodness and light, and the ironic tone of the opening number, “Underneath the Lovely London Sky” sets that out clearly (and quite effectively - it’s one of the best scenes in the film). When Mary arrives, Jane and Michael assume she’s out of work and destitute so they take her in out of kindness. And the whole film revolves around Michael possibly losing his family home. Yet ... I thought too much of it was downright sad. Ben Whishaw - another actor I had no idea could sing - gives an amazing performance of “A Conversation” in which Michael talks to his dead wife. But as that description suggests, this isn’t “I Love to Laugh Redux”. In fact it’s such a sad sequence that it takes you right out of the film - which is a bad thing considering the song is performed only about 10 minutes in. They might have been better off saving it for later.

3. There are also aspects of the film that I think violate the spirit of the original Mary Poppins - and possibly PL Travers’ books too. The “Cover is Not the Book” sequence, which is great and probably the closest to a truly memorable original song (I’d have chosen it for the Oscar nomination over “Place Where the Lost Things Go” which was an attempt at replicating “Feed the Birds”), contains some off-colour jokes delivered by both Mary and Jack that really felt out of place. I’m not being prudish on this, and the off-colour bit is mild, but this being Mary Poppins it was still jarring. And a chase sequence, although well done and exciting - and for fans of the original film providing a dark bookend to 1964′s steeplechase sequence - likewise felt like it belonged in another movie. It was almost as if Disney - in a stark contrast to the days when the reverse was true - refused to release a G-rated movie so they had to add a few bits to get the PG. Sort of like how an F-bomb will sometimes pop up in scripts to ensure a movie gets bumped from PG to PG-13 (which famously allows for one F-word before triggering an R rating). Because no one is possibly interested in watching a G-rated movie in the late 2010s, apparently.

So, I guess, I am rather critical of Mary Poppins Returns. I feel not enough was made of the opportunity to create something new, rather than a rehash of the original.

But - don’t get me wrong, it is still a quality film and I’m glad I have the Blu-ray. The cast does a fantastic job, the music isn’t bad (I just felt they didn’t come up with anything as instantly iconic as the songs back in 1964), and once you get past some of the depressing bits it’s a fun film. So I’d still give it a solid 7 out of 10 and I do recommend it. Just maybe don’t watch it right after the original.

[celebritynowbot]

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[lindsvendsen66-blog]

Dungeon Link Testimonial.

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How Much Does Boot Camp For Mac Costyellowmedi

How Much Is Bootcamp For Mac

How Much Does Bootcamp For Mac Cost

Boot Camp Control Panel User Guide

After you use Boot Camp Assistant to install Windows on your Intel-based Mac, you can set the default operating system to either macOS or Windows. The default operating system is the one you want to use when you turn on or restart your Mac.

Set the default operating system

Boot Camp is designed to allow Mac users to set up a partition to run Windows, providing access to PC-only apps and content. Apple's Boot Camp update for macOS 10.14.5 comes about a month after. Download this app from Microsoft Store for Windows 10, Windows 10 Team (Surface Hub), HoloLens. See screenshots, read the latest customer reviews, and compare ratings for Boot Camp on Mac Guide.

In Windows on your Mac, click in the right side of the taskbar, click the Boot Camp icon , then choose Boot Camp Control Panel.

If a User Account Control dialog appears, click Yes.

Select the startup disk that has the default operating system you want to use.

If you want to start up using the default operating system now, click Restart. Otherwise, click OK.

Dvd burning software free for mac os xfasrsun. Finder is the default file manager of the Mac OS that also works as a free DVD burner for Mac. Using Finder, you simply need to insert the disc into the SuperDrive and select Open Finder from the pop-up screen. Next, open the disc window and drag the files that you want to burn. Click Burn button to start burning the added files. DVD Cloner for Mac. One of the best DVD burner software, DVD Cloner for Mac makes it easy to copy DVD with quality. The software is capable of copying protection systems and accessing all the region codes. It gives freedom to copy DVDs no matter what encryptions it has, to various destinations such as ISO image file, blank DVD disc and more. 10 Practical free DVD burning software for Mac 1. Wondershare UniConverter for Mac - The Best DVD Burning Software for Mac (macOS Catalina Included) Wondershare UniConverter is a versatile and all-in-one video solution tool, which not only burning 1,000+ video formats to DVD/Blu-ray disc but also provides you a list of video-related functions. With this Mac DVD burner, you can create your playable DVD with attractive free DVD menu templates and edit videos quickly before burning. Burn is the most well-known free DVD creator for Mac that allows you to burn both CD and DVD on Mac. As a piece of completely free DVD burning software, Burn has a lot to offer. It gets ease of use and simplicity of user interface into perfect combination. It's able to burn all types of files you throw at it like data, audio, video and more. IDVD is one of the most widely applied free DVD burning software for Mac. It allows you to burn QuickTime Movies, MP3 music, and digital photos to a DVD. The free software is integrated with iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto or any other Apple product. IDVD indeed makes DVD burning fairly straightforward and saves you lots of time.

You can’t change your startup volume to an external drive while you’re using Windows.

To learn how to change the default operating system using macOS, see Get started with Boot Camp.

Restart in macOS

In Windows on your Mac, do one of the following:

Restart using Startup Manager: Restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Option key. When the Startup Manager window appears, release the Option key, select your macOS startup disk, then press Return.

If you’re using a Mac notebook computer with an external keyboard, make sure you press and hold the Option key on the built-in keyboard.

Restart using Boot Camp Control Panel: Click in the right side of the taskbar, click the Boot Camp icon , then choose Restart in macOS.

This also sets the default operating system to macOS.

For more information about restarting in macOS, see the Apple Support article Restart your Mac in macOS or Windows.

See alsoGet started with Boot Camp Control Panel on MacTroubleshoot Boot Camp Control Panel problems on MacApple Support article: How to select a different startup disk

Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I receive compensation if you purchase through this link, and I fully appreciate your support.

Are mom crushes a thing?

If so, I have a major mom crush on Jordan Page, supermom behind FunCheaporFree.com.

I first discovered Jordan through that crazy coupon show (which side note: my hubby and I were screened to be on, but we were not weird enough. I guess that’s a good thing, especially since they were asking if we did anything illegal to save money – yikes!).

I then watched Jordan on the Millennial Mom Youtube Channel then watched her on her own channel, and bought her two courses, Budget Boot Camp and Productivity Boot Camp. Because of her, I block schedule, have an easy-to-transport container of kids’ hair stuff, and also have Beddy’s zipable bedding.

The list of how Jordan has transformed my life as a productive mama is quite long actually. Needless to say, I was ecstatic when I was able to become an affiliate for her programs. That’s your disclaimer. I’m an affiliate, but there is no pressure to buy through my link. I love the lady and truly think she can change your life like she has changed mine.

What Is Productivity Boot Camp

Jordan launched Productivity Boot Camp in 2018 after getting so many questions about her productivity goddess-like qualities. She balances six kids, a super successful business, church life, home life, and more and still looks fabulous. So what exactly is her secret?

Productivity Boot Camp is a place where Jordan breaks down all of her tips and tricks into a six-week course. There are 28 videos and three bonus interview videos. The videos average about 15 minutes long, with a few being over 40 minutes. I tackled the longer videos in chunks or while doing laundry.

This program is great for moms of all kind – working moms, stay at home moms, work at home moms. The course is marketed towards anyone, though (which I have issues with, but more on that later on).

The Amazing – Pros of PBC

1. High Energy and Motivating

Every one of Jordan’s videos is high energy and motivating. If you love Jordan’s teaching style, then you will love going on this journey with her. After watching the first video, I was excited to start getting my schedule under control.

How Much Is Bootcamp For Mac

2. Easy to Follow Format

I love how she breaks down each course by week. The first two weeks require a little more viewing time and homework, but they are truly worth it. Trying to implement the block schedule into your life is also hard at first, but once you get the hang of it, it is addicting to get more things done each day.

3. It Works

I have read a lot of productivity books, probably more than the average person. This course gave new strategies and some that I have heard before, but the difference is that I was better prepared to use Jordan’s strategies. Most productivity books are written by men who have wives that take care of all the things, so it is hard to take their advice. Jordan is just like us and shows us how to get things done.

The Meh – Cons of PBS

1. The Planner

Update – June 26th, 2020: Jordan listened and rolled out her very own Productivity Planners that can be purchased separately. They make up for the planners that come with the course. I will give a full review and walkthrough of this soon.

I love Jordan’s spreadsheet for the block scheduling, but personally, I found the productivity planner to be disappointing. I was really hoping for something I could use every day to keep me on top of all the things.

Instead, most of the pages are cute, glorified notetaking paper. I would have liked to see more planning pages to go with systems and routines that can make your days run smoother.

2. The Free Youtube Videos

Save Editor Online. This free save editor can make a troublesome game easier to win by helping you change some quantities (like amount of gold, items etc.). It's a most simple and powerful tool for a lot jrpg and visual novels. Currently supports.rvdata2,.rpgsave,.dat,.sav,.save,.rsv,.qsp,.rvdata,.rxdata,.lsd,.sol files. Game save editor for mac windows 10. Black Chocobo, FF7 Save Game Editor Current Version: 1.10.0. Black Chocobo is a Free Software (gplv3) FF7 save game editor written in Qt. Available for Windows, Linux + Mac Os. A Full Featured Save Editor, Black Chocobo contains All The features you would expect. Black Chocobo can open and write both PC and PSX save game formats as well as saves for most emulators. STEP 1: Fire up your favorite browser and hit this URL link: STEP 2: Locate the downloaded file and double click on it. STEP 3: Now click the next and finish button to set up your editor. STEP 4: Open gibbed which contains many options like general, character, vehicle, currency, backpack and once.

I was also a little annoyed when there were similar videos posted on Youtube that discussed some key points in the course. The course still offers so much more value than those free videos, but it does cheapen the experience for the paid user.

3. Not Enough Specific Info

This might be too selfish to ask, but I do wish there was just more in Productivity Boot Camp. There is already so much content – probably three hours’ worth of advice. I guess I wish there was more direct info for working moms, since she tries to keep the course general to all – even singletons in college.

She does so much work and success building while raising her family, and I just wish she spoke more on the specifics of that instead of trying to make the content fit anyone. Here’s to hoping she adds more modules!

My Results – Spoiler Alert – I Wrote Two Books with a Newborn

Update – June 26, 2020: I still use and love Jordan’s Productivity Bootcamp even two years later! I have written a few more books and faithfully maintained client work all while homeschooling two girls and surviving toddlerhood with my third. It’s not always pretty or perfect, but I do feel productive most days!

I started going though the course the first time when I was pregnant with my third baby girl. I was able to start implementing Jordan’s strategies right away. It is the funniest thing. After a week, I was so on top of my schedule that I didn’t know what to do with myself by the time the afternoon blocks came.

The system had helped me stay on top of my cleaning, get ahead of my freelance work, and finish homeschool lessons for the day before noon. The nesting phase hormones definitely helped.

Now that baby is here, I feel like I need to go through all of the courses again to get back on a productive schedule. I have been implementing Jordan’s advice half-heartedly since the baby arrived (mostly because baby’s schedules change like 20 times before year one- ha). Even without being 100% back on the system, my life is still functioning at a productive level.

I am still able to have a clean house 70% of the time, stay on top of freelance work, homeschool, and devote hours into blog writing and book writing. I even wrote two children’s books since baby girl was born. What?!

So, Is It Worth the Price Tag?

Short answer – yes! Long answer to follow:

I have taken a lot of courses online – mostly for business growth rather than personal growth like this one. However, all of the courses do not hold a candle to Productivity Boot Camp in regards to quality. The videos and set up of the course are superior. Usually courses are either a bunch of text or dolled up slideshow presentations. Optical character recognition download for mac os.

Every one of Jordan’s 31 videos (this counts the bonus videos) in this course are of her talking directly to you and are edited professionally. This might not seem like a big deal to those use to her high-quality Youtube videos, but it is a rarity in the course world.

When I evaluate if something is worth the price tag, I measure it in future value. You see, $149, and even the sale price of the course is a lot of money to spend on something digital especially when so much of the digital content we consume is free.

However, when I feel like I am drowning in chaos and can’t get anything done, I am guilty of spending money on temporary bandages. I think a house cleaner, food service/fast food, or laundry service is my solution to getting back on track.

While those things aren’t bad, they don’t fix the root of the problem – my dysfunctional system.

I felt like this course was like having a personal coach guide me through each step of areas in my life that needed a change up. The course is more valuable than having a cleaning lady or getting those meal boxes delivered. Why? Because it sticks around.

How Much Does Bootcamp For Mac Cost

I can’t even tell you how many times I have hired a cleaning lady for $150 only to have the house look like a tornado in three days. Now that is depressing! When I am dedicated to Jordan’s strategies, I don’t feel the need for a cleaning lady or meal delivery service because I am no longer living in a state of chaos and meal planning and cleaning no longer seem like unbearable weights.

What’s Your Time Worth?

My time is worth anywhere from $50-100 an hour, so if I am able to save five hours a week or have five free hours a week to take on a $100-per-hour client, then the cost is worth it. That is exactly what I was able to do.

What do you think your time is worth? Even if you think your time is only worth minimum wage (your time is so much more valuable than that!), your initial investment will pay off quickly. If you followed Jordan’s tips to the letter and saved yourself two hours per week, at $12/hour, you would have made back the course in less than nine weeks. I believe you will save even more time than that each week, and you will have extra time to pursue hobbies or your side business. Win-win!

Not only will you save time but you will start to carve the life you want to live. None of us want to run around crazily thinking about dinner prep and kids and 5 million other things all the time. This course will help you manage your time better and relieve the pressure of trying to do everything at once.

Productivity Boot Camp Promo Codes and Savings

You have a full access to the course for a year, and then after the year you can renew for a minimal price. Go through it slow or fast or watch it over and over again like I do. Our lives are constantly changing, so it is nice to be reminded of areas we need to tighten when the crazy begins to slip back into our schedules.

Use promo code EARLYBF to get Productivity Boot Camp for $105 until November 10th OR Bundle Productivity Boot Camp with Budget Boot Camp for $186.90 – that’s $93.45 per program!!!

I do recommend both the Productivity and Budget Boot Camp (transparent review coming soon), and if you buy them together you can save over $150. If you buy them before the cut off date, you don’t have to worry about speeding through both courses.

There is a payment plan of three payments for those who wish to purchase the course but do not have the full cost upfront. While convenient, this payment plan will cost you more overall.

What If I Hate the Course? Productivity Boot Camp Return Policy

You can get your money back! Isn’t that exciting! You can either transform your life or you can have your money back. Jordan is very transparent and makes the return process easy. I can’t even tell you how many pointless courses and digital items I have paid for and couldn’t return. It stinks.

Bryce petty. My advice is to read the return policy to make sure you know all of the details, try out the course with a ready heart, and within a few lessons you will know if this is the right course for you or if you need to start the refund process.

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Download Vlc For Mac Catalina

by Christine Smith • 2021-04-21 14:09:04 • Proven solutions

Download Vlc For Mac Catalina Download

Download Vlc For Mac Catalina Os

Playing video and audio files for entertainment is like the most basic thing users will do on a computer. The most popular audio/video player for Mac is VLC Media Player. The VLC player for Macbook has stayed on top of the list for a long time. However, we also have many alternatives for it as more and more software has developed with more abundant functions than VLC. The Wondershare UniConverter (originally Wondershare Video Converter Ultimate) is a complete video and audio conversion solution which allows you to manipulate the media files according to your requirements. This article will introduce this tool and discuss how to download, install VLC, and make it as your default player on Mac.

Download Mozilla Firefox, a free web browser. Firefox is created by a global not-for-profit dedicated to putting individuals in control online. Get Firefox for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS today! VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various s. Devices and Mac OS X version. VLC media player requires Mac OS X 10.7.5 or later. It runs on any Mac with a 64-bit Intel processor or an Apple Silicon chip. Previous devices are supported by older releases. Note that the first generation of Intel-based Macs equipped with Core Solo or Core Duo processors is no longer supported. VLC VLC video player. In Catalina, however, iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and QuickTime Play can’t convert the old formats. And VLC can convert and save files. This Mac 911 article is in response. Once the App Store loads, type 'MacOS Catalina' into the search box in the top-left corner and press return and click the entry for Catalina to go to the download page. Click the 'Get' button. This will open Software Update in System Preferences and begin the download of the MacOS Catalina installer.

Part 1. What is VLC Media Player

The VLC media player, commonly known as VLC, is a free and open-source player developed by VideoLAN. It is available for all the platforms, whether it is Computer or Mobile phones. VLC supports so many audio and video file formats and compression methods, which include DVD-Video, video CD, and multiple streaming protocols. It is compatible with all the formats supported by libav codec and libav format. To take advantage of this player, you can download VLC for Mac easily.

Part 2. How to Download and Install VLC on Mac OS X

The VLC media player is available for multiple platforms and is a very popular choice for Apple users. The software is also free for Mac OS X, and a list of versions are available for download on the official website. The complete guide on installing VLC on Mac OS X is given below along with the download process.

Step 1. Go to the official website of VideoLAN and download the dmg package from the download links available for Mac OS X.

Step 2. Once the package is downloaded, locate the file and execute it. The file will open after verifying the contents of the file.

Step 3. Please select the file and drag it to the Application folder. This will copy the file into the application folder.

Step 4. Now double-click on the file and allow all the permissions required by the VLC. Once the setup is complete, VLC will launch for the first time on your Mac.

Part 3. How to Make VLC as Default Player on Mac

Instead of going through the hassle of choosing the VLC player every time you try to open a video, it is better than making the VLC media player your default media player.

Steps on how to make VLC as the default player on Mac:

Step 1. Select any file that you want to open and right-click on it. When you click, certain options will appear, and you can select the Get Info option.

Step 2. Now, in the Open With section, choose the VLC from the drop-down menu.

Step 3. Then, make sure that you click on Change All option to apply the setting to all the files present on the Mac. And the VLC on your Mac would be the default player now.

Part 4. The Best VLC Alternative Mac to Play Video and Audio Files

If you are looking for the VLC alternative for Mac, then your search ends at Wondershare UniConverter. It is a complete toolbox that allows the users to convert, download, edit, burn video, and audio in more than 1000 formats. It is a tool that gives you the fastest speed of conversion with so many additional features that you will forget there is some other software available on the internet.

Wondershare UniConverter - Your Complete Video Toolbox

Best VLC Alternative to convert any video/audio in any format, like AVI/MKV/MOV/MP4/MP3/WAV/M4A, etc.

Convert video to optimized preset for almost all of the devices.

Compress videos by cropping and trimming.

Burn video to playable DVD with attractive free DVD templates.

Download or record videos by pasting URLs from Internet video sites.

Versatile toolbox includes fixing video metadata, GIF maker, Video Compressor, and screen recorder.

Supported OS: macOS 11 Big Sur, 10.15 (Catalina), 10.14, 10.13, 10.12, 10.11, 10.10, 10.9, 10.8, 10.7, 10.6, Windows 10/8/7/XP/Vista.

Security Verified, 5,481,347 people have downloaded it.

Main functions of the Wondershare UniConverter:

Video/Audio Converter: VLC Alternative to convert video and audio in any format

This is the most attractive function of the Wondershare UniConverter. It can convert any format of video to some other. The list supported by this software is unlimited, e.g. MP4, AVI, MKV, WMV, MPEG-2, MOV, 3GP, HEVC, and many others. The Wondershare UniConverter gives a wide array of conversion processes. It allows the user to convert videos for Social networks, iPhone, iPad, Android devices, and others. It also supports the conversion of DVDs, videos from camcorder, and especially videos to audio. With this software's help, you can also combine multiple videos by merging them and compressing them. The software is very easy to learn, and once you get familiar with the interface and process, you will be able to efficiently operate the software.

Video Editor: Edit video and audio with built-in tools before conversion

The software enables users to edit videos with ease. Editing is the process that allows the users to give a whole new look to the videos by applying multiple effects and filters. With Wondershare UniConverter, the users are free to experiment with their videos by choosing a variety of effects and filters. It allows the users to trim videos, crop videos, apply an effect, add watermark, and add subtitles to the videos. The software ensures that the users get an amazing video editing experience.

Files Download: Download video and audio files by pasting URLs

It usually happens that we wish to download videos that are present on different websites. The Wondershare UniConverter signifies its name and supports almost 10000 websites from which you can easily copy URL and download the video with the best quality. Not only can you download the videos, but also you can edit them right after download. Even if you want to download a whole playlist or convert a video to MP3 and then download it, the software can do it all. The software also provides some download process settings that can ensure that every video you download is of high quality. It has a download task scheduler and also provides priority settings for downloads.

DVD Burning: Burn videos to DVD and Blu-ray Discs Easily

A burn is a term used for the process of writing content to a CD/DVD or any other disc. Usually, the burning of the Videos is done to get them on some external space. The Wondershare UniConverter also provides a burning function for videos. The software makes it possible for the users to burn videos or other supported files to DVD, Blu-ray disc, or to ISO file. Whether you want to burn videos to DVD, Convert DVD to ISO, or Burn ISO to DVD, the software supports them all.

Toolbox: More additional functions related to media

It can help you to fix media metadata automatically and edit it with customization. You can also convert your videos to VR and enjoy on your VR devices. What's more, it has 2 assistant tools named Screen Recorder and GIF Maker.

When you need to play a video on your Mac, what do you do? Which app do you open? If you’re new to macOS, you might just double-click on the media file and it’s likely that QuickTime Player will start up — good enough for the most common tasks.

Soon though you’re bound to feel QuickTime’s limitations. It might be that you’ve transferred a file from your camera that’s not supported, or you want to watch a foreign movie with external subtitles. All this is difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish with QuickTime Player. You need to upgrade.

More top-notch media players for you

Instead of having one VLC player alternative, get an entire collection. Setapp is a Mac apps subscription that gives you a large choice.

What Makes VLC Player For Mac Good

From the first moments of looking for a better media player, VLC for Mac is going to show up in search results again and again. The app is free, has good ratings, and seems to be universally loved. There’s even a version for your iPhone (and nearly every other operating system in existence). What’s not to like?

Download Vlc For Mac Catalina Download

The official story of VLC player goes back to 1996, when a few students of École Centrale Paris in France developed the app as their academic project. Back then, they called it VideoLAN Client (VLC for short). As VLC player got more and more recognition and became popular worldwide, the original developers released the code under the open-source license, so that anyone could fix bugs and contribute new features.

By now, VLC player is available on Windows, macOS, iOS, Apple TV, Linux, Android, Chrome OS, and Xbox One. The only question left is how to find a VLC for Mac download.

How to get a VLC download for Mac

Unfortunately, due to some licensing issues, VLC player for Mac isn’t available on the App Store (although the iOS version is). With a simple Google search you’ll find that lots of third-party websites offer you VLC for Mac downloads — but beware! Such download files are often infected with various kinds of malware looking to find an easy way into your computer.

The only option that’s 100% safe is to find a VLC download for Mac on its official website:

Go to videolan.org/vlc

Click Download VLC

Double-click the .dmg file in your Downloads folder

Move the VLC icon into Applications

With regards to technical requirements, VLC player is supported by any 64-bit Intel-based Mac that runs macOS 10.7.5 or later (the latest one is 10.15). This covers 99% of Macs in use nowadays. And even if you need to make VLC player work with ancient Macs, older VLC versions are available for download from the official website as well.

To play a video on VLC for Mac:

Open VLC

Either drag the video you like onto the app’s window or go to File ➙ Open File… ➙ select the video ➙ Open

One of the most beloved VLC media player features is adding and fine-tuning external subtitles. When you’ve downloaded the .srt subtitle file you want to use:

In the menu bar of the VLC player, click Subtitles

Add Subtitle File… ➙ select the file ➙ Open

In the same Subtitles menu you can change the text size, thickness, color as well as the background color

With so much to offer, why would anyone choose any other app for their videos than VLC player? True, while QuickTime Player struggles with nearly every video encounter, VLC for Mac handles all the basics pretty well. But there’s so much more to discover in the land of video-playing features: multiple subtitles, audio extractions, ad-free web playback, AirPlay streaming, etc. Let’s see which VLC alternative for Mac offers it all.

Stream anything anytime with Elmedia Player

If VLC media player for Mac is a shell you can open content in, Elmedia Player is a full-on entertainment center. Get any videos you want anytime, thanks to its streaming functionality. The app is able to download YouTube directly to your Mac or play videos instantly using its web-browser extension, which allows to bypass all the ads.

Moreover, any downloaded videos can then be easily played on your AirPlay-enabled devices — watch a movie on a big screen with Apple TV, for example, without the need for USB drives or awkward cables. And while VLC media player might get stuck playing HD videos on a big screen, Elmedia will sail through them seamlessly with the help of hardware-accelerated decoding.

Play, stream, and download video

Get Elmedia Player, a perfect replacement for VLC, which has a streaming feature and a browser extension for direct downloads.

Elmedia Player, simply put, has everything you’ll ever need not to get bored. Even when videos become too much, you can extract audio files and save them as MP3 for easy on-the-go listening.

Gain full video control with Movist Pro

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[literaryeagle]

Okay, so the Yuri!!! on Ice item that I'll be reviewing today is Yuri!!! on Stage, on Blu-ray. (It’s also available on DVD, but I chose to get the Blu-ray because the image quality would be better.) I'm sure a lot of people have talked about it already, however I will translate the scene titles and discuss an additional feature that you might have missed if you didn't explore the menu screen. I will also show the bonus items packaged with the disc, and show the extra special items that you could only get if you ordered it from Animate! So, hopefully this review will still have something useful. ^_^

Just in case anyone isn't familiar with Yuri!!! on Stage yet, it was a live show that took place on April 29, 2017 at Maihama Amphitheater. The voice actors for most of the male skaters were there, plus the voice actor for Takeshi Nishigori, and series writer Mitsurou Kubo. They did a bunch of fun stuff like discussing their favorite scenes from the anime, playing games, and performing a NEW STORY that takes place after the TV series (the new story was an audio drama that they voiced live, so it wasn't animated). The Yuri!!! on Stage event actually occurred twice on that day... once in the afternoon, and once in the evening. There were a few differences between the two versions of the event, however the audio drama was the same story both times. The Blu-ray and DVD are a video recording of the evening version. As an example of one of the cute things you can see in the video, check out the image below... from left to right, that's Junichi Suwabe (voice of Victor), Toshiyuki Toyonaga (voice of Yuri), and Koki Uchiyama (voice of Yurio):

Sorry for my bad photograph of the screen, but taking high-quality screen captures from BDs is a no-no. Anyway, yes, the above image is a reference to Yuri poking Victor's hair in the anime, except here it's Victor's voice actor doing it to Yuri's voice actor. Hilarious! Also, wow, Suwabe bleached his hair to look more like Victor. Talk about dedication!

Want to know more? Keep reading for the rest of the review, plus a few more pictures!

There are no subtitles, so you'll miss out on a lot if you don't understand Japanese, although for some reason the end credits are in English. The scene selection menu is written in Japanese, but don't worry, I'll translate the scene titles for you! The first one is simply called "Opening", and it's the part of the show that introduced the characters and their voice actors. Unfortunately, the actors who play as JJ, Otabek, and Michele were not able to make it to the event, however they had recorded videos that were played later in the show.

The second segment is named "Jibun o Suki ni Natte... Popovich no Carabosse no Heya", which means "Like Yourself... Popovich's Room of Carabosse". (The "Like Yourself" bit is a reference to the title for episode 4 of Yuri!!! on Ice, "Like Yourself... And Complete the Free Program!"). The MC for this part was Wataru Hatano, the voice of Georgi Popovich and also the artist who sang the anime's ending theme, "You Only Live Once". Basically, the voice actors were divided into groups, and the actors discussed their favorite scenes from the anime involving their characters. For example, Kensho Ono (voice of Phichit) chose the "Congratulations on your marriage!" line from episode 10 as his favorite Phichit scene. He has good taste! Mitsurou Kubo also commented on the fans' enthusiasm for that scene. Here's an image showing Wataru Hatano on the left, and Mitsurou Kubo on the right:

The third part is called "Chou Chou Chou Chou Ganbaranba! Katsudon Pirozhki Soudatsu! World Question!" ("Gotta Super-Super-Super-Supercharge It! Katsudon Pirozhki Contest! World Question!"... Whew, these titles are a mouthful, ha ha!). For this part, a bit of dialogue from the anime had been translated into Russian, and after a Russian-speaking person read the dialogue out loud, the voice actors had to guess what scene from the anime it was. (For the afternoon version of Yuri!!! on Stage, a scene had been translated into Thai instead of Russian.) By the way, it turned out the Russian speaker's name was Emil, much to the amusement of Satoshi Hino, the voice of Emil Nekola.

Even though Mamoru Miyano (voice of JJ) wasn't able to make it to the event, there was a video of him giving the voice actors a hint for this Russian game. Frankly, the scene was pretty simple to guess even without the clue (you can hear Emil say "pirozhki" and "katsudon", which narrows down the possibilities quite a bit), but I'm always up for more JJ Style, so I enjoyed the hint video anyway.

The fourth section is named "Afureko Imagination Show" ("afureko" is short for "after recording", meaning adding sound after a film has been made... so I guess it can be translated as "dubbing" or something like that). For this part, they played various clips from the anime, but instead of using the recorded audio from the show, the voice actors performed their dialogue live! Very cool.

Next, the fifth part is called "Special Video Letter", which had video messages from Yoshimasa Hosoya (voice of Otabek) and Tomoaki Maeno (voice of Michele), since they weren't able to make it to the event. After that, there were a few more clips from the anime, with the voice actors for Victor, Yuri, and Yurio performing their lines live... but with something very special added to the stage! Part of the floor had been replaced with a miniature skating rink (just a small square of ice, really), so figure skater Honoka Kawanishi could perform Yurio's free skate during these scenes. Wow! Since the square of ice she had on the stage was so small, there wasn't enough room for her to do the jumps, but it was still a lovely performance. What a brilliant idea! Check it out:

The sixth segment is named "Roudoku Geki Hasetsu Exhibition Onsen!!! on ICE Victor with Friends" ("Reading Drama Hasetsu Exhibition Hot Springs!!! on ICE Victor with Friends"), which is probably the part of Yuri!!! on Stage that people have talked the most about already. As mentioned earlier in this review, it's a new story that takes place after the TV series. It was written by Kimiko Ueno. This story is not animated, but the voice actors are fun to watch as they read their scripts, and music from the anime is played in the background, which is a nice touch.

I won't get into too much detail about the plot, because so many other people have posted about it already. But to put it simply, the skaters have gathered in Yuri's hometown for an ice show called "Victor with Friends", however a little too much drinking and partying happens the night before the show. If you've ever wondered what would happen if Victor and Yuri both got drunk at the same time, well... it involves a lot of flexibility, and not much clothing! There's also a hilarious misunderstanding involving Yuri's drunken ramblings about a statue of Shachihoko (a legendary creature that is part tiger and part fish), which Victor mistakenly interprets as Yuri reminiscing about a really flexible ex-lover named "Chihoko". Silly Victor, getting jealous over a fish statue! It's pretty funny. (By the way, there was another live event in the summer called Yuri!!! on Festival which included a sequel drama, about Yuri getting possessed by a squid demon. Unfortunately, word has it that Yuri!!! on Festival will not be getting a DVD/Blu-ray release. Hopefully they'll change their minds, or at least release the drama part as a CD.)

Okay, moving on... The seventh part is called "LIVE You Only Live Once Yuri!!! on ICE feat. w.hatano". As you can probably guess by that title, Wataru Hatano did a live performance of the ending theme to the anime. He was accompanied by two backup dancers.

The eighth section is called "Ending", which had everyone wrapping things up and thanking the audience. After that, everything seemingly ends with the credits... If you have the Blu-ray or DVD, did your video player just go to the menu screen after the credits finished? That's what mine did, however there's actually more on the disc! If you look on the menu screen, the last numbered segment is part 8, which is the aforementioned "Ending". But after that, there's one more item, which doesn't have a number. So be sure not to miss it! This last bit is another version of the Special Video Letters from Mamoru Miyano (JJ), Yoshimasa Hosoya (Otabek), and Tomoaki Maeno (Michele). You can tell these must be from the afternoon version of Yuri!!! on Stage, because Mamoru Miyano gives a Thai clue instead of a Russian clue.

That's it for the show, so next I'll talk about the bonus items packaged with the disc, and then I'll talk about the extra special goodies that you could only get if you ordered it from Animate. Yay! First, there's a little booklet that comes with the disc. It has a shiny silver cover, but unfortunately my photo doesn't do it justice:

This is basically a miniature version of a pamphlet at that was sold at the Yuri!!! on Stage event, except the mini version is missing a few pages advertising Yuri!!! on Ice merchandise (although it makes up for it by having extra artwork for the last page). I think the reason why it's miniature is because it had to be the same length and width as a DVD case, to avoid an awkward packaging situation. It includes some really nice photos and profiles of the voice actors. I actually have the full size version of the pamphlet that was sold at the event, so I'll be covering that in a future review. In other words, I will wait until that review before I get into further detail about the contents of this booklet. (EDIT: My review of the pamphlet is now available!)

Okay, the other item packaged with the disc is this Makkachin selfie light, which can be attached to a smartphone:

Isn't that adorable? All right, next I'll talk about the additional goodies that were obtainable by ordering Yuri!!! on Stage from Animate. The first one is a "portrait". On the outside, it looks like a thin gray hardcover book...

...but it's not actually a book, because there's just a picture inside. But it's a very nice picture. What kind of picture, you ask? It's a beautiful textless version of the Yuri!!! on Stage cover art! Check it out:

So nice! And finally, people who pre-ordered from Animate under certain conditions were able to get a cute little Makkachin can badge. I took a close-up of it, so you can get a really good look:

Overall, Yuri!!! on Stage is funny and entertaining, and the bonus items packaged with the disc are cute. The additional special items from Animate are great as well, although I'd imagine those are sold out by now. However, please keep in mind that the Blu-ray and DVD are not subtitled, so you'll miss out on a lot if you don't understand Japanese (although the voice actors' antics are still fun to watch), so it's up to you to decide if that's worth it. The Blu-ray and the DVD are both still available on Amazon.co.jp (NOTE: the DVD is Region 2 only!), however Avex Pictures has placed a restriction on their CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays being shipped outside of Japan. Unfortunately, this means that Amazon.co.jp will no longer ship those items overseas, so if you don’t live in Japan you’ll have to either buy it from a source that’s not affected by the restriction, or get a shopping deputy to help you with the purchase.

Thanks for reading, everyone. I have other official Yuri!!! on Ice merchandise that I’ll be reviewing, so keep checking my blog for new stuff!

[tonxstark]

The rise of subscription models in 2020? Here is a "operation guide" for the overall game to join the subscription mode

During the past two decades, the overall game industry has only had two business designs, the "try before buying" model that began in 2000 and the "absolve to play" model that emerged in 2010 2010. "Attempt before you get" premiered at the beginning of the 21st century. Big Fish Video games releases a game every day time that can be performed for the initial hour free of charge, allowing players to try it before selecting whether to get the complete game. This model has brought numerous female gamers to the gaming industry, especially older women. In the first 2010s, after download free + in-app purchase games dominated the Asian market, they began to get into the European and American areas. In this mode, the game is truly free, and more than 90% of players will not spend a cent. However, the real reason for free games is to allow the nearly all invested gamers to spend more cash to boost or accelerate their video gaming experience. Numerous top-up players will spend thousands or actually thousands of bucks on their favorite games. After free games, what will be the next model that will disrupt the gaming industry? Based on the development of other industries, subscription could become the next disruptive setting of the overall game industry. Developments inside other industries show that subscriptions could become the disruptive pressure. Amazon, the world's largest store, uses its premium subscription services to secure clients; Salesforce.com, one of the largest businesses in the enterprise software field, uses a subscription design, which puts the established rivals into problems; the world's second largest entertainment company Netflix uses subscriptions The design has gained present industry status; actually Disney is gambling its future on Disney Plus' subscription model. It is a switch inside people's attitudes that contributed to this change. Ten years ago, people would not purchase digital content material. For example, ten years ago, people would not pay for songs, but would buy a Dvd and blu-ray or CD. However now, people's attitudes possess changed. In accordance with Reuters, in the United States, the proportion of people aged 18-24 who purchase digital news has jumped from 4% in 2016 to 18% in 2017. So, are subscriptions equally effective inside the gaming business? First, many video gaming companies already are using subscription models. A post previously published by Google gave some information and functions about subscriptions. According to Google's blog post, the annual growth rate of global sport subscriptions is 70%. Secondly, the membership model has indeed played a role in the gaming industry. Google's post demonstrates game companies that use the subscription design have increased consumer retention by 20%. Finally, subscriptions offset the chance of creating and releasing brand-new games. The overall game joins the subscription service "Operation Guidebook"

Needless to say, the success of the subscription model depends upon the implementation. Just as a huge selection of game companies have failed to achieve success through free games, obtaining users a subscription successfully is equally difficult. Adding registration services to the game demands mastering the next 6 core concepts. 1. Subscription should be related to privileges The largest challenge for game companies is to provide users using what kind of subscription content. Virtual foreign currency? Do not. Effective subscription models provide a service that allows players to acquire privileges. In a casino game like "Legend of Bow and Arrow", it could gain a particular level or energy. The advantages of subscribing can also be special avatars or special in-game routines. In short, the main element is to allow players to obtain a privileged knowledge, not to allow players to acquire virtual currency or premium currency. 2. Keep it simple One of the core concepts of creating a successful product would be to ensure simplicity. In the event that you provide customers with way too many options, you might be overwhelmed and struggling to choose any of them. World of Warcraft has the very easy subscription design that emphasizes the value of long-term contracts without causing an enormous cognitive burden. If players have a variety of subscription options, including registration terms, monthly costs, revenue amounts, etc., they are likely never to choose. Therefore, the main element to subscription would be to make it possible for players to understand the value, choose between several plans, and decide whether to subscribe. 3. Be honest Among the reasons why subscriptions are usually difficult to be universally accepted is that some businesses deceive clients to register for subscriptions, and then it really is difficult to cancel. Preventing clients from leaving behind or deceiving them to subscribe isn't only unethical, but also bad for business development. Tezos One of the basic ideals ??created by subscriptions for companies is the connection with users. Top companies make use of subscriptions to improve their basic company, such as Amazon, Netflix, Spotify along with other large businesses reap the benefits of user subscriptions. So when you add membership content material to the overall game, let worth drive the product rather than deceiving customers never to cancel. 4. Build an ecological environment An effective subscription plan ought to be tied to the game itself. The more you let customers play the overall game, the increased the value of the registration. Battle Pass is usually a good example, players can get reduced experience from subscription. In addition, it creates a very powerful ecological band, and subscribed players can get more rewards for continuous participation in the overall game. 5. The gradual upgrade of registration value The evolution of revenue is another essential aspect in the success of membership plans. In accordance with Google, ��As gamers invest even more in the overall game, be it time, abilities, or some other IAPs, the advantages of subscription increase accordingly.�� Although AFK Arena is not a good example of a casino game that uses subscriptions as a monetization model, its mechanism allows players to improve their income in the game as their VIP level increases. 6. Subscription as an affirmation for large R players VIP reaches the core of almost any game's success. 60% to 90% of most free game revenue comes from the very best 1% or 2% of players. Thus, encouraging players to be VIPs and retaining them should be the focus of the overall game team.

Several product managers will avoid subscription plans because they are worried that when players can subscribe to VIP plans for a fixed amount, this can limit VIP spending inside the game. This concern leads to the first point of subscription design and style, that is privileges, not replacing present purchases. If somebody spends a lot of money on your game, don't make an effort to encourage them to invest another $5 or $10 membership fee every month. Instead, convert the registration into an affirmation of their VIP status. Give them a free subscription, and the goodwill worth will far surpass the short-term earnings produced by forcing VIPs to purchase subscriptions.

research study: Subscription assistance for "Legendary: Game of Heroes" "Legendary: Sport of Heroes" is a card elimination video game posted by N3TWORK Inc. in the usa. Gamers can cultivate their very own monsters and invite them to evolve continuously, thereby increasing the probability of winning the fight. The iOS version of the overall game has a total global income of US$2 million in October 2019, and typically the most popular country may be the United States. With regards to subscription solutions, "Legendary: Game of Heroes" did a great job. . VIP privileges. There exists a store specifically for VIP gamers in the game, where players can buy items that they might otherwise have to perform multiple steps to purchase. Players can shift openly in the overall game without viewing movie ads. After experiencing the game membership, the ball player cannot imagine how exactly to play the game without a registration. . Get content in advance. VIP gamers who subscribe inside a certain time period will get tokens, permitting them to start battling with higher-degree bosses before some other players. . Lifetime rewards. In addition to daily rewards, VIPs may also receive lifetime rewards. Lifetime rewards should be more important than daily rewards. . Increase the worth of in-app buys. Users will acquire loyalty or mileage points for every purchase. The more factors a player gets, the bigger the VIP level, the better the every day and lifetime rewards. . Create predictability for players. Set items that subscribers can do every day, such as for example daily benefits they can expect. This can ultimately provide players with rewards and fortify the above points. . Allow non-clients to furthermore accumulate life time tokens. In "Legendary", non-subscribers have also founded their VIP degree. Higher VIP amounts provide better value; therefore, if they reach a high enough VIP level, it is apparent that they can convert into subscribers in the next step. . VIP unique customer service. Compiled from "Here's How Subscriptions Will Disrupt the Games Industry". (Author: xiaohan) Recommended reading Apple company and Disney are usually stirring up the web video subscription market in the centre East. App Annie predicts that subscription services will grow quickly in 2020. App Annie 2020 5 major developments in the mobile business predict the rise of in-game subscription models. Through the membership subscription model, this company has taken 1 product from the iOS best-selling list in the United States 500 is pushed to the 99th place. The global membership market will exceed 500 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. Subscription services are becoming a fresh mainstream consumption design. Business cooperation Zheng Xusheng | Line�G18558713545 Overseas cooperation Hao Yijun | Series: 18513119881 Long press the picture to scan the code Sign up for the Beluga community

[arishamod]

Seiyuu Animedia 2017 -AZALEA’s Interview

“It seems like all of us in AZALEA give off vibes of charm and maturity.”

A Team Onibe translation

Translation by: Arishamod (JP > EN)

QC by: @yujachachacha

More under the cut

It seems like all of us in AZALEA give off vibes of charm and maturity.

We put a lot of thought into the costumes and the performance.

   Q. AZALEA was showcased for the first time in the recent 1st Live. How do you think your first performance went?

All 3: It was fun~♪

  Arisha: “I wonder what kind of performance AZALEA’s would be like?” was definitely the kind of anticipation that we, along with the fans, had felt ever since the release of the subunit CD. Thus, all 3 of us decided to contribute as much as possible to the ideas for the performance while leading up to the live.

 King: When we first formed, we discuss about how we wanted to present the subunit consisting of Dia, Kanan and Maru. In the end, this was the image we decided that we wanted to present, and it was really exciting.

 Suwawa: Additionally, our dance instructor also thought about our opinions, and took this into consideration for our choreography. In that sense, it felt like the performance was handmade by us.

Q. If I was not mistaken, AZALEA’s stage composition was different from the other two groups, right?

Suwawa: Well, since we didn’t get on the trolleys at all (laughs).

 Arisha：In the beginning all 3 of us declared, “I want to ride on it!” (laughs). However, we had to enter from the center stage for the first song “Torikoriko PLEASE!!”. Furthermore, we felt that the gentle melody of our second song, “Tokimeki Bunruigaku”, wasn’t suitable for being on the trolleys. With that being the case, this was something that was done deliberately, and it became something that was different from the other subunits.

  King: In regards to that, it was because of the differing personalities that CYaRon! and Guilty Kiss showed, and it was a huge success in getting the audience really excited!

  Suwawa: However, I really don’t want to remember the moment on the lift in “Tokimeki Bunruigaku”. Since I have a fear of heights…

 Arisha: Frankly, when we were standing on it, it felt like there was no room for mistakes.

 Suwawa: Definitely, even though it seemed like there was enough space when we were dancing, it was scary to feel like there was nothing around you. During that performance, I could not even look down (laughs).

 King: But it was fun, right? The stage was higher than normal, and I could even see the faces of the audience in the distance.

  Suwawa: Yup! I realized that our voices in particular were able to properly reach the audience members in the back, and I felt it was really nice that we were able to do this.

   Q. I would like to hear about your respective thoughts about the songs you sang, so let’s first start with “Torikoriko PLEASE!”.

Arisha: Since this song has a digital kind of feel to it, we inserted techno-pop moves into the dance.  

  King: The choreography at the part of song where the lyrics go “Tsukamaenakya zettai” was really adorable. My friend, who came for the live, started dancing along during the second part of the song.♪

 Suwawa: Is that so! I’m so glad. Even so, it was definitely because the moves were easy to remember, and everyone in the audience were imitating us!

 Arisha: Along with that, it was fun dancing while holding the Torikoriko stick too!

  King: Yeah! At first we had a choreography without holding anything in our hands. But when I was holding the stick, I thought, “I hope I am able to reach the people in the distance with my ‘spell of love’”.

   Q. During the MC, you cast a spell on everyone in the audience with your stick to make them fall in love with AZALEA, right?  

Arisha: I am happy that everyone changed their penlight to pink for us.

  Suwawa: Moreover, I thought, what if it all changed in one go? However, when we moved our sticks together, the stadium was slowly filled with pink like a wave.

  King: Yeah! It was surprising!!

  Arisha: Since it was beyond our expectations, it was really impressive!

   Q. What about “Tokimeki Bunruigaku”?

King:  It would be the image that you will associate with the highlight of the song. There was a part of the performance where the image of petals scattered at the same time with our choreography. This was something that was proposed by us.

Suwawa: Especially since the stage had a big screen, this was what we talked about during the making of the production.

Arisha: Frankly, when watching the subunit Printemps performing “Nightingale Love Song” during µ's 5th Live on DVD, I admired the synchronisation with the image on screen. During that performance, they were dancing against the big screen in the background with the feathers. This was what we wanted AZALEA to be like.

  Q. It was a beautiful performance.

King: Thank you very much! Even though we had actually done it together with the image during rehearsals, our hearts were racing when we entered the stage (laughs).

 Suwawa: During rehearsals, we saw the video recording of it together for the first time. When we were watching it, it was really impressive!

 Arisha: It was really beautiful when we were dancing against the backdrop of scattering petals, and it looked as if we were floating in mid-air.

  Q. Everyone’s movement was very elegant.

Arisha: It is a song with a slow tempo, so the choreography was completely slow and deliberate. But on the other hand, this made it hard to perform.

  King: If someone were to make a slight mistake, their slow movement would really stand out.

 Suwawa: Nonetheless, we intended to concentrate more on singing by making the choreography easy for this song, and we felt that the most compelling part of the song is the beautiful delivery of the harmony.

  Q. How do you feel about the costumes?

All: They were adorable~♡

  King: We did talk about this during the MC, but we really looked like dolls.♡

  Q. Was the costumes your idea?

Suwawa: Yes, we settled on it! We expanded on the image of the CD cover. 

Arisha: In the beginning, we were given suggestions of other lovely costume designs, but the staff told us to give more and more of our opinions on this. The 3 of us told them, it would be nice if it felt similar to the CD cover.

 King: Actually, it felt so mature singing in the costume, and it felt like the image was changed due to the song.

 Arisha: Certainly! The skirt was unexpectedly long since it was knee-length, but as the choreography of the song changed, the length appeared to have changed as well.

 Suwawa: Since all 3 of us are tall, this might be why it made us look so mature.

 King: It might be so! To be able to show both cute and mature sides of us like this, that might just be what AZALEA is like.

 Arisha: That’s right. However, while thinking about that, it felt really good to be performing second out of the other subunits for this live. The one to lead it off would have to arouse the crowd, and I felt that CYaRon!, who is full of energy, was the best choice for this.

 Suwawa: I see! Since Guilty Kiss has the strongest impact, they were the perfect ones to perform last to conclude the subunit performances.

 King: Regarding this, AZALEA has “Torikoriko Please!!” for getting people into the mood, and “Tokimeki Bunruigaku” for listening to calmly. It might have a good significance if we were able to calm the audience down. …… If it is that way, it might be that AZALEA is in charge of healing the crowd.

Suwawa: All right! This is what we will be aiming for (laughs).

  Q. (Laughs). Other than this, are there any other charm points that are exclusive to AZALEA?

Suwawa: The most expected would be the love songs that we sing.

 Arisha: Yup. Aqours does not really have much songs that are themed around love. You might hear love in them, but frankly they are expressing their friendship instead.

 King: This is the side that the TV anime was not depicting. To be able to sing and dance to something different in Aqours is what makes us so happy.

 Arisha: Everyone’s way of singing is a little different when they are with Aqours. In relation to Dia, I would focus really hard on the part of supporting the rest as a 3rd year student when singing as part of Aqours. But when I am with AZALEA, I would show the girlish adorable side of her instead.

King: That’s right. I would sing with the voice of a Hanamaru-chan who is concentrating on singing.

  Suwawa: Kanan too, whose voice would naturally sound cute when singing a love song (laughs).

  King: A sweet~ feeling?

 Suwawa: It’s like the sugar level just increased by 200%. ♡

 Arisha: However, if we’re talking about the significant of a love song, I am looking forward to what kind of songs we will be singing from now on. Right now we have two songs which have a “what is love?” feel, and they don’t have the contents of struggling and arriving at love. I am thinking of the types of development that will happen after this.

 Suwawa: A song of a broken heart?!

 Arisha: Isn’t that advancing too fast?! (laughs)

 King: But, but, in the current grade that Hanamaru is in, it feels like she would say “I don’t understand love at all, zura~” (laughs).

 Arisha: That might be so (laughs). And also, before this we produced a new song “LONELY TUNING”, which is available as a bonus* for purchasing the whole volume of the Blu-ray CDs from the TV anime. This love song is also adorable♪

***Bonus AZALEA track “LONELY TUNING” was bundled with the Sofmap purchase of the whole volume of the BD releases 1 to 7***

King: Yup. It is a song that makes your chest tighten, and I also had fun recording it~!

  Suwawa: I really want lots of people to listen to it. Moreover, from now on AZALEA will let the joy of love bloom even more through the various love songs that we will have. Everyone, please do look forward to it!

 ------------------End of Article------------------

[aion-rsa]

Imagine: The Ultimate Collection Review: John Lennon's Dreams Wake Up

https://ift.tt/2IE7qF3

John Lennon's dreams mix with personal nightmares as Imagine: The Ultimate Collection bares its tracks.

Books

John Lennon's Imagine, which just saw the release of an Ultimate Collection spread across four CDs and two Blu-ray discs, is best known for its title song. "Imagine" envisioned an anti-authoritarian nutopia, without the need of heaven, hell, countries or border walls. Critics blasted Lennon's soft anthem as soft politics and the singer an armchair liberal who sent his protests via limousine. Elvis Costello chided "was it a millionaire who said imagine no possessions?" on his song "The Other Side of Summer."

Most of this is true. Lennon practically invented armchair liberalism, possibly inspired by Elvis Presley's Pink Cadillac tour of England, where the rock and roll legend sent only his prized automobile in lieu of personal appearances. The Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger went to the student protests. Lennon sent his MBE, the coveted piece of leather with a cardboard string given to The Beatles for their million dollar exports, back to Buckingham Palace via limo in protest of Britain's support of Vietnam, involvement in Biafra and his heroin withdrawal pang "Cold Turkey" slipping down the charts. Ineffective, in the long run, but funny, in that patented "witty Beatle" way. Sometimes Lennon wasn't even an armchair protester, he and Yoko Ono barely got out of bed for their wedding anniversary hotel peace tour.

Further reading: The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour Could Have Been a Great Prog Rock Classic

Lennon himself called "Imagine" "'Working Class Hero' for conservatives," referencing his autobiographically acoustic take on the social divide that included the word "fuck" twice for working class emphasis. But the Imagine album itself cuts much deeper than the peaceful dreams of an artist wanting to make a difference. Lennon takes aim at government in "Gimme Some Truth," with blaring, sneering slide guitars by George Harrison, who also aims his strings at Paul McCartney in the bitter rant "How Do You Sleep." He mocks the conscience-afflicted wealthy class in "Crippled Inside," and fuels the fear and anger behind righteous rage with propulsive and massive drums in "I Don't Want to Be a Soldier Mama I don't Want to Die." He also goes out on a limb in some of his most personal love songs and revealing snatches of self-consciousness. Lennon is as hard on himself as he is on the body politic in songs like "Jealous Guy."

Imagine was released in September 1971. Lennon recorded three solo experimental noise and spoken word albums with Yoko Ono while Beatle were still together: Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins, Wedding Album and Unfinished Music No. 2: Life With the Lions, which all came out in  1969. None of them reached the artistic heights of "Revolution 9" off The Beatles album, better known as The White Album. The biggest controversy coming from a nude cover that record stores had to hide under a brown paper bag. John Lennon and the original Plastic Ono Band, which included Klaus Voorman, who drew the cover of The Beatles' Revolver album, on bass, Alan White on drums, and slow hand guitar master Eric Clapton on guitar, also released the moldy oldie set they performed live at the Toronto Peace Festival. Lennon recorded his Plastic Ono Band album in its purest form, which must have driven producer Phil Spector, renowned for his Wall of Sound, to distraction. But Lennon was in the throes of Primal Therapy and was undeterred in letting it all hang out.

Spector put strings on the Plastic Ono Band sentiment to make Imagine Lennon's first solo record to hit number one. The album is seen as the rhythm guitar and mouth organ player’s return to conventional pop. To fans of the Fab Four, Imagine almost sounded like a Beatles album.

Further reading: The Beatles: In Defense of Revolution 9

Phil Spector was known for his reverberating over-saturation which he also employed for George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass album. The live studio performances are stripped as raw as most of Lennon's vocals. The raw takes show a band with a purpose, the studio chatter, caught in the fourth CD, finds playful ways to inspire serious playing. The Raw Studio mixes are presented in 5.1 surround sound with Lennon in front and the band playing all around and behind. Highlights are the extended renditions of "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don't Wanna Die," "How Do You Sleep?" and "Oh Yoko!" “It’s So Hard” features a beautiful sax track by the legendary King Curtis, who also blasts “I Don’t Wanna Be A Soldier Mama I Don’t Wanna Die” into another dimension.

The new expanded edition of the album brings the intimacy to the forefront, especially in the Raw Studio Mixes disk that captures Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band bashing through their performances live without overdub, echo or other studio affects. The album proper has been cleaned up for the Ultimate Mixes to allow for deeper definition and clarity, and the Quadrasonic Album Mix gives four speakers equal time for the first time in nearly fifty years.

Imagine - The Ultimate Collection also collects the singles which propelled the album to the top slot. They include "Power to the People," which opens with the line "You say you want a revolution," harking back to The Beatles' non-committal protest song "Revolution," and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)." The now-holiday staple began as an anti-war song, recorded at the Record Plant in New York with session musicians and the Harlem Community Choir.

Also putting in an official appearance is the little-known single "Do the Oz," which was written to support the underground Oz magazine which had been hit with an obscenity charge, and the hitherto unknown "God Save us," two versions, one with a guest vocalist. The accompanying book is informative, and nicely packaged. It almost makes up for the missing postcard and poster which came with the original release.

The disc In The Studio and Deeper Listening features both surround sound and stereo mixes, along with Elliot Mintz's 29-minute compilation os interviews with John and Yoko. The Elements Mixes includes strings-only versions of "Imagine" and "How?," "Oh My Love" stripped of everything but the voice, and the piano, bass, and drums instrumentation for "Jealous Guy." The Evolution Documentary tells the full story of each song, presenting a fly-on-the wall take from the first writing and demo sessions to the final co-production with Spector. We hear tidbits like how Spector experimented with having Hopkins play the same lines on the same piano as Lennon, but on a higher octave.

Lennon began work on Imagine in February 1971, gathering Voormann, White, George Harrison and pianist Nicky Hopkins to house with him and Spector at Lennon's Georgian country home, Tittenhurst Park, in Berkshire, England, long enough to create a unified audio experience. The songs are diverse, as are the instrumentations. “Crippled Inside,” which has a wonderful dobro performance by Harrison, is a mocking retro-country stomp that could almost be a Skiffle song.

“Oh My Love” is such a straightforward romantic outpouring of devotional love, it is a wonder it isn't played at more weddings. Lennon is at his naturalistic best, lyrically appreciating the trees and skies for the first time through his lover's eyes. He is so lost in the newness of love, several years after meeting Yoko, he also includes the monogamously celebratory "Oh Yoko!" which closes on a positively giddly Bob Dylan style harmonica. But Lennon gives in to existential doubts for the song  “How,” where he asks “How can I go forward when I don’t know which way I’m facing?”

Further reading: Original Imagine Demo by John Lennon Surfaces

Lennon's personal blues usually start with a shade of green. "Jealous Guy” is a somber wake up call to the guy who sang "I'd rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man" on the Rubber Soul album song “Run for Your Life.” For such an emotional confession Lennon brought in extra support from friendly musicians, like Mike Pinder from The Moody Blues who he'd known since the Hamburg days. Pinder came in to do a Mellotron part, but the instrument acted up and he banged on a tambourine instead. Lennon also called on Joey Molland and Tom Evans of the Apple band Badfinger. They would also provide soft acoustic backing for Harrison, both on records and in the Concert for Banga Desh. The strings were done by members of the New York Philharmonic, who Lennon dubbed "the Flux Fiddlers." The song was famously, or infamously, covered by Roxy Music, but it doesn't touch Lennon's tortured vocals or baleful, though tuneful, whistling.

The term rock and roll began as a euphemism for sex and "It's So Hard" is pure rock and roll. It's got the I-IV-V twelve bar blues structure of the classics that drew Lennon to the genre, and it's got the sweaty beats to drive it against the wall. Lennon told Rolling Stone magazine that the Beatles first number one hit in England, "Please, Please Me," was about oral sex. The BBC banned the song “Happiness is a Warm Gun” from airplay in the United Kingdom because the singer was "going down." Lennon would at one point be busted for displaying erotic artwork of his lingual enjoyment of Yoko. Here he proclaims whether it's good, whether he's worried, or when things get really hard, sometimes he just feels like going down. He doesn't mince words.

Lennon's wordplay comes to the forefront when he takes on the hypocrisy of the Nixon administration in “Gimme Some Truth.” Tricky Dick hated the song so much he had his people try to deport Lennon and Ono in 1972. Lennon takes down everyone from tight-lipped, condescending, mama’s little chauvinists to schizophrenic-egocentric-paranoic-prima donnas in a proto-punk protest classic backed by the band at full-throttle and Harrison's slide set on incisive insinuation. The two guitarists paired again to pile on another inside threat.

Further reading: John Lennon's 'How Do You Sleep?' Footage Reveals Unrest

McCartney's second solo album Ram, which came out earlier in 1971, opened with the song “Too Many People” which included the line "Too many people preaching practices." Lennon caught the subtle dig and responded by posing while holding a pig by the ears in the postcard insert, and a blistering moment of classic rock for the needle. “How Do You Sleep” begins with an orchestra tuning up like Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Clubs Band before Lennon, the dreamer of the song "Imagine" shatters that illusion with how the album took the melodic bassist by surprise. Lennon sets his lyrics on pun for lines like “the only thing you done was yesterday.” He references McCartney's more recent single "Another Day," by alluding to Harrison's charge that McCartney overplayed the bass part on "Something" and mocks the cute Beatle for his pretty face. “How Do You Sleep” is supposedly a character assassination of Paul McCartney, but Lennon also admits he was writing about himself. He knows he would also "jump when your mama tell you anything.”

Further reading: Original Imagine Demo by John Lennon Surfaces

This brings us to the title song. "Imagine" began life as the song "Child of Nature," which he wrote when the Beatles went to India in 1968. John Lennon composed the song in one session, sitting at the iconic white grand piano featured in a poster that came with the original album. The new collection includes a sparse home recording of Lennon on piano and vocal. Lennon revels in the naiveté of the dreamer as he imagined something that seemed unimaginable in a world made bitter after incidents like the Ohio National Guard troops killing four protesting students at Kent State University. The lyrics were inspired by Ono's "event scores" in her 1964 book Grapefruit. Lennon later admitted to writer David Sheff the song should have been credited to Lennon-Ono. “Imagine" has been labeled communist, anti-American, anti-British, anti-establishment and atheistic. But Lennon also cited a Christian prayer book given to him by comedian and activist Dick Gregory as inspiration.

The song has gone on to be a universal anthem that touches all generations and has been transcribed to all genres. Liza Minnelli, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, Lady Gaga, Willie Nelson, Pearl Jam, Elton John, Ray Charles, Madonna, Diana Ross, Herbie Hancock, Joan Baez, Avril Lavigne and Chris Cornell have performed it.

The John Lennon/Plastic One Band album is considered Lennon's most naked and raw. His lyrics are direct, without the psychedelic wordplay of his Beatles works. His solutions as primal as the therapy he was shouting. Imagine isn't as spontaneous as Plastic Ono Band, but it is equally revealing. The new discs reveal even more. Imagine - The Ultimate Collection is available now.

Culture Editor Tony Sokol cut his teeth on the wire services and also wrote and produced New York City's Vampyr Theatre and the rock opera AssassiNation: We Killed JFK. Read more of his work here or find him on Twitter @tsokol.

Read and download the Den of Geek NYCC 2018 Special Edition Magazine right here!

5/5

Music

John Lennon

The Beatles

Review Tony Sokol

Oct 5, 2018

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How to Buy the Best Computer for You

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means we receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. 

Think you might need a new computer? Whether you’re starting school, your old PC is starting to fail, or your laptop is just slowing down and not responding the way you’d like anymore, you’ll probably know when it’s time to start the shopping process.

I just bought a new computer, and having recently explored the market, I figured I would take you through some of the things you need to think about if you’re in the market for a computer yourself. There’s more choice in the computer market today than there ever has been, so it’s important to take the time to find the one that really meets your needs.

Before we get into what you need to look for to find the right computer for you, when is the best time to buy one?

Best Time to Buy

The best time to buy really depends on your situation. If your computer is broken and you need a new one for work, school and taking care of your entertainment needs, you really don’t have time to wait around and be choosy. If you can afford to wait, the best time to buy a new computer is probably when the new models come out.

If you’re looking to save money, manufacturers of laptops and desktops often drop the price on the previous year’s model when the new model comes out. Many of these refreshes are minor performance boosts that the average person won’t notice. If you’re looking for a decent analog, take a look at a recent smartphone announcement. Many times, the upgrades are the difference between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8, rather than the big jump to the iPhone X. You can often get a better bargain on an older model without necessarily sacrificing on capabilities.

If you’re the type of person who wants the latest and greatest, it’s a great time for you to buy, too. In addition to getting new features, you’re ahead of the curve, so your new computer will be supported with software upgrades for a longer period of time than older models, which should increase its life span.

According to Consumer Reports, the best time to buy is between April and May or September and October. If you like a particular brand, you can always check out the company’s release schedules, keep an eye out for press releases and sign up for promotional emails.

Budget

You should have a good idea of your budget upfront because computers can be expensive. It’ll help to have a realistic idea of what you need in a computer first, too. Computers designed for high-performance games are going to be fairly expensive. If you just need a word processor and a web browser, consider going with an iPad and a decent Bluetooth keyboard. You could also look at a Chromebook to use with Google Docs.

From a reliability standpoint, whatever computer you end up choosing, you likely don’t want the cheapest model. With computer performance, the adage that “you get what you pay for” really is true, although you don’t have to buy the most expensive one, either.

If you’re buying a computer for school, check whether the school offers student discount programs through a manufacturer. Frequently, all you need is a .edu email address. Most colleges and universities offer this, and it’s increasingly offered by high schools. It’s also worth noting that a lot of businesses have business-to-business deals with major computer manufacturers to offer their employees discounts.

Of course, gaming and typing aren’t the only uses for a computer. There are a lot of things in between. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what you should consider when comparing computers.

Buying for School or Work?

If you’re buying a computer for school or work, there may be some special considerations.

If you’re enrolled in college now or will be next fall, certain programs may have recommendations or even requirements regarding what type of laptop to buy. This helps ensure any necessary specialized software can run and makes it easier for the school’s tech support to diagnose issues. So check with school advisers before making a purchase.

If you’re in a field where the work doesn’t necessarily end at 5:00 and need the flexibility to be able to log in from home, it may be helpful to consult your IT department to make sure whatever laptop you buy will work with remote access and other purpose-built software you may need, in addition to suiting your personal computing needs.

Laptop and Desktop Operating Systems

Although today’s operating systems all work similarly to one another (at least from the user’s perspective), there are differences in features and the way commands are executed. The two big operating systems for desktops and laptops are Windows and macOS. Google has also recently started working with computer manufacturers to offer ChromeOS, which essentially turns the computer into a version of the company’s Chrome web browser.

If you like your current operating system software and have integrated the keyboard shortcuts into your workflow, it may be worthwhile to find a computer with that operating system or its successors in order to avoid the learning curve.

You may also be limited to a specific operating system if you have specialized software needs. For example, if you edit movies in Final Cut, that’s only available on a Mac. Make sure you know any software you need will work on your new computer.

Tablet Operating Systems

If you use an iPad, it’ll come with iOS, the same operating system used on an iPhone. Other tablets often use some version of Google’s Android operating system. Note that not all Android apps work on iOS and vice versa.

Form Factor

Next, think about the form factor (the physical size and shape) of your computer. Do you want a tower-based desktop, a laptop, a two-in-one or an all-in-one?

Tower-Based Desktops

Image: Lenovo.com

Computer form factors based around a tower may seem somewhat bulky in the age of laptops and tablets, but if you’re a hardcore gamer, a professional video editor, etc., this may be the way to go.

Tower PCs offer expandability. You can swap out graphics cards, processor chips and other upgrade components. For example, this Area 51 model from Dell’s gaming brand Alienware features enough slots for the user to put in up to five hard drives.

In many cases, a desktop is cheaper than a laptop with similar specifications because it costs more to miniaturize the technology for a laptop.

Many desktops are often still configured with optical drives for CDs, DVDs and even Blu-rays. This can’t be said about many of the laptops that come out now.

The cooling on PCs is also often better because there are more holes for heat to escape through. Properly cooled PCs are more reliable over time. If you’re using the processor and graphics card intensely, it’s possible to use liquid cooling as well.

Desktop pros:

Lots of ports

Easier to expand storage and swap out components

Optical drives

Better cooling capabilities

Desktop cons:

Stationary and hard to transport

Monitors are often sold separately

Laptops

Image: Acer.com

Laptops are extremely portable, as they fit into a backpack or briefcase.

They can be powerful enough to handle many games and movie editing, in addition to allowing us to binge-watch Netflix in bed at 2:00 a.m.

The downside is that upgrading the internals often isn’t possible. If you’re lucky, there’s a second hard drive at most, as in this Acer model.

Optical disc drives add bulk and often aren’t included. In the era of digital software and easy downloading, this may not be an issue, but depending on how you plan to use your laptop, it might be relevant to you.

To make up for the lack of internal expandability, look for a laptop with plenty of ports for hooking up accessories like external hard drives and disc drives. On the other hand, maybe you don’t need all that. Plan accordingly.

Laptop pros:

Versatile and portable

Don’t need a separate monitor

Laptop cons:

Limited upgradability after purchase

Portability dependent on battery life

A similarly capable desktop is usually cheaper

2-in-1s

Image: Microsoft.com

Some devices have a laptop and tablet form factor built in, like the Microsoft Surface and Lenovo’s Yoga line.

The nice thing about 2-in-1 devices is the flexibility they offer. You could be typing an email one second and then flip it over the next second and start drawing on the screen with your finger or a specialized pen.

Sometimes the screen/tablet portion is detachable from the keyboard and trackpad, meaning you can take them anywhere and watch movies or play games on the touchscreen.

The downside is that all the computer parts are crammed into that tablet. There’s often no room for things like additional hard drives or memory – particularly if they detach – so these can be underpowered compared to laptops and desktops. They also aren’t usually upgradable, and you may need specialized keyboard cases with extra ports. If you end up buying one, be sure it works with your device model.

2-in-1 pros:

Tablet portion is detachable for a smaller form factor, adding flexibility

Often comes with a pen for drawing

Good battery life

2-in-1 cons:

May be underpowered compared to other computers

Durability may be an issue because of the detachable parts

All-in-Ones

Image: HP.com

An all-in-one PC is a modification of the desktop form factor. Instead of having a tower, all the components are built into the monitor, taking up less desk or shelf space.

Many manufacturers offer several PC options in this form factor. This is also the design style of choice for all of Apple’s iMac desktops.

These tend to have big, beautiful screens to hide all the hardware within. On the downside, because all the hardware is within the screen, it can be hard to get at the parts to do any upgrades, so be sure to get a computer with the tech specs you want upfront.

You also might have fewer ports than you would on a tower PC, which may or may not be a deal-breaker for you.

All-in-one pros:

Takes up less space than a tower

Big, beautiful screens

All-in-one cons:

No upgradability after purchase

Potentially fewer ports than on a tower

What to Look for in PC Components

Next, there are lots of ways to evaluate the options for your computer’s internal guts. This list isn’t comprehensive, but it’ll give you an idea of some of the things to look for.

Processor

The marketing material surrounding computers frequently tells you how many “cores” something has. But the most important thing to remember about processors for the average person is how fast they are. Let’s briefly discuss how to read processor speed.

Modern computer processor speeds are measured in gigahertz (GHz), which tells you how many billions of calculations are completed every second. When you look at processor options, you’ll see two different numbers: the speed that the computer will run at by default and “the overclock speed.” For example, I just purchased a fairly high-end laptop. The processor speed is 3.8 GHz, but I can overclock it up to 4.4 GHz if I want to squeeze the most performance out of it. So be sure to compare both speeds when you’re looking at computer models.

Hard Drive

When it comes to hard drives, there are two types of drives in today’s computers, and many computers come with both.

Solid-State Drives (SSD)

The solid-state drive has seen increased use in the last decade or so. The big advantage of these is that they’re very fast, enabling you to do things like boot a computer or load large and complicated programs faster. The disadvantage of these is that you can only write new data to them so many times. It’s also relatively expensive to reach the higher capacities offered by more traditional hard drives.

Spinning Hard Drives

Traditional spinning hard drives are often bigger and used for data storage. They’re slightly slower than SSDs, but they offer more capacity for all your data. With that in mind, people often put their operating system and programs on an SSD and documents and data on an internal or external spinning drive.

RAM

When it comes to having many programs, windows and tabs open at once, speedy RAM can be your best friend.

RAM helps with your computer’s ability to handle multiple tasks at once. There are different RAM standards, like DDR4 and DDR5. In general, the more updated your standard is, the better. The other things to take a look at are the speed of the RAM and how much of it you have.

Graphics Cards

Many processors have integrated graphics now. If you’re going to be gaming or editing movies, it can be helpful to take a look at the dedicated graphics cards that can be included in machines that are purpose-built for that sort of higher performance. There are lots of considerations here, but the short version is, the higher the model number, the better.

If you’re interested in knowing more, learn what to look for in a graphics card.

Screen

The first thing most people think about when looking at a screen is the resolution, but there’s so much more to consider.

Depending on the size of the screen (measured in the number of inches across one diagonal, from corner to corner), you can get your screens in various resolutions. One very common one is 1080p (1,920 by 1,080 pixels), but you can get screens that cover a variety of resolutions, depending on the aspect ratio. When looking at aspect ratios, widescreen is 16:9. You can also get the more traditional boxy form factor of 4:3.

If you’re going to be working with graphics or movies, you should also consider the color gamut of the display. Make sure it supports the color profiles you regularly use in your work.

If color is important, OLED screens have deeper blacks for truer color accuracy. If you’re going to be outside with your laptop regularly, it may be worth spending the extra money on an anti-glare option.

Touch and Stylus Options

Many laptops now come with touchscreen options similar to phones and tablets. If you find this interface to be the most intuitive way for you to use a computer, you may choose to make that a priority.

Touchscreen laptops also may give you the ability to switch to a tablet form factor and draw on the screen using a stylus. If you’re an artist, this may be important to you.

Ports

Ports are important because they can make up for missing internal capabilities. They allow you to connect extensions, like a Blu-ray player that plugs into a USB port.

In general, USB 2.0 is slower than USB 3.0. You’ll be able to distinguish USB 3.0 ports because they’re light blue. There are also USB-C ports. These are cool because you don’t have to make sure your device is plugged in right side up, as the plug is reversible.

Finally, thunderbolt ports are based on an Intel standard and work directly with the processor to deliver the highest possible speeds for reading and writing files and data across devices.

Other ports you might look for are HDMI ports for hooking up to TVs and other external monitors as well as an ethernet jack for the fastest internet speeds. Wi-Fi is great, but nothing beats a physical connection if you really need the speed.

Odds and Ends

If you’re going to the store to look at computers, check out the keyboard and, on laptops, the trackpad and make sure they feel good. If you work with spreadsheets and need a number pad, you might need to buy an external USB one.

Many computers also now come with webcams and fingerprint sensors for biometric security. These are great if you can get them to work, but I still recommend memorizing your password.

Those are just some of the things to consider when deciding on a new computer. If you’ll be upgrading your computer soon, don’t forget to back up your data.

What do you look for in a new computer? Let us know in the comments below.

The post How to Buy the Best Computer for You appeared first on ZING Blog by Quicken Loans.

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[mikebrackett]

How to Buy the Best Computer for You

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means we receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. 

Think you might need a new computer? Whether you’re starting school, your old PC is starting to fail, or your laptop is just slowing down and not responding the way you’d like anymore, you’ll probably know when it’s time to start the shopping process.

I just bought a new computer, and having recently explored the market, I figured I would take you through some of the things you need to think about if you’re in the market for a computer yourself. There’s more choice in the computer market today than there ever has been, so it’s important to take the time to find the one that really meets your needs.

Before we get into what you need to look for to find the right computer for you, when is the best time to buy one?

Best Time to Buy

The best time to buy really depends on your situation. If your computer is broken and you need a new one for work, school and taking care of your entertainment needs, you really don’t have time to wait around and be choosy. If you can afford to wait, the best time to buy a new computer is probably when the new models come out.

If you’re looking to save money, manufacturers of laptops and desktops often drop the price on the previous year’s model when the new model comes out. Many of these refreshes are minor performance boosts that the average person won’t notice. If you’re looking for a decent analog, take a look at a recent smartphone announcement. Many times, the upgrades are the difference between the iPhone 7 and iPhone 8, rather than the big jump to the iPhone X. You can often get a better bargain on an older model without necessarily sacrificing on capabilities.

If you’re the type of person who wants the latest and greatest, it’s a great time for you to buy, too. In addition to getting new features, you’re ahead of the curve, so your new computer will be supported with software upgrades for a longer period of time than older models, which should increase its life span.

According to Consumer Reports, the best time to buy is between April and May or September and October. If you like a particular brand, you can always check out the company’s release schedules, keep an eye out for press releases and sign up for promotional emails.

Budget

You should have a good idea of your budget upfront because computers can be expensive. It’ll help to have a realistic idea of what you need in a computer first, too. Computers designed for high-performance games are going to be fairly expensive. If you just need a word processor and a web browser, consider going with an iPad and a decent Bluetooth keyboard. You could also look at a Chromebook to use with Google Docs.

From a reliability standpoint, whatever computer you end up choosing, you likely don’t want the cheapest model. With computer performance, the adage that “you get what you pay for” really is true, although you don’t have to buy the most expensive one, either.

If you’re buying a computer for school, check whether the school offers student discount programs through a manufacturer. Frequently, all you need is a .edu email address. Most colleges and universities offer this, and it’s increasingly offered by high schools. It’s also worth noting that a lot of businesses have business-to-business deals with major computer manufacturers to offer their employees discounts.

Of course, gaming and typing aren’t the only uses for a computer. There are a lot of things in between. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what you should consider when comparing computers.

Buying for School or Work?

If you’re buying a computer for school or work, there may be some special considerations.

If you’re enrolled in college now or will be next fall, certain programs may have recommendations or even requirements regarding what type of laptop to buy. This helps ensure any necessary specialized software can run and makes it easier for the school’s tech support to diagnose issues. So check with school advisers before making a purchase.

If you’re in a field where the work doesn’t necessarily end at 5:00 and need the flexibility to be able to log in from home, it may be helpful to consult your IT department to make sure whatever laptop you buy will work with remote access and other purpose-built software you may need, in addition to suiting your personal computing needs.

Laptop and Desktop Operating Systems

Although today’s operating systems all work similarly to one another (at least from the user’s perspective), there are differences in features and the way commands are executed. The two big operating systems for desktops and laptops are Windows and macOS. Google has also recently started working with computer manufacturers to offer ChromeOS, which essentially turns the computer into a version of the company’s Chrome web browser.

If you like your current operating system software and have integrated the keyboard shortcuts into your workflow, it may be worthwhile to find a computer with that operating system or its successors in order to avoid the learning curve.

You may also be limited to a specific operating system if you have specialized software needs. For example, if you edit movies in Final Cut, that’s only available on a Mac. Make sure you know any software you need will work on your new computer.

Tablet Operating Systems

If you use an iPad, it’ll come with iOS, the same operating system used on an iPhone. Other tablets often use some version of Google’s Android operating system. Note that not all Android apps work on iOS and vice versa.

Form Factor

Next, think about the form factor (the physical size and shape) of your computer. Do you want a tower-based desktop, a laptop, a two-in-one or an all-in-one?

Tower-Based Desktops

Image: Lenovo.com

Computer form factors based around a tower may seem somewhat bulky in the age of laptops and tablets, but if you’re a hardcore gamer, a professional video editor, etc., this may be the way to go.

Tower PCs offer expandability. You can swap out graphics cards, processor chips and other upgrade components. For example, this Area 51 model from Dell’s gaming brand Alienware features enough slots for the user to put in up to five hard drives.

In many cases, a desktop is cheaper than a laptop with similar specifications because it costs more to miniaturize the technology for a laptop.

Many desktops are often still configured with optical drives for CDs, DVDs and even Blu-rays. This can’t be said about many of the laptops that come out now.

The cooling on PCs is also often better because there are more holes for heat to escape through. Properly cooled PCs are more reliable over time. If you’re using the processor and graphics card intensely, it’s possible to use liquid cooling as well.

Desktop pros:

Lots of ports

Easier to expand storage and swap out components

Optical drives

Better cooling capabilities

Desktop cons:

Stationary and hard to transport

Monitors are often sold separately

Laptops

Image: Acer.com

Laptops are extremely portable, as they fit into a backpack or briefcase.

They can be powerful enough to handle many games and movie editing, in addition to allowing us to binge-watch Netflix in bed at 2:00 a.m.

The downside is that upgrading the internals often isn’t possible. If you’re lucky, there’s a second hard drive at most, as in this Acer model.

Optical disc drives add bulk and often aren’t included. In the era of digital software and easy downloading, this may not be an issue, but depending on how you plan to use your laptop, it might be relevant to you.

To make up for the lack of internal expandability, look for a laptop with plenty of ports for hooking up accessories like external hard drives and disc drives. On the other hand, maybe you don’t need all that. Plan accordingly.

Laptop pros:

Versatile and portable

Don’t need a separate monitor

Laptop cons:

Limited upgradability after purchase

Portability dependent on battery life

A similarly capable desktop is usually cheaper

2-in-1s

Image: Microsoft.com

Some devices have a laptop and tablet form factor built in, like the Microsoft Surface and Lenovo’s Yoga line.

The nice thing about 2-in-1 devices is the flexibility they offer. You could be typing an email one second and then flip it over the next second and start drawing on the screen with your finger or a specialized pen.

Sometimes the screen/tablet portion is detachable from the keyboard and trackpad, meaning you can take them anywhere and watch movies or play games on the touchscreen.

The downside is that all the computer parts are crammed into that tablet. There’s often no room for things like additional hard drives or memory – particularly if they detach – so these can be underpowered compared to laptops and desktops. They also aren’t usually upgradable, and you may need specialized keyboard cases with extra ports. If you end up buying one, be sure it works with your device model.

2-in-1 pros:

Tablet portion is detachable for a smaller form factor, adding flexibility

Often comes with a pen for drawing

Good battery life

2-in-1 cons:

May be underpowered compared to other computers

Durability may be an issue because of the detachable parts

All-in-Ones

Image: HP.com

An all-in-one PC is a modification of the desktop form factor. Instead of having a tower, all the components are built into the monitor, taking up less desk or shelf space.

Many manufacturers offer several PC options in this form factor. This is also the design style of choice for all of Apple’s iMac desktops.

These tend to have big, beautiful screens to hide all the hardware within. On the downside, because all the hardware is within the screen, it can be hard to get at the parts to do any upgrades, so be sure to get a computer with the tech specs you want upfront.

You also might have fewer ports than you would on a tower PC, which may or may not be a deal-breaker for you.

All-in-one pros:

Takes up less space than a tower

Big, beautiful screens

All-in-one cons:

No upgradability after purchase

Potentially fewer ports than on a tower

What to Look for in PC Components

Next, there are lots of ways to evaluate the options for your computer’s internal guts. This list isn’t comprehensive, but it’ll give you an idea of some of the things to look for.

Processor

The marketing material surrounding computers frequently tells you how many “cores” something has. But the most important thing to remember about processors for the average person is how fast they are. Let’s briefly discuss how to read processor speed.

Modern computer processor speeds are measured in gigahertz (GHz), which tells you how many billions of calculations are completed every second. When you look at processor options, you’ll see two different numbers: the speed that the computer will run at by default and “the overclock speed.” For example, I just purchased a fairly high-end laptop. The processor speed is 3.8 GHz, but I can overclock it up to 4.4 GHz if I want to squeeze the most performance out of it. So be sure to compare both speeds when you’re looking at computer models.

Hard Drive

When it comes to hard drives, there are two types of drives in today’s computers, and many computers come with both.

Solid-State Drives (SSD)

The solid-state drive has seen increased use in the last decade or so. The big advantage of these is that they’re very fast, enabling you to do things like boot a computer or load large and complicated programs faster. The disadvantage of these is that you can only write new data to them so many times. It’s also relatively expensive to reach the higher capacities offered by more traditional hard drives.

Spinning Hard Drives

Traditional spinning hard drives are often bigger and used for data storage. They’re slightly slower than SSDs, but they offer more capacity for all your data. With that in mind, people often put their operating system and programs on an SSD and documents and data on an internal or external spinning drive.

RAM

When it comes to having many programs, windows and tabs open at once, speedy RAM can be your best friend.

RAM helps with your computer’s ability to handle multiple tasks at once. There are different RAM standards, like DDR4 and DDR5. In general, the more updated your standard is, the better. The other things to take a look at are the speed of the RAM and how much of it you have.

Graphics Cards

Many processors have integrated graphics now. If you’re going to be gaming or editing movies, it can be helpful to take a look at the dedicated graphics cards that can be included in machines that are purpose-built for that sort of higher performance. There are lots of considerations here, but the short version is, the higher the model number, the better.

If you’re interested in knowing more, learn what to look for in a graphics card.

Screen

The first thing most people think about when looking at a screen is the resolution, but there’s so much more to consider.

Depending on the size of the screen (measured in the number of inches across one diagonal, from corner to corner), you can get your screens in various resolutions. One very common one is 1080p (1,920 by 1,080 pixels), but you can get screens that cover a variety of resolutions, depending on the aspect ratio. When looking at aspect ratios, widescreen is 16:9. You can also get the more traditional boxy form factor of 4:3.

If you’re going to be working with graphics or movies, you should also consider the color gamut of the display. Make sure it supports the color profiles you regularly use in your work.

If color is important, OLED screens have deeper blacks for truer color accuracy. If you’re going to be outside with your laptop regularly, it may be worth spending the extra money on an anti-glare option.

Touch and Stylus Options

Many laptops now come with touchscreen options similar to phones and tablets. If you find this interface to be the most intuitive way for you to use a computer, you may choose to make that a priority.

Touchscreen laptops also may give you the ability to switch to a tablet form factor and draw on the screen using a stylus. If you’re an artist, this may be important to you.

Ports

Ports are important because they can make up for missing internal capabilities. They allow you to connect extensions, like a Blu-ray player that plugs into a USB port.

In general, USB 2.0 is slower than USB 3.0. You’ll be able to distinguish USB 3.0 ports because they’re light blue. There are also USB-C ports. These are cool because you don’t have to make sure your device is plugged in right side up, as the plug is reversible.

Finally, thunderbolt ports are based on an Intel standard and work directly with the processor to deliver the highest possible speeds for reading and writing files and data across devices.

Other ports you might look for are HDMI ports for hooking up to TVs and other external monitors as well as an ethernet jack for the fastest internet speeds. Wi-Fi is great, but nothing beats a physical connection if you really need the speed.

Odds and Ends

If you’re going to the store to look at computers, check out the keyboard and, on laptops, the trackpad and make sure they feel good. If you work with spreadsheets and need a number pad, you might need to buy an external USB one.

Many computers also now come with webcams and fingerprint sensors for biometric security. These are great if you can get them to work, but I still recommend memorizing your password.

Those are just some of the things to consider when deciding on a new computer. If you’ll be upgrading your computer soon, don’t forget to back up your data.

What do you look for in a new computer? Let us know in the comments below.

The post How to Buy the Best Computer for You appeared first on ZING Blog by Quicken Loans.

from Updates About Loans https://www.quickenloans.com/blog/buy-best-computer

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PlayStation 3: Why Purchase This Pc gaming Console?

Sony is one of the leading suppliers of gaming consoles today. Compared to other gaming consoles, Sony's video gaming consoles are integrated with the latest leading edge modern technology in graphics as well as noise, which will certainly provide you and your family members top quality house amusement.Sony's line of PlayStation is just one of one of the most effective video gaming consoles out there. As a matter of fact, it is so effective that many individuals around the globe like PlayStation video gaming consoles compared to various other different gaming consoles created by various other companies.Simply envision a gaming console with a broad collection of popular video games with realistic graphics and also seem that will essentially take you in the video game and make you really feel as if you are the personality as well as not just playing the game itself. If you played a PlayStation before, you know just how entertaining it is and also you also recognize just what sort of advantages that PlayStation video gaming consoles could contribute to your house entertainment systems. realtors in tulsa ok Today, Sony will be formally releasing their much-anticipated PlayStation 3 on November 2006 in Japan, United States, as well as in Canada in that order. PlayStation 3 promises to supply high-grade gaming experience for every person on the planet. With the most up to date graphics chip installed and also with the best processor available for game consoles, PlayStation 3 will most definitely provide you as well as your household quality home entertainment.Although the sleek layout of the PlayStation 3 is simply for aesthetic appeal objectives, you can never deny the fact that the external shell layout will look good with your residence entertainment system. PlayStation 3 additionally has Bluetooth cordless controllers that you could utilize for optimum comfort as well as satisfaction while you play the video game.PlayStation 3 can likewise be incorporated with Wi-Fi technology that will enable you to play online PlayStation 3 games with various individuals all over the globe. As a result of this, you will be able to have fun with your very own customized character online as well as battle against other people from around the globe or make brand-new buddies in the virtual neighborhood where you can take place cooperative goals.There are other accessories that you can gain from PlayStation 3. It has an upgradeable hard disk, and it will certainly also be integrated with the Blu-ray drive. Likewise, PlayStation 3 will likewise be incorporated with USB ports and also the HDMI. With an HDMI attribute, you will certainly have the ability to play games on your Hd TV with premium quality.The Blu-ray drive is an advanced disc layout that will be able to hold data 5 times even more than that of a DVD. The Blu-ray drive will certainly be able to play numerous disc media layouts like your old PlayStation and also PlayStation 2 games, your audio CDs, your DVDs and others. This means that you will be getting even more other than a video game console. The PlayStation 3 will be able to play your DVD motion pictures and it will additionally have the ability to play your audio CDs.Now that you have numerous reasons you should get Sony PlayStation 3 instead of the other leading pc gaming consoles readily available in the marketplace presently, you must additionally know that the PlayStation 3 is a highly expected gaming console today. You ought to anticipate that lots of people will certainly be lining up to buy PlayStation 3 around the globe as well as this why you need to additionally take into consideration preordering a PlayStation 3 prior to it is even launched out there.By preordering your personal PlayStation 3, you can be sure that you will have a PlayStation 3 after the official release of this gaming console on November 2006 in the USA, and in Canada. Purchase PlayStation 3 currently by preordering it online or by preordering it on your nearby Sony PlayStation 3 retail electrical outlets.