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search search home contact skip to content home contact apple’s homepod: is it worth it? lukas ziegler june 8, 2017 comments off on apple’s homepod: is it worth it? -- if you ask me, the so-called smart speakers are a fantastic idea. a small device that can answer questions, play music with a command and even take care of your home? that’s a device straight out of a sci-fi flick! sign me up! but unfortunately, as the modest success of devices like the amazon echo or google home has shown us, smart speakers are a better idea in theory than in practice. in reality, they fall squarely into the category of “cool gadgets you use for fifteen minutes before forgetting in a drawer somewhere”. because let’s face it – most of us don’t really need a $180 smart speaker to play our music when a far cheaper non-smart speaker which connects to our phones can do the exact same thing. the amazon echo, while a really fun novelty that has given us plenty of unintentional entertainment over the years, most consumers haven’t really found a good reason to keep it around for everyday use. and then came apple, who promised to change that. they promised to do to the smart speaker what their ipod once did to the mp3 player, revolutionizing the entire market forever! and thus the apple homepod was announced to an audience of thousands, alongside its specs, functions and, perhaps most importantly, price point. so now that we’ve got concrete data rather than mere promises, one has to wonder: is the homepod the second coming that was promised to us? is it the revolution in smart speaker technology we’ve been waiting for? is it worth purchasing? the short and, sadly, very unfortunate answer to all these questions is a resounding “no”. the homepod fails on every level when compared to its contemporaries. it was supposed to offer brand new, revolutionary features not found among the competition, but honestly? i’m having a really tough time figuring out what those features are supposed to be, because from where i’m standing, the homepod doesn’t offer anything new whatsoever. it still plays music, you can still use a digital assistant (like amazon’s alexa, except it’s apple’s siri) to answer your questions, and if you have a smart home with electronically controlled lights and stuff like that you can control it through the device if you so desire. that’s it. where’s the promised revolution? not only that, but the homepod actually does works worse than its competition in one of its main regards – streaming music. you want to stream music from pandora, spotify or any preferred service that isn’t apple music? well, in that case, you’re better off purchasing something else. and perhaps the worst part is the homepod’s price. apple’s gadgets have always been ridiculously overpriced, we’ve known that for years, but this just may be a new height. the echo is $180 and is regularly discounted (on black friday the echo was only $140 ), while google home doesn’t fall far behind, at about $130. how much is apple asking for its “revolutionary invention”? a whopping $350. and the worst part is that you know people will be lining up to buy it on day one, despite the fact that there are cheaper, better alternatives available today. don’t be like them, folks. apple have, on occasion, created good tech. the homepod is not among them. games how do live dealer casino games work? lukas ziegler september 2, 2016 comments off on how do live dealer casino games work? -- when it comes to technology, the online casino industry has definitely seen some rapid development in recent years. games have become way better, not only in terms of visuals, but also in terms of gameplay, interface, and overall software stability. i remember the first time i tried out this game by playtech called video roulette. instead of the usual wheel spinning sequence, this game actually used pre-recorded real-life footage during the spin! if you want to try the game out, you can play video roulette for free here . the idea really excited me, and i thought about how awesome it would be if this concept can evolve into something more. fortunately, a few years later it did, and i had the pleasure to try out the first live dealer casino games. it was and still is my favourite way to play blackjack and roulette! in this post, i will talk a bit about how live dealer games work, and hopefully get you to give them a try. live streams & technical stuff the concept behind live dealer casino games is the following – the player watches a live stream of the game, including a professional dealer (most often a pretty young woman), while playing the game itself through the user interface the platform offers. the dealer is alerted of what the players do via a monitor, and does whatever the game requires her to do – be it dealing cards, spinning the roulette wheel, announcing the winners, etc. the dealer is actually staring into a camera the whole time, and the feed is shown to all active players on the table. depending on the internet connection you are using, and the platform itself, the quality of the stream may vary between hd and a total mess. it is usually controllable via the interface, but nothing can help you if your internet is not fast enough. some platforms even have the option of switching the stream off – but where is the fun in that? features of live dealer games live dealer games feature everything that their rng counterparts have to offer – and then some. the dealers are really professional, and add a lot to the genuine casino atmosphere that those games are trying to emulate. in addition, some platforms allow you to chat with the dealer, further improving the already great experience. if you are a high roller, live dealer games will definitely suit your taste. based on my observations, they have way higher table limits than the rng games found at online casinos. those largely depend not on the platform itself, but on the operator that hosts it. nevertheless, if you want to be able to bet a thousand pounds on a single spin of the wheel – live dealer games are the way to go. give live games a try today! if you are a fan of casino games and have not yet tried playing at a live dealer table, you have absolutely no excuse – you should have a go at them asap. i guarantee you that the experience is as close as you can get to a real casino, without having to leave the comfort of your own sofa. unfortunately, there are no free-to-play live dealer games, but there are plenty of casinos that allow you to place really small bets. i hope that live dealer casino games will develop further down the line. as technology gets better and better, i cannot wait to see what the next step in the evolution of casino games will be. something like vr blackjack is probably already on its way. games is crowdfunding really worth it? lukas ziegler august 5, 2016 comments off on is crowdfunding really worth it? -- recently, i got into an argument with my friend simon about a certain videogame called “mighty no. 9”. most people would assume that we were arguing about whether or not the game was good or something like that, but that’s not quite the case, actually. no, “mighty no. 9” is objectively bad – i agree with it, simon agrees with it, the critics agree with it , it’s not a good game, the only people who think it is one are delusional or have never picked up a 2d platformer in their lives. no, what we were arguing about was whether or not the game even deserved to get made in the first place. allow me to explain. for those of you who are unfamiliar with its development, “mighty no. 9” was made by mega man creator keiji inafune, who, frustrated by capcom’s (the company that holds the rights to mega man) unwillingness to create more games in the franchise, decided to quit and just make his own through popular crowdfunding service kickstarter. the resulting crowdfunding campaign overshot its target significantly, managing to bring almost $4 million dollars in
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