Mojang is ending the development of Scrolls

In all honesty, I didn’t know much about Scrolls, aside from it being a new project that caused Zenimax to attempt to sue Mojang.  In the end, I think that the settlement that came out from that may be part of the reason that Microsoft is having Mojang discontinue that game.  From what I can tell, usually when you license something, such as the ‘Scrolls’ trademark, you have to pay a fee of some sort.  Between that, and their cash cow being Minecraft, not Scrolls tells me that this probably was going to happen in the not so distant future after the acquisition was finished.

Click here to read their post on the Scrolls site.

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Samsung to Issue Patch to Fix Microsoft Security Update Issues | LIFARS

Here’s an interesting update on my last post…

Samsung gave in to mounting public criticism by revealing that it will no longer disable Windows’ automatic updates on Samsung-manufactured PCs and laptops and assured customers that it will release a patch within a few days, according to a report in The Verge.

Source: Samsung to Issue Patch to Fix Microsoft Security Update Issues | LIFARS

Well, it looks like Samsung has decided not to block Windows Updates any more,  I wonder what caused them to change their minds, at least this is good news for people with Samsung computers.

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Samsung disables Windows Update on its laptops, wants you to use its own utility instead | Windows Central

Well, looks like I’ll be avoiding Samsung branded computers in the near future…

All Samsung laptops come with a tool called SW Updater that checks for any updates to bloatware that comes pre-installed, along with driver and software updates. While such utilities are available from most vendors, what’s unique about Samsung’s SW Updater is that it was found to disable Windows Update, preventing Microsoft’s default updater tool from finding new updates.

Source: Samsung disables Windows Update on its laptops, wants you to use its own utility instead | Windows Central

It is a bad idea to kill windows updates, even if you don’t like to reboot your computer regularly.  Samsung forcing you to not update is a really bad idea.  I wonder how long it’ll be until they get slammed by Microsoft for screwing with their OS.

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Windows 10 and MS Insiders

From what I’ve been hearing, Microsoft might have been planning to allow insiders to get the final version of Windows 10 for free, but as time passes it appears that they’re starting to think that doing that might be a bad idea.  After their first announcement that Windows 10 would be free to Microsoft Insiders (Beta Testers) They seem to be reversing course and saying that you’ll need a valid Windows 7/8.1 license.  Of course this isn’t a surprise to me.  I got into the Windows 7 and 8 Betas and at the end of each I needed to get a full version of the OS before I could keep on using the computer.  (Also it required a full install, erasing everything on the machine)  Now I’m prepairing for the full release of Windows 10, I currently have two machines running the Tech Preview, they will probably get reset to their original versions of Windows before too long.

It is interesting seeing that Microsoft is planning to allow Windows 7 and 8.1 users to upgrade for free at any time during the first year though.

Also on a side note, I really hope that Microsoft returns window border customization.  The pure white windows are really starting to hurt my eyes.  If I could customize the system more, I’d be so happy.

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Oculus Rift CV1 & Oculus Touch

Here’s an interesting video that shows off the Oculus Rift CV1 from E3 – I really wish that I could have gone there this year.


Go to 17:10 to see the actual hands-on demo. Yes this video is 40 minutes long.

Sadly I haven’t gotten to do a hands-on with the Oculus Rift CV1, though I do love using my DK2. Games are much more immersive when played in VR, It actually can be difficult for me to want to go back to playing games on a standard monitor again. I am really looking forward to gettting the CV1, as well as the HTC Vive headset when that comes out.

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Minecraft on Hololens

Earlier today, there Microsoft had a presentation about Minecraft on their Hololens headset…

I have to wonder how close to reality that presentation is, I heard that Microsoft said that some truly epic things could be done with the Kinect, but none of that really happened, at least from what I’ve heard.  They want to make Windows 10 THE OS for VR and AR, seeing that they have a partnership with Oculus/Facebook, and evidently Valve/HTC on their Vive headset, they will probably be quite successful at doing that.

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The new Oculus Rift has been revealed!

I’m happy to see that the Oculus Rift will soon be released to the general public, sadly they put Mac and Linux support ‘on hold’, which means that Windows will be a requirement to use the Rift.  From some of the articles that I’ve been reading, thanks to a partnership with Microsoft (Which is probably the primary reason that Mac/Linux support was put on hold) the Oculus will be natively supported on Windows 10, and it’ll be possible to play XBox games on it.

In the end, I’ve become partial to the HTC Vive headset, it will have similar specs to the Oculus, but is being made with a partnership between HTC and Valve.  I think that Valve will want the Vive to work on their Steam Machines, which hopefully will mean Linux support.

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Pink Slips at Disney. But First, Training Foreign Replacements. – NYTimes.com

All I can say is wow…

ORLANDO, Fla. — The employees who kept the data systems humming in the vast Walt Disney fantasy fief did not suspect trouble when they were suddenly summoned to meetings with their boss.While families rode the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and searched for Nemo on clamobiles in the theme parks, these workers monitored computers in industrial buildings nearby, making sure millions of Walt Disney World ticket sales, store purchases and hotel reservations went through without a hitch. Some were performing so well that they thought they had been called in for bonuses.

Source: Pink Slips at Disney. But First, Training Foreign Replacements. – NYTimes.com

It’s sad to see how major corporations seem to like to screw over their IT Departments.  All to save a bit of money.

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