Grab your frottoir and your cowboy boots and get rhythm!
There are different theories as to how Zydeco got its name, but one thing is certain; its roots are firmly in the mixed cultural heritage of Creole Louisiana. In the dance halls of the Bayou, African, French and Native American culture intermingled, producing unique sounds that will make you want to hit the dance floor.
I was a Wii U late adopter. I got it just after Splatoon hit shelves and, despite the bad press it seemed to continuously receive, I had a fantastic time with it. Mario Maker was a blast, Splatoon turned out to be a non-stop party, Smash 4 was fantastic fun, and of course Breath of the Wild stole literal days of my life.
What caught me off guard was how much I used the Wii U’s non-gaming apps.
I’ve always spent a lot of time on Youtube, but after a few years of switch usage I’m pushing close to 300 hours of Youtube time on the Wii U. Netflix is a few hours shy of that, and Hulu isn’t too far behind the rest.
I’ve used these same apps on the PS4 and Xbox and absolutely nothing comes close in terms of the ease of use that the Wii U provided. Having an actual keyboard to type out your inputs is a godsend, and while I usually just streamed content on my TV, the ability to watch on the Wii U’s pad came in handy from time to time. The entire system just seems built around user enjoyment, and ease of access.
Imagine my disappointment, then, when the Switch released with no Netflix, Hulu, Youtube, or Crunchyroll. The Switch even lacks a dedicated web browser. I simply don’t understand Nintendo’s logic behind these decisions, as the Switch does have a touchscreen for full tablet-like functionality. It boggles my mind that a major player in the console market, with years of experience, overlooked something that is such an intrinsic part of console use these days.
Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America, told the Washington Post back in march that Nintendo aims for the Switch to be a console dedicated purely to gaming.
“We built the Nintendo Switch to be a world-class gaming device, meaning we want you first and foremost to play games on the system and have an incredibly fun experience” – Reggie Fils-Aime
It almost sounds like Nintendo is scared that people will buy the Switch in order to watch anime instead of to play video games. To my mind, this is like Ford coming out with a new line of trucks that have no radio and saying “We want our trucks to be an experience focused on driving.” It doesn’t stand up to scrutiny, and certainly doesn’t make much sense for the consumer.
It seems like Nintendo are kneecapping themselves by excluding these features. I almost did not purchase a Switch because these apps were missing, and I can’t imagine that I’m the only one to think this way. I’m sure there are a few other people on the fence about getting a Switch just because it would be a pain in the ass to switch between consoles and HDMI cords in order to get the latest episode of One Piece on the screen. In fact, Ars Technica reported in that as of 2014 game consoles might be the most widely used streaming devices. I can only assume that number has grown in the past years.
While it’s not a gaming necessity, streaming apps have become the norm for many gamers looking to watch video media on their TV screens. That, coupled with the Switch’s portability, make Nintendo’s exclusion of streaming apps appear as a serious mistake. I can only hope that the lack of content in this area is something that Nintendo will remedy soon.
These headlines are in response to millennials not spending as much money on golfing, movies, cars, or what have you. This could be because of taste change on what to spend money on, or, the most likely scenario, that millennials are losing money to spend.
The societal rule and expectation for keeping the economy afloat is to spend, spend, spend, buy, buy, buy. When an economy deeply relies on these specific types of interactions to keep itself from ultimate destruction, the possibility of ultimate destruction comes closer and closer if there is less money to spend or to buy; it’s a very vulnerable economic system.
Millennials have grown up during the Great Recession, have suffered with lowering employment levels, have suffered with wages not keeping up with inflation, and most prominently, have had to deal with the massive cost and burden of tens, even sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars of student loan debt. So no wonder millennials haven’t been spending money on cars and golf, because the system we have set up does not allow for them to spend and to keep up the fragile economy.
Not only that, those student loans simply existing by themselves also make the economy more susceptible to disaster.
By 2007, the total value of these subprime loans hit a whopping $1.3 trillion. Remember that number. And of course, we know what happened the next year: the entire financial system came crashing down. Duh. It turned out that making $1.3 trillion worth of idiotic loans wasn’t such a good idea.
By 2009, 50% of those subprime mortgages were “underwater”, meaning that borrowers owed more money on the mortgage than the home was worth. In fact, delinquency rates for ALL mortgages across the country peaked at 11.5% in 2010, which only extended the crisis. But hey, at least that’s never going to happen again.
Except… I was looking at some data the other day in a slightly different market: student loans.
Over the last decade or so, there’s been an absolute explosion in student loans, growing from $260 billion in 2004 to $1.31 trillion last year. So, the total value of student loans in America today is LARGER than the total value of subprime loans at the peak of the financial bubble.
And just like the subprime mortgages, many student loans are in default. According to the Fed’s most recent Household Debt and Credit Report, the student loan default rate is 11.2%, almost the same as the peak mortgage default rate in 2010.
The situation set up in the recession is almost exactly the same. Instead of homebuyers being lied to, and told they could afford a house they couldn’t, this time students are being lied to, and told they can afford an education they can’t, and the same type of easily burst-able bubble is created.
So while it is a very good thing in terms of principal that millennials are making consumerism die, it’s unfortunately, ultimately for the wrong reasons. And the corporate, out-of-touch print media shaming millennials for a situation of which they have absolutely no control over is not helping.
Maybe free-tuition public colleges would help. Just maybe.
Detail of Marie Van Brittan Brown’s original design for a home security system. (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)
Marie Van Brittan Brown felt uneasy in her neighborhood and the police were unreliable. So, she took matters in her own hands and patented the modern home security system. Over 50 years later, the technology is installed in millions of homes and offices worldwide.
Brown was a 43-year-old African American nurse who worked long, late hours before returning home to Jamaica, Queens in New York City. Her husband, Albert Brown, an electronics technician, was away many nights. Crime in their neighborhood was high, and police were often slow to respond to emergency calls.
Brown needed a way to feel safer in her apartment. Specifically, she wanted a way to see and hear who was at the door — from any room in the house.
In 1966, Brown designed a closed-circuit security system that monitored visitors via camera and projected their images onto a television monitor. Not only that, a panic button contacted the police immediately. Brown envisioned a series of three to four peepholes at various heights; a camera would slide over these peepholes to assess the outside area. A radio-controlled wireless system would transfer the image to a monitor, or set of monitors, positioned anywhere in the residence. At the monitor, a resident could not only see who was at the door, she could also talk with that person via a set of two-way microphones. A remote control option allowed her to lock or unlock the door from a safe, or more convenient distance.
The Browns’ application was impressive, drawing on existing closed-circuit television technology mainly used in military surveillance. A German engineer by the name of Walter Burch had developed camera-monitoring systems in 1942 in order to observe Nazi V-2 rocket testing from a safe distance. Brown’s security system brought “CCTV” use into the home.
Three years after filing, Brown was awarded her patent on December 2, 1969. The New York Times reported the story on December 6. It listed Albert Brown’s name first, followed by “his wife, Marie,” and continued, “With the patented system, a woman alone in the house could alarm the neighborhood immediately by pressing a button, and installed in a doctor’s office it might prevent holdups by drug addicts.” When asked about next steps, Brown said she planned to install the device in their Queens home and explore manufacturing options.
Though evidence suggests the Browns did not pursue commercial opportunities, their invention inspired many versions of home security systems we use today, in single-family homes, apartment buildings, and small businesses. Beyond the simple alarm system, camera-based security systems help with everything from personal safety to improved mail delivery. By 2013, more than a dozen inventors had cited the Brown patent for their own devices. Brown later received an award from the National Scientists Committee.
Finally, the popularity and potential of Brown’s device also led to the more prevalent CCTV surveillance in public areas, a.k.a Big Brother. According to a 2016 New Scientist report, 100 million concealed closed-circuit cameras are now in operation worldwide. Now we’re the ones being watched, whether we knocked or not.
Well, it’s official. Microsoft has topped their ridiculously-named Xbox One with their newly-announced Xbox One X. Previously referred to as “Project Scorpio”, this new Xbox is 4K-ready, and costs $499. I want to find the guy at Microsoft who named this console. I want to look him dead in the eye, shake his hand, and say “thank you for for making this so easy.”
The Xbox One X is the most awkward arrangement of syllables I’ve ever read. It’s a snake, eating its own tail and choking to death. Here I was, thinking that “Xbox One” was the most circuitous console name, but Microsoft sure showed me. I think the only logical next step here would be for Microsoft to follow their own precedent and name their next console the “Xbox 1 xobX.”
I got to thinking, “what if other companies followed Microsoft’s insane naming conventions?” Lets take a look at Nintendo, as an example.
August 18, 1983: Nintendo releases their first 8-Bit console, the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES.
November 21, 1990: Nintendo follows up their smash-hit console with their latest machine, the NES 180.
June 23, 1996: Nintendo goes for a hat trick and releases the NES Original. Fans are skeptical, but the console sells moderately well due to good technical specs and a variety of fun games.
September 18, 2001: Nintendo releases the NES Original N. Buyers are confused, and several game stores receive bewildered customers asking why a nearly 20 year old console is worth hundreds of dollars.
November 19, 2006: Nintendo, following their current trend, releases the NES Original N 2. The company’s stock drops dramatically as fans and detractors alike react negatively to the strange name. The device’s motion controls are a novelty that quickly fade into obscurity.
April 25, 2011: Nintendo makes one more desperate bid regain their lost control of the console market. Against the pleading of their shareholders, Nintendo releases the NES Original N 2 2, which features an innovative touch pad controller. The company’s stock price flatlines. Investors withdraw all funding. Nintendo fans cast aside their nostalgia and look towards a new golden future as SEGA releases the Dreamcast U.
I don’t understand the logic behind Microsoft’s new console name. “Project Scorpio” was fantastic. It was badass. It had a hook to it that pulled you in and got you excited. It sounded like the code-name of a contract hitman, a man capable of getting away with just about anything so long as you had the money to afford his services. It was a name with power.
The Xbox One X, however, sounds like the beginning of a Tic-Tac-Toe game, or a losing score in a sports match. It sounds like an anxiety medication, or a tiny Russian car. It sounds like something a pirate would write on his map. “Yarr,” he says, “Xbox One X marks the spot. Never dig it up. It’s a wooden chest full of shit.”
Is the new console worth it? Sure. Maybe. I don’t know. Microsoft hasn’t really told us anything substantial about it yet, other than promising us better performance, and 4K functionality. In a few years, 4K gaming will indeed be the standard, and Microsoft will surely have some new console lined up that will make the Xbox One X obsolete.
So, should you buy the Xbone X? Sure, if you want a console that looks like a 12 year old’s internet forum name. Personally, I’m looking forward to the xX_Xbox_1_sasuke_Xx. Can’t wait, Microsoft! Keep up the good work.
