E3 2014 seemed to arrive quicker than normal this year and with current consoles thriving, June 9, 2014 shined bright on the calendar like a treasure loot marker on a map. The treasure? Hopefully a bountiful supply of new games, release dates for favorite and anticipated titles and a unique surprise or two that makes the year between E3 conferences worth the wait.

How the conference starts really sets the tone for the week. Microsoft’s 2013 presentation was at best average and by the end of the day demolished by Sony’s PS4 presentation.

But 2014 is a new year. The Xbox One is selling well and Microsoft has again produced a high quality console that gamers are enjoying. Microsoft has taken great strides towards making Xbox One a console that everyone can enjoy while delivering all the home entertainment features Microsoft wants families to have. Two immense moves show just how Microsoft Finally Gets It.

Microsoft Xbox One without Kinect package: $399.00

Only recently was the Kinect made an optional choice. The cries from fans that the Kinect be removed and price lowered accordingly were heard. Many hardcore gamers don’t like or want the Kinect and forcing users to buy it was a bad move from the beginning. The reasons behind not wanting Kinect vary, but the end point is that Microsoft Finally Gets It!

Streaming Apps no longer require Xbox Live Gold Membership

Another recent update from Microsoft involves the dissolution of Xbox Live Gold requirement for accessing media streaming apps on the Xbox. That was always an absurd requirement. If a user is paying for Netflix, then they should be able to access Netflix without paying an additional Gold membership fee to access the app on the Xbox. Microsoft no doubt made a ton of money from that little “pure profit” fee, but alas, Microsoft Finally Gets It.

E3 2014 – Microsoft Finally Gets It

Those two major improvements lead us directly into E3 2014. Microsoft’s goal seemed to align perfectly with the wants and expectations of fans and gamers. Games, games, games! Microsoft’s entire media presentation focused on one thing – games. Microsoft Finally Gets It!

During the presentation there was no mention of the previous positive changes to Xbox packaging or Xbox Live Gold memberships. There was no mention of smartglass or other hardware features. There was no mention of future software, hardware or collaborative ventures for the Xbox. There wasn’t even mention of Xbox 360. No, Microsoft made it very clear – E3 2014 was about games for the Xbox One.

The Games [2014]

Microsoft promised a lot for 2014, but we cautiously remind you that these are projected dates which can change at any time.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

It’s Call of Duty, what more is there to say? However, it may be that COD is becoming tired. There doesn’t appear to be much new aside from the few new, almost sci-fi like gadgets. COD is still an incredible franchise just don’t expect to have your world turned upside down when Advanced Warfare makes its way to your console.

• Release date: 11/4/2014
• Exclusive game add-ons first on Xbox One

Evolve

Evolve is one of the new games worth checking out. FPS style gameplay where a unit of four act as hunters and track down an ever-growing monster. There are 3 monsters with more than a dozen maps to explore. Players can either play as one of the four in the hunter party or play as the monster which adds a unique and exciting twist. Graphics are on par with current Xbox One titles.

• Release date: 10/21/2014

Assassin’s Creed Unity

The AC franchise exploded with gamers and still resonates as one of the most popular, current franchises available. Unity takes place in 18th century Paris, France during the French Revolution. Don’t expect much change in the way of game physics or gameplay, but AC Unity does bring a new 4 player co-op angle to the game. Like COD, Assassin’s Creed may becoming stale with some gamers (this guy included) which means don’t expect wildly different mechanics in AC Unity.

• Release date: 10/28/2014

Dragon Age: Inquisition

Huge open world environment is a running theme for E3 2014 games and Dragon Age: Inquisition is no different. The gameplay is fantastic while overall the environment, graphics, battles, cut scenes, etc. are gorgeous. You are part of a 4 person pre-defined party of Inquisitors battling dragons and demons. This is one of our ‘Top Picks’ and should definitely be on your radar.

• Release date: 10/7/2014
• To be released first on Xbox (typically 30 days).

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Wild Hunt is likely the game to watch come February 2015. It promises an immense open world environment with 100 hours worth of gameplay, half of which are through the main storyline. If you’re a fan of RPG style games like Skyrim, then The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt looks to be the next epic adventure. It’s also one of our ‘Top Picks’ that we label as a must have title.

• Release date: 2/24/2015

Halo The Master Chief Collection

Imagine all 4 Halo games on one disc, playable in sequence, running their original engines and multiplay settings and all available for the cost of 1 game. Imagine that and you know what Halo The Master Chief Collection is. Full 1080p 60fps and as epic as you remember. This package is no doubt expected to ease the wait for Halo 5 Guardians which is slated for 2015, though beta play is available in December.

• Release date: 11/11/2014
• Xbox exclusive.

Other Notable Games from Microsoft’s Presser

• Sunset Overdrive – If you like cartoon mayhem with a touch of sarcasm, then this is for you.
• Dance Central
• Project Spark – Xbox Live
• Ori and The Blind Forest – Xbox exclusive.
• Inside
• Rise of the Tomb Raider
• Phantom Dust
• Tom Clancy’s The Division
• Scalebound
• Crackdown
• Fable Legends – Beta available Fall 2014. Gorgeous environment; Option to play as villain.
• As well as a number of smaller titles from independent developers.

Wrap Up

Microsoft planned well for E3 and announced their kinect-less Xbox One package and the end to Xbox Live paywall for streaming apps in advance of the big conference. While those two changes are significant, the benefit from announcing them early provided Microsoft a clear path to ensure games dominated their E3 presentation.

When all was packed up and done at E3, Microsoft came out on top because they focused on what gamers really want – Games.

The post Microsoft Finally Gets It [E3 2014] first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.

Problem:

You want to create a calendar event that occurs yearly, on the same day, but not necessarily on the same date.

Solution:

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Our top tech picks for 2013 include several pieces of hardware, some apps and a few old favorites that continue to make waves.

Hardware 2013

Without a doubt it was a big hardware year. Tablets are saturating the market while tech enthusiasts and investors search for “the next” gadget to disrupt the market.

Google Glass

While Google Glass is little more than an interesting sideshow at the moment, its reality shows what future tech may hold. Envision if you will average glasses or sunglasses with Google Glass type function. Complete with internet browsing and presumably dictation through a microphone in the frames for text, email and the like.

Yes, Google Glass looks ridiculous and that’s okay because it’s simply the first in what’s sure to be a line of wearable tech moving forward.

Smartphones

Without a doubt the best smartphone of 2013 is the HTC One. It can be debated until smartphone owners are blue in the face, but we stand behind that statement. Samsung and Apple seem to always share the spotlight when it comes to popularity, but the market needs competition to further innovation. For all of HTC’s struggles as a company the last 12+ months, they deserve immense credit for delivering what is an absolutely brilliant piece of hardware in the One.

Gaming Consoles

We could debate Xbox One versus Playstation 4 all day long and one will always outshine the other depending on how they’re viewed. Fact is, this may be the last true gaming console generation. Xbox One is already much more than a gaming console and many would say a detriment to itself. Sony has integrated more online social aspects that are maturing now with Playstation 4. By the time gamers and console makers are ready for the next generation of consoles, it simply won’t be enough to be ‘just a gaming console’.

Should we feel sad that this may be the last true gaming console generation or perhaps nostalgic about past generations? Yes, though there’s no need to panic. Game makers are delivering games at an unreal pace to every tech device they can. Mobile gaming is exploding, PC games are resurgent and new manufacturers such as NVIDIA (Shield) are delivering dedicated gaming units.

It’s impressive to see what Microsoft and Sony have delivered and we commend them for delivering possibly the last true gaming consoles. There’s no doubt each are worthy of mention for top hardware in 2013.

2014 Watchlist

Keep an eye out for Steam Machines. Steam is moving forward, if not slowly, with their own gaming device. They’ve labeled it “a powerful new category of living-room hardware” which points to more than gaming, but that remains to be seen.

Tablets are shifting towards larger models. Don’t be surprised if 7” tablets begin to fade away as new larger models flood the market.

PCs aren’t dead despite news to the contrary. However, Google’s Chromebooks are now starting to realize their potential and others are noticing. With everything online and cloud based, the Chromebooks offer a distinct advantage for some. That number will grow as cloud adoption continues.

Another watch item from Google is the Chromecast. Sure it’s getting a ton of hype now, but let’s watch what happens when it starts to hit its stride or better yet spawn something more from the minds at Google. Either way, grab a Chromecast now for $35 and enjoy inexpensive cable-like viewing.

Apps 2013

Mobile apps are an absolutely immense category to narrow down and dissect. The fact is, the app market is saturated both in iOS and Android. To stand out and make an impression you’ve either got to have a monumentally grand idea or improve tenfold over similar apps. We picked a few of our favorites from 2013 and hope you get the same kind of warm fuzzy feeling from them.

Simplenote

Not new in the traditional sense, it was new to Android in 2013. Long an app on iOS, Simplenote is, as you’d expect, a note taking app. As many of you know, we’re huge fans of productivity type apps and Simplenote falls into that category. It comes from Automattic, Inc., the makers of WordPress mobile. There are several key reasons Simplenote makes our top apps for 2013 list.

1. It’s super lightweight. Leave the fluff and extra junk at the door because Simplenote has none of it. At less than 600k, this app is like a feather compared to some.
2. The interface is nearly prestine. It’s so clean you almost feel bad cluttering it with notes.
3. If you’ve tried Evernote and didn’t care for it or even found it to be too much for your needs, then Simplenote is the option you’re after.

We won’t harp on it too much, but if you haven’t tried it yet, then start 2014 out with a new app.

Download for Android

Download for iOS

Cal

Cal comes from Any.do, the makers of ..well.. Any.do. If you’re not familiar, Any.do is a to-do, reminder, sort of productivity type app to keep you on target with tasks. Cal is basically a replacement for your other calendar apps. It’s still new so it lacks a few features that a true Google Calendar has. And while we aren’t huge fans of Any.do, Cal manages to improve on something every smartphone has – a calendar.

It’s attractive interface is super clean and sharp. It uses just enough graphic to spice things up and of course syncs nicely with Any.do to wrap your tasks into your calendar with ease. If you’re someone who likes to have their schedule at the ready and appreciates a very legible interface, then Cal should be on your list.

Download for Android

Download for iOS

Game Apps

We could literally go on forever with all the game apps. Needless to say, there were some standouts.

Real Racing 3

EA’s racing game has enjoyed plenty of ridicule for their freemium model and some of it deservingly so. However, their Real Racing 3 is visually fantastic and has sparked numerous copy cats in the mobile markets. With nearly 80 vehicles, RR3 has given gamers plenty of variety to play with. Fairly regular updates have provided new tracks and competitions and continued to keep the game interesting.

Real Racing 3 gets high marks for guiding the racing category of the market in the right direction (aside from the freemium in app costs that is).

Download for Android

Download for iOS

Injustice: Gods Among Us

Meant as a companion app to the console version. Injustice is quite fun on its own for those that don’t have time to spend in front of a console. Again, based on a freemium type model – Injustice provides achievement based reward with expensive upgrade options. The system is done well and not nearly as overwhelming as some other freemium games. The graphics are slick and for the most part gameplay is consistent.

Download for Android

Download for iOS

Old Favorites 2013

Evernote

We might be beating a dead horse with this one, but the fact is there is no better note-taking, productivity app than Evernote. It is an all encompassing tool that anyone can use. One of our readers spoke up about their experience and how they struggled to find a “practical use” for Evernote. Turns out it was easy once they stopped thinking so much about it. Now their Evernote account is used for storing warranties, manuals, recipes (in conjunction with Evernote Food) and a slew of other everyday things.

The real surprise from Evernote this year was their foray into physical goods. The Evernote gear is somewhat cheesy, but at the same time a testament to it’s popularity and following. Another physical good is their ScanSnap scanner. They partnered with Fujitsu to deliver a high quality device for taking all those loose piles of paper and sending them directly to Evernote notes. Although pricey it’s a real godsend to those looking to go completely paperless.

Download for Android

Download for iOS

Apps Everyone Should Be Using

Pocket

Save anything and everything for reviewing later. Don’t have time to read it now, but the headline looks interesting? Share it to Pocket and view it later. Need to follow a how-to found online, but need it later not now? Share it to Pocket and it’s there.

Download for Android

Download for iOS

TuneIn Radio Pro, Spotify & iHeart

TuneIn, Spotify and iHeart complement each other perfectly. iHeart has most radio stations and those it doesn’t are likely found on TuneIn. TuneIn is also great for radio broadcasts of sporting events, something any fan can appreciate. Spotify delivers everything those two don’t by way of user selected music. Spotify’s new free Playlists playback allows for greater control over selection of songs played. With their immense library of music, there’s very few songs missing.

Download iHeart for Android

Download iHeart for iOS

Download Spotify for Android

Download Spotify for iOS

Download TuneIn Radio Pro for Android

Download TuneIn Radio Pro for iOS

Any Cloud Storage App

If you aren’t using a cloud storage service, then what are you waiting for? There are literally a half-dozen excellent choices with more than a dozen other quality options. Every smartphone owner should be utilizing one to save those precious photos and other data accumulated on mobile devices.

For ease of use you can’t go wrong with Dropbox. Want something closer to your everyday routine? How about Google Drive (for Gmail users) or SkyDrive (for Outlook.com users). Our other favorite is Box although we’re disappointed they don’t give Linux users more love.

Security

Wondering where all the security apps and info are? We intentionally left that info out. Reason being that users need to dedicate more attention to security, not a passing thought in a “best of” list. With this year’s revelations and events, 2014 is going to be a pivotal year for users in securing their information. Look for an early year 2014 Security Checklist post with a bunch of suggestions for keeping you and your information out of other’s hands.

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Celebrating the preview launch of Microsoft’s flagship products System Center 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012 R2 and SQL Server 2014, Firebrand Training decided to pay homage to the Tech giant by creating a guide for their existing enterprise technology portfolio.

Check out the graphic below, for a full size version head to Firebrand’s site.

A guide to Microsoft’s Enterprise Technology

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This new twist involves more brains than brawn to save players from inevitably sore fingers.

Tekken Card Tournament

For those unfamiliar, Tekken is a fighting game where it pits opponent versus opponent in a duel to the finish. Tekken Card Tournament (TCT) is similar in that players use cards to determine their action, whether it be Focus, Strike or Block.

TCT is more of a strategy game than a fighting game. Players must not only decide their next move, but also anticipate their opponents. Countering and receiving acceptable damage during turns is integral to mastering the game.

The rub is this, TCT has issues. Some issues are bigger than others, but let’s take a look at what works in TCT first.

The Good

Graphics

While the graphics aren’t groundbreaking, they are sufficient. Battle scenes are mediocre, but not choppy or fragmented. Could they be better? Yes. Are they detrimental to the game? Not in the least.

Cards

Each deck is quite large. Players can only use 15 at any given time, but the decks themselves are more than triple that. Collecting cards is a bit of a side mission and of course the more cards collected, the larger the character’s skill set.

Each set is character appropriate and though the variety could use some work, they are different enough to make things interesting.

Player versus Player (PVP) multi-player

TCT almost had to have PVP built-in to be worth the download. Thankfully it is.

Card Fusion

The process of combing multiples of the same card to form a new, more potent card. The fusion outcome is predetermined, but the feature still delivers a bit of fun and achievement.

The Bad

TCT from day one has had some recurring problems that the developers are working on. We acknowledge that and expect many of the PVP problems to be resolved completely very soon. Having said that, TCT was released before it was ready and those who jumped in early have had to live with the pain for the gain.

PVP Server downtime

For the first week following the official release, the server was up and down more than a yo-yo. That meant no PVP or if there were server hiccups during a PVP match, loss of points. [notice type=”blue”]Note: TCT developers have consistently been addressing this issue and significant improvements have been made.[/notice]

Credits

TCT is full of in app purchasing to improve characters. Chief among them the use of credits which can be used to buy card packs and stamina refills. Prices range from .99¢ to $99.99 for batches of credits.  If you plan to pursue lengthy gameplay in TCT, then get ready to invest some money.

Credits are showered onto new users in the beginning with bonuses and early level perks.  After that, they are extremely rare.  Players can expect to receive them at each new level and the infrequent random reward bonus.

All those things would be fine, except that the pricing for Stamina refills and Card Packs are overpriced.  Stamina (more on stamina below) for example can cost 18 credits to refill 100%, but players don’t start receiving 18 credits for a new level until after 15.  Card Packs cost between 150 and 400 credits.  Do the math and it’s easily visible that collecting cards and improving characters will be a mind-numbingly long process.

Gold

For many of the same reasons as Credits.  Simply put, the rewards are too small per battle.  Card packs cost 3k gold, while specific card purchases start at 5k gold.  Card Fusion starts at 5k gold.  Per battle gold reward for a Medium level battle?  A mere 144 gold.

To be fair, there are a lot of gold bonuses and rewards. Even so, purchasing a single card at 5k depletes the bank fast, not to mention the 50k for more potent cards.

Stamina

This has to be the most ridiculous feature of TCT.  What its purpose is, we can’t say.  Essentially each character has a Stamina bar which decreases after every battle.  Players can only play 5 battles in succession without refilling or waiting for Stamina to refill on its own.

Battles last roughly 3 minutes.  Each Stamina bar (5 in total) takes anywhere from 20-30 minutes to refill on its own.  So 15 minutes worth of play and 125 minutes on average of waiting.  Players can opt to refill their Stamina with credits, but they are rare and are better used on Card Packs and additional decks (100 credits each after 3 free decks).

The whole idea of Stamina is baffling.  Perhaps it’s a measure put in place to curb server overload by artificially forcing players to stand down and not play.  That should only be a temporary measure though.  Stamina appears as though it’s a fixed part of the game.

Real World Card Purchases

It appears TCT will have the option to scan in real world cards purchased from retailers.  We see this as a non-starter and think Namco Bandai should revisit the cost of shipping, packaging and factory maintenance versus delivering more varied Card Packs in game.

The thinking is that, real world cards will add something to the game or make it more desirable.  It won’t.  Move on.

Download Tekken Card Tournament

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Now there’s an app for that!

Toy Story Live Wallpaper

If you’re unfamiliar with ‘Live Wallpapers’, they are backgrounds for mobile devices and generally have animation whether it be constant or intermittent and some have an element of interaction which is the case with Toy Story.

The scene is Andy’s room, complete with desk, bed, shelves, posters, bulletin board and other typical boy’s room décor. Throughout the room are different elements which add to the atmosphere such as a globe which users can spin, a bounce-able ball and bulletin board where a message can be written with colored block letters. The live wallpaper also tracks the local time of day and adjusts the environment (outside window) accordingly for nighttime and daytime.

Characters

What would a Toy Story app be without characters like Woody, Buzz and the gang? An empty one. Which is the default for the live wallpaper. Characters are unlocked via two methods.

First, users can purchase bundles and unlock them. Second, characters are unlocked through a collection of points which are accumulated through capturing army men and dartboard bulls-eyes. Total points collected are display on a laptop within the wallpaper. The first method is much faster, but way less fun than the second.

Each day users can throw darts in an attempt to hit the bullseye. The dartboard can only be accessed once a day. Army men on the other hand can be captured repeatedly, all day long. The points vary, but the process is always the same. Army men parachute in to the screen and users must tap them to gain points.

Character list:

[list style=”square” color=”cobult”]

• Woody
• Buzz
• Hamm
• Rex
• Aliens

What’s Missing

Toy Story Live Wallpaper is exactly what you’d expect from Disney. A fun little escape for your mobile device and safe for all ages. There could be more from this little app, so these are the things that we’d like to see added in a future update.

More Characters

Even Toy Story purists would insist on Slinky Dog and Mr. Potato Head being included in the app. Both would be great additions to the live wallpaper and it’s easy to imagine their own unique animations on screen. Beyond the original cast, the app could benefit from Jessie, Bullseye, Bo Peep, Wheezy, RC, Etch, Mrs. Potato Head, Lenny and plenty of others to choose from. We’d even be open to seeing Stinky Pete the Prospector and Zurg.

For The Girls

Another thing we’d like to see is a girl’s room option. While not strictly Toy Story storyline material, it would give girls a more appropriate option. Of course any girl’s room could be decorated with the likes of Jessie, Mrs. Potato Head, etc.

More Live Action

Aside from those two major additions, Toy Story Live Wallpaper could do with a bit more Live factor. Perhaps RC cruising across the floor at random or Etch propped up on a shelf with a random sketch after an unlock or device shake. There are a number of possibilities and we hope the app crew over at Disney open up their imaginations in future updates.

Final Notes

As it is, Toy Story Live Wallpaper is an excellent little app that is sure to please even the biggest of kids. It is free and available now.

Download Toy Story Live Wallpaper

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This week Todoist launched Karma, which is a sort of point system for tracking your productivity. Completing tasks boosts your Karma score, while postponing or delaying tasks will impact Karma scores.

The positive Karma is Todoist’s way of making task completion and productivity fun. Regardless of fun factor, no one likes to see their scores go down so this new feature could potentially compel users to accomplish more with increased frequency.

Additional Karma boosting methods include:

[list style=square color=cobult]

• Regular task management
• Completing tasks early
• Use of advanced Todoist features (labels, reminders, etc.)

The less you use Todoist, the more your Karma score will decline. Score can also be impacted by allowing tasks to exceed 4 days overdue. Here’s a video look at what Karma can do for you:

Todoist is one of the most frequently updated and managed productivity apps we’ve reviewed. With developers constantly refining and improving the app, there’s always something impressive happening at Todoist.

What does Karma mean long term? Hard to say, but we’re speculating that integration of Karma could lead to much larger scale productivity integration for business users who want to track their team’s output. Once a standard has been set, there’s no doubt Karma could provide serious insight into team member’s productivity and success rate.

Todoist is already an app that can be utilized for team project management and is definitely worth the short time investment of installing the app. You can read more about Todoist and the Todoist app in the following related articles:

Todoist Android App Review
Get More Done By Using Todoist

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Real Racing 3

Real Racing 3 is, as the title would indicate, a racing game which is available and free for Android and iOS devices. The game focuses on track racing with a wide variety of tracks and various cars available for purchase and use in competition.

Graphics

In a word, stunning, for a mobile device game. Vehicle graphics are superb and realistic right down to the clear-coat paint jobs and dash gauges.

Tracks scroll smoothly and seamlessly. Corners are tight and in close quarters with competitors remain accurate without clipping.

The environment as a whole is fairly impressive considering this is a mobile game. Tracks are detailed with mock advertising, bleachers, pit areas (not accessible) and terrain (grass, dirt, etc.). On certain occasions even a blimp can be seen overhead for added experience.

One major noticeable omission from the environment are fans. Not a single person in any of the stands or even onlookers at the start and finish line. We aren’t exactly surprised given the problems with human likeness in video games, but we’re surprised a blurry bunch of colored pixels weren’t added to give some life to the tracks.

Gameplay

Exceptional. That’s really all that needs to be said, but we’ll expand a bit. Cars have differing control characteristics and operational strengths and it clearly shows while driving. For example, an Audi is much more precise in turns than say a Viper. There are several manufacturers and models to choose from. 46 total vehicles in all with heavy representation by Porsche and BMW (too much actually). Instead of 8 Porsches, we’d prefer more manufacturers? Some clear omissions include Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston Martin and Mazda to name a few.

Drivers race against Time Shifted Multiplayer (TSM) racers. Essentially racing against recorded times of other players. For the most part the TSM data is acceptable though we’ve seen some instances where the times are disproportionate to the current situation.

As the Stig, you’re not only in control of racing your vehicles, but also in charge of their maintenance and performance upgrades. Maintenance is routine after every race and surprisingly, the repairs make a difference during a race. Oil changes, which occur often, are noticeable in the output of the vehicle so repairs aren’t simply a matter of busy work, but a matter of performance management.

Upgrades can consist of varying modules, but typically players will find Engine, Drivetrain, Tires and Brakes modules. More advanced cars have additional options such as Suspension and Exhaust.

Advanced players have a number of options for limiting the AI control over vehicles, but the auto assist is perfectly balanced for new players and beginners. Customization is available in the form of paint colors, but limited to a predefined number of colors. We hope a future update includes a color wheel type option for a truly custom appearance.

Issues & Shortcomings

Every game has its limitations and Real Racing 3 does as well.

Quirks

RR3 is a fantastic display of mobile gaming, but at times extends its reach with graphics utilization. In particular, the Southbank course in Australia which is a tight winding course will become stuttered and choppy. The reason? There are simply too many cars for that race. With limited space and maneuverability the cars are forced to bunch together, which in and of itself is not a problem, but the hardware simply cannot handle all the motion, physics and graphic manipulation on the screen at one time. That track in particular is troublesome for other reasons too. It essentially turns into a smash ’em up derby to pass vehicles because of the tight nature of the course.

Prices

Prices and earnings seem to be out of proportion. For the most part, prices seem accurate and attainable. However, the elite high-end vehicles are well over 1 million dollars. While the costs are realistic in nature, driver earnings are very low and even with the variety of bonuses rewarded some of the highest priced vehicles will take gamers so long to achieve that they will likely have a new device before they attain them. Repairs fall under this issue as well. Repairs are priced out based on the item, but for some reason there is a time delay on repairs. Waiting 30 minutes, an hour, or more for repairs to finish is unnecessary and honestly we fail to see the logic behind this waiting feature.

Backups

Which leads us to a huge shortcoming. There is no backup and save option for RR3 data. FireMonkeys has noted that the option is planned for an update, but as of now it does not exist.

Personalization

Finally, the most ridiculous limitation of the bunch is that of user personalization. New players can personalize their experience with an in game name by logging in with their Facebook credentials. That is the ONLY option. Frankly, that is unacceptable and should be updated immediately to allow players the choice of their own name without any sort of account login or association. For now, players who don’t login via Facebook are forced to play as Guest which limits the experience a bit.

Final Verdict

Real Racing 3 is an awesome mobile game. The graphics are crisp with gorgeous cars and quality atmosphere. The gameplay is some of the best we’ve experienced in terms of win-ability and competition. Though there are some shortcomings they aren’t nearly numerous or prevalent enough to steer players away.

For mobile gamers, Real Racing 3 is a must have. For everyone else, RR3 is a must try. We fully recommend Real Racing 3 from a gaming standpoint and overwhelmingly encourage users to put this on their must have app list.

Pros:

[list style=”square” color=”cobult”]

• 46 Unique cars
• Exceptional graphics
• Accurate and enjoyable gameplay
• Large variety of tracks and race types
• TSM for multi-player racing competition
• Very high replay value

Cons:

[list style=”square” color=”cobult”]

• Excessive wait times for repairs
• No sync or cloud backup option
• Facebook connectivity required for personalization
• Pricing is out of scale for super high end vehicles

[flexislideshow pageid=”” lightbox=true lboxtitle=false slideshowtitle=false]

Download Real Racing 3 for Android
Download Real Racing 3 for iOS

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Mobile small businesses are equally as important to a community, but lack the visual notice that storefronts offer. Mobile businesses rely many times on by-the-hour compensation with clients who appreciate exacting records of labor costs. Unfortunately, not everything runs by-the-hour and so time can be relative or spread out across periods of time during the completion of projects.

So how can small businesses, self-employed and entrepreneurs track their billable time easily? Well, they could carry around a stopwatch or guesstimate the time based on their arrival and completion. We’ve found a better way in the form of a mobile app – Timesheet.

Timesheet – Time Tracker

Timesheet – Time Tracker is a free time tracking mobile app that records time spent on Projects and Tasks while neatly organizing them into timeframes with automatically calculated billable totals and workflow statistics.

Skip to the end for an image slideshow of Timesheet screen captures.

Projects

Projects are the top level way of labeling the service performed. They can be named anything you like and are sorted to display open Projects first while maintaining an archive of closed Projects.

Each Project includes a description, hourly rate, location, employer/client and automatic tracking label. None of which are mandatory which makes the Project creation process extremely flexible. Location can be determined by a device’s built-in GPS or entered in by hand.

Tasks

Each Task is part of a Project. Users start a task with a simple touch of the screen and Timesheet begins tracking the time until stopped. Tasks can be interrupted for both a break and completion, giving users with longer projects time to grab lunch or a quick snack.

Every completed task requests information on the work performed during that task in the form of description, tags, hourly rate, location and mood. Mood is a way to describe your feeling post-task. Mood may seem like an unnecessary label at first, but I’ve often found it to be a way of illustrating how the task went, regardless of success rate. There is also a field to mark the task Paid.

Along with the basics are Expenses and Notes. Each can be added to Tasks for further completeness. For fast access to projects and tasks, Timesheet also includes a simple widget.

Tracking

Even after just a week of steady client interaction, Timesheet can begin to rack up the statistical data. The Statistics area of Timesheet displays graphs and charts to illustrate how much work has been performed, break usage, frequency etc. All the data is derived from Projects and Tasks to really give insight into one’s workflow.

Revisiting and retrieving data from previous Tasks and Projects is a cinch as well. Timesheet has several predefined time-frames to choose from such as current week, current month and so on along with custom period and custom date to precisely find the time range in question.

Projects can even be sorted by client or project ID to quickly find and reference Timesheet material. Want to analyze the data in a spreadsheet? No problem, Timesheet offers export functionality to an Excel spreadsheet.

Backup

Having all the best records in the world won’t mean much if they’re lost. That’s why Timesheet has a built-in backup feature for use with SD card or through Dropbox.

I’ve personally used Dropbox because it’s super convenient. Once linked Timesheet backs up to a folder in the Dropbox account in a single .xml file. Timesheet backups can be set on a schedule so that users don’t have to worry about performing them manually. Restoration is equally simple. By just clicking the SD card icon, access to Dropbox files are displayed and with a simple touch of the correct backup file Timesheet is restored.

SD card backup and restoration work much the same way except that the .xml files are stored on the SD card within the device.

Limitations

Timesheet’s backup offering is precise, accurate and fully functional. Having said that, don’t expect syncing between devices. That isn’t yet an option for Timesheet. Currently, best practice from my point of view, for multi-device usage is to use Timesheet from one device (smartphone) and restore the backup file to a secondary device (tablet) weekly to sync, read and analyze documented billable hours.

While not a limitation per say, Timesheet is a bit battery hungry while it’s tracking time. Not too surprising considering it’s an always-on stopwatch while working. Nevertheless, it would be great to see the battery footprint improved if possible.

In the future, we’d love to see some other cloud backup options. Dropbox is great, but it would be fantastic to have options such as Box, SkyDrive or Google Drive as well.
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Final Thoughts

In our travels through the app markets, every once in a while we stumble upon a truly great, refined app that does exactly what is intended and exceeds our expectations entirely. Timesheet is one of those rare apps. The precise record keeping, statistical data storage, perfected backup and exceptional data organization means self-employed, small business owners and entrepreneurs can be confident their time is well spent and documented.

We fully recommend Timesheet.

Download Timesheet for Android

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The post App Roundup: Timesheet Time Tracker first appeared on GeekITDown Computer Services & Technology Solutions.