Techno Times: Tech Today by LASA Ezine

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Tech Today

Table of C 06 Letters From the Editors

14 Pick the Perfect PC for you

24 Category Winners

The Lowdown

Making Har

Video Games Liv

Contents

n on Laptops

rdware Easy

s Gain Extra ves

12 The Laptop Life

20 Finding Your New Phone

30 Calculating Console Choices

Letter from the Editors

Luke Knight Luke is a 14 year old freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. He was born and raised in Austin and has lived there his entire life. Some of his hobbies include playing video games, coding, and playing Ultimate Frisbee. He chose the magazine topic of technology because it interests him more than other topics like art or music, and tech is one thing he uses on a daily basis. He chose his article topic because we thought of four main platforms to discuss, phones, desktops, laptops, and gaming consoles, and this was the one that he knew the most about.

Cameron Rowell Cameron is a 14 year old freshman at LASA. He was born in Texas and has lived there all his life. He likes camping, playing with his dog, and playing games. He got into photo editing making texture packs and skins. He chose the technology topic because he likes working with electronics, specifically computers, their many parts and how they work. Desktops have always been interesting to him because of how complex they are and the amount of small parts that have to work together to make something as simple as calculators or a advanced as creating images of a black hole.

Tyler Hill Tyler is a 15 year old freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. He was born in Arizona but has spent most of his life in Austin, Texas. In his free time he enjoys bouldering, working with electronic components, programming websites, games and other tools and designing buildings. He chose the technology magazine topic based on those interests and the phone comparison article topic based on his interest in that category of devices, compared to desktops, laptops, and gaming consoles. Throughout EZine he learned skills in Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop that he used to create graphics, design layouts, and edit photos.

Asher Press Asher is a 15 year old freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. He was born in New York, but lives in Austin. He enjoys playing tennis, board games, video games, and the violin. He chose a technology theme for the magazine because he finds it interesting, important, and wide-ranging. He chose his topic because he himself really likes playing video games and would like to learn more about them.

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The Lowdown on Laptops;

Shopping Smar ter for your next computer Whether you’re looking to find a new laptop for work, or for gaming you need to get as much information as possible to find the right one for you By Luke Knight

hether you’re sitting at home editing work documents, playing the latest game or working off the grid in a remote environment, laptops most likely play a part in your life. Clicking around on the Internet for hours to find the laptop for you can seem quite futile, with all of them having similar statistics and functionality. The light at the end of the tunnel draws near with information at the brink of discovery. Laptops are a piece of technology that is becoming much more common as they bring the functionality of a computer in a more portable form, helping many people who need a computing device on the go. They have many unique benefits such as portability, as well as size, but they also have downsides, such as raw performance, display, or limited battery life. It can be difficult to get the same level of performance in a laptop while still keeping the battery life at an optimal level for people who

8 | Spring 2019

don’t have time to plug in their laptop during the day, but this has caused the rise of some other more specialized laptops such as gaming laptops with a powerful Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), or more general performance laptops. For all of these unique markets, certain companies lead the charge. One that is most common are small laptops for business. The type of laptops sold the most are the general purpose laptops. People want to look for a highly portable device, Wade Williams a former Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) employee and frequent laptop user, said. This thinning of laptops has allowed them to be more portable and has helped people take them along

“People are going to want something thin and light that they can take on a plane or to business meetings.” —Wade Williams

while traveling which has helped Robert Rindfuss, a Dell employee.“I travel a lot, so to me, thin and light and long battery life is really important,” Rindfuss said. Another important part of Dell’s mission is to help make laptops for a variety of purposes and to make products that work for a variety of purposes, and they also try to help out where they can. “I’ve personally witnessed in Panama when we help set up a computer lab and teaching, you know, showing kids the first experience with computers” Rindfuss said. While this may not be known by everyone, it is these small things that can make one company stand out from another. An interesting venture now arising is new focus in other areas of the world other than the US or other mainstream markets. Rindfuss works in the Latin American marketing division of Dell. He travels often around Latin America and the

US, and has firsthand information about Dell’s Legacy of Good Plan. He said that they partner with many other companies to try and help the environment as well as people in communities they serve. He said this includes partnering with groups that help with recycling such as Goodwill, and other companies that use recycled plastics for packaging. Another important part of these computers is how easily they can be repaired as well as how long they last. Some laptops are going to be easier or harder to repair whether due to hardware design, or the availability of parts. Greg Blume, owner of Mr. Computer Austin, said. In general, for

Asian brand laptops it is a lot more difficult to acquire parts domestically, and he often has to try to get them from overseas. Also while the innovation in thinning laptops has helped many portability issues when they need to go to a repair shop. “Your trackpad breaks, it’s just a

simple trackpad. It’s like $60 for a track pad. But apple would tell you we have to replace this entire upper piece at $650 just for the trackpad,” Blume said. He went on to explain the inner workings of the new Macbooks and how the battery is attached to the shell of the laptops with something

“Laptops are getting more popular as they’re getting more powerful and approaching the performance of a desktop, I think people tend to game still on desktop, more and it’s a lot cheaper.” —Wade Williams

An Alienware gaming laptop sporting some of the top of the line graphics features available in laptops. Photo by Luke Knight.

Spring 2019 | 9

“It’s all about listening to customers and adapting to what they need” —Robert Rindfuss A specialized laptop is shown above. It is made by Dell and is used in harsh environments and dangerous lines of work where reliability and security are a must. Photo by Luke Knight.

called tar tape which he said was quite excessive. Another problem with laptops getting more compact is that liquid damage can become much more potent. To make these laptops smaller, they also become more compact and this means that a single drop of water can damage a lot of different components. “The highest percentage of people that come in with liquid damage, computers, own Mac, laptops,” Blume said. Another

unique

10 | Spring 2019

market

that

is arising more over time is gaming laptops which attempt to combine the performance and graphics of a desktop computer with the portability of a laptop. They generally aren’t as thin as other laptops and don’t have near as much battery life. He also said that another problem with gaming laptops is that they are much more expensive. Despite these setbacks there are still devoted gaming brands such as Alienware, Republic of Gamers, and more that are pushing to make these machines more accessible.

Some other advancements are happening more across the board in laptops such as the removal of the CD drive. “There’s not too many notebooks these days that have a DVD or CD drive anymore, there’s a memory stick, you won’t need the DVD, or The CD,” Rindfuss said. The removal of the CD drive has recently allowed laptops to reach much thinner sizes, and another new technology arising that helps to increase speed is the solid state drive (SSD). This technology replaces the typical

hard disc drive and doesn’t have any moving or magnetic parts. The SSD works somewhat similarly to a large flash drive modified to be more integrated into a computer. This lack of moving components helps to extend its life expectancy and to increase the speed it reads and writes data at. Overall most of the major laptops are fairly even in general performance, with purchasing coming down to specific statistics or operating system preference, and other factors. “For a general purpose laptop, I would probably get it a name OEM brand, like a Lenovo or an HP, I’d probably lean towards the Lenovo, although they are built in China,” Williams said. He prefers laptops that come from recommended,

mainstream companies. Blume said. From a repair perspective it is easier for Blume to get parts from American based companies. Rindfuss emphasized that the right laptop for you is based on exactly what you’re using it for, and there are different laptops for different uses and price ranges.

of what laptop is best for you it would be: if you want a reliable computer most OEM brands would be suitable. If you want to ensure it can be repaired quickly and cheaply an HP or Dell laptop may be the perfect choice. You may also be provided a laptop for your work, and having a device for free is a pretty sweet deal.

To give a straightforward answer

“For the computers that we use in our business, they’re all HP desktops. My day to day at home computer is a late 2015 MacBook Pro.” — Greg Blume

Three Dell general purpose laptops are shown above, they are built for battery life, affordability, and portability. Photo by Luke Knight. Spring 2019 | 11

The Laptop Life

How this portable piece of tech has made its way into our li

Ear

ly L apt o

By Luke Knight

1981 The Osborne 1 was released and it started the era of portable computers

1980s

1983 The ﬁrst laptop with a rechargable battery was released

Rise of New Features

1989 The ﬁrst laptop utilizing a video graphics array display was released

1991 The ﬁrst laptop with the current modern layout was released

1989 Apple came out with its ﬁrst laptop: the Macintosh Portable

2020s The Future of Laptops 2020s and beyond laptops will ﬁnd a new focus other than becoming thinner

12 | Spring 2019

2018 Customizable gaming laptops are starting to be developed

2016 The ﬁrst Macbook with a touchbar was released

2012 The Microsoft Surface was released, starting to popularize tablet laptops

1996 The ﬁr laptop w built in ROM w release

2010

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Sources: “The Evolution of the Modern Laptop: From 1982 to Present.” Guidi Feb. 2018, www.guidingtech.com/61156/evolution-moder Sherry, Bess. “Evolution of Laptops.” Sutori, Sutori, www.sutori.com tops--GUknnFxRaEuVuLuvgdsZ734p. Soh, Kelvin, and Megan Goldin. “TIMELINE: Key Dates in the Histo Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 7 Jan. 2009, www.reuters.com TRE50601V20090107.

hnology ives

1990s

1996 The ﬁrst laptop using MS Windows was released

1999 Internal WIFI systems were made possible and are being implemented

2000s

2004 The First laptop with a ﬁngerprint reader was released

2006 The ﬁrst ever Apple Macbook was released

2011 he Alienware M18x, the uccesor of the M17x is the astest laptop

Modern Laptops

6 rst with a CD was ed

1998 The ﬁrst built to order laptop was released

2004 Laptops start to strive to become smaller and thinner

2009 The alienware M17x was released helping to set off gaming laptops

ing Tech, Guiding Tech, 8 rn-laptop/. m/story/evolution-of-lap

ory of the Personal Computer.” m/article/us-laptop-sb-idUS

2008 The ﬁrst Macbook Air was released, upgrading its Macbook predecessor

Spring 2019 | 13

Pick the Perfect PC for You

By Cameron Rowell

he pride of getting a Desktop PC is overwhelming. Whether it is self built or bought it from someone else, the buyer’s heart fills with joys as it first turns on. There is nothing like it. All the pieces are working together to perform magic. This is what a PC is. This is the reason to get one. There are many ways to get a computer. They allow for a customized computer in so many ways, all conforming to a budget. Many of the parts can be ordered off Amazon or

eBay and built from scratch. Buyers can also pay people to build a PC, while people pick the parts and receive recommendations from them. Finally consumers can also buy prebuilt PCs from companies who sell them. Building a PC will be good for people with more time, or those who want a better PC, and want the pride of making one on their own. Before starting, know all the parts and where they can be acquired. Then, order parts from companies or amazon, and get them new. Or get

A fan wired to a motherboard. (Couresy of Pixabay)

14 | Spring 2019

them used off of eBay or other stores. Getting new parts raises the price, but also increases the chances of the part working and it might come with a warranty. When buying used parts, people need to ensure the seller is trustworthy and won’t sell a broken part.

“You have to verify those parts actually work together. There are lots of lots of dependencies to make sure, for example, if you have a video card that’s not compatible with your power supply, the video card won’t start up or if your memory is not in the same sync as your motherboard, it won’t connect. If your processor’s not powerful enough then the games or the reason why you built the computer is not worth building.” -Garnie Boling

complete more small tasks. The fan draws cooler air into the case from the outside, expels warm air from inside and moves air across a heatsink to cool a specific component in the computer. The HDD, or hard disk drive, is the main and largest data storage device in a computer, which stores the os, software and most other files on the computer.

The insides of a PC (Photo courtesy of Garnie Boling)

“I typically won’t buy used from like Craigslist or anything like that. I like to have a, I guess, a reputable seller,” Andrew Swifland, a salesman at Discount Electronics, said. The next step is learning which parts are needed and what they do. The CPU carries out the instructions of a program and performs the basic arithmetical, logical and input/output operations. The GPU is essential for smooth decoding and rendering of 3D animations and video, and uses many small components to

“First of all, do the research like we talked about, go online, find some youtubers and some blogs to actually research what kind of computer you want. Next is find out how much money you want to spend. You can build a really nice computer for about $500, but if you want a good computer, you could spend up to 900 to a thousand dollars.” -Garnie Boling

RAM is the physical hardware inside a computer that temporarily stores data and allows a computer to work with more information at the same time. The power supply converts the alternating current (AC) line from the wall to the direct current (DC) needed by the computer. The Case is a way to physically mount and contain all of the actual components inside of a computer, but it has to be compatible with the parts. The motherboard is a printed circuit board that allows the CPU, RAM and all other computer hardware components to communicate with each other. These all need to be researched to choose the best products, and the parts all need to be compatible together. Spring 2019 | 15

“You have to verify those parts actually work together,” Garnie Boling, a computer engineer, said. “There are lots of lots of dependencies to make sure, for example, if you have a video card that’s not compatible with your power supply, the video card won’t start up or if your memory is not in the same sync as your motherboard, it won’t connect. If your processor is not powerful The fan, cooling system, and Motherboard (Photo courtesy of Brett Mitchelson) enough then the games or the reason doesn’t work. This also ensure why you built the computer is include, ASUS, GTC and MSI. buyers are getting the most not worth building.” out of their budget, except Cases are made by Corsair, what they are paying the “You could also go to NZXT and Cooler Master. people to build it for them. Major RAM companies are the companies that do The only problem is they don’t Corsair, G.Skill and Kingston. get the pride of building it custom builds. You go Some Storage companies themself and it costs extra. there and you pick all are Samsung, Transcend and the components, where Sandisk. Companies selling “You could also go to the power supplies are, Corsair, you pick the case, you companies that do custom Bitfenix and Seasonic. Cooling builds,” Brett Mitchelson, pick the motherboard. companies are, Noctua, NZXT VP of Silicon Labs, said. You pick everything. and Corsair. “You go there and you pick And then they build it all the components, where Some also pay people to build up for you.” you pick the case, you pick a computer for them. This will the motherboard. You pick -Brett Mitchelson ensure it gets build properly everything. And then they by professionals who have build it up for you.” The major brands for the CPU done it before. They can also are Intel, AMD and Nvidia. help give suggestions of parts Finally a PC can be ordered Companies selling GPUs that will be best and will work prebuilt. This can come are, Nvidia, AMD and ASUS. together. Then they can build, from many companies, such Motherboard companies test, then troubleshoot if it as Cyberpower, Dell and 16 | Spring 2019

the need for a powerful PC. It also takes a lot less time to get one, versus ordering each part individually and assembling it, not to mention the massive amount of research. “First of all, do the research

“Most of the time for gaming you can save a lot of money by building it yourself. With a consumer PC, most people don’t really know what they’re doing so it’s worth the little bit of extra money for peace of mind that its built correctly with the right features.” -Andrew Swifland

View of PC, with power, a fan, and many wires. (Photo courtesy of Brett Mitchelson)

HP. Buying these means that it will most likely work correctly.

“I typically won’t buy used from like craigslist or anything like that. I like to have a, I guess a reputable seller.” - Andrew Swifland “Most of the time for gaming

you can save a lot of money by building it yourself,” Swifland said. “With a consumer PC, most people don’t really know what they’re doing so it’s worth the little bit of extra money for peace of mind that its built correctly with the right features.” While this is not always the best option for performance or a budget, sometimes a warranty might outweigh

like we talked about, go online, find some youtubers and some blogs to actually research what kind of computer you want,” Boling said. “Next is find out how much money you want to spend. You can build a really nice computer for about $500, but if you want a good computer, you could spend up to 900 to a thousand dollars.” PCs can be used for many things. Some use it for high intensive simulations. Some use it for a lot of data storage. It can be used to run many calculations at once and for gaming as well. It is very versatile and it is important for people to get the most out of their PC. Spring 2019 | 17

Making Hardware Easy Learn what parts of a desktop computer do what By Cameron Rowell

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18 | Spring 2019

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Spring 2019 | 19

Finding Your New Phone By Tyler Hill

e’ve all had to move money from retirement just to pay for a phone mortgage, or at least that seems like what it’s coming to. This being said, everyone should know exactly what they want before making that big purchase. To make an educated choice, knowledge of 2018 smartphones and how they compare in eight main categories is needed. Chosen for comparison are the top phones from the seven most well-known smartphone manufacturers: the Apple 20 | Spring 2019

iPhone XS Max, Google Pixel 3XL, Huawei Mate 20 Pro, LG V40 ThinQ, Moto G6, OnePlus 6t and Samsung Note 9. They are The Huawei Mate 20 Pro has a 4200 milliamp Hour battery, a 7nm compared in chip, a 6.39 inch screen, and three cameras. Photo courtesy of Fortune. the categories of battery, Batteries are measured using camera, CPU, display, milliamp Hours (mAh). This memory, OS, ports and sound. is defined as 1,000th of a Battery life has a large influence when it comes to buying a phone. There’s always the question of if it can it last through the day.

ampere hour (Ah) which is the amount of energy that will allow one ampere of current to flow for one hour. This often comes across as quite confusing but basically the

more the mAh, the better the battery. The phone with the longest battery life is the Huawei Mate 20 Pro with 4,200 mAh. It also is one of the only two phones with a 7 nanometer (nm) chip meaning it is more efficient as compared to the older 10nm chips. The Mate also has a few extra features up its sleeve like a fast charging feature that can get the phone to 70 percent in an impressive 30 minutes and the ability to wirelessly charge other devices from its own battery. The Samsung Note 9 takes second place for battery with 4,000 mAh. However, it has a 10nm chip and less impressive added features. After second place the rest of the phone’s battery life varies based on usage. The Apple iPhone XS Max and Moto G6 have relatively low batteries at 3,174 mAh and 3,000 mAh respectively though the XS Max does have a 7nm chip and both of these are still high compared to other phones. The value of camera quality often varies between different people but regardless of how much it gets used it’s always good to have it there. The best camera on a phone goes to the Google Pixel 3XL, 3, 2XL, or 2. They’re all better than other phones. This comes from their use of Artificial Intelligence to enhance photos as well as

The Google Pixel 3XL has the best camera on any smartphone because of its use of artificial intelligence to enhance normal shots and add new features. Photo courtesy of Unsplash.

extra features that come with them. The Pixels have a few cool features such as a great portrait mode and others branded as Night Sight, Top Shot, Photo Booth and Google Lens. The portrait mode is able to detect layers in a photo using only one camera as opposed to other phones needing two like eyes. Night Sight is a feature that turns a photo taken in almost no light into something that looks like it was taken in normal daylight. Top Shot takes any photo and removes errors like someone who was blinking by switching to a shot a few seconds earlier or later. Photo Booth removes the shutter

button entirely by taking photos whenever someone smiles or poses. Lastly, Google Lens automatically recognizes products, objects and landmarks and displays information about them on screen. The second best phone camera is a bit harder to determine because the Pixel 3XL has such a substantial lead that allows it to be easily identified as the best while no other phone has something like this. However, the Huawei Mate 20 Pro is often regarded as second best simply because it uses three different cameras on the back. The central processing unit (CPU) is one of the driving forces of any phone. If it’s Spring 2019 | 21

fast it can avoid lag. If it’s not, a phone will become quickly irrelevant. Out of these phones, the Apple iPhone XS Max and Huawei Mate 20 Pro, are the only two with 7 nm chips. This means they are able to fit more transistors in the same size and thus perform processes faster. Of the rest of the phones all use the Snapdragon 845 10 nm chip which means they all tie for second.

“Apple is just popular. That’s all it is. It’s not a better device.” -Scott Ritchie The display on a phone is an important feature. Anyone who uses their phone pretty often knows that they stare at it quite a lot. The Huawei Mate 20 Pro has the best screen at 6.39 inches and 538 pixels per square inch. The Mate doesn’t have the largest screen but it does have the highest pixel density. The Apple iPhone XS Max has the largest screen at 6.5 inches though it has a larger notch, pixel density of only 458 and a pending lawsuit claiming both these numbers are lower. Memory is an important part of a phone though it’s often not talked about a lot. The 22 | Spring 2019

term memory can be broken up into two categories, storage and RAM. The Samsung Note 9 takes both. With a low end spec of 128GB of storage and 6GB of RAM, a high end spec of 512GB of storage and 8GB of RAM and a SD card that can increase the storage to a whole terabyte for the high end phone. In second place for memory comes the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. As compared to the Note it has the same RAM specs and the same low end storage specs. It differs in the high end storage spec, which is only 256GB, and the SD card. The Mate uses a proprietary Huawei technology called a nano memory card to replace the SD card. The card is 45 percent smaller, the same size as a nano SIM card, and its storage options consist of 64GB, 128GB and 256GB versions.

better device,” Scott Ritchie, owner of ATX Cell Repair, said, it mostly comes down to preference. So there will be two winners, an iOS and an Android. It looks like the iOS winner has already been chosen since out of the seven phones being compared, only one runs iOS, a percentage that is fairly close to global smartphone usage.

“There’ve been

Of those six Android phones most have one problem: large amounts of time between updates. This is due to Android being used on over 24,000 different devices. This problem is nonexistent on iOS, as on an iPhone 6+, “There’ve been multiple operating system updates that have really expanded the functionality,” Ian StrainSeymour, frequent phone user, said. However the Google Pixel 3XL gets speedy updates due to the fact that Google makes Android and thus designs it with pixel phones in mind which allows these phones to get updates as speedily as their iOS competitors.

multiple operating system updates that have really expanded the functionality” -Ian Strain-Seymour Almost all smartphone sales come down to one main choice: iOS or Android? Though everyone has their reasons for one or the other, often iOS is easier to use or “Apple is just popular. That’s all it is. It’s not a

“I use all three in different contexts so the fact that they’re all synchronized is helpful” -Ellen Strain-Seymour

Ports play a big role in a phone’s ability to integrate with other devices. Whether that means connecting a phone to a monitor to use it as a computer or being able to get a charger in any place. Of the compared phones all but one uses a connector called USB C, the Apple iPhone XS Max uses the proprietary lightning port. USB C reins superior here simply because it’s used in so universal. Though Apple does excel at synchronization, in phones, tablets and computers “I use all three in different contexts so the fact that they’re all synchronized is helpful” Ellen Strain-Seymour, a frequent phone user, said, it falls short in regular connections with new devices. USB C is so common and useful it has replaced micro and normal USB, even in the latest iPads and Macs. It has also replaced HDMI and displayport, the monitor connectors, supports faster power delivery and has transfer speeds up to 10GB per second. Of the six phones with USB C only three have a connector that though being phased out is still useful, the 3.5mm

headphone jack. Theses are the LG V40 ThinQ, the Moto G6 and the Samsung Note 9. Sound can have a large impact on the view of a phone but for a lot of people who don’t play any music or videos through anything but headphones it can mean almost nothing. For those that sound does have a large impact on, the Samsung Note 9 is the best. Though three other phones do have stereo sound, the Apple iPhone XS Max, the Google Pixel 3XL and the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. Only the Note has this and a 3.5 mm headphone jack for any wired connections. Overall there’s a lot to take in when buying a new phone as it will most

likely take a lot out anyone’s bank account. However, out of these categories the Huawei Mate 20 Pro wins the most with two firsts in battery and display, a tie for first in CPU and two seconds in camera and memory. However this in no way means everyone should flock to Huawei. This only applies when all these categories are weighted equally and that’s seldom the case. A person’s ranking of these categories should determine which phone they should get.

The Huawei Mate 20 Pro is the best phone you can buy if you consider the categories of battery, camera, CPU, display, memory, OS, ports, and sound all equally weighted. Photo courtesy of Unsplash.

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Category Winners Important Attributes to Determine the Best Phone For You By Tyler Hill

Ports

Three Way Tie

Moto G6 Note 9 V40 ThinQ HeadPhone Jack USB C

Display Sound

Samsung Note 9

Stereo Speakers Two Microphones Headphone Jack

Huawei Mate 20 Pro 539

Pixels Per Square Inch

6.39

Inch Screen

24 | Spring 2019

Battery

CPU

Huawei Mate 20 Pro

Two Way Tie

4,200

Huawei Mate 20 Pro iPhone XS Max 7 Nanometer Transistor Size

Milliamp Hour Battery As Compared to the Average of the Other Phones which is 3,400

70% in 30 Minutes Fast Charge Time

Wirelessly Charge

Memory

Other Devices

Samsung Note 9 512GB/8GB

High End Storage and Ram

Two Way Tie

Google Pixel 3XL iPhone XS Max Fast Updates Up to Personal Prefrence

128GB/6GB

Low End Storage and Ram

SD Card Slot

Sources www.gsmarena.com Apple iPhone XS Max Google Pixel 3XL Huawei Mate 20 Pro LG V40 ThinQ Moto G6 OnePlus 6t Samsung Note 9

Spring 2019 | 25

Video Games Gain Extra Life

By Asher Press

he once-dormant video game industry has gotten an extra life recently, as it has been revitalized by a return of competition. New mediums such as Virtual Reality and phones, and new consumers in the industry entering. Although microtransactions and Downloadable content are being employed with mixed results, other companies, and indie games are doing fine without them. New types of games have been made, and the industry is still changing and improving. Video games have a rich history, and the industry is constantly evolving. Companies and consumers alike are reaping the benefits of a gaming revival, with new genres, companies, and

even mediums of gaming have grown and sprung into the spotlight. The audience is growing and changing, and so are the different types of games. New ways to get profits in this new video game climate are being employed as well, with varying degrees of success. Brandon Krynicks, the

The strategy genre of gaming has, in this gaming boom, greatly expanded Image courtesy of Pixabay

gaming expert at the Microsoft Store, said “With a much more varied and much more variety-filled market as a whole, I do think [gaming is] going to bloom and blossom and branch away from what we did not too long ago.” This branching out is not limited to the different types, but also the different

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The video-game industry is growing and maturing, just like a plant does. Image courtesy of Pixabay

channels for gaming. VR and phone games both seem to be on the upswing for different subsets of gaming and gamers. As virtual reality is the hot new thing, it’s easy to forget about phone gaming being an enormous deal, too. “I think that the portability of a game on the phone, especially as they’re getting better, is always going to be a fun thing to do, especially when you’re waiting in line, or you’re just out and about,” Jason Rerick, a consumer, said. “But when you’re home, and you’re out and about for the night, there’s nothing better than a virtual reality experience.”

The growth of gaming has also affected the player base, which has grown in such a way in that it more accurately reflects the overall human population. Chris Ellis, a Gamestop assistant store leader, says, “I’ve seen a lot more females gamers come in. We have a small but dedicated LGTBQ community coming in every so often. There’s a lot of older people getting into gaming, too.” Gaming is also producing eSports players, who turn multiplayer games into competitive environments with higher skill being needed to succeed. “You’ll have professional, elite, sports teams, a spectacle to behold, and a lot more people who just enjoy the game and are just playing casually, throwing a football in the backyard and what I suspect is gonna be is that there’ll be a competitive aspect, where you watch your favorite players. And I think there’s a market for that, competing on an

elite level, and below that there’s going different levels of people playing casually,”Rerick said. Many parts of gaming have microtransactions, which reward players who pay a small amount of money after purchasing the game with an ingame reward. Krynicks said, “[Game developers] need to have those extra microtransactions or extra packs to help you to continue to develop, see what your community would like to have, continue to mature your game.”

There has, however, been a backlash to microtransactions. Rerick said “If people rise up and do not pay for these things collectively, they’re sending a message to the makers.” Despite this, microtransactions are still prevalent. Brandon Krynicks says, “I do think that is - I don’t want to say unfortunately-the norm currently, but it’s kind of something that is here so we kind of need to live with it.” As lawmakers won’t consider this gambling, and consumers haven’t outright boycotted or otherwise encouraged gaming companies to stop

The medium of gaming, formerly a controller, has now also included phones and VR The overall player base of the gaming industry has greatly diversified Image courtesy of Pixabay

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Players often give bad reviews to games that include excessive microtransactions

creating microtransactions and DLC, they remain a part of many games. Independent games have attempted to capitalize on this by making games that don’t have any method of acquiring money that could be considered dubious. “I have a sense that the

indie games flourish lately is in part a reaction to some of the more expensive games and all those microtransactions. What you get are a bunch of people who are responding to the need to have games that don’t require that. And the fact that they’re doing so well is evidence that there are people who are sick of having to spend money all the time to kind of keep up in the game,” Rerick said. According to Ellis, independent games are more than a passing fad. “I think as time goes on, it shows that indie games are here to stay whether

it’s recent blockbusters like Celeste, or some of the very first ones like Castle Crashers and Alien Hominid,” he remarks. “The independent games may not be as far-reaching as games like Call of Duty or other first-person shooters, but

Many games development teams try to foster new ideas in gaming Image courtesy of Pixabay

Gaming as a whole has greatly expanded Image courtesy of Pixabay

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I think that word-of-mouth really makes it so that independent games will not only continue to stay but also thrive.” Although gaming is a business, many people also consider it an art. “There’s a creative theme, style and art design, which gives you a characteristically singular experience in a video game, and I think that it’s particularly beautiful and artful,” Rerick said. However, others disagree. Ellis, on the other hand, said, “Most of the time, no.” If it’s an art or not, no one can deny the impact and resurgence of gaming. Gaming has come back in a big way, helping consumers, companies, and middlemen

between the two. The quality of the games have improved through competition, and so has the graphics. Though microtransactions and DLC remain somewhat controversial, the gaming business model is still safe and evolving, and many alternatives remain. The future is bright for gaming, and as technology gets better and virtual reality develops further, the gaming landscape will

Many indie games gain popularity not by big news articles, but just word of mouth Image courtesy of Pixabay

get better. New genres are being created, such as the battle-royale genre, and old ones such as strategy and puzzle games are being revamped and expanded upon.

Not only logic but creativity is needed to produce a new game. Image courtesy of Pixabay

Brandon Kyrnicks of Gamestop is pictured here, after his interview

The gaming industry has evolved and is still evolving to adapt to the new climate

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