Console Peasants v.s. THE GLORIOUS PC GAMING MASTER RACE

Go eat an exclusive, PEASANT

For the uninitiated

         For the fourth and final blog I will ever make on this site, I have been given the freedom to choose a topic. Oh boy. Today, we'll be continuing the eternal struggle between console fanboys who have never experienced the joy of 60 frames per second against people who appreciate getting their money's worth. Since Ms. LaClair brought to my attention the fact that some people who read this blog don't even know about net neutrality despite it literally being THE NEWS™ for about a year, consoles are the ones you buy from Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo and plug into your TV. PCs are computers; Apple computers technically fall into this category but screw macs, we aren't talking about their many flaws today, therefore we are never discussing them.

         To begin, we will go over the (few) advantages of consoles.

1. Consoles focus on (general) ease of use, letting users essentially just plug the machine into the TV and outlet, put in a disc/cartridge, and play. 
2. An Xbox 1 is an Xbox 1 is an Xbox 1; the playing field is more level, as every console is essentially identical to every other of the same kind.
3. They have exclusives. if you want to play a soccer game that was the same as last years but has a different number in the title, you have to have to have the console it is exclusive to.
4. Most games designed to have local Co-op, letting you just plug in another controller.

         Disadvantages of consoles

1. You have to use controls the game is designed for. this means that insane stunts like playing dark souls with a guitar hero... guitar are off the table. (He used an Xbox controller for the PC.)
2. Limited modding; some games have limited modding support, maybe allowing you to make the model of an annoying character a foot high, but that's it.
3. You pretty much get what you get in the box. Apart from accessories, you can't really change your console all too much, unless you want to get into extreme DIY.
4. Backwards compatibility may not be guaranteed, meaning that if you really liked a game from the original Playstation, you have to buy it again on the online store of the Playstation 4.

         The advantages of PCs

1. Customization of damn near everything. Want your own control setup? You can literally build a compatible controller with bananas if you want. Unsurprisingly, this was done by the same guy who did it with the guitar.
2. If it exists and isn't one of the games hoarded by consoles, you can play it. If you aren't risk averse, you can even play console exclusives.
3. S T E A M  S A L E S
4. You don't have to pay extra for online features.
5. A PC with equal or better performance to consoles can be bought several hundred dollars cheaper.

         Disadvantages of PCs

1. To get a good PC cheap you may have to build it yourself (imagine a lego set that can shock you if you put it together wrong), or buy used.
2. Lots of tweaking settings, downloading software. Too many hours of my life have been spent trying to get FO4 mods to work.
3. Unequal platforms; while your computer is chugging just loading the grass, some guy with way too much money can be sitting in a bush miles away in game and shoot you from beyond your load distance.
4. Local multiplayer is more difficult, often needing 2+ PCs in a LAN party rocking it like its 1990

         All in all, it's up to your personal preferences; if you appreciate getting the most bang for your buck, buy a PC. If you are lazy and don't mind poor quality, buy a console.

Hartup, Phil. “It's OK for PC Gamers to Be a Little Arrogant – They Know They've Backed the Right Platform.” It's OK for PC Gamers to Be a Little Arrogant – They Know They've Backed the Right Platform, 21 Jan. 2015, www.newstatesman.com/killing-time/2015/01/it-s-ok-pc-gamers-be-little-arrogant-they-know-theyve-backed-right-platform.

Johnson, Ben. “PC vs Console Gaming: A War On Multiple Fronts.” WePC.com, 27 Apr. 2019, www.wepc.com/tips/pc-vs-console-gaming/.

“STAINED GLASS.” Willow Deep Studio, 12 Sept. 2019, willowdeepstudio.com/stained-glass/.

McWhertor, Michael. “Someone Beat Dark Souls Using a Rock Band Guitar Controller.” Polygon, Polygon, 8 Sept. 2014, www.polygon.com/2014/9/8/6120417/dark-souls-rock-band-guitar-controller.

“r/Gaming - My Dad and Uncle Having a Doom LAN Match in the 90s.” Reddit, www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/5f00q2/my_dad_and_uncle_having_a_doom_lan_match_in_the/.

Net neutrality and ISPs worldwide

You're a mean one, Ajit Pai.

         Following the repeal of net neutrality laws in the United states by the FCC led by our favorite dead meme connoisseur, Ajit Pai, the man who auto-correct apparently really hates. Internet service providers have been given free reign to do whatever they want with little to no restrictions, however, as of yet, these monopolies have yet to blatantly block groups of sites and slow connections to competitors for profit; instead they appear to be waiting and moving slowly, as legislation in states is being passed to un-undo net neutrality laws. Obvious throttling would only feed the protests over the repeal of the FCC laws, and anger the majority of all citizens who supported the laws.
         However, that is not to say that they haven't done anything; hell, even while the laws were in effect, service providers have been slowing down categories of content; for instance, data companies have been making the word "Unlimited" useless since 2017, while Net Neutrality was still kicking. In these data plans, service providers have hobbled potential video quality and download speed, charging extra for you to be able to stream videos at high qualities, despite this going straight against the law at the time. Fortunately, WiFi providers haven't hidden things behind paywalls... yet.

         38 states have created their own regulations enforcing net neutrality laws to a greater or lesser degree than the original federal version, despite Ajit Pai and his corporate sponsors' whining. This is because with the repeal of Net Neutrality, they also relenquished their ability to stop states from enforcing their own laws, as a clause they added to combat state legislation was found invalid by the courts. The court decision allows states to create their own versions of the legislation. In New Hampshire, a bill supporting Net Neutrality failed to pass the state house.

Ajit Pai drinking his daily dose of Moral-be-gone

         There is a way you can help; send an email (how archaic) to a state rep or senator about how they should support/continue to support net neutrality. Trust me, they aren't the president, someone is likely going to read it. They're a state representative, they aren't that popular, so they'll have the resources for most of their inbox to be read. Put up a little political sign on the edge of your lawn. Bash Ajit Pai on Youtube. Actually bash Ajit Pai. Participate in state politics any way you can. Be one of these guys, but slightly coherent.
         Under EU laws, most of Europe appears to be largely free from similar issues, but similar fights are taking place worldwide between citizens, governments, and ISPs. 
       

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/a3np4a/new-municipal-broadband-map
https://broadbandnow.com/report/municipal-broadband-roadblocks/
https://qz.com/790210/tracing-the-byzantine-maze-of-the-companies-that-have-come-to-control-americas-internet/
http://theconversation.com/net-neutrality-may-be-dead-in-the-us-but-europe-is-still-strongly-committed-to-open-internet-access-89521
https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/22/16691506/portugal-meo-internet-packages-net-neutrality-ajit-pai-plan
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-internet-eu-analysis/false-paradise-eu-is-no-haven-of-net-neutrality-say-critics-idUSKBN1E92SC
https://techxplore.com/news/2019-11-tim-berners-lee-web-inventor-internet.html
https://www.freepress.net/our-response/expert-analysis/explainers/net-neutrality-violations-brief-history
https://www.wired.com/story/year-without-net-neutrality-no-big-changes-yet/
https://www.inverse.com/article/42443-net-neutrality-maps
http://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billText.aspx?sy=2019&id=47&txtFormat=html

Trading security and privacy for convenience

Society is coming closer and closer to being Orwell's worst nightmare, complete with screens in the corner always watching, listening...

         Ladies and gentlemen, get your aluminum-foil hats on, 'cause we're getting into some conspiracy theories! The only difference is that unlike a single grainy photo of a guy in a lake with a wooden carving of a cryptid on his back, we have some quantifiable evidence that your device is, in fact, listening to everything around it 24 hours a day.

          Because smart speakers lack the necessary hardware for voice recognition, every single word said around it after (wake word) is streamed to (Overgrown corporation), where the command can be recognized. Unfortunately, smart speakers are notorious for their false positives, where the user says something close to the wake word, accidentally activating it. this accounts for a collective 30,000,000 false positives worldwide every week. And it gets worse; everything picked up by the microphone during recording can be used by their development team, meaning that it is just sitting there in storage where anyone can listen.

          The camera on some models is worrying as well. While there are no reports of (overgrown corporation) snagging recordings of you getting a midnight snack, the same risks of webcams that you were constantly told about in cyber safety classes in elementary school still apply. Bad actors can easily take advantages of flaws in the design of your device, and blackmail you with the knowledge that you get up around 1 am and eat handfuls of shredded cheese.

          One way that someone can use your device without your permission is, get this, shining a laser at it.

         Imagine some guy with a van setting up a science fair project and getting your smart locks to open without even touching your front door, turning off any smart cameras you bought, then just walking in and nicking all of your stuff (except the smart speaker). Or tampering with your device so that they get in in the recording action. Because we all know that if you bought a smart speaker, you weren't smart enough to put an actual security system in. Don't get me started on "smart" locks that can be taken apart by any moron with a screwdriver.

         

Rao, Sonia. “In Today's Homes, Consumers Are Willing to Sacrifice Privacy for Convenience.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 12 Sept. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/in-todays-homes-consumers-are-willing-to-sacrifice-privacy-for-convenience/2018/09/11/5f951b4a-a241-11e8-93e3-24d1703d2a7a_story.html.

Wang, R “Ray.” “Beware Trading Privacy for Convenience.” Harvard Business Review, 7 Aug. 2014, hbr.org/2013/06/beware-trading-privacy-for-con.

Ghosh, Dipayan, and Jim Steyer. “Kids Shouldn't Have to Sacrifice Privacy for Education.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 13 Dec. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/12/13/opinion/children-privacy-online.html.

Su, Jean Baptiste. “Why Amazon Alexa Is Always Listening To Your Conversations: Analysis.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 30 July 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/jeanbaptiste/2019/05/16/why-amazon-alexa-is-always-listening-to-your-conversations-analysis/#27ff00ca2378.

“Smart Speakers, Wake Words and Ghoul Oil.” Vocalize, 1 Nov. 2018, www.vocalize.ai/2018/11/01/wake-words-false-positives/.

Moore, Clayton. “What to Know About Smart Camera Privacy.” Digital Trends, Digital Trends, 29 Aug. 2019, www.digitaltrends.com/features/what-you-should-know-about-smart-camera-privacy/.

Dormehl, Luke. “Your Alexa Speaker Can Be Hacked with Malicious Audio Tracks. And Lasers.” Digital Trends, Digital Trends, 11 Nov. 2019, www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/new-vulnerabilities-smart-speakers-so-smart/.

All that we need now are ripper docs

In an era where the rich are only getting richer, soon they may be getting Better, faster, and stronger with biological enhancement, leaving the rest of us behind.

         Something that sounds like the premise to roughly 12 million different young adult novels, the idea of the rich genetically engineering and implanting enhancing technology may sound about as far fetched as a government deciding that having one hundred teens kill each other would be a good idea.
However, as more and more research is done on genetic engineering, soon the gap between regular people and trust fund babies will only be widened when they get yet more advantages; in the not so far future, the rich may be stronger, faster, and smarter than the rest of us by using their wealth.

         Most people know that one kid in school with rich parents that liked to flaunt their expensive clothes, high end phone, etc. Now imagine that kid as a bronze skinned demigod with an enhanced brain and muscles. Much worse, isn't it? It was bad enough when Richie Rich looked like the rest of us but with a higher thread count, we don't need for his parents to have decided they wanted a Heracles for a son. Naturally, this is an exaggeration, public school kids aren't that rich, but it highlights yet another upcoming case of the Haves v.s. Have Nots.

Look at this guy; he's probably rich enough to buy new airpods when their batteries die.

           Don't get me wrong, human enhancement is perfectly fine, and is the next "natural" step in technological progress. Blaming new technology for problems in society is a major Boomer move, and we all know how well that is going for them. But we are coming up to a period where those who can / whose parents could afford these enhancements have an even bigger lead on those who can't afford a yacht inside the pool on the deck of a larger yacht.

          These private school kids will become the new standard, and until those technologies become cheap enough for the common man (roughly several decades after the private school kids transcend this physical plane and leave us their Dyson spheres). An athlete without artificial blood and antelope legs has a significant disadvantage over those who do, and because those who do have those are rich, we can bet that they won't be disqualified from sporting events for long.

Tell me the word "Bio-Hacker" isn't cool without lying.

          Either way, we're getting closer to the premise of Cyberpunk anyways, which is always something I support, loss of morality be damned; It's just too damn cool

Miah, Andy. “The Ethics of Human Enhancement.” MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 8 Nov. 2019, www.technologyreview.com/s/602342/the-ethics-of-human-enhancement/.

Dickinson, Kevin. “Baleful Biomedical Technologies.” Big Think, Big Think, 5 Oct. 2018, bigthink.com/technology-innovation/fear-future-technology?rebelltitem=5#rebelltitem5.

Pearlman, Alex. “The Ethics of Experimentation: Ethical Cybernetic Enhancements.” Medium, Medium, 12 July 2017, medium.com/@lexikon1/the-ethics-of-experimentation-ethical-cybernetic-enhancements-48f9ad991769.

Miah, Andy, and University of Salford. “Ethics Issues Raised by Human Enhancement.” OpenMind, www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/articles/ethics-issues-raised-by-human-enhancement/.

Masci, David. “Human Enhancement: Scientific and Ethical Dimensions of Genetic Engineering, Brain Chips and Synthetic Blood.” Pew Research Center Science & Society, Pew Research Center, 16 Jan. 2019, www.pewresearch.org/science/2016/07/26/human-enhancement-the-scientific-and-ethical-dimensions-of-striving-for-perfection/.

Geier, Thom. “Disney's Animated 'Hercules' to Flex as Stage Musical This Summer.” TheWrap, 6 Feb. 2019, www.thewrap.com/hercules-disney-stage-musical-public-theater/.

Honoroff, Marshall. “Cyberpunk 2077 Preview.” Tomsguide, 2019, www.tomsguide.com/news/cyberpunk-2077-release-date-trailer-gameplay.