Buyer Beware, Ubisoft Store staff lies.

If you plan on shopping at the Ubisoft online store, be aware that your item may not ship for several weeks, despite them charging $10 for delivery within a week. They also charge you before the items ship, which is something not many online retailers do. Yet when I question them about this, their "E-Commerce Support" representative, Roxanne Geering, told me that this is something "similarly to almost any online retailer" which simply isn't true. Furthermore when I listed examples of over six other online retailers that don't do this, they refused to acknowledge this information. Ubisoft Customer Support will do anything to take your money, including not honoring a cancellation request. After the appalling way I was treated, I asked for my item to be cancelled and to be refunded, but instead they shipped it. After telling me it would take a few more days, as soon as I asked for cancellation, they shipped to try and force my hand.

I decided to keep the item, since it already shipped. I will also not take further action which is what I was planning on doing if they refused to cancel, had my item not shipped. But I still want to warn other people against shopping with the Ubisoft online store. If you want an Ubisoft game, buy it elsewhere such as Best Buy, Target, Walmart, or Amazon. If you planned on getting one of the exclusive items on the Ubisoft store, just save your money. It's not worth the aggravation.

The complaints about Rey in The Force Awakens are stupid

For nearly a year I've been hearing people complain about Rey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the number one complaint is that she's able to use The Force without any training. Let me now explain why this complaint is unwarranted and stupid.

Let us remember that Luke Skywalker only received limited training from Obi-Wan Kenobi while aboard the Millennium Falcon, and it was mostly just using the lightsaber. Yet he was able to tap into The Force in order to target the exhaust port on the first Death Star, and also to retrieve his lightsaber in the Wampa cave.

Let us also remember that Anakin Skywalker, as a child, was able to tap into The Force to see things before they happened, thus allowing him to be the only human to compete in Podracing. His Force abilities let him win the Boonta Eve Classic on Tatooine, thus securing his freedom from Watto.

Then there's Leia Organa. Choosing to stay in politics, and presumably never trained by her brother, she was still able to tap into The Force to sense that Han Solo was murdered on Starkiller Base.

So there have been multiple examples of people using The Force without being trained. Training just lets you master those skills, but they are always there; it just depends on how many Midi-chloroxian you have.

Don't buy from Pro Impact Boxing on Amazon

Pro Impact Boxing sells used items under the label of new. Do not fall for this scam. I recently purchased an item from this 3rd party seller on Amazon and it arrived open, with the figure inside upside-down, a chip taken out of it, and accessories missing. The seller clearly bought the item just for the accessory inside, then threw the figure back in the box in a sloppy rush to resell it; but as a "new" item so they can get the full price for it.

This is a Public Service Announcement for anyone thinking of buying anything from this seller, DO NOT BUY. Instead look for the item from another seller, or even another website.

Luckily I was able to get a refund from Amazon, and I re-ordered from a different seller. But this is something that should never have happened. If Pro Impact Boxing had any morals at all, they would have listed the item properly; as a used item with accessories missing. But they didn't, because they are unethical and just looking to rip people off.

Toys R Us cancelled my order for the dumbest reason possible

Rather than cancelling because there wasn't any in stock (there's plenty in stock), they cancelled because, as they put it:

Despite our best efforts, your item(s) will not be available in time for delivery before December 25, and as a result, your order has been cancelled.

Who cares if it comes a little later, I grabbed the order during a sale and now I won't get the sale price. I think the real reason Toys R Us did this, is because they are a greedy company that wants me to re-order with them at full retail price. But jokes on them, I'll just get the items elsewhere. No where in the ordering process did I say it was a gift, and it's not, I ordered something for myself, yet they used Christmas as an excuse to cancel my order.

Here's a Public Service Announcement for you, if you want to shop with Toys R Us do NOT do it online. This isn't the first online issue I've had with Toys R Us. If you want to shop with this company, I recommend doing it in person in their store. If you prefer shopping online, do it elsewhere.

How many days does the Apple TV Siri Remote actually last on a full charge? Find out here.

I've heard some crazy numbers, as I'm sure most of you have, about the Siri Remote lasting three months. The truth is, not even close. From the first day with a full charge, until the time the battery was fully drained, was only 18 days. On the 17th day, the Apple TV warned me that there was only 20% power left, the very next day completely dead.

So there you have it, the true number, 18 days on a full charge.

Why I will never buy from Feral Interactive again.

On October 28th of this year, I purchased Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition (GOTY) from the Mac App Store, sold by Feral Interactive. The description just said "support for game controllers" without mentioning which ones. I later discovered there is a list on their website, but not until after I bought the game. On there website it also has the following:

If your gamepad is not on the list, all is not lost! Feral use a dynamic system which allows the creation of new gamepad support files for devices that are not already supported.

If you have an unsupported gamepad, email padsupport@feralinteractive.com and our support team will reply to you with a request for information about your device. Once we have this information, a gamepad support file will be created and emailed to you.

Once created, this gamepad support file will be used in all future games and updates - so you will not only be helping us get your device working; you will also help all other owners of the same device who play Feral games!

This of course, was a bold-faced lie.

After contacting them on the 28th, with my specific controller in the email, I received this reply following day:

Hello, Eric.

Thank you for your purchase of Batman Arkham City GOTY.

We have attempted to add support for this controller in the past but the output generated by the controller does not function correctly with the gamepad support system that we have in place. The controller is designed to be used with mobile devices and unfortunately we have not been able to add support for our Mac games.

We are sorry that we cannot offer more encouraging news. The gamepads that we would recommend in our games are the official Sony PS3 or Microsoft wired Xbox 360 controller, among others as listed on a game's specific support page:

http://support.feralinteractive.com/x/mac-games/

Best Regards,
===============
David Joost

HOWEVER, the controller in question was just released that Monday, October 26th, so there was no way they could have attempted to add support "in the past" – they were just lying to me. Plus the controller I had was designed to be used on the Mac, as well as on iOS. So I don't know why they said "The controller is designed to be used with mobile devices..." because it's designed for BOTH.

Then they tried to cover up their lie by saying that they "misinterpreted" my request for a different controller. But guess what, the other controller they mentioned – that they said they thought I meant – also has Mac support. So they were caught in yet another lie.

I ended up deleting the game, getting a refund from Apple, and I will never buy another game made by Feral Interactive. They lost my business forever. They didn't want to be bothered adding support for my controller, so they tried passing the buck by saying it wasn't compatible with the Mac. But it is, and I've been able to use the controller with other Mac games (not made by Feral).

Firefox for iOS updated with Private Browsing

Mozilla has update their Firfox browser that was released this September for iOS to version 1.1. With that comes universal access to iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. As well as bookmark syncing (with a Firefox account) and a Private Browsing mode. As well as a few bug fixes. You can download the browser from the App Store by clicking the button below:

The Apple iPad Pro is online for sale

The 12.9-inch iPad Pro is now available form Apple.com in over 40 countries, and will arrive in stores later this week. Initial orders will begin shipping on Thursday. Orders get free 2-day delivery (business days). Your order should arrive at your door on Monday, the 16th.

Pricing starts at $799 for the 32GB Wi-Fi model. There are two options for the 128GB model, a Wi-Fi only option for $949 and a Wi-Fi + Cellular option for $1,079. The two advertised optional accessories are the Apple Pencil for $99 and the Smart Keyboard for $169, but there are two other accessories you can buy; a Silicone Case for $79 available in white and Charcoal Gray, and a Smart Cover for $59 in the same colors.

Update: I just received a notification that mine has shipped, which means that initial orders are shipping today. 

PSA: If you order something on disneystore.com, you can't cancel your order.

The other day I contacted DisneyStore.com because I wanted to cancel an order which I found for $20 cheaper on Amazon.com, but I was informed I couldn't cancel. The person on the phone was very nice about it, as all Disney employees are trained to be, and she explained that it's against policy to change an order once it's been processed. The item was a pre-order for something that's not being released until October, so it's not like it was being shipped out the door that day. On other websites, I have until the day it's shipped, to cancel. But on DisneyStore.com once the order is placed, you can't cancel. Keep that in mind before making a purchase. Is it something that you might be able to find cheaper elsewhere in another month or two (in the case of pre-orders that are made 5+ months in advance of release)? Unless it's something you absolutely can't get anywhere else, I'd recommend shopping elsewhere. For the main reason that you lose some freedom, such as the freedom to change your mind and cancel an order.

Disney Movie Anywhere updated with new partner providers

Yesterday, September 7th, Disney Movie Anywhere was updated to allow for Amazon Video and Microsoft. Now you can watch your Disney movies on these two additional providers as well as the current three: iTunes, Google Play, and Vudu.

Also for a limited time, you can get Monsters, Inc. for free by signing up for the first time with one of these partners.

Voice search, Siri vs. Google

In 2011 with the introduction of the iPhone 4S, Apple added Siri integration into iOS; this early version of Siri was pretty stupid. Jump ahead to today, improvements to the software supposedly made Siri smarter, but is it really? I asked the same question to Siri and Google, and these are the results:

Google got the voice translation slightly wrong – mistaking "were" for "was" – but it did get the correct answer; and spoke it to me as well. Siri on the other hand, wasn't even close to the correct answer. Siri just gave me a list of all the presidents.

This is why ABC is evil

Not only does ABC display unethical business practices by requiring a cable subscription to use their "Watch ABC" app, considering ABC is a free over-the-air channel that anyone can watch with an antenna, no cable subscription required; but now apparently not all cable subscriptions are good enough. I do subscribe to a cable provider, yet I still can't watch content on "Watch ABC" for whatever ridiculous reason they came up with.

This should not be allowed to happen. The FCC really needs to crack down on this evil act of defiance.

New iPod touch devices for 2015

Apple has release new iPod touch devices in new colors, including the iPhone colors of black, gold, and space gray. As well as blue, pink and (Product) Red.

The prices are $199 for 16GB, $249 for 32GB, $299 for 64GB, and $399 for 128GB.

The new iPod touch has a 4-inch screen, similar to the older version. But the new iPod now has an 8-megapixel camera, which is an improvement over the old 5-megapixel camera on the previous generation. It also features A8 and M8 chips.

This is why we need to do away with cable subscription activation for online content

What good is providing content online, if only a select cable providers (and crappy ones, by the looks of it) are allowed to use your service? I pay for NatGeo, but I can't watch NatGeo online... How does that even make sense? This is why we need to do away with this individual subscription activation nonsense, and come up with a better system.

YouTube no longer available on Apple TV 2

As mentioned in an earlier post, YouTube has been updated to now play ads on an Apple TV 3. One way around the ads was to watch YouTube on an Apple TV 2, which still had the old version. Now you can't even do that. Google has pulled their YouTube app from the Apple TV 2. This will affect people that have never upgraded to an Apple TV 3, as well as people that keep Apple TV 2 devices in certain rooms of their houses. Now people will either need to AirPlay from an iOS device to their Apple TV 2 if they want to watch YouTube, or buy an Apple TV 3. However I would recommend holding off if you are planning on buying a new Apple TV box, as there are rumors that a new one is on the way (Apple TV 4).

LTE vs. Wi-Fi

I decided to do a speed test of LTE and Wi-Fi, to see which was faster. Both tests were performed on an iPhone 6 using the same app.

The test taken at 1:02 is on LTE, the other is Wi-Fi.

Review for the two Eddie and the Cruisers films on Blu-ray Disc

Shout! Factory released the Blu-ray of Eddie and the Cruisers (1983) / Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! (1989) on April 14, 2015. Both films did bad in the theaters, but became cult classics thanks for cable channels such as HBO constantly playing them in the mid 1980s and early 1990s. The films are on a single 50GB disc and have an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The first film runs 94 minutes and the second runs 105 minutes.

Audio:
Both films have DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (That’s Stereo for those unsure). I’ve heard some people complain that a new 5.1 mix should have been created, but I and many other purists prefer the original mixed audio, in this case 2.0. Both films sound quite good with the DTS-HD audio, even if it only is Stereo.

Video:
The MPEG-4 AVC (aka H.264) codec is used, which is pretty much the standard these days. The print of the first film looks quite good. No noticeable artifacts other than the typical grain that you see on all films. The second film however does have a few noticeable scratches here and there in the film (mostly in the first few minutes). The film print for Eddie II does get better after a few minutes, it seems only minor damage happened to the negative. I’m sure the studios did all they could, and the scratches were unavoidable. Overall, both films look great in 1080p HD.

The audio for both films gets a 4 out of 5. The video for the first film gets a 4 and 3.5 for the second film due to minor scratches in the print.

This is a Region A Blu-ray Disc, distributed by Shout! Factory.

Side Note: Please don't get me wrong when I mention that they did bad in the theater, I really love these films. Since they arrived on the 14th, I've been watching them nearly every day. Just goes to show, just because a film loses money at the box-office, doesn't mean it's a bad film. The main reason these films have been released on Blu-ray at all, is thanks to the huge cult following. I own an extensive library of Blu-ray titles, and these are by far my favorite!

Flipboard for iOS has been updated to work with the new Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport, and Apple Watch Edition. The new Apple Watch integration brings you 10 Top Stories from your Clipboard with a quick summary and simple Force Touch functionality to save or send to a friend. You can also create magazines with friends, family, or co-workers and keep it private for the group. As well as other new added features. Flipboard is an app I've been using myself since 2011 to keep up with all the news I'm interested in. It's one of the few apps from 2011 that I still use, which just goes to prove how helpful it is. It's free in the App Store.

iOS 8.2 has been released

Is Warner Bros. canceling the release of Batman: The Brave and The Bold season 3 on Blu-ray Disc?

Season One of Batman: The Brave and The Bold was released on Blu-ray Disc in 2013, and Season Two was released in 2014, so logically this would be the year that Warner Bros. releases Season Three; but will they? All three seasons have been out for years now on DVD, but we are still waiting for Season Three to hit Blu-ray Disc (BD). I reached out to Warner via Twitter, and their response doesn't sound hopeful.

@ericschultheiss Nothing to announce on that.

— Warner Archive (@WarnerArchive) March 7, 2015

One would think that by now, Warner would have some idea of when they will release Season Three in order to get all the discs ready for shipment to stores. However, if nothing internal is known yet, such as a tentative release date, then the chances of them releasing Season Three at all are slim. What are your thoughts, do you think Warner will release Season Three on BD or not? I sure hope so, but only time will tell...