The mother of all laptops is here and her name is Macbook Pro with Retina Display..

Ok so the name doesn't scream, LOOK AT ME I"M ONE SEXY BEAST, but the look and specs on this computer are just awesome.  When Apple announced this product today they basically said hey guys look what we are capable of.  Now granted this sucker is uber expensive starting at over $2,000.  Yikes! That is a lot of money but you are getting early dibs on a computer that in two or three years will be the standard for all laptops.

First thing first this bad boy has a full retina display coming in at 2800 x 1800 resolution at 220 ppi.  To put this in perspective the current Macbook Pro's measure up at a 1440 x 900 resolution.  That is a huge difference.  Now add that to the Nvidia's Kepler GeForce 650 M video card and you have one beast of a graphics powerhouse.

The other really nice specs:  a Quad Core 2.7 GHz i7 ivy bridge processor 8 gigs of ram (expandable to 16 gigs) and a 256 gig SSD hard drive (expandable to 768 gigs, SAY WHAT!!!) To round it out, it comes with two thunderbolt ports, hdmi, usb 3.0, and MageSafe 2 adapter.

This is one powerful laptop, definitely a powerhouse for gamers and graphic professionals alike.  As if that wasn't enough Intel introduced in these macbook's the turboboost option for their i series processors.  Tubo boost allows the processor to over-clock itself and increase your processor speed by almost 1 GHz if it feels like you need the power, then automatically re-clock itself back down to acceptable levels for less strenuous activities.  

To show you how far Apple goes into each and every detail of it's products they even spent lots of man hours getting the fan placement just right in order to make an even and very quiet cooling system for this powerhouse.

All in all this is just one amazing laptop with Apple flexing it's muscles for good measure.  To bad I would have to sell my kidney to get one.  Maybe one day, I have a bad one anyway...  Might as well sell it while its worth something right?

What are some things to expect from today's Keynote?

So the excitement is building for all you Apple fanatics out there!  In less than an hour the keynote will start and we will hear some really cool announcements for some upcoming products and updates to the current ones we are using.  Here is a list of some possible things to look for to be announced at the keynote.

iOS 6.

The first thing that will definitely be announced will be iOS 6.  Some of things that are rumored to be included is an updated maps app that will be in house instead of Google's map product.  Updates to the app store and better integration with the iCloud server.

What I would like to see is a slight update to the UI all over for iOS and some better ways to share audio files as well as an updated youtube app.

Facebook everywhere.

Rumors are bouncing all over the place about how integrated facebook will be with iOS.  Some have it just as simple as the current iteration of the twitter integration.  Others have it being completely part of the entire OS.  I feel that we will probably see a well balanced integration with facebook.  Easier ways to share pictures, videos, update your status and possibly a dedicated facebook app preinstalled.  What I don't want to see though is an integration with the facebook messenger and the current iMessages app.  That to me would be a total mess and I don't really use the facebook messenger at all anyway.

Updated Mac's and Mountain Lion.

We have already heard lots of rumors that every Mac will get a refresh come this week including the aging Mac Pro.  Considering a lot of Mac's are pretty low in stock across a lot of different venues, it would be easy to see how this will be a possibility.

Will they have retina displays?  That is a little iffy right now.  To make some of the larger 27 inch Macs a retina display, I feel that would be a pretty expensive upgrade.  Unless Apple wants to bend the rules on what they consider a retina display.  Of course they did make that term up themselves so I guess they have the right to do so.

Apple TV.

One of the biggest and most hyped rumors going around right now is that Apple has plans to make a TV of their own.  So here is hoping that one would be announced.  It could be anything from an updated current gen apple tv getting an app store to an actual TV set.  Either way I don't think it matters much whether it is a TV or the current tv box that they have now.  What matters is how they do this whole app thing and what kind of content they can provide, how you interact with the device, and how much content it will offer.  This could revolutionize the TV industry or just be a new "pet project" as Steve Jobs has always referred to it.

All Apple computers getting a refresh next week.

Rumors are circling the internet that at next weeks WWDC conference Apple will update their entire line of Macs, including their aging Mac Pro.

This would make a lot of since for most of the Macs out there right now as most of them have been out long enough to receive a refresh.  The interesting part of this rumor is the part concerning the Mac Pro.  This system has not received an update since the middle of 2010.  Many had believed that Apple was quietly going to let this system die as they changed their focus to more of a consumer stand point.  Many professionals use Mac Pros and a lot of them have been calling for a new system for a long while now.  Maybe Apple has heard their pleas and decided to give the Mac Pro one more try.

I for one just want to see a refresh of the iMac's and MacBooks and maybe a price drop in them (in my dreams.)

Elder Scrolls Interview concerning combat details.

So what we have here is an interview done by Joystiq with the lead game designer, Nick Konkle.  What he discusses talks a lot about how they are coming at the Elder Scrolls from a MMO view point while not making this your stock MMO.  If you recall I have had my doubts about this game (just like half the internet,)  while yet being kind of excited about it.  What Nick discusses during the interview really has me more excited now about the game.

What he discusses about the combat system and how any class can use any weapon makes me interested and glad they took that from the Elder Scrolls games instead of your typical MMO.  Also, you will not see or use a typical rotation of spells or abilities that almost every single MMO has out there.  I am so glad of this because honestly it's kind of boring do "master" a rotation for a class then basically that's all you do every time you play your character over and over.  He discribes it as a play your character your way and be good at it.  Sounds pretty cool to me.  Enjoy this 11 minute video interview and hopefully we will get to see some combat in action from the game.

More Elder Scrolls Online GamePlay information.

There is more info hitting the web from interviews with the games creators talking about the solo aspect of gameplay while leveling and the public dungeons that they will offer in the game.

The interesting part of the public dungeons is the fact that unlike WOW or RIFT where your dungeon groups are either invite only or you allow the game to form a group for you, public dungeons will allow anyone to wonder in and do the same exact stuff that you are doing.  The developers inspiration for this comes from their love of the original Everquest game.  One developer says to imagine what it was like in Everquest hiding in a corner waiting for someone to come help you get back out.  While they say they can't exactly recreate that experience they will have these public dungeons all over the place.  These public dungeons can be done solo however they will be extremely hard if done so.  The point of this is simple with in the game world these public dungeons are meant to be a social point for you to meet new people that are trying to do the same stuff as you are.  Maybe you will start leveling together, maybe not.  The point is that this will add a better social aspect while leveling.  Now they will also offer your standard private dungeons and end game raiding for up to six people.

It seems from what info we have gotten so far, it doesn't seem that they are trying to revolutionize the MMO market but rather perfect things from the first and second generations of MMO games out there.  I hope they truly can pull this off and this game does well.  Although, I think many Elder Scrolls players still will not like the fact that the combat system isn't more like Skyrim.

Diablo 3's Real Money Auction House looks to be delayed Indefinitely.

Blizzard has announced that it will be delaying the introduction of it's Real Money Auction House.  The reason for this Blizzard says, is because they are trying to iron out some bugs in this system to make sure it works great.  Personally, I have a feeling that this is due to the fact that they recently had some hacked accounts reported recently.  Also, Blizzard finally admitted that they did confirm that these attacks happened and that they happened to people who were using their authenticator system.  A definitely troubling thing indeed if someone has figured out how to break this unique security code generating program that Blizzard offers to all of it's products to keep such things from happening.  Also there is still no word yet as to when the PVP system will be put into place.  Hopefully this feature is not being delayed like the Real Money Auction house will be.

The MMO report is back!

PC Games - E3 2012 - Marvel Heroes

The MMO report is back with a pre E 3 edition.  They discuss the upcoming Defiance MMO, as well as some faction info for Elder Scrolls Online.  Good to see that they are keeping to their word and not giving up completely on the MMO Report.  Enjoy the show.

Bodega, the other Mac App store.

The mac app store is a great way for people to find and discover apps for their macs just the same way they do for their iPhones.  Unfortunately, with Apple's strict guidelines you really can't find any apps that might not meet Apples standards.  Luckily, there is an App store out there for your mac that actually has been out longer than the Mac App store and works just as easily.

Bodega has been around since March of 2010, one year longer than Apple's own Mac App Store.  It offers any app you can think of and developers have very few if any restrictions when posting their apps through the store front.

Bodega offers 20 categories to search through and has a great bookshelf type of display for all the apps.  It is easy to browse and find the apps you are looking for and also simple to download and install onto your system just like the Apple App store.  Head on over to appbodega.com and give this free app store a try.

Apple drops OSX update along with Safari Update.

Yesterday, Apple released several updates to OS X Lion, Snow Leopard, and to Safari.  All of which mostly included security and performance improvements.  Some notable mentions are the FileVault security issue should now be fixed along with Safari no longer allowing older versions of the Flash Player to work on your computer.  It will instead give you an error message and a prompt to install the latest version.  This is a security step Apple is taking as a lot of security issues usually happen through old versions of Web software.  Hit your apple icon in the top left corner and then click software update to begin this update on your system to get the latest versions on your Macs.

Gaming on the Go: Order and Chaos Online

So yeah I am a recovering WOW addict.  OK seriously I am trying out the beta right now but I'm not currently playing the actual game right now.  Why do I mention this you ask?  Well let me tell you about a game that is feeding this addiction on the cheap.  Order and Chaos online from Gameloft is basically their WOW clone, and if you know anything about Gameloft you know I almost mean literal clone.  Regardless this is still an amazing game that Gameloft has pulled off here.  It is a full fledged MMO with all the bells and whistles. (well they don't have mounts.  I WANT MY GIANT CAT to ride Gameloft!)

 Any who this game is really fun and has lots and lots of questing, PVP, dungeons and even heroic mode dungeons that they call legendaries.  I believe that the current level cap is 50.  They have already released at least 5 updates for this game and the iOS version on the iPad and iPhone looks just amazing.  It is also available for Macs and for Android.  A warning about the android version though looks like they had a few problems with the last update but I believe they have gotten things worked out and are back on track for it now.  The game usually runs for 6.99 in the app store but I got it on a sale for .99 cents when I came across it.  It does have a monthly subscription which you pay for with in app purchases.  A month usually costs you .99 but they have great discounts for mutli-month subs.  You even get 3 months of free play time just for buying the app.  

You can choose from being a Mage, Warrior, Monk, and a Rogue.  There are also four races to be which are human, elf, orc and undead.  So there is a lot to choose from in the game you have a guild system in place, a personal bank and pets just to name a few. 

 I really like how they set up the control scheme.   You have all your abilities in a  dial in the bottom right that you can turn to access 3 abilities at a time and a map in the upper right corner and your picture, health, and XP bars in the upper left.  Your chat window pops up from the bottom whenever someone says something in the channel that you currently are in.  

I would highly recommend this game for anyone who is a fan of MMO's or any RPG game but doesn't want to pay 15 bucks a month or for those who simply would enjoy playing an MMO on a mobile device.