Author: The enConnected Team

The day that gamers have been waiting for has finally arrived. No more will they have to contend with wondering what kind of games will be shipping with the Xbox One; or guess about how the new console will fit into their entertainment life style, no sir! Today, is a day for decision making, and we’ll be here to bring you all the nonstop news you can handle.

Unfortunately, we won’t be doing so use our traditional LiveChat system due to some behind the scenes issues. That being said, we’ll still be providing a live video feed from the conference, and filling our Xbox One Hub with all the information we can find. Join us, the briefing should be all kinds of entertaining. Yeah, bad pun –but give us a break. It’s Monday.

Those who can’t be near their television -and happen to have a Windows Phone should go ahead and download the Live Event Player inside the Windows Phone Store. It’s free, and will allow you to watch the action from wherever you are, provided that you’ve got a decent mobile internet connection. The briefing will also be broadcast live on the Spike television network for those who have access to it.

 

Briefing Times

12:30 am EST

9:30 am PST

Watch Microsoft’s Xbox E3 Media Briefing @ 12:30pm EST

So you’ve had all the family togetherness, awkward dates, spoiled sports stars and overrated high-brow writing you can take this weekend? We’ve compiled The Favs, some of the best connected entertainment stories from this past week to feed your need for intellectual growth short of going back to work tomorrow morning. Some of its original reporting, and some of it is the work of others.

How do independent games retailers feel about the changes Xbox One will introduce to market?

A few weeks ago we brought you a story in this very column that asked ‘is the world ready for an always on Xbox 360 successor‘, penned by GamesRadar. Now that we’re inching closer to finding out all of the details about the coming changes, MCV now brings you the other side of the equation, how are independent video game retailers feeling about the changes coming? Indie Retailers Desperate for Xbox One Pre-Owned Answers

We’re more worried about your internet connection than ours, Microsoft.

While we don’t necessarily take the side of fear mongering, cloud computing haters insomuch as we value the opinions of just about everyone, The Penny Arcade Report’s Ben Kuchera fills the role of cloud computing fear monger just fine. In fact, it’s the best piece of long-form writing we’ve seen on the subject thus far. Sure, most of the points he makes are the ones everyone who fears relying on servers for everything, usually make. Still, its good writing. My Internet connection is fine, Microsoft. I’m worried about yours

 

Windows device makers should probably not attempt to completely rethink everything about the laptop form factor.

You’ll no doubt be well aware of the somewhat soiled reputation Acer has seemed to have earned with American users these past decade or so. While most of the complaints we usually come across happened to be centered on bad build quality and questionable customer support, the last three years have shown that the company already has another huge issue: they do a terrible job of innovating. Case in point, following in the footsteps of a laptop with a screen for a keyboard, this past month, the company introduced the Acer Aspire R7. As it turns out a huge screen, ridiculously strange hinge, heavy case and a track pad that’s above the keyboard might not be the best idea they’ve ever had, according to The Verge. Imagine that.
Acer Aspire R7 review

 

The fates of Nokia and Windows Phone are tied.

All About Windows Phone explores the relation between Microsoft and Nokia, with a focus on how the two companies are working together to make Windows Phone as successful as it possibly can. The symbiotic relationship between Nokia and Microsoft

 

Behind the scenes of Nickelodeon’s glory days.

WhatCulture! has a terrific in-depth interview with some of the personalities behind the heyday of Nickelodeon including Doug, one of the most popular shows to ever air on the network. Also, did you know Skeeter was black? Yeah, worst kept secret in America. Interview: Mathew Klickstein, Author of “Slimed: An Oral History of Nickelodeon’s Golden Age”

 

The Favs: June 8th

We wouldn’t think life as a sports writer and father to three children would be eventful, but based on the comedy styling displayed in Everybody Loves Raymond, we’re not so sure anymore.

After a stint of living in the big city, the Barrones, Ray (Ray Ramono) and Deborah (Patricia Heaton) have moved to Long Island to raise their family. There, the birds chirp, the trash cans are picked up on time. In theory, everything would be fine except in addition to raising three children, Ray’s parents and older brother live right across the street.

After a few years, clearly the couple begins to realize that moving so close to Ray’s lovable yet likely, psychotic parents was the wrong move, but by then it’s already too late. What follows is nine years, of the most impressively hilarious sit-com on television at the time and though it’s now ended, -the show wrapped in 2005, it’s still just as relevant and just as die hard funny.

While the show isn’t available in the Xbox Video Store, Xbox, Windows and Windows Phone users can watch the entire series through other means, including Netflix and Amazon Prime. Seriously, watch. Then after make sure you never move near your in-laws. Never.

What’s On: Everybody Loves Raymond

We here at enConnected feel for the average desktop user. You see, innovation passes them by. The desktop is a relic of a bygone era. An era in which computer buying consumers wanted no frills and large PC vendors were more than happy to oblige. While the world hasn’t yet come up with a cure for what we call “desktopboringitis”, investing in the latest add-ons can help. Case in point, Dell’s new touchscreen monitor can make your mild mannered, and shall we say boring desktop PC into a formidable Windows 8 powerhouse.

We’ll have to get some in-office time with this one to believe the hype that Dell’s spewing but based on its specifications alone we’re ready to give this thing a try. A 21.5” monitor that easily changes angles to allow users to easily use its multi-touch capabilities to interact with Windows? A resolution of 1920 x 1080 resolution screen with a 3000:1 contrast ration? Have mercy!

The Dell S2240T Touch Monitor is available right now from Dell’s website for $399. Yeah, that’s pricey for a monitor of that screen size but it could be worth it for someone who’s trying to get rid of mice and physical keyboards around their office or house, like us.

Cure Desktopboringitis with the Dell S2240T Touch Monitor

Yes, Dell did upgrade most of mobile line with new Intel Haswell processors for better battery performance. That’s awesome, heck we’re still solid fans of the XPS 12’s swinging touchscreen, however it’s the same concept as last year’s machine.

Enter the Dell XPS 11 that The Verge got it’s hands on during Computex, a device that has a hinge that flips over a keyboard and battery base that’s so thin it’s darn near non-existent. Dell says it’ll ship the XPS 11 complete with SD card reader, USB 3.0, stylus, and an 11.6 inch screen with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels sometime at the end of the year.

Despite the fact that the company isn’t yet telling us how much storage or RAM the device will ship with -to say nothing of it’s price tag, we’re still excited. Our wallets might not feel the same way though.

Dell’s New XPS 11, Foldable Awesomensss

Yes, Dell did upgrade most of mobile line with new Intel Haswell processors for better battery performance. That’s awesome, heck we’re still solid fans of the XPS 12’s swinging touchscreen, however it’s the same concept as last year’s machine.

Enter the Dell XPS 11 that The Verge got it’s hands on during Computex, a device that has a hinge that flips over a keyboard and battery base that’s so thin it’s darn near non-existent. Dell says it’ll ship the XPS 11 complete with SD card reader, USB 3.0, stylus, and an 11.6 inch screen with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels sometime at the end of the year.

Despite the fact that the company isn’t yet telling us how much storage or RAM the device will ship with -to say nothing of it’s price tag, we’re still excited. Our wallets might not feel the same way though.

Dell’s New XPS 11, Foldable Awesomensss

Just when you thought you’d gotten used to the idea of Windows 8 tablets with a minimum screen size of 10 inches comes the Acer Iconia W3, the world’s first Windows 8 tablet to ship with a screen with a screen size of 8 inches.

Yes, Windows 8 is coming to smaller tablets and the first manufacturer to deliver a device is Acer with the Iconia W3. They’ve packed a front and rear-facing 2 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, an Intel Atom processor and an 8.1 inch LED display at a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels into a stupidly thin and small device.

Did we mention it’s also running Windows 8, so all the desktop applications you aren’t ready to part with just yet will run on this machine. Unfortunately, the only real issue is a dearth of full-size USB ports on the machine -there aren’t any, though it does have connections for televisions and monitors.

At a price of $379 for 32GB of internal storage at Staples I’d say the low end is going to eat this thing up. This machine should help Microsoft comfortably attack the dearth of low end Android tablets and the iPad mini.

Acer Iconia W3, Windows 8 on an 8″ Tablet

Microsoft has been meeting with key television executives to discuss the Xbox One, that’s according to industry source Deadline Hollywood.

According to the report, Steve Ballmer journeyed to Hollywood, television capital of the United States to likely gauge interest and solicit feedback from the medium’s biggest programmers including Les Moonves of CBS, Steve Mosko of Sony TV and Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitsell of WME.

Nancy Tellum, the company’s newly minted president of entertainment and digital media was along for the ride as well, though that wouldn’t be much of a surprise if it’s true. She previously spent most of her career in the television industry.

According to the publication’s sources they were there to “to reiterate Microsoft’s commitment to transitioning its business to devices and services and explaining that Hollywood entertainment is a big part of that”.

Microsoft is aiming to launch the Xbox One sometime this year, and will feature a new live television guide and enhancements to assist users in finding the content and channels they are looking for as quickly as possible. However, it won’t do so without the help of a cable box at launch, something many cable-cutters had hoped for.

Deadline: Microsoft Meeting with Key Television Execs on Xbox One

You no longer need to visualize the changes coming to Windows in Windows 8.1 inside your head, in a new released video, one of the executives in charge of the operating system update, guides users through what they can expect.

While the video doesn’t reveal anything completely earthshattering that we weren’t already informed about last week, it does lend some sense of how all of the changes Microsoft is making will alter the experience for today’s Windows 8 users. Microsoft will release a preview version for us eager beavers on June 26^th during its BUILD conference, though users won’t get the free update until sometime later this year.

Microsoft has also announced that tablets Windows RT tablets like the Surface Pro, and Dell XPS 10 will get their own version of the company’s personal information management client, Outlook as part of the update to Windows RT. Windows RT devices already ship with their own versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote free of charge.

Microsoft Shows off New Windows 8.1 Functionality, Details Outlook 2013 RT

The United Nations Space Command’s team of enhanced Spartan military operatives is finally being dispatched by Microsoft to escort its mobile platforms to a place where their Xbox LIVE platforms have never been. In-depth first-party gaming.

Announced this week on Halo Waypoint, the new Halo: Spartan Assault games will not only be the first proper Halo title to make it to Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 owners, but they’ll also be the first in the series to feature top-down shooting mechanics instead of first-person shooting. Just think, less of being the Spartan as with other titles in the series like Halo: 4 and more of the experience of just touch targets and shooting at them.

All things considered, it isn’t should be too far from what users on both platforms became accustomed to when they purchased or tried The Harvest. It also available on both platforms. Though it seems since its release in 2007 it’s either disappeared from the Windows Phone Store or isn’t available to Windows 8 users.

Halo: Spartan Assault will features it’s only original campaign that spans “25 missions”, XP and achievement integration with the last Halo title to be published on Xbox 360, Halo 4 and even in-app purchases so that users can quickly get through the game with weapons and utilities they wouldn’t find otherwise.

Microsoft expects to make the game available to Windows Phone 8, Windows 8 and Windows RT users this July for $6.99. While Windows 8 and Windows RT users won’t have to purchase the title twice for those two platforms, the Windows Phone 8 title itself will require users to purchase the title again.

Halo: Spartan Assault, Franchise on Their Way to Windows Phone and Windows