Kapil's Take

So today is Kaali Chaudas and I have been fascinated by this holiday since I was a little kid when I was forced to wake up early or face some evil daemon and then even more so after I became an adult and found out the true meaning of the holiday, way back in 2013. It is also a day when I set my resolutions, instead of setting them on New Year’s day. I give you my reasoning here: Why not to Set a new Year’s resolution!

Kali Chaudas is the day to abolish laziness and evil, which create hell in our life and shine light on life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naraka_Chaturdashi

It feels apt to share two videos that will dispel some false beliefs and shine some light on life, that I coincidentally came across today. One is shared in my next post. The other video that I share here is on busting myths about our brains, from ‘we use only 10% of our brain” to “making babies listen to Mozart will increase their IQ” and yes of course, “playing video games will rot your brain”.

Enjoy!

By now you must have, especially if you live in North America, read, heard or seen photos and videos of the total solar eclipse that occurred on the 8th of April, 2024. The path of totality went through Mexico, multiple states in the United States including Texas, Arkansas, Kentucky, New York, then made its way into Canada and passed over southern Ontario, Quebec, and the east coast provinces. Much of the United States and Eastern Canadian provinces also experienced a partial solar eclipse.

This blog post is not for people looking for pictures or videos, nor is it for explanation of how eclipses work. I have written this as a form of public service to anyone who happens to read this. Please, if you ever get an opportunity to experience a total solar eclipse, you must take it!

Eclipses are not rare, not even in other parts of the solar system. Even on earth a total solar eclipse occurs every few years. The coincidence that amazes me is the ratio of the sizes of the sun and moon is roughly the same as the distances of the sun and moon from earth. That is the reason the sun and moon appear the same size on the sky and this the reason that during a total solar eclipse, the moon covers the sun completely, but not so much that we cannot see the outer atmosphere of the sun known is the corona. If the ratios were any different, either the moon would never be able to complete cover the sun, or the moon would entirely cover sun and the corona; and the corona is where the spectacle happens.

As I mentioned, total solar eclipses occur every few years, however, what is rare is to have one occur near you in your life time, unless you live a couple of hundred years, which currently no human does. But who knows, perhaps in the future, life spans will be long enough to witness multiple total solar eclipses. But for now, it is rare.

I have no photos or videos of the event for you. There are plenty of those floating around on the internet. But no amount of photos, or videos or descriptions, or the study of the physics behind a total solar eclipse prepares you for it. Nothing! Whether you are an intellectual or an artist, nothing and I mean NOTHING prepares you for it. No photo or video or article quantitatively or qualitatively truly describes it. I have seen multiple photos and videos both before and after witnessing the eclipse, and none of them come close to the real thing.

Also, a partial eclipse is NOT a total eclipse, not even close. I watched a CBC news report where a reporter is seen describing the eclipse as it is progressing in Toronto and at one point she says something a long the line, “We in Toronto will be getting a partial solar eclipse of 99.95%, so pretty close”. NO! Absolutely NOT close. Even 99.999999% is not 100%. The difference between the two is as stark is night and day.

I experienced a partial solar eclipse in 2017, and it was cool, it was amazing! I have no words to describe the total solar eclipse that I experienced. I keep saying ‘experienced’ because it is an experience. I cannot rightfully say ‘seen’. Because the sight, the sound, the feeling on ones skin, the emotional impact all combine to give one that experience. I was baffled, awestruck, hypnotized, so captivated by the moment that I forgot to take pictures. By the time I remembered, I fumbled to take a picture, I took at my camera and clumsily pointed it at the sun, and clicked. But the settings were all off. And at that moment, I told myself, it does not matter, I am here, I am experiencing it. I have regrets, a photo is not important, and looking at photos of videos available online, nothing will come close anyway.

It seems hyperbolic, but it is not. If anything, words only understate the experience. Because there are truly no words to describe it. It chances you. It evoked feelings and sensations that I have never experienced before.

There was a kid around, who, after it was over, could not stop screaming, “I can’t believe that actually happened”. He kept saying this over and over again.

Everyone describes it differently, and even though their description might not be how someone else would describe it, they will understand what the other person is trying to say. It is both an individual experience and a collective one.

One the 4-hour-drive back home, I teared up, and yet there was a sense of calm, a sense of gratitude, and a sense of being humbled and even as I write this, I feel it. It changes one in ways that is impossible to put in words. Nothing can and dare I say ever will come close.

Whatever I am saying here is far from a unique experience. I have been reading a lot about people’s experiences and the experience as a whole is a collective one.

It is my humble request, please, if you ever get a chance to experience a total solar eclipse, do make it a point to experience it. If you are not going to be getting one near you in your life time, and if you have the means to make it happen, meaning if you have the money, and health to travel, please do whatever is in your power to experience one.

I have always been fascinated by space all my life. I took courses in astronomy and at one point in time I was even enrolled in an astrophysics program in university. As the release of this game called Starfield approached, my anticipation grew.

For the first time in my life, I wrote a blog post and made a youtube video about a video game.

Before you read this article, I want to be upfront and tell you that I have played Starfield for about 10 hours and I do not intent to play any more of it. I do not like Starfield. It has been a disappointing 10 hour ordeal with short moments of bliss.

Now if you care to find out why I feel this way, please read on.

The good parts

Lets get the good parts out of the way first. I will never get to go to the moon; I can say that one can dream and be hopeful that space travel will some day become so popular and affordable that one day it might even be possible for regular folks like us to travel to the moon. But it is not going happen. Now keep my mindset in… mind when I tell you that I was on the moon in Starfield jumping around and it was glorious. This is probably the closest thing to jumping on the moon that I will ever get to experience and it was glorious! – Did I say glorious twice?

Because it was glorious, in fact jumping around on any low gravity planet in Starfield is amazing. And I think different planets have different gravity in Starfield and your moment is affected by that fact which I think was a neat little detail.

Speaking of details, visually, there is an astonishing amount of detail from coffee mugs to note pads and tiles on floors. But not just visually, the immersive in-game city audio, filled with bustling sounds of the city of Neon creates the sensation that this virtual city is truly alive.

Although, if we are comparing cyberpunk style city visuals, The Ascent really takes the cake and does it much better.

The story about how different factions in Starfield came about was interesting – it was literally a story being narrated that you had to listen through to be qualified for a job in one of the factions. But once I got going, I did not really care about which faction, I was going to work for. It was just another side mission that led to shooting someone or retrieving something. I have not gone too far into the game, so there may be things that are a lot more interesting, or so I keep hearing people say.

The bad

That’s about where the good part ends for me.

Visual

Although game assets are very detailed, the color pallet feels a bit unappealing to me in some areas. There is this general hazy look which after a few hours into the game, I realized that it can be reduced or completely turned off in the display setting. You can also turn off motion blur, but turning one or both of them started to give me headaches. I did not bother figuring out which setting was causing my headaches.

Gameplay

The gunfight, and movement are better than Fallout 4, but still nothing ground breaking. Mass Effect Andromeda, with all its flaws had superb gameplay mechanics from the way weapons fired to movement while in combat. But I understand that no on really plays Bethesda games from its gameplay. It’s good enough, and it’s satisfying.

Uninteresting story

The game begins with your character touching some artifact that gives you a vision and then you are on a quest to understand its mysteries. Sounds very much like the beginning of Mass Effect. The difference is, I was intrigued and wanted to find more about this artifact while playing Mass Effect. There was a sense of importance, a sense of urgency. I felt that my character was part of something bigger.

In Starfield, I felt none of that. The Constellation group did not do much to convince me as a player that I should even care about this artifact and what these visions could mean.

Side Missions

Just as a disclaimer, I have only played this game for 10 hours and it could very well be that the side quests that I played are in fact boring.

It is well known in the gaming community that the side quests are one of the main attractions in every Bethesda game. I have heard from many people that there are some very interesting side quests in Starfield. So taking that into account, it is quite possible that I might have just by sheer luck come across the less interesting ones, or frankly, down right boring AF.

Here are some things that I did in side quests

• I mined some resources
• applied of jobs
• took tests to qualify for jobs
• took a museum tour talking about the history how how different factions came into being
• convinced an idiot to take a loan because his business is sinking because he opened a mining operation on a water planet
• handed flyers to local businesses
• brought coffee to my corporate bosses
• picked up sensors around trees that look like little eggs around the city to help a researcher

Do any of these sound interesting to you? If I wanted a job as an intern, I would go get a job as an intern in real life. Why would I spend my money and time to do all of that in a video game? Some people may enjoy doing these things IN A VIDEO GAME – I do not!

There are other combat missions that I did too, but they did little to make up for the drudgery of the aforementioned activities.

Endless sequence of loading screens

Opening doors, going to your ship, landing your ship on a planet, it is all just loading screen after loading screen.

Pointless Space travel

There is no real space travel. You simply select a planet and fast travel to the orbit of that planet and then you fast travel to one of the locations on the planet. And of the few planets that I visited, there were mostly only 2 or 3 locations that you can actually travel to. Apparently, that is the case of every other planet that other people have been to.

Do not Walk, just Teleport

I tried landing somewhere else on a planet, close to my target location but not exactly there and it took a long time of walking and so I gave up and just fast travelled to the target location. From what people are saying, walking from one location to another on a planet is apparently not even possible.

Defeated

It was painful to write this blog post because I really did not want to think about Starfield anymore. There were more things that I had planned to talk about, but I just could not get myself to write it all.

A lot of people say the game starts to get better much later, but I just cannot get myself to spend any more time on this.

So at 3AM and 10 hours into the game, I decided that I could at that very moment do anything at all and still have a better time than playing Starfield.

In the vast cosmos of the gaming industry, few upcoming titles have generated as much excitement and anticipation as “Starfield.” Developed by the legendary Bethesda Game Studios and published by Xbox Game Studios, Starfield holds the promise of a groundbreaking space-faring RPG that could redefine the gaming landscape. This blog post delves into the factors behind the massive hype surrounding Starfield and explains why its success is crucial for both Xbox and Microsoft in the gaming world.

The Hype Machine:

Bethesda: Legacy of Excellence

Bethesda Game Studios, known for the acclaimed Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, has built a reputation for delivering immersive, open-world experiences. Fans have high expectations for Starfield, anticipating a similar level of craftsmanship in a new and unexplored sci-fi setting.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released in 2011 and is a game which people are playing even now. I for one dipped my toes for the first time in the world of Skyrim a week ago. I just killed the first dragon, met the greybeards, and did a few side quests, which in all honesty, might even be scratching the surface of the world of Skyrim and even so I have become enchanted by its lore, its atmospheric music and expansive landscape.

A New World

Starfield is the first new IP by Bethesda Game Studios in over twenty-five years and has been described by director Todd Howard as “Skyrim in space”. It was announced in 2018, set to release in 2022, then delayed possibly due to the global pandemic. Scarce details about the game only fuelled the anticipation, leaving players eager for more information about its gameplay mechanics, story, and world. It would be a gross understatement to say that there has been great anticipation for this game.

With recent gameplay mechanics and further details about the game at Gamescom 2023, Starfield is a call to Elder Scrolls fans who have been eagerly waiting to lose themselves in a new and immersive world.

The Space Exploration Renaissance

In recent years, a remarkable surge of interest in space exploration has taken center stage, with companies like SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, and Blue Origin. NASA’s renewed commitment to lunar exploration and India’s recent successful lunar landing have all added to the momentum.

With sci-fi entertainment, specifically space sagas experiencing a renaissance across various media, including TV shows like The Expanse, Mars, Lost in Space, Away, etc.., movies like The Martian, Ad Astra, Interstellar, The Wandering Earth, and books like The Martian, Project Hail Mary, and he Space Between Worlds, the timing could not be better for a highly anticipated sci-fi game.

All but a few will get to explore space in real life.

Starfield taps into this broader cultural trend, drawing in both avid gamers, general sci-fi enthusiasts and space lovers.

Significance for Xbox and Microsoft

The Exclusivity Wars

In the realm of gaming exclusivity, both PlayStation and Nintendo have showcased an impressive array of titles that define the appeal of their respective platforms. PlayStation’s roster includes iconic hits like Demon’s Souls, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Horizon Forbidden West, God of War Ragnarok, and Last of Us Part 1 and 2. Meanwhile, Nintendo’s acclaimed exclusives such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, Super Mario Odyssey, and the serene Animal Crossing: New Horizons continue to captivate players worldwide.

Xbox Series X/S has…Halo Infinite? And maybe Forza Horizon and Motorsport and Gears of War?

Starfield’s exclusivity to Xbox consoles and PC is a strategic move by Microsoft to enhance the appeal of their gaming ecosystem. By offering exclusive titles, Microsoft aims to attract new players to the Xbox platform while retaining existing fans.

Game Pass: The Golden Goose

Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s subscription-based gaming service, commonly known as the “Netflix for games”, has become a central component of their gaming strategy. The addition of Starfield to Game Pass upon release (or what is referred to say “Day One Release”) could drive more subscriptions and demonstrate the service’s value proposition to gamers.

The gaming industry is marked by fierce competition, with Microsoft vying against industry giants like Sony and Nintendo. A successful Starfield launch could tip the scales in Microsoft’s favor, bolstering their position in the ongoing console wars.

Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks and its subsidiaries, for $7.5 billion. Bethesda games are renowned for being immersive to the point where players pour in hundreds of hours into their games. The longer players spend playing their games the more justified it will be for customers to continue to be subscribed to Game Pass.

This is just one more reason why Starfield is so important; for Microsoft, Starfield must not fail.

Cultural Impact

Iconic games have the power to shape pop culture and influence broader discussions. Xbox has long been trailing behind giants like Sony and Nindendo. A successful Starfield could establish Xbox as a hub for innovative storytelling and memorable gaming experiences, elevating the brand’s cultural significance, or at least stay in the game (pun intended) to fight on.

Final words

The enthusiasm surrounding Starfield is a testament to the gaming community’s passion for immersive experiences and new horizons. As the gaming world eagerly awaits the eventual release of Starfield, the game’s success holds immense importance for both Xbox and Microsoft’s ambitions. By capitalizing on the hype and delivering a game that meets or exceeds expectations, Xbox and Microsoft could be on the cusp of a victory that reverberates throughout the industry for years to come.

Thank you for tuning in. This is my take on Starfield, what’s yours?

PS: This is just the beginning of my coverage of the gaming industry. Stay tuned as we still have to dwell into the massive power move; Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activation.

Less than two years ago, I boldly made a prediction ahead of WWDC 21 that Final Cut Pro would make its way to iPadOS, exclusively compatible with the cutting-edge M1 iPad Pro.

My reasoning? With macOS Mac now utilizing Apple Silicon’s M series, it seemed only natural for Apple to bring its renowned software to the iPad platform.

Yet, my prediction did not materialize in 2021. Nor did it come to fruition in 2022. However, just two days ago, on May 9, 2023, Apple sent shockwaves through the creative community with a long-awaited announcement: Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro are indeed coming to iPadOS.

But here’s the twist—it didn’t unfold quite as I had expected. In fact, I doubt anyone saw this coming. Apple has taken a new approach, introducing a subscription model for Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro on iPad.

This move signifies a significant departure from Apple’s traditional model of one-time payments for their flagship software. It’s a shift that has sparked heated discussions among creative professionals, enthusiasts, and tech aficionados alike. What does this mean for the future of Apple’s software pricing strategy? Will it spill over to the Mac versions of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro?

Final Cut Pro Vs The Competition : Cost

To add further intrigue to the mix, let’s compare the pricing of Adobe’s counterparts. Adobe Premiere Pro, an industry-leading video editing software, and Adobe Audition, a professional audio production tool, are part of Adobe’s Creative Cloud subscription. Starting at $20.99 per month with an annual commitment, this subscription provides access to a suite of Adobe applications, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects.

Now, let’s do a little math.

• Final Cut Pro (Mac): One-time purchase for $299.99
• Compressor (Mac): One-time purchase for $49.99
• Motion (Mac): One-time purchase for $49.99

Total cost for three years: $399.97

• Adobe Creative Cloud (Premiere Pro and Audition): Subscription starting at $20.99/month (annual commitment)

Total cost for three years: $755.64

As you can see, over a three-year period, the one-time purchase option for Final Cut Pro, Compressor, and Motion on Mac offers a more cost-effective solution compared to Adobe’s subscription-based model for Premiere Pro and Audition in Adobe Creative Cloud.

As Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro make their entrance into the world of iPadOS, we can’t help but wonder if this move marks the beginning of a larger shift in Apple’s software pricing strategy. Will the subscription model become the new norm for all Apple software, including their esteemed Mac versions?

Only time will tell. Until then, creatives across the globe eagerly await the opportunity to harness the power of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro on iPad, while keeping a watchful eye on how this subscription paradigm shift shapes the landscape of Apple’s software ecosystem.

Is the cost of owning a mac going to rise?

As creatives rejoice over the expanded possibilities of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro on iPadOS, it’s important to consider the implications this subscription model may have on our pockets.

For years, the allure of investing in a premium-priced MacBook stemmed from the inclusion of free software like Garage band, and iMovie and onetime payment model for their older siblings Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro both of which are considered powerhouse software applications.

But if Apple continues down the subscription path for their Mac counterparts, it begs the question: Will the overall cost of owning Apple’s hardware and software ecosystem increase?

This could just be the beginning. If Apple sees a positive response this pivot to software as a Service model for these two applications, what could this mean for free apps bundled with Apple hardware like iMovie, Garageband, Pages, Keynote and Numbers? Could Apple decide to do the same for these apps as well? Or perhaps Apple could decide to include in a combined Apps subscription for a ‘small fee’ or bundled it with lower tier Apple One subscription.

What does this mean for me personally?

I do not own a mac, the last time I used a garage band or iMovie was some 8 or so years ago. So what does this even matter to me you may wonder.

I have recently been wanting to dip my toes in content creation and I currently use Linux, and as much as I love Linux, content creations on Linux specifically video editing and music production,…well…it sucks. Kdelive live is notorious for crashing randomly.

I have been also changing my priorities and I just want something simple and just works even if it means sacrificing the flexibility to customize my desktop experience.

Knowing that mac does come with great software like iMovie and Garageband and also migrating to something like final cut pro and Logic pro is a simple exported, added to that the one time payment, I was convinced that despite its other short comings, Macos might actually be a good option.

However, this subscription shift by Apples leaves me in a state hesitation.

Although I am generalizing here, every coffee’s ‘medium’ or ‘dark’ roast will be different. This particular recipe, is my favorite one for the Tim Hortons’ Original Blend coffee. Check out my previous blog post about Tim Hortons (the good, the bad and the ugly) . I recently bought a pack just to try and I was pleasantly surprised by the results.

Since this is pre-ground coffee, you cannot control the coarseness, but you can control the temperature and brew time and technique. First I tried brewing this coffee with a Hario V60 with boiling water. Then I dialed it down to 85C, and the results were much better. The end result was a cup that had some sweetness, bitterness that was not overly harsh, and also some acidity which I was quite surprised by.

Then I tried brewing with the Aeropress and the result was even better. In my experience Aeropress performs a bit better and consistently with darker roasts than the Hario V60.

Overview:

• 60g:1L ratio (12g of coffee to 200g of water)
• 85C water
• inverted method
• no bloom required

The winning recipe

I call this recipe “The Morning Rush” because I think it is simple enough to use even when you are in a rush in the morning, and yet can produce a consistently good cup.

• place the Aeropress in inverted position
• add 12g of coffee
• Add all 200g of water
• stir it 10 times
• place the cap with filter (no need to rinse if in a rush)
• wait for 2 minutes
• press excess air out
• invert and press coffee into your favorite cup
• Enjoy!