Xbox One receives update to speed up downloads

Xbox One users rejoice! Download speeds have been increased to help deliver our digital downloads quite a bit quicker. Xbox announced on December 14^th that an update was pushing out to users to help increase download speeds for players. If you have a high-speed connection with 100Mbs or greater you will see up to 80% faster download speeds. If your connection falls below that you will see up to 40% faster download speeds. Background downloads should now work more resiliently towards intermittent connectivity issues.

Also rolled into this update are some fixes for controller performance, background music performance, and general performance/stability performance. It looks like this update is not limited to just the preview group and should be going out to all users. Looks to be an exciting update for just about everyone.

My Take: I have a roughly 20Mbs connection and my Xbox One is hardwired. So when I got home to download 2GB patch for Destiny I was pretty bummed to see that it was only downloading at a rate of 3Mbs. Needless to say I did not play that night. This update could not be more welcome in my household. Thanks Microsoft!

Xbox One S Controller Review

A few weeks back I finally got my hands on the Xbox One S white controller. I did an unboxing video (below) and gave some quick impressions. Now I'd like to delve a little deeper after using it for about a month's time.

There are several improvements here. The rubber on the joysticks has more grip than the original Xbox One controller. From what I read on the stats they should be more durable as well. Which is great when playing those sweaty Trials of Osiris matches in Destiny (spoiler I suck). The LB and RB buttons feel more responsive and less spongy. The textured finish they put on the handles of the controller also feels nice in the hand. Other small improvements such as the removing of the shiny plastic on the top and the new Xbox button really help make this controller look cleaner.

With that said I did notice that the range on the controller in my house is about the same as the previous model. Granted I am walking away to the sides of the Xbox when testing as I only have a small distance to go in front of the Xbox until I'm literally standing in the front yard (maybe I should try this for a video?). I should also note that the bluetooth option I used on my PC has worked really well and been easy to connect. However I haven't been able to get it to work with my Android device of choice which is a bummer.

Overall the controller just feels like a really good incremental upgrade to what, in my honest opinion, is already the best controller out there. Being that Christmas is coming up I highly suggest you pick up one. Some current sales as of this posting with Target, Best Buy, Newegg, and Amazon have these selling for $50 which is a $10 savings on the original price. But you'd better hurry some of these sales end this weekend.

Google+ now allows usernames

Google+ has officially opened itself up to allow any name or username your heart desires. This is both good and bad. Yes it allows you to don your favorite username from Twitter, Reddit, or AIM (is that even a thing anymore), but it does open the network up to anonymous trolls. The likes of which that once plagued YouTube. Google shared this earlier:

Over the years, as Google+ grew and its community became established, we steadily opened up this policy, from allowing +Page owners to use any name of their choosing to letting YouTube users bring their usernames into Google+. Today, we are taking the last step: there are no more restrictions on what name you can use. 

Personally I liked the real name requirement. Huge fan of speaking to someone and knowing their real name. A personal connection was refreshing in a virtual world filled with anonymous usernames. It was my favorite thing about the social network. What do you think about the change?

Source: Google+

LG G3 out today, $99 at Best Buy

The LG G3 was launched today for AT&T and Sprint. If you are looking to pick up a G3 you may want to head to Best Buy. They currently have it on sale for $99 for AT&T and Sprint. You can also pre-order the Verizon version which should be available on the 17th. With a 5.5" 2K screen, laser focus, and 3 gigs of RAM what's not to like about it? Check out Best Buys site for the deal. Will you be grabbing a G3?

Source: Best Buy, Source: LG

Chromecast mirroring starts roll out

Chromecast users rejoice! Looks as though Google has flipped the switch on screen casting from certain Android devices. This opens up a ton of possibilities in using your TV to mirror your Android device while playing games or watching video from unsupported apps. If you are using a supported Nexus device you can try it out using the appropriate casting tile with out needing to wait for version 1.7 of the Chromecast app to hit your device. In typical Google fashion this will be a staged roll out, but only for select devices. I myself have yet to see the update but looks like some are starting to see it now. Check to see if you can expect this feature below.

Supported devices:

• Nexus 4
• Nexus 5
• Nexus 7 (2013)
• Nexus 10
• Samsung Galaxy S4
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Google Play Edition)
• Samsung Galaxy S5
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
• Samsung Galaxy Note 10
• HTC One M7
• HTC One M7 (Google Play Edition)
• LG G3
• LG G2
• LG G Pro 2
• Support for additional devices coming soon