Wednesday Tech Tips: XBox One, lights out, and other exciting tech news

Front and center on all the tech sites is the skinny on Microsoft's Xbox One.  Everything the eager gamer needs to know about hardware, software, and backwards compatibility (nay).*  Everything! except when you can buy it and how much it will cost.  Stay tuned.


While you are waiting, you can amp up your anxiety by thinking about this: a Congressional survey found that the national grid is hit with 10,000 cyberattacks a month.  Okay, so none have succeeded yet, but WHOA -- I am picking up some extra flashlight batteries, people.  And now is the time to find out how a massive power outage will affect your toilet.**  It's funny while the lights are on...


But is Sidney Poitier laughing?  Well, IS HE???


Alongside the chatter about Yahoo buying Tumblr are quite a few news stories about Facebook's waning star.  Prepare yourselves, young folk, for the barrage of companies creating Tumblr accounts to show you how cool they are.***










*But it can detect your heartbeat!  Which is amazing and creepy.  And potentially life-saving for couch potato, Hot Cheetos-nourished slackers.

**Let's also thank our stars the XBox One isn't functioning as an actual pacemaker.

***But not the librarians.  We know we're cool.

Game on!

Saturday is the first day of National Gaming Week, y'all! And I'm working in the Teen Lounge all day, so stop on by and dare to throw down in a game of Scrabble.* I will have snacks and skillz.** Mad skillz, if I do say so myself.

Of course, I am a word freak being constant with the books and all, but I have a slew of other games for the playing. Also, I have been asked about when we are going to have a video gaming event. I too yearn for this, people, but I am waiting on elements beyond my humble control. Know that it will happen, and that my Rock Band avatar will be 10 kinds of awesome.



*Did you know they allow some proper nouns now? True. Half my life I've been waiting for this...

**Please note skillz is not an authorized Scrabble word. So don't even go there.