Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page A17

Reno Gazette-Journal 17A Tech Rundown NEW YORK As more people watch over the internet, the entertainment i ndustry has get on board with aid Roger Lynch, the CEO of Sling TV. Sling, owned by satellite TV company ish Network, was one of the first services to offer packages of popular cable channels over the internet, threatening dominance. Prices start at $20 a onth for a core group of channels including ESPN and AMC; packages with ther channels cost extra. By compari- on, the average cable bill is $100, acc ording to research from Leichtman Res earch Group. ven as fewer households pay for tra- itional TV services, new internet-TV options could help major TV networks a dd back some lost subscribers.

Dir ecTV is expected to launch a service his year, and Hulu has one coming in 2 017. I an interview, Lynch talks about how streaming TV is going mainstream a nd why he do la TV paying only for the channels you actually watch. Questions and responses have een edited for clarity and length. How has the market changed since Sling launched in February 2015? A There are about 21million homes ithout pay TV. Of those, 16million are ord-nevers (people who have never igned up) and 5million are cord-cut- ers.

We were focused on those markets. hat seen since then is a dramatic shift. onsumers are leaving raditional pay TV at uch higher rates. We see hat shift as a large oppor- unity for us. Are TV channel ompanies like NBCUniversal, Disney and Fox looking at you differently? When we first started talking to rogrammers, there was skepticism.

here was concern about whether it would cause cord-cutting. hap- ened since then, accepted eally the future of pay TV. Consumer ehavior is changing. Why you let viewers choose ust the channels they want an la model rather than creating a system of mini-bundles and add-ons? A That would be ideal. But that work for programmers.

That und ermines their business model. Truly a a carte be enough revenue for rogrammers. It is a bit of a compromise. Can you do more to let people pick their own channels? I think a whole lot ore. created extremely flexible ptions within the bounds of what I know is achievable, given the structure of the i ndustry.

Gee, it be nice if I can ust sell individual channels? I know the conomics work, so no oint in trying to push for that. INSIDER Why streaming TV online is going mainstream TALI ARBEL ASSOCIATED PRESS Lynch Iam no stranger to aving something taken from me. Back in the 1990s, I remember coming home ne day to my apartment a nd realizing that it was robbed. At the ime, I have much, and by much, I mean Nevertheless, my heart sank when I saw that the CD collection that I painstakingly built up over the ears was gone while the rest of my stuff as scattered on the floor. I was a frustrating experience for many reasons.

For starters, I really loved those old CDs, which included some artists that, admittedly, I caught dead listening to in public nowadays. I was also a young kid in a new ountry who was working full time at a minimum-wage job to support myself hrough college. What few things I had, I really worked hard for, and it upset me that they were just taken away by someone who did not expend the necessary ef- ort to earn them through honest means. I all honesty, whoever robbed me was ikely in better financial shape than I was. how broke I was at that time, something sure even the robber realized when he or she rifled through my aughably minimal possessions.

ollowing that incident, I never felt at ase in that apartment so I moved out. The experience just left me feeling humiliated, unsafe and violated. Time makes for an excellent salve, however, and I eventually healed from that experi- nce. In fact, I thought about it in ears. That is, until last week when I decided to fire up my PlayStation 4 to download some review codes.

The first sign that something was wrong was when I noticed that I signed in to PSN. PSN I thought to myself as I walked toward my laptop. Curious, I tried logging on to PSN via my browser with no success. hen I tried to reset my password to no avail. When I checked the e-mail associ- a ted with my account, my heart sank nce again.

In my Inbox were the telltale signs that I feared including four $10 harges to my account and an e-mail in- orming me that my password was reset. My PSN account was hacked. A someone who covers gaming, eerie when stuff you read about actually happens to you. Like that time many, any years ago in my old apartment, I felt upset, frustrated and violated once more. To fix the situation, I went through a ll the possible channels.

First, I tweeted to and waited for a response. After that, I called the support otline twice, but got disconnected both times. Finally, I used chat sup- ort, where the person on the other side old me I would get an e-mail to reset my account within a day. Eventually, that turned into three to five days. One week after my account was hacked, I contact- chat a third time and got a super riendly person who sent me an e-mail to eset my account on the spot.

That guy totally made my day. still not sure how the hacker got my account information. My PS4 and S3 typically sign me in automatically a nd the only time I log in outside of my ystems is when I visit the online Play- Station store to redeem my PSN games. Needless to say, I changed my password to something a big pain to type and also enabled that new two-step verifica- ion process that Sony just added in late A ugust. If you have a PSN account, I recommend that you do the same and save yourself the hassle.

Now onward to this reviews. Moto JBL SoundBoost Still hankering for some MotoMods coverage after our take on the Verizon Motorola Moto Force Droidand the oto Insta-Share Projector? Well, say no more, my friend, as I pre- ent to you the Moto JBL Soundboost port able speaker attachment. Like the projector, the JBL Soundboost is a peripher- a designed to easily clip into a compat- i ble Motorola smartphone. Just align the contact points and good to go. he Soundboost sounds good for a speaker its size, adding some oomph to the audio of your Motorola phone.

Grante it sound as good as some full- fledged portable speakers but an improvement over the stock speakers and ven Boomsound, which is arguably the best stock smartphone audio system around. It also comes with a 10- our built-in battery plus a kickstand if you want to prop it up. Admittedly, it ight be a tad pricey for some folks but ot nearly as much as the Insta-Share Projector for sure. Cost: $79.99 http://bit.ly/2d8jhPf Gears of War 4 Why hello there, old friend. My what big chainsaw teeth you have.

Gears of War makes a triumphant ret urn to consoles and PC with a new cast a nd some familiar faces in of War 4 Folks will definitely notice a resemblance between new protagonist JD Fenix and his parents, with the young Fenix now rolling with a new crew. Things a quite kosher 25 years after hum hard-fought victory over the Locust, however, as a new yet familiar threat comes to the fore. The good news is that this feels like the good, old familiar Gears that fans know and love. For starters, splitscreen co-op is still available, allowing for some onderful couch co-op action with friends and family. Gameplay also sticks to the tried-and-true cover shooter form ula with some additions.

These include the ability to stun and execute foes hid- i ng in cover as well as some new weap- ns that fire buzzsaws and even a drill that explodes. This Super Robot fan app roves. A the same time, I also experienced some of the same issues from past games egarding cover mechanics. There will be times when I try to stick cover and as well as times I try to roll but end sticking to cover instead. Strangely enough, this actually made Gears of War 4really feel more like a Gears game to e.

Storytelling also quite up to par with the original trilogy and feels more like a prologue, especially with the lack a compelling villain. Multiplayer modes, meanwhile, are lentiful, including classic Horde and eam Death Match as well as some new ptions like Arms Race and Escalation. roduction values are also solid and the ast chapter is one big, over-the-top hoot for geeks. That final boss fight had my cousin and I cracking up the whole time. Rating: 4.25 out of 5 ost: $59.99, XB1(reviewed), PC ww.xbox.com/en-US/games/ ears-of-war-4 Paper Mario Color Splash Quick, the first word that omes to mind when you hear If you answered instead of then you, my friend, are the perfect audience for Mario Color Amish-mash of classic Mario plat- orming combined with some turn-based RPG mechanics, Color Splash is a color- ul adventure game that will warm the cockles of your cold, colorless heart.

This time around, some unnamed villain who likes to battle plumbers and kidnap rincesses is stealing the world of its col- r. Gee, I wonder who it could possibly As Mario, you are now tasked with restoring said world by letting its true colors shine through. why we love you Mario. he paper-themed design is a visual reat and the cast of friends and illains are equally cute and adorable. The writing is also highly entertaining as whoever localized this text definitely had a lot of fun.

Gameplay mechanics are also quite olid overall, featuring a nice balance bet ween combat and exploration. Timing is definitely important, not just for boosting your attack but also your defense. If the obsessive-compulsive type who likes to clear things 100 percent, there will be a lot for you to compulsively obsess over as well. A dmittedly, having to rely on a stock of cards to be able to act in battle can be a bit frustrating at times. The paint ham- er, meanwhile, can be a pain to target with accurately, especially when filling i colorless spots.

For a game cert ainly designed for both kids and older players, some of the problem solving can too tough for children so keep that in ind. Overall, Color Splash is a stamped ove letter to gamers who pine for some old-school action. Rating: 4 out of 5 ost: $59.99, Wii http://papermario.nintendo.com/ Technobubblecovers games, gadgets, echnology and all things geek. Follow Technobubble poobah Jason shenanigans on Twitter MICROSOFT Gears of War makes a triumphant return to consoles and PC with a new cast and some familiar faces in of War TECHNOBUBBLE JASON HIDALGO NINTENDO Use your hammer to acquire paint from objects or to add color to spots in need of them in "Paper Mario: Color Splash." Profound sadness of PSN being hacked.