Mobil apps og hacking

Vipps så kan du bli svindlet...

Temaet for denne bloggen er mobil apps og hacking. I disse tider blomstrer det av stadig nye mobil apps der markedet ser for seg mobilen som "fremtidens betalingssystem". Høres spennende ut, men er det trygt? Ting er ikke så rosenrødt som det høres ut...

Tillat meg å prøve å forklare. I sommer lanserte DNB en helt ny apps i forsøk på å lokke til seg flere kunder i en mørk, norsk økonomisk tid, gjennom det som gjerne kalles for "vennebetaling". Appen heter Vipps.

DNB valgte å kjøre en reklamekampanje på Vipps, som av Forbruksrådet blir ansett som ulovlig, nettopp fordi appen viser seg å ikke være så trygg og sikker som reklamen gir inntrykk av, med slagordet "Verdens enkleste måte å overføre penger på".

Hvorfor er da en betalingsapp som Vipps utrygt, utifra en detaljert reportasje gjort av DinSide? Skal forklare.

Når du skal registrere deg for bruk av Vipps er det ikke bare snakk om å opplyse ditt eget mobilnummer, men du må også opplyse fødselsnummer, kontonummer du vil bruke, full navn og adresse. Du tenker sikkert "hva er så problemet med det?". Jo, når en app BER om fødselsnummer i tillegg, så oppleves det veldig utrygt nettopp fordi det er det, og det betyr en lett invitasjon til å bli offer for hacking og svindel.

Mobiler KAN hackes også...

Et problem som nye apps har, slik som Vipps, er at hackere uansett kan skaffe seg informasjon om deg gjennom nettet og opprette FALSKE Vipps-profiler i DITT navn og dermed TAPPE deg for penger uten at du selv er klar over det. Iallfall hvis du utlever mer informasjon enn det som er nødvendig, selv for din bank, og har du registrert deg på Vipps, er faren ganske stor for at du kan bli rammet!

VG formidlet en nyhet kort tid etter Vipps lansering i sommer, at appen allerede ble offer for 3 svindel-forsøk der det ble forsøkt opprettet falske Vipps profiler. Litt ironisk når det reklameres for en enklere pengeoverføring gjennom venner og andre som har Vipps app. I prinsippet betyr det at det er helt utrygt og risikabelt å benytte en slik app som Vipps.

Ikke nok med det, men nå skal matvarekjeder som Bunnpris og Rema 100 i løpet av året tilby egne app der kunden kan betale med sin butikk-app via sin smart mobil. Det høres sikkert helt fantastisk ut, men risikabelt er det nok uansett så avansert hacking er blitt i vår tid, spesielt gjennom trådløs internett. "Hvordan er det mulig?", tenker du.

En hacker vet vanligvis hva han, hun eller den gruppen gjør. En hacker gjør det diskret og så skjult som mulig, og gjør absolutt sitt beste for å ikke legge noen spor etter seg, og har tilgang til mest avansert teknologi som finnes. Noen hackere skiller seg ut fra hackere flest som liker å leke seg. Slike hackere er mer målrettet og tålmodig av seg at det grenser til en skremmende situasjon. Hackere må aldri undervurderes. Man må heller forstå hvordan de jobber for å kunne eliminere problemet og straffe dem.

I USA alene var nylig nesten 230.000 Apple produkter hacket. Det er ganske mye, og det forteller hvor skremmende det kan være når tallet blir så ufattelig høy som det.

Gjennom trådløs tilgang, kan en hacker infiltrere alt som er underlagt et digitalt system gjennom trådløs fjernstyring. Se feks på flere nye hus har trådløs alarm, lås, styring av strøm, varme, luft og vann. Får en hacker tilgang til ditt system, kan en hacker gå så langt å få FULL KONTROLL over ditt eget hjem og nettverk! Hackeren kan SLÅ AV all strøm og funksjon i et hus underlagt et digitalt system! Så farlig kan det faktisk være!

Jo mer man underlegger et lands ressurser et digitalt system, jo større mulighet for hacker å skaffe seg full kontroll, spesielt når man ikke har kunnskap om hvordan hackere opererer og hva slags kunnskap de besitter, og metoder de benytter seg av.

Det mange ikke tenker på er at dagens teknologi ikke bare er fantastisk på mange måter, men også skremmende at når et land blir fullstendig hacket og får sine ressurser ødelagt eller slått av, så er det ingen som vet hvor lang tid det tar å rette opp alt, spesielt hvis man ikke har et ANALOGT backup av landets ressurser. Ser man globalt på hvordan slikt kan ramme en hel verden, kan det sende hele verden langt inn i Steinalderen. For det KAN skje hvis en hacker får full kontroll. Det finnes ingen garanti.

For å kunne løse et hacker-problem, må man forstå hvordan de jobber, hva som er blitt rammet og hvordan. På den måten kan man forhindre slike problemer og straffe dem. Selv myndighetene må skaffe seg riktig kunnskap for å bedre håntere et slikt problem.

Hvis noen skulle fortelle deg at det er å leve i fortiden å forsatt sverge til kontant betaling og besøk i bank, så kan du trøste deg selv med at da velger man å være smart og forsiktig, og at det kan hende du har sikret deg selv på best mulig måte.

Håper alt dette kan være en viktig tankevekker. Vi har muligheten til å endre fremtiden og gjøre den sikker og trygg. Vi må ikke ta for gitt det vi har, og for all del ikke være naive og innse hvor skremmende avansert teknologi kan være. Skaffe oss bedre forståelse over teknologien og lære å bruke den riktig i riktige situasjoner. Slik kan vi bedre takle nye digitale utfordringer som måtte komme og forhindre globale skader.

Teknologi skal være morsomt, lettvint, sikker og trygg for alle. Det er viktig å vite.

Skrevet av
Helge Kvalheim

Assassination on XBox One

Assassin's Creed Unity looks great!

Everybody truly heard about the new Assassin's Creed Unity for both PS4 and XBox One, released in November 2014?

The game is the first franchis of the serie that makes full use of the advanced features of the next-generation consoles PS4 and XBox One. Especially noticeable is the advanced A.I, with the big crew you see in the game. It was said that the crew is around over 5.000 (!) in Unity!

The game is set in the end of the 18th century Paris during the french revolution. You play as Arno Victor Dorian. A young man unaware that his real father was an Assassin, killed by the former Assassin being a rogue Templar by the name Shay Patrick Cormac (the prostagonic of Assassin's Creed Rogue for XBox 360 and Playstation 3), and raised by an adoptic family being a Templar. Arno seeks out the truth behind the revolution and also falls in love in a Templar female. Together they battle their way for the truth.

One thing that is new in the game is the new parkour, being able to free-run up or down walls in ways not seen in any of the other Assassin's Creed games that dominated the last generation consoles like XBox 360 and Playstation 3.

Unity is based on a much more advanced Anvil engine allowing 3 new features. The new more advanced parkour, a brand new Stealth technic and much more advanced combat system. Allow me to explain how these work in the game. Here we go.

An Assassin and Templar in love

The new parkour style

The new parkour style allows you to have full freedom in how to climb up and down walls, now even sideways, and smoothly diving down to a rope and edge of a low ceiling, only to grab it on reflect, which is so cool and realistic!

Also imagine how it is to climb all the way up the structure of Notre Dame, which is the highest building in Paris during the french revolution. Long before Eiffel Tower was built, of course. A little more on that later on.

Investigating a murder in Unity

The new stealth technic

Another new feature of the new Anvil engine of Unity, is the new Stealth mode, which is a great welcome!

In many missions where you have to infiltrate a heavy-guarded area of a building, tower, church or a palace, you will simply need to use stealth, instead of running out for a kill, gaining far too much attraction and getting stuck in a nasty, difficult trap fighting for your life out of it.

Stealth is much more advanced. You can crop and run smoothly without being detected, either to sneak up into a person to reveal a silent kill, or to avoid them. You can even throw smoke bombs if you get unluckily noticed and have to avoid being alarmed, and even throw cherry bombs to lure the enemies' attraction to somewhere else, allowing you to avoid them easier to your target. Even cover assasinations are pretty cool, as you can hide in a corner or hidden spots, like in a closet or other hiding spots, waiting for the right moment to strike, and still nobody will notice. True stealth assassination!

A love trip in a ballon? How romantic!

The new combat system

 

The third and last new feature of the new Anvil engine of Unity is of course the new combat system. Combat is much more realistic and advanced.

As you meat different enemies with their own fighthing skills, you also learn new technics as well, based on patience and feel. Instead the way the assassin used to fight in all previous Assassin's Creed games, where the assassin just rushed out, in Unity you read the movements of your enemy and base your fight on the movements of the enemy. Much of the fight is based on parries in the right moment, and then to strike on the right moment. The combination of patience and right technic to defeat the enemy.

Some will be deadly easy to defeat, mostly "lazy" thugs or guards, while other guards or thugs might be more aggressive and have better fighthing skill, being tougher to defeat. Here is why you will need to rely yourself on patience and right moment to strike a blow, by reading your enemy and base your fight on that in order to win.

It becomes more challening and exciting when you have to fight several enemies at once. In such a situation, the parries will be very important. You can also quickly throw a smoke bomb and make quick defeat of several enemies before easily taking out the rest. That is what is so brilliant with Unity. You can find your own way! Full freedom!

Conclusion of Assassin's Creed Unity for XBox One

It should be noted that Unity has had a terrible, troubled release in November 2014, as it seemed the game was rushed out in a bit of a hurry. The game was released with a lot of bugs and unstability. One terrible bug was the loss of faces of both Arno and Elise during the game Unity. Almost skeleton-alike images of them. How awful, isn't it?

Ubisoft, the creators of the Assassin's Creed games received so much critics that they caused the company to re-think the way they reached out to the community and working in games. The critics also caused them to work on several updates to improve the game's gameplay and several problems, erasing as many bugs as possible.

Speaking of updates, while you read this, Patch 4 should be released on Monday 15th of December 2015, and this is the patch that will improve framerate (both PS4 and XB1 version are running 900p at 30fps. 30fps was said to be more "cinematic", while most of us expect full 1080p at full 60fps. XB1 can do 1080p at 60fps, so don't worry).

The patch should also finally bring Unity to a level where everything runs smoothly. Ubisoft has also even promised a free game for the one of us who actually bought the Season Pass or Gold Edition of Unity, and will also receive the Dead Kings DLC (due out soon) and the 2.5D game Assassin's Creed Chronicles China, where you play as the female assassin Shao Jun, during the end of the 14th century in China, whom was trained by the legendary assassin Ezio Auditore Da Firenze! Yes, that's right!

Despite the trouble release of Unity, it has now catched up nicely. The graphic of the game is outstanding, even in 900p 30fps. The architecture is truly that of the 18th century Paris. Both outside and inside the impressive buildings, like Notre Dame.

Paris is really HUGE, and i mean REALLY HUGE! There is plenty of things to do in Paris! Aside the main story about Arno and Elise, you get to seek out secret underground entrances like catacombs and sewers in Paris, several Co-ops missions where you can team up with up to 3 players, solving riddles and grypths, and murders. How exciting!

Solving murders is not always easy, but it has a very logical way to solve them. Investigate the situation, seek out all the informed places, look for all clues, talk with all witness, then read through all clues again in the database for the cases and try to figure out yourself which person would have the best motive to kill in different cases. There is a different murder for all different murder cases, so investigate carefully, and you gain an extra bonus score if you solve the murder by picking the right murder at the first place. It doesn't affect the game, but the small bonus is nice if done right.

It will be even more exciting to receive the DLC Dead Kings, where you take out catacomb raiders in Saint-Deins, outside Paris after the main event of the revolution era, along with more missions in Paris, which should be released soon, while the 2.5D game Assassin's Creed Chronicles China will be released early 2015, to understand.

You will also discover a time anomaly, which during the game will cause a distortion in Animus, suddenly taking Arno to a Nazi-occupied Paris during the Second World War! It's a very nice feature of the game and very interesting revelation of what could happen in Animus, and how this will affect the prostagonic of the game. Most impressive!

In addition to amazing graphic and animations, the game also has realistic sound effects and nice musical score that change with any situation tha happen in the game. The time changing from day to night, sun to rain, is also very realistic and visual stunning! Weather could of course have been more dramatic in the game, like seeing snow, more windblow, thunder and lighting, but then again it's based on the game itself.

Forgot to mention that you can also use poison gas, if you gain it as one of many skills during the game, which you can buy, and you can customize your Arno just like you want to, and use different outfits you open up in the game. It's also very nice to see the possibility of Arno climbing up in rank, to ultimately become a Legend among assassins in the game! That is so cool and something we haven't seen in other AC games.

Phantom blade is another neat feature Arno can equip himself with. A silent, fast variant of the ordinary hidden blade. You can fire out a small, deadly sharp arrow, or even a beserk blade, making an enemy going crazy attacking his friends! Also throwing money to poor people is a very nice possibility in Unity. We want to be good, right?

There was one mission in the game that was so exciting to play. I think it was during the main story of the game, not far away from the end of the game. Arno was to assassinate a politican in a palace. Much of the mission was related on stealth, sneaking pass many of the guards without being detected, and secretly pick-locking some doors to get closer to the main target. Using the Eagle Vision, Arno separated the ordinary red targets with the main target being yellow. Discovered him to be in a room next to the one Arno currently was in after a lot of sneaking around, and also discovered around 4-6 guards protecting the main target outside the target's room. Getting excited, eh?

Playing the mission, i realized i couldn't rush out just like that, even that Arno fully decides himself what method he will use to take out the target, no longer causing a desyncronization of the game, which was the cause with previous AC games in past.

Not the case anymore. You only gain extra small bonus if you do what the mission suggest you to do, but it's you as the player who decides the result, which is cool!

Where was i? Oh yes, that mission in a palace. Well, seeing the guards protecting the main target, i stopped up a little in a corner and took a quick notice of the situation, then i thought "why not shoot first a beserk blade on one of the guards, then a poison gas?" Doing that, i noticed the main target was trying to run away, but he ran straight toward me up in front of Arno, so all i needed to do was to stab him in the chest!

The game is really good and has got better with the updated patches, so if you are like me loving Assassin's Creed games, then this game is a good buy for the money.

Now let take a look on another game for XBox One - Assassin's Creed Black Flag.

Blackbeard and Edward - 2 pirates in AC4

Assassin's Creed Black Flag

Assassin's Creed Black Flag is the 2013-successor to Assassin's Creed, where you play as the pirate Edward Kenway, grandfather of the prostagonic Connor Kenway in Assassin's Creed 3.

The game is set in early 18th century in Caribbian. The golden era of the pirates. XBox One version of the game is visually more impressive than on XBox 360. Lights, flames, water, trees and weather both look and react much more natural than it does in the last generation version for XBox 360 and Playstation 3. The XBox One version looks and feels really beautiful and enjoyable.

The game runs in 900p at XBox One, but the latest updates on XBox One make the game seem to run now in 60fps, which is what most players expect. However, the game runs really smooth on XBox One, and i love sailing on the sea in Caribbian.

While this game is far from advanced as Unity, the game gives a very nice nostalgic feeling and a lot more open-world, sailing from place to place and engage in sea battles, which is very cool and enjoyable. Also diving under water to avoid sharks, finding hidden treasures and caves can be much more fun than seeking out catacombs and sewers in Unity. I like this kind of open world a lot better than the one in Unity.

Who wouldn't love being in a Caribbian jungle, especially after sunset where the lanterns light beautifully and the heaven baths in glorious shiny colours, with the sun nearly hidden behind the sea in distance? And the nice Caribbian music! Music to ear!

The beautiful tropical Caribbian

The game is highly recommended to get on XBox One. Smooth gameplay, glorious graphic and animation. Even the DLC Freedom Cry is truly glorious on XB1!

We can only hope that the last Assassin's Creed (not the last game itself) for XBox 360 and Playstation 3 - Assassin's Creed Rogue, will be released for XBox One and Playstation 4.

In that game you play as former assassin Shay Patrick Cormac, going into a drastical change in himself after a tragic mission, and ends up betraying the Brotherhood of the Assassins, becoming an Assassin Hunter for the Templar Order, siding with the Grand Master Of The Templars - Haytham Kenway, father of Connor Kenway and son of Edward Kenway. Even more exciting, isn't it?

Assassin's Creed Victory - The Victorian Era Of London?

 

A british Assassin in Victorian London?

Quite unexpected, a leak occoured at Ubisoft revealing a new Assassin's Creed in the horizon. A game dubbed "Assassin's Creed Victory", which is believed to have a new, english prostagonic playing in the late 19th century London. The Victorian Era.

Ubisoft confirmed the rumour to be true, but also stated it was most unexpected that it should be revealed so soon, with Unity just being nearly 2 months on the market since release. It would however seem that the revelation of Victory as the 2015 Assassin's Creed game, could help a lot after the troubled, buggy release of Unity.

Knowing the game Victory to be a reality, that game will be the second Assassin's Creed game released only for XBox One and PS4, moving completely away from the last generation XBox 360 and PS3. I guess the time has come for that, don't we? Absolutely.

Learning of the troubled release of Unity and with that, changing the way Ubisoft deal with their customers, we are sure to be convinced that Victory will be what Unity should have been already. So there is really something amazing to look forward to!

Victory is believed to be even more impressive, with more extended parkour, stealth and combat. Battles on top of running trains and a brand new, grabbing hook, that will allow the assassin to climb just about everything easily, even grab a rope with the hook and leap right in front of a target to assassinate it! How cool isn't that?

2015 is set to be an amazing year, and a lot of improvement to XBox One and PS4! Assassin's Creed Victory will be the only Assassin's Creed game to be released in 2015, and only for XBox one and PS4, so it will be time to accept a move away from last generation XBox 360 and PS3. That is life, as time only moves forward. Not backward.

Well, that will be all i guess. If you truly love such games and want them beautiful and smooth as possible on the new generation consoles, then buy them! I did for sure!

Who knows? Perhaps you will find something really exciting under your Christmas tree?

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!

Written by
Helge Kvalheim, Norway

Når de svake rammes mer..

Det omstridte Statsbudsjettet 2015

I denne bloggen vil jeg ta opp noe jeg ikke pleier å drøfte om til vanlig - Norsk politikk når den svikter. La meg forklare.

Politikk er ikke noe jeg interesser meg særlig for, tatt i bektraktning alle løfter om forbedring og forenkling av det vanskelige, kun blir tåkeprat uten handling, og dette skaper frustrasjon.

Som gutt håpet jeg alltid at politikk skulle tjene folkets beste. Å skape et bedre og enklere liv for vanskeligstilte, samtidig som å prøve å skape et mest mulig rettferdig, fungerende rettsystem og velferdstat. To av samfunnets viktigste elementer som målsetning for å skape et harmonisk samfunn i balanse (trodde jeg).

Den inkompetente Solberg-regjeringen

I stedet dreier politikk seg nå mer og mer om å ha mest mulig penger og makt, hvor skillet mellom de sterke og de svake i samfunnet blir enda mer tydeligere, enn å forene disse i harmoni hvor begge kan leve godt side om side.

I de siste 8 årene som har gått under Stoltenberg-regjeringen, også kalt den rød-grønne regjeringen, håpet vi i den norske befolkningen på at forholdene i landet ville bli bedre og enklere. Vi må faktisk se helt tilbake til 80-tallet, hvor de fleste forhold i samfunnet var gode. Ikke nødvendigvis perfekt, men på et nivå som gjorde de fleste i befolkningen fornøyde. En gyllen tid som vissnok er glemt...

Nå som Norge endelig er ferdig med Stoltenberg-regjeringen for godt, hadde hele landet store forhåpninger til Solberg-regjeringen, også kalt blå-blå regjeringen bestående av Frp og Høyre ved makten, med Siv Jensen og Erna Solberg i ledelsen.

På veldig kort tid har Solberg-regjeringen allerede klart å få omtrent hele den norske befolkningen på nakken med sine løfter og omstridte handlinger. Den mest omstridte handlingen regjeringen har foretatt så langt nå, er det sterkt kritiserte Statsbudsjettet 2015, som totalt sett vil føre til at de "rike" får mer, og de "fattige" stadig mindre.

De mest omstridte elementene i Statsbudsjettet er endring i Arbeidsmiljøloven, høyere bompenger i stedet for å fjerne dem, en omstridst sykelønnsordning som nå er fjernet, fjerning av kontantstøtten, høyere skatter, dyrere mat og transport, og skattlegging av en ny uføretrygdordning som lønn (som vil bety at man får mindre utbetalt i uføretryd).

Vedtakelse av ny uføretrygdordning

Den nye uføretrygdordningen går ut på å skattlegge den på samme måte som lønn, med formålet om at det skal jobbes mer. Men regjeringen glemmer tydeligvis at det er flere viktige faktorer som spiller inn, blant dem helse.

Et godt eksempel er innlegget en kvinne ved navn Camilla skrev personlig til statsminister Erna Solberg om bekymringen for å få mindre utbetalt i uføretrygd med den nye ordningen.

Sannheten er at den nye uføretrygdordningen, når den blir skattlagt på linje med ordinør lønn, vil ende opp med at ALLE på uføretrygd vil få utbetalt 2000 kr MINDRE enn med den uføretrygden vi allerede har per dags dato.

Kvinnen Camilla, som skrev innlegget som rørte en hel befolkning, lider av sykdommen ME. En muskelsykdom som svekker store deler av kroppen. Kvinnen er ikke i stand til å jobbe og går på uføretrygd, og har også et lite barn. Siden kontantstøtten også er fjernet fra statsbudsjettet for 2015, rammer dette uførede med barn enda mer.

Statsministeren sier at man bør jobbe mer. Problemet er et det er mange som ikke er i stand til hverken å jobbe eller jobbe mer enn det helsa tillater. Man har de som er alvorlig rammet av kreft (som oftest ender med at man blir sengeliggende), alvorlige muskelsykdommer som CP og ME. Det finnes også en sykdom kalt Mitrokondisesykdom, som også er en ekte sykdom. Noen blir lammet, andre heller svekket av sykdommen. Men dette er gjerne en misforstått sykdom som kan få ulike diagnoser, men er ekte.

Det blir derfor feil å male alle under en kam og forvente at alle skal kunne jobbe. Det er en ønsketekning som er positivt ja, men vi vet at virkeligheten fungerer ikke slikt, og da må man se det fra en allment synsvinkel, og ikke fra et politisk standspunkt.

En ordinær arbeidsgiver i det norske, ordinære arbeidsmarkedet vil ALDRI godta å ansette en uføretrygdede person, eller en under en annen helserelatert ordning på en vanlig arbeidsplass. Ikke en gang for å tjene inn de 2000 kr man vil få MINDRE utbetalt med den nye uføretrygdordningen.

Spør du meg, bør vi heller diskutere om å jobbe med holdningsendringer i det ordinære arbeidsmarkedet, ved å få arbeidsgivere til å innse at alle har rett på en sjanse til å prøve seg i det ordinære arbeidsmarkedet. Alle prøver å tjene penger til å overleve hverdagen dag til dag for å få endene til å møtes. Alle har rett til en plass i samfunnet. Dette bør være en viktig tankekors, og et felles mål å få til for et harmonisk samfunn.

Fra mitt ståsted selv som uføretrygd i 10 år, så er jeg heldig som forsatt har jobb i vekstbedriften Signo Dokken, som leverandør av GoFrukt. Fra nyttår i 2015 må jeg altså selv regne med å få 2000 kr MINDRE utbetalt i uføretrygd enn per i dag. For selv om jeg jobber 100%, vil jeg forsatt miste disse 2000 kr av uføretrygda fra nyttår av.

Det ville måtte bety at jobben måtte innføre en timebetaling godt over 40kr timen, for å kunne tjene inn de manglende 2000 kr. Et forslag jeg tviler på vil gå gjennom, med mindre politikerne går for å la være å skattlegge uføretrygd som ordinær lønn, da disse er forskjellig fra hverandre og var aldri ment å kunne sammenlignes. De kan de aldri.

Derfor ville det vært bedre å heve grunnbeløpet på uføretrygden og beholde ordningen, og samtidig endre alle de andre dårlige tingene på statsbudjettet for 2015 til bedre.

Som avslutning på denne bloggen, er det viktig å være klar over at det ikke handler om politikk, men om hva som er best for den norske befolkningen, både økonomisk og helsemessig sett. Personlig er jeg opptatt av folkets beste. Ikke i politikk. Men når politikk som dette rammer de av oss, som allerede er svake, mer enn tidligere, da reagerer jeg, og da er jeg nødt til å uttale meg på vegne av oss svake.

Forresten, er det noen som har lagt merke til at det IKKE nevnes noe om mer støtte og hjelp til hørselshemmede og blinde? Et parti som Høyre har jo, hvis jeg skal anta det riktig, alltid vært aktiv forkjemper for bedre rettigheter til både hørselshemmede, døve og blinde, men blir ikke sjenket så mye som en tanke i det nye Statsbudsjettet for 2015? Ganske hårreisende, er det ikke?

Man kan jo stille spørsmål ved kompetansen til regjeringen eller politikerne overhodet, eller om det rett og slett er maktbegjæret som har fått dem til å miste sjel og fornuft?

Vi må nok regne med at 2015 blir det MØRKESTE året i politisk historie i Norge, med mindre et mirakel endelig skjer som vil tjene norsk befolkning på best mulig måte, og da må en politisk revolusjon skje at politikk blir det det i utgangspunktet burde ha vært: Å tjene landets befolkning på best mulig måte, økonomisk og helsemessig sett.

Skrevet av:
Helge Kvalheim

Tilbake og fremover

Meg slik jeg ser ut idag

Nå er det lenge siden jeg har blogget i min private blogg, utenom forrige blogg handlet om min kreftsyke far, som finnes på den andre bloggsiden.

Link til andre bloggsiden er www.hkvalheim.blogg.no

Nå har det seg slik at min far er død. Han døde natt til lørdag 08.02.2014 av kreft. Selv om han var en dårlig far som aldri var til stede når han levde, er det likevel trist måten han døde på, for ingen fortjener å dø av kreft. Ikke en gang våres værste fiender. Det er ikke noe man unner noen...

Likevel sitter jeg med blandete følelser av min fars død, og disse blir til tider forsterket av minnene om mine 3 brødre, som døde i 1997, 1998 og 1999. I 2000 og 2009 mistet jeg ytterligere 2 nære venner.

Livet går videre, men minnene bærer du alltid med deg hvor du enn går. Det går ikke en dag uten at jeg tenker på de som er borte, spesielt disse 5 jeg hadde et nært forhold til. 

Men det som har skjedd, kan ikke gjøres ugjort. Livet må gå videre ved å ta en dag om gangen og forsone meg med alle tingene som har skjedd. Være sammen med de jeg har i dag og møte positive mennesker, gjøre ting jeg liker og jobbe så godt som jeg kan.

Det har seg nå slik at jeg sliter med høyt blodtrykk og kolesterol. Samtidig som jeg går på medisin for disse, jobber jeg hardt med å endre kosthold og livsstil. På snart 2 måneder har jeg IKKE rørt brus, snop og junk food, men forholdt meg til mest mulig sunt mat, hjemmelaget mat, fisk, grønnsaker, skiver, salatblandinger, iste og vann. Gjennom støtte, oppmuntring og kjærlighet fra andre, vet jeg at jeg kan klare dette.

Det er en veldig stor overgang å gjøre dette når jeg har slitt med overvekt i 17 år. 17 år er lang tid å ha gitt mer eller mindre blaffen i meg selv, p.g.a dårlige og vonde ting som har skjedd i livet mitt alle disse årene som har gått, og var lei av å se meg i speilet.

En lang vei å gå ennå, men jeg er allerede godt i gang og har tro på å klare det!

Hunstad Skole slik vi kjenner den

Hunstad Skole Reunion

14.juni skal det være 30-årsjubileum for Hunstad Skole, og vil ta for seg tidsperioden 1984-2014, selv om gamle elever som meg begynte på Hunstad i 1983-1993, slik at ingen misforstår.

Hovedgrunnen til 30-årsjubileumet er at Staten har bestemt at Hunstad Skole skal avvikles etter sommeren 2014 i år, og at alle hørselshemmede grunnskoleelever, blir flyttet over til knutepunkt-skolen på Nattlandsfjellet.

Det er veldig synd at Hunstad Skole skal legges ned. Det samme skjedde med Bjørkåsen VGS for hørselshemmede en del år tilbake, og ble erstattet av den videregående knutepunktskolen Nordalh Grieg VGS.

Skal ikke gå innpå de politiske årsakene til at spesialskoler som Hunstad blir avviklet, men skal understreke at disse trengs hvor tegnspråket er i fokus. Vi har eksempler på selv mange elever med CI, klarer seg IKKE uten et godt tegnspråklig miljø. Dette er viktige forhold selv Staten burde tatt med i sine beregninger. Det hadde hjulpet om Staten hadde skaffet seg et bredt kunnskap av de FAKTISKE forholdene i forskjellene mellom hørende og hørselshemmede, både i det sosiale og i skolearbeidet. Dette kunne Staten ha gjort ved å avlegge et besøk til forskjellige skoler og sett hvordan hørende og hørselshemmede elever faktisk fungerte, og pratet spesielt med hørselshemmede hvordan de opplever hverdagen sin som hørselshemmede i skolesammenheng.

Meg som hårtroll i tenåringene

Uansett hva som måtte skje videre i kampen om døveskolene, så er budskapet mitt at alle dere hørselshemmede må gjøre det dere kan for å tale deres sak. Tenk på de hørselshemmede barn og ungdom som skal gå på skole eller går på skole i dag. Det er disses fremtid det handler om.

Disse har like mye rett på utdanning og arbeid som folk i ordinære skoler og arbeid. Vi er også en viktig del av det norske samfunnet og vi har like mye rett til å bidra med det vi kan for å få hjulene til å gå, som vi kaller det. Dette er viktig!

Bergen Døvesenter, BEAST og HLF kan sammen med dere elever og foreldre til disse elevene utgjøre en viktig forskjell. Ja, det er gjort mange ganger, men er like fullt ut viktig å gjøre for det.

Det avgjørende er å få Stat og regjering til å lytte og forstå de alvorlige konsekvensene av å avvikle alle døveskoler, bare fordi det skal spares penger og av den oppfatning av at spesialskolene ikke trengs, noe de faktisk gjør. Det er akkurat det samme med vernete bedrifter (som vi kaller vekstbedrifter). De trengs også for oss som ikke vil fungere like godt i ordinære arbeidsplasser. Samme sak, samme poeng. Tenk på det.

Men til selve poenget. Hva tenker jeg i grunn om gjenforeningsfesten 14.juni? Jeg gleder meg i grunn til å være med, og det blir spennende å treffe gamle kjente og mimres den tiden jeg gikk på Hunstad Skole. Så veldig mange år har gått! Hvor ble årene av?

Meg som sexy barsk 15 åring

Som gutt var jeg litt av en ramp! Gjorde mange tåpelige ting og var ikke akkurat noen engel. Det er vel ganske naturlig når man er tidlig i tenårene og møter en ny verden da.

Likevel minnes jeg den flotte tiden jeg hadde på Hunstad. Det var de fleste av dem, såvel som noen dårlige. Slik er det overalt man er.

Hunstad ble som et hjem for meg hvor jeg vokste opp og ble en viktig del av tegnspråkmiljøet. Jeg sier tegnspråk fordi det ikke bare handler om døve, men hørselshemmede og andre tegnspråkbrukere også. Så det handler ikke bare om døve...

Utifra alt jeg har vært gjennom, spør jeg meg selv, til tross for at jeg gleder meg:

Vil jeg i det hele tatt takle å stille opp på Hunstad Skole Reunion 14.juni i år? Selv om det er svært hyggelig å treffe de fleste gamle kjente, så er det likevel noen fra fortiden min jeg ikke ønsker å støte på, fordi minnene om disse gjør for vondt, sammen med alt det som har skjedd i livet mitt alle disse årene, på godt og vondt.

Noen vil si at jeg var ganske populær på Hunstad. Det er ikke inntrykket jeg har, for jeg var ofte en outsider i døvemiljøet og har alltid vært det, selv i senere tid, men jeg ble vel oppfattet som attraktiv i noen situasjoner av jentene den gang jeg hadde hockeysveis og var kjent for å være RASKESTE løpegutten på skolen.

Det betyr også at for mange kanskje ser på meg som den gamle Helge jeg pleide å være. Den slanke, raske og livsglade, blonde søte gutten. Det er selvsagt en hyggelig tanke, og jeg skulle gitt ALT for å få lov til å være sånn igjen, men den Helge jeg var, døde samtidig med mine 3 brødre. Den Helge kan jeg aldri bli igjen. Jeg kan klare å se mye identisk ut som jeg sikkert gjorde den gang, som en moderne utgave av den jeg var, men den gleden og lykken jeg så ut til å ha den gang, gjennom barnslig og ungdommelig naivitet, kan jeg aldri få igjen. Den er borte. Jeg ble en annen...

Det værste jeg kan oppleve igjen, som var hovedgrunnen til at jeg forlot det bergenske døvemiljøet for godt i 2010, er følelsen av å være ubetydelig - "som en flue på veggen" etter ca. 5 minutter med oppmerksomhet og en følelse fra de som aldri har likt meg noe særlig, av at jeg virker uønsket. Ting som gjerne kommer igjen, er elementer som misforståelser, sjalusi, misunnelse og mangel på respekt og forståelse. Dette gjelder ikke alle. Du har den gruppen av døve som KUN fokuserer BARE på seg SELV, og den andre gruppen som klarer å sette seg selv til side og inkludere andre mennesker.

Dette blir litt av samme repetasjon du finner i noen av mine eldre blogginnlegg. Ikke så ulikt den bloggen om mitt avskjed med døvemiljøet i 2010. Likevel, poenget er der, og jeg ønsker IKKE den opplevelsen igjen. Om det skulle være tilfelle, så går jeg bare.

Meg som sexy 15-årig fotomodell ;)

Forhåpentligvis blir gjenforeningen for min del, minneverdig på en POSITIV måte, og noe jeg kan ta med videre.

Et nytt epoke begynner...

Apropos det å ta med videre positive minner fra kommende gjenforeningsfest, så blir det også for meg min ENDELIGE måte å VIRKELIG ta FARVEL med livet jeg har hatt her i Bergen, i Norge overhodet. Nå lurer du sikker på hva jeg mener her?

Tatt i betraktning med alt som har skjedd i livet mitt på godt og vondt, som er det samme som det min mor og eneste bror sitter igjen med i fellesskap, så begynner et nytt epoke i livet vårt. En MULIGHET til å begrave alt det vonde for godt og starte på et nytt liv. Et godt og rolig liv, som vi i grunn aldri har hatt, i et annet land enn Norge.

Personlig er jeg ikke lykkelig der jeg er. Hver dag er en kamp for å overleve og går ut på å gjøre de samme tingene hver dag. Å stå opp, spise frokost, dusje og stelle meg, pusse tennene, gå på jobb, være med de få venner jeg har i Bergen jeg jobber med, gjøre mine arbeidsoppgaver, så dra hjem å være med familien min eller hvis jeg har en avtale med noen av mine få, nære venner, spise middag, se tv/video eller drive med data/spill hvis jeg ikke er ute, kle av meg, pusse tennene og legge meg til å sove når natten faller på, og så går det i den samme banen igjen. Det er ikke noen verdig liv å ha, men sånn er min hverdag, og er det også for min mor og bror. Slik er livets sanne, mørke side.

Er lei av å gjenta samme meningsløse hverdagen, og i tillegg til at det er blitt dyrere å leve i Norge enn tidligere, gjør det mer vanskelig og utrivelig, og det er ikke ønskelig.

Derfor håper jeg på et nytt og bedre liv utenfor Norge. Hvor det blir, sier jeg ikke nå.

Gjenforeningsfesten er derfor for meg en positiv måte å ta farvel på, og ta med gode minner videre i livet. Jeg ser frem til å treffe de fleste gamle kjente jeg har hatt et godt forhold til og som liker meg for den jeg er, og unngår de som har hatt et dårlig forhold til meg. På den måten blir det ikke ubehag for noen, og jeg tror det skal gå veldig bra.

Tenk, det er 30 år siden jeg selv begynte som elev på Hunstad. Litt mer enn 30 år egentlig. Ting har sannelig endret seg, men jeg glemmer aldri. Minnene er alltid der.

Hvem vet? Kanskje VI sees på gjenforeningsfesten 14.juni? Satser på det blir flott!

Det var alt fra meg i denne bloggen.

Skrevet av:

Helge Kvalheim

In Loving Memory Of Paul Walker

In loving memory of Paul Walker (1973-2013)

It is with great sadness to write that the great, famous main actor from movies like "Fast And The Furious 1-7", "Into The Blue" and "Eight Below" - Paul Walker, died in a fatal car accident late Saturday 30th of November 2013 outside L.A.

When i first read about it the next morning, i hardly could believe it! It was unheard of! Unthinkable! But then i realized it was true, as several news sites stated the same.

I'm not going to write about his death or how he died. No, i am going to write about the fantastic actor and person he was. A young person whom had a lot of talents and a great potensial for acting in many different movies. Especially greatly known from "Fast And The Furious" serie, combined with his great interest into fast, beautiful cars.

Paul Walker in Fast And The Furious

Personally, i have never known him nor met him. Only seen him in many movies. Mostly "Fast And The Furious 1-6", where number 7 in 2014 will be his last, latest movie just before he died. Other movie i have seen him into, is "Eight Below". I have yet to see him in the 2005-movie "Into The Blue".

What is known, even by me, is that Paul Walker wasn't just a great, promising actor. He was also a fantastic, loving person by just everybody who knew him, even by his fans. I'm not his most devoted fan, but i loved his movies anyway, and i love the fact that he seemed to have been quite an ordinary, natural person with both feet seeded straight on the ground.

Such naturality made him a really fine character, and more important, a loving soul with a 15 years old daughter, and Paul Walker cared a lot for other people.
This can especially be seen in funds he has tried to give to people who have been suffering, like the tyfon-victims in Phillipines recently. Even more, Paul Walker had many friends and family who loved him and will miss him greatly.

Paul Walker is sexy in Into The Blue

One of his close friends - Vin Diesel, described Paul Walker as an angel, taken by God and brought to the heaven to smile to the world by days to come, as "heaven has got a new angel". This is so true as it can be.

We don't really see so many modern actors of today, so natural and so beloved like Paul Walker. 

Add this to his extraordinary naturality, he was unique that way. And he loved fast, beautiful cars! Why wouldn't he act in the "Fast And The Furious" serie of movies? They were his most personal movies ever, to not mention the true-based story of the movie "Eight Below", where dogs fought for survival on a cold place. Another fine movie that showed Paul Walker's care for other people and animals. He played that role very natural, as if it was for real.

Paul Walker in Eight Below

People who really knew him up, close and personal, are able to write a beautiful book about him. I am only able to write one nice page of him in this blog, as i never knew him. But i know he was a great actor with a lot of talents and personality, who was already famous from the "Fast And The Furious" movies, and as a young family man who loved other people, animals and fast, beautiful cars. He was also a great friend, and many women loved him and adored him.

When i see fast, beautiful cars, i think of Paul Walker, joining to watch these cars, clapping on the shoulder and saying "Pretty nice car, isn't it? Would love to test its' hourse powers!"

I believe he would do and say such things, as he greatly loved fast, hot cars.

With this beautiful angel taken away to watch over us from heaven, it is clear that he is gone, but never forgotten, and he will be greatly missed. The movies he has done are now his testament.

Dear Paul Walker. Wherever you are now, you will be greatly missed and people will always love you. Your only daughter, your family, your friends and your fans.

When the day comes, we shall meet again on the other side, in afterlife...

Rest in peace, dear Paul Walker. A true angel gone, but never forgotten.

This blog is truly in Loving Memory Of Paul Walker (1973-2013)

Written by: 
Helge Kvalheim, Norway 

Lack Of Faith

Helge Kvalheim, Norway

It's the first time i am writing a new, personal blog after more than a year. Most of my blogs recently have been purely Amiga-related, but this one differs to be more than just something about Amiga.

As you must understand, i have been a loyal Amiga fan and user since 1987. I have owned and used an Amiga 500, 600, 1200, 1200T with BlizzardPPC and BVisionPPC running AmigaOS 3.9 with updates, AmigaOne G3 and G4-XE running up to Pre-AmigaOS 4.0 Update 4, to my very latest AmigaOne 500 aka SAM460ex with AmigaOS 4.1 Update 6, which has had enormous updates recently!

However, not everything has been easy, especially during this year of 2013. I'm not sure where to begin from here, so let me try.

Breaking wows with a lying father

Many of you may already know my origins of my birth and life. To you who don't know, i come from a big family with 4 brothers and one sister. I'm the only hard of hearing in the family. Not deaf, not fully hearing, but in the middle of these two things. That's what hard of hearing means. My mother and father were divorced when i was 3 years old, as i recall.

Instead of going through my whole childhood, i will rather try to get more to the point. My father was never there for either me or my entire family. In 1997, 1998 and 1999, 3 of my brothers died, while in 2000 and 2009, i lost 2 very close friends of mine to death. Shortly put, life has been very hard and my life experiences have made me into what i am today.

In addition, in these 10 present years, my sister chose to aband the family. To aband us, in favour of a man who only cares about money and getting in her pants. Probably a nasty thing to say, but it's true. The 3 of us who are left never did anything wrong against her, but her hate toward us is so strong that she fully blames us for everything bad that has happened to her.

As a consequence, we have no contact with her or her grown-up children, but that's another story. So where does my father fit into all this? Let me try to explain carefully...

In the summer 2013 that has been, the 3 of us as a remaining family came to know that my father was to die of a cancer in the stomach within 4 to 7 months. A close friend of my father called my mother and delivered the shocking news to all of us, or so to think.

We visited him 2 times during his stay in a hospital this summer, listening to what he told us. He sounded very convincing, claiming that he was dying and that he cared about us. So what am i trying to say? It was true that he had cancer, but it was later revealed that he was not going to die at all. That he was recovering very nicely to all the threatments he got.

Even more surprising was the fact that he didn't valued us as his close family to take care of him if something happened. That "job" was assigned to his friend who told my mother of my father's condition. Apparently, it was also revealed that even his friend was lied to, by my father. My father was playing a sick game with all of us, trying to pretend that he was caring about us, but in reality, he only cared about himself, as he always did all the years, as my father has been an alcoholic junkie for more than 40 years! What an ASSHOLE, eh!

It wasn't my father who told the truth at last, but people who knew him very well, came to tell my mother the truth about my father's condition, and that he was playing a sick game.

Now, moving close to christmas, we have decided to fully break ALL wows to my father. My father has never been there for any of us through our lives, and never will, so even that he is still alive, the person he was SUPPOSED to be, has NEVER existed! That simply means my father is long dead and gone. A huge, bad part of the past that should be buried for good!

Personally, i was very tempted to write my father a letter and to tell him that i am aware of the truth and the fact that he lied to us, but then again, what is the point in trying to write him a letter when he only cares about himself? Therefore, better not to have anything to do with him ever again. He was never there and never will. He is a sick man, and i am not talking about his cancer, but that he is rather SICK in the HEAD instead. No surprise when an alcoholic has his fridge completely filled with alcohol and NO food at all! That's totally crazy!

But enough about my alco-dad. It makes me want to PUKE just to talk about the likes of him.

Lack Of Faith In The Amiga

My AmigaOS 4.1.6 Grand Canyon picture

It's special to be in a situation where the belief in the Amiga is somehow CRUSED.

Don't get me wrong, i'm very happy with my AmigaOne 500 aka SAM460ex system in many ways. It has a 1.15Ghz AMCC PPC CPU, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a powerful Sapphire RadeonHD 6570 1GB DDR3 PCIe GPU card and an excellent 24 bit/192Khz ESI@Juli XTe PCIe audio card.

Since August 2012 when i got my Amiga up and running for the first time, my system has up to now had enormous numbers of important updates through the wonderful AmiUpdate, including a couple of useful updates to the kernel of AmigaOS 4.1, which i am happy about!

Still, there are some very important elements that are missing in AmigaOS 4.1. The most obvious elements missing are a proper 3D hardware and fullscreen video acceleration.

Warp3D for RadeonHD - A false dream?

People You Don't Know

Known to most Amiga fans around, i have had regular contacts with both Mr.Dickinson from A-EON Technology, the company behind the top-flag AmigaOne X1000 hardware, with the upcoming Cyrus+, and both Friedens brothers, especially with the author of what was supposed to be Warp3D for RadeonHD.

During a year, there have been many heated emails exchanges between us. Actually, the somewhat heat came from me in term of frustrations of a concept that is not yet in place.

In December 31th of 2012, it was promised by A-EON Technology that Warp3D driver for RadeonHD would be released, as it was announced earlier in 2012, but unfortunately as a consequence, the author got some serious health problems and appeared in hospital more than 2 times through a whole year, until now. His condition has been so serious and so risky that he could have DIED, just because he devoted almost his whole life and health into doing several important Amiga projects ALL BY HIMSELF, and nobody seemed to react at once, simply because there was money involved, for the companies who signed him to do certain Amiga projects, most of them related to the upcoming AmigaOS 4.2, of course.

Another shocking fact is that the old trial case between Amiga Inc and Hyperion Entertainment had a very negative effect. A trial case that started by Amiga Inc in 2007 and ended September 2009. The case was about the rights to everything related to Amiga, the brand name, the OS and compatible hardwares with the AmigaOne brand. 

Even that Hyperion Entertainment won the trial case against Amiga Inc, now owning the AmigaOS, the Amiga Boing Ball logo and AmigaOne brand, Hyperion Entertainment had to pay as much as around 2-300.000 (!) EUR for laywers and other things that made them win the case, which we all are very happy about, but the cost of the victory was a great one.

The 2-300.000 EUR could have helped several important developments rise to completion, and we wouldn't be talking about AmigaOS 4 these days, but rather AmigaOS 5 already! This is a very important fact that wasn't wanted for the public to know, but i feel it's important to be completely honest to the community. It's because of the community's love, passion, belief and support of the Amiga that Amiga has survived for nearly 29 years! You don't see such love, passion and belief in other platforms as strongly as for the Amiga! That's very special!

Making The Difficult Choice

Because of the many heated email exchanges with Mr.Dickinson and the Frieden brothers in hope to realize that things like 3D support should have been in place several months ago, I was warned with a 7 days ban from Hyperion Entertainment Support Forum. Unfortunately, i made the mistake of taking it to be another blog site, so i realized myself that such blogs as here are better left to where they belong - at blog sites like this one, and only focus on getting help with anything Amiga on the support forums. That situation now with Hyperion Entertainment is at least solved, and it has made me be much more careful than earlier.

As for the 2 other contacts, having them as friends don't feel right anymore. I never knew them personally. Only very little about them, as they know very little about me in person. 

While there is surely nothing wrong with them in person, calling people you don't know as friends don't feel right. Not even when you only talk about the Amiga. The Frieden brothers also had me realize that they didn't believe much in the Amiga anymore. It feels for me that they have given up, but because one of them almost died on a hospital, their perspective has changed to focus on what are the most important things in life. Family and health, which is only logical and right to do. It would now be time for other developers to take over.

We only had much contact regarding Amiga, but as i like so many others became frustrated about "broken promises", too many delays and struggling with some people who don't really believe much in the Amiga anymore, removing them as contact is probably for the best. It was however clear that we didn't have much of the same view for the Amiga. Hopefully, a common goal is there for all of us: To see the Amiga arise again as the unique darling it is.

I simply don't want to spend more time being frustrated and wait endlessly on what might or might NOT happen in term of Amiga. We know that AmigaOS 4.2 is on the way, but we don't know how long that will be. As for Warp3D for RadeonHD, i value it now as vaporware. That has appeared to be a broken promise, and it's fate is therefore very uncertain as it stands.

My belief and patience in the Amiga has been tested to the very limit too many times, and i feel this limitation has closely reached an end, as i am about to consider making what would probably be my most difficult choice ever - To continue staying with the Amiga or leaving it.

Hope is a very dangerous thing to loose!

In The Hands Of AmiWest 2013

The only hope now is for me to watch the AmiWest 2013 show, taking place in Sacramento this year, and try to learn what news there is to tell the Amiga community. Hopefully there will be great news, or everything we have fought for the Amiga would be lost to us. It remains to be seen what will happen.

Does it mean i have lost faith in the Amiga? Despite everything that has happened to me this year and the promises that have been made, which felt broken and not yet in place, i would say my faith is not completely lost, but it also isn't what it used to be. My perspective has changed somehow, which i can't fully explain, but i will try my best anyway.

It's very hard to accept the fact that the Amiga, even as a modern system of today, is still very much a hobby system, and as you can see for yourself, some important elements are still missing, which would help AmigaOS become complete. 3D support is one of many important things that will complete an OS. Without such, AmigaOS doesn't appear much of a fun, and i think most of us can fully agree on that. That also leave us to another, important question.

What is the point of keep donating for different Amiga programs when AmigaOS is not yet fully completed? Then you loose the point, and i have decided to wait donating for more programs until the important, missing elements of AmigaOS4 are all in place.

Therefore, AmiWest 2013 will be very important in term of future plans for the Amiga. They can either turn out to be really good, or really bad. We will know the weekend 18-20th of October 2013. Personally, i will watch the news of the show carefully and make a decision.

When XBox Becomes More Fun Than The Amiga

When XBox becomes more fun than the Amiga

Never thought i was going to put it like this, but playing advanced 3D games on my XBox 360 Slim many times appear more of a fun than playing games on my Amiga system. It's kinda ironic, isn't it?

State-of-the-art technology as seen in XBox can hardly be compared with the Amiga. These are 2 very different architectures and technology. Still, the differences between them are very obvious.

Games i use to play on my XBox 360 Slim are mostly the Assassin's Creed series. The latest one i am playing most and already have completed, is Assassin's Creed 3, which have you to play a half Mohawk-indian and brite as an Assassin, fighting for justice in America around the timeframe of the later years of the 17th century, which i find very interesting.

Connor in a wintered Boston for missions

You play as Connor. A boy rose to destruction of his land and the death of his mother in a fire, svearing revenge to the people behind. The game is fantastic!

There is so much in the game to do! Not only the main story line with the main missions to assassinate certain persons and groups, but to get involved with several people to learn about them, helping them, hunting in the forests at different animals, running a pirate ship, finding hidden stories and treasures, recruiting new assassins, playing minor games like Fenora, doing things like fighting tournaments and more.

A very cool addition to the game was an alternative storyline to play, called "The Tyranny of George Washington" where you wake up in a dream where George Washington has become a king, paralyzed by the Apple of Eden, which was a powerful, deadly weapon that could control the mind of others. This alternative storyline has 3 episodes called Infamy, Beytrayal and Redemption. They are really exciting additions to the overall game! Even having the power of the bear, the wings of the eagle and the stealth speed of the wolf is pretty cool, really!

Overall, a very exciting and fantastic game worth the money! Graphic, audio and music, as well as animations are pretty close to real movies! The camera focus on close combats where you see Connor do different fighting technics against his enemies is very impressive!

Another Assassin's Creed is on the way, where you will play as Edward Kenway, the grandfather of Connor and father of Hathway Kenway, who was Connor's father. Edward Kenway is both a pirate and a true assassin. Playing as him in Assassin's Creed - Black Flag will be very interesting, setting place in Caribbian - the home of the pirates!

Looking Onto XBox One

XBox One - the successor of XBox 360

The new XBox One is coming early 2014. It's definitely a console i am waiting for! With blu ray, support for 4K 2160p and much improved graphic and sound, you are into movie-like excitement!

Playing new games as the new Assassin's Creed - Black Flag also will be released for XBox One, will be very exciting to play, with much better graphic and audio than on XBox 360! You have to see to believe!

Also playing blu-ray both in the normal 1080p and in a near future, in 4K 2160p will also be very cool! You will need a UHD-TV to make use of the new 4K resolution taking over.

It's therefore somehow ironic for me talking more about the new XBox than the Amiga, but that is actually the case, as things remain for now. As long as the already mentioned, missing elements in AmigaOS4 are not in place, i rather then spend more time playing on my XBox, until it will be great fun to use the Amiga again, playing advanced 3D games.

Well, this completes the blog, which appear to be a long, but excellent blog. I think this blog justifies itself, which i am very happy about. I completely speak out from my hart and i am not afraid to express my thoughts and feelings, as long as they remain polite, clean and straight.

Now, let us see what AmiWest 2013 will bring. Fingers crossed for the best. The fate of the Amiga is in the hands of Hyperion Entertainment, A-EON Technology and ACube. Let us hope they will bring up really great news, or everything Amiga may be lost...forever!

See you in the next blog, folks!

Written by:

Helge Kvalheim