Author: Francis E. Hagopian

I'm Francis E. Hagopian, and I'm the voice and vision behind Billionaire365.com. For the last 15 years, I've lived and breathed Silicon Valley culture, arming myself with insights and know-how that I can't wait to share with you. Think of me as your personal guide in the intricate maze of technology. I specialize in translating the complex into the understandable, so you can turn knowledge into power. This isn't just about staying in the loop; it's about giving you the tools you need to excel in a digital age. When you're looking for reliable tech insights, know that I've got your back.

Categories
Tech

Is Windows 7 Microsoft’s Best Operating System Ever?

Photo by Itadaki on Unsplash

Windows 7 is now 14 years old, and it stopped receiving technical support from Microsoft in January 2020. But even so, many companies out there still prefer running Windows 7 on their computer, not to mention that there are numerous folks who still prefer to cling to the good ol’ operating system.

Despite its venerable age, Windows 7 is still preferred by many today, and at least for its time, it was considered Microsoft’s best operating system ever released. But why would someone consider that about such an old and apparently obsolete operating system? Let’s find out:

“It just works”

Some sources claim that Steve Jobs once said about Windows 7 that “it just works.” Whether it’s true or not, it represents the essence of what could be said best about the 14-year-old operating system. It’s stable and mature, and that’s all you can want if you don’t care about some little tech gimmicks that are present on Windows 10 or 11.

Although Windows 7 was built upon the foundation of Windows Vista, it addressed many of its predecessor’s problems. Windows 7 rapidly gained a reputation for reliability and stability, providing a smoother experience than ever for the users.

Performance efficiency

Windows 7 was built in a way that was more efficient with the resources compared to its predecessor, Windows Vista. At its release, Windows 7 was able to run well on multiple hardware configurations. Pretty much any computer that can go online can run Windows 7 nowadays, although we need to keep in mind that many of the new laptops and desktop PCs on the market have a built-in restriction in case you want to install Windows versions older than Windows 10. But there should be a way to overcome that restriction somehow.

Longevity

Longevity is a very important aspect of an operating system if we want to assess how efficient it is. The mainstream support for Windows 7 ended in 2015, while extended support continued until January 2020. Microsoft understood that Windows 7 had a huge fanbase, which determined them to offer extended support, allowing users and businesses to rely on the operating system for an extended period of time without the pressure of opting for an upgrade.

User-friendly interface

This part might be subjective, but very few people could possibly deny that Windows 7 has a friendly interface. The corners and the margins had a very pleasant and smooth appearance, appearing transparent with a shade of light blue for the default colors. For Windows 7, Microsoft refined the Windows Aero visual style and introduced the Superbar, which is now known as the taskbar. Features such as Snap and Aero Peek also contributed to the friendly interface of Windows 7.

Windows 7 users also had the possibility to change the theme into a more modern or even retro one if that’s what they wanted, which is always a nice feature for any operating system out there.

Ultimately, saying for sure which Windows version is the best can be purely subjective, but nobody can deny that Windows 7 offered some amazing advantages for its time. It is still preferred today by some netizens to the detriment of Windows 11 or Windows 10, believe it or not.

 

Categories
Tech

Top Reasons to Buy an iPhone

Photo by Tron Le on Unsplash

Many people consider iPhones too expensive for what they have to offer, but we all know how the world works: people say a lot of things that are not necessarily true. About 1.5 billion of the world’s population represents active iPhone users, and that number will probably even go up in the near future.

Let’s say you think about buying an iPhone while you’re still not absolutely sure that it’s what you need and want. You can’t buy an iPhone or any other gadget just because your friend has one, as you’re an educated and rational person who seeks objective arguments above anything else. Or at least that’s how it should be. Either way, let’s see what the most important reasons you can have for buying an iPhone, whether it’s one of the old models or a high-end device (iPhone 15, iPhone 14, iPhone SE, etc.):

Both the software and hardware parts are built by the same company

One very important difference between iPhones and Android devices is that in the case of the first gadgets, the same company is responsible for creating both the software and the hardware part. Apple has created and maintains the iOS operating system, while the same Cupertino-based giant is also responsible for creating the iPhones themselves. Before asking, “so what?,” you must be aware that any device will work much better if the operating system cooperates efficiently with its hardware area. That’s certainly the case for iPhones, which is why so many people prefer using them.

Camera quality

iPhones are usually renowned for their great camera quality, and let’s face it: taking photos and recording videos are among the main reasons why people buy smartphones nowadays! Apple is known for investing a lot in advanced camera technology, computational photography, and software enhancements. As a result, those iPhones will be capable of impressive photo and video capabilities.

You can convince people that you are a rich person

If you want to make others believe that you’re filthy rich, as you can’t seem to think about any other way of impressing your crush, you could consider buying an iPhone. You can even make some extra financial efforts, such as eating less for several months in a row in order to save the amount of money that you need. A new high-end iPhone is usually priced at around $1,000, which means that you definitely need to make some effort to make that kind of money. But as long as others will believe that you’re a rich person, if and only if you truly want that, what else could matter more?

Wide range of accessories

iPhones can also benefit from a wide range of compatible accessories, such as chargers, cases, smart devices such as Apple Watch smartwatches, and more. In other words, iPhones will open the door for you to a diverse and generous ecosystem.

Customer Support

We all have our moments when we need to reach customer support and demand answers, even if it’s about something that we can fix ourselves. iPhones usually offer some interesting customer support service, as those guys are always polite and willing to help out their customers. You can reach customer support through AppleCare, Apple Stores, and even online resources.

In the end, as long as you don’t reach customer support just because you forgot to charge your phone and you wonder why the device doesn’t start anymore, it shouldn’t be a problem.

There are numerous online stores that you can use to buy your next iPhone, such as eBay, Walmart, T-Mobile, the Apple Store itself, and many more.

Categories
Games News

The Official GTA 6 Trailer is Available to Watch – What We Know About the Game So Far

Credit: Rockstar Games

The long and unbearable wait is finally over, as the official trailer for GTA 6 has finally arrived. We can open the champagne as we can finally feast our eyes on official footage of the most anticipated game in history. As we shared the news a few days ago, the trailer was just several days away, and we can now watch it in all its glory.

GTA 6 will have a female protagonist in its main cast, although a guy will be in that role as well. Those two people form a couple that is ready to get into all sorts of trouble, and they have the strong creed that they can succeed only by remaining together.

GTA 6 comes out in 2025

We were expecting to see three protagonists in GTA 6, similar to GTA 5, where Trevor, Michael, and Franklin are in the main roles. Who knows, maybe a third protagonist for GTA 6 will be revealed later, although, at this point, it seems that there will be only two protagonists: a guy and a gal.

Words are useless at this point. Feel free to put on a nice costume, have champagne near you, and thank God for this wonderful moment as you watch the official GTA 6 trailer:

At first glance, the graphics look absolutely stunning, the NPCs look more real than they’ve ever been, and the surroundings look full of action. Everybody seems to do something in this game.

GTA 6 brings back a fictional Miami

As it has been heavily speculated so far, GTA 6 marks a return to Vice City (fictional Miami). However, it won’t be the same Vice City from the legendary GTA Vice City that came out more than 20 years ago. At that point, it was the fictional Miami from the ’80s. In GTA 6, we’ll receive a more modern Miami set in the world of our times. We can easily deduce that from the trailer, as we can see a lot of people who want to post their activities on social media apps.

Social apps are dominating the show

GTA 6 will probably satirize the world of social media, in which everybody wants to make live shows of their activities, regardless of how boring they might be. GTA 5, on the other hand, the latest GTA game released, is well-known for its satirical content. “Life invader” was a reference in GTA 5 to Facebook, as at that time, the famous platform was dominating the world. Through the game’s irony, it emphasizes the idea that Facebook tries to invade our lives, and we could see something similar in GTA 6 as well.

We don’t have to avoid saying that out there in the real world, people are clinging too much to social media apps that they use to show their lives, no matter what boring and useless activities they might have. GTA 6 can surely explore that to its own advantage by satirizing the behaviors of such netizens.

Will GTA 6 be available only for consoles?

According to various sources, GTA 6 will first be released only for consoles at some point in 2025, which means that PC gamers will have to wait longer or even forget about the idea of running the game on their PC. Judging by the trailer, the graphics and mechanics of the highly-anticipated game might be much more than Windows PCs can handle. Perhaps we’ll even have PlayStation 6 and the next-generation Xbox consoles when GTA 6 comes out; who knows?

It’s been ten years since GTA 5, the latest game of the Grand Theft Auto series, came out. At first, the game was available only for consoles (PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 at first, while it arrived a year later for PS4 and Xbox One), but it was also adapted for PC in 2015.

 

Categories
Games

How the GTA 4 Story Impacted the Grand Theft Auto Series

Credit: Rockstar Games

GTA 4 came out way back in 2008, and it immediately impressed everyone through both its gameplay and graphics. The game was the bee’s knees at its time, even though most GTA fans are more impressed by what GTA 5 has to offer and are more busy waiting for news about the long-awaited GTA 6.

GTA 4 features Niko Bellic in the role of the game’s protagonist, as he’s a war veteran who ran away from the Yugoslavian War in Europe and traversed the ocean with high hopes for a better life. Once Niko arrives in Liberty City (fictional New York) and is eager to start making money with his cousin Roman, the protagonist discovers that life as a free man can be just as difficult as on the battlefield. While Niko is also not all peaches and cream, he can get into trouble very easily.

Each and every GTA fan can agree that the story of GTA 4 is extremely dark and full of dark humor. While violence and killing are usual elements of the Grand Theft Auto series, Rockstar took it to a whole new level in GTA 4. This game easily remains the darkest GTA game ever made and for good reasons. But apart from the ‘dark’ aspect, there’s more to the GTA story. Let’s get into detail a bit:

Emotional impact:

The story of Niko Belllic and the ways he interacts with other characters, such as his cousin Roman and a potential girlfriend, added emotional depth to the game. Furthermore, the choices players made during the storyline had consequences, affecting the game’s multiple possible endings. That was extremely interesting to see back in 2008 when the game came out, as it was a premiere for many gamers to see such an approach.

Narrative depth:

Compared to predecessor games, GTA 4 has brought a more nuanced and character-driven narrative. While, as we said, Niko Bellic, the protagonist, was a complex character who had a troubled past, we also shouldn’t forget that the story delved into themes such as family, immigration, and the pursuit of the so-called American Dream.

Earlier GTA games featured more caricatured characters, and GTA 4 has the merit of departing from them and setting a new standard for storytelling in the insanely popular Grand Theft Auto series.

Realism and serious topics

We also need to admit that GTA 4 shifted towards a more realistic portrayal of the game world and gaming characters. The storyline features serious topics such as betrayal, organized crime, as well as the consequences of violence. Such a departure from the satirical and over-the-top tone that dominated previous games proved the capacity of the series for more mature storytelling.

The introduction of expansions

Besides the main storyline, GTA 4 also introduced story expansions (more commonly known as DLCs nowadays) in the form of “The Ballad of Gay Tony” and “The Lost and Damned.” Such expansions provided players with different perspectives on the events that took place in GTA 4 and further deepened the narrative even more. Such an approach influenced the design of future Rockstar games, such as “Red Dead Redemption 2,” which had multiple interconnected narratives.

GTA 4 is the last game of the Grand Theft Auto series that had a single protagonist. GTA 5 has three: Trevor, Franklin, and Michael. As for the upcoming GTA 6, it will also have three protagonist characters, and one of them is a woman.

Categories
Games

How Video Games Can Benefit Your Mental Health

Image by Pexels from Pixabay

A lot of parents out there are worried that video games can make their children violent, aggressive, or prone to neglecting their homework. And you know what? That’s somewhat true as long as the child spends too much time playing video games and if he doesn’t receive a strong education at home. Otherwise, gaming can be beneficial for people of all ages, and we’ll immediately explain why.

Gaming is a form of entertainment, and no developer or publisher created a game in order to make someone become violent or aggressive. Most of the time, video games display aggressive behavior in order to show that those who don’t behave well in society will face their downfall sooner or later. As for the other video games, the developers and publishers simply don’t care, but that doesn’t mean that they encourage any kind of antisocial behavior.

Video games can actually benefit the player’s mental health, and here’s how:

Stimulating ambition and reflexes

Many times in video games, such as shooters like Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, or Sniper Ghost Warrior, the player needs to be extremely careful to shoot his opponents at the right moment. If he delays even a second, that can be enough for him to miss the mark and become the next target in the game. In a game like those from the FIFA series, on the other hand, you constantly need to be aware of your opponent’s moves and tactics, while at the same time, you need to apply yours at the right time. In other words, there’s a lot of strategic thinking needed to win a match in a FIFA game, which is another confirmation that video games stimulate your mind a lot.

The more you progress through an RPG game, for instance, the harder the game itself will become. If the current level isn’t enough for you and you need the game to become harder, don’t worry, as most video games offer you the option to increase difficulty. In other words, video games seriously stimulate the players’ ambition.

Reducing stress

A lot of those who like to play video games say that such a task induces them a state of relaxation, which will automatically reduce their stress. It’s a fact that stress is one of the biggest problems in our society, and it can occur because of countless factors: politicians, our jobs, our bosses, not getting paid enough, not getting the chance to succeed at the job, and many more.

Prolonged and chronic stress can also significantly impact both our physical and mental health, and that could potentially contribute to the development of various diseases. If you want a list of health conditions that have been associated with chronic stress, you can consider depression, anxiety, hypertension, immune system suppression, gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, and type 2 diabetes.

Guess what conditions such as depression or type 2 diabetes can do to you if you don’t treat it? Both of these two conditions can have serious consequences for a person’s health, such as contributing to severe complications that could even be potentially life-threatening.

You got the idea: playing video games can help you get rid of stress, while stress can lead to even worse conditions if you don’t take good care of it.

Ultimately, we must all be well aware that video games are useful only as long as you use them in the right way. Excessively playing video games would certainly not be a good idea in most cases. But excess, in general, is not good, regardless of what domain you apply it to.

Exit mobile version