I have noticed Windows 8 machines seem to be prone to hang at shutdown. While this isn't the case for all Windows 8 systems, its more common then one would think. I believe it more hardware related then software. Simply put a driver or some other piece of software for your motherboard, RAID controller, etc just isn't working right with Hybrid Boot. The good news? Its a very easy fix.

So if your Windows 8 PC is hanging on shutdown or just taking forever to turn off, then follow the steps below to disable Hybrid boot.
Step 1: Open Control Panel and click on Hardware and Sound.

Step 2: Click on Power Options

Step 3: Click "Choose what the Power Button Does"

Step 4: Click "Change Options that are currently Unavailable" at the top of the Window. (You will get a User Account Control prompt, click Continue. The options will not be greyed out anymore.)

Step 5: Remove the Check box from "Turn On Fast Start Up"



























Step 6: Open an Elevated Command Prompt. To do this, Simply Press the Windows Key + X. You will see a menu pop up in the lower left hand corner. Click on Command Prompt (Admin)  (Click Continue if Prompted)

Step 7: In the elevated Command Prompt type powercfg.exe /hibernate off and press enter. If all goes well, you should get a message telling you the process was successful.

Step 8: Restart the PC.

Thats it! Now your Windows 8 system should not hang on shutdown anymore!

Enable Windows 8 Hybrid Boot

If you need to reverse these steps, just follow the instructions below.

Step 1: Open an Elevated Command Prompt. To do this, Simply Press the Windows Key + X. You will see a menu pop up in the lower left hand corner. Click on Command Prompt (Admin)  (Click Continue if Prompted)

Step 2: In the Elevated Command Prompt type powercfg.exe /hibernate on and press enter. If all goes well, you should get a message telling you the process was successful.

Step 3: Open the Control Panel, then Power Options.

Step 4: Click "Choose what the Power Button Does"

Step 5: Click "Change Options that are currently Unavailable" at the top of the Window. (You will get a User Account Control prompt, click Continue. The options will not be greyed out anymore.)

Step 6: Remove the Check box from "Turn On Fast Start Up"

Step 7: Restart the PC.

Now Hybrid Boot is re-enabled.

To learn more about Hybrid Boot, see the Microsoft article titled Delivering fast boot times in Windows 8

For more information on Windows Hibernation, and how to enable or disable it, see  Microsoft KB 920730

I was catching up on some reading this evening, when i stumbled across a very interesting read over at Bruce Schneier's Blog. The topic in question is about the F2P(Free-To-Play) gaming model that is becoming increasingly popular. The idea became popular at 1st within the MMO community, but has spread to all sorts of other games ranging from PC games to social/mobile games. However, are these games really any better then the Pay-To-Play model?

The pay-to-play model seems to put players on equal footing for the most part. However, the F2P model seems to get the user sucked in initially by being free to download, but requires the player to use money to "buy special privileges or power-ups" in order to get an advantage and win. Schneier talks about the many tricks these games use to get their players to pony up cash for in-game items or privileges.

I have never really got into any F2P online games, but I could see where some big time money could really be made on this.  However, do we really want multi-player games where the winner is decided by who buys what? That does not sound very fun to me. I think for that reason, I will stick with either single-player games or online games that just require a subscription to play without having to buy special in-game items with real money to get edge.

I also recommend reading Gamasutra's article on this topic, its very interesting!

As we all know, E3 was the exciting time when the next generation game consoles were finally unveiled. The Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. In terms of hardware horse power, the two consoles are pretty close. The PS4 has a slightly stronger GPU, but Xbox One's improved Xbox Live is probably better then Sony PSN. I think in this case, we can call that a wash.

All fanboyism aside, I would say the two consoles are pretty even. However, this doesn't seem to stop the non-stop bickering going in various online forums about how each console is better then the other. This generation, honestly, will come down to the same thing it did last generation which is your purchase(for you or your kids) will be decided by 3 things:

1. Price

2. Which Exclusive Titles your interested in.

3. Which console you (or your kids) friends have. This will determine which online service Xbox Live/PSN is going to be most beneficial to you.

Its important to not listen to the naysayers about Xbox One's DRM.

Those policies were rescinded when Microsoft found it wasn't popular with gamers. To be fair, there were some benefits to Microsoft's previous policy. See Steam and PC game eco system to understand that digital distribution may be the way forward in lowering price, and allowing more games to hit the market. However, that is the topic for another post.

In terms of DRM, both consoles are pretty much even right now. So this fall, when it comes to choosing that right game console for yourself or your kids, you can't really go wrong with either one. This generation, both the PS4 and the Xbox One look to have some very good exclusives titles at launch. So take your pick, and have fun!