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Head2Head: The Next Generation (Xbox One vs PlayStation 4)
The biggest news at E3, hands down, was the next generation of consoles. It was hard to escape the hubub to find anyone talking about anything other than the PS4 and the Xbox One. But it's understandable; we only really get new tech like this one a decade. By the conferences alone, most people were talking about how much of a winner Sony was over Microsoft, but after a few days with each system, I came away with a very different impression. More than any other console race in the past, this one is going to be a very, very close battle. So grab a pile of snacks and sit back for our biggest Head2Head ever.
First things first: how do they look? Well, the good news is that both systems are easy on the eyes and enjoyable to look at.
The Xbox One has a strong, commanding presence. You've seen the pictures, but you probably don't have a concept for how huge the system really is. It's bigger than most cable boxes I've seen. I have no doubt that the box has some real heft behind it, but that seems to be part of the idea of the Xbox One. It wants to be seen, it wants to take up room and devour your attention, and that shows in the design.
Like me after two drinks, the One also looks better in person than it does in photos. Something about the way the color gets muted in the images, but standing next to it, that "liquid black" color, supposedly the blackest-black there is, it really pops. I'll miss the "arctic chill" of the original 360 though. The 50/50 design of the new box is set off by the lite white glow of the Xbox logo, juxtaposed far to the right. It's nice to look at. The 3DS's layer cake design comes to mind here: not so hot in the photos, but breathtaking in real life.
On the other hand, the PS4 is by no means an artistic slouch. Like the One, the size is the first thing you'll notice. But with the Playstation, you'll notice how small the device is instead how enourmous. You might ask if Sony forgot to stuff some things inside because it seems even smaller than the newest redesign of the PS3. Makes you wonder how scary small the PS4 Slim will be.
While both of the systems have sharp edges, the PS4 seems to flow more with it's design. It's angled, reminiscent of a chevron, and gives you the feeling that it's in motion. I have to admit, when I first saw it, I wasns't very impressed with the angled edges, and the displays in Sony's booth didn't help my opinion. All the systems they have running were set against triangular white blocks that hid the angle in the back of the system and made the design pop much more. I sort of wish it was build like that instead of being angled on both sides.
Still, for as much as I love the simplicity and solidity of the Xbox One, I'm going to have to give the edge here to the PS4. I don't like its design as much, but I also don't worry that it will break bones if dropped on my foot and it's not making me stare at my play area wondering how on Earth I'm going to find space to shove it in.
The controllers, blessedly, were handled much better this generation than they were last one. Remember that, nine years ago? The Xbox 360 had brought out their smaller, smoother controller and Elijah Wood talked about how nice it felt while Sony introduced us a Boomerang that you had to wave around to control the Sixaxis. Nothing so outrageous is happening this time around, and it seems like Sony is sticking closer to the idea of the DualShock 3 this time.
I'm not as big a fan of the DualShock 4 as I was of the previous iteration. I still like the design, it looks like a cross between a controller and a laptop, wrapped up in smooth edges, but once I got my hands on it, I liked it much less. The first thing you'll notice is the crosshatched design on the back. The texture of it seemed to pull in the sweat from my hands in a gross way that made me immediately want to pull out a bottle of sanitizer. The controller feels much smaller and lighter than past iterations as well, reminding me of the original launch sixaxis controller for the PS3. The buttons still feel nice, and the new deeper triggers on the back of the controller are easy to fall in love with.
Most of the design of the controller is the same, but there are two major new additions. The first is the track pad, that black matte pad you see in the middle of the controller, which lets you use your finger to swipe at things in the middle of the game. It seemed responsive enough to be feasible, but like the sixaxis before it, it doesn't seem like a game changer to me. The fact that you really have to either stretch your fingers or alter how you hold the controller also makes it seem like it will quickly become something of a gimmick only used in first-party Sony games on the inside of a year (and we probably will see most third-party controllers built without it). The other new feature is the share button, which I didn't really get to use, but I did press a few times. It seems a bit far away, like the black and white buttons on the old Xbox, and not exactly simple to press.
One last thing on the PS4 controller: they added in a bar of color at the top. I absolutely love the idea of this. While playing Tiny Brains (a game we'll be talking about more soon), each player had a different color assigned to their controller based on the character they played, and I quickly became attracted to the color bar. Instead of shouting "Who's playing green?" I could just lean forward and see. My complaint with it though is that the color bar is angled downward and therefore not really visible to the player unless you flip the controller up to see it. It's not a major problem, but it eliminates many potential uses of the bar, such as displaying your character's health status, since you have to torque your hands to check it.
The Xbox Controller on the other hand is far more conservative. The shape isn't fundamentally changed other than adding a plateau to the top and making it semi-gloss, semi-matte instead of all matte. The center button has been moved up, the function buttons are larger and more centered, and all the words have been wiped away and replaced with images. This could be a problem for newer gamers wondering which one is the "Start" button since it's now the "Two Little Boxes" button or the "Three Little Lines" button. They've increased the size of the letters on the buttons, which I personally don't think looks as good, but isn't a dealbreaker. One change that I really didn't like going in was that the "wings" of the controller have been sharpened, but once I got the controller in my hands, those worries faded away.
The Xbox One controller feels great. It's the same responsive design you know on the 360. A little sharper, and with highly evolved thumbsticks that seem to grip against your finger tips (more of that cross hatch from the back of the PS4 controller, but it felt better here than in my palms). At the EA Ignite booth, I had the chance to quickly jump back and forth between the One controller and DualShock 4, and I found that I quickly came to prefer the Xbox One's new feel than the PS4′s.
Here's how I see this breaking down. The PS4 has everything you'd expect from it, and not much else. The Xbox One has a whole lot of new stuff to love, and a whole lot of new stuff to hate.
Like Sony was with their new controller, the Xbox One's interface is daring. At a Microsoft showing of the system (wonderfully titled "Xbox One-oh-One"), they took the chance to show off some of the radical ways that the One will change the way you interface with your system. Going into E3 on a whole, I was worried that Microsoft had forgotten about games, but at the end of the show, I was wondering why I didn't think more about the alternate functions of my Xbox. I currently use it to watch Netflix far more than I game on it, so the idea of watching TV on it shouldn't be something to be afraid of. And I was impressed with what they showed.
For a demonstration, the Microsoft Rep who was playing the system opened up an NFL game and we started watching it. Then one of her Fantasy Football players scored a touchdown. An achievement like box popped up (note: achievements look way more square now) and told her that she had earned more fantasy football points. With the touch of a button (the center button, I assume), she opened a snap-app that stuck to the side of the screen and let her alter her fantasy football team on the fly. All of this happened while the show was still playing. It made TV seem much more interactive. They also told us you could use the snap-apps for things like Skyping people while watching games or looking through your Netflix list.
One real negative I see with the TV function on the One is that it still requires you to have a set-top cable box to experience most of your programming. So if you live in a house where the cable box is in the living room, but your Xbox One is on a different television, you pretty much lose most of that functionality (you can still use it with Netflix and Hulu). As someone who currently keeps his gaming systems in his office, I'd be remiss to have to move my work to the living room.
But beyond the television like functionality of the One, they also have a very, very impressive display made from a NASA program. Jeff Henshaw, the Lead Engineer on the Xbox One, began the demo with the Xbox One processing as much as it's little heart could handle, putting up tens of thousands of celestial bodies on to the screen and mapping their orbit through our galaxy in real time. But then, the One linked up to the internet and accessed one of "hundreds of thousands of severs in dozens of data centers around the world" to help it compute the rest of the stars, and the number of bodies being processed jump up by a factor of 30. It was an incredibly impressive demo, seeing what basically amounted to a scientific supercomputer working while completely silent right in front of my eyes. It was what I hoped SimCity would be (but we all know how that turned out).
As for the PS4, the focus relied much more heavily on interactivity and sharing. Connections to social media, the ability to instantly post what you're playing, and messaging across systems basically turning into IM, the PS4 certainly wants to be social media friendly. I wasn't exactly interested by it since most of my friends don't care much about what I'm doing, but if social media is your thing, it all looks very fast and incredibly easy to use.
One thing that I'm a bit concerned with for the PS4′s interface is that much of it seems reliant on typing. If they really want to pull me away from my computer, they're going to have to make a better method of input than typing via a digital keypad (the trackpad doesn't help). Even with a full on keyboard, I feel like it would be much faster to just open up my computer and post via that. The best thing it has going for it is the new video editing suite, which lets you upload your gameplay as it records you playing, but we have to remember that Sony doesn't seem like they're trying to reinvent the wheel here. The XMB on the PS3 had a very conservative design and that has carried over to the new system. It's a box much more focused on getting you to your game and letting you enjoy it.
Did you hear? The PS4 requires you to pay for Playstation Plus now to play your games online. Gone are the days of playing things online for free, and hopefully to come are the days of Sony having service as rocksolid as Xbox LIVE.
So what separates the two? Well, for starters, there's a ten dollar price gap, with Sony having the cheaper service at $50 a year instead of LIVE's $60. But beyond that, PS+ just gives you a world of goodies that LIVE doesn't even come close to. You get the "Instant Game Collection", which gives you piles of great games right from the outset, and then betters it by adding new ones every month. There are plenty of games that I find out about simply because they're give to me. The Xbox doesn't have anything like this, unless you count their attempt to give away free games later this year leading up to the launch of the One, a service which, sadly, doesn't seem likely to continue on to the new system. But beyond that, Sony is also giving away DriveClub, one of their exclusive next gen games, for free to Plus subscribers. That's a bold more that I don't see Microsoft ever trying to replicate (though they have the perfect chance with Kinect Sports Rivals).
Xbox LIVE, on the other hand, is consistently awesome in terms of connection. It rarely goes down for maintenance, unlike the PSN, and when it does go down, they tell you well ahead of time. Their voice chat and cross game chat has been better since launch, and only looks to increase in utility with the introduction of the Skype snap app that will let you video chat while doing anything on the One. They're both bound to have their problems: the PSN went out for over a month a while back and LIVE had people hacking accounts to buy stupid amounts of FIFA points, but overall I still expect LIVE to be the better performing service. I also still expect it to be the system where little kids scream my ears off when I try to play a match in Black Ops 2.
Overall, I'd say the oodles of freebies from Plus outweigh the sometimes not-as-great nature of the Playstation Network. The real cincher is the lower monthly cost, something that will make a big difference to people trying to save a buck.
This part hardly seems fair, so if you're keeping tally, we'll call this one a freebie. Still, Sony seems intent on taking on Microsoft in this court, releasing a new camera for the PS4, so I'll evaluate it (and I'm not going to be talking about the new Kinect elsewhere until the One actually comes out).
The 4 Eye (Now officially titled the "Playstation Camera") for the PS4 seems very much like the last Playstation Eye. It's better designed, picking up a longer, blocky shape like the Kinect has, but it's much smaller. As far as functionality, however, it doesn't seem like much is there. At they PS4 unveiling, Sony stated that the Camera would be able to track the color bar of the DualShock 4 in 3D space and would use it much like the move controllers. At the show, they show a tech demo called "The Playroom", the only thing there that even bothered with the Camera, but it didn't really seem that impressive. I never got my hands on it, but I watched as a few people stumbled about trying to get the sensor to work. It's a much more clumsy input than the Move (which I thought was far better than the Kinect), and you no longer seem able to use both hands to play. Unless they bring out a Move 2 for the system with updated controls, it doesn't seem like the Playstation Camera will be something that anyone ever cares about, and if they do come out with a Move 2, you're in for a pricey upgrade (it cost about $190 for a full Move set when it launched).
As for the Kinect, it has seen a vast upgrade. It's to be expected: the Kinect is part of Microsoft's design philosophy while the Playstation Camera was just something Sony did to put a checkmark in a box. Aside from increased voice searching capabilities (the only thing the original Kinect did that made it worth it), the new Kinect can track you in a plethora of ways. The body tracing function can now see individual joints as they move; it can see you in infrared; it can make a weird Minecraft shaped version of you to track your orientation; it reads your force, motion, and heartrate; and it can even track what your face looks like while you're using it. The fact that it can do this in zero light is both awesome and scary.
There was a lot of talk at the demonstration for the Kinect about how your body is a "third thumbstick" for your controller that was never being utilized. The goal of the unit is to turn you and your motions into a part of the game. How does this work? Well, the tech demo they had showed this off fairly well. It was a basic shooter type game with polygonal enemies attacking. There were three levels designed to show off the Kinect's function. In the first level, some of the enemies had weakpoints that couldn't been seen, so the player tapped his skull quickly and turned on his X-ray vision, allowing him to see the enemies. Then, he tapped his forehead again to turn it off. Of the three levels, this one seemed the most functional and likely to be found in another game. It would work pretty well in something like Splinter Cell, allowing you to cycle through your visions quickly. It also was the demo that required the least exaggerated of the motions, a problem that plagued the last Kinect and drove many players away from it.
For the second level, an enemy was shooting at the player, and he lifted up his controller to shield his face, as if scared. The Kinect sensed this and made the character pull up a shield. It was neat, but since the function wasn't mapped to a button, you'd have to do this every time you wanted to block. This is one of the ways that motion controls start to break down for hardcore players. Many people like to play games in compromised positions (I often play laying down on the floor) and ranges of motion are hard. Something like tapping your skull isn't hard in any position, but lifting your arms up can get cumbersome. I was assured that the Kinect would be able to track you through a range of positions, but I didn't see it in person.
For the final level, the player had to lean back and forth to dodge oncoming attacks. When he leaned, his character launched himself to the side. It was the most physical of the three activities and the one I thought would be hardest to do while sitting down in a relaxed position. Jeff Henshaw, the player, made very large movements to get his character to move, and twice his avatar didn't move along with him. The tracking seemed far superior to the old Kinect, but it looks like it still has a few problems (this could be part of the tech demo though).
Still, even though I wasn't blisteringly impressed with the new Kinect, I do like the idea that every system will come with one. The biggest problem with the 360′s motion controls was that it divided the user base, and many games skipped out on motion controls because they didn't know who had them and who didn't and they couldn't alienate part of their customer base. So with the Xbox One, you can at least expect that we'll see a lot more Kinect integration, and much more functionality inside of their games when you do use the camera.
Really, all of this talk of hardware and interfaces, its doesn't amount to jack if you don't want to play any of the games that are on the system. We call them "game consoles" for a reason. So this round is the heavyweight champion of the Head2Head. Games matter.
Starting with the Xbox One this time around, we can see that this system is no slouch. Though Microsoft has been seriously lacking in the exclusives department for the past two years or so, they came back in extreme force for this E3. The lineup: Forza 5, Ryse, Sunset Overdrive, Killer Instinct, Dead Rising 3, Quantum Break, D4, Kinect Sports Rivals, Below, Rabbids Invasion, Crimson Dragon, Project Spark, and Titanfall. Of course, there are many other games coming to the system, but they aren't exclusive to the Xbox One and therefore don't make a convincing argument over why you need one system instead of the other (and those games, like Witcher 3 and Battlefield 4, are real system sellers for me).
That's an impressive lineup, but I get the feeling that only a few of those games will matter outside of the launch title window. As you may remember from past generations, the launch window is usually riddled with games that don't really go anywhere. The 360 launched with Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo, King Kong, Call of Duty 2, Condemned, Amped 3 and a bunch of sports games that carried over from the last generation. Condemned got a sequel, and Call of Duty carried on, but the rest are just corpses now. Within the first year, the only titles we saw that went on to be big were Dead Rising and Gears of War. So expect something like that to happen here as well.
If I had to speculate, I'd say that Forza 5 and Titanfall will be the survivors. Forza is already a well established franchise that isn't going to dodo-out anytime soon. And there's no use arguing about Titanfall; it was one of the only games at the Show that Burke and I could agree was phenomenal (and we both went in expecting to snooze through the presentation). Ryse was nice to look at and it seemed fun enough, but it just feels like one of those one-word-name launch games you'll forget about a few years down the line (Haze? Lair? Kameo? Gun?). Killer Instinct and Project Spark will likely show strong enough to get sequels, but they still feel to niche to me to sell systems. Quantum Break will be a critically acclaimed classic that won't do well in sales (See: Alan Wake) and I really don't know what to make of Sunset Overdrive.
As for the Playstation 4, it has a much smaller number of titles announced as exclusives, but that's to be expected. The PS2 and the PS3 both were thin on the exclusives at the start and huge on the back end. This year alone for the PS3 has brought us Ni No Kuni, God of War: Ascension, The Last of Us, Gran Turismo 6, MLB: The Show 13, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Tales of Xillia, and Beyond: Two Souls. That's a huge number of titles compared to the 360′s, which, outside of XBLA, is only getting Gears of War: Judgement and DARK (which is also on PC).
But the promise of titles later in the life of the system doesn't make up for the thinness at launch. Here's the Playstation 4′s prospects: Deep Down, DriveClub, inFamous: Second Son, Killzone: Shadow Fall, Knack, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, and The Order: 1886.
inFamous and Killzone are sure to be the system sellers here. Killzone is greatly aided by the fact that it launches the day of the system, which means it will likely be the game people pick up beside their PS4 (and maybe Watch Dogs and Battlefield 4). inFamous, on the other hand, doesn't launch until late spring, if it doesn't get delayed, so it's barely inside the the launch window and won't generate many Day One sales, similar to Titanfall on the Xbox One. It's something to look forward to, though.
The game I seriously looking forward to though is Knack. What I saw of it at E3 made it instantly one of my favorite games. The platforming is reminiscent of Ratchet and Clank and the graphics are gorgeous. It's adventurous is a way that brings Kameo to mind for the launch of the 360 and I sincerely hope that the game sells gangbusters alongside day one system purchases.
Overall, there are a ton of titles coming to both systems at launch and we certainly aren't going to have a 3DS situation on our hands where we're buying the system to wait for the good games. While the PS4 has a few very, very strong titles, the One just has a lot more up front (like the 360 did). In terms of sheer quantity, this round is going to the green box.
For many of our readers, this will be the major make or break point. What you get for the price. Let's break that down.
The Xbox One has a base cost of $499.99. You get the system, a controller and your cables, and the new Kinect. Games will still cost $60. Xbox Live is said to be $60 a year still, but I would not be surprised if we see a jump in the price at a later date similar to how the 360 had a mid-life price increase.
The Playstation 4 has a base cost of $399.99. That's for the system, controller, and cables to run the thing. The camera they sell costs $60 separately. Playstation Plus is now required to run your games online and will cost $50 a year, but things like Netflix won't require PS+.
It's pretty clear that the One is going to be the more expensive of the two systems. It costs more from the outset and has a higher priced yearly subscription fee. Their premium service offers a great deal less than the Sony's as well. In fact, Sony is giving away free downloads of one of their first next gen games, Driveclub, to everyone who is subscribed to their network. And since you need the subscription to play online, that's a lot of people. Still, the fact that you aren't blocked out from things such as Netflix makes the price of the Sony system much more attractive. And we can't forget the fact that Sony is going to continue the "instant game collect" on the PS4, which is a deal so unbelievable that if you traveled back in time to 2006 and told them about it, they'd laugh you into a grave. Even if you want to throw in the camera, you're still spending $50 less off the bat and getting a whole lot more in terms of service.
Which system is better? It's hard to tell right now. Until we can get the systems under our lens to test the performance differences between the DDR3 and GDDR5 set-ups, we're not going to truly have a champ. But the race is neck and neck right now. Let us know which one you're planning on picking up in the comments.
Written By: D.R. Maddock
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The Dutchman takes you through 43 minutes of tight selection and in-depth mixing across his unique take on the sound on modern Techno. While keeping his sound current, 2562 is still able to pay homage to Detroit through the use of rhythmical percussion and distinctive drive. Taken from the Ninja Tune online radio, this mix will certainly give you a good idea of what to expect from 2562 at Dimensions this year.
Archive for 2562
2562 – Solid Steel Radio Mix March 2012Posted in News with tags 2562, Ambient Garage, Bass, Electronic, Listen, Mix, Ninja Tune, Preview, Solid Steel, Stream, Techno on April 19, 2012 by E.N.
The Dutchman takes you through 43 minutes of tight selection and in-depth mixing across his unique take on the sound on modern Techno. While keeping his sound current, 2562 is still able to pay homage to Detroit through the use of rhythmical percussion and distinctive drive. Taken from the Ninja Tune online radio, this mix will certainly give you a good idea of what to expect from 2562 at Dimensions this year.
2562 'Air Jordan' EP(Preview) [DOUBT002]Posted in News with tags 2562, Air Jordan, Bass, DOUBT002, Electronic, EP, Listen, Preview, Stream, When In Doubt on March 9, 2012 by E.N.
Releasedate: March 19th (vinyl) / 26th (digital)
A year and a half in the making – well, spiritually at least – the Air Jordan EP soundtracks a 2010 roadtrip through a captivating country, just before the instant rush that became last year's Fever album and subsequent When In Doubt label launch. Based on field recordings taken in various bustling city centres, rugged desert landscapes, peaceful cornfields, lively amphitheatres, abandoned villages and ancient temples, the EP's four tracks capture glimpses of Jordan's stark and desolated scenery as well as its warm and vivid spirit, channelled and reinterpreted through a simple recording device and a sampler. We hope you enjoy the results as much as we enjoyed travelling.
A1 Solitary Sheepbell
A2 Desert Lament
B1 Jerash Hekwerken
B2 Nocturnal Drummers
2562 – 'Jerash Hekwerken'Posted in News with tags 2562, Air Jordan, Electronic, Experimental, Jerash Hekwerken, Listen, Preview, Stream on March 8, 2012 by E.N.
2562 -Best of 2011Posted in News with tags 2562, Best Of, Electronic on December 28, 2011 by E.N.
Buy at http://boomkat.com
FabricLive 61 – PinchPosted in News with tags 2562, 61, Addison Groove, Bass, Dubstep, Electronic, Experimental, Fabric Records, FabricLive, Hessle Audio, Honest Jon, King Tubby, Kode9, Mix, Pearson Sound, Press Release, Techno, Tectonic, UK Funky on November 27, 2011 by E.N.
Looking back on the myriad of ways that the genre now known quite loosely as 'bass music' has mutated, one of the key figures in its evolution would have to be Bristol's Rob Ellis, better known simply as Pinch. His fascination with what the outer limits of the dub sound can achieve, has made him a distinct figure within the fluid group of like-minded dubstep musicians that defined the so-called Bristol sound. In 2003, a Kode9 set at London's seminal FWD>> became the stepping-stone into dubstep that inspired him to start the first pure dubstep night outside of FWD>>, Subloaded, in his hometown. With the city's love of dub and long musical lineage, plus Pinch's dedication to the importance of the actual sound, it quickly formed a dedicated community and became a yardstick by which other nascent events were measured. This had all been driven by a key moment in his own musical evolution which as he explains, "I lost interest in D&B and started buying minimal Basic Channel style techno, garage, grime and electronica instead – trying to mix them up together," pre-empting the dominant sound of 4/4 dub-techno embraced by today's crop of young producers, like Hessle Audio, who regularly cite the Bristol sound as a big influence. This embrace of a starker, dubbier sound became the seed from where his Tectonic label grew, and by championing artists like 2562, led to his eventual release of work with dub legend and King Tubby apprentice, Scientist. His FABRICLIVE offering comes hot on the heels of mixes from Pearson Sound and an artist with whom he's just recently released a collaborative album on Honest Jon's, Shackleton. These are all producers who work in a similar vein, that is, impeccable attention to sound detail, continual experimentation with rhythm whilst always maintaining a definitive 'sound' which can be traced throughout all their productions.
The mix itself combines all of Pinch's loves, a blend of both melodic mood-pieces, driving dub-techno and the odd mid-range bass wobble masterfully planted to maximum effect. This is all peppered through in post-production with little vocal samples, mostly supplied by Bristol MC Jakes, that fully form the mix, like the grain in wood, supplying body, making it more than just a sum of its constituent parts. Pinch kicks things off somewhere through a Distal production, a screwed hip-hop vocal making it sound like a paranoiac's reimagining of ghetto-tech. This quickly sets the tone – managing to juggle the ominous with the upfront, like the Lynchian strings of 'In Dreams' which phase seamlessly into the manic energy of Boddika and Joy O's recent smash 'Swims'. The mix really clips along, testament to Pinch's skill behind the decks, most tracks only playing out for a couple of minutes at most. There's a nod to the pure dub-techno of Basic Channel, with a cut from Shed's side-project EQD, mastered at that other altar to all things bass, Berlin's Hard Wax. This drives into another major influence, with Pinch's own remix adding some rolling sine-waves to the guttural vocals of Prince Green on Henry & Louis& neo-dub. A sledgehammer wobble both heralds, and ends, the central section of the mix, with Pinch's collaborative effort with Photek, and Chestplate boss Distance's weighty 'Blue Meanie'. This central nub almost functions as a showcase, Pinch demonstrating some of contemporary dubstep's many flavours: the industrial sounds of Emika, Roska's clattering drums, Addison Groove's use of repeating vocals as a rhythmic weapon and the shimmering techy keys of Goth Trad. The final two tracks are supplied by a couple of the most promising young producers to emerge in the past few years, Londoner OM Unit and Tectonic's own Illum Sphere. 'Pressure' certainly doesn't let up, presenting us with a relentless squiggling synth-line awash in a storm of feedback then changing tack considerably into a steady pulsing beat. Pinch often talks of psychedelic dub, and here Illum Sphere demonstrates it wonderfully, toeing the line between instrumental breakbeats and even deep house, with its ethnic drums, distorted strings and a pitched down warble. This isn't the true end as the mix is bookended with the rest of Distal's track in order to achieve a perfect circularity as Pinch explains.
"I am a supporter of the sound of vinyl and the cultural associations I make with this format so it was important to me – even if I do ultimately end up abandoning my beloved format one day – to stick by my guns and record the mix like this. I also made the whole mix start and finish in the same spot – meaning that the entire DJ mix can work as a loop if you put it on repeat. I really like the idea of certain kinds of music existing in its own infinite context and setting up the mix to loop like that was playing entirely into that idea." – Pinch 2011
Release date: Jan 16, 2012
FabricLive 61 – Pinch
01. Distal – Venom (Part 2) [Tectonic]
02. F – Slow Down [7even]
03. EQD – Equalized #005B [Equalized]
04. Henry & Louis feat. Prince Green – Love Like (Pinch Remix) [2 Kings]
05. Pinch & Shackleton – Rooms Within A Room [Honest Jon's]
06. Deleted Scenes – Natural Law [Deleted Scenes]
07. Pinch & Quest – In Dreams [Tectonic]
08. Boddika & Joy Orbison – Swims [Swamp81]
09. DJ G – Uncertain [Tectonic]
10. Roly Porter – Hessra [Subtext]
11. Photek & Pinch – Acid Reign (Pinch's Dubplate Version) [Photek Productions]
12. Pinch & Loefah – Broken [Tectonic]
13. Emika – Double Edge (Pinch Remix) [Ninja Tune]
14. Roska – 480 BC [Tectonic]
15. Addison Groove – This Is It VIP [Tectonic]
16. Goth Trad – Mach [Tectonic]
17. Distance – Blue Meanie [Chestplate]
18. Jakes – Get Serious [H.E.N.C.H.]
19. Jakes – A Case Of The Bleeps [H.E.N.C.H.]
20. OM Unit – Pressure [Tectonic]
21. Illum Sphere – Promise A Secret [Tectonic]
22. Distal – Venom (Part 1) [Tectonic]
Artwork to replace Martyn when Bloc comes to In:MotionPosted in News with tags 2562, Al Tourettes, Appleblim, Artwork, Beardyman, Behling & Simpson, Bonobo, Burns, Call & Juice, Calvin Harris, Captain Crunch & Stig Of The Dump, Cesar Merveille, Christophe, Clare James, Crazy P, Darren Styles, Dave Little, Deepgroove, Dinky, DJ See, Dougal, Dyed Soundorom, Eats Everything, Engine Earz Experiment, Evil Activities, Fabio, Fairmont Bloc: Jo Hart, Futureboogie DJs, Gamer, Gavin Herlihy, Grahame Farmer Data Transmission & Farr Festival DJs., Guti, Henrik Schwarz, Hixxy, Horse Meat Disco, Illum Sphere, James Holden, JFB, Joker, Julio Bashmore, Klubfiller, Kursk, Kyle Hall, Lukas, Luke Vibert, Marc Smith, Mark Eg, Matt Owen, Maya Jane Coles, Mcs Storm, Nathan Fake, Nu:Tone, Onur Ozer, Pete Tong, Retro/Grade, Robert Dietz, Shonky, Stanton, Subloaded, Tayo, Tiefschwarz Basti, Tom Rio & Dan Wild, Waifs & Strays, Warriors, Whizzkid & Enemy, Zed Bias on November 17, 2011 by E.N.
Due to unforseen and impossible circumstances Martyn has had to cancel his appearance at Bloc as part of In:Motion on the 25th November.
However, to replace him we welcome Artwork. Along with Skream and Benga Artwork is the third member of the mighty Magnetic Man, who have been dubbed the first half step super group. He also part owned the prestigious Big Apple records in Croydon, one of London´s surburbs which saw garage mutate into dubstep.
As Magnetic Man they perform using three computers, one playing drum samples, one playing basses and the third playing leads and samples. Artwork controls the master laptop, to which the other two are synchronised via Midi. Their sets usually consist of a mix of original tracks produced together, and live remixes of Benga and Skream´s tracks. Artwork will be playing alongside Joker, Nathan Fake, James Holden, 2562 plus many more.
As the English winter dictates the end of the UK festival season, Motion's solid structure resumes play indoors letting the spirit of the summer blossom into the winter months.
Nearing the calibre of festival status in scale, sound and energy, Motion continue their expansion into yet more areas of the huge sprawling skate park, with warrens leading to multiple separate spaces, all hosting their own unique party. Their ever-increasing loyal fan base and extensive line-ups are being pushed even further into the double warehouse, as well as outside in the car park, which comes equipped with food court, heated seating area and photo-booth. With each turn you can get more lost in Motion's wondrous world of entertainment and outstanding music.
November sees the Field Day team take the magic of the festival and transport it through the night to the raw and vast confines of Bristol's Motion. After delivering a sterling line-up this summer in London's Victoria Park, they hand pick the best for their In:Motion date, where we can witness DJ sets from Friendly Fires, Erol Alkan and Glaswegian electro whizz kid Hudson Mohawke.
Over the last few years, The BLOC Weekend annual festival has become a compulsory destination for electronic music fans. No other UK festival so vigorously and variously reaps the vanguard of underground dance music past and present quite like they do. Last year they invited down dirty bird Claude Vonstroke and Andrew Weather to fill Motion's Tunnel, with his unique and compelling musical selection. Destined to better themselves from last year, they bring dubstep prodigy Joker, hot off the heels of releasing his album 'The Vision' and Border Community Nathan Fake, for a festival sized line-up in an inner city club.
Sven Vath's Cocoon are to techno what light is to fire. They continue to touch thousands of people across every continent with their inimitable brand and unfaltering shows. With weekly parties at Amnesia during the Ibiza season, Love Family Park, Green & Blue festivals and Cocoon in the Park, Cocoon are becoming synonymous with huge scaling events with immaculate production. One of Europe's leading labels, they bring German duo Tiefschwarz alongside Shonkyand Dyed Soundorom from the French contingent, all heading to the West Country to bring the magic of Cocoon to Bristol for one night only.
Futureboogie join up with the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy and exude a festival feel with live shows from Crazy P and Henrik Schwarz, plus a back room hosted by London's disco mafiaHorse Meat Disco. Ramping things up on the production side are Just Jack, who for their Halloween show bring aerial artists, art installations, costume and make up stalls. Interactive character actors will be roaming and terrorising all night throughout the club, on the floor and hanging from the ceiling. The Gunpowder Plot on the 5th November brings an explosion of action with a firework display, bonfire and circus performers to add more flames to the fire.
Bristol In Motion continues to stage live music events throughout the winter months from October through to the end of December. Offering the finest in musical and performing talent from across the world to touch your heart, body and soul – eyes and ears.
Friday 18th November - ALL GONE PETE TONG: Pete Tong, Calvin Harris, Eats Everything, Retro/Grade, Deepgroove, Burns, Robert Dietz, Cesar Merveille, Waifs & Strays, Grahame Farmer Data Transmission & Farr Festival DJs.
Friday 25th November – BLOC: Subloaded, Joker, Artwork, 2562, Illum Sphere, James Holden, Nathan Fake, Fairmont Bloc: Jo Hart, Al Tourettes, Luke Vibert
Saturday 26th November – RBMA & FUTUREBOOGIE: Henrik Schwarz, Crazy P, Maya Jane-Coles, Julio Bashmore, Futureboogie DJs, Bonobo, Appleblim, Behling & Simpson, Horse Meat Disco, Lukas, Christophe
Friday 2nd December – HARDCORE HEAVEN: Darren Styles, Gamer, Evil Activities, DJ See, Call & Juice, Marc Smith, Kursk, Mark Eg, Klubfiller, Hixxy, Dougal, Mcs Storm, Whizzkid & Enemy
Saturday 3rd December – SHIT THE BEDFull Info Coming Soon
Friday 9th December – BEARDYMAN PRESENTS: Beardyman, Stanton, Warriors, Nu:Tone, Engine Earz Experiment, JFB, Captain Crunch & Stig Of The Dump, Tayo, Fabio, Zed Bias
Saturday 10th December – COCOON: Tiefschwarz Basti, Onur Ozer, Dinky, Guti, Gavin Herlihy, Dyed Soundorom, Shonky, Tom Rio & Dan Wild, Kyle Hall, Dave Little, Clare James, Matt Owen
The full line-ups can now be viewed on www.bristolinmotion.com
DJ-Kicks mixed by Gold PandaPosted in News with tags 2562, Bok Bok, DJ-Kicks, Drexciya, Dubstep, Electronic, Glitch, Gold Panda, LV & Untold, Matthewdavid, Mix, Post-Dubstep, Zomby on September 14, 2011 by E.N.
Gold Panda's mix will be out on October 31.
1. Gold Panda – An Iceberg Hurtled Northward Through Clouds (DJ-Kicks)
2. Melchior & Pronsato – Puerto Rican Girls
3. Bok Bok – Charisma Theme
4. Drexciya – Andreaen Sand Dunes
5. Muslimgauze – Uzi Mahmood 8
6. Pawel – Coke
7. Ramadanman – Revenue (Untold Remix)
8. SND – Palo Alto
9. Zomby – Godzilla
10. Closer Musik – Maria
11. Gold Panda – Back Home
12. Christopher Rau – Do Little
13. Jan Jelinek – If's, And's And But's
14. Nao Tokui – Monolith
15. Sigha – Shake
16. Opiate – Amstel
17. 2562 – Dinosaur
18. Matthewdavid – Like You Mean It
19. Brainiac – The Turnover
20. LV & Untold – Beacon
21. Autistici – Heated Dust On A Sunlit Window
22. Giuseppe Ielasi – 2
2562 – Fever AddendumPosted in News with tags 12", 2562, Aquatic Family Affair, Dubstep, Electronic, EP, Fever Addendum, Techno, UK Funky, Vinyl on August 21, 2011 by E.N.
Arguably the most popular track on 2562's recent 'Fever' album, 'Aquatic Family Affair', was only available on its cd version and a highly limited 10" lp sampler. Due to overwhelming demand for the track on wax here it is again in full glory, extended and re-cut.
Half reissue, half remix 12", the flip has the mighty Head High aka Shed giving his favourite albumtrack 'Wasteland' the PowerhouseTM remix treatment, slow-building and boombastic as only he can. Killer.
Artist: 2562
Title: Fever Addendum
Format: 12" Vinyl
Label: When in Doubt
Release: 05 September 2011
A) Aquatic Family Affair (extended re-cut)
AA) Wasteland (Head High remix)
Bristol In:Motion Presents 2011 SeriesPosted in News with tags 2562, Andy C, Annie Mac, BLOC, Blowpop, Claude VonStroke, Crazy P - live, Darksky, DMZ, Elijah & Skilliam, Events, Field Day Night, Floating Points, Futureboogie XL, FWD Rinse, Heidi, Henrik Schwartz, Hessle Audio, High Contrast, Hospitality, Jamie xx, Joker, Joy Orbison, Martyn, Maya Jane Coles, Midland, Ms Dynamite, Pearson Sound, Pinch, Rusko, Scratch Perverts, Soul Clap, Toddla T on July 7, 2011 by E.N.
Line Up
Featuring: Rusko, Jamie XX, Toddla T, Pearson Sound, Andy C, Pinch, Jamie Jones, Heidi, Soul Clap, Floating Points, Joker, Midland, Scratch Perverts, Henrik Schwartz, Maya Jane-Coles, Crazy P – live, Martyn, 2562, Ms Dynamite, Elijah & Skilliam, Pinch, Darksky
Date: Sat 01st Oct, 2011
Time: 10pm – 6am
Location: Motion Skate Park, 74 Avon Street, Bristol
Price: Various
Bristol In Motion
The new jewel in Bristol's crown, Motion re-opens its doors in October for another season of the highly-charged and hugely loved 'In:Motion' series. Still reeling from the success of last year's sell-out autumn events, 2011 sees them come back bigger, better, stronger, louder with the hottest electronic acts of the moment gracing the infamous Bristol ramp skate-park, turned rave haven.
2010 marked the birth of the In:Motion series when the Bristol based promoter team joined forces with the countries most esteemed music brands, bringing with them the finest talent of the underground music scene to the West Country. Creating a succession of unparalleled parties, each one delivered a mind-blowing night of sensational sounds and immaculate production placing In:Motion firmly on the musical map. As a slew of fresh and talented artists continue to bubble up from the beating heart of Bristol such as Julio Bashmore, Redlight, Eats Everything, Baobinga, Waifs & Strays, Bowski, just the last year alone, the city continues to draw attention and attract producers and DJs from outside. Everyone wants a piece of the sounds and skills that are evolving in the West Country's musical.
Bristol's renowned musical heritage, coupled with the strongest brands in the country has resulted in some of the most highly innovative and respected musical programming out there. Those who've devastated the Motion dance-floor last year, triumphantly return: Hospitality, BLOC, Annie Mac Presents, Bugged Out!, Run and local heavy-hitting party starters Shit The Bed and Just Jack who collectively brought with them High Contrast, Claude Vonstroke, Simian Mobile Disco, Jamie Jones, DMZ and Joy Orbison. Joining the In:Motion fold for the first time bringing more interstellar acts to the table throughout the autumn season, we welcome Hessle Audio, FWD Rinse, Field Day Night, Jamie XX, local boys Futureboogie XL, Blowpop and Invisible Circus.
As a venue Motion is carving itself out to be one of the most exciting and unrivalled clubs around. Now nearing festival-calibre this year, they expand into yet more areas of the huge sprawling skate park creating a warren of separate spaces all hosting their own unique party. The raw confines bore witness last year to the magic of man of the moment Seth Troxler in the main Skate Park, Roska and Untold in the Tunnel, Tensanke lighting things up in The Cave with the addition of the stunning Waterside Terrace providing the perfect backdrop. Now with things being pushed even further into the double warehouse as well as outside in the car park which comes equipped with food court, heated seating area and photo-booth, you can let yourself get lost in Motion's wondrous world of entertainment and outstanding music. Check out everything that Bristol has to offer on RA's Real Scenes series HERE
Seconds out, round 2. Further announcements and line-ups to follow.


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Michael Chow joins editorial advisory board
Chow joins Consulting-Specifying Engineer's editorial advisory board.
Consulting-Specifying Engineer is pleased to welcome Michael Chow, PE, LEED AP BD+C, to the Editorial Advisory Board. He is the owner/founder of Metro CD Engineering LLC based in Dublin, Ohio, and is a licensed PE in 18 states. He is an accomplished professional engineer and entrepreneur. He received a BSEE from Ohio Northern University in 1992. Chow serves on the ONU College of Engineering Advisory Board. He is an officer in the U.S. Green Building Council Central Ohio Chapter. In 2009, Chow received the Consulting-Specifying Engineer and Columbus Business First newspaper 40 Under 40 awards.
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text: Advanced Training: Jet pilots will then spend 92 hours in the TA-4 or T-45, focusing on performing combat maneuvers and night flights. Those with a concentration in turbo-props will head to Corpus Christi, Texas, for a 20-week course that requires 88 hours flight time on the multi-engine T-44 Beech Queen Air. Another 20 hours of instruction using flight simulators and 182 hours of classroom time are also required. Those bound for helicopters will report to South Whiting Field to do their flight training on the TH-57B/C Bell Jet Ranger, where they'll log another 116 hours in the air. After this phase, candidates finally earn their wings.


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Last week the St. Petersburg City Council , which will replace the Pier. Before the next step, the city and Maltzan will collect more feedback from the public on the refinement of the project
Friday, Mayor Bill Foster announced four public meetings on the Lens design:
- Thursday, June 7: 6 p.m., Coliseum, 535 Fourth Ave. N.
- Tuesday, June 12: 6 p.m., Enoch Davis Center, 1111 18th Ave. S.
- Thursday, June 14: 6 p.m. J.W. Cate Center, 5801 22nd Ave. N.
- Tuesday, June 19: Lake Vista Center, 1401 62nd Ave. S.
According to the city, these meetings will be held in advance of Michael Maltzan's visit to St. Petersburg to meet with City Council and project and community leaders in August.
In this week's "Mayor Bill Foster's Weekly Forecast," Foster explains the city's thinking about why the new design is a better option than .
He talks about the weakening pier approach and pier head, which city engineers have said need to be replaced due to cracks in the foundation.
Foster writes:
Even if the city were to replace The Pier approach and Pier Head, we would be left with a 40-year-old building, which drains city dollars through $1.5 million in annual subsidies and would require expensive renovations. Floors 1, 2 and 3, due to their awkward size and layout, cannot command sufficient revenue to be self-sustaining.
And while we all enjoy dinner at the Columbia or Cha Cha Coconut's on floors 4 and 5, operating a restaurant 1/4 of a mile out into the water is not efficient. calls for 6,000 sq. ft. of retail at the land's edge on The Hub, which is a more suitable place for a dining establishment.
Public support for the Lens is not strong. The group says it is close to obtaining the necessary 16,000 verified petitions; organizers say they currently have more than 13,000, to force a referendum on the pier.
At last week's council meeting, more than three-quarters of the citizens who spoke opposed the new design. Earlier this month, of a new poll that showed only 29 percent of respondents supported the city's selection of the Lens design. A majority of respondents, 58 percent, want the city to renovate the existing inverted pyramid.
The Lens was the most popular selection during to choose among designs titled Lens, Wave or Eye.
While the majority of those who voted online or at the St. Petersburg Museum of History were in favor of the Lens, the design included a draw bridge to the Vinoy, a water park and even an amphitheater. Those items, along with other extras, do not fall in line with the $50 million budget the city has for the Lens. Those extras, which the council said are not happening, would cost an additional $100 million.


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Internet of Things
Eight weird and wonderful smart things
Sylvia Pennington From smart soccer balls to a pelvic floor gadget, the 'internet of things' and the cloud are delivering a plethora of weird and, sometimes, wonderful gadgets.
Microsoft's latest numbers explain its mega-layoffs, point to cloud
Hayley Tsukayama CEO Satya Nadella says agility is more important than scale.
Technology making financial playing field uneven
Beverley Head The last time Australia's financial system was formally reviewed, 14 per cent of Australians had internet access from home - today the figure is 83 per cent. Technology has similarly revolutionised the world of banking and payments.
News bytes for week of July 14, 2014
New NICTA software lab; NBN cost-benefit analysis (part 1) is out; billions invested in the cloud; and more.
News Bytes
News bytes for week of June 30, 2014
Shell refuels with HP; Telstra invests in security software outfit; NAB's top tech women, Bitcoin start-ups wanted.
News Bytes
News bytes
Telstra to guard premises; Maestrano to orchestrate easier cloud; Talent unleashes awards.
Optus gearing up to fight Telstra on cloud turf
Andrew Colley Optus is preparing to tread on Telstra's turf in the cloud computing market after securing a long overdue partnership with Microsoft.
Telstra takes cloud to US for global coverage
Stuart Corner Telstra has ramped up its push into the global IT services market with the opening of a Telstra cloud hub in the US.
Bits and bytes
News bytes for week of June 16, 2014
Aussie DesignCrowd has just added 600,000 new users to its stable by buying a competitor; cloud investment is growing and which bank has a new CIO.
Salesforce jumps into wearables
Lia Timson Business cloud software company Salesforce is hoping to do to wearable computers what Apple did to smartphones: make them pervasive in the corporate world.
Dell Australia farewells Kremer, moves Fox to top job
Lia Timson Joe Kremer, the long-serving managing director of Dell Australia New Zealand, is leaving the company at the end of July to pursue other interests.
Data centres
Prefab data centres in vogue
Stuart Corner Data centre infrastructure providers are seeing an upsurge of interest in their prefabricated or modular offerings, which are forecast to take a much bigger share of the market over the next few years.
Weather Met Obs Antarctica: Issued 12:13, May 9
+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ Bureau of Meteorology Weather Observations : Antarctica Updated: Fri May 9 02:11:11 UTC 2014 (0211 UTC) Observations have not been quality controlled. -- indicates quantity not available. Latitude South and longitude East are positive. Day of month and hour are in UTC. Total cloud is reported in octants. Temperatures are in degrees Celsius (dC). Bar is mean sea level pressure, or QNH if preceded by Q. Rain amount (if reported) is over the last number of hours as indicated, or 9%10 indicates rain recorded since last 9 a.m. (local time). Tx/Tn are max/min temperatures reported around 9a.m. daily. Format last changed: 15 Jul 1999 +------------------------------------------------------------------------------+Station Lat/Long Day/hour Vis Cld Wind Temp RH Bar Rain Weather Tx/Tn name deg S/E - - km - knot degC % hPa mm hr - degC+------------------------------------- start ----------------------------------+Casey 6628 11052 09 0000 30 2 S/010-16 81 997.7 ---/-- Fine -- --Davis 6858 7797 09 0000 .3 8 ENE/029 -5 89 987.8 ---/-- Snow -- --Heard Is 5311 7372 09 0000 -- - ---/--- -2 -- 988.3 ---/-- ---- -- --Mawson 6760 6287 09 0000 -- - NNE/007-14 48 996.1 ---/-- Fine -- -- AAP
SAP technology chief Vishal Sikka steps down in cloud overhaul
Serena Saitto SAP, the largest maker of businesses-management software, shuffles executives to cope with demand for cloud services.
Schools jump online taking parents with them
Sylvia Pennington Australian schools have embraced online systems automating everything from canteen ordering to selling seats at the end of year concert.
Internet of Things
London's Tube on track to join Internet of Things
Lia Timson Next time you get stuck at a train station escalator, spare a thought for the way everything will be connected to everything in the future.
Dropbox claims Australian data safe despite hiring Condoleezza Rice
Nate Cochrane Dropbox is battling to reassure its Australian customers that their data is safe from US mass surveillance.
Retail warning: competition blowing in on a cloud
Nate Cochrane Cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services are bringing the days of cozy competition to an end.
Queensland government signs Microsoft Office 365 deal to save $13.7 million
Sylvia Pennington Queensland's 149,000 public servants will move to the cloud after a $26.5 million global contract was signed.
Customer service
Tech support is not what it used to be
Drew Turney Obtaining tech support used to be as easy as calling up and waiting until someone who knew gadgets better than you worked out how to fix yours. But Apple, social media and cloud computing changed all that.


text:
Associated Press
PHOENIX – When Oklahoma City faces Phoenix, the Thunder rolls.
Thabo Sefolosha made a career-high 5 of 7 3-pointers and the Oklahoma City Thunder routed the Phoenix Suns for the second game in a row 97-69 on Sunday night.
The 28-point blowout followed a 127-96 Thunder romp over the Suns in Oklahoma City on Friday night.
"We played the same as we did last time," Russell Westbrook said. "I think we did a good job of that, and maybe even better this time."
Westbrook scored 24 points in 28 minutes in the Thunder's 10th straight victory over Phoenix, the longest active streak for any Suns opponent.
Sefolosha added 20 points, two shy of his career high. Kevin Durant scored 18, 11 below his NBA-leading season average (29.1), in limited duty in the Thunder's fourth straight win, none of them by fewer than a 21-point margin.
Sefolosha set a season high for the second straight game after getting 18 against the Suns on Friday.
The one-sided wins are giving everybody plenty of time on the court.
"The thing about our team we have guys who can come in and do a good job when needed," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "There are some guys who don't get to play, but it nice for them to get opportunities."
Markieff Morris was the only Phoenix player in double figures with 12.
Wesley Johnson's tip-in with 7.8 seconds to play prevented the Suns from setting a franchise scoring low, a mark that has stood for nearly 32 years. Phoenix scored 68 at Kansas City on March 8, 1981.
"Never in my career I get beat two games in a row by so many points," said the Suns' Goran Dragic, who scored six points on 2 of 7 shooting. "It was a tough game. I mean, they're one of the better teams in the league. They were controlling the game from the start. We didn't know what we were doing defensively, offensively."
Durant was just 1 for 5 shooting in the first quarter but Oklahoma City still led 27-16. The Thunder scored the last eight in the quarter, including a pair of 3s from the corner by Sefolosha. Sefolosha made another one to start the second quarter, capping the run at 11-0 and putting Oklahoma City up 30-16.
Phoenix crawled back, cutting it to 35-32 on P.J. Tucker's rebound basket, but the Thunder scored the next nine, including another 3 for Sefolosha, and it was 45-32.
Oklahoma City finished the half with a 16-2 run, Westbrook's 3 at the buzzer putting the Thunder up 51-34.
To start the third quarter, Sefolosha scored, Durant dunked and the rout was on at 55-34. Oklahoma City led 74-48 after three.
"We are just trying to focus on us every single day and how we can be better and playing up to our standards, which is defense first," Durant said.
"These past two or three games have been really great for us on the defensive end setting the tone. When we play an all-around game with everyone contributing on the offensive end, defensive end. We always do it as unit. Then offensive end, we are doing a better job of playing together. Everybody getting touches and feeling good about themselves."
The biggest lead was 35.
"You treat it as one game," interim coach Lindsey Hunter said. "It is like having a bad day at work and nothing goes right for you. Look at it and you go on. You know what? I am glad today is over, let's start over. You do not hang your head and dwell on it, you move on. And that is what we are going to do. That is my job not to let the guys have pity parties."
Sefolosha had four 3s, in five attempts, by halftime to tie his career high for a game, set four times, most recently two nights earlier in the rout of the Suns. He broke it with a 3 in the second half.
Phoenix shot 33 percent to Oklahoma City's 45 percent.
The Thunder made 20 of 27 free throws while the Suns went to the line a season-low five times, making all of them.
The seven fouls by the Thunder were the fewest ever for a Phoenix opponent. The previous mark was eight set just under 38 years ago.
Oklahoma City, improving to 16-9 on the road, has won its past four by 21, 21, 32 and 28 points.
Thunder summary
Durant 6-11 6-6 18, Ibaka 5-11 2-2 12, Perkins 0-3 0-0 0, Westbrook 8-15 6-8 24, Sefolosha 7-11 1-2 20, Collison 1-2 0-0 2, Thabeet 1-2 0-0 2, Liggins 0-3 0-0 0, Jackson 2-6 2-5 7, Jones 1-6 0-0 2, Maynor 2-4 0-0 5, Orton 1-2 3-4 5. Totals 34-76 20-27 97.
Tucker 3-10 2-2 8, Scola 3-11 0-0 6, Gortat 3-8 0-0 6, Dragic 2-7 1-1 6, Dudley 0-3 0-0 0, Beasley 2-11 0-0 4, O'Neal 3-5 1-1 7, Brown 2-8 0-0 4, Morris 5-13 1-1 12, Marshall 3-4 0-0 7, Johnson 3-6 0-0 7, Telfair 0-2 0-0 0, Zeller 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 30-91 5-5 69.
Oklahoma City 27 24 23 23–97
Phoenix 16 18 14 21–69
3-Point Goals – Oklahoma City 9-17 (Sefolosha 5-7, Westbrook 2-3, Maynor 1-1, Jackson 1-2, Liggins 0-2, Durant 0-2), Phoenix 4-14 (Morris 1-1, Dragic 1-2, Johnson 1-2, Marshall 1-2, Beasley 0-1, Telfair 0-1, Dudley 0-1, Tucker 0-1, Zeller 0-1, Brown 0-2). Fouled Out – None. Rebounds – Oklahoma City 50 (Durant, Jackson 7), Phoenix 60 (O'Neal, Beasley 8). Assists – Oklahoma City 23 (Westbrook 6), Phoenix 18 (Dragic 4). Total Fouls – Oklahoma City 7, Phoenix 22. Technicals – Perkins, Oklahoma City defensive three second, Dragic, Morris. A – 16,773 (18,422).


text:
Story helps teacher get up close view of history
- Last Updated on 07:53 AM 01/28/13
- BY Danielle Vaughn
Last week, America made history again after swearing in the 44th president of the United States President Barack Husain Obama for his second term in office, a moment local high school math teacher Sandra Garner Coleman knew she had to participate in.
Thanks to a story that appeared in The Gazette on the Friday before the inauguration, Garner Coleman had an up close and personal view of this year's inauguration that she described as a "climactic" event.
Garner Coleman was so determined to see this moment in history unfold, she made plans with friends and family to make the pilgrimage to the nation's capitol despite the fact she didn't have tickets.
That all changed Friday after the story appeared, and Coleman, who previously attended the 56th inauguration in memory of her father, got a call from Sen. Mark Warner offering her five tickets to the 57th inauguration.
"They called, and at first I almost didn't answer the phone because it had U.S. Capital, so I said oh no, I don't want to talk. I thought it was somebody wanting some money, but it was Senator Warner's administrative assistant calling, and she said the senator wanted me to be his preferred guest," Garner Coleman said.
She was instructed to pick up the tickets from Senator Warner's office in the Russell Senate building on Constitution Avenue across from the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.
"You had to show your I.D., and then they took you through a little spill about what you could or could not bring and what time you had to be at the inauguration," Garner Coleman said.
Coleman said her seats for the inauguration were located in the "green section" located about 50 to 100 yards from where the president stood.
"Even though we weren't that far away from him, we could still only see a silhouette," Garner Coleman said.
They were still close enough to witness the swearing in.
Security was really tight this time compared to the last inauguration, she said, but then she understood why after hearing the president had received 40,000 death threats.
Garner Coleman said despite the tight security the presidential couple still marched down Pennsylvania Avenue.
The experience was everything she had hoped it would be.
"It was just the thrill of him being there and the start of his second term. His speech was just breathtaking. His speech dealt with unification, uniting people based on the foundation our forefathers put in place that we are united as a people and the union for the people and by the people. He wants the people of the United States to feel like there are no big I's and little u's," Garner Coleman said. "He wants everybody to have a fair playing ground from the smallest to the greatest person. He doesn't want people discriminated against because of their race, creed, color or sexual orientation. He just wants everyone to be treated fairly and to eliminate as much discrimination as he can."