Recent Comments:
Joystiq hands-on: Battlestar Galactica {Joystiq}
Jul 16th 2007 9:26PM "Shields?"
Did the game designers even *watch* the show, or did they just take the same generic code that Wing Commander Arena is based on, and replace the TCN and Kilrathi ships with Colonial and Cylon ships? I might download the demo and give it a shot, but it's a safe bet I won't be in a hurry to shell out 800 points for the full game.
Peter Moore: Sony is 'failing' in Japan {Joystiq}
Jul 16th 2007 9:19PM I can't help but laugh anytime one company offers a critique on a competiting company. Not that I'm saying employees shouldn't show bias towards their particular companies, but rather good employees *do* show bias towards their particular companies.
That being said, how can you take anything a good employee says about the competition at face value? On a personal note, I think Mr. Moore needs to tend his own house fires before getting the itch to point out the hot spots in the neighbors bushes. Likewise for the boys in suits and ties over at Sony, because as far as I can tell, neither have spotless records when it comes to honesty, quality, and customer satisfaction.
Reimagined Sixaxis pictured on Force Unleashed site [update] {Joystiq}
Jul 16th 2007 4:37PM Wow... if this is legit, they aren't even trying to hide the ripping-off, if that's even a word.
Regardless, the overall shape of the thing is still more then likely going to give me hand cramps, so it looks like I'll be staying with third party PS controllers for a little while longer. I wish Sony would get the memo already that not everyone has tiny little hands like most Japanese gamers apparently do.
Sony's new PSP is slimmer, includes video output {Engadget}
Jul 11th 2007 9:48PM Wait... so they reduced the size and weight by switching to newer tech and thus reducing their costs to produce and ship the unit, but they are still going to charge the same price?
Are we supposed to celebrating Sony's move to increase their profit margin on a less then top-selling handheld, or the TV-Out feature they threw in as an afterthought? I'm confused. I honestly don't mind a company reowrking things to make more money as long it's done legally, but don't go putting on a song and dance show and try to convince me that this has anything to do with better serving the consumer. If you wanted to impress me, you'd have fixed those crummy controls we've been complaining about since the thing first shipped, or at least install an HDD so we can better make use of it in the only capacity it's really worth a damn in: playing videos on the go.
The ironic thing is, of all the 'how would you change the PSP' threads I've read, I can't seem to recall the PSP's size or lack of TV hookup ability ever being mentioned.
Microsoft announces Halo 3 Special Edition Console {Engadget}
Jul 11th 2007 2:25AM Crasy?
The Motorola Z9 {Engadget Mobile}
Jul 8th 2007 11:28PM Does this thing look like the new LG Chocolate to anyone else, or it it just me? Speaking of, that damn thing is red too. WTF is with red products coming out that aren't part of the RED PRODUCT line benefiting AIDS research anyway? Are they for the "I want to look like I give a damn but not actually pay one cent more then I have to" crowd or what?
Note to all you electronics manufacturers: Guys like two items in that color: Red sports cars, and redheads; that's about it. For everything else, red is feminine and even metrosexuals will generally turn their noses up. Men like Gun metal blue, black, silver, and a few others. Please figure that out. Or at least go back to the oldschool nokia way of doing things, and let us decided with interchangeable faceplates.
On a final note, whats with the buttons anyway? You're telling me that for half my paycheck, that's the best you can do? Don't tell me that size is an issue, because I've seen phones that cost half as much sold on the streets of Taiwan that make this thing look like a 15 year old brick phone but still have real functional buttons. Does Motorola even hold focus groups before designing these things, and if so, who are they inviting? Seeing how your market share continues to drop like a stone, maybe it's time to switch things up before you have to fire another 1000+ employees. Thats just my two cents anyway.
Sony cuts PS3 price to $499, new $599 80GB model to hit North America in August {Engadget}
Jul 8th 2007 11:08PM Actually, they didn't deny it outright, they just refused to comment on it and tiptoed around the question for 2 years. I guess that adds up to about the same thing though.
While I have had to deal with MS tech support since I bought the machine, it was due to a faulty sata connector in the drive itself and had nothing to do with the 360. Redmond had a replacement to me 3 days later, and didn't even charge me shipping after a bit of light arguing with a supervisor, which is hardly worth mentioning as that is SOP really. My only beef with MS is with their outsourced tech support, which is something I have complained about anytime I have to call for one reason or another, and twice in writing.
In any case, at least MS pretends to treat their US game customers as a priority, whereas Nintendo and Sony have never tried to hide the fact that we are second class citizens to them. To a gamer who's choice of DS colors is limited to Black, white, or blue when other countries have them in all colors of the rainbow, it's honestly refreshing to hear gamers in Europe and Japan complain about lack of content over Xbox live marketplace. That's totally petty of me and secretly I am ashamed, but I can't help but feel more endeared to MS for that.
Seeing how a new version of the xbox with new guts and packaged addons will most likely be coming out this holiday season, one can only assume this price cut on the PS3 will all but guarantee it receives a price cut as well. Now that the new extended warranty assures purchasers down the road that they won't be stuck with a broken system or a huge repair bill, I shouldn't have any problems unloading mine on ebay to help pay for a new updated and cheaper Elite 360. This really is good news all around when you think about it.
Reporter has mic stolen during iPhone interview, recovers ungracefully {Engadget}
Jul 2nd 2007 4:18AM "Recovers ungracefully"?
The hell are you talking about? I think she was awesome in how she made that tool work for the mic instead of running away like a scared little girl. The best part about the whole clip was how the camera crew pwned the guy on live TV. Say what you will about Fox employees... they sure as hell aren't a bunch of wusses.
The only 'ungraceful recovery' going on was the dude standing there with a stunned look on his bum-rushed face after his well thought-out crime went horribly wrong.
European operators not keen on Apple's demands {Engadget Mobile}
Jun 17th 2007 1:52AM Avi... I don't know how else to tell you this, but the rest of the world just isn't as in love with the iPod or Apple as we are over here. It's a great product, it's a popular product, but it has not achieved the cult status it enjoys here anywhere else. The court battles alone it has been through overseas alone are a clear indicator of that.
As I stated above, the features offered by the iPhone aren't anything new overseas either. Teenagers and Business people were watching and recording digital tv and surfing the web on their cell phones when I visited Hong Kong and Okinawa two years ago, and touch screen models with 5 megapixel cameras were already being teased. I rented a phone for a week when I was in London last October that made my brand new, just released two days before I left 300 bucks with 2 year contract phone look like one of those goofy giant brick phones from the 80's. It's embarassing how outdated and pathetic our everyday tech is compared to other parts of the world these days, and it's criminal that we are charged the same price for that outdated tech as they do for their state of the art tech.
Look at this from a business stantpoint: when you have no appreciatable brand loyalty, and devices that already do twice as much as the iPhone does for half the cost, what sense does it make to bend over backwards and put your company in a financially risky position just to please Steve Jobs? I saw the entire article, but the way I read it, "We'll see" sounded like a polite way of saying "Don't let the door hit your a$$ on the way out."
European operators not keen on Apple's demands {Engadget Mobile}
Jun 17th 2007 1:26AM What really makes me sad and bitter (yeah sorry about the bitter tone btw) is looking at all the iPod features it has built into it, like cover flow, touch widescreen, bluetooth etc, this is the iPod we've been wanting for years now. Take out the garbage phone, cut the price in half, and you'll have a winner on your hands.
This new design philosophy Jobs has going just doesn't make any sense to me. Why would you waste the time and effort porting over your second rate, bug filled web browser to windows when you haven't even finished working the kinks out of your other major windows port? I really don't have it in me to be an Apple hater, but I can't help but shake my head in disappointment and frustration in situations like this.
