This switchbox retails for a $100. That's what I paid for mine last year. It has 3 ethernet ports, 8 component video, 8 s-video, and 8 composite. Best buy you'll ever make if you have more than one system.
$25 from GameStop.com
Most people have a hard time waiting 10-minutes for a flight. A & E's entertaining TV show "Airline" proves that. Then you have people who just take whatever is put in front of them and just deal with it. That's the basis for "The Terminal," a great little character study about one man facing one of the most awkward situations of his life.
Sports comedies are probably one of the most enjoyable genres Hollywood has to offer. There's just something funny about seeing overpaid athletes look like idiots on screen, even if they do win "the big game." The year 1977 not only brought us "Star Wars," but a little hockey movie called "Slap Shot." It was probably a lot funnier back then.
There will be a time when movies finally collide with video games, creating an invisible line between the two, clashing for survival. That fight has just started. "Metal Gear Solid 3" will likely go down in history as one of the most exhilarating, well produced, intelligent, and flat out fun video games this industry will ever see. Director Hideo Kojima is nothing short of a genius.
Hacking video game consoles is a popular pastime for many gamers. It's amazing what some of these people have discovered by opening their systems and looking around. "Game Console Hacking" puts all the information you need in one convenient place. It's not just a great source for those who have already taken their systems apart either. The basics are all here too.
Voting has begun! Your votes will count for 50% of the entries' final scores, so check out the 55 entries, and feel free to try them out.Source: MacTHEMES.net
My personal favorite theme is "Loft."
On Friday, BBEdit PHP Glossary 2.0 was released. This BBEdit add-on contains glossary entries for almost 6,000 PHP functions, constants, control structures and code snippets. Based on PHP 5, it also includes the functions available in versions 3 and 4. BBEdit 7.0 or higher is required to use this free software.Source: MacCentral
Yet another reason to love BBEdit!
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- A new video game to be released on Monday allows players to simulate the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy.Source: CNNThe release of "JFK Reloaded" is timed to coincide with the 41st anniversary of Kennedy's murder in Dallas and was designed to demonstrate a lone gunman was able to kill the president.
This is sick! The FAQ page is a real winner, and makes me want to throw up with entries such as "Can you give me some background information on the role I am playing?"
I can't wrap my head around why someone would want to play the roll of assassin and kill a digital JFK.
Google Inc., which implemented an internal Web log system behind its firewall about 18 months ago, has seen tremendous benefits from it and may in the future consider providing tools and expertise for this purpose to interested clients, a Google executive said.Source: MacCentral
Who thought that blogging would be part of companies like HP, Google, and Microsoft, to name a few.
In October, Apple announced a deal with rock band U2 to provide its entire music catalog on the iTunes Music Store as a “digital box set” called The Complete U2. For the first time, a significant artist’s entire career would be available — legally — over the Internet. On November 23, Apple released this electronic collection on all of its iTunes Music Stores. Being both a U2 fan and a trustworthy Playlist editor, I took it upon myself to purchase and download this new approach to music packaging and collecting. Here are my experiences and impressions.Source: Playlist Magazine
Dan Frakes provides a full review of what is included. If you ask me, the $149 is worth it. I am heavily thinking of buying it, even if it would take hours to download!
Here is another review.
This is not a joke, but it is for mature gamers only!
CMS Matrix now has 200 products for you to compare, making it the single largest CMS listing site anywhere.
Simple creatures as they are, vampires have been around for what seems like eternity. They have also filled our movie screens for seemingly just as long. No will likely ever forget Universal's original treatment back in 1931, but much like the legend itself, the movies have tweaked their origins to suit themselves. "Blade" is a fantastic, brutal, and wild ride with a great new look at how these creatures live. And die.
After the surprising success of "Blade," it's no surprise that four years later a sequel was spawned. A new director in tow, "Blade II" is the typical sequel, a lesser version of the original. That's not saying that the film is a failure, just a step down due to a few missteps and some really nasty CG work.
Not everyone had the opportunity to grow up during the peak of Disney animation. "Bambi" was likely ancient by the time most of us were born. That doesn't mean it's any less enjoyable, but every generation should have one to remember their childhood by. For a lot of us, that movie is "Aladdin."
Hitting the early 90's, arcades found resurgence after a huge slump, almost entirely due to Capcom's classic "Street Fighter II." Midway dove in right next to them, popping out hits like the "Mortal Kombat" series and "Total Carnage." This PS2 compilation, "Midway Arcade Treasures 2," is an almost perfect visit back to those glorious cabinets, but that does not mean these are great games.
Certain movies require a little investigation before viewing. You shouldn't just walk into the video store and grab whatever you see. If you do, you may very well walk out with something like "Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky." Never has such a level of gore been attained in a feature film and unless you know what you're getting into, you probably shouldn't be putting this one into the DVD player.
Continue reading "Riki-Oh: Story of Ricky (Lai wong) DVD Review" »
There are a lot of changes, which I had to make if I was going to respect the suggestions made by quite a few users. I'll just list them all one by one as that may give you the best overview:So many changes to read about. Oh, and its free! Kudos Adriaan, I can't wait to dive into all the new stuff. The new window interface is extreme, but I like it. The only thing I miss is how the Custom Tags button used to act as a drop down menu.A new improved XMLRPC backend
Blog more than one entry
New interface for drafts
A rich text editing mode
One blog isn't the other
Attachments
Other small additions
Here's an interesting little gadget. While it won't revolutionize gaming (at least not yet) like Nintendo said it would, the DS is a nice piece of hardware with a serious hunger for software. Potential here is huge, and you just have to wish developers take advantage of it.
Getting a full game out for a new console launch has to be tough, especially with the complexity of today's games. The DS sort of came from nowhere, and it seems most developers were left with no clue how to use such unique hardware. "Spiderman 2" sets the example with shoddy level design, cheap enemies, and ridiculous objectives.
Hey its the last week of classes! I have a quiz in art history on Wednesday that I am very ready for. I could have taken in last Friday. Its just a little odd for me to be ready and waiting for these quizzes and exams. Its a good feeling.
Anywho I have been freakishly busy lately with a number of things, and have let Matt take over the site recently. He has done a great job with the DVD and video game reviews, as usual.
Matt Just got a story printed in the Toledo City Paper, be sure to check out the web site (it has not gone to press yet).
"Gaming Hacks" is yet another in a recent string of books on the topic. What's different is that author Simon Carless approaches it from a unique viewpoint that varies wildly from that onslaught. It's a book that is probably wildly different from what you would expect when you first pick it up, but contains enough pertinent information to make it a worthwhile purchase.
Hi! Have you heard about these things called "laptops" yet? These things are pretty cool and I got a new one. They're a variation on those "computers" you may have heard of. See, they can sit on your lap because they are made so small. That's why they're called laptops.
Try The Snoop Shnizzalator on Breaking Windows, or CNN.
Parental advisory, as in, Not Safe For Work!
Weeks after the launch of its Firefox 1.0 Web browser, the Mozilla Foundation on Tuesday is set to release version 1.0 of its Thunderbird e-mail client.Source: MacCentral
Special note to Windows users: Thunderbird uses the Mozilla rendering engine to display HTML e-mail messages, not Microsoft's IE engine, making it immune to IE-related bugs.
After only about 5 minutes of use, I really like Thunderbird 1.0. It has all the features I like about Entourage. It has the 3 column layout that Entourage 2004 and Outlook has, it even has the search bar at the top right. Reading RSS feeds in Thunderbird is just like reading email.
The default spam filter of Thunderbird 1.0 is a little touchy. It thought all my mailing list emails were spam. I also wish by default Thunderbird would leave the messages on the server the first time it retrieves your mail. You have to go into the account settings before you retrieve your mail and tell it to keep the mail on the server. Apple's Mail seems to be the only email client that by default leaves your mail on the server. Kudos to Apple, I wish others would realize how nice a feature this is.
U.K.-based Internet entrepreneur Benjamin Cohen says that he got an unexpected shock last month after he checked his voicemail and heard a lawyer representing Apple Computer Inc. telling him to hand over his Web site domain, itunes.co.uk. Apple alleges that Cohen's CyberBritain Holdings Ltd is a "cybersquatter" just sitting on the domain hoping for a big settlement; Cohen denies the allegation.Source: MacCentral
Uhuh... an "unexpected shock" my ass.
In its latest issue, Consumer Reports has once again looked at the computer industry and rated hardware companies on their products. Apple Computer Inc. topped the charts in a couple of categories, including repair history and tech support.Source: MacCentral
I have been happy with my repairs and tech support I have received from Apple. They really bent over backwards to support my 500 Mhz PowerBook G4, otherwise known as "the lemon" or "Rev. A." It worked well enough to make me want to buy another PowerBook, and this one I have had no problem with.
* knocks on wood *
Iambic just released Agendus 9. I just bought Agendus 8 in August, there is no way I am paying $9.95 for the upgrade.
I upgraded from Agendus 5 to 8, which was a substantial upgrade. I did this mainly for support for my Tungsten T3 then for the added feature set.
Agendus 8 is great, and I do really like the new features from version 5. It is much better then the built in PIM apps. I cannot go back to the built in address book after using Agendus for so long.
(CNN) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld faced tough questioning Wednesday from troops about to be deployed to Iraq.Source: CNN
I watched a little bit of this on Wolf Blitzer on CNN today. The question about the armor on the Humvees was just astonishing.
A Pentagon spokesman said later Wednesday that 450 armored Humvees are being produced each month. This is up from August 2003 when only 15 per month were made.
There are just some movies we can all relate to. Regardless of your place in the American work force, "Office Space" has something in it you've likely experienced. Oh, it's relentlessly funny too.
Those red rubber balls hurt. Just about all of us have suffered a cruel fate at their hands at some point in out lives. "Dodgeball" takes a look at this very painful situation for exactly what it is: funny. That's assuming of course you're the thrower and not the victim.
Continue reading "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story DVD Review" »
If super heroes really did exist, we would take them for granted. That or we would submit them to non-stop genetic experiments to find out what makes them tick. Seems that Peter Parker is starting to figure all of this out in the incredible "Spiderman 2." It doesn't make for a bad DVD set either.
Continue reading "Spiderman 2 Collector's DVD Gift Set Review" »
Out of the three major consoles vying for dominance, the Xbox is easily the most confusing. With it's built in hard drive, Xbox Live, DVD playback, and variety of connections, this is the system you'll spend the most time with. "The Xbox Fan Book" tries to make owning the system less of a trial, but most of the information can be found in the user manual included with the system.
After a slew of negative press, "Metroid Prime" surprised a lot of people. Taking a classic, 2-D side scrolling adventure game and plopping it into a first-person environment was a radical change, but it worked. Now on the DS, "Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt" is the basic game that appeared on the Gamecube, just in demo form and with a wholly original control scheme.
Continue reading "Metroid Prime Hunters: First Hunt Demo DS Review" »
There were rumors abound earlier in the year that Electronic Arts was buying out the NFL for exclusive video game rights. In all of its absurdity, it was a very real and scary situation. Like some bad dreams, it all just came true.
Continue reading "Nuclear Holocaust Video Game Style: EA Buys NFL" »
The announcement last week of a new antiphishing consortium that includes financial services firms, Internet service providers, IT vendors and law enforcement agencies represents one of the most concerted efforts yet to curb the growing problem of e-mail data-theft scams.Source: MacCentral
Apple Computer has quietly updated its iPod software so that songs purchased from RealNetworks' online music store will no longer play on some of the Mac maker's popular MP3 players.Source: C|Net News.com
Last week I got a 24/25 on my last quiz in Art History 146. The final exam is this Thursday. If you have wondered why I have not updated the site recently, that is why. I feel very confident I will do great on the final exam. I have to, I did poorly on the midterm exam. This exam is over: Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism. These movements are very easy because they are so close in current history. Wish me luck!
Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) was a revolutionary game, but we had no doubts that BioWare could pull it off. I mean it's BioWare! New developer Obsidian takes the reigns for KOTOR 2: The Sith Lords.
Continue reading "Knights of the Old Republic II First Look" »
In his "Worst products of the year" list, Jim Louderback of PC Magazine calls Apple's eMac the worst desktop PC of 2004. "Apple, the entry-level eMac really does represent Think Different. That's because for a company that prides itself on quality, this computer is different. As in bad. On the plus side, it's stylish. On the downside, it's slow, underpowered, and pathetic. The 40GB hard drive will fill up quickly, the lack of a DVD burner makes offloading files impossible, and the Radeon 9200 graphics card won't even run this fall's hot Mac games. And at around $800, this eMac ain't cheap. If you're considering a home Apple, think different. Buy a Dell. Or be prepared to spend a lot more for an acceptable Apple computer."Source: MacMinute
It is possible to offload files, its this thing called a CD-RW. They come standard. You must not have done your research if you think $800 for a Mac is not cheap.
Continue reading "PC Mag: eMac is worst desktop of the year" »
I am right now sitting at my grandma's house using the 56k modem in my PowerBook. This is brutal to say the least.
I have a number of reviews to post from Matt, maybe he should learn how to post his own stuff (hint, hint). I might get to it before the 1st, I do not know.
Right now I cannot even send email, it times out. That is no fun. And of course the amount of SPAM accumulated in the 4 days since I have checked my email makes reading email all that more fun.
I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Best wishes for a prosperous new year!
If you do not celebrate Christmas, have a happy holiday season.
Matt and I have a year-end best-of video games column that I will get online before the new year, but as for the other reviews, those might be a late Christmas gift from us to you.
I passed Art History 146 with a "C." I was really worried. I did great on the final exam but I knew I did horrible on the mid-term exam. With great quiz grades and extra credit I pulled out with a "C" and I could not be more elated. I know I can do better, and will try to do better when I take Art History 145 next semester.
Right now I am only signed up for ARTH 145 for Spring 2005, but I might also be taking Advanced Digital Imaging. I think that would be a fun class. And it would be doing artwork again, and not the "commercial" form of artwork that I have to do to pay the bills, if you know what I mean. So I very much look forward to the Advanced Digital Imaging class.
Well it took you long enough. It seems the masses have finally embraced widescreen DVD's. This excerpt is taken from the outstanding www.widescreen.org:
"So, I'm very pleased to announce that the widescreen releases for the Star Wars trilogy and many other movies continue to sell and rent far more than their pan-and-scan counterparts. Every week I check the sales and rental numbers. It's clear that widescreen continued to gain the confidence of the majority of American movie watchers. In fact, the pan-and-scan - sorry - full-frame version of the Star Wars trilogy was consistently ten places behind its widescreen counterpart."Now, this is considered a "geek" movie (no offense, I'm one of you), one of those that has a fan base who is more in tune with technology and wants their movies perfect. Still it's a sign that shows we are moving in the right direction.
Each year, the holidays become more of a burden for everyone. Running around for gifts that are out of stock, making the trip(s) to see family, and watching the checkbook all add up to a time of the year that many people loathe. George Bailey has a more pressing set of holiday problems, one that may cause him to commit suicide, unless someone (or something) can stop him in "It's a Wonderful Life."
Whether or not you read the books, there's hardly any denying that the "Harry Potter" movies work really well. Now on their third iteration, the films continue on the same path, ev