Monthly Archives: July 2007

Jul 09 2007
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Technology

Device Ownership

Yesterday was a bad day if you were an electronic device owned by me.

Total casualties:

  1. Logitech PlayStation2 USB Headset
    This headset just will not be recognized, no matter which USB port I plug it into. Other headsets work fine. Thankfully, I had a spare, so impromptu City of Heroes / City of Villains session was only marginally interrupted.
  2. SanDisk Cruzer 512MB USB Key
    Recognized by my MBP, not recognized on various ports on my XP box. Thus, nearly useless.
  3. XBOX 360
    Started out by not booting. Not even the 360 logo would come up. Then booting, but crashing when loading levels in Overlord. Then booting, loading levels in Overlord, and crashing when saving games. Finally, the Red Rings of Death.

The 360 did boot one last time to the dashboard. This was followed by a frantic copying of Morgan’s user profile to the memory unit.

That was its final act.

I think the worst part about this whole thing is that I’m not angry. The 360 has been doing strange things for the six months I’ve owned it. Disc Unreadable Errors in the middle of gameplay and seemingly random freezes, have basically desensitized me to the final reality that my 360 is bricked.

All I have to say is, “Well played Peter Moore, well played.”

Now I have to decide what to do with my plastic brick. I could send it to MS, and wait possibly a few weeks to get it back. Or, I could just go down to Target and replace it immediately, considering I opted for an extended warranty with them for $30.

Neither of the two options is very appealing. My tale of woe begins.

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Jul 08 2007
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Video Sunday!

Well, I guess it was only a matter of time.

Update: Tightened up some editing and fixed the ending.


Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Jul 08 2007
Games

Good news for 360 Owners

Well, Microsoft just extended all 360 warranties to three years.  That’s good.

They even acknowledged (Well, as much as a large corporation can admit to failure) the manufacturing issues that lead to this point.

For now, I’m playing Carcassone, which for $6.25US, isn’t a bad price for something that in real life, costs $25.

Additionally:

  1. No tiles or tiny pieces to lose
  2. Scoring done automagically

I think that’s a pretty good deal.

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Jul 03 2007
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Yay for reading

I really want to read this:

http://www.sooniwillbeinvincible.com/

The premise just sounds good. I think comic book lit is the new hotness.

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Jul 01 2007
Technology

It really is that fast

I had the chance to play around with the much hyped iPhone.  “Surely,” thought I, “The user interface can’t be that snappy.”

Well, it is.  I was switching apps, zooming around the photos, starting up the calendar, sms, and mail apps, browsing the web and going back to the home screen just like they do in the videos.  We’ll see once they get loaded down with custom apps and widgets.  And of course, bandwidth will be different when you’re out in the field, but at least the UI is as fast as their videos portray it to be.

Protip:  to delete SMS messages, swipe your finger from left to right on the message you want to delete.  A delete button will show up for that message.  It makes you feel like you’re in the future.

Typing wasn’t as horrible as I thought it was going to be and I think it would get easier over time.  It’s an interesting experience tapping on glass rather than plastic.  I didn’t think it would feel different, but it is, since you use your finger instead of a stylus.  The only other time I’m using a finger for an interface is on a laptop touchpad, and even then, I’m using my thumb and not using it on the screen itself.

The screen looks fantastic, but of course I didn’t get to see it in the sunlight, so that little detail is still up in the air.

Coverflow is great for browsing your music and the two finger touch zoom is great when both browsing photos and the web.

Overall, I’m waiting for Rev. 2, but for right now, I feel like this would be a little expensive, coming off Wednesday’s acquisition of a 15″ MBP.

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