Time till next table game....

Monday, February 08, 2010

MSI Dual-Screen netbook/eReader

This one is very cool, as you can see its really two linked 10" screens. It also has a typing mode where one side becomes a semi-full keyboard.

I think its to big to be a good eReader but I've very impressed anyway. There is rumor of a 7" screens version which might be more reasonable on the size.

MSI is trying to get it to market this year but I doubt it's really going to make it. No word on price yet.

I believe I will likely own one of these.

Samsung Transparent Display's 14-inch notebook

One step closer to the displays seen in Avatar and other SciFi flicks. I don't think I would want to use one for a length of time but its cool none-the-less.

We should see these in stores sometime this year.

Saturday, February 06, 2010

BioShock 2 Syringe Pen

LOL nice! $35 at the Take-Two store.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Star Trek Online thoughts

I want to like this game. Really I do. And I think I'm selling it short by not giving it more of a chance. I have a feeling that there is some really neat things further into the game.

The problem is I can't force myself through the mind numbing start of the game to get to all that neat stuff.

It feels a lot like Champions Online covered in a Star Trek veiner. And while I'm sure the space combat gets cool further down the road, its really mind numbing to start. The away missions start off dull but I can see potential for better there as its a form of squad based combat never before seen in an MMO.

I also feel like the game is yet another patented Cryptic single player MMO experience just like Champions Online is. Guess I've never really been able to understand the single player MMO concept... wouldn't you just make/play a single player game? I really feel like Cryptic is the likely suspect for having wrecked this game.

Anyway, I hope I can force myself to dig back in but I'm not really a fan of investing time into something that might be cool later.

Monday, February 01, 2010

Amazon blinks

Macmillan totally called Amazon's bluff and unfortunately consumers are the ones going to pay for it as $10 eBooks draw to an end. We have to assume that with Macmillan's victory that other publishers will be emboldened to make the same demands which ultimately means more and more new eBooks will sell for $13-$15.

Redbox and studios at war

The $1/night DVD rental machines aka Redbox and movie studios are in a war that I was unaware of.

In the latest clash studios have somehow gotten retailers like Wal Mart and Target to limit the number of DVDs a person could buy because Redbox employees were going in and buying them out to stock the machines.

Read more by clicking on the title link of this post.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

1404/Dawn of Discovery release date

North America is digital download only for release on Feb 25, 2010. Releasing both a "gold" product containing both original and expansion or just the expansion alone. Price or where it will be sold online has not been revealed yet.

I can live with that.

Sword of the Stars 2 presentation


Dynamic speaker he ain't.

Mass Effect 2 thoughts

ME2 is doing very well at 2 million copies sold in a week. To bad I can't say I care much for it. I really enjoyed ME1 but ME2 has been a struggle to hold my attention.

ME1 wasn't exactly a hard-core role-playing game but it was good enough to be entertaining. ME2 however moved more towards a lackluster FPS style and depressed its overall RPG-combat elements. I think this was a mistake. I know they did it in the interest of making it easier for the masses to understand and likely its a good commercial decision but I doubt I'm going to be able to force myself to swallow much more of it.

Friday, January 29, 2010

Spock mystery

The guy that played Spock in 2009's Star Trek and also a voice in the upcoming Star Trek Online MMO, has publicly stated that he is taking a Trek break for at least two years.

So....how does the Star Trek sequel come out in 2012 then?

Hitler on iPad


I had not thought about the fact that it wouldn't have flash support!!! Arg! I'm not even going to buy this as a toy now.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Ozone hole fix speeds global warming

Way back in the 80's it was discovered that certain refrigerants and aerosol products were causing the earths vital ozone layer to dissolve. This layer is responsible for protecting the planet from harmful radiation and was something we couldn't live with out. So the world community leap into action and banned these harmful products. This is often pointed to as a success story of the entire world coming together to fix a major world issue.

I never understood why the hole appeared in Antarctica when everyone was using these products everywhere else in the world. But I'm sure if I looked for 30 seconds online Id get an answer to that question...yet I don't care enough to because that's not the point of this post.

The bad news is fixing this hole has actually caused the earth to warm faster. Ut oh!

All I see is a bunch of people that don't really have a clue acting like its all science... not just in this post but in all of the environmental articles. Mostly the climate change science constantly being tossed around is all just guess work and theory's.

BioShock 2: No LAN or dedicated servers

The second major title to say no to dedicated servers! Let the nerd rage flow!

I'm not so sure about this whole excuse about not having enough time to add that in... I don't know why they would take extra time but what ever.

Mostly I've been happy with Modern Warfare 2's lack of dedicated servers so I can't say I'm crying too much to hear that this really is going to be the future of most games.

iDud


So I guess I'm required to say something about the Apple iPad. As this device has been speculated over endlessly for the past few months. I think my title should tell you how I feel about it.

Oh, I think its pretty cool, I like a lot about it. I might even buy one as a toy (more likely not). I also think Apple has done a lot right with this product.

But lets look at all the reasons this product doesn't rock:

Its too damn big. I can't fit it in my pocket. I like to travel lite and I'm not gay enough for a man purse. This size problem alone is enough to stop me cold.

Lets say I don't mind hauling this thing around... just pulling it out in public attracts attention because its so large. The Appleness of it attracts extra attention as well. I'm not really a fan of attracting attention, I like to maintain a low public profile.

Price is OK but not great (pretty good from Apple I guess). For the price you will be able to buy much more powerful and capable tablet PCs this year. All of which have eReaders on them that work with Amazon, etc. and generally just able to do more.

An extra $130 for G3 is stupid -- it should be included. The $15 a month 250mb data plan is OK yet I currently pay $15 for 5gb, so no thanks there.

So aside from the nice Apple finish and the back support for the App Store, its a dud.