Austin360 blogs > Digital Savant > Archives > 2007 > November
November 2007
Well, that was fast: Midway ‘BlackSite’ designer exits
After some phenomenally public statements accepting responsibility for the poor reviews received by recent videogame release “BlackSite: Area 51,” game designer Harvey Smith has left Midway Austin, according to a story posted on Gametap and already making the rounds on gaming sites.
It’s especially poignant when you see a March post on Smith’s MySpace page entitled, “I love my game studio.”
I was just playing “BlackSite” some more this morning and after being killed yet again on an uninspiring level and having to start the unexciting sequence all over again, I said to myself, “I sure hope nobody loses their job over this debacle.”
I’m not sure I want to review the game at this point. What if it’s cursed?
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Videogames
Official word on faulty ‘Rock Band’ guitars
Some early buyers of “Rock Band” have been reporting problems with their guitar controllers. Electronic Arts Inc., the game’s distributor, has acknowledged the problem and released this statement:
“As sometimes happens when new products first go into manufacturing, we discovered an imperfection with the strum bar in an early production run of guitars that were shipped at launch. We want to inform you that we have since identified and fixed the issue in all subsequent production runs of the guitars. If you are experiencing a problem with your guitar or any of your other Rock Band instruments, simply visit the customer support website (http://support.ea.com/rockband) and we will send a replacement immediately. Harmonix (the game’s developer) is dedicated to creating 100% customer satisfaction and to those of you who’ve encountered any hardware issues, we are sorry for the hassle.”
A friend who already sent in a guitar controller and got a replacement says the new one works fine but is a bit “clickier” than the original, broken controller.
Let’s hope that the problem is nipped in the bud so there are no frustrated would-be guitarists on Christmas morning.
Bonus: A story about “Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero III” in-store playing that runs in tomorrow’s Life & Arts section, and an accompanying video.
Permalink | | Categories: Shopping, Videogames
Gift guide leftovers, part 2
Here’s another idea for a techie gift that we weren’t able to fit into our holiday gift guide.
The HoMedics iSoundSpa Fusion combines that most common of modern goofy appliances, the iPod-dock clock radio, and adds six nature sounds, the standard AM/FM radio and one nice bonus: it features a line-in connection for non-docking iPods or any other audio device you might have around. Got a Zune? An old portable CD player? No problem. This clock radio has got you covered and also features a dual alarm, which is pretty standard on these kinds of devices now. You know how Steve Jobs has his “… one more thing?” Well, the Fusion also has interchangable faceplates to match the color of, say, an iPod Nano. Still rocking an ancient red-LED AM/FM alarm clock in the morning? It may be time to upgrade. This one’s not too expensive: $60.
Permalink | | Categories: Gadgets, Shopping
Austin game designer less than kind to his own ‘BlackSite: Area 51’
I was starting to wonder if it was just me who was underwhelmed by “BlackSite: Area 51,” which I’ve been playing the past few nights.
It turns out that at least one of the game’s designers isn’t too thrilled with the title either, as he told an audience at the Montreal International Game Summit.
Harvey Smith takes the blame for some of the mediocre reviews the game has received, but he also blames a rush to get the game out the door as a primary factor in the game’s lack of polish.
I’ve stated my desire to blast evil aliens time and time again, and so far in the hours I’ve spent playing “BlackSite,” there’s a lot of moving around from room to room and taking out enemy soldiers and not enough tentacled terror. Last night, I took a break from playing “BlackSite” to pop in “Super Mario Galaxy” for the Wii and had more fun in 15 minutes than I’d had in several hours of playing “BlackSite.”
I feel bad for the Austin team for the game’s critical drubbing, but airing the dirty laundry in public (and in words we can’t even repeat here) probably won’t fix things over at developer Midway. Having someone in charge who didn’t seem enthused about the project from the get-go is likely a textbook example of how not to design a great videogame.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Videogames
3G iPhone coming next year, AT&T confirms
AT&T Inc. has confirmed that an iPhone that runs on AT&T’s 3G network (faster than the EDGE network that current iPhones use) will be out next year, according to Bloomberg News.
Unfortunately, as is common with anything associated with Apple Inc., we likely won’t know details about pricing of the device or what subscription rates for the faster network might cost until Apple CEO Steve Jobs is ready to unveil it himself.
An iPhone that doesn’t rely on Wi-Fi networks to deliver a speedy Internet experience sounds great in theory. But if this new iPhone is positioned as a more business-centric BlackBerry competitor, we could see a big rate increase for having access to this data network. I’ve held off buying an iPhone to see what Apple might add to a second version, but I’m not willing to pay an extra $20-$50 a month for faster network speeds.
If Apple introduced an iPhone that was comparably priced to the current model and didn’t add much more to the monthly bill, they would capture many wait-and-see shoppers who weren’t willing to be early adopters of the iPhone. Another interesting feature that a new iPhone could add would be GPS capabilities.
We’ll have to wait and see, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see an official announcement in early January.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Internet, Phones, Shopping
Humpday randoms
It’s Wednesday stew:
Had an interesting lunch today with Bogdan Rentea, who runs the Austin site tellmeyouridea.com. He wrote to me after a set of stories about politics online that I wrote ran in the Statesman.
We talked about why certain social networks take off while others don’t and how the attorney is trying to foster political discussion, especially among young people, online.
I’m not too excited these days when I hear about a new social networking site (there are more sites than there are actual people in the world to use them by this point), but Rentea’s idea isn’t to sell his site for $50 million at some point or to be the biggest whatever. He just wants to get some good political discussion going online and he’s in love with his site; that kind of devotion is always a good recipe for success.
In the no surprises department: According to the Entertainment Software Association, video game companies are growing the economy. In Texas, the video game industry grew by 17 percent, according to the ESA’s latest report, adding $395 million to the state economy.
In 2006, the report says, Texas was third nationally in computer and video game personnel, “with 7,688 direct and indirect employees at more than 50 facilities across the state.”
Fifty? That seems a little light. I thought there were close to several dozen video game companies in Austin alone.
Apparently, Cyber Monday is going to continue to grow in hype as the numbers trumpeted today show that sales on that mythic, made-up shopping holiday grew to $733 million in sales, 21 percent higher than last year.
Call me a cynic, but I’m not sure how comScore is able to project that based on Web traffic (did all the Web retailers just magically hand over their sales figures on Tuesday?).
I’m still not buying this Cyber Monday stuff, sorry.
I finally got a chance to start playing Austin-produced “BlackSite: Area 51” and, for the sake of our local talent, I’m hoping it improves really fast. The first two levels I played were pretty mediocre (where are the promised alien attacks?). In fact, if I see a sequence in a video game where you’re riding in a truck/helicopter/cargo plane with wisecracking soldier buddies again, I might scream.
The level design is fairly uninspired and the mix of first-person-shooter action and rudimentary squad commands is just tired. A driving level early on almost made me lose my faith in games (and my dinner).
But I’m going to slog through in hopes that there’s a really good game hiding past these really lame first levels.
I want to fight some scary aliens! Now!
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Internet, Shopping, Videogames
Gift guide leftovers, part 1
This year, we did not one, but two holiday gadget gift guides in the paper, and even with that bulk of space devoted to the subject, lots of items still got left out for space.
For the gift guide I worked on, some gadgets just didn’t fit the profiles of the Austin notables we chose and fell through the cracks. Well, hey, that’s what blogs are for: to rectify the past with an eye toward the future (namely Dec. 25).
We actually received a Nintendo Sound EFX Stylus Pen and without gushing too much, I have to say I’m in love. It’s only $10 and it has a button that spits out sounds from “Super Mario Bros.” This almost qualifies as junk, but it’s also just the right price for a stocking stuffer and for me, at least, it brings back sweet, sweet sounds from my childhood.
Also, it is a stylus. Maybe you’ll find use for this, maybe you won’t.
Another one we weren’t able to include was the HP Printing Mailbox and the Presto service. Basically, it’s a printer that can output photos without a computer. A built-in modem accesses an online e-mail box, so relatives can send pictures for printing and the recipient doesn’t need to have Internet service or a computer to access the pics and make copies. The printer costs $99 and the Presto service is $10 a month or $99 a year.
Given that we are entering the era of $199 laptops (at least on Black Friday), an idea like this may be past its expiration date, but you never know — someone out there might find a simple service like this very useful.
I’ll be posting a few more leftover gift ideas in the next few days.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Gadgets, Shopping, Videogames
Faulty guitars ruining ‘Rock Band’ for early adopters?
It has been said, on this very blog, that “Rock Band” is in some ways better than “Guitar Hero III,” the game with which it is locked in fierce holiday battle for virtual music videogame supremacy.
The giant caveat is: only when your “Rock Band” guitars are working.
Reports of faulty guitars have lighted up the gaming world. I’d chalk it up to the squeaky wheels (or in this case, squeaky strum bars) being the ones to post fervently online, but I know of three “Rock Band” guitars personally that are not functioning properly. From talking to friends who own the game and a source I spoke to on the phone today for a story about “Rock Band,” problems are emerging: either the strum bar doesn’t register the notes you’re playing, registers them too often, or the “Overdrive” tilt mechanism doesn’t work at all.
Even the guys at “Penny Arcade” are having problems with two of their guitars.
There’s an official message board thread where many buyers are reporting issues, and a Web page for help if you’re one of those unlucky folks with a bad guitar.
A red piece of paper that comes with the game warns buyers not to try to take the game back to the store if there’s a problem: they’re asking you to deal directly with Electronic Arts and their warranty process. Good thing because getting all that stuff back in the box would be a huge pain.
Luckily, the “Guitar Hero III” guitar works with “Rock Band” (at least with some formats of the game), so a bad guitar doesn’t mean it has to be the day the music died.
But given the high stakes of the holiday shopping season, you’ve got to feel bad for Harmonix, which needs all the help it can get convincing people to pay $170 for the bundle. Here’s hoping the guitars are replaced promptly and with as little hassle as possible so gamers can continue to get their “Wanted Dead or Alive” on.
Speaking as the drummer of my fake band, I’m just glad it’s the guitars that are biting the dust and not the awesome drum pads.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Shopping, Videogames
Cyber Monday: Are you shopping today?
Everyone’s heard of Black Friday by now, but this is the first year where the term “Cyber Monday” is being pushed down our throats.
Today is supposed to be the giant online retail day, the day when people get online at home or at work and really score their online shopping deals. (Why people wouldn’t do this the entire weekend after Thanksgiving to avoid store crowds, I don’t know; nobody said Cyber Monday was logical.)
According to this story 72 million consumers plan on shopping online today. That number comes from the National Retail Federation, so you can take it with a grain of fine, important, online-purchased salt.
I have noticed that this year the flurry of e-mails from online retailers I’ve bought from in the past has been especially fervent. I’ve been getting non-stop e-mails from Amazon and Target.com breathlessly updating me on Black Friday deals I might be missing.
I came very close to succumbing to temptation over the weekend on an external hard drive deal from Buy.com: $81 for a 320 GB USB/eSATA. Then I thought, “Is it really worth $81 just to be able to play with OS X Leopard’s Time Machine features?” I already have an external hard drive, but it’s filled with my Windows desktop backups and I’m not eager to delete it all. I decided in the end I didn’t want another external hard drive and power supply cluttering up my house.
Are you all shopping today? Seen any great deals? What’s your take on the nascent Cyber Monday? Post in the comments and let me know; maybe I’m the only one who doesn’t get why today’s so special.
Permalink | Comments (4) | Categories: Gadgets, Internet, Shopping
‘Rock Band’ vs. ‘Guitar Hero III’: The judgment
And now the battle of the bands has begun.
“Rock Band” debuted in stores at midnight on Monday (notice the increasing number of midnight launches for video games; gamers can’t wait and they don’t sleep). Its launch sets up the battle of the holiday season among gamers: What’s better, a $70 game that comes with a wireless toy guitar or a $170 bundle that comes with a guitar, a set of electronic drums and a microphone for jamming together in a pretend band?
It makes the battle even more interesting that the creators of “Rock Band,” the virtuosos at Harmonix, were the originators of “Guitar Hero.” They left to pursue this multi-instrument dream while Activision took the reigns of the old franchise to work up the third in the “Guitar Hero” series, which came out last month and is already ubiquitous. Just look for the huge stacks of long, rectangular bundles at any Wal-Mart or Best Buy.
So what wins: old polish or new ambition?
For the gamer with limitless resources, it’s a win-win. Buy them both and use your “Guitar Hero III” guitar as an extra axe for “Rock Band.”
But for someone who has to choose, it’s going to be largely dependent on how you’re going to play. Between both games, we have incredible song selections, probably the best of any music-related video game we’ve ever seen: the Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Weezer, Radiohead, the Ramones, Sex Pistols, Muse, Kaiser Chiefs, the Clash, Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Some songs, like “Paranoid” and “Sabotage,” are featured in both games.
If you’re going to be playing alone — if you’re a loner, a rebel, Dottie — you’re going to want to stick with “Guitar Hero III.” There’s a slightly larger list of songs (although that will change as both games introduce pay-per-song/3-pack/album downloads; “Rock Band” already has downloads available.). But “Guitar Hero III” is polished to an insane degree, familiar and, even minus those stupid “Boss battles,” it plays wonderfully. It’s also cheaper than “Rock Band,” and you can get it with wireless guitars, which keeps you from being tethered to your game console.
“Guitar Hero III” tourney.
Now … If you have friends who are willing to rock: “Rock Band” wins by a landslide. Going from one player to two makes the game many times more fun and throwing in a third or fourth player (guitar, bass, drums, vocals) puts out exponential amounts of entertainment. It is the party game to beat for the foreseeable future.
“Rock Band“‘s hardware is sturdy and nicely constructed. The guitar has recessed fret buttons and feels more like a guitar and less like a toy. It also has a clickless strum bar, which I prefer to the “Guitar Hero” guitar. It also has an extra set of buttons higher up on the fret and a switch for different guitar effects you can use on the fly. You may feel differently, but I like the “Rock Band” guitar a lot more than the one bundled with “GH3.” It just feels better.
The microphone included in “Rock Band” is pleasingly heavy. But it has no buttons on it: the person doing vocals has to rely on a standard game controller to jump into the game and select their characters.
Now, the drums. This is going to be the deal maker for many. Put together, the drums take up a pretty large amount of space, although the adjustable height controls can make them pretty compact. They’re sturdy and the rubber pads can take a beating. The foot pedal can also take some punishment. You can rest your foot on it and it has some good springs to it.
The whole setup is wired, unfortunately. That means you have to use an included USB hub, which also has to be plugged into an A/C outlet. This makes a mess of wires and you may even need a USB extension cord to make it all reach your musicians.
Your living room could be this cluttered, too!
But once you start playing, you won’t care. There is indeed magic in making music together. “Rock Band” is as close as many of are ever going to get to being in a real band, and the effect is deep. Especially on drums — you really feel like you’re making music. The people around you can hear you if you’re singing or drumming; if you’re off, your bandmates can tell.
The game looks very similar to “Guitar Hero,” but has a lot more customization. There are tons of costumes, instruments and custom tattoos and makeup you can purchase in the game with your hard-won virtual money.
You unlock new songs as you go, playing new venues and adding fans. Like “Guitar Hero,” “Rock Band” is one of those “one more song” games. You keep playing and playing, hoping to try out new songs or improve on the ones you’ve already played. Pretty soon it’s 3 a.m. and your foot is cramping on the bass drum.
The first night we played “Rock Band,” I had my brother and dad come over, and hearing my dad wail on songs he didn’t even know (he didn’t want to try guitar or drums; he would only sing) was some of the most fun I’ve had playing a video game in a long time.
Some might balk at the $170 pricetag, but it’s pure fun in a box. Given that there are a lot of awful games out there being sold at $60 each, “Rock Band” is at least a value with all the included hardware and the endless replayability.
I’ve already seen kiosks set up for it at Best Buy (minus the drum foot pedal, unfortunately). I think this is one of those games where people won’t really get it until they try it for themselves and see how much fun it can be.
“Rock Band” at Best Buy.
Just don’t try playing it alone. As my friend Dave asked, “Does it come with three friends?”
So, the final verdict? “Guitar Hero III” is great. “Rock Band” is better, at least with willing friends and a big enough living room.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Shopping, Videogames
Sir Links-a-Lot: Austin tech edition
There is much to catch up on between you and I. I’ve been slammed with stacks of video games, polishing off today’s gadget gift guide and sorting through submissions for our new “Masters of their Domains” feature. It’s been one of those weeks that reminds me why I love Austin so much: so many people creating such remarkable, unique things, whether it’s online or in some tech lab. There are other great tech towns, but Austin always surprises me with its inventiveness and creativity.
Onward: Here’s a few updates on some things happening in your town:
On Networks, which we wrote about a few months ago and which recently received $12 million in venture funding, has been busy. The online video company is partnering with the South by Southwest Film Festival to create the “Greenlight Awards,” which will honor an original episodic digital series. Submissions will be accepted through Feb. 15, 2008 and the winner will receive $10,000 and a distribution deal with On Networks. The company plans to announce more details about the awards in December.
They also launched a new show recently called Mainstream Green. You can check out an episode here:
Netroots Nation, a big political bloggers convention, is coming to Austin next year. We’ll obviously be keeping an eye on this.
Blastro Networks, which specializes in online music videos, was named as one of seven “Best of the Web” sites for music as chosen by readers of BusinessWeek. It was a write-in candidate with multiple votes submitted, according to BusinessWeek.
It’s been long enough for reviews of “Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa” to start trickling in. According to Metacritic, the game is hovering at about 78 percent average in reviews, but that number may be skewed a bit by a particularly harsh review from Game Revolution. All the other reviews listed range from 80 to 90 percent, which bodes well for the new MMO.
I know a lot of you are curious about “Rock Band,” which we’ve been playing since Thursday and how it compares to “Guitar Hero III.” I’m working on a write-up of that which I hope to post later today. The short version is that “Rock Band,” as a collaborative experience, is definitely worth the $170 pricetag. The drumset alone is well-built and impressive, and the game is extremely fun to play. If you have a willing group of friends, it’s definitely the party videogame of the holidays. I’ll be writing more about this later: stay tuned.
In the meantime, enjoy these two photos of yesterday’s “Guitar Hero III” tournament at Hot Topic in Barton Creek Square mall. These guys are playing on a level that makes my brain hurt.
Permalink | | Categories: Internet, Shopping, Videogames
Tech things to look forward to
It’s almost the holidays and the happy little elves who make your favorite tech products and entertainments are working feverishly. Here are a few items to check out in the next few days:
- “Rock Band”: we’re not allowed to say much about this game until Monday, but it’s one you’re going to want to see for yourself, we promise.
- Angelina Jolie in “Beowulf”: Much is being made about her computer-animated body in the film, even in mainstream movie reviews. Must be worth checking out, then.
- Amazon’s new e-book device: Wall Street Journal is reporting that Amazon.com will have something to report on Monday. We’re still not sold on e-book devices, but Amazon might convince us otherwise.
- Apple’s bug fixes to OS X Leopard: Will they patch up minor problems or cause a few more of its own?
- Dell’s XPS One computer: Will it be worth the wait?
- “Southland Tales”: It sounds like an absolute mess of a movie, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be geektastic.
- A new feature of ours called “Masters of their Domain”: We’ll be featuring a local Web site owner about once a month to see how they started their site and what’s cool about it. Look for the first one in tomorrow’s paper (or online).
- Our gadget gift guide: Holiday gift ideas for tech lovers in your life will be in Tuesday’s Life & Arts section.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Gadgets, Internet, Movies & DVDs, Phones, Videogames
Slightly late first impressions of OS X Leopard
I ordered a new Apple MacBook last week and it finally arrived today (it’s a long way from Shanghai). So far, I’m very impressed with it after just a few hours of play. The screen is slightly smaller than my old iBook G4 (13.3” compared to 14”), but it’s a brighter display and the resolution seems a bit crisper.
I haven’t gotten to explore Leopard fully yet, but the things that make great Mac laptops are all there from the beginning: I was able to import all of my settings, passwords, bookmarks, applications and files from my old laptop simply by connecting a Firewire cable from the old computer to the new. It took less than 20 minutes and when it was done, all my familiar icons were on the desktop. My photos were all in iPhoto and all my iTunes music and TV shows were ready to go. There was no need to reinstall applications like Microsoft Word or to reconfigure my wireless network preference and Firefox bookmarks.
Front Row, which wasn’t available when my old laptop was purchased, is fantastic, as is the included tiny white remote controller. The built-in iSight camera, which has also been around for a while, works wonderfully with iChat and its new video backgrounds, even with low lighting conditions.
Finder improvements like Cover Flow and Quick Look are impressive, but I’m not sure yet how useful they’ll be in everyday use. I love the idea of being able to view PDFs, Word documents and other files without opening applications, but given how quickly applications open on the Macbook, it may not be that much of a necessity.
The new Dock looks sharp and the Draft-N wireless Internet blazes with the Airport Extreme Router I have set up at home. Web pages appear quickly and podcasts from the Apple Store were quick to download. The computer itself is fast. Applications pop open almost instantly and I’m getting a lot less of the spinning beach ball than on the old machine.
Now, the not-so-good: The semi-transparent menus are stylish, but a misfire in terms of usability. It would be nice to be able to disable them, but depending on your screen background, the menus can become close to unreadable. There are workarounds, but it feels like a mistake on Apple’s part to force transparency on users.
Time Machine sounds fantastic, but it requires an external hard drive to work. I have one, but it already has all my Windows desktop data backed up on it. In order to use Time Machine, I’d have to completely erase the contents of the external drive. There’s no way for a Leopard Time Machine backup to peacefully co-exist with content already on the drive. And as of now, there’s no way to do backups to an external drive connected to the Airport Extreme’s USB port.
“Stacks” are a mixed bag. The “Grid” view is much easier to use than the “Fan” view. For some weird reason, Stacks chooses the first file in a folder as the folder icon and there’s no easy way to change it. Once again, Mac users come to the rescue with their own fix for an Apple oversight.
So, overall, Leopard is a winner for me running on a new laptop. Some upgraders to the OS have had problems when not doing a clean install. For new Mac purchasers, though, a built-in copy of Leopard on a brand new machine promises some handy new features along with the streamlined, speedy performance we’ve come to expect from OS X.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Applications, Computers
AT&T Tilt: Too much of a good thing?
AT&T lent me one of their newest phones, The Tilt, recently to try out. It’s designed by HTC and joins a growing number of phones that offer slide-out keyboards, handy for text messaging or composing e-mails on the go.
Will it displace the iPhone on anyone’s holiday shopping list? That depends on what you’re looking for. For a business user or someone who has to have a connection to Windows-based enterprise software, the Tilt is a clear winner. It runs version of 6.0 of the Windows Mobile operating system, has a full keyboard, can view Microsoft Office files and runs over AT&T’s high-speed 3G network and over Wi-Fi networks. (The iPhone still sadly runs on AT&T’s slower EDGE network.)
On the other hand, in my casual use over a few weeks, I found the software to be a lot less elegant than on the iPhone. Even simple functions seem to take forever to get to through a maze of menus. If I never see another phone running a version of Windows (just seeing that “START” button makes me shudder), I won’t miss the experience at all. You can get to applications and navigate by using a stylus, using the slide-out keyboard or using a scroll wheel on the side of the phone. Which you use is a personal preference, but even a few weeks wasn’t enough time for me to get comfortable with the interface. It’s just too convoluted for a casual user. It’s kind of a mess, if you ask me.
(You can also ask The New York Times’ David Pogue. His tirade against Windows Mobile in his review of the T-Mobile Shadow is fun reading. The rant starts at the bottom of the first page of the review.)
Now, the positives; the phone is pretty fast. You can download videos at good speeds and surf the Web speedily. Though it features a full version of Internet Explorer, some sites reverted to their mobile versions in the Web browser. For instance, I couldn’t get to the home pages of Austin360.com or Statesman.com and was instead greeted with the scaled-down mobile versions. That’s strange because the Tilt has a generous screen and should be able to view any Web page without being encumbered by speed or page design.
The phone takes good photos for a mobile phone with its 3-megapixel camera. It’s got GPS built in. The illuminated keyboard is a pleasure to use and the phone has a hefty, nicely built feel and a rubberized edge. It’s chunkier and heavier than an iPod, but you never get the feeling that the phone is made of cheap parts.
Still, I couldn’t help feeling that this was way too much phone for me. Too many options, too much Windows software and, most importantly, too much price. The phone sells for as little as $300, but data plans cost an extra $30 for a personal data account (only 20 MB a month, a pittance) or $45 extra a month for an unlimited business data plan. GPS service also costs extra. (Then again, I’m still using a Motorola RAZR, so maybe I’m just smartphone-averse at the moment.)
Like I said, it might be the perfect phone for a business user, but for everyday phone use, most of us need something simpler, smaller and just a bit lighter. And without Windows-based software.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Gadgets, Phones
One simple rule for supporting the TV writers’ strike: Don’t download
If you believe that the writers of the TV shows we watch are entitled to a portion of residuals on the sale and streaming of episodes online or that they should be compensated for Web-only content and a greater percentage of DVD sales, there’s something simple you can do:
Don’t download episodes of TV shows until the a contract agreement is reached. No iTunes, no Amazon Unbox, no Hulu.com. Don’t watch them for free on network TV sites (“Free” usually means ad-supported) and don’t buy TV show DVDs until the strike is over.
I’ll admit I’m sympathetic to the cause. I have several friends marching in Los Angeles right now, putting their livelihoods on the line so that all Guild writers can have a better shake from studios who claim they don’t know how to make money online. Former American-Statesman columnist Pamela Ribon, who now writes for “Samantha Who?” is detailing life on the picket line in her popular blog, Pamie.com. Another friend, Stephen Falk, has lots of photos and video on his site, Plaintive Wail.
Photo from PlaintiveWail.com
Already, our TV lineups are drying up. Instead of downloading episodes of other shows you’ve been neglecting, watch a movie instead. Pick up a book. Catch up on stuff you already have on your DVR.
Paying for online TV shows and DVDs right now means you’re crossing a picket line.
Learn more about why the strike is happening here:
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Internet, Movies & DVDs, TV
Shorties: Dell Dude spotted; ‘South Park’ and ‘Guitar Hero’ recap
The “You’re Getting a Dell, Dude” dude has resurfaced … at a New York restaurant called Tortilla Flats as a waiter.
I’m not going to cast aspersions because there but for the grace of Statesman Editor Rich Oppel go I … I frequently imagine myself getting fired for libeling someone in this blog and ending up working late shifts at Chuy’s. Mmmm … endless chips and salsa.
Anyway, in case you were curious whatever happened to the Dell ad guy, there’s your answer. Looks as if he turned his life around after a bit of trouble. He’s also in a band with some other former actors called Whale. You know you want to hear their demo tape.
(Link from Engadget.)
Last night’s “South Park” was cute and clever (you’d never know it from the episode title). In it, Stan and Kyle get signed to a record label for their co-op playing of the video game “Guitar Hero.” The episode follows the dissolution of the duo’s pretend band, Stan’s addition to the video game “Heroin Hero” (in which, hilariously, you chase a dragon through a forest but never catch it) and their eventual reconciliation.
Rather than go dirty and over-the-top like some episodes, this one was straight-forward and funny. Stand-out moment: the hollow clacks of Stan’s new bandmate playing the “Guitar Hero” controller songs at a restaurant. Stan’s dad playing his real guitar to the disgust of Stan’s friends was also pretty great. The episode re-airs multiple times this week on Comedy Central.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: Computers, Internet, TV, Videogames
‘Guitar Hero’ on ‘South Park’ tonight
The boys from “South Park,” who won an Emmy last season for their “World of Warcraft”-themed episode, are tweaking the world of videogames again tonight with an episode about the popular “Guitar Hero” line of videogames.
In true “South Park” fashion, the episode is titled, “Guitar Queer-O.”
“South Park” has always done a nice job staying abreast of videogame culture, with past episodes devoted to the launch of the Nintendo Wii and an episode featuring Kenny battling, “Last Starfighter”-style, in Heaven using a Sony PSP.
It follows a glut of recent TV shows featuring “Second Life” including “The Office” (nice “Second Second Life” joke in that one) and on “CSI: NY.”
The “South Park” episode airs 9 p.m. tonight on Comedy Central.
Speaking of the game, a “Guitar Hero III’ tournament is being held at Hot Topic in Barton Springs Mall this month. Fans of the game ages 16 and older can compete to win a 2008 Pontiac G5.
The Austin stop of the tournament tour is on Nov. 19. Here are some more details:
Qualifying will take place from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at each stop on the tour. The top eight scores from the Qualifying Round will proceed to the Semi-Final Rounds which will immediately follow. Winners at each of the eight stops will receive a $100 gift card from Hot Topic. Additionally, winners will submit their high score on an undisclosed song to determine the two national finalists to advance to the Grand-Finals Round. The two Grand-Finals Round participants will win a trip for two to Los Angeles where they will compete in front of the game creators at Activision for the right to drive away in a 2008 Pontiac G5. Individuals interested in participating can pre-register for the tournament by visiting the designated Hot Topic store starting at 10:30 a.m. five days prior to the tournament date. Pre-registration will close at 5:00 p.m. the evening before the tournament date. Pre-registering is highly recommended as space is limited.
Commence to virtual shredding.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Austin, TV, Videogames
Rumors are flying: an Apple tablet PC coming soon?
CNET UK is reporting that Apple may be working with computer hardware company Asus on a tablet computer.
The source is a person or persons at Asus, who apparently not only spilled the beans about the new platform, but later confirmed that it will be a new, original design, according to CNET.
This definitely seems to go along with Apple’s recent “Touching is good” moves, like what it’s done with the iPhone and iPod Touch’s finger-friendly multi touch-user interfaces.
Apple filed a few patents this year that led to speculation of a revamped touchpad on its laptops that would feature similar functions to what you can do with an iPhone (say, resizing photos or browsing items with finger touches).
Apple’s new OS version, Leopard, with its integrated “Cover Flow” file menus would seem a natural for something like this. It all makes a lot of sense on an Apple evolutionary level.
Now, my big question — would it be silly of me to buy one of Apple’s recently refreshed Macbooks at this point?
Permalink | | Categories: Computers, Gadgets
Monday tech gumbo: Google’s big day, ‘Eye of Judgment’ woes
As expected, Google announced its wireless plans this morning, unveiling a 33-member alliance (remind you of a recent social networking announcement?) to create an open platform for wireless technology.
We won’t see any so-called Google Phones anytime soon, but we will begin to see phones based on this open platform, dubbed “Android,” starting the second half of next year. The phones will run Google apps as well as what you could expect to be a gargantuan raft of other applications developed between now and then.
Whether you call the result of this a Google Phone, a Google-powered platform or just something that Google is pushing to make a more open environment, it’s obvious that The Big G’s push into wireless is still going to have big ramifications for the whole industry, which has been keeping customers locked into phones that offer very little customization or flexibility out of the box.
I spent a late Saturday night setting up Sony’s “The Eye of Judgment,” a very strange package that combines a new PlayStation 3 Web camera and microphone that comes with a stand, a videogame and a deck of cards and a cloth that serves as a playing field. The camera connects to one of the PlayStation 3’s USB ports (the cord, by the way, is way too short) and special coding on the cards can be read by the camera. When you put down a card while playing on the cloth, the game takes the cue and provides lush animations as you summon creatures and cast spells. It also keeps track of all the points and other stuff you’d have to monitor while playing a card game of this genre.
It’s sort of like if they made a videogame out of “Magic: The Gathering,” (which they’ve tried to do before). The cards are made by Wizards of the Coast and the the videogame uses the camera to detect the cards you’re using in games against the CPU or online opponents.
Unless you’re already a freak for collectible card games, setting this thing up and learning how to play is a challenge. Very long and boring tutorial videos still don’t do a great job explaining how to play and “Registering” your deck is a little frustrating: maybe I was just sleep-deprived, but it took me a while to figure out that the game automatically whittles down your deck to 30 cards to use in battle and that you have to add booster-pack cards manually after deleting excess starter-pack cards from your virtual deck. (See? I’ve already confused myself again.)
Worst of all, I couldn’t get a single online match to connect. This isn’t an isolated problem, and worse, the game gives you points for a canceled match. Apparently I’m an undefeated online champ in the leaderboards with almost 20 wins, which is strange because I haven’t been able to play the game online even once.
“Eye of Judgment” itself is a lot of fun: The PlayStation Eye camera does a great job detecting the cards once you’re playing and the matches I played against the computer were enjoyable and fast-paced. But I’m not sure it’s worth all the headaches unless you’re hardcore into collectible card games and can get the online component to work for you.
If you’re still curious, here’s the promo video. Nerd alert!
Permalink | | Categories: Gadgets, Phones, Videogames
Google ‘Phone’ alert: Don’t buy that iPhone yet!
The Wall Street Journal is reporting in one of its blogs that Google will finally announce exactly what it’s doing in the wireless space, as early as Monday.
Speculation has been rampant all year that The Big G was working on a phone to rival Apple’s iPhone. Google later denied this, but now everyone expects that Google software-running phones will be announced soon from some of the major wireless carriers such as Sprint and T-Mobile.
If you’re in the market for a phone and you use any of Google’s pretty stellar applications (Gmail, Google Docs, Calendar), you owe it to yourself to at least wait a week and see what they’re putting out into the market. We don’t even know if these phones would be available before the holidays, but as anyone who follows Google’s stock can tell you, it’s always unwise to bet against them. (These guys got it wrong.)
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Finally: a great PlayStation 3 game! Plus, HD-DVD deals
I know it’s “Tabula Rasa” day (see below), but the game that’s been taking up my past few nights has been “Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction.”
It meets three of my current requirements for a game to be awesome:
- I must be able to pick it up and play it without too much fuss.
- It must not take itself too seriously.
- I need to be able to play it in short bursts in case the baby starts crying.
“Ratchet & Clank” goes a few steps better by offering, in just the two levels that I’ve played, one of the best-looking and most fun games yet on the 1-year-old PlayStation 3. Sure, there hasn’t been a ton of competition for that with the dearth of quality games for the system, but this one is definitely a holiday winner. It looks gorgeous. has fantastic character animations and plays at a brisk, entertaining pace. I’ll be working on a full review, but if you’re looking for a game to pick up this weekend that’s not “Tabula Rasa” and you have a PS3, this one’s a definite buy or rental.
What’s up with all these $99 and $199 HD-DVD players? Blu-Ray seems to have the momentum with movies people actually buy (Disney animated films, stuff like “Spider-Man 3,” but lately HD-DVD has been countering with some blockbusters of its own like “Knocked Up” and “Transformers” that aren’t available on the bluer format.
You could hold out for a combo player or you could dive in now and get a bunch of free movies (all the HD-DVD players come with offers for five to seven movies by mail). I’m still eyeing the HD-DVD player that hooks up through the XBox 360 because the last thing I need in my entertainment center is another device with another set of cables looking for a high-definition TV input I don’t have.
Permalink | | Categories: Baby-daddy, Movies & DVDs, Shopping, Videogames
‘Tabula Rasa’ day; New York Times on Garriott
It’s here! The release date of “Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa” has arrived and with it… a fairly short write-up in the New York Times with no actual review of the game yet.
One bit that stood out:
The final title in the Ultima series, Ultima IX, produced in an atmosphere of corporate chaos in 1999 as Mr. Garriott severed ties with the giant publisher Electronic Arts, was an unqualified debacle of incoherent design and game-crashing bugs.
Ouch. I remember having technical problems with that game, but it followed along what most single-player, 3-D role playing games would come to be.
Anyway… “Tabula Rasa,” in final form, is one that’ll take even a dedicated player weeks to get a handle o,n and I’d expect that we’ll see a review soon enough in major outlets and on the big game sites. We’ll keep an eye on Metacritic to hear what reviewers have to say.
You can see some of our coverage over on the Arcade360 page.
Permalink | | Categories: Austin, Videogames
