Flashing News! I'm old!

I recently picked up Madden 2008 for my 360 and promptly put the disk away to reaccess myself. I've been a Madden player since my Genesis days and have always enjoyed the series, I even considered myself good. I moved to PSX and PS2 without any problems. Madden 2008 has me stumped. Either I have lost a step or the game has evolved too much from my 2007 PS2 version and I just can't keep pace. I actually took the manual to work today to study it... sad...

Finished Crackdown

As always I'm late to the party (I save money that way), Crackdown has been probably the best console experience I've had since I completed PsyOps on PS2. Even before I had my 360 I knew this was the type of game I could get into. The reviews mentioned that it was short on story, which is fine, I don't have the time anyway. What it does have is plenty of explosions and action and just enough game play and easy achievements.

I started Crackdown on the 21 June and was done 25 June and there's still plenty for me to do. I plan on resetting the crime and attempting to get all of the Agility Orbs. What I really liked about the game was the open missions structure. The missions can be completed in any order, but it's advisable to follow the order they give you for taking out the gangs. If you run up on the the Volk or Shai Gen in the early stages before you have leveled up sufficiently you will die, fast and often. There no need to mention graphics, they're good. What does stand out is the game play and physics. Crackdown stands out from GTA and Saints Row because of your avatars ability to go vertical. The sense of jumping through the air and landing with an earth shaking thud is exhilarating.

Now that the Halo 3 beta is over this game can be had for cheap on eBay, it's a definite buy. I don't know if I would've given $60 for it new, but at $29 it was a steal.

Older Gamer Different Gamer?

Lately I've been playing plenty of Puzzle Quest on my daughter's Nintendo DS. Playing is putting it lightly, more like obsessed! The I won't go into the specifics of the game, you can just follow the link, but suffice to say it's a little Bejeweled, a little RPG and a lot of addictive gameplay.

Spending so much time playing Puzzle Quest really got me thinking about my changing gaming habits. I consider myself a hardcore gamer, without the time to invest in the hobby like I did in the past. I listen to loads of podcasts and read tons of reviews but lately find myself having to be satisfied by that. I buy plenty of games, but rarely finish any of them. The last game I finished was Half-Life 2 and before that Deus Ex. Everything else I have to play in short doses, which makes portable gaming so intriguing to me.

So now I'm at a crossroads so to speak. In my house there's a PS2, 2 DS's a PC and a couple of notebooks. I have been wanting an Xbox 360 for sometime now, but I really don't know if I'll get maximum use out of it. I've looked hard at the PSP but don't want to buy it with the rumors of a console refresh flying about. Decisions Decisions....

1st Strat Game

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

BOXSCORE: 2005 Houston Aeronauts At 2005 Milwaukee Crewsmen
 
  Aeronauts                AB  R  H RBI   Crewsmen                 AB  R  H RBI
  W.Taveras CF              3  2  1  2    B.Clark CF                4  1  2  0 
  C.Biggio 2B               3  2  1  3    R.Weeks 2B                4  0  1  1 
  L.Berkman RF              3  0  1  2    L.Overbay 1B              4  0  0  0 
  J.Bagwell 1B              4  2  1  0    C.Lee LF                  4  0  1  0 
  M.Ensberg 3B              5  0  1  1    G.Jenkins RF              3  0  0  0 
  C.Burke LF                5  0  2  1    B.Hall SS                 3  0  1  0 
  A.Everett SS              4  1  1  0    R.Branyan 3B              2  0  0  0 
  B.Ausmus C                3  1  0  0    D.Miller C                3  0  0  0 
  R.Clemens P               3  1  0  0    D.Davis P                 1  0  0  0 
B-M.Lamb PH                 1  0  0  0  A-J.Cirillo PH              1  0  0  0 
  B.Lidge P                 0  0  0  0    W.Obermueller P           0  0  0  0 
                                        C-P.Fielder PH              1  0  0  0 
                                          M.Wise P                  0  0  0  0 
                           -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---
         Totals            34  9  8  9           Totals            30  1  5  1
 
A-Pinch Hit For Davis In 6th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Clemens In 8th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Obermueller In 8th Inning
 
Aeronauts....... 0 1 3  0 1 4  0 0 0  -  9  8  0
Crewsmen........ 0 0 0  0 0 1  0 0 0  -  1  5  1
 
Aeronauts                IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC
R.Clemens WIN             7       4   1   1   2  12   0 105
B.Lidge                   2       1   0   0   0   1   0  20
Totals                    9       5   1   1   2  13   0
 
Crewsmen                 IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC
D.Davis LOSS              6       7   9   8   7   4   1 124
W.Obermuelle              2       1   0   0   2   0   0  32
M.Wise                    1       0   0   0   0   1   0  10
Totals                    9       8   9   8   9   5   1
 
ATTENDANCE- 27,021 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
UMPIRES- C.B. Bucknor, Phil Cuzzi, Jerry Crawford, Ed Rapuano
T- 2:45
LEFT ON BASE- Aeronauts: 7  Crewsmen: 4
DOUBLE PLAYS- Aeronauts: 1  Crewsmen: 1
ERRORS- R.Branyan
DOUBLES- W.Taveras, L.Berkman, J.Bagwell, M.Ensberg, C.Burke
TRIPLES- R.Weeks
HOME RUNS- C.Biggio
CAUGHT STEALING- B.Hall
WALKS- W.Taveras-2, C.Biggio-2, L.Berkman-2, J.Bagwell, A.Everett, B.Ausmus,
       G.Jenkins, R.Branyan
STRIKE OUTS- J.Bagwell, M.Ensberg, C.Burke, A.Everett, B.Ausmus, B.Clark,
             R.Weeks-2, L.Overbay, C.Lee, G.Jenkins-2, B.Hall, R.Branyan-2,
             D.Miller-2, J.Cirillo
GIDP- L.Berkman, G.Jenkins

• Go to Strat-O-Matic Homepage

Why Bose Sucks!

Friends don't let friends buy Bose. Read a compilation of links, reviews, and posts that tell all why Bose speakers are over-rated.

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Nintendo confirms sub $250 Wii pricing!

Looks like the PS3 will have a fight on its hands come Christmas time. If this is indeed true, then "Wassup Wii"!

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Start your own GeekSquad

Put GeekSquad out of business. Here are some helpful tips on how you can set up a remote support website to make extra money fixing people's computer problems using One Click VNC servers.

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Bloglines has new features, courtesy of the new Google RSS?

Looks like Bloglines has adapted some of Google RSS's features. Keys for navigation and a new feed vs saved feed count, who says competition isn't good :)

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Hollywood Video class action for late fees

Fill out the web form and see if you qualify for the class action suite against Hollywood Video

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Save Time in Firefox

Turn on address autocomplete in Firefox - Today's Browser Tip:

Here's yet another Firefox feature that's buried in about:config but which you won't be able to live without once you enable it: Address autocomplete. While by default Firefox will show you previously-visited sites that start with whatever you've entered in the address bar, when you enable this setting it will fill it right in where you're typing, so when the address you're looking for floats to the top you can just press enter.

In order to enable autocomplete in the address bar, first enter about:config in the address bar. Then right-click anywhere on the list and select New > Boolean and create a preference called browser.urlbar.autoFill. Finally, double-click on the item you've just created to set it to true. That's it!

Must have programs for a USB drive

Lists and loads of links for all sorts of programs that you can fit on a portable USB drive.

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Fantastic Four stops Hollywood's box office slump

The Fantastic Four" muscled "War of the Worlds" out of first place at the North America box office after a one-week reign, and managed to snap Hollywood's longest box office slump in more than two decades, according to preliminary figures released here Sunday.

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IE7 and a little longhorn!

A video with Ie7 and Longhorn (NOT THAT MUCH) very intresting, more than just screenshots (video)!

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Apple just gets it...

I downloded iTunes 4.9 this morning and was very pleased with the download. Support for Podcasting, bug fixes, yada yada. I subscribed to a couple of show and left for work. iTunes made a podcast playlist, synced and I was good, although all my podcasts were thrown into one playlist.

What I didn't know that Apple released iPod update 1.2. This is where things get good! My podcatching client was Doppler, which is a nice free client. I was lukewarm to iTunes 4.9, I was excited about iTunes validating podcasting so to speak.

Now for iPod update 4.2. This is what makes podcasts on the iPod rock. With the update the podcast playlist categorizes the podcasts under the podcast playlist. Another MAJOR improvement is bookmarkable podcasts! This is an amazing feature, I can never remember where I've left off. The last improvement is that the iPod shows the show notes, again, Apple just gets it.

These updates will make listening to podcasts infinitely more enjoyable for me.

Flash

I just saw an interview with a dude on G4TV about flash animation. I've always wanted to make cartoons, I wonder how hard would it be for me to author some cartoons for personal use

Microsoft employee busted using Linux and OpenOffice during presentation

A presentation about Shared Source (SSI) by the head of Microsoft Ukraine was almost ruined when the Windows machine (a Tablet PC) linked to the projector developed problems. The solution was to adopt OpenOffice.org 1.1.2 and ALT Linux Compact 2.3 (A Russian distribution), which was already running on the presenter's laptop (an IBM Thinkpad).

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Best torrent search engine by far

This site can check many, many, many torrent sites for whatever your heart desires. Movies, music, tv eps, e books, you name it, it'll find it. A worthy stop on the journey of any bitorrent newbie or vet.

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What I look for in movie games...

I've been playing the new Star Wars III game and having a blast with it... The reviews have been a bit harsh on it and I agree. So why am I having so much fun with it? Because I like Star Wars, and anything that lets me be a part of that universe is great.

It has gotten me thinking about the whole game / movie tie in thing. Yes there have been terrible games based on movie franchises and there always will be. I remember when I first played the Matrix game that was released with the third movie, it was horrible. Horrible when compared with Max Payne and others I was playing at the time on my PC. Fast forward to 2005 and me purchasing it again for $7 for the PS2. Great game!

I had recently sat down for a weekend of Matrix-cide :) Follow that up with some good mindless wall running and bullet time on the console and you have nirvana. Same with Revenge of the Sith console game, regardless of how unrevolutionary the gameplay is, I am still playing as Anakin on the cusp of becoming Darth Vader! There's a story there and I'm pumped for the movie.

Reviewers should highlight gameplay elements of a game, after all they are reviewing a game first and foremost. But I would like to see them get a little into the experience. Does the game introduce new a new plot or experience to the movie franchise? After my experience with Sith for PS2 I would say the game is excellent on a whole, same with the Lord of the Rings Return of the King and Matrix game.

I really enjoyed feeling a part of and interacting with these movie games. Defending Helms Deep was awesome, was the gameplay new or revolutionary? No... Seeing why Anakin becomes Darth Vader is very cool. From now on I will look at these games as interactive movies, instead of games. Categorizing them as games is a disservice, its an experience.

Leave it alone

Ok, I need to leave my SUSE 9.2 install alone. Being the geek I am I can't leave my install alone. Instead of doing homework yesterday I was messing with SUSE trying to get apt packages to work along with Synaptic, here's how if you're interested. Back to my majorly unproductive since installing linux, I don't remember being like this with my first Win95 computer back in 1996, maybe because I really didn't have anything important to do other than playin Mechwarrior II.

There are still a couple of niggles keeping me from going full linux. I still have to many instances where things don't always work the same way twice. This morning my DSL connection decided not to initialize, sometime it's my wireless intellimouse 2.0 not being found when I boot. These things really don't bother me much but I can imagine it being a pain for some users.

Package management, or installing programs for us Windows users, is very slick. It consists of finding repositories of software, which you add to a lookup table of sorts, etc/apt/sources.lst I believe, enter the URL of the repository update it with an apt-get update and your set. Say I want to install GAIM, a freeware trillian like app that combines all IM clients into one. I simply open a command line as root and enter apt-get install gaim, it doesn't get any easier than that? I still have problems with the graphical interface for apt-get called Synaptic sometimes it hangs and is unresponsive when I launch it, so I'm still using the command line. The slick thing about Synaptic is that you can browse applications by category and such, with apt-get, as far as I know, you have pretty much know what you want.

So thats why I'm unproductive with linux, it's just cool to install stuff with apt-get! It takes care of all the dependencies, other programs and libraries it needs, automagically. Unlike .rpm packages which require you to hunt for the dependencies.

I'm still having issues with the following:

Monitor Resolution
Wireless mouse (probably going to return it)
iPod syncing with Amarok
Syncing my Dell Axim Pocket PC
Belkin Bluetooth adapter

Linux thoughts...

After getting the laptop squared away with Xandros, I decided to start experimenting with my desktop.  Remember earlier in the month I was considering jumping to the MacOS, because I was tired of doing the Windows song and dance.  Linux has a couple of things going for it:

 

-          It's free

-          Excellent support

-          Free software

-          Easy to install (depending on distro)

 

I spent most Saturday and most of Sunday finding and installing various distributions of Linux.  I tired Vida, Unbuntu, Xandros and finally settled on SUSE 9.2.  If there's any advantage to Windows, it's compatibility with a majority of the hardware out there.  Linux's compatibility is nothing to sneeze at, but it's nowhere near Windows.

 

I couldn't get sound working on VidaLinux, Unbuntu would hang every other reboot at the hot-plug module.  Xandros would hang loading modules, which is weird since it was so effortless on my laptop.  I had just setup SUSE 9.1 Saturday night when I got the urge to upgrade or rather wipe it out and install SUSE 9.2.  The upgrade failed, for some reason my keyboard got screwed up during the install.

 

I'm now happily dual booting WinXP Pro SP2 with SUSE 9.2 and couldn't be happier.  I'm going to give it a trial run this week by doing all of my homework assignments on it with Open Office 1.1 to see if I can get any real work done on Linux.  It shouldn't be any problem since I have full access to Windows partitions under SUSE.