Guess what? The NYT thinks the Wii is more fun than the PS3
If you think any of this gibberish looks interesting, you should poke around and subscribe to my RSS feed to keep up with new content.
I’m far too lazy to go look up and link all the posts I’ve written (here and at Flicker) over the past six or seven months about how Nintendo made a far smarter choice by releasing an inexpensive, fun console than Sony made by releasing a George Foreman grill.
Instead, I’m going to link to the NYT article, quote it, and say “I told you so.”
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 30 — Some of the video game industry’s smartest minds thought that couch potatoes wanted richer graphics and more challenging virtual worlds. It turns out that a lot of potatoes simply wanted to get off the couch.
That may be the best explanation for the growing popularity of the Nintendo Wii, the new video game system that has players jumping, punching and swinging, giving them an aerobic workout right in front of their television sets.
Told you so.
Social isn’t limited to text
I remember about two or three months ago I was listening to the Gillmor Gang (back when it still existed) and they were talking about how the whole idea of “gestures” and “links” exist within podcasting as well as within blogging.
How, do you ask, can there be a link in a podcast?
Basically, it’s a meme. In other words, some idea or segment or topic will hop podcasts. In a way, this is a more powerful “link” than the classic text hyperlink, because it involves a more meaningful effort.
When you take on a topic from another podcast, it really speaks well of the source material, and it shows that there is thought and effort behind the connection. It’s also, in my mind, inherently more social to be talking than to be writing.
I’m interested to see how these links develop themselves.
Selling monitors pretty cheap
I’ve got a 19-inch Dell LCD monitor that’s about three and a half years old that I’m trying to sell for $150, and a 17-inch LCD Samsung SyncMaster for $125.
They’re both in good working order and well taken care of. The Dell monitor has 1 dead pixel on it (somewhere), but it’s a better monitor overall. The Dell can go with either a DVI or a VGA cable (but not both), and the Samsung is VGA only.
If you live in LA we can save on shipping and you can come pick it (or both) up. If you’re interested give me a ping: j [at] jason-preston.com
Mac people: what is this key?
I love keyboard shortcuts. I use them all the time. But I cannot figure out what the little “^” key is. It’s not SHIFT + 6, it’s not 6…it’s not SHIFT…
Anyone know?
Gratsi.
Using only Google Docs
My MacBook Pro came with a free trial copy of Microsoft Office when I got it back in early January, and ever since it’s been counting down the days of free usage I have left - as of today: 5. The same goes for Excel.
I haven’t bothered to go looking for a Mac copy of Office because I know that my boss has the copy I use for work somewhere, and sooner or later I’ll be able to load that on this new computer. But in the meantime, I’m stuck with a copy of Word that reminds me to buy it every five minutes, won’t print, and provides a nice “Word Test Drive” watermark on the screen at all times.
This hasn’t been too much of a problem until this past week, when I started getting homework assignments again. Now, I still have my old desktop, and it still has a working copy of Word, but I’m trying to move all of my work (and school work) onto the laptop, and dedicate the desktop exclusively to gaming.
Also, that means when I carry my laptop to campus (or work), I’ve got everything I need with me, at all times, without having to worry about syncing it with data on my desktop. Brilliant all around.
A few days ago I realized that until I get word set up on my laptop, anywhere I have an internet connection (which is most places) I can use Google Docs. It doesn’t do everything, but it does everything I need: prints, saves (to rtf!), and opens Word documents. It also has a Word Count feature. In all honesty, I’m pretty amazed.
…and it’s free. Now I understand why people think Google Docs is going to take a chunk out of MS Office. The only reason I want Word is for the few times (it still happens) where I can’t get online. Otherwise, why do I need it?
How many entries makes a Carnival?
I’m proud to say that the February Carnival of Gamers will be making it’s stop here at Jason-Preston.com on the first of February.
I’m excited to be hosting the carnival again, although the last time it was over at Flicker Gaming, which is sadly no longer with us. In any case, I can assure you that there is no shortage of material for the carnival. Last count puts it at 17 submissions.
Good stuff.
The Social Web
I mentioned briefly a few days ago that I would start making posts in the Social Web category on this blog. This is part of what I’m doing for my English Writing class this semester, which is focused on exploring new media for communications.
What better topic to explore within that than the way people are making social links online?
So what do I mean by “social web?” I’m playing fast and loose with a term that, frankly, has very little definition to begin with. I think that gives me a little freedom to define it myself, and make it what I want it to be.
Social Web refers to a bit of what some audacious people have started calling “web 3″ and “web 4″ - what, you though we were still on web 2? I bet you still read Scoble (you should).
The idea is that the internet is really just a bunch of pages stuck together by hyperlinks, which is something so old and boring that it might as well be Fortran. But it’s still called the “Blogosphere,” and people still call it a “conversation,” and we make “friends” and we “network” via Facebook or Myspace or (if you’re over 30) Friendster.
That fascinates me. That all there is holding this whole thing together is little “links,” and that nobody has come up with a better idea or has even really evolved the concept (except possibly MyBlogLog, which is one of the fastest growing and coolest new services out there, as I said a few months ago on the Blog Business Summit blog).
So that’s what this madness is about. Expect musings, podcasts, videos, and utter gibberish. Enjoy.
New Intel chip technology (already)
By now, I have close to no idea how the innards of a computer work.
There was a point about 10 years ago, where I thought I had some idea about what was actually going on inside the machine, but shortly afterward I realized it wasn’t just a leprechaun with an abacus hidden in the case.
I understand what components make up the computer, and to a large extent I understand what they do and where they go, but I really have no idea how they do what they do. The processors themselves are the worst mysteries. Somehow we’ve shoved bazillions of transistors onto some silicon, and it makes pretty pictures? Bah.
According to the New York Times this morning, Intel has announced a new chip technology that will let them run chips faster and more efficiently (I guess that’s what you want, right?).
But at the rate this stuff is going, I’ve completely lost track of where things fall in the processor lineup. This is frustrating for someone who is getting ready to upgrade the processor/motherboard on their desktop (me).
There are so many different chips, and the new technology shows up so quickly, it’s hard to know when to pick your level. I almost think it’d be better for the industry as a whole to take a deep breath and let one processor hit the market before you introduce a new one.
Holding calls
You know when you call a number where you have to wait for 40 minutes to speak to a human, like Disneyland or Bill Gates’ house? I wonder if anyone has ever managed to record the sounds that come through your phone microphone while you’re waiting, because I bet it would be pretty funny.
Here’s where a funny person would go ahead and list a few of the funny things you would hear, but I’m lazy today. Do it for me if you want.
Service matters
It’s amazing to me how much of a difference it makes in a service business when the employees care whether or not they make a good impression.
People seem to think there’s a time and place for good service. As if people who eat at McDonalds don’t actually care whether they’re treated like people or not. Nine times out of ten I’ll eat at Dave’s Chillin and Grillin down the street instead of McDonalds, even when I want McDonalds, just because Dave is a cool guy and I like to go chat with him while I eat.
That’s the power of good service.
iChat pulled a Houdini with my buddy list [update]
[Update: it appears to have been an AIM glitch, I got my list back! now i’m going to back it up…]
You remember last month when iTunes randomly decided to glitch and delete all of my music data? Well I finally got that sorted out about a week ago - I erased iTunes and all of its weirdness, got a program that dumped all of the data and music from my iPod onto my computer, and then re-installed iTunes. Then I had to erase my iPod and have the computer reformat and re-link it, despite the fact it was identical to the iTunes library (sigh).
Well anyway, iChat decided to delete my AIM buddy list last night. So…
I’m disconnected from the world of AIM. That means everyone I’ve added since middle school is more gone that Michael Jackson’s child. I think applications that start with a little “i” actually hate me. It’s a good thing this new computer I got doesn’t start with one, or I’m sure it would probably disembowel me in my sleep, just for the fun of it.
Also, and I’m saying this in the spirit of research and science, in my experience Windows has more glitches, but the glitches I’ve had with Apple software have been a lot more damaging. I’m tempted to say more frequent and less harmful is better.
I am also willing to blame AOL, if it turns out their server just wiped my list.
My last classes
Overall my last semester of classes at Oxy seem like they make a pretty good schedule. By now I’ve had the first round of each of these, and since two of them are only one day a week, I’m mostly done until next Monday. That’s always a good sign.
My principles of journalism class looks to be the hardest of the bunch. The professor makes a point of being an intimidating presence, and the syllabus loudly declares that he is “on a crusade against the scourge of grade inflation.” This basically means that I’m not getting a 4.0 in college, but I wasn’t really counting on that anyway.
Despite the daunting workload, however, the class looks to be something that will really help me out in my writing. I’m going to be doing a lot of writing this semester.
My screenwriting class (see! more writing) is straight up fun. The people in the class are good friends and the professor seems to know what she’s doing. Again, it’s going to be more work than I was hoping for (I just spent a few hours this afternoon doing the HW), but it should really help me write better.
Finally–blogging. Yes, I’m taking a class on blogging. So you’ll be noticing a new category on this blog which I’ve unoriginally coined “social web.” That category is going to be devoted to the required musings for my blogging class.
Shortage of syncing solutions
I’ve been looking for a little while for a good way to sync my Mac with my Windows Mobile based phone, but as far as I can tell there are only two options for bridging the gap between the two: Missing Sync for Windows Mobile and PocketMac.
The problem is that I used the full 15 days trial of the Missing Sync but without realizing I had an outdated version (2.5), and it had a bunch of errors. My guess is that the problems showed up because I’m using Windows Mobile 5 and the older version didn’t really support it, but that’s just my guess at this point, and it’s not worth $40 to try the real program since my trial has expired.
PocketMac, however, is cheaper to begin with AND offers an educational discount, but does not provide a trial version. Also, they say they don’t support Windows Mobile 5 yet. So bleh.
My options are between broken and probably useless. Hasn’t someone else made a program to sync Address Book with Windows Mobile??
Consoles: Too Good for their Own Good
I think that gamertags and gamerscore are two of the best ideas that Microsoft has brought to the gaming table.
A gigantic all-encompassing competitive scoring system linked with a personalized profile which is then widgetized so that you can boast on your blog sidebar? Hell yes. More, please.
The problem is that I won’t pay for Xbox Live (Gold).
I bought a year’s worth, once. Technically twice since I was stupid enough to leave my credit card info in the Xbox and my brother bought another year on my dime. I bought it way back when Live first launched and nobody really knew how it was going to actually work.
It turns out that adding comprehensive online capabilities to a console was a frackin’ good idea. But I am a stingy bastard and I’m not convinced that a year’s worth of Live play is really $70 of fun. I don’t think Microsoft thinks so either, but MMORPGS have taught the game publishing world that gamers are idiots and will pay unbelievable amounts of money so long as you provide free crack and use soothing monthly fees so it slides down the throat like honey.
The problem is that Microsoft has to charge for Xbox Live. The same way that Sony, despite offering a “free” online service, is rumored to be charging publishers to make up their expenditures. The same way that games, in general, are slowly removing the four-player split screen mode. The same way that console game prices go up $10 every time you sneeze. The same way they bundle consoles with games so that you have to purchase three titles with the hardware, and no they’re not included in the price of the console. The same way I framed Roger Rabbit. I shouldn’t have admitted that last bit, should I?
So why is all this happening? Why does Mircosoft have to charge for Xbox Live?
It’s because consoles are too good for their own good. I blame the media and I blame Freud. Or some other psychologist, maybe. Pavlov would probably do in a pinch.
Worries of a hypochondriac
Have you ever gone to bed wondering if you’re going to wake up in the morning?
One of the side effects of letting every little injury drive you mentally insane is that once in a while, late at night when you’re really tired, you sit in bed wondering if you’re going to die in your sleep of some weird shutdown procedure.
This absurd feeling has happened once before, and of course I woke up fine in the morning and laughed at my ridiculous self. But in the meantime, it’s no fun at all. It’s fear and it’s not fricking rational.
UPDATE: I’m up now, and I can laugh at myself. Hurray!
-
Subscribe
-
Jason's Shared Items
-
Contact Me
j [at] jason-preston.com
AIM/Skype: Jasonp107 -
MyBlogLog
-
Admin