⇒ Sony announce their next big 'Move'

their lack of creativity and originality have pushed my disgust to a new level--moments like these make me happy Apple killed the Walkman and forced them to make iPod compatible products.

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⇒ more old news: Sony PS3 leap year clock fail

More SONY PS3 failure coverage:
via joystiq

basically: ARM chip failure--the same one which affected ZUNEs a few years ago.

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⇒ SSFIV: my thoughts

the focus-attack-cancel-dash system is the strong part, but the the implementation/execution of the actual 'focus attack' itself is in my opinion, flawed; inferior to 3rd strike's parrying system, too.
I'd say the SSFIV's fighting engine as a whole is close to SSF2T and SF alpha 2's alpha counter

Focus-system Pros:

• easy to execute (just MP + MK when not getting thrashed)


• EX-cancel leads to alot of possibilities


• about abstractly controlling the 'space', like SF2 series


• juggling & target combos from SF3 series

Cons:

• slow to execute (3rd strike's parrying is a simple tap towards or down)


• no air countering (?) -- very poor indeed. This translates into jump in the air and immediately get killed by opponent. What is the countermeasure for when airborne? I can't see it anywhere in-game


• small 'dash' -- why is the dashing in this game so inefficient? It takes about 5 dashes just to cross the screen!


• extreme fireball vulnerability -- 3S' parrying nullified fireballs completely, SSFIV makes spamming fireballs effective again


• somewhat defeated by quick jabs -- jab to activate opponent's counter attack then jab again to interrupt all but fully charged focus attack, and even then you'll see it coming miles away


• no rock-paper-scissors; in 3S it was strike-parry-grapple, what is it in SSFIV?


• Focus attack closer in resemblance to alpha-counter. Also, why does it crumple the other guy? Parrying leaves the other guy wide open without effectively 'freezing' them, making for more fluid and exciting matches. If you successfully parry, it doesn't guarantee damage to the opponent.


• can you successfully use Focus attack/counter with zero health? Watch the Daigo vid again (embedded below) and tell me, could something this exciting and insane happen under SSFIV's Focus-attack system? I think you get KO'd if you try to focus attack with zero health...


• What is the distinction between a Super Combo and an Ultra Combo? Amount of damage? Why even have both in the game, now you've got regular moves, command moves, special moves, EX special moves, Super combos and Ultra Combos? Not enough distinction between them. Don't call it 'strategic' because the EX-bar has only one use, I mean, what else are you going to save the EX bar for? Having both in the game, you could pull off a Special, then Super immediately followed by an Ultra, whereas in 3S you had to plan ahead and maybe you'll have enough meter to get you an EX attack followed by a Super Art. Additionally, the input for Ultra combos (typically involves PPP or KKK input) feels so ham-fisted.

other cons:

• no beautiful 2D frame-by-frame animation (in-game)


• comical tone; 3S was about kicking ass and breaking faces


• unenthusiastic vocal performances -- compare soundbytes (same goes for Tatsunoko vs. Capcom). Same with the music--not memorable or on par with SF2, 3S, Alpha 2 or even MvC2.


• weak storyline animation -- 3rd Strike had moving art; IV feels so cheap


• lacking originality -- the 3 series was all about reinvention via new characters and overhauled fight system (only Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li and Akuma are from other SF games, making for a 16:20 originality ratio) while SSFIV only has a 8:35 originality ratio (Gouken, Seth, Abel, Rufus, Viper, El Fuerte, Juri and Hakan), and Seth and Viper suck.


• Seth = the suck. What a cheap basterd. 3S's Gill could be taken to town by mastery of the parrying system (even without, he's still quite beatable), while Seth is just a lazy 'has-every-character's-moves' character. Just cheap without redemption.


• grading system only after vs human match. The grading system in 3S kept me coming back for more!


• no 'bash the other guy for a bit after KO' -- how else am I supposed to rub salt into wounds; to enjoy sweet victory?

You would have called me a hypocrite for bagging the SFIV games without having thoroughly played before; I held out for 12+ months but now with all the buzz, I had to see for myself. I've played a fair amount and must say, for me, 3rd Strike's still the best. I'll give SSIV more time to reveal it's depth though. I can already see the EX-focus cancel is the door to crazy combos.

Why is everyone praising SSFIV so much? I appreciate that it revived fighting game interest but really feel this is a step backwards--the 3D just don't feel 'right' and the fight mechanics are closer to SF2 than 3S. I'm not saying remake 3S (just release it on PSN in Australia, pixellation and all) but I really feel the engine, though not broken, it ain't right. One thought I had was to implement a combo breaker of some type--an evolution of red-parrying, if you will. I know it sounds cheap but why not reward those good enough to execute it? Red-parrying isn't easy, either.

Note: if 3rd strike were on PSN (or my Dreamcast still worked -- RIP good buddy), I'd still be playing it and probably wouldn't have bought SSFIV. Yes, I think 3rd Strike is that good. Played it regularly from 2002-2006 and intermittently in other years. I got Guilty Gear and BlazBlue:Calamity Trigger-review forthcoming. 3rd Strike, my great white buffalo...

end rant, as promised Daigo vid:

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⇒ Sony PS3 has glitch

PSN Error 8001050F, best summed up by this guy:oggob

"

March 2, 2010 at 1:11 PM
It had nothing to do with PSN, you are correct, but it was effecting users whose consoles have never been connected online also. So it’s nothing to do with it linking back to PSN.

The fundamental issue is that the PS3 internal Hardware clock is set via GMT. There was a bug within that clock which believed that yesterday was the 29th Feb, 2010 (a leap year).

The Operating System clock runs off partly off that clock, and it knew there isn’t a 29th Feb, so it doesn’t know what date to to show and a confliction is caused, that’s why it was dropping back to either 31/12/1999 or 1/1/2000, that is the default date for the PS3.

Trophy games were generally effected, as they obviously check for a valid time and date when they boot, as they assign time and date values when you unlock one, because there were date conflicts, the game fails to run.

By all accounts, non trophy games were working fine, as this is something they don’t need to do.

"

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⇒ PS3 media streaming

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⇒ Heavy Rain

Rawr!

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⇒ unacceptable

more than 1 in 2 xbox360s FAIL
click through for deluge of comments like "failure rate should be about 100%", etc, etc. (I'm paraphrasing). However this comment perfectly sums up my sentiments and reasons why I avoid xbox360:

"Sweatshopsammy @ Aug 17th 2009 8:09PM
I'll be the first one to say it:

what the fuck is wrong with you people? why are you taking this abuse of such shitty hardware? now its not to attack this comment specifically but if one was to read further into this comment thread the comments are fucking ridiculous. why are you proud you're on you're 3rd or 4th xbox 360? why arent you up in arms demanding a better product?

now i'm not saying everyone should dump their xboxs in favour of wii's or ps3's but for gods sake get angry! make microsoft know you won't take this bullshit. you're just giving them the excuse to release shitty pieces of equipment knowing full well every person with $200 - $300 bucks to spend will just scoop it up just becuase it plays "teh haloz"

xbox 360 has been out for how many years? not to mention the the speed of which modern technology develops, this shit shouldve been taken care of a year after the problems started but 54%? all that time and its still 54%?

why isn't there more outcry from the consumer?

all i hear is "lulz im on my 3rd 360" "im going to buy a 2nd one next month" are you serious? you bought a whole new 360, no discount or reparation from a company that knew it sold you a product with a 50% failure rate, is doing little to rectify the situation and you still handed a wad of fucking cash to them?

I will never understand the mindset of the modern consumer
fucking ridiculous"

The only games i want to play on that system are Gears of War 1 & 2, otherwise the failure rate and poor design decisions/corporate greed keep me away from the system.

Every single system I've ever owned has worked from day one till now. My Sega Master System 2 (with built-in Alex Kidd) still works, and this is 20+ years later, after 3 toddlers grew up playing it from day one!

All the systems of this generation are kind of 'meh' to me. Technically, we still haven't bought into one. Our PS3 came free with the TV. My dad was bent on getting a Sony Bravia so I took advantage of getting a console with it. We mostly use it to play DVDs and our single Blu-Ray movie (the Dark Knight).

That's another thing about Blu-Ray and why it sucks ballz: it's prohibitive. Only one system, attached with one HDMI cable to one HDTV can watch Blu-Ray, while every computer/dvd player in the house attached to any other screen/TV can playback DVDs.

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⇒ It lives! PS3 slim

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⇒ Retrograde

v. interesting concept:



Retro/Grade the time-reversal side-scrolling shooting game on PSN soon.

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⇒ burst mode: misc

Sensitive Object's Anywhere MultiTouch extends touch sensitivity to the whole device

Carnegie Mellon morphs 'pop-up buttons' onto multi-touch display

Inventors develop transistor to change color of any surface, your face notwithstanding

GE microholographic storage promises cheap 500GB discs, Blu-ray and DVD compatibility

Scientists create walking goo

superpunch:

take a comic book panel and blend system stats into text bubbles, adding a useful touch to a really fun desktop

JavaScript rockstar
Can also be found by going to jQuery homepage and entering the Konami cheat code: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Enter

Vangelis' music projects

Tetris: the Grand Master: notes, thoughts and strategies

cracked's The Top 8 ‘Oh Shit!’ Moments from Mixed Martial Arts
awesome

make pong in flash:
method #1

method #2

flash breakout tutorial

Apple tips:
Burning a disk image file on a CD or DVD in Mac OS X

About "You need to restart your computer" (kernel panic) messages

Mac Pro: Power consumption and thermal output (BTU) information

Lock Your Data with Disk Images

article perfectly captures the zeitgeist of the new Capt. Kirk
That said, I still liked the movie.

Apple release 10.5.7 update

what a trillion looks like

WtF?!?! Amazing yoga ball trick!

great writeup of federer and nadal
I liked the bit about the RPM on their respective topspins (Nadal: 3200, Federer: 2500).

wiki Nettop

PS3 slim spyshots?

intel fined $billions in anti-trust case


above: US pole dancing championship. What?!? I'm admiring the athleticism and artistry of their carefully choreographed moves, jeez!

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⇒ that time again

oh great. it's super-fun-happy PS3 updated time--which in australian so-called-broadband terms means a couple of hours of system choring.

get it here:
system update and view the update history

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⇒ PS3-MAC streaming

->Applesource's way: needs MediaTomb, Fink, Terminal and seems overly complicated.
->PS3 Media CenterX.
->20 UPnP clients for PS3 streaming via Joystiq. Here's the important parts:

• Allegro Media Server (Mac, Windows - commercial)



• Cidero Internet Radio Server (Java - open source)


• Cyberlink Digital Home Enabler Kit (Windows - commercial)


• CyberMediaGate - (C++ - open source)
  


• Fuppes (Windows, Linux, port to NAS has been reported - open source)



• Geexbox (Linux - open source)
  


• GMediaServer (Linux - open source)


• EyeConnect (Mac - commercial)


• MediaTomb (Linux, port to NAS has been reported - open source)



• Musimatch Jukebox (Windows - commercial)


• MythTV (Linux - open source)


• Nero MediaHome (Windows - commercial)


• On2Share (Windows - commercial)



• PyMeds (Python - open source)


• Rhapsody (Mac, Windows - commercial)


• SimpleCenter (Java Based - commercial)
  


• TVersity (Windows - closed source, currently free)



• TwonkyVision (Linux, Windows, Mac, NAS - commercial)


• uShare (Linux, NAS - open source)


• Windows Media Connect (Windows - closed source, currently free)

⇒ g-reader

more stuff from g-reader:
Mac OS X hint http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20080731124318425

Campaign monitor stuff:
http://www.campaignmonitor.com/blog/archives/2008/08/making_certain_fields_required.html
templates: http://www.campaignmonitor.com/templates/

PS3 game coming soon: Heavy Rain (clink link and watch it there, the f#cker won't embed)
http://www.kotaku.com.au/games/2008/08/watch_the_heavy_rain_gameplay_trailer-2.html

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⇒ utilities for ps3

video conversion:
http://www.redkawa.com/videoconverters/
http://www.redkawa.com/
http://www.download.com/3001-2194_4-10779504.html?spi=3ca16e9f1f733c048f27d998aa25876f&part=dl-PS3Video9

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⇒ how tos

stream media from MAC to PS3. How to
adobe media player
how to secure your mac

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⇒ PS3 day

PS3 finally arrived! Actually very excited (I've studied the specifications--it's impressive). A number of things I continually griped about though: multiple SKU debacles, is/isn't backwards compatible, number of ports constantly dwindling, offensively high price, no HDMI cable bundled in box, etc.

Anyhoo, I upgraded it right out of the box and got it running with a tasty 320GB HDD. 40GB my ass! Btw, download the latest firmware (v. 2.42) here: PS3UPDAT.PUP

I suppose after I get a game and HDMI cable, I'll let you know how things are, but so far, as a media jukebox, it's not doing too bad (not able to handle media as diverse as my lappy, but much more powerful--then again, my lappy cost 5 times as much!).

Register it here Sony rego

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⇒ during the week of 17

crazy mobile phone escapades. Why was it so damn hard to transfer ownership and switch from post-paid to pre-paid?

China's '08 Olympics: my early analysis? Set to be the worst, most media-censored, government-dictatorship-run bestest games in history!

pop quiz, hotshot!
http://blogs.amctv.com/future-of-classic/2008/07/ultimate-fan-quiz-jaws.php
http://blogs.amctv.com/future-of-classic/2008/07/jaws-cinemania.php

Apple+Nike's 'Human Race' http://nikeplus.nike.com/nikeplus/?locale=en_au

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/11/22/joystiq-holidaze-explaining-the-ps3-skus/

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⇒ games, ps3

http://www.kotaku.com.au/games/2008/07/jim_lee_dishes_on_dc_universe_online-2.html

http://www.ps3sacd.com/faq.html
Bioshock
Initial D Extreme Stage
Resistance: Fall of Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnout_Paradise
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_May_Cry_4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Theft_Auto_IV

Patience, we will be together soon!

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⇒ computer politics and wacom, buy it...

http://www.defectivebydesign.com/
http://www.cmykcards.com.au/

http://www.shopbot.com.au/c-624-0-0-1.html
http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/74039/POINTINGDEVICES_GRAPHICS_TABLETS/Wacom/CTE-630BT_T1-C.asp
http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/73219/POINTINGDEVICES_GRAPHICS_TABLETS/Wacom/PTZ-631W_GO-C.asp
http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/73220/POINTINGDEVICES_GRAPHICS_TABLETS/Wacom/PTZ431W(WAH003).asp
http://www.bigbencomputer.com.au/viewproduct.php?cid=695&pid=448132
http://www.bigbencomputer.com.au/viewproduct.php?cid=695&pid=448129
http://www.buywacom.com.au/products.cfm?fullID=C26BE8D6-3FFF-A1E6-845A43064094E6BD&ID=22
http://www.buywacom.com.au/products.cfm?fullID=0736B9B9-3FFF-A1E6-836A1DAF7C57D662&ID=35
http://www.buywacom.com.au/products.cfm?ID=35
http://www.buywacom.com.au/products.cfm?ID=35&StartRow=6&sc=description&so=asc
http://www.wacom.com.au/casestudy/index_creative.html#anime

desc9186 blog about thx 1136(?), code 46, cia surveillance and the recent computer crashes mirroring die hard 4

http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117934435.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/16/pianist-recreates-entire-majoras-mask-soundtrack/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/16/core-2-duo-mac-mini-gets-tested/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/16/network-card-crash-leaves-17-000-stranded-at-lax/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/16/keepon-dancing-robot-featured-in-spoons-latest-music-video/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/16/madden-08-xbox-360-vs-ps3-comparison-video/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/16/robotic-cucumber-hand-freaks-out-party-goers/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/16/back-to-school-shopping-dont-forget-the-bulletproof-backpacks/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/15/philips-to-launch-ambilight-successor-aurea/

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⇒ digicams!

I swear I'll have an awesome DSLR before the year's out (likely before I go overseas). Also I swear to have worked and earned money as a professional photographer at some point in life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_single-lens_reflex_camera
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos400d/
http://www.dpreview.com/learn/?/glossary/
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Pentax/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leica_M8
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympus_E-330
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/panasonicdmcl1/

http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/20/raydiance-laser-can-vaporize-matter-sans-heat/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/20/square-enix-launching-us-online-store/
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/20/nintendo-closing-gap-on-sonys-market-value/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/20/nvidia-launches-tesla-gpus-are-the-new-cpus/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/20/get-your-own-daft-punk-helmet-maybe/
http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/20/irivers-unit2-detailed-on-teaser-site/
http://www.micromania.co.kr/shop/list7.php?ca_id=1045000000000000000&page=3 hawt!

http://www.engadget.com/2007/06/20/microsoft-surface-one-day-your-computer-will-be-a-big-ass-table/
Microsoft surface rant: the problem is you have to buy a whole table to use it. Why not develop compact (and above all, reliable) hardware and adaptable software (err, from Microsh!t...?) so that it's more like placing a large, thick book down or moving it around than lugging an entire coffee table around. And what if you already have a coffee table? Will coffee mugs and beans become add-on sales items for Microsh!t?

PS3: Here's an idea that would've been successful (those fools should hire me for their marketing dept., instead of that this is living bs): They should've launched with the following 2 SKUs:
the current 60GB version (not for the still ridiculous price, mind you, and with an 80GB drive) with all the Blu-Ray, HDMI, Hi-def crap that Sony's currently forcing down our throats; OR a 'games' only PS3, which removed Blu-Ray playback ability, and all the extra 'trimmings' such as wireless and use wired controllers to really drive the cost down so that it's on par with Wii, but kept everything else necessary to give full-hd gaming experience. Oh and f#ck the bundled hard drive let everyone:
a/ BYO hdd of ANY size (i.e. some of that 250GB 2.5" action)
b/ use USB storage or whatever flash memory came free with their camera/phone or old any pc hard-drive + USB enclosure = instant storage
I mean 60 GB ain't alot in this day and age. That's less than 3 Blu-Ray discs worth!

that's that

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