The following is from my new primary blog at Giant Bomb:
So everyone loves LittleBigPlanet apparently. Seriously, the game's not out yet and everyone seems to love it. Everywhere I look, it's heralded as the second coming. And I can't see why. Okay, it lets you make your own levels. It's not that big a deal. I see people rave about every little thing. People call me weird for not being interested. I'm sorry folks, it's just not that interesting an idea. I'd never play it long enough to make anything I really liked with the editor, so I'm not interested.
It bugs me that in an era when everyone complains about the hype of games like Halo 3, Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid 4 (Games which were awesome, get over it folks), all those same people don't have a bad thing to say about LittleBigPlanet. I get it, you're interested. Doesn't mean the idea is particularly amazing or that the game's that original. Doesn't mean I have to like it too.
So add me to the minority not in the least bit interested in LittleBigPlanet.
Now Black Rock's Pure? There's a game I can get behind. Mindless off-road fun? Hell to the yes. 16-Player online races? Oh yeah.
Yes, I think Pure's going to be better than LittleBigPlanet. And for me, it will be. I might be alone in that. Does that mean you need to come here and tell me how wrong I am and list all the features of LittleBigPlanet which have still not made me think it's god (Yes, I ave heard about them)? No, it doesn't.
I'm immue to Little Big Planet's power. Even if I have to be the lone critic, I will be.
Jens Out
Showing posts with label updates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label updates. Show all posts
24 July 2008
21 July 2008
Kaboom!
And just like that, The Bomb blew. Giant Bomb (dot) com has finally opened the doors to the final site, and it's absolutely fantastic. The site's got a few creaks owing to the huge load we're putting on it, but it's standing up better than I expected. Things are getting done.
The site looks attractive and it's laid out very well. The whole thing also has a very social atmosphere to it, it's friendly and communal - the content, largely collaborative. The forums are just getting started and already we're getting on very well.
The site's video player is also very good, attractive and simple, keeps out of the way. Very nice.
We may have just knocked the servers over there...Whoops.
Oh, there it goes. Back now.
Anyway, staying up for the site proved to be worth it. I guarantee if I'd gone to bed, I'd have slept past the launch and wouldn't have gotten to see the site until the afternoon. That would have been unacceptable.
I'm making a bunch of friends in the Live Stream chatroom. This is going to be fun.
Well, the site's now getting over the earlier crashes where it would completely fail to resolve as the load on the servers decreases - a lot of the users in America for example are heading to bed so the server's aren't taking such a huge hit.
There are lingering issues, with quite a few bugs and glitches yet to be sorted, but there don't seem to be any show stoppers. So far, it's a relatively smooth launch.
Can't wait for the next Bombcast.
The site looks attractive and it's laid out very well. The whole thing also has a very social atmosphere to it, it's friendly and communal - the content, largely collaborative. The forums are just getting started and already we're getting on very well.
The site's video player is also very good, attractive and simple, keeps out of the way. Very nice.
We may have just knocked the servers over there...Whoops.
Oh, there it goes. Back now.
Anyway, staying up for the site proved to be worth it. I guarantee if I'd gone to bed, I'd have slept past the launch and wouldn't have gotten to see the site until the afternoon. That would have been unacceptable.
I'm making a bunch of friends in the Live Stream chatroom. This is going to be fun.
Well, the site's now getting over the earlier crashes where it would completely fail to resolve as the load on the servers decreases - a lot of the users in America for example are heading to bed so the server's aren't taking such a huge hit.
There are lingering issues, with quite a few bugs and glitches yet to be sorted, but there don't seem to be any show stoppers. So far, it's a relatively smooth launch.
Can't wait for the next Bombcast.
Bomb Watch Starts Here
Giant Bomb's Jeff Gerstmann today e-mailed anyone who had sent an e-mail to one of the Giant Bomb addresses (Notable the Beta Signup Address). It formalises the site's launch as being imminent, a fact already made abundently clear by the blog having been replaced with a teasing image and a "Landing shortly" message.
The most important part of the message reads:
So now, we begin the Bomb Watch. I have arranged for my browser (Firefox 3, Mac OS X 10.5.4, a rock slid and generally excellent browser and platform) set up to reload Giant Bomb (dot) com at set intervals, so excited am I to get into the site.
Unfortunately, I'm also way too excited. I'm afraid to sleep in case I miss it. I mean, even tonight, I really don't want to risk it, even though I'm almost 100% the site won't launch until something like 6PM BST on Monday the 21st of July (At the earliest).
And so, for as long as I'm awake, I'm going to be updating round the clock. I'll Tweet status updates at regular intervals and come the launch, I'll tweet my progress registering, then writeup impressions of the site her on All Your Time.
And yes, I fully intend to contribute as much as I can to anything Disney-Related (Exception: Chronicles of Narnia, we'll get to that little mistake someday).
Speaking of, how awesome does Pure look? For some reason, I'm all-the-way pumped for that game. Maybe cos it's a Disney-made insane off-road racer. We all know I love Disney and Excite Truck, Pure combines them. Naturally, I'll be nabbing the 360 version.
Anywho, where was I? Oh yes, The Bomb. I gotta tell ya, I really need this site. As it stands, the only gaming community I frequent is all but dead in the sections I read. I mean, I visit 1Up and GameSpot, but not their communities (Forums). 1Up's folks were very hostile (Generally, they were some kind souls) to those of us displaced from GameSpot (The site as a whole, not just the forums) after The 29th. GameSpot's forums I just found insular and not very fun.
Wow, I really want to make a movie about Gerstmann-gate...It's a great story for the screen. I saw a YouTube video which recast a JFK (One of my all-time favourie movies) trailer as a traler for JFG, a ficticious movie about Gerstmann-gate (Using JFK footage and dialogue for illustrative purposes), and it was very cool. I definitely think Jeff's story would be good for the screen.
Perhaps a book first, that's howit typically works...Oh well. If it's not been done by the time I can do it, I will. If anyone else is planning to do it and wants help (Writing, directing, any creative stuff really) drop me a line, I have some ideas how it could work.
Anyway, I'm rambling. Onward to The Bomb!
Jens Has Blown
The most important part of the message reads:
This e-mail is being sent to let you know that we're getting very close to the beta launch of giantbomb.com -- if you want to be extra-certain that you secure your username of choice, you should start taking occasional looks at the site to see if it's up yet. You will not receive a second e-mail from us, as we're solely focused on the site itself.This extract of course excludes the instructions, but they're fairly obvious anyway.
So what will you be able to do on Giant Bomb?
Explore a database that already contains...
Entries for over 72,000 releases.
Pages for nearly 90,000 people involved in the creation of video games.
Almost 600 character pages!
Something like 580 pages for gaming franchises!
Dude, I don't know, how about I just write "and much, much more" here and we move on?
Don't forget, you'll be able to edit and add to all of these things!
And of course, we'll have message boards. Tens of thousands of message boards! Way too many message boards! Everything from the PlayStation 3 to hamburgers will have a message board associated with it. In fact, every single page in the database, including consoles, franchises, games, objects, characters, people, and concepts will all have a friendly message board right at the bottom. But don't worry about getting lost or missing out on a conversation. Messages from all boards are easily found in our forum index.
So now, we begin the Bomb Watch. I have arranged for my browser (Firefox 3, Mac OS X 10.5.4, a rock slid and generally excellent browser and platform) set up to reload Giant Bomb (dot) com at set intervals, so excited am I to get into the site.
Unfortunately, I'm also way too excited. I'm afraid to sleep in case I miss it. I mean, even tonight, I really don't want to risk it, even though I'm almost 100% the site won't launch until something like 6PM BST on Monday the 21st of July (At the earliest).
And so, for as long as I'm awake, I'm going to be updating round the clock. I'll Tweet status updates at regular intervals and come the launch, I'll tweet my progress registering, then writeup impressions of the site her on All Your Time.
And yes, I fully intend to contribute as much as I can to anything Disney-Related (Exception: Chronicles of Narnia, we'll get to that little mistake someday).
Speaking of, how awesome does Pure look? For some reason, I'm all-the-way pumped for that game. Maybe cos it's a Disney-made insane off-road racer. We all know I love Disney and Excite Truck, Pure combines them. Naturally, I'll be nabbing the 360 version.
Anywho, where was I? Oh yes, The Bomb. I gotta tell ya, I really need this site. As it stands, the only gaming community I frequent is all but dead in the sections I read. I mean, I visit 1Up and GameSpot, but not their communities (Forums). 1Up's folks were very hostile (Generally, they were some kind souls) to those of us displaced from GameSpot (The site as a whole, not just the forums) after The 29th. GameSpot's forums I just found insular and not very fun.
Wow, I really want to make a movie about Gerstmann-gate...It's a great story for the screen. I saw a YouTube video which recast a JFK (One of my all-time favourie movies) trailer as a traler for JFG, a ficticious movie about Gerstmann-gate (Using JFK footage and dialogue for illustrative purposes), and it was very cool. I definitely think Jeff's story would be good for the screen.
Perhaps a book first, that's howit typically works...Oh well. If it's not been done by the time I can do it, I will. If anyone else is planning to do it and wants help (Writing, directing, any creative stuff really) drop me a line, I have some ideas how it could work.
Anyway, I'm rambling. Onward to The Bomb!
Jens Has Blown
19 July 2008
Special Advanced Preview
Here it is folks, the first publicly available Multiplayer Magazine material. This is Beta 0.2 of the Cover Layout, and I'm making it avilable for public viewing as of today for the sake of feedback, just drop me a line at jensonb (at) me (dot) com or jensonb (at) mac (dot) com.
Click Here
Meanwhile, I'm finalising internal notes on the Review Layout and you can possibly hope to see that soon too.
I'm also prepared to reveal that the Multiplayer Magazine website is going to be powered by Joomla and, to support our focus on community, we will be integrating a Kickapps Social Network, comprising message boards, blogs, photo sharing, video sharing and more. many of these features are also very helpful for our needs (Sharing content).
Lastly, I'm ready to reveal the format for the (As yet) untitled video show I'm going to be putting into production. The show will primarily involve me goign through the week's gaming news - lampooning both it and the coverage. Think of it as The Daily Show, but with gaming coverage. It will also play host to viewer submissions, ala Multiplayer Magazine.
Jens Out
Click Here
Meanwhile, I'm finalising internal notes on the Review Layout and you can possibly hope to see that soon too.
I'm also prepared to reveal that the Multiplayer Magazine website is going to be powered by Joomla and, to support our focus on community, we will be integrating a Kickapps Social Network, comprising message boards, blogs, photo sharing, video sharing and more. many of these features are also very helpful for our needs (Sharing content).
Lastly, I'm ready to reveal the format for the (As yet) untitled video show I'm going to be putting into production. The show will primarily involve me goign through the week's gaming news - lampooning both it and the coverage. Think of it as The Daily Show, but with gaming coverage. It will also play host to viewer submissions, ala Multiplayer Magazine.
Jens Out
18 July 2008
Player 2: Press Start
I've just finalised Beta 0.1 of the Multiplayer Magazine reviews format, using Resistance 2 (Though I had to use the original Resistance's boxart) as an example. It took some time because with this one I was making some of the overarching internal content formating decisions, which I had to be sure on.
Synchro LET has increased significance and it looks awesome, it has officially been adopted as the Multiplayer font and it pervades throughout the magazine wherever appropriate, creating strong brand recognition and looking sweet.
Futura has been demoted to the cover font and Short Content font internally, body text is being displayed in Helvetica, with 15 being the standard size.
In GizzedUp I made use of compartmentalising and right angles to divide content. Multiplayer is making use of rounded corners, and shapes only have visible outlines if they are important. Typically, a shpe is just a block of colour. Notably, image captions extend slightly below the image (Seamlessly) and feature rounded corners on the bottom.
Soon, I'll be showing off the current Beta of the cover (Version 0.2 at the moment, I might be showing 0.3 if I make any chnages) and revealign the Review Guidelines, which will explain how we're gonna score games and also reveal what we're doing instead of "Area Scores" or "Medals and Demerits"/"Good Points and Bad Points".
Jens Out
Synchro LET has increased significance and it looks awesome, it has officially been adopted as the Multiplayer font and it pervades throughout the magazine wherever appropriate, creating strong brand recognition and looking sweet.
Futura has been demoted to the cover font and Short Content font internally, body text is being displayed in Helvetica, with 15 being the standard size.
In GizzedUp I made use of compartmentalising and right angles to divide content. Multiplayer is making use of rounded corners, and shapes only have visible outlines if they are important. Typically, a shpe is just a block of colour. Notably, image captions extend slightly below the image (Seamlessly) and feature rounded corners on the bottom.
Soon, I'll be showing off the current Beta of the cover (Version 0.2 at the moment, I might be showing 0.3 if I make any chnages) and revealign the Review Guidelines, which will explain how we're gonna score games and also reveal what we're doing instead of "Area Scores" or "Medals and Demerits"/"Good Points and Bad Points".
Jens Out
Pinging you
Hey guys, sorry I missed the blogging my impressions of the conferences. I was going to move it all to Tuesday, but I had to wait to watch the Sony and Nintendo ones and I didn't get to do so until I got up earlier.
I'll be posting instead about my impressions of all E3 on Friday. I'll get to it either between the two F1 Practice Sessions or after the second one. As a tiny preview: there's nothing I'm absolutely pumped to hell for...Like, at all. Certainly nothing new. Not that there's nothing new I want, just nothing has me as excited as some of last year's stuff.
My MobileMe code came and I'm now a full subscriber, so that's pretty cool. It's a nice service, I like being able to get at my stuff on my Mac, in a browser or on my iPod. Speaking of my Mac, I had a few software problems, but I managed to fix them just by trashing some files. Very happy, in Windows I'd probably have had to reinstall the OS.
Speaking of Windows, the box is gone. My only computer is the Mac mini, my favourite of all the computers I've owned, followed closely by the Eee of course. With it's 750GB external Hard Drive, iTunes and EyeTV (Which is fantastic by the way) it's also a fantastic Media Centre, an entertainment powerhouse.
But without my PC, my consoles are gonna be my focus in terms of gaming. Yes folks, that's right, another player has abandoned the PC Platform. And I'll tell you why: it doesn't work. Games are increasingly supposed to be a pervasive expereince, PC just fails to deliver that.
So, to ensue I have access to games not available on the Wii, I'm getting a 360, as you know. Torturously, I'm relatively certain I have to wait until I get my GCSE results and to make that worse...I got given a copy of Unreal Tournament 3. Which I really want to play.
It's agonising, seriously.
I saw Hancock the other day, and as I expected, that film kicked ass. I loved it, Hancock is officially my second favourite super hero behind Spider-Man now, it's that good. Only thing is, it's crying out for a game.
Someone needs to get on that.
Jens Out
I'll be posting instead about my impressions of all E3 on Friday. I'll get to it either between the two F1 Practice Sessions or after the second one. As a tiny preview: there's nothing I'm absolutely pumped to hell for...Like, at all. Certainly nothing new. Not that there's nothing new I want, just nothing has me as excited as some of last year's stuff.
My MobileMe code came and I'm now a full subscriber, so that's pretty cool. It's a nice service, I like being able to get at my stuff on my Mac, in a browser or on my iPod. Speaking of my Mac, I had a few software problems, but I managed to fix them just by trashing some files. Very happy, in Windows I'd probably have had to reinstall the OS.
Speaking of Windows, the box is gone. My only computer is the Mac mini, my favourite of all the computers I've owned, followed closely by the Eee of course. With it's 750GB external Hard Drive, iTunes and EyeTV (Which is fantastic by the way) it's also a fantastic Media Centre, an entertainment powerhouse.
But without my PC, my consoles are gonna be my focus in terms of gaming. Yes folks, that's right, another player has abandoned the PC Platform. And I'll tell you why: it doesn't work. Games are increasingly supposed to be a pervasive expereince, PC just fails to deliver that.
So, to ensue I have access to games not available on the Wii, I'm getting a 360, as you know. Torturously, I'm relatively certain I have to wait until I get my GCSE results and to make that worse...I got given a copy of Unreal Tournament 3. Which I really want to play.
It's agonising, seriously.
I saw Hancock the other day, and as I expected, that film kicked ass. I loved it, Hancock is officially my second favourite super hero behind Spider-Man now, it's that good. Only thing is, it's crying out for a game.
Someone needs to get on that.
Jens Out
12 July 2008
Happy Days People
That Prom? Kicked ass. But then, if you follow me on Twitter or MySpace, then you probably knew I thought that. It's re-energised me in the best way. Between the best night of my life and the love of my life, I'm happier than I've ever been. And I've changed a bit, for the better.
Mainly, I'm much more a social animal now. Which means my already growing preoccupation with social media has ballooned. I'm going to start blogging and Tweeting about life in general a bit more, but don't worry, I'm still a geek so technology won't be disappearing from the Blog.
On that note, I have updated my iPod touch to 2.0 and put a load of Apps on it. I'm bowled over, it's absolutely fantastic. I can't recommend Twittelator enough by the way, excellent mobile Twitter client - and on iPhone it saves you the cost of a text. Can't be bad, eh?
That I suppose is another example of the social media thing. I also happen to have MySpace Mobile and iFob on there. Of course you know what MySpace is. iFob is a vaguely similar location-based social network allowing peple to interact because they're near. This includes messaging and photo-viewing and shizz.
All very neat. I'm also quite fond of Apple's "Remote" which allows me to control iTunes (Or an Apple TV) from he iPod touch from anywhere in the house using the iPod touch iPod App style. This App is also able to switch between different iTunes copies, so with it you can live the total home thatre control dream today.
I ordered my copy of MobileMe...Well, my activation key I mean. Speaking of which, I've already started to use the Me.com web apps and they're excellent. Very pretty, very high-quality. You cna now hit me up at jensonb (at) mac (dot) com or jensonb (at) me (dot) com.
I also have it set up on my iPod and I must say it was a wonderfully simple process.
E3 is this coming week, I'll be blogging my impressions of the major press briefings (Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony) so look for that Monday and Tuesday.
I think that's all for now. If I think of anything else, I'll post again
Jens Out
Mainly, I'm much more a social animal now. Which means my already growing preoccupation with social media has ballooned. I'm going to start blogging and Tweeting about life in general a bit more, but don't worry, I'm still a geek so technology won't be disappearing from the Blog.
On that note, I have updated my iPod touch to 2.0 and put a load of Apps on it. I'm bowled over, it's absolutely fantastic. I can't recommend Twittelator enough by the way, excellent mobile Twitter client - and on iPhone it saves you the cost of a text. Can't be bad, eh?
That I suppose is another example of the social media thing. I also happen to have MySpace Mobile and iFob on there. Of course you know what MySpace is. iFob is a vaguely similar location-based social network allowing peple to interact because they're near. This includes messaging and photo-viewing and shizz.
All very neat. I'm also quite fond of Apple's "Remote" which allows me to control iTunes (Or an Apple TV) from he iPod touch from anywhere in the house using the iPod touch iPod App style. This App is also able to switch between different iTunes copies, so with it you can live the total home thatre control dream today.
I ordered my copy of MobileMe...Well, my activation key I mean. Speaking of which, I've already started to use the Me.com web apps and they're excellent. Very pretty, very high-quality. You cna now hit me up at jensonb (at) mac (dot) com or jensonb (at) me (dot) com.
I also have it set up on my iPod and I must say it was a wonderfully simple process.
E3 is this coming week, I'll be blogging my impressions of the major press briefings (Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony) so look for that Monday and Tuesday.
I think that's all for now. If I think of anything else, I'll post again
Jens Out
08 July 2008
It is done then
Well, I've now finalised my plans regarding the iPhone 3G and my exam completion gift. I still intend to buy an iPhone 3G, but I only intend to do so when it becomes available on Pay/Go. And so I shall, funded by my wages from Tesco and my EMA. Contract was really not an option. I hate to wait, but O2 have forced my hand on this issue.
In the iPhone 3G's stead, my exam completion gift is to be the Halo 3 Edition Xbox 360. The effing awesome green one. This is the one I've wanted pretty much since Peter Moore raised it with one hand.
Additionally, in exchange for taking possession of my PC, my parents have bought me a 750GB USB Hard Drive and an Elgato eyeTV for DTT (TV Tuner). Two things I was going to buy myself which I now don't have to. Between those and the Xbox, my PC is redundant apart from Blu-Ray playing anyway. And I can always use the PS3 downstairs for that.
Which means my disposable income for this coming paycheck is £195...Less £59 for MobileMe and I've got £135 to spend.
And you know what? I've run out of major buys. All the big things I decided I wanted are gone (iPhone 3G excepted). So I'll buy iWork and probably try and nab MGS:TTS (Because I'm a Metal Gear freak and I simply must have a Metal Gear game I can play in my room - remember, our PS2s don't work. Long story).
But basically, from now on I'm on impulse and/or small buys until I start saving for the iPhone 3G. There's a chance that instead of iWork and MGS I'll buy a w580i this month, or do that next month if I buy the software this month, but other than that, it's uncharted territory.
I'll have to start buying my "back of the mind" wants. What I might do at some point is buy a DS Lite. That said, I'm half expecting The Reginator to reveal a new DS at E3 next week. I might buy that instead.
It's a Golden Age as far as I'm concrned.
Jens Out
PS: Oh god, I should ask the guy in the Shopping Centre about the signed Jenson Button stuff...I'll start small, with the cap or the (I don't think signed, but rare) Jenson Button F3 car...Then ask about the price of the signed 2000 Williams.
-Evil Grin-
In the iPhone 3G's stead, my exam completion gift is to be the Halo 3 Edition Xbox 360. The effing awesome green one. This is the one I've wanted pretty much since Peter Moore raised it with one hand.
Additionally, in exchange for taking possession of my PC, my parents have bought me a 750GB USB Hard Drive and an Elgato eyeTV for DTT (TV Tuner). Two things I was going to buy myself which I now don't have to. Between those and the Xbox, my PC is redundant apart from Blu-Ray playing anyway. And I can always use the PS3 downstairs for that.
Which means my disposable income for this coming paycheck is £195...Less £59 for MobileMe and I've got £135 to spend.
And you know what? I've run out of major buys. All the big things I decided I wanted are gone (iPhone 3G excepted). So I'll buy iWork and probably try and nab MGS:TTS (Because I'm a Metal Gear freak and I simply must have a Metal Gear game I can play in my room - remember, our PS2s don't work. Long story).
But basically, from now on I'm on impulse and/or small buys until I start saving for the iPhone 3G. There's a chance that instead of iWork and MGS I'll buy a w580i this month, or do that next month if I buy the software this month, but other than that, it's uncharted territory.
I'll have to start buying my "back of the mind" wants. What I might do at some point is buy a DS Lite. That said, I'm half expecting The Reginator to reveal a new DS at E3 next week. I might buy that instead.
It's a Golden Age as far as I'm concrned.
Jens Out
PS: Oh god, I should ask the guy in the Shopping Centre about the signed Jenson Button stuff...I'll start small, with the cap or the (I don't think signed, but rare) Jenson Button F3 car...Then ask about the price of the signed 2000 Williams.
-Evil Grin-
07 July 2008
Announcing the 96 Hour iPhone 3G Net-Based Campout
Starting at 8:02 this morning, I will be comprehensively combing the internet for every morsel of information about the iPhone 3G I can find. Everything will be aggregated here and on my Twitter feed.
So primarily, I'm donating my body to the world as a crawler for UK iPhone 3G news for the next 4 days. My main aim is to whittle through all the goddamned BS and try and find something out about the Pay/Go iPhone 3G.
I might even record some video roundups, using Screenflow to capture the internet and myself simultaneously.
So, what will be powering this crazy coverage you ask? The Mac mini will be my primary station and the one from which I follow most of the news and the one I'll be using to post about it, both here and on Twitter. Also lending a hand will be my Eee PC, serving up yet more news and allowing me to continue the quest away from the desk.
My camcorder will be recording me for the video roundups of course, my iPod touch will be handling (Some) of the entertainment I'll need to keep myself from slashing my wrists and, should the iPhone 3G actually be available on Pay/Go this Friday, my RAZR's last job will be Twittering the line at the Carphone Warehouse I'm buying from. Or, from the Cambridge Apple Retail Store (I'll explain in the morning).
That's 96 hours of iPhone coverage. Suck it Laporte :P
In all seriousness though, Leo rocks. I'm looking forward to and may well I may well join Leo's coverage of the worldwide launch if he wants me. For that, I'll take my Eee and use store Wi-Fi.
Wow, I'm gonna have to go sleep soon.
Jens Out
So primarily, I'm donating my body to the world as a crawler for UK iPhone 3G news for the next 4 days. My main aim is to whittle through all the goddamned BS and try and find something out about the Pay/Go iPhone 3G.
I might even record some video roundups, using Screenflow to capture the internet and myself simultaneously.
So, what will be powering this crazy coverage you ask? The Mac mini will be my primary station and the one from which I follow most of the news and the one I'll be using to post about it, both here and on Twitter. Also lending a hand will be my Eee PC, serving up yet more news and allowing me to continue the quest away from the desk.
My camcorder will be recording me for the video roundups of course, my iPod touch will be handling (Some) of the entertainment I'll need to keep myself from slashing my wrists and, should the iPhone 3G actually be available on Pay/Go this Friday, my RAZR's last job will be Twittering the line at the Carphone Warehouse I'm buying from. Or, from the Cambridge Apple Retail Store (I'll explain in the morning).
That's 96 hours of iPhone coverage. Suck it Laporte :P
In all seriousness though, Leo rocks. I'm looking forward to and may well I may well join Leo's coverage of the worldwide launch if he wants me. For that, I'll take my Eee and use store Wi-Fi.
Wow, I'm gonna have to go sleep soon.
Jens Out
26 June 2008
We now return you to your regularly scheduled Jens
I got some great news about 10 hours ago. Giant Bomb is opening up signups for the Beta version of the site. All we have to do is send an e-mail to beta (at) giantbomb (dot) com with Sign Me Up in the subjet line.
They'll be sending us registration info, including the link to access the beta, within a couple of weeks. That means I'll probably be getting my first play with the site before my Prom.
All very exciting, cos Giant Bomb has already become my favourite games site even though it's just a blog at the moment. Imagine how much I'll like it once full functionality is enabled. Win, much?
So, what else have I got to tell you? Well, we've got Metal Gear Solid 4 and we're part-way through Act 2. I have to say, given all this hype about a warzone, I was apprehensive. I love Metal Gear and I was definitely interested in seeing the story conclude, but I was one person who adored the existing gameplay. Particularly in its MGS3 guise.
Luckily, there's plenty of good old-fashioned Metal Gear gameplay in there. Some of it's wrapped in new clothing, but it's there. That being said, some of the controls are distinctly weird to me as a Metal Gear vet. I know they're more like other action games, but that's sort of the problem. Metal Gear is very different from most action games.
Damn how I wish I could play Metal Gear Solid 3...It's a long story (Which I've told before) but I really can't play it as it stands. Sucks, cos it's one of my favourite ever games. I would love for them to re-release it on Wii, or make a Raiden game on Wii using its engine.
Yeah, I like Raiden. In fact, I liked Raiden all along, way before it was cool to (Dude's a fucking Cyborg Ninja now so everyone freaking loves him all of a sudden). In his MGS4 guise, he's now my wallpaper.
Oh, before we move on...Sunny, Olga's daughter...She's adorable! That is like the sweetest kid ever.
I've bought 3 movies from iTunes. I find it to be a painless and very efficient process. I got Zoolander (Love that film), Dodgeball (That one too, in fact it's a contender for best film ever) and I Am Legend (Which I ahd't seen before. It's fucking great).
Right now, I'm killing time. My brother's friends are here and he's hanging out with them in the living room. Where the PS3 is. So not only am I unable to watch him continue the story, I can't myself play any MGS4 for myself.
Oh well, Demi Lovato's on the radio, so that's cool.
Jens Out
They'll be sending us registration info, including the link to access the beta, within a couple of weeks. That means I'll probably be getting my first play with the site before my Prom.
All very exciting, cos Giant Bomb has already become my favourite games site even though it's just a blog at the moment. Imagine how much I'll like it once full functionality is enabled. Win, much?
So, what else have I got to tell you? Well, we've got Metal Gear Solid 4 and we're part-way through Act 2. I have to say, given all this hype about a warzone, I was apprehensive. I love Metal Gear and I was definitely interested in seeing the story conclude, but I was one person who adored the existing gameplay. Particularly in its MGS3 guise.
Luckily, there's plenty of good old-fashioned Metal Gear gameplay in there. Some of it's wrapped in new clothing, but it's there. That being said, some of the controls are distinctly weird to me as a Metal Gear vet. I know they're more like other action games, but that's sort of the problem. Metal Gear is very different from most action games.
Damn how I wish I could play Metal Gear Solid 3...It's a long story (Which I've told before) but I really can't play it as it stands. Sucks, cos it's one of my favourite ever games. I would love for them to re-release it on Wii, or make a Raiden game on Wii using its engine.
Yeah, I like Raiden. In fact, I liked Raiden all along, way before it was cool to (Dude's a fucking Cyborg Ninja now so everyone freaking loves him all of a sudden). In his MGS4 guise, he's now my wallpaper.
Oh, before we move on...Sunny, Olga's daughter...She's adorable! That is like the sweetest kid ever.
I've bought 3 movies from iTunes. I find it to be a painless and very efficient process. I got Zoolander (Love that film), Dodgeball (That one too, in fact it's a contender for best film ever) and I Am Legend (Which I ahd't seen before. It's fucking great).
Right now, I'm killing time. My brother's friends are here and he's hanging out with them in the living room. Where the PS3 is. So not only am I unable to watch him continue the story, I can't myself play any MGS4 for myself.
Oh well, Demi Lovato's on the radio, so that's cool.
Jens Out
19 June 2008
Record Breaking
Before we get to the main stuff, I have to regretfully cancel the Mac mini video unboxing.
Unfortunately, my camera recorded the video in a weird format which I'm having trouble locating support for. Because the video is so short (And I've listened to the audio, fairly quiet because of the sub-par mic on the camera I think), I've been forced to conclude it's not worth hunting the entire internet to find support.
On the upside, I'm refining my vision for a web show and my research has led me to a couple of pieces of software which I believe will be very handy.
On a related note, I'm getting close to deciding on a camcorder to replace my DV one (Which will be installed as a webcam/permanent video camera for The 1K Studio (The tongue in cheek name for my bedroom which will be the studio for the web show). I'll use it primarily to record the web show.
Speaking of which, I need to buy a DV to FireWire 400 cable.
As to the records, I've broken my own this month. June 2008 is already, by some margin, the biggest month in All Your Time posting ever, buoyed by the lack of school and relatively high numbers of things to talk about. I'm very pleased.
Another record I contributed to was the Firefox 3 Download Day record. Yes, Mozilla's kickass browser did beat the previous record for downloads in 24 hours. And I helped by downloading it twice, once for Windows and once for OS X.
I'm getting ever closer to not needing the PC. I may have mentioned this before, but Maplin are selling a 750GB (Triple the PC's capacity) for £90 and since moving my iTunes library to the Mac, I haven't turned the PC on. I likely won't do so again until Sunday to record the F1 race.
I've already decided that with that HDD, I'll probably move my TV recording to the Mac mini using Elgato eyeTV Diversity (For Record and Watch, Record Two and Picture in Picture). After that, my PC's only purpose will be watching Blu-Rays, and I can do that on the PS3 if need be.
I'll have to talk to the parents. Might be that they take it off me straight or reimburse me for the upgrades I've given it (If they intend to use them)...The latter would afford me greater scope in my coming purchases.
I'm going to buy an iTunes Movie, maybe two, on Saturday. There are four I want, but two are still at New Release prices and I'll probably wait. Also this weekend, probably Sunday though, I'll be nabbing the URL and hosting for Multiplayer.
Hmm...I should probably write myself a shopping list for the next couple of months so I know what kind of funds I'll need...
Jens Out
Unfortunately, my camera recorded the video in a weird format which I'm having trouble locating support for. Because the video is so short (And I've listened to the audio, fairly quiet because of the sub-par mic on the camera I think), I've been forced to conclude it's not worth hunting the entire internet to find support.
On the upside, I'm refining my vision for a web show and my research has led me to a couple of pieces of software which I believe will be very handy.
On a related note, I'm getting close to deciding on a camcorder to replace my DV one (Which will be installed as a webcam/permanent video camera for The 1K Studio (The tongue in cheek name for my bedroom which will be the studio for the web show). I'll use it primarily to record the web show.
Speaking of which, I need to buy a DV to FireWire 400 cable.
As to the records, I've broken my own this month. June 2008 is already, by some margin, the biggest month in All Your Time posting ever, buoyed by the lack of school and relatively high numbers of things to talk about. I'm very pleased.
Another record I contributed to was the Firefox 3 Download Day record. Yes, Mozilla's kickass browser did beat the previous record for downloads in 24 hours. And I helped by downloading it twice, once for Windows and once for OS X.
I'm getting ever closer to not needing the PC. I may have mentioned this before, but Maplin are selling a 750GB (Triple the PC's capacity) for £90 and since moving my iTunes library to the Mac, I haven't turned the PC on. I likely won't do so again until Sunday to record the F1 race.
I've already decided that with that HDD, I'll probably move my TV recording to the Mac mini using Elgato eyeTV Diversity (For Record and Watch, Record Two and Picture in Picture). After that, my PC's only purpose will be watching Blu-Rays, and I can do that on the PS3 if need be.
I'll have to talk to the parents. Might be that they take it off me straight or reimburse me for the upgrades I've given it (If they intend to use them)...The latter would afford me greater scope in my coming purchases.
I'm going to buy an iTunes Movie, maybe two, on Saturday. There are four I want, but two are still at New Release prices and I'll probably wait. Also this weekend, probably Sunday though, I'll be nabbing the URL and hosting for Multiplayer.
Hmm...I should probably write myself a shopping list for the next couple of months so I know what kind of funds I'll need...
Jens Out
Multiplayer Status Report 1
Well folks, this is the first in a series of Blog posts leading up to the launch of Multiplayer. The idea is to keep you up to date on how work is progressing, what's getting done, things I'm thinking about and so on.
Over the past half hour, I mocked up the Beta 0.1 cover of Multiplayer Magazine (Issue 1) in Pages '08. Worked like a charm I might add. Overall, I'm very pleased with how it looks, especially given how quickly I threw it together.
As part of this, I spent some time deliberating the Multiplayer fonts. GizzedUp used Arial, Verdana and variants thereof. I myself became infatuated with Bitstream Vera Sans at some point. But none of these wound up being used except Verdana - and that is for a tiny piece of text which isn't meant to be the same as the Multiplayer stuff.
As it stands, I've picked out a modern and fairly rare font for the majority of text (Including the word "Magazine"). As for the all-important "Multiplayer" part of the name, I settled on a placeholder font which looks very unique. And as it stands, I'm wondering if it should just be the final one as well, it looks great - especially contrasted with the "Magazine" font.
You know, Multiplayer Magazine Alpha 0.01 (Code Name: Let's Play) featured Halo on the cover, promising a (Fabricated) story about the future of the series. What adorns the cover of this updated effort?
Gears of War 2
Over the past half hour, I mocked up the Beta 0.1 cover of Multiplayer Magazine (Issue 1) in Pages '08. Worked like a charm I might add. Overall, I'm very pleased with how it looks, especially given how quickly I threw it together.
As part of this, I spent some time deliberating the Multiplayer fonts. GizzedUp used Arial, Verdana and variants thereof. I myself became infatuated with Bitstream Vera Sans at some point. But none of these wound up being used except Verdana - and that is for a tiny piece of text which isn't meant to be the same as the Multiplayer stuff.
As it stands, I've picked out a modern and fairly rare font for the majority of text (Including the word "Magazine"). As for the all-important "Multiplayer" part of the name, I settled on a placeholder font which looks very unique. And as it stands, I'm wondering if it should just be the final one as well, it looks great - especially contrasted with the "Magazine" font.
You know, Multiplayer Magazine Alpha 0.01 (Code Name: Let's Play) featured Halo on the cover, promising a (Fabricated) story about the future of the series. What adorns the cover of this updated effort?
Gears of War 2
18 June 2008
Conquer Time and Spaces
Awww yeah...
Aw. Yeah.
Here I am. On my Mac mini. The only sounds other than the ambient is the GiantBombCast...The mini itself, virtually silent. You know, it's very cute. Sweet little thing, happily glowing it's teeny light to indicate that it's on.
So, Leopard. I have to say, this OS is fantastic. Everything's so seamless, so slick. Spaces for instance is a great way to manage tasks. I have iTunes is alone in Space 1, utilising as much screen space as possible. After all, whenever I'm interacting with it, I'm focused entirely on it. Adium & Mail (I'll be putting Address Book and iCal there too) are in Space 2, since they're all fairly related. Space 3 is my browsing space, Safari and FF3 are there. Space 4 has the Finder and System Preferences at the moment, I'll be adding any games and apps related to getting things done.
Dashboard is cool, I can call it up and dismiss it from F4 and I have Web Clips set up for the latest PvP and Penny Arcades. I'll probably add Dilbert at some point.
Adium is a great IM client. Very minimalist, very pretty.
My iDisk is monted, my .Mac Mail all set up. It was so easy. It's just awesome. I love this OS to bits. Incidentally, a lot of people don't enable Magnification on the Dock...First thing I did. I love me some eye candy.
Front Row is also awesome with my dinky little Apple Remote. It's a great way to access video from across the room, very pretty. Plus, I was able to stream the trailer for The Dark Knight right in it (Looks cool by the way).
I'll be back with the photos later. The video will probably be tomorrow. It's not very long, I just wnat to edit it to perfection in iMovie before I upload it for your viewing pleasure.
Right, I'm off to download the iWork Trial.
Jens Out
Aw. Yeah.
Here I am. On my Mac mini. The only sounds other than the ambient is the GiantBombCast...The mini itself, virtually silent. You know, it's very cute. Sweet little thing, happily glowing it's teeny light to indicate that it's on.
So, Leopard. I have to say, this OS is fantastic. Everything's so seamless, so slick. Spaces for instance is a great way to manage tasks. I have iTunes is alone in Space 1, utilising as much screen space as possible. After all, whenever I'm interacting with it, I'm focused entirely on it. Adium & Mail (I'll be putting Address Book and iCal there too) are in Space 2, since they're all fairly related. Space 3 is my browsing space, Safari and FF3 are there. Space 4 has the Finder and System Preferences at the moment, I'll be adding any games and apps related to getting things done.
Dashboard is cool, I can call it up and dismiss it from F4 and I have Web Clips set up for the latest PvP and Penny Arcades. I'll probably add Dilbert at some point.
Adium is a great IM client. Very minimalist, very pretty.
My iDisk is monted, my .Mac Mail all set up. It was so easy. It's just awesome. I love this OS to bits. Incidentally, a lot of people don't enable Magnification on the Dock...First thing I did. I love me some eye candy.
Front Row is also awesome with my dinky little Apple Remote. It's a great way to access video from across the room, very pretty. Plus, I was able to stream the trailer for The Dark Knight right in it (Looks cool by the way).
I'll be back with the photos later. The video will probably be tomorrow. It's not very long, I just wnat to edit it to perfection in iMovie before I upload it for your viewing pleasure.
Right, I'm off to download the iWork Trial.
Jens Out
17 June 2008
Well, that's over
Awesome. My last exam is over and done. Freedom folks. Seriously, I can't describe how liberating it is to have all that over and done with. I've now got a couple of months largely focused on chilling. I still have work, but apart from Saturday's I pick and choose when to do that and besides which it pays for my stuffs.
On that note, I'm getting a raise from the 29th and possibly a 10% discount. Admittedly, I'll probably only see benefit for like a month, but I intend to make full use of them.
Of course, not all my leisure time will be dedicated to that task which, many of you are aware, I attach huge importance to (Namely, doing nothing). Nope, I'll also be kicking Multiplayer into 1st gear. Starting tomorrow with the Mac.
Oh gods how I'm excited about my gosh darn Mac mini. Seriously, I've marked out its home with my (Now) signature green felt tip. I'm not sure how that became my signature non-extended prose pen...I took ownership of it to sign people's shirts on the "last day" and ever since then I've used it for, for example, writing labels, marking positions (As mentioned) and circling things.
But I digress. The DVI cable, the keyboard extension cord and the iPod Shuffle dock are all in position for easy plugging in. I believe I've mentioned but I'll repeat the keyboard extension cord is hanging down with the bundle of wires heading onto the bookcase so all I have to do to hook it up is unplug the keyboard cable from the USB hub and plug it into that. The mouse is plugged into the keyboard as well, so that lowers the ammount of cables going in.
I'm still debating with myself about plugging the Mac mini into the monitor's audio...Okay, decision time...Yes. I will. The PC can be a headphones thing from now on. The mini will be my media box anyway (Front Row FTW).
Speaking of Front Row, I'm totally excited about the Apple Remote. For some reason, the prospect of putting the little mini to sleep from across the room by holding the play button appeals.
I'll be taking pics of the mini in it's home and the monitor showing off the Leopard goodness as well as recording the promised unboxing video. Unlike most of these unboxings, mine will be done with fore-knowledge and preparation. I'll unbox it and plug it right into it's new home. The very model of efficiency.
Anyway, in other news, I've got soem new Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Hi-Tops. These new ones are a gorgeous navy blue. They also came with a nifty "POW" tote bag. No, not John McCain, a giant explosion...Hey, Giant Bomb! Damn I love that site. Sounds like it's blowing up July 7th or 8th.
I might show you these schmexy new shoes tomorrow with the pics of the mini.
Jens Out
For now.
On that note, I'm getting a raise from the 29th and possibly a 10% discount. Admittedly, I'll probably only see benefit for like a month, but I intend to make full use of them.
Of course, not all my leisure time will be dedicated to that task which, many of you are aware, I attach huge importance to (Namely, doing nothing). Nope, I'll also be kicking Multiplayer into 1st gear. Starting tomorrow with the Mac.
Oh gods how I'm excited about my gosh darn Mac mini. Seriously, I've marked out its home with my (Now) signature green felt tip. I'm not sure how that became my signature non-extended prose pen...I took ownership of it to sign people's shirts on the "last day" and ever since then I've used it for, for example, writing labels, marking positions (As mentioned) and circling things.
But I digress. The DVI cable, the keyboard extension cord and the iPod Shuffle dock are all in position for easy plugging in. I believe I've mentioned but I'll repeat the keyboard extension cord is hanging down with the bundle of wires heading onto the bookcase so all I have to do to hook it up is unplug the keyboard cable from the USB hub and plug it into that. The mouse is plugged into the keyboard as well, so that lowers the ammount of cables going in.
I'm still debating with myself about plugging the Mac mini into the monitor's audio...Okay, decision time...Yes. I will. The PC can be a headphones thing from now on. The mini will be my media box anyway (Front Row FTW).
Speaking of Front Row, I'm totally excited about the Apple Remote. For some reason, the prospect of putting the little mini to sleep from across the room by holding the play button appeals.
I'll be taking pics of the mini in it's home and the monitor showing off the Leopard goodness as well as recording the promised unboxing video. Unlike most of these unboxings, mine will be done with fore-knowledge and preparation. I'll unbox it and plug it right into it's new home. The very model of efficiency.
Anyway, in other news, I've got soem new Converse Chuck Taylor All Star Hi-Tops. These new ones are a gorgeous navy blue. They also came with a nifty "POW" tote bag. No, not John McCain, a giant explosion...Hey, Giant Bomb! Damn I love that site. Sounds like it's blowing up July 7th or 8th.
I might show you these schmexy new shoes tomorrow with the pics of the mini.
Jens Out
For now.
13 June 2008
HDCP is teh suck
Jeez. All I want is to watch Chicken Little on Blu-Ray. I have all the necessary hardware and software, so it should be simple, shouldn't it? Well it's not, they all refuse to play nice with eachother and the HDCP keeps failing to initialise.
And so, the PC is having it's DVI privileges revoked. With any luck, moving it to VGA will finally allow me to watch. It should, because that's what the helper suggests, but since my graphics card only has DVI, I'll have to use an adapter, so who knows.
What this means in regards to my setup is that the shortest VGA cable is now running the shortest gap, the longest by far is running the longest gap and the beautifully long DVI cable is running from the monitor to where the mini will sit.
So the Mac mini gets the best hookup. Only fair I guess, it is going to be my primary system.
Jens Out
And so, the PC is having it's DVI privileges revoked. With any luck, moving it to VGA will finally allow me to watch. It should, because that's what the helper suggests, but since my graphics card only has DVI, I'll have to use an adapter, so who knows.
What this means in regards to my setup is that the shortest VGA cable is now running the shortest gap, the longest by far is running the longest gap and the beautifully long DVI cable is running from the monitor to where the mini will sit.
So the Mac mini gets the best hookup. Only fair I guess, it is going to be my primary system.
Jens Out
12 June 2008
05 June 2008
Yes, it's that time again
Got some specific updates for you with regards to the 3G iPhone in the UK. First up, 9 to 5 Mac (The darling of the Apple Rumours Community) is reporting that Macworld UK believes new iPhone buyers, signing an 18 month contract, will pay as little as £100 for the handset. Even that those on that crazy top-tier tariff will get the phone for free.
Existing iPhone owners will be encouraged to update, signing extensions to their contracts (18 or 24 Months) in exchange for a free upgrade to the 3G model. Needless to say, all the UK iPhone users I've seen commenting are chuffed to bits.
More excitingly (For me at the very least), O2 is apparently preparing to sell the iPhone to Pay as You Go customers - like me. The price? Starting at £269. If that's a 16GB 3G iPhone, I'm buying one, no question.
If it's an 8GB 3G iPhone...Well, I dunno...I certainly will buy a 3G iPhone if I can get it on Pay/Go or unlocked, but if that's 8GB, I may or may not pay the extra for the 16GB. For one thing, I need it to be a better upgrade to the iPod touch. For another, I want some room for iTunes movies. Zoolander must be on that thing.
For those paying attention to my fledgling "Studio in a Bedroom for less than £1000" project, I've decided that rather than hunting out a high quality USB or FireWire (The latter preferred, I initially wanted iSight even though it's been discontinued but it proved hard to source at a reasonable price), I'm going to hook my miniDV camcorder up via FireWire and use that. It will probably work out better anyway, with advanced features like zoom and a screen I can use to monitor what it's looking at - I'll be doing the filming away from the desk.
I've even decided where I'll put it and where I'll position myself for filming. On that subject, if anyone's interested in creating a 30 Second looping abstract background, let me know.
The english exam today was a breeze by the way. And it gave me a chance to spend 45 minutes raving about Obama.
Finally, I'm announcing that Multiplayer Magazine's host has been chosen.
Jens Out
Existing iPhone owners will be encouraged to update, signing extensions to their contracts (18 or 24 Months) in exchange for a free upgrade to the 3G model. Needless to say, all the UK iPhone users I've seen commenting are chuffed to bits.
More excitingly (For me at the very least), O2 is apparently preparing to sell the iPhone to Pay as You Go customers - like me. The price? Starting at £269. If that's a 16GB 3G iPhone, I'm buying one, no question.
If it's an 8GB 3G iPhone...Well, I dunno...I certainly will buy a 3G iPhone if I can get it on Pay/Go or unlocked, but if that's 8GB, I may or may not pay the extra for the 16GB. For one thing, I need it to be a better upgrade to the iPod touch. For another, I want some room for iTunes movies. Zoolander must be on that thing.
For those paying attention to my fledgling "Studio in a Bedroom for less than £1000" project, I've decided that rather than hunting out a high quality USB or FireWire (The latter preferred, I initially wanted iSight even though it's been discontinued but it proved hard to source at a reasonable price), I'm going to hook my miniDV camcorder up via FireWire and use that. It will probably work out better anyway, with advanced features like zoom and a screen I can use to monitor what it's looking at - I'll be doing the filming away from the desk.
I've even decided where I'll put it and where I'll position myself for filming. On that subject, if anyone's interested in creating a 30 Second looping abstract background, let me know.
The english exam today was a breeze by the way. And it gave me a chance to spend 45 minutes raving about Obama.
Finally, I'm announcing that Multiplayer Magazine's host has been chosen.
Jens Out
04 June 2008
Now the Dust is Settling
First up, it's over. Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic Nomination for President of the United States. I'm elated. Obama has been my man throughout this election and in fact I think that right now, he's my favourite ever politician. Surpassing even Lincoln and JFK.
He stands for hope, for change. He's the most inspirational leader I've ever seen. When he talks, I can't help but feel reverence and, yes, hope. Now we just need Hillary in the Veep spot, John Edwards* for AG and we can go win this thing.
I've been listening to some of the rubbish McCain has been spouting lately...It amazes me how much I loathe that guy. From what I'd been told, he was a Republican like Arnold Schwarzenegger is a Republican. But every time McCain opens his mouth, all I hear is hate.
A man who wants to continue the Conflict in Iraq despite the fact that it's a self-creating conflict. The insurgents are pissed because we're still there McCain. If we leave, they'll be less of a problem, even stop. That's not going to happen with us there.
Which calls to mind another thing I hate about American media and Republicans. It seems they think that Supporting the Troops is the same as Agreeing with the War. It's not. It's like how they think supporting the President is the same as Patriotism. In fact, supporting the President when he's doing a bad job is the opposite. The US Constitution encourages us to do something about a failing President.
On a related note, it offends me when ex-army politicians criticise those who did not serve. Not everyone can or should join the Armed Forces, that doesn't mean they're not qualified to comment, or even command.
Anyway, now that's out of the way, it's Giant Bomb time. Exciting news from the last Bombcast, Brad Shoemaker and Vinny Caravella are now members of the Giant Bomb Editorial staff. Caravella gives the site an acomplished AV professional for producing video content. Shoemaker represents a valuable addition to the writing staff with lots of experience, talent and many fans.
Including me, Brad rocks. Vinny too.
I can't tell you how much I love Giant Bomb. Way awesome.
Apple has added movies to iTunes UK. Aww yeah. I can get my Enchanted and Zoolander on, yo. Only thing is, I now kind of want an AppleTV again, for to get in on the HD rentals. I might be able to seel my dad on putting one in the living room for that purpose.
Speaking of Apple, rumours abound that Apple is set to seed OS X 10.6 at WWDC, ready for a January (MacWorld) launch. This version is said to be Intel-only and I expect it to incorporate Multi-Touch (More than the trackpad stuff we have, I'm talking pervasive) in preparation for a Multi-Touch tablet launching at the same time.
Beating Microsoft to market by easily a year, probaly 2, with a Multi-Touch "Desktop" OS release.
Meanwhile, an August event is rumoured to be in the works by Apple. Most of those parroting the rumour suggest it will intro the aforementioned Tablet and update the MacBooks (I can't imagine they mean the Pros as well, that would be one crowded event...I guess they expect that on Monday?). I stand by my prediction of a Tablet in January alongside OS X 10.6.
Thing is, that event would be the timeframe for the Mac mini update. But with the MacBooks being the subject of the event, would Apple bump the mini at the same time as they did last year alongside the iMac or, as some have speculated, intro a MacBook mini?
If Apple is going to give August over to portables this year, it's possible they've swapped the portables with the desktops thanks to the Intel delay on Montevina. You know when the portables were expected to get their day in the sun?
WWDC.
Prediction: Mac Pro and Mac mini updates may come week of WWDC. Possible no Keynote mention. Reason: Lack of other available periods any time soon.
I hope so. I really want them updated before I buy.
But wait there's more. And you thought I was done.
All this coverage of .Mac becoming MobileMe has gotten me to take a look at the service. I have to say, much of it looks pretty cool. And since it will already have been updated when I get my mini, I intend to trial and maybe even buy the service if I like it.
Only thing that bugs me is I'll probably get the lame @me.com e-mail address, rather than the vanity @mac.com I really want.
Mind you...I could combat that by starting the trial early, surely? It is 60 days, so I have time.
I might have to think about that actually.
I tell you what appeals most to me: mounting the iDisk. I've been looking for net-based storage for some time and for me, capacity is secondary. I want it to work like an HDD. And with my Mac mini and MobileMe, it will be integrated right into the Finder.
I call win. I keep saying I call things, it's cos I'm following the election...And playing Sudoku on Brain Training where I "call" a square for a number once I think it can only be that number. On a similar note, I've taken to holding a biro, pointiing with it and tapping a lot. I picked that up from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
I don't even use biros. I write with a Parker fountain pen.
Lastamly, I promise, here's one from the my plans files. I'm currently looking into the prospects of launching a video show using a virtual backdrop. This would be powered by the Mac and may or may not be a part of Multiplayer. if not, it would integrate with this blog (Or my personal site, should I ever launch one).
For that reason, I'm looking into high-quality webcams (Must be Mac compatible) and comign up with some rough ideas about the virtual set. Currently, I'm tnking abstract and animated as opposed to anything photographic or stupid like that.
In an oddly organic throwback...It seems Giant Bomb are doing something similar with their video stuff. though way more advanced. All green screen and shizz. They're reason: space. A green screen set uses way less space. My reason is similar in that I don't even have an pffce, just my room.
Jens (Finally - Ed) Out
*My second favourite living politician BTW and fourth of all time
He stands for hope, for change. He's the most inspirational leader I've ever seen. When he talks, I can't help but feel reverence and, yes, hope. Now we just need Hillary in the Veep spot, John Edwards* for AG and we can go win this thing.
I've been listening to some of the rubbish McCain has been spouting lately...It amazes me how much I loathe that guy. From what I'd been told, he was a Republican like Arnold Schwarzenegger is a Republican. But every time McCain opens his mouth, all I hear is hate.
A man who wants to continue the Conflict in Iraq despite the fact that it's a self-creating conflict. The insurgents are pissed because we're still there McCain. If we leave, they'll be less of a problem, even stop. That's not going to happen with us there.
Which calls to mind another thing I hate about American media and Republicans. It seems they think that Supporting the Troops is the same as Agreeing with the War. It's not. It's like how they think supporting the President is the same as Patriotism. In fact, supporting the President when he's doing a bad job is the opposite. The US Constitution encourages us to do something about a failing President.
On a related note, it offends me when ex-army politicians criticise those who did not serve. Not everyone can or should join the Armed Forces, that doesn't mean they're not qualified to comment, or even command.
Anyway, now that's out of the way, it's Giant Bomb time. Exciting news from the last Bombcast, Brad Shoemaker and Vinny Caravella are now members of the Giant Bomb Editorial staff. Caravella gives the site an acomplished AV professional for producing video content. Shoemaker represents a valuable addition to the writing staff with lots of experience, talent and many fans.
Including me, Brad rocks. Vinny too.
I can't tell you how much I love Giant Bomb. Way awesome.
Apple has added movies to iTunes UK. Aww yeah. I can get my Enchanted and Zoolander on, yo. Only thing is, I now kind of want an AppleTV again, for to get in on the HD rentals. I might be able to seel my dad on putting one in the living room for that purpose.
Speaking of Apple, rumours abound that Apple is set to seed OS X 10.6 at WWDC, ready for a January (MacWorld) launch. This version is said to be Intel-only and I expect it to incorporate Multi-Touch (More than the trackpad stuff we have, I'm talking pervasive) in preparation for a Multi-Touch tablet launching at the same time.
Beating Microsoft to market by easily a year, probaly 2, with a Multi-Touch "Desktop" OS release.
Meanwhile, an August event is rumoured to be in the works by Apple. Most of those parroting the rumour suggest it will intro the aforementioned Tablet and update the MacBooks (I can't imagine they mean the Pros as well, that would be one crowded event...I guess they expect that on Monday?). I stand by my prediction of a Tablet in January alongside OS X 10.6.
Thing is, that event would be the timeframe for the Mac mini update. But with the MacBooks being the subject of the event, would Apple bump the mini at the same time as they did last year alongside the iMac or, as some have speculated, intro a MacBook mini?
If Apple is going to give August over to portables this year, it's possible they've swapped the portables with the desktops thanks to the Intel delay on Montevina. You know when the portables were expected to get their day in the sun?
WWDC.
Prediction: Mac Pro and Mac mini updates may come week of WWDC. Possible no Keynote mention. Reason: Lack of other available periods any time soon.
I hope so. I really want them updated before I buy.
But wait there's more. And you thought I was done.
All this coverage of .Mac becoming MobileMe has gotten me to take a look at the service. I have to say, much of it looks pretty cool. And since it will already have been updated when I get my mini, I intend to trial and maybe even buy the service if I like it.
Only thing that bugs me is I'll probably get the lame @me.com e-mail address, rather than the vanity @mac.com I really want.
Mind you...I could combat that by starting the trial early, surely? It is 60 days, so I have time.
I might have to think about that actually.
I tell you what appeals most to me: mounting the iDisk. I've been looking for net-based storage for some time and for me, capacity is secondary. I want it to work like an HDD. And with my Mac mini and MobileMe, it will be integrated right into the Finder.
I call win. I keep saying I call things, it's cos I'm following the election...And playing Sudoku on Brain Training where I "call" a square for a number once I think it can only be that number. On a similar note, I've taken to holding a biro, pointiing with it and tapping a lot. I picked that up from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
I don't even use biros. I write with a Parker fountain pen.
Lastamly, I promise, here's one from the my plans files. I'm currently looking into the prospects of launching a video show using a virtual backdrop. This would be powered by the Mac and may or may not be a part of Multiplayer. if not, it would integrate with this blog (Or my personal site, should I ever launch one).
For that reason, I'm looking into high-quality webcams (Must be Mac compatible) and comign up with some rough ideas about the virtual set. Currently, I'm tnking abstract and animated as opposed to anything photographic or stupid like that.
In an oddly organic throwback...It seems Giant Bomb are doing something similar with their video stuff. though way more advanced. All green screen and shizz. They're reason: space. A green screen set uses way less space. My reason is similar in that I don't even have an pffce, just my room.
Jens (Finally - Ed) Out
*My second favourite living politician BTW and fourth of all time
31 May 2008
I'm now fairly regularly Twittering, so here's the link to my Twitter page:
Me at Twitter
I might put the Tweets in the sidebar here. I'm not sure, there's an awful lot of stuff in there...
I'll think about it and get back to you. If you have any input, don't hesitate to comment. I always enjoy comments. They give me proof I'm not talking to myself and the one person I know reads the blog.
You know who you are.
Take me away,
Jens
Update: I went ahead and added it anyway. It's not very big.
I tell you what I love about Twitter: I can post to the internets from anywhere I have mobile phone signal This means I can tweet whilst on break at work and all sorts. Surprisingly fun.
Me at Twitter
I might put the Tweets in the sidebar here. I'm not sure, there's an awful lot of stuff in there...
I'll think about it and get back to you. If you have any input, don't hesitate to comment. I always enjoy comments. They give me proof I'm not talking to myself and the one person I know reads the blog.
You know who you are.
Take me away,
Jens
Update: I went ahead and added it anyway. It's not very big.
I tell you what I love about Twitter: I can post to the internets from anywhere I have mobile phone signal This means I can tweet whilst on break at work and all sorts. Surprisingly fun.
29 May 2008
Live Blog: The Setup Renovation
http://www.scribblelive.com/Thread.aspx?Id=1031
Update: All finished now. The hi-fi ended up moving up a shelf. The Wii has moved about 8 inches to the right to accommodate the VGA Switcher's new home. Between them is Wii Remote Number 2. On top of the Switcher is the Mouse Dock and Wii Remote 1 in its charging station. Behind the Switcher, angled through the gap at the side of the book case is my USB fan.
Beside the Wii on the right is currently the Eee, but that gap is eventually the Mac mini's home. To the right of that gap are the Wii games. Most of the Wii Accessories moved into the Wii Games' old home, the others have entirely new homes. For example, my 3 wheels (The Ferrari multi-format one and the two Wii Remote shells - including the official Wii Wheel) are in that redundant PS2's old home.
I swapped the power strips so the 6 is at the back powering everything, the 4 now upfront for charging things.
Final big change, I moved the monitor back and the speakers forward, so there's now way more space on the desk.
It's a pretty nice setup. I'll have some pictures soon...
...Maybe.
Update: All finished now. The hi-fi ended up moving up a shelf. The Wii has moved about 8 inches to the right to accommodate the VGA Switcher's new home. Between them is Wii Remote Number 2. On top of the Switcher is the Mouse Dock and Wii Remote 1 in its charging station. Behind the Switcher, angled through the gap at the side of the book case is my USB fan.
Beside the Wii on the right is currently the Eee, but that gap is eventually the Mac mini's home. To the right of that gap are the Wii games. Most of the Wii Accessories moved into the Wii Games' old home, the others have entirely new homes. For example, my 3 wheels (The Ferrari multi-format one and the two Wii Remote shells - including the official Wii Wheel) are in that redundant PS2's old home.
I swapped the power strips so the 6 is at the back powering everything, the 4 now upfront for charging things.
Final big change, I moved the monitor back and the speakers forward, so there's now way more space on the desk.
It's a pretty nice setup. I'll have some pictures soon...
...Maybe.
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