Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Filed under: Tech — Malcolm Owen @ 3:08 pm
According to many sources, including Engadget, HD DVD is now dead. Blu-Ray has won, and the world of entertainment is now decided for the next few years. We now have our modern VHS and Betamax. Huzzah…
…And I don’t really care. Why? I don’t have anything HD, excluding my computers (monitor resolution, here. Not movie-playing). I use DVDs all the time. I don’t have a big screen HD TV, I don’t have an Xbox 360 or PS3, I don’t watch High-Def films. Why? Because I don’t want to spend a ton of cash on stuff that will come down in price. And DVD is still good enough for me.
Maybe in a year or two, I will care more. Now? I don’t really care…
[Via Engadget]
No Comments »
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Filed under: Gadgets, Gaming, Tech — Malcolm Owen @ 7:24 pm
So yeah, there was this guy “Ben Heckendorn” (fantastic surname by the way…) whom decided that he wanted to beat all the DS and PSP owners in the world by making the ultimate portable gaming console. And he did. A portable Xbox 360. Looked good, and deserved a place on the pedestal of greatness forever. And all was good.
Then, Microsoft unleashed the Xbox 360 Elite.
Mr Heckendorn (Still rocking the surname of greatness), decided to take things to the next level. Ben worked hard to cram another 360 into another case to make a far superior Xbox 360 Elite Laptop. A self-contained unit, similar to a laptop in that there’s a mounted screen, built-in camera, keyboard etc, except it’s a 360 Elite. It works exactly how a 360 would do, except it’s in laptop form. Absolutely fantastic.
He is a living legend that should be hired by a large electronics company to come up with the greatest stuff imaginable. Microsoft, pay this man money and make this commercial.
[via Engadget]
No Comments »
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Filed under: Internet, Tech — Malcolm Owen @ 2:08 pm
About a month ago, I felt I needed a change of phone, and so I started hunting around for what I could possibly use. Bearing in mind that I’m a relatively low-usage phone owner, whereby I make a few calls in the month, barely a few texts and no real MMS or internet usage, I felt that an iPhone wasn’t exactly the best plan of action, and neither do any of the smartphones currently on the market fit my current needs. I do, however, use Skype a lot, but a phone company would usually throw a hissy fit at the suggestion, and then throw on a heap of data charges.
Then, I stumbled upon 3…
(more…)
4 Comments »
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Filed under: Gaming, PC, Tech — Malcolm Owen @ 1:58 am
Yes, I admit it. I’m a World of Warcraft addict. I have a few characters on a few servers. I do not, however, have a character maxed out as of yet. That’s because I play it slowly. A pace some would consider glacial. I do try, but I get distracted easily. Super Mario Galaxy as an example. Anyway…
Dell has made in their wisdom, or more likely in their knowledge of the uberfanboy’s deepest thoughts, the World of Warcraft Dell XPS laptop. Really. You can get a beefy laptop that plays World of Warcraft well, emblazoned with Horde or Alliance logos, along with a backpack full of WoW stuff, including copies of the game (…a bit pointless, given the type of person who’s actually going to buy it), strategy guides (…), fantasy novels (…right…), beta keys (useful), and even a figurine of your character… That last one even makes me think about getting it… except that I really think I should reach 60 or 70 first…
[Via ExtremeTech]
No Comments »
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Filed under: Gadgets, Tech — Malcolm Owen @ 1:24 pm
The one thing I have found with keyboards on mobile phones is that my gargantuan hands just won’t fit properly. I have fat fingers and large hands, which means despite navigating a computer keyboard very well, the same can’t be said about the small and cramped cellphone keypad. Add in the fact that I’m one of those people that just can’t stand to send a text message without proper spelling, punctuation and grammar, and text messaging becomes a personal hell. If only there was some way to get a bigger and full keyboard into a mobile phone…
Now, although there is the Bluetooth Virtual Keyboard that projects onto a surface a full Qwerty keyboard, it doesn’t help you when you’re in the middle of the street with no flat surface to place the device on in order to use it. Although that is an answer, it’s not really what I’m looking for.
Nokia, in their latest Patent filing, shows off a new way to get a keyboard onto a phone, by using what appears at first to be a sideways-folding clamshell style handset. That in itself would be nice, but they’ve gone one better. Thanks to some magical hinge work, they’ve worked out how to get the screen to be at an angle, making it a bit easier to see what you’re typing. The extensive space available means a full keyboard could be placed, albeit not a full-sized one.
It is a step in the right direction, and if this really does make it into handsets, I’d be more than happy to try it out.
[Via Electronista]
No Comments »
Filed under: Gaming, Internet, Tech — Malcolm Owen @ 12:54 pm
Yes, I know I write there. And yes, I know it’s only for the population of Canada to try and win, but quite frankly this is the biggest contest that Gametactics has ever wheeled out into the world. Excuse me whilst I go into “Smarmy Marketer” Mode…
Do you want this year’s most wanted games console by Christmas? Want a Wii but can’t get one in the shops? Live in Canada but not the Province of Quebec? Then you can enter Gametactics‘ contest to win a Wii, Battalion Wars 2 and Fire Emblem from Nintendo of Canada. Just go HERE, enter your details (No, they won’t be sold to anyone else), answer the easy question (Think really hard about this. People really are getting it wrong…), and hope you win.
The winner’s chosen after the 30th of November, where they’ll be contacted and then sent the little white box of gaming goodness.
Enter Now!
That didn’t hurt much at all, did it? Things learned - “Smarmy” is in my Mac’s spellchecker…
No Comments »
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Filed under: Internet, Tech — Malcolm Owen @ 1:45 pm
So, for the last few months, I’ve been frustrated with my networking situation. Thanks to the locations of my computers and the cable modem (i.e. opposite ends of the house, don’t ask), I’m forced into using Wifi. That in itself isn’t that bad, except when you consider my Macbook not having any problems at all, yet my PC has bad signal and noise issues. My 54Mbps connection constantly goes lower, and for gaming this is not a good thing to happen.
I was close to buying a new aerial, when the latest episode of Systm gave me some inspiration…
(more…)
No Comments »
Monday, August 27, 2007
Filed under: Other, Tech — Malcolm Owen @ 4:47 pm
So, you’re in Nuremberg looking for something to do. You feel hungry, but going to a normal restaurant with bossy waiting staff isn’t your cup of tea. Where could you possibly go?
How about somewhere without the aforementioned waiters? A self-service restaurant that isn’t a buffet such as ’s Baggers, where the food gets served by going down huge rails from the ceiling, straight to the table. You order from a screen at your table, and the food slides down ready for you to eat. The screen ordering also gives updates as to how long food and drinks will take to arrive, and payment is done by smartcards. It’s pretty nice to look at, slightly Steampunk-ish, but an elegant design for a not thought of much problem.
I have to wonder how long will it take for McDonalds to take advantage of this…
[Via HardOCP Via Spiegel Online]
No Comments »
Friday, June 1, 2007
Filed under: Internet, Tech — Malcolm Owen @ 5:51 pm
As we all know, when Google launched Google Maps and Google Earth, the next few weeks then became filled by eagle eyed people finding random bits of joy, just by chance. Google launches Street View, and there’s no exception to the rule.
Laudon Tech has already compiled a long list of random yet wonderful things to look at, but here’s my current top picks from that list:
The Mystery Machine
Woman in Bikini
A Man “Boning Up” on Reading…
Old Lady on Tram staring into your Soul
3 Comments »
Monday, May 28, 2007
Filed under: Apple, Tech, Video — Malcolm Owen @ 9:46 pm
Ladies and Gentlemen, we now have a productive excuse to hit our computers. The Macbook has a weird motion sensor inside it, supposedly for detecting a fall and bracing the moving parts for impact. VirtueDesktops uses and abuses this feature, allowing you to change the virtual desktop you’re using without having to select some tiny icon or by some archaic keyboard shortcut. Yes, you can smack your laptop, and it will change for you. Proof? Here’s a video I did…
Sadly, the VirtueDesktops software has had work stopped on it, so no newer updates on the already great software. No harm in downloading it, though.
1 Comment »
Next Page »
