Big Electronic Games’ Midway Arcade Cabinet reviewed, slammed - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Big Electronic Games’ Midway Arcade Cabinet reviewed, slammed - Engadget - www.engadget.com

For that price you build your own froma recylced arcade cabinet and a PC.

The Video Game Revolution: "Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked" by Henry Jenkins | PBS

The Video Game Revolution: "Eight Myths About Video Games Debunked" by Henry Jenkins | PBS: "A large gap exists between the public's perception of video games and what the research actually shows. The following is an attempt to separate fact from fiction"

An interesting paper. It is good to see someone in acadamia is at least doing research along these lines. I do find a point or two disturbing...

Orphan and Web Hosting Company?

Orphan and Web Hosting Company?: "Weblinkhosting.com, a web hosting company in New York is set to do what no hosting company has done before. That is to legally adopt a child under the name of the company. The child will live at the web hosting data center where he will be provided with food, clothing, shelter and love from the owner and employee’s."

Away on vacation...

The frequency of updates will dwindle over the next few weeks as I try to put a dent in my vacation time backlog. I'll still be posting occasionally, but not nearly as often.

It is that time to go a reaquaint ourselves with the rest of the family (and some long-unseen friends). Everyone have a wonderful holiday season.

Mark Tomlinson

The Clicker: What did I just buy? - Engadget - www.engadget.com

The Clicker: What did I just buy? - Engadget - www.engadget.com: "As teenagers and adults alike gathered around that spinning vinyl, no one bothered to ask the question “What did I just buy?” To ask the question would have been nonsensical. The answer was simply “I bought a record.”
"

Ah. The eternal mystery of media and content.

Telecom Italia announces Z-SIM with built-in radio - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Telecom Italia announces Z-SIM with built-in radio - Engadget - www.engadget.com

This is interesting. A twist on Mobile SpeedPass, EPass, SunPass and other various automatic toll/retail payment options. Mighty handy since most of us are seldom without the cell phone, but there needs to be a way code in a confirmation mechanism or a lost phone becomes as bad as a lost wallet...maybe worse since the greenbacks are the only ready-to-spend item in the wallet so the initial loss would be no more than that. However if they indemnify the user against losses (over say an initial $50, like credit cards) then I am less concerned (which is not the same as UNCONERNED).

Salon.com Technology | The war on terror: Miami

Salon.com Technology | The war on terror: Miami: "What weapons the terrorists had or didn't have is essentially irrelevant. Hijackings, to that point in history, were perpetrated mainly through bluff, and while occasionally deadly, they seldom resulted in more than a temporary inconvenience -- diversions to Cuba or cities in the Middle East. The moment American flight 11 collided with the north tower of the World Trade Center, everything changed; good luck to the next skyjacker stupid enough to attempt the same stunt with anything less than a flamethrower in his hand."

Awesome. Insightful commentary by Salon. This is a good read and while I don't agree with everything as presented, there is an awful lot here to think on.

Multi-tasking Concepts: A Tale of Two Threads

Multi-tasking Concepts: A Tale of Two Threads: "Multi-processor systems in servers and high-end workstations as well as Intel’s coveted Hyper Threading Technology have been with us for many years. Three technologies, one concept/goal. You may wonder, what’s the difference?"


Caution: deep tech. An excellent read however if you are into tech and multi-threading...

Pertelian’s External LCD Display keeps fraggers informed - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Pertelian’s External LCD Display keeps fraggers informed - Engadget - www.engadget.com

OK, more from the "you need a life" department.
Crap, put the damn joystick down for a bit.

RSStroom Reader concept prints up toilet paper news - Engadget - www.engadget.com

RSStroom Reader concept prints up toilet paper news - Engadget - www.engadget.com

Another awesome idea whose times has not come.
Funny, really :)

NEC’s paper thin, rapid recharge batteries, “ORB” - Engadget - www.engadget.com

NEC’s paper thin, rapid recharge batteries, “ORB” - Engadget - www.engadget.com: "NEC has debuted some ultra-thin and flexible quick charging batteries named ORB, for Organic Radical Battery."

USB 5.1 audio Adapter. - The Red Ferret Journal

USB 5.1 audio Adapter. - The Red Ferret Journal

10 bucks. No crap.

When are more XBox 360s coming?

When are more XBox 360s coming?: "WHEN IS BEST BUY going to have more XBox 360s? If you don't like bundles, the answer appears to be never, but they will have more in soon."

Assuming you trusted BestBuy not to jack you if you bought one there.

Buy, Play, Trade, Repeat - New York Times

Buy, Play, Trade, Repeat - New York Times: "It's much better to have copies of albums on lots of iPods, even if only half of them have been paid for, than to have a few CD's sitting on a shelf and not being played."

Hopefully the text of this article doesn't quickly end up behond the NYT paywall, but read it while you can. This is a very good detailing of the issues involved for all parties.

Meta Moderation

"'Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.'
The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes"

Wired News: Monsters of Photorealism

Wired News: Monsters of Photorealism: "But when human avatars approach photoreality? Something weird happens. Our brains rebel, and we begin focusing on the tiny details that aren't quite perfect. The realism of our avatars suddenly plunges downward into a valley -- and they begin to look like zombies."

He is not the first one to comment on this. At a certain level of "reality" our brains are hardwired to expect that the object of our attention will behave in specific ways. When that doesn't happen a special kind of cognitive dissonance occurs.

New Soft Helmet Turns Hard in Crash

New Soft Helmet Turns Hard in Crash: "

Researchers at the University of Hertfordshire have discovered a complex elastomeric compound they call d3o that is both soft and hard."


Truth really is stranger than fiction.

Sand in the Gears - Archives

Sand in the Gears - Archives: "To: Swiss Miss and affiliates, including but not limited to Swiss Watch & Clock LLC, Swiss Cheese Food Products, Swiss Army Knife and Nail Clipper Companies, and Swiss Gold and Cash Laundering Services LLC

From: Tony Woodlief..."

A MUST read, although not while eating pudding (Swiss Miss or otherise) or drinking liquids that you do not wish having exit your nostrils...

Microsoft Xbox 360 | The Register

Microsoft Xbox 360 | The Register: "One of the big selling points of the 360 is the High Definition output, although it will work on a standard TV. That said, if you're planning on buying an 360 and connecting it up via composite video, you'll be wasting your money. I hooked the 360 up to a standard-definition widescreen TV using component video and it did look very good, but once you hook up to an HD screen, you'll never want to go back."

Amen. This is the first console to really leverage HD. Most games really do look incredibly better in HD on the 360. The extra detail is astounding and comes with NO noticible performance degradation.

Does God play dice? (December 2005) - Physics World - PhysicsWeb

Does God play dice? (December 2005) - Physics World - PhysicsWeb

CoolTechZone::Holographic Storage: The Uncertain Future

CoolTechZone::Holographic Storage: The Uncertain Future

Will this ever actually make it into a consumer product? It has been in the labs for a decade now (or close to it).

ATI has new dual core driver

ATI has new dual core driver

Sweet

Netgear admits wireless speed claims are misleading | The Register

Netgear admits wireless speed claims are misleading | The Register: "The problem of Wi-Fi traffic speed isn't just the common Ethernet one - if you share a medium, the maximum throughput can't ever be reached. It's endemic to the Wi-Fi business that people claim data speeds which have nothing to do with the real world ability to transport data."


Hello? Reality knocking...

Reminds me of the 'modem wars', the numbers were at best meaningless.

Xbox 360 hack is back

Xbox 360 hack is back

Surprise, surprise. I guess the question is: "How much of this will MS trash in future updates?" There are some 'features' that would make little sense to disable or alter significantly whicle others will be out and out "ooopsies". Naturally, once the hardware mods and bios replacements are out then it largely becomes moot. Personally not expecting those to be on the street much before a year out.

BuzzMachine

BuzzMachine: "For if a la carte pricing really comes into effect, it will kill off lots of channels that could not be supported in the open marketplace. That is, there aren’t enough people willing to support channels on their own and they survive only because they are subsidized via bundled pricing and cozy deals among the holders of content and distribution in cable. If they had to make it on advertising alone, they’d fail. If they had to make it on consumer fees alone, they’d fail. They simply don’t have the audience to support either. But cable companies make more by making us buy more TV and so they survive. That is the system Martin is threatening to break.

And when it does break, this will drive people to finding different, better, cheaper, easier means of getting the programs they want. And it will drive program owners to find more and more efficient ways to distribute their shows to larger audiences. Just as today, we no longer know the difference between broadcast and cable, soon enough we won’t know whether the shows we want to see come from a network or from the internet. And when we reach that world, we’ll no longer be hostage to network programmers’ schedules. And then we’ll have to ask: What is a network, anyway, and why do we need them?

The world of on-demand content is coming."

Brilliant analysis.