I’ve done a good deal of research and I’m reasonably convinced that 1963 is birth year that marks an extreme technological divide.
The battlefield? Connecticut. The battle? 4:3 versus 16:9.
Continue reading 1963
Category Archives: digital pity
Bug: Google Language Tools
Whoo, is this a strange bug in Google’s translational engines… I’m not sure what Brazil’s Major Nelson [my boss] was up to, but he came by today and said, translate this with Google’s engine – translate it from English to Italian and see what you get:
Nintendo Wii is the best videogame
In Italian, I got: Xbox è il miglior videogioco. Translating it to Portuguese, I got: PlayStation é o melhor videogame. French, strangely enough, passed it through OK.
Methinks someone has a translating engine bug in a couple of languages, not that I don’t appreciate the free advertising. *g*
TiVo Hath Returned
After an otherwise bleak weekend of seeya-soon’s and somewhat stressful travel* I’m home again, with a newly installed TiVo 3 under my TV and a fist full of gift cards in tow.
I’m a Wii Magnet
Last year, I helped eight people get Wii consoles. Well, nine, if you include mine. I didn’t camp out of any of them. Didn’t get to a store early for them. I wandered into a store and *wham* there they are.
This year, I didn’t expect to be on the hunt for one. Walked into the local Target a few weeks ago and they have a bunch of them – I didn’t think anything of it, since I already have a Wii; I rarely use and I didn’t think they’d be in short supply this year. Last week, I was talking to a friend of mine who was desperate for one – I said I’d look for one. I walk into the local Target the next day: there’s a stack of 80 of them, so I snagged one.
Today, I finally tracked down an Xbox 360 Elite at a local store. Harder for me to find an Elite than a Wii to be quite honest, but whatever. Unfortunately, I was there when there were about 200 people waiting in line to pick up their Wii’s. I got in line. A sales guy comes up and says “Are you in line for a Wii? Here, take this.” I asked if I could skip the line, if I didn’t want one – he said no. I took the ticket and waited.
So, yeah: the eleventh Wii and someone has already claimed it. Since there is a shortage and these have been mostly for kids, I haven’t even been putting on a surcharge on them…
Tis the season, after all.
Lenovo Brings +1 Happiness
My Lenovo T60p is about 18 months old. It’s holding up very well, but there’s a new model that I’m really interested in buying… Core 2 Duo vs Core Duo, 802.11n, etc. A moderate bump, more or less, but I think they’re getting rid of their 14″ standard sized notebook models, which means I’m on borrowed time. And that I’m slated to sell the old one before I can get a new one! *g*
One of the odd things about ThinkPads is that I very often find that the letter decals on the keyboard wear off over time. A weird trait for them or I’m using the thing way too much. Either way, I said “Hm. When it was IBM, I was able to get parts… I wonder if Lenovo’s support is as good as IBM’s was.”
I went to the product’s web page, filed a request for service which said, “I need a new keyboard because of wear and I can install it myself.” The thing is still under warranty so no credit card number was in play. Within 5 minutes I got a phone call confirming it, and telling me I should expect the part in 1 to 3 days.
Beat every other notebook company that I’ve ever worked with, including Apple, Sony, and Dell.
Even Broken Clock
Scoble gets blasted by Mac fanboys, while trying to prove a valid point, which in and of itself is a nice change of pace. No spin or “head in the sand” opinion this time. Just a small post – or what was once a small post – about problems he has been having with his Mac hardware and the loyalty of the Mac fan base. I’m particularly amused by this, given the latest “I’m a Mac” commercials… they are all about “record breaking sales” while tacitly ignoring that Mac’s market share hasn’t broken 10%. Or the fact that Vista sold more copies in it’s first quarter than an entire year of OSX and Mac hardware. But whatever creams Jobs’ twinkie and makes for a snappy commercial, I guess.
I also found this clash with Apple’s PR department funny. It seems that the words iTunes, iPhone, and monopoly trigger a combustive PR reaction, which of course is the reality: I can’t imagine what you’d do with an iPhone without iTunes, especially if you don’t activate the phone at the store.
Anyway, my original point: even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Bad Geek Retail Karma
They’re all conspiring against me! All of the retail stores. Aiiigh!
Continue reading Bad Geek Retail Karma
Violent, fat stacks of cash, and good in bed
Hit Reset!: From Guys & their games… – MSN Dating & Personals […] Q. And what does the Xbox divulge about its owner? […] Satterfield: These guys tend to like extremely violent, visceral games, as well as the social aspect of connecting with friends online. […] Xbox 360 fans tend to make good money and like to spend it. These guys are passionate about gaming and that transfers into the bedroom as well.
w00t.
Android
Android: Welcome to the Open Handset Alliance?, a group of more than 30 technology and mobile companies who have come together to accelerate innovation in mobile and offer consumers a richer, less expensive, and better mobile experience. Together we have developed Android?, the first complete, open, and free mobile platform.
No more “gPhone” it seems. I mean, did anyone get why a search engine company was making a handset? Either way, having seen this announcement, I have to that I’m rather underwhelmed by this latest news…
Continue reading Android
I Heart Target (and Fred Meyer)
Xbox360FanBoy: Warning future Guitar Hero III purchasers … Walmart is evil. And yes, we know the word evil carries a lot of emotional weight behind it, but we’re comfortable and confident in using such an adjective to describe Walmart seeing what they’re doing with their Guitar Hero III bundles. You see, Walmart somehow received an exclusive GHIII bundle from Activision in which they sell the game with old GHII guitar controllers. That means Xbox 360 owners who’d buy the bundle wouldn’t get a wireless Les Gibson and instead get the corded Xplorer.
In some ways, I have to put some fault on the consumer for not reading the box. Would be like the first person that bought an N64, Xbox, or PS2 and complaining there’s only one controller in the box, because the last gen had two… even though it’s clearly labeled on the box.
Yet, I still think this is a completely shitty deal, since Wal-Mart is still charging full price for the lackluster bundle… guess this is what happens when you stock your stores on a consignment basis: you do what you can to save money, even if it’s by screwing your customers. If they took $10 off, that may be something, but full price? Glad I went to Target.
While a picture may be worth at least 1K words, I say this one is worth $99.
Games! Games! Games!
Was looking at a Best Buy flyer today… holy crap. Guitar Hero III hit shelves today; The Simpsons and Naruto and a few other games hit this Tuesday or Wednesday… so much eye candy, I dunno what to do!
Well, kinda – I did head out to Target this morning… *g*
Continue reading Games! Games! Games!
Sex Survey
I need the net-based citizens of interwebs to weigh in on an issue for me… it’s one part sociological and one part I-Don’t-Understand. The situation is this:
A couple have been together for over a year. Both people in the relationship are between 27 and 29. They aren’t having sex because one of the people in the relationship is afraid to take that next step for different reasons. One is an unplanned pregnancy. Another is that it would be the first time. Lastly, the worried partner is concerned because a younger sibling [also in their 20’s] have not had sex yet and they don’t want to set a bad example.
I have an opinion on this that I won’t share yet because I don’t want to taint the survey, but I’m asking you all: do you consider this normal/weird, healthy/unhealthy?
Comments are open – post away.
ID10T
TUAW: What’s the opposite of flamebait? It’s when your PowerBook really does catch fire and nearly kills you–and you write a love letter like Jimm Lasser did. After his PowerBook burst into flames, he didn’t lash out at Apple. He grew to love them even more. He writes, “a Mac almost killed me, and I came out of the whole experience feeling more strongly about Apple as a company.” TUAW rejoices that Lasser survived and has been able to move on from the whole experience, but reiterates that this kind of bonding, consumer-trust-enhancing experience is not typical.
Maybe TUAW is guilty of taking the guy’s comments out of context, but as their post is presented in its entirely, I have to say that this guy is a fuckin’ idiot, as it’s posted. I’m sorry, but notebooks bursting into flames [under normal use] is an unacceptable event. If that notebook was on a lap, it burns badly; in a computer bag, it could start a massive fire. So why would you feel more strongly about Apple? Because it was a metal notebook? Because the notebook that caught fire looked pretty? I’m sorry, but whichever company is at fault for this – be it notebook or battery – it should never be praised for it, much less forgiven.
Ever.
Zune: Next Generation
c|net: Microsoft has unveiled the second generation of Zune digital music players and will offer consumers 1 million unprotected songs on its online music store.
Finally some news on new Zune devices! Yes, I’m getting this same off at the same time that you are: the Zune team has been extremely quiet on their latest plans, which is one of the reasons why I bought an iPod nano a couple of weeks ago without shame. How do I hold off buying a new player if I don’t know what’s coming? Now that I do know, is it causing Buyer’s Remorse? Not yet – in fact, I’m eying the 80GB Zune rather than the flash-based Zune models, but I’ll have to get my hands on hardware before feeling anything one way or the other.
I do like how c|net takes features specific to the iPod touch and iPhone and applies them to the whole iPod family – means they get a whole bunch of information wrong.
Continue reading Zune: Next Generation
Boom.
