Fri - June 23, 2006

Tue - June 20, 2006

Mark/Space introduces The Missing Sync for PSP

Mark/Space, maker of software that allows products like Windows Mobile-based, Sony Clie, and HipTop PDAs to sync with OS X, has released The Missing Sync of the PSP. It provides conversion and syncing of video files, syncing of iTunes music, iPhoto photos, iCal calendars, Address Book contacts, and Safari bookmarks, as well as providing an off-line web browsing feature and a file syncing feature. It apparently uses the PSP's built-in web browser for much of this functionality (converting your calendars into HTML which the browser displays, for example). This means that it requires a PSP with 2.71 firmware or above. It costs $29.99, but unfortunately there's no demo version of the software. Still, it looks like it adds significantly to the PSP's usefulness, especially for people who don't already carry around iPods or PDAs. Without any means of data entry, the PSP and the iPod are a little limited as PDAs, but I've often thought that there was a lot of untapped potential there, and this sounds like a good start.

http://www.markspace.com/missingsync_psp.php

Posted at 04:59 AM | Category: | Permalink |

Mon - June 12, 2006

The DS Lite has landed

I was out by the mall a couple of days ago and decided that I would go to a few places to see if I could find a DS Lite that had been put out before the official launch date (June 11th). Some other people had been able to find them out on the shelves. I didn't find any, but Toys R Us had a sign up saying that they were reserving them for people on the two days prior to the launch with a $50 deposit. So I went ahead and reserved one. I didn't know if there would be any problem getting one, but considering that all of the online retailers I checked were only selling them in lame bundles with accessory packs that you don't really want, I figured it was worth it to ensure that I got one. There was a couple in line right ahead of me who reserved two of them.

I picked it up this afternoon, and I must say it's very nice. Of course, it's particularly impressive compared to what a lump the original DS is. The original "phat" DS looks more like a prototype than anything, and there are a lot of things about it that don't really make a lot of sense. The main issue, though, is its sheer size. It's a very hefty system. The DS Lite, on the other hand, is pretty slim. It's no GameBoy Micro, but it's definitely a more reasonable size, weight and thickness. And the finish is also much more impressive. It looks much more like something you'd want to show off, and I think it holds its own against the PSP in terms of looks now. Closed, it looks just like a miniature MacBook, and I don't think that's an accident (although the direct inspiration was probably the iPod).

Aside from its size, the main thing I was looking forward to was the screen, and it doesn't disappoint in that area either. The original DS's screens always seemed a little on the dim and dingy side, but you don't realize how bad they are until you compare them with the DS Lite's screens. They are several times brighter at max brightness, and even at minimum brightness, I think they're still brighter than the old DS. The colors are very vibrant and clear. And the battery apparently lasts a lot longer than the original DS as well (haven't been able to test that out yet. Clearly, Nintendo did their best to rectify the flaws in the original design. This is the DS they should have released in the first place.

In the "minor disappointments" department are the fact that the DS Lite uses a different AC adapter than the original DS, which means that you can't share adapters if you have both systems. It also doesn't come with the nifty strap/thumb stick thingy that the original DS came with. Also, GameBoy Advance cartridges stick up about 1cm from the body of the DS Lite, which means that you probably don't want to keep a GBA cartridge in there all the time. You could do that with the original system, and it was kind of nice to have two games available in the system (dual screens and dual games).

Nintendo hasn't announced that they are discontinuing the original DS, but unless they discount it VERY heavily, I don't think it makes any sense to keep both models in stores. I really can't think of any reason to get an original DS now that the Lite is available.

Posted at 01:06 AM | Category: | Permalink |

Mon - June 5, 2006

PSP vs. PSP

I am a freelance Japanese translator specializing in video games. Unfortunately, I don't always get to see the games I am translating before I do the translation. Sometimes the game isn't finished yet and the developer can't be bothered to give us in-progress builds, and sometimes (like with the portable systems) it isn't really possible to play non-final versions without some kind of development hardware, and translators like me don't usually have that. But when I am given the game to play, I have to have a system to play it on, so I have at least one of all of the current video game consoles.

Up until recently, my PSP had been used mostly for homebrew software such as emulators. I absolutely love being able to play all the old 8-bit and 16-bit games that I played years ago on a portable device (what I wouldn't have given for something like that when I was a teenager!). And frankly, there weren't all that many PSP games that appealed to me. Now, those of you familiar with the state of homebrew software on the PSP know that Sony has been doing everything it possibly can to prevent its users from running homebrew software. Each firmware update they put out adds some new features, but often the main reason is to close off a loophole that someone has found that lets them run homebrew software again. I think the main thing they are worried about is piracy of UMD games, and in fact some people have been successful at running copies of games from a memory stick. It's unfortunate that in their crusade to kill off piracy that they're also making it impossible to use a lot of cool software that users have made.

For this reason, my original PSP's firmware is 1.5 and it's going to stay there. While there has been some progress in getting homebrew software to run on later versions, it's a never-ending struggle, with every firmware update from Sony disabling whatever hacks that people came up with. My PSP was able to stay at 1.5 for quite a while, but recently I started the translation of a new PSP game that forces you to upgrade to 2.6 or later in order to play. Although I hate Sony for making me buy two PSPs, I decided that being able to play my emulators was probably worth a couple of hundred bucks, so I plunked down the money for a second PSP.

Of course, as long as I had to buy a second PSP, I couldn't just buy another black one. Not when there are Ceramic White models available in Japan. So I ordered one from Lik-Sang.com who got it to me very quickly. It's quite nice looking, and certainly reminiscent of the iPod. I think I prefer the black model overall, but the white certainly has its appeal, and I think its screen is somewhat brighter as well. So now I have a "good" PSP (the angelic white one that will always been updated to the latest firmware version) and the "bad" PSP (the devilish black one that can run all of my emulators and other software). I suppose now I'll have to look into getting a DS Lite...

Posted at 02:52 PM | Category: | Permalink |

Sun - June 4, 2006

I can have both: The desktop + laptop solution

In the days before laptops became so powerful, most people used them as secondary systems. They would have a desktop for "real" work and use the laptop only when they had to, but I have been using a laptop as my main computer for years. My first was a giant black and white screened behemoth with a 286 processor, and since then I've gone through 7 or 8 other laptops (mostly Macs). I never liked desktop computers. I didn't like being tied down to one place (even if I didn't use the computer outside much, being able to move to another room in the house was nice) and somehow laptops seemed more personal than desktops to me. That's why I ordered a MacBook Pro the day after they were announced. My 12" PowerBook had worked well as my main computer, but it was starting to feel a tad slow for a few things, and I also wanted a bigger screen. However, I decided to cancel my order and get an iMac instead. I had decided to go back to the traditional "laptop + desktop" setup, but not for the reasons that you might think. [If you're reading this in a browser, you may need to click "Permalink" below to read the rest of the article.]

Posted at 08:10 AM | Category: | Permalink |

Sat - May 27, 2006

Flaking black MacBooks?

There has been a fair amount of discussion recently as to the nature of the matte black plastic that makes up the casing off the black MacBook. It has an almost rubberized feel to it, which is quite different from the surface of the white MacBook.

A post on marklemdotcom first brought up the idea that the surface of the MacBook might be coated with something that could easily flake off by scratching it with a fingernail. The discussion in this thread on the MacNN forums (and my own very cursory examination of the black MacBook) seemed to indicate that this was not the case.

But then today another post on the MacNN forums pointed out that someone on Flickr also had problems with flaking finish on their MacBook. The two problems don't really look the same -- the first one looks like a clear coating was being rubbed off, while the second looks like black paint has been chipped off by the user's watchband. The interesting question is, why would the chips reveal what appears to be white underneath? Even if Apple used some kind of coating on the MacBook, wouldn't they have used black plastic underneath? It's possible that it's only the frame surrounding the wrist rest that is affected, but it's a little disturbing nonetheless.

Without more evidence, it's hard to say one way or the other. But I do know that my Pismo PowerBook had no such issues with the finish. I hope this doesn't become the "nano scratch" of the MacBook line.

Posted at 06:01 PM | Category: | Permalink |

Tue - May 23, 2006

Why the hate? Behind the iPod backlash

A lot of people (well, a lot of people who post on Internet message boards anyway) seem to be anti-iPod. There are even entire websites devoted to this, such as anythingbutipod.com. As a big fan of the iPod, I find this somewhat perplexing. I've been thinking a lot about this, and I've come up with a few possible reasons. [If you're reading this in a browser, you may need to click "Permalink" below to read the rest of the article.]

Posted at 09:19 PM | Category: | Permalink |

An open letter from Jason Tomczak, lead plaintiff in the iPod nano scratch lawsuit

As you may know, a class action lawsuit was filed against Apple stating that iPod nanos are so easily scratched that their screens can become unusable in the course of normal use. What you probably didn't know was that the Jason Tomczak, the lead plaintiff in the case, was associated with the case completely against his will and without his knowledge. Or at least that's what he says. He has written an open letter to the Mac community saying that the legal firm in charge of the case essentially hijacked his name. From what he says, he's been through some very difficult and expensive problems because of this. If it's true, it makes the whole lawsuit even stupider than I originally thought, and I feel sorry for him.

(The picture above is taken from the Ars Technica review of the iPod nano, in which they discover that the nano is surprisingly sturdy, if not exactly scratch resistant.)

Open Letter To The Mac Community

Posted at 12:46 PM | Category: | Permalink |

Mon - May 22, 2006

The bizarre story behind the fall of Gizmondo

The Times Online has an interesting article detailing the story behind the fall of Gizmondo, the startup that claimed to be releasing a handheld to challenge the likes of Nintendo's DS and Sony's PSP. By all accounts the Gizmondo device itself was a flop from the very beginning. It was overpriced even if you chose the questionable "ad supported" service and game support was lacking. But the really interesting thing is how the company's founders (who were later discovered to members of the Swedish mafia) managed to blow through hundreds of millions of dollars with very little to show for it. They bought millions of dollars worth of jewelry, watches and exotic sports cars with company funds. You really have to wonder what was going on. Was it a scam from the beginning? Did Gizmondo really think they could make a go of it, or did its founders realize early on that they were doomed and just decide to milk the company for everything they could? Was it a real-life Brewster's Millions? We may never know all the details.

The company that blew it all in two years from the Times Online

Posted at 01:07 PM | Category: | Permalink |

Sun - May 21, 2006

(Video) Super Mario 64 beaten in 18 minutes with only 16 stars

This video is simply amazing. I've spent more than my share of time playing Super Mario 64 and Super Mario DS, but this guy knows tricks I never dreamed of and seems to be able to jump with godlike accuracy. If you've ever played this game, you owe it to yourself to watch this. I'm just speechless.

Super Mario 64 Speed Run on Gamespot.com

UPDATE: Well, this isn't actually a video of someone playing. It's a tool-assisted speed run, which is something that I had never heard of. As I understand it, they use an emulator and some software tools to enable the player to redo certain parts over and over, and to play at less than full speed. Sometimes they play at 5% normal speed, or even frame-by-frame. Why anyone would want to do this is an interesting question. I guess some people really love these games and want to try and come up with the "ultimate" run-through. Still, many of these moves aren't possible for actual human beings to perform, so in some sense they don't reflect what the game is actually supposed to be like.

NESVideos

Posted at 06:25 AM | Category: | Permalink |