Archive for November, 2006
November 28, 2006 at 1:10 pm
· Filed under Consuming · Tagged: console wars, video games
I spent the morning reading some pretty unflattering blogs about the PS3. We’ve known about the shortcomings with Sony’s half-assed network “plan”, but the inability to use third part universal remotes with blu-ray video playback was news to me. (I wont even touch the inability to network it with a PC for now). A friend on a board asks “How did Sony spend this much time and money and still come up short”?
In a nutshell, I think the answer might boil down to “Japan sucks at the internet”. Continue reading »
November 19, 2006 at 5:02 am
· Filed under Consuming · Tagged: Launch, Party, video games, Wii
We decided to have a Wii launch party at 1:30am. People were cool with the late start time, and we’ve got a big space and a couple decent widescreen displays. The only issue was securing the Wii’s at 12:01 am Sunday. This meant driving around with cellphones on Friday night, before ending up at Meijer some 40 miles away. They had 17 units, and we just made it in time to get 4. They gave us wristbands and told us we couldn’t leave the store (except to go out front and smoke. After last years 360 fiasco, this was heaven We got our machines at midnight and hustled back just as our guests were startin to arrive. Pics after the break. Continue reading »
November 16, 2006 at 1:49 am
· Filed under Consuming · Tagged: decor, HDTV, wiring
I was chatting with a friend today, and he commented that everyone he knows has their flatscreen resting on a console.
He thinks people are too scared to watch $3000 fall off the wall. My theory is that there is no point in wall mounting unless you pay for a pro to wire the stuff inside the wall to your gear. Who wants cables running down their walls? I think art directors are just cutting cords off for photoshoots.
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How is your flat panel HDTV mounted?
November 15, 2006 at 5:08 pm
· Filed under Consuming · Tagged: video games, Wii
Nintendo is an interesting beast. After shouting “it’s about games, not convergance” over and over, they ship the Wii with a news reader, weather center and and handful of other non gaming stuff. Yet according to this joystiq report, the MP3 functionality is pretty crippled. Sure it’s lame there is no real player, and the only way to hear tunes is to insert a song into a photo slideshow. But the real tragedy is that in game soundtrack replacement is going to be handled on a game by game basis. Continue reading »
November 14, 2006 at 10:52 pm
· Filed under Consuming · Tagged: Gears of War, video games, Xbox 360
By now you’ve certainly see the reviews (95 out of 100 at metacritic), so I won’t bore you with the details, or feed Cliffy B’s ego with anymore praise. I will just say that the game should get a special look if you’ve outfitted your media centers with a surround sound receiver and a high def display. “Visceral” is the word that first popped into my mind, and I’ve heard it over and over in other reviews and opinions about the game. Continue reading »
November 14, 2006 at 3:04 am
· Filed under Producing · Tagged: none
What a difference 10 years experience makes in a career :). As soon as I figure out a good strategy to keep my ass out of hot water, I’ll share some of the things I’ve learned while out on location.
It’s a senstive matter, and I’ll have to be somewhat careful as my client is particularly delicate. As an interactive person who’s been on a couple dozen film/video/photo integrated shoots this past year, it would be a waste not to talk about it somehow. Prior to this gig, I got to go out on one or two shoots a year max, as many interactives do. There’s good stuff out there, but there’s also alot of things that could use improving when it comes to integration.
November 13, 2006 at 9:59 pm
· Filed under Living · Tagged: decor, wiring
Step 1: Before
Nasty right? I dont really need to say much here. I got the plasma, and it wasnt until I saw a photo that I realized how gross that setup was. Decent gear in a decent space deserved better. It was a slow process, but I had to get my entertainment center in order. Continue reading »
