Let's see. My 360 cost me $399+tax, let's just call it $400.
Wireless adapter, because unlike the PS3 there is no built in and i really don't feel like running a cable through my f*cking living room: $100
Wireless headset, because wtf is the point to playing online without it: $60 I realize that i could have bought a less expensive headset, but come on.. WE'RE NEXT GEN HERE!
XBL Account: $100 (it's been 2 years since release folks!)
Total spent:$610, tax withheld.
5 months into owning it, i get a red ring and ship it back to Microsoft. At this point in owning it, my warranty has expired, so they ream me for $150 and almost 6 months of not having a system.
Total cost: $760, tax, AND SHIPPING FEES (they made me pay the return shipping fee, nice touch, withheld.
Let's just add $50, because what's the point of owning a gaming console without having games? I'll even give it the lowball of $50 instead of paying $60. Let's just say i bought viva pinata.
$860 to make my XBOX playable.
As for the PS3, i bought the 60g console at release, $600. And resistance, because that sh*t is awesome.
$650.
Now i'm not a math major, (i'm a fund accountant) and i'm not that big of a nerd either, though i do enjoy reading the Dr. Mcninja webcomic. But last time i checked, $860 is more than $650. PS3's bluetooth means i can use my cellphone headset instead of buying a console specific headset for online play, and since it has built in wireless.. well duh. Even if M$ didn't make you pay $150 to fix your console, the cost of the xbox incurred is still $710, which is still $60 more than you're paying for a PS3.
Spending $50 on a controller for rumble is an acceptable cost when you consider the hell that M$ has put some people through.
Unless you're a f*cking moron and bought the HD DVD drive. Then you deserve everything that you get.
it's pretty. moving on..
the addition of flash memory is the greatest thing that the touch has going for it. but why so small? would it really cost that much more to produce a 20/40 gig version of this? flash memory has come down in price exponentially in the past 2 years, most of the chain electronics retailers sell flash drives for around $10/gig, as opposed to almost $150 for a 1 gig drive a few years ago. sure apple has to make a profit, and i'm certain they pay less than $10/gig for flash memory. more goes onto an ipod these days than just un-converted MP3 files, the space is the real luxury behind these little white boxes.
maybe a now "classic ipod" could be released as a 40/80 gig flash, instead of the "classic" hard drive enclosure that it is.
The hardest part of life after a WoW addiction is finding another game to play that can keep your attention like WoW did. $15 a month for unlimited entertainment on all levels (depending on where you are in the game) is amazing.
I've been searching for over a year. Haven't found anything. Metroid Prime 3 is great, but staring at a screen has become more of a chore. I'm OBLIGATED to play MP3 because of my history with the series, it's not really something i looked forward to aside from the hopes that the controls were better than Redsteel.
WoW certainly beats spending $200 a month on console games that can't keep your attention. But leaving the house and getting laid are way better ways to use your time.
The images cut into the cover of the record are the same from plaques on the 2 pioneer spacecraft, minus your over-detailed nude man and under-detailed nude woman.
so you're saying that creating life is different than creating life?
i understand the life from scratch argument. sort of. either procedure uses cells to create bigger cells. right. gotcha. these guys are creating the cells instead of copying them. cool. still, they're creating a life form that wouldn't exist in nature. so.. artificial?
i like to learn. help me out here.
coincidently, a friend emailed me about this game this morning. from wikipedia, i found this part much more interesting.
"The game also dispenses cards that rates players on their "sexual behavior", and for players who preform exceptionaly well the machine will dispence a small plastic trophy in the shape of pile of feces."
Why hasn't this been discussed? Since it seems to be the newsworthiest story of the last few shuttle flights and all, you would think someone would have brought it up.
Are there any alternatives to the thermal tiles? I'm sure that NASA has some profound (no, really) reasoning for using them and all, but isn't there an alternative? A solid piece of thermal plating on the underside (aside from landing gear doors) would be easier to repair than spreading space grout with an astro-trowel, no? Or is it that the tiles distribute the heat more evenly that that are continually used?
I'm sure they're thinking of a way out of the tiles at this point, and one of the lead developers could even be reading/. right now! band together and brainstorm!
Zarkon or Lotor? Any involvement of Planet Doom?
Princess Allura taking over the blue lion for Sven?
And the most begging question on my mind:
Where will the space mice fit into the grand scheme of things?
in regards to people "needlessly" throwing away a 6 or 7 year old car, let's look at some reasoning. behind why they do it.
-Occupancy has changed. The owner(s) might have children, or need a larger vehicle to transport goods. The reverse of this is also possible. People might be downgrading larger vehicles for smaller.
-Unable to afford repairs The 10 year warranties are fairly new. When your master cylinder blows in your 97 civic, not too many people out there want to drop $3k on an engine.
Or in my case (and frequently in more and more cases) :
Get rid of your 18 MPG Highway 1996 Dodge Ram (5.7L V8) for a wonderful 2007 Hyundai Elantra which i average 40 MPG highway (window sticker is 28/36 city/hway, but that's a lowballed average as long as you don't drive 200mph everywhere).
Yeah, not having 320 horsepower and an 8 foot bed kind of sucks. But so does not dropping $100 a week on gas. i'm now averaging about $30 every 8 days at the pump, and that's to fill my tank (i don't even hit E before i fill, usually down to about 1/8th of a tank when i hit up Sunoco.)
I didn't go green, i went smart. I don't need all that, and neither do most people. SUVs and luxury cars are just another way to say "I have money, not brains".
both companies have provided excellent service in their time periods.
blockbuster dominated the VHS and video game rental era hands down. those were the days of the Burger King kids club and Ronald McDonald chasing after the Hamburglar. their biggest asset was their large amount of store locations and the addition of the 24 hour drop off slot. when DVD become the big format, nothing really changed. it was just a slimmer box at the store. people had more time to spend with their families as well, so renting a movie and taking it back the next day wasn't a big deal. i don't know too many people who had late fee problems with blockbuster in it's hayday, because there were 3 of them in the town i grew up in.
eventually, society changed. we don't all have 3 hours during the week that we can dedicate to a movie. kids have a lot more homework and after school activities than they used to, parents are working longer hours and going to the gym then coming home and having dinner then trying to spend time with their kids before everyone goes to bed at 9.
Cue Netflix.
Netflix's advent of abolishing the late fee waws revolutionary. Keep a movie for a year if you want. you pay a monthly fee that's LESS than what you would pay at blockbuster for 3 movies in a month. free return shipping? bonus. they have enough locations where within 2-3 business days you have a new title, and they have a vast enough library (they have f*cking ICE PIRATES. people that work at blockbuster have no idea what that movie even is!) that you can more than likely find exactly what you're looking for, and get it when you want. What exactly is the downside of this? I have yet to see one.
Netflix just had the right business plan for a changing society. You can get a movie in the middle of the week and watch it when you have time to. That's amazing.
(Gamefly, on the other hand, is an abomination in the world of rental service. If you're going to rent games, go to blockbuster. )
Getting to the issue at hand though -- Downloadable movies. I don't understand the need for it. Why (unless you have a 17" notebook with a mobile broadband card, or are a poor college student surviving on ramen) would a FAMILY, the largest market for these companies main service be interested in huddling around a 20" LCD? because you can have it RIGHT NOW? The only "family" use for this is for the neglectful parents who buy into the baby einstein scheme of sitting your kid in front of a TV at 4 months old because it will help them learn at an earlier age. If your kids are running around the house, don't take them to the park to play catch! Shit, sit em down with AOL's new parental controls (LOL) and put on SPACE JAM!
Obv blockbuster is not to be outdone by netflix and they are going to follow up with this service. The availability of films is dictaded by who ocan get them onto servers faster. The smart move is to put the new releases out their faster, but then you run into DRM issues as well as licensing and copyright suits. Your best bet, imo, is to wait the 2 days and get the DVD.
Or, download it from piratebay.org and burn it. ^^
Massachusetts (my home state) has recently (a few months ago) passed legislation that requires all legal, full time employed residents to have health insurance.
FTFA: "Deep Breeze aims to expand into the wider market. The company already is at work on versions of its device that could cost as little as $10,000. "It's so easy to use that we're looking to develop much cheaper models that will go into general practitioners' offices," says Avraham Ludomirski, managing partner at SCP Vitalife Partners, a U.S.-Israeli venture capital fund that is among the major investors in Deep Breeze."
which makes me wonder: would an independant practitioner (think doctor's office in an office building, not a giant medical associates building) consider purchasing one of these? obv i didn't thoroughly read tfa, but i can pick up a stethascope at my local Walgreens for $5. What is the driving force behind smaller practices looking into acquiring one of these, aside from diagnosing 1/1000000 non-smoker patients?
Zombie Ninja Pro-Am. (As in professional-amateur golf tournament.)
This is been known for months. The game is gonna be horrible. But I'll still buy it, obviously. Along with a lot of pot that i will be needing to make this game enjoyable.
if this will affect the sending and receipt of text messaging?
it seems to me that this is where companies (especially T Mobile, with the advent of the Sidekick) are making their money these days. My sister was complaining that her cell phone bill was $250 last month.. her normal payment is $60. turns out that for every text sent and received, she's getting whacked for 20 cents, every message sent through AIM is 15 cents (sent and received as well!)
granted, she could put a stop to this by paying another $5 a month for unlimited messaging.
Slashdot Mirror
Let's see. My 360 cost me $399+tax, let's just call it $400.
Wireless adapter, because unlike the PS3 there is no built in and i really don't feel like running a cable through my f*cking living room: $100
Wireless headset, because wtf is the point to playing online without it: $60
I realize that i could have bought a less expensive headset, but come on.. WE'RE NEXT GEN HERE!
XBL Account: $100 (it's been 2 years since release folks!)
Total spent:$610, tax withheld.
5 months into owning it, i get a red ring and ship it back to Microsoft. At this point in owning it, my warranty has expired, so they ream me for $150 and almost 6 months of not having a system.
Total cost: $760, tax, AND SHIPPING FEES (they made me pay the return shipping fee, nice touch, withheld.
Let's just add $50, because what's the point of owning a gaming console without having games? I'll even give it the lowball of $50 instead of paying $60. Let's just say i bought viva pinata.
$860 to make my XBOX playable.
As for the PS3, i bought the 60g console at release, $600. And resistance, because that sh*t is awesome.
$650.
Now i'm not a math major, (i'm a fund accountant) and i'm not that big of a nerd either, though i do enjoy reading the Dr. Mcninja webcomic. But last time i checked, $860 is more than $650. PS3's bluetooth means i can use my cellphone headset instead of buying a console specific headset for online play, and since it has built in wireless.. well duh. Even if M$ didn't make you pay $150 to fix your console, the cost of the xbox incurred is still $710, which is still $60 more than you're paying for a PS3.
Spending $50 on a controller for rumble is an acceptable cost when you consider the hell that M$ has put some people through.
Unless you're a f*cking moron and bought the HD DVD drive. Then you deserve everything that you get.
it's pretty. moving on.. the addition of flash memory is the greatest thing that the touch has going for it. but why so small? would it really cost that much more to produce a 20/40 gig version of this? flash memory has come down in price exponentially in the past 2 years, most of the chain electronics retailers sell flash drives for around $10/gig, as opposed to almost $150 for a 1 gig drive a few years ago. sure apple has to make a profit, and i'm certain they pay less than $10/gig for flash memory. more goes onto an ipod these days than just un-converted MP3 files, the space is the real luxury behind these little white boxes. maybe a now "classic ipod" could be released as a 40/80 gig flash, instead of the "classic" hard drive enclosure that it is.
The hardest part of life after a WoW addiction is finding another game to play that can keep your attention like WoW did. $15 a month for unlimited entertainment on all levels (depending on where you are in the game) is amazing.
I've been searching for over a year. Haven't found anything. Metroid Prime 3 is great, but staring at a screen has become more of a chore. I'm OBLIGATED to play MP3 because of my history with the series, it's not really something i looked forward to aside from the hopes that the controls were better than Redsteel.
WoW certainly beats spending $200 a month on console games that can't keep your attention. But leaving the house and getting laid are way better ways to use your time.
So much as a phonograph record.
d
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_Golden_Recor
The images cut into the cover of the record are the same from plaques on the 2 pioneer spacecraft, minus your over-detailed nude man and under-detailed nude woman.
the last console exclusive FPS from UBISOFT thtat i bought? redsteel. hopefully they'll actually make an effort with this game.
so you're saying that creating life is different than creating life? i understand the life from scratch argument. sort of. either procedure uses cells to create bigger cells. right. gotcha. these guys are creating the cells instead of copying them. cool. still, they're creating a life form that wouldn't exist in nature. so.. artificial? i like to learn. help me out here.
wasn't articial created 10 years ago already?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_the_sheep
i can't wait to pick up halo 3 at costco, along with 10,000 bottles of Mt dew game fuel AT DISCOUNT WAREHOUSE PRICES!
but will the hand have kung-fu grip?
if so, I for one welcome our new GI Joe replicant overlords.
coincidently, a friend emailed me about this game this morning. from wikipedia, i found this part much more interesting.
"The game also dispenses cards that rates players on their "sexual behavior", and for players who preform exceptionaly well the machine will dispence a small plastic trophy in the shape of pile of feces."
could it help me quit smoking?
Why hasn't this been discussed? Since it seems to be the newsworthiest story of the last few shuttle flights and all, you would think someone would have brought it up.
/. right now! band together and brainstorm!
Are there any alternatives to the thermal tiles? I'm sure that NASA has some profound (no, really) reasoning for using them and all, but isn't there an alternative? A solid piece of thermal plating on the underside (aside from landing gear doors) would be easier to repair than spreading space grout with an astro-trowel, no? Or is it that the tiles distribute the heat more evenly that that are continually used?
I'm sure they're thinking of a way out of the tiles at this point, and one of the lead developers could even be reading
now THIS is news for nerds!
Charleton Heston had this to say when he learned about the tiles:
"You maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God...damn you all to hell!"
Zarkon or Lotor? Any involvement of Planet Doom? Princess Allura taking over the blue lion for Sven? And the most begging question on my mind: Where will the space mice fit into the grand scheme of things?
Does that mean it qualifies as a "greatest hit"?
In that case, everyone that hasn't pre-ordered it would be able to pick up a copy for $20 the day it releases.
Hooray for fantasy logic!
in regards to people "needlessly" throwing away a 6 or 7 year old car, let's look at some reasoning. behind why they do it.
-Occupancy has changed.
The owner(s) might have children, or need a larger vehicle to transport goods. The reverse of this is also possible. People might be downgrading larger vehicles for smaller.
-Unable to afford repairs
The 10 year warranties are fairly new. When your master cylinder blows in your 97 civic, not too many people out there want to drop $3k on an engine.
Or in my case (and frequently in more and more cases) :
Get rid of your 18 MPG Highway 1996 Dodge Ram (5.7L V8) for a wonderful 2007 Hyundai Elantra which i average 40 MPG highway (window sticker is 28/36 city/hway, but that's a lowballed average as long as you don't drive 200mph everywhere).
Yeah, not having 320 horsepower and an 8 foot bed kind of sucks. But so does not dropping $100 a week on gas. i'm now averaging about $30 every 8 days at the pump, and that's to fill my tank (i don't even hit E before i fill, usually down to about 1/8th of a tank when i hit up Sunoco.)
I didn't go green, i went smart. I don't need all that, and neither do most people. SUVs and luxury cars are just another way to say "I have money, not brains".
both companies have provided excellent service in their time periods.
blockbuster dominated the VHS and video game rental era hands down. those were the days of the Burger King kids club and Ronald McDonald chasing after the Hamburglar. their biggest asset was their large amount of store locations and the addition of the 24 hour drop off slot. when DVD become the big format, nothing really changed. it was just a slimmer box at the store. people had more time to spend with their families as well, so renting a movie and taking it back the next day wasn't a big deal. i don't know too many people who had late fee problems with blockbuster in it's hayday, because there were 3 of them in the town i grew up in.
eventually, society changed. we don't all have 3 hours during the week that we can dedicate to a movie. kids have a lot more homework and after school activities than they used to, parents are working longer hours and going to the gym then coming home and having dinner then trying to spend time with their kids before everyone goes to bed at 9.
Cue Netflix.
Netflix's advent of abolishing the late fee waws revolutionary. Keep a movie for a year if you want. you pay a monthly fee that's LESS than what you would pay at blockbuster for 3 movies in a month. free return shipping? bonus. they have enough locations where within 2-3 business days you have a new title, and they have a vast enough library (they have f*cking ICE PIRATES. people that work at blockbuster have no idea what that movie even is!) that you can more than likely find exactly what you're looking for, and get it when you want. What exactly is the downside of this? I have yet to see one.
Netflix just had the right business plan for a changing society. You can get a movie in the middle of the week and watch it when you have time to. That's amazing.
(Gamefly, on the other hand, is an abomination in the world of rental service. If you're going to rent games, go to blockbuster. )
Getting to the issue at hand though -- Downloadable movies. I don't understand the need for it. Why (unless you have a 17" notebook with a mobile broadband card, or are a poor college student surviving on ramen) would a FAMILY, the largest market for these companies main service be interested in huddling around a 20" LCD? because you can have it RIGHT NOW? The only "family" use for this is for the neglectful parents who buy into the baby einstein scheme of sitting your kid in front of a TV at 4 months old because it will help them learn at an earlier age. If your kids are running around the house, don't take them to the park to play catch! Shit, sit em down with AOL's new parental controls (LOL) and put on SPACE JAM!
Obv blockbuster is not to be outdone by netflix and they are going to follow up with this service. The availability of films is dictaded by who ocan get them onto servers faster. The smart move is to put the new releases out their faster, but then you run into DRM issues as well as licensing and copyright suits. Your best bet, imo, is to wait the 2 days and get the DVD.
Or, download it from piratebay.org and burn it. ^^
Massachusetts (my home state) has recently (a few months ago) passed legislation that requires all legal, full time employed residents to have health insurance.
FTFA:
"Deep Breeze aims to expand into the wider market. The company already is at work on versions of its device that could cost as little as $10,000. "It's so easy to use that we're looking to develop much cheaper models that will go into general practitioners' offices," says Avraham Ludomirski, managing partner at SCP Vitalife Partners, a U.S.-Israeli venture capital fund that is among the major investors in Deep Breeze."
which makes me wonder: would an independant practitioner (think doctor's office in an office building, not a giant medical associates building) consider purchasing one of these? obv i didn't thoroughly read tfa, but i can pick up a stethascope at my local Walgreens for $5. What is the driving force behind smaller practices looking into acquiring one of these, aside from diagnosing 1/1000000 non-smoker patients?
"Mayim Bialik -- star of Blossom and a PhD in neuroscience"
whoa!
this completely explains osama bin laden's latest video, where he stomps grounding totems while enchanting AK-47s with +5 weapon damage.
also, when did we as a country stop blaming FPS games for violence and start blaming magical elves?
We can't stop here... this is bat country!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton_pack
now that's some spooky action.
Zombie Ninja Pro-Am. (As in professional-amateur golf tournament.)
This is been known for months. The game is gonna be horrible. But I'll still buy it, obviously. Along with a lot of pot that i will be needing to make this game enjoyable.
if this will affect the sending and receipt of text messaging?
it seems to me that this is where companies (especially T Mobile, with the advent of the Sidekick) are making their money these days. My sister was complaining that her cell phone bill was $250 last month.. her normal payment is $60. turns out that for every text sent and received, she's getting whacked for 20 cents, every message sent through AIM is 15 cents (sent and received as well!)
granted, she could put a stop to this by paying another $5 a month for unlimited messaging.
just something to think about.