I have the dual tuner motorola HD box provided by Comcast. S'posedly, it's the best they have to offer. I had the cable guy out a few times with the following complaints, and he gave me these answers:
1) Occasionally, I'll turn the machine on and there will be no sound or picture. The menus will still work and come on screen, but nothing else.
Answer: Activate a prerecorded video and then exit. Sometimes the tuner locks up, and you have to do this. Actually, to me, it sounds more like a decoder problem...
2) On Demand is rediculously slow. Half of the time, it gives me a time out error and locks up.
Answer: Yeah.. eh.. that is why it's still free. I guess they don't want to charge for the service until they get it working.
3) So, I see an ethernet port, 2 usb ports, and a firewire port. Not to mention a slot in the front. What's up with those?
Answer: Oh, that's so you can hook a computer up to it. There's 3 different options, so that anyone with a computer can hook up and download the videos they have recorded. They aren't activated yet, though. The slot is a card reader, so you can pay for services on a credit card. It doesn't work, though.
This is the "just released" box for my area. I'm too lazy to go look at the model number, but they only started carrying it 2 months ago. Motorola's site lists everything working on the box, although the "card reader" isn't for credit cards. Comcast is the worst cable company I've ever dealt with. The first intall technician couldn't even figure out the cable... red to red green to green, etc was just too complicated for the man. Not to mention he mixed inputs and outputs. No training for the employees, and equipment that is so screwed up it's not worth the trouble. I'm moving in 2 months to Loisiana, and I'm getting the dish.
http://http//www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/6b3b/ / There are so many ways these devices are being used. I find file storage a welcome addition to anything I keep on me. Now, where is that file... in my phone, my pen, my thumb drive, or my knife?
It is true, I'm guilty of liking a lot of games. Perhaps I'm easily amused? But content is content. I love the movie Pulp Fiction. However, after 20 hours of watching it I would criticize it in much the same way I did Oblivion. Jokes loose variety, the story line would be rediculously boring by that point... And still, I would turn to a parody, if available, for something fresh. I hate to think of mods as parody, but the analogy kind of fits.
I'd love to see a game come out that stayed fresh after 10 or 20 hours of gameplay. It's just hard to find that kind of playability. Fable was a good example. I enjoyed it until the end. Yet, that game was talked about as being too short. How much longer could it have been, and still been fun 'til the end?
I actually, eventually, found Oblivion to be kind of tiresome. Once the initial appeal wears off, everything seems kind of mundane. That is one of the main reasons why games are released to mod capability... To put some new back in. Overall, however, it is a great game. However, despite all that there is to do, there doesn't seem to be much variety. I never really cared about the story, and most quests are varients on certain themes. I can't expect more than that, but it still gets old after a while. Prey, on the other hand...
I introduced one of my fairly anti-social friends to WOW. He actually stopped hanging out after about a month, because he had scheduled raids. He missed quite a bit of sleep, and even played the game at work. So, in real life, it was a social drain for him.
In game, he made tons of new friends that he loves hanging out with. There, it was a positive social experience.
No real point, just throwing out an example. For myself, I played in my spare time but never developed the addiction. Now that he's starting to get bored, and raiding less, he's back to hanging out. I think, overall, it was a good experience for him. For me? It sucked, he missed some good parties.
Did anyone have to dial a 1-900 number for that prediction? The world was once predicted to be flat, and people once thought Sony was cool.
I'm sure it will gain market share, but it's going to start off flat. After the first price break (they'll need many)they'll get a decent boost. After Blu-Ray follows UMD, Sony stock will go up... in smoke.
See, anyone can make predictions! The Xbox 360 has some potential to escape the bad press that usually follows M$ around. The Wii is innovative enough to really blow some minds. It's either going to do really well, or fall flat.
Personally, I've owned the PS2, Gamecube, and the Xbox. I gave away my PS2 and still have the other two systems to compete with each other. Ninja Gaiden was the last thing I played on the Xbox, and I wish there had been a Gamecube version.
I have the Moto SLVR L7, which not only has built in MP3 functions but requires iTunes support. Someone, yesterday, asked if it "had an iPod in it"... I said yes, because I didn't want to explain the obvious differences. It's true enough, as it does the same things and has the same menu, it just lacks the click wheel.
So, just like "google" is becoming a verb for searching for information on google... iPod is becoming a generic form for MP3 player. Now that electronic devices are becoming more universal, people are starting to use their terms differently. I've seen many a moron refer to a computer as a hard drive, or a monitor as a computer. Although this is different, I'm merely pointing out that the less informed are using information devices.
How many of you have asked for an aspirin, when you really loves the Alieve? Medical companies lose many sells to generics, when people literally request a generic versions of "insert brand name here".
So, does Apple have a real gripe? Definitely not about the word "pod". Pod is a fad word that everyone is slapping onto various devices because that is what the masses are buying right now. And considering that the part that makes it Apple is the little "i" at the beginning, they can really stop whining. iMac, iPod, etc...
The electronic industry is spoiled right now. People are paying premium prices, not for the best devices, but for the best marketing. Where they have previously had to protect technological advances, now they want to protect their logos, names, and other trademark "stuff" with the same ferocity. The iPod is by no means the best device out there. But once a certain popularity threshhold has been met, a certain amount of sales afterward is guaranteed. I think these companies should concentrate on building better mousetraps, instead of making sure the mice are buying them, too.
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Sorry about the huge paragraph. I keep forgetting to use the "br" tags.
I have the dual tuner motorola HD box provided by Comcast. S'posedly, it's the best they have to offer. I had the cable guy out a few times with the following complaints, and he gave me these answers: 1) Occasionally, I'll turn the machine on and there will be no sound or picture. The menus will still work and come on screen, but nothing else. Answer: Activate a prerecorded video and then exit. Sometimes the tuner locks up, and you have to do this. Actually, to me, it sounds more like a decoder problem... 2) On Demand is rediculously slow. Half of the time, it gives me a time out error and locks up. Answer: Yeah.. eh.. that is why it's still free. I guess they don't want to charge for the service until they get it working. 3) So, I see an ethernet port, 2 usb ports, and a firewire port. Not to mention a slot in the front. What's up with those? Answer: Oh, that's so you can hook a computer up to it. There's 3 different options, so that anyone with a computer can hook up and download the videos they have recorded. They aren't activated yet, though. The slot is a card reader, so you can pay for services on a credit card. It doesn't work, though. This is the "just released" box for my area. I'm too lazy to go look at the model number, but they only started carrying it 2 months ago. Motorola's site lists everything working on the box, although the "card reader" isn't for credit cards. Comcast is the worst cable company I've ever dealt with. The first intall technician couldn't even figure out the cable... red to red green to green, etc was just too complicated for the man. Not to mention he mixed inputs and outputs. No training for the employees, and equipment that is so screwed up it's not worth the trouble. I'm moving in 2 months to Loisiana, and I'm getting the dish.
http://http//www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/6b3b/ / There are so many ways these devices are being used. I find file storage a welcome addition to anything I keep on me. Now, where is that file... in my phone, my pen, my thumb drive, or my knife?
It is true, I'm guilty of liking a lot of games. Perhaps I'm easily amused? But content is content. I love the movie Pulp Fiction. However, after 20 hours of watching it I would criticize it in much the same way I did Oblivion. Jokes loose variety, the story line would be rediculously boring by that point... And still, I would turn to a parody, if available, for something fresh. I hate to think of mods as parody, but the analogy kind of fits.
I'd love to see a game come out that stayed fresh after 10 or 20 hours of gameplay. It's just hard to find that kind of playability. Fable was a good example. I enjoyed it until the end. Yet, that game was talked about as being too short. How much longer could it have been, and still been fun 'til the end?
Because faster is better. Don't you remember high school cheerleaders?
I actually, eventually, found Oblivion to be kind of tiresome. Once the initial appeal wears off, everything seems kind of mundane. That is one of the main reasons why games are released to mod capability... To put some new back in.
Overall, however, it is a great game. However, despite all that there is to do, there doesn't seem to be much variety. I never really cared about the story, and most quests are varients on certain themes. I can't expect more than that, but it still gets old after a while.
Prey, on the other hand...
I introduced one of my fairly anti-social friends to WOW. He actually stopped hanging out after about a month, because he had scheduled raids. He missed quite a bit of sleep, and even played the game at work. So, in real life, it was a social drain for him.
In game, he made tons of new friends that he loves hanging out with. There, it was a positive social experience.
No real point, just throwing out an example. For myself, I played in my spare time but never developed the addiction. Now that he's starting to get bored, and raiding less, he's back to hanging out. I think, overall, it was a good experience for him. For me? It sucked, he missed some good parties.
Did anyone have to dial a 1-900 number for that prediction? The world was once predicted to be flat, and people once thought Sony was cool.
I'm sure it will gain market share, but it's going to start off flat. After the first price break (they'll need many)they'll get a decent boost. After Blu-Ray follows UMD, Sony stock will go up... in smoke.
See, anyone can make predictions! The Xbox 360 has some potential to escape the bad press that usually follows M$ around. The Wii is innovative enough to really blow some minds. It's either going to do really well, or fall flat.
Personally, I've owned the PS2, Gamecube, and the Xbox. I gave away my PS2 and still have the other two systems to compete with each other. Ninja Gaiden was the last thing I played on the Xbox, and I wish there had been a Gamecube version.
I have the Moto SLVR L7, which not only has built in MP3 functions but requires iTunes support. Someone, yesterday, asked if it "had an iPod in it"... I said yes, because I didn't want to explain the obvious differences. It's true enough, as it does the same things and has the same menu, it just lacks the click wheel. So, just like "google" is becoming a verb for searching for information on google... iPod is becoming a generic form for MP3 player. Now that electronic devices are becoming more universal, people are starting to use their terms differently. I've seen many a moron refer to a computer as a hard drive, or a monitor as a computer. Although this is different, I'm merely pointing out that the less informed are using information devices. How many of you have asked for an aspirin, when you really loves the Alieve? Medical companies lose many sells to generics, when people literally request a generic versions of "insert brand name here". So, does Apple have a real gripe? Definitely not about the word "pod". Pod is a fad word that everyone is slapping onto various devices because that is what the masses are buying right now. And considering that the part that makes it Apple is the little "i" at the beginning, they can really stop whining. iMac, iPod, etc... The electronic industry is spoiled right now. People are paying premium prices, not for the best devices, but for the best marketing. Where they have previously had to protect technological advances, now they want to protect their logos, names, and other trademark "stuff" with the same ferocity. The iPod is by no means the best device out there. But once a certain popularity threshhold has been met, a certain amount of sales afterward is guaranteed. I think these companies should concentrate on building better mousetraps, instead of making sure the mice are buying them, too.
Actually, the answer is 42.