The NGP/PSP2 is coming..

So lately Ive been hearing about this new PSP called the "NGP" (next generation portable), and to be honest, I am a sucker for things like this. However, I dont think I will be making the same mistake i made with my PSP in this generation. When I bought my PSP there were a modest selection of games available. I didn't really get into any of the games until Tekken, Crisis Core, and Space Invaders came out. Moding my PSP was great and gave me some of the best gaming days of my life. With the NGP, it seems that Sony has learned a bit from their mistakes with the PSP. A list of games planning to hit the NGP in november has already been released. (Killzone, Uncharted, WipEout, LittleBigPlanet, Call of DutyResistance, Little Deviants, Hot Shots Golf, Reality Fighters, Gravity Daze, Smart AsBroken, Hustle Kings). Unfortunately for me, there has been no conformation on any old or new Dissidia games in the works for the NGP.



Now for some features and specs..

Key NGP features:
Multi-touch 5-inch organic light emitting display (OLED) as the front display
Multi-touch pad on the rear of the device
Dual analog sticks
Two cameras (front and rear)
Software titles on small, dedicated flash memory-based cards
Three motion sensors, gyroscope, accelerometer and electronic compass
Wi-Fi and 3G network connectivity
PlayStation Network access, including ““LiveArea™”, “Near” and “Activity” log features Trophy Support
NGP will be able to play PSP titles, minis, PS one classics, video and comics from the PlayStation Store.

Specs:
CPU ARM® Cortex™-A9 core (4 core)
GPU SGX543MP4+
External Dimensions Approx. 182.0 x 18.6 x 83.5mm (width x height x depth) (tentative, excludes largest projection)
Screen
(Touch screen) 5 inches (16:9), 960 x 544, Approx. 16 million colors, OLED
Multi touch screen (capacitive type)
Rear touch pad Multi touch pad (capacitive type)
Cameras Front camera, Rear camera
Sound Built-in stereo speakers
Built-in microphone
Sensors Six-axis motion sensing system (three-axis gyroscope, three-axis accelerometer), Three-axis electronic compass
Location Built-in GPS
Wi-Fi location service support
Keys / Switches PS button
Power button
Directional buttons (Up/Down/Right/Left)
Action buttons (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square)
Shoulder buttons (Right/Left)
Right stick, Left stick
START button, SELECT button
Volume buttons (+/-)
Wireless communications Mobile network connectivity (3G)
IEEE 802.11b/g/n (n = 1×1) (Wi-Fi) (Infrastructure mode/Ad-hoc mode)
Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR （A2DP/AVRCP/HSP）

From the sources that I have checked, the starting price seems to be set at $299.99. Which is not bad at all for this piece of tech. But, personally I will be waiting for the first price cut, in order for Sony to come up with a stacked library of games.

Who really needs cable?

A few year ago, I used a satellite box that would essentially steal a bunch of satellite signals. I got all the PPV, new releases, every channel and all the porno channels you can dream of;). Anyways, once in a while I would get zapped and would have to go to totalfta.com and get the new script for the box and upload it to the box. It was kind of annoying but totally worth not paying for cable and getting all this material for free. One day, everything stopped and everyone I knew who did this had the same problem. So I've been living without cable for a long time now. But honestly, it hasn't been bad at all, all I do is either torrent the shows or movies I want to watch or go to icefilms.info and watch then in either flash or divx. My family loves watching movies but they always bug me about watching them on my laptop screen. I personally dont mind, but recently we bought a new 55 inch Samsung LCD, and I had to take advantage of that. For a while I've been wanting to hook up my new macbook pro to a tv, and since this was the first HD tv with HDMI input, I thought it was time. Went on some forums to find the best way to connect and found a great site with inexpensive cable called www.monoprice.com. Bought a minidisplay to HDMI cable,and hooked it up to my mac. The best $12 I have ever spent. Now I watch HD movies on my big screen, no cable, no renting movies, no catching your favorite tv shows. Hooked up my stereo system to my mac and everything was set. Honestly, I can't really see myself ever needing cable. Even live sports can be streamed online and watched on my tv.

Starcraft 2 Impressions

After more than 10 years of waiting, Blizzard finally comes out with Starcraft's polished sequel. I wanted a some time to play it so I could give you guy and accurate feel of the game. I was never a hardcore Starcraft fan or player for that matter, growing up it was always Warcraft 3 . Though not much has changed with SC2, besides the obvious (better graphics). The game look impressive and I play on the normal setting to avoid lag. To be honest though, I kind of have to force myself to play the campaign seeing as playing online or custom games seems to be a lot more fun and truly is what Starcraft is all about. The story is kind of hard to follow since I tend to skip the optional cinematics, but from what I've seen so far is an uninteresting 1980's sci-fi movie.

One of the bet things about Starcraft 2 is the beautifully designed interface, its really easy to set up a quick game with your friends and your friends list is always available to see who online and doing what. While Blizzard did add a few new units and a couple of tweaks here and there, the Starcraft experience hasen't really changed. Probably because Blizzard is afraid of a Korean revolution taking place...However, it's a good thing that nothing major has changed, but I would have liked to see a fourth race or something a little more unique. Perhaps we will see more in the further expansions Blizzard has planned to put out. Nevertheless, Starcraft 2 is an amazing game, and for those RTS fans who are looking for a good game that all their friends can enjoy. I recommend spending the $60. Also, a word of advice for new players, you are most likely to get destroyed online with the amount of good players there are. However, I recommend just playing with friends for a while just to get a better feel for the game and you can kick ass with someone on your own level.
Starcraft 2- 9/10

Mac gaming and it's future

Recently a new trend of Mac gaming has come into effect. Not to long ago steam anounced a full line up of games now able to be played on macs. Apple computer has had some criticism in terms of game compatibility. However, major game developers such as EA and Blizzard have been part of mac gaming for a while now, bringing hit titles such as The Sims and World of Warcraft. By steam devoting a sector just for mac games is a huge step forward for gaming since steam is synonymous with pc gaming. I think that other game developers should take these companies as an example of how to reach a future goal with the increasing mac users.



Currently mac is trying to appeal to students with their student discounts, which tells us they main demographic is younger people. They know that by aiming for a younger demographic the consumer will be more comfortable with mac OS and therefore a lot more likely to keep purchasing apple products. Personally, I've grown up using pc's and have just recently changed. The reason I kept buying pc's is because it was the norm and I was comfortable using it because my dad (being a big computer buff) used one as well. So by appealing to this young demographic the younger generation can be mac savvy and using a mac will be the new norm. It's an excellent way to market a product since its a little to late to appeal to the slightly older generation who is already wired to windows.



This is crucial to the gaming industry because as more and more young people switch to mac the fewer and fewer customers will be purchasing those pc exclusive games. These game developers have to think of their future survival and must quickly adapt to the mac revolution in order to still be in business.

Switched From PC to Mac

I recently purchased the Macbook pro 2.4 13-inch model at my local mac store; and to honest I was pretty skeptical about mac since I've been bashing them as well as mac users for spending ridiculous amounts of money on something that simply looks nice. However, as a few years rolled by I began seeing more and more people with macbooks around school and couldn't help but ask some of them what their impressions are.


10/10 people I asked were completely satisfied with their purchase and as time went on I grew closer and closer to the idea of switching over to the dark side. Then 2 weeks ago, I got my mac with the student deal that includes the free 8gb ipod touch, a $100 off a printer (bought the $99.95 Canon MX320) and $100 off the macbook itself. They kind of sucked me in with the protection plan but it is $80 off with the student discount and it cost less than buying a new battery which i might need to replace anyways in the future. I'm 2 weeks in using my new macbook and I must say with all honesty..I love it.