I'm not so sure. It seems like anyone in the USA with the cash on hand to get any of the three new systems certainly has access to HD programming. (I mention USA because I don't know anything about foreign HD adoption.)
I suppose there are people out there that just aren't very "visual," and to whom the extra resolution of HD doesn't mean much. But I think you guys are the minority. Watching sports and movies in HD is a treat. Hell, watching the weather report in HD is really nice.
(sidebar: for the record, $150 buys a Magnavox 20" flat screen tube with 480i and component in)
I guess I'm looking at it through my narrow point of view. In my area I can only get HD content through dish network and it's only 14 or so channels. With the battle between HD DVD and Blu Ray easily dragging through next year and stunting each others growth availability of HD content is an issue for me. It's a shame as LCD and plasma sets now are getting reasonable IMO.
Wii does fare pretty poorly when compared side-by-side to a PS3 or Xbox 360.
Did anyone catch the CoD3 trailer that compared the three systems?
No, do you have a link?
I'm debating getting a Wii (I already have an XBOX 360, and my mom owes me a PS3), but I'd really only get it for Zelda and a future Mario Kart, unless some other killer game comes out for it. Since I can just get Zelda for the GameCube, I might just pass it up entirely.
Funny, I thought there was a lot of sentiment and excitement about Mario Kart and Zelda and the Wii. Seems like maybe things have turned since the Wii and PS3 launch, or everyone's still "drawing the battle lines" at this stage.
3. Recording. Tivo does not support HDTV. Since on-demand is not really widely available, one has to record shows. But same problem as no. 2 above (WTF is the episode and season and stuff and what if I want to watch older seasons to catch up??) and HDTV hard disk recorders are really only now coming onto the market.
It may say "supports 480i and component in" but I seriously doubt if the actual TV has more than 400 lines. IMO. -- I guess one would have to check the specs and see the picture quality in person... Just my scepticism with CRT StandardDef TVs.
In central Florida, which is NOT the coolest place in the USA, the local cable provider will provide you an HDTV DVR box and service for like $6/month. Screw TiVo.
In 2001 I bought a 24" Toshiba FST Pure CRT TV for something along the lines of US$480. I remember specifically that it featured 700 lines resolution, and that the 20" version had 600 lines. The 20" version is now available for under US$200, so it's highly likely that the TV I mentioned above has 480 lines.
The US$ is a little weak right now, but I think it's still "stronger" than the AU$ (not really sure how it compares to actual purchasing power). Don't forget that when reading my numbers!
Anyway, I'm not trying to say you're a fool for wanting the EyeTV. We've now established that the 480i S-video it provides is no worse that what you'll get from a cheap TV. I'm just saying that I'd rather spend the same amount of money and get a 20" Tube. I live alone in an 1000 sq ft condo (err, 93 sq meters) -- it's not like I am space constrained.
In central Florida, which is NOT the coolest place in the USA, the local cable provider will provide you an HDTV DVR box and service for like $6/month. Screw TiVo.
In 2001 I bought a 24" Toshiba FST Pure CRT TV for something along the lines of US$480. I remember specifically that it featured 700 lines resolution, and that the 20" version had 600 lines. The 20" version is now available for under US$200, so it's highly likely that the TV I mentioned above has 480 lines.
The US$ is a little weak right now, but I think it's still "stronger" than the AU$ (not really sure how it compares to actual purchasing power). Don't forget that when reading my numbers!
Anyway, I'm not trying to say you're a fool for wanting the EyeTV. We've now established that the 480i S-video it provides is no worse that what you'll get from a cheap TV. I'm just saying that I'd rather spend the same amount of money and get a 20" Tube. I live alone in an 1000 sq ft condo (err, 93 sq meters) -- it's not like I am space constrained.
Cool. 8) ...HDTV DVR is nice. 1 USD buys about 1.25 AUD. So purchasing power though is about take the 1 USD and multiply it by 1.40 AUD -- or in other words your $480 700lines TV would be $675 AUD.
Apple products, purchasing power is like 1.5 AUD for 1.0 USD. We get *reamed* with Mac products down here, though the appreciating AUD and cheaper Apple stuff in general, very gradually over the past 5 years, has made Mac+iPod much much more significant in the mind of Australians.
Cool. 8) ...HDTV DVR is nice. 1 USD buys about 1.25 AUD. So purchasing power though is about take the 1 USD and multiply it by 1.40 AUD -- or in other words your $480 700lines TV would be $675 AUD.
Apple products, purchasing power is like 1.5 AUD for 1.0 USD. We get *reamed* with Mac products down here, though the appreciating AUD and cheaper Apple stuff in general, very gradually over the past 5 years, has made Mac+iPod much much more significant in the mind of Australians.
I spent a semester is Australia back in the late 90's, when the exchange rate was as high as AU$2 / US$1. Needless to say, I had a good time.
...back in the late 90's...Needless to say, I had a good time.
Good stuff. The iPod wasn't invented yet!! ...Anyway yeah currency was 2:1 around 2001-2002, but since the end of 2002 it has gone upwards. I was working SF Bay Area mid-2000 to end-2002. My initial internship visa expired end of Dec 2001. So I had to leave the country while they sorted out the work visa and I had to get clearance from the US embassy in Australia, waiting 3 weeks or so before I could go back to the US. This is like 3 months after Sep 11. Scary shite. IT workers that had to renew their visas by leaving the US and then re-entering a few weeks later, were getting laid off when they were out of the country. Slimy, but that was what was going on. There were one or two major forums for people in my situation, and the unluckier ones that were promised they would still have their job when they came back (they were still technically employed but on paid/unpaid vacation)... they got shafted badly.
But yeah the currency was still roughly 2:1, and I was earning $60k US and in Australia I worked remotely (just through dial-up!). So for a few weeks while waiting to go back to the US I was earning the equivalent of $120k AUD. Craaaazy. That's the dot-com boom for ya..... But I am proud of my tenacity and passion that got me that first job in SF.
I pulled out of the US at the end of 2002 when they started talking about the war on Iraq and they were arresting even white-collar workers for minor visa violations (some Pakistani, Indian, Indonesian people). The company was disappointed because they spent about $5000 on some useless lawyers for the work visa, which I only used 1 out of the 5 years. But yeah, I exchanged all my US savings ($10k) to AUD, when 55c US bought 1 AUD. This was the start of 2003. I lucked out. Just one year later and more, it broke through previous ceilings of 70c and 80c.
Well, what's a post from me if it ain't got some details of my life To cap off, worked in Australia 2003 ($50k per year) then flamed out in 2004. Well, short work history in some ways, but anyway, there it be....................
Money and pay is always good, but man, juggling work and passion and hobby and sex and life and friends and stuff and family and vacations and visas, boy, it was intense.
The weirdest thing was, as I started earning my own cash, I realised how the more money you have and the better "established" and experienced at work you are, that is a positive feedback loop - you learn more about money, make some more money, more experience at work, you get more opportunities for work, and so on. A "fact of life" I did not expect to see so clearly in my early-20s.
I guess education and degrees are important but not when they're so isolated from internships and real work experience... However, I *did* choose to do Science at uni/college which is biased towards pre-Medicine and a start of a research/ academic career. Never thought that a few years out of Science I'd be talking about project management and corporate colours and clients and getting pissed off at my manager for blowing the budget allocated to our department... and all that office stuff well represented by, well, that Office TV show. So painful to watch yet so funny and true, even if absurdist at times. Heh. *sigh* ...But, rhythm and cycles, as a friend once told me. With age comes "wisdom" in knowing the waves and understanding them. Life, it is a many splendoured thing but holds many surprises. Some devastating ones. But many surprises indeed. Not what I expected.
Yeah, rhythm and cycles. Sometimes I get a bit angry that things didn't work out how it "should". But at this stage I'm like, what "should" it be? The definition would be sooo wide, with soo many options in the world and soo much going on. I'm more confused than bitter at this stage, with a dash of anger, but again, more confused (questioning?) than angry.
Nonetheless, Steve's a good example, spending years in the "valley wilderness" before his tentative but eventually triumphant return to Apple. I'm probably sounding like a zealot (hey in StarCraft the Protoss Zealots were good units to use... damn, that was a great RTS...) but tells ya what, iTunes Store and Intel Transition, that goes waaay beyond pure RDF skillz. Way beyond. Apple is almost, if not already, a little "media empire" on its own... And on the brink of this "convergence" thing that has been talked about for what, 10 years now...? And Apple still makes professional-grade hardware for hardcore creative, scientific, server and business applications. Ah, I'm in a reflective mood today 8)
</Off topic ramblings>
..................................
In Australia just yesterday the Wii was launched. At KMart and Target the main box they are selling is $399 AUD for the Wii, wireless remote, nunchuck, and "Wii sports" games and adapters (like a golf stick or tennis racket little thingy you attach to the wireless remote. Also for $80 AUD you can buy something like NeedForSpeed: Carbon with a steering wheel adapter thingy for the wireless remote.
For frack's sake though I have not fracking seen a single Wii or Xbox360 active demo model yet, besides the "Xbox360 car" that was parked in a side lane in the city (Melbourne - Prahan area). I'm living in the outer suburbs at the moment so maybe there's more major Wii launches going on in the city itself, but, meh.
Pretty lame article and picture about the Wii launch in Australia:
"According to Nintendo, the largest of last night's launches was held at EB Games' Chadstone store in Melbourne, featuring "dress up competitions, Wii tennis tournaments, prizes and giveaways"."
Yeah, I guess the fanbois and fangirlz would be around, maybe I just missed the whole thing. EB Games is the major gaming shop around here, but again, they sell Xbox360 and a lot of their branches (all that I have visited, 3-5 of them) don't even have a demo running. I wonder how many would have a Wii demo. And forget about PC demos........ Last I checked they only had a PS2 demo unit hooked up to a TV for most of the stores. W.T.FRACK. In this city, there is no place where PS2, Xbox, Wii, Xbox360 units are all demo'ed so one can test all of it out - be it EB Games, KMart, Target, whatever. And PS3 is not launching till next year, AFAIK. How am I supposed to buy a console if I can't compare what it looks/ feels/ plays like? Maybe I just I don't *get* console gaming.
I certainly like retro gaming, but I don't need to get a Wii to play yesterday's games.
Well, I think the consoles we have now are more powerful than we'd ever need. If you think back to when people had the SNES, people were happy playing it so why don't they just keep making SNES games?[/sarcasm]
You are of course 100% correct, why would you pay today's prices for yesterday's hardware other than for gimmicky designs that will not stand the test of time?
I would agree that PC gaming is dying quickly. Nowadays when even high end games like Crysis come out, people are all asking when it will be on the PS3 or XBox360. It simply doesn't make sense to pay for a fast GPU to put in your home computer when you can buy a console for the same price and get a better gameplay experience.
But the Wii will certainly not be the one to kill PC gaming by a long shot.
Well, I think the consoles we have now are more powerful than we'd ever need. If you think back to when people had the SNES, people were happy playing it so why don't they just keep making SNES games?[/sarcasm]
While it was written a year ago, I think the point I was making is that there are emulators that can run old games on your mac or PC.
I don't see how Mario Kart Wii can live up to the huge expectations everyone has, but here's hoping.
I hope Nintendo has arranged to press a lot of those discs though. They will be needed.
Maybe if it's as good of a workout as real go karting is. Seriously: there's a high-speed go-kart place nearby, and about once a quarter a bunch of us get together to rent the track out for an hour. It takes a week to recover! F1 drivers have got to be some of the best endurance athletes on the planet.
Why can't MacBooks sense other Macs through Bonjour and allow game playing? Who needs access to somebody's iTunes playlist when you can be sinking their Battleship?
Every MacBook should come with Bonjour-enabled versions of Scrabble and Battleship.
Those are well-known family games that require each player have their own screen, and shouldn't be hard to program.
That's a cool idea, especially when things like the Nintendo DS already do something like that (but then my family plays a lot of Scrabble and card games along with everything else). Poker, Monopoly, etc. That would be fun, especially if you could do it over the net as well... then I could play a game with my son when I'm off on a shoot somewhere and he's back home. Video conferencing is great, but playing a game of Yahtzee or Checkers with him (he's 8) would be even better along with it. If I could tear him away from his Wii, of course.
Comments
I'm not so sure. It seems like anyone in the USA with the cash on hand to get any of the three new systems certainly has access to HD programming. (I mention USA because I don't know anything about foreign HD adoption.)
I suppose there are people out there that just aren't very "visual," and to whom the extra resolution of HD doesn't mean much. But I think you guys are the minority. Watching sports and movies in HD is a treat. Hell, watching the weather report in HD is really nice.
(sidebar: for the record, $150 buys a Magnavox 20" flat screen tube with 480i and component in)
I guess I'm looking at it through my narrow point of view. In my area I can only get HD content through dish network and it's only 14 or so channels. With the battle between HD DVD and Blu Ray easily dragging through next year and stunting each others growth availability of HD content is an issue for me. It's a shame as LCD and plasma sets now are getting reasonable IMO.
Did anyone catch the CoD3 trailer that compared the three systems?
Wii does fare pretty poorly when compared side-by-side to a PS3 or Xbox 360.
Did anyone catch the CoD3 trailer that compared the three systems?
No, do you have a link?
I'm debating getting a Wii (I already have an XBOX 360, and my mom owes me a PS3), but I'd really only get it for Zelda and a future Mario Kart, unless some other killer game comes out for it. Since I can just get Zelda for the GameCube, I might just pass it up entirely.
Wii does fare pretty poorly when compared side-by-side to a PS3 or Xbox 360.
...Did anyone catch the CoD3 trailer that compared the three systems?
Anyone have a trailer of CoD3 on a Core2Duo 2gb RAM nVidia 7900GT?
That game plays best with a computer keyboard and a 5-million button mouse anyhow.
No, do you have a link?
No, sorry. It was probably on IGN though.
3. Recording. Tivo does not support HDTV. Since on-demand is not really widely available, one has to record shows. But same problem as no. 2 above (WTF is the episode and season and stuff and what if I want to watch older seasons to catch up??) and HDTV hard disk recorders are really only now coming onto the market.
It may say "supports 480i and component in" but I seriously doubt if the actual TV has more than 400 lines. IMO.
In central Florida, which is NOT the coolest place in the USA, the local cable provider will provide you an HDTV DVR box and service for like $6/month. Screw TiVo.
In 2001 I bought a 24" Toshiba FST Pure CRT TV for something along the lines of US$480. I remember specifically that it featured 700 lines resolution, and that the 20" version had 600 lines. The 20" version is now available for under US$200, so it's highly likely that the TV I mentioned above has 480 lines.
The US$ is a little weak right now, but I think it's still "stronger" than the AU$ (not really sure how it compares to actual purchasing power). Don't forget that when reading my numbers!
Anyway, I'm not trying to say you're a fool for wanting the EyeTV. We've now established that the 480i S-video it provides is no worse that what you'll get from a cheap TV. I'm just saying that I'd rather spend the same amount of money and get a 20" Tube. I live alone in an 1000 sq ft condo (err, 93 sq meters) -- it's not like I am space constrained.
In central Florida, which is NOT the coolest place in the USA, the local cable provider will provide you an HDTV DVR box and service for like $6/month. Screw TiVo.
In 2001 I bought a 24" Toshiba FST Pure CRT TV for something along the lines of US$480. I remember specifically that it featured 700 lines resolution, and that the 20" version had 600 lines. The 20" version is now available for under US$200, so it's highly likely that the TV I mentioned above has 480 lines.
The US$ is a little weak right now, but I think it's still "stronger" than the AU$ (not really sure how it compares to actual purchasing power). Don't forget that when reading my numbers!
Anyway, I'm not trying to say you're a fool for wanting the EyeTV. We've now established that the 480i S-video it provides is no worse that what you'll get from a cheap TV. I'm just saying that I'd rather spend the same amount of money and get a 20" Tube. I live alone in an 1000 sq ft condo (err, 93 sq meters) -- it's not like I am space constrained.
Cool. 8) ...HDTV DVR is nice. 1 USD buys about 1.25 AUD. So purchasing power though is about take the 1 USD and multiply it by 1.40 AUD -- or in other words your $480 700lines TV would be $675 AUD.
Apple products, purchasing power is like 1.5 AUD for 1.0 USD. We get *reamed* with Mac products down here, though the appreciating AUD and cheaper Apple stuff in general, very gradually over the past 5 years, has made Mac+iPod much much more significant in the mind of Australians.
Cool. 8) ...HDTV DVR is nice. 1 USD buys about 1.25 AUD. So purchasing power though is about take the 1 USD and multiply it by 1.40 AUD -- or in other words your $480 700lines TV would be $675 AUD.
Apple products, purchasing power is like 1.5 AUD for 1.0 USD. We get *reamed* with Mac products down here, though the appreciating AUD and cheaper Apple stuff in general, very gradually over the past 5 years, has made Mac+iPod much much more significant in the mind of Australians.
I spent a semester is Australia back in the late 90's, when the exchange rate was as high as AU$2 / US$1. Needless to say, I had a good time.
...back in the late 90's...Needless to say, I had a good time.
Good stuff. The iPod wasn't invented yet!! ...Anyway yeah currency was 2:1 around 2001-2002, but since the end of 2002 it has gone upwards. I was working SF Bay Area mid-2000 to end-2002. My initial internship visa expired end of Dec 2001. So I had to leave the country while they sorted out the work visa and I had to get clearance from the US embassy in Australia, waiting 3 weeks or so before I could go back to the US. This is like 3 months after Sep 11. Scary shite. IT workers that had to renew their visas by leaving the US and then re-entering a few weeks later, were getting laid off when they were out of the country. Slimy, but that was what was going on. There were one or two major forums for people in my situation, and the unluckier ones that were promised they would still have their job when they came back (they were still technically employed but on paid/unpaid vacation)... they got shafted badly.
But yeah the currency was still roughly 2:1, and I was earning $60k US and in Australia I worked remotely (just through dial-up!). So for a few weeks while waiting to go back to the US I was earning the equivalent of $120k AUD. Craaaazy. That's the dot-com boom for ya..... But I am proud of my tenacity and passion that got me that first job in SF.
I pulled out of the US at the end of 2002 when they started talking about the war on Iraq and they were arresting even white-collar workers for minor visa violations (some Pakistani, Indian, Indonesian people). The company was disappointed because they spent about $5000 on some useless lawyers for the work visa, which I only used 1 out of the 5 years. But yeah, I exchanged all my US savings ($10k) to AUD, when 55c US bought 1 AUD. This was the start of 2003. I lucked out. Just one year later and more, it broke through previous ceilings of 70c and 80c.
Well, what's a post from me if it ain't got some details of my life
The weirdest thing was, as I started earning my own cash, I realised how the more money you have and the better "established" and experienced at work you are, that is a positive feedback loop - you learn more about money, make some more money, more experience at work, you get more opportunities for work, and so on. A "fact of life" I did not expect to see so clearly in my early-20s.
I guess education and degrees are important but not when they're so isolated from internships and real work experience... However, I *did* choose to do Science at uni/college which is biased towards pre-Medicine and a start of a research/ academic career. Never thought that a few years out of Science I'd be talking about project management and corporate colours and clients and getting pissed off at my manager for blowing the budget allocated to our department... and all that office stuff well represented by, well, that Office TV show. So painful to watch yet so funny and true, even if absurdist at times. Heh. *sigh* ...But, rhythm and cycles, as a friend once told me. With age comes "wisdom" in knowing the waves and understanding them. Life, it is a many splendoured thing but holds many surprises. Some devastating ones. But many surprises indeed. Not what I expected.
Nonetheless, Steve's a good example, spending years in the "valley wilderness" before his tentative but eventually triumphant return to Apple. I'm probably sounding like a zealot (hey in StarCraft the Protoss Zealots were good units to use... damn, that was a great RTS...) but tells ya what, iTunes Store and Intel Transition, that goes waaay beyond pure RDF skillz. Way beyond. Apple is almost, if not already, a little "media empire" on its own... And on the brink of this "convergence" thing that has been talked about for what, 10 years now...? And Apple still makes professional-grade hardware for hardcore creative, scientific, server and business applications. Ah, I'm in a reflective mood today 8)
</Off topic ramblings>
..................................
In Australia just yesterday the Wii was launched. At KMart and Target the main box they are selling is $399 AUD for the Wii, wireless remote, nunchuck, and "Wii sports" games and adapters (like a golf stick or tennis racket little thingy you attach to the wireless remote. Also for $80 AUD you can buy something like NeedForSpeed: Carbon with a steering wheel adapter thingy for the wireless remote.
For frack's sake though I have not fracking seen a single Wii or Xbox360 active demo model yet, besides the "Xbox360 car" that was parked in a side lane in the city (Melbourne - Prahan area). I'm living in the outer suburbs at the moment so maybe there's more major Wii launches going on in the city itself, but, meh.
Pretty lame article and picture about the Wii launch in Australia:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/games/the...081028998.html
"According to Nintendo, the largest of last night's launches was held at EB Games' Chadstone store in Melbourne, featuring "dress up competitions, Wii tennis tournaments, prizes and giveaways"."
Yeah, I guess the fanbois and fangirlz would be around, maybe I just missed the whole thing. EB Games is the major gaming shop around here, but again, they sell Xbox360 and a lot of their branches (all that I have visited, 3-5 of them) don't even have a demo running. I wonder how many would have a Wii demo. And forget about PC demos........ Last I checked they only had a PS2 demo unit hooked up to a TV for most of the stores. W.T.FRACK. In this city, there is no place where PS2, Xbox, Wii, Xbox360 units are all demo'ed so one can test all of it out - be it EB Games, KMart, Target, whatever. And PS3 is not launching till next year, AFAIK. How am I supposed to buy a console if I can't compare what it looks/ feels/ plays like? Maybe I just I don't *get* console gaming.
I certainly like retro gaming, but I don't need to get a Wii to play yesterday's games.
Well, I think the consoles we have now are more powerful than we'd ever need. If you think back to when people had the SNES, people were happy playing it so why don't they just keep making SNES games?[/sarcasm]
You are of course 100% correct, why would you pay today's prices for yesterday's hardware other than for gimmicky designs that will not stand the test of time?
I would agree that PC gaming is dying quickly. Nowadays when even high end games like Crysis come out, people are all asking when it will be on the PS3 or XBox360. It simply doesn't make sense to pay for a fast GPU to put in your home computer when you can buy a console for the same price and get a better gameplay experience.
But the Wii will certainly not be the one to kill PC gaming by a long shot.
Well, I think the consoles we have now are more powerful than we'd ever need. If you think back to when people had the SNES, people were happy playing it so why don't they just keep making SNES games?[/sarcasm]
While it was written a year ago, I think the point I was making is that there are emulators that can run old games on your mac or PC.
1. Screw PS3...
Wait.. no.
I hope Nintendo has arranged to press a lot of those discs though. They will be needed.
---
With regards to Mac gaming, I firmly believe Scrabble is the killer app.
Why can't MacBooks sense other Macs through Bonjour and allow game playing?
Who needs access to somebody's iTunes playlist when you can be sinking their Battleship?
Every MacBook should come with Bonjour-enabled versions of Scrabble and Battleship.
Those are well-known family games that require each player have their own screen, and shouldn't be hard to program.
I don't see how Mario Kart Wii can live up to the huge expectations everyone has, but here's hoping.
I hope Nintendo has arranged to press a lot of those discs though. They will be needed.
Maybe if it's as good of a workout as real go karting is. Seriously: there's a high-speed go-kart place nearby, and about once a quarter a bunch of us get together to rent the track out for an hour. It takes a week to recover! F1 drivers have got to be some of the best endurance athletes on the planet.
Why can't MacBooks sense other Macs through Bonjour and allow game playing? Who needs access to somebody's iTunes playlist when you can be sinking their Battleship?
Every MacBook should come with Bonjour-enabled versions of Scrabble and Battleship.
Those are well-known family games that require each player have their own screen, and shouldn't be hard to program.
That's a cool idea, especially when things like the Nintendo DS already do something like that (but then my family plays a lot of Scrabble and card games along with everything else). Poker, Monopoly, etc. That would be fun, especially if you could do it over the net as well... then I could play a game with my son when I'm off on a shoot somewhere and he's back home. Video conferencing is great, but playing a game of Yahtzee or Checkers with him (he's 8) would be even better along with it. If I could tear him away from his Wii, of course.