Update Update Update.

Well alot has been going on recently. During this time, alot has happened in technology as well. First of all, I would like to report that my PS3 has been running for its 11th straight day, as apart of Folding@home. This is very impressive, considering the fact my XBOX 360 would have melted in that time span. Speaking of which, I recieved my XBOX 360 back from the repair centre, and was disappointed to see that I only recieved a refurbished unit that had a MFD of June, 2006. I was hoping for one between November-December 2006, since this date included the new DVD drive that is much quieter.
XBOX 360 Elite is set to come out on April 29th, nine days away. Unless you were lucky enough to snag one from the stores that broke release date. llama.com managed to buy a unit from a store and thouroughly examined its interior. Interesting no doubt, as it includes many new features that reduce the heat inside the box. However, it hasnt been stated wether this is a 65 nm or 90 nm chipset. Time will tell.
Finally, thoughts go out to the victimes of the Virgina Tech massacre.

Sony Ditches 20 GB PS3?

It appears Sony has ditched the 20 GB version of the PS3. Although people may say this was an unfaithful decision to the (few) people who own 20 GB models, it is actually a good move by Sony (one of few). The majority of PS3 owners bought the 60 GB version, the only people who bought the 20 where short on cash, or just wanted a PS3 for that Next Generation of entertainment that no other console offers (Sarcasm). Therefor, Sony can cut costs and maybe reduce the price of the 60GB model. Either way, I dont care. All I know is I will be getting my XBOX 360 Elite.

Windows Vista: Update

Well its been a few days since I've installed Vista. Initially, I was quite impressed with the operating system. However within a few days it has become slow, and freezes quite often. Interesting to note is that Im writing this post on an Apple iMac, and I must say it is light years ahead of Microsofts OS. Even if the price is higher, it is absolutley worth it.

Today In Video Games

There are a few stories I thought interesting that surfaced today. The first was the revealing of a few details pertaining to GTA IV. The characters name is Niko Bellic. Another exciting detail is the fact that the game will include multiplayer. Yes MULTIPLAYER!! Also, Rockstar has announced that the game will be extremely open-ended, giving the user the ability to chose their own path. For more information, go read this months issue of Game Informer, which contains a 10 page spread with exlusive details.





Also, information was released on Bungies next game Halo 3. The Beta version of the multiplayer will include 3 maps (Valhalla, High Ground and Snowbound) and will start May 16th and end June 6th. According to Bungie, the images will be much more developed than the screenshots already released earlier, and give a good indication of the graphics that will be released in Halo 3. I suppose only time will tell.



Thanks to Monstersandcritics.com for the GTA IV spread picture, and Trustedreviews.com for the Halo 3 Multiplayer Screenshot

HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray Update:

As pointed out by Michael, HD-DVD doesnt have the protective coating that Blu-Ray has, and 51 GB Triple layered HD-DVD disks arent in production yet, but are scheaduled to be soon..
Anyway.
Today top 25 sales data was released for Next Gen Formats.


As you can see, Blu-Ray has a sizeable amount of the top 25 Next Generation sales per title. However, it is still early times. As DVD is outselling both formats by more than 25:1 (Guesstimate).
So dont fret yet about that brand new collection of HD-DVD's you just bought, the format is not dead... (yet)

100 Million iPods - Wow.

Apple today announced it has hit the 100 million mark with its populary iPod portable MP3 player system. Apple currently has a monopoly on the market, holding over 75% of all Portable players globally.
Microsoft has made an attempt at catching Apple, introducing its Zune last year. However with a weak marketing campaign, it is struggling to make but a dent in the iPods lead.

Windows Vista Service Pack 1

Although Microsoft has pubicly announced that the first Service Pack for its next generation operating system doesn't exist, everyone is expecting it to appear soon. Many believe Microsoft will follow the path of Windows XP; releasing service packs in batches to cure any stability or bug issues. I have Windows Vista, and I find it to be an excellent operating system with huge potential. However as you can see in my earlier post, I have suffered some compatibility issues with drivers. My recommendation would be to wait until the first service pack is released for Vista. Hopefully by then the bugs and issues will be ironed out, and you can start enjoying the next generation of computing.

HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray

Like many people, I am still undecided which format to chose. Both formats are the next generation of video entertainment; a replacement for the ageing DVD format. However, all the parties involved were not available to agree on which format to use. So now, we are experiencing the 1980's all over again with another format war.

Having already reviewed the results of one video format war , you can take the events of what happened there and apply them to the current format war.

The things they have in common include;

Expanded Storage Space
Revolutionary video quality
Revolutionary audio quality

The Differences include;
Difference storage amounts;
Double Layer Blu-Ray= 50 GB
Triple Layer HD-DVD= 51 GB

Price;
HD-DVD disks and players are much cheaper to produce than Blu-Ray
Industry Support;
The majority of movie makers have chosen the Blu-Ray format over the HD-DVD format.


Another interesting note is to see that Blu-Ray is outselling HD-DVD by 2:1 in the United States
but HD-DVD is outselling Blu-Ray by as much as 4:1 in the United Kingdom.

Sony Computer Entertainment is using there next generation console, the Playstation 3, as a trojan horse to get their format (Blu-Ray) to be the dominant format. So far it appears to be working, as Blu-Ray overcame a sizable deficate.



However, Sonys PS3 is not selling near as well as its predecessor, the PS2. The Ps2 has sold 108 million units and continues to beat the PS3 and the XBOX 360 in sales, 7 years after its launch.
Could this be a high price tag, lack of interest, or the beginning of the end?

Who knows, but its sure to be an interesting fight between the industry heavyweights.

XBOX 360

Well sadly, I must report that my XBOX 360 died last night. I called up the Microsoft help support number (1800-4-My-XBOX) and they were amazed how long it lasted, since the console was manufactured Decemeber 2005. So now I am waiting on a box to send my baby back. I suppose I'll have to stick to my PS3 for now..

Windows Vista

I have heard quite a bit about Windows Vista ever since its much publisized launch in January. Much of it has been negative, however I decided I would try it out and see for myself. I purchased my 'Vista Capable' PC in December from Sony. The computer came with Windows Media Centre Edition, and to be frank it was slow and a horrible experience. Sony had promised to ship my copy of Windows Vista within 60 days. But with such a horrible experience that I had been enduring for 4 months, I bought Windows Vista Ultimate and hoped it would solve the woes my computer had.

Computer Specs;
Windows Media Centre Edition
Intel Pentium D Processor 3.20 GHz
2 Gig RAM
32-bit operating system
(For more information visit Sonys site and search for the VGC-RC310G)

As you can see, the much publicized 'Aero' display requires a 64-bit Processor, a requirement I didnt meet. Unfortunante news since I was looking forward to it.

The process was rather, and surprisingly, simple. I turned on my computer and waited for 10 minutes until the slow and sluggish 'last-gen' operating system started and insereted the Windows Vista Ultimate DVD. I ran the quick check included that makes sure your computer is ready, and started the installation. I selected the 'keep files' option, so I wouldnt lose all my files that I had accumalated. I would say the installation took a good hour or so to install. It was smooth sailing, and I had no problems. The computer restarted 3 times in the process, but I was informed via the manual that this is to be expected. I started the operating system for the first time and was hit with the first wave of Driver issues. I got around some of the program problems by right clicking the icon-> Properties->Compatibility Tab-> Run compatibility for XP SP2.
Currently I have all the functionalities of my old system back. The only issue that remains is a problem with Windows Media Player 11. For some reason it keeps revealing an error message that says the sound card isnt working, even though I can clearly hear the tunes of my myspace playing through.

Overall I have to say I am quite impressed with Microsofts new operating system. However, I do own an iMac and see there are alot of similiarties. Microsoft has made progress, however this progress is really just catching up the staggering pace Apple has set.