tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44795134121606576582024-03-04T21:31:20.875-08:00Unlockment AchievedSometimes I wonder how come and I'm still alive... It must be a coincidence or some alien race sent me to earth. Maybe both...Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.comBlogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-33460930417862018862014-08-29T03:24:00.001-07:002014-08-29T03:24:33.607-07:00My grandma lives... in Google Street View!<p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjunlevs3q2Q3JUkWavrREAbE2h-RShFqYJ9qZqUduZXhMH8yHQYy7ZN9X7kJJDGe_6MZ6SbtKnJZoCRVNsRwt11wY_DxoiTJ-HCLFUkJj3b7YDTu0xjCRvjt5hLKinrBx2GNXBnWUdd_G3/" style="width: 519px; height: 389px;"></p><p><i>This</i><i>is the english version of the previous post that I wrote in Greek, It was an exception but I don't want my international friends to miss out on the story. So, here's the english version.</i></p><a name='more'></a><p><br></p>There weren't many days since I came to my mother's paternal house. Maybe it was the pressure from the army, maybe the heat that was at its brink now that the August is ending, some days off were imperatory. What better place for that than my grandma's backyard? It's been three years exactly since she passed away - time flies like that - and despite my mom having the place completely renovated, her remembrance has hardly left.<p><br></p><p>One of these carefree mornings, being spent on small talk with my mom, while finishing off some soft ice cream, she proposed that I should look on Google for my grandma. Her request was weird, but it was because a neighbor saw my grandma walking on Google Street View. I knew instantly that it was more of a need than mere quriosity. I tried to access the service with my smartphone, while finding a way not to deplete my remaining program. Then, I decided to do it with a more capable device and connection.</p><p><br></p><p>After a busy afternoon and after a new reminder from my mom, I installed the Google Earth app on my iPad at my cousin's Wi-Fi. I typed the name of the road grandma's house was in and did a little walk in the virtual version of the neighborhood. Without realising it at first, I stumbled to a familiar figure.</p><p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi3SqnfCjd0KnfTUB7CVP1oPLwyzQQrhWiEjgtLBra4fkEaiKCmCLyFh9QdiXYK4SfpQMPfGY6J3dRg_PeQktQNxr2u7ifXd2XrBsvO4BGFfk1wczH0P8QR5nwjUfYvG-5jxh9aFvb1WoM/" style="width: 474px; height: 355px;"><br></p><p><br></p><p>It was my grandma, there was no mistake. It was Grandma Tassia, a widow to a sailor who got lost in the Bermudha Triangle. The death and hardships of her life were deeply carved into her face and mind. She was standing there, with her cane and the green checkered robe, close to a nearby garbage bin. She was probably out to throw garbage away the moment Google Street View's camera was out and about. Her face was blurred due to Google's Privacy Policy, but there was no doubt it was her. She was standing, looking puzzled by the peculiar contruption on top of Google's car, without realising that she has been snapped. Likewise, she didn't know death would find her some months later.</p><p><br></p><p>I shivered. My brother and my cousin bursted into awkward laughs. I was too petrified to show any other emotion than the one of pure surprise. I immediately saved the screenshots as if it was an instict, I tried to see if there are other angles that show her clearly. I found 2 or 3 that showed her but they were distant. The transition animation clearly had her walking across the road though. I wanted to see more, but alas. Google had no more space for her, so I settled with two clear photos.</p><p><br></p><p>I ran to my mom, even if it was already pretty late and she was about to sleep. It was like I uncovered some ancient tomb. Thankfully, she was awake. Maybe she was anticipating the outcome since she was the one who reminded me to do the research. She sat on the bed. "look" I whispered and I gave her the iPad. She took her glasses and looked. "Yes. It's her indeed. I recognise her. I know the cane and the robe too...) I scrolled into the second photo. "Oh mother" she whispered and her voice was trembling. "Can you please zoom in a bit? I can't get enough looking at her". I zoomed in with my fingers without a second thought. "Please save them". She was hardly holding her tears back. "They're saved already" I assured her. "I will send them to your e-mail so you'll have them too, OK?". She moved her head in affirmation. I kissed her in the cheek and she went to sleep. I took the slate and went back to my cousin's balcony and Wi-Fi. </p><p><br></p><p>The rest of the night was spent into small talk and funny stuff on the internet. But the summary hasn't changed. My grandma lives... On Google Earth. Standing, with her cane and robe, taking out the trash. Immortalized. It's probably the most recent photo of her and the last of her standing. There until Google renews their Street View photos and deletes her. You see, time works the same way with people's memory. It's the duration that changes.</p><br>Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-10351336999244078032014-08-28T05:20:00.001-07:002014-08-28T05:21:50.677-07:00Η γιαγιά μου ζεί... Στο Google Street View!<p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMBrZeUgnUb2yyBFzsgzdncMPBhIZAA-AIIpgdoXiWuercjfbNvxjOBbc3iF5yd7wI76TiF86yd8QQftTveeAetz8uXQaX23zh3u9CiyU3MDklQg40lTj-7qAJnAPeCvi0-s5cINg9J8r-/" style="width: 541px; height: 361px;"></p><a name="more"></a><p><br></p><p>Δεν είναι πολλές ημέρες που έχω έρθει στο πατρικό σπίτι της μητέρας μου για διακοπές. Λίγο η στρατιωτική θητεία, λίγο η ζέστη, επέβαλλαν μια ολιγοήμερη άδεια. Τι καλύτερο λοιπόν απο την αυλή της γιαγιάς; Ακόμα και αν αυτή μας άφησε πριν τρία χρόνια ακριβώς -πώς περνάει έτσι ο χρόνος θεέ μου- και η μητέρα μου έχει κάνει μια ολική ανακαίνιση του σπιτιού, η μνήμη της δεν λέει να φύγει απο εκεί. </p><p><br></p><p>Ένα ανέμελο πρωινό, μιλώντας με την μαμά μου περί ανέμων και υδάτων στην αυλή, ξύνοντας τα τελευταία απομεινάρια παγωτού απο το πιατάκι, μου προτείνει να κοιτάξουμε "στον γκούγκλ" γιατί ένα γειτονόπουλο - δίμετρος άντρας πια - "είδε την κυρά Τασία στις φωτογραφίες του δρόμου". Ήξερα εξ' αρχής οτι ήταν περισσότερο ανάγκη, παρα περιέργεια. Έβγαλα το τηλέφωνο και άρχισα να ψάχνω τρόπους να μπώ στο Street View, χωρίς να χαλάσω όλα μου τα Megabytes. Εν τέλει, αποφάσισα να το αφήσω για μια πιο ικανή συσκευή και σύνδεση.</p><p><br></p><p>Μετά απο ένα αρκετά γεμάτο απόγευμα και με νέα υπενθύμιση της μάνας μου, εγκατέστησα την εφαρμογή Google Earth στο iPad απο το Wi-Fi της ξαδέρφης μου, και έβαλα το όνομα της οδού. Έκανα μιά περιπλάνηση στην ψηφιακή εκδοχή της γειτονιάς και χωρίς να το καταλάβω καλά-καλά, έπεσα πάνω σε μια γνώριμη φιγούρα.</p><p><br></p><p>Ήταν η γιαγιά μου, αναμφίβολα. Η Κυρά Τασία, η χήρα ναυτικού που χάθηκε στο Τρίγωνο των Βερμούδων. Που το θανατικό και οι δυσκολίες που έζησε, χάραξαν βαθιά το πρόσωπό της και το μυαλό της. Έστεκε εκεί. Με το μπαστουνάκι της, το πράσινο καρό ρομπάκι της, κοντά σε εναν κοντινό στο σπίτι της κάδο. Μάλλον θα είχε βγεί να πετάξει σκουπίδια την στιγμή που πέρασε η κάμερα του Street View. Το πρόσωπό της ήταν θολωμένο λόγω της Πολιτικής Προστασίας Προσωπικών Δεδομένων της Google, αλλά δεν υπρήρχε αμφιβολία οτι ήταν εκείνη. Είχε κοντοσταθεί, κοιτώντας απορρημένη το αλλόκοτο μαραφέτι που έστεκε πάνω απο το αμάξι της Google, πιθανών χωρίς να ξέρει οτι εκείνη την στιγμή την απαθανάτιζε, όπως δεν ήθερε οτι ο θάνατος θα την έβρισκε μήνες μετά.</p><p><br></p><p>Άνατρίχιασα. Ο αδερφός μου και η ξαδέρφη μου ξέσπασαν σε γέλια αμηχανίας. Εγώ παραήμουν αποσβολωμένος για να δείξω οποιοδήποτε άλλο συναίσθημα πέραν της έκπληξης. Το μόνο που έκανα εντικτωδώς είναι να σώσω το στιγμιότυπο οθόνης και να προσπαθήσω να δω αν την έχουν βγάλει σε άλλες γωνίες . Βρήκα άλλες 2-3 αλλά ήταν μακρινές. Όμως, το animation μετάβασης του street view την έδιξε να περπατάει απο την μια πλευρά του δρόμου στην άλλη. Ήθελα να δω παραπάνω. Διστυχώς το Google δεν είχε παραπάνω χώρο γι αυτή οπότε έμεινα με δύο καθαρές φωτογραφίες.</p><p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwtDt883qKs3a4HeO5jn816HaG0RKxx107Q8WslfMP1R8ISVQSruTN4r6jOrSiPAZKtDeUVg6ZwtGTJ7Hr6BX4LhrZMwMc-HJAJjh1KqxqL_R8dqsDpLfcNpU-r3rxtOJpIKdQH4psEzH/" style="width: 539px; height: 404px;"><br></p><p><br></p><p>Έτρεξα στην μάνα μου κι ας ήταν αργά. Είχε ξαπλώσει. Ήταν σαν να είχα ανακαλύψει έναν ηλεκτρονικό τάφο Αμφίπολης. Ήταν ξύπνια. Ίσως να ανέμενε κιόλας για τα αποτελέσματα μιας που εκείνη μου είχε θυμίσει να κάνω αυτή την έρευνα. Ανακάθισε στο κρεβάτι. "Κοίτα" της ψυθίρισα και της έδωσα το ipad. Πήρε τα γυαλιά της και κοίταξε. "Ναι, αυτή είναι. Χωρίς αμφοβολία. Την γνωρίζω. Και η ρόμπα και το μπαστούνι...". Της έδειξα και την δεύτερη φωτογραφία που ήταν λίγο πιο καθαρή. "Ά ρε μάνα" είπε. Διέκρινα την φωνή της να σπάζει. "Μεγένθυνε τες λίγο. Δεν την χορταίνω". Χωρίς δεύτερη σκέψη μεγάλωσα την εικόνα με τα δάχτυλα. "Να τις σώσεις να τις έχουμε". Τα δάκρυά της μόλις που τα κρατούσε. "Είναι σωσμένες" την διαβεβαίωσα. "Θα στις στείλω στο mail σου να τις έχεις". Κούνησε το κεφάλι της καταφατικά. Της έδωσα ένα φιλί. Ξάπλωσε πάλι κι εγώ πήρα το μηχάνημα και γύρισα στο μπαλκόνι και το Wi-Fi της ξαδέρφης. </p><p><br></p><p>Η συζήτηση έπειτα πέρασε απο το ένα πράγμα στο άλλο. Χαζέψαμε πράγματα άσχετα στο internet, όμως το ρεζουμέ της βραδιάς δεν άλλαξε πολύ. Η γιαγιά μου ζεί... Στο Google Street View. Όρθια, με το μπαστουνάκι και την ρομπίτσα της, πετάει τα σκουπίδια σε έναν κάδο στην γειτονιά. Απαθανατισμένη. Ίσως να είναι η πιο πρόσφατη φωτογραφία της και η τελευταία στην οποία είναι όρθια. Θα είναι εκεί μέχρι το Google να ανανεώσει τις φωτογραφίες και την σβήσει. Βλέπετε, ο χρόνος λειτουργεί κάπως έτσι και με τις μνήμες των ανθρώπων. Μόνο η διάρκεια αλλάζει. </p><p><br></p><p></p><br><br><br>Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-84216032697082868942013-07-26T16:52:00.001-07:002013-07-26T16:52:33.472-07:00Public issue: An open letter to Russians, everywhere. <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://allahbepraisedlettheglassberaised.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/an-anti-gay-rights-activist-shows-a-badge-during-a-flash-mob-organized-by-gay-rights-protesters-in-st-petersburg-russia-on-may.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://allahbepraisedlettheglassberaised.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/an-anti-gay-rights-activist-shows-a-badge-during-a-flash-mob-organized-by-gay-rights-protesters-in-st-petersburg-russia-on-may.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Anti Russian? Yes some people called me that. But there's no Anti Russians like Russians themselves that let shit going bad in Russia with homosexual people being beaten and teenagers being tricked, tortured and humiliated. You know, that human rights violation happening right there? It's between Russians. Putin is making his way for being a fucking <u>MONARCH</u> through this, and here's how.<br />
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Having any human rights omitted constitutionally, it opens the gates for threatening and obliterating any people/ideas/art that can work against somebody in power and his ideology (or his fucking regime). Puttin now is doing it using to a very vulnerable, in terms of acceptance, part of society who only recently started to gain any sort of rights, even if they existed forever: The homosexual people.<br />
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So, to put it simply, if you are whoever person in Russia, opposed to Putin's ideals and your neighbor is a fanatic Putin bigot, he/she can easily go to the police or those "groups" that torture and humiliate homosexual teenagers and say "Mister X is a fucking fag. So queer, he wants his balls hard-boiled" or, better yet, "Mister X's son is a teenager that's prone on riding sticks".<br />
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There's no other thing they'll question because, let's face it; That amount of hate never lets any space for rational thinking. Nobody would ask you if you have a girlfriend or if you even are gay or not. They'll punish you and any member of your family they target. Even if you have a girlfriend/wife, nobody will guarantee your safety because nobody is sure if you've never been with a same-sex partner as part of bi-sexuality. Your pro-Putin neighbor WILL do so, and that's a larger attempt for Puttin to stop any voices inside Russian communities that are against him.<br />
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Combine this to the general state of people in Russia. Many of the citizens are seriously under-educated and a grand percentage of them is extremely poor. Such people ARE easy to manipulate and always will be. And manipulation has always been via hating. Because people LOVE negativity and uneducated people tend to have their minds easily closed and controlled by projected social norms.<br />
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Taking it to the larger scale, nobody, and I Mean NOBODY stops Puttin eliminating his enemies and their following in Russia. A concocted sextape is basically the only thing he needs to show to the general public, in excuse to put people from different political parties in jail. People who openly follow different political ideologies will be arrested and tortured in the same way too, just by questioning their sexuality in their approximate communities. Even if Puttin never goes out HIS way personally to do it, he has proven that he has enough power in his hands to let it seem like the outcome of a "neighborhood watch". So, don't be surprised if a "Putin's greatest enemy is actually enjoying dicks" scandal breaks and the blood of people whose only offend was having a different opinion will join the blood of people whose only offend was to be who they are.<br />
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And that, dear Russians, affects YOU. Yes. YOU! If you let this pass by saying "meh, it's just homosexuals. Show those pricks", you are the next in the beating. Not only indirectly opening the way for LESS rights to people (because let's face it, we ALL belong to different sub-culture that can be vulnerable at any given time) but things can get rather direct, and that grumpy grandma that lives across the road of that home of yours and doesn't like your new tatoo or you ruined her garden once? She can call anybody official, say that you are gay and the beating will come blistering fast. How are you gonna trust anybody when everything you do passes through a neighborhood watch? And things will only go downhill. Because when powerful people try to stop and silence their opposition, they'll do so by violating rights, ultimately soaking their hands in blood.<br />
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I'm leaving you with this: For many years, Russia have tried to go the opposite way of America. I'm not saying that you have to go the same way either, because they tend to do shit of another kind, but opposing for the sake of it, it has NEVER worked for you in any point in history and that's why for YEARS you've stuck in economical and cultural ruins.<br />
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So this is an open letter for whose who still have some gray matter that still works in Russia or they're abroad Russian. <u>STOP PUTIN</u>, or he'll stop <u>YOU</u>. </div>
Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-22012314838480695722013-06-20T11:13:00.001-07:002013-06-20T15:33:13.573-07:00Springroll attack: The STAR S7589 QUAD CORE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It wasn't more than a month when we discovered that chinese knockoff devices can be as good as a 700euros mobile phone. It was a shocker, really. A good one on top. But if you fail to see how China is on its way to dominate markets, you'll see it now. I'm talking about the none other than The STAR S7589 QUAD CORE or, as it's stated in its box, the Star Note 111.</div>
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The device in question was purchased from the <a href="http://cect-shop.com/">http://cect-shop.com</a>. If you take this as an advertisement, you should. Because they have pretty descent support on top of exceptional prices and devices. The price was around 180euros and we haven't really tried those before. Plus, I was out of Cheap-o-Matics. So we did the first order.<br />
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The order that followed was kinda epeisodic due to the Greek customs charging way too much for nothing. Ended up really well with the help from those guys, so it's a big shout-out for them too.<br />
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Anyway, I was about to review the phone and I did a small review to the store. So, buy from them with confidence. If you are in Greece, remember not to put more than two phones per order and make absolutely sure you select to post them with China Registered Mail instead of DHL because DHL Greece are a bunch of pricks and WILL point out your parcel in order to convince you to use their own customs service to redeem the package. So having that in mind, let's go to the miracles.<br />
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The phone specifications are advertized as follows<br />
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Networks GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz, 3G/WCDMA 850/2100MHz<br /><br /><br />SIM Slot Dual SIM (Dual Standby)<br /><br /><br />SIM Lock No<br /><br /><br />Color White<br /><br /><br />Operating System Android 4.2 Jelly Bean<br /><br /><br />CPU Mediatek MT6589 Quad Core 1.2GHz<br /><br /><br />RAM 1 GB<br /><br /><br />ROM 4 GB<br /><br /><br />Expandible Max. 32 GB (TF/microSD)<br /><br /><br />Display Size 5.8 Inch<br /><br /><br />Display Type Capacitive (Multitouch)<br /><br /><br />Screen Resolution 720x1280 pixel<br /><br /><br />Gorilla Glas No<br /><br /><br />Camera 12.0 Mega Pixel<br /><br /><br />Front Camera 5.0 Mega Pixel<br /><br /><br />Flash Yes<br /><br /><br />Languages Deutsch, English, Türkçe, Nederlands, Italiano, Español, Português, Français, Hrvatiski, Čeština, Dansk, Svenska, Română, Polski, Norsk, Pу́сски (Russian), ελληνικά (Greek), Bahasa Indonesia, Bahasa Melayu, ไทย (Thai), Urdu (Hindi-Urdu), Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese), 中文 (Chinese), (العربية (Arabic), 日本語 (Japanese), 한국어/조선말 (Korean)<br /><br /><br />Bluetooth Yes<br /><br /><br />Wi-Fi 802.11 B/G/N<br /><br /><br />GPS Yes<br /><br /><br />TV Function No<br /><br /><br />Accelerometer Yes<br /><br /><br />Connection Ports Earphone Port (3.5mm), Micro SD (TF card port), Charging Port<br /><br /><br />Shell material Plastic<br /><br /><br />Size 157 x 84 x 10mm<br /><br /><br />Weight 215g<br /><br /><br />In the Box 2x Batteries, 1x Earphones 3.5mm, 1x Data Cable, 1x Charger<br />
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Here are the good news. The phone IS a Quad Core 1.2 GHz and the IPS display is there. The screen is a five-point multitouch and there's also a stylus that comes with the phone since it's a 5.8" Samsung Note Mega.<br />
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As stated above, in the box you will find two batteries, 3200MAh each that are shaped much like the batteries Samsung uses. Earphones, charger and data cable are standard.<br />
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What's not stated though, is that in the box there are, along with the normal back cover, a flip cover, and a bumper. Also, there's a protective membrane pre-installed on the screen. Pretty handy, if you think that the screen is not covered by Gorilla glass or any type of glass. You'll have some reflections of your face and limited viewing when you're directly under a bright sun, but nothing worse than having permanent marks on your screen.<br />
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So the build quality is.. well... let's say better than what we expect from a brand originated from China. Or, to put it better, what we believe we could from a brand originated from China. The phone in design resembles Samsung's philosophy. As I already said, the front of the phone is plastic. Same goes with the rear which is plastic too. The phone is held together with a metallic stripe - probably holding the innards in place too. The back cover can be removed in order to access the battery, the sim slots (there are two of them) and the memory card slot. Removing the back cover can be a little tedious because the clamps are a bit too tight, so there's always fear of breaking it if you put more pressure than needed. But fiddling around might just do. After all, after you setting the sims you want to use as well as a big micro SD card, you'll remove the cover only when you're tired of the flip cover and want to use the normal cover with the bumper. That's really rare because I believe the most important thing to be protected is nothing else but the screen.<br />
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The phone itself feels alright. It's not the lightest phone and I don't expect it to be, concerning its screen real-estate. It doesn't creek on every touch and it doesn't feel like it's made of recycled water bottles. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against recycling stuff - especially plastic - but I don't like the materials feel cheap too. So, it might be out of recycled water bottles or milk cans but it doesn't feel that way. That pretty much means no creaking when some force is applied on the phone and it looks and feels like it would survive just fine after one or two falls.<br />
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So we pretty much solved the outsides of the phone. What about performance and usability?<br />
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Under the hood, there's Android 4.2 Jelly Bean on its naked, pure form. That might turn off some of you, but you don't need to be harsh on google's default launcher options, as they are still quite flexible and offer better memory and battery management. The OS moves silky smooth and the device flexes some serious muscle when displaying 3D interactive wallpapers. The Play Store is intact (meaning that this device is Google Certified) so you can download free and payed software from there.<br />
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Menus and web browsing is done effortlessly, it feels perfect. There's no stuttering when you scroll a website while it loads neither on Dolphin nor on the default browser or Chrome mobile. Apps open almost immediately while the main screen rolls from page to page smoothly, no matter how many widgets you choose to load to them.<br />
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<img alt="Screenshot_2013-06-20-19-54-25.png" height="1280" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-CY10KOV4VMo/UcNGHKaBj2I/AAAAAAAACqA/2lkJLIRor0w/Screenshot_2013-06-20-19-54-25.png?imgmax=800" style="height: 643px; width: 380px;" width="720" /><img alt="Screenshot_2013-06-20-19-54-45.png" height="1280" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-oG2-iTEz1B4/UcNGH_lPncI/AAAAAAAACqI/idtJlrzt--Y/Screenshot_2013-06-20-19-54-45.png?imgmax=800" style="height: 644px; width: 386px;" width="720" /><br />
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AnTuTu gave it a score of 13043 which scores between the Nexus 7 tablet and the Galaxy Note 2, which are way more expensive devices than the phone in question. Come to think of it, on everyday usage and games, I get an estimation way above than the AnTuTu indication. And we're going right to the most power-hungry and battery requiring things you can do on your mobile: The games.<br />
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Thus far, I haven't encountered a game that might stutter or won't run with consistent framerate. Minecraft Pocket Edition works like a charm. Temple Run 2 is silky smooth while 2D games like Sonic CD and Sonic 1 are an absolute blast on that huge beautiful screen. (ha, get it? Because of BLAST PROCESSING) Another remarkable thing is that emulators work great on the phone. The most impressive treat I could get out of it was the working Nintendo 64 emulator. The phone is able to run Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time almost with a perfect framerate, save from the times that facebook or other backgrount agent apps will start to thrash the phone's memory in order to load notifications. So, in a nutshell you can and you WILL love gaming on that gorgeous and HUGE IPS HD screen.<br />
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The only downside I can find - and might be a real downer for most of you - is that the phone does not support LTE. It's a 3G CDMA only device. Also, the cards aren't active all at once. That's partially good because it would fry your brain, should you put your phone on your head, but it still does not break the deal that much. So, if you're enjoying the fruits of 4G in your area with your current device, besides the admirably good performance and the 5.8 inces of awesomeness that is its screen, there's a little to no incentive to swich your device.<br />
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The cameras of the mobile are quite nice. Well, you won't find any special treats found in Lumia devices, nor the plentiful post-processing tools of Samsung, but that's a 12 mexapixel camera with alright optics. On plentiful light it gives some great results but on darker condition the use of flash is mandatory and sometimes the flash included isn't enough. Still, it's quite nice for the occasional stop-and-shoot situations since it outputs full HD pictes and video with audio. So, Instagramming and event recording is a go.<br />
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<img alt="IMG_20130618_184309.jpg" height="1920" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-gAVZfrkkYAo/UcNGLsRL7xI/AAAAAAAACqQ/10laid_CNng/IMG_20130618_184309.jpg?imgmax=800" style="height: 341px; width: 509px;" width="2560" /><br />
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<img alt="IMG_20130617_012937.jpg" height="2560" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-AVakSIBf60I/UcNGPxPUc5I/AAAAAAAACqY/ZYypkl6fR0M/IMG_20130617_012937.jpg?imgmax=800" style="height: 822px; width: 512px;" width="1920" /><br />
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Also a go is the front facing camera with a whooping 5 megapixels (for front facing shooter it's A LOT). Its colours are a bit washed out but it's more serviceable than most of the middle end (and significally more expensive) devices that are out today. So Skyping and Viber Video Calls are pretty much essential part. Also, you can make a 3G Videocall if you like, but charges will apply.<br />
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So all in all, the phone is great for its given price. It features the performance and characteristics of much more expensive devices while it lacks in certain areas that normally it shouldn't. But for its price that breaks 200euros limit right in its face, it's a great deal. It's highly recommended and if you look on some flashy hardware without dropping much money on it, you should absolutely consider it.</div>
Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-20632200480077999872013-04-26T17:45:00.001-07:002013-04-26T17:45:53.476-07:00Comic: A retro gamer’s confession<p>I’ve been feeling a lot like this lately, so here’s a pathetic MS-PAINT comic to make things worse. Feel free to download it, paint or alter it to your heart’s content and post it back. It’ll be an interesting experiment.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-YO6on8rvpnU/UXsftXWa3-I/AAAAAAAACks/rNH7WCu9Ns8/s1600-h/a%252520retro%252520gamer%252527s%252520resolution%25255B5%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="a retro gamer's resolution" border="0" alt="a retro gamer's resolution" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-hqSCWTuQ2Oc/UXsfvnkORRI/AAAAAAAACk0/LvNe97le9To/a%252520retro%252520gamer%252527s%252520resolution_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="457" height="952"></a></p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-71736948266412640082013-04-06T11:59:00.001-07:002013-04-06T11:59:49.328-07:00Quickie: Comic Sans anecdotal<p><img src="http://diegoguevara.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/TheeBlog-ComicSansCriminal.png" width="437" height="266"></p> <p>Here’s one thing about me: I’m not particularly a hater of Comic Sans. Nor a fan. I never got why there’s so much hate for the font, even though aesthetically is quite bad. But, I’ve gotta admit: This thing isn’t for writing everything.</p> <a name='more'></a> <p> </p> <p>Here’s the story</p> <p>In the hospital I’m working in, we have many foreign people being submitted in collaboration with many international insurance companies. So, as usual, we had a very interesting French gentleman who had chest pains and he had to do a coronography. The doctor found some minor problems but he was alright and good to go back home and have a surgery there. Upon leaving, the doctor typed in and gave us a printed copy of a medical report for him to take to the doctors at home…. In Comic Sans. Bold, 16pt Comic Sans.</p> <p><img src="http://samrosewatson.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/comic_sans_is_a_classy_font_trollcat.jpg?w=480&h=360" width="419" height="318"></p> <p>As usual, people in Greece are very mundane about those things. That’s part of why I’m constantly feeling alone in this country full of people who just don’t care. But a medical report in Comic Sans? That was way above my powers. So, I gave it to the patient, said nothing until I could find the doctor alone.</p> <p>And I did.</p> <p>Me. “Hey, Mister X, sir, can I ask you something?”</p> <p>Doc. “Sure, boy, ask away”</p> <p>Me. “Uh, it’s a little sudden, but, who typed the latest medical report you gave us? Was it your secretary?”</p> <p>Doc. “Actually it was me. What about it?”</p> <p>Me. “I don’t mean to be rude or tell you how to do your job, sir, but please, don’t use Comic Sans. Sorry if it sound patronizing but, I felt the urge to tell you.”</p> <p>He was surprised. Somebody noticed the typeface? Usually that kind of thing goes unnoticed since nobody really cares.</p> <p>Doc. “I’ve been using this for a long time. It helps me distiguish the letters.”</p> <p>Me. “I can suggest you other sans typefaces, but, really, Comic Sans takes away the impact of your words.”</p> <p>That seemed to confuse him and I started explaining the obvious as I realised I’ve got his attention for good.</p> <p>Me. “The fonts we use is the dress of our written words. It’s as if, you, sir, being a very serious and well known doctor, were wearing clown clothes. We, who know and like you, we’ll see the substance, but your patients who expect a certain image of you, will stay with the red nose and show zero respect and trust.”</p> <p>Doc. “So Comic Sans is like dressing my writings in clown clothes?”</p> <p>Me. “Not only that, doc, but it’s also the most hated font on the entire earth. It was created for a kids’ program from Microsoft in a single night. It was never used but it stayed as a leftover on every computer in the world. It’s highly readable but it imitates badly the writing in comic books, it’s unbalanced and uneven. So it’s not just a clown but an unfunny clumsy clown everybody wants to see dead.”</p> <p>The doctor was intriqued. He never heard where his typeface of preference originated or how hated it actually is. </p> <p>Doc. “What do you suggest, Mario?”</p> <p>Me. “You seem to go with more readable Sans characters. I’d suggest you Arial, Monospace and Helvetica. Whatever works visually for you. You can also experiment with other smooth typefaces that look more professional without looking uptight. Plus, you’ll find those typefaces way more balanced.”</p> <p>He noted down Monospace, since it was completely new to him. But he looked kinda impressed somebody stood up and adviced him on that matter. Which made me happy, especially in a country where such things just don’t matter. </p> <p>Did I succeed putting another nail to the Comic Sans coffin? I don’t know. We’ll see when the next foreign patient arrives for a corongraphy. Hope I’ll see a medical report that looks like one.</p> <p>Say, What’s your font of preference?</p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-44825423608666567492013-01-29T02:45:00.001-08:002013-01-30T04:14:44.190-08:00Expensive toys: Nokia Lumia 820 Le User Review.<p> </p> <p><img src="http://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/nokia-lumia-820-1.jpg" width="440" height="335"></p> <p>Yes. I am an overspender. In grim times of economic crisis, some people are losing their jobs. Some others are losing their homes. What do I do about that? I bought an expensive ass phone. Do I feel guilty about it? Not really.</p> <a name='more'></a> <p>I’ve been into Windows Phone for a while now. In fact, I got into Windows Phone right at its humble beginning with the LG Optimus 7 (Which still sits on my desk) and Lumias just got my hunger for a better handheld device skyroket. I don’t know why, but I always felt that a WP phone makes me happy because I everything I need to do can be done with minimal effort. </p> <p><u><strong>The love affair</strong></u></p> <p>Let’s talk about my relationship with the Lumia series. Being a Windows Phone affectionado, I never touched any Lumia handsets because they were the same exact thing with my Optimus 7. Thus, I never felt that a Lumia 800 would offer me anything besides the nifty map app and considering the prices, I didn’t think my 200euros investment scored way below on what a Lumia at 600 euros offered at the time. Yes, the form factor is fantastic and the Nokia brand always ensures a quality device. But I had them all into the face of my pretty LG. </p> <p>When Nokia announced their Windows Phone 8 lineup, I fell in love immediately. The 920 to my eyes is the ultimate Windows phone. But having in mind that it’s a flagship device, I never really thought of buying it. What I felt immediate affection with though, is the other “second best” device: The Lumia 820. </p> <p><u><strong>The outsides</strong></u></p> <p>Lumia 820 bears a way more conventional design. Having it in my hands for a whole day, it felt like something that HTC would have made. It’s basically a retangle with rounded corners. The back cover is matte and I preferred to have it black, because I’ve felt that the color matches the screen bezels and the color scheme of the OS. </p> <p>The back cover is removable of course, and so is the battery. In the battery tray you can find the Micro SIM slot and the Micro SD slot. </p> <p>The front of the device is all screen. The bezels were kept minimal except for the bottom of the device where the three usual WP buttons are located. </p> <p>The screen is adequately bright and the viewing angles are extraordinary! Clear blacks make the OS pop out extremely vibrantly and it’s a joy to behold the tiled homescreen. </p> <p>The handset overall feels great. It’s a bit heavier than the competition, but the way it’s seated into your hands is not a problem at all. Trying to torture it a bit, I heard no creaks nor I felt that the device is fragile.</p> <p>The only issue I had with the form factor is that it’s conventional. If you want to pop out and get noticed, you’d better off buying a 920 or an HTC 8S/X. If you still want a 820, you might go and buy a vibrant red back cover or a Banana Yellow one. You WILL be grabbing all the attention, way too much. </p> <p><u><strong>The insides</strong></u></p> <p>Let’s go to the insides of this device. Looking at the specs, you might think it’s a bit outdated: Dual Core Snapdragon S4 processor and 1GB Ram may not seem that it’s the score anybody would want for their precious euros. And they’re quite right. But the phone doesn’t feel sluggish at all.</p> <p>Lumia phones do what Nexus devices do for Android. They use moderately good hardware but the engineers take the time to optimize the OS, so it can run crazy smooth. Somethimes Nexus phones do better job than more expensive Android devices. </p> <p>So, looking at Lumia that way, it comes to no surprise that games, apps, and the whole OS runs with no stutters. Even having it updating my contacts while downloading snazzy Nokia apps and talking to MSN messenger at the same time, the device didn’t stutter at all. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-pmhypj-_S7o/UQeoOBeIn3I/AAAAAAAACgQ/Q5Uf6HhDcZI/s1600-h/wp_ss_20130129_0002%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px" title="wp_ss_20130129_0002" border="0" alt="wp_ss_20130129_0002" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-esDbq5T6aF4/UQeoPUuEjtI/AAAAAAAACgU/Smnbc13dHBY/wp_ss_20130129_0002_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="181" height="309"></a></p> <p>To Nokia’s credit, the phone doesn’t come up vanilla to the end-user. After having everything set up, you’re greeted by the homescreen that shows immediately what apps are already in the phone.</p> <p>Nokia maps, Nokia Drive and City Lens are the most noticeable. Nokia’s perfect map service with offline maps and such, is always great to have and many who have chosen WP8 phones from other manufacturers might have missed. Nokia drive is still in Beta, but compared to the DestinAtor PNA my brother has, it works exceptionally great. Did I mention that it also has voice? Including a Greek one, Nokia Drive is your next GPS pathfinding app.</p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-jERRD75ayII/UQeoQikbXFI/AAAAAAAACgg/2j2lms5xW50/s1600-h/wp_ss_20130129_0003%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: block; float: none; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; margin-left: auto; border-left-width: 0px; margin-right: auto; padding-top: 0px" title="wp_ss_20130129_0003" border="0" alt="The local scout works even in Greece!" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Ol04YSXki0I/UQeoR0VCDEI/AAAAAAAACgo/KP1cVCJKIJw/wp_ss_20130129_0003_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="240" height="410"></a></p> <p>Nokia spices up the whole package in the Nokia Selection of apps in the Store. Fun apps like Cinemagraph that produces semi-static GIF images to really imprsssive apps like PhotoBeamer, that beams the photos to everything that can run a simple website, the Lumia has a lot of fun to offer with photos, music e.t.c. My absolute favorite is the Ringtone Maker which allows you to crop music from your music library and set it easily as a Ringtone. So long Audacity-edited MP3’s that needed to be fiddled with tags on Zune.</p> <p>Also, Goodbye Zune. And fuck you, really. Windows Phone 8 has its own managing software but it’s far less needed than Zune for managing the phone’s content. you can just open up those folders in your favorite file manager (as the phone appears as a Composite Mass Storage Device) and drag and drop your stuff inside. </p> <p>Now let’s talk about the camera. The 8-megapixel shooter is sharp at best but I can’t help noticing the colours being a bit washed out. It also needs to stay clean in order to avoid glaring and artifacts in the pictures. But it’s more than adequate for your point-and-shooting as it’s capable of really high resolutions and the Carl Zeiss lenses really help on keeping things clear and sharp. Just have a microfibre cloth with you…</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-CdB6uGGPgjQ/UQeoTE1WYmI/AAAAAAAACgw/lQ7MIYvXZp8/s1600-h/WP_20130129_003%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="WP_20130129_003" border="0" alt="WP_20130129_003" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Rnj4iqb6rMo/UQeoT3-phgI/AAAAAAAACg4/8WVjN_YPDpM/WP_20130129_003_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="450" height="270"></a></p> <p>As for the phone being actually A PHONE, I haven’t tested it as I should. I had a couple of conversations with loudspeaker, hands-free and holding the device at my ear and the phone performed admirably. The earpiece is loud and nice and it has some extra bass, so high pitched noices won’t penetrate your brain. Which is a nice touch. </p> <p><u><strong>The downsides</strong></u></p> <p>Lumia 820 is not god-made. As everything that man has made, it has its downsides that one might consider before buying. First of all, let’s talk about the screen. It’s vibrant, it’s colorful and neat as hell, but the resolution stands at 480x800. Yes, the resolution isn’t what we’d expect on a middle-end device of 2013. That’s not to say that pixels are visible, creating a distracting grid. In fact, I haven’t noticed edgies anywhere, but it’s still a bummer. </p> <p>Also, the problem with ALL Windows Phone devices, is the luckluster app ecosystem. Even if there are neat apps all around and most of everyday tasks are done perfectly, it still lacks the rich apphouses Apple and Google boast.</p> <p>Another thing that might be a miss for the ones who consider migrating to Microsoft’s latest Phone shenanigans, is the way multitasking and app managing is done. Many apps don’t have background agent support yet, so updating in the background isn’t a thing. Adding to the fact that some DO have toaster notifications, waiting for the app to resume or reload anew upon touching on a notification is a bit awry. </p> <p><u><strong>The verdict.</strong></u></p> <p>I love this device, even though it’s clearly a flawed one. And why not? It has everything my good trusty LG had but maximized to the awesome. Well built, and all around a well produced phone. It might be a no-no for the ones who don’t want to spend too much for a phone that expensive, but if you’re considering a contract, or you’re willing to wait, it’ll definetly pay off. But if you’re really look for a high end handheld, you can just skip this one and go for it’s bigger brother, Lumia 920. </p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-73057151490573271782012-12-14T03:35:00.001-08:002012-12-14T09:58:46.115-08:00Why Mobiles and Tablets haven’t quite reached gaming yet (or why despite the bloom of mobile gaming, new consoles keep coming)<p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-mdYWIVgonOU/UMsO6FgQ2HI/AAAAAAAACao/XRJTFNEqB6A/s1600-h/image%25255B8%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-fq4DakMLNj4/UMsO8oQLinI/AAAAAAAACas/hlsI9HpnFGQ/image_thumb%25255B6%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="546" height="310"></a></p> <p>You know what? As you’ve seen already, I love gaming. No matter the console, the platform or the shape of the device that runs games, I just love them. </p> <p>But after MANY hours playing games on my iPod Touch and my Motorola XooM tablet, I can’t help but think that those experiences feel more empty than my DS and 3DS could offer. Hell, after a full hour of Infinity Sword 2, I had the URGE to play something at one of my consoles. Anything on any console. Even PC!</p> <a name='more'></a> <p> </p> <p>It’s just that. Mobile gaming isn’t there yet. Yeah, you can argue all you want about how “the iDevices are becoming a viable gaming platform” and such, but at the rate things are going, I just dissagree and here’s the main reason.</p> <p>Gaming needs design choices that favor it.</p> <p>You know, you can have any game from the App Store or Google Play in a matter of SECONDS, but here’s one particular thing that stands in the way: The overall design of the portable devices does not favor gaming. </p> <p>This dates back to the first smartphones, PDA’s and tablets. As Windows Mobile platform grew giagantic, everybody was wondering why there aren’t any good games ported to those platforms? Then, come to think of this, most, if not all of those devices weren’t designed for gaming but some small distractions in interactive form. Such as a version of Refersi or Tic Tac Toe. Hell, even chess was a go. </p> <p><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="" border="0" alt="look how few steps we departed, aside from sleek designs" src="http://static.trustedreviews.com/94/64987b/c3c6/4951-P6300fronttilt.jpg"></p> <p>As the iPhone came by, it knocked the dated (by all standards) Windows Mobile OS out of the league by introducing a newer slickier way to rock a smartphone, without having to search for shells, apps, hacks e.t.c. It may threw away the OS, but the standard design of a candybar touch-enabled phone stayed, with a fresh coat of paint. So did the apps. They just stripped away all the complex menus and crap leaving sheer functionality.</p> <p>Now, I don’t criticise the way things are today. THERE’S NO OTHER WAY A PHONE COULD WORK. The Nokia N-Gage incident pretty much talks by itslef and so does the Xperia Play. Both phones tried to reach gamers but failed as phones because they tried to combine two designs that, at the time being, they’re incompatible. So, my point is that a phone buffed with apps, connectivity opportunities, social integration e.t.c. is still a device that’s not designed with gaming in mind. The games instead have changed to fit into the phone, so we get easy experiences, designed to be interrupted oftenly and they control the same as ordinary apps with touches and swipes. </p> <p><img title="Angry biiirds" alt="Still the most sold game in any device to date." src="http://www.280676.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Angry_Birds_PC.jpg" width="467" height="273"></p> <p>Apple, Google and Microsoft started to push gaming on those new supercharged phones because it sells. People always liked distractions. I mean, look at Snake and Solitaire in Nokia’s Devices back in the 90’s and early 00’s. People LOVED having those on their phones. In many cases, people bought those phones for the little games alone. The prospect of downloading new ones with a price around $1, was what they really wanted. But the world of gaming doesn’t work like that.</p> <p>Those games belong to their own category. They are gaming experiences that it’s better off to be seen as a genre of their own. Not better not worse than the regular games we’ve come to know and love, but they are games SHAPED to fit into multopurpose portable computer devices with gaming not being their particular strenghth by design. Actually, they’re not designed to have their own demands from the hardware but rather cruched down from the hardware itself</p> <p>But, what about tablets?</p> <p>Tablets, ah those joyous fuckers. It’s easy to be obsessed with a tablet.</p> <p><img src="http://neomam.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/ASUSR2H_thumb.jpg" width="355" height="253"> </p> <p>Anyways, tablets follow almost the same principles. Tablets aren’t gaming devices even though gaming is a nice addition to them. But still the controls and ther overall design isn’t made with games in mind. </p> <p>Just play some Sonic CD from the recent re-release to see that touch controls are as atrocious as they’ve always been. Add that, in some bigger tablets, namely the 10,1 ones, there are problems grasping them. So, games not only controls fairly bad, but the handling is okay for everything else but gaming. </p> <p>But some games are nice, you know, Fruit Ninja really pops out with the larger screen and stuff, but those games who take advantage of the tablet screen don’t really justify tablets as an overly competitive platform.</p> <p>In a quick comparison with Nintendo’s Gamepad, it’s easy to see what’s designed differently in order to fit in gaming and not vice versa. Many iPad fanatcs have ditched the Gamepad as a “Fisher Price tablet” but really, it’s not even a tablet the fact that it’s designed specifically for controlling games, justifies why they didn’t fit everything in a smaller package. And it’s true, somebody cracked open that stinker and found the components and loads of empty space. That’s because they wanted it to be shaped for gaming. Easy for the holding hands and durable for the awkward little dinosaurs out there. The device is not made to slide into some pocket or some bag. It’s a controller for a home console. </p> <p>Then there is Achos Game Pad (I see lawsuits coming) which tries to be an oversized PSP. Most of us will see a potent GP2X alternative in that one, and that’s OK (at 160 Euros, is a smash deal!) but that doesn’t change that we use the Android platform for emulating old gaming systems instead of playing games of today, programmed for Android, and that’s because of all the reasons we stated. The 16-bit era titles can fill your gaming needs better than most of the games in Google Play. </p> <p><img src="http://www.jbmm.fr/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/IMG_9403.jpg" width="460" height="314"></p> <p>One must wonder, “PC’s are multipurpose devices, so why you don’t bitch about PC’s as well”. Well, the PC has many other things to consider. First of all, the hardware limitations are absent. You can shape a PC the way you want it hardware-wise. Also, Keyboard and mouse control schemes work mostly because they are easy for your hands. Also, they’re highly custimizable for enchancing your gaming experience. None of those parameters are present in tablets and smartphones. The closest thing to customization you can get is to drag around virtual buttons on the touchscreen and that's it. Also, don’t forget that PC has its own distraction games such as Minesweeper and Solitaire. Hell, even the timeless yet basic DX BALL is one of them. </p> <p>So, the reason PC didn’t slump into the sheer meh of the gamers, is that it can be a serious gaming platform if you want it to, while not limiting other functions such as browsing. It’s far more flexible by design, and you can always hook up a controller to satisfy your gaming needs. </p> <p>So, unless there’s a serious effort to find the distinctive line between hardware and software design that allows gaming or at least have some flexibility to include it without limiting it, mobile platforms won’t cause a videogame crash anytime soon. Except if people just stop playing traditional games and find their holy grail of entertainment in such devices. </p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-51821609226598967762012-10-24T11:04:00.001-07:002012-10-24T14:32:00.370-07:00Cheap-o-matic review: The Atari Flashback 3<p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-8PW_TbJVWNs/UIgtLIP-WoI/AAAAAAAACWk/OiXQwoSe2Yo/s1600-h/IMG_20121024_144906%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_20121024_144906" border="0" alt="IMG_20121024_144906" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-Q3TFnhba0LQ/UIgtMnFPnEI/AAAAAAAACWo/0vtJAz_1Alc/IMG_20121024_144906_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="424" height="341"></a></p> <p>I don’t know about you, but I love the Atari 2600 (or CVS).</p> <p>Sure, it’s old and it’s graphics are primitive and the sound might cause your inner ear to bleed, but it’s charm is undeniable. That’s why ATARI and the seemlessly “queen of licenced clones” AtGames released the third installment of Atari Flashback.</p> <p> </p> <a name='more'></a> <p>Before giving the Flashback 3 a spin, I’d like to make my own flashback on my Atari 2600. I was born way after the 2600 saw the light of day. Almost decade after. Practically I came out my mother’s womb by the time Super Mario was hitting big in the NES.</p> <p>But that didn’t mean I had a NES in our household by default. In Greece particularly, there was a lag for new electronics to arrive. The lag varied from a few weeks, to a few months. Plus, my family was kind of poor at that time, so my dad had a 2600 and a 32-games dip-swich cartridge to keep my brother’s gaming demands at bay, until he would come up with another game console. </p> <p>So, the first game I remember playing conciously is Yar’s Revenge. Along with other weird games I didn’t even know their name before the internet search.</p> <p>Today, there’s a ton of ways to get your dirty paws on old Atari games. The first one is to actually get an ATARI 2600 CVS console, hook it up to the old aerial and have grand old time. There are plenty of cartridges out there for plenty of fun. Also, the Harmony cartridge will save you a lot of money.</p> <p><img src="http://www.ps3hax.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/20081209-Atari-VCS2600.jpg"></p> <p>The other way is emulation which, through emulators like Stella, would allow you to play ALL games that ever released for the 2600 plus some nifty homebrew.</p> <p><img src="http://www.boob.co.uk/emulators/files/atari/kilokhn2.jpg" width="419" height="317"></p> <p>The third way is this small thingie: One of the three Atari Flashback Consoles.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-ly0Vg3xE4YU/UIgtOdTx0xI/AAAAAAAACW0/8D7pQ3dk3gg/s1600-h/IMG_20121024_144929%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_20121024_144929" border="0" alt="IMG_20121024_144929" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQo0uaP78GyDxaIqfuTkeZza6xK2Abij2S80jkI-42pzrIh3T1oLXBOyzBwGNzf8KrN5nOLPp-PR9a0f5jN3gk0aAilWdfc4KBvNn2scDAkQI5jzrB7bmIDehhsp5IaBhhMH_fvzTlxNnn/?imgmax=800" width="441" height="346"></a></p> <p>The package includes: The microconsole</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-J0YWHnTDfak/UIgtReg232I/AAAAAAAACXE/BJb1FQbxjCo/s1600-h/IMG_20121024_145000%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_20121024_145000" border="0" alt="IMG_20121024_145000" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYdf1uL-pQbxvtLKfRCYlYk_eRz0hb5PisZ-plPCdzbAcoqSFiJKvxQS2LDj7tsWu5FCdKMO0CZtGsyy31ZoEc27PwnCPi8EE-46Q5rrYOtejicw4lC6ntyMPSg_BTrr0yXokbswgdPxS5/?imgmax=800" width="433" height="340"></a></p> <p>Two joysticks that resemble the old square ones.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz9GgVzYo75acG1Y3Ik9lFN9PfJBdHjdg9uLrDm0beih5iaEpg8fhYtJsy4dgjhRGdOEXZvLOKtr7iF6HOP37l89aVNfOECEjjSh9JIbftrmPfNdQcX84MzthalObRr7NrROIrxBGlNxhK/s1600-h/IMG_20121024_145049%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_20121024_145049" border="0" alt="IMG_20121024_145049" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ZSJAhWXO1ds/UIgtWNDU2PI/AAAAAAAACXc/Iu2YMgSq_V4/IMG_20121024_145049_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="449" height="353"></a></p> <p>the power supply that will remind you of a Mobile Phone AC adaptor, the mandatory instruction manual and a pretty neat poster.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-NSYEsKZy7dM/UIgtYPAvZDI/AAAAAAAACXk/naSjvHzHjUQ/s1600-h/IMG_20121024_145127%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_20121024_145127" border="0" alt="IMG_20121024_145127" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-TMEBmAF2YdM/UIgtaPf5w8I/AAAAAAAACXs/aMXN_xOkWvc/IMG_20121024_145127_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="437" height="343"></a></p> <p>The console itself is quite small. It has a toy-feeling to it but not just any toy. A slightly more expensive famiclone is the best description for it. The buttons up there are On/off, start, difficulty A, Difficulty B and Select. Some of them are push-in swiches, others are just buttons that press with a very loud click. As a typical “plug and play” machine, its video and audio connectors are RCA and hard-wired to the console. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-BcHKyEy71jQ/UIgtcFTKvtI/AAAAAAAACX0/eK18kco8tks/s1600-h/IMG_20121024_145254%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_20121024_145254" border="0" alt="IMG_20121024_145254" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-pfVW2G5sg_A/UIgtd8McEPI/AAAAAAAACX8/vlCeOWycLwI/IMG_20121024_145254_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="440" height="354"></a></p> <p>The controlers share the same feel. They are just a bit smaller that the originals, but way less heavy and way less stiff. The quality is somewhat questionable though since they doesn’t look like they would take any of the abuse the original controllers would take. [Update]: the original paddle controllers work fine. Same goes with Master System gamepads but, sadly, Mega Drive gamepad’s D-pad won’t work normally. Probalby the console thinks is a paddle, thus only left and right works. Old controllers work wonderfully. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--dmzR9Oiox4/UIgtgNh6QhI/AAAAAAAACYE/kKbR2jGb01g/s1600-h/IMG_20121024_145202%25255B9%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_20121024_145202" border="0" alt="IMG_20121024_145202" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-UZGy7Kk5IwU/UIgthBbFBKI/AAAAAAAACYM/ef8k6XjkR_w/IMG_20121024_145202_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="417" height="328"></a></p> <p>The last thing you might take out of the box, is the power outlet. A tiny A/C adaptor that outputs 9V. Pretty standard.</p> <p>Now, let’s get to the games.</p> <p>The game console works fine. I mean, the 2600 by today’s standard is a laughably simple hardware with laughably simple software running into it. So, the game should be alright and that’s the case most of the times. If you’re wondering about what games are included, <a href="http://www.blazeeurope.com/atari/atari-flashback-3/prod_156.html">here’s the list</a>.</p> <p>The games are presented within in a simple menu and can be selected by scrolling using up and down and changing pages using left and right – on the controller of course. The menu certainly gives out that the machine isn’t old and breaks the retro feeling, but whoever isn’t into purism, won’t mind it.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-1LVM6c8N-pE/UIgti6wn8DI/AAAAAAAACYU/pz8ZtyZS_1E/s1600-h/IMG_20121024_150631%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="IMG_20121024_150631" border="0" alt="IMG_20121024_150631" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-nSKSpg4pN1Q/UIgtkdTrrYI/AAAAAAAACYc/pyR7wqX_m5g/IMG_20121024_150631_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="437" height="343"></a></p> <p>The device adds a new feature to all games: Pause. You need to press the fire button on the controller and the select button on the console. While retro on its own way (Master System had its Pause button on the console itself) it’s a new feature for 2600 games none the less.</p> <p> The games are faithful for the most part with some sounds being out of place occasionaly but overall it’s fine. The better video connection gives out some nice clean graphics and the colors and framerate are correct. Some extra fiddling with your television settings might lncrease the clarity and color performance.</p> <p>The only complain – it’s the same with all the Atari Flashback consoles- it’s the lack of cartridge port. I mean, I know people might be angry if some cartridges won’t work, but consider that many people who actually have cartridges they want to play, most certainly almost have an original console laying around. Also, I don’t know why they removed the internal contacts for adding a port yourself. Yes, you might avoid malfunctioning and such but it’s already stated by AtGames and right at the box that the company is not responsible for possible damages due to modifying so they’re clear off the shit. </p> <p>Closing this review, I have to admit that the Atari Flashback 3 is descent cheap-o-matic. Yes, it’s not VERY cheap indeed. I found it at a near MediaMarkt for 55€ which isn’t, like, Lexibook crappy console-cheap but it’s nice, portable and if you ‘re collecting, you can play a nice collection of games without having to put through stress your prized CVS collection items. It’s ideal for gathering friends to revive old times, without exposing your old beloved ATARI to beer spills, pets, dust, etc. Not that it won’t survive, mind you, but it’s almost 40 years old. </p> <p>So, it’s a good buy – I might go play now too. So, See ya!</p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-34469832175355915632012-10-18T15:49:00.001-07:002012-10-18T15:49:43.855-07:00Wow. I’m on Reddit?<p><img src="http://www.darelparker.com/dp/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/reddit-coat-of-arms-logo-widescreen-1440-900-wallpaper.jpg" width="441" height="277"></p> <p>Yeah. Even though I never thought this blog would be noticed, it somehow <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/dreamcast/comments/10rbt1/10_fun_facts_about_dreamcast_for_new_and_casual/">hit Reddit</a>. Well, the “interwebz” are kind of a small place. The article in question is “<a href="http://unlockmentachieved.blogspot.ca/2011/09/remembering-10-fun-facts-about.html">10 fun facts about the Dreamcast for new and casual gamers</a>”. The bad thing, the article turned out to have many inaccuracies. The good thing, some interesting stuff was said at the comments from really descent readers. </p> <p>So, Those guys deserve a blog post. </p> <a name='more'></a> <p>So, The first thing I got wrong was the Pocket Station fact. Yeah, the Poket Station was Sony’s “me too” answer to VMU. Checking back my old pile of shitty translated PlayStation Magazine, the rumor and the “news” about the PlayStation Pocket started by the end of 1997. In the PlayStation Power GR it was featured in almost every issue until it’s launch and the realization that hyping it in the West was a waste of pages. Hence, I mixed that up. I tried not to look at Wikipedia but that’s not a good thing to do. </p> <p>Another thing that I wanted to focus on is that the VMU was standard as a memory card and was supported by many-many games. </p> <p>The second thing mentioned, about he double standard about the camera and the Pocket Station, is that the camera was a bit more of merging two technologies that by the time, they looked worlds apart. That’s why left the bitter stuff out. Still bitter if you ask me. I really wanted that camera.</p> <p>The second thing mentioned is “touting the motion controls”. Okay I know about the Power Glove, the Activator and such, but how many games used those peripherals were servicable and how many games actually benefitted from motion controls? The Samba De Amigo maracas and Rapala Fishing Rods appeared when those technologies were almost perfected and the programmers were mature enough to manage this input method. Thus, the motion controls of the Dreamcast were actually fun to use and the games responded to them properly.</p> <p>The third thing is the fact that the GD-Roms COULD be compatible depending the drive. Yes, that’s true because besides the format, the data were in their own strange format. But some games did have some awesome bits and bites hidden for the brave who slew them into a computer drive. This is not the first console to do that though. NiGHTS into Dreams offered some neat wallpapers in the disk.</p> <p>The forth thing, about the Dreamcast being a pinnacle for the Xbox, it’s not my claim guys. <a href="http://kotaku.com/5447897/how-xbox-could-have-helped-the-dreamcast-survive">This article</a> in Kotaku kind of clarifies some intentions of the original Xbox playing Dreamcast games. Also, there’s <a href="http://www.radiosega.net/news/features/2012/03/how-sega-influenced-the-original-xbox/">this article</a>.</p> <p>Now let’s go to the big one</p> <p>About console MMO’s. Yes I’m aware there are a plethora of them and I might forgot some words on that phrase. Yes, Phantasy Star Online was a console MMO but probably the only that did it right. My further experiences with later attempts to MMO on a console resulted in a bitter “don’t mix those two things” feeling. Like it or not, the MMO is a PC thing and a console might not be so good to implement it. BUT, Phantasy Star Online was different. It was a blast to play and it was made having in mind that it was running off of consoles. So, my apologies. Wrong choice of words or, better yet, wrong choice of leaving out words. </p> <p>Thanks for reading my article guys. I apologise and I promise from now on to be more accurate, careful and more enjoyable writer. </p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-69925201192764490432012-08-08T10:57:00.001-07:002012-08-08T10:57:55.881-07:00Review a bad game day: Oneecanbara Bikini Samurai Squad<p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-3fLZ8FehTOU/UCKoK2E_xBI/AAAAAAAACM4/YT4JuBnCcMs/s1600-h/image%25255B34%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-wr_2aHnwCwE/UCKoM3A5ZrI/AAAAAAAACNA/O69qe-VDvUU/image_thumb%25255B16%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="321" height="472"></a></p> <p>Ah industry of Video Games. The joys you give to us when you spout shit our way and expect to sell just because there are boobs slapped over. I mean, really, we all enjoy boobs, ninjas, pirates, robots and other generic geek friendly themes, but things Like Oneechanbara Bikini Samurai Squad are just shameless.</p> <a name='more'></a> <p> </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-H4vVr00IaPQ/UCKoOoSefxI/AAAAAAAACNI/cqA9H155hVY/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-tBgZBZEUSuY/UCKoQWB0UYI/AAAAAAAACNQ/2hLJ4W3tH0A/image_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="415" height="295"></a></p> <p>I reviewed the game for the Greek gaming site Game2.0 and I was new at reviewing business back then. Heck, even my Xbox 360 was the old revision. Acually it’s also the lowest score I ever gave to a game, and that says A LOT.</p> <p>I decided to revisit that game as part of the 1Μore Castle’s “Review-a-Bad-Game day” and there are several reasons for that. That game came out in the current gen, back in 2009. Three years ago, there was no Playstation Move or Kinect and the Wii was capitalizing on the motion controlled shovelware market. But as we learned, the shovel can dig down to the hardcore audience with such elegance, nobody expects it. </p> <p>So, even if the ground of motion controls is practically a giant shovelware pit, it doesn’t mean that the button-mashing hardcore area didn’t get its share of shttiness. After all, a bad game is bad, no matter the platform, the control options or the graphics. </p> <p>Onwards to the review.</p> <p>Oneechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad is about two Sisters that are also zombie slayers because, I don’t know, family tratition? Aya and Saki are typical japanese-designed 3D dolls that care to show their bodies at any given chance. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-SvlSzDnpUyg/UCKoS9TZXrI/AAAAAAAACNY/ONW3beR3J6Q/s1600-h/image%25255B7%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-GsLlLCNIfj4/UCKoU_GV2ZI/AAAAAAAACNg/9lIF4yPjX80/image_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="432" height="316"></a></p> <p>Actually they are designed specifically to get different types of (japanese?) males horny. Aya is the tipical all-grown woman with massive lady muffins that can walk around in tiny bikinis as it’s socially accepted for women at such age. Saki is a school girl that goes around with a tipical “sailor” school uniform. She’s considerably younger than her sister, underdeveloped and perfect to get pedobears up on their feet with plenty of panty shots.</p> <p>Throw in another character called Annna (with the strange decision to include an extra n in her name) which can get a third party of males horny; the ones who fantasize women in uniforms. </p> <p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-AfCfSqDzJE4/UCKoWipYDlI/AAAAAAAACNo/N_ucGv4A0eo/s1600-h/image%25255B11%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/--ileGgynEwI/UCKoYAvI07I/AAAAAAAACNw/ey4VW2gdbXA/image_thumb%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="442" height="227"></a></p> <p>The two sisters are skilled sword masters, ready to take in any ghoulies the unexplicable force of ghoulies (whatever that is) throws their way. Annna is a gunslinger with seemingly unlimited ammo.</p> <p>The difference between the big chested heroines is that Aya and Saki, the katana waving sluts, have a few extra things to consider. First, it’s their sword that must be cleaned after a series of kills, because it will be covered in zombie sludge and might stick in a zombie’s innard during the fight, leaving the character momentaly open for attacks. The other thing is the fury meter that gets full with all that slaughter. When full, Aya and Saki become sexy smurfs that deal more damage but their life bar gets depleted as the time passes and they could die. The only thing that calms them are statues.</p> <p><img src="http://assets.gameover.gr/assets/0003/8221/OneChanbara_Screens_08.jpg" width="465" height="264"></p> <p>Yes, statues. Probalby a holy figure or something.</p> <p>Up until now you’ll think “ey, that’s not a bad game. Mediocre but the premise is good”. Poor unfortunate soul. I haven’t started on the gameplay yet.</p> <p>The button to press is X and only that. Yeah, I know, many of you who have played the game will say that you can use other buttons too and it’s true. But the resulting combos aren’t satisfying or rewarding or over the top. You’ll end up just pressing X to win, with the occasional “clean your sword, lady” button. It’s so easy, you might as well eat a burger or whatever fattening food can find before fapping to those plastic looking polygonal models. </p> <p>The jumps are ridiculous. Those calamity Janes hoop like the’re on the moon, The zombie slaughter is repetitive and boring, there are only three types of zombie to deal with. Boredom sets in in the first couple of levels. </p> <p>The interesting thing is, that thre’s a mission game going on at the same time. Yes, when some conditions are met, a mission unlocks. There’s no way somebody might know beforehand which are the condition. All the missions have confusing names such as “one strange lady”. But the tips in the “tips” selection in the pause menu should help, right?</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-TAVe1Kcvwik/UCKobDU81hI/AAAAAAAACN4/PkipVBLFszE/s1600-h/image%25255B19%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-7RDlcX4vnBo/UCKocg7CzRI/AAAAAAAACOA/q3Tokr9DBiI/image_thumb%25255B9%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="443" height="266"></a></p> <p>Well, WRONG. The tips selection is COMPLETELY EMPTY. It only shows an empty window of nothingness. But what makes things even dumber is that thing is that when by chance you unlock a mission, IT HAS ADVICE INTENDED FOR THE COMPLETED MISSION. It’s unbelivable how stupidity found its place in a series of insignificant design decisions. They didn’t even try coding it right. </p> <p>And, did I mention that the achievements are bound to those missions? You might excell in button mashing of this game and nobody notice because you might get none of those achievements. Even for completion there’s nothing rewarded to you. </p> <p>The nonsentical story doesn’t help either. The game does not explain why Saki and Aya are into all of this. The texts between missions are poorly written with occasional engrish popping out and slapping you like a japanese octopus . At some point, Aya is at the top of a nearby hill, and she decides to ride her motorcycle. A motorcycle that was not mentioned before, nor there’s any explenation where it came from. Probably it was hidden inside her bikini or It was there just to start a horible motorcycle stage.</p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-Tv7YI-qjgSk/UCKoedJ0BqI/AAAAAAAACOI/O5BCPZIXQGM/s1600-h/image%25255B23%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-bDe1sLVJKWk/UCKof960s2I/AAAAAAAACOQ/o6R93qjLKb0/image_thumb%25255B11%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="413" height="253"></a></p> <p>That motorcycle stage is probably the most profound evidence that they weren’t trying at all and at the same time, they wanted to take advantage on “cool” elements like a poorly dressed woman on a huge motorcycle slaying zombies. Don’t get your pants wet. That stage is awful, repetitive and the scattered bugs are hard to ignore at some point, when your mototcycle stops instantly when it hits borders. </p> <p>Let’s talk on how this shit looks. And it looks exactly like ti plays: Like a shit. And you WILL be fooled into thinking that the game has half descent graphics because stills look pretty. The truth is that nothing looks pretty in this game.</p> <p>The environements are blocky and they look like somebody took a PSX title, rendered it in 720p and threw in generic models. It’s blocky and the textures are low-resolution. Shameful for today’s machines at best. There’s zero interaction, besides some obviously breakable barrels and jars, and there’s no anmation going on in the background at all. </p> <p>The enemies look exactly like that. The zombies of the old House of The Dead are way prettier and more detailed than those ghoulies. They come in solid colours, much like toy soldiers. Somethimes they don’t even attack and when they do, they are miserable at best. The bosses are so bad, they are painful to play due to the time it takes to complete them but they’re also painful to look at. Their low-poly existances are so miserable, you actually kill them to put them out of their misery. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-TbQEcvaG6FE/UCKohvS7ZQI/AAAAAAAACOY/3ETxb0dqO-I/s1600-h/image%25255B15%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-U93LiO3T0J8/UCKojfEdsrI/AAAAAAAACOg/RPtE32iSiTE/image_thumb%25255B7%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="454" height="356"></a></p> <p>The ladies look better though but don’t expect DOA quality. The biggest problem I had is their animation. I mean, really, they could have made it looking sexy but instead it looks hilariously bad. And the dress-up sub game that allows you to get up close to the models, reveals that they are made of Barbie matter and their default stance isn’t even possible for a human being. As for the boobs, they wobble. In a way that it’s not visible in-game but enought to be creepy in a dress-up game. It’s like half dead mice got in there and started moving around to get comfortable inside, or those boobs have minds of their own and want to abandon this joke of a game once and for all.</p> <p>The music and sound design follows the awfulness of the whole package. The annoying repetitive themes will drill into your mind as you go through the zombies with the occasional passionate female voice whispering “Touch me” slapping you in the face, reminding you that this is a game indended to feel sexy, but it fails to do so. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjjw3LgTF6a2TliDKxowISK3nBDa8OhvvexlTvLlZ-Q3Bj1dG5A8FZEDUf95Crjf8_7KGhCUO6bLm-n4W1X-Wj_NIbMgL_sVQ0-C0F9ikyB0YoYQiDIa5XZLOdxrSTCL90l0nS5oNkWE5/s1600-h/image%25255B27%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Ce1sfB6vYgk/UCKommoeyCI/AAAAAAAACOw/XnbkbhKZhIk/image_thumb%25255B13%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="436" height="294"></a></p> <p>The zombies don’t do many noises. There’s a weird buzzing going on when zombies are around, but it makes no sense. It sounds strange. I can’t even describe it but it makes things easier when a zombie gets stuck behind a wall, to find and kill it. </p> <p>The heroines are all shouting and moaning in their every move. That’s annoying because each as one “oomph” one “HA” and one “YA” to go on fighting. It gets so repetitive, you want to cut your ears off during the first level. There’s isn’t much to say for the sound department because there’s nothing else in it. </p> <p>So there you have it. It’s a game that it’s bad in almost every section. It’s weird how they announce a sequel because this piece of crap aqquired a “fan base”. The only thing it aqquired for me is my loathe for the developer and the guys who made me review this crap. </p> <p>All in all, gamers, don’t be horny idiots. Just because it has boobs and butts, it won’t make it a good game. Stop fapping over it. STOP I SAID!</p> <p>Btw, here’s a turd ribbon. Can I make a t-shirt with it?</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-HlFHP5MGQpw/UCKonfoH5-I/AAAAAAAACO4/20zJJ7aLJLM/s1600-h/brown%25255B2%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="brown" border="0" alt="brown" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-eX6-9fmwHY4/UCKooLIVk4I/AAAAAAAACPA/tO-pQAdxxWY/brown_thumb.png?imgmax=800" width="135" height="244"></a></p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-52944423010048318182012-04-08T02:58:00.001-07:002012-04-08T02:58:56.212-07:00Why do we love retro games?<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-M4Dn4lO3LbM/T4FhFXOuI6I/AAAAAAAACHM/4opkghrmv5I/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-sDlKNnaE-3o/T4FhHd_bQ3I/AAAAAAAACHU/mSVF9hbEpwM/image_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="431" height="376"></a></p> <p>I was born in 1986. That means that I grew up during the 90’s and passed my puberty in early 00’s. During that time, a lot of great games released on the 16-bit and I got a good taste on what was going on on 8-bit era in retrospective. Yeah. A lot of great games. Or were they?</p> <a name='more'></a> <p>Nostalgia is a key word to both retro game lovers and haters. To the lovers, nostalgia is a given plus o all games of the 90’s 80’s or even 70’s games that make them feel comfortable playing them. To some extend, I agree with that. While playing Mega Drive or Super Nintendo, I get that comfort from the 2D pixelation they create that really draws me to them.</p> <p>The haters though, including my Editor in Chief, argue that the games aren’t themselves great anymore, since technology and gameplay mechanics have evomved through the ages, that makes a good game in terms of game design has been researched deeply, allowing the creators to provide experiences that are designed from beginning to the end to be enjoyable and addictive.</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Ltn7OT8h0C8/T4FhKKOJQyI/AAAAAAAACHc/eTs5GGV6y_U/s1600-h/image%25255B7%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-21GF5Zr_D1c/T4FhMLjy1sI/AAAAAAAACHk/qbGbpJNIIu8/image_thumb%25255B3%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="461" height="305"></a></p> <p>To the last one, I have some objections, even though some of it isn’t entirely a lie. Let’s start with the parts I agree.</p> <p>There were times that we had to rely on the cover of the game in order to buy it. There were very few magazines about games, and they were expensive to get. So it was better off to gamble than being informed what game to get. There was also the “word of mouth” where other kids provided insights about the games they bought. Both of them were risky. Gambling was, obviously, resulting in mediocre games with awesome covers. The word of mouth, if it wasn’t for a big franchise (e.g. Megaman, Castlevania, Mario, Sonic) had a lot to do with justifying the purchase of a mediocre game. Yes, a lot of kids felt the urge to justify their shitty purchases by convincing other kids to buy the same games.</p> <p><img src="http://gamecola.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/noidbanner.jpg" width="428" height="178"></p> <p>So, after throwing away our carol or gathered pocket money, we were left with a game we wouldn’t entirely like. If it was playable, it was the best game ever. If not, we would regret.</p> <p>That mediocrity with maturity somehow became greatness. I mean, I liked the GameBoy Killer Instict just because I had to study for the semester really hard. Now that I replay it, I love it but not because of its greatness but because I spent an entire summer stuck with it, forcifully convincing myself that I like it. </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-LYlUJEzp43M/T4FhOmrTG2I/AAAAAAAACHs/jTQsc-Y9oFQ/s1600-h/image%25255B11%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-dnz4VBk-9_Q/T4FhRNA09MI/AAAAAAAACH0/VqHeeeyqegw/image_thumb%25255B5%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="360" height="497"></a></p> <p>But not all games were Game Boy Killer Instict. And that’s the part I strongly disagree with the Retro Haters.</p> <p>I remember my surprise when I popped in Super Metroid. I wasn’t a fan of Metroid on the NES like my older brother. So, even if I knew roughly the story, I wasn’t interested at all. It was my brother’s turn to choose a game, so I just endured his decision. </p> <p><img src="http://images.wikia.com/metroid/images/0/06/Super_Metroid_title.png"></p> <p>And it was fucking good.</p> <p>Even today, Super Metroid is blessed with some merits that today’s games have either completely ignored or suppressed in a criminally bad way. </p> <p>First of all, Super Metroid was telling a story within its gameplay. The longest cutscene – the ending- wasn’t that long and it was a direct result of the gameplay. Other than that, story and gameplay were one inseparable thing. The same goes with Sonic saga. Sonic 3 & Knuckles was an epic story told through small cutscenes but the game would tell the story itself.</p> <p>So, that’s one thing missed on todays games. You can make your own conversation through choices, but the actual gameplay is completely isolated to the story. There are a few exceptions such as Half Life 2, but the crushing majority of the titles today, are prone to give a Holywood movie experience than an atmospheric game.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpZQO1EgO7oALA8E9Oo9jRtog4b4q2KmwWcxBRaW7xIUa5yH8PIngmpiQESY4SXOPjihyphenhyphenkPyO8pX4j3Cmf01U9BUFEyaKf_ksgn9HZyyJXc8oEWB6tS2u7_x-CF_E1g4vFuoR-JLYG_Mja/s1600-h/image%25255B15%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-AqpnBTmZA0g/T4FhUSOoQGI/AAAAAAAACIE/LwGsq5G5SlY/image_thumb%25255B7%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="419" height="277"></a></p> <p>Another thing that’s forgotten is the gameplay and level structure. </p> <p>As Egoraptor stated in his “Sequelitis” series, there were times where the games were respectful about the players’ ability to think and estimate patterns that are logical and probably vital for survival. </p> <p>Megaman was a great example of how clever level design could teach the player and hone his skills for the rest of the game without the need of “hints” or annoying assistant characters to bombard him with details that are obvious.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzuNy4GHC8JGoux10htkT0pl7jh_WLdIbMKushH3MhUFxqRGwG07P3vuMpFoag67mP983qCgMl_Y8NJyfVGh1FywREAf2Md2QKNMWZBIbL2lsazy6z1l3f1yJzfzDHiqFymvfkIXztMNaE/s1600-h/image%25255B19%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-6SviBJAXaMg/T4FhWgaA52I/AAAAAAAACIU/kkGU0xxYiEw/image_thumb%25255B9%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="441" height="168"></a></p> <p>The same goes to the majority of the good games of the past. They had less “Be carfeful blah blah blah” and made the gamer feel smart, self resourcible and felt more related to his own achievements.</p> <p>For conclusion, I need to say that good games are good games. We enjoy playing them no matter the age. Just like movies and books. Pride and Prejudice isn’t a bad book just because it was written in old english language nor it was inferior because Jane Austen penned it initially with a feather pen. </p> <p>The same goes with cinema, where some movies are still enjoyable even if the cameras were not HD, and the special effects were essentially stop motion dolls, ketchup for blood and plastic intestines. The same way, retro games aren’t inferior because of the limitations they had on the hardware side.</p> <p>There are though many games that we love, just because we had to pass a shitty weekend with them, but that doesn’t apply to the most of them. So, thumbs up retro. </p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-5608949263184247712012-02-16T03:33:00.001-08:002012-02-16T03:35:31.704-08:00Will the current-gen consoles be collectable?<p><img src="http://files.g4tv.com/ImageDb3/180578_S/Console-Check-in.jpg" width="417" height="214"></p> <p>You know, nothing makes me more happy than getting old relics of my favorite thing: Video Games. I’m not a big-time collector due to lack of space/money/time but I do my best to get everything I would like to play, along with the original hardware and the nice bells and whistles I want to own. But, how about the consoles today? Will they be as valued and satisfying to collect 10 years from now?</p> <a name='more'></a> <p><strong><u>Sheer numbers</u></strong></p> <p><img src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2009/5/28/1243541872873/xbox_360_assembly.gif" width="428" height="263"></p> <p>The rarity of a collectable is counted by how many articles where produced during the console’s life time. Consoles of the Third generation and onwards were massively produced. Hence, there are still boxed unused NES somewhere in the world being sold for more than gold. As the generations passed by, the production lines produced more units per model. That’s why the original Playstation 2 will not be a “collector’s dream” for the next decade or so.</p> <p>Today the consoles are manufactured in tremendously huge bulks. The unit production is counted PER MINUTE. And the number is three-digits.</p> <p>What also helps is that the Videogames have become a mainstream industry, thus the demand is almost always high.</p> <p>So, in 10 years from now? Well owning a 360 or a PS3 or a Wii won’t be such an accomplisment for the pro-collectors. There will be plenty of them sealed lying on werehouses and lots, along with accesories. So, the collectibity of those hardware items will rise after the passing of 15 or 20 years from the day the production dies.</p> <p><strong><u>Chasing SKU’s, revisions and Special Editions</u></strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.pinstripemag.com/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/xbox-360-versions.jpg" width="456" height="310"></p> <p>While the base console/accesories might take a long time to get their collectable value, There are some editions of the said hardware that might intrigue the collectors, even right after the death of a console.</p> <p>Today’s consoles come on different flavors, called SKU’s. That model of hardware distribution started with the 360, which is a great strategy to get Xbox360 to every home, making it cheaper for players who wanted the core experience but they didn’t have the money to buy the full package.</p> <p>Thus, Xbox 360 core, Xbox 360 pro and later the Xbox 360 elite were produced along with some cosmetic changes (the 360 core had white DVD-Rom drawer, the elite was all black). </p> <p>Then the hardware met revisions, The Phoenix and the Jasper consoles are some of the examples. Then the Xbox360S came along which is completely different both inside and outside.</p> <p><img src="http://pictures.xbox-scene.com/xbox360/xbox360-versions/360-versions-video-s1680.jpg" width="452" height="144"></p> <p>So the collectors may chase after the less produced SKU’s and revisions which is actually a hard deed. The less produced SKU I know is the Core/Phoenix 360. There aren’t many around and probably won’t because of the classic problem of Red Ring Of Death that plagued those consoles. </p> <p><img src="http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/.a/6a00d83451c3cb69e20120a558f30e970c-800wi" width="414" height="331">The PS3 has other examples. The big “toaster” revisions were massively produced and kept at 2 or 3 SKU’s without significant changes beside the one SKU that had a card reader (including CF) and could play PS2 games out of the box. That’s rare even today. </p> <p>Then,there are the special editions where the PS3 surely champions. We’ve got many flavours of limited PS3 that came along with franchices in much less numbers than the 360. The only different 360 I remember was the red Resident Evil 5 one, Halo and Modern Warfare, while on top of my head I could name at least 5 Playstation 3 variations. </p> <p>Those variations of course are strictly cosmetic.<img src="http://gerry.ws/files/2009/01/ps3-yakuza-3-mod.jpg" width="421" height="435"></p> <p>The Wii also didn’t have many variations. The blue and the red one came with Sonic and Mario in Olympic Games 2012 and Super Mario 24th Anniversary but other than that I can’t remember any other limited edition. And I can’t shut up about how they missed to create a Zelda collectable treasure by creating a really limited Zelda console. Oh well.</p> <p>So there ARE some things for the collectors to chase, but what are the chances of these consoles to work with the televisions of the future?</p> <p><u><strong>Getting futureproof</strong></u></p> <p><img src="http://www.coolgear.com/images/SVGA-RCA-KIT22.jpg" width="461" height="341"></p> <p>You know, It’s still a pain to hook up old consoles, even if there are various mods or the people who made them thought to use more compatible methods. Yes, you can still connect your Mega Drive (or genesis) over RCA and RGB. Your SNES or even the (toaster) NES can do the same. The Master System MK2 and the Atari 2600 won’t do the trick without modification.</p> <p><img src="http://www.hometheater.com/images/archivesart/1207Hook.4.jpg" width="343" height="228"></p> <p>Thankfully the HDMI,RCA,Component won’t go anywhere. Even the conversion to DVI or VGA is possible and easy through adaptors. So, no problem on that front unless the television/monitor technology fly very fast in terms of connection. So, rest assured that your kids (even grandkids) will enjoy some good old gaming in the future.</p> <p><strong><u>Something to close with</u></strong></p> <p><img src="http://cdn3.staztic.com/screenshots/classic-games-wallpaper-hd-2-1.jpg" width="425" height="258"></p> <p>Remembering the old as a gamer may be important on how to preceive games and their hardware today. It doesn’t matter how old are you and how much of a graphics whore you are, be sure to play some classics (many top 10 can be found around the internet) and see for yourself what’s good and timeless game and console design. And yes, today’s consoles are definetly part of the history of video games. Don’t deny it because it’s true.</p> <p>I’m going to play some NES. Wanna come?</p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-32375287235668054022012-01-29T03:09:00.001-08:002012-02-06T14:33:25.334-08:00Remembering: 8 awesome facts about EEEpc 701 and why the Netbook market failed.<p><img src="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2425906/azure-FINAL.png" width="447" height="360"></p> <p>Ah my first EEEpc. That little fellow is still around. I don’t need it that much anymore, but it’s still a toy-like netbook that impresses with its mignon appearence and the geeky feel. It pretty much defined the term “netbook” that many netbooks since have betrayed and caused their market to flop. </p> <a name='more'></a> <p>I got mine back in 2007, when the models first came to Greece. Up until the time I bought it, I had to use computers assembled with spare parts that my brother arranged for me. Those computers were always a bit sluggish compared to newer systems, but their main problem was the liability. They weren’t very reliable due to the fact that many components were incompatible. The EEEpc came right after my last arranged pc became braindead.</p> <p>This machine has a lot of rights to brag about being the definition of the device we call today netbook. Here are 8 of them values, that ALL of the netbooks today have forgotten, and they led the Netbook industry to failure.</p> <p>8. EEEPC 701 said no to hard drives</p> <p><img src="http://www.geekinspired.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/no-hard-drive.jpg" width="273" height="188"></p> <p>Durability is an issue to every mobile computer out there. Laptops falling to concrete floor is a reasonable fright for all the users. But, sometimes destruction strucks from unexpected places. </p> <p>The first and foremost culprit is the hard disk and optical disks. Basically everything that has mechanical moving parts. Bumping the computer while the hard disk is in use, can produce errors, bad sectors or complete fuckup of the disk(s).</p> <p>The EEEPC 701 just removed it. Depending on your model, you either got 4, 8 or 16 GB of memory in ultrafast SSD. So, no rotating plates and moving headers equals consistent data read/write and no hardware failure due to physical shock. Thus, EEEPC701 could take a lot of abuse. Just throw it in a bag and GTFO.</p> <p>Today’s netbooks are another story. ALL of them have some sorts of conventional HDD. That means that you won’t operate them in a moving car, nor you can just throw it in a bag without fear of mechanical failing. That’s a reason that nobody wants to clutter their bags with a netbook plus its case. They just got a tablet instead with a fold case that’s almost half in size. That brings us to the next fact</p> <p>7. The EEEPC 701 had ideal size</p> <p><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2058/2263800128_89823d20e1_z.jpg?zz=1" width="456" height="345"></p> <p>I know, many of you will bitch about that low resolution screen, but besides that, the whole thing looked like an oversized DS (but still smaller than any other netbook. </p> <p>The size of the screen was hindered by the speakers, which is something that they got right in the EEEPC900 without changing the dimensions much. BUT, it was easy to carry, the keyboard was a bit cluttered but usable (well I got used to it really quickly anyway) and the value that it “fits a woman’s bag” is still evident. </p> <p>Today’s netbooks are bigger. Slimmer maybe but bigger. Being slightly inconvenient compared to the miniature size of EEEPC 701, they just aren’t as portable as that netbook. Plus, as we already stated, they need some extra protection. Which makes them even more cumbersome to carry.</p> <p>6.The EEEPC was easily recognisable </p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-lHiY1a4ZIBQ/TyUo30B-Y9I/AAAAAAAAB9M/PJjt7MwlS94/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-vceThByyK3s/TyUo4q92IuI/AAAAAAAAB9U/zw1yy5WFfZM/image_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="394" height="285"></a></p> <p>Today, the netbooks have that generic minimal design that kind of makes them look the same. Only LG and Lenovo made them a bit different using some extreme design choices such as the circlular touchpad or metal coating, but overall, without a logo at the top side of the lid, nobody woud say that your HP netbook is actually an HP netbook. </p> <p>The EEPC701 is just recognisable. Just look at it closed and open. The logos exist to say “this is achieved by ASUS mother fuckers” rather than “hey, it’s an HP. In case you didn’t notice”.</p> <p>And this thing is nowhere near stylish. It’s just blocky and straight as a primitive Autobot. It has an air of “computer geekness” Similar to IBM notebooks before being sold to Lenovo. It also came in many colours so, depending on your preferences (or sex) you could opt in to a colour you like the most.</p> <p>5. The EEEPC 701 had descent battery life</p> <p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbbvghVWxEHOjxWJS9Q0lyeBXOZA6IFskZNB4Zt3z9dS98_vt2sZ9l7_9j0c3jHxulQr3h-5D0GbRKnZdajX58gn71SWEkx3ttuGhNtSpOSmQIOcTtDvjBZHugWp9Nci9ySndhAcoH6u8/s400/eeepc901battery.jpg"></p> <p>Mostly because there weren’t any mechanical compartments to eat up energy. The battery primarily supported a bunch of chips talking to eachother, with the main crunchers being the screen and the RAM. It managed to skim about 6 hours on a 4-cell battery. Once the user gets a 6-cell battery, the computer could last about 10 hours of non-stop usage. And that was way before today’s fancy mobile chips.</p> <p>Today’s netbooks are incredible on that point, but the battery is really buffed up to do so. The newer Atom chips have better power management BUT spinning hard disks and the bigger, brighter screens really suck up the everloving crap from the battery. Most of them end up just being outdated computers after their large battery dies. </p> <p>4. The EEEPC 701 wasn’t trying to be a full fledged PC.</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmMD1IuXJBodVYLCUFpAokdMvXCqxV1dBlrPb7opBPAMDEF24sQzLB_IysL4Ev24X_AonqjjVTSQwpXFmRZ-0rsRry3pOfnDtIJ36eGd2kff8-ZfN3pSD0Fu0Oe5groJDwXcz9hDVaCXa/s1600-h/image%25255B7%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqVxnvy1e1SRrzl3uT5HIjl3MxTAD9iLQxUkyL0VMjyEfrLyY9PAC6YjE_eYuYvtgRzUW9Ul5wwTxszx4biyEsl2s2vES1pbt2d9LeeSt0awIrSx2R4YfenGxKzw4IHENgCcw6P3sf2-z_/?imgmax=800" width="419" height="289"></a></p> <p>If you ever ended up using a EEEPC701 as your primary PC, due to some disaster to your actual primary PC, you are in a seriously fucked up situation.</p> <p>The computer isn’t powerul. At the time, even some expensive smartphones had better memory and processor than the EEEPC701. It’s not the computer you’d use to do everyday stuff that rely on performance.</p> <p>That said, you can’t do a lot of multitasking on the EEEPC701. Nor load a lot of tabs on a browser, primarily because of the limited screen space and secondly, the multitude of open pages of the modern web, occupy a lot of memory due to the plugins that are being used. </p> <p>So, the EEEPC was perfect for chat-on-the-go, some authoring on office suites, light scripting for programmers, running diagnostics for network engineers, a little browsing, a little Skype and light gaming. That’s it. </p> <p>And that was fine on the EEEPC701. You can have 5 tabs without problem in FireFox, while chatting on Skype but if you wanted to do something else at the same time, adding to the screen clutter you’ll get a slow computer. It was never designed to be the multi-tasking ultra-performance computer we use normally.</p> <p>The newer netbooks have the extra push to run multiple programs at the same time, but that somehow feels out of place. The screens may be spacious enough for graphical stuff to go on, but the point of ultra portability is gone. The idea of doing many things as simply as possible has moved to other types of computing machines. Smartphones for instance, have opted for Android and iOS that allows users to do simple (or complex stuff) but the screen only shows ONE application at a time. So, only one application takes the spotlight and the majority of the processing power, while other prcesses stay in the background or dormant untill the user calls them up. </p> <p>At the same time, Tablets, that are have spacious and nice screens, still use the same scheme because it removes the clutter while programs are able to benefit the extra big scren. </p> <p>So the netbooks are essentially outdated computers that do things they never meant to. They still are good for light computing, diagnostics, authoring and scripting, browsing and chating/voicechatting but they don’t need to be so expensive and elaborate to do that. </p> <p>3. The EEEPC 701 brought back some older games</p> <p><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2243/2171005081_6b7eace0cb_z.jpg" width="438" height="331"></p> <p>Yes, gaming on the EEEPC wasn’t good, like running Elder’s sScrolls or Tomb Raider Anniversary, but it was quite adequate to run older games like Jazz Jackrabbit, Commander Keen, Tomb Raider 2, old Ultima Games, and generally it was able to run a multitude of PC games of the nineties and early 00’s. Which was quite a relief when travelling long distances. </p> <p>Aside from the native PC games, emulation of 16bit and 8bit systems was quite the feat, considering that the machine wasn’t powerful enough. Some smart tweaks help the games that are too stingy, especially for SNES games, to run smoothly. Rvisiting all those gems on the go, help on the “Easy to play” factor.</p> <p>The biggest advantage of the EEEPC701 over the gaming section was that, it was so small, you can grasp it by the sides and let your thumbs do the work. It isn’t, like, the most comfortable controller in the world, but assingning keys to the right buttons make it at least efortless and transforsm the EEEPC701 to a huge Game Boy Advance SP. </p> <p>The newer netbooks don’t even come close to that feature. They are a lot heavier to hold without having your wrists crying for help and getting a hand cramp, which is really painful. So, you’d probably need a controller or at least a table in order to play. And if you don’t want to rely on the keyboard, you need a gamepad. What a nuisance. </p> <p>2. The EEEPC 701 was easy to hack and fiddle with</p> <p><img src="http://www.itechnews.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/asus-eee-pc-701-umpc-mod-kit.jpg"></p> <p>By the time the public received the computer, they did their best to hack it both physically and software-wise. The most obvious hack was, well, software overclocking. For the users that use Windows, the overclocking is easy but Linux users got all the nifty little options. Other software hacks include the installation of MAC OS and Android, maximum screen resolution overrides for some games or higher resolutions that the screen doesn’t support or scrolling if the resolution chosen was really high.</p> <p>Hardware tweaks and hacks include touchscreens and bluetooth, inner SD or SSD drives and some users managed to turn the whole computer into a Tablet or a flashy Picture Frame. There even was a modder who attempted to release a kit to turn the computer into a Tablet effortlessly, but it turned out to be a fraud. </p> <p>Most of the neat modifications don’t even require soldering. Some jumpers and internal usb’s along with duct tape and a lot of unscrewing does the trick for most of the additions. If you are familiar with the soldering iron though, you can do miracles! </p> <p>Today’s netbooks have two important factors that made the modders turn away. First, they are expensive. Nobody wants to ruin a 400€ HP netbook just to add Bluetooth. The second reason is that their internals got more sophisticated in order to contain more hardware in less space. That produces a lot of errors while modding that may draw the computer unusable.</p> <p>1. The EEEPC 701 was plain geeky awesome.</p> <p><img src="http://blog.laptopmag.com/wpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/eeevolutionin.jpg" width="419" height="357"></p> <p>If I’m to play favorites, I’ll do it by saying that the EEEPC 701 was my favorite gadget so far (except my newly purchased Xoom which is something between awesome and unicorns). Anybody who had that netbook, would find it difficult to adapt to another. That happens because other netbooks need more care, aren’t as convinient, are bigger and a tad heavier and despite of trying to be full scaled PC’s (something that they aren’t) they fall short on convenience, ease of use and whatever a netbook is supposed to be and is supposed to do. I can go on and say that netbooks betrayed their ideals for being more flashy and commercially accepted wich didn’t happen because they were alright as they were. </p> <p>Many of the assets I mentioned (except the price) can be found on today’s tablets. The iPad is easily recognisable and good at games, the Xoom has perfect form factor, the Archos tablets are easy to fiddle with and so on. That’s why the tablet market gains ground day by day even if some of them, and I’m looking at you Apple, may be firmly closed for their own reasons.</p> <p>So there you have it. My tribute to EEEPC701 is over. Unlockment Achieved for WizFrikiMan for the awesome header image!</p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-83773242812890881752011-12-24T15:49:00.001-08:002011-12-24T15:49:26.537-08:00Let’s talk about joy.<p><a href="http://mimiandeunice.com"><img src="http://mimiandeunice.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ME_464_Gratitude.png" width="464" height="152"></a></p> <p>Under the glooming void of the economical crisis in Greece, having to pay like a bazillion of illegal and unjust taxes, with all my time being spent between my job and my Master Degree, still find myself some time to enjoy. I don’t want to bitch again so here are some of the mindless stupid stuff I enjoyed doing the previous weeks. </p> <a name='more'></a> <p><u>Messing on e-bay</u></p> <p>My soft spot is Videogames. Of course. Don’t act surprised god dammit! So, messing on Ebay for retro systems and games was one of my favorite pass-time. It’s like window shopping that saves the employees of folding the stuff again. The problem is, I bought nothing but a fridge filter and a couple of cheap Game Gear stuff. Super Nintendo US to PAL converter, I’ll get you next time, I promise. That goes to you too Master System Converter 2.</p> <p><u>The channel of Superpowerless.</u></p> <p><img src="http://www.geeksaresexy.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/super.jpg" width="412" height="255"></p> <p>The guy is awsome. I ‘ve kinda lost him after his amazing 8-bit mix of Wonderwall by Oasis. After his Youtube video went down, I completely lost track of him. Now I’ve found him and he’s in full range of creativity. The “Throwing Shapes” and “Wasting Μy Life” are the best among his originals.</p> <p><u>My old consoles on a big ass screen</u></p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-5UzBWYCpxjc/TvZk9Li8USI/AAAAAAAAB68/j6q0ocKpkRc/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7SapAQvfFXZEprdK8iuC5Czc1cEECJzCnsNGtYWsmmznD_DGPBRkruyeHLBxU0OltKqyabOAENTuYmvGCH85WphPfQ-4MpQyS_n0zcnpP6Y2dImGgNaqhAumv_oYQqzaWzOZJDb83xjvb/?imgmax=800" width="423" height="311"></a></p> <p>OK, just to get it clear. I hate Sega Megadrive on big screen. It’s just awful to look at. Since I have an ΜΚ2, the RGB encoder chip is utter shite while on RGB. </p> <p>BUT, now I can play all the consoles on my television set, including my Super Nintendo and Sega Dreamcast. We found a way to conviniently plug everything to the television and hide the cable chaos behind the whole set. So, clear gaming den is clear and awesome.</p> <p>I just wish I had an Megadrive MK1 with an RGB cable…</p> <p><u>Rayman Origins and Sonic CD</u></p> <p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/44/Sonic_CD_256px.jpg" width="295" height="296"></p> <p>If you consider yourself a gamer that plays quality games, go and buy Rayman Origins. Like NOW. </p> <p>Sonic CD on the Xbox360 is totally the best port from an old console to a new HD machine to date. It supports widescreen, there is no pixel bleeding even with the “blurry” effect enabled and they included the JAP/EU soundtrack because the US one SUCKS. </p> <p><a href="http://dumbrunningsonic.tumblr.com/">Dumb running Sonics</a></p> <p><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-IZeGMyicPRw/TuwwBckiArI/AAAAAAAAADM/y-fUratRTeU/s499/SonicIdiot14.gif" width="351" height="327"></p> <p>I’m tempted to install the Adobe Imageready just to draw a 3 frame animation of sonic running like an idiot.</p> <p>Aaaand that’s pretty much it.</p> <p>I’m making a new post about techie stuff, but I need some TIME, which saddly I don’t have. :( So, there WILL be delays… Till then, tell me, what gave you joy lately?</p> <p>Last minute entry: THIS GUY THAT’S SHY</p> <p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-OCOyJ4jFVKs/TvZk_7452EI/AAAAAAAAB7M/gSqyWCBsky4/s1600-h/384890_10150577762415120_563190119_11135145_848602746_n%25255B3%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="384890_10150577762415120_563190119_11135145_848602746_n" border="0" alt="384890_10150577762415120_563190119_11135145_848602746_n" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibhBVqy6tgDwIswt4GHaIwUT6qP1hIWOSGdZrYVHanFXAEU_Q8QyxTAl1-aVpa5iXA19KBk0XV4IglByrcvzL68WpXLOR-pE5fni9R_HOAc0gxEmFE9LaIK8MrWbHIiJBiuoVZBk_XB3zn/?imgmax=800" width="283" height="388"></a></p> <p>Crafted and gifted to me by my friend Cubilone. The best christmas card ever. </p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-27388642263048364302011-11-20T03:39:00.001-08:002011-11-20T14:02:21.264-08:00Cheap-o-matic review: Blaze Megadrive portable console (update)<p><a href="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-iwV7IJF96OY/Tsjm1h7sBVI/AAAAAAAAB5o/nafhQfE6bVE/s1600-h/WP_000033%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Cheap" border="0" alt="Cheap" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-mhe2z31mIhQ/Tsjm2hhdTJI/AAAAAAAAB5w/QGJ3Peo-ssU/WP_000033_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="449" height="353"></a></p> <p>Firecore consoles are here for good in order revive memories and be a constant source of ear-rape. I wanted to have one, just for the lulz of it. My brother, who shares my love with retro stuff and curiosity for managed to get me one for my nameday. Here’s another of the bazillion reviews floating around the internet for the Blaze Megadrive Portable console.</p> <a name='more'></a> <p>The console itself is quite small. Smaller that I expected actually. The plastic feels sturdy but cheap. I don’t know how that’s even possible, but what I know is that it doesn’t creek under the pressure of my hads. But somehow manages to feel cheap. Weird. </p> <p>The device comes loaded with 18 games. here’s the list of the games right from the device’s menu screens. </p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-afzfAmoGMJE/Tsjm4Rn-m8I/AAAAAAAAB54/fxiYcFDxZzY/s1600-h/WP_000027%25255B5%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Fire ore list 1" border="0" alt="Fire ore list 1" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-_JaDlQ_J_Bw/Tsjm5VM4XRI/AAAAAAAAB6A/h7hZnQj6XD4/WP_000027_thumb%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="448" height="360"></a></p> <p><a href="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-CrFx35RnI1g/Tsjm6lEJPdI/AAAAAAAAB6I/ePagfn2J3ow/s1600-h/WP_000028%25255B6%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Firecore list 2" border="0" alt="Firecore list 2" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-6c4a3tvt-Qg/Tsjm7qoMNSI/AAAAAAAAB6Q/rmVYX5dRF0g/WP_000028_thumb%25255B3%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="447" height="367"></a></p> <p>It sports a nice anthology of Megadrive Gems. Only one Sonic though. And no Ecco or Vectorman or… well whatever.</p> <p>Let’s get into categories and see how this little cheapo gadget fares. </p> <p><strong>Build Quality</strong> </p> <p>As I have already commented above, the device is sturdy but it feels cheap on touch. It doesn’t creek nor it feels filmsy. It fits good in hands of different sizes (mine are quite big) and the buttons are nicely placed and easy to reach. The buttons feel good, a bit soft for my tastes, and the B button is slightly less accented by the other two. Making it somewhat the “favorite” button on games like Sonic. But all in all they do the trick. </p> <p>The D-pad also does the trick, being 8-directional and overall responsive. It is a little swampy, just like the other buttons, but after playing a while, I got used to it.</p> <p>At the top of the device the on/off swich, volume whell and AV output can be found. The cables for hooking it on your TV is included in the package. I’ll get to that detail later.</p> <p>At the bottom of the device, there’s the hedphone jack. Not that anybody would want to hear the horrendous noises this machine produces. Another thing to be analyzed later. And that’s pretty much it. No SD slots, sadly.</p> <p>As an added bonus, there’s a little loop where a charm can be hooked or a keyring. Not that I recommend to pair this thing with your keys. It would end up being severely scratched in no time. </p> <p><strong>Screen</strong></p> <p>The screen is nowhere near beautiful. The pixels are too far apart, making things look blocky. Some nostalgia-guys might say that it adds to the nostalgia effect of the device because it looks like the first color-screen consoles like the GameGear or the Lynx. I won’t disagree with that, but some games really suffer from the low pixel density and resolution of the screen. </p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl5p1fHLxukvo22tqUt63ux9eYFQnv_ivEnM804b-jV6ixibDKH9BBNvqZgGOq2beXvptfSq2SwuV4op-E-0Rp1U7GyV4-SzJZIV6iKyPOCXqGsi41ZqndJ24LTPO11yVB-3dgwXJy25WA/s1600-h/WP_000030%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Alex kids problems " border="0" alt="Alex kids problems " src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-7jlJJ1y6yhY/Tsjm92pSclI/AAAAAAAAB6g/x38VXUUFDok/WP_000030_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="421" height="331"></a></p> <p>The text in Alex Kidd is just an example. Take a look at Crackdown</p> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQhsxOx764ASCW_htn5pF9juLda9qeHJdiY3m3YnrD966EOFnXDJWFIQI2Dvujr1Mqc0bpX_ywLBxWhtq4MghMvZ1tx_vQJM9zlXBUXQ2yVeo14PF4ufQHlhJFvLzbBAaZ8DUFZMgTc9dU/s1600-h/WP_000031%25255B4%25255D.jpg"><img style="background-image: none; border-right-width: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="Eswatunplayable" border="0" alt="Eswatunplayable" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-yCZsvvz6bJE/TsjnAAKNaBI/AAAAAAAAB6w/VLpGBMabwnE/WP_000031_thumb%25255B1%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" width="428" height="336"></a></p> <p>Hmm. Nearly unplayable.</p> <p>To the screen’s credit, the colors are quite bright and vibrant while the response time is reasonable. There’s no “motion blurring” or, at least, none that will affect the gameplay.</p> <p>I would just call this screen “servicable”. Just that. </p> <p><strong>Emulation and software</strong></p> <p>Well, I commented the game collection above. It’s quite of a Gemfest, depending on your tastes. Of course there are some less-favorites but that’s also on your tastes. </p> <p>On the visual part of the emulation of the games, the Firecore does a great job. There are no significant bugs on the graphics and the framerate is generally smooth, except the times where the screen gets really cluttered by sprites. For example, when an enemy kicks the rings out of Sonic, there is a slight lag.</p> <p>The audio part of the emulation is by far the worse aspect of the console. It takes the lovely music of certain games and turns it into miserable blips and blops. Keep the volume down at all times if you don’t want to turn insane. Bad sound emulation is bad.</p> <p><strong>Battery life</strong></p> <p>The device runs on three AAA batteries that may last about 5 hours or more. It’s generally adviced to carry an extra triplet of batteries with you if you go on a long train ride or an intercontinental flight.</p> <p>So let’s conclide this review on what this device is good for and what not.</p> <p><strong>This device is good for</strong>:</p> <p><strong>Kids</strong>. yeah, those little bastards who know nothing about gaming of the past. You buy them one of those and tell them to leave their 3DS at home. No problem if it gets stolen. It’s just a cheap console. </p> <p><strong>Retro lovers</strong>. Such as myself. I want to play something on the metro or during downtime at work and don’t want to carry items from their own collection. No collector wants his possesions to be damaged by everyday usage or stolen.</p> <p><strong>People who just want simple fun on the go</strong>: No carts, no SD’s no nothing. Just pop it out of your bag and play.</p> <p><strong>This device is NOT for</strong>:</p> <p><strong>The ones who seek quality emulation</strong>. The emulation looks OK but the sound is beyond awful. A few slowdowns may be a turnoff too.</p> <p><strong>People who want more than 18 games</strong>: Why don’t you go and buy a GP2X already?</p> <p><strong>People who want a big, bright and sleek screen</strong>: While the screen is servicable without ghosting and descent color, the low resolution and poor pixel density makes it feel blocky and some graphics just look corrupted.</p> <p><strong>Will it fit in your pocket?</strong></p> <p>For a few LULZ and light gaming on the go, this cheap-o-matic is way better that the shit usually found in bazaars and chinese shops. AtGames is producing more of those devices including a Sonic-head shaped Wii knocoff, a Master System Blaze and a Mega Drive Blaze with SD slot. You can go over their site and decide the way you want your ears raped by awesome gaming.</p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-40220381254612318842011-09-25T14:30:00.001-07:002011-09-25T14:34:12.140-07:00VGM VS Mainstream Artists: Sonic vs Lady Gaga<p><img src="http://9.media.dorkly.cvcdn.com/31/71/f9bdd64cf6d2c9e77d27b9c4bb6c303d.jpg" width="471" height="270"></p> <p>Sonic BGM’s are one of the most memorable beats from the genesis days. Lady gaga is one of the most memorable artis of our days. </p> <p>What we get when we mix those up? Total awesomeness. And I’m not a Lady Gaga fan. Let the music flow!</p> <a name='more'></a> <p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:a017dd60-cbe3-43d5-a122-4ef7cd796d6f" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="6c6ae3bb-b015-4dd1-9baf-884a02857003" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHJWWogavr0&feature=related" target="_new"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifqoxE8ovQiYHYuVHhuQ2upEctZpOMgUysxGdDnOFztLgNBXOsUBQTLdRVyjNQ2oI1_LDkbh66lAH-Nf2-MoH7aP4TGi0Tf37eVtXyB7q_I82IZQ3ClDJs2P6vHQDcayC6K3tiwGdNeghm/?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('6c6ae3bb-b015-4dd1-9baf-884a02857003'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/iHJWWogavr0?hl=en&hd=1\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/iHJWWogavr0?hl=en&hd=1\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div><div style="width:448px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">Dancing in the ice isn’t as simple as Gaga states…</div></div> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:cbf4313d-1f84-4642-83d1-ecd541dbeaae" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="eb4e99bd-31b9-4e53-9206-2ac2dd827330" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIhB8pG-llc" target="_new"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDrbfsncVG-ivb8yru9gamHC6JvMQYwHr6rpn_VVjYmmVySoE4zESZXliqLml6ROSiM2RVaulsvo-Xn48vTfmLGKYSm2hhhwSRWzJfDkisqbEaf9sgtZRk75psJmYVGRPLFk1Ezo3yuUC/?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('eb4e99bd-31b9-4e53-9206-2ac2dd827330'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/uIhB8pG-llc?hl=en&hd=1\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/uIhB8pG-llc?hl=en&hd=1\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div><div style="width:448px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">Volcanos and Paparazzis never looked so good in isometric view…</div></div></p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:a37d4371-1ec3-410a-8cd5-1f7bc5e9d9d0" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="8c702d28-535e-43c8-88a1-dc5019125c0d" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lP0RwNGRDx4" target="_new"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-2Lt3pYh9bI8/Tn-dcb12WFI/AAAAAAAAB4g/TBkxjX2YNmY/videoc2d904c52061%25255B24%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('8c702d28-535e-43c8-88a1-dc5019125c0d'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/lP0RwNGRDx4?hl=en&hd=1\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/lP0RwNGRDx4?hl=en&hd=1\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div><div style="width:448px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">A more relaxing–surreal mix of paparazzi</div></div> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:d654b2ec-2f4c-486d-807e-04f1ae86eaf9" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="5554c93b-3992-42ca-a8dd-f477f60523f9" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4ex1I4SFZs" target="_new"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-l_MXyd1phyQ/Tn-dcxOTt_I/AAAAAAAAB4k/X4UbAzsRndY/videoc8459182b6c1%25255B22%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('5554c93b-3992-42ca-a8dd-f477f60523f9'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/-4ex1I4SFZs?hl=en&hd=1\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/-4ex1I4SFZs?hl=en&hd=1\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div><div style="width:448px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">Bad batteries and flying romances? :P</div></div> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:60b930e3-f44b-4f8d-8b83-508366d679a5" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="c369cd2b-604d-4ff2-a962-744511e29238" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6JoJ1aLNuw" target="_new"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-98PcxAB2tUE/Tn-ddRX-bSI/AAAAAAAAB4o/8EMC1f3UuFE/video0f2e9f6e0198%25255B21%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('c369cd2b-604d-4ff2-a962-744511e29238'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/j6JoJ1aLNuw?hl=en&hd=1\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/j6JoJ1aLNuw?hl=en&hd=1\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div><div style="width:448px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">stardance?</div></div> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:ea4c37ba-af14-4524-948f-10022319a090" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="ea8d7985-c62b-43e1-9fb4-ba4649696b8c" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT7TPtpfFVY&feature=related" target="_new"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/--Gkfj_l-xBs/Tn-dd11q8DI/AAAAAAAAB4s/MGYmBNQQQ7c/videob97f102daab1%25255B17%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('ea8d7985-c62b-43e1-9fb4-ba4649696b8c'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/lT7TPtpfFVY?hl=en&hd=1\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/lT7TPtpfFVY?hl=en&hd=1\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div><div style="width:448px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">I think that’s better suit for Ice Cap</div></div> <p>and of course some Mega Drive Synched by some homebrewers. They sound good for stages…</p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:9ed45cc0-e208-4d80-9ab9-fdc6caabc225" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="bcea13fa-b108-403e-8512-874c5600b807" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMsB0BrzM20&feature=related" target="_new"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-ssFQbH9Ksfk/Tn-de3GqI4I/AAAAAAAAB4w/e6GbFUmDOt0/video4a9043711593%25255B19%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('bcea13fa-b108-403e-8512-874c5600b807'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/IMsB0BrzM20?hl=en&hd=1\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/IMsB0BrzM20?hl=en&hd=1\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:a54c7027-9e94-4a13-b64a-99b42f902d06" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="ad754181-41ae-4521-84c0-e9a78f2baf8b" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCf7qk_Ahrk&feature=related" target="_new"><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-mVBha6cug1c/Tn-dfh0IgxI/AAAAAAAAB40/tzqujq8x0rA/video60c965002bdd%25255B16%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('ad754181-41ae-4521-84c0-e9a78f2baf8b'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/hCf7qk_Ahrk?hl=en&hd=1\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/hCf7qk_Ahrk?hl=en&hd=1\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:6a36d986-0138-4b54-bc43-8e8d506ffd38" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div id="d9dd4b4e-eab8-463f-901b-e3e5095c95f8" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; display: inline;"><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6BA0vH0WHQ&feature=related" target="_new"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-RGAJvnDIXhs/Tn-dgBcfDxI/AAAAAAAAB44/QY71jO2rHqE/video3f19ab24a582%25255B15%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('d9dd4b4e-eab8-463f-901b-e3e5095c95f8'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML = "<div><object width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><param name=\"movie\" value=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/A6BA0vH0WHQ?hl=en&hd=1\"><\/param><embed src=\"http://www.youtube.com/v/A6BA0vH0WHQ?hl=en&hd=1\" type=\"application/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"448\" height=\"252\"><\/embed><\/object><\/div>";" alt=""></a></div></div></div> <p>And I think that’s pretty much it. You can submit yours in the comments. There are so many mashups that it’s almost impossible to track them down. </p> <p>Unlockment Achieved to all the remixers, artists and, I don’t know who else made her music a bit more listenable to the gamer non-fans of her. </p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-681636538731442752011-09-10T14:26:00.001-07:002011-09-10T14:39:52.326-07:00Remembering: 10 fun facts about Dreamcast for new and casual gamers.<p> </p> <p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9NAUMSb7y3SBM3iClDrElV6rD_3unau9IRiI7rziVxomA7Nlrqc92eFiA6N2IOu0BvV-ifsNNXNC3iHT6-Km4NuNMQw-rfjjcwFdyD19OfjiGPeV8O0S9KQNHh84iqBPeUvLxZr3UiU/s1600/sega20dreamcast.jpg" width="426" height="355"></p> <p>Well if you consider yourself not so “geeky” but you still feel like learning some things from the past, you are in the right spot. </p> <p>This article is dedicated especially for the young gamers who weren’t born in 1999 or they started playing games in mid 00’s. That means, that you kids were blessed with Gamecube, PS2 and the original Xbox as starting point, but you don’t really know much about that “other” console.</p> <p>Also, this list is for everyone who plays casually or isn’t much of a gamer but wants to achieve some knowlege about the industry’s past. </p> <a name='more'></a> <p>So, here we go:</p> <h2>1. Sega Dreamcast had online capabilities right out of the box.</h2> <p><img src="http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/12/120503/1680286-dc_acc_broadband_super.jpg"></p> <p>What we consider today a standard, it wasn’t as simple back in the early 00’s. Dreamcast had a 56k (for US) or a 33.6k (for EU) plugged right in, ready to have the ISP info uploaded to it by a special disk and ready for some multiplayer action. There also was a broadband adapter, namely a LAN one.</p> <p><u>What did it mean for the gamer?</u></p> <p><img src="http://images.swap.com/images/vg/40/1056440.jpg"></p> <p>OK it didn’t have, like, cross game chat or a full spectrum of online downloadable games. BUT it did had some descent multiplayer games, a web browser and downloadable contents for some games such as Sonic Adventure 2. It also had the first (and probably only) console-based MMO. Fantasy Star Online is still being played using private servers and hacked versions of the game.</p> <h2>2. Sega Dreamcast could do VGA </h2> <p>Years before the 360, the Dreamcast had VGA capabilities and thus an official VGA cable was released. It allowed players to hook up their Dreamcast to a PC monitor and enjoy their games.</p> <p><img src="http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/14/l_a6758c3d350c46539bc8b7d498e28ce8.jpg" width="390" height="295"></p> <p><u>What did it mean for the gamers?</u></p> <p>Superior picture in most games. The gamers had the opportunity to witness the true power of Dreamcast right before ther eyes, without interlaced modes, in crispy clean 480p with progressive scan. That means that the most 3D games looked crystal clean.</p> <p><img src="http://www.games-dojo.com/images/uploads/dc-vgacable.jpg"></p> <p>But, there were downsides too. Not all games supported VGA, so the players needed to unplug the cable, then boot the game and then plug it in. This simple workaround worked almost always. Another downside is that the sprite-based games look too…. pixelated. Scanlines on normal CRT televisions use to hide the “pixel bleeding” makng 2D sprites look crisp. But with those scanlines gone, the sprites have no extra help to pop-out. So, if you are going to play games such as Marvel VS Capcom 2, it’s better to have a CRT television around to play instead of a monitor. </p> <h2>3. Sega Dreamcast was the first console to have a camera peripheral and used motion controllers</h2> <p><img src="http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/848/10390694.jpg" width="471" height="318"></p> <p>Sega had a keen eye on making peripherals for the Dreamcast, thus augmenting the experience on some games. The Dreameye was the first camera to tether to a console, the Rapala Fishing Rod and Samba de Amigo maracas were motion controllers way before the Wii existed even as an Idea.</p> <p><u>What did it mean for the gamer?</u></p> <p>You could fish with the Fishing rod and have fun with Samba de Amigo with the maracas, but those motion controllers were compatible with other games too. The rod was compatible with Virtua Tennis 2K2 for instance. Sega wanted their peripherals to be functional and justify their purchase by adding “Secret features” to other games like “Mister Driller” that was played with the “maracas” without any documentation about the feature.</p> <p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/ee/Dreameye.jpg" width="431" height="449"></p> <p>The Dreameye is another story. It’s a primitive digital point-and-shoot camera that you could take with you outside, but the pictures can be seen connecting it to the dreamcast. It wasn’t anything special by today’s standard. The internal memory could just fit 31 pictures in .jpeg format and it could be used as a webcam too. The problem is that it never got outside Japan. West missed the first camera ever graced a concole.</p> <h2>4. The Dreamcast had Keyboard and Mouse </h2> <p><img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/147743-destructoid-celebrates-10-years-of-the-sega-dreamcast/keyboard-620x.jpg" width="460" height="273"></p> <p>You may think “meh. many consoles had those accesories before” and you are absolutely right. I still remember the fun I had with Mario Paint and such. Playstation also had a descent mouse but I remember only a couple of games actually using it. Dreamcast also had a mouse and a keyboard, but their story were different.</p> <p><u>How different?</u></p> <p>Every FPS released in the Dreamcast, used keyboard and mouse controls, like their PC counterparts. That means that, fragging in Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament felt exactly at home. The mouse was also used in several other games like REZ without documentation (as a bonus maybe) and Phantasy Star online also benefited by those keys and pointing device. </p> <p><img src="http://worldofstuart.excellentcontent.com/haveyou/totd6.jpg" width="466" height="357"></p> <p>A game that stands out is the “Typing of the Dead” a game that was based on killing zombies using accurate typing. It sounds retarded but it’s actually awesome and it can get very-very tense at times.</p> <h2>5. The Dreamcast had two of the most expensive games ever produced.</h2> <p><img src="http://images.wikia.com/shenmue/images/0/0a/Shenmue_Box_Art.jpg" width="451" height="418"></p> <p>I’m talking about Shenmue and Shenmue 2. Those games were expensive to make. Both of them took around 70 Million dollars which, by today’s standard is 92 Million. That’s a lot of money. The poor sales of both games and the eventual demise of the Dreamcast prevented SEGA to produce a third title, thus leaving the gamers with an unresolved story.</p> <p><u>What’s left to the gamers?</u></p> <p>Maybe the most graphically advanced games for the time, that still stand out today beautifully. Played on VGA Shenmue looks almost like a frist-generation Xbox360 game. </p> <p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisAo6pxee7tc_xq0n6B5xVaHObXpBDfvp3AzU-xLFG26GVhOdSE-xF0NQDayj0ew7S9a7TBVODX7PXiURJqdBPmo6sX955nQvF1o3jipcgNv5dvma11CYpRSIoCtD3nPjlvqFmoHNfPrk/s400/Shenmue_Set2_284.jpg"></p> <p>Shenmue isn’t for everybody. The programmers didn’t want a cliche game. They wanted to get as close to reality as they could do. So the gamers have to work, manage money and instead of breaking necks of people and then interogate, you have to wander around do some actual detective work. That means a lot of asking people around.</p> <p>What I have to say about Shenmue is that I’ve never seen a city portrayed in a videogame, that feels as vivid and alive. Each of the NPC’s had its own agenda, they had their own life cycles and they were disticntively different from eachother. Populating the roads with such a mixed crowd and making them going for walks, woriking, shopping, e.t.c. made Shenmue one of the most vivid and humane experience in a digital video game. </p> <h2>6. The Dreamcast was the first console that was supported by an actual OS.</h2> <p><img src="http://multimedia.cx/eggs/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/dreamcast-windows-ce.jpg"></p> <p>Have you noticed the little logo at the front of the device? “Compatible with Windows CE”. The Dreamcast was Sega’s and Microsoft’s lovechild, way before the Xbox ever existed. The games booted along with a version of Windows CE and many of them used DirectX based graphics.</p> <p><u>What did that meant to the gamers?</u></p> <p>The programmers already knew how to program with DirectX libraries. So, the console was a breeze to program for. Thus, there were less worries on techie stuff and they spent more time on making good games with good gameplay. Today’s Xbox360 also has this “Charisma”. It’s a breeze for the programmers to program for. </p> <p>So, that’s why there is a ton of quality games with marvellous graphics and gameplay for the Dreamcast. As for the first-party games, the AM2 was actually the creator of the arcade the Dreamcast was based upon, so all programmers had equal opportunities to drain the last Flop of prcessing power of the dreamcst.</p> <h2>6. The discs were readable from standard CD-ROM drives</h2> <p>And I’m not talking about *gasp* piracy. </p> <p><u>What did that meant to the gamers</u>? </p> <p>Many goodies from wallpapers to game soundtracks included within the same discs the Dreamcast played. Some even had extra videos. </p> <h2>7. The standard Dreamcast memory card was a micro console on its own.</h2> <p><img src="http://bulk.destructoid.com/ul/147722-games-time-forgot-zombie-revenge/DreamcastVMU-620x.jpg" width="430" height="325"></p> <p>Many games included simple games within their save files. So, when the gamers were away from their beloved Dreamcast, they had a piece of it with them to play.</p> <p><u>What did the gamers had to do with it?</u></p> <p>The prime example is Sonic Adventure titles with their famous Chao minigame. The player loads a Chao in one of the VMU’s, they raise it in a tamagochi fashion and they could unlock goodies and stuff in the actual game the next time they load their game. </p> <p>That wasn't the only usage of the VMU. It would display various things about the game that’s currently being played or just a cool logo. For example, in Shenmue 2, there is a progress bar displayed on the VMU when Ryo (the main character) practices a new technique. When he masters the technique, the VMU emits a satisfying beep. </p> <p><img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/Dreamcast_VMU_-_25_Feb.jpg" width="463" height="289"></p> <p>Many of you think “meh, Pocket Station did it way before the Dreamcast”</p> <p>Yeah, I think I mentioned earlier the word “standard”, right? the VMU was STANDARD for the Dreamcast. That means that 99% of the controllers worldwide had a VMU connected on it displaying stuff. The Pocket Station? Never released outside Japan. Thanks Sony. </p> <h2>8.The Dreamcast had a hit on every game genre.</h2> <p><img src="http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/7422/860057-dsc00016_super.jpg" width="448" height="339"></p> <p>Some consoles have great RPG’s while platform games are dull. Some others have great fighters. Some are diverse. The Dreamcast had a speciality on beat em ups and Shmups. BUT the console had achieved games critically acclaimed on every possible genre. Including those of virtual pets, dancing simulators and life simulators (I’m talking about LOL: Lack of Love) </p> <p><u>How did that traslated to the gamers?</u></p> <p>You were never bored on the Dreamcast. There is a game for you in its library that might satisfy your needs perfectly. Sure, it didn’t had the RPG’s of PS2, but, hey, it lived twice as short. Having Skies of Arcadia and Grandia is an achievement for such a short lived console. There always was something to get busy with, no matter the taste.</p> <p><img src="http://pics.mobygames.com/images/covers/large/1109178013-00.jpg" width="401" height="401"></p> <p>You liked horror? Code: Veronica and D2 was your call. You liked adventures? Shenmue was a hybrid made in heaven for the patient adventurers. You liked racing? From V-Rally to Rush Rush Rally and the harsh Tokyo Xtreme Racing was your cup of tea. There was something great for everyone. </p> <h2>9. The Dreamcast was the pinnacle in which Microsoft designed the Xbox conole series. </h2> <p><img src="http://vgtribune.com/files/2011/02/copycat.jpg" width="426" height="231"></p> <p>That’s true. From the controller to the method of having an actual OS working in the background, Microsoft took many lessons from the Dreamcast and made the Xbox and then the Xbox360. While the first Xbox wasn’t much of a success, the 360 tends to be a virtual Dreamcast with all the collections and the ability to download and play the most important Dreamcast games off of Xbox Live. No Shenmue though.</p> <p>And, under any circumstances, DON’T PLAY SPACE CHANNEL 5 ON THE 360. The reason is that the controller d-pad sucks. Maybe not all lessons were learned from Sega…</p> <h2>10. The Dreamcast lives on.</h2> <p>Not only in the hearts of gamers, but also from the vast modding and homebrewing community that’s still vivid to this day. The Dreamcast has the ability to play DivX out of discs, play MP3’s, Emulate Sega and Nintendo’s past consoles, (and Sony’s as weird as it may sound). Even boot desktop versions of Linux and Windows CE complete with launchable applications and the ability to connect to the internet. </p> <p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTKdJ001XTbweSjHayeQq4zLTwJ9cNMRhHANJ6IyFPzpIeP3g_en9AA-MPH1hdAwC_ra13aqiDbQuQGDBOELuJwW4zSrm10mJUJ5EGziZEZXMuW-B4RbZqMKMNfNBjAQdrtgWFoIqLFh3X/s1600/dcmc_main.jpeg" width="423" height="320"></p> <p>Not to mention that there are games published for it to our days. Many homebrew programmers turn out to release games for the Dreamcast and many of them are as good as the official ones. </p> <p><img src="http://pdroms.de/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/20090910_breakzen_(dc_game_port).png"></p> <p>Moreover, some of the games stand beautifully the trial of time, Such as Jet Set Radio which still looks great. Also, Shemue and Shemue 2 look like they’re made today. REZ and Cosmic Smash pioneer the idea of simple yet impressive graphics and Crazy Taxi teaches that a fun game needs nothing more than pleasing visuals, good gameplay and fast situations In which Dreamcast still delivers like a pro.</p> <p>I think I’m done. Now that you have read that, why don’t you go out and look for your own Dreamcast? You’ll love every bit of it once you get your hands on it. Trust me. It’s one of the best consoles ever made and you’ll find out your own reasons for it. </p> <p>“A candle that burns twice as bright, burns twice as short.” Happy birthday Dreamcast. I’m going to play some Soul Calibur now.</p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-60249420465445322162011-08-21T02:32:00.001-07:002011-08-21T14:42:21.399-07:00Sunday grooves: 10 great chiptune videos of Youtube<p><img src="http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ae_8bit1_928.jpg"></p> <p>I love melodies made of blips and blops of old consoles. In fact, I love them so much, I listen to them all the time. Here are some of my favorites on YouTube and you can listen-see them after the break.</p> <a name='more'></a> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:4a1b9a3c-3191-450b-b91c-4969781b2b6f" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div><object width="298" height="167"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Fhu2Uyakes8?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Fhu2Uyakes8?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="298" height="167"></embed></object></div><div style="width:298px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">It sure beats. And I can hear the original singing? WE NEED MORE OF THESE!</div></div> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:bdbdee61-b063-4072-b80d-858827d60e35" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div><object width="302" height="169"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ESVWawHZF1Y?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ESVWawHZF1Y?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="302" height="169"></embed></object></div><div style="width:302px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">One of the strongest meme-creating song is actually an awesome chiptune!</div></div> <p>h</p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:38320fd7-4268-44ec-ae46-fcf57c39d851" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div><object width="298" height="167"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uY6xrEFh7WQ?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uY6xrEFh7WQ?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="298" height="167"></embed></object></div><div style="width:298px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">Hey, Ash, Watcha playin? All the groovy tunes of Fantomenk?</div></div> <p> </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:f3413da1-cd1f-4867-a466-2ef2cadb3d66" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div><object width="305" height="171"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/wqnthkTudtU?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/wqnthkTudtU?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="305" height="171"></embed></object></div><div style="width:305px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">More Fantomenk because he’s awesome</div></div> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:9355298e-0ac2-4b20-9f44-32b6d4b62c56" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div><object width="304" height="171"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1wAq3pzw8fk?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1wAq3pzw8fk?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="304" height="171"></embed></object></div><div style="width:304px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">This video isn’t an excersice in sound perfectness, but the 8-bit interpretation of the video clip is just epic.</div></div> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:2975d42d-ad73-4a05-9b97-b933b6e9c193" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div><object width="308" height="172"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xmNxPKEdHdw?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xmNxPKEdHdw?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="308" height="172"></embed></object></div><div style="width:308px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">Are you into pirated software? I’m not, but keygen chiptune music is awesome!</div></div> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:156b0a70-8979-4fb6-bfe2-30fe690b8e57" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div><object width="311" height="174"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sSNNkzLuBvo?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sSNNkzLuBvo?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="311" height="174"></embed></object></div><div style="width:311px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">happy trippy mushrooms</div></div> <p> </p> <div style="padding-bottom: 0px; margin: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; float: none; padding-top: 0px" id="scid:5737277B-5D6D-4f48-ABFC-DD9C333F4C5D:e8ab2b12-aaf1-4bf6-81be-6a76a076968b" class="wlWriterEditableSmartContent"><div><object width="310" height="174"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4qsWFFuYZYI?hl=en&hd=1"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4qsWFFuYZYI?hl=en&hd=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="310" height="174"></embed></object></div><div style="width:310px;clear:both;font-size:.8em">This is so aweosme.</div></div> <p>I think this is it for now :D I hope you like some blips and blops in your Sunday.</p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-35060120726661901012011-08-19T14:57:00.001-07:002011-08-19T14:58:21.862-07:00Friday to Saturday randomness: Superheroes’ fashion design is weird.<p><img src="http://www.pollsb.com/photos/o/38533-generic_super_hero.jpg" width="437" height="330"></p> <p>I’ve been talking with my brother earlier today about the fact that Hollywood is running out of ideas and reviving all the comic heroes. We realized that almost ALL Marvel and DC heroes are dressed quite innapropriately for their… well.. mucho nature. I mean.. let’s have a detailed look.</p> <a name='more'></a> <p><strong><u>Superman</u></strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.gameover.gr/photos/supermanNews.jpg" width="437" height="612"></p> <p>Superman is the prime exmple. He even wears his RED speedo outside of his spandex… unoform? Along with those boots and the cape. Guess where the eyes of all sexes go once they look at this above picture. Hint: it’s complete with a YELLOW belt, it’s red and it also has two hands INDICATING the place. </p> <p>The cape? It just hides his bubble butt for NOT being extra gay as it already is.</p> <p>The second thing I wanna know, How the hell is supposed to fight with this thing on? A scratch on this suit can make the whole thing dissapear like a bursting baloon. Superman would have been half naked the most of the time – making it probably TOO gay for the fans to approve. I don’t even wanna thing what’s happening when he carries Lois Lane while getting an erection in this suit.</p> <p><strong><u>Batman</u></strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.caseengaines.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Batman-and-robin-screen-2.jpg" width="460" height="311"></p> <p>As much as I love batman, (not the movie where this picture is taken from) I can’t agree with its dressing decisions. I mean, the guy dresses like a bat while we think that The Joker is the insane one.</p> <p>As barf-worthy the above picture is, it pretty much combines the elements of EVERY BATMAN OUTFIT EVER!</p> <p>Even awesome Batman outfits like Arkham Asylum have the “oh, look at my buffy stuff”</p> <p><img src="http://assets.gameover.gr/assets/0004/4706/Batman_Arkham_Asylum_Screenshots_16.jpg" width="439" height="249"></p> <p>Not to mention that the cape is fucking awkward. Nobody really knows what the suit is made from. Is it a bunch of kevlar plates? Really uncomfortable and hard to move around. Let alone fight. Is it just some sort of spandex? He would have been naked halfway the game/movie/comic he stars in. </p> <p><strong><u>Wolverine</u></strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.marveldirectory.com/pictures/individuals/w_3d/wolverine.gif" width="429" height="291"></p> <p>Well not much to say about Wolverine, only that the movie actually put him in a more comfy and ordinary outfit that somebody could actually fight with this on. And I’m talking about this</p> <p><img alt="wolverine107.jpg (387×600)" src="http://wolverine.x-knights.com/fullsize/wolverine107.jpg"></p> <p>Now there are some weird types of superheroes. Thor stays in the gray side of the spectrum with an overly unconfortable to wear outfit but not unconfortabl to be seen with it. </p> <p><strong><u>Thor</u></strong></p> <p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMHNiX5-BUi7CUIuPZw-u1O3LrUNwgCFb8IBY6s3nLvL_mMuysRxWNo4HJSYOKgsqqUPJYCeQjDEXacOXFevdz4BgBMAyVdvLlt0QbSzZvVJoOB0c1PIIESCW4dVWp_x5_6_ae0AgbUOJQ/s1600/thor.jpg"></p> <p>And then it’s captain america who takes ALL of the above and take it to extreme level.</p> <p><img alt="Captain America 1 Wallpaper " src="http://www.cartoonwallpapers.in/bulkupload/cartoon2/Others/Captain%20America%201.jpg" width="445" height="335"></p> <p>And of course, the number 1 gayer and uncomfortable outfitted superhero goes to HE-MAN</p> <p><img src="http://images.mylot.com/userImages/images/postphotos/1346947.jpg"></p> <p>It’s good it gets clear from his name that he’s a HE. It’s the only superhero I know that runs around with purple and pink skinny outfit while he’s NOT his super self and he turns to a BDSM hunky guy once he takes out his shord and shouts “by the honour of G®ayskull!”</p> <p>He’s also the only hero I know which bleaches his hair – his eyebrows are quite black- and gets a tan as a bonus on changing to his super hero self. I just don’t know how to put this, but the creators put the super-hot She-Ra as his SISTER instead of his loved one for a reason…</p> <p>Now, don’t get me for a sexist, homophobic e.t.c. I’m just stating that something’s wrong with superheroes. The same goes with female superheroes that are a bunch of stereotypes along with sexism.</p> <p><img src="http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/4300000/Storm-x-men-4355300-1280-800.jpg" width="426" height="268"></p> <p><img src="http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/23500000/Catwoman-in-the-videogame-catwoman-the-movie-23564408-1024-819.jpg" width="460" height="369"></p> <p><img src="http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Wonder_Woman2.jpg"></p> <p>High Heels are also a stupid decision for super heroines. Nobody can fight with those on. Try a karate kick on super high heels only to find yourself lying on the floor, easy target for horny badnicks to do their dirty job. So, girls, don’t ever dress like female super heroes, unless you do it for a sexy dressup to stir things with your boyfriend.</p> <p>Let’s just wrap up the whole thing. Superheroes, they don’t make sense because they are fictional, they can do everything we can’t and thy don’t mind being a freak among normal people. Just don’t tell me that Batman acts normally or whatever. We have been USED TO see them that way, but from the style and practical standpoint, they dress awkwardly. </p> <p>So here you go. Random post for random stuff Achieved. Blip Blop.</p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-41272234774424215642011-08-14T11:14:00.001-07:002011-08-14T17:21:32.860-07:00Blogs και η ελευθερία του λόγου: Γινόμαστε η δεύτερη Βόρεια Κορέα;<p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizMlPUGhBM_yDfqtLwckzRrDnT0WZqOHCVeJ-DPjFQMJZvrrtonFNGoKHm5eZvnYwYdhfCl18QYRmmJCwOeeSycjYM-p07nMNYi5ENlliS5mgE5mKcnh6ED56lRSwCFrCrv7gOOMuKy9pc/s1600/logo-freedom.gif" width="408" height="408"></p> <p>ΟΚ ο τίτλος παραείναι δυσοίωνος, αλλά σοβαρά, μήπως; </p> <a name='more'></a> <p>Δημοφιλέστατη ειδησεογραφική σελίδα, γνωστού και μεγάλου εκδοτικού οίκου, ανέφερε τα ονόματα και τις ιδιότητες των ατόμων που απαρτίζουν την προπαρασκευαστική επιτροπή για τα blogs. </p> <p>Για την ακρίβεια, την επιτροπή την απαρτίζουν: </p> <ul> <li>Ένα υψηλόβαθμο μέλος του Συμβουλίου Επικρατείας <li>Ένας αντιεισαγγελέας <li>Ένα υψηλόβαθμο δικαστικό μέλος <li>Ένα υψηλόβαθμο μέλος της Αστυνομίας, της δίωξης αστυνομικού εγκλήματος <li>Ένας νομικός σύμβουλος της (Αρχής Διασφάλισης Απορρήτου των Επικοινωνιών, έχουμε κάτι τέτοιο ανάθεμα μας;) <li>Μία καθηγήτρια πανεπιστημίου νομικής, (του τμήματος Ελεγκτών της Αρχής Προστασίας Δεδομένων Προσωπικού Χαρακτήρα – αυτό υπάρχει ή το φτιάξανε απο μόνοι τους;) <li>Ένας δημοσιογράφος <li>Άλλη μία καθηγήτρια νομικής ως γραμματεύς </li></ul> <p>Δηλαδή, δικαστικοί, δικαστικοί αστυνομικός, πολιτικό πρόσωπο, καθηγητές πανεπιστημίου και ένας δημοσιογράφος.</p> <p>Ο πικρός απολογισμός είναι ο εξής: Οι περισσότεροι ανήκουν σε συνωμοταξίες που “βλάπτονται” απο τα blogs. Και τι διάολο κάνει ο δημοσιογράφος εκει;</p> <p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgTxzdwVzwXad0mmVE5M0QM4208K0QhLvQdsTxFkCrDnXbCj5ThbAPWIgD-Dhy2HMbuApcWnXD6_jydeRCKRsqwGDfgOb4OEFbdLCMqGHV3jhyphenhyphenAEgaTqjyJcEQeKy8xuQz3h9J54itMBQ/s1600/cat-cats-kitten-kitty-pic-picture-funny-lolcat-cute-fun-lovely-photo-images-excuse-me-wtf-r-u-doin.png"></p> <p>Ας το παραδεχτούμε: κόρακος κοράκου μάτι ΔΕΝ βγάζει. Δεν πρόκειται ποτέ κάποιος δικαστικός να κινηθεί ενάντια άλλων της κλάσης του. Δεν πρόκειται να πει κάποιος από αυτούς οτι ΕΠΙΤΡΕΠΕΙ την ελευθερία έκφραση μέσω των blogs ή την χρήση τους για επιδίωξη εντοπισμού και διευθέτησης κρουσμάτων παράβασης καθήκοντος στους κλάδους τους.</p> <p>Αυτομάτως, όπως συμβαίνει σχεδόν κατά κανόνα σε αυτήν την χώρα, ο νόμος θα έχει περισσότερα παράθυρα απ’ ότι ουσία, για να μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί στοχευμένα σε δημοσιεύματα από blogs που ίσως λαμβάνουν μεγαλύτερη προσοχή από κάποια άλλα (χιλιάδες άλλα για την ακρίβεια) που μπορεί να έχουν λιγότερους αναγνώστες. </p> <p>Σίγουρα δεν είμαι υπέρ της ασυδοσίας, πόσο μάλλον όταν αφορά μη-επώνυμα άτομα (Π.Χ. κάνω ρεζίλι την Κούλα γιατί ο Κυριάκος δεν είναι τελικά και ΤΟΣΟ κωλόπαιδο) και ψευδείς συκοφαντίες, πρέπει κάτω απο οποιαδήποτε συνθήκη να είμαστε ΥΠΕΥΘΥΝΟΙ γι αυτά που γράφουμε. Ομως η δημιουργία νόμου από άτομα που αφενός δεν έχουν καμία σχέση με την κουλτούρα του διαδικτύου και αφ’ εταίρου ανήκουν σε ομάδες που "καίγονται” από τα ιστιολόγια και δεν θέλουν την ύπαρξή τους, είναι τουλάχιστον γελοία.</p> <p><img src="http://www.oxonianreview.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/irony.jpg" width="378" height="244"></p> <p>Μακάρι οι εταιρίες που προσφέρουν χώρου ιστιολογίων (και ταυτόχρονα έχουν και άλλες υπηρεσίες) να αποσύρουν τις υπηρεσίες τους από την Ελλάδα, να γυρίσουμε στην εποχή που η τελευταία είδηση που είχαμε λάβει ήταν η εξαφάνιση του τελευταίου δεινόσαυρου και να δούμε την “ηλεκτρονική διακυβέρνηση” να γίνεται από ατζέντες Casio. Μήπως καταλάβουν ότι ο υπόλοιπος κόσμος, δεν λειτουργεί με κλειστά κουτάκια.</p> <p>Unlockment Achieved: Lack of Reality Check. </p> <p><img src="http://standupforamerica.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/reality-check.jpg" width="454" height="308"></p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-2602959902765785252011-07-19T12:22:00.001-07:002011-07-19T12:23:35.954-07:00That’s why Twitter is awesome! (διαβάζεται απο κάτω προς τα πάνω)<a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-qjbGHllFIB8/TiXZb0bgWiI/AAAAAAAAB1c/KhVilT7K1Lc/s1600-h/image%25255B8%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirA7TwSOX767hmJgQIfK0s_tnLqZt8H84j4STXaXyHffVaQ1N4SG3oqL5y311w3nG1tpRcjRAYnKUeCcUCEcLnZfdchaWeGfpYUWd1wdCMfELJvURHAIjzwrvSizcCcC1Hv1ne06QeC6P2/?imgmax=800" width="202" height="829"></a> <p>WKSTWD είσαι επισήμως απίθανος!</p> <p>Unlockment Achieved for you my friend!</p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-58468748840842762552011-07-15T06:47:00.001-07:002011-07-15T06:48:28.853-07:00My second smartphone in less than a year.<p><img src="http://hrushikeshzadgaonkar.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/weheartwp7.png" width="416" height="267"></p> <p>Well, It had to be done. I’m officially done with cheap Android and moved along with cheap Windows Phone 7. Why cheap you ask? Here’s the story of it all.</p> <a name='more'></a> <p>Last fall, I bought my HTC Wildfire. I still consider it a great phone, but it lacked some extra polish in the OS. HTC just doesn’t do a good job optimizing their ROM’s for their mobiles. I wasn’t too hot for rooting the thing and flashing another custom ROM, so what I had was a descent phone with plenty of performance issues. I guess it was those issues that made me so attached to it.</p> <p> </p> <p>Then, my bro found out a terrifying reality: Windows Phone7 devices weren’t succesful at all in the Greek market. The complete lack of Greek language (in menus, native keyboard and mareketplace) bombed all the devices. For some time, HTC Trophy7 and LG Optimus 7 were selling as low as 199euros. </p> <p>When the Mango Update was announced coming this Octomber, with full Greek support, the guys at HTC went ahead and took all the Trophies7 from the market, so they could release them again under the new update – and a new higher pricetag of course.</p> <p>LG didn’t act that fast. Vodafone still sells their devices, though but they are moderating the sales by making people ordering in advance their Optimus7 and making them wait for 2 days until it arrives.</p> <p>So, I discovered a Vodafone in the center of Athens, (it was so lost, there were junkies getting dosed up next to it ) and I asked if they had it. They did actually so I bought it witrhout second thought.</p> <p>I'm glad I did. </p> <p>So, what about my Wildfire? Well, it’s gone. I sold it half the price I got it, so actually the new phone costed me 50euros. Awesome! And I now have a phone with bigger, brighter and densier screen, powered with nice specs (1Ghz Snapdragon etc. etc. etc.) with an overall smoother OS that’s all around awesome, as well as limited.</p> <p><a href="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-ozFhbVr4T6w/TiBE5dqQXMI/AAAAAAAAB0E/28q_7bv9Evg/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/-OHFoL1pjNtY/TiBE6rTETAI/AAAAAAAAB0I/HieIBRbPlw4/image_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="464" height="441"></a></p> <p>Yeah, Windows phone 7 isn’t exactly the next open source miracle. It feels more like iPhone on how it manages apps and third party tweaks. There are a lot of workarounds of course, and the SDK’s are free for everybody to download (and mess with the phone through them) but there are undeniable limitations such ass the complete absence of background images and the ringtones won’t change until the user installs them through a separate app.</p> <p>But other than that, the OS stands by itself pretty good. It’s smooth, it sports a shitload of apps (both free and commercial) in its appstore and it supports some nifty features such as Skydrive intergration, Xbox Live, and Hotmail/Live ID sync. </p> <p>And this time around, it really syncs stuff. I had a hard time to make my WildFire to sync with Google Contacts. Sometimes I got the impression that Sense UI didn’t make any… sense. </p> <p>For instance, I found the facebook intergration in the contacts really nice, as I synched everybody, I ended up having a nice contact list with phones, pictures and other info streamed right from Facebook.</p> <p>And, that’s that. After synching for the first time, the contacts didn’t sync with Facebook as advertised. None of the profile pictures or statuses ever changed and the newly added contacts who happened to be newly added facebook friends, never showed in the FriendStream friendlist, thus I never got to attach their Facebook profile to their contacts, having those annoying gray faceless people among the never-renewed facebook pictures.</p> <p>So that’s gone with WinPho7. My contacts are nicely sorted, my fb friends appear in the People hub and they renew everytime my device syncs with FB without any hickups. I also got a more steamlined facebook experience with a facebook app that is in harmony with the phone’s theme and functionality. </p> <p>So, all in all I dig the experience. I also like the idea of having my Xbox Live gamertag and, possibly, games.</p> <p>So, I don’t regret jumping to the Windows Phone 7 train.</p> <p>“What about the iOS?” some of you may wonder.</p> <p><img src="http://www.quickpwn.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/itunes-9-homescreen-iphone-os-31.jpg"></p> <p>I’m no fool when it comes to apple products. I have an iPod Touch 4G which is still not dethroned from being my social networking/gaming/music device. </p> <p>So, I can say I invested time and – most importantly- money on Apple’s platform. I Still feel that it’s amazing.</p> <p>But the price which is a shock point for me (700euros are too much for the latest iPhone) the constant release of new devices (that’s my issue with HTC too) and the trouble with the locked phones (I got an iPhone4 from America and I needed wizardry to unlock it) turn me off of their phone offer. </p> <p>I know I’m stiff but I’d rather invest the same amount of money on an iPad which does other things better, even though I feel like the tablets in general have lost their point. </p> <p>So, the pricier iPhone, didn’t win me and my problematic experience with Android kind of lost me. So, yeah.</p> <p>I’m pretty happy with WinPho7 now. That I know…</p> <p>Feel free to ask me any questions ‘bout the user experience. I’d be glad to answer all I can.</p> <p><img src="http://www.techgear.gr/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/LG_Optimus_7-e1286790011916.jpg" width="422" height="425"></p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-87193340081191110632011-07-03T08:52:00.001-07:002011-07-03T09:31:11.751-07:00Photoblog: cameraroll blued<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Many people ask me what's on my ipod touch's camera roll. Here's a sample<br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154008892144130"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN6croumR5CENJdWUcn_V0WLSZgSH4LfLhzwUQB40zZitGg5pbBiQEqbUZaMD9MhesVSzdXchtRxw8ALdwRGCOjcrN66Tz17mVCJLOY2b3vwh2epfEv419zkUG-Mq8pZIAXt4VGWki6Aon/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154016162264962"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho8QjZgTMWvspXdxNjlBOZOg72zFo95kvejBdPSLswdEJ3uL3JVvlfmGDpgjtbHG0SBWtZVFu82kT6cxCgw3FvGbIoL4rqEJEjGf1_cJ6o_QrnIx0aJwL83OA05XD10Rj4fdI36WpzTHpx/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154076953025970"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjFsj8jMpwXsZmB0DljHaW56ToWG6maCOBEzEZvQaVQeCdkhlJICv3_uMLEmlsy-u2f_M7og2na3lisbIPGrFj43RVzA5K6pMBVW4KqdfVLt4fARIk6OBZ2SGQXn-VGiILFbFRMo3jMWbf/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154086508732850"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_qo9_iAsWghWX51wiMwzGsrXd6rXFXQZWXffpGbLNa5tt-lszd5KOk8xUE47kc4oD9paVrU9wMnn4a0LixK7ueGDrY4C97ix0VNbfwrogjjmv_yEcDjNBrqbTy1j72ttvPWvtabTyUIU/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154096613686626"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCMbGB-EVmblSWQNrx5L4sJtVW_A_p3GhraV3bvlLWS2l4TbVC2MxWXj_OtG9Ym8xqsMVmu6AlG-APVa1lsZdYsB_W-DuzascpkyKIccP2Mk8_Nc_rTZHjEKxif4enMe_itf_i_LRUS34y/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
On a boat trip to Lesvos.<br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154105215641874"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxzzqz-VWYjx3uRMUwJ-Qft_MjKLWKMdTYMiLJI1mN71xAxWxjfx2dUEN-ql4UyPcFAnJ83iENBw_LDAGo3qsU_nvx2s__PNVuT3QRmj9VzixHYhmx16UUvB-nEIOTHu4FOgOvZfH4Ih8a/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="187" /></a></center><br />
Made by Mulisha.<br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154266903486194"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkQwU3kSG70G8L9eRZ8JF5LOWqt6W9C859-qQvd6tQo5gLErzW-F1EAvUt2aqyZOURV4xORDDmQrFb4nB68J2I_erIGmSm2GHXKDG2e3VxntINxu5We5qnFRxYT0ZXdC8wiFbq0Azo9T1v/s400/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 5px;" width="400" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154280344925794"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKVdPkPBVE_5iJQsOlWk4TvCyhBUJt6BShThsn1n6B-LQNmlXShrSenax5MjU_CDd_bq9jfRSWkYEGUXHxCfTtYPs6mgUoOJxKVP1EtJ7fVA0LLbGTXMu2KGfOOY8gnwmx8i6hhhGciQnR/s400/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 5px;" width="400" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154294991764882"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_pN2J3Gzh4zYDDPzvGUB261gN1KZVt8au-4hfSBkkrB0TNoXaNdPHY3qzr3Bj_g8I2YHKzhBUs9NZuJxjY7aB1hagg51AKkNGBjwgpt0i3Ig1jniv_uqAOXjhMTAVn-sEpcczXhnxg6qH/s400/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 5px;" width="400" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154307710350370"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhIBmVEnnlrja8gj9lwjoXUHtMYPcFxv_dSAiPMlY_1ANA_1DPaWl_4h6wwCGm8bU8wy1rGkHTmSCT6o8qyeevast2-rZr8iVV1SHx1mKnc2Ftw5Vmmr6H7c8dp_sB5tVTXDDfL7k-pnpk/s400/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-top: 5px;" width="400" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154316003335074"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0cUT7d0f3EAqxtfgOyQ7EqHZkMwlty-womgao0c3G2zUPT5pStompMjlSdvA_RDXlM-PTZeIV0QElI3rbboLBpFl2J_rM45KFCcpg1tnSYIwYoa-DUKS81EUXgN-WXSOhrycOQUOocwua/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
It runs windows...<br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154328998378226"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnMbtbRjxwWDG__0yWqFLPiVtgFDCDgCYUWBCboufM3OK3I-JUcNLFKnz0KPtKzgO1OLX9FbPpivopOO7YOO6zVQmZz4EyNfs2iMhgDqj8v0JKnLnrSwGepQCUOqVUMkNUkcFGeBx3ZwgJ/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154339726970994"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsN6ts6WP3qSNRBETC7KqcN8tpNzq5pU4b07Z4i4eag-pQEuSPk-1TqAZ5vuS2ORB41DMLYSl5z4HzuPLIgyW357Ba1L754asHqyjaLuKdxT3yoPPRPKec1NJN5dCtmKmf7pSm-KTnjDfE/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
Iron-man ponders about returning from the dead.<br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154353623600162"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikxbuQ0tI1GLuchtLtGMA4YN1pfHJxfLFv4tz7dCyd4v2HWEmaGAe3LmEM7V8-a7Ob9A_QQT_cTuMlAHrnZE-chozZsoPBw_PPeaTHCw4vpKbgAi1jsXu_JuXokGQwQPX2COCGun0YR1fQ/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154365560586034"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioW8wXWhRiuDSxY-DTUfxzLvZI8Iu5Orez5oGuL7ytGuYh_ojAh90f9z1yQRkSpHthcZEMWgQn0Zi2SNkv4LLL2zKp1FUq5F2SEJGmMRrRcFVxIwE4fZcjKXnUVbEPYrlIajJPn9iu7Kb1/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154374418722130"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWa0U1DS4WjX5nRSSzUAxet6txyfA336EgePBvnaUVU5Glj5OPsU3XBMbclgElP0UfgCFKzSIGrX-LQZQouR0fUMNuTdNGlSMwLa4xWbsDmgAD6-FywpRRAOYIGvOnILyQD6oiQz99Zi6r/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154384714591346"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZpFdqGH0S-b7D9lxht0gSPnZ5JEWHqKwwvKf8Ons6sUHVSegiRptkRDlm4ZVeglTZQLmOPWdF46JX2AXkbQ7LbkoGg47I7WZQDUiEbsKxJYTHQmBwGoRTf6eZ92W2C8qltcJQRDTQdyI4/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154401645047154"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhruLHDecUMXDxHvxU9XmRcgYfjCpPYiOiQJiewnCgdhMTQGrZXWJODFTaB370SQWEv_mEM-VRyj5NDE0ZAB291Cvk0Ry8q9i1pXpehrUJI0-CHsNN-OdYJELCQBrTdrKrySVMGXKMD7dPU/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154411613672082"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpnSXbBZ1ALCX53mWl4Lro6hiic-a9fPGT50PB18I6GdUucputzZ6LgjArNSN1xj8hPl8MDJT6cjIRG1Jt7UNb3R7yB85S_wa21lYUxBIyU3ZWtx88P-_c5fs2QA2XZSYKnAGwCRVzoDQO/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154419780141170"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd61fBK57VYPvn-Q_pflHtBqvrVb9T7o6_0DSokuNBhdqEDxx82svBmRbbOCa1NBOTnx-jP1wK_YvXvo-PNkJqItmvXu8ajsH0ycThqSzNZaWQyTKYcFx-aiLpDu70f2AkvK5lLhbwxpfN/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154432707016914"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSX9DgkCsyCyQR1P_nAVxW7Q89iNyFbjX0riRg150w3UrG9ViYGttV-B3QCwJzS1-EOI_ygKd-vASB1qXG7eLBYh-pW3AaK3sC8o0PhZOySqlTqSN2PQA-EEsnF_hJK95Lg5IaZ-JyuDNM/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154448193335906"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQtjJziGnIO31bqANsUXI9yvoCFc4IZLlaBA-yOBYrOLG7YO7egCNb34hQ0JXo05Ig06vkQKBdegPbWOLLm83t2I94nCh03-3jGA73_cgX2MgKiOSeN21RDrggQeKPTVMVJ_dg4WynN494/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154454458449458"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9CIeGl0fwfWmtLPqWa3u-wXwNodCQlougB7cwNHRhfk7WKet1UImzZ-SwMlwzz9ULqkQ-5L-R5anbYStDKt8EkWa54lxcTuxmFGp80WZsQGoCID5sqS7IWQFzjoFkAiHOP4IN3sIrBnHP/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154466614858290"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyQtOKWZL_UUNJlJpQuGxQUrRd7OT_oDbhec35wYXg3qMAykA-3IsHU1nbs8UZ0Mdcar9iS-ZAJxFJ_xBEQT0vRwHKPvFEvWwvJWjHIm9trGdhlbNJ-8K4PhyphenhyphenYqJbf5aPmLcm1SWorTySO/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154477402877794"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtnFrvk3VGYvkqSGRRfXti1Pk-AKXIbZDiiu3g2B-CAjG05oVsqNqNwOg9hRnDNdE9j2nUxugGTg3H_ybny5cbYXSJYbGJIiAE-_y7vklGzBzo2zGJ3PA3xUEFOCaFKPPdzmdCCF-R7mpr/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154489802705714"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsjZg4xng1zGwhBRJAgqIJFEujz4AnEK6Y9uPMzT3HCvdX3_H0J8fOvtqMxEatKrrhs4-4guys5rOwmf_NbOs6HLULm0_qXheIxdPv_ChsGFgUS-koCCdtn7llf0YQ4IaAUPFWRawpoI98/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154500843517586"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_YO8UJORUrxwRSRJAvjza3-nJaES8fpt6y9Peyj0VbcKMJGrZ2u_E556sZzIJ6ooA1aqcpiE2sFdmS2ICbOjvW8qiRRDoEO35mRaWm7FzhJ37NoODQjxixeYO3qxLslzEy1shHc4GQ6_Y/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154526886724306"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8z3wGcax-DNNAtgsofzqAgcrsrNd1VRqfGoX31WEdUJEpnYUr45X7Wxi6qrv6P9P6X69v_7vdf9fLqzI-NbcaVkw5-j0B-PIPUqLnJULGFEeGFkY76x_5X5ehES4y2f1Mj42SR8mnxT_3/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154538122316226"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxR5tMbJRSprJyRBASuSLLwzbd6fgoLQMN_5Mj0gyUcoem-CyLA7tkVETAHQ0HnOiTIlEgJi2rvPate0DYDHNnY2hyphenhyphenw75Usm8LS2qJjEzvdttyAkbZrLl8T5QUyx6SB_3gwALJkm0HxRg/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154550001790738"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh70q65q3Becc0lYUvFV3tl4LLSrxBUfYypmNJDMNE8SKcoie7dNTiErTWyzDK7JrhVi39pEQlQ6fLws0rulTtm49BUOIcqmde05ZznI-ecs7BuaP0LFhACGWSy4XOoEbY-S8ukkj7y9wbH/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="281" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154571694272898"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrYxMiX8rYqz2gaeDseYaWhTGmbcsxGkNDMGmXXa3tEAWq2o5IsPta3snKiq_5bDtG7pey0wDGZWHiQSy8mtBYDoC1O_3C6NeMnCn-eRFkzOHH8iWEJnImG49S98rmWF3BDteHjaxvF_ik/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
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<center><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/zzaper25/UnlockmentAchieved?authkey=Gv1sRgCJuE8abQ8eSkoAE#5625154578733858802"><img border="0" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4-0A2pHTr-bCkxw2ugVr8THjxpG8wlmXrBhOWUifKcGORC9aLRLAS37tfudGavf_bBRgmIbGlL3zp0w3mOai37ECQdXaliNBqcQ5Zo7FSbA_5PM5Yb0oztE4n1_-e492VQlKDTTr6a-IK/s288/iphone_photo.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
So there. Photoblogging will be more frequent with bizzare, awesome and downright weird pictures.</div>Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4479513412160657658.post-4813878764957070342011-06-20T09:37:00.001-07:002011-06-20T09:38:14.607-07:005 video games που θα έκαναν τους πολιτικούς της Ελλάδας καλύτερους<p><a href="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-phkXOmdIiII/Tf93WobfHlI/AAAAAAAABvk/WCg8uMrG05o/s1600-h/image%25255B3%25255D.png"><img style="background-image: none; border-bottom: 0px; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; display: inline; border-top: 0px; border-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px" title="image" border="0" alt="image" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/-kcXjNz7-lHs/Tf93Yk4a69I/AAAAAAAABvo/pl4jOrQdwXE/image_thumb%25255B1%25255D.png?imgmax=800" width="423" height="332"></a></p> <p>Ας το παραδεχτούμε. Οι άρχοντες που εκλέξαμε είναι ποιό χάλια και απο τους καλεσμένους της Ανίτας Πάνια. Δικιά μας η μαλακιά for sure, οπότε σκεφτείτε και εσείς να παίξετε αυτά τα παιχνίδια μήπως κατανοήσετε πότε ένας πολιτικός είναι καλός. </p> <a name='more'></a> <p>Τα παιχνίδια επιλέχτηκαν με γνώμονα το πόσο προάγουν την οικονομική διαχείριση, της σχέσεις με άλλους λαούς και την διαχείριση πόρων. Ας ξεκινήσουμε.</p> <p><strong>1. Sim City 3000</strong></p> <p><img src="http://withfriendship.com/images/h/37660/SimCity-3000-picture.jpg"></p> <p>Αναμενόμενο μέχρι αηδίας, ε; Το Sim City είναι κάτι παραπάνω απο ενα απλό παιχνιδάκι στο οποίο φτιάχνουμε πόλεις. Καλούμαστε σαν δήμαρχοι να διαχειριστούμε το χρέος που παράγει η δημιουργία και διατήρηση δημόσιων χώρων, υπηρεσιών και αγαθών, να διαχειριστούμε δείκτες όπως η εγκληματικότητα, η μόλυνση και η κυκλοφοριακή συμφόρηση και να κρατήσομε το επίπεδο ζωής των κατοίκων σε ικανοποιητικά επίπεδα. </p> <p>Οι πολιτικοί, και κυρίως οι Δήμαρχοι πρέπει να παίξουν αυτό το παιχνίδι μόνο και μόνο για να δουν με τρόπο άμεσο το πως πυροδοτούν οι αποφάσεις τους την αλυσίδα αντιδράσεων στην κοινωνία μιας πόλης και το βιοτικό επίπεδο των κατοίκων της. Πίσω απο τα χαρτιά κρύβονται μεγάλες αλλαγές στις τοπικές κοινωνίες.</p> <p>Μιας που γίνεται και λόγος για τον Καλλικράτη τώρα τελευταία, μπορούν οι επίδοξοι δήμαρχοι να δοκιμάσουν τις δυνάμεις τους χτίζοντας πάνω απο μία πόλεις και κάνοντας ταυτόχρονη διαχείριση για την καθεμιά ξεχωριστά ή ακόμα και αναπτύσσοντας σχέσεις μεταξύ τους. </p> <p><strong>2. Civilization 4</strong></p> <p><img src="http://static.computergames.ro/cg/assassin/images2/civilization4/civilization4-110.jpg" width="457" height="349"></p> <p>Το Civ 4 είναι μια καλή ευκαιρία για να κατανοήσουν οι πολιτικοί το πώς οι αρχηγοί αλλάζουν την ροή της ιστορίας ενός λαού. Θα έχουν την ευκαιρία να δούν την λειτουργία της τεχνολογίας, της θρησκείας και της κοινωνικής προόδου στην δημιουργία ενός κράτους και τις σχέσεις τους με τα άλλα. </p> <p>Έτσι, θα γίνει αντιληπτό οτι η ιστορία καταγράφει και καμιά φορά γίνεται αμείλικτη με αυτούς που παίρνουν λάθος αποφάσεις. Να καταλάβουν έθνος-κράτος δεν είναι μια απλή μονάδα απο ανθρώπους που απλά έχει συσπειρωθεί κάτω απο μια σημαία. Τους επιτρέπει να κατανοήσουν τι πραγματικά κρατάει ένα έθνος ενωμένο, πως πορεύεται μαζί με τα άλλα έθνη και πως οι αποφάσεις του ενός, μπορεί να επηρεάσει της αποφάσεις κάποιου άλλου έθνους. </p> <p>Ας μην ξεχνάμε οτι μέχρι τώρα η Ελλάδα υπάρχει όπως την ξέρουμε γιατί κάποιοι θέλησαν να της δώσουν την εθνική ταυτότητα που έχει σήμερα. Έχει επισυνάψει συμφωνίες επι συμφωνιών και πολλές απο αυτές είναι στην πραγματικότητα πισώπλατα μαχαιρώματα. Δεν μιλάμε μόνο για συνθήκες της Ε.Ε., αλλά και για άλλες ποιο “υπό του τραπεζιού” που κάποιοι δεν αντιλαμβάνονται πόσο κακές είναι. Ώρα για Civ;</p> <p><strong>3. Venture’s Business Simulator</strong></p> <p><img src="http://www.myabandonware.com/media/captures/B/business-simulator/bs_003.png" width="461" height="303"></p> <p>Αυτό το αρχαικό και safe for work παιχνίδι, είναι στην πραγματικότητα ένας εξομοιωτής μπίζνας. Όχι οποιασδήποτε μπίζνας, τις ΔΙΚΙΑΣ σου μπίζνας που μάλιστα είναι και υψηλού ρίσκου. Βασικά ο στόχος του παιχνιδιού είναι να διδάξει το πως λειτουργεί στην πράξη μια μεγάλη επιχείρηση.</p> <p>Σε αντίθεση με άλλους biz-sims το Venture Busines Simulator σας αφήνει να πάρετε τις αποφάσεις σας διαβάζοντας journals, σημειώσεις και παρακολουθώντας τους δείκτες που ανεβοκατεβαίνουν.</p> <p>Αυτό το παιχνίδι είναι πολύ καλό για υπουργούς οικονομικών και όσους ασχολούνται με την επιχειρηματικότητα στην Ελλάδα. Στην πραγματικότητα κανένας τους δεν έχει ΙΔΕΑ τι πραγματικά συμβαίνει σε μια επιχείρηση, ποιές είναι οι στρατηγικές αύξησης των εσόδων και τι τις κρατάει βιώσιμες (συμπεριλαμβανομένων των βιώσιμων φόρων). Γι αυτό ο το προηγούμενο παιχνίδι απο αυτό λεγόταν “What They Didn’t Teach You In Business Schools”. Τυχαίο; Δεν νομίζω…</p> <p>Μιας που στην Ελλάδα πλέον ΟΛΕΣ οι επιχειρήσεις λακίζουν η μια μετά την άλλη, θα πρέπει αυτό το παιχνίδι να εγκατασταθεί ΑΜΕΣΑ στους υπολογιστές των υψηλών στελεχών των υπουργείων που ασχολούνται με τα οικονομικά και την ανάπτυξη. Έτσι θα καταλάβουν οτι το να χάνεται η παραγωγική δύναμη της Ελλάδας, χάνεται και μέρος των εσόδων του κράτους απο τους φόρους που λαμβάνει. Η οικονομία κάνει κύκλους, όχι οχτάρια…</p> <p><strong>4. Neptune’s Pride</strong></p> <p><img src="http://np.ironhelmet.com/static/screenshots/shot0.jpg" width="437" height="353"></p> <p>Ας πάμε λίγο εκτός γης. Το Neptune’s Pride είναι ενα παιχνίδι διπλωματίας στο οποίο ο παίκτης δεν έχει να κάνει με κάποιο απρόσωπο AI. </p> <p>Στο Neptune’s Pride καλείστε να βγάλετε άκρη κάνοντας διπλωματικά παζάρια με άλλους παίκτες, πισώπλατα μαχαιρώματα και μάχες. Η μαγεία του παιχνιδιού είναι αφενός στο πόσο αργό είναι (κάθε 24 ώρες αντιστοιχούν σε 1 γαλαξιακό έτος) αφ’ ετέρου οι φυλές έχουν όλες τις ίδιες δυνατότητες. Έτσι, τον πρώτο λόγο έχει η πολιτική μεταξύ των λαών, η σύναψη συμμαχιών, οι πόλεμοι και η ανταλλαγή τεχνολογίας. Ο τελικός στόχος είναι η δημιουργία μιας μεγάλης διαγαλαξιακής αυτοκρατορίας-συμμαχίας για την εξερεύνηση του άγνωστου σύμπαντος.</p> <p>Αν αφαιρέσεις την επεκτατικότητα απο την συνταγή, το παιχνίδι αποδεικνύεται διαμάντι όσον αφορά την διπλωματία. Επίσης, μπορούμε να βρούμε πολύ ικανούς διπλωμάτες ανα τον κόσμο μέσω αυτού του παιχνιδιού. Πολύ θα ήθελα να δω έλληνα υπουργό εξωτερικών να τα βάζει με elite player του Neptune’s Pride απλά για να δούμε ποιός είναι πιο ανίκανος. (Thanks Cubilone για την ανακάλυψη του παιχνιδιού)</p> <p><strong>5. Theme Hospital</strong></p> <p><img src="http://i42.tinypic.com/27x2lg1.jpg" width="469" height="295"> </p> <p>Για τον τομέα της υγείας, δεν είπαμε τίποτα, ε; Το Theme Hospital έχει να κάνει περισσότερο με την λειτουργία ενός και μόνο νοσοκομείου, αλλά άμα κρίνουμε τα βιογραφικά των πολιτικών που υπήρξαν επικεφαλής της υγείας της χώρας, ούτε και αυτοί ξέρουν ακριβώς… </p> <p>Ο ρόλος του παίκτη στο Theme Hospital είναι να δημιουργήσει ενα νοσοκομείο, να το επεκτείνει και σταδιακά να κουράρει περισσότερους ασθενείς, να κρατήσει τα οικονομικά του νοσοκομείου σταθερά και να κρατήσει την φήμη του στα ύψη ώστε περισσότεροι ασθενείς να επιλέγουν το νοσοκομείο. </p> <p>Η πλάκα είναι οτι το παιχνίδι λειτουργεί σχεδόν όπως ένα κανονικό νοσοκομείο. Ο παίκτης δεν έχει άμεση επίδραση στο τι συμβαίνει. Ασχολείται μόνο στο να μανατζάρει το προσωπικό, την κίνηση των ασθενών και να διαχειρίζεται τα οικονομικά. </p> <p>Νομίζω οτι τα προβλήματα του συστήματος υγείας θα λυνόντουσαν αν το Theme Hospital ήταν εγκατεστημένο σε υπολογιστές που χρησιμοποιούν υψηλόβαθμα στελέχη του υπουργείου υγείας (και φυσικά του εκάστοτε υπουργού). Βλέποντας τον τρόπο που ενα νοσοκομείο κρατά τα οικονομικά του βιώσιμα, διαχειρίζεται τις επιδημίες και γίνεται γνωστό για την αποτελεσματικότητά του (εκτός της δίωξης των ετοιμοθάνατων ασθενών) θα έδινε ένα πολύ καλό μάθημα για το πώς θα μπορούσε να εξορθολογιστεί η λειτουργία της δημόσιας υγείας. </p> <p>Αυτά λοιπόν τα 5 παιχνίδια που θα μπορούσαν να παίξουν οι πολιτικοί της χώρας. Θα μας έβγαζαν απο την κρίση όμως; Δύσκολο… Το πιο πιθανό να έκλειναν το PC μετά απο μισή ώρα παιχνιδιού. Μην πείτε όμως οτι δεν προσπάθησα! <img style="border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none" class="wlEmoticon wlEmoticon-winkingsmile" alt="Ο Γελαστούλης κλείνει το μάτι" src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/-y3CpZsQWzks/Tf93ZGTOTwI/AAAAAAAABvs/6ocgctL2MII/wlEmoticon-winkingsmile%25255B2%25255D.png?imgmax=800"> Αλήθεια, εσείς τι έχετε να προτείνετε;</p> Marios Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17230492690560806285noreply@blogger.com4