As I sit hear, listening to the Future of Rock and Roll, I was pondering what my next article should be. I sit hear, enjoying the music, listening to the smooth melodies of the indie rock scene. Feel the emotion, the magic, the rhythm. Music is a powerful medium. Music can be one of the best ways to convey emotion and mood without saying a word. Truly, music is an important part of games. From the 8-bit era to today, music has been an integral part of games. Think of the classics. The Mario Theme. The Zelda Theme, and many more, they're all great. Let's take the time to reminisce on the past, and identify the history of game music as it is today.
Sony has put the final nail in the coffin for usage of their UMD (Universal Media Disc) format for movies by announcing that you will soon be able to transfer Blu-ray movies that you own to your PSP by way of the Playstation 3.
According to Gizmodo, the functionality will be available this year, will (most likely) be free, and will work on (almost every) Blu-ray Disc under the sun. Some specifics about the transfer process are that the movie files will be around 1GB, in standard definition, optimized for playback on the PSP, and will take about 3-5 minutes to download to the PSP's memory stick. However, the catch is that the movies will be protected by DRM (Digital Rights Managment), which is no surprise considering that you're copying a copyrighted movie onto a portable device and could easily share it with others. There's no word on what exactly the details of the DRM policy will be (one of the restraints may be that you can only copy each disc a certain number of times). My guess is that it will be just like the DRM used for PSone games downloaded from the Playstation Store.
But who knows. Knowing Sony it could be a DRM scheme that drops a rootkit on your PS3/PSP and monitors every single thing you do before dropping that rootkit in your brain and controlling you.
Ed Note: Damn, this one hell of a well written, thorough review. I encourage you all to read this up.
I haven't listened to any Pink Floyd since quite a while before I re-ripped it at 320kbps. I'm now listening to some of it through the headphones I got for my birthday in November. It sounds so good.
The headphones are called Sharkoon X-tatic 5.1, I think rebranded as Tritton AX360 in the USA. I got halfway through writing a review of them but moved on, as I always do. I'll discard that one and start fresh...
As many of you may know, the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show is going on in Las Vegas. At this show, the electronics manufacters gather together and show off their new products. Among the exhibitors there, one of them caught my eye, Se2 Labs and their ITC One product.
The ITC One is a strange combination of...
Microsoft Xbox 360
Your choice of a Nintendo Wii or an Xbox 360 HD DVD Player (adds $450 or $300 onto the cost of the system, respectively)
Your choice of a DirecTV, Dish Network, or Comcast High-Definition DVR
Bryston Digital Sound Processor
ICEpower D-Class Amplifiers
Internal subwoofer amplifier
Transparent Cable Power Conditioning
iPod Dock
All for the low low (base) price of $25,000!!!
Goddamn! That's some pretty high end shit in there, and it's by far the best "home theater in a box" I've ever seen, but damn, it's excessive!
What's more is that according to Siliconera, you can't remove the Wii and get access to the Gamecube ports on the top of the system. Also, I have another important question about that ITC One. What happens when you get the infamous Red Ring Of Death?
Yesterday morning about 4 hours after i was complaining that it was 70$s well spent on application fees.
They said they would call us back after Xmas before the new year. Needless to say we weren't holding out much hope when the new year rolled around and almost a week passed.
But they said yesterday it was ready for us to start moving in. Soon as i go pick up the keys the lease starts and rent is due.
559$ a month for 1080 sq. ft 2 bedroom 1bath we pay electric a portion of the water oodles of drawers and cabinets
Really looking forward to getting in there. I'm just not sure what day this week i am going to decide to start bringing things over there.
Posted on Jan 8th 2008 at 01:16:39 AM by (hXd) Posted under site news
So as you all know I recently made the decision to come back to NY after failed attempts to get into school in Georgia. I got a call on Friday from a contact at my old school saying I had a chance to get into Ramapo College for the spring, providing that I had everything taken care of by this Wednesday. So on Saturday I packed my essentials into my car (computer, TV, video games, art supplies, clothes) and drove 15 1/2 hours to NY in a straight shot, for fear that my stuff would get stolen.
I'm currently in the process of gettings my things unpacked and in a somewhat organized fashion. I got my transcript from RCC today and tomorrow I hit Ramapo to hopefully seal the deal and get me back into school. I'm so excited about this it's not even funny.
I do miss Georgia, though. I had some good life experiences there (getting to bond with my dad and my other brother, life outside of Rockland, meeting someone...). Who knows, I could end up back there someday- I never say never. But for now I'm looking forward to school and getting my life back on track.
This is a public sevice announcement brought to you by logical123
Hello to all you guests on RFGeneration right now! I'm logical, and I'm here to tell you REGISTER!!!!! Please! Yesterday, while on the forums, I noticed that there were 30 guests on-line, but only 6 registered users. The site and its members won't bite, we promise. The site is great! You can find people to ask questions, you can sell extra controllers, and of course, the Collection Software tool, the pride and joy of the site. Our coding monkeys are some of the coolest dudes around, the site works nearly perfectly. Find an error? Post in the forums. It will get fixed. Bar-none. The site is great. Register, you won't regret it.
Well, it seems as though the format wars are possibly reaching a conclusion, with Sony's Blu Ray format beating out HD DVD. Depending on how you look at it, either this conclusion is vindication for Betamax or something that you wish mirrored Betamax. So, after years of fighting, bickering, and backhanded deals, the future is looking rather bleak for HD DVD. I guess the question then is- was the future ever looking bright for HD DVD? I don't know if I can say yes. It seems as though one of its principal proponents (Microsoft) seems to be rather preoccupied with its own download service. Do they really care about HD DVD? Perhaps we'll find out soon at CES with their rumored Ultimate Xbox announcement. But, I bet that even if the Ultimate 360 has a built-in HD DVD drive Microsoft will still have its agenda entirely on its download service. I wonder if it even matters any more. Let me tell you why.
Captain's log, stardate..... 142008 rounded off to the nearest decimal point.
Yep, it's me. I know it's been a while since I posted a blog, but a lot has been going on since October. Work's been busy, and my connection to RFGen at work seems to a problem.
Let me catch you up on what's going on with ole "Cap"...
I have played Phantasy Star Universe a ton, but have slowed down since Scott and Ryan (S1lence and tynstar) turned me into an achievement whore @_@ My achievement total on my XBL account has gone from under 2,000 to over 15,000 in a little over a month. Of course that's with the help and guidence of my achievement pimps.
On the day of New Years Eve, my 360 failed me however. I was prepared to grab a few easy achievements on NBA 2K7 when the screen froze. I thought for sure this was due to the recent crappy XBL service >_<. But, after loading the game a few more times... I reset the system only to have the dreadded RROD happen to me.
I heard of it happening to other people, but never thought it would happen to me. I treat my 360 like gold. It's well ventilated, and I make sure to dust and clean the area it sits in often. Oh well, thankfully, Microsoft extended the warranty of all units to a 3 year plan (against the RROD).
I guess I will have to wait a few weeks to get my achievement groove back on. But at least I can finally make time to do things like blog ;p
As I was writing my next System Overview article, I found myself asking the question "What in the world were they thinking?" when looking at some of the console designs in my Room of Doom. Some are very unique and others are just plain elephant-man ugly. With that image in mind, who will take the home coveted Joseph Merrick Award for worst-looking video game console? The contenders:
Magnavox Odyssey 2
Just what I need - 15 million keys to play a game.
Amstrad GX 4000
Space-age design or just a cheap rip-off of the Land Speeder from Star Wars?
Cast Your Vote!!
Atari 5200
Hmm... make it bigger and they will love it - NOT.
Gakken Compact Vision
What in the heck am I supposed to do with those funky handles?
Nintendo GameCube
Simple design or designed by simpletons?
RCA Studio 2
Brutal, just plain brutal.
Bally Professional Arcade
Bally should have stuck to designing arcade machines.
Pioneer LaserActive
"Customer needs assistance in aisle 3. Fork lift will be required."
You may remember a previous post about a cool hack called Extra Mario Bros. In case you missed that post, here is the video again.
So, I have received confirmation that this game does in fact exist. Since I wish not to be sued, all I can say is yeah, look in the right spot and you might find it, and that's all I got to say about that.
So, I was checking out GameSniped today, and they listed some very interesting and rare Atari auctions they stumbled upon at eBay, sold by the Atari Museum.
He has quite a few unreleased prototype hardware items that are pretty cool.
One of the neatest things he has for auction is a box and manual for the game Quadrun. Now, as you may know, Quadrun is one of the rarest 2600 games (rated a 9 on AtariAge's rarity scale), so finding a box and manual for agame like this is really a once in a lifetime experience, and the current going rate of the auction reflects that. As of this writing, the box/manual is going for $200. Quite spendy for some cardboard and paper if you ask me, but I suppose it's worth it considering how much that game usually goes for.
Another neat item he has up for auction is a prototype of the Super Breakout LCD game, only one of two known to exist. Currently that one is priced at $385, and will likely go even higher as there is one day left in the auction. Pretty darn neat looking thing that would make you the center of attention in the game collecting world. Also, notice how much that proto looks like an early 80s version of the iPod? I wonder if that's where Apple got their inspiration...
He also has quite a few other protype system boards, hardware, and other items for sale. Take a look and report anything you found interesting.
There's some other great auctions up there including some game concept art, promotional poster for the recent Atari Flashback 2 plug and play console, some sealed Activision LCD games, a service kit, diskettes, and some rare accessories (including a CX-70 light pen.)
I managed to go out shopping late last week. I got a gift card for gamestop and one for Best Buy and I was hoping to spend them. Sadly I couldn't find any games I wanted except I did pick up Tales of Legendia. But then we went to Games N' Go. A nice little (although slightly overpriced) game store. I always love going there because a majority of what they sell is the older retro stuff. That's where I spent a good chunk of money. I decided to pick up, a favorite of my when I was younger, Adventures in the Magic Kingdom for the NES. I had to be 5 or 6 when I played it last, needless to saw it brought back some good memories. I also bought Dragon Warrior 1&2 for the GBC. I've been working on the first one and I find it more enjoyable so far on the Gameboy. I'm not quite sure why that is, maybe just because its portable and if I'm feeling lazy I can just start it up without much effort. The 2 wallet breakers I picked up were the Blue Slime Controller for my PS2 (who is happily sitting next to my other video game collectibles on top of my cabinet). And a complete Knuckles Chaotix for the 32X, *sigh* now I just need to wait for my 32X to come in the mail.
New Years was all right, I had to work but I got the night after off and I spent it with my Fiance'. She was pretty happy cause she beat Atellier Iris that night. Sadly after a scene in the end the screen just went black. Damn game! On Sunday we also beat Tales of Destiny together which was great. Stahn and Rutee is one of her new favorite V.G. couples now. So next time shes not busy we're gonna start Secrets of Mana together.
Yesterday I was looking through my CD wallet where I keep my loose PS games and memory cards and I realised I hadn't added them to my collection. I mentally kicked myself and quickly added them. How in the world could could I forget them?
So for now I think I'm just gonna keep hammering away at StarTropics and Dragon Warrior. No rest for gamers I guess lol.
Look at them. Cute kids, huh? Look at the one holding the Wiimote. An angel, I bet he is? Right? Maybe not. Maybe so. But look at the other one, the older brother. He looks angry. Not quite HULK SMASH angry, but pretty peeved. Note the Wii. Such an elegant system. Absolutely no scent of urine... whaaaaat???
Turns out the older brother was being a jerk. That's strange, normally older brothers are nothing but a ray of sunshine. I should know, as I am the oldest of my brothers, and I am nothing but a ray of sunshine. Somehow, that kid must not have gotten the memo about being a good brother. See, his parents got he and his little brother a Wii for Christmas for 250 pounds. Grats to the parents for finding a Wii for their beloved kids for Christmas. Months searching, according to the article. Really, months to find a Wii? In Britain? I thought you guys were Sony Fanboys. Guess the exorbitant price of the PS3 has converted you from that path. Anyways, the older brother was being a jerk once they finally got the Wii from Santa. Seems he was hogging the Wii. Not letting his brother playing the Wii, apparently. Certainly the little brother didn't like that, and by golly, he had to do something about that. Tell his parents? Nah, that's to mature for his age. What he did was more classic.
And that's were the headline for this article comes into play. Hilarious. Wee on the Wii. Genius. One hell of a way to get back at your brother. Certainly, if my little brother did that to my Wii, he'd be dead. Figuratively, of course. But the truth of the matter is that my Wii is not broken thanks to urine, while that pissed off older brother's Wii is. Ha!
2008...it's been 20 years since 1988. What does that mean? The golden year of Hip Hop is now 20 years in the past and all the classic albums that came out during that year are going to be celebrating their 20th anniversary. What albums exactly? Well, let's see...
EPMD - Strictly Business Eric B & Rakim - Follow The Leader NWA - Straight Outta Compton Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back Slick Rick - The Adventures Of Slick Rick Stetsasonic - In Full Gear Run DMC - Tougher Than Leather Ultramagnetic MC's - Critical Beatdown Boogie Down Productions - By All Means Necessary Big Daddy Kane - Long Live the Kane Eazy-E - Eazy-Duz-It Doug E. Fresh - The World's Greatest Entertainer MC Lyte - Lyte As A Rock Ice T - Power DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper Too $hort - Life Is...Too Short Biz Markie - Goin Off
That's 17 absolute classic albums in one year. ONE CLASSIC, 5 STAR, HIP HOP ALBUM RELEASED EACH MONTH!
Let's not forget that one of my top five favorite albums of all time came out in 88 as well...
Other albums that came out in 88 which I really like are: They Might Be Giants - Lincoln The Pixies - Surfer Rosa Dinosaur Jr. - Bug Morrissey - Viva Hate Weird Al Yankovic - Even Worse Soul Asylum - Hang Time Slayer - South Of Heaven Metallica - ...And Justice For All Huey Lewis and the News - Small World
AND OF COURSE!!!
RICK ASTLEY - HOLD ME IN YOUR ARMS!!!! (Rick Astley=Pimp)
We are a community of collectors, gamers and the likes, and some of us enjoy to let the world know what is on our mind. For those members, we have the community blogs, a place where they can publish their thoughts and feelings regarding life, universe, and everything. Some of those members might even choose to write about gaming and collecting! Whatever they write about, you can find it on their blog. You can either see the latest community blog entries in the feed you see to the left, or you can browse for your favorite blog using the menu above. Interested in having your own blog hosted on RF Generation? It's rather simple, first be a registered member, and then click the "My Blog" link that you see in the navigation above. Following those two steps will certainly get you on your way to blogging.
Sit back, relax, and enjoy our entries, rantings, and completely unrelated series of thoughts. We write for you to read, so we certainly hope that you enjoy our material.
Sony has put the final nail in the coffin for usage of their UMD (Universal Media Disc) format for movies by announcing that you will soon be able to transfer Blu-ray movies that you own to your PSP by way of the Playstation 3.
As many of you may know, the 
So, I was checking out 
Look at them. Cute kids, huh? Look at the one holding the Wiimote. An angel, I bet he is? Right? Maybe not. Maybe so. But look at the other one, the older brother. He looks angry. Not quite HULK SMASH angry, but pretty peeved. Note the Wii. Such an elegant system. Absolutely no scent of urine... whaaaaat???
![[Image 1]](http://www.se2labs.com/i/details.jpg){kind=link}
![[Image 2]](http://www.siliconera.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/wii60.jpg){kind=link}
![[Image]](http://i11.ebayimg.com/05/i/000/cf/69/268d_3.JPG){kind=link}