Archive for the 'Reviews' Category

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Garmin eTrex Venture Cx Review

Published on February 14, 2007 in Gadget Reviews, Gadgets and Reviews. 4 Comments

Well, I didn’t see a ton of reviews out there for this gadget when I was shopping, so I thought I’d post my thoughts in case others were interested. So far, I’ve had it for a day or so, and I’m pleased.

The eTrex Venture Cx is the entry level mapping GPS from Garmin. The C means it’s a color screen, and the x means expandable memory, in this case through microSD cards. The next one up the totem pole is the Legend Cx, which includes a 32mb memory card. First thing I planned on doing was adding a 1gb card anyway, so that wasn’t an appeal. I lingered on the Vista Cx for a while, since it includes a barometric altimeter and an electronic compass. Then I got my senses back and realized GPS altitude is perfectly fine for my uses, and I have a great compass anyway, and a decent sense of direction. Besides, I can walk a few steps and the Venture will give me a heading. No USB cable is included, but it uses a standard mini cable. I’ve got about 15 of those around my desk, so no problem. These can power the Venture Cx when it’s plugged into your computer, or in my case, plugged into the USB power adapter in my car.

Let’s talk features. The Venture Cx lacks a SIRFstar III chip, but it does include WAAS. I got a decent fix (up to six satellites) in my home, a one-story ranch in the suburbs. Driving around the neighborhood seemed accurate enough, Continue reading ‘Garmin eTrex Venture Cx Review’

OMF: No, Stupid, it stands for One Must Fall

Published on February 10, 2007 in Game Reviews and Games. 0 Comments

kotaku had a fun post today about one of the best freeware games ever. It’s One Must Fall, and it features giant customizable fighting robots. For the record, a pimped Jaguar can stand with anything, although the first time you get a Pyro you have a lot of fun. If you’ve never played, it’s worth a download. It was very fast-moving, and the gameplay holds up well in spite of the long years it’s been forgotten. OMF reminds me how much responsive controls, customizability, and killer gameplay matter in games these days. Thanks for the reminder of this one, kotaku!

PSP Faceplate Mod

Published on January 28, 2007 in Case Mods, Console Reviews, Consoles and Gadgets. 0 Comments

I’ve never been one to live in fear of voiding my warranty, so when I heard about a way to potentially destroy my PSP, I was all ears. The result is visible in the picture. I got sick of wiping off fingerprints, so I picked up a flat black faceplate from DecalGirl. To add a little spice, I got the yellow button kit as well. Let me tell you – it took some fiddling. I lost a couple of those tiny screws, but thanks to a wicked powerful magnet I found on eBay, I was able to suck them back out of my carpet. After some manipulation, I got the buttons just about right once more, and it does look unique. For most folks, I can’t really recommend this mod. I probably wouldn’t do it again myself. The flat black is excellent, however, and it’s worth a look to modders and nerds in general.

Frets On Fire Rocks The Hizzouse!

Published on January 8, 2007 in Game Reviews and Games. 26 Comments

So I’ve been on a bit of a Guitar Hero kick lately. It is by far one of the funnest games I’ve played in a while. Unfortunately, due to my supreme broke-ness I have to rely on friends and relatives to fullfill all my Guitar Hero needs as I don’t currently own a PS2. I do get to play now and then, but on those evenings when I get that insatiable hankerin to play, I’m usually just S.O.L. Until now…

I had heard rumblings about Frets On Fire through the interweb, but I didn’t really give it much thought. I figured it would be cheezy and wouldn’t work very well. Boy was I mostly wrong. After suffering from a near seizure on Friday due to lack of Guitar Hero in my life, I decided to give it a try. I mean, how bad could it be? And besides, it is free after all.

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Ubuntu… Linux never looked so good

Published on January 1, 2007 in OS Reviews and Software. 0 Comments

After years of proclaimed nerdery, I’ve finally decided to take the Linux plunge. That’s not to say that I’ve never used Linux before, but as nerdy as I am, it’s taken me a while to really get excited about switching from Windows to Linux on any of my day-to-day use machines. I’ve tried a few flavors of Linux in the past, but I always ended up having so much difficulty getting things working properly that I usually just gave up before I got to any point of satisfactory stability. I had a Macbook a few years back and tried running Yellow Dog, but I could never even get that one installed. That turned me off for a while, but I eventually got curious again and Handy Randy helped me get Fedora Core running on a old Compaq Proliant server that I keep in the basement and use strictly for file storage. That machine is stable and serves it’s purpose, but it’s not really a day-to-day use sorta machine. I do have one other Linux box (an old Pentium II 200Mghz Compaq) on which I have installed a firewall build of Linux called Smoothwall which serves to protect my home network. That bad boy rocks and I highly suggest a Smoothwall for any home network with a high speed internet connection. But that machine isn’t a daily use machine either. It does get used daily, but only in the fact that its always running. I hardly ever actually have to physically manage that machine.

Enter Ubuntu 6.10 (Edgy Eft)…

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Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Wii Stylee

Published on December 8, 2006 in Game Reviews and Nintendo. 0 Comments

So my bro picked up Marvel: Ultimate Alliance for his Wii this past week. I had heard lots of good things about this game so I figured it was a pretty safe bet, but to be honest, I was a tad concerned that the Wii controls would “get in the way” of the gameplay for this type of game. Sure they work well with Wii sports, but Ultimate Alliance is not a first party title designed with the Wiimote in mind. Would the controls feel solid or just tacked on?

Well, after about 2 hours of super hero smashing action, I sorrowfully regret… that I ever doubted the power of the Wii. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is a dang fun game (regardless of the control scheme) and I actually don’t feel that the game was hindered at all by the use of the Wiimote. Now, to be fair, I haven’t played this game on any other platform so it’s hard to provide a true comparison, but based on the criteria I use for any other game (was it fun?), I can truly say that I’m a fan.

True, the Wii version is not the prettiest iteration of this game, but as long as you’re not playing it side by side with the 360 version, it’s plenty good looking. And the controls were intuitive and solid. Push the Wiimote forward to perform a knockback attack. A swift flick upward and you perform a high attack. Need a better angle on the action, tilt the nunchuck in the direction you wish to turn the camera (this one is ingenious btw). After about 10 minutes of “warm-up” I was completely immersed and kicking some major super villian butt. Now I just have to get my hands on 3 more friends who own Wiimotes so we can go all multi-player.

Initial Wii Impressions

Published on November 27, 2006 in Console Reviews, Games and Nintendo. 2 Comments

Unfortunately, I’m too broke to buy a Wii this Christmas. Try as I might to convince my wife, she seems to think buying clothes for the kids is more important than buying a Wii. Go figure…

My brother, however, is single and therefore not too broke to buy one. And this week, I got to play with my brothers Wii (I tried not to make that joke, but it’s just too darned hard). After all the hype and build up I wasn’t sure if it would be able to live up to my expectations. But after spending more than an hour with his shiny white box of wonderment, I think I’m sold. I got to try Wii Sports, Excite Truck and Zelda: Twilight Princess and I was pretty impressed with all three.

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Final Fantasy: Advent Children Is Amazing!

Published on November 20, 2006 in Game Movies and Movie Reviews. 0 Comments

Honestly, I’ve never played a Final Fantasy game. Ever. I admit that I’ve been mildly intrigued from time to time regarding the hype that seems to follow this series, but I’m mainly a PC gamer. I’ve actually never owned a console on which to play these games (except for my NES, but I never played the first one). Not to mention the fact that I’m not huge on turn based games. I tend to get bored rather quickly by having to take a break between each attack to figure out what to do next. Maybe too many years of Counter-Strike has turned me into an action junky.

Despite having never played the games, I do own Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within though. The first time I watched this movie I was blown away at what Square/Enix was able to accomplish. The CG was amazing and the story was easily able to stand on its own for those unfamiliar with the games. To be honest, I don’t know if this movie even really ties in with the games, but as an Anime fan, I found it quite enjoyable.

Which brings us to the point of this post… This weekend I finaly rented Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. Frankly, the only reason I rented it was because of the sheer lack of anything interesting at Hollywood Video on Friday night. Plus the fact that my wife wasn’t with me to pick something. Her general distaste towards movies of the anime/kung-fu/CG/sci-fi/fantasy/gaming persuasions usually wins out, but without her there to dissuade me, I got it. After watching it I have only two words… HOLY WOW!!!

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iPod nano 2G mini-Review

Published on November 6, 2006 in Gadget Reviews. 1 Comment

Well, I’m not an iPod guy. But I have owned three iPod nanos, the latest one a new 2nd-generation basic model, the 2gb silver one. I picked this one up mostly out of frustration with my recent forays into the flash player world.

My main player is a Gigabeat S60 from Toshiba, which is actually about the first mp3 player I’ve been satisfied with to keep for more than four months or so. I cherish that player so much that I wanted a little flash player to take running, or to use while I ride my motorcycle, or while I’m mowing the lawn, etc.

I’ve had an iRiver U10, which I ditched because it was too big a pain to use while in my pocket. I also have a Sansa e280, which is just quirky and kept locking up on me (the latest firmware may help – we’ll see. I’m holding out for Rockbox on that one). I loved the Rio Carbon, but the hard drive thing worried me. Anyway, none of the other players really fit my needs perfectly.

Let me give you some pros/cons for the nano, from the point of view of a non-apple guy.

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Windows Media Center 2005 Woes

Published on September 24, 2006 in OS Reviews. 0 Comments

I use a home-built Windows media center for all my TV needs. I’d like to share a few of the choices I made in hopes that others will avoid my mistakes. It’s been a rocky road at times, but there’s really no other platform that works for me in the living room. The pros include a very intuitive and responsive interface, expecially when looking through the guide and searching for programs to record. TiVo was downright sluggish at times. Well, here are my points:

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