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By Greg, March 2, 2010 7:38 pm

Since the dawn of time, humankind has argued over the merits of this versus that. In the mighty world of game, there was the Sega vs. Nintendo war of the early 90’s, the PSP vs. DS age, and more recently, the Xbox 360 vs. PS3 (and both vs. Wii) conundrum. However you may feel about any of these machines, one war that has waged in the background without waning is the war between the console and PC fans.

It’s an interesting one, really. Styles of gaming have always differed across these machine types, and there has always been a pervasive divider between the two. There has also, for as long as I can remember, been a consensus amongst console gamers that PC gaming is dead. Well, it hasn’t died yet, and let’s face it… it won’t die anytime soon. Regardless of how you feel (I’m a console gamer myself), I thought it pertinent to list the pros and cons of each, if only to help me understand why such a division exists.

Continue reading 'The pros and cons of console and PC gaming'»

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By Greg, February 22, 2010 6:36 pm

Hi all, I’ve been damned busy recently, due to a number of reasons all culminating in laziness. Actually, I wrote two posts in the last week or so, but I haven’t posted either… Because I chose not to. It’s likely neither post will see the light of day – one because it was pre-emptive, and the other because it was more personal than I intended. Anyway…

As a result of me not posting a damned thing, I’ve been feeling a little restless –I need to post something, but I’m in a bit of a slump. Thus, I added Skribit (see widget in sidebar), where readers can suggest something for me to post about. And I decided to write up this quick post inviting you to my dad’s website:

Newbegin Writing

In block quote form, no less. Why not?

Anyway, my old man writes about various things, and he makes me chuckle, but he also wrote a sci-fi novel. If you have some money burning a hole in your pocket, it might be worth your while to check it out.

Oh, and yes, I’m aware the site needs to be updated… I designed his site, so it’s all down to my laziness… Again… I think I’ll migrate the blog to replace the static site – it will be much easier.

So yeah… go to his site, buy his book, and pop a suggestion in skribit to the right. If you like.

Peace, and catch you soon with rad ideas.

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By Greg, February 7, 2010 8:32 pm

In my previous post, I mentioned that the iPad hardware was fine, and wondered as to what people were really expecting from the iPad. Well, in his comment responding to said post, Mr Name of “Internet” clarified exactly what he was looking for, and it made sense. A lot of people were expecting some super mega-awesome tablet of sweet, sweet computing power, which admittedly would be cool. I had to consider why I wasn’t expecting this myself, considering I love my gadgets and my puty bits.

I came to realise it probably had a lot to do with the fact I have a tablet notebook at home, and have been soured on the PC-tablet as a result. Don’t get me wrong – I love it. However, I’ve also learned that – for a fully-fledged PC – touch just doesn’t cut the mustard. A PC needs a keyboard at the very least, and it doesn’t hurt to have a good sized HDD and a DVD drive. This is why netbooks work, as they are not only useful for a spot of portable internet, but also for some mobile computing, word processing, and the like. I found myself very rarely using the notebook as a tablet, as it just wasn’t as functional.

Continue reading 'Why I think the iPad hardware aint all that bad'»

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By Greg, January 31, 2010 3:33 pm

At an inauspicious event, little known start-up "Apple" announced a totally unexpected new device to add to their largely unknown set of devices. Few were there to witness. The Internets did not throb with information, and the world’s media did not report this event. The product appeared on the market several weeks later to critical acclaim, but flopped.

In the real world, however, the truth of the matter is much more interesting. Apple – being Apple – has created buzz of extreme proportions and the reactions of the good people of the Internet were… well, pretty much as expected, really.

Continue reading 'Weighing in on the iPad'»

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By Greg, January 20, 2010 7:58 pm

With talk of the Dreamcast’s ‘Sonic Adventure’ coming to XBLA, as well as the announcement of the “Game Room” for old school arcade/console games (on PC/Xbox), my mind has wondered in recent days to the golden games of old. Well, not that old, but turn of the millennium. And I’ve come to the realisation that one game in particular (although there are many) is due for release on XBLA and PSN – Crazy Taxi.

Crazy Taxi, for it’s time, was a great game. Going back and playing it again now – it still stands the test of time, and above all, it’s virtually the PERFECT arcade game. There’s no need to invest any of your time in story or characters – you simply get in your car and drive (after, uh… choosing a character). Just drive! – In any direction – To beat the timer. The faster you can deliver your passenger, the more time you get, and the more money you make. Very simple mechanics, and much more fun than you think. It really lends itself well to the odd 20-minute stint on XBLA, and the trusty ol’ high score battle with your friends.

Continue reading 'Release more old school arcade games… and start with Crazy Taxi!'»

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By Greg, January 13, 2010 8:57 pm

Hiya all, I said it was gonna happen and I just went right out there and did it. There’s time for me to play around and get things up and running, but you know what? It’s fun for things to be warped for a while. OK, OK, truth is I’m lazy and I want to catch up on an episode of Lost. So some things will work, some won’t. Comments are now working – yay! But the widgets in my sidebar ain’t happening on the home page for some reason… But screw it. Whatever… it looks much better than it used to – already!

So bear with me over the next week or so while I tweak and fix things up. Weeks may turn into months, however, so if you find something’s up, point it out to me.

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By Greg, January 9, 2010 7:35 pm

Reports out of CES from all of my favourite tech sites are noting an influx of 3D-capable TVs and PCs. It seems that most manufacturers consider 3D to be “the next big thing”. Sure – 3D has always been a popular attraction at theme parks for both adults and children alike, but it’s always seemed to me to be a bit of a gimmick. However, with all the major vendors jumping on board, perhaps it will be the new form of home entertainment. But will it be? Will it really? Huh? Yes… this post is full of questions.

Continue reading 'Keep those glasses away from me! [UPDATED!]'»

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By Greg, November 29, 2009 3:28 pm

Social networking has boomed in recent years – indeed, it is virtually the very definition of "Web 2.0" – yet not all social networking tools are as popular as others. Some of them, such as Facebook and Twitter, are quite common topics of conversation. However, they don’t receive the same attention for the same reasons – while "everyone" has a Facebook account and has tried at achieving the Bejeweled Blitz high score, society is divided on the usefulness of Twitter.

In fact, go ask someone what they think of Twitter. Invariably, they will tell you that they "don’t see the point" or "that’s what Facebook is for". Others will brush it off as a marketing tool, and still others will complain about it as a "way for nerds to talk about what they have for lunch". As a result of my own personal investigations, I’ve received all of these responses in the past week – and more. But why is that? Is Twitter really all that crap, or is it just misunderstood?

Before I take the hard line, I will add a little disclaimer to say that it is what it is – if it’s not something that sounds like it works for you, then it’s not going to be something you enjoy – much like anything else. However – I am firm in my assertion that Twitter is misunderstood.

Continue reading 'Twitter – misunderstood, or just crap?'»

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By Greg, November 15, 2009 8:02 pm

I was reading a transcript at Kotaku of a discussion about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on a morning show recently, and my blood began to boil – mainly because the host asking the questions displayed the same ignorance and triviality of the subject as we gamers are now used to seeing. At first, I was upset about the situation – the host seemed to simply keep repeating that you could ‘play as a terrorist’ and that it was ‘interactive violence’, without displaying any further understanding of the topic at hand. And to some degree, it still does irk me – but it made me realise that – regardless of the facts at hand – we will always be on the back foot here… But we gamers need to make some changes, too.

Continue reading 'Violence and ignorance'»

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By Greg, October 8, 2009 10:14 pm

This week, Sony’s PSPgo was released upon the world. Opting for a system based on downloads alone, it could prove to be a bit of a risk for Sony. At first, I was excited by the idea – finally someone was going balls-out and diving head-first in to the deep, dark (and largely unknown) waters of digital distribution. But after some careful consideration, I’m not so sure. I think Sony might have overestimated the demand, and underestimated the needs of consumers.

Continue reading 'PSPgo away, come again another day (when you’re done cooking)'»