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'»
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!]'»
My wife and I are both kind of tech geeks. Come evening time, and we both want to use the computer – for whatever reason. With a little baby, time on the puty is limited even more. As a result, I have little time to post here… Until now. This week, we splashed out on a new laptop.
To date, we’ve been using an 18.4” desktop replacement – an Acer 8930G. It’s an awesome system, but it’s heavy, and so not very portable. thus, we decided to get something more portable – but we also wanted something a little different. So we bought a tablet – HPs tx2-1316au, a multitouch Touchsmart unit. and it’s awesome.
Continue reading 'Tablet awesomeness'»
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)'»
Damn, I’ve been so crazy busy with babies and comics and work and visitors and everything recently, I’ve fallen behind on my posts! So I thought I’d bump it up this weekend and get a few out there. But as an interlude (of sorts), I thought I’d do a little "what am I interested in at the moment" post. And here it is, I hope you enjoy!
Continue reading 'Stuff I like (October ‘09)'»
Video gaming has had a stigma attached to it for as long as I can remember. From what I understand, it has never really been accepted by the mainstream community (I was a bit young in the days of Space Invaders and Pac Man arcades, so I can’t really comment on that period or earlier), and, in my experience, has been regarded as childish and geeky by the great majority…
However, things have changed somewhat in recent years. Sony’s Playstation brought gaming to the masses in the 90s, but it was still considered pretty geeky. More recently, Nintendo’s successes with the DS and Wii has lead to somewhat of a ‘revolution’ in gaming — gaming has gained a foothold among the majority by way of simple, intuitive controls and titles.
Still, some (including myself) would argue that the games are too simplistic, and as such, the popularity of the Wii is a fad that will fizzle over time… Every non-gamer I know that owns a Wii either doesn’t really play it anymore, or just keeps it for the kids. Myself? I haven’t played a really good game on the Wii for a long while, and I could count the titles I enjoy on the fingers of one hand… Still, I think the Wii is an interesting system for what it is – particularly for kids – but it goes to show that simplicity is not the only thing that people are looking for…
Continue reading 'Gaming for the masses: Social as well as casual'»
Soon enough, the balance of things will shift, and a new digital revolution will begin — namely by way of digital distribution. We’ve discussed this before, yes, but it seems that things are gaining traction. Ars Technica reported that iTunes accounts for 25% of ALL music sales in the US (not just digital sales), and it has also been suggested that iTunes will replace physical media as the number one choice for music consumers as early as next year. This comes as a bit of a surprise to me – I knew things were headed this way, but I had no idea it was already upon us!
Of course, it will still be a while before digital sales take over completely. Most people still don’t have the means nor the know-how, so it’s still likely to be about 10 years away. Even so, there’s something that hasn’t really been addressed yet, which is going to have some effect on how well this is received by consumers… and that is – the organisation and management of digital goods.
Continue reading 'Our digital future – possible calamity?'»
As a music lover (and isn’t everyone these days?), I’m interested in anything that can provide me with more access to music. There are a number of websites out there that interest me, but nothing has really excited me, to date (with the exception of last.fm – and then they added subscription fees for anyone outside of the US and parts of Europe). Until the release of Sony’s VidZone, that is. OK, until I could actually ACCESS VidZone, to be honest, but that’s another story.
So, what is VidZone? It’s a free music video streaming application for your PS3, but is it worth it? Anything that is free is worthy, in my opinion, but it does need some work, let’s be honest.
Continue reading 'VidZone impressions – needs work, but damn it’s good [UPDATED]'»
As per a recent post, I’ve recently become the owner of an iPhone — one of many, I know… I’m not special (that’s what my mum tells me at least). However, as a bit of a tech geek, I was quite resistant to taking the plunge into Apple-land, as I’m not a fan of the way they do certain things…
Anyway, that aside, I bought one — and it took me a long time to make the decision. But what helped me along my way was reading about other people’s experiences, and what they thought was good or bad about the iPhone. So I thought I’d add to the wealth of such info that is available. And on top of that, I thought I’d detail what I currently find to be the best (most useful) Apps on my phone…
Continue reading 'What’s the big deal with iPhones these days?'»
For a time, I was too cool for new tech. Yep — in my late teens and early 20s, I was all about, well … other forms of entertainment, and I had little time for gaming and computers and the like. Then, as I aged, I couldn’t keep up with my former self, and started to trend back towards my prior interest in Tech…
For example, until I was 21, I didn’t even have a mobile phone! In those days, they were already pretty popular, but they were just phones. When I got my first phone, it only had a 2-line screen (meaning it could only display 2 lines of text), and wasn’t colour — in fact, colour phones and camera phones had only JUST been released, and they were DAMN expensive.
When I moved to Japan, things changed a little. My first phone there was better than the top-of-the-line phones in Oz, and it was free! It was colour, had a pretty big screen, and it took (admittedly crappy) photos. Within a very short period of time, I was once again a voracious consumer of tech – like my father before me. I soon wanted the best phone, and I upgraded on a yearly basis. It was grand.
Continue reading 'Smartphones, PDAs, and other expensive tech: Or how I learned to be a wanker and love my iPhone'»
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