Hello there loyal readers.

Us here at Devicing would like to apologize for not keeping up with our duties and posting everything you need to know about the tech world and more.

We are all in college at the moment and we have been swamped with work......and getting a bit lost playing everything in the Orange Box, BUT that's another story. In a week or so we should have everything back up to speed.

Be back soon

Best Game You Never Played: Ico

While everyone will be busy with games like Crysis and Halo this holiday season, it's easy to forget that games can have a milder, less violent tone to them. I know, it's true, like zomg!!!

One such game came out for the PS2 back in 2001. It was called Ico, and it was from the same developers that brought us the excellent Shadow of the Colossus. I'm sure many people have heard of the game, but have never tried it, seeing how it has had limited releases in the past. But I urge, if not beg you, to try and pick up a copy of your own.


The story is simple, you play as a young boy, named Ico, who is being sacrificed at a castle with apparently no admission fee, because of the set of horns that have grown on his head, which supposedly brings his village bad luck. While locked away in his "sacrificial pod" some rumbling of the dated machinery of the castle loosens the rock the pod is sitting on and thus it tumbles open, freeing our protagonist. Along the way, you find a girl named Yorda that was also locked away, and thus you being your quest to escape the castle.

The main gameplay mechanics are simple, and is similar to what we have seen in games like Prince of Persia and Tomb Raider. You explore the environment, solving puzzles that will lead you to the next door. But in this game, you also have to guide Yorda around since she has a magical power to open certain doors to make you progress. Of coarse, Yorda is not as nimble as you, so you must leave her behind and create simpler paths for her to follow, sometimes using her as elements of the puzzles themselves.

Just to throw in a bit of action, occasionally shadowy figures will come and try to capture Yorda, which obviously prevents you from moving further. A fairly simple combat system involving a piece of 2x4 also adds a challenge in itself since attacks must be planned and quick. This adds yet another level of depth to the game.

On top of all this, you also have a fantastic artistic style (yes, similar to SotC) with a great use of Bloom lighting, atmospheric sound effects, and the perfect musical score.


The icing on the cake though is your connection to the characters. You really care for Ico and Yorda, as they obviously care about each other. This is further supported with a story that gives you just enough to know whats going on, and it all leads to a satisfying ending.

My only complaint was that it was rather short, but the fun to be had is well worth it. If nothing else, it offers up a true gaming "experience" that not many titles can mimic.

Vista, a second much angrier look

Okay so I'm done explaining away Vista's problems the way a mother says her sons manic depression has nothing to do with the lack of attention she offered (this is not my mum!) Alright so I've had Vista for several months and after much ooing and awing at the nifty little features Vista brought into my life I came to a Foot to Crotch conclusion

Vista would be great, if it worked.

I read all the great things Vista does like DX10 and improved Security, and other little treats that should've keep me going until the next Windows and got rather giddy. But after months of lying to myself the sweet treats of innovation and new don't add up to shit in your palm if the damn thing doesn't function.

I mean it, Vista is the most frustrating thing I've had to go through since I got it. First programs never worked right, I couldn't open up jack without Vista having a panic attack and the bloody support is craptastic.

This must be tough for those who don't own Vista to fully comprehend so here's a list of things I would rather do than install and use Vista again.

-Stub a broken toe
-Wipe myself with an angry otter
-Buy a copy of Water World on DVD
-Sit between a man who smells and a woman who snores on a trip to New Zealand

However after all the cursing and twitching was over I managed to collect myself when I realized; Vista reminded me just how shitty ever other version of Windows has been excluding the yawningly successful Windows 98 and the only other real choice Windows XP.

I'm sorry Microsoft but you're stuck up cheerleader OS just ain't cutting it, maybe its time to loose the flare and work on some integrity.

Team Fortress 2

Now I know all you readers out there missed my brilliant quips for the past month or so and have been beating yourselves with a sack of marbles wondering where I've been. We'll to put it straight I've been hibernating amongst schoolwork and video games, but enough about me; lets talk Team Fortress 2

Being the sequel the original Team Fortress, TF2 (T for Team,F for Fortress and 2 for the IQ of people who ask what TF2 means later on) picks where the last one left off; killing other players as a variety of classes which give you some sense of individuality. You have your spy, heavy weapons man, soldier and annoying scout; all of which have their weaknesses and strengths. No horse dung.

Moving on the Game is a fresh breath into the pre-teen Ritalin consuming genre where clicking as fast as you can = pwnage (sorry for sounding like a twit, it was only for effect). The game forces you to know you're class and how to use them effectively. And that's about it really.

I'm serious, it's not the gigantic leap in multiplayer gaming you all thought you were getting into when you proceeded to let Steam sodomize you with another piece of Half Life 2 spin. The maps become more lame than Samuel Jackson in "Invincible" after several hours of play and there are still those annoying twats who find glee in drive nails through your ears into your lungs.


But aside from the shortcomings I still love the game and would greatly enjoy to be the only person on the planet who thinks its merely 'meh; but I simply cannot. Granted the game isn't the multiplayer game I was looking for but it is a gigantic flamethrower to fire leap until compare to Counter Strike and all the other FPS rip offs that have a gimmick. TF2 doesn't have a gimmick. The class system really does matter and truly puts the Team in TF2 (vomit). Letting the tard who cleans the dishes in a school dining hall pick your class is a poor decision because you actually have to put some thought. Provided you aren't the pubescent hyperactive child who thinks Halo is better than a steak and a blow job and have made it all the way through to the end of this rant, or said tard who cleans dishes.

So in two seconds of closure because formal conclusions are for Philosophers and Historians, buy TF2 please and learn to like your teammates

MS Office Goes Online... Sorta

With free solutions for productivity coming from the likes of Open Office and Google Docs, Microsoft seems to be feeling the heat, and thus have now come up with Office Live Workspace. This new tool, being apart of Windows Live, will allow users to access online tools to view, but not edit, files such as Word documents and Excel spreadsheets.

It makes sense, since there will probably be no chance in hell that Microsoft will give up its favorite hoe for free while it can make the easy money pimping (forgive the lame reference). However, keeping it free has its price. While a beta is only going to start later this year, Microsoft has supposedly designed the program to support ads.

Whether this read-only tactic will actually work is still debatable. Microsoft has a firm grasp on the offline office productivity side, but will they have enough time to grab it online as well? Stay tuned to Devicing for updates.

The New Zune Just Got Cool

Microsoft annonced today the second generation of thier Zune portable media players, and it seems they took all of our complaints to heart and actually made the player that much more attractive, design wise and functionality wise.

So, lets start off with the big one, called the Zune 80, obviously since it is now updated to a 80 GB hard drive. The screen is overall a bit larger then the original, while the entire device itself is much smaller, with dimension of 2.4 x 4.25 x 0.5-inches. The device also features a new design of its d-pad, so it doesn't fool the consumers that it is a clickwheel or something, but it still has a very similar layout.

The other models are either a 8 or 4 GB flash player, which as you can see is a bit smaller, and offers all of the software perks of the larger one. One thing to note is that screen size is smaller, and unit size is larger then the recently announced Ipod Nano, so keep that in mind. The original Zune will still be around, with the name Zune 30, for its 30 GB hard drive, but thankfully it is also getting a full software upgrade just like the other models. If you already have one, check for a firmware update since you also get the upgrade.

The software is probably the most important change, since you still get the same features as the original, but now with more support. You get h.264 and MPEG-4 video support, as well as podcast support. Wi-fi is actually used now, where you can sync it with a PC, but can not download songs directly from an online store. Also, that whole 3 day or 3 play policy for music sharing, its now only 3 plays, which gives us a little bit of freedom I guess. Finally, the interface has been redone, and is supposedly much easier and faster.

Another nice change is that the Zune store is going DRM free for all of its songs, which is a big plus, but still no word if previously bought songs can be changed, or even what labels are being supported.

Overall, $250 for the Zune 80, $200 for the Zune 8, and $150 for the Zune 4 are not bad deals, and may actually be a contender against Apple this holiday season. Expect these things to ship sometime in November.

(Source)

Deals of the Day: MP3 Player and Power Supply for Dirt Cheap

For today's deals, we have a bit of a mix.
First, if you need a fancy MP3 player, but don't want to spend over 200 dollars, there is a deal at Buy.com for a Refurbished Philips HDD6330 30 GB MP3 Player. Not only does it have a stylish look, but also 30 GB to store mp3, wav, and wma (including protected) music files, and photos. From what I have read, it offers great sound quality, good headphones (amazing... for once), and a 2-inch color screen. All for less then 100 bucks.

Product purchase Page at Buy.com

Review of the product provided by cNet

The next item is an Eagle Vortec 700 watt power supply from Mwave.com. It is a $95 ATX power supply that is now FREE after rebate. Definitely a good deal to check out if building a new PC.

Purchase at Mwave.com

Still not enough, then.... how about a free 802.11 a/b/g Wireless Poster if you fill out this form courteous of Trade Pub. Why not?

Tokyo Game Show - Part.... Last

Now that TGS is finally over, let us finish up with a few stories that did not quite make it into the other two posts.

Halo 3, do I really need to describe it? Some of you should be playing it at this very moment. But the real news is that Halo 3 garnered really big crowds... in Japan. Gamers could not get enough of it, interesting since the Japanese stay away from senseless-violence American games, like Halo. However, it made a pretty huge impact, but will it be enough to raise the popularity of the 360 in that country as well?

The popular Soul Caliber series will soon have its fourth installment on the 360 and PS3. Not only are we getting the the crisper graphics and more "enhancements" to the fighters (just look at Ivy), there will also be an updated ring out system to make it more difficult for both sides to get off an easy win, with the use of barriers and breakable walls.

Capcom's pride and joy, Devil May Cry 4, had two new trailers and some playable demos on the show floor, and it is still impressing. Running at a smooth 60 fps at 720p on both a 360 and PS3, people only had good things to say as the action was fast and the controls were responsive. You will be able to find out the story between Nero and Dante in early 2008, with a PC version coming soon after.

For all the Katamari fans with a PS3, don't feel bad that Beautiful Katamari is Xbox only, since Jun Morikawa, game director of the series, has confirmed to 1up.com that a PS3 katamari game will be coming sometime in the future.

Again, there was so much at TGS to talk about, this is what caught our attention. The show is finally over, and we have enough to salivate over for the next year, no matter what platform(s) you own.

Tokyo Game Show Madness Part 2

In this post we will cover some of the key games that caught our attention so far. Now it is almost impossible to list everything in blog format, so we will just stick with games that caught our attention the most, and that is pretty popular coming from TGS.

Microsoft is trying to gain respect of the JRPG market with yet another product from those that brought you Blue Dragon. This one is now called Lost Odyssey for the Xbox 360, and should arrive in the US by February 2008. While the game looks beautiful, and will contain about 40-50 hours of gameplay, some are saying it looks a little too much like Final Fantasy. Still, with an interesting combat ring system, we'll see if the game can get distinguished enough.

NiGHTS for the Wii is a remake of the original SEGA classic too few played. Now you can relive it with updated visuals, and cool motion controls that just seem to fit so well.

Ninja Gaiden is making a return, this time actually in new games. This first is Ninja Gaiden II for the Xbox 360, and while only a trailer was shown so far, it seems to be as beautiful and bloody as ever, and is trying to be "the world's premier action game." The other one is Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword for the DS, so you can hack and slash with a stylus now, and have an incredible time doing it wherever you are.

Metal Gear Solid 4 is making quite a splash, since it is the first time people are getting hands on with it. The graphics are beautiful, the gameplay is hot, and the story is crazy, what more do you want. Also, keep an eye out for Metal Gear Online if you want to take the action online with 16 player battles.

A new trailer for the mysterious PS3 game Afrika was shown, giving us an update on the progress of the game, this time with some more scenes of a couple in a jeep and walking around with a camera. Could it be the next Pokemon Snap... we'll just have to wait and see.

Playstation Network games are really starting to impress alot of people, with their emphasis on trying to be different and innovative yet still fun. Take Echochrome, a basic black and white puzzle game where you live in a world that seems to be dreamed up by M.C. Esher. You even have fl0wer, a sequel to the popular fl0w, that is still leaving some people scratching their heads.


Do you want to stay fit yet still play video games? The Wii should be your platform of choice, since not only are you getting WiiFit, but also similar fitness offerings from both Konami and Namco. Hopefully these will burn enough calories so you don't feel so bad drinking all that soda when playing Super Smash Brothers.

Stay tuned to Devicing for more updates.... if we still have the strength.

Images from IGN.com

Tokyo Game Show Madness Part 1

Yet another big video game event is upon us, this time in Japan, where most of the major game companies are showing off their latest products for their fans, and not just for the Japanese, but for everyone.

Sony seems to be heading the show with most of the news in some way or another applying to them. First to the general system news. The rumours that rumble will be finally brought back to the Sixaxis are indeed true, with the new and unoriginal name of DualShock 3. The controller still includes the motion controls, but now has vibration features similar to the DualShock 2.

Unfortunately, this is not the amazing "vibration for each button" controller we have heard about, but at least the basic feature is back, which Sony still says required a bit of work to coinside with the motion sensors. Almost all games from here on out will support it, and other games already out may include the feature with an update. Some bad news is that this new controller is only coming to the US and Europe in Spring 2008, while Japan gets it in November of this year.

Remote play between the PSP and PS3 is also hot news, where not only can you stream games and media stored on your PS3 to your PSP anywhere you go (as long as there is wi-fi), you can also turn the PS3 on and off remotely to save power when not using the feature. Definitely something to look out for.

There is some more bad news unfortunately. The "Xbox Live killer" Sony is working on, Home, is also delayed to Spring 2008. Also, there is still no talk of that infamous 2.00 firmware update to include XMB support in-game. Hopefully more will be announced soon.

It would seem the other big news from the show floor would be the plethora of new Kingdom Hearts games for multiple platforms. The DS has KH 358 / 2 Days, the PSP has KH Birth by Sleep, and Mobile platforms have KH Coded. All these games are different and seem to have different stories and gameplay elements.

Lastly, there is just too much buzz around Konami to not mention them today. During their press conference, they seemed to put a lot of concentration on their new Wii fitness game, and some interesting titles for portable platforms. They of coarse also continued to talk about Silent Hill 5, Winning Eleven 2008, and the big daddy of them all, Metal Gear Solid 4, which had yet another amazing trailer.

Devicing will cover the major games of the show in a later post, since more news is coming in each day. Stay tuned!

Pictures from Kotaku.com and IGN.com

I don't know which one to choose!

There are a few of us possibly considering dual-booting maybe Windows XP and one of the Linux variants for fun. Or maybe you're still trying to find a way to boot Windows and Mac OSX on the same computer.

Well, there is one person who is far ahead of us in terms of sheer numbers. Saikee, a member of the JustLinux forums, is boasting 137 operating systems on the same machine. The numbers include 3 versions of DOS (oldie but a goodie apparently), 5 versions of Windows (including 3.11!!!), and 145 different versions of Linux (dayum thats a lot).







I'm pretty sure you would be waiting for a 2 hour boot-up time while your machine finds all the operating systems it can boot up, but just to say you have all those OS's to choose from I'm sure would be fun.

HDMI vs. Component Video

A very interesting article done by Tom's Guide has analyzed the strong and weak points of using HDMI or Component Cables for your HD set-ups. The fact is that once you take away all of the bias about digital vs. analog, according to the article, you're not getting that much of a difference.

It states that HDMI cables, while having the convenience of carrying both high-def video and audio in one easy cable, is much more prone to have signal quality degrade over time. The problem is that most of the cables out there do not go under a strict quality assurance check to keep the cost down.

Component cables, while being analog, also have slight problems since a video signal needs to be converted from digital to analog and back to digital, which could cause a decrease of signal quality. However, since it is running on cheap analog technology, these cables can last a long time and run at longer distances then HDMI, while offering nearly identical picture quality.

The conclusion the article offers is that while we may be tempted to go with the newer technology, HDMI, it is not an absolute necessity since component offers nearly identical video quality, and most of the time it is cheaper as well.

Deal of the Day: SAPPHIRE Radeon X1950GT AGP

If your still hanging on to that AGP video card slot PC for whatever reason, and sick of playing Bioshock at 800x600 resolution, maybe a slight upgrade of your video card will keep you alive and kicking until your next build.

The unfortunate thing is, since hardly anyone uses AGP anymore, upper level cards are sometimes much more expensive then their PCI-Express counterparts. However, occasionally a good deal does come along, like this Sapphire Radeon X1950GT.

This card has 256MB 256-bit GDDR3, is HDCP ready, and can run most of today's games at close to max. All this for around $140 from Newegg, which is a little bit cheaper then my BFGTech Geforce 7800 GS OC AGP which was $150 after rebate a few months ago.

Whether you need it or not is up to you, it still won't give you Crysis on max settings, but as an intermediate card to hold you through till there are some more DX10 options, it may not be a bad investment if you can wait a bit more to upgrade. Just make sure you take extra power and cooling into consideration, and of coarse do all the necessary research before you buy.

Link to the card on Newegg.

Free Software: Miro Video Player

If you are a big fan of podcasts and internet provided video such as me, then you need a good and easy way to organize all of that content. I was sick of using standard RSS feeds that forced me to click on links and download all the videos manually.

That is where Miro comes in. Miro is an open-source video player that not only organizes your local media, but also handles podcast subscriptions, browsing youtube, bittorrent downloads, and handles all the formats you need, such as wmv, quicktime, h.264, avi, mpeg, divx, and xvid, and in full HD if available.

Podcasts are probably one of the most useful features of this program. It stores all of your subscriptions and list them by category. It will automatically download new episodes if you choose, and you can play it right there in the program. Once your done watching them, feel free to store them, or delete them right away with those options right in the UI.

I've been using Miro, previously Democracy Player, for a good number of months, and while it is still in beta, they are slowly fixing the bugs and making it better with each release. If you need a bit of organization, and iTunes is not your thing, then try this program out and see how easy it is.

Click here for the official site.

Steve Jobs Makes Apple Fanboys Wet Themselves... Again!

(picture from Engadget)

Sorry for the unoriginal title, but it's true. Steve Jobs gave a press conference today at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, and gave a very impressive line up as well. If your crazy for Apple hand-held devices, you have a much larger selection this time then an overpriced phone.

First and foremost, probably the biggest buzz is the release of the same iPhone, but without the phone, for a few hundred dollars less. This product is now called the iPod Touch, which gives the same sleek design (this time a bit thinner) of the iPhone but now with a strictly media focus. It also includes Wi-fi capabilities (802.11 b/g) to download from iTunes when away from a computer (you listening Zune?), and to surf the web. Otherwise, your still getting the great touch-screen, and cover flow, with either 8 or 16 GBs of space for $299 and $399 respectively.

Also, for those that still want the iPhone, it would seem the price has now dropped to $399 for the 8 GB model (previously $599) since they will soon discontinue the 4GB line.

For the more traditional iPod users, Apple also announced the next generation of iPod's (now called iPod Classic) and iPod nano's. The iPod Classic looks the same, but now is a bit more rounded, and comes in the basic colors of silver and black, since its after Labor day and white is out of style. It even comes with the popular cover flow, in either 80 or 160 GB models, for $249 and $349 respectively.

The iPod nano is now a bit shorter and fatter, finally using up all the empty space with a bigger screen. Otherwise, it still supports your music, pictures, and video, with cover flow, and comes in 4 and 8 GB models, for $149 and $199 respectively. Keep in mind that you can only get the large color selection for the 8 GB model, the 4 GB one only comes in silver.

So there you go, lots of Apple news for you to digest. Check out the new Apple site with more information HERE.

Update: NBC Hooks Up with Amazon

Shortly after hearing the news that NBC and Apple parted ways in the video distribution market, now we have news of NBC's new partner: Amazon.com! They are supposedly going to use the Amazon Unbox service, their paid service to rent or buy downloaded video content, to distribute the NBC shows we know and love online.

But why Amazon? Rumors has it that while no official pricing was announced, Amazon is willing to accept the price increase demanded by NBC, as well as putting strict control on the content, both of which Apple had an objection to. Some good news for the end-users is that there may be a discount for those that buy multiple episodes, or the entire season of a show.

Stay tuned to Devicing for more details.

(Source)

Another Free Game That Doesn't Suck

Us here at Devicing have been fond of the indie games. The reason is that they are sometimes free, and some are hundreds of times better than most new games you pay upwards of $50 for. Here is yet another fantastic game you should all play.

Trackmania Nations!!!!!

It doesn't really matter if you are a fan of racing games, because this game is not only simple to pick up, but incredibly addicting (and we haven't even touched the track editor yet!)

This game looks amazingly good for a game that is only around 250 Megs.

The major purpose of this free game is to advertise not only Nadeo (the French company responsible for the TrackMania series), but also the Electronic Sports World Cup. The game records your best times and places you in the rankings with thousands of people from across the globe.

Oh, by the way, did I mention it's FREE?!

So there you have it, an incredibly simple, yet beautifully complex game that you can download for free and play online with thousands of people.

If you're interested in downloading the game go here

GoogPhone?

After the success of the Apple's iPhone, there have been speculations that other big companies will be sticking their ideas in the blender and seeing what concoction pops out.

The gossip is that Google is going at it and will create the David that will defeat the Goliath iPhone which is covering the market of overhyped superphones.......probably because it's nearly the only "superphone" people know about after advertising Apple did.

The guys at Engadget have speculated the rumors to be true and are backing it up with rumors that seem to be getting more and more specific. These rumors include a kickass mobile user interface based upon some Linux OS as well as everything being based in Java.

You Are Winner!


If Google releases this phone, many a google-lover and techie will want one, probably because it does more than the iPhone and does everything the iPhone does better, but with the possibility of a flight simulator in every application (if you haven't heard).

Free Software: And Yet It Moves

Looking for something to waste a few minutes on, then why not try out this perfect example to prove to Roger Ebert that video games CAN be an art form. In this simple yet elegant side-scrolling puzzle game, not only do you move your character left and right (and up with jumping), but also rotating the world to get through the game's two levels.

And beautiful levels they are, where they are composed entirely of pictures from crumpled up and ripped up paper. The puzzles, though slightly easy, will have you scratching your head for a few moments your first time, as you try to manipulate the game's physics, and try to avoid falling to death with a real sense of gravity.

Its short but sweet, and you can see a truly unique game that will hopefully evolve into something more in the future.

Download the game here.

Maximize Your BitTorrent Potential!

BitTorrent is a dream for downloading things fast, no matter what the file is. However, some just don't see the light, and it might be because their settings are just not set up correctly.

TorrentFreak has the answer. They just compiled a list of 20 tips that should help you get your download, and upload, rates to the max. They include the list of ISP's that are throttling BitTorrent traffic, and how to get around it, and even what are the perfect settings for your internet connection.

View the list here.

So like, Apple broke up with NBC, like OMG!

For all of those users that use iTunes to download and watch some of their favorite NBC shows, like The Office, you might be in for quite a surprise this month. Apple intends to pull down all of the network’s shows from its library due to what seems to be some contractual disagreements.

There are several stories on why this is happening. Apple is reporting that NBC requested an increase of prices of their individual episodes from $1.99 to as high as $4.99. Also, there have been previous reports of NBC looking to disallow the playing of their content on iPods and such, which is a major reason why most people download the episodes in the first place, just to crack down on piracy. For these reasons, Apple is taking down this content when they are obligated to distribute NBC’s content until their contract ends in December. NBC however is rejecting the statements made by Apple, saying that they only requested a "flexibility in wholesale pricing."

Whatever the main truth behind the story is, both sides seem to be still trying to negotiate the current situation. Niether side is really reliant on the other, but it is advantageous to both for a deal to be made, since both can benefit as online distributed video is getting more popular. Devicing will keep an eye on the story as it progresses.

(Source)

Deal of the Day: Fatal1ty Pro Gaming Mouse

Looking for a kick-ass gaming mouse without spending more then on one of those crappy generic mouses? Well this is the deal for you. Buy.com is offering the Creative Fatal1ty 2020 Laser Mouse for a mere $3 if you do everything right! Sure, it may not be the prettiest thing out there, but what really matters is what it does when covered by your hand.

The list price for this bad boy is $48 on the site, but with a $35 mail-in rebate that ends September 2, a $10 discount for signing up for a new Google Checkout account, free shipping, and luck that you are not in one of the states that has tax, you can walk away with this mouse for dirt cheap. I did, how about you?

To purchase and to find all the details, click here.

Review of the mouse by GotFrag Hardware.

Pass the Eggs, Hold the Bacn

There seems to be a new email term slowly making its way across the internet, in hopes to be as widely used as "spam". That term is bacn, which has the accepted definition of, "Email you want, but not right now."


The term seems to have originated from the Podcamp Pittsburg podcast, and since has spread by blogs and twitter. There is even a site up to promote the term: http://www.bacn2.com/

Apparently, this will be used to identify all those pesky notifications, updates, and mailers we don't want to get rid of, but don't want to read either. AKA, all those emails sent to you by people you don't know... that's not spam. Who knows, it may actually get somewhere, it has that Web 2.0 lack of a vowel, and enough of a food reference to relate to spam.

Get a new daddy...

Only a week out, and people are already falling in love with Bioshock. Here is a prime example, someone made a life-size representation of the Big Daddy character from the game. I would make a joke about a non-existant girlfriend playing the part of the little sister, but it just sounds wrong...

(Picture from Kotaku)

Time to DEFRAG

I know what you FPS (First Person Shooter) fans are thinking, "OMG, lyke, he said frag in the title and that means he got a kill).

I'm sorry, but defragmentation is MUCH better for your health.

Apparently not a lot of people don't know how to defrag their computers, but also don't even know what it is or haven't even heard of it.

This quick article from BusinessWire gives some numbers...

Click Here

Those of you that haven't defragged your computer in a while or have never done it, we here at Devicing suggest you should, because your hard drive will fall in love with you right after you do it. It's like a cure for Hard Drive Alzheimers, it works wonder and your computer will run as fast as it did when you first got it.

Unlocking the iPhone

The news has been full of stories of people unlocking the iPhone, that sexy little cell phone that people just can not shut up about. Now once again, all eyes are on a 17 year old named George Hotz who put his $500 phone under the knife and can now make calls using T-Mobile's network, and not AT&T who is the exclusive carrier for 5 years. He has even posted a blog containing step-by-step instructions on his process, that can be viewed here.

However, this is not the only hack out there. Many others are claiming of software only hacks that can be done to have the same effect without the use of soldering... which as we all know can do more harm then good for some people. One such site, iphonesimfree.com, claims that by just sending them your iPhone's, and probably for a small fee, they can unlock the phone to work with any service provider. They currently are opening it up for publications for free to show off that it works.

So for all those that want an iPhone but want your own provider, definitely keep an out out on these, and even more developments, in the future.

Next-Gen Report: Wii is Now on Top

The latest sales figures for the next generation of consoles were recently released, and it gives a good status report of the attempts of Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony to create buzz in the month of July. It would seem all the consoles got a nice boost of sales due to exciting news and price drops alike.

First up, the Nintendo Wii, which is still very hard to find even 9 months after its initial release. In July, 425,000 systems were sold in the U.S. alone, and thus leaping them forward over the total Xbox 360s sold. And so, it is as everyone has predicted, The Wii is now the dominant console in less than a year’s time.

Speaking of Microsoft’s Xbox 360, their sales were actually down from June, only selling 170,000 systems in the U.S. even after a slight price cut and a huge anticipation for games like Halo and Bioshock.

Lastly, Sony is seeing a bit of good news, with sales up about 60% due to their recent price cut, no matter how controversial it may be. They sold 159,000 systems, and even though it may not be as good as the Wii and 360, it shows a good healthy rise in popularity for the PS3, and at least it already out-sold the Dreamcast.

DS and PSP sales are also doing quite well, selling 405,000 and 214,000 unites respectively. Even the old PS2 got sales of 222,000 units surprisingly.

It is still early on in the life cycles of these systems, so there is still some time for any of these consoles to rise or fall.

(Source)

Digg Search vs. Google Search

I use google to search for digg articles instead of the digg search, and I'm sure you do too.

Example:

enter in digg search: taken with flash pic

enter in google search: taken with flash digg

RESULTS:

Do Graphics Matter? I Guess So

One of the most prominent conversations in gaming is the long-running debate (at least as long as the Wii has been around) on whether graphics really do matter or not. According to this article, it looks like it does, and it gives a damn good explanation for it, comparing it to things like our fascination with art and beauty, and yes, proves that Nintendo-fanboys like good graphics as well.

You can read the article here!

HD-DVD Gains Some Momentum

The Blue-ray camp must be having the most chaotic day in a long time. It seems that 2 more movie studios dropped Sony's format, and have drank Toshiba's HD-DVD Coolaid. Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks animation will now exclusively offer future titles on HD-DVD, while having been before on both camps. And it could not have come at a better time, since several summer blockbusters, including Transformers, is now only going to be on one format.

Blue-ray had a good lead, outselling their rival 2:1, having more players out there thanks to the Playstation 3, and even Blockbuster giving them a little more recognition. Either way, this just proves that the war is still on, and the only people getting hurt from this, the consumer, are getting tired of it. We may not see the end of this for awhile.

Find out more here!

Best. Game. Ever?

For those of you that don't know, Karl Rove, George W. Bush's Deputy Chief of Staff, is about to resign. Us here at Devicing know exactly why.....

Karl Rove is preparing to play Bioshock.




This super-sequel is being released TOMORROW for XBox 360 and for the PC (gamers everywhere rejoice!). The game has been welcomed into the world of the living with the usual slap and then superb reviews from nearly every magazine, website, and person that has played it.

GamesRadar.com -

GameInformer.com -

1Up.com -

MetaCritic.org -




These are just SOME of the reviews. Just about every review has given it above a 9.5 or 95 or 95%

There is that ONE guy though who writes for SonyDefenseForce who gave the game a 5/10. Either he can't count or he's just not happy that Bioshock isn't on PS3 already. There's always THAT GUY (......party pooper....)

Alien Abduction Brightens your Desk, Doesn't Probe

I love Alien Abduction Lamp. This creative design sports a pulsating tracker beam for a stand/shade, and little Abucting Aliens. Also available are abductable add-ons. Did you order one yet? I did, two actually.

Mod your PS2 without a Solder Gun or Memory Card!

Okay so a lot of websites are running the article about how a company created a way to play burned games using your memory card; that's sweet and all but it wasn't the first solder-less way to mod your PS2. I'm talking about Swap Magic.

Swap Magic has the PS2 owner put a disc with a pressed image on it that overrides the BIOS telling the PS2 "You dun look fur burnt game no more k?". Then by opening your PS2 without resetting it you can pop in your burned game and voila! You are now a pirate (ahh errr of the backing up kind). No soldering, memory cards or nothing.

To Swap the discs without resetting requires a simple slide of a card card for the old PS2 or some plugs you stick in the reset switches for the Slim Models. The whole system costs anywhere between $20 and $40 depending on what PS2 you have. Is it worth the price to be able to play all the burned games you want without voiding your warranty? Well just ask John

A Close look at Vista without drinking Haterade

Since it's suddenly cool to rip into Windows Vista; I'd thought I'd give my take on it. I've had Vista Basic for close to a month now and I've gotten the recent security and compatibility updates. After getting everything just the way I want it I have to say that's it's a Love-Hate relationship with Vista. I'll go on....

I unboxed my copy of Windows Vista with much glee and excitement (after crying about having to pay for Windows, that's another story) and read the manual. Simple enough to install, within twenty minutes my home built machine was brewing something of the Vista variety and I was pumped. I was greeted by a fresh crisp GUI that was easy to navigate. I uploaded a few programs (Avast, Spybot, VLC) to get myself started. Everything went nice and smoothly.

I ran into my first annoyance when I went to open these programs and was told that as an Administrator I needed to okay the running of said program. No biggy, I'll adjust the account settings later. I uploaded all of my music in little to no time flat.

I installed some games and for the most part they went great; DX10 really is worth it for visual intense games that support it. I did have the occasional random slowdown on some games that was only fixed by rebooting the machine. These slowdowns would even affect navigating menus! I was very annoyed.

These complaints and compliments come and go like every other budding iteration of Windows. Driver incompatibilities, new graphic support, random problems that cant reproduced and others are to be expected. My only really bug with Vista is the amount of privileges Administrator accounts are given. As an Administrator I expected to be able to do anything I wanted, not have to wait in line like everyone else. I upside though is that Vista "claims" to offer improved security. I haven't run into many problems yet but I think most of it is geared towards anti-piracy, yarrrr.

For the power users on the other hand Vista may just seem awkward and unresponsive for some things. Drivers and security problems are annoying, but nothing users can't find a way around after awhile. Given the nine months since Vista's launch these users are getting hungry for more support and are quite happy to stick with XP for now and I'd agree with that decision.
My take is all about where you and your PC are currently. I think that you should take the plunge to Vista if you

1.) Just got a new computer with the recommended requirements
2.) Really want to show off your Directx10 hardware
3.) Just upgraded your current machine to a Multi Core Processor

I would wait to upgrade to Vista and stick with XP if you...

1.) are a power user
2.) don't plan on getting or upgrading your machine for some time
3.) are not a big PC Gamer
4.) are constantly installing programs and want to make sure they are supported

For me I'm quite happy with Vista. Sure there are times when I wish I was still running XP, but there are times when I'm glad that I have Vista. I'm not WOWed by Vista, but I am definately satisfied; even a little pleased. At the end of the day it all comes down to what you want to do on your computer; and only YOU can answer that

Snoring Spouses Begone!

This interesting little number is for those who are
A.) Paranoid of being robbed
B.) Sleep Battle invisible Gladiators
C.) And need something to put their alarm clock on