Timbits
1) There are no Timbits here. We tried to get some at the Tim Hortons in Dublin, but they didn't have any. Probably all shipped to Canada
2) These days, I'm reading only before I go to bed. And I pretty much lose consciousness after two pages. Finishing a book, therefore, is a rare event. The penultimate one was Heinline's (big science fiction writer) famous 'Stranger in a Strange Land'. It's about a man who is brought up by Martians (science fiction was big on Mars in the early 60's because we didn't yet know it was a lifeless desert) and then comes back to earth. Heinlein sometimes does a good job of imagining what it would be like for someone that has adapted to a very alien mentality to be suddenly faced with 'human thinking', but the most of the rest amounts to a 60's free love fantasy. It was a bit of a struggle to finish, really, once you're at 'consequence free sex and walking around naked scene 10' it starts to wear a little thin - even for me. Reminds me of just why I love the cerebral (and gratuitous sex free) Asimov so much.
Fortunately, my last reading experience was much improved. With the departure of a sabbatical member of my research group here, I got my hands on a free copy of 'Life of Pi'. I used the 'I'm Canadian, therefore it should go to me' argument to great effect. Jane read it first and was through it in a few days, thanks to her 1.5hrs daily train ride. I finished it quickly too, mainly because I was traveling on my own to Lisbon (more on that next post), but also because it was very good. I remember Doug saying as he was reading this book 'I think there's supposed to be symbolism or something, but it's really just a guy in a boat with a Tiger'. And while you are in the middle of it (as he was), that is indeed all there is to it. But the survival story will get you to the end and it is there that the smart is. WARNING: SLIGHT SPOILER IN NEXT SENTENCE. The main point, and it is cleverly made, is that what is probably a metaphorical account (that which you spend most of the book reading) can convey more truth than what is probably a factual account (that is given at the end). You are supposed to extend this to the belief in god, but I'm afraid I don't buy it.
3) The 'next generation' video game systems came out just over a week ago. Now I'm sure that many of you are completely uninterested in this, but I would argue that this next launch is in fact a battle between corporate good and evil. Evil would be Sony and their 'Playstation 3'. It is evil because it relies on the 'more power' philosophy that drives needless consumerism. In fact, the Playstation 3 is fundamentally the same as the Playstation 2, but with (much) better graphics and the capability to play Sony's 'blu ray' disk technology. The former characteristic changes nothing about the gaming experience. You will play Hockey or Counterstrike or whatever in exacltly the same way you would on the Playstation 2. It'll just look better. The latter characteristic is great for Sony, because it will commit you to their blu ray disk technology (for movies and data etc.), but it is bad for you because it will commit you to their blu ray disk technology for movies and data etc. If they sell alot of PS3s, be prepared to shell out lots money for HD movies! Sony has also been cocky as hell leading up to the launch of their system. This cockyness, best summed up in their E3 (games conference) tag line 'The next generation begins when we say it does' and their price point: $500US for a stripped down system and $600 for a complete system (with no games, mind you, those you have to buy for an additional $60).
Good would be Nintendo and their 'Wii' system. As one games reporter put it 'While Microsoft and Sony Zigged, Nintendo Zagged'. They did this by pretty much forgetting about graphics and focusing HARD on two points: Fun and price point. I should point out that this is a risky policy. Everybody expects new and improved graphics, and it is difficult to convince people to forgo an incrimental improvement that they know for an unknown 'fun factor'. It was for this reason alone that I sided with Nintendo almost immediately: Companies should be rewarded for being taking risks and being creative. To increase the fun, Nintendo created a pretty fantastic piece of engineering called the the 'Wii-mote' that looks like a TV remote control. This thing is filled with tilt sensors, a three axis accelerometer and an infrared sensor. Basically, it can figure out a) where it is in three dimensions and b) how fast it's being moved in three dimensions. So you want to play a game of tennis? Just swing it around like a tennis racket. It is so sensitive that you can put spin on by tilting it. In other games, it is used like a pointer - one of the launch games, called 'Trauma Center' has you performing operations, using the Wii-mote as a scalpel, suture or needle and thread. So playing games on the Wii is going to be nothing like playing on other systems. Plus you'll get a bit of a workout (though you don't need to flail around wildly, apparently). And price point? $250 US, half the price of the cheaper PS3. And they'll be making money on each system, unlike Sony who lose 30% (mostly thanks to the expensive cell processor and very expensive blue diode laser). And it comes with a game (Wii sports, pretty much a Wii-mote demonstration game, but still). There are two significant (I think minor compared to Sony) downsides: a) The system only comes with one Wii-mote and you are going to want at least two and b) there is currently no service to play online with other people.
2) These days, I'm reading only before I go to bed. And I pretty much lose consciousness after two pages. Finishing a book, therefore, is a rare event. The penultimate one was Heinline's (big science fiction writer) famous 'Stranger in a Strange Land'. It's about a man who is brought up by Martians (science fiction was big on Mars in the early 60's because we didn't yet know it was a lifeless desert) and then comes back to earth. Heinlein sometimes does a good job of imagining what it would be like for someone that has adapted to a very alien mentality to be suddenly faced with 'human thinking', but the most of the rest amounts to a 60's free love fantasy. It was a bit of a struggle to finish, really, once you're at 'consequence free sex and walking around naked scene 10' it starts to wear a little thin - even for me. Reminds me of just why I love the cerebral (and gratuitous sex free) Asimov so much.
Fortunately, my last reading experience was much improved. With the departure of a sabbatical member of my research group here, I got my hands on a free copy of 'Life of Pi'. I used the 'I'm Canadian, therefore it should go to me' argument to great effect. Jane read it first and was through it in a few days, thanks to her 1.5hrs daily train ride. I finished it quickly too, mainly because I was traveling on my own to Lisbon (more on that next post), but also because it was very good. I remember Doug saying as he was reading this book 'I think there's supposed to be symbolism or something, but it's really just a guy in a boat with a Tiger'. And while you are in the middle of it (as he was), that is indeed all there is to it. But the survival story will get you to the end and it is there that the smart is. WARNING: SLIGHT SPOILER IN NEXT SENTENCE. The main point, and it is cleverly made, is that what is probably a metaphorical account (that which you spend most of the book reading) can convey more truth than what is probably a factual account (that is given at the end). You are supposed to extend this to the belief in god, but I'm afraid I don't buy it.
3) The 'next generation' video game systems came out just over a week ago. Now I'm sure that many of you are completely uninterested in this, but I would argue that this next launch is in fact a battle between corporate good and evil. Evil would be Sony and their 'Playstation 3'. It is evil because it relies on the 'more power' philosophy that drives needless consumerism. In fact, the Playstation 3 is fundamentally the same as the Playstation 2, but with (much) better graphics and the capability to play Sony's 'blu ray' disk technology. The former characteristic changes nothing about the gaming experience. You will play Hockey or Counterstrike or whatever in exacltly the same way you would on the Playstation 2. It'll just look better. The latter characteristic is great for Sony, because it will commit you to their blu ray disk technology (for movies and data etc.), but it is bad for you because it will commit you to their blu ray disk technology for movies and data etc. If they sell alot of PS3s, be prepared to shell out lots money for HD movies! Sony has also been cocky as hell leading up to the launch of their system. This cockyness, best summed up in their E3 (games conference) tag line 'The next generation begins when we say it does' and their price point: $500US for a stripped down system and $600 for a complete system (with no games, mind you, those you have to buy for an additional $60).
Good would be Nintendo and their 'Wii' system. As one games reporter put it 'While Microsoft and Sony Zigged, Nintendo Zagged'. They did this by pretty much forgetting about graphics and focusing HARD on two points: Fun and price point. I should point out that this is a risky policy. Everybody expects new and improved graphics, and it is difficult to convince people to forgo an incrimental improvement that they know for an unknown 'fun factor'. It was for this reason alone that I sided with Nintendo almost immediately: Companies should be rewarded for being taking risks and being creative. To increase the fun, Nintendo created a pretty fantastic piece of engineering called the the 'Wii-mote' that looks like a TV remote control. This thing is filled with tilt sensors, a three axis accelerometer and an infrared sensor. Basically, it can figure out a) where it is in three dimensions and b) how fast it's being moved in three dimensions. So you want to play a game of tennis? Just swing it around like a tennis racket. It is so sensitive that you can put spin on by tilting it. In other games, it is used like a pointer - one of the launch games, called 'Trauma Center' has you performing operations, using the Wii-mote as a scalpel, suture or needle and thread. So playing games on the Wii is going to be nothing like playing on other systems. Plus you'll get a bit of a workout (though you don't need to flail around wildly, apparently). And price point? $250 US, half the price of the cheaper PS3. And they'll be making money on each system, unlike Sony who lose 30% (mostly thanks to the expensive cell processor and very expensive blue diode laser). And it comes with a game (Wii sports, pretty much a Wii-mote demonstration game, but still). There are two significant (I think minor compared to Sony) downsides: a) The system only comes with one Wii-mote and you are going to want at least two and b) there is currently no service to play online with other people.
posted by Derek at 10:32 AM
7 Comments:
1) You're not missing much without Timbits.
2) I'm not nearly as stupid as you just made me sound. If I recall correctly (I think it was about 4 years ago that I read Life of Pi), the point of the book wasn't that the fable was more accurate than the factual account, but rather that in the absence of proof either way, why choose the emptier of the two versions (i.e. why not believe in God when the alternative is so dreary). I didn't buy it.
3) Where does the X360 fit in you "video game systems as a microcosm of corporate ethics" theory?
1) Yes I am
2) In saying 'as he was reading it', I meant to imply that you were in the middle. And in the middle, it is a just guy in a boat with a tiger (this has since been fixed to make it clearer). You're right about the intended point of the story. I should have said that, since I don't buy the 'believe in God because the alternative is dreary' (well put) argument, the important point for me was the clever illustration that a metaphorical account can carry more truth than a factual account (also fixed, hopefully).
3) There are degrees of evil. The the Xbox is less evil than the PS3 because the price isn't ridiculous and they don't make you buy their HD DVD. On the other hand, they did try to accelerate the upgrade cycle... So, still evil, but somewhat less so. Why. You getting a 360?
1) No you're not. :)
2) Ah, sorry, my bad. I wasn't on the ball enough to catch the subtle literary queues :).
3) I'm not sure. I really like what I've read about the Wii, and I also agree with you that they deserve to be rewarded with my business for their consumer-friendly position. I'm just worried that in the end the catalog of games which become available for the Wii will be less appealing to me overall than those available for the X360. Most of my favourite titles for the current Xbox are all games that were not available on the GameCube (Ninja Gaiden, Halo, KOTOR, Brothers in Arms, Colin McRae 2004 etc. (Beyond Good and Evil being the exception)). We are in complete agreement about the PS3 though. Sony sucks.
Well, I suppose if you get an Xbox 360 I will stoop to playing it :-) Halo 3 has got to be some powerful incentive...
Ah next gen always had these battles. I remember when i was a die hard nintendo fan. Anything not nintendo sucked beyond all hope. Then I got a computor and started abandoning consoles all together. Part of that decision was the less than excelent systems nintendo where producing and part of that was the fact that there where way better games in general on the PC.
Consols still had a few gems, Final Fantacy, the new zeldas and DDR (the only reason I own a PS2). With the wii comeing out I think i can get back into consoles again because it offers someting you can't get on a PC.
I find that most of the good games that came out for xbox just get ported to PC or where PC games proted to xbox. Microsoft was trying to make a cheep gameing computer for peopel that didn't own one but if you do have a good PC there is no reason to get an XBox. If you want someting that is fun a parties it seems to me that the wii will rule the other 2 systems in that respect. If you want a powerfull gameing system than I would go PS3 simply because Microsoft is the evil death incarnate and I only own windows because I have no alternative.
Untill I get Cedega running that is....
I don't disagree that PC games are excellent. However, what I like about consoles is that once you buy one, you are guaranteed 5+ years of new content that is designed to run perfectly on your system. This is in contrast to PC games where a year or two after you've purchased a brand new computer you start having to compromise on detail, resolution, and sound settings on the latest games, assuming the game is even playable at all on your system. Maybe when my financial situation improves I'll be more inclined to have a badass gaming PC.
your definatly right on the mark there. It is a lot more expensive in the long run to go with the PC. The problem recently is that I have not been happy with any of the systems on the market.
Untill now. Wii all the way. Sony you can take your root kit and shove it up your pie hole.
Post a Comment
<< Home