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Reviews - System Attic

Two Twitter Apps Side by Side

March 13th 2009 08:14
It's official, I've been Twitterfied. Er...Twitterpated? Call it what you will, but for the past few days I've been glued to the micro-blogging sensation like a 12 year old boy who stumbles across some porn while searching the web for information on the White House for a school project. (circa 1999, its .gov... NOT .com)
I digress.
I signed up for my account with Twitter clear back in May of last year after hearing about it on Tekzilla, but I wasn't too impressed to begin with. It seemed like a site full of Facebook status updates with none of the other perks. But the rise in media attention sparked my interest as to what all the fuss was about and here I am, a certified addict. Even though I've never considered myself much of a voyeur, (and let's face it, that's what Twiiter fans are) I can't get enough of this site.

Anyone who knows me knows that when I get into something, I dive in all the way. It usually only lasts a short while, (even though the Concerta works fairly well, I think my ADHD still peeks out now and again) but while I'm in, I'm IN. So naturally I went about finding a way to satisfy my addiction without having to use my browser. Any shortcut, however ridiculous, is always a plus. So far, I've found two Adobe AIR-based desktop apps, TweetDeck and Twhirl.





Both are pretty straightforward, easy to use. They both have the same tools for using Twitpic, shortening URLs, TweetDeck only uses bit.ly shortener while Twirl has a couple of options. It's not clear to me yet if this makes a difference. TweetDeck has a dropdown menu for frequently used hashtags, Twirl doesn't that I can see, but again, not really a huge thing.
I haven't found a way to adjust the refresh rate on Twirl, so while running both simultaneously, TweetDeck gets the updates a bit quicker. Unless your obsession has reached critical, possibly fatal levels however, this too should not be a big deal breaker.
Near as I can tell, the biggest difference comes down to aesthetics. TweetDeck allows you to customize the colors of it's UI, while Twhirl sticks you with pastels. TweetDeck only lets you choose between two fonts, where Twirl has all your basic font choices. I haven't found a way to shut off notification sounds on TweetDeck, but you can turn them off on Twhirl.
And that's really it. Personally, I prefer TweetDeck so far, despite the inability to turn off sounds, mostly because I'm more of an Earth-tone person and I don't really care for pastels. And I'm a big Poe fan, so the TD icon reminds me of "The Raven". However, Twhirl lets me use the Georgia font, which is prominently featured in just about anything I can put it in, so that's good. I just like the way it makes numbers look. You're like "That's just like Times!" But then I retort with a little of this...1234567890. Yeah, how 'bout that?
There I go digressin' (and speakin' all apostrophied.)
But, back on track here, really, you just have to decide which one you prefer to stare at. There's no big WOW feature that stuck out to me on either one. Let me know what YOU think though. Try 'em out, give me some feedback. I'll even disagree with you for the sport of it if you'd like.
In the meantime as well, you can follow me on Twitter @ddsmith3. Follow some of my favorites too,
@rustyrockets (Comedian Russell Brand)
@garyvee (The amazing Gary Vaynerchuk)
Speaking of him by the way, there's an amazing video he did that analyzes a clip of Howard Stern hating on the web. Vaynerchuk is who inspired me to get into blogging, he's so right on and so inspirational. Check it out.
@JohnCleese (Monty Python's John Cleese... duh.)
@DAVID_LYNCH (his movies kick ass, and if you wanna know conditions in LA each morning, he's your man)
@lilyroseallen (Lily Allen, her tweets are great)
@quoolquest (Roots drummer QuestLove. Tweets during tapings of Late Night. So cool.)

There's just a few, check my page for more. Also check back for a video I plan on making to accompany this post. Vaynerchuk's got my wheels agrindin'.
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Posted By: derek - Category: Reviews, Application Review
   


Need Your Pre-Dark Knight Fix? Got Deep Pockets?

July 10th 2008 10:49
It’s always a good idea for a movie-goer to get the original movie sharp in mind before going to see a sequel. Confusing references can ruin the experience. Studios re-releasing the first movie immediately prior to the premier of the sequel isn’t a new practice, but Blu-Ray can allow it to be reinvented, and that’s just what Warner Bros. is attempting with the Batman Begins Limited Edition Blu-Ray Gift Set.

The film speaks for itself of course, a dark retelling (or some might say first telling) of the origins of Batman. A fan of the film no doubt would be interested in seeing it on Blu-Ray, and any self respecting consumer wants to get the most out of their coin, especially when the inflating prices of everyday essential needs force us to think again before spending our money on superfluous entertainment. So, does this set deliver or make you wish you’d taken the receipt out of your pocket before washing your jeans?

The set is full of extras, on the disc and in addition to it. It definitely attempts to integrate with the forthcoming Dark Knight, including a mini-comic and a storyboard book depicting the first scene as well as the actual footage of the first six minutes, which are shot on an IMAX camera for the best quality high definition. The fact that the scene itself is on the disc makes the comic and booklet irrelevant. Perhaps if they would have included Frank Miller’s graphic novel on which parts of the film were loosely based, this concept would have worked better.

Another thing that would have been nice to include for the $33 price tag is the Batman: Gotham Knight disc, an animated feature which was released on the same day on Blu-Ray and weaves six animated shorts together to fill in a few of the gaps between the two films, as well as go a little more in-depth with the genesis of the Caped Crusader. There is a nice little fold out of DK promotional photos though. (Have I mentioned how hard it is to convey sarcasm in text?)

Once all the trash is pushed aside to actually get to the disc itself, the true gem of this set reveals itself. The first scene of the new film is a great addition to the disc, as it is the ultimate teaser to the film. Following with the theme of most other promotion for the movie, it really seems to push the late Heath Ledger’s Joker more so than Christian Bale as the Dark Knight himself. Although it’s almost appalling to think that the studio might be attempting to use the tragedy of the star’s death to generate more profit for the project, there’s no doubt it’s working and that the performance deserves to be pushed. Disappointingly, the scene doesn’t seem to be presented in 5.1, but it doesn’t take away from the goosebumps that rise when the Joker comes on screen to say "Whatever doesn’t kill you, only makes you stranger."

Batman Begins is in 5.1 TrueHD and full 1080p resolution, a great way to become immersed in the epic and pump up for the hopefully gratifying continuation. Gotham never looked so slick outside the theater, and the sounds of the streets make Christopher Nolan’s attempt at reality from a comic book all the more convincing.

Features on the disc are interesting, but most seemed to be ripped straight from the DVD, 480i and all. The only unique feature outside of the DK scene is what’s called the "In-Movie Experience" which works sort of like a commentary on steroids, giving you picture in picture insets of the different people involved with the film as they speak, which is great for those of us who are constantly annoyed by collaborative commentaries where there’s no indication who is speaking. The "Experience" also includes little making-of insets, such as the first battle between Bruce Wayne and Ducard at the monastery being synced with an inset showing how they filmed the scene. All of the bits are relevant to an event in the film and pause for long breaks allowing you to still enjoy the movie.

All in all, the set is entertaining but not worth $33, the only saving grace being that it does come with $7.50 in "movie cash" to see Dark Knight in participating theaters. (Emphasis on participating.) If it would include the animated feature and a Frank Miller novel, or even just one of the two, it would be a steal no doubt, but it seems even entertainment can’t give our pockets a break this time.
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Posted By: derek - Category: Reviews, Movie Review, News, Movie News
   


Qore Episode 2

July 6th 2008 09:05
As many of you know, the first article on My Take/System Attic was unprofessional and sloppy and had a very “thrown together” feel to it. (And it was less than a month ago. How things change. Or do they?) In that article, the first episode of the new Playstation 3 series Qore was basically slammed, and well, rightfully so. The bang for the buck just wasn’t there. It also seemed a bit thrown together, and although it may seem hypocritical to criticize that due to the aforementioned unprofessional nature of our first article, our article was free. I mention this because the host of Qore, Veronica Belmont, commented on the article in defense of her show, and I feel the need to clarify that her comment in no way affected the objectivity of this review. In fact, if anything, it may have caused a harsher judgment in an effort to prove credibility.

Now, that’s out of the way, so here we go.

Right from the get-go in episode two, there’s an obvious increase in the amount of work put in. The biggest thing to notice is that in three of the four features, Belmont is actually present for more than just the introduction. This adds a whole new degree of entertainment to the equation. Belmont is the anchor of the whole show, and should be involved in as many aspects as possible. Game programmers and producers deserve respect for what they do, but let’s face it, they’re boring. The presence of anyone else while these guys drone on is an improvement, but Belmont, with her wit and liveliness, keeps attention from drifting during the segments. In the Resistance 2 and Silent Hill: Homecoming features, she is able to entertain us with her very human approach to the interviews, while not taking away from the information presented by the interviewees.

In the R2 feature, there’s a segment where Belmont asks to try on a mocap suit that you can’t help but smile at. In the Silent Hill feature, she has to watch a suspenseful demo of the game while openly admitting to being a “wuss”. While this segment could have gone a little more in depth with the shots of the game itself, her reactions, especially the last one, appear to be very genuine and are also worth a smile, maybe even a little giggle.

The Naruto and Madden 09 features weren’t quite as in-depth and interesting, but they were third and fourth listed in the menu probably for that reason. The downloads were all up and running this time and started with no trouble at all, as apposed to being completely unusable in the first episode. (Granted, I got there after it had been out for 10 days.) The ads between each segment are puzzling considering that the episodes aren’t free, but they are skippable after the first 10 seconds or so.

If you still think $2.99 is overkill, consider this. Your average magazine is going to cost you anywhere from $1.50 to $3 at the newsstand and around $12 to $24 annually. This is video. This is interactive. This gives you free dowloads on top of what you get in the video itself. There are hidden features to find. And how many magazines do you know that have a hot, charismatic host? This is worth what you pay for, especially if you can afford the year subscription, which saves you about 12 bones plus the free download of Calling All Cars which would set you back $9.99 normally.

The first episode should have been free. It wasn’t worth the money, but it did give you a vague idea of what you were in for. This episode showed improvement, and there’s a lot of potential in this media form. We can only hope that the effort to realize that potential doesn’t waver, but just like anything new, it all depends on how much interest the product generates, and how willing the creators are to work at generating more.

That really wasn’t very harsh at all. Well, uh, 1.7 GB is too much hard drive space! There, take that.
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Posted By: derek - Category: Reviews, Video Game Review
   


Favorite Firefox Extensions

July 3rd 2008 14:42
Firefox 3 is great isn’t it? It looks great with my OS and is a formidable, if not nearly superior alternative to Safari or Internet Explorer. A huge part of what makes it so great are all these nifty extensions you can get for that can streamline your online experience or just make it more fun. I’ve decided to make a list of a few of my favorites in hopes that many of you can get as much enjoyment out of the browser as I do.

PicLens
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Is Lossless Encoding Worth It?

July 1st 2008 09:31
As an avid reader of Rolling Stone magazine, I’m aware of the music industry’s struggle since the advent of P2P networks and digital music. Do I feel sorry for the record companies and artists? Well, in a way. I still don’t buy the whole sob story that Metallica and other bands were polluting MTV with back in Napster’s heyday when they all tried to convince us that they would go broke. It’s obvious now that it’s a more serious problem than I originally thought, with thousands of record company employees losing their jobs, but that’s not the main reason I feel bad. That has to do with the quality of product we’re subjecting ourselves to because we don’t want to pay.

MP3, WMA and AAC files are so compressed that you’re likely losing 75-90 percent of the quality of the master tracks. (Kind of like pissing on a Picasso.) Like many of you, for years I was perfectly content with my MP3 files on my 2-channel stereo system while I was doing my homework, or (more likely) playing video games or glued to the computer. It was when I got older and obtained this wonderful thing called income, with which I could invest in a 5.1 channel surround system that I started to wonder why this sounded so weak


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Watch New Movies Online

June 30th 2008 09:03
Lately, if you haven’t noticed, the cost of going to a movie is ridiculous. Anywhere from 5 to 10 dollars for a ticket, not to mention the price of drinks and popcorn. To be able to truly enjoy a movie at the theater by yourself you had better be ready to part with about 15 bones, if not more. Not to say that movie theaters don’t deliver. There’s a reason they still show movies in theaters. Because they allow you to experience the movie the way it was meant to be experienced. Full immersion into the world of the film. But if you just want to see the movie, there are alternatives. You could wait for it to come out on DVD (or Blu-Ray or VHS, whichever you prefer) or with some of the more popular titles, just wait a few days after the release, then log on to Watch-Movies.net.

W-M.net is a site that hosts videos that are uploaded by users onto other viral video sites (YouTube, MegaVideo ect.) and sorts the links to each film onto their own separate pages complete with the movie poster and a user rating of the film itself. There are usually several different links to different sites for each film, and each link is rated good or bad by users as they watch them depending on how well the link works, and a percentage of good or bad votes is displayed below each link


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Websites I Couldn't Be Without

June 29th 2008 05:56
In the vein of my previous post about Gadgets I Couldn't Live Without, I now bring you a number of websites that I absolutely must visit on a daily or weekly basis, because they're cool. Now, some of these you may have heard of, some of them not, but the point of this is to invite you to enjoy the same wondrous websites that I do. Sharing the wealth and all that. It's good for the ol' karma.

Homestar Runner
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Gadgets I Couldn't Live Without

June 25th 2008 09:26
Let me tell you a little about myself. I live in a town of about 800 people with not much to do. The biggest town within 50 miles has 43,000, and while it provides a little more excitement, with todays gas prices it’s not worth it. I work the night shift for the county sheriff’s office, and as you can probably imagine, it isn’t that busy. So I have to have something to keep myself occupied, right? Here’s a little list of mini-reviews (in no particular order) on the gadgets that help a techie like me get by each day.

SONY PLAYSTATION 3
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Posted By: derek - Category: Reviews, Gadget Review
   


Songbird Media Player

June 24th 2008 09:52

Is anyone else having playback problems with iTunes? Do a search on Google, and you’ll find the answer to be “Hell YEAH!” I’m a big supporter of Apple products and services, but I’m also a fan of options in all facets of my life, especially with media. It all started a few months back while reading an article in Rolling Stone about someone (or someones..) who had become fed up with the poor audio quality of Beatles CD’s and decided to rip FLAC files to their computer from their collection of pristine Beatles vinyl.

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YouTube Screening Room, RIP George Carlin

June 23rd 2008 06:46
On June 19th YouTube debuted there very own Screening Room. I haven't spent much time there yet, but I did have time to check out one of the films currently showing. It's called Are You The Favorite Person of Anybody? and consists of John C. Reilly (Magnolia, Talladega Nights) standing on the sidewalk administering a one question survey. It's a somewhat uplifting, somewhat thought provoking effort, and I must say I enjoyed all four minutes and three seconds of it. If you have four minutes to spare, check it out.


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Cloverfield Blu-Ray Review

June 22nd 2008 07:37

When I got my PS3 back in November, the bitter, childish format war between HD DVD and Blu-Ray was still in full swing. I was nervous to buy a Blu-Ray for obvious reasons (And also because I read somewhere that Sony wasn’t allowing pornographic content to be produced on Blu-Ray, which didn’t matter to me except that it may or may not have contributed to the death of Betamax back in the day.) But now that the war is over, I decided to delve into the Blu-Ray universe with Cloverfield.

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Posted By: derek - Category: Reviews, Movie Review
   


Celtics, Gambling, Gaming, Gadgets

June 21st 2008 08:01
I know this is kind of abrupt, but I'm a guy with a computer and a lot of time on my hands and I feel like voicing random opinions and shamelessly hoping that someone will care. So here goes...

The Boston Celtics kick ass and I'm really impressed with Kevin Garnett's passion. (Yes, it's a bandwagon thing, not afraid to admit it.) In other sports news, you should all be gambling. CentSports lets you gamble for free! Not make sense? Check it out. It's my new obsession. I'm also obsessed with Nascar 09 on PS3. Not sure why though. The game is a huge letdown from what I was expecting. I've just been bored I suppose. I need something as immersive as Elder Scrolls: Oblivion in my life again. Pretty psyched about NCAA Football 09 though. And I'm finally going to get my hands on a copy of Call of Duty 4. I've heard the campaign mode is short but online is awesome. I'm more of a third person guy, but I'll give it a shot. Also on PS3, if you haven't checked out Qore yet, don't. By the time I got there, all the goodies, like the SOCOM demo and other things, were offline. Unless you're really bored and want to pay $2.99 to watch five and a half minutes of Veronica Belmont segment intros (which I enjoyed... a lot), pass on this one. I plan on paying for at least two more episodes (if it lasts that long) and I'll happily keep you updated


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