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Tech News - System Attic

Sony Releases Firmware Patch, Writer Inserts Foot In Mouth

July 9th 2008 08:20
This is how it goes sometimes isn’t it? Sometimes the Gods of Journalism spin the roulette wheel and choose a single opinion blogger to whom they will serve a freshly peed in bowl of Cheerios. Maybe I’m too bias. Maybe I’m too one-sided. I don’t know.

For those of you who are wondering what I’m talking about, it has to do with this fancy new firmware Playstation released last week that I basically wrote an advertisement rather than an article about. I was baffled today when I switched on my PS3 and saw the “Update Required” message pop up. With a little bit of investigation (courtesy of CNet.com) I found out that the update has caused a few consoles to nearly crash. Well, I must have been granted immunity, because my system has been problem free, but it doesn’t make the fact that I talked the update up in excess of 500 words sting any less.


Sony was quick to release a patch, and although I haven’t been able to find any statistics, CNet reports that the problem only affected a small number of consoles. It also doesn’t appear to be a fatal bug. According to CNet, a simple call to Sony support has been able to fix many of the major issues. So I can still report a small victory in the quick response time of my beloved Sony, and the fact that no consoles were completely ruined. Plus, v2.41 includes an updated replacement to the bland trophy icon. Yippy.

I was write a review of the newly released Batman Begins Limited Edition Blu-Ray Gift Set, but this development has humbled me and I’ve decided to take a day to gather my confidence before I can write a worthy review. In the meantime, make sure not to fall off of the edges of your seats in anticipation. That would only further compound my guilt.
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Posted By: derek - Category: Tech News, Gaming Review
   


Technology Has Taken Over My Life!

July 5th 2008 11:41


Tonight, as I was surfing the web looking for something to write about, I came across an article about how Time-Warner has begun to initiate bandwidth caps on their cable internet users. Now, before tell you what happened, I want to go point out that this will have no affect on me whatsoever because I’m not a Time-Warner customer and I use DSL (Also, I don’t think I consume near enough bandwidth to constitute a cap). But regardless of those factors, a tiny inkling of panic still rose up from the bowels of my technology-reliant soul. “Oh NO! They’re cuttin’ me OFF!” Eventually though, I regained my common sense and the panic subsided. But this got me thinking. What if all of the technology that so many of us have allowed to be ingrained in our daily lives was suddenly in limited supply, or worse, disappeared completely?


Now, I know what most of you are thinking. “This guy couldn’t find anything worthwhile to write about so instead chose to bore us with a hair-brained, nearly impossible scenario that doesn’t matter in the least.” Well, you’re right. But think of it. No iPods, laptops, cell phones, Playstations, X-Box 360’s, PC’s, internet, HDTV, DVD’s, Blu-Ray’s, CD’s… Now I don’t want to get too crazy, so let’s not take it clear back to the Stone Age. But imagine if the only TV in the house was on an antenna, if all we had for music was LP’s and cassette tape, if all the phones had cords, let’s say, 1980. (Wow, how the world has changed in 28 years.)

Now, we all know we wouldn’t die, (Hell, it would probably be good for most of us) but it certainly would change the way we do things. There’s not a whole lot that most of us do in our daily lives that hasn’t changed in 30 years. I wouldn’t have my iHome to wake me up each day. No reason to check blog hits or e-mail, or even a way to do it. No HDTV to watch while eating breakfast. No iPod dock to plug my non-existent iPod into to listen to music while I showered. No XM Radio for the commute to work. No Homestar Runner or Tekzilla or Wine Library TV to entertain me once I got there. (I do love to read though, so that’ll always be there, unless we descend all the way to a Fahrenheit 451-esque world.)

The true point of this rambling is simply this. When that tiny inkling of panic rose up after reading that article, I realized how much I’ve allowed myself to become a slave to this wonderful technology. Now, I’m not planning on becoming a monk or anything, or even changing the way I live my life, but I think it’s important for every tech loving soul out there to just take a moment every once in a while, breath deep, and realize that yes, we could live without this. Let’s not take it for granted, and most of all, let’s not let it take over our lives.
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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

If you haven't been here, and you are breathing, you need to go. HR.com is a flash animation website with an extensive library of videos and games created by the Brothers Chaps. The cartoons are hilarious if you have a tendency to occasionally regress to the mental capacity of a six year old, as I often do. It's your run-of-the-mill every day heavily innuendoed cartoon featuring colorful characters and exciting adventures. One thing about this site: If the first one... or five cartoons you watch don't grab you, give it more of a chance. I wasn't wowed at first either.

Wine Library TV

If you're at all interested in wine, and even if you aren't, you need to see this site. It's hosted by Gary Vaynerchuck (If you watch Conan, he's the guest who ate cigars and dirt), an overly charismatic, highly animated and boundlessly entertaining man with a heart of gold. Even if you don't know squat about wine and never wanted to, Vaynerchuck's personality alone could entertain for hours. He keeps a platoon of wrestling action figures on his desk to help describe his feelings on certain wines. Still not intrigued? Well, then this list may not be for you.

Tekzilla

Tekzilla is an awesome show for techies like me who want to know what's going on in the tech world, and see some really cool toys that I may never afford in action. It's fun, very informative and very entertaining.

Rolling Stone Movie Reviews

In the world of movie critics, Peter Travers is king. Enough said.

CentSports

Centsports is a really cool website. It's dominated by advertising and pop-ups but there's a reason for that. The advertisers give every member of the site a dime. And with this dime you can bet on any sporting event. If you win, you could double your money, and advertisers sponsor each bet for up to a 100 percent increase.

For instance, you bet your dime on a money line for the Red Sox to beat the Yankees and you could win 16 cents. You then have the option to have an advertiser sponsor the bet, which takes you to a page where you can cycle through sponsorships until you get a 100 percent match, which puts you at a chance of winning 32 cents. It doesn't sound like a lot but it adds up, and the best part, if you lose, you just get another dime and try again. You have to win $20 before you can cash out, but some folks on there have up to $1,000.

It's completely free and legal and lots of fun.

If you're bored or if you're curious, trust me, one of these sites is bound to tickle your fancy.
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Sony Announces On-Demand Video for PS3

June 27th 2008 08:49
Anyone getting bored with their Playstation 3’s plethora of capabilities yet? Not to worry. Sony CEO Howard Stringer came to the rescue today with the announcement of an on-demand video service similar to the current Playstation Store. And the best part, it’s slated for release in summer 2008, which if I’m not mistaken, is like, now. But if it’s anything like the Playstation Home, (which I doubt) who knows when it will be released.

According to Arstechnica.com, no other video titles besides the movies and television Sony currently produces has been announced, but the selection should be plentiful. Great. The thing already is so convenient that you don’t even have to go leave the couch to turn it on or even to buy some games, and now it’ll have a whole library of movies just an X button away. No plans for an integrated soda fountain or popcorn machine have yet been announced, but I say why not? And throw in a blood sugar monitor while you’re at it so we can watch our slow descent into diabetes in crystal clear high definition


[ Click here to read more ]
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Posted By: derek - Category: Tech News
   




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