Episode 4: The one where I wish I was still using a Mac

Episode 4 Show Notes: SOAPBOX

• Career is going back to the future - I'll be starting my old job again in a few weeks. Unemployment was fun but Money talks.
• Internet Journalism: IGN is slowly following the path of Gamespot and others that are more opinion sites than objective reviews. Check out Gametrailers for a more refreshing take on reviews.
• Mac Switch: Sold my Hackintosh and my Thinkpad and have ordered a new T400 Thinkpad. If Steve Jobs decided to grant my wish of an updated MacBook with dedicated graphics, I'm cancelling the Thinkpad and getting a mac instead. Not an Apple fanboy but I still want one if only it's comparable in specs and price to the Thinkpad. For a review of the T400 that's coming soon, check out notebookreview.

AROUND THE NET

• $1000 iPhone app: Here's a douchbag pretending to have bought the app but gives you a good idea of what I'm complaining about:

• iPhone Mania: iPhone Girl as reported by USAToday. How sad is it that iPhone mania has made a forgotten erase procedure into worldwide headline news!
• BlackBerry Bold: Best multimedia blackberry ever made, but still not an iPhone. For the converted iPhone-nites (yours truly included) it's hard to consider going back but if the bold is an indication of things to come, RIM isn't going to go quietly. Check out a fairly indepth review from APC of the BB Bold.
• Apple Announcement: Rumored by Kevin Rose of Digg.com, before the end of September, shooting for September 9th to be the magic date, there is going to be some pretty big chages to the Apple product line. I'm personally hoping for a Macbook refresh but that may not happen. Check out Kevin's blog to see what he thinks will be announced.
• Stargate Closed: Stargate Atlantis was canceled by Sci-Fi this past week. Boo! I love that show and don't know what will be there to fill the void.

IMPRESSIONISTIC

• Soul Calibur 4: Worth a rental or a purchase at a discounted price (read: 50% off). Fun for the SC lovers and man-parties. But nothing too new here to warrant a full price purchase except for the diehard fans.
• Too Human: Not Human Enough. It's fun for the first few hours and then the story drags on and loses focus. Clearly this is meant for a sequel but it still feels like a game that was either rushed (which can't be if it's been in development for 10 years!) or that the developers just were good enough. It's a worthy rental since it's about 8 hours long the first time through but there's nothing really there to keep you coming back.
• Burn Notice: This is the perfect reimagining of 80's detective shows. Think of it as a Macguyver, Remington Steele, Magnum P.I., and a bit of Quantum Leap all mixed into a 21st century bowl. YUM!
• Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: This is a brainless romp through a post 90210 neighbourhood. It's still an entertaining show, lets just hope season 2 picks up right where they left off and gets the juices flowing again.
• iPod Shuffle: Piece of gimped iPod poo! The only thing good about it is the integrated clip and form factor. Can't even sync properly, can only auto fill. Bah! Spend the money and get a good armband for your iPhone instead.

Remember to shoot me off a review if you get the podcast on iTunes, and send your questions and comments to ikeagamer(AT)gmail.com.

Episode 2: Live from Apple!

Episode 2 is live and up.  Go ahead and download from the right or through iTunes.

iPhone Announced in Canada:

Apple announced that the 3G iPhone will be launched here in Canada on July 11th exclusively to the Rogers network.  Pricing is still TBA but sources have said that the basic prices are going to start at $30 for data + Voice plan and then it will just go up from there.

New Job and the likes:

So I'm starting my new job next Monday, this gives me still 6 days to try and go as high as possible on World of Warcraft.  I'm hoping that this new job will give me some more free time in doing the things that I like.

How to build a Hackintosh:

Here are some links to useful guides on how to build your own OSX86 machine:

Newbie FAQ

Perfect MAC Mini Build for less than $250

Install Guide on Asus Motherboards (and compatible ones)

Install Guide on a full featured Gigabyte board

Best Dual Boot guide (Mac OSX86 cannot boot camp so this is the only way)

This is my parts list for the Mac Pro I built and you can find all these parts one www.ncix.com

 (good for both US and Canadian customers):

• Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160 Dual Core Processor LGA775 1.8GHZ 800FSB 1MB Retail ($70)
• Gigabyte GA-945GCM-S2C mATX LGA775 954GC 1PCI-E16 3PCI SATA2 Video Sound LAN Motherboard ($55)
• Buffalo Select D2U800C-2G/BR 2GB 1X2GB PC2-6400 DDR2-800 CL5 240PIN DIMM Memory ($50)
• Pioneer DVR-215DBK DVD+RW 20X8X16 DVD-RW 20X6X16 DL 10X SATA Black OEM DVD Writer No S/W ($23)
• Antec NSK3480 New Solution mATX Mid Tower Case 2X5.25 1X3.5 380W Black Front USB Sound & Firewire ($90)
• Segate 7200.10 320GB SATA2 HDD ($55)
• Total Cost: $343 + Tax

That's compared to over $2000 for a legit Mac Pro.  Granted if you have lots of your own parts, you can usually get an old PC to work well as an OSX86 machine.  Surf the www.insanelymac.com forums and you will find all the help you need.  That Atom machine that I linked to above is perfect for a kitchen PC or a Mac Mini replacement.  

Again, please subscribe to the podcast through iTunes or through the GCast module to your right.  Thanks for listening!

Of Mice and Achievements

Achievement Whore: n.

1. The act of accomplishing or finishing an Xbox 360 game solely for the purpose of gaining achievement points.
2. A person who plays Xbox 360 games, regardless of the quality of game, for the bragging rights to a higher gamer score.

Yeah, that pretty much sums up what I've been doing lately. Achievement whoring. Why you might ask? I can't really explain to you. It seems to keep me playing games thought, however, I seem to really be hitting the old crappy games first. But at least this give me the satisfaction of actually playing through some of my old games so I can trade them in and save some valuable shelf space. I'm officially finished all the 06 Sports games I have in my collection! I've been toying with the idea of playing PC games while sitting on my couch. HTPC's are quite popular, especially for the den/basement entertainment centers. My set up is in the bonus room of the house (which is usually code for the extra room they build over you garage). This isn't the best place for late night gaming, which is when I have time to game these days. My wife sleeps about 2-3 hours earlier than I do, she needs her beauty sleep, while I'm more of a night owl. I personally have always resisted getting multiple computers. I just find it wasteful to have more than one device that does the same thing when you hardly ever use it at the same time. That's part of the reason why I love Vista and won't be going back to XP unless I have to. Vista's user setup is so much more refined than that of XP. With both my wife and I using the same computer, it's PARAMOUNT that she and I have our own setup for fonts, screen resolutions, desktops, etc. My wife's a CGA so she's used to using a computer and is quite adept at it (as compared to most women that I personally know - that's not meant to be sexist but it's simply the truth). But she does still have her own preferences and complaints. One of them being "why does it take so long?". She gives me a somewhat hard time about the constant upgrades I do to my PC. But the thing she doesn't realize is that 30% of the upgrade decision is based on her complaints about the PC being slow at multi-tasking. Granted, the other 70% is games and bragging rights but that's another story! So, I'm toying with the idea of joining the dark side of Mac. I'm fairly certain that I will be getting the new Macbook Pro once it's been announced but for now, I'll just keep thinking about it. Boot Camp certainly is a HUGE reason for the jump since I can't live without Windows. It's like trying to walk with one leg in a two-legged world. Sure, the Segway is faster, more efficient, and flashier than your regular legs, but just wait until you have to go up stairs and you are screwed! But with boot camp, it's like getting a nice pair of crutches that you can stow away in your fancy segway for the times when you need to get up the stairs and need a little help. Ok, that analogy needs work but you get the point. PC will always be my gaming platform of choice, even over consoles, but these days, it looks like I will have to start to change with the times.