Monthly Archive for August, 2005

Xbox Live Pricing

Published on Tuesday, August 30, 2005 in Gaming, Microsoft and Technology. Closed
Xbox 360

PlanetXbox360.com have translated a french article on XboxLiveFrance.com which listed a new Xbox Live pricing system via some scans of US Xbox Live promotional leaflets. There will be five packages available from purchase ranging from US$7.99 to US$69.99. Here’s a guide for the pricing:

1 Month Gold Card – $7.99

3 Month Gold Card – $19.99

3 Month Premium Gold Card – $39.99
-Communicator Headset
-Live! Arcade game “Joust”
-$10 discount on game purchase
-100 XBL marketplace points

12 Month Gold Card – $59.99

12 Month Premium Gold Card – $69.99
-Communicator Headset
-Live! Arcade game “billiards”
-$20 discount on game purchase
-200 XBL marketplace points

I think that this seems like good pricing, but knowing the prices we get here in the UK, it will probably be a lot higher than in the US. Why does it have to be that way?

[via Joystiq]
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5 Reasons not to use Linux

Published on Tuesday, August 30, 2005 in Technology. Closed

“I love Linux. I use it on my servers, I use it on my desktops, and I use it on my entertainment center, where it powers my HDTV TiVo and my D-Link DSM-320 media player, which turns my network into a media library with terabytes of storage. Heck, I even run Linux on my Linksys WRT54G Wi-Fi access points, which hook the whole shebang together.

But, Linux isn’t for everyone. Seriously. Here are my top five reasons why you shouldn’t move to Linux . . .”

This article details the 5 reasons not to use Linux. (I’ll give you a hint: Sarcasm) It’s pretty funny for all the Linux users out there, and those who understand that Windows is s*&$t.

read more | digg story

Free Opera Registration Codes

Published on Tuesday, August 30, 2005 in Internet and Technology. Closed
Opera

“Opera 10 year online anniversary party favors: Get a free Opera registration code by clicking the “go free” button below. We’re giving away registration codes for as long as the party lasts!”
This is good news for Opera fans. Click the link below to gain your free Opera registration code. That means you get the full rpiced software for free. Even if you haven’t tried Opera yet, or you haven’t heard of it, download Opera because it is FREE. This is only available today (August 30, 2005).
I myself haven’t tried Opera but I have applied to get the free registration code just because it is free. But I will download Opera later.

Get Your Code

Revolutionising door opens just enough for you to get past

Published on Monday, August 29, 2005 in Random Stuff and Technology. Closed
Tanaka Door

A Japanese company has made a door that opens by sliding panels from either side, with built in sensors, just enought for you to slip by. This looks cool, but I think the downside is the reaction time. When your running and such, it will be hard for the panels to move quickly. But the advanatge is that by opening only sufficient space needed for you, this minimises the heat loss from house that can occur from draft.
The idea is old, as it has been seen in many movies such as Star Trek, but no company has ever made a fully working model.

[via Engadget]
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Coffee Is Good For You

Published on Monday, August 29, 2005 in Random Stuff. Closed
Coffee beans

Study finds that coffee has several health benefits. Good news for coffee drinkers, but that doesn’t mean that you can “substitute coffee for fruit and vegetables.”
Antioxidants, which are thought to help battle cancer and provide other health benefits, are abundant in grains, tomatoes and many other fruits and vegetables. Vinson said he was researching tea and cocoa and other foods and decided to study coffee, too. His team analyzed the antioxidant content of more than 100 different food items, including vegetables, fruits, nuts, spices, oils and common beverages. They then used Agriculture Department data on typical food consumption patterns to calculate how much antioxidant each food contributes to a person’s diet.
They concluded that the average adult consumes 1,299 milligrams of antioxidants daily from coffee. The closest competitor was tea at 294 milligrams. Rounding out the top five sources were bananas, 76 milligrams; dry beans, 72 milligrams; and corn, 48 milligrams. According to the Agriculture Department, the typical adult American drinks 1.64 cups of coffee daily.
This is quite amazing news, and to think that a lot of people thought that coffee was bad for your health. Too bad I don’t like coffee ;)

read more | digg story

Futurama Case Mod – Bender

Published on Sunday, August 28, 2005 in PC and Technology. Closed
Bender eating a CD

I have seen Futurama a couple of times before and it is cool, along with the Simpsons. This case mod is fantastic. There is a guide on the site which shows how the creator made it. I simply would not have the patience to do something like this. It took 4-5 months to make!
Bender even has a button on his ass which plays “Bite my shiny metal ass”. I would kill for one of those, sadly the owner is not selling it, nor is he willing to make one for someone else.

read more | digg story

My Mac Mini Setup

Published on Sunday, August 28, 2005 in Apple, General and Technology. Closed

These are some of photos of my Mac Mini on Flickr. You can view the whole set here.

Inside the Xbox 360

Published on Sunday, August 28, 2005 in Gaming, Microsoft and Technology. Closed

SmartXX, who make Mod Chips for Xboxs, have managed to get their hands on an Xbox 360 Developers kit. They have taken it apart with plenty of detailed pictures of the motherboard and various accesories that come with the Xbox. This includes a huge proprietary plug and adaptor which is going to make it impossible for people to discretely place their Xbox 360s in different locations.
The image above shows the Xbox 360′s processor (I think) with the heatsink removed.

read more | digg story

Update

Published on Sunday, August 28, 2005 in General. Closed

I haven’t been posting in a while since I came back from Hungary. Anyway I just wanted to let you know that I am back safe and sound with my mac Mini on and fully functioning. I will be posting some pictures of the set up to my Flickr account. You should see that soon. I have some tech related new to post up. so that will be coming as well.

Grand Theft Auto player gets death penalty

Published on Sunday, August 14, 2005 in Gaming and Technology. Closed

Teen Muederer Devin Moore was sentenced to death yesterday for killing three police officers as he tried to escape from custody.
“While in the history of US criminal law there is nothing unusual about this, Moore’s case has attracted a lot of attention because he claimed to be under the influence of the violent game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. In fact he seemed to have been inventing this alibi the moment he was caught saying the words ‘Life is a video game, you have to die sometime.’”
“Ironically, Moore’s defence is backed by the families of those people he killed. They are currently trying to sue the makers and distributors of the game, Rock Star saying it was somehow involved in the murders.”
I have long been backing things like this and these are not new in the US, It has happened before and families are trying to blame it on the games. I think that it’s not that the game has ‘warped‘ the teen, but more of the idea that the teen had played GTA and found some scenes in the game like this and thought that maybe he could do the same and everything will be alright. While playing the game he could simply turn of the game and everything would be fine. Maybe he forgot that what he was doing is not a game.

read more | digg story