The 360 is Out

I'm back in Houston until next Sunday and it'll be nice to have a break from my day-to-day stresses as I have a minimal amount of homework to do. I'm sorry to make my main topic the Xbox 360 again, but when I have like three articles on the release of it today it'd be kind of weird not to. If you're totally in the dark about the console then it may do you some good to read more about it in case you have to buy it this season or so you can look smart in front of other gamers. That article places it in a better light than I have recently, and it definitely brings up some good points including multimedia functionality and Xbox Live Marketplace. If you're a Nintendo fan then you'll like IGN's article on why it's not the Revolution (besides the different name, genius). As I've briefly touched upon before, the Xbox 360 is being sold at a loss to them so that they can reap larger profits from game loyalties and sales of 1st party offerings, and you can read about the breakdown here. I want to wrap up this paragraph with something a little more general: some universities are actually offering a major in game development, and I think I agree with the dissenters in that article. Is there really that much to be learned second hand in game development? It really is a lot about technical knowledge and creative talent, not learning what's other people's opinions on how things should be done.

Since I know you can't get enough of video games you may find it humorous that in the Alabama case of Take Two being sued for the deaths of a couple of cops, Jack Thompson didn't withdraw his representation but rather was thrown out by the judge and currently cannot practice law in Alabama! It looks like gamers aren't the only ones to think he's crazy. If you have a Sony BMG disc with a rootkit on it then you can actually disable the software by placing some tape on the outer edge of the CD. I find it ironic how low-tech the solution is. The Barenaked Ladies are sidestepping the whole controversy by distributing their newest release on 128 MB USB drives with their holiday songs for just $30. It's a great idea because it has some extras on it and the drive can be reused if you just copy the music to your hard drive (or burn it). If you want to check out some cool, relatively unnoticed gadgets this winter then this article will help you out. It even includes a Pez mp3 player and a digital sound projector. Lastly, The Motley Fool is speculating that Apple may be developing an instant-on computer with all that NAND flash memory it has been buying up, which is a computer that would almost instantaneously be usable when you flip the switch on. We don't have one of these already because they're tricky to make and this is all just speculation anyway, but it would be awesome.



I suppose I am the type who would just put up picture of girls in bikinis for the hell of it, but that's actually a capture from the first trailer for Uwe Boll's Dead or Alive. I know his name only bring up bad thoughts within you, but rather be offended by this movie I think it's a better tactic to hope for it to just be a fun, nonsensical action movie with minimal corny dialogue since it already has the hot chicks (I'm sorry, but I am a guy). If you want to see something less racy, there's a poster up for what I believe is the first animated film from Weinstein Co: Hoodwinked. I like the subtle satire of the Usual Suspects poster. There are also some pictures online from the set of Mission Impossible: 3, but nothing terribly special. Kevin Smith put up some humorous responses to questions from movie geeks and potshots from critics on the View Askew forum for your viewing pleasure. I just love Kevin Smith, he's so freakin clever. Lastly, if you were thinking of seeing Ice Harvest then some reviews at AICN may convince you otherwise.

Before I conclude I'd like to note that I find it shocking that the Vatican has decided to ban homosexuals from the priesthood. It may make sense to them as a way of preventing sexual harassment, but what makes them think that people won't lie about it? And also, how will this help the shortage of priests problem? I wish they'd get to the root of the problem rather than dance around it.

I'm going to give the Ten on Tuesday meme a crack this week:

10 Things You Like Eating at Thanksgiving Dinner
10. Sweet potatoes
9. Buttered rolls
8. Pecan pie
7. Pola (it's an Indian rice cake thing and I don't know how to spell it)
6. Stuffing (I don't even know why, it's just good)
5. Green bean casserole
4. Pork vindaloo (it's not an Indian Thanksgiving without it)
3. Mashed potatoes
2. Turkey with gravy (who doesn't like turkey?)
1. Pumpkin Pie