More 360s on the Way?

I took my CS 310 final this morning like a man, and it was harder than I had initially predicted, but I think I did well enough on it. After the exam I discovered that I only needed a 50 on the exam for an A in the class so it's pretty unlikely that I failed it. I almost wish that I had studied less in retrospect. Tomorrow afternoon I will be taking down my LAT 311 exam, and I'm predicting that it will be my easiest final. There's not a whole lot to talk about today, but there were multiple Xbox 360 articles for some reason. Microsoft seems to be pretty hard pressed to fulfill its initial projections for Xbox 360 shipments. Supposedly, they'll ship out another 300,000 more next week, but that still doesn't amount to a whole lot. Best Buy is claiming that they'll have 20-60 units at its stores on the 18th. It seems like there's still a little confusion as to what will happen next week though, but game sales are lagging because there still aren't any great games for it! With the exception of a couple of them, they're just glorified Xbox games. Gamestop has decided to be a jerk and sell pricey bundles behind the backs of those who put down deposits on preorders. That's sickening if it's true. The last article I found claims that the Xbox 360 may include HD-DVD functionality next year, but no details as to whether it'll be an add-on or only on newer iterations, which I think would be lame.

Google is getting a little more clever with its personalized homepage by opening up an API to allow for widget-like features, which have been dubbed Google Hacks more universally. I think in a few more weeks it'll have a decent library of applications. I guess that Microsoft got tired of negotiating with record labels because they've now joined forces with MTV instead to create a joint music service called Urge, but they're being very ambiguous as to what that entails. I'm guessing that they haven't decided on much yet, but I'm curious as to what they actually come up with. If you're curious as to how businesses ship large amounts of items, Joel Splosky made a blog post detailing how Fog Creek shipped their new DVDs on their internship program and it's actually really interesting how the process evolved.

A bomb was dropped on the movie world today: the trailer for the Da Vinci Code was released today. The verdict? It looks freaking sweet. You can count on this being a blockbuster next summer. Pay attention to the letters highlighted in the end credits and you may find a secret site. While not nearly as exciting, there's a trailer up at Yahoo! Movies for the animated movie Over the Hedge, and it has potential to be a funny movie but I've yet to see the trailer for another animated movie that has got me as excited as I was about The Incredibles. JoBlo snagged an interview with Peter Jackson if you're curious as to all the hub-bub about King Kong, and he may be an overrated director but at least he has vision. Following a trend of movie blogs, Rocky 6 has started a production blog and it may even rejuvenate your interest in the series once it really gets underway. I think it's great that they're using a real boxer as a main character. Lastly, check out the new poster for Lady in the Water:



Now for the Wednesday Mind Hump:

1. Have you ever received a gift that was so horrible you couldn't wait to return it?
I actually got a pretty bad gift on Sunday during our ACM white elephant gift exchange. One of the more eccentric members wrapped a CD of some random local band. I bought a Harry Potter DVD and I get that in return? I ended up trading for a Toastmaster Sandwich Maker, which I may actually use.

2. What's the last book you finished? Was it any good? How long did it take you to read it?
The last book I read was The Aeneid I believe, and it was pretty good. It wasn't as good as I had remembered it because of all the battle scenes, but oh well. I still enjoyed the story it told.

3. If you could go on a vacation right now, where would you choose to go?
I have no idea to tell you the truth. Anywhere I can have a lot of fun and just take a load off would be great.

4. Do you call it soda, or do you call it pop?
I call it soda, but I don't drink it without alcohol. Just plain soda is pretty boring, but it's more because of a diet I started a few years ago where I gave it up.