Tag Archives: Releases

TMNT Released

I went and saw the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie today, and was somewhat disappointed. After the awesomeness that was the original live action movies, I was expecting some really good stuff from this CGI epic. However, the humans were very stylized (yeah yeah, it’s going for cartoony not realistic), to an almost ridiculous point. Another thing was the accents of the Foot Clan leader (not Shredder, he dead) and Splinter were very annoying. Not standard, stereotypical, cliché asian accents that we all know and love, but strange accents like a stereotypical accent but then under-pronounced, like the voice actors couldn’t be bothered to do a good job.

On a brighter side, the action sequences were pretty good, especially the Leonardo/Raphael battle scene (sorry if that’s a spoiler, but I’m not telling you the outcome so yeah). The plot moved very fast at the beginning, to an extreme amount, but it’s aimed at already hyperactive kids high on sugar and popcorn (by the way, the theater was filled with a low-level din for the entire film, due to it being packed with little kids).

All in all, it was a good movie. A little lacking visually, and not nearly enough ‘dudes’ ‘cowabungas’ and not a single instance of the famed ninja rap:

Too bad, but still a good movie. It had a rap called ‘shell shock’ which I guess is the replacement for GO NINJA GO NINJA GO!

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Uru For Mac – Released!

Cyan has finally released its Mac client for URU! Hooray! I’m downloading it as I type this, but here are some shots of what I have so far:
the mac updater for uru
The updater

uruicons
The icons on the dock. There are two, the shown updater and one named ‘Myst Online’, the actual name of the app.

So yeah, it’s still updating, but I’m hoping that there’ll only be one icon on the dock when it’s actually running (not updating), I like my dock as uncluttered as possible. But the new icon is mad pretty:
Uru icon
The new über shiny icon :3

UPDATE: Not sure why I didn’t do this before, but I realized that anybody interested in this post will probably be interested in running Uru: Complete Chronicles on a Mac as well. Happy Mysting.

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Windows Vista released to Consumers

Today Microsoft released the new version of their Windows Operating System, Windows Vista. I went with my friend Matt to pick up Ultimate Edition (he bought it, I don’t have that kind of money). I’m documenting it, and let’s just say it’s been an hour or so since we came back, and we haven’t gotten the installer started yet. Hmm. I wonder what that says about Vista? Just kidding. I’ll post the pictures when it’s fully installed.

Update: Almost 2.5 hours now, still no luck. We’re on the phone with the support person from Microsoft now…

Update 2: She sounds impressed that he built his own computer

Update 3: “You have to run the upgrade version by booting from the disc.” “I did.” *really long silence*

Update 4: Woot, It’s all installed now 🙂 He was running XP 32bit on a 64bit processor, and thus he was trying to upgrade to vista 64bit. Turns out that if you’re running XP 32, you have to upgrade to Vista 32, Vista 64 won’t work. Strange, but hey-it’s installed now.

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The iPhone Released

Well, new iPod/gadget from Apple Inc. (no longer Apple Computer Inc.) is here (or actually, it’s been announced. It’ll be here in June), and it’s called the iPhone. The name is a bit deceiving, since it’s really a lot more than just a phone, it even tops most of the smartphones out there (think Blackberry, Treo, etc.).

So, the features. It is a phone, yes. It lets you make calls at the touch of a button (a virtual button, the thing is like one giant touchscreen), and access your “visual voicemail”- a list of the missed calls with voicemail messages attached. That way you don’t have to listen to all the previous saved messages to get the one you want, just scroll until you find it. It also lets you access your e-mail (via any IMAP or POP3 e-mail service), send SMS text messages, and all that jazz that phones do. It also has a 2 megapixel (better than the built-in iSight and most other webcams, also currently the highest megapixel count in a cameraphone) camera in the back.

Aside from the standard phone features, the iPhone acts as a full-screen iPod as well. It allows you to scroll through the menus of artists, albums, songs, etc. by “flicking” the screen up, as if you were dragging it. One tap, and the song starts playing, with standard iPod UI. It shows the album art, as well as all the other album art you have, and lets you flip through the art like in iTunes 7. If you turn it on its side, the picture on the screen rotates to landscape view. Video? It does that. It shows video in landscape mode by default, on its 3.5″ 340×480 screen.

The iPhone does internet, too. It comes with both WiFi and EDGE (so you can connect to the internet anywhere you get phone coverage, basically), as well as Bluetooth compatibility for the new wireless headphones (mad ugly, in my opinion) that come with it. The iPhone has its own version of Safari built into it, and supports syncing of your bookmarks from a Mac or PC.

It comes in both 4gb (at the standard inflated Mac price of $499) and 8gb (again, $599) models, and should be released this June.

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Windows Vista released to Businesses

Today Microsoft released the business version of its new OS, Windows Vista. This is the first major OS update from M$ since Windows XP came out, so it’s been pretty widely anticipated. Vista sports a new look for windows, called Aero, and a lot of other cool features. Nobody I know is planning on upgrading just yet, and not just because the home and ultimate editions won’t be released until January 30th. I only have one friend saving to buy Vista, but everyone else I know just doesn’t care.

And don’t look at me, I’m happy with OS X.

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Updated Release Stuff

I’ve updated my various Maj Release galleries, plus I added a Wii gallery, you can check them out here:

And I added more footage for the PS3 and Zune over at Youtube:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGIeNFuRXAo]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2v9inTplyxk]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWcIBDvLx7k]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSIy15LjhAA]

Enjoy!

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Wii Release

Today Nintendo released the Wii, their fifth generation video game console, and the final console in the current generation lineup. Best Buy didn’t have one on display (apparently their demo kiosk was broken or something), so I didn’t get to try one out. I did get some photos of the game rack and the Legend Of Zelda: The Twilight Princess box. Oh well, a bit disappointing. Speaking of which, the console’s specs are a tad on the low side, but the $250 price tag looks mighty fine next to the PS3’s $500 minimum.

The Wii’s claim to fame is its revolutionary controller design. It is based (I don’t know why I’m saying this, if you are interested in this you already know this) on a TV remote, but is completely motion-sensitive. There’s a “sensor bar” which is placed on top of your TV, and it can detect where all the Wii controllers (or “Wiimotes”, as they’ve been dubbed) are at once. They also have force feedback and a built-in speaker, which is pretty cool, plus it’s extendable (with extensions like the “nunchuck,” a joystick held in the left hand which is connected by a wire to the wiimote).

Well, I’ll post more (and pix) when I get a chance to play one myself. 🙂 Happy gaming to those of you who got one!

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Casino Royale Released

I went and saw the new Bond movie today, and despite the fact that it had a new actor as Bond, and payed no attention to some of the classic traditions of the Bond films, it was pretty good.

First of all, it doesn’t start with the revolver barrel-POV-shot like every single other Bond movie does, but it does explain where that actually comes from about 3 minutes into the movie, and then it shows it, so that tradition is partially upheld.

The second tradition smashed is the usage of the Bond Song. You know the one I mean. It’s used twice in the whole movie, at the very beginning and very end. Not cool, man. Not cool. That song needs to be weaved in every time Bond does something kickass.

The third tradition is the Girls. There are 2 girls in the whole movie (average number, yes), but one is a serious relationship (not that I’m promoting objectifying women or anything) and the other dies less than halfway through the movie. Actually, they both…nah, that’s a spoiler! 😀 But anyway, there’s very little action on the shallow-minded romantic front, which is a main theme of the Bond movies.

I must give them credit for the kick-ass parkour-style chase scene at the beginning. That ruled.

Oh and destroying that AM was not cool, guys. It did not deserve that death…

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PlayStation 3 Release

Today, Sony’s third generation video game console was released. And what a beast it is. I went to Best Buy to try it out, and got some pictures and a video.

Let me just say this. Wow. And I mean that totally sincerely. Wow. I expected it to be amazing (well, with a $500 core model and $600 full, it pretty much has to be), but this is ridiculous. The graphical quality is freakin’ amazing. It looks insanely photorealistic. The images it produces on the fly are like images pre-rendered by Pixar or something. I feel like I’m preaching here, but I really believe this stuff.

The new controller design (as in, redesigned l2/r2 buttons) is awesome. I really like the trigger-style buttons. They move much faster and more fluidly.

I took some photos of it at Best Buy, go to this gallery to check ’em out.

And here’s the video I took (pardon the quality, youtube ruins movies…):
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb0Ua0TxjWQ]

(check out this photo for an idea of what the footage actually looked like)

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Zune Release

Today Microsoft released the first version of its PMP (Portable Media Player), the Zune. Supposedly M$’s “iPod Killer,” the Zune costs $250 and comes in 3 “colors”: Black, White, and (get this) Brown. Those are some colors there, yup…I could make a whole freakin’ rainbow of Zunes. It comes equipped with WiFi, but (for some reason, most likely legal) you cannot use it to transmit music to it from your computer, and you cannot use it to buy music from M$’s online music store.

What can you use it for? Trading music from other Zunes (The 3/3 deal though: you can either listen to the song 3 times or keep it for 3 days before it deletes itself, whichever happens first), trade pictures from other Zunes, or synch it with your 360 (score keeping, friends’ statuses from Live, etc). It’s one of the largest wastes of money I’ve seen so far. Why bother making customers pay more for a Zune with WiFi, when the WiFi doesn’t even do anything useful yet? I would release a cheaper, smaller Zune (which maybe costs less than the iPod, its rival, and therefore sell more?) that has the same features as the iPod Video (plus the larger screen, more customization features, and sadly yes, larger color selection…), while they worked on developing that WiFi a bit more so it could do PC syncing and wireless music purchasing. But that’s most likely a problem with the RIAA, not M$. Stupid RIAA.

But for all the good things about the Zune, its software looks horrible. Check out Engadget’s review for more information on that front. I don’t plan on buying one any time soon ever.

Oh and I should mention the Zune ad campaign, most of which sucks (“Welcome to the social” is not English, folks!), but this site has many of the TV ads and posters (or maybe they’re just concepts? I’m not sure) that are actually good. Watch the one with the robot and the two birds one, as they are the best.

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