Published on April 21, 2008
in Journal.
When I was a kid, I desperately wanted an 8-bit Nintendo. That was back in the late 1980’s. My parents on the other hand thought that consoles were a waste of time and chose not to buy us one. When I say “all my friends had a console”, I’m slightly over-exaggerating, but it was still pretty common place for kids having an NES. I spent hours upon hours at different friends’ houses playing Duck Hunt, Paperboy, Zelda and the like. Then after the NES, came the Sega Genesis — and Sonic The Hedgehog. That was a super cool game. And like with the Nintendo, I had to play it at a friend’s house. Then came the Super Nintendo, the Sony Playstation, the Sega Saturn, the Nintendo 64, Sega Dreamcast … the list goes on.
And all of these great systems I never had the pleasure and joy of owning. So what’s my point? Well..
My cousin decided to part ways with his Nintendo, so after some 23 years, I now have my very own 8-bit Nintendo. Granted, I mainly play on my Xbox 360 but the feeling of playing on that iconic machine from my childhood just makes me feel like a kid. It’s funny how a 20 year old, hopelessly ‘antiquated’ piece of electronic equipment can still make you feel like a 8-year-old. I guess I’m just funny that way.
Since my cousin’s game collection for the NES was rather limited and missing practicly all the classics, I ordered one such epic off the net — Journey To Silius — which I’m expecting to arrive any day now. I know I’m a geek but I just can’t help it. I missed out on some seriously crucial stuff when I was a kid so now I’m making up for it :)
Published on April 7, 2008
in Journal.
Some time ago I mentioned that cutscenes from the Halo series were available for download at nikon.bungie.org’s Halo cutscene library — with emphasis on cutscenes from the first Halo being in HD. Since then they’ve added more HD content, namely all the scenes from Halo 2. Sweet. If you’re a fan of the series like your’s truly, you’ll get as much of a kick out of the videos as I will :)
Published on April 3, 2008
in Journal.
Just like Apple, Microsoft have also been researching into multi-touch technology and surface UIs for some time now. Apple beat MS to the punch by releasing the iPhone, the first truly multi-touch technology capable device, then later following that up with the iPod Touch and just recently, the MacBook Air. The multi-touch technology, developed by NYU’s Jeff Han, has really taken off during the past year or so and now we’re starting to see some really impressive devices and applications to this technology.
One of the things that I’m especially looking forward to is Microsoft’s Surface. It’s based on the concept of ’surface computing’, which in a nutshell means having a device with an intelligent surface that interacts with the user and possibly other devices. (I wrote about it last year but my recent DB screwups cost me those posts).
Popular Mechanics, one of the great technology-focused mediums, has a quick look at MS’ Surface: check out the video. The device costs a rather salty $5,000-10,000, and even with the current Euro-to-Dollar exchange rate, it’s still a little too steap. Microsoft have said though, that they’re planning on primarily selling Surface to commercial customers like hotels and casinos. But as Jeff Han says in the video, he envisions these sort of devices or surfaces will become household products in the near future. How cool is that!
