The Problem With Linux
For me, Linux is mostly a positive thing. I am highly in support of it, the idea of an open source, freely available, customizable, flexible and secure operating system is fantastic. Linux is all of these things and more. I’ve seen how versatile it is, from being able to be the solid foundations of servers to a simple clean system in a PS3 or hand-held device.
So then, what is my problem with Linux. Well, some of its greatest strengths end up becoming some of its greatest downfalls and so will never become as popular or as widely used as Windows or Mac OS. Read the rest of this entry »
Linger In Shadows
A rather strange ‘game’ appeared on the PS3 store a while ago. Well actually, ‘game’ is probably the least accurate description of it. A demo, or better yet, a demoscene appeared and went by the name “Linger in Shadows.” From Wikipedia:
“The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer. The main goal of a demo is to show off programming, artistic, and musical skills”
Why I Like The PS3 (and Why It Will Win The Console War Again)
Well, the PS3, what some would consider overpriced with a poor collection of games and doomed to fail. Well, that’s what some people think, they seem to be overlooking the following points and hopefully thanks to some recent revalations, the PS3 isn’t as disadvantaged as it once seemed.
Ability to Install Linux
By being able to install Linux on the console, you can use it for a multitude of purposes, such as streaming video and audio from your media server or other computers directly into your living room. You can use Linux to play Linux based games and all the other benefits of having an operating system on a computer. There are some things you can’t do with Linux on the PS3 when compared to a computer, but it is still better than nothing.
Blu-Ray Player
This was not only an important part during the format was for the next generation of DVD’s, but is also important in the post-was stages. Think about all the poor 360 owners of the HD-DVD drive add-on, seeing as the PS3 has the Blu-ray drive built into it, this will help to boost it’s sales and should help push the PS3 into being the winner of the console race for this generation. Look at the DVD playing capability of the PS2 and CD playing capability of the PS1, these features of these two consoles helped to boost sales.
Actually Does Have Games
A common misconception is that the PS3 has few exclusive games worth playing, here is a list of some to look forward to over the coming year:
- Final Fantasy XIII
- God of War III
- Gran Tourismo 5
- Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier
- LittleBigPlanet
- Metal Gear Solid 4
- Motorstorm 2
- Resistance: Rise of Man
This isn’t of course a total list and there are still the games already released. Just expect to see over the next year the PS3 start to have some really good games. The only reason other consoles have plenty of good exclusives is entirely down to the fact that they have been out for longer and so developers have had more time to develop games for it. There is also all the old classic PS1 games becoming available from the store at low prices. I’d also like to bring up how most games you will ever buy for a console will usually be released on multiple platforms.
It Wasn’t Rushed
Unlike the xBox 360, the PS3 wasn’t rushed as much, the xBox was rushed in order to try and capitalise on the market by being first to release a new console, in a way this is a double-edged sword. By getting it to the market earlier, it got more sales and had more developers interested in producing games for it but at the cost of faulty hardware (very high failure rate with the RROD).
Other Media Capabilities
With it’s larger hard-drive (which can be replaced by a regular SATA laptop hard drive) media can be stored to it easily and accessed. It also has the ability to play DivX content (which how you will use this function is beyond me, but may have something to do with a media server) without the need to go through any complex mods to it.
Acutely Affordable
According to Amazon, the price of a PS3 is around £280 and the 360 is around £230, This price difference of 50 quid isn’t as bad as it once was, especially when compared to the time when the PS3 cost £425 to get hold of (the price I paid for it). The price of games is about the same and varies from place to place. Hardware accessories however are something interesting that needs to be looked at, the PS3 controller is around £28 and the 360 controller costs around £30, but then again the PS3 controller doesn’t have a rumble function, but has motion sensitivity (which I have yet to see being fully used) to make up for it.
I’d also like to bring up the cost of a wireless adapter price for the 360, weighing in at around £60 and a USB port. This suddenly causes the 360 to cost more than a PS3 which has built in wireless. Now I undrstand not all will have or use a wireless network, but seeing as they are increasingly becoming popular, this is something certainly worth mentioning.
A Pre-emptive Response to Fan boys
Now all I need to do is to wait for the 360 fan boys to come in here and start throwing insults my way because of my superior logic. Whilst I’m not claiming the PS3 is the going to be the winner and is the superior console, all I am saying is that it has a lot going for it and do not be surprised as the 360 falls behind it into second place.
Also, if you are wondering why the Wii wasn’t included, just wait until later this week to see my reasoning.
How much do you rely on the Internet?
If you are anything like me, the Internet makes up a part of your day-to-day life and to have no access to it over, say the last couple of days can really throw you off-course. I feel that this is very similar to many others who use the internet regularly, you need your daily dose to get through the day. You need to be able to get on-line. I had to suffer without it for the past couple of days (well, suffering is a strong word, but it is incredibly frustrating not being able to get to it).
I rely on the Internet, not only as a source of information, but as a form of communication (MSN etc.) , keep in contact with current ones (MySpace, Facebook), get work assignments from the university (which heavily relies on students being able to get online) and to just procrastinate on. Only until all of this is taken away suddenly, did I miss and appreciate all of these websites, it is indeed difficult to imagine a world without the web.
Expect regular service to continue tomorrow.
An Increase In Blogging?
Over the last few weeks, it has become apparent to me the number of friends and acquaintances whom have started blogs. Some examples are dotbenjamin, The Verdant Atheist, Francium and Tool Chronicles, this is perhaps just an example of the increasing popularity of blogs. Just by looking at WordPress you can tell there is an increase in the number of blogs and the popularity of them. I’m not necessarily saying that they are seen as cool and that everyone needs to have one, but it may be something in the future that may happen as blogs continue to increase in popularity. Though the word ‘blog’ is still not part of Firefox’s dictionary and it keeps getting highlighted as a mis-spell.
I like the idea of friends starting blogs, it gives another angle from which to look at a person, it is another way to keep friends informed of what you are thinking in an environment. You can see what you are saying and can revise any comments you make before everyone hears them and judges you by them. It also allows you to communicate with associates in a simple way no matter what the physical distance between you, as is the incredible ability of the Internet.
Even if you have not yet thought of running a blog yourself, consider this, why not? Why not start a blog and share your ideas, your creations, thoughts and feelings with others, you can maintain your anonymity from the wierdo’s of the web and can disclose your identity to your friends so they know that it is you. A blog doesn’t necessarily need to have focus (but don’t expect it to become popular if you don’t) and can be about anything you want, it costs no money to start one (eg. WordPress) and gives you a time to reflect on your recent experiences.
Format Wars (Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD)
For those who do not already know, Blu-Ray and HD DVD are the next generation of movie formats, offering higher definition and greater sound quality supposedly. Now recently due to a series of rather unfortunate events, Blu-Ray is pretty much crossing the line victorious. The differences between the two are slight, Blu-Ray has slightly higher capacity, but is slightly more expensive.
But why did we as consumers need to live through this horror in the first place? Why couldn’t the companies agree on a single format to begin with? Wouldn’t it be cheaper and easier in the first place to just agree on a single format and pursue that one? By making two different formats, some companies will spend the money developing products for one format, only for that one to lose and have to develop for the other one, whilst others my develop technologies for both formats at the same time, usually at the result of high cost or poor quality. Surely companies will also lose out due to customers buying only one kind of format (rarely both) or staying out of the market completely, waiting for a conclusion to be reached.
For once, Sony was not on the losing side for a format war (see SACD, Minidisc, Betamax, ATRAC), then again, they have had some successes in the past before, so it shouldn’t really come as a surprise (3.5″ floppy disk, CD, memory stick). The victory of Blu-ray is also useful for the PS3, with it’s built-in Blu-Ray drive and the XBox 360 will soon enough have a Blu-ray external drive, like the HD DVD one it currently has (showing that Microsoft does have some level of intelligence somewhere in it’s organisation). I do want to congratulate Sony on having the balls to actually make the PS3 more expensive by putting the Blu-Ray drive into it, this move should pay off as now the PS3 sales should increase, along with it’s lowered price a few months back.
I still want to give an ultimatum to large technology companies and get them to stop all this useless bickering between them when it comes to a new digital format and simply settle on something in between what everyone wants. Yes this could be a challenge, seeing as each company has differing levels of research into different technologies, but the long term gains should outweigh this. Just think of the consumers next time and stop us from having to worry about which format to choose from.
