360 Console
this is the final gadget related posting of the day (really). so i got an xbox 360. 3 months after the launch, it’s still really hard to find them in stores (both short supply and high demand). luckily i found a guy on CL who sold his unopened system, with receipt, for the same price he paid for it. everyone else is selling for like $100 over retail.
it’s pretty cool so far, i haven’t played it much yet. i’m setting it up as a media center extender, so that it can access live tv/videos/music/photos off the living room pc.
if the media center extension works well, that would be awesome. i only have 1 game so far (project gotham) and it’s good, but lots of jaggies with the VGA adapter (hopefully the component cable will fix it when running at 1080i). i’m trying to get some friends on xbox live too. i was originally going to wait for the ps3, but the signs aren’t looking good for it. sony’s been really quiet. i’m guessing October at the earliest.
few random things about the x360:
- power brick is HUGE. literally, size of a brick
- MCE2005 remote works with it, can turn it on/off
- ipod integration works well - connect it via USB and you can browse songs by artist/album, etc and use them as soundtracks during games
- there are hacks for using MCE05 to stream divx/xvid videos to the xbox
- xbox live marketplace lets you download tons of old/vintage games to the HD addon
black ipod video 30gb
i met my baby 2 years ago, the day before valentine’s day. we didn’t start dating right away, but i eventually wore her down…i mean won her over.
last year i got her an ipod (mini) and this year i got her an ipod (video). pretty original, eh? but boy is it sweet.
rumor is that the real video ipod (the ipod that’s centered on movies, not music) is around the corner, perhaps coming on april 1 (apple’s 30th anniversary).
also on apple: the macbook pros are starting to ship this week, and all the dorks on the forums (me included) are at the edge of their keyboards, writing about when their credit cards are charged, anticipating the exact shipment and arrival dates. apple gave everyone a nice valentine’s present: they increased the processor speed of all models, for free. instead of dual 1.67ghz processors, it’s now dual 1.83ghz.
last night my ipod nano fell in the toilet. not just for a second - it was fully submerged, down at the bottom, for a good few minutes. and guess what? it still works perfectly! in fact, it was working fine from the moment it was pulled out. amazing.
NYU: Mandarin I
today i signed up for Mandarin I at NYU, at amo’s suggestion. though i’ve got tons of chinese study material (pimsleur and rosetta stone), i agree that nothing can substitute for real-live instruction.
why do i want to learn chinese? we might want to move to china next year. not forever, but maybe a year or so. and then probably settle in the bay area. at least that’s the plan.
it was great to see Faith’s first public performance in Comedy Eroticus. overall, the show could use some tightening up - it’s about 2 hrs long, with a few moments of hilarity and some bits that just made no sense or went on too long. i can honestly say, however, that Faith was great!
