PC, Music and Games: A Nerd's Paradise

Falling in Love again (with Nokia N9... Meego Wonder)

2012-02-16T18:54:00.001-08:00

Hello again everyone...So I had to do a few errands today and since I finished up early I went to my cell phone provider to check up on things and... there it was, the Nokia N9!

Since I was out of contract, I decided to renew it and on the way pick up this phone. I figured that I would try it out for a few weeks and get like +300% by selling the phone on eBay (as these sell for 350+ dollars used) but herein lies the problem, I'M LIKING IT!!! lol!!!

SPECS:

Display: AMOLED capacitive touchscreen (Gorilla Glass), 16M colors
Size: 480 x 854 pixels, 3.9 inches (~251 ppi pixel density)
Memory: 16 GB storage, 1 GB RAM
Pentaband (so works on T-Mobile, AT&T, etc.
Data: GPRS Class 33, EDGE Class 33
Speed: HSDPA, 14.4 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.7 Mbps
Extra Connections: WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, Wi-Fi hotspot, Bluetooth, NFC, USB
Camera: 8 MP, 3264x2448 pixels, Carl Zeiss optics, autofocus, dual LED flash, OS: MeeGo OS, v1.2 Harmattan
Internals: TI OMAP 3630, 1 GHz Cortex A8 CPU, PowerVR SGX530 GPU, Accelerometer, proximity, compass, etc.

Hardware-wise seems pretty standard compared to most phones on the market and even to my current one, a Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro (Android) but what has always set Nokia apart from most companies, phone build! This cell phone is built like a tank and looks just completely gorgeous (compared to the plastic, squeaky Sony, it completely kills it!!) So it might be similar spec-wise to others but man oh man, it's really a lovely phone.

Since I'm a weirdo, I didn't take the black version of the phone and they didn't have the white one (which looks killer!) so I went with cyan! (my current one is red hahaha).

I wont be delving into all of the features or a full-fledge review though, for that you can actually trust professionals and take a look at:GSMArena Nokia N9 reviewBut I will offer my hands-on views and opinions on it on these few hours (10 of usage).

Pros:

* Great Build, lovely color
* Feels light
* 8MP Camera with Carl Weiss optics
* MeeGo OS has been a good experience up till now
* No crashes or slowdowns detected
* Call quality is good
* Comes with a cool rubber casing (same color as the phone)

Cons:

* No Expandable memory (comes with 16GB or 64GB)
* No removable battery
* MeeGo no longer completely supported
* Not as many good apps as Android or iOS
* microSim (I have to get an adapter if I want to use my Ericsson now!)
* Swipe takes a bit getting used to (no buttons, all touch-screen)
* No QWERTY (I LOVE ME SOME PHYSICAL QWERTY ACTION! :-p)

It seems that the list of cons is actually larger but don't get me wrong, I'm loving this phone and most of the cons are nitpicks. For example the memory... I have +32GB on my Sony Ericsson phone and I'm not even using 1/4 of that. Apps? Baaah! I usually use like 10 apps and I have most of them (or similar ones) on the MeeGo Nokia so it's Ok. The only thing I miss is the physical QWERTY (I don't like writing on touch-screens) and what really bugs me is the non-removable battery... not sure how much it will last with me using it as I use phones (never off!)

I have to say it right now, I HATE the Android experience!Why?Because it actually reminds me of a PC and not a phone... Maybe it's my Ericsson, but I've seen others, I've seen the "Force Closes", I've seen the sluggishness. It's weird that you need a dual-core CPUs now in phones in order for them to run correctly. That my friends is poor programming lol! Anyway, I don't really like it that much. In fact, I liked my Windows Mango experience better! It just seems more like a social Hub and not an "app" executing device. I'm glad to say that MeeGo does it right!As of now I have not experienced any crashes, slowdowns I saw one when using the Web Browser on a "busy" page (www.head-fi.org) other than that, flawless. Turned on the phone, set up Bluetooth to get my Contacts from the Ericsson phone, added my Google, Facebook and Twitter accounts and voila, up and running great. Updated my Nokia account (still active since I was using a Nokia E71 not too long ago), and I have the phone set-up SIMILARLY to my Android phone. You might be asking: "what do you mean by that?" Well, I'm not really an Android "power user", I just use:

- Facebook

- Plume (Twitter)

- FourSquare

- Get Glue

- Sygic (Turn by Turn GPS app)

- Pandora

- YouTube

- Wifi Hotspot app

- Dolphin HD browser

and I guess that's it.

On the MeeGo OS, I have most of those and the ones I don't have, you can access the web page and actually PIN IT AS AN APP on the Home screen so it works similarly to an app on Android!! So I'm not missing my Android phone at all! Nokia Drive seems like a great option and the "tethering" is working great (using the phone hotspot app right now to post this!)

I find that their "Timeline" feature is very similar to the Windows experience which I absolutely adore! On Android you have to have different apps for different social networks. Or you can download an app to have a "hub" with all of your accounts. On the MeeGo, your e-mail, your Facebook feed, your Twitter timeline is all in one place! LOVE IT!

I do have to say that having NO buttons is kind of weird! lolThe "Swype" actions do Ok, but I guess I just need to get used to them. It'sd innovative though, something Android nor Windows nor even iOS has done and this is actually weird coming from Nokia of all places. Love the minimalistic design on the phone and on the OS.

Too bad MeeGo will not continue but at least the phone design does live on with Nokia Lumia phones (their Windows offerings). My next phone will definitely be another Nokia but hopefully they will create one with a physical QWERTY... I have faith on that! :-p

The most difficult thing for me now is:

1) Do I keep the phone and sell my Sony Ericsson on eBay?

2) Do I sell the phone (once I get my microSim to Sim card) and keep the Android?

And this is going to be hard.It's really something when you just spend less than a day with a phone and already want to keep it over a phone you've had more than 3 months! Nokia always wins me over (even if they don't always make it right! -- Still hate the fact that they will be all Microsoft loving whores now! Damn you Elop!! LOL!!!)

Conclusion:

So I'm going to try and kick the phone's ass all that I can these coming weeks and finally decide what to do but, again, I'm in love...

Let's see what time will tell... I'll update you guys with any news later! ;-)

Bye!

Audio Technica ATH-900X review -- Winners or Losers?

2012-01-28T17:15:00.000-08:00

Pros: Comfortable similar to AD700s, great sound balance, bass extends well, sturdy.
Cons: Pads (pleather) don't feel that great. Barebone package, no extras and no detachable cable.

Introduction:

So a couple of years ago I started getting more into "audiophilia" by buying my first "real" headphones, the Shure 440s. From there on it has all gone downhill. My ears have taken a hit, my wallet has taken a hit, I no longer have a lot of space to store all my stuff and every time I see reviews or hear something about headphones I can't wait to try them...

Anyway, this new addiction has really hit me hard and although I wasn't really looking for new headphones I got the "itch"... so I ordered a COUPLE of them just for comparison purposes with the cans I already have. Ordered the Beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO 80s and these beauts....

Audio-Technica A900X

What can I say about these?

These headphones look great. They sport an all-black motif with white lettering and silver accents on the plastic outer casing. It seems to be a fingerprint magnet even though you might think that that matte finish should not be doing that. It's really similar to their previous A900 model so it has the Double Air Damping System (or DADS), 53mm drivers and sport, of course, their 3D Wing support which actually is what I loved from their AD700 (so comfy!!!). Given that, I find the earpads not that good. They are kind of stiff. Probably with time they will get better but not sure about that (they will definitely not be as good as the D5000 ones, and of course, I also prefer the velour pads from the SRH940). Clamping is actually quite good but I can see how some people might find it problematic given the stiffness of the earpads. Isolation seems to be good, though I haven't tested for sound leakage yet. (soon) All in all, headphone feels good NOT great.

Stats:

* Transducer type: Closed Dynamic Neodymium magnet

* Driver size: 53mm, Bobbin winding OFC voice coil

* Sensitivity (1kHz): 100 dB/mW

* Impedance (1kHz): 42 Ω

* Max. input power (1kHz): 2000 mW

* Frequency range” 5 Hz - 40 kHz

* Type of cable: non-detachable

* Cord length: 3.0m (Wrapping / Hi-OFC) --> similar to the Denons, not as thick

* Net weight (without cord): 350g

* Plug: Gold-plated 1/8" (3.5 mm) stereo mini jack

Package Contents:

* 1/4th adapter

... that's it! :-(

Sound:

And here we go... I tell you what I expected from these. I expected my Shure 940s but with more low-end. I mean looking at the stats they were pretty similar so I just took a chance and I'm glad to say that it's ALMOST what I expected! If you have read any of my comments or reviews, I don't REALLY believe in "burn-in". Even though internals MIGHT probably change with the cans getting a workout, I usually go the way of "your ears get used to the sound" rather than getting in any engineering talk or assumptions.
Anyway, left the cans playing for 10 hours straight at work (while I listened with my usual D5000s) and when I got home, plugged them in and played my usual "headphone testing" playlist. It consists of:

DJ Hero 2 Soundtrack - Twist Jamrock Out
Kaskade - One Heart
Shiny Toy Guns - Ricochet!
Jon Cleary - When you Get back
Skrillex - First of the Year (Equinox)
Mima - Oigo Voces
Ben Jorgensen - Changed my mind
Skrillex - Amplifire
Miguel Bose and Leonor Watling - Este Mundo Va
Killswitch Engage - Fixation on the Darkness
Thursday - Turnpike Divides
Emery - The Anchors
Esperanza Spalding - What a Friend
Sara Bareilles - Vegas

and a couple extras such from Salsa and Merengue singers such as

Karis - Bandolera
Marc Anthony, etc.

Connection: PC --> USB connection to Icon HDP Dac/Amp --> Headphones
Played CDs and MP3s

From the first track (Damian Marley --> Twist Jamrock Out) I knew I would like the headphones. The A900x exhibited a really full sound. I mean, Highs were mot ear-piercing, Bass wasn't so overpowering and I enjoyed the track from beginning to end. A quick comparison on the same track with my other cans:

SRH940: Definitely crisper highs. Bass extends really well even though overall these are "bass-light" but on some sections it's really lacking.

D5000: Bass KINGS!!! Highs are tamed compared to both ATs and Shures. Bass is the best of the three and personally I enjoy this track more with the Denons.

I went through the whole playlist a couple of times, pausing and exchanging headphones, making notes, etc. and I have to say, I AM IMPRESSED. Everything I threw at it from acoustic to Metal to Salsa was reproduced great! I noticed what the difference between these and the SRH940s rather quick. It actually made me sad that I enjoyed the SRH940s so much!! LOL. I still do, don't get me wrong, but for some genres, the 940s get their arses kicked so bad!! Take for instance a track like "Amplifire" by Skrillex, on the 940s it sounds so... bland! On the A900X it sounds powerful, it sounds full, it... it makes you want to dance! The D5000s of course, makes the ATs look bad on the same track but I was surprised that I enjoyed it equally on both!

Summary, Highs are Ok (not as great as the 940s and actually similar to the D5000s to my ears.).

Mids are great here! They actually reminded me of the HD600s but not as good (but it's "there...").

Bass definitely on another level when compared to the 940s. Compared to the D5000s, totally lacking.

Soundstage was a bit similar to that of the Shures so although it's not as constricted like, let's say, the famous AT M50s, they don't reach the levels of the D5000s nor HD600 (again, to my ears!)

If I were to order these closed cans by preference.

Comfort: D5000s --> SRH940 --> A900X

Build: A900X --> D5000s --> SRH940

Sound Quality: D5000s --> A900X --> SRH940s

Contents: SRH940 --> D5000 == A900x

Finally, these headphones seem easier to drive than the D5000s. I connected them to my laptop and my Archos PMP and they sounded great. Also used my JDSLabs c421 for a bit and it also sounded quite tasty! ;-)

Conclusion:

Really a "tuff" choice! I love the sound produced by these headphones! They excel in most/every genre I threw at it (I did not test classical BTW...) and are fun sounding. Not once I felt the need to stop listening, or do adjustments, etc. BUT a couple of things bother me:

1) Earpads REAAAALLY suck. Maybe I'm used to the Denons, or the Shures but I expected more I guess...

2) PRICE! These guys are retailing for $270 (with shipping) straight from Japan. Seriously, I don't see it. Yes the headphones sound good, and seem to be built to last but lets compare the Shures (priced similarly) to the ATs:

Shure extras: Replaceable velour ear pads, Two included detachable cables (coiled & straight), Zippered hard travel case

AT extras: NOTHING.

I know sound is everything, but come on! I could recommend these with more enthusiasm if they were priced at $170 or something like that.

Anyway, like I just mentioned, it will all boil down to sound... if the cold, analytical nature of something like the SRH940s (or KRKs 8400) are not your bag, you could look into cans with similar signature as the ATs (Beyers have not arrived yet, so I will update this once I get them...)

If they break apart, would I buy them again?
Not sure (it will depend on whether the pads become softer with use).

Hope you liked this mini-review.

Some bonus pics…

LG Quantum C900 -- My Windows QWERTY Phone wonder

2011-11-17T14:06:00.000-08:00

Introduction

As you have probably learned from the couple of posts here or at Twitter, etc. I LOVE NOKIA!!! I have owned a Nokia since College, in fact, Nokia has been in my family since I was a young'un. After all these years we have seen the prominence of different makers giving us great phone offerings but what really changed the landscape was software. Symbian had been long used by Nokia and others, there was of course, the BB environment, Palm, Windows but it wasn't until those fuckers at Apple let loose the iPhone with their iOS that people really started to not only buy phones because of their looks or quality but because of their functionality.

After a few years supporting Nokia and Symbian I noticed that I was really left behind. The emergence of the Android platform and Apple selling a gazillion phones and updating their iOS with better features every time prompt me to try and go into other ventures.

Of course, I was/am planning to stay loyal to Nokia but:

1) They are still on Symbian whether is 'Anna' or 'Belle' or any other update with a new nickname
2) Their Windows phones and other flagships (such as the N9 with its MeeGo) are not here yet or they are extremely expensive so I decided, since I'm pretty sure I'm going to be back to Nokia, to try one Windows phone. I chose the LG Quantum C900 from AT&T (unlocked of course!)

Specifications:

So quickly a couple of specs for this phone:

Display: TFT capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Size 480 x 800 pixels, 3.5 inches (~267 ppi pixel density)
(No super AMOLED or any of those fancy screens, but it's Ok.)

It also features:

- QWERTY keyboard
- Gorilla glass display
- Multi-touch input method
- Accelerometer sensor for UI auto-rotate
- Proximity sensor for auto turn-off
- 16GB storage, 512 MB RAM, 512 MB ROM NO SD CARD slot
- 5 MP, 2592 x 1944 pixels, autofocus, LED flash
- 1 GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 200 GPU, Qualcomm QSD8650 Snapdragon chipset

and of course the assortment of GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc.

One of the most important things I was looking for was a QWERTY phone. I'm just used to them and using the E71 for over 2 years just spoiled me! The LG Quantum has a GREAT keyboard (this is compared to the Samsung T-Mobile Sidekick and the Sony
Ericsson Xperia Pro) and it feels great. I really love text messaging and status updates in Facebook and Twitter. With this phone I feel like I can write better and more comfortable.

Phone calls are quite clear. The volume of the headset is perfect and although the quality is not super great, it does the job. Up till now, no dropped phone calls and can take GPS, 3G signals very quickly.

Tried Wifi at home and phone is awesome.

Overall, A grade on the hardware!

What's in ther Box:

1) LG Quantum C900 phone with Battery
2) USB data cable / phone charger
3) Cheapo headphones
4) and that's it (bought this on eBay lol!!)

Software:

Now, the reason for me buying this phone was basically for this. I wanted to experience a phone with Windows and Android. After much looking, I decided on this one. First thing I did once I got it? Updated it to Windows Mango. Now, what are the differences between the stock software and Mango? I don't even have a clue but since Mango/7.5 was a big update I guess a lot of good things came with it.

Anyway, coming from the lacking Symbian OS (lacking in the sense of accessibility, looks, etc.), Windows was a kick in the ass. First thing you see is the Live Tiles. It's really something! Got any text message notifications? The "Messaging" tile will tell you without you looking. Have any hotmail messages? Gmail? Facebook notifications? ALL of them show up in the tiles. Pretty nifty. In order to do the same with my Nokia E71, I had to actually navigate menus and select what I wanted to see. Not on this. In fact, the best feature I find with this phone is the INTEGRATION
of everything. Have calendar entries in Gmail or hotmail? They will synchronize with the phone. Have any calendar/event entries in Facebook? They will syncrhonize with the phone. Want to post a status update? You can do hotmail and Facebook at the same time, etc. etc. It really does integration well (not sure about iOS but at least is better than what I have experienced with Android)

Apart from that, the marketplace looks Ok and I have downloaded a couple of apps and games to fully test the phone. Of course I downloaded Twitter and Facebook apps but I also downloaded the ever essential "Weather" app, IMDB, a Turn by Turn Navigation to fully test the GPS (although the "Maps" application seems to work a-Ok!), QR reader, YouTube and all of the Office apps work great. Especially love "Notes"... just a basic app like a "sticky note" that is also available online and sincronizes
automatically.

Everything seems organized, easy to access unlike Symbian and Android, it really seems like an easy to approach OS.

I'm really pleasantly surprised!!

Performance:

What can I say? As of now I really have not experienced slowdowns or anything of that nature. No applications closing by themselves (Hello Android 'Force Closes'...), no jerkiness in games or when using most apps. The only thing I noticed was when visiting really "loaded" web pages, the internet browser (IE) seemed to slow a little... the same with the Seesmic Twitter app. Other than that it has been
great (definitely better than Symbian on the E71).

Now to one of my quirks... battery life.
My Nokia E71 could go on for at least 2 or 3 days without recharging... but these days it seems that trying to have everything accessible takes a toll on battery life. For example, all of the tiles that need updating, connect via 3G or Wifi in order to be updated. Add to that the big display, the processor and normal usage
for the phone has been more or less 15 to 20 hours. This is of course with just:

- Light internet surfing
- A couple of calls (I don't talk much)
- Facebook/Twitter updates and news reading
- Engadget App
- E-mail viewing/sending

That means that I have to go into the settings and change the sincronizing to "Manual". If I do that, I can have the phone lasting much more than 24 hours. But lets be real, if we have an updated phone be it iOS, Android or Windows, we want them to be performing with all those things active! ;-)

I guess it's a trade-off, you decide whether it's worth it ;-)

Camera:

Now, this is supposed to be a 5MP camera that records video at 720p, etc. etc. but I haven't had much time with it yet so I wont judge it. It SHOULD be better than the 3.2 one on my Nokia but I'll try to do a direct compare with the 8MP Exmor sensor of my Android headset (Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro, review soon)

Conclusion:

What do I think of the LG Quantum C900? I believe it's a great phone. The QWERTY keyboard works perfect, it's snappy, the Windows 7.5 OS behaves well and offers the best profile integration I've experienced yet. Now that I've experienced Windows, I'm really thinking of selling my Android phone... is that good!
But who knows... maybe I'll stick with both for a bit.

Pros:

+ Great social integration, you feel like you can really communicate
+ Good call quality, Great QWERTY keyboard feel
+ Not sluggish (at least for what I use it for)
+ Office Notes is awesome

Cons:

- Plastic all around (I was spoiled by Nokia!)
- Sometimes in Landscape mode some apps don't rotate (to properly use QWERTY)
- Battery life is not the greatest
- Small font for "Messages" app

All in all I give it:

3.5 out of 5!

;-)

See ya!

P.S. I'll post some more updates after I keep playing with it! ... with the phone guys... the phone!! :-p

LG Optimus C900 with Windows or Sony Xperia Pro with Android? Or both?!?

2011-11-07T20:36:00.000-08:00

So finally, after all of these years staying true to Nokia and Symbian, I'm ready to "jump ship" (FOR A BIT!!!). Question is... should I go Android? Or should I go Windows?

Since I didn't know the answer to this question, I decided to try both at the same time. Being the compulsive buyer that I am, I began the search. Let me get this straight though, I AM PARTIAL TO NOKIA! There I said it! Why? Because they make reliable phones, built like Tonkas and they perform well for the use I give the handsets but the thing is, they are way behind. MeeGo was supposed to change all that but that ASS of a CEO Stephen Elop messed it up for everybody because EVERY ONE IN THE INDUSTRY know that he is just an MS whore... so now Nokia is going with Windows OS too.

Anyway, my experience with the green robot has been limited to my time with a cheap Archos 70 tablet which I already sold.

It performed well enough, and did most of what I wanted it too so my guess is that the phone should perform AT LEAST as good as my ex-tablet. The search for a phone was a particular one. Why? Because:

1) It needed to be an "unlocked" handset
2) It needed to have "Ok" Specifications (Android OS likes power...)
3) It needed to provide hardware QWERTY

That last option narrowed down the selection at least but still it was difficult choosing! Should I go with an Unlocked Motorola Droid? A Milestone? A Droid Pro? Should I try HTC with their Desire Z? Should I go Samsung Epic? But then I started seeing their prices... ufff... mighty expensive for most of them! Since I know I wanted 2 phones, I didn't want to exceed myself... you see, I'm a compulsive buyer with a conscience... or maybe I'm just not that dumb! ;-)

So first I tried: Samsung Sidekick 4G

Let me tell you, the QWERTY keyboard was AWESOME.
Buttons felt great and the unit was quite responsive and felt "zippy". Specifications were not that hot (i.e. middle of the pack) but for $200 unlocked I wasn't complaining... when I did started to complain was when I was seeing the icon for "EDGE" instead of 3G and then it hit me... THIS IS A PHONE BUILT FOR T-MOBILE!!! What does that mean? That my current cellphone provider (Claro Puerto Rico) operates on a different 3G band than T-Mobile! (Claro is similar to AT&T and uses 850/1900/2100 whereas T-Mobile uses 1700/2100).

A big FAIL for me.
So I decided to resell the phone on eBay (let's see how it goes! But it should sell easy!! ;-)) and started looking for more options.

I had in mind a Motorola Droid Pro, Sony Ericsson Xperia Mini Pro (the new version, not the X10 one) and a few others. Weighing things out I eliminated most of them and was ready to select the Xperia Mini Pro due to the form factor, Android 2.3, and good reviews.

Beautiful looking, good construction and from the reviews, good performance and great all-rounder. Price was right too (about $250 maybe even less unlocked on eBay). Then I kept reading and found this:

http://talk.sonyericsson.com/thread/22121

Remember when I said I'm not an "eyes-closed" compulsive buyer? Yep. When I decide to get something I start to look everywhere for issues, problems, praises, etc. I thought this was a big issue for me so... back to square one. Since I didn't want to go through the whole ordeal of looking for phones, I remembered I had read about this phone's big brother, the Xperia Pro!

Up I went then to amazon, eBay, different distributors looking for the cheapest way to get one and eBay was the one that in the end had it for the better price... I still ended up paying upwards to $300 (in which I could have probably gotten a Milestone from Moto, or the HTC Desire Z, etc.) but I decided to go different because less face it, most people have the same type of phone... you know, the rectangular black one, nothing different, etc. I went against the current and got this beauty:

Plastic, but... oh well...

Looking in GSMArena for the specifications I found that this phone, apart from being good-looking, had Ok specs (i.e. no dual core CPU here), and a great camera. So killed two birds with one stone. The QWERTY looked more spaced out than on the Mini Pro and I liked the form-factor. The couple of reviews I looked at gave it good remarks so I guess I'll know once I receive it. The bad thing is that since this phone was just released on October, there are no cases or accessories. :-(

Still, I want to see how it performs and I will probably review it in the coming weeks!!! This will satisfy my phone needs for now but...

WHAT ABOUT WINDOWS?!?!

Well, fully knowing that Nokia will indeed focus on this OS, I decided to try it and see what Nokia might have seen... the potential.

Looking for a Windows phone is easier as really, there aren't many and a WinPhone with QWERTY is an easier assignment. So after little search I decided to get: LG Optimus C900

Since selection was not that great (the only one on my radar was the Dell Venue Pro but like with the Xperia Mini Pro, it seems to have A LOT of bugs and hardware related issues so out of the picture it went...) I got this generic black/gray-colored looking thing! ;-) It's not the sexiest looking thing ever but it will do I guess.

This one also has run-of-the-mill specifications but I guess it's typical in the Winphone realm. The best thing about this one is that I bought an unlocked "Open Box" one for like $130 or less! w00t!!!!

Now, for both of them I bought some screen protectors and for the LG I bought a case to see if at least I can give it some fucking color (mostly all of my phones haven't been generic-looking... I hate that shit!).

I'll see if one or both of them come this week and start testing changing between phones whenever their batteries run out and see what is my experience with both!

Will Android have random applications Force Closing?
Will Windows crash all the time?
Will both offer great communication features and I'll be happy?

Still don't know the answer to this question and a couple more but I do have to say that I'll be saying Good-Bye to Nokia this week...

ok ok ok... It's probably going to be more of a "see you soon" instead of a goodbye but Nokia, I do have to say that you will always be my friend. GET YOUR SHIT STRAIGHT!!!!

In the meantime I'll be enjoying some Windows/Android cooking and see what all the fuzz is about. And to fully say goodbye to Nokia, I will definitely sell for cheap my Nokia E71!!! Someone has to keep on enjoying it as I did! Great little phone!

Bye.
Thanks for reading.

P.S. I'm not the owner of these pictures... taken from the web :-p. I guess I'll put mine up sometime this week.

#HorrOctober ...

2011-11-07T20:31:00.001-08:00

was a failure!!! LOL!!!

I did not list more movies because I didn't watch the stipulated 31 movies I was supposed to see! WHY DO I HAVE TO GO TO WORK AND DO OTHER THINGS?!? WHY?!?!

Anyway, partial list of what I did see:

1) Final Destination
2) A Blade in the dark
3) The Mist (new version)
4) The Stand
5) The Exorcism of Emily Rose
6) Dawn of the Dead (remake)
7) Jeepers Creepers
8) Bruiser
9) Audition
10) Hostel part II
11) Black Sheep
12) The Rite

and... that's it!
I have to get better organized next year!!

Anyway... check it!

Mima: El Pozo --> Mini review/reseña ...

2011-10-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

Hace un tiempo atrás estaba “janguiando” con un pana del trabajo en su apartment ready pa quema.... erm... una sesión de Rock Band y PS3 "geekyness" y me dice: "Mano, tengo música nueva en ese Pen Drive... a lo mejor te gusten par..."

So, me lleve el pen drive, lo puse en la “compu” y veo que un Folder se llama "Mima"... Por un momento pensé que era un folder que contenía "porno" (hehehe) pero cuando vi y le di play (aparte de la decepción de que NO era porno ;-)) fui totalmente transportado a otros mundos y así fue como descubrí a Yarimir Caban o simplemente Mima.

Su primer CD es sencillamente una de las mejores producciones que yo he escuchado de artistas del patio en cuanto a calidad musical, interpretación, ambientación, etc. Aunque sus letras son un poco "artsy" y poéticas (yo soy muy cafre para seguir muchas de ellas... :-p) todas las canciones del disco se sentían originales y brindaban (al menos a mí) una sonrisa al escucharlas. Fui "fan" automáticamente.

Como todo un "fan", fui a varias de sus presentaciones a cantar como "loquita" y veía que a la gente, aunque no eran muchos, gozaban de sus canciones y de las interpretaciones con su grupo musical. Así que cuando escuche que iba a tirar una producción nueva me puse mas feliz que un cisne con dos lagos!

Hace varias semanas, gracias a Puerto Rico Indie, me entere que en la UPR Mima presentaría/vendería su CD nuevo. Entre a su pagina, le envié un e-mail por medio de "la tiendita Mima" a cualquiera que estaba encargado (quizás hasta el mismo Mark Underwood... chequeare mi email...) y le pedí un invoice para el CD nuevo Y el viejo también. A los varios días, el CD era mío!!!

Del primer "playthrough" lo único que me dije fue:

"QUE CARAJO ES ESTO?!?!?!?!?!"

Que le paso a mi Mima juguetona?!
Que le paso a mi Mima brasilera?!?
Que le paso a las canciones pegajosas como Santo Camino Furtivo y Menos mal que no?
Por que hostia hizo otra versión de mi canción favorita, Ojo Avizor?

AARRRGHHHHH!!!!
He estado esperando anos para esto?!?!

Pero yo me conozco... me pasa lo mismo con muchos artistas y discos. Lo mismo me pasó con Taking Back Sunday, Armor for Sleep, Mew, etc. y después de varios "listens" como que yo mismo caía en tiempo, prestaba mas atención y terminaban gustándome.

Asi que tranquilo en mi casa, puse el CD en la compu, prendí mi Nuforce Icon HDP, connecté mis Sennheisers HD600 y le di "Play". Sinceramente en cuanto a la instrumentación e ingenuidad, las canciones son un A+!!! No se como puedan hacer todo en vivo pero la grabación esta súper completa. Me encanto la percusión en sus canciones y los efectos "lo-fi". Fui canción por canción primero analizando y después
escuchando y aquí me di cuenta de varias cosas. Pero primero,

En la Carretera: Comienza con un corito "eerie" q por poco hace que me cagara encima! hehehe Una guitarrita con un poco de "Wah" y medio psicodélica con la percusión perfecta. El mood en la canción es totalmente diferente al primer CD! Creo que es una canción excelente para comenzar el disco por que básicamente te dice: "Sip, así es el CD completo... totalmente experimental, un poco "Worldly" en cuanto a tiempo para que los músicos se luzcan en la instrumentación, con efectos por todos lados y lento con cojones!"

Así que si no les gusta esta canción, no les va a gustar el CD (mi opinión por supuesto!)

Seguimos con:

El Pozo o la Tumba: Definitivamente una de las canciones favoritas para mi. Seguimos con el sonido "dark" e "eerie". No se que acordes están tocando con la guitarra acústica (los buscaría pero.. meeeh!) pero me encanta la progresión! Nuevamente, efectos medio psicodélicos, percusión diferente a la canción inicial, un poco "sparce" pero igual de efectivo. Me encanta como Mima canta: "Yo estoy cavando este hoyo, si no me sirve de tumba. Llegara el día de mí
suerte y encontrare el agua profunda...". Para mi la canción es súper efectiva pero nuevamente el mood es totalmente diferente al CD original.

Como en un anuncio: De todo el CD esto debe ser la canción más "comercial" (ni tanto... pero vamos!). Es un punk/garage/lo-fi rock anthem. El que escuche el CD y no se pompee, le doy un puno en la cara!!!! Esta buena la canción... y ya puse una línea como estatus de Facebook: "Es que hay demasiadas cervezas por beber, demasiados negocios que atender para yo ponerme a componer..." En realidad no estoy componiendo por vago!!! Pero ven! Siempre hay excusas! HAHAHAHA

Damen: Aquí se pone buena la cosa. A sonido de buena percusión quizás un estilito medio Hip Hop, sonidos de vientos, efectos (nuevamente) y la tremenda interpretación de Mima, esta canción esta muy buena (otra de mis favoritas). CREO que como que había escuchado una versión de esta canción antes pero no recuerdo. Anyway, no hay mucho que decir. Si hay que escuchar otra canción que "define" al Caribe rítmicamente, debería ser esta.

La Parusía: Regresamos al ritmo monótono con un "corito que nunca termina", diferentes efectos de percusión y... mas nada... Canción mega aburrida y viajera. Quizás si me arrebato, me gusta...

Oigo Voces: El ritmo vuelve a adquirir velocidad al ritmo de aplausos con un bajo bien decente. Esta canción es como un hibrido de hip-hop con funk/soul. Otra de las mejores del CD y es la única canción que yo diría q tiene un coro súper pegajoso... bueno, la canción completa es MEGA pegajosa. Considero que del CD esta es el "Santo Camino Furtivo"... totalmente "likeable".

La princesa: Este tema es bien "vocally-driven" y en este Mima sabe bien lo que hace. A mí al menos me encanta su voz y la manipula súper en esta canción la cual es otra experimentación con géneros incluyendo el funk/soul de nuevo. No me pompeo mucho...

La Ducati: Meeeehh... Otra "vocally-driven" song, bien minimalista en cuanto a instrumentación y de hecho, el ritmito es como que algo juguetón. Me recuerda como que una canción que uno canta cuando se esta mofando de alguien o cuando es chiquito o algo así. Creo que ese fue el propósito de la canción para ir con la letra medio psycho. Otra canción viajera-aburrida... NEXT!

Agua Fría: Otra canción que es para "lucirse" en vivo con su banda. Bien world music / caribeña / jazz contemporáneo experimental. Pero súper aburrida... Ya la había escuchado en sus presentaciones. Esta cool tenerla con buena calidad pero al fin, es una que le puedo dar "skip" sin pensarlo.

Ojo Avizor Remix:
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! Mi canción favorita de su primer CD ha recibido un mega cambio! Y en mi opinión, para mal. Es como medio "soul" también con mucho efecto, guitarra con el "wah" como que con un poquito de "chorus" metío a la vez (q mucho usaron "wah" en el CD!?!) aarrgh!! Cuando salieron los "vientos" violando mis oídos (ambos) a 55 grados en el stage (más o menos!) por poco me cago encima!!!

:-(

Yo quiero Andar: Sigue nuevamente un ritmo monótono bien wordly pero tiene cierto "charm". Hay algo de la canción que me llama. Quizás es que los vientos finalizando la canción me recuerdan a un track de Final Fantasy (sip.. la serie de videojuegos!) Ahora, eso no significa que me encanta, pero SI considero que es buena.

P.S. La ultima canción tiene una “napita” a los 12 minutos y pico…

Para estar seguro de lo que escuchaba, le metí tiempo al CD en mi trabajo con mi portable set-up (Shure 940s with JDSLabs Cmoy) y aparte de las diferencias entre los Senns y los Shure's no escuche nada diferente.

En conclusión, PARA MI... as in… MI OPINION, el CD es súper aburrido! Entiendo que Mima quizo algo diferente pero quizás la influencia de DJ Nature y de la misma Rita Indiana (Los Misterios) llevaron al CD por este camino. Que conste, ESO NO ES MALO! El disco demuestra el nivel al cual están estos individuos. Bien caco-style, esta gente esta "BIEN POR ENCIMA"!! Se ve que a todos les gusta bregar con sonidos, con estilos, con musicalidad, con texturas, etc. pero esto no siempre hace que la música sea del disfrute de las masas. Es como un CD de Robi Draco. Todo el mundo sabe que el tipo es un “mostro” y le “mete” pero al final del día prefieres poner un cabrón CD de Pitbull!!! HEHEHEHE Ok... quizás no tanto pero ustedes entienden... (espero...)

Ahora, esto no significa que he quedado defraudado… al menos NO DEL TODO ;-).

Quisiera ver/escuchar “El Pozo” en vivo. La próxima vez que Mima ofrezca una
presentación, definitivo que voy a verla. Quizás es que yo decidí “dormir” (quedarme con el sonido, estilo del CD viejo pero efectivo) y ella simplemente se puso a “andar”…

Rating: 3 chocolates de 5

Ahora voy a escuchar el "re-release" del primer CD y gozármelo completito! Dudo mucho que le de rotación a "El Pozo" como le di al primero pero quien sabe, quizás hago una asignación con el… (i.e. arrebatarme en algo full y volverlo a escuchar en los “loudspeakers” de casa…)

Check it! :-p

HORROR FEST!!! October Horror movie challenge..

2011-10-02T17:22:00.000-07:00

Hola!

So... I decided to indirectly participate in DVD Talk's 7th Annual "October Horror Movie Challenge". What is that? Basically the goal is to watch 100 movies in 31 days. Of course, not everyone is able to achieve that so in my case (as a lot of people) I plan to watch 1 each day so at least 31 in total. My list is quite weird, but it's mostly made up of movies I have in my collection.

I already started so I will keep updating the blog with mini reviews for the movies I see each day...

October 1: Final Destination --> So where the hell is Devon Sawa!?!? Is he alive? Anyway, decided to watch the first Final Destination on the first day of this challenge because:

1) It's an entertaining movie
2) It's fast paced
3) it's the first one I picked randomly from my collection! :-p

I still think that this is the best of the series, maybe not the best "death" scenes but at least they were more believable (take that word lightly though...) Loved the acting of Devon (I also liked him in Idle Hands... which is more of "horror-comedy") and a few others. And of course, the cameo by Mr. Candyman himself.

Anyway, I enjoyed it yesterday like I enjoyed it the first time so that must be good right?!

October 2: A Blade in the Dark --> Now, here's a movie about another Italian director trying to be bloody and artsy at the same time. Like most of their "thrillers", almost no story, slow paced and the acting is terrible. Voice dubbing almost killed it too! (It better be dubbing because it was atrocious!). The ending you could see it coming a mile away and it shows that director Lamberto Bava will never live up to his dad's work!!! This is an hour and forty eight minutes that could really be cut to an hour and make the movie more effective (i.e. pick up the pace a bit!).

Maybe I'm being too critical due to seeing work from other Italian directors in the 70s and 80s but good God, I did not like this one too much. If I was to rate it I would give it a 1.5 out of 5 (because I liked the Villa atmosphere and the main "song"... gotta love those synths sounds!!!)

And that's it for now... I'll probably create new posts or just keep on editing this one! :-p

Check

eBay is my savior!!!

2011-09-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

Yes you read it correctly... eBay is a gift!
But as our pal from the T.V. series "MONK" would say, it's also a curse.

Why my savior?

It's being known that I buy a lot of stuff that usually stays picking up
dirt in a closet or a room. I'm kind of a hoarder for technology, games and all that stuff. And although I had used eBay before, lately I've been wanting to "clean up" the house and this auction site has been a great help!

What have I sold?

As of today, these past few months have basically been tech stuff and games.

1) Kodak Pocket Zi8 HD Camcorder
2) Super Nintendo Games Bundle (including Super Metroid, Actraiser 2 and bonus)
3) GameBoy Advanced RPG bundle (Golden Sun series, Final Fantasy series)
4) Michael Jordan Basketball Cards with RARE BUNDLE!

etc.

Why is it a curse?

Come on... simple... I'm a compulsive buyer and eBay is the perfect place to lure people like me in! ;-) I have sold all that stuff but I have also bought a couple of things. Thing is that I'm being more careful and I'm only buying stuff that I KNOW I WILL USE!!!! It seems I'm learning right?!? Right?!? Better late than never!

What I'm currently selling?

Couple of things:

Sony Handycam DCR-TRV460 Camcorder with EXTRAS

I bought this camera to transfer old 8mm tapes and once I did, I didn't used it anymore... maybe a couple of times but not enough to warrant staying with me... so.. IT NEEDS TO GO!

Miscellaneous PC parts --> Hard Disk Drive

This "pull" was from an old Dell Precision that was sold from work. I used it a lot actually but once the Power Supply from those big ass machines went out, I didn't wanted to spend in PSUs (proprietary PSUs BTW)... so out the PC parts go!!! :-p

Sony Playstation 1 Games

Sold a couple of games locally but still have a couple lying around so.. THEY NEED TO GO. Final Fantasy VIII was good but not great (I actually enjoyed Final Fantasy IX more than this one) and Crash Bandicoot was entertaining enough...

Old PC Game LOT

Who didn't use to play PC games?
All geeks did (do!).

Here I put up for auction a bunch of old games including favorites like: Entomorph, Full Throttle, etc.

Anyway, as you can see, I have stuff I wasn't using and was not going to use so, eBay, I LOVE YOU!!!!!

;-)

Bye

Monoprice MHP-839/Kicker HP541 DECALS!!!

2011-09-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

Hello...

Remember my review from a long time ago (like 10 minutes ago!?!) where I talk about how the Monoprice headphones are really CLONES of Kicker headphones? Well, since they are so similar, there are decals that go right with it and I did buy one of those just to test them.

Decalgirl offers a bunch of decals for kicker headphones. I decided on a weird looking one:

If you remember long ago (a couple of years), I did buy decals from this very same company for my Playstation 3. I liked it a lot so I went with the same company and I can safely say that the quality is still top-notch, easy to use and looks great.

Pretty straight-forward to "install" on the cups... and the end result.

Gave it a bit more life than a boring "Monoprice" or "Kicker" logo would have.
Quite satisfied.!

:-p

See ya!

A bit more active...

2011-09-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

Yeah I know...

I'll try to post a bit more, I just need to find the time to do so.
Hopefully with all the movies I have lying around and all the things I've been buying and selling, I can probably have content to keep on talking/writing shit!

Talk to youse later!

Monoprice MHP-839 Pro Headphones == Kicker HP541 ?!?

2011-09-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

STOP RIGHT THERE!!!!

If you are thinking of buying Kicker HP541 headphones, DON'T DO IT! Why? Because, why waste $50 bucks if you can spend $21 and get the same cans!?

Yes, that seems to be the conclusion over at head-fi's! So I decided to give these budget cans a try.

As you've probably seen from my other mini reviews, I love mid-centric headphones. The Shure sound seems to be something I crave whenever I listen to ANY headphones but that also limits me because some genres just don't sound as great. The Shure 940s are my main headphones now and general conclusion is that those are bass-shy/light cans. I concur of course. So I needed something with a bit of punch, with a warmer signature, so I decided on these (Ed. Note: I just ordered another pair of cans which are much "bassier" so I'll probably sell/give these). Also, those will be connected to my work laptop and my Shure's to my MP3 player.

Anyway, let's continue.

Specifications:

Driver Unit 50 mm
Impedance 40 ohms
Sensitivity 100 +/- 3 dB / 1mW (S.P. L at 1 k Hz)
Frequency Response 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Wire Length 3500 mm (11.4')

What's in the box?

Pretty bare box. Contains:

* 1x MEP-839 Pro Headphones
* 1x 11.5 ft long 3.5 mm M/M audio cable
* 1x 50 inch long 3.5 mm M/M audio cable
* 1x 3.5 mm F to 1/4" M adapter plug

and that's it. Oh yes... you noticed that right?
DETACHABLE CABLES!!!! (for $20 cans, this is a great addition!!)

Sound and my views.

First of all, I don't find these all that comfortable. Pads are too little (and NO GUYS, I don't have GIANT ears!! LOL :-p), headband cushioning is not that good, and it's a bit flimsy. Of course, these are $20 headphones so I wasn't expecting the feel of my beloved Shure's nor the most comfortable headphones ever the Audio Technica's AD700.

Sound-wise though I was REALLY surprised.
These $20 cans actually comes close to the sound reproduction of the Shure 440s.
Ok ok before you bite my head off, the clarity is not at great NOR are the highs and mids, but these budget cans are good. What's best than my 440s though is BASS RESPONSE and ATTACK. These Monoprice headphones are really bassy but they don't drown out the mids nor highs. I've been listening everything from acoustic to DnB and they perform well! They WONT take the place of the Shure 440s at home, but for something you can carry everywhere without worrying of breakage, etc. these are awesome.

If they were a bit more comfortable, it would be hard to suggest headphones like the Shure 440s and even the Audio Technica's M50s! (which I know for a fact have more recessed mids than the monoprice cans!).

The main thing here though is... VALUE!

Kickers HP541 == $50
Shure 440 == $70
A-T M50s == $120

You might be questioning my sanity when I say these $20 headphones do a better job than higher priced cans but I can safely say that... I'M NOT INSANE!!! (I think! :-p). Yep, they sound quite good but...

Are they for me?

If you:

1) Are looking for closed-cans with Ok isolation...
2) Looking for cans with detachable cables
3) Looking for bassy/warm sound reproduction without sacrificing mids/highs

then definitely $20 will go a long way.

Now, if you:

1) Value a more balanced sound
2) NEED comfortable headphones
3) Don't care to spend more than $50

then definitely look for different cans.

I tell you, what KILLS it for me is the feel of the headphones and the lack of pad! If they were bigger and more comfortable, I would be selling my 440s... but they are not so they are relegated to budget-abuse status.

Hope you enjoyed the mini-review!

You can buy these from monoprice.com at: Monoprice

PS3 Wireless Stereo Headset -- Short Impressions/Mini Review

2011-09-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

Hello.

It seems I just like to spend money... but I SPEND IT WISELY... I think... lol
Anyway, amazon.com had a MEGA deal not long ago with these "cans". Now, I had my eyes on them but when I saw the price on the deal I HAD to jump on them.

Suggested price: $99
Amazon Deal: $65

Yep, I bit!
And I'm glad I DID!

Introduction:

I have to confess, I don't play too much online. Although I have an Ok amount of online-enabled games, I rarely play them, not because I don't like it, I sometimes don't feel the need to do so (plus I usually suck! LOL!) Still I've always had a thing for having a cool headset. Not any type of headset, but wireless. As everyone knows, there's a few companies out there that have their offerings, in fact, I have tried Turtle Beach X41 cans long ago and found that:

1) They popped and clicked like crazy (even though my router is on another room and I had fresh rechargeable batteries!)
2) They sounded "tiny" EVEN with the bass boost
3) They weren't all that comfortable
4) Movie watching with them wasn't too much fun
5) Mic didn't work with PS3 (it did with Xbox)

So I definitely looked to other brands but dismissed all of them due to price! But Sony has just stepped up!

Specifications:

Sony SUCKS!!! I don't know why they didn't provide any specifications OTHER than functions/features.

* 7.1 digital surround sound (wireless).

* Built-in rechargeable battery delivers seven hours usage on a single charge.

* On-screen headset status updates.

* Easily access headset volume and microphone mute controls.

* Retractable microphone for use only when you need it.

* Enjoy your wireless stereo headset on your PC or Mac®.

COME ON!!!!
Where are the driver sizes? Where are the frequency responses? WTF?!?!
Disappointed!

What's in the box:

Pretty simple:

1) Headset with attached mic
2) USB dongle
3) Small instruction booklet

and that's it! This headset is rechargeable via USB and they didn't include a USB cable.

Functionality:

I do have to say, this headset is pretty much complete! Although, it's a "budget" stereo headset, it includes a couple of functions that are included in more expensive sets, not only that, they are extremely accessible and within reach.

I'm not going to list all of them but as you can see on the pictures below, you get an idea of what it offers...

There's no sound customization though (i.e. if it had some type of equalizer settings or even PRESETS, these would have KILLED!)

Also, be prepared to be frustrated a bit: YOU CANNOT LISTEN TO YOURSELF OVER THE HEADPHONES!!!! Mic sound is not routed to the earpads!!! Or is there a setting hidden somewhere?!?!?

Feel and Sound Reproduction:

Based on my short time with these, I can surely say that MUSIC reproduction SUCKS ASS! Too boomy, not enough details, I don't even know how a frequency graph would look like. It doesn't matter if surround is off or on, I can't enjoy the sound coming out from them. Maybe I'm spoiled! I mean, I have "real" headphones which cost hundreds of dollars and greatly reproduce details from all over the spectrum but when I say that my MONOPRICE DJ HI-FI CANS SOUND BETTER (their cost is $20) that's saying something!

Headband is flimsy but it's comfortable and so are the pads. They are big and cover up your whole ears. Although they look like monsters, they don't weight that much. The fit is great and it looks good too!

Gaming sound reproduction though it's another story. The boomyness is not as palpable, you can actually hear the details (highs seem to be the emphasis but bass response is quite alright.), speech is crystal clear, etc. I haven't played any first person games or things of that nature so I'm not sure if the simulated "surround sound" actually works but I wouldn't be surprised if it did.

Have not tested it with movies yet... (maybe I'll update this post once I do so!).

Conclusion:

Though it sounds like these are a waste of money from my views, actually they are quite alright... FOR GAMING. You get good sound reproduction (gaming), you get a mic, all wireless, integrates great with the PS3 and as a bonus you can use them on your PC and the cost is less than $100. It's a good bargain but I wanted these to be all-around headsets. I wanted to enjoy them with music also!

Should you get it?

If you are looking for:

1) Wireless cans, no fuss, no setups
2) Integrated microphone, good functionality (i.e. control the music/chat volume, don't have to deal with external batteries, etc.)
3) PS3 integration, easy to use
4) Ok sound reproduction (best for gaming)

Then I say you will be pretty much set with these.!
If you can find a good deal on them ($80 or less) I'd say JUMP ON THEM QUICK!

At $100 I still think they are good but I wouldn't buy them.
If you already have a good set of headphones, you might want to look into the Astra Mixamp. Though, you will lack microphone, if you are looking for great sound reproduction, that would be the way to go!

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Bye.

"I Saw the Devil" --> Mini Review

2011-09-15T18:11:00.000-07:00

I will just flat out say it... THIS IS THE BEST REVENGE MOVIE I'VE EVER SEEN!!!!

Simple!

Notes about myself:

1) Love horror and black comedy movies
2) Like gory/bloody movies
3) Lately loving Korean cinema

Plot

So there's a psychopath on the loose (played BRILLIANTLY by Min-sik Choi -- Oldboy) taking women, raping and killing them. The police don't have a fucking clue until one day this serial killing machine spots a woman stranded on a snowy road. This woman is the wife of our main star, a police detective. The killer takes the girl, kills her for his own pleasure and throws the body in a creek. The body is found, police are called in and you learn that not only was this the wife of the detective but that her father was chief of police.

Now, this first death is graphic as heck but expertly executed. Is not gore or blood for gore or blood's sake! Director Ji-woon Kim is really a master when dealing with these scenes!

Back to the plot, the husband in his grief vows (to himself and his father in law) to look for the killer and this is where it gets interesting! He doesn't want to bring in the killer, HE WANTS TO PUNISH HIM! So the hunter becomes the hunted!!!

Without getting into any spoilers, this movie is full of fun. You get to see how the "good guy" catches up to the "bad guy", inflicts some pain and lets him go only to catch onto him again, inflict more pain, etc. Why did I use quotes? Because you really can't believe that this detective is doing what he is doing! It really blurs the line between good and evil!

The second act of the movie is EVEN WEIRDER!
Serial killer goes up the mountains to a cabin to seek shelter with ANOTHER serial killing friend which, on top of being a serial killer, HE'S A FUCKING CANNIBAL! (and no, it's not really a spoiler... or maybe it is... OOOPPSS).

Intense scene after intense scene, this is what the movie is about!

Will you like it?

Ask the following questions:

1) Do you like blood?
2) Do you like derange psychopaths?
3) Do you like suspense?
4) Do you like being on the edge of your seat for 2+ hours?

If you answered yes to all of these, then yes, this is definitely a movie to watch! I actually did find it kind of excruciating due to not only the violence but the way the director shot it. Sometimes it feels so intimate that you feel "trapped" with the victim and want to get out!

DVD Contents

It's alright. Nothing too fancy.
Some interviews and a Making Of.

Conclusion

This is already an INSTANT CLASSIC for me! I didn't think I would be able to watch such a great thriller, a great ride coming from Korea, but those guys keep impressing me with every movie they make. Hollywood should take notice and start doing some creative thinking! I heard they are "remaking" Oldboy!! COME ON U.S.A!!!! START BEING CREATIVE!!!

Anyway, 5 stars out of 5!
Highly recommended!

Yep... I have more headphones! :-p

2011-09-01T21:11:00.000-07:00

Hello...

So like I mentioned on the previous article (Shure SRH940 Review), I have gotten a few headphones or cans these past few years. I haven't written anything on those (not sure if I will), but I'm going to post a couple of pics of the equipment I have here right now.

Audio Technica ATH-AD700

Mini Overview: Open Headphones, big soundstage, extremely comfortable. Sound is kind of lacking for music as it really lacks in the low-end spectrum. At least treble is not harsh and mids are Ok. A bit "airy". For the price is not bad but you can get the Shures 440s at a similar price! (I have a review of these here as well... Shure 440 review

Sennheiser HD600

Mini Overview: Open cans, soundstage is good (AD700s I find it to be bigger), but sound makes a difference. They excel mostly on everything. Goes low enough, treble is smooth but I find that mids are a BIT recessed... not sure if they will sound better with "burn-in" (or if my ears will get used to them) or if it's my headphone amp! (Icon HDP at the moment). We'll see. These are barely new.

JDSLabs CmoyBB amp

Mini Overview: THESE ARE AWESOME! I haven't really used them a lot (less than 20 hours) but they actually made a WHOLE lot of difference alongside my Shure's 940! The 940s are known to be bright (I mentioned this on my review below!) but the Cmoy actually adds warmth and the bass is more present now! Haven't tested it with other cans but this will definitely be my 940s amp! Got this with the "charging module" so I'm actually waiting for the wall plug to arrive and keep on using it! Love the synergy of this with my 940s (not so much with my Icon HDP which is way expensive... go figure!)

And I still have another set of cans arriving plus a couple of other things. Maybe I'll post these later.

Also, I plan to post a couple of movie reviews soon to see if I can keep this page active!

Anyway, see you soon!

Shure SRH940 – My Headphone Kings

2011-09-01T18:43:00.000-07:00

Pros: Great mostly balanced sound for recording, great package that includes all you need, removable cables, best “mids” I have heard out of any headphones
Cons: Not very portable, not the best isolation, no handle on box that encloses the cans and accessories, still bass-light (or too treble friendly ;-))

Introduction:

After a whole lot of browsing, reading, testing, etc., a couple of years ago I decided on getting new cans. This resulted in me acquiring the Shure SRH440s. At the time I had not listened to such type of headphones, meaning quite balanced with great mids providing a complete package that actually made you want to keep listening and enjoying music. (I.e. most headphones I had were cheap Koss or Sony’s, etc.) These cans opened up a new world for me. Yes I had good audio equipment, cheap but good sounding, for my home theater, “recording” room (I’m not a musician, it’s just a hobby to create some song snippets.), etc. but never thought much about headphones. It all went “downhill” after that… Started buying headphones just to compare but still I was attracted to my 440s. When I read that Shure was planning on releasing an updated pair, I quickly jumped on them.

My main concern with the 440s in the start was what I praised them for now. Mids were kind of anemic… I don’t know if it was “burn-in” or my ears getting used to the sound but after a while I couldn’t get them away from my ears, I loved the mids! Bass was something that quite never settled with me. They were kind of lacking (when compared to a couple of other closed cans) but the upgrade to 840 pads made some sonic changes for the better (especially bass region!). So for the 940s I was expecting more great things (including better bass…). I was wrong… (more in a bit :-p)

SRH-940

First let’s talk about the headphones.

When I saw them I was surprised. The industrial-like silver/gray color was great looking and a departure for the whole black-motif of the earlier series (except the “DJ” one). The velour pads were another departure (I live in hot-ass Puerto Rico and I was just thinking of sweaty ears/head lol!!) which I wasn’t sure about (after getting used to the 840 pads). The complete package was complete enough that gave me the security I made a good purchase. But it all hinged on the sound…

Stats:

* Transducer type: Dynamic neodymium magnet
* Driver size: 40 mm
* Sensitivity (1kHz): 100 dB/mW
* Impedance (1kHz): 42 Ω
* Max. input power (1kHz): 1000 mW
* Frequency range” 5 Hz - 30 kHz
* Net weight (without cable): 11 oz (320 g)
* Length of cable: Coiled: 9.84 ft (3 meters), detachable, Straight: 8.2 ft (2.5 meters)
* Type of cable: Detachable oxygen-free copper
* Plug: Gold-plated 1/8" (3.5 mm) stereo mini jack

Package Contents:

* Replaceable velour ear pads
* Two included detachable cables (coiled & straight)
* Zippered hard travel case
* 1/4th adapter

Sound:

And we got here… even though I was expecting more low-end presence on these headphones, it was actually the opposite. I have to say that high-end band and mids were more forward than the 440s (or any other I have ever heard) and still bass light (even more so than the 440s with 840 pads!). Was I disappointed? Shure! ( ;-)) But I also had to keep in mind that these were “recording” headphones. Started breaking them in and using them everyday and then I started noticing.

* Crisp sound! Crystalline in fact!
* Mids were even tastier. Vocals on this thing were surprising (women performers in particular!)
* Even though it is a bit bass-light can (compared to AT-M50s, 840s, some Senns) the low-end extended well and was pretty clear!

Began modifying my playlists, added a couple of Jazz, techno, electro-pop, etc. and felt in love back again! Highs were not fatiguing, mids were the best I have heard (still is! Love vocals and acoustic guitars on this thing!), and the bass… it does goes low but it depends… and that’s my other point. These headphones LIVE OR DIE BY THE SOURCE!!! If a recording is poor, these will be a pain to use and listen to all day. Due to the high-end being so forward, you will not be happy when you start listening to hiss, distortion, etc. Again NOT the headphones fault, but take note! Finally, soundstage, it’s great for a closed headphone. It will definitely not beat HD600s nor cheaper AD700s soundstage but it’s good. Tested with indie and jazz you can actually pay attention to the music and instruments without being disappointed in them being panned way to your left or right, etc. (unless the recording is actually like that! Lol).

Overall, I grew to like them and it’s now my preferred “portable” cans!

Conclusion:

I really think that for music recording these are a great addition to your arsenal since you will be able to clearly listen to any defects you might have (being brought due to those forward highs!). If you play your cards right, you can even mix a bit with these just have in mind that these are not bassy so don’t overdue the bass quantity! Isolation is not the best ever so I wouldn’t record vocals with these on just in case any sound leaks. But I was really surprised with how “listenable” they are. Yes they are a bit heavier than the 440s but sound is so tasty that you’ll forget about them being in your head and start rocking out.

I trusted Shure and I was not disappointed!

If they break apart, would I buy them again?

HELL YES!! (along with Hifiman HE500s… yes… these hobby is like a drug! Lol ;-)).

Hope you liked this mini-review.

Some bonus pics…

Thanks.

Update: Just testing out with JDSLabs CmoyBB amp and… WHAT A GREAT COMBINATION! Soundstage a bit expanded, and I HEAR MORE BASS!! Is it my mind?!? Naaah, made some notes, time coded, on a couple of songs. Bass presence is definitely there!

Update 2: If you are wondering what I used to drive the headphones: Archos 7, Archos 605, my main PC through Icon HDP and Lexicon Omega Recording interface.

Update 3: Have I adequately burned these in? Although I don’t believe in burn-in (to me is just your ears/mind getting used to the sound signature) yes, I have had a couple of months using these for 6 or more hours 5 days a week so… hundreds and hundreds of hours! ;-)

Selling some of my stuff...

2011-07-03T19:39:00.000-07:00

Yeap!

I've been organizing one of my rooms and emptying closets and I figured: "Why be such a freaking hoarder?!?". I'm one of those guys that keep on with their stuff EVEN if they're not using it but NOT ANYMORE!!!!

Today I posted a listing on eBay with a bundle of Game Boy Advanced games (most of them RPGs! ;-)). It included:

Final Fantasy I & II Dawn of Souls
Final Fantasy IV Advance
Final Fantasy Tactics
Golden Sun 1 & 2
Castlevania Double Pack (Harmony of Dissonance/Aria of Sorrow)

And I let all of that go for $55 plus $10 on S/H charges.
Pretty good I'd say since most of those sell for MORE than $10 each! Not even 5 minutes passed and I already had someone buy it!

NNIIIIICCCEEEEEEEE!!!!

I'm pretty sure that the one who bought it WILL resell all of those games and make a bit more money than me, but still, they're games I was NOT using and I made a little cash on the side...

I'm also going to sell my Kodak Zi8 HD Pocket Camera because frankly, I DON'T USE IT! Heck, I didn't even do a mini review here! (took the pictures, did the unboxing but did not post it.) Now, don't get me wrong, it's a GREAT little camera and produced great results (and it has "line/mic in"!!!) but it was just collecting dust and the batteries would have died because of that.) So I made the choice of listing it.

eBay Kodak Zi8 Listing

I'm pretty sure that I will be selling:

1) Sony TRV460 bundle with Camera bag and a bunch of stuff
2) PanDigital Photo Scanner
3) A couple of extra PS1/PS2 games
4) etc. etc.

Whatever I'm not using, is going going gone!

See ya!

My First Amp...

2011-06-30T20:52:00.001-07:00

Yeah, in College I started playing guitar... self learner (which is why I still don't know how to properly play the fucking guitar!), grabbed my Dad's old acoustic guitar, took it the apartment I was sharing with my buddies and just started strumming the heck out of that 80s Spanish guitar.

A few years later I figured I'd get an electric.
I bought a new Ibanez GAX75 (look it up... it had the "Drop-D" mechanism! hehehe) and of course I needed an amp. Enter Behringer GAX210:

To me this was a HUGE buy at the time!
I was at College, didn't had too much money and had to work a bit to buy the things I wanted but I did and was satisfied with the amp. I know Behringer gets/got a lot of shit due to their quality and technical support but I had this amp since 2001 I believe and IT NEVER FAILED ON ME!

It had 2 Jensen 10 inchers which got extremely loud fast! I mean, for a "practice" amp, you could really take this to a gig and it wouldn't have been overpowered by the drums!

What I loved about it though? Integrated effects!!! LOL I was so cheap that I didn't wanted to buy extra pedals for Chorus, Flanger, Wah, etc. effects so I got an amp that did that too (at the time there was also Line 6 making GREAT amps but they were out of my reach!).

I had good times with it but I wasn't using it that much, so I decided to sell it. In fact, it is getting a LOT of use by the guy I sold it too. He plays with his brothers and actually is just promoting his record... let me plug him:

I just have to say, Don't OVERLOOK Behringer! Give some of their products a try and if you like it, keep it! If not, most music stores have trial dates and you can return the merchandise! I would definitely buy more stuff from them if I think they're doing what I want them to!

Check it!

Nokia E71 -- Best Phone I've ever had...

2011-06-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

Hello.

As I mentioned on my previous post, I'm going to start posting some short reviews/views on things I have bought these past few years. I will start with my current cell-phone: Nokia E71

This phone specifications (for being a 2008 phone) are up to the roof full of them. It's 3G, has Wifi, GPS, Bluetooth, Infrared support, USB, an extra microSD slot, Cameras in the front and back (yes, you could video call with this BEFORE there was "FaceTime"...), FM Radio, Java, Flash, etc. I tell you, Nokia does know how to build a phone!

Even though they have fallen with time (and that new partnership with Microsoft... yuck...) NO ONE can deny the build of these guys! Look at these!

Now, I bought this phone on 2009 (December I believe) and you might be asking yourselves: "Why the hell did he bought that ass-backward phone when there's the iPhone, a million other touch-screen devices, etc.?!?).

My answer will honestly be... I F*CKING HATE APPLE!! LOL!!
But seriously I've always loved Nokia (and I HATE Apple! :-p) Before college, all of my dad's phones were Nokia (I think he had a Motorola once, and returned it!), my phones most of them have been Nokias. I was using a simple Sony Ericson Walkman phone before this one (the company I work for did not allow smartphones!) so for me this was a HUGE upgrade and a return to my dear Finnish company.
One of the things that called my attention though, the QWERTY Keyboard. Yes there were Blackberries, but DAMMIT I wanted a Nokia! This fit the bill quite nice since I'm a text-whore! Lovely thing though, I started installing more apps. Got the Garmin GPS in there with the 2010 maps, got some Facebook and Twitter apps, got me the most important one, Joikuspot, which allows me to tether, etc. and I have to say that the phone just do what it's supposed to and more.

People still ask me: "Why don't you get an Android phone or an iPhone and join the masses?" Frankly, I don't need to join the masses! My phone works for me and next time I'll probably buy another QWERTY Nokia either with Meego or WinMobile (YIKES!). Thing is, I just call, text, do some social networking and a couple of pictures and that's it. For music listening I have like 3 Archos PMPs. For video recording I have a Kodak Zi Camera (which I rarely use and will probably sell!!!), etc. I don't need Fart Apps! I don't need apps that tell me where I can eat! I just want a solid good-looking phone that will last! And this one, almost 2 years and still going strong!

In closing, love the qwerty on the phone, love the looks, love what it can do and I really rate it an 8/10 !!!

I'm not getting into technical aspects or a full overview, but just know, this was probably the best "business-like" phone of its time and still is a solid dialer!

For a full review you can visit dozen of sites or just go to this one which is pretty complete:

GSM Arena's Review

Thanks for reading and keep on trucking!

Short update after a freaking year...

2011-06-30T20:14:00.000-07:00

Hello.

Still alive but haven't had time to write my thoughts on ALL THE SHIT I have bought in the past year (and trust me, when you are a shopaholic, there's A LOT of stuff you buy and then try to get rid of!!! LOL).

Since I know NO ONE will mind (no one reads this! HEHEHE) I will just post a couple of grainy-ass pictures and thoughts on the things I have, have bought, sold, etc.

Let's see... what do I start up with?!?

Bye!

I'm not dead.... yet :-p

2010-06-10T21:28:00.003-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted anything new here but I just haven't found time to accommodate a couple of updates! :-(

Soon I guess... soon! ;-)

PS3 went KAPUT!!!

2010-05-18T05:02:00.000-07:00

What a sad day it was! :-(

My trusty Playstation 3 was already giving me some hints that it would failed but I wouldn't listen. Friday night, after playing a bit of the God of War Collection, I started downloading some goodies from the Playstation Store and then... **BEEP**

"Huh!?"

My PS3 turned off by itself! So I tried to turn it On and... ** beep beep beep ** red light blinking... "AAARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!" Yes guys, I experienced the Yellow Light of Death (YLOD). So of course, being a geek, I opened up the PS3 and I think I know what's going on but I'm in need of a heat gun. Since it was late at night, I just closed the system up and on Saturday I got a Playstation Slim. It's alright... but I miss my old one.

Anyway, I took it to a place where they fix PS3s.
Let's see what they tell me...

It was indeed a sad day though.

New PC...

2010-04-17T07:33:00.001-07:00

Hello guys and gals!

Let's cut to the chase. I used to love PCs. Yes, you read that right! I USED TO. I was a freak! I read every single thing about the computer industry that was coming out, was planned, etc. All of this while I was studying of course... you remember? That's the time that you are not doing shit and can waste time doing whatever the heck you want! Well, once that time came and went, I forgot about PCs. I stopped reading Toms Hardware, Anandtech, HardOCP, etc. I even went out (like 5 years ago) and bought an E-Machine (yes, again, you read that correctly) because I didn't wanted to build myself one (which is what I used to do before). This little machine, which still works, has been my music "workstation" for a long time but once more sophisticated software kept coming out, that PC started to choke. For a long time I've been looking for an excuse to buy a new PC, and then I figured... WHY BUY IT WHEN I CAN BUILD IT!!
And here began... "The Project"

AMD vs Intel

This was the biggest decision!
Should I go with AMD, a brand I've always used since their underpowered 486 processors? Or should I go with Intel, a brand I always hated because, like Apple, they sold overpriced CPUs? All I have to say is that the industry has changed a whole lot since the last time I bought PC parts! Right now, price/performance ratio is kind of swinging by Intel's side. Sure, AMD makes great products at great prices but for what I planned to use this PC for, there was no question, an Intel i5 750 processor is what I needed!

Now, I'm not going to bore you with benchmark charts and whatnot! If you want to take a look at those and extra info, you can go here:

Anandtech
Toms Hardware
Hard OCP

I don't know when these CPU manufacturers strayed away from pins, but ... WHAT THE HELL!? (that was my first reaction!) There really are NO pins on these new CPUs!!! NICE! This boxed CPU of course comes with a Stock Heatsink + Fan combo that it's supposed to do an Ok job, but people, I LIVE IN PUERTO RICO!! It's hot in here! Instead of using the supplied fan combo, I bought a Cooler Master GeminII S!

I had never, ever seen such a big heatsink + fan combo in my life! I was afraid if that thing would even fit in the case with the RAM installed and all of that stuff! The GeminII came with a thermal paste and an extension because... guess what? You can use 2 80mm Fans on this thing! Yep, I'm telling you, this combo is a freaking beast!!!!

Now that I had made my choice, it was time for the second most important component, the motherboard!

Motherboards

There are a lot of great motherboard makers out there. We have the MSI's, Asus, eVGA, and my favorite ever, Gigabyte. Of course, I've been a long time without building a new PC from scratch so I was going to naturally fall back to a brand I trusted! My ATX Socket 1156 motherboard search was arduous! I spent a LOT of time looking for motherboards (you can get a glimpse of a motherboard round-up here:
Motherboard Round-Up 1 and Motherboard Round-Up 2)

But I finally decided on a Gigabyte P55A-UD4P because of the extra 2x USB 3.0 and 2x SATA 6Gb/s. I doubt I'll ever use them, but it's good to have... and it's FREAKING GIGABYTE!!! I love them. What I like about the motherboard the most though is the options on the BIOS. Gigabyte boards always have a BUNCH of options and tweaks you can do so I know that when I get bored someday I'll definitely start playing with the settings and who knows, even overclock just for fun!

The board layout I find is pretty well done. When I installed it on the case, everything just fell together real well! Hopefully the motherboard will last a long time! ;-)

RAM

Look it. I'm not an enthusiast. I don't particularly care for the greatest and best RAM stick there is, I just got one that was affordable and looked like it could take a beating and the Patriot Sector 5 memory modules looked like they could!

As you can see from the picture above, these guys have really long heat spreaders. That worried me a bit because I thought the CPU Cooler would have a rough time with these modules installed, but nope. Everything fit well together there. I haven't done any memory tests yet but this mem gets a 7.5 in that Windows Experience Index thingie, so I guess they're alright. Hopefully one of these days I'll start playing with the latency, CAS and all that good stuff the BIOS has.

Everything Comes Together

So now I had the 3 most important components: CPU + Motherboard + RAM.
You might be wondering: "Errrmmm, don't you need a video card?" And you are right!

Do you guys by any chance remember this: GeForce 8800 GTS 512?

Well, that's what I'm using! Since I know I wont game much here (keyword: MUCH) I decided to re-use this trusty card. And I have to say that I'm pretty impressed that new games work great with it (Tested Just Cause 2 @ 1650x1080 AA 4x, Anisotropic Filtering 12x, Details High, etc. and the game moves really well even when there's a lot of action -- 37 frames per second and up).

Of course, there are better cards out there, but why spend the money for a high-end card when this one is doing it's work rather well? (ran 3d Mark Vantage and 3dMark06).

Case and PSU

Now THIS was a problem!
Try ANY online store and do this experiment. Go to your favorite retailer, add a computer case to the cart, put in your puertorrican Zip Code, check the shipping options... EXACTLY A $60 Cooler Master case would have cost me almost double by shipping it home! So I decided instead to buy a case from a local PC shop here. You know, an "El Cheapo"/No-name case! And that I did! I bought an ugly case but I wanted decent airflow so I picked up the one I liked and it even came with a cheap-o 500w PSU for $55 bucks.

It has a 92mm Front Fan with multi-colored LEDs, a side 80mm Blue LED Fan, and an optional 80mm/120mm fan support on the back (I just ordered it via eBay!). The case feels cheap but I knew it would be up for the task. I scrapped the 500w PSU and attached ANOTHER cheap 500 PSU that it's more robust though. It's a Rosewill RV2-500.

It seems to be doing a great job under load so I'll keep it installed until it dies! ;-)

Now that I had my build together, it was time to put it all up inside the case, install the hard drives (a new 500GB SATA and an old 80GB SATA from an old computer) and install the OS (Windows 7 Enterprise Edition).

SUCCESS!!!!

I was waiting for the whole thing to blow up when I pressed the Power Button. I mean, it's been more than 7 years since I had build a computer from the ground up and everything worked correctly! No beeps, No Diagnostic Lights, No shutdowns, No BSODs, not a thing! The PC is working great. Most of all, I'm really surprised at the Cooler Master combo and with the case! Temperatures are extremely good even when under load!

These are idle temps... (well, I'm downloading a game from Steam right now, while listening to music and writing this stuff ;-)). Under load, the CPU has gone up to a max of 47C! The video card is another story though :-p. The max temp the video card has reached has been 65C it's well under the 80C limit but maybe that new 120mm loud fan that I ordered will keep things even cooler (even if it's loud! I don't care!).

Conclusion

I have to say, it's a great feeling coming back to what I used to do and love and enjoy it! Yes I was scared shitless because a lot of things could have gone wrong (I could have messed up the CPU, receive bad Memory modules, etc. etc.) but they didn't.
If you are reading this, and haven't build yourself a PC in a while, just go out and do it, you wont regret it.

BTW, everything here (except for the video card and the case) was bought at NewEgg.com!

NEWEGG.COM

Any comments, etc. feel free to do so.

Check it!

Snippet of "Te Quiero"

2010-04-08T22:02:00.001-07:00

I forgot I had uploaded a small piece of a song I wrote last year to YouTube. It's called "Te Quiero" (I Love You) because I lack any originality! HEHEHEHE I'll post it here cause I'm bored.

There's a full version on my soundclick.com page (look at the arrow -->)

Hopefully, by tomorrow I'll have the computer parts I ordered! I think it's better to talk about that! :-p

Check it.

Shure SRH-440 mini review

2010-04-06T21:13:00.000-07:00

Introduction

Last year, after using open Sony cans that served me well for what seemed to be a lifetime, I decided that it was time to look for new cans, ones that would let me get lost in my world while I was at work and to use for recording ideas that sometimes hit my head. The search was long and hard. I read hundreds of reviews from different sites, different types of headsets (i.e. in-ear, closed, open, etc.) and in the end I still did not know what I wanted. Enter Shure:

Now, this company is no stranger to the audio business. Anyone that has seen ANY concert knows their presence since the SM57 is one of the most-used microphones ever. It seems they are gathering a strong presence also in the earphone business, something I did NOT know of. When I looked at the SRH series, I felt in love. Then I read some of the reviews and it was a given, I NEEDED TO OWN ONE OF THESE.

SRH-440

I got the SRH-440, they're the middle pair of the SRH series.
Now, remember on that first paragraph when I said I wanted new headphones to use at work/home? Well, I bring back that note because these cans are BIG. Really big! Also, these cans are HEAVY and these cans make use of a 10 foot long COILED cable!!! Trust me, you wouldn't want to use these while walking in the mall or wherever... get some cheap in-ears for that.

Stats:

* Transducer type: Dynamic neodymium magnet
* Driver size: 40 mm
* Sensitivity (1kHz): 105 dB
* Impedance (1kHz): 44 Ω
* Max. input power (1kHz): 500 mW
* Frequency range: 10 Hz - 22 kHz
* Net weight (without cable): 181 g
* Length of cable: 3 meters
* Type of cable: Detachable coiled oxygen-free copper
* Plug: Gold-plated 1/8" (3.5 mm) stereo mini jack

Package Contents

* Shure SRH440 Professional Closed Back Headphones
* Replacement ear cushions
* Threaded 6.35mm gold-plated adapter
* Detachable Coiled cable
* Travel pouch

Even though these are intended for musicians and they even mention the word "MONITOR" when describing these, they do not have a flat response, meaning there is some "coloring" when listening to music and that does not a good pair of monitors make... but that doesn't mean they don't sound AWESOME!!!!!!!! And that's the best thing, you get immersed with the sound they produce.

Sound

Let me start saying, I'm no expert. I'm no musician. I'm not an enthusiast! I'm just an end user with very distinct tastes. I can listen everything from Chopin to freaking Dillinger Escape Plan but I want them to sound good :-p and believe me, these pair sounds great. Pop in the "Fuck Buttons" and you'll hear every effect, every beat perfectly! Put on some Underoath, Killswitch Engage, etc. and you'll hear every bass line more clearly, every lick sounds fucking tasty and that's what's important. Definitely the sound is what puts this headset on the map! The only negatives with the sound... vocals!! I mean, the whole mid-range is kind of weak, but other than that the balance is quite good.

Sure, the headphones do have its cons, but overall, these are the best pair my ears have had the pleasure of hearing (and I've had some Seinheisers, Grados, etc... they are all good, but they also have their differences and if you give me some SR60s, I'll pick the Shures!)

Conclusion

Shure did enter the headphone arena with a fucking bang! Love the sound produced by the SRH-440 and the design is great. Being closed earphones, you can indeed use them for recording on a studio but be aware of the slight coloration. The best part about all of this, that I had not mentioned, these cans only cost $100 bucks. Heck, if you go to amazon.com, you'll probably find them cheaper now!! (they were a hundred when I bought them like 6 months ago!!)

So if you are looking for great headphones and are on a budget, my vote is for the Shure SRH-440 and no other. If you are looking for great headphones, are on a budget, but you don't record, then get the Grados SR60s. If you don't like open/close and are looking for in-ear ones... then do whatever, I don't really care for those! hehehehe :-p

Pros:

Great sound
Detachable cable
Removable/replaceable earcups
Great build quality and foldable
Close-back design (meaning, they don't leak sound!)
$100

Cons:

Heavy
Not very portable
No flat response

See you later guys/gals!

God's Reflex (The Band)

2010-01-31T05:46:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone.

Just wanted to post about this band. They might not be the best, heck, they are not even that good but for some reason I seem to like their music. They come from the independent scene and I bought their latest CD "When it's Down to This". I liked it that much that I went to Amazon.com to look for their other CDs. Anyway, since it seems almost no one knows them, I decided to upload a song from the "Scenes from a Motel Seduction" album. You can see it right here:

Enjoy.

P.S. I still have to post my SUBJECTIVE headphone review. Also, my new/old Nokia E71 is coming... I'll make a review of that too! Bye.

PanDigital 5x7 Photo Scanner

2009-11-23T11:20:00.000-08:00

I really cannot believe this.
How low can I go?

I was channel surfing like a month ago and there wasn’t anything that got a hold of my attention. The same shows, the same movies, etc. In my search for entertainment I stopped at a specific channel, a specific SHOPPING channel, you know the one… QVC! There was a technology show going on there and since I was bored I decided to keep watching it. WHAT A MISTAKE THAT WAS! I ended up ordering:

So this is a tiny Photo Scanner capable of scanning up to 5x7 pictures. I was at the time scanning my photos with an old, heavy and big scanner which wasn’t even mine. I took the plunge and ordered this because it looked promising. What is really good about it is that I don’t even need this to be connected to the PC as it stores the pictures in the SD card slot of the scanner (and the box already includes a 1GB SD Card.

Specifications:

Supported Media - Media card formats
SD, MS, MS Pro, MMC, XD

Memory Card Reader: Built-in 5-in-1

Connectivity: Mini USB 2.0

Power Input: 100-240W

Scanning Document Size: Up to 5x7 inch images

Photo Feeding: Sheet Feed Type

Output Image Format: JPEG

Resolution: 600 dpi

Additional Feature: Dimensions --> 7.5"W x 1.75"H x 3"D / 1 lb

And that’s it.
Everything you need comes inside the Box.
We have:

1) AC Power Adapter
2) Mini-USB to USB cable
3) 1GB SD Card
4) Manual, Registration Card, etc.
5) Cleaning Kit
6) Scanner

As you can see by the picture above, the box is pretty complete and the SD card even comes with a software you can run/install to your PC for further picture modifications (I haven’t used it and I’m pretty sure I never will hehehehe :-p

As advertised, the scanner really takes less than 10 seconds to scan a whole picture. I was going to record some video of it in action but haven’t had time to do it yet. Picture quality is good too (at least it is WAY BETTER than the big Epson scanner I was using!) And what I love the most is that it is so tiny, you can really put it anywhere on your desktop and it will fit.

I will post some scan samples later in the week.

All in all, I believe this was a great purchase for just $100 (including shipping!).
I highly recommend this for someone looking to substitute a big scanner (of course, only if you are using it to scan pictures!) or for someone looking specifically for a photo scanner. You wont be disappointed.

Check it!

DecalGirl PS3 Skin Kit

2009-10-26T19:04:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

So a friend of mine at work was doing what we all usually do at work (browse the net -- don't tell anyone!) and stumbled on a website selling different skins for a bunch of gadgets and gaming consoles (Xbox, DS, PSP, iPods, etc.)

DecalGirl.com

Since he owns a PS3 he started looking at some of the custom skins they had there and sent me his choice via e-mail. I thought: "WTF!?! The PS3 is a gorgeous console (although big and heavy as hell) why would you butcher it by applying some God-awful skin?" After 5 minutes looking at some designs, I was ready to order one! hehehehe Oh the irony! And since, well, like I've said before, I'm compulsive, I ordered one.

Decided on "World Killer" (since I enjoy all those space/sci-fi themes anywhere (be it art, movies, etc.)

World Killer PS3 Theme

Now, as you can see in the pictures, it arrives in a neat package (both the console and controller skins). Also, the PS3 kit is divided in 3 parts: Main Console, Memory Card compartment and Power/Eject area strip. Picture/graphics quality is excellent and I can tell you that their "Guarantee" is real. I did NOT see any smudging, nor fading as of now.

Installation:

My GOOOOODDDD what a pain in the ass this was to put on! lol
I think I spent half an hour to try and put the "main" part of the skin on my PS3 and I still ended up with air bubbles all over the place! :-( Slowly but surely I could put it MOSTLY correct. They have "instructions" on the website but what I would really recommend is: GET ANOTHER PERSON TO HELP!!!!

(you can see that one section was botched up on this picture!!! lol)

Anyway, if you get anyone to help, this can be done in like 10 minutes and your PS3 will look just like you want it without spending a lot of money.

The controller skin was actually easier to put than the main console one. It looks like a great quality skin and does not feel uncomfortable at all when playing. Hopefully that one will not smudge or fade because of the constant use (also, another good point, these skins will not leave ugly, sticky "glue" on your console if you decide to remove them in the future -- at least that's what they say! hehehe).

Now to the most important question: DO I recommend this?

Answer: Hell Yeahhh.

If you are looking to give an extra ooommmpphh to your PS3 or whatever gadget, find a skin that suits you, that you like and try it. These skins are fairly cheap (I'm surprised because they seem to be of very high quality!!) so you wont be feeling "buyer's remorse" if you decide that you don't like it later!

All in all, Thumbs Up!!!

Check it peeps!

Motorola Droid Preview...

2009-10-25T19:37:00.000-07:00

Uuufff

I'm not really a fan of these multi-purpose phones (i.e to me a phone is just to make calls and if I want internet or any other thing I use a MID, UMPC, etc.) But this one:

Motorola Droid

sure got me interested! The spec list is as long as my... well not that short.. hehehehehe Check out the preview above and you'll know what I'm talking about.

DC VGA Box, Case Logic bag etc.

2009-10-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

Hello peeps!

A new post equals other items in the stash of the compulsive buyer called Angel. On this “edition” I’ll give my input on a couple of things I ordered from what’s becoming my favorite place to order stuff… eBay! Actually, it’s the worst place also for a compulsive biiiaaatttchhh like me, but what the heck. I’m going to start with an oldie but goodie,

1) Dreamcast VGA Box

This last month was the Dreamcast console 10th anniversary, I’d figured I make use of it a bit by playing a couple of games like Rayman 2, Skies of Arcadia, etc. All was well until I could not find my VGA box (Dreamcast was one of the first consoles to use a higher definition output). I had to use the normal RCA cables to put up the shots from a previous post so I went to eBay to look for a replacement (since my super duper cheapo Vizio Plasma has VGA input).

This is just like the device I had before and consists of a VGA/Audio output on one side, normal RCA output on the other side and a switch to select between VGA and RCA (which is really good since some games don’t output in VGA mode!). Tested it out, works as expected and definitely VGA games look sharper on the TV. The cost, only $15 bucks and the Dreamcast will still be connected on that TV until it dies (or I move! Hehehe)

2) Case Logic Netbook Bag

So, since I’m the proud owner of a Toshiba NB205-310 netbook, I needed something to store this beautiful thing on but I really did not wanted a pouch or something like that. I began looking at bags but a lot of them were too darn big. Then, I found a good looking small bag capable of handling 10.1 inch netbooks. The problem was that the store did NOT ship to Puerto Rico (as if we were in the freaking Twilight Zone!) Anyway, back again I went to… eBay! Lol

The cool thing about this bag is that it not only stores the netbook but also it’s accessories. In fact, right now I have the netbook, the charger, the USB GPS (more on this later :-p), and I can even put the Archos 7 there. Nice! The bag doesn’t feel heavy at all with all of these things in and seems well made (though more padding in the netbook partition would have been welcomed. Overall, I like it.

3) Globalsat BU-353 USB GPS

So I wanted to have GPS capabilities without carrying around my netbook AND my Mio Moov 310 GPS units so I figured: “Hey! I can just buy a USB GPS thingie, install a Windows app and be done with it. The Globalsat unit is a beast. It actually acquires the satellites very quickly and coupled with Garmin Mobile PC software, it is basically a 10 inch navigational system that you can use it anywhere (pretty much like a normal GPS unit except that you get more battery life with the netbook and it’s 10 inches lol).

The simple case comes with the USB unit (tiny and looks like a squashed PC mouse) a suction adapter and a CD with software. Have not used the CD and it works well (my netbook recognized it without the need of installing special drivers). I had a copy of the Garmin software and it is quite good.

Overall, pretty good.
Will I use it in my car?
OF COURSE NOT! I would need a Ram-Mount in order to use my netbook as a GPS, but I think this device is a good companion for anyone that has a netbook.

4) OCZ High Performance 2GB Laptop Ram

Yes, I’m already thinking about upgrading my netbook to Windows 7 and I saw a 2GB laptop module for cheap over at?!?!?! EBay! Hehehe I couldn’t resist so I ordered it. The Toshiba is easily update-able so I removed the 1GB module and replaced it with the new one. It seems I can load a couple of more items (I.e. better multitask) so I guess Win7 will run good on this (I’m still waiting to see battery life reports using Win7 and waiting for Toshiba to port more of their utilities to Vista/7.)

I guess that’s all for now guys.
I ordered an Archos 5 Internet Tablet Android of 32GB SSD and I CANCELLED THE ORDER. I’m reading some positives but a ton of cons. Still don’t know if I’ll give Archos another chance… thinking about the Viliv… if it wasn’t so freaking expensive… but it would work oh so well with that Garmin GPS software... :-p

Check it later guys.!

Improving Netbook Video Performance....

2009-09-19T18:48:00.000-07:00

I think I found the best web post ever!!!! lol

I've been visiting the Pocketables.net website for quite some time and like 3 weeks ago I decided to check the forums (I just visited the site for the reviews, unboxing of gadgets, etc.)... boy am I GLAD I did.

If you have a netbook then you know that yes, although you can play Divx, Xvid movies, MKVs or High-Def videos are out of the question. They become choppy and unwatchable. I followed the instructions on this post:

Improve Video for Sony Vaio P

and I'm watching a 720p video of Marquez vs Paquiao II without stuttering!

BRILLIANT! Although the instructions are for a Sony Vaio P using Windows XP, the method works for my netbook (Toshiba NB-205 with a different graphics chipset), the only step you have to skip is, TO NOT DOWNLOAD THE VIDEO DRIVERS supplied on the link!! Other than that, download: CoreAVC, KMPlayer and set the software as per the pictures on the post (which I wont post here since the post is not mine!)

If you have a netbook, I really recommend this!!!

Check it.

Archos 5 Android plus that "other" release...

2009-09-15T16:24:00.000-07:00

Hello guys and gals.

Today is quite a special day in the world of PMPs... Microsoft Zune HD is already moving everywhere (online and off), the latest MS update is live (so that you can play with your new Zune HD) and the might Archos 5 IMT Android was released for public viewing and MIGHT be available for purchase tomorrow! Oh my dear Archos, you should know HOW MUCH I HATE YOU, but it's just because I love you!!!! lol

As you might be aware by now, I'm an Archos advocate, and although the latest one I got (The Archos 7) is great, there are those random locks and reboots Archos is known for. With this new Archos 5 Android though, we are seeing the new generation of PMPs completely integrating:

1) Video
2) Music
3) Internet
4) Recording
5) GPS, Bluetooth, Wifi (n), etc.

Worst thing, just like 4 months ago I bought the 7... and now... I'm thinking about buying this one! That's what happens when you love gadgets and you are compulsive!! lol But, I will WAIT! I know Archos, I know their reputation, but this new unit is just too tempting.

Heck, see it yourselves: Archos 5 Android Hands-On by ENGADGET

Now the big deal here for me (which would make it a must buy!) is the GPS functionality. But... I know what you are saying, don't you already have a GPS Nav?
Of course I do! lol BUT, why have another unit to carry when I can just use one for everything? You can also ask: why don't you just get a USB dongle for your NETBOOK? Hmmmm... I already ordered one (review coming soon!) but again, it's not too practical nor safe having a netbook in the car and even with a RAM-MOUNT, I would not like that there!

So, I was checking out my options and I had gotten to the conclusion that I would need a Viliv X70EX unit:

This one is KIND-OF a netbook. It has an Atom CPU, 1GB Ram, 32GB SSD (plus Micro SD slot), it also has GPS and since it's based on WinXP, you can install any GPS software you'd like! The only bad thing, PRICE!! At almost $800 this is really not that good a deal.

But the Archos 5 Android will start at $200 probably for an 8GB SSD version!!! (with 160GB HD units going for $350 maybe!). The only thing I would need to make sure of is that GPS works here in Puerto Rico (i.e. that the GPS software includes maps for this place!). If it does, bye bye Mio Moov and hello Archos 5!

Still, it's better to wait for them to work their kinks though. Usually the first Archos adopters ARE THE BETA TESTERS for this company so I will probably wait a while for more info.

So as of now, PROS for the Archos 5 Android:

- Good battery Life (expect 20 hours music / 6 for video -- at low LCD light of course)
- Would be my FIRST Android Device
- Built-In GPS
- Same codec support as before WITHOUT PAYING FOR THE PLUG-INS!!! (yeah I SHAT my pants when I read that!!!)
- Support for MKV files (HD Video support, not WMV related! :-p)
- WiFi (802.11 b/g/n)
- Bluetooth 2.0
- FM transmitter and receiver (RDS)

CONS

- Android platform and Archos Linux working at the same time (hmmmm... let's see how it handles crashes!!!)
- GPS lack of details
- There would still be things Archos will probably charge us for
- NO FLASH support as of now (Adobe is STILL working on an update for Mobile Devices, this includes Android support in Archos!)
- Low volumes as always
- Did I mentioned crashes!?!? :-p

Still, I believe that the "Pros" kick the "Cons" ass! :-p
And of course, this is a better value than the Viliv, so ... we'll see...

I'll see....

Angel's Credit Card: "Please nooooo, I'm almost maxed out!! NOOOOOOO!!!!"

:-p

Toshiba NB205 + Ubuntu = Goodness

2009-09-11T18:52:00.000-07:00

After more than 5 years without touching a Linux distribution, I decided to take the plunge...
I mean, what do I have to lose? (ed. TIME! lol).
Since I acquired the Toshiba NB205, I've been using it a lot more at home, outside, etc. and I figured: "Hey, why don't I just dual boot this with a new OS? But what should I try? There are so many distros out there! I finally decided on Ubuntu Netbook Remix:

Ubuntu Netbook Remix

Heard a lot of good things about this version running rather well on netbooks and decided to install it. But first a question, how much compatible is the Toshiba NB205 with Ubuntu. I kept looking for answers and investigating and it seemed that Ubuntu could NOT recognize the Atheros Wifi chip on the Toshiba nor the sound. The sound is not a huge deal but, THE WIFI!!!!!

Ubuntu Wiki Page

I stumbled upon this page and noticed that there were workarounds for both (more on that later!) So I began the process which I will detail below.

First of all, since netbooks DO NOT have CD/DVD players, you would need to get a live CD or better yet, download the image and use a USB thumb drive or SD card (since the Toshiba can boot from any of these). Now, I thought this step was going to be difficult but thanks to all of the documentation available online, I did it without a snap. Word of caution,

BACKUP YOUR SYSTEM!!!!!!!!!

I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH!!!!!

First time I installed Ubuntu I rendered the Windows XP partition useless and had to re-install windows from the Recovery Partition (which I did NOT delete when I was installing Ubuntu... thank God! hehehehehe). So before you start anything you could probably download the best Free partitioner out there: EASUS Partition Master

EASUS Partition Master

Note: IF you did like I did and cannot boot into Windows, and If you DID NOT DELETED the Recovery partition, I miracously could access it by changing a setting in GRUB and access that partition. Once you do a warning message will appear in the screen and you can restore the system to factory defaults. Drop me a note in the comments if you need help.

With this you can resize the current "C:\" drive (Windows XP partition) and create whatever partitions you want for your Unix install (I usually use 2, one for root and one for swap! I don't format them, I just leave the 2 partitions as is after resizing). The software will ask you for a reboot after you apply changes and if all goes well, then do the following:

(Assuming you already downloaded the image file)

** From within WinXP, enable the Wifi if you haven't done so by pressing the Function (Fn) key + F8 **

Step 1. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/FromImgFiles
Step 2. Reboot your computer (leave the thumb drive inside)
Step 3. Once the BIOS appears (Toshiba logo), press F12.
Step 4. From the menu that appears, select the boot option detailing
"SD/USB/etc.." and press Enter. It will boot from the USB drive so be patient.
Step 5. Ubuntu menu appears, choose "Install Ubuntu"

Step 6. From there you get to choose the Prefered language, timezone, keyboard layout, etc.

Step 7. You will reach a section which will ask you if you want to Install Ubuntu on the whole hard drive, if you want to Dual Boot or if you want to manually partition the drive (which should be already partitioned if you followed the EASUS step ;-)). Once you select this one, you will see the disk space available for your installation and if you created more than 1 partition like I did, you can assign them root, swap, /etc, etc.

Step 8. Once you finish this, more details are asked regarding log-in information and then the install will start.

It will take a few minutes to install from the USB so be patient. Once it's finished, it will tell you to remove the USB drive and press Enter in order for the system to reboot.

Once it does this, the GRUB menu will appear and will let you choose if you want to log into Ubuntu and WinXP. Select the WINDOWS XP choice to see if the windows install was messed up somehow by the Ubuntu install. If you can log in and use WinXP correctly, then more power to you ;-)

Reboot the machine again and log into Ubuntu.

Once you are there (it should take like 2 minutes) you will notice that Wifi is not working. It seems that the Kernel that comes with Ubuntu Netbook Remix doesn't have the Atheros drivers installed so follow this:

Step 1. Connect the Toshiba NB205 through the Ethernet port so that you have Wired Internet Access.
Step 2. Do a full system update by going to Administration -> Update Manager.
Check for updates first, then install them. It will probably ask you to reboot the netbook. Do it! Now you will see a new version of the kernel in the GRUB menu. Select it and boot normaly.

Step 3. Now, go to Administration -> Software Sources.
In the Updates tab check "Unsupported updates (jaunty-backports)".
Step 4. Repeat step 2.
Step 5. Now click on Accessories, Click on the Terminal icon and write the following on the terminal:

sudo apt-get install linux-backports-modules-jaunty

(it will probably ask you for your password!)

Accept request to install the packages, and reboot.
Disconnect the Ethernet cable and like magic, your Wifi WILL work.

Now you can enjoy both OS'es in this tiny machine.

Another Note though, it seems battery consumption is way higher in Linux than in Windows, so, you have been warned! (but anyways you also have XP so ...)

To have sound back there are a few options to go through. I went the easy route (already linked up top!) and got sound through my headphones. I'll try the other methods later I guess.

And that is it.
Check it!

Dreamcast 10th birthday coming up...

2009-09-07T18:27:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone.

I was just reminded by a member of the PSNPR.COM group (a Playstation 3 fan page), that the Dreamcast had a birthday coming up. I was like: "Really!? Already it's 10th year?" and boy oh boy, time sure does fly!

Ten years ago (1999) I was a sophomore at college, and I was flunking my classes, which is why I started drinking hehehehe, and still was receiving my favorite magazine of all time EGM (no longer published! :( ) and there was a lot of hype behind this SEGA console. The specs were amazing at the time:

RISC CPU (SH4) by Hitachi
128-bit on-die vector graphics engine
PowerVR2 GPU
Yamaha AICA sound processor
Built-in Modem
Modified Windows CE OS
etc. etc.

The system was looking good and it looked promising but... there's always a but... Looking at past SEGA consoles history made me think twice about getting it. I had a Sega Master System when I was like 6 years old. I also had the Sega Genesis, the Sega Game Gear, I was a Sega fanboy! (I didn't have an NES, and I bought a SNES later in the system's lifespan.) Then the SegaCD came... crappy hardware with crappy games. Then the 32X which I almost bought and THANK GOD I didn't. Then finally the super powerful Sega Saturn which nobody knew how to program games for it... So you can see why I was hesitant. After September, SEGA announced that it had sold 500,000 units in a couple of weeks and not only this, it was the best software launch in probably video game history and I had the itch, but I did not cave in. At that time, I was way too much into PCs (Computer Science major yo! :-p) and I left consoles behind (except for my roommates that had a Sony Playstation).

Fast-forward a few years and Sonic Adventure 2 and NBA2K2 happened. That was the first time that I really noticed the system (even though the PS2 was already released by then). One of my housemates (I had moved from the first apartment at this time ;-)) had the Dreamcast and I fell in love with it. We began playing a whole bunch of NBA2k2 and I was sold. I had not seen animation like that ever. Sonic, well, I already had a crush with Sonic (I did loved my Sega Genesis!) and Sonic Adventure 2 was right up my alley. I fell in love once again and the Dreamcast I have right now is that same one that belonged to my housemate lol!!!

(pardon the "hiss"... I forgot to turn off the Fan and my old Sony Cam picks up EVERYTHING! :-p)

Personally, I believe this console had the best games off all systems even going head to head with the PS2. Sega didn't put much faith in it though and stopped selling the system in 2002. Still, Japan was still spitting out games and there were a bunch of them that we had not played. We got the Virtua Tennis, Soul Calibur, Crazy Taxi, etc. etc. And let's not forget the cult classics like: Space Channel 5, Shenmue, Ikaruga, Berserk and a bunch of others.

My Top DC Games (in no particular order):

NBA2K2
Rez
Sonic Adventure 2
Grandia 2
Skies of Arcadia
Jet Grind Radio
Metropolis Street Racer
Soul Calibur

Even though Sega is out of the hardware business, at least they retired with dignity creating one of the best consoles ever, bringing us online play to the masses and awesome games. They paved the way for the Xbox (easy of programming and online access) and probably for this new generation of machines.

Dreamcast is #8 on the IGN Top 25 Consoles of ALL TIME

Put it simply, the DREAMCAST should have been more. It is way underrated and a lot of people missed the opportunity of having fun with one of the best consoles that have ever been mass produced!

So if you are reading this, HOP ON EBAY AND LOOK FOR A CONSOLE!!!
You WON'T be disappointed. (and if you are, don't sue me! :-p)

And if you need further proof:

BitMob Blog Entry

MobCast Episode - Reminiscing DC

Check it.

I guess I'm a statistic now... lol

2009-08-31T18:21:00.000-07:00

Click ME!!!!

My POV, netbooks are REALLY usable. They are not a laptop/desktop replacement, they are more of like a companion and I believe this is why it's selling so well. Yeah, people have their Iphones, Palm Pre's, Blackberries, etc. but do you really want to surf the internet and even write emails on those little things?!?!

Trust me, once you have a netbook, any viewpoint you might have WILL change (speaking from experience!).

See you later guys!

Couple of pics and professional reviews...

2009-08-23T06:53:00.000-07:00

I was looking into writing a review for the Toshiba NB205 but after looking at a couple of reviews on the net I was basically going to reach the same conclusions, so instead of posting the whole thing, I'll just post some links and my overview and of course, some pics...

NotebookReview.com take on the NB205

LaptopMag.com take on the NB205

Some pics...

Toshiba Mini arrived at my doorstep yesterday...

2009-08-22T09:12:00.000-07:00

and it sure it's pretty! (at least prettier than the Acer to my eyes -- only negative on looks it's a big bezel where the integrated webcam is...).

I'll upload a couple of pictures and my take on it soon.

Check.

P.S. Writing this from it's beautiful island-style keyboard.. :-p

After the Archos I guess the next step...

2009-08-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

is an UMPC!!!!
Uhhhhh... a MID?!?!!!
Naaaaahhhh I'm a talking about a netbook son! :-p
So I went to the local Walmart and picked up an Acer Aspire One D250-1326 (white) just to test it out because... well ... I'm a dork!

Specification:

Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition (SP3 version)
Intel® Atom™ Processor N270 (512KB L2 cache, 1.60GHz, 533MHz FSB)
1GB DDR2 533 SDRAM
160GB hard drive
Multi-in-one card reader
10.1" WSVGA (1024 x 600) TFT display Acer® CrystalBrite Technology
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950
802.11b/g WLAN, 10/100 LAN
Webcam
Seashell white chassis
Three-cell battery
One-year limited warranty

So first things first, most of the netbooks out there HAVE THE SAME SPECIFICATIONS, so there's nothing new there... BUT, what really messes this unit up is the 3 cell battery! With a 3 cell battery, is not worth it having a netbook as it brings only 3 hours max. of usage! But we'll get to that...

What's included?

It's a pretty organized package and it consists of:

- Netbook
- AC Adapter
- Battery (3-cell)
- Instructions

And that's pretty much it!

Is it really small!?

It is definitely portable!
When I first picked it up I thought I was going to break the thing! ;-)
But no, it is small but sturdy. It doesn't feel cheap. The unit weighs less than 3 pounds and measures 10.2" (258.5mm) W x 7.2" (184.0mm) D x 1.0” (25.4) H. So I was happy seeing it in action. I took some shots against my Archos 7 and against a normal size laptop.

So... as seen by the pictures, yep, it is that small.

Performance:

If you are used to a desktop or a good laptop then you will miss them dearly! lol These netbooks are dogs compared to desktops/laptops. They are made frankly for internet browsing and non-CPU intensive stuff... maybe some Office work, listening to music and SD videos. I tested this machine opening some Powerpoint presentations, Word Documents, etc. I had saved and it performed really well. Internet browsing was a pleasure, installed Firefox and had like 7 tabs opened and performance was not suffering. Played some mp3 files I had while browsing, and again, all was good. For movies though, the Divx files I tested were Ok... I tried playing an MKV I had lying around my external hard drive (Pacquiao vs Hatton ;-)) and well... let's just say.. STICK WITH DIVX VIDEOS! ;-)

The keyboard and pad was not that bad but again, if you are used to normal size keyboards, you will struggle for a few hours... but after a bit I was writing stuff up as normal (writing this from there) and flowing.

This netbook recognized my network quite quickly. Inserted the password and I was downloading new antivirus software from the comfort of my bed! :-p Speeds were good transfering files also.

Basically what I'm getting at, this little unit is very usable! I haven't used it out but I have a feeling I will!... though... NOT THIS NETBOOK

The only thing that got to me was the 3 cell battery! If I'm going to have a netbook, I want one that will at least last half a day and not 2 or 3 hours. So, the best thing about Walmart, you can return the merch and ask for a refund! ;-)

I will look into getting the Toshiba Mini NB205-310. It looks good, keyboard is even bigger and their 6-cell battery lasts up to 8 hours!!!!!!! Now that is nice!

Anyway, that's all.
Just a quick overview for this netbook in particular.

Should I get a netbook?

Well, it depends on what you really want/need.
If you have a network at home and like to do things from different rooms whether it is working, browsing, etc. while you are in bed, taking a crap or whatever, then this is a really good SUPPLEMENT to any system you might have. It should do well outside too.

But remember... as a SUPPLEMENT to an existing system this is a-ok. As a main system... DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!!!! Better spend a few more bucks and get a good all-around laptop. But for small work tasks, internet browsing, music and SD movies, these 10 inchers do their job!!!!!

Any comments, feel free to post!

Bye.

Archos 7 Review...

2009-08-08T13:51:00.000-07:00

Hello guys and gals.

So finally, after a few weeks of major use of the so called "Internet Media Tablet", the Archos 7, I can say without question that this is indeed definitely the PMP to have! We will get into the pros and cons in a bit but let me talk to you about my experiences.

Do you need the Archos 7?

The Archos 7 is the 6th generation of PMP players from Archos and definitely one-ups the previous iterations. The design is bolder and beautiful (both the Archos 5 and 7) than their previous counterparts the Archos 605 and 705, battery life has been improved, the internet browser plug-in is now free once you register your player and internet navigation is faster. Now if you are questioning, why the heck did you buy the Archos 7? Well, that's easy! I'm already the proud owner of an Archos 605 WiFi 30GB unit and I believe it is indeed one of the finest, if not the finest, portable media player out there. Yes it is kind of bulky and not so pretty but it does its job and it does it well! Since I'm a movie buff, I wanted a player with a bigger screen but most important, those "measly" 30GB from the 605 were already coming to an end... I needed something with more capacity and that's where the Archos 7 came in! So the answer to this first question, do you need the Archos 7, it will really depend on what PMP you have right now and your needs! If you use your PMPs for music as the main use, then you can get the 5 or another lighter and smaller player. If you are into movies, then you will know my answer! ;-)

The box contains the following:

1) USB Transfer cable (Proprietary!)
2) Cheapo In-ear Headphones (Plastic and uncomfortable!)
3) Charger (with multiple plugs for the different regions of the world!)
4) Plastic thingie for the Docking Station if you decide to buy one
5) Cleaning Cloth
6) Quick Start Guide, promotional stuff and Legal and Safety Notice documentation

Is it really that big?

Ohhhh yes it is! lol
Is not only big, it's heavy as hell! ;-)
The dimension for this is, according to their web page, Approx. 190 x 110 x 16 mm ; 7.48" x 4.33" x 0.629". The weight is Approx. 640 gr.; 23oz.. definitely greater than my trusty 605. But maybe some pics will give you a better indication of what am talking about... and just forget those numbers above! hehehehe

(and yes, that's a Swiffer in the corner! -- which I don't use often! hehehehe)

Internet Media Tablet?

Archos is selling the Archos 5 and 7 as Internet Media Tablets and well, they are kind of stretching it for a bit. Why? When your browser doesn't even include a FULL version of Flash (they have Flash Lite), you cannot reaaaaally call your unit an Internet Media Tablet so I will refer to them as PMPs with great WIFI capabilities! :-p Internet access via WiFi has definitely improved over the previous version (at least it is way faster than my 605!). The touchscreen is definitely more responsive and thanks to the big screen, the software keyboard is more convenient and responds quite well to either your thumbs or nails! The unit also found my Media Server quite fast and I was listening to the music in my PC in seconds! I don't have any complaints regarding the Wifi use on this thing (great to use while in the crapper and you want to see your email! hehehehe)... Speaking of E-mail, they include an application where you can configure the email directly from there (provided you have the POP settings).

Also, they have included a "WebTV and Web Radio" application but I'm not really into that kind of thing though. It works, but.. meeehhhhh I guess Iif I buy a PMP I will load it with the music and movies I want to watch with the quality I expect so I don't have much use for this app.

How is it as a music player?

First I have to say that the best improvement over the 605 or even the Archos 5 is the battery life!!!! Rated by the company as 39 hours running time, I could get 31 hours easily just listening to music (no videos, no internet or wifi use, headphones at almost Max and LCD brightness at Medium!). Music reproduction is comparable to the 605 and the Equalizer settings are extremely similar, if not the same, to the 605. The Archos 7 provides support for stereo MP3 decoding @ 30-320 Kbits/s CBR & VBR. It also supports WMA, Protected WMA, WMA pro 5.1 and WAV (PCM/ADPCM). Finally it can read FLAC and OGG Vorbis (via FIRMWARE UPDATE!) and AC3 stereo audio and 5.1 sound files (via SPDIF output of DVR Station -- which I did not buy since I have the 605 for that now... more of that in a bit!) Archos has plug-ins to support more formats (AAC3 and AAC+)

There's one bug though... if the album art is embedded on the MP3, the sound usually skips at the start of the track... It's a bit annoying but I can live with that.

How is this big thing as a Movie Player?

One word: AWESOME
I have to say though, the screen COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER!
For a 7-incher, it sports the same resolution as the Archos 5 (800 x 480) and it is NOT a glossy screen (such as the 5 -- but Archos is also making matte screens for the 5). I don't mind it at all because it looks GREAT! Battery life for Video Playback is rated at an astonishing 10 hours... for me it lasted 6 hours with Max Volume using headphones and Medium brightness (they probably tested with Low brightness). What formats does it supports?

MPEG-42 (ASP@L5 AVI, up to DVD resolution)
WMV (MP@ML, up to DVD resolution) including WMV protected files
M-JPEG (Motion JPEG Video) in QVGA resolution
Flash videos

With optional plug-in:
HD support: MPEG-4 (ASP 720p) & WMV HD (MP 720p)
H.264 up to DVD resolution with AAC
MPEG-2 MP@ML up to 10 Mbps (up to DVD resolution) and AC3 stereo sound (5.1)

So all of my Divx and Xvid, Digital Copy files, etc. are playable and they look great. HD content plays great but be aware, there's a SIZE restriction, so those MKVs you download you'll probably have to convert them (I did convert them to WMV HD and it looks A-OK!!!!) Also, I have experienced crashes while watching videos and it's sporadic... (it's as if the Hard Disk unmounts itself and you have to power-off and power-on the unit! :-( )

Anything else?!?

Well, as everyone that follows the PMP scene should know, Archos likes, no scratch that, LOVES to milk their units! They SELL what should come with these expensive units for free. For music and videos you would need to buy some plug-ins in order to play everything if you don't want to convert stuff. If you would like to record shows from the TV, then you will need to buy the 6th generation DVR Station (yes guys/gals, the old one doesn't work!), etc. In order to output to my TV, I had to buy the Mini Dock (it's on the First picture here!) and it works Ok!

Also, the Archos units supports some Widgets and Games... it's Ok but this is not really an iPod Touch killer here!

Should I go for this? Or just get a netbook?

This is an INTERESTING QUESTION!
With a netbook you can do most of what you can with the Archos 7 but a bit better (i.e. Full Internet access, real keyboard, etc.) Also, there are CHEAPER netbooks out there and they also play music, videos, etc. So... what's my take? If you plan to do a bit of work in the internet (i.e. a lot of typing involved) and don't mind carrying a bigger unit (most of the netbooks sport a 10 inch display) then you can spend your $350 or $400 on a netbook... I'm thinking of buying one just for the heck of it... but BE AWARE, Battery life will be lower unless you get one with a 6-cell battery... and that would probably defeat the portability of the netbook but again, the Archos 7 is NOT that portable anyway... ;-)
So in the end it will be your choice.

Or just buy BOTH! :-p

(Following pictures are from a Samsung NC-10 and Toshiba Mini 205)

Other Alternatives?

For video?!?
Forget about it!
Not Apple, Creative, Cowon, etc. have a unit as great as the Archos 7, PERIOD!!!

For music,
you could do a lot better (Cowon S9, Walkman X-Series, etc.)

For the complete package, well, the iPod Touch.
(note that all of the SDD units will lack a lot of disk space!)

Cowon S9 Reviews

Cowon S9 Review 1
TestFreaks site

Conclusion, Pros and Cons

All in all, I love the Archos even though I spend a few bucks for:

The Mini Dock
A JavoEdge Case
Plug-ins (via E-Bay of course it's WAY CHEAPER!)
etc.

There's a few annoyances such as the mentioned MP3 and album art issue, freezes while playing videos, etc. but I can live with those. Hopefully this unit will last me a ton and keep me entertained for a while.

Pros:

1) Best capacity (Hard disk space - 160GB or 320GB) for the money out there out of any competing player
2) Good screen (although it's a matte screen, not glossy and the res. could have been better!)
3) Great Battery life for music and video (I got 32 hours of music and 6:12 of video at medium back-light and full volume using headphones)
4) Battery is REMOVABLE!
5) Fast Internet Browsing
6) Touch support has been updated from previous players (very responsive!)
7) Soft-keyboard is great (mostly due to the big screen!)
8) Supports Flash (note: The OS includes Flash Lite and not a full flash version, hence some internet sites such as HULU are not viewable!)

Cons:

1) Random freezes when playing videos (I thought it was a specific codec combination but it seems to just happen randomly)
2) These units are billed as INTERNET MEDIA TABLETS and yet they don't offer FULL Flash support? Wow!
3) The need of PLUG-INS to unlock the FULL capability of the unit!
4) If album art are embedded on MP3s, the beginning of the tracks skip for a bit.
5) Total lack of support from Archos! (i.e. THEY ARE NOT PLANNING ON RELEASING MORE FIRMWARE UPDATES FOR THE ARCHOS 5 and ARCHOS 7!!!!)
6) The casing is a fingerprint magnet (bought a case just to avoid this! ;-)

Any suggestions, comments or questions, write it up! :-p

Thanks.
Have a great weekend!

So.. I guess I didn't

2009-07-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

do a review of neither the Moov GPS (overall, it's nice and useful for the price!) nor the Vizio 32 inch Plasma (it does the job for a small room... but it's not the best quality around!) but I guess I'll do one for my new toy. Heck, I did a long one for the Archos 605 Wifi 30GB, now I got the Archos 7...

I'll probably come back to a full review this week (After I get all of my plugins and stuff!).

Check.

Mio Moov 300 and Vizio VP322

2009-01-11T18:56:00.000-08:00

I have this new gear and I haven't had time to get some of my views on it! I will though, I will... but I wont promise shiiit! hehehehhee

Bye.

Playstation 3 is gaining steam...

2009-01-11T18:47:00.000-08:00

hehehe yeah right!
Oh well, I still have what I believe should have been Game of the Year!
I'm talking of course about Fallout 3. What I believe hurts the game are the freaking BUGS! This game crashed on me so many times that after that I was afraid of not saving my progress constantly. Still, I invested almost 60 hours on 1 save file and like 10 hours on another (being the Bad Bitch!! hehehe). Now I'm trying to unlock all of the trophies. I wont spoil anything regarding story or side-quests but if you are reading this, and you are a PS3 owner, there's no excuse to not own this!

Another game I played a bit was the big buzz title, Little Big Planet. I agree that it is a gorgeous title that it's being kept alive by the gaming community and all that but I HATE THE PLATFORMING HERE and sadly for me, this is a platforming game. I just can't stand the jumping physics! They should have worked on that more. I'll probably be returning this.

Resistance 2. I finally started playing this FPS and I have to say that not only does it looks great, it plays even better. And although I have not invested a lot of time with it, the little online playtime I had was freaking awesome! Hopefully I'll spend more time with this during the month.

Bad News:

- Still haven't played Metal Gear 4
- Still have not completed all of the trophies in Burnour :(
- Still have like 4 Blu Ray movies to go through! ;)
- Haven't played enough Rock Band 2!

If you are reading this, have a PS3 and a facebook account, you can join the following group:

PlayStation Network - Puerto Rico

Look for us!
We are already 166 members strong ;-)

Bye

So many movies and NO REVIEW?!!?

2009-01-11T18:19:00.000-08:00

Hehehehe I know!
I haven't had time to even post 1 review! :-(

For the updated movie list visit:

My Movies

I have to say though, a few snippets:

+ Heath Ledger's acting in The Dark Knight was really good but I don't know if it's worthy of an Oscar. I really liked the little things he did.
+ Guillermo del Toro is a master! I didn't know a comedy/action flick like Hellboy II could have such gorgeous visuals!!!
+ Pushing Daisies was a really good concept for a TV series. Too bad it didn't last that long :-(
+ Reaper == HOTNESS
+ Have I said this before? I LOVE KEVIN SMITH!
+ Zack and Miri makes a Porno. How the hell did this not get an NC17 rating?!? It was really raunchy and Mr. Smith didn't pull any punches.
+ Tropic Thunder was awesome and Robert Downey Jr. is a beast! (What can't he do?!?)

- Drunken Monkey could have been better.
- Get Smart could have been better.

And that's all I have regarding the movies and series I've seen these past few weeks/months.

P.S. New Season of Lost coming this month!!!!

More movies and a new gadget...

2008-11-30T20:24:00.000-08:00

Hello guys!

I keep neglecting this because of time and work constraints but I'll try to make a few updates this month. First of all, being a compulsive ass, I ordered more movies from Columbia House. I'll probably be reviewing a couple of them here. They are (in no particular order):

1) Miller's Crossing
2) Dolls
3) Drunken Monkey
4) War Inc.
5) Get Smart
6) Kung Fu Panda
7) Hellboy II (Blu Ray)

On this past Black Friday I went to Radio Shack to check on some GPS and found a good deal on a Moov Mio 300 for just $139.99 (retails @ $229.00). Already started testing it and soon I will try unlocking it and using other navigators (just to learn and to test it).

Finally I have also bought some PS3 games (from the Playstation Store and retail discs also). So as you can see, I might have some new material for December!! YAY!

Anyway, when I get everything in order, I will start making some posts here ;-)

Thanks.
Talk to all of you soon.

I have a confession to make...

2008-09-24T17:42:00.000-07:00

I AM A COMPULSIVE BUYER!!! hehehe

So Columbia House had a Buy 1 Get 1 Sale for their Blu-Ray selection and I was going to jump in last week but something told me:

"Angel, why not wait to see if "someone" finds a free shipping code?"

So I followed my own suggestion and waited until today.
I bought 6 Blu-Ray discs plus 5 DVDs and only spent like $117.00. As you guys should know by now, Blu-Rays are usually at a price of $30.00 so I automatically saved some dough. And if you think that all they have are old movies, think again (my order includes Iron Man in Blu!!!)

So what am I recommending?
Join the Columbia House DVD club and fulfill your membership (it's easy to do!). Then, like most of us, wait for a great offer like this one. They usually do this a couple of times a year!

If you are a Movie Collector like me, then what are you waiting for? I know this sounds like a freaking Advertisement but...

Join the Club!!

Movies I just ordered:

Iron Man
Ultimate Edition
Blu-ray

Transformers
Special Edition
Blu-ray

Sex and the City: The Movie
Extended Cut
Blu-ray

The Forbidden Kingdom
Blu-ray

The Fall
Blu-ray

Redbelt
Blu-ray

Brotherhood of the Wolf
Director's Cut

CB4: The Movie

The Devil's Backbone
Special Edition

Animal Factory

New Jack City
Special Edition

A good collection of new and old movies.

Hurray for me!!!
Booo for my Credit Card bill... (shucks!!)

Bye

Archos 605 Official Home-made Review

2008-09-21T18:44:00.000-07:00

So, I have been promising a review of the Archos 605 WiFi 30GB for a couple of weeks now and here it is officially. First a little bit of info on the unit, then we will get onto the functionality.

The Archos 605 Wifi 30GB is a PMP (Portable Media Player) and plays most of the digital content available out there (i.e. movies, TV shows, photos, music, etc.) We can call this unit the main competitor to the iPod Touch series since this unit sports:

- Touch Screen
- Internet access via a Wireless Access Point
- Content Portal (to download movies, TV shows, etc.)

What sets the unit apart from the iPod Touch is that with the optional DVR station (which I also bought), as the name implies, you can use the unit to record TV shows (or anything actually via the input be it a VHS, camcorder, etc.). Other differences, the unit support more music formats and of course, there's the very pretty 4.3'' screen (800 x 480). Movies look very great and so do pictures (still you can notice that the black levels are not deep enough). Finally the last difference is the capacity and of course PRICE! For $270.00 I got the 30GB PMP unit, and the DVR Station (a similar iPod Touch with the same capacity is like $400 but at least it's not a hard disk drive ;-))

Ok, so let's get to the meat of it.

Video Support: The unit comes with a couple of video demos so that you can experience out of the box the capabilities of this little thing and I have to say that the videos looked quite good. But of course, I had to test some of the videos I had here on my PC. I quickly uploaded a couple of videos:

1) Dexter Season 3 episode 1 -- DivX format 480 x 360
2) Boxing vid: Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Joel Casamayor -- XVid 512 x 384
3) Pablo Francisco Stand-up (Mpeg2 + mp3 audio)
4) extra miscellaneous videos I had lying around.

The First 2 videos played flawlessly. They looked good, they sounded good, just like they played on my PC or through my Playstation 3 (I got my PC set-up as a Media Server -- more on that later!) Now for the other 2 or 3 videos.... a pop-up appeared:

"In order to view the contents, you need to acquire a plug-in"

OOoookkkk... I get it. We get the unit, it plays a couple of formats but in order to access all formats you need to pony up more $$$$ I don't have a problem with this business model, I mean, if you don't want to pay up, just convert all of your movies to Divx or a supported format and that's it! Once I got the plug ins everything was gooood.

Once you are watching a movie, you have access to a couple of settings such as Brightness, Contrast, etc. You can zoom in a video, select from full frame, original aspect-ratio,etc.

Audio Support: Just like any other media player, the unit supports MP3 audio and also supports WAV, WMA and protected WMA. I copied some of my files in different formats and bit-rates and they played without problems! There are a couple of audio settings out there and even an equalizer. You can customize the sound or use an already created preset.

Web Browser: So, again, the unit comes with the capability to do something BUT, you have to pay for it! For a couple of bucks you get access to the Opera Browser for the unit and to tell you the truth, it actually works quite well. It's not the fastest in the world but it works! The unit found my internet access point, I configured it (sine I have WEP activated) and connected within minutes. Accessed the usual sites (google, facebook, techimo, ps3fanboy, youtube) and everything worked great and displayed correctly. Videos from youtube pop-up in the video player if you like or you could just play it from the browser. You can also access the Content Portal where you have the ability to access more "movie" sites. I'm still not sure regarding the purchase of video content since I have not tried it but, hey, if it works and you are into it, the option is there to spend more dough! :-p

I was surprised that the unit recognized my Media Server (using TVersity) without any configuration on my part! I could access all of my "shared" files through my WiFi connection which is great since I can just now listen to music and watch videos at home in my room without being near the PC. So this was a nice surprise!

Finally the real winner here and one of the main reasons I bought this... the DVR STATION!

With this little device you can record your favorite TV shows, movies, series directly on the ARCHOS 605 unit. You can even download a TV Guide and program it to record at certain hours or per show! It works with most video sources such as satellite/cable box, VCR, DVD player and records in MPEG-4 format. Most important of all, it WORKS! ;-) Also, you don't have to program the TV Guide or download anything if you don't want to as there is a "manual" record tab so anything you connect through the inputs, it will work.

The unit comes with the Station, 2 audio cables, 2 S-Video cables and a remote control.

I used the composite connection (not the S-Video one) with the supplied audio cables! Also, the DVR Station charges the Archos way faster than the proprietary USB cable provided (the cable is like 8 hours while the Station charges it in 3!)

Below you can access a video I made from the DVR Station (a bit of an I Love Money episode). I put it up in rapidshare (it's 17MB). You can download it and judge the quality yourselves! ;-)

I Love Money clip with DVR Station

All in all I think this was a good investment.

To summarize, let's go out with Pros and Cons.

Pros:

1) PMP that plays audio (MP3, WMA, WAV and more if you buy plug-ins), video (MPEG-4 including Divx and Xvid, WMV and MPEG-2, VOB, etc. if you buy a plug-in)
2) Beautiful 4.3 '' touch-screen
3) Ability to record shows or anything via the DVR Station
4) Good sound and video playback quality
5) WiFi capabilities means you can access your media server and access the web also with the optional plug-in
6) Has a little kick-stand so you can set it up in a table
7) Price! (considering is a 30giger)

Cons:

1) In order to play other formats you have to buy optional plug-ins
2) Volume levels are not that great
3) Touch-screen is not as responsive as the iPod Touch
4) Web Browsing is not lightning fast ;-)
5) No slot to store the stylus (forcing you to use your fingers on the screen)
6) Can't listen to OGG, FLAC or WMA Lossless files
7) Proprietary USB cable!

Well, that's all I can think of right now! :-p

Hope you find this useful... BUT!!!!! Archos already has new players out there... well, they are calling them "Internet Media Tablets" but well, it's actually the next generation of their players so you might want to check into those. They are actually more expensive but they seem to kick ass too so... you have been warned! ;-)

See ya!

Archos 605 First Impressions...

2008-09-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

Wow oh Wow.

It might not be as "flashy" as an iPod Touch.
It might not be as complete (in terms of formats supported) as the Creative Zen
but the Archos 605 WiFi sure knows how to kick ass!

I will say this, I'm impressed by this little unit and what it can do!
Will continue my testing over the weekend and then post a mini review.

Laterssss

Archos 605 Review

2008-09-13T22:54:00.001-07:00

COMING SOON

Item already left Canada and should hit home this week.
I can't wait for it to get here already.
I also got the DVR Station so I'll be testing that also!

Come oooonnn..
Get hereeeee

NOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Talk to you later guys.

PC Games

2008-08-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

Hi guys.

I was out of the loop regarding PC games for a while (since College I guess). I mean, I was kind of a computer freak back then but when I started working I became more of a movie freak. Since I bought the GeForce card like a month ago, I gave a shot to some PC games just to see how they ran. So I stood away from my PS3, Wii and DS and gave the PC a chance... and I'm glad I did.

Yesterday I spent like 6 hours or more playing GRID.
Great graphics, good progression, great options and better yet you can choose your difficulty by races or events! The game is running really smooth on the 'puter thanks to the new addition.

Also got Bioshock.
I know it's coming to the PS3 but so what!
These FPS are better played with a keyboard and mouse anyway! hehehehe
I was really surprised at the level of detail of the game. Great graphics and better yet, great atmosphere. (those little girls scare the hell out of me!)

I have tried a couple of other demos and they run flawlessly on my computer. So the total tally for my PC was:

$260

And I can play all of these games... I'm wondering if I should buy another company owned workstation! WOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Well, this was just a little update.

Talk to you soon!

Mini Review: ZOTAC 8800GTS 512 card

2008-07-10T22:02:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

So, since I bought a workstation from work and it's powerful enough to hold one of those nifty new cards, I decided to check out what the fuzz is all about with gaming cards. Now I have to say, I haven't been following the "PC gaming scene" in quite a while (probably since I finished my BS) so I was quite hesitant to buy one for: THE BEAST

So I started doing my usual reviews before I buy and had a lot of questions!

1) Will it work on my system?
2) Do PCIe 2.0 cards work (or are backward compatible) with PCIe1.0?
3) How much power do I need?
4) Do I need 6pin converters to power the video card?
etc. etc.

For:

1) Yes, it will work on my system.
2) Yep, they are all backward compatible
3) A LOT! hehehe Luckily my PSU is rated at 650w
4) If the motherboard doesn't have extra PCIe power connectors, YES you need converters!

After finding all of the answers, I then started looking at cards... and people, THERE ARE A LOT OF THEM OUT THERE!!!

I was between the following:

1) NVidia 9800GTX
2) ATi 4850
3) NVidia 8800GTS

and a couple more BUT another thing was $$$$... the budget!
I decided to spend only $200 and lucky for me that bought me about any of the cards I was looking for but there was a special I couldn't resist! After looking at benchmarks from other sites, I noticed that the 8800 GTS 512 (based on G92) performance wasn't that bad and it was cheaper! And on the 4th of July, I got a great deal on one!!! It was listed at $159.99 with a $40 rebate bringing it to just $119.99. So I was getting the performance of an almost $200 card for almost half the price. Good deal if you ask me. So I went ahead and ordered it!

Got a call today from FedEx, went to pick up the package. I have to give 2 thumbs up to the retailer where I bought this. Prompt delivery, great prices, what more can you ask for? Anyway, opened the box and verified that everything was in order and started stripping out my PC. Now, THE BEAST is a big case and it weighs a ton. I carefully removed the card that was installed (Nvidia Quadro FX 1400). This is a workstation card so gaming performance was really not up to stuff.

For example: (all of these were run with default settings)

3DMark 06 --> 1496
Aquamark --> 50981
3DMark 05 --> 3134
Test Drive Unlimited --> Avg: 17fps (according to FRAPS)
Bioshock --> Could not run! :-p hehehehehe

So Here was I hoping that the new card would blow this thing out of the water...
After removing the old card, I started to install the new card and noticed the extra power slot on it. Luckily my case had a PCIe 6-pin power slot available but the card comes with a converter just in case you don't!

After installing the card and drivers... it definitely shows the improvement!
These were the results after the upgrade:

Forceware 6.14.11.6906

FurMark --> 2848 (min: 41, max: 63, avg: 47)
Aquamark --> 80338
3dmark05 --> 7608
3dmark06 --> 6172
Test Drive Unlimited --> Avg: 88.9 (1024x768)
Bioshock --> Avg: 53.7 (1152x864)

Am I happy?
Yeah I am.
Is this the best the card can do?
OF COURSE NOT!! I'm running this card on a 4 year old system/platform! I'm getting more than I imagined! Still, I believe it was a good buy and who knows, maybe I'll buy a couple of PC games (now that Starcraft and Diablo games have been announced!!! hehehehehe)

Hope you enjoyed this mini review.
Now I'm going to sleep (it's 2:00am here :-p).

Bye.

NVidia 8800 GTS review and benchmarks...

2008-07-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

Coming soon! (next week)

DVD Profiler by Invelos Software

2008-05-29T04:48:00.000-07:00

Hello guys.

After trying a couple of options to organize my DVD/Blu-Ray collection, I just found what I believe is the best software out there for this!

Invelos Software DVD Profiler: Invelos

Notice that as all similar programs, you need an internet connection in order to download the newest databases. Now once these databases are downloaded adding DVDs is simple. You have a couple of options to enter DVDs:

1) By UPC Code

2) By Searching for the name in the DB

3) If you have a DVD-ROM drive, by inserting the DVD in the drive and letting the software recognize it automatically.

I started yesterday getting my movies into the software (I'm at 204 but I still have half a closet to enter into my collection! ;-)) and it's a snap. I can honestly say that this is better than the Movie Collector Software (by Collectorz) that I was using.

You can also:

- Keep track of loaned DVDs (as in Movie Collector)
- Upload and share your collection online (peruse mine HERE)
- Export your database
- Print reports
- And even customize the way these reports come out (or you can download some templates from the site made by users).

These are only some of the features that this program has!
If you have more than 30 DVDs, I urge you to get this software.
It's easy to use and it makes your life easier.

Hope you enjoyed this mini review.
Once I get more experience with it, I'll probably post another update.

Check.

Party Games

2008-05-10T06:53:00.000-07:00

Yeah Yeah Yeah I know. I haven't posted anything in quite a while. It's just that I haven't had the time to do so.

I'm waiting for a couple of pics to use in this post so, wait a while ;-)

I'll just have to say that:

Smash Bros Brawl + Mario Kart Wii + Rock Band + Dance Dance Revolution + alcohol = FUN!

Talk to you guys later.

HD vs SD image comparisons...

2008-03-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of links to comparison images.
You'll see the differences in color, detail, richness, crispiness, etc. that HD brings to the table:

Link 1

Link 2

Enjoy!

30 Days of Night Review...

2008-03-16T12:11:00.000-07:00

Sorry guys that I hadn't time to update this page.
I've been doing so much stuff... anyway, saw 30 Days of Night on Blu-Ray a couple of weeks ago and I have to give it at least 1 Thumb up! ;-)

30 Days of Night

Ok, so it goes like this.

PLOT: The movie takes place at a town in Alaska where people are packing up and getting ready to leave... why? Because the sun will come down and wont come back up again in 30 days (a really reeeeaaaallly good premise for a horror movie). Some people can't handle living in obscurity/darkness so they catch a ride to wherever and return a month later. The thing is that while people are saying goodbye to their lovers, daughters, husbands, etc. weird things are going on. First all of the cellphones are burnt, sled dogs are killed and you ask yourself, what the hell is going on? The answer, vampires.

So after darkness arrives things really start going on and vampires take over the town. Except for a select few of course, everybody becomes meat popsicles. These brave souls have to endure being 30 days of total darkness surrounded by vampires.
I wont go into subplots or details (watch it if you like a good take on vampires even though they don't really get into the story of these vamps in particular).

The acting is quite solid.

Josh Hartnett, I like him, he does a good job as the local Sheriff and all of the supporting cast does a great job driving their characters (even though they don't get properly developed). I have to say though that for the "bad guys" the make up is not quite up there. To me, the even look funny.

The movie was directed by David Slade. Mehhh... he could have done better I believe (he did not used the material to build proper tension! :-(). And I believe that a major flaw was that we didn't know anything about the setting (i.e. how big is the town, how far is the jail, etc.) This movie involves a lot of running around and since you don't even know if they are going far, you don't really get that involved in the action. Finally, the passage of time... the director didn't even bother to tell us how many days had passed, etc... So no tension = no horror.

Video: This is Blu-ray. This is also a dark movie. The transfer is 2:40 and although most is monochromatic, where there are colors involved (especially red! hehehe) they shine! The transfer is extremely good, the images are so freaking crisp (I didn't notice any halos, a lot of graininess, etc.). And yes, there is film grain but really minimal. So basically I would say that this is a good movie to show off your home theater! ;-)

Audio: There are a couple of tracks included on this release. We have a 24-bit TrueHD 5.1 English track that sounds really good. It delivers a lot of bass and although I'm not testing with a 5.1 system I'm sure that whoever has a good system will appreciate this track. Also on the disc it's a
French TrueHD 5.1 track and Dolby Digital 5.1 in Spanish, Portuguese and Thai.

Extras: Not too hefty compliments but the material included is golden. We have:

30 Images of Night --> Shot comparison (images from film vs illustrations)
Audio Commentary --> With producer Rob Tapert actors, Melissa George and Josh Hartnett.
Eight Featurettes --> Totalling around an hour and delving into production aspects, casting, etc.
A couple of trailers.

All in all, good movie to show your stuff and an enjoyable movie to boot. Still, just 1 Thumb up (or 3 Stars ;-)) as I believe this could have been better.

Update on the Panasonic SC-PTX7

2008-03-05T16:21:00.000-08:00

Well, after testing the hell out of the unit, I haven't experienced freezes or lock-ups as other people seem to have suffer. But I noticed that some games, trailers and movies played through the optical (i.e. coming from the PS3) were not giving me any sound output. So what did I do?

Removed the optical from the PS3.
Configured the PS3 to output the sound through HDMI to the TV.
Connected the Optical Out from the TV to the Panny unit.

That's it.
Worked like a charm and it still sounds great.
Just watched Shoot Em Up on Blu-Ray yesterday.
Will post a review this week or over the weekend probably (alongside 30 Days of Night review! ;-)).

See ya.

2.1 / 3.1 Home Theater System -- At last I chose...

2008-02-17T19:27:00.000-08:00

Hello again everyone.

I have been fighting with myself trying to decide whether I should buy a 5.1 Surround Sound System with "wireless" rear speakers or a more compact 2.1 or 3.1 system for quite a few months. I had looked into a couple of them but really didn't got into any of them probably because I didn't know what "next-gen" disc format I was going to settle with. Well, now that I have a PS3 and Blu-Ray, I decided to once again visit this question.

Now, why wouldn't I buy a 5.1 system?

1) My Living Room is small.
2) I don't want cables everywhere on the room.
3) Speaker placement.

Why wouldn't I buy a 2.1 system?
1) No Real Surround options out there
2) Underpowered systems
3) Lacking input/output options

So I basically weighted all the pros and cons and still decided with a compact system. These were the options (click the names to go to product web page):

1. Sony DAV-X10:

An elegant 2.1 BRAVIA system that supports Dolby EX, Pro Logic, Pro Logic II, DTS, and most important of all it has inputs to support my other systems (i.e. DISH box, or PS3, etc.) You can check the specs on the page posted, and as you can see, it is a good option. In fact, this was the one that was winning the ballots ;-) BUT there wasn't any in P.R. and I had to order it.

Also, the price (in Amazon.com) was in the range of $650.00 and that doesn't include extended warranties NOR shipping.

So next stop was:

2. Phillips Soundbar HTS8100

This one just screams... STYLE.
It looks good, and Phillips is known for their good "Ambisound" algorithm which simulates Surround Sound quite well... BUT it got eliminated quite quickly because it lacks Optical inputs and it was expensive as well (SEARS has it at $800.00!)

Next in line:

3. Samsung HT-X200

This option was up there with the Sony model in terms of input/outputs, sound quality and best of all, this one was quite cheaper than the Sony one. So of course it caught my attention. Went to SEARS and they had an old model on Clearance BUT they just had the floor model. I could had order it online but still I would have paid more than $400 with no extended plan :-(

So, I was again back to square one. Undecided, no system at home until ... I went to a local SAM's Club and saw:

4. (WINNER)Panasonic SC-PTX7

I had already read about this online and thought: "Maaaan... I don't want a "MP3 Jukebox" on my home!" But after listening to it and looking at the back of the receiver I noticed that it included everything I wanted. And best of all, the price with a 2 year extended warranty was just $350 (including taxes). The difference of this one, this is actually a 3.1 system (the front speakers also integrate the center module). And it does well with movies too, not just as a music jukebox, so I went with it.

I bought it without hesitation and took it home... then I forgot I didn't have an optical cable to connect my Playstation 3, so I went to my local Walmart, took a Phillips Cable, and went back home again. Opened the box, everything was in order (sorry I didn't took more pictures when I was opening the box) and started organizing everything in my Living Room.

I already had speaker stands that I used with my old cheapie HTIB that died so I set the new Pannies alongside the TV. Connected the PS3 to the Box and started to Rock out. First I put up a normal music CD on the drive. It sounded awesome right out of the box. I didn't even have to fiddle with the Bass settings, as it sounded A-OK. It does gives you options to equalize, add Bass Boost, even a pseudo surround sound effect but I didn't activate any of this.

Next, I tried ripping music from the CD in order to store some in the Jukebox. Ripping times are not quite as fast as in a PC but it was ok. Played the songs after ripping and they sounded good.

After this, I tried inserting a DVD full of MP3s and WMA files. The unit did found all of the MP3s I had and I could play them without problem. Still, I have to figure out how to "copy" from the DVD to the unit's HDD. But I guess I'll do this at a later time.

Finally, I turned on my PS3, put the Panny unit to "DIN" (Digital IN) and... nothing.
Not a sound!
WTF?!?!?!

Oooppsss I had forgotten to set the PS3 to output through the Digital port. Once I did this, aaaahhhh pure Bliss ;-).
Games sounded quite good.
Now I'm going to be hooked playing more Call of Duty 4 with more ooomph thanks to the richness of the Bass output from the subwoofer and the good sounding front/center speakers.

After testing COD and Ratchet and Clank, I put on the Black Sheep DVD (you can look at the review below) and enjoyed the movie with a 3.1 Sound Experience.

In conclusion, if you are looking for a cheap 2.1/3.1 system I definitely recommend this Panny unit or the Samsung HT-X200.

P.S. DO NOT look into the BOSE 3.2.1 or Cinemate systems. They are completely outdated (No optical input nor outputs, no HDMI, no upconverting to 1080p, etc.) They probably sound good but for the price, they are not really worth it (unless you are a rich guy that wipes his arse with $100 bills! ;-)).

Hope you enjoyed this.
Bye.

Black Sheep Review

2008-02-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

Since the preview copy of 30 Days of Night is not working :-( (thanks anyway Ben, hopefully you'll send me another pre-release copy of another movie in the future! But I'll buy this one in a couple of weeks. :-p) I took the time to review a little movie from New Zealand called:

Black Sheep

They say that every time people go to New Zealand for vacation they take pictures of sheep and the hometown people just say: "don't worry about taking pictures now, you'll see a lot more of them!" hehehe Well, it seems that in fact there are A LOT of sheep in NZ and good for us on this movie, they are BBBBBBBAAAAAAADDDDDDDD... lol sorry, I couldn't resist! :-p

"Plot:" A family (The Oldfields) have a farm land that have been theirs for generations. The dad dies in a farming accident leaving his two sons "in charge." The younger one, Henry, moves away with a stress induced phobia of sheep (due to a prank his older brother played AND because of his father's death) leaving older, brother Angus in charge of the farm. The bad thing... Angus doesn't like the traditional concepts of farming and starts doing genetic experiments on the sheep... that's when things start going wrong... An animal activist steals a zombie lamb fetus and drops it by accident. As in every "zombie" movie, the thing just starts to spread...

As you can see, the plot is just as simple as it can be as it just wants to be the vehicle to get where it wants to get and that is... SHOW US A LOT OF GORE! ;-) This movie is made in the tradition of Peter Jackson movies like Bad Taste and one of my faves, Dead Alive. It successfully mixes Comedy and Horror with a lot of gore. So even if you don't care about the plot, you'll be in for a treat. The WETA Worshop did a good shop with the practical effects and in fact, I think I will not look at sheep the same way! hahaha

The cool thing about this B-movie, it mixes the zombie culture WITH the werewolves culture. So ... you should know what happens if you get bitten!

And I know this is a "schlocky", B-Movie but bottom line... is it enjoyable?
If you like movies like Dead Alive, Slither, Return of the Living Dead, etc. then the answer is a resounding YES! You'll have fun and you'll be amazed at what the WETA guys did without CGI! ;-)

Video: As far as the DVD goes, the transfer was done quite well in it's natural Widescreen format. No obvious inconsistencies were noted.

Audio: They only gave us 2 audio tracks. The main one is a 5.1 Dolby Soundtrack and the commentary track. As I don't have a full 5.1 system at home I wont comment much on the sound. I have to say though that on my 3.1 system the reproduction was quite alright and I could listen to the separation of the action from left and right.

Extras: A couple of Deleted Scenes (with optional commentary), a "Making of" feature (like half an hour worth of entertaining material), an extra "clip" especially for the DVD release, a 2 minute Blooper Reel that it's NOT really entertaining and the Theatrical Trailer.

All in all, I give the movie and DVD package a solid 3.5 Stars out of 5.

Recommended to B-movie and horror fans.

A Bunch of movies...

2008-02-14T20:52:00.001-08:00

Yeah, I haven't been posted a lot lately here because of that "damned" PS3 and that "stupid-ass" game called Call of Duty 4 :rolleyes:

Damn..

Anyway, got a bunch of movies that I have yet to finish looking at.
I mean I have seen all of them, but not these transfers and not upscaled.
Still have to go through seasons 1 and 2 of Wings, and a couple of flicks.

Coming soon, my first Blu-ray review for 30 Days of Night

Talk to you later guys.

This explains quite well...

2008-02-05T15:41:00.000-08:00

What a Software Designer must do.
That's my current title at the company I'm at now...

O M G

hehehehe
The only difference, I DON'T CODE!!! :-(
Don't even ask me how to initialize a parameter in C.
Does that even exists anymore?!? :-p

On The Job

Addicted to CoD4...

2008-02-05T15:34:00.000-08:00

Yes everyone.
I'm an addict.

Wow... I never thought I'd be addicted once again to a First Person Shooter. WTF!?!?! Yes, I have been playing a lot of Call of Duty 4 on my PS3. That doesn't mean that I'm good, lol, but I'm having a lot of fun. I haven't even played the single player campaign yet! hehehehe

That's it,
just wanted to let you know.

P.S. Saw my first Blu Ray movie and I have to say I'm impressed. But it was an "animated" movie (A Scanner Darkly) so I have yet to test it with a "live-action" one. I'll keep you posted.... if I have time... must play... now. ;-)

Rambo, Cloverfield, movies...

2008-01-26T16:40:00.000-08:00

One of my co-workers asked me on Friday: "Are you going to see Rambo?"
I just laughed...
I mean, RAMBO?!?!! Sly Stallone Rambo?!?!?! hehehehe
What's up with this guy? First Rocky Balboa, now Rambo! What's next?

Cliffhanger 2?
Lock Up 2?
Cobra 2?
Over the Top 2?

hehehehe The only one I would see is Tango and Cash 2 if Kurt Russell signs up! ;)

So, after all of these came up to my mind (right after the guy asked the question) I answered: "HELL NO!" I'm not going to see it, I DON'T WANT TO SEE IT but you know what... I kind of do. lol Probably just to see buckets of blood if there are any... other than that... it should be a pretty forgettable movie.

Regarding Cloverfield, I thought I had talked about this before (probably on Gelocks Corner) and I really hate the handheld camera work! It makes me want to throw up... as in the last 2 Bourne movies! Hate that Paul Greengrass... I guess the use of hand-held is effective sometimes but throughout the whole movie?!?! Damn... Still I liked the Bourne movies so I will probably like Cloverfield.

Finally ... still don't know which movie will be my first Blu ray disc. Was thinking of something like 28 days later which has a lot of darkness but also should show some good details once they are outside... or maybe Sunshine! Die Hard 4 is a no-go since I already have the 2 disc collectors edition... still don't know. I'll decide later...

Anyway... bye

Indexed Blog...

2008-01-26T16:25:00.001-08:00

If you want to laugh for a bit, then visit:

INDEXED

Love all of the posts and I think there's even a book coming! ;)

What's up with Super Smash Bros.?!? More gaming...

2008-01-26T15:55:00.000-08:00

Yeah!
It seems everyone is going ga-ga over this game.
Everyone is talking about it, everyone is pre-ordering it but I am just not so attracted to it. I mean, I enjoyed a lot the GameCube iteration... and that was some years ago... but still I enjoyed more Soul Calibur II on the little purple box!

Still, I can see why people are obsessing over it. Here is my list:

1) The 40+ characters you might be able to fight with
2) The interactive stages and different strategic points on each of these stages.
3) Online gameplay!
4) It's the only fighting game in the Wii that might be worth our time...

I'm leaning more on number 3 and 4 as the reason why everyone is going crazy for this. Still, I want to play it BUT don't think I'll buy it once it comes out... I'll give it a couple of weeks or months IF at all...

And speaking of games... I'm thinking of giving my Guitar Hero III on the Wii for Trade-in and buying the PS3 version... WHY?!? DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT!!!. Yep. I can soooooo imagine myself rocking out to Journey, Boston, Rush and Foreigner!! hehehehe

Finally, I know I haven't finished Motorstorm yet but... I WANT BURNOUT!!!!!!!

Ok... talk to youse later! ;-)

Couldn't Resist... and bought a PS3.

2008-01-20T19:36:00.001-08:00

Yeah.
This weekend I went to pay for my furniture and my Plasma TV since I had till February to pay without finance charges and since I spent a whole lot of $$$ I said: "What the heck, I should keep this spending binge going!" hehehehe

I went home, took a look at my Playstation 2, at the games, at some Nintendo DS games and decided to trade in a couple of games and along the PS2. Left home with a PS2, Fight Night Round 3 for the PS2, New Super Mario Bros., Meteos and Mario Kart for my DS. Went to Gamestop, gave everything and asked for an 80GB PS3 and Call of Duty 4. They gave me $102 for the things I brought so I paid like $485 for the new PS3 and COD4. I think it's a pretty decent deal.

Here are some pics:

And here's a video (no audio) of a Motorstorm video:

(For more info on the game: Metacritic Link and Sony's Motorstorm Page)

** In Sony's page you can watch gameplay videos with audio. **

I have to say... I'm HOOKED!
After seeing the PS3 in action at home I don't even want to power up my Wii (I did play a little bit of GH3 on it today though ;-)). Motorstorm looks great, Call of Duty 4 looks even better! I have played some games on XBOX 360 and I STILL BELIEVE that the 360 has the better games BUT I'm a movie buff. I'll probably watch more movies than play on my PS3 and since it upscales normal DVDs and plays Blu-ray, what the heck.

Anyway, I'll try and enjoy these things while I'm young.

Talk to you later guys!

My Song: Wishing

2008-01-20T19:15:00.000-08:00

Seems to be getting a lot of internet "airplay" as it was up to #6 in the soundclick charts:

Wishing

lol

That's the power of Harmony Central's Songwriting Forum! hehehe
I'm always asking on ways to improve my "songs" since this is really a good hobby that I would like to keep pursuing all of my life. All of the suggestions I receive I take them to heart and try to practice, practice and practice.

Anyway, nothing to see here!

Bye.

The Great Debate: PS3 or X-Box 360?

2008-01-18T17:45:00.001-08:00

It's been firing up in my mind for this last year.
Should I buy an X-Box 360 or should I get a Playstation 3.
I've been an EGM subscriber since 1993 and trust their views and opinions. Historically (these past years) the 360 has had an edge gaming-wise in the magazine. Games ARE JUST BETTER on the 360 as in they look better, they run faster, they load faster and the XBox Live just plainly kicks ass.

BUT the Playstation has something the the 360 lacks...

BLURAY!

Yep, I'm a movie buff and a gamer but I have to admit that I definitely watch more movies than play games (at least lately!). So I'm more inclined on buying a PS3. Now, this post is not to preach or tell you which is the best but my summary is:

If YOU like GAMES, get the X-Box 360.
You'll have a lot of variety and great games like BioShock, Gears of War, Halo, Project Gotham Racing, Crackdown, Virtua Fighter 5 (with online support), Call of Duty 4 (also available in PS3 but it looks better, plays better and fully use the XBOX live interface), Ace Combat 6, etc. etc.

But if YOU like MOVIES, get the PS3.
Just think of having a Blu-Ray player that also plays Divx movies (with the latest firmware update), and it's a good game machine with games like Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted, and upcoming ones like Metal Gear Solid 4, FF XIII, etc. it sure does looks good.

But for a really good comparison page, check out:

PS3 vs XBOX 360

And DECIDE FOR YOURSELF!!!

See you later...

I'll tell you tomorrow if I bought either one of those (if I can find them! :-p)

WTF?!?!?!

2008-01-17T15:12:00.000-08:00

Hehehehe I almost crapped my pants after seeing this:

Cute Rifle

LOL.

Just thought I'd share...

And this is why I love American Musical....

2008-01-14T17:18:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I made an order of Monitor Stands for my newly acquired Tapco Monitors and the guys over at AMS shipped them today!

These are the monitors:

S5 Active Monitors

These are the stands:

Monitor Stands

And what's even better, it was cheaper because they gave me an extra discount via e-mail for my recent purchase and my review of the site (which you can see on the main site still):

American Musical

I'm the ass that wrote: "I love ordering from AMS. And what's really special about them and sets them apart from the competition is the extra 1 year warranty they apply for a lot of the products they carry. Couple that with great low prices and good service and you get the best music online store there is!"

lol...

But it's the truth.
I've only ordered from Musicians Friend or ZMusic like 1 time each and I keep going back to AMS and probably always will. (lambon mode off... I promise!)

Anyway, hopefully I'll get my stands soon and my PC monitor will stop suffering the consequences caused by my Audio monitors!! ;-)

Bye.

Movie Collection...

2008-01-14T17:08:00.001-08:00

Hello again guys.

Just wanted to give you a heads up about a piece of software called Movie Collectorz (you can take a look at: Collectorz) and started testing it to see how it would perform.

I have to say that it does a really good job organizing the entries you submit and it's a really fast program. You can search manually, automatically and even has a Bar Code option. I imported a text list of the movies I had and it searched on the web through various websites for movie information. It ended up being successful on most of my selections.

I exported web pages here: (note that this was a Trial Version so you'll see messages saying that, but it's an useful output)

Gelocks DVD Collection

Finally you can even organize loaned movies like in a Video Store (a real treat since I always loan DVDs to my friends).

Anyway, there are a couple of options out there but this one looks like it could be a really good buy.

See ya.

And speaking of next-gen HD...

2008-01-14T16:59:00.000-08:00

It seems that the Toshiba camp DOES NOT WANT TO LET GO! ;-)
And this is Why I took my stance on waiting who is victorious:

HD DVD Fires Back and Slashes Hardware Prices

I believe you'll see more opinions from the news that stems from sites like Engadget (my favorite by far) and Gizmodo on this blog. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, I'll go back to watching Law and Order: SVU Season 2.

BTW, I just ordered:

The Frighteners Director's Cut
Widescreen

Wings: The Complete First & Second Seasons
Full Screen

Unforgiven 10th Anniversary Edition
Widescreen

Death Proof Extended and Unrated Special Edition
Widescreen

Live Free or Die Hard Collector's Edition (Unrated)
Widescreen

From my favorite place Columbia House.
They had this Fun Cash special that I couldn't pass up and I also saved like $70 so it's all good. Go on and open your account. They are also carrying HD DVD and BluRay movies ;-)

Bye.

Welcome Geeks!!!

2008-01-13T12:46:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone.

I figured I needed to create another page to discuss the latest gadgets, music CDs, DVDs, or anything other than my personal life (I'll leave that on the other blog). So Sit back, relax and let the geeky-goodness begin.

I'll be starting by discussing the current Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD piece news we got almost two weeks ago regarding Warner Bros. jumping ship to the blue camp. Big news indeed. I still have not bought into the next gen movie players yet but this might change my mind. Right now Blu-ray has support from the following studios:

Walt Disney
20th Century Fox
MGM
Lionsgate
Sony
Warner Bros
New Line Cinema

while HD DVD stays with the following supporters:

Paramount Pictures
Universal Pictures
Dreamworks Animation

One of the reasons Warner supposedly jumped camps was because of International sales of the BluRay format. There was/is a rumor that 500 million $$$ made them jump ship but I guess we'll never know.

Since I don't have either of those formats, I was thinking of buying a PS3 and get the best of both, gaming and movie worlds. It sounds good BUT I wont give in yet. I'm going to wait for the dust to settle and then make my move. Also I don't think (as a gamer) that I'll be able to spend a lot of time playing since I still have Wii and DS games I haven't finished yet! ;-)

Anyway, I guess this was a good way to start.

Any comments or suggestions, hit me up G!!

Bye