This Week in Gaming

Since I am now being paid to be a gamer and sell games, I've decided to start a weekly gaming column here on Scottdot, in an honest effort to keep my writing topics diverse and appealing to a wider audience. Let me know what you think! A few days ago I had a dream about a Sony PSP. Someone gave it to me and I was playing Pac-man in a subway somewhere. When I woke up, I found myself really wanting a PSP like never before! At the same time, being the Nintendo fanboy that I am, I am also tempted to buy a Nintendo DS and/or Gameboy Micro. Post your thoughts in the Comments section to try and sway my decision one way or another. PSP? DS? Both? Also feel free to send me some cash donations. Meanwhile, on the GameCube (generously lended to me by G.M.P.), I picked up Harvest Moon earlier in the week, played it for an hour, and determined it to be boring. I should have given it more time, but I was impatient and really wanted to get back to my love of Animal Crossing, which I picked up from the store after returning Harvest Moon. I've spent the day running errands for the animals in my new town of Dingle, and I've planted more than a dozen apple trees as well. Things should be very exciting in Dingle in the next few days. Now, while I'm not an Xbox fan, I was quite excited last night when I went back to the store (this time to pick up Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door) to see our new Xbox 360 kiosk in all its glory. Someone was playing the King Kong demo when Kristen and I arrived, to which I said "AWE!" much like a pre-pubecent eleven year old! After a few minutes, I got my turn to play the Call of Duty 2 demo. While it was fun, I was not nearly as impressed as I was expecting I would have been. Where's my Nintendo Revolution when I need it?

Hey Apple, Down in Front!

Last Wednesday, Apple held a "One More Thing" event for media in which Steve Jobs unveiled a handful of new Apple goodies. Most of the buzz centered around the fifth generation of the iPod, which now sports video playback. On the other hand came the announcement of a brand new iMac G5 that ships with a remote control and a new application called Front Row. Those of you familiar with Microsoft's Windows Media Center Edition, Apple Front Row is a step in the direction of using a computer in a living room setting. Basically, Front Row is a streamlined interface for iTunes, iPhoto, DVD Player, and video files you may have on your hard drive. For more info on Front Row, check out Apple's Front Page demo page. That's all good and everything, except in order to use this new software, you must have the new iMac, which means if you want to try out Front Row right now, you'll be spending at least $1299. I believe Apple is making a mistake by not making this available to all Mac users. You can already buy the Apple Remote separate, so in theory all they need to bundle with it is a simple USB-infrared adapter along with the Front Row software. As I said above, Front Row is just a small step in order to compete with the highly successful Windows MCE. Next, Apple needs to sell a Mac, preferably a Mac mini, with a built-in TV tuner and add television support to Front Row. Naturally, users will want TiVo-like abilities to record, pause, and rewind live TV, which makes perfect sense. The only problem is Apple's latest foray with iTunes and distributing TV shows from Disney Channel and ABC. As more studios jump on board (which is inevitable), it doesn't make sense for Apple to charge users two dollars a show when they would easily be able to record it themselves for free. I could also see Apple charging users a monthly subscription fee for the ability to record satellite or cable TV to combat the loss of potential iTunes revenues. The bottom line is this: Please Apple, give us a chance to use Front Row on Macs by giving us an IR adapter!

Sweet Saturday Stuff

While I don't have anything significant to report today, I did want to blog a little bit about how much I enjoy weekends when I don't have to work. This morning I woke up at 6:30 and rode out on my bike shortly after 7 AM to catch a soccer game. Folks were keeping it real at the farmers market, selling pumpkins and green chili, so you can definitely tell we're on the verge of Autumn. Other weekend goodies include seemingly endless pots of coffee, podcasts, pottery, and if I have time, perhaps a bit of Macromedia Flash. A hint of things to come? Perhaps...

It's Official: RSS Feed Broken!

Somewhere down the line, my Atom-powered RSS feed supplied by Blogger has broken. I've tried disabling it and re-enabling it to no avail. If anyone knows anything about this, help a blogger out!

Robot Hobo: Offical Design #1

As promised, Robot Hobo has launched (finally), and you can grab our first exclusive design. I got sick of seeing people with the "Vote for Pedro" shirts, so I cooked up this bad boy the other day. Be the first in your neighborhood to stick it to the man. And remember, all profits from sales go to help support college students purchase video games, gadgetry, and sometimes the occasional textbook for class. Visit our webstore @ CafePress.com - Robot Hobo

More Leopard Spots

Two months ago, I solicited your comments and wishes for features of Apple's mysterious new OS, Leopard. Today, I bring you a follow-up on that entry. Most of the submissions were pretty fun. Jyn wants Leopard to meow on startup or login, however another Scottdot reader suggested a purring sound. Wouldn't it be great if it purred while asleep or while the screensaver was on? On a more serious note, reader Tonza writes that Apple should fix what he calls "Finder Amnesia." I agree that some things could be done in terms of the Finder remembering how windows are sized and icons are positioned. It definitely seems like we had more control over the Finder's behavior back in the days of OS 9. Personally, I would like to see a return of Mac OS 9's Location Manager in OS X Leopard. I remember years ago having half a dozen different locations setup, each containing a different default printer, network/internet settings, etc. that I switched between depending on where I was working. OS X has locations right now, but they only give users control of their network settings. I want to be able to specify things like whether or not my bluetooth is enabled, change default printers, and more. I'm sure Locations could be intergrated much the same way as Spotlight, allowing third-party developers to write plugins to take advantage of it. The possibilities COULD be endless. Now let's think about the apps. Keep the ideas coming, loyal readers!

Chew on This

I can't believe people are reading my mindless drivel! Twice in the past two days I have been asked by loyal Scottdot readers to actually update my blog! I really do have some meaningful updates planned, but in the meantime, check out my list of "dugg" stories on Digg.com. Scott @ Digg.com PS - iPod nano is one sweet piece of Apple.