Technology

[altuixde]

The DJ Max series.

I've never really gotten into rhythm games, except for muBlip, which is one of my favorite iOS games.  Unfortunately muBlip has some graphical glitches under iOS 5, but the glitches are only in the menus, not during the actual gameplay.

[Cael K.]

Looks like you've got a pretty discerning ear there, quite a bit more than mine I'll bet.

I see what you mean about the KSC's, the sound is all around you on them, though comparing the SQ with the ESW-9's is a bit on the unfair side. I still kinda like the presentation on the things, sound seems pretty bright to me, but it's been quite a while since I gave any of my equipment a side-by-side comparison, admittedly. But I think I have an idea on what the Sonys sound like, so thanks for the description.

As far as an amateur opinion goes, I think the ESW's are pretty mid-centric. The vocals are nice and lush, which is what I was going for, and the bass is fairly warm without being overpowering (I think I'm just sensitive to bass), maybe with a few bloat problems here and there (maybe it's my source). Highs... well, I'd like a bit more sparkle in my highs, but I still like the quality of them on these phones regardless. But yeah... the mids. They're awesome.

As far as PSP games go, well if you don't mind imports, and things off the beaten path at that...
Last Ranker - A very interesting experiment in fighting game meets RPG-style gameplay, weak point is the story and the fact that you can settle on one strategy most of the game despite there being so many. Music by Yoko Shimomura, theme song by Uverworld, from the maker of Etrian Odyssey.
Grand Knights History - A versus RPG, I'm playing it right now. Raise a bunch of characters offline, then bring them online and fight for your country. American version rumored to hit in February. Music by Hitoshi Sakimoto, from the makers of Odin Sphere and Muramasa: The Spirit Blade.
7th Dragon 2020 - Okay, this isn't out yet, but I'm preordering it since I liked the original so much, and the limited edition comes with a set of stylized canalphones (though how good they end up being is anyone's guess). Same guys who did Etrian Odyssey, music by Yuzo Koshiro, theme song by sasakure.UK.
Idolmaster SP - Don't need to say anything more, do I? ^^

Other than that, I will always swear by Final Fantasy Tactics - one of my favorite games of all time. The PSP remake may suffer from some loading problems, though.

You might notice that all of the RPGs up there have a heavy skill customization element to them (and good music ^^).

[altuixde]

Thanks Cael K., I think I'll pick up Final Fantasy Tactics the next time I go to the mall.  I even have some trade credit that I need to spend.  I've been listening to the music from Final Fantasy Tactics for forever, but I've never played the game.  I like Yoko Shimomura's music too, but I can't read Japanese so I won't be able to play the other games until they're translated.

[Cael K.]

Maybe a lot of you don't know this guy, but there was another person in the world of technology who has unfortunately passed away.

Dennis Ritchie, the inventor of the C programming language and a major developer of the UNIX operating system, passed away last Wednesday, 12 October, 2011.

What Mr. Ritchie made has impacted perhaps anyone that's ever seen a piece of computing. Introduced in 1973 and still used today, the C programming language is taught to most computer scientists during their first or second year, and introduces many concepts to them that they will use throughout their career. It has spawned two major derivatives, C++ and C# and has been adapted for use with GPU's (called Cg, or C for Graphics), all of which have been used to program countless games, among other things. Other programming languages have borrowed syntax and conceptual elements from within C based on the fact that it was so prolific, and what he introduced with C can be said to form the basis of most programmers' understandings of computer science.

Among the things coded in C or a C derivative, are Windows, UNIX, probably every indie game you see on the XBox Live Marketplace, and the compilers/interpreters for other programming languages.

Mr. Ritchie is either directly or indirectly responsible for the languages that most computer programs are built on, be it an operating system, a game, or even a music player. He may not have shown his face to the world, but he has seriously impacted the way we all look at computing, and I thank him for his contribution to the world.

[Scotty]

I knew him. I've been learning C++, so how couldn't I? He did amazing things, may he rest in piece.

[Cien Laguoire]

Never heard of Dennis, probably for good reason. But for what he did for the computing world, I must give him big respect. Rest in peace.

[altuixde]

People running OS X Lion:  Do you think it's time to upgrade from Snow Leopard?  I've been holding off from upgrading because I read this article.  Has the 10.7.2 update fixed most of the problems with Lion?  Will any of your important applications not launch on Lion (other than ones dependent on Rosetta)?  Also, is there anything surprisingly good about Lion?

[Cael K.]

Gaah! My NuForce 6's are dead! Well okay, the left speaker still works, but the right one just isn't. That means dead.

I wonder what happened to them - this was the first time I've listened to them in a week or so. Don't think I ran over the cord with my computer chair... this have anything to do with the fact they sounded like a cloth had been draped over the drivers like two weeks ago?

Okay, maybe the sound wasn't really my style, but they were my first good pair of earbuds, and if there's anywhere you can buy them, I sure don't know as they seem discontinued. I'm gonna miss these things.

[RoninatorMarx]

How about a brighter light in this topic? Perhaps not really tech-related, but it counts.

At this time, it's the 16th of November in Japan, a.k.a. the birthday of Nintendo video game designer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto. More power to you. Were it not for you, the world of video games may not be where it is now. Cheers for more years and more games!

[animagic4u]

Happy birthday, Miyamoto~san!~
May you continue to troll us with games that start much too easy and become too ragingly difficult!

[Cael K.]

Oh yep, one of the guys who's had a profound impact on our lives. Happy birthday and stuff!

Happy birthday, Miyamoto~san!~
May you continue to troll us with games that start much too easy and become too ragingly difficult!

Don't know about you, the first game of his I played was ragingly difficult. 'Least at the time it was. ^^;

[Mind M@ster]

I got a new laptop a few days ago. It's the Sony Vaio this basically.

[Cael K.]

Just a friendly reminder that can save a few bucks.

The PS3 outputs HDMI using the 1.4 standard. Many HDMI switches only support up to 1.3; a switch that supports 1.4 is like 2.5 times the price. Is not having to unplug a cable from one console and plug it in to another to switch consoles for the next X years worth $80? ... Not to me.

EDIT: Never mind, the current models of PS3s in production today use HDMI 1.4. The older ones (like mine, which I just remembered was made before 1.4 was ratified in 2009) might use 1.3 depending on how old they are. For those of you who get your electronics from Monoprice, I'm going to say right now that the 4x1 Enhanced 1.3b switch (rev. 3.0) they got for $28 (as of this writing) doesn't work with my Japanese PS3. PS3 Model is CECHA00. You wanna hear more (for whatever reason), check my blog sometime tomorrow.

EDIT 2: Geh, the PS3 does a bunch of stuff in its processor before spewing it out to the HDMI port. For the PS3, 1.4 is 3D only, and a firmware update put that in for all PS3s. Shows how much I've been keeping track of this stuff.

In other news, I got my new monitor yesterday, and it is predictably (when dealing with me) cheap. It's a BenQ G2222HDL. Looks nice, and all my gaming will finally be in HD.

And as a final note, I hate HDCP. What are they trying to protect, that hasn't made it to the internet?

[Scotty]

I like your choice! I'm pretty cheap too. Same size as my two monitors.

[Cael K.]

I like your choice! I'm pretty cheap too. Same size as my two monitors.

Heh... yeah. I was down to an Asus VE228H and the BenQ, and though the Asus has an HDMI port (while the BenQ doesn't), I could've gotten the BenQ out here with free shipping. As I already had an HDMI to DVI-D converter (which literally cost me $2.50), I was sold. ^^

Though, I'm busy wondering why my local brick and mortar shop advertised the BenQ on display, when they only had that display unit left.

As for my switch, I'm willing to say I just got a defective one, Monoprice has usually been really good to me. I've looked at reviews of it online, some people have no problem with their PS3s through that switch.