So I think the fact that I had to give my old MacBook back after leaving my previous job has been firmly beaten into the ground. Whatever. The fact of the matter is that while I like to rail on Apple now and then I really do like their computers quite a bit. In fact, Born Again Casual is pretty much impossible to pull off without some Mac-only software. I have a pretty decent desktop PC running Windows 7 at home, but I really like having a powerful laptop that I can take with me to work on and take part in other activities. So as an early birthday and a “congratulations on the new job” gift to myself I bought a brand-new 17″ MacBook Pro.

Regardless what you may have heard from the douche-bags in those PC laptop commercials, the MacBook Pro is actually a motherfucker when it comes to computing power. This thing runs WoW at a much higher frame-rate w/ the graphical settings maxed than my Desktop PC does. I’m able run several applications at the same time with no slow-down or lock-ups whatsoever. As I’m writing this I have the computer set for Performance and the battery life has barely taken a hit after an hour of use.

My previous MacBook was probably about 2 years old, so a lot has changed since then. Rather than being connected to each other, the keyboard keys push up through the body of the laptop, they’re nice and ‘clicky’ which is something I feel most laptops lack. It just feels much more comfortable to me as someone who spends a lot of time typing code.

One of the most common complaints about the PS3 controller is the way the R2 and L2 triggers are designed. They’re tucked under there pretty tightly and sometimes it feels like you have to stretch your fingers in an uncomfortable way to use those buttons. I hate to make 360/PS3 comparisons, but I have to admit that the way the 360 triggers are designed make them much more comfortable to use. However, the Real Triggers made by Gioteck are a great product that modify your trigger buttons to make them much more usable.

Products that modify controllers are nothing new, there are plenty of products out there to enhance your experience for the 360 or PS3. However, of all the ones I’ve tried, the Real Triggers have probably made the most noticeable improvement of all.

Okay, so anyone who listens to that podcast we do knows that I’ve had a few choice words for those jokers out there at ‘1 Infinite Loop‘. I mean, don’t get me wrong… Apple makes a fine damn product. I just have an issue with rendering each previous hardware revision obsolete every time you make an update*. That’s why I can’t wrap my head around people running out and buying their stuff every time they add a new bell or whistle. It’s like Mac users are just asking to be crapped on. But I digress…

Recently, my boss was making changes to our company cell phone plan and decided to get us all iPhones for work. Initially I declined this offer as I really dislike cell phones anyway. The free one I got from AT&T was doing a fine job of text messaging my wife dirty messages during lunch and that was pretty much all I needed it for. Well, through some cosmic twist of fate I ended up with a brand new iPhone in my hands. After spending a couple weeks with it I think I’m in a position to write up some thoughts about it.

First of all, the iPhone is a pretty solid piece of hardware. It’s got some weight to it and doesn’t feel like your average cell-phone at all. The screen is bright and very pretty to gaze at. Surprisingly, it really doesn’t even get all that smudged. One of the first things you’ll want to do is run out and drop some money on a nice cover for it. I got one of those iPhone condoms from Best Buy for roughly $15. There are more expensive ones, but unless you’re compensating for a tiny dick you really don’t need to shell out any more than $15-25 for one. I mean for Christ’s sake, what are you going to be doing with this goddamn thing anyway?

For years I’ve been denying the MP3 revolution so to speak. I remember when I had a bunch of MP2’s (yes, ther once was MP2s) on my old computer, and when MP3’s came out I remember being blown away by the jump in sound quality. We couldn’t do anything else with the computer while playing an MP3 then. Even moving the mouse made it skip. What a dinosaur that computer was…a whopping 486 with 8MBs of RAM.

I don’t even have a scary collection of CDs. I just had no desire whatsoever to rip them all, and it didn’t bother me to grab a few CDs for the car or to bring in to work. A few weeks ago I suddenly realized I had like 10GBs of MP3s on my hard drive…not including any of my CDs, and figured it was time to make a purchase on an mp3 player.

I went with the Zune. Admittedly, I’m not a fan of Apple and I’m not a huge fan of iTunes either (don’t get me started on the iTunes store and the amazing rat trap that is). However, the 80GB iPod Classic was looking attractive, but I wasn’t willing to just go and buy what everyone else does. So I looked into the Zune and actually find it to be a really nice alternative. While the resolution is less than the iPod’s, the screen is bigger. I’ve been watching “Flight of the Conchords” on it and it looks really nice. The “Zune Pad” allows you to simply brush your finger on it to scroll through long lists. Clicking the pad allows you to jog through a step at a time. I like this feature because sometimes on the iPod I have trouble getting the click-wheel to stop where I want it to.

God, I love Indiana Jones. On a total manly level of coarse. The Indy trilogy is right up there with the ORIGINAL SW films. Bar fights in Napal… truck chases in the desert… this guy knows what action is all about. He’s so bad-ass that not only does he have a pistol and his fists to deal out swift justice, but he can crack you on yar ass with his trusted bullwhip as he sends you back to your goose-steppin’ mama in Berlin. Now, thanx to our friends at Skywalker Ranch, the good ‘ol docta is taking his brand of adventure to your cereal bowl. That’s right kid… Indy is gonna smack the taste buds right outta ya mouth with the one and only “ADVENTURE SPOON!”

It’s early morning, and what’s the first thing every kid wants? You guessed it… breakfast! And what better way for George Lucas to drive into the pockets of millions of parents around the world. I’m tellin’ ya, advertising works. Sex might sell… but if you slap Indy on a box of crap, something tells me, I’ll be coming from from the local grocery store with a load of crap in my car. So does this Indy merch-machine live up to the hype? I decieded to jump on-board the Indy bandwagon. I wanted to become “a true believer” and witness first hand how this spoon might create a breakfest adventure.

I snagged myself a box of fruit loops which sported an “ADVENTURE SPOON” inside. I got lucky and found a sith-red colored one. BADASS! When I first took the spoon, I noted that it felt snug within my grasp. It’s Myan symbols made it easy to hold and the button placement made for easy “turn on” while eatting.

The Nostromo SpeedPad (aka the n52) from Belkin is a USB gaming peripheral for your PC. I picked one up during a newegg clearance sale a couple of months back, but never really got around to trying it out. Recently, while playing World of Warcraft I rerolled a new character and decided it might be a good time to try out the n52. Fast forward a few weeks and I love this thing, its become second nature for me to use.

The n52 is laid out with all the keys you would use on your keyboard to play games. There are three rows which by default are mapped to WASD and the keys that surround them on a keyboard. In the spot where your thumb rests there is a big orange trigger button and a D-pad that looks like the one from a 360 controller. Below the D-pad is a large button that toggles between different key-mapping schemes, however it can be remapped to do whatever you want and would probable make a good space bar for some people. It also has a click-able scroll wheel by your thumb which to me seems like a wasted button since I’m using my mouse anyway.

The first thing I noticed was that my hand fit pretty comfortably on the palm rest, I did not have to stretch my fingers very far in order to hit any buttons. This was good because upon first inspection of this thing I had a bad feeling that my hand was going to cramp up. I’ve been using it for a few weeks now and I’ve never had any pain in my hand or wrist.

So the holidays always seems to net me some spending money. Most of my family and extended family have no idea how to shop for me and it’s a lot easier for them to hand me a card with some cash. That’s okay, because it gives me a chance to go on a mini shopping spree buying myself the things I’m too guilty to buy any other time of the year. So I’ve had my eye on the Ceramic White Dualshock 3 for a while now and finally went ahead and ordered one from yes-asia.com.

The Dualshock 3 was released in Japan back in November and will be released in the US & Europe sometime in Spring 2008. I’m going to assume everybody knows the whole PS3 SIXAXIS no rumble back story and jump off from there. Hit the jump for my review.

LOL… teh thumbsticks are there for a reason n00b!

Problem: Lately my HDTV has been ’spoken for’ at night, preventing me from enjoying some Xbox Live action.
Solution: An unused VGA port on my Acer 22″ LCD monitor.

Problem: The Living room is 6 feet away from my desk, so I can’t use the speaker volume. Likewise I don’t need the soundtrack from ‘Hope Floats’ mixed in w/ my killing sprees.
Solution: The Ear Force X1 Headset from the good people at Turtle Beach.

The first thing I noticed about these guys when I pried them out of 6 layers of plastic was that they’re really put together well. They’re very light weight, but at the same time they don’t feel flimsy or cheap (at $60 they’d better not feel cheap). If you’re afraid of wires I’m going to stop you right here and direct you to the exit door… these babies are all wired up. Turtle Beach did a good job with it though and they really don’t get in the way. Here’s how it works: