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I remember many, many years ago, unwrapping a Nintendo Entertainment System with my sisters and being blown away by the amazing piece of technology in front of me. We played that system until it was broken. We spent hours making our pixelated Mario jump from platform to platform in an attempt to rescue Princess Peach from Bowzer. We were limited to a simple controller with only two buttons and a direction pad. Yet it was able to entertain us for years. Now in 2008 not much has changed in my love for video games except the systems and their power and features. With this current generation of gaming systems things I could only imagine as a youth are now possible in video games and each system has something to bring to the table. Which system is right for you? The Wii, Xbox 360, or Playstation 3?

Wii

Price: $250

Pros:

• The Wii is the cheapest out of all three of the current systems.
• The Wii has revolutionized gaming with it controller. The Wii Remote it allows the player to control the system through point and movements instead of joysticks and buttons. It allows a player to actually swing it like a tennis racket to hit a ball, point it like a gun, or turn it like a steering wheel in a car.
• Because of the movement based controls the Wii has gotten people off the couch and up into the game. It adds a new sense of realism when you have to move the control such as an item or tool in the game.
• To go along with getting people off the couch Wii has introduced games that actually are designed to act as exercise, such as “Wii Fit“
• Wii has also put an emphasis on getting the entire family involved in game play. Wii has introduced several family friendly games.
• The Wii is a great social system. Anyone can play it and has several games specifically designed for multiple players in a social setting.
• Can play games from its predecessor, Game Cube, and other games from older systems are availible for download.

Cons:

• Graphics lack in comparison to the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
• The Wii lacks a lot of third party support.
• You have to be careful with how you swing those controllers. Incidents of Wii Remotes going through TVs have been largely reported since its launch. Be sure to have the wrist strap on.
• Childish. Not many games aimed at adults.

Xbox 360

Price: $279-450

Pros:

• Great graphics
• Most exclusive titles out of the 3 systems
• Most reliable online network (Xbox Live)
• Cross game voice chat on Xbox Live
• Most traditional system
• You can buy TV shows and movies over Xbox Live as well as older games
• Backwards compatibility with original Xbox games.
• Great third party support

Cons:

• The early systems had a high failure rate
• When in use the system is loud
• Cost of upgrades and accessories adds up
• User must pay for Xbox Live
• No HD video player

Playstation 3

Price: $399-499

Pros:

• Cheapest Blu-Ray DVD player on the market
• Free online gameplay
• Uses Blu-Ray technology in games
• Low failure rate
• Uses movement technology in controller

Cons:

• Price, most expensive system
• Lacks exclusive game titles
• Though the online play is free, it is not as dependable as Xbox Live
• No rumble feature
• Size. Largest system of the three systems

Don’t be fooled, there’s a new kind of movie genre out there that if you are a guy, it will have you fuming. It’s called the Trick Flick and it’s a comedy that is supposed to make you think it’s a ‘guy’ movie, when in reality, it’s a ROMANTIC comedy. Maybe you like that Simon Pegg guy from “Shaun of the Dead” and he’s even better in “Hot Fuzz”, but did you fall victim to his latest movie about this guy that runs a marathon? (”Run, Fat Boy, Run”) Or how about the highly publicized “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” with it’s crazy ‘guy humor’, only to find out it was a romantic comedy. Enough is enough.

It used to be that you could spot a ‘Chick Flick’ a mile away, but they’re raising the stakes here. Thankfully, half of these movies bomb at the box office, and if Ashton Kutcher is in it, well then just remember- don’t bother. What the studios are trying to do is appeal to a broad audience, and if that means cutting the trailer so that it appears to be a movie for the guys, and then it turns out that it’s NOT, well they have your $9.50 already so who cares? So now you have to do a little research first before you go- at least with Adam Sandler movies you can tell whether it’s a straight up comedy or not.

This genre can be traced back to the days of Jerry Maguire, when you were duped into believing the movie was for guys, shrouding the real premise of the movie, using themes like sports, power, and money. You thought the catchphrase was: “Show me the money!”, well it turns out it really was: “You had me at ‘hello’.” Most ‘chick flicks’ are easy to spot by either their title, teaser trailer, poster, or actors, but watch out, guys or you will find your self laughing one minute and realizing the jokes on you the next. And if you do see one, well, at least let someone know.

They’ve worked hard behind the scenes for decades, but have they really gotten the recognition they deserve? No, they haven’t. Ones and Zeros work great together in strings, and have no problem holding their spot and creating information. Teamwork. Never having a problem being first or last, and never complaining about the information they hold. We are proud. Read the rest of this entry »

Wake up this Sunday morning and realize you forgot something? Yes, it’s Mother’s Day! Ok, quick, did you send her a card? No? It’s alright, because your Mom loves getting emails from you. She’s so 2008. E-Cards are fun, they’re easy, and they will make her smile. What could be better than her clicking on an animated bunch of penguins or dancing bananas. Or just go with the flower bordered one. Read the rest of this entry »

Who hasn’t ever wanted to find a treasure map and seek out a lost treasure? Well, Geocaching is a great way to use your GPS device and find a “hidden” cache of fun. Here’s how it works: In a waterproof container, items such as a logbook or local random loose items are left in an out of the way place. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a plan to bring back BattleBots, the TV show with dueling robots controlled by human beings. But really, a robot by definition is supposed to be independent of outside control! A few years back, BattleBots were all the rage. Well, it’s time for a new breed of robot battle competition, and what would really spice things up would be - Artificial Intelligence. Today we have an international ’soccer robot‘ competition, which is nice, I guess, but we NEED real autonomous robot carnage! Read the rest of this entry »

If you had the opportunity, and the ability to tear apart some code for a simple desktop game to propose to your girlfriend, would you? Well, that’s exactly what Bernie Peng did recently. You see, this is what programmers do in New Jersey: they use technology to their best advantage. Read the rest of this entry »

Seven years ago, the HAL 9000 series brought a new world of voice recognition software that has helped us discover the wonders of the universe. Now we wonder what other applications this technology would bring…

“HAL open the Britney Spears album.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t do that, Dave.” Read the rest of this entry »

We can’t guarantee what will happen if you try these, but they can be fun!

1 - The Screen Flip

First enable rotation the default key combination Ctrl + Alt + F1.
Holding down CTRL and ALT while pressing the DOWN ARROW flips the screen upside down.
To undo it, and flip it back to normal, hold down CTRL and ALT and press the UP ARROW.
This works with most computer setups, you can also try right clicking on the desktop and clicking properties, then settings, then advanced, and choosing the graphics card setup to flip the screen image. Read the rest of this entry »