Hasta La Gadget!

This article was written on August 14, 2007 by CyberNet.

Time Saving Tuesday

It’s been about a week and a half since we became the proud owners of a Nintendo Wii. There was a lot that factored into the decision of us purchasing a Wii, and before you go thinking that we are Nintendo fanboys I’ll let you know that we own the original Playstation and the original Xbox. This is actually the first Nintendo product that I’ve owned since the original Gameboy, so I would hardly say that we are diehard Nintendo fans.

The big deciding factors in choosing the Wii was the low initial cost, exciting multi-player games geared for everyone in the family, and the games run about $10 cheaper than the Xbox 360 and PS3. Of course the graphics on the Wii are no match for the Xbox or PS3, but we were looking more for overall enjoyment rather than how real things look.

There are a lot of reviews out there regarding the Wii, and I don’t want this article to be like all of the others. So I’ll start off by telling you how we were able to get a Wii, and then I’ll point out some cool things that the system can do.

–Wii Locators and Trackers–

The journey to finding a Wii was a hectic one. It started by calling some stores in our surrounding area, all of which gave a prompt response of “we’re sold out” indicating that they receive these calls quite frequently. One store in particular even said that they hadn’t seen the Wii’s in over two-months, which gave me little hope that we were going to find one.

I started to check some stores online, but most of the ones I came across were all sold out. I then turned to some tracking services which monitor several different online stores to see if they have any of the Wii’s in stock. I found two of them that I really liked, and they even have RSS feeds available so that you can be notified quickly of places with the Wii in stock:

• XPBargains Wii Tracker/Locator (RSS)
• BensBargains Wii Tracker (RSS)

Each of those sites have logs available at the bottom of the pages, and looking at them reveals that most of the stores frequently post the console as both a standalone or as a bundle. The only thing is that they typically sell extremely fast so you have to be on top of your game (no pun intended).

So how did we end up getting one? Well, we had found and subscribed to the trackers listed above but that’s not how we got ours. A little later we decided to call some stores that were farther from us, but in a much larger city. A Best Buy store (which is an electronics reseller) happened to have 5 in stock that they had just received. We rushed down there and got one of the last two that they had. So if you want one really bad, it might pay to call around first.

–The Console–

The console itself is among the smallest that I’ve ever seen, although the PSOne was pretty darn small. For comparison sake I would say the Wii is about the size of three DVD movie cases stacked on top of eachother. Its small size made it extremely easy for us to stick into a tight spot that we otherwise wouldn’t use.

Here are some things you might like to know about the Wii console:

• It has a built-in wireless card with no protruding antenna. This makes it easy to connect the Wii to your router, and it was no trouble entering in a WEP key.
• The Wii cannot play DVD’s, but there is supposed to be a version available later this year that can do this.
• When there is a firmware update for the console, the DVD slot will notify you with a blue glowing effect. It sounds weird, I know, and when I saw this happen last week I didn’t know what was going on. You can kind of see this happening in the photo to the right.
• You can view and send photos to your friends by using an SD memory card (view instructional video)

–The Remote and Nunchuk–

The Remote is obviously the shining point of the Nintendo Wii. It’s what lets people interact with the video games almost in the same way as a virtual reality system. The fact that you can turn the remote on the side to make it feel like a classic Nintendo controller is pure genious.

• This is one of the coolest things about the remotes. You can actually use them to turn the system on, or to turn it off. If you turn off your remote it will not only turn the system off, but it will also turn off everyone else’s remotes!
• While playing a game you can use the Home button (located in the middle of the Remote) to reset the system. No more getting out of your seat to do that!
• There is actually a speaker located immediately below the Home button. Some of the games use this speaker to really make you feel like you’re in the game. For example, while playing tennis it will make a “swoosh” sound as your racquet glides through the air.
• The four small square lights on the bottom of the Remote indicate which player you are, with player one being the leftmost light and player 4 being the rightmost light.
• The nunchuk is a nice addition for some games, but from our experiences so far, you could easily get by without it. One Nunchuk comes with the system, but if you’re a little short on cash don’t worry about getting another one.

–Games–

The Wii came with a game called Wii Sports, which is not only a good demonstration of how to use the remote, but is also an adventure to play. We wanted to have two Remotes for our system since Ashley and myself were both planning on playing it, so we purchased the Wii Play & Wii Remote bundle (pictured to the right) that was offered for $10 more than what a standalone remote costs. Below I’ve outlined the list of minigames that are included with Wii Sports and Wii Play along with what we think about each one.

Wii Sports (Nunchuk only used in Bowling):

• Tennis – I think that this is the best game in Wii Sports. It is extremely easy to play since you don’t need to worry about moving yourself around the court…all you focus on is swinging the racquet. Be careful though, once you get going your arm will get sore.
• Baseball – This isn’t bad, but you have no control over fielding the ball. We don’t play this one very much.
• Golf – I like this because it is a little more subdued than the others. You have a lot of control over your swing, but it makes me a little better than I am in real life.
• Bowling – This is a lot more realistic than I originally anticipated it to be. You can spin the ball, angle your throw, and change the speed all with the Remote. Since players take turns it is a great one to play with a group of people when you don’t have a Remote for each person.
• Boxing – You’ll need the Nunchuk for this one, and believe me when I say it is quite a workout. You have to try and dodge punches while throwing some at your opponent. Make sure you focus because there is no time for laughing in this one.

Wii Play (Nunchuks aren’t required for any of the games, but they can be used in the Tanks game):

• Table Tennis – I find this one a bit difficult to play because the distance the ball travels is so short.
• Laser Hockey – Definitely one of the best games on Wii Play. I find it similar to playing air hockey, but it’s got a slight twist to it that really makes it unique.
• Fishing – Nothing like areal fishing, but something younger kids might enjoy.
• Find Mii – Basically “Where’s Waldo” on the Wii. You’ll try to find two characters with the same face, among other things. It sounds easy, but sometimes it can be pretty tough.
• Pose Mii – You rotate characters so that they match the pose in a falling bubble. Yep, it’s as stupid as it sounds.
• Shooting Range – This is like the classic Duck Hunt game on the original Nintendo. Except now you have targets, cans, and flying saucers to shoot in addition to the birds.
• Billiards – Nothing like a quick game of 9-ball. Definitely the most realistic of the 9 games on Wii Play, but it does take some getting used to having such a small stick to hold in your hands.
• Charge! – You ride a rushing cow as it races down the tracks knocking over scarecrows. It’s not that exciting, but it’s definitely not the worst one.
• Tanks! – You move around different levels trying to kill the enemy before the enemy kills you. It can be a bit frustrating because if you die you have to start over from the first level, and so it’s hard to complete all of the missions. Supposedly there are 20 missions for you to complete, but once you complete them and receive the gold medal there will be 80 more. I haven’t gotten very far in this yet, but it is actually fun.

Some people have said that Wii Play is a horrible game, but I don’t have anything to complain about since it only costs an extra $10 with the Remote bundle that I purchased. I would say that it is worth it for the Laser Hockey, Shooting Range, Billiards, and Tanks! games but the others you probably won’t play much.

We also picked up Mario Party 8, and have played that a limited number of times. I definitely haven’t tried it enough to give a full review since this is the first time I’ve ever played any version of Mario Party. Many of the minigames it includes are very unique and well thought out, and so far it has been an exciting game.

–Overview–

So if you’re looking to get a Wii I would say that it is a great time, especially if you get a small group of people together to play it. Just make sure you use the strap that’s attached to the Remote, because injuries and accidents do happen.

Let us know of any great Wii games you come across…especially the multiplayer ones!

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How and where you’ll use the iPad are of the essence. More »

This article was written on November 06, 2007 by CyberNet.

Time Saving Tuesday

I’m always looking for ways to get things done a bit faster, and today we bring you what could very well be the ultimate sidebar. It’s actually more like a personalized homepage, a sidebar, and an application launcher all rolled up into one. That sounds pretty interesting, doesn’t it?

SideSlide is a free application for Windows that is sure to impress. You can tuck it away to any edge of the screen, and it will pop out at a moment’s notice. In your SideSlide workspace you’ll be able to add RSS feeds, program shortcuts, hyperlinks to websites, notes, images, reminders, and more!

–Features–

SideSlide is loaded up with a bunch of great features, but before I dive into the specifics I thought there were a few worth highlighting:

• Dock to any screen edge
• Read RSS news feeds
• Create shortcuts to files, folders and URLs
• Add notes
• Schedule reminders
• Drag and drop text from your browser to have it saved
• Shrink and fold containers
• Launch multiple programs at once
• Advanced keyboard navigation
• Customizable skins
• Find-as-you-type shortcut searching

–Program and Website Shortcuts–

SideSlide above all else is an application launcher. You can add shortcuts to websites you visit, programs you use, or folders you open. There are several different ways that you can organize the shortcuts you add to the workspace, but we’ll get into that in a little bit.

One thing you’ll want to know is that you can zoom in and out of the shortcuts, which means you can make some shortcuts bigger than others. This can be seen in the screenshot above, and it is nice being able to emphasize the programs you use the most.

–Containers–

Containers are like virtual folders for shortcuts to websites, folders, and files. The most common reason that you’ll want to place things in containers is because you can expand and contract them as needed, thereby conserving the screen space that is so precious to you. You can see an animation demonstrating this in the RSS feeds section below.

There is another benefit to placing shortcuts in containers that I absolutely love. When you right-click on a container you can launch all of the shortcuts that reside within it, which is great for both websites and programs you use often:

There’s also an experimental feature that lets you nest containers. This would be like placing a folder inside of a folder. To enable this right-click anywhere in SideSlide and go to Settings -> Containers -> Capture/Nested Containers.

–RSS Feeds–

SideSlide has some nice built-in feed reading capabilities if you only have a handful of RSS feeds that you want to keep up on. With it you can create a mashup of feeds (a.k.a. combine multiple feeds into one), and the feeds can be expanded or contracted to conserve space in SideSlide:

You can force all of your feeds to update at anytime (press F11), or you can update an individual feed by pressing the update button in the container’s title bar. The last time a particular feed was checked for updates will be shown in the container’s status bar.

I would say that you can easily keep up with 15 or 20 feeds with this program, but more than that may start to become a chore. I highly recommend taking advantage of the mashup feature so that you’ll just have one container for each different type of news. For example, you can create one container that includes all of your technology news, another for gadgets, and so on.

Here are some more features the feed reader offers:

• Instant find-as-you-type searching of your news (press Ctrl+S). You can choose to search descriptions and/or headlines.
• You can make SideSlide open the article’s website when links are clicked instead of opening the preview window.

–Settings–

There are all kinds of different settings that you can configure with SideSlide. Here is a brief list of the different options:

• Make the workspace transparent
• Auto expand containers on mouse-over
• Enable nested containers
• Add a shadow to the workspace
• Display the date and time in the title bar of SideSlide

I also mentioned earlier that you can customize the SideSlide skin. Here is what the configuration screen look like for doing that:

Click to Enlarge

–Overview–

When I first saw this program I thought it wouldn’t really do anything useful, but that was because it was hard to realize just how powerful the program was from their simplistic description page. Later I discovered the Quick Start Guide that they put together, and they did an amazing job of outlining all of the different features. After flipping through that and getting accustomed to the keyboard shortcuts I realized that this was definitely a keeper.

I would, however, like to see a tabbed interface for multiple workspaces. Then you would be able to create different workspaces for leisure, feed reading, and more. I guess being able to nest containers kind of makes that possible, but I would still like to see tabs make their way into SideSlide.

SideSlide Homepage

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If you’re sick of reading about the iPad, take a gander at some videos posted by reviewers. Stephen Fry of Time has posted an unboxing video of the iPad (above) which shows off some of its accessories. And PCMag has published a neat video review of the iPad (below) giving a walkthrough of the device.

The iPad is set to release Saturday. Read Wired.com’s buyer’s guide if you’re mulling over which of the six models to purchase.

PCMag: Apple iPad video review from PCMag.com Reviews on Vimeo.

Via MacRumors

The early reviews for the iPad are in, and they’re certainly going to make Steve Jobs happy.

Apple handed out iPads to a few select publications a couple of days early, and the critical consensus is overwhelmingly positive.

The usual reviewers from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, as well as a few surprising newcomers to the Apple early reviews circuit, all praised the iPad for its epically long battery life (more than 12 hours), impressive speed and beautiful touchscreen.

Priced between $500 and $830, the iPad is hitting stores Saturday.

Excerpts from the eight early reviews are as follows:

Walt Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal:

I believe this beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly, and to challenge the primacy of the laptop. It could even help, eventually, to propel the finger-driven, multitouch user interface ahead of the mouse-driven interface that has prevailed for decades.
….
All in all, however, the iPad is an advance in making more-sophisticated computing possible via a simple touch interface on a slender, light device. Only time will tell if it’s a real challenger to the laptop and netbook.

David Pogue, The New York Times:

And the techies are right about another thing: the iPad is not a laptop. It’s not nearly as good for creating stuff. On the other hand, it’s infinitely more convenient for consuming it — books, music, video, photos, Web, e-mail and so on. For most people, manipulating these digital materials directly by touching them is a completely new experience — and a deeply satisfying one.

Andy Inhatko, Chicago Sun Times:

In fact, after a week with the iPad, I’m suddenly wondering if any other company is as committed to invention as Apple. Has any other company ever demonstrated a restlessness to stray from the safe and proven, and actually invent things?

Ed Baig, USA Today:

The first iPad is a winner. It stacks up as a formidable electronic-reader rival for Amazon’s Kindle. It gives portable game machines from Nintendo and Sony a run for their money. At the very least, the iPad will likely drum up mass-market interest in tablet computing in ways that longtime tablet visionary and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates could only dream of.

Tim Gideon, PCMag.com:

Aside from Apple enthusiasts, many of us wondered who would drop hundreds of dollars for this not-quite-computer. But having used the iPad for some time, I can tell you that the device just makes sense. When you combine basic-but-essential work tools with iWork, an improved browser, e-mail, iPod, and photo applications, a well-executed e-Book platform with iBooks, and throw in thousands of downloadable apps and games, and package it all in a gorgeous, slim slate with a beautiful 9.7-inch touch screen, you have yourself a winner.

Bob LeVitus, Houston Chronicle:

It turns out the iPad isn’t as much a laptop replacement as I thought (though it could easily be used as one). Instead, it’s an entirely new category of mobile device. For example, now when I want to surf the Web from the couch or back deck, the iPad is the device I choose. Starbucks? Same thing. Think of the iPad as a new arrow in your technology quiver, an arrow that will often be the best tool for a given task.

Xeni Jardin, Boing Boing:

Just as the iPhone, Palm Pré and Android phones scratched an itch we didn’t know we had—somewhere between cellphone and notebook—the iPad hits a completely new pleasure spot. The display is large enough to make the experience of apps and games on smaller screens stale. Typography is crisp, images gem-like, and the speed brisk thanks to Apple’s A4 chip and solid state storage. As I browse early release iPad apps, web pages, and flip through the iBook store and books, the thought hits that this is a greater leap into a new user experience than the sum of its parts suggests.

Omar Wasow, TheRoot.com:

The techie obsession with specs and obscure features completely misses how most consumers will actually use the iPad. A small percentage of power users will be disappointed that the iPad doesn’t, say, have an HDMI video-out port or that it currently lacks the ability to run multiple applications simultaneously or that it fails to address some other esoteric concern. The rest of us (even most techies) will be thrilled that doing what we want to do on the iPad is generally effortless.

Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com