The one about the shoe

This is my shoe. Here is it's story.

On a sunny afternoon, a few summers ago, we met for the first time. It was one of those moments when you get that gutfeeling telling you that at that very moment you are at the right place, at the right time. It was love at first sight, we immediatly knew it was meant to be, and we were a perfect fit.

As with any new shoe, there is this time you are accomodating to eachother. And then suddenly, out of the blue, you hit that sweetspot: your shoe and you have become one. They fit perfectly, and when you slip them around your feet, it feels like coming home from a long and hard day at work. When that moment hits, the shoe is no more. It has become a part of your body, it's not a seperate entity any longer. The shoe and you have become one.

As with any new shoe, there are some strings attached. Without them your shoe and you cannot tie together as they should. Those are the nuts and bolts of life, they are there and it might bother you at the beginning, but you get used to it fairly quickly.

This is where our journey began. It's a remarkable journey, for it has no end. Because while time passes, memories are created. Memories do no fade, they are you history, and your future at the same time.
Without that shoe, I wouldn't be where I am right now, and nothing would have been the same. Without that shoe, the road ahead of me would not be the road I see now.
We've come a long way, we had some very fun and amusing moments, but along with that came the hard and difficult moments. It is ying and yang. You can't have one without the other.
We've come a long way, we travelled around the world, having the time of my life. It was also one of those moments the same gutfeeling surfaced again, telling me I was at the right place, at the right time. Those are the moments when you are experiencing heaven on earth, and feel the divine intervention.
We've come a long way, as you can see on the picture. Time goes by, years pass, roads and hills are conquered. Thousands of miles are walked, run and even rested. This comes at a price. While you are having the time of your life, the sole of your shoe starts to wear. It is key to recognise this, for it is of the upmost importance. The shoe needs to be taken care of, you have to prevent the wear. This is where I failed. As you can see, a gaping hole was created. Can it be fixed? I do not know.

As time goes by, and as things are looking now, I will probably wear them less and less. This is where the shoe and you get seperated. You do not know what to do, or where to go, for you have lost your guidance, your road, your past and your future all at once. This very moment will be engraved in your brain, never to be erased again.

Who won E3 2006?

This is the million dollar question. To judge this objectively is a hard thing to do, that is why I decided to go the old fashioned way and pull in some numbers.

This graph is generated by the blog-trendsearch http://www.blogpulse.com. As you can see around April, 25th there is a huge spike on the Wii. Obviously this is when the name was announced by Nintendo. Note that it even generated a little bit more buzz than their showing at E3.

Nintendo Wii: generated the most buzz with their new innovative controller that was unveiled to the public for the first time.

Xbox 360: Considerable buzz mainly for it's huge line-up of AAA titles and a few peripherals.

Playstation 3: comes in last in the graph. They showed some promising titles and had the trailer of the show with MGS4 which was simply sublime. I'm guessing their huge price announcement also made quite a few blog ;) Sony what are you doing? :(

So after E3 buzz goes to normal and the 360 is on top again. The reason being that the product is out, games are released, etc. There is a small Wii spike at the date the < $250 price point rumour surfaced. My hopes are at $200 as I stated earlier on my blog.

Personally I was most excited about all the great games Microsoft announced. The games the Wii showed off unfortunately did not really catch my attention, then again I'm really interested in what games devs will come up with for the controller. For Playstation 3 I'm excited about Heavenly Sword, F1 and the Naughty Dog studios game. They really let me down on the controller, and their enormous price. I personally can't miss rumble, simply because this feature is really an added value when playing racing games and some sports games. And I'm really a racing fan. Too bad.

Quote of the day

"Love, hate & tears come in one single package"
- Me

Life is... being dependant

It just struck me in a moment of enlightenment that our earthly life here is nothing more then being dependant on just about anything. Love, food, water, emotions and, ofcourse, chocolate :p Imagine anything, I bet you're reality depends on it. Spiritual writings tell us that this is not the meaning of life, it is the experiences we have and share that causes the evolution of our soul. That sounds very exciting in theory, despite the fact that reality is only what we make of it. And sophisticated monkeys as we are, that reality seemingly is a far cry from the theory.

Come to think of it, I truly admire and even envy the independant life style of a master Monk. If I would have to describe the meaning of freedom, I would only need one word. Monk. Only those true masters of life, and love, are strong enough to endure a life without any dependency. Stories of Monks sitting under a tree, months on end, meditating their minds into esoteric paradise, having merely enough nutrition to keep their physical bodies alive, are not unheard of.

Spiritual aficionado's would like us to believe a "Shift" in conciousness is looming. There is a lot of buzz in that community around the year 2012. As far as I know, that number arose from the Mayan calendar. I'm not sure about the specifics, but as I recall, certain planets would align on a date set somewhere in 2012, which would mark the end of life as we know it, and begin a new era. This doesn't mean the world will end, but we would awaken, and see the Light! ;) The problem to me is there are as many theories as there are articles you can read about it. Consistency isn't something you will find in the countless esoteric books.

I'm willing to believe, but I'm the kind of person which is naive on the one hand, but also very hard to convince on the other. Although at this point I've seen that much material that I conclude that probably, the physical body / life isn't everything there's to it. Then again when reading the articles and books I try to imagine the psychological reason for expressing or even having those thoughts. If you are someone who's fed up with how this world works (count me in) it is an easy way out to believe there's more to "life" then this. What if there isn't?

A looming shift in conciousness is a posibility, but the world staying the shitty place it is now, unfortunately is one too. Here's hoping for the former, guess I'll better start lighting candles and pray as if my life depends on it.

As such the truth remains to be uncovered, and as a wise man repeatedly said, "The truth is out there".

PS: If you are interested in any of this, I highly recommend:
* Anything by David Icke (http://www.davidicke.com). His lectures are phenomenal and you won't be bored for even a second, he's a magnificent speaker (also available on DVD).
* The trilogy "Conversations with God" by Neale Donald Walsch.
* "The Holographic Universe" by Michael Talbot. (my favorite book by far)
* Books by Brian Weiss. He's an MD with alot of interesting anecdotes and experience around hypnotism, reincarnation, past life regression, and the likes from a professional point of view.

To all women: Toyota has a solution for you

Oh boy does Toyota have a surprise for you! Toyota has embedded a new technology into their hybrid car, the Prius, called IPA which is short for Intelligent Park Assist. Through a camera it is now possible to designate a parking spot. Then all you have to do is wait and let the car automatically park. Only thing left to do is brake when necessary. Now if this isn't an invention made for women, I don't think anything is, sorry ;p

Weeee... uhm... I mean Wii

Nintendo is redefining the way we cheer when playing videogames. They recently announced the official name for their next-gen console, codenamed Revolution. The new name is ... (drum-rolls)... Wii. Pretty odd if you ask me, to be honest I liked Revolution better, but I guess I'll have to get used to it.

Here is an excerpt from their announcement: "While the code-name "Revolution" expressed our direction, Wii represents the answer.
Wii will break down that wall that seperates video game players from everybody else.
Wii will put people more in touch with theur games... and each other.
But you're probably asking: What does the name mean?
Wii sounds like "we", which emphasizes this console is for everyone." Now try reading that with a straight face :D I guess we'll get more info on the Wii at E3.

Quote of the day

"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut."
- Will Rogers

So lame it's actually funny :D

Ubisoft says goodbye to Starforce

Last week Ubisoft officially confirmed it will stop using Starforce copy protection on it's upcoming games. The official reason being, 'user complaints'. Maybe the lawsuit that gamers filed agains Ubisoft has something to do with it. Anyway, this is strike one. And remember, oh dear Starforce, strike three and you're out :p

That being said, it seems the russian company is losing ground in copy protection world. In my opinion this is a good thing for gamers but also for Ubisoft. Starforce is having a lot of bad press lately, as you might have noticed on my blog :p It's only a matter of time when the few remaining studios / publishers follow suit. As a matter of fact, with Ubisoft ditching Starforce, the only big and wellknown publisher using SF, that I can name off the top of my head, is Codemasters. I sincerely hope they also move to another copy protection scheme. They have some nice franchises like DTM Race Driver and Colin McRae Rally, luckily these are also released on consoles :)

Wheee!

Firefox, an alternative browser, had a marketing campaign that let people make tv ads. One of them really made me laugh and you should check it out: http://www.firefoxflicks.com/flick/index.php?id=19542&c=false

Ow and, Get Firefox

PS3 - First price indication

In a radio interview George Fornay, president of Sony Computer Entertainment France and vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, stated that the PS3 will cost between 500 and 600 euro. Comparing to the X360's prices, 300 and 400 euro, that is quite a difference.

I'm taking this with a grain of salt, since it's not exactly an official statement by Sony. Then again, if it turns out to be true, the war for the holiday season shopper's money might turn out to be very interesting. This makes the christmas next-gen console line-up quite intriguing:


Putting the features next to eachother, reveals an interesting strategy of the big 3. Nintendo is aiming for a back-to-the-roots console, with a unique controller. Cleary concentrating on gameplay and not going along with the performance hype, which is a good thing I think. Microsoft basically offers their customers the choice what they want based on their needs, while delivering a powerful HD console. Sony on the other hand, provides a all-in package. Wether you need WiFi and Bluray or not, you're going to pay for it. And all this obviously translates to the price points.

Is Sony shooting itself in the foot?
The early adopters will not feel any remorse when they throw 500 to 600 euro on the counter for the new console. Without a doubt the console will be sold out during launch, as they projected 1 million consoles to be initially available worldwide. A Xbox 360 availability scenario is looming for PS3. This might also be why they put the price point pretty high. The problem I foresee is getting the casual gamer to pay that amount of money for a console, while everyone got used to the €400 sweet spot and Nintendo offering a cheap console. So either they will have to lower the price drastically when units are more readily available (until then, Nintendo and MS have even more time to expand their userbase), or simply forget about a huge userbase this time around... Sony is probably hoping for videophiles to get the system for the BluRay drive, but I sincerely doubt mainstream sees the benefits of HD movies and on top of that, the HDTV installed base is not that big either.

Sony's excuse? "...while this might sound like a lot of money for a game system, it is in fact cheap for a Blu-ray compatible playback system." Which is true, but this reveals a new strategy to me. With the PS2, Sony pushed DVD to mainstream consumers through the popularity of their console and their game franchises. This time around the marketing buzz seems to be the opposite: they are pushing their expensive console through the "future popularity" of BluRay. Wether they will succeed in this endeavor, remains to be seen. Considering Sony's previous attempts to push a proprietary format, they can only hope that history doesn't repeat itself.

What does this mean for the competition?
You can rest assured that the 360 will be on the shelves in big amounts, so I expect a killer holiday sales number for Microsoft, Japan not included obviously :p Clearly Sony nor Nintendo will have their production and stock at MS' level. I predict Microsoft will either drop the price a little, or make a special bundle. For example a 360 Premium with 2 platinum titles OR one new title. My bets are on the bundle ;) This would up the pressure on the contenders even more, and potentially create a huge sales momentum for the 360.

If Nintendo is going for the somewhat lower price point as I'm expecting, I see them doing very well this generation. They got quite some nice cards in their hands, a very nice playable back catalogue, a unique controller, solid and famous franchises, and most likely an attractive pricing.

Next holiday season however, the best cards will be in Microsoft's hands. A big next-gen game catalogue, a proven online gaming service, high availability and average pricing. A few months later, when PS3 and Revolution are more readily available, Halo 3 will be released (slated for March 2007). A very good strategy if you ask me, because they counter the competition and third party games wont have to compete with Halo during the holiday rush.

Nobody can predict what will happen. However, as far as I can see, Microsoft is doing their very best to expand their userbase, and has a well thought out plan to do just that. Nintendo goes back to the roots of gameplay and Sony just wants everything in their console :) Who will turn out to be the most successful this next generation? In the end it all comes down to the games and what the fanboys will do :D

Quote of the day

"Oysters, like parrot fish, can change their sex. Older oysters generally become female."
- Feeding Frenzy (X360)

Is that because they tend to moan more as they get older? :D (hehe no offence ladies)

Soundbits: King Conga

I've been experimenting with music software ever since there was something available for home PC's. In the past I have already created some "songs", and today I'm putting my newest track online. Let me know what you think about it!

Genre: "Spacy Tech House" :D

Download:
DK - King Conga.mp3

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Review

Oblivion hit stores around the world a week ago. The internet hype around this game has been phenomenal. Why? Well it's the new installment in the popular single player RPG series Elder Scrolls. On top of that it is the first major RPG-title for the Xbox 360, which obviously contributed to the hype buildup. The question is, does the game deliver?

Gameplay: Oblivion is a sandbox game. This means that you basically choose what game it will be. Think Grand Theft Auto in a Fantasy World. After a good "tutorial-dungeon", which enables you to familiarise with the controls and on top of that the main story line starts there. At the end of this stage you get to pick your birthsign and class. You can create all kind of hybrid characters, which is actually fun.

When you get out of the tutorial your adventure begins. At this point you are free to go and do whatever you want. By completing quests or simply kill creatures you gain experience and at a certain point you are able to level up and increase your skills. The story however is really great. I liked it so much that my first 10 gameplay hours have been very slowpaced. When you get into a city and talk with citizens or merchants, you often get side quests, which mostly are pretty cool and not always your typical "fed-ex"-quest. After 10 hours I barely scratched the surface of the game. I didn't see much of the world yet, and the main story line is still in it's beginning stages. This game promises some massive ammounts of gameplay hours.

The fighting system comes together pretty well. To damage your oponent you can use all kind of swords, bows, magic and so on. The blocking system is manual and not calculated on the basis of stats. By simply using abilities you will gain skillpoints which allows you to use better spells.

Gameplay: 8.5 / 10



Graphics: Stunning! Depending on your system the graphics are true eye-candy. However the game scales pretty good, so somewhat older systems will still be able to run it, however with a cost to be paid in the graphics department. This game uses all the latest technoligies, like HDR. The Havok physics engine really adds to the visual enjoyment of the game. When your system is powerfull enough you can tweak the .ini file to replace the low ress textures in the background with higher resolution versions. Also the pop-in of grass, buildings, trees etc can be highly modified. With everything maxed out this is one stunning title. If you want next-gen, there u have it!

Graphics: 9.5/10

Audio: The soundfx and soundtracks are really phenomenal to say the least, they really create a nice atmosphere in the game. Certainly worth mentioning is that every NPC (non-player-character) communicates with you in spoken words, complimented with subtitles. This adds alot to the realism of the game, and also makes it more appealing to get into the story. After all you're playing a game, and not reading a book, so that helps alot.

Audio: 9/10

Wrap-Up: This game really raises the bar. All aspects of the game are topnotch. The gameplay and story are fun, the graphics are stunning and the audio is phenomenal. 'nuff said.

Conclusion: 9/10

Quote of the day

"The chief obstacle to the progress of the human race is the human race."

- Don Marquis

Another case where the problem is the solution, and the solution is the problem. Get it? :D

Xbox360, PS3 and Nintendo Revolution update

Last week the annual GDC was held. This conference is more geared towards the game devs, as the name implies ;) However time and again, new tidbits of info are released to the public. But rest assured, the big smoking guns are firmly held on to until E3, where the console war will reach a new high this year.

Microsoft did not have a keynote at GDC. Then again, they had some nice stuff to show and hand out to people. The buzzword was XNA, their new game dev framework. Basically what it does is provide devs the tools to create games in a more timely fashion, because of the tools. It allows content creators, programmers, testers to work together in the XNA Studio. It also features a unified set of class libraries which will allow for maximal re-use of code and assets across target platforms. Those target platforms are obviously Xbox 360 and Windows. Write once, play many :)

Attendees of GDC were given the March XNA build , which includes the complete source code of Mechcommander 2 as a product demo. If you are interested in the DVD, you can get it at Microsoft's website.

On the Sony side, not much news has surfaced on the PS3 during their keynote. Most notable was another confirmation of their online service. This will launch simultainiously with the console. So they have a lot of work to do, since they are starting from scratch. It remains to be seen how their cooperation with GameSpy will turn out. However there are some fishy claims about the price of this online service. Some claim online play will be free and gamers would have to pay for particular content. On the other hand, other sites are reporting a per-game fee for online gameplay. I guess we will get more specific details at E3. On a positive sidenote, their final devkits should reach devs before E3 ;)

Nintendo also had a keynote at GDC. Their biggest announcement was that they have made a deal with Sega to make the top Genesis games available through the Revolution. How about that! If you told me years ago, when I was playing my Sega Master System, that by 2006 I would be able to play Sonic on a Nintendo, I would've declared you crazy :D Well time passes, and here we are, being on the virge of doing just that.

I guess the console war will now blend into a cold war, until battle is reopened at E3, where armies of marketing soldiers will draw their guns and let the bullets do the talking.

Quote of the day

"Funny how just when you think life can't possibly get any worse it suddenly does."
- Douglas Noel Adams

Quoted for truth.

Starforce forces reboots?

According to the internet rumour mill, the Starforce RING0 drivers are rebooting pc's when someone tries to copy a protected cd. Without an option to save any work. The driver would also interfere with existing drm software, causing legally bought games to stop functioning.

Whether this is true or not, I do not know. But I sure as hell wouldn't be surprised if it was...

Quote of the day

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow."
- Anonymous

These are some wise words that anyone should take into consideration.

Xbox 360 "hacked"

This weekend the first genuine Xbox 360 hack video has surfaced. The video shows a backup copy of PGR3 being booted on the hacked console. "Hacked console" is not entirely true. As a matter of fact it is not the console that's hacked, but the firmware of the Hitachi dvd drive.

The hack doesn't allow unsigned code to be booted, so no XBMC for you guys yet ;) 360 executables are signed and thus cannot be modified. In the executable it is specified what kind of media the software can be run from, in the case of games this would be a genuine 360 dvd-rom. The dvd drive checks the media and reports back to the system. TheSpecialist and his crew have created a modified firmware that always reports the disc is a genuine dvd, even if it is in fact a recordable. Another problem is that genuine dvd's have specific bad sectors on the disc as an extra protection. As these cannot be written with regular dvd recorders, a fix was needed. The hackers use a lookup table that reports the necessary sectors as bad, even when they are not. This implies that for every new game, a new lookup table has to be added somewhere.

As this firmware can only be used for piracy, since running unsigned code isn't possible yet, TheSpecialist has decided to not release it into the wild. This might have some thinking the hack is not a legit one, although I'm pretty convinced it is. For example in the video they do not show the back of the TV which could have another 360 connected. Then again, the group of hackers have a good reputation, and their research is available for review. As of yet nobody has claimed the hack as a hoax, which I do not expect to ever happen.

If this hack got out anyway, it would be a piece of cake for Microsoft to check the firmware for inconsistencies through a live update, so this hack would not be very effective. So what's next, and when will people be able to run unsigned code? (if ever)

Quote of the day

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."
- Albert Einstein

These wise words of the worlds greatest genius, have proven to be right today ... again.