Owner: ToymanTV URL:http://www.toyman.tv Join Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:10:58 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. News, reviews and editorials on technology and gadgets. Site statistics:Click here
PlayStation 3 First Impressions 2007-07-19 17:01:29 My shiny new PlayStation
3 is all hooked up and happy in it's little cubby. I still feel dirty for having bought the ultra glossy black beauty, but a new feeling has joined the party: frustration.
The unpacking experience held no unpleasant surprises, other than the fact that no HDMI cable is included. Let's not forget that Sony has been touting the PS3 as the ultimate high definition experience, which would lead you to believe that they'd provide an HDMI cable. You'd think that wouldn't you? But you'd be wrong.
In any case, I plugged in all of the cables and pressed the touch sensitive power button (a very nice touch by the way). Moments later I was busy setting up my PS3 account while sitting a mere 5 feet from my television set. Not a lot of fun when you're sitting on the floor in front of a large HDTV. The sixaxis controller needs to be plugged into the PS3 with the included six foot USB cable for two reasons: 1) to pair the bluetooth controller with the PS3, and Read more:First
, First Impressions
, Impressions
Why I Bought a PlayStation 3, and Why I Feel so Dirty 2007-07-17 16:35:28 Last Saturday I ordered a 60GB PlayStation
3 from Amazon.com, and I feel like that is something I need to keep between me and my God. You may be asking yourself, "why did you buy a PS3," "why are you ashamed," or "why do you buy so many damn toys?" Well, I've been asking myself the first two questions since last Saturday, and as for the third question, I'm the Toyman. Go figure.
In pondering the first question, why did I buy a PlayStation 3, the answer is actually pretty simple. During last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Sony announced that they were dropping the price of the PS3 to $499. I can hear you now, "$499? What a bargain!" While that may not be a "bargain" in the truest sense of the word, it peeked my interest.
After catching my attention with a price drop, Sony showed off a few exclusive games that I must play. That's right, I don't just "want" to play them, I "must" play them. Games like Super Stardust HD, Killzone 2, Metal Gear, and Little Big Pl
Cable Companies CableCARD Woes 2007-07-06 11:43:22 On July 1st cable companies are required to offer set-top boxes with Cable
CARD support instead of the closed systems they offer now. The reason? To give the consumer greater choice. Don't like the cable companies set-top box or DVR? Just go to your local electronics store and pick up your own. Don't like the monthly "rental" fee the cable company charges for the set-top box? Buy your own.
As you can probably imagine, the cable companies don't like this setup too much because it will eat into corporate profits. No more rental fees, fewer people using video on demand services, fewer eyeballs seeing the channel guide advertising, etc. Well, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association has come forward and declared that next January customers are probably going to see rate hikes.
"There's nothing in these decisions [FCC ruling] to stave off a $600 million set-top box tax likely to affect the great majority of cable customers while providing no benefit to consumers."
" Read more:Companies
Microsoft Surface Parody 2007-06-21 17:25:59 For those of you that haven't seen the Microsoft
Surface technology video demos floating around the web, check this out.
Apple TV YouTube Update First Impressions 2007-06-21 12:38:03 Last night I installed the Apple
TV update, which went fairly quickly, and explored the YouTube
integration. My first impression is very positive. Watching YouTube videos on my big screen is pretty fun.
But, there's always a "but," the enjoyment didn't last for very long. The search functionality wasn't as polished as I expect from Apple. Search results are updated in realtime on the right hand side of the screen as you type in a search query on the left side. Well, I found that the cursor would get stuck and become unresponsive as I typed. Not very helpful.
Also, the selection of videos is limited right now. I assume that they'll be adding in more of the catalogue over time. In any case, the YouTube integration seems like a beta feature that has the potential to become a great addition. Read more:First
, First Impressions
, Impressions
, Update
Samsung 19" LCD HDTV (LN-T1953H) Review 2007-06-18 11:42:20 Last week I decided to ignore the advice of having a television free bedroom and purchased a Samsung
19" LCD HDTV
. Yes, yes I know that having a television in the bedroom can aggravate sleep disorders and can potentially subdue sexual desire, but please don't ever doubt the Toyman's sexual magnetism. Okay, stop laughing.
Now that you've got that out of your system, the Samsung television isn't just pretty, it's sexy. The super glossy framing comes in either black or white, I chose the black, and has nice rounded edge. On the bottom of the frame there's a clear plastic bevel which is reminiscent of the iMac from a few years back. The speakers are cleverly hidden on the bottom and the clear plastic bevel helps to direct the sound forward. Like I said, sexy.
After plugging it in, the television greeted me with a nice welcome screen and asked if I wanted to run the auto-setup. This process reminded me of setting up a new Mac computer. The user experience has been well thoug Read more:LCD HDTV
OpenOffice Released for Mac OS X 2007-06-07 09:53:12 OpenOffice.org has released a Mac OS X native version of the open source office suite. Previous versions required Mac users to install X11 in order to run the applications. Anyone that has run applications within X11 will probably be rejoicing at this news. Read more:OpenOffice
iPhone Ads Debut 2007-06-04 16:48:28 Three iPhone
TV Commercials debuted on Sunday. Even if you find the iPhone underwhelming, the TV commercials show off the beautiful simplicity of the product. As you watch them, try to think of any other cellphone ads that show off the interface.
Only one thing disappoints me, the fact that I don't use cellphones.
Watch the iPhone ads.
Google Maps Street View 2007-05-29 14:50:12 Google has launched a brand new feature on Google Maps
, Street
View. It uses video taken from the streets of major cities like New York and creates "man on the street" snapshots from different angles. Read more:Google
Apple Presentation Next Week 2007-08-01 10:28:04 Macworld is reporting that Apple
is going to be holding a "mac-focused" presentation next Tuesday (8/7) for a select group of the press.
Silent Approval of the Comcast Arbitration Agreement 2007-08-08 15:34:30 Have you ever opened a cable, telephone or utility bill to find a collection of flyers promoting additional services? What do you usually do with those flyers? Probably the same exact thing I do, throw them out.
Well, two days ago I received my Comcast
bill which had a glossy black flyer enclosed. As I walked to the trash to throw out the junk flyer included with my bill, the words "Arbitration Notice" on the front of the flyer caught my eye. Standing next to the kitchen garbage can, I read the flyer and discovered that Comcast is changing the customer subscriber agreement to include mandatory arbitration for any dispute. My mood went from "time to sort the mail," to "you've got to be kidding me."
So what does this actually mean? Any dispute with Comcast must be resolved through arbitration and cannot end up in court. Comcast says that the word dispute, "is to be given the broadest possible meaning that will be enforced." In other words:
"The term 'Dispute' means any dis Read more:Agreement
, Approval
, Silent
Karl Rove has an iPhone 2007-08-07 09:11:12 Karl Rove has an iPhone
.
Karl Rove has an iPhone!
So many jokes going through my head ...
I've got to go lay down. Read more:Karl Rove
Garmin Nuvi 360 2007-08-13 11:22:39 What's the greatest invention of humankind? Fire? The Wheel? The Airplane? No, no and no. Without a doubt in my mind, the greatest invention that we as a species have ever created is the Global Positioning System (GPS).
Putting hyperbole aside, GPS systems are one of those "how did we ever get by without it" technologies. GPS is working its way into many consumer level products like cellphones, cars, and other portable devices. One of the leaders in the industry is Garmin
, and I've been using one of their Nuvi 360's for about a month.
Build & DesignUnlike the Roadmate line of Garmin GPS devices, the Nuvi line is small and portable. It's meant to be a travel assistant no matter how you get around (walking, biking, motorcycle, car, etc.) The device can fit in a large pocket and is extremely light weight. The built in battery makes the streamlined device possible, but is not user upgradable. Nothing feels cheap about the Nuvi, and it gives the impression that it can t Read more:Garmin Nuvi
Who's Editing Wikipedia 2007-08-14 14:39:00 If I told you companies edit their own Wikipedia
entries, would you be surprised? Probably not. What is surprising is Virgil Griffith, the genius graduate student that wrote the Wikipedia Scanner, has found the proverbial smoking gun. His handy new tool has found out who's anonymously editing the entries. For instance, someone at Diebold deleted 15 paragraphs from an article on the Diebold e-voting machines. For shame, Diebold!
Virgil Griffith is my new hero.
Read more here.
Another Ringing Endorsement for Windows Vista 2007-08-20 14:10:09 James Fallows over at theatlantic.com has a "Jim Louderback" like post on switching from WindowsVista
back to Windows XP. It's a big mea culpa on his part for recommending Windows Vista
to his readers. Hats off to you James.
Read the post. Read more:Endorsement
Jim Louderback Leaving PC Magazine and Blasting Windows Vista 2007-08-20 10:46:24 After five years at the helm of PC Magazine
, Jim Louderback is leaving Ziff Davis to become CEO of Revision 3. For those not in the know, Revision 3 produces some of the best online shows available today: Diggnation, The Totally Rad Show (a personal favorite of mine), InDigital, and many more.
While I respect Jim's work at PC Magazine, he's frustrated me over the past year with his blind devotion to WindowsVista
. He was banging the "Vista is the best OS" drum before the final product was launched to the public. Granted, Vista may be the best Windows to date, but it's far from perfect.
His final goodbye to the PC Magazine readers devolves into a fantastic rant about Windows Vista's negatives. I applaud him for his candor, but why couldn't he have been more forthcoming over the past 9 months?
In any case, I'm excited to see what he does over at Revision 3. Good luck, Jim.
Read Jim's farewell columnn. Read more:Leaving
Worst Product Name Ever? 2007-08-29 15:44:29
"Do you have your blaxx?"
"I've got my blaxx in my pocket."
"My blaxx never leaves my hand."
"I love my blaxx."
"Once you go blaxx, you never go baxx!"
Yeah, great product name.
Blaxx product page
TUNEWEAR ICEWEAR iPhone Case - Ribbed for Your Pleasure 2007-09-25 10:48:21 Did I just write, "ribbed for your pleasure"? No, no I didn't. Oh, God ... I did!
Best quote, "ICEWEAR iPhone
utilizes our patented rib technology." I'm surprised that God didn't have this patent already.
Visit TUNEWEAR.
New iPod Touch 2007-09-24 19:34:54 Well, the Toyman broke down and picked up a new iPod
Touch from Best Buy. It's a week 38 model (see previous post) and all is good. The video quality is so much better. I tested with two of the same videos that I used before, "Rear Window" and Pixar's "Lifted." Details were visable in dark scenes that weren't visible before. Even better, the dreaded negative effect is gone.
By the way, I've written this post on the iPod. Not bad.
Bad iPod Touch Screen (Negative Black Issue) 2007-09-24 12:15:40 Over the weekend I returned my iPod
Touch to Best Buy. I was having the same "negative black" issue that many users have been complaining about since the device hit the street. For those that haven't heard, some of the iPod Touch screens have difficulty playing dark video scenes or photographs. The dark areas take on a grayish quality and the darkest areas will sometimes go light gray. The result is similar to looking at a film negative, hence the name "negative black effect."
Bottom line: it makes watching video difficult.
From the reports iPod Touches that were built in week 36 or 37 suffer from the problem. While the latest builds are still having screen issues, the numbers are diminishing. To find out what week your iPod Touch was manufactured, look at the serial number. It should start with, "9C7." The two numbers that follow "9C7" are the week it was built.
All of this is why I returned my iPod Touch. Now I wait, wait for the word that the screen issues are resolved. Read more:Black
, Negative
, Touch Screen
iPod Touch is in the House! 2007-09-16 18:48:16 I was able to pick up an iPod
Touch this weekend. In the coming days I'll post a review, but here are my initial impressions.
The packaging is classic Apple. Minimalist and beautiful.
It's far thinner than I was expecting, but also heavier. Odd.
My experience with the iPhone has been limited, so the "wow factor" is still in effect.
So far it's the best iPod I've ever used. There's no way a clickwheel, or any other mechanical input device can match a touch interface.
Getting it online was a snap.
It's beautiful.
Here are some of my unboxing pictures.
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR. Read more:House
PC Magazine iPod Touch Early Review 2007-09-13 12:46:23 PC Magazine
has posted an early review for the iPod
Touch, and they loved it. 5 out of 5 stars. Considering that the iPod Touch is basically an iPhone, and many have called the iPhone the best iPod ever, I'm not too surprised.
Any doubts of my iPod Touch preorder have vanished after reading this review. Read more:Early
iPod Classic vs. iPod Touch 2007-09-06 10:05:25 I've got a 2 1/2 year old 60GB iPod
Photo that I've wanted to replace for some time now. Adding video playback to my iPod's bag of tricks has been on my wish list for months. Many, many months. The only thing that has held me back was the small screen of the video capable iPods. I kept telling myself, "Oh, just wait. Apple will create something fantastic with the next version." So I waited.
Then the iPhone came out and I just about burst with excitement. However, I don't use or even like cellphones, so why would I want to pay $60 a month for a large touch screen iPod? So once again, I waited.
Yesterday, my waiting paid off ... sort of. The new iPod Touch fulfills almost all of my requirements: large screen, longer battery life, video playback. And the extra perks aren't too shabby either: touch screen, wifi and web browsing. [Cue the needle scratching sound.] But the iPod touch tops out at 16GB of storage.
One thing I've come to love about my 60GB iPod Photo is t Read more:Classic
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