Mauricio and I went to the MacWorld Conference and Expo and spent 2 hours on the show floor. Here's what we saw in that small amount of time.
This is also the first time I used my new HV30 (and yeah, we saw the HV40 on the show floor). I used the 24p setting, but the sped up video didn't fly as well as I wanted. On preview it was fine, but I'm guessing it was my choice of compression?
I'm definitely outing myself as a BIG dork here (although I think that's already been established), so here goes. I love Animal Crossing. I really do!
If you don't know the game, let me explain. You have a character, you live in a town, you get a job, you make friends, you help the town prosper, and everything is cute and cartoony. It's kinda like the Sims, but you don't have to sleep, eat, or go to the bathroom. Think "low maintenance" sims.
For me, Animal Crossing is easy and relaxing. Now don't get me wrong, every once in a while I enjoy gaming that involves visuals with blood, gore, and death -- but not all the time.
The game is generally all about keeping peace and harmony, and avoiding bees! I like walking around my AC town, leaving notes for my neighbors, decorating my house, digging up fossils, and fishing! And as cheesy as I can be, you bet I'm lovin' that my neighbors are talking animals like Pandas, Birds or Dogs!
Then there's the soundtrack (this is from the original version), which I absolutely adore.
I first discovered Animal Crossing several years ago when we bought the game for our Game Cube. Then I got the DS version which was terrible because the addiction became portable!
Crap! You mean to tell me I can have multi-player Wi-Fi gameplay with my sister in San Jose, and speak to her at the same time (we've actually put our phones on speaker, while visiting each other's towns playing the DS version). I know the notion of voice connection and gaming isn't revolutionary. Hello, Xbox Live anyone? But it's another positive advancement to this game that will dig me deeper into the AC world!
I predict Animal Crossing: City Folk will be all sorts of trouble for me. I may never surface from my couch again, but at least you'll know how to contact me ;)
So, what's your funny (or not so funny) addiction?
I rarely rave about a website. I frequent many, but quite honestly few ever blow me away. However, today my sister sent me an invite to thesixtyone and I absolutely love it! If you want to discover new music, this site is for you!
The interface is really simple and clean. First of all, you can listen to all the songs on the site - the entire song! Plus, the player allows you to browse other pages without interrupting the current song you are listening to - genius! While you navigate, you can still see the current song playing on the upper right hand corner.
Any artist can add their music to thesixtyone and there's plenty for your listening pleasure. The goal is to get the song onto the homepage. Once you're a user you can "bump" your favorite songs up the list, but it'll cost you. Just so that it's not just a popularity contest, each user is given points. You earn points by bumping songs, listening to music that hasn't made the homepage (called "The Rack"), inviting friends to join, and for sharing music.
Each time you "bump" a song, points are deducted from your user account. Songs on the homepage are typically 5 points. Off the homepage, it'll be higher. One song I bumped on the "The Rack" cost me 49 points! Bumping a song helps the artist too. As the artist levels up, they can add more songs to the site.
I also like the little pop-ups on the bottom right hand page that sometimes give factoids about the song, or comments from the artist. It kinda feels like VH1's pop-up videos, but not as obnoxious.
Some songs are free for download (courtesy of the artist), others are available through Amazon.com. If you're like me, finding good music is not that easy. There are a few other features on the site that make it interactive, but basically its a site to share a lot of good music. That's what it's all about, right?
I'm so thrilled to announced that my new MacPro has arrived and is up and running. Although it'll take some time to really get to know one another, I believe we will have a very good partnership. I've named the new computer "Ms. Apple", as my previous computers were "Mr. Apple" & "Mr. Apps".
I believe "Ms. Apple" will help me avoid days like today where rendering a 3-minute motion graphic intensive video takes 25 mins. One mistake could cost another 25 minutes of rendering...and another. In my rush today I made a few mistakes that had to be corrected.
I believe "Ms. Apple" will get me on track and help me multi-task.
I believe "Ms. Apple" will enjoy its new home.
I believe all this because I spent a lot of money, and it has to work.
Keyboard Language 065-6287 Apple Keyboard & Mighty Mse
Arrived:
23" apple cinema display - some people are perturbed as to why I didn't purchase the Dell monitor. Well, I got a student discount! For the record, I love this display! It's brilliant!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at 09:25PM 
