Posts by Alex

Microsoft backpedals on Blu-ray for Xbox 360 comments

Single INdustry Standard

Surely that would mean zero competition? That would mean we wouldn't have companies being pushed to get the latest and greatest gadgets..

Having said that, too much competition is bad - there is a fine line been too much and not enough. I personally think this has been a worth while period of time. The two formats are superb, but one will triumph (maybe..). One thing's for sure - Internet Downloadable HD-sources are years away - especially with these speeds and caps. It would take a monumental push to make it happen. Maybe in ten year, but not in the next few..

Still didn't get my Xmas present of Paris and a vat of Honey... :(

Village shaken by GPS-driven tank invasion

\m/

I'm thinking the residents either need a PanzerShrek each, or the pure might of the Download Festival from the nearby race track!!

Rock On!

\m/

USB Missile Launcher gets integrated spyscope webcam

Nah

Nah, I'd want a wireless networkable missile launcher that had both camera and laser spot. This means that when I'm away from the effective launch site, I can hop on and target those that are not doing as they are told! Controllable from a web browser - Ha ha!! Power is almost mine...

Asus Eee PC as 'hard to get your hands on as a Wii'

Ah yes..

Those lines, the shape, the contours, the palor.. Almost as good as Heiress Hilton!

Must have been cold though... Either that, or she's pissed!

'Death Star' galaxy blasts neighbour

..Just had to..

CAT is sitting on a bench, LISTER on a table. RIMMER and KRYTEN stand

between them.

CAT: So, what is it?

KRYTEN: I've never seen one before -- no one has -- but I'm guessing it's

a white hole.

RIMMER: A _white_ hole?

KRYTEN: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. A black hole

sucks time and matter out of the universe: a white hole returns it.

LISTER: So, that thing's spewing time back into the universe? (He dons

his fur-lined hat.)

KRYTEN: Precisely. That's why we're experiencing these curious time

phenomena on board.

CAT: So, what is it?

KRYTEN: I've never seen one before -- no one has -- but I'm guessing it's

a white hole.

RIMMER: A _white_ hole?

KRYTEN: Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. A black hole

sucks time and matter out of the universe: a white hole returns it.

LISTER: (Minus the hat.) So, that thing's spewing time back into the

universe? (He dons his fur-lined hat, again.)

KRYTEN: Precisely. That's why we're experiencing these curious time

phenomena on board.

LISTER: What time phenomena?

KRYTEN: Like just then, when time repeated itself.

CAT: So, what is it?

They all stare at him.

CAT: Only joking.

LISTER: (Suddenly upright, and minus his hat, again) Okay, so it's

decided then. We consult Holly.

CAT: Hey, wait a minute -- I missed the discussion!

RIMMER: (Suddenly on the bench, where the CAT used to be sitting) We all

did.

KRYTEN: (Suddenly on the table previously occupied by LISTER) Time is

occurring in random pockets. The laws of causality no longer apply.

An action no longer leads to a consequence.

CAT: (Back on the bench) So, what is it?

KRYTEN: I think we've experienced this period of time before, Sir.

CAT: Only joking.

KRYTEN: And that one. Since we're no longer affected by the laws of

causality, we can override these time jumps if we concentrate.

RIMMER: Look, the only way out of this is to consult Holly.

CAT: (Snaps fingers) I'll go with that.

KRYTEN: Gets my vote.

LISTER: Okay, so it's decided then. We consult Holly.

KRYTEN: Ah, I think we've just encountered the middle of this

conversation!

CAT: So, what is it?

LISTER: Ooh, someone punch him out.

Old Sony console outsold PS3 in US last month

@ Andy

*Applauds* Yup, agree. :) Only would add that there are quite a few decent games for the Wii, but it is targeted differently.

Still waiting for Paris and the vat of honey..

@ hans Re: Downloadable games

Already done and online mate. Get the PS3 online and you can download (albeit less hardcore games) for about 4 quid a pop. Some fun ones on there that can occupy the mind for a while. Also, if you don't want to spend 40 notes no Warhawk, you can download it for 20 notes.

As for BR being a tenner more? DVDs for 5 quid and BR for 15 quid; yeah, but that's the price we paid for DVDs less than a year ago.

Dreamcast

Thought the ol' boys at Sega were re-inventing it to re-release? Nice one! One, round trip in a taxi then :oD

Still very intrigued to see the PS2 doing very well. Such a massively influential machine, it just keeps going. Like the idea about being able to find a PS1 (Ash), going to set a task for my team to try to find one in a bargain bin (brand new only) to win a prize!

Kudos to Nintendo for the DS and Wii - a solid market share.

Hans : a console is for pick up and play. if you can't play FPS on a console, then you've been playing CS for too long :o) Practice makes perfect mate.

Sony posts PS3 DivX firmware update

About time

It's about time they released it. Looking forward to trying a few files out.

Let's see how long it takes for the flaming to start.. ;)

Beeb censors Fairytale of New York

I find the term BBC offensive, can you Bleep that out too??

... I honestly thought Faggots were meat balls made partially from offal? How the Grand Jury's Knackers can this be offensive?!

Censorship.. Pah. I'm adult enough to decern (just!)

Go Shane & Kirsty (Gawd bless 'er in Peace)!!

London PR outfit in sex-on-desk email shocker

Perfect!

High Booted?? I suppose it is only a short bus ride from Kings X....

I'm going, I'm going...(!)

PS3 sales to surpass Wii's... in four years' time

huh?

How in the hell can this be considered breaking news?? Come on El' Reg, this is just sloppy. How can an Analyst predict that?!

Warner to back a single HD disc format?

@ nt300

Firstly mate - get your facts right, and then give your source (BTW, having the same post on a Geocities site doesn't really prove anything.. This might stop people pulling your facts apart. Unfortunately, alot of your facts seem to stem from HD-DVD forums, although not everything you are saying can that be said about. Not having a go, just mentioning the 'facts'.

One thing is a fact is that you do not like Sony - fair point if you were stuck with hardware that failed. But remember that this isn't just Sony pushing out BR. There are quite a few fair share partners in the listings. Sony is getting most of the flaming due to it putting the drive in the PS3. Microsoft makes you pay extra just for the privilage.

Another thing to mention is this "Sony is making a loss on selling PS3s.." not for some time now as the cost of building them has been eased somewhat by numerous versions and the sale of the Cell Chip design to other corps.

Personally, and I am being truthful here, I'm not really fussed either way: I have a PS3, and an Elite 360 with an add on drive. I personally buy more BR because I find them cheaper to buy than HD-DVD (must be a UK thing i suppose). most of mates who have a PS3 have bought at least 5 BRs each (apart from 3 who still buy DVDs because they have normal CRTs). I seem to be the only person I know that has any type of HD-DVD playability (again, it might be a UK thing..), and ALL of my mates have 360s due to the sheer number of games. They just couldn't be ar$ed buying the extra drive..

Either way, if the PS3 ... um, sorry BR wins, I'm happy - But I will have a door stop (HD-DVD drive for 360). If HD-DVD wins, I'm happy, as BR will still be used for games and I have a HD-DVD drive to play m'discs on. MoFo! :oD

I still want Paris and a vat of honey for Xmas... ;o)

Sony exec confirms PS3 will get Blu-ray Profile 1.1 this month

interesting

Glad it's only 256Mb of ram and not anything more. I think this could become an issue for the PS3 owners if BR2.0 needs more.. We'll have to see, and I for one am kind of happy with the current BR setup (as I am with the HD-DVD setup).

So, more features for free? Bring it on :o)

...I wonder if Paris would get a version upgrade? Maybe a MOD for extra sleazyness?? he he!

US Blu-ray Disc player sales pass 2.7m

Eager

Eagerly awaiting more flaming and much amusement to follow!

(P.S. Apologies to Tony for having a dig at you last time. Nothing intentional *wink*)

For Xmas? Just give me Paris and a vat of sticy honey.. What a present!!

How much does El Reg cost the global economy?

@AC:Yes Man

Agreed! El Reg is a vital part of my research and development! If it wasn't for El Reg, I wouldn't be using SANs or even VMWare/Virtual Server. Not to mention all the info on Server 2008. A vital part of my working day. I think that everyone of my team reads El Reg at some point during the day - whether it be about new technologies, or the latest flame war between BR/HD-DVD or PS3/XBOX360 (Not including Wii as it's a different keelt of fish... let's see if this causes a flame war on this thread! lol!).

Magic! Also agree with AC:On what basis; Paris is the Slutty Queen of Slacking off! (or should that be "Jacki...." nope. won't go there..)

Oz video rental giants go Blu-ray only

@highlander

Agreed - Have to say, Tony, that you are wrong. You even say yourself that Tosh did most of the legwork... But compared to BluRay, it's a propriatary format. In no way can BluRay be called that against HD-DVD. More likely that it's just a matter of how much propriatary work has been done. If I'm right in saying here (oh, I am..), Sony developed the laser format whilst Pioneer developed the actual interpretation means.

So, to wrap this up: it's not purely Sony, and it never will be - there are just too many organisations envolved in BluRay.

Huzaaar!!!

Blu-ray widens US disc sales lead

@Anon

Hmm, not sure I'd be brave enough to say that HD-DVD was 'Betamax'.. I certainly wouldn't say it of either tbh. I get what you are saying about Paramount and Dreamworks - it certainly is putting a lot of faith in a format considering this 'special arrangment', but then Sony has done the same (albeit it's their own).

Either or, if HD-DVD wins, I'll buy a decent player (not one of these cheap tat things..) and be happy playing BR games on the PS3 (remember that Sony will undoubtably still make games regardless of the Format War). If BR wins, then I've paid 100quid for a door stop and I won't have to buy INFERIOR MECHANDISE!! (Just kidding, just kidding *grin*)

Personally, I'm waiting for the figures around march as to which is the upper hand. I remember that a market researcher said to me that it takes a couple of months to coallate the figures from Xmas.. Roll on March!

Either way, I win :o)

DHS building handheld lobster spy-beam scanners

a what?!

he he they said "Bottom Crawler"

*Enter Beavis and Butthead giggle and gaffaw*

Run Paris, Run!

Vodafone sends Manchester back to the 90s

HUH?

That can't be right.. Was on the 3G card all yesterday... Nope, that can't be quite true. I know that O2 have absolutely no 3G access in Manc, but Yoda was working fine at Harbour City from 7am to about 6pm yesterday (29th).

Hmmm, puzzling.

Tesco in X-rated Lawnmower Simulator shocker

@Ashley

OMG!! Whislting Rick Wilson!!

LOL! Have still got that tape somewhere in the loft!

"Hold my hand very tightly, very tightly, very tightly! Hold my hand very tightly, ooooh-ooh-ooooooohoooh!"

Classic "hit"

Run Paris, Run!

Blu-ray discs outsell HD DVDs almost 3:1 in Europe

NTSC vs PAL

Interesting point there Joe! Could well become a NTSC vs PAL format for different sides of the Atlantic. Would sort out the cross border shipping from the US to Europe that used to concern the censorshipers (**Petooie!!**)

"not representative at all"

Really? How so? Don't see how you can say that IMHO. It'll be like dismissing all 'early adopters of HD-DVD players' and Xbox owners ... not so, they are and do buy the movies. Think what you are trying to say is that the majority of "Filmos" (as in "Musos") seem to prefer the HD-DVD to the BD. Personaly, I really don't see a difference that justifies the difference apart from the cost of a player.

I agree that it's far too early to call it almost over. Knowing the might of these two factions, it'll last a long time.

True it's a huge shot in the arm for BD, but it will take a massive amount of persuading for the big film distros to change their direction.

And ALBA.. come on.. which self respecting film buff would buy a box costing more than 20 quid from them(?!?!) Lunacy!

Official: PS3 to get DivX through firmware upate

@Joe

Erm.... TVersity?? Wifi streaming with on-access conversion? free? Quite why you'd want a memory card reader for viewing films is beyond me when a memory card is .. erm.. ooo, about £20. TVersity is free, simplistic to use (once changing the resolution of the streaming video to 640x480)

Works a treat.

Also, i think I'm right in saying that Xvid can be played on DivX players.. well at any rate, i can play Xvid on my DivX player..

Euro HD DVD camp clams up on format sales figures

have to agree...

Have now got both the HD DVD drive for the Xbox and a PS3. It's much a muchness (so to speak) and really can't see either having a vastly stronger hold over the other.

Still, just because there are more PS3s around doesn't mean it's the winner... Watchers will probably pick a format due to the films available rather than what format they are on. Could see this as a 'Studios' battle rather than a format battle.. maybe, maybe not. Either way, I'll be happy with either format, or more probably a device that plays both (don't see how this will be sorted.. see it as a 7" vs 12" battle but with differing stylus needed.... god I feel old right now...)

Sony posts PS3 firmware 2.0

@ Adrian

True, I have mentioned before in previous posts that I just want to watch the film, rather than faff around with 'extra' features. So possibly a blessing there are no extra features (@Mike)

One thing though, I've noticed that you can indeed have custom play lists.. There is now an option and I have been able to do so. Not sure if I am reading what you have said correctly, but it does seem to be included. Not sure about messaging in game though as I don't message in game.

Nice

I actually like the idea of this - one thing that gets me is that the wife turns the PS3 off when going to bed, whilst I'm in a hotel somewhere miles away watching films on the PSP.. Being able to tunr it back on again will help our inter-relationship issues somewhat. So rather than bollocking her over the phone, I can just remind her nicely when I get back not to turn it off "..but it's ok, I can now turn it one remotely.."

Still, shame about not having the updates for BlueRay.. sure there will be another one next month..

Canadian hi-tech gentleman jewel thief finally nabbed

Pink Panther

Just need Henri Mancini's classic theme to play over the tannoy at the court for that added effect.

Did he wear a black turtle neck sweater and have a pencil moustache??

'I'll be back' is most-quoted movie line

Quotes

yeah, didn't Donald Pleasance do a better "Good-bye, Mr. Bond" in You Only Live Twice? more stacato like if I remember

Also, wasn't it James Caan and 'The Fopp' in Mickey Blue Eyes that repeated "Furr-ghedda b'art eet!"? (God, what a bad, bad film....)

@Marc : doesn't seem right, but his original script which was lengthly was heavily cut by Mr.Scott. Think it's fairly true, but there are so many variations on the net, it's difficult to check without watching it again.. (oh well, guess I'll have to watch it again! he he)

Paris Hilton exits missionary position to save Universe

"Nipping it in the bud", claims Paris

...Sub Comment : "Rwanda breathes sigh of relief at exiting Paris"

PS3 Eye digicam to arrive next week

Oh ffs..

@Mark : Yup - correctomondo!

@'this' : It's the microphone, possibly sterio, but not known by me at the mo.

Sony slashes US 80GB PS3 price by $100

@Graham

Fair enough - I'm quite proud of my PS2, so I don't really care one way or another. I suppose also having the functionality on my PS3 is an added bonus, but I still prefer to play my PS2 games on my HD'd PS2 (that's Hard Drive.. not 720p/1080p) where the load speeds are fantastiche! And again, you CAN play Guitar Hero on the PS3.. (people just don't listen..tsk)

If you truly want a PS3 with backwards compatibility, then buy a 60Gb now before they run out of stock (will they though...? As in make anymore? doubt it.. but hey ho). At the current price of £350, i think it's a steal what with all the tech in that box. Can't see why some people are complaining about price - I paif full whack, and I'm certainly not complaining about losing out! had more than enough play out of it already, and on a per hour basis, i'm sure I've kicked the rate per hour to well below 50p/hr.

One happy PS3 owner.. and Xbox Elite owner.. and soon to be Wii owner (when LegoSW comes out[!!])

Yay for Paris!

@Joe

Exactly! Why buy a next gen machine to play last gen games..?! Sort of makes paying 300 notes a bit steap really.

I've had the PS3 since launch, and am very impressed with it. I admit the games are slightly scarece, but I have 4 which have kept me occupied since launch!

Played Killzone for a couple of hours on mine, but then afterwards went straight to Motorstorm. If the need for a PS2 player is so great, agreed: buy a cheap PS2 off eBay. Sony are doig what the Sony Community wanted: a cheaper PS3 to play ...er... PS3 games on. Remember also that there is a Blu-Ray player in these units too, so it's definitely Value For Money against the Elite (which I also have) - I really wanted it to be cheaper to buy the HD unit, but I couldn't afford it when I bought it..

As for the "UK gets screwed" debate - tiresome and explained again.... And again.... And again... Go live in the US and see how 'cheap' life is over there, along with these 'huge' salaries....

Nighty night, rant over :)

Removable hard disks make a come-backup

... Oh Dear

Please say this is not the main product of this company....

A mention on cost - the drive is significantly cheaper than an Ultrium 800Gb drive... But I'd have an Ultrium any day of the week!!

Sorry Idealstor, no sale.

D'oH!

LucasArts to wield Wii Light Sabre in UK next week

@Scott - Er.. what?

That's not quite right: The XBOX controller doesn't have motion, but the PS3 has .. Never played Motorstorm (motorbike) using the controller as handlebars?? Mad, Mint, Difficult, but fun :o)

In theory there could a special edition that bundles a Lightsabre with the PS3 edition, but it's doubtful, as LucasArts has stated that it's primarily using the motion programming on the Wii only.

@ James. "PORT TIMESCRISI NOW" Lol! yeah, although the guns might not work on LCD screens (dunno if this is true now, but it used to not work...)

Right on!

The one thing I was waiting for regarding me getting a Wii!

Yup, SWLego-Fanboy alert!!

Woot! Woot!

Sony talks up PS3 update

@Anonymous Coward

Actually mate, after reading about the two, you are very much correct.. I always thought they were neck and neck, but the only real 'added bonus' HD-DVD has over Blu-Ray is the gimmicky extras that will be in Blu-Rays spec come Profile 2.0.. And I ask why? I just want to watch the film with a couple of documentaries in the best quality possible

Does sound very Beta - VHS though. Although saying that Sony and Philips sorted out DVD along with Toshiba (really that should be the otherway round). IMHO, rather than cost being the riding factor (as per the Beta - VHS 'war'), I would want quality rather than just cheap gear.

@Mike. I feel for you mate, as I know a couple of people that bought a BR player too. But as I've asked my mates: "Why buy a 600 notes player, when you could of had a next-gen games machine as well for approximately 150 nicker less?" The answer they gave, I just didn't understand I'm afraid. I really can't see a difference in quality of picture, although the only upside of a player that I can see (again this is my honest opinion) is the lack of noise from the machines fans. After all this though, you've still paid for the player... Gutted

Now I'm confused..

So does this mean that the PS3 will be able to be updated to 1.1? But the players won't be because they won't be able to handle un update?

heh..

Right, well confused now...

Am also getting narked by all this "Exclusive to BR, Exclusive to HD-DVD" crap.. Am STILL waiting for a decent disk to come out that warrants the price tag... or should that be an echo of Sneyd's comments about extra features. maybe bin the crap off it and bring the price in line with DVDs...

nice picture? yes. nice sound? yes. Extra money? no.. You're going to need more to tempt me to turn to HD/BR discs..

Hitachi halves hard drive head size

But surely...

With the advent of holographic memory, this is purely a "We can do this, just watch us!" scenario?

I thought they were dealing with holo-memory for the future? With a possible (theoretical without error correction) 4Gb per millimeter, surely "it's the future!" (Garlic Bread anyone?)

Paris, Paris, Paris!... ahem..

MS readies second-gen 65nm Xbox 360?

@Giles

Agreed - that is the main concern for all Xbox-ers. They wanted a relatively priced console that 'could' be upgraded if they wanted. It's also the main criticism against the PS3 being the most expensive console of recent times (think the Neo Geo was the most!!). Adding in the bigger HD and HD-DVD drive would be shooting M$ in the foot as it's against what they have been saying about Phony's PS3.

Interesting to hear that some people do want a fully laden Xbox..

Also, being an external choice M$ could legitimately switch between HD-DVD and Blue-Ray depending on which one becomes the norm (of which, IMHO, we will have dual formats for quite a while as both have positives and negatives that only preference will decide).

Apart from the RROD issue, I really don't see the purpose of another incarnation.. Almost as many variants as the dreaded Vista!! (<- personal opinion: Vista is great for home [all flashy], but under-par for Business..)

TFIFriday!

Sony to cut Japanese PS3 prices

@ Anonymous Coward

Can confirm that replacing the HD does not invalidate your warranty, unless you change the speed of the drive.

AFAIK, if you replace your 40/60gb 5400 drive with a 100Gb 5400 drive, you are fine.

http://www.joystiq.com/2006/11/11/ps3-manual-details-hdd-battery-replacement/

There is some debate amongst Sony employees as to whether the introduction of a 7200 speed drive will do any long term damage to the PS3. But to be honest, the test results I've seen are negligable just for the extra cost of the 7200 speed drives (see above link for more comments on the 5400-7200 debate).

personally, I've downloaded all of the available demos and vids I can from the PSUK site and still have plenty of space to spare. Although if I was to use it as a media centre, or using the soon-to-be-available PVR, i would no doubt look at upgrading.. But the HDs are cheap enough these days:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Products.ASP?CatID=16&FilterCategories=429&Thumbnails=yes

Hope this helps.

As for backwards compat., well to be honest, I adore my PS2 so much it's still out. Especially when it's all nicely on the net so I can decimate on Killzone (unless someone can point me to a tech document that allows me online using a PS3 with PS2Killzone).

All good in the hood, and remember the prices in Japan do not have sales tax, re-translation of manuals, shipping, yarda yarda yarda..

For the UK, the prices are becoming more affordable (just like the Xbox, PS2, Saturn, Dreamcast, Megadrive... etc were when they first came out!)

..enough now, fingers are tired. Oh and I lilke the photo of Paris :o) (for those "There is no Hilton Link!")