Archive for the ‘Video Games’ Category

One Minute Review: Jasper Xbox 360


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By now the new Xbox 360 you buy will be built around a chipset known as “Jasper.” 

Jasper 360s feature a redesigned motherboard with 65-nanometer graphics and processing chips. The cooler running, less power-hungry sum-of-parts is meant to make the infamous Red Ring of Dead a thing of the past.

My Xbox 360 arcade, purchased in October, was acting weird – mainly lockups when sending messages to Xbox Live buddies. Having purchased the Product Replacement Plan with the Xbox 360 from Tim at the Hamilton Mall’s downstairs Gamestop last October, I returned with the console for a replacement. There was Tim again, smart and friendly as before, but unfortunately he was out of 360 Arcades. He checked with the store upstairs, nada, then called the Shore Mall store, where Travis told him he had one left, and yes, he’d hold it for me.

I drove to Travis’s Gamestop, gave him the dud machine and inspected the new one to make sure it was a Jasper unit, and repurchased the $19.99 Product Replacement Plan for the new one, in case something goes wrong between now and this time next year.

How did I know it was a Jasper? As reported for months, the thing to look for when buying a new Xbox 360 is a power spec of 12 volts, which you can find by inspecting the box’s serial number cutout hole. It may take some finger wiggling to reveal the power rating – assuming, of course, the person selling you the unit allows you to handle the box in the first place.

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Unlike the Xbox 360 Arcade it replaces, the Jasper version doesn’t come with a 256 MB memory card. That’s because Microsoft soldered the memory onto the motherboard, making the card unnecessary for saving settings and game progress. With my initial purchase of the optional 120 GB hard drive ($140), the total cost for my 360 was $340 – $40 more than the Xbox 360 Pro, which comes with a few things the Arcade doesn’t: A 60 GB hard drive, a chrome-finished disc tray door and button, a headset, a standard and HD video cable, and, at present, different bundled games. Since I already own a wireless headset and HD cable, doubling the hard disk size for only $40 was worth more than the only thing my 360 was missing –  chrome-accented disc door and button.

The new Jasper 360′s 150-watt power supply is lighter and absent of the visible fan found on older, higher power versions, and maybe it’s a placebo effect, but to my ears my new Jasper-equipped Xbox 360 runs quieter, both with and without a disc spinning inside. 

Summary: Pretty much the same Xbox 360 as before on the outside, albeit with quieter, more energy efficient components running the show on the inside.

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The New York Times: Downloading: That Other Way to Get a Video Game, by Joe Hutsko

Downloading: That Other Way to Get a Video Game
By Joe Hutsko
Game downloading services have been around for years and are only just beginning to make a dent in sales of packaged game software.

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The New York Times: A New Cable for Your Maze, By Joe Hutsko

The New York Times:
Personal Tech | Circuits | Basics
A New Cable for Your Maze

By JOE HUTSKO

The real estate on the back of an HDTV is crowded with ports for connectors of the past. Out of that mess comes yet another cable, but it is supposed to make everything simple: the HDMI.

 


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On MSNBC: Cool holiday tech: Home entertainment

On MSNBC: Cool holiday tech: Home entertainment
By Joe Hutsko


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Halo 3 Tip: Playing on Easy difficultly unlocks only some Achievement points

Easygoing Halo 3 types, take note: Those who plan to choose the Easy difficulty level when you jump in on Tuesday may want to reconsider, because many of the achievements unlock only when the game is played on the difficulty levels above Easy (i.e. Normal, Heroic, or Legendary). At the same time, let’s rectify incorrect information previously posted on some sites, which reported that playing on Easy difficulty prevents any achievements from unlocking. On my first run into the advance copy I received today I started on Easy, completed the first level, an sure enough, didn’t receive an achievement for doing so. However, I did receive the Used Car Salesman achievement, because, granted when after you’ve “Destroyed a vehicle that has three enemies in it in a ranked playlist or in campaign.” So while those who plan to take it Easy won’t go totally unrewarded, playing on at least Normal will unlock the level completes otherwise unattainable on Easy difficulty.

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The New York Times: More Memory and Quicker Loading in a Thinner and Lighter PlayStation Portable

The New York Times: More Memory and Quicker Loading in a Thinner and Lighter PlayStation Portable
By Joe Hutsko

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MSNBC: Take your gaming from good to great – Five cool console gadget combos

On MSNBC.com: Take your gaming from good to great: Five cool console gadget combos
By Joe Hutsko

Amazon links to products described in story:

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Sneak peek video: “Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass” for Nintendo DS

The Legend of Zelda:  Phantom HourglassNintendo today sent the following email message, with a link to watch the sneak peek video of the upcoming Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for Nintendo DS, due in stores on Oct. 1, 2007.

Dear Joe,

The Legend of Zelda®: Phantom Hourglass will hit store shelves on Oct. 1, marking the debut of the franchise on Nintendo DS ™.

You can get a sneak peek of Link’s heroic quest and the game’s cool 3-D graphics now – before everyone else! Just click on the e-card link below to get a taste of Link’s newest adventure.

http://www.redwoodeditor.com/content/Nintendo/ecard/

Your Friends at Nintendo

Enjoy the (brief) show!

Click here to watch ->

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New York Times: Not All HDTVs Can Keep Up With the Action

BASICS
Not All HDTVs Can Keep Up With the Action
By JOE HUTSKO

Viewers for whom action matters need to pay as much attention to how fast images are processed as to the size of the screen.

Also: NY Times Tech Talk: Is it time to make the move to HDTV? (mp3)


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Xbox 360 Premium and Halo 360 with HDMI and analog/optical audio adapter options

Owners of the newly revved Xbox 360 Premium with HDMI or the upcoming Halo3 edition may find their new baby lacking in the sound department because neither model comes with the same audio adapter bundled with the Xbox 360 Elite.While this may not matter to those who get their sound from the HDTV’s built in speakers, it will matter to owners with separate surround sound audio systems. The Elite’s audio adapter is a dongle with RCA and optical output ports.If you want that same kind of output option on your new 360 or Halo 3 console with HDMI, you have two options: Buy the $50 Xbox 360 HDMI AV Cable, or switch your HDTV’s audio setting from internal speakers to external output (providing yours has it; not all HDTVs do). Now the audio coming from the 360′s HDMI connection will get redirected to the audio output ports and connected surround sound speakers.


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