Surprisingly enough this isn’t the first Appleology Bailout I’ve come across, but it is (in my opinion) the first time I’ve tagged it specifically as such.
Couple quick notes, though: I’ve picked up Luminous Arc and Heroes of Mana, and played to a natural stopping point on both (a couple of missions in on LA, and right after the first/tutorial mission on Heroes). Both are probably going to be set aside this weekend in favor of resuming the LeafGreen run (haven’t touched it since Sunday afternoon, and I kept quiet about it because I didn’t snag any of the badges, but instead spent a little bit of time catching stuff in the Safari Zone– specifically, a Dratini), but my overall impressions are that both are good, and that if you’re a fan of any particular voice actors, you might want to give LA a look. Right, enough gamewankery; tomorrow I’ll have something substantial for you all.
I’m supposed to be excited, why? Give me a Mac-native port of Firefox that doesn’t run rigoddamndiculously slow on initial startup and I’ll be thrilled.
I realize this is close to a week old news, but I’m just now watching the Bill Gates and Steve Jobs interview at D5 (iTunes Link), and there’s something that they said that struck me. The conversation turned to whether or not the Web 2.0 paradigm (thin-client, service-oriented applications) would naturally obsolesce the traditional business models of both Apple and Microsoft. Myself, I’ve constantly heard rumors that there will eventually be only a browser and that Google was developing a network-based operating system.
Let me state this perfectly clearly. The browser is not and can never be an operating system. The whole reason we’re using personal computers these days is because they’re Personal Computers. We do not need to connect to a centralized, big-iron mainframe, because that processing capability is local. As much as I want to say that the browser is the wave of the future– mostly because it’s kind of what I do for a living– I know for a fact that it’s patently not true.
Steve and Bill both agreed that the real benefit that came out of the Apple-MS rivalry was a diversification in what a computer is and could do. Both companies branched out from just general-purpose computers and developed some damn good hardware of their own that is specialized to a specific purpose (iPod and to a lesser extent iPhone, and the MS Sidewinder line and their mice). Both companies are heavily focused and invested in the idea of a local machine doing the majority of the work, and for a personal computer that’s the way it should be. For large-scale information-retrieval systems and data collection/distribution systems, mostly the kinds of things that I do, you need it to work on a thin-client level.
There is never, never a single solution to all computer problems. Despite my fanboyishness, a Mac cannot do everything well; a Windows box, likewise, cannot do everything well. What they do do well, they are exceptional at, and what they’re evenly matched on is still good enough to let it be a matter of taste. The two companies need to be complementary, not strictly competitive.
Anyway. I got a little bit accomplished this evening, and things are progressing nicely on another project. I’ll keep you all informed.
I spoke briefly on Monday about my pokeymans, and to be totally honest having a new quest to commit to has taken sort of a back seat to the fact that I actually have a reason to go through this whole deal again. I blitzed through Blue, shot through Silver, and ripped up FireRed. I then kind of went “bleh” on Crystal, Sapphire, and Emerald. The reason for the disparity has quite a bit to do with how much exposure I had to other folks playing the game. Blue and Silver were during the extreme craze period, and it was something new and interesting (not to mention I had a bit of a rivalry going with my sister). FireRed’s time came during a point where I was in contact with a couple other folks playing, as well as being able to utilize Pokemon Box (sadly, I can’t even do that now– I lost all of them during the Unemploying).
Crystal and Sapphire came at times where I was largely isolated from other gamers; Crystal came in 2001 and I was hard-pressed to find other Pokeplayers during my senior year of college, and Sapphire hit in 2003 when I was trapped in Coudersport. Emerald then came during a time when a) I was uber-depressed and b) I was in transition from Cleveland to Pittsburgh and thus occupied with other games. I think I could be forgiven for being slightly apathetic about going through the game three more times; say what you will about the minor changes, it really is the same damn game over and over again.
That said, I’m seriously compelled with Diamond for the key reason that it’s no longer a localized phenomenon. The WFC features– particularly the GTS, which I’ll complain about get to in a moment– make the whole deal much easier, in that now you no longer need to know someone else locally to catch what you need (or, more likely, no longer need to buy 2 sets of gear to do it all yourself). Competition and cooperation will always get me involved in a game. (That said, once upon a time I did play Counter-Strike competitively. For about ten minutes. Whether or not the game’s good, or I have any aptitude for the game, is what decides whether or not I’ll stick with it.)
I will say this, though. The Global Trade System (GTS) is the best and worst part of the online experience. It works similarly to the Auction House in several major MMOs. Players put up one of their critters for trade; they then specify the species, gender, and minimum level of the creature they’d like in return. There’s the downside. Now, since it’s all automated, it works out very well; Friend Codes aren’t necessary, but neither are they exchanged on a successful trade (you can, however, see where in the world your partner is). The core problem is that the player who completes the trade is in control. I traded away a level 13 something or another and received a level 90 Pikachu in exchange after specifying “Over Lv. 10″. Sounds good, huh? Well, it does until you realize that up until you’ve acquired a certain number of badges, traded creatures over certain levels will refuse to obey you. If the GTS allowed you to declare level ranges, or at the very least a maximum level, I’d be more eager to trade away, as I know that what I got in return would be usable. Oh, and you can only trade for critters that you’ve previously seen on your own; so as much as I would want a Ditto right now (and I really do), I can’t get one until much, much later.
A lot of the complaints do seem like sour grapes, and to be honest, they are to a certain extent. One should not buy a Pokemon game looking for groundbreaking gameplay. Fifteen hours in, though, and looking at grinding out five to seven levels on each of six critters to be able to survive the next two gyms, I’m still happy with it. Overall, the whole package is much slicker, even if I have some complaints about the patchwork control scheme and the lack of content (I miss the Silver days when after completing the main quest, you could go explore the original region as well– seriously, being able to go to the rest of the world makes more sense than having those creatures randomly show up in the new regions). I dig it greatly and I’m looking forward to putting together my old team again, with plenty of new tricks this time.
Incidentally. Last night I saw that Apple had pushed out a Battery Update for my MacBook. In all the years I’ve been a computer geek, I’ve never heard of, or needed to apply, a patch to a battery. Unprecedented? Yes. Unappreciated? Hey, if it stops the battery from exploding, overheating, losing charge, or failing to charge at all, I’m all for it.
I’ll catch you folks tomorrow (get it?), possibly with some Bailout.
Not much to offer right now, folks. I’ve cleaned up the blog categories a little bit; you’ll notice that they’re actually more readable, and that each one should have a detailed description.
One thing that might be of limited interest, is that Seasons 4 and 5 of Babylon 5 were released in the iTunes Store over the weekend. That would, of course, be great if Season 3 was available. It isn’t. For some unknown reason Season 3 is absent from the store at this time. I personally think it’s just a little hiccup in the encoding process, but to be honest I don’t mind waiting a little bit longer. That’s not to say I didn’t get Season 4 already, and am waiting until I have positive cash flow again to get Season 5. But S3 is the last thing standing between me and a complete set of the series.
ANYWAY. Not much else going on at the moment. I hope to finish up Chocobo Tales today, so you should see that; I also have to go do some grocery shopping later. I did have some plans for the afternoon, but actually, those dried up. So, yeah.
Oh, the title? Just a little Blizzard humor, noting the fact that Friday afternoon I sprinted across The Barrens for the first time, chased by large, burly Taurens who wished to do unpleasant things to me. Sadly, since there’s currently no path directly from Ratchet to Astranaar, I have to do it all over again to get back. Fun fun. Later, folks.
…wait, wait, don’t shoot me yet! I bring an actual LW entry this week; surely I could be forgiven an irresistible pun like that, especially given this week’s subject matter.
Last week, Kotaku managed to swing a few shots of the current US localization of Eternal Sonata, though for the first truly interesting 360 RPG I prefer to still think of it as Trusty Bell. Not only does the game star the famous composer Frederic Chopin– in a rather silly concept, I should add (on his deathbed, Chopin enters a dreamworld where his fatal tuberculosis inexplicably gives him magical powers)– but, as I’d snarked months ago, the soundtrack is made up of the actual Chopin’s music, as performed by Stanislav Bunin. Nevermind that I don’t know Chopin from “Chopsticks”, and that I have absolutely no clue who Bunin is. The game is damn pretty and the battle system looks neat.
Oh yeah, then there’s this. Decisions, decisions…. decomposing contagious composer or self-abusing clockwork monstrosity? What a choice…
Many tales have been told of my affinity for all things Cupertino; it ranks right up there with my desire to make the most out of any given moment. That’s why there’s Apple and LifeHacker. But what if, and this is just hypothetical, you combined the two? My word, that would be an awesome amount of win. (And yes, I know damn well that LH is heavily Mac-centric. Suspend that for the gag, will ya?) The selections they choose are pretty much standard; most of them I already have, or have analogues for. Still, it’s an excellent reference for someone getting started with a new Mac.
Also, via LifeHacker, in case you ever wanted to know how all that caffeine should be affecting you, you can get a running total of your drinking habits and see just what you’ve imbibed. I checked out my morning routine and found it usually keeps me “In The Zone” as it were, even though my overall day-to-day habits would push me into “Jitters” if I took it all in one shot. I’ve actually seen this site before, and may have linked it at some point, but the new calculator feature made it worth mentioning again.
Those of you who have an Xbox 360 but no copy of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night– I’m pretty sure there’s no connection between those two sets within my usual readership, but I’m talking hypothetically here– will be delighted to know that the game is now available on the Live Arcade for the established price of $10. Oddly enough, when I first picked up the game back in 1999, I think I paid $15 for it; that may have been the same disc I kept all the way through to Erie or Cleveland, whenever I had to sacrifice it. In any event, I’ve downloaded it and just given it the first few moments of gameplay; it’s labeled as “HD” but in reality it’s just reverse-letterboxed, as the main gameplay is in a center screen and the sides have some very nice artwork. The addition of Achievements is entirely incidental to the experience, truth be told; I just wanted to have the game back (and cross it off my list). Naturally, because of this, I’ve added another game to the “must beat” list before I can freely purchase games again.
Finally, Meteos: Disney Magic… I’ll have a review up at Netjak within the week or so. I’ve always been a sucker for adding teh di$ney to teh gud gams, so the fact that I have this one shouldn’t really surprise anyone (it won’t count towards adding to the list nor will it count as a completed game). Am I disappointed? Well… you’ll just have to wait and see.
I’ll catch you folks later. If you’re really lucky, maybe I’ll even post my sonnet tomorrow morning.
I wanted to talk about Think Secret’s gallery of the new Leopard (OS X 10.5 screen shots) stuff, but I’m still reticent to type for extended periods. Instead I’ll just mention that I’m about three or four dungeons away from the end of FF12; I leveled to 39 last night, and most of the guides I’ve read say 45 is best for the final boss, so I think I can start advancing the story tonight or tomorrow, depending on how much work I have to do. After that… Hm. I’ve got my pick of games to proceed with, but I’ll probably go with Trauma Center or finishing up Castlevania. Either way, I’ll be keeping myself busy and occupied for a while.
Writer is a pretty nifty web-based word processor with no real frills. I actually like it because of that simplicity. No distractions, no other programs… just the proverbial blank page. Coupled with the Autohide extension, and I might have some kind of really high-productivity sessions… pffft, yeah, right. Still, it is a cool combination.
I got to thinking, though, that it might be cooler to do other stuff with the fullscreen mode, like using a Commodore 64. (I initially wanted to find a VIC-20 applet, but this is close enough for now.) I’m thinking my next project will be to track down my old set of OS/2 disks and seeing if it’ll install on my ‘reserve’ machine. Man, if I thought it would have done well with 8 MB of RAM, I can only imagine what’ll happen with the maximum it’ll support (because I know for a fact it’s less than the 256 that’s in the machine now).
Little gaming done last night; I had other pressing engagements. I did, however, check out the Wii’s backwards-compatibility mode; I’ll cover that in the forums later today.
Yesterday was… well, yesterday was. And now today is. And today being means that there should be a bit of writing here. There isn’t. Sunday, I think, is going to be my cheat day for writing here. I don’t quite know why. Ah well, instead, I bring you The Deranged Millionaire:
Yes, I have officially jumped the shark if I’m posting goddamn YouTube videos. The last one out, please remember to turn off the lights.
