Thursday, December 30, 2004

Incredible Beatles mashup

This track is simply amazing. It is a mash up track that contains about 40 Beatles tune, from Blackbird to Hey Mr Postman. Just listen to it and see how many you can identify! On another note, is this track a major copyright infringement? If so, then there must be something seriously wrong with the copyright laws that disallow such creativity to be exercised.

Monday, December 27, 2004

Bollywood for the Skeptical

Need some intro to Bollywood music? Here's a downloadable collection of Bollywood tunes and a guide to the music from Bollywood films, including notes on the music and the language.

Star Wars-a "horrible" Christmas album

If you're a Star Wars geek, then maybe you can stand going through this Star Wars Christmas albums. You can listen to the album "Christmas in the Stars" and laugh, and be thankful that Ep I and II are not as bad. The author of this website has this to say about this album.
After listening to a mere 30 seconds of this thing, the only thought going through your head is: "WHY? WHY!? WHY DOES THIS EXIST!?!?!?!?" And there's no reprieve. You'll never have a decent answer to that question. If you think "Episode I" and "Episode II" have forever tainted the good memories of our childhood Star Wars films, then this album takes it one step further. This album will make you feel like not only does Star Wars suck, but that Star Wars is an evil force that raped your mind... and your family.

The NitPicker's Guide to the Lord of the Rings

If you're an elf from Middle Earth or just a picky LOTR fanboy, you just might want to read this to get a complete list of the differences between Peter Jackson's movie trilogy and the original Tolkien's text. The deviations aside, the LOTR films are still great... unless you're a complete purist.

Friday, December 24, 2004

Top 100 Toys

TV Cream complied a list of the Top 100 toys... many of these brought back fond, nostalgic memories, others, I've never even seen before. Things I remember fondly included Dungeons and Dragons, Subbuteo (where I had to save up to buy a set of second hand teams and the pitch), and the Star Wars Death Star playset which I wanted but couldn't have.

Half Life 2 causes motion sickness?

There has been reports that those playing HL2 are getting sick... from motion sickness! In my years of gaming, I've only encountered this problem when I played the classic Dark Forces. After that, I guess my body somehow got used to it. I've also met many non-gamers complaining of motion sickness when playing, or even looking at FPSes. Now, it seems like the realistic graphics of HL2 is bringing up this problem for many, some of them veteran gamers. I've not got around to playing HL2, as I'm still on Doom 3, but will certainly be wary of this problem when I check the game out.
There has been numerous reports from gamers who has experienced motion sickness in Half-Life 2, even those who play tons of games and never experienced this issue. Some people theorize that it is caused by the frame of view being set to 70 (as a reference, most FPS games have it set to 90.) Others say it’s caused by the default low refresh rate, and still others think it’s the physics of the world seeming to be so real.

Thursday, December 23, 2004

Real investment in virtual land

To make money, you've got to invest money. It seems like it's the same in the virtual world and the real world. BBC is reporting that a 22-year-old gamer has spent $26,500 (£13,700) on an island that exists only in a computer role-playing game (RPG), the MMORPG called Project Entropia. The virtual island will be developed as if it was a beach front property. The buyer, with the nick Deathifier, will be able to tax other players when they visit his island, he can also lease out the land and reap the earnings. It's a completely new economy at work here and it seems like the virtual world is catching up to the real, day by day.

Monday, December 20, 2004

Records for kids

The website called Kiddie Records is posting kiddie records transferred from the original 78s vinyls into MP3s. They will post one record a week from 2005 onwards so there'll be a total of 52 records in all. Their aim is to let folks hear these records as they are not available anymore and to give them a new lease on life. Don't know if they will be violating any copyright though. Some of the titles currently listed include Disney's Story of Robin Hood, The Happy Prince, and even Dumbo!

Thursday, December 16, 2004

Half Life 2 cookies

Getting hungry while playing Half Life 2? Bite into some HL2 cookies! Someone has baked some cookies in the design of the HL2 logo. Do check it out if you're Half Life crazy.

Tuesday, December 14, 2004

Modding the Nintendo DS to play Gameboy & Gameboy Color games!

This had to happen. Someone managed to mod the Nintendo DS so that it can play GB and GBC games. From the description given, it's only a matter of some filing and soldering, nothing too complicated. Of course, for those without knowledge of electronics, this would be a daunting task. Still, it sounds almost quite simple.

Skeletons of cartoon characters

Ever wondered what the bones of Hello Kitty looks like? This site by artist Michael Paulus gives the curious a glimpse of what the bone structure of cartoon characters could be like. Characters include Tweety, Pikachu, Charlie Brown, the ladies from Powerpuff Girls and more. Geez... makes you wonder if Tweety bird can withstand all the toon-like thumpings, won't the bones be out-of-shape by now?

Is EA evil?

Is Electronic Arts evil? Some people think they are. First, there's the bad publicity they got with the bad working conditions in the company. Now, there's the news that EA and NFL has signed an exclusive five-year deal, thus preventing other NHL football games to be made. This has led to Take-Two, publisher of the better ESPN football game to say that it's "a tremendous disservice to the consumers and sports fans whose funds ultimately support the NFL, by limiting their choices, curbing creativity and almost certainly leading to higher game prices." Even analysts are saying that "EA is both evil and really smart." So for those EA employees who're unhappy with EA and their evil-ness, they can now wear their frustration with this T-shirt that reads: "I worked 90 hours a week for EA, and I didn't even get this lousy T-Shirt."

Monday, December 13, 2004

Who says GTA is bad?

This use of GTA actually helps to scare off robbers!
Back in March, Sandy Wilson was taking care of her three grandsons when a group of men attempted to burglarize her home, pointing a gun at the kids.

The children happened to be playing a video game called Grand Theft Auto at the time. The game has dozens of random police scanner messages, which blare out calls such as "This is the police! You’re surrounded!" Believe it or not, Wilson says the burglars heard that message and thought police were outside the door waiting for them.

Hacking (personalising) the iPod

Engadget has an article on how to hack the firmware of the iPod. Well, the word hack may be the correct word to use but it's also about personalising the popular MP3 player. With the hack, you can change the graphics that appears on your iPod. As an example, the folks at Engadget turned the 'Do not disconnect' screen into a showcase for Hello Kitty. Apparently, you can also change other elements, such as the battery indicator. Hmmm, I wonder if any one would actually place a Microsoft logo there instead...

Monday, December 06, 2004

Latest from the "Doom" Set

Apparently, the production of the Doom movie is already in progress. Dark Horizons contained a report which detailed some items of interest, especially to all Doom fans...
...there are some "minor" changes done to the film's concept: The monsters have nothing to do with hell, the plot is not taking place on Mars and "space marines" are not well "space marines" as their outfits are more like SWAT team members...
Although I sincerely wish that this movie won't suck, the changes made to the movie does not sound good to my ears.