Yes, I’m doing some redesign to it so please bear with me on it. I should have it all done today.
Thanks
Monthly Archive for March, 2005
A legally blind man was skeptical when he was told he scored a hole-in-one at a local golf course.
“They’ve said it before,” said Joel Ludvicek, 78, of Cedar Rapids.
Only this time it was true.
Ludvicek aced the 168-yard No. 11 hole at Twin Pines golf course with a driver.
He had to rely on his three golfing partners to confirm the feat.
“A big fluke — it’s just one of those things,” Ludvicek said.
He’s been an avid golfer for years and this is his second hole-in-one. It’s his first since he lost most of his vision because of macular degeneration.
He said his vision is hazy and he can’t see things he’s directly looking at.
Ludvicek, who tees up his own ball, said although the ace was special, it’s no different from other golfers.
“It’s funny how golf goes,” he said. “Most of the time I have a heck of a time getting on the green. It’s a fun game.”
So I broke down and bought myself a PSP, bought Spider-Man 2 and Ridge Racers for it as well. Well here are my thoughts on it.
First off I must say, I’m in love with it. I’m like a little kid with the thing, it’s just that awesome. Anywho, let’s start with the specs…
Hardware Specs
CPU: 2 32-bit MIPS processors
Memory: Main – 32MB / Embedded Dram – 4MB
Display: 4.3in diagonal, 16:9 Widescreen TFT LCD, 480 x 272 pixels, capable of displaying 16.77 million colors
Communication: 802.11b Wireless
Input / Output: USB 2.0, Infrared, Memory Stick PRO Duo
Game cartridge slot: UMD (Universal Media Disc)
Size: 6.7 x 0.9 x 2.9 in. (170 x 23 x 74mm)
Weight: (with UMD disc installed) 10.2 oz. (290g)
Power: Rechargeable lithium-ion 1800 mAh battery
Package Contents
Spider-Man 2 UMD movie
Sony PlayStation Portable
Demo UMD
32mb Memory Stick Duo
Ear buds
Remote
AC Adapter
Hand strap
Slip case
Cleaning Cloth
So I ventured out morning of release day to my local GameStop, I had one on pre-order there, and picked it up, I was super excited. I bought Ridge Racers with it that morning so I’d at least have something to play on it since FIFA Soccer was being pushed back to a 4/5/05 release date. Anyways, I get home rip open the box and stare at all its glory. Right out of the box, it is a wonder to behold. Much like a product from Apple, Sony knows how to make consumer electronics that look good. Compared to the Nintendo DS, which in my humbe opinion looks like crap, the PSP is a piece of art.
Rectangular with rounded outer edges, this unit is designed to be held comfortably between your two hands. That said, the PSP has a definite heft to it. Playing while laying on your back with the device raised above you, may quickly result in fatigue. Besides being a little heavy it’s is a large device, it’s something you won’t be carrying around in your pocket. Transport via backpack or gear bag is fine though.
The display on the PSP is large and absolutely gorgeous. It has to be the largest handheld gaming console screen ever. Being able to comfortably see all the action on the screen without having to squint is great! This is the first gaming device that has actually given me the same feeling that I get when playing games on a large TV screen.
The colors are vivid, and graphics are crisp. Depending on the game, you do notice some jaggies here and there though. That said, I didn’t notice any ghost or other annoying screen behaviors. The screen is evenly lit and the three brightness settings allow you to adjust the screen to your liking. I always run mine on the middle setting which is more than bright enough in any environment. I should also mention that my unit has no dead pixels which is excellent as I have read that some people have found some on theirs.
The UMDs are small little 1.8GB capacity discs enclosed in a plastic caddy, some say they look like a birth control pill packet. A square window in the caddy allows the PSP to read the data from the disc as it spins. The problem is that this window is always open. It doesn’t have any type of spring loaded cover. Dirt, dust and even finger prints can easily wreck a UMD if you aren’t really careful while handling them. The actual UMD games come in a large plastic DVD like case that won’t be very convenient to carry around even in a gear bag, but don’t worry there are already cases out there to fit the discs in.
The back of the PSP has the battery compartment and Memory Stick Duo slot. Included with the PSP is a 32mb MS Duo card. You can copy music, pictures, video and games to the memory card and let the PSP play them for you. This expands the PSP into a media player in addition to just a gaming console. If you don’t have a card reader that can read the small format Duo, you can just plug in a USB cable with a mini connector into the PSP and then into your PC. It will mount the card as removable drive. You an buy the usb cord just about anywhere, I picked up mine at EB Games. I did discover that you have to format the Duo before you start copying files from your PC. Why? Well, if you don’t, the special hierarchy of folders that the PSP looks for won’t be there and it will not know that you have music or other media available to it. There is an option in the PSP menu to format the stick. Once you do that, you’re good to go. One thing I must add though is that if you’re into watching tv shows or movies on your PSP you WILL need a bigger memory stick. I’ve been looking ALL OVER for the 1 GB stick, but everywhere is sold out and it will be weeks until they get them in again. If anyone knows someplace that has them in now please let me know.
The main interface is simple and easy to figure out even without reading a manual or user guide. Good thing because never read the manual. The first time you power on the PSP, you are given the ability to choose a language. Japanese, English, German, Dutch, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, and Portuguese are the available choices. A cool little feature is that the background color changes with each month, this months (March) is green.
Basically you have 5 main functions across the screen. The main functions are Settings, Photo, Music, Video and Game. As you use the left and right directional buttons to scroll through these functions, sub functions appear below the main heading.
The settings function gives you access to all the main settings for video, photo, music, WiFi etc. This is also the menu that you use to format the Memory Stick Duo, set the time / date, password protect the device and even implement a parental lock based on game ratings.
Setting up WiFi was a snap. I basically just allowed it to use all the defaults. I didn’t even tell it the name of my wireless network (SSID) and it connected just fine. It’s a shame that a simple web browser wasn’t included as part of the feature set although a game that’s already been released has a browser hidden in it and there are people that have already managed to hack it and use it as a broswer.
The Photo function allows you to view images that are stored on the Memory Stick Duo. So far you can only view jpg files. gif and bmps aren’t supported. Small thumbnails of the pictures are displayed so that you can easily scroll through them. When you find one that you want to view full screen, you select it.
In Video mode, you can play movies and video clips. Unfortunately, the only supported format is MPEG4. I would recommend iPSP to help you with the conversion and transfer of movies, it’s worked well. If you’ve got a Mac you can use iPSP or PSPWell which are both great products and make like really simple. They allow you to transfer movies, pics, music and more.
So in conclusion… the PSP is awsome. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a great portable console or is looking for a nice multimedia device.
Well I decided to get off my stingy ass and renew my domain name which expired about oh four months ago. So I’ll be redesigning it a little to make it a bit more aesthetically pleasing, but you’ll still have to hear me rant and whine about this or that.
So I got my little sister an iPod Shuffle for her birthday and was going over some of the songs she was going to put on it when I came across “Welcome to My Life,” by a Simple Plan. Here are some of the lyrics…
“You don’t know what it’s like, To be like me, To be hurt, To feel lost, To be left out in the dark, To be kicked when you’re down, To feel like you’ve been pushed around, To be on the edge of breaking down, And no one’s there to save you, No you don’t know what it’s like … Welcome to my life.”
Boo-Fucking-Hoo!
Is this what passes for popular music today? Do we really need to hear whiny little “woe is me”-type songs that enable all the little crybabies whose sense of entitlement just kills me. Look at me, I’m a cute intern wearing flip-flops and a tank top at the corporate office. Shouldn’t you hire me because everyone thinks I’m cute?
Or, look at me, I’m a young wanna be punk whose mommy and daddy would only pay for the walk-up apartment when all of my friends live in doorman buildings. Shouldn’t you hire me?
Now, suffice to say not every young person in this country is a spoiled little bitch. There are many that work hard and know that it takes a lot of sacrifice and hard work to get ahead in life. They know what reality is and they appreciate things, not like the whiney spoiled brats on shows like MTV’s Super Sweet Sixteen. Screw them, they have no concept of reality.
Now grow up and get over it.
