Archive for November, 2006

The Dog Ate My Wii Control

Just a quicky to let you know I have found a fault with the new [tag-tec]Wii[/tag-tec] from Nintendo …

Yes it’s fun , yes its small and yes it is certainly going to sell well when launched there is going to be 20 games available with more anticipated soon in the new year. It comes with the sports games straight out of the box which look to be pretty good fun.

You can operate this wireless control device with one hand which is another big plus , it makes rumbling noises and even has it’s own built in speakers.Since it’s wireless their is no risk of the kids catching the wires and pulling everything on top of them and no need to sit 3 feet from the screen to make it work.

You must be wondering what could be wrong with such a techically brilliant piece of modern technology?

Well as you might know the wii is motion sensitve so you can control the action of your sword or light stick or whatever just by waving it around. This leads to some pretty exciting game play.

Things were going so well? I was swinging my virtual? baseball bat and hitting it all over the ball? park? when disaster struck..

You see the thing about waving your arms all over the place apart from risking knocking your coffee across the room from the table is that the family pets are expecting you to throw something ..

I expect you can guess what happened next the dogs started barking and the was all hell let lose as they then tried to grab the wii control assuming it was sort of dog chew a stick.

Well I am afraid to say in all this excitement my hand was getting warmer and warmer and the next thing I know my slippery hand has just slung the wii remote across the room.

I bet that wasn’t? in Nintendo’s testing program? ?

Well there’s a mad rush across the living room and there is me and 2 Bishon Frise? dogs in a? chase to grab the wii remote.

Well in my book it was? cheating they ganged up on me and? the younger one put a neat block on which left me floundering and the next thing I hear is the crunch of dog on plastic and that was the sad end to my [tag-tec]wii remote[/tag-tec]..

I had owned this toy? just a few hours and the dog? had already eaten it..

It has to be said before my wii remote went to that? home where all those sadly busted? tv and video remotes seem to eventually? end up, it was? fantastic fun !

This from someone who’s last games console he actually paid for himself? was a? SNES so as you can see I keep up with the latest technology in the video gaming world.?

Ok I confess? the kids have got a PS2 and a zillion computer games and are crazy about MTG (magic the gathering… I know before you say it’s a card game) and occasionally I will challenge them at soccer, Formula? 1 or even? something else but I am certainly no expert.

? If you want my opinion for what it’s worth at around $250 it is much cheaper than the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 but since I have yet to try those I can’t comment how it compares. May be I will get the kids one soon and see how that works out..

But before you part with your hard earned cash on the Nintendo wii make sure you banish the dogs, cats , kids (yes they will get a go? eventually).

?

?

Wii is it on your Christmas gift list’s ?

Nintendo the grand pappy of [tag-ice]video gaming[/tag-ice] is set to put the Microsoft X box , Sony PS3 and all the other game console and video games producers in a tail spin with the launch of wii the 21st century games console that's not just for kids.

Read more...

Buying A Home Theater Receiver Where to Start ?

If you are setting up a new home theater or upgrading your old one for a holidays gift to yourself, then you need to know that the choice of new home theater receiver is probably the most important home theater component of the entire system.

Read more...

GFT Group Inc. Debuts Petrana Voice Commands for DVD 1.0

by:

(ContentDesk) August 2, 2004 — The Petrana Voice Commands for DVD 1.0 are now available from GFT Group Inc. at the Petrana web site

The Petrana Voice Commands for[tag-tec] DVD[/tag-tec] enable persons with difficulty using their hands to easily and comfortably play DVD movies and videos on their computer. The Petrana Voice Commands for DVD enable owners of Home Theater Systems that use a computer as the DVD and other media player to easily and comfortably operate and control their Home Theater System hands-free without a keyboard, mouse, or traditional remote-control using [tag-tec] voice recognition[/tag-tec]
The Petrana Voice Commands for DVD are one component of the full Petrana system.Petrana is an artificial personal assistant who talks to the computer user in spoken English and operates computer applications for the user easily, comfortably, and enjoyably, giving the user free use of his or her hands and freedom of movement. GFT Group Inc. is a private research and development company with offices in Mountain View, California and Maryland.The research and development division of GFT Group in Mountain View is developing Petrana.

The Petrana Voice Commands for DVD are the first component of Petrana available for purchase by the general public. “Watch a movie with Petrana!” said John McGowan, President of the Research and Development Division of GFT Group and the creator of Petrana. “Petrana makes your computer into a friend who knows your name. Petrana, a computer projector, and a [tag-tec]wireless[/tag-tec] [tag-tec]microphone[/tag-tec] system transform your computer into the computer for the 21st-century, the talking wall display computers of futuristic 20th-century movies and television shows.

It’s fun. It’s more comfortable than 20th-century computers. Buy Petrana and be the first person on your block to step into the 21st-century.”The Petrana Voice Commands for DVD require Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional 7.0, 7.2, or 7.3. Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional 7.3 is recommended. Dragon NaturallySpeaking Professional is a high-end sophisticated commercial [tag-tec]speechrecognition[/tag-tec] program from ScanSoft Corp. The Petrana Voice Commands for DVD will not work with lesser versions of Dragon NaturallySpeaking such as the Standard or Preferred versions.

The Petrana Voice Commands for DVD also require the InterVideo WinDVD 5 or 4 DVD player software. The InterVideo WinDVD 5 software is recommended. A computer fast enough to run both Dragon NaturallySpeaking and InterVideo WinDVD while playing back a DVD video is required. A clock speed of at least 1GHz is recommended.John F. McGowan, Ph.D.President, Research and Development DivisionGFT Group Inc.E-mail: e-mail protected from spam botsWeb Site:

www.Petrana.net

DVD Reviews

Get The Latest Movies To Rent From Blockbuster Video Unlimited DVD Rentals delivered to your door first month is only $9.99.
WWE – Unforgiven 2006
29 Nov 2006 at 7:50am
Highly RecommendedThis year’s Unforgiven took place on September 17, 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Air Canada Centre. In addition to Umaga’s first PPV appearance, we also see newly introduced tag team “the Highlanders” taking on the male cheerleaders for the championship belt. We’re also subjected to (what will hopefully be thefinal) match between DX and Vince McMahon. However, the best (and saddest) match out of them all is Trish Stratus’ final match.

Here’s the card:

Intercontinental Championship [Johnny Nitro vs. Jeff Hardy] - Johnny and Jeff put on a pretty good match with a lot of high-flying by Jeff and some good spot…Read the entire review

New Legend of Shaolin
29 Nov 2006 at 1:47am
Rent ItThe Film:
Jet Li’s Fearless, which was released theatrically in the United States earlier this year, is the crowning achievement in the career of the martial artist-turned-actor. Despite the fact that American audiences know him best for his more recent work in American and European productions like Romeo Must Die and Kiss of the Dragon, it has been Li’s work in Chinese and Hong Kong films — over 30 in total — that has made him one of the leading action stars in world cinema. Li was a child prodigy in the world of martial arts, winning his first championship at the age of 11. By the time he left the sport at 17, he was an international superstar, having spent five years as the All-Around National [tag-ice]Wushu[/tag-ice] Champion of China. His first starring role came in the 1982’s Shaolin Temple, a huge hit that catapulted Li even further into the role of international star.

Between 1…Read the entire review

Avenger
28 Nov 2006 at 11:43pm
RecommendedAny chance to see Sam Elliott be a badass for ninety minutes is fine by me.

The movie is “Avenger,” adapted from the novel by Frederick Forsyth for the TNT cable network. Its plot is merely an afterthought – aging mercenary tracks down Bosnian warlord, eluding CIA agents along the way – and is but a thread on which we hang the coolness that is Sam Elliott. Here he is in all his Sam Elliottness: craggy, leathery, his bass voice booming, ready to kick ass and take names, and never mind the names. We are asked to believe that this Vietnam vet can overtake a room full of thugs and outwit an army of government agents and cause many things to be exploding, and we cheerfully say, “why, yes, of course, it is Sam Elliott, he can do that.”

And when that is not enough, the screenplay (from Alan Sharp, scripter of “Rob Roy” and “The Osterman Weekend”) is kind enough to ask Sam Elliott to say somethin…Read the entire review

Mikadroid: Robokill Beneath Discoclub Layla
28 Nov 2006 at 11:43pm
Skip ItIf you’re anything like me – and I apologize if you are – then there’s no way you can see a title like “Mikadroid: Robokill Beneath Disco Club Layla” and entertain the slightest thought of passing it up. That’s a movie that begs, pleads, demands to be seen. The idea of a Disco Club Layla, where something called a “robokill” takes place beneath it? You have my attention.

Unfortunately, “Mikadroid” is the latest in a very long line of horror films that consists of an interesting title and little else. The film itself is generic slasher blandness in which the only notable feature is the use of what appears to be the Michelin Man as the killer. Which is not nearly as fun as it sounds.

We open in 1945, at the end of the war, where a crazed Japanese scientist has been creating genetically-enhanced super-soldiers. The project has been abandoned and the bunker ordered destroyed, but not before Dr…Read the entire review

Robin Hood – Most Wanted Edition
28 Nov 2006 at 7:54pm
RecommendedIt’s fantastic to see Disney cleaning up and re-issuing some of their classics. In a world of double and triple upgrades for DVDs, these animated gems always seem to be the most enjoyable and worth the pennies forked over. Packed in an embossed, puffy slipcover and adorned with the big grinning fox bearing the name, the Robin Hood: Most Wanted Edition DVD is another example of a spruced-up Disney classic. Even though Robin Hood is different from most other [tag-tec]Disney[/tag-tec] films in tone, it still bears a sense of charm and delight with each arrow shot and each coin jingled.

The Film:

From the narration of a good ole’ rooster minstrel comes the story of Robin Hood and burly bear Little John. With a familiar whistle and the strutting of the two protagonists, the film sets a laid back, friendly mood. Even though Robin Hood is the head thief in town, fear never stri…Read the entire review

Get FREE SHIPPING and 5 DVDs for only $0.49 from Columbia House! Buy your favorite DVD’s and watch your top movies again and again.

Home Theater News 11/28/2006

HP Pavilion m7690n Media Center TV PC – CNET Reviews

28 Nov 2006 at 5:47pm

HP Pavilion m7690n Media Center TV PC
CNET Reviews – 2 hours ago
…. relatively easy. HP’s first HD desktop adds[tag-tec]HD DVD[/tag-tec] movie-watching to the long list of its home theater PC capabilities. For $1,649 ….

How to Buy ? and Set Up ? a High-Definition TV – FOX News

28 Nov 2006 at 4:28pm

How to Buy ? and Set Up ? a High-Definition TV
FOX News – 3 hours ago
…. You’ll find complete reviews ? and many more of …. been capable of HD resolutions, and home – theater PCs continue to …. have been the Toshiba-backed HD DVD and [tag-tec]Sony[/tag-tec] ….

Pioneer VSX-82TXS – CNET Reviews

27 Nov 2006 at 1:59pm

Pioneer VSX-82TXS
CNET Reviews – Nov 27, 2006
…. The dense, multilayer menus may confound even experienced home – theater mavens. …. sources–including the PlayStation 3 as well as Blu-ray and HD- DVD players–can ….

Information provided by Google and Yahoo