Many news...

Well, where to start?

I got tired of waiting for the GP2x Wiz release and bought a GP2x F200 instead. It's an amazing console. I'm addicted to Sega Megadrive emulation. I can now play Dune, Sensible Soccer, Golden Axe, etc... I'm just sad in that I was porting UFO: Enemy Unknown to it and someone got ahead of me... oh, well. Let's port X-COM: Terror From The Deep instead. :D

I bought a crossbow pistol for christmas, so that I get a rest from computers and can do a little target practice. :)


I also bought a media player. A SmartQ T5-II. It has an amazing autonomy and I can play emulated games with it when I have spare time. It beats smoking any day. :)

On a last note. OpenCL 1.0 has been ratified and I'm looking forward to use it. I think it will revolutionize some applications. It is just a shame that integer calculations are not supported. :P

Turbo Amiga...

I finally have a Blizzard 1230 Mk-IV accelerator with 16MB fast RAM for my Amiga 1200. It's fast as hell. Just a few tweaks and installations and it will be a dream gaming machine. :) Ohhhh, the memories... :)

Wiz delayed... Fallout 3 finished...

Well, the GP2x Wiz console has been delayed again. This time, the ETA is February 2009. They better fix the TV-Out on the thing (and perhaps add Wifi) or I'll just go with the Pandora console instead.

I've finished the main storyline in Fallout 3. The ending sequence is very disappointing, as they don't tell us how our decisions influenced the lives of those who we've come across. It's just an empty ending...
Well, I think I'll go back to Fallout 2. At least I can play it on the EEE. :D And it has Gauss Rifles, cocktails Molotov... and better quests than just killing everyone everytime or speaking our way through the quests (Bethesda has a lot to improve still) and following a marker on the compass to end everything.

I'm 27!!!!!! :P

Well, I turned 27 today, which some say is a good thing, others say it's a bad thing. I'm trying just not to become sad and nostalgic. :P

So many news... where to start?

Well, I finally bought a netbook. It's the Asus EEE 1000h and I love it and called 'her' Idunn, the nordic goddess of eternal youth. It's good to have a small computer to work and play old and emulated games. :)
The Asus N10 could run recent games, but 200€ more for a GeForce 9300 Mobile and a fingerprint reader?!?! Asus must be crazy!



My Amiga 1200, now has wireless network, Kickstart 3.1 ROMs, card reader, an 68030@50MHz CPU, an FPU and 128MB of fast RAM. Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Ohh, and it has a Compact Flash 4GB hard drive for my games collection. :) Can you spell Turrican? ;)



I'll also have a beatiful silver and gold flute by next week, so I may learn how to play. Gorgeous!!!



By last, I'm playing Fallout 3 many years after I've played the first two! :) Violent as hell! :D I like it a lot, especially with VATS (Auto Targetting) and always having few ammo, but where the heck is a Gauss Rifle (and Monty Python jokes by the way)?!?!? I chose Small Guns for the gausses. :S It's just a shame that it doesn't have the same generous amounts of black humor as the first two. :(



Yesterday, I received a collection of Taito arcade games for the PC and lost myself with them all night... those days had the best games. :(



Well, that's it for today :)

Farewell Loki!!!

Loki, my home desktop just died (two weeks ago actually). :'( It had its case USB ports short-circuited due to bad manufacturing and now I'll have to buy a new motherboard and graphics card (and case of course). I really wanted to wait until 2009 to upgrade it. :S It looks like I'll have to go ATI this time, since nVidia is putting lead again on its parts and I'll have none of it in my bedroom.

Meanwhile, I've built a new, improved, Super Loki, but I've had problems again. One of the power supply cables is too short to reach the connector on the motherboard, so I've had to order an extension cable which will only be here by next week. :( Well, I can wait... (have to anyway :))

Finally...

...I've made up my mind on which netbook to buy, almost. :) Either the Asus EEE 1000H or the MSI Wind, because smaller keyboards might get on my nerves. :P

Now I'll just wait for one of them to drop its price below 350€ or so. Probably by christmas...

My favourite bookstore...

...has simply got to be:

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk

Free shipping worldwide, good customer support and most prices better than amazon, especially when you consider postage costs. I've bought 50+ books from them in the last year alone and don't have any complaints. :)

And now for something completely different...

No, it's not Monty Python... but it might be a lot crazier. :)

Have you noticed how people seem to react similarly when confronted with similar situations. What if I were to tell you that people associate actions with numbers and tend to move a 'x' number of times according to what they-re thinking or perceiveing? For example, if someone answers "yes", but nods its head five times, he or she is probably lying. Sounds crazy, hum?

Here's a small list of correspondences:

1 - To be, to exist
2 - To see, to smell, to think
3 - To ask, to confirm
4 - To search, to find, to understand
5 - opposite, appears to be but it is not
etc...

I'm going to turn everyone into wackos. :)

Another day... another gadget

Well, yesterday I was going out from work when I received a mail from Play Asia. The GP2x Wiz is available for pre-order. The what?!



Hum, it doesn't look bad. But why would someone put a second d-pad instead of four buttons (my girlfriend loves playing sonic, and this configuration doesn't allow to select levels at start)? And no wifi for downloads and multiplayer gaming? I never bought a GP2x, but I would certainly buy this one if these two things were corrected/added. And I bet one must buy a separate accessory to make software for the thing. :S As it is, I'll rather spend my money somewhere else. Maybe the Pandora so I'll finally have an Amiga in my pocket. :)

PS - I love the Wiz's shape and color scheme though... :P

Update 02/09:

GPH (the console's manufacturer) is going to change that horrible 2nd dpad with four buttons. I might buy one of these now. :) Shame about no wifi though...

Searching for a netbook...

Before the last summer holidays, I would come home from work and use up the rest of my time playing "Civilization 2", one of the only games that still makes me lose track of time. I even bought the "Civilization Chronicles" compilation so I could play "Civilization 2: Test Of Time". As I was going to have two 5h+ train trips, I started searching for a computer which would allow me to play Civ during those trips or/and maybe some Amiga emulated games.
The only ones available in Portugal at the time were the Asus EEE 701 and the Acer Aspire One. The problem is the EEE's keyboard is just tiny and the One's battery only lasts a little over 2h. I decided to wait and didn't buy either one.
One month and the holidays have passed and I still feel the need to have one of those "toys". Now there are also the Asus EEE 901, EEE 1000H and MSI Wind on the market. I like Asus hardware more than the other brands, but the 901's keyboard is still tiny, the 1000H's keyboard bends when you type and the computer itself is just too big and heavy. The Acer One and the MSI Wind still only have 3 cell (short duration) batteries. I think the One's size is just ideal. All I want is a decent keyboard and battery, so I'll have to wait 2 or 3 more months for a model that suits me. Preferably an EEE with the size of the One, because it's common knowledge how Acer's hardware and customer support just sucks.

Conclusion: I'll probably buy the first 6+ cell battery, decent keyboard, Linux OS, netbook that I see. :)