If there’s anything I’ve questioned doing (speaking in context to my blog articles, of course) recently, it would be possibly giving the Archos 605 Wi-fi less credit than it deserves. I concluded with the statement that it made a great personal media player, but its design simply wasn’t good enough – or “acceptable”, as the chief-reviewer over at APH Networks would say of my photos (I’m working on improving). Perhaps Archos themselves already had seen such a statement coming, and so created the Archos 705 Wi-fi – basically the Archos 605 Wi-fi, with a few more perks. In comparison to the iPod Touch, I think it’s got three advantages.

Source: http://www.pmptoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/official-archos-705.jpg

Aesthetics

Where the Archos 605 Wi-fi failed (epically, arguably) the Archos 705 picks up. Featuring a sweet, practically button-less design, the Archos 705 Wi-fi is a bit bulkier dimension-wise, but it’s still button-less. In case you were wondering, it’s button-less. Comparable to, oh, say…the iPod Touch. To true gadget-lovers, this is an important feature, as superficial as it sounds – aesthetics and industrial design mean everything when it comes to a good piece of gadgetry.

Storage

I can hardly put more emphasis on my point here – who cares about drive speed (enthusiasts, please skip the next few sentences as I know you will most certainly disagree) in personal media players? I won’t lie to you – the differences are certainly noticeable even for regular consumers like myself, but does an 80GB-outfitted Archos 705 Wi-fi sound better, or would it be a measly 32GB iPod Touch? Earth to consumer – the Archos 705 Wi-fi costs less, too (at Future Shop, anyway). The only difference being that the Archos 705 Wi-fi might be a bit slower when it comes to loading songs or videos, but we’re talking in seconds here, nothing near the minute range. If you want value, go for the Archos 705 Wi-fi.

Source: http://www.pmptoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/archos_705_review.jpg

Screen

Practically everyone’s been gushing about the iPod Touch’s screen – so what, the Archos 605 Wi-fi’s got a bigger screen – and that’s only around two-thirds the size of the Archos 705 Wi-fi’s screen. Sitting at a whopping 7″, it dominates the front end of the Archos 705 Wi-fi and ensures an excellent movie-watching experience – much better than killing your eyes on a cell phone or an iPod screen (not that it still isn’t harmful to the eye – just somewhat less).

The Archos 705 Wi-fi does stack up pretty well against the iPod Touch, and thanks to its competitively-beautiful design, it can even compete with the iPod Touch in the aesthetics category. Whether you’re a movie-goer, just want to get something different, or are not a big fan of Apple, the Archos 705 Wi-fi is an excellent alternative (not to mention it’s got all the standards, such as wi-fi, a friendly GUI, downloadable flash widgets, etc, etc).

Other iPod Touch Alternatives:

1. Olympus M:Robe 500i
2. Archos 605 Wi-fi
3. Cowon Q5W
4. Archos 705
5. Samsung P2

Runner Ups:

• Cowon iAudio X7
• iRiver Clix 2
• Microsoft Zune

Halo 3? Counterstrike Source? Call of Duty 4? I’m pretty sure that every single one of us have at least heard (if not played first-hand) of these games. Wired has recently published an article on the research done by Niklas Ravaja on “The Psychophysiology of James Bond: Phasic Emotional Responses to Violent Video Game Events“. After reading direct from the Wired article, I decided to post some of my own thoughts and reflections on such a discovery.

Source: http://www.videogames.net.au/images/halo-3-explosion1.JPG 

To summarize, Ravaja has discovered that gamers experience pleasure in dying but don’t enjoy shooting their opponents, contrary to what the general public thinks of video games robbing humans of such a sense of shame. I must say that this is relieving to know, as there was not a chance that I would’ve given up first person shooters. What’s surprising is the enjoyment in death though, and as I thought about it the more I began to understand.

Logically speaking, it makes sense. Dying in video games isn’t exactly the same as real life, as you impart your virtual life with the knowledge you’ll be back a few minutes later at most. Also, running around in an office with a bunch of terrorists hot on your tail and a host of civilians following you and giving away your position isn’t exactly the most mentally-healthy or stress-free activity in the world, so the mind does naturally feel relieved of such stress when death takes over your character.

Source: http://worldofpwnage.com/images/cs_office0043.jpg

However, like Clive Thompson discovered, I also found the thought of dying in certain games more appealing than others. The first person shooters are fine with me, as I know that I’m hardly robbed of anything but a little dignity, but dying in Super Mario Galaxy really presses my cider as I need to re-start the level and get a hard-earned one-up taken away. My own common sense conclusion was that dying sucked even virtually when you’ve got something to lose – and it could be anything.

A little short of a psychological revelation, and certainly a ground-breaking approach to analyzing the effect first person shooters have on video games, hopefully this research leads to more proof that we as humans don’t get desensitized at people’s deaths (perhaps speculation about the player’s death is more at risk) after playing video games.

Last.FM has been around for a long time – ever since I was still relatively new to this whole “social networking” business, I thought that Last.FM was going to revolutionize the world. It’s just that after the five years or so it’s been around, it’s gotten a bit stale. Besides, I’ve usually used Last.FM to discover new music, not new people. I’d much rather have Pandora – which is dedicated to finding new music (somewhat a personalized “internet radio”). When I first heard of Jango, I don’t know why, but it felt exceptionally refreshing. I’d also like to say that Jango is somewhat like Pandora and Last.FM combined together, to give us the best of both worlds. Just what is it that Jango does so darn well?

Jango plays music.

First and foremost, Jango plays music without needing users to register prior to such a service. Just enter the name of your favourite artist, and be prepared to discover music just like it. On occasion a little box might pop up asking you to register, but it’s optional and you can simply close the box and continue listening. I’ve found the music to be great – I’ve heard some great tunes along the way, including Def Leppard (whom I have only heard of before).

Jango learns what you like.

Jango gives three options when rating songs: Don’t Like it, Like it, and Love it – in the form of three emoticons. Clicking the Don’t Like it emoticon will ensure that you never hear the song again. Clicking the Like it button will stir up the number of times you hear the song, and the Love it’s grinning face will etch the fact that you love the song into Jango’s memory. Mostly songs you Love or Like will appear in your Song History, which moves us on to the next point…

Jango plays what you like.

Combining the information from the first two statements will result in this third one, and you are able to play certain songs that are on other users’ radio stations at the current moment. This ability is limited purposely, as it would be violating the Digital Media Copyright Act otherwise (no “music on demand” allowed). I found this feature much more fulfilling than Pandora’s and Last.FM’s abilities. Not to mention you can skip as many songs as you want per hour (take that, Pandora).

Besides those three, I’ve still got a bit to say, but I’ll spare your eyesight and just have a nice little list.

• It looks great.
• It incorporates album art well.
• It integrates social networking arguably as well as Last.FM, if not better.
• It requires no downloading!
• It’s a much more “custom-tailored” experience than Pandora or Last.FM.

The only thing I’m worried for Jango is its ability to continue playing in Canada. Pandora was forced to relinquish its “airwaves” from Canada, and I’m definitely a bit frightened that the same thing will happen to Jango as its popularity continues to increase. However, I’m willing to milk what I’ve got for now and listen to it as much as I can. Remember Jango, if you ever need an advocate, I’m here for you.

Visit: http://jango.com

No, I’m not another Playstation/Sony fanboy. No, I don’t own a PS3. No, I don’t have a Blu-Ray player. But I have to admit – doggone it, Sony seems to just have the formula for success. A year ago, the name PS3 would bring stenches of failure and skepticism. Now, the PS3 carries a much more appealing vibe – but how did Sony do it? From what I’ve seen and thought about, I’ve come up with 3 main factors:

Source: http://blog.chip.de/xbox-ps3-watch-blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/meri-final-fantasy-xiii.jpg

1. Exclusive AAA Games

• God of War III
  • Planned to be released exclusively for the PS3 in 2009, you can definitely expect God of War III to cook up a few hundred (or thousand, even) units being sold.
• Gran Turismo 5
  • A friend of mine very recently ditched his Wii for a new PS3 (traitor). I asked him why he’d make such a ludicrous decision, and he told me that his favourite game Gran Turismo 5 was coming out for the PS3 soon. I guess that’s a valid choice on his part – after all, he did end up spending $300 on a steering wheel and a set of brakes. Wow.
• Final Fantasy XIII
  • My personal favourite will have to be Final Fantasy XIII – I played Final Fantasy X and that really drew me into the genre. Either way, it’s still a definite force to be reckoned with and I think that it’ll be something to look forward to. Hopefully some of you out there will agree with me.

Source: http://z.about.com/d/playstation/1/7/U/6/Img3669_tif_jpgcopy.jpg

2. Blu-Ray Player

With HD-DVD out of the picture, and Sony consistently marketing the PS3 doubling as a Blu-Ray player, the PS3 will definitely sell a lot more units. Being amongst the most affordable Blu-Ray players on the market (sadly), the PS3 could very possibly be the media-powerhouse of “next-gen” consoles. Heck, even Microsoft plans to integrate a Blu-Ray player into the next generation of their Xbox 360.

Source: http://www.cheaplaptops.org.uk/wp-content/laptopimg/2007/09/ps3.jpg

3. Pricing

The most major factor in this the transformation has to have been the change in pricing. By halving the price and the overkill specifications, as well as the drop in hardware prices, Sony has been able to manipulate the prices so that they become more affordable – somewhat in the range that the Nintendo Wii resides in. I find that this reason alone made it all the more appealing for me to entertain the idea of purchasing a PS3 – and thus, I think that this is the killer reason to get the PS3. The introduction of the 40GB version really popularized the PS3, and it earned a new place on the shelf next to the Nintendo Wii. Heck, I might even get a PS3 thanks to the price drop (I’m a starving artist, despite what you think).

Not only did Sony prove the general public wrong, they also retained their established position as a household, widely-known, mainstream household brand. By turning the PS3 around, they’ve found an alternate method to continue to generate income, and also continued the reputation of the Playstation legacy. Despite being a Wii supporter, I’ve owned a PSone and PS2 before, so it’s very possible that I continue my own Playstation journey with a PS3.

Donald Bell, Senior Editor for CNET’s Digital Audio & MP3, describes it as “the most super-duper, feature-packed video player we’ve ever gotten our hands on.” Released on December 1st, 2007 (so last year), the Cowon Q5W appears to be competing in a similar field to the iPod Touch – albeit, with a lot more storage at a much higher price. However, Bell definitely wasn’t exaggerating when describing the Q5W’s features.

Source: http://www.mobilemag.com/content/images/13998_large.jpg

It’s got a 5-inch screen – a huge size advantage over the iPod Touch’s own, plus a whopping 800×480 resolution to match, giving the Archos 605 Wi-fi a run for its money. In contrast to the Archos 605 Wi-fi however, the Cowon Q5W does look much cleaner without the buttons on the side that the Archos 605 Wi-fi sports. The Cowon Q5W, like the Archos 605 Wi-fi, is capable of surfing the internet via wi-fi as well. The Cowon Q5W also has bluetooth, and a variety of other features – not to mention the Cowon Q5W also comes with a whopping 40GB of storage, arguably enough to install a whole operating system upon one might suggest.

Source: http://www.windowsfordevices.com/files/misc/cowon_q5w.jpg

An operating system it is! The Cowon Q5W comes with Windows CE 5.0, basically a stripped down embedded version of Windows. This function allows the personal media player to double as an ultra-portable PC – not with the greatest interface though. The interface is in fact quite old, and could’ve done with either a custom skin from Cowon or – heck – a Cowon-modded version of Linux.

Source: http://common.ziffdavisinternet.com/util_get_image/17/0,1425,sz=1&i=175949,00.jpg

What the Cowon Q5W lacks in the GUI department it makes up for in its client, the actual media player aspect of the Cowon Q5W – what did you think they’d use, Windows Media Player? Pft. But besides that, video playback in the client is great thanks to the high-res screen – which does make it a bit larger-sized and clunkier. I think it’s a trade worth making – if you wear baggy jeans or clothes. Otherwise, unh-unh.

With a price tag of CDN$499.99 for the 40GB version and an extra CDN$50 for the 60GB version, you’re going to have to shell out a bit more than you would for an iPod Touch. Due to issues with the interface, its slightly bigger design, and uber-high price, I’m going to give this battle to the iPod Touch. However, if you’ve got the money and video playback is your priority or you need an UPC, go with the Cowon Q5W.

Other iPod Touch Competitors:

1. Olympus M:Robe 500i
2. Archos 605 Wi-fi
3. Cowon Q5W
4. Archos 705
5. Samsung P2

Runner Ups:

• Cowon iAudio X7
• iRiver Clix 2
• Microsoft Zune

Apple and Nike have begun collaborating on a system called NikePlus – which measures your workouts. That’s decent – a technology giant and an apparel giant colliding together to make the world a better – and fitter, place. I have to say that this really makes me see them in a new light, somewhat. I can’t count how many people I can see benefiting from this – so many people already use their iPod Nanos while working out, and countless people support Nikewear.

Source: http://images.apple.com/ca/ipod/nike/images/runsensor20070905.png

The whole process is actually pretty simple – all you need is a little accelerometer from Nike and your iPod Nano. The accelerometer should be stored in NikePlus products that can be purchased from the Nike site – alas, I think that all you need is a safe pocket somewhere. Upon plugging the receiving unit into the iPod and navigating to the software through the menu, you start exercising! The accelerometer measures burnt calories, distance traveled, and all the nice little pieces of data. When the iPod is synced, the data is immediately transferred online to the NikePlus site, where all you statistics will be stored. Pretty neat, eh?

Source: http://images.apple.com/ca/ipod/nike/images/gearnanoplus20070905.png

The accelerometer itself can be found at Apple US for $19.99, and currently is not available on the Canadian store. However, I’m pretty sure that it’ll be at around the same price – try dropping into your local Apple or Nike store for more information.

Tired of the same old interface? Jealous every time you see someone whip out their iPod Touch? It’s quite alright – I was too, at first. Then I decided “Hey, I’m better than that. It’s just superficial tech-lust anyway.” I had finally seen the light. But I wanted to do something to get back at them, to make them see that my iPod (named Glassy for its glass-y features, haha) was just as good as their iPod (I’ll call them Touchy or something).

Just yesterday, I found a hack for the iPod Video 5g/5.5g. I discovered that this hack had been out there for a couple of months already and regretted not being connected deeper into the iPod hacking community, but hey – what can I do? I’ve been bombarded with stuff as of late. I found the steps on the iPod Wizard forums and DrivenDesign to be a bit lacking in substance, so I’ll offer you a guide with pictures and all, although it really isn’t as hard as I’m making it sound. In fact, you can do it in two easy steps!

1. Downloading the iPodWizard Client and Touch Firmware

The iPodWizard is used for a variety of things, mainly editing themes on the iPod, and updating firmware in our case. The iPodWizard program can be found at http://www.getipodwizard.com. Don’t be intimidated, the Wizard is very user-friendly and will work their magic for you.

Next, you’ll need the actual firmware files of the iPod Touch. Scroll to the bottom of http://drivendesign.us/touch.html and download the respective firmware file for your iPod Video. You’ve got a 5g iPod Video if your iPod’s the thicker 30GB version or if you have the 60GB variant. You’ve got a 5.5g iPod Video if your iPod’s the thinner 30GB version (nice choice) or the abundantly-equipped 80GB branch in the iPod family tree. Remember, this hack is not applicable to iPod Classics!

2. Mount the Touch Firmware on your iPod via iPodWizard

Now that you’ve got both the firmware and the mounter, the obvious next step is mounting it. Connect the iPod to your computer via USB. Open up iPodWizard; if you’re running Windows Vista like myself, you’re going to have to right-click it and select Run as Administrator (darn Vista, haha).

Change the Edit Mode to Firmware File and select Open Firmware.

Then, browse to wherever it is you extracted your Touch Firmware and select TouchHack 2.0.bin. Finally, select the Mount button.

Be careful – do unplug the iPod until it’s been restarted into the Touch GUI.

You’re done! Hopefully your iPod Video is still intact, and even better – livened up with the Touch GUI. There are a few bugs and kinks to be ironed out, but we’re just going to have to wait for TouchHack 3.0.bin, I guess.

A quick Word

I might’ve let on more to my personal life than I wanted to – so here are the answers to the questions you’ve been dying to ask.

• Is Herbert addicted to World of Warcraft? Does he play and eat nachos all day?
  • No, I play for recreational purposes. I’m just curious as to how this game works and why it’s so addictive. For those who do play, I am still a Level 12 Draenei Paladin – whoa, did that sound as nerdy as I thought it did? Anyway, I play an average of probably a good half hour to an hour with my friends (high-level 50s).
• Does Herbert not talk to people on Windows Live Messenger?
  • One word – YODM3D.

Back on topic – I hope the TouchHack firmware works well for you. I’m willing to suggest why this is a great alternative to Rockbox, in case there are some of you out there wondering. In fact, I think I’ll write a nice lengthy post about it.

CDs have arguably been the best thing that ever happened to the music industry (iTunes coming in at a close second, with Limewire, Kazaa, and other file-sharing networks ranking on the other side of the spectrum). Old-fashioned people still stuck in the 90s like myself will still believe that CDs just have more character and authenticity when compared against the same songs by the same artist encased within digital format. Seeing such values in people, record label (I believe) Sony BMG has launched a new project known as the Platinum MusicPass.

Source: http://promo.musicpass.ca/en/images/newnav_04.gif

Platinum MusicPass differs from the other services as it emphasizes on extra content: meaning it comes with the album art and pages, but also extra content such as backstage videos, music videos, and the whatnot. It offers DRM-free music, which has definitely increased in popularity as of late. The sample I downloaded from MusicPass, Take You There by Sean Kingston, proved to have the high bit-rate of 320kbps. I’d need a higher quality set of speakers to justly comment on the sound quality, but I can say it sounds great on my tinny integrated laptop speakers.

The experience so far has been quite flawless, simply select a song and download. It took less than a quarter of a minute for the song to totally download, and it’s got album art and all when played in Windows Media Player 11. All this is a part of the free sample that they’re offering – you can’t miss out on this offer (think about it – a free song!).

I think that Platinum MusicPass could do with a bolster in its marketing campaign, I hadn’t heard of it until I set foot in the Shoppers Drug Mart that happened to have a whole rack of it. However, it’s got a lot going for it – artists such as Elvis, Alicia Keys, Chris Daughtry, Chris Brown, and Sean Kingston have made their material available through the service – which is a definite plus in my books.

Platinum MusicPass is a great service that could use a bit more press. I’ve seen the commercial twice on television in the past month, but I would never have noticed it if I hadn’t heard about the Platinum MusicPass prior to watching, and I certainly would not have paid any attention to it. In case you’re wondering, the Platinum MusicPass comes in the tangible form of a card, at about the same cost of a CD, and can be found at major retailers such as Shoppers Drug Mart, Best Buy, Future Shop, Wal-Mart, and CD Plus.

And no, this isn’t a sponsored post – I’m just a huge fan of this movement. Asides from CD’s, I think that this is the way to go.

Take a look at the Platinum MusicPass at:

http://www.musicpass.ca/Default.aspx