Geeky crap Archives - Page 4 of 8

Birthday wishes

March 22, 2007

Happy birthday to the antipodean Xbox 360 — 1 year old tomorrow.

To mark the occasion, the Aussies are auctioning off a series of celebrity consoles in conjunction with the Make-A-Wish foundation so if you fancy making a bid for a customised console from the likes of Peter Jackson or Russell Crowe, head to https://www.xbox.com.au/ from tomorrow.

It’s a special day for PlayStation fans tomorrow, too. Yes, PlayStation 3 is ready to roll. Gamers: warm up your thumbs, it’s time to play.

Good gear

January 18, 2007

Have you downloaded the new Gears Of War content?

The Discovery Channel has sponsored the freebie map packs, which were available via Xbox Live Marketplace from Thursday last week.

Chat, sheep and Ms Dewey

November 30, 2006

Do you want to chat as you surf, anywhere online? Simply add “gabbly.com” to the start of any URL. Read all about it at the Gabbly website.

Test your reflexes by tranqillising sheep. You have to wonder how they come up with these.

If you’re looking for a change of search engine, give the chatty Ms Dewey a try. She’s got a bit of attitude and is likely to tap on your screen if you spend too much time deciding what you want to ask her about but she’s certainly interesting and is sure to appeal to the blokes.

Xbox 360 soon to deliver TV shows, movies to gamers

November 9, 2006

The Xbox 360 is to become the first gaming console to deliver TV shows and movies to gamers via Xbox Live.

In news announced in the United States on Tuesday night (NZ time), Microsoft said it had agreements with CBS, MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures, Turner Broadcasting System, Ultimate Fighting Championship and Warner Bros to provide an initial lineup of more than 1000 hours of hit television shows and movies to Xbox 360 consoles in the US by the end of the year.

Timed to coincide with the first anniversary of the launch of Xbox 360 in the US, the plan will make it the first gaming console to provide HD TV shows and movies directly to gamers in their own living rooms.

Consumers will also be able to download-to-own TV shows including CSI and Numb3rs, remastered classic Star Trek episodes and Nascar will deliver download-to-own condensed versions of select Nascar Nextel Cup Series races from Race Rewind.

Trade Me v Netco in widget war

September 28, 2006

Things aren’t as happy as they could be in Trade Me Land.

Grumblings on the message board about the new fees aren’t surprising. In fact, the new fees aren’t surprising either — Fairfax stumped up a lot of cash to buy the auction icon and like any company, will be looking to pull as much of a profit as possible from its new baby.

Besides, I still think it got the bargain of the century for what is undoubtedly one of New Zealand’s most instantly recognisable brands.

Other changes introduced recently include options to make life easier for sellers to relist items and for both buyers and sellers to track the progress of their trades.

However, it seems Trade Me isn’t too happy with Wellington firm Netco’s BidWatch widget, a little gadget that Trade Me users can use to keep up-to-date with auctions without actually having to visit the site.

BidWatch is a free download but Netco is hoping to make some money from the program from the advertisements that will be displayed on it.

However, Trade Me reckons BidWatch breaches its rules and could be a strain on the site’s servers. In the site announcements section of the message board, Trade Me says it has temporarily removed its “People Online” counter after the figures skyrocketed on Monday because of the widget. It also advises members that the use of any third party tools could result in their membership being suspended.

Update: Netco has removed BidWatch.

Auction action

August 11, 2006

There’s another new auction site looking to attract Kiwi buyers and sellers.

Zillion already has a good range of auctions running and anyone who uses Trade Me will recognise many of the names.

Competition is a good thing, especially for the consumers, so good luck to the new site.

Looking for flights? Grab this

August 10, 2006

If you’re planning a holiday any time soon, you might like to take a look at Air New Zealand’s Grabaseat offers.

The available flights change daily and there are some huge bargains to be had.

Did I mention that I’m going on holiday soon? Thirteen sleeps to go, not that I’m counting or anything.

Xbox 360 arrives; PS3 delayed

March 23, 2006

(This is the Online column, written for The Southland Times)

Where were you at 12.01 this morning?

That’s when the Xbox 360 finally made its New Zealand appearance, after a hugely successful Xbox 360 Roadtrip, where more than 8000 gaming fans had a shot at hands-on fun with Microsoft’s latest gaming console aboard the Xbox bus. Unfortunately, the deep south was missed off the itinerary, with the bus only making it as far south as Dunedin.

The 360, with 21 game titles ready for launch day, features wireless controllers as standard and is compatible with other entertainment devices, such as the iPod and digital cameras, setting it up to be much more than just a games console.

Meanwhile, Sony has announced the 6-month delay of the world debut of its next generation games console, the PlayStation 3. Technology problems mean the console is expected to be out in early November.

Microsoft has also put the brakes on one of its projects, with its Windows Vista operating system not expected to be available until January instead of later this year. Vista is the first major overhaul of Windows since Windows XP hit the scene nearly five years ago.

Microsoft says the delay is to allow time for overall quality, particularly in security.