All kinds'a happiness (Broadband, Browsing, LightScribing)...
Despite being horrifically busy at work and trying to squeeze 60 hours of work in 40-50 hours of time, I'm still doing fun stuff at home at the cost of sleep. Broadband and Browsing on the Sony PSP made my weekend, while fun with LightScribe made Vicky and I's night last night...

Our first LightScribed DVD is giving a silkscreened cover to Zhang Yimou's Huozhe (To Live). Which is a great movie by the way, but now it is no longer adorned with my scribbled handwriting, but a professional silkscreened look...


...After designing the label real quick in Lacie Labeler or the LightScribe Labeler that came from HP, it burned the image onto the flipside of the very ordinary looking DVD...

(it probably would have looked nicer if I used the cover art rather than a stock image... but hey, just the first DVD I've lightscribed)

...and voila, one great-looking DVD in 30 minutes for the lightscribing and 20 minutes for the video burning...

...50 minutes total for a professional-looking video DVD.

Ok, I'm impressed.
Ken Foreman 6:13 AM

 
One Large Post: Adventures in Broadband and Sony PSP...
I had taken off from work on Friday to babysit Washington Gas and Adelphia Communications (soon to be Comcast). Washington Gas is in the process of installing a new electronic meter. Adelphia installed a cable from their local junction to our townhouse since our townhouse was built pre-cable.

Late Friday afternoon, Vicky and I had disconnected our home network from the Starband 481 satellite modem and connected it to our Motorola SURFboard SB5100 instead. Download speeds jumped from 384Kb/s to 4.92Mb/s (with a max throughput of 6Mb/s). Needless to say, our home network is now tremendously faster and almost a 3rd of the cost ($42/mo rather than $110/mo).

Upgrading from Sony PSP 1.52 to 2.0...


The Sony PSP gets even better with firmware 2.0. You can now customize backgrounds, change themes, secure your wireless connection (WPA-PSK), surf the web, bookmark your sites, and even have multiple tabbed browsing and https://!

Themes, Browser, and Nyko Theater Experience...

The view from my Sony PSP skinned with Master Chief from Halo. The background is Master Chief, the theme is red, and its plugged into my Nyko Theater Experience so the volume is cranked.

Home network, dual display, and 16x DVD-DL with LightScribe...

Burning 9GB DVD-DL just got tremendously faster for Vicky and I. We can now burn a 4.7GB DVD in minutes, or burn a 9GB DVD-DL instead. Flip the DVD over and we can silkscreen our own cover art using LightScribe. No more handdrawn titles on our DVDs... it creates professional, silkscreened DVDs.

Again, expect this site to go away within a week or two. I'll announce my new address as soon as I finish moving everything over and updating all the internal links.
Ken Foreman 6:27 AM

 
"The Money Pit"
Vicky and I purchased our original Starband 360 modem in 2002. Between the modem and roof-mount installation, it cost us $800. We paid $79/mo for internet service that went out every time a cloud passed over the sun.

After a year of phone calls and bi-monthly realignment, the dish came off the roof and onto a pole. Instead of internet service going out with every passing cloud, it only went out during thunderstorms and snowstorms. But then the Starband 360 modem died. It took a week to get a refurbished 360 modem.

Starband has trouble with the satellite we're on, and wanted us to repoint to IA-7. After 4 visits by a tech and 5 visits where the tech didn't show, Vicky and I paid $120 to remain on the same satellite we're on because IA-7 has a neighbor's townhouse sitting in front of it. Just before this, I spent over $500 to purchase a Starband 481 modem in the hopes our bandwidth would improve, and our rates went from $79/mo to $100/mo for our service (which did not improve).

So after three years of repeated tech visits for repeaks/repoints, outages, excessive modem prices, and even-more-excessive monthly rates, Vicky and I hope to soon abandon Starband. All going well, we will soon have cable with 5Mb/s bandwidth.

As a result, "Innovations" will soon be moving to a new website. I'll post the new URL once it becomes available.

Disappointing...
I have a pair of $15 Altec Lansing speakers I picked up from Microcenter. They're small, powered by a small DC transformer, but deliver relatively decent sound for a cheap pair of speakers. They don't crackle, spit, or hum as a result of the "noise" generated by a DC transformer. The same cannot be said for the Nyko Theater Experience.

The Nyko Theater Experience is very noisy with the DC adapter plugged in. With only the PSP on but audio muted, the Theater Experience crackles and sputters. Only if you turn the volume all the way up, can you get the signal to sound better than the noise. Without the DC adapter, the noise is still there, only less pronounced. Nyko was very cheap with their amplification circuit, noise suppression, and shielding.

As a portable charger and PSP stand, the NYKO Theater Experience is great. As a stereo speaker, I can't recommend it for the price they charge. I would suggest a $15 pair of computer speaker over the $59+ Nyko Theater Experience.
Ken Foreman 7:21 AM

 
White Sony PSP and PSP Firmware 2.0!
Probably the single biggest piece of news in the "PSPosphere" today is Sony's announcement that firmware 2.0 would be available on July 27th, with long awaited features and a web browser!
1up: PSP's Future,
PSPworld: Sony unveils white PSP, web browser,
PSP411: Sony Japan announces update 2.00

Courtesy of PSP411, comes the news:

Sony Japan announced today, July 21, that the firmware update 2.00 will be available on July 27.

Included:
• Internet browser
• Performance boost
• A-B repeat mode added
• 4:3 ratio added to picture mode function.
• Audio change performance (?).
• MP4 (AVC) is added to the file type that can be played.
• Changes to being able to play ATRAC3+ music files made with "SonicStage" version 3.2.
• MP4 (AAC) with WAVE files now supported.
• Wallpaper added.
• Sending and receiving of pictures added.
• TIFF, GIF, PNG and BMP file types are now viewable.
• Korean language added.
• Themes added.
• Internet browser starting restrictions and network security settings.

And, in other news, my NYKO Theater Experience for the Sony PSP shipped today. While I may have it as early as tomorrow, it'll likely be Monday or Tuesday when I get it, post pictures, and a review.

Between the new Theater Experience and firmware 2.0 update with browser, themes, and wallpapers... today's been a good news day for my Sony PSP!
Ken Foreman 4:30 PM

 
One Busy Week, One Busy Weekend...
I've been up since 5am this morning. I was at work by 6:30am. I left work at 5pm and got home just before 6 due to bumper-to-bumper traffic on 28-north. I woke up my laptop and set it on my desk... not ten minutes later, Vicky called to tell me she's leaving work, could I make dinner, and that an aunt had died.

Another day... the hits just keep on coming.

Servers, Applications, Databases, Message Queues, Clustering... Procedures.

The past month has been a crash course in enterprise Linux, LDAP, MediaWiki, MySQL, JBoss, Subversion, and CVS. I haven't read Washington Post or Penny Arcade in weeks. I haven't had time for news or television in almost two months. My work and my home projects have dominated my time.

I've learned alot in the past month. I've been working about 50-60 hours a week, not charging that many but only because I feel it makes up for the weeks I'm underworked. Subversion with WebDAV, a highly-customized MediaWiki with MySQL, optimizing SUSE Linux 9.2 Enterprise, and keeping a crippled CVS running until Subversion can replace it has been dominating my time. Writing build scripts with Cruise Control, Maven and integrating it into Wiki/WebSVN was another 10 hours today.

The end of the day was a bit disheartening... I hope it's ok to talk about a little office tech here, I don't divulge anything but the basic concepts. Likewise, I won't talk about co-workers or procedures... like our office tech, it's a work-in-progress (we're all learning, but a co-worker's minute of criticism is easier than twenty minutes of understanding).

Jump, Aim, Shoot, Dodge, Run... Adrenaline

Coded Arms is a fantastic game. By far, it's the definitive First Person Shooter (FPS) for the Sony PSP. Switch to "Control Type C" so that it plays like a PC: left joystick to look around, right WASD (u/d/l/r) to move. It's the control type for lefties, but it's also the control type for anyone who's ever played Halo, Doom, or Unreal on the PC.

In order to play Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition for over ten hours, I had to play in my "spare time" between a 50-hour week, weekend errands, and 3-5 hours of sleep a night. Less sleep so I could play Coded Arms for seven hours, still work 60 hours, and do errands.

Next Up...
If you're a close friend or family, you know what Vicky and I are trying to do. The first phase was without success. The second phase isn't covered by Aetna.

Just trying is going to cost $30,000... upfront, cash-please. It's coming out of our home equity, but Wells Fargo informed us they're a mortgage company, not a bank. So our Line-of-Credit will be going to PNC Bank, and our equity is being adjusted to nearly $150K. But that'll be this week... so between the stress of trying, the daunting tasks ahead, and refinancing, it's no wonder Vicky's stressed-and-depressed.
Ken Foreman 6:53 AM

 
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Yesterday, Vicky, her brother, their nieces, and I went to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Regal Cinemas in Sterling, VA.

While Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971, starring Gene Wilder) is a classic, I have to say that Vicky and I enjoyed Tim Burton's retelling over the 1971 original. John August, who also wrote Big Fish, approaches both the story and characters with much more depth than the original with Mel Stuart. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has the incredible visuals, use of flashbacks and story, and warm characters similar to what audiences enjoyed with Big Fish.

Vicky and I would recommend this to others who enjoyed Big Fish or people who'd like to see a better retelling than the original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Whatever assumptions people make on the weird previews or Johnny Depp's character, they're in for a pleasant surprise. It all makes sense and gets explained during the movie.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory gets 9 out of 10 stars from Vicky & I. It should certainly get an Oscar nod or three for Best Visuals, Best Actor (Freddy Highmore), and Best Supporting Actor (David Kelly).
Ken Foreman 6:25 AM

 
A 7-MegaPixel (MP) phone?
Courtesy of Akihabara News comes the Samsung SCH-V770 phone with 7MP digital camera. While I'm currently enamored with the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-M1 5.1MP camera, having a 7MP camera+phone looks like the ultimate in camera/phone convergence.

If you're an American looking for the latest in Asian high-tech toys and gadgetry, I highly recommend:
Akihabara News (News from Tokyo's electronics district)
Dynamism (Japanese technology importer into English)
..and for any gamer: Lik-Sang (Console Games, Systems, Accessories direct from Hong Kong)

...

...no, we weren't geekin' ALL weekend (sometimes we slept)
Friday night, Vicky wore a very sharp red dress and I dressed in a grey suit. We went to the 75th birthday for Mamang Asinero at the Waterford in Fairfax, VA. We had a great time, and Mamang was truly surprised with the party, presentation, and dance that the Asinero children and families put together.

On Saturday, Vicky and I slept in, then went over to her parents' house to see Mom. We watched Wowowee and hung out with Lola and Tita Boy. Johnny was taking care of Mom this Saturday, so he played Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition on my Sony PSP while I worked on my Apple PowerBook and watched TV.

On Sunday, Johnny bought Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition after seeing it on mine. He came over to our house with Mom. Vicky and Mom watched TFC on the home theatre while Johnny and I played for over 5 hours in multiplayer. Having a good Vietnamese restaurant within walking distance, we took a break to get four orders of grilled pork with egg, rice, and spring rolls for the family.

On Monday, Vicky and I slept in again. We had dim sum for brunch at Lucky Three in Tysons Corner, VA. We then spent the afternoon at home. I was catching up on some work and getting ready for a presentation on Wednesday. Vicky did several loads of laundry. After a light dinner, we rested together in front of the TV.

...so, yeah, we had a fun three-day weekend!
Ken Foreman 7:08 AM

 
After 5 Hours of Multiplayer in Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition...
My brother-in-law, Johnny, picked up Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition after playing it for 20 minutes on mine. On Sunday, we played multiplayer in MC3: DUB for over five hours while Vicky and Mom watched TFC in our home theatre.

While we played Capture the Flag, Ordered Race, Track Race, and Tag in multiplayer, our favorite has to be Capture the Flag hands-down. We alternated between Split and BaseWar in San Diego, Atlanta, and Detroit...

...Johnny's driving a Volkswagen Jetta while I'm driving a tuned Dodge SRT4. As you can see from the stats, I've now played 7 hours and 58 minutes in MC3:DUB. I've driven 326 miles, and 260 of those have been in my Dodge SRT4.

I can sell the Dodge SRT4 and buy something better, but I'm still pretty happy with it. I can dust an Eclipse off-the-line, I've got it fairly well tuned, and I like my rims, color, and vinyls. I'm sure by this week's end, I'll have upgraded to a sport bike or hummer to go with it.

I agree with reviews that say the load times in Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition border on ridiculous. I often have time to refill my glass, have a short conversation, or take a bathroom break between races. During multiplayer, it isn't too noticeable since I end up "shooting the shit" anyways. During career, the 70-second load times can be a bit tedious. The gameplay, graphics, and soundtrack still reward you for the wait... you just have to wait.

Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition is now my favorite game on the PSP, followed by Ridge Racer, Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee, Lumines and Mercury as my "must carry". My three UMD movies are Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and Spider-Man 2.

I'm looking forward to getting Coded Arms this week as well as Appleseed as a UMD movie. Next week, I hope to *finally* get my NYKO Theatre Experience for PSP that I pre-ordered back in April.

Final Fantasy: Advent Children, Daxter, and Advent Shadow are all movies/games I'm looking forward to later this year.

Have a happy Fourth of July! ...I am. Vicky, Johnny, Mom, and I have been eating well, watching movies, and gaming!
Ken Foreman 3:18 PM

 
At First Blush... Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition, or "10 Gallons in a 5-Gallon Hat"

Rockstar San Diego outdid themselves with Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition. Just like the full-blown console version, you have complete street maps of San Diego, Atlanta, and Detroit to cruise through or race through. There is an incredible number of cars, trucks, and bikes to choose from, tune, and customize to your heart's content. The gameplay, graphics, and soundtrack is everything we've come to expect from Rockstar on the PlayStation2.

Last night I raced through the streets of San Diego in a suped up Dodge SRT4 (red, of course!). Running head-to-head with the GTO in traffic, I was forced to crash through a window and drive through a store before taking the street again. How cool is that! I had my Sony MDR-EX71 earbuds in and had Sean Paul thumping while I finally dusted the GTO and came in 2nd.

As Nix at IGN reports in his Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Review:

Why am I talking tech here in this review before saying one word specifically about Midnight Club 3, the highly-anticipated PSP version of Rockstar's renown racing series? Because more than any game on the system so far, this game pushes and pulls at the system, bending it over and twisting it around to try to perfectly recreate the deep-as-a-thong-string gameplay of the console blazer by Rockstar San Diego (formerly Angel Studios). There may be a handful of other games we've seen in previews that are more technologically advanced game on PSP (though this certainly has plenty of aspects to boast about.) And as far as using the PSP to its max, this is not the penultimate example of how much power this system offers game makers (if anything, I'm sure Rockstar will be back to kick this game's ass.) But as far as ambition and total package, it's only got maybe one or two other handheld games in its league.

Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition is a game shoehorned into the PSP, ten gallons of game crammed into a five gallon bucket. And surprisingly, it almost all fits ... honestly, it should have all fit. If it weren't for some first-gen technical issues and a few really disappointing missed opportunities to tailor this into a PSP game, it would have been right up their with THUG 2 Remix in terms of offering the most bang for the buck you can get on a portable.

If you can get past the 70 seconds! load time between every race and every menu, you'll be well-rewarded with a few minutes of gameplay. Rockstar managed to shoehorn a huge console game into a little portable, and the game rewards you, but the loading punishes you. Rather than periodically hitting the UMD during play, they load the entire map, all the skins, and all the music! into memory before the race begins... Again, as Nix pointed out:

If you're thinking that it's all of that heavy data streaming needed to create this vast, console-quality racing world that's holding the game up, think again. The game's world is entirely stored in memory. You can turn off the music and pop the disc out, and the game will play. Figure that out, and you'll fly into a rage every time that minute-long load pops up every time you start a new race -- it's already all there! Sure, the game has to load the map points, but is that a minute of loading? Of course, the game has to load the car models of your opponents, but then why does the second and third race against the exact same opponents take exactly as long? Traffic patterns have to be reset, maybe some custom track details have to be put in for specific events (such as cop car placement or intersection timing), but it's a free-roaming game -- how much pre-planned mapping needs to be loaded when I'm making my own path to the finish line?

Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition is an incredible game. I'm sure it'll see many hours on PSP. The only question is, how many of those hours will be spent staring at a spinning wheel, two travelling yellow lines, and the word "Loading"?
Ken Foreman 7:01 AM

 
Retiring the Sony PSP soft case...
I'm still waiting for the NYKO Theatre Experience that I pre-ordered back in April. NYKO has since changed the case from anodized aluminum to a matte black and rubberized the edges & connectors. While I was looking forward to the aluminum case to match my PowerBook, I have to say the matte black looks pretty sharp and a better match to the style of the Sony PSP.

My most recent conversation ended in "shipping June 20th from our distributor." Seeing the retail supply dates, it's more likely to ship July 10th now. Since my PSP is in dire need of a hard case while I wait, I picked up a Logitech Playgear from EBgames on the way home today...


...And, yes, that is Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition sitting beside it...


While Dead to Rights was calling to me as well, I really wanted to see MC3: DUB and how it stacks up to the graphics and gameplay (drifting!) of Ridge Racer. I only played it for ten minutes, but I'm already hooked! I can tell I'll be playing it pretty heavily until Coded Arms ships next week.

Now if you don't mind, my PSP is just begging to be played... 'later!
Ken Foreman 7:04 PM