Picking the right PS3

Sony sure likes to confound consumers. With four different PS3 options to choose from it's hard to tell head from tails. At launch, there was a 20GB version and a 60GB version. Then, they cut the price. After that, thanks to low sales, they stoped making the 20GB SKU (A few still remain however). Last spring/summer the 80GB version was announced. Now next month a 40GB version hits stores.

For everyone who doesn't follow every step and is a little bit confused about which is the best one for you, here's a easy guide to finding your perfect setup:

You just wanna play games!
Any will do but, if you care about playing PS2 games on your PS3, don't buy the 40GB or the 80 GB. The former isn't compatible with any PS2 games at all and the latter is only compatible though software emulation. That's dicey at best. Also if you prefer to play online, and you have a wireless network, be sure to buy at least the 60GB. Any thing lower and you'll need a Ethernet cable.

You need the bleeding edge
If you fall into this category then chances are that you already have one. Along with your copy of Lair. But if you don't, the obvious choice would seem to be the 80GB version because of the bigger HDD. Don't do it! Because of the software emulation noted above the better choice would be to buy the 60GB version and then upgrade the hard drive to a bigger size. Then you'll be smokin'!

You want to use the PS3 as Media hub and don't care about games.
The 20GB is by far the cheapest and the money you save can be used to buy a new HDD to save all your music videos, pictures, ETC. Of course those are very rare. If you can't find one, the 40GB model is a perfect alternative. However, if you plan it link up to a wireless network to share media, then you'll need the next step up which goes for $500. For that much you might as well buy a 80GB for the same price.

Here is a video I saw on YouTube of how to upgrade your PS3 Hard Drive:



Here's all info you need to know in one spot. Full specs for the 3 newest SKUs can be found here

SKU	PS3 Low end	PS3 Mid-low	PS3 mid high	PS3 High end
Price	$379.99	$399.99	$499.99	$499.99
USB 2.0 Ports	4	2	4	4
Max Resolution	1080p	1080p	1080p	1080p
Flash Card slots	No	No	Yes	Yes
Backware Compatible?	Yes (Hardware)	No	Yes(Hardware)	Yes(Software)
Bulit in Wi-Fi	No	No	Yes	Yes
HDD Size	20 GB	40 GB	60 GB	80 GB
Current Availability	Limited to None	Launches November 2	Out Now/Common	Out Now/Common
Colors	Black	Black /W Chrome Trim	Black /W Chrome Trim	Black /W Chrome Trim

All models include: Blu-ray/DVD/CD drive, HDMI and Blue Tooth(For controllers).
Prices do not include Sales Tax and are USA only. Prices and availability will very from store to store.

Free Game Friday: KartRider

Each Friday a new free game is highlighted.

KartRider
What do you get when you mix Mario Kart, online roleplaying games (complete with stats, guilds and a friends list) and upgradeable karts and characters? This is KartRider in a nutshell, a new online racing game from Nexon, a South Korean game developer.

Right now it's in it's beta stage so not everything has been fully implemented. But so far things are looking up. The races fly by with very little to no lag and finding other racing couldn't be easier.

While the upgrades options are somewhat lacking right now, they show promise. Each can be bought with real money or money earned from races. From new kart models (each having there own stats) to new license plates, KartRider allows for a variety of different customization options. Nexon will periodically add more as time wears on.

If you like Mario Kart but wanted more beefy online and customization options KartRider is a must.

The Nintendo DS Halo game that could have been

Halo almost came out on the DS.

An AAA developer was making the DS version of Halo with everything you expect in a Halo game. Dual Wielding, Plasma Rifles, SMGs, Worthogs, and the motion radar on the bottom screen were all included. A version of Zanzibar was even ported over! Unfortunately it was canceled before it was completed.

Here footage from IGN:





The controls are like Metroid Prime Hunters. The touch screen controlled aiming and the D-pad controlled movement. I'm not sure how dual wielding worked. The left hand is easily within reach of the left bumper. But the right hand is busy with the touch screen making the right bumper next to impossible to press with a stylus in your hand. The only available digit would be the pinky and I'm not sure how comfortable that would be after awhile.

In the video that's exactly what their doing:

Closer examination of the screens show that grenades, the scope and maybe even weapon fire could have been triggered on the touch screen:

How awesome would it have been to play Halo on the DS? The potentially hand crippling controls are probably the reason it didn't make it out. Of course it was far from being complete at this point and any number of things could of been improved and polished.

I hope that Microsoft, Bungie and whoever helped port it over (My moneys on Rare) revisit this idea. Untill then, we can only dream of the Halo that could have been.

Keep all your RSS Feed in one place with Wizz RSS

I've had the problem where I can't get an RSS feed to display as a live bookmark

I don't want to have to go to a seperate website to view them. Wizz RSS fixes this problem pretty well.

A Firefox add-on, Wizz RSS searches for feeds and all you have to do click and drag it into the Wizz RSS tab. This is pretty handy.
Try it out! https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/424

Dedicated Fan paints the Master Chief

Today I was looking around on the Internet when on Youtube I saw this video of the Master Chief being painted with an airbrush. This isn't just some slapped together stick figure art either. The attention to detail is simply astounding. It's pretty big too, measuring at 36 inches x 44 inches.

The best part is that very soon it's going up for sale. Instantly images of setting this up on my mantle place come to mind. This is one of many paintings he's made including Darth Vader and Indiana Jones. I highly suggest checking out this up and coming artist.

Here's the video, I wish I could do this.



Go here to see more.

SpiralFrog provides Unlimited Free Music. Is it any good?

There are quite a few music distribution services. First there are the ones like iTunes, charging per track. Next are the steaming music websites. These suck because the music can only be played though your browser and the quality varies based on the speed of your bandwidth. Last are the unlimited download music services that charge a monthly fee.

SpiralFrog.com is a unlimited music distribution service that doesn't have a monthly fee. SpiralFrog makes money off of ads and referrals to Amazon.com, (If an album is not available for download)not for songs. You can download as much as you want for 30 days. The songs are encoded in DRM so they stop working after that (unless you renew). After the month ends, all you have to do to keep going is renew you membership. Just fill out a survey and then you got another month, it's pretty easy! Everything will be extended by 1 month.

Around 800,000 different songs are available in 21 different genres. Including, Rock, R& B, Hip-hop, Classical, and Electronica. A large selection of music videos are also present in those same genres and yes, they have DRM encoding too.

Signing up is easy just provide a E-mail, Password, Nickname, and Zip Code. (I haven't received any junk mail....yet.) From there just install the free software and you're all set. Songs will be downloaded into a directory you specify.

There are some annoying things. For example: Although you can set up a download list, you can't just set it and forget it. You have to click download for EACH SONG. This isn't so bad if your downloading a few songs but, it gets tedious when you trying to grab an entire album. Also if you prefer to take your songs on the go, each track can only be copied to er... two different MP3 devices. CD burning is out as the DRM prevents that, unfortunately.

All in all it's awesome for a free service. Every music fan owes it to themselves to check it out.

New Halo 3 VidDoc: Cinema Paradiso

Bungie Released a new VidDoc today talking about saved films and Forge mode. Forge mode alone looks like it will truly revolutionize Halo forever.

Downloads:
The large version is here the medium size is here and the small is here

They also have a Saved Films Faq Page