Info and forum posts by 'tripodjw'

RE: 3rd Rock Bargain

Thanks to OP. I keep missing 3rd rock cheap and have finally managed to order one.

RE: Should i get a PS3 from the U.S???

You can set up an account with a US or JP/HK address, in the same way you could set up a US account for the 360.

Some people have been able to add funds to their "wallet" - the PS store uses real money that you add to a wallet from a credit card. - using a UK credit card. Other people haven`t been able to. I think this depends on the card issuer and how closely they check the address details. My card works on US and not HK so i haven`t been able to get tekken but have got gripshift.

There isn`t a global store as I guess as with the 360 certain items are supposed to be distributed in only one or a few regions due to advertising/ratings/exclusivity deals with magazines etc.

I have three accounts, a HK, a US and a UK account. The UK account can`t go online yet as the system says we don`t have PS3`s yet. but you can register your tag online (kotaku had a link at one time).

RE: Should i get a PS3 from the U.S???

If its any help, try looking at avforums ps3 section. Masses of people in there have imported PS3, including my good self. There`s a decent faq and lots of threads on imports etc.

Won`t bother with too much detail but i got mine via ebay and cost including ebay markup and customs was comparable to retail price is going to be in UK. I got mine end of November so was early enough to be early compared to March release. May not be worth bothering now. Though if you only have to pay true retail price, even if it you get caught for customs it should still be cheaper than retail in UK.

On a practical note, all games so far are region free - i have us ps3 and have played JP and US games on it. JP and US bluray are the same region so no probs there whether you get JP or US PS3, plus many blurays work on both US and UK region drives see http://bluray.lindsite.dk/

You do not need a stepdown convertor, A plain old kettle/monitor lead with a 3A fuse is fine. the internal PSU is multi-voltage. Various pics of the PS3 PSU circulate the internet to confirm multivoltage but also everyone on avforums is doing kettlelead including me.

Online is indeed free and so far for me works perfectly, playstation store also has various demos, bluray trailers and ps1 games to download to your psp via the ps3. Japanese/Hong Kongstore has a 1080p Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection game for approx £8-9

Only downside i can see to importing is lack of warranty. For me its not been a problem, but obviously there`s no guarantees. though generally the failure rate has been low compared to 360 launch (just general observation of internet forums/news).

I could write all day about it, but certainly the ps3 is getting more gametime than my wii, and i`ve not personally played on the 360 since i`ve had it (though my husband has played R6 a bit).

RE: What`s been the best item in the Bargain Bucket Forum?

The Viking Leather office chair for about £30 (something like that anyway)

Still the most comfy office chair i`ve ever sat on

RE: Tiscali and Xbox Live

I use xbox live every day and have never had a problem on tiscali 1mb.

Think fair usage only kicks in if you download masses of video files to your pc in the early evening.

SKy HD pricing announced and preorders being taken

Couldn`t see a thread already...

SKY website has been updated to show that you can preorder sky HD, for £30 deposit. Apparently they are calling to arrange installs during early April and Installs begin in May. Pricing structure has also been announced:

£299 for box
£10 extra a month for HD channels that are equiavlent to channels in your normal subscription i.e. ig you have moviews only, you`ll only get HD movies and not HD sport.
Free install until 31 May then varying scales of cost depending on what options you go for (re: multiroom etc.)
SKy+ part is same as current i.e. free if have 2+ premium channels or £10 a month otherwise.

www.sky.com/hd

It is likely that there won`t be enough boxes to supply the pre-order demand so get in quick if you want it for World Cup and Wimbledon.

More info/discussion here including a cut and paste of terms and conditions

forum.digitalspy.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=357393

RE: Drugs Trial goes bad

Quote:
Animal testing is wrong, human testing is wrong. I understand that there are super computers that do a better job & also parts of human & (I believe) embryo (one that could never turn into a being) research is more acurate & SAFER.

I`ve worked in or with scientists all my life, including those that test drugs on animals and I think the arguments always get skewed by emotion (in both camps).

This whole thing has to be put into perspective. We all desire a healthier and reasonably long life (you know get to 80 while being able to have a normal healthy life). Agreed? How do you get such a healthy long life - you eat healthily, you exercise and when you do get sick or injured you take the medication the Dr`s prescribe or you can get from Boots. Agreed?

What most people also don`t realise is that almost everything that we humans come into contact with, food, drugs, plastics that make DVD`s, inks, lasers in DVD players etc etc. have been tested on animals for safety in some form or other. You couldn`t live in this modern world without being exposed to something that has been tested on animals.

And, I guess most people eat meat too (but hey that`s another kettle of fish).

The real facts about animal testiong are yes it isn`t the most desirable occurrence, but when it comes down to it, the animals that are used in animal testing are actually well cared for. There are strict rules in this country regarding animal testing and drug testing as a whole, and 99.999999% of labs adhere to this. The animal activists bring out horrific photos of animals, what they don`t tell you is that those photos are from other countries with no real regulation and are actually pretty old (you see the same pictures over and over again).

The necessity of animal testing has been demonstrated by the unfortunate men in London, these human diasaters are very rare in clinical trials and that is because dangerous drugs are weeded out well before they get to humans. The main reason clinical trials fail is not through side effects like these, but simply because the drug weren`t good enough to treat the disease.

There are some computer based alternatives for testing drugs, but these are already used in the majority of western labs. Drugs are tested in cell cultures before they ever get near animals and a lot of drugs are weeded out at that stage.

It is a complete myth that a computer can model how a drug will act in a human. The computer models are usually for specific chemical pathways in the body. Anyone that thinks a computer could model the intracies of the human body - simply doesn`t understand science. The wonders of the human body have not all been discovered. Not every gene has been discovered, so how can a computer model a human if we don`t know how everything in it from the smallest piece of DNA to a whole organ, actually works, let alone how each part of the body may intersct with another?

Embryonic tissue is also a great idea, but this is only as good cell cultures. An embryo does not have kidneys, heart, liver, brain. How can you work out what effect a drug will have if the embryo does not have these complex structures? You can`t.

Finally, people forget that many drugs developed for humans are also used by vets. I know of dogs on beta blockers, and cats on water tablets. So animal testing is not just about animals being used to benefit humans, animals (both wild and pet) benefit too.

Animal and human testing of drugs will always be a necessity, because of the nature of science, it will be 100`s of years before we can even contemplate knowing everything about the human body - and i don`t think it will ever happen.

Until that time, animals will be used and human volunteers will be necessary, as without this new treatments won`t be invented, and the human and animal population will suffer from diseases that it need not.

This item was edited on Friday, 17th March 2006, 13:52

RE: Shadow of the Colossus (Demo)

I`ve been watching my husband play this over th epast couple of weeks, and he finally beat the last colossus on friday night. Worth sticking it through and bfinishing for the end movie - such a good ending and without spoiling anything for anyone opens up so many questions about the world that this was set in and the relationship to the world of Ico.

RE: FREE CHOCOLATE !? free chocolate ?!?!?!?!

But they do have 30,000 to give away, so pretty good odds of getting one I would have thought.

RE: Disney DVDs

In my opinion, they`ll speed up the re-releases to get some of the big films out in 2008 ish - as they`ll want them out on Blu-ray/HD-DVD. (Think its Bluray they`ve gone for)

but that`s just my opinion.

RE: So, Now you got your X-Box 360, What do you honestly think of it ?

Condemned might be the most traded in game but could i get a second hand copy the other day, could i heck! Ended up swapping my Need For Speed for Gun instead - though surprisingly am enjoying playing that.

RE: Broken 360 advice please.

Our 360 was taken away by MS because it broke after 2 days and they insisted on having the hadr drive and returning a replacement of the console and hard drive.

If you`re going to return it to MS to be repaired/replaced i can`t recommend enough getting a memory card and transferring your game saves and profile onto it. We didn`t have a memory card and lost a lot of stuff (even after 2 days). As soona s we got our replacement we bought a mem card and have been backing up game saves once a week just to be safe. I know it shouldn`t be like that but i get paranoid.

RE: Xbox/Xbox360 gamertags

VGA cable works great fro me too with my PC monitor. LCD tv only a month away now :D

I think i`m going to be online earlyish tonight but if I`m still online when you get on at 10 Si, I`ll play some PGR.

RE: So, Now you got your X-Box 360, What do you honestly think of it ?

I`ve had my 360 since launch day and i guess my for`s and againsts are:

For

Apart from a few days while it was away being replaced and when i was on holiday, the 360 has been turned on every day since i had it - i`ve not got bored and have felt the will to turn on and play something.

The Arcade - These small games bought with Microsoft points - typically £7 per game are some of the best things on the 360. Plus the fact you can download a trial version first is very good for the consumer.

Geometry Wars Evolved- Addictive, horrendously simple game in the arcade - that is just so fab. Looks great in HD and has great sound. And only about £3.50.

Dashboard - This interface is well thought out with easy access to everything from console setup to access to the arcade, friends lists etc etc. The dashboard is intuitive to use and customisable.

Gamerpoints and achievements - I`m enjoying the sense of achieving something with my games by unlocking achievements and earning gamerpoints - i also love comparing my points tally with other people - especially my husband`s mates - it drives them nuts that a girl is doing better than them.

Games - I`ve not played a dud game yet - I have PGR3, Kameo, DOA4, Need for Speed, King Kong, COD2, PDZ. They are all enjoyable to play in different ways. PGR3 and DOA4 certainly look very impressive graphically, especially in HD. But all the others are also a step up from current-gen in terms of the amount of individual activities going on onscreen at any one time - e.g. PGR3 crowd animations are pretty good. Kameo can have thousands of enemy trolls on screen at once without slowdown, COD2 is just amazing with the level of detail and activity on screen, PDZ is great online.

Marketplace - The number of demos for fullprice games is great - before you were always reliant on buying magazines to get demos - now you can just download them for free directly to your hard drive - demos have included PGR, King kong, Fifa, Fight night 3, NBA, Madden, Full Auto and prob some more i can`t remember. it`s great to try before you buy.

Against

The fact the 360 broke after 2 days of owning (but replacement was turned around by MS in 5 days including the sunday on which fault was reported and day new console was delivered - all credit it to them for doing that quickly)

Gamerpoints and achievements - they are very addictive which can lead you to try to redo something over and over to earn an achievement. Achievements are allocated by the developers of a game and in some games they are ridiculously hard to obtain (Perfect Dark) and in others ridiculously easy (King Kong). This may become more balanced in time.

Lack of next Gen gameplay - i think most, if not all of the games available so far have not moved gaming on much. There isn`t really any new fangled game ideas - but I`d not expect that on launch.

Disappointing graphics - Some games don`t seem to be much graphically superior to equivalent xbox versions - the sport games generally seem to have beautifully superior cutscenes but the ingame graphics are not much different. But I`m sure this will change on the next development round.

Noise - As said above - the disc drive is very noisy. Luckily i tend to play with the surround sound on so that disguises the disc noise.

Heat - Again as said above, the console and the power brick get very hot - i`m paranoid about it overheating, especially when playing for 2-3 hours on the trot.

Marketplace - the inability to download from the marketplace while doing anything else (e.g. browsing for your next download - though i`ve seen rumours that this is being addressed) - pretty minor gripe though really

Overall

Having the 360 has overall been a positive thing, i`m enjoying playing both offline and online. I don`t have an Xbox 1 to compare to, but do have a PS2 and Gamecube. I think the launch games were as expected quality wise and am looking forward to leaps forward as developers learn how to use the hardware better - just look at the difference in quality of gameplay and graphics for PS2 launch games and more recent offerings. Developers just need time to learn how to unleash the power - which will be the same for the PS3 and Revolution.

And I`m intending on having PS3 and revolution so no MS favouritism here.

RE: Xbox/Xbox360 gamertags

I`d be up for an hour or so of Reviewer PGR racing on Thursday evening (as said at beginning of thread - tripodcat is my gamertag)

RE: valentines day pressie..do you bother?

Valentines day is just overcommercialised overpriced pap.

Who really wants a 4 foot tall card with a cartoon couple kissing on it and at a price of about £10 - that`s £10 that could buy a nice dvd, or couple of dvds from online sales.

If someone is only able to express their love by buying red or pink "junk" then they need to lok long and hard at their relationship.

Plus - all those people who go out for aromantic" valentines meal - it always seems that all the restaurants are full to the rafters and there is no rmonace about a busy restaurant. I always used to go out for a big group night out at a curry house as an anti-valentines gesture - some of the best nights out i ever had.

IMHO better to surprise your loved one with a bunch of flowers at a random time of year - less expected and much more meaningful. And that applies to buying flowers for men too - my husband was so touched when i first surprised him with a bunch of flowers.

Humbug!

RE: Nickthegun Appreciation Society (OK, Fan Club)

Pinky wasn`t just cute - he was really the clever one - unlike brain who always had strange world domination plans, pinky just wanted to eat and have fun with his "friend" 8) :p

RE: The Dr 42%er apreci.... appresia.......apreas........... Fan club.

As long as there is a medically realted codpiece in the photo, I`ll join :D

RE: KING KONG DVD release date

Apparently the release date is 10th April here in the good ol` UK

Roll on xmas and that extended V rex fight

RE: God I hate B+Q !

Our local B&Q will ring the other local stores to see if they have stock. But apparently no automatic checking. Then agins i`ve been into a b&q who have checked and said they have x in stock themselves, but then none can find them in the shop or in the limited stock out the back. So I wouldn't expect one store to know what the others have in :o)

RE: Anyone up for a Reviewer PGR3 match this evening?

Dang it, didn`t see this til now. Saw you come online too Si and then finished playing DOA4 no long after. Wish I`d seen this else I`d have stayed on to play some PGR.

How about we arrange something for the weekend as suggested above.

I only tend to check in here at lunchtimes so a day or two warning of a meet-up online would be handy.

PS - Anyone know who the Torfinator is, I`ve had a FR request from them and not sure who they are.

This item was edited on Tuesday, 7th February 2006, 12:02

RE: Faulty Xbox360

Our 360 died within 2 days of getting it back in December.

We were tld to send back the console and the hard disk (as our fault was the hdd). We were told not to send the controller and cables.

There`s a little instruction leaflet in the box MS send to you - and this seems to be different for different people (perhaps depending on the problem they are reporting).

RE: Xbox 360 Wireless Controller

Yeah they do have rumble. Which is cool

RE: Xbox 360 Wireless Controller

Wireless controller works briliiantly.

no time lag - or at least not that is humanely possible to recognise - though maybe i should use it as an excuse for my poor abilty to get round corners in PGR3

The new 360 controller generally (whether wired or wireless) is exceptionally comfortable and very natural to use.

Wireless controller can use AA batteries - it comes with 2 which lasted me about 10 hours of gameplay.

The rechargeable battery that is available at extra cost (approx £12 battery alone - £15 with the charging cable - you`ll need at least one with the charging cable) lasts arond 20 hours of gameplay.

Wireless controller is slightly heavier than wired controller but is way more convenient, no wires to get tangled or wires that don`t reach to your sofa.

Thoroughly recommend the extra moolah for the wireless controllers.

RE: Xbox Live confusion..

The gamerscore is also a bragging rights thing. For example, I`m very proud of having 2500 odd gamerpoints and my husbands mnates having only about 1000. mHaving the points also means you can see what your mates or third parties have manged to do in a particular game.

It`s just a bit of fun and allows you to prove that your better than your mates at a particualr game or overall.

RE: Is the Kitkash thread a bargain thread a real bargain thread?

Well obviously you need to look here first

RE: Is the Kitkash thread a bargain thread a real bargain thread?

NOPE`s are the ultimate bargain - they are free.

Just ask anyone to give you £20 without the promise of you ever returning it. They`ll give you a nope everytime. If you ask for more they`ll give you some more valuable words none of which can be put on here due to the swear filter :D :D :D

RE: Sony has announced the planned launch of PLAYSTATION® 3 for Spring 2006

Well for a spring launch that press release sure has a lot of vagaries in it still, the operating system hasn`t been decided on, they haven`t decided whether a hard drive should come bundled.

Not that it will stop me buying one, just seems that "spring" is a bit optimisitc if they haven`t finalised some of the operating and package details. With all the problems the 360 has had with supplying consoles and accessories, surely Sony need to get a move on with manufacturing if they want to release in spring -ergo they need to decide what accessories are coming bundled. Especially releasing in Japan first - they`ll sell truckloads of the things on the first day there.

RE: Just got an xbox 360 premium- how to hook upto surround sound

If you have an optiocal cable then look on the video cable that comes out of the 360. There is a small squarish flap that opens for you to plug in an optical cable.

Otherwise you need to use the 2 phono portion of the cable that comes with 360.

In my opinion the cable that comes with it is rubbish as is a composite cable. We upgraded to an RGB cable as soon as we could lay our hands on one.

RE: US Dead or Alive 4 ....No Region Code!

I appreciate that there`s the whole NTSC-PAL conversion thing and translations, but, the developers know at the beginning of the process that they will be releasing in multiple languages around the world and in a PAL territory. They have talented programmers who have done this type of thing before. It`s not like the languages or PAL are new!

How hard is it for them to sort it out as they go along or within a few weeks of finishing the original coding?

Fair enough a wait of a couple of months while they tinker with a few region specific things but certain developers just take the mickey - 6 months to a year is far too long to do the conversion/language.

Take Square-Enix as an example (but they aren`t alone), there can often be a 12 month gap between Japanese release and European release. I don`t believ it can take that long to do the job properly. Square-enix are also guilty of doing poor PAL conversions that mess up the screen size, and that takes them up to a year to do.


And then to add insult to injury we Europeans have to pay more for our games that are old technology (and 6-12 months can be a long time in terms of gaming technnology) and poor conversions. Go figure!