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2 annoying bugs Ive seen in GTA IV (360)

Posted by David Jones | Filed under Gaming

I’m really having fun with GTA IV, regardless of my questions about the review scores its been getting. There has been a couple of weird things happening to me as I play it. 2 bugs in particular. One in particular almost made me stop playing. The other is one that Ive seen plenty of times in numerous games.

Bug number 1 (the easy one)

This is more of a graphic glitch. I know everyone has had an experience one time or another when you’re playing a game and your character falls behind the game world. Well that has happened to me several times when playing GTA IV. The first time it happened I wont mention here because it would involve spoilerish materials. However, heres the spoiler free example.

When I leave the safe house, I always jump over the banister instead of walking around to get to the front of the stairs. One time, I logged on to play, ran out of the safe house and jumped over the banister. Instead of landing on the bottom of the stairs like I usually do, I fell over the front door of the apartment building and ended up in an all pink and purple area, behind the game world with just the outside of the apartment door. I can run around in that area and see the geometry  of the apartment in front of me but the part I am in isn’t part of the game. This has happened to me about 3 times, twice while doing a mission. Lucky enough, all I had to do is walk back through the door and everything goes back to normal. Yea its annoying but at least I didn’t die or have to restart the 360.

Bug number 2 (the hard one)

After standing in line in the middle of the night to pick up GTA IV, I went home and loaded the game. I played for an hour and 17 minutes and turned it off. The next day I played for about 2 or 3 hours, then later on that night I played most of the night. Finishing all of the first set of missions and getting pretty far in the next part of the story. Of coarse I casually played, doing other things that were available along with missions.

I didn’t get a chance to play the game anymore until Friday night. I loaded up GTA IV and started in the safe house as usual. Then I walked outside and noticed that the mission marker was there for a set of missions I had long finished. Thinking "ooo more missions at that place? lets check it out" I start that missions and noticed it was the first mission I had done at that place. Thinking the wrong save game file was loaded, I went to the load screen to get my current save game and the only save file was the one at 1 hour 17 minutes.

Id guess about 8 hours of game play was gone. I don’t know what happened. I know the games were saved earlier cause I had 3 sessions of play which all picked up from where I left off. Each game play session was on the same 360 but at different locations (I brought the 360 with me everywhere for a few days). I almost stopped playing, but Saturday I decided to pick it back up again. Im now back at the point where I shouldve been when my save games were lost.

Has anyone else had any problems like this? just curious.

Technorati Tags: BUG, games, Grand Theft Auto IV, GTA IV, Save game, xbox 360

Tags: BUG, games, Grand Theft Auto IV, GTA IV, Save game, xbox 360

Blackberry 9000 leaked specs and info

Posted by David Jones | Filed under Phones

I’m really thinking about checking out this new Blackberry 9000, when it release. If you look at the picture, it looks like Rim went with a design choice similar to the iPhone with the metal outlining the phone (ugh). Other than that, it still has a real qwerty keyboard, none of that touch screen  garbage. The new blackberry should release sometime this summer (on AT&T).

Over at boygeniusreport.com, there is a "leaked" document that list most of the new features and improvements of the device. Looks like they have done a lot of work to the browser, supporting ajax etc. Then of coarse you get that Blackberry functionality that we are all use too. "We" as in "you", Ive never owned or played around with a blackberry.

Here is the part of the document that interested me the most - Head to BGR for the full document.

Technorati Tags: 9000, blackberry, document, leaked, specs

Tags: 9000, blackberry, document, leaked, specs

GTA IV released!! Props to my local EB for handling the midnight launch super fast

Posted by David Jones | Filed under Gaming

To be honest, Ive never been a big fan of the Grand Theft Auto series. I think the games are "OK". Ive never bought a GTA game but have played every iteration, even GTA 1 and 2 when they were on the PC (where I first heard of the franchise). But for some reason I had the urge to buy GTA4. I have a gut feeling that this game is going to be something special, and I don’t want to miss out. So I headed over to my local EBGames (which is less than 2 minutes away from me) and put down my preorder.

I got to EB a little before 12 and there were about 30 people in line. The line grew to about 100 or so people and 12 o clock hit. I was really impressed, the guys at that particular EB had a system and things went very fast. at 10 after I was in my car about to pull out and the last of the 100+ people were entering the store to get their copy. Anyway, I didn’t go straight home and now its about 2:40 a.m. about to spend a few minutes on it and go to bed

Technorati Tags: EB, ebgames, Grand theft auto, GTA 4, GTA IV

Tags: EB, ebgames, Grand theft auto, GTA 4, GTA IV

Swim and listen to your music at the same time.

Posted by David Jones | Filed under Media, devices

With summer coming a lot of people will be getting out the old swim trunks or bathing suit and heading to the beach or pool. You wouldnt dare try to listen to your iPod while relaxing in the pool would you? That doesn’t mean that you cant listen to your favorite tunes. All you need is a music player that is waterproof and your day would be perfect. How about the SwiMP3 player? The SwiMP3 player is a 256mb music player that is completely waterproof. It snaps to any pair of goggles and weighs only 2 ounces.

The question I have now is this one. How can I hear music underwater? Well the SwiMP3 tries to solve that little problem with its sound transfer technology. Sounds like it works similar to the Jawbone bluetooth headset. The headset rest on your jawbone and transfers part of the sound so that you get a clear listen to all your Rick Astley MP3’s…All one of them. Like I said there is only 256mb of storage so you would be loading your whole music library into the player but its enough for a couple of hours at the beach.

Now all you need is a pair of goggles that doesn’t make you look like a dork.

SwiMP3 - $139.99 at Amazon

Technorati Tags: listen to music, music player, Swim, SwiMP3, underwater

Tags: listen to music, music player, Swim, SwiMP3, underwater

Apple deserves complete monopolistic control of the cell phone market! Everyone else FAILED!

Posted by David Jones | Filed under Phones

I know Ive had my gripes with Apple’s iPhone. I actually said that I hate the phone but you know what? I’m taking that all back right now. I’m not changing my mind about the problems I have with the phone, I still think the touchscreen keyboard is horrible, I still think it is a crippled device. I’m just taking back my complaints. I’m going to keep them to myself from now on. You know why?

Apple deserves to monopolize the cell phone market.

Apple should make a version of the iPhone to fit every category of phone and put everyone else out of business.  What brings this thought to mind tonight you ask? I’m sitting here watching Heat and browsing Joystiq.com when I notice an ad banner for Alltel wireless. The only reason I even noticed it is because my wife has Alltel and she wants a new phone. Well the ad was for the LG Glimmer. I click on it cause LG makes so many phones that I cant keep up with them anymore. What do I see?

Another fake iPhone wannabee lookalike.

On January 9th 2007 I wrote a blog post talking about Apple’s iPhone announcement at CES. That was over a year ago. And to be honest, Apple fumbled out the gate with this phone. Its tied to AT&T’s slow data network, it was overpriced, then reduced by $200 2 months later. Its crippled and you have to hack it to really make good use of the phone (which I haven’t done to mine yet). When they finally do announce that they are going to ad 3rd party support, that end up being crippled. The way Apple has handled this phone would’ve brought about cries of damnation if it was any other company.

After all that, it is a year later and no other cell phone company has even came close to competing with this phone. As a mater of fact, the only phone that I would put up against the iPhone is a phone that was already out when the iPhone was released, the Nokia N95. What is wrong with everyone else? Why is it that every cell phone manufacturer is either doing nothing at all or making some fake iPhone lookalike out of their already existing phones. Do they think slapping a screen with icons on a phone is competing with the iPhone. Its a year later, there should be something else other than the iPhone to talk about.

What is Motorola doing? What is HTC doing? What is LG doing? What is Palm doing? Well I take that back about Palm, people think they are dead but they do have that Centro that I’m starting to see a lot of people with. I just don’t understand how Apple can come into a market that they were never in, and create a device completely unanswered and win everyone over. Has everyone given up? The iPhone was suppose to push creativity out of the other cell phone makers and we should be seeing some amazing phone from everyone by now. But we are not. What we have instead is the LG glimmer, the HTC touch, the Voyager. They don’t even want to compete. To me it seems like all they want to do is make a "pacifier" for people that aren’t on AT&T. They are basically sitting back and handing the market to Apple.

 These other companies need to step it up, or every phone in every persons hands will be an iPhone. If that happens, they all deserve it.

Technorati Tags: Apple, cell phone, cell phone market, complete monopolistic control, failed, iphone

Tags: Apple, cell phone, cell phone market, complete monopolistic control, failed, iphone

Home made Ice cream and Yogurt maker, MMM MMM Good

Posted by David Jones | Filed under devices

Do you like ice cream? Of coarse you do, right? Honestly, I’m not a big fan. Every once in a while is good for me but that doesn’t stop my enthusiasm for this Ice cream and Yogurt maker from Cuisinart. Lets say you want some Strawberry ice cream, gather these ingredients.

• Strawberries

• Granulated sugar

• Vanilla extract

• Whole milk

Dump it all into a blender and let it mix till its nice and smooth. Pour it into a bowl and mix in a little heavy cream. Pour all that into the Cuisinart Ice cream and Yogurt maker for about 15 minutes and you home made strawberry Ice cream for your enjoyment. Want to get a little fancy? The condiment tray on the Ice cream maker can hold sprinkles, M&Ms, chocolate…all the stuff you would need to make a nice strawberry Sunday. just pull the tab and add those treats to your frozen desert.

Sounds good doesn’t it. This little gadget can make a quarts and a half in about 20 minutes. Amazon.com has it for $99 bucks, which I think is a decent price. Ive never had home made Ice cream but if I were to try it, the Cuisinart Ice cream and Yogurt maker would be worth trying.

Technorati Tags: cuisinart, Ice cream, ice cream maker, strawberry, Yogurt

Tags: cuisinart, Ice cream, ice cream maker, strawberry, Yogurt

Noise cancelling Bluetooth rear view mirror. Handsfree device for your car.

Posted by David Jones | Filed under Phones, devices

In a few months, some of us will have some changes in the way we use cell phones when we drive. New laws in some states (cities) state that you have to use some sort of hands free device with your cell phones when driving. Now Ive never been a fan of any type of speaker phone device, I even hate leaving voicemail messages, but this Bluetooth rear view mirror might change my mind.

This mirror, which can be found at Hammacher Schlemmer, will work in any car. It snaps onto your existing rear view mirror and will in a sense replace it. You then pair it with your phone and you have a nice handsfree device you can use while driving. To make things a little better, there is noise cancellation technology applied to both sound coming in and going out. Does it work as good as the Jawbone bluetooth headset? I dont know but being that it is basically a speakerphone, it might not be as crucial. There is also a caller id function that displays the incoming call on the mirror itself so you dont even have to pick up your phone to see who is calling.

If you are not alone in the car and need the conversation to be private, there is also an earbud that detaches from the mirror that automatically turns on when you remove it. For $139 you get the mirror, the earbud and a car charger. Visit Hammacher Schlemmer for more info.

Technorati Tags: bluetooth, cell phone, Handsfree, Rear view mirror

Tags: bluetooth, cell phone, Handsfree, Rear view mirror

Aquarium? LCD TV? The Aquavista 500 has the look of both.

Posted by David Jones | Filed under Home

I use to be big into aquariums. Right now I don’t have any room for an aquarium but would like to pick up the hobby again. Casual reading on this lead me to the Aquavista 500 wall mounted aquarium. Ive always thought a wall mounted aquarium would be interesting. The Aquavista 500 actually looks more like a picture frame. check it out…

Its 26×26 and about 4 and a half inches thick. Of course you would have to keep pretty small fish in this aquarium being that it hold just under 7 gallons of water. Its also pretty maintenance free, with everything built into the unit. It has a built in filtration system and a LCD control center. When you head over the the Aquavista website, you’d find that you have choices of frame designs and backrounds. Easier to make it fit with your home’s decor.

The cost of the Aquavista 500 is $329 and it comes with all you need to get started, just add fish. You can also buy some of the components separately, in case you want to replace or change different aspects of your wall mounted Aquarium.

If $329 is too expensive, there is a cheaper model, the Aquavista 100 ($149). The differences? the 100 model is a little smaller - 2.4 gallons, 13×17 and is a table top aquarium (instead of wall mount).

Before you buy, make sure your walls can handle it as the 500 model weighs in at about 80 pounds when filled with water

Technorati Tags: aquarium, Aquavista, wall mounted

Tags: aquarium, Aquavista, wall mounted

Integrate your cell phone with your landline. Xlink cell phone docking Gateway

Posted by David Jones | Filed under Computers, Jonzee, Phones

Ive been using a cellular phone as my main (and only) phone service for Id say 3-4 years now. tried out Vonage for a while but still used my cell mainly (although I love Vonage’s virtual phone numbers and forwarding features). I know I’m not the only one out there that has foregone a traditional landline for a cell phone.  I want to try out a few devices that may prove useful such as the Xlink Gateway (cell phone docking device).

The Xlink gateway allows you to integrate your cell phone service in your home (landline) setup.  If you have a Blutooth phone, all you have to do is "pair" it with the Xlink Gateway. Next you can connect any land phone to the device and you can use that phone to make and receive cell phone calls.

Why would anyone want to do this?

Lets take me for example. I have an unlimited minute cell phone plan. Unlimited minutes, long distance, voicemail, call forwarding, call waiting… all for $49 a month. My Verizon (landline) bill was also about that much. I get rid of Verizon, save that money, and just use my cell phone.

With Xlink I can still use all the landline phones in the house like I did before.

The Xlink Gateway can integrate up to 3 cell phones and your land line if you want. But it will cost you about $169.

Technorati Tags: cell, dock, Gateway, intergrate, landline, Phone, xlink

Tags: cell, dock, Gateway, intergrate, landline, Phone, xlink

What about the Ziszor? A handheld paper shredder.

Posted by David Jones | Filed under devices

Underneath my desk, I have paper shredder. You know, the one that sits on top of the included waste basked. I don’t use it that much but it is something that is useful, probably something that everyone, computer user or not, should have. A problem I run into, what do I do when I’m not at my desk and print things that I would like to have shredded. Say I bring my notebook to work, or a friends house to get some work done. I print out a few things, personal things. If I need to throw them away afterwards I kindof feel a little leery of throwing them in the trash at other locations. A portable paper shredder like the Ziszor would come in pretty handy.

The Ziszor is a handheld paper shredder that you can take with you when you are working away from your desk. It runs on 4 AA batteries and even comes with handy little bags to keep the shredded paper afterwards. The website claims that this will shred up to 5 layers of paper at a time, which is more than I would expect from a handheld shredder but not enough to replace the heavy duty shredder you have under your desk.

The Ziszor is about 10 inches long and weighs a little over a pound. Comes with a pack of plastic bags to catch your trash but it any old bag or trash can will do. Right now it will cost you $39.50, with extra bags costing a little over $3 bucks (30 count).

Product Website.

Technorati Tags: Handheld, Handheld paper shedder, Paper, shredder, Ziszor

Tags: Handheld, Handheld paper shedder, Paper, shredder, Ziszor