CAGcast #32: The Dark Path
- Thread starter CheapyD
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MaskedPlague
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Great show! So is Wombat excited about Lego Star Wars? Comic book geeks unite!
I agree with Wombat about his HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray, but only because I've been telling fellow nerds that for awhile. Also my one game to play on an island would be Animal Crossing (GCN). It has seasons, A.I. to chat with and a bunch of classic NES games. The thing took me a year until I got bored with it but I still hadn't unlocked everything.
Cao Cao
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A link to the PC World article, for those who are interested:
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,125772,00.asp
I also laughed at the PC World article because I once had some of those things, including :CueCat, AOL, and the Timex Data Watch. The :CueCat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat) was something that I got from a magazine subscription, and I agree, if it wasn't for the spyware, it would have had a chance at succeeding. But it certainly didn't help that the company who made it threatened to sue the folks who removed the spyware component and were able to turn it into a universal barcode scanner through a simple operation. Oh, and their "customer" (Kind of tough to classify the people who received it unsolicited) database was hacked, giving the hackers the names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mails contained within the database.
As I mentioned before, it's rather simple to "declaw" it, just cut a certain pin on the circuit board to removed the spyware, and reroute the power to a certain part of the board, using a piece of wire, to allow it to read any barcode. You can find instructions at the "Declawing the :CueCat" link on the Wikipedia page above.
AOL: Well, you try finding any early adopters who were happy with the AOL service. Thanks AOL, for giving the internet an infinite amount of jokes.
Timex Data Watch: I'm a bit surprised that they even stuck this in the "Dishonorable Mentions" category, because this watch was actually pretty good for an early PDA Watch. Granted, the data transfer method was a bit strange (Hold the watch in front of your monitor, which displays a bunch of flashing black and white lines), but it was still contained some nifty features for its time.
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,125772,00.asp
I also laughed at the PC World article because I once had some of those things, including :CueCat, AOL, and the Timex Data Watch. The :CueCat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat) was something that I got from a magazine subscription, and I agree, if it wasn't for the spyware, it would have had a chance at succeeding. But it certainly didn't help that the company who made it threatened to sue the folks who removed the spyware component and were able to turn it into a universal barcode scanner through a simple operation. Oh, and their "customer" (Kind of tough to classify the people who received it unsolicited) database was hacked, giving the hackers the names, addresses, phone numbers, e-mails contained within the database.
As I mentioned before, it's rather simple to "declaw" it, just cut a certain pin on the circuit board to removed the spyware, and reroute the power to a certain part of the board, using a piece of wire, to allow it to read any barcode. You can find instructions at the "Declawing the :CueCat" link on the Wikipedia page above.
AOL: Well, you try finding any early adopters who were happy with the AOL service. Thanks AOL, for giving the internet an infinite amount of jokes.
Timex Data Watch: I'm a bit surprised that they even stuck this in the "Dishonorable Mentions" category, because this watch was actually pretty good for an early PDA Watch. Granted, the data transfer method was a bit strange (Hold the watch in front of your monitor, which displays a bunch of flashing black and white lines), but it was still contained some nifty features for its time.
Cao Cao
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As for the HD DVD/Blu-Ray War, I pretty much gave a similar argument in the CAGCast #30 topic (It was an answer to the claim that the PS2 was the major factor in DVDs' success). DVDs were a noticably huge leap forward from the VHS and LD formats, and Wal-Mart's support of DVDs brought it to the attention of the mainstream consumers. HD DVDs and Blu-ray have yet to show any neat features that makes them distinctively different than DVDs, other than more storage space.
[quote name='Cao Cao']:Flies back from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVDs):
"By the spring of 1999 the price of a DVD player had dropped below $300 US. At that point Wal-Mart began to offer DVD players for sale, but DVDs represented only a small part of their video inventory; VHS tapes of films made up the remainder. Wal-Mart's competitors followed suit, and DVDs began to increase in popularity with American consumers.
DVD rentals first topped those of VHS during the week of June 15, 2003 (27.7 M rentals DVD vs. 27.3 M rentals VHS). Major U.S. retailers Circuit City and Best Buy stopped selling VHS tapes in 2002 and 2003, respectively."
The way I see it, there were three major factors in the success of DVDs:
1. The Wal-Mart Effect: Described above; Wal-Mart started to sell DVDs, competitors followed suit; consumers took notice.
2. TV on DVD: Seriously, putting entire seasons of TV shows on DVDs was one of the best things to happen to the format, since people with VHS were stuck with shelves of videos that contained 2 or 3 episodes each. This established a major advantage of DVDs. Heck, I have a strong feeling that a good chunk of people who bought The Simpsons Season 1 box set bought their first DVD player with it.
3. Bonus Features: C'mon, you'd be lying if you didn't think it was neat to browse through the menu and look through the special features that were in your first DVD, your friend's/family member's DVDs, or the DVDs on display at your local store. It was something that was impossible to do on VHS, and the features made the DVD version of movies seem like a better value.
In short, DVDs gave consumers some pretty convincing reasons to switch from VHS, and Wal-Mart helped introduce these reasons into the mainstream. If either HD DVD or Blu-Ray wants to even start the war, then they need to give reasons to switch from DVDs. Unfortunately, it will be tough to make the major improvements that are comparable to the advantages that DVDs had over VHS. I mean, you have 15-23.3GB of space, so what are ya' gonna do with it, Movie Companies?
As for who would win the HD DVD/Blu-Ray, I agree with Wombat that the mainstream buyer will go for HD DVD because of the name (And possibly the lower price; $499
[quote name='Cao Cao']:Flies back from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVDs):
"By the spring of 1999 the price of a DVD player had dropped below $300 US. At that point Wal-Mart began to offer DVD players for sale, but DVDs represented only a small part of their video inventory; VHS tapes of films made up the remainder. Wal-Mart's competitors followed suit, and DVDs began to increase in popularity with American consumers.
DVD rentals first topped those of VHS during the week of June 15, 2003 (27.7 M rentals DVD vs. 27.3 M rentals VHS). Major U.S. retailers Circuit City and Best Buy stopped selling VHS tapes in 2002 and 2003, respectively."
The way I see it, there were three major factors in the success of DVDs:
1. The Wal-Mart Effect: Described above; Wal-Mart started to sell DVDs, competitors followed suit; consumers took notice.
2. TV on DVD: Seriously, putting entire seasons of TV shows on DVDs was one of the best things to happen to the format, since people with VHS were stuck with shelves of videos that contained 2 or 3 episodes each. This established a major advantage of DVDs. Heck, I have a strong feeling that a good chunk of people who bought The Simpsons Season 1 box set bought their first DVD player with it.
3. Bonus Features: C'mon, you'd be lying if you didn't think it was neat to browse through the menu and look through the special features that were in your first DVD, your friend's/family member's DVDs, or the DVDs on display at your local store. It was something that was impossible to do on VHS, and the features made the DVD version of movies seem like a better value.
In short, DVDs gave consumers some pretty convincing reasons to switch from VHS, and Wal-Mart helped introduce these reasons into the mainstream. If either HD DVD or Blu-Ray wants to even start the war, then they need to give reasons to switch from DVDs. Unfortunately, it will be tough to make the major improvements that are comparable to the advantages that DVDs had over VHS. I mean, you have 15-23.3GB of space, so what are ya' gonna do with it, Movie Companies?
As for who would win the HD DVD/Blu-Ray, I agree with Wombat that the mainstream buyer will go for HD DVD because of the name (And possibly the lower price; $499
youruglyclone
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good to know I wasn't the only one annoyed that saving was restricted to , beating a tower, beating a castle and using star coins.
apparently you can earn "save anywhere" rights but at that point do you really care?
apparently you can earn "save anywhere" rights but at that point do you really care?
willardhaven
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I agree with Wombat on the DVD issue... I don't really want a new format.
I don't mind new formats for video games, but at this point it's really uncalled for.
BTW good cast, I've been enjoying these from the start (especially the last few).
I don't mind new formats for video games, but at this point it's really uncalled for.
BTW good cast, I've been enjoying these from the start (especially the last few).
Kotaku vs (AOL) Joystiq in full effect:
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/top/mole-spills-beans-on-upcoming-360-goodies-177878.php
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/top/mole-spills-beans-on-upcoming-360-goodies-177878.php
Based on the discussion of the voice of Mario being a child molester, I've posted my horrifically wonky video from the DS preview at E3 2004 that was hosted by the voice of Mario. 
D
The Voice Of Mario
I didn't really think he was a child molester... per say
DThe Voice Of Mario
I didn't really think he was a child molester... per say
Mr Unoriginal
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[quote name='CheapyD']Sorry guys, no CAGcast this week...Wombat is sick as a dog wombat.
I'm sure next week's will be extra good![/QUOTE]
Why did I even wake up this morning?!
I'm sure next week's will be extra good![/QUOTE]
Why did I even wake up this morning?!
PawnTakesKing
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[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']Why did I even wake up this morning?![/QUOTE]
QFT. Might as well call in sick to work, as I have nothing to listen to now during the agonizingly long drive.
Oh well, I'll just play #32 over again.
QFT. Might as well call in sick to work, as I have nothing to listen to now during the agonizingly long drive.
Oh well, I'll just play #32 over again.
WhipSmartBanky
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Give it hell, lil' Wombat!
bread's done