So I really enjoy the sport of running it always seems to clear my mind so when geek mixes with running, I’m one happy man. Not so recently Nike released the Nike+ system with some of their shoes and I haven’t quite tried it all out till now. So just a month ago I picked up some new running shoes and they were Nike+ compatible I was way excited I had finally been able to get my hands on this system I had been drooling over for a while.
Basically Nike+ is a way to track how far your running how many calories you’ve burned and any overall improvement you have over time. By sticking a small chip in your shoe you can receive the data while running with a watch that Nike sells or simply by jogging with your Ipod while listening to music, that is what I did. Apple has loaded into the newer generation Ipods the nike plus program that gathers the data recorded by the chip which is activated by movement so it doesn’t hog loads of battery. Then after running you sync your Ipod or watch with the computer and it is loaded up to Nike’s website where they organize it nice and pretty for you record you distance ever ran and your best run times. It’s a handy way to keep it all in one spot and you don’t hardly have to do any work just push play then when your done plug it into the computer.
I personally have loved having my new shoes that are Nike+ compatible I would recommend it to those people who don’t wanna spend oodles of money for other equipment that is even more expensive and honestly only marginally more convenient. If you don’t have a pair of nike+ shoes you can take buy the chip and a case to put the chip on your shoelace then off you go in your favorite pair of running shoes, it’s not quite as pretty as sticking the chip in your shoe but just as useful.
Ill wrap it up and just say if you have been looking for a way to keep track of runs and even to motivate yourself this really can be a great tool.
If you would like to know more visit nikerunning
So after two phone calls with customer support, their application that generates shipping labels doesn’t seem to work properly so I get wait 4 business days for them to ship me one. Don’t worry I won’t hold my breathe, on a side note I am seriously contemplating the purchase of a new XBox, due to the fact the 20GB hard drive seems awefully small since the update of the software to allow you to copy your games to the hard drive for faster playback. Microsoft announce a new pack that include a 250GB hard drive, which is the first we have seen one that large, 2 wireless controllers and a game for only 100 bucks more then the Elite which has 120GB.
My opinion if you are in the market for a new XBox 360 make sure to pick up one of these 250GB version, with the new content and loading full games on the console it will be well worth the purchase. I’d hate to see anyone purchase a new XBox with a 20GB hard drive or the arcade version.
So this weekend was eventful, I finally picked up a copy of Rock Band 2 as I was feeling the urge to play a music game. After using what was left on my Gamestop card and throwing a pre-order on Lego Rock Band, I went home played my game for a while, after a minute my graphics started to go a little funny so I decided to restart which resulted in the dreaded red ring flash on my Xbox. Lucky for me I have my receipt and I’m mailing it back in to Microsoft today. If you get an E72 Error Message its covered under 3 year extended warranty so you don’t have to try any crazy tricks to fix it.
I am cautiously optimistic that I have now returned to the blogging universe. The past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind as I have moved and have been getting acclimatized to having to study a huge amount. I suppose I deserve it for wanting to return to school. There have been a lot of things happening in the tech world and while I have been reading I just haven’t found the time for writing. Hopefully I will be much more regular now. Here is a quick overview:
An awesome period of NDS games. Professor Layton, Mario & Luigi, and Scribblenauts coming out really close to each other. Sadly I haven’t had time to play any of them, but so far they are all being well received. I am certain when I start having time again that my DS Lite is going to get a workout.
iTouch disappointment last week. I was hoping that the iTouch would get the addition of a camera and and microphone. I understand why they may have done it, hoping that someone would want both an iTouch and an iPod but it just made me sad. However I did find a good deal on a 2nd Generation iTouch for The Wife, I think that means she will quit stealing mine and giving it back to me with a dead battery. I just need to get her to write about what she is playing.
Big price drop news came first from Sony on the PS3 and then from Microsoft on the XBox 360. Maybe a little ways down the road I will be able to afford one, actually I had better not my grades will likely suffer. It appears now that the PS3 might just be the lowest overall cost of the systems, and with the new hardware and the best line-up I think they have a lot of momentum going for them. We will just have to see how the PSPGo! goes over next month.
Disgaea 2 released for the PSP. When I heard it was coming to the PSP I put aside the copy I had just started to play for the PS2 because I knew that portable gaming would triumph for me. It is out now and I am certain that soon Iwill be looking to play it some. Probably as soon as I finally get through Patapon 2 which I think is an amazing game.
Those are the things that I have been watching. I also had to buy a new phone but little brother said he wants to write about that. Basically as much as I wanted to make the decision between and Android and an iPhone I couldn’t afford the contract. Hope the readers are still coming!
Being an avid reader of webcomics I stumbled onto another gem of a comic and though I would share it with anyone out there. Now this isn’t your quirky funny comic strip of the day comic. It should be a graphic novel, found in your local comic book store. the first season is about to rap up so hurry up and get caught up.
Smash Comic
…Be still my heart, can it be true? Developer manomio, is currently working on getting a c64 emulation program running on the iPhone, now I’m not going to get to excited now I’m sure it will become very stripped down and apparently they are having to strip the Basic programming language out of the instruction set. As much fun as it would be to program in basic again, it won’t be a huge deal . Apperently they are trying to bring back some of the old games and track down copyright owners on other games so they can be released in their glory form.
As a giant fan of comic books in general I have been torn over this merger, on one hand I applaud Marvel. What a huge chunk of money to put in the bank, that is what business is all about build a solid company and sell it cashing in on countless hours of construction. On the other hand I am slightly worried, and I’m not even sure about what. Marvel will have access to many new distribution outlets and contracts, but I fear they may lose control of their properties.
Initially the first thing that jump into my head is can you imagine the team ups and crossover possibilities, come on who doesn’t want to pick up and issue where Punisher teams up with Goofy, or Ghostrider and Minnie Mouse. 
Or Spider-man walking around at Disneyland. I know these examples are pretty extreme but its now possible, as a giant lego fan I do have to point out that last year Lego signed a contract with Disney to produce Disney Lego’s Including Toy Story and the not yet release Prince of Persia. So could be possible see X-men Lego’s.
One could only hope…
So if you are looking to pick up an XBox I would Highly suggest getting the elite version especially since its price just dropped to $300!!! The biggest benefit of this is the fact that it has a larger hard drive, I’ve been struggling with my 20GB drive, due to the fact that the new dashboard can copy full games to your hard drive for quicker load times, I generally get 2 games loaded and it struggles with that.
So if you’rein the market for your first XBox or looking to upgrade make sure to pick up the elite version and don’t get suckered into the arcade version like so many unsuspecting people.
For all those chomping at the bit for the new OS upgrade from Apple, please make sure to check compatibility with more frequently used Mac software. Here is a quick link to Adobe, the famous creators of Photoshop and the current owners of all things Macromedia (ie. flash, dreamweaver), to see what is going to be compatible and what may have some issues. It does look like the majority of CS4 Generation launch won’t have a problem but if your running CS3 read carefully before you take the plunge and upgrade.
Adobe Blog
I hope that anyone reading this blog is using Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, or any other web browser to surf the net. I have been a long time user of Firefox and have found it hard to switch to any other browser just because of the fact that Firefox has so many darn plug-in and third party support. Today I’d like to share a plug-in that gets much abuse on my systems.
Firebug is plug in that while is most useful in web development also comes in hand in everyday use. After the install is sits quietly in the bottom right hand corner waiting to be used. When you click the little guy it loads up a window at the bottom of the browser and basically takes apart all the different code and layers of css, and html. For web developers this is a great learning tool as it makes it easy to tear apart code and download scripts to learn from. Just recently I found a cool background effect on one of my favorite sites, Thinkgeek, and with firebug was able to pull it apart in a matter of a few seconds to figure out how the effect was created.
Now not everyone is as interested in code as I am and maybe they are just interested in finding out network performance on a specific page, Firebug also comes with a handy set of tools and keeps track of network ping information and other stats to help you optimize your internet experience, and breaks download speeds up file by file.
Firebug is basically a swiss army knife of tools for Firefox and is a great combination with most any web development software. And best of all its free, so try it out if you don’t like it your not out any cash and can quickly uninstall it from your Firefox browser.