Hmmcast #125 mp4

Had some trouble getting today’s Hmmcast uploaded to Google Video so went with YouTube instead.

A week ago the first game — Shadowrun — that allows Windows Vista players to compete directly against or play with those on the Xbox 360. On launch day I was unable to buy it anywhere locally. The next day, we bought one of the last couple copies at Gamestop. I didn’t see the Vista version of Shadowrun until yesterday at the Fred Meyer in Lacey.

Shaky Shadowrun launch supply?
We’re used to shipping shortages and problems with game systems, but the games themselves are usually in plentiful supply. The stores in this area if they got any Shadowrun copies were picked clean.

I don’t know who to blame this one on, but it’s not just our area according to a post in the official Shadowrun forums:

My “town,” is roughly 40k in size…and the “town,” across the river is roughly 90k in size. I called both “towns,” and the shipping has been messed up in both…

If a game like Shadowrun is in short supply then heaven help gamers on September 25 when Halo 3 arrives. Maybe the Halo 2 launch day record isn’t in danger after all.

Steep Windows Vista system requirements
The Gateway Vista machine we bought earlier this year came with 1GB of DDR2 and an Intel Extreme graphics card. I needed to upgrade to a graphics car with 256MB RAM ($133 USD). On the Shadowrun box it says 2GB of RAM is needed but I found it ran fine with 1GB. No annoying error messages either.

I found a number of Shadowrun players excited to be playing with someone on Vista. Our son who has been playing the Xbox 360 version a lot over the last week tells me there aren’t that many Vista players. He thinks the graphics look pretty good even though I didn’t have it running with max graphics on the Vista machine.

For whatever reason when I plugged in the Xbox 360 controllers Vista wouldn’t recognize them (none of the five Xbox 360 controllers we have) so I also needed to go back to the store and buy the wireless Xbox controller with USB adapter for Windows Vista ($59.99). We can plug in Xbox 360 controllers on Windows XP problem.

Bottom line: even if you just bought your Vista machine, unless it’s a higher end machine ready for gaming, be prepared to pay at least a couple hundred dollars to play Shadowrun. The cost of the Vista Shadowrun ($49.99) was $10 less than the Xbox 360 game ($59.99) for our purchase. Maybe they expected most people would have to throw down more bones for the Vista experience. Hopefully now we’re ready for more games like this as they become available.

Hmmcast #124 mp4

If you ever come out to the Seattle area then be sure to take a lunch detour south to Tacoma, WA try out MSM Deli (I keep wanting to mistitle it MSN deli, but that must just be Microsoft on the brain). These are the best sandwiches I’ve tried in the area. Highly recommended. They like it at Yelp too:

“The decor is a little dive-y, a mix between a deli and a discheveled 7-11 … ( I found this added an unassuming charm to the place)”

An accurate description.

Hmmcast #123 mp4

What board games do you own? I looked through a list of ours today and was surprised at what I ’saw’.

Hmmcast #122 mp4

In my post this morning I said this would be a vacation day for the Hmmcast, but the video of the clear day and mountain was just too hard to ignore sharing. My digital camera footage doesn’t do the mountain and view justice. How serene. Looks like Sterling woke up to a cooker of a morning across the pond. We might be in your neck of the woods later today after the doctor’s appointment, mon. And check your email, I sent you something I think you might be able to use.

Hmmcast #121 mp4

I’ll never look at a spatula and spices around the barbecue the same way again.

Hmmcast #120 mp4

Microsoft chose Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays, but Sony tempts the saw with (somewhat) weekly updates on Thursawday. Today an image quality update found via USA Today article. Check out the final sentence:

Sony isn’t expecting to post a profit in its game business until the fiscal year ending March 2009.

That puts the battle of the nextgen gaming systems in better perspective. Sony feels they need 18 more months to ramp up the game library for the PS3 and perhaps get the price of the PS3 down. They just released an 80GB version, but it’s not available in North America yet.

Hmmcast #119 mp4

I’ve been listening to the new Ozzy album Black Rain for a few days now and today got the chance to buy the CD for $11.99 at Best Buy on sale. The packaging is a little plain, no jewel case, no lyric sheet, barely any credits. You don’t get more bare bones packaging than this. Doesn’t come with any secret tracks either, but does come with a secret code to enter on June 8 at 9pm EST at livenation.com/ozzfest while supplies last you might be lucky enough to get two Ozzfest tickets.

I told my wife that this will probably be worse than the cheap Xbox 360 consoles at Amazon. Remember that?

Hmmcast #118 mp4 featuring music by Achilles

Hmmcast #117 mp4

Going to kick today’s Hmmcast out early since yesterday was late. It’s ThurSAWday after all, you deserve it. The timestamp will be altered to read 4:20 once that time has passed, however.

Hmmcast #116 mp4

Day 3 of the navel gazing continues and this time I’m really digging the dirt by sharing what’s happening in my garden. Warning: there is some serious birds and bees action happening in today’s Hmmcast. Safe for work? Yes, but barely! Watch out for the poison ivy!

Mentioned in the Hmmcast
- The Firefox add-on Search Status new version 1.19 is useful for seeing the rankings of not only your own sites but third party sites for Google (green), Alexa (blue) and now Compete (fuschia) too.

- Viva Pinata

Behind Hmmcast #116
Today’s episode didn’t didn’t quite make the 4:20pm launch time although the timestamp reads 4:20 for continuity, just FYI. I’ll be updating with a third party video viewer (Google Video or YouTube) as soon as that is processed. In the meantime, you can download the mp4 with the link at the top of the post.