Category: General

The Speed of Things

First, a prediction. This generation of hand-held consoles will be the last.1

How can the multi-year spans between console releases compare to the yearly improvements of devices like the iPhone and iPad? Apple claims that the iPad 2 is 9x more powerful than it’s predecessor. In benchmark testing Anandtech confirms – yeah pretty much.

While it’s early in the life of both the iPhone and iPad, it’s hard to imagine that future incarnations would not continue this increase in graphical prowess.2

Year after year the iOS devices continue to improve while companies like Sony and Nintendo are in a cycle of releasing a device and then supporting it for a few years. The DS was released in 2004 and just this month is being replaced by its successor, the 3DS. The PSP has also been around a while with an original release in 2005. Its successor, the Next Generation Portable or NGP, is planned for a late 2011 release.3

According to this article from Business Insider the iPad 2 is “equal to NGP in terms of raw graphical horsepower”. Wait, that can’t be right. Sony’s much heralded next-generation portable that won’t be released until November is only equal to a device that is in consumer’s hands right now?

I’m not trying to over-emphasize graphics, there are many other factors when it comes to an enjoyable gaming experience. You can ding the iPad for lack of physical controls or the DS for not having many mature games. While smart intelligent readers such as yourself realize this, there are tons of consoles bought due to graphical fidelity over gameplay or library selection.

—

The genesis of this post came to me while laying in bed this evening. I was playing Real Racing 2 on my iPhone 3GS and was struck by a few things. 1) How well this game looked on a 2-year-old phone. 2) How smoothly it ran – no stuttering and load times were all but nonexistent. 3) How well the controls worked on a device without buttons.4

Next to me were a Nintendo DS and a Sony PSP, both loaded with a few top-notch games. Yet, here I was playing a racing game on my cell phone – a game that was about $25 cheaper than similar titles on its console brethren.

So the iPad 2 is as fast as the NGP, which won’t ship for another 9 months and the old cycle of developing a console and waiting a few years to improve is dead. Or dying. Develop, a website about game development noted that next-gen handheld console budgets have tripled. How much are the games going to cost? $50!?

I’ve been able to play the same games over the last 4 generations of iOS devices with out a hitch. In some cases the games are even improved on newer hardware. Meanwhile DS games are fuzzy on the new 3DS and all of my UMD games for the PSP will have to be re-purchased when the NGP is released. :-/

From one perspective, not only are the graphics a huge win, but also the financial and vitality aspects of this new breed of gaming devices.

Photo by sneeu – Licensed under Creative Commons

Top 10 Songs for 2010

It’s about time that I belabor you with my musical likings from the last year.

 

Top 10 songs5 added to my iTunes library for 2010.

  1. Daylight – Matt & Kim – Grand
  2. Intro – The xx – xx
  3. Animus Vox – The Glitch Mob – Drink the Sea
  4. Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’ – Hanson – Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’6
  5. Good Ol’ Fashion Nightmare – Matt & Kim – Grand
  6. Difficult – Uffie – Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans
  7. Home – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
  8. Colors – April Smith & The Great Picture Show – Songs For A Sinking Ship
  9. I Hope I Become A Ghost – The Deadly Syndrome – The Ortolan7
  10. Right As Rain – Adele – 19

 

Top 10 released in 2010

  1. Animus Vox – The Glitch Mob – Drink the Sea
  2. Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’ – Hanson – Thinking ‘Bout Somethin’
  3. Difficult – Uffie – Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans
  4. Colors – April Smith & The Great Picture Show – Songs For A Sinking Ship
  5. Rill Rill – Sleigh Bells – Treats
  6. Horchata – Vampire Weekend – Contra
  7. Bombay – El Guincho – Pop Negro8
  8. The Grid – Daft Punk – Tron: Legacy
  9. The Game Has Changed – Daft Punk – Tron: Legacy
  10. If You Think You Need Some Lovin – Pomplamoose – 3 New Songs Woot!


Here’s my lists from 2006, 2008 and 2009 if you’re interested. You can see what else I’m currently listening to on Last.fm.

Everything is Great on the Internet

After posting about why the Internet makes me feel like an idiot my friend Tim had this to add:

Tim: Did you read the slate article I shared re: Facebook makes you sad?

Chris: I have it in the queue.

Tim: I think that goes in to your blog post, if tangentially.

Tim: Everyone is cool on the Internet.

Chris: Exactly.

Tim: No one is sad or imperfect or boring or lethargic.

Tim: Because it is filtered reality.

I didn’t think about this factor when writing the aforementioned post, but man Tim hits the nail on the head.

Why the Internet Makes Me Feel Like an Idiot and Why I’m Not

The internet is a great tool to learn and experience quite literally every single human endeavor. You name the topic and there most likely exists – at least – a single Wikipedia entry. With a few YouTube video tutorials, some blog posts starting with “How To…” you can become knowledgeable in a myriad of technical and non-technical professions.

I work on the web every day. My job title is “Web Project Coordinator” and while this implies that I’m focused on the web I find myself both professionally and personally doing so much more.

On some days I shoot and edit video, others have me designing a layout for a site or coding some JavaScript. I even manage a few servers and help edit objective-c for an iPhone app! Not to mention my past IT support role has perpetuated my title as ‘computer guy’ around the office and at home.

I freely admit this is a 1st world problem and there are far greater difficulties facing the universe, but on an individual level I find the feeling of not being proficient in one particular area to be a serious mental drain. Why do I feel like a jack of all trades and a master of none?

Some days I feel like a fraud, that everyone I work with (and for) have been duped by smoke and mirrors. That if they ever found out how little I actually know I’d be branded as a fluke, a huckster. Part of me knows this isn’t true. That I’m smart and well received by those I work with, but man because of the Internet I feel like such a moron. Why is this?

It’s because I read. I read a lot.

I pursue Twitter and Google Reader to find out what’s going on all over the world. I read about Adam Lisagor and his awesome video work or Neven Mrgan and his splendid design chops. Boing Boing fills me with oddities to delight the senses and bizarre people I would love to meet.

Guys like Merlin Mann and Jeffery Zeldman make me feel like a sloth with their intelligent and witty writing. Don’t even get me started on Mike Matas‘ photography or Brent Simmons‘ helpful articles on coding. How about Michael Lopp’s awesome guide to being a better geek?

I digress, but you can see how after daily observances of a plethora of cool things one can start comparing themselves and asking, “Why am I not that successful? Why are these people so awesome?”

But I think I’ve figured it out.

I was having a discussion bitching to my wife on the ride home from work. I was withering in fake pain about how I don’t feel like I’m strong in any particular area and how I worry about my future. My wife, as smart as always, pointed out an obvious fact.

I’m comparing myself to 5 different people – of course I’m not going to be as good in each profession as these folks have chosen. I’ve been trying to stretch myself in so many different ways because I’m excited! I want to do everything I read about because it all sounds so interesting.

I realize now that I can’t try to do what 5 separate people have accomplished. I can dabble here, and try something over here, but at the end of the day I need to relax.

My wife reminded me that what is important is that the people I work with enjoy what I can do for them and that I continue to develop as an individual without the pressure to be as good as everyone on the Internet. I often forget that these folks are great at what they do and that what each one of them does is diverse and specific. People rarely blog about their shortcomings – about topics that they’re not proficient in. They talk about their successes, their passions and what cool things they’re doing.

So anytime I’m down in a funk, that I feel like no one would hire me and that I’m some sort of goober, I just need to remember that even thought the Internet can bring so much information to my fingertips that it does nothing to filter – to remind me that I need to take things in one at a time. Admire these things I see and hear, enjoy them, but ultimately be at peace with who I am and where I’m going.