By The Chad

Note to Harry Potter fans who haven’t read this book yet: I will keep this review as spoiler-free as possible.

Harry Potter…

What a crazy phenomenon. Not since the original Star Wars has a fantasy world captivated so many adults and children alike. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something about the parralel version of London where witches and wizards live alongside us “muggles” enthralls me more than other fantasy series that I follow. I am a huge fan of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, which is a hilarious fantasy-based satire. But while I find Discworld hugely compelling, the parallels in the Harry Potter world seem to draw me in a bit more.

It’s been a long, whimsical, action-packed journey for The Boy Who Lived and the people around him. It seems like only yesterday I was reading about a young 11-year-old wizard from Privet Drive who found out he had magical abilities and was shunned for it. Along the way, I, along with millions of other readers, have grown quite emotionally attached this fictional charcter and his friends. Well, the journey finally came to an end on July 21st, 2007, and I must say that this epic final installment in the series will not dissapoint. When I received my pre-ordered copy in the mail on the day of release (thank you, Amazon!) I promptly ripped it from the package, chuckling at the warning against muggles on the front not to deliver or open before July 21st. I dove in straight away, but being an adult with responsibilities and such (bah!) I could not finish it until very, very late at night on the 22nd.

This is one of the finest, if not the finest, book in the series. The mood of the book is much more dire and dark than previous installments but still maintains the famous Harry Potter friends-and-family values of the rest of the series. Of course, most of us know that Harry is on a quest given to him by Dumbledore to find the remaining Horcruxes in order to destroy Voldemort. His journey is littered with excitement, pain, and a sense of urgency. I was wondering half-way through the book how in the world Harry could pull this off. The novel is so well-written that you need to make sure you have done things ahead of time that you will not have time for once you begin - such as chores, eating, or sleeping. J.K. is at the top of her game in this book. I really wish I could say more about the story but, out of respect to anyone who reads this, I don’t want to give anything away.

After finishing the series and letting out a long sigh, I felt a little…strange. Part of me is glad to know how it all ends, but another part of me is quite sad that it’s over. I find myself asking myself, “Self, why are you so attached to a children’s series?” The answer is simple: J.K. Rowling is the most talented character-developing writer I have ever read. In no other series have I felt so emotionally connected to a group of fictional characters. Lord of the Rings and other fantasy series may be more epic, but nothing comes close to the bond you will share with Mr. Potter as he embarks on his journey to destroy Voldemort and uncover his shadowy past.

This book sold over 2.6 million copies on opening day. Ridiculous. I have a strong feeling that this won’t happen again in my lifetime. My respect and personal thanks goes out to J.K. Rowling for writing these books, which have knocked The Dark Tower series by Stephen King off the top of my list.

In case you haven’t gotten the gist of how much I loved this book by now, here are some numbers for all you analytical types:

Rating: 10/10

Why are you still reading this and not Deathly Hallows? Go buy it. NOW.

By pminton

Well, the Nintendo Wii has been out for 8 months now, and it’s consistently out-selling the competition. It’s clear proof that Nintendo is doing a lot of things right. And so are a lot of the third-party companies making Wii accessories. Some of these accessories are pretty cool, some of them just serve their purpose, and some of them are really really stupid. Let’s take a look at some of the wonders modern video game technology has churned out:

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The Nyko Wii Remote Charge Station

I file this one 100% without reservation under good. The Wii-motes don’t suck up a whole lot of batteries, but eventually AAs put a serious hurt on the wallet. Especially if ye be a geek. Or maybe a geek-pirate. I honestly can’t count the number of things in my house that take AA batteries. The quest for mobile power makes these alkaline horrors a necessity, so I’m always on the lookout for things that make me less reliant on disposable batteries..

Enter: Nyko. “Hey, you! With the Wii! Yeah, we’ve got this thing here that’ll charge 2 of your Wii-motes. We’ll even include 2 battery packs and the battery covers. Also, it’ll make sandwiches for lunch.” Ok, it doesn’t make sandwiches.

The best part is it’ll only run you $29.99 plus tax. I bought two.

The charger isn’t all candy kisses and licorice dreams, though. It takes about 4-6 charge cycles before the battery packs reach their full potential. Not a big deal, but a little annoying. The only other beef I really have is that the remotes don’t really fit well on the charger. I expected to just sit the Wii remote on there and it would start charging. Sometimes that happens, but sometimes it takes some jiggling to get the thing to connect to the charge leads. Mostly this seems to be a small design flaw: there’s not a good place for the remote strap to go, so you have to adjust and wiggle the thing until it works. To me, though, it’s a small price to pay for doing away with the need for 8 fresh AAs every couple weeks.

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The GameStop Cooler Fan

I’m going to file this one under bad, although probably a better tag would be useless. Trust me on this one, the Wii puts out the least amount of heat of all the current-generation consoles. I have a 360 as well and you could use the exhaust from it to air-pop popcorn while watching a downloaded movie rental. There are other coolers out there, like the Wii Crystal Cooler. That particular one looks cool, but I can’t really see shelling out $20 for something that just adds some shiny to my entertainment center. If you’re thinking about getting one of these, keep your Jackson, add a Hamilton and get Resident Evil 4 Wii Edition.

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Nyko Wireless Sensor Bar & Wii Zapper

I put these two together because I started to classify both of them as bad. The sensor bar for much the same reason as the cooler and the zapper because it just looks like it’s going to be awkward and won’t really add anything to the game experience. I’ve had to rethink both of them.

I have, actually, been able to think of a couple of circumstances in which the wireless sensor bar could be useful. Let’s say, for instance, that you have a super-mega-King-Kamehameha projection television and putting the sensor bar on top if it makes your Wii freak out because the remote is too far away. I’m sure it would be nice to be able to put the bar closer to your couch without having a cord stretched across the floor. Assuming it would reach that far. I could also see using the wireless bar for travel. I like to take my Wii to my parents’, or to friends’ houses when we go visiting and sometimes the hardest part of setting up the Wii is finding a place for the bar and wire to go.

For the biggest drawback to this accessory, in my opinion, see #1. It takes four AA batteries. Four! I have a feeling that eventually that’d be a big battery bill and, alliteration aside, that’s a pretty big deal for me.

Now, the Zapper isn’t even out yet, I know, but at first glance I was very unimpressed. Basically it just holds the nunchuk and the Wii-mote in a rifle-like formation presumable for FPS and the like. My initial reaction to this peripheral was to think, “Huh. Couldn’t I just hold them like that anyway?” The answer is yes. I could. However, I imagine that holding something in that formation for a long period of time would get tiresome. This little peripheral would be quite useful, I think, for Far Cry: Vengeance and any Medal of Honor games that come along. I suspect some affiliation with the ever-mysterious Duck Hunt rumored to be coming soon. The more I read/look at the zapper accessory the more I think I could like it. I should probably withold judgement on this one until I can find a price point. If it’s cheap and you like FPS/3PS (3rd person shooters) or Duck Hunt I say go for it. It can’t be as bad as number 6 is going to be.

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MadCatz Wii Remote/Nunchuck Skinz

I file these under Unneccessary. Seriously, I know it’s not in my file scheme, but they’re only useful for keeping a better grip on the remote. If you have the Nyko Charge Station you don’t need them for that.

I guess they could be used to make sure that boys don’t use the girls’ pink remote, therefore preventing the spread of potential cooties. But other than that, I’m lost for any practical use. And is it just me, or do the pink “skinz” make the remote / nunchuck combo look a little like adult novelty toys?

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Wii Sports Accessory Bundle

There are several different companies that make similar sets of the sports accessories. I file every single one of them under really really stupid. Like I need something that extends the length of the remote making it even more likely that I’ll destroy my TV, coffee table, pictures on the walls, and/or friends. That’s just one of the things wrong with this concept.

The most glaringly obvious one is: THEY DON’T DO ANY-FREAKIN’-THING! Nothing! They clip on to the end of your Wii remote and……look like dwarven sports equipment. Another, less obvious, flaw with this accessory is that it might make people believe that they are getting real exercise and are becoming adept at the sports which they are imitating. I. Hate. This accessory pack. It is further proof that people will buy anything.

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The Nyko Party Station

This one I have to tentatively file under good but with reservations. I really like the idea of this peripheral, but in practice I’m not so sure how good it’ll turn out. Thoughts of having chips and drinks right next to my remotes give me the willies. At the very least we’re talking about possible sticky buttons - and at worst ruined controllers. Also, greasy chips and competitors not wearing wrist straps make me a little queasy. Also, a friend complained that it doesn’t look like a fifth of Jack Daniels will fit in the cupholders.

However, I like that it charges four remotes, chills drinks, has a scoreboard, and provides a bowling alley-style fan on it to keep sweaty palms cool and dry. I think it’s a terrific idea and hopefully will be awesome in the flesh. Well, plastic, I guess. Nyko has put out some really good Wii extras (see #1), so maybe that experience will translate into making this a must-have party item. I really do think it’d make Mario Party 8 even more enjoyable (assuming no one bogarts all the chips, spills Cheerwine all over my remotes, or tries to dip the nunchuks in salsa). I think that we’re probably looking at a solid peripheral here, though. Even if one were to ban the drinks and chips from the Party Station it still seems like someting fun. Now I just have to figure out what to do with my Charge Stations.

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Well, there you go. Take my list and go out into the consumer world and buy, buy, buy. Just don’t purchase any of the sports packs. If you do, I’ll know. And it’ll make kittens cry.

By The Chad

Picture this: You’re watching a baseball game on tv. But that’s all you’re doing - watching. Because with tv, that’s about all you can do. TiVo has made it possible to pause and rewind footage, but that’s about as interactive as it gets.

You watch. End of story.

Now picture this: You’re watching a baseball game on your computer (or your computer hooked to an LCD tv). When Barry Bonds comes up to bat, you click on his name with your mouse to see his current game, season, and lifetime stats instantaneously. Maybe you’d like to toggle the scoreboard or the display which shows the runners on base on or off. Maybe you’d also like to have 6 or more of these screens with different games on them at one time in the same browser window. Now you’re not just watching - you’re interacting.

You watch. You interact. Saucy!

Maybe sports aren’t your thing. But everyone likes movies, right? Imagine instead of having to hassle with snail mail (that’s the USPS for all you uncool kids), you can subscribe to Netflix and watch any movie in their expansive library in high definition at the click of a mouse. Standard DVD controls, chapter selections with full motion preview, full movie information, and even a “share” option to invite a friend to watch with you via a built-in chat window. You could discuss the movie or anything else, all while the movie is playing, fully-synced and full screen to both of your computers anywhere in the world.

These things seem pretty high-tech, but they are actually very real and very close to realization. Netflix already has a working demo of the movie service I just described, and the MLB recently gave a demo of their in-game baseball interactivity application.

“But, how?” you ask.

The answer is Microsoft’s new browser plug-in called Silverlight.

Silverlight is being plugged as a super-powerful tool for making extremely interactive media experiences a snap to develop and deploy for web artists. What does this mean for the average web browser? Well, take the examples I listed above and think of the amazing things you could do with that much raw power in any web-page.

Full, playable game demos in your browser? Full-blown applications for video and music editing from any computer with a browser? The possibilities are startling. Microsoft is upping the ante on the interactive web experience that companies like Adobe have dominated for a long time, and they’re doing a bang-up job of it. I, for one, am excited to see the creative things that media companies are going to use Silverlight for.

Silverlight is still in its beta phase, but you can check out some resources and examples of what people are already doing with Silverlight.

Netflix movie service demo

MLB interactive game demo

Top Banana (video editing in your browser!)

Scott GU: Silverlight frontman

Live Silverlight “Surface” demo (Note: You will actually have to install the alpha Silverlight plug-in to play with this demo.)

I gave up on the idea of monetizing Ectotechnica some time ago. I’d tried a number of systems, including Google’s Adsense, Amazon.com’s affiliate program, and a few others.

None of those really generated any revenue to speak of (I think my combined total revenue from ads amounted to $44.32 - which I’ll never see), so I’m trying something different.

You’ll begin seeing TextLinkAds in the content of the site soon. I opted into a program that converts some of the post text into clickable links, so you’ll notice more links in posts. This kind of embedded advertising suits my tastes and the site well, as I’m not a big fan of obnoxious graphic ads. Hopefully, this is a comfortable compromise.

The beauty of TLA is that I can accept or reject ads and choose whether or not to allow ads on any given post. This way, I’ll keep editorial control over what gets promoted. Again, it’s a good thing.

So keep an eye out for the changes. And feel free to let me know how you feel about them.