journals

Deep Thought: A year inside the minds of geeks

By Nick, November 22, 2005

It's been quite a year indeed.

Deep Thought’s first year has been a wild ride, in which we’ve encountered lost databases, crashing servers (two in one day!), three redesigns, and a little controversey along the way. It’s been a year where we have felt our way through running a tech news site, something none of us had any experience in before. It’s been a year in which we’ve seen a number of changes to our staff; old friends leaving and new ones coming in. It’s been quite a year indeed.

13 November 2004: Deep Thought is concieved. Below are the words that started it all, in an iChat between Pilky and myself:

pilky: hmm, I wonder
how would you like to start a blog with me, analysing tech news?

13 November-2004 November 2004: The formative days. During this time, the original staff--all members of the XvsXP.com forum at the time--was assembled and the site was built.

23 November 2004: Deep Thought Officially opens to hordes of cheering geeks (well, five geeks anyway--the staff).

24 November 2004: My iBook dies one day after DT is launched. Coincidence or bad omen?

7 December 2004: I get an Apple-issued replacement iBook.

10 December 2004: Deep Thought Forum opens.

13 December 2004: Deep Thought gets MacSlashed.

14 December 2004: The blog database is lost while building the PC site; all news articles and blog entries are lost (though some have been resurrected thanks to the magic of archive.org).

28 Decmeber 2004: Deep Thought PC launched.

11 January 2005: Deep Thought covers…
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Xbox 360 to be released at 12:01 AM

By Nick, November 21, 2005

The feeding frenzy is about to begin.

Microsoft’s next-generation gaming console, Xbox 360, is set to be released at 12:01 AM tonight/tomorrow morning. According to a Microsoft press release, “more than 4,500 retailers [will] open their doors at 12:01 a.m. to answer the demand for the Xbox 360 console and 18 launch games.” The Xbox 360 is the first of the next generation of gaming consoles (PlayStation 3 and Nintendo revolution are the other two) to be released to the general public. Sony and Nintendo plan on releasing their new consoles next year. This represents a nice reversal of fortune for Microsoft, which has been hounded with bad press over security concerns, Windows Vista delays, and sweaty dancing CEOs.

If you are planning to go to a launch event and would like to write about it for us, let us know.

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10.4.3 Makes its Way Into Retail Boxes

By Nick, November 21, 2005

The big stripped kitty is ready for prime time.

From the “Really exciting new stuff, but not really, but really, it’s really exciting, really” desk: Mac OS X 10.4 retail boxes have been updated and now come with Mac OS X 10.4.3. This new version of Tiger was released earlier this month and contains “a lot” of fixes (anywhere from 500 to 1,000, depending on who you ask). The retail box has a new part number but pricing is unchanged ($69 education, $129 for a single license, $199 for the family pack).

If you are have held off on swimming in the Tiger pool, now’s a good time to jump in, the water is warm!

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The realism continues…

By Liam, November 18, 2005

I can still safely say that Battlefront II puts you in the Star Wars battles like the first one never did.

So I recently picked up Star Wars Battlefront II for my PC. I own the original Battlefront, but I had gotten it after it had been out for a while, so I was excited to get one of these games at the beginning of its lifespan. I had also put all of my birthday money together, and picked up a brand spankin’ new ATi Radeon X850 PRO (256 MB AGP). Even though I got a much more powerful card (over my Radeon 9200), I can still safely say that Battlefront II puts you in the Star Wars battles like the first one never did.

So, what’s improved, you ask? Well, almost everything. Some of them are readily obvious, like the new space battles, or the reworked hero system, or the new classes (more on those later), but the other things that make it truly enjoyable. I’ll never forget the first time I dashed into a crowd of clones as General Grievous, and heard one of them shout, “Watch out for Grievous!” The voices have definitely been improved. The units can recognize pretty much all of the heroes, as well as many vehicles.

Speaking of heroes, being able to play as the Jedi or Sith is an absolute blast. The system is very well-done. When going by the default settings, the player doing the best after a certain amount of points have been gained is given a prompt to become the hero. If they accept, they are taken to the character select…
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Toys

By moreApple, November 18, 2005

For years we paid over twenty dollars per month for AOL but had no real Internet access because I tried to over-clock our 14.4 modem as a 56k.

What was your favorite geek toy? There are a few I’d like to mention.

Wooden Building Blocks

The first toy I ever loved liked a geek were wooden building blocks. Most were long and rectangular but some were triangles and circles. They stayed in place by gravity alone so I fiercely guarded the fragile structures I setup like an igloo on a sunny day.

The greatest thing was that you could casually setup the blocks while laying on your stomach. You were the architect of a city, home, or temple and completely relaxed. The blocks were also very very simple and intuitive.

Legos

Afterward, and for a long time, I very much enjoyed Legos. The multi-colored plastic blocks have infinitely more potential because there were many pieces to arrange of different sizes. They lock into place allowing you to create stronger, more resilient structures with rich details. The possibilities are still astounding and I plan on showcasing them in an art studio in my first home.

In the past, my basement hosted a variety of creations such as a space colony, underwater SeaQuest-like scene, Amazon jungle tribe, medieval knights, and much much more. All these arrangements were neighbors, as illogical as that seems. There were even scenes that I created from scratch like the sleek, high-tech cruise ship I loaded with a rainbow of jewels for the “gajillionaire” that of course represented what I will achieve