Well, the numbers are in and Microsoft and the XBox 360 has definitely cleaned up during the Christmas holiday sales. The major factor being that Sony and Nintendo couldn’t get enough PS3s and Wiis (is that the proper plural?) out to meet the demand for their new systems. HOWEVER, from all sources that I’ve been reading, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and Gears of War are both fighting for the Game of the Year spot. Naturally, my money’s on Zelda.

Another thing concerning analysts for the gamer’s market is the PS3 is going to suffer unless they can get a real winner of a title out. I want them to have the #2 spot behind Nintendo. Not because of my dislike for Microsoft in general, mind you, but the PS3 has a lot more promise. The work that’s been done on the system could keep the PS3 as a viable market product for 10 years, instead of the every 5 years we’ve been seeing.

That being said, though, can the Wii hold its own until the next ‘console war’? With its current gen technology, it’s pretty much outdated as it is. Nintendo’s strongest selling point has always been its games, so time will tell.

My pockets that is. Those that know me know I just moved. I incurred a few expenses that snuck up on me so I was looking at not being able to get anyone anything for Christmas. Well, thanks to a little hard work and a turn of luck, I get to go shopping and get some stuff! Life is good sometimes ^^

In other Christmas news, Angalee, you’re gonna have to come over and check out the tree Jeff worked on. We know have our cute little 2 footer on the counter and a 6 foot one in the corner of the dining room. Thanks again for the decorations you and Denise brought us. (Those who don’t know, Jeff’s my brother and Denise is my Lady Love.)

And to anyone out there, wherever you are, a very Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Ladies and gentlemen, as I’m sure many are aware right now, the Wii from Nintendo has been launched. Angalee has one (lucky git) and has the new Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for it.

I do not expect to see her any time soon. Hell, the only reason I get to post here is I don’t have one.

…

yet…

Such a tragic story causing a good date to end too soon. This is a joke, as this is from The Onion, an on line “news” service that prints quite a few phony baloney news stories. Oddly enough, if you don’t realize this is some kind of joke, you might actually freak out. Other news stories of theirs include dumb toy fatalities and “trial separation”. So if you need a laugh or two, check out the Onion and read on just how silly things COULD be.

Angalee’s getting ready to do a big move back to her home that’s been remodeled/renovated. As such, she’s gonna be without net access for a bit. So all you Angalee fans are gonna have to wait a bit before she gets back in full swing.

In the meantime, do you know what the inside of your nose smells like? Just asking.

OK, I had to share these little tidbits.
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Around the Atlanta area, the pollen has been really bad as of late. A black car my neighbor has has turned a yellowish-green. People with allergies are suffereing… Those without are too. There’s so much pollen in the air, it’s clogging me up.

I got to talking with a buddy about this and this little snippet came up. According to him:

Remember his words of wisdom next time you’re cleaning your car off. Suddenly, I have new found respect for the janitor that works in porno studios.

I need sleep, dang it.

I got talking with Angalee the other day and got to thinking. This is usually dangerous for humanity, but then again, I tend to over exaggerate myself.

One of the most common reasons people move from Windows to Linux is they’re sick and tired of how buggy and crappy Windows runs. Hell, I got tired of my computer just up and rebooting itself for no explainable reason.

Yet, given all the complaints, people don’t give up on it entirely. Wine HQ.org works on helping programs written for Windows run on a Linux system. I, myself, am guilty of this. I use Microsoft Money 2004 to keep tracking of my finances and spending, more or less eliminating a need for a checkbook, save for the checks which I use twice a month for rent and my utilities.

The question ends up being “Why?” I thought it a bit ironic that people are working so hard on using something they’re trying to get away from until I realized something completely odd: If it crashes, it’s only the program, NOT THE FRIGGIN’ COMPUTER!!! In essence, they’ve improved on Microsoft’s base. Heck, whenever I have a problem with my Debian setup, I can kill the program causing it and not have my PC decide to jump off a cliff.

I’ve had a few people ask me just what the whole point of Linux was, anyway? The answer is Open Source Software or, in common terms, free. Many programs for Linux systems, including the kernel, are made and developed using this standard. As a result, for example, I have a complete operating system that can be easily updated, complete with firewall, anti-virus, web browser, e-mail client, and an office suite (OpenOffice.org to be specific on that last one) all from a nice desktop environment called KDE, at no financial cost, other than the electricity and DSL which I’m paying for anyway. And if I want to modify or redistribute those programs, I can do so with ease.

So why isn’t everyone jumping on the bandwagon? Linux and its different varieties (called distributions) are not exactly for the faint of techno-heart. You have to have some understanding of the basics in most cases, though there are some that promote themselves as being as user-friendly as Windows. This is why I don’t completely dump on Microsoft. If it wasn’t for them, there probably wouldn’t be as many computers in the world as there are now in people’s homes. They’ve made using a computer to be considered a common skill nowadays, whereas about 20 years ago, it was considered a tool for universities, businesses, and sometimes to play games on. Now, we do shopping, dating, idle chit-chat, crime, justice, partying, worshipping (there are a lot of religious sites out there, you know?), education, business, finances, and so much more all from the quiet of our own home. (And, yes, I know of how lucrative the porn industry is, but there’s more to it than that despite what some people say. Now go have a laugh and quit bugging me.)

In the end, in boils down t what you want to do with your machine. If you need it for a specific purpose, you’d be custom building it anyway. As for the home user, the are plenty of options to explore and have fun with, from Windows-based PCs, the Linux boxes, to Macs. I had to mention Macs, because if it weren’t for the Apple II’s I used in school so many years ago, I wouldn’t have as much an interest in computers as I do now.