Every Single Article Written by N - All 1343
At $249.99, Kinect For Windows Is A Massive Rip-Off
At Microsoft’s last CES keynote, the company unveiled that a dedicated version of the Xbox 360 Kinect sensor would be arriving specifically for Windows on February 1st. If you’ve been under a rock since the Kinect released originally, you’ll know that hackers and modders have taken the sensor through its paces to develop some really cool applications, including 3D modelling, crazy motion capture, and all of this at a higher resolution than the Xbox 360 can handle natively. What Microsoft didn’t unveil tonight was the price, which is an absolutely gob-stopping $249.99. Yes, for over twice as much as a Kinect sensor that you can buy at any electronics store, you can own the Kinect For Windows in a special box (because it’s for Windows, yo!), comes with the Kinect SDK (because you couldn’t just download it) and a shorter cable. On top of that, Microsoft states that this specific version of Kinect is inoperable without the SDK installed. So what exactly are you getting for $249.99, aside from the brazen feeling of being ripped completely off?
Uh, well, you get a cool box, I suppose. I certainly hope this is a joke because we’re going to see the Xbox 360 Kinect disappear off shelves long before people sink bongo cash into this. Better luck next time, Microsoft.
Source: Amazon via Major Nelson
Skype, Get Your Act Together Or We’re Leaving You
We at FleshEatingZipper have been using Skype in all in its previous iterations for the past two years. In fact, we made our start with the program, we probably wouldn’t be around today without it: it’s how we made and recorded our podcasts. We dealt with the various interface changes and so on since then, but now… now it’s hard to say exactly what we’re gonna do, now that we’ve been faced with this latest batch of Skype problems.
Is Microsoft Caving To Carriers By Removing Update Notes For Windows Phone?
One of the biggest advantages in forcing OEMs into very tight hardware specifications for their Windows Phones was that they could make upgrading super easy. Since the phones are all so similar, it wouldn’t take long to move their updates across all their devices, in a way similar to what Apple does with their iPhone and what could only be a pipe dream for Android owners. Microsoft reinforced this by maintaining a page that listed when specific phones on various carriers were getting the newest updates.
Well, for some strange reason, they’re not going to be doing that anymore.
The N5 Show! Week 1/2012! Ford Focus Electric, Saints Row: The Third and more!
Here at FleshEatingZipper, I’m looking at a weekly video show in which I go over the Top 5 things on my mind. Or whatever. It could be a pretzel at some point, who knows. It could be my melting hands in the masthead there. Either way, be sure to tune in just after the break to get in on the action!
Dear Sweet Jesus, They’re Making A Real X-COM Game!
My heart raced a little as I peeked through my TweetDeck feed waking up this morning. This may as well be the gaming announcement of the year: 2K’s Firaxis Studios (they make Civilization, you may have heard of it?) is in charge of providing us with 2012’s other XCOM game, which appears to be a remake of the original game.
Infinite Lives: Watch The Best E3 Documentary Right Now, For Free.
A few years ago, FleshEatingZipper’s own Kelly and I produced a documentary about our road trip to the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Normally dominated by professionals like retailers and game journalists (that would be the 2012 version of FleshEatingZipper’s own Kelly and me), the film showed how one gets in, how they get there, and what they do there as an outsider. Now you can watch it online, for free. That’s right. Check it out after the break!
Apple’s iMac Can’t Lead In A PC Market It Created
Nearly fifteen years ago, with Steve Jobs having just returned to Apple and the niche PC maker now in seriously trouble, the company released one of its first new products: the iMac. An all-in-one computer encased in a colorful transparent eggshell, it looked vaguely hideous, but managed to become pretty popular. Over the years, the design got better and better as Apple rose to consumer electronic dominance, but marketshare is one thing they’ve never been able to capture.
FleshEatingZipper: Now With Facebook Comments!
A few months ago, we had a debate internally about switching our comments system. We’d been using Disqus for the past year and we all initially loved it because it allowed for an easy log in from a variety of sources. But as time marched on and the articles began to aggregate comments more and more, there were some flaws that started to poke through. The biggest argument against implementing the Facebook system was a lack of anonymity. If you posted in one of our articles, you were posting as yourself. Now bear in mind, we came from TeamXbox in which we danced around in virtual identities, but this was something so very different: we were going to be putting ourselves on display. Our real selves. Tonight we’re implementing the new Facebook comments system. Here’s why.
2011: FleshEatingZipper’s Year In Review
You and I have both spent the past few days reading everyone else’s 2011 Year In Review articles and come to the same conclusion: they’re all talking about the same stuff. The Japanese earthquake was terrible, Nintendo didn’t do well, Steve Jobs died, we already knew all this. One of these articles is nostalgic, the following are just re-hashing the same stuff. What we’re going to do is slightly different: we’re going to talk about us. That’s right, if you’ve been on the FEZ train or not, sit back and enjoy all of our wonderful adventure again as we begin writing out all our new ones for 2012!
Modern Warfare 3 Ad Condemned As ‘Hideous’ By Veteran, But He’s Way Off
In a recent editorial for The Atlantic, D.B. Grady, a former paratrooper and veteran of Afghanistan, tears into the centerpiece ad of Activision’s Modern Warfare 3 campaign. If you haven’t seen it (and we’ve included both ads after the break) it builds on last year’s Black Ops ads by featuring actor Sam Worthington teaching Jonah Hill the tricks of the trade when it comes to armed combat in hellish battlegrounds around the world. Grady posits that the ads are creating a false image of what being a soldier means, but Grady is missing the point of the ad entirely: it’s whole-cloth fantasy.
