As many of you know, I am a Liverpool fan. Despite this, I have never had the traditional hatred for Man Utd that a lot of Liverpool fans have. In fact, Man Utd is my second favourite team so I was very much rooting for Man Utd in the recent Champions Cup final in Russia. I was also very happy when they won.
Interestingly enough, I have never met a Man Utd fan who didn't dislike Liverpool. And for some reason, they all like to gloat about how Man Utd are currently the best team in the world whereas Liverpool aren't.
For example, one of my colleagues at work is a real Man Utd fanboi. He was recently gloating about Man Utd's success and in particular, he quoted Fergie saying that Fergies biggest achievement was removing the dominance of Liverpool in England. Then he launched into the usual diatribe against Liverpool and its manager. I told him this would actually mean something if it weren't for the fact that Liverpool historically are still much more successful than Man Utd (more domestic titles and more Euro titles).
He hasn't responded to that yet...
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Desktop vs Laptop
I'm in the market for a new PC. My existing PC is starting to break down. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what the problem is. All I know is that it sometimes doesn't boot up, and even when it does boot up, it can crash (not bsod - but just a complete freeze) very quickly afterwards. I considered taking it to a PC repair store but the thing is, my PC is closer to 3 years old than 2 years and so at this point, I figure its just easier to buy a new PC.
The question is - do I buy another desktop or should I buy a laptop.
The main benefit of buying a desktop is that I can get better hardware specs for a cheaper price. Based on the kind of config I'm looking for, I can probably get a decent PC for around HK$6,000-8000 (the price being so cheap because I already have a monitor). Pretty attractive deal right there.
The alternative is to buy a decent laptop which would cost in the region of HK$12,000-14,000. The annoying thing is that I am almost paying double the price but the hardware specs still aren't as good as if I go desktop.
The advantage of laptop, obviously, is the portability.
I have a friend who says that she will always go laptop, even considering the added expense, due to the portability. It allows her to use her PC in the living room, dining room, bedroom or even in the toilet (and yes, I agree - that was too much information).
Any opinions?
The question is - do I buy another desktop or should I buy a laptop.
The main benefit of buying a desktop is that I can get better hardware specs for a cheaper price. Based on the kind of config I'm looking for, I can probably get a decent PC for around HK$6,000-8000 (the price being so cheap because I already have a monitor). Pretty attractive deal right there.
The alternative is to buy a decent laptop which would cost in the region of HK$12,000-14,000. The annoying thing is that I am almost paying double the price but the hardware specs still aren't as good as if I go desktop.
The advantage of laptop, obviously, is the portability.
I have a friend who says that she will always go laptop, even considering the added expense, due to the portability. It allows her to use her PC in the living room, dining room, bedroom or even in the toilet (and yes, I agree - that was too much information).
Any opinions?
Monday, May 19, 2008
Iron Man
The missus and I went to see Iron Man yesterday. It wasn't planned - just a spur of the moment decision to head out to the cinema to see if we could get tickets. Now I know what you're thinking and I agree. I am very spontaneous. What can I say? I like to live life on the razors edge - never knowing what the next moment will bring! Its like I'm a crazy man!
Hm-mm.
Anyway, the movie itself is surprisingly good. You have to give full credit to Marvel for coming up with another good superhero movie.
It has good special effects, some really funny moments and some great one-liners. Granted, it doesn't really do anything groundbreaking from a movie point of view. However, if you are looking for action fluff entertainment for 2 hours, you really can't go wrong. Also, judging from how well the movie is doing in the box office, it seems likely that a sequel will be made.
Anyway - fair warning - there be spoilers ahead!
Whats great about the movie is how believable it is. Granted, you have Tony Stark develop a radical new power source to keep him alive while living in a cave. Also, despite being monitored on cctv 24/7, Stark is still able to build a power suit without the terrorists noticing until its too late. Also the whole "civilians in power armour flying around kicking ass while being impervious to bullets" thing is kinda unlikely. Also, I don't think that adaptive AI will be possible for a while yet.
Hmm - okay, let me rephrase this a bit better.
There were certain areas in the film where they could have really screwed up the believability (even beyond the basic premise). For example, Starks Mk I Iron Man suit is pretty much destroyed in the process of his escape. The terrorists locate his grey Mk I Iron Man suit and his blueprints for the suit and for a while, it looks as if a bunch of terrorists in a cave are going to be able to replicate the work of Tony Stark. Luckily, the film dodges this bullet by having the terrorists get wiped out by Stark Industries (under the direction of bad guy - Obadiah Stane) who then gets the best scientists in Stark Industries to design a new suit (all without the approval of Stark of course). All in all, a good solution.
Another good design choice was that they made Obadiah Stane a part of Stark Industries. If you read the comic, you would know that Stane was actually the CEO of a competing Company which did a hostile takeover of Starks company. Making the bad guy to be a friend of Starks obviously has more dramatic impact. This also has the benefit of surprise to the 1 guy who didn't know the history of Iron Man or who are useless at guessing the obvious in Hollywood movies (obviously, as a Marvel fan, I knew Stane was going to be the bad guy and betray Stark).
Of course, the obvious problem with the film is the fact that its an origin movie. As with all origin movies, a lot of time is spent on how Tony Stark becomes Iron Man which means that you really don't get to see enough of Iron Man in action as Iron Man. Still, its a good first movie and I can't wait for the sequel.
Hm-mm.
Anyway, the movie itself is surprisingly good. You have to give full credit to Marvel for coming up with another good superhero movie.
It has good special effects, some really funny moments and some great one-liners. Granted, it doesn't really do anything groundbreaking from a movie point of view. However, if you are looking for action fluff entertainment for 2 hours, you really can't go wrong. Also, judging from how well the movie is doing in the box office, it seems likely that a sequel will be made.
Anyway - fair warning - there be spoilers ahead!
Whats great about the movie is how believable it is. Granted, you have Tony Stark develop a radical new power source to keep him alive while living in a cave. Also, despite being monitored on cctv 24/7, Stark is still able to build a power suit without the terrorists noticing until its too late. Also the whole "civilians in power armour flying around kicking ass while being impervious to bullets" thing is kinda unlikely. Also, I don't think that adaptive AI will be possible for a while yet.
Hmm - okay, let me rephrase this a bit better.
There were certain areas in the film where they could have really screwed up the believability (even beyond the basic premise). For example, Starks Mk I Iron Man suit is pretty much destroyed in the process of his escape. The terrorists locate his grey Mk I Iron Man suit and his blueprints for the suit and for a while, it looks as if a bunch of terrorists in a cave are going to be able to replicate the work of Tony Stark. Luckily, the film dodges this bullet by having the terrorists get wiped out by Stark Industries (under the direction of bad guy - Obadiah Stane) who then gets the best scientists in Stark Industries to design a new suit (all without the approval of Stark of course). All in all, a good solution.
Another good design choice was that they made Obadiah Stane a part of Stark Industries. If you read the comic, you would know that Stane was actually the CEO of a competing Company which did a hostile takeover of Starks company. Making the bad guy to be a friend of Starks obviously has more dramatic impact. This also has the benefit of surprise to the 1 guy who didn't know the history of Iron Man or who are useless at guessing the obvious in Hollywood movies (obviously, as a Marvel fan, I knew Stane was going to be the bad guy and betray Stark).
Of course, the obvious problem with the film is the fact that its an origin movie. As with all origin movies, a lot of time is spent on how Tony Stark becomes Iron Man which means that you really don't get to see enough of Iron Man in action as Iron Man. Still, its a good first movie and I can't wait for the sequel.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
For Glaswegians only
If you aren't Glaswegian, or have trouble understanding the Glasgow dialect, then you may want to avoid this next link. However, if the above doesn't apply to you - then check it out.
The link is to a short story of what happens when two Glesga neds come across an actual alien. You'll never believe this but it turns out that Star Trek isn't a good guide for "First Contact" scenarios. The shock!!
The link is to a short story of what happens when two Glesga neds come across an actual alien. You'll never believe this but it turns out that Star Trek isn't a good guide for "First Contact" scenarios. The shock!!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Boycott
Here's a question for my readers - what would make you boycott something?
Due to developments in the PC market (you can read about it on my gaming blog), this is a question I've been thinking about recently. For me, overly draconian DRM is a killer.
But what about you (and hopefully, some of you will actually take the time to comment!)? Bad corporate social responsibility? Poor customer service? Poor product (even though its cheap)?
Due to developments in the PC market (you can read about it on my gaming blog), this is a question I've been thinking about recently. For me, overly draconian DRM is a killer.
But what about you (and hopefully, some of you will actually take the time to comment!)? Bad corporate social responsibility? Poor customer service? Poor product (even though its cheap)?
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Premier League
The coming weekend is a great weekend for Premiership football fans. For the first time in years, the race for the Premiership has gone to the final day. This weekend, we will finally find out who will be crowned the "best" team of 2007/08.
Or at least, thats how the weekend is being billed. In all honesty, does anyone seriously believe that Man Utd will slip up against Wigan?
Obviously, Fergies job is to ensure his team remain focused and beat Wigan. If the Man Utd players don't take Wigan seriously then it is entirely possible that they could slip up. However, Fergie has been in this position before. He is an experienced manager and I'm sure he knows exactly how to motivate his team.
Still, this is the closest its been in a while and it would be a shame to miss the spectacle.
The games are being played at 3:00pm in the UK which equates to a nice 10:00pm on Sunday evening for me as Gerry will be asleep. I guess its time to go buy a pack of Pringles and a sixpack of beer.
:)
Or at least, thats how the weekend is being billed. In all honesty, does anyone seriously believe that Man Utd will slip up against Wigan?
Obviously, Fergies job is to ensure his team remain focused and beat Wigan. If the Man Utd players don't take Wigan seriously then it is entirely possible that they could slip up. However, Fergie has been in this position before. He is an experienced manager and I'm sure he knows exactly how to motivate his team.
Still, this is the closest its been in a while and it would be a shame to miss the spectacle.
The games are being played at 3:00pm in the UK which equates to a nice 10:00pm on Sunday evening for me as Gerry will be asleep. I guess its time to go buy a pack of Pringles and a sixpack of beer.
:)
Monday, May 5, 2008
Time premium
As everyone knows, time equals money.
You can see this principle in action in business every day. For example, first class post will get you the letter delivered quicker than second class post but costs more. In terms of courier services, overnight shipping costs more than standard air delivery. Or to take yet another example, taking a taxi will get you to your destination quicker than taking a bus but also costs substantially more.
So, its basically accepted that you can get quicker service by paying more money. This also makes eminent economic business sense ("creaming the crop"). Different industries adopt this principle differently.
For example, if you go to a restaurant, you don't get the option of paying extra money to have the chef cook your meal first (for this purpose, I don't include slipping the waiter a bribe!). In the F&B industry, you cream the crop by offering better food and better service via fancy restaurants. Different operating model - same principle.
And now for the inevitable video game comparison.
In the past, the video game industry creamed the crop by offering older games at a reduced price. Fairly standard practice for retail goods - as the retail product gets older, reduce the price to try and capture more sales and create buzz around the product again. As I said, fairly standard practice.
However, recent game launches in HK show a very disturbing trend.
Most Xbox 360 games in HK sell at retail for around $300-330. Call of Duty 4, considered a AAA title and released in November 2007, retailed for $450-500. That is even assuming you could find a copy at retail (yes, the game completely sold out despite the high price point). Even now, this game is still selling at $400-450. The recent release of Grand Theft Auto IV, another AAA title, was at a retail price of $370-420.
Why are these games being sold for more than any other game on the system?
The only reason I can think of is that these games were highly anticipated AAA titles. Considering the history of the developers, you could be reasonably certain that these games would be good, if not great. More importantly, the publishers/retailers could also be reasonably certain that the games would sell even at the higher price point (which in fact, turned out to be the case).
And this pisses me off!!
I could swallow my bile and buy the game anyway. However, this is really hard to take considering that I can't help escape the feeling that I am being scalped. I look at the price point and my principles kick in and scream, "Nooooo! You are being ripped off simply because these companies know that morons like you will buy this game regardless of price! Don't do it! Take a stand with your principles!"
The problem is that if I don't buy the game, then I will be missing out on the huge buzz surrounding said game. I won't have a clue what everyone is talking in my gaming circles. In school terms, I will become the nerd kid that no-one wants to hang around with and is always picked last for the football team. You know, the kid with the Harry Potter glasses and Spiderman costume that provides all the jocks with lunch money. Of course, the really humiliating thing would be that, not only am I detested by jocks, I would now also be ostracised by the rest of the nerd community!
When Call of Duty 4 was released and I saw the price, I stood firm. I am a man of principle - I was NOT going to be scalped. Despite the flow of unbelievably positive reviews (how could any game get such good reviews?), I weathered the storm to my nerd cred and stood firm. I HELD THE LINE!!
When Grand Theft Auto 4 was released, I looked at the retail price and I stood firm. I am a man of principle - I was NOT going to be scalped. Once again, I would hold the line. And then the flow of even more unbelievably positive reviews started. It just wasn't possible! How could a game get an average review score of 99%?!?!?
I caved. I sold out my principles for the measly sum of HK$40 (at least I know how much they were worth now). You see before you a broken man, the tatters of his shattered principles fluttering in the wind. There is just one consolation in all this...
It really is a damn fine game.
You can see this principle in action in business every day. For example, first class post will get you the letter delivered quicker than second class post but costs more. In terms of courier services, overnight shipping costs more than standard air delivery. Or to take yet another example, taking a taxi will get you to your destination quicker than taking a bus but also costs substantially more.
So, its basically accepted that you can get quicker service by paying more money. This also makes eminent economic business sense ("creaming the crop"). Different industries adopt this principle differently.
For example, if you go to a restaurant, you don't get the option of paying extra money to have the chef cook your meal first (for this purpose, I don't include slipping the waiter a bribe!). In the F&B industry, you cream the crop by offering better food and better service via fancy restaurants. Different operating model - same principle.
And now for the inevitable video game comparison.
In the past, the video game industry creamed the crop by offering older games at a reduced price. Fairly standard practice for retail goods - as the retail product gets older, reduce the price to try and capture more sales and create buzz around the product again. As I said, fairly standard practice.
However, recent game launches in HK show a very disturbing trend.
Most Xbox 360 games in HK sell at retail for around $300-330. Call of Duty 4, considered a AAA title and released in November 2007, retailed for $450-500. That is even assuming you could find a copy at retail (yes, the game completely sold out despite the high price point). Even now, this game is still selling at $400-450. The recent release of Grand Theft Auto IV, another AAA title, was at a retail price of $370-420.
Why are these games being sold for more than any other game on the system?
The only reason I can think of is that these games were highly anticipated AAA titles. Considering the history of the developers, you could be reasonably certain that these games would be good, if not great. More importantly, the publishers/retailers could also be reasonably certain that the games would sell even at the higher price point (which in fact, turned out to be the case).
And this pisses me off!!
I could swallow my bile and buy the game anyway. However, this is really hard to take considering that I can't help escape the feeling that I am being scalped. I look at the price point and my principles kick in and scream, "Nooooo! You are being ripped off simply because these companies know that morons like you will buy this game regardless of price! Don't do it! Take a stand with your principles!"
The problem is that if I don't buy the game, then I will be missing out on the huge buzz surrounding said game. I won't have a clue what everyone is talking in my gaming circles. In school terms, I will become the nerd kid that no-one wants to hang around with and is always picked last for the football team. You know, the kid with the Harry Potter glasses and Spiderman costume that provides all the jocks with lunch money. Of course, the really humiliating thing would be that, not only am I detested by jocks, I would now also be ostracised by the rest of the nerd community!
When Call of Duty 4 was released and I saw the price, I stood firm. I am a man of principle - I was NOT going to be scalped. Despite the flow of unbelievably positive reviews (how could any game get such good reviews?), I weathered the storm to my nerd cred and stood firm. I HELD THE LINE!!
When Grand Theft Auto 4 was released, I looked at the retail price and I stood firm. I am a man of principle - I was NOT going to be scalped. Once again, I would hold the line. And then the flow of even more unbelievably positive reviews started. It just wasn't possible! How could a game get an average review score of 99%?!?!?
I caved. I sold out my principles for the measly sum of HK$40 (at least I know how much they were worth now). You see before you a broken man, the tatters of his shattered principles fluttering in the wind. There is just one consolation in all this...
It really is a damn fine game.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Chelsea 3-2 Liverpool
And just like that, Liverpool are out of the Champions Cup. Admittedly, I wasn't particularly surprised to see Chelsea reach the final after the 1-1 draw at Anfield last week. Having said that, Liverpool did manage to play a lot better than I expected. Although they didn't reach the final, they gave a fine effort and did the team proud.
Although I'm disappointed that Liverpool didn't make it to the final, I have to say that I'm very proud that we have an all English final this year. For years, people have been saying that the Premiership is the best league in the world. Despite this, English teams hardly ever won the Champions Cup. And now, not only will we have an English team lifting the cup, we have an all English final.
Wow.
Although I'm disappointed that Liverpool didn't make it to the final, I have to say that I'm very proud that we have an all English final this year. For years, people have been saying that the Premiership is the best league in the world. Despite this, English teams hardly ever won the Champions Cup. And now, not only will we have an English team lifting the cup, we have an all English final.
Wow.
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