the best heroes yet

if you are not aware, heroes is a tv show on nbc that's story continues week to week and is unfolded with each episode, much like 24. the show is formed around the idea of, "what if we discovered humans who had superpowers?" it could be likened to a live action comic book. in fact stan lee creator of characters such as spider man, had a cameo last week.

last night's episode 17 has been the best of the season. most of the episodes leave you with many more questions than answers and you almost feel as though there is no climax. it is not your traditional cliffhanger ending, but you are left wanting more, just unsure that you know anything more than previously.

last night questions were answered, much of the backstory was told, we found out the truth about bennet, claire, the haitian, we found out more about primatech papers, and saw some well done special effects for a television show.

i applaud the efforts of this show. it took a risk entering the tv market this and has been successful at creating a world of superheroes.

how wide spread is the 360 problem?

according to gigagamez, highly. of course this report is due to a google search, as they discuss, but it does show a larger number of 360's needing repairs.

Search “defective 360″: 2810 returns
Search “defective PS3″: 1570 returns
Search “defective Wii”: 931 returns

with all of the problems being reported, we can assume that it is a larger problem than with the other consoles. it now after 1 and 1/2 years, is well known about. continually , we also hear about the problems with customer service. you can read about this from loyal fan who returned 7 machines,
and even at the xbox forums.

it is a shame that such a "good" product with xbox live, which is simply the best in the business, would have such a high failure rates with hardware. while Microsoft claims it is 3-5%, others have claimed that it is much higher between 30-50%.

further adventures of xbox 360 customer service

so, a week later, i still have not received a box to ship my 360 back. i have already paid the fee to have it repaired. so i call customer service to ask when my shipping box will arrive. although i was told one was on its way, today i was told it was my responsibility and they are waiting for it.

after requesting a supervisor, i asked if they would follow up with the previous representative, who was also a "supervisor" (requested because i couldn't understand the rep i was speaking with) on the mistake, because they told me i would receive the box in 3-5 days. the response was "our policy is that we do not send out boxes for repairs out of warranty." this was repeated when i asked again.

so not only was this mistake made and slowing the process, they refused to do any follow up with their employees who made the mistake.

Lord of the Rings Online : Stress Test Begins Friday, Feb. 23rd - PLAY FREE

Lord of the Rings Online Stress Test begins tomorrow, February 23rd! Get your free Stress Test account here -> http://www.gamespot.com/betas/lord_of_the_rings_online/index.php



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Google still seeks TV partner

The hunt is still on for Web giant Google to find a willing television partner, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The Journal said the company, which bought YouTube for $1.7 billion four months ago, has been aggressively courting various television networks in order to distribute their content on the popular online video site.



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Funny Excuses to Stay Home from School

All of these are real excuses that people have written to "excuse" their children from school. Some of them are pretty unbelievable.



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stan lee on heroes

stan lee, the creator of spiderman and other legendary comic book superheroes, made a cameo appearance on heroes last night. he played a bus driver who interacted with hiro nakamura. i wonder if something like this would happen at some point in the show.

xbox 360 failure; again

this is the second time my 360 will go in for repairs. i got mine pre-ordered originally. about 6 months down the line it failed. microsoft repaired it with no problem. now when i received it at about 4 weeks later, i called to buy the "extended warranty," but i was told that i couldn't because it had already been the 30 day time to purchase although i didn't even have it at that time. that was 6 months from the original purchase.

about 7 months now from that repair, it again is flashing the three red lights of death. oddly enough failing at about the same time frame as the first time. now, don't be confused by the recent news articles of xbox extending the warranties by a year. i must have misread this because it simply meant that you have a year from the original purchase date, not an extended year. this means that my console and moicrosoft's repairs 7 months ago have no coverage. this requires me to pay for repairs on a piece of hardware that's life span is currently no longer than 7 months.

to top it off, the woman i spoke with was very difficult to understand. she was also having trouble explaining anything to me, putting me on hold frequently. i began asking for a supervisor. every time, the same woman got on the phone with a new statement. i asked again. after the 5th request and now being offered a 25% discount a supervisor came on the phone. she suggested i schedule a call back with repairs, because there might be an outstanding issue. i asked if an "outstanding issue" would come with repairs then at no cost. one would think so. however, when she came back, i was told i would still need to pay for the repair even if there was an "outstanding issue" with my xbox. then, why would i wait for a call back? if i still have to pay...

from what you read online and even at the xbox forums, this is happening frequently. on two 360's the failure rate is 100%.

The 360's failure rates are bad enough

The games a system plays are only half the story of why we buy and love this console over that one. The very act of owning a console is made up of many things: everything from how well the stock controller works to how the company deals with us if/when the system has an issue. When it comes to customer service, Microsoft is failing miserably.



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14 Biggest Game Myths Debunked!

Pretty eye-opening. Common misconceptions about the game industry are debunked. Every video game consumer should read this!



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This Day In Tech: Kevin Mitnick Arrested

Feb. 15, 1995 - Perhaps the most celebrated cracking case in history begins with the arrest of Kevin Mitnick by the FBI on charges of wire fraud and breaking into the computer systems of several major corporations.



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360Zine Issue 3: Free Gaming Magazine - now available

the third issue of the 360Zine is now available for free download. As usual, there is a lot of great gaming content. Be sure to check out the Crackdown developer interview, as well as the audio interview on page 29.



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The Old Spice Challenge is Challenged

The Microsoft Rewards program went live with some bumps in the road yesterday, Feb 12th. It seems that some gamers were a bit annoyed when the site didn’t go live at midnight while others were annoyed after taking the day off to unlock achievements, they couldn’t register until around 5pm PST.



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No DRM Could Mean Cheaper Music

Even if Steve Jobs' essay last week -- in which the Apple chief questioned the wisdom of continuing to sell music wrapped in digital rights management -- was a negotiating tactic designed to give Apple an advantage during impending license renewal negotiations, as some have suggested, Jobs' proposal is still spurring lots of discussion.



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LEGO Star Wars: Photos of the Complete 30th Anniversary Collection

Straight from the Toy Fair in NYC, here's a gallery of every set from the LEGO Star Wars 30th Anniversary Collection.



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Music Sales Would Explode Without DRM

Without restrictions on entire catalogs, "Sales would explode," says David Pakman, CEO of eMusic, the No. 2 online music retailer behind Apple's iTunes. "DRM has been holding the market back." His company is the only legitimate digital music service selling unrestricted songs, in the MP3...



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The Biggest Lego Set Ever Made Does Point Five Past Lightspeed

Made of over 5,000 pieces, and almost 3 feet long, this $499 Millennium Falcon is the biggest LEGO set ever made or sold.



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more from heroes

Last file 4 a while. Go 2 primatechpaper.com, find helix. Same place as b4. Usrnme: bennet pwrd: claire. Matt's code: MPggtn75x Rembr: Usrnme always bennet

truly in the game

facial recognition. you've gotta love it. these are from rainbow six: vegas. using the xbox 360's camera, you can insert your face to be used as the character model in the game. truly amazing.

brevard zoo

visit our entire zoo photo collection.

3D Star Wars Cartoon News

"Pierre from Mintinbox.com send us word that they've posted a video interview with Rob Coleman online. It's from the recent Imagina 2007 event. In the video they discuss Lucasfilm's upcoming 3D animated Star Wars series. In the video Coleman divulges a few interesting details. Click here to check out the video now!"

More here.

february 9th in history

February 9th in History
1923: Soviet Aeroflot airlines established
1950: Senator Joseph McCarthy says the US State Department is infested with communists
1970: World's first nerve transplant, in Germany
1971: First British soldier killed in Northern Ireland
1989: Neo-Nazi groups outlawed in West Germany
1992: Fighting between government and guerrilla forces in Rwanda
1994: Israeli minister Shimon Perez signs accord with PLO's Yasser Arafat.


February 9th birthdays
1700: Daniel Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician
1909: Carmen Miranda, Brazilian actress.
1943: Joe Pesci, American actor.
1945: Mia Farrow, American film actress

Hershey's Chocolate Founded In 1894.

others born today

and norbit open february 9th, 2007. that's one for the record books, mr. murphy.

my wife. birthdays. friends. cake by my wife. and my dog who thinks he's a card shark.

6 months in melbourne = 20 pounds

couldn't believe it. stepped on the scale the other day and it was reporting 197 lbs. whne i moved here in august the same scale was nice enough to say 175. our jr high and high school groups eat out every tuesday and wednesday evening. i guess i could not eat at the mall, but i get hungry. i might also try eating like subway or something like that. supposedly you lose weight eating there, according to their commercials. don't think it's true.

Feb. 7, 2000: Mafiaboy's Moment

It is, at the time, one of the largest denial-of-service attacks ever staged. Several major commercial websites, including CNN.com, Amazon.com, eBay and Yahoo, are rendered inaccessible to their customers by the attack, which is later traced to a 16-year-old Canadian miscreant using the handle Mafiaboy.



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New site that ties in with Heroes is up

I have a special ability. If it's digital information, I can see it, hear it, navigate it, and manipulate it. I don't need to plug into a desktop of a PDA to do so either. It all just comes to me.



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primatech paper part 4

"Get to know Ted, too: Go to http://www.primatechpaper.com and find the helix. Same place as before. Username: bennet / password: claire. Ted's code: TSntz14b. Remember: Username is always bennet."

as before the helix is on the "About Us" page. it is up on the logo. when you click it the page will roll back. just so you know ted is the third file down the sheet.

Quick Tip: Make Windows Vista Look Like XP

If you aren't a fan of Windows' new look, learn how to turn your operating system's style back a few years. Just a few simple tweaks and you will have the same layout again.



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360 Splinter Cell to Get Female Characters

Independent PlayStation Magazine says one thing, Ubi says another. Looks like it will be available as downloadable content in the near future.



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overheard during the superbowl

"there's too much football and not enough commercials."

i knew people watched this just for the commercials. also, the bear were way overmatched.

kings of bling

this is the hottest new hip hop group to hit the airwaves. their styles are fresh, the rhymes dope, and the beats, oh the beats... original. straight from the 321 i give you "the kings of bling."

power tips to windows vista

"Disable UAC: Roast me over the hot, user-specific coals if you want for this one, but Vista's annoying "Windows needs your permission to continue" dialogs are nothing short of a total nuisance during your PC's initial setup, especially since they appear every time you try to install software. Here's how to disable User Account Control to install your favorite proggies in peace. Should you turn it back on when you're done? Well sure. It is a big part of Vista's new security strategy. But you know what you're doing, so I trust you'll make the right decision either way."

this along with many other tips i agree with fully. the uac is an annoying popup that continues to warn you about everything you do on a vista machine. now, it serves it's purpose, but it gets annoying to know that you are using your mouse.

24 season 6 online

in case you miss a show or want to go back, it's great to know you can find them online. fox orlando is offering quite a few shows online for free after they have aired. 24 is one of them. check it out.