One More Time

- Last night I re-installed Tiger using the archive & install method. I was hoping for some dramatic improvements, and that perhaps all my problems would be fixed. Didn’t happen. Aside from TextEdit’s save function being as fast as it should be, there were no real improvements; the text wrapping problem remained, and Automator is still fucked. I didn’t detect some of the other problems I listed last time, but time would bring those out.

So I decided to follow some advice that was suggested on YayHooray and re-reinstalled Tiger, with the archive & install method yet again. But this time, I also backed up my preference folder; after the restart, I trashed the active copy along with the previous system folder, then immediately did a restart for an extra fresh copy of the OS. It had been suggested back when troubles first came up, but was hesitant since I was still thinking in OS 9 terms; in Classic, preference files often contained such essential info like serial numbers and the such, so I didn’t want to risk loosing them and end with a locked app. Once I finally got the picture that preferences files don’t work that way in OS X, I got rid of them all for a fresh folder in return, then simply picked and chose and dragged back older ones when they were needed (which in my cases was only two Apple apps, Mail and iChat, and a few other random others, mostly emulators).

By the time I was finished, it was time for work, so I didn’t have time to go through another battery of tests. Guess I’ll find out tonight…
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- One reason why I was up till 4 in the morning was all my Tiger diagnosing. But the other was my allergies, which has stuffed up my nose so bad that I can’t even sleep. I must say, I can’t recall any other time where I’ve had so many friends all messed up due to allergies, and all at the same time. Anyway, to help pass the very late nights, I’ve been trying to catch up on some games, but the thing is I really need a new tv bad since the one I have is going bad; the image is ever so slightly blurry, which makes playing hi-res games, or ones that have dark and detailed graphics, and especially anything with text, a real headache to play.

So I’ve been playing Starfox Assault for the past few nights. Even though the game has gotten a ton of hate, I rather enjoyed my experience with it at a Nintendo press and picked it up anyway. Well, everyone else was correct afterall, cuz the game does indeed flat-out suck.

The first level is awesome because it plays just like the Starfox of old (which is why I liked my brief first encouter with the game). I’m a diehard fan of the original, but have not enjoyed any of the sequels, even Starfox 64. Call me boring, but I’m not a big fan of “variety” in certain games, and the subsequent Starfox titles are a prime example of this; just like in Sonic Adventure where I could give a rat’s ass about some stupid cat that could fish, I just want to fly and shoot in a Starfox game, and that’s it (just as how with Sonic Adventure, I just want to run and jump and enemies, period). Don’t give me any of this tank driving bullshit, and certainly any out of the vehicle, on-foot action. Its all an attempt at adding different gameplay modes, but I’d much rather have one very strong one instead of a bunch of others that are less refined all slapped together.

Also, it doesn’t help that the controls are broken. The original Starfox on the SNES controlled perfectly, so why the need to mess it up? And I can’t stand all the hate for on-rails shooting, since I find the free roaming flying and shooting levels just as tedious here as it was on the N64 version. But on the plus side, some of the graphics is certainly nice (though I’m assuming it would be much better on a decent display) and the music is pretty hot. Hell, I even like its rendition of Starfox theme, though I still fail to see why Nintendo has always chosen to ignore the brilliant music in the SNES version.

- As for today, its been revealed that someone has created a Game Boy emulator for the PSP, marking yet another massive step forward for the homebrew/emu scene. Unfortunately, much like the thing I passed along before, you’ll need a Japanese PSP, and one that still has firmware version 1.0 (all US PSPs came shipped with v1.5). But hey, its still a start.

- I also forgot to mentioned yesterday that 1UP just posted a really good look at Gunstar Super Heroes, which includes an ultra hot video of the game in action. Plus I also forgot to pass along the link to Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s English blog, which is also on 1UP. Man, what a coup for ZiffDavis; seems as if 1UP finally has some good stuff going on (hey I kid, there’s tons of awesome stuff, its just that’s fucking impossible to sort through due to the site’s ultra shitty coding).

- Back to Apple real quick, you can now buy music from Final Fantasy via the iTunes store (click this link to access it). Awesome! And for so many reasons: to the best of my knowledge, this might be the biggest initiative to sell game music (including chiptunes) on such a massive scale. Hopefully this will be successful enough to see similar releases; at the very least, I’d like to see some of the arranged Final Fantasy soundtracks available, like Dear Friends.

- Even more Xbox 360 info was leaked today, and still no word on backwards compatibility. I think its safe to assume that it ain’t gonna happen, which totally blows. I know there has been no real details from Microsoft thus far, but still, its such a major feature that if it was happening, something more official should have at least hinted towards it by now. I’ve heard from more than one source that “they’re working on it” but that’s not much conciliation.

One has to wonder then the exact reason why. Most state its because of the difference in technology, but so there was one between the PSone and PS2, so that doesn’t mean anything (and this is Microsoft we’re talking about… if anyone would have the means to figuring out how to run software, they should be it. But then again, we’re talking about MS). Maybe MS just doesn’t care? Perhaps.

Folks have been accusing of MS acting arrogant, stemming back to their GDC presentation, and all the way to their recent decision to unveil their new system on Xbox with a bunch of celebrities instead of E3, and I have to say that I’m starting to agree. As much as I’ve always despised MS, I’ve been quite happy with the success that Xbox has had, since it proves that a dark horse can come in and make a huge impact, but nothing worse than letting success making you blind and greedy. Guess they didn’t notice that backwards compatibility was a major reason why the PS2 was so enticing right out of the gate, despite a rather lackluster selection of software. And in this day and age where there’s so many systems floating about, its all the more important. I only have so many inputs on my TV.
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- Anyway, I’m trying to maximize the extra time I have since I know its not going to last for much longer. In addition to reading the copious amount of comics courtesy of MK, I have to see Oldboy (which I first saw way back when) on the big screen while its still in town. If it happens to be playing near you, or will so soon, you seriously need to see this movie. Here’s the trailer btw. And yeah, its another lame-ass American produced trailer that doesn’t do the original any service, but its better than nothing I guess.

- And sticking with movie trailers, here’s one for Mindgames, which combines anime and live actors. Feels like a mix of FLCL and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

- And here’s the intro to some Japanese show that I know absolutely nothing about, but it’s my mission to get at least ten seasons of it. Its also further proof of how lame American television is these days. Want proof?

- Back to movies, I guess I should comment on the new Harry Potter trailer. Obviously there’s not too much to comment on since its only a teaser, but thus far it looks as if there’s potential (though diehard Potter fans everywhere seem to vehemently hate it with a passion… I’ll get back to that in a second). Initially I was a bit worried since Alfonso Cuaron wasn’t on board since he made Prisoner of Azkaban so fucking fantastic (to the point that its even made the first two films almost boring in comparison) but now I’m hopefully curious.

But back to Harry Potter fans, I’m one of them, but I have to admit, I’m generally low-key about it due to the fact that diehard Potter seem to be getting progressively more and more annoying. Its one of things where the fans have managed to damper my enthusiasm over something; most Potter fans I’m sorry to say that many of them are sorta sad and creepy (though this doesn’t apply to any of my friends if anyone is thinking that way). Granted, fandom can ruin almost anything, but I can almost always respect, or even understand , the behavior to some degree. Hey, its a pretty goofy for a grown man to dress like an elf or a storm trooper, that’s at least a tiny bit more dignified that dressing up as some 13 year old boy, if you catch my drift.

I didn’t always feel this way, but I guess its all due to the fact that I cannot allow myself to duped into thinking the fifth book was anything besides crap. Okay, maybe that’s a bit harsh, and perhaps I should give the book one more shot, but all I can say is that I’ve read the prior four books maybe five or six times, each, and I’ve only managed to trudge my way through the fifth one book just once, and recalling being mostly bored to tears 90% And that much talked about death scene at the end. Extremely anticlimactic (and dare I say, very gay). Most folks seem to have issue with Harry’s characterization as an annoying, bratty teen, and I didn’t have a problem with that. I just found the book really boring as hell.

- And back to geeks dressing up, I’m having a hard time figuring out if this is for real or not.