Friday Freebie - More Versatile Than Betamax

Got a bunch of videos on your computer? Sure, of course you do. In fact, what with all the BitTorrent movies, Comedy Central clips, and porn, I'll bet your hard drive is overflowing with video. Too bad it's all in different formats, requiring different players. It makes watching your favorites a hassle. Luckily, there is an answer, and it doesn't involve re-encoding everything. All it takes is VLC:

VLC is a media player capable of playing back just about any video file type you can throw at it. You can play one file at a time, or queue up a full play list, and sit back and enjoy an entire season of 24 without ever touching your mouse. The player is sleek and uncluttered, and while the interface is a little boring, it's just one less thing to distract you from the actual video.

And best of all (besides the whole free thing), there are versions available for 16 different operating systems! So unless you're on an Amiga or some other weird ass OS, you should have no trouble getting VLC up and running.

Check out VLC's website here, and grab your downloads here. Do it now - those Jenna Jameson vids aren't going to play themselves.

Tuesday Trainwreck - What's So Hard About Bending Air? Look, I'm Doing It Right Now

A couple years back, anime (aka Japanimation) became huge in the states. Thanks to it, we have such gems as Pokeman and Yu Gi Oh - however the hell you spell that. But apparently, all that authentic Japanese anime wasn't enough for Nickelodeon. Yes, the network does still exist, and it's more craptacular than ever. And they're bringing us pseudo-anime in the guise of Avatar - The Last Airbender:



Now I admit, I don't know that much about the series. In fact, I hadn't even really heard of it until seeing a review of an Avatar game over on X-Play. But I can tell you this - it's stupid. Apparently, some kid gets frozen in snow, and wakes hundreds of years later to find the Earth taken over by the forces of fire. So, Avatar starts bending air in order to defeat them. Yeah, I don't get it either. I mean, I'm no scientist, but doesn't pushing air into a fire just make the fire stronger?

As I mentioned earlier, this isn't even real anime anyway. This stuff was created right here in the U.S. Okay, it was probably made in Indonesia or something, but that doesn't make it anime, cause it was conceived here in the states. So even die-hard anime fans need not apply for this stuff.

Short story shorter, don't even bother getting started on this one. While the show does seem to have a loyal fanbase, it's just a group of guys that were oxygen deprived due to all the air bending going on around them, so they don't know any better. What's your excuse? Exactly. Go bend something else. I don't really care what, just do it with style. You know, like Beckham.

Someone Tell Good Charlotte That Goth Is Over

We all know that music is half about the artist's image, but some bands just seem to try too hard. The Stones still pretend to be young, Diddy still pretends to be fresh, and Justin Timberlake still pretends that he can sing. And then there's Good Charlotte, who dropped a new album a couple weeks back called Good Morning Revival. As if enough people didn't hate these guys already, they're playing the tortured souls. Do 13 year old girls even care at this point?

This group has taken a lot of flack since day one. Many thought of them as Green Day junior when they first hit the scene, and that's not too far off. But the rip is, that wasn't really a bad thing. Of all the bands of the time to be compared to, they could have done much worse. And, to top it off, they had a good sound.

The fact now is, they still have a good sound. Their music has evolved over the years, moving to an alt/rock mix that's all their own. And yet the image holds them back. Even gamers, the very people that understand what it's like to be outcasts, don't run with them (and I say that as a proud gamer, so all the haters can lay off). Case in point - Microsoft gave them Artist of the Month status on XBox Live to debut the single Keep Your Hands Off My Girl from the new album, and everybody talked trash about them. Granted, that's not exactly the hottest cut off the new disk, but I don't remember that many people mouthin' off when Jessica Simpson was Artist of the Month. I guess having a nice rack lets you get away with shit...

While it's true that the "tortured loner" feel is all over this album, the tracks are still catchy and easy to groove to. Break Apart Her Heart and Dance Floor Anthem are two definite standouts, so if you're not willing to pony up for the whole album, at least consider dropping a couple bucks for those singles at your download service of choice. And remember, this kind of image crap is all just record company PR bullshit. At the end of the day, you should make your music choices based on the music, and not who's singing it. Of course, that doesn't mean I encourage anyone to go out and listen to Madonna - that bitch is crazy.

Where Have All The Wii's Gone?

We live in a country built on mass consumerism. If you've got money to spend, there's a store with a product to sell you. It's the American way. But apparently, it's not the Japanese way. And this brings us to our question - where the hell are all the Wii's?

According to Wikipedia, the Wii was released here in the states on November 19, 2006 to rave reviews. Everyone and their brother had to have one. Lines stretched for miles, the black market was overrun with Wii's, and men and women alike performed unspeakable sexual acts just for the opportunity to purchase a console. Combine that with the holidays, and the console supply was understandably scarce. But that was 6 freakin' months ago.

Here we are, April 2007, and the Nintendo isle is still surprising bare at most retailers. Small shipments arrive once every few weeks, and sell out faster than the Rolling Stones during a halftime show. About the only store that gets a steady supply of stock is the Nintendo World Store in NYC.

So what's going on? Some are speculating that N is holding back consoles so their profit margins don't get too out of whack. At this point, that's about the only reason there could be. There's certainly no manufacturing issues - the damn console is a GameCube in a rectangular case.

Whatever the reason, this nonsense has to stop. Gamers have been waiting patiently for months now, but the frustration levels are rising. Nintendo needs to ship a whole bunch of these things ASAP, and retailers need to put them on the shelves immediately. No more of that waiting for the Sunday sale crap. As an American, it's my right to throw my money away on frivolous items that I don't really need. God Bless America!

Friday Freebie - Spies Like Them

For one day only here at the Atomic Playground, we're running a Friday Freebie special - two for the price of none. That's right, we're giving you a 2-fer, just like at Ruby Tuesday. But if you're getting buzzed off of this, you're either doing something really wrong, or really right.

This week's freebie picks up where last week's left off, with computer security. You may think that virus protection is all you need to keep you safe while trolling the interwebs, but I got news for ya pal - there are spies out there, lurking in the shadows, just waiting for you to make the wrong move. And when you do, they'll be all up in your grill. Yes, I'm talking spyware. The fact is, even if you play it safe, you're still at risk. So here are two tools to help you evade the spies and keep you flying under the radar. First up is Ad-Aware:

This one is probably the best known spyware killer, and it works great. It offers intelligent scanning and full on-demand system scanning. There are new definition updates available all the time, and the automatic spyware removal is quick and painless. Plus, it's got a slick looking interface. For the casual user, it's easy to fire up and start scanning. But for the advanced nerd, there are plenty of options to tweak out your scanning preferences.

But that's not the only game in town. Next up is Spybot - Search & Destroy:


While perhaps not as widely known, this scanner has a large following. It's great at tracking down that pesky spyware and adware that's hiding deep in the recesses of your registry. It too offers frequent updates and automatic removal of the bad stuff, so usage is a snap.

So which one of the above should you get? Both. And I'm not saying that just because they're free, although that is a pretty good reason. The fact is, while each of them does an excellent job, they each do their jobs a little differently. So what one scanner may miss, the other will catch. By using both, you're getting some damn good protection. One item to mention though - neither of these scanners will protect you in real time. They're both "after the fact" scanners, meaning they'll remove spyware and adware that has already infected your machine. So, don't go clicking on anything just because you've got these guys installed. That's just asking for trouble.

You can check out Ad-Aware here, and download it here. And Spybot can be seen here, and downloaded here. And for those of you internet vets complaining that you already have this stuff, and want a different freebie, tough. We've got to help the noobs out from time to time too.

It's A Sony Price Drop - No, Not The PS3, And No, Not The PS2

Sony has finally listened to the masses, and issued a price drop on one of its video game devices. Unfortunately, it's the one that nobody cares about. No, I don't mean the PS3. It's the PSP, and the core unit - the one that doesn't come with any accessories - is now $169.99.

Rumor has it that the price drop came because big-box retailers couldn't sell the damn thing, and were threatening to pull it from the shelves. So, will the new price point make this the must have portable? No. What, you want an explanation why not? Well, there's practically no decent games, the controls are a pain, the battery life sucks, and it's still $40 more than the DS. But hey, it sure looks good. Too bad gamers are ashamed to be seen in public carrying one of these things.

This is definitely a step in the right direction, but there's still a long way to go if Sony wants to conquer the portable market. And it's the same story as with the PS3 - they need good games. Yes, price is a factor, but people will shell out the cash if they have a compelling reason to. And right now, that's just not there. So while the price is low enough that this could be considered an impulse buy, there's just no reason to go for it at this point.

If you're looking for a good portable gaming system, the DS is still the way to go. Sorry Sony, but looks aren't everything.

Tuesday Trainwreck - Baseball Is Boring

The GameCube is dead. Yeah, I said it. So what? You wanna fight about it? I didn't think so. Hell, even the big N themselves have kicked the little cube to the curb, in favor of the shiny new Wii. God, I hate that name...

So what does console death mean in this day and age? It means no decent games are coming out. Instead, we get trash like this - Backyard Sports Baseball 2007:

Can't afford a real baseball game for your console? If that's the case, this game is targeted at you. It's also targeted at children under 3, people suffering from some sort of mental retardation, and anyone who enjoys eating lead paint. Basically, those too dumb to know any better, or too poor to care.

Having said that, there's nothing redeeming about this game. Hell, there's nothing redeeming about the sport of baseball. It's just a bunch of prettyboys "adjusting" themselves on a field. They even run and hide inside when it starts raining. Nothing but a bunch of wussies if you ask me. And talk about boring. If I wanted to watch a bunch of guys stand around and do nothing for 3 hours, I'd watch C-SPAN, or go to Home Depot. Now there's a workforce that knows how to kill time.

I guess I should get on with the game review, but honestly, I just don't care about this one. Just trust me when I tell you it's bad. It's really bad. If you're desperate for a cheap baseball game, go hit the used stores and grab a copy of MVP or 2K Baseball from a couple years back. Otherwise, you're just throwing your money away.

(Note: If this feature were called Wednesday Trainwreck instead, the winner would be Luxor 2 on the XBLA. It's an Egyptian-themed puzzle game that's just really boring - baseball boring. You've probably never heard of the first one, since only about 4 copies were sold worldwide. But, since it was a PSP title, 4 copies means that it qualifies as Player's Choice. In any event, stay away, and buy TMNT with those points if you haven't already.)

I Want My MP3!

Digital music downloads have been a controversial topic for some time now. Sure, they let you grab only the tracks you want, when you want them, for about a buck a song. But, those songs are basically crippled thanks to the loveliness that is DRM. Depending on where you buy the songs from, you might not be able to burn them on CD, play them on another computer, or put them on your mobile device of choice. But finally, the tides are turning.

Back in February, I commented on an open letter from Steve Jobs asking the recording industry to drop DRM in favor of a more open business model. I was skeptical of his motives, and frankly, I still am, but the proof is in the pudding. Yum, pudding.

As if people didn't have enough reason to use iTunes, they just got one more. EMI and Apple, in a joint announcement over the weekend, stated that DRM free music would be coming to iTunes this May. How much music? All of it. That's right, EMI's entire digital catalog will now be available DRM free. That means you can do anything you want with the files after you buy them, including posting them on P2P sites. As if that weren't enough, the music will also be encoded at a higher bit rate than it currently is - 256 kbps.

Of course, there are downsides. The biggest is that this new format will cost more - $1.29 per song. Also, the tunes will only be available in AAC format, so no MP3 for you. Still, that's a fairly small downside. And for those of you that like your music cheap and restricted, the original 99 cent, FairPlay locked files will still be available.

If you've already purchased EMI music through iTunes, you'll have the opportunity to "upgrade" to the new files for 30 cents a song when the catalog goes live. Of course, that assumes you live under a rock and haven't figured out how to remove the DRM yourself. Google is your friend.

There's no word yet on when the other labels will get on board, but it's only a matter of time at this point. And for those of you morally opposed to using iTunes, the DRM free EMI catalog will be making its way to other digital music retailers after the iTunes release. Each retailer will even get a say in what file type and bit rate are used, so there should be plenty of choices in the market once everything shakes out.

Finally, the sun is rising on the digital music horizon. How many years did it take? Still, better late than never. And you've really got to hand it to Jobs. He makes things happen. Take that Bill Gates - you got served!