I Work For The Internet
We work for the Internet. And we’re guessing many of you do too. Whether it’s researching, selling, coding, supporting, designing — so many of our careers depend on the Internet.
One argument that’s been made to Congress is that the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is needed to protect American jobs. In truth, the new liabilities this bill would impose on startups could stop American innovation in its tracks.
To make this clear to Congress, we’ve built IWorkForTheInternet.org to show the world how many of our careers depend on the Internet.
If you work for the Internet, please add yourself and spread the word.
Source: staff
Astro A40 Headset Black
Astro A40 Audio System quick impressions
(photo from Astro’s site)
I received my A40 yesterday! I was impressed right-away by the packaging. Both the headset and MixAmp came in large heavy black boxes with orange accent color inside. They sell you on the quality of the product before you even get into the product itself. The headset comes inside of a heavy duty travel case too (I’ll try to post photos later). The build quality of both the A40 headset and MixAmp feel great.
I gave the system a test run last night on my Xbox 360 with Borderlands co-op. I’m not sure if it’s the best 5.1 mixed game, but I was quite impressed with how easily I could pick-out the direction of my co-op friends and enemies just from the audio. The biggest plus over regular headphones was being able to voice chat while enjoying being enveloped by the in-game sound.
The only downside I can see so far is the amount of cable clutter, because these headphones are not wireless. If you don’t use batteries for the MixAmp it requires a USB cable for power, plus the optical audio cable from the console. You then plug the headset into the amp, and when on 360 you run another cable from the controller to the amp for voice chat (up to 4 cables to/from the amp). It’s not too bad though for the features you get. On PC you can run it through just USB if you want.
That’s my quick impressions so far. Overall I’m quite happy with the A40 Audio System. I just need to buy some longer optical cables and maybe some cable sleeving to cutdown on cable clutter from the console (combine the USB and optical).
Ordered: Astro A40 Audio System
I found that Dell.com has the best price for the Astro A40. I opted for the A40 instead of the new smaller A30 because I like the over ear style headphones, and from Dell they cost about the same.
To justify the price:
- I just got my tax return and I plan to save the rest of it.
- I was thinking about getting an extra $109 1.5 TB hard drive (that I don’t really need).
- I needed a new Xbox 360 headset anyway (at least $30 for a good one).
- I have a large backlog of games I need to play, so with some restraint I won’t be buying any other games for at least a month.
- Playing Borderlands co-op with my friends. Voice chat + 5.1 sound.
- I’ve been doing lots of PC gaming with headphones on. Upgrade!
Update: A few more justifications for my buying expensive headphones.
- It’s like 4+ headsets in 1; supports PC/Mac, 360, PS3 etc. It would get pricy if I needed different headsets for each.
- I can enjoy 5.1 sound in games without inflicting it on my neighbors or girlfriend.
- I have a thing for headphones, I find myself looking at them in stores when I don’t even need or want any.
Astro A40 Audio System - I really want this $250 gaming headset/amp. 5.1 Dolby and Dolby Surround Headphone, full voice chat support across Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. I think I may save-up and invest in a set.
Ordered my first few gaming PC components
Due to price and my Amazon Prime membership, I’ve ordered a few components that were priced best on Amazon. I took into account the free shipping and lack of sales tax also.
- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 GHz 6M L2 $167.99
- Logitech 967740-0403 $17.98
It looks like I’ll be getting everything else from Tiger Direct.
Pricing Gaming PC Components
Here’s what I’ve been looking at so far for my budget/mid gaming PC. (Updated 3 times)
Possible Motherboards (trying to stay $100 or under):
- Gigabyte P45 DDR3-2200X4 $102.81
- Gigabyte EP45T-UD3LR $99.99
- Gigabyte EP43-UD3L $79.99
- MSI P45 Neo3-FR $95.24
- XFX nForce 750i SLI Extreme $129.99
- XFX nForce 780i 3-Way SLI + CPU Bundle - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 $359.99
Includes the CPU I’m interested in. Might be a little too pricy though…
CPU:
- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.0 GHz 6M L2 $167.99
A solid, slightly older Intel that will have plenty of power without costing a ton.
CPU Cooling (under $30):
Possible Graphics Cards (Trying to stay around $200):
- EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX260 $184.99
- EVGA GeForce GTX 275 $219.99*
- EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 $154.99
Hard Drive:
- Hitachi 1TB 7200RPM $79.99
RAM (May perhaps decide the motherboard I buy due to price):
- Corsair XMS3 4GB (DDR3) $82.99
- Corsair XMS2 4GB (DDR2) $44.99
Optical Drive:
- Samsung DVDRW $29.99
Keyboard:
- Logitech 967740-0403 $14.99
I already have my case + power supply and maybe a good sound card:
Display:
- Dell 24” LCD (already own)
Mouse:
- Logitech G5 (already own)
Speakers:
- Harman Kardon SoundSticks II (already own)
The Gamer's Girl
Here’s a link for my girlfriend, and all my guy friends’ girlfriends.
The Gamer’s Girl Blog is meant to offer support and wisdom to those who date, have fallen in love with, or are married to a gamer. Much like being a house wife or soldier’s wife, being involved with a gamer has it’s own set of rules, rewards, and challenges.
[Via kotaku.com]
I bought this PC case off a friend yesterday. I plan to build a strictly for gaming PC with it. I already have a 24” LCD too, so I just need the PC guts and an OS.
It’s already got a power supply, DVD drive, and sound card. I think I’ll upgrade the DVD drive, and may need to upgrade the sound card if it doesn’t play nice with Windows 7. I’ve got to do my research for a parts list now… It should be a fun hobby.
Component suggestions are welcome. I’ve got to read-up on what will be the best bang for my money.
P.S. Macs still rock!
![Another leaked image of the PSP Go. It’s a nice redesign. [via GiantBomb]
Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!
Uploaded with plasq’s Skitch!](http://24.media.tumblr.com/PqNopo5aZo48pzp5qOPvidQro1_500.jpg)
Another Build Your Own $800 Gaming PC
After I buy the new up-coming iPhone, I think I’ll set aside some cash to start building a gaming PC. I’ve been into PC gaming enough lately that it would be cool to have a machine devoted to PC gaming, and a fun project.
All the Gaming Mice I am interested in
A fancy well reviewed gaming mouse. It’s got adjustable weight even. It’s slightly ugly and costs the most of the mice I’m looking at. No native Mac OS X drivers so 3rd party shareware drivers would be required if I wanted to use the extra buttons in Mac OS X, however user reviews would suggest it works fine under games in OS X without drivers.
Lacks a few features of the G5 (above) but has the same basic form and function for a bit less money. I also do like the color of this mouse better. This also has no native Mac OS X drivers, but works.
Razer DeathAdder Mac 3G Gaming Mouse
My Previous blog post was about this mouse. I’m a little less interested in it now that I’ve seen reviews of the Logitech saying they work fine on Macs. I was mainly interested because of it’s native Mac OS X drivers.
Razer DeathAdder Mac 3G Gaming Mouse
I think I’ve settled on this mouse for my new found interest in PC games. I like this mouse for a few reasons; (1) It’s a mostly well reviewed gaming mouse (2) It fully supports Mac OS X out of the box without 3rd party drivers (3) It also looks cool.
I was also looking into Logitech gaming mice but their programable buttons aren’t usable under Mac OS X without 3rd party driver software like USB Overdrive X. While I will be using the mouse mostly under Windows for games, it would be nice to have it fully supported for my Mac OS also.
I’ll do a bit more research into the Logitech laser mice before I settle on the Razer.
