This column is a new addition to the Wildcat Times and will talk about new things in the world of technology that will either help your life, be relevant to you, or simply be really cool and interesting (to me, that is). This month’s tech talk will feature three new products coming out or already out in September/October of 2008.
Are you a guitar legend?
The first piece of technology that I will be touching on and the one thing a lot of us students are a little hyped up about, is the new Guitar Hero: World Tour. This game is expected to become available for purchase around October 26, for Playstation 3, Xbox360, Playstation 2, Wii, and hopefully PC. The PS3 and Xbox360 systems will have downloadable songs available, such as Metallica’s Death Magnetic album, and some R.E.M. and Smashing Pumpkins songs. Some of the artists that will be featured in this new GH IV are Nirvana, Lenny Kravitz, Ozzy Osbourne, Blink-182, The Police, System of a Down, and Van Halen.
Andrew’s Take: I, being a huge Guitar Hero fan, cannot wait for this to hit the streets because I will buy it immediately. The set list is excellent with a lot of classic rock and new age rock so I think it will be a big hit.
iPod and Zune battle it out
The big rivalry between Apple and Microsoft now goes to their mp3 players. Apple’
s iPod and Microsoft’s Zune go head to head in a battle. Zune released their new product lineup a day before Apple’s product lineup. Zune has released their new slimmer lineup of mp3 players with the options of 16GB and 120GB. The prices on the others have changed a little bit, as the 120GB Zune is now $249.99(not including tax) and the 16GB Zune is only $199.99(not including tax). With Zune, they are now making it capable to listen to the radio and when you hear a song you like you can either tag it or if you are in a wireless internet hotspot you can download it from the Zune marketplace right away.
Apple’s iPod lineup offers the 8GB for $149.99, 16GB for $199.99, and the iPod classic which has 120GB will sell for $149.99. The iPod nano will now have an extended battery life, voice recorder, and Genius, which will a
utomatically create play lists of songs that go together in the user’s music library.
Andrew’s Take: Personally I think that the Apple iPod has nothing on the Zune. The iPod cannot download songs wirelessly from the FM tuner straight to your mp3 player. The iPod’s only new feature that has a decent impact on the iPod is the longer battery life of 24 hours of music. The voice recorder I think has no use because if you want to record voice you would have a hand held voice recorder. Their new high definition screen capable of playing HD videos I think is a nice feature since a lot of people may carry videos or podcasts on their iPod. The last thing about the iPod is the Genius, which I think is a very neat feature that shows you songs that are similar to the ones in your library but you may never have heard before.
Foiling Method does not apply to math
Getting tired of your car’s old and boring paint job but don’t have the time or money to have it professionally done or do it yourself? Now it can be done in two days and last up to four years. 3M Adhesive company has made a big overlay sticker that will allow you to paint your car in two days by using the “foiling” method. The adhesive will protect the underlying paint from chips, scratches, and nicks and comes in a variety of colors.
Andrew’s Take: I think that this is a great idea for a quick paint job; and it would also be a very funny prank. The police could use this to paint their cars because it helps make the original paint last for four years or more. I think it’s a great idea!
Are you a guitar legend?
The first piece of technology that I will be touching on and the one thing a lot of us students are a little hyped up about, is the new Guitar Hero: World Tour. This game is expected to become available for purchase around October 26, for Playstation 3, Xbox360, Playstation 2, Wii, and hopefully PC. The PS3 and Xbox360 systems will have downloadable songs available, such as Metallica’s Death Magnetic album, and some R.E.M. and Smashing Pumpkins songs. Some of the artists that will be featured in this new GH IV are Nirvana, Lenny Kravitz, Ozzy Osbourne, Blink-182, The Police, System of a Down, and Van Halen.
Andrew’s Take: I, being a huge Guitar Hero fan, cannot wait for this to hit the streets because I will buy it immediately. The set list is excellent with a lot of classic rock and new age rock so I think it will be a big hit.
iPod and Zune battle it out
The big rivalry between Apple and Microsoft now goes to their mp3 players. Apple’
s iPod and Microsoft’s Zune go head to head in a battle. Zune released their new product lineup a day before Apple’s product lineup. Zune has released their new slimmer lineup of mp3 players with the options of 16GB and 120GB. The prices on the others have changed a little bit, as the 120GB Zune is now $249.99(not including tax) and the 16GB Zune is only $199.99(not including tax). With Zune, they are now making it capable to listen to the radio and when you hear a song you like you can either tag it or if you are in a wireless internet hotspot you can download it from the Zune marketplace right away.Apple’s iPod lineup offers the 8GB for $149.99, 16GB for $199.99, and the iPod classic which has 120GB will sell for $149.99. The iPod nano will now have an extended battery life, voice recorder, and Genius, which will a
utomatically create play lists of songs that go together in the user’s music library.Andrew’s Take: Personally I think that the Apple iPod has nothing on the Zune. The iPod cannot download songs wirelessly from the FM tuner straight to your mp3 player. The iPod’s only new feature that has a decent impact on the iPod is the longer battery life of 24 hours of music. The voice recorder I think has no use because if you want to record voice you would have a hand held voice recorder. Their new high definition screen capable of playing HD videos I think is a nice feature since a lot of people may carry videos or podcasts on their iPod. The last thing about the iPod is the Genius, which I think is a very neat feature that shows you songs that are similar to the ones in your library but you may never have heard before.
Foiling Method does not apply to math
Getting tired of your car’s old and boring paint job but don’t have the time or money to have it professionally done or do it yourself? Now it can be done in two days and last up to four years. 3M Adhesive company has made a big overlay sticker that will allow you to paint your car in two days by using the “foiling” method. The adhesive will protect the underlying paint from chips, scratches, and nicks and comes in a variety of colors.
Andrew’s Take: I think that this is a great idea for a quick paint job; and it would also be a very funny prank. The police could use this to paint their cars because it helps make the original paint last for four years or more. I think it’s a great idea!
