Chee

Nah mate, I moved back to NZ last December. Doing some post-grad study, got bored with general dentistry, got a bit homesick, etc. Don't know much about the BenQ drives, but I guess with any new drive they won't have decent stealth firmware for it yet, if at all. They only just got it sorted for the Hitachi drives, IIRC.

You can play online with the newer hacked firmwares (iXtreme 1.2), and if your disc / iso has been properly ripped to include all the extra bits of info (PFI, security sectors, video file, etc). Most of the scene releases these days are properly patched for online play. And if you're not sure, dl a program called XDVDMulleter, which will do the checking for you. I have a hacked 360 and have been online with a burned disc before. I don't play for long though, because although the iXtreme team say their firmware is stealth, who knows what new detection mechanisms Microsoft have. Plus ping times in NZ are shit anyway, so I don't bother with online play.

It's just prettier graphics, which I personally don't see a big problem with. I think coming out with new consoles every 5-7 years isn't a bad thing, it would be silly not to capitalise on the increase in CPU and GPU power. But it's not up to the hardware manufacturers to be the main source of innovation, that's up to the software developers.

So I recently moved back to NZ, and I'm back at my folks place at the moment where they've been stashing my stuff for the past 5 years, including my old 07Pro with the old-style cross-fader (not the VCA type - I upgraded to the 1st gen PCVs when they came out), and my dusty old 1200 MKIIs. I set things up to have a cut, for old times sake (cue lots of banging on my bedroom wall :$ ), and I realised that I can't cut for crap on my old gear anymore, specifically the old PCV crossfader. I've been cutting on a ProXFade pretty much since they came out, and prior to that I was on a later-gen PCV which I had done a simple credit-card / dead-space mod. The thing I found was that I was so used to the precise cut-in on the ProXFade that I had refined a lot of my fader movements down to the bare minimum, so I wasn't used to the comparatively larger cut-in of my old fader. So it got my thinking, if I ever went around to another DJs for a cut and didn't have my own gear, what are the chances that I'd get to cut on a decent cross fader? Has everyone pretty much switched over to a ProXFade / P&G / whatever? Is anyone still cutting on crappy old stock faders?

I actually was in a situation like this a few weeks ago, and I played them a vid of C2C doing a routine. They got it straight away - I explained all the parts, how they altered the pitch of the sample to create notes, how scratch drumming works. And the vid just made it crystal clear. http://en.sevenload.com/videos/LCMB8im/DJ-...-Word-Champions

Yeah, I was all about SF2/SF2CE/SF2 Turbo back in the day. And funny you mentioned the link with scratching - I used to think the same thing back in the day.

That was lucky Steve. When the XBox 360 came out, I just so happened to chance across one at the GAME store in Brent Cross, the day of launch. Well, I didn't actually see the console, but the sales guy told me he had one out the back, which was a pre-order that the customer never came to pick up. I passed on it, because I didn't really want one, but then over a coffee, the mate I was with said he'd be willing to go halves with me and we could put it on eBay for a quick profit. By the time we made it back to the store, it was gone. Pointless story, I know.

The flow he has on this one is wicked. Not the wittiest lyrics, but still my favourite Biggie song... Verse one: Live from bedford-stuyverson, the livest one Representin bk to the fullest Gats I pull it, bastards duckin when big be buckin Chickenheads be cluckin in my bathroom fuckin It aint nuttin, they know big be handlin With the mac in the ac door paneling Bandaging mcs, oxygen they cant breathe Mad tricks up the sleeve, red boxers so my dick can breathe Breeze through in the q-45 by my side, lyrical high And those that rushes my cluthes get put on crutches Get smoked like dutches from the master Hate to blast ya, but I have ta, you see I smoke a lot Your life is played out like kwame, and them fuckin polka dots Who rock the spot? biggie! You know how the weed yo, unbelievable Verse two: B-i-g, g-i-e, aka, b.i.g. Get it? biggie Also known as the bon appetit Rappers cant sleep need sleepin big keep creepin Bulelts heat-seekin, casualties need treatin Dumb rappers need teachin Lesson a - dont fuck with b-i, thats that, oh i, thought he was wack Oh come come now, why yall so dumb now Hunt me or be hunted, three hundred and fifty-seven ways To summer sautee, Im the winner all day Lights get dimmer down biggies hallway My forte causes caucausians to say He sounds demented, car-weed scented If I said it, I meant it Bite my tongue for no-one Call me evil, or unbelievable Verse three: Buck shots out the sun roof of lexus coupes Leave no witnesses, what you think this is Aint no amateurs here, I damage and tear Mcs fear me, they too near not to hear me Clearly, Im the triple beam dream One thousand grams of uncut to the gut It seems fucked up, the way I touched up the grill Tryin to play gorilla, when you aint no killer The gats by your liver, your upper lip quiver Get ready to die, tell God I said hi And throw down some ice, for the nicest mc Niggaz know the steelo, unbelievable

19.6 GB. Why bother?

Marcus Fenix is in prison because he broke rank to answer a distress call from his father.

Something to do about humans colonising another planet, building cities and whatnot. But years later, the Locusts who are the indigenous race decide that they've had enough of the humans so they come from the underground and wreck shop. The humans fight back - cue 14 year war. Humans have new weapon (lightmass bomb) that will be able to fuck up the locusts in their tunnels and win the war. But need to map the tunnels first before they can use the bomb, so need the Resonator.

Woohoo. Sounds promising as I just got one myself, but haven't even had a chance to open the box yet. Should be able to finally unbox it this coming Sunday. Only got 2 games so far (DOA4 and PGR3). The deal breaker for me was playing Gears of War on a mate's 42inch LCD screen in co-op mode, that game is truly sick.

Yup, Advane Wars, Castlevania, FFIII - all DS gold. I'm working through FFIII now, finished Castlevania, and will eventually get around to working on Advance Wars.

DJing at a dept store... what a weird (and difficult) gig to DJ at. For some easy/cheesy downtempo zone-out stuff, try the Cafe Del Mar series. Or at least check out the artists on there and search for some of their other stuff. Blank & Jones make some nice easy-listening type house music. Got a bit of a tempo, so your subconscious won't fall to sleep, but the overall vibe is relaxing so your conscious self feels relaxed.

FYI, Soundwave (the original one) is being re-released in the US in the coming months. It's coming out under the 'Classics' line. If you live anywhere out of the US, it should still be easy to get through specialist comics stores or toy importers.

A small part of my Transformers collection...

LL Cool J in 1987. "I Need Love" was a big pop hit on the radio.

I once met a 9 (or 10) yr old that was taking lessons from a local DJ. He was OK too, didn't really have his flares down at the time either, but could chirp, crab, transform, fade, tear, etc. He couldn't count bars when QnAing though...

Some even sell their entire record collection...

^^ Yup that's right. Just set your iPod to manually sync and you'll be fine. Also, iTunes 7 now supports multiple libraries, so you and your gf can share the same installation of iTunes, but each with their own libraries, if you want. You hold down shitf (or alt - can't remember) when starting iTunes, and it lets you choose what library you want to use.

Damn, that's a big console. How does it compare to the original X-Box? I guess it doesn't really matter though - everyone's going to have massive wide-screen TVs to put it under anyway, so it probably won't look as big. I'd love to see the PSThree design though.

Actually, with the release of the add-on HD-DVD player, I think it may not have been the best move. From the few sites I have read, there seems to be quite a bit of interest in this add-on. My personal opinion of this HD 'revolution' is that it actually will happen. It's bound to, as both the manufacturers and the content providers are pushing for it. It's not like there's a need to establish a standard - it's already there: 720p/1080i/1080p (I'm talking about High-Definition, not next-gen DVD formats). So because there is already a unified standards of sorts, it's easier for the companies to adopt, and by default, the mass market will also adopt it. In a way, it's just like how DVDs happened - unified standards ftw. Look at HD in the States - a lot of stuff is broadcast as HD already. most of the TV progs I dl from the net are ripped from HD broadcasts, and it looks pretty good to me. In the UK, Sky is leading the push, and with the big 'analog signal turn-off', it wouldn't be that hard to implement HD TV for regular broadcasting via digital TV. The knock-on effect is that HDTVs are just going to get cheaper and cheaper, much like DVD players did. Who would've thought that when the first £800 DVD players turned up in shops, that 5 years later we could go into a supermarket and pick one up for £20? Or £5 even, from France (Mine never turned up, btw) So while an HDTV costs $1000 now, in 5 years, it'll probably set you back a few hundred quid - see LCD PC monitors. So yes, we're all going to end up buying HD versions of all our favourite movies and TV shows again. Skratchon 2000 in HD anyone?

Or minidisc. Or UMD.

Nah, no need to delete the post. I wasn't taking a dig at you or what you posted up. I only researched into it a bit more cos I'm interested in getting an X360 when I'm in Asia in December, so the ability to play on Live and backups both interest me. I'd say you that the fact you actually have an X360 makes you in a better position to comment - I'm just regurgitating what I read elsewhere.

Actually, I'd say this conclusively states that it's just a rumour. Straight form the mouths of Team Executer... http://www.team-xecuter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43668 So I guess it's good news for you mates, flowerpot - they can unbrick their XBox's using the same method they flashed the drives in the first place.