Wrestlevania

I've never had any issues with it, across a variety of CRTs, so I hereby decree: "It was shoe-horned in*!" * in Microsoft's typically non-joined-up, consumately half-arsed approach to software improvement

1. Right-click an empty bit of desktop and choose Properties: 2. Click on the Appearance tab along the top of the resultant dialogue box and then the Effects... button in the bottom-right: 3. Tick Use the following method[...] and select ClearType from the drop-down, then keep clicking OK buttons until you're back on the desktop: It's certainly not a patch on Apple's sublime font smoothing, but it's a fuck of a lot more pleasant than that jagged shit Microsoft idiotically gives you by default. Apologies if that's fucking patronising; I hate Microsoft's total lack of design consistency and common sense when it comes to their interfaces, so I habitually illustrate stuff like this because, although it's obscure, it's still very useful for pretty much everyone.

We've had the Vista Business upgrade kicking around the office for a good few weeks now and I'm really keen to try it. I've been playing Half-Life 2 on my workstation at lunchtimes, too, so I'd be able to give the OS a decent enough workout (development applications, audio, video, gaming, etc.). Trouble is we've just taken on a new support company, so our in-house IT Manager is chicken shit when it comes to doing something substantial like "upgrading" (read: napalming) any workstation right now, until we're comfortable with the new support company. Amusingly, it might actually help determine whether or not we are in fact satisfied with the new support company. But I can't loose the machine for any length of time, and our redundant PC isn't in a fit state to be used as backup right now either. Pants.

I've never watched it - is there a good 'first' episode to get into it? The reason I ask is because many decent shows fall on their arse for the first few releases, and I also don't have enough time to go through all of them at the moment. kthnxba

Has anyone played God Hand yet? It looks , but I've heard no feedback or opinion away from official reviews.

I wrote up an impressive list of games I want to complete this year, then promptly ignored it for the last couple of weeks by replaying Half-Life 2 for the first time since it was released, and Star Fox Command (which I got for my birthday last week). I've also since been made aware of Dracula X - Rondo of Blood too, which looks like a damned tempting retro play...

Stop digging.

*bump* I got Star Fox Command for my birthday last week and, contrary to Miffy's opinion, I think it's far too easy. In fact I think it's probably the easiest game I've played in a while; I finished the basic storyline in three 1hr sittings pretty much, having had to retry no more than a couple of encounters. I'm currently working my way through unlocking all the alternative routes through the game, in turn unlocking a lot more of the overarching story, which is fun in itself. Enemy designs are wildly varied, but all very basic by necessity of the DS' weak 3D power for this sort of game, so it's not as impressive to play as I was hoping it might be. The stylus control is necessarily accurate, but having to scrub back-and-forth to perform barrel rolls is haphazard and occaisionally frustrating. Otherwise it plays as well as you could hope for. The game as a whole, though, just isn't what we knew and loved about the original SNES Star Fox. I'm disappointed that every encounter - excluding missile chases - is a replication of the 'boss arena' type levels from the original. I (along with many others I suspect) loved the spectacle of the pseudo-on-rails sections leading up to the boss encounters in the original game. With those gone, and the strange impression of lower graphical detail, Star Fox Command comes off as a half-cocked tribute. Those shitty cutscenes and childish dialogue are driving me fucking mental, too. Thank Shiggy someone in the design team had the decency to include a 'skip' option.

Well, if you insist... This is T taking a nap late Sunday afternoon, aged just 5 days.

You can certainly mount a traditional desktop 3.5" hard disk in a USB caddy, which allows you to plug the drive into any other machine and write to and from it. As for buying a 'sealed' external USB drive, the 2.5" based units under 100GB are very cheap at the moment. With regards to getting an Apple Mac; it's relative to just how simple you want your computing experience to be. Mac's take some adjustment to get used to, but the dozens of IT/Design professionals I work with who've switched all swear by them. You do obviously pay a premium over an equivalent-spec PC, and Mac's aren't the most reliable machines if you believe everything you read. Still, it's not something to dismiss out of hand, nor is it something to leap at without actually trying one for a decent amount of time. If someone you know can lend you an Apple, do that for a couple of days -- you should know if they're for you or not by then (assuming you use it constantly and try doing everything you would on a PC). I'm not aware of any DOS or SCUMM emulators on Mac personally, so that will also need some investigation. As an alternative to ASUSTEK or Lenovo, you could do a lot worse than having a look at the many different models Acer offer.

Do you mean like this? I've only ever known that referred to as "Bruce Lee's Claw" and it hurts like mad if you 'lock' that for too long.

[merde]

You :cens0r:ing freaks - why can't you be normal, like me?! When I reminisce about playing Wonder Boy in Monster Land (on SEGA Master System) I recall - in spectacular detail - the dreadfully tacky bamboo arms of a cheap fold-out sofa bed we had when I was 12 years old. Or when I think about playing Dynamite Dux (also on SEGA Master System) I can physically taste the charcoal dust that coats those fake rocks you get in modern gas fires...

God damnit, eljay! Here was me trying to be a responsible parent by protecting the young blighter's identity some, and you go and blow the whole thing out the water!

I felt the same way after my initial viewing; upon watching it for a second time I thought it was superb.

Just so people don't go thinking Yuf has the monopoly on cute, I'd like to introduce you all to T: He was born today (yes, today!) at 12:36 by C-Section, weighing a healthy 9lbs. 13oz. -- which is about four-and-a-half of your New Earth Kilogrommits. Mrs. Vania and baby are doing very well, and Daddy was so happy he cried. Twice.

Think I might book the day off... and clean the oven.

Yes. I meant in terms of the quality of the gaming service. Which was "disappointing" (i.e. cheap and rubbish) on PS2.

Anyone else spotted good game deals lately? And not just in the UK, mind...

Just noticed that Play.com are now selling Bully (aka Canis Canem Edit) and Gran Tourismo 4 for £12.99 each, delivered. Black is going for £11.99 (delivered).

...whereas a less naive - and possibly more truthful - assumption would be to say PS3 online will be like PS2 online, except it'll be built-in form the start and support more titles. And micropayments. And you can get an adapter that allows you to swipe your credit card then and there, beaming your precious credit details across Sony's networks. I think that last bit's actually quite terrifying.

Console power consumption seemed to be big news middle of last year. There was also a pending change to Euro energy laws concerning consumer electronics' standby power consumption, which was levelled at Nintendo after they announced their "always on" connectivity. As I recall, it turned out that the Wii came in just a fraction under the maximum allowed wattage consumption, so Nintendo didn't get fined/taxed.

Hint: The first word is "prude". Other good anagrams, this time based on "Idle Thumbs": Sit humbled Timed blush The Mild Bus Held its bum Bed him, slut!

I bought King Kong on PC for a truly insignificant £6 in my local Asda just before Christmas. Not really enjoying it however, but at least I didn't pay the original £35 to find this out.

You missed the 'T' out of your anagram, stupid.