Some of you were kind enough to e-mail me to figure what’s going on with the site. It’s still alive…maybe not kicking but still alive. My life has gone crazy in the last few months so it’s been hard to keep a normal routine.
So, I have a new review of a Type S notebook slipcase which I’ve posted. The Type S review is still a few weeks away since I haven’t battle tested it enough yet. Also, I’ve been working on a massive redesign of the site and trying to move it to a new server so it’s a lot of work and preparation to make sure everything goes smoothly.
More updates soon…but I just wanted to keep everyone in the loop. And…there will be no more 2 month leave of absence in between posts. I can guarantee that. 
There’s an interesting article over at Brighthand that discusses why Sony failed in the US.
http://brighthand.com/article/Why_Sony_Failed_in_US
I don’t know if I agree completely with all the points but it’s interesting nonetheless.
He doesn’t mention that Sony also purposely crippled some of the best models when bringing them over here pissing off the educated customers who would have helped spread the word on these products.
But I do agree that in general, the American public is not as savvy about gadgetry compared to our European and Asian counterparts. Of course, these companies shouldn’t abandon the market but rather they should try to educate the customers better so they understand why they need these devices.
Sony’s software does leave little to be desired. Most of the time they seem to focus more on creating their own interfaces than on the actual functionality and workflow of the software. Sometimes, their software is neat but it’s never fully polished. Sony definitely has the resources to overcome this but it’s up to them to find a way to do it. I think they need to create a separate company that focuses specifically on software design and UI (maybe they do already….i don’t know) and come up with some cool, useful, and easy to use software not unlike the Apple iLife products.
Due to a recent surge in traffic from this site, I’ve been forced to move this site to another hosting account and that’s been taking up some of my time as I’m trying to do it in the least painful way. I suspect it will happen next weekend when traffic is a little less. Maybe Friday night…so that it’s definitely back up by Monday. So, you can expect some weirdness coming.
Also, I have a review coming on something unexpected and that should be done this weekend before I do the server moving stuff. I promise to have that thing up this weekend as I have to prepare for another gadget that’s arriving this weekend or early next week.
If any of you are wondering whatever happened with my HTPC project well you can happily know that it’s working…mostly. There are still some kinks that I’m trying to work out with my IR blaster but for the most part it’s pretty smooth. Once everything is solid, I plan on detailing the whole process but I want to make sure everything’s working solidly first.
There’s an interesting article over at CNN about the possibility of the Playstation Portable (PSP) being an expensive device when it comes out.
http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/09/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm
Of course, this is all hearsay but given all the functionality they plan to add to that system then it’s very possible. Granted, it’s going to be marketed as a “do everything” device and not just a gaming device. I’m sure Sony will think that “hey, people are willing to spend $499 on an iPod (which only plays music) so they will be willing to spend just as much on our product since it’s a Sony”. That may actually be true but it’s going to kill their overall sales…especially if Nintendo’s more focused gaming device Gameboy DS is priced around $99-149. I think Nintendo sells a hell of a lot more Gameboys than Apple does iPods.
