(A grab from the newest Zelda game, for the Wii.)

Maybe it’s just me, but fight-em-ups, horror survival titles, and first-person shooters, which are plentiful on non-Nintendo platforms, just don’t have the pure fun value of a Nintendo platformer or racer. Why do I suppose that is? I look at how my family spends its entertainment time. Now, I very rarely get a chance to play a game, and when I do, it’s usually World of Warcraft. So, the fact that I’m actually excited about the Nintendo Wii (that’s Nintendo’s new console, pronounced “we”, by the way) is very telling. So is the fact that my kids, who have both a PS2 and a Nintendo DS, have gradually migrated away from the PS2 toward the Nintendo portable. About the only time they dust off the PS2 is to play Battlefront (Star Wars mania runs rampant in our household). And if Battlefront ran on the DS, something tells me they’d never have a reason to power up the old slate-black PS2 any more.

Why? What’s the appeal of Nintendo. For starters, the games are accessible. Most games have simple controls that don’t take a 15-minute tutorial level to understand. Left, right, up, down, action1, action2–Nintendo games tend to be self-explanatory. This allows younger (and older) audiences to get into Nintendo faster than they would a PS2. Now granted, there are certain cross-console franchises that have crappy, overcomplicated controls no matter what (Madden comes to mind, so does Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series), but on average, the games bearing the Nintendo logo are just easier to play (not defeat, mind you).

(One of the games that comes with Wii is a tennis game.
It allows you to hold and swing your Wii controller
like a tennis racket.)

And I think this is the clutch idea behind the Nintendo Wii. Nintendo is smart enough to realize that they probably can’t grow their slice of the pie by competing directly against the technologically superior Playstation 3 or the entrenched XBox 360, both of which have better onboard gear than the Wii. Nintendo is taking a different tack: convert non-gamers into gamers by making a gaming experience that is immediately accessible and broadly appealing. Hmm, sounds like a great idea. After all (and I’ve argued this before, having played some gorgeous but uninspiring RPGs on the PS2), it’s better to truly have fun than to look like you’re having fun.

It seems that at least some of you agree. I recently had a poll on my site, where you could pick your favorite next-gen console–the XBox 360, the Wii, or the PS3. Six-to-1, you picked the Wii. It doesn’t have blu-ray or HD like the PS3, and it doesn’t have Halo like the Xbox 360. But what it does have is unique:

The Controllers

Nintendo is breaking the rules of console control with the introduction of its WiiMote, the de-facto controller for Wii games. It is shaped like a remote control wand, and can be swung around in the air to simulate in-game motions. It can also be held sideways to simulate an old-school control-pad. Driving games will benefit from the tilt-sensivity of the wand when it is used in this fashion. Remember watching your friends tilt the controller while rolling into a tight turn in Outrun or Pole Position? Now, that tilt will actually do something. Nintendo is also offering the Nunchuck controller, which provides an analog joystick. In addition, the WiiMote has a built-in-speaker (which adds a whole realm of possibilities) and can vibrate (unlike the PS3′s new controller).
The best thing about the controller setup? Each controller has a light indicating which player it belongs to–no more “who’s got player 1, who’s got player 2″. Oh yeah, and the controllers are wireless. So you’ll be completely untethered to toss that virtual bowling ball and swing that virtual sword.

The Console

Not much larger than hardcover book, the Wii console allows you to connect Gamecube controllers and even plays Gamecube games. In the rear are USB ports, and Nintendo has already let it slip that, in addition to the Wii’s built-in WiFi, you’ll be able to obtain a wired Ethernet adapter to plug in here. And considering the rumor that the Wii runs a form of Linux, count on keyboard and mouse support to surface soon, too.

The Extras

The Wii is also the most Internet-aware console to date. It offers several net-leveraging applications, which Nintendo calls Channels. These include a weather forecast channel (no more waiting for Local on the 8′s?), a “Mii” channel, which allows users to create a cartoonish caricature that will appear across many Wii titles, as well as be used to interact on Nintendo’s new online game matching service, WiiConnect24. Nintendo is even throwing in a (RSS-based, I suspect) news channel that lets you build a personal news portal. Then there’s the Virtual Console Channel, which lets you download any previous-generation Nintendo console game, as well as any Sega game or Turbografx game, and play it on your Wii. Pretty. Cool. Stuff.

(Double Dragon from the old Sega Master
System–download and run on the Wii.)
Too bad I can’t download and play Lemmings or Shadow of the Best. Maybe that will come next year. Say, why hasn’t Amiga licensed their ROM images to Nintendo? There are 5,000 awesome Amiga games worth playing on the Wii…
The Web

For the first time, living-room web browsing is actually realistic, or so I’m told. The Wii is going to come with Opera, the web browser. With the point-and-click capability of the WiiMote, this should be practical. Let’s just hope YouTube is compatible.

The Price and the Verdict

Nintendo has hit the $249 price point, and unlike Sony, which is going to sell its top-end PS3 for $600 at a loss, and Microsoft, which has never made money selling Xboxes, will actually see operational earnings as soon as Wiis start shipping on November 19. I think this says a lot. (Pre-orders start tomorrow, October 13.) Though its IBM PowerPC is (far) less powerful than the PS3′s behemoth (and in short supply) Cell processor, I think it’s safe to say that Nintendo realizes that it isn’t processing power that sells games. It’s fun.

Yes, for those of you who might not be privvy, I grew up in Detroit and one of my most cherished memories was the Tigers defeating the Padres in the 1984 World Series. Here we go again!

It’s been like this for WEEKS.

Can you believe it’s been nearly 19 years since the world’s first preemptive multitasking microcomputer was first marketed by Commodore? The custom chipset on the Amiga had RAM that was permanently married to the graphics microprocessor chipset, which includes the “Agnus” as shown above. This RAM was shared by both the graphics set and the system processor, which in those days was a Motorola 68000 16-bit monster running at a whopping 7 MHz. That’s why they called it “chip RAM”. Now here in 2006, it appears Intel is following suit, with their introduction of memory onboard the system processor. Dear old Amiga had memory on the graphics processor–which was priveliged memory with accelerated bandwidth. Some old ideas are still good, 19 years later. Check it out.

Here’s the deets from Engadget’s coverage of the Apple keynote announcing the iTV:

In an unusual turn of events, Apple has pre-announced a wireless video streaming set-top box to be released in Q1 2007 with the tag line “you can take content to your computer or iPod, but now… TV.” Going by the codeword of iTV, the box looks like a flattened Mac mini — apparently it’s around half the height — and features a built-in power supply, USB 2.0, Ethernet, 802.11 “wireless component video”, optical audio and HDMI ports, plus regular ol’ RCA stereo audio ports. Controllable by the standard Apple remote, the iTV will come with an updated version of the Front Row interface that shares Front Row’s smooth 3D graphics, but differs in that it has a menu on the right side of the screen. Apparently it’ll work with both iTunes on both PCs and Macs, and will sell for $299.

But does it record?

As much as I’m all for cleaning up global warming (and drive a hybrid), spending millions on legal fees for a lawsuit that has zero chance of being successful is a big waste of resources. If Mr. Lockyer has issues with the amount of emissions, take it up with the California Air Resources Board that sets the regulations not the companies that comply with them. This is no tobacco-type lawsuit of deception. Plus, even though there is consensus on global warming, quantifying the damage done just from autos won’t wash in court.

And, I would add, it is also impossible to quantify the overall damage, if indeed any has been done.

Well, becoming a bagpiper just became a lot more geeky and a lot less green-dye-in-your beer cool. That’s because Master Gaita has just introduced a bagpipe MIDI controller! This USB-compatible controller has the same fingering positions and note duration control technique as a standard bagpipes, although the fluffy checkered bag is conspicuously missing. I guess, with all that technology, who needs a bag anyway? Check out the deets from Master Gaita:

The instrument is strongly made on a PVC tube with nine extremely sensitive tactile devices, so only the smooth contact of a finger resting on any of them is needed to activate them. A semi-rigid cable and a little plastic box make the chanter to get firm in a fixed and confortable position as if it were in its stock. A 2.5 meter long cable leaving the plastic box carries the MIDI singnals to the computer or sound module the Master Gaita is connected to.

Get one of these bad boys, and all you need is a subscription to eJamming in order to form your own Internet-based bagpipe band! Green beer not included.

- Wavetable synthesizer with cutting edge sound manipulation capabilities, well suited for electronica-related music styles
- Non-aliasing resampling engine for pristine sound quality
- Over 500 professionally-crafted sound programs
- Six fully-programmable, stereo sound-generating Elements
- Multi-waveform Oscillators with ring modulation
- Two 16-mode filters per oscillator with LoFi and Drive
- Over 40 Envelope Generators, LFOs, and Step Generators for superior parameter modulation
- Comprehensive MIDI Modulation Matrix
- Mix and modulate all Elements through global FX and dynamic Step Generator
- Superbly designed graphical envelope generators and LFOs for ease of use
- Expandable with native support for SFZ sample formats
- Mac formats: AU™, RTAS®, VSTi™
- Windows formats: DXi (32-bit & x64), RTAS, VSTi 

Now, head on over to Cakewalk’s site for the deets.

In a condenser microphone, the diaphragm is a very thin plastic film, coated on one side with gold or nickel, and mounted very close to a conductive stationary back plate. A polarizing voltage is applied to the diaphragm by an external power supply (battery or phantom power) or by the charge on an electret material in the diaphragm or on the backplate charging it with a fixed static voltage. All Crown mics are the electret condenser type.

The dynamic (moving-coil) microphone is like a miniature loudspeaker working in reverse. The diaphragm is attached to a coil of fine wire. The coil is mounted in the air gap of the magnet and is free to move back and forth within the gap. When the sound wave strikes the diaphragm, the diaphragm vibrates in response. The coil attached to the diaphragm moves back and forth in the field of the magnet. As the coil moves through the lines of magnetic force in the gap, a small electrical current is induced in the wire. The magnitude and direction of that current is directly related to the motion of the coil, and the current then is an electrical representation of the sound wave.

Finally, the key differences between condenser microphones and dynamic microphones, from Crown’s web site:

Condenser microphones typically have a wide-range frequency response and excellent transient response, while dynamic microphones typically do not. There are exceptions.

Condenser microphones’ frequency response tends to be uniform, while dynamic microphones’ typically is not. There are exceptions.

Condenser microphones require an external power source (phantom power or battery) while dynamic microphones do not.

Condenser microphones are easy to miniaturize, while dynamic microphones cannot be miniaturized.

Condenser microphones are typically used on acoustic instruments and studio vocals. Dynamic microphones are typically used on guitar amps and drums, and for vocal sound reinforcement.

There doesn’t have to be anyone pressuring you to lay down
your tracks at warp speed. You can record a track, go eat
some lunch, workout, then record another track if you
choose.  You can lock yourself in your music room for as
long as you want if that works for you, and really make some
great progress on working out some licks, writing some
tunes, or even recording music. You don’t have to pay for an
expensive recording studio, so you can take your time
creating your music.

Home recording trends are growing, and you can easily
take advantage of new technologies developed for musicians
just like you who want to record their music at home.

Resources are available to easily record music at home at a
very reasonable price, so no more excuses.  Thousands of
people are recording their own music from home.  They have
all different skill levels.  There is a place for you out
there too…go get yours!

 Check out the rest of the post.

You’ve got to hand it to open source developers. They code, and code, and code, often thanklessly, honing their chops and churning out some really cool software. I recently produced a Gabcast as a way of introducing myself to the open-source multitrack recorder Audacity, and I came away more than a little bit disappointed. Editing was clunkier than N-Track Studio (Windows shareware), I couldn’t figure out how to flatten (raw mixdown) the tracks I’d recorded, and the interface wasn’t nearly as polished as Apple’s incredible Garageband (part of a $90 bundle, Mac OS X only). Not wanting to be unfair, I’m going to fart around with Audacity some more and give you my thoughts as I get more used to it.