Review: Nintendo Wii Part 1 (Wii Sports)

By now you have probably read a review of this video game console somewhere or even watched one on your local news as it is widely covered by the media (not just the hardcore gaming publications) I'll try to provide a different point of view, as a gamer more experienced than a newbie but far from hardcore. I plan to share some of my thoughts after spending some time playing 3 games on it:

1) Wii Sports
This is the game that puts Wii on the map, so to speak. It includes 5 sport games (baseball, bowling, golf, boxing and tennis) that showcases the strength of Wii: the motion sensing controller. It is so much easier to play video games by waving a "magic wand" then pressing buttons and pushing joystick, which has been the staples in gaming since Day 1. This innovative user interface single handedly turned a lot of non-gamer into Wii players. They would not have play video game if they have to use a joystick! Nintendo was brilliant in making Wii Sports simple yet addictive. Analyzing closely though, the games are not actually that realistic. For example, you can't full swing in the golf game or you will overshoot the ball. Also, motion sensing can only be precise to a certain degree. So you might miss some balls you though you didn't when playing tennis. Same for boxing. Finally, most of the games are rather primitive: No base-stealing in baseball. Only 9 holes in golf. The one that I feel most complete is bowling. And I could understand that Nintendo would want people to buy more sophisticated games, not just playing Wii Sports all the time! Still, Wii Sports will be the most played game in my home in the near future. Wii fitness has become my previously non-existent workout routine. One guy claimed that he lost 9 lbs after playing Wii Sports 30 min per day for 6 weeks!

Another thing unexpected that I got out of this game is more appreciation and understanding of baseball! I've been a big fan for a long long time, but I've never played real baseball. Even though this baseball game is far from realistic, it is still miles ahead of those uses joystick and buttons. With this game I could feel the frustration of a batter being fooled by the pitcher's speed or location, as well as the pressure on a pitcher who is unable to get anybody out no matter what type of ball he throws. A slight difference between swings or speed of pitches turns a strikeout to a homerun. Subtleties like these are what makes baseball the great game it is. Ironically, these are also the Achilles' heel of the sport because appreciation of subtleties has been lost in this generation.

Part 2 of this series will be about Wii Play. Stay tuned.

Review: Dell Axim X30 Pocket PC PDA

I've been pushing the limit of my PDAs since the early days of Win CE with a Cassiopeia and Palm OS with a Handspring Visor. However, the last "advanced" PDA I used was Zire 72 (built-in 1.3 MP video camera and bluetooth for mobile e-mail and web browsing) After switching to an Abacus WristPDA, the only functions I really used are address book and reading novel. Basically I've given up on using PDA as a PC replacement.

What got me curious about the current state of PDA again was Nokia's new PDA-like Internet Tablet N800. Based on open source OS (linux) and platform (Maemo), it has got quite a few positive reviews. However, the high price tag ($399) made me look for a cheaper alternative on eBay and I bought this Dell Axim X30.

So, what functionality am I looking for this time around and how well does it perform?
1) Watch live TV: X30 is one of the supported (and cheapest) device for Sling Player, the client for watching TV streamed from Slingbox through internet/intranet, and in my case, mostly 802.11b Wifi. I can't expect great quality on such a small screen and relatively slow connection. To me, it is good enough and I'm willing to sacrifice quality for portability. The Pocket PC version of Sling Player costs me $30 though.

2) Watch downloaded video: The free software TCPMP does a pretty good job. It handles most popular formats except RMVB. I wish it won't pause when I touch the screen accidentally but I work around it with a hard case.

3) Read downloaded website: I simple use HTTrack on my PC to download websites to my SD card and use Pocket Internet Explorer on the Axim to read them. It would have been more convienient if I could mount the Pocket PC to Windows as a letter drive but I could live with this.

4) Read downloaded website in Chinese: what good does a PDA do if I can't read Chinese newspaper with it? Even my WristPDA could do that! So I installed CEStar on the Axim. So far so good. I have seen lots of recommendation of Monster Chinese over CEStar but I haven't tried it.

5) Read e-book: I have some Chinese (Big5) e-books in Palm's .prc format. CEBook is the only one that works with them.

6) Internet access: I'm happy with its versatility. I used these 3 modes extensively:
- Wifi (802.11b),
- Bluetooth-enabled cellphone as dial-up modem
- when you maintain an ActiveSync connnection (thru Bluetooth or USB) between a Pocket PC and a PC that is connected to the internet, the Pocket PC could access internet as well.
Surfing the web is not that fast. Pocket Internet Explorer might have something to do with it but my expectation is low to begin with. Also, I found a bug with surfing thru Bluetooth ActiveSync on PIE, it is unable to load pages after a while. I had to disconnect and reconnect. This is rather annoying.

7) E-mail: a client is built-in. It supports the popular protocols like POP3 and IMAP4. I found out Yahoo serves @yahoo.com e-mail thru IMAP4 for free. Simply install Yahoo Go and it will configure for you. It has been working fine for 2 weeks but incoming traffic has stopped for 3 days for some unknown reason. Maybe I've jinxed it :(

8) Note taking: I hand-write notes using the "Writing" view in Pocket Word. I've also tried the highly praised notetaking software PhatPad (costs ~$30-40) but I ended up not buying it. The problem is not with the software though. The screen is just so small that even PhatPad couldn't improve the notetaking experience much.

9) VOIP/IM: Skype is supported on this version of Pocket PC (2003). The voice quality is not bad.

[Extra credit] Listen to music through Bluetooth A2DP: It is not officially supported by Dell but HP iPAQ's driver is supposed to work. I'm able to listen through my Plantronics 590 headphone but the video played by TCPMP became choppy in this mode. I suspect the A2DP code eats up too much resource. So I ended up not using it.

Accessories
- PDAir Aluminum Case: I want a hard case with belt clip. The first one I found was from Innopocket and the reviews at Aximsite are not great. This PDAir case is recommended over it. I don't think it is that great either:
1) when I closed the case, the cover (or the top piece?) got "stucked" in the side of the bottom piece and it is hard to get it out. To make it worse, I lose some of the Neoprene lining in the process of getting the cover out.
2) The belt clip is attached to the case thru a screw and relies on friction to keep it attached. It came loose and dropped my Axim to the floor twice in 2 weeks already.
3) the PDA gets in the way often when it is clipped to the belt. It's not the fault of the case though. That's the nature of belt clip.
- Energy Leaf Extended Battery (1800mAh): the original battery won't last more than 2 hours with Sling Player on non-stop. This extended battery came in a combo deal with the PDAir case and it stole the show.
- St. Tropez Petite: a nice looking stylus pen combo

Alternatives
Would I be better off buying a Nokia N800 instead? I'm not sure. On one hand, it has lots of free (as in speech and beer) software and an enthusiastic community behind it. For example, the note taking software Xournal is available on N800 (BTW, before I bought the Axim, Xournal wasn't compatible with N800. Looks like it has been patched and hopefully the bugs were fixed) The larger screen (800 x 480) should help too. On the other hand, it is still Linux. Things like enabling Chinese is still harder than it should be. Also, I doubt Sling Player will be ported to it ever. So your best bet for live TV would be encoding and streaming from a PC thru other Open Source server/client combo.

Final words
Was it a good buy? Well, I bought it second hand so it costed less than my Zire 72. It does a somewhat better job with web browsing and multimedia than the Zire, thanks to the built-in Wifi and a faster processor. The bottom line is: I had enough prior experience with Pocket PC/Windows Mobile so my expectation is quite low. The Axim is on par.

More on Go Motorboard 2000X

Accessory
The Go Sporting Goods' blog recommended to use a baseball bat bag to carry it. I'm using a Easton Neo Classic Tote Bag ($29.99 @ Sports Authority). I think this bag looks pretty cool. More importantly it's large enough to fit the scooter without having to stretch it. In fact, it has enough room for my helmet, charger and lunch box too. The included shoulder strap is a nice touch too. Anything that makes it easier to carry 20lb is welcome. If you're buying a baseball bat bag too, make sure it's large enough (mine fits 4 bats) Those < $20 usually aren't.

Service
Remember I mentioned that brake handle problem in my previous post? I wanted to call Go Sporting Goods but they don't have any contact number on their website! So the only option I have was to send them an e-mail. And it took them 4 days to reply. The reply was polite and the instruction to fix it myself was clear but I wish it showed some willingness for them to fix it. I sent a 2nd e-mail about battery life and range and got no reply. So it sounds like I'm on my own. I can't say I could recommend dealing with a company that is so hard to contact.

Alternatives
I looked into foldable bikes before buying this. They are small enough to carry on a train. I had 2 concerns though:
1) price:
there're a few no name brand priced under $200 but I was skeptical. The most affordable brand name is Dahon and their bikes start at $350. Those from Bike Friday cost over $1k. Brompton starts at ~$800. You could find Strika on EBay for ~$500.
2) weight:
The no name ones are over 30lb. Dahons are around 25lb. The one that looks most promising to me is Strida at 20lb.
And I felt that 20lb is too much already.
However, you could buy one designed to roll on the wheels so that you could pull along, like a roller luggage bag. I've seen people do that with Dahon and Strida.
3) size:
Foldables take up so much space that you can only take a seat with a lot of space around it. No more sitting in the middle rows on a train. Strika seems to be the most compact one. It's easy to unfold too. Check out this video of Strida:


[Update: I ran into a fellow electric scooter rider on my train ride. He rode a Go-Ped ESR 750 Sports (the version with "solid" tire) and liked its power and durability. He also recommended Downtube foldable bike. Both the spec and price look pretty good.]

Review: Go Motorboard 2000X

It looks so sleek that it screams "As seen on Maxim, Stuff and FHM." Any gadget lover would want to own it. I took the plunge and bought one when I was in search of a portable "vehicle" for short commute to and from train station. This is arguably the lightest (20lb) and most compact (foldable to not much bigger than a skateboard) electric scooter on the market.

However, is this practical or simply a fancy gadget? After using it for a week, I could tell you the answer lies somewhere in the middle. I hope this article helps potential buyers understand its capability and limitations.

First, ask yourself:
- Do you live in a city that rains often?
- Is the road you plan to use it on relatively flat and smooth?
- Do you need to carry it a lot during your commute? (e.g. lots of stairs, part of the street is too crowded for riding)
- Are you a somewhat handy person (i.e, uses screwdrivers/wrenches to fix things yourself occasionally)?
- Do you need to go farther than 7 miles?

If you answer NYNYN, you could consider it. Let me elaborate:
- By design it could not be used on wet surfaces. The road has to be completely dry.
- By design it could not handle slope steeper than 10%. Also, because of its hard wheels (not filled with air,) you will feel every bump/crack/groove on the road. When I rode through pavement covered by tiles (or are they called bricks?), it feels very rough and bumpy.
- 20lb doesn't sound like much but if you have to carry it more than a few blocks, you'll feel the weight.
- It requires maintenance, similar to the level of bicycle but not as much as a car. For example, you need to wipe off dirt built up on the real wheel periodically or the drive mechanism will be damaged since it drives by clamming the real wheel between 2 spinning rods. You will also need to check the thickness and shape of the wheels and replace them when they get worned out. And my unit arrived with the brake handle assembled a bit awkwardly (long story) so I had my wrench taken out of the toolbox where it stays 364 days of the year and fixed it myself.
- It is not clear how far it is supposed to go on a single charge. The range is not listed on the manufacturer's website. Some sellers mention 11 miles, some advertise 8. I've also seen 7. Obviously it depends on the weight of the rider and how steep the roads are. I tested it on a flat 2 mile track that surrounds a lake. The battery indicator turned from "hi" to "mid" during the first lap and became "low" and beeping near the end of the 2nd lap. However, it did lasted thru the third lap and some more. BTW, I'm 200 lbs. So you get the idea. One nice feature is that when you run out of battery you could still ride it as a kick scooter without being hindered by the motor/drive mechanism (just need to keep it switched on)

The bottom line is: this design is chosen to keep it light and compact. If it were to be made more powerful, a different drive mechanism, most likely bigger motor and heavier battery would be required.

BTW, I suggest to check out comments left on Amazon just to get a more balanced view other than the hi-raves you found from the manufacturer and sellers.

To sum it up: do I have buyer's remorse? A bit. Is it fun to ride? A lot!

For those who hesistate to buy one without seeing it in action:

Review: Tascam CD-BT1 mkII Bass Trainer

Major features I used:
1) loop a segment of a song over and over and slow it down without changing its pitch.
2) change the key of a song. (This is useful when you practice songs with
different keys. It's tedious to tune your guitar once per song!)
3) mix my bass into the music from CD
4) boost the bass part from the CD

So I could practice one segment at a time and hear if I play it right. Bass boost doesn't help much on death metal though since bass is usually buried by guitar on death metal albums. I supposed you could achieve the same thing using software on computer. After all, the so-called bass boost is just heavyEQ-ing. But I like the idea of having all these features in a small package.

As a bonus, a chromatic tuner is built-in. No wonder I haven't played much metal since my bass was stucked with standard tuning!

I wish it takes SD card and works with MP3 stored on it but I could always burn songs to a CD-RW first. Right after I bought it, Tascam indeed released one that works with MP3.

Queen Mary II: The Disappointed

Previously I wrote about Queen Mary II's visit to San Francisco I was very interested in what people wrote when it visited Hong Kong.

Well, there were a bunch of disappointed folks. First, for some reason some people think the ship should be open to public but visitors were by invitation only.

Second, one guest lecturer on the ship, John Reich, has "bad mouthed" Hong Kong and upsetted a few fellow passengers from Hong Kong.

His criticism of Hong Kong includes:
- heavy pollution. I can't disagree with this
- the pollution is so bad that you won't get a good view from Victoria Peak. I have to disagree. I saw it myself. So are others. See this video as the proof.
- the museums' collections are poor. I won't even argue. Museums are never selling points of Hong Kong. On the other hand, if one is interested in Hong Kong's own history and culture, s/he would be able to learn a lot from the museums there.
- restaurants are not capable of serving customers the food they order. I have never heard of this! I speak Cantonese so I have an advantage over Mr. Reich. However, I do have a brother who doesn't speak much Cantonese and I haven't heard him complained. I'll be very surprised if all those world class 5 star restaurants couldn't get their orders right.

Reference: Here is an excerpt from 星島日報:

本港搭客林先生向香港旅遊發展局及報章投訴，表示自己在上月二十日於澳洲雪梨上船來港，在郵輪抵港前一天，一名英國歷史及考古學家John Reich在船上舉行一個介紹香港的講座中，連番批評香港，而講座內容其後在船上透過電視不斷播放。

林先生指出，該專家提及有關香港旅遊業的情況相當負面，當中包括香港空氣污染極為嚴重，到山頂遊覽根本甚麼也看不到，根本不值一遊﹔到食肆亦往往感到絕望，因為無論如何小心點菜，侍應也經常送錯餐﹔在尖沙嘴的藝術博物館亦不值一去，因為水準比區內其他館，如上海都要差。林先生認為該專家的意見並無根據及帶誤導性，向船員投訴但不果，故向旅發局反映要求跟進。