Mawalien Invasion: 2008

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Basics you should know about the PS3

1 - Touch-sensitive power and eject buttons
The eject and power on buttons on the face of the PS3 are touch sensitive, and very responsive. (Also, at the back, theres a "Cold" power off switch, for when you absolutely positively hafta take out every last PS3 in the room.... accept no substitute)

2 - Not all games are 1080p
Although the hardware is capable of delivering 1080p at 60 frames per second, most games available now only support 720p. BONUS: If you watch a DVD movie, the PS3 will upscale it, so it'll look a little nicer on your LCD.

3 - A PSP can connect via Wi-Fi to the PS3’s hard drive
For example, you can use the PSP as a rear-view mirror in Gran Turismo, or to access the PS3’s system menus wirelessly, using a feature called “Remote Play.”

4 - The Dualshock 3 controller gets about 20 - 24 hours of battery life
Bad part about this - There's no easy way to substitute the internal battery. (Ass soon as my warranty finishes, I'm gonna bust open that Dualshock 3 and post about how to do this)
BONUS: Although there's no charge indicator on the pad itself, it appears on screen during games. Press and hold the PS button on any joypad and an indicator will appear, showing your pad's charge as a small battery. A full battery pic means a fully-charged pad. Yay.

5 - Redownload all your online games to someone else’s PS3
This seems great, but be aware that you can only download the games a total of five times. (And remeber.... if you format the HDD to install Linux, you can't backup these games.... so you'll lose one of the download points.)

6 - Play games from any country
Although Sony doesn't really want you to know this, PS3 games aren't region coded. Hooray for Asian imports!!!
(Watch out... this only applies to GAMES. Blu-Ray movies are usually region locked, and won't play on different regions)

7 - The secret video reset
If you want to use your PS3 on another T.V. which doesnt support the resolutions you were using, nothing will show on the screen. How do you reset the settings?
Shut down your PS3 then restart by pressing and holding the power button.This will reset your PS3 to its most basic 480p graphics mode so you'll be able to see enough to choose RGB SCART, component, HDMI or whatever from here.

8 - VOIP
You will need a USB headset, and an EyeToy camera. Plug in both via USB then go to your Friends menu. Choose a friend you've signed up earlier and press Triangle. Choose Start New Chat and type a message. Something like 'Videochat?' should do the trick. Now, providing they're in front of their powered-up PS3 then they'll see your message and be given the option to accept your videochat.
Now, provided they too have a camera and headset, two windows will open, one showing you (so you can make sure you're looking your best), the other displaying your mate. Best of all you can hit Triangle again and invite more people to join your chat - up to a maximum of six. And the cost? ZERO

9 - Upgrade your hard drive
My PS3 came with an 80GB HDD. I bought a LaCie 320GB 2.5" external HDD, and swapped the disks. Now I have 320GB in my PS3, and and external 80GB HDD, which I can also use on my PS3 via USB to transfer files. Do a search on Youtube for "Replace ps3 hdd" It takes about 5 mins, from start to finish. All you need is a small philips (star) screwdriver.

10 - Force a PS3 to show your files
Put your photos in a folder called 'PICTURE' or your videos in a folder called 'VIDEO' or simply *force* your PS3 to look at your files on your stick regardless of what you called them or where you put them. Insert your stick and go to the menu option you want (Photos, Music, whatever). PressTriangle to bring up a menu and choose Display All.
This will show every file on the stick. It even works for a plugged-in iPod, though the multi-folder structure you'll reveal is a bit baffling. Still, your songs are in there if you've got the patience to find them.

11 - Change your album art
When you import a music CD your PS3 automatically pulls down the album art and stores it with the tracks. Occasionally it gets it wrong, however, or it may simply not be able to find the art of your hipper, less commercial tracks. This is easily fixed however.
Download a pic of the art you need as a jpg on your PC and put it onto a stick (in a folder called PICTURE, ideally). Copy it to your Photo menu (press Triangle). Now go to Music and select the album folder with the offending art. Press Triangle and select Information. Go to the Photo menu and select your new picture. Bingo.

12 - Crack your PS3
Sorry... This isn't possible yet.
The most you can do is play Ripped PS1/2 games on SOME PS3 models. (Do a search)
The closest you can get is to install Linux, and emulators.
I upgraded from a modded Xbox, and therefore I have Emulators for: Sega (Master system, mega drive, CD32, Game Gear), Nintendo (Gameboy XXX, NES, SNES, N64), Commodore 64, Amstrad xxx, Spectrum xxx, MAME etc. In total, I think it comes to about 8.000 games. :D

13 - (Last minute addition) Lightguns
At the moment, there is only one game on the PS3 which uses a lightgun: Time Crisis 4.
Problem: It comes bundled with the lightgun, and you can't "officially" purchase the lightgun separately. So player 2 has to use the Dualshock 3.
Solution: Search ebay for ex-demo models. Theyre about a third of the price. Perfect for when you want two player action.
BONUS: On modern LCD's, normal lightgun technology won't work. The PS3 lightgun uses two LED modules, placed either corner of your LCD to detect the guns aiming.

How to track UPS packages via email

Heres a quick little piece of information.

If you want to track a package sent through UPS quickly, send an email to the addresses below, and enter the UPS tracking number in the subject line of the e-mail or in the body of the message.

For Customers in the United States:
E-mail UPS tracking numbers to: totaltrack@ups.com

For Customers Outside of the United States:
E-mail your UPS tracking numbers to: totaltrack.gb-eng@ups.com

Monday, December 29, 2008

U.S.B. 3.0 - Need the speed?

"We've been hearing about it for years, and now it's finally happening: There's a new version of USB on the way, and it's going to be ten times faster than its predecessor. Launching next Monday is USB 3.0, and the good news is that it's backward-compatible with our old friend, USB 2.0. You can see the two new plugs above, with the one on top the standard USB 3.0 plug that will fit in current USB sockets, and the smaller one pictured underneath destined for portable devices such as cell phones and music players."

Read all about it.