Digital City Podcast

R-Type strategy guide, Easter Eggs, and do you see my signature on the cover?

(Credit: Scott Stein/CNET)

I found an old issue of Video Games & Computer Entertainment magazine in an ancient cardboard box filled with stuff I somehow saved from my years at summer camp. Dated July 1989, it's more than 20 years old--and it's an incredible reminder of how quickly things can change.

Besides the god-awful layout by modern standards, I found a few notable shocks when thumbing through the issue:

• Game ads have addresses to write to and phone numbers to call, since there were no Web links yet.
• The TurboGrafx-16 preview, featured on the front cover, boasts how the $199 console will have "stereo output" and an optional $399 CD-ROM player with CD-G support that will be able to "display still pictures and graphics" in addition to music.
• A letter regarding Tengen's Nintendo cartridges and Nintendo's lawsuit with them discusses whether or not they'll still be making Tetris. More interestingly, the editor's response reveals that the magazine's lead time in 1989 was three to four months...which is nearly the same as print magazines today.
• A preview page discusses Sega's upcoming games shown off at the recent Summer CES in Chicago.

It sounds like an alternate reality nowadays, but there once was a time when the CES was in other cities than Las Vegas, took place at a different time than January, and had a heavy focus on games. The article, written by Andy Eddy, points out the highlights, in case you weren't already disoriented:

Layout, circa 1989.

(Credit: Scott Stein/CNET)

• World Games, an adaptation of the hit Epyx title.
• Wanted, a Light Phaser game.
• Passing Shot
• Dynamite Dux
• Captain Silver
• Cloud Master
• Basketball Nightmare
• Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap
• Ultima IV
• Walter Payton Football
• Alex Kidd: High Tech World
• And some hot new titles from Activision, including Cyborg Hunter, Rampage and Bomber Raid.

If you can remember more than seven games from the list above, you're a better Sega fan than I--and I owned every Sega system from the Master System onwards.

He also discusses how, later that year, Sega will release the Mega Drive in America, with all its 16-bit wonder.

It makes me wonder where games will be in another 20 years--what we'll be boasting about, and how much of our current generation's crop will be irrelevant in a similar look back. Then again, it's funny to reflect on how some things have survived--many of the games on the Master System and TurboGrafx-16 are now available on the Wii's Virtual Console or on other devices, as our culture becomes ever more retro-obsessed.

Seeing a used-game ad spread across one page reminded me even further of how many of these titles have been lost to the general collective memory, save a quick look at Wikipedia. It's like gaming's library of Alexandria. On the other hand, hey, it seems like GameStop buys back games for about the same price as Play It Again did in 1989.

For your amusement, some used game prices from 20 years ago.

(Credit: Scott Stein/CNET)

And, more importantly, in 2029, will print magazines still have a three-month lead time? Yes, that's a trick question.

On this week's Digital City, we tackle one of the most contentious issues of our time -- Mac vs. PC -- as Dan offers an enlightened path to peace for both camps. We also hear about some free municipal Wi-Fi for the new Times Square pedestrian mall; a sweet TV/PS3 combo deal at Best Buy; and discuss the fate of the vaporware-like CrunchPad.

Later, Scott laments the lack of Microsoft synergy in the Zune gaming business model; we check out some new game releases, including Zelda: Spirit Tracks and The Saboteur; and debate the ethics of adding adults-only DLC to games.

Quick note: tune in next week for a chance to win a Zune HD!

Related links:
>>A modest proposal: Detente between Mac and PC laptop fans
>>Can Zune gaming compete?
>>Times Square gets free WiFi

>>Watch the Digital City live every Monday at 3pm EST on CNET Live!
>>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes
>>Join the Digital City Facebook fan page
>>Need more? Follow Dan on Twitter! And Scott!

(Credit: Joi Ito, via Flickr)

There are a handful of topics guaranteed to get readers all ginned up and at each others' throats in the comments section of any Web site. While PS3 vs. Xbox or AT&T vs. Verizon are solid go-to choices, anything that gives Apple and Microsoft fans a chance to vent at each other is on another level entirely.

Not that we don't enjoy pouring a little lighter fluid on the fire occasionally, but in the spirit of the holiday season, we have a proposal for peace between PC and Mac laptop users--or at least finding some middle ground both sides can agree with.

With that in mind, we offer the following modest proposal for a détente in the war between Mac and PC fanboys.

>PC Makers will agree:
To adopt the large multitouch touchpad that has become so popular on MacBook laptops. Once you get the hang of using two fingers to scroll down a page or flipping four fingers up to hide all your active windows, there's really no going back.

Yes, we acknowledge that many Windows laptops now support some kind of multitouch gestures. But we have yet to find a single PC that implements them particularly well--the worst offenders being touchpads that require your fingers to be lined up on a mathematically precise plane to activate simple two-finger scrolling. Even worse, they shoehorn gestures into the same tiny touchpads we've been cramping our fingers on for years.

Additionally, when you close the lid on a MacBook, it goes into a low-power sleep state, and then wakes up in a few seconds when you open the lid. It works the same every time, like clockwork. No matter what kind of sleep, hibernate, or other lid-close function we set up on a Windows laptop, the result is always a roll of the dice--yes, even in Windows 7. We particularly like the one where the machine wakes up, but the screen doesn't, requiring us to open the close the lid repeatedly until it randomly starts working.

Therefore, PC makers will agree to work with Microsoft to come up with a sleep mode that actually works the same way every single time.

>Apple will agree:
To turn touchpad tapping and click-dragging on by default, and not make us dig around in the menus for this very basic functionality. Secondly, Apple will agree to finally acknowledge the concept of two mouse buttons once and for all. That means second buttons on all mice (although the two-finger touchpad tap really works quite well), and no more pretending to be a one-button OS while actually including right-click functions for just about everything.

Finally, Apple will agree to ditch (or augment) its mini-DVI ports with plain old HDMI. It carries HD video, plus audio, and it's built into pretty much every other AV device known to man. Heaven forbid we should want to watch HD iTunes videos on a TV by plugging our laptops directly in, instead of buying an Apple TV unit.

Episode 60 of Digital City has arrived, and whereas last week saw Joe, Julie, and Scott out sick, this week Dan and Joe are out. In with Scott and Julie are CNET editors Josh Goldman and 404 co-host Justin Yu, both of whom share thoughts on some of the good, bad, and ugly Cyber Monday shopping deals out there, and whether or not any good point-and-shoot cameras are being offered. Plus, some quick holiday movie reviews, Scott's buyer's remorse over a PSP Go purchase, and one of the largest backpacks we've ever seen. Kick up your feet, it's Digital City!

Related links:
>>CNET's Cyber Monday shopping deals
>>Holiday travel: sometimes it's nice not to have an app for that
>>Pointed, shot: 2009's best compact cams

>>Watch the Digital City live every Monday at 3pm EST on CNET Live!
>>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes
>>Join the Digital City Facebook fan page
>>Need more? Follow Dan on Twitter!
>>Follow Scott on Twitter.

It's episode 59 of the Digital City, and if our cast looks a little different today, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. Joey, Julie, and Scott all called in sick, so we recruited some of our CNET colleagues to step in and offer their holiday shopping advice.

David Katzmaier, John Falcone, and Matt Fitzgerald weigh in on Black Friday tips for big-screen TVs, home theater equipment, and digital cameras, and we go over some of the best and worst laptop deals around.

Also discussed was the high-concept Tony Hawk: Ride skateboard video game, the surprise popularity of Assassin's Creed 2, and Dan showed off his new Forza-3-branded Pumas.

Added bonus: we've got a handful of beta invites for MAG, the massive 256-person PS3 shooter to give away. Ping me on Twitter , or e-mail us at digitalcity@cnet.com, and we'll hook the first five people up.

Related links:
>>Are these Apple's Black Friday laptop deals?
>>Rating Black Friday laptop doorbuster deals
>>Review: the ColcaSac hemp MacBook sleeve
>>Hands on with 15th-century Italy in Assassin's Creed II

>>Watch the Digital City live every Monday at 3pm EST on CNET Live!
>>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes
>>Join the Digital City Facebook fan page
>>Need more? Follow Dan on Twitter!

Episode 58 of the Digital City, where we wrangle with the legal arguments over Apple vs. Psystar; show off the latest super-fancy laptop to hit our desks, the $2,000 HP Envy 15; and find the world's best laptop backpack in the Booq Boa.

Both Modern Warfare 2 and New Super Mario Bros. Wii get some praise, while PSP Go sales seem to hit a wall; and we compare the original God of War games to the new polished-up versions in the God of War collection for PS3.

Related links:
>>Booq Boa Squeeze review
>>Spend some time with New Super Mario Bros. Wii
>>Modern Warfare 2 arrives

>>Watch the Digital City live every Monday at 3pm EST on CNET Live!
>>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes
>>Join the Digital City Facebook fan page
>>Need more? Follow Dan on Twitter!

DS 3D graphics: Looking nice.

(Credit: Activision)

Did you think Modern Warfare 2 was all about 360 and PS3 headset smack-talking in front of a massive HD display and booming surround sound? No, there is another. With the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 came the less-heralded Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Mobilized, for the Nintendo DS.

Come on, admit you're curious. Want to know how it is?

First of all, this is obviously not a port of the MW2 game. It's not even close, and it doesn't try to be, either. Its name, Modern Warfare Mobilized, suggests it's a spinoff, and the storyline parallels different events and a different single-player campaign.

Now, the good news: this isn't a simple licensing rip-off. Under the hood of MW Mobilized is a real 3D FPS, which should be familiar to anyone who's played the previous Call of Duty: World at War DS game. Visually and aurally, this just might be the pinnacle of Nintendo DS 3D gaming. That's not a huge compliment, but levels involve interiors, courtyards, overhead helicopters launching air strikes, at a distinctly slower and more linear pace than the console game, but with a decent level of production polish provided your expectations remain severely curbed.

Enemies emerge two or three at a time, and their death cries and animations bring to mind Doom more than Call of Duty, but the storyline is cinematically told and decent fun with headphones. Unfortunately, however, FPS control for the DS is a jury-rigged nightmare. Using an all-too-familiar control scheme adopted by Metroid Prime Hunters and others, the D-pad controls basic movement and strafing, while the left shoulder button fires. Stylus movement on the lower screen replaces the right analog stick moves, and while it technically works, the setup leaves one's hands cramped and carpal-tunneled after just 10 minutes.

This week on the Digital City, Joey tests the new Netflix/PS3 BD Live disc, with mixed results; we talk about all the cool new luxury laptops you'll never buy, including Sony's Vaio X, Dell's Adamo XPS, and HP's Envy.

We also show off Nokia's new Booklet 3G Netbook, and debate the relative merits of games sequels, from Bioshock 2 to God of War 3. We also note how everyone in New York seems to have gotten their hands on a copy of Modern Warfare 2 early, giving the holiday season's biggest game an unusually sloppy launch.

Related links:
>>Hands on with Nokia's Booklet 3G
>>Say goodbye to sleep: Modern Warfare 2 arrives
>>Hands on with the new Dell Adamo XPS

>>Watch the Digital City live every Monday at 3pm EST on CNET Live!
>>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes
>>Join the Digital City Facebook fan page
>>Need more? Follow Dan on Twitter; and Scott!

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)

Dateline: November 9, Manhattan. I'm inside B&H Photo, carrying a Nikon D70 SLR camera my dad was kind enough to pass down to me. It doesn't have a lens, or a memory card, or a case. Those are my responsibilities. This is why I'm spending close to an hour staring at various lenses ranging from 18-55 all the way up to 18-200mm, all the while knowing nearly nothing about SLR technology.

November 10: 11 a.m. After a long shower this morning and a fretful commute to work, I'm carrying my D70 with the Tamron 18-200mm lens I bought, and wondering, did I do the right thing? Did I make the right purchase?

I'm an editor at CNET, but I review laptops, not cameras. And still, post-purchase, I'm racked with regret. Consumer second-guessing--should I have gotten a cheaper Nikon kits lens?--is combined with frantic forum-reading, friend-calling, colleague-consulting. I'm told on four separate occasions that, yes, I made a good purchase. Moreover, the Tamron lens only cost $229 after rebate.

The source of my anxiety.

(Credit: CNET)

But I feel like I've bought a Ferrari. I feel slightly ill. And the funny part about the experience is that I'm reading more about the various Nikon SLR lenses after my purchase than before.

Does this happen to you? I've always had a theory (and so does another co-worker) that it's post-purchase when we want to read the most about our laptop, our game, our new accessory. We want extra confirmation of our good judgment, our wise decision. We want positive reinforcement. We want a pat on the back.

I've found solace from our own camera team and their reviews, and from user opinions. How about you? Are all your purchases tinged with a feeling of potential regret, of fear that you chose poorly? One of the few purchases I've ever made with no regrets was my iPhone, but even then I felt bad about spending so much money in the first place. It's not easy, especially with so many options and so many Web sites and threads that endlessly bat around every minute detail.

Plus, there's always the feeling with any consumer electronics purchase that the cheaper route is somehow a compromised route, and the more you learn the more that lingers in the back of your mind (or, at least, mine) like a grinning devil. Spend a little more...just a little more...or, conversely, why didn't you save a few more bucks?

Meanwhile, I'm learning about SLR cameras as I take photos of my ever-more-mobile child, all the while trying to calm pangs of what my friends like to call "Consumer Stein Remorse."