Regarding the PS4 sales

These days a lot more people buy stuff just because they can. Even with the recent recessions consumerism seems to be at its highest.

What happened with Wii on the past gen is understandable. It was the toy to have. The trend was over and these toys ended up collecting dust, without consuming content.

PS4 is a promising platform, but it's not the time to go get one. No at it's current price point, nor with its current (exclusive) catalog.

As per the other functions, these can be done with other devices, including the (almighty) PC.

Just recently I got me a PS3. With the exclusives released so far there is fun to be had for a while.

Heck, the PS2 has a lot (and I mean a lot) of gems waiting to be discovered.

I did the unthinkable

Yesterday I did the unthinkable. I got a PS3 game. Don't take me wrong, I have nothing against the Playstation brand, I have a PS2 and I love playing PS1 and PS2 games.

Back in 06 I decided to go with the X360 because of the great experience I had with the original Xbox and also because of availability. Down the road I didn't decide on a PS3 mainly because most games were available on both platforms.

Well, reason I decided to get this particular PS3 game (2014 World Cup) was because I couldn't find it for X360.

Also, at this point in time (2014) there are a number of PS3 exclusives I'm interested in playing:

- Gran Turismo 5

- Gran Turismo 6

- Initial D

- Los juegos de Saint Seiya
- Playstation Battle Royale (o como se llame el clon del Smash Bros)

- Metal Gear Solid 4 (igual convendria conseguir la legacy collection)

- Ridge Racer 7

- Little big planet

- Twisted metal

- Motostorm

To name a few. Through history PS3 consoles don't seem to fail as much as the X360, so I'm not sure what model to get. PS2 backwards compatiblity is not an issue since I have a PS2. I guess as long as it is close to a 100 bucks it'll be fine.

My Sonic memories

I got into Sonic thanks to a buddy of mine who invited me to his house to "play Sega". He got Montana sports talk football and we were playing for hours. Later that evening I saw a box with a "cat" (I thought that was a cat at the time). I asked my buddy and he said, "oh yeah, that's Sonic the Hedgehog, wanna play?" I said "sure, why not".

Since that day, my life was changed and history was rewritten. Instead of saving for a SNES for Christmas, I got the Genesis and Sonic. All the awesomeness and for a lower price.

Retro gaming PC project

It's been quite a while since I wrote anything here (nah, really?). 

The retro gaming PC is a project I've been working for sometime since last year when I recovered an old PC I assembled back in 02. The current system specs are:

- Mobo: ECS K7SEM

- CPU: (integrated) AMD Duron 1300 (about 1 ghz)

- Ram: 512 MB PC133 (Kingston and Markvision)

- Sound Card: SB Audigy Digital Studio (LA Edition) 

- Capture Card: Avermedia AverTV

- 2 x 40 GB IDE HDD (Seagate and Maxtor)

- Gravis gamepad pro

- Windows 98 SE

I've tried the following games with satisfactory results (I mean, why they wouldn't work?):

- Fifa 98 (sometimes sounds bad, I don't know why)

- 4x4 Evo

- Monster Truck Madness 1 and 2

- Midtown Madness 1 and 2

- Need for Sped 2 SE

- Chesmaster 8000

- Roadrash

- Sonic 3D (I have to run it from a physical CD to get music)

- Sonic CD (still have to switch to 256 colors, also a physical CD is required for music))

Some of this games work on Windows 7, however, since I no longer run it at home (all migrated to Ubuntu) this PC is the way to go.

After finding some software discs and hardware I expanded the scope of this system beyond gaming. Some productivity (and not so much) stuff I added:

- Canon LPT1 scanner and software (works lke day one)

- Office 97 (ust the way I remeber it)

- Cool edit Pro (awesome audio editor)

- MS Plus (collection of themes and games)

- IMGBurn (the latest version works!)

- Daemon tools (older version which works on Win98)

The only thing that this PC is no good at is the internet. Most sites won't load correctly with the version of Firefox I installed, forget about IE6. 

My first experience with the WiiU

December 7th was when I got me a WiiU plus a handful of games. However, it wasn't until last night when I hooked up the system. 

Having the Wii I knew it wasn't going to be a breeze to hook it up but at the same time it wasn't rocket science etiher.

One of the first things I dind't like is the glossy finish on the main unit, it is big finger print collector. I had to clean it when I decied where to put it (on top of the X360).

I like the fact, every single basic cable is included (namely the HDMI cable). I already had Wii remotes laying around, although I ultimately decided to get a candy orange control which will be dedicated to the WiiU.

After I hooked up everything, I had to remove the Wii U gamepad form the craddle and hook it up directly to the AC adapter since it was completely dry. The first thing I had to do was to sync up the Wii U tablet, after syncing the controller I set up the WiFi connection, the TV remote (very easy to pair with my Samsung TV and my Dish receiver) and then the dreaded update. It took like an hour or so, I don't since I abandoned the console and went to the living room to watch the soccer final (León Campeón yay!!!).

After the update finished, my controller was also fully charged. I hooked up the craddle the way it is supossed to be. I spent some time creating a Mii and a Nintendo Network account, and then finally I went on to play some Super Mario 3D World. I played a couple levels (I love what I'm seeing).

Also, I popped in Ducktales remastered. Some people may feel anoyed by the cutscenes, in my opinion, I like them. I like how they created a backstory and how the story develops during the game, it feels almost like watching a Ducktales episode. I just played the Transyvania level.

Al the time I played using the tablet and it felt comfortable, perhaps a bit bulky at times but comfortable overall. Next session I'll give the wii remote + classic controller pro a try. 

That's all I have for now. Until next time...

Telcel APN configuration

Name: Internet

APN: internet.itelcel.com

Proxy: NO

Port; NO

Username: webgprs

Password: webgprs2002

Server: NO

MMSC: NO

MMS Proxy: No

MMS Port: NO

MCC: 334

MNC: 020

Authentication Type: PAP

APN Type: default,supl

13' Nissan Versa Head Unit replacement

This is how I replaced the stock head unit on my 13' Versa. The stock audio system is a good system, but after almost a year I wanted something with more features (most notably a touch screen). Previous to this, I had the speakers replaced with four Polk Audio Dxi 650.

After doing some research and asking a few vendors, this is what I came up with:

- JVC KW-AV61BT

- Metra Axxess ASWC-1 - OE Steering Wheel control interface

- Metra 99-7613 Dash Kit (not required, the original brackets fit just fine)

- PAC TR7 Video Bypass (also not required, JVC radios are easily bypassed)

- Metra 40-NI12 Antena adapter

- Metra 70-7552 wiring harness

- Sirius SXV200 module

- Scosche TK12 toolkit

- Fake faceplate

The first step was to prepare the harness. Using the couplers included with the TK12 I color matched all cables with the JVC harness. Also, I performed the power connections for the ASWC-1 harness. The ASWC-1's Gray/Red and Gray/Blue wires were left pending as the 70-7552 doesn't have the pins for the steering wheel controls.

This is the resulting harness:

Next was remove the panel. For that purpose I used the panel removal tool. It was matter of inserting it in the let top corner. As I removed the panel I was careful with the hazard flashers switch.

With the radio now accesible it was a matter of just removing the four screws and unplugging the cables.

At this stage, from the car harness, I spliced cables at pins 6, 16 and 15 and perfomed the connections to gray/red, gray/blue and ground on the ASWC-1.

As stated before, the Metra 99-7613 is not required if the original brackets are available. With the excpetion of one screw on each side, the brackets fit nicely.

With all harnesses ready, I hooked up everything to test the radio and program the ASWC-1

With the 13' Versa press the igintion switch twice without pressing the brake pedal. After the ASWC-1 start blinking rapidly, press and hold the Steering Wheel Volume Up button until the unit stops flashing, after that release the button and wait for the LED to stay solid red. At that point test the volume control.

The XM unit is located in a compartment behind the glove box (plenty of room there) and I routed the cable and mounted the antenna inside the windshield on the passenger side. The reception is really good, so I didn't have to mount the antenna outside.

I ran the microphone cable above the flashers switch. A matter of remving a small cover.

This is how it looks after I put everything in place:

For the video bypass, I only had to ground the green e-brake cable.

As a protective meassure I ordered this fake faceplate:

However, being a common item, it could be counterproductive to use it, so I ordered a 07 Versa OEM faceplate. I didn't have to alter it in any way. It fits perfectly in place of the JVC faceplate.

Now it looks like it still has the stock radio.

Here's a video showing DVD player and steering wheel control in action:

For my next projects I intend to install a backup camera and mount a Dreamcast.

Until the next time...