Video: Torn

You've probably already seen the video of Natalie Imbruglia's song Torn being performed in pantomime by David Armand. It's a classic.

Well, he performed it again at a charity event for Amnesty International - and got some help. Check it out:

Funny Pictures. Mostly.

If you're like me, you delete forwards titled Funniest Pictures on the Web!!!!!1 right along with the ones titled Enlarge Your Goods!!!!1! Excitement is For Your Pleasure!!.

But Fark posted this site with the twenty funniest images on the net, so I clicked it. Turns out, they are pretty funny - and mostly pics I hadn't already seen literally everywhere.

The page is updated every so often, so you can check back for the new funniest images whenever you like.

Click here for teh laughs.

ectotechnica

With as little fanfare as possible, I present to you my new blog:

ectotechnica.

It will contain the tech news and gaming stories that most of you never read. If you are one of the few who actually do read those stories, then I hope you find the new site to be a useful resource.

But I want to be clear that ectotechnica is for everyone - technical and non-technical alike. Even if you aren't interested in everything, I want you to be able to gather practical and helpful information from it.

I'll be posting useful software tools, time wasters, news, and plenty more. So if you're interested in keeping a watchful eye on the ever-changing digital landscape, then please visit often.

The site still has some kinks to work out, so I encourage you to leave comments or send an email with suggestions. Good or bad, I want to know what you think.

Thanks. Enjoy!

YouTube Gems: Crutch

Alright. Time to get back to the business of posting cool things.

This guy is named Bill Shannon. He has a bilateral hip deformity called Legg Calve Perthes. Bill is crippled.

Have a look at the what being "crippled" has done to Bill "Crutch" Shannon's life.

Dean Takeshi: Money Talks

But it don't sing and dance, and it don't walk.

You can debate who the winner of the next-gen console war will be as long as you like. But speculation is speculation is speculation. Tangible, here-and-now numbers are worth more to me than any amount of guessture on the outcome of this financial card game.

A bird in the hand, as they say.

Read this editorial from a+e Interactive's Dean Takeshi:

Console Wars: A Look At the Financial Results

Dean Takahashi, 12:38 AM

Earnings results have a way of shedding light on the reality of the video game console wars. They scrape away the rhetoric that tends to obscure the real picture on the ground. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft all offered glimpses of the console battle with their recently reported results for the third calendar quarter.

Sony is in trouble. Its earnings plummeted 94 percent to $14.4 million because of costs related to its laptop battery recall. But it also reported a $369 million operating loss in its video game business because of start-up costs for the PlayStation 3. Sony’s game revenues decreased 20 percent to $1.4 billion from a year ago because of a decline in PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 sales, as well as a price cut on the PS 2. Sony sold 5 million PS 2s worldwide in the quarter and 3.89 million PSPs. Sony is sitting on a lot of inventory now related to PS 3 components. It’s nail-biting time in Tokyo. Sony has $4.7 billion in cash, and $3 billion in short-term debt and current long-term debt.

In Redmond, things are looking brighter for Microsoft. The company has $31.8 billion in cash. That’s a substantial war chest. Sales rose 70 percent in the Entertainment and Devices division, which includes games, to $1.03 billion in the quarter. The division cut its loss from $173 million a year ago to $96 million. Microsoft says it is on target to hit profitability by the fiscal year that ends June 30, 2008. That’s a long way away, but the company is making some progress.

On the bright side. Microsoft has more than 4 million Xbox Live subscribers worldwide and it plans on hitting 6 million by June 30. It will have 160 games out by the end of the year. In the U.S., Microsoft has sold 2.9 accessories per console and software sales are at 5.1 games per console. Those numbers probably don’t hold up worldwide. But I’m told that the attach rates and Xbox Live subscription numbers are ahead of plan. There is even some good news in Japan, since the limited edition run of Hironobu Sakaguchi’s Blue Dragon game – bundled with the Xbox 360 – sold out.

Microsoft has shipped more than 6 million consoles worldwide (3.6 million in North America, 1.7 million in Europe, and 700,000 in the rest of the world). This number is very revealing. It suggests that Microsoft has sold through less than 6 million and that shows it is behind on its goal of hitting 10 million consoles sold by the time Sony sells one (starting Nov. 17). Adam Holt, an analyst at JP Morgan, said in a note that sales were light and Microsoft seemed to be behind its goal.

By June 30, Microsoft is still targeting 13 million to 15 million consoles sold worldwide. But it’s going to be hard to hit the 10 million target soon. Microsoft has had a lot of luck in this round of the console wars. It executed an on-time launch. It had a big shortage of consoles through the spring, but Sony failed to execute and pushed back its launch. Why is there so much friction for Xbox 360 sales when Microsoft has the field all to itself?

Well, one explanation lies in Nintendo’s results for the six months ended Sept. 30. The folks in Kyoto sold more than 10 million Nintendo DS and DS Lite handhelds worldwide in the last six months, giving it a grand total of 26.8 million sold to date worldwide. The New Super Mario Bros. title sold more than 6.7 million copies worldwide. Nine DS titles sold more than 1 million units. The company is launching the Wii console on Nov. 19 in the U.S. and still expects to sell 4 million by the end of the year and 6 million worldwide by March 31. It expects to sell 17 million Wii titles by March 31.

Nintendo reported sales of $2.5 billion, up 69 percent from a year earlier. Net income was $458.6 million, up from a loss a year ago. Nintendo has $6.6 billion in cash. Nintendo is forecasting sales of $6.2 billion and profits of $843 million for the year ended March 31, 2007. The company boosted its prediction of annual sales of DS units from 17 million to 20 million units worldwide. Nintendo also increased its GameBoy Advance sales forecast from 2.5 million to 3.3 million units worldwide.

So, to recap:

SONY

• Earnings plummeted 94 percent
• $369 million operating loss in its video game business because of start-up costs for the PlayStation 3
• Game revenues decreased 20 percent
• $4.7 billion in cash, and $3 billion in short-term debt and current long-term debt

MICROSOFT

• Sales rose 70 percent in the Entertainment and Devices division
• The division cut its loss from $173 million a year ago to $96 million
• By June 30, Microsoft is still targeting 13 million to 15 million consoles sold worldwide
• $31.8 billion in cash

NINTENDO

• Sales of $2.5 billion, up 69 percent from a year earlier
• Net income was $458.6 million, up from a loss a year ago
• Sold more than 10 million Nintendo DS and DS Lite handhelds worldwide in the last six months, giving it a grand total of 26.8 million sold to date worldwide
• Expects to sell 4 million Wii units by the end of the year and 6 million worldwide by March 31. It expects to sell 17 million Wii titles by March 31
• $6.6 billion in cash

Progress Report

Well, as you can see, I haven't provided much in the way of content over the last few days. I apologize again. But I want to let you all know what's been keeping my attention focused elsewhere:

I'm in the process of starting a new blog - something quite different from the e:c.

Because I've chosen to use an open source software suite (WordPress), there is an inescapable learning curve to contend with. Whereas Blogger was a relatively quick-to-learn, lifetime-to-master affair, WordPress is taking a little longer to acclimate to.

Moving from basic HTML with a little javascript and XML to full-fledged SQL databases with PHP-hosted domains written in CSS is like upgrading from checkers to chess. Sure, the board looks the same and the pieces are the familiar colors, but making everything work is considerably more complicated.

At least, it's more complicated until you understand the basics. And that's what I'm doing: learning the basics.

It's time-consuming, but I have faith that this is a worthwhile venture.

The new site will be much more focused than e:c. I plan to turn my interests in technology and web culture into a useful resource for anyone who could use a hand navigating the often unforgiving digital landscape.

My hope is that I can bring my perspective on the things I love - like open source software tools, technology news, scientific/ecological advancements, and even gaming culture and tech gadgets - to readers in a way that is practical, useful, and accessible.

I want to help people grow their understanding of the everyday technology around them; to better understand and utilize the tools they have to be productive or creative or to just have fun.

Will anyone want to read it? Can I build a readership of people who trust my "knowledge" and perspective?

Who knows. I hope so.

This blog will continue to be my outlet for the myriad shiny objects that catch my attention every day. I hope that you who have come here to read my thoughts will continue to do so. But please bear with me if the updates are fewer and farther between.

I'll let you know as soon as the new blog is up and running. I want to have it fairly polished before I open the flood...excuse me...trickle-gates.

Thanks for sticking around.

Not Moving.

Surely this is great news for all 3 of you who read this: I've decided to stick with Blogger a little longer. I'm still exploring other options for hosting, but I don't want to waste more time by not posting anything.

So you can start checking back regularly again.


Why does it feel like I'm talking to myself?

Moving?

Although Blogger has been a great first host for this blog, I am currently considering a move to another host that better suits my tastes.

Right now I'm evaluating several options, so there won't be any new posts here for a few days.

But hang in there! I'll let you know as soon as the blog has settled in a new home.

Check back for updates, folks.