Nintendo’s Wii Is Finally Here

Last week was big for me . . . my husband and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary, and I was given a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet THE president. I had the huge honor of shaking the hand of Mr. George W. Bush, the president of our wonderful United States of America. Wow. Need I say more? MidWeek’s Publisher Ron Nagasawa said to me, “Geez Ali, first you meet the President of Sony (SCEA), now you’ve met the President of the United States. What’s next?” Well, I guess I can’t really top meeting two of my heroes within a three-week time period, but something else I can at least add onto my good week was finally receiving my very own Nintendo Wii.

Although I wrote about the Wii earlier this year, shortly after my trip to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), I finally had the opportunity to actually use one, and call it my own. It’s a fun console to play with almost no learning curve. As long as you have fairly good hand-eye coordination, anybody can master it. Just point the controller at the TV (making sure the sensor is on top of your TV) and move the cursor around with the simple movements of your hand. It’s so easy that I can (almost) guarantee that any non-techie person can figure this thing out.

The Wii is definitely the console to choose for any non-gamer that would like to acquaint themselves with video games, or anybody like myself who wants to play with its cool controller. You can hook up to four remote controllers to one Wii. Using Bluetooth, the controllers’ wireless signal can be detected 10 meters away from the console, and each has a power switch, plus pad, A, B, Minus, Home and 1 and 2 buttons. The nunchuk (to go with the controller and used for more complicated moves) includes an analog control stick and C and Z buttons.

Turning on the Wii, you’ll see the Wii Channel Menu, and there you can go to the Disk Channel (to play games from the slot), Mii Channel (create fun caricatured portraits of yourself and members of your family), Photo Channel (take photos off your SD memory card), Forecast Channel (weather), News Channel or the Wii Shop Channel. I logged onto the Wii Shop Channel to see what it was all about, and it turns out you have to use Wii Points to buy any goodies. You can purchase the point cards at the retailer you bought your Wii from, or with a credit card. The points end up costing you about $1 for 100 points.

The Wii’s backwards compatibility allows the media bay to play games from the 8-centimeter Nintendo GameCube disks, and of course the current Wii 12-centimeter optical disks. Additionally, ports for classic Nintendo GameCube controllers, two slots for Nintendo GameCube Memory Cards and two USB 2.0 ports are included. Using the Wii’s Wi-Fi capability (which instantly found my wireless network when I turned it on), you will have the option of downloading virtual console games that date back to 20 years ago (from the Wii Shop Channel, average 800 – 1,000 points for each game). Fan-favorite titles originally released for the Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Sega Genesis can once again grace your television screen (i.e. Donkey Kong, Super Mario 64, SimCity or Bomberman).

There are a ton of current Wii titles out or coming out, but available right here and now is the much-awaited The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess from Nintendo. Also from Nintendo is the included Wii Sports. Sitting there and playing virtual tennis (using my Mii character) by swinging the controller is very cool and somewhat relaxing. Otherwise, my favorite third party games include Call of Duty 3, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Prince of Persia or Red Steel, and many, many more are available.

If you’re a graphics snob, you will be disappointed with the Wii’s look. Don’t expect its graphics to wow you. As for its capacity, I was a little let down, but not surprised that the Wii does not have a hard drive. It uses internal flash memory (512 MB) with a bay for an SD memory card. Nintendo made it this way to minimize power consumption and keep the console compact. Unfortunately you will not be able to play your DVDs either. If you don’t mind all that, it’s worth it just for the wow-factor of the controller. This is what video games should be like in the future, but I think this might be a bit too advanced for what the Wii’s little processor can handle, but that’s okay, I’m still enjoying it.

Nintendo’s Wii hit the market about two weeks ago and sells for $249.99 at your closest GameStop (www.gamestop.com), CompUSA (www.compusa.com) or Sears (www.sears.com). As mentioned in my Christmas list last week, don’t fret if you weren’t able to buy a Wii yet. Retailers around town (especially GameStop) are scheduled to receive more shipments soon, and definitely will be available for Christmas. Inquire at each individual location for more information. I found the Waikele GameStop to be the most helpful, and have the most items in stock.

My Top Gadgets For Christmas

I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving, and with it barely behind us, the traditional Christmas shopping season has officially begun. It’s time to decide what you want to purchase for your loved ones, or rather figure out what they want you to buy. With that in mind, these are some of my favorite ideas based off what you readers have asked of me for gift recommendations:

Sony Ericsson W810
A couple of weeks ago I bought his and hers W810s for my husband and me to replace our dying Razrs. We both instantly fell in love with this phone since it can do so much for its tiny size. The Sony Ericsson W810 is a Walkman phone with quad-band EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz) capability. Normally I’m not a big fan of phones that can play music, but this one is actually more than decent. You can either listen to your music (MP3 or AAC files) with the phone’s speaker or with your headphones (included with the phone).

I’m also not normally a fan of camera phones, but the W810’s built-in camera truly impressed me. You can take 2.0 megapixel pictures with its 4x digital zoom, and make beautiful panoramic shots, which it automatically stitches together. The camera also allows you to shoot and play videos. You can easily store all your photos, videos and ringtones, etc. with its 20MB internal storage and your Memory Stick Pro Duo (the largest one out there is 4GB). This phone costs $99.99 from Cingular (www.cingular.com).

Next Gen Consoles
For the kid in your life (or the kid at heart), all three of the next generation game consoles are finally out. People always ask me, “Which one should I buy?” I always tell them it depends on what your preference is. If you want the best game selection with nice graphics, go with Microsoft’s Xbox 360. If you’re looking for something very user-friendly and don’t really care about the graphic quality or game variety, go with Nintendo’s Wii (which I will give a full review on next week). Then there’s Sony’s PlayStation 3 (PS3) . . . go with this if you’re a total graphics snob and don’t mind a somewhat limited game choice. But keep in mind that the 360 and PS3 can both playback their respective first generation titles.

These days the Xbox 360 is definitely the most widely available console out there at $299.99 for the Core System or $399.99 for the model with the 20GB hard drive. The Wii goes for $249.99, and the PS3 is $499 (w/20GB hard drive) or $599 (w/60GB hard drive). Don’t worry if you didn’t see a Wii or PS3 the first time around on the recent launch date. The word on the street is these will be restocked very shortly. Keep checking with your nearest CompUSA (www.compusa.com) or GameStop (www.gamestop.com).


Sony Cyber Shot T-Series
There are so many digital cameras to choose from, but my favorite on the market remains Sony’s Cyber Shot T-Series. They all have a huge 2.5 or three-inch screen (depending on which one you purchase), Super SteadyShot Optical Image Stabilization, a 3x Carl Zeiss optical zoom lens and the capability to use up to a 4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo to store your photos and videos.

I wrote about the T30 back in May, but there are three in the series you can choose from. The T10 is the most affordable of the three at about $350, and comes in pink, white, silver or black. The T30 is available in silver or black, will run you about $400, and the latest and greatest of the bunch is the T50. This one comes in red, black or silver and will burn a $450 hole in your pocketbook. You can find any of these at Shirokiya at Ala Moana Center, CompUSA (www.compusa.com) or online at www.sonystyle.com.


Apple iPods
Last but not least, an iPod always makes a good stocking stuffer. I’d say it’s the most user-friendly mp3 player around. Whether it’s the shuffle for the simple person to the full-blown video iPod for the more advanced user, an iPod is sure to please just about anyone. Clip and go with the 1GB shuffle for $79 (silver). If you prefer tunes with color, the nano comes in bright green, blue, pink, silver, black or red, and ranges in price with the size, $149 (2GB) - $249 (8GB). The full-size iPod has a 2.5-inch screen and comes in white or black for $249 (30GB) or $349 (80GB). You can buy these at the Apple Store in Ala Moana Center or online at www.apple.com.

Gears of War

So I guess I’m a geek since I knew last week (November 15) marked the five-year anniversary of the popular video game Halo. Most of you probably didn’t know, or care to know that little tidbit. But, even so, if you’re not a gamer or don’t follow video games at all, if you’ve kept up with the news in the past few years, you would know that Halo is one of the most popular video games ever made on this planet. As for me, I loved Halo, then Halo 2. In fact, fellow MidWeek writer Chad Pata interviewed my husband and I about Halo 2 for his video game story back in 2004. At the time we were in the midst of planning our wedding, but still made Halo 2 a close second priority.

That all may sound purely psychotic to you, but as a gaming couple, we have our priorities! Although I’ve played a variety of countless games after Halo 2, and even reviewed some of them in my previous columns, the next one to hit the Halo popularity mark with the rest of the world is Gears of War. It landed on the store shelves a couple of weeks ago, and has been an instant success since.

Gears of War was developed by Epic Games, exclusively for Microsoft Game Studios and the Xbox 360. In this third-person tactical action / horror game, you live in the shoes of Marcus Fenix, and you’re seeking a personal redemption while leading your fire team against boatloads of monsters. In general, it’s a story of humankind’s epic battle for survival against the Locust Horde, a race of scary humanoid creatures that surface at you from underground.

The gameplay makes you feel like you’re running around in a horror movie, and the game uses the new Unreal Engine 3 to create high-definition visuals that will wow you. The graphics rendering is so top-notch that you can see the tiniest detail, even while you’re in the middle of a battle. The characters look extremely lifelike with the way their facial movements are, skin tone, body armor, etc. “Gears of War has the best graphics of any game I’ve seen, period,” says gamertag ‘Disastro Slick,’ an avid Gears of War player (only asked to be identified by his tag). “The TV commercials you see do not come close to giving it justice. You need to see it in 1080i resolution to believe it,” he adds.

As you’re playing the game, you have to make sure you’re always taking cover, otherwise you will quickly die. The game allows you to quickly do this, and as with any other first person shooter game, I like to use the sniper weapons and aim for the monsters’ heads since you’ll stop them quicker than just shooting at their torsos. I also enjoy using the grenade launcher if there’s a bunch of them coming at me at once. Other weapons include the snub pistol (sidearm), Gnasher Shotgun, Lancer Assault Rifle (with a unique chainsaw bayonet used in close proximity of an enemy) and the Hammer of Dawn (capable of leveling a building).

“My favorite aspect of the game is the intuitive system used for ducking for cover and quickly jumping from one spot to the next,” says Bill Bal, another avid Gears of War player. “This allows for a skilled player to approach sniper posts without exposing themselves to the one-shot kills that are common in other first person shooters. The intuitive system keeps the game from degrading into a slow-paced hide and seek match, and gives a skilled player a tremendous advantage to those accustomed to long-range engagements,” he adds. Bal himself (gamertag Arkim) is a seasoned gamer, and even sacrificed some of his World of Warcraft time to play with Gears of War.

Gears of War also offers you two difficulty settings right off – casual and hardcore. When you beat the game (all five acts worth), a third setting is unlocked – insane. Once you hit this level, it’s way harder than the other two, but it builds your skills. When you start off, I would suggest putting it on the hardcore level and play in the co-op mode with someone else or on Xbox Live. It makes things a little more easier and fun.

Overall, I think Gears of War has raised the bar for how this genre of console games should appear from here on out. I would say this is a must-buy game if you own an Xbox 360, and if you’re of the appropriate maturity level / age. This is not for a young gamer at all.

Gears of War is definitely a game for the older player, with its ESRB rating of M for Mature. It will cost you about $60 at your closest GameStop (www.gamestop.com) or CompUSA (www.compusa.com).

Checking Out Sony's New Mylo

At the recent Sony Expo, the mylo was one of the products that caught my attention. It’s so small and cute, and mostly importantly, fits right into my purse. It is Sony’s first WiFi broadband communication and entertainment device to connect to the wireless Internet world. Its name mylo stands for “my life online,” and it allows you to multi-task while you do instant messaging, browse the Internet, listen to music, send e-mails and view photos.

The mylo is designed for you folks who use instant messaging as a primary form of communication and networking for your social life. This little thing really reminds me of a mini version of my PlayStation Portable (PSP), but without the games. It has a 2.4-inch color LCD screen with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard for easy thumb typing. I wish my PSP had a keyboard like this too.

The pocket-friendly design encourages you to get away from your desk and roam freely (as long as a wireless network is available). The mylo includes JiWire’s hotspot directory, which lists more than 20,000 WiFi networks in the United States. You’ll almost always find one of these hotspots near you (free or fee-based), especially with the user-friendly WiFi hotspot locator. The device has an embedded HTML browser that lets you quickly connect to full dynamic web pages on the Internet (with complete graphics) with no problem. It’s just like viewing a page on your full-sized monitor, only you need to scroll up and down or side to side to see the complete page. Note the scrolling moves along fairly fast with minimal lag.

Electronic communication with your friends and family is simple with mylo’s easy access to Yahoo! Messenger, Google Talk chats, or talk on the VoIP phone with Skype. You use the same user name and passwords that you would normally use on your regular computer so you’ll have access to all your existing contacts. Of course you can log into your other web-based chats or check your e-mail with the browser too.

The sound that comes out of this little thing is fairly decent when you playback your favorite tunes. It has 1MB of built-in internal memory to save your favorite music, pictures or videos. You can also use your Memory Stick Pro Duo to maximize your capacity, which is what I use for my camera and my PSP. The largest Pro Duo stick you can buy is 4GB. You can use your picture images as mylo wallpapers and icons and easily do transfers between your computer and your mylo, using the included USB 2.0 connector cable. MPEG-4 video files that you playback are nice and clear as you view it at the full frame rate of 30 frames per second (fps) and at QVGA resolution. While reviewing the mylo, I played back video clips I took of my parrot, and I could clearly see every detail on his feathers. It was quite nice.

The mylo’s ad-hoc application automatically detects another mylo’s presence within range of yours. If your buddy has a mylo, and as long as he/she is in range (and with permission), you can connect to it and share music, playlists, view the music library and stream music from it.

Depending on how you have your mylo configured, its ion battery life will last you about 45 hours of music playback, seven hours of online chatting and surfing or about three hours of Skype talk time. The package includes a microphone, stereo headphones, a neoprene case and the aforementioned USB 2.0 cable.

As an added value, you will receive a free year of access to any T-Mobile HotSpot (at 7,000+ locations, normally $29.99/month for unlimited access). If you use the HotSpots as I do on a regular basis (or plan to), the Sony mylo actually pays for itself. This promotion is available for a one-year time period, and it starts on the date you first connect your mylo to a T-Mobile HotSpot, or December 31, 2007, whichever comes first. The mylo itself is available for about $350 at Shirokiya, Ala Moana Center or online at www.sonystyle.com/retail.

Predicting Airline Prices Online

While recently surfing the web last week I discovered an interesting website that I think many of you will find quite useful. It’s been out there for a few months already, but Farecast is the first and only airfare prediction website. Popular Science magazine named it one of the top 100 tech innovations in its annual “Best of What’s New” for 2006.

Farecast is still in a beta (developmental) version, but is still quite effective It assists us online travel shoppers save money by answering the burning question . . . “should I buy now or wait?” It offers airfare predictions from over 75 U.S. departure cities to top domestic destinations. This website is different from other online travel agencies such as Expedia, Orbitz or Travelocity. Instead of actually offering you a low price to buy from the site directly, it tells you where to go for the lowest fares. You buy directly from the airline or agency’s site, so you’ll still receive your miles, will not have to pay booking fees, and have peace of mind that you’re paying the lowest fares.

The Fare Prediction indications show if the lowest fare is rising, dropping, or staying the same over the next seven days for your specified search. Each prediction includes an easy to see arrow (indicates which way the fare is going), confidence level (percentage based on travel record), average fare change (amount reflecting average fare change recorded when similar predictions were correct for market) and the buying tip (recommendation based on the prediction information – buy now or wait).

Fare History shows you a very easy to read chart that indicates fares from up to 90 days ago. You can easily see the lowest fare available. The Flights and Fares list pops up after you type in your search. This list will show you the fare prices (cheapest to most expensive, or however you sort it), the airline/agency offering it, and the details of the flight. You can conduct your searches with a quick search (fixed dates), or if you have some time to play with, you can do a flexible search, which gives you a 30-day range. The flexible search may be better if you have time on your side. That way you can see all your options.

Farecast originally evolved from a University of Washington research project, led by computer science professor (and Internet search expert) Oren Etzioni. Several years were spent developing state of the art data mining and predictive technologies with the objective of accurately predicting airfare pricing. The utilized data mining algorithms search for patterns in the accumulated airfare data, which are associated with significant price changes. These patterns are represented and stored in the models that are built from the data collected daily.

Additionally, TIME Magazine named Farecast one of its “50 Coolest Websites” in the Travel & Real Estate category. It also won Frommer’s Editorial Choice award, Business Week’s “2006 Best of the Web” and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance “Top 25 Best Travel Sites.”

I hope Farecast will save you some money with future travel plans – www.farecast.com.

Gitaroo Man Lives On Your PSP

Gitaroo Man Lives! is one of my favorite games that was featured at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). It was developed by KOEI Corporation, and based on the original Gitaroo Man for the PlayStation 2 (PS2), which debuted in 2002. It’s packed with a mix of Japanese pop art, colorful characters and fun to play musical death matches. With a few modifications, this new version is optimized for portable play, exclusively for the PlayStation Portable (PSP).

Gitaroo Man is the story of a young boy named U-1, often picked on at school and dreams to become a skateboard master. He is trying to gain Pico’s attention, the most popular girl in school (and the girl of his dreams). He is also constantly trying to defeat Kazuya the school’s bully. U-1 has a secret power unbeknownst to him until Puma, his beloved dog, tells him about his true heritage. He is the last descendant of the legendary Gitaroo Men and it is his destiny to save the planet of Gitaroo, with his magical guitar, from the clutches of the evil Gravillian family. It is up to you, as U-1, to hold the courage to save the planet and your people.

Each song in Gitaroo Man is divided into three phases – Charge, Battle and Final. The way you play your Gitaroo determines what phase you end up in. The controls for Gitaroo Man Lives! are simple. You mainly use the analog stick and the circle and “X” buttons. You push these buttons as instructed on the screen as you follow along with the music. Sounds simple enough, however the gameplay is easy when you first start, but once you move up to the higher levels, the game’s quicker pace tests your how fast your reflexes really are. The combos (i.e. pushing buttons simultaneously) become increasingly complicated and difficult as you level up. And – Ha ha, my husband, the Guitar Hero expert, even had a hard time with it on the higher levels.

You can play Gitaroo Man Lives! on your own as a one-player deal, or you can play it as a two-player (in either duet or Vs. play) in three different levels of difficulty. The Duet and Vs. modes work just as single play, but you’ll play a song alternating with your partner or opponent using the ad-hoc connection. Using the Duet mode, you (as Gitaroo Man) and the second player (Kirah) team up to fight a single enemy. When you play cooperatively, you perform your given parts both on your own and cooperatively. Playing in the Vs. mode, the battle ends when either player’s power gauge reaches zero. If you folks make it through the entire song, whoever has the most power left wins. You can unlock more Vs. stages by clearing more stages in the Single Play. You’ll also see 10 colorful stages from the original Gitaroo Man, and the music styles you hear range from Rock, Eurobeat, Reggae or Latin. Most of the music is done by COIL, and the Japanese pop artist 326 drew the illustrations.

If you have rhythm and love music games, Gitaroo Man Lives! will be perfect for you. Even if you already own the original PS2 version of Gitaroo Man, this will be an excellent addition to your collection since you can take it with you with your PSP. As with all my other PSP games, this makes waiting around places, such as the doctor’s office or sitting in heavy traffic pass by very quickly.

Gitaroo Man Lives! will hit the store shelves next week (November 14), is rated E for everyone, and sells for $39.99. You’ll be able to pre-order or find it upon release at GameStop (www.gamestop.com) or CompUSA (www.compusa.com). If you pre-order it from GameStop, you will receive a free bonus (while supplies last) – a five pin set that is only available online.

Unleashing Keiki With ionkids

Since we just moved into a new house, this was our first Halloween there, and I had no idea how much candy to buy. My husband and I thought 10 bags would be sufficient since there seems to be lots of kids living in our area. Well, we were wrong. We ran out of candy in less than 30 minutes! I could swear there were at least 200 kids I handed out candy to just in that short period of time. There were literally hundreds walking around outside. It was insane. I have a feeling that many of those children don’t even live there – they’re migrant trick-or-treaters from other communities, eating the candy that rightfully belongs to the true neighborhood kids.

But, anyway, that’s beside the point. This mass of children I witnessed last week began a train of thought in my mind about how parents will go about keeping track of their children while trick-or-treating, or in any other situation. On any normal day I often see parents walking around with their children on a leash. Is it just me, or is that weird? When I see that, my mind envisions a person walking a dog (or a bunch of dogs if there are multiple kids on the leashes). I don’t have any children of my own (yet), but I can definitely understand why people do this. If you’re a parent that actually tethers your children, you can spare yourself the agony. There’s a more settle way to keep track of your kids.

The ionkids system allows you to monitor your keiki electronically from up to 350 feet away. Place the Wristag device onto your child’s wrist, and leave it to your handheld base unit to do the tracking. This is probably the best thing you can do short of implanting a chip in their skin. If you’re living with a sickly senior (i.e. Alzheimer’s Disease) or would like to keep your pets in close range, this also gives you a good option. You can monitor everybody all together since the base unit can track up to four Wristags at once.

The Wristags transmit a signal to the base unit up to 350 feet away when you’re outdoors and up to 200 feet away when you’re indoors. It uses a point-to-point wireless communication, and does not rely on cell towers or satellites, so you don’t have to worry about cloud cover or a large building to block your signal. Each Wristag is created with its own unique identification number. Upon each new Wristag-to-base unit activation, this number is transferred directly to the base unit for your monitoring purposes. Every few seconds ionkids’ ionTechnology concurrently changes the transmission frequency, Wristag ID and corresponding information in the Base Unit, which significantly reduces the chances of a third party scanning and monitoring your keiki’s wristag. Additionally, some of the features include a “Return to Base” paging of all monitored Wristags, “FIND” when subject exceeds the monitored area, ability to disable one particular Wristag, tamper/removal alarm and a low battery indicator.

A huge concern would be a perpetrator or your child just removing the device from the wrist. Not to worry, since the underneath of the wristag is equipped with sensors that detect the presence of skin. If the sensors perceive an excessive gap between the wristag and the child’s skin, it immediately activates the Wristag alarm and sends a simultaneous “tamper” alarm to your base unit to warn you that the Wristag has been improperly removed. Nothing will fully prevent your child from an abduction, but the ionkids will at least help reduce the risk.

Get rid of that child leash today and keep your keiki e-close at www.ion-kids.com. The kits range in price, starting at $239.95 for the Splashproof Starter Kit to $514.90 for the Waterproof Family Pack.

A Perfect PC For My Purse

I never thought anyone would make a full-blown PC that would fit in my purse, but Sony managed to do just that with its new VAIO UX280P Micro PC. It only weighs a little over a pound, but packs quite a punch with its 1.20 GHz Intel Core Solo Processor U1400. That’s an impressive speed for such a small little thing, and faster than some of the desktop machines that I still see around. The Micro PC’s hard drive is 40GB and it gives you 1GB of memory at your fingertips. It runs genuine Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2, and when Windows Vista Premium hits the shelves next year, upgrading will be no problem.

The Micro PC boasts a 4.5-inch wide SVGA screen that slides up to expose a full built-in keyboard. This allows you to access your favorite programs, music and videos, as you would on your full-sized computer. The device includes a stylus for you to take advantage of its touch screen options with Sony’s VAIO touch launcher. This launcher gives you quick access to functions frequently used such as Internet access, e-mail, your favorite computer applications, games and music. The launcher button on the side of the unit activates this feature.

“This model is an achievement in ingenious design,” says Mike Abary, vice president of VAIO product marketing at Sony Electronics. “With this pocket PC, you can have the same functionality as your office or home PC in a device that fits in the palm of your hand.”

This little computer incorporates Sony’s SmartWi technology, allowing you to wirelessly toggle between your Wireless Area Network (WWAN), Local Area Network (LAN) and Bluetooth. WWAN will give you access to Cingular’s nationwide EDGE network, which allows you to connect to the Internet just about anywhere there is cellular coverage. The Bluetooth will hook you up to your wireless peripherals. Additionally, Wireless LAN (WLAN) is available for your Wi-Fi connections at home, office or your favorite hotspots.

The UX Micro PC has two built-in cameras. The one located on the front is for your on-the-go video conferencing or online chats, and the second one on the back is for you to take pictures. You probably don’t want to use the back camera as your actual camera since it’s only 1.3 Megapixels, but it makes a good backup camera.

Sometimes I wish I could log into all my computers with biometrics (i.e. fingerprints or retinal scan). My machines at home aren’t bad, but at work I have to remember a thousand different passwords, and they’re all different. With that in mind, Sony made security a top priority with the Micro, and you can actually log into it with your finger, using the integrated biometrics fingerprint sensor.

Shoot you if your Micro PC hits the floor, but if in case it does, Sony added on an incorporated G-Sensor shock protection. It protects your hard drive and reduces the risk of data loss if you do happen to let it hit the ground. For added convenience, a docking station with three USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, VGA, FireWire interface and an AV output comes with the unit. This will certainly enable you to use this as a “regular” computer while you’re at home - plug in a full-sized keyboard / mouse, monitor and speakers

The Sony VAIO UX Micro PC is one of many products that will be featured at the Sony Expo this weekend. Check it out for yourself at the Ala Moana Hotel, Hibiscus Room, November 3 & 4, 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. You can soon find the Micro PC for about $2,000 at Shirokiya in Ala Moana Center (www.shirokiya.com), Best Buy (www.bestbuy.com) or from Sony directly at www.sonystyle.com.

I won’t be able to fit the rest of my gadgets (PlayStation Portable (PSP), camera and cell phone) along with this new Micro PC in my purse, so looks like I’ll be buying a bigger one soon.

Click Chick's PS3 Exclusive

Thanks to the folks at Sony Hawaii, last week I was able to see, touch and play with a fully functional PlayStation 3. I can proudly say that I’m the first journalist in Hawaii to see and play with an actual working Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3). Indeed I saw it at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in 2005 behind a plexiglass case, and at E3 2006 this year I was able to play a developmental version of it.

Physical Attributes
The PS3 is a very attractive package. It is black, glossy and physically heavier than I thought it would be. It weighs about 11 pounds, and measures about a foot long. The power button and eject buttons are a touch sensitive panel. Memory stick and SD card slots are located under a panel on the front of the machine.

Main Specifications:
CPU: Cell Broadband Engine
Main Memory: 256MB XDR Main RAM
Hard Drive: 2.5-inch Serial ATA (20 or 60 GB HDD)
Main Input / Output: USB 2.0 (4 ports), MemoryStick / SD / CompactFlash
Wireless Communication: IEEE 802.11 b/g (w/60 GB HDD PS3 only)
Screen Size: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
Disk Drive: Blu-ray / DVD / CD (read-only)

Processor
The PS3 is powered by the much talked about Cell processor, developed by Sony, with help from IBM and Toshiba. Cell is a revolutionary microprocessor that leapfrogs the performance of existing processors, giving the PS3 a supercomputer-like power. You can watch up to 12 streams of high-definition (HD) simultaneously with the Cell, and it won’t even blink. This little chip gives game developers the freedom to create games closer to actual intelligence instead of artificial intelligence, giving them the ability to accurately mimic human reasoning and movement. In case you’re wondering, the chip’s clock speed is 3.2 GHz.

Controller
The PS3 comes with one wireless controller. The controller looks almost identical to the PS2’s except it’s wireless (using Bluetooth 2.0). There are red light indicators that show you what player number you are (1-4), somewhat similar to the Xbox 360’s controller. Sony’s Dual Shock feature was taken away to accommodate the new motion sensor which allows you to control on-screen action by physically moving the joystick in 6 different directions.

Games
The question everyone keeps asking me . . . “What games will come out with the PS3?” Well, below is the list of games that will be available on or close to the November 17 (North America) launch date. Sadly, this list doesn’t include one of my favorites from E3, Heavenly Sword.

Resistance: Fall of Man (Sony Computer Entertainment of America)
NBA 07 (Sony Computer Entertainment of America)
Genji: Days of the Blade (Sony Computer Entertainment of America)
Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWII (Ubisoft)
Call of Duty 3 (Activision)
EA Sports Fight Night Round 3 (Electronic Arts)
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Bethesda Softworks)
F.E.A.R. (Vivendi Universal Games)
Full Auto 2: Battlelines (Sega)
Madden NFL 07 (Electronic Arts)
MARVEL: ULTIMATE ALLIANCE (Activision)
Mobile Suit Gundam: CROSSFIRE (NAMCO BANDAI Games)
NBA 2K7 (2K Sports)
Need For Speed Carbon (Electronic Arts)
NHL 2K7 (2K Sports)
RIDGE RACER 7 (NAMCO BANDAI Games)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega)
Tiger Woods PGA Tour® 07 (Electronic Arts)
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas (Ubisoft)
Tony Hawk’s Project 8 (Activision)
Untold Legends Dark Kingdom (Sony Online Entertainment)

Gameplay
Another frequently asked question lately: “So what’s better . . . PS3 or Xbox 360?” Unfortunately no games were actually available for my PS3 playtime last week, so I can’t accurately answer that. I do remember from E3 that the quality of the games I played were impressive, but not having the PS3 and 360 side-by-side, I cannot make a fair assessment. The PS3 is backwards compatible with your PS1 and PS2. There will be a memory card adapter available to port your old games to your PS3 hard drive.

Blu-ray
Since no games were available for me to play, Blu-ray Discs were used to demo the PS3 to me. A Blu-ray Disc is a next-generation media format that delivers the ultimate high-definition entertainment experience. It can hold up to 50GB of data on a dual-layer disc (that’s five times the storage of a traditional DVD). Blu-ray has 7.1 channel surround sound and true lossless audio, so every note, sound, explosion, etc. can be heard as if you were right there.

I saw the difference between a Blu-ray Disc and a DVD, while watching it on a 1080p Sony 40” Bravia TV. The distinction between the two was phenomenal, as you could see all the super fine details on the screen (i.e. lips, eyes) with the Blu-ray, but on the DVD those things were hardly noticeable. As a special Blu-ray promotion, Sony will be packaging the movie Talladega Nights with the first 500,000 PS3s to hit the market.

Features
If you’ve ever played with a PlayStation (PSP) you’ll already know how to use a PS3 since the menus look almost identical. It’s easy to navigate through so you don’t have to worry about “learning” it, even if you’re a beginner. With future software updates you will even be able to access your PS3’s hard drive remotely with your PSP. You’ll have the capability to stream content wirelessly over to your PSP for movies, games, pictures, etc.

The new PlayStation Network gives you the opportunity to play games with and talk to your friends. It’s similar to Microsoft’s Xbox Live, only this is free. You can also plug in use a USB keyboard to ease your chats. Additionally, the PlayStation Network will offer game downloads and PS1 games that are playable on your PSP.

Where To Buy / How Much Will It Cost?
Two other questions that I’ve been receiving often: “How much will it cost?” and “Where can I buy one?” It will cost $499 for the model with the 20 GB hard drive and $599 for the 60 GB. The price is high either way, but even if you’re just looking for a Blu-ray player, you’ll save money (a regular Blu-ray player averages $1,000). Either way, personally, I think it’s worth it to pay the extra $100 to enjoy the extra drive space. My guess is that PS3’s initial availability will be very limited. You will eventually be able to find one at GameStop (www.gamestop.com), Wal-Mart (www.walmart.com), Circuit City (www.circuitcity.com) or Best Buy (www.bestbuy.com).

For a special preview of the PS3 and Sony’s other new products, head on down to the 2007 Sony Expo on November 3 and 4 at the Ala Moana Hotel, Hibiscus Ballroom, 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. My understanding is that there will actually be at least three games available to play with the PS3 on display there. Admission is free, and the first 100 visitors will receive Sony Dollars good towards the purchase of Sony products. You’ll have a chance to win prizes, including a PS3 of your own, or a 40” Sony BRAVIA LCD Flat Panel TV!