Find Our Latest Video Reviews on YouTube!
If you want to stay on top of all of our video reviews of the latest tech, be sure to check out and subscribe to the Gear Live YouTube channel, hosted by Andru Edwards! It’s free!
Latest Gear Live Videos
Why PS2 Succeeded, and Why PS3 Will Fail
Posted by Rob Stevens Categories: Editorial, Features, Video Games,
The Sony PlayStation 2 had a lot of things going for it when it launched in October of 2000. It would launch more than a year before Nintendo’s GameCube console, a head start that proved to extend the lifespan of the console far longer than the usual five years. Normally, launching a game console outside of that five-year cycle spelled disaster (just ask Sega), Sony managed to make it work, but it wasn’t by virtue of their games. The launch lineup for the PS2 was laughable, and would not improve for the majority of that first year. No, the PS2 sold for one reason and one reason only: including DVD movie playback cheaper than a dedicated DVD player.
At the time of the PS2 launch, a home DVD player retailed for about $399. Sony was selling the PS2 for $299, taking a significant loss on the hardware and expecting to make it up on software sales (often described as the standard game industry model, despite Nintendo not following that model themselves). For the first year, Sony was taking an absolute bath on the PS2 hardware, since the initial software selection was pitiful, yet the installed user base for the machine would pay dividends in the years to come, allowing Sony to secure many exclusives.
Click to continue reading Why PS2 Succeeded, and Why PS3 Will Fail
Gallery: Why PS2 Succeeded, and Why PS3 Will Fail
Advertisement
Bleeding Edge Byte 025: Melting Hard Drives With Thermite
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Mods / Hacks, Science, Storage, Videocasts,
We know many people who are wary of discarding their old hard drives, especially after the drives have died without offering the option to reformat. We know people who have opened them up and scratched up the platters manually, and others who just have a drawer full a bunch of drives. At Gear Live’s Seattle Mind Camp, Pablos of the Shmoo Group asked everyone to bring their old hard drives so that we could give them a proper burial. The result? An 8,000-degree hard drive meltdown, thanks to a little thermite.
Here’s how to get the show:
Subscribe: iTunes iPod / H.264 | iTunes MPEG-4 | RSS iPod Feed | RSS MPEG-4 Feed
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264 (Mirror)
|Download| - DivX (Mirror)
|Download| - MPEG-4 (Mirror)
|Download| - PSP (Mirror)
IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - MPEG-4
Gallery: Bleeding Edge Byte 025: Melting Hard Drives With Thermite
No “Free Press” In Game Industry
Posted by Rob Stevens Categories: Editorial, Features, Video Games,
Hey Dave…still want to know why there’s no real journalism in the video game industry? It’s because of stories like this, and like this, and like this.
How on earth are you supposed to have a “free press” in the game industry when the companies that admittedly support its existence are constantly trying to keep all of the news under wraps? I suspect that in at least one of these recent cases of IGN pulling content, a deal was brokered for an exclusive in exchange for pulling the content, but when are these companies going to learn that you can’t put the genie back in the bottle?
The games industry is one where companies have seen rampant “idea theft”, concepts shown early to generate buzz which proceed to get ripped off eight ways from Sunday by less talented development houses able to rush a competing product to market. Nintendo was such a victim of this particular tactic (specifically after showing off Super Mario 64 for the first time), that they have become the most secretive company in all of the game industry. So I get it, I understand why these companies want to keep their secrets under wraps ... it’s a matter of securing their revenue stream, and I can respect that.
Click to continue reading No “Free Press” In Game Industry
Gallery: No “Free Press” In Game Industry
The Bleeding Edge 020: Xbox Studios Tour, Major Nelson Interview
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Microsoft, Video Games, Videocasts,
Trends have shown that a lot of you guys watching our show and into games. In fact, a few people on our Xbox Live friends list are there because of this show. We have received requests for more cool game footage, and we think we have delivered with this one. In this episode, Andru and Sparky head down to the Xbox Studios in Redmond to get a tour of the facilities and operations center. We also sit down with Major Nelson to talk about the Xbox 360, Live Arcade, and a bunch more. If you want to get a first-hand look at what goes on behind the scenes with the Xbox crew, check out this show.
Here’s how to get the show:
Subscribe: iTunes iPod / H.264 | iTunes MPEG-4 | RSS iPod Feed | RSS MPEG-4 Feed
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264 (Mirror)
|Download| - DivX (Mirror)
|Download| - MPEG-4 (Mirror)
|Download| - PSP (Mirror)
IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - MPEG-4
Gallery: The Bleeding Edge 020: Xbox Studios Tour, Major Nelson Interview
Bleeding Edge Byte 024: The Walluminate, a DIY Light-Up Wallet
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Design, Features, Mods / Hacks, Videocasts,
In this Bleeding Edge Byte, Nate shows why the Walit doesn’t work when used in the real world, and instead creates his own better, brighter version. The Walluminate (get it? Wallumi-NATE?) was constructed using a standard folding wallet, some LEDs, and a few miscellaneous electronic components. The result? A wallet that brightens up your cash, and only lights up when the wallet is open. Check out the video, and let us know what you think.
Here’s how to get the show:
Subscribe: iTunes iPod / H.264 | iTunes MPEG-4 | RSS iPod Feed | RSS MPEG-4 Feed
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264 (Mirror)
|Download| - DivX (Mirror)
|Download| - MPEG-4 (Mirror)
|Download| - PSP (Mirror)
IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - MPEG-4
Gallery: Bleeding Edge Byte 024: The Walluminate, a DIY Light-Up Wallet
The Bleeding Edge 019: A Visit To Tom Bihn
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Design, Features, PC / Laptop, Videocasts,
In this episode, we take a visit to the Tom Bihn labs, where we get a first hand look into exactly what it takes to design and manufacture their awesome line of bags. We take a tour of their facility, and talk with Tom about concept, design, manufacturing, as well as a few stories about how they stress test their stuff. I mean, when a bag gets blown up in war over in Iraq, but your computer that was in the bag is protected perfectly, you know these things are good.
Here’s how to get the show:
Subscribe: iTunes iPod / H.264 | iTunes MPEG-4 | RSS iPod Feed | RSS MPEG-4 Feed
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264 (Mirror)
|Download| - DivX (Mirror)
|Download| - MPEG-4 (Mirror)
|Download| - PSP (Mirror)
IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - MPEG-4
Gallery: The Bleeding Edge 019: A Visit To Tom Bihn
Announcing Our Game Design Contest Xbox 360 Winner!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Design, Features, Video Games,
Alright guys, a couple months back we asked you all to put your thinking caps on and design us a simple video game. Of course, we wouldn’t ask you to do something so daunting if there wasn’t something good in it for you - so we figured we would give someone an Xbox 360 for their troubles.
We had eleven entries into the contest (yup - just eleven!) and we gave each game a spin before determining the winner. If you want to check out the entries, you can download the following games, done exclusively in Visual Studio Express:
- RPGFight
- Spacealaga
- ActionSquare
- Crazy Maze
- Fifty
- Julie Tennis
- Memory
- Space Attack
- Ping Pong
- TicTacToe
We want to thank everyone for their submissions - but we chose one game to walk away with the Xbox 360. Congrats to Forum member Dbone - we liked the work you put into the contest, and enjoyed the frustratingly fun Action Square game. We will be contacting your for your info, and you can expect one of those new Xbox 360s to hit your doorstep in the near future. See? Dreams really do come true.
If you didn’t win (or participate for that matter), you still have an opportunity to win our iRiver clix giveaway contest, which runs through August!
Gallery: Announcing Our Game Design Contest Xbox 360 Winner!
The Bleeding Edge 018: A Visit To iRiver, Jonathan Sasse Interview
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Design, Features, Microsoft, Music, PC / Laptop, Portable Audio / Video, Videocasts,
Ever wonder what goes on behind closed doors at a major tech company? We hung out with the higher ups at iRiver America and got a tour of the place. We also sat down with iRiver America CEO Jonathan Sasse, and talked a bit about the company, the evolution of the iRiver clix, working with Microsoft and MTV, DRM, and a few other topics. Oh, and we got a look at the iRiver hummer.
Here’s how to get the show:
Subscribe: iTunes iPod / H.264 | iTunes MPEG-4 | RSS iPod Feed | RSS MPEG-4 Feed
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264 (Mirror)
|Download| - DivX (Mirror)
|Download| - MPEG-4 (Mirror)
|Download| - PSP (Mirror)
IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - MPEG-4
Gallery: The Bleeding Edge 018: A Visit To iRiver, Jonathan Sasse Interview
Motorola RAZR V3c: Six Months Later
Posted by Mark Harrison Categories: Smartphones, Features, Product Reviews,
About 6 months ago, with great anticipation, we picked up the Motorola RAZR V3c for Verizon. Boy, were we ever excited! Unfortunately, our high expectations led us to great disappointments.
Our biggest complaint half-a-year ago was the phones battery life. That annoyance has grown into a huge problem. Six months ago, twelve hours of marginal use cost us half of our battery life. These days it is more like ten hours of minimal use sends the phone into the annoying Motorola “can’t turn off the stupid low-battery alert even though the phone is on silent and helps run down the remaining battery life even faster” chime.
Click to continue reading Motorola RAZR V3c: Six Months Later
Gallery: Motorola RAZR V3c: Six Months Later
Bleeding Edge Byte 023: Linksys 802.11n Router, Other Linksys Products
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Internet, PC / Laptop, Videocasts, Wireless / WiFi,
If you are looking to speed up your network, 802.11n is the future. The question is, has the future already arrived, or should we wait until it is officially accepted and announced? We talk with Linksys about their new pre-N router, as well as a few of their other new networking prodcuts, and get their take on the whole 802.11n debacle in this episode.
Here’s how to get the show:
Subscribe: iTunes iPod / H.264 | iTunes MPEG-4 | RSS iPod Feed | RSS MPEG-4 Feed
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264 (Mirror)
|Download| - DivX (Mirror)
|Download| - MPEG-4 (Mirror)
|Download| - PSP (Mirror)
IMPORTANT: We are surveying the viewers of our show to see what it is that people like, and more importantly, what they don’t like. It is anonymous, and just takes a couple of minutes. If you have the time, we would appreciate it! As always, feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.
|Download| - iPod-formatted H.264
|Download| - MPEG-4
