Multimedia? What's that?

You may recall how a few days ago I mentioned that we were working on some new things for our readers (you)...well here's the first little tip of that iceberg. Gamer Bait has paired up with Damon and Klitts' Two Cents, which is a podcast running on an hour-long format, recorded weekly and available in either streaming or downloadable formats. What does this mean for you? In addition to enjoying Damon and Klitts' podcast (including a sizable roundtable of commentator/heckler-type folks), you'll be able to tune in and catch gaming news highlights from yours truly. While most gamers just know me by my nickname (Glock), I do in fact go by my real name (Matt) with most everyone else, which will include this podcast. Please check these guys out and give them a listen. Their page on ClickCaster.com has all of their recorded episodes, and Episode 28 is the first one with a gaming news segment. Bear in mind that this is one of many things that we are working on in the background for those of you that frequent our site.

Damon & Klitts' Two Cents at ClickCaster.com - main page; includes all episodes

Damon & Klitts' Two Cents on MySpace - includes latest episode and the occasional blog

P.S. - I do have to note that in the podcast I misspoke at one point; the Xbox 360 Elite is not out quite yet. While it is available for preorder, it will not be on most store shelves in the U.S. until April 29th.


- Glock

Extra Bait

ATI Lasso: Because They Figured You'd Like to Be a Cowboy (or Cowgirl)
Regardless as to whether or not you enjoy westerns, this may be of interest to you. Every gamer knows that the one place that laptops really struggle is in the graphics department. ATI hopes to give you the ability to change all that with the Lasso, which will allow you to run standalone video cards outside of your laptop. Assuming you're in a locale in which you have room to set up another computer component, this will allow you to game to your heart's content and perform other tasks that may use your GPU's power as a supplement to your CPU. Not to mention the option to upgrade your laptop's video capabilities later on.

Nintendo Attempting to Block Wii Modders
In their newest console revision, Nintendo is trying to block consumers from using modchips to alter their Wiis by altering the circuit layout of the console. It makes me wonder why, because they have to know that modders will figure out a workaround within a couple of weeks. Ah, well. More practice for the hardware hackers.

Nvidia nForce 680i LT SLI Reference Motherboard
There's a new 680i reference mobo on the streets, and surprise---this one's under the $200 mark. Nvidia's stripped out a few features from the original 680i reference board, but nothing that will make you sit up and feel the urge to write them a nasty email about. It looks to be a great board for the money, especially when you consider that most 680i boards are still running at least $250 for retail, if not $300. From all reports it's a solid gaming platform with all the overclocking and benchmark-destruction oomph that enthusiasts have come to associate with the upper-end 680i boards.

IBM Double CPU Cooling Capabilities with Simple Manufacturing Change
IBM has figured out a way to manufacture CPU cores in such a way that the efficiency of heat transference from the core to the thermal paste and end cooling solution is greatly improved, all with just a relatively easy-to-implement change in how the cores are produced. The best part? It won't affect production costs much, so consumers will likely only see a difference in efficiency and performance, and not a difference in their wallets.

Intel Plans $2.5B Chip Factory in China
Intel's planning on cashing in on the booming Chinese tech market by building a new 1.6-million square foot chipset manufacturing plant in the city of Dalian (yes, just like the Dalian Plant map from BF2), and plans to have production in full swing by 2010. Keep an eye out for YouTube videos of Intel execs threading the needle of the nuclear cooling towers with F-22 fighter jets.

Doing a Wii Little Dance with Your Mac
Yann Seznec, a "Franco-American software developer hacker musician", put together a demo video of what could be (for musicians at least), be the most interesting Wii hack of them all. He's written software that allows him to manipulate loops and effects on his Mac using nothing but the Wiimote, making impressive use of the Wiimote's motion-sensing technology.

- Glock

Extra Bait

We're playing catchup at the moment, so bear with us. We're working on a number of new things for Gamer Bait which we hope you'll enjoy...the downside being that it leaves less time for us to write. Here's some of the latest news from the past week; stay tuned!

A Plea for Folding@Home on Xbox 360
Now that PS3 owners can use their consoles for folding, a call has gone out for similar support from Microsoft on their console. For those of you who have no clue as to what I'm referring to, Folding@Home is a distributed computing project managed by Stanford University's chemistry department. It was launched six and a half years ago, it's aim being that of simulating protein folding (and misfolding) in order to better to understand many serious ailments such as cancer, Alzheimer's, and other diseases. Distributing the processing power amongst thousands of computers (and now, consoles) worldwide means that the project has been able to simulate the processes thousands of times further than without the project's help. With the latest PS3 firmware update, support for Folding@Home was included, greatly boosting the potential of the project's impact and progress. Now, good-willed 360 owners are clamoring for the same opportunity to advance medical science as their PS3-owning rivals. It's something that would ultimately benefit everyone while doing no worse evil than creating a little more friendly rivalry between the two console camps. I for one hope that Microsoft can get its nose out of the air where Sony is concerned for once and include support for folding sometime soon.

The Right to Baer Games - An Interview with Ralph Baer; the Father of Video Games
An interesting read from the man who actually has the documentation to prove that he started the home video game industry. Not to mention the National Medal of Technology awarded for the same reason. Baer is credited with inventing the first home video game console (the Brown Box), and the light gun. If nothing else, you can thank him for paving the way for Duck Hunter.

GRAW Blacklisted in Chihuahua, Mexico
The governor of the Mexican state named after a tiny dog which alternately is either found yapping incessantly or appearing in fast-food chain advertisements has seen fit to outlaw Ubisoft's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter, and will be seizing any copies it can from here on out. Apparently, a game with Mexican rebels as the bad guys will turn the entire nation upside down. Or something. I'm sure the good citizens of Chihuahua are relieved that the government has stepped in to protect them from subversive media in the guise of a video game. I think I hear them rejoicing now...

Novell Launches Pro-Linux "Get a Mac" Spoofs
While I've begun to tire of the Mac vs. PC commercials, these two ads by Novell made me smirk nonetheless. The Mac fanboys are all a-twitter over the ads, which is of course, at least a partly intended goal.

Xbox 360 Elite to Ship with Data Cable
As an incentive for consumers to buy the latest SKU of the Xbox 360, Microsoft is apparently eliminating at least one of the arguments against purchasing it. The 360 Elite (formerly known as the Zephyr) will purportedly ship with a data transfer cable of some sort, so that you may copy all of your current data over to the new console. That should quiet any of the naysayers basing their opposition on any loss of data argument. The only question now for a lot of gamers is, "How much will my current 360 go for on eBay?".

- Glock

Gates burns the PS3

This is a pretty entertaining video, even though it's in French. Since the PS3 had it's big launch in Europe recently, Microsfoft desided they will make it even harder for Sony to go about their business. So what they did is plaster a huge Xbox 360 logo on a boat, and passed that boat in front of the people who were lined up for the PS3 release. Take a look.

Bateau XBOX au lancement PS3
Uploaded by scandy

Review: KINYO KY-90 Pulsating Headphones

For the last several days I have been testing a new unit of pulsating headphones from a small company called Kinyo. This is the first time I have come across this company, however, their site displays a wide range of products. The reason these headphones caught my eye is because of their "pulsating feature".

These headphones are made up of plastic which unfortunately has some very rough edges. This makes the swivel of the individual earpieces less than stellar. The construction is average, although it could be definitely improved by hiding some of the little screws that hold them together. As for comfort I cant say much either, you always know that your wearing some big plastic thing on your head. They could have at least put some padding under the joining arc, so if you have long hair it can definitely get caught in the folding top part.

Lets move on to the sound quality, its average, about all I can say. I get a little better quality as the cheap headphones that came with my iPod. However they do a better job at blocking out external noise than the ones on my iPod, perhaps a good thing for when you want to mute your mom yelling at you to clean your room and do your homework, as I dont expect anyone past the age of 13 to even consider purchasing these headphones.

Now on to the main selling point, the "pulsating" feature. It really seems like instead of improving the sound quality they decided to make the headphones vibrate to add to the illusion of being "good" headphones. Does this feature work? Absolutely, it does exactly what its supposed to, it rumbles. There are instances when the rumble actually becomes rather annoying though; when listening to music which has a higher pitch, the headphones turn into a vibrator for your ear, and the same happens with some of the lower quality sound clips around the net. There is a regulator to turn this feature on and off, as well as the max/min wheel. It takes 1 AA battery, which will last for a few days of use on the max rumble setting. In the end your ears will thank you if you just save the battery and ignore this feature.

In the conclusion, well, ummmmmm.... I guess they did what they were advertised to do, yet I really don't see this "pulsating" thing catching on. I didn't go into what was included, nor its price as I hope you'll spend a few extra bucks and get yourself a decent pair of headphones.

Pros:
They really do pulsate!

Cons:
Too many to list.

GamerBait gives this a 2/5

Review: Targus Gerney Notebook Backpack

Several days ago I got my hands on this backpack made by Targus. You can typically get this for about $39.99 in store, or perhaps a bit cheaper online. Targus products have always been high-quality merchandise, and this is no exception. All the materials used feel very durable to the touch and appear to be able to stand the test of time. First, let's take a look at its appearance. The black and orange colors of the material go very well together. Nothing is done in excess; even the shiny look in the front doesnt appear to be out of place. Its also not as mundane as its competitors which usually tend to go with black.

As for comfort, it's really hard to say that Targus put anything "extra" in here. The padding on the straps is pretty firm, and might cause some discomfort if carried for extended periods of time. The back of the pack is flat and is plain aside from some decorative stitching---there doesn't appear to be anything aiming for comfort. Also a good thing to note is that the backpack is rather tall and might be a bit uncomfortable for someone under ~5.5 feet.

Of course when it comes to space and pockets Targus fails to disappoint. There are plenty of compartments on the backpack, even some dedicated specifically for your writing utensils. In the picture below I put 2 books plus a notepad along with my Lenovo z60t and it was only half full. The compartment for your notebook is designed to accommodate any laptop with up to a 15.4-in. screen, thus I had no problems with the 14-in. widescreen. Its important to note that smaller laptops might have more wobble room in the pack, yet with all the padding around it I wouldn't worry. One thing I enjoyed is the extra head-room which Targus has above the notebook compartment, that space comes in very handy when you have something like an external PCMCIA card. There is also plenty of room up front for all the power cables and accessories that you travel with.

Overall I would recommend this to anyone who is not lugging their pack for periods longer than 1 hour as it might get a bit uncomfortable. The backpack is probably a bit taller than its competitors so I would encourage anyone to try it on first before buying it. The quality is superb and the pack will stand all the abuse you may throw at it, and as there is also a lifetime limited warranty you have little to worry about.

Pros:
Great quality
Extra space on top
Lifetime warranty
Fun colors

Cons:
Not very comfortable

Editors Pick 4.5/5

Xbox Zephyr Renamed the 360 Elite

According to the April issue of Game Informer magazine, the Xbox Zephyr isn't the Zephyr any more: it's the Xbox 360 Elite. Yeah, we know how that sounds, being April and all, but Matt Helgeson (senior editor at Game Informer) has told Kotaku that the story is, in fact, genuine. It is now slated for a late April release, as opposed to May 1st, as was previously predicted. The Elite will be a limited-edition unit, and once they sell out, a white version will begin replacing the Premium model on store shelves (possibly late summer or fall). It'll cost $479 and sport the 120GB hard drive, HDMI port, and a bundled HDMI cable. And be really sweet. That's a technical term we use in the gaming industry.

- Glock

Sources 1, 2, 3, and 4

Extra Bait

Enjoy!

Sony Releases Euro PS3 Backwards-Compatibility List
A lot of games have no problems, most at least kinda work, and a scant few have been left out in the cold.

Killer K1 Gaming NIC Review
The $180 version of the $280 big NIC brother hopes to score some cost-effectiveness points.

MMOs Top $1B
Gee, I wonder who's leading the pack on that one?

First HD-DVD/DVD Disc Hits the U.S. In June
It has lots of layers. Like an onion.

Alleged Loophole Lets Users Bypass Vista Activation
If anyone asks, we don't support any such operating system piracy, regardless of how many related stories we post on the subject now or in the future.

Intel Names "Bearlake" Gaming Chipset
Nothing says "gaming" like large furry predators and moderately-sized bodies of water.

Sony Shares Details On 1.6 Update
Because details are more fun when they're shared.

Guitar Hero II in the UK: April 6th
The only problem being that it's being released on April 6th (think about it).

Take-Two Considering Selling
Analysts Weigh in On Possible Sale
Because losing $185 million in '06 isn't fun.

Pirates of the Caribbean to be Multiplatform
A marriage of the platforms for Captain Jack Sparrow, so to speak. "A wedding? I love weddings! Drinks all around."

XeLL - Linux Bootloader for the Xbox 360
Requires a buggy kernel, but aside from that, the coolness is undeniable.

No Hard Drive for the Wii, But a DS Headset Is On the Way
Not exactly a fair trade, but that's the tech biz. Or so I hear.

- Glock