3.28.2007
So, a week or so ago I was helping my dad with my MacBook. He wanted to watch some snowmobile movie that was on a DVD he had received in the mail. It was one of those homemade kind of DVDs that he most likely overpaid for, but that doesn't really matter. Anyways, I placed the DVD in my MacBook Super Drive and the DVD the DVD became stuck in the drive. I kept pressing eject to no avail. The drive made made a continuous noise that indicated that some sort of problem was occurring, but nothing ever came out.
I decided to search the internet for some solutions and I found very little help. Several topics on the Apple Support forums talked about the problem occuring on a MacBook Pro and these topics suggested the use of a credit card. Several different posters on the forum indicated that the problem is caused when the DVD or CD can not clear the top part of the Super Drive slot. The CD continues to hit the top of the slot and bounce back into the drive, causing the noise.
I initially tried this, but to no avail. I don't know how different the MacBook and MacBook Pro drives are, but a credit card was too thick in my opinion. I had no success with a credit card. The forum posters appeared to be correct about the problem. The top of the DVD was not clearing the top of the drive and the DVD needed to be guided out of the drive. It made sense to use the credit card to guide the DVD out of the drive, but the credit card was too thick.
Then I had an idea, I decided to try a thin business card. The business card fit into the slot with relative ease. I had finally found a tool to help me with my problem.
I must make note quick, I DON'T CLAIM RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE YOU DO TO YOUR MACBOOK WHILE TRYING THIS. YOU MIGHT SCREW UP YOUR COMPUTER THIS WAY. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK AND CONTACT APPLE BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT THIS.
After a couple minutes or messing around, I found a successful technique. First, insert the business card or any other type of card which has a similar thickness into the drive. Then, position the card so that it is partially on top of the CD. You do NOT want to insert the card all the way into the drive. You want your fingers gripping the card at all given times. When the card is partially over the disc, position the card so that it is centered in the drive with about 3/4 of the card in the drive. The other 1/4th of of the card should be firmly grasped by your fingers. The card should now act as a guide for the top of the DVD. Press the eject button on your MacBook and the DVD should slide out with ease.
AGAIN, I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE YOU MAY CAUSE. ATTEMPT AT YOUR OWN RISK.
Anyways, this method seemed to work for me. If anyone else has any suggestions or tips about how to do this any easier, feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me at TeenageFanboy@gmail.com.
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Sorry, I skipped a couple of weeks.
3.14.2007
So, last week the WiiChat.com crew traveled up to New York City for an interview with Erik Rhey for the WiiChat.com Show. Erik is a Senior Editor for PC Magazine. To check out our interview with Erik, visit this link.
Upon arriving in New York, we headed straight to the Ziff Davis building. The Ziff Davis building itself was extremely impressive. When you walk in the door, you are immediately greeted by two large plasma TVs and a large display case with the latest issue of every magazine that Ziff Davis publishes. We were met in the Ziff Davis lobby by the Rosen Group PR representative who helped set up the interview. An elevator took us up to the PC Magazine office on the 11th floor of the building. This might be off-topic, but the elevator was easily the fastest elevator I have ever been on in my life. The elevator went up 11 floors in about 10 seconds, no joke.
When we exited the elevator, we were greeted by Erik in front of two huge glass doors. There was a keypad at the door to keep out any unwanted visitors who would happen to get past the security in the lobby. We introduced ourselves to Erik who let us take a free issue of the latest PC Magazine from a sweet little display stand which held about 20 or so issues. We then began our tour of the PC Magazine labs.
Erik used a nifty little thumb pad to open two large sliding glass doors. When I say large, I mean real large. These doors were abouy the size of two to three regular doors put together. Once the doors opened, we entered into the PC Magazine labs. This was just a nice sized room enclosed in all glass walls where the different PC equipment they test could be found. My first thoughts upon entering the room all revolved around the sheer amount of tech equipment which could be found in the room. I would assume that PC Magazine sees a lot of computers in their office. However, I didn't really know that so many would be set up at the same time. At first glance, the room seems to be really unorganized. However, after Erik gave us the tour I realized just now neat and orderly it is. Computers are sorted based on what purpose they serve for the magazine. New PCs for review are in one area. Another area might house computers which are used for testing MP3 players. One area was full of printers. One of the most popular areas was full of iPod accessories. It was apparent after the tour that the iPod accessory market is definitely a market with staying power. PC Magazine might need to hire a new editor or two just to keep up with all they latest iPod stereos they will review.
The area of the laboratory that drew my attention the most was the video game area. Three large televisions were set up. One housed a Wii, another housed a X-BOX 360, and you guessed it, the last housed a PS3. Before the interview, I was skeptical as to if a PC Magazine editor had enough gaming knowledge for an interview on Wii injuries. This tour put to rest any questions I have. These guys are serious gamers. Erik and I were talking about this and he really explained it well. The PS3 and the 360 have expanded gaming to the point where a magazine like PC Magazine must cover these machines because they basically are PCs. Erik also stated that as a tech magazine, the Wii must also be represented because of the massive impact of the console in the tech world.
The people we met in the PC Mag labs were all great too. They all had a real love for technology. Any question we had was immediately answered with the utmost authority.
After our tour, I had my interview with Erik. The interview was held in the PC Magazine podcast studio. On our walk from the PC Magazine labs to the podcast studio, we walked through a decent amount of cubicle space. If you have ever seen the 1UP Show, you should have an idea as to what the cubicles look like. Basically, just imagine plain cubicles full of tech goodies. This was a decent sized conference room which they dedicate to their audio podcasts. If you search iTunes, you can find these podcasts with no problem if you want to see what kind of content they put out. If you watch our video interview, you will see Erik and I sitting at a table. In the corner of the room, a similar table is set out with 4 nice microphone/headsets. It was a pretty sweet set-up for a audio podcast. As a podcaster myself, I found this room really interesting. It was cool to see the audio set up they use in order to have an extremely professional sounding podcast.
I had a great time at the PC Magazine office. Thanks again to Erik for the tour and the interview, it was really awesome. If it isn't apparent through my blog and video podcast, I have a real passion for technology. I also enjoy writing and sharing my opinion about technology. It was really cool to have the opportunity to see how people with a similar passion make a living through writing about technology.
A wise man once said,"Pics or didn't happen." I didn't take pictures while at the office. However, I have put together this low-budget model of the PC Magazine office floor plan. This should help give an idea as to what the office looks like. Hopefully, this will verify that the trip did in fact happen.
Last week, I was was given the chance to interview Erik Rhey of PC Magazine with regards to Wii injuries. Part of the WiiChat.com crew and I traveled from Northwest Indiana up to New York City to visit Erik in his office for the interview.
Below, you can find the interview. I believe that it turned out very well and it gives great insight into Wiinjuries from the viewpoint of a media professional. Erik might write for PC Magazine, but he definitely knew his gaming.
The interview is in two parts. I hope you all enjoy it.
Part 1
Part 2
These excerpts come from episode 7 of the WiiChat.com Show. To check out the rest of the episode, please visit the link below.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1425256284959615919
For more information on Erik or PC Magazine, please check out their website, PCMag.com.
3.13.2007
3.10.2007
3.06.2007
Today went unbelievably well. Dillon, Jason, and I found our way into New York quite easily. We found the Ziff Davis building no problem, but parking was a bitch. We had to park a decent distance away.
I'm not going to lie, the Ziff Davis building was pretty impressive. PC Magazine Senior Editor Erik Rhey gave us a sweet tour of their labs before our interview with him. I might post more about that tour at a later time.
While in New York, we visited the Nintendo World Store. The building was unbelievable. It was a Nintendo nerd heaven. Tons of DSes and tons of Wiis to game it up with. If you need a classic controller, hit them up. They had about 200 in stock on shelves. No regular controllers or Wiis to be found for sale though.
We also stopped by the Apple Store on 5th Ave. It is the Apple Store with a big class cube as an entrance. It was pretty sweet, but I kind of prefer the Chicago store.
Anyways, more on the PC Magazine interview in a later post. My interview with Eric Rhey will be found in episode 7 of the WiiChat.com Show which should be out early next week. Thanks again to Erik for the interview. He was a really cool guy. IF you have time, be sure to check out his stuff at www.pcmag.com
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3.05.2007
We're almost there. We just arrived at the hotel. We are only about an hour and a half from downtown New York City.
The trip was great. It might have been the best 12-hour car ride of my life. Anyways, a lot of work is remaining before tomorrow. I can't wait to head downtown and enjoy the Big Apple.
More updates tomorrow
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We're off. In the next three days, our WiiChat.com Show team will be heading to New York City in order to interview PC Magazine editor Eric Rhey. I will be posting on this blog regularly with updates. I hope everyone continues to check it out while we are on our journey.
More to come soon...
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3.04.2007
I recently stumbled upon a project which really drew my interest. I have been a huge Zelda fan for a long time. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is easily my favorite game of all-time. The music in the game really helped bring the experience to life.
The project which I discovered was the ZREO project. The ZREO project is an attempt to recreate every song ever in a Zelda game. This ambitious project began about 4 years ago. Recently, the team discovered a new sense of fame with their Soundscapes series. I recently had a chance to talk with FireGS and Master of Zelda about the project. Here is what they had to say.
Cameron: Thanks for giving me the chance for this interview.
Master of Zelda: It's our pleasure!
FireGS: Thanks for having us!
Cameron: How about you guys introduce yourselves and let us know what you do for the Zreo project.
FireGS: Okay, well, I'm FireGS, or Fire for short, and I'm the one who started this project four years ago, and also the one with the task of rewriting, mixing, and editing all of the music you hear.
Cameron: Cool
Master of Zelda: Well, my name is Master of Zelda, MoZ for short, and I am the art director and co-web master for ZREO. Basically what I do is keep the overall look and feel of the site consistent through its aesthetic design.
Cameron: So, the project started 4 years ago, how old were you guys when you started?
FireGS: 14, I believe. Maybe 15.
Master of Zelda: Oh jeez, I have to think about that. I joined in November 2004, right Fire?
FireGS: Yep.
Cameron: So, to those who are interested in this kind of thing, you definitely don't need to be 20 or so to start up a similar project?
Master of Zelda: I would have been 18 years old.
FireGS: Not at all. You just need the will to follow through. That's what opening and closing three times has taught me.
Cameron: How would you describe your experience level when you started the project?
FireGS: Nothing. I had very little experience.
Master of Zelda: Well, looking at the quality of the CD Covers I did back in 2004, I only had one or two years experience with graphic design.
Cameron: You must have grown a lot in the last couple of years, each song of yours which I have listened to has been amazing. Fire, why the Zelda series over any other gaming series?
FireGS: Well, it was the first game series that I really enjoyed. The N64 was my first game platform, and Zelda was the first RPG/Adventure game I played. Since then, no other series has caught my attention like the Zelda series.
Cameron: Ah, that makes sense. So, when you started the project, what was your initial goal for the project?
FireGS: My first intentions were to see if I could, with the help of about five others, redo all of the tracks of OoT. I saw 82 tracks and thought that would be VERY difficult, and time consuming, so I figured, lets do that one.
Cameron: Did you want to basically create an identical version of the songs or were you looking to add your own flavor?
FireGS: Add it's own flavor, where applicable. Songs that had a folk theme to them, like Gerudo Valley, Lon Lon ranch, etc., wouldn't, and couldn't' have its folk instruments replaced with something else.
Some songs we try to keep true to the OST, but others, we can take more artistic liberty on, example, The Shadow Temple.
Cameron: Cool. Master of Zelda, why did you originally jump into the series?
Master of Zelda: Well, my mother always jokes around and says it was because she played the original version when she was pregnant with me. But I became really attracted to the series when A Link to the Past came out. I was in 2nd grade and remember hearing the awesome music and graphics. That's the game that hooked me.
Cameron: When did you two meet, are you friends in real life or did you meet on the Internet? What is the story behind that?
FireGS: MoZ, you like this story, go for it.
Master of Zelda: Well, I had just gotten a job at HTLOZ II earlier in 2004, and Fire was looking to affiliate with sites. He IM'ed one evening asking if HTLOZ II would be interested in affiliating with ZREO. I had no idea who this guy was or what ZREO meant.
Cameron: Ah, I used to love HTLOZ.
Master of Zelda: He showed me his musical project and the songs his team had created. I instantly fell in love with the music and offered to make art for the site. We've been friends ever since.
Cameron: Nice. So, when did you release the first song to the public?
FireGS: Well, the funny thing, I had released three songs, Deku Tree, Kokiri Forest, and Kotake & Koume's Theme first. I advertised it all over the place, for other musicians to hopefully find, and join me. There never was any grand opening, or anything, like there was this past December with the most recent version of our project. The first version of the site was nothing more than a white page, and text.
Cameron: Nice. You say that you began with three songs, how many songs have you made as of right now?
Master of Zelda: 130 are available on the site right now.
FireGS: And many more to come.
Master of Zelda: Oh yes, MANY more!
Cameron: What is your ultimate goal for the project, do you see an ending point?
FireGS: At the moment, we don't have a final goal. One could say that getting ALL of the songs completed is the final goal, but there will always be new Zelda games. Thats a great thing, we'll never be out of a job!
Cameron: On average, how much time goes into each song?
FireGS: Presently, the average time given is about 6 hours. Some songs require days and weeks, and others only a few hours from start to finish.
Master of Zelda: Tell him about Hyrule Castle!
Cameron: Which song up right now has taken the longest period of time?
FireGS: Its a tie, actually. Between Hyrule Castle from LTTP, and End Credits Redux from OoT. Hyrule Castle, I just feared to do. If it wasn't done right, It would be horrible. End Credits was just a lot of work.
Cameron: Approximately how many hours would you guess were put into those pieces.
FireGS: I can't even measure them for Hyrule Castle. Easily a months worth of time, on and off, writing, and rewriting. End Credits took about four days, non-stop.
Cameron: Wow. OK, no thinking, you must answer quick! What is your favorite song and why. For both of you.
FireGS: Ocean Redux.
Master of Zelda: My favorite song, without a doubt, is Hyrule Castle. It just has that foreboding atmosphere... and a sense of mystery about it. Historical in a sense I guess.
FireGS: It embodies the adventure theme that I remember from playing OoT.
Cameron: Sweet. Personally, my favorite might be the Twilight Princess title theme. Just because that song gave me chills the first time I booted Twilight Princess after I brought home my launch Wii.
FireGS: If there were actual words spoken in the game, by the choir, we could have the choirs speak them as well!
Master of Zelda: It was the first time Nintendo brought back the original Zelda title theme.
Cameron: I also enjoy pretty much every Ocarina of Time song though, especially End Credits Redux
FireGS: Well thank you!
Cameron: This might sound geeky, but I took some of the MP3s I found on your site and turned them into ring tones for my phone.
Master of Zelda: I really really enjoy Gerudo Valley Redux! I feel like dancing when I hear it.
FireGS: Nice!! I'm glad to see things like that happening!
Cameron: Item catch plays when I get a text message.
Master of Zelda: Hmm... ZREO ring tones... that might be a new product idea for the site. What do you think Fire?
FireGS: I don't see why not!
Cameron: Do you both own a Wii?
FireGS: Yep.
Master of Zelda: Sadly, I do not. I'm a poor college student at the moment. I plan to get one when it becomes available in black.
Cameron: I would assume that Twilight Princess is your favorite game on the system, besides that, what else is great.
FireGS: The new vote system is insane. When I should be working on stuff, I'm on there voting. Why? I don't know. Its just addicting.
Master of Zelda: I really enjoy Smash Bros Melee, obviously. Who doesn't? But I also think Resident Evil 4 and F-Zero GX are amazing games that should be experienced! I am referring to GameCube. Haha! I did try out WarioWare: Smooth Moves at a friend's house though! That will be my first game when I get a Wii! It is really fun!
Cameron: Nice. Eh, I am mixed on WarioWare. We reviewed it on our show, you should check out our review sometime.
Master of Zelda: I was watching it a minute ago before the interview started, actually.
Cameron: So, you recently received quite a bit of attention on Digg.com. How did that turn out?
FireGS: Amazingly well. The week we hit the Digg homepage, we received 3.5 Million hits. average of about 250,000 visits a day, from a 10,000 visit a day average.
Master of Zelda: We've also sustained 125,000 unique hits per day since then.
Cameron: Wow. Amazing! I guess that will help motivate you with the project.
FireGS: Indeed, we have been recognized by a few people worth mentioning. Valve Software is a subscriber to our Announcement list, as well as EA Games in Salt Lake City.
Cameron: Congratulations, you really deserve the attention. It is an amazing project.
FireGS: I recently got an e-mail from Gabe Newell, co-chairman and project lead of Half-Life 2, who enjoys our music and our site. That blew me away. The guy's worth millions!
Cameron: Wow, that is amazing. Well, we are about time with the interview. Any last thing you would like to let your fans know?
Master of Zelda: It's really weird to be having these big-rig people visit our site. But it shows how widely spread the love for Zelda really is! Zelda brings us together.
FireGS: Yes, there is a LOT more projects from ZREO in the coming months, and check our site every week, we will always be updating! Thanks for listening to it all!
Master of Zelda: Last thoughts... keep visiting the site, because we have a lot of cool plans and such that will really blow your mind away!
Cameron: Thanks for the interview guys! I hope to do it again in the future!
FireGS: Likewise!
Master of Zelda: Thank you!
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