Taking a look at Mass Effect 2: The Bottom Line
Mass Effect 2 has been out for a little while and it is a huge hit with critics and the public, selling over two million copies. What's the big deal? We talk with Nate Lanxon and Kevin Tofel on the Bottom Line to find out.
Guests:
3DTV: The next big thing or next big flop?
Panasonic is showing off a 50-inch plasma TV which aims to bring 3D TV from the movie theater to the home theater. That's all well-and-good, but even if the company has managed to fix the persistent headaches, awkward motion and other issues that have plagued 3D in the past, does it actually add anything to the experience? We talk to John Biggs from CrunchGear and Nate Lanxon from CNET UK, who aren't totally sold on the idea either.
What's your take? Are you eager to have a 3D set in your living room? Sound off in the comments, or send a video response to our YouTube Channel.
Guests:
Windows 7 to be significantly less expensive in UK than US
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TechVi guest Nate Lanxon is reporting over at CNET UK that the British editions of Windows 7 Home Premium (full editions, mind you, not upgrades) will cost about £65, or around $106, compared with the US price of $120 for the upgrade, and $200 for the full OS.
Samsung’s new cameras add features in lieu of megapixels
Now that we've topped out around 12 megapixels, camera manufacturers like Samsung aren't as eager to rapidly add megapixels anymore. Now, Samsung has introduced a new camera with a unique feature: A front-facing LCD screen for snapping self portraits. Last week, we heard about a Nikon camera with an integrated projector. It sounds like the race to add numbers is over, and now manufacturers are racing to put more features in the camera. Is this actually a good thing for consumers? (We think so!) We talk to Nate Lanxon from CNET UK about the change, and about what the future holds for the camera market.
Guests:
Netbooks: Not what people expect?
Geeks might know the under-powered under-sized notebooks offer more tradeoffs at a lower price, but according to an NPD survey, 42% of people are dissatisfied with their netbook purchase. Does that indicate people won't be back for another round at netbooks, and could the last few years of growth in the tiny computer market just be a figment of imagination? We talk to Nate Laxon of CNET UK and Mike Rose of TUAW.
Nate doesn't think the netbooks are all they're cracked up to be, and would much prefer a properly priced computer that offers adequate performance, but that being said he doesn't think they're going anywhere anytime soon. He sees the future of netbooks as pretty bright, especially considering how they're being bundled with cellular data plans overseas. Mike thinks as people learn more about what the devices do, buyers will know better what to expect from the machines, and as performance increases, some of the tradeoffs will go away.
What's your take, do you like netbooks? Do you think they're sticking around? Sound off in the comments and let us know.
Guests:
Twitter Qwitters: Why do people leave Twitter en masse?
A Nielsen study pegs twitter with an exceptionally high drop off rate after users sign up, but is it a sign that the service has major problems, or are people waiting for their friends to truly experience Twitter? We ask Kim McDaniel from the Salt Lake Tribune, and Nate Lanxon from CNET.CO.UK their take on the Twitter Qwitter phenomena. Both relay an experience of leaving Twitter for about six months before returning to really find any usefulness out of the service. Kim thinks it's really just a matter of finding the right people, since users have to actively work to find useful content. Nate agrees, and also thinks that since the service is so simple, it's a matter of waiting for friends to join, which helps the service become useful for all. There's also one other explanation we didn't cover, people tend to use Twitter as a service without visiting Twitter.com as frequently as they do Facebook or MySpace, that makes Nielsen's numbers a tad skewed.
Do you think the Twitter Qwitter syndrome is real? Did you do the same thing when you signed up for Twtiter, or have you found it useful since the first time you 'tweeted'?