Humanity is about to experience another exciting look at the world of Halo® 3, one of the most anticipated entertainment launches for 2007. Airing in North America, Monday, December 4 on ESPN's Monday Night Football and Xbox.com in Europe, the new 60-second Halo 3 trailer offers an exclusive look at the iconic Halo universe and provides telling, new hints as to what Bungie Studios has in store for the highly regarded Xbox 360™ exclusive.

I'll be watching.  :)

Ahh yes, the wonderful days of business travel.  It's 9:20pm on Friday in San Jose and we're still waiting for Alaska to put a new starter in our MD-80's left engine.  Nothing like pulling away from the gate and finding the engine won't turn over.  Somehow I don't think a fire starter will solve this one.

Working and wifi'ing back in the terminal (still waiting for a replacement plane or part from SFO, whichever comes first), I saw the #1 link on Digg is Microsoft's own Laura Foy, with her spoof of Justin Timberlake's, "SexyBack" called, "I'm bringing XBOX back".  I miss these kinds of spoofs- nice to see Windows Vista isn't the only team doing it.  Now I'm just waiting for Windows Live to start shooting gerbils through a bulls-eye (my father still laughs about that one, sick but funny).

Back to the flight delays.  One of these days, flight crews will realize that the 20 or 30 people on the plane with smartphones are getting more accurate departure status and timing information from the airlines' own website while sitting IN the plane than what they're being told by the crew that's supposed to be flying the plane. Crowd control is one thing, not knowing your audience (and insulting them in the process) is another. C'est la vie!

A few days late, but I wanted to share why I'm so thankful this year. For those who have read this blog for a while, you probably know that my wife and I have been having difficulty with secondary infertility.  Well, I have some very good news to report: my wife is pregnant!  Without IVF!  The team of infertility Dr's gave her about a 15% chance of success per attempt with IVF as early as two month ago. Then, two days before we were to go in for the appt, my wife found out she was pregnant.  This has been three years in the making.  The last # of weeks have been tense, with multiple blood tests to make sure her levels were going up as expected.  Then last Wednesday, we went in for an ultrasound and saw a very strong heartbeat well positioned.  The Dr's were ecstatic as were we.  The chances of an issue at this point drop to ~5%  We're naturally elated.  A lot to be thankful for this year.  Next year, our family is going to be a bit larger :)

A year ago, I extolled the virtues of Sirius Satellite radio. The Sirius S50 has been happily chugging out tunes in my Toyota Prius with minimal issues, getting updates "over the air", though the recording functionality is little more than a novelty at this point.  What's causing me to consider switching is the "Wife Acceptance Factor" again.  No, it's not Howard Stern that's the problem.  The issue is that my wife got XM free in her new Honda Pilot for 3 months.  This led to her subscribing on her own, a first for any service.   For both of us, it's the quality of the programming for our lifestyle.  But a few nice touches are about to put us over the edge. So here I'm going to break it down into sections:

• Music programming (Winner: XM) - Generally a tie between the two, except when you consider adult contemporary content.  Sirius is heavy on the rap/R&B end of Top 20 on Channel 1.  Good decades and rock (Rolling Stones, Who, Aerosmith). Flight 26 on XM plays contemporary hits suitable for my son to be in the car. I'm a soundtrack fanatic- my wife turns on Cinemagic and I'm hooked. She complains that the broadway station on Sirius has a limited selection and loves it on XM.  Now for the holidays, XM offers 5 radio stations vs. 0 (will be 1) for Sirius. 
• Talk programming (Winner: Sirius) - I grew up in the NY/NJ/Conn tri-state area.  Howard has been a guilty pleasure, but not enough to buy Sirius just for it.  Opie and Anthony can't compete and I like a diversion on the drive in the AM. Sirius has better comedy channels as well and CNBC/CNN/Fox troika of news simulcasts. Martha on Sirius, Oprah on XM if you're into that kind of thing.
• Sports programming (Winner: Tie) - Sirius has NFL and NBA; XM has MLB.  both have Nascar, NHL, and College sports. It all depends on what you're into.
• Kids Programming (Winner: Sirus) - Believe it or not, Sirius has 3 kids stations vs. 1 on XM.  Perhaps they're trying to make up for the bad boy image HS brings to the lineup.
• Music in the Home (Winner: XM) - My wife asked what it would take to get XM in the house.  I powered up the Xbox 360, went to Media Center and voila, XM Radio in Online Spotlight! I've patched it through a Sonos and now have whole-home music Now she has another reason for the Xbox beyond her Bejeweled games (keep that gamerscore going up honey <g>).  Sirius does offer an Internet-based player as well, but the Media Center integration on Xbox 360 for my wife is hands down the easiest.
• Listening in the Car (Winner: Tie) - In my experience, a factory-integrated satellite system just sounds better.  It's better grounded, better integrated.  Sirius has Volkswagen/Audi, Volvo, Kia, Rolls Royce? and Subaru.  XM has
• Music on the go (Winner: XM) - I just purchased a Samsung Blackjack cell phone (more on that later) from Cingular at an amazing deal and I love listening to XM built-in on the phone.  Anywhere in the US I have a data connection I can listen to XM.  I did some tests for delay in my wife's car- the internet-based version on the phone is about 10 seconds behind the satellite delivered version, and offers a wide range of channels. Yes, you can do Sirius on your Windows Mobile phone as well, but having an app built in is a nice touch.

The final tally in my highly unscientific evaluation:

• Sirius: 2
• XM: 3
• Tied: 2

It really comes down to what you're looking for- if you really want Howard Stern, then get Sirius.  If you want better programmed music for adults (my perception) get XM.  In my case, music around the home and on the go is also important.  So it looks like I'm headed to XM once my Sirius subscription has expired.

As engadget and Digg are reporting on their headlines, the clix 4GB flash-based player is now available. Verrry niice.

Update: Reposted by popular demand - I wrote the following how-to used by dozens of Xbox 360 fans to score their consoles online.  This year, I'm updating for the PS3 and Wii, but this could be used for any number of sites with inventory trackers. Thanks to Bensbargains.net for their Xbox tracker service and Sightmax.com for sponsoring hosting for this site.

Here's a fool-proof way to get notified when PS3/Wii/etc  are available for online ordering- no online auctions required.  I've tested it personally- and  received my premium system in time for Christmas.  There may be other tactics, but I hope it works for you. Happy Holidays!

Step One: Bookmark Bensbargains PS3 Finder or Nintendo Wii Tracker
There are lots of sites that purport to track PS3 shipments.  Bensbargains is the best IMO.  They're tracking all the major and a number of minor sites that are carrying the PS3.  The site is legit and updated about every minute. Even better is their history list so you can see who got what in and map out when online inventory databases are updated.

This is great if you want to check every minute.  They also have convenient RSS feeds, but again this requires you to sit there and wait for an update.  There's got to be a better way- something that notifies YOU when status changes?  That's covered in step two.

Step Two: Download URLy Warning
Get notified instantly when a Web page changes, and see exactly what's changed. With URLy Warning, a pop-up window appears when a Web page you're watching changes, and you'll see a visual comparison of what's been added and deleted. The trial allows you to track one site in demo mode.

Once installed, you'll need to launch the app and proceed to step three.

Step Three: Configure URLy Warning
I've tried a number of tactics, but this one works best.  Click on options and set the URL to:

• For Sony PS3:  http://ps3finder.com/  (be sure to visit www.bensbargains.net for cool deals too)
• For Nintendo Wii: http://www.nintendowiipreorders.com/

Configure the rest of the settings you see below or read onfor customizations:

Setting to when at least 3 words are added or deleted will notify you when items go in or out of stock. This can result in a high count, but ensures you don't miss anything.  There are other strategies here such as setting When page contains the phrase "In Stock".

Updated Strategy: Search for changes in history only

Kevin writes, "I added a test range to only ping me on changes to the Tracker History by entering ‘History’ in the first text box and leaving the 2^nd text box blank.  This way, I only get notified when something is in stock and not when a timeout occurs."  Nice addition Kevin- thanks for the tip!  Screenie below.

You can set the app to give you a popup, a chime sound, or even send email to you or a paging device.  I used the popup and chime.  If you use the settings I did above, you'll see when words change.  If the number is in the hundreds, that means multiple deals are popping up or selling out since your last check.

Just hit reset between checks.  Plan on checking multiple times as some bundles are ridiculously priced- I played the waiting game and won.

Step Four: Get up early, check early and often
I've noticed a trend from the east coast- many stores first update their inventory between 5 and 8 am Central time.  I've saw and let go a number of high priced bundles, before getting a reasonable (MSRP) deal at a major retailer last year on my Xbox 360.  Now I'm off to play Gears of War :).

Good luck and happy hunting!

Back when I owned a Honda S2000 in the age of B.K. (before kids), my tweaker friends would do a, "Dyno Day" where they'd rent out a dyno facility and benchmark their supercharged, ultra-flow, boosted, EFI adjusted S2K's. 

Apparently that's already started with Windows Vista.  Using the new Windows Experience Index, overclockers are getting some impressive numbers for their PC "horsepower". Jeff noted in comments on my Vistas PC post, that he was getting a 5.7 index # on his overclocked system.  He included a how-to with details on his equipment - a Core 2 Duo system here. Not sure about the "Take that Microsoft" part (it was a Dell PC), but I felt an urge to go visit Fry's and that's not a good thing (tm) according to my wife.

Instead, after playing Gears of War last night over at my house with ZuneGuy and Zunester, I'm thinking about how I can get a Zune to output display and control to my Prius on-screen display.  Where's Phil Torrone when I need him?

A friend in the Windows Vista team sent me pictures of a cool new PC for Windows Vista they just did with Dell for a promotion. 

This hot-rod took the fastest Dell Media Center PC on the planet, then added a tricked out paint job by mondo paint mod shop Colorware to commemorate Windows Vista release to manufacturing. As the picture hints at, the finished result is top-notch automotive-quality paint that appears lit from within.  That's not surprising when you consider the specs of the system:

• Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 Processor
• 512MB NVidia GeForce 7900 GTX
• 4GB RAM Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM @ 667mhz
• 1Terabyte RAID0 SATA HDDs (2x500MB)
• 48x Combo + 16x DVD+/-RW Double Layer Burner
• Dual TV Tuners (Analog)
• Dell 30" Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor
• Full 5.1 Surround Sound system

My contacts tell me this system has a Windows Experience Index # of this system is a 5.2. For those of you unfamiliar with this feature of Windows Vista, it is a ranking # that represents the capabilities of your PC based on performance of your video, CPU, memory, HD, etc. and can be  used to determine which software will run best by matching the number or below (goodbye trying to deceipher 3 point text on bottom of software boxes to see if you can run the latest/greatest).  

The Vista screamer was conceived as a way to commemorate the RTM of Windows Vista at the ship party.  A few were made, and one contributed to Microsoft's annual, "Giving Campaign" where OEM employees raffled it off, with Microsoft matching the raffled amount going to the United Way. Considering the full version will put you back $3200+tax, that's a healthy donation.  

The only thing it's missing as far as I'm concerned is a Windows Sideshow display on the front and maybe an HD-DVD drive.

More pictures on my Flickr set.

Update: Fixed details on the charity process - it was a raffle.