I’ve seen Amazon advertise their Trade-In program a few times, and I’m trying it out!

First, I grew tired of MAG, and I’d rather play MW2 with friends, so I’m selling it to max out my value while it’s still pretty new. But feeling lazy and not wanting to bother with Ebay, I decided to check out Amazon’s trade-in program.

It’s run by a third party, but it’s super easy to do. You search for the game you want to trade-in, if they want it, it shows a price. Since I was going to send one game, I figured I’d look around and find other games I never play and see what I can get for them. Turns out I’ve got 26 games I never play…so might as well trade them in!

Once they give you a price, and a free shipping label, you have seven days to send them in. The only iffy thing I see is that if the items are damaged or not what you were supposed to send, they won’t send it back. For videogames they say:

For video games and movies, this includes the correct disc(s), manual, cover art, bundled accessories, UPC, and case.

I have all original packaging and manuals though, so I’m not worried about that.

Total I’m getting $170 for all of it. Everything from Zelda: Twilight Princess on Wii (booooring!), to Rogue Leader on the GameCube (hey, $1.75 is better than nothing!). I could probably get more on Ebay, but the hassle of running 26 auctions, many of which probably would get me nothing (seriously, who wants Rogue Leader from 2001?), and it just made more sense to get a nice chunk of change with practically zero effort.

Once I get my Amazon gift cards I’ll comment to let you know how the process went. They also take trade-ins for dvds and textbooks too.

A month ago Stacie and I both got Nexus Ones to replace our old phones. We had Motorla W490s before (standard flip phones that were a couple years old). I had broken my outer LCD (though I actually fixed it with some parts off Ebay), but I was ready to enter the smartphone era. And I had to bring the wife along with me.

Hardware

The phone itself is far from flashy. It’s not as unique as the Droid, or as instantly recognizable as the iPhone…but it’s feels great in your hand. It has nice curves that make it a joy to hold.

By far my favorite feature is the 3.7″ AMOLED screen. At 800×470 pixels, it’s very high res, and looks beautiful. Right under the screen are four dedicated buttons that help you move around the OS and access different features. Below that is a little trackball. It’s great for selecting links on webpages with lots of links, instead of having to zoom in so your finger can actually press it. The trackball can also be pressed, so for example it can be used to take pictures. It also flashes to notify you that you have a notification.

Some of my other favorites about the hardware would be the 1ghz processor. Not only is the phone super snappy, but it should handle future updates to Android with little problem. It has a dedicated noise cancelling mic, and the 5 megapixel camera takes pretty darned good pictures (with an LED flash if you’re really in the dark).

Android OS

This is my first experience with Android, and I love it. The Nexus One is currently the only phone running Android 2.1. First, there are 5 main home screens. You can CUSTOMIZE these screens to your hearts content. By default there are some standard apps you’ll probably use a lot, like the browser and gmail, but this is old news on smarthphones. A long press on any home screen gives you the options that really make Android stand out.

Shortcuts – These can be things like a bookmark to a favorite website, a specific contact, a playlist, or even a specific phone number (super speed dial!). I have a shortcut that takes me directly to my different Pandora stations. The cool part being that these can exist on your home screens, and minimize the amount of searching and tapping needed.

Widgets – These are by far my favorite software innovation, and what I think really sets Android apart from its competitors. Widgets are like mini-applications that “run” on your home screens. For example, I have a search bar right on my main screen, a calendar, a settings bar, a facebook box that provides updates and the ability to update my status, and a music control bar that lets me pause/play and skip songs. But this is all without leaving the home screens.

(No, this isn’t my phone!)

Of course you can’t fit all your apps on the home screen, so there is a button at the bottom that pulls up all your installed apps.

Another cool feature is the notification bar. At the top of the screen is a skinny bar that contains useful information on the right like time, battery, signal, etc. But on the left it displays icons when you have different notifications. If you receive an email, text, chat, it shows up on the left. If you have the music player running it has a little play button. Then you just “grab” it and pull it down. If you’ve got an email, you can click it, and it will take you right there. It’s a super quick way to get the information you want.

Comparison to the iPhone

Talk of whether or not the Nexus One is an “iphone killer” began the minute it was announced, so comparisons between the two are inevitable. The comparison though is both a hardware and software issue.

First, I don’t have an iPhone, and my time playing on one is limited, but I think the only advantage the iPhone has over the Nexus One is the library of apps available. Due to the popularity of the iPhone, and the head start on Android, it has a lot more apps available. But with Android phones available on T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon (and soon to be ATT), the adoption rate of Android phones is about to explode. Will Apple have a new iPhone out eventually, and potentially on various carriers? Yes, but I think the competition only started to get serious very recently with the Droid.

But apps aside, I think the Nexus One is a better phone in all aspects. Hardware wise, this shouldn’t be a surprise. It’s newer, and it’s better. The screen has twice the resolution and the processor is twice as fast. Out of the box, the internal storage is only 4gb, but it’s expandable up to 32gb (when available). This option saves the consumer money if they don’t need it, and gives them the option if they do. The battery is user replaceable, the camera is better, and the screen is bigger.

Software wise (sheer number of apps aside), I think the Android OS is head over heels better than what the iPhone offers. The customization of the home screens is awesome, and the ability to run multiple apps is also cool. I can stream Pandora, run a jogging tracker app, and browse the internet all at once (though browsing the internet while I jog would be tough). Multi-tasking is yet another area that Android outperforms the iPhone.

Of course, if there is some must have app on the iPhone that doesn’t have a comparable alternative on Android, then all the advantages of an Android phone might not matter to you.

Conclusion

After using my Nexus One for a month, I can never go back to an old style phone. I think in both hardware and software it excels. If there is any area I think it could do better, it would be the pricing. It’s actually comparable to other smartphones bought out of contract, but if you’re looking to renew your contract and get nice subsidized pricing, you might want to look elsewhere. Right now it’s only offered subsidized with a specific plan (which can be changed later as far as I know), but that would have forced us out of our grandfathered phone and data plans. Again, that might not matter depending on your situation, but for us, buying the phones outright made sense.

For anyone looking for an Android phone, I can’t recommend them enough. The Nexus One is coming to every carrier in the next year based on different announcements, so if you don’t want to switch to T-Mobile to get one, you just need to wait.

Not a ton going on here, just getting ready to enjoy a three day weekend!

The hard drive in my HTPC died. Arg! I seriously considered getting satellite, but I didn’t. This is the second time the hard drive has died in the last year. I think the first time might have just been normal hard drive failure, but when Western Digital sent me a replacement it was a refurb, so that’s why I think this one didn’t last long. I ordered a NEW drive made specifically for DVRs, and at 1 terabyte it should hold close to 100 hours of HD video. As much as I hate opening it up and setting it up, when the thing works it does a darn good job. I just couldn’t justify spending $50-60 a month for a DVR with limited space, no ability to edit or save shows, and a channel I really want (Dodgers!) and a few channels we enjoy on vacation.

My proof copy of Terra Nova is still on its way. Should be here Monday along with the new hard drive. I think next time I might pay extra for faster shipping. Here’s what shows on my UPS tracking info so far:

SUMMERVILLE, SC
WEST COLUMBIA, SC
GREENSBORO, NC
COLUMBUS, OH
MAUMEE, OH
HODGKINS, IN

I’m guessing it was on a truck…a very slow one that liked to stop in every city it passed. It left that last stop 2 days ago, so I’m guessing it’s now on an airplane.

I’ve been playing Metal Gear Solid 4 the last few days. I really wish it had trophies, but I already had it, and it’s pretty fun. I have Fallout 3 coming to me from ebay for cheap. My new philosophy is to buy games used, play them, and then sell them and recoup some of the cost. Few games are worth having for a long time anyways.

Pictures of baby soon, I promise!

Not much going on. Only two more weeks until Christmas break!

Sadly, at the age of 27, I received my first filling on Friday. For years I have been proud of my cavity free mouth, but last week one of my wisdom teeth was the victim of evil tooth decay. The cool part is that a guy I played volleyball with in High School did the filling. Crazy! Anyone else beat 27 years without a cavity? My sister said that third molars (wisdom teeth) don’t even count though, which I’m fine with.

I’m already tired of Little Big Planet. Once you beat the game, it’s just a lot jumping…and no matter how cool the level…it’s still just a lot of jumping. I put it on Ebay, and I bought Wipeout HD for only $20!

Stacie just told me to turn off the computer and go to bed, and I said “The Department of Defense is under attack by a foregin terrorist and I have to stop it.” She said that’s not my job.

She also pointed out that I promised baby pictures in this post. In a week he’ll be nine months old.

Luke Mickey’s His Daddy

We do patty cake now, and as Uncle Paul points out, that’s all. We don’t roll anything or mark it with a B yet.

We also hold our own bottle if mom or dad won’t do it for him. If you let go and let it just sit there, then he’ll grab it. But if you hold it at all, he’s more than happy to let you do all the work.

We let cute little Romanian girls grab our ears and then we make weird faces.

On Thanksgiving we were thankful to be able to spend it with our Great-Grandpa. This is my favorite picture of the two of them.

A couple years back I attempted to put all our old home movies onto DVD, and while I did that, it really could have been done a lot better. There are very specific VCRs needed to get the best possible playback of old VHS tapes, and especially ones that have degraded over time.

I’m not sure when I’ll find the time to play with them all again, but today I tested out the new vcr I bought on ebay with an old DJAA tape. My friends John and Richard from high school were on my team, so I included them in the video. It’s not very exciting, and youtube quality is terrible, but it’s fun.

I have been bitten by the Rubik’s Cube bug.

Last year I bought one off Ebay because I thought it would be cool to have in my classroom, but I never seriously got into trying to solve it. I could do one side, but after that it became impossible.

Stacie went out and bought a real one from the store, and inside were the first CLEAR directions I’ve read for how to solve the thing. Every explanation I’ve ever read online is super confusing. So I started to futz with the new Rubik’s Cube and the directions, and following them step by step, I was finally able to solve it!

Now some people might stop there and be satisfied, but not me. Total there are 7 steps to solving it (using this simple method) and some of the steps require 8 turns! Not only do you have to turn them, but you have to memorize which sides and which direction! I’m not a very good memorizing person. I can’t memorize 100 digits of pi. But finally, after messing with it all day, I finally solvled the cube without looking at the directions, all from memory.

My goal is to be able to pick it up, solve it fairly quickly, and make my students go “wowsers!”

I’ll start with a few thoughts on “writing” and then jump into completely random nonsense.

I’ve been planning my first novel for almost 3 weeks now. While I haven’t been able to work on it constantly, I’m always thinking of ideas. I never realized it was such a complex process. One of the strangest aspects is that it’s very hard to assume the view of your would be reader, primarily because I know how the story is going to unfold. Their is no suspense for me, and I’ll never have the experience of reading the first chapter and having no idea where it’s going. Weird. I’m very close to beginning the actual writing.

Now for randomness. I bought a rubik’s cube off ebay. I’ve done a little reading about how to approach solving it, but it’s still tricky as all get out.

I electronically submitted the taxes. We did pretty good this year and came out almost even. We’re getting money back from the feds, but we owe the state about the same.

I’m not a big fan of posts like this where people just list what they are doing. It’s like a really bad diary entry. There should be a lot more question marks in a good blog post. What do you think? (See, that question mark invites you to share you opinion. Without it you read this whole thing and go “ok, so what.”)

I might as well invite more discussion with this request: I need names for characters in the book. I know who they are pretty much, but I have yet to give them specific names. This will also give you a small insight into the plot. I need names for:

1. Male – Physicist/Mechanical Engineer
2. Female – Print Journalist/Reporter
3. Male – Head of the National Security Administration
4. Male – Average Joe

Have fun!

The next Wii game I’m looking forward to is called Wii Play. Much like Wii Sports, Wii Play is a compilation of what are really full fledged tech demos. There are 9 total games, from a duck hunt style game to a laser hockey game.

The best part is that the game comes packaged with a Wii Remote, so for $50, it’s like getting the game for $10. Even if the Duck Hunt style game is the only decent one, it’s not a bad deal for $10.

Hopefully third-party developers are paying attention to what works on the Wii.

 

 

I also picked up some silicon cases off ebay from HONG KONG! If you didn’t know already, they sell silicon cases for everything imaginable…ipods, ds lites, palm pilots, wii remotes, etc. They’re cool because they don’t add a lot of bulk to items, protect them from scratches, and they’re a little see through (unlike leather). Here is the wii remote cases I bought today.