Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Verizon setting new sales records with the iPhone 4, why the hell people like astronaut ice cream, or your favorite Super Bowl food, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
There’s no escaping 3D in 2011. In addition to more 3D movies and 3D televisions than ever before, you’ll see glasses-free 3D portable videogame consoles, mobile phones, and tablet computers in 2011. Will you buy a 3D device this year?
I don’t really have a choice. I need to write about the 3DS and its games. I actually wanted to buy a 3DTV last year so that I could write about 3D games (and I really need a new TV), but I haven’t scrapped up enough money.
You, however, do have a choice. Kindly vote in today’s Coffee Talk poll and discuss your decision in the comments section.
[poll id=”101″]
The only 3D purchases I will be making is if I see a movie in 3D. The tech for 3D is bananas right now but it is still a cheap trick in my eyes (that won't be strained). I also just made the jump to HDTV less than a year ago so I'm good on the tv front for now.
No 3DTVs will enter my house. 3D is not a selling point to me at all and that includes the 3DS. Actually, I find myself entertaining the idea of getting a NGP if Sony can deliver good US/developer support. [not US developer]
There should have been a "hell no!" option in the poll that would have better expressed my feelings on the issue, but oh well.
Love the picture along with the article, but I'm pretty sure the chick has to be naked or at least wearing nothing but a green leaf for it to convey the meaning.
2011 will be the year I finally put my super awesome home entertainment center together (hopefully). I'm already set on the Panasonic PT-AE4000 for the projector and the Black Diamond II screen from Screen Innovations. I still need to get someone to recommend me a good A/V receiver, 5.1 channel speaker system, a matrix switch and someone smart and cheap enough to help me put it all together.
-M
i voted for of course because i am getting the 3DS after all. I probably won't upgrade to a 3D tv until they go viewer free like th 3DS.
I'm so sick of this fad.
Did you consider motion a fad?
You do realize that the term "fad" is dependent on what your definition of a "short period of time" is, right?
For example, no one will dispute that the Pet Rock was a fad, yet it sold millions for a few months. Then there were pogs and slammers that were popular with kids that sold for years. After that, you had Pokemon Trading cards, which some people are still playing/collecting today, yet, the peak of it's popularity has been over for years.
Hell, in the year 5284, historians may even say that these internal combustion automobiles that we are all driving around in now are a fad since everyone after 2062 bought a Yltmebrialn for personal transportation.
Wearing a toga in ancient times seems like a fad to us, since they eventually gave way to tunics and other clothing that involved more than one piece. Yet they were used for more than 500 years.
Personally, I think a fad has more to do with sustained demand rather than supply. How many people bought the PS Move or the Kinect vs. the install base of their respective consoles? If motion controls were truly popular (with all gamers) then more than half of the Playstation and Xbox users would have a motion control peripheral. Nintendo, on the other hand, gave us no choice and made an integrated motion controlled console from the ground up. Even though the quality of the majority of the games available for that console have suffered for it in terms of quality, Nintendo seems to have a brilliant marketing department that would be able to sell ice cubes to Eskimos. Not as good as Apple's, mind you, but still pretty good.
-M
3D tech has a ways to go before I adopt it on anything larger than a 3DS.
The commercial with the guy complaining to Lamar Odom and Gasol sold me on how stupid the current tech is. 3 numbnuts sitting around wearing 3D glasses that look like 1980s BlueBlocker shades. No thanks.
Definitely getting a 3DS. That's it though, other than that purchase I'm not making any plans for 3D purchases.
0% chance, 3D is no big deal to me
@Anyone who sees this
Got a question about desktops for everyone. In all of your opinions would it be better to just buy a cheap pre-built budget PC, or build one yourself? My mom will probably be needing a new desktop soon and hates spending tons of money so a budget PC is the way to go for her, but it still needs to be good quality.
She can build one herself and has worked on this kind of stuff before, so if it would just be cheaper to get the parts and build it she is capable of doing that. Thanks to anyone who has any input!
It depends on what she'll be using it for and if a warranty matters to her or not. Generally, you can build for a little be cheaper than you can buy. However, the savings isn't nearly what it used to be. Warranties aren't as important for desktops as they are for laptops, but they can still come in handy.
She really just uses it for the basics: iTunes, internet, MS office, pretty basic programs. My brother and sister have some games but nothing that would be too hard on a new system. I have tried to convince her to upgrade for a long time but she hates spending money on new computers. This one though is extremely old, probably about 9 years old running either Pentium 3 or 4 and a 40gb hdd, and running Windows XP. I have found a couple pre-built on Newegg for about $350 that seem pretty good, but I'm not exactly the most well informed in the are of desktops.
If your gonna build, the only important suggestion I can throw out is to make sure you drop a Western Digital HDD in it. That's the only brand I trust when it comes to storing my valuable data on a PC.
I've pissed through Seagates in a short of time as a year and a half. Your HDD is really where you don't want to cut costs, but WD isn't that bad and I actually haven't burned one yet. Not even externals.
Even on my Mac (all they said was that it was a SATA and not who made it), I have my Time Machine backed up on a WD.
@bsu
If her needs are that minimal then I'd suggest a shelf machine. No need to buy a $200 OS and other components. Prob get a good deal on a laptop. She doesn't seem to upgrade so losing the ability won't matter and she'll get a better monitor that way. I'm assuming she still rocks a CRT.
I just built my new rig for $900
Thanks for the input guys!
In other news, I finally sold my car. I'm pretty sad about it because I loved that car. But I'm glad I didn't actually stick with only buying the new Xbox after I sold my car like I originally said. haha.
Hate to join in on an old conversation, but I need to express my views somewhere, and this is the best place to do so. I've now tested the 3DS three times, and I've formed a solid opinion.
Although I like the 3D, I don't think it's a game-changer (at least for me). I was easily able to keep in the "sweet spot", since I hold all my systems that way, but found myself struggling to stay in one spot on Pilotwings. In any case, the 3D didn't really captivate me; I didn't feel like I needed to play more after testing it, and ended up turning it off to see what the system could really do.
The graphics were on a whole new level, which Pilotwings showed clearly. Thank you Nintendo for making your new system capable of great graphics; I don't think I could take another DS-level graphics system.
While I loved the circle pad and extendable stylus, I found myself wondering why they changed the home, start and select buttons. It seemed a bit strange. The circle pad was a step up from the analog nub of the PSP, and I found myself using the direction buttons less and less. On SSFIV, I noticed how well the circle pad and extendable stylus worked. I love those additions.
While I didn't get to try any AR (still think that's a good idea), I am still skeptical of the system as a whole. None of it seemed very "innovative", and I didn't really notice the 3D much. Nothing captivated me, and the games were so-so. I think, for now, I'll say that while the system doesn't do much "innovation" like the commercials and fanboys claim, it is a system worthy of the DS title. Just don't screw up the 1st-party titles, and it'll do fine.