Today, I will try to figure out if it’s possible to create my own internal drive for the xbox that both reads save games profiles as well as stores media content along with its DRM. I’ve seen various setups where people connect an external USB device and play music off of it. Nope, that’s not what I want to do - we want to create a complete, albeit monster drive replacement for the original factory drive - without paying a monster price for the Licensed Xbox 120GB.

Note: This is for educational purposes only and likely can’t be used to pirate games or media. In all likelihood, you will save yourself lots of sweat and frustration if you go out and get the Xbox 360 Elite

Let’s hypothesize on two workable ideas
1. Bootleg Microsoft’s built in hard drive transfer that comes packaged with the Xbox Elite and get our data onto the new external drive.
2. Plug our drive directly into the xbox and bridge it with some mechanism.

Here are the facts attempting a bootleg of Microsoft’s built in HD transfer:
-You can only transfer content ONCE. XBLA and marketplace content require online authorization. I think this might double check the serial number of the drive itself, so we want to make sure that we don’t destroy this during a transplant.
-movie rentals can’t transfer drives.

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Grand theft Auto IV needs no introduction: since this franchise began, its trademark “dirtiness” has undergone significant change, especially concerning its mature content. Dates actually notice if you’re wearing the same outfit, and comment on your driving abilities - Now when you take girls out on a date, the sex scene simply cuts out to a view of the house while corny lovemaking sounds play. Unfortunately, going to second and third base with your date doesn’t give you any extra points over simply completing the date…..and when you want a little something extra, you just do as you would have done in San Andreas - you pay. However, I was unceremoniously rejected by one of the in-game streetwalkers, so I had no choice but to cut her down >:)

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I’ve been feeding my iTunes addiction quite a bit lately, mostly renting movies to watch during my workout at the gym. Listening to Jazz at work, heavier music while driving. I also bought an audiobook called “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie which, not surprisingly, is the cure for insomnia :-). Here are some of my recent purchases:

Check out the spending report I have on Mint that show the trend in Itunes spending I’ve had.

Objective of the day: Not being a victim of the infamous ring of death… If you’re upgrading to an Xbox Elite or just replacing a bad system, the latest versions of the Xbox 360 come with a Falcon chip which replaces the old Zephyr chip. Aluminum heat sinks reduce overheating problems, and the new chip uses less power as well so thus should be quieter too…

Less overheating = less ring of death = less sending the Xbox in for warranty repair.

Cooler, quieter, more reliable say the folks over at Microsoft.

Possibly one of the best XBLA games, Undertow became a free download this week - it is NOT: a cutting edge game. It IS: an addicting strategy shooter with multiplayer action…while singleplayer campaign (12 missions) allows you to learn each units strengths and general strategies, the multiplayer is this game’s bread & butter.

Quick Controls:
Left thumbstick - swim - ’nuff said
Right thumbstick- hold this in the direction of your enemy. If you’re a heavy unit like the destroyer, you’ll need to use it strategically, like hitting nearby rocks to destroy enemies.
Right trigger - boost - continually boosting will make you a difficult target, especially important for weaker units like the Corsair.
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The impetus for this article was a column in Game Daily about 7 video games “kids should avoid.”

The Game Daily Article describes popular games as Halo, Mass Effect, Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, and Unreal Tournament as games “Kids should avoid.”Whether the authors ever played the games and were affected by the violence is debatable, but the only thing those games had in common with each other was the “M for mature” rating by the ESRB.

http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/galleries/seven-games-kids-should-avoid-and-seven-they-shouldnt/156/?page=1

The opening photo for the article, evidence of the uber-intelligence and wit of the author.

Activists such as attorney Jack Thompson and Senator Hillary Clinton voice public concern about violence in video games; Clinton’s publicized comments concerning content in Grand Theft Auto sparked the FTC to investigate how strong sexual content made it to the game. Attorney Thompson, also an anti-gay, has legally threatened publishers and media in his crusade against video game violence. Games such as Manhunt have been the target of retail bans abroad…

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Let’s get right to it. Mass Effect is an amazing game. The story and environment of the game is simply astonishing. Non-RPG fans may be turned off by the immense size of the world and the dialogue, but for RPG fans, the dialogue is immersive. In Mass Effect, you take on the role of Commander Shepard. This game is one big space opera. The game sends you across one galaxy to the next in hopes of stopping a rogue Spectre–and that leads to other things. The story isn’t some typical Star Wars clone crap. When I first started playing, I was amazed by at how well the story was developing. Mass Effect has one of the best, if not the best, stories of all time. You just need to play to see.

The characterization of Mass Effect is really great. Each character is unique and has their own story. After each major mission, you can speak to your crew to find out more about their story. I was really impressed at how much detail they put into this. It just makes you feel that much more immersed in this game. The alien races are also done really well. All the races are unique and very detailed.Mass Effect has the morality engine where the decisions you make affect the overall story. This is a pretty neat concept because you can now choose how good or evil you want to be. The dialogue will change if you pick certain choices. During the 2nd playthrough, I was getting a little tired of all the dialogue because I already knew what was going on. But on the 1st playthrough, I was immersed in the whole Mass Effect universe so I really enjoyed the dialogue.All the dialogue in Mass Effect is voiced. The characters will do gestures to convey their ideas or emphasize their concerns. The depth of the game is great. I was completely immersed in my first playthrough. (more…)

This is just insane!  A 9 year old beats the hardest Guitar Hero level Through the Flames and Fire on expert. This kid puts us all to shame, although he does not strum

 Fans of the old 8-bit Nintendo version of Tetris rejoice as this old hit is revived - THQ does a masterful job of giving this old dog new tricks. New soundtracks, background animations, and game modes make for hours of entertainment. 4 players are now supported as well as ‘Ultra’ mode where players compete in a time constraint to get the most points. Xbox live is also supported with achievements ready for unlocking.

Graphically, this game isn’t cutting edge although the animated backgrounds are interesting to watch. They range between space, fire, or clouds. Still backgrounds of lush plants & nature photos may also be selected in slideshow form, or you can just stick with one.

Either the joystick or the D-pad may be used to control your blocks, and D-pad up will place the block immediately. By default, outlines show where your block will fall - it’s a bit quirky and confusing once the blocks stack up, you’ll see what I mean.

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From DoubleClick Press releases page: ”Mountain View, CA, 4/13/2007 - Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced today a definitive agreement to acquire DoubleClick Inc., a global leader in digital marketing technology and services, for $3.1 billion in cash from San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman along with JMI Equity and management. The acquisition will combine DoubleClick’s expertise in ad management technology for media buyers and sellers with Google’s leading advertising platform and publisher monetization services.”

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Google’s unparalleled success with search makes what Double Click CEO calls the “perfect partner.” There are two types of Google search results - one of which are called ‘organic results’ or ads that are ranked on popularity. The other results are served up in auction-type bidding. Another source of revenue for Google serves up ads on other websites using a process called ‘Adsense’ by sensing the context on the website and displaying appropriate ads.

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