Day Two Hundred Ninety-nine: Evening of May 31st 2010

I'm beginning to wonder when I'll get back to Alan Wake. I thought I was more than halfway done, but the Red Dead Redemption keeps me hopping all over the place and my avatar is faced with deceitful and condescending allies who send me out on dangerous missions, playing on my desire to save his family. Wild herrings abound, whether assign by an ally, or a perfect stranger. I've gotten to the point that I play with the same understanding that I'm being used but I know that my ultimate goal is worth it, especially if I can maintain a decent 'Honor' Level.
Next time I start the game up, I'll have to check the stats to see where I stand.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Ninety-eight: Evening of May 30th 2010

Red Dead Redemption is extremely addicting. I played it on an off for about five hours and wished I had more free time to work on additional missions.
When you south of the border into Mexico, go to Chuparosa and become the student of the old gunfighter. You'll achieve the final level of the Deadeye skill, and you'll see the benefits immediately.
Travel all over the place noting land markers. It took me forever to get the first three levels of treasure hunter, but my explorations of out of the way places started to pay off and I'm at Level Nine of the Treasure Hunter and I know the final site will be in the Blackwater area, so I can relax.
I'll see what I can do tomorrow.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Ninety-seven: Evening of May 29th 2010

Red Dead Redemption is a deep game. There were hint to this early on with the protagonist being forced by railroad men/federal agents operating out of the town of "Blackwater." I can't go to Blackwater, yet. Apparently, there are more missions/objectives that need to be completed before access to the town and the related scenarios become available.
Currently, my antagonist has escaped to Mexico and linked up with another outlaw. When I arrive, my avatar becomes embroiled in a civil war. The nature of the military organization is masked. Some of the comments sound noble and others suggest a warlords power grab. So I'll have to wait and see what develops.
As an aside, I had one of those visual glitches occur during a gun battle. A bad guy mounted a horse, was riding away as I winged him. He appeared to be losing control of his mount near a fork in the road when it happened. The rider went one way and his mount went the other way. I watched for a fraction of a second and shot the rider. He fell to the ground and became an 'x' on the map. This became a "You had to see it to believe it" moment.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Ninety-six: Evening of May 28th 2010

I just finished playing Red Dead Redemption, and I was going to report my progress by describing my confusion regarding what path I am on. Currently, according to the map, I only have a single loose end. So I wonder how this will unfold in the hours to come. I shall see.
But, when I sat down, my daughter needed help setting up the playlist for the her upcoming prom. I opened iTunes to confirm the names of the artists performing the piece, or the reverse, getting the name of the song. We could, also, listen to the 30 second audio clips. That was fun. We wondered why the students selected the particular piece for the prom. Now she needs to send the completed list off to the prom DJ.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Ninety-five: Evening of May 27th 2010

As I played Red Dead Redemption memories neighborhood play from the 1950s surfaced. One of the frequent after school activities on the block where I lived was a variant of Cowboys and Indians. Now please realize, this was back in the mid to late 50s, and this shooter usually was just Good Guys versus Bad Guys or Hermitage guys against Wood Street guys. None of us thought deeply about what the rolls meant in the grand scheme of it. We were just in a competitive mode and one side tried to eliminate the other, frequently enhanced by the shouts of "Bang your dead!", "Am not!!", and "Cheater!!!" I think that you might say that this type of activity is at the heart of team deathwatch in video gaming with the an algorithm set up to keep everyone honest. This not always accepted and results in a remark that the machine cheated. Sometimes negative results can still produce the fervent claims based on the distrust of the unseen umpire.
None of us, as far as I can remember shifted over to a life of crime just because we enjoyed being a villain. We knew it was fantasy play. I wonder if the immediacy of the Second World War, the Korean Police Action, and the constant threat of nuclear destruction had an impact on our perception of what was real and what was fantasy.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Ninety-four: Evening of May 26th 2010

Just Red Dead Redemption today and only about two and a half hours.
There was a horse shoe throwing competition, which I lost, that took about ten minutes to complete. It was similar to some of the older golf sims that require a swing meter with a 'sweet zone' that you need to hit in order to get close to the iron rod.
The balance of the time was spent exploring, defending the virtue of defenseless maidens, killing gang leaders, and learning how to kill using my Bowie knife.
I, also, attempted getting my daughter to play Allan Wake. Nothing like getting another opinion regarding the scary environment and maybe a co-op partner.
We shall see.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Ninety-three: Evening of May 25th 2010

Alan Wake and Red Dead Redemption, Alan Wake and Red Dead Redemption, Alan Wake and Red Dead Redemption . . . decisions, decisions, decisions . . . I have to play both because they are a lot of fun, and a total distraction regardless which I'm playing. The only thing that places a limitation on my game play is time, and as good as the games are, that limitation rests in the back of my mind.
The first chapter of Alan Wake is complete and I know I need to learn how to duck when I'm attacked by multiple Taken, the possessed entities from the town, if I intend to survive. I, also, found out that the downloadable content will expand the experience of the protagonist, a la additional chapters, that flesh out the story for Alan.
In Red Dead Redemption, I learn how to snap shoot with accuracy, this was demonstrated in a piece on Xbox Live. I always try to get close and do a one shot takedown with my opening volley, and this technique enhances the following volleys.
Well, I even have to pay attention to time when I'm preparing my entries for this blog. So, I'm going to close this piece, wish you a good night, and say, "Don't let the bed bug bite."
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Ninety-two: Evening of May 24th 2010

Just a little bit of this and a little bit of that and a whole lot of the chores (housework, errands, filter changing, dog walking, letterbox cleanup, etc.).
I fired up Alan Wake but fell asleep in "The Recliner" until my wife called about four in the afternoon. From then on until now, it was dinner and some of the above tasks.
I hope to hit Red Dead Redemption or Alan Wake, but if tomorrow mirrors today then that may not come to fruition.
We shall see.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Ninety-one: Evening of May 23rd 2010

I managed to sneak in a session with the Xbox 360 game, Alan Wake. It's wasn't really a sneak, but rather a break in the Sunday routine. I had set the laundry in motion, washer and dryer, put the disk in the console, committed the usual mistake of sitting in "The Recliner" before launching the game. So after a brief nap, I found that the intro graphics are great, the term cinematic could be used. The training scenario, linking learning the controls to the story were solid and smooth. The opening scenarios follows what occurred in the training period seamlessly. I was having an engrossing experience, but had yet to hit the real scary event that the reviewers mentioned. I hope that I haven't jaded my expectations enough to diminish the impact of a future shock.
Now I have divided my loyalties. On the one hand, Red Dead Redemption is worthy of my full attention, but on the other, so it seems, is Alan Wake which as of my initial exposure may require my similar attention. It seems like I have a pleasant dilemma brewing.
We shall see.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Ninety: Evening of May 22nd 2010

Today was spent helping my wife prepare for an upcoming citywide high school graphic design exhibit on Monday. However, we had to finish silk screening some tee shirts for one of the local clubs at her high school. So, from about 6:30am when I awoke, until around 3:30pm, I was busy pulling screens for her three color design. Once that was completed, we started culling student work to be included in the exhibit. We had to finish by 2pm, so that maintenance personnel could close up the the school.
When I returned, I was exhausted and sat in the recliner, knowing full well what was about to occur.
Tomorrows workload will be mundane but time intensive. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to pop in a game and explore any of the game.
We shall see.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Eighty-nine: Evening of May 21st 2010

"Red Dead Redemption for the PS3 lives up to the various positive reviews that I have run across online," was the opening line in yesterday post. I'll stand by that but there were distractions that proved to be a hitches in the overall experience.
It has taken me awhile to work with controlling my horse. Primarily, changing the direction of travel was a puzzlement. Traveling in a straight line or even a gentle turn wasn't a problem, but maneuvering in tight places or sharp turns was proving to be where my control broke down. I started studying the control of the horse and noticed that I had to move the controls to actually move the horse's head to make a tight turn in a corner. I'll have to try this a few more times, and maybe check the manual to see if it has statement regarding mount control.
This leads into the next problem, which was solved when I checked the manual, was crouching to utilize cover. There is a scenario with a shoot out and as you approach the site with the local Marshall (you're a good guy), the avatar automatically goes into a crouch, so I thought that would happen anytime some one starts shooting at you. Boy was I wrong. Chalk up a few deaths until I found that pushing the left control stick (L3) in would cause my avatar to duck so that I could crouch behind any type of cover. As I hinted in the opening sentence, I knew that I could find this in the manual.
I didn't get a chance to play today and because of a number of chores tomorrow, I probably won't play Red Dead Redemption or Alan Wake tomorrow.
We shall see.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Eighty-eight: Afternoon of May 20th 2010

Red Dead Redemption for the PS3 lives up to the various positive reviews that I have run across online.
I've played it for over five hours and go "Wow!" every time I play it. The graphics, the fluidity of movement, the story line, and the open world, all helps me 'suspend disbelief' as I interact with the game.
So far I been scammed by a road side diviner, accidentally shot a rancher as I rescued his daughter (damn sniping without a scope), and unsuccessfully hunted for treasure (I know what I'm looking for, I just can't locate it).
Tomorrow, I have some errands in the afternoon, but I hope to get into Alan Wake on the Xbox 360.
We shall see.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Eighty-seven: Afternoon of May 19th 2010

I just finished posting my Birthday thank-to all my well wishers on Facebook. So, that's about it, although I did receive two video games as birthday gifts and a small PowerShot Canon (camera not ordinance). The two games are Red Dead Redemption for the PS3 and Alan Wake for the Xbox360. I've already received an invitation to do a multiplayer hookup from an old student of mine, thanks to my daughter's Facebook photo post. I hope to take him up on his request.
We shall see.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Eighty-six: Afternoon of May 18th 2010

I downloaded an app for the iPad, that proved to be an interesting puzzle game. It's called Implode! Lite by IUGO Mobile Entertainment, Inc.
The object of the is to demolish structures. You're presented with a structure, given a fixed amount of explosives, a rubble height goal to come in below, and then try to destroy the structure by the strategic placement of the explosives. As you complete each task, you are given the option of moving on, retrying (for more points), replaying the event to admire you handy work, or quit. The new challenge increases the difficulty by adding some twist to the previous scenario. The lite version only has ten challenges, with three levels of difficulty. I've forgotten how many challenges there are in Implode! XL, over 100 I think. The price is $ 2.99 and, I not sure about this, but there seems to be updates that add new challenges.
At first, I thought that this might be an easy game, and initially that was the way it played out. By the time I reached the eighth or ninth level, I saw the the assignment demands required a more thoughtful assessment explosive placement. I could begin to see the possibilities of this game as a time killer, and if there is DLC then it could prove to be a decent acquisition.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Eighty-five: Afternoon of May 17th 2010

Well, if you have been following this blog, you know the string of consecutive days of activity ended this past Saturday. Nothing serious occurred, just assisting my wife with a graphics job for a Chicago Public School Program. I had to assemble/construct a set of banners. Very time consuming, but they looked good when assembled. It took two days. One day to assemble the components, the other to put the banner together from the components. Although this task would chew up around eight hours, it was the regular chores that interrupted creating a flow to finish the project. I was beat at the end of the day (or evening as was the case), so I passed on updating the blog.
Hopefully that will be the last time I'll be involved with a project of this type for a while.
We shall see.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Eighty-two: Afternoon of May 14th 2010

I'm running out of time and I want to make an entry in order keep the string running.
Today was an errand day, but due to an unusual schedule, my wife and daughter didn't arrive at the normal time so I was able to actually complete a couple of hours of Dead to Rights: Retribution. So I was happy as I re-familiarize myself with the controller buttons. It took about an hour before I got back into the swing of things. It is one of the things that always happens when you shift games or pick up a game after a period of time away from that game. Hopefully, I'll keep my edge in the coming sessions (if I can sneak in a few hours).
We shall see.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Eighty-one: Afternoon of May 13th 2010

Some minor chores and a little errand were that were required of me today, so I was able to pick up where I left off in Lost Planet. I defeated the first level boss and I'm moving through the second level now. I had some issues moving vertical in one area because I had forgotten about the grappling hook device that is part of my equipment. Using that device solved the problem, and I moved on. I stopped a little while later, it was time to take the dogs out.
Later in the evening, I fired up Fieldrunners (now that it's repaired) for the iPad and played the Skyway scenario. I only needed to complete fifty levels in order to access the final scenario. Not only did I open up the next field, but I reached the 100 round - w00t.
So it was nice being able to play on the console with a game that was downloaded from XBox live for twenty dollars. I'm glad that I held back on purchasing it when Lost Planet first came out. I'm a bit better prepared for handling the action in this game, but I wonder what the bosses will be like later on.
We shall see.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Eighty: Afternoon of May 12th 2010

Other than fixing the crash that was happening with Fieldrunners, I just ran my errands, did some laundry, and fell asleep (in that darn recliner) watch Clone Wars: The First Season.
Fixing the hangup in Fieldrunners was achieved by doing a reset on the iPad. In other words, holding down both the activate button and the on/off button for about five seconds until the Apple logo appears completes the reset. That's it, and I found it when I 'Googled' it (fieldrunners and crash). Talk about being relieved over such a simple fix, I certainly was.
As an aside, I was impressed with the quality of the animation in Clone Wars Blu-Ray collection. When I was awake, I noticed the the scripts seemed a bit darker than the older 2D animation. I'm looking forward to the Second Season collection.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Seventy-nine: Afternoon of May 11th 2010

I didn't play much today, but I managed to get my avatar into some serious trouble in about an hour. I bit off more than I could handle. It was in Mass Effect 2, and I decided to try to recover some hidden supplies on a planet in the same system that "The Convict" is located. Basically, I didn't have the firepower, armor, or the variety of team members to take on the three geth heavy mechs. I forgot to save before I landed, so now I will have to pay the penalty and load the save from an hour earlier. I'll go after "The Convict" instead, build up my team, and return later in the game.
And that was it as far as any serious gaming today. Maybe, I'll sneak in a little bit of Lost Planet this evening (and get out of another pickle in my first 'Big Boss' battle.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Seventy-eight: Afternoon of May 10th 2010

Well, as I predicted, very little in the way of gaming occurred today. Getting ready for the errand, running the errand, coming back about three hours later, figuring out which console to use, then which game play (Dead to Rights: Retribution) rounded out the activities just prior to my sitting down in the recliner and falling asleep - Bam! Getting ready for supper sealed the deal until now, when I began typing this entry.
I managed to sneak a peek at the iPad Apps Store for a while during desert and noticed that moving around for current apps was fairly easy, but going deeper (without searching) is a bit more time consuming. I wanted to check out the iPad version of Civilization, and it wasn't listed in 'New' or 'What's Hot' of the 'Featured' category. The 'Top Charts' category search turned up no hint of the game, so I shifted to the general category section. Here I decided to skim thought the games just to see if there was anything else of interesting the Games category. As I moved through each page I was amazed at the number of, and types of, games available. After a while I wondered how many pages I had move through I checked the upper left-hand corner, noting, not pages but number of game looked at, and What amazed me was, and I don't know how I failed recognize it before this look, that I had checked out about two hundred and fifty game out of (wait for it) 1,507 games. Holy cow (Harry Caray reference)! In just six weeks the game developers had posted that many games for the iPad. Not all are good, some are enhance versions of iPhone games, but still that is a lot of apps for such a new device in a six week period
Tomorrow will be rainy, and still on the cool side, although warmer than today. Hopefully, I will not be lulled into sleep when I sit in the recliner after running my errand, but I'm not counting on it.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Seventy-seven: Afternoon of May 9th 2010

I hope that anyone reading this was able to have a pleasant Mothers' Day.
On the other hand, I did not find the time to do anything, other than finishing a previously started Strategery (which I managed to win for a change), and updating iTunes on the Toshiba netbook.
There was a minor glitch, when the installer locked up and I had to restarting and then reinstall iTunes. The Quicktime update was completed before the lockup. Iwonder if the dual install caused the lockup with the iTunes part. I'll never know. At least it works now.
Again, I hope that anyone reading this was able to have a pleasant Mothers' Day.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Seventy-six: Afternoon of May 8th 2010

We're going out to see Joel McHale this evening - the 10:30 PM performance. That accounts for this early entry.
Today's activities, household chores and doggy maintenance, dominate the time available for video gaming, but that is normal for Saturdays and Sundays. I can pull off some casual gaming, like most of the games on my iPad.
Just before beginning this post, I played one of the tables in Pinball HD this app is really a combination of three iPhone pinball games (The Deep, Jungle Style, and Wild West). The way I play, they are great short time killers, but judging from the scores posted online, some individuals have killed a significant amount of time playing these tables. Currently, I've begun to recognize some of the point patterns to shoot for.
I've got a couple of solitaire games (Shanghai, Aurora Feint 3, and Solitaire HD), some tower defense games (Plants versus Zombies HD, Creeps HD, and Fieldrunners), a Risk like strategy game (Strategery), and some arcade games (Top Gun, and the 10 PinShuffle). I have a number of other games but they are designed and formatted for the iPhone. I would say that Shanghai, Plant versus Zombie HD, Pinball HD, and 10 PinShuffle are my favorites now.
Generally, I'll send about fifteen minutes on a game, so minor waiting situations are not a problem. I'll usually bring a earbud headset along if I want to listen to the game's sound track. Like I said yesterday, I'll usually get interrupted, and, the benefit of casual games, it doesn't matter. You can get back to it without really losing your place.
Well, I've got to find out what's happening, so I am going to end it here.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Seventy-five: Evening of May 7th 2010

Even less done today, other than errands, and a Mothers' Day bouquet.
While I was waiting in one location, reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, when it happened again. Somebody asked if I was using an iPad, followed by a brief Q and A, and then an exchange of computer anecdotes. Fun, but I didn't get a lot of reading done. And I find the interaction far superior to falling asleep reading my eBook.
Anyway that was it until just before I started writing this entry, when I played a few rounds of 10 PinShuffle, then downloaded copy of Captain Blood through iTunes.
I started watching it when I realized I hadn't done today's entry. Which I am finishing up - now.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Seventy-three: Evening of May 5th 2010

Today was a repeat of yesterday, except with more sleep - darn recliner. I started downloading the Lost Planet video game at about three o'clock pm. I noted how slow it was downloading, opened the Xbox 360 network settings and adjusted the wireless antenna until the signal was the strongest. The whole game, about 6.6 Gigabytes, was finally loaded close to 8:30 pm. I fired it up and it looks interesting (I've died twice with the difficulty level set at easy). I've more errands to run tomorrow, hopefully I'll get a chance to play a few hours of the game, but I'm not sure that will happen.
We shall see.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Seventy-three: Evening of May 5th 2010

Nothing! Nada! Nil! Nic! I thought that I was going to be able to get in some gaming today, but boy was I wrong. I was so busy (and tired) that I didn't even play a new iPad app, 10 PinShuffle by Digital Smoke Games
I'm reminded of playing bowling shuffle on a mechanical version depicted in the app. That was a long, long time ago, and it was both fun and frustrating then and this game follows in that tradition. It was worth the $3.99. As a matter of fact, I'm going to play a few rounds as soon as I finish this post (which is now).
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Seventy-two: Evening of May 4th 2010

I had a rather busy day with the errands and household chores, but I managed to check out the HD Camera app.
To start with, I laid out six quarters on the table and photographed them using the iPad app, Camera, and the HD Camera app. I framed them to cover the same area, then emailed both to my email account. I opened the account on the iPad and found that I couldn't transfer the images to any of the graphics apps or the Photos app. I shifted to my laptop, opened the email application, and downloaded the images. When I opened them in Photoshop, they were jpeg files and the standard definition file was larger than the high definition image. I considered this to be strange because the HD image should have been larger. It is possible that the compression algorithm might account for this discrepancy. So I decided to import the iPad images directly into iPhoto and then export the images as TIFF files. After completing this transfer, the file sizes were reversed, the standard definition file was around 9 megabytes and the high definition file was around 31 megabytes. I don't know if that would achieve the 7 megapixel claim of the HD Camera app, but it was a significant improvement.
When I opened the two images in Photoshop, both images appeared the same size on the screen. When I checked the magnification of the images, the HD image was at 16% and the SD image was at 33% magnification. So the higher definition image has more information available to present to the viewer.
Now this isn't the only quality that is needed. Color balance, contrast, lens quality are some other elements that would contribute the the appearance of an image. But I wasn't checking any of those out, but I did notice an exposure difference. I couldn't be sure what cause it, so I decided to forget about it and concentrate on the resolution issue.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Seventy-one: Evening of May 3rd 2010

The big issue today was getting the iPad to work with the flat screen through the VGA adapter. At first we, my daughter and I, thought that we didn't have the correct setting on the TV, but the 'PC Connect' was the correct setting.
My daughter went on line and found that only certain apps work with the adapter. Safari is supposed to be one (it didn't work) and Video, too (it did work). She has a Netflix account and wanted to use that, so she downloaded the Netflix app onto the iPad and found that it didn't work.
After being frustrated for about twenty minutes, we returned to the Xbox 360 logged in and activated her Netflix account through the iPad (weird) and began watching her film. The Xbox 360 catch - a Gold membership account is needed.
Earlier, we tried to find the working throughout the Playstation 3, but I couldn't find anything in the store, so we passed on that. Later in the evening I found the setup link, so the next time my daughter needs to access Netflix, she can work through the PS3 without any membership program.
So to summarize, the iPad has a mystery, the Xbox 360 requires an gold membership, and the PlayStation 3 can work once you locate the Netflix link ('What's New' window).
I thought that I would play a bit more video games, but I kept dosing off. I must have depleted my batteries yesterday.
Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Seventy: Evening of May 2nd 2010

I checked out some of the photos that I took with an iPhone app, HD Camera by OutmanTech, that claims to increase resolution, cut down on noise, and an improve details. It seems to work. At least the size of the files are larger, so more information is stored in the image's file. What I should do is to shoot the same scene with both the native iPhone app, Camera, and the HD Camera app. If it's sunny enough tomorrow I'll give it a try.
Other than that, it was the usual household chores with a bit of Dead to Right: Retribution (enough trophies to advance to the 8th Level on the PlayStation Network) and Splinter Cell: Conviction (a deniable ops scenario) mixed in. Basically, today was a typical Sunday.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages

Day Two Hundred Sixty-nine: Evening of May 1st 2010

Army of Two: The 40th Day was played for about an hour, but beyond the morning session with the Chapters of Deceit DLC, the rest of The day was spent on chores, dog upkeep, and laundry all in preparation for an evening performance by Craig Ferguson at the Chicago Theater in Chicago's 'Loop'.
It was a fun seeing the host of a late night show live and on stage. It was a very smooth and humorous performance.
Next week it will be Joel McHale performing at the same location. I'll be seeing the host of The Soup on stage at 10:30 pm. I hope to have another. I hope I'll enjoy it as much as I enjoyed Craig.
We shall see.
For as long as it's needed, I'll keep closing this way. Please check out a good organization that's providing aid in Haiti and make what ever kind of contribution that you can afford. 
-- Post From My iPad using Pages