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Mt. Tiburon Testing Labs
Wireless sucks
By Jon Peddie
That's right, you heard it here, up here on the mountain where we
work by candlelight and still wax our own saddles. OK, it's not that
bad, but we have learned that wireless isn't all it's cracked up to
be, the QoS leaves a lot to be desiredÑeverywhere, except maybe Paul
Ottelini's office.
But we have a couple of remote spots up here and running a long Ethernet
wire is just impractical. The problem is compounded by our experiments
with EPCs and DMAs, and we've found that all of the units we've tried
to get working can't get through our simple, totally open, Linksys
wireless router—and neither can we sometimes.
But! But, a wire always works. It doesn't know how not to work.
And its QoS is excellent—if you've got 100 mbps, you get a 100
mbps (not 33 mpbps pretending to be 100).
Netgear XE102
 So
when we got a pair of Netgear XE102 Power line bridge modules, we
were skeptical. Oh, great, something else to burn up four or five
hours of trying to get it to work and ending up with Tech Support
in Bangladesh saying, "Sorry."
Wrong! The XE102 (which is built using Intelleon silicon) comes in
a small cardboard box that is wrapped tightly in clear tight plastic.
Why am I telling you that? Because the hardest and most time-consuming
part of installation was the unwrapping. Other than that, we literally
plugged it in and used it. No set-up disks, no tech support calls,
nothing any more difficult than plugging in a power supply. And, at
full 100 mbps service, no hiccups, drops, or glitches—it simply
works.
You can find these puppies online from $40 to $5 each, which is
a cheap way of running wires in your home or office. This is the network
paper clip—how'd we ever live without them?
The BuddhaPad—mousing your way to enlightenment
 Can
a mousepad make you a better person? Can a mousepad make you happy.
Or rich?
Well, in the words of the great sage, it couldn't hurt. We
were sent the BuddhaPad and asked to evaluate it. Well now, that was
a challenge. As best as we remember, we have never encountered a mousepad
that didn't work. Ah, but the BuddhaPad promises so much more.
According to tradition, Buddha is a happy guy so rubbing Buddha's
belly can create good luck. (Though one would think rubbing Buddha's
belly would do more to make Buddha happy, but never mind.) More specifically,
Buddha's long ears promise wisdom and rubbing Buddha's
gold promises wealth.
Fine with us. We've been using the BuddhaPad for a while now
and so far we haven't become poor, or noticeably unlucky, or
even exceptionally unhappy. Furthermore, it's a nice spongy
mouse pad with a slip-free rubber base.
And, there's more. The people at BuddhaPad make a 10% donation
to the Make-A-Wish Foundation every time a BuddhaPad is sold.
So, in this, our one and only mousepad review—our conclusion
is this: if you're going to buy a mousepad or you're looking for that
perfect gift for some grouchy mouse user, buying a BuddhaPad is going
to make someone happy.
"Perfect Dark Zero"—wait for it
on the PC
  "Perfect
Dark Zero" is a fascinating game that I can't play. No, that's not true.
I can play, it's just that I feel like I'm in Run Lola Run or
Groundhog Day—I have to keep repeating the same part until
I get it right, and I will never get it right because it's too long.
In PDZ on the great Xbox360 you are thrust into the game, and without
warning you're on your quest. The game, at least the first 15
minutes of it because that's as far as I can get, doesn't
follow the book at all. Instead you're dumped down a hall to
protect some dopey scientist and you have to kill a zillion mechanical
spidersÑthere were no spiders, mechanical or otherwise, in the
book.
But the biggest problem with the game, aside from the odd controller
functions, is that you can't save, and it doesn't save
often enough for you, so you have to keep repeating yourself. It's
like the some of the disappointing games for the PSP.
It's too bad this game is so disappointing; hopefully the
folks at Rave will read the reviews and make the PC versions better.
Ironically, if you go to the PDZ website (http://perfectdarkzero.com/PerfectDarkZeroCom/Microsite/regionSelector.html)
and work your way through the registration, you'll get a little story
opening that is similar to the book (but not the game) and then a Flash
view of Joanna Dark's apartment. Yawn. If you like multiplayer game
play, then PDZ gets a better review (http://reviews.gaminghorizon.com/media2/1136338620.190.html),
but I'm a loner (I get killed even faster in multi-playÑno thanks).
There's a lame, 007 wannbe video at http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/015/015335/vids_1.html.
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