I’m not big on keeping and storing old tech, despite my incredible fondness for it. However, there are times when the cost is so low and there’s still a reason to own it.
This brings me to the Xbox 360 and its wonderful accessories. Why are these obsolete accessories so great? Well they have dual uses! Uncanny in the video game world..unless you scoop out the innards of your Gamecube and use the casing as a glorified lunchbox!
Now the first device that I still think everyone should pick up (if they can find it) is the discontinued XBOX 360 HD DVD Drive. This Wii sized device can be had at under the bargain bin price of $20.
Why should you pick up a drive that plays a dead high def format? Well it’s simple, the drive upconverts regular dvds to 1080p! Not only that, it allows you to have 2 disks in your system at the same time without getting up (one game and one movie, as this drive only plays movie disks)…. Even better, it acts as a USB hub and wireless transmitter dock! Ever notice that the Xbox 360 has only 1 USB port in its rear? Well the HD DVD add on doubles it allowing you to connect devices from far away from the console itself! And the cherry on top is that the drive comes with a fully featured universal remote control that even lights up and a free movie (King Kong).
And the second bargain big device is the Xbox Live Vision Camera.
Now, while the Live Vision Camera is not officially discontinued yet, it will be (when project Project Natal arrives next fall it will come with its own camera built in).
Still, I picked up this bad boy last night at a local blockbuster as its been marked down as a clearance item. For a mere $15 you get a 1.3 Mega Pixel camera, 1 Month Xbox Live Gold Membership, Wired Headset and free download of the game UNO. Now the real awesome thing to consider is that this camera is fully Windows and MAC compatible…that’s right, you get a fairly decent computer webcam out of this device. So when Natal arrives you don’t have to throw this toy in the garbage!
So keep your eyes peeled, and you too can have some cheap and nifty Xbox 360 accessories….and hopefully the Steering wheel accessory will make the cheap list soon enough…
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The Colleco-Vision came out in 1982 and was the home console that helped a little jumping plumber you may of heard of become a super huge icon…
That’s right, before Nintendo had their own home console they had wisely licensed their arcade killer app “Donkey Kong” to Coleco.
But what is Coleco? Interestingly, Coleco was the Connecticut Leather Company….Okay, so its a little more abstract then Nintendo starting with trading cards, or Sony being conceived of by a radio repair shop owner.
Still, this American company managed to enter the gaming market with a then-state-of-the-art machine that offered Arcade quality graphics. Unfortunately, the game crash of 1983 wiped out the market and the Coleco suffered a swift death within 3 years of release (they called it quits in 1985). Luckily Nintendo rose like a phenix from their ashes and thus gaming grew to rival the film industry as a primary form of entertainment.
What set the Coleco appart from everything else on the market was it’s ability to attach to the Adam computer (I took it apart as a destructive kid), could be used with accessories like a steering wheel (nifty!) and had a phone-like controller with analog stick! In total the machine had 125 games and everyone had Donkey Kong..it was a pack in title!
Though my favorite game was Artillery Duel! In the game you and another player had to adjust cannon fire and compensate for wind resistance in order to defeat each other! Classic!!!
In case you’re feeling a bit geeky today, here’s the specs of the wonderous device:
CPU: Zilog Z80A @ 3.58 MHz
Video processor: Texas Instruments TMS9928A (like a scientific calculator!)
256×192 resolution (not even standard def!)
32 sprites/16 colors
Sound: Texas Instruments SN76489A
3 tone generators/1 noise generator (instead of producing music, this bad boy makes noise!)
VRAM: 16 KB/RAM: 8 KB
Storage: Cartridge: 8/16/24/32 KB (didn’t Bill Gates once say that this is all we’ll ever need?)
Check out the arcade-like experience as advertised by the commercial! Notice it goes from awesome to regular old Donkey Kong…
And here’s another more down to earth commercial with realistic promises…and Mr. Do!
