Or just buy a buffalo wireless ethernet converter for $75, and hook up for devices via an RJ-45 cable. That way all you techies can hook up you PS3, XBOX 360, HTPC, and whatever else you may have.
Wow the people over at Microsoft are assholes.
So if I, an owner of the original Xbox 360 (you know 20GB HDD, no HDMI) wanted to upgrade to a 120GB HDD and wanted a Wireless N adapter, I would have to give Microsoft $234.
Thanks Microsoft choice is awesome!! (sarcasm)
@Alex Morel: Choice is awesome, though. And you chose to buy the original configuration. You could have easily waited until now to buy a system, and opted not to. Companies create advanced offerings as time passes, as a means to engender continued sales. Sony did the same thing with the PS3 and its various HDD-capacity bundles, not to mention removing the multicard reader and backwards compatibility. And I'm not slamming them-- deals change as time goes by. Grow up and deal.
So ... I could either pay $299 and get built-in, free access Wi-Fi; or pay $299, have to pay an additional $100 to access the Internet, and then pay $50 a year for that same Internet service.
@lutherjw: If both systems had all the same titles available, it would be, I suppose. But there are great exclusives available for each, so I say just follow whichever system has the games you want to play, and supports the friends you want to play with.
I can't tell you how inconvenient it is to have to plug in an ethernet cable into my xbox. The unit is otherwise so portable, taking it out on the back deck, the bathroom, and utilizing the free wifi at the coffee house, lugging along the ol' console for wireless gaming is SOOO thrilling.
I don't see why they couldn't have included wifi in the original build, I know N wasn't ratified yet, and had the best guess of compatible wifi hardware not met the 'n' standards, no one would have been upset. It should have been wireless N from the get-go. Having forced expandability is for suckers.
Oh the continued hate. Why price it at $100? Because they can... and they will sell like hotcakes. Why do you need N? Because I've seen people try to stream pure HD video on G, and it's not pretty. Does the casual gamer need this? No. But XBOX is not trying to be your casual gaming system anymore.... they want to push you the kitchen sink, in addition to games. Seriously, though, it's getting kind of old to see every single posting about a new MS accessory costing ZOMG TOO MUCH! And how MS is a bunch of a-holes for the price point they chose. Can we not just get an unbiased review about the capabilities of the cool new Wireless N adapter for the 360 and call it a day?
@HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H.: I didn't see any Wireless N adapters that connect to an XBox 360 in your link, so I'm still not sure what the going rate for such things is.
@dclaycomb: You misunderstand. He's talking about streaming 1080p uncompressed video on a local network, where N-spec devices are very useful. Not streaming low bitrate pseudoHD online.
@triggerx: Do you think the cost to Microsoft is any different? Of course not, but because they're the only game in town, they gouge the shit out of you. It's the same with the hard drives, and while I have a severe dislike of Sony, I will give them props for using a standard, user-replaceable hard drive.
Edited by HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H. at 10/05/09 6:59 PM
HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H. was starred
HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H. was unstarred
@HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H.: you realize that wont even get wireless N speeds though right? xbox's ethernet is 100mbps, wireless n goes up to 300mbps but most of the time caps 270. point is, theres no benefit to getting that.
@krztov: You're kidding, right? The 360 only has 10/100 ethernet? Wow, that is pretty lame.
Still, you wouldn't get full 802.11n speed, but you would be getting double the 802.11g speed, and frankly, that's going to be fast enough for pretty much anything you're doing with the 360.
@HeartBurnKid: Agent of R.O.A.C.H.: yeah but for streaming the faster speed helps alot, i mean the ps3 only has wireless g but it has a gigabit port so im rockin 1000mbps to my router, very fast streaming across the network :)
Hey Steve: Could you explain to me one more time why you're trolling like a champ? Because I'm pretty sure this reinforces the fact that nobody likes you.
@Nowell: Shadow Complex is basically a ripoff of Metriod. C'mon I've played the game and its pretty much a Metriod copy. And oh, the reason Xbox 360 doesn't come with built-in wifi is so that you guys have to shell out another $100. Then another $50 for Xbox Live. If you look and use Playstation Network right now, we have the same exact service as Xbox Live for free. Xbox 360 owners are just feeling stupid that they have to pay extra for things that should already be free, like built in wifi, online, controller chargers for wireless controllers, etc. C'mon, wake the fuck up and realize that Bill Gates and Microsoft is hustling the shit outta you guys by saying that you get "a better online service." PSN gets the same shit for free.
And oh don't how you got better games. Devil May Cry, Ace of Combat, Grand Theft Auto, Street Fighter, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Resident Evil, Tekken, etc. were only on Playstation and Microsoft had to shell out big bucks to make a 360 port.
@Duckspwn: Yeah, it's just too bad that Sony still hasn't figured out Voice Chat, while Microsoft has expanded their offering to party chat with eight people, all across different games.
You get what you pay for. With PSN, you don't get shit.
@FunnyMoney: You've obviously never read the interview over on Kotaku with the developer. He made the game to be like Metroid and Castlevania because those types of games are seriously lacking in the current crop of next gen titles. I, for one, have been waiting for something like it for a very long time.
The rest of your post screams of Fanboy troll bait that it doesn't even deserve a response.
The ad copy sounds like it was written by Smoove B. "We will use only the finest error correcting software. Also, there will be chocolate-covered strawberries.
Okay, I'm going to have to disagree with this article. All of us come here because we know our shit regarding technology, and to us this is ridiculously easy and second nature. But we are not in the majority - or at least there is a huge group who is very much unlike us.
So many people are completely uninterested in learning how to do this, afraid they will do it incorrectly, or simply don't want to spend their time doing this themselves.
My future mother-in-law uses technology all the time, but she is a serious techophobe. She really has no idea what she is doing. She gave me her camera so I could take the pictures off and email them to her. With people like this, they just don't want to put the effort into learning how to do this.
Yeah you go try telling an older person with no tech experience how to rip their own music. You'll start by telling them to download itunes or some ripping program, and once you realize that you lose them at that step, you will see that telling them about ID3 tags and different formats is way above their league.
To us, this appears like Geek Squad is taking advantage of people. In reality, this shit takes time and requires a level of understanding that a lot of people don't have. So, it makes sense to offer a service for those willing to pay for it.
@MrBlahBlah: I see your point, but if they can't figure out how to download or install itunes they probably have little use for ripped audio files, especially in DVD format. Hand this same person a DVD full of AAC files and they'll have no way to play them or load them on any portable device.
I could see this service making sense if they are purchasing an iPod at the time and having their library loaded on, but that would be a rather silly hing to do, what happens if you buy a new CD?
It's easy enough to walk someone through an iTunes install, go to apple../itunes, click download, wait, double click, done. To rip cd, insert cd, click import at bottom. Wouldn't it be better to just show them how to do this in the store? Apple does this for free. That's why this service reeks of a bad deal.
@Hooray4Zoidberg: "Wouldn't it be better to just show them how to do this in the store? Apple does this for free. That's why this service reeks of a bad deal"
The thing is, some people just don't care. They don't want to bother. Maybe the want their library loaded up for them and after that they'll hassle their son in law to help them.
Just cause they don't have any tech knowledge doens't mean they don't want an mp3 player.
Also, if they are willing to pay for the service, who cares? They are big people. They know they can figure it out if they want.
@MrBlahBlah: You're actually right but one thing that is pointed out in the article is that the people who are TOO LAZY will be the ones to do this. And/or the people who are totally against upgrading their computer and they cant do it on their home computer because it'll freeze, lag, crash or all of the above.
The internet's here for a reason. And google is here for a reason too.
I learned how to translate base-16 to binary code all through google x_x and i did that for my computer science class. Now i know some people might not be able to do that even though it really isnt that hard once you understand the whole concept
there are just people who are oblivious to doing things themselves. My father thinks everytime his computer slows down its because his computer has a virus. We can't forget that people like that still exist and will forever exist as long as there is technology. Maybe not the same way but people who just are incapable of doing things on their own and dont actually try to find a solution on their own.
@MrBlahBlah: True that. I've shown my wife like 15 times how to rip a CD, and she still complains that not all of her music is on the computer. It actually is, she just can't find all of it because she doesn't think to look in "Various Artist" folders and the like.
I worked as a Geek Squad agent and succeeded in ripping off the masses. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about what I did and ask for forgiveness. I agree with the tone of this article. Sure, Geek Squad performs a service, that's not the problem. The problem is in the way Geek Squad does it. I think it's very dishonest and we prey on the weak. The services are definitely over priced, and the goal is to justify and scare by using big tech words.
@notlikeacat: Actually, anytime someone asks me to put something on a CD for them, I charge them $40/hour in labor, with a minimum of five hours labor. Plus the cost of CDs ($5/disc) and electricity used to power the machine (we'll say....$30). As you can see, because I charge an even more unreasonable amount of money, OfficeMax has a good deal.
It is also sad that there are people who rely entirely on technology for THERE every need, and neglect other aspects of life. No need to get angry good sir, it is just a service being provided to the masses.
I could make myself a sandwich for lunch, but sometimes I like to purchase the delicious alternative at the local deli. All of this discussion is just basic economics and opportunity cost, where should I spend my time and money? Right now I think I am spending my time constructively commenting online, instead of working where I could be earning money.
@PrimroseSkunk:
It's 'their', not 'there'. Looks like you should of been not commenting on Gizmodo articles when you were in school as well. Get back to work.
@PrimroseSkunk:
The difference is that Geek Squad are just there to exploit those that don't know better. To take your sandwich analogy Geek Squad would be an overpriced sandwich shop that made substandard sandwichs at substandard speeds. Their target demographic is people that don't know how to make sandwichs and are therefore forced to pay for Geek Squads sandwich services despite how easy sandwich making is.
10/06/09
10/06/09
But yes I agree, why have a dedicated adapter when you can get a general purpose adapter?
Anyone know if you can throw a hub on one of these and run the Xbox, PS3 and Blueray?
10/05/09
So if I, an owner of the original Xbox 360 (you know 20GB HDD, no HDMI) wanted to upgrade to a 120GB HDD and wanted a Wireless N adapter, I would have to give Microsoft $234.
Thanks Microsoft choice is awesome!! (sarcasm)
10/06/09
10/05/09
Tough choice, I must say.
10/06/09
10/05/09
I don't see why they couldn't have included wifi in the original build, I know N wasn't ratified yet, and had the best guess of compatible wifi hardware not met the 'n' standards, no one would have been upset. It should have been wireless N from the get-go. Having forced expandability is for suckers.
10/05/09
10/05/09
[www.google.com]
"unbiased" != "ignoring all flaws". Sometimes something is just a bad deal, in a very real and unbiased way.
10/05/09
10/05/09
I've been using the G adapter for years and I haven't had any issues streaming HD over my 27 megabit connection.
10/06/09
10/06/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
For example...
10/05/09
10/05/09
Still, you wouldn't get full 802.11n speed, but you would be getting double the 802.11g speed, and frankly, that's going to be fast enough for pretty much anything you're doing with the 360.
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
Done.
10/05/09
Hey Steve: Could you explain to me one more time why you're trolling like a champ? Because I'm pretty sure this reinforces the fact that nobody likes you.
PS... 2 words: Xbox Live.
10/05/09
10/05/09
10/05/09
And oh don't how you got better games. Devil May Cry, Ace of Combat, Grand Theft Auto, Street Fighter, Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, Resident Evil, Tekken, etc. were only on Playstation and Microsoft had to shell out big bucks to make a 360 port.
READ THIS^^^^^^^
10/05/09
You get what you pay for. With PSN, you don't get shit.
10/05/09
I, too, assume that adapting to a faster wireless standard implies the 360 is worse than the PS3.
I would like my PS3 more if not for people like you.
10/08/09
The rest of your post screams of Fanboy troll bait that it doesn't even deserve a response.
09/18/09
Damn, your CDs are going to get ripped. Yeah."
09/18/09
So many people are completely uninterested in learning how to do this, afraid they will do it incorrectly, or simply don't want to spend their time doing this themselves.
My future mother-in-law uses technology all the time, but she is a serious techophobe. She really has no idea what she is doing. She gave me her camera so I could take the pictures off and email them to her. With people like this, they just don't want to put the effort into learning how to do this.
Yeah you go try telling an older person with no tech experience how to rip their own music. You'll start by telling them to download itunes or some ripping program, and once you realize that you lose them at that step, you will see that telling them about ID3 tags and different formats is way above their league.
To us, this appears like Geek Squad is taking advantage of people. In reality, this shit takes time and requires a level of understanding that a lot of people don't have. So, it makes sense to offer a service for those willing to pay for it.
09/18/09
I could see this service making sense if they are purchasing an iPod at the time and having their library loaded on, but that would be a rather silly hing to do, what happens if you buy a new CD?
It's easy enough to walk someone through an iTunes install, go to apple../itunes, click download, wait, double click, done. To rip cd, insert cd, click import at bottom. Wouldn't it be better to just show them how to do this in the store? Apple does this for free. That's why this service reeks of a bad deal.
09/18/09
The thing is, some people just don't care. They don't want to bother. Maybe the want their library loaded up for them and after that they'll hassle their son in law to help them.
Just cause they don't have any tech knowledge doens't mean they don't want an mp3 player.
Also, if they are willing to pay for the service, who cares? They are big people. They know they can figure it out if they want.
09/18/09
The internet's here for a reason. And google is here for a reason too.
I learned how to translate base-16 to binary code all through google x_x and i did that for my computer science class. Now i know some people might not be able to do that even though it really isnt that hard once you understand the whole concept
there are just people who are oblivious to doing things themselves. My father thinks everytime his computer slows down its because his computer has a virus. We can't forget that people like that still exist and will forever exist as long as there is technology. Maybe not the same way but people who just are incapable of doing things on their own and dont actually try to find a solution on their own.
09/18/09
09/18/09
09/18/09
09/18/09
09/18/09
09/18/09
09/18/09
09/18/09
I could make myself a sandwich for lunch, but sometimes I like to purchase the delicious alternative at the local deli. All of this discussion is just basic economics and opportunity cost, where should I spend my time and money? Right now I think I am spending my time constructively commenting online, instead of working where I could be earning money.
09/18/09
It's 'their', not 'there'. Looks like you should of been not commenting on Gizmodo articles when you were in school as well. Get back to work.
09/18/09
The difference is that Geek Squad are just there to exploit those that don't know better. To take your sandwich analogy Geek Squad would be an overpriced sandwich shop that made substandard sandwichs at substandard speeds. Their target demographic is people that don't know how to make sandwichs and are therefore forced to pay for Geek Squads sandwich services despite how easy sandwich making is.
09/18/09
09/18/09