Saturday, November 12, 2005

Microsoft finally released the backwards compatible games for XBox 360 today...thanks heavens...seeing as it's less than a WEEK TILL LAUNCH NOW! 5 days exactly. Let's hope they have enough for preorders. I really want mine launch day! Ahhh! Bolded are the games I'm planning on keeping for the system. Time to package up the XBox and sell it off :P

Here they are so far. Get ready for it:

* Airforce Delta Storm
* Alias
* Aliens vs. Predator: Extinction
* All Star Baseball 2003
* Amped: Freestyle Snowboarding
* Army Men: Sarge's War
* Atari Anthology
* ATV Quad Power Racing 2
* Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance II
* Barbarian
* Barbie Horse Adventure
* Batman Begins
* Battle Engine Aquila
* Battlestar Galactica
* Blinx 2
* BMX XXX
* Brute Force
* Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Chaos Bleeds
* Cabela's Dangerous Hunts
* Cabela's Outdoor Adventures 06
* Cabela's Deer Hunt 2005
* Cabela's Deer Hunt: 2004 Season
* Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
* Call of Duty: Finest Hour
* Casino
* Catwoman
* Chicago Enforcer
* Circus Maximus
* Close Combat: First to Fight
* Colin McRae 4
* Combat Elite
* Commandos 2
* Conflict: Desert Storm
* Constantine
* Crash Bandicoot: Twinsanity
* Crash Nitro Kart
* Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge
* Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
* Curse - The Eye of Isis
* Dark Angel
* Darkwatch
* Deathrow
* Digimon Rumble Arena
* Dinotopia
* Dead or Alive 3
* Drake
* Egg Mania
* ESPN MLS Extra Time 2002
* Euro 2004
* F1 Championship Season 2001
* Fable
* Fable: The Lost Chapters

* Fairly Odd Parents: Breakin' da Rules
* FIFA 2003
* FIFA 2004
* FIFA Street 2005
* FIFA World Cup 2002
* Fight Night 2004
* Fight Night Round 2
* Ford Mustang Racing
* Ford vs. Chevy
* Forza Motorsport
* Freedom Fighters
* Frogger
* Futurama
* Fuzion Frenzy
* Genma Onimusha
* Goblin Commander
* Grabbed by the Ghoulies
* Grand Theft Auto III
* Grand Theft Auto Vice City
* Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

* Gravity Games Bike: Street. Vert. Dirt.
* Grooverider: Slot Car Thunder
* Half-Life 2
* Halo
* Halo 2

* Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire
* Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone
* He-Man: Defender of Grayskull
* Hitman: Contracts
* House of the Dead 3
* IHRA Drag Racing 2005 Sportsman Edition
* IHRA Professional Drag Racing 2005
* Jade Empire
* James Bond 007: Nightfire
* Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
* Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death
* Jurassic Park Operation Genesis
* Kabuki Warrior
* Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer
* Kids Next Door: Operation VIDEOGAME
* kill.switch
* Legends of Wrestling
* Lemony Snicket A Series of Unfortunate Events
* Loons Fight for Fame
* Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
* Manhunt
* Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX 2
* Max Payne
* Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
* Medal of Honor 3 Rising Sun
* Medal of Honor Frontline
* Medal of Honor: European Assault
* Mega Man
* Metal Arms: Glitch in the System
* MicroMachines Odyssey
* Mike Tyson Heavyweight Boxing
* Monster Garage
* Mortal Kombat: Deception
* MTV Music Generator 3
* Murakumo
* MX World Tour - featuring Jamie Little
* Namco Museum X Next Generation
* NBA Live 2003
* NBA Live 2004
* Need For Speed: Underground 2
* NFL Blitz 2002
* NFL Blitz 20-03
* NFL Blitz 20-04
* NHL 2004
* NHL Hitz 20-03
* Ninja Gaiden
* Ninja Gaiden Black
* Outlaw Golf 2
* Outlaw Volleyball
* Pariah
* Phantom Crash
* Pinball Hall of Fame
* Pitfall: The Lost Expedition
* Predator
* Prince of Persia 4: The Sands of Time
* Pro Evolution Soccer 5
* Pro Race Driver
* PUMP IT UP
* Pure Pinball
* Puyo Puyo Fever
* Quantum Redshift
* Rayman Arena
* Raze's Hell
* Red Dead Revolver
* Red Faction II
* RedCard 20-03
* Robotech: Battle Cry
* Rocky: Legends
* Rogue Ops
* Rugby 2005
* Samurai Jack
* Samurai Warriors
* Scooby Doo: Night of 100 Frights
* Scrapland
* SeaWorld: Shamu's Deep Sea Adventures
* Sega GT 2002
* Shadow the Hedgehog
* Shellshock:Nam '67
* Sid Meier's Pirates!
* Simpson's Road Rage
* Simpsons: Hit and Run
* Sneakers
* Sniper Elite: Berlin 1945
* Soccer Slam
* Sonic Heroes
* Sonic Mega Collection
* Speed Kings
* Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy
* Splat Renegade Paintball
* SpongeBob Square Pants:Battle for Bikini Bottom
* Spy Hunter 2
* Spyro: A Hero's Tail
* SSX 3
* Stake
* Star Trek: Shattered Universe
* Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
* Star Wars: Clone Wars
* Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter
* Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic
* Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic 2

* Street Racing Syndicate
* Stubbs the Zombie: Rebel Without a Pulse
* Super Bubble Pop
* Super Monkey Ball DX
* SX Superstar
* Tecmo Classic Arcade
* Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
* Terminator : Dawn of Fate
* Test Drive: Eve of Destruction
* Tetris Worlds
* The Great Escape
* The Incredible Hulk
* The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
* The Incredibles: Rise of the Underminer
* The Thing
* Thief: Deadly Shadows
* Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon
* Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon 2
* Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3
* Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
* Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4
* Tony Hawk's Underground 2

* Tork
* Toxic Grind
* Ty The Tasmanian Tiger
* Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 2
* Ty the Tasmanian Tiger 3
* Urban Freestyle Soccer
* Vexx
* Volvo: Drive for Life
* World Series Baseball 2K
* Worms 4: Mayhem
* Worms Forts Under Siege

* WWE Raw 2
* XIII
* Yourself!Fitness

Friday, November 11, 2005

Christopher Colombo....mobster...and guy people get my name confused with. Not Peter Falk...the great tv detective...

Heading back to NJ from Atlanta in a few hours. Let's hope no stinky, smelly, crying, or bi-polar people are in a seat next to me. Or in the adjacent row. Or on the plane at all.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

Fan size was interesting. We originally wanted to put in a single 80mm fan. But we couldn't fit it in the final form factor chassis.

We couldn't just go with one 60mm fan because it would not provide the required cooling—as the diameter of the fan increases the air flow performance per revolution increases exponentially. So we ended up putting in two 60mm fans, and we came up with a water-cooled heat sink as well for the CPU. We've actually applied for a patent on that one.

The water cooled term is being used loosely; actually it is a heat sink constructed of a copper base, aluminum stamped fins and copper heat pipe. The heat pipe contains water and a vacuum is pulled on the pipe prior to sealing.

Water under a vacuum boils at a lower temperature than at atmospheric pressure, so when the water boils and becomes steam, the steam rises and moves the heat higher into the fins where the air flow from the fans can extract the heat more efficiently. Once the steam is cooled it condenses and flows back down the pipe as water to the copper base of the heat sink, which is attached to the processor to continue the condensing and cooling processes cycle.

XBox 1 week from today. HOO HA. Also today's Halo 2's 1 year anniversary. Happy Birthday!