Andy Laub they call me "The Solution"

In continuing my habit of writing about major events at least two weeks after they happen, I give you my thoughts on E3 2006. Just a quick note for those not aware, E3 = Electronic Entertainment Expo and is generally the place to be for the biggest and baddest of video game-related announcements. Last year we were given a taste of the PS3 and Wii, and a full-fledged preview of the 360. This year the spotlight shifted to Sony and Nintendo and what they’re bringing to the next-generation table.

Sony, overall, left a lot of disappointment among a lot of enthusiasts. Complaints were rampant about three main things:

1. Multiple Levels: Similar to Microsoft’s approach last year, Sony plans to sell two different versions of the PS3. The base model includes a 20-gig hard drive while the fancy-schmancy model ups that to 60 gigs and adds a myriad of other things. Unlike the 360, however, these aren’t necessarily accessories so much as actual hardware differences, namely HDMI, wi-fi, and built-in card readers. Sony has said there will be add-ons for wi-fi and the card reader, but you’re stuck with the high-end model if you want HDMI. Another point that was brought up was how difficult it will be (possibly) to get the console you want at launch time. Last I checked only the black PS3 will be available at launch so at least there won’t be color issues (yet).
2. The Price: The issue of multiple SKUs is of course exacerbated by the moderately ridiculous price: $499 for the base unit and $599 for the hot-damn bells and whistles model. Is this too much money? Not necessarily. If it was really, really good I would spend the money, but it’s not going to be that good.
3. The Controller: The controller from last year was a disappointment to many, so Sony labeled it as a “concept” and chucked it before the show this year. Instead they’ve introduced… the Dual Shock. Again. The new controller looks exactly the same but hey, it’s wireless now. And it doesn’t actually have the rumble feature anymore. And they decided it needed to be motion-sensitive. Wonder who gave them that idea.

Whatever. The PS3 isn’t shaking up to be such a good deal at this point. We’ll see where it goes.

On the other hand, I’m all over the Nintendo Wii. I was pretty skeptical up to this point and some of that skepticism remains, but if they make it as fun and irreverent as the DS, I’ll buy one. If they make it as fun and irreverent as the DS, and keep it under $200, I’ll buy one at launch. It just looks fun.

Much to my delight, Grand Theft Auto IV is officially in production and scheduled for a Fall 2007 release on both the PS3 and Xbox 360. I’m going to follow this closely as I’m very excited about it, but I’m also interested in seeing what changes will be in place between the Xbox and Sony versions, if any. I am seriously trying to keep myself from preordering it right now.

Also, for our impending (read: tomorrow) trip to Vegas, I picked up Brain Age and (of course) New Super Mario Bros for the DS. I’ve only played through the first world of Mario so far and can say that it’s the quintessential DS Mario game. And as expected, Nintendo has pulled out the stops for the accompanying website, which they use to rub in the fact that we poor Americans still have 2 more weeks (June 11) to wait for the DS Lite.

I’ve found myself much more engaged with Brain Age, maybe because of its promise to make my brain work better or maybe just because I like the activities (math problems? memorization?). It also has sudoku puzzles which Abe thinks are extremely stupid but what I think will be occupying the majority of the plane flight.

Back to the subject of the DS Lite for just a sec: I was also really happy to see that it will be selling for $129.99 (the same as the outgoing “normal” DS) rather than the expected $149.99. I need one so, so bad.

This past Tuesday Apple dropped a sexy new bomb in the shape of the all-new MacBook. It’s a pretty logical step forward in the evolution of their consumer-oriented laptop line with a larger and brighter screen, integrated iSight, and of course the Core Duo processor.

Do I like it? Absolutely. The thing is, to put it bluntly, hot. Do I love it? Not quite. There are a couple things keeping me from buying one two days ago:

• Culprit numero uno is the finish. Black or white is fine for those lower echelon notebooks. I’ve been spoiled by the industrial aluminum finish that’s graced Apple’s professional lineup since 2003. I don’t care how easily it scratches. I don’t care how it shows smudges. It absolutely needs to match my display.
• Number two? That glossy screen. I’ve been harboring a gradually-building dislike for glossy displays. My office at home is very, very bright during the day and I can do without the glare. And again, I worry about the glossy screen of the laptop clashing with the matte screen of the monitor. It would be nice if it were optional, though I can understand why they wouldn’t want to add yet another choice to their non-pro line.
• I’d like to see them offer a 7200 RPM hard drive as an option on the MacBooks, but they won’t because that’s one of the small upgrades on the Pro.
• This is not a huge issue, but I’d like to see what they can come up with for a slightly smaller form factor. A good example of what I’m talking about is to compare the (ex-)current 12″ Powerbook to the outgoing 12″ iBook and take note of how the entire shell seems to have tightened around the internals on the Powerbook. Like I said, it’s not major but it is noticeable.

See a trend? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: build a 13″ Mac Book Pro. Every single item listed above would be null and void and I’d be awfully close to a new laptop.

I have to admit that I don’t plan on upgrading immediately regardless, but I see myself making the switch to a Mactel fairly soon after Leopard makes its appearance, though depending on when that is (I’m going to guess October-November if it’s similar to Panther) I may hold out until MWSF in January. We’ll see. I’m not quite as desperate to ditch this machine as I was when I upgraded to it.

On the last post I was asked how the Saab has been treating me. I’ve put probably about 500 miles on it so far and they’ve been mostly pain-free. Compared to the Accord the Saab is a freaking muscle car, with 60 more horsepower and a greater willingness to chirp the tires around corners. It proved its load-carrying ability the day I picked it up by swallowing a wagon (one of Soren’s birthday presents).

One of the questions I haven’t been asked is why I chose a 9-3. I went into it briefly back in August and most of those reasons hold true. The power is a welcome jump from what I had without being too much. It’s still very versatile, and has a great level of standard features (heated seats, side airbags, etc). I like that it’s a four door but not a sedan, and I like that it’s not a big car. Most of all, I find 9-3’s to be very, very attractive looking cars.

What I think is interesting is that despite all the visual similarities between the 900 and 9-3, it’s easy to tell which is newer. Thanks to small touches like more modern wheels, different bumpers, updated taillights and a standard spoiler the 9-3 starts to look the part of a sport sedan.

One of the other fun things about the Saab is all the little extras it has that I continue to discover:

• Each fog light assembly contains two bulbs. One is for the fog light itself, and the other, interestingly enough, is for a cornering light that turns on when you signal in that direction; it’s kind of like the swiveling headlamp concept on newer Lexus’ and VW Passats, but simpler.
• Heated mirrors. I wasn’t sure if it had these or not, since its kind of tough to check with the weather we’ve had lately.
• If you have the wipers on and shift into reverse, the rear wiper automatically activates. This confused the hell out of me the first time it happened.
• Not a surprise, but an awesome Euro car trait: the headlights turn off with the ignition.
• When the ignition is turned off but the key is not removed, the radio is still usable.
• Another non-surprise: rear fog light. Not overly common; it’s just an extra light you can turn on in the back when it’s foggy.

For now, that’s pretty much it. I plan on ordering some new tires in pretty short order, but I’m foregoing the wheels for now. After that the to-do list is nearly complete.

Hey, remember last year (5-8-05) when I started seriously car-shopping? One of the very first cars I drove was a green 1995 Saab 900S 4-door with a manual transmission. Er… I should say that I tried to drive it, as I wasn’t so good with the clutching. Anyways, the dude was selling it because he bought a Subaru Forester.

The point of the story is, I happened to drive past his house yesterday, and what had replaced the Subaru? A midnight blue 2002 Saab 9-3 SE sedan. I laughed.

Remember those SXSW torrents? Over the last couple of months I’ve managed to listen to a decent portion of the 900-something songs that were contained within, and I’ve been slowly building a playlist of those that I have enjoyed. This is not to say these are my 20 most favorite considering I haven’t managed to listen to every song downloaded, but I certainly like them.

If you haven’t downloaded the torrents and you have the bandwidth (and the disk space), you may as well; it’s free music! If you have, then maybe give these a listen:

1. Avantcore
   Busdriver
2. Be Gentle With Me
   The Boy Least LIkely To
3. Blue Sky
   Gliss
4. Cowbell
   Tapes ‘N Tapes
5. Devils & Angels
   Toby Lightman
6. Don’t Let Me Down
   A.J. Croce
7. Everyone’s a Winner
   The Meligrove Band
8. Fork in the Road
   The Stringdusters
9. Freewheel
   Duke Special
10. Get Your Way
    Jamie Cullum

11. Ghetto Ways
    Scissors for Lefty
12. Girl Anachronism
    The Dresden Dolls
13. Give a Little Mo’
    The Mutaytor
14. God of Hell
    The Rodeo Carburettor
15. Junkyard
    Page France
16. Love Don’t Care
    Lab Partners
17. New Comes and Goes
    Oranger
18. Right About Now
    Talib Kweli
19. The Vice & Virtue Ministry
    The Happy Bullets
20. Walkin’ on Nails
    Mac Lethal

So now that I have the car, it’s time to start doing things. Nothing major, but some nice summer projects, in order of priority:

1. Alignment, check-up, oil change – scheduled for Monday.
2. Wash, wax, buff out the small clearcoat scratches – as soon as the weather gets nice.
3. New speakers – as soon as I can figure out how to fit the back ones.
4. De-badging – I’m thinking I might remove the “SAAB” and “9-3″ from the trunk, but I’m not sure yet.
5. Possibly get some smoked side markers to replace the amber units – I don’t think this would be complicated but I’m on the fence about doing it at all.
6. Replace the black interior door handles with chrome ones – if I can freaking find any.
7. Replace the lower center console – the current one has a hole drilled in it and some scratches, so if I can find a cheap one it might be a weekend project.
8. New tires – maybe around fall, and these would possibly be accompanied by new, larger wheels as well.
9. Look into getting the one larger scratch buffed out – we’ll see how the car holds up before I decide whether professional cosmetic work is worth it.

So not very much at all; just a bunch of nitpicky little things to keep me occupied and obsessive.

Remember that riddle? Some more hints:

• Born from jets.
• Night panel.
• Svenska Aeroplan AB

Got it? Yep, that’s right.

Finally, finally, I have a new car — a midnight blue 1999 Saab 9-3S. Literally 4 hours after walking out the door my last day at Eastbay, I was planning a spontaneous trip to Minneapolis, and that Saturday I was signing the papers.

We returned this past weekend to pick her up and to go to Abe’s nephew’s birthday party. It was quite an experience, because generally when we’re in the Cities Abe drives (because he knows the area and because it’s his car). This time it was different, and I pretty much drove everywhere.

It was a little nerve wracking at first but I eventually got used to it, and I’m a lot more comfortable driving in that area now. Additionally, it’s much easier for me to picture the layout of the city when I’m the one concentrating on what road goes where, meaning I can just slightly find my way around.

So that’s it! The Honda’s gone, the Saab has taken its place, and for the first time ever, I own a European car.