Speed.

Last night I wanted to play Gran Turismo 5 (thanks, John!).  I haven’t played it since it’s launch, and I’ve finally come to grips that I’m not going to use the expensive steering wheel that I bought for the last Gran Turismo.  The wheel’s really nice, but the game is just more fun w/ a SixAxis.

FOUR HOURS LATER, the ridiculous patching process finished.

It took about 1.5 hours to download the first 340mb patch.  That works out to a paltry 500kbps.  By today’s standards, that’s unusually slow for a major service provider and entertainment company.

Here’s the kicker:  after the download completed, it took another… 10 minutes to install?  Then there was an additional 40mb patch and then ANOTHER 340mb patch!?

I played my 360 for most of the night.  I played a TON of Trials HD and the Dirt 2 demo to try and satisfy my racing hunger.  Don’t get me wrong, 360-land isn’t perfect either; my woman’s 360 red-ringed Friday (AGAIN) and my 360 Elite’s optical drive is shot (both are out of warranty).

At the end of the night, when I finally switched back to the PS3 to see if things were patched, I was faced w/ GT5 telling me that my system clock was wrong.  By this time, I was so angry with Sony that I actually swore at my TV.  This particular situtation could arguably be self-inflicted because I, the neglectful racer, haven’t played GT5 in months.  I concede that point, but what argument is there for the other lost evenings of playtime when there was an OS patch?

The updating and patching on PS3 just causes too much friction.  It’s not a lot, and it’s all essentially automated, but it’s more than the other consoles in my house.  I admittedly have a LOT of devices vying for my attention at home, but when the one constant feeling I associate w/ PS3 is disgust, I naturally avoid the punitive experience it offers.

If updates were quick and effortless, I’d likely spend more time (and money) on my PS3.  Sony?  Are you listening?

No more unlimited data =/

Oh noes :(

It’s evil genius.  My father will probably go to $15/month and can use the tethering, and I’ll probably drop from $30 unlimited to the $25 limited, but the 2GB cap is going to be there at the back of my mind, annoying me.

Yay.  Tethering.

via AT&T axes unlimited data, unveils tethering price.

It’s already my Netflix box, but adding Hulu would be fantastic.  What remains to be seen is whether or not the Hulu premiere content is going to impact this.  I’m still not clear on what they’re going to offer as premiere content, or whether I’m willing to pay for it, but this is a huge step forward for cable-less me :D

Hulu headed to a Xbox 360 dashboard near you?.

iTunes link to the podcast — it’s episode 151.

Great, huh? :)

Steve –

I’m eager to get an iPad and could justify it if iPhone OS offered Fast User Switching, a la Mac OS.

When my woman gets onto the device, I’d love for her to be able to switch users and have all of her app preferences loaded.

• Facebook
• Mail
• Tweetdeck
• WordPress
• Safari bookmarks/cookies/keychain
• Apple Game achievements
• iAd stats (we’re likely to see remarkably different ads).

… does this feel like something you guys are interested in?

I’m kinda excited to see if I get a reply.