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mikeszekely

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Everything posted by mikeszekely

  1. mikeszekely
    No problem. I'm thinking about getting the One myself. The S4 looks like it turned out to be the S3 warmed over. I intend for the One to be my last non-Nexus phone, though.
  2. mikeszekely
    I think that's all it took back in the day, but not so much with smartphones. Basically, you buy the new phone first. AT&T will move your number to the new phone and remove the iPhone's ESN from your account. At that point, make sure you secure wipe the device (not sure where, but it'll be somewhere in the iPhone's settings), and you're free to sell it.
  3. mikeszekely
    I honestly don't recall being impressed with the iPhone since maybe the iPhone 4, and even then I was an Android guy. But anyway, you don't need to unlock your phone to sell it. The ESN just needs to be disassociated with your number. It only has to be unlocked to use it on a non-ATT network.
  4. mikeszekely
    Well, you have basically 4 options. None are necessarily cheap. Option 1: Buy a new phone outright. I'm actually planning on leaving Verizon for a GSM carrier so that I can start to do exactly this with Google's Nexus phones. Option 2: Terminate your contract with AT&T. Pay a hefty ETF, then get a subsidized phone from another carrier. Option 3: Add a line. You'll have to pay extra money for a line you might never use, just so that you can upgrade every year instead of every 2. I have some friends that do this, actually. Option 4: See if a family member that doesn't want to upgrade has one available. Use their upgrade. I did this for a couple of years years. My wife had a first-gen LG Chocolate that she loved, so when her line was up I'd get myself a new subsidized phone. I upgraded three times, and on the last one I gave her a hand-me down Droid Incredible. She's just now getting around to wanting an upgrade. Like Az said, it's the life of tech. Phones change get better a lot faster than your contract expiration. If you always want the latest and greatest, you gotta pay for it. At least iPhones hold their value pretty well. If you buy a phone outright, you should be able to recover at least half by selling your iPhone.
  5. mikeszekely
    So... Year of the Snake Omega Supreme arrived today. No word on Optimus, but hey. Not a ton to say. I dig the new head mold, although I never had a problem with the old Energon head and it would have been cool if they kept him a headmaster. His new right arm, while I suppose not as crane-esque as the Energon version, is a huge improvement (I just imagine it's a big gun in train mode). His new paint job looks great, too, and puts him right at home with my other Classics. Oh, and he's huge! That said, he's still an Energon-era toy. His transformation is ridiculously simple, and it's pretty obvious that his train mode is half of his body on its side with the leg turned. I'm not going to complain too much, though, because his battleship mode is kind of awesome, evocative of some of the ships from U.C. Gundam. Oh, and who's going to display him in alt mode, seriously?
  6. mikeszekely
    Yeah, but the difference is I can buy all five pieces of, say, FoC Bruticus for less than the cost of one limb of a third-party combiner. Since the Hasbro toy is ten times cheaper, I'm willing to be be ten times more forgiving. To that end, Hasbro's combiners aren't the benchmark I'll hold not-Superion to. Hercules and Giant are, and compared to them not-Superion comes up short.
  7. mikeszekely
    It's possible that a BIOS update or a running change on the chipset allowed it to support more, so good on that. And if you can find another stick to try in the second slot to verify that it's dead, great. But if there really is a problem with the slot, on an older computer, using older (and getting more expensive RAM), it'd be hard for me to recommend spending the money on a bigger stick even if I felt confident that the computer could handle it. If your Toshiba is a big, powerhouse sort of computer and you just prefer to do your web surfing on something smaller, lighter, and more portable, I'd say your money is better spent just replacing the Dell with a portable. The Asus 2000E is pretty nice, and it's on clearance for $450 at Staples (assuming your local store has one). 11", Core i3, 4GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, and a touchscreen.
  8. mikeszekely
    According to Crucial, you're only supposed to be able to run 1GB per slot.
  9. mikeszekely
    To get Persona 3 working on the PSP, some changes were made. The most jarring coming off 4 is that you don't move around outside dungeons, you move a pointer and click on stuff. I liked the story better, but you develop better party relationships in 4. 3 is a little harder, and I prefer the top-down dungeon view in 3. All-in-all, 3 is an excellent game, but it's a step down if you've already played 4.I like having direct control of my party, so I prefer P3P to Fes. Plus, as you said, it's nice to have them both on your Vita. Be aware, though, that Fes has a 20+ hour epilogue that P3P doesn't have.
  10. mikeszekely
    Meh. He's toon accurate in bot mode. That's what matters to me. It's not like the cassettes spent a lot of time in tape mode on the cartoon anyway; I don't mind if he's got a different paint job on his alt. The paint on the Takara version looks kind of sloppy, anyway.
  11. mikeszekely
    I agree, but that's like going to Five Guys with some friends and thinking you'd rather have steak. It's just not on the menu right now, might as well enjoy a burger. Prowl being a burger. I guess. Highly unlikely. Lamborghini's part of the Volkswagen Group, who feel that Transformers are too violent and would rather market vans with stupid names to pregnant women than license their cars for toys that turn into robots, even if said robots are good guys. It's by some quirk of licensing that Takara was able to release him in Japan.
  12. mikeszekely
    I never owned Prowl or Bluestreak as a kid, and I don't have any special attachment to them outside of them being regulars on the cartoon. And since Prowl seemed to get more screen time than Bluestreak, I'm more inclined to get him than Bluestreak. Unless the Hasbro versions are under $40, in which case I'll hope he's similar to the Takara version but with more of a silver than gunmetal paint, and get both. No way I'm getting Smokescreen, though. Never liked him.
  13. mikeszekely
    Looks good. But from BBTS's preorder price, I'm guessing they're going to be Sideswipe-sized. Hopefully Nissan doesn't have the same hangups the Volkswagen Group does outside of Japan, and we can get US releases at $30-$50.
  14. mikeszekely
    No problem. Here you go.
  15. mikeszekely
    Couldn't this go in the regular Gundam show thread? Not sure a dedicated thread for a re-release of one of the most reviled Gundam series is such a good idea.
  16. mikeszekely
    Could be. I mean, I didn't have as much trouble finding Grimlock or Hot Rod, and Thundercracker is still clogging the shelves at my TRU. And the rumors have him releasing in July, well before the Christmas rush.
  17. mikeszekely
    I think Soundwave was already announced to be a TRU exclusive, and I'm betting a $99 price tag, that goes up to as high as $130 on TRU's website, just like Prime. Thing is, even a $130 seems like a pretty good deal, considering that he's coming with all five cassettes. The Takara version's around $200 for Soundwave and Laserbeak, plus $60 for Red-Tape/Ravage and $60 more for Blue-Tape/Buzzsaw. Way I see it, even with TRU's price gouging those of us who waited for the Hasbro version are still saving in the neighborhood of $200.
  18. mikeszekely
    So pics are out of the US releases of MP Soundwave and MP Acid Storm. Soundwave's looking pretty much the same as the Takara release, save for three things: 1. He's coming with five cassettes, not just Laserbeak. 2. Hard to tell from the pics, but the his blue parts look like a brighter blue, and his gold parts are more yellow. 3. He's got yellow eyes, like the original toy, instead of red eyes like the Takara release/cartoon. I don't care about the blue, but I'm not happy about the eyes. Oh well, maybe I can console myself with the crap ton of extra money I'll have versus buying the Takara version and the extra cassettes... As for Acid Storm, I'm not sure what to make of him. I mean, do we need an MP Seeker of an obscure character when a lot of us might prefer a new Starscream (without a busted wing... or maybe that's just me)? Or over a different obscure yet slightly more popular character like Sunstorm? Especially when I can still walk into my local TRU and buy not-at-all obscure character Thundercracker? And then I see the pics... he looks awful. Amazingly awful. So awful he's kind of looping around into awesome. I am repulsed and attracted at the same time. I could possibly see myself owning him, but being to ashamed to display him...
  19. mikeszekely
    I remember that game. My brother got it for the PlayStation. ...when I was in college.
  20. mikeszekely
    It's MacrossWorld. We just love to complain, even when it's about features driving up a price that hasn't been announced and streaming games when the alternative is not backwards compatibility at all.
  21. mikeszekely
    I guess so. Personally, I've already mentioned my dislike of Killzone. As for Infamous, it's not that I don't like the series... in fact, if I bought a PS4 this year, Infamous would probably be my first game. It's just that I never more than liked the series. It's not enough to sell me a system.
  22. mikeszekely
    I think the thing that was holding me back was that his limbs, which have Soundwave's angular Decepticon look, didn't really seem to fit as Blaster. But I was sitting around thinking "this is probably the closest you're going to get to a Classics Blaster," so I stopped back at the Walmart and picked him up on my way to work.
  23. mikeszekely
    Well, after a month of going to my local TRU, which isn't nearly as local since I moved, and not finding beans, I was at my local Target and I was pretty surprised to find a trio of Soundwaves and a single Soundblaster. OK... I already have Soundwave, and I'm not sure I want a Soundblaster just to get Buzzsaw. Today, my wife wants to go to Friday's, which is by the next Target over. Not expecting anything, I was shocked to find Beast Hunters Optimus, a trio of FoC Grimlocks, and a solitary Blaster. Much as I appreciate the new chest door and head, I wasn't sold on Blaster, but I did grab Optimus and Grimlock. EDIT: Quick follow up. Wife wanted to go to Walmart in the evening, so I checked the Transformers situation there. One Blaster, three Grimlocks, one Beast Hunters Optimus, and two Predakings. I didn't buy any, but I'm thinking twice about Blaster... Anyway, my thoughts... Optimus is kind of cool. I mean, he's a toy, and he's designed to be a toy. No movie-verse aesthetic, no semi-realistic truck mode. What you get is a poseable bot that's taller and all-around beefier than RiD Powerizer Optimus, with a bigger sword. Turning him into a truck is dead simple. His truck mode is cartoonish, with his wing panels covering what are clearly is arms resting on his legs. Even with his wings, his hands are still pretty visible. Like RiD Optimus, BH Optimus has a pretty big backpack. However, I'm pretty inclined to forgive it... I almost thought it was smaller than RiD's, but it's actually thicker. You just don't notice it as much because BH Optimus is thicker in general, and the backpack's got his wings. Also, his feet are huge, so he keeps his balance very well. Visually, he's a mix of Cybertron/Galaxy Force Optimus and Prime Optimus, with shades of DotM Jetwing Prime for good measure. On thing I really dig is that, unlike so many other newer Transformers, he's mostly not hollow. He's got a little hollow area behind his chest, but his backpack covers it. On the whole, I'd say he's worth the $19.99 Target was asking. As for Grimlock, he's a bit of a mixed bag. Because, as you've all likely seen from photos, yes, he's got this huge hollow space underneath in dino mode, which seems like it might have been avoidable if they'd just have engineered his shield to cover that area. And yeah, his legs do make for a very fat tail. But before I judge him too harshly, let's compare him to other recent Grimlocks. I own Masterpiece Grimlock, but that seems like an unfair comparison. I have Animated Grimlock... Animated Grimlock also has a big hollow space on his dino-chest, Animated Grimlock has a comically shorter tail, and Animated Grimlock's dino legs made crappy bot arms. FoC Grimlock beats Animated. I also have Classics Grimlock. Classic Grimlock has a pretty good alt-mode, if you ignore the post for his weapon on his back, although his alt mode was a little sleeker and less stompy than I like for Grimlock. Unfortunately, his bot mode is awful, with huge dino feet haning off the backs of his arms, kibble all over his back, and half a dinosaur for legs. Meanwhile, his tail detaches and becomes... what, a whip? Some kind of weapon? Again, it's safe to say that FoC has Classics beat. His alt mode, super-thick tail and hollow underside not withstanding, doesn't look bad. He's got the thick, stompy dino feet, and while his tail is too thick it's about as long as the rest of him, so it's not actually too short. And he looks great in bot mode, with a burly chest and big shoulders, although he could use a few more paint apps (hands and thighs should be a darker gray that matches his head and feet, and his crotch should be more of a burgundy). He fits perfectly with my Classics, standing just about a head taller than Voyager Classics Optimus. While the hollow dino underbelly will turn off some of you, I still recommend him as the best non-MP Grimlock to come out in years.
  24. mikeszekely
    That's because that feature is entirely too social for me. Honestly, the feature I'm digging the most is remote play on the Vita. Nothing is worse than getting really into a game, only for the wife to demand to watch Dancing With the Real House Wives Swapped With the Survivors of the Amazing Race to Hell's Kitchen or whatever reality TV crap she's into. It's the reason I shifted to PC gaming, but then I gotta listen to her whining from upstairs, "Why are you so far away? Come upstairs and sit next to me!" Seriously the ability to start a game on the PS4 but pick it up on the Vita sounds like a godsend.
  25. mikeszekely
    If it makes you feel better, I have that problem with the Vita. I only have an 8GB card, but I have three digital PSP games and three digital Vita games. Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus has to stay on the PS3 until I finish Uncharted, I guess. Oh, and upgrading the PS3's hard drive is really easy. Just be sure to backup your PlayStation to an external drive first, so you can restore it later. But it's seriously as easy as opening the door on the side, removing the old drive, sliding the new one in, and putting the door back on.
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